Chapter 12
Several Months later, Tanzia is largely rebuilt and functioning again. Saul decides to take a tour of the port; he's still in less than stellar shape, requiring a cane to help him walk, but Patchy's keeping him company.
"Thanks for this; I'm still a bit unsteady, but I'm definitely still improving; so now I've just gotta get some exercise. All that time spent lying in a hospital bed's not done my muscles any good."
"No worries; I'm just glad you're back with us."
"How're you holding up? It's been a while since you've been hunting."
"Not bad; I'm eager to get back out there, but the reconstruction effort's taken priority; and I still quite like cooking, so it's not been all that tough for me."
"Good to hear it; I just wish the rest of the hunters could see the positives like you do. I've had the chance to give some general bowgun handling lessons to some of the low ranked hunters...and I can see now that they well and truly earned that nickname the guild staff give them."
"Which one? The skidmarks? Monsterbait? The company of twats?"
"All of them; but I think the last one fits the best. You'd think after a break from hunting like this they'd be eager to listen and learn; but no, nothing but whining and bitching; and half of them seem to think they had some kind of role in taking down Dire Miralis to boot. Cheeky bastards…oh shit; I'm starting to sound like a grumpy old man already."
"Come on, we should go and see Katrina, she'll be eager to see how you're doing."
"Aye, good plan; and now that you've had a bit of a break; how'd you feel about the hunter's life?"
"It's definitely for me Saul...although I do wonder what I've done to get on the bad side of the rest of the freshmen."
"A lot of them think there's some kind of favouritism going on; they don't realise you basically had a trial by fire after the airship crash, so they think you've somehow been given a free pass."
"Maybe if they'd just join me on a hunt once in a while they'd realise I'm the real deal."
"That's the other part of the problem; you are pretty good at hunting; but a lot of them have got planet sized egos, and know full well they'd look pretty lame by comparison."
"I guess I'm not missing out on much then."
"Well…I'd say you'll want to try and find some hunting partners after the next promotion. That should be enough to weed out most of the arseholes; and believe me, we're gonna be brutal this year; we've got a surplus of high rankers, so we can afford to picky."
"I get the impression solo hunts aren't such a great idea at high rank."
"That they ain't; you'll be taking on matured monsters by that point; and they don't tend to give you much by the way of breathing space, so having some buddies that can take the heat of you tends to be very welcome indeed."
"Anything I should watch out for while I'm still at low rank?"
"Yeah, I'd say there're two monsters that've got a reputation for absolutely wrecking overconfident noobs; the Gigginox and Diablos. Now, the Diablos is kind of like a bullfight, except it comes at you from below as well; it's got speed, power and aggression in spades, but you can play it like a fiddle if you've prepared properly and stay on your toes. As for the Gigginox; that things speciality is poison; so much so that most first timers run out of antidotes, end up getting carted out of field; and spend most of the trip back chucking their guts up. If you want to make sure that doesn't happen to you, make sure you bring your Wroggi armour set; that'll keep out the worst of the poison. Other than that, if you find yourself fighting one in a cave; they've got a nasty tendency to scale the walls and cling to the ceiling; which not only puts them out of reach of melee weapons, but sets them up to straight up drop on you. I know you're a bit of a fan of dual blades, so if that's what you go with, take some bounce bombs with you as well; they can do a pretty decent job of dislodging it if starts climbing away…."
Saul continues to give Patchy advice regarding future hunts as they make their way to the dedicated Wycadamy building attached to the guild campus. Katrina welcomes them in.
"Hey, good to see you two; how're you holding up Saul?"
"Improving every day Katrina; so I think its safe to say your theory regarding orthopaedic healing accelerants has considerable merit."
"Good, good…just make sure you don't push yourself too hard; given just how severe the damage you sustained was, we still need to be careful."
"I understand; but I'm not made of glass you know."
"I know, but...I'm just worried."
"...There's something on your mind, isn't there?"
"You got me Patchy. I mean, sure, I'm worried about you Saul; but I know you'd give me a heads up if you though something was going wrong with you."
"So what's the problem?"
