//------------------------------//
// Shocking Discoveries 
// Story: Monster Hunter World: Monsters and Magic 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
//------------------------------//

After speaking to Hiroko, and informing her about their discoveries in the Rotten Vale, Grogar and Sherry rested for a bit as she ensured that they had their own breathing items for the lower section they hadn't explored, meaning they would be able to move around like Cindy. It was a good idea, since Grogar wasn't sure how well the air purification crystals would work if they were constantly moving around, especially in an area that was thick with Effluvium, so this meant he would be able to explore safely while keeping Sherry safe if she explored a section near the camp. Of course they also made one for Patches, so he wasn't left out and would be able to help him if they found something in the depths of the Vale, though as they did that Grogar found that Cindy was still down there, somewhere in the valley of death, which told him that the masks would be very useful. Other than that there was nothing else for them to do but wait for the masks to be crafted, especially since there was a blockade between them and the lower reaches of the Rotten Vale, though he was sure that something would smash right through it and open up the path, they just had to be patient.

When the masks were complete, which were just pieces of leather molded to fit their current attire and could be pulled out at a moment's notice, whenever the user wanted to be exact, Grogar and Patches donned theirs before Sherry did the same, before they descended down into the depths of the Rotten Vale once more, where they found Cindy hanging out near the edge of the first camp.

"I wasn't expecting to run into you two so soon, after what happened when you entered the Coral Highlands," Cindy said, stopping herself from leaving the camp by the exit they had discovered after first setting this place up, where she took a moment to raise her hands and pulled her mask open, revealing an old lady with white hair, looking as old as Shepard, "but you kids have done well, getting the old airship working and setting up new bases in both regions. So, what are the stars of the Fifth Fleet up to now?"

"We're heading deeper into the Rotten Vale, to see if we can find a trace of Zorah Magdaros," Grogar replied, though at the same time he walked forward and found that Cindy fell in without delay, no doubt suspecting that his magic would keep them safe if a monster showed up, to which he summoned a magical platform for them to stand on and take them down to the slanted path he had walked up earlier, "I'm sure you know this, but be careful... we're sure one of the Odogarons are down there, so if we find one, and it decides to attack us, leave the problem to me and Patches."

"I haven't seen a trace of this Elder Dragon you guys are tracking down, but if it was heading this way I'm sure we'll find a clue at the bottom of the Rotten Vale," Cindy stated, where she glanced out at the area they were walking through as she followed Grogar, Sherry, and Patches down the path she had been planning on heading down on her own earlier, and the moment they reached the Effluvium they donned their masks without wasting time, "and if we do run into a monster, well, that's your time to shine."

A few moments later Grogar was able to confirm something interesting, the Effluvium didn't affect them while they had masks on, as they couldn't take in the bacteria with the protections in place, which meant they weren't weakened like they had been during their brief time tracking down the Great Girros. As he thought about that he found a few Girros walking around, either protecting where the Greater one was resting or looking for more food to gather, where he informed them that he and his companions didn't mean them any harm and that they would be out of the area in no time. Cindy quickly discovered why Alexia had told them that Grogar was so interesting, he was capable of speaking to monsters and they, in an odd way, were able to listen and react accordingly, where she decided to take some time to study him once she and the others were done with the New World. After that Patches found what appeared to be molten droplets from the monster they were tracking, which the Scoutflies danced around before heading even deeper into the Vale, confirming what each of them had been expecting, and everyone noticed that the Effluvium did get thicker, but with their masks it was fine for them to explore.

It took a while for them to find what appeared to be the deepest part of the vale, with pools of acid, which he knew based on the fact that Sherry knocked a soft rock into one and it dissolved in seconds, before they found the fragment that they were looking for.

"I don't get it... Zorah Magdaros was heading to the Rotten Vale, we know that much... but where is he?" Sherry asked, as she and the others gathered around the area that the fragment was resting in, Grogar studying the area as she and Cindy collected samples of the fragment, with Patches being a scout for all of them so they weren't interrupted by a monster, namely one of the Odogaron.

