Tomb of the Warrior
This Astral forsaken swamp was getting old. Noctis had lost track of the number of times he'd been dunked beneath the slimy film and he kicked away the tentacle that had tripped him up all the more fiercely for it. At this point he was pretty sure he'd forgotten what it even felt like to be warm and dry without damp clothes clinging uncomfortably to his skin. And don't get him started on the smell.
Big green and ugly roared above him as it tried to snatch him up right off the ground with its oversized mouth. Gladio was attempting to get to him, looking like he might have an actual aneurysm. "Noct!"
"I got it." Noctis called his engine blade to hand and in one throw he was up and out of the creature's reach. Another more calculated toss and he was snapping out of his warp trail in the space just above the beast's wide head – the perfect angle to bring his blade down in a powerful warpstike – or, at least, that had been the plan. Whatever this thing was made of must've been pretty tough because his sword barely did more than nick its plant matter hide.
Honestly, he really shouldn't be surprised anymore. It was a wonder they'd managed to get the generators fired up that morning – one thing that hadn't gone awry in this awful place. The tomb had to be close now, Noctis could feel it. A monster invested cave under the roots of a gargantuan tree with branches so tall they hid the sun had to be too dramatic of a locale for an ancestor nicknamed the Warrior to pass up. Now if only they could find it.
His hasty landing beside the others gained him a withering look from Ravus. "A little caution, if you please. I'd rather not have the malboro picking you from its teeth."
"Yeah, well, open to ideas." Because swords didn't seem to cut it and if Prompto's panicked cries were any indication, bullets weren't doing much better.
"Guys, this isn't working," Prompto complained as he stumbled back toward them.
Gritting his teeth in annoyance, Noctis warped in close again, hoping to find a more vulnerable target. He's forced to abandon the notion almost immediately, the malboro snapping at him for his troubles and a split-second, uncoordinated warp was all that saved him from getting chewed up. But he wasn't fast enough to escape getting a nose full of the rotting stench emanating from the malboro's mouth. The whole quarry pretty much stunk, but it had nothing on this thing's putrid breath. Unhelpfully, Cor's friendly advice to hold his nose came to mind.
Noctis narrowly avoided an embarrassing fall right in front of Luna just in time for the malboro to start hacking up a foul, green smog all over the place.
"That reeks!" Gladio got the worst of it, unable to backpedal quickly enough to get clear. And based on how quickly his pallor turned downright pasty, the smog probably had at least a few toxins in it.
Noctis was suddenly less annoyed at Ravus for practically brow beating them all into wearing preventative gear against status effects after that one fun experience with confusion a while back. Still, the smog worsened the already poor visibility and smelled horrible enough to be a hindrance all on its own. "Gotta shut that thing's trap."
But they were all hesitant to get close while the malboro was filling the air with clouds of poison. And just when things looked like they couldn't be going much worse Prompto drew attention to another problem. "Someone's hatching!"
The eggs they'd found clustered under the roots along with some that must have been hidden elsewhere beneath the surface were bursting open, letting lose mini terrors that wasted no time swarming them and trying to sink their teeth into anything they could reach.
Luna skewered one of the hatchlings easily with her trident before spinning around and releasing a blast of some kind of light magic that sent three of the sprouts sprawling. "Perhaps we should consider an alternative strategy."
"Our weapons don't have any effect on mamma gruesome over there." Gladio grunted with effort as he swung his weapon low, taking out a wave of the miniature malboros. "Physical attacks are useless. We can't fight like this."
"There's gotta be something we can do!" Prompto was having a harder time keeping his distance with the hatchlings crowding them and would probably be needing a potion right about now if Ignis hadn't lodged his lance into the little terror sneaking up on his six.
Ravus snapped his fingers. "Of course, I should have realized sooner. Elemancy could be the key!" Which, okay, Noctis was willing to try it so long as Ravus didn't plan on electrocuting them all while standing in stagnant swamp water. But before he could summon one of his strongest flasks, Ravus turned instead to Ignis. "Care to lend a hand?"
"Certainly, time we turned up the heat." And the two of them shared such a vicious smile that it had Noct reconsidering ever letting the two of them work together again.
When the malboro started to spew more of its poisonous gas it got a taste of high-level fire flask mixed with raw magic completely independent of all the safeguards Noctis himself had always been instructed to use. Iggy's spells were nothing like the chaotic explosions of power created by smashing flasks; they were wielded with deadly precision and control, just like the very man that bent them to his will.
