//------------------------------// // Chp. 13 - Beckoning Slumber // Story: Dragonhearted // by Slendy //------------------------------// [Myst's POV] "Okay, weapon is sharp, extra whetstones, potions..." I kept muttering my shopping list like a mantra, pacing around my room with an anxious face. I really shouldn't be anxious, I've done this before but this wasn't some request, I was properly cooperating with another team entirely. One, might I add, I have a bad history with. I ran my hooves through my mane, staring at the reflection in the mirror to the left of my bed. "Get ahold of yourself, Myst; Akira pretty much accepted your apology - heck - she even shared some very personal issues, that means she trusts you," And that was what worried me. Could I really be worth trusting at all? I'm not letting her identity of a chimera slip by my lips, but I was curious, how did Silver know this? And better yet, he hates her from what I've seen so why doesn't he go public with Akira's biology? Would it not have the intended impact he would hope for? That also strung itself to multiple questions. If Silver knows all this, doesn't that mean he knows Mr Amadeus is the Guild Leader? I'd like to think I dodged an arrow considering how I treated his daughter. I slapped my cheeks to supress my thoughts. "Now's not the time to over-analyse!" My eyes fell onto my longsword resting by the doorframe. With a heavy sigh, I levitated it over and stood up. "You've got to be a good hunter today!" [Akira's POV] A brand new day was upon us. I was abuzz with energy as I scanned the many parchments nailed to the quest board. Now that we were Rank Two, myself and Argo could pick some juicy quests. The list was a little diverse but most of the good ones were taken or stamped for completion. "This needs to be a good one for Myst, one I can really show my stuff as a leader," I didn't actually care about leading others but I felt I had to take that role just for a while now that it was more than just myself and Garu fighting. "This one," An unfamiliar voice behind me almost forced my wings out as I yelped. Beside me, with a tan hoof raised at a quest, I found my gaze fall to a pony that made my heart clench. A pegasus with a snow-white mane that bobbed just below her chin, her tail short too. Her eyes were a beautiful ice-blue. She wore a black bandana over her mouth and nose, obscuring her facial expression. The black breastplate she wore was made of a material I couldn't recognize, with a hood and fishnets reaching down half her forelegs. Tied just below the left leg's fishnet was a blue cloth. Her back legs followed the same pattern, all tucked into sleek black gauntlets. The mare also wore a belt buckle wrapped by her forelegs near her hooves. Attached to her belt was a folded white bow with a snowflake pattern, the handle a shade of blue, same for a quiver. She was the female member of Silver's group. "...right..." I felt my voice tighten as I plucked the quest down. I gave it a once over, and I tried to hide my excitement with a cough. "Uh, thanks...?" "Mm," She nodded once, plucking a four-star quest herself, and again, trying not to look really jealous that she was going to fight a Nargacuga, oh come on! "Good day," I stood there for a couple of seconds as she left to register the quest as I held mine tightly. "What was that?" "Okay, team, we've got a quest!" I beamed as I slapped down our latest hunt for all to see. Assignment Beckoning Slumber ⭐⭐ Main Objective *Capture a Somnacanth Roaring Marsh | Reward 2000 Bits | Fee 350 Bits "I see..." Argo then stood up and proceeded to make his way toward the Smithy, patting my shoulder as his signal to start moving. "Where is he going?" Garu grumbled. "Gathering up what we need while I break down what we're up against," I don't like tutting my own horn but I am a nerd when it comes to monsters. "A Somnacanth is leviathan class monster that has an organ that produces a sleeping agent, not to mention it likes to pick up shells that feel like you got slapped with the sun or stepped on a landmine," "What's a 'landmine'?" Our newest, possible member? Myst, raised her hoof at my human term as I coughed into my wing. "Ah, sorry, landmines are like explosive barrels only smaller and hidden under a thin layer of terrain that explode when pressure is applied to them," I quickly summed up. Myst had decided to partner up with us as a way to repay us for helping her two days ago, I was happy for sure but it felt a little wrong to be poaching an amazing hunter like her from other teams. "My strange references aside, Argo's prepping items to help us combat those ailments," "So, as long as we break it before it can use those attacks we're set!" Garu confidently punched the table while Myst gave him an irked look as she finished her drink. "Rushing in is exactly what'll use to counterattack, we need to focus our efforts into weakening its