Ch 6: Final Preparations for Orario, Farewells, 1st day of traveling.
That very day, in late afternoon Eleanor and Elaine came back just in time. There was only 1 full day until the Hermes famillia's estimated leaving time the morning after that.
Eleanor and Elaine came back successfully, a bit before sundown. They had ran into a bit of trouble finding a Rathalos in the Ancient Forest, then found a mated pair so had to plan very carefully before attacking. After returning to Asteria they had dropped off all the monster parts at the smithy first, then headed to clean up and met Ais on the way to the canteen to eat.
"Meow, Hi Ais, Meow, I am so hungry, but very satisfied and happy meow. We hunted not just a Rathalos but also a Rathas so have lots of monster parts. It took a while to find them, and Eleanor almost decided not to hunt them when we saw it was not just a Rathalos but a Rathas too, Meow. Eleanor planned to bypass them to try to find a solo Rathalos, even though we were running low on time. Meow, then I reminded her I was as good as a Monster Hunter too neow and could easily stall and weaken the Rathas as Eleanor killed the Rathalos. Meow. Eleanor reluctantly agreed, meow, but said we needed to watch the two from a distance for a few hours to pick the best time, meow, and make sure there were no juvenile Rathas or Rathalos that they were raising.
Meow. It was very close a few times, meow. Both of us were injured despite being careful, meow, and I needed quite a few null-berries to remove the poison blight from the Rathas as I stalled it. Meow. We used up all our potions and most of the vigor-wasps, meow, but our plan worked, meow. Then we both worked together to harvest as much of the Rathas and Rathalos as would fit in my bag, meow, prioritizing the parts needed to make weapons, meow. Still, we only had some basic rations, purifying water tablets, and 2 vigor-wasp left by the time the battle was over, meow, so there was a lot of space in my bag. Meow. Since we knew we were hunting a Rathalos we also did not have any other armor sets than those that would work with the weapons most effective against Rathalos. "
"That means that there was a lot of extra material for us to use for our armor, helmets, and a Hunter-style version of a Rathalos blade that is bigger than the felyine version you use, so too big for you too carry." Eleanor added.
Elaine focused on eating after that, but listened in to the conversation that started between Eleanor and Ais.
" We also have enough material to not just give you the two felyne Rathalos blades I promised, but a few more weapons as well. Although this is spoiling you a bit. I think a Rathas Rapier and two daggers, one Rathalos, one Rathas in the Monster Hunter style should go to you. I know you have worked with a replica felyine Rathas Rapier before, and the daggers are basically small versions of the Rathalos blade and Rathas rapier, but will act as short swords for you so you can easily adjust. I feel that all of these will be useful at some point in the future for you anyway. If you don't have space in your pack with everything else you will be carrying we can hold on to them for you until this trip to Orario with the Hermes famillia is done." Eleanor said.
"About that. It turns out I received an ultra rare version of Artel Assist when I got my falna. I have an Inventory skill that lets me store a truly ridiculous amount of things in something called a sub-dimension pocket. So much so that I agreed to also store the camping supplies, food, water, and trade goods of the Hermes famillia and I still have enough space that I could fill 12 Great Jagras bags and have room left over for a lot of small things.
As long as you will buy me even a normal bag that is less than 2 meters(6 ft, 6 inch) long and wide, I can store all of these and any personal items such as my hairbrush, comb, hair-ties, and spare clothes easily. My skill is very strange and amazing in that it categorizes 'medium objects' as less than 2 meter (6.5 ft) long or wide but bigger than 1/3 of a meter or 1 foot. That is bigger than many adults are tall!
Anything bigger than 2 meter (6.5 ft) counts as large, but I can store up to 10 large items, though it is 7 now since I am already storing stuff for the Hermes Famillia. My skill also lets me 'stack' identical objects, and bags or boxes can store lots of items in them and still count as 1 item to my inventory. I can't store living things though so I will still be carrying the vigor-wasps in my great-Jagras bag." Ais said with a happy sigh.
Eleanor's eyes widened and she blinked a few times at Ais' gushing deluge of words regarding her amazing skill called Inventory, very out of the norm for Ais who preferred to speak as few words as possible unless it was absolutely necessary to properly explain things.
"Well, it seems you have gained a lot with that Falna, and you seem much more excited by the trip with the Hermes famillia if you volunteered to store all those things for them. That inventory skill sounds incredible. I'll buy a normal bag for now and set aside any great Jagras bags we collect while you are gone."
"The idea has grown on me as we prepared, especially since I will be able to try harvesting any large monsters that attack the group and are killed, and keep at least one part to make a weapon or armor probably, since I'll be the one storing all the parts. Also, the Hermes famillia has been very friendly so far, mostly due to how happy they are with my inventory skill. So far the inventory has been the only skill I have been able to use often. Avenger requires that I'm fighting a monster and will increase damage my weapon inflicts at the cost of damaging the weapon, I'll save that skill until I can afford to repair and replace damaged weapons. Ariel Tempest is also mainly for battle use, since it encases weapons or armor in wind."
Ais paused for a few seconds, considering whether she should continue to say what is in her mind, since it might make Eleanor upset,then decided to do so anyway, since she has realized that this was important to her and a better path for reaching her goal while still enjoying herself and living life than just sticking to Eleanor and Elaine.
"With the Hermes famillia, I've realized that I don't have to be a Palico style supporter for however many years it would take until I'm 'old' enough to train to be a true Monster Hunter. With the Hermes famillia, they care about my safety and will protect me, but once I can defend myself they will trust that I'm capable. Your 'mother hen' tendencies might mean it would take much longer to start hunting monsters than with the Hermes famillia. While you were gone the other rookie hunters all took their Palicos with them on ingredient hunts.
Although I know you planned on letting me do the same soon, I also know that you see my young age and small size and think 'child, frail, needs to be protected' since I am not a Palico where the small size is natural but they make up for it with agility and sturdiness.
I still want to support you and Elaine, maybe use my Inventory skill to help you store vast amounts of food, supplies, and monster parts so you can go on long hunts without having to come back here so often if you want, but I also plan on accepting some of the Hermes famillia's request to store things for them while traveling throughout this continent and into Orario's dungeon with them. They offered free status updates and a percentage of the material I store for them from monster harvests if I agreed.
And in the 'safer' upper floors of Orario's dungeon I can fight monsters on my own and actually put all this training into practice. I'm sure the Hermes famillia will also let me fight small monsters or help out against large monsters as soon as my stats on my falna show I am capable of doing so.
So I will probably be spending half my time with the Hermes famillia and half my time with you and Elaine if that is alright with you. I still want to help out for all that you have done for me, and I still want to become a Monster Hunter rather than merely an Adventurer, but I think I can train as an adventurer more quickly and semi- safely than waiting until I am old enough and big enough to actually fight most of the large monsters. From what I have been able to figure out, monsters in Orario's dungeon are numerous but smaller, weaker and dumber than the monsters who have evolved out here on the surface, at least on the upper floors." Ais said.
"I'm happy for you that you you seem to have gotten along so well with the Hermes famillia while Elaine and I have been gone. This life here in Asteria is not truly the best for a growing child. Neither Elaine or I can spare all that much time to help raise and train you, and regardless of what you think, going on hunts with us even as a supporter is too dangerous until you are a bit older and have more experience. Elaine and I alone cannot protect you well enough for you to safely gain that experience, but it seems the Hermes famillia might be able to help with that.
When are you leaving with them so I can at least meet them before you go off on your journey?"
Eleanor responded, seemingly not upset at all since in a way this was similar to her earlier suggestion to Ais just phrased differently.
