A/N: Two months. 4.5k words. Short chapter. Don't care.
Take your time, you won't be reading anymore of this for the next 300 years. Do enjoy.
DISCLAIMER: The following is a fan-made fiction based on the Monster Hunter series. I own only the story and characters, Monster Hunter itself is owned by Capcom.
If you enjoy the story so far, please feel free to review and leave your opinion. I will be sure to reply to any questions.
"Listen," Corr whispered. "I don't know why or who would go so far as to chase me all the way here but I guarantee that it's got nothing to do with the town fire, in fact, even your father admitted that it was a wild Rathalos who wrecked the town centre so there's that." Corr concluded.
Max would've gone on if he wasn't interrupted by the sound of voices creeping up behind them from one of the streets that lead to the plaza.
And so it continues...
Chapter IX
Unseen Peril
Max made sure he checked up on each of his friends present in the town square. He was done getting bad news left and right so he decided it was best to just make sure everything was alright before even thinking of going to bed. He just wouldn't be able to sleep without making sure no one would wake him up the next day with news of a surprise funeral. He hoped surprise funerals weren't a thing.
What an awful night…
He did check up on his family, most were just fine and even his mother seemed relatively 'okay' given the circumstances but he still felt nervously worried. He hugged some of his closest friends and even talked to old rivals from his school days. Yes, even the 'pricks'. It was a strange sensation to feel so glad that even the worst bullies and old rivals had come out unscathed. But they all had families just like him and he knew that even they were scared.
The town citizens had all gathered in the town square area while its members were accounted for and tasks assigned. Max could see the town Chief debating with some of the town circle's members with some Guild Knights listening in. He saw his father and mister Fergusson, Lucy's father, talking to each other as they heard the Chief's speech.
As for Pokke, the town itself was all rubble and smoke near the plaza, aside from the still standing Outpost and a couple other buildings that had somehow managed not to tumble down despite serious damage. All that fire and destruction just because of one wyvern? Max wondered how he was supposed to kill those things.
He hadn't even seen the Rathalos yet but he wasn't sure he wanted to.
"Hey, Max, you alright?" he heard a familiar voice ask him. It was one of his cousins, Lews.
Lews was little less than a year older than Max, a couple of pounds heavier and quite bulkier in shape. With him was Rapha, the youngest of the three cousins by the same difference to Max and definitely the least threatening looking too. Rapha had curly blonde hair unlike the two brunette cousins he had and he was blue eyed too. These features, when coupled with his tiny frame eyes and "as white as milk" skin complexion, gave him quite the innocent and almost angelic look. And it certainly matched his personality.
"I'm fine." Max muttered. He was starting to feel more tired than he had expected. "What about you guys? Aren't you two going to sleep? You need the rest as much as I do."
Lews shrugged rather strongly, spat to the side of the road. "I don't think I can, no matter how I tried. We saw one of them die, y'know? One of the guys that got killed."
"Yeah." Rapha agreed. He seemed rather shaken about it unlike Lews. Poor Rapha definitely wasn't used to this level of violence. "It was horrible. I don't think I want to see anything like that ever again."
Max understood. He saw why Rapha would be the most easily affected of the three. He always was. Rapha was the youngest, the most protected by his parents and the only one of the three who had never been outside the village or hunted by default.
His mother had always had a special care and worry for her dear child that almost bordered on paranoia and, though Max knew little of maternal instincts, he couldn't help but pity his youngest cousin. Poor kid really did need the sleep.
"And now we'll never know who tortured the guy." Lews said in a loud voice. "Can you imagine? Escape only to get mauled the very next day by a Rathalos? That dude had the worst luck." He said as he sighed and shrugged again.
"A man? Tortured?" Max eyebrow rose quizzically.
