Chapter 9
Somewhat later, Loc Lac General Hospital, Hunter's admissions ward
Greg and Leona have arrived back from the rescue mission and are checking up on the injured. Patchy's unconscious and covered in dressings; her bed has note at the bottom to make sure she's continuously observed. Craig is very much awake, and chatting with Greg and Leona.
"...Jess's touch and go; she's in intensive care right now."
"So, I take it she's got a skull fracture then?"
"Afraid so Greg; still, she's made it this far, so I'm willing to remain optimistic."
"How about you?"
"Snapped legs are pretty much a bread and butter case for this ward; the orthopaedic surgeon was willing to stake money on me keeping both of mine as well. Patchy did a damn good job with her emergency aid, so they reckon the risk of infection's pretty low."
"That's good Craig; and how is she?"
"Hard to say Leona; she's ridiculously tough though; it turns out she'd actually broken half a dozen ribs in the crash, and she didn't let on. She lost a lot of blood in the fight and broke some of her fingers, as well as exacerbating the damage she already had, and right now they're worried she might have some kind of internal injuries."
"Whoa, that's the sort of stunt you only normally get from veteran hunters-"
Somebody on a bed opposite interrupts.
"-and only the crazy ones at that."
The individual is a somewhat older hunter, with long red hair.
"Nice to see you haven't cracked up yet Greg; not many hunters can hack retrievals."
"Is that you Saul? What happened to you?"
"Ran into something they're now calling a Brachidios during a research trip; first time fighting one, so as you can tell I didn't quite get away unscathed; although I did come out on top."
"How bad are you hurt?"
"It's probably nothing serious Greg, they had to pull some shrapnel out of me; but I think they just want to keep me in for observation for a bit to be on the safe side."
"Brachidios...by any chance is that the big blue bastard that Big Sally brought down last year?"
"Yeah Greg, the very same; I should have asked her for advice, the big fellah had some real flashy moves on him."
"Saul...aren't you the guy that took down that Kushala Daora that attacked Dundoma?"
"Nice to see my achievements haven't been forgotten yet, and Leona; are you by any chance related to Lyn Vangis?"
"So you've met my mum then."
"She saved my bacon when I was still a rookie; how's she doing these days?"
"Happily retired from hunting and being a full time mum to to my little brothers and sisters."
"Good to hear it, and; well; sorry for being a bit nosey, but; I can tell you're worried sick about that little lassie. Take it from me; she'll make it...although you might want keep an eye on her. It might've just been the adrenaline talking but; she said she was gonna make it as a hunter no matter what; and if they wouldn't let her train, then she'd break into the arena and make damn sure they knew what they were missing."
"Sorry guys; I think this might be my fault."
"Craig? Why do you think that?"
"After the crash we kept each other company Greg; I talked a lot about the hunter lifestyle, and I think she might've fallen in love with the idea pretty hard."
"I don't think she's in love with just the idea Craig; I don't think you could see exactly what was going on from where you were in the wreck; but she ended up having to kill a Great Jaggi with not much more than her bare hands and in not much more than her birthday suit, and that hasn't put her off."
"...The Great Jaggi corpse is currently being held under my name at the blacksmith Leona. Get Patchy's measurements and get her a set of armour put together as soon as you can."
"Will do Craig."
"Oh, and are Hans and Marie okay? It was pretty hard not to notice that Rust Duramborous."
"Hans is fine Craig; Marie's traumatised but physically unhurt."
"That's a relief Greg; Rusty's a menace to even G rank hunters."
"We basically legged it once the airship was clear; most of us could tell trying to hunt him would've been suicide. We did seriously piss him off though; Hans said he'd make sure the Guild would put out a warning to any hunting parties considering a trip to the sandy plains for the next few days."
"Heh, I guess I'll have an excuse to check out of here then."
"You sure about that Saul? He's one mean customer."
"Yeah, no sweat Greg; even if I can't round up any more G-rankers from around town, my old mate Manny's probably already on his way over here."
There's some rustling from Patchy's bed; her eyes open and she starts to speak.
"...Hey...you're back…"
"How're feeling Patchy?"