"Although they might have delayed for me if you and Elaine were not back yet, Falgar, the Vangaurd leader and Hermes estimated that they would leave early morning the day after tomorrow. So we do not have much time to make all the weapons from the Rathalos and Rathas, but you can come meet them with me when I go to store some final things in my inventory tomorrow evening, and come to see us off the next morning if you want to." Ais replied.
"That sounds good to me, now lets eat before the food gets any colder than it already is." Eleanor said as she dug in to the ignored food on their plates.
Ais nodded and started eating herself. This day had been very event-full, eating, meditating, and sleeping sounded very good to process all that Ais had learned.
-_-scene break-_-scene break-_-scene break-_scene break-_
The next day was a whirlwind of final preparations.
Elaine, Eleanor, and Ais needed to check in with the smithy to help design and craft the various weapons and armor being made. The smithy was very hot, but supervising and helping the smiths as they crafted the weapons and armors meant they would be tailored to the actual size of the people they were meant for, which was very important in Ais case since she was the size of a Palico, but had hands rather than paws so could grip hilts meant for humans rather than the hilts designed for Palico's.
Then they stopped by a market for a normal large bag and some small items that Eleanor believed Ais would like on the journey and in Orario itself such as more clothing, better shoes, her own soap and shampoo, and a few empty notebooks and pencils if she wanted to write things down.
Eleanor also paid for the tools and an outfit made specifically for the messy part of harvesting monsters. The material of the clothing covered most of Ais body like a leotard, but was thin and easily washed or dried, like a swim suit. It was dark brown so stains would not show as much. There was a separate box of very thin cloth gloves to partially protect the hands while still giving full sensation of touch and freedom of movement. There was even a cap to cover Ais' hair, ears, and back of her neck if she put her hair in a bun on top of her head.
The tools were mostly daggers of various shapes and sizes. Some were serrated to saw through tough hide or even bone, and some were sharp to cut through flesh quickly and easily. Some were even very small so they would do minimal damage while extracting delicate parts like stomachs or the glands that produced and regulated poison and the other elements. There was also a hook and pliers as part of the kit as well to help with extracting magic stones, scales, and those glands.
That clothing was expensive but Eleanor had decided that it would be worth the cost since Ais would be gone so long and could use it for at least a year before she outgrew it since the material was very stretchy.
The tools would last even longer as long as Ais maintained them properly.
Ais thanked Eleanor profusely saying "Thank you so much, I'll be sure to put these to very good use and help with harvesting many monsters for Elaine and you once I return from Orario."
Ais then put the kit for harvesting monsters in the bag that Eleanor had bought earlier and put everything into her Inventory to keep it safe.
Eleanor and Elaine and Ais then decided to pick up the completed armor and weapons and go eat. After they ate Eleanor and Elaine decided to go back to their quarters to relax before Ais would come to guide them to the warehouse she would be meeting Robin to store the final things the Hermes famillia wanted to bring.
Ais went to Amber's garden to transfer most of the vigor-wasps to their new homes, the giant baskets. She did this by carefully brushing honey along the inside of 3 of the baskets and left it to the vigor-wasps to sort out which stayed in the new, roomier baskets. The giant baskets could hold more than the 6 vigor-wasps small baskets could, with 10 vigor-wasps fitting comfortably with some extra room, or 15 vigor-wasps if they all squeezed in. Ais only took those 3 out of her inventory, and checked how they would all fit in her great-Jagras bag first. Ais decided to leave the baskets open and in the garden for now, since the vigor-wasps might feed overnight and she wanted to do a final count in the morning to make sure she left at least 10 vigor-wasps and some eggs behind, but brought at least 30 with her to make sure there would be enough for a hive even when some inevitably died during the journey.
Then Ais met Eleanor and Elaine back in their quarters and guided them to the warehouse she had been meeting Robin at, while planning to ask Robin where they would meet up before leaving the next morning and the exact time so Ais could wake up earlier to feed and count the vigor-wasps in the morning and collect the baskets of vigor-wasps into her great Jagras bag.
At the ware-house Robin was surprised and slightly concerned to see Elaine and Eleanor but a quick explanation from Ais reassured her. "This is Eleanor and Elaine, only Elaine has actually met Hermes, and Eleanor wanted to meet at least one member of the famillia to reassure herself that you will keep me safe. They also plan to see me off tomorrow morning to say final farewells if that is okay."
Robin smiled and said, "I'll be glad to talk to your guardian. We have cleared out everything that the members of the famillia will be carrying themselves, so if you can store everything left in here, and write out that it is stored in your inventory as as well as how much space you have left that would be helpful." Robin said as she handed over the clipboard and a pencil to Ais.
Ais nodded, eying the pile and assessing it to figure out how everything would be categorized.
There was a big pile of random small items, 2 largish boxes labeled 'personal' that were still under 2 m(6.5 feet), and 3 truly giant rectangle boxes that looked to be 3 meters high (9.8 ft) and 2 m wide(6.5 ft) made from 6 large cardboard boxes that had been flattened and taped together thoroughly to make a crude bigger box. The joins looked a bit frail and likely to fall apart if someone tried to lift the box or move it, but since Ais only had to be touching an item to store it, and not lift the item she supposed it worked.
After storing everything and listing it on the clipboard, Ais checked the Inventory overlay to see which boxes were empty still and thus how much space she had left.
Ais now had 12 small item spots left open, 10 medium spots from her own bag, the empty vigor-wasp baskets, and the two largish boxes that stacked so only took up 1 spot reducing it from the 13 she had before. There were now 6 large spots left since the 3 giant boxes stacked as well. She wrote that down on the clipboard and paper. Clearly the Hermes famillia now knew better how to take advantage of the stacking, although it did mean more time to retrieve anything if they had been stored in identical boxes since she would have to retrieve a box at random and open it to see what was inside, then get another out if that was not what they needed.
Eleanor and Robin had been talking while Ais was storing stuff, from what Ais overheard it was mostly Eleanor asking Robin more about the Hermes famillia and their intentions for Ais and Robin in turn asking how Ais came to be in Eleanor's care since she was clearly not Ais own mother.
Elaine had watched Ais store things in silent wonder but now commented
"Meow, I'm jealous of that skill, meow, all I got was that Artel Assist, meow. Which basically does what I have been doing this whole time, meow, increasing my strength and compensating for the weight, meow. That inventory skill is so much better, meow."
Ais nodded happily and said "The Inventory skill is great, although I'm sure you will develop awesome skills over time as well, that seems to be the main purpose of falna's after all, to help people become better faster so they can fight monsters better.
Eleanor's quiet conversation with Robin wrapped up then, and Robin came over and said brightly, "I see you have finished storing everything, did you write it all down as well as the spaces left in your inventory skill?"
Ais nodded and said "yes."
Robin smiled again then said, "Do you remember how to get to that Inn I showed you yesterday? That is where we will meet up if you do, at 9 am, since some people like sleeping in a bit and there is bound to be some last minute rushing around making sure everything they are taking is with them. We will then all head toward the North exit of Asteria and likely take off running once we are out the gate in order to hopefully build up enough speed to try to clear the first wall of the Coral Highlands, so if you want to say final goodbyes do so on the way or just before we exit Asteria.
"I remember the way, so I'll meet you there tomorrow morning, maybe a bit before 9 am just in case Eleanor wants to talk to Hermes and Falgar too." Ais said.
Ais then handed the clipboard to Robin and said "Bye for now, see you tomorrow morning. "
Then Eleanor, Elaine and Ais all left to have dinner and go to sleep.