"Oh right, you weren't here! Or were you? Oh never mind, doesn't matter, there was a man here in the village this afternoon. Some guards had found him in the middle of the road, stumbling towards the town. He was a really weird dude, couldn't talk for some silly reason and he had all sorts of bruises and cuts all over him. I say he was tortured." Lews said as he ended his explanation. "Dunno if anyone got anything out of him before he died. Then he just got burned."
Rapha took the words as a queue to puke uncontrollably right in front of the three, soiling their feet in splashes of vomit.
"Ah, fuck." Lews said as he jumped back to avoid getting soiled.
Max knelt down next to his younger cousin, making sure he was feeling physically alright. "Couldn't you just wait to blurt out something like that, Lews? By the Elders…"
Lews mumbled an apology and helped take Rapha back to his parents. These two cousins of Max's rarely ever got along due to their extremely different personalities and he knew it. Lews was never one to shut up about the wrong details and Rapha was always just too sensitive to them despite the tiny age difference between the two. Together, the three safely crawled back to the younger cousin's parents.
Suffice to say, the poor boy's mother was shocked to see him return looking so pale but Max guaranteed it would be best not to go into details. As soon as an opportunity came up however, he grabbed Lews by the arm and dragged him into a lonely corner of the town square where they could talk. He wanted to know more.
"Ok, I think we can talk here. So tell me, what was all that about a guy you saw today? And something about torture?" Max asked while he crossed his arms.
Lews' explanation was a little confusing and messy at first but he eventually gathered up enough information to make a solid picture of the events that day. As it turned out, an unnamed stranger, likely from another town, seemed to have escaped his captors only to reach Pokke Town and meet his untimely death. All this while Max and the crew were out hunting and getting stalked by another psycho. Odd.
Lews was almost finished explaining by the time the distant town meeting seemed to be over. "And then, we had just finished having dinner when we saw him just sitting by one of the food stalls. We went over to him and tried talking to him and it was mostly fine up to that point but a guard told us that he had somehow burned his throat in a weird way. Then, we heard the Rathalos flying by." He took a pause. "It was… so strange, y'know? Nothing's ever come this close to the town before and then this guy just came flying right in like a goddamn nightmare! I gotta admit though, I had no idea what to do and no one else was doing anything either so, when I saw it roar and turn its big ugly head towards us I just freaked out and started running. 'Cause I had no weapon of any kind with me, ya see?"
"Right…" Max nodded. "I think I would've run too, to be honest. And what about the man?"
"He panicked, just like us. He got up and started running like a madman but the Rathalos was on to him so he didn't get very far. The thing just crushed him with its big paw and breathed down fire onto the guy. Burned him to a crisp." Lews paused again as he crossed his arms. "Not a chance anyone would survive that. What about you? Where were you all day?"
And now it was Max's turn to give some explanations. Or at least, so it seemed. He wasn't sure what to say at first but this was his cousin he was talking to and Lews had always been a close friend too. Better make it simple at least.
He told him the true version of the story. The Bulldrome quest, the blonde woman's attack, the trip back home, the fire. He felt odd explaining it all as it felt like almost no time had passed since the events and, to be fair, it was still the same day or at least the same night. He suddenly felt even more tired.
It was some time before the two cousins were done talking but Max had started to feel a hint of something. The possibility of a greater threat.
Things just didn't feel right, all that chaos and all that violence in the span of one day was just too much to ignore. There had to be something behind it all, even if the rampaging wyvern was a coincidence. He didn't tell Lews that Corr was Loc Lac nobility but now he thought that maybe that was the connection he was looking for. Nobles spend their days plotting and killing each other so he was sure that Corr must've had something to do with at least the not-so-successful assassin.
If someone had planned it all…
"I gotta go see it. The Rathalos. Could it be that it was somebody's pet? Maybe a tamed monster sent to destroy the village? I need to know." Could the village be in actual danger? He had a feeling it might.
"You think we can find anything? Well, anything's better than just sitting here. Alright then, let's go!" Lews happily replied as they dashed off towards the nearest street exit.