As he watched hungry flames flare out and seize the malboro's gaping maw in a charring detonation that caused the creature to tremble under its concussive force, Noctis had to wonder if being subjected to the display was partly Ravus getting revenge somehow for all his showing off the previous day. Both he and Gladio had given him hell about it while they'd been scouting out the backup generators yesterday. He supposed he should be grateful they at least didn't scold him like that in front of Iggy or Luna; that would have been beyond mortifying.
"As suspected." Ravus looked pleased as their attack left the malboro smoking and almost entirely caked in ash. "Now's our chance!"
Noctis switched over to a greatsword. "Don't have to tell me twice. Ready, big guy?"
"Oh yeah." Gladio leveled his own sword parallel with the ground, making it easy for Noctis to hop on just like they'd practiced. Then in a ridiculous show of upper body strength, Gladio launched him into the air with a powerful swing. The maneuver allowed them to strike simultaneously from above and below, knocking the wind out of the charred monster.
The malboro went down quickly after that, having lost its edge since getting its insides fried. In all honesty, the fight could've been drug out a lot longer, but between the six of them the malboro just didn't stand a chance.
Still, retrieving the royal arm proved to be the easiest part by far. With most of the eggs cleared out finding the tomb didn't take much time. One fire flask later and the door was visible for all to see.
"I think we found it," Prompto cheered.
"Just wish they'd found a better place to build it," Noctis lamented. He really didn't understand why all the old kings felt the urge to go to such lengths for dramatic effect. He'd be perfectly content just getting planted someplace quiet and peaceful, maybe near a lake or a pond where the fishing was decent. No need for dungeon crawls or murderous wildlife in the vicinity.
Inside they found the Katana of the Warrior and with little fanfare Noctis moved to collect the ancient weapon like always. He noticed both Ignis and Luna visibly flinch when the ephemeral blade moved to pierce his chest and join the armiger. While neither commented on the proceedings, it was clear they were a little uncomfortable with the whole mystical stabbing display. The reactions reminded him of the earliest royal arms they'd collected. The sight had spooked them all at first – it still felt foreboding in a way, like a bad omen.
If nothing else, at least the two of them seemed to be in agreement on something. Ever since their stay at the haven there had been an undefined tension between Ignis and Luna. Neither had spoken a word of a possible cause, of course, but even now Noctis could still detect a precarious distance between them that hadn't existed the previous day.
Noctis found the whole thing pretty uncomfortable to watch. He'd never seen them not getting along and he really wanted it to be something small and stupid like the nonsense he and Prompto argued over sometimes, and that by tomorrow it'd be like nothing ever happened between them. But he didn't kid himself, Ignis and Luna were both too practical for that. If they were really upset with each other it was definitely over something more important than some silly mobile game.
It was why he'd convinced Gladio to distract Ignis that morning so he could have a word with Luna. His plan had only half worked since she hadn't really revealed anything of significance to him, just admitted they were working through a disagreement of sorts and assured him that they would not allow the issue to interfere with their quest. And after Ignis had returned from his impromptu morning hike with Gladio, it was clear he and Luna were doing their best not to appear affected by whatever was going on.
Noctis just hoped that whatever it was would resolve itself soon. It really had been great having Iggy and Luna around, and Ignis not having some inexplicable compulsion to run him through with sharp objects had been pretty nice too.
Yeah, it was a bit more crowded at campsites and maybe a little awkward sometimes after having gotten used to traveling with just three people, but it was also reassuring in a way. He knew Gladio, Prompto and Ravus always had his back – without question – but with Ignis and Luna's added support their mission just seemed that much more attainable.
As the others filed out of the cramped tomb Noctis noticed Ignis lingering, staring down at the resting place of his ancestor, almost accusingly. And Noctis couldn't help but wonder if old fears cultivated by years of isolation and nothing but the most discouraging of rumors surrounding his friend might hold the slightest bit of truth. If Ignis blamed Lucis for what happened to Tenebrae, to his family… it was something Noctis never liked to think about. "You good?"
Ignis looked up suddenly, as if a trance had been broken. "Yes, quite."
Not really convinced, Noctis watched his friend closely in the darkness of the stone crypt. "You sure, we can always take a break..."
"No need. I think I've held us up long enough. Let's move on, lest we lose what light we have left."