Rough Landing

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The sky crackled as lightning flashed among the dark gray clouds that filled it, something that would normally signal rain or a storm and that was what the resident of the land was expecting, though those clouds were the only thing that one could see if they stared at the sky for a couple of moments, as they prevented any form of sunlight from touching this place, which made sense given the nature of this realm. The individual that looked up at the sky for a few moments said nothing as they resumed walking down the hallway that they had stopped in, resuming the walk they had started earlier, though it wasn't worried about bumping into anyone since it was alone in the realm that it was trapped in, the infamous Realm of Darkness that the medieval city known as Tambelon resided in since it was banished to the realm. The sole creature that called the dark city home had once been trapped with others at one point in time, where it had them construct a magical bell that would have allowed the city to return to Equestria, the land all of them had hailed from, only its plans backfired as the rest of the trapped individuals took the bell and used it to return to their homeland, before shattering the bell to prevent it from joining them. While that would have been a major setback, and it was when the creature thought about it, it was able to secure a small fragment of the bell before the fragments were totally destroyed, one that had faded back into the Realm of Darkness and appeared in the part of the city where the bell had been resting, allowing the lone creature to tend to it and prepare for what the future had for it.

Grogar sighed for a moment as he paused when he reached the end of the hallway and stared at what was the first room of a castle, the entrance that servants would be cleaning or opening the doors of so visiting nobles and whatnot, but he was alone in this realm and he knew that such a thing wasn't going to chance, hence the reason he was putting the last touches on a new plan. Grogar was a male ram that was somewhat taller than the majority of the ponies that lived in the land of Equestria, save for the alicorns since they were even taller than he was, where he had a moderate cornflower blue coat and had a short mane on his head that was a light cobalt bluish gray coloration, though in addition to his mane he had a short tail that had the same color as his mane, just like the ponies did. In addition to that he had a pair of curved horns, just like a normal ram was supposed to have, and his were a dark azure color that allowed him to channel his magic and cast spells, though he also had a red collar around his neck that had a few golden bells, spherical ones, that really did nothing and were purely for decoration, since the bell that was supposed to rest in the middle of the collar was gone, due to his plan backfiring. He carried the bell fragment with him at all times, to prepare for his newest plan, not that such a thing mattered since he was alone in this world and none of the creatures that lurked on the borders of Tambelon came into the city, no doubt observing him and what he was doing, or at least that was what he was assuming since none of them had bothered to show themselves to him and the others over the years.

Being banished to the Realm of Darkness had an interesting effect on him and the other residents of the city, as they had spent five hundred years in this twisted realm and had their individual times paused, meaning that if someone went into this realm when they were eighteen they would still be eighteen when they left the realm, though since the rest of the residents had betrayed him, something he really should have been expecting, he had been forced to spend another five hundred years in solitary confinement. That basically put him on the level of sentences that the other villains of Equestria had been given when they were faced in the past, like Nightmare Moon being banished to the moon for a thousand years, Discord being trapped in a statue for that amount of time, or Sombra being sealed away for the same amount of time, and the only reason he knew all of this was due to the fact that he could use a portion of his magic to see some of the events that were happening in Equestria, though it was incredibly hard and very taxing, even for someone like him. In fact, based on the passage of time in the land he used to call home, he could tell that he had passed by the thousand year anniversary of the villains being imprisoned and were subsequently defeated by a group of six very special mares, which was made up of two unicorns, two pegasi, and two earth ponies, and were accompanied by a baby dragon, before one of the unicorns became an alicorn, but that was something he would worry about in the future. His reason for not escaping the Realm of Shadows at the same time as the other villains broke out of their prisons and returned to Equestria was due to him being curious as to what was happening and so he could gain some information to better plan for the future, though part of him determined that, individually, the villains would lose no matter what they did, but if they banded together and formed a small group, however, they might actually stand a chance, which would be hard to do since having villains join forces lead to interests conflicting and driving them apart at some point in time.

So while he considered the downfall of the other villains, and the failure of their plans, he waited for the perfect moment where the ponies and creatures of Equestria were distracted by something, enough to where they wouldn't notice what he was doing, not to mention a point in time where the Princesses would be busy as well, so none of them got in his way, due to the fact that he knew that one alicorn would be enough to stop him if they sensed the portal he would be making once he was sure the way was clear. Based on his observations it seemed like today was a good day for him to put his plan into action, hence why he happened to be walking towards his destination, eventually coming to the part of his prison that held where the bell could be used, or at least focused to the point where its magic could open a portal back to Equestria, where he used his magic to raise the bell fragment and studied it for a few seconds. Once he was sure that there were no flaws in the fragment, given that what it had been part of had been shattered by those who had been imprisoned with him, he did what he came to do and channeled his magic into the fragment, something that caused the power inside it to flare not a few moments later and surged into the area he focused on, the barrier that rested between the Realm of Darkness and Equestria, all so he could create a temporary portal. Not a few moments later the air in front of him shuddered as a spiral of magical energy appeared, condensing into an oval shaped portal that had a dark azure coloration, though he paused for a second or two, just to be sure that it was stable enough for him to safely arrive in Equestria, and once he was positive of that fact he braced himself as he charged forward and jumped into the portal he had just created, knowing that it might collapse on him if he didn't act fast enough. It wasn't long before he appeared in the destination he had picked out, which just so happened to be an area that looked like it had been a moat at one point in time, though with no water around him and the sheer height of the rock walls this was more like a gorge these days, before he quickly glanced at the tallest part of the area he found a number of trees that indicated he was in a forest, no doubt the Everfree Forest since that had been his ultimate destination, where he was pleased to find that his plan had worked.

The downside to all of this was that he had planned on being at the top of the rock walls that made up the gorge, instead of resting in the depths of it, due to the fact that he planned on visiting the ancient ruins he knew were up there and this just meant he would have to make a change of some kind, before he noticed a cave that seemed like the perfect place to hide for a time, and allow him to ensure that no one came looking for him, to which he quickly headed inside it and walked down the tunnel he would be in for some time.

"Hm, I recognize this cave," Grogar commented, where he glanced around him for a few moments, mostly to take a look behind him and discovered that the temporary portal had closed, meaning if someone followed the magic they would be cut off and left in the dark for some time, allowing him to focus on the walls and what he recognized, since it had been a long time since he had been in this special place, for a few moments before he even considered what his next move was, or what he might do if someone found him.

Of course he knew that it felt weird for him to be back in the real realm, especially when he considered the fact that he had been betrayed and had been forced to wait for the fragment of the bell to be charged up, but despite what he felt he also knew that he would get used to it in no time, allowing him to think about what he was going to do next as he focused on the walls of the cave and recalled the events he had seen in the past, that were related it this place, including the ones that were connected to the six mares he had observed, and it didn't take him all that long to reach the end of the cave, where a large crystalline tree stood in the center and had six powerful gemstones in the branches.

"Ah, the Tree of Harmony, which means those are the Elements of Harmony," Grogar said, as he recognized what was in front of him and knew how dangerous they were to the various villains of the land, though now that the Elements had been returned to the Tree he suspected that such a problem wouldn't raise its head to ruin any plans he might make, but the same couldn't be said for the mares who had wielded them once upon a time, a problem that needed to be dealt with at some point in time, "I should make a new camp nearby, as that will allow me to spy on this place and stay out of the way so that those mares don't realize I'm... here..."

What surprised him was the fact that he was suddenly feeling exhausted, something that sort of made sense due to the fact that he was in the real world once more, though based on what he knew it seemed more like a magical sleep spell had been cast on him while he was distracted by the Tree, though before he could do anything he staggered for a moment and realized that something was horribly wrong, before his world shifted and he collapsing on the ground, which was when he blacked out and remembered nothing more.

Erica looked at the sky for a moment as she sat on the dock of the ship that she was riding on, mostly because it was odd for it to be so calm in comparison to the storm that they had been forced to ride through some time ago when they left the Old World, before she sighed as she looked in the direction of the sun, because it was a nice change of pace and there was no telling how long it would last. That was the reason she was on the deck of the ship, reading some of the books that the Guild had supplied her and the other members of the Fifth Fleet with, familiarizing herself with the possible monsters she and the others might encounter in the New World, or at least what the other Fleets had spotted during their long stay in the New World, though while she took a break from what she was studying she looked out at all of the other people that were being transported to their destination. Erica was a human, a creature that stood on two legs and had two arms, had short brown hair, and was wearing some light green attire that was made out of both leather and metal in places, though she also had a white scarf that was wrapped around her neck and had blue tips that rested in front of her neck, something that was uncommon among the Hunters, Handlers, and the rest of the crew who made sure that the six ships that made up their Fleet reached their destination. In addition to all of the humans there were bipedal cat creatures, who came in a number of varieties of fur colors and expressions, that were called Felyne, or Palico as some of the Hunters commonly called them these days, so it all depended on what they felt like calling them, though at the moment she spotted a few of them running around the ship, transporting supplies and making sure everyone that was on the deck had everything that they could possibly need before they headed back to the eating hall or the rooms everyone slept in, of which there were plenty of them for everyone aboard the ship.

As she thought about all of that she noticed a short red haired individual, who was wearing the same attire that she was wearing at the moment, minus the scarf, though he had some armored sections on his arms, legs, shoulders, and the rest of his body, which made sense due to the fact that he was one of the Hunters and he specialized in using the sword and shield technique, and right now he didn't have either of those because he wanted to rest and relax for a time, before they reached the New World, something she knew he could do plenty of times since they had a good deal of time left in their journey. She was his partner, as she was the one that handled all of the assignments that he was given and checked off the ones he either did or made sure to mention which ones he hadn't done yet, a very simple system that was successful back in the Old World, so there was no telling what would happen when they reached the New World and learned if there were any changes to the system they were used to. Her partner, on the other hand, was the one who took on quests, went out into the wilds, and fought all sorts of monsters, as in he risked his life to further the understanding of the Commission in what the monsters did, and while his name was Aiden he was known as Aiden 'the Excitable', and he had an outstanding personality that made others think he was remarkable and impressive, which she had to admit that even she considered that at times. There were other Hunters and Handlers aboard this ship and the other five that were near them, along with researchers, scholars, and engineers, so they were prepared for whatever the New World had to offer, which was when she turned back to the books that were nearby and focused on what she had been reading before her partner appeared on the deck of their ship, leaving him to do whatever it was that he wanted to do while he was up here, even though she did have a feeling that it might involve her in some manner.

Of course, even as she went to do that, Erica spotted someone out of the corner of her eye, where the individual was a brunette with short hair and had freckles, though she also wore the yellow attire of the Commission, which had blue cloth pieces above her chest that wrapped around the top of her arms and connected to the back of her attire, which Erica knew that some of the members of the Fifth Fleet jokingly referred to as wings, and she was incredibly energetic despite the odd fact that she currently had no Hunter to work with.

"You know, I figured she would be depressed by the fact that she has no partner," Aiden stated, where he sat down to the right of where Erica was sitting and they both stared at the other Handler that was on the deck at the moment, who either didn't notice them or was too caught up in watching the sailors that were making sure they got to the New World in one piece, despite the storm they encountered a few days after leaving the Old World, "if it were me, I'd be spending my time trying to figure out what sort of role I would pursue once we finally reached the New World... maybe she could help the chef taste some new meals or something."

"We're only eight days into a three week journey, so she has plenty of time," Erica replied, though even as she said that the other lady, Sherry as she recalled, tripped over something, either a loose part of the deck or an item that had been left where it shouldn't have been left, but seemed to catch herself before she hit the deck, which was followed by her making sure everything was just fine before she continued to walk towards whatever part of the ship she happened to be heading to, where Erica had to guess it was the kitchen given that Karen was known for being a foodie, "I heard that she was much more serious and focused than this, one of the top A-Listers like us, but so far everything I have seen leads me to believe otherwise... the stress of not having a partner must be getting to her more than we thought. Hopefully the Commander pairs her up with someone, as it would be a waste of her talents if she was stuck doing something other than what she learned how to do."

"I'm sure there are plenty of Hunters in the New World that would be willing to work with her," Aiden said, as he, like many of his companions, knew that there were four Fleets that had made the long and arduous journey to the New World in the past, where they knew they had set up the main camp that would be their home for the foreseeable future, at least until they figured out whatever was happening there and told the Commission about their findings, meaning there had to be a number of Hunters that Sherry might be able pick from, before he glanced up at the sky, "I mean, its not like her partner is going to drop out of the sky or anything."

Erica started to open her mouth so she could say something, mostly to make a comment about how such a thing would have been impossible, though before she could do that there was a crackle in the air and everyone glanced up at the sky as what she assumed was lightning danced between some of the clouds for a moment, making her and the others wonder if a storm was going to develop right on top of them. That was followed by what she guessed was a rainbow colored light bursting out of the area the clouds were in, one that made them look away for a few seconds, before something appeared in the sky, which she believed was a human like her and the others, as odd as it sounded in her mind when she took a few seconds to think about it, before the figure fell feet first into the water from about a hundred feet in the air, as tall as the highest point of their ship. Erica quickly threw a bookmark into the book she had been reading and placed it on the small stack she had brought outside some time ago, where she and Aiden ran over to the part of the ship that overlooked where in stranger had fallen into the water, and, sure enough, they were joined by Sherry and some of the other members of the crew, who were already gathering some safety gear so whoever had hit the water could be saved. From what they could tell the stranger had landed behind the ship, in the wake interestingly enough, and it wasn't long before one of the sailors arrived with a tube that floated on the water and had a rope tied to it, to which he tossed it into the water and waited for it to land near the stranger, as once it was still he dived into the water and swam over to the figure, leaving the other sailors to pull him back once he secured whoever had landed in the water.

Erica, Sherry, and Aiden watched as the sailor secured the individual in question and they helped pull the rope back so the pair could be brought back to the ship, which gave them a chance to stare at the odd person who had fallen out of the sky in such an odd way, since none of them were expecting something like that to happen and the rest of the crew joined them in waiting to see what they had found. No one was actually expecting what they discovered, as at first the individual that the sailor had rescued looked like a human that happened to be wearing some ragged robes over its body, but at the same time the stranger's skin had a moderate cornflower blue hue to it and his hair was a light cobalt bluish gray color, an odd color to be sure, and that wasn't the strangest thing they had seen, as the man, where they were sure it was male due to the slim build to his body, had a pair of curved horns on his head, which were dark azure colored. Then it got weirder when he was hauled entirely up onto the ship, as he had a short tail that seemed to resemble a ram's tail, which went with the hooves that his feet ended in, making it look like he was a hybrid between a ram and a human, something that had never been seen before in this world, though at the same time it looked like hitting the water had knocked him out. Since he was out cold, and they had no idea how long it would be before he woke up and questioned where he was, or whatever he might ask when he came to, Erica decided that they might as well take him down to one of the rooms, the empty one that would have gone to Sherry's Hunter partner, who somehow missed joining up with them, and let him stay in it while they determined what they were going to do with him when they reached the New World.

Of course that meant they would have to send a message ahead to the New World, so the Commander would knew what to expect when they finally arrived at their destination, but Erica was willing to set up the stranger with a room and tend to his body for a time, to learn more about him before he was handed him over to the one who she and the others would be answering to for the foreseeable future, though she had the feeling that things were going to change a little now that they had a new passenger aboard the ship.

Interesting Discoveries

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Grogar groaned as he shifted for a moment, where what little he could feel told him that he was resting on a bed of some kind, though it was hard for him to feel his limbs or the majority of his body, even though his back legs left like they were sore from something and, unless he was mistaken, his body felt wet, almost as if he had fallen into a pond or a river for a few moments. From what he could tell it didn't seem like his body wanted to respond to his commands, since he wanted to move his legs and pick himself up, like something had gone wrong when he exited the Realm of Darkness and collapsed in the cave that the Tree of Harmony was resting in, which actually confused him for a moment when he considered how wet his body happened to be, given that there were no bodies of water near the cave, not unless someone carried him for a time and dropped him in one of the few rivers that ran through the Everfree Forest. As such he forced his eyes open and found that he was staring at the ceiling of a wooden room, where he had to assume that he was on a ship of some kind due to the noises of a sea or an ocean that were outside the wall to his left, though from what little he could tell the vessel he was currently resting inside seemed to be fairly well made and didn't seem to be falling apart anywhere, which meant the wetness didn't come from the ship itself, such as a leak that could have been overlooked, though based on everything he could see there were no flaws in the room he was resting in. Another thing he discovered was that there didn't appear to be any windows in the room that he was in, meaning he was either near the center of the ship or the sleeping area was below the water, though it was impossible for him to tell since he had no idea where he was, though at least his room had some lights so he could see what was around the bed he was resting on, where the lights were provided by a few lanterns that had candles resting inside them and were positioned to give enough light for whoever called this room home, or that was his current thoughts on the matter.

After taking in what was around him at the moment, or what he could see, Grogar shifted a little more and glanced at his body so he could figure out what was wrong with him, only for him to discover that his entire body was totally different, as it no longer looked like what he remembered it being earlier, as his body had been warped into what the minotaurs had, at least according to what he recalled, so based on that he could tell that he seemed to be a bipedal ram now, which was odd since he knew of no spells that would do something like this. Of course, even as he thought about that, he considered that Discord was behind this since the Spirit of Disharmony would have a laugh over something like this, but based on the limited amount of magic he could feel at the moment, which alarmed him since it there was next to no magic around him, he doubted that Discord was behind what he was experiencing at the moment, causing him to return his attention to his body so he could take in what it actually looked like. It felt weird to have his body twisted in such a way, which gave him a bipedal stance that was rather uncommon in his home world, save for several creatures that came to mind, and from what he could tell his front legs had been turned into the arms and hands that a minotaur had, only his were slim in comparison to the thick nature of the arms that the minotaurs possessed, while his back legs had been shifted until they gave him the bipedal stance he had quickly noticed, meaning that from this day forward he would be walking on two legs, something he knew would take some time to get used to. In addition to that he could feel his tail and could tell that his horns were still in place, so part of his body was familiar while the rest of it was totally new to him, meaning that he would have to get used to his new body and adapt to how the bipedal creatures walked, before attempting to figure out where he was and how he was going to get back to Equestria, though the latter was going to be near impossible if he was actually in a world that had next to no magic.

Just as that thought came to Grogar's mind, however, the door that was off to his right opened, something he must have missed when he was looking around the room he had found himself in, and three individuals walked into the room not a few seconds later, where he could tell that two of them had to be female, at least according to the mounds that were on their chests, and the other was a guy that seemed to be excited about something, though the most important thing about all of this, and the most interesting at the same time in his mind, was the fact that none of them looked anything like what he was used to seeing, as none of them possessed horns, wings, hooves, or any of the other identifying features that were common in Equestria.

"Well look whose up. We were just coming to check up on you," one of the ladies, the one with the short black hair and the scarf around her neck, said, though as she did that she walked over to where Grogar was resting while the really short red haired guy and the short brown haired girl stood off to the side, either not wanting to get in the way of what was going to happen next or making sure they had room to observe the next couple of moments, before the black haired lady stopped by the bed and sat down near what Grogar assumed was his waist, "How are you feeling? Anything sore?"

Grogar opened his mouth to say something, so he could reply to the question, though that was when he coughed for a few seconds, almost like he hadn't drank anything for a long time, which was weird since he knew he had been just fine when he left the Realm of Darkness, meaning whatever had happened to him after he found the Tree of Harmony had taken a lot more out of him and left him in this state, before the lady was handed a small container that seemed to be filled with water, a cup that she took and helped Grogar drink some of it, showing that they must have been expecting something like this to happen, even if he hadn't been expecting it, making sure to pull back after a time.

"Thanks." Grogar replied, this time finding that his voice was back to normal, which was good since he'd rather not cough all the time whenever he wanted to say something, as that would have gotten annoying rather quickly and he was sure it would have caused him to find a way to return to normal, before he took stock of the rest of his body and considered the question that he had been asked, since he knew that the lady and her companions were no doubt eager to see how he was doing, which was quickly followed by his answer, "Also, I'm feeling okay... the only soreness I can feel right now is in my hooves, even though my body is still a little wet."

"Makes sense, since you fell into the ocean from a hundred feet in the air... or from the top of our mast anyway, according to what our researchers said," the guy stated, showing that they must have noticed his arrival in this area and had been keeping track of everything that might have happened since that point in time, though at the same time he shrugged for a few seconds, almost as if he was indicating that he had no answers to whatever was going on, even though his words did reveal that he wasn't the smartest among the trio, "though it did knock you out for a while, given that we pulled you out of the water an hour ago, so you soaked pretty good if you're still feeling a little wet, but that's probably just the ragged robe you were wearing when we rescued you."

"I see." Grogar commented, where he took a moment to stare down at the robe he was apparently wearing, something he knew he hadn't been wearing when he returned to Equestria or collapsed in the cave that the Tree of Harmony rested in, so he had to assume that whatever magic had moved him to an entirely new and strange world, dropped him in an ocean, and had changed his body to this extent had given him something to wear for the foreseeable future, before he glanced back at the group that was in the room, "What in the world are you people?"

"We're humans... and from what we can tell, you're half human, at least based on your body structure," the brown haired lady stated, where all three of them seemed slightly amused by the question, almost as if they weren't surprised by him even asking it in the first place, meaning they must have gotten used to his presence, for however long he had been out, though at the same time Grogar wondered if there was something about the lady that was a little different than the other two that were in the room, as she seemed far more nervous than the others were, "Oh, where are our manners? My name is Sherry, and these are my friends and colleagues Erica and Aiden, though we're all members of the Fifth Fleet and we're heading to the New World to solve one of the greatest mysteries in the world!"

"So, do you have any idea what your name is?" the guy asked, which meant he had to be Aiden, an interesting name that told Grogar that he definitely wasn't in Equestria anymore, and from his studies over the last thousand years he knew humans didn't exist anywhere across the entire planet that he had once called home, meaning that whatever event had happened to him had definitely sent him to an entirely different world for some odd reason, before Aiden leaned against the wall near the door, "Or did the fall from that height make you lose your memories? Its okay if you don't remember, as we already have some ideas on how to help you out in that regard."

"No, the fall did nothing to my memories," Grogar replied, though he did think it was interesting that one of them, or two of them anyway, believed that he might have lost all of his memories after falling from that height, where he determined that if he had hit the water head first he would have suffered some major brain damage, which would have resulted in the event in question happening to him, before he pushed himself into a sitting position a few seconds later, even though he found that Erica helped him out for a few seconds, "My name is Grogar, and it is nice to meet you guys."

As the trio looked at each other for a few seconds, due to the fact that they had never heard of a name like his before and were clearly thinking about what they needed to ask him next, as it looked like two of them might be researchers, to some degree anyway, a figure stepped into the room and that caused Grogar to raise an eyebrow for a moment, as the creature in question was a small bipedal cat. He was sure that the cat was of the calico variety, due to the fact that about seventy-five percent of its fur was white colored and had a few black patches and a few orange patches, especially when there was a black patch over its right eye and an orange patch over its left eye, though what was interesting about the creature, other than the bipedal nature, was that it was wearing what was either cloth that was made to resemble armor or leather armor to provide it with some protection, even though he had to admit that his knowledge on armor was far less than everything else he had learned about in the distant past, especially since a new world meant new rules. It looked like the cat creature was sort of outfitted for battle, given that there happened to be what appeared to be a weapon that was a mix of a shovel and an acorn on the creature's back, like a mace of some kind based on his understanding of weapons, though that wasn't what his full attention was on right now, as he was staring at the hand sized wasp that the cat was currently holding, one that had what appeared to be a sack full of some light green material, either nectar or some kind of spore spray, attached to it. While he was thinking about what the cat was holding it moved its arms and seemed to manipulate the wasp in a way that released the light green material, which he realized were spores, all over Grogar's body in a matter of seconds, where at first it appeared that nothing had happened to his body, except for the haze disappearing a second or two later, before he felt the soreness in his hooves go away and any other pains that he was feeling seemed to disappear, informing him that this type of wasp generated a vitality nectar, something that healed those it came into contact with, causing the cat to smile as it noticed what was going on.

With that done the cat nodded his head and quickly departed from the room that they were in, either to go get some more medical supplies or do whatever another task that had been assigned to it, leaving Grogar to think about what he had just seen and what else this world might have to offer him, since it was totally different from everything he was used to seeing, before he focused on the group that was currently staring at him, who seemed amused by his reaction to seeing both the cat and the wasp in action.

"What was that?" Grogar inquired, as he figured that if he was stuck in this new world, something he would have to either confirm or deny after he left this room and explored the ship a little, it would be nice to learn what the various creatures were and so far he knew two races, the humans that were staring at him and the odd cat creature that had used a wasp's nectar to heal his body, which was rather interesting when he thought about it and considered how his body had reacted to the thin cloud of spores that had covered him.

"A Felyne, which is a small bipedal cat creature who are sentient and can form small communities of their own kind, or join the Commission," Sherry stated, while at the same time Erica and Aiden nodded their heads, mostly to show Grogar that the lady was speaking the truth and that all of the information she was sharing with him was the truth, which was why he remained silent and let them tell him what they knew about the creatures, mentally taking notes on what he learned and what might be useful in the future, "well, they can join normal human civilizations as well, so they're not limited to joining us. Anyway, they usually take the positions of cooks, as their recipes and their unique cooking methods are some of the best in the world, servants, which involves carrying things around, being house keepers, or helping doctors treat patents, and craftsmen, be they smiths or whatever profession interests them... and those that join the Commission, and work with Hunters, are known as Palicoes, helpful aids to the individuals that head out into the world and engage the monsters that we share this world with, to capture or end those involved with a quest."

"Fascinating. So I would have to assume that the Felyne that healed me is an assistant to the ship's doctor, or maybe one of the apprentices?" Grogar inquired, because all of this was rather interesting and he was eager to see what else he might learn during his time in this odd world, while at the same time showing that he was hearing what the trio was telling him and that he was able to make his own decisions based on what he had seen, though he had the feeling he was wrong since the Felyne was wearing armor and not the attire of someone that would be working with a doctor, even though it could be that he hadn't changed into his proper attire yet.

"Actually, Patches trained to be a Palico and help a Hunter out, but he and Sherry are missing their Hunter partner, as the one they're supposed to be paired with missed our departure from the Old World," Erica replied, where she sighed for a few seconds as the cat departed for the area of the ship that the ship's doctor was residing in, so it could help him out with the rest of the wounded, if there were any other wounded individuals on the ship at the moment, or whatever task he had in store for Patches, before she turned her attention back to Grogar, who was listening to everything he was being told at the moment and forming his questions for when they were done, "so right now he's trying to learn something else so he'll be useful when we reach the New World, while Sherry will likely be regulated to being an assistant for one of the various researchers for the foreseeable future... I should have some books delivered to this room, which you can stay in until we reach the New World, that way you can have something to do while you're, um, getting back on your hooves."

Grogar found it interesting that Erica was willing to send him some books to read, which were appreciated since he could gain some insight into the odd world that he found himself in, especially given that he was so different from the trio that had come to speak with him, though he wasn't going to question it for the time being, since he still needed to figure out if he was stuck in this world or if there might be a way for him to head back to his home world. This was his way of preparing for whatever discovery he might make, because if he could return to his world this would be put off as a dream of sorts, as in put it behind him, but, at the same time, he knew that the latter option was much more likely and if he was truly stuck in this world he would need to know more about it and all of the rules that it had, especially when he considered the fact that Erica had mentioned that they were heading to the New World. As such he nodded his head, to show that he appreciated the gesture, and caused the trio to bid him farewell for the moment, where it was clear that they were going to come and visit him from time to time to make sure nothing bad had happened to him, to which he watched as they walked through the open doorway and closed the door behind them, leaving him in the room that he had woken up inside, though he had little to do until those books arrived. He let a few moments pass by, as it allowed him to make sure no one might interrupt what he was about to do, before he carefully removed the covers and forced himself to sit on the edge of the bed he was on, where he experimented with his arms, hands, and even his new legs for a couple of moments, just to see how each of them worked for himself while he mimicked what he had seen Erica, Aiden, and Sherry do with their arms, legs, and hands while they were in this room. It was rather interesting for him to experience, since he wasn't used to doing anything like this and he knew he could spend an hour learning everything he could do with his new limbs, before he closed his eyes for a moment and felt that his magic was right where it should be, meaning that he still had access to his powers despite the fact that this world didn't appear to have any magic of its own.

As he thought about that he raised his right hand towards the wall that was near the doorway and focused on what he was going to do, as he wanted to see if he could open a temporary portal back to Equestria, so he could return to the cave he had been in and figure out what his next move was going to be, though after a few seconds of nothing happening he came to realize that he was either weak from being sent to this world or he was unable to cast the spell in question, meaning he would be calling this world home for the foreseeable future. With that done he lowered his hand and considered what his new companions had told him, where the interesting part about what he had learned so far was that there were monsters in this world, which also existed back in Equestria and the other provinces of his home world that he was aware of, though from what he could piece together it appeared that this Commission he had found, or more accurately the 'Fifth Fleet' he had landed near, might be chasing a monster across the ocean or something, though he would have to look at the books he would be given to see what sort of information he was being given. There was also the fact that he sensed something different when he focused on Sherry, like there was far more to her than what she was showing to everyone around her, meaning someone would need to keep an eye on her and her actions, though it was possible that he was overreacting to her presence and that he would need some time to get over the betrayal he faced in the Realm of Darkness, even though he should have seen it coming and definitely deserved what he got in the end. Another thing he considered, even if it was for a few seconds, was that this might be his true punishment, to be sent to an entirely different world with no way back, which would make him the problem of whatever world he had arrived on, though for right now, after seeing the villains of his home world being beaten and the betrayal he suffered, he was going to take this time to think about things and come to a new decision on what he was going to do with his life.

While that happened Erica brought him a couple of books to read so he would have something to do, other than sit in bed and do nothing but stare at a wall or the ceiling, before leaving him to his own devices, where he nodded his head in her direction, to thank her, and picked up one of the tomes so he could get started on his quest to learn more about this odd world he had arrived in, as there was so much he wanted to learn before he came to a decision on what he should do with his life and now was the time to get started.

The Decision

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Grogar spent what he felt was an hour or two reading the couple of books that he had been allowed to look at, where the first thing he learned about was the Hunter's Guild, or the Guild as it was also called, even if Erica mentioned something called the Commission earlier, which seemed to be one of the most important organizations in the entire world and its headquarters were located in a city called Dundorma, while also having districts that were spread out over all the known regions of the world, but, for the most part, the New World was different from everything else. Based on the low amount of information he was given from his first conversation with the trio he knew that one could assume that the Hunter's Guild and the Hunters existed to eradicate all monsters, or those who threatened nature's balance in some way, and claim the world for the humans and their Felyne friends, though due to his time studying the book in question Grogar was able to discover that such a claim would have been false, as the Guild existed to preserve nature and keep some sort of balance with the monster populations, though they did go out and kill monsters that might be in the middle of threatening a village or the ecosystem. Basically they were supposed to keep the various populations of the types of monsters at a certain level and that if the monsters passed a threshold they would be hunted until the number was more manageable again, though the Guild also stopped poaching from happening, which was apparently punishable by death at the hands of someone called a Guild Knight, which seemed to be special elite Hunters that oversaw the lower ranking ones, making him wonder if there were a few on the ships that were heading to the New World, to make sure everything was in order.

The Commission, or the Research Commission if one wanted to be use its full name, was made up of all sorts of individuals from the Guild and everyone, in some way, went through a number of tests or trials to determine whether or not they could join up with one of the Fleets that had been sent to the New World, which made him a little interested in what sort of trials they might use to accomplish such a thing.

He also discovered that there was more to being a Hunter than just hunting down and killing monsters, as they also went out to gather all sorts of information on the monsters they were tracking for the researchers that were part of the Guild, to learn all they could about what they were following, and they also went hunting for food or other common items, such as herbs, insects, mushrooms, and who knew what else, to fulfill the various quests that were posted. What was far more interesting about all that was that the Guild took a special interest in monsters that they called 'Elder Dragons', monsters that defied the typical classifications that were given to monsters that shared certain traits and, if he was reading this right, the Elder Dragons were a force of nature that basically made them walking calamities, though each had their own powers that made them far more deadly than a normal monster. To the Guild these Elder Dragons were thought to be divine entities, an odd thing to discover for sure, and that something called the 'Elder Crossing' used to occur once every century, which he also found to be incredibly interesting, especially when he learned that it had recently switched to being every decade, though the event was when a few Elder Dragons flocked to the New World and the Guild sends a fleet after them to discover what's going on. According to what the books said the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Fleets had no idea why the Elder Crossing was even happening in the first place, though it also seemed like the pressure was on the Fifth Fleet he had intercepted earlier, though he knew that the organization had to be eager for answers and that forty years without any had to be annoying some people. As he closed the book had to admit that all of this was far more than what he first thought and found it to be fascinating, the Elder Dragons, the Hunter's Guild, the desire to research why such an event happened once every ten years, and everything else that the books told him, it was enough to make him consider sticking around to see if he could unravel the mystery himself.

Of course he was stuck on this world, as he figured that there was no way for him to return to return to Equestria, so this was his only option right now, to do his best and see what he could do to aid the Commission in their quest to understand the Elder Crossing, or at least open the way for the Sixth Fleet to do so in a decade's time, if they failed to figure out why this event happened in the first place. The other books detailed the known herbs, insects, and monsters that were in the Old World, the lands that the people of this world called home, though he could tell that it was going to take him some time to read everything that was inside the books and figure out all the information that came with the monsters that the Guild knew about, which was perfectly fine with him since he had nothing better to do at the moment. The interesting part about those books was that he found a number of pages that seemed to be empty, located near the backs of each tome to be exact, where he suspected that they were reserved for whatever the Commission found in the New World, even though it was odd that nothing had been added in the last forty years, meaning either information wasn't being shared or this was one of the older tomes, to go easy on him before he moved onto the bigger tomes.

"Seems like someone's been enjoying themselves," a voice said, where Grogar noticed that Erica had opened the door to what he assumed was going to be his room for the foreseeable future, at least until they reached the New World and he was handed off to someone else, though at the same time it was easy to see that she had glanced at the couple of books that he had already read, due to the fact that he had separated the provided books into two piles, one to his right being those the unopened ones and a smaller pile to the left that held those he had finished so far.

"You could say that. I'm in an unfamiliar land, and learning about where I am is important," Grogar replied, though at the same time he made sure that the book he was working on had a bookmark in it, so he remembered where he was for his next reading session, before he set it on the pile that he was working on, mostly to remember which one had been the last one he had opened during the last hour, whenever he returned to it, though that was when he turned his attention back to Erica and discovered that she hadn't closed the door, "So, I take it you've told your superior about me?"

"Well, the Captain of the ship knows about you, as do the Captains of the other ships," Erica stated, informing Grogar that there was more than one vessel in the Fleet that he was now on, which made sense when he considered what he had read so far, before she thought about something for a few seconds as Grogar waited for her to reveal whatever she had done after she and her companions left him to his reading, "however, Commander Shepard, who is the one in charge of things in the New World, has not yet been told about you, hence why we wrote up a report about you and what we've learned so far, where I had one of the Barnos take the report and head for the New World... the Barnos in question should reach the Commission's base in no time, meaning that the Commander will know about you soon and will start getting his base of operations ready for our eventual arrival, which is in about two weeks time."

"Those would be one of the small Wingdrake monsters, right?" Grogar inquired, recalling the name of the monster rather easily and knew from his reading that the Barnos were aggressive towards Hunters and their allies, but, at the same time, they could be trained by the Guild to respond positively to Hunters and, according to what he had read earlier, even act as transports that would take Hunters over short distances or carry important messages between districts, which was rather interesting when he thought about it.

"That's right, and we have a few that are rather passive towards us," Erica answered, though at the same time she was a little impressed by the fact that Grogar knew what monster she was talking about and had called it by the classification it had been given, despite the fact that he had only been reading for an hour since he had woken up, making her wonder if they might have found a new researcher to add to what was in the New World, before bringing herself back to the rest of what she was going to say, "Anyway, I figured that our next order of business is to get you up and moving for a time, just to be sure that the fall did nothing to your body, despite what you said and what Patches did to you earlier, which means you will be heading outside this room and getting some fresh air!"

"Sounds like a plan, though there is one problem," Grogar said, and it actually wasn't his new body structure, as he felt that part of this exercise was to make sure he could walk just fine with his new legs, no doubt due to the fact that some of the researchers on this ship likely wanted to see if he could actually walk with his hybrid-like legs, though that was when he glanced down at the ragged brown robe he happened to be wearing, which he was sure would fall apart at some point in the next few days, "I might need some new clothing if I'm heading outside this room."

"True, which is why its a good thing each room as a standard issue set of attire for everyone," Erica stated, to which she walked over to the closet that was in the room, to the left of the bed, and opened it, revealing a set of attire that looked similar to what Aiden had been wearing, minus the metallic bits, and was more like what she and Sherry wore, minus the few personal touches they had made to their attire before boarding the ship, where she frowned for a few seconds as she glanced at what was in front of her, "the shoes you won't have to worry about, though the pants, shirt, and belt should be more than enough until we reach the New World and you're assigned to a more permanent role. I'll head outside and give you some privacy."

Grogar waited for a few seconds, just to be absolutely sure the door wasn't going to open on him, before he got up from the bed and carefully walked over to where the closet was located, which was rather easy to do and didn't require any odd movements that would have resulted in him falling to the ground or losing his balance, to which he focused on what was inside the closet and nothing else. From what he could tell it appeared that the attire Erica had told him about was a mix of cloth and leather, no doubt offering the wearer protection from the various monsters they fought while at the same time acting like normal clothing, to which he sighed for a moment and quickly removed the ragged robe that he happened to be wearing so he could replace it with the attire that he was being allowed to wear for the time being, or at least until the Fifth Fleet arrived in the New World and he found a role for him to take on. He had never been one for clothing, even before he and everyone he ruled over were banished to the Realm of Darkness, nor did he actually care for it like some ponies and other creatures did, so all he really did was slip on the pants, after making a hole for his tail, and wrapped the belt around his waist, going through some holes in the pants, making sure that it was tight and wouldn't come loose at some point in the future. Once those were on he picked up the armored shirt that went over someone's chest and decided to just get it over with, to which he slipped it on and found that it was a little loose, which made sense due to the fact that he wasn't like the the Hunters or the rest of the Fleet that was heading for the New World, but at the very least, based on his estimates, he didn't have to worry about it flying off, if he or the ship were to be turned upside down by something.

With that done he closed the closet and walked over to where the door was located, making sure not to mess up his steps as he did so since he was on a boat that was currently sailing towards what he assumed was a new continent, though since the room wasn't all that big he was able to reach his destination with ease and he opened the door, where he found Erica waiting for him, not that he expected her to be lying to him. From there Erica smiled and beckoned for him to follow her, where he made a note of the location of his room, in relation to the rest of the hallway they were in, before he bothered to move from where he had been standing, even though it was clear that the lady was observing him and how he walked, no doubt due to her curiosity on the matter and to help him if he needed assistance, though it only took them a few moments to reach some stairs that brought him and Erica to the ship's deck. As soon as they stepped outside he found that it had to be between five and six in the afternoon, based on the position of the clouds and the sunlight, meaning it wouldn't be long before the crew and the rest of the Hunters were called to the dining area to eat dinner and do whatever activities that all of them did after eating, before most of them headed for bed, though he could see that both Aiden and Sherry were off in the distance, no doubt looking at something that might have caught their interest earlier. That was also when he got the chance to see a Barnos for the first time, as they were decent sized flying reptiles that had pointed beaks and rather large draconic wings, though it seemed like the pair that were up near the top of the ship's mast were just sitting around right now, minding their own business, with another one flying all over the place and he could see more of them flying above all of the other ships, where he had to assume they had either bright red scales or dark red scales, something he would have to determine at a later date, when there was more sun to reveal such a thing.

"Fascinating." Grogar said, though while it was mostly a reference to what he was seeing, in terms of the Barnos that were up in the air, it was also meant to be for the area of the sea that they were in, especially since he could easily see the rest of the Fifth Fleet and their various crews going about their work to make sure the ships reached their destination, but as he and Erica looked up at the sky one of the Barnos glanced down at them and, instead of staying where it was located, it spread its wings and took off from the top of the ship's mast.

The pair watched as it flew around the mast a few times before it landed on the railing that was near where Grogar and Erica, where Grogar found that he was able to raise his hand and stroke the creature's head, without it fleeing due to him doing that, and he could tell that it seemed either interested in him or it liked what was going on, even though neither of those were in the part of the book that related to the Barnos, making him wonder if it was possible that they sensed what was different between him and the others that were near him.

"I've never seen a Barnos do this before, nor have I read about one doing such a thing, even if we tamed them," Erica said, as she was transfixed by what she was seeing, and she was sure that everyone else on the deck, or at least those that were watching them at the moment, were feeling the same way as they watched what was going on, thought that was when the Barnos cawed for a few seconds, which wasn't nearly as loud as what the books talked about, to which she turned towards Grogar and noticed that one of his eyebrows were raised, "What's going on?"

"He's, um, asking when dinner will be served." Grogar replied, where even he seemed a little taken aback by what he was discovering, as he wasn't used to being able to communicate with monsters, at least not in a way that reminded him of what the Element of Kindness, the pegasus known as Fluttershy, was capable of doing with the various animals of the land, making him wonder if he had gained some new powers after being sent to this world, powers that were related to his title as the 'Father of Monsters', which he was going to have to look into once they reached the New World.

"Oh... well, it should be ready in the next ten to twenty minutes, so someone will come out to feed him and the others that stay near our ship all the time," Erica said, though she really wasn't sure what she was supposed to say to this new piece of information, especially since it was the first time that anyone tried to talk with the monsters that they shared their world with, meaning that with Grogar around they might need to update some of the tomes to better reflect the true nature of some of the monsters, which she was sure would interest all the scholars that dedicated their lives to understanding the monsters and their role in the ecosystems of their world.

"You heard her, only ten to twenty more minutes," Grogar stated, where he turned his attention towards the Barnos that had flown down to them for a moment and made sure that it understood what it was being told, to which it cawed for a moment and took off, heading up to join the rest of the flock that it was with, leaving the pair near the railing so they could relax and watch the sun go down, before they even bothered to head down into the ship and made their way over to the eating area, to see what was being served and, more importantly, if his body could handle this world's food.

Erica remained silent for a few minutes, not that Grogar blamed her since he had just broken her understanding of her entire world, at least a tiny bit anyway, though while they sat near the railing he took the time to observe those that were on the deck and see how they operated, mostly because he was curious and figured that this would be the best time for him to do something like this. The one that drew the majority of his attention was Sherry, as he was positive that there was something about her that was different than the rest of the Fleet, be they those that worked on the ships or the Hunters and those that worked alongside them, though he wasn't quite sure what that something was and decided that, for now, it was best if he kept an eye on her, mostly to see if she was up to something or if her secret was revealed, even though he did watch her stumble and one of the sailors caught her before she could hurt herself. From what he could tell it seemed like Sherry had tripped on something that should have been tucked away before this point, which would have made it the sailor's fault, in a way, if she had injured herself, though this did allow the sailors to fix the error while making sure no one got hurt by the blunder in the future, to which brushed herself off, thanked the sailor for the assist, and then resumed her walk across the deck. Once that event was done he could see that some of her companions seemed taken aback by what they had seen, making him wonder if the stress of not having a Hunter partner was getting to her, since it meant she and Patches would be reassigned the moment they reached the New World and joined up with the rest of the Commission, but for the most part he determined that she wasn't up to anything and figured it was simply her nerves getting the better of her, hopefully for the time being anyway.

There was also the fact that she, like all of the other members of the Fifth Fleet, must have left behind everything she knew and all of the people she cared about the moment she boarded this ship, even if everyone else seemed to be over that fact by this point, based on what he could see, though for now he would keep a close eye on her and see if there was more to her than what the others were seeing, since he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something off about her and was interested in what that something might be.

Once he was sure the ten minute mark had gone by Grogar heard a gong or something, which Erica claimed was the chime that meant dinner was ready, or rather whatever meal it was supposed to be, and that caused the sailors and all of the Hunters to head down a different set of stairs that lead to a rectangular room that was rather large, which made sense due to all the tables and chairs that happened to be in the area. Felynes were running around, clearing the remainder of the items that must have been leftover from lunch, even though that was likely hours ago by this point in time, though that didn't stop them from making sure all of the candles were lit, the openings that allowed them to see the water were clean, the mugs and barrels full of drink were ready, and doing everything else that they needed to do before the tables could be set for everyone else. When the pair finished walking down the stairs Erica lead Grogar over to one of the tables, one that was close to where the stairs were located so he wouldn't have to walk all that much, allowing them to sit down and watch as the rest of the people aboard the ship joined them, where it was clear everyone was grouping up with each other, as in the Hunters were sitting with their Handlers and the sailors were sitting together, and it wasn't long before Sherry, Aiden, and Patches joined them at their table. Barely half the room was filled when the Felynes opened the door to the kitchen and started to pour out, where Grogar got a chance to see just how strong the cat creatures were, as one of them could carry a single platter of food on their own, which had what he assumed was ham, chicken, and some cheeses, without buckling under the weight of what they were carrying, platters that they successfully delivered to the tables that were all around the room they were in.

Grogar found that, despite the nature of his previous body, he was able to actually eat the meat without getting sick or anything that would have told him he was doing something wrong, meaning his body was more like the humans that were native to this world, though what was interesting was that Sherry seemed interested in the couple of green mushrooms, which gave off a strange aroma that he couldn't quite place, and eagerly devoured them in addition to the rest of the food that she pulled from the platter all of them were eating from. While they did that several of the Hunters headed back up to the deck and made sure the Barnos were fed, since they would no doubt start cawing if they didn't get their food soon, so since people were heading up to the deck it was clear that he wouldn't have to worry about the Wingdrakes, and Erica was one of the few that went up there, even though he was sure that she had a letter for one of the Barnos to deliver once they were done with their meal. From what he could tell the sailors and the Hunters had a good time whenever they sat down to eat, as they liked to cheer and have fun whenever they sat down to eat, and even the Palicoes that joined all of the Hunters separated from their partners and sat near one of the stairs as they partied as well, or at least that was what he assumed they were doing at the moment, and he noted that Sherry left in a hurry, though while the others were a little worried no one chased after her. Other than that he sat in the chair he had selected and listened to the tale that Aiden started to talk about, about one of the hunts he had been on in the past, before he joined the Fifth Fleet and their fellow shipmates, though for the most part he focused on what everyone else was doing right now and how he could fully adapt to this world, despite the fact that it was clear that all of them were slightly different and that there seemed to be no uniform way to do things.

Eventually everyone finished what they were doing and headed for the areas of the ship that they hung in after doing all of this, instead of heading for their rooms, though that left the Felynes to clean up all of the mess that had been made, which was when the sailors went back up to the deck and some of the Hunters headed for bed, with the rest heading up to the deck, though Grogar decided to head for his room as well. As such he got up from where he had been sitting and headed for his room, where he was able to reach it in no time, though that was when he discovered was that his room was right to the right of Sherry's room, which made sense considering it was better to keep Hunters and their Handlers side by side, or at least that was what he assumed, due to his reading, and he found that she had left the door open in her rush to leave the dining area. As he passed by her door, however, Grogar discovered that Sherry had what appeared to be a tail coming out of the back of her pants, near the spine area to be exact, one that matched both the yellow coloration of her clothing and her pale skin color, while also appearing to be thick like a dragon's tail, one that just so happened to be scaled to fit a human frame and came with some bronze spines. After that he noticed that her hands appeared to be sharpened to the point where they looked an awful lot like a dragon's claws, even though it was only a matter of time until her middle two fingers merged into a single digit, and there was a small pair of brown horns, like those a dragon possessed, poking out of her hair, which had a little curve to them as they pointed back towards the doorway.

One other thing he noticed was that she seemed like she was holding the changes back, as she huffed a little as he found the tail moving in tune with her body, meaning it was definitely part of her body and not his eyes playing tricks on him, so all of the other parts were likely real as well, but he kept a neutral face before making his presence known.

"Sherry, is something wrong?" Grogar asked, because while this did confirm that there was something different about the one person that he had been interested in, even though this wasn't what he was expecting to discover when he made his decision to keep an eye on her, he made it seem like he was tired and that he might be more exhausted than he was letting on, while at the same time his statement made her jump a little, allowing him to see that she must have taken off her shoes and that she also had sharpened feet as well.

"No! Everything is just fine!" Sherry stated, where she quickly turned around and found that he was staring right at her, as it gave him a chance to take in her altered form, and as she did that Grogar noticed the tail move, showing that she was surprised by this, before she glanced down at herself for a few seconds, as if she was trying to come up with an excuse as to why she looked like this, and an idea quickly came to her, "Its, ugh... monster cosplay! To understand the monsters of our world, sometimes you have to think like one... and occasionally dress up like one!"

"I see." Grogar said, to which he yawned for a moment, because while he was interested in what he was seeing he also knew that aggravating someone that had a secret was a bad thing and decided not to investigate this for now, as he knew that there would be time for him to see what else she might have hidden before they reached the New World and started trying to figure out the Elder Crossing, even though he could see that the tail moved like she was nervous, something he pretended not to notice, "Well then, have a good night's sleep."

With that said, and Sherry no doubt confused by what he had done, Grogar walked over to the next door and headed into his room, where he closed the door and returned to the bed he had woken up in earlier, to which he picked up the book he had been reading earlier and decided to read it for a time, since he wanted to learn a few more things before he turned in for the night, though before he could get too far into the book, or even turn the page, there was knock on the door and Erica opened it, with a scroll in her hand.

"I know Barnos can fly pretty fast, and its been a few hours since I sent one to the New World, but it appeared that our Commander is very interested in you," Erica said, where she tossed the scroll to Grogar, who caught it and looked at the contents for himself for a few moments, even though it was obvious as to why she would have been interested in what the scroll had to offer, especially when Grogar noticed the part that had caught her attention, "so much so that he sent a reply on the same day, showing me that despite knowing nothing about you, except for what I told him in the letter, he's willing to make you a Hunter, if you're willing to accept."

"Sure, I'll accept. I'm pretty much a freeloader and this is a good way to repay all of you once we reach the New World and start to investigate the Elder Crossing." Grogar replied, mostly because he would rather not be in debt to the Guild, due to them saving his life and everything that had happened so far, but at the same time he was interested in the Elder Dragons and what they were doing every ten years, just like the rest of the Guild and the fleets he had discovered since his arrival in this world.

Another part of his reason for accepting the position was because it meant that he, Sherry, and Patches would be the last team of the Fifth Fleet, since neither of them had a Hunter partner, mostly since it allowed him to see what else Sherry was hiding from the rest of her colleagues, though he was sure that such a thing would be revealed to him at some point in the future, regardless of whether or not they reached the New World first.

Getting Used to Things

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After telling Erica that he would take up the position of the missing Hunter that was supposed to be on the ship, despite the fact that the wording of the letter was just to make him like Aiden and the rest of the Hunters that were with the Fifth Fleet, Grogar spent an hour reading the book he had picked up so he could learn more about this world, the monsters that called it home, and, more importantly, finish it so he could move on to the next one that was on the pile. One of the more interesting things he ended up learning was that there were fourteen different weapons the Guild had developed over the years and they were what the various Hunters used when they were fighting monsters, like how Aiden carried a sword and shield into battle. In addition to that some of the others told him what they wielded, such as the massive greatsword, a set of swords known as the dual blades, something called a gunlance, and the other weapons that a Hunter carried into battle, with each one mentioning one of the adventures they had been on, giving him an idea of their strengths and weaknesses. He had to admit that this was very interesting, but at the same time he considered the fact that he used magic and none of these weapons really seemed like his style, despite the fact that he didn't have a style like the other Hunters, though he did take a moment to think of what he could do to make a weapon that fit him, where he was considering making a staff that was wooden and metallic and seeing if he could modify it so it increased the damage that his spells did, provided he could still cast spells like a unicorn did.