The two cousins ran for some meters through the gathering mob stationed at the plaza before they managed to get rid of the large crowd and saw the wyvern's body, brought to them on a very large cart-like platform.
It was one thing to see the drawings and quite another to see the actual thing itself. A real wyvern.
The specific species in this case was a Rathalos; a high-class, large bipedal wyvern covered in red and black scales, each one the size of a small fist. Rathalos were known to make good use of several weapons at their disposal such as poisonous wing and feet claws as well as a long spiked tail. Its body was covered in tiny spikes in spots along the wings, head and tail though most had been torn off by the brutality of the creature's last moments.
The cart was slowing down to a halt at the time the two boys had reached it and was now 'parked' outside the plaza. The two approached it slowly in fear of a surprise bite or worse. The Rathalos seemed dead but neither of them was willing to take any risks.
The monster's most striking feature was definitely its large, compact head and also a few odd black markings on its wings that seemed to follow a well defined flame pattern. It was all fascinating to Max, especially considering how easily the monster's size could crush four men under it. Its red scales were splattered with blood from its wounds, most of them located on the head and legs.
"I kinda wanna go closer…" Lews whispered. "And it doesn't seem like it's going to bite anyway."
Getting closer, the two boys were silently allowed permission by the surrounding Guild Knights to approach and get a closer look.
The tail had suffered several cuts on it and was close to complete rupture from the rest of the body. It occurred to Max that this might've been a clever strategy by the town hunters to deprive the monster of its favorite weapon. And a bit gruesome too, he could see the split flesh and smashed scales on the top of the tail, maybe the white of a bone too.
Crouching down, Max started searching the monster's front part of the body in search of clues. He touched the scales on its head, felt them warm to the touch, hard as rock. He checked its wings, its neck, underbelly and legs. He found absolutely nothing. He eventually even pushed open its gaping mouth but all he saw inside were puddles of purple saliva which he found strange but assumed was probably the monster's poison glands bursting inside its mouth.
"Found anything?" Lews' voice interrupted him. He turned to him and saw the suspicious looks the Guild Knights were giving them. Might as well leave now before Lews asked anymore questions.
"No, Lews, not a single thing. I think we're done here." He answered. As they both silently left the site, Max felt like there still might have been something he could've missed. He would have to talk to his father later.
Together, the two boys spent the rest of the night helping the villagers rebuild some of the damage though it wasn't long before they grew tired of it.
They helped getting the temporarily homeless into safe houses, children and some of the wounded mostly, while the women and men worked to collect and repair the most urgent belongings while accounting for the all the damage done.
As the sun started to rise, Max's shift was nearing its end when he saw a familiar figure calling to him from across the street. He finished leading the two homeless siblings into the last house before rushing back to meet her.
On the other side of town however, work of another kind was in operation. Scouting, to be specific.
Rick had been a hunter for many years and he had learned to always check for possible ambushes in the depths of the wilds. This time, he was half expecting something more cunning than a Bird Wyvern to make an appearance. After all, it wasn't just monsters that became active during the night.
The area he was currently inspecting was not in fact located in the plaza. Actually, it wasn't even close to it. The town gates were open for most of the day to all adults with the two great entrances being located in the northern part of town, in the plaza, and in the southern part of town, towards the faraway docks down by the river which would then lead the town ships into the sea.
But, as much as talk of ships and sails might interest him, right now, Rick was in the western quarters, a mostly domestic area with no particular buildings of interest aside from the town school. And also a small, unused exit gate that had fallen into disuse a number of years past.
Rick had already examined its red iron surface in search for signs of a breach but no, the rusty yet heavy door was much the same as it always was. Over the last few years, Rick had been insistent that the door would one day bring more trouble than it was worth. Sure, the outer entrance was nearly inaccessible with thorny bushes, the lack of a road and rubble but it was still a simple way in even for anyone who didn't have the key to a door which used to be closed during daylight specifically to keep strangers out and the children in.
