A Long Walk North
Disclaimer: Monster Hunter is copyright Capcom. All the characters in this story are mine.
Darkness surrounded him. A deep thunder filled his ears as the great sword user looked around. Levin immediately knew where he was; the dreams… the dreamscape again. His eyes snapped around, searching fearfully for the creature he knew lurked out in the shadows somewhere… anywhere. Fear welled up in him, but he forced in down, cold anger and defiance surging through him to overpower any fright he might feel.
The dreamscape right now was unlike how he'd ever seen it before. He was used to familiar landscapes being lit aflame, or just a field surrounded by endless fire. But all there was for him to see now was a cold, lifeless landscape. Very, very cold, he realized now. Frigid. His breath felt as though it was all his body warmth being pulled out forcefully. Lightning lanced across the sky in rolling flashes of light.
Levin forced himself to ignore the pain, steeling himself as his teeth chattered, eyes darting around in search of the beast he knew hid somewhere in the darkness. But for all he could see or hear, there was only the dark and cold, with occasional lightning in the sky.
Chilling laughter suddenly rumbled though the dreamscape. Levin searched around, desperate to find the source of the sound. The laughter resounded through the great sword user's bones, rattling his teeth and shaking the organs in his body. Levin roared in anger, eyes tearing across the sky.
"Where are you, you bastard? Show yourself!"
But there was no response, only a continuing howling laughter from nowhere. Levin screamed in anger, but the only reply was the laughter, taunting him. The crackling lightning seemed to flash brighter with each wave of laughter that echoed through his skull.
You were warned, boy! Now watch as all you know unravels!
Levin woke up painfully, pins and needles crawling across his body and groaned as his body refused to respond to his attempts to get up. He sucked in air at first, trying to catch his breath as his chest ached in pain. He immediately regretted the reaction, though, as a handful of sand poured into his mouth, making the great sword user cough in pain and irritation, painfully retching the stuff out of his lungs and mouth.
The pain of vomiting up his insides was enough to motivate the young hunter to push herself to his feet and get a move on, if for no other reason than to get out of the pile of his own filth. He forced open his eyes, wincing as the bright sunlight blinded him for a moment (how long had he been asleep?), and pushed himself uneasily to his knees.
Looking around told him nothing at all. It was late morning as far as Levin could tell, if not noon already. All he knew was that he was on a beach at the moment. Nothing truly stood out to him as he looked around the area; the area was another sandy beach cutting alongside the ocean, pristine white sands meeting with tropical trees at the treeline, where large grasses began growing up from the sand. The same exact kind of place he'd seen in the dozens of miles he'd seen traveling up and down the various coasts near Boma Village. Was he close to his home, he wondered? How far did this kind of coastline stretch in this area of the world?
His mind ached with a dull throbbing pain as he tried to think harder about his situation. How had he gotten here in the first place? He knew he'd managed to keep himself and Ellie safe from the Rathian. Or at least he'd kept her from dying, what with the rather nasty burn he remembered her receiving. They'd gotten on a ship, they'd set sail for Boma in order to get away from the angry villagers, and then… Ellie had asked him about his dreams, then asked him about what he'd felt for her. He'd replied, hadn't he? He'd told her…
He gasped as the memory of the incident came back to him. A Lagiacrus had attacked them! Ellie and Marshall, were they…? Marshall could take care of himself. But Ellie, he'd seen her get thrown off the ship and…
"No, no!" he muttered in horror. "I got away! I was supposed to be free! She was supposed to be safe! I kept her safe from the Rathain, dammit! What more do I need to do?"
Then Levin's eyes snapped up. What had that been? Had he really just heard that? Some voice, echoing out from the forest… no, north of him, further down the beachhead. It was male. It wasn't Ellie. But was someone else alive?
"Is anyone else out there? Are any more of the hunters still alive?" Definitely a voice. Maybe a quarter mile away? Wait, did he say any more hunters? There was someone else still alive?
"Ellie," he muttered hopefully, before raising his voice in reply. "Hey! Hey, I'm still alive! Where are you?"
A quieter, excited voice echoed his way, the sound of two people talking. He couldn't make out the specifics of the second voice. Male or female, he couldn't be too sure. Finally the first voice called out again.
"We're coming for you! Hold still, please!"
"Alright!" he called back. He quickly forced himself to his feet, anxiously looking around. He found himself fidgeting nervously, wishing that whoever was just over the hill would hurry up. Every minute or two the voice would call out again, making sure they were going the right way, and Levin would call back, growing more excited as the voices grew ever closer.
Finally a pair of shapes crested a dune not too far from the great sword user, a pair of human shapes working their way down the beach. One was oddly shaped; someone carrying someone else, Levin realized. Pushing himself, despite the pain that throbbed in his legs, Levin began sprinting across the beach towards the two shapes.
As he closed in, he made out the shapes of two of the three fishermen he remembered seeing sailing the skiff they'd been returning to Boma on. One was a sandy-haired young man who was fairly tall, perhaps half a head taller than Levin. He was well-built, the body of an experienced sailor, but had a nervous, perhaps indecisive look on his face. The other man was shorter, stockier, with thinning black hair, an irritated and angry look on his face that didn't seem to lighten up in the least when he caught sight of Levin. And across the back of the taller man was…
"Ellie!" Levin gasped, dashing forward to take the young bowgunner off the taller man's back. He lowered her gently to the ground, checking her over. She seemed to be unconscious as far as Levin could tell, but she seemed paler than he thought he'd ever seen her before.
"She's been out of it since we found her," the shorter man said gruffly, though a tone of sympathy edged his voice. "She's breathing, raggedly I'll admit, but she's not exactly looking good. Found her half-submerged in the water not too far from here. We think… she may be a little too far gone to save."
"No no no, this can't be happening," Levin muttered.
"We'll keep her with us, hunter," the man continued, "but I can't promise she'll survive the trip. The Lagi did some damage to her, and she's pretty waterlogged. I don't like to give bad news, but…"
Levin blotted out the man's words as he attempted to console him, focusing instead on the bowgunner in front of him. He leaned over his partner, listening closely to the sounds her body made. The man was right; her breathing was haggard, and her heartbeat was dim. Had she swallowed too much water? Maybe… but what if… no! He had to try and save her!
Ignoring the man's shocked cries and protests, Levin immediately began pushing against Ellie's chest, trying to force the water out of her lungs. After a minute or two of pushing, he leaned in, pressing their mouths together and forcing air into her lungs. He groaned in dismay as she remained unchanged, growing increasingly more and more afraid. He returned and began pressing against her chest again.
On the fourth push, a spray of water suddenly jetted from the bowgunner's mouth and the young woman twisted around onto her stomach and spat up what seemed an endless supply of ocean water. For a few moments, she simply lay there on her knees, gasping for air. Levin simply stared at her for a moment, relief washing over him. The two sailors stood behind him, gaping in shock, no doubt assuming that his partner had been dead to rights only a few minutes ago.
Ellie sat up straight, pulling away from the wet sand she had just emptied her lungs and stomach, and for a moment she simply sighed and stared out towards the ocean. Finally she turned to face the great sword user, her eyes catching his. At that point Levin simply couldn't help himself anymore, the joy at seeing her safe overwhelming him, and he lunged forward, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a tight hug.
"Thank goodness," he muttered quietly. "I thought you were gone for a second there."
The bowgunner coughed out a weak laugh. "Come on now. Don't kill me off so easily. After all the crap we've dealt with since we partnered up, you think I'd die so quickly?"
"Heh. Yeah, I guess you're right." Even though she was alright, still alive, Levin held tight to her for a good long time. Ellie seemed perfectly content with the position as well, wrapping her own arms around him. Levin thought he could stay like that forever, but eventually the sound of the two sailors shifting awkwardly on the sand caught his ears and he was forced to admit it would be better to let go of her.
"Sorry about that," he said sheepishly, turning back to the two sailors. "Got a little, ah, carried away there, I guess."
"It's fine," the taller man said, waving his hand. "Not sure how you did it, but I suppose any sort of celebration at someone pretty much coming back from the dead is okay."
"Thanks for carrying her here," he said, getting to his feet and pulling Ellie up with him. "If you hadn't brought her with you, she might have… well, she'd be in a worse state."
"It's nothing," the shorter man replied.
"No, it really means a lot to me," Levin insisted. "I really owe you guys… jeez, I don't even know your names."
"The name's Calvert," the shorter man replied. He smacked the younger, taller man on the back. "This one here's Joshua. And like I said, you don't owe me or him anything. Just did what was common decency, even if the two of you did cause a bit of trouble back home in Echo Village. But… if the two of you helped us find our way to some village so we can stay safe? Well, that'd be pretty good of you."
"Yeah. Yeah, we can do that," Ellie replied, nodding. "We couldn't really do anything to stop the Lagiacrus from attacking your ship. The least we can do is keep the two of you safe."
"Don't you two, um… need armor, though?" the sandy haired man, Joshua asked.
Levin blinked in surprise and looked down at himself as Ellie did the same. They both cursed at the same time. The both of them had forgotten that they hadn't been wearing their armor anymore. Levin recalled taking the time to remove his worn out armor, covered in burns and tears all along the sides, worrying that it may be a bit too damaged for Stergo to fix up. Both he and Ellie were only in their "civies," the light cotton and leather clothes that were common around Boma and the other villages, though nothing fancy like Saul and even Farren had worn.
"Well crap," Ellie muttered. "Yeah, that's a bit of a problem. Oh, damn! Where's my bowgun at?"
"Oh, that thing?" Calvert asked. "We, uh, left it where we found you. At the time, we thought it'd just be dead weight for us to have to carry around in the end."
"Well we should be fine, if we can get that," Ellie replied, sighing in relief. "There shouldn't be too much of a problem as long as we can find that. We should be able to make our way to Boma or some other village without too much trouble. We just have to make our supplies last to the nearest village, and we should be fine. What is it, a few hours, a night in the wilds at the worst?"
But the worried and fearful look that the two sailors shared once Ellie was done speaking made Levin grimace in fear. "Actually," Calvert said slowly. "It may be a little harder than that."
"What do you mean?" Levin asked.
"Well," Joshua cut it, scratching his head, "the thing is, I managed to swim to shore after the ship got attacked last night. I managed to meet up with Calvert here early in the morning, but while it was still nighttime, I took a look as the stars to try and figure out exactly where we were. I'm pretty good at reading my location that way. And well, I figured out that we're not exactly in a very safe place right now."
"What do you mean?" Ellie asked nervously.
"Well, let's see," Calvert said thoughtfully. "You two have done missions outside your home village, Boma, right?"
"Yeah," Levin replied.
"Where have your missions usually been in relation to Boma? I mean, in what direction of your village?"
Levin and Ellie thought for a moment before the bowgunner answered for the two of them. "North, for the most part, I guess. There were a few missions inland, when we hunted Great Jaggi or Qurupeco, but for the most part we've hunted creatures that were to the north of Boma. There was that one Gobul hunt in Cobi village to the south, but that was pretty much the only one I can remember. Why?"
"Yeah, that's the problem," Calvert answered. "The problem is, we're right about in the middle. I'd say were about twenty or thirty miles south of Boma."
"We've hunted south of Boma before though," Ellie said. "What's the distance matter?"