Ais did mention to Eleanor that "I'll probably leave our rooms around 6:30 am or earlier since I want to do a final count of the vigor-wasps, feed them, and get them all stored in my great Jagras bag, then I'll meet you at the canteen around 7:30 am, we can eat breakfast, and I'll lead you to the Inn Robin mentioned around 8:30 am at the latest.
Finally the morning arrived. Ais woke up even earlier than usual and by 5 am, she felt far to restless to simply meditate and read as she usually did when Eleanor and Elaine were still asleep. Ais decided to sneak past Eleanor, start counting and feeding the vigor-wasps, then say farewell to Amber and Serge before she left.
Ais decided that if there was time she would even demonstrate her ability to unsheathe, slash, stab, and sheathe her new, actual Rathalos blades rather than the wooden replicas she had trained with so long. Serge had done a good job with the replicas, there was no major difference in weight or balance between the replica and the real blades. The only differences was that the real blades were made of bone, metal, and scales, colored red, a bit warm to the touch, and was much sharper. The hilts were also shaped better for Ais own hands rather than Palico paw-hands.
Ais managed to sneak past Eleanor and proceeded to follow her plan, although she had forgotten that even Amber and Serge were not awake this early. So she spent some time tending to the plants and other life in the garden. Then Ais took extra time setting up a full training course with different materials to feed from rather than just the fake flower feeders like she usually did. After that Ais started training the vigor-wasps like Elaine had taught her, directing them to specific feeders or areas where she had smeared honey or drizzled juice. Ais swiftly discovered that they took a while to catch on to her new way of doing things and ignored her at first to go to the traditional feeders like when she had first started. But with time they caught on to what Ais wanted. As she trained them she counted, and discovered to her joy that a few of the eggs must have hatched recently since there were now 51 vigor-wasps, more than enough to split the hive in two with both being able to survive.
She still chose to take the greater portion with her, deciding to take 36, leaving 15 with Amber, along with any eggs that were unhatched. The vigor-wasp showing signs of growing to giant size she decided to place in a basket with only 3 other vigor-wasps so she ended up with 4 baskets in her great Jagras bag, and still enough room in each basket in case any vigor-wasp laid eggs this day even though this was the last time until they reached Orario that she planned on feeding them Null-berry juice and Vespoid Honey.
By this time Amber had woken up and headed to the garden, finding Ais already there and having already done some of the morning tending to the plants and other endemic life in the garden to her surprise. Ais explained "This is the day I leave, so I figured I'd help out one last time and wait until you came to say goodbye for now. If something happens to the vigor-wasps I'm leaving you or you end up selling them all don't worry too much, by the time I get back I expect to be good enough to go with Elaine to gather more from the wild if we need to. So goodbye for now Amber, thank you so much for helping teach me and keeping the vigor-wasps in your garden." Ais said.
Amber replied "Good luck, have a safe journey, take care of yourself, and good bye for now Ais. I expect to see you some time in the future when you return to Asteria."
Ais nodded, placed her great Jagras bag on her back, then headed to the Palico training grounds to see if Serge was there and say her goodbyes to him.
When Ais arrived, it was to find Serge setting up a repaired training dummy on an empty post. She wordlessly helped him, then when they were done Ais said
"Good Morning Serge. Today is the day I leave for Orario, thank you for all of your training, I'll be sure to put it to good use and remember to practice my basics at least once a day if possible, or once a week at least. If you want there is just enough time to practice the basic routine with my new actual Rathalos blades, you can correct me if there are any differences in how to use real blades rather than the replicas, or we can just say goodbye for now and I'll head to get breakfast early."
"Me-Ow, Good Morning Ais. If there is time then I would like to see you practice your routine, Me-Ow, after all you are also wearing your pack, Me-OW with your Pukei bow strapped to one side, Me-Ow and quiver of arrows to the other, Me-Ow, along with your swords sheathed at your waist. Me-Ow, which you rarely do, Me-Ow and the real blades might have slightly different placement with the spikes which could slow you down. Me-Ow." Serge said firmly.
Ais nodded silently and started unsheathing the Rathalos blades kept on a belt at her waist, crossing opposite arms and moving them outward as she unsheathed the Rathalos blades, then turned that movement into a stab, then a slash downward, then sheathed the blades again as fast as she could while still accounting for the spikes.
"Me-Ow, that was good, Me-Ow, but a bit slow, Me-Ow. You were a bit more careful than usual, Me-Ow due to knowing the blades and spikes were sharp, Me-Ow. It is good to be careful, Me-Ow. But that is why you practice, Me-Ow, so you can move at top speed, Me-Ow, and still know exactly how to move, Me-Ow to avoid hurting yourself, Me-Ow, or cutting something you do not want to, Me-Ow, like the sheathes themselves, Me-Ow. Make sure to practice daily, Me-Ow, until you can move at top speed, Me-Ow, without mistakes, Me-Ow." Serge said sternly.
Ais nodded again, and glanced at the sun to judge the time. Then said,
"It was good seeing and hearing you again Serge, thanks again for all your patient teaching and training. I have to leave now to meet Eleanor and Elaine at the canteen for breakfast, then head to the Inn the Hermes famillia is staying at so we can all leave together. Goodbye for now, when I get back I'll show you that I have been keeping up my basics and improving."
"ME-OW! It Has Been a Pleasure Teaching Such a Youthful and Dedicated Student! ME-OW. Take Care of Yourself, ME-OW, Take Care Of Your Weapons, ME-OW and Train at Least a Little Everyday! ME-OW! Goodbye for Ne-Ow Ais! ME-OW!" Serge suddenly bellowed at the top of his lungs, startling Ais who had nearly forgotten just how loud he could be when he wanted to be. She had learned over time that it was a choice to shout, to add emphasis or even to get a reaction out of people for Serge.
Ais nodded and responded, in a louder tone then usual, maybe a quiet shout "I will! Goodbye for now Serge!"
Then Ais left at a jog, and headed to the canteen. There she grabbed the food she wanted, having said a brief goodbye to the Meowscular Chef the previous evening, and found the table that the three usually sat at if it was not taken yet. There was no one there yet to Ais slight surprise. A mere minute after she had sat down and started eating she saw Eleanor and Elaine enter. They grabbed their own food and sat at the table with Ais. All three ate silently. After they ate and put their dishes away to be washed, the three headed out, with Ais taking the lead for once.
When Ais, Eleanor, and Elaine arrived in front of the Inn Falgar was waiting with Hermes and a small group of others. Tabitha, Meryl, and Suicia were there but Robin was not. Falgar greeted Ais
"Good Morning Ais, glad to see you here early, I can introduce you to some of the others, although Robin is herding a few stragglers inside the Inn who forgot to completely pack up or who overslept and are now having rushed breakfasts."
"Good morning Falgar Batros, introductions sound good, this is Eleanor and Elaine, they got back from their hunt late the day before yesterday. They were hunting for materials to make actual weapons for me, rather than the wooden and bone replicas and succeeded. They wanted to see me off and say one last farewell." Ais responded and explained.
" Good Morning Falgar Batros, Ais has spoken of you but I never got a chance to meet you or Hermes since I knew a hunt would take time. So we left as soon as Ais decided she was going to agree to travel to Orario. I hope to speak to Hermes and yourself to get a basic idea of your character's and confirm that you will not just keep to the letter of the contract you formed between Ais and your famillia but the spirit of it as well. But that can wait until introductions are over so Ais and Elaine can speak to other members of the famillia easily" Eleanor spoke up.