"I've been going over the aftermath of the battle, and several anomalies have shown up. Now, most of Dire Miralis ended up as construction materials, but there are some bits we've kept to one side for research, in particular the heart. The thing is, the hearts still beating; it's been separated from the rest of the body for a few months now, but its still effectively alive."
"Leona mentioned something about that. Any idea what's going on with it?"
"We're still working on it Patchy, but the current theory we've got is that as part of its life cycle, Dire Miralis actually sheds its body."
"So, a bit like a more extreme version of what a Kushala Daora does with its skin?"
"Pretty much Saul. Most of the body of a Dire Miralis is like living stone, and over time it effectively petrifies fully. To deal with this, we suspect it goes into some kind of hibernation, and then effectively regrows its body."
"That makes sense; if it spent long periods in hibernation, that'd explain why the guild knew so little about it until now...but that does raise a pretty major matter; namely what happens if its regeneration starts to kick in?"
"Well Saul...we think we might be in the clear there. There's another good reason why we've had bugger all by the way of data on it in the past; we strongly suspect that it hibernates at considerable ocean depths; and as such the regenerative functions won't kick in without being put under significant pressure."
"Might want to keep it under observation to be on safe side."
"Don't worry Patchy, we are; theories are all well and good, but it wouldn't be the first time we've made a mistake if we've got this one wrong, so we aren't taking any chances."
"Sounds like you've got that particular matter more or less in hand then; so what else has got you worried?"
"Remember what happened to the lighthouse?"
"It got blown to bits just before the battle."
"Yeah; and while pretty much everyone assumed that was due to Dire Miralis giving it a blast of white flame...we've examined the wreckage, and that doesn't appear to be the case."
"So...what happened then Katrina?"
"From what we've been able to find out; the lighthouse appears to have been destroyed by the detonation of a large quantity of gun power."
"...Dammit; that makes perfect sense. Something I'd pushed to the back of my mind, was that when it blew, there wasn't all that much of a flash. If Dire Miralis had blasted it, the flash would've lit up the whole harbour."
"Was the lighthouse ever used as a storage building?"
"No Patchy; which means someone managed to get all that gunpowder stashed there under our noses. I'm currently going through the shipping manifests to figure out where it came from...and much as I hate to say it; I'm trying to do a background check on the lighthouse operator, since we didn't find any traces of a body in the wreckage."
"I'd have thought there wouldn't have been much left of them."
"If it had been Dire Miralis; absolutely. The heat from that white flame would've had the potential to outright vaporise any remains. A gunpowder charge on the hand; it might be enough to leave someone in small enough bits to pass through a sieve, but we'd still be able to find things like personal effects; particularly anything metal they might have been carrying."
"This is starting to sound pretty dodgy; any idea where this is going Katrina?"
"So far, I'm not completely certain, but...the picture I'm putting together looks like this at the moment. The lighthouse operator was some kind of agent, operating against the guild; and had somehow found out about Dire Miralis. They figured they could cause a bit of chaos by blowing the lighthouse sky high if it showed up at the tainted sea, and they were absolutely spot on. The blast probably caught the creatures attention, and we assumed it had just taken a shot at us; and the end result? A full blown Black Dragon incident right on top of one of the most important trade hubs we have."
"Any idea who they might've been working for?"
"One of the warring factions would be the most likely culprit; but we don't have much to go on so far. Captain Argosy's investigating the merchant fleet; he said something about them having problems with infiltrators in the past that'd try to sway them into actively involving themselves in the war; so if he finds anything that might help us, he'll let us know. As for how they found out about Dire Miralis; I suspect the most likely probability would have been deduction rather than an actual information leak."
"I think I get what you mean; the Wycadamy are pretty watertight when it comes to information control, but stuff like the general guild reports have got a tendency to find their way into the public ear. It's usually no big deal; I mean, the guild usually ain't shy about their exploits ending up the papers; but stuff like retrievals and research is still supposed to remain in house. Despite this, anyone with a good pair of ears could probably pick out a few juicy morsels over the chatter in the guild tavern."
"That's what we suspect; we are keen on an internal review of both the Tanzia Wycadamy and Hunters Guild, but at the same time, we don't want such an investigation to devolve into a witch hunt."