It seemed like the most reasonable solution for him, since he didn't have all that much time to learn one of the other weapons and he was sure that some of the heavier ones would be too much for him, so figuring out the staff was the best move he could make, which he'd do over the next couple of days since he had other things to think about, or at least that was his hope for the time being.

One other thing he thought about, before he went to bed, was what he saw when he passed by Sherry's room, as she had forgotten to close the door behind her and that revealed something interesting, all of the odd bits that were different from everyone else he had met, and she definitely moved like she was worried about being discovered. He wondered if she was a changeling, or this world's equivalent to the shape shifting species of his home world, though there was also the chance that she was cursed and was always hiding her true nature from those that were around her, out of fear of being rejected or treated like she was nothing more than a monster, before he sighed as he leaned against the end of his bed. Sherry was an odd one, that much he was certain of, which came from only being near her for a short period of time, and his decision earlier meant that the two of them and Patches would be a team, something that would likely freak her out whenever she heard the news. He also considered the fact that teaming up with her meant that he would possibly see more of her odd additions, something no one else has seen so far, given her reaction, though that was something he would deal with later, like when morning arrived or after they arrived in the New World, since he had other things to think about and would deal with everything in due time.

In the end he finished the book he had been reading and placed it back on the pile of finished books, which was when he decided to turn in and go to sleep, as he knew there was no reason to work himself to the point where he would be overly exhausted when morning arrived, something that was followed by him falling asleep not a few seconds later, so he could be ready for what the future held for them.

When morning arrived it came with the cawing of the Barnos that were on the deck of the ship, to which Grogar got up and removed himself from the bed that he had been sleeping in, where he stretched for a moment and walked over to the door so he could head outside and see what he could do before he started learning the rules about Hunters and what changes he would make for the future, since he wouldn't be the same as the Hunters that came before him. One thing he did was head over to the dining room and found that the Felynes were in the middle of finishing clearing off the tables and making sure everything was ready for when the rest of the people that were on the ship entered the area and breakfast was ready, though he did find a table that was near the other side of the room and would allow him to see everything that happened in the room. Of course, even as he thought about that, he discovered a few of the exciteshrooms on some of the plates from the previous night, which were likely going to be tossed by the Felynes in the near future, so what he did was call one of them over and asked if he could study them for a time. To his surprise they actually gave him the cluster of mushrooms that would have been thrown away, no doubt expecting that they would end up in the trash at some point in the near future, allowing the Felynes to return to what they had been doing before he called one over, causing a faint smile to appear on his face as he sat down.

While he was interested in the mushrooms, and the odd aroma that they were giving off, he had asked for them for one reason, so he could experiment with something he had seen the previous night, which was why he kept the pile near him and picked one up as he opened a book, as he figured he could read it and maybe learn a few things about the strange mushroom he had discovered. As he did that, however, he spotted Sherry out of the corner of his eye, not a few moments after he started his studies, where it was clear that all of the monster parts he had seen the previous night were no longer present and she seemed to be seeking something out, reminding him of everything he had witnessed as he made sure to hide the mushrooms. When her back was turned, distracted by her search, he carefully moved a couple of exciteshrooms over to the table that was next to her, with his magic to be exact, before raising the book enough to make it look like he wasn't paying much attention to what was going on in the area around him. Not a few seconds later he noticed the look of excitement that appeared in Sherry's eyes when she found the exciteshrooms, which she seemed to sniff out in a matter of moments, and Grogar discovered something interesting that he felt was worth adding to what he had seen so far, her teeth took on a more fang-like appearance, almost like a dragon's.

In the following seconds she devoured the mushrooms that were near her, like they were her favorite food or something, giving Grogar more information on her as he witnessed her strange behavior, and it wasn't long before the mushrooms were gone, allowing her to calm down and caused her teeth to return to normal in no time, meaning he was the only one who knew part of her secret.

"Oh, hello Sherry. Sorry, I was engrossed in my reading and didn't notice you enter the dining room," Grogar said, as he did want to talk to her for a few moments, though at the same time he didn't want her to know he knew part of her secret, as odd as it was, before he lowered the book for a moment and focused on her, where he noticed something interesting, she looked like she was tired, "You look tired. Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Yeah, I got some sleep." Sherry replied, where she rubbed the back of her head for a moment as she turned to face him and put a smile on her face, like nothing was wrong and that what he had seen last night hadn't happened, though as she did that it was clear that she was thinking of some sort of excuse for the fact that it looked like she was tired, before an idea came to her, "I was, um... studying the monsters that are supposed to be in the New World, the ones we've been told about ahead of time, and didn't realize how much time had passed since I started reading the books, so much so that I probably only got two or three hours of sleep."

"Well, its good to hear that your... monster play, or cosplay as you called it... worked out for you." Grogar stated, as he was going with what she had told him last night and making it seem like he had no idea what the truth of the matter was, even though he could see that Sherry was both nervous and thankful right now, which he wasn't planning on following up on right now, leaving his questions for later.

That, alone, confirmed his suspicions that there was more to her than what she was showing the rest of the Hunters and the crew, as she was totally nervous of the fact that he could rat her out to Erica and the others and reveal the secret she was trying to hide, though before either of them could say anything else that was when the rest of the crew opened the doors and entered the dining room. A few seconds after that the Felynes started to carry the platters of food out to the various tables, where Grogar found that the breakfast platters differed from what he had seen the previous night, as there were a few dishes that looked like they had been made from eggs, potatoes, meat, and a few other pieces of food that he wasn't able to identify right off the bat. It was interesting to see more of this world's food, especially since he was used to what was back in Equus, and as he watched the Felynes he noticed that the other members of the crew were happy to see the cats as well, no doubt because they enjoyed everything that they made, making him wonder what might be waiting in the New World. Since it was the morning now, and not close to the time everyone went to bed, everyone drank water, milk, and juices that likely came from the Old World, since they didn't want anyone to be staggering around the ship or anything like that, though he was just fine with what they were offering and, as he suspected, Erica, Aiden, and Patches joined them not a few moments later.

From what he could tell it appeared that Erica hadn't told anyone about his decision and that Sherry had no idea that they would be the last Hunter and Handler pair on this ship, which meant that he would have to tell her at some point before the fleet reached the New World and the area that the Commander and the rest of the Commission were located in.

"So, have you told her the news yet?" Erica asked, because while she was still a little surprised by Grogar's quick decision to become a Hunter, while having next to no idea what they were supposed to do and what they would be doing when they reached the New World, she had the feeling that having him join the ranks of the Hunters, after seeing what he was able to do with one of the Barnos earlier, was a good thing and that he might be able to help them discover the truth behind the Elder Crossing.

"No, we only just woke up a few minutes ago and haven't had the time to actually talk about anything," Grogar said, where he turned his gaze towards Sherry for a moment, who seemed to lose the worry that had been in her eyes, even if it was lurking in the background and would likely come back in the next few minutes, though he ate some of the food he had placed on his plate before he decided that it was time to tell Sherry and Aiden the news, "We got a message last night, one that came from Commander Shepard in the New world, and he has, with what little information was sent to him, offered to make me one of the Hunters of the Fifth Fleet, to complete the roster since you guys are one Hunter short, something I have decided to accept... both to pay everyone back for saving me and helping me out earlier, and to help you solve the Elder Crossing that the Guild has been investigating for so long."

"No way! You, a Hunter?!" Aiden exclaimed, his voice reaching the corners of the room that they were in so that everyone stopped what they were doing and turned so they could stare at the group, while at the same time Patches looked happy to have a Hunter partner at long last, Erica had to resist the urge to bring her palm to her face when she heard what her partner said, and while Sherry seemed happy Grogar knew that she was even more worried than she had been earlier, before the man raised his mug and held it out like he was toasting for some reason, "Come on guys, let's cheer our new friend on and support his decision to become a Hunter!"

Interestingly enough the rest of the dining room erupted into a cheer and raised their mugs as well, showing that all of the other Hunters, Handlers, and Felynes, be they Palicoes or those that helped the rest of the crew, were overjoyed to have a new ally working with them to solve the mystery of the Elder Crossing, not to mention relieve some of the workload for Aiden and the rest of the Hunters that were a part of the Fifth Fleet and the Commission.

"Well, its good to know that my decision is supported by nearly everyone on this ship," Grogar said, as Sherry was the only one that seemed to be remotely worried about what she and the others were hearing right now, even though she did a good job of making sure none of the others caught the look on her face and questioned her as to why she would even be worried about something, "though becoming a Hunter means that Sherry and I will be the last Handler and Hunter pair on the ship, with Patches taking the place of the Palico that will be following me into the field."

He wasn't sure if his words were heard by anyone around him, save for maybe Sherry, since it appeared that Aiden was in the middle of leading the others into a light cheer and they seemed to be having some fun after hearing that he was going to become a Hunter, to which Grogar decided not to worry about it right now and let them have their fun, since he had more pressing matters to deal with. What he meant by that was as figuring out what sort of weapon he would carry into the field, just in case the staff idea didn't work out, how to operate the slinger that all of the other Hunters and Handlers had, the odd metallic item that was resting on their right arms, and maybe work with Patches a little before they reached the New World. Once the meal was over, and the crew was done with their little party, Grogar headed outside with Erica, Aiden, Sherry, and Patches, where Erica pulled out a slinger that would have gone with his current attire, except that they pulled off the weapon in question when he first woke up so he didn't hurt himself, where he found that it was mechanical in nature, along with the fact that the ends of the weapon seemed to be made out of sturdy looking bone. There was also a third bone that was curved and seemed to be an area that would hold whatever was loaded into the weapon in one place, so it didn't move until the Hunter pressed a very specific button that would loose the item that was currently loaded into the weapon, though as all of this was explained to him Erica attached the weapon to his left arm and showed him how to put it together.

He had to admit that it was an interesting weapon, even if it seemed to be more of a tool for the Hunters and Handlers of the Guild, even though most of the Handlers only carried them for protection and never really used them, or at least that was what he was told as he studied the slinger, meaning Sherry and the other Handlers depended on their Hunters and likely used these for navigation.

As such Grogar spent the next hour learning how to load his new slinger, how to manipulate the bones so it could switch between being at the ready or being in the standby mode, and how to switch out the couple of rocks they had for another item, like a net that he could use to capture small critters while he was out in the field, ones that wouldn't grow to be the larger monsters they all dealt with, before he used some of the practice balls on a wooden target. Once he was done with that, for today at the very least, Erica insisted on him sparing with Aiden for a time, which was when the Hunter in question tossed a wooden blade at him, one that mimicked the one that he was carrying, though as he picked it up Aiden started to show him the basic movements he used when he used the sword and shield weapon in battle, since it would serve as the basics for him and would lead to Grogar picking which weapon style suited him the best. Of course Grogar knew that he would go for a staff, an unknown weapon type and style for the people of this world from the looks of things, but for the time being he was going to follow the movements that Aiden showed him and see if he could replicate them, since this was the first time he was using a weapon like this. While they did that Erica made sure that Patches knew what his role was, as in what he was supposed to do in the field, how he was supposed to fight and whatnot, so that way when they engaged a monster he would be able to fight and assist Grogar to the best of his ability in the future, though once Grogar noticed that he returned his attention to Aiden and what he was learning right now.

After the training session Erica showed him to the smithy, a small workshop that mostly dealt with repairing anything that might have broken on the ship, like tools and whatnot, where he found that the best the blacksmith could do was give him a metallic staff that was in the same style of the basic weapons that the other Hunters carried, which he was fine with, as it would give him time to think about ways to improve it. Other than that he spent the rest of his time reading more of the books that he had been given, even though he made sure they were returned to a room that looked like it was a miniature library, one he was positive Sherry had been to a few times, and practiced with his magic whenever he was on the deck of the ship for a good period of time, and by that he meant not being in the middle of one of Aiden's training sessions. He found that his powers were still a little weak after being dropped off in this world, meaning he was capable of the spells he used when he was studying Sherry's behavior and a number of the more basic ones, though he was sure that, in time, he would be able to tap into his true power, since it appeared he might not need his bell to do so, which was rather odd when he thought about it, though it was fine since it allowed him to focus on other things, like firing spells into the water that was some distance away from the ship. It was the only way he could practice his magic without doing any damage to the ship or the rest of the fleet, hence why he had to be careful, though Grogar also had to be careful of where he aimed, because according to Erica they were currently following an Elder Dragon, a beast that the guild called Zorah Magdaros, and he didn't want to tick the creature off with his magic.

Erica and the others did watch him from time to time, as they had never seen someone like him or the powers that he possessed, meaning the humans of this world had to rely on weapons, their allies, and whatever else they could gather to make sure the monsters didn't destroy everything, though he was perfectly fine with them watching, since they were no doubt thinking about how they could use his skills in the New World, both his magical skills and his new ability to talk with the monsters that were part of this strange world. He also noticed that Sherry was watching him from time to time, where he knew that she was worried about what he had seen and the sheer fact that he could reveal her secret at a moment's notice if he really wanted to, but he wasn't going to do that since he wanted to see what she truly was and see what she might be planning for the rest of the fleet, even though he suspected she was just curious about something. He knew it wasn't all that common for him to be interested in anything, except for conquest, but since his own plans had failed, and he was in an entirely new world, he was going to focus on the monsters and what he could learn about them, especially with the Elder Crossing that was happening while they traveled to their destination, so he turned his mind towards that and stopped worrying about his old world. Once he and the others solved the mystery of the Elder Crossing, as in why the Elder Dragons were crossing the sea and journeying to the New World, he would turn his attention to seeing if it was even remotely possible for him to head back home, though he was already starting to wonder if it had been a one way trip and that he was stuck in this world, which was fine with him.

Despite everything that was going on he smiled as he turned his head to look in the direction that they were sailing, as he knew that things were going to get interesting when they reached the New World, not to mention the fact that he was eager to see what might happen once they reached their destination and joined up with the rest of the Commission that had been sent to the island ahead of them, and he suspected that a grand adventure, one that was unlike anything he had experienced so far, was going to start in the very near future.

First Contact

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Grogar found that the next two weeks, or thereabouts since he was sure it was more like thirteen days, were filled with the same routine for him and the rest of his group, where he would get up, join everyone for breakfast, and then go about his day, which involved either training with the wooden weapons or his actual metallic staff, which just so happened to be the length of a great sword's blade, so he could get used to the weight and not have it bother him when he and Patches were out in the field. He also found that every couple of days everyone showered before hitting the dining area for breakfast, as there was an area of the ship, one he didn't know about, that allowed them to clean themselves off so they didn't smell and stink up the place, which was understandable and discovered it was separated into two halves since the ladies didn't like the idea of sharing it with the men, or at least that was what he gathered. So it appeared that two washing areas had been made, one for each gender based on what he was seeing, though it wasn't all that bad and he emerged from his time in the area smelling better than he had been over the last few days, not to mention cleaner as well, before he dried himself off and put his attire back on so he could join the others in the dining room, where the Felynes had already started serving those that had washed themselves before him and the others. The only one he didn't see head down to that area was Sherry, but when he saw her in the dining room she definitely smelled like she had cleaned herself off, meaning she must have done it before anyone else did, not that the others were even surprised by that fact since some of them liked to be done with the deed before the rest of the crew took their turns.

Grogar, on the other hand, suspected that it might be more due to the secret that Sherry was keeping from them, the one that only he knew about and hadn't told anyone else, mostly since he was studying her for any additional changes to her body or her personality, but for the most part she seemed pretty normal, to which he turned his mind towards the food and focused on what he would be doing for that day, training with Aiden and the other Hunters while making sure his magic was as strong as it could possibly be. There was no telling what might happen in the future, even though the trip seemed like it was going to be rather easy and have nothing eventful happen, which was just fine with him since it would be best if nothing eventual happened, not until they discovered the area that the rest of the Commission called home and joined them, as he was eager to meet Commander Shepard and start his work on figuring out why the Elder Crossing was happening in the first place. He knew that everyone else in the Fifth Fleet, on the ship he was on and all of the others, were eager to make landfall, join the rest of their comrades, and continue working towards their end goal, especially since he could tell Aiden and the others were constantly talking about the New World, what they might discover, and the event that was the reason they were heading towards the island in the first place, the Elder Crossing that has confused the Guild for forty years and has made them interested in what sort of answers they might find, and if they didn't find any answers than a sixth fleet would be joining them in ten years, when the next Elder Dragon made the journey.

He also learned a bit from watching Patches move around, something that gave him an idea as to what the Felynes were capable of when they put their minds to it, especially since they carried those Vigorwasps with them so they could heal their Hunters and had a few other items, or gadgets as they called them, that were designed to help their allies with their hunts, regardless of what sort of foes they fought in the field. One interesting thing he discovered was that Erica and the others didn't even question where he came from, where he suspected that the Elder Crossing was on their minds right now and that they would ask him questions once this mystery had been solved, so he didn't have to worry about that anytime soon and focused on learning all that he could about this world and what it had to offer him. In addition to what he normally did, training with the other Hunters and figuring out how much of his magic he had access to, he made sure to speak with the Barnos that were flying around the ship and the rest of the fleet, mostly because they were interested in the fact that he could speak with them and could understand what they were saying, to a degree, and saw them in an entirely different light than what the Guild saw them in. Speaking with the Barnos gave him an idea of what was under the sea, as in the monsters that might be below and around them, though for the most part it seemed like there were just a number of fish that the small wyverns liked to hunt whenever they were bored, and if the fleet forgot to feed them, which they hadn't done so far, they would just capture some fish and eat them when they got hungry.

The other reason he chatted with the Barnos was because they might be able to see Zorah Magdaros from above, as they flew through the air and whatnot, though while none of the small wyverns seemed to know where the Elder Dragon was, which was interesting since the Captain of the ship insisted that they were following it, they did tell Grogar that the fleet was getting close to the New World, meaning that sooner or later they would see the monster they were following and then start their investigation... they just had to be patient and see what the next couple of days had in store for them and the rest of the fleet.

As it turned out the thirteenth day of Grogar's stay with the Fifth Fleet was met by a massive storm, one that seemed to stretch out as far as the eye could see, preventing them and the Barnos from really seeing anything and caused all of the Hunters, Handlers, and Palicoes to stay below deck, as the crew would take care of the ship and get them to the New World without delay, which basically meant they were stuck in the dining room for the foreseeable future. For the most part that didn't upset the various individuals that would be fighting the monsters in the near future, as they just sat down and had some fun while they waited out the storm, even though that meant the Felynes that were in the kitchen would be making and serving food with fewer breaks than what they were used to getting, where Grogar found that they seemed fine with what was going on and didn't complain at all. Hunters and Handlers were telling stories to those who might not have heard any of them before, even though Grogar was sure that everyone might have heard most of these a few times, and a few of them were even reading so they could be ready for when they reached their destination, given that they still had some time before the New World came into view and they could figure out where they were supposed to dock. Grogar was also fine with it, since it allowed him to hear what everyone's strengths and weaknesses might be, as well as some hints on how to fight the monsters in the Old World, since he was assuming that most of the ones they would be meeting soon had to be new to the Guild, even though he could be wrong since they had no information from the fleets that had been sent to investigate the Elder Crossing, or at least that was what he had been told about the situation.

He still found it odd that in all of the years that the Guild has spent trying to solve the Elder Crossing, not to mention all of the people and resources they were spending to accomplish that goal, they didn't have a solid answer and seemed far away from solving the mystery, making him wonder what in the world was going on and, at the same time, all the more eager to figure out the truth of the matter, before he noticed Erica and Aiden walking over to where he and Patches were sitting, the usual table the five of them sat at, when Sherry was with them anyway.

"Yo, Grogar! Did you hear the news yet?" Aiden asked, where he sat down in one of the seats that was around their table and sat a mug down on it, while at the same time Erica sat in the other one that was beside him, leaving the fourth and final seat for Sherry, who was currently helping the Felynes carry food out to some of their friends, though it was easy to tell that the excitable Hunter was excited about something, "The Captain said that we should be reaching the New World in the next hour or two, which is ahead of schedule, meaning we can leave this storm behind and finally get to work on figuring out the mystery of the Elder Crossing!"

"Really? We're that close to the New World?" Grogar inquired, though at the same time he closed the book he had been reading and considered what he had been told, as he had assumed that it would be some time before they reached their destination, on account of the storm, though this meant that they could finally start their mission and he could meet the one who invited him to take the place of Sherry's Hunter, the one Erica called Commander Shepard, "That's good to hear... because while traveling across the sea has been fun, if a little redundant at times, I'm eager to figure out why the Elder Dragons make the Elder Crossing every ten years."

"I've seen how you've poured over everything you could get your hands on," Erica commented, referring to all of the books and scrolls Grogar had been reading in his off time, when he wasn't practicing with his weapon or his magic, which she and the others were still getting used to seeing since they were only familiar with the monsters of this world being able to wield the elements in the manner that he claimed he was able to do, before she returned to the subject that she wanted to ask him about, "so tell me, what's your opinion on why the Elder Crossing happens?"

"Given what little we know about it, save for the fact that every ten years the Elders seem to flock to the New World, its hard to give a definite answer," Grogar admitted, because while he was used to the monsters of his home world, and how some of them had predictable reasons for why they acted the way they did, he found that the various Elder Dragons acted in a way that was both familiar and different to him, which was rather exciting when he thought about it, before he returned to the question he had been asked, "Personally, I think there is something special about the New World and it's calling all of the Elder Dragons to it, or just a few at a time, though we'll have to get our hands dirty and see what the true answer is, regardless of how long it takes us to figure out the Elder Crossing."

Erica and Aiden nodded their heads, showing that they understood what he was talking about and that they agreed with his assessment, though as they did that Grogar noticed that Sherry emerged from the kitchen with a full plate of food that she helped deliver to once of the tables, but not a few seconds later something caught her attention as she rushed over to one of the nearby windows so she could use the binoculars in her headpiece so she could see something that was outside, to which he got up and walked over to where she was standing.

"Do you see anything?" Grogar asked, not that he was expecting her to be looking at the New World given the angle that the ship was traveling in and the supposed area that the island rested in, though even as he said that he glanced out the window and stared at the storm that was still raging around them, making him wonder if their allies in the New World were dealing with this as well, even though he noticed Patches had rushed over to their side as well, no doubt interested in what they were talking about.

"No, but the waves are getting rougher," Sherry replied, where she shifted the device that was resting over her eyes for a few moments, no doubt keeping an eye on what was going on outside the ship as she tried to figure out what was going on and if they had to brace for another bout from the storm, something that was entirely possible when she glanced at what was around them, before she pushed the binoculars up and stopped when they rested against her forehead, just like they usually did, "that either means that we're going to make landfall soon, and join the rest of the Commission, or we're going to have some unwelcome company... I'm hoping for the former."

Grogar started to open his mouth, so he could respond to what Sherry was saying, though that was the moment that the ship rocked and everyone stopped what they were doing as they braced themselves, just as a plate of food fell to the floor due to no one reaching for it, before Sherry rushed towards the stairs that would take her to the deck and Grogar quickly followed after her as Patches joined him. It didn't take them long to get to the deck and step out to the area that all of the sailors were working in, where they found that the ship had to be hitting some rough waves, which they expected to find given the storm that appeared to be dying down even though the waves didn't seem to match that at all, before the area in front of the ship burst upwards towards the sky, like a geyser had been opened below them. That was followed by Grogar discovering something interesting, as it appeared that they might have hit some sort of magma structure that was now growing out of the sea itself, though it started to unfold into something massive that caused him to pause for a few seconds, especially since it was much larger than he was expecting it to be, where he came to the realization that they must have hit Zorah Magdaros, or rather it had raised itself out of the area it had been traveling in and was ready to make landfall in the New World. They were also the unlucky ones, as their ship was the only one that was being lifted out of the water as the Elder Dragon rose to its full height, though when Sherry moved it snapped him back to reality and he dashed after her since he had the feeling leaving her to her own thing was a bad idea, even though the diagonal nature their ship was taking on, due to what the monster was doing, made it hard for them to move as they got closer to the front of the ship, especially when it shifted for a moment.

As the ship took on a more horizontal stance he and Sherry were forced to brace themselves as they grabbed onto a few pieces of the ship, like some railing or the wood that was near the very front of the ship, though at the same time they were the lucky ones as Patches' grip on whatever he had grabbed onto failed and he fell off the ship, where Grogar found that he likely landed in the water before the ship shifted and both he and Sherry fell off it, even though he used his magic to make sure they had a soft landing. Of course they landed Zorah Magdaros' shell, where he landed closer to the water and found that Sherry landed somewhere that was higher than where he was currently standing, though he paused for a moment as he stared at the area he was in, where he had to assume that he was on part of the Elder Dragon's leg or back, a very dangerous place to be since he had no idea what Zorah would do next. One thing he discovered was that the wall to his right was cracked in places and he could see bits of magma on the other side, meaning that the blackened stone that was all around him appeared to be keeping it inside and not letting it flew freely, even if some of the magma must have been flowing freely at one point due to the hardened formerly molten rocks to his left, which formed a barrier of sorts to keep someone from falling off. That part was rather odd when he thought about it, since he was sure an Elder Dragon's body wouldn't form something like that, especially since it gave Hunters a number of areas to run around and created a couple of spots for things, like their ship for example, to get stuck in, though he also knew that there was a chance that he was wrong and all of this was perfectly natural, before he shook his head and focused on what was happening, knowing he would have time to think about this later.

After that it only took him a few seconds to notice that their ship was resting on part of Zorah Magdaros' back, where it appeared that it was stuck where it had landed, and that there happened to be a rock wall of sorts nearby that would allow him to climb up to an area that would give him a better look at the ship, so he could see if there was anything he could do to knock it loose and return it to the sea so Erica and the others could continue towards the New World, which caused him to turn and run over to the wall. Fortunately, based on what he could see, the rock wall seemed to be hardened, which did make sense considering it was actually hardened magma, so that meant he didn't have to worry about magma blasting out at him while he climbed it, to which he carefully looked at the wall before finding a number of indents that he could grab onto and used them to start ascending towards the upper area that was above him. He found that it only took him a few moments to climb up the hardened wall, where he quickly pulled himself up onto another section of the outer edge of the Elder Dragon's shell, something that allowed him to see that there was another section of the path that lead even higher than this point, likely leading right to the shoulders and maybe even Zorah's head, before he spotted Sherry standing not to far in front of him, right in the middle of the area he had climbed up to.

"Oh, Grogar, thanks for the save," Sherry stated, raising her voice since there was a decent distance between them at the moment, which was why Grogar started to rush over to the area that she was standing in so they could move forward and get off the Elder Dragon, since he knew that being here, with no weapon or anything, was a bad idea, especially when it might lash out at those that were on its back at any moment, before she glanced at the ship, "Do you think you can move the ship off of Zorah Magdaros' back, without it noticing what you're doing?"

"I should be able to, provided it doesn't turn towards us," Grogar replied, as there was no way of knowing just how the Elder Dragon would move once it had fully risen from the water that it had been traveling under, especially a beast of this size, though when he reached Sherry the part of Zorah Magdaros they were standing on shuddered as the monster shifted its stance, or just shifted its body, causing the ship to come loose from where it was resting and started to move towards the two of them, to which he grabbed onto his partner and hauled her further up the path so they were out of the way when the ship hit the area they had been standing in.

Their vessel ended up falling over the edge of the Elder Dragon's body and hit the water that was all around them, and Grogar rushed to the edge to make sure everyone was safe from such a thing happening, though based on the movement of Zorah Magdaros and how it was moving away from the fleet he and Sherry had no choice but to ascend to the highest point, which would be the head. The reason behind that decision was due to the fact that Grogar spotted some Barnos up in the area in question, like they were circling around the powerful creature that had surfaced or something, and he found that Sherry, who followed his gaze and discovered what he was looking at, agreed with him, to which they moved out of the area they were standing in and headed for the massive hardened molten wall that was at the end of the path they were being forced to take, given the magma that occasionally blew out of parts of the Elder Dragon's body, almost like it was trying to keep them from going into certain parts of its body. Of course their plans changed a little as Zorah Magdaros changed from a crawling position and started to walk on two legs, forcing them to shift their course towards the path that would let them climb up part of the Elder Dragon's back and then reach the area that served as its head, even though they had to pause for a moment so they could shift their own stances so they could climb up what had been a walkway of sorts a few seconds ago, and once there was enough ground to cover both of them started to move. In addition to all of that they had to stay away from what seemed to be open magma vents or something, which had little bursts of magma that really didn't flow anywhere, rather it appeared it might be a defensive mechanism that was designed to hurt whoever or whatever could be on the monster's back, so they had to be mindful of where they climbed so they could avoid being blasted by a short burst of magma, which Grogar knew would be unpleasant if it happened to either of them.

A few minutes later, after climbing up Zorah Magdaros' back, Grogar and Sherry came to a stop when they reached its head and glanced out at the part of the sea they were in, which looked like they might be at the end of it due to an island that the beast was getting closer to, and all of the ships were regrouping on the monster's right side, leaving the pair on top of the Elder Dragon's head, where a few Barnos were flying around, either scared about something or just observing the power of such a beast, since it appeared that the storm was ending and some might think that it was due to Zorah Magdaros emerging from the water.

"Its good to see that these guys are still up here... even if they don't like me all that much." Sherry said, where she took a few seconds to wave her arms in the air like she was trying to shoo away the couple of Barnos that were close to her, as one of them was in the middle of trying to peck her for some odd reason, something that Grogar assumed was related to all of the monster bits he had been studying when he studied her in the past, but seeing all of the flying monsters caused an idea to form in his mind, to which he glanced at his partner for a few seconds.

"Come on, I've got an idea." Grogar stated, which was when he rushed towards the top of Zorah Magdaros' head and reached it before the monster reached its full height, though it wasn't long before Sherry joined him and they looked down at the area that was in front of them, one that appeared to lead to either the monster's nose or a brow of some kind, and he was in luck, there just so happened to be a few Barnos flying around the front of the monster's head, which meant his plan just might work out for them.

In that moment he jumped forward a little and used the curved nature of the area that was between them and Zorah Magdaros' nose like a ramp or a slide, where Sherry followed after him not a few seconds later, though when he reached the end of it he jumped off and spun so he could face the direction his partner would be in, which was the moment all of the Barnos started to fly away and he raised his slinger, allowing him to loose the hook that was attached to it as he aimed at one of the small wyverns. What he did was latch onto the feet of one of the Barnos, which shrieked for a moment, but as it started to fly away Grogar was able to catch Sherry as she replicated what he had just done, and with the two of them hanging onto the rope that was connected to his hook they were able to ride to safety, or at least that was the plan until the wyvern changed course and flew towards the Elder Dragon. That gave them a rather good look at the monster they had been following, as it seemed to be a massive walking piece of magma and slag, one that took on the shape of a rather large monster that could likely wipe out a town on its own, despite how slow it moved when it was on two legs, and they flew by what appeared to be a beard or something that was made out of hardened magma. Fortunately the Barnos only wanted to give them a closer look at the Elder Dragon, or at least that was what Grogar was assuming it was doing, before it departed from the monster and headed towards a forest as the dark clouds finally broke and the storm truly ended, all while the massive beast made landfall on the New World and started to march towards whatever its destination was, even though the pair stared at Zorah Magdaros for a few moments, before finally turning their attention to the island that they had been sailing to for a good length of time.

From what they could see the New World consisted of a massive forest that had a rather large tree, one that was far larger than any Grogar had seen in the past, though from where they were positioned it was hard to tell what was down there, like monsters or distinguishing features, despite the fact that Grogar was sure he knew where the ships were going due to the large ship that appeared to be resting on some large rocks off in the distance, before his thoughts were brought back to what they were doing as the Barnos, not used to transporting people, staggered and crashed into some trees, and that meant he and Sherry hit the ground not a few moments later.

"Okay, that wasn't the best idea in the world, but at least we're not on Zorah Magdaros anymore," Grogar said, where he brushed himself off for a moment, as they had passed through some trees thanks to the route the Barnos took while it was dropping out of the air, but for the most part it appeared that he had emerged unharmed and, from what he could tell after looking at her for a few seconds, the same could be said for Sherry, before he glanced at the path that was in front of them and noticed something interesting, "Is that a camp I'm seeing in front of us?"

"Yeah, someone must have set it up a while ago," Sherry replied, as she was looking at the cloth tent, which was set up to be shaped like a triangle of sorts, a random chest that looked like provisions could be stored inside it, and a makeshift eating area that came complete with a miniature cooking range, which was just a dome covering the flames, before she rushed up to the tent as Grogar looked around the area so he could figure out what was going on, though it wasn't long before she emerged from the tent and held a book out towards him, "I think we might be able to use this, so we can figure out where we are and where we're supposed to have arrived with the rest of the fleet."

"Well, fortunately it has a map inside it," Grogar stated, though he did find Sherry's words to be a little weird since he was assuming she was more familiar with how the things in this world worked and it almost looked like she didn't know all that much, once more making him think back to his monster theory, before he opened the rather thick journal that Sherry had found inside the tent and looked at the map that was in front of him, something that revealed that the area of the New World that they were in was called the 'Ancient Forest', and then he smiled for a moment, "and, based on what I'm seeing at the moment, we should be able to follow the path on the map and reach the area that the rest of the fleet were able to reach... hopefully Erica, Aiden, Patches, and the others are alright, especially after what happened when Zorah Magdaros rose out of the water like that."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Sherry said, where she looked at the map for a few more moments, so she and Grogar had an idea of where they were going, before she nodded her head and he closed the journal so they could move forward, where he made sure to carefully store it away as they left the camp that they had discovered, a camp that had no rations and no weapons for them to take, to which moved out into the Ancient Forest so they could see what the New World have to offer them and the rest of their friends.

The first thing they found, after leaving the area that was around the camp, was a sight that allowed them to see the large ship that was the landmark they were looking for, before they glanced down into the clearing which was in front of them and found some Aptonoths, cow-like monsters that had leathery gray skin and black stripes on their backs, minus the usual cow features, with a two-pronged crest on their head and a flat spiked tail, though they were docile and didn't mind the pair as they walked into the river filled area that was in front of them. The next thing they noticed was that there was a large log of some kind that was blocking the way forward, which meant that they needed to access the other path that was to the left of the main path, and Sherry was the one that discovered the problem, though while Grogar was sure he could lift it with his magic he decided to let his partner lead the way while he kept his eyes on the monsters that were all around them. While they walked Sherry told Grogar that she made sure the Scoutflies, the critters that lived in all of the containers that the Hunters and Handlers carried, in metallic cylindrical containers, memorize her scent in the off chance that they got separated or something bad happened to either of them, even if they were usually used for tracking monsters and finding the areas that they called home. That was when they came to a stop and discovered a wall of vines that blocked the way into an underground part of the massive tree they were walking under, though when they reached it Sherry started to force her way through the vines so they could get into the area that was inside the tree, to which Grogar assisted her and they walked into the new area she was leading them to.

What they discovered was an area that appeared to have a path that cut through the top of it, or at least that was what Grogar thought about it due to the tree stump it was connected to, though as they looked around the area they were in a number of small wolf-like creatures, as in they walked like wolves would, that had a more lizard-like appearance due to the light green scales and the blue and reddish stripes that were on its body, along with small tails that looked like what lizards had and a few spikes on their back. The lizard creatures actually emerged from all the bushes that were around the area that Sherry dropped down into, like they were ambushing prey and they looked like they were eager to eat something, or someone for that matter, which was the moment that both Grogar and Sherry recalled something from their readings and jumped up to the level that held the vine covered entrance and dived into one of the bushes that were nearby. It was a tactic that seemed to work on all monsters, meaning that if someone dived into some bushes the monsters, even if they saw the direction their targets went in, would somehow lose track of their target or targets and become confused, often resulting in the monsters leaving the area and that was what they were planning on, so they could leave while the lizard-wolf creatures were distracted. Of course, even though that was the plan the pair were trying to put into motion as they waited in the bushes, one of the creatures poked its head into the bush and stared right into Grogar's eyes for a moment, where he moved one hand to stop Sherry from doing anything that might startle the creature, even if his partner seemed to be frozen, while the other hand was raised as he rested it on the creature's nuzzle, as he was going to try something he had considered after his first encounter with the Barnos.

They remained like that for a few moments, just staring into each others eyes, before one of the other creatures paused and hissed at the rest of it's pack, causing the others to stop for a time, which was when the one that was in front of them pulled its head back and hissed at the creature Grogar assumed was the leader of this pack, allowing them to watch as the pack turned around and disperse as they departed from the area, all while the one in front of their bush stood there for a few seconds before it beckoned for him and Sherry to emerge.

"Thank you. You didn't have to do that, but you saved us from a hairy situation." Grogar said, speaking to the lizard-wolf creature for a moment as he and Sherry carefully emerged from the bush that they had been hiding in, mostly since they wanted to make sure the rest of the creatures were gone and that it wasn't trying to play them into revealing themselves, all so the rest of the pack could attack them from behind or something, but it seemed like the creature was acting like an ally and helped them by moving its pack to another area.

The lizard-wolf hissed for a second, in the sense that it was saying something like 'no problem', before it headed over to another vine wall that seemed to lead somewhere else and pushed its way through it, to which Grogar and Sherry did the same thing and discovered that there was a rocky ramp of sorts in front of them that ended in a short cliff they could drop down, to which the creature used some rocks to jump down to the lower area while they climbed down the vines that were attached to the edge of the area and reached the other side of the blockade they had spotted earlier. From there the three of them continued towards the landmark that Sherry had spotted earlier, even though Grogar was a little surprised that their little friend was sticking with them despite the fact that it was leaving its pack behind, but decided that he would worry about it later, once they were with the rest of the Commission and their friends, so they could figure out what their plan of attack was to crack the Elder Crossing. Not even a minute later Sherry noticed some tracks in the ground and took a moment to study them, where Grogar did the same as his Scoutflies flew over the track, one that definitely looked like a larger version of the lizard-wolf that was following them, meaning there had to be a larger lizard-wolf in the Ancient Forest and that it would be a bad idea to run into it without letting the others know that they were alright, even though Grogar was sure he might be able to hold it off if they saw it. With the track studied Sherry continued moving towards an area that had another track, one that was also blocked as well and meant they would need to do something about the log that had fallen in their way, but Sherry got ahead of him and started to study the track in question, giving him a chance to study the beach that was nearby before he worried about the tracks.

Not a few seconds later a much larger lizard-wolf, which was three or four times larger than the one that had joined them, rushed out of the area it had been hiding in and knocked Sherry backwards, allowing it to pin her down after she turned to figure out what had struck her, and Grogar noticed, as he rushed at it, that the monster had a mane of some kind on its back, though that didn't stop him from readying his magic as he drew closer to the area that his partner and the monster were in. Before he had a chance to arrive in the area that his target was in a man jumped down from an area that was above the greater lizard-wolf and landed on the beast's back, giving him the chance to see that he happened to be wearing the armor of the Commission, which he recalled some of the others on his ship wearing, and he happened to be carrying one of the greatswords, a massive weapon of bone and metal, though his hair was short and spiked a little in the middle, sort of like Aiden's hairstyle. Instead of attacking the monster that it was riding on, like Grogar was thinking he would do, the man actually rode the beast like a mount for a moment and directed it right into the fallen log that was blocking the way forward, smashing the log to pieces and opening the way for them to leave the area as he jumped off the creature and Sherry, now freed from being pinned to the ground, rushed over to where the man was standing, who was beckoning for her and Grogar to follow him, which was what Grogar and the smaller lizard-wolf did. Of course they weren't the only ones that did that, as the greater lizard-wolf rushed after the man as he and Sherry fled from the area, where it appeared they were heading for a gate that seemed to be made out of metal, wood, and bone, though as the greater lizard-wolf reached the gate it was stopped by the arrival of a much larger and angrier monster that lashed out at it.

The newcomer was as tall as the gate that was behind it, its legs were strong and had deadly looking talons that might hurt if it kicked someone, its arms were short while the claws were still sharp enough to do some damage, the coloration made it look like it was a cross between a dinosaur and a vulture, and it had a thick tail that was likely bad to be hit by, which was why Grogar and the smaller lizard-wolf rushed forward as the vulture-dinosaur engaged the greater lizard-wolf, by biting into its neck and started to thrash around with the monster it was fighting. Grogar found that he had to go under the larger monster while it was distracted, which was what he did as it thrashed its target, though as he and his little ally got near the gate the vulture-dinosaur tried to smash them with its thick tail, where he used a magical barrier to protect them from being hit and used the force of the attack to propel them through the opening that the man was keeping open. Once he and the lizard-wolf were on the other side of the gate the man cut the rope and sealed the gate in seconds, meaning that the way into the area the Commission called home should be safe for the foreseeable future, and right now it looked like the vulture-dinosaur was content to remain inside the Ancient Forest, as it dragged the body of its target, who was either unconscious or dead, back into the forest so it could eat it whenever it wanted. Of course the man looked at what was on the other side of the gate for a few more moments, just to make sure the monster didn't come back to the gate and attack them when it dropped off the monster it was carrying, before he sighed and beckoned for the pair and their new friend to follow him, meaning that they didn't have to worry about the vulture-dinosaur coming back to bother them for a time.

Grogar nodded his head as he, Sherry, and their new friend followed the man into the area that was beyond the gate, as it was time for them to meet up with the rest of the Commission, not to mention the rest of the Fleet that they had been separated from some time ago, meet the man that was called Commander Shepard and was respected by the others, and learn what they were going to do first in their quest to uncover the secrets of the Elder Crossing and the Elder Dragons that flocked to the island every ten years.

Astera

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With the gate closed Grogar, Sherry, and their lizard-wolf ally followed the greatsword carrying man that had come to their aid a few moments ago, especially given the pair of larger monsters that had been in their way, and walked down the path he was walking along, though his quick pace showed them that he was interested in getting back to their main base of operations and make sure Commander Shepard knew they were safe and sound. While they did that Grogar noticed that the area they were heading towards seemed to be built in a massive waterfall area that a massive monster must have collapsed in at one point in the past, due to the rib cage bones that were directly in front of them, even if there were only three sets of them and the set that was in front of them was the smallest, while the third one was the largest of them all, and that was before they turned their attention to the rest of the base. From where they were standing it was easy to spot the massive ship that was resting on the highest points of the area, the large rocks Grogar and Sherry had spotted earlier, when they were using the Barnos to escape from Zorah Magdaros, before they turned their attention to the area in front of them and discovered that there were a number of people walking about an area that looked like planks had been pulled off a ship, like the fleets repurposed their ships to create this place. Not only that it looked like the Commission had used a good bit of their ships to build a massive walkway that covered the smooth rocky area that was beyond the sets of bones, and that was before they spotted the docking area off to their right, which happened to be where their ship and the rest of the Fifth Fleet were resting, allowing him to let out a sigh of relief.

From what Grogar could tell it appeared that the area directly in front of them appeared to be a trading area, as some of the people looked like they were traders or something like that, while off to their left rested an area where some people, the researchers he realized, happened to be in the middle of either reading a mountain of books or tending to an area that looked like it grew herbs and possibly bugs, not to mention an area that seemed large enough to contain a large monster, just like the greater lizard-wolf or even the vulture-dinosaur.

"Its amazing, isn't it?" the man asked, noticing that the pair was interested in what they were seeing, due to the fact that they had said nothing as they walked towards the base that was in front of them, before he gestured towards the sets of bones that were in front of them, where Grogar noticed something interesting, there were some small orange triangle shaped flags resting between the three sets, "Just look at these bones, which the scholars claim make a natural gateway of some kind... its almost like nature meant for us to build Astera, our base of operations and our home, right here, and the First Fleet did so when they arrived."

"Astera, I like it!" Sherry stated, showing that she liked the name of the settlement that was in front of them, while at the same time Grogar nodded his head in agreement, as it was nice to know the name of the area that would be acting as their home for the foreseeable future, before she walked forward and quickly focused on the stacks of supplies that one of the people were checking out, where Grogar had to wonder if there were some exciteshrooms in the area, even though he didn't notice anything different about his partner.

"As you can see, the rest of the Fifth Fleet have arrived safe and sound... you were the only ones that went missing during the incident that happened," the man said, stating a fact that they were able to determine on their own, since all they had to do was look to their right and spot the ships in question, before all of them walked into the first part of the base and found that supplies were being moved from the couple of ships and were being distributed to the various areas of Astera, before Grogar smiled for a moment.

The reason behind the smile was because Erica and Aiden were kneeling off to their left, helping some of the others from their ship, who were either hurt or just tired from moving things off the ship, before the pair glanced over in their direction and noticed him and Sherry walking with the man that had assisted them in getting to Astera, to which both of them got up for a moment and walked over to them, even though Aiden hugged them once he reached where they were standing, all while Erica stood behind him.

"I'm glad that you guys made it!" Aiden stated, where he released the pair after a few seconds and took a step back, even though that was when Grogar noticed that he was carrying his sword and shield with him, which made sense since Aiden was one of the Hunters and he needed his weapons whenever he left this base, "You know, when we couldn't find you earlier, after we hit the water and left that Elder Dragon behind, we were so worried about the two of you that we could have started to sweat bullets, though I'm glad you're both safe and sound."

"Grogar, you might have magic, but when you guys headed to the deck of the ship and didn't return you scared all of us when we realized you were stuck on Zorah Magdaros." Erica added, though she did sound like she had been very worried about the two of them, far more worried than Aiden happened to be right now, which Grogar had a feeling that this could easily be explained due to his unique abilities that might make their mission in the New World that much easier, where a smile appeared on her face, "We were talking about leaving Astera and heading out to look for you, since we didn't like the thought of leaving you guys behind, but I'm glad that the two of you are safe and sound."

"I'm glad that the two of you, in addition to the rest of our shipmates, arrived safe and sound as well," Grogar said, as while he wasn't used to having people that cared about him, or even caring about those people in return, he was happy to see that Erica and Aiden were fine and it didn't look like anything had happened to them since the last time they had seen each other, which had been before Zorah Magdaros emerged from beneath the water, while at the same time Sherry took a moment to tear herself away from the stuff that was in front of them and nodded her head, to show that she agreed with his statement.

Before they could continue the conversation one of their shipmates called for some assistance and Erica made sure to drag Aiden over to whoever needed help, where Sherry waved her hand at them while they headed to the individuals they had been helping while they determined that they would catch up once everyone had settled down, before the man that had assisted Grogar and Sherry started to move again, showing that it was time for them to resume the tour of Astera and let them memorize where everything was located.

"This here is our Tradeyard... I guess the name says it all, doesn't it?" the man said, beckoning to the area that was in front of them, the one that Sherry had been staring at while Erica and Aiden had been talking to them, even if they were more interested in speaking to Grogar, where some of the people they walked by paused what they were doing and took a moment to look at Grogar, since his body and form were unknown to them, before returning to their work, "We've got it all here: Hunters to do all of the exploring and hunting, scholars that do all of the studying and researching, technicians that keep everyone going... this place, when you think about it, is the beating heart of the Commission. Oh, could you wait right here for a few seconds?"

Before Grogar or Sherry had a chance to even say anything the man headed towards an area that seemed to be more of a command center or something, while at the same time the lizard-wolf sniffed the air as it patiently waited for Grogar to do something, before the man reached the bottom of the area and informed the Commander that he had found both of the missing members of the Fifth Fleet, meaning they were going to meet Commander Shepard at last, who he was eager to meet, given how quickly he had offered Grogar a place in the fleet. Grogar quickly discovered that the armor Commander Shepard was wearing was the same as what the unnamed man was wearing, only he didn't appear to have a weapon with him, though he had short gray hair and had a few scars on his face, showing both his age and his experience in the field, where he quickly determined that he was the leader of Astera and made the decisions based on what he was told by the Hunters, scholars, technicians, and the other important figures of their base.

"Well now, you must be the one known as Grogar," Commander Shepard said, his tone confirming that he was the one that was in charge of Astera, not that anyone needed the confirmation of that fact, even though it was clear that he was studying Grogar and the fact that he had a small lizard-wolf, which he assumed was highly unusual, "and, based on what I'm seeing, it appears that you have befriended one of the local Jagras, sort of like how you talked to the Barnos in the report that Erica sent us a while ago... its a skill we've never seen before, one that might be useful in the future. Either way, allow me to welcome you, Sherry, and your friend to Astera, as we're all glad that you made it here, safe and sound... but while I would love to speak with you for a time, to learn about your powers and get you up to speed, I'm currently being pulled in eight different directions and the others need me to answer some questions or address complaints before I do anything else with the Fifth Fleet. I will, however, discuss things over council, once things settle down, and I want the two of you to be there when it happens, so feel free to take in the sights while I get things under control."

"As you wish, Commander Shepard." Grogar replied, figuring that he might as well let the Commander do whatever he needed to do with the rest of Astera, given that the Fifth Fleet was new and he likely needed to deal with the people from the First through Fourth Fleets first, while at the same time Sherry nodded her head and showed that, while she was eager to get started, she agreed with the plan, as she wanted to see more of Astera.

"Good. Johnson, our Field Team Leader, will show you two... three, I should say... around Astera and will explain things to you, so you can be ready for whatever missions we might send you on," Commander Shepard stated, to which the man with the greatsword nodded his head for a moment, to confirm that his name was Johnson and that he would do as the Commander wished, though once that was done the Commander turned around and headed back to the area he had been standing in earlier, before they arrived in Astera, though he stopped for a moment and faced them again, "Oh, and your furry friend washed up on the shore some time ago, between the arrival of the rest of the Fifth Fleet and your arrival in Astera. I think he's up at the Canteen, waiting for you two."

"Well then, let's start the tour." Johnson said, beckoning for Grogar, Sherry, and the Jagras to follow after him, despite the fact that he kept an eye on the lizard-wolf that was keeping pace with them, before he looked at the area that they were in and started to walk away from the area that lead to where the council would be held, "As you can see, this is our Stockpile, where we keep a number of goods that Hunters use out in the field, be it potions, ammunition, traps, and the rest of the necessities someone might need. Next up is the Smithy, where you'll be able to forge whatever gear you might need, be it weapons or armor, to help you complete your hunts and investigations, be it to do damage to your enemies or to protect yourself from harm... provided you have the materials necessary to do such a thing, where the workers will tell you what you might need for each piece of gear you want them to make."

To get to the Smithy Grogar, Sherry, and the Jagras followed Johnson up a long winding staircase made out of wood that looked like it had either been made out of wood from a ship, like the rest of Astera had been, or had been harvested from the Ancient Forest and shaped to match the rest of their base, allowing them to glance out at the area they were in and look at the rest of Astera, though as they walked Sherry decided to speak up about something she had noticed while they had been talking earlier.

"So, which fleet are you with?" Sherry asked, mostly because members of the First through Fourth Fleets wore a small flag on their attire to signify which of the fleets they belonged to, like the small red and yellow flag the Commander wore that was attached to his belt, though Grogar noticed that the man in front of them wasn't wearing one of the flags, or if he was it happened to be one that was hard to see, reminding him that the Fifth Fleet's flag was two lines of silver and a line of gold between them, with a wing-like emblem at the bottom.

"Me? I'm not with any of the fleets, I was born right here, in the New World." Johnson replied, where he glanced down at the area that Commander Shepard was in for a moment, who was in the middle of making sure everything was fine with the rest of Astera, so he could call for the council to begin and get everyone up to speed, and then turned his attention back to the stairs that they were climbing, where Grogar assumed that he was related to the Commander, "Truthfully, I've never been to the Old World, and the way things are going with the investigation into the Elder Crossing, with our lack of any real progress over the years, its unlikely that I'll ever see the Old World... which is fine with me, since I need to focus on keeping everyone safe and driving off monsters like the Great Jagras and Anjanath we saw earlier."