"The matter is this: monsters tend to avoid human settlements. The further you get from a village or city, or even a hunter's campsite or road, the more frequently you'll see monsters of all shapes and sizes. Right now we're about as far from a village as you can get along this coastline. That means we're about in the thickest part of the monster-inhabited part of this area as you can get. I mean, I've been half-expecting a Great Jaggi and its pack to pop out of the trees and eat me all morning."
"That's bad," Levin muttered.
"You can say that again," Joshua agreed.
Levin glanced at Ellie, who was tugging at her sleeves irritably. "I never thought I'd feel safer wearing that damn Quru armor than I do now," she muttered worriedly, glancing around as though she expected to be attacked at any moment as well. "I'm feeling really exposed right now."
"Guess that means we shouldn't be wasting time just standing around," Levin replied. Ellie nodded in agreement and he turned to the two sailors. "Let's head out then. We'll be far better off on the move than we will be standing around. Damn it, but I wish Marshall was here right now."
"The big guy with the hammer?" Joshua asked. "Yeah, tough guy like that would be really helpful right now. I guess if we all managed to survive the Lagi attack, that guy must have as well."
Levin nodded somberly, worried for his hunting master. He knew Marshall could handle a struggle with a Lagiacrus, he wore the damn monster's armor, after all. But a surprise attack from the creature in the deep ocean? Even with the old man's many years of experience, facing off against a Lagiacrus with those odds was not a good thing, especially with a long swim to shore in store no matter what.
The three had nothing to gather up to take with them, so had no need to prepare to leave and were able to leave immediately. Levin and Ellie both had their item pouches strapped to their sides, and the bowgunner had her ammo pouch with her, but at the moment the great sword user was the only person between the four of them who was anything close to effectively armed and ready to fight against anything worse than an Aptonoth. And so it was that Levin took the lead in the group's march north, with Ellie not far behind and the two fishermen taking up the rear.
Levin didn't exactly trust his blade all that much at the moment either, right now. It was still covered in dents and scratches from their mission running from the Rathian. The blade was still sharp, the great sword user made sure of that; if nothing else he always managed to have a whetstone on his person. But Levin was worried that if he met some monster with an exceptionally tough hide, or fought against one monster too many, his blade would simply snap or shatter from the strain.
And Levin had to admit, after hearing what the two sailors told him, he felt increasingly more paranoid about their surroundings the further they traveled. Every rustling of the trees sounding like a Jaggi pack working their way towards them; every wave crashing against the beach sounded like a Royal Ludroth or a Lagiacrus; every shadow that crossed their path was a circling Qurupeco or Rath. He'd never really considered his Ludroth-sponge armor to be very tough, but right now he felt like he might as well have been a turtle without its shell. Ellie was right: without his armor on, Levin felt extremely vulnerable at the moment.
The thought made him glance at Ellie, turning away quickly as she turned to meet his eyes. He cursed himself as he felt his face heating up at such a little thing, but what he'd been about to say to Ellie before the Lagiacrus attacked was still at the front of his mind, mocking him with how close he'd been. He wished he could just turn around and tell her how he felt right now, but with the danger of their current situation and his courage from that time being gone, he just couldn't bring himself to do it. And so he was stuck struggling through his own thoughts as the four of them journeyed north, trying to keep his mind from remembering the words that lingered on the tip of his tongue.
About ten minutes of walking later, the four of them came across a small clutter of wooden planks and a collection of random boxes scattered across the beach head; pieces of the fishing skiff, Levin realized. A glance around the area told him that, if the ship had managed to survive the attack at all, it was definitely in pretty bad condition. From what Levin recalled of the skiff, if they'd lost that much wood off the ship, he certainly wouldn't want to risk sailing on it as it was.
But apparently this was where the two sailors had found Ellie, because Joshua motioned over to a cluster of boxes near the trees, and Ellie yelped excitedly, spotting her bowgun lying on the sand and rushing over to pick it up. Joshua and Calvert whistled in surprise and awe as the bowgunner quickly dismantled and reassembled her weapon with experienced ease, cleaning her weapon of the sand and dirt it had collected on the beach and in the water. The whole process took only a few minutes, but the speed at which the hunter went about her business was what truly did her skill justice, though Levin had to admit he preferred having a weapon whose only maintenance was keeping it sharp and straight. The rest of it could be left to Stergo to sort out.
Once Ellie was content with her work and had her weapon reassembled, she slung the weapon over her back, already looking more confident with their situation. With a nod to the others, the four of them set off again in their journey to Boma Village. It was another hour or so before they next stopped, though not to rest, but because of what they discovered.
"Look! Look there!" Joshua suddenly shouted, pushing past the hunters and pointing off into the distance.
Levin looked and whistled in surprise at the sight ahead of them. The four of them were approaching a massive group of rocks jutting out of the ocean, three massive pillars of stone that cut out of the water like massive teeth. And there, wedged between two of the massive rocks, was the remains of the fishing skiff. The sails and the mast were a tangle against the jutting pillars, caught against the handholds and other ledges on the pillars. Only the rear half of the hull of the ship remained, however, swaying gently as the waves lapped up against it, shoving it further against the rocky outcroppings.
"Oh, crap," Calvert muttered. "So much for hoping the captain managed to save the ship."
"Do you think… do you think he's… you know, still on it?" Joshua said slowly. "I mean, you know, one way or another?"
Calvert sighed as the two hunters glanced at the fisherman, realizing his meaning. They shared a concerned look, then turned back, looking nervously towards the wreck. "Should we go check it out?" Levin asked. "If nothing else, if we find somebody, they deserve a proper burial."
There was silence for a moment as the two sailors looked at each other uncertainly. Finally Calvert nodded in acceptance. "We probably should. That man was the biggest hard-ass of any captain I've worked under, but he was a damn good sailor. He deserves what we can give him."
Levin and Ellie nodded somberly, and with a certain unsteady step, the four worked their way over to the shallows, where crossing the water to the wrecked ship would be quickest. Once they reached the place where they would cross, the two hunters were taken by surprise as the fishermen jumped right in, but found that the two easily could outpace them in the water, years of experience at sea showing in their swimming ability. The two sailors beat the hunters the short hundred yards to the rocky shore where the ship was wedged well over a minute before the hunters could catch up. But they were waiting patiently when the two arrived, glancing uncertainly at the remains, as though still wary to proceed, worried what they'd find.
The ship was quiet, the only sound the four could hear at the moment was the sound of the waves pushing against the remains of the hull, and the eerie creaking of the ship as in groaned under the force of the water. The broken shell of the skiff had its bow facing their way, the torn midsection of the ship aimed away from them. It was a cautious effort for the four of them to work their ways around the side of the ship. The ship was at a tilt, the port side tilted horribly up in the air, leaving the starboard side low enough for the four of them to hop onto the deck without too much effort. The sound of their shoes tapping against the deck were like drumbeats compared to the silence around them.
"Seems like the captain's room is still in one piece," Calvert said, looking up and down the ship. "If we're lucky, the cargo bay might be all together. Might be some supplies available below deck. Can't be very certain, though."
"Anything's better than nothing," Ellie replied, glancing into her item pouch. "We used up a pretty fair amount of goods during our time in Echo Village. Any potions or food aboard?"
"Food yes," Joshua replied. "Potions? Not so much. We don't really use things like that for fishing. Actually, I don't think anyone uses potions outside hunters, except maybe town guards or other occupations like that."
"We might not even have that aboard actually," Calvert said, walking to the break in the skiff and glancing down into the water. "Looks like there was a hole ripped in the cargo bay. Not a big one, but we've lost some things by the looks of it. But first we should see if the captain… well, you know."
Suddenly, a clatter and series of thumps echoed from the bow of the ship, making the four jump in shock, turning wildly to face the rear of the ship. Whatever made the noise was moving around the ship, clattering around the cabins, and working towards the door to the lower decks.
"Who the hell is on my damn ship!"
The loud voice blasted across the deck of the ship like a cannon, and the door was smashed open from the inside. However, the frame of the door, worn away from years of rain and winds, and battered even further by the attack of the Rathian, blew completely off of its hinges, sailing through the air and clattering across the deck, forcing Levin and Joshua to dive out of the way to avoid getting knocked out. The wooden frame continued to slide along the deck until it finally reached the break in the hull and sailed off the edge and over the water, sinking into the ocean with a finalistic splash.
"Gah! Dammit! Stupid water snake! Tha' door wasn't s'pos' ta break off fer another… three weeks er so. Need ta learn ta control my strength, aye."
As Levin sighed in relief at the door missing him, he turned to look as a shape worked its way out of the darkness of the ship's interior. From the shadows came another man that Levin recognized, the ship's captain.
"Captain Marcus!" Joshua gasped. "You're alive!"
"O' course I'm alive, ya twit!" the fisherman Marcus replied with a growl. "I've seen this ship trew worser hells than Lagiacrus. Never been attacked so straight by one, but still!"
The captain of the ship was a surprisingly lean-looking man for his profession, though he was the same height as Levin. But for his size he had a lot of muscle, likely the result of his many years on the sea working against the waves. He had roughly cut, short brown hair and a thick beard. He had sharp eyes as well, quickly glancing over the other two fishermen in search of injuries, or something else. Levin couldn't guess at what. Then the man's eyes snapped to the two hunters. "Ah. You two. You the pair what made trouble for the villagers back home, aye?"
"Yeah," Ellie nodded sullenly. "You're not…"
"Angry? Irritated? Searching for revenge? Pah! I don't spend nuff time on land to care a whiff about that Rathian 'Yara' or whate'er they call 'er. Give me a Royal Ludroth or a Gobul to defend the town from other monsters, I could care less 'bout what's crawling 'round on land. Maybe if we had some water monster to watch our backs, I wouldna lost my damn ship, and be stuck out in the middle of nowhere!"
"Ah, cap'n, about that," Calvert cut in, "these two hunters have said they'd help us get to their village. Boma's a good twenty miles north of here, but we should be able to get there by tomorrow, cap'n."
Marcus raised an eyebrow at the two hunters, glancing them over. "They got a ragged sorta look 'bout 'em, though. Ain't no hunter worth they spit if they don't be havin' armor."
"We know," Levin replied, "but we weren't wearing our armor when the Lagiacrus attacked, so… oh! Our stuff was in the cargo bay! Maybe it's still in there!"
The captain of the ship tilted his head in thought, scratching his beard. "Perhaps," he replied. "We've lost a bit o' cargo since the attack. I know yer stuff were in the cargo bay, but I'm no sure if it were one o' the things what got carried away by the sea. We'll have to go 'low deck to check, I think. C'mon, now. Ain't no worth in a hunter if they can't survive fightin' with a monster."
Levin and Ellie nodded, glancing excitedly at each other. While Levin felt confidence in their abilities as hunters, he didn't trust his skills enough to want to dare dealing with monsters out in the wild without his armor, and was very glad that that might not be an issue they'd have to deal with anymore. Ratty and worn as his Ludroth armor was, it was still better than the thin clothes he wore now.
The two hunters followed the captain of the ship (or what remained of it) into the darkness of the cabins, where a few beds and other goods lay scattered around the room in messy piles. Immediately, the other two fishermen dove for their things, rifling through their goods in search of their own precious items. Marcus ignored them, though, perhaps having already gathered his things or smart enough to have not brought anything important with him on the fishing trip, choosing to lead the two hunters down through a smaller hatch down into the lower decks.
