Chapter 13 – Tanzia Travels
Reply to "Guytobe": Sanguis is still a monster at heart, meaning that he's attracted to strength, independence, and other such factors that mean the difference between life and death in the wild. Keyren is strong and able to take care of herself, which tells Sanguis that she's worth his attention. The fact that he's also smitten with Keyren's physical appearance makes perfect sense – an attractive female is one who's sought after by other males, and thus is probably worth the effort.
(In humans, for example, men find wide hips attractive in women because it has something to do with how well they can deliver a baby. Of course, we don't consciously think of this, but it nevertheless shows that we find certain traits attractive because they have that practical evolutionary purpose.)
-.-.-.-.-.
The airship moved slowly across the sky, so high above the landscape that the various features of the Great Continent looked small and insignificant. The wind blew unobstructed way up here, something that Duruhos loved. For a moment, he almost wished he had been born a flying wyvern. Being able to experience this… this incredible feeling every day of his life would have been a magnificent gift.
But no, he would not regret something he had no control over. Life as a Rust Duramboros had not been bad, not one bit. In fact, Duruhos was the first to admit that all his years of living had been well worth it. He was old now, no doubt about that. But he was still as strong as he had always been, and he had his Elites with him. Even if he were to suddenly drop dead of old age right now, the Elites were more than able to take his place as leader of the hybrids.
He chuckled to himself. Thinking about such trivial things at a time like this, he thought. Goodness, I certainly am getting old if my mind is wandering so.
"When shall we arrive at Port Tanzia?" he asked, turning toward his comrades.
"Shouldn't be long now," Ray rumbled.
"And what of our guests?" Duruhos continued.
Cindy idly leaned against the airship's railing, running a whetstone over her tailblade. She didn't say anything, just raised her free hand and pointed a claw across the airship. Duruhos squinted to better see what she was indicating.
On the other side of the vessel were two hybrids, the 'guests' that Duruhos had invited along on their mission to Port Tanzia. The first was Kumono, the calm and collected Nerscylla-boy. If it wasn't for the pair of long, spidery legs coming out of his back, he would look almost completely human. He wore a dark, heavy cloak made from Gypceros skin, whose hood partially obscured his face. He also had hook-shaped claws on his index fingers – and combined with the ability to stick to any surface, they made Kumono an excellent climber.
Beside Kumono was Atticus, a much younger Seltas-boy. The neopteron-turned-human was currently grabbing Kumono's leg and shivering with terror, thanks to the height at which they flew. Atticus was covered in exoskeleton-like armor that featured bright orange gauntlets and an aerodynamic canopy that rose above his head from his neck armor. A couple of transparent wings twitched occasionally from their position against his back, and his glistening almond-shaped eyes swam with a fear of heights.
"They'll live," Cindy growled without even glancing up from her work.
Duruhos frowned at the irritable Glavenus-woman. She noticed and met his gaze with a scalding one, which lost none of its intensity despite coming from behind a mask.
"You're not happy about leaving Odon and Sue behind to watch over Loc Lac," observed Ray.
"Of course I'm not!" the former brute wyvern snapped. "In fact, Sue's the only reason I didn't outright refuse to accompany you in the first place! That monstrous Vespoid is far too unstable to be left alone for even a minute, and you know it. And what about that Spark bas–"
She felt a hand clasp her shoulder, stopping her from saying whatever it was she had been about to say before she regretted it. It belonged to Ray, who disapprovingly shook his head at her. Snarling, Cindy shrugged away his hand and shoved her whetstone into his beard. The sound of her footsteps faded as she stomped below deck.
"Oh, Cindy," sighed Duruhos. "One of these days, that temper will get you into trouble…"
"I would not worry," said the Gammoth-man. "She is fully able of taking care of herself. And she is civil without Odon around to irritate her."
Allowing a smile to crease his slightly wrinkled face, Duruhos nodded. "Indeed. That is why she will be such a big help when we meet with the humans of Port Tanzia at last."
"And you are quite relaxed without Spark around to provoke you," the giant observed further, fixing his leader in a beady-eyed stare.
The smile faded.
Breathing a long sigh, the elderly hybrid murmured to himself, "That is why I hope we finish our mission and get back home soon."
