Chapter 9

By morning, the group had already packed up and proceeded along the path to Dundorma again. Unlike the trip from Val Habar to Harth, Dundorma was much closer and would only take a day. The hunters knew this because only a few hours later, they could spot the famous fortress city in the distance, sitting against the backdrop of the vast open plains and mountain ranges.

"Is that Dundorma?" Yuna asked, standing up and peeking through the gap.

"Sure is," Camilla answered from the driver's seat. "I reckon we'll be there in no more than half an hour so just hang tight and relax. Plus, this area is usually clear of large monsters due to the Guild Knights patrolling daily…And speaking of Guild Knights, I can spot one already!"

True to her word, not far from them, a Guild Knight could be seen riding on horseback, alongside several members of their squad, a common sight out on the plains. As they drew closer, Camilla slowed down the wagon, knowing that it was customary for them to inspect any potential visitors to Dundorma.

"Shit, they're gonna do the inspection!" Camilla whispered in realization.

"Cover your ears and hair with your hood," Leon instructed Yuna and the girl nodded, quickly pulling the hood over her hair just as the knight and their squad approached.

"Good morning," the knight greeted, tilting his wide-brimmed hat briefly. Like all Guild Knights, the top half of his face was obscured by a mask, and he wore the iconic red Guild Knight coat and armor. "Are you folks heading to Dundorma?"

"We are," Camilla answered.

"Alright then, allow me to inspect your wagon here." The knight and his squad circled the wagon to get a good look at its passengers. "…You there, take off your hood."

The group's blood immediately ran cold.

Julian was quick to act. "M-My cousin has skin allergies, meaning she can't be exposed to sunlight, or she'll die…and stuff."

"What he said," Gigi added with a nod.

The knight looked at them as if they had grown two heads. "Been there, heard that. Try harder next time. Now, I won't ask again."

Before the hunters could stop her, Yuna tentatively lifted her hood, revealing her face and hair to the knight. "Will this suffice?" she asked in a small voice.

The knight simply stared at her, eyes slightly narrowing and causing Yuna to fidget uncomfortably. Noticing her distress, Leon moved his body over to cover Gigi while glaring at the knight. "It's a little rude to stare at a young lady don't you think?"

The knight appeared to have gotten the message and bowed apologetically, "My deepest apologies, I did not mean to stare. I was simply mesmerized by her beauty."

Yuna blushed in response. The hunters, however, were not amused, especially Julian. "Back off from my cousin," he warned.

The knight raised his arms in surrender. "Woah, I truly mean no offense, please be at ease. Forgive me miss if my comment displeased you."

"It's fine…" Yuna said.

"Anyway, I've determined that none of you are threats to the city, so you are free to go."

"Wait, so does that mean you're letting us into Dundorma?" Leon tried to verify.

"Yes, that is correct."

One of his squad members looked appalled. "Wait Sir, what about-"

But the knight quickly silenced him. "I will take responsibility for them."

"…Yes Sir."

"Oh thank you, Sir…?"

He grinned. "It's Dorin. You can call me Dorin. And you are?"

"Leon. And she's Gigi, he's Julian and that's Camilla at the front. And this young lady here is Yuri, Julian's cousin. Now, is there anything else Sir? If not, we'd like you to lead us to Dundorma already."

Sir Dorin blinked twice before letting out a chuckle, "Very well then. Let's go men!"

"Yes Sir!"

"We'll wait for you by the gates," Dorin said, smiling again before galloping away.

…

The group had expected to be stopped again the moment their wagon passed through Dundorma's south gate but it would seem Sir Dorin had already informed the guards of the group's arrival so there was no need for further questioning.

"I hope you enjoy your stay in Dundorma," Sir Dorin said with a tilt of his hat. "How long are you planning to be here?" he then asked.

"Not long," Leon answered quickly, narrowing his eyes at Dorin. "Why ask?"

The knight, however, smiled. "Just a precaution. I'm sure you're all aware of the plague spreading throughout the region?" The group nodded in response. "Then you'll have to understand that I bear responsibility if one of you happens to be infected."

"I see. Well then, we'll be out of your way before you know it."