Grogar found that to be interesting, that there was someone in Astera that hadn't been to the Old World, much like he hadn't been to the place Sherry and the others came from, but he put that thought on hold for a moment as they reached the top of the steps and found themselves near the Smithy, which was a rather heat intensive place that had a number of individuals working on moving things around and producing whatever the Commission needed, especially with a massive bellow that fueled a massive fire. The workers nodded their heads to the group as they stopped in the doorway for a few seconds, even though they were slightly interested in Grogar's body, which was understandable since his hooves would be an interesting challenge for them if he asked them to make him any armor in the future, before Johnson had them move once more, this time heading for a wooden walkway that connected the area they were standing on, while the other side of the walkway seemed to be on a cliff of some kind and appeared to be where the Canteen was located. As they walked over the long wooden walkway Grogar also noticed that there were a number of lifts that moved between the lowest part of Astera and the massive ship that was resting between two large rocks, even though it looked like parts of it might be missing and that the Commission had put a lot of effort into making sure it stayed intact, instead of breaking it down and using the wood for something else, though he decided not to worry about it as he followed Johnson. The other thing he noted was that there was a Felyne standing in the middle of the wooden walkway, where a path to some private looking quarters had to be resting, though he decided not to bother the feline in question and continued after the man that was showing him and Karen around Astera, while the Jagras that was following him kept up with them as it took in the sights that none of its kind had gotten to see, since most of them were killed if they engaged the Hunters, or at least that was Grogar's opinion on the matter.

Sure enough when they reached the Canteen they found a number of Felynes walking around, delivering plates to all of the Hunters and members of the Commission that happened to be up there, where all of the slow cooking stations had the appearance of Felyne head's, and there was a rather buff Felyne with a large blade on its back, who was dressed as a chef, who seemed to be watching what the others of his kind were doing, though that was when Grogar and Sherry quickly noticed the one Felyne they happened to be looking for, as Patches was walking around the Canteen like he was lost, which made sense given what they had endured.

"Hey, Patches!" Sherry called out, where the Palico in question paused and then glanced in their way, where he did a little cheer for a moment before rushing over to where she and Grogar were standing, even though that ended in him jumping up into her arms and rested his head against the area that was below her neck for a moment, before he pulled away and smiled at her as she smiled at him.

Grogar was happy to see that Patches was just fine, where his Palico partner smiled at him as he rubbed the bottom of his chin for a moment, even though he was surprised when he spotted the Jagras that had followed them to Astera, but before any of them could really do anything a horn sounded and they glanced out at the area that was in front of them, so they could look down at the area the Commander was standing, meaning he must have figured out how to deal with all of the problems so he could call all the important leaders of the Commission to his side.

"Looks like he finished helping the others ahead of time," Johnson said, showing that he had been expecting it to take some time before the council horn was used and their tour was brought to an end, even though there wasn't much else he could actually show Sherry and Grogar now that they had been reunited with their third member of their group, before he beckoned to the group for a moment, "Come on, they're calling for the council to begin."

Grogar nodded as he, Sherry, Patches, and the Jagras, which was going to need a name if it was going to follow them and not return to its pack in the Ancient Forest, though they weren't the only ones that headed down there, as the larger Feylne that served as the chef joined them, meaning it must have a seat on the council and that they would be getting to known him over the course of their stay in Astera, before Grogar focused on the other members of the council that were gathering around the table that the Commander was standing at. One of the individuals was a Hunter that carried one of the longsword weapons on his back, and he was sure the person was male due to the shape of its body, though it was wearing armor that was a mix of metal and green scales in places, though as he reached the area the Commander was in he removed his weapon from his back and placed it on the ground as he sat in a chair behind their leader. The next one he noticed was a trio of three that appeared to be walking together, one that seemed to be male and was wearing a robe-like attire, with a collar of some kind and had long hair that was in a ponytail, the second one was a shorter male that took a seat on a chair so he could see everyone, and he wore a dull yellow vest with a hardhat on his head, and the third was a lady who seemed to be wearing a cloth dress of some kind, one that was a little loose based on what he was seeing, but she seemed focused on some calculations she was making, while they waited for the council to begin. The last member of the council that Grogar could see was an elderly man who sat in a chair that was across from where the technician man was sitting, though the elderly one seemed to be more of a scholar, as he opened a book and was reading from it while he waited for everyone else to show up, though the interesting thing was that his feet ended in three claws, similar to what a young dragon had, and he was sure there was a fourth claw located partway up his legs, something he was interested in and might ask about later.

As they walked towards the table that the council would be held in, which had four different colored flags resting off to the left, which likely represented the four fleets that came before their fleet, Erica ran to where they were walking and tossed something into the air, where Grogar smiled for a moment as he caught the item with his magic and brought it over to him as he approached the area that Commander Shepard and the others were waiting in, this time with his staff in hand, but he made sure to nod towards Erica for a moment as he, Sherry, Patches, the Jagras, and Johnson joined the others, where Johnson took his position to the Commander's right.

"Now that you are all here, let us begin this council session." Commander Shepard said, drawing the attention of them all to him, even though he was only talking to those that were around him while the rest of the Commission went about their duties behind Grogar, and while he did that the Jagras seemed to take a seat and coiled its tail around itself as it tried to put its head about the top of the table, like it was interested in what was going on right now, "After tracking a migrating Elder Dragon across the sea, and having a few interesting events happen along the way, the Fifth Fleet have finally arrived in the New World and will be joining those in Astera from this day forward. Be sure to give all of them a warm welcome, as they're a fine group and are worthy comrades that will see the Commission's long efforts finally rewarded... especially with the addition of Grogar, our newest Hunter. Would you like to say a few words?"

"Yes, thank you sir!" Sherry stated, speaking before Grogar even had a chance to open his mouth, something that caused the others that were paying attention to raise their eyebrows for a moment and he remained at the ready, as he had the suspicion the council members would want him to speak at some point, before this council was over, especially since he had a Jagras following him around, something that was beyond what they were used to seeing, "We're ready to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty!"

"And I'm eager to tackle the mystery of the Elder Crossing and put my powers to use." Grogar added, as he was serious about this, because he was done working with the plans to take over a province, country, or even a world, as none of them had really worked out in the past, and he was curious as to why the Elder Dragons would suddenly migrate from the Old World and head to the New World, just like how the Guild was curious as to why it was happening, so he figured he could use his powers to aid the Commission.

"This is the Commission's core team in the New World," Commander Shepard stated, where he waved a hand towards the rest of the group that was around them, no doubt to give Grogar and Sherry an idea on who they would be working with for the foreseeable future, and it appeared that he was starting with the lady that was to their left, who was standing next to one of the elderly members of the council and the scholar that was wearing glasses, "Betty Lexington, our Provisions Manager; Sorich, our Tech Chief; Callus, our Analysis Director; Wingert, our Chief Ecologist; and our Chef, who prefers to be known by his title, the one that the rest of the Felyne's gave him, 'Meowscular Chef'... you should get to know all of them, as they'll help you and the others prepare for your field work."

"You said that you would use your powers to help us... what sort of powers are you referring to?" Callus asked, as he and the others were interested in what Grogar was talking about, though at the same time they glanced at the Jagras that was resting next to him, studying all of them as it wondered what they would do about it, because while Shepard told them about Erica's report it was hard to believe that communicating with monsters was possible.

"Well, I have access to magic, something I haven't seen anyone else wield," Grogar replied, deciding that it was best not to tell anyone about the world he had come from, since it was clear they assumed he was from an unknown landmass that they hadn't explored yet, and just demonstrate his power for them, to which he let go of his staff and levitated it with his magic, where he carefully spun it around the area they were in, allowing them to see what he was doing before collecting his weapon and then rubbed the Jagras' head for a few seconds, who let out a happy hiss, "the other power, the one that is more important to our research, is the ability to communicate and understand the monsters that we share this world with. I used it earlier, when Sherry and I were in the Ancient Forest, where we hid inside some bushes so the pack of Jagras would leave without noticing us, and this one hissed at them and convinced the rest of the pack to leave, before it showed us the way to the gate Johnson encountered us near, even if we were interrupted by a Great Jagras and an Anjanath."

"Really? Forgive me for sounding like I don't believe you, its just... well, we've never encountered someone like you before and its hard to believe you possess this secondary power." Betty commented, where Grogar didn't blame her for saying that, because he was breaking their understanding of their world by just being there and using his magic, so adding yet another power to the list, being able to communicate with the monsters and potentially learn more about them by just talking to them, might be a little too much for them to consider right now.

It was in that moment that the Jagras hissed for a few seconds, causing the members of the council to pause as everyone turned towards it, where Grogar could tell that the hissing seemed to be a comment of some kind and it seemed to be staring at Betty and Callus as it did that, no doubt due to the fact that they were the ones that were talking right now, while Commander Shepard and the others looked like they were curious as to what was going on.

"What is it saying?" Sherry asked, because she knew what Erica and the others from their ship knew, Grogar could talk to the Barnos that had been following the ship and that had prompted them to send the letter to the Commander as soon as it had been discovered, so she was eager to see what the Jagras was saying and if it would prove that her partner had such a power to those that didn't believe him.

"First of all, its not an 'it', rather its a 'she'," Grogar answered, though while he knew that they could have figured that out by studying the creature that was standing next to him, just like the Commission did whenever they captured monsters to study and learn more about them, this gave him a chance to show off his skills, "She also said that she's surprised by the fact that some of you don't believe me, since this is the first time one of her kind has willingly entered this area, alive to be exact, and that she's not attacking anyone like the rest of her kind would if they were placed in her position. Basically she's surprised by the fact that her sudden change from her nature hasn't convinced you that I'm telling the truth... her words, not mine."

"I, for one, believe that Grogar is telling the truth, and I believe that his power will be useful in solving the mystery that has brought us to the New World," Commander Shepard said, showing the rest of the council that he trusted what Erica had put in her letter, especially now that they had witnessed him talking to a Jagras, a creature Grogar knew nothing about and had only just encountered shortly after his arrival in the New World, before he focused on the main topic that they had gathered to talk about, "Now, for those of you who don't know what's going on, the latest Elder Dragon to migrate to the New World is a beast known as Zorah Magdaros, a massive monster who carries a mountain of fire on its back, and its the Research Commission's mission to figure out why the Elder Dragons are migrating to this landmass."

"As you no doubt know, Elder Dragons have been with us since the dawn of time," Wingert commented, which was the moment that the Meowscular Chef glanced at him, something that was mimicked by the rest of the council members, as all of them were interested in what he might have to say, even though it appeared that he was reminding Grogar of the fact before he said something new, "where they alter the ecosystems they live in, reshape the land, and leave disaster in their wake. From what we have been able to determine they flock to this continent, though we have been unable to figure out why they're doing that... its a mystery that has grabbed the attention of the Guild and they'll stop at nothing to find out the truth of what's going on."

"With the aid of the Fifth Fleet, we will find the missing link!" Commander Shepard stated, drawing the attention of the rest of the council members to him once more, even though he knew that everyone was eager to figure out why the Elder Crossing happened in the first place, be they from the First Fleet or the other fleets that were in Astera, before he focused on Grogar, Sherry, and their friends for a moment, "Sherry, I need you and Grogar, along with your friends, to look into why we're seeing an increase in the local Jagras population and help us secure Astera, though once we're done with those two objectives we can focus on Zorah Magdaros and the path he cut through the Ancient Forest, or part of it anyway, as a team is already studying his movements and should arrive in due time. Everyone else, you know the drill, make sure our Hunters have everything they need for when they're out in the field, as their banner promises change and it will be up to them to fulfill that promise. Other than that, you are all dismissed for the time being."

Grogar, Sherry, and the others nodded their heads, to show the Commander that they understood his orders and that they would head out and get themselves ready for when Grogar took to the field and investigated what was going on with the Jagras population, which was a step in the right direction since it would make sure Astera was safe and sound before they turned their attention to their main investigation, not to mention Zorah Magdaros, something Grogar was interested in figuring out as he focused on his first hunt and what he would be learning.

First Mission

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"You know, normally I would be surprised by a Hunter and Handler pair getting a mission on their first day in Astera, but after hearing and seeing what you're capable of, I'm not surprised," Johnson commented, as it appeared that he was going to be in charge of assisting the pair for their first couple of missions, or at least that was what Grogar assumed, which he was fine with, given that he only knew how things worked from his readings and had no real experience, before the man glanced at the weapon that was in Grogar's right hand for a few seconds, "Normally this would be when we let Hunters try out the most basic versions of the weapon types we have developed over the years, even if they might be familiar with one so they can see if there's another they might want to try out, though it seems that you have chosen a weapon to use for the foreseeable future. That doesn't mean you can't test out any of the other weapons when you have time, to see if any of them might be a better fit than your staff, but don't feel like you have to do that just because they're there, as you're allowed to use whatever style you want... though we'll stop by your chambers and let you see the area you'll be sleeping in, before sending you out on your first mission."

Grogar nodded his head for a second as he, Sherry, Patches, and the Jagras followed Johnson over to an opening that was near the table that the council was held in, which interested him since he wasn't expecting the doorway to the area they would be sleeping in to be so close to where Commander Shepard resided, but he decided to say nothing about that as he followed Johnson into the room he was leading them to. They pushed a Guild flag out of the way and entered the room that was on the other side of it, where Grogar decided to keep his thoughts to himself as he noticed that he, Sherry, and Patches would be sharing a room with a number of individuals, likely the rest of the Hunters and Handlers of the Fifth Fleet given the bunks that had been set up inside what appeared to be the cargo hold of a ship, one flipped so the bottom of the ship was now the ceiling and the ceiling was the ground, as if it gave them more room to store people. From what he could tell there was a large red chest near one of the bunks, which had to be the one that contained all the weapons that Johnson had told him about earlier, it appeared there was an area for the Palicoes to rest in while they and their Hunters were resting in this room, and there was another Felyne that was standing off to the left, who appeared to be more like a housekeeper and nodded his head towards them as they entered the room. There was only one major flaw with the room that he and Sherry were being given, which wasn't counting the fact that they would be sharing this with the other Hunters and Handlers, rather it was the fact that Sherry would have no privacy, in the off chance she was forced to change again, like he had seen so far.

Sherry even understood that, as she looked around the room with a look of worry in her eyes, which only Grogar noticed since she didn't turn back to look at Johnson, before they relaxed a little and focused on the man that had shown them to their current room, where Grogar hoped that there was a way for them to upgrade to a more private suite so he could get Sherry away from the others, given the hidden nature that would be much harder to hide of they were going to be sharing this space with the other Hunters.

"Once you're done here, we'll head over to the Canteen, where Handlers usually rest while they wait for their Hunters to come over and see what quests they have to offer," Johnson said, though at the same time he leaned against the pillar that was in the middle of the room, which had to be the support pillar for when this structure had been a ship, before he took a moment to glance at the flag door for a few seconds, "In case you weren't aware, Handlers sort through the various leads that the Research Commission has and the ones they deem to be of importance are turned into quests for their Hunters to take on, so the Jagras' that the Commander mentioned will likely be the first thing you'll investigate, before being given something even tougher, once we have a better understanding of what's currently going on in the New World."

"Thanks, I understand the system better now," Grogar replied, even though that was a lie and he suspected Sherry knew that, as he had spent a great deal of time learning everything he could about the Guild and the rules that he would have to stick to, roughly anyway since he was going to do things a different way than the other Hunters, but it seemed to make Johnson happy and that was good enough for him, to which he nodded his head and left the room they were in, as he figured he could come back later if he needed something.

Once they were outside Grogar headed for the Canteen, as it appeared that was where Sherry would arrange for him to accept one of the quests and then head out to see what the problem was, though he wasn't even surprised when she ran forward and got to the area in question long before he did, as she loved food far more than he did. Such a thing also gave him a chance to take his time and understand Astera a little better, the layout of places and where those who had been at the council meeting worked when they weren't talking to the Commander, so he wouldn't be confused in the future, as it usually took people time to get used to a new environment. He was fine with this situation, as his Handler partner would get things ready for the quest he would be undertaking, all while Patches and the Jagras followed him, since there wasn't much for them to do but wait for him to decide when it was time to head out to the Ancient Forest. Of course he also knew he could spend some time at the Canteen, simply resting and seeing what sort of food the people of Astera enjoyed, and in the end he decided to follow Sherry's lead this time, causing him to head for the area that Meowscular Chef watched over at all times.

When they arrived at the Canteen five minutes later, however, he found that Sherry had already ordered a large plate of food and had claimed one of the stone tables for herself, and that wasn't counting all of the books that were in front of her, something that must have been set up once Erica knew they were okay.

"The Chef and his apprentices sure know how to make food quickly," Sherry commented, where Grogar found that she had ordered fish, meat, rice, vegetables, and a few other things, basically a platter of food that she could eat while he went out into the field to see what was up with the Jagras population, without killing any of them anyway, before she beckoned for Grogar to sit, who did so as Patches and their friend sat near them, which was when she glanced at him for a moment as something came to her mind, "So, um, what are you going to call her? The Jagras, I mean, since she seems to like being around you, Patches, and myself... even if it mostly seems to be you she's following."

"I was thinking 'Jaya', since it appears the Jagras and the other monsters don't name themselves," Grogar said, though at the same time the Jagras in question tilted her head for a moment, as if getting used to the idea of having a name like all of them did, before straightening her head and nodded it, or at least that was what it looked like from where he was sitting, to which he turned back towards his partner for a moment, "Patches, Jaya, and I can go investigate what's going on with her pack and the surrounding area, to figure out if something odd is happening, since the Commander is worried about an increase in the number of Jagras that seem to be in the Ancient Forest... even though there's the possibility of there being something else at work in the forest."

"I see. Oh, before I forget, I took a look at some of the other leads the Commission has and I found one that's interesting," Sherry added, which was odd for Grogar since there was no way she could have gotten here and had time to already find something else for him to do, in the span of the few minutes they had been apart from each other after being shown their quarters, but he decided not to say anything as he waited for her to explain what she had found, before he headed into the Ancient Forest, "there's a Kestodon herd somewhere in the Ancient Forest that we might have to deal with, thin their numbers out, so many we could kill two birds with one stone? Investigate the Jagras and see if we can bring down some of the Kestodon at the same time?"

"You sure that's okay? Aren't we supposed to take one quest, head out, and then return to camp once that quest has been dealt with?" Grogar asked, mostly because that was what the rule books said, Hunters generally took one quest at a time so they didn't hog them all and leave nothing for everyone else, so it was rather weird in his mind for Sherry to suggest that he take two quests and tackle them at the same time, even though both sounded like really easy quests that he could resolve in a short period of time.

"I'm sure the Commander will be happy to see we're taking the initiative to deal with the threats to Astera, despite the fact that the latter isn't much of a threat," Sherry replied, showing that she really had no idea what the Commander would do once they returned from the pair of quests she was proposing to him, something Grogar shared since the man was a stranger to him and he would need time to figure him out, before she glanced at the book that all of the Handlers would use to help their Hunters determine which leads they would turn into quests, "So, what do you say?"

"You're a Handler, and you have more experience and knowledge of how things like this work," Grogar said, though right now he guessed he might as well take Sherry's advice on the matter and just tackle two quests at the same time, as he had some ideas about what Jaya's pack was up to and how they might be able to approach the second quest, which was the time that he picked up a leg of meat and gave it to Jaya, who chomped down on it as he focused on Sherry for a few more seconds, "Let's just take a few minutes to rest and ready ourselves before we head out into the field, that way we won't be surprised by any of the monsters that live in the Ancient Forest, like when that Great Jagras attacked us or when we were interrupted by that Anjanath, who seemed to be looking for food."

Sherry paused for a moment, most likely recalling what Grogar had said, before she turned her attention to the food that was near her and began chowing down on it as well, though while he knew that most Hunters would prepared for a quest by eating, and possibly gaining some sort of useful benefit in the process, Grogar decided not to do that, as this seemed like an easy quest. Of course it was two quests at the same time, and both seemed to be rather easy and would be done in no time, so he figured his time would be better spent learning more about the forest and seeing if he could improve on his new ability to speak with monsters, one of his unique abilities in the eyes of the Commander. While Sherry ate the food in front of her, which she had ordered, and shared some of it with Jaya, Grogar noticed that most of the other members of their fleet were still near the main gate of Astera, no doubt having been assigned to unloading the ships and making sure the supplies were delivered to their various destinations, which Erica and Aiden were doing. He knew that Aiden had to be itching to do a quest or two, but for now he and his Handler were stuck down there, to which he focused on what the rest of the Commission were doing and paid less attention to his food, allowing him to think about the New World and all of the monsters that were out there.

When it was time for them to move, or at least when he assumed that it was time to do that, they were joined by Johnson, who informed them that to leave Astera, without endangering everyone else in their base of operations, they would be using the Barnos that had come with the fleets as mounts of sorts. Such a thing reminded them of what happened when they were fleeing from Zorah Magdaros, using their Slingers to latch onto the creatures in question and use them to get away from the massive Elder Dragon that had emerged from under the sea near this massive continent. Of course Grogar found it amusing that they had done something that was similar to what the rest of the Hunters did to get to the various camps they had built in the New World, all without knowing that piece of information, which Sherry also found amusing, based on the look on her face. With that information in hand he walked over to the area that the Barnos were kept in, which just so happened to be near the Canteen as he quickly discovered, and made sure each of them were okay with this sort of thing, only to find that each of them were okay with the current setup and that they would carry their allies into battle, or at least transport them and their supplies to the various camps.

As such Grogar eventually found himself and Sherry calling a pair of the Barnos down so they could use their Slingers to latch onto their clawed feet and lift themselves into the air, while Patches grabbed onto Karen's leg and Jaya, despite her quadrupedal stance, found a way to do the same thing by latching onto part of Grogar's chest armor. In that moment he realized something important, if Jaya continued to join them on quests they were going to need to make a harness for her to use, to make things safer for her since she could fall if something went wrong, and knew that the people in the Smithy would be up for the challenge. He also noticed that Sherry was focused on the parts of the forest that they flew over, no doubt worried that something might happen to her while they were in the Ancient Forest, given the fact that she had been attacked by some of the more aggressive monsters that called this place home, the Great Jagras for example. There was no telling if the Anjanath would be up and about or if they would be able to move through this area without having to be on the lookout for something that wanted them dead, but he was going to keep his eyes and ears open while Patches and Jaya seemed to be thinking the same thing.

He discovered that it didn't take them long to fly out to the first camp they had found, confirming that someone had made it for the commission, though as they landed around it he discovered something interesting as his companions touched the ground, there was a hitching post nearby and the Barnos came to a stop on it, meaning they would be resting while he and the others tackled the quests they were on.

"I didn't think we would be back here, especially so soon after we arrived in the New World," Sherry commented, where she took a moment to look at the rest of the camp and found that someone had come out while they were talking to the Commander and the rest of the council members, before she glanced over to Grogar for a moment, where she found that Patches and Jaya were standing near him, looking like they were ready for anything, "Remember, the first rule of a quest is to complete the objective, which can be taking down some of the monsters in an area, capturing one that the Commission wants to study, collecting whatever you need for the Chef or someone else in Astera, or whatever the requirement of the particular quest is. The second rule is to always check the supply box that is set up in our camps, as the Commission will supply us, and by that I mean you, with a variety of goods that might be helpful for each quest, though that's if we give them some notice before we head out on whatever quest you might pick out. As such I'm sure there's nothing inside the box right now, since we left Astera without telling anyone, but you're free to check it out before you decide to see what's going on with the Jagras pack, just in case I'm wrong in my assumptions."

"Understood, though it also seems like I'll be filling out the map during my explorations," Grogar stated, because when he thought about the maps in his possession it looked like most of it was missing, as in there were pages missing, like some wind had blown them away, or the Commission was lacking in understanding what was in this area, where he was sure it was the former in this case.

"Indeed, and you can use it in case you get lost while you're out there," Sherry said, her tone showing him that she just so happened to agree with what he had said, as it made sense when she thought about it, though she found Johnson off to the side, looking like he might be impatient and was eager to get going, "while you're out there you should make a note of where you find certain items, like material veins or the locations that mushrooms and other food grow in... we can use that information in the future, regardless if we take the quest or if someone else takes it."

Grogar nodded his head, as he understood that part of his duty was to tend to the monsters of the land, in his eyes that meant making sure they were fine and fighting when it was absolutely necessary, while another part was studying the land and marking things down for everyone else, so people knew where to find certain materials and food for the Canteen, to which Sherry remained by the tent. With that done he made a quick check of the box, finding that it actually had a couple of potions for him to take, which he did, before heading over to the path that lead back out into the open area that he and Sherry had quickly walked through earlier that day, finding that all of the Aptonoths were still grazing. Of course he found that Johnson was following him, no doubt to see how he operated while he was in the field and how both of his abilities, as in his magic and his ability to talk with monsters, could benefit the Commission, meaning he might not trust the decision his grandfather made or he was here on the Commander's orders. Either way Grogar focused on his first quest, which he knew was to kill a certain number of Jagras, though that was only on paper and he was going to be investigating the packs that lived in the Ancient Forest, to see what was causing the increase in population, if such a thing was happening, hence why he tapped his staff on the ground and started moving for real.

As he walked along the path he and Sherry took earlier, however, he found that Patches glanced at the Aptonoths for a few seconds before keeping up with him, while Jaya simply looked at them like she wanted to tear into one of them, but since she had a proper feast in Astera there was no reason for her to attack the monsters in question, which was why she was in the middle of tracking down her former pack. Grogar had a feeling that if they could find her pack they could figure out the reason behind why the Commission felt that the Jagras population had grown over a short period of time, though the hard part would be tracking them down and speaking to whoever happened to be leading them, no doubt a Great Jagras, hence why he was looking for tracks as Jaya joined him. Johnson also informed him of something else he could do, gather herbs, mushrooms, and all sorts of things from the areas he would be investigating, just like Sherry had suggested earlier, as they would allow him to make his own potions and other items, once he learned how to do such a thing from someone else in Astera, like Aiden for example. After that they found their way back to the area that they had first encountered the Jagras in, where Grogar held up a hand and beckoned for his companions to stop, as he could hear some sounds ahead of him, like a group was hissing at each other, where he peeked out into the area in question and discovered that luck was on his side, as three Jagras were hanging out in the area in question.

What he discovered, however, was a shock to both him and Jaya, the three Jagras were wounded, as he could see cuts and teeth marks on all of them, as in something had attacked them and whoever was with them, and one of them had fallen to the ground, struggling to even survive with what looked like poison, causing him and Jaya to rush over to where they were resting, with Johnson and Patches right behind them.

"Calm, friends, we mean you no harm." Grogar said, as the two Jagras that could still stand turned and hissed at him, in the sense of telling him to back off, though Jaya hissed at both of them in return, indicating that he could be trusted, causing the pair to glance at each other before backing off, allowing him to approach them and the sickly one, who let out a low hiss as his tongue tasted the air, causing him to let out a sigh, "I'm afraid that there isn't much we can do for the poison, but we might be able to do something about the monster that hurt you... can you tell us what happened?"

The Jagras, confused by the fact that he wanted to speak with them and hear their story, took a few seconds before saying what was on their minds, where Grogar let them pause in their telling so he could translate for Johnson, and the tale just so happened to start in what had to be one of the highest points of the great tree, an area his superior knew well, as it was the home of a Rathalos. He knew it from his studies, a large wyvern that flew through the air and had red scales, though it was one of the few monsters that actually looked like a dragon, but it had sharp claws and it's tail could poison whatever it hit, which could explain the wounds that the Jagras had, though not the teeth marks since a Rathalos had a larger mouth than the monsters he had seen so far. The pair went on to explain that they had gone up there to eat the eggs that were in the nest of the flying wyvern, while it was gone no less, both to provide themselves with food and to eliminate a potential threat in their future, though the Rathalos surprised them and attacked without delay, loosing fireballs at them and even cutting each of them several times before they were able to lose it. Of course they ended up running into two monsters before stopping here, a poisonous bird and a flying shock creature, where Johnson informed Grogar that they had to be a Pukei-Pukei and a Tobi-Kadachi, meaning they must have been annoyed by the Jagras invading their territory and it would explain the small bite marks and the poison.

When Grogar got into why the Jagras only spoke about the three of them, and not the rest of the pack, he learned why the little monster had only talked about them, where he had Patches used the Vigorwasp Station to try and mend their various wounds, though at the same time it only eased the pain of the poisoned one for a short period of time, as it closed it's eyes and stopped moving a few seconds later.

"Johnson, we don't have to worry about the Jagras population, they're struggling to survive thanks to that Anjanath we saw earlier," Grogar said, where he and Patches did whatever they could to help the remaining two Jagras out, while Jaya kept an eye on the surrounding area, just in case more monsters moved through this area, before he sighed as he considered the rest of what he had learned from these two, "in fact, the reports of overpopulation seems to be nature's way of trying to make sure they survive, against the fiercer monsters that live in the Ancient Forest... if we attack them, we'll be taking more lives than is necessary. In fact, with the Anjanath controlling most of the ground, and the Rathalos lashing out at any monster that gets near his nest, I would hazard a guess that the Jagras packs are in danger... at the very least this one is at the moment, while there's no telling where Jaya's pack might be hiding."

"Yeah, it sure seems like we missed something," Johnson replied, referring to the fact that the reports lead them to assume that there was a problem with the Jagras population, when the reality was that several large monsters were responsible for a bunch of deaths and nature was trying to correct the issue, to which he turned his head for a moment, "I guess we should focus on the Kestodon that were driven into the Ancient Forest by Zorah Magdaros' movements, though as soon as we return to Astera we need to tell the Commander about this development."

As it turned out the Kestodon herd that they had learned about was on the southern end of the Ancient Forest, where he found a few hard headed herbivores who seemed to like headbutting things, or maybe each other, where Johnson quickly informed Grogar that the males were bright orange colored and had a larger head while the females were bronze and had no crest. Based on what he was seeing it looked like the herd had wandered in from another region of the New World, as in the Wildspire Waste based on what his superior told him, an area that was overflowing with them, so they needed to cull a number of them to help keep the balance, all while Patches and Jaya kept an eye on the area, only to be surprised by an odd arrival. Sherry, despite knowing that this was still dangerous work, kept the safe camp and came searching for them, though before Grogar could say anything he found a look of worry on her face and glanced in the direction she had come from, causing him to freeze for a moment as he realized what was coming their way, something that caused the others to see what he was looking at. The Anjanath from before was marching down part of the large open path that lead back to where their camp rested, though before they were noticed Grogar took a chance and gathered his magic, letting it wash all over them as he ordered them to stand as still as possible, allowing them to disappear as his Invisibility spell took hold, to which everyone remained silent as they waited for the beast to arrive.

When the Anjanath arrived the Kestodon were trapped between it and a Great Jagras, the latter arriving from another path that lead to this area, and Grogar witnessed the savagery of the New World as the Anjanath tore through the hide of the Great Jagras with it's wicked sharp teeth. It's reason for doing that was very simple, the Great Jagras tried to swallow one of the Kestodon whole, no doubt so it could either have something to eat or that's how it carried a meal to it's pack, and that was why the larger monster attacked it, to the point where it lifted the Great Jagras up into the air and crashed it into the ground, crushing some of the poor Kestodon in the process. The Anjanath was a force of nature, tearing down anything in it's path to be the master of the land, leaving the Rathalos as the master of the air, and it seemed to put on a show for the rest of the Ancient Forest, anything that might be watching, before it decimated the rest of the Kestodon and then quickly closed it's jaws, snapping the neck of the Great Jagras. With the one sided battle done Grogar watched as the Great Jagras was was carried off to wherever the Anjanath made it's nest, leaving an area for the lesser monsters to salvage from, but none of them moved as the monster walked off into the Ancient Forest, allowing it to disappear before Grogar dropped his spell and allowed them to reappear.

Grogar knew that this world was more dangerous than what he was used to, but this was the first time he had seen such a thing, where he assumed that the Great Jagras must have been the same one that attacked Sherry earlier, which had been able to escape before being taking down by the Anjanath later that same day, before he let out a sigh.

"That Anjanath needs to be knocked down a peg, or taken out entirely," Grogar commented, as it was vicious and he had a feeling that the longer it lived the greater the chance of Astera being attacked became, because it had to be growing angry with Johnson and all of the other Commission members that entered the Ancient Forest, though he was pleased to see that Sherry was fine.

"Yeah, I'll be sure to report what we've seen to the Commander," Johnson said, where he looked at the scene in front of all of them, as while he wasn't in tune with the monsters of this world, like Grogar was, even he could see that the Anjanath was a threat to their base and, if nothing was done, might attack them in due time, just like the few they had dealt with in the past, "but it seems that both of your quests have been completed, in a roundabout way anyway, so we had best get going before other monsters show up."

No one said anything as Grogar discovered that the way back to Astera, with the gate lowered, was to return to the camp and use the Barnos to fly over the Ancient Forest, basically moving over the same area twice in a short period of time, but it didn't take them too long to land in the outer reaches of the Tradeyard, allowing them to make their way over to where Commander Shepard operated and made their report.

"It seems your first mission was rather... exciting." Shepard replied, speaking once they were done making their report on the tasks Sherry had picked out, where he knew he was going to have to tell her that only one quest was supposed to be done at a time, even if it worked out rather well on their end, while it was okay to do multiple requests at the same time, before he considered the information, "So, just to recap, the reason we've seen an increase in the local Jagras population is due to them being attacked by all of the other monsters of the Ancient Forest, as nature is trying to make sure they survive the dangers that exist around them? Not to mention the fact that you witnessed the Anjanath causing harm to the other monsters that call the Ancient Forest home?"

"That's correct. We also learned a few things from two other Jagras, but they ran off once they heard the Anjanath moving through the forest," Grogar stated, reminding the Commander about what he had learned from the pair, but even as he said that he knew that they should have known something was up, even though they ignored both of the Jagras once they had been healed, before he sighed, "but that Anjanath is definitely a threat."

"Agreed, and we will deal with it in due time. For now, why don't you two take a break and rest until morning," Shepard said, as he knew that what they had been through was tough for new Hunters, even if Grogar wasn't a normal Hunter, in fact he was more like a Researcher based on what he had learned so far, but he had a feeling that allowing him to do this might give them some new information they didn't have before, to which Grogar and Sherry nodded before leaving, where he turned towards Johnson, "So, how'd he do?"

"Well, he healed two Jagras, helped another pass on without being in pain, and hid as soon as the Anjanath came towards where we were standing," Johnson replied, though he knew the true meaning of the question, given his years of working under his grandfather in the New World, and glanced in the direction of the newcomers, staring at Grogar as he walked up to the Canteen with his team, "I don't know how he'll do as a Hunter, since he doesn't seem like the type to fight if his life depended on it, but his power to speak to monsters... that might be useful in the long run, and his magic seems to be a tad bit stronger than what Erica told us about, so that's a good thing as well."

"Than we'll continue with him as the last Hunter of the Fifth Fleet," Shepard stated, causing his grandson to nod as he said that, though at the same time he considered something as he focused on Grogar for a few more seconds, as there were a few other individuals who would be interested in meeting him at some point, "though things should get interesting when she returns to Astera."

Johnson had an idea of who his grandfather was talking about, as it was either the Third Fleet Master or someone else, but due to the former being far away right now he knew who he was referring to, though he said nothing as they returned to the rest of their work, as there were more reports to go over before the next morning arrived and it would give Grogar some time to rest before they sent him into the field again.

Forest Bandit

View Online

Grogar had to admit that simply walking through the Ancient Forest, not to mention using one of the Barnos to travel between their camp and Astera, was exhausting work, enough though he didn't feel it until he, Sherry, Patches, and Jaya were back in the Canteen, sitting at the table Sherry had picked earlier.

"Yo, Grogar, what's up?" a voice asked, where they found Aiden and Erica walking towards their table, both looking happy with whatever mission they must have completed after he and Sherry left Astera earlier, though it was possible they might have been stuck with unloading the ship, before they stopped at the table, "So, how was your first day?"

"Oh, went out to identify why the Jagras population was higher than normal, learned some things from a pair of Jagras we found, and watched the Anjanath wreck the area," Grogar replied, thinking back on everything he had done since arriving on the New World, or at least since they left Astera to tackle his first official mission, which ended up being two when he took a moment to think about things, before he focused on his friends again, "the Anjanath also wrecked the Kestodon herd that we went out to deal with... even if I was planning on asking them a few questions before trying to get them to return to their home."

"You've been studying the New World and it's monsters, haven't you?" Erica inquired, as she knew that Grogar wasn't like all of the other Hunters that were in Astera right now, he wasn't as violent as the others were and preferred to study what was around him, while having the common sense to get to safety, and Grogar nodded a few seconds later, "Yeah, I had a feeling that you wouldn't willingly harm them, even though it sounds like that Anjanath might have to watch it's back in the future, as it seems like you don't like it very much."

"He might teach it a lesson, but I don't think he'll actually kill it," Sherry remarked, where she returned to the table with a platter of food, meats, rice, vegetables, fruits, and all sorts of things, meaning the Meowscular Chef really liked to cook and prepared good portions for everyone who came to the Canteen, though she smiled as she fed Jaya a piece of meat, who chomped on it as Patches collected something as well, "Honestly, it's refreshing to have someone like him on the team, as we can learn more about the New World and the zones that the others have been studying since their arrival, including a few things about how every monster lives in harmony with everyone else."

Grogar wasn't sure that what they had seen was harmony, rather it seemed like the Anjanath had done that purely out of a desire to show it's dominance to everything else that was in the Ancient Forest, but he agreed with his friends, he wasn't the type to actively seek to do harm to those he encountered, despite his past. It was likely that if he was assigned to deal with the Anjanath he would unleash all of his magic on it, in an attempt to drive it away before it dealt any damage to the main gate or even Astera, but there was always the chance that Commander Shepard might give it to someone else and have him do something else. As he thought about that Aiden told them about how they had spent the day moving all sorts of things off of the ship, allowing the people of Astera to gain new supplies that weren't from the New World, as they had to be missing certain foods and other items from the Old World, while Erica helped make sure everything was moved to their proper locations, giving her time to learn the layout of this place. They made a wonderful team, experience and well tuned based on everything Grogar had heard about their missions, and while he was interested in the fact that Aiden had no ally, like how he had Patches, he suspected that his friend didn't need a Palico following him around, or maybe there was one and it didn't like being out in front of too many people.

In the end the six of them shared dinner, just like what they had done in the past, though once night was upon them they walked down to where their bunks were resting, where Grogar found that his friends seemed to sleep in their basic attire, as any armor was taken off and set to the side for the rest of the night, though since he wasn't wearing armor he slipped into his bunk and fell asleep in no time.

When morning arrived Grogar found that Astera, much like the day before, was an incredibly busy place with all sorts of people running from place to place, making him wonder if this was what happened whenever an Elder Dragon like Zorah Magdaros made landfall, everyone scrambling to make sure the island was fine before figuring out what was going on with all of the Elder Dragons. As he did that he made his way to where Commander Shepard usually worked, though as he did that Grogar discovered someone new standing near the figure in question, a lady with an athletic body that was more on the lean side, likely a Hunter when he thought about it, though she was wearing a metallic bra on her chest, instead of a chest piece or the normal attire. The reason why became clear a second later as she had a pair of majestic dragon wings, with brilliant green scales, attached to her back, making it hard for her to wear a normal chest piece, though she also had three fingers and a thumb that were almost claw-like, with scales on them and the backs of her hands, while he found that her feet ended in sharpened claws, much like a dragon's foot. In addition to all of that, and the scales on her legs, feet, and arms, he found that she had a pair of brown shorts on that had a hole in the back for a dragon tail to fit through, one that shared the color of her other additions, and he was sure she had a pair of small black horns growing out of her hair, as he spotted what might be the points in her neck length brown hair.

She also carried a weapon on her, as she carried a black iron looking sword that had two points and a round shield made of the same material, maybe an enhanced form of steel when he thought about it, so she was like Aiden, she preferred to stick to the sword and shield style, though as he took all of that in he found that the conversation had stopped, as both of them had noticed Grogar walking towards them.

"Ah, Grogar, it is good that you're awake, as I was about to send someone to wake you," Shepard said, a smile appearing on his face as he and his friend stood there for a few seconds, though his words informed Grogar that he had something he wanted to tell him, no doubt a new mission that was likely tied to the search for Zorah Magdaros, who he was sure had gone underground after hitting the New World, "Allow me to introduce Alexia, one of our Hunters that also doubles as our only line of communication with the Third Fleet Commander, who is stuck in another part of the New World with the rest of her fleet. Alexia, this is Grogar, who I just told you about."

"The monster whisperer, who can talk to monsters and learn more about them," the lady, Alexia, stated, where Grogar could tell that she was interested in him, mostly because he was rather unique when one thought about those who lived in this world, and she seemed rather friendly, without a hint of arrogance in her voice, before she noticed the figures who were behind him, "and this must be 'Jaya', the Jagras that you befriended... it's amazing to think that you are capable of such a thing."

"She helped me and Sherry when we first landed in the Ancient Forest, along with everything else Commander Shepard told you about," Grogar replied, as he had a feeling that everything that had been in his report, about the overpopulation of the Jagras and the fate of the Kestodon herd, had been told to her upon her arrival, though as he said that he noticed that Alexia's ears were pointed, making him consider something, "Forgive me for asking, but aren't you a Wyvarian?"

"You would be right, while also being partly wrong. I'm what's referred to as an 'Advanced Wyvarian'," Alexia said, where he got a feeling that anyone who knew about the Wyvarians asked her this same question whenever they encountered her for the first time, meaning she must have changed her story in some manner to make it easier for her to tell, though as she said that Alexia flexed her wings a little, like they were getting stiff and the slight movement would make sure they didn't lock up, "You've likely encountered some Wyvarians in your travels, people with digitigrade legs, four fingers instead of five, and pointed ears, though when they reach a certain age they start to shrink, like the Tech Chief for example, and there have been instances where certain members of my kind don't follow what's normal for us, as there was one of my kind that grew to an immense size. As you can see I'm different from the rest of my kind, because I'm not growing or even shrinking, rather my body is changing to become more like a monster's... by our estimates I probably have a year or so left before we figure out which one I'm becoming, though we've narrowed it down a bit thanks to the wings and tail, even if the scale color is throwing us off... of course there's a chance that we're all wrong and this is as far as the changes will go, but I'm not holding my breath."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Grogar said, as Alexia seemed like an interesting individual and he was sure that she didn't like the fact that her body was like this, that it was possible that her normal life might be over in the very near future, but he now knew there was a chance that she might remain in this state and he would have latched onto that hope if he was in her position, before he considered something, "I'm sure that you've heard about me, from the letter Erica sent some time ago, but that only scratches the surface... when we have time, and aren't chasing Zorah Magdaros, I'll answer any questions you and the others might have for me."

"Wingert and the others will hold you to that, just so you know." Shepard remarked, as the Researchers loved new things and right now Grogar was the newest thing for everyone that called Astera home, because his magic and skill were brand new, no one had seen anything like them, and he knew that the Researchers were pushing for time alone with Grogar, to ask questions, which he was vetoing for the time being, "Also, after considering the information your team brought to me yesterday, I've decided to send you and Sherry, along with Johnson, back into the Ancient Forest, as Alexia spotted a piece of Zorah Magdaros and I would like to confirm it's location before moving forward."

Grogar knew that Shepard trusted Alexia's report and that this was just standard protocol for the Commission, and even the stranger didn't seem upset by it, rather she turned her body so she could move over to an open area and took off, no doubt heading out for a mission she had been given before his arrival, though it was interesting watching her fly through the air as she left Astera. He had no idea that there were other varieties of Wyvarians out there, though speaking to her for a short period of time had expanded his knowledge on the subject, though once she was gone he bid Shepard farewell as he headed for the Canteen, where he spotted Sherry, Patches, and Jaya walking over to their table, having awaken after he got up and decided not to bother him while he talked to the Commander. Sure enough the food was already on the table as he reached the area that his partner and companions were sitting in, where he informed them that he had a chat with the Commander and, more importantly, that they had been given a new mission to tackle, a simple scouting mission that would be taking them back to the Ancient Forest. Sherry was surprised that they were already being sent out again, after a night of rest, but she guessed that the New World was less forgiving than the Old World and that everyone worked at all times, especially since they were trying to figure out why the Elder Crossing was happening in the first place, hence why all of them dug into their meal, to be ready for their mission.

Once they were done eating Johnson met them near the Barnos and they departed for the Ancient Forest once more, but this time around all of them were planning on departing from the camp and did so as soon as they arrived, finding that all of the other monsters seemed to be sleeping. That was good for them since it meant they didn't have to worry about the Anjanath, though as they walked Grogar made sure to have Sherry and Jaya keep their eyes open for the monster that had nearby ambushed them yesterday, while he and Johnson carefully made their way forward as Patches kept an eye out for any other monsters. Part of the area they ended up exploring were some of the tunnels that the Jagras used when he and Sherry first landed on the island, finding that one of them eventually lead to an area that seemed to be far wider than the others they had been in so far, but everyone kept their guards up as they made sure the area was safe, as no one wanted to run into that Anjanath. As the Scoutflies carefully scouted out the area, finding a few small puddles of water along the way, Grogar also noticed that there were a few tree trunks growing in this area as well, not that he was surprised, and he was sure that something could knock them down if they were hit hard enough, as they were hollow and seemed to be an area for someone to hid in, to get away from the monsters.

As Sherry discovered some green feathers on the ground Grogar noticed what they were looking for, a smouldering rock that was definitely from Zorah Magdaros, though before they could get close Johnson had them stop and he found a new monster walking out, a bird wyvern that resembled a chameleon and had eyes that resembled a frog's, with feathers that matched the trail they had found, and it had a long tongue.

"Of course a Pukei-Pukei would show up, and it's agitated about something," Johnson said, though he kept his voice low as they watched the monster for a few seconds, where it spat a glob of poison at the area around the fragment the walking volcano Elder Dragon left behind, confirming the story that they had heard from both of those Jagras they encountered the previous day, before he noticed Grogar step forward, "I know what you're thinking, and it's not a good idea to approach a monster when it's agitated... it might attack you, and you'll have to defend yourself."

"That might be so, but I'm going to try anyway." Grogar replied, as he had a feeling that the Pukei-Pukei was upset due to the molten fragment, either due to it resting on where it's nest was resting or it was blocking the way to where it's nest was located, and there was a chance that his power might be able to help him here, to calm it down so they could figure out what in the world had happened and what might be done to clear the area, "Hello there. Might I ask what's wrong?"

"My nest! The way to my nest is blocked!" the Pukei-Pukei stated, where she shook her feathers for a moment, where it was easy for Grogar to determine the gender while he spoke, showing him that the monster was annoyed by what was in front of her right now, before spitting another glob of poison at the fragment, which sizzled for a second before burning all of the poison away, "I was out getting some food, and when I came back this was here, blocking the way back to my nest! I'm trying to break it, but nothing is working!"

"Maybe we can help?" Grogar inquired, where the monster turned her head and spotted Johnson, Sherry, and the others, though she took a step back when she noticed Johnson's weapon, no doubt wondering if he was coming to come at her in the next few seconds, to which Grogar raised his hand in a calming manner as he lowered his staff, showing her that none of them meant her harm, and it worked, "Johnson, can you go back to Astera and get some of the Researchers out here to collect the sample?"

Johnson raised an eyebrow for a moment, once more reminding Grogar that he was dealing with people who usually used weapons to fight the monsters of this world, though he sighed and nodded his head as he turned around and departed for Astera, allowing Grogar and Sherry to stay near the Pukei-Pukei as both Patches and Jaya kept an eye out for the Anjanath that was in the Ancient Forest. Once their supervisor was gone Grogar turned towards the feathered monster and told her that they weren't here to cause her harm, rather they had come looking for one of these fragments and were planning on moving it back to their base, allowing them to explore another part of the forest as they tracked down the monster that it came from. The Pukei-Pukei tilted her head for a moment, surprised that both of them came to the same area at roughly the same time, but she sat off to the side and waited for the Researchers to come out, though it was easy for them to see that she was still annoyed about something, where Grogar found out that it was her mate, who happened to be constantly challenging the Anjanath and was missing, that was annoying her. Such a thing meant that the other Pukei-Pukei might have run into trouble after leaving the nest yesterday, according to her information, and could be anywhere in the Ancient Forest, wounded from facing off against the monster in question, so it wasn't annoyance she was feeling right now, rather it was worry.

Grogar thought about it and wondered if they could get a message to Alexia, to have her scout out the forest and see if it was possible to track down the missing Pukei-Pukei, as there were cuts on his legs from the Anjanath's teeth, though as he did that Johnson and a trio of Researchers came up the way with a large wooden cart, though when they stopped he raised a hand to stop them... where he levitated the fragment with his magic and placed it on their cart, even if it was heavy and he had to be careful with it.

"Well, it seems that you made a friend," Johnson commented, where he watched as the Pukei-Pukei, who seemed happy, tapped Grogar's back with her head before wandering down the path that had been opened, heading for her nest based on what he told him when she was out of range, though there was something else for them to talk about, "While I was in Astera the Commander told me that we should also look into rebuilding one of our camps, as we built several over the years and most of them, save for the first one you found, were destroyed, so we'll need to find a new location to build it in, as it will aid us in researching the rest of the Ancient Forest."

"Understood. It'll be nice to have another camp, deeper in the forest, so we won't have to worry about running into that Anjanath, for some time anyway," Grogar replied, though he waited for a few moments, just to make sure the Pukei-Pukei was gone and the Researchers departed with the fragment that would aid their efforts to understand Zorah Magdaros and understand him, and once he was sure they were fine the group got moving.

While they walked Johnson told him that when a Hunter went out, without a mission or quest, it was considered more of an expedition, allowing them to explore as much as they want, even though most of them only stayed out for most of the day they departed and returned before nigh fell. Grogar was to learn more about how things operated, as he was sure he would go out on my expeditions when he wasn't being sent out on missions, especially since there were other monsters out there and he didn't know a lot about them and the places that they called home. Such a thing would allow him to aid the Commission in better understanding this part of the world, and as he followed Johnson he discovered a doodle resting on a large stone they passed by, to which he paused and made a few notes on it, just in case he and Patches discovered whatever tribe or monster made them. A few moments later Johnson revealed that the way to get to the campsite, or the closest one to their position, was to climb up a vine covered tree trunk and Grogar followed after him, with Patches and Jaya doing the same thing so they could see what they were working with, before they reached the top and found an old camp waiting for them.

In addition to that there was another monster hanging out in it, a bird wyvern that resembled a dodo since it didn't have feathers, save for a few orange and yellow ones on top of it's head, and it had light brown scales on it, though right now it was using it's beak to pull out a vase that had been buried at one point in the past, though once it had it's treasure in it's hands it turned and found them standing nearby.

"Calm. We mean you no harm." Grogar said, trying the same method that had allowed him to speak to the Pukei-Pukei, all while Johnson informed them that this was a Kulu-Ya-Ku, which usually lived in the Wildspire Waste and that meant it must have wandered into the Ancient Forest on accident, where he found that the monster was rather calm, possible docile, as it wasn't scared of him or frightened by Johnson's weapon, "What are you doing out here, in the Ancient Forest?"

"Stones... looking for new stones," the Kulu-Ya-Ku replied, where he held up the pot that he was holding in his front limbs, as while he was a bird wyvern he didn't have wings like the Pukei-Pukei, so his front limbs were arms and hands, for a few seconds before tilting his head and set the pot down, like he was disappointed in it, "Stone not good, too soft. Need better stone."