Reassured, Rick thought it would be fair to give himself a break. Life wasn't all vigilance and security, he needed a rest just as much as any other man. So he went up the nearby stone steps that ran alongside the town wall and then sat atop the old passage, facing the forest.
As he sat, he noticed the view of the village from atop the wall was strange. Really odd how it wasn't so different from every other year. The men and women of the village were still all over the streets, always moving in complex directions, always lost in their focus to complete their appointed tasks. In a way, it was almost the same as any other festival.
Except this time, the decorations had been either burned or knocked down and people weren't buying anything at all, they were just helping each other out as debris was cleaned out and the stalls got restored. And besides, Rick wasn't as easily fooled by the approaching morning calm as the other villagers might be. He was a soldier, through and through, and his military instincts were kicking in harder than a war mace at this point.
He heard footfalls next to him. Turning to the side quickly he was both shocked and glad to see the familiar faces of both the elderly Village Chief and Dr. Leonard, a tall young man who had risen rather rapidly in notoriety over his years in the ranks of the Alchemists' Guild. Both men were easily the village's sharpest human minds and Rick had reasonable respect for them.
Dr. Leonard was a hard-working and ingenious alchemist and herbalist whereas the Village Chief acted as the humble village's vision in its most ambitious moments. It had been many years since the Hero of Pokke had saved the village from the approaching Shen Gaoren, a fortress-sized crab-like Carapaceon, but his spirit to brave his fears had spread to an entire generation, Rick himself included, all thanks to the Chief's propaganda.
"Good morning Chief. Leonard." He greeted.
"Rick! What the hell is going on? We have been looking everywhere for you! Do you have any idea how serious this is?" The old man asked in a shrill voice, shaking his long white beard angrily. "Dr. Leonard and I have already heard stories of the Rathalos attack but few of the folks have been able to remain consistent. Some say there even was an invasion as well!"
"Most reports claim the wyvern came flying in from the sky but we know this should be impossible." The young doctor added in a matter-of-fact tone. "Someone would have warned the sentries stationed around the Pokke area at least ten minutes before it arrived. It is impossible for an adult wyvern to slip through our defenses unnoticed."
Rick took a moment to think. He had known Leonard ever since the boy was a child and he knew the blacksmith's adopted son was as smart as his premature white hairs and typical small pair of glasses seemed to hint at but... the problem was that Rick himself had been at the spot when the Rathalos had appeared. He had seen the monster roar in the sky just before crashing down onto the party, seemingly out of nowhere. And then the questions started bubbling up.
"Gentlemen. All I know is that we have a dead wyvern here in the village and I fail to see how he got here just as much as you do." He answered. "I just do the fighting around here and thank the Elders I was able to take it down without having it completely wreck the village. Also speaking of roles, chief, I'd very much like to know how is it that we saw not a single squad of Guild Knights on the site as soon as the threat arrived. What about that?"
"Bah! Like it would've made sense for us to expect a wyvern to join us for a jig this particular night! By the Elders Rick, we send the Guild Knights to scout the Furahiya Mountains just this once and you blame me?!"
"We?" Rick asked with a raised eyebrow. Young Dr. Leonard stepped in calmly between his two elders.
"I suggested the Chief send a large group of Guild Knights into the woods so we could look for the specific cabin the injured stranger we found told us about. I was told he wrote that he was kidnapped, tortured and then silenced by a strange form of poison we were able to extract from his throat. Bleach powder sir, a rather recently discovered solution of several chemicals that can vary in how strongly it attacks certain organisms. If poured down a man's throat, it might cause a few burns."
"And the man's identity?"
"He said he was from Minegarde, sir. A member of the Guild's High Council."
Lucia. And not a sign of Corr in sight. Max was starting to think the other boy was going to start avoiding them. He certainly hoped not.
"Still upset?" He asked with a short sigh. His eyelids felt heavy with the lack of sleep and his head was starting to hurt.