Sir Dorin chuckled. "I appreciate that."

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask," Camilla began.

"Shoot."

"If the plague is such a serious matter, why isn't anyone in the city reacting? Why does everyone look so…calm."

"Good question." He beckoned for his horse to approach the group and bent himself down slightly towards eye level. "Just between us, the Guild thinks the plague is the least of our worries and reasons that mass panic would ensue should they declare a state of emergency."

"Well that's just stupid," Gigi deadpanned.

Sir Dorin shrugged, "It is what it is. Now, I'm afraid I must get back to patrolling. If you have any concerns, feel free to contact me. Until then, have a nice stay."

They watched as he got back up on his horse and together with his squad, exited back through the gates and out to the wilderness to conduct their daily patrol.

After the knight left, the group parked their wagon by the entrance and decided to book a room at one of the inns.

"I suppose we could start looking for the person Yuna is supposed to meet," Gigi said as they all gathered in the women's room sometime later. It was a decision made to ensure Yuna never slept alone while the men were (naturally) put into a separate room just across the hallway.

Camilla sighed. "I can't believe we forgot to ask this, but who exactly are you looking for?"

"Oh, we're looking for a man named Ichikawa," Yuna answered. "He is a merchant and a good friend of my father who left to pursue business on the mainland. Last I heard, he set up shop here in Dundorma."

"Can you describe what he looks like?" Gigi asked.

Yuna held her chin, "Well to start, he's a Wyverian. A purebred one at that so his base features are a lot like Satoru. He also has silver hair."

"That's…not much to go by."

"He also has a pet bird!" When Yuna saw the still confused looks on their faces, her shoulders fell. "Sorry, that's all I can remember…

"It's fine. We'll just have to go with what we got."

The rest of the day was spent wandering around the city and asking the people whether they'd seen a silver-haired Wyverian merchant by the name of Ichikawa. Surprisingly, it didn't too long for them to receive an answer.

"Ah, Ichikawa? I know him. Nice fellow, and a respected merchant around here. Can't say I like him though considering he almost always steals my customers away from me…"

"That's great news. And can you tell us where he went?" Camilla asked the stall owner again, a bearded man who appeared to own a stall selling a variety of odd trinkets.

"Oh, he left the city some days ago. Apparently, he's visiting a friend way up in the mountains."

"The mountains? What the heck?" Gigi exclaimed.

"Yeah, said something about going to a village by the name of Kamo…Kami? No, that's not it…Kamura! Yes, Kamura village! He went to Kamura village I believe."

When they immediately turned towards Leon, the hunter frowned, "Why are you all looking at me like that? Just because I traveled a lot doesn't mean I'm familiar with every village!"

Gigi huffed, "Some leader you are."

"Fuck you," he retorted, glaring at her.

"Anyway!" Camilla interjected before Leon and Gigi would engage in another one of their arguments. "Now that we know where he is, I suggest we rest up today and prepare for tomorrow. Does that sound good?"

The rest agreed without a fuss.

…

Later that evening, the doors to the tavern opened as a tall man entered. At any other time, he would be instantly recognizable from the red coat and armor. Still, fortunately, the place was mostly empty, save for the bartender who paid no mind to the new guest as well as three figures sitting by the corner of the tavern.

"Took you long enough," Farron said with a frown.

"Lay off, will you?" the man grumbled, taking a seat by the table the group had reserved. We had to deal with an overly aggressive Rathian that behaved oddly and was threatening the safety of a nearby farm."

"I thought you didn't care about the lives of the people here," Layla pointed out.

He sighed. "You're right, I must be so exhausted I'm saying things I shouldn't be saying.

Minerva smirked. "Heh, what's this? Are you actually starting to turn over a new leaf?"

The man glared at her. "I couldn't give two shits about the lives of the people in this damn city. The sooner we get this done, the sooner I can say goodbye to working for the Guild. All I care about is us getting paid and moving on to a more engaging job."

"Keep telling yourself that," Minerva snickered.

"Why you-"

"Ahem!" Farron cleared his throat. "Dorin, you called us here to discuss something. Mind telling us what it is?"