"Of course, Ais this is Nelly, our Rear-guard leader, she is level 4 like me," Falga started off as he gestured to a tall human woman with brown hair and a lot of muscles who was wearing monster-hide armor with chain-mail over it and with a shield, sword, and spear/lance strapped on her body in easy reach.
"Nelly, this is Ais Wallenstein, the half-elf child who will be traveling with us carrying vigor-wasps in her bag and storing most of our camping supplies and trade goods in her inventory."
"Good to finally meet you Ais, I am glad you are willing to help us so much by agreeing to make this journey so far away from your home to establish a vigor-wasp colony in Orario and carry so many things for us." Nelly said with a smile an wave.
Ais nodded with a small smile and a "thank you, glad to meet you as well."
"Ais, this is Thane Hire, an elf with fire magic and who is good with a bow, he often shoots fire arrows from range but can hold his own with a sword in close quarters as well. Thane, this is Ais Wallenstein, I'm sure you heard the rest of the introduction I gave to Nelly." Falga said as he gestured at an alf with blond hair, a large bow and quiver full of arrows strapped to his back wearing leather armor that was dyed green in places. He also had a short sword strapped to his waist.
"Nice to meet you Ais, I see you have a bow yourself of a style I have never seen."
"Nice to meet you, this is a felyine pukei bow, named for the monster it was crafted from, and the ones who usually wield it. The bow can infuse the poison element to arrows. Although it has a relatively short range compared to most bows and the arrows don't have a lot of piercing power." Ais responded.
"Sounds interesting. If we have time I'd like to compare our styles at some point, maybe give you tips if you want them, or help you learn another style of bow as well if you are interested." Thane said calmly and nicely.
Ais blinked in surprise and delight, here was another elf that was was welcoming and even offering help to Ais. Maybe being a part of the Hermes famillia had mellowed out the haughty and disdainful attitudes she heard most elves had for half-elves, or maybe only a few elves actually had that attitude and just stood out more.
"That sounds good to me, I'm mostly using this bow because it's the only kind small enough for me to use right now." Ais replied.
"Thane and Ais, you can talk more later, although it is good to hear you getting along, I want to finish my introductions." Falgar interjected.
"Anyway Ais, this is Dodon, a half-dwarf smith who helps maintain our equipment and who is also great at tanking blows or dealing them out with his great shield and war-hammer as well. Dodon, this is Ais Wallenstein" Falgar continued as he gestured at a slightly short and strongly muscled man that was not as short as most dwarfs. Dodon had a thick black beard and hair, was wearing plate armor, a great shield was strapped on his back and a large hammer was hung on his side like a sword would be.
"Nice to meet you Ais, I'm not as experienced with monster parts as with metal but I've been learning so can at least repair equipment from monster parts and make simple weapons and armor from monster parts if you need any equipment repaired or made. You've helped out a lot by carrying my portable forge and tools as well as so many monster parts so I can keep learning in Orario" Dodon said gruffly.
"Nice to meet you too Dodon" Ais said politely.
While they were talking a Chientrope woman had sluggishly walked out and started leaning against the wall of the inn, while still slowly chewing on a piece of toast slathered in jam and with a metal thermos filled with a strong smelling coffee in her other hand. Now Falgar gestured at her and said.
"Ais this is Lulune Louie, she helps with 'acquisitions' and mostly works at night so don't worry if she does not speak much, she is not used to mornings at all."
"Hello Lulune, good morning" Ais said politely.
"Hello, there is nothing good about morning" Lilune responded after a pause to finish chewing her toast.
"Looks like we're just waiting for Robin to finish herding Pock and Pot, our other two Pallums. The rest of the famillia is back in Orario and I think you have met Suicia, Tabitha and Meryl Tear already Ais. Feel free to continue your conversation with Thane or strike up one with any of the others as Hermes and I speak with Eleanor" Falga said.
" Meow, which one is the one with cat ears and a tail, meow. I've never met a cat person before, meow." Elaine whispered to Ais.
"That is Tabitha, she acts as a scout, night guard, and supporter for the Hermes famillia, I'll introduce you" Ais whispered back.
Ais nodded at the others and walked over to the small group of Suicia, Tabitha, and Meryl who were slightly awkwardly hanging around the edges. They all had packs that were less than half-full, light leathery or monster-hide armor and weapons strapped to them. Suicia had a staff, Meryl had many daggers and knives, and Tabitha seemed to have some sort of gauntlet claws.
"Good morning everyone, Tabitha, Meryl, Suicia this is Elaine, a Palico who has been training to become a Monster Hunter in her own right instead of just a supporter for Eleanor, she received her falna from Hermes a few days before I did, but left to help with the Rathalos hunt immediately afterward. She has been helping teach me a lot over the past month.
Elaine, this is Meryl, a pallum who sketches monsters and scenery and creates maps. Suicia is an elf with water magic. Tabitha is a cat person scout and night guard. All three also act as supporters though my Inventory has helped lighten their load a great deal. I met and talked to them earlier in the day that you and Eleanor got back and they told me a lot about the route we will be traveling and Orario."
"Meow, hello Tabitha, Meryl, Suicia, meow. It's great to meet you all, meow, I'm happy to meet people who also want to be more than just supporters, meow, but understand how hard and important being a supporter can be. Meow." Elaine said cheerfully.
"Nya, glad to hear I'm not the only one with a verbal tick, Nya Nya Nya. And to meet the first Palico to gain a falna from Lord Hermes, Nya" Tabitha laughed.
"Good Morning, it's nice to meet you Elaine. And to see you again Ais" Suicia greeted politely.
"Good morning Ais and Elaine" Meryl greeted the two.
"Meow, so how did you manage to be both supporters and have other jobs as well, meow. I'm finding it hard to both support Eleanor like she needs, meow. And become a Monster Hunter in my own right, meow. Most of the time, meow I still end up supporting Eleanor, meow, I just fight a bit more rather than solely focusing on healing Eleanor, meow, and occasionally stunning or blinding monsters, meow. I do not want to be Eleanor's sidekick all the time, meow. But the one time I tried to hunt on my own, meow, I was forced to retreat meow. This latest hunt I stalled and weakened the Rathas, meow. While Eleanor killed the Ratholos then finished off the Rathas, meow. I am improving meow, but I'm not certain I could hunt without Eleanor by my side, meow."
"Nya, its not about being able to stand alone. We would die in a minute or less if we were to try to hunt the large monsters here on the surface without the rest of the group. Nya. Instead we contribute and pool our abilities and skills to work together. We can help the others with fights. Nya. I can deal with small monsters and find out if there are large monsters nearby, but I would never want to fight a large monster by myself. Most of the large monsters here on the surface are as strong as a Monster Rex in Orario's dungeon. And most Monster Rex are only dealt with in groups or by those with level 4 or above. Nya. So don't feel as if you are failing to be a Monster Hunter, instead see it as you fighting alongside Eleanor to accomplish what neither of you could easily handle alone, nya" Tabitha said reassuringly.
"Tabitha has the right idea for once, besides I only know how to defend myself and weaken monsters. Mostly I use information I have memorized about various monsters to tell the others what the monster is, what element it uses, and any weaknesses it has. I can use my knives close up as a last ditch defense or throw them at joints and weak points, but mainly I stay back and keep a watch out for any other monsters attracted to the noise of our fight when we get in them and watch the fight itself to gather more information on the monster for the next time we have to face one." Meryl said.
"My water magic can be very useful and do a lot of damage when I have time to cast it, but the aria to use it takes a long time to say and I have not mastered concurrent casting yet so I rarely get the chance. I would not be able to cast my magic at all if I was alone though, I can only cast my magic when the others hold the monster's attention." Suicia said.