"...Hungry Leona….and something smells fantastic…"
"That'll be the Full Moon kitchen stand; they do meals for hunters on night missions, and they're actually just outside the hospital."
"...Can we get an order in?"
"Can't see why not."
The observation nurse intervenes.
"Sorry, but you're currently nil by mouth Patchy; at least until we can be sure your gastric system hasn't been damaged."
Patchy puts on her best puppy dog eyes, and lets out a small whimper.
"Nice try, but no; I'm a professional, so you'll-"
Patchy then switches to her best Deviljho eyes, and lets out a low growl that's more felt than heard.
"-need to be carefully observed while you eat."
The observation nurse backs away, somewhat shaken.
"...humans shouldn't be capable of making a noise like that…"
"I guess we'd better order something pronto; I'd rather not end up on the menu if it's all the same with you."
"I hear you Craig. You're going to have to have something simple though Patchy, your hands are pretty messed up."
"I'll be fine Greg; I didn't break my thumbs, and I've injured my fingers while cooking plenty of times before, so I think I can manage."
"We might as well order for everyone then-"
Leona turns to the observation nurse.
"-do you fancy anything?"
"...well, I'm already in the shit, so what the hell; I'll join you."
"Should we give Hans a shout Greg?"
"He was handling the dung bombs Leona, so he probably wouldn't be allowed onto the ward with the rules on hygiene. Chances are he's at the bath house by now anyway."
"Hey, I know me and Patchy won't be able to have any, but...could you do me a favour and order some booze? I'd like to make a toast to Sam."
"Will do Craig; I never really knew him that well myself but…"
"Nobody did Greg; he pretty much kept to himself. That didn't stop him being a rock solid reliable hunting partner though."
"Quite the opposite of someone else I know."
"So, where's Marie then?"
"The guild bunk house Craig; hopefully having nightmares of being squashed by giant testicles."
"Give her a couple of weeks Greg; she'll be back to her usual self, and swear blind the whole incident never happened."
"That's the problem; she'll never acknowledge her own weaknesses and failures; not to mention she's completely worthless when it comes to looking out for team mates. A soon as we've got something to eat, I'll tell you about that incident that's got my blood boiling."
Leona and Greg make their way down to the food stand, and return with six large meals. They all get stuck in, and Greg recounts what happened.
"...anyway, she forgets that the sand skiff crew aren't actually hunters, and chucks a cannon ball at him. Poor guy not only gets nailed in the chest, but it breaks his harness, and he disappears overboard. That was bad enough, but after we'd brought down the Jhen Moran, I realised none of the other sand skiffs had picked him up; and then I hear this faint whimpering from the corpse. Then I release he got swallowed, so I end up diving into the things stomach; and as luck would have it I manage to fish him out. He's been pretty badly crushed and damn near suffocated, and we can't get any kind of intelligible response from him; and Marie thinks this is an absolute fucking hoot. Luckily for me the rest of the hunting group have read the situation, and they grab me before I can straight up murder her."
"...Haven't the guild reprimanded her?"
"Nobody else saw her chuck the cannon ball Craig; so she made out the whole thing was an accident; and since the two of us have butted heads in the past the guild decided they couldn't take any significant punitive action against her."
"How's the guy you rescued?"
"Not good Leona; physically he'll take years to recover, and probably never fully; and mentally...he's borderline catatonic at the moment."
"I'm pretty surprised the guild sent her out on that rescue mission with us given your history."
"That was pretty much due to no one else being available Leona."
"That's how it goes sometimes; we don't always get to choose our company on missions; and the guild don't tend to be picky if the situation demands boots on the ground as soon as possible."
"I take you've had to work with a few wankers in the past then Saul."
"Oh yeah Craig; and that's one of the good things about getting promoted. You might get sent up against increasingly dangerous foes; but said beasties do an excellent job of ending said wankers hunting careers. I've got a bit of respect for the Rajang in that department; they somehow seem to know when they're facing a braggart hunter far beneath them; and tend to leave them in state best described as grisly, yet strangely hilarious."
They all finish their food and Patchy doesn't show any signs of complications after eating, much to everyone's relief.