The cargo room was fairly small, and surprisingly well-lit, compared to the other ships Levin had ridden on, though the great sword user was sure that they really didn't need the room for much other than food and a few other sundries. However, a feeling of discouragement began to well up inside him when he realized that the only reason that the cargo hold was lit so brightly was due to the gaping hole at the other end of the room, allowing sunlight to pour in, reflecting off the clear water. There were a few barrels of clean water scattered around, as well as other larger ones that Levin suspected contained liquids with more alcoholic properties. Several crates of spare line and other fishing necessities were sprawled across the floor, many of them broken open or at least badly cracked. There were a few boxes that seemed to be filled with preserved food left, which made Levin feel a bit relieved. He wasn't looking forward to having to hunt for their food on the way home; Aptonoth meat was good, but bland unless seasoned, and while there certainly were mushrooms and berries they could eat, the local wildlife tended to pick the bushes clean.
Ellie suddenly stopped, and Levin turned as she strode over to a pile of boxes piled awkwardly across one of the walls. The clutter made Levin think that they'd been all shoved together like that during the Lagiacrus' attack on the ship, knocking them together once the ship had hit land. The bowgunner leaned down over the pile, sliding her hand through one of the cracks in the pile, before pulling back hard and tugging out a familiar satchel.
"Found it!" she said with a grin. "Mine, at least. Maybe yours is under here as well, Levin. They were together the last time I saw them." The great sword user nodded, immediately stepping forward to begin moving boxes around in search of his armor. Ellie helped him out as well, though Marcus instead began sorting through various boxes, searching for any goods that they could use on their journey north to Boma.
Levin's satchel turned out to be in a different pile, as they discovered a good thirty minutes later, after rearranging the boxes and being forced to move onto the next pile. Levin's satchel was eventually found by the captain, under a large barrel of fish chum. Levin was glad to find his familiar yellow coat inside, and even more so that the barrel of fish food hadn't broken open all over his things. Joshua and Calvert made their way inside not long after to help collect goods for the journey, making the area fairly tight as the five of them worked around each other to gather up what they needed into several pouches and packs that they had available.
Food was the main concern, with the sparse medical supplies aboard the ship taking up little space. Not much else was brought, though the fishermen confused Levin by piling a wide selection of various mushrooms and other goods that they had into Joshua's pouch. Levin knew that the things they were putting in were truly not very valuable, and wondered why they wanted them. Marcus surprised the lot of them by pulling a iron sword and shield out of a chest containing his personal goods. When asked about it, he merely shrugged, telling them he'd dreamed of hunting as a lad as well, and left it at that.
Just as they were preparing to leave the hold of the ship, their pouches bulging to the brim with food and the fishermen's things, Levin caught sight of a large bag bobbing at the edge of the hole in the water. Recognizing it, he quickly strode forward and plucked it out of the water, turning it over in his hands. The others in the room looked at him curiously, though Ellie recognized the bag to and a worried look came over her face.
"This is Marshall's bag," he explained sadly to the sailors. "I don't suppose any of you know what happened to him, do you?"
"If he be anywhere, he'll be closer to Boma Village than any o' us be," Marcus replied. "Don't 'member much o' the attack, but I do recall the ol' man getting tr'own from the ship when the Lagi let loose. T'ink I saw him get caught up in a north movin' flow. If the Lagi didn't get 'em, he'll be up at Boma already, if not further."
"So, he's not dead?" Ellie asked.
"Not las' I saw o' him. But with the Lagi on 'im, it's no likely."
The two hunters glanced at each other, then grinned. "Well, if that's the case," Levin said, "then the old fart's still alive, probably. The man's killed enough Lagiacrus to make himself a suit out of their skins. If there's a current hauling his ass back to land for him, then that old man's definitely still kicking."
The three fishermen looked at each other doubtfully, but the captain shrugged to the other two. "Fine by me. Tink what ya' want, if ya' want to. I suggest we be movin' out 'fore any nasties show up to give us trouble."
"Right, then," Ellie nodded. "Let's head out then."
Levin felt far better then he thought he really should as the two hunters and the fishermen hopped off the ship and began working their ways back across the water to shore. Once again the three of them beat the snot out of the two hunters in terms of speed, but Levin didn't care at all. For the first time in a few days, he felt a little confident with the way things were going. They'd been attacked by a Lagiacrus, sure, but they'd all survived, despite the threats the voice in his dreams had thrown at him. He was going to get all of them safely home, no matter what the creature haunting him said, the fishermen and Ellie both. Especially Ellie.
The group took a few minutes to recuperate from the swim once they got to shore (mostly for Levin and Ellie), but set off almost immediately once they'd gotten a bit of a break. Levin and Ellie both began walking at the normal pace they worked at, a steady pace that they'd accustomed themselves to during their many months working together. But not long after they'd set off, the fishermen, all three of them, began urging the two hunters to move a little faster, clearly not as comfortable with being in the wilds as the two of them were. Levin and Ellie had little choice but to acquiesce, picking up their pace to a point where if they'd stepped a little faster, they'd be jogging.
For all the hype of the danger the three had put on the area, Levin found the area fairly quiet. He caught sight of Ludroth out in the deep water every now and then, and every once in a while the trees would thin out and he'd catch sight of Kelbi or even the occasional Jaggi or two, but rarely anything appeared that bothered them. A pack of five Jaggi came at them once to get put down by the two hunters, and a group of sunbathing Ludroth woke up at an inopportune time while they were passing and needed to be chased into the ocean. The sailors, despite their strong builds, seemed very nervous when monsters were near, though Levin was sure any of them could take a Jaggi or two at least, more with practice.
They had walked perhaps five or six miles when Levin suddenly slowed. From out of nowhere, a subtle but piercing whistling sound seemed to appear out of nowhere. He quickly glanced around, wondering if there was a monster around, maybe a Qurupeco, that was making the sound, but he couldn't see anything. He kept his caution for another few moments before the sound seemed to lull and slowly fade. Ellie glanced at him uncertainly as he picked up his pace again, shaking his head. The sound was still there, though it was dull, and he had to make an effort to hear it.
"You okay?" she asked.
"Fine," he replied simply. "Thought I heard something, but I guess it was nothing. Went away, I guess."
"Well speak up next time," Ellie said, reaching up and patting Levin on the shoulder with a smirk. "I've always been more perceptive than you, so if you hear something, maybe I'll be able…"
The bowgunner paused suddenly, frowning. With a wince, she reached up and rubbed her ear, glancing around the area. Suddenly her eyes snapped wide as motion between the trees caught the two hunters' eyes. A large… no, two large shapes moving their way through the underbrush.
The whistling in his ears suddenly snapped away for a moment, and through the crunching and snapping of branches charging their way, Levin thought he could just barely hear laughing. That terrible, thunderous, mocking laughter.
His eyes snapped to Ellie, and her eyes were on him, staring at him in surprise. A confused look covered her face, and her hand on his shoulder tightened its grip. She seemed lost in thought for a moment, as though remembering something she couldn't place. Then a loud howl burst from the trees of the forest, and the pair's attention snapped back to the creatures moving through the forest, the moment of strangeness lost as the two of them reached for their weapons.
Levin turned to check that the sailors were safely away, but the three of them had heard whatever was coming at the same time as them, and were backing away cautiously towards the ocean. That was the backup plan they'd made; should something nasty appear on land, the sailors were to make for the sea, and vice versa. Most land-based monsters were poor swimmers, and most swimming monsters didn't get too far from the water. If something popped out of the ocean, if nothing else Levin and Ellie could hold it at the shore until the sailors were far enough away for them to follow. The two hunters stared at the forest intently, prepared to fight, Levin with his hand lingering on the hilt of his blade and Ellie with Pellet rounds loaded fresh in the chamber.
The tearing through the trees continued until finally two large shapes burst from the forest, and Levin and Ellie gaped in shock. Two fully-grown Great Jaggis burst from the tree line, howling hungrily at the two hunters as they approached. One was a few feet taller than the other, but they were both easily the largest pair of Great Jaggi that the great sword user had ever seen. Levin could only stand in shock for a long moment, only barely comprehending what he was seeing. Great Jaggis were always in perpetual war with each other for pack superiority! Every hunter he'd ever met and spoken of Great Jaggis with said they'd only seen the creatures attacking each other. Why the hell would these two be together at all?
"Where are the rest of their packs?" Ellie asked in confusion. Levin hadn't realized that; the two creatures were all by themselves, their packs nowhere to be seen. He'd never seen a Great Jaggi that didn't have at least three Jaggi tailing it around. But before he could think to question it, the creature closest to him, the smaller of the two, lunged towards him, growling menacingly.
The great sword user reacted instinctively, and Ellie did so as well; the Great Jaggi population explosions they'd dealt with had left them with several inlaid tactics that they'd found useful against the frilled creatures. As the pack leader lunged, Levin's sword slid up defensively. He twisted his blade to the side as the creature connected, sending its head to the side, intentionally towards Ellie. Who had her bowgun up. Trained on the creature's face. There was a pause for a moment, in which Levin leapt away from the creature, and put up his guard to cover himself from Ellie's barrel.
The crack from the bowgun echoed across the beach as shards of launched shrapnel blew from the barrel, ripping into the Great Jaggi's face and frill. The creature howled in pain as it finally managed to slide to a halt, pawing at its face. Another few blasts followed the first, spraying across the Jaggi's flanks and neck, its head turned away in the creatures pain. Levin grinned as he charged forward, pulling his sword back as he prepared to strike out at the creature, perfectly willing finish the beast off with one big hit.
But from the side, the larger Jaggi lunged towards the great sword user, smashing into him and sending him rolling across the sand. Splitting pain tore through the great sword user's arm, and for a moment, Levin swore the creature had dislocated his arm. Damn, but he'd forgotten about the other Jaggi! He wasn't used to fighting more than one of them at a time! The entire idea of two of them working together still boggled him. How in the hell had the Guild managed to set something like this up for Harker to fight in the arena?
The great sword user slid to the side as the Great Jaggi lunged again, smashing its snout into the flat of the hunter's blade, pushing him back a few feet from the impact before pressing forward to try and clamp its teeth into him. Levin dove to the side, pulling his sword around to smash it into the Great Jaggi's leg. The creature howled in pain as the blade sunk into its leg, the monster's thick leathery hide keeping the sword from taking the creature's leg clean off. The creature's reflexes were sharp, though; without missing a beat by letting the wound phase it, the monster snapped around, jaws snapping down on the great sword user's shoulder and making Levin cry out in pain.
The bite barely penetrated through the spongy material that made up Levin's coat, but the jagged points at the ends of the teeth still cut into Levin's flesh. The creature snapped its head to the left and right, trying to cause as much damage as possible to the great sword user. Levin's eyes snapped over to Ellie, hoping for an assist, but the other, smaller Great Jaggi had swayed between the two of them, and was swaying blindly in an attempt to swing around and smash into the bowgunner that had peppered its face. At the moment, his partner was firing Pierce rounds into the creature's flank, but that only seemed to be giving it a better idea of where she was.