"Something's wrong... the Rotten Vale is where the Elder Dragons are destined for, given this environment, yet he's not anywhere near this place." Grogar commented, where he focused his magic on the surrounding area, feeling for tremors that might indicate where the massive beast might have headed, yet the ground was still and nothing seemed to be wrong with the earth, while he could see that Cindy focused on his words for a time, "I'm beginning to understand what's going on with the New... wait, something's coming."

In that moment, as they stared at the area that Grogar was staring at, because he had taken to looking at an area that was close to where they were standing, an Odogaron tore out some of the bloody vines that were on the wall to his left, which happened to come to a stop nearby and growled at him. Sherry, Cindy, and Patches stood up for a moment, seeing that they had company in the worst manner possible, but noticed that Grogar was standing still, showing that he wasn't afraid of the monster, and he was getting ready for whatever happened next. Sure enough his thoughts were right, as a second Odogaron leapt into the area not a few seconds later, though it was slightly smaller than the first one and, unless he was mistaken, more humanoid than the first, as there were parts that looked like patches of skin, the muzzle looked more like a face that was beginning to push out into an Odogaron's fierce muzzle, and a few other things. The rest of her body was more like the monster that was in front of them, feet and hands being the double layered set of claws, the crimson scales being all over her body, and the thick tail that was used to bash and batter one's foes, before he noticed her scarlet hair, which looked like it was going to fall out in the near future.

It took him all of a few seconds to figure out who they were seeing, where Cindy did the same thing shortly after he did, all while Sherry and Patches followed through not a few more moments after that, which caused his companions to stop staring at the fragment of Zorah Magdaros and focused on who was in front of them.

"By the Sapphire Star... Scarlet?!" Cindy asked, as she and the Third Fleet knew that when the airship was originally taken down by a Legiana, which claimed the lives of all their Hunters in the process, one Hunter had been unfortunate enough to fall overboard and disappeared as she fell into the Rotten Vale, and after twenty years of searching she had given up hope of finding her.

"Ci... Cindy?" the female Odogaron got out, a voice that was vaguely human while being mixed with the voice of the monster she had become, where Grogar noticed that she tilted her head and her front right leg moved a little, like she was trying to fight off a headache or something, "Head... hurts..."

Grogar raised his hands for a moment, to show the other Odogaron that he meant no harm, before approaching Scarlet as he called forth some of his magic, this time in a healing manner as she laid on the ground in front of him, with the male resting near her. As he worked Grogar asked the male about Scarlet, finding that he had discovered her a long time ago, no doubt after her fall from the airship before it crashed, and originally they had been enemies, but she had pushed him back more times than any other creature in the Rotten Vale, even in her weakened and starving state, as she had no idea of the path leading to the Coral Highlands and couldn't communicate with the others. Eventually she collapsed from her intense hunger and he, seeing her as a worthy opponent, took her to his cave, safe from the Effluvium, or 'bad gas', where he invaded the Highlands and brought back a fresh kill, tearing it apart and leaving small chunks for her to eat, though it took her a while to get her energy back. From there he expected to bring her to full health for a final battle or something, like to bring an end to a worthy opponent, but in the end he ended up caring for her more than he thought and let her live in his cave, allowing them to witness the end of massive beasts and let her grow into the monster she was becoming, all while Grogar was sure her new instincts took over ever so often and they had fun together.

Based on what he could see the pain came from more of her body being altered, and given the Odogaron's muzzle he had a feeling that the transformation would be rather painful, but she wasn't in danger and that seemed to be enough for the male, seeing that his mate was safe, so when Grogar finished his treatment the two thanked him before running off, likely to find dinner before the Girros and Great Girros did.

"So... that's what happened to Scarlet... how are the others going to take it?" Sherry inquired, as she hadn't been expecting to run into the lost Hunter like this, in fact many had assumed she was dead and there was nothing that could be done for her, not after twenty years of being lost in the Rotten Vale, so this was quite the shock.

"There will be mixed reactions, though the Researchers will be interested in studying how this happened," Cindy said, all while she stared off in the direction that Scarlet had headed off in, totally shocked by the fact that she was still alive, after all this time, and that she was almost an Odogaron, before she considered what was going on as she glanced over to the odd person in their little group, "I take it you've already pieced together the secret of the Rotten Vale?"

