(MHW X Rising of the Shield Hero) The Hunter, the Handler, and the Hero

Fall for the Pride - Part 2

"Based on the attacks, we believe that a nest of Interdimensional Bees have established a nest deep within the forest," reported Knight Sitka. "They wouldn't be too much of an issue, but there are Zombies and Lizard-Man Shadows and that attack with them and protect their hive." Hunter held the chipped sword against the scout fly cage on his hip and Handler presented a chitinous dagger to hers. Sitka continued, "Those should have the scent of the Bees and Zombies, but the Shadows don't drop anything when they're slain so we don't have anything for you to get a scent from."

"Our scout flies will learn to track them as we go," Hunter allayed his concerns. "Do they have any obvious weaknesses you've been able to exploit?"

"They're not very fond of fire and, since they have only attacked at night so far, I believe they may not do well with sunlight either."

"Just watch out for the giant formes," cautioned one of the adventurers, Mandeville. "We managed to kill three of them, but it was not easy and at the cost of several lives. These creatures are not to be taken lightly."

"I apologize if this sounds rude, by why hasn't the village evacuated?" Handler asked. She took a hesitant glance at one of the villagers on watch with them and chose her next words carefully. "Most of this village has been destroyed. If they were to evacuate, they could go to the Capitol and gather forces from the King to retake their village and rebuild." The other villager scoffed.

"I wish it worked like that," they said and tossed another twig into the fire. "The local Lords have been after our land for years. If we left, there would be no rebuilding. One of them would tear down what's left of our village and turn it into a vineyard or something to flaunt their wealth."

"Leaving you without a home," Handler surmised. She took stock of their equipment during the silence and pondered how they could capitalize on the monsters' weaknesses to keep herself from thinking even more ill about the King. The bomb pods might be useful, but we only have four between the two of us. If only I'd grabbed some torch pods... an idea leapt forward while staring at the dancing flame. "Hunter. How much moss do we have?"

Night passed without any incidents. The hunting pair rose early that morning to complete any preparations. Armed with several makeshift containers filled with moss and coals, they departed into the forest. Scout flies illuminated their way through the woods, snaking between the foliage, occasionally highlighting tracks belonging to their prey. Dragging footprints here, remnants of molted husks there, the occasional stripped tree bark. Their flies' chirping started to become more incessant after each track examined. Suddenly, they swarmed from their cave with such speed that it nearly gave Handler and Hunter whiplash. They exchanged a glance after gathering their bearings; their prey was near.

A glowing, green path presented itself and they broke into a sprint to follow it. The path led them to an ominous-looking cave, a glowing, purple web occluding its mouth. Handlers Scout Flies slipped between the glowing threads, urging her to continue pursuing her prey. Hunter's, however, continued further, creeping along the outside. After attempting to enter past the mysterious, humming threads with little success, they left behind the bugs and chased the corpses.

The Flies hadn't gone very far when they heard someone yell, "The H**l are these things!?" before turning red and retreating back into their enclosures. Upon reaching the source, they entered a clearing with tents and cages and saw a man in dark garbs swatting the air around himself. He breathed a sigh of relief when he realized the Flies were gone, and then he caught sight of them. A shrill shriek emitted from the frightened figure as they bolted away, screaming, "BOSS!!! Boss!! Those adventures found us!!" and ducking into a tent all while drawing the attention three similarly robed individuals.