"Meow, thanks for the words of advice, meow. I did not think of it that way before. Meow. I hope you and Ais become good friends, meow. She needs more of them, meow." Elaine said.
Eleanor had been talking with Hermes and Falgar this whole time. Ais had not been able to overhear them due to her own conversations and Elaines conversation with the others but Hermes seemed cheerful and a bit overly friendly from how close he was had moved to Eleanor. Falgar appeared resigned but earnest. Eleanor seemed slightly annoyed at one point, then became resigned like Falgar.
Robin and two pallum came out the doors of the Inn just then and Falga called out.
"Finally, you better be ready now. Pock, Pot that is Ais Wallenstein over there, who is storing most of the non-battle related supplies for our group. Pock is good with a slingshot that can use special ammo, blowgun and gun-lances. And Pot, appropriately enough, is our cook who can also use a spear and bow to help hunt down the food as well." as Falgar spoke he loosely gestured or pointed at the person he was speaking about.
Ais noticed that Robin was now wearing leather armor and had a large spear/lance strapped to her back, with the cowboy hat having straps that tied underneath her chin and the sunglasses no where in sight.
Pot looked slightly chubby but muscled as well. He had dark brown hair and was wearing a small pack on his back, with a small bow and quiver of arrows strapped to the pack and a short spear strapped along his side.
Pock had black hair and a small neatly groomed beard and was as short as Ais rather than a few inches taller like most pallums. His outfit was gray and brown that had numerous pockets and pouches. He had a slingshot strapped to his right waist, and a blowgun to his left. He also had a gun-lance strapped to his back.
Falgar had waited a few seconds to let Lulune put her now empty thermos away and Robin, Pot and Pock get closer to the group now said,
"We can walk together to the north part of Asteria, but after that Ais either I, Robin, or Nelly will take turns carrying you as we run, glide through the Coral Highlands, and run through the Savannah. If we encounter a monster that we can't avoid we will set you down, you are to stay back from the fights near Hermes, you can try using your bow but only if that won't attract attention from the monster. If it is possible for you to store any of the monsters in your inventory after they are dead so we don't have to waste time harvesting the monster's now but are not wasting them that will help too."
Ais nodded acceptance of Falgar's words and started slowly walking while saying to Elaine
"We should probably start saying our goodbyes now as we walk Elaine, since Robin told me that they will want to start running once they get outside the Asteria village domains."
"Meow, I'm going to miss you Ais, we may have only known each other for a bit longer than a month, meow, but you have become a big part of my life, meow. How long will you be gone anyway? Meow." Elaine said as she half-hugged Ais with one arm while walking alongside her.
"I'll miss you too Elaine, and a month and a half at the minimum, but probably longer since I can hopefully get experience fighting monsters semi-safely in Orario's dungeon. I won't stay gone longer then 3 months though, since the Hermes famillia will likely be happy to escort me back and forth between Orario and Asteria as long as I am willing to store a lot of things in my Inventory for them." Ais responded.
The entire group started walking toward the north part of Asteria as Ais and Elaine were speaking. They also gradually fell into a formation of sorts, with Falgar and Eleanor at the lead, Robin behind and slightly to the right, Tabitha moved up to the front left side. Meryl and Suicia took the middle left, Hermes the exact middle, Pock, and Pot took up the middle right. Ais and Elaine walked alongside the middle left to stay near Meryl and Suicia, although Ais felt that they were messing up the formation. Thane, Dodon, and Lulune took the near back with Lulune between Thane and Dodon. With Nelly trailing behind.
It was clear to Ais that normally the formation protected Hermes the most, but with all within easy sight and reach. Ais was pretty sure that only Falgar, Nelly, and maybe Robin were level 4, with the others being 3 or below and so needing a bit more protection, though even there those better at fighting were on the outside. Ais was pretty sure that if Hermes, Suicia, or Pot were capable of carrying Ais while keeping up they would be the ones carrying Ais, since they were in the center of the formation.
Within a short time the group reached the outer edge of Asteria, there was no true gate, but there was a dirt pathway in a gap between fences of pikes set in the ground. Eleanor had started falling back toward Ais and Elaine when they got closer. Now she stopped, and started slowly moving to half-hug Ais, waiting to be sure Ais saw her moving first. She then pulled back and said.
"This is goodbye for now Ais, I hope you have a safe journey and a good time in Orario. I talked with Hermes and Falgar, and although a bit more mercantile than I would like, both agree that as long as you are contributing in some way to the famillia you are welcome to stay in Orario or be escorted back here whenever you want as long as it is part of a planned trip for Hermes to update the status of the Monster Hunters and now Palicos here or go back to Orario with trade goods. So you can live part-time with each of us as you decided earlier. Don't be reckless though, from what they say even if things are more predictable normally, this dungeon seems semi-alive and sentient in the way it spawns monsters to try to kill as many unprepared adventurers as possible. So even though it is comparably safer than the monster territories around here, it is not safe in the dungeon."
Ais nodded in resigned acceptance of Eleanor's admonishment, hoping that Eleanor would relax a bit while Ais was gone. Elaine had mentioned that Eleanor used to be sassy, sarcastic, and confident as well as supportive and protective. Now it seemed that only the protective part was showing.
"Goodbye for now Eleanor, I will prepare for the dungeon and go with someone to help watch my back once the vigor-wasps are established" Ais said quietly.
"Meow, goodbye again Ais, meow, I'll miss you but hope you have fun in Orario. Meow. When you get back we can go on ingredient hunts together, meow, and hopefully help Eleanor and I out with a major hunt not too long after that. Meow. " Elaine said as they both took a few big steps to the side.
Falga had waited, while having Meryl, Tabitha, and Suicia hand out glider mantles, looking back until the goodbyes were clearly done, then made a gesture, and Robin fell back a bit to stand next to Ais.
Robin then said as she crouched down facing Ais.
"Ais, It would probably be best if you clung to my lower chest area facing me, as awkward as that sounds. But I need my hands somewhat free to draw a weapon if needed, and my glider mantle needs to be free so I can glide when we get to the Coral Highlands. You are wearing your great Jagras bag full of vigor-wasps on your back so even if I tried to carry you facing forward that would squish the vigor-wasps. The only other possible way to carry you would be on my lower back beneath the glider mantle, but not only would you not have a view, you would be getting slapped by the glider mantle. If that is too awkward or you have trouble holding on, we can try strapping your great Jagras bag to your front and I'll carry you."
Ais simply nodded in awkward agreement and reached out as if trying to hug Robin, but as Robin slowly rose she wrapped her legs around Robin's waist too as well as moving her arms to below Robin's armpits. She moved her head back and too the side a bit so she was not buried in Robin's breasts.
"Are you holding on well enough and are prepared for us to move?" Robin asked.
"Yes." Ais replied.
Robin moved to the middle left of the formation and Meryl took the front right. Then Falgar started jogging forward though the gap in the pike fence, With the others following. They then angled a bit east to head toward the Coral Highlands while going through part of the Ancient Forest.
The journey was swift. Ais tried to watch the outside scenery go by, and rarely could she pick out details before they had already passed by. It was just a blur of green with splashes of other colors. Then they slowed to a stop and when Ais pulled back and turned on her side slightly so her head could face forward she saw the cliffs of the Coral Highlands. Tabitha moved along the side for bit, searching for the ropes that would help their ascent. Robin put Ais down, and Meryl and Suicia handed out the glider mantles to those who had not already been wearing one.
"Although I could easily leap high enough to clear the cliffs surrounding the Coral Highlands as long as I had a bit of momentum from a run, Hermes, Suicia and Pot cannot, and some of the others were uncertain as well, so we'll take the slow way of ascending." Robin commented and explained why they had stopped.