ability to use sleeping gas," Myst argued but that only seemed to offend Garu. "HaAH!? I knew that!" He huffed. "I sincerely doubt it..." She deadpanned. "Well, remember, it's a Capture quest, so we can't kill it, so please-please-please try to contain that need to destroy every living thing on the planet, Garu," I clopped my hooves together, pleading for him to restrain himself. He reluctantly crossed his arms, then pointed at me with both hands. "Fine, but only because you asked. A good leader looks out for his underlings," Whatever makes him happy I suppose. I don't know why but I have a bad feeling about this quest. The train from Canterlot took us all the way down west of the mountains the radiant castle was situated on. Below were the massive, breathtaking waterfalls that fell into large blue lakes. From there, rivers and other smaller bodies of water dotted the land and through the marsh's small thickets of alder, willows, and birch trees. I even saw some white lilies growing in a small stream beside the camp. Though when we arrived, it was clear someone else was here also by the stamped out fire. "You have fifty minutes before the monster leaves the area, good luck," Argo and I bumped hooves, and I quickly ran to the exit to the camp through a large tree where its roots formed a small archway for us to walk under. "Everyone set?" I asked, since it wasn't just me and Garu now, I had to try and ensure all of us were ready, not that I distrust Myst's readiness but can't ever be too careful. "Ready/You bet!" With those replies, we took off, allowing our Scoutflies to pick up on anything that caught their eyes. The air was quite damp since we were in a marsh but atleast it wasn't the dampness of a cave. It wasn't long before the small webbed tracks appeared in the mud bank leading down toward ankle-deep water amongst the trees. Inspecting them caused the Scoutflies to buzz and dance in the direction of the Somnacanth, I took to the air, the others following me from below. "Any pointers about Capture quests?" I spoke up while we navigated the marsh toward a clearing that was just a river, I saw them pushing through the stream with minimal effort. "I've only done two so far but from my experience our best chance to capture the monster is when it starts to limp, its a common sign of fatigue and it'll usually attempt to retreat to sleep," Myst explained. "Never done them," Garu replied simply, which made sense given his attitude. When I looped around at the edge of the river, it opened up into a shallow lake with patches of grass at the banks say for another large river feeding in from the Roaring Marsh's lake while two woodland paths stretched to the left and right of me. I spun around to Myst and Garu, the former picking up a shiny, gold scale. "We must've just missed it." I wish I shared that optimism. My brow rose as I watched the yellow body swim with its white belly upright through the same stream they just trudged through. Its front feet have three digits, each one ending in a long, curved black claw. Its back feet have four digits that end in shorter claws. It has fins on each front leg. It has a short face with a disturbingly humanoid appearance. Above its eyes were a pair of large purple horns, with a pair of smaller knob-like protrusions in front of them. Adorning the side of its head are three pairs of small purple fins, with a massive crest-like fin on the top. These purple fins also appear along the top of its tail and form a crescent shape at the tip. It has a hard pad on its belly with a taiko drum-like pattern. It also features several bioluminescent patches on its body, which can be seen around its eyes, in the mouth, the seams on the throat, and the underside of the tail base. The Mermaid Wyvern, Somnacanth. But it was strange, the scales across its right-side legs were chipped and broken in places, not to mention the tail looked banged up too. No one else should be hunting this thing, was it maybe a turf war? Well, that's not exactly why I looked worried. "Uh, guys...?" I pointed with my sword as they stood there, then looked to each other. "It's behind us, isn't it?" Myst sighed. "Yes," Garu nodded curtly before a large body shoved right past them, twisting around in the water to raise its body from the water, suspended by its tail in a curled position to roar up at me. Without warning, the Somnacanth swung its purple crest sharply, causing several long spines to smack against my shield as I yelped in surprise. Right, projectiles too, forgot about that. Diving low, I brought my blade through its stomach before wrapping around to smack it across the head with my shield twice then bringing it down, causing sparks to fly as Somnacanth recoiled with a growl. Behind it, a longsword swept in amethyst light swung in two twice stretched, twirling as Myst grabbed the blade with her teeth and swung in a sharp halo through Somnacanth's