It took some time for them to reach an area that was safe, as the lady Grogar was following lead him around the vastness of the Coral Highlands, to a hidden path of sorts, one he knew none of the monsters knew about, though as they walked he did find an interesting sight, one of the fleet ships had crashed into the mountain peak. This one looked like someone might have redesigned it, as there was a balcony for someone to stand on, which he was sure didn't exist on the other ships, not unless the fleet changed designs over the many years they had been trying to solve the Elder Crossing. Given the pieces of information he had learned so far he was sure that it was the resting place of the Third Fleet, as one of the people near the Smithy in Astera claimed that he had worked on a ship for the fleet in question and that they had been downed after making their way over the Great Ravine. Due to what happened to him and his companions, being attacked almost as soon as they emerged from the fissure Zorah Magdaros had created, he was sure that the monster had done the same to the fleet, hence why they had been downed and left in an area that help couldn't get to.
Eventually they reached the inside of the ship, following the path the lady was walking along, and Grogar could see that the tales of the Third Fleet were true, there was nothing but Researchers and Scholars scattered around the ship, studying what rested in the Coral Highlands and maybe even the Rotten Vale. Some of them were still young, or at least young for the people of this world, and he was sure some Wyverians were mixed in with what he was seeing right now, plus there was a lady who seemed to be talking to some Felynes, like they were an adventure squad or something. The figure that held his attention was a Wyverian lady who was rather stunning, who wore some unlined clothing and a robe that looked like it might hang loosely, the latter having floral patterns on it, and in addition to her striking features she had long black hair that had a feather ornament. In addition to all of that he noticed a few things that set her apart from the other Wyverians her age, she had a smoke pipe in one hand, which seemed more like a calming device, while she was the first one who didn't wear any shoes over her feet, as the others that were near her age wore something over their feet, which allowed him to see her clawed feet, which may or may not have a few scales, he couldn't tell.
As they approached the Third Fleet Master, as that was who Grogar was sure the lady was, she stopped whatever she was doing and set down her relaxation material on a silver plate that rested nearby, so nothing got on the books and material that were near her sitting area, giving them her full attention as she eyed Grogar.
"Hiroko, I found them in the Rotten Vale, after witnessing the Legiana attack," the mask wearing lady said, though she did make sure to put Sherry down on a cot so she could rest, despite the fact that Grogar was sure she would be up in no time at all, given what he had seen of her so far, before she returned to his side as Patches stood near Sherry, "the stories of his power are true, he wields power unlike anything else in this world."
"Is that so? I had a feeling Alexia wasn't lying, and it is nice to confirm her tales." the Third Fleet Master, Hiroko, replied, her voice sounding calm and focused, like someone who could lead an entire fleet if such a thing was needed of her, though as she said that she turned her head towards Grogar, where she got up and circled around him, taking in everything that set him apart from the rest of the people in this world, before returning to her seat, "I am Hiroko, the leader of the Third Fleet, or 'Master' if you prefer, to the extent that such a title still means something, and you have located the remnants of the 'missing' fleet."
"As you no doubt know, I am the one called Grogar, and I wield magic, in addition to some Hunter skills," Grogar said, as he found that Hiroko was rather warm and inviting towards newcomers, no doubt because they had been trapped in this part of the Coral Highlands and had no one new to talk to, especially since she had to have been interested in meeting him after hearing whatever tales Alexia had told them, hence why he had magic wrap around his hands for a time, "It seems that Sherry, Patches, and I might have been attacked by the same monster that attacked your fleet all those years ago, or we were attacked by one of it's descendants, and I had to chase off a pair of monsters before they could attack us, down in the Rotten Vale."
"You have been busy." Hiroko remarked, though while this might have been a jest Grogar could tell that she was serious, no doubt because she must have heard or felt Zorah Magdaros smash through the tectonic plates in the area, which told him that the figure in front of him must have been waiting for someone to come and investigate the new region that was open to Astera, "but you did not come here to look for my missing fleet... you were tracking an Elder Dragon, weren't you?"
Grogar nodded his head and told them what had happened, about how Astera had been following Zorah Magdaros' path for some time, even though he noticed that the mask wearing lady bid them farewell for the time being and meant that he was going to have to repeat this again, before going into the siege and the creation of the fissure that they had been sent to investigate. Of course they were supposed to see what was on the other side and see if they could find the trail that all of Astera had been following, confirming Hiroko's words on why they were here, where she simply nodded her head for a moment as she listened to what he had to say. He also went into both of his encounters with Nergigante, an Elder Dragon who apparently came with each Elder Crossing, and the fact that this one was female, meaning the one that the fleets had faced in the past had to be another one, once more causing Hiroko to nod, as she understood that there two genders for each monster and that he was able to determine that by listening to their voices. Even though she had heard about him from Alexia, who had her own views on him, Grogar could see that the Wyverian in front of him was more understanding and liked to form her own opinions on the matters she discovered, and it sure seemed like she was interested in learning more about him and his powers.