"How about this? We'll help you find a 'better stone' and then escort you to your home," Grogar inquired, as he knew that there had to be a gate somewhere in the forest that connected to the wasteland, allowing people to travel from one to the other without having to return to Astera, and since the Kulu-Ya-Ku was supposed to make his home in that area this would allow him to get the stone he wanted before heading home.

Sure enough the Kulu-Ya-Ku agreed to the idea and Johnson just sighed, as if he couldn't believe that they were doing this, though he followed after Grogar and his newest friend as they headed for the beach, as there were some good boulders in that area, where they should be able to locate a stone for the bird. As they did that Jaya and Patches kept an eye out, as he wanted to make sure that the Anjanath didn't surprise them again, while Sherry, who had been silent and observed him work with the monsters, joined Grogar in studying the stones on the beach, which brought an excited look to the Kulu-Ya-Ku's face, or at least he assumed that was the case. It wasn't long before the monster yanked a stone out of the ground, a somewhat smooth grey boulder which happened to be the same size as the pot that the Kulu-Ya-Ku had found earlier, and with it in hand the monster told Grogar that he was happy and that it was time to head home, to which they left the beach and headed for the gate that rested between the Ancient Forest and the Wildspire Waste. During their trek, however, they had to stop and hide as the Anjanath emerged once more, no doubt looking for food or threats to it's territory, though no harm came to them as Grogar ground that his companions and the Kulu-Ya-Ku kept silent as it passed by where they had decided to hide, only moving once it was totally gone.

Eventually they reached the gate between regions, where Grogar found that it changed into a desert area in no time, but he and the others stopped as the Kulu-Ya-Ku thanked them before heading home, causing him to smile for a while as he wondered what the future might hold for him, Sherry, and the rest of the Commission.

Best Kind of Quest

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While Johnson and Sherry set up the new camp, now that they didn't have to worry about a Kulu-Ya-Ku bothering them, Grogar, Patches, and Jaya were apparently free to explore more of the Ancient Forest, so that was what he spent his day doing, something that allowed him to fill out his map of this region. He got a good idea of where the various monsters had built their nests, as he had seen the Pukei-Pukei's after helping her out, the couple of Great Jagras were hidden in a way to make sure none of their enemies could get into their caves, he steered clear of the Anjanath, which seemed to be more like a wanderer, and he was able to see the red scaled Rathalos flying up in the sky. It was an amazing sight, seeing the flying wyvern in his domain, where he assumed the monster had build his nest up in the tops of the giant tree that happened to be the center of the Ancient Forest, even though he steered clear and remained out of sight, since the Rathalos was also a territorial monster and he didn't want to upset him. He also kept an eye out for the other monster that lived in the forest, the Tobi-Kadachi, but based on what he discovered it must have been avoiding conflict, as he didn't find a monster that matched what the pair of Jagras had told him when he first returned to the forest, even though he figured that he would find it in due time.

One of the other things he discovered was a number of feline doodles that matched the first one he had found and had the Scoutflies memorize them, something that allowed him to track down a light brown furred cat, one who was suited for living in a forest and wielded a spear of some kind, that also had a white tuft of fur around it's neck. The Felyne, or whatever the New World version of them might be called since they were different from Patches, turned and fled as soon as it spotted the trio, where he found that some of the vines could be used to swing from place to place and even ascend to new locations, to which he smiled before following the newcomer. What he found was that the Felyne was heading into the highest point of the massive tree, taking a route to make sure no one could follow it and Grogar was only able to do so because of the fact that he had the Scoutflies with him, eventually allowing him to reach what seemed to be an entrance into a hidden camp. Sure enough it brought them to a Felyne camp, where Patches stepped up and started talking to the newcomer, who revealed that they were called the 'Bugtrappers' and were surprised to find that Grogar didn't mean any of them harm, rather he wanted to learn more about them and even call them allies, possibly friends, at the end of the day, causing Trap Whiz, the Felyne in question, to hand over a device as proof of their bond.

What it was, as Grogar discovered, was a device that would allow Patches to deploy a flash trap, to blind enemies while a fight was going on, something he accepted before wishing the Bugtrappers well, all while hoping to work with them in the future, though once that was done he carefully headed back down the path and returned to the camp. When Grogar and Patches reached their destination they found Jaya sitting near Sherry, who had set up a fire and a new tent for them, but they knew that Jaya had stayed behind after realizing that the Felyne was using the swinging vines, something she couldn't use at all, hence why she let them go ahead and returned to Sherry's side. Once everyone was back together Grogar told them about everything he had found since they escorted the Kulu-Ya-Ku back to the Wildspire Waste, mentioning the new clan of Felyne and that there was a bunch of stuff he was going to have to share with the Researchers back in Astera, while finding that Johnson had returned ahead of them, figuring that they didn't need his help anymore. He even told her about the new gadget that Trap Whiz had given Patches, the Flashfly Cage to be exact, which made him wonder if each region of the New World had a clan of Felyne for them to discover and learn about, meaning each one would have their own gadget to collect and learn about, which brought a smile to his face.

Once he told her everything, however, Grogar found that it was getting dark and figured it was time to return to Astera, to which they turned to the Barnos and used them to return to their main base for the night, as he needed to track down the Commander and tell him what had happened since they departed, before checking with the Researchers and giving them his notes for their studies.

Sure enough he found Commander Shepard standing at the table he usually worked at, where it was easy for Grogar to give him his report on what happened in the Ancient Forest, though his Commander also gave him a warning, that there would be times where talking wouldn't work and that he would be forced to fight. Grogar understood that fact rather well, it was why he wanted to use his new power first and not rush blindly into battle, like how the other Hunters might do in his position, and he knew that the Anjanath would definitely be something he would have to fight, if he needed to do so, but other than that there wasn't much else for them to talk about. After that he made his way over to the Researchers, who were talking about the fragment that was near the gate of Astera, before handing them his notes on what he had seen and learned, as he knew they would be interested in it, before wishing them a good night as he headed up to the Canteen for a bit of dinner. Of course he wasn't too surprised to find that Sherry had gotten a seat and ordered for them, to which he smiled as he joined the others once more, finding that he could get used to this life, not to mention the mystery that they were here to solve, as he dug into some of the delicious food that the Meowscular Chef prepared.

After the meal, and a bit of rest to let their stomachs settle, Grogar and the others returned to their quarters and turned in for the night, as there was no telling what Commander Shepard would assign them in the morning and that meant they needed to be well prepared for whatever task he might throw at them.

When morning arrived, and Grogar and Sherry were sitting at the table, neither of them were surprised to find that they were being called to speak to the Commander, to which they finished off the rest of their meal before heading down to see what sort of mission he had for them this time around, especially since Grogar had made it possible to recover a piece of Zorah Madgaros the previous day.

"Ah, Grogar, Sherry, I have a new mission for you two to tackle," Shepard said, speaking as soon as the pair came to a stop on the other side of the table that he worked from, where Grogar found that there was a map of the New World resting on the table, along with a few other pieces of paper that allowed the Commander to do his job, "As you no doubt know, we're hot on the trail of Zorah Magdaros and the piece of evidence you collected yesterday has allowed us to understand more about him, at least the Researchers seem to be sure of that and will no doubt be handing over their findings to you in the next few hours... however, that isn't why I called for you two. I called you both here because we've received a report of a second fragment resting in the Wildspire Waste, and several Scholars are getting ready to leave so they can recover it, just like what you did yesterday, so I want the two of you, along with Patches and Jaya, to escort and protect them while they recover this new fragment."

"We'll make sure that they get there safely." Grogar replied, while at the same time Sherry nodded her head to show that she agreed with his comment, though he did find it rather interesting that they had found a second fragment so soon, on the day following when he helped recover the first one, but he wasn't about to let the Commander down.

Shepard didn't have anything else to say after that, so Grogar and Sherry got ready as Patches and Jaya headed over to the area that the Scholars were gathering in, three of the smaller Wyverians, the final state of one who wasn't altered in some manner, like Grogar assumed had happened to Alexia. One thing they discovered was that their group was going to have to carefully make their way through the Ancient Forest and reach the gate between areas, telling Grogar that there was a chance that they might run into that Anjanath at some point, if they were unlucky anyway, but this time he knew that his magic would come in handy if such a thing happened. After reaching that point the Scholars would point out the path that they had to take to reach the second fragment, which would increase their understanding of Zorah Magdaros, though he was fine with that, as they had spent more time on this continent than he had and he trusted their judgement on where to go, so he was going to focus on guarding them. All his preparations were basically making sure all three of the Scholars had what they needed to do their job, while Sherry's seemed to be making sure they had some food for this trip, since they had no idea how long they were going to be gone, but she made sure not to get anything from the Canteen, cooked to be exact, since the smell might attract the monsters to their location.

Once they were done, and both Grogar and Sherry were sure that they were, Johnson opened the gate and they left Astera with all the haste they could muster, heading out into the Ancient Forest once more as they kept their eyes peeled for the Anjanath, though for right now they were able to head down the path without attracting attention.

Based on what they discovered most of the monsters seemed to be resting while they walked through the Ancient Forest, or at least most of them were since Grogar heard the roar of the Anjanath and noticed a flume of fire that had to be from the Rathalos, meaning the two monsters he had been thinking about were somewhere else. It allowed them to reach the gate between regions with ease, where they passed from the lush forest and walked into the Wildspire Waste, a region that was basically a large desert with dunes, unexpected swamps, and not a lot of vegetation, according to the Scholars as they entered the place. There was a small fragment of the Wildspire that was like a forest, where it was said that a Rathian, the female counterpart to Rathalos, lived, so this area was diverse and told Grogar that there was much he could learn if he stopped and took the time to study the monsters that called this place home. Off in the distance there was a massive and long line of earth that seemed to be spiked in some manner, cutting them off from everything else that happened to be in the New World, meaning they would either have to find a way through it or maybe Zorah Magdaros would smash his way through it for them, before he shelved the thought as they entered the new region.

"We've waited a long time to get our hands on any sort of evidence that might be related to the Elder Crossing and all of the Elder Dragons we've seen," one of the Scholars said, who spoke in a jovial tone, like he was very cheerful and friendly, while at the same time he and his fellows pushed the cart as Sherry helped them out, leaving Grogar, Patches, and Jaya to walk beside them, guardians keeping their eyes out for potential hazards, "and we're incredibly lucky that two pieces of information have been left behind for us to study. Don't let the monsters harm us, alright?"

"Don't worry, I'll make sure we get to the fragment in no time." Grogar promised, as that was the truth of the matter, all of his spells and abilities would make sure they reached the area that the fragment had been left in, without being attacked by any of the monsters that were in this area, hence why his focus was on the surrounding area as he made notes on what they passed, adding to his map as well.

As one of the other Scholars mentioned that they hadn't slept last night, due to being overly excited by the piece that was in this region, Grogar found some little critters that looked like rabbits with slightly longer bodies and no fur, rather they were suited for living in a desert, though he made a note of them as he followed the Scholars. The path they were walking along right now seemed to head around a curve, since there was no easy path to what seemed to be the lower section of the Wildspire Waste, and off to their left was one of the ways into the forest area, which it looked like they were going to pass through before reaching the fragment. Grogar was still amazed that the New World could be divided like this, into a number of unique and interesting ecosystems that were different from each other, as the Wildspire Waste was different from the Ancient Forest, and that meant that all of the monsters would be different as well, or for the most part since they hadn't seen anything else since entering this area. Sherry, of course, asked a few questions as they walked, which caused the Scholars to take turns answering them, while Grogar listened and studied the surrounding area that they happened to be passing through, before eventually reaching an area that gave them a good view of this place, where Sherry joined him and the others for a time, taking in the sights as the Scholars headed down another path.

A few moments later, however, Grogar nearly froze as he joined the Scholars and discovered what was currently resting in the forest area, as there was a Rathian, a green scaled version of a Rathalos that was slightly smaller than the male one, walking around this area, to which they carefully moved forward, going at a much slower pace so she didn't see them and attack, since they were in her territory. For a few moments it seemed like his plan worked like a charm, the Rathian had no idea that he and the Scholars were even in the area, though he didn't have much time to mentally celebrate their safety, as she started to notice that something was intruding on her territory and glanced in their direction. He quickly realized that they weren't her target, even though they were in clear view of where she was currently positioned, rather her target was none other than his own partner, as Sherry was returning to their side so they could reach the fragment they were after, all while making little to no noise as she did that, but yet the Rathian sensed her coming. It reminded him of what he had seen back on the ship, all of the monster parts, and wondered if she might be part monster in some way, like a Wyverian, but for now he had to move, as the Rathian was gathering flames as she targeted Sherry, who was only now realizing what was going on in this area.

Sure enough the Raithian launched a large fireball at Sherry, intending on wiping her out and getting rid of her, and in that very moment Grogar teleported back up to where she was standing, where he gathered his magic for a moment before he called up a shimmering bit of magic that looked like a mirror, stalling the fireball before it hit his partner, who was stunned by what she was seeing.

"Sherry, join the Scholars and get out of here... and make sure Patches and Jaya join you." Grogar said, where he used his power to make sure the fireball was totally stopped, something he was able to determine rather easily from the area that he was standing in, before he found that Sherry was nodding her head to show that she understood his order, though he let a small smile appear on his face, "I'll be sure to distract this Rathian and make sure she doesn't follow us... once that's done I'll rejoin you guys so we can continue our mission."

Not a few moments later Sherry rushed over to where the Scholars were positioned and got them moving once more, but while she did that, and both Patches and Jaya understood that they should stay out of this, Grogar moved his hands a little and repelled the fireball, sending it back towards the Rathian. Sure enough she dodged her reflected attack, which rushed into the air and disappeared without doing any damage to anything else, though as he expected she continued her attack, focusing on him as she loosed more fireballs down at him, to which Grogar picked which ones to use magic on and which ones to totally avoid. His plan was simple, he was going to distract the Rathian with her own attacks and, once he was sure that Sherry and the others were safe and sound, some of his magic would be put towards disappearing so he could leave and make sure nothing followed them, even though he knew that simple plans could fall apart with ease. When the next volley of fireballs came, however, Grogar smiled as he mixed his magic into them, so when he repelled them it looked like he tripled the attack with his own fireballs, even though it was merely an illusion and it seemed like the Rathian was caught off guard by what he was doing.

With the sky covered in fireballs, preventing her from seeing him, Grogar used his invisibility spell and disappeared, where he headed for the path that Sherry and the others had gone down earlier, though he paused for a few seconds and made sure that the Rathian departed before returning to his companions, who he found a fair bit away from the forest area, just like he intended.

"Fascinating. When this is done, we must discuss your powers and where you came from." one of the Scholars said, where Grogar wasn't even surprised by that fact, as the Commission was interested in him and that had fueled Shepard's earlier decision to make him a Hunter, even though he would have gotten some information on him regardless of his position in Astera and the Fifth Fleet.

Grogar nodded his head a little as he paused, as he wanted to make sure that he wasn't exhausted before heading deeper into the Wildspire Waste, though he found that he hadn't burned through a lot of his energy, despite the spells he had just used, meaning that coming to this world must have boosted his power, so they were able to move forward, only to find a trio of new monsters coming towards them.

"Oh, Apceros." Sherry remarked, seeing the quadrupedal monsters coming towards them, which reminded Grogar of the Aptonoths they had seen in the Ancient Forest, though these had a hardened shell on their backs, no doubt for protection, and their tails ended in a circular ball with spikes on it, like a mace.

"Yes, there an herbivore that's native to this region... though it appears that they're taking up a defensive position," one of the Scholars replied, as the Apceros were positioning themselves in a circular manner, using their shells to protect them while also raising their tails like they might be expecting a monster to attack them at some point.

Grogar approached the Apceros for a moment and raised his hand, showing them that he meant them no harm, and was able to learn that there was something dangerous in the next part of the Wildspire Waste, some sort of monster that they claimed was below the sands and that this was their best course of action. It wasn't what he was hoping to hear, but it was information that he and the others needed to know if they were going to recover the fragment that had been left in what had to be the furthest point from Astera, so he rejoined the others as they continued to move forward. A few moments later they entered the area that the fragment was in, as it was hard to miss the piece that had fallen off of Zorah Magdaros earlier, to which he made sure Sherry and the Scholars approached it, that way once the cart was in position he could use his magic and move the process along without having to worry about being caught by whatever the Apceros had warned them about. As he approached the fragment, however, the Scoutflies came out and danced around it with their blue light, which seemed to be linked to Elder Dragons while green was for everything else, save for red, which meant danger was on it's way or was upon the Hunter they were assigned to, though as Sherry joined him they heard something break nearby, all while the Scoutflies turned red and disappeared.

The cause of the event was a large bipedal monster that seemed to be covered in hard ridges, no doubt to protect it from any of the other monsters in the Wildspire and the harsh conditions that were around them, though it also had a crown of some kind on top of it's head and some rather sharp looking teeth. The Scholars were surprised by the arrival of the new monster, a Barroth as they called it, to which Grogar beckoned with his head and Sherry nodded, as there would be time for them to get the fragment once he was sure the monster was subdued, in his unique manner. As such she moved the Scholars out of the area, in case a fight broke out, though he found that the Barroth was staring right at them and seemed like it wanted to take them down, as it roared a little before moving towards where Grogar and the others were standing, or at least that was what it looked like to anyone else. The reality of the situation was different, as he could see that he and his companions, as in Patches and Jaya, weren't the ones that the Barroth was interested in taking out, rather it was eying Sherry as she lead the Scholars to a safe area, that way they were out of the way, though it confirmed something for him as he readied himself, Sherry seemed to be a monster magnet.

In that moment he ducked to the side, to avoid the charge that was coming his way, before finding that his assumptions were right, the Barroth was interested in Sherry, to which he formed a somewhat foolish idea and rushed forward, where he threw himself at the sand in a way that would allow him to slide and get ahead of the monster, allowing him to loose his magic in a flash of light, blinding the Barroth for a moment and caused it to crash into another pillar.

The 'Solar Flare' spell was designed to blind foes so one could either escape or position themselves while their foes were unable to see them, though the Barroth didn't seem to care as it regained itself and roared as Grogar found himself as the new target that it wanted to take down. Grogar found that the monster was rather powerful, due to the fact that it crushed another stone pillar as he quickly moved around the area, smashing it to pieces with a simple headbash, meaning that he wanted to avoid being struck by the Barroth's crown, or it's tail and the sides of it's body for that matter. Patches and Jaya dodged the attacks as well, which was smart since he had a feeling that a single attack would seriously hurt one of them and he was worried that the other would be crushed with no hope of survival, though as they dodged the attacks Grogar also discovered something interesting, his foe could wield mud. What he meant by that was that the Barroth was able to swing it's tail and loose bursts of mud at whatever it was targeting, creating an area designed to slow down foes if they got hit by it or walked into it, though it looked like the Barroth might be able to coat itself in mud as well, an extra layer to keep itself safe from harm.

Grogar was even surprised when he found that the triple barrier he called up, to stall the Barroth, was smashed by one of it's charges, meaning his power was either weaker than he thought or the monster was far stronger than he thought, but in that moment something interesting happened, the sunken sandy area burst open as another monster appeared, one that had a pair of dangerous looking horns. Fortunately he wasn't caught in the middle of the attack, rather the Barroth had been on the area in question and something triggered the sequence, where he was able to see a sandy brown colored wyvern, like a Rathalos that was more heavily armored, had a pair of bull like horns, and a club on it's tail to knock enemies away from it. The newcomer lifted the Barroth into the air and slammed in into the ground it had emerged from, breaking through whatever layer of earth remained and sent them both deep underground, though Grogar held a hand out to stop his companions from rushing over to him, just to be sure that the monster didn't emerge again, as while the Barroth was a dangerous foe he was sure the bull horned monster was even more dangerous. When he was sure that he and the others were in the clear, as he waited for a few moments to be sure that nothing happened, Grogar got up and walked over to the area that Patches and Jaya were standing in, where they regrouped and headed for the fragment of Zorah Magdaros, as it was in sight of Sherry and the others.

When they reached the fragment, however, Grogar found a person standing near the piece in question, who had a Slinger attached to his left arm, what appeared to be one of the Insect Glaives he had read about, one that had a flag baring the emblem of the First Fleet attached to it, and he was wearing some gear that meant he was a traveler, with a hood over his head, though Grogar could tell he was a Wyverian, due to his hands and legs.

"Are you part of the Fifth Fleet, stranger?" the traveler asked, confirming that it was a male speaker, based on what Grogar heard as he turned his full focus on the figure in question, though he could tell that the figure was studying him as well, as he was unique among the people of this world and everyone had to stop when they laid eyes on him.

"That I am. You're part of the First Fleet, right?" Grogar inquired in turn, all while Patches and Jaya faced the Wyverian for a few seconds, where he found that the stranger was interested in who he was and why he had a small monster with him, all while he was interested in who this person might be, since Commander Shepard hadn't mentioned him.

"Yes, though I have not been back to Astera in some time... the fact that there's a Fifth Fleet means that the Elder Crossing is upon us once more," the traveler said, something that interested Grogar, since he was sure that whatever he learned he could bring back to Astera and tell Commander Shepard, since it looked like he might have stumbled on one of his old and dear friends, before he glanced at Grogar as he pulled back his hood, revealing that his hair was black and braided, while his eyes looked focused and wise, "the years fly by faster than I can count them. Might I ask that you share your tale with me?"

Grogar nodded as the traveler informed him that they would be heading to his camp, to which he told Jaya to follow them to it and then, once they knew where it was, to head back to Sherry so she could lead them back to it, once they recovered the fragment that was near them. With the task received Jaya followed after them as they headed for an area that was very close to the gate between the Wildspire Waste and the Ancient Forest, one that was well hidden and required knowledge of the area to figure out where the hidden slope was that brought them to it, though given everything that was nearby he knew that the monsters wouldn't be able to find it. Once they came to a stop at the camp, as there was a tent and an area for a campfire, Jaya turned around and rushed out to find Sherry, though once that was done Grogar and the traveler took their seats as Patches set up some drinks for them, that way they wouldn't have sore throats while they talked, where he learned that his new friend was called Anzix, and he was the Seeker of the First Fleet. After that Grogar answered each and every question the figure had for him, as he was interested in who and what he was, since this was the first time the figure had seen someone like him, before eventually moving into the Elder Crossing and the fact that they were following a beast called Zorah Magdaros.

By the time Grogar ended his tale he was sure that they had been there for an hour or two, and Anzix made sure to pour some tea for them to drink, thanking Patches for helping them out, though he could tell that the Seeker was interested in him and less concerned by the existence of a new fleet.

"You are an interesting fellow, Grogar... you might be the key to figuring out this mystery," Anzix commented, though as he said that he glanced at the container that held a small piece of Zorah inside it, as Grogar had taken a small bit for himself, before leaving the fragment behind, which he handed back to Grogar after seeing what was inside it, "It seems so easy, just follow the trail and find the truth... but I have spent a long time following the trail, never getting closer to the truth of the Elder Crossing. After hearing about your powers, and seeing your ability to speak with the monsters that we share this world with, I'm convinced that we might be able to figure this out."

"That is my hope as well." Grogar said, because he had a feeling that the mystery of the Elder Crossing would be revealed at some point during his time in the New World, as his powers seemed to be the key, as Anzix had said, though he had no idea how to go about figuring things out, hence why he was focused on Zorah Magdaros.

"Well, I had best get going," Anzix stated, where he set his cup down before standing up, meaning there was stuff that he had to check and double check now that a new piece was on the board, while grabbing his weapon as well, before taking a moment to glance at Grogar as his new friend stood up as well, "however, I would ask that you pass on a message to the Commander. Tell Shepard that I am safe and that I will return in due time, but some force compels me to take this journey and I intend on seeing where it takes me."

Grogar nodded his head for a moment, allowing Anzix to depart from the camp as Sherry and the Scholars arrived, though he made sure they rested for a while before they made their way back to Astera, though he had a feeling that this would surprise Shepard once they returned and made him wonder what would happen once they got back.

Swamp Surprise

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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.

Recovery

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For a time there seemed to be nothing, just Grogar floating in a sense of unconsciousness, though after some time he found out something interesting, he seemed to be alive, where he weakly opened his eyes, to the best of his ability anyway, and saw that he seemed to be somewhere in Astera, since he saw what he assumed was the dock area outside. His body was in pain, which was understandable since he had been in a fight with Nergigante, though it wasn't as incredible as he thought, rather he felt like he had been partly crushed, by an Anjanath when he considered everything, though the fact that he was able to think was a good sign. Of course his vision was still weak, which was understandable given everything he had been through, though as he forced himself to focus he discovered something else, he was resting on a bed in what he assumed was the infirmary of Astera, where he could faintly see some Felynes tending to him before departing from the area. The other thing that he found was that he seemed to have some company, where he thought he could see Sherry sitting in a chair off to his right, leaving Patches and Jaya who had to be somewhere else in the ship city.

Of course he dipped in and out of consciousness, which he understood given everything he had been through, but as time went by Grogar was sure of one thing, he was recovering from his fight with the Elder Dragon that had attacked him, which he was happy to see, especially since his senses were coming back to him.

As time went by Grogar found that his sight and other senses were returning to him, where he was able to see more of the surrounding area and confirmed that Sherry was definitely sitting nearby, though he knew that she must have been totally terrified for his survival. His Handler didn't look like she had slept since they went to the Wildspire Waste, rather she was focused on making sure he healed and got his strength back, even though such a thing weakened her and made her more drowsy than he felt, though as he drifted in and out he noticed something, she was keeping an eye on those who entered and those who left. The reasoning was made clear moments later, it seemed the stress of his survival lead to her being unable to control her body, as in there were times where he was sure he saw her tail, or the claws, or maybe the horns in her hair, or even scales on her arms and legs, though when someone approached the room she forced herself to return to normal, expanding energy unnecessarily. He would have chuckled as he witnessed that happen, since it was cute that she was so worried about him that she would almost let someone else in on her secret, maybe even meaning she trusted him with the secret that she was keeping from everyone else, though for now he continued to rest and recover.

After another undetermined amount of time, however, Grogar found out something else that surprised him, he was able to open his eyes and move his body like he had recovered from his near death experience, which he attributed to the Vigorwasp spray that Patches used, causing him to sit up at one point.

"Gr... Grogar?" Sherry asked, seeing him sit up for the first time since he had been brought to Astera, even though this was the first time she had seen something, anything really, that suggested that he had survived his encounter with the large and imposing figure that was Nergigante, before she smiled as she rushed over to the walkway that was outside the room he had been set in, "Commander! Everyone! Grogar's awake!"

Grogar chuckled for a moment as he pulled himself off the bed he had been resting on, finding that his strength was just fine and that the pain had disappeared, though he also discovered several scars on his bare chest, where Nergigante had cut him with his sharp claws, which had healed quite well and assumed it was the Vigorwasps spray. He stood up, giving him a chance to test the strength of his hooves for a time, finding that he seemed to be at full strength, reminding him of the fact that the Vigorwasp nectar was designed to fully heal someone, and it did so rather well based on what he could see right now. In addition to that he determined something else out, his magical power seemed to be far stronger as well, making him wonder if being displaced boosted one's power and that this near death experience had unlocked some of the power that was locked deep within his body, though if it had been he knew he wasn't going to do something like that, as he wanted to live and that meant training himself to survive hits like that. In that moment he understood what needed to happen, he had to get used to fighting and incorporate his own style into the weapon arts of the Hunters, something he was going to need help with at some point in time, before he headed out into the field, causing him to focus on Sherry as he stopped near the end of the walkway.

In that moment he decided to try something and summoned his magic around him as he stepped onto the edge of the walkway, where Sherry freaked out as he stepped forward and started to fall, or at least he would have if his magic had failed him in that important moment, because he was now levitating in place and he smiled, to which he extended a hand and Sherry grabbed onto it before he floated down to where Shepard was standing.

"Our newest Hunter survives his encounter with Nergigante and shows off his magical might," Shepard remarked, though it was easy for Grogar to tell that he was relieved, as the Commander had been worried for his safety after sending him into an area that Nergigante had been sighted in not that long ago, before he let out a light chuckle, showing that he was joking about the 'showing off' part, "but in all seriousness, it is good to see that you are alright. We've heard the reports on what happened, from Sherry, Patches, and the Scholar you rescued, but I'd like to hear what happened from your point of view... though I insist that you sit down while making your report, just until we're sure that you're fine."

Grogar could have disputed the command, given that he had been spent who knew how long sleeping in the infirmary, but he nodded his head and took a seat that was offered to him, though as he did that he found someone wearing armor that carried one of the long swords into battle, baring the flag of the First Fleet, meaning he was strong. In addition to that he found that Alexia was standing nearby as well, no doubt interested in the fact that someone had fought Nergigante and survived, a newcomer to be exact, and there were a few others as well, all eager to hear his side of the tale. Once he was ready he told them exactly what happened upon their arrival in the Wildspire Waste, informing them about how they had discovered the trail of the Scholar who had gone missing, the spikes that he had found and collected, which the medics had passed onto the Researchers, and them discovering both the Scholar and the Jyuratodus. From there he went into the battle that unfolded after they were caught off guard by Nergigante's sudden arrival, how it trashed the poor Jyuratodus, to the point where it died from it's wounds, and the terrifying and powerful move that smashed through the barriers he had set up to protect himself from harm.

Eventually he got to the end of his tale, his supposed death when he felt the sheer power of Nergigante's move, and how he was sure that there was another dragon in the area, a wyvern that Sherry and the others might have heard around the same time, not to mention his surprise when he discovered that he was still alive. With his side done Shepard told him about the other side of the story, where Sherry and the others at the scene claimed that another Elder Dragon, one that none could identify with all of the short glances they got of it, who chased off Nergigante and recovered him. Grogar, upon hearing that piece of information, raised an eyebrow as he tore into some of the food that the Meowscular Chef had made for him, to get his strength and energy back at a much faster pace, as he was surprised to find that an Elder Dragon would go out of it's way to save someone it didn't know, even put itself at risk by delivering him to Astera. Such a thing told him that he must have imagined seeing Sherry before he passed out, why he had no idea, though he was more interested in the existence of an Elder Dragon that might be friendly towards him and the other Hunters, since it might help them with their mission and even counter Nergigante, if the latter showed up again, and he had a feeling it would.

As he thought about that, and noticed that Sherry was fidgeting while they talked, Grogar knew that there was no way he was going to survive in this world if he kept being passive, as there were monsters out there who were aggressive, such as the Anjanath, and that he needed to adapt as well, otherwise he wasn't going to survive his stay in this world.

"How long was I out?" Grogar asked, because while it seemed like next to no time had passed, that it was still the same day he had gone out to find the missing Scholar, the time he had spent in the infirmary told him otherwise, that it should have been more like a few days, even though it didn't appear that anyone had made progress in tracking down Zorah Magdaros or the path he left behind.

"You were out for one whole day... I know, we're just as surprised as you are," Shepard replied, as he could see the brief confusion that crossed Grogar's face when he said the first part, hence why the second part came out, before he glanced down at the table and the reports that were on it, "We're still looking for Zorah Magdaros, but it's like the Elder Dragon just vanished without a trace, so you didn't miss anything too important."

"I see. I'm also aware that I need to start training in the art of the other weapons," Grogar said, something that caused the majority of the people to glance at him, no doubt assuming that he would have stayed true to his staff and pacifist style, or at least that was what they would have seen of him since his arrival in the New World, to which he gestured to the scars on his chest, four painful lines that would serve as a constant reminder, "I knew things weren't going to be simple, given that the New World is constantly testing everyone, but Nergigante showed me that I can't keep playing the pacifist, not if I want to be of assistance in figuring out the Elder Crossing... so, I'm going to resume my training and add the Hunter Weapons to that list."

"Well, if you're going to do that, then you'll need some trainers to show you the ropes," Alexia replied, where she tapped her sword and shield for a moment, reminding them that she was a capable fighter, even if Grogar hadn't seen her fight in the time he had been in Astera, or the New World for that matter, and he could see that she seemed to be smiling, like she enjoyed the idea of having someone new to beat up, "I can handle the sword and shield, though you'll need to find more to learn how to wield the other weapons... its a shame that we lost Scarlet twenty years ago, as she was one of the best dual blade users in her generation."

"Scarlet was a Hunter of the Third Fleet... yes, they had Hunters, just not many since they were mostly Researchers, and we've gotten reports that all of them have fallen in action," Shepard commented, informing Grogar that there was a place out there, in the vastness of the New World, that the Third Fleet was currently trapped in, preventing them from leaving, and he knew that the only reason they knew what had happened to that fleet was due to Alexia, who must have flown all over the continent before finding them, "Grogar, I understand your desire to solve the Elder Crossing, but for now you should leave that to us and focus on recovering from your ordeal... we'll tell you when we find something interesting."

Grogar understood the silent command that hadn't been said, Shepard wanted him to be fully rested before he attempted to do anything, though given that he felt fine, and his body seemed to be in pristine condition, he decided to tackle Alexia's training in the art of the sword and shield. The first thing he did was check out his Hunter attire, which had claw marks due to his encounter with Nergigante, before checking out the weapon cache that had been offered to him when he first came to Astera, all of the beginner gear that he had ignored, choosing to favor his staff. Such a thing made him ask Sherry about his weapon, where she told him that it had been lost in the Wildspire Waste, during his encounter with Nergigante, where he sighed and thanked her anyway, since it answered his question, even if he wished that the weapon had survived in the end, just so he could retire it on his own terms. With that in mind he reached into the cache and pulled out the first of the fourteen weapons he would be learning to use in due time, where Grogar found that the blade and shield looked more like heavily beaten slabs of metal that had been refined into their current forms, to which he said nothing as he placed them in the positions he had seen Alexia carry them in.

With that done he put on a new shirt and chest piece, since he had a spare and the other would be taken in to be mended by the blacksmiths that worked on armor, before he headed out to see what sort of training Alexia had for him, though he had a feeling it would going to be tough and he was eager to see what happened next.

Back to Work

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Grogar found that he was able to receive only two days of training from Alexia and all of the other Hunters, which made sense due to the fact that Zorah Magdaros was still out there, moving towards whatever destination it was heading for, but based on what he learned no one knew where it was, as odd as that sounded. He had a feeling that the Elder Dragon liked to travel below the ground when it had to cross long distances, only coming up for short periods of time, hence why they had run into it when it reached the New World, even though it quickly pushed itself back underground once it made landfall, due to a hole it made in the western side of the Ancient Forest. Of course that didn't take into consideration the fragments that they found in the regions of this continent, where he was starting to assume that they might be the tips of it's shell, likely breaking off due to the Elder Dragon getting older and older as time went on, but there was no way for him to tell for sure, not without seeing Zorah Magdaros again. The Scholars and Researchers found the idea to be quite interesting, as some of the older residents of Astera confirmed that some of the Elder Dragons that came in the past seemed to be in their older, and more formidable, years, but they also agreed with him, that there was no way for anyone to confirm it without finding the Elder Dragon.

In addition to that he found that the blacksmiths created a set of attire that was special, designed for his body, which was a combination of strong hides and light metal that would protect him from harm and allow him to move faster than before, or at least more than his ordinary armor would, though it wasn't designed to match any of the monsters he had seen, so this was something unique for him to wear.

One of the other Hunters did recover his staff, finding it near the Jyuratodus' body, though he stared at it for a time before resting it on one of the walls in the room that he and Sherry shared with a number of other Hunters and Handlers, and as soon as that was done he picked up his new weapon and readied himself for the day's events. He wasn't asking for much from the other Hunters, rather he wanted them to show him the basics of their weapons so he could study them and see to learning each set, or at least try to since some of the weapons, like the greatsword, were far too heavy for him to use, so he stuck with the other weapons that were available to him. Aiden and the others shared some of their skills with ease, as they knew that he was a vital part of the Commander's new team, to figure out why the Elder Dragons came to this new continent, and that keeping him alive was a good thing, though Alexia was a hard mentor to impress, as she taught him what she thought he needed to know and had to master that lesson before moving onto the next one. Still, he did what he had to do to make sure he was ready for whatever the future held for him and the Commission, since he knew that some monsters wouldn't listen to his words and that he would have to defend himself accordingly, especially with the likes of Nergigante, even if it meant going through with Alexia's training.

On the third day, after his near fatal encounter with Nergigante, Grogar found himself and Sherry standing near the table that Shepard worked from, while Patches and Jaya waited off to their right, and sure enough he found Alexia standing near the Commander as well, meaning she was either involved in whatever they would be talking about or just wanted to kill some time before her next mission.

"Grogar, allow me to tell you that we have made great strides in learning more about Zorah Magdaros, thanks to both of the fragments you helped us recover," Shepard said, as he was grateful to have accepted Grogar into the Fifth Fleet while it was on it's way here, as his magical power allowed them to do all sorts of new things, and even inspired others to make new things to improve the abilities of the other Hunters, "in fact, we're getting closer to understanding where we might find Zorah Magdaros, but before we can commit to focusing on that, well, we have some problems near Astera that need to be taken care of. Some of the Researchers heard that you are capable of using some sort of invisibility spell and have come up with a tool that might be able to help the other Hunters out, a 'Ghillie Mantle' as they call it, but they need some help testing it out and are hoping that you'll use it against one of the monsters on the Ancient Forest."

"A field test... which monster are we talking about? Tobi-Kadachi, or Anjanath?" Grogar asked, because while this seemed like a good idea, since it might help the other Hunters out when they're in the field, part of him was itching to get back to work and taking down the Anjanath seemed like a good way to make sure his body was ready for the ordeals that might be waiting for him and the others.

"According to what I've heard, they feel that using it against a Tobi-Kadachi is better than an Anjanath, especially with how ruthless the one in the Ancient Forest is," Shepard stated, something Grogar knew about, as he had seen how brutal the latter monster could be, while he hadn't seen the former one yet and was interested in looking for it, to which he glanced over to Alexia as the other core members of Astera gathered at his council table, "While you do that, we'll be talking about the next step of our operation, about what we're going to do once we pinpoint where Zorah Magdaros is going... one you finish that task, we should have an idea of what to do next."

"I'll go set up the quest while you talk to the Researchers," Sherry said, where she seemed happy to be back in the routine that a Handler should be in, even though she was a magnet for monsters for some reason, where Grogar had some ideas as to why, before she departed to get things ready for this mission.

With that done Grogar headed over to the Researchers and found that they were ready for him, where they handed over a cloak of some kind that seemed to be covered in leaves, even if it was metal under that, though given what he had seen so far he suspected these ones would last in this state for a long time. He carefully stored it away before making his way over to the Wyverian who was in charge of the tomes and information, due to the fact that he had no idea where to even begin his search for a Tobi-Kadachi, before discovering that they were found high in the Ancient Forest, close to the location that the Rathalos nest was in. Once he had that information he headed up to the Canteen, where he found that Sherry was, as he expected, sitting at their table with a plate of food in front of her, complete with the quest materials she needed to do her part of their partnership, so he sat at the main stone slab and ordered a bit of food for himself, Patches, and Jaya, as he had a feeling he was going to need it this time around. He still found it amusing that being displaced had allowed him to eat meat and other things without getting sick, and with how the Meowscular Chef cooked it was incredibly tasty, so he dug into the food with the same enthusiasm that all of the other Hunters had when they ate, something that always made Sherry chuckle when she watched him do it.

Once they were ready to go, and he was sure of that, he, Patches, and Jaya took one Barnos as they flew to the new camp that had been set up in the Ancient Forest, where they found that Kulu-Ya-Ku earlier, and Sherry followed after him like normal, as if nothing bad had happened a few days ago. The only difference this time was that they had someone else in the group, as it looked like Alexia might have been assigned to make sure he was ready for field work again, though right now he had no intentions of falling in battle or showing that he was still weak from his battle with Nergigante. A couple of moments later they landed in the camp and let the Barnos fly over to the rest post, until they were needed to return to Astera, though he moved over to the supply box and pulled out a few of the rations and potions that had been brought to this location earlier, before he had been given this mission, and readied himself. He knew that this would be the first time he would actively seek out a monster to fight it, instead of talking, but that wouldn't stop him from trying to settle things in an instant, with a few words, before checking and confirming that the Ghillie Mantle was safely stored in his pack, ready to be used against the monster they were here to test it on.

The first thing he did was head down the curved path and carefully looked at his surroundings, finding tracks that had to belong to one of the Pukei-Pukei he had seen in the past, not to mention one that looked like a Rathalos' talons, a set that went to the Anjanath, and even the Great Jagras, but nothing that looked new. He considered that information for a few seconds and recalled that the Scholars had told him that Tobi-Kadachi liked to live in the upper reaches of the giant tree, to which he got up and started to move towards one of the paths that might bring him to his destination. The Scoutflies, as he discovered, weren't too helpful in his search for the new monster, meaning the Commission either had a limited scent for it or they didn't train his Scoutflies so he could train them while out in the field, but his thoughts were interrupted as he noticed a few new tracks, small footprints that didn't look like the others he had seen. He, Patches, and Jaya took a few seconds to follow the trail with their eyes and found that it was heading up a large root, up a vine covered wall at the end of that, and headed higher within no time, to which he trained the Scoutflies to know this set of monster tracks as he and and his companions followed after the tracks.

It didn't take him long to find the area that the Scoutflies were bringing him to, a decent sized circular area that had a few large branches that held up a piece of ground, like a cradle of sorts, before finding some silvery feathers floating down as he stepped into the area. As he caught one and studied it, however, his heard something else in the area and turned his head for a moment, finding that whatever it was happened to be moving around the area at a fast speed, not the speed of an Elder Dragon, but still pretty fast. Sure enough the monster he was tracking emerged from where it had been hiding, as the Tobi-Kadachi was clinging to the side of a branch, where he found that it was more of a grayish blue color and looked like a squirrel of some kind, plus it had some spikes on it's tail, and when it leapt at him he found that he wasn't the target of an attack, rather it moved it's front limbs and showed him that it was more like a flying squirrel. Such a thing allowed it to glide over a short distance and reached another branch, where it coiled around it before stopping and hissing at him, as she was definitely threatened by someone like Grogar entering her domain, meaning he was likely going to be fighting her for the foreseeable future.

What he discovered was that one of the Tobi-Kadachi's methods when it came to fighting was using the bushy tail to strike enemies and knock them away, though at the same time she could all electricity to her tail to cause Thunderblight to those she was fighting, which was an effect that shocked one's body and made it easier for her to stun her foes, which she struck Patches with as she knocked him away from her position.

As he watched that happen Grogar pulled out his new weapon and approached the monster, where he held the sword in his right hand and the shield in his left, the opposite of what a Hunter with this weapon was supposed to do, but he felt at home with this setup and shifted his stance accordingly, keeping his eyes on the Tobi-Kadachi. They stood there a couple of seconds, each other eying the other as Patches and Jaya waited for one to make the first move, which his foe made for him as she rushed at where he was standing, causing Grogar to roll to the left before he was hit and slashed at her with his blade, scoring a shallow hit in the process, but this wasn't an actual hunt, this was a test of the Ghillie Mantle. He had a feeling that using it against a pissed off monster might be the best course of action, since it would show him how it could be used in the field and give the Scholars some valuable data once he returned to Astera, so for now he was focusing on making sure he fought like how he had been trained. Using the sword and shield involved rolling to avoid attacks, using the shield to defend when the former didn't work, and lashing out with the blade when he was sure an opening was there, in a flurry or simple pokes, depending on the situation, so he slashed at Tobi-Kadachi before rolling out of the way, as she used her tail and missed him.

Of course Patches got in on the action and struck their foe as well, while at the same time Jaya found openings to jump up onto the Tobi-Kadachi's back and bit into her back, or at least tried to since it sent a surge of electricity through her body and knocked her off. Another thing they had to be mindful of, in addition to the movement speed of their foe, was when their opponent pulled back and rushed forward in a biting motion, like she was wanted to tear them down with her fangs, so each of them had to roll out of the way to avoid being bitten in half. They also had to move out of the way when she leapt onto one of the branches and then jumped at her target, expanding the webbing between her front limbs and body so she could glide towards her foe, and when she landed she swung around and used her tail to attack whoever was near her target, which Grogar ducked under to avoid. In addition to all of that they also had to be mindful of when their foe let out a roar, as monsters could let out a powerful roar that stunned Hunters in their tracks for a short period of time, which they either used to attack their foes or flee the scene so they could lick their wounds, though the Tobi-Kadachi used hers to stun him before whacking him with her tail, showing him that she wasn't afraid of him.

With that done Grogar was sure that his foe was fully angry at him, to which he shifted his stance and switched his brand new weapons with the Ghillie Mantle, though while he was sure it would fail he found that the Tobi-Kadachi seemed to lose sight of him, as she stared at the area he was standing in, like she couldn't see him, before scanning the area for a time, and both Patches and Jaya seemed to be invisible as well. As he witnessed this he came to a decision on what might have caused this to happen, the leaves that were part of the Ghillie Mantle had to be ones that released a faint aroma, one that interfered with a monster's senses and was only released when someone wore it, so when he took it off he was sure it would go away. Grogar also assumed that Patches and Jaya were lost as well since they were smaller than their foe, even if it might be due to another reason he couldn't quite guess at, but they stood by him for a time as they watched the Tobi-Kadachi tilt her head in confusion, trying in vain to find those who had been fighting her, before letting out a hiss as she rushed off into the Ancient Forest. Based on the time frame Grogar was sure that Hunters could use this to drink potions, sharpen their weapons if need be, or even run away if they were overwhelmed by whatever monster they were hunting, to which he pulled out a few writing materials and wrote down his notes on the Ghillie Mantle.

Once he was done with the Ghillie Mantle, and was sure the others in Astera would be happy, he pulled it off and put it back in his pack, to which he and his companions headed back to the camp so they could use the Barnos to get around the annoying Anjanath... though as Grogar thought of that, however, they froze as soon as they reached one of the roots that allowed them to reach the Tobi-Kadachi's next, as the Anjanath was right in front of them.

"Listen, we're not here to cause trouble... just let us go and we'll be on our way." Grogar said, hoping that the violent beast would listen to his words and let them go so it could find food or whatever else it was currently looking for, though both Patches and Jaya were getting ready to run, so the moment they were free to leave they could get out worrying about the monster killing them.

Unfortunately the monster didn't seem to care about them and rushed right at where Grogar was standing, causing him to roll out of the way as his companions did the same, though such a thing didn't stop the Anjanath from turning on them as soon as it noticed that it had hit no one with that attack. After that, however, he discovered something bad, the Anjanath was building a gout of flames in it's throat and he seemed to be the target, to which he gathered his magic and formed a barrier in front of him, just in time to block the incoming burst of fire blasts. From what he knew the Anjanath was a sac in it's throat that allowed it to do this, though instead of a flame breath, like a dragon would have, this monster could only fire off a few bursts at a time, making a dangerous monster even more dangerous, even if it wasn't on the level of an Elder Dragon. He and Patches were safe, though Jaya had dodged off to the right to avoid the attack, but it only lead to the large monster swinging it's tail at her, hitting her square in the face and knocked her further away from where Grogar had set up the barrier, and as the smoke cleared he watched as the monster smashed his head into the ground, crushing the life out of Jaya in the process.

In that moment something inside Grogar snapped as he saw one of his companions fall, past the point of no return, as his magical aura flared to life, turning red to signify his anger and rage, before he rushed forward and punched the Anjanath in the side of the face, knocking it away from where Jaya's body was resting. With the opening created Patches ran forward to collect their companion, even if it might be just recovering her body before the monster ate her, and Grogar growled as he loosed a pair of fireballs through the space between him and his target, striking his target and pushing it deeper into the Ancient Forest. Such a thing didn't quell his anger, rather he gripped his weapon and flashed through the air, lashing out with the blade as he delivered several shallow gashes to the Anjanath's body, though when it tried to smash him into the nearby wall he raised his shield and blocked it. Once that was done he gathered his magic and summoned a cage of lightning that was designed to shock a foe into submission, something that was used on the Anjanath and he found that it roared in pain for a few seconds before it slowly started to turn towards him, causing him to loose a sleep spell at it, which caused the Anjanath to collapse a few moments later.

Part of him wanted to kill it, especially since it was a threat to Astera, but he knew that being lost in one's rage made them do things that they wouldn't normally do, so he turned and headed over to where Patches stood, letting the tears fall as he found that Jaya had passed, to which he resolved to bring her home and bury her where the monsters wouldn't try to dig her up.

Sherry was, as Grogar expected, saddened by the loss of Jaya, as she had gotten used to the little Jagras running around Astera, but there was nothing they could do for her at this point, as unlike what happened to him there was nothing of her life left inside her body. Alexia, who had watched the entire thing go down, had flown back to Astera and returned with a few Hunters and Researchers, as capturing a monster like the Anjanath would help improve their understanding of it, even if most might want it dead given everything they had seen so far, before they returned to Astera. Once they were back on the safe side of the gate Grogar headed over to the group that had created the Ghillie Mantle, where he handed over his notes on the mantle and the tool itself, because he had his spells and didn't need to carry one around, at least not until all of the others were armed with the new piece of equipment. In addition to that he watched as they hauled the slumbering Anjanath to an area that it could be studied in, a large platform that looked like it could be raised and lowered depending on whatever the Researchers wanted, though he turned his head away and walked over to the council table, to report his success to Commander Shepard.

What he discovered, however, was that Shepard was in the middle of planning something and that more people were in the area than what he was expecting there to be, meaning his report would have to wait until after this council meeting, making him wonder what in the world was going to happen next.

"Grogar, we have good news: we've discovered where Zorah Magdaros is headed," Shepard said, speaking as Grogar and his group returned to the council table, while finding that everyone else, the main heads of Astera based on what he was seeing, was standing around the table as well, before he pointed down at part of the map, "It's heading for an area known as the Great Ravine."

"Isn't that an area just beyond the Wildspire?" Sherry asked, as while Grogar was busy in the field, and she wasn't with him and the others, she had to do something to kill some time and she decided to read more about what they knew about the rest of the continent, even if it stopped at the Great Ravine, "A massive valley between us and where the Third Fleet went all those years ago?"

"That's correct. With that in mind, I have a proposition for all of you: let's capture Zorah Magdaros!" Shepard stated, as he was pleased to learn that Grogar's team knew more about the surrounding area than what he had told them, though right now he was more interested in the plan he had come up with to help them learn more about the Elder Crossing, which was tied to the powerful Elder Dragons.

"Commander Shepard, with all due respect... are you out of your mind?!" Grogar inquired, as he was stunned by the very idea that the one who lead the Commission's forces in the New World would even suggest such a thing, especially since the Elder Dragon in question was a freaking walking volcanic creature that looked like it might be capable of pulling an entire continent to a brand new location, or making one with the lava inside it.

"I know many of you might not like the idea, but hear me out. The Great Ravine is the ideal spot for staging such an event, especially since it would be walking right into our grasp," Shepard said, his tone and body language showing them that he was dead serious, that he wanted to throw the Commission at an Elder Dragon that likely had enough power to equal the one that nearly killed Grogar earlier, and while everyone else seemed concerned a few liked the idea as well, "we aren't going to get another chance like this... and, since your magical power has been boosted, I have a feeling we might be able to pull this off."

Grogar had no idea if everyone in Astera was going insane, especially after his close encounter with Nergigante, but since so many seemed to be excited by the idea of attacking Zorah Magdaros, and trying to capture it, all he could do was let out a sigh as he waited to see what the future held for them.