tail, forcing it down onto all fours to swipe at her but one shot of her clutch claw threw her away from the beast's path. Garu took the lead, slashing its backside in a flurry but the tail swung around and knocked him through the water, seemingly unphased, Garu shot up and grabbed its face with his bare hand, using his right to shove what appeared to be a blast pod into its jaws, causing a small explosion that threw Somnacanth toward me and Myst. I held me shield up, blocking the monster's belly slam while Myst hopped back, blade inverted for a rising slash through the neck and toward the lower jaw. Immediately, the leviathan hopped back onto its tail, sweeping at us with its headpiece but a magic barrier erected itself, punctured by a few dislodged spines. "Thanks," I replied with a quick nod from her. From there, I saw Somnacanth lean back, the gills along its neck beginning to glow with a pale blue mist. "Garu, wait for the-" "First Form - Air Cutter!" He lunged in without a thought, the air pressure surrounding his blades as he swept up the water in his charge. But Somnacanth was faster, with a roar, it exhaled a stream of sleep-inducing mist, dragging the beam across the water and straight into Garu's face while I lifted Myst by her forelegs in time to hop over it. "Hah... ha... a little... mist is... no... thing..." Garu stood before Somnacanth, and swung his left blade down only for it to lightly caress the underbelly before he fell face first into the lake, gargling at he did. Clearly, that offended the leviathan enough to roar as its body started to glow in certain spots, then, in sweeping itself around, it leapt over our heads and crashed atop Garu, tossing him into the muddy bank as he was abruptly woken from his nap. Somnacanth didn't relent, slithering toward him with its claws brandished. "I'll use a flashpod, then you-" But I was talking to the air as Myst had already left my side. "Huh? Oh, you've got to be kidding me?" I slumped a bit and took to the air again. Myst moved with the grace of the wind, striking with a plunge between the left forearm's fin and scales to flinch the beast, using that forward momentum to vault over Somnacanth's smaller body slam meant for the unicorn now diving through the air with her sword raised over her shoulder in magic. The edge flashed yellow, and struck down with tremendous force, a ring of water expanding around them as multiple invisible strikes punctured its body, giving Garu the chance to rise. Good, now maybe- "Back up, I have a-" "That attack was pretty good I guess," Garu admitted under his breath at Myst's smug smirk before shoving her aside, raising his swords above his head. "Now it's my turn!" "No, anything but that in a mar-!" Was I talking to ghosts now!? "Third Form - Roar!!" Bringing his cleavers down on the tail swimming away from them, the lake exploded upward, spraying them both in water and mud as Garu's attack missed and instead, both were struck with a single blast of sleep gas since Myst was shoved behind Garu. "Not... ag... ain..." He fell into the water belly first again, and Myst stumbled and landed atop him but managed to down the energy drink Argo had provided her, and her eyes shot wide in time to grab Garu and promptly kick him in the ribs, rolling to the left in time to avoid a heavy slam from Somnacanth as it turned its gaze to me. "Huh!?" Garu's head shot upright again. "Sorry, we'll-" "Just. Heal. Up." I was starting to lose my nerve here. Why were they so difficult to work with all of a sudden? With my sharp words given, I hardened my eyes to the leviathan as it swung its head so I met it in kind, deflecting the line of sharp scales with my sword before bringing the face of my shield across its jaw, sliding underneath a claw swipe to bash the hip twice, gliding back with a single flap, avoiding Somnacanth's head slam to dive and cleave my sword through its head, drawing upward as I slid down its back, striking it across the purple fins with a dark purple aura around my blade. "Night Slash - Horizontal!" The criss-cross tore out larger scales, and the beat reeled with a cry as it tumbled away. "Hah... there," "Wisteria, watch out!" I heard Garu called to me. "I'm fine, and that's not my name!" I countered, watching Somnacanth struggle to rise, giving me ample time to channel Swords Dance while taking to the sky again, hanging low to the water. "Er, grr... Melantha!?" He tried again. "No," I growled, craning my sword over my shoulder. "Akira, behind you!" The tug of levitation pulled at my tail, but it wasn't enough to stop my whole world from spinning as I met the cold hard bed of the lake, blood dripping down from my nose as I tried to lift myself upright only to collapse as stars filled the corners of my vision. I didn't even detect any bloodlust... what hit me? I felt someone at my side but my hearing was all funny but I finally realized why I had been flicked