"Right." He clasped his hands together under his chin and grinned. "Well, fellas…I've called you all here to inform you that our rat…has walked right into their cage."

Farron raised an eyebrow, slowly beginning to realize what he was referring to. "And by that you mean…"

Dorin nodded. "Our target…the princess…She's right here in the city as we speak."

"And you know this how?"

"Simple. I personally allowed them to enter Dundorma."

Minerva whistled. "Well, I'll be damned. You did something actually smart for once."

"Hey!"

"So where is she now?" Layla asked.

"They're staying over at one of the inns."

Layla blinked twice. "They?"

"Bodyguards it seems," Dorin replied. "Hunters."

"So snatching her in the middle of the night is not an option I assume…" Minerva said.

"Correct, and neither is doing so in the city and during the day. Not to worry though, I have a plan."

Minerva looked at Dorin expectantly. "Let's hope your 'plan' is better than just sitting and waiting for your associates to deliver the target to us."

"You sure you can do this?" Camilla asked, handing the reins over to Julian.

"It will be fine. Besides, you've been driving for the past few days. Let me handle it this time."

Camilla shrugged. "If you say so."

The group had gotten up early the following day to prepare for their trip to Kamura. While Camilla and Julian stayed behind to watch over Yuna while they loaded supplies onto the wagon, Leon and Gigi had asked around for directions to Kamura. To their dismay, the mountain village was a few days away from Dundorma, and although they could opt to travel via airship, the risk was too high. Thus, they were currently by the city's east gate, preparing for the journey ahead.

"Please stick with us a while longer," Julian told the Popo that had dutifully brought them from Val Habar all the way to Harth. The creature simply growled lowly in response. Giving it a friendly rub, Julian then hopped onto the front of the wagon. "All set?" he asked the rest.

"Yep!" Camilla replied with a thumbs up.

Just before they could head out of the gate, Julian spotted a group of people on horseback approaching them. Frowning, he turned towards the rest. "Guys, it's Sir Dorin."

Leon groaned. "What now?"

"I see you're all set to leave," Sir Dorin commented as he and his squad came to a stop next to them. "Not a fan of the city?"

"We've got places to be so we can't exactly stay," Gigi answered him dismissively. "Julian, let's just leave-"

"Woah what's the rush?"

"Gigi!" Camilla admonished. "Sorry for my friend. She shouldn't have spoken to a Guild Knight that way."

"I take no offense to that. I suppose I should apologize first, considering I may have been too pushy into your affairs. I did not mean to come off as irritating so once again, apologies."

"There's no need to apologize, Sir Dorin," Yuna said, choosing to speak up. "You were just doing your job."

"Yuri-" Gigi began but was promptly interrupted by the girl.

"No, I don't like the fact you all think I'm helpless and weak and unable to speak for myself! I can make my own decisions damn it."

The hunters fell silent while Sir Dorin had an impressed look on his face. "Well then…"

Yuna then bowed politely, "Thank you for coming here to see us off. We appreciate the gesture, but we'll be heading on our way now."

"Oh, and which direction are you heading? I may be able to point you towards safer routes to traverse."

"Oh, we're heading in the direction of this village in the mountains called Kamura."

Sir Dorin held his chin in thought, "Kamura huh? Can't say I've heard of a village named like that, nor do I know where it is. But since you're leaving from the east gate, might I suggest visiting Mezeporta Square on the way?"

Yuna cocked her head to the side. "Mezeporta Square?"

"It's a large town," Leon explained. "Ever since they broke off from Dundorma, the town has also served as both a hub for hunters and a sort of pit-stop for anyone traveling towards the mountains."

Yuna's eyes beamed with excitement. "That sounds lovely."

"I've never been to Mezeporta Square…" Camila noted.

"Me neither," Gigi chimed in.

Julian nodded. "Same here."

"Oh, you're going to love it there. It's a great place to rest and has plenty of shops and places to eat," Sir Dorin said.

"Thank you for the suggestion, Sir Dorin," Yuna bowed thankfully.

"Any time. Now, I've kept you waiting too long. I hope to see you all sometime in the future again!"