As the Jaggi latched to Levin tried to bite down even harder, the great sword user growled in frustration, pulling one of his hands off the hilt of his weapon and reaching around to his belt look and pulling out his hunters knife. With a quick swing, he brought the carving tool around, slashing at the monster's face and slitting a thick gouge through the creature's frill, taking away a long line of blood from the creature as the Great Jaggi howled in pain, finally releasing him as it reared back in pain. The great sword user grunted in pain as the teeth left his arm, hand coming up to cling to the wound. The knife wasn't sharp enough or tough enough to do any real damage to the Great Jaggi, but it certainly caused a bit of pain.
With the larger Great Jaggi yelping in pain, Levin forced himself to ignore the pain in his arm, sliding his knife back into its sheath and running around the side of the pack leader while its attention was away from him, and rushing over to the one pestering Ellie. The smaller Jaggi had managed to recover its ability to see, risking its eyes open despite the shrapnel on its face, and was attacking aggressively. The great sword user rushed over, hurrying to pull its attention his way before the creature managed to overwhelm the long-range shooter. As the bowgunner ducked away from the attacking carnivore, blasting rounds into the thing when she could, the great sword user slid between the two of them, catching the smaller creature off guard with a smack to the face with the blunt end of his blade.
The larger Great Jaggi was quick to recover from the gash across its face, it seemed. Levin could already see it turning towards him and Ellie as the smaller pack leader wobbled a bit, slightly stunned from the blow to the head. The distance between them wasn't far, but the larger Great Jaggi still tried to build up some momentum as it dashed toward them, intent on smashing into them.
"Harker!"
Levin's eyes snapped to Ellie for a moment at the bowgunner's quick word, confused as to what she meant. Then his eyes rose in realization and he nodded, a smirk sliding across his face. The great sword user took a cautious step forward to the larger Great Jaggi as it charged them down, keeping a close eye on the smaller pack leader as it shook its head to clear its rattled head.
"Not sure if this'll work…" he muttered to himself. Two Great Jaggis working together went against everything he'd thought he'd known about them, but maybe…
As the larger Great Jaggi tightened its muscles to lunge at the great sword user, and the other stared past the shrapnel on its face to howl angrily at the hunters, both Ellie and Levin lunged to the side, around the side of the smaller Great Jaggi. The larger of the two, not thinking about its actions, twisted to the side to follow them with its lunge. But the two hunters put the smaller between themselves as it leapt, and despite the leaping Jaggi's warning, it smashed headlong into the smaller pack leader, sending the two monsters sprawling across the sand in a tangle of limbs and scales.
The two hunters used the moment to back away from the two monsters as they untangled themselves from each other. Levin stepped in front of his partner, holding his sword defensively in case either of their opponents made a quick recovery to restart their attack on the two of them. But fortune was with them, and the monsters' natural instincts kicked in, and as soon as the smaller Great Jaggi found its feet, it howled in anger at the larger for crashing into it, snapping its teeth violently at the other's neck. The larger howled in retaliation as the other assaulted it, retaliating with a swing of its tail, cracking the other across the body and knocking it back several feet across the sand.
Levin and Ellie grinned at each other, slowly working their way backwards away from the two Great Jaggis began snapping wildly at each other in an attempt to dominate the other, their natural instincts demanding that one of them be superior over the other. The two hunters slowly worked their ways around the two as they bickered with each other, one or the other of them trying to assault the other when they thought they were open. The two hunters began motioning to the fishermen, who all floated several dozen yards out to sea, pointing them to the beach further ahead.
But the two froze as a painful sound echoed over the sand. At the same time, both Great Jaggis began screaming and howling in pain. Levin's eyes shot back as Ellie turned as well, and the two froze in shock at the sight; where the two Great Jaggis had been fighting, now they both reared and bucked, howling in pain. The larger of the two's legs had even given out from under it and it rolled around on the ground, clawing at its head wildly, leaving bright red lines along the large cut that Levin had given it.
Levin's ears suddenly started ringing, and he groaned in pain as the high-pitched whistling from before returned in full force, The great sword user groaned as the sound of the waves and the wind, and even the sound of the Great Jaggis' cries of pain began to fade to a dull moan in the background. All at once the sound was gone. Ellie was still staring at the two pack leaders, but shock and fear was traced across her face. Levin could understand why, too; the two of them both recognized the effects that the pair were suffering. They'd seen it before, in the Lagiacrus that had tried to kill them before the Hunter's Exam. The two monsters were gasping for breath and releasing… pitiable warbles of pain. But whatever had been tearing through their heads had been effective; the two were getting back to their feet and eyeing the two hunters again, though with more desperation than hunger.
Levin cursed to himself. He was beginning to understand what was going on. When the Lagiacrus had torn them apart, he'd still been skeptical as to the reality of the dreams, but now? If whatever the voice was, was capable of inflicting pain on him, then maybe it was just as capable of sending pain into monsters as well. But they were still awake, so were they more susceptible? And even if this method of compulsion was used on the beasts, they didn't always do what they were told? Too many questions and still no answers.
The smaller of the two, face still bleeding from shrapnel and its own self-inflicted wounds, snapped towards them with such speed that Levin almost didn't have time to pull his blade out to block. Levin was forced to admit that desperation made for a powerful bolster, when the force of the Great Jaggi's blow blasted him off his feet and sent him rolling across the beach. The larger of the two wasn't far behind, charging around the smaller to lunge at the great sword user with its bright teeth flashing. Levin would've earned himself another line of teeth marks on the other shoulder if the flash of Elile's muzzle and the spray of buckshot tearing into the creature's leg hadn't sent the creature off balance and tumbling into the sand.
As the two monsters' eyes snapped to the bowgunner, two more rounds fired off, giving each of the Great Jaggis a blast into the chest and arms. The pair growled furiously, and Levin leapt forward, swinging his blade around the catch the larger of the two Great Jaggis across the creature's chest. The creature howled in pain as the blade embedded itself in the creature's thick skin, and the monster snapped around in retaliation, cracking Levin in the chest with its tail.
But the cut Levin had given Great Jaggi was deeper than he thought it would be; the creature was losing blood quickly, coloring the sand below in red. The creature turned, howling wearily at the great sword user. But from the side, a series of cracks burst from Ellie's bowgun, and four Pierce rounds tore into the Great Jaggi's throat, just above where Levin had struck the beast. The Great Jaggi tried to snap its head around to look at the wound, but began coughing violently, blood spraying out of its mouth with every wheezing breath. It gave one last, withering glare at the other Great Jaggi before Levin saw its eyes glaze over, and the creature toppled to the sand, dead.
The smaller Great Jaggi gave its fallen temporary comrade an impassionate look, then turned back to the hunters and growled menacingly. Both the hunters met its gaze. Both were worn out, but feeling more confident now that one of the pack leaders had fallen. They knew how to deal with Great Jaggis.
Levin has slightly surprised when, rather than charging headfirst towards the two hunters, the Great Jaggi instead chose to lurch to the side, strafing around the side of the two hunters. Levin swung to the side to try and meet it, intent on keeping himself between the beast and Ellie to insure the bowgunner was safe and had distance enough to shoot the creature clearly.
But suddenly the Great Jaggi, slid to a complete halt and leapt backwards, so quickly that Levin's feet nearly dropped out from underneath him as he attempted to turn to face the creature. Ellie followed him, though, firing Pierce shots towards the creature as it moved, but the Great Jaggi's eyes were sharp enough, even with its wounded face, that it was able to nimbly leap out of the shots' way. Without missing a beat, the creature snapped towards him, teeth clashing as the great sword user tried to regain his footing. Levin awkwardly tried to raise his sword up to guard, but that only made him lose his balance even more.
Then, just as Levin suspected the creature would go for him, the Great Jaggi actually completely leapt over him, going straight for Ellie as was reloading her weapon. The bowgunner was forced to swing her weapon up and dive out of the way as the pack leader tried to smash into her, kicking up a wave of sand as it slid past. Before the Great Jaggi could turn back around to get the bowgunner, however, she snapped her bowgun up and snapped the bolt into place, then quickly pulled the trigger. The gun bucked as the shell fired, sending a spray of Pellet shot across the chest of the Great Jaggi. The creature howled in pain, but forced itself forward, charging past ever towards the bowgunner.
Ellie leapt away as the creature's teeth snapped down towards her, ducking out of the monsters range as it dogged her across the beach. The bowgunner was just barely able to keep away from the creature, much less reload her bowgun. Levin leapt forward to chase the hunter and monster as soon as he regained his balance, but Ellie was naturally faster than him, and the Great Jaggi was faster than either of them over land. The only reason that the thing wasn't catching Ellie very easily was because the bowgunner was ducking to the left and right to keep the creature guessing and off balance.
The bowgunner turned as the creature slid past her once again, and with a burst of speed she bolted straight towards the great sword user. Levin eyed the monster as the two hunters approached him, but the pack leader was too intent of the bowgunner to notice him. As the two hunters got within a few feet from each other, Levin snapped his sword out of his sheath, and Ellie dropped to the ground. The Great Jaggi squawked in surprise once it realized what was happening, and tried to slide to a halt, but Levin's blade was already in motion, twisting around towards the creature.
A sickening crunch could be heard when Levin smashed his weapon into the creature's lower throat. The creature's thick skin kept the Great Jaggi from taking a truly heavy hit, but nonetheless, a bright gush of blood hosed out of the creature's throat onto the great sword user's blade. The blade nearly got stuck inside the creature, but the flailing of the pack leader pulled the creature free, flailing backwards across the beach head. The panicked howls and cries of the Great Jaggi made Levin feel sorry for the monster, especially knowing that it had been… forcibly compelled to fight the two hunters.
But the creature was still standing, and apparently had some bite left in it, since the beast snarled menacingly at the two of them. For a moment though, the Great Jaggi's eyes snapped over to the forest, as though contemplating whether or not to risk running away. But Levin winced as the creature howled in pain, a flash of the whistling sound filling his ears for a moment. Levin clenched his teeth in anger. With a quick motion, he stepped closer to the Great Jaggi, swinging his sword back behind his head.
"Leave it alone," he growled. "Damn it all, why couldn't you have just left the thing alone!"
Power surged through him as anger overwhelmed his mind, searing bright red energy filling him through his sword. With a grunt of effort and a massive swing, the great sword user hauled the blade over his head and brought it smashing down on the Great Jaggi's head, splitting it down the middle. There was no death rattle or final breath for this one, the creature simply dropped to the ground and died.
As Levin pulled his blade out from the carnage on the sand, he noticed Ellie looking at him. With the words he'd said before killing Great Jaggi, he'd expected confusion or a look like he was going mad, but his partner simply frowned in frustration.
"That… that was the same thing that happened to the Lagiacrus, wasn't it?" Ellie asked, through Levin knew it wasn't really a question.
"Seems like it," he replied, shaking his head in frustration. "Making two Great Jaggis work together to attack us… I know the Guild managed to get two of them to go after Harker, but still…"
"What's doing it though?" Ellie asked. Levin could tell that it wasn't conjecture she was expecting him to reply with. Somehow, some way, she seemed to know that he knew something of what was going on. "What, or who, is doing this to these monsters?"
