Monster Hunter World: Monsters and Magic

by Blackdrag-rose

Swamp Surprise

While the Scholars rested Grogar informed Sherry of what he had learned, that the figure he had been speaking to was a member of the First Fleet, their Seeker to be exact, which he assumed was either a position that fell out of practice or was something that he and his friends called him before he left Astera. Of course speaking to Anzix didn't tell him all that much, as he was still trying to figure things out before returning to the Commission's base of operations, but speaking to him was a nice change of pace, as it allowed him to consider a few things before his new friend left the camp. One thing he had taken a moment to consider was the fact that he was going to have to start fighting the monsters of the New World, as the Barroth definitely didn't seem like something that would listen to what he had to say, not to mention the fact that there was a rather pissed off Rathian lurking in the forest section of this region and whatever had taken out the Barroth. The Wildspire Waste was a dangerous place, that he was figuring out as he encountered all of the monsters that called it home, though at least the Kulu-Ya-Ku they had encountered in the Ancient Forest was reasonable, in comparison to the others, and that wasn't counting the other monsters that might be lurking in the other areas he hadn't explored yet.

Of course part of him didn't want to face the monsters and take them down, in fact he'd likely focus on forcing them to back off if he got into a fight, but he knew that such a thing was something he would have to worry about in the future, since he was sure that they would be sent here again, at some point in the near future.

Once he was sure that the Scholars were rested, and checked to be sure the fragment of Zorah Magdaros was fine on the cart it had been pulled onto, they passed through the nearby gate and retreated to the Ancient Forest, where he, Patches, and Jaya took up their defensive positions once more. Sherry, of course, remained with the Scholars, pushing the cart with all of her strength so they could get out of here without attracting the attention of a certain monster that seemed to be the dominate predator of the ground, as none of them wanted to tangle with an Anjanath right now. What they saw were a few Jagras, who seemed interested in what they were doing and Jaya walked over to them, hissing at them to inform all of them that they were just passing through and that Grogar meant them no harm, something that caused them to hiss at her in return, but none of them moved and just wanted them move through the Ancient Forest. Grogar knew that it was only a matter of time until things went south, and sure enough his thoughts were answered as he heard the roar of the one monster he didn't want to hear, the Anjanath was hunting and it caused the Jagras pack to disappear, which was very smart on their end, but he gripped his staff in case the monster showed up on their path.

Fortunately they were able to reach Astera without incident, to which he and Sherry let the Scholars take the fragment to it's final destination as they headed over to the table that Commander Shepard was standing at, though as Grogar gave him their report he noticed that Alexia was nowhere to be seen, which meant she had to be busy helping the rest of the Commission, in some manner anyway.

"It sounds like you two had quite the exciting trip," Shepard remarked, as having a Rathian fire at them and being charged at by a Barroth, both dangerous monsters on their own, was more than what he was expecting from an escort mission, not to mention the timely arrival of a Diablos to take care of the Barroth, which he was going to have to tell Grogar about before he headed back to the Wildspire Waste, "and, thanks to your efforts, our Scholars are safe and soon we will know more about Zorah in no time... or at least that is our hope."

"Zorah Madgaros is leaving us a trail of evidence, and everyone is excited to learn more about him." Grogar stated, as that seemed to be the case when one looked at Astera after a fragment of the Elder Dragon was brought back, just like what had happened after he helped secure the one that had been resting in the Ancient Forest, before he considered the other bit of news he had to share, "Also, we ran into Anzix while we were recovering this fragment. He wanted me to tell you that he is safe and that he will return in due time, but that he's also compelled to see this through to the end."

"Heh, that seems just like him... still, it's good to know that he's safe, as we haven't heard from him for years and I was starting to think he might have fallen to one of the monsters," Shepard said, where Grogar could see that he thought of his friend in a high manner, like he was a skilled Hunter and had been worried for his safety, but this news was something he was glad to receive as he glanced at the map of the New World that was on the table, "Anyway, with this piece of evidence, we should be one step closer to pinpointing Zorah's exact location. For now, I want the two of you to rest and get ready for tomorrow, as I'm sure we'll have another exciting mission to give you... and if not, then you know what to do."

