Forest Maidens

[Pyry]

Is it possible to meet them without knowing their spell? I received the "Forest Maid" quest but cannot speak with the NPC who met them previously because he was a bird thief. I've tried the spell on a spruce mire to no result.
Can I get this quest again if I fail it or am I soft-locked?

[JP_Finn]

I’d say send a SAVE copy to Sami and explain your issue. I’d say that shouldn’t happen like that... but then, not every quest has to be completed.

[Pyry]

I don't feel like it is important enough to trouble Sami over. It's just unfortunate that the game chose that specific NPC (Bird thief) as part of the Forest Maiden quest. All I'd like to know is weather the maidens can be met without talking to him.

Having said that here is my save on Google Drive. My character is on a spruce mire, with moss covered ground on the floor, 7 spruce twigs on his inventory and some chopped wood nearby. There is a raft southeast if you'd like to try somewhere else.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Yi9kTUfbYYBke4X7Hol0V8JhP4QmhctV

[PALU]

Sami is very keen to clean up any bugs in the game, even if they're not very significant to the person encountering them.

I don't believe you can meet them without going though the dialog steps, just like I don't think you can perform new bird thief quests without going through all the dialog steps even though your character already knows the ritual. Note that this is what I think: I don't think I've tried to perform rituals my character doesn't know, even if I, the player, knows them.