"I don't…" Levin muttered. How could he explain this to Ellie without completely alienating her? It was well-known that almost all of the Lost had some madness to deal with, but voices in your head while you were asleep? Predictions of danger and assaults from monsters that should never happen? How was he supposed to explain that? "I'm not sure how to…"
"'Ey, both o' ya! The two o' ya alright?"
The pair of hunters turned to spot the three fishermen emerging from the water of the ocean, Marcus in the lead, tugging their packs back onto their shoulders. The lot of them looked beat; Levin couldn't blame them, either. Even being professional fishermen, he imagined that swimming against the motion of the sea was a challenge, especially with those packs of sundries on their backs.
Levin moved to meet the three fishermen, but stopped when Ellie grabbed his shoulder, an intent look in the woman's eye. He knew he wouldn't be getting way from her again, not after that battle with the Great Jaggi pair. Levin's first instinct was to make an excuse, but… he remembered what he'd told Ellie before their ship was attacked, how he trusted her more than anyone else.
"I'll tell you later," he whispered, just loud enough for her to hear. "I promise, once there's some time when we're alone and safe, I'll tell you what I know. I'll tell you everything." The bowgunner kept his gaze for a long moment before nodding in acceptance. Then the pair of them turned to face the fishermen as they approached.
The sailors, though they were more used to creatures of the sea than they were of the land-based monsters, still pestered the two hunters with questions of the fight. Great Jaggis were too well known as pack leaders for the three to not question why two of them were working together. Neither Levin nor Ellie could think up a very good explanation, but to say that perhaps there was simply a different method of raising the Jaggis in this area of the world. The fishermen seemed uncertain, so the hunters simply shrugged it off and told the men that they didn't know. After all, they'd only been in the hunter's world for a year or so; the sailors were more likely to know more than they. That led to some theories getting thrown about between the three fishermen, which got the attention away from Levin and Ellie, suiting them just fine.
The five of them began journeying to the north again not long after. Before they left, however, they'd set down to quickly tend to the hunters' wounds. Ellie wasn't too bad off, though the fishermen didn't like the looks of the bruises she had on her arms and body from where the Jaggis had hit her. The only issue she really had was the damage the bandage covering the burn on her arm had taken. The coverings had needed to be removed and replaced; the burn was still only a day old, though, and the sight of the charred flesh made the fishermen, and even Levin, cringe. Ellie simply flinched when the wound was touched, refusing to look at her injury until the wound was covered again. Her scrapes and scratches were light, though, and were covered quickly, and she downed a Potion for good measure, to make sure the wounds and aching wouldn't slow her down any. Levin hadn't gotten off so lucky from the fight, however. Joshua, apparently the medic of the three fishermen, needed a good fifteen minutes to check the line of teeth marks across Levin's shoulder before bandaging it up and giving the great sword user a Potion of his own to drink. Levin was surprised at the man's ability. Had they had a needle and threat among them, the great sword user might have received stitches across his arm right then and there.
Both Levin and Ellie kept a close eye on the forest as they continued up the beach, way for another surprise attack from any monsters that might decide that the five of them would make a decent meal, or worse, something or more than one something receiving orders from the voice to attack the pair of hunters. The fishermen didn't seem as worried as they had been before, though, perhaps satisfied that the two hunters could keep them safe from monsters. Ellie had a nervous look about her, Levin noticed, but she kept eyeing Levin with an uncertain look on her face. The great sword user still worried over how well she'd take what he planned to tell her about his dreams later.
Levin kept his ears perked as they moved, though. Not just for the sounds of the forest, but for that whistling sound he'd picked up just before they'd been attacked by the pair of Great Jaggis. Thinking about it, he realized that the sound of monsters moving through the forest would probably be less worrying than the whistling. Monsters on their own could decide to ignore the five of them, but the whistling could mean that they almost would certainly be attacked.
The great sword user's eyes were on the forest when Calvert suddenly whistled in awe. Levin turned back and followed the man's gaze to the north, and felt his eyes widen in amazement as well. Ahead of them was a massive rock wall rising out of the earth, similar to the rocky edges of the island that Echo Island occupied. Levin felt as though he was staring at the remains of a mountain that had been cut down the middle, one side sinking right into the ocean, leaving only a few dozen feet of beach at the base of the rock wall. As they got closer, the great sword user wondered how accurate his description of the wall had really been; the stone of the wall was almost perfectly smooth along the edges… no, not completely smooth, he realized. Along the side of the walls were familiar markings, the old writings of whatever civilization came after the Lost's world vanished, as they'd seen in the spire in Echo Village. Gaping in awe as they approached, Levin realized that the entire wall from one end to the other, top to bottom, was completely coated with the elaborate artwork and writing.
As the five travelers worked their way north, the setting sun allowed them to observe the writing more closely. Levin was impressed at how elaborate the whole thing was, though he didn't dare to imagine that he could understand any of it at all. There were a few pictures of monsters that he and Ellie were able to recognize, though, and for a few minutes, the pair made a short game of trying to figure out what certain monsters were before the other. Levin realized about halfway through, though, that Ellie had obviously spent more time studying books on foreign monsters than he had; she was able to name off all sorts of creatures he'd never heard of, like the Giadrome and the Gypceros. Though there were others that neither of them could place: giant ape-looking things, enormous crabs, a unicorn of some kind (which confused the hell out of both of them), and a pair of sphinx-like creatures.
As they approached the center of the wall, the group of them had to strain themselves to see a majority of the images. The wall had long since grown to over a hundred feet tall, and anything much higher than twenty was too difficult for them to make out with the fine lines covering the walls. But the writing and images on the lower sections of the wall was elaborate enough to keep their attention. Levin frowned when he noticed the taller portion in the middle of the cliff side; a large crack tore through the upper part of the wall, a massive gash across the pictures. Levin wondered where it came from, since the rest of the wall was pristine.
"The pictures get bigger, the farther up it goes," Ellie muttered. Levin frowned, his eyes straining to see what she was talking about as he looked up, but for the life of him, he couldn't see much above thirty feet. The carvings were simply too fine for him to make out. But he knew Ellie had always had sharper eyes than him, so he was certain she knew what she was talking about.
"I see what you mean," Calvert nodded, glancing up. "Kind of odd though, that blank spot up in the middle."
"You can see up that far?" Levin asked, receiving a laugh in reply from the man.
"I'm a fishermen boy. I've lived my life eyeballing fish through murky waters, and trying to spot edgy water of reefs. And I've got the best eyes of the three of us running the skiff. The captain doesn't keep me on this ship for my kind-hearted disposition, hunter."
"He don't be lyin' lad," Marcus chuckled.
"What's up there, then?" Levin asked, glancing up again, though still not seeing much.
"More of what's down here," Ellie replied, Calvert nodding in agreement. "But they're bigger up there. Not sure if that means the monsters they depict are nastier of something else, but a lot of the pictures that I can see are at least three or four times bigger than any of the ones down here."
"The weird part is that there's a really big blank spot up there at the middle of it all, where the big ol' crack up there is," Calvert cut in. "Lost o' pictures on each side, but in the middle it looks like a real big picture was started, but whoever was making it stopped before it was finished. Even before that crack got there, or stopped because of the crack. Who knows?"
"Can you tell what they were putting up there?" Levin asked, curious.
"Something with four legs, that's all I can really tell."
"I think it had wings, too," Ellie added. "I think right up there near the top, there's some wings started."
"Ah, yes, I see it now," Calvert nodded. "Wonder why they stopped? That picture would've been huge by the time it was finished. Easily four or five times bigger than any of the others."
"Wonder what it was," Levin muttered. "Sounds like whoever made this thing must've really respected the thing."
"Or feared it," Marcus replied. "Nothin' earns respect like fear."
Levin nodded sullenly. The man was certainly right. Most of the world feared Rathians and Rathalos', yet most places you went you saw at least one or two of the wyverns' motifs hung up in one place or another. Boma itself had a shop that sold various knick knacks that had a bright red sign in the front shaped like a Rathalos, supposed to be shown flying though the air.
Suddenly Levin froze and perked his ears up. For a moment there, he thought he'd heard the high-pitched whistling sound that heard earlier, but before he could make an effort to listen, the feeling had passed. Levin glanced around nervously, rubbing his ears irritably and wondering if it had just been a figment of his imagination. Maybe his mind was just playing tricks on him, his nervousness getting the best of him. But Ellie suddenly shot him a worried look, and was looking around as well. Had she heard something in the air, or had she heard the whistling too?
The sound of wing beats suddenly caught Levin's ears, a low thumping sound carried by the wind. His head snapped up searching for the source, and he shivered. The sound reminded him of the Rathian he'd spent all of yesterday running from. But Rathians weren't supposed to dwell in this area of the world, so…
A flicker of shadow snapped over the five travelers, and the fishermen jumped in fright. The two hunters' eyes snapped upward, searching for the source, and they were greeted with the sight of a bright and colorful spray of feathers. Levin tensed as the sailors began hurrying towards the water of the ocean, his hand reaching up to take a hold on the hilt of his great sword. Ellie already had her bowgun out, and seemed to be sliding what Levin believed to be Pierce rounds into the chamber.
But to the both of their surprise, the Qurupeco above them kept going right on past them, coming to a halt in midair several dozen yards to the south of the two of them before dropping from the sky and settling down on the sand of the beach. Levin and Ellie watched cautiously, though not without some confusion, as the creature waddled contentedly over to the water of the ocean, before looking carefully into the water in search of fish, head bobbing back and forth as it scanned the shallows for a meal.
Levin gave Ellie a questioning glance. How were they to approach this? They'd expected a fight, but it looked as though the Qurupeco had no other desires at the moment than to simply catch itself some dinner. As far as they could tell, the creature hadn't even noticed them. With a quick tilt of her head, Ellie motioned back the way they were going. Clearly she wanted to avoid trouble in a situation like this just as much as he did. Slowly, the two of them began working their way back up the beach, trying to get away from the creature before it noticed them. The fishermen, bobbing in the water not far away, tailed them through the water, apparently not willing to come back to land until it was as safe as possible.
But before they could go too far, Levin froze, groaning in pain as the whistling sound reappeared again, pounding into his skull. Howling pain peeled out of the Qurupeco's throat as the creature buckled in pain, slipping and falling into the water in its surprise. Levin nearly dropped to the ground himself; the sound was getting worse, the more he heard it the more it became like nails on a chalkboard in his head.
When the sound finally stopped, Levin was gasping for breath, barely on his feet. He shot a worried glance over to Ellie, and discovered that his partner was very pale, and seemed very tired at the moment. Her bowgun was back out again, though, making the great sword user's eyes shoot over to the Qurupeco. The colorful bird was already back to its feet as well, though very shaky on them. It was eyeing the two of them angrily, and Levin could hear a soft rippling growl coming from the creature's gullet. Levin's hand went to his sword, swinging it out in preparation of the impending fight.
Levin was expecting the creature to charge them, but instead, the Qurupeco's breath sac suddenly inflated a bright red. There was a moment of silence, then the monster erupted in a blast of sound, bellowing out a powerful roar across the beach. Levin winced, trying to place the sound of the roar. It didn't sound like anything so dangerous as a Rath, and it was way too low to be another Great Jaggi. As the sound faded into the distance, the large bird dropped into a fighting stance, ready to charge the two of them.
