Contract: The Tufo Monster - The Witcher 3

Customs in Toussaint differ markedly from those observed in the North. The fashions differ, folk drink wine instead of rye vodka, beer or mead, and the women are generally more amorous while men are more attentive to their own appearance (it is quite likely the two latter issues are linked). There is one custom, however, that remains unchanged both south and north of the Yaruga. Namely, faced by a monster problem, folk post a notice on a notice board, in which notice they promise to pay a reward, and then they pray a witcher happens by and reads it. The owner of the Tufo Vineyard did just as this custom ordains, and as it happened, Geralt was the one to find his note.

Thoroughly charmed by Toussaint's fairytale landscapes and vistas, Geralt devoted some time to crisscrossing the duchy without any specific destination or mission in mind. During one such escapade, he happened to wander by the Tufo Vineyard. During a brief and notably unpleasant exchange with the property's owner, he learned that some creature prowled the area, a creature that caused not significant land tremors.

Having learned the disturbing noises thought to be those of the Monster of Tufo were coming from the cellar, the witcher immediately ventured there. Geralt had barely arrived when, without any excess effort, he heard the scraping and crumbling of rocks beyond the cellar wall. Upon investigating the noise, he discovered a network of long, winding corridors stretching beneath the entire vineyard. In one chamber Geralt found a kikimore nest, but quickly concluded the beasts were not the cause of the trouble. The creature that had dug these tunnels was clearly much larger - and far more dangerous.

After speaking to the woman he had encountered on the estate, Geralt went to the spot where the farmhand Jean-Luc had last been seen. Following the man's trail, the witcher arrived at the entrance to a complex of caverns. There he established that the monster he was hunting could be none other than a shaelmaar.

Dirt is a shaelmaar's element. Underground the beasts feel very much at home. Thus they are exceptionally hard to track and corner there. The witcher concluded that instead of chasing the creature, he would lure it to the surface. He did just that, and then promptly dispatched the Monster of Tufo. It was said that the monster's roar when mortally wounded was heard far and wide, even off in the distance, at the Ducal Palace.

While investigating, Geralt had discovered not only the exact nature of the horrid creature termed the Monster of Tufo, but also the exact nature of Madame de Bourbeau's relations with the missing farmhand Jean-Luc. Conclusive evidence in this matter took the form of a silver pendant the witcher had found, containing a lock of the high-born lady's hair.

The last remaining thing left for Geralt to do was simultaneously the most pleasant part of the job. Namely, he could now collect his reward. Fortunately, despite his many flaws, Monsieur de Bourbeau nonetheless proved an upstanding man, paying the witcher his remuneration down to the last crown.

Geralt had only to complete the most pleasant part of the job - namely, to collect his reward. This proved to include a generous gratuity, Monsieur de Bourbeau's choice of means to thank the witcher for telling him of his wife's betrayal. Geralt provided proof of the infidelity - a silver pendant he had found on the body of the missing farmhand Jean-Luc. Said pendant contained a lock of the unfaithful noblewoman's hair. I cannot fathom why the witcher decided to meddle in a matter not his, something he customarily avoided doing. I can only guess that he might have been inspired by an inner surge of male solidarity.

The Tufo Vineyard was plagued by tremors caused by some unknown underground force. Yet these were no ordinary earthquakes, a phenomenon entirely unknown in Toussaint. The tremors caused noteworthy damage, as buildings collapsed, wine bottles fell from shelves and shattered, and wine barrels burst, releasing into the dirt their ever so valuable contents. The vineyard's owner suspected some subterranean beast was the culprit, and Geralt was inclined to admit he was right.