In the end Hiroko simply nodded her head when Grogar finished telling his tale and when she finished thinking about the Elder Dragons that were currently making their way through the New World, even though there might be more powerful monsters lurking elsewhere in this world, before leaning back for a time.
"I would agree, trying to capture a monster like Zorah Magdaros was foolish, but Shepard has always been known for his strange plans and this one yielded some good information," Hiroko said, speaking for the first time since Grogar stated to share his tale with her, though he was surprised to find that she agreed with both of their actions, his thoughts on their failed siege and Shepard's attempt to capture an Elder Dragon, before she considered something, "It would seem that the arrival of the Fifth Fleet, and someone like you for that matter, might be the key for us to get back to our research... I must say, I'm stimulated by what we might discover together. As such we must track down Zorah Magdaros' trail and follow him to wherever he's heading... but, as you can see, we don't have any Hunters, so I'm afraid that the task of tracking him will fall to you, Patches, and Sherry. Most of our Hunters were lost in the attack on our fleet, while the rest of them died while exploring the Coral Highlands, and Scarlet... well, she fell off the airship twenty years ago, during the attack that grounded us, and while we're sure she fell into the Rotten Vale we haven't found her body, which has likely been eaten by one of the monsters that are down there."
Such a thing told Grogar all he needed to know, Scarlet was likely dead and the mask wearing lady was likely looking for a clue as to where she had gone, while at the same time telling him that the monster that downed the airship must be one of the more impressive monsters of this region, before Hiroko let out a light sigh.
"We have some information on the monsters of the Coral Highlands, but not enough to help you out," Hiroko added, as it made sense for their knowledge on all of the beasts that called this place home to be very limited, given that they had lost all of their Hunters, the ones that would have gotten them all sorts of things to study, before she considered what they did know, "be warned, there are rumors of an Elder Dragon, the Kirin to be exact, roaming the upper reaches of this region, but we have been unable to confirm whether or not it is actually here."
"So there's a Kirin out there, we're following Zorah Magdaros, and Nergigante is somewhere else... and yet I have a feeling there are more of them in the New World." Grogar commented, not that he was surprised by the information Hiroko gave him, as they were currently in the middle of the Elder Crossing and there was no telling how many powerful monsters were on their way, before he let out a sigh of his own.
"This were sightings of another Elder Dragon twenty years ago, in the Rotten Vale, a monster we call 'Vaal Hazak', but we have been unable to confirm it's existence," Hiroko added, showing Grogar that there might be one deep in the foul place he, his partner, and his Palico companion had crashed into after the monster attacked them, while her tone revealed that she was eager to verify the sightings.
"Right." Grogar said, unsure of how to really react to that information, that there was at least two Elder Dragons that were confirmed to be in the New World, two were in the rumored stage right now, and there was no telling how many more he would come across, before he sighed for a few seconds, "I'll head out as soon as Sherry is ready to go, that way we can accurately detail everything that's going on in the Coral Highlands."
Hiroko nodded for a moment as she picked up her relaxation materials once more, though she offered Grogar a seat, as in an actual chair, before asking him about his powers and the tales they had been told during Alexia's previous visits, as all of them were interested in someone like him. Grogar still didn't tell anyone about the fact that he was from another world, as many of them were already caught off guard by the fact that he was capable of wielding powerful magic, which was still growing as he faced Nergigante, but he answered her questions as best as he could. While he did that Sherry continued to rest after their ordeal in the Rotten Vale, leaving Patches to make sure that she was just fine and no serious damage had been done to her in their fall, even if he was pestered a little by the old lady who worked with Felynes. In addition to all of that he also informed Hiroko of his other power, the ability to understand what the monsters of this world were saying, a fact that allowed him to befriend some, figure out what was annoying others, and even figure out that Nergigante wasn't male, rather it was female, even if he was convinced there were two of them out there.
He also didn't talk about Sherry's odd additions, which came out when she was stressed or overexcited by things, as that wasn't his tale to tell and he didn't know much about her condition, so Grogar focused on himself and nothing else for the time they talked, until eventually his partner stirred, much to Patches' joy.
As Sherry took in the surrounding area Grogar told her everything he had discovered so far, about the base they were in, the information that he had gained from talking to Hiroko, and the fact that there were rumors of two other Elder Dragons in this part of the New World. Of course part of her was interested in the idea of tracking down these newcomers, but she did know that hunting down Zorah Magdaros was their current task, meaning the Kirin and Vaal Hazak would come later, once they were done with their main objective. He also knew that Shepard would be expecting a report at some time, due to the fact that Alexia didn't believe in sharing information with the Guild, once more since she likely assumed they would be unable to reach this place, but he was planning on correcting that error in no time. All they had to do was go out, take a few hours to explore the Coral Highlands, and hopefully find a trace of Zorah Magdaros that would lead them right in the direction that he was heading in.
Other than that there was nothing for them to do but rest for a few moments and get ready for the next stage of their new mission, as Grogar was interested in seeing what sort of monsters called the Coral Highlands home, and if there was any interesting things down in the Rotten Vale.