Yuna waved towards him as the wagon began to move. "Thank you!"

"Have a safe trip!" he waved back as he and his squad maneuvered their horses around to head towards the west gate to conduct their daily patrols.

Several hours into their journey, Camilla noticed Yuna staring off into the landscape with a dreamy look on her face. Smirking, the huntress edged closer to her and touched her shoulder. The startled squeak she emitted was worth it.

"Camilla!"

"Couldn't help myself. You were too engrossed in your world to notice my approach. Now, what were you thinking about hmm?"

"Nothing…"

"Really? Perhaps you weren't thinking about a certain Guild Knight perhaps?"

"There are plenty of Guild Knights out there. I'm not sure who you're referring to…"

Camilla smirked again. "Tall, suave…"

"Stop it."

"Athletic-looking, charming, polite…"

"I don't like Sir Dorin okay!"

"I never mentioned Sir Dorin though?"

Yuna blushed upon realizing her mistake. "T-That's-"

Camilla laughed. "Oh my god, you're adorable. Reminds me of my first partner with the way you two get flustered when teased."

"First partner?" Yuna's curiosity was piqued upon hearing that.

"Yup. What you thought having sex with another woman would result in pregnancy?"

Yuna's face turned a bright shade of red.

Gigi groaned loudly by the back of the wagon. "Camilla, please do not talk about sex in front of her."

Camilla scoffed. "Please, biologically, she's much older than all of us, so she's old enough to know about this stuff. Plus, I'm sure her parents talked to her about heirs and all of that," the huntress reasoned.

"Can't argue with that logic," Leon said with a shrug, earning a scowl from Gigi.

"Anyway, I got pregnant thanks to my first partner. A very nice young man from my village who just so happened to be a childhood friend."

"The classic childhood friend romance," Leon said, glancing at Gigi and Julian. Even from the back of the wagon, Leon could see from the gap between the driver's seat that Julian's ears had reddened in response. Clearly, he had heard their entire conversation.

"And if I may ask…what happened to him?" Yuna asked tentatively.

"He died."

"Oh."

Camilla had a wistful look on her face as she gazed out towards the horizon. "The selfless idiot got himself killed saving a colleague from a monster after they accidentally wandered into its territory. And he had promised to marry me too once we get enough money…"

"…My condolences," Yuna quietly said, not knowing what else to say.

"Thank you. Anyway, it's in the past already, and I'm glad I've already met someone new. We're currently very happy, but I know we will be happier if I can come back with enough money to support us for the foreseeable future. It's my way of honoring his legacy."

Yuna smiled brightly, "You are so strong Camilla. I wish I could be as strong as you- Oh my god!" She gasped loudly, startling the hunters.

Both Leon and Gigi jumped, eyes widening in alarm as Gigi looked around frantically. "Enemy attack?"

"What's happening? Did you see something?" Julian asked from the front of the wagon.

"The money! Forgive me for I have completely forgotten about your payment!"

Leon fell over dramatically. "You what?"

Gigi shook Yuna's shoulders "Say it ain't so!"

"S-Satoru has the money…I must have forgotten to get it from him…" Yuna answered, trembling.

Both Gigi and Leon leaned back against the sides of the wagon, incredulous expressions on their faces before they stared up at the ceiling and simultaneously uttered a loud "Fuck. Me."

Yuna immediately bowed her head down, muttering a thousand apologies. "Forgive me!" she uttered one last time.

"Hey let's not be too hasty here alright?" Camilla reasoned, quickly defending the young Wyverian girl. "It was an honest mistake. Besides, I'm sure at this point, you've all realized that money isn't what's important right now-"

"Stop," Leon raised a hand, interrupting her. "Camilla, please don't give us the whole cliched 'it's the friends we've made along the way' kind of speech."

"…Did it work though?"

"It worked for me," Julian chimed in unhelpfully from the front. "Honestly, I've completely forgotten about the reward money until you brought it up just now."

Camilla looked at Gigi and Leon expectantly. The two had their gazes fixed firmly onto the floor of the wagon and were silent. But after about a minute of silence, the two lifted their eyes. They looked at each other before turning towards Camilla and Yuna.