Once all the glider mantles were worn, and Tabitha had found the ropes, Falgar briefly said to Ais
"We're switching who is carrying you, and changing our formation slightly. Robin is better at gliding and catching the wind currents than I so needs to be mobile and able to intercept any monsters headed our way. I'll help guard the middle. Robin will lead, with Tabitha on the right front, Meryl on the left front. I will be on the right middle, and Pock will move to the left middle. Try to keep watch as best you can, and tell me if you see a monster headed in our direction since I would guess your eyesight is better than mine."
Ais nodded and said "okay" in response. Falgar then lifted Ais up, with her latching on and turning her head so she could see to the right"
The group then used the ropes to lift themselves to the top of the cliffs guarding the Coral Highland one at a time, and apparently jumped out to start gliding in circles while waiting for the others. Just before he jumped Falgar tapped his heels together 3 times, and small iridescent wings grew on the sides of his shoes and started flapping steadily. Once they were all in the air, Robin started leading them North again while gliding through the air, cutting almost across the middle of the Coral Highlands. Ais noticed that all of them had those small wings on their shoes, and now understood Suicia's comment about their magic shoes generating a bit of wind.
Ais smiled in happiness at the feeling of being in the air, she could feel the wind passing by her much more intensely, and started to sense all the swirling wind currents around her. She pouted to herself that the Hermes famillia had not given her a glider mantle as well. She felt that with a bit of practice she could glide as well as Robin since she could sense all the wind currents rather than guessing like Robin and the rest had to do.
But then, it was partially her own fault, she never told them she was the daughter of a wind spirit and so would have an innate advantage from sheer habit, even though by now Ais knew that although no one in current times was directly descended from an elemental spirit, many people claimed to be distantly descended from spirits, that was how anyone other than the elves and beast people were able to do magic. But by the time she had read about that it would have felt awkward to bring it up to Eleanor and Elaine, and if had felt wrong to tell Hermes when she had not even told Elaine yet.
Ais made a mental note to either tell Hermes and at least Robin and Falgar the truth or insist on being allowed to at least practice with the glider mantles on the trip back or before-hand to prove she could keep up in the air at least so she could glide by herself rather than be carried for at least one portion of the journey. Gliding did not seem to require great strength, just skill so everyone would be equal in the air.
Ais could tell Elaine and Eleanor about her Momma being a wind spitit as soon as she got back so it did not feel like she was trusting the Hermes famillia more than them.
The group traveled for two hours through the air, with most monsters avoiding such a large and well-armed group. Ais enjoyed the scenery as she kept watch for Monster's approaching them. As Meryl had said, there were long spires of a coral plant, mostly purple, pink, and blue but with orange, yellow, red or green as well so there were a lot of colors. There were also plenty of spires of brown rock and canyons, so Ais could see how walking would take a very long time.
There were plenty of small monsters both on the ground and in the air.
Ais noticed a few herds of Kelbi, an almost deer like small monster, although their coloring was closer to black with pale spots on the top and a pale orange on their belly and they were as big as humans so not that small on the ground.
There were also Vespoid and Raphinos in the air. Vespoid were like giant man-sized wasps or bees, just with bigger stingers and red and yellow stripes rather than black.
Raphinos were like man-sized bats without the bat ears and with strange forked tails. Ais knew there were a few other small monsters native to the Coral Highlands, but they were more rarely sighted since Shamos were nocturnal. And the Gajalaka were somewhat intelligent and had their own hidden villages so were even more rarely seen.
There were also many large monsters in the Coral Highlands. The main diet of these large monsters were the hundreds of eggs in the Coral Highlands, small monsters, and the large monsters that were smaller than the larger monsters on some occasions. Thankfully most of the large monsters in the Coral Highlands were land based or nocturnal. So Ais only had to worry about Bazelguese, Pink Rathian, Legiana, Paolumu, and maybe Nargacuga although the last one spent more time on the ground than flying. Coral Pukei Pukei were non-hostile unless attacked. The rest of the large monsters could not reach this high in the air so would only be an issue if they landed.
Ais had noticed and notified Falgar of a few monsters heading toward them in that time, such as a Pink Rathian in the distance but they had always turned back upon getting closer to the group rather than attacking since even large monsters were wary of such a large group.
Ais then noticed a Paolumu heading in their direction this time, which was new at least. So she notified Falgar in a quiet murmur.
"There's a Paolumu heading toward us this time, it is a large white flying wyvern bat-like monster with a large air sack around it's neck that is normally aggressive at close range so if it does not turn back then expect it to attack us."
Falgar said "We'll see if this one actually gets close before taking action, but I will notify the others of a possible hostile monster just in case."
Falgar passed on the message with hand signals and whisper-shouting. The group all started angling toward the ground a bit more, but continued gliding. Then all of a sudden Pock frantically shouted "big Wyvern monster heading towards us from the left fast!" and they heard two roars. Falgar and most of the others dove for the ground, but Robin and Meryl stayed in the air while making evasive maneuvers.
They had just touched down and Ais had jumped out of Falgar's arms toward Hermes so Falgar could fight freely when Meryl shouted out.
"Its a Legiana, I think it was going to have a turf war with the Paolumo to our right, but we were between them so it will target us as well!"
Then Meryl started heading downward himself. He just barely dodged a wind pressure attack from the Paolumu that was headed toward the Legiana.
Ais glanced at the other monster, the Legiana and saw it was mostly yellow, with some black. It had a black beak-like snout. The ears had yellow flaps attached to help steer. The very large wings were yellow with black veins and muscles, almost like a cross between a butterfly and a bat, spreading very wide at the top and gradually narrowing with three triangular flaps. It had a long black segmented tail that spread out like the tail feathers of a bird only clearly much thicker and with actual muscle and flesh instead of feathers. It was hard to judge size with them in the air, but the Legiana was bigger than the Paolumu and both were bigger than a normal house at the least.
Once Meryl was on the ground he started spouting off information regarding the two monsters.
"Both monsters are weak to fire and thunder, so Thane start shooting those fire arrows. The sac around the neck area is how the Paolumu moves fast in the air, it stores air that the Paolumu sends out in bursts of wind to give propulsion, so focus on damaging it. The same with the membrane around the Legiana's Wings. Legiana has the ice element, so watch out for ice attacks. The Paolumo does not have an official element according to Monster Hunters, but uses wind extensively so it might as well be considered a wind element. The Paolumu resists water and adding water would just give the Legiana more to freeze so Suicia don't bother starting your spell. Head, wings and neck of both are vulnerable if we can hit them. Poison will work somewhat as well, with the Legiana a bit more susceptible."
At Meryls words regarding poison Ais gently put her bag down on the ground, then unstrapped her bow and quiver of arrows, grabbing one arrow and rubbing the tip along the pukei bow to give it the poison element, then waiting while taking aim at the Legiana.
The others had not been idle either, with Thane especially using a short chant and sending out fire arrows at both monsters during the start of Meryl's explanation. His 1st shot hit one of the Legiana's wings, injuring it and setting the membrane on fire. The 2nd shot hit the neck of the Paolumu, forcing most of the air out of the sack.
Both monsters were forced to slow down and get closer to the ground, while turning their entire focus on the group rather than taking potshots at each other. Now Robin who had somehow remained in the air the entire time, threw her spear at the Paolumu that hit it's head and neck from above, causing it to screech in pain as it crash-landed. Falgar leaped toward the Paolumu and swung his sword, cutting through most of the neck and killing the Paolumu. When the Legiana got close enough Ais had started sending poison arrows at it, though she only managed to hit the already injured wing, with the rest of her arrows missing or bouncing off its tough hide.