One for the History Books

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As soon as Shepard made the announcement that they would be attacking Zorah Magdaros, to capture it and study it's role in the environment, Astera was a place of excitement as Hunters and everyone else ran around to get things ready for what they were about to do. Grogar found that cannons were being readied, cannonballs were being carried out by the cart, some Hunters and Felynes were hauling out rectangular containers filled with ballista ammunition, and all sorts of supplies were on their way to the Great Ravine, as they had an entire afternoon to get ready for the arrival of the Elder Dragon that the Fifth Fleet had been tracking. It was sheer madness, challenging an Elder Dragon like this, and yet he seemed to be the only one who felt that this was a bad idea, especially since they had no idea how powerful Zorah Magdaros actually was, save for the ability to travel underwater for long periods of time and moving slowly when it was above ground. This made it look like Astera was going to war with a force of nature, something that could seriously wreck the New World if they weren't careful, and yet no one seemed to mind that fact, as everyone seemed excited for what was going on right now, making him wonder if humans were just insane.

In fact the only one that didn't seem overly excited about this situation was Sherry, as she was excited by the idea of them getting more information for their studies on Zorah Magdaros, but also felt that the plan that Shepard came up with was just insane, that it could come back to bite them at some point in time.

"So we're going to try and wear down an Elder Dragon with cannon and ballista fire," Grogar commented, taking a moment to look over the information that Shepard had given him, as they were to ambush the massive beast when it arrived in the Great Ravine, blasting it with everything that was being assembled down in the Tradeyard, before he set down the papers for a moment and held his head in frustration, "This is madness... suicide, even... Zorah Magdaros will likely smash it's way right through our defenses and just push deeper into the New World, forcing us to follow after it once Shepard realizes that this was folly."

"Still, he seems pretty set on this path... maybe he thinks we can succeed?" Sherry asked, as she knew that Grogar's magic would make a difference in the upcoming siege, it was unlike anything she had seen before and no one would be able to repeat it once he departed from this world, though she could tell that he wasn't too happy with the Commander, not that she blamed him, "Also, did you hear that the Huntsman is looking into some of Nergigante's tracks? I think both he and the Commander are thinking that that beast will interrupt our operation."

"That's the last thing we need, Nergigante returning." Grogar remarked, because fighting one Elder Dragon was already bad enough, two was just totally insane, and if he was unable to do anything to the dragon in question he knew that none of the other Hunters would be able to stall it as well, all while noticing that Patches was silent as well, knowing that if this siege went badly they were going to lose some of their friends and allies.

"Grogar, there's... there's something I think you should know," Sherry said, as she knew what had happened the first time her partner came into contact with an Elder Dragon, he nearly died after being smashed by one of Nergigante's blows, and part of her was worried that such a thing would happen again, where her worry caused some scales to form on her right wrist, which she hid as quickly as possible, "I... how should I put this... I..."

Before Sherry could finish her comment all of them heard the sound of the horn that signified a council meeting would be happening, though this time Shepard and everyone else was starting to head out, using the Barnos to leave Astera and make for the Great Ravine, to begin their operation.

"It's finally happening... this madness is finally happening." Grogar said, where he sighed for a moment, as he wasn't even looking forward to this mission, before he finished off what was in front of him and stood up, where Patches did the same not a few seconds later, taking only a moment to glance at his partner, "Come on, let's get this over with... by Celestia, let's hope we survive this mission."

Grogar found it weird that now, out of all times, he was using Celestia's name like she was a god, though as he did that he did notice the scales on Sherry's wrist, it was something he wouldn't miss after everything he had seen from her, though for right now he couldn't think much on it. Instead he sighed as he called a Barnos down to him so he and Patches could head out, where his partner stayed behind for a few seconds before doing the same thing, knowing that there would be time to talk once they had a chance to breath, without this mission hanging over their heads. Soon the air was filled with an army of Barnos, as everyone in Astera was departing for the Great Ravine, while two were required to carry the large body of the Meowscular Chef, who would be cooking for everyone during their time waiting for Zorah Magdaros to arrive, so there would be hot food waiting for them. Grogar was still surprised that he and Sherry were the only ones that were worried about this, especially after witnessing what happened when Nergigante barrelled into him, crushing most of the life out of his body in an instant, and there was no telling what would happen if Zorah Magdaros got pissed off, so he held the faint hope that Shepard would see the light and call this off.

The Great Ravine, true to it's name, was a massive ravine that rested beyond the Wildspire Waste, where Grogar found a number of caves carved into the sides of the area, both lined with all sorts of weapons and equipment, showing him that Shepard hadn't been joking, he was going to go through with this, and there were no barriers to stop the Elder Dragon once it arrived, causing Grogar to raise an eyebrow as they landed near Shepard.

"Ah, Grogar, good, we're in need of your assistance," Shepard stated, though as Grogar approached him, however, both he and Sherry found a large amount of prepared wood that would be used to build scaffolding, plus ropes and other bits of material, meaning they weren't even ready for Zorah Magdaros' arrival, "As you can see, we're scrambling to get ready for when our target arrives, and I would appreciate it if you helped us form the barricades that will slow Zorah down... with your power we should be able to get both barriers up in no time."

"Sure. Tell me what needs to be done and I'll do it," Grogar remarked, because he wasn't about to argue with Shepard over this, as the man was determined to see this through and there was no stopping someone like him, so he decided to just do what he was told and get this over with, as he knew that capturing Zorah Magdaros was impossible and was eager to see what happened after this mission was over.

Sherry and Patches stood off to the side, helping the other Hunters and Commission members as they readied the rest of the cannons and ballista, plus the ammunition caches that had been prepared, while watching Grogar work, as Shepard held out a piece of paper detailing his plans. He lifted all sorts of materials into the air with his magic, moving them over to where their leader wanted each piece, eventually forming a massive walkway that linked the two sides of the Great Ravine together, though it didn't seem to be much of a strain for him and he made sure to take breaks every now and then so he didn't collapse. Once Shepard was pleased with the creation he had Grogar stop on the first one and head down to where the second would be built, allowing the other Commission members to move their ammunition, weapons, and other items into position as they prepared for their target's arrival. Sherry was still surprised by Grogar's power and his control, as he continued to display the variety of things his magic could do, making her wonder what else he might be capable of, while observing the construction of the second barrier, a perfect replica of the first one.

When that one was done he returned to her side and watched the surrounding area as the sun went down, choosing to rest and even sleep as they waited for Zorah Madgaros to arrive, because everyone needed to be ready for when the large Elder Dragon finally reached the Great Ravine.

It took a long time before anything happened to the area they were in, long enough for many of them to get some rest as they waited for their target to arrive, even Commander Shepard did the same thing, though even then Grogar knew that everyone was restless, anxious to see what happened when Zorah Magdaros finally arrived. He was still surprised by the fact that no one else thought that this was a bad idea, launching an attack on an Elder Dragon of this size and power, but at this point he had given up trying to tell others that they should back off, as Aiden and the others were far too eager for this, so he and Sherry just joined them in silence. According to the plan he had been told everyone would be firing on their target as soon as it emerged, hopefully to slow it down long enough to capture it, an impossible task he told himself, and if it broke through the first barrier than some of the Hunters would be sent onto it for some time. According to some of the Researchers there were a few magma cores scattered around Zorah Magdaros' body, which should slow it down if one or more of them were broken in some manner, but he guessed they would figure things out if it actually arrived.

As the sun started to rise, however, Grogar stirred as he felt a tremor in the earth, where the Scoutflies turned blue before flying down into the Great Ravine, shifting to a red color as the Elder Dragon smashed through the ground and rose up to march through this place, causing Shepard to call for the Commission to get to their stations as Zorah Magdaros emerged from the underground path it had been using.

Sure enough they opened fire on the Elder Dragon as soon as it started to march down the ravine, where Grogar found all sorts of cannonballs and ballista shots were being fired at their target, all while the Barnos flapped around like the end of the world was upon them, causing him to weave his magic around and calm the smaller monsters down. Of course he had no real experience with the weapons of this world, the siege ones to be exact, so he kept an eye on Zorah Magdaros as he walked up and down the section that he had been stationed on, before glancing at a pile of cannonballs that didn't seem to be in use. In that moment he tried to pick one up, finding that it was too heavy for him to carry, so he lifted it with a bit of his magic and stared at the Elder Dragon for a moment, where he gathered a bit of energy into it and hurled it through the air, like it was being shot out of a magical cannon and watched as it smashed into Zorah Magdaros' chest, but it didn't look like he did any damage to his target. In fact he was sure that the Elder Dragon in question didn't care about what was going on right now, as it just marched forward without a care in the world, ignoring the cannon fire and ballista rounds like they were mere flies to it, especially since it didn't look like they were doing any damage to the massive beast.

In fact the only thing that seemed to do anything to Zorah Magdaros were the 'binders', more powerful ballista rounds, as they were thicker and larger than the normal ones, that were designed to restrain the Elder Dragon, though in the end he and the others watched as their target tore itself free and then smashed through the first barrier like it was nothing, which was the truth given who they were thinking about.

"Hunters, get to a hitching post and get onto Zorah's back!" Shepard shouted, all while those who wouldn't head heading onto the back of the massive beast were moving so they could get into position at the second barrier, to which he took a moment and turned towards Grogar, who paused for a moment, "Grogar, I need you to reinforce the barrier with your magic, whatever you can spare to make sure we have enough time to slow Zorah down... maybe you can try talking to it as well, anything that might help our operation out."

"I'll do what I can, but Nergigante is out there... I can almost feel it." Grogar replied, as he had a feeling that the brutal and dangerous beast was out there somewhere, watching them try in vain to stop Zorah Magdaros in it's tracks, though once he said that he used one of the Barnos and traveled to the next barrier, finding that everyone was getting ready for their target to get close.

He did as Shepard ordered, channeling a bit of his magic into the barrier so it would be far more sturdy than before, while debating whether or not he should add a magical barrier to slow down the Elder Dragon, before deciding that he could figure it out later as he landed. In that moment he levitated into the air and rushed back to where the massive beast was currently walking, using the levitation power he had unlocked to get as close as he dared to Zorah Magdaros' face, before calling out to the Elder Dragon that was marching towards the second barrier. He knew that there was a slim chance of this working as he intended, given what happened with Nergigante, though as Zorah Magdaros walked he was sure that a growl or noise came from it in response, sounding like an old man that was near death, like he had a few weeks left, only he didn't get much of a response from the beast. It was a start, though not the best when he considered what was going on at the moment, though he jumped backwards and used some ice magic on the ground, summoning a barricade of pure ice to try and slow down the massive creature that was in front of him, but, as he expected, their target overheated the entire area and smashed his way through his magical barricade.

As Zorah Magdaros did that, however, a horn blew and Grogar turned his attention to something that was behind their target, a black mass he recognized, to which he gathered his magic and burst through the air, where he draw his shield for a second and channeled his power into it as he smashed into Nergigante's side, knocking it out of the air and dropped the two of them onto the massive Elder Dragon's back.

"You?! I thought I killed you!" Nergigante growled, where this time Grogar was able to understand the Elder Dragon that had nearly ended his life just a few days ago, and was surprised to find that it was actually a female monster, a brutal one to be exact, before she gripped the hard ground below them, "Get... out... of... MY WAY!"

This time around Grogar did the smart thing and dodged the incoming attack, as Nergigante leapt at him and smashed her right claws into the ground he had been standing on, meaning this had to be more like a protective shell that ensured the massive Elder Dragon didn't take damage, all while keeping his shield at the ready. He wasn't foolish enough to believe that he was capable of taking down Nergigante, not with how badly she had wrecked him the first time around, though at the same time he knew that coming back from near death meant that his powers would escalate at an alarming rate, so it was a high risk and high reward situation, but for now he focused on wearing down Nergigante. So he continued to dodge the incoming attacks, observing his foe as she tried to smash him into the ground and rend the life from his body, but he also knew that the brutal Elder Dragon had more moves than what he had seen so far, especially one that involved his foe striking the ground with her wing and grinding against the stone to smash her foes. Even though he tanked the attack he also used his power to cushion his movements, preventing him from hitting a stone wall again, where Grogar gathered a bit more of his power and tried something else out, he channeled it along the edge of his blade and swung it, loosing a wave of energy that surprised Nergigante, blasting her in the side in the process.

As he expected it didn't do anything to his foe, as Nergigante emerged without much damage, though as he did that he smile a little, as the Huntsman rushed by him and swung at their foe, forcing her back as he managed to break a couple of her arm spikes, though as she regrew them Zorah Magdaros shuddered. In that moment Grogar realized something, they had approached the second barricade and the others had restrained the massive Elder Dragon with the binders, but, as he expected, it was all for nothing as he pushed forward and broke out of their hold, before raising himself up like he was going to smash the barrier to bits. That motion caused Nergigante to growl in annoyance before taking off, showing them that she wasn't about to stick around and might come back when they weren't bothering Zorah Magdaros, though in that moment Grogar collected the Huntsman with his magic and leapt off of their target, landing near Sherry as they watched as he smashed through the barrier like it was nothing. His earlier feeling had been correct, they didn't stand a chance at capturing the massive Elder Dragon, and he counted themselves lucky that no one had perished during the fight, all while observing as Zorah Magdaros returned to his normal walking speed and headed for the end wall of the Great Ravine, as he was likely going to push through it and continue deeper into the New World.

In that moment he sighed and sat down, as they needed to regroup and go over what had happened, not to mention the next move they had to take to learn more about the Elder Crossing and why Nergigante was so interested in hunting one of the Elder Dragons, though he was eager to see what the others had to saw when they returned to Astera.

Into the Coral Highlands

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After taking some time to make absolutely sure that no one was harmed from the siege, and made a note of how much of their supplies had been used to try and slow down Zorah Magdaros, Grogar and the others returned to Astera, where he, Sherry, and the leaders of the Commission gathered around the council table as all of the Hunters and Researchers went back to their respective stations.

"All right everyone, gather around. Let's get this council session underway." Shepard said, where he raised his voice to make sure everyone that was important for one of these discussions gathered around the table for a short period of time, while he could see that Grogar was thinking about something, making him wonder what happened when Nergigante showed up to stop them from capturing Zorah Magdaros, "First, I want to hear your reports before we move forward. Where do we stand now that the operation is over?"

"As much as I don't like it admit it, we lost track of the Elder Dragon after it breached the Great Ravine's wall," Callus replied, something that caused Grogar to raise his eyebrow for a moment as he thought about it, though he trusted what the Analytics Director was saying, especially since he and the others had more experience than he did in this field, before he let out a sigh, "however, there's a chance that we can pick up it's trail on the other side of the wall, so we might be able to salvage the situation we're currently in."

"I've actually got a bit of good news from the field team, as they reported tectonic movement in the area," Johnson added, which made sense due to the fact that Zorah Magdaros was capable of traveling underground, so the breach it made must have due to it traveling under the earth that had been blocking it's way, where he let a light smile appear on his face, "and there's a fissure between us and the Coral Highlands, an area that Alexia told us about in her travels, which we haven't been able to get to since it was discovered."

"Honestly, there's no point in trying to follow the Elder Dragon's trail," Betty remarked, as she had taken stock of what was in their provisions and materials after the operation had been completed, where Grogar could tell that Shepard's plan to capture Zorah Magdaros had cost Astera greatly, all while she focused on the Commander, "because we exhausted most of our supplies during the operation, and to try again is folly... even if we caught up with it, well, we wouldn't be able to pull off anything of that scale again."

"I knew I was asking for a lot, when I proposed the idea to all of you, but this is more than I expected," Shepard admitted, where he stared at all of them for a time, knowing that he would get to Grogar and his odd silence, because something must have happened when Nergigante showed up, before he considered what they were going to do about supplies, an idea that he usually didn't come up with, "We'll have to send a ship to the guild... I know, I know, the seas are rough and the skies are harsh, but we'll have to send one out eventually. We cannot move forward without notifying the Guild as to what is going on in the New World. Captain, can we count on you?"

The Captain was someone Grogar had only seen while he was traveling with the rest of the Fifth Fleet, who preferred to wear no shirt, a pair of pants with a few pouches containing his tools, and a bandana with some goggles on his forehead, though based on what he had seen the man was one of the best captains they had.

"Never you worry, sir." the Captain replied, his tone revealing that he was confident in his abilities, where Grogar was sure that he wasn't lying and that he would be able to do anything he set his mind to, before he glanced at the sea that Astera was build near and let a smile appear on his face, "I've been watching the sea churn for awhile now and waiting for my chance to tame her again, so once an opening reveals itself I'll head out and report to the Guild."

"Good, then while you do that we'll focus on tracking down our missing Elder Dragon," Shepard said, where he turned his attention to Grogar, who had been silent since he called for the council meeting to be held, and he was interested in what their comrade had to say on the matter, especially since his powers were important to their current investigation, "Grogar, what happened when Nergigante showed up during our operation?"

"How do I put this... Nergigante, she, well, told me to get out of her way... I believe she was after Zorah Magdaros, who just ignored us as he smashed the barriers apart." Grogar replied, though as he said that he found a number of people staring at him like he had said something that offended everything they knew, causing him to worry for a few moments as Sherry looked at them as well, "Um, did I say something wrong?"

"Nergigante... you said it was female?" Wingert asked, as the little Wyverian had been silent as he listened to what all of them had to say, creating his own thoughts on the matter as he waited for the conversation to be over, but this point was something that made him talk, when he wanted to be silent, and Grogar nodded his head, "That's not good... that might mean that the Nergigante that's been bothering the Commission for years is another one and, more importantly, there might be two of them out there."

"We'll worry about that in due time, since she's bound to show up if we find Zorah Magdaros," Shepard said, though while he knew that they called Nergigante either 'it' or 'he', as the latter seemed appropriate at the time, he was rather accepting of the fact that Grogar was able to hear the voices of the monsters and determined what gender they were, as his power was unlike anything else, "Anyway, in the morning you, Sherry, and Patches will head into the fissure that Zorah Magdaros created and see if you can't pick up the trail, while we coordinate the other Hunters to make sure the Ancient Forest and the Wildspire Waste weren't thrown out of balance due to him moving underground. You three will give us an idea of the monsters and obstacles that are on the other side of the fissure, possibly even locate the remains of the Third Fleet, and help us figure out which direction we need to move in next."

As Grogar and Sherry acknowledged their orders, that they were being given some time to rest before doing anything else, Shepard said the usual saying as he ended their council meaning, which was 'May the Sapphire Star light your way', and all of them were free to do whatever they wanted. Sherry, as he discovered, didn't want to say anything to him, not about the statement that he cut off due to the council call yesterday, but she was overly eager to see what was on the other side of the fissure, something he shared since they had no idea what was contained in the Coral Highlands, as Alexia apparently didn't believe in sharing information. He assumed that it had to be due to the fact that no one else would have been able to join her on the other side, as there were no camps or anything, or maybe she just wanted to keep the information all to herself, but he decided not to worry about the Advanced Wyvarian's decision, as he'd figure everything out in no time, of that he was sure. Other than that nothing seemed to change for him and his partner, other than the fact that many were surprised that he had been able to hold off Nergigante until the Huntsman arrived to chase him off, or rather her when he told them the truth, but it seemed to be information lost on the others as they cheered for his victory.

In the end they simply humored everyone else, enjoying some food and rest while they were at it, before retiring to their quarters, as heading into an unknown area and seeing what the dangers of the area were meant they had to be rested, especially since he had a feeling that they were going to be attacked by someone in the very near future.

When morning arrived Grogar, Sherry, and Patches rose to meet it, where they had breakfast like normal and made sure all of their gear was ready for whatever might be waiting for them in the Coral Highlands, as Alexia didn't like to talk about what she knew, and soon enough they traveled out to the Great Ravine with their Barnos. What they discovered was that there was a massive hole in the ground where Zorah Magdaros punched a hole through the mountain wall, one that went deep based on what they could see from the air, though they landed near a path that lined one of the earthen walls, which lead right to the fissure. Once the three of them landed Grogar kept his magic at the ready, as while there were no foes in the Great Ravine he had no idea what Sherry would do, as she was prone to being attacked and accidents might happen near her, but most of his attention was on the sheer power of the Elder Dragon they had tried to capture, a foolish plan as he had said previously, and it only made him wonder what else the massive beast could do. The sheer destruction made him think about the power that Nergigante wielded, as she was a brute who smashed anything and anyone that got in her way, while Zorah Magdaros was able of messing with the tectonic plates and smashing through mountains, which made him wonder what else the other Elder Dragons were capable of.

It took some time, but they eventually reached the fissure and passed through it, making their way to the Coral Highlands with ease, causing the trio to stop as they stared out at the massive area that was in front of them, as it looked like they were staring at a place that looked like it belonged at the bottom of the ocean. He understood why Alexia called this place the 'Coral' Highlands, as there hundreds of coral creations all over this new region, as everything from the platforms right in front of them to the highest point, from the trees to the very ground of this amazing place, was made out of coral, how he had no idea and it made him more interested in learning about this place. There were steep cliffs all over the place, as he was expecting to find when he thought about the 'highland' portion of the name, while he found something interesting that caused him to pause a little, there was a lower section that seemed to be far darker than what they were seeing, like there was a fourth region to the New World. There was some sort of twisted green substance on the lowest sections of all the coral they were looking at, which had to come from the fourth section, and as he glanced down there he could have sworn that he saw something red flash through the area, moving at a fast speed, meaning there was a monster that both he and Patches would have to face at some point.

As he glanced at the area Sherry mentioned something about 'racing' him and started to jump across the platforms, which caused Grogar and Patches to follow after her, especially when something flew through the air and he found that it was a flying monster, a large one that was nearly the size of a Rathian, with leaf-like wingtips and stripped patterns, while the head had antenna shaped fins on it's head. Grogar could see that the monster was flying around at an alarming speed and was focused on his partner, though as they dropped down near Sherry the newcomer opened it's wings and loosed a lot of icy wind in their direction for a few seconds, like it was trying to blow them away. What actually happened was that the coral ground they were standing on cracked and shattered below his hooves, causing them to fall through the air, down into the depths of the area, to which Grogar sent his magic out and latched onto his companions, bringing them close to where he was located. In the following seconds he summoned a sphere of energy around them as fast as he could, which protected them as they smashed into the ground and pierced it, breaking through the coral ground as they passed into an area that looked like it was rotting, as he was sure that they passed by some bones as they fell through the air.

A few moments later they smashed into the ground and he was fortunate that he had reinforced the bottom of the barrier before that happened, as it came to a stop in a rotting area that looked far more dangerous than what they had been in a few moments ago, and right now he kept the barrier up as he surveyed the surrounding area. Something was out there, watching them with some interest, that much he could tell by listening to everything that was around them, and he could confirm that as he found a pair of piercing blue eyes staring at them from the odd substance that was in the air, before he spotted a second set close to the first set. He couldn't see what form the monsters took, as the substance was preventing such a thing from happening, though they were smart enough to see that he was protecting himself and his companions with his barrier, though there was no telling how long he would last in this dangerous situation. Grogar also noticed that Sherry was knocked out, as she had hit her head against the hastily created barrier he had first set up, and Patches was getting back up as he glanced at the monsters that were waiting for him to make a mistake and lower the barrier, so that meant they were between a rock and a hard place.

As he considered his limited options, as it was either lower the barrier and charge at the pair of monsters or continue to use his magic until the monsters departed from the area, a feminine figure appeared moved off to his left, who looked like she was a Hunter with some modified clothing, given a mask in front of her face and goggles in front of her eyes, and she seemed to move towards his barrier, causing him to carefully open part so she could get in.

"Well, I wasn't expecting to find other people in the Rotten Vale," the lady said, her comment showing that she didn't care about the fact that Grogar was able to use magic, meaning she was either someone who visited Astera a lot and he hadn't seen her before or Alexia had told her all about him and his magical abilities, "but it seems like you've got some unwanted attention... I know a path out of here, as it's off to our right. Think you can make a way for us to use it, without drawing the monsters to us?"

"Yeah, as long as you carry Sherry for me... oh, and don't look my way for a few moments," Grogar replied, where Patches understood what he had planned and the lady, despite having no idea, nodded her head as she picked Sherry up, though once he was sure they were ready, and both of his conscious companions were facing the other way, he launched a spell into the space in front of him, opening the barrier enough as he closed his eyes.

It was the Solar Flare spell he had used against the Barroth earlier, where the sounds of two figures growling in pain was his cue to leave, something that was followed by him, Patches, and their new friend rushing over to the opening and used it to head back up to the Coral Highlands, where Grogar followed her to wherever her base happened to be located, all while curious as to what the future held for them.

New Allies

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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.

Coral Discoveries

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After resting for a few more minutes, to be sure that Sherry was fine and that nothing was wrong with her body, Grogar, Patches, and Sherry bid Hiroko and her team farewell before departing from the ship that they had been brought to, which his partner found was resting on a mountain, like the one in Astera. Grogar carefully moved along the path that the lady had lead him along, keeping his eyes drifting between what was above them, just in case the monster that was in the sky came down to attack them, on the path, so no one tripped, and down through the cracks that rested in the Coral Highlands's ground, gazing down at the Rotten Vale. Once more he found himself admitting that the New World was a wonderful place, and quite deadly if one had no idea what they were doing, as it was a massive place, full of life and creatures he hadn't seen before, and each region seemed vastly different from the previous one, to the point where he had to wonder what else he might discover on this continent. His reasoning was because there were four regions he had passed through, a large forest, a desert with a marsh, an ocean floor risen above water, and a vale where death seemed to rule, and he was curious if there might be more that they hadn't discovered yet.

He also went over the information Hiroko had given him, the lady that helped them out, Cindy, a Tracker for the First Fleet, had set up a small base of operations on one of the lower levels of the Coral Highlands and set it up in a slightly covered area that monsters ignored, meaning it was a good place for Sherry to rest while he and Patches explored the area. Sure enough they found that it looked like all of the camps that the Hunters and their Handlers set up all over both regions they had been through so far, where Sherry made a note of what was around them before nodding her head, as it had enough stuff for them to work with. Of course she double checked everything to make sure they had a tent, a small canteen, an area for the Wingdrake transports, and a chest that goods could be stored in at some point, either to help Grogar in the field or to deposit items in. Grogar, on the other hand, made sure his blade was at the ready, as it hadn't been damaged in their fall and his shield was just fine as well, all while Patches did one last check of his gear before they considered leaving the camp and seeing what the Coral Highlands had to offer.

"So, what else do we have to do while we're here?" Sherry asked, as she could tell that Grogar was in charge of their new mission, even if they were currently working for Hiroko and her group of Researchers, and suspected that he had some sort of plan in mind, instead of just mindlessly exploring the rest of the region.

"Well, the first thing Patches and I are going to do is head out and see if we can find any of the monsters that call this new region home," Grogar replied, where he stood at the opening that would allow him and his companion to descend down into the Coral Highlands, allowing him to glance out at every bit of the region that they would be exploring for some time, hearing a few monsters out there and had to wonder what they would run into, "while we do that I'll keep an eye out for any additional areas we might be able to make camps in, to make our mission easier, and see if we can't find the piece of Zorah Magdaros we're looking for. If there is no fragment up here, well... we'll have to go down into the Rotten Vale, and right now I'm not eager to head back down there."

"I don't remember what happened down in the Rotten Vale, if anything, but I trust your judgement," Sherry said, where she walked over to the canteen and made sure it was stocked, something that Grogar watched as she organized some of the food, no doubt brought by Alexia, before sitting at one of the seats as she waited for him to return with news of what was in this region.

A few seconds later Grogar and Patches reached the ground of the area they were in and started to explore the section of the Coral Highlands that they were in, where he found some Kelbi, blue furred deer, wandering around and didn't seem afraid of him, rather some stared at him before going about their business. As the two of them walked for a time he found that his thoughts were right, it was like they were at the bottom of the ocean, without having to worry about drowning due to being underwater, and when he tapped the side of a piece of coral he found that it was rather sturdy, stronger than the normal coral he was used to seeing. Of course there were puddles of water here and there, for monsters to drink from, to which he wondered if it was all rainwater, given that this place seemed too high for the rivers he had seen during his time in the other regions, all while the Scoutflies found a few tracks for him to look at. What he discovered were some tracks of a bipedal monster that had three talons on each foot, making Grogar think about the Kulu-Ya-Ku for a moment, though it was something he was interested in and he followed the Scoutflies for a time, allowing him to add more to the map he was making of this area, to compare with Cindy's when she returned.

While he walked, however, Grogar spotted a monster that didn't match the tracks he was following, as it was on a ledge off to his left, a white furred monster that looked like a cross between a squirrel and a bat, only fluffy and kind of cute, but it took off before he could study it, meaning he would have to track it down again. After that he found his way to an area of the highlands that held some large bits of coral that held some bones inside, as the coral were more like seashells in some manner, where Patches looked at them for a few moments as he took a couple of notes. His reasoning was for both the Researchers in Astera and the Blacksmith, as he knew the latter would find some way to use this to improve their weapons or armor, and once he was done they resumed moving, following the Scoutflies to the monster they were following right now. It eventually brought him to an area that had a couple of small monsters, looking similar to the Jagras he had seen in the past, where these ones were mostly black or dark grey with red scales around their faces, including large orange eyes, to which he pulled out his journal again and made some notes about the new monster, only to pause as Patches pointed at something coming their way.

The figure in question was a raptor monster, much like the Kulu-Ya-Ku they had encountered back in the Ancient Forest, which had a navy blue color to it's body and he found that both it's legs and forearms had powerful claws that would likely rend the life out of whatever it was fighting. The smaller monsters were annoyed by it's arrival, as they were feasting on a small creature that could have been the Barnos of the Coral Highlands, it was hard to tell since it was mostly eaten at this point in time, and they gathered in front of the raptor, hissing at it to convince it to leave. Grogar could hear their words as they did that, which was them mostly telling, even demanding, that the raptor leave them alone, where he finally noticed an odd addition to the raptor, it had some sort of antenna on its head, frills that opened and revealed the beautiful color that was on them, before they started to pulse. In that moment he turned his head and had Patches do the same, where he heard the raptor say 'flash... flash' and the area was covered in a bright flash for a moment, like when he used the Solar Flare earlier, and when it dimmed down he found that the wolf creatures were fleeing, often hitting the walls like they had been blinded by the raptor's light power.

"I'm sure Cindy has a name for this monster, so I'll give it a nickname for now... 'Flash Raptor' sounds good," Grogar said, because based on the information he had been given it seemed like Hiroko knew all about the Coral Highlands, thanks to Cindy's efforts to find Scarlet and explore both regions that were near their ship, and this was more for him to gather his own information as he sought the fragment of the molten Elder Dragon.

As he said that he noticed that the Flash Raptor walked down the path and ignored the fallen monster the wolf ones had been eating, rather it glanced at him for a few moments, as if debating whether or not he was a threat, before resuming it's walk around the Coral Highlands. Since he was in the clear Grogar took a moment to follow the path in front of him, as he was interested in documenting the small flying monster he had seen, before glancing at the sky for a moment to make sure his notes were complete, using a few living ones to make sure he knew what the monster looked like. With that done he continued along the path that the Flash Raptor had come from, climbing up some more vines to reach another section of the region he was currently exploring, which seemed to be a sloped hill of sorts, before discovering a wall of it that lead even higher, which had an even higher location beyond that. In that moment he spotted the squirrel bat monster floating in the air some distance away from where he was standing, as it looked like it had an air sac inside it that inflated the neck area, into a balloon of some kind, and it looked like the Fluff Bat was resting, causing a smile to appear on his face as he took a moment to write some notes on it.

A few moments later, however, he paused as both he and Patches discovered something that worried them, as another monster was entering the area they were in, a large crimson scaled wolf monster that looked far more vicious than what he had seen so far, and it's blue eyes reminded him of what he saw in the Rotten Vale. What worried him was the fact that the quadrupedal monster's hind legs and forelegs ended in a double row of claws, so it had one set and then another on top of that, meaning it could inflict some serious damage on whoever it happened to be fighting. In addition to that he was able to see that it had a thick and hard looking tail that would hurt if it struck him, or whoever the monster's foe happened to be, and he was sure that the scales were quite durable, to protect it from harm. The monster looked like it could go toe to toe with a number of the monsters he had seen so far, like the Great Jagras, Kula-Ya-Ku, Flash Raptor, and possibly even the masters of the sky, as in the Rathian and the Rathalos, plus the one that attacked him and Sherry earlier, so he kept his guard up as they stared at each other for a time.

As he considered that information, and had a moment to wonder if he was screwed, he heard something behind him and watched as the Blood Wolf leapt over his head, chomping down on the neck of the Flash Raptor that had moved into the area they were in, causing the poor raptor to let out a screech as it was attacked. Grogar and Patches got out of the way as the Flash Raptor scratched up the side of the Blood Wolf's head, even though it didn't seem to do anything at all and it let go of it's prey for a moment, as if the vicious monster enjoyed a fight before claiming it's meal. What shocked him was the sheer speed that the Blood Wolf used to move around the area they were in, dodging the Flash Raptor's attempts to blind it for a time, it's claws digging into the ground while rapidly moving from point to point, before tearing into the raptor with both claws on it's front right limb. The Flash Raptor was simply no match for the Blood Wolf, the latter proving that it was an apex predator and that it was capable of climbing up to the Coral Highlands, either for additional food or just because it wanted some fun, and Grogar watched as the monster chomped down on the raptor's neck again, this time crushing the life out of it, causing the Flash Raptor to go limp within seconds.

In that moment he remained still, staring at the Blood Wolf for a time as it stared at him, though it simply turned it's head and dragged the fallen monster down into the depths of the Rotten Vale, where he stayed still for a few more moments, just in case it decided to come back, before moving once he was sure the coast was clear.

After witnessing that fight, and the sheer domination that was displayed, Grogar turned his attention back to the wall he had spotted and glanced at it, finding that it might be best to use his magic to get to the top of it, instead of climbing and using his strength on the vines that lined the wall. As such he had Patches stand next to him before forming a platform for them to step on, which took them right up to the top of the wall in no time at all, far faster than climbing it with his hands, and once they reached their destination they climbed off it and walked forward. He paused for a moment as he head the screech of another monster and glanced at the sky, finding the one that had knocked him and Sherry into the Rotten Vale, flying through the air without a care in the world, but he stayed down for now, observing the monster, the 'screecher' as he decided to call it for now, without drawing attention to himself. Once he had some notes on this particular monster, in addition to the notes on the other monsters he had seen so far, Grogar resumed his search for a new campsite, where he paused at a nearby wall for a moment, finding that there was a low opening that lead to a small hidden chamber that was accessible from the ceiling, large enough for Barnos and a person.

With this location noted for later, as Hiroko would be interested in learning about this location and what he found, Grogar carefully made his way back down to where Sherry was resting, finding that she was just fine, meaning nothing had tried to attack her, before the three of them returned to the Third Fleet's ship.

Upon their arrival they found Hiroko and her team hard at work once more, which seemed to be the only thing they did, given everything that was happening around the Coral Highlands, and he spotted Johnson speaking with someone, a fact that gave him a chance to speak with the person he was eager to speak with. Hiroko was also eager to speak with him, as she wanted to hear what he had discovered, even if she knew everything thanks to Cindy's work, where he went into the monsters he had seen and wrote notes on over the last hour or two, as he was sure that he had been down in the Coral Highlands for a while. He learned that the Flash Raptor was called Tzitzi-Ya-Ku, the Fluff Bat was a Paolumu, the one that he called the Screecher was a Legiana, which happened to be the very monster that knocked the Third Fleet out of the air all those years ago, and the Blood Wolf was known as Odogaron, a powerful monster that was actually the apex predator of the Rotten Vale. As it turned out Grogar wasn't the only one that had seen the Odogaron in the Coral Highlands, as the first time they had seen it here was when Cindy was exploring this place for the first time, where she ran from it and lost it for a time, meaning it must have chased her down for a time, an incredible feat given the speed he had seen, meaning he had to hear her tale at some point.

He also shared his ideas for a new campsite, in an area that seemed to be near the peak of the Coral Highlands, though as he said that he also knew that it was a good thing he didn't see the Kirin, if it was around anyway, otherwise he was sure Patches would have been hauling his body back to the camp.

"I also didn't see a sign that Zorah Magdaros had passed through the Coral Highlands, so it seems that he's gone down, towards the Rotten Vale." Grogar said, finishing his report on what he had seen during his time in the Highlands, while at the same time Johnson had walked over to listen to what he had to say, meaning he knew there wasn't a sign of the Elder Dragon they were looking for.

"A shame. I was hoping you'd find something." Hiroko replied, though as she said that Grogar had a feeling she was far more interested in him and his unique body, especially since this was the first time someone like him had been seen in this world, before she glanced at Johnson for a moment, "While you were gone one of our allies came through the fissure to check on you, since they hadn't heard anything since you came to this part of the New World, and he's got an idea to remake the airship."

"Really? I'd say that's a good thing, but we'd have to convince the Legiana to leave us alone." Grogar pointed out, since that was the key to making sure they weren't bothered, as he suspected that Johnson wanted to head down into the Rotten Vale and see what was down there, and since there weren't any massive openings in this section of the Highlands, based on what he had seen, they needed to move to another area, "Not to mention that there are many components that we'll need to collect so we can get this ship into the air."

"I've got that covered. We need to track down this Paolumu you mentioned and use some of it's components to make the items we need," Johnson stated, showing Grogar that they already had a plan, meaning the Researchers aboard this ship had been planning this for some time and Zorah Magdaros breaking through was the key to getting them into the air, so they could study the Rotten Vale in much greater detail.

Grogar sighed for a moment and informed Sherry to get the quest set up, as he had a feeling that it might be easy for him to find what they were looking for, he just had to be patient and see what happened once he and Patches returned to the Coral Highlands.

Ballooning Problems

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It took Sherry some time to get things ready, especially since they had to send a report to Shepard and inform him of what was going on right now, so Grogar spent it talking with Hiroko, discussing what he had seen in the Coral Highlands, due to the fact that there was a chance the Odogaron might be there. He knew that it wouldn't come if one of the Legiana were in the area, given that the flying monster was the apex predator of the highlands, but he had been surprised several times since his arrival in this world and he had no way of knowing if the Odogaron would remain in it's domain. Hiroko agreed with his assessment, there was no telling what the Blood Wolf would do, showing that among the nicknames he had created this was the one she liked the most, along with a warning that it was in the Coral Highlands to find food. Such a thing told him all he needed to know, that there must not be a lot of good food down in the Rotten Vale and it was either hungry enough to climb up here, just wanted to fight something different for a change, or it was providing for a mate, given what he had read about on the way to the New World.

In the end it really didn't matter which idea was right, as an Odogaron might ruin their plans to gather what they need to rig this ship and transform it into a floating ship again, so he needed to be ready, but Grogar knew that if it tried to fight him he would be in a world of trouble, since it was similar to Nergigante in terms of speed.

"Grogar, the Commander sent us his reply to our message," Sherry commented, which meant that one of the Barnos must have arrived while they were talking, and that she had been waiting for it to arrive for some time, before she unfurled the scroll that had been sent to them, "Let's see... he's thanking us for our hard work, even though he and several others are a little surprised that we haven't found a piece of Zorah Magdaros in the Coral Highlands, but everyone agrees with the plan to revive the airship, so while we're looking for what we need he'll be sending a few people to assist us."

"Okay, then we'll head down and find us a Paolumu... by then I'll come to terms with what needs to be done," Grogar said, though he was hoping that they would be able to find a weakened Paolumu and offer it a swift death, the first monster he would actually kill with his own hands, as the rest of them had either been slain by other monsters or knocked out, despite his anger towards them.

"I've never seen a Hunter like you, who cares for the lives of the monsters we share this world with," Hiroko stated, where it was easy to tell that she was still interested in Grogar and his ideals, given how different he was from everyone else in this world, but she remained on her sitting area and nodded her head a little, "but I wish you well in your endeavor to find the items you need."

Grogar nodded before he, Sherry, and Patches departed once more, heading down into the Coral Highlands once more, to the first camp since they hadn't taken the time to set up the second one yet, which might be what the people were coming to do before working on the soon to be airship. Of course he and Patches passed by the camp and headed down into the area they had found the Tzitzi-Ya-Ku in, while at the same time Sherry stayed back to keep herself safe, though this time around he quietly asked his Scoutflies to track one of the Paolumu that were in this region. A few moments later they, like all of the other times someone asked them to find a certain monster, scattered and he remained still for a time, allowing him to observe the Kelbi and Shamos that were in the area, not to mention the Raphinos that were in the air. One thing he noticed was that one of the Tzitzi-Ya-Ku happened to be walking through this section of the Coral Highlands and used the flash power they were born with to knock a few Wingdrakes out of the air, for it to munch on, which was fascinating to observe, like he wasn't even there.

When the Scoutflies came back he found that they followed the path to the left this time around, causing him to follow after each one as he spied some tracks, those that had to belong to a Paolumu, though based on what he was seeing it did look like tracking a flying monster was quite hard. Since it could fly from place to place he knew that finding it had to be a hard task for the little critters, so he trusted them when they pointed him in the direction he was currently heading in, all while ignoring the Tzitzi-Ya-Ku before it noticed him and Patches. There was a path he had to climb up, where Grogar was able to see that it was far shorter than what he had seen previously and meant he didn't have to use magic to climb it in a matter of seconds, which seemed to let him walk over an arch of stone as he tracked down his target. While he did that he kept his eyes and ears open, as he wanted to be ready in case an Odogaron showed up, because he had a feeling it might show up and ruin his day once more, while Patches kept his gear at the ready as they carefully made their way through the portion of the Coral Highlands they were in.

A few moments later he spotted a Paolumu floating through the air, like it didn't have a care in the world, though when it opened it's eyes, and noticed him staring up at it, the expected reaction happened within seconds, it freaked out as soon as it noticed him, flapping it's wings like it was in danger. Such a thing told Grogar that it had to be a younger Paolumu, as in a teenager based on what he knew, and that it had no idea what to do in this situation, hence why it seemed to be flying off in the direction of something else, or maybe the rest of it's family. That gave him an idea when he considered it, this Paolumu might lead him to a sick and dying member of it's kind, one that he could both put out of it's misery and gain the items he needed for the airship, though his thoughts were dashed as he noticed that a more mature Paolumu flew down into the area. If that was the case he was going to be in for another fight, one he suspected would be hard since he had no idea how such a monster fought, so it would be a learning experience and then some when he considered the information he was seeing, before his thoughts were interrupted as Patches tugged on his clothing.

What he discovered sent a chill down his spine for a moment, as an Odogaron was up in the Coral Highlands, causing him to drop down for a time as he observed the monster, where he found that the more mature Paolumu hadn't noticed his presence yet and the Odogaron didn't seem to know he was in the area either. Sure enough he found that neither one of the monsters had any idea that he was watching them, where he carefully made his way over to the circular rest area that seemed to be where the Paolumu was heading towards right now, all while the Odogaron noticed it and growled before it moved to track it down. As he expected both monsters were gunning for each other, seeing the other as a threat to their domain, even if he knew that the Odogaron was supposed to be down in the Rotten Vale, and it wasn't long before the two clashed with each other, one tearing up the ground as the other moved through the air and seemed to fire bursts of air, or concentrated air, at their foe. It reminded him of what happened earlier, with the poor Tzitzi-Ya-Ku that was slain and the body was dragged down into the depths of the Rotten Vale, most likely for food when he considered the area once more, and it wasn't long before the Paolumu to decide that this wasn't a good idea, looking like it wanted to leave.

In the following moments the Odogaron leapt up into the Paolumu's face and chomped down on it's head without delay, forcefully dragging it back down to the ground so it couldn't leave, before shaking it's head for a few moments to inflict a bit more damage to the flying bat, though once it was done it hurled it's foe into a rock wall. Such a thing told Grogar more about the monster, the Odogaron was fast, it had impressive and shocking speed, and it had impressive leg strength, the last one allowing it to reach a monster that was higher in the air, meaning it was a dangerous foe and if he fought it he had to be ready for anything and everything. The Paolumu, now understanding that flying away wasn't going to help, especially since there was a chance that the Blood Wolf might track it back to it's den, picked itself back up and rushed back into the battle that Grogar knew it was destined to lose, though it didn't seem to be thinking about that, rather it was thinking of those it was protecting by not returning to the den it had come from. Grogar knew they were somewhat lucky, as he had no idea if the weaker Paolumu would have enticed the Odogaron to track it instead, but this way the rest of the odd bat monsters would be safe, at least until either the Legiana returned or the dangerous Odogaron came back.

As he started to shift his stance, so he could move in and see if he could fight off the Odogaron before it dragged the poor Paolumu down into the Rotten Vale, he heard the sound of a horse in the distance, where he turned his head and found a sight he wasn't expecting to see, a new monster had appeared in the arena. It was a four legged beast that looked similar to a unicorn, as it was a horse creature of some kind, though it seemed to have a face that was more like a lion's and most of it's body was covered in icy blue to black scales, with a majestic white mane and tail that stood up. The blue horn on top of it's head told Grogar all he needed to know, this was a Kirin, the Elder Dragon rumored to be somewhere inside the vast domain of the Coral Highlands, and after his encounter with Nergigante he wasn't in a rush to tangle with an Elder Dragon, especially one that commanded the power of lightning. The Odogaron turned it's head and noticed the imposing figure as it entered the area, where it looked like it was going to stand it's ground and fight the Elder Dragon, a foolish decision if it started to fight the Kirin, all while he inched slightly closer, to at least try to help the Paolumu that had been downed by it's fight with the Odogaron.

What he discovered was that, after a few moments of staring at the Kirin, the Odogaron huffed before rushing out of the area they were in, heading right for the Rotten Vale, showing Grogar that not even the vicious Blood Wolf would fight one of the Elder Dragons, or maybe it was tired and wanted to rest before trying it's claw at besting the Kirin, to which Grogar moved into the area and knelt by the Paolumu.

"Shh, it's okay... I'm not here to hurt you." Grogar said, as when he reached the monster it weakly tried to move away, but the wounds that the Odogaron had dealt caused it to go nowhere, all while he was aware of the fact that the Kirin was still watching him, no doubt curious as to what he was doing, before he let out a sigh as he checked the other wounds, as the news wasn't good, "I'm sorry, the Odogaron it... it crushed one of your wings, I can seen broken bones in your feet, there are gash marks all over your body and head, and that thrashing has done some serious damage to your head... I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do to help you."

As he said that he heard the sorrow cries of the other Paolumu, causing the weakened one to try to glance at the sky for a few seconds, though it wasn't long before it collapsed and went still, where he found that the Kirin stood nearby, as if it was paying it's respects, before departing for another part of the Coral Highlands. With that done he had Patches return to Sherry and pass on the news to Johnson, as he would know how to find the components they were looking for, while he planned on staying nearby to make sure the Odogaron didn't try to come back with the disappearance of the Elder Dragon that had drove it off. He knew that Hiroko would be interested in the sudden arrival of a Kirin in the Coral Highlands, if she didn't know already since he just now noticed the storm clouds that had formed above his head, a sure sign that the Kirin was on the move, though he was hoping it would move on, otherwise using the airship might be harder for them, but he and the others would deal with that in due time. Other than that there was nothing much he could do save use his magic to shield the fallen Paolumu, to make sure none of the remaining monsters tried anything funny, though it looked like the sudden arrival of a Kirin, of an Elder Dragon, had spooked them as well, which he was fine with.

It took a while for Johnson to arrive in the Coral Highlands, but when he showed up Grogar lifted the Paolumu with some of his magic and they departed for somewhere that was far safer for him to work in, which ended up being very close to where their camp was located, and he could hide them better with a simple spell. With Johnson hidden, Grogar made sure to keep an eye out for any monsters that might stumble upon the area that they were currently hiding in, which allowed the man to start carving open the fallen Paolumu so they could find all of the parts they needed. He didn't watch, as his attention was better served maintaining the barrier and keeping the other monsters away, while Patches helped him out, so they could be done with this and get moving before something like the Odogaron tracked them down. Johnson did his part of the work without delay, carefully making his way through the Paolumu's body as he carefully extracted the pieces he was told that they needed to collect, as he was far more experienced in this field than Grogar was and was glad that his magic was keeping them hidden.

Once they had everything they needed, and Johnson was sure of that, Grogar dropped the magic and they regrouped with Sherry before heading back to Hiroko's ship, to get started on the balloons they were planning on using to lift the ship into the air, or at least that seemed to be the plan in his eyes.

Upon their return Grogar stood outside as he watched the sky, because if the storm didn't pass they wouldn't be able to set the plan in motion for some time, while Sherry and Patches helped Johnson and the group from Astera get to work on the balloons they had brought supplies for. It still surprised him that Shepard was able to come up with a plan, with the aid of the Researchers and Scholars that were in Astera, in such a short period of time, but that just spoke to his genius in this field, hence why he was the Commander of their forces, even though Grogar was sure there was an Admiral, who was missing in action right now. It was an odd thing, to have one of their most valuable members be absent for so long, but if the figure was like the rest of the First Fleet, and Grogar assumed he was, he was spending his time tracking down any sort of disturbance or monster that might lead them to the heart of the Elder Crossing. Other than that he didn't have much to think about, though he found Hiroko joined him on the balcony, eager to hear his tale on what happened this time, even though she did seem surprised to hear that an Odogaron was sighted so soon after the first time, but nodded as he told her of the Kirin, meaning they had three Elder Dragons to worry about now.

After some time Johnson and the others declared that the balloons were ready and deployed them a few seconds later, as the storm had cleared at long last, meaning either the Kirin was asleep or it had moved elsewhere, where they watched all of them for a time as it lifted the downed ship into the air without wasting time.

"Good, now we can get closer to the Rotten Vale, and whatever secrets it holds," Grogar commented, where he stared out at the open area of the New World that was in front of them and spotted a flock of Raphinos in the distance, a flock that rested between them and their destination, while Sherry and Patches joined the pair.

"Yes, and while you're down there, searching for Zorah Magdaros' trail, I'm curious as to what you'll discover," Hiroko said, meaning there had to be something special about the Rotten Vale that he didn't know about, hence her line about it, but after saying that she turned her attention to the flock and considered what it might mean, "though with all the Raphinos in front of us we might run into some trouble."

"Don't worry, we have Grogar on our side... if a monster shows up, he'll talk to it." Sherry remarked, which was the truth, he preferred to speak to monsters and get them to leave them alone so they could get back to their mission, but he still had to fight occasionally, like with the Anjanath, and this showed her trust in his abilities.

Grogar barely nodded his head as he stared out at the Coral Highlands, even though he was amazed by the fact that the ship could fly while resting in a diagonal manner, without tilting, before they watched as one of the Legiana flew through the air and started to hunt some of the Raphinos that were in their way, meaning it was in their way as well.

"Excuse me?" Grogar said, using a spell to carry his voice to the Legiana, who paused for a moment before staring at the airship they were using to cross the sky, while he gestured to Sherry and had the ship stall, as they didn't want to move into the side of the monster, and sure enough it screeched before coming to a stop in front of them, "Listen, me and my companions are trying to reach another section of this land, and we mean no disrespect by intruding on your hunting domain, not like the Odogaron, the Blood Wolf, that stalks your domain. So, can we pass you by and get on with our lives?"

All it took was the comment about the Odogaron hunting while it wasn't there to cause the Legiana to permit them to pass through the area, while it headed down to track down the offender, who Grogar was sure had returned after seeing that the storm had faded, to which the others got them moving again as they focused on the Rotten Vale and whatever secrets it held for them.

Return to the Rotten Vale

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They moved through the air for some time, where Grogar, Hiroko, and Sherry stared out at the area as they focused on the Rotten Vale, searching for a good area to set down and begin their search for the fragment of Zorah Magdaros, or find out where the Elder Dragon was resting. In the end Hiroko let out a light chuckle as both Grogar and Sherry spotted what looked like a good first campsite near the highest point of the Vale, or at least the highest point they had access to, and pulled out an urn with a metallic rod, one that produced a sound that caused the ship to lower. It was all he needed to know, the rest of the crew had been told what to do whenever she did this, meaning her vessel would be moving into position before they sent the trio down, causing Grogar and Sherry to get ready. Based on what they knew they would be sending a modified anchor down into the depths, with a standing area that held their supplies and camping gear so they could set up camp in no time, and once that was done it would be up to Grogar and Patches to track down their target.