"I know what you mean; it might not seem like it, but there's a fair bit of friction within the guild. There's more than a handful of people who'd hijack the process to take a shot their rivals or settle scores."
"That's...actually a little bit worrying. I was aware that there'd been some pretty persistent issues with disciple, but I wasn't aware of any infighting. Is it a problem with guild staff, or the hunters themselves?"
"Both; but in different ways. Amongst the staff, it's mostly under control; since its generally the senior management that butt heads; and they can generally keep their little disputes quiet and professional. As for the hunters; its the other way around. The G rankers are pretty much all on the same page, and have got each others backs. The high rankers on the other hand don't have quite such a united front; quite a few of them still haven't got their shit together, and still see each other as competition. As for the low rankers...well, there's a good reason why half the pubs in town specifically state that low rank hunters are barred."
"Sigh; it's one thing to start a brawl Saul...but they just look so embarrassing once they get going. I mean, we're supposed to be monster hunters; half the time they look like they'd come off second best in a sparring match with the heavy bag in the training hall."
"I guess you've managed to avoid getting caught up in the ruck then Patchy?"
"Almost; the cooking stall I've been working at covers the dockside area, but it's pretty close to the guild tavern and several pubs. There's been a couple of times things have spilled out into the streets, and I've had to make sure they didn't damage the facilities. They weren't too hard to fend off though; under the circumstances I wasn't in the mood to fight fair, so I just blasted them with one of those new fire hoses we set up along the docks; that sent them packing."
"Sounds like we're gonna need to get back to hunting sooner rather than later then. I gathered that most of low rankers ended up getting put on construction duty; and most of them really weren't happy about it."
"They're going to be even more pissed off after the next review then Saul; a fair portion of them don't seem to have realised that their conduct outside of active hunting is something we don't ignore."
"How much does Leona know about what's going on Katrina?"
"She's in the loop Patchy; and she's not putting these issues by the wayside. She's already suggested that the dedicated Tanzia defence force be bolstered; and she's put forward a few suggestions regarding the internal issues at the guild; and while I have to agree with her in principle; some of these aren't going down very well with the rest of the guild management."
"Anything in particular?"
"She suggested having Tanzia relinquish its position as the primary hunting hub for the time being Saul."
"Ah, I can see that going down about as well as a turd in a punch bowl."
"To make matters worse; her reasoning's on point. Tanzia's still not in great shape; we've got discipline problems amongst the hunters; and we're probably experiencing some kind of espionage from a most definitely hostile party. These are all problems that are going to play into each other, and have the potential to make Tanzia a serious liability."
"That's odd; the Loc Lac guild took their downsizing pretty well."
"One the big differences between the Loc Lac and Tanzia guilds is experience Patchy. Loc Lac's got an extensive history; and solid pedigree in running a smooth operation. Tanzia on the other hand is a relatively new guild hub; they've got a lot to prove, and not a lot of previous experience to draw from. Loc Lac were able to recognise they weren't coping with their situation; whilst Tanzia probably won't have the insight to realise all is not well."
"Anywhere in particular she suggested as the new primary hub?"
"Val Haber Saul, which; being technically her home town; brought immediate accusations of nepotism. Thing is, she's on point here as well; Val Haber's mobile, and there's a real broad spectrum of experience there. It might have some issues with the raw scale of the task of being the primary hunting hub, but its probably the flexible site the guild has."
"Did she make any alternative suggestions?"
"Yeah Saul, Bherna and Dundoma. Bherna might be in the arse end of nowhere, but it's the busiest transport hub in the guild when it comes to airship travel; so much so, that the Wycadamy are planning to set up new base of operations there. As for Dundoma; it is technically the headquarters of the guild; but its currently undergoing extensive construction work, so the situation on the ground isn't that much better than Tanzia."
Meanwhile, with Leona at the Guild hall...
Leona is discussing her suggestion with some of the guild staff.
"...I'm not suggesting a permanent downsizing of Tanzia; but as it stands, we've just got too much going on. Once everything's under control, Tanzia shouldn't have any issues returning to being a major hunting hub."
"Leona's got a point guild-master; even regular hunting has still yet to resume with the ongoing issues. I know we only just got the position of central hub, but as it stands, we can't effectively perform the task; even before we consider the secondary issues we've uncovered."