Ray frowned, an action visible even behind his huge beard. He knew as well as any of the Elites that the only thing Duruhos really worried about was his Rajang rival. If Spark did anything reckless while their leader was away, as he was now… Ray decided not to think of that.
"What is the plan for when we meet with the humans of Port Tanzia?" the massive hybrid asked instead, forcing such thoughts from his mind.
Now the smile was making its way back onto Duruhos' face, which Ray was secretly glad to see. Said Duruhos, "I have asked the Guild-Master of Tanzia to meet with us in private. It is better for us to do so, so as not to alarm the general public. Right now, only the Guild-Master and his aides should know of our existence."
"Smart," agreed Ray. "That is why you asked for two of your aides – Cindy and I – as well as the Nerscylla-and-Seltas-boys."
"I wish for the humans to see us as thoughtful, cultured creatures rather than abominations," Duruhos smiled. "You and Cindy are reasonable and polite, and Kumono and Atticus are not only loveable, but perfect examples of what hybrids can turn out to be. I mean, have you ever met a Nerscylla you wanted to love?"
The giant shook his head, causing his beard to rustle against his fur coat, even though he knew his superior's question was rhetorical. He decided to leave his leader, stomping down below deck to check on Cindy. Things tended to break when she was alone and in a bad mood.
Duruhos was alone for about a minute, and then no longer. Without warning, Atticus zipped over to his side and tried to hide behind him, but tripped over the Rust Duramboros-man's massive tail. Embarrassed and frightened, Atticus tried to duck so that his head was hidden underneath his canopy, blushing cheeks blocked from view.
"It's alright, little one," Duruhos said soothingly. He reached down and tugged Atticus back onto his feet, careful not to cut himself on the orange gauntlets that everyone called 'mantis claws' for obvious reasons.
Atticus was unable to speak just yet – he was proving to be one of the more stubborn, slow-learning hybrids – so he shivered his wings with a short buzzing sound and looked up at the elderly hybrid with huge almond-shaped eyes.
"Sorry, Duruhos sir," apologized Kumono. As soon as his caretaker walked up, Atticus dove behind him and didn't come out. "He's restless and frightened. This whole trip is too much of an adventure for him."
Nodding, Duruhos replied, "I am sorry for dragging you two along."
"Anything to help," Kumono assured him, smiling.
His eyebrows glittered, an unusual trait that usually made Duruhos look twice at him. As it was, they weren't eyebrows, but rows of simple blue eyes that served no purpose other than to detect changes in light. That was why Kumono always had his hood up, so as not to overwhelm himself in the sun-exposed city of Loc Lac.
The Nerscylla-boy had been chosen because he was polite and the most human-looking of the hybrids at a glance. But the closer you looked at him, the less human he seemed. Duruhos wanted Kumono's help to make a good first impression, and he was certainly the best monster-turned-human for the job.
"Are we almost there?" he asked, as much for Atticus' benefit as his own.
"We haven't yet made it over the Great Desert yet," Duruhos told him, "but Port Tanzia is on the nearest coast. The quickest route will take us past the Volcano and over the Tainted Sea, which the city is built on a peninsula nearby."
Kumono absorbed the information and nodded. He turned around to look at Atticus, who stared back at him unblinkingly. "Just hang in there a little longer, okay Attie?" he asked softly, referring to his charge by the pet name he used sometimes. "It'll be over soon."
The only noise that came from the little Seltas-boy was an agitated buzz, accompanied by a nervous twitch of his mantis claws. When Kumono strode away to peer over the railing of the airship, he actually let out a squeak from his mouth and fluttered over to his 'big brother'.
"See that, Attie?" said Kumono, pointing with the hooked claw on his index finger.
Reluctantly, Atticus peeked out from behind the former temnoceran's Gypceros-skin cloak and looked out over the landscape – at this altitude, it was spread out like a giant multicolored blanket big enough to cover the entire world. Below them and in front of them was the sandy brown of the Great Desert, while further out, light green grassy plains and dark green forests could be seen. A dark spike – the Volcano – could also be seen, jutting out from a small region of barren black and grey. And furthest away from it all, the thinnest of all sparkly blue lines, was their first glimmering sight of the ocean.
"You've never seen the sea before, have you?" Kumono asked him.
Atticus made a soft hissing sound and shook his head. He had been found in a part of the mountains of the Nameless region called the Sunken Hollow, far from any major water source.