like some rubber band. I almost felt myself flinch out of shock. Instead of jade scales they were a bronzy-dirt coloration. A large, bipedal monster with a large crown structure atop its skull had slammed itself into the Somnacanth' side as it jumped to body slam it back. It was covered in rigid plates, most of which were coated in thick layers of mud all the way down to its club-like tail. But I recognized those small red eyes and peg-shaped teeth anyway, simply replace the mud with snow and change the colours. The Landslide Wyvern, Barroth. "A blwst frwm th pahst," I slurred, feeling my head throb as I was lifted onto Garu's back. "Weave me alne..." "Let's head back while they're distracted," Myst offered to guide the way. "Good," Garu didn't argue and started running as I heard the two monsters fighting over territory behind me, but my aura was so unfocused I couldn't make out specific emotions around me, it was all a blurry mesh. Soon, I just let sleep overtake me. I was angry that it took me being used like a pony-sized ragdoll for them to cooperate, but also at myself for failing to lead them correctly. [Myst's POV] I'm a failure, simply put. When we arrived at our campsite Argo didn't even say a word to us, he simply took Akira from Garu into the tent and tended to her injuries, despite mega potions healing even the most serious of wounds, physical trauma and fatigue couldn't be miraculously healed. So, during that time, I sat and stared at my longsword, now upgraded with a faint, green sheen in the daylight, all thanks to Akira. How do I thank her? By giving her a concussion. Well, not me directly but I knew why she ignored us at the end there. "We did this," I muttered, brushing a hoof over my mane to flick some dirt out from it. "Neither of us have fought with others before," "You weren't on a team?" Garu, who had been sulking off to the side, perked up at her admittance, watching her play with her hooves. "Everypony thinks I'm so busy working with others but... I've been on my own, because I can't work on a team, in my head I've had to do everything alone, and to be thrown into a position that I can do less feels completely alien to me," But then Akira came along and offered me the chance to work with her, Garu, and Argo. I was happy she was so accepting but now my own fears came back to bite me. I'm a horrible teammate. "And now she's out cold because I couldn't hack it as her partner," "I don't need anyone's help! I've always been strong because I was raised by Garuba Daora, the greatest Elder Dragon in the world!" Was he seriously bragging right now? Then, his head fell, tapping his golden forehead. "...but then she starts yelling back at me, and she is strong and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, and it irritates me..." "I think I get where you're coming from," I smiled slightly, "I didn't exactly make a good first impression either," Suddenly, Garu stood up straight, grabbing the holsters for his duel cleavers. "This is pissing me off! Let's beat that freak black and blue and prove we're better than other teams, List!" I'm assuming he just misspoke my name but given our situation I was inclined to agree with him. Guess he can be compassionate when he wants to. "First, we need a plan," My eyes wandered to Akira's supplies, both the tranq bombs and capture nets gathering dust, more specifically, the extra clutch claw hooks and wires. Slowly, a smile stretched over my muzzle. "And I think I found one," When I got round to telling Garu my plan, I swore I could hear his grin through the devilish laughter he released. We were gone before Argo had a chance to ask what had happened. Finding the Somnacanth wasn't hard, just follow the destruction of a turf war. Thankfully, it appeared the battle we ran from had worn the leviathan out a fair bit so it made this part easier for me. Drawing my longsword, I stepped out of the marsh into a flatland facing a sectioned off bank of the largest lake, trees formed a half-circle area for me to run around in, but more importantly, it brought the monster's attention to me alone. It let out a shriek and in using the mud, slithered toward me almost within seconds. I dispelled my magic as I dived forward over his right leg, catching my longsword in the process in amethyst light before sweeping down in a slant through its body. Somnacanth curled onto its tail again, craning left to spew a stream of sleep gas. Using my clutch claw I hooked its underbite and narrowly avoided the gas, sweeping my blade vertically before performing a roll mid-air to plunge the tip of my blade down its face, shaving through the tough scales. The leviathan dove onto its stomach, knocking me aside before flipping onto its back in the mud, procuring a red clam hidden within. I gasped and quickly rolled out of range as searing heat struck my fur. Having missed blasting me away, Somnacanth snarled bitterly, eyes