"These so called 'secondary issues' are debatable. The idea of a hostile agent acting against Tanzia just doesn't make sense; we're neutral; what would they have to gain? In fact, if anything, I'd think action from a rival guild hub would seem more plausible. As for the transfer or responsibilities, where else have we got? We already know Loc Lac isn't suitable; Val Haber lacks the staff and facilities; Bherna's straight up underdeveloped; and Dundoma's got most of the same problems we supposedly have."
"That's not entirely true with regard to Dundoma; it's certainly not ideal, but Dundoma probably has the best city defence force and watch anywhere in the guild. They'd be able to keep misbehaving hunters in order, and the level of security they provide would almost certainly put a stop to any kind of hostile action."
"Even so; a full blown transfer of responsibilities seems like a drastic course of action."
"Well, either way guild-master; we still have to deal with issues currently bugging Tanzia; namely discipline, security, and reconstruction."
"I'm not convinced the first two of those issues are significant Leona. I accept we might be having some incidents of misbehaving hunters, but those can be put down to frustration at being on standby; once regular hunting resumes, I'm sure that particular issue will evaporate. As for security; I'm not convinced we're being subjected hostile interference. We're a busy port; a lot goes on, mistakes are sometimes made, and accidents sometimes happen."
"And once we resume full scale hunting, we're going to be even busier. The reconstruction still has some way to go; and if you release the low rank hunters from their current duties, we'll need to bring in more people to fill the vacated roles."
"I see no problem with that; and the sooner we can do it, the better."
"...That's going to seriously compound the security issues if we rush it-"
"-that's assuming we actually have security issues Leona. That said, your suggestion of bolstering the defence force and town watch is definitely a good idea. We do have an awful lot of activity on the ground, some which I suspect isn't going be of the helpful variety. While funding will still have to be approved; I suspect finance will agree with a minimum of fuss."
The meeting comes to an end, and the staff go their separate ways. Leona decides to visit the guild tavern, where she meets up with Manny.
"Hi Leona; I take it the management aren't being very helpful?"
"Yeah, that's about right. The one concession I got from them was that they did agree to beef up the towns security a little. I don't know how long that'll take to come into effect though."
"Better than nothing."
"The guild-master plans to have the hunters return to regular operations soon."
"He's jumping the gun; the reconstruction work still has a long way to go."
"Aye, and to make matters worse he's planning on outsourcing labour to fill the void that the hunters will leave."
"That's gonna make things even worse for the locals; the temporary housing's at capacity already."
"...Things are happening in the wrong order. Just before Tanzia was made the central hunting hub, there were plans for civil expansion. Those plans got put on the back burner so that funding could be concentrated on enhancing the guild facilities; and as consequence, even before Dire Miralis hit, the town was effectively overpopulated; thanks to the sharp increase in both hunters and sailors requiring lodgings."
"Now I get why the rents were so bloody high; I don't mind crashing at guild property, but I did have plans to get a place of my own at some point."
"Sigh...Much I as don't think the guild management are handling the current situation all that well; I don't think they're actually incompetent. The crowding situation would've probably been sorted out fairly quickly if Dire Miralis hadn't showed up."
"Seems they're lacking when it comes to crisis management."
"I think its more an issue of prioritisation. They get things sorted out when they get down to business, but they tend to get their priorities wrong. I mean, it's pretty hard not to notice the discipline issues with the low rank hunters; that's the sort of thing that normally wouldn't slide; but the guild staff aren't paying them much attention. They've got themselves focused on recuperating the G-rankers; which means they've got eyes on the top of the high rank."
"That's all well and good for talent spotting; but the elite high rankers aren't causing trouble. They don't really need to be watched."
"Exactly; and to make matters worse, some of the staff doing this don't even have any hunting experience themselves; they'd don't seem to realise just how big of a step a G rank promotion actually is. It's not something the guild would ever pressure hunters to make in the past; thankfully the guild-master has made it pretty clear that it would be unacceptable though."
"I guess its a case of excessive pressure then Leona."
"Yeah Manny; and the one thing that'd absolutely help the situation, is the last thing the Tanzia guild wants to do."
