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The cave started widening as you tightened your hold on the Sekrit’s reins. She clicked her beak, clawed feet scraping against the stone. There was something off about the air in this cave; no wonder you had been dispatched to investigate. You ran a soothing hand over your Sekrit’s teal feathers.
“This cave looks old,” Alma murmured, “Look at the layering of the sediment.”
You hummed to let her know you were listening, and she continued rambling. Alma had been with you since you came to these lands. You were lucky to have her as your Handler; without her, you might not have gotten this far.
“How far do you think it’ll go?” Nata mused out loud, he was practically vibrating in excitement. This was his first mission where he would be assisting directly with the hunt if it came down to it. Inwardly, you were beaming with pride; your ward was going to be graduating from Assistant Hunter soon enough.
Alma directed her Sekrit to ride alongside yours, as she said, “It’s hard to tell but the cave could go on for a while. Possibly miles.”
“Miles?!” Nata breathed.
You shook your head lightly at the pair, a mirthful chuckle escaping your parted lips. Nata huffed at you, one arm wrapped around Alma’s waist while the other was fiddling with the hilt of one of his dual blades. Technically they were yours from when you were an Assistant Hunter. Nata had cried when you presented the blades to him after he passed his Guild exams.
You blinked as the cave opened up into a larger area, it was lit with several bioluminescent mushrooms dotting the walls and an odd hole at the other end of the room. Narrowing your eyes you slid off your Sekrit, hand resting on your carving knife. Nata ran up to your side, his face mirroring yours as he looked around.
“I’ve never seen mushrooms like this before,” Alma said while collecting a sample to bring back to camp. The researchers would be excited about this, they always were.
Nothing seemed too off about the cave, except for the large impossibly dark hole against the far wall. You walked closer, careful to watch for any changes in the environment. All your anxiety built in your chest at the sound of a familiar roar, whipping around a rather small Rathalos hit the ground. He had come from a ledge up above, this would be hard. The space was not large enough to properly fight a flying wyvern. The Rathalos’ dull red scales were bathed an eerie purple from the light of the mushrooms.
“The Guild authorizes you to hunt the Rathalos,” Alma shouted.
Nata kicked into gear just like you had talked about, his dual blades fell into his hands. You mirrored him, cocking a piercing round into your light bow gun. “Let’s go Nata!”
“Right,” Nata said, he ducked under a stream of fire and cut at the enraged beast’s ankles.
You drew the Rathalos’ attention with a facefull of bullets, he snarled and snapped his beakfull of razors at you. Jumping back you kept up a steady stream of coverfire while Nata chipped away at the Rathalos’ armour. The wyvern roared, jumping up into the air brandishing his poisonous clawed feet.
“Back!” You bellowed.
Nata rolled out of the way of the claws, narrowly avoiding them. He was off balance with his back to the hole in the wall and the Rathalos was not slowing his assault. You saw what was going to happen before it happened, when the Rathalos swooped again.
“Nata!” You shouted, grabbing his arm and throwing him out of the way.
You went tumbling into the hole with the Rathalos barreling after you, flames burning in his maw. The back of your head cracked against stone, you were definitely bleeding. There was no time to waste, crumpled on the floor, you rocked to your feet and loaded a wyvern blast into the chamber.
The Rathalos whined as you filled his wounds full of lead. He hit the ground with a pitiful roar and was defeated. Falling into your normal post-hunt routine, you carved the monster, not getting anything particularly good. With that out of the way, you turned to make sure Nata was alright, you blinked, he was not there. Whipping around you finally took in your surroundings, tall structures and bright lights. Where in Wyveria were you?
“What the frag,” A voice warbled—the voice was not familiar.