Once all three of them were ready to go, and they were sure of it, Grogar, Sherry, and Patches descended into the depths of the Rotten Vale, where Grogar found that it was simply massive, just like all of the regions he had seen so far, and, unless he was seeing things, it looked like a massive snake monster had died in this location. The bladed sections of the bone he saw confirmed the monster in a matter of seconds, it was a Dalamadur, a powerful Elder Dragon, and it looked like there was more than one skull belonging to the monster in question. It came as a surprise to him, as based on his research the Elder Dragons were supposed to be the strongest monsters in this world, to the point where many considered them immortal and that simply beating them put them to sleep for years, to prevent their destructive might from being unleashed, yet it was so weird to see the corpse of a few Dalamadur. It made him wonder what else was lurking in the depths of the New World, not just the Rotten Vale, and suspected that whatever they discovered down here would be an important piece of the puzzle, in fact it might help them solve the Elder Crossing entirely.

With that in mind he focused on what was below them and found the area Sherry was interested in, where the body of a fallen Tzitzi-Ya-Ku was surrounded by black scaled monsters with yellow markings on the back of their heads, only there was one large one and several smaller ones. Surrounding them was this odd fog, or maybe natural gas that was made by whatever was down here, and none of the monsters seemed to be bothered by all of it, meaning they were either immune or this level was weak enough to do nothing to them. Fortunately none of the monsters had seen their anchor yet, which came to a stop somewhat above the camp area, though based on what they were seeing it looked like a simple fire might be the key to driving off the monsters, which reminded him of the Jagras of the Ancient Forest, so one was a lesser version of the 'Great' version. In that moment Grogar held a hand out, to stop Sherry from doing something stupid, based on what he had seen since he started traveling with her in this land, before summoning several Fireballs and sent them down at all of his targets, blasting the black scaled monsters out of the way and scaring them off.

After that was done Grogar stepped forward and floated down to the campsite, while making sure Sherry, Patches, and all of their supplies had the same treatment, that way Sherry could float them down to him and he could move them into the areas they were supposed to rest in, before he set up a pair of floating stones to form an area that would keep the fog out, all so they could breath without worry.

"Well, you know what they say: when in doubt... burn them out!" Sherry remarked, as this just confirmed that Grogar was a good ally to have nearby at all times, because his magic was incredibly strong and when he encountered new obstacles it grew even more, explosively at that based on what she had seen so far, meaning he should be able to deal with all sorts of monsters and keep himself safe.

"Right. Well then, I should track down that monster and study it, as well as check out the rest of the Vale," Grogar said, as he didn't care much for Sherry's remark on the matter, in fact he thought it was a stupid thing to say, before he focused on their mission and the fact that this place looked like Zorah Magdaros had avoided it, or at least it had so far, since he was sure the Elder Dragon was slowing down, "I should be able to figure out a few things, and maybe discover more about the monsters that call this place home."

As Sherry nodded Grogar used his magic to pull the Tzitzi-Ya-Ku's body to the side and jumped down to the slanted path that was near the wall their campsite was built on, allowing him to find an open area that he deposited the corpse in, and sure enough he spotted the Odogaron moments later, claiming another monster for food. With that done he headed up the path he had spotted, to avoid being seen by the Blood Wolf, and found another area that was open, only this one was more like some ground and some odd webbing that held things together, before finding both the ground and ceiling were made out of bone. It meant the Dalamadur corpses must have collapsed in a way to make almost natural looking areas for people to walk on and explore, while at the same time he found that dark coral was growing out of the bodies, which had to be what Hiroko was talking about earlier, though it only made him think about things even more than before. One thing he noticed was all of the open locations, where the Odogaron climbed through and where the bodies of weakened or even ill monsters fell down to their deaths, entering a massive realm of death.

That was what the Rotten Vale was, it was a valley of death, built off of dead monsters and even Elder Dragons, the latter still being impossible in his mind when he thought about the species, but he hadn't figured out it's connection to the Elder Crossing, which might become clear in the very near future.

As he studied the area in question his Scoutflies surged forward and studied a set of bones that had some black substance to them, which likely belonged to the last monster of the Rotten Vale, since there were normally three monsters in each of the regions, but some had more than others, so he was expecting one more in addition to the Odogaron and the black lizard monster. After that thought crossed his mind he felt the ground shake for a moment, causing some of the pieces of bone that were barely hanging onto the ribs above him to break off and stab the around around him, which he avoided to the best of his ability. His movement was perfectly timed as a large black monster rolled up the path he had used earlier and moved into this part of the Vale, who seemed to have used some sort of black substance, identical to the one that was on the other bones, to attach a number of bones to it's body, a defensive mechanism. For a moment he wondered if this monster might simply roll away after revealing itself to him, like most of the other ones he had seen so far, but this time around it roared before rolling at him once more, causing Grogar to go on the defensive as he summoned a barrier, one that was twice as strong as his normal barriers.

Sure enough it smashed into the front of his barrier and dug into it, where his secondary spell activated and repelled the monster, Bone Roller until he learned it's true name from Cindy or Hiroko later, sending it right into the wall and caused a bit of bone to shake, but no more damage had been done as he readied himself for battle. One of the things he had taken a bit more time to research was that there were four natural elements the monsters were weak to, those being fire, water, thunder, and ice, while dragon was a fifth element and he wasn't sure what to make of that one, so his own training had been to master spells from those four types. The problem with this was that he had no idea which element a monster was weak to, not without research, so he prepared four small spheres and made sure one was of each type, all while his foe regained itself and faced both him and Patches, even though his Felyne was thinking of hanging off on the side, away from the upcoming battle. Grogar focused and hurled a larger Fireball through the air, blasting the Bone Roller in the face, but as the smoke cleared he found that while it did some damage to the monster it didn't seem to be a weakness, causing him to switch to a large Water Bullet and a Lightning Bolt.

Again neither spell seemed to have much of an effect on the monster, rather it only made it angry as it rolled around the area and smashed into everything as it tried to hit him for invading it's territory, and when it came at him again he used the ice sphere as some Ice Spikes that emerged from the ground, stabbing it multiple times before it could reach him, but it gave him all he needed to know. The Bone Roller, based on how it reacted to his attacks, was weak to ice attacks, which was followed by Grogar channeling frost around his arms as he readied several other spells he knew, showing that he was capable of understanding the situation and reacting accordingly. His foe, on the other hand, froze for a moment while it stared at him, clearly debating what to do next, once more confirming that most monsters were capable of thinking about things like humans did, hence why Grogar held his ground, waiting for the next attack to come. In the end the Bone Roller started to spin once more and headed down another path that lead into this area, leaving him and Patches to their own devices, meaning it must have thought twice about this fight and departed before he took it down, causing him to sigh for a moment as the ice disappeared.

"Well, that didn't turn out the way I thought it would." Grogar remarked, where Patches nodded his head for a moment, to show that he agreed with what he was saying, before he sighed as he started walking once more, as there was more for them to see before returning to the camp, "Oh well, let's see if we can't find that black scaled monster again, and maybe the Odogaron's nest."

As it turned out the Rotten Vale seemed to be, at a quick glance, a combination of the Coral Highlands and Ancient Forest, or at least pieces of both locations, as he found vines that allowed one to move up and down as they wanted, where he made notes about everything he saw and discovered, building a good map for later. Another thing Grogar found was that there was an area that seemed to be the divider between the bone section of the Vale and the natural section, the latter being where all sorts of monsters fell through when they died, like the land created a bunch of funnels to deposit food in this dark region. Patches followed him as he headed down the main path and found that the twisted gas got thicker as he went further down, at least a little bit for the time being, meaning the lowest sections had to be overflowing with this and the others would have information on it to share with him. It didn't take him long to find the monster he was looking for, as the large black scaled lizard monster was munching on something as the smaller ones did the same with the rest of the monsters, no doubt getting something to eat before another monster showed up, since there was no telling whether or not an Odogaron would show up to stop them.

With that done, and finding that his path was blocked by some bodies that the black scaled monster was moving, Grogar decided to return to the camp and found that Sherry was happy to see that he was safe, though once he made sure the camp was safe they climbed back onto the anchor and he sent up a flare, allowing Hiroko and the others to pull them back up to where the airship was resting.

"So, what have you discovered?" Hiroko asked, speaking as soon as Grogar, Sherry, and Patches returned to the inside of the ship, as while she liked to stand on the balcony she much preferred sitting on her seat, though she was more eager to hear what Grogar had to say about the Rotten Vale.

"The Rotten Vale is a place of death, where the monsters are likely fighting each other to survive," Grogar replied, where he took a few moments to arrange his thoughts on the matter before speaking his mind, while Sherry stood off to the side as she talked with Johnson, no doubt about supplies for future camps, "and we know that the Odogaron is down here, but I also encountered a large black, or maybe dark gray, skinned monster that rolls around and uses bones as it's armor, as well as some black scaled monsters that have yellow markings on the back of their heads, which look like lizards and come in two sizes."

"Ah yes, the Radobaan, the bone monster, and the Great Girros, with a pack of Girros," Hiroko said, confirming that Cindy, or someone else, had come up with the names for these monsters and now Grogar knew what to call them, though at the same time she considered something that hadn't been said, "Any sign of Zorah Magdaros?"

"Not in the upper reaches, but we were unable to go deeper due to a pile of monster bodies... which I'm sure will be taken away by one of them in due time," Grogar answered, as his current plan was to rest for an hour or two, give the monsters some time to move around and do whatever it was that they did on a normal day, before heading down and seeing if the way was clear for him to head deeper into the Vale, "We also found this odd gas, maybe a vapor of some kind, that was in the area we set our camp in, so I set up some crystals to keep the camp clean, and it seems to be getting thicker as one pushes deeper into the Rotten Vale."

"Effluvium. Had I known you would have encountered it so soon, I would have warned you." Hiroko stated, which told him that she must have been expecting him to simply stay in the upper reaches and then report back to the airship, but she wasn't annoyed with him, rather she was pleased to see that he was safe and that he came back with information that all of them could use, "We know it is some sort of bacteria that causes dead tissue to rot at a rapid pace, which explains the smell and why the monsters are so quick to claim the bodies that fall down there, otherwise a potential food source will disappear, and we're certain there are safe locations deeper in the Vale, otherwise the Odogaron, Great Girros, and all of the smaller Girros wouldn't be able to live down there."

Grogar sighed as he thought about that, especially since he had no idea why Zorah Magdaros would head to a place that was as dangerous as this, but he knew that it would become known to him in time, as he would be heading back down into the Vale to see what else he could learn about it and it's connection to the mysterious Elder Crossing.

Shocking Discoveries

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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.

A Fiery Throne

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Upon returning to the airship, after their discussion with Cindy about the purpose of the Elder Crossing, Grogar informed Hiroko of what happened to Scarlet, as they had finally discovered a clue as to what had happened to her after the Legiana downed her ship twenty years ago.

"Interesting. Scarlet's been alive this whole time, and yet we're only now finding out... and you say that she's turning into an Odogaron, while having one as a mate?" Hiroko inquired, as that was a tale she wasn't expecting to hear, though it certainly explained why they were unable to find her for so long, due to the fact that Cindy had been the only one qualified to explore outside the airship and it had taken some time for them to get down to the Rotten Vale, "Fascinating. It's a shame she ran off after you healed her headache, as it would have been interesting to lay eyes on her altered form... not to mention the fact that it takes a small number of miracles for such a thing to happen in the first place."

Grogar nodded as he agreed with her statement, as Scarlet was lucky to have those miracles happen when they did, even if she had been unlucky to fall off the airship, and it gave them new insight into the wonders of this world, despite the fact that repeating those very miracles would be next to impossible. He found that they were flying back to Astera without delay, so it gave him a chance to tell Hiroko about their discovery, something Cindy joined them for since she had pieced most of it together by herself, though she was still stunned that he did the same thing in a few hours. Together they prepared a report on the two regions that were beyond the Great Ravine, that way Shepard, the Researchers, and the Scholars would be able to learn more about both the Coral Highlands and the Rotten Vale, because now that the barrier between regions had been broken there was no reason for them to without this information. He still felt a little annoyed by the fact that Alexia had decided to keep the information about these regions to herself, and not share with Astera so they could be prepared for whatever the future held, but there was no reason for him to worry about that, given that the current problem was still going on.

As he thought about that, however, he glanced over at Sherry and found that she was thinking about something else, to which Grogar determined that she must be considering the truth they discovered down in the Rotten Vale, that the Elder Dragons weren't as immortal was one assumed and that each of them could die. Truth be told he was surprised by that as well, especially after witnessing Zorah Magdaros' power and nearly being killed by Nergigante, but it seemed to hit her far harder than anyone else that was aboard the airship. In that moment he recalled what he had seen back on the ship, in the days following his arrival in this world, where he saw Sherry's secret, the one she couldn't share with anyone else for some reason, which originally made him wonder if she was a Wyverian like Alexia, only more in control of her condition, for the most part anyway. That had been his thought on the matter, that she had forced herself to learn how to force all of her other parts to hide so she could pass as a human, but now he wasn't so sure, as Sherry seemed disturbed by the new information they had learned, that Elder Dragons could die and their bioenergy fueled the New World, which made him wonder something for a few moments, before returning to his work.

When they got close to Astera Hiroko had them lower the airship enough so they could walk out and not impact anything, allowing Grogar's group and herself to enter the Tradeyard before the flying ship took to the skies once more, though as soon as that was done they walked over to Shepard's table and gave him the news. Shepard and the others were taken aback by this information, not to mention Grogar's report on what happened in the Rotten Vale, confirming Scarlet's fate at long last, but the truth of the Elder Crossing was the heart of their meeting with those who lead Astera. Learning that the New World had been made due to an ancient Elder's death, and release of their bioenergy, was a surprise none of the Fleet Masters or the heads of Astera had been expecting, which only made some of them wonder who was the first, which monster had set in motion the events that started the creation of this continent. Grogar agreed with that thought, despite the fact that they had no way of knowing thanks to how many corpses were inside the Rotten Vale, to the point where he was sure that the bodies of monsters from thirty to forty years ago were already gone, turned to dust, before he moved onto the last piece of information he had to share with them.

That was the fact that, to learn more about what was going on with Zorah Magdaros, they needed to track down one of the First Wyverians and convince them to share their knowledge with them, though finding one was likely going to be the hardest part, or at least he hoped it was.

"This... is a lot to take in." Shepard said, which everyone agreed with as he stared down at the reports Grogar had made on the two regions he, Sherry, and Patches had explored since they had been sent through the gap in the Great Ravine, as it was good information to have for the future, before he glanced at another report for a second, "Unfortunately, our most recent sighting of a First Wyverian was somewhere in the upper reaches of the Ancient Forest, so that's where you should start your search... after some rest, since you've been working with no real breaks."

Grogar wanted to say that he had already taken enough breaks, talking with Hiroko about things, but he knew that it was a bad idea to try and talk Shepard out of this, in fact he tried with the assault on Zorah Magdaros and failed to convince the man that it was a bad idea, so he took a break and relaxed a little. Of course he made sure to stop by the Researchers and share his information with them, about all the monsters he had discovered and the confirmation that a Kirin was calling the Coral Highlands home, despite the fact that it wasn't attacking any of the other monsters. Such a thing made him a tad bit curious as to whether or not it might be on the verge of dying as well, that it came to relax and rest before delving into the Rotten Vale, to find it's way to the heart of the valley of death. In addition to that he also informed them of Scarlet and her shifting condition, as they were curious as to how much of her humanity was left and how much longer she had until the monster side totally took over, and he answered the questions to the best of his ability, though he really had no way of knowing the truth and they had to accept that fact.

Once he was ready to go Grogar, Patches, and Sherry departed for the Ancient Forest once more, finding that the Barnos brought them to a higher camp than what they were used to, one that was built high in the branches and someone could fall a great distance before hitting the ground. After landing Grogar found that his partner wanted to help track down the First Wyverian, to which he made sure she stayed close as they started to explore the section of the region that they were currently in, even though they had to map out the new area for themselves. One thing they found was that a couple of the Bugtrappers, the Felynes that were running around this region, were exploring and even focused on the group for a time, to see what they were doing, but since they didn't want to talk Grogar focused on their mission. The monsters, however, were either inactive or they didn't want to bother them, as if they could smell the Rotten Vale on them and wanted nothing to do with them, though either way it gave Grogar a chance to study the area as he and Sherry looked for clues, since they had no idea where the First Wyverian might be.

After some time they found a path that lead to what appeared to be the highest point of the Ancient Forest, a next that was on the exterior of the great tree, and the tracks ended after a while, meaning they were on the right path and lost it in no time, but before he had a chance to process this information Grogar discovered a monster closing in on their location, one he didn't want to mess with right now, especially since they had to dodge it as it flew by.

"Oh no, not a Rathalos." Sherry said, as she knew that this was the last thing they needed right now, though as the three of them picked themselves up off the ground Grogar considered something, he and Patches weren't the Rathalos' target, in fact he went out of his way to avoid the pair, meaning his target had been Sherry, once more confirming that she was just a monster magnet, or something to that effect.

In that moment the Rathalos flew overhead and loosed several fireballs down on where they were standing, where Grogar cast shields to make sure none of them came into contact with him or his companions, before he spied an opening to his left and escaped through it with Sherry and Patches, even if they had to slide a little... and when they came to a stop they discovered someone in interesting robes and an odd hat staring down at them from a tree branch.

"Well, being attacked by a Rathalos ended up working to our benefit: there's our target." Sherry remarked, as this was a stroke of good luck on their part, because now that they found a First Wyverian they would be able to figure out what in the world was up with Zorah Magdaros, and if something needed to be done to stop him.

"...Yes?" the First Wyverian inquired, where it sounded like he was speaking in vibrations, instead of a language like all of the people that Grogar was used to talking with, or like the growls that the monsters used to communicate, though he did wait for them to stand up before speaking to them again, "You wish to know where you may find the dragon with a mountain of fire on its back?"

"Him, actually... but yes, we seek Zorah Magdaros." Grogar replied, though as he thought about what the figure had said, for all of a few seconds anyway, he discovered that the figure knew about their quest and had likely seen the beast when it landed, in fact he might have watched them try to capture the Elder Dragon.

"Hmm... strange, I have not seen one like you before... but yes, I possess that knowledge." the First Wyverian said, not that Grogar was surprised by the first part, as everyone in this world was surprised by his appearance and skills, including his magic for that matter, but as he said that Grogar had a feeling that there was a condition they would have to complete to learn where Zorah Magdaros was currently hiding, "However, while you are different, you are not worthy of being given this knowledge... only one who stands at the top of the food chain, who has defeated the fire wyvern and the horned wyvern, who have descended upon the forest and waste respectively, are worthy of this information."

"Which means hunting and beating that Rathalos," Sherry said, confirming what Grogar was thinking as he heard what the First Wyverian wanted of them, or him to be exact, before she considered the rest of the information and what they knew about the area in question, about the Wildspire Waste to be exact, "Grogar, while you do that I'll return to Astera and see if I can figure out what the horned wyvern might be, then once you're done we can track the other one down and see if you can't beat it as well."

Grogar nodded as Sherry departed for the camp, as it meant that he didn't have to worry about her being targeted by the Rathalos while he was tracking it, though once he was sure his partner was back at camp, which he could see from where they had ended up, he readied his defenses. Based on his knowledge of the elements he knew fire was out, given what he had just seen when their foe attacked them, and he still had no idea how to wield the dragon element, so that left water, thunder, and ice for him to pick from. He knew that out of those three that thunder was the best option right now, while he was sure ice was a close second in terms of effectiveness, to which he steeled himself before heading through the small opening that had brought them down to where the First Wyverian had been standing for some time. It took only a couple of moments to return to where they had seen, and had been attacked by, the Rathalos, where he discovered that the nest was rather empty and suspected that his target might be flying around once more, no doubt looking for him and Sherry, or at least that was what he'd do in the monster's position.

As he considered his next step, and how to draw the monster back to him, he spotted a shadow flying in the air and was able to identify the Rathalos with ease, his target was gunning for him and he was totally annoyed that someone was in his nest, which worked perfectly for Grogar. Sure enough the Rathalos loosed more fireballs down on where he was standing, where Grogar summoned his magical shields and made sure to block the incoming attacks with them, though as he did that he also gathered his power for a few moments. As the smoke cleared he loosed a bolt of lightning at his target, hitting the Rathalos square in the chest and caused his foe to stagger, but, as he expected, a single attack wasn't enough to make it go down and his foe was already righting himself so he could blast the area once more. The next Lightning Bolt he threw smashed into a fireball that happened to be coming his way, both attacks blowing up as soon as they came into contact with each other, though the smoke cover was all he needed right now as he took to the air, as while he was unable to lift both himself and those around him, like during their fall into the Rotten Vale, he could give himself flight for a time.

Such a thing surprised the Rathalos as he burst out of the smoke and lashed out with his blade, which dug into the side of his target's neck as he passed by, due to the monster moving a little to avoid it hitting the side of his face, which, in turn, caused Grogar to move as well, to avoid being hit by the poisonous tail his foe possessed. After that Grogar decided to just stay in the air, even if the spell did burn through his mana reserves a little, something he had to thank Nergigante for since her almost killing him boosted his power to a new level, where he and Rathalos exchanged blows with each other. All that meant was that he let his foe launch his fireballs at him and he, in turn, would throw Lightning Bolts at them, purposely making more smoke for him to use as cover, something that greatly annoyed the Rathalos since he couldn't see Grogar, if he slipped into the large clouds of smoke, especially since it let him do some decent damage to his target. Other than that all he had to do was avoid the end of his foe's poisonous tail and the battle seemed to be somewhat even, at least in terms of strength, but Grogar knew that his magical power gave him an edge over his enemies and it was time that he used it to ensure his survival in this world.

With that thought in mind he slipped into the area that was below the Rathalos and struck it with another Lightning Bolt, this time causing his target to fall out of the air with his back towards the ground, though given how fast it recovered from the first attack he had another at the ready. This one was a mass of lightning that was gathered around his blade, like the move he used back during their siege to try and capture Zorah Magdaros, and he slammed it right into the Rathalos' chest, shocking it as he pushed his foe down towards the lowest level of the Ancient Forest. He followed after his attack for a few seconds and made sure that the wyvern struck his target, hitting the ground with enough force to knock anything out, and as he landed on the monster's chest, however, he heard a growl and found an Anjanath standing nearby, causing him to frown as his aura flared. The bystander got the message with ease, as he had downed the apex monster of the forest and was threatening to attack it as well, and Grogar watched as it ran off without a fight, though to make things easier for him he used some magic to restrain the wings and tail of his foe, that way it couldn't fight him or attack him from behind.

His thoughts were proven true as the Rathalos regained consciousness and thrashed around for a moment, trying to get out of the hold he had trapped him in, before his opponent noticed that there was no way out of his and went still as he stared at Grogar, who had one simple question for him.

"Do you yield?" Grogar asked, because if the monster understood the situation he was in, and that he was beaten to some degree, he would say yes, which would lead him to releasing the wyvern before heading off to see if Sherry had found out what the other one he needed to fight was.

What happened next was that the Rathalos chuckled, or it sure sounded like it to Grogar, before declaring that he did, he was beaten and there was no other way to look at the scene they were in, to which he dispelled his magic and climbed off the beast, who glanced at him for a moment. Grogar was expecting an attack of some kind, as there was no telling if the monster meant what he said or not, but not a few moments later the Rathalos took to the air and left, causing him to sigh as he returned to the camp they had landed in earlier, since that was where Patches had likely ended up. With half of the quest completed he intended to return to Astera and see what sort of information Sherry, or the Researchers, had for him about the other monster, since it had to be one he hadn't encountered yet, or maybe it was the one that burst out of the ground and took down the Barroth. It was possible that it was the monster he had seen once more, as he didn't think there would be another monster in the Wildspire Waste, but he was going to have to wait to see what sort of information his partner had for him to go on.

Once he was back at the camp, and found Patches waiting for him, they headed back to Astera so they could see what sort of monster they were going to be hunting down next, all so he could figure out what in the world was happening with the massive missing Elder Dragon.

The Horned Tyrant

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With the Rathalos conquered, or at least he was sure of that when he considered what the First Wyverian had said, Grogar returned to Astera and found that everyone happened to be busy, which he was fine with since there was no telling what Zorah Magdaros was up to, before he landed and made his way to the Researchers.

"Grogar, we've figured out who the other monster is." Sherry said, speaking as soon as he and Patches reached the area that she and the Researchers were working in, where he found that one of their tomes was open to a page that contained a brown scaled wyvern that resembled the horned one they had seen in the Wildspire Waste earlier, "It's a Diablos, the apex predator of the Wildspire."

"Makes sense the First Wyverian would send us after two different apex predators," Grogar remarked, as it made sense if one thought about it from the sense that this was a test, as anything else could be seen as the being messing with them as he dangled information in front of them, before he sighed for a moment as he lifted the tome, "Let's see, supposedly this monster is weak to the ice element, while it is somewhat more resistant to dragon, water, and thunder, so that gives me a slight edge for when we arrive in the desert. Oh, and I beat the Rathalos, just like the First Wyverian asked."

"And let him go, based on what I saw earlier," a voice said, where they found Alexia joining them as they talked about the monster that needed to be hunted down next, though there was a frown on her face, like she was disappointed with him and his actions, "All that training and you still can't kill a monster."

"The training was to make sure I survived, not to kill everything in my path... if I wanted that, I would have just trained all of my magic and used it to blast the continent to ash," Grogar stated, showing them that all he wanted to do was survive as he explored the New World, which many of the people in Astera did as the days went by, before he glanced back at the tome for a few seconds, "besides, the First Wyverian asked that I take down a Rathalos and a Diablos, but I'm not about to kill something that wasn't disrupting the flow of nature."

Sherry knew that many considered Grogar to be a pacifist, fighting only when necessary, but the truth was that he had a greater love for the creatures of this world than anyone she had encountered, so much so that he only killed those that were disrupting nature and spared the others, causing Alexia to growl before taking off.

"What we've figured out is that the Diablos live underground, though they have been known to wander from time to time," Sherry continued, deciding to focus on their conversation and not worry about the transformed Wyverian that seemed to dislike her partner, or maybe she liked him and this was her way of trying to get his attention, though if the latter was the case she felt the lady was failing, "You should be able to find one near where the Barroth first attacked us, though if not we can track it down together."

Grogar considered the idea for a moment as he nodded his head, as there was no way for them to know where the next monster was lurking without actually exploring the Wildspire Waste for a time, though since he didn't want to waste any time he departed for where the Barnos were resting, so he could get this mission started. Not a few moments later his group flew out of Astera, as Sherry was going to stick in the camp until she was needed and Patches would be joining him in battle, as this time there weren't any vast ledges for him to jump off of and lose his partner. As they did that he knew that Shepard had to wonder what was going on, if Sherry hadn't told him anything about what they were doing, but given who he was thinking about he knew she had told their Commander the information he needed to act on, mostly to okay the quests the First Wyverian had asked them to tackle. At the same time he noticed a Rathian and a Rathalos off in the distance, no doubt meeting up to spend an evening together, though that meant they wouldn't have to worry about one of them interrupting the quest that he and his companions were currently undertaking, allowing him to focus on the apex monster they would be tracking down next.

When they touched down in their camp, the one that Shepard's friend had told them about, Grogar made sure Sherry was fine before he and Patches headed out to track down the Diablos, where his current objective was to find the pit that the Barroth had been dragged through, as it was a worthwhile place to start. It didn't take him and Patches long to reach his destination, where he looked up at the rock pillars and found some of the vulture birds that had been hanging around the last time he had been here, who produced loud sound that even the Diablos could hear. As they entered the area he held up a hand and Patches stopped, as a Barroth was entering the area and he made sure both of them were hidden by some of his magic, causing him to huff for a moment, as not resting after facing off against the Rathalos was going to come back and bite him at some point, he was sure of it. They watched in silence for a time, where he found that the Barroth quickly wrecked one of the pillars and scattered the birds that had been on it, causing them to screech before he felt something move below the ground, giving him and Patches a front row seat of the scene he had witnessed some time ago, the sand being broken up as the Diablo burst out of it, grabbed the Barroth, and smashed it into the ground.

In that moment, as both sank into the lower level, Grogar made his move as he rushed forward and summoned some of his magic, allowing them to float down into the cavern that the Diablos was resting in, finding that it was resting on part of the sand and glanced up for a moment. That instant was where Grogar activated the second phase of his magic, sending a volley of Ice Spears down at his target as he avoided Patches, who descended far faster than he did and stabbed the side of the monster, as his Palico wanted to be useful and not be forgotten all the time. Sure enough the monster roared as it was struck by the thick icicles he had created, though it told Grogar something, the Diablos was stronger than he thought since it didn't slow down at all, rather it only seemed annoyed by his attacks and looked like it was going to try and gore him with it's horns. A few seconds later he dropped out of the air and weaved his magic along the ground, causing stone to rise into a wall as he did so, which was a good move since his foe rushed forward and smashed right into the rock wall, breaking it into a thousand pieces as Grogar threw himself backward, avoiding the initial assault and tips of his foe's horns before it could hit him.

What he had to worry about was when the Diablos headed underground and attacked him from a blind spot, where he had to rely on his magic to sense the incoming attack and avoid it as best as he could, before loosing bursts of frost magic and icicles at his current foe. His magic slowed his opponent down, though unlike the Rathalos there was no easy way to decide if it was getting tired or if his attacks were having no effect on it, and the only thing that seemed to work in his favor was when he lined the Diablos up with a wall and forced it to ram into the thick stone behind him. There were two spells in this particular type of magic that he knew, ones he rarely used and had no idea if they would have any effect on the large monster in front of him, even with it's weakness to ice attacks, but since the Diablos didn't seem like it was slowing down, well, he really didn't have much of a choice, and if those failed he'd have to try something else. As he dodged the Diablos' next attack, however, he rolled off to the side and spun around as he waved his right hand, forming an area of ice for him to reside on for a short period of time, and when the monster rushed at him he leveled his hand with his foe and watched as his spell took form. A number of ice spikes, each at least half as thick as the Diablos' body, burst out of the ice that was around him, surprising the monster in question as they lifted it into the air and pinned it to the wall that was behind it, all of which freezing a good portion of the area, some poking the monster and sending a chill into it's body, while taking a bit of his energy as well.

The 'Heavenly Ice Fangs' was a powerful spell, one that could actually freeze the environment in the early stages if one had no control over their magic, and even with his boosted power it was still a draining spell, one that might do nothing if he used it against Zorah Magdaros, but after thinking about it he huffed as he picked himself up and faced the monster that was looking at him like he was something else, something terrifying.

"Do... you surrender?" Grogar asked, trying the same tactic that he had used against the Rathalos earlier, showing it power that was above what it was capable of and then asking if it would surrender, or would it rather continue in the face of what he was capable of, even though he was sure that his depleted magic reserves couldn't handle another instance of battle, not without rest anyway.

The Diablos quickly admitted defeat and Grogar, in response to that, released his magic before the monster fled, showing him that he was successful in beating his opponent once again, to which he departed from the area and tracked down his partner, as Sherry had to hear that he was successful before they tracked down the First Wyverian again. Of course he did move a bit slower than before, as spending that much energy left him exhausted and he had a feeling that he would have to rest before tackling whatever the First Wyverian told them, since Zorah Magdaros had to be doing something bad and needed to be stopped. Patches joined him and made sure that the monsters stayed away from them, though based on what he was seeing it looked like most of the beasts that called this place home knew he had beaten the Diablos and had no desire to face him or his Felyne in a fight, which both of them were fine with. Despite his exhaustion he found that his Handler was still at the camp, a little worried for him since she had no idea what had happened, and ushered him to one of the oak stools they had crafted for the makeshift canteen, where he informed her of what he did and what it meant for their overall mission.

As he said that, however, they found that a guest had arrived, the First Wyverian to be exact, meaning he must have seen the battle with the Rathalos and knew, by listening to his tale before revealing himself, that the Diablos had been beaten as well, causing the trio to glance at him for a moment.

"Greetings, conqueror of the ecosystem," the First Wyverian said, confirming that he must have overhead the tale he had just shared with Sherry, though none of them moved as they waited for him to uphold his end of the bargain, telling them what he knew about Zorah Magdaros and what the Elder Dragon was doing, "now you may know the secret of the dragon that carries a mountain of fire on it's back. The dragon hovers on the brink of death, but the light of life is calling out to it, drawing it away from it's proper grave... it has wandered into the Everstream and has lost its way... where it is now poised to perish there, brimming with fiery life bringing energy. The Everstream connects every corner of this land, like the veins of a beating heart... should the dragon succumb to death there, its glut of energy will hurtle through those veins, setting those aflame and searing the land to ash and scorched earth. That is the dragon's secret... and that is this land's fate."

As the First Wyverian departed, seemingly unconcerned for the impending destruction of the New World, Grogar knew that they had discovered a ticking time bomb, Zorah Magdaros was going to obliterate this entire island if they didn't stop him, but after the siege they didn't have enough resources for such a thing. He considered calling the other Elder Dragons to their aid, as it would wipe out their homes as well, but he wasn't sure they would come, so he shelved the idea while he picked himself up, as there was one thing he wanted to verify before reporting to Shepard. As such he asked the Barnos to make a side trip to an area he had seen on the map, which had to be the Everstream, or an entrance to it anyway, and not a few moments later they were flying out, as Sherry wasn't about to leave him alone right now, even though his focus was on what he might discover in the near future. It didn't take them long to discover what he was looking for, a massive cave that Zorah Magdaros could fit through, a molten area to be exact that was connected to the ocean, and based on what he could feel this place did feel like a vein of the island, meaning if the monster died this island was doomed, as much as he hated the idea.

With that information gained they flew back to Astera and he dropped down into the council area with his magic, as this was far too important for him to waste time heading down the stairs, and as the others realize they had been interrupted he launched himself into the tale, leaving nothing out so they understood what he was telling them.

"I... well, to be honest, I wasn't expecting that sort of information." Shepard said, speaking once Grogar was done and he had a chance to confirm the tale once Sherry arrived, something that caused the others to speak up all at once, because if the information was true, and they knew it was, they had two options, run or face death, before he chuckled, "Well, if this is the hand we've been dealt, then we have no choice but to face Zorah and drive him out to sea... Sherry, I can see that you were thinking of suggesting that we push him away and let the water mitigate the blast, keeping this island safe while allowing a new ecosystem to start in the ocean."

"Y... Yes, that was what I was going to suggest, but even if we do that we don't have the supplies," Sherry stated, which was part of the problem, they couldn't rely on Grogar's magic all the time and, since they had no idea when Zorah Magdaros was scheduled to arrive at the cave entrance they discovered, she was considering fleeing before they were caught in the blast that would wipe out the New World.

"About that, we had a timely arrival while you were gone." Shepard replied, where he gestured off to the side and the pair found that the Captain of the Fifth Fleet had returned, no doubt with all sorts of supplies to aid them in their mission to figure out what was going on with the Elder Crossing and the Elder Dragons, "Captain, if you would?"

"I've brought everything the Commission could possibly need: ballistae, ballista arrows, cannons, cannonballs, harpoons, and a literal boatload of supplies," the Captain stated, informing them as to what he had brought with him, where Grogar had a feeling that a message had been sent ahead of him and he basically swapped ships to get back here so quickly, as in the seas must have been totally calm for him to get to the Old World and get back here in such a short period of time, and that was when a smile appeared on his face, "and the Guild supplied us with one hell of a ship, she comes fully equipped with the latest anti-Elder Dragon weapon: a Dragonator!"

"That is quite the surprise, and will come in handy during the next siege." Shepard said, to which he glanced at the rest of the team and everyone nodded their heads, as they knew that talking him down and convincing him to flee was next to impossible, so they went along with the insane plan that was brewing in his head right now, "Since we don't know when Zorah will be arriving, we should get started on a new barricade immediately, so I want all of you to get moving... Sherry, Patches, you should join them as well, as I need a word with Grogar before he gets some rest."

Grogar raised an eyebrow for a moment as Sherry and Patches nodded their heads, though what he discovered was that Shepard wanted to talk to him in a room that, apparently, was their new quarters, for their hard work so far, though he had a feeling this was temporary, though inside the room he found an interesting sight, Sherry was standing there with a frown on her face, causing him to wrap the area in illusion magic to hide them.

"This is why I asked that your partner join the others, and not follow us immediately," Shepard said, keeping his voice low so no one that was outside the room could hear them talk, even though he trusted Grogar's magic enough to know that no one could see or hear him, so he was just being careful in case the magic broke apart while they were here, "Grogar, allow me to introduce Sherry, your Handler... the real one, to be exact, as I have confirmed it."

"So, you're the one that I'm partnered with... fascinating." the lady commented, where Grogar could tell that she looked like the lady that he had spent a lot of time with since he landed in this world, sounded exactly like her as well, which told him that this wasn't a case of a twin, otherwise Sherry would have mentioned it at some point, or maybe Aiden and their friends would have done that at some point.

"We have a doppleganger." Grogar stated, though this did confirm, in part, some of the theories he had about the lady he had been working with, especially since she seemed to be a monster magnet, but for now he focused on what they were talking about and what it meant for the other Sherry, "Since we're on a tight schedule, due to not knowing when Zorah Magdaros will reach the Everstream, I'm going to assume that that problem will be dealt with first, then the issue of there being two Sherry's?"

As Shepard nodded, however, Grogar decided that there was one more thing that needed to be done, as he headed out to the front of Astera and gathered his magic, causing the Commander to follow him as the real Sherry covered herself with a brown robe, to hide her appearance so she wasn't discovered so soon, before he glanced at the sky.

"Nergigante!" Grogar called out, using his magic to project the single word all over the New World, while holding up one of his hands to stop Shepard before he could speak, and sure enough his thoughts were correct, the beast responded to his call, as she burst out of the air and landed in front of him, looking like she wanted to smash him into the ground and just end his life, "Listen, I know you don't like me, but Zorah Magdaros... the dragon with a mountain of fire on his back... is about to blast this entire island to hell if he dies in the Everstream, a place we're setting up some defenses in... will you join us in stopping him from wiping this island off the map?"

Sure enough Nergigante growled as she stepped towards him, enough to stare him straight in the face and look like she was going to tear his head off, causing him to stand perfectly still, before she let out a 'fine' and flew off, causing him to let out a sigh of relief as he told the others they had another ally in this fight, though once that was done he returned to his room to rest, as he had a feeling he was going to need his power for the upcoming battle.

A Colossal Task

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Grogar found that Shepard and the others gave him the rest of the afternoon, and the night, to rest and recover for what they had planned, allowing him to regain all of his mana reserves, which he was thankful for since there was no telling what was going to happen in the near future. Once he was up he walked out and joined the others in doing whatever needed to be done to ensure that they were ready for Zorah Magdaros, though the first thing Shepard asked him to do was eat, as he needed his strength for this operation. He found that Patches and Sherry, or at least the imposter when he recalled the truth of the matter, were busy moving crates onto the ship that was going to and from the Everstream entrance, allowing everyone else to get things set up ahead of time. At the same time he noticed that the true Sherry was working near their Commander at all times, saying nothing as she aided them in getting everything ready, even though he knew she was staring at the pretender and was silently cursing her for stealing her identity like this.

That was something he would need to figure out at some point, who the other Sherry was and why she had impersonated one of the Commission's members, though as he finished his meal he discovered something weird, Nergigante was in the area, hauling large amounts of wooden beams to the area as well.

"So, did she lend a claw by herself, or did you convince her to help somehow?" Grogar asked, speaking to Shepard as he watched that happen for a few seconds, witnessing the powerful beast lift all of the material into the air before taking off, no doubt making the job somewhat easier for the Commission to do.

"I think she's scouting ahead, looking for Zorah Magdaros... either she wants another fight with you, or she wanted some of the Meowscular Chef's cooking." Shepard replied, where he chuckled for a moment as he noticed the look Grogar gave him, to which he beckoned to the area that he had called the black beast to earlier, allowing him to see that there was a bit of food set out, "He figured that she had to be hungry, as he caught her staring at some of the food earlier and cooked up a storm for her as well, so we might have won over an Elder Dragon with cooking alone... oh, and we decided to categorize Nergigante, both of them, as an Elder Dragon, based on what we've seen so far."

"I see. Well then, is the plan the same as last time?" Grogar inquired, though he was grateful for the information, since he agreed with Nergigante being labeled as an Elder Dragon, but even as he considered that he was curious as to whether or not they would be repeating what happened during the first siege, or if Shepard had come up with another plan to repel the massive beast.

"Yes, we're going to send a team of Hunters onto Zorah Madgaros' back and weak him like we did the last time," Shepard said, though this time they joined the rest of the heads of Astera, save for those who were in the Everstream, setting up for the arrival of Zorah Magdaros, allowing the others to listen to his plan as they waited for one of their scouts to say that the target was in route, "while the rest of our forces are going to fight from the wall we're constructing, not to mention on the boat that the Captain brought with him. Nergigante, well, she can do whatever she wants as long as we keep Zorah Magdaros away from his destination, though you can move however you like, as we need every spell and bit of magic you have to stop him from blasting this island to hell... I'd ask if you could get us more Elder Dragons to help out, but we have no idea where the others are and I'm not sure they'll help us anyway."

"Then this is all we can do." Grogar stated, though he wasn't sure what his magic could do at this point, as while he was strong on his own, and had grown stronger thanks to being sent to a new world, his current level meant nothing when he thought about an Elder Dragon, but, at the same time, he knew that facing a stronger foe was the key to awakening even more of his latent power, like what happened with Nergigante.

It was a gamble, he knew that much, but there was a chance that fighting Zorah Magdaros would awaken another level of power, he just needed to be beaten to within an inch of his life or something, forced to the limit he guessed, which was why it was such a terrible gamble, as Nergigante had nearly killed him during their fight. Given that Zorah Magdaros was in the dying stage of his life, well, there was no guarantee that his power would be weaker than it was when they tried the first siege, so he might not have anything to worry about and the fight itself would bring his power bursting to the surface so he could help save this land. The other option was being wiped out and leaving the fight to Aiden and the others, who he was sure would be able to do it, with enough time and persistence, though he preferred to be alive to see what in the world was going on with his Handler and the imposter. He could see that Shepard understood his thoughts, or maybe he had a better understanding of his abilities after spending some time with him, listening to the stories that were told about what he could do and what he had done, but, in the end, he decided not to worry as he focused on whatever they might face when their target finally showed up.

Unfortunately he didn't have a lot of time to rest as Nergigante burst out of the air and landed in Astera, surprising most of the people that were working right now, though upon seeing her Grogar rushed over to her to see what in the world had happened, even though most of them had an idea of what had happened.

"Nergigante, is it him? Are we out of time?" Grogar asked, because if Zorah Magdaros was approaching the Everstream, a fact he was almost sure of, then they had to leave now and make sure the rest of the defenses were in place, otherwise this was all for nothing and the beast would blast them all to hell.

"Not yet, but he's close to the opening." Nergigante growled, her tone revealing that she either didn't like him or she was only keeping him around so she could kill him later, but, at the same time, she didn't want the land to be blown up by the Elder Dragon they were gathering to defeat, hence why she was beating her wings a little, "Come, we should ready ourselves for battle!"

In that moment Grogar called out to the other Hunters and Commander Shepard, informing them that the time had come at last, before making his way to the new boat, as he knew Nergigante would buck him off and run him into the ground if he tried to ride on her back. After everyone else was aboard the ship, and they were sure nothing was being left behind, Shepard ordered them to depart and they did so without delay, where he and the others watched as Nergigante took off and flew ahead of their ship, heading for the opening. Grogar could hardly believe that this was happening, that he was in agreement with Shepard's crazy plans, maybe because most of the people in this world seemed to be that way, though all of them said nothing as they sailed around the New World, following the directions they were being given so they could reach their destination. As they moved he could see that Sherry and the Imposter were on different parts of the ship, all to make sure neither one of them came into contact with each other until their mission was over, allowing them to focus on facing Zorah Magdaros and, hopefully, stopping it.

It wasn't long before they reached the entrance that lead to where they had been setting up the new barricade, though as they entered the area Grogar found something interesting, the Captain rammed the ship into an opening that happened to be near the barricade, before Shepard turned to face everyone on the vessel.

"All right, let's go over the operation one last time, while we still can. The subterranean tunnels Zorah is using continue deep underground, and this is the only point he'll be above, so we have to push him back here... so I'm breaking out the big guns." Shepard stated, where they had a chance to glance at the molten section of the area they were in, as in just a few seconds at most, before Grogar felt the ship shift, something that caused him to glance over the edge and watch as the front of the ship shifted, turning so the front was facing where Zorah Magdaros was coming from, before it opened up and revealed a massive spike of some kind, "This is the Dragonator, which we'll use in an effort to drive our target out into the open sea, combined with whatever spells Grogar can use, the Hunters that will be sent onto the beast's back, and the power of Nergigante, as odd as that sounds. We have one chance at this, and if we fail the New World will be blasted to hell with the power that rests inside Zorah's body, along with us and everything that calls this place home... so fight with all your might!"

As soon as he finished saying that Nergigante, who had been resting on a stone wall nearby, let out a roar and Grogar took a second to glance down the tunnel, which was breaking up as Zorah Magdaros pushed himself into the section that they were now guarding, causing Shepard to declare that the operation was now underway, causing everyone to move as soon as they noticed the Elder Dragon. Grogar, on the other hand, readied his magic as he leapt down onto the water that was in front of the left side of the ship, using a bit of Levitation to float for a moment before he froze the area around him, all to give him a place to work as he readied the spells he wanted to use. He was going to use the same spell he used back in the Wildspire Waste, Heavenly Ice Fangs, but in addition to that he was planning on preparing and using the final spell that was in that school of magic, one that should be able to do some serious damage to the Elder Dragon, or at least that was his guess at the moment. He knew that the beast's shell was strong, given that nothing they had used before had left any dents on Zorah Magdaros, while figuring that Nergigante had to have the power to tear through the material, but with all of the cards they had stacked in their favor he had to hope that they could smash through the molten defenses and also direct him out into the sea.

Of course he knew that Zorah Magdaros was a molten monster and that there was very little chance of ice spells working on him, but he wanted to be absolutely sure of that before he made his move and switched to some of the water spells he knew, which should work just fine given what they were up against.

While he prepared himself Grogar found that Aiden and the other Hunters were landing on Zorah Magdaros and that they split up to find their targets quickly, instead of one at a time, which was an improvement over what happened during the last siege, now that they had experience in fighting this monster. Of course Nergigante got in on the fun, where she flew all over the place and swung her front claws into her target's face or body, where it looked like she was doing some sort of damage to him, but not nearly enough to slow the molten monster down and turn the tide in their favor. Another thing he noticed was that there were all sorts of stalactites on the ceiling, many of which had what looked like bombs strapped to them, meaning some of the Hunters would be dropping them on Zorah Magdaros, when he was in range of them, so all he did was nod his head a little as he focused on his spells. Other than that everyone else seemed to be gathering on the tall barricade and the ship, getting the cannons and ballistae ready for when their target came within striking range, especially since the Dragonator seemed to be a short range weapon that could only be used when the target was right in front of the area it had been placed in.

Once the first spell was ready Grogar moved his arm, freezing more of the water that was around him, before swinging it towards the massive Elder Dragon, sending out massive spikes of ice at his target, surprising everyone when they saw his spell in action, and sure enough it smashed into his target's chest, but it really didn't do anything but poke the beast since the molten mass melted the ice.

"Of course he'd melt it... I was hoping for some damage, but at least it slowed him down a little." Grogar commented, as he had figured that pure ice would have been useless against a monster like Zorah Magdaros, even though he had a slight vain hope that he might be wrong, before he exhaled for a moment and readied the other spell he had prepared, where it was easy for anyone to see that the water around him was freezing a lot faster than before, "Punishment of the Icy Haze."

The name of this spell, when one watched it in action, was misleading, as there was no haze involved, rather it was using one's skill with magic to bring the area around them to near freezing and then lash out like they had a blade, which could do some serious damage to anything that was struck by it, and sure enough he found a faint gash on Zorah Magdaros' chest, in the pattern he had used. For a moment it looked like he had done something to the monster, the instant attack maybe freezing part of his body and forcing him to go still, though as the seconds ticked by he found that he must have struck the outer shell of the Elder Dragon's tough exterior, as he resumed moving not a few moments later. If it wasn't for the fact that he had to thaw out the area, to avoid damaging himself in the process, he would have chuckled after seeing just how ineffective his spells were, making him wonder if water spells would even have a chance, given the heat that this monster was producing as he walked towards them. As he thought about that, however, he noticed something building in the Elder Dragon's massive body, like he was preparing some sort of attack, and right now he had three targets to pick, as in the barricade, the Dragonator ship, or the icy patch he was currently standing on.

In the following seconds, however, Grogar understood what was going on, Zorah Magdaros was going to release a burst of energy that might level the barricade and the ship, wipe out everyone that was trying to stop him, to which he focused on his magic and a shimmer washed over the area they were defending, before he realized who the main target was, just in time to watch the monster loose his attack. Sure, the barricade and the ship were important targets, in fact they might be able to stop him this time around, now that the Commission knew how to tackle him in a fight, but Zorah Magdaros knew what the real threat was, as his target was him, as the beast deemed him more of a threat than everything else. It showed that this Elder Dragon was far smarter than most of the people he knew gave him credit for, as many assumed he was just a walking volcano and had no idea what he was doing, but this tactic of seemingly focusing on the other targets and then playing his hand was a smart move. All he could do, as his magic thawed the area he was in, was summon up a spell that he had gleamed from his brief encounters with the centaur called Tirek, a dark spell that mimicked the absorption power that he was known for, which he poured his magic into so he could deal with the incoming blast from the monster that wanted him dead.

The searing heat from the attack was enough to burn away most of the area he had created, with his magic keeping his body safe from being harmed, all while his spell latched onto the attack and stalled it, forcing Grogar to do what Tirek did when he drained the magic of his victims, causing an explosion to rock the area he was in as he was knocked backwards, into the side of the large ship. His body was in pain, just like what happened when he faced Nergigante the first time, and he was sure that if he hadn't cast that spell he would have been killed for real, though all he could do right now was float in the water as he heard some explosions, finding that the stalactites had been dropped on the Elder Dragon, likely Aiden and everyone else trying to stop Zorah Magdaros. Grogar was sure that he could hear Sherry calling out to him from the deck of the ship, though which one wasn't important, given that the real one was keeping herself hidden as she waited for this mission to be over. Nergigante, from what he could tell, didn't care about him right now and was more interested in fighting Zorah Magdaros, again like she was trying to smash through his shell and get at his bioenergy, either to defuse the walking bomb they were facing or devour it for her own gain.

In the following moment a surge of power pulsed through his body, the energy of the attack he had absorbed, where he pulled himself up and stared at his target as the primal energy empowered him, though that was when he encountered a new problem, it did nothing to the pain his body was in. Rather it looked like the pain was causing the energy to go crazy, or maybe it was just due to the fact that it was made for something else, not his altered body, to the point where a faint light blue sheen appeared over his right hand and part of his arm, before morphing into a perfect replica of Nergigante's arm and claws. That brought about a headache that seemed to rock his entire body, though through the pain he quickly discovered what was going on, he had forced open the limits of his power and had unlocked something new, the ability to take on aspects of the monsters and Elder Dragons he had faced. To prove that point he had to duplicate it and that was what he did, he thought about the powerful wings of the Legiana and his back shuddered before the wings appeared in all their glory, though part of his magic seemed to be adjusting his clothing so they weren't ruined by all of the additions he was adding right now, and then braced himself as a Kirin horn appeared in the middle of his forehead, lightning arching between it and his altered fist.