Lucia, on the other hand, looked not only as expressionless as ever, but he could see she had a determined gaze in her eyes. Fighting the need to sleep, he suspected.
"Upset? No, not upset. Worried, most like." She started in her trademark blank tone. After a brief moment though, she mimicked him with a long sigh of her own. "I'm sorry, Max, but I think upset doesn't really describe it."
"And what's gotten you so worried?" He sat down in the side of the road to rest his tired legs. "The woman in the mountains?"
"Not exactly. A lot of things happened yesterday and I managed to focus on two major facts. One, that our village was attacked by a wyvern in a suspiciously organized fashion. Two, that Corr not only isn't from around here as he is also the wanted target of possible Loc Lacian enemies. And yes Max, I did hear everything you two said in the plaza and I didn't really need your yelling to do it." She didn't look him in the eyes as she sat down next to him.
And just like that, he knew he wasn't getting any smooth treatment. At least his legs weren't hurting as much now.
"You think the Rathalos attack was suspicious?" He asked, trying to change the subject. "Why would you say that? There's no proof of anything."
"Come on Max, you're not that thick-headed. How often is it that you see Flying Wyverns like the Rathalos just gliding overhead? Over our dear village in the Furahiya Mountains?"
Max didn't take more than a few seconds to think his answer through. Never.
"Maybe because they aren't from around here? Maybe we're just too high for them to reach."
"That is exactly why you don't see wyverns around these parts, it's just not their typical environment. Cold blooded lizards don't do well with the cold, aside from some exceptions and, even then, the only reason a fire breathing monster like the Los would come this far up any mountain would be to stock up on firestone for fuel purposes. Which we don't have here in the Furahiya." She finished. "That thing had no place here, it must've been lead here. Someone wanted it here."
Taking a few moments to digest all the information, Max soon realized there was no way to deny the facts. But still… "So we were attacked? But by who?"
"I never said that we were attacked specifically. Pokke isn't entirely defenseless Max, and the world knows it. That monster was sent here for something else. Someone in particular. And I'll bet that the sooner we get Corr to talk, the sooner we'll get answers."
"It's not that simple-"
"It is that simple." She insisted as she cut his sentence with a dismissing wave from her hand. "I'm sorry Max but I heard what he said yesterday, he's from Loc Lac, not some fishing village here in Schrade. He lied to us and that makes him our prime suspect."
Max was finally ready to give up at this point. It seemed Corr did indeed hold all the answers and they knew it. Max's patience had already been pushed to its limit a several hours before and he didn't want to lose his cool unless he had no choice but there were lives on the line.
He then noticed a strange smudge-like marking in Lucia's hand movement. He took it suddenly to hold it steadily in his hand. Lucia shook from the sudden grip but she then seemed to realize the target of Max's gaze. Her hand was badly hurt, the skin burned away from the intense heat of the flames she had been trapped in. She raised her other hand to shoulder height so the injured palm was facing her friend. How she had managed to burn her hands in such an odd fashion with no other visible injury was inexplicable.
"How- When did you?"
"I didn't realize how hot some of the debris was. I did not even feel it until I was already outside but, even then, I don't think it is very serious. It hurts when I close them but I know the pain will pass. Don't give me that look." For once, she didn't sound forceful or angered by his worries. He knew it hurt. He also knew she was trying her best not to show it and, as much as it frustrated him, he knew he had to play along. Lucia was many things, stubborn and prideful being major ones.
"As you wish." He could see the morning sun rising in the distant horizon. There was a beautiful purple hue covering the skies and not a single cloud in sight. "Let's go then, I'd rather face Corr tomorrow. And besides, fainting in the middle of the road doesn't sound like a good idea right now."
Post-chapter Note: Plot thickens. Hopefully.
For those who don't know, all Rathalos are male, Rathian is the female counterpart.
Thanks for reading.