With a lurch and a spray of sand, the Qurupeco leapt towards the two hunters, squawking aggressively as it charged them. The creature focused on Ellie first, forcing the bowgunner to dive out of the way of the creature's charge, leaving her coughing and rubbing her eyes as the spray of sand got into her face. The bird quickly turned, clicking its flints menacingly as it prepared to charge her with its explosive bile. With an aggressive honk, the creature leapt towards the two of them, spitting and clicking its flints together as it landed, creating a blast of fire and a gust of dirt and sand as the explosion sent the beach flying everywhere.
Ellie dove out of the way as the creature rushed her, getting pushed forward by the force of the next explosion. Levin rushed forward, intent on getting himself between Ellie and the Qurupeco, to at the very least pull the attention of the creature away from her so that she could get a little bit of distance to use her bowgun properly. As the bird leapt forward, Levin swung his sword around at an angle as the creature leapt past him, trying to clip the bird's legs out from underneath it. But the creature was far more nimble than Levin thought it would be, and even while it was airborne, the Qurupeco pulled its legs high enough to actually dodge the attack before planting actually planting its feet on the flat of the blade and pushing off of it to leap over the great sword user, continuing its chase after his partner.
Levin cursed to himself as Ellie yelped in surprise, firing off a quick Pierce round at the creature's slightly enlarged throat as it squawked defiantly at her, before diving out of the way of the next explosion. Qurupecos were supposed to be one of the most intelligent, devious creatures in the hunting world (or at least in this area of the world), but he didn't think this one would be quite so dexterous. This particular creature's ability to turn so abruptly to chase Ellie around was terrifying.
With a burst of speed, Levin pushed himself to catch up with Ellie and the Qurupeco that was chasing her. Ellie was managing to keep the bird out of reach by firing quick rounds at the birds belly between its leaps at her. The bird was quick though, and most of the rounds only grazed the creature a little, but the impacts of the rounds apparently put the creature off enough to keep the bowgunner from getting singed.
Levin finally managed to get between the bowgunner and the bird again, bringing his sword around to strike again. The bird squawked in amused sort of way, believing it would be able to dodge again in the same way. But in mid-swing, Levin twisted his blade around, swinging the flat end towards the Qurupeco rather than the blade, making the bird honk in surprise as the weapon smacked against its knees, sending the airborne creature tumbling into the sand.
Levin twisted around as quickly as he could, bringing his sword up and over his head to drop it down on the creature before it could manage to recover, but the bird was just as nimble as before, and managed to roll back to its feet just a hair before Levin's blade dropped into the sand with a soft thump. But the bird was off its balance just a little now, and two quick Pierce rounds caught the bird off guard from the side, tearing into its wings and gut. One got the bird in its leg, making the creature trip a little and yelp in pain.
Levin surged forward as the Qurupeco's attention went back to the bowgunner, as she slid away to eject her spent cartridges and load in new ones. The bird danced away from the great sword user as he approached, then forced the young man to dive away with a quick spray of mucus across the sand. Levin yelped in surprise as the creature snapped its flint together and the mucus burst into flame, making the great sword user jump back, patting desperately at the edges of his coat where the sponge had caught flame.
Several blasts of gunfire sounded, and the Qurupeco yelped in pain as Pellet rounds tore into its wings, leaving dots of blood trickling down the creature's wings. The bird squawked angrily, spitting a quick blob of goop at the bowgunner, making her jump back and away. With a moment to breath the Qurupeco quickly spun around and bolted across the beach away from the two hunters. Levin cursed as the bird suddenly inflated again, and bellowed out that same deep roar that it had released earlier. It sounded familiar, but Levin still couldn't place exactly what…
The two hunters turned as the sounds of fearful yelling filled the air. The two turned and saw the three fishermen, swimming for all they were worth back to shore. Levin scanned the water, and gasped as the sight of familiar yellowish material crested the water for a moment before sliding below the surface again.
"It's a Royal!" he shouted quickly to Ellie, though it proved unnecessary as the massive creature itself hit the edge of the beach and dragged itself to shore. The three fishermen had managed to swim farther down the beach, and were wading cautiously in the shallows, uncertain whether or not they should make a break for the end of the rock wall and into the forest or back into the ocean. Levin waved them back, wordlessly asking them to keep their distance.
The Royal Ludroth's eyes snapped around as it left the water, searching for the source of the cry for help it had heard earlier. Levin realized now where he'd heard the growl the Qurupeco had released earlier: he'd heard very much the same on other occasions. The sound was the cry for help that Ludroth released when they realized that they were in over their heads for some reason or another, more specifically when they were being attacked by something big or nasty and required the aid of the leader of the harem, the Royal Ludroth. No wonder the Royal had shown up!
The creature continued to scan the beachhead, looking for the source of the cry. It ignored the hunters more a little while, but when it finally decided that there weren't any Ludroth to be found in the area, it eyeballed the hunters with a menacing growl, then turned its attention to the Qurupeco. For a moment, the creature seemed uncertain what to do, then it gave a powerful roar and turned to face the large bird.
The Qurupeco gave the Royal Ludroth a amused squawk, shaking its tail in a mocking way before turning to run down the beach away from the hunters and the Royal Ludroth. The alpha male of the Ludroth howled angrily, chasing after the bird, but the Qurupeco was far better on land than the water creature, and easily outpaced it. Levin cursed, realizing that the Qurupeco intended to do, planning to leave the two hunters to deal with the angered alpha male, while it booked it out of there.
"Levin, let's go!" Ellie cried out, pointing down the beach. "We can get out of here while they're fighting each other!"
Levin blinked stupidly for a moment before the logic of the idea kicked in with him. With a quick nod, the great sword user turned, sliding his weapon over his shoulder and began running down the beach alongside the bowgunner. But as he ran he turned making sure to keep an eye on the two monsters down the beach.
Almost sixty yards away, the Qurupeco finally slid to a halt at what it considered a safe distance from the Royal Ludroth. With another shake of its tail, the bird spread its wings, and pushed them down, launching itself into the air. Levin could just hear the creature cackling to itself as it took to the air, with the Royal Ludroth howling angrily at its escaping prey.
Levin almost tripped over his own feet as the whistling sound pounded into his head again. He did gasp in pain as the high pitched whine hit him, though he managed to keep standing, even if he did slide to a halt on the beach. The sound was duller than before, but it still hurt like hell to hear. Levin realized that Ellie had stopped as well, and was turning around to look to look back at the great sword user. Her face was strained though, as though the battle was wearing on her a little, or perhaps more like her wounds were wearing on her.
Then her gaze shifted past the great sword user, and Levin was forced to turn around to look, even though he knew what he'd see. Sure enough, howls and screams of pain met him as he looked back. The Royal Ludroth was tilted over, head in the sand, whining in agony. Most of the cries were coming from the Qurupeco, who had dropped out of the sky and landed on the sand, and was bucking wildly on the ground, as though it was having a seizure. Its feet kicked in the air as it rolled around on the sand, trying to shake off the pain that just wouldn't go away.
And then the whistling was gone again. And Levin's heart sank as he knew what was coming. Sure enough, as the two monsters managed to find their feet again and push themselves upright, the pair ignored each other and turned to face the two hunters, tired and desperate looks covering their faces. The Royal glanced at the Qurupeco irritably for a moment, but shook its head in frustration and turned its attention back to the pair of humans down the beach from the two. The creature didn't growl at the two hunters, but bared its fangs at them, making its intentions clear. The Qurupeco seemed a little more willing show its willingness to attack the two hunters, squawking loudly and flapping its wings in an aggressive way while clicking its flints together. It didn't even look at the Royal, almost as though it had forgotten the other creature was there.
"Damn it all," Levin gasped. He wished his voice didn't sound as tired as he thought it did.
"How?" Ellie gasped as well. "How is this happening?"
"I don't…"
Before Levin could finish his thought, however, the Qurupeco leapt forward, and began tearing across the beach, sending sand flying behind it as it charged, beak lowered as though to run the pair through. The Royal Ludroth hung back for another moment or two, shaking its head as though still uncertain what it wanted to do, before deciding that it would be better for it to attack and charged as well, tailing close behind the Qurupeco.
Ellie's bowgun snapped into firing position, and Levin's partner released an enraged yell as she fired, the noise filled with all the weariness and frustration and confusion at the whole situation. The Qurupeco yelped in surprise and pain as Pierce rounds peppered its chest and wings, but it ignored the pain, the compulsion of the whistling sound, or whatever pain the creature's felt from it, overpowering its sense of self-preservation and forcing it on in its assault.
Levin rushed to get between the charging creature and Ellie, but the bird's nimble agility allowed it to completely leap over the great sword user once again. Levin cursed and prepared to turn, but a challenging roar from the Royal Ludroth brought his attention back to the water creature as the Royal tore down the beach towards him. The great sword user was forced to dive out of the way as the large green-and-yellow monster slid past him on the beach.
Without missing a beat, the alpha male of the Ludroth twisted around with the surprising nimbleness Levin had come to expect from the creatures, ducking its head low and spinning twisting around itself like a snake to face the great sword user again. Levin yelped in shock as the creature suddenly snapped its body up onto its hind legs, and without hesitation, it fired a sticky glob of pale blue mucus at the great sword user. Levin just barely had time to pull his blade up to block the goop before the stuff splashed against his sword, sticking tightly to the metal. Then the creature dropped back down to its legs again and lurched forward, intent on running Levin down before he could recover.
Levin dove out of the way again as the creature tore past him, making sure to avoid touching the glob of mucus that was stuck to his blade. The great sword user turned, preparing to meet the Royal as it charged towards him again. But he was surprised to find that the creature had yet to turn around; it had apparently worn himself out from the continuous assault it had attempted to run Levin down with. Not willing to give up his opportunity, Levin rushed forward, desperate to take as many pieces of the creature as he could while he had the chance.
The creature turned slowly as it turned back to face the great sword user, allowing the young hunter to cover the distance fairly quickly, bringing his weapon around behind him, then swinging his up and over his head and dropping it down on one of the creature's forelegs. The Royal Ludroth reared away from the great sword user in pain, tripping over its own feet and tilting over and slumping into the sand on its side. The Boma hunter quickly followed up his assault with a slow but steady onslaught of strikes, smashing his blade against the Royal's exposed gut and legs. He got in four good hits, leaving a few good gashes across the creature's underside, before the Ludroth finally growled in frustration and swing one of its hind legs out, kicking the great sword user in the chest and sending him falling back onto his back.
But despite the creature's retaliation, it still was gasping for breath and attempting to get to its feet as Levin found his, apparently still worn out from the compulsion whistle from earlier and the rush of attacks it had tried to run Levin down with earlier. The Royal managed to twist its head around and keep an eye on the great sword user as the hunter brought his sword to bear again, the alpha male twitching its feet a little as though reminding the hunter that it was still perfectly capable to kicking him again he dared try to come at it again. Levin slowly began to circle to the side, keeping his weapon up in case the creature managed to recover and retaliate quickly.
Suddenly an explosion caught Levin's ears, and his head snapped around. He'd forgotten about Ellie for a moment, fighting the Qurupeco. For a split second, he assumed the worst, before realizing that he actually recognized the sound of the explosion, as opposed to the sound of the Qurupeco's. Especially once the explosion was followed by several smaller blasts, which was something that Levin knew the Qurupeco couldn't do (or could it? He'd never seen one do it, but you never knew…).
