Search for the missing daughter

You're not sure exactly what draws you to the second of the three posters, but you peel it off from the notice board regardless and examine it a little more closely. Although there are a couple of paragraphs written underneath the headline, there is very little additional concrete information, neither on the daughter's location, nor on what might have befallen her.

You consider your options for a moment, and glance at the other announcements on the wooden board. Initially you are **** to undertake a task with so little to go on, never mind the as-yet unspecified reward, but the obviously **** tone of the mother inclines you to be more compassionate. After a few moments you decide to accept the challenge, and you set off in the direction of the address noted at the bottom of the page. Completing the contract, especially under these conditions, would undoubtedly give you a friend inside the city, you reason with yourself. And in times such as these, with the war raging and Novigrad society on a knife-edge, favours might prove to be more valuable than gold.

After a few minutes walk, you arrive at the specified address and knock on the door. A short, dark-haired woman opens it slowly and looks you up and down with a solemn expression.

'Yes, can I help you?' she asks politely enough.

'Maybe, but I'm actually here to see if I can help you. You see, I saw your notice posted outside one of the taverns near the south gate and I was wondering if you could tell me any more about what happened to your daughter.'

The mother's eyes appear to both light up and darken at the mention of her daughter.

'Well, of course I'll tell you, if you're planning on looking for her! She's about my height, though she's still some years off being a woman...brown hair up to here...my beloved Talia...' She rambles on for some time. 'Two days ago, as I was buying a few things at the docks, something awful took her! She was fishing on the edge of the Old Pier, just trying to catch a trout for us to eat. I told her it was time to go back home and then started to head back up to the main road - you know, give her a couple of minutes to pack her things and join me.' She pauses briefly. 'It was quite late in the evening, vendors closing their stalls. I heard a scream, looked over the fence to see what was happening and she was gone, like she had vanished!'

You furrow your brow, half annoyed, half confused. Now you understand why Geralt never liked interviewing peasants. The woman's account is short on the details, to say the least.

'So, do you have any idea what took her?' you continue.

'None at all, although one of the guards nearby swore that he saw a huge monster appear out of thin air, and then disappear into the night! I didn't believe him then, 'tis true, but it has been too long now...'

'That's not much to go on', you note, plainly irritated. 'I suppose I can have a look. A pier you say? How will I recognise it?'

'It is at the far end of the docks, sticks out into the river but the big boats don't use it anymore. It's not very stable! Maybe she left some sort of trace...'

You decide that that's all the information you're going to get out of the lady, minimal though it is. You thank her for her time and continue on your way. The late afternoon sun shines brightly.