Monster Hunter: Stars of Hope

Chapter Forty-Three: Landfall

They had reached the Iron Bastion at last, the two heavy airships breaching into the fog-shrouded skies above the old fortress. Nestled between the Amber Weald and the start of a low, coastal mountain range, this quiet place once guarded entry to the pass through these peaks to the coast, though now it was now far too ruined to guard anything without repairs. Of course, the hunters here today had little need to defend from an outside attacker, as they intended to draw an Elder Dragon into its walls, facing it within the surprisingly wide-open courtyard while leveraging a few still-sturdy fortifications and the interior corridors to their advantage. Though, much work would be needed to mend where the defenses had fallen to the ravages of time, to equip these walls with armaments that would give them a crucial edge over their dire foe, and to secure the area from any monsters that might prove problematic.

For example, the Great Jaggi and its pack that were feasting on an Aptonoth in the courtyard.

The bird wyverns had briefly stopped their munching to turn and look up at the giant objects approaching from the sky, but didn't seem fond of the idea of budging from this meal if they could help it. Of course, such creatures would prove no challenge to Nia and her team beyond the most basic of precautions that were wise to take against any wild animal. Yet, this did not stop Bucket from trying to circumvent the need for such a battle in the first place. From the edge of the deck, the gunner drew his Heavy Bowgun, loaded a shot of cluster ammo into it, and made a number of visual measurements to ensure that he wouldn't hit the ship. Just as soon as he knew he was clear, he fired a shot that soared through the air, the gaze of all the Jaggis all following the projectile right up to the point where it landed directly on top of their alpha's head. With a loud bang, the Great Jaggi nearly fell to the ground in shock, after which it then promptly scurried deeper into the pass in a roaring panic alongside its pack.

"No! No! Other way! You stupid- Ugh...", the gunner shouted and groaned, to which Sariko noted somewhat wryly as she clapped him on the back, "Hey, cheer up. This just means that wyvern might get a chance to compliment you for your aim later". To this, Bucket growled resignedly as he holstered the bowgun, displaying a frustration that was understandable to Nia nearby as she held her hand to her left arm to alleviate some pain that had fallen over it; After all, that pass was the only way to a port that was equally as ancient and abandoned as the rest of these ruins connected to it, which they intended to use as a landing site for the second brigade. Given that the Great Jaggi retreated into the pass, and not into the greater wilderness in the opposite direction, this meant that someone would have to go hunt it down sooner or later. Though, knowing how easy it would be for her and her team to dispatch it, it was likely that Vehlan would send them to take care of it very soon.

After how her last hunt went, Nia was certainly open to a change of pace.

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Just as she expected, it fell to their team to deal with the Great Jaggi and its pack. Of course, such an task beat having to help with the initial unloading of the ships, but Nia found herself unnerved as she and her team walked through the pass. At first, it was just the dense mists flowing through this ravine, seeping in and out of the many ancient homes carved into the cliff sides. Though, this alone was only cause for slight discomfort, even alongside the eerie quiet also in the air. In fact, Nia briefly considered using this hunt as an opportunity to try and pull Sariko off to the side and into one of the buildings to make her confession, seeing such a seemingly enduring lull in a relatively simple mission like this as a a good enough opportunity to get her alone. In pursuit of this, it was not long before Nia decided to take a quick look into one of the ruined homes to see if it was suitable for such a conversation.

The ancient, very human remains resting within changed her mind very quickly.

Nia swiftly found herself distracted by morbid curiosity towards what happened to all these people. Vehlan was right in his assertion that they likely experienced fear before their deaths; No one dying of disease would pass away from this world huddling with others in the farthest corner from the windows or taking cover in the darkness with weapons in hand. Of course, there was no evidence of a real battle befalling this place, so she had no clue if a monster was responsible or if something else had taken their lives. There was no creature she knew of that could do this, but what she did know with certainty was that, if a monster was responsible, it was likely a horror the likes of which she'd probably be better off never knowing of at all.