Sure enough as he turned to look for the bowgunner, he saw the Qurupeco squawking in pain on the sand. Stretches of burn marks covered its body, and a few flames licked up from the sprouts of grass that shot up through various spots in the sand. There were a few other craters around the bowgunner, more dips in the sand than the blast crater than Ellie's Cluster shot had left behind. The dips were shallow though, not the usual size Levin had seen, making Levin wonder if the bird's enthusiasm to obey the compulsion was overwhelming its ability to use its full strength.
Ellie caught his eye and the great sword user raised an eyebrow at her. He remembered a talk he'd had with her not too many days ago about how she avoided using explosive rounds against Great Jaggis and Qurupecos these days, claiming the price of buying incendiaries was way too high to waste such shells on what both hunters considered only moderately challenging monsters. Ellie frowned at the great sword user's glance, a worried look crossing her face.
"I'm running low on ammo!" she called out, holding up her ammo pouch and shaking it slightly. Sure enough, even from a distance Levin could tell there was barely anything to it but the leather it was made of. "Only got four Clusters and a dozen or so Normal left! Hey, behind you!"
Levin twisted around at his partner's warning, though far too late to do anything else but watch as the Royal Ludroth's serpentine neck swung around, tilting just right to smash its forehead and long crowned horns into Levin's chest, blowing him off his feet and sending him skidding into the water. Levin coughed in pain as he finally slid to a halt, gulping a swallow of two of sea water as he attempted to keep his head above the surface, trying to gather his bearings and push himself to his feet as the Royal Ludroth hissed at him with a satisfied growl.
The creature lunged forward, making an attempt at pushing the great sword user back into the water, where the alpha male would have the advantage. But before it reached Levin, a small object lanced out from down the beach and impaled itself into the Royal Ludroth's thick mane, making the creature flinch in surprise, but not slowing it down. Levin yelped in fear, and dropped to his belly into the water as the water monster charged him. A loud thump rattled his eardrums under the water, followed closely by several smaller ones and a howling cry of pain.
The great sword user gasped when he finally dared to break the surface, once the ringing in his ears died down a little bit. As he suspected, the creature was now covered in thick and blotchy burn marks all over his mane, and was patting wildly at the wound, desperately attempting to put out the flames. Levin's eyes snapped over to his partner down the beach, and through his water-blurred eyes, he could see her running his way, bowgun still smoking from the round. The Qurupeco was still rolling around a little, trying awkwardly to get to its feet. The Ludroth twisted its head around, growling angrily at the bowgunner as she ran his way, before howling in anger and turning to charge her way.
Levin saw an opportunity and took it, leaping to his feet as best he could in the water and dashing forward towards the Royal Ludroth. His blade skimmed the water and he brought it around, sending a thin spray into the air as he crashed his heavy blade into the alpha male's side. The creature howled in pain and snapped its glare back to Levin as the hunter brought his blade back to strike again. Before the great sword user could bring his weapon down, though, the Royal dropped its neck low until it was right in front of Levin, then quickly hocked a massive blob of mucus right into his face and chest.
The hunter reared back, gasping for breath and wheezing as the dank smell of the gunk blinded him and sent him staggering back. The stuff made the great sword user want to vomit, the feeling of the stuff steaming on his face making him gag, and the seeping chloroform effect seeping into him straight through his face and neck. He could just make out the sound of Ellie's yelling, screaming out a warming to him, right before the truck hit him.
Or at least it felt like a truck. In the back of his mind, Levin knew that what hit him was probably the Royal Ludroth turning on its side and rolling into him, but through the pain in his chest, his head… his pretty much everywhere, he really could care less about what it was the Royal had hit him with. All he knew was that he really could use a potion right now. He realized he was in the water, face up, luckily, but with his new injuries and the effects of the Ludroth's bile, he felt as though he couldn't move at all. He could just barely hear Ellie crying out in worry, but couldn't bring himself to straighten himself up.
Cracking explosions echoed along the beachhead, not Ellie's bowgun, Levin realized. Too many in such even timing. Had to be the Qurupeco, back on its feet and chasing after Ellie. He could hear the bowgunner yelling his name, trying to get him moving even as rattling shots from the bowgun shot off. Normal rounds this time. He could hear the rumbling of the Royal Ludroth near him, as well, could feel the creature leaning over him and growling victoriously. Levin half expected to die right there, expected the creature to snap its teeth down on him, with Ellie screaming at him to get up not far away.
But before it could do anything, Levin heard, just barely sensed the sound of the compulsion whistling, and the creature grunted in pain. It wasn't as strong as any of the ones before, but the Royal still grunted in acquiesce. A ripple in the waves, and Levin realized that the alpha male was turning around in the water, facing away from the great sword user to head for shore. To head for Ellie.
No! Dammit! Levin tried desperately to move, to get up, to do anything. But his wounds and the Royal's bile were holding him down, stronger than any steel. He couldn't even bring himself to move! He could barely guess as to how he was even keeping his head above water. But he had to get up! Ellie was outnumbered! He had to…
Suddenly, he realized that an arm had wrapped itself around his shoulders. Someone had grabbed him, and was dragging him to shore. It wasn't Ellie, the battle could still be heard, so who…? One of the fishermen? A deep voice suddenly rumbled into his ear in an agitated hiss.
"Go 'head an' drink this, lad. Quickly now!" Marcus, Levin realized. The great sword user realized that something was pressing against his lips. He didn't have the energy to resist or question what the skiff's captain was giving him, so was forced to simply drink what was inside. And what was inside was putrid, like aged fish and, oh sweet crap it burned like fire. Levin would have guessed it poison, if he wasn't so sure the fishermen wanted them alive, if for no other reason than to keep the three of them alive.
Levin was trying to work out how to ask what in the hell Marcus had given him, when suddenly burning and roaring lightning seared through him. There was no pain, which bothered Levin a bit, only pure, flowing energy pouring through him and super-charging his nerves and muscles. He didn't even realize he was screaming until Marcus clamped a hand over his mouth.
No, not a scream. A roar. He had never felt so wired, so alive! He could feel his muscles firing again! The pain was still there, but it didn't matter anymore. The exhausting effects of the Royal Ludroth's bile were completely blown away, all hints of weariness gone. He felt like he had injected himself with pure caffeine!
The captain of the skiff yelped in surprise when the hunter bolted upright and pushed him out of his way, grabbing the hilt of his great sword and charging out of the water towards the Royal Ludroth as it made its way towards Ellie and the Qurupeco. It had just about caught up to the bowgunner, only ten or so yards now to where the colorful bird was still chasing Ellie around with loud cracking explosions, spraying mucus all over the beach head, making it look as though the beach was covered with dozens of giant green jellyfish. Explosive jellyfish.
He barely felt tired at all as he charged after the alpha male, feeling as though he could run forever. In a few moments, he'd caught up with the creature and was running next to it. As quick as he could, he snapped his weapon up and over his back, smashing it down onto the Royal's back. His blade had dulled a little during the fight, so it didn't cut into the creature as deep as Levin hoped it would, but a spray of blood fountained up and the monster cried out in pain and shock at the sudden attack.
Levin caught Ellie's eyes s the bowgunner gave him a stunned look, as though she hadn't expected him to have been up, but was forced to draw her attention back to the Royal Ludroth. Levin's sudden attack hadn't slowed the Royal, but it had made the monster stumble over its feet from the impact of the blow. The bowgunner yelped and dove out of the way of the creature as it stumbled past her. Levin felt his eyes widen as the Qurupeco on the other side of the bowgunner squawked in shock when it realized that it was right in the alpha male's path.
There was a loud crunch as the Royal Ludroth crashed headfirst into the Qurupeco, and a symphony of squawks and hisses spread across the beach as the two creatures struggled to untangle themselves from each other. Ellie rushed over when the two monsters began getting angry with each other.
"Are you all right?" she asked quickly, glancing him over worriedly. "That Royal Ludroth steamrolled you back there. I thought you were…"
"I'm fine, I'm fine, really I'm fine," Levin said quickly. Really quickly, he realized. He was talking faster than usual. "Marcus gave me something. The captain, you know? Really perked me up. Thought the Royal's goop would hold me down, but it didn't, did it? Tasted vile, it really did, like eating a spicy sock. Nasty really. Didn't heal me or dull the pain. Still hurts. Hurts like hell. Think I've got a cracked rib, maybe two. Gonna have a lot of bruises too. Oh, right, also…"
"Geez, calm down a little, would you?" Ellie said, though she was grinning a little. "I'm glad you're alright, but calm down a little would you? We've still got to deal with those monsters after all."
"Right right, monsters. Gotta finish off the monsters. Gotta get back to Boma safely. Gotta…"
A cracking explosion suddenly caught the two hunters' attentions. They turned back to the two monsters further down the beach, and saw the Royal Ludroth rearing back in pain as smoke and flame licked its thick mane. The Qurupeco honked irritably at the Royal Ludroth as it pawed at the flames on its neck wildly. Levin half-wondered how the bird had even managed to set off an explosion; one of its wings was bent awkwardly, making Levin believe it to be broken in one or two places. The two monsters growled at each other, each of them seeming to be threatening the other with death, and for a moment Levin suspected the two might start attacking each other as the Jaggis before had, needing to be broken up by the whistling sound. But through some unspoken agreement between the two monsters, the pair of them suddenly stopped their bickering and turned back to face the hunters.
Levin wished he had more time, so he could sharpen his dulled blade, but with a leap, the Qurupeco charged towards the two hunters, warbling its challenge. The Royal Ludroth was close behind, no longer growling but simply intent on running the two hunters down.
Levin ducked out of the way as the bird charged past him, rolling back to his feet in an instant. The effects of whatever the fishing captain had given him were still in effect, and he felt as though he had far more stamina than before. Already he was chasing after the Qurupeco, wanting to be on it before it could turn around, but he realized that the Royal was coming at him from the side as well, trying to catch him off guard. But before he had to dive out of the alpha male's way, a series of shots rang out and several shells smacked into the Royal's neck in a place where a majority of the creature's thick sponge had been burned away by explosions from either Ellie or the Qurupeco. The Royal twitched in pain and missed and twisted to the side, altering its direction and sending it past Levin harmlessly, though it slid to a halt not far from the great sword user. The alpha male shot a glare towards the bowgunner as she loaded more Normal shots, but its eyes snapped to Levin, who was far closer.
The Royal Ludroth began to shake its head a little, a familiar motion that Levin had seen before in other Royals, the sign that the creature was preparing to roll its entire body at the great sword user. At the same time, Levin could hear a clicking sound from behind him, and his head snapped around to spot the Qurupeco snapping its flints together menacingly. Levin glanced uncertainly between the two beasts, uncertain what he should do.
The two creatures moved at the same time, and Levin did all he could think to do. Dodge. His coat would protect him a little from the fire the Qurupeco hit him with, but he didn't think he would be able to take another heavy hit from the Royal Ludroth. He didn't think he had room to maneuver past the Royal's head, so he turned towards the creature's rear and sprinted between the middle of the monsters. With a leap, the great sword user dove, just barely sliding under the monster's tail as it rolled past. A clacking explosion, followed by a honk of surprise and a crash as the alpha male rolled over the Qurupeco once again.