"...Maybe I'm being a bit of a cynical old bastard; but I've got a suggestion."
"Go on…"
"...It'd probably make you persona non grata around the Tanzia guild; but one thing that probably would force their hand is publicity."
"Wouldn't work; the local rags are absolute arse kissers for the guild."
"I'm not so sure; the situation on the ground is getting to them. Most of them are local, so the problems do affect their everyday lives."
"Even so, they'll want to stay in guild's good books."
"They still technically would; Tanzia's just one site for the guild. If significant operational difficulties are brought to light, the guild ought to take action at the most senior level; and since it'll no longer be a strictly local issue, every major guild site ought to be able to have a say in figuring out a solution."
"I see what you're getting at; I just doubt the press would handle it in a manner that wouldn't be outright incendiary; tact has never been their strong point."
"It's not like you'd have to go to those smudges and hacks with the really juicy stuff straight away; we could keep things internal to begin with. Me, Saul, Manny, Katrina and Mickel; we've all got your back, and we all know people from around the guild who'd be willing to listen to us. My advice for now, is to get all the evidence together that you can, and talk it over with all of us. We should be able to see it that word gets out to the other guild sites, and with any luck; that'll be enough for them to get involved."
"I think I get it; and in all fairness, even if they're on the same page as the Tanzia guild; they'll still probably pitch in some extra resources after seeing what things are like on the ground."
"Sounds like we've got the beginning of a plan then; but we'll need to be careful not to leak any important internal guild information. Whoever blew up the lighthouse is probably looking for another opportunity to give us some grief."
"Anything we should tell the general press Manny?"
"Right now, nothing; I'll just point them in the right direction with regard to the low rankers causing trouble, and that should be enough to give them something to write about, and maybe get rid of the rose tint from their spectacles a bit. Once their tomfoolery ends up in print; that should be enough to at least make sure the Tanzia guild staff put that particular issue a little further up their list of priorities."
"Sounds reasonable...I'm a little concerned about potential repercussions though. I'm not too bothered about myself; if push comes to shove Val Haber would probably be happy to have me; but I'm a bit worried about the rest of us."
"Well, I think we'd actually be okay. Me and Saul are retired hunters; so about the worst they could do is bar us from the Tanzia guild. Likewise, Katrina technically isn't subject to their authority since she's part of the Wycadamy, and Mickel's part of the smithing organisation, so he's in the same boat. As for anyone else; I don't think anyone other than his Immenseness himself actually has effective authority over Old Man Vangis or Big Sally; and Captain Argosy's position within the merchant fleet means any kind of punitive action against him would be self destructive."
"That still leaves Patchy though."
"...Good point. How's she doing?"
"I think she's okay. I'm still worried some of the low rankers are gonna try and pull something though."
"All the more reason to make sure disciple gets reinstated. If someone in the guild management does try to pull anything, she's already got recognition from Loc Lac, and I'm since Craig's at Val Haber, he'd be able to vouch for her if she transferred over to them."
Over the next few days Leona and her friends assemble a report regarding the issues at Tanzia. The report in question is secretly forwarded on to the various guild and wycadamy sites. In the mean time there's another serious incident…
Wycadamy secure laboratory; harbourside, night time.
Katrina dashes towards the laboratory building; which is currently ablaze. A number of dock workers are already tackling the fire, making good use of the fire hoses. Amongst them, Patchy has picked up a hose and is helping out.
"Shit! Shit! Shit!...what happened?"
"Don't know yet Katrina; something exploded, but once we've got the fire under control we should be able to get some answers...oh, and is there anything in there we should be worried about?"
"Yes! Don't send anyone in until the blaze is well and truly out. That building stores monster samples; some of which will give off toxic fumes when exposed to flames."
Patchy relays the message to the rest of the fire control team.
"Was anybody in there?"
"As far as we can tell; possibly security staff. All the other researchers were confirmed to have clocked out, so you were the only one we weren't sure about."
"Ah...bad habit of mine...sorry. I figured I'd have a break at the bathhouse; and fell asleep."
"Yeah, I can see your hair's still wet. How many security staff are normally assigned to the building?"
"About ten."
"That's a lot; and I'm afraid we haven't seen any of them."