With the Paolumu dealt with, Thane no longer had to divide his attention, and swiftly sent many fire arrows at the head, neck, and wings of the Legiana, forcing it to the ground in injury as well. This time Nelly leaped forward and while holding her shield against the ice attacks, drove her own spear right through the Legiana's mouth into its brain and killed it.
Ais took deep breaths to calm down from the sudden action.
Robin had retrieved her spear from the Paolumu while Ais was calming down.
Then, remembering Falga's words about storing monsters in her inventory for later harvesting, Ais tentatively walked over to the dead Paolumu and lightly touched one of it's wings while saying "Inventory Paolumu." There was a golden glow surrounding the entire monster, then it vanished into Ais inventory, taking up a large spot.
For the first time Ais noticed that the Inventory skill did use up magic, since she felt her mind reserves dip noticeably. After a few more deep breaths to start recovering Ais walked over to the Legiana and repeated her actions previously, this time saying "Inventory Legiana." There was another golden glow, and the Legiana also went to Ais's inventory, with another dip in Ais mind reserves, slightly larger.
It was a good thing Ais was not expected to fight using her magic, since between storing the two large monsters that took almost as much magic as activating Ais Ariel Tempest once, which was almost half of Ais magic/ mind reserves.
Ais made a mental note to herself to inform the Hermes familia of that drawback for the future, but it did not make much difference now.
The others had been checking for wounds and retrieving any stray arrows in Thane's case, although he mostly retrieved Ais arrows since all of his had hit the monsters and stuck in them, being stored in the inventory along with the monsters.
Once that was done, Falgar said
"Well, good to know that we have not reached the limit on large size yet, that Legiana had to be at least 14 meters or yards long if the wings were spread out. And the Paolumo was at least 10 meters or yards when it's sac was inflated. That is huge. That inventory skill of yours is so useful Ais, both monsters have many valuable parts but are far too large to carry all but a small proportion so they would be mostly wasted if we tried to harvest them here. So thanks again. We should get going again though, lest more monsters come that were attracted to the noise of the fight, brief as it was. Good job Thane, your fire arrows really helped a lot. And nice attack Robin, the Paolumu was probably dying already when I stepped in to finish it off. Nelly, nice work as always."
Ais silently placed her bow and quiver of arrows, accepting some of her arrows from Thane as well, back onto her bag and picked it up again, putting it on her back.
Falgar then walked over to Ais and said, "here we go again, brace since I will need to jump hard to get high enough in the air to start gliding again without a handy cliff."
Ais nodded silently with slightly wide eyes, still surprised by how fast everything had happened. She understood a bit better Eleanor's worry now. One moment everything had seemed calm, then all at once they were being attacked by two very large monsters from opposite sides. Only a few of the Hermes famillia had even had a chance to act, and she noticed most of them had huddled in a circle around Hermes and Ais herself.
Although only 4 members had really done anything, the others had clearly been trying to protect the two most vulnerable members of the group and been ready to step in.
The entire battle had probably taken 5 to 7 minutes at most from the first sighting of the Legiana to the end of the battle with both monster's dead.
Ais herself had been pretty useless, only 1 of her arrows had even hit a vulnerable spot, and there had not been time to see if the poison would start working before Thane's much stronger arrows had caused severe injury. A true monster was much different from a spinning sandbag, the Legiana had flown much more erratically and faster even though it was such a large target. Ais would definitely ask for help from Thane to improve using the bow and arrows.
As Ais had been thinking Falgar had picked her up again, and she had automatically gripped on to him. She was still taken by surprise when he and the others jumped into the air. They jumped very high, almost level to the top of the cliffs surrounding the Coral Highlands.
Then the group started gliding North again for an hour more, before landing to have a brief break to eat. Ais retrieved a few boxes labeled rations and left it to the others to sort through the food as she hurriedly set up a few feeders for the vigor-wasps. They might not need to be fed every two hours when they were not breeding, but it had been closer to 7 hours since they were last fed early in the morning, and now it was afternoon. Ais had a feeling that the group would not be stopping again until nightfall unless more monsters attacked, and there would not be time to feed the vigor-wasps during a battle.
As Ais started the process of feeding the vigor-wasps, she reluctantly grabbed some jerky, a ration bar, and a trail mix bar in various cloth bags to eat herself as the rest of the Hermes famillia was doing. She also found herself quite thirsty now that she paid attention, so took long sips from her flask of water in between chewing the food. Within 15 minutes Falgar called for Ais to store the food again. She was just about finished eating and the last vigor-wasp was being fed a little bit since Ais had not bothered with setting up a training course or letting the vigor-wasps drink their fill. The now middle-size vigor-wasp was still drinking, so hurriedly Ais placed the half-full feeder into the basket and directed the vigor-wasp back to its basket and put it back in her bag. She then stored the other empty feeders, and the boxes again and crammed the last bit of jerky in her mouth.
Falgar chuckled at how Ais looked with her cheeks puffed out, and said.
"You can finish chewing before we start out again at least. Robin will start us off again, and it will take a while for it to be my turn to leap into the air."
Ais nodded as she chewed.
Ais did have enough time to chew and swallow the last bit of jerky, though Falgar had picked her up again before that in preparation. Ais was already getting tired of just being picked up, her discomfort at the touch of others only mitigated slightly by the fact that there was no skin contact with all the layers of armor and clothing.
Thankfully there were no more monster attacks, although they did have to veer away and climb higher in the air to avoid a Bazelguese. That was another flying wyvern that was very hostile at any range, that somehow shot out explosive scales. However it mainly targeted those below it with bombing attacks so once the group was higher they became too much work for the Bazelguese to want to attack.
As Ais had suspected, the group kept gliding generally north until the sun started setting.
…
….
….
Review Please!
…..
A.N.
Another very long A.N. But it would be boring and a stretch to have all this told directly to Ais so A./N.s are the best way I can find to explain what should be common knowledge to the people in this world. Review if you would prefer I have Ais told all this in story somehow, although bits will be explained in story anyway just in case people skip the A.N.s.
A./N. 3: has a bit of another few questions and a long description what I might be basing my continent and world on both Historically and geographically that might influence the future story; based on the geographical shape of this continent. Read it for more detail. Or skip if you don't want potential spoilers.
As you can see I committed to a guess for the sizes of the large monsters. Assuming those numbers by the side refer to centimeters, I divided 1495, the smallest size for Legiana by 100 since there are 100 centimeters in 1 meter. I still ended up with 14 m, 42 feet, or 14 yards. Most of the size of the Legiana is the width of the wings, I have no idea of how height is calculated. So I'll convert meters to yards from now on when describing anything above 10 meters, just know there are around 3 feet in a yard/meter.
The Paolumu was at 1006 for it's smallest size that I calculated to be 10 m, 30 feet or 10 yards. That seems ridiculous to me, but it is a fantasy world and monsters do eat other monsters so being around as big as a 3 or 4 story house is plausible for this world apparently.
The truly Enormous Monsters, I'm thinking Elder Dragons probably, can be as big as a football field which is 60 meters wide and 100 meters long. There were a few Elder dragon monsters in the earlier Monster Hunter games that were as big as an island apparently, but only 3 were listed so I am just going to not have Ais become aware of them since none of them were from Monster Hunter World. Football field size is more than large enough to be ridiculously large.
…...
...
