The Tectonic Terror

There are more claw marks as you drop down into the cave. Turn right and head roughly south as the cavern widens, and you encounter two Giant Centipedes, lured here for some reason. Slice them apart before continuing, then head farther into the cave. Use your Witcher Senses to “see” the Shaelmaar’s movements as you wind through a small network of tunnel passages. Find the Giant Centipede tunnel that ends with a small cavern with a skeleton, and pick up some truly astonishing Grandmaster Ursine diagrams (pick them up to start Scavenger Hunt: Master Master Master Master!, see page 604 for the full details). Look south from this dead-end out of a hole in the wall; there’s something in the larger cavern below you.

Wind your way, dodging the dead-end tunnels, until you reach the grand cavern itself, a cathedral of rock and the Shaelmaar’s lair where it drags its victims. In fact, some of them are still pretty fresh.

Now to lure the Shaelmaar here to fight it, a plan involving the brewing of a special potion. Head along the southeast side of the cave until you find a nest-like alcove with a scattering of dead bodies. One of them is Jean-Luc; he has crushed ribs, cracked skull, and exhibits classic Shaelmaar wounds. Fortunately, his blood is fresh enough to concoct bait from. You can also find a silver pendant near Jean-Luc’s body, which seems to hold a lock of Madame Bourbeau’s hair.

Later, you can optionally hand this pendant to Madame Bourbeau or Monsieur de Bourbeau. Give the pendant to Madame, and she is grateful you kept her secret and she rewards you, though you later see her mourning her lost lover. Give the pendant to Monsieur and you reveal his wife’s secret. He still rewards you, but is less than thrilled.

Access your Alchemy Menu Panel, and open the “Quests” tab. You automatically have the formula for Shaelmaar Bait, and now you’ve siphoned off some of Jean-Luc’s blood, all you need are sewant mushrooms, which are growing throughout this cave complex. Gather three lots of this fungi, and mix up the bait.

SHAELMAAR BAIT

Now spend a few moments preparing for the fight, and spilling drops of the bait at the indicated spots on your mini-map, at the five locations around the lair.

You hear an earth-shaking noise as one of the largest and most aggressive Shaelmaars you’ve ever set your cat eyes on rumbles into the cavern, and must be destroyed. Don’t get stuck in any of the cavern alcoves, and use ledges to climb up on to gain a brief respite during battle. But also remember the Shaelmaar uses echo location to find you; staying silent is sometimes the best way out of a sticky situation.