"Oh no…"
Within a few more minutes the fire is extinguished; Katrina enters the building first.
"...Good news, the fire was localised; I don't think it got as far as material storage, so fumes shouldn't be an issue...although I would recommend making a hasty retreat if you start to feel woozy."
She makes her way through the building; accompanied by Patchy and some of the town guard. They quickly discover the first security guard slumped face down on the floor. Katrina checks him over.
"...Get a stretcher; he's alive."
They continue their investigation. As they progress they find five more of the guards. All of them are still alive, but unconscious. They eventually reach the main storage chamber. They find the last four guards in here; there are clear signs of a struggle, and the guards all have multiple injuries and are clearly deceased. The storage chamber itself has been absolutely ransacked.
"Fuck! I think we can safely say this is definitely not an accident."
"What did they take?"
"All the monster materials; and that includes the Dire Miralis parts."
There's a shout from another part of the building.
"We've found another body!"
"Huh? Where!"
"At the site of the blaze."
"Aw crap...does it look identifiable?"
"No; more like Gravios leftovers I'm afraid."
"Well, gather it up anyway; an autopsy might be able tell us something useful."
Katrina calls in the other wycadamy members, the hunters guild, the town watch, and the merchant fleet to inform them that foul play is most likely afoot. Between them, they put together teams to investigate the incident. A few days later at the Wycadamy offices Katrina has a conversation with Leona regarding some of the preliminary findings.
"How's it looking so far Katrina?"
"It wasn't an accident Leona; that much we can be certain of. The fire and explosion were started with a combination of gunpowder and airship fuel; neither of which were stored at that facility. All of the injured guards have regained consciousness; they don't remember seeing anything, but a couple of them thought they could smell the odour of a coma sac for a moment before their lights went out. As for the dead guards, the injuries are consistent with a low powered bowgun; the sort that could be effectively silenced."
"That still leaves the extra body."
"Indeed; from what I could gather from the autopsy, one of the guards got him. We found the broken blade of a hunting knife in his chest cavity; the injury would've been rapidly fatal. I suspect the fire was to destroy as much evidence as possible; both the body and traces of their intrusion. I don't think they were betting on the dock workers getting it under control though."
"Sounds like the heist didn't go entirely as planned then."
"No; but I think they did get what they came for Leona, and I think they targeted the Dire Miralis parts specifically. Those, they'd removed carefully, complete with their containers; but just about everything else looked like a classic high speed smash and grab."
"Interesting; sounds like a contract job, with the Dire Miralis parts as the target, and everything else as bonus material."
"It is kind of odd though; bits of the job have the hallmarks of a professional; but others look like what you'd expect from messy, amateur thugs. It clearly started out as some kind of high quality heist; and then devolved into a smash and grab. Another thing; the Dire Miralis parts should be impossible to fence, in fact I doubt anyone outside of a wycadamy grade research facility would even realise what they are."
"Hmm...I think we can safely say that this incident ties in with the lighthouse explosion then Katrina."
"Once is happenstance; twice is coincidence; three times is enemy action. I'm pretty sure this'll ruffle the management's feathers, but I don't think they'll want to treat it as hostile espionage just yet."
"Yeah, I can see them trying to write of the first as an accident, and the second as regular criminal activity."
"Which isn't all that bad; they'll still be keen to pursue an investigation. With any luck, that ought to be enough to uncover something that'll qualify as a third incident; and then they'll have to get things sorted out."
"Anything in particular spring to mind?"
"Looking at the make up of the incidents; I suspect finding some otherwise insignificant criminal muscle being subjected to a meticulous assassination."
"Speaking of which; I'll bet the rest of the monster parts you had in storage have some value on the black market. Is there any way we could trace them?"
"Actually yes; some of them were kept for very specific reasons, and as such, aren't actually suitable for the sort of things fenced monster parts are typically purchased for. I suspect we might get a lead if we keep on the look out for complaints regarding defective materials. Oh, and have you had a chance to catch up with anyone else yet Leona?"
"I've had a word with Captain Argosy, and he was able to confirm that the lighthouse keeper's documents were distinctly less than kosher. It turns out they claimed that they had previous experience working in Loc Lac; yet there are absolutely no traces of them ever having been to Loc Lac."