Levin pushed himself to his knees and glanced over to the creatures, spotting the Royal turning to face the great sword user again, ignoring the Qurupeco that lay panting and groaning in pain behind it. The bird worked its way to its feet slowly, wobbling a bit and shooting an angry look at the alpha male. With a snap of its beak, it hocked several blobs of mucus at the Royal's body. The alpha male yelped in surprise as the gunk splattered against him and stuck to its hide. The Royal snapped its teeth threateningly at the colorful bird, making it dance backwards, honking mockingly and clicking its flints together in warning.
Trying to avoid the eyes of the monsters, Levin quickly worked his way over to Ellie. "We've got to finish this quickly," he told her as he approached. "I'm still pretty buzzed from whatever Marcus gave me, but I don't think I'll be able to take much more of this."
"They aren't working well together," Ellie muttered, looking at the two monsters. "Maybe we can play them against each other a little more. Or trick them into doing something stupid."
"Like what?" Levin asked. "All we've got to work with are my sword, a few more Cluster shots, an empty beach head and a giant stone wall."
Ellie paused in thought for a moment, and then looked up at the wall that shot into the air next to them. Her eyes suddenly widened in realization and she smirked wickedly. She motioned to the wall and pointed to the massive ragged cut in the wall above them. "Remember the first Qurupeco fight we did? Think that'll work?"
Levin thought for a moment. Their first Qurupeco fight? But that was the time that he and Ellie had almost been killed when… "Oh! Yeah, that might work!"
"I feel kind of bad doing something like this to the drawings," Ellie said, "but we're kinda out of options right now."
"Let's do it, then," Levin nodded. "Get their attention, would you, Miss Ellie?"
"Got it, Mister Levin." Pulling her bowgun up, Ellie pulled the trigger, and her weapon bucked, sending a massive shell flying towards the two monsters. The two didn't even notice it until it the round smacked into the Qurupeco's wing, giving the pair a moment to look down before the shell detonated, sending fire and other mortars flying in all directions. The Qurupeco was mostly fireproof in the first place, but squawked in pain all the same as the blast went off. But the Royal Ludroth was still covered in several globs of the bird's explosive mucus, and as the flames and other mortars collided with the green goop, the slime burst into flame as well. Both monsters howled in pain, shaking off the flames of the bombs that had burned them.
Almost before the flames had died away, the two monsters were howling in rage at the two hunters, charging forward in a rush to fight the two of them. This time, however, the Royal Ludroth was the faster of the two, the Qurupeco damaged far worse due to only having feathers to defend itself rather than the thick leathery hide of the Royal.
Levin quickly rushed over towards the wall. The alpha male, still enraged over the burns across its body, didn't think twice about following the first thing that moved between the two hunters, and turned to follow the great sword user intently. Ellie was close behind, leading the Qurupeco that had eyes for her, both of them leading the monsters towards the tall stone wall.
Levin watched the Royal closely as it approached. The great sword user slid to a halt just in front the massive rock wall, close enough to make out even the finest carvings on the wall. He could hear the Royal howling victoriously, convinced that it had the great sword user cornered. Levin took note of the Qurupeco, which had eyes only for Ellie at the moment, and didn't notice the Royal or Levin at all.
As the alpha male got close enough, the creature did almost exactly as Levin hoped, twisting its body to the side in mid-stride, presenting its side to the hunter, preparing to lunge with its entire weight and force all at once. Levin was nowhere as good as Ellie with this kind of timing, but he did his best to wait until the very last moment to dodge, until just before the alpha male pushed off from the ground and began to roll towards him. Levin dove away, though just a little late. He managed to avoid the creature's torso, but the Royal's thick tail caught the great sword user as it passed, carrying him with it.
The hunter smacked against the sand before slamming into the tall rock wall, gasping in pain as he struck. Levin was glad above all else that the stone was almost perfectly smooth, not jagged like most of the rock walls he'd seen, but it still hurt like hell. The sound of cracking and crunching followed not long after he struck, though, and the Royal Ludroth howled in pain as it crashed headfirst into the tall wall. Levin glanced up, and saw that the wall had actually cracked in a spider web pattern out from where the creature had hit, and the Royal itself was laying on its side, blood oozing out from two of its legs, most likely the pair that had gotten between it and the wall as it had collided. Its skin all down one side of its body was beginning to color and bruise from the impact, and a large welt covered the creature's face.
"Levin, move!"
Levin's eyes shot up as he pushed himself to his feet, spotting Ellie charging close after him with the Qurupeco close behind her. The great sword user could make out a green slime forming in the back of the bird's throat, a massive collection of mucus that the Qurupeco was no doubt planning to unleash on the bowgunner the first chance it could get.
Levin bolted away from the side of the wall, ignoring the pain in his arms and legs as he rushed to get out of the way of the oncoming bird and bowgunner. He heard Ellie slide to a stop at what couldn't be much more than half a foot from the base of the cliff. The sound of the Qurupeco hocking up followed close after, then the sound of the gunk splattering loudly, against something solid, Levin hoped. Then there was the click of flints.
A blast of heat followed Levin as the goop detonated and the Qurupeco squawked in surprise. A splintering sound followed the great sword user, as well as a deep groaning sound. Levin turned worriedly, but spotted Ellie a few feet behind him, pushing herself up off the sand and brushing herself off. The Qurupeco was in worse shape than before, the blast off the side of the wall blasting back towards it more than outwards, as well as shrapnel from the wall covering from where the rock wall had shattered, sending bits and pieces of the chiseled work everywhere. The bird was desperately brushing stone shard off of itself, and even had licks of its own flame going up its wings.
The rock wall, once pristine and untouched, was a veritable mess now, cracks working their way almost twenty feet up the wall, and a massive burn mark covering where the Qurupeco had detonated its mucus. Shards were still falling every now and then, and the cracks along the wall were spreading, the wall weakened by the collisions.
"Back away!" Ellie called out again, and her bowgun was out. Levin didn't need to be told twice and pulled away as the sound of the bowgun firing filled the air. Then the sound of Ellie tailing after him followed.
Another explosion echoed across the beach, and the groaning of the wall increased. Snapping the cracking filled the air. Levin turned to look and saw that their plan had worked; massive cracks were splintering up the side of the wall, and pieces were beginning to fall from the wall. As the ruptures went further up the wall, the falling stones began to grow increasingly larger, going from shards to stones to small boulders, dropping down from the wall. The cracks continued to grow further and further, sending massive stones down onto the two monsters as they howled in fear and pain, the sounds of their cries getting buried under the roar of the falling stones.
Levin finally stopped, with Ellie next to him, almost thirty yards away from the wall, blinking as a wave of dust and rubble blew on the wind towards them. The sound of the creatures' cries had long since died away, and the cracking up the wall had slowed down, sending less and less falling. The splintering of the wall had spread nearly eighty feet up the side of the wall, and spread nearly as far in each direction down the beach. Finally, though, the breaking of the wall stopped, and the beach was once again quiet, except for the occasional clatter of a pebble clacking off a bigger rock.
When the dust finally cleared, there was almost no sign of the two monsters that had been fighting the two hunters. Rubble and stone piled high at the base of the cliff, making a mound that easily stood several heads taller than the great sword user, even in places where Levin knew that the Royal Ludroth and the Qurupeco weren't. Only a few feathers and what Levin believed to be the remains of one of the Royal Ludroth's paws could be made out among the shattered stone and rocks.
Levin managed to give himself a moment to catch his breath, as he saw the trio of fishermen making their way down the sand towards the two hunters. Ellie seemed just as worn out as him, too, gasping tiredly as she slung her bowgun back over her shoulders. All of a sudden, Levin felt his legs give out from underneath, and felt as though all his strength had suddenly disappeared, and all his stamina had vanished without a trace.
With a shudder, the great sword user dropped, landing on his backside in the sand. Ellie was by him in a moment as he toppled onto his back, grunting in pain and weariness. Joshua's face suddenly appeared over him, looking concerned. He seemed to be saying something to him, but for the life of him he was way too tire, to tell what he was saying. Not that Levin didn't try to understand, but the words just seemed to reach him in a dull mumble. It even took the great sword user a moment to realize that Joshua and Calvert had dragged him to his feet, and were helping him stagger across the beach towards the end of the wall, where the forest once again cropped up on the edge of the sand.
As they approached the forest, Levin realized that Ellie was trying to get him to drink something she was offering, maybe it was a potion, or some other thing. He couldn't really tell at the moment, but he took what she gave him. As he drank it down, he could just make out what she was saying; something about fish and peppers, though Levin wasn't convinced that he wasn't imagining it. She seemed angry at the fishermen for some reason, glaring at Joshua and Marcus in particular.
Levin was confused at the moment, though. For all the pain he was feeling in his body, he knew that under other circumstances, he'd really want to pass out or sleep, but for all the aches and pains he felt, he really didn't feel like resting at all, but was convinced that all he needed to do was wait out the pain. Was that an after-effect of the stuff Marcus had given him? He wondered idly what the little bottles Ellie was pulling out of Joshua's bags were as well, multi-colored liquids and other things that Ellie was eyeing warily.
He realized Ellie was talking to him again, and he seemed to be able to make out what she was saying now. "We'll get you to a safer place before we try and bandage you. Jeez, you're a stickler for punishment, aren't you? You really gotta be more careful, you moron."
Levin muttered something that he hoped was an apology, and Ellie nodded in response. Finally they reached the trees, and the five of them began to work their way through the woods in search of a safe place to hide. But just before they entered the trees, Levin could have sworn he could hear the echoes of that dark, deep laughter on the wind.
Author's Note: Please Review! Props who can figure out where Joshua, Marcus, and Calvert got their names. Hope you had fun reading Marcus' accent.
Got on a classic game kick recently. I happen to have the Final Fantasy VII soundtrack on my iTunes, and I've been listening to it a lot lately. It made me want to play the original game again after many years. Totally worth it!
Most of you have noticed several of the oddities and habits I've slipped into my tale. No last names (which I'm beginning to regret a little for various reasons), a willingness to display my readers' OCs, an attempt to riddle the MH mythos and design with a little pinch of SCIENCE… and my decision not to swear through the story. Well, not the really bad words, at least. And it was a decision to do so. I feel that if a good story can be told, it can be told without excessive vulgarity. Not that I don't curse like a sailor all the time in RL (and I do), but I'm trying to keep The Lost Civilization a little classier. At the start I was tempted to emulate one of my favorite authors, Peter F. Hamilton, by making my story a bit… raunchier (I'll leave it to you do decide what I mean, or to read one of his books yourself), but I felt it would take away from the story I wanted to write.
Reading: Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan, The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan
Comics/Manga/etc.: Yumekui Merry by Ushiki Yoshitaka, Silver Spoon by Arakawa Hiromu, Alyosha! by Kondoh Rururu, Girl Genius by the Phil and Kaja Foglio
Playing: BF3, Final Fantasy VII, Batman Arkham City, Assassin's Creed Revelations
Listening: Ludovico Einaudi, Gorillaz, Final Fantasy VII soundtrack, Blind Guardian, Eiffel 65, Bright Eyes, Iron and Wine