"Have you got a rough idea of how long you'll be admitted for Craig?"
"Hard to say Greg; they're optimistic, but since legs are pretty much inherently weight bearing, they really do need to heal properly."
"I might be able to give you a hand; I've done enough medical training myself to know about the sort of aftercare that's needed."
"Cheers; I'm still pretty worried about Jess though."
"...Here's hoping she wakes up soon. Apart from anything else, she's good company."
"Aye Greg, and to be fair, I can't exactly expect the rest of you to spend all day hanging around the hospital to keep me entertained."
"Is there anyone you know around Loc Lac Patchy?"
"Afraid not Leona; I was originally going to be enrolling on the hunters guild chef's training program as an apprentice; I think I was due to study under someone called Gaston, but; this is my first time in Loc Lac, so...I actually don't even know what he looks like."
"Sounds like you got a talent for the kitchen if Gaston was willing to take you on kid; competition amongst guild approved chefs is fierce, and Gaston's still managed to stand out."
"Sigh...I feel kind of bad Saul; but; I've realised hunting's what I really want to do with my life."
"You're still gonna have to work around the size restriction...that said; it's not so much a rule as a guideline; the real issue is that you won't be able to use the full range of weaponry."
"...I'm stronger than I look you know."
"It ain't just strength Patchy; weight's a pretty major deal with a lot of the gear. Dual blades, sword and shield, light bowgun and the bow; I reckon you won't have much bother with. Switch axe and hunting horn...some models you'll be able to manage. The rest though; your centre of gravity's gonna be off with the long sword and great sword; you won't have the mass to put behind hammer and lance attacks; and you'll be too light to manage the recoil you get with a heavy bowgun or gunlance."
"So; what do you think my chances are?"
"Normally I'd be pessimistic; but you have already proven you've got some real flair for the hunt. I reckon if you can show 'em you're hot stuff with the lighter weapons, they ought to wave the usual restrictions and let you onboard."
"Well, I guess I'll just have train diligently then-"
"-after you've recovered…"
Leona takes a closer look at Patchy's medical notes.
"...with any luck you'll be out of any actual danger before the weeks out. The Dundoma researchers recently came up with some kind of brew that apparently helps with healing bones. It's supposed to be pretty good with fractures; but not so much with full breaks, so it'll probably help fix those fingers of yours. Not so sure about your ribs though."
A few weeks pass; Jess regains consciousness; Greg takes a break from hunting; Craig progresses down the road to recovery; and Leona and Hans manage to get promoted. Patchy leaves the hospital the moment she regains full use of her hands and immediately sets about enrolling as a hunter. Things pass reasonably peacefully, until…
The central guild hall, Loc Lac.
The guild master, and a number of staff are discussing something.
"...Five star high rank hunter Marie, hospitalised following an altercation in the streets of Loc Lac. This really isn't a good look for us; never mind the fact that a Jhen Moran incursion is overdue, and that we're short on experienced hands."
"We're still trying to verify what actually happened boss. Early reports seem to contain some nonsensical information though."
"Well, Marie might be capable of starting a fight in an empty room; but even she's not stupid enough to get into a rumble with a G-ranker."
"Quite; we initially suspected things had finally boiled over between her and Greg; but he's been on hiatus from hunting in order to assist two of his friends in recovering from injury, so he's had no contact with her."
"Hmm; there's not many people other than Greg that I could conceivably see Marie starting a fight with and losing."
"What makes you think she was the instigator boss?"
"...This is Marie we're talking about."
"Aye, I guess that was a stupid question. I guess that leaves Ms Vangis as the most obvious candidate; which means we sweep everything under the rug. Ms Vangis has an immaculate record, even before we consider her family prestige."
"No, it wasn't Leona either; she was confirmed to have left the city this morning to engage in a hunt; along with Hans."
The guild master examines the witness reports along with the staff. A further face joins them and comments.
"...It's not that bad of a report; my kimono would've probably made it pretty difficult to make out what I was actually doing, so I can see why they'd come to that conclusion."
