The Beast of Toussaint

At long last the giant lay defeated, and the men who had vanquished it could make their introductions, then engage in the kind of conversation that oft happens over a fresh monster corpse. The young giant slayer gave the three arrivals fresh tidings - the Beast had struck again. The body of its most recent victim now lay on a riverbank nearby. Geralt decided he needed to see it and explore the crime scene, while Milton thought it both wise and courteous to accompany the witcher.

Geralt failed to find the victim's body on the riverbank. It seemed the Ducal Guard had removed it to the cool cellars of the Corvo Bianco Estate. Ever the ferreter, however, Geralt did spot something the soldiers had overlooked. Based on the item, and with Milton's help, he established the identity of the Beast's most recent victim. Yet he failed to divine the species, genus, or family of the creature that had perpetrated the crime. Only an autopsy could help him do that. So Geralt set off for Corvo Bianco, alone this time as duties at court had called Milton to the Ducal Palace.

Alas, something wicked had arrived at Corvo Bianco Vineyard. As the witcher drew near the estate, yet was still at some distance, battle sounds reached his ears. On arriving, he saw the bodies of guardsmen, murdered just moments before by a bruxa. The witcher promptly defeated the vampiress, who was not the Beast itself but was clearly in league with it. Yet Geralt could not guess at the link between them nor at the identity of the creature that had inspired the bruxa's rampage through the vineyard. The witcher needed information on the Beast's previous victims. He supposed the duchess might have this and thus set off to find her.

Anna Henrietta's time was precious. To get an audience with her was never an easy feat. Even more so in those days, as the duchess was overseeing a chivalric tourney playing out on tourney grounds outside the walls of Toussaint's capital. Yet in the end Geralt faced the one who had summoned him. As they related what each had learned about the Beast, thus pooling their knowledge and hypotheses, they deduced the likely identity of its next victim, who could very well prove to be Milton de Peyrac-Peyran.

Geralt and Anna Henrietta rushed like rabbits through the palace gardens. Ironically, at the time the gardens were the venue for a game of Hunt the Hare. Milton had been assigned the title role. The knight, having donned a bunny rabbit costume, sat hiding in the gardens, waiting to be found by the game's participants based on clues they could win by completing various challenges. Yet the duchess and the witcher could spare no time for such nonsense and set out to win the clues by breaking the rules.

Having assembled the clues, Geralt and Anna Henrietta had concluded that Milton was hiding in a greenhouse. They had set off to find him post haste. Alas, they were too late. Amidst lush vegetation, they found Milton's rapidly cooling corpse. The murderer stood over it. As the witcher stepped towards him, the killer dashed off. Thus ended the first stage of Geralt's investigation. And thus began his mad pursuit of the murderer.

No sooner had Geralt arrived in Toussaint than he got his first taste of the local color. As he was clip-clopping along the high road, chit-chatting with Milton and Palmerin, a most unusual sight unfolded before his eyes. Here was a knight, with all the expected accoutrements, charging headlong at a windmill! The situation became clear a moment later when a giant strode from behind the windmill and charged right back at the knight. Before anyone could say "Only in Toussaint," the witcher and all three knights were swinging away at the brute, amidst the freshly crumbled ruins of the mill and a herd of panic-stricken sheep.

Geralt and the duchess divided in hopes of conquering their task more quickly. Geralt went to retrieve the golden fish. Once he finally succeeded in doing so, he found a small key hidden within it. He pondered this a short while and came to the conclusion the palace gardens contained but few structures that could require the use of a key to enter. Our clever hero thus abandoned his initial plan, and instead of meeting with the duchess, rushed off to find a locked door. In this way, he found himself at the greenhouse in which the Hare he sought was indeed hidden.

Alas, he was too late. Amidst lush vegetation, he found Milton's rapidly cooling corpse. The murderer stood over it. As the witcher stepped towards him, the killer dashed off. Thus ended the first stage of Geralt's investigation. And thus began his mad pursuit of the murderer.