Father Knows Worst

Father Knows Worst

Father Knows Worst is a secondary quest in the Blood and Wine expansion.

Walkthrough

You may stumble apon the cave while exploring Toussaint or you may find the contract on the notice board which will guide you to it. Regardless how you find it once you enter you will be greeted by 2 brothers screaming for help, Lucien Monnart and Auguste Monnart who will ask Geralt to save their 3rd brother Hugo Monnart. Aster agreeing to help enter the cave, Geralt will be attacked by Kikimores which can poison him in such a way that it raises his Toxicity, however this can be a good thing if you have Euphoria, it will however prevent you from drinking potions unless you use White Honey to remove it. After disposing of them keep moving and you will soon find a sword and a trail of blood so follow it to find Hugo. He will mistake Geralt for an assassin his brothers hired to kill him. It turns out they wanted to exclude Hugo from the liquor business they were ment to inherit evenly from their father, who split his condenser into 3 parts, 1 per son and this cave is where Hugo's part is located.

Finding the Part

You can refuse to search for the part in which case the brothers will find it. The part is located inside the hot spring, which will damage Geralt, he will suggest using Quen, which does indeed work. After you get the Still filter return to Hugo or you can take a detour to a corridor nearby where you will find a body, more Kikimores and most importantly a Place of power. The body belongs to Martina Crisca apparently it was she who hid the filter in the cave. After you give it to Hugo he will pay you 100 and you will leave the cave.

Important: Finding the filter will count as "Proof of Honor" for There Can Be Only One, however it only seems to work if you find it after talking to Hugo and not before

Happy Reunion?

After reaching the exit Lucien and Auguste are waiting with some thugs, Hugo will ask Geralt to kill them as they are probably there to kill him. You can agree to fight them, however it will be pretty clear something isn't right when you attack them. Or tell Hugo that nobody dies today and if they do attack he will protect him. If you choose the latter the brothers will decide to "bury the hatchet" and Geralt will get his promised money. If you ask about the Thugs they turn out to be hunters who set up camp nearby and asked if they need help. Regardless the quest ends there.

Important: Telling Hugo that you will not kill anyone will count as "Proof of Wisdom" for There Can Be Only One

Journal Entry

If Geralt finds the contract on the notice board first:

One day, while strolling through Beauclair's bustling streets, Geralt spotted a notice - someone was in need off ^[sic] an escort as they wished to penetrate a cave. The task seemed none too complicated or taxing, so the witcher concluded it would be unwise to let it pass.

Before speaking to the posters of the notice, Geralt set out to do a bit of reconnaissance. Yet he returned to them quickly to find out what the job was to entail. The brothers, trembling in fear, explained that their other brother, beset by monsters, was trapped in a nearby cave.

If Geralt happens upon the brothers in the cave first:

One day, while traversing Toussaint's charming wilderness, Geralt ran into two men desperately calling for help. As they told it, their brother had remained in the cave they had just hastily left. Nothing out of the ordinary, I suppose, if not for the fact that inside this sibling had been attacked by beasts. Geralt decided he would try to help the man.

Geralt followed a trail of blood to find Hugo. Wounded by monsters, the man had sought shelter in the cave's depths.

If Geralt didn't already find the condenser and agrees to help:

Hugo begged Geralt to find a condenser, part of a complicated contraption his father had devised. Papa had cast this part into an underground lake.

As Geralt and Hugo were leaving the non-too-hospitable caverns, Hugo's two siblings, assisted by a handful of armed men, blocked their way. Fearing for his life, Hugo begged the witcher to teach his treacherous bastard brothers a lesson.

If Geralt says no one dies today:

Yet as we all know, Geralt has a strong aversion for unnecessary violence, so he turned Hugo down. This proved a wise decision - forced to discuss their differences, the three brothers settled their dispute and resolved to embark on an enterprise together.

If Geralt agrees to attack the brothers:

Deciding that he should see the matter through to the end, Geralt fulfilled Hugo's wish.

Objectives

• Talk to the men issuing the contract.
• Find out what happened to the missing brother.
• Defeat the kikimores.
• Using your Witcher Senses, look for signs of Hugo.
• Follow the trail.
• Talk to Hugo.
• Defeat your opponents. (only if Geralt agrees to attack the brothers)

Notes

• If Geralt doesn't attack the two brothers, all three brothers can be found at The Clever Clogs Tavern in southern Beauclair.
• ^ Hugo is the only shopkeeper in the entire game which buys crossbow bolts.
• Before finishing this quest, there is a generic merchant in the tavern in place of the three brothers
• In a side tunnel, the body of Martina Crisca can be found, along with a letter from Victor Monnart asking her to hide the three pieces of the still for him.