Grogar knew that he was referring to tackling one of the minor assignments that were on the various boards of Astera, as in heading out and dealing with monsters, gathering certain materials, or doing whatever else might be asked of the one who took the quest, to which he and Sherry nodded their heads and departed, knowing that they would be tired and that some food would be welcome.

---

After eating a well cooked dinner, where Grogar once more found himself praising the skills of the Meowscular Chef, and some rest, which was well deserved since they had spent almost all day walking and running, Grogar and Sherry gathered at their usual table and had breakfast. Sure enough he found that the Scholars were talking up a storm about what they had found over the last couple of days, which was understandable since they had recovered several fragments of Zorah Magdaros since he made landfall, and he had a feeling that they would have some news in no time. In addition to that he found that Aiden and the others from the Fifth Fleet were either relaxing, sharing stories with the members of the other fleets, or doing everything in their power to make Astera function without any hiccups, though as that happened he was able to notice one thing that surprised him. That was the fact that there were no members of the Third Fleet in Astera, as in there were no Hunters, Scholars, or Researchers in this place, and their flag was absent from Shepard's area, which told him that they were either done in by the Elder Dragon they had been following or they were stranded in another part of the New World, unable to get back to Astera and their allies.

Once they were done with their meal Grogar found that Johnson was beckoning for him and Sherry to join him, to which he and his companions got up and followed him back to Shepard's table, finding that the Commander was reading some reports that had come in and sent some of the other Hunters out, though once they arrived he dismissed Johnson, who likely had his own mission to handle.

"Grogar, I just received a report that a Scholar was separated from his escort in the Wildspire Waste, and I want you to go hide him," Shepard stated, something that caused Grogar to raise an eyebrow, even though he nodded his head to show that he understood what he was being told, before he glanced down at one of the reports he had read since the sun had risen on their grand home, "he, his team, and their escort were collecting additional samples in the Wildspire Waste, but, based on what I've been told, something interrupted them... the team members I've talked to have mentioned that they saw a black winged beast around the area, and if it's there you need to be careful."

"A black monster? Something tells me you know more about it than what you've told me." Grogar remarked, as he could tell that Shepard was keeping something from him and Sherry, something important based on what little he had said on the matter, before he let out a sigh as he wondered what might be worrying the Commander, while Sherry didn't seem to care about the information, "Commander Shepard, I won't demand the details, but if you know anything about the beast in question it would help me complete the mission, without drawing it's attention to us."

"Of course, though you'll have to forgive me, as we're still not used to having someone like you among our ranks," Shepard replied, which was understandable since Grogar was the only one that had magic in this world, something that the rest of the Scholars and Researchers were trying to figure out in whatever spare time they had, and he quickly discovered that the person in question was nodding his head, before he sighed, "The black monster I'm referring to is an Elder Dragon known as Nergigante, who flocks to the New World at the same time as all of the other Elder Dragons and disappears after some amount of time, so we haven't been able to learn all that much about it... all we know is that it doesn't want us to chase the other Elder Dragons, as it has disrupted several of our operations in the past. If Nergigante is out in the Wildspire Waste, well, all I can say is be careful and get yourselves, not to mention the Scholar, out of there."

Grogar considered the information for a few moments, as he had never heard of Nergigante before and that meant it was an Elder Dragon that only appeared once every ten years, during the Elder Crossing, though it made him wonder what the monster had been doing before this event started. Such a thing was likely on the minds of the others as well, given that a fair number of them had been in the New World for far longer than he had, meaning they had time to think about why the black winged monster was harassing their efforts to figure out why the Elder Dragons were so interested in this island, or at least it sure seemed that way. He also noticed that all three of his companions gulped, as it wasn't everyday that one ran into an Elder Dragon, or even heard rumors of another one hanging out around the area that they were currently checking out, and he knew that with their experience they were doomed if Nergigante showed up while everyone was looking for the lost Scholar. Of course Jaya was also concerned, as while she might know all of the classifications that the Commission had for monsters, or all of their rules in general, she knew they were talking about an Elder Dragon and such a thing made her shiver in fear when she considered what they were getting themselves into, to which he decided that if they found the monster in question they were going to run, no questions asked.