glowing red. Spinning in place, it used its tail like a springboard to dive and nearly crush me. Moving back in one hop, I sheathed my blade before striking horizontally with Iai Slash, riddling the monster with several strikes, breaking the scales across both forelegs. Somnacanth turned sharply, roaring while threshing its crest to toss several spines in my general direction. Raising my longsword, I kept the majority from doing any serious damage, but in that short time frame it slithered in an attempt to run me down. "COMIN' THROUGH!!!" From the edge of the forest, both I and the leviathan turned our heads to Garu's roar of triumph as the earth shook violently beneath me. I allowed myself a tiny smirk, sprinting into position - which meant as far from this fight as possible. The trees were blown away or crushed as steam flew behind a large mass of brown and grey as the wide crest collided with Somnacanth's side like a ram. The monster reared its head, and roared as loud as the drake that rode it. Garu was standing atop the same Barroth we encountered, only now he held onto the monster with several wires and hooks. He was riding the wyvern like a weapon. "Fall to my mighty minion! The strength of the earth and mud as I bury you for daring to hurt my follower!" Garu yelled down at the Somnacanth slowly rising from being taken off guard, hissing back at the Barroth as it took leered and roared, instigating another turf war. "To battle my new minion! Destroy this monster for your fearless leader!!" Pulling on the wires, he forced Barroth back from Somnacanth sweep with its crest, following up with its own sideways sweep of its head, smacking the leviathan sharply before repeating the action from the left, completely discombobulating the monster before bringing its head down, spewing mud in Somnacanth's eyes and sending it tumbling across the marsh. Garu led the Barroth wide as Somnacanth rolled and then slammed the ground with its belly, sweeping its tail against the brute's hip, causing it to stumble in the mud. One sharp tug from the drake kept Barroth steady, turning to the side to perform a hip-check to the yellow beast, cutting off its attempt to put both to sleep. It wailed as more scales were flung from its face. Barroth turned, striking down with its tail across the stomach, breaking it too with a single turning sweep as Somnacanth howled in pain. "Hahaha!! Follow my lead!" Garu bellowed while pulling Barroth back into a jump to make some room, the leviathan struggling to stand again as that whistle of steam flew from Barroth's crown. It tucked in its body a bit, then burst forth with explosive speed. "Chaaaarge!!" The sheer force of the blow sent the large leviathan up into the air as Barroth roared triumphantly, watching the monster crash into the dirt with a wet slap. The wires finally broke as Garu dismounted, allowing the Barroth one last roar before it ran back to the forest, not bothered by our presence. "I think I'll call this... Wyvern Riding," Wonder if Akira would approve of the name? I lost my smile soon after, glaring at the heavily injured Somnacanth slithering to its full height again as it rasped, staring back at me. "First... you." It seemed to agree, giving one last scream before it charged frantically toward me. "Oi!!" I ignored Garu's warning and stayed were I was, my blade sheathed on my back, waiting. Somnacanth curled its back, leaping forward to crush me as I barely batted an eye, stepping back a few inches as it crashed down before me. Letting out a wail of discomfort, bolts of yellow lightning wrapped around its wet, muddy frame, locking it in place for me to procure two pink balls in my magic, smacking them off the ground to release their potent scent that only monsters were affected by. In mere moment, the beast was ironically put to sleep, captured without issue. "Capture Confirmed," I replied with a curt bow to Garu as I loaded a signal flare into my slinger. "Impressive work wrangling the Barroth." "Hehe, barely broke a sweat!" He put his fists on his hips, sparkling at the praise I gave, then he shook his head in disbelief at me. "You stared down that monster at the last second, nice work!" Huh, so he can be grateful? I shrugged, trying to appear aloof. "It was nothing, I had it planted the second I arrived, I only needed to hold out for you to land the finishing blows." "We make a good team!" He beamed, chuckling at sleeping monster, raising a cleaver. I slapped his arm with my hoof. "Don't." "...fine." He huffed, putting it away. [Akira's POV] "I think my brain's in my stomach or something, and I don't think it's supposed to be there," I slurred a little, that blow to the head was more than my steel bones could withstand unprepared. Note to self, master Aura for awareness. "Spectacular," Argo remarked, flicking through his journal as I sat next to him. "They shouldn't be long," "Yeah..." I sighed, it