A./N. 2:
By the way; my idea of the ecosystem of this world is that the world once was full of the normal animals that we are used too, then the monsters started coming from the underground dungeon and killed and ate most of the natural animals when humans did not make an effort to protect them. A few exotic animals still survive in zoos. So domesticated animals like horses, cows, sheep, pigs, dogs, cats and so on survived, but actual leopards, tigers, lions, wolves, bears and other animals that are too wary of or not useful to people were mostly killed off other than those in the zoos.
Animals that survive by breeding and growing fast like most birds, rabbits, squirrels, rats and so on also exist, but mostly only near human villages, towns and cities where humans have somewhat protected them by accident as they cleared out monsters for their own survival. Insects were barely affected, their predators just changed to small monsters and surviving animals and birds.
However some natural animals, insects, and birds were affected by all the magic given off by the large monsters and mutated and evolved at a very fast rate to become what Monster Hunters call endemic life.
People still remember and have images of many of the natural animals that used to live in the world since not all records were lost, but some of the less known animals are forgotten. The environment and terrain were also vastly changed by the presence of all those large monsters and their turf wars and elemental attacks which is why there are so many different kinds of terrain and the plains morphed to become a mini savannah all in one continent.
Remember according to the lore of Danmachi the gods/godesses descended almost 1 thousand years ago, with the Hera/Zeus famillia reigning over Orario for most of that time.
According to my personal lore Monsters started coming from the dungeon around 500-1000 years before that- humans just lost a lot of their civilization over time, but had originally been near the end of the Renaissance period before the monsters so had gunpowder, crude guns, a basic printing press and some other basic machines and inventions already. They lost some technology due to going into a mini-dark age when the monsters first started attacking but mostly just adapted it. Once magic stones from monsters became known people just adjusted to use those rather than inventing electricity powered machines. Humans also reverted a bit in their culture as they relied on the elemental spirits, warrior heroes, praying to the gods/goddesses, and sheer stubborn determination to survive in the face of the endless hordes of monsters before the gods/goddess descended. They did not forget guns since they were so useful in fending off monsters, but the means and time to produce guns became harder and they could not advance to better guns or canons for a long time so they also reverted to earlier weapons that were easier to make. So some of the very basics of science is known but did not take hold and dominate the culture because there is far too much in this world that cannot be explained by science.
This would then make this world a partial post Apocalyptical world but vastly changed due to Monsters, Gods, Spirits, and Magic existing in reality rather than becoming mythical due to science explaining things.
On the other continents although there are a few gods/godesses that established large famillias and hold territories similar to small countries, most of the humans learned how to become Monster Hunters and those that support them. Since in this world the hole spewing monsters was the largest and most intense where Orario grew, but basically any cave or hole leading too far beneath the surface can potentially lead to a vast dungeon underneath the entirety of the world. In the other continents they lost a lot more of their technology and their cultures changed and adapted drastically because of that continued harshness of needing to survive.
A./N.3:
I'm not sure if this continent is the equivalent of North America, or Africa although I am strongly leaning toward North America with a mini- African Savannah taking the place of Kansas, Oklahoma, ect.
I'm also not sure if I want Orario to be on the Western part of North America as an equivalent of North California, Oregon, or Washington or ignore Danmachi's lore to have Orario instead equivalent to Idaho, Montana, or North Dakota,
If this continent is the equivalent of North America. I'm just going to pretend that a large monster turf war created a larger equivalent of the Panama canal with no actual canals between South America and North America to explain why the Monster Hunters still had to sail to North America. If it is the equivalent of Africa then the Old Continent of Monster Hunters would be still be South America and maybe part of North America.
The Old Continent of the Monster Hunters would be mostly South America regardless of whether my continent is North America or Africa.
The Equivalent of Japan will also be to the east of the continent between this continent and the equivalent of Africa if my continent is North America rather than between Hawaii and Asia, since it is heavily implied that the Far East Islands are the equivalent of Japan in Danmachi lore.
But regardless of the cultural influences being very mixed up this continent will also have vast areas where there are few people but with a basic map from before the monsters came due to all villages, towns, and cities needing to be heavily fortified or patrolled to defend against the monsters, and needing to defend any farms or herds of livestock as well.
The equivalent of Native Americans or Native African tribes might survive in those unsettled parts of the continent, or they might have been wiped out by the monsters as well as disease and all the Empires from Britain, China, Russia, and Europe taking over their territories.
The Guiding lands and Hoarfrost reach would be the equivalent of Canada if my continent is North America, and maybe Europe, Greenland, or somewhere else if my continent is the equivalent of Africa.
Orario would then be in the equivalent of Northern California, Oregon OR South Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska ect. if I decide to ignore Danmachi's lore of Orario being the westernmost part of the continent.
the Ancient Forest and Ryumilua forest would be Southern California, Or Mexico
Telskyura would be just a random peninsula extending out of the equivalent of Texas OR Florida.
I like Telskyura being Florida more, so maybe I can just pretend Meryl's map is laughably out of scale since all his knowledge would be "far South and East of Orario on a peninsula" with Telskyura being Florida and Orario still being Oregon and Northern California. With Meryl just not being able to imagine the vast distances that Althena and the Empire actually cover or the vast amount of land that is wild and untamed now that used to be claimed territory from colonies of European countries.
The Monster Hunter territory would be the equivalent of Southern California, Arizona, Mexico and part of Texas, OR Mexico and a vast portion of the Southern United States.
I'm still not sure if I want to go that far in basing this world and my story off our world, or just declare this an entirely different continent and simply create the shape based entirely off my own map and a mix of Danmachi and Monster Hunter Lore.
Reviews of what seems to make the most sense to the most people will help me decide, but really it will not have a great deal of relevance until I go back outside Orario again when I have Ais start traveling with the Hermes familia or learn to fly to explore for herself so I am going to put off making a decision.
For now, my hand-drawn map is the only real map Ais will have ever seen of their modern times, which will only show the continent they are living on, and not all of it either.
In the future she might explore and discover ancient maps that show similarities to what Feline(I) knew of true world maps. Or go to 'the old continent' of monster hunters and see their maps.
It is hard to remember or know what people of the renaissance period would know of world maps. And I will abuse the leeway of 'Monsters changing the terrain, creating new lakes, and even changing local climates' to cherry pick what will be based solely on Danmachi and Monster Hunter lore and what will be based on our world.
The Renaissance era took place between around the 1400s until the early 1700s.
Europe, Spain and Britain had discovered and started colonies on North America starting in the very late 1500s, with Jamestown being established in 1597.
The Monster Catastrophe definitely came before the Age of Enlightenment, Scientific Revolution and Industrial Age started, and they never took place on my world due to the Monster Catastrophe interrupting and forcing all progress to be based on using magic stones and monster related materials instead.
I have forgotten a lot of my world history and will have to research when exactly I want the Monster Catastrophe to have occurred, I definitely want it to be after most of the more basic inventions such as printing press, pulleys, cloth weaving, and watermills for grinding flour but before science, electricity, planes and such really took off. I already know that plastic, and Styrofoam as we know it does not exist at all in my fan-fiction world, but something approaching modern plumbing, paper, and cardboard do. I'm not sure when canned food started to be used, so I have carefully avoided mentioning whether there is canned food among the rations. Even if canned food existed back then, I can pretend Asteria does not bother to use canned food or the Hermes fammila was not interested in it.
One of my later chapters has a description of what equivalents of plastics bags would be. And I did cheat and create cardboard boxes and tape already when describing how things are packed into Ais inventory and don't know when they were actually invented. If they were not invented until later I'll pretend they were invented using magical methods instead.
Review if you have any opinions on whether this continent will be based on a post apocalyptical North America, Africa, or an entirely different created continent.