With the information obtained, and everyone knew the plan, they used one of the Barnos and flew out to Anzix's camp, or their new camp in the Wildspire Waste, where upon landing Grogar held his staff out as he beckoned for his team to move out, as with an Elder Dragon out there he was bringing Sherry along. Both he and his partner agreed on one thing, that the Scholar must have left a trail of some kind for them to follow and, fortunately for them, they had something of his for their Scoutflies to track down, thanks to the Commander arming them accordingly once Grogar agreed to take the mission, and, sure enough, the path seemed to head to the area across from their camp. As such they headed that way and made sure to keep their eyes for anything out of the ordinary, where Patches found some footprints that belonged to the person that they were here to rescue, though it looked like he might have been running for his life, making Grogar wonder if they were walking into a trap of some kind. Sherry agreed with his assessment of the tracks and followed him as he headed over to the path that lead to the swamp area of the Wildspire Waste, though he paused for a moment as they found a Kulu-Ya-Ku running up the path, passing by them without stopping to see what it was running by, and if it was frightened that meant they might run into Nergigante at some point.

As he thought about that the Scoutflies turned blue for a moment as they stopped at some splintered thorns that looked like they were spikes, which likely came from a monster with spikes on it's body, and they seemed rather dangerous, as all of the creatures stayed away from them, to which he took one for later, before registering the coloration of the flies that were helping them out.

"Sherry, Nergigante is somewhere nearby, as these are fresh," Grogar commented, keeping his voice low so only she and their companions could hear his words, because he had no idea how good the hearing of this particular Elder Dragon was, in fact he had no personal experience with them and wasn't about to fight one if he could help it, causing him to scan the area as the Scoutflies continued to move, "Stay close... I can't shake the feeling that it's watching us."

One would assume that since it was still in the morning they would have the advantage, that they would be able to see the black scaled monster the Commander had told them about, or at least he was assuming it had scales and not fur, in all of the light that was gracing this region, but that wasn't true at all, as there was nothing that matched the report. In addition to that they found the body of a slain Apceros, which looked like it had been slain by Nergigante, due to some slash marks on it's shell and legs, while also being covered in mud that seemed to be projectile in nature, meaning another monster must have attacked the weakened creature or had started to before running into the Elder Dragon. Either way things were bad for them, as there was either an Elder Dragon in this region or there was a pissed off monster that was attacking any monsters or people that got near it's domain, though while he thought about that he collected a fallen tome, likely the one the Scholar had been carrying before the accident, before they moved over to a ledge and climbed down to another area that needed to be explored. As they did that Grogar gulped for a moment, as before the short ledge they found another set of splintered thorns and after climbing down they found a third, each one looking as fresh as the first set, meaning his worst fears had to be real, the Elder Dragon was somewhere in the Wildspire Waste and they were likely heading toward where it was waiting for them, making him consider sending Sherry back before something happened.

Before he could do that, however, they found the Scholar cowering near a fallen Barroth, who had a number of thorns in it's side and back, slain by Nergigante no doubt, though they carefully crossed over to where he was standing, which was in a large cave opening, or it would be if it went anywhere, and the Scholar was in shock, confirming that the Elder Dragon had to be here somewhere.

"We can't let him find us... we can't..." the Scholar said, speaking once they got close to where he was resting, though at the same time he kept his voice so, as if worried that Nergigante was still nearby and was waiting for the perfect chance to strike, before he glanced at the fallen Barroth he was resting near, "The Barroth... the Jyuratodus didn't do this, it couldn't, it... it was..."

"We know. Nergigante." Grogar replied, keeping his voice low as well as he studied the fallen monster, which also looked like it was a fresh kill as well, once more just in case the Elder Dragon was somewhere in the area, though as he said that he and Sherry noticed something in the muddy water, which the Scholar noticed as well, "Though I think we might have run into a Jyuratodus..."

