Yes, witchers. You'd have to ask Geralt since he is more aware of what is out there, but we do have plenty of monsters.

[ Istredd's only come across one although he knows about the drowners and other beasts that run amuck across the continent. They're just not frequently found in his studies, although there was a cave creature once or twice while he was going through the ruins. They didn't need a witcher for that.

He also is feeling the same way about whether it's peaceful quiet or quiet before the storm. They both are paranoid or they both are simply used to all hell breaking loose, especially since coming here. ]

The first time I met Geralt he showed me a monster head, it was the ugliest thing I've ever seen. It had these enormous horns but looked like an insect and ---

[ It may be that later on Stephen will see the creature in question show up out of these rifts, with horrifying pinchers and hands along its torso, but Istredd pauses because he senses something shift. It's probably a psychic moment, a tingle in his mind that can happen a millisecond before a reaction.]

Wait, something is ---

[ That's when they can suddenly hear the screams. ]