The staff turn to face the individual; she's a fairly petite girl with the distinctive golden skin and pointed ears of a wyverian. She's dressed in a classical pink Yukumo kimono, and her eyes are concealed by a pair of dark sun goggles.
"Ah, lady Katrina-"
"Please, just keep it to Katrina; my relation to His Immenseness is really quite distant the truth be told."
"So this report…"
"Yes, it's pretty much accurate. That foolish woman collided with me, and somehow thought her hunting attire and physical stature would be sufficient to bully an apology out of me. I made it quite clear what I though of her behaviour...and she responded to being referred to as an...ahem...'See You Next Tuesday', by attempting to punch me in face; with an armoured gauntlet I might add."
"So, she was in full armour; how the hell did you manage to throw her?."
"If performed properly, you barely even feel the weight of the...I think victim is the right term. It simply involves grabbing them with one hand under the jaw; then simultaneously stepping to their side, taking their balance, and grabbing their arm with the other hand; and then rotating their body about your hip. The end result? You flip them upside down and drive them head first into the ground. I suspect she'll not be too seriously injured; the design of hunter armour generally does a good job of protecting the neck from compression under such circumstances."
"That...was perhaps a mite savage."
"Fully justified though; how was your journey Katrina?"
"About as comfortable as prolonged airship travel can be Guildmaster; and the lack of a red star sighting was a cause for disappointment on a professional level; but relief on a personal one."
"I suppose you'll be wanting to get your hands on the crash report then."
"Amongst other things. I was hoping to talk with the survivors."
"Well, there're only three, and only two that could give you an account. Jess and Craig are still hospitalised; and Jess has no recollection of the incident."
"Who's the remaining person?"
"That'd be Patchy; she's technically a beginner trainee hunter; but she's also technically already passed the graduation exam if you get what I mean. She's still supposed to be in recovery; but she keeps absconding from the hospital, so finding her might prove a little tricky. That's a nice kimono by the way; and how're are things in Yukumo?"
"Dicey to say the least; the Zinogre situation turned out to be the tip of the iceberg; we've confirmed that there's an Amatsumagatsuchi now making its home in the misty peaks."
"First that business down in Moga, and now this? I hope the other guild centres are doing better than we are; we barely have enough experienced hunters at the moment to reliably deal with the Jhen Moran."
"No need to despair on that front Guildmaster; Tanzia currently has an excess of both high rank and G rank hunters, and they'll doubtless make their way to where they're needed."
"What about Dundoma?"
"The Battle Quarters expansion project has been approved; and will include some of fruits of the wycadamy research; namely the prototype demolisher cannon."
"Good to hear it...and...any information regarding...you know…"
Katrina and the Guild-Master separate themselves from the rest of the staff to continue their conversation in more secluded part of the building.
"Guild-master; while we've still yet to confirm the exact nature of the creature; we have confirmed that some manner of elder dragon was responsible for the creation of the tainted sea; and that said creature is being considered to be a black dragon level threat. That said, an Alatreon has been confirmed to have taken up residence in the sacred lands of the volcanic region; but at present it appears to be somewhat docile, since it won't leave the area."
"Well, I suppose that's not as bad as when we had to deal with Castle Schrade's most unruly guest."
"While I'd agree with regard to the Alatreon; our unknown creature's a whole different issue. Research is still ongoing, but we suspect it created the tainted sea passively, and we've identified footprints on the sea bed that would suggest it to be in the same size category as a Lao Shan Lung."
"Oh."
"Indeed; and on the subject of dangerous research I must commend you for refraining from assigning any of your hunters to chasing the red star."
"There was a proposal to assign Ms Leona Vangis to a possible pursuit, but the notion was shot down the moment we examined the report on the previous pursuit attempt."
"Yes; if there's to be another attempt to research the red star entity, then any hunters on the ground will need to have significant G rank hunting experience. On my travels, I was able to consult with many of the settlement elders; and I believe we've narrowed down the possible suspects somewhat. The first is something that hasn't been sighted for some time, but has been confirmed to exist; the elder dragon Shagaru Magala. It isn't a perfect fit though, and has mainly been proposed as a possible culprit on account of possessing the resilience to withstand an airship collision, and the capability of high altitude flight. The second would be a better fit; if we could confirm it was real; the sky comet Valstrax."
