Monster Hunter: Stars of Hope

Chapter Thirty-Four: Emergency

"Shouldn't have opened my mouth", Nia overheard Sariko grumble to herself as the team hiked through the southernmost reaches of the Sunny Hills, "Was hoping for an easy hunt next. Instead, commander's forced to send us after an actual Elder Dragon. Didn't even have time to grab dango on the way out. Shouldn't. Have. Tempted. Fate". Though she did not say anything, Nia was in full agreement with her friend's frustrations here; This entire situation was terrible in all sorts of ways.

For a start, it was far, far earlier in their careers as hunters than when the old man would have been comfortable sending them to hunt an Elder Dragon. Then, there was the reality that the Teostra, which was oft labelled the 'Emperor of Flame', had likely already taken a few lives at this point. To make matters worse, as if all that wasn't enough, they were having to travel on foot for fear that the 'flame king dragon' could take offense to and attack any sort of airship that might make this journey easier. In most cases, that would be a disaster that even the most legendary hunters would find quite difficult to survive; Yet, even past that understandable reality, Haldys was curiously known for having a particular aversion among guildhall leaders against sending airships towards skies that had any chance of being unsafe. Overall, this whole situation was unfortunately difficult, to say the least, not to mention that it was also a prime opportunity for Nia to slip up and nearly give Sariko a heart attack once again, given the obvious danger posed by the Teostra.

Shortly after Sariko had muttered these words under her breath, the team spotted a measure of fading smoke on the distant horizon, to which they all quickened their pace to reach the village, all the while keeping an eye out for any sign of the infernal Elder Dragon being in their way. No such sign was found, and they soon reached a hill that overlooked the town without being stopped by it or any other monster. The devastation they beheld was plain to see, even if the people of this town had miraculously been left with enough of their homes and lives intact that the idea of rebuilding wouldn't seem too far fetched; Yet, for these people, little could be done to alleviate the shock of watching half of their village easily reduced to ashes, to ease the burden of much of their fields being set ablaze, or to heal the pain caused by the loss of life they suffered. Of course, Nia had seen much worse on multiple occasions, but such experiences did not dampen the pain she felt when witnessing the fruits of an Elder Dragon's unchecked wrath. It was a sight that frustrated her as much as it saddened her, reminding her of the unfortunate fact that the Guild could not be everywhere at once, especially when it came to monsters of such power.

Though, they were all surprised to learn that the Guild was here when the Teostra came to wipe this place away, to an extent. When they entered the town, explained to the survivors why they were there, and began to ask around for any information they could as to what could have provoked the Elder Dragon or where it might have went, the team was told almost immediately that another hunter was here at the time of the attack. In fact, the villagers insisted that this hunter, who they believed came from somewhere far off and did not know the name of, was the sole reason the emperor of flame did not stick around to finish the job. To them, it was like this stranger somehow sensed mere moments before that the fiend was inbound, to which they quickly organized an evacuation effort that saved many lives before going to meet the creature head on as it arrived, giving it a fight on their own that saved even more. Whoever this was, it was clear that were a damn good hunter, and the kind of person the team would very much like to meet.

However, despite quickly learning that said hunter survived the battle, it was clear that they were not here to be met now. According to the village elder, this hunter had arrived a few hours before on a hunt entirely irrelevant to the Teostra, and in fact was astonishingly swift to return to that hunt soon after as the infernal creature was driven off. This stranger had given these people instruction to be ready to flee again, and how to do so most effectively, before departing unexpectedly back upon their original endeavor. Somehow, the hunt this person was on was more important than that: a fact which more than a few of those that lived here had a reasonably tough time believing. In fact, this stoked a measure of anger in some people's hearts, but what caused more ire was the fact the emperor of flame was even able to take the town by surprise in the first place. After all, it was common knowledge that Teostra were the kind of Elder Dragon that the Guild made an explicit point to keep tabs on whenever one was discovered on account of their ferocious and prideful nature. Obviously, the Guild did not discover this one until it was already setting homes ablaze: something that more than a few of the villagers were quick to label a failure on the organization's part.