"Good thing you're coming on this trip then," the Nerscylla-boy continued, giving his charge an encouraging smile. "You're going to be seeing a lot of new things."
There was the sound of loud stomping coming up from below deck. Cindy's scowling face suddenly appeared above deck, followed by her arms and torso. She was carrying a casket full of darkly-colored bottles that rattled loudly when she put them down.
"I thought I smelled something bad," she snapped. "Duruhos, did you forget to clean out the airship before we used it? I found these human drinks below deck. They must have been in the storage room since Loc Lac was abandoned. The whole place smells like" – she took a whiff of the casket and grimaced – "like old fruit."
Ray also poked his head out from the trapdoor, and could only barely squeeze past Cindy and through the relatively small opening to get his massive bulk back on deck. "We must have forgotten to put that with the other drinks we found when we first came to Loc Lac," he noted. His trunk moved slightly so that he could give the bottles a quick sniff. "It's surprising how many wine cellars full of their drinks the humans left behind when the city was abandoned."
"It's puzzling how we managed to miss it," Duruhos agreed in a musing tone, "especially since our scouts have used this airship multiple times."
Kumono spoke up just then. "Maybe we could use it as a gift, now that we've found it? We're not going to do anything with it otherwise."
The Elites considered that.
"Quite the opportunist," admitted Ray.
"A capital idea," Duruhos nodded. "From what I know of humans, they are fond of alcoholic beverages."
"I can't imagine what idiot would want to drink this toxic waste," snarled Cindy, shoving the casket of drinks into Duruhos' arms. "This is literally the most disgusting thing I've ever smelled in my life. Even the aroma of Delex that's been sitting in the sun too long is pleasant compared to this. It's so bad that –"
A gust of snowflakes to the back of her head was enough to make her stop.
"You've already made your distaste quite clear," Ray said. "Herbivores like myself – and some omnivores like humankind – in fact find the smell not too bad."
While he wasn't much fonder of the sharp, fruity smell than Cindy was, Kumono felt pleased with himself. He was glad to have given the idea of handing this off to the humans as a token of hospitality. Seemingly sensing his caretaker's elation, Atticus buzzed and came out from behind him.
"Now, we must prepare to meet with the human leader of Port Tanzia," Duruhos began, starting to pace back and forth across the deck. "Kumono, you must keep an eye on Atticus so that nothing startles him into… panicking, to put it nicely."
His reply was a solemn nod. When a hybrid that hadn't yet grown out of his or her monster mentality was frightened, they tended to 'defend themselves'.
"Cindy and Ray," the old man continued, "you will be negotiating with me."
It was the Glavenus-woman who replied. "Whatever you say."
Opening his mouth to say something else, Duruhos suddenly closed it again and frowned, turning his head left and right as he scanned the airship and found no-one else aside from the five of them.
"Where might Gulo be?" he asked, almost to himself.
"Below deck," Cindy drawled with heavy sarcasm. "Plotting for the death of us all."
Ray turned to Duruhos and answered, "Below deck, eating something. You know how he gets."
"Indeed," chuckled the Rust Duramboros-man, thumping his tail with amusement. "He will be a big help when we reach Tanzia. An elder dragon such as himself commands respect."
"Even if his gluttonous demeanor doesn't," Ray commented, dryly. "It's hard to appear threatening when you're stuffing yourself."
The group shared a good laugh at that. Even Atticus made a small sound that could pass for laughter.
"Might you find Gulo and tell him to come up here?" Duruhos asked of Ray. "I would like to speak with him about what awaits us in the human city."
With a slight nod, the Gammoth-man descended through the trapdoor.
-.-.-.-.-.
The sound of Ray's heavy footfalls could be heard even from where Gulo currently was. When he started feeling the vibrations traveling through the wood and making his bare feet tingle, his eyes widened.
"Someone's coming," he warned the other being currently in the room with him. "Remember, pass this on to one of the others."
"They'll already be at Loc Lac, covering for your absence," confirmed Avari, stretching out his wings. "But I'm still worn out from flying here from the Old Swamp. Gogmazios is finally awake."
"Oh, good," Gulo said distractedly. He pressed, "So… you'll pass it on?"