"You might want to examine some of the retrieval teams finds; there're some materials we can't identify amongst them."
"I'll make sure to do so; but you should also restrict any expeditions to all of the ancestral ruins for the time being; we've confirmed the Lucient Nargacuga to be real; and so far it exclusively occupies these ancient sites."
"I suppose that might explain the decline in Lunastra and Teostra sightings then."
"Indeed; a Lucient Nargacuga would be a match for either, but would also prove an extreme threat to their young. While I suspect a mated pair would be capable of fending off such a creature, elder dragons are highly intelligent; so they've most likely responded by simply seeking out subterranean nesting sites instead."
"That's bad news for the Troverians."
"The residents of Harth are already putting precautions in place; it wouldn't be the first time such elder dragons have troubled them."
"Any other significant news?"
"Nothing unexpected; things are probably going to get pretty lively around Ingle isle and the polar limit pretty soon, but neither of those will be your problem. The Tanzia guild centre's been assigned responsibility for those sites in light of the strain that the Jhen Moran have put on Loc Lac's resources."
"Finally; I've been telling those muppets for years that Loc Lac can't handle the strain. I mean, sure; we're recognised as a centre of excellence for hunter training; but Loc Lac wouldn't exist if we weren't. We're a desert city; we're dependent on trade to stay alive; and we need those skilled hunters we train to keep the trade routes open."
"The loss of prestige doesn't bother you Guildmaster?"
"Not in the slightest. Keeping Loc Lac going is priority number one. Give my opposite number over in Tanzia my blessing next time you see him."
"I'll be sure to do so; but barring any unforeseen events, I plan to make my stay in Loc Lac somewhat more than just a flying visit."
"Any plans outside of business?"
"Hopefully catching up with some old friends; but for today, I think I'll be needing to unwind. Prolonged travel interferes with both my concentration and my mood; nothing a good night on the town won't fix, but I must confess; I don't usually hold back once I get going."
"Well, I can confirm from personal experience that the local hangover cure is pretty effective."
"Good; in that case my plan for today will be unpacking, followed by a nice long soak at the bath house; and topped off by spending the rest of evening in the pursuit of alcoholic merriment. I fully suspect the most likely place to find me tomorrow morning will be the city watch drunk tank, rather than my room at the guild though."
"If you hang fire on hitting the bottle until just after sundown, you'll probably have some good company; the daytime hunts usually return just before sunset."
"Thank you; I'll bear that in mind."
Katrina heads to her room at the guild and unpacks her baggage. Not long after, she heads into town, and then straight to the bath house. It isn't particularly busy due to most people being still being otherwise engaged, but she does find she isn't quite alone in her pool of choice. A young woman covered in minor, but not yet fully healed scars is mostly submerged in the water.
"Hi there. Just to forewarn you, they keep this one real hot."
Katrina submerges herself up to her shoulders.
"Wouldn't have it any other way; that's how they are at Yukumo, and for all that natural hot springs have a charm of their own; one thing I don't miss is the sulphurous fug they tend release."
"Always wanted to travel to Yukumo. Hopefully I'll get the chance in the not too distant future. What's your name?"
"I'm Katrina; and yours?"
"Patchy; I'm pretty new to Loc Lac though; I only came here about a month ago."
"Patchy…ah, I was actually hoping to have a chat with you. I'm from the Dundoma Wycadamy; we're trying to find out what caused the crash."
"Well, not an awful lot to tell; if you don't count the plunge to the ground, the whole thing was over pretty quickly."
"What did you see?"
"One second it was all clear; the next moment there's this red flash through the port windows; and not like flames either; more like the really deep red you see on dragonfell berries-"
"Interesting…"
"-next thing we know the port stabiliser wing has just vanished; along with about half of our propellers."
"That'd make controlling the airship a nightmare; but wouldn't normally cause an uncontrolled descent."