"Sunk cost fallacy," Leon suddenly said.

Camilla blinked, "What?"

"It's too late to back out now, so we're here until the very end," Gigi explained with a sigh.

In response, Camilla slowly grinned. She looked at Yuna, whose expression had morphed into one of relief. "I guess it did work after all."

"Shut up," Leon and Gigi both muttered, eliciting a laugh from the huntress.

Suddenly, they heard a distant rumbling. At the same time, the wagon began to shake with each passing second growing more intense. The Popo pulling their wagon also began to bellow, as if spooked by something.

"Uh, guys? We have umm…a situation," Julian notified them, a clear nervousness in his voice.

The hunters peeked out from the wagon to see what was causing the disturbance and were stunned silence at what they were seeing. It was a stampede…a massive one, consisting of large numbers of Aptonoth heading their direction.

"J-Julian! Get us out of here now!" Gigi shouted urgently.

"On it! C'mon!"

Just then, they heard a roar…followed by a large dark draconic shape descending from the sky. With its highly recognizable shape, the hunters immediately knew what was coming.

"Oh shit, it's a Rathalos!" Leon exclaimed. Rathalos, the King of the Skies. These red-scaled Flying Wyverns were incredibly dangerous and territorial, being known to drive away intruders with utmost aggression. Armed with a powerful fiery breath and poisonous talons, they remain one of the most sought-after targets by hunters as slaying one was considered a great achievement.

Camilla slammed her palm against the wagon. "Julian get us out of here quickly!"

"I'm trying!" To his frustration, the Popo continued to bellow and thrash in place. Then without warning, the harnesses holding the Popo broke, and Julian watched helplessly as it broke free and fled the opposite direction, leaving the wagon without anything to pull it. "No wait!"

"Shit!" Leon cursed as the stampede drew closer. Left without any choice, he shouted, "Everyone jump!" He grabbed a startled Yuna and together with the rest, leaped off the wagon…just as several panicked Aptonoth crashed into the wagon, shattering it and their supplies into pieces. However, that was the least of their worries. They were now caught in the middle of a stampeding herd of Aptonoth. To make things worse, they had been separated from each other and are unable to spot one another amongst the stampeding herd.

Holding the terrified Yuna close with one arm, Leon took out his knife with the other and swung at any that got too close while moving them out of the way of those barreling straight toward them. "Do not let go of me!" he ordered Yuna. The Wyverian girl responded with a nod and tightly wrapped her arms around his torso.

Not far from them, the rest of the hunters also struggled to ward off the Aptonoth herd. Camilla, who was the closest to the wagon before it got destroyed, was attempting to make her way over to the pieces of their wagon to grab their weapons while simultaneously weaving through the stampeding herbivores. Nearby, Gigi had the same idea as Leon and was using her agility to avoid the Aptonoths while swinging at those that strayed too close. However, her main concern was Julian, whom she had spotted several meters away from her.

"Julian!" she called out, but it appeared he couldn't hear her.

Unlike the others, Julian was neither as fleet-footed and skilled as Gigi and Leon nor was he as strong as Camilla. And to Gigi's horror, she watched as an Aptonoth crashed into him, sending them both tumbling onto the ground as well as causing a domino effect of Aptonoth colliding against each other. Without thinking, she ran, narrowly evading each Aptonoth as she made her way over to his location. She then searched frantically for him underneath the pile of Aptonoth before she saw a hand sticking out from underneath the pile. The moment the Aptonoths recovered and got up, the huntress rushed over to him, crouching down and pulling him onto her lap.

"Hey! Wake up! Don't you dare die on me!" she shouted in despair. "This isn't funny Julian! I swear to the gods if you die I will-"

A cough. "Ughh…"

She gasped. "Julian!"

The hunter groaned in pain. "That…hurt."

Unable to hold herself back, she squeezed him tight. "You're okay! You're okay!" she chanted repeatedly.

Julian wanted to tell her that she was hugging him too tightly and that it was beginning to hurt even more until he realized that Gigi was actually hugging him. Am I…in heaven? As much as he wanted to stay in her arms, however, it was beginning to hurt. A lot. Reluctantly, he reached around and tapped her shoulder.