was hard not to think about how big of a failure I was at leading today. I should've realized Garu and Myst were like polar opposites, that's the textbook definition of argument. But they left while I was recovering with God knows how many of my spare wires and hooks. I ruffled my mane with my hooves, groaning in annoyance. "Grah, I'm such an idiot! Maybe we're not ready for our rank up soon?" Argo didn't look away from his sketch of Somnacanth. but he snorted sharply. "You're too hard on yourself sometimes," Huh? I turned to look at him, confused. "No one is born a leader, nor are they expected to be perfect; you learn and experience things together, and from those moments, you show them the way," "I'm... not sure I get it... yet," I offered a small smile. "But thanks," I hugged his side, watching him nod as commotion could be heard beyond the camp. My aura immediately perked me up. "They're back!" Keeping to a light jog to not scramble my brain further, I moved past the tent to a clearing where a dirt road led out of the Roaring Marsh. Is that... the Somnacanth? It was battered like a fish stick but was asleep and bound to a cart being pulled by several little cats, the Palicoes. With their little meows they left me to turn and spot two dirty hunters walking side by side. One of which looked elated to see me. "Akira!" Myst ran up to me, looking at my head as it was still wrapped with bandages. "A-are you okay? How's your head?" "I'm fine, I'm fine, really," I eased her back with my wing, a small headache reminding me that wasn't entirely true. "Though my back is killing me, hehe," Then I pointed a wing to the moving cart. "You... guys caught it?" "Like there was any doubt!" Garu stated loftily. "I rode that large muddy wyvern too into battle!" I stared at him for the longest time before looking to Myst. "No seriously, how?" "HaAH!?" He shot me a look through that mask of his but I ignored it as Myst nodded simply. "No, it's true, I suggested using the wires to effectively kite the Barroth into battling the Somnacanth," She explained to me with a sparkle in her eye at the idea. "I even thought to call it, 'Wyvern Riding'," "Oooh, that is a good name," I murmured, rubbing my chin. Also, using wyverns as a weapon, bet my Dad's gonna love the sound of that. "I know, right!?" She grinned happily, a little closer than usual, then coughed into her hoof. "But, um, I... we wanted to say... sorry for what happened," "Eh?" So that's why they did this? I remained silent for a moment. "It's just that... I've... never been in a team, ever," Myst's admittance made me open my mouth but she held her hoof up. "I never worked with Silver, or anypony, not once," "...you've gotten to 3-Star all on your own?" I asked, still shocked that she was telling the truth, not a shred of deceit in her voice or aura. Nodding bashfully, she continued, rubbing her nape with a sad smile. "It's why I only wanted to do that one job with you for my upgrades, because... I'm not reliable, but then you kept encouraging me to join you, and I felt really grateful, but then me and Garu don't particularly see eye to eye, maybe a little more now, but I know it won't be the last time we'll act that way, and because of that you were injured, so I'm sorry, both for today and not clarifying further," "Tch... grr, I'm sorry," Garu grumbled out, "As your leader I should have done better to... make sure you... weren't injured," He really had to force that out right, huh? Well, I knew he meant it. Then his finger jabbed at me. "So don't go getting yourself caught off guard again! That's an order!" And right back to square one. "Twilight above... one apology, that's all you had to do," Myst rubbed her face, dragging her hoof down with a glare sent his way. "Idiot," "You wanna go? I'll take you down, Lisp!" Garu did an odd motion with his arms as if to size up his opponent. "That's not even a name!" Myst growled, shaking her head. "Why the heck am I even trying to argue with you?" "Pfft, hahaha!" I couldn't help but chuckle at their antics, strangely, when we're not pitted against a monster, seeing them bicker was funny. "Well, good work today, both of you," I praised before giving Myst a soft smile. "And don't worry about it, you managed to make it this far on your own, that's already pretty amazing," "W-well, it's not t-that big of a deal, a-anypony could do it - you have!" Myst stammered slightly as I rolled my eyes. "Yes, but as I've said, I'm not a normal pony," I winked, clapping my hooves. "Now, let's pack up and head home, soon, me and Argo will be meeting you guys in the next rank, and this time, we won't be left behind!" My declaration to them was met with Garu's nod and Myst's small smile. Yeah, maybe I'm not the best leader, and maybe these guys will argue alot, but so what? We're a team, and so long as that gets to stay that way, I'm happy. <><><>Quest Complete!<><><> To Be Continued...