Grogar, without wasting anymore time, forced himself to move as he burst into the air, rushing right for Zorah Magdaros, and punched him right in the forehead with his new power, where he, Nergigante, and everyone else watched as he left a dent in the molten material, before a surge of lightning tore into the crack and blasted his foe backwards.

Such a thing told him everything he needed to know about this power, as it seemed like he was capable of drawing on the forms and powers of the monsters he had faced, even pieces if he wanted to work that way, and it wasn't reserved to only the ones he had faced in battle, rather it seemed like he was capable of using the powers he had observed. To confirm the thought Grogar landed on a flat area of stone and shifted his stance, his legs and feet changing into that of the Odogaron, which was all he needed, before he added a bit of magic and summoned up Nergigante's main horns and some of Zorah Magdaros' tough outer shell for his entire head. It felt weird and unusual, channeling the powers of multiple monsters like this, but given what was going to happen if they failed to push Zorah Magdaros away he didn't have a choice in the matter, he had to use this power to help them save the island. The moment his target continued his advance, choosing to ignore the awakening of a new foe, Grogar burst into the air with the combined speed of Legiana's wings and Odogaron's legs, an interesting and potentially deadly combination since he wasn't used to this speed, before swinging his right claws at the beast, creating a few gashes that lightnings surged through before blasting him backwards a little.

Sure, it wasn't enough to actually force Zorah Magdaros to change course, but his new power, with Nergigante following his attacks and they dodged all the incoming fire from the Hunters at the barricade, were enough to distract him, long enough for Shepard to ask if the main weapon was ready. As Grogar and Nergigante danced through the air, using their powers to distract and possibly wound the beast in front of them, Johnson confirmed that the Dragonator was ready, a fact that caused the Commander to raise his hand and swing it down. In the following moment they watched as the large weapon surged upwards and drilled into the side of Zorah Magdaros' chest, at an angle no less, which had enough force to push the massive Elder Dragon backward, to the point where it looked like he was forcing himself out to sea, all to get away from everything that was attacking him right now. Nergigante let out a roar as she and everyone else discovered that they were victorious, though enough enough Grogar found that she headed out to keep an eye on Zorah Magdaros, or to feast on him when no one was looking, though he landed on the ship and fell to a knee as he released his power, his body returning to normal within seconds.

As he huffed the rest of the Commission cheered for their success, in saving the New World and solving the mystery of why the Elder Dragons journeyed to this island, though he smiled for a moment as he looked forward to seeing what the future held for him, his friends, and his companions.

The Secret

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With Zorah Magdaros successfully diverted, and the New World was saved from being destroyed, Shepard had the ship they were on pulled out of the area he had docked it in, which Grogar had to do with his magic, finding that he didn't feel tired after all of that and that his magic was definitely stronger than before. Part of him had to wonder if it was due to the magic that displaced him, sensing that he had done something amazing and was worthy of praise, or if absorbing all that bioenergy had done something to his body, making him more like a monster and less like the humans he traveled with. He guessed the later might be the more reasonable option of the two, even though the former likely explained why his initial magic was far stronger without the bell that was his icon, something he didn't need anymore, though he forced himself to focus as he moved the ship, making sure to do so after the Dragonator was in 'rest mode' again. Basically that meant the weapon was retracted, the hull sealed itself up, and turned back into position, making it look like a normal ship again, and once Shepard was sure that everything was in position Grogar pulled them out and set them down so they could return to Astera for a well earned victory feast.

As they sailed back to Astera, however, he noticed that many of the Hunters were curious about him, especially after the strange power he had awakened not too long ago, where he raised his right hand for a moment and stared at his fingers as he thought about something, finding Nergigante's claws replacing them.

"My eyes weren't deceiving me earlier, you really awakened a strange new power." Shepard remarked, recalling what he and the others had seen while they were facing Zorah Magdaros, though in the heat of the moment he decided not to focus on it and focused on the Elder Dragon, before finding that Grogar altered his arm a little and the spikes appeared as well, as he was curious about his power, "The Researchers and Scholars are going to have a field day with this power, as I'm positive that they'll try to figure out the ins and outs of what you're capable of now."

"Yeah, well, we can learn everything together." Grogar stated, though his attention was on his new claws, as he hadn't paid any attention to them when he was fighting the massive Elder Dragon earlier, but now that the fate of the island had been decided, and they were no longer in danger, he found that the alteration looked and felt like Nergigante's claws, which he guessed was the point, "Still, when I was thinking of unlocking more power I thought it would be more magic, a boost to what I was capable of before this point in time, instead of gaining what might be the strongest power in the world... I'm not entirely sure what to make of it."

"Well, I'm sure you'll figure things out in due time." Shepard said, and that was the truth, he had a feeling that Grogar, due to everything he had discovered about the odd figure who joined the Fifth Fleet, would be able to figure this out in no time at all and would know just how strong he was, before he tilted his head and decided that it was time to lower his voice for a time, "When we get back to Astera, I'm going to reveal Sherry's arrival... we can see how the Imposter reacts to having the person she's impersonating arrive without warning."

Grogar had a feeling this would happen at some point, especially after discovering that the true Sherry had arrived, but if this was Shepard's plan he decided to go along with it and not fight it, as he knew fighting his Commander's plans was doomed to fail, given what happened during the first siege. This was a gamble, as they had no way of knowing what in the world the Imposter was, though he was sure she was a monster, and that meant it was impossible to gauge what would happen when the secret was revealed to everyone in Astera. It was possible that nothing would happen, like she'd admit defeat and show them her true form, or maybe she'd go berserk and just wreck the place, or she'd flee from Astera after showing everyone what she really looked like, no doubt using the transformation to flee before they caught her. The only reason he wasn't putting any faith into the second option was because she didn't seem like she wanted to hurt anyone, as she seemed more like a scholar that found a subject she was interested in studying, so attacking Astera, and hurting the people she had befriended, didn't seem like something she'd do.

As such he said nothing as they made their way back to Astera, finding that Sherry was standing nearby and the Imposter was hanging out with Patches, with no one discovering the truth of who was lingering near them, and when they reached their base of operations Shepard had them disembark without delay, returning to his table with Grogar at his side, which was when he turned towards everyone for a moment.

"Everyone, you have done well today and saved the New World from being destroyed." Shepard said, where the rest of the Commission cheered a little, as they were overjoyed to have succeeded in turning back the Elder Dragon that could have blown the entire island apart if he had been allowed to detonate, before he readied himself for what he was about to do and what might happen next, "Now, before everyone wanders off to celebrate... and trust me, you all deserve it... I have a short announcement to make: Sherry, would you join us by the table for a moment? This concerns you as well."

Grogar shielded Sherry from the Imposter's eyes for a moment, that way she had no idea that the real one was coming as well, and once both of them were within range of the table, almost right in front of them, he dismissed the spell with only a nod of his head, where the real Sherry pulled the robe off to reveal herself to everyone, causing the Imposter to pause for a moment as she realized who was nearby.

"When the Captain returned with our new ship, and the Dragonator, he brought an unexpected passenger, the real Sherry that is part of the Fifth Fleet," Shepard continued, where many of Astera's residents turned their heads towards the pair for a moment, as while they looked identical one carried herself with confidence and the other was shocked that her ploy had been revealed so suddenly, all while Grogar found that the Imposter was struggling to contain herself, "which begs the question: whose been taking her place all this time?"

In that moment, just as Grogar was expecting, a change washed over the Imposter as a pair of wings appeared behind her and she burst into the air, fleeing from Astera before anyone could say anything, though he didn't wasted time as he used his new power to add Legiana wings to his body while adding a tracker to his target. The tracker was mostly in case he lost her, which was a possibility he couldn't ignore given that he had no idea what she was capable of, though based on what Grogar was seeing right now it looked like she was heading to the Coral Highlands, or maybe the Rotten Vale. That was if she didn't change her course midway to her destination, like pretending to go to one region when she actually wanted to go to another one, and sure enough she dropped down into the Wildspire Wastle and spun around, creating a vortex of sand that would cover her tracks. As he expected she was gone when it died down, though fortunately she didn't know he had placed a tracker on her and found that she was heading to the Ancient Forest, instead of where he initially thought a few moments ago, so he gave her more of a head start before following, all while keeping a close eye on where she was going and where she was going to stop to see if she got away from him.

As it turned out the Imposter stopped in the more open area of the Ancient Forest that they had passed through, where he and the others found the Pukei-Pukei and a fragment of Zorah Magdaros, though as he landed he tucked his wings in, showing him that the desperate battle had boosted his power by a larger amount than he thought, before he glanced out at the area he was in.

"Come on, I know you're out there. I just want to talk." Grogar said, which was the truth, he wanted to know more about the individual that had been pretending to be Sherry since the moment he came to this world, especially since what he had seen in Astera confirmed his suspicions, which would be further confirmed when he talked with her.

Not a few moments later the Imposter emerged from where she had been hiding, though she wasn't using Sherry's form anymore, rather she had returned to her true form, no doubt planned on leaving the New World now that her secret had been discovered by everyone, and it was rather impressive. The beast in front of him was a dragon, not like the wyverns of this world whose wings usually linked up with their front limbs, rather she had four legs and a large pair of wings on her back, which were blue colored and the tips were pale, while the membrane of her wings were pale as well. The rest of her body was yellow colored, more golden yellow based on what he was seeing, while the underside of her body was pale and the ridges on her back, following her spine, were either bronze or brass colored, yet the three tiers of yellow didn't clash all that much, rather they seemed to work well together. Her face had also undergone a change, because it was a dragon's muzzle and was full of sharp looking teeth, not to mention the curved brown horns he had caught a glimpse of when he first laid eyes on her trying to contain her true form, and she was far larger than most of the monsters he had seen, save for Zorah Magdaros anyway.

Grogar stood there for a moment as he studied her body, finding small spikes on her arms and legs that were likely used to defend herself from attacking monsters, though given that someone was always nearby when she was attacked, at least in the New World, she couldn't use them, her claws, her tail, or even her fangs to deal with the monster that had decided to attack her.

"Well, um... this is my true form." the dragon said, though Grogar could tell that she was still coming to terms with the fact that her secret had been revealed earlier, that she wasn't who she had been pretending to be, even though it seemed like she did a good job of pretending to be Sherry and working as a Handler, all while he was sure this was her true secret, one that was far more important than the last one, "My name is Ava'jiiva... the few humans who know of my existence call me the 'Deceiving Dragon', on account of my special shapeshifting powers and my intelligence... neither of which have been all that useful, given how everything keeps attacking me... but you can call me 'Ava', if you want."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, the real you, Ava'jiiva," Grogar replied, where he found that his thoughts about her were right, she was an Elder Dragon based on the power that was slumbering in her body, and she couldn't use it without revealing her existence to the Commission, even though she had revealed herself to someone in the past, though as he said that he took a seat on one of the nearby wooden stumps, "So tell me, what brings you to the New World? I mean, you don't look as old as all of the other Elder Dragons we've seen, even though Zorah Magdaros seems to be the oldest one. Also, why would you take Sherry's place on the Fifth Fleet?"

"I... well, the truth is that I was curious as to why so many Elder Dragons made the journey to this very island." Ava stated, though as she said that she also sat down, as there was no reason to be on her claws while they chatted, despite the fact that Grogar was sure she had some sort of form she could wear that wasn't someone in Astera, given that she seemed to be a hundred or so years old, "we know the Elder Crossing has been going on for a long time, with the Commission having spent forty years trying to solve this mystery, and after seeing so many of the other Elder Dragons journeying to this place I just decided to follow them. Of course, knowing how the Guild would react to seeing how the Guild reacted to all of the other Elder Dragons, I decided to take a more stealthy approach and found that they were gathering Hunters, Handlers, Felynes, Engineers, Researchers, Scholars, and everything else we've seen in Astera, which started me down the path that, in the end, brought me to the New World. You see, I had to find a position that would allow me to board the fleet and, in due time, bring me to my end goal of figuring out why the other Elder Dragons were so interested in this place, and I came to the decision to become a Handler, so I could be out of the way and learn what I wanted to... you beat me to the punch, however, figuring out why the other Elder Dragons journeyed to the New World."

"And that, in turn, was when you encountered Sherry and took her place?" Grogar inquired, showing that he was listening to what she was saying with a level of interest that was different from those she must have met in the past, though that made sense in his mind, that she came to the decision and ran into Sherry at some point in time.

"Um... yes and no." Ava replied, where she found that Grogar raised an eyebrow, most in the sense that he was interested in why she would say something like that and not accusing her of lying or something, though she also found that most of the monsters were leaving them alone, which she was thankful for, "After determining which role I wanted to take, I found a roster of Handlers that had been approved for this venture, though at the time most of them had been there ahead of their partners and Sherry, as it turned out, was the only one who hadn't arrived yet. After learning that useful piece of information I spent some time in one of my disguises and asked around, figuring out what sort of vessel she used to travel from place to place, and once I knew what to expect I headed out to see if I could find it. I ended up finding Sherry's vessel, a carriage to be exact, with a busted wheel far from the city that the fleet was launched from, so I observed her for a time, to get her mannerisms and speech down as best as I could, before making off with some of her essential gear during one of the nights I watched her. I know, it makes me seem like a bad person... or bad Elder Dragon, given my nature... but just before we left I passed on two notes, one to tell people about the carriage and one to be delivered to Sherry, an apology for taking her place in the Fifth Fleet... I just, well..."

"Wasn't expecting her to actually show up?" Grogar finished, though while he knew that many would see her as malicious, given that she prevented Sherry from joining the fleet and purposefully left her out there, with a broken carriage, without sending anyone to help until the fleet had left for the New World, he saw her as a scholar who would do anything to figure out whatever was currently bothering her, "So, are you going to apologize to Sherry and help the Commission? I mean, just because we solved the mystery of why the Elder Dragons journey to the New World doesn't mean we've figured out what is drawing them here in the first place."

"You mean, after all of that, you want to work with me?" Ava asked, surprised by the fact that, despite everything she did to get to the New World, Grogar felt like having her on his side as he braved whatever remaining dangers this world had to throw at him, which were lower than before thanks to his new power, "I'd love to stay, but depending on what happens I might fly off and leave."

Grogar knew that she was referring to Sherry and her reaction to all of this, given that the cat was out of the bag, though he had a feeling many of the Researchers and Scholars would want her to stay in Astera, just to learn more about her and all that she knew, and he nodded his understanding. Ava stared at him for a few moments, clearly taking her time to think about the situation she was now in, did she stay or did she flee and hope Grogar would forget about her, before she just lowered her head and nodded, which he was happy to see. With that done the two of them took off once more, heading back towards Astera without wasting time, and sure enough Grogar ground that everyone was getting ready to celebrate their victory over Zorah Magdaros, all while an area had been set aside for Nergigante, who seemed to be pleased with all the hard work she had done. Such a thing made Grogar wonder if she had found and took out the molten Elder Dragon while he was talking with Ava, meaning they would have missed the fiery explosion that would have followed the end of Zorah Magdaros' life, though after thinking about that he landed outside Astera and folded in his wings as Ava landed not a few steps behind him.

As he expected her presence caused many of the Hunters and members of the Commission to come running, though he thought Shepard and Sherry approaching him while the others remained at the ready, all while Nergigante tilted her head to stare at them as she waited for some food to arrive.

"Commander Shepard, Sherry, allow me to introduce Ava'jiiva, the Elder Dragon who was impersonating you, Sherry, for a long time," Grogar said, gesturing to the beast that was behind him for a moment, who sat there and bowed her head for a few seconds, showing them that she wasn't a threat, even though they knew better because she was an Elder Dragon, so he focused on another aspect the pair needed to know, "She was curious about the Elder Crossing, just like the Guild was, and sneaking aboard one of the fleets as one of it's members seemed to be the best bet for her, so she wasn't attacked by the Hunters... she's like a Researcher, only she's an Elder Dragon, and we could use her aid in figuring out the other half of the equation we've discovered."

"What do you mean by 'other half'?" Sherry asked, which made sense because she hadn't been there to witness or hear the truth behind the Elder Crossing, something he was going to have to fix in the near future, while at the same time he could see that Shepard understood what he was saying.

"We know that the aging Elder Dragons are coming here to die, so their bioenergy can be absorbed by the New World and keep the ecosystem alive," Ava replied, confirming what Grogar had said about her, she was more interested in this event than fighting, like the rest of her powerful brethren, while avoiding the glare Nergigante gave her from her position, as this was far more important in her eyes, "but what we don't know is whether or not this is natural. What I mean is this: is this some sort of new change washed over the Elder Dragons of this world, and would happen to me when I'm old enough, or is there something on this island that's drawing them in?"

"And to do that we'll need to continue searching the New World, now that it's no longer in danger of being destroyed by the threat of Zorah's death," Shepard stated, confirming that he knew what Grogar and Ava were talking about, while also knowing that Sherry was going to have to learn all of this on her own, to catch up to her partner, before he held up a hand to stop them from talking about the subject, "For now, however, go have some fun... we all deserve some fun and a little rest after what happened in the Everstream... our work can wait until tomorrow."

As Grogar nodded Ava braced herself and apologized to Sherry, while not really going into the details of how she watched the downed carriage before making off with a few of her things to impersonate her, which caused the lady to sigh as she considered her options on the matter. In the end Sherry accepted it, though she wasn't about to let Ava off easy for all the time she lost, as she claimed that the Elder Dragon had to repay her in some manner, and then some, to square her debt to her, where Grogar was sure part of it meant solve the Elder Crossing. The interesting part was the 'and then some', as it told him that she must be looking for something or someone and was planning on using the Elder Dragon to figure out the information she was interested in, and once that was done she departed to join the others. Ava, following that, activated her power and reduced her size as she changed form, becoming a young girl none of them had seen before, a young adult to be exact, and she wore a shrine maiden robe, the top white with the lower half red, before she frowned as she quickly realized she would have to change it at some point... and she also had a small pair of horns on her head and her tail was out, showing that she wasn't afraid anymore.

With that done, and there was no more talking to be done, they joined the rest of their friends and comrades in the feast that had been prepared for them, as it was time to rest and relax a little before worrying about the future, and Grogar was sure that they would be able to face whatever dangers the future threw at them.

Aftermath

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The day after the battle with Zorah Magdaros, and the Commission's success in repelling him to save the New World, Grogar found a few things of interest to him and his companions, of which Ava'jiiva was a part of now since Shepard was holding him responsible for the Elder Dragon that was joining them. Nergigante, of course, had flown off after the party, which meant she still had something to do and didn't want him or his companions to get in her way, though he had a feeling that they would run into each other again at some point in the future. The next thing he discovered was that the Captain was planning on traveling between the Old World and the New World far more often, meaning more supplies would be flowing into Astera in the future, possibly even more Hunters and members if the Guild decided to send more people to aid them in their efforts. The last thing he found was likely the most shocking of them all, Shepard informed him that they were setting him up with a new room, a larger one that happened to be near the peak of Astera, at a height that was below the ship that was resting between the two rocks, and showed him the path to it.

What he and the others discovered was that it was a chamber fit for a king, with a bed that was far nicer than the rest he had seen so far, the floor was made of polished tile, there was a fireplace with some chairs, a few paintings and even a stained glass window that depicted the story of the Sapphire Star, and an outside area that seemed like a little oasis, an area to relax in when he wasn't busy.

"Doesn't this seem a little much?" Ava asked, maintaining her humanoid form while she was in Astera, since she didn't want to worry the others with her true form, though she, Sherry, and Patches joined Grogar as he looked at the chamber, as they had been interested in what sort of room Shepard was giving him, "This seems like a place that was made for a king or something."

"Commander Shepard values Grogar's powers, both magical and physical, and its natural for one to offer something like this to such a powerful figure," Sherry replied, though she recalled what she had seen back in the Everstream and knew that since Grogar had recovered his another near death experience his power must have grown, especially his magic, so she was interested in what he might do in the future, "I wouldn't be surprised if the Commission starts referring to him as the 'Sapphire Star', a title of respect for one's skill... there hasn't been one for a long time, so don't feel worried that you'll be taking someone's place if it starts getting used all the time."

Grogar said nothing to that as he shifted his right arm, once more into Nergigante's, as he considered the fact that they might have another name for him, before considering what to do next, as they had to figure out the other half of the odd puzzle that was the New World. Something was drawing the aging Elder Dragons to the island, that much they knew, but none of them had any ideas on what might be causing it, meaning they had to head out and search the regions for a time, as there had to be some clues left behind by the other Elder Dragons. As he thought about that he returned his arm to it's normal form and beckoned for his companions to join him, as there would be time to relax when they weren't busy, or at least that was the plan since they had no idea what sort of dangers the New World would throw at them. Based on what he and the others were seeing he knew that there had to be another region that they hadn't explored, even though all of the ones they had passed through so far were rather large, so there was a chance that he was wrong and there were only four, but he knew only time would tell which option was right.

After that he headed down into the training area with Sherry and Patches watching him, while Ava found herself pulled off to the side by the Researchers who wanted to know more about her, to which he braced himself for a moment as he used his new power, deciding to get used to how to all the various powers felt. Each monster he had seen had some sort of skill, ability, or even innate power that they were capable of using to defend themselves and take down either their prey or the monsters attacking them, so if he was going to continue from where he left off, as in the mindset of fighting monsters to save the land, he needed to wield his new power to it's full potential. Of course there were some odd powers that he was able to use, such as the bloated belly of the Great Jagras and the Pukei-Pukei's elongated tongue, the latter one felt weird when he tried it out and struck some barrels that had been set up as targets, where Sherry raised an eyebrow as he used it, though after a while he switched it out for another power. There was no telling what the rest of the New World had to throw at him and the Commission, so training with the abilities of the other monsters, learning their ins and outs with the aid of several of the Researchers, would improve his chances of surviving whatever the future held for them, while aiding the Commission in learning the secrets of this land.

Ava, on the other hand, found that the Researchers were far more interested in her than she thought they'd be, as one of them had her revert to her true form so they could get her measurements, while she informed them that she was an only child and she had no parents, meaning she had no idea what monsters lead to her creation, nor where they might be in the vast world they lived in. Grogar, upon hearing that, guessed that she must have been wondering if she might run into one or both of them during her time with the Guild or the Commission, but she was focused on their mission and less on her personal problems, even though it gave the Researchers new information to add to their tomes. Of course they had to see what sort of forms she could take, as she was a shapeshifter and they were interested in seeing how a dragon could condense itself down into a much smaller form, one that looked nothing like her true form, and she was fine with showing them what she was capable of. The Researchers agreed with her given title of the 'Deceiving Dragon', even though she did nothing put tell them the truth, though they were also considering another one to counter it, since the first one made her out to be an enemy and not an ally, despite her explanation that the title was because of her power.

On the second day after the battle with Zorah Magdaros, which Grogar and his companions spent resting and getting to know his new power, he found that Shepard wanted to speak with them about something and they walked down to where his table was resting without wasting time.

"Grogar, Sherry, Ava, I hope you aren't planning on resting anymore, because I've got something for you, the best team in all of Astera, to check out," Shepard stated, speaking when they reached his table, finding that he must have been working on the report for the Guild, as there were papers and scrolls being readied for the Captain to take with him, no doubt to explain the Elder Crossing to those back home, "One of the Fourth's Researchers was injured while investigating some odd tracks, and they also claimed that there's a Pukei-Pukei out in the Wildspire Waste... since there's a chance it might be the one you talked to some time ago, I want you three to go out and see what you can discover, and see if you can't figure out what's going on."

"What sort of tracks are we talking about?" Sherry asked, showing them that she was serious and would be taking her role as the Handler seriously, more than Ava did when she was impersonating her, while at the same time Grogar was curious if this was related to the disappearance of Zorah Magdaros, that whatever had shown up was hiding while he wandered the land and emerged after he was pushed out of the Everstream.

"Honestly, we're not entirely sure yet. Could be a brand new monster, or maybe a subspecies has arrived," Shepard said, informing them that he didn't have enough information to pass on and that was part of the reason why he was asking that they head out to see what they could find, just to give them an idea of what might be out there, before he sent the pack of information to the Guild, "I'd like a report by noon, if possible, since that's when the Captain will be leaving and taking our report back to our fellows in the Old World... in the off chance that this is connected to the other half of the Elder Crossing, about what might be drawing all the Elder Dragons here, I have written a note that will tell them that more information will be coming in due time."

"Then we'll head out to the Wildspire Waste and see what's going on." Grogar replied, as that seemed to be the best thing right now, seeing what sort of tracks the Researcher had found, before they were attacked by the sounds of it, and with his new power he had a feeling he could handle a great deal of the dangers that the New World possessed.

Once Shepard knew that they were going to check out what was going on Grogar and his companions departed for the edge of Astera so Sherry could call a Barnos down for her to use to get to their camp in the Wildspire Waste, as she didn't want to weigh down either of them, even if she felt that Ava deserved it. The moment she was airborne Grogar and Ava did the same thing, unfurling their wings before taking off, heading for the region that the Researcher had been attacked in earlier, even though they knew that the person in question was receiving treatment in Astera. Despite the events that caused the awakening of this power Grogar had to admit that flying through the air was quite nice, instead of using one of the Barnos to travel from place to place, though he wasn't too disappointed in Sherry turning down his offer to carry her to the camps, as he was a total stranger to her. Other than that thought he glanced around the parts of the New World that they were flying above and didn't see anything out of the ordinary, not that he was expecting to see anything as they flew over the covered Ancient Forest, hence why he was focusing on whatever might be lurking in the Wildspire Waste and what he had to do to make sure they were safe.

It didn't take them long to land in the camp that they had set up in the Wildspire Waste, where Grogar checked the area for any signs of danger before beckoning for the Barnos to land, though once it was resting he and Ava landed as well, as they tucked their wings in as they stared out at the rest of the area from their camp.

"So this is the Wildspire Waste... I heard about it from the others, but wasn't expecting to see it so soon," Sherry said, as she was getting used to how things in the New World worked, especially after Ava stole all the experience from her, before taking a moment to glance at Grogar, who was staring out at their surroundings, "Any idea where you'll start looking for the tracks the Researcher found?"

"A few, but we won't know until we start looking." Grogar replied, as that was something he was getting used to, studying the various tracks of the monsters by looking at the notes that the Researchers and Scholars shared with him during his time off, allowing him to know what they were tracking, though instead of waiting for someone to say something he just jumped forward and started his search.

Ava, as he guessed, jumped out with him and Patches, where she landed nearby and walked behind him as he scanned the land that was currently around them, finding the tracks of multiple monsters, mostly the small ones, before spotting what he was looking for, the signs of a Pukei-Pukei. As he studied them he decided to try something that he hadn't tried back in Astera, since it was hard without a monster nearby, as he wasn't counting Ava in that thought since it would be near cheating in that situation, where he closed his eyes and readied himself. In the following moment he snapped them open as he activated the power he wanted to use, as he was trying to see if he could use the power of the Scoutflies with his eyes, before seeing that the area around him was the same color as it was a few seconds ago. As he waited he found something interesting, a faint green aura appeared in front of him, on the tracks that were in front of him, and that it went off towards the forest section of the Wildspire Waste, causing him to chuckle as he realized that his test had been far more successful than what he had been planning.

With that in mind he started to follow the path in front of him and found that Ava was surprised that he was able to track down the tracks without using the Scoutflies, where Grogar discovered something interesting, that the tracks brought him to where he had found the Rathian earlier, which just so happened to be where the Pukei-Pukei was resting, along with a set of tracks that looked similar to what a Rathian had.

"A different Rathian trail... a subspecies, here in the New World?" Grogar commented, studying the tracks he had found at the front of the path and pulled out his journal to make a note of what it looked like, so the Researchers in Astera could make a note of it and figure out what was going on.

"How did you do that? Track the trail without using the Scoutflies?" Ava asked, as that was something she wanted to know, because Grogar had walked around like he knew what he was doing, far more than when she was pretending to be Sherry and was constantly being saved by his powers, but every time she thought she had a handle on his powers he went and did something different.

"Turns out I can use the power of the Scoutflies with my eyes, meaning I see green tracks for the monster I'm tracking and I'll likely see blue for Elder Dragons," Grogar replied, keeping his voice low as he studied the track and finished his sketch so the others in Astera would know what he and Ava found, though as he finished Ava lifted her left hand and changed it into her true left hand, where she lightly pressed it into the ground and pulled back, only for his senses to change when he glanced at it, "Correction, I can see the blue coloration of an Elder Dragon."

"Freaky." Ava said, taking a moment to change her arm back as she studied Grogar, who was looking around with an odd glow in his eyes, the power of the Scoutflies at work when she thought about it, though in that moment she understood that this power made him a unique being, one capable of learning any power and adding it to his arsenal, making him far more dangerous than anything else.

Grogar said nothing as he focused on the Pukei-Pukei that was down in the Rathian's area, at least where she rested since the log area seemed more like a small hunting area, where he was able to see that it seemed stronger than the one he had seen some time ago, meaning it was either a new one or the same one but stronger. He didn't have much time to come to his own decision on the matter, as he found that this Pukei-Pukei had a bronze aura, meaning he had to check one of the other monsters to figure out what was going on, not to mention the fact that it spotted him and lobbed a bit of poison in his general direction. Since he didn't want to use a wing or tail to stop it, as such a thing would hurt him, Grogar used a bit of magic and summoned a barrier in front of him, stopping the poison from hitting him or Ava, though once the poison was taken care of he leapt into the air and altered his form, adding Odogaron legs and the backside of a Radobaan, complete with short bones. Such a thing stunned his foe as he spun around like a wheel not a few seconds later and hit the Pukei-Pukei in the face, before he forced himself away and rolled around the area a little, leaving small indents where his small bones touched, allowing him to put some distance between them so he could see what the monster did next, as the attack had stunned it for a few moments.

While he waited to see what the Pukei-Pukei did he found some red skinned figures, small like the Felynes he was familiar with, emerging from a small passage in the side of the area, wearing odd red masks and wearing some sort of attire, like a war brand he guessed, especially since they had obsidian tools, who fled after looking at him. Part of him wanted to learn more about the new species of Felyne, as they weren't any of the clans he had seen so far, but his focus was on the foe in front of him as it rushed at him, causing him to use the power of his Odogaron legs to leap into the air and avoid it, like he had seen the bloody monster do when it fought other monsters. Such a thing reminded him of something as he turned in the air, touched the side of the stone wall he had leapt towards, and propelled himself back into the battle, where he spun around once more and stuck the backside of the Pukei-Pukei before it had a chance to do anything. In the next moment he forced himself backwards and altered his hands into Rathalos claws, causing the monster to pause for a second, which was the point, to confuse his opponent as he gathered another aspect of a monster's power inside him, causing him to loose a large fireball downwards, blasting the Pukei-Pukei into some of the thick vines that were nearby.

Such a thing confirmed one thing for him, this monster was stronger than those he had run into when he first arrived in the New World, meaning that each region had to be larger than they assumed and that the stronger monsters were now taking control of each area, even invading other regions for some reason. Part of his reasoning came from the fact that the Pukei-Pukei, despite taking that fireball to the face, especially since it was something a Rathalos could use, it shrugged off the attack and continued attacking, even though he could see that it did a bit of damage to his foe. Of course he found that his foe tried to use it's tongue to knock him backwards, as he had landed after launching the fireball, to which he took a moment to shift his stance as he used a Rathian wing to block the tongue, surprising the Pukei-Pukei as it stared at him and his altered body. In that moment he decided to try something else as he armored his body in the style of a Diablos, all the horns and hardened body, before diving into the ground like it was water, finding that while he was unable to see the area around him, as underground was dark, his hearing was vastly improved and explained many things to him, though in the following moments he surged upwards.

Ava watched as Grogar burst out of the ground, from below the Pukei-Pukei, and pushed the surprised monster up into the air, which surprised her since she didn't think his mimicked power could be this strong, despite what she saw earlier, before he turned around and smashed the monster into the ground, knocking it out in a matter of seconds.

"While that was exciting, it means we need to be careful," Grogar commented, where he summoned his magic and made a cradle of sorts for the downed Pukei-Pukei, so he could carry it back to Astera and keep it sleeping so the Researchers wouldn't have to be worried about it attacking them, before he glanced at Ava as he reverted to his base form, something he was still getting used to, "we have 'high rank' monsters to deal with, which are stronger than the ones we've fought since our fleet reached the New World."

Ava really had no idea what Grogar was talking about, as she only knew monsters by 'normal' monsters, like the Odogaron for example, and the Elder Dragons, like herself, but, at the same time, she had a feeling that he'd explain himself in due time, to which she nodded her head and returned to the camp so Sherry knew it was time to head home... and see what the Researchers and Shepard had to say about this discovery.

High Rank Discovery

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Upon their return to Astera Grogar found that many of the Researchers were interested in his discovery, as while they could see that the Pukei-Pukei didn't look that different from those who usually resided in the Ancient Forest, in fact it was nearly identical, there were a few keys that allowed someone to see that it was stronger than a normal Pukei-Pukei. Many of the Researchers were surprised by his discovery, even though they believed the wounded one who told them about it, in fact the lady in question confirmed that this was the monster that attacked her, but they got to work immediately, studying it so they could learn what was going on. At the same time Grogar passed the sketch of the tracks to the head of the team, who looked at it for a few moments and agreed with him, this had to be a subspecies, the first one seen in the New World, and that they had to locate whatever monster it was, even though he also agreed that it was a Rathian. Other than that there wasn't much for them to talk about, where he found that Sherry watched over the Pukei-Pukei as they waited for something to happen, as they were waiting for Shepard to call a council meeting to discuss this turn of events.

Fortunately it didn't take too long for the council meeting to be called, where they gathered at the table with everyone else, finding that Shepard was looking over all of the information he had been given and didn't know what to think, especially after everything they had been through with Zorah Magdaros.

"Thank you for attending this emergency council session." Shepard said, as he knew that many of the others were eager to study the new Pukei-Pukei, the 'High Rank' as Grogar called it, and this made it hard for them to study it, but they had to talk about what was going on and what they had to do next, given the other part of the report, "We've received a number of reports that are identical to the one you investigated... powerful monsters, High Ranks as Grogar calls them, invading the territories of other monsters and, at times, even the other regions, and some of our people have been hurt over the course of this day. In addition to that Grogar and his companions found some tracks that they're certain is a Rathian subspecies... Grogar, do you or your companions have anything to add?"

"Not really. We know it's a Rathian, but it's hard to tell where it might have gone," Grogar replied, as while he had an idea of how to find it, with the power of the Scoutflies to be exact, he knew that a Hunter needed to search the regions and find evidence, and given what he discovered earlier, with the High Rank Pukei-Pukei, he would need to be careful, "so for now I'm planning on going on an expedition to the other regions of the New World, to find more tracks and see if I can confirm that more High Ranks are emerging... or if it's a one time thing and the others are getting ambushed by, well, 'Low Ranks' I guess."

"Then it's settled. I'll be sending teams into each region, to track down the monsters that are endangering our people and report their location to you or Sherry," Shepard stated, once more showing that he had total control over the situation all of them were in, meaning that whoever elected him to take this role knew what they were doing, before he glanced at the others and found that they were nodding their heads in agreement, "while at the same time I want you to track down the monster that you found the tracks of, as we might be able to learn more about this island if we capture it... or where it might have come from, at the very least."

"You can count on us." Ava and Sherry said, causing the pair to look at each other as some of the others chuckled a little, as while one might not like the other, for stealing her life for a time, they did talk and act similar to each other, which they were sure was either due to the former pretending to be the latter for quite a while or it was just her nature to sound like that.

"Oh, and I discovered that there might be some perks to the power of the Scoutflies, as I was able to harness their power and saw the aura of the Pukei-Pukei, a bronze aura to be exact," Grogar added, figuring that he might as well tell them all about that fact as well, something that caused many of them to pause for a moment as they considered it, before he took a moment to consider it as well, "If I figure out whether that was a fluke or not, and whatever coloration the Low Ranks might have, I might be able to teach the Scoutflies how to determine which tracks belong to which monster... such a thing would allow the others to know if they're tracking a Low Rank monster, a High Rank, or an Elder Dragon."

"Well, if you want to test the theory, I know there's an Anjanath hanging out somewhere near the gate," Johnson said, as he and the other higher ups had known about it since Grogar left for the Wildspire Waste, though with how everyone was focused on the sudden arrival of supposedly stronger monsters, due to the fact that some of their people had been out while Grogar was practicing his new powers, he had forgotten about the Anjanath.

Instead of replying to the statement Shepard, seeing the look in Grogar's eye, informed them that they would be seeing if the theory was true or not, to which they headed over to where the monster in question was last seen and discovered that it was definitely waiting near the main gate, like it was waiting for someone to come out. Grogar paused for a few seconds as he focused his mind and activated the power once more, finding the same outlook was available to him once more, but after that he turned his attention on the monster, where he waited to see what color it's aura would take. He was waiting to see a bronze aura, the power of a High Rank beast, before finding that it took on an icy blue color, which meant it had to be a Low Rank and he informed the others of what he was seeing right now. After that he focused on the Scoutflies on Shepard's belt for a moment and relayed the information to them, where they moved out in a green trail before turning an icy blue, showing him that he could pass on what he knew to the rest of the Scoutflies, before he stepped forward and unfurled his Rathian wings.

Shepard, expecting something to happen, stepped back with the others as Johnson opened the gate, where Grogar used the wings and a bit of an Odogaron's legs to burst through the air, though as he neared the Anjanath his right fist shifted into Nergigante's, allowing him to punch the Anjanath in the side of the head... causing it to topple to the ground in a few seconds, much to their complete surprise.

"We'll find a way to pass on this information to the rest of the Scoutflies, that Low Ranks are icy blue and High Rank are bronze colored," Shepard stated, though he wondered what else would change with Grogar's new power, as everyone was learning more about their world as he worked to solve the Elder Crossing, unlocking new abilities that would aid them in accurately categorizing the monsters based on their power, which he knew they would discover in time, "Though I can tell you that there's a strong Tobi-Kadachi somewhere in the Ancient Forest... should be a good way to start your quest, while we shuffle through the reports."

Grogar nodded as he took off, Ava collecting Patches as Sherry found a ride to the Ancient Forest camp they had set up not that long ago, because he wanted to get started on figuring out where the subspecies had gone and what it meant for the New World, not to mention the Commission. Once they had a chance to stop inside the camp, allowing Sherry to rest near the tent as she went over everything that Shepard had given her so far, Grogar departed and activated his power as he started to hunt down the Tobi-Kadachi he had been told about. Sure enough he found that there were a number of tracks for him to follow, most of them being Low Rank based on the icy blue coloration, before he found two things, one being more of the Rathian tracks while the other was another High Rank track, making him wonder if the two monsters, as their tracks were near each other, were in the middle of a fight. As such he followed the High Rank track and found that he was right to some degree, the two monsters were heading in the same direction, even at different times since a Rathian could fly from place to place, but that didn't stop him from jotting down his notes as he moved through the forest, eager to find either of his targets.

He eventually found his target in the same place he first found the Tobi-Kadachi in, though it was hissing at a Rathalos, a Low Rank anyway, who was loosing fireballs at it, no doubt because it invaded his territory, causing him to shift his stance for a moment before he leapt into battle. As he discovered facing a High Rank version of the Tobi-Kadachi was nothing like the Low Rank, as it was stronger and faster than he thought it would be, but that was good for him since his power grew as he fought, especially against those that were stronger than him, so in his mind if he fought a High Rank version of one of the monsters he had fought or observed so far his power would also grow. He suspected that if he had fought Zorah Magdaros in his prime, instead of when the Elder Dragon was on death's door, he would have gained a tremendous power and would have made the High Ranks a joke, and as he thought about it he knew that using Nergigante's powers all the time would be like cheating as well, so he decided to use the other monsters and save her skills for later. With that idea in mind he channeled the power of his own foe, changing his backside to match the Tobi-Kadachi's and came complete with the fluffy charged tail as well, thus allowing him to cancel out most of the thunder damage he would have taken, though he did confirm that his foe's power was stronger than his own, for his Tobi-Kadachi power anyway.

The Rathalos flapped his wings for a moment before taking off, seeing that two powerful monsters were fighting right now and didn't want to get caught in it, allowing Grogar to focus on knocking his opponent out, which he did so after a couple of minutes of fighting, causing him to huff for a few moments as he took a seat and looked at his unconscious opponent, as he preferred to capture them and not kill them.

Once he was done resting he carefully moved the Tobi-Kadachi to Astera, so it could be studied for any differences that might exist between the Low Rank and the High Rank, before returning to the Ancient Forest and resumed his search for the subspecies that was out there. While he could fight ever monster that was out there, and waste time doing so, Grogar opted to study the regions of the New World and only engage a monster when he had no other options, so when it came time to move onto the Wildspire Waste, to continue his search, he left the beasts of the Ancient Forest to their daily lives and stopped in the desert. From there it was a matter of repeating his actions, using his new power to find the tracks he was looking for while either fighting or ignoring the other monsters that were around the region, until he spotted a brand new beast that stopped him in his tracks. It was another wyvern, with the wings merged with the front limbs, though what was different about it was the fact that this monster was bulkier than most of the other monsters, it's back scales looked like good protection, and it had these odd black pods hanging from the lower part of it's body, the belly area and even part of the tail.

From what he could determine this was a 'Bazelgeuse', a rumored monster that some of the Hunters had claimed to have seen during their travels in the New World, though instead of engaging it he watched it for a time, finding that it had an interesting power, it was capable of dropping those pods and they, upon landing, acted like landmines, igniting when the monster's foe stepped on it, or when it struck them itself. It was, as far as he could tell, a bomber monster that dropped death on whoever it happened to be fighting or hunting at the time, so it could defeat it's foes without having to do much in the way of fighting, though it could land and that made things dangerous for whatever it was fighting, given it could drop and ignite the pods in a matter of seconds. As Grogar watched he determined the only safe way to fight the beast in front of him might be to use Nergigante's power, as Zorah Magdaros' powers produced some heat and that could ignite the pods without the Bazelgeuse having to lift a finger, while the other powers might not be entirely useful, save for the speed of an Odogaron. Fortunately the monster didn't seem interested in him and took off without engaging him, allowing Grogar to explore the Wildspire Waste in peace, where he found multiple tracks of the subspecies and noticed one went in the direction of the Coral Highlands, possibly even the Rotten Vale.

What he discovered was that there were tracks in both regions, confirming that the subspecies had been to both at some point recently, though in the Coral Highlands he sensed that it might be lurking somewhere in that region, causing him and his companions to return to Astera without delay, finding Shepard and the others working at the main table, which he felt was a common occurrence for all of them.

"I've figured it out: the Rathian subspecies is in the Coral Highlands," Grogar said, where he knew that Ava and the others landed near the Researchers, where he would visit to hand over the information he had jotted down over the course of his studies over each region.

"Good, then you can track it down in the morning." Shepard replied, as he knew that Grogar had been out for a long time and hadn't bothered to return since he was tracking down High Ranks and depositing some of them for the Researchers to study, where he could see that Grogar seemed to think about it for a moment before nodding, "While you do that, we can focus on the other regions and the monsters that are causing some trouble for the other inhabitants."

Grogar really didn't have much to say to that as he and the others got some rest, allowing the day to turn to evening while enjoying the company of their companions from the fleets, though as they did that he suspected that once he captured the subspecies things would get more interesting for all of them.

When morning arrived Grogar and Ava flew to the Coral Highlands while Sherry headed for one of the camps, as she felt that it might be best to do things like this, which seemed to be a good thing at first because the wind kicked up while they flew over the region that their target was resting in. It turned into a battle real quick as something loosed fireballs up at him and Ava, where he shielded himself with his magic and Ava avoided the attack, and not a few moments later the pair found out what had attacked them, it was the subspecies, a Rathian with pinkish colored scales. Since he was her target, and Ava was able to slip behind her without being noticed, Grogar decided to try focusing on a single monster power as he switched to Rathalos wings, talons, claws, and tail, surprising Pinky, as he was going to call her, allowing Ava to blast her in the back with a burst of flames. While it might not have done a lot of damage, given that the Rathian and Rathalos were resistant to that element, it did hurt her and opened the way for Grogar to slip in behind her and grab onto her with his claws, using his augmented might to spin her around before tossing her towards the ground.

As he landed he noticed that Pinky wanted to blast him with her flames and he did the same, gathering them for a short period of time before they loosed their flames at each other, heating the area between them as their attacks collided with each other, and after a few moments he switched it downward, blasting the ground and kicking some smoke into the air in front of his foe. That was what he needed as he burst into the air and flew around the smoke, swinging his claws and hit Pinky in the side of her head, scratching her scales as he knocked her away from him, but he knew that she wouldn't do down that easily and readied himself as she got up and charged at him. In the following moments he raised his arm and let the scales take the damage this time around, instead of using his magic like he usually did, so she scraped against his defenses and he pushed her away from him, all while he noticed that Ava was resting on the overlook, watching in case he needed assistance. After that Pinky tried to hit him with her tail, which meant leaping into the air and spinning so she could lash out with it, but that was an opening he could use against her, as he dodged and grabbed onto her tail, allowing him to spin and pull her with him, smashing her face right into the ground and knocked her out.

With that done, and he was sure she was knocked out, he made sure she was sedated with his powers before they took her back to Astera and called for Sherry to join them, and upon their arrival everyone, and he meant everyone, came over to see what they had found as Grogar set Pinky down in the storage area that the captured monsters were put in before they were sent back out into the wild.

"I know you said she was lurking in the Coral Highlands, but I wasn't expecting to see her so soon." Shepard said, speaking as he and the others stared at the subspecies that was resting in front of them, while the Researchers studied the beast as Grogar and Ava, in their humanoid forms, landed nearby and Sherry joined them.

"According to the Researchers it takes a small combination of miracles for a subspecies to emerge, and one is resting here, in front of our eyes." Johnson commented, though it was clear that he was surprised by this information, which they were now confirming, meaning something must have happened recently to cause this beauty to become a reality.

"Indeed, and Grogar made sure she arrived in near pristine condition." Shepard added, because while there no obvious signs of battle, save for a few scratch marks here and there, he knew that Grogar had adapted to the art of fighting all the monsters of the New World, like a true Hunter, "She must have grown somewhere that's rich in nutrients, a region none of us have seen yet..."

"I might know where that is." a new voice said, where Grogar turned for a moment and found someone who looked like a high ranking member of the First Fleet, a buff person who carried no weapons and likely fought with his fists, walking up to where they were standing, though he was taller than most people, had a mane of unkempt blond hair, almost golden in some spots, and carried a sack over his right shoulder.

"Admiral Keiji Maeda, at last you return to Astera." Shepard said, naming the top dog of the Commission's forces in the New World, even though he had a feeling that Grogar might take that at some point, with his unique powers, though part of him was interested in what might be inside the sack, "What took you so long?"

"I was enjoying watching your exploits... including that of Grogar, who are friend told me about." Keiji replied, where he glanced at Grogar for a moment, his tone showing everyone that he approved of him and his powers, something that they were glad to see, before he dropped the sack with a smile on his face, revealing a number of crystals inside it, where they picked up a few of them, "Besides, you didn't need my help, not with this guy and all of his powers... fine work, by the way, in forcing big ugly back to sea like that. Anyway, there's a spot in that area that's just loaded with these things, past where you fought that Elder Dragon..."

"Incredible... there's bioenergy inside them, pulsing like a faint heart would." Grogar commented, as he had picked up one of the dull white crystals and found that the energy reminded him of what happened when he fought Zorah Magdaros, a fact that made him wonder what would happen if he took in more bioenergy.

"Good, I wasn't the only one who noticed that... and I'd wager that they tie into what we're studying, somehow." Keiji said, his tone commanding that everyone listen to him for a time, even though he wasn't ordering them to stand down, it was more like they respected him and preferred to listen to what he had to say, "I intend to find out how... so, who wants to join me? Raise your hand or paw if you're in!"

Grogar, Ava, and Sherry volunteered almost immediately, as they knew that he must have found another region and that he had only returned to share this information with them before returning with some Hunters, so they would be the first to see what was inside the region and figure out what was going on in the New World.

Elder's Recess

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As it turned out the Admiral wasn't expecting them to be ready to depart as soon as he asked if anyone was willing to come with him, though he was surprised by Ava's true form, even though she had to shrink herself down to avoid breaking any of the structures around her. This time around, since they didn't have any Barnos who were ready to go into the Everstream, Sherry sighed as she climbed onto Ava's back and readied herself for the ride, even though she said she'd never do such a thing, and Patches joined her without delay, showing that he was ready for anything. Grogar, on the other hand, unfurled a pair of Rathian wings, a theme he was going with right now, before lifting himself into the air and found that Keiji didn't seem like he had any means to get out of Astera, so he grabbed onto one of his arms and hauled him into the air. It was part of his newfound strength, able to lift heavy things like an entire Rathian by her tail, though once they were ready to go he took off and headed for the Everstream, following Keiji's directions so they could reach their destination without wasting any time.

Sure enough it didn't take them long to reach the Everstream, where he directed them into an opening that was beyond the area that they had fought Zorah Magdaros in, and when Keiji told him that they were at the opening Grogar carefully let go of him and landed, following by Ava landing so her passengers could climb off before reverting to her humanoid form.

"Yeah, that's where we led Zorah Magdaros out to sea," Ava said, as while she didn't doubt what Keiji said, given what they had learned about him from Shepard and the rest of the Commission, it was amazing that they were back here again, after thinking that they wouldn't come back after diverting the Elder Dragon from the New World.

"Indeed, along with Grogar using that interesting ice power and awakening his true power," Keiji stated, where he raised his arm for a moment and beckoned for them to follow him, heading away from the opening and moved deeper into the cavern he had discovered, causing the others to walk behind him for a time.

"That attack is called 'Punishment of the Icy Haze', and yes, I know the name is misleading." Grogar said, though he was pleased to hear that the man was happy with the powers that he had access to, even though he hadn't been expecting to awaken his new power in the fight with the massive dying Elder Dragon, "So, I'm assuming that you like to go exploring and not be tied down in one place?"

"Exactly. I leave the paperwork to Shepard, as he's a fine Commander," Keiji replied, where he seemed happy about that fact, even if Shepard might not like the fact that most of his friends had abandoned him to explore the New World, but he was focused on what they were heading towards and not was behind them, "Anyway, I stumbled on this place while I was chasing down a monster that's been plaguing the New World and the Commission for some time."

"A monster that's... you're referring to Nergigante." Sherry commented, coming to the same conclusion that Grogar and Ava had arrived at as soon as he mentioned that it had been bothering Astera for a while, even though he didn't know the fact that there were two of them, where Grogar nodded his head to her, sharing her thoughts on the matter, "Or, to be more exact, you mean the male Nergigante that's been visiting Astera for the last twenty years, at least according to what Shepard told us some time ago. The one who fought beside us, to save the New World, was a female, as one of Grogar's powers allows him to hear what monsters are saying and lets him figure out the gender of whoever he is talking or fighting at the time."

"Is that so? Well, she's as terrifying as the last one." Keiji said, his tone showing them that he must have been surprised by that information and was processing it, which was understandable given everything he had learned so far, before he took a moment to consider what else he had to share with them, "While I was chasing her, she led me here, to a passage that was likely wretched open by Zorah Magdaros... and to the area we're heading towards, where I'm expecting to find her at some point in the next few hours."

