Hunt 26: Zedept's Plan
After meeting with Icajuinawe's leader and hearing about the monster, Xross Blades is in their room coming up with a plan to fight the monster.
Xross Blades' Room: Early Afternoon (About 11 a.m.)
"A master of ice and physical attacks, what can it be?" Link asks. "I'm not completely sure but the only ice and physical attacking monsters I know are Ice Agnaktor, Ice Barroth, Urukususu and I think that's it." Raylin said with her hand under her chin. "So it's one of those three then?" Lyra asks looking at Raylin.
"There's one more." Zedept said with his head down. Everyone looks at him. "Who?" Link asks. "Barioth." Zedept said raising his head. They all look at each other. "How could we forget about that one?" Raylin asks. "I completely forgot that Barioth lives on this continent." Lyra said.
"If we face Agnaktor, Barroth or Urukususu then we have no problems. I've faced them before but Barioth on the other hand is a different story." Zedept said looking at them. "You've never faced one before have you?" Lyra asks. Zedept shakes his head. "So we don't know how strong it is." Link said looking at the table. "The only thing I know about them is that they are stronger than a Tigrex." Zedept said sitting down onto a chair.
"And you had trouble with that Tigrex from last time." Raylin said. "Let's just hope we don't run into a Barioth then." Lyra said. "Yeah." Link said in agreement. Zedept stands up. "Let's go." He said as he places Shikaiza onto his back. They nod and follow Zedept.
Thunder Snow Mountain: Pass – Mid-Afternoon (About 3 p.m.)
After leaving Icajuinawe and arriving at Thunder Show Mountain, Xross Blades found the path that leads to the summit and are walking it. The wind blows. "Brrr, that's cold." Raylin said shivering. "At least we have our cloaks so it's not as bad as it could be." Link said.
"True." Raylin said trying to warm herself up. Lyra looks at Zedept and notices that he's in a deep thought. "You ok?" She asks. Zedept looks at Lyra. "Yeah, just thinking." Zedept replied. "About?" Lyra asks. "Nothing important." Zedept answered. "I can't tell her that I was thinking about my parents." Zedept thought.
"Ok then, stay focused though, we never know when we might get attacked." Lyra said. "I know that." Zedept said and started to walk a bit faster. "What's with him?" Link asks Lyra. "I wish I knew, he's been distant lately." Lyra said staring at Zedept. Raylin looks at Lyra and then at Zedept. "Is he trying to stay away from her for a reason or is it something else?" Raylin thought to herself.
After walking for an hour, they arrive at clearing with a magnificent view of the continent. Lyra and Raylin runs over to the edge to take a look. "Wow, so pretty." Raylin said. "The snow is very pretty." Lyra said. Zedept is sitting on a rock quite a distance from the girls. Link walks up to Zedept on his left side. "What is it?" Zedept asks. "I'll get straight to the point, why are being so distant from them?" Link asks.
Zedept closes his eyes and looks down and takes a deep breath. "This stays between you and me, got it?" Zedept said as he looks at Link. Link nods. "After we hunt Alatreon, I'm planning on going on a journey to find my parents." Zedept said. Link is surprised by what Zedept just said and he then looks at the girls. "So that explains it." Link said.
"If I told them, they would want to come with me but." Zedept said. "You want to do it alone since your family, right?" Link said interrupting Zedept. Zedept closes his eyes. "Yeah, you got it exactly right." He said opening his eyes and seeing Raylin and Lyra in the sunlight as it reflects off the snow and their armor. "You don't know what kind of danger lies in that journey so you don't want them to get hurt, right?" Link asks.
"After the hunt against that Narga with Raylin being knocked out and that scar on Lyra's cheek, I don't want them to get that badly injured ever again." Zedept said clenching his right fist. "But that's the life we have as hunters, every time we leave a city, we put our lives on the line every day." Link said. Zedept chuckles. "What was that for?" Link asks.
"You said that so maturely that I almost couldn't believe that what you just said came from a rookie." Zedept said. Link blushes a little. "I have grown a lot on this journey." Link said. "I know." Zedept said looking at Link. Link looks at Zedept. "But just don't do anything crazy or you may end up losing something." Zedept said putting his left hand over his left eye and looking at the girls. Link looks at the girls.
"Don't worry, I'll protect them in your place." Link said. "Thank you Link." Zedept said removing his left hand from his face. "Hey you two, let's get going." Lyra said to them waving her hand. "Let's go." Link said as he started walking towards the girls. A half-smile comes onto Zedept's face. "Yeah." He said as he gets off the rock and starts walking to the girls. "As long as I have friends like them, I know I can leave Xross Blades in their hands when I go to find my parents, my family, let's hope that they are alright ." Zedept thought to himself.