"Too tight…Ack!"

Gigi immediately released him from the hug but did not let go of him entirely. "Are you…Are you alright?"

"Aside from several broken ribs? Never better," he quipped.

"Julian!"

"Sorry…"

"You two alright?" Leon asked them as he, Yuna, and Camilla jogged to their location. The stampede had already ended and the few remaining Aptonoth fortunately stayed clear of them.

"Here," Camilla said, placing all their weapons on the ground and rummaging for a Potion from their few remaining supplies, which she gave to Gigi.

"Thank you," Julian grunted as Gigi popped the lid open and poured its contents down his throat.

"Uh guys, I hate to break it to you, but we're not out of the woods just out," Leon said, referring to the scene before them. Sure enough, despite the stampede ending, they were now presented with an even bigger problem.

In front of them, the land appeared to have been set ablaze, with dozens of charred Aptonoth corpses littering the field. And amid the flames, was the Rathalos. Its eyes glowed an eerie red and its carapace was a much darker shade of red compared to normal. Leon noted similar features to the Nerscylla they had fought. Could this be another monster infected by the plague? The hunters quickly grabbed their weapons and readied themselves.

"I-I'm scared…" Yuna quietly spoke up, hugging Leon tightly. "W-What do we do?"

"Leon?" Camilla and the rest looked to Leon for answers. It was at this moment that they needed him to be the leader he claimed to be. Their survival rested on his shoulders.

"I…I'm thinking," was all he could say.

Gigi cursed loudly. "Fuck sake there's no time to think!"

"I know! But plans don't just pop out of thin air!"

"Well think of something!"

Leon frantically racked his brain for any answers, desperately thinking of a way out. His gaze then landed on Yuna, who was still tightly clinging to him. She was trembling and he could see tears from her eyes. Realizing that Yuna's safety was their number one priority, Leon formulated a plan that he wasn't sure would work. He had no time to ponder the specifics, all that mattered was that Yuna remained unharmed.

"Okay! I got something."

Gigi grabbed his shoulder. "Tell us!"

He gulped. "We have to drive that thing away."

"Which means…"

"Yes, we are going to have to confront it head-on."

Camilla sighed. "Shit."

"Well, I suppose it's better than running away and leaving ourselves vulnerable," Gigi concluded. "And Yuna?"

Leon looked at Camilla. "Since you're usually fighting at a distance, can you keep her safe?"

The huntress nodded determinedly, "You bet."

"Great, then the rest of us would have to get up close and personal."

Julian stood up despite the pain he felt in his body. "I'm ready," he stated with a grunt.

Gigi gave Julian a worried look but didn't make a move to protest. "Me too."

"Then it's settled." Gently, Leon pried Yuna off him as the Wyverian girl was handed over to Camilla, who gestured for Yuna to hide behind her back.

In the distance, the Rathalos slowly approached the hunters, growling menacingly at them. As it drew closer, Leon noticed more of those tiny flying creatures hovering above it. There was no mistaking it. Whatever those creatures were, they could turn an already dangerous monster into a killing machine. Their chances of driving it off let alone killing it were slim considering their lack of skill, but Leon was banking it on every chance they got, no matter how small.

"Hey Gigi?" Julian suddenly asked.

"Yeah?" the huntress responded.

"I love you."

Silence…before the huntress let out a simple "Huh?"

"I have been in love with you since we were kids."

Gigi could only stare at him with a flabbergasted look. "You…"

As if suddenly realizing what he had just said, Julian's face turned bright red and he began to stutter. "I-It's alright if y-you don't-"

"You're saying this now?" she shrieked.

Leon whistled. "Well, that just happened."

Their moment was interrupted by the Rathalos letting out a fearsome roar before running straight toward them. Immediately, Camilla drew her bow. "We can tease them both later! Here he comes!" She let loose an arrow that struck the Rathalos in its shoulder but did nothing to stop its charge.

Hiding behind the ruins of their wagon and with tears in her eyes, Yuna could only silently pray for their success as the hunters faced death head-on.

…