"That's still pretty far from confirming them to be an agent; but at least it shows they had something to hide."
"That said; in terms of the actual criminal investigation, he's narrowed down the possibility of the fleet being involved to just a couple of vessels. As soon as the penny dropped that someone was up to no good; every single ship leaving port didn't get out without a thorough search; so if the stolen goods we're moved by sea; there's only a couple of ships they could have been on. There's some more good news there as well; the airships were able to intercept them before they could reach their destinations, so they should be back here within a few days with their inventories intact."
"That'd seem the most logical method of shifting the cargo; but are there any other ways?"
"By land just wouldn't be possible; the thieves would've somehow had to get the goods smuggled through the streets, and then through the perimeter checkpoints before anyone had realised the raid had taken place. By air would be one hell of a long shot...but not completely out of the question. Logically the goods would be moved first by boat, since the laboratory was on the dockside; and then either loaded onto a ship, or possibly airlifted out."
"Hmm...That'd take brass balls the size of watermelons; but given that the raid was at night, and the fire probably drew attention; it could be possible. The tricky part would be smuggling a whole airship into town though; all vessels entering Tanzia are registered upon landing, and are strictly housed in the hangar if they need to stay grounded for any length of time."
"I see what you're getting at Katrina; if there was an airship missing from the hangar, we'd have known about from day one."
"...It's possible. Something me and the Wycadamy researchers once did for a bet was put an airship together out of scrap. It was barely airworthy; but it did just to say fly. The Tanzia markets by contrast actually stock spare parts for airships, so the only thing they'd have to build from scratch would be the hull...and not even that; they could have repurposed a light weight boat to serve as the base."
"And given all the damage Dire Miralis did; it wouldn't have been hard to salvage a half decent boat hull from the wreckage; so either way, they could've had an unregistered vessel at their disposal with relative ease."
"I guess the fallout from the first mess might well have played into the next one after all."
Manny suddenly bursts in…
"Bad news Leona! They've arrested Patchy!"
"What! How come?"
"Some piece of shit planted some of the missing goods in her dorm room!"
"...I'll sort this out. She'll be out of custody before the days out."
"What're you gonna do Katrina?"
"Provide her with an alibi. She was helping out the fire control team when the blaze broke out; so she couldn't have been involved in the break in itself; and no doubt she was working at the kitchen stand before that."
"I reckon a couple of dozen sailors'll probably be able to back that up."
"What about the other hunters Leona?"
"I wouldn't trust the other low rankers right now. Someone amongst them probably had a hand in the goods showing up in her room. I should be able to get something from the other G rankers though; some of them had resumed hunting, and Patchy had ended up being their cook of choice."
"Who else knows about this Manny?"
"Saul was there when they arrested her. As you might imagine, he wasn't happy about it; and a scuffle broke out. They we're able to drag her off thanks to having a numbers advantage, but a couple of them thought they'd try and work Saul over for good measure."
"Is he okay?"
"Yeah, Mickel saw the commotion; so both of those goons are on their way to the hospital."
"Serves them right; Saul's barely gotten back on his feet."
"Anyway, Mickel and Saul managed to get to the bar and tell me what happened. I was about to set out, and then another load of goons show up; but as luck would have it, Old Man Vangis was there as well, and...well...he was in the mood for a rumble, so we managed to leave unnoticed."
"Sigh, I guess we'll need to repair the tavern then."
"Any idea who these goons are?"
"Yeah Katrina; hastily deputised low rank hunters."
"I that case, someone had better come with me."
Katrina and Leona leave the Wycadamy building and head to the guild hall. On the way there they can't help but notice a cordon has been set up outside the tavern. One of the deputised hunters shouts into the building for those inside to surrender peacefully. A second later the unconscious form of another deputy hurtles out of the building and collides with him, followed by a shout of "Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough!" from someone inside.
"I guess Old Man Vangis is managing fine then."
"That's pretty much sport to him, he still lists Hooliganism as a hobby on his resume."
The two of them make it to the guild hall. Katrina steps up to the front desk and demands to talk with guild management. A few moments later one of the deputy guild-masters comes to speak with her.