The Sin of Greed sighed. "It'll be half a day's flight if I conserve my energy. Which I have to do. But yes, I'll tell the others about what you're up to. Don't expect me to come back and check on you very soon."
Turning toward the gaping hole in the side of the airship, Avari jumped, spreading his wings as he did so. His form blurred for a second, and was replaced with a powerful Alatreon. The black elder dragon disappeared through the clouds.
"Whew," Gulo breathed. Then he examined the hole. "I'd better come up with something to tell Duruhos about this…"
-.-.-.-.-.
Fortunately, the trip back home didn't take Phisto long this time. Before, he needed to trek through the entirety of the Swamp, and then some, in order to get back to Mezeporta that lay an entire day's worth of walking away. This time, coming back from the Desert, he had an airship to pick him up and save him at least a week of traveling.
That said, he was still exhausted after his day in the arid subregion. He really wasn't a pretty sight – inside his armor, he was sweating, and outside, he was covered in a grotesque mixture of sand and purple Hermitaur blood. What little of his blond hair peeked out from under his helmet was stuck to his forehead and neck with sweat. He staggered as he slowly walked on the paved road, feeling like the weight of his Great Sword was something he couldn't stand any longer.
"Hey!" Catry greeted as he neared the Guild Hall. The Bones boy ran up to the other teenager and patted him on the shoulder. "Wasn't expecting to see you so soon. Did your 'special mission' go well?"
"Depends on who you ask," grumbled Phisto. "I feel like Hell just swallowed me up and spat me out, but I managed to get rid of a good number of Hermitaurs. They weren't hard to slay, and didn't put up much of a fight."
He chose not to mention his odd encounter with the Rathian. He could always tell his lifelong friend about that later. Right now, he just really, really wanted a nap.
"Ah, Phisto!" a voice called out from in the direction of the Guild Hall. The two boys turned around and saw Caela striding toward them, waving to get their attention.
Phisto felt his heart jump into his throat, and he swallowed reflexively.
"Good work in the Desert," the Wyverian woman complimented the Docks boy. "We got a report from the Dragonwatch that certain areas seemed to have calmed down. How many Hermitaurs did you slay?"
"Don't know," Phisto replied, not looking at his crush directly. "I lost count at about two hundred."
"Well," Caela said, a hint of amusement in her voice, "you'd better get cleaned and rested up. The Guild-Master wants you to accompany us to Port Tanzia tomorrow."
Unprepared for the special-treatment bomb, Phisto was struck dumb with his mouth hanging open in shock.
"Real smooth, man," snickered Catry, nudging him.
Phisto managed to get his mouth unstuck. "What the fu–"
A wave of the hand was all Caela had to do in order to stop him from saying something he'd likely regret. He clamped his mouth shut and bowed his head a little as an apology from the mild overreaction.
"The Guild-Master has taken an unusual interest in you, Phisto," Caela told him. "I, too, if I am honest. I do not know what my grandfather sees in you, which fascinates me. The both of us will be keeping an eye out for you."
Face turning bright red, Phisto managed to stammer out a thank-you. He assured her that he'd be arriving at the Guild Hall bright and early tomorrow so that he wasn't holding anyone back, and rushed off without another word, still maintaining his blush.
Caela frowned at his departure.
"I'm sure he's just tired," Catry told her offhandedly. "And he's never been the most social person. He's fine."
She nodded, then headed back to the Guild Hall, where she undoubtedly had more work to do. Catry followed his friend in the direction of Mezeporta Square, just as eager to relax as Phisto was.
A memory from the other day crossed his mind all of a sudden. It was of that Guild official that the Guild-Master had mentioned, the one who hadn't come back from his last mission in the Moga region. Maybe that was what the departure to Port Tanzia was all about. It seemed likely.
Still… Catry barely stopped a chill from running down his spine. He couldn't help but wonder if everything would be alright. Because for some reason, he was convinced that it wouldn't.
-.-.-.-.-.
So yeah, now that the English names for the Elite Four have been revealed – a while ago – I shall hereby refer to them by said names.
Also, a Seltas hybrid named Atticus – a little call-back to the original "Metamorphosis" story that I have since deleted. Don't worry, he isn't going to be murdering anyone in cold blood in this fanfic.
(I'm still a bit guilty I deleted that story. It was such a cool idea, but I just couldn't live up to my own expectations.)
Review, please!