Sure enough something burst out of the water, a fish shaped monster that looked like it had hindlegs to walk on land if it needed to do so, where the scales were a dirty brown, like mud, and it seemed more eager to eat the Barroth, as it latched onto the dead monster's neck not a few seconds after showing itself, before it paused as a stone crashed on the ground near their position. Grogar and Sherry froze as the Scholar shivered in pure fear, while Patches and Jaya were trying not to freak out as they realized what had found them, though in the following moments Grogar dared to turn his head and gaze up at the top of the rock roof that was above their position, hoping that he was wrong and that what had found them was different than what they were thinking it was. What he found was something that installed fear in him and the others, as standing above them, looking down at them with a clawed hand at the ready, was a large black scaled monster that he was sure was around the size of a Rathian or Rathalos, though there were spikes all over its body, as in its arms, back, wings, and tail, while having two massive horns that looked like they could do some damage. There was also other colors on its body, as in faded purple and faded orange on its chest and the webbing between the fingers of its wings, and its eyes were a bright orange color that were unique among the monsters he had seen so far, and based on what he was seeing he had a feeling that Nergigante was hungry.

In that moment, as it studied them, Grogar found that they were lucky as Nergigante dropped down and smashed into the Jyuratodus, knocking the unfortunate monster out of the water and sent it flying towards one of the large boulders that were in this area, to which he beckoned to the others as he kept his eyes on the Elder Dragon. As such Sherry, the Scholar, Patches, and Jaya carefully moved over to where he was positioned, so they could head over to the path that would take them back to the Ancient Forest, or even their camp, the latter being an area that they could hide in until they were sure this monster was no longer in the area. The Jyuratodus seemed to understand what was happening to it, as it tried to fight back as it used its mud against Nergigante, though such a thing didn't seem to matter to the Elder Dragon and didn't slow it down at all, as it swung its spiked arms and claws at the monster it was fighting, tearing into it's side with ease and dealt all sorts of damage to the poor Jyuratodus. One thing he noticed was that the more Nergigante fought the more the color of its spikes seemed to change, as they started with a whitish color and were darkening to a near perfect black, though it didn't matter in the end as the poor monster it was fighting died before it could do anything, showing him the difference in power that existed between a normal monster and an Elder Dragon.

As he thought about that, however, Grogar gathered his magic as he noticed something that worried him, Nergigante was turning its head towards Sherry and the others, no doubt sensing whatever the other monsters could feel whenever they looked at his partner, before it focused on him and no one else. A few seconds later it crouched low, like it was preparing itself for something massive, and he made sure to gather as much magic as he possibly could, as he had a feeling that this was about to go south in the worst way possible, but at the very least the Scholar, Patches, and Jaya were out of the area, no doubt with Sherry leading the way. As he readied himself Nergigante launched itself into the air, almost like it was going to leave the area and bother them no more, before Grogar's fears were realized as he became the target of the attack that the Elder Dragon had been preparing, as it rushed at him like it was divebombing him, causing him to cast his spell, as he summoned multiple barriers in front of him, only facing the direction Nergigante was coming from. He had done it like that due to the fact that he had been afraid of being attacked by the Elder Dragon, and each had a decent strength to them, so he might lose them all when the attack struck him, where he focused on the incoming imposing beast as he made sure to keep Sherry and the others safe.

Much to his dismay Nergigante's claws slashed through his barriers like they were made of paper, meaning the difference in power between him and an Elder Dragon was vast, but he barely had time to think about what was happening as he was struck by his opponent, the claws digging into his chest before the sheer force of the attack sent him flying into a rock wall that was behind him.

Grogar coughed for a moment as he collapsed into a defeated sitting position, or at least that was due to the attack, and he found that his vision was blurry all of a sudden, meaning he must have hit his head against the rock wall and did some damage to his skull, as that was the only explanation he had for this. He could faintly make out Nergigante, who seemed a little distracted by something else, though pain surged through his body as he weakly raised his left arm, finding that there was something wet on his chest, no doubt blood when he considered what had just happened to him. In that moment he let out a weak chuckle as he realized that this was it, Nergigante was going to be the death of him and there was nothing he could do to stop that from happening, meaning he was never going to figure out the mystery of the Elder Crossing, nor figure out Sherry's secret, or figure out everything there was to learn about this wonderful and dangerous world. As that thought crossed his mind he found that his vision was darkening, either due to Nergigante approaching him or his death was closer than he thought, though as he started to slip into unconsciousness he was sure that he heard another roar, as if another large dragon had entered the scene.

That was the last thing he thought about as something approached him, where he could see a blurry face, maybe Sherry's, despite the fact that he was sure it was a dragon's face, before the rest of his vision went dark as he succumbed to his wounds and slipped into unconsciousness.