"Yes, I have. The Rotten Vale is where the Elder Dragons come to die... it's a graveyard." Grogar said, as the corpses of the Dalamadur were all the clues he needed, as there wasn't much in this world that could apparently bring down a massive snake creature like that, save for the mythical monster Fatalis he guessed, before he glanced out at the surrounding area for a few moments, "The New World... it's an ecosystem built off the energy of an Elder Dragon, which explains why they are so interested in coming here, to add their bioenergy to the island and bring new life to it."

As Cindy nodded her head, and beckoned for them to follow her, Grogar had to think about the tale that the Odogaron told him, about how weak Scarlet had become overtime, and it made him wonder if she had been breathing in a near fatal amount of Effluvium, enough to cause havoc on her body. Given that the bacteria was designed to break down the bodies of the living, and how they had only seen how it affected monsters, he had to assume that the sudden burst of bioenergy from an Elder Dragon's death had done something to her before she was fully healed, possibly reaction to the saliva that was on the meat she ate. Those three factors, meaning her compromised body, the new bioenergy, and a monster's saliva, must have mixed together in some manner and lead to Scarlet beginning to transform into an Odogaron, with a couple of fun nights here and there, but it made sense when he thought about it. Based on what he had been told Scarlet wasn't a Wyverian, so she wasn't like Alexia, meaning that a number of factors were required to cause a human to slowly turn into a monster, which he knew the researchers would be interested in hearing about when they returned to Astera.

Eventually they came to the area that Cindy was leading them to, which appeared to be the upper reaches of the Rotten Vale, allowing them to glance down at the valley of death while also looking up at the life filled area that it was connected to, demonstrating how death benefited the New World.

"Grogar, you're right. The Vale is the resting place of all monsters, not just the imposing Elder Dragons," Cindy said, where she was impressed by his intelligence, as he was far smarter than what she was expecting and she had figured it would have taken some time for him to figure this out, though he solved it in no time, all while they had to be careful, since parts of the walkway were weak enough and broke easily, "Based on what I've seen, when a monster senses that a natural end is close, instead of being slain by our people in Astera, they'll make their way here and either dive bomb the Vale or just jump in without a care in the world... there's likely a hidden passage between this half of the New World and the half that contains the Ancient Forest and the Wildspire Waste. The bodies of the smaller monsters become nutrients that feed the Coral Highlands... from their death comes new life, which, after a cycle, will return to the Vale to die again... it's, well, it's an ecological marvel, one that dwarves anything I've seen over the years."

"While the Elder Dragons fuel the rest of the New World... an Elder's death is the catalyst for great things." Grogar added, as he knew where Cindy was going with this and Sherry understood what they were saying, even though she was far more surprised than what he thought she'd be, but he filed that information away for now and focused on what was going on in front of them, "Like I said, that's the mystery behind the Elder Crossing... they sense that their end is drawing closer and they make the journey to the New World, eventually coming to a stop down in the Rotten Vale so the Effluvium can break their bodies down and their bioenergy can be freed."

"It seems the ecosystem agrees with your answer." Cindy remarked, referring to the sudden surge of flower petals that had surged into the air after Grogar finished adding his knowledge to what she had said, before she turned her gaze to the rest of the Rotten Vale, as there was still one question that hadn't been answered yet, "Yet, despite this information, none of us have seen Zorah Magdaros since it punched through the Great Ravine... the clues are all there, him heading for the Vale to add his energy to the New World, but he never showed up. It's as if there's more to this than we thought, despite the fact that we've solved the meaning behind the Elder Crossing... Grogar, you and Sherry need to track down one of the First Wyverians, who have lived on this island far longer than anyone else and are uniquely attuned to the environment... if anyone can find our missing Elder Dragon, it's them."

"We should return to the Commander and tell him the news, as well as tell Hiroko about Scarlet," Sherry said, though as she said that they found some green leaves falling from the sky, 'raining life' as Cindy called it, where she claimed one for her book, where she would be writing down her information on the Elder Crossing.

Grogar nodded his head as they started to leave the area, though while they had learned a great deal today he had a slight feeling that things were about to go from bad to worse, why he had no idea, and suspected that it would be revealed once they tracked down the First Wyverian and learned what they had to share with them.