"Right; I'm here to clear up a misunderstanding. From what I can gather, hunter Patchy has just been arrested, right?"
"Indeed. On suspicion of involvement in the Wycadamy heist."
"Let her go. She has a rock solid alibi; she was in my company from the majority of the incident, and was serving at her usual kitchen stand, followed by assisting the fire control effort; prior to this."
"That doesn't explain the stolen property-"
"-planted. She had no way of getting her hands on it; at no time was she inside the wycadamy laboratory without being in my presence."
"That conflicts with the testimony of several low rank hunters."
"I'll bet it does; and I'll bet you'll want to investigate them; but in the mean time; let her go, and call off the goons before they do some real harm."
"Excuse me? What makes you think you can address deputised guild hunters as goons?"
"Well lets see; they've tried to attack just about everyone they've encountered so far; and right now the majority of them seem to think getting in a brawl with an S-rank hunter is an acceptable course of action."
"Oh."
"Yes. I suspect Old Man Vangis has beaten most of them to the point of the absence of shit by now."
"Oh dear."
"Quite. Now, since you appear to have inadvertently orchestrated this particular farce; I suggest you take action to remedy the situation as rapidly as possible. Starting with releasing Patchy."
"Give me a moment…"
Leona joins the conversation.
"No. Fuck you, and Fuck your moment, you Fucking Cuntbubble. Patchy's been dragged off to the cells, and is in the company of a group of hunters that many have had a role in setting her up. How long do you think it'll take for some kind of horrible accident to happen?"
"I...err…I…."
"Right. Give me the fucking keys. I'll sort this out."
Leona grabs the cell keys from the deputy guild master. She quickly makes her way to the cells, where the sounds of a beating, punctuated by profanity from Patchy can be heard.
"Listen bitch; if you want out of this, just sign the confession; that'll wrap everything up nicely."
"…."
"What was that? Speak up."
"…..cunt!"
There's an intense scream from the cell as Katrina and Leona get the door open. They're greeted with sight of three hunters and a restrained and heavily beaten Patchy. They notice one of the hunters is now on the floor and bleeding heavily from the side of their head, and in a state of shock. Patchy spits out a severed ear and chuckles. The two remaining hunters close in on her, but are grabbed by Leona and Katrina. They attempt to fight back, but are no match for them; Katrina catches the punch thrown at her and pulls her opponents arm forward and over her, while she positions herself with their back pressed into her shoulders. She then brings her other arm around to their legs, and rotates the body up so for a moment they end up lying flat across her shoulders. She then violently drops onto her side, slamming them head first into the ground. Leona takes the more basic approach of taking and ignoring the punch from her opponent, before grabbing them by their hair and then repeatedly punching them in the face until they go limp. The last hunter proceeds to pass out, with a puddle forming under them. The two of them hurriedly release Patchy.
"...heh….thanks….you two don't mess around do you?"
"Are you okay?"
"Nothing serious...they didn't even manage to break anything…fucking pansies."
"Ah, do you think they'll be okay Katrina?"
"Lets see...I think the one Patchy got is probably gonna lose an ear, but not much than that. The one you took out ain't gonna be pretty, but I think he'll live. As for mine...ah shit; I think I might've gotten carried away in the heat of the moment; that move I landed on him is specifically designed to cause catastrophic head and neck injuries."
"He was wearing his helmet, so that should've given him some protection."
"Well, I guess the medical staff should be able to give us the full story; and lets get you out of here."
"Where're we gonna go Leona?"
"Erm, the hospital? You look like you just tried to play chicken with a Barroth."
"I don't feel that bad."
"Better safe than sorry."
"Okay…"
The three of them make their way back up to the guild hall...where a badly timed arrival is taking place. Numerous guild officials from all of the major guild hubs have come to visit, and in addition Old Man Vangis and Big Sally are in the process of dumping the unconscious bodies of the deputised hunters for everyone to see. The deputy guild master seems to be having some kind of spasm due to stress, but the guild master arrives and hands him a shot of dilute tranquilliser fluid; which he downs, and then promptly passes out. This gets a small chuckle from the rest of the guild staff. The guild master addresses everyone present.
"Well...ladies and gentlemen; I think we can safely say...there's been a fuck up."