"What happened next was what did that; the shock wave hit us. Only the pilot was on deck at the time, but I manage to get a glimpse of him through the deck hatch; and the poor guy...disintegrates. I don't know if he even made a sound; I can hear nothing but this high pitched ringing at this point; but then the deck tilts, and bits of the balloon fabric get blown inside; and then I know we're fu-….in deep trouble. Then another shock wave hits us, but with a surge of heat this time; and I realise the boiler just blew. I think I might've passed out or something after that, because the next thing I know we're on the ground."
"That'd be sufficient for a near total loss of buoyancy; frankly it's amazing you survived the resulting impact."
"I got lucky; I think I got smashed through a crate of fruit, and that took the edge off the impact for me. I wasn't the only survivor though; Craig and Jess survived as well; but they're both still hospitalised."
"You've given me plenty of useful information though; and it would explain why the source of the collision suffered little, if any, real damage itself. The shock wave is an effect created by an object travelling at an extremely high velocity; it's an effect we can normally only generate in the very best and most powerful bowguns; but whatever caused the crash was travelling at such a speed."
"Do you think it could've been some kind of lost technology? I mean, we keeping digging up all kinds of weird and wonderful bits of gadgetry from those ancient civilisation sites."
"Very unlikely; we've only ever been able to restore small finds; and even then only to a limited extent. Some of the warring nations have tried to weaponise these finds themselves, but expertise in the field is somewhat thin on the ground outside of the guild; and such ventures have been know to disastrously backfire as well."
"That's...actually a relief; my home towns under guild protection, but it isn't that far from the border."
"Don't worry, the guild made it absolutely clear that hostilities from any of the warring parties would not be tolerated. Your home town is safe for them."
"Thanks. Still; could it even be possible for some kind of creature to have caused the accident?"
"I think so. Elder dragon class monsters typically defy what we think of as the normal rules of nature. Given the capabilities of species already on record; a creature that could withstand such high velocity flight isn't out of the question. Tracking such a creature down is going to be another story though."
"I'm with you there; and we were close to the altitude ceiling of the airship when we were hit."
"That might narrow the search a little. The creature's speed would mean it would possess a vast hunting range around any nesting site; but I suspect it would exploit its ability to survive at altitude by making said nest as high up as it possibly could...ah, I'm starting to get a headache."
"Is the water too hot?"
"No, it'll be fatigue; I came down here for rest and relaxation. I should probably take the Wycadamy staff's comments about me overworking myself a little more seriously."
"I know what you're talking about. I'm still supposed to be in the hospital; but I'm frankly sick of staring at the ceiling. I've taken to doing some training, since I'm hoping to start my hunting career soon; but I do have to be careful not to over exert myself. It's mostly okay, but ever so often I'll mess up my footing, take a tumble, and get a nasty reminder that not everything's completely healed."
"That reminds me; did the hospital give you access to the new healing accelerant?"
"Sure did, and it was pretty effective too; sorted my fingers out good and proper; and the hospital staff reckoned my ribs have benefited from it a bit as well."
"Nice to know we can manage a small victory once in a while. Even with the exceptional quality of training the guild can provide; hunter attrition rates have made for demoralising viewing for quite some time. Here's hoping we can keep turning the tide."
"If you're up for a drink, they do actually serve booze at the in house dining stall."
"I think I'd best wait until I'm out of the water. Alcohol and hot baths can be something of soporific combination; and I have plans for tonight...and are you even old enough to legally drink?"
"Yep; I'm just short."
"Sorry."
"No big deal; not the first time that's happened, and I doubt it'll be the last. Sounds like you're planning to meet up with someone."
"A couple of friends I haven't seen in while; actually, you might have met them; Leona Vangis and Mickle Sigmason."
"I know Leona; she was involved in rescuing me after the crash. I haven't actually met Mickle in person, but Leona said he was the one who put together my first real set of armour, so I do need to thank him."
"Then I do believe we'll be keeping each other company for the rest of the evening."
"Sounds good to me; I think Leona's due back pretty soon, but she'll probably skip having a full blown soak."
"I take it she still prefers the old cold shower then."
"Yeah; it's one hell of a shock to the system, but given Loc Lac's climate I can see the appeal."