Grogar said nothing to that as they followed Keiji through the passage he had discovered, while they were fighting to save the New World from Zorah Magdaros' fiery death, where he discovered that it was made of some odd hexagonal pillars made out of stone, an odd design for nature to make. They also passed by two interesting areas, the first having a stream of lava and some molten sections in the walls, which a small stream of water connected to it, before coming to an area that had more of the crystals, the only difference between the fragments and these were that what he was seeing were like pillars and spikes of pure crystal. Something in the New World was causing the crystals to grow out like this, which he was interested in and had to assume that they were growing in such a way due to all of the bioenergy that was seeping out of the fallen Elder Dragons, but that still didn't explain how the energy was moving and twisting into the forms that he and his companions were seeing at the moment. Thanks to his new power he understood something, Zorah Magdaros had riled up some sort of force that was connected to the New World, which caused him to divert from his intended grave and attempt to smash his way through the Everstream, making him wonder what in the world they would find when they reached the end of the passage.

When they finally reached the end of the passage, and crawled through the opening they discovered, Grogar quickly came to a stop as he saw what was in front of them, a massive region that was made of stone and seemed to be somewhere near the water, as he could hear the water, before sensing some heat, from a lava source no doubt, and there were more crystals, massive ones off in the distance.

"By the Sapphire Star... this place is amazing." Grogar said, taking a moment to take in what they were seeing right now, all while Ava, Sherry, Keiji, and Patches came to a stop behind him and stared out at the area the Admiral had brought them to, who was looking pleased with himself for discovering this amazing place, before he shifted his sight, "I can see traces of Elder Dragon bioenergy in the air... this must be some sort of recess for the Elders."

"Then that's what we'll call it, the 'Elder's Recess'," Keiji stated, as he had been thinking of what to call this place since he first discovered it, which had failed since he wasn't too good at naming things, and Grogar's words gave him a good idea on what to call this brand new region, all while noticing the smaller crystals were resting around them, "and while I might not have your fancy magical powers, I can tell that this place is sizzling with bioenergy, and that, my friends, means that the monsters here will be tougher than Novacrystals. In fact, this is likely where the other Elder Dragons have run of to, as they wait for their end to come... or whatever they're waiting for... so Grogar, you need to go out there, find the monsters that live here, and study them."

"Trying to figure out why Nergigante comes with the aging Elder Dragons? No need, I'm sure they kill those that are trying to see with the natural order of the world," Grogar replied, as it was something he had considered during the time he spent training with his new power, and it was the only logical conclusion he could make, like the Nergigante species was a force of nature that safeguarded nature and eliminated threats, especially since Zorah Magdaros had been getting ready to blast the New World to hell, "however, if we study the other monsters, and possibly the Elder Dragons as well, we might find out what is drawing everything to the New World and figure out how to stop it from happening again... or whatever we decide to do once we've found out the truth."

"That means we'll head out and study the other monsters," Ava said, because she knew Grogar more than the others did, which Sherry might not approve of since she was supposed to be Grogar's right hand, and understood what he meant, all while making sure not to annoy the Admiral while they were here.

Grogar remained silent for a moment, as he intended on going what Keiji said so they could understand the nature of this place and the monsters that happened to call it home, and once he was sure that the conversation was done he stepped forward for a moment and found that Sherry was working to get a Barnos in here, to set up a new camp. While she did her best to do that, and Keiji stood there with a grin on his face, Grogar headed out to explore the region they had found, as there was a path leading out into the Elder's Recess, where he found one path went down into an area that was closer to the lava area and one in front of him that seemed to be the upper reaches of the region. As he started to explore the area to his right, the upper reaches to be exact, he found that the ground shook a little and a monster came rolling down the path, reminding him of the Radobaan, though instead of bones this one had small pillar shaped 'spikes' on it's back, but he found that he was in the way and unfurled his wings so he could study it from the air. One other thing he discovered was that the monster was capable of loosing small orbs, the size of one's head, that seemed to be landmines and the monster glared up at him for a moment, no doubt thinking it might have had a fight on it's claws and might be disappointed in his actions, before jumping and rolling off again.

He remained in the air for a few moments as he pulled out his book of monsters and sought out one that matched the new one he had discovered, where he found an entry about a lustrous gold or bronze colored beast, which resembled the monster in question, and that the first group that discovered it called it an 'Uragaan'.

With that information in hand he carefully followed the Uragaan down the passage and found that it went to a decent area that might be a nest, for it anyway, but the monster didn't stay long as it continued rolling down the path, heading right to a more molten area that was hotter than the Wildspire Waste. Fortunately it didn't stay long as it curved up a ramp and went up into the area Grogar had seen when he first started to explore this area, meaning it was the other path that was off to the left of where they were setting up their camp, though as the monster continued to roll Grogar paused for a few seconds as he discovered something. There was another beast in this particular area, a blue scaled monster with orange colored stripes that resembled a Great Jagras, in terms of body structure, though it had a larger bottom jaw and, unless he was seeing things, it preferred to eat the crystals that were around it, but it only glanced at the Uragaan before turning to the crystal again. This one wasn't in the tome he was carrying, Grogar was sure of that, causing him to tilt his head as he landed on a larger crystal, across from where the beast was eating, and took out some materials to sketch the monster so the others in Astera could see what he had found, all while kicking around some names for what to call it, since it looked like he was the first one to see a monster like this.

In the end he decided to go with 'Dodogama' and gave it the title of the 'Rock Thief Wyvern', like how the author wrote that Uragaan was the 'Burst Hammer', while noting that it was actually rather docile and might only attack when something or someone threatened it, and he felt that attacking a docile monster was just plain rude.

Once he was done with his notes, which the Researchers would appreciate when he returned to Astera with the news of what they had discovered, he slipped his materials into his pack and departed from the area the Dodogama was in, as he had a feeling there was one more monster he had to find, not counting Nergigante. Based on his estimates, and what he had seen in the other regions, the various monsters that originally inhabited a region split it three ways, sometimes more when one considered that there might be more than three monsters in any place, and since he had found the monsters of the upper and middle areas he knew the last one had to be in the lower part. That meant he was going to have to explore an area filled with lava, so what Grogar did was tap into Zorah Magdaros' power and hoped that the molten nature of that particular power was enough to stave off the heat of a molten area, even though his skin took on a similar shape to what the dying Elder Dragon had possessed. A few moments later he found that he was able to enter the molten area and that his plan had been successful, the power allowed him to enter this area without overheating, though to be on the safe side he decided to keep an eye on his temperature, just to be sure he didn't collapse due to being way too hot for his body, even in it's altered state, to handle.

What he discovered was that there was a collapsed tunnel that lead even deeper into the lava area, before finding some patches of lava and molten material that seemed to have something moving underneath them, a fish monster that looked like the Jyuratodus, only molten in some cases, and by looking at the tome he found that it was a Lavasioth. With that done he knew what the three main monsters of this region were, which he felt that he was going to face off against in the near future, except Dodogama, as he felt that it would be wrong to mess with the docile monster, so he might fight Uragaan and Lavasioth before tracking down Nergigante. As he carefully made his way back to the new camp, so he could report all of his findings to Keiji and Sherry, he paused for a moment and felt Ava land behind him, as she preferred to stay silent and assist him when it was absolutely necessary, because he spotted a Bazelguese fly into the region, which he didn't want to fight against right now. With that thought in mind he made his way back to the camp and found that Keiji and Sherry were still standing around in the area near the opening they had passed through, one getting ready to make a camp for all those who would be coming to this part of the New World while the other just stood around.

"That was quick. I figured you would engage each monster and learn more about them." Keiji commented, likely thinking that Grogar was like all of the other Hunters, that they fought first and ask questions later, though with him it was hard to tell what he was thinking about, as he was different than everyone else in Astera.

"That'll come later, once we have a real camp set up." Grogar replied, where he stretched his arms for a moment, as while he was eager to see what the monsters had to offer him, and what he might learn from them, he knew that having a base of operations was nice and that it would provide them with a place to rest while they were investigating the monsters that called this place home.

Ava and Sherry nodded their heads as they went about getting what they needed for a camp, where he took a seat nearby and compiled his notes on the Elder's Recess, so when he returned to Astera he could pass it along to the others, all while knowing that things were going to get interesting in the very near future.

Rematch

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It took some time for their friends in Astera to send over the materials that were necessary to set up a camp, such as the tent, an eating area that Sherry could cook in and some food to cook if they wanted to eat something, and everything else that went into a base, including the chest of materials and a Barnos post. Grogar had to fly back to Astera to tell Shepard and the others what they had discovered during their time with Keiji, a whole new region that was beyond what they had seen from the four that the Commission was used to dealing with, eventually convincing him to approve of the equipment being sent. In addition to that he handed his notes over to the Researchers, who were surprised by the discovery of the monsters he had found and were eager to get their hands on one of them, just to study them up close and personal, like what they did to the Pink Rathian he had captured. Grogar also asked if there was any news that he needed to be worried about, as there were other Elder Dragons out there and he was surprised that none of them, save for the Kirin, had been spotted so far, but there was nothing new in terms of their movements, so he nodded his head and backed off to let the Researchers do their jobs with what he had handed them.

A few moments after his return to the Elder's Recess he found that the Barnos who delivered all the camp supplies had followed him to the brand new region, to which he carefully directed them to where Sherry and Ava were resting, with both Patches and Keiji standing nearby, and once they arrived Sherry went to work getting everything set up.

Once the camp was set up, and Grogar was sure that there was nothing else he had to do with Sherry and the others, he did his job by heading out and focused on the monsters he had seen during his time in the Elder's Recess, where he decided to start with the Uragaan that was resting nearby. Sure enough he found that the monster was just rolling around and leaving marks in whatever it rolled over, even though it seemed that it used the same route and didn't deviate from what it was used to, though when it noticed him coming it stopped and glared at him. This time he decided to mix powers as he targeted his opponent, where what he meant was that he turned the outer layer of his body into the hard material of Zorah Magdaros, for a defensive measure, while adding the latent strength of Nergigante, so when he landed he raised his arms and blocked the incoming attack. His decision was due to the Uragaan rolling right at him, where he found that it tried to dig through his new defenses and failed, causing him to shift his stance as he knocked his foe backwards, forcing it to land on it's back for a moment, demonstrating the strength of Nergigante.

He didn't end the battle immediately, by picking the Uragaan up and hurling it at one of the walls, rather he backed off for a moment and shifted his stance as he waited for the monster to come at him again, where his foe got up, rolled so it was facing him with it's feet on the ground, and huffed for a couple of seconds. Based on what he knew the monsters of this world, both the Old World and the New World, were more intelligent than what the Researchers had originally believed, as with his arrival the ones in Astera had realized that monsters were much smarter than they originally gave them credit for and changed their ways almost instantly. That fact meant his foe was thinking about what was going on and what it might do to overcome what had been thrown in it's way, though he also knew that it would focus on attacking him with the sole purpose of pushing him away, until it came up with a plan to get rid of him entirely. In accordance with that fact he raised his arms and readied himself for the next stage of this battle, while at the same time altering his legs to an Odogaron's as he protected his legs with a Barroth's hard armor, just to avoid using all of one monster so he could get used to each and every power he had access to.

As Grogar rushed into battle he also made one more quick alteration, the shocking tail of a Tobi-Kadachi with the spikes of a Radobaan, which he was sure would transfer the electricity into his unsuspecting foe, and as he dodged his opponent's incoming attack he lashed out with his tail. Sure enough he found that it did some damage to his foe, both the spikes and the electricity that danced between the spikes, where Grogar made a mental note to think about that in the future, before he landed nearby and turned to face his foe once more, who was struggling against the shocking nature of his attack, only he was sure it would come undone in no time. As he expected the Uragaan loosed some of the rock bombs at him and it lead to Grogar trying something new out, he altered his tail again and dropped scales bombs down on where his foe was resting, just like a Bazelgeuse would, surprising his opponent for a moment as it realized that something was up, even if he had positioned the scales all around the monster. With that done he gathered one of his other powers for a moment before loosing a burst of flames down on where the Uragaan was standing, igniting the scale bombs and blew up the area his foe was resting in, blasting his foe back into one of the walls in the process.

The Uragaan, sensing that this wasn't a battle it could win, not against the arsenal of powers that Grogar was gathering, did what seemed to be the best thing it could do, it rolled off to the side and disappeared by heading down the tunnel, a fact that caused Grogar to sigh as he reverted to his base state and unfurled his Rathian wings.

With that done he checked out the other monsters who lived in the Elder's Recess, where he found that Dodogama was still resting near the main crystal area he had seen the docile beast in and landed near it for a moment, though as it took a moment to look at him he raised his hands and told it that he wasn't here to fight. Sure enough the monster didn't want to fight and was willing to talk for a time, where he discovered that the Dodogama was a target for all of the other monsters that lived in this region, even though he would fight back if someone tried to take him down, meaning it wasn't passive all the time. It was an interesting discovery, which he made a note of so he could add it to what he had found out so far, and talking to the Dodogama informed him that there was another monster out there that he hadn't seen yet, an azure beast to be exact, meaning it had to be a Rathalos, as he and Rathian had some of the more well known subspecies. Finding that there was an Azure Rathalos out there was an interesting thing to discover, even though it didn't look like the monster was currently in the Elder's Recess, but he thanked the docile creature for the information he was willing to share, and once he was done talking Grogar departed.

After that he flew over the rest of the Elder's Recess and found an area that some of those tribal Felynes were in, running out of a crystalline structure and caused him to raise an eyebrow as he landed nearby, though they were freaking out as something chased them, the whole tribe, out of the area... before the crystals shattered as Nergigante, in all her glory, burst through them and entered the area Grogar was in, only to come to a stop when the Felynes disappeared.

"Well, you see to be in good health." Grogar commented, speaking as Nergigante glanced around the area she was in for a few seconds and stopped when she noticed him, where he raised his right hand and altered it to match her right arm, a reminder of who he was, just in case she had forgotten about him.

"You... the one who awakened during our battle with Zorah Magdaros." Nergigante said, showing that she did recall who he was and that him showing her his power again might not have been necessary, though he wasn't taking chances with someone who was as powerful as this particular Elder Dragon, where he found a grin on her face, "I'm eager to see just how strong your power really is!"

Grogar nodded for a moment as he shifted his stance, as he had a feeling that when he encountered Nergigante again, in a time where the New World wasn't in danger of being wiped out, that they would have to fight each other, and because of that fact he altered his arms, legs, and tail to match his opponent. His reasoning for not using the powers he had gained so far was simple, the powers of the normal monsters would do next to nothing against the might of the beast in front of him, while using everything he had gained from the other Elder Dragons was out of the question, given his foe's ability to deactivate, or 'seal', the power of an Elder Dragon. Nergigante was a force that negated the powers of the Elder Dragons, allowing her and her kind to take out those who threatened nature, like how Zorah Magdaros was going to blast the New World to pieces, and he was sure that his copied powers might suffer the same thing, hence why he was focusing on her power, as two negations would cancel each other out. He had no idea if that was the case, since this would be his first time fighting her with her own power, so this battle would be an eyeopener into the core aspects of Nergigante's power, and as he readied himself he could see that his foe was doing the same thing.

A few moments later the pair rushed at each other, Grogar quickly adding the horns of his foe before they clashed, with their heads to be exact, where he found that the collision of Nergigante's power and his own caused the area that was all around them to shake for a time, as if two Elder Dragons were fighting. After that they separated from each other for just a few seconds before Grogar rushed forward, swinging his right arm at his foe as Nergigate did the same, causing another collision of their energies, though neither of them cared as they moved into a series of punches, showing anyone that was watching that, for the time being, they were evenly matched. The other aspect was that the spikes on their arms made it harder for one to just gain the advantage over the other, though after the start of their battle Nergigante switched up her style by using more berserker moves, like slamming her head into the ground, striking the stone with her clawed hands, in an effort to smash him, and just enjoying battle to the fullest. Grogar, while not having the same battle senses that his foe had, had his mind to fall back on and dodged some of the incoming attacks as he studied his foe, finding that the spikes on her body were getting darker as time went on, which he suspected were the key to her ultimate attack, the one that had nearly killed him back in the Wildspire Waste.

As Nergigante started to smash her head down into the ground Grogar altered himself once more as he unfurled a pair of wings that were identical to his foe's, which he used to defend himself for a moment and caused her to smash her face into the spikes on his wings, though sure enough it didn't do a lot of damage, which he was fine with since it was more for an extra bit of protection. With his foe's view disrupted Grogar made his move as he jumped into the air a little and spun around, where he lashed out with his tail, which Nergigante only saw when he moved his wings out of the way, so he was able to strike her side as he knocked her backwards, but all it seemed to do was excite his foe. Another thing he found as they fought was that when Nergigante swung her claws into the ground there were instances were she was able to break either the ground in a way that sent spikes of earth at him or it actually broke off the spikes on her arms and she used the force of her attack to send them flying at her target. Given that he was her target he knew that they were coming at him, an interesting tactic to be sure, though as he dodged the attacks, and countered a blow to the best of his ability, a plan of sorts came to mind, one that might end this battle between him and Nergigante, and if he messed up he was sure that she would smash him into the ground again.

While his foe was readying her spikes, purposely stalling so they could become black, Grogar let himself be knocked into the air, where he gathered a bit of magic and loosed it at the ground around her, blasting the stone and knocking smoke up in the process. Such a thing was designed to temporarily blind his foe, who would be expecting him to stay in the air for a time, so what he did was expand his magic to make a copy of himself, where he dropped it in front of Nergigante, all to make it seem like this was all a sneak attack, while he landed behind his opponent. As Nergigante fought his copy, likely ignoring the smoke in the process, Grogar gathered his power as he strengthened himself for what he was about to do, all while noticing that the spikes on his Nergigante limbs were changing color, to which he made sure to alter his muscles and his body a little more to ensure it could withstand what he was about to do. Once he was ready he leapt into the air as his magic came undone, causing Nergigante to glance around as she tried to find him, and as soon as she turned towards the area he was in Grogar rushed down in a dive bomb, just like what happened when she fought and nearly killed him back in the Wildspire Waste.

What made this better was that Nergigante raised herself onto her hind legs and Grogar's attack struck her in the chest, the force of which sent her flying, since Grogar had added his own magic into the mix, and she collided with the crystals she had burst out of earlier, dropping them on top of her... though as he huffed, as that used more power than what he was expecting, he heard something odd as Nergigante emerged from the wreckage, bestial laughter.

"You got me good... body hasn't hurt this much in years. You've honed your powers quite well." Nergigante said, her tone revealing that she was pleased with his power, even if it was him mimicking and copying her own powers, before she made her way over to where he was standing and he was sure that there was a smile on her face, "Come, let us return to your base... your chef has good food and we'll definitely need some after that battle."

Grogar chuckled as he reverted to his base form, as it seemed like he might have befriended Nergigante by showing her his own power and her judging it to be worthy in some manner, but he wasn't about to complain as the pair walked back to the camp, as he knew Ava and the others would be surprised when he returned, not to mention those in Astera when they finally returned and told Shepard what they had discovered in this place.

Elder Problems

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Ava, Sherry, and Keiji were surprised by Grogar's sudden arrival with Nergigante, even though they knew that part of their mission in the Elder's Recess was to track her down, showing him that they weren't expecting him to run into her so soon, not after starting to check out the rest of the region. He informed them that he had faced off against the Uragaan for a time, allowing him to gain all sorts of information for later, and that he had talked with Dodogama as well, since it was docile and didn't need to be fought, before revealing that it was around that point that he ran into his companion. He didn't bump into the Lavasioth, given who he was with, but he did learn that the two more monsters, Bazelgeuse and Azure Rathalos, could be found in this region as well, so it was something that they were going to have to keep an eye out for, or whoever might be assigned to watch over this place while they were in Astera. Other than that there wasn't much else for him to tell them, other than the fact that he and Nergigante had bumped horns with each other, literally given his power, which Ava felt due to being an Elder Dragon herself, making him wonder if the others of her kind had felt their fight.

Once the conversation was done Grogar departed from the Elder's Recess and found that Ava and the others, joined by their new ally, were following after him, where he chuckled for a moment as he wondered what sort of reaction he'd get from his friends and allies in Astera, when they realized who was following him.

Sure enough he found that everyone was busy with their own duties, making sure the base had everything it needed to function as a well oiled machine, while the Researchers seemed to be studying the notes he had brought them on the new region they had discovered. Aiden, of course, spotted him while he was up in the air and waved, causing his partner and a few of the others to stop and stare up at him as well, at first only seeing the companions they knew about, before pausing as they noticed Nergigante was following him. Given the last time they had seen her she had been an ally, fighting to save the New World from being wiped out by Zorah Magdaros' untimely death in the vast Everstream, he knew that they were surprised to see her again, since she had up and vanished after chasing the dying Elder Dragon into the sea, but she was back and they were curious as to what it meant. The problem Grogar discovered was that there wasn't much room in all of Astera for Nergigante to land, save for the area near the main gate, an area near the Canteen, and possibly the section of ship behind where Shepard usually stood when addressing the other leaders of their base.

Despite his thoughts on the matter Grogar found that Shepard seemed to have anticipated him returning with Nergigate at some point and had cleared out the area behind him, where it looked like he had some of the workers redesign that portion of the ship while he and his companions were gone and made it into a landing area for her, which they used while the others landed nearby and walked over to them.

"Well, it seems like you've been busy," Shepard commented, taking a moment to glance at Nergigante, who sat down after they landed and glanced around Astera for a few moments, no doubt focusing on the Canteen based on what he had seen the last time she had come to their base, before focusing on Grogar for a moment.

"Yeah, and I've got some information to share with everyone," Grogar replied, as what he had discovered about the Elder's Recess was worth passing on to those who were researching everything about the New World, though after saying that he thought about it as he raised a hand, "it's not important information, like what happened earlier with Zorah Magdaros, but I did learn a few more things about the Elder's Recess that the Researchers might be interested in."

Sure enough he found that the Researchers were interested in the number of monsters that called the new region home, or could be located in it, even though it seemed like the Bazelgeuse had no true home as it attacked all five sections of the New World, and they were sure the same could be said for the Azure Rathalos. After that he explained that he had clashed with Nergigante, who wanted to test his copy power with her own immense strength, and after pleasing her she came to a stop, informed him that his strength was good, and that she was interested in the Meowscular Chef's food. Such a thing led to a small celebration of sorts being held in Astera, no doubt welcoming another Elder Dragon into the mix, as most of them suspected that she would be here for some time and not run off like the last time, though Grogar saw it as a good thing, as she had information that they couldn't obtain on their own and he might be able to get it. They were interested in why one of her kind followed the aging Elder Dragons to the New World, even though he was partly sure it was due to the fact that some of them might harm this island in the moment of their death, even though Zorah Magdaros was the only one to do something like that.

There was so much information that they could learn from her, in addition to what he had considered so far, and with her sticking around for some time it gave him a chance to figure out the pieces of the puzzle that they were missing right now, which would aid the Commission and the Guild in understanding this world more than ever before, he just had take his time and not rush her on the details. Shepard, of course, was wondering what they could do with two Elder Dragons on their side, even if Ava seemed to be more of a silent ally that observed areas and less of a fighter, while Nergigante could plow her way through whatever obstacles decided to get in their way. Of course there were those that needed some time to get used to the idea of a friendly Elder Dragon, as in Nergigante since they were used to Ava's presence, but Grogar was sure that they would come around to her presence and not be freaked out whenever she showed herself, provided she stuck around for more than a few hours. Other than that Grogar didn't have much else to worry about right now, save for getting some food since fighting Nergigante was quite the workout, though he was pleased with the information he had discovered so far and was eager to find out what he and the others might find out in the coming days.

With that thought in mind he and the others enjoyed their time, celebrating into the night like they did back when Zorah Magdaros had been dealt with, though everyone knew that when morning arrived they would be tackling whatever new dangers the New World had to throw at them and they were eager to see what those dangers might be.

When morning arrived Grogar discovered something that totally surprised him, which happened to be that, in the course of the celebration of Nergigante's arrival in Astera, he and the brutish Elder Dragon had ended up in the same area, as in she was resting in an area right outside the base, near the Canteen, and he had fallen asleep near her claws. Part of him had to wonder how this came to pass, blaming whatever drinks he had downed the night before, thanks to the celebration that Astera held for her arrival, though he also decided to keep the drinking to a minimum, to avoid things like this from happening. From what he could see it didn't look like there were many people up right now, though he knew that many of his friends and comrades had likely seen this scene and would hold it against him for some time, but after thinking about that Grogar got up and walked over to the edge of the cliff that Nergigante had chosen to rest on. After that he found that a good portion of Astera was awake, including Shepard, Keiji, Ava, and Sherry, meaning it would be easy for him to figure out what sort of mission would be handed to him next and where in the New World he might be sent, given that he had no idea what the other Elder Dragons were up to.

"Ugh... head still pounding." Nergigante commented, rousing herself from sleep when she noticed that something was different from when they went to bed, making Grogar silently promise to make sure any Elder Dragons they had in Astera didn't have access to alcohol, before she glanced at him, "Mate... what's wrong?"

"Wha... 'mate'? What's that supposed to mean?" Grogar asked, though as the dragon roused herself, and got into a sitting position so she could see what was going on in Astera with her own eyes, he had a feeling that he knew what she was talking about and the sheer thought about it sent his mind racing.

Nergigante tilted her head for a moment, as if thinking about his words, before explaining herself, even though he felt she was having a bit of fun at his expense, where she revealed that her kind were hardwired to find strength attractive and, as such, ritual combat was a thing for all of her species. Usually a Nergigante would track down another from one of the few other clans and fight to determine the best possible mate, though before that it was her turn to watch over the island that they were on and it caused her to follow Zorah Magdaros for a short period of time. Such a thing allowed Grogar to figure out a few things on his own, especially since she told him that part of her wanted to track down her brother, Ruin, and see how he was doing, as he hadn't been home in a while, though he was hung up on what she called him. He had fought her because the first time they had encountered each other she had nearly ended his life in an instant, and the time after that the two of them had been forced to work together to stop Zorah Magdaros, so the third time was more about a fair fight, not what she was talking about.

Such a thing caused him to stall for a few moments, staring off into the distance as he tried to comprehend the situation he had found himself in all of a sudden, that his strength had won over Nergigante and now she was acting like he was her mate now, or at least was teasing him given the smirk of sorts on her face. As they stood there Ava came over and asked what was going on, where Nergigante paused for a moment as she considered how she was going to explain herself, due to the fact that Grogar was the only one that understood her, before gesturing with her hands, indicating that she had 'broken him' with her words. Ava raised an eyebrow for a moment, clearly thinking about what was going on right now, as she had never seen her friend like this, before informing them that Shepard wanted to speak with them, which snapped him back to reality and she could see that whatever had been bothering him had been shelved for now. With that done he headed down the steps as Ava lead the way to where the leaders of Astera gathered whenever they needed to talk about something, though he had to wonder what in the world that 'something' was this time around, given that everything had been fine yesterday.

Nergigante, of course, carefully landed behind Shepard and Keiji, who were wary of her since they weren't sure how long she would remain friendly, while Grogar and Ava walked down to where Sherry was currently standing, and once they were all together Shepard focused less on the reports in front of him and focused on them.

"I know we were all expecting some time to rest, after Zorah Magdaros' attempt to blast the island to pieces and the rather sudden arrival of High Ranks, but I have some news to share with you," Shepard stated, causing everyone to focus on what he had to tell them, though at this point it was either a new monster or an Elder Dragon was acting up again, "I'll cut to the chase: the other Elder Dragons that resided within the Elder's Recess have fled from their nests and are invading the other regions, spooking the other monsters in the process... if I were a betting man, I'd say that your clash with Nergigante, while not meaning to be destructive, caused them to flee until things quiet down."

"So Nergigante and I caused this... how many Elder Dragons are we talking about?" Grogar asked, because he knew they didn't have to worry about the Kirin, as they seemed to live in the Coral Highlands, though while that was the case he also knew that there were others and that any number of them could be out there, wrecking havoc on the land.

"As of right now, there are three troublemakers. That much we're aware of." Keiji said, where he raised his finger for a few seconds and pointed at the map, where Grogar found that he marked the Ancient Forest, the Wildspire Waste, and even the Rotten Vale, the last one making him wonder if Vaal Hazak might have shown itself at long last, "Those are the regions we've received reports from, potential sightings of each Elder Dragon... we're not sure which ones they are, but that'll be part of your job, not to mention those sent out into the field. Also, we have received word from the Guild that some are considering labeling you as a monster, only because they have not met you themselves, and they have provided a couple of epithets for us to call you by: the 'Chimera Wyvern', the 'Chimera King', or, and this is my personal favorite, the 'King of Monsters'."

Grogar said nothing for a moment as he thought about the problems that the Elder Dragons were causing, which wasn't considering the odd decision of the Guild, where he guessed that it was how they dealt with new things that they found out about, before sighing as he focused on their current problem, as the Elder Dragons were far more important than the Guild's decision and he was interested in what the next few days held for him and his companions.

The Troublemakers

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With the meeting done, and Grogar knew that there were three Elder Dragons out there that was causing trouble for three of the regions of the New World, he checked out the map as he debated where to start, as one was in the Ancient Forest, one was in the Wildspire Waste, and the last was in the Rotten Vale. His best guess was to start in the first region, move to the next one after figuring out which beast happened to be there, and repeat as necessary, until he and the Commission knew which Elder Dragons they were dealing with at the moment. Nergigante, on the other hand, headed out to see if she could figure out a few more things about this situation, since the three Elder Dragons had to be connected to something, not just each other or the fact that they were the ones responsible for this happening. Grogar had no idea what else might have caused the sudden change in habitat in three Elder Dragons, hence why he was sure it was some other element, possibly even another powerful beast they weren't aware of yet, but he was sure that they would figure something out in due time, after a bit of research anyway.

Once he had a plan of attack, or at least for his investigation, Grogar unfurled his wings before heading into the forest once more, as it was time for him to see what sort of monsters were causing trouble, where a brief glance down at the ground told him that nothing seemed out of place. With that in mind he headed down to the ground and studied it for any signs of an Elder Dragon, making sure to activate his new sight to see what might be lurking around him, finding some light blue tracks mixed in with the bronze ones. For a moment he had to wonder if he would even find anything useful out here, as he did believe what he and everyone else had been told, before he found a blue track that was had to belong to the beast he was looking for, causing him to land without delay. What he discovered were some gash marks, like a dragon had been here, as in something like Nergigante, and some gashes that looked like they had been designed by a wing scraping the area in question, where he knew that it wasn't the brutish Elder Dragon due to her being in Astera when the report came in.

As he studied the tracks, and discovered how they were spaced out while making numerous checks on the wing markings, Grogar came to understand which Elder Dragon had made the tracks in question, as at first he was sure that it could have been any number of beasts, but following it allowed him to understand who he was tracking down.

"Kushala Daora... that's who was harassing this region recently." Grogar commented, as he was convinced that the various markings he had discovered pointed at that monster and not one of the others he knew about, though he made sure that he had sketches of each unique track he found, just to hand them over to the Researchers and see if they agreed with his thoughts, "At least I'm sure of that, unless there's another monster like it out there... makes me wonder what else might be bothering the regions of the New World."

With that done he spent a few more moments studying the tracks that were in the Ancient Forest, discovering one that, as an odd twist, was a golden yellow color, as if made from actual gold, and seemed to belong to a rather large Elder Dragon, causing him to raise an eyebrow for a moment as he sketched it out. Based on what he recalled each fleet had chased an Elder Dragon when they first came to the New World, one of which had to be the Dalamadur due to the skeleton that was in the Rotten Vale, and in addition to that there a number of other Elder Dragons, not yet in their old age, who came to see what was going on with this place. Such a thing led him to think about the list that Shepard had given him when he asked about the others that were out there, where he was convinced that this had to be the tracks of a Kulve Taroth, which was one that the First Fleet had tried to track down after they landed, but, due to a lack of manpower, she got away and likely returned every now and then without the Commission discovering her existence. It made him wonder if some of the more older Elder Dragons, those who had been seen by Astera in the past anyway, might be returning to the New World, but he decided not to worry about it too much as he finished his sketches of the tracks he had found, as he was sure the rest of the First Fleet would be interested in his findings.

Once he completed his studies he opened his wings and took to the skies once more, where he headed to the Wildspire Waste once more, finding that it seemed pretty normal from above, which was what Grogar found when he entered the Ancient Forest earlier, so he descended without delay.

Grogar discovered that what he found back in the Ancient Forest was the same as what he discovered in the desert, as in the tracks of Low Rank monsters mixed with High Rank beasts, before he found some new tracks that seemed to be more like a lion, based on how the legs were spaced. As he studied the tracks Grogar discovered a few bits of fur that were stuck on some rocks or some stone walls, like the monster in question was grooming itself while wandering through this region, where he took some samples and found that they were red colored. Based on what he knew there was only one monster that looked sort of like a lion and had red colored fur, though there was a blue version that was the female of the species, meaning if he was right this was a Teostra he was tracking, a rather powerful monster who controlled fire. He paused for a moment as he considered the information he had found so far, the first monster had to be Kushala Daora, the so called 'Shadow Upon The Tempest' due to it's wind abilities, while this one had to be Teostra, the 'Emperor of Fire', which made him wonder what the third one might be.

Before leaving the Wildspire Waste he checked out the rest of the region and found that, for the most part, it seemed just fine, as if the Teostra had been wandering through it and not causing problems, even though his sheer presence could do it for him, but he also found no other signs of another Elder Dragon, allowing him to head over to his next destination and the region that was below it.

What he did, instead of heading right to the Rotten Vale, was take a detour and scouted out the Coral Highlands, where he glanced down at the ground and found that nothing seemed out of the ordinary, just in the off chance that there was one more Elder Dragon that the scouts hadn't noticed earlier. Sure enough he found the Kirin was just wandering around, due to the storm that was brewing overhead, the sure sign that one was on the move, but based on what he was seeing this particular monster wasn't doing anything dangerous, rather it seemed to be getting food before heading back to the area it lived in. After seeing that, and checking out the surrounding area for signs of another Elder Dragon, he descended into the Rotten Vale and checked out the upper reaches, out of the Effluvium to be exact, only to discover that there was next to nothing to suggest that an Elder Dragon had been up here. He frowned when he found no tracks of the beast he was in the middle of looking for, as both Kushala Daora and Teostra had been all over most of the regions they had been spotted in, or at least their tracks anyway, so it was odd to see that there was nothing of the other one that had been seen down in this foul region.

As he headed down into the lower section of the Rotten Vale he found some tattered flesh, a gross thing to discover, that seemed to be tainted in some manner, as if what it belonged to was a rotting monster of some kind, instead of one he and the others were used to seeing, before he sighed and took a sample of it. Of course he also found some odd tracks that, if he was seeing things right, had a claw off, as in it might be twisted in some manner, which was really weird as he sketched it out for the Researchers back in Astera, as they would make sense of this for him and everyone else. As Grogar did that he found that there were no smaller monsters in the area, which was weird, though he had to assume that Scarlet and her Odogaron were somewhere else in this foul region, staying away from the Elder Dragon that was wandering around, or at least that seemed to be the case based on the information the tracks were giving him. Once he had all of the information he could gather, based on what was in each of the regions of the New World, Grogar took to the air and left the Rotten Vale behind as quickly as he could, as he really didn't like being in that place and dealing with all of the Effluvium, before he headed towards Astera.

When he returned to his base of operations he handed over the sketches and information he had discovered, where his fellows were interested in what he had discovered, though as they went over everything he found while he was out in the field, and either confirmed or denied his findings, he went over the list of Elder Dragons that were rumored to be here, in the New World... though it wasn't long before Shepard called for him to come over to the table, meaning they knew which Elder Dragons he had to deal with.

"Grogar, we've determined which Elder Dragons have been causing trouble... nice work, by the way." Shepard said, as he knew that anyone else would have taken a few days to figure out which ones had been invading the other regions of the New World, given that they didn't have Grogar's magical powers or abilities, though he wasn't about to complain about the results he was getting, "You were right on which ones they were, as we've determined that a Kushala Daora was messing with the Ancient Forest, a Teostra was in the Wildspire Waste, and, well, the Researchers are sure that the one the Third Fleet discovered all those years ago, before they were downed by a Legiana, is a Vaal Hazak and that it's somewhere in the depths of the Rotten Vale. We need to calm down all three of them, be it you convincing them to stop or killing them after a long battle, but I'll leave it up to you to determine which one you want to go after first."

Grogar nodded his head for a moment, as he understood what Shepard was saying, before stepping away from the table for a time, as he wanted to think about this for a time and come to a decision on his own, even though he would tackle all three of them at some point in time, before turning his attention to figuring out what was going on with the New World and if it was being caused by another Elder Dragon they hadn't discovered just yet.

Tempest and Flame

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In the end Grogar decided that the first Elder Dragon he would deal with would be the Kushala Daora, a beast that held the power to command the wind itself, though before he headed out he made sure he knew what he was getting into, since his next couple of foes would be some of the strongest foes he would ever face. The wyvern in question was said to have a metallic skin, meaning it had a high level of defense that might be on the level of Zorah Magdaros' hard shell, which told him he would have to channel Nergigante's power to even have a chance. He also had his magic to fall back on, though out of all the elements he could pick from he knew fire wouldn't be the best, as fire and wind being used against each other didn't work that well, even though together they would pack quite the punch. The tomes also said that it had large wings that were connected to its body at the base of its tail, it had two horns in addition to the spikes that ran down the spine, and some of the Hunters claimed it had visible wind streaming around the body, making it an incredibly hard creature to beat.

As he finished his quick refresher on his chosen target, and closed the tomes on Kushala Daora, he found Ava and Sherry walking towards him, which meant they had to know what he was doing and might be coming to talk with him, so he stayed in his seat since he suspected they would be talking for a little while.

"You're going to try talking to it, aren't you?" Sherry asked, as she knew more about Grogar after talking to the rest of Astera, since she needed to know what Ava had done during her time impersonating her, so she understood his base power, the ability to talk to and understand monsters.

"While I have become stronger through fighting, I'd rather see if I can convince the Elder Dragons not to wreck the regions of the New World," Grogar replied, due to the fact that being beaten by Nergigante, and tanking Zorah Magdaros' attack, had awakened his inner fighting spirit, though he still wanted to see if he could convince the other Elder Dragons not to do whatever it was that was on their minds at this moment, before a small spark danced over his fingers, "however, consider the fact that almost all of the other Elder Dragons have been aggressive and don't listen to me... well, I'm sure that we're going to clash at some point, starting with Kushala Daora."

"Still, it will be a tough fight, considering who your opponents will be." Ava said, because they knew what two of the three Elder Dragons were capable of, since Vaal Hazak seemed to be fairly new for the Commission, though at the same time there was one other piece of information that they hadn't considered just yet, "Especially when you consider that two of the three Elder Dragons are supposedly back in the Elder's Recess... you'll have to be careful, as there's a chance that you might invade the territory of the one you don't initially pick."

"Start with Kushala Daora and end up enraging Teostra, or start with Teostra and tick off Kushala Daora," Grogar said, as he hadn't considered that option when he decided to start with the wyvern who controlled the wind, where he sighed for a moment as he considered what might happen in the Elder's Recess, the potential disaster that might be waiting for him if he made a misstep, "either way, you're right, this is going to be hard."

Ava and Sherry glanced at each other for a moment, as it was rare for Grogar to admit that someone was right about one of the topics they were talking about, though he regained himself before getting up, as he knew that none of the other Hunters in Astera were interested in facing off against an Elder Dragon. With that in mind Grogar opened his wings for a moment and took to the air once more, where he angled himself accordingly and headed for the Elder's Recess again, all while his companions followed after him so they could make sure the camp was ready for him, in case he needed it after finding his targets. One thing he thought about was the fact that Nergigante hadn't returned yet, meaning she had likely found something and wasn't able to return or maybe she ditched them, it was hard to tell with her sometimes, hence why he focused on what he would find in the region he was heading towards. While he knew that his fight with Nergigante, and all of the power that was displayed in that instance, might have caused the Elder Dragons to flee from the area, there was also the fact that there might be something else, related to the crystals, so once the others had been calmed down he had figure out what else might have caused this event to happen.

He paused for a moment when he reached his destination, just to be sure Ava and Sherry were fine, before heading out as he sought out his targets, finding a track that headed down into the fiery section and one that headed up into the higher section, both Elder Dragon tracks, and he sensed no other monsters in the area.

Grogar knew what this was, the return of the Elder Dragons had caused the others to hide, so they didn't ensure the wrath of the mightiest beasts in this world, though he made his decision and headed upward, where he found his way to what looked like a field of small crystals and landed on the edge of it. Sure enough things happened after he touched down, as the wind reacted and started to spin, a number of smaller fragments being lifted up and being used to smash some of the larger ones into fragments, to which he summoned a magical barrier around him. It was a good move since something sent the pieces at him from above, so the barrier tanked the attack and protected him, meaning he didn't have to be even slightly worried about being turned into swiss cheese, while also allowing him to see that he was trapped inside a tempest, meaning Kushala Daora was approaching. As soon as he thought about that Grogar noticed something was coming and he tossed himself out of the way, meaning his foe had missed taking him out, before a few wind blasts slammed down into the center of the tempest and knocked him away.

With that done a pair of wings spread out and the tempest disappeared, revealing a large dragon creature, since the wings weren't linked to the beast's arms, Grogar could see the metallic sheen of the beast's body, and even what could be a bit of rust on the nose, confirming that Kushala Daora had found him.

"Kushala Daora! I don't want to fight you, I merely want to tal..." Grogar started to say, though before he could finish his statement the Elder Dragon gathered some of its power and blasted the area he was standing in with his wind power, a fact that explained what it had done previously, and he had to dodge it before turning towards his foe, "OKay, if that's how you want it, than so be it."

In that moment he gathered both his magic and his monster abilities, as he suspected he would need the powers he had gathered since awakening his power to stay alive, while at the same time preparing a wind spell, because he wanted to be sure of something before he got serious. Kushala Daora controlled the wind, the Scholars and Researchers agreed on that fact, but his magic already allowed him to do things that surprised everyone else and made him wonder if he could use a few wind spells to even the odds against this Elder Dragon. If it worked he might have the key to bringing down his foe, in a quicker fashion than he had been expecting, though if it failed he would have to fall back on the information he found in the tomes he had been researching, that this beast was weak to lightning and dragon attacks. Grogar also found out one other thing, this Kushala Daora, from the roar that sounded, was male and definitely didn't like someone intruding on his territory, even though he was studying him right now, deciding what his next move was while Grogar did the same thing, once more displaying the intelligence of an Elder Dragon.

With that in mind Grogar focused on enhancing his legs with the power of an Odogaron while changing his wings for those from a Rathalos, allowing him to burst through the air as he reached his foe's backside, where he gathered his magic and loosed a crescent of wind energy that rushed at his foe, even though it didn't make it thanks to the wind barrier that his foe created, confirming that he couldn't use that element here.

That told him that wind was useless and he knew that fire was already out of the question, given his research on the topic, so he would have to fall back on lightning to damage his foe, though if he wanted to take the easy way out he could use the power of Nergigante to cancel Kushala Daora's abilities for a time. As he thought about that his foe loosed a blast right at the ground and created another powerful tempest, or maybe it was a whirlwind, which knocked Grogar backwards for a moment and forced him to regain himself as his foe closed the distance and swung his claws down at him, forcing him to raise his arms and block it. Since he was fighting an Elder Dragon it only made sense to channel the defensive power of Zorah Magdaros, which made his body far tougher than it normally was and prevented foes from cutting him down with ease, which caused his foe to pause for a moment as he realized that his attack had been stalled. That was all the time he needed as he gathered some of his magic and blasted his foe right in the chest with a Lightning Bolt, which was mostly to knock him backwards and confirm that Kushala Daora was weak to lightning, which allowed him to confirm that his plan might work out well.

His plans, however, were immediately dashed as his foe gathered the power of wind around him and swung his wings in his direction, releasing a torrent of wind that slammed into him and knocked him through the air, sending him down into the depths of the lava section of the Elder's Recess. Fortunately he was using Zorah Magdaros' power and that meant he was able to stave off the heat for a time, though as he landed, and started to pick himself up, he heard a growl and turned his head for a moment, as right behind him was none other than the fiery red furred leonine monster, who had a grand mane, large fangs, a pair of horns that curved backwards, and a set of red wings that were covered in fur. Kushala Daora had, either intentionally or by accident, sent him right into the fiery lair of the Teostra, who glared at him for a moment as he flared his wings, showing that he was aggressive and that he wouldn't stand for Grogar being here, even if it was purely by accident. He attempted to raise his hands for a moment, to show that he didn't mean to be here and that he meant no offense by being knocked into this area, though he didn't have a chance to complete his motion as the Elder Dragon stood there and roared, calling upon the power of fire to set what were essentially landmines around his molten area, which was Grogar's cue to leave as he flared his wings and departed.

What he intended was to flee from the Teostra, so he could focus on the Kushala Daora, though as he emerged from the molten area he found that he was wrong about something else, as his second foe tore through the passage that lead to his lair and seemed to be following Grogar, meaning when he found the wind wyvern the fiery lion caught up with him and it because a three way battle between the three of them.

Ava and Sherry observed as a violent blast shook part of the upper reaches of the Elder's Recess, as they had moved close to the battle area to see what was going on and Ava had moved them higher than where Kushala Daora rested, though as they said earlier there was a chance that Grogar would run into the Teostra as well. Sure enough he was knocked into that area and emerged with another Elder Dragon on his tail, so the series of blasts they were seeing, as there were more than just one, were caused by Teostra's flames clashing with Kushala Daora's wind. Grogar, as they expected, was caught right in the middle of the two Elder Dragons and was clearly using their weaknesses against them, throwing bolts of lighting at Kushala Daora and freezing the area as he reached for Teostra, both clashing with his spells without much of a care in the world. The sheer power of them fighting was tearing the area around them apart, as if three Elder Dragons were fighting at the moment, and Ava found that she didn't want to get involved in this, not with everything that was going on as Grogar fought to calm down the two powerful beasts.

In the end, however, she and Sherry watched as Grogar, despite the power his foes were throwing at him, encased both of the Elder Dragons in ice and left their heads bare, forcing them to submit to his might, even though he had expanded a fair bit of his power to calm them down, and with that done he left them to thaw as he returned to the camp, so he could rest and ready himself for whatever the last Elder Dragon had to offer him.

Corpse Coat Dragon

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After resting for a while, and regaining as much energy as he could, Grogar set out for the Rotten Vale, as it was time to see if he could find Vaal Hazak and either confirm or deny its existence to the rest of Astera, even though the Third Fleet were sure it existed and had seen it before their airship had been downed. Still, he had the feeling that since neither Kushala Daora or Teostra wanted to talk with him, as he had discovered after locating both beasts in the Elder's Recess, the same thing would happen when he reached the domain of the last target he was tracking down. As he thought about that he realized one thing he hadn't considered in the past, the power to talk to the Elder Dragons was basically worthless, as it only seemed to work on Nergigante and Ava'jiiva, though the latter had the ability to speak their language thanks to her transformed state, as all the others, for the most part, didn't care what he had to say. Such a thing meant that when he reached his target's home he was likely going to fail talking to it, as he was sure that it would attack him, so he had to be ready for a battle and not a nice conversation to convince them to stand down and stop messing with the region they were currently living in.

He turned his thoughts away from that as he glanced back for a moment and found both Sherry and Ava following after him once more, so they could land in one of the camps in the Rotten Vale as he headed down into the depths, though such a thing made him think about the Effluvium again. That was a substance he needed to avoid, as it seemed to weaken anyone who was in it for too long and was able to erode the bodies of the fallen Elder Dragons, though as he considered it he had an idea as to what he could do. There was one Elder Dragon whose power could aid him in bypassing the Effluvium, while at the same time there was an ordinary monster he had observed that might be able to boost his resistance to the substance, so he came up with a plan that would grant him the ability to move around without worrying about the clouds of Effluvium. He also considered the fact that Scarlet was down there in the Rotten Vale, though given her new monster instincts he was sure that she and her Odogaron must have fled when the Elder Dragon showed up, so he wouldn't have to worry about them getting in the way.

A few moments later he touched down in the main camp they had set up in the Rotten Vale, allowing him to glance out at the large skeletons that went into making most of the upper reaches, though he waited for a few seconds as Sherry and Ava landed nearby, the Barnos resting on the post after the pair landed.

"Before you go, you had best eat something." Sherry commented, as she knew that Grogar was strong, and had seen that thanks to what happened in the Elder's Recess earlier, though that didn't mean he could just fight on without regaining his energy and reserves, hence why she walked over to the stove and started to prepare something.

"Good idea. We have no idea if our target is here, despite the tracks confirming that it moved recently," Grogar said, as he had been thinking about the information he had gleamed from the various corpse related tracks he had found not that long ago, and what it might mean, before considering the fact that he had used a lot of energy to force Kushala Daora and Teostra into submission, "might as well take a break and get something to eat before tracking down the last Elder Dragon we were told about."

"Hey, maybe you guys will be promoted from 'rising stars' to 'shooting stars' if we find Vaal Hazak," Ava remarked, though she made no effort to add herself to the team or the potential reputation rewards that might come from them finding the Elder Dragon the Third Fleet had seen all those years ago, showing that she had positioned herself as the third wheel that would no doubt leave in due time.

Grogar wasn't sure what to say to that, even though it was odd for Ava to act like she wasn't important to the team, given that she did nothing but fly from place to place to watch him engage his opponents, but he decided that he would worry about that once they were done with the Elder Dragons. A few moments later he found that Sherry presented a platter of food to him, which had meat, rice, shrimp, and pretty much everyone else that the Meowscular Chef put into his dishes, so it told Grogar that she had a cooking skill that wasn't used all that much. Ava, on the other hand, moved to the entrance of the camp so she could make sure that none of the monsters of the Rotten Vale came up here, even though it was rather safe now that none of the Girros and the Great Girros bothered to come here. Such a thing allowed him to sit there for a time and enjoy some food, restoring more of his energy for what he was about to do, and he had to admit that while her skill needed a bit more work to match that of the Meowscular Chef, which was nothing to be ashamed of, his Handler was a good chef and they were lucky to have her.

Once he was done eating, however, Grogar excused himself and carefully moved down into the depths of the Rotten Vale, though this time around he focused on the monsters he needed the powers of as some of Nergigante's power surged to the surface, thanks to a few spikes on his arms and legs, before a series of black scales appeared around them. What he was doing was using the power of the Great Girros to his advantage, as they seemed to have some resistance to the foul Effluvium that plagued the lower reaches of this region, so he wouldn't have to worry about losing some of his power as he searched for Vaal Hazak. When he went down into the depths of the Rotten Vale Grogar discovered that the set up he had seemed to be working quite well, the Effluvium didn't do anything to him as he walked down the path that would, in due time, bring him to where they found a fragment of Zorah Magdaros. As such he was able to find his way to the area he was interested in, avoiding the acid pits that were around him, before he discovered a wall of red vines that he could push out of the way to see what was on the other side, which he did without wasting time, as the tracks he was following went through it.

What he discovered, however, was a shocking sight, as he found an area that contained a massive pile of corpses, all sorts of fallen monsters were resting all over it, and there were a number of Girros scattered all over the place, some dead and some alive, while pieces of the ceiling fell every now and then. It was a disgusting place, that much he could tell from just a glance, and suddenly he didn't want to be here, not with all of the dead monsters that were scattered all over the place, so he made a note of what he was seeing and prepared to leave so he could do something else. What he discovered was that all of the Girros were affected by the Effluvium and seemed to be suffering, like their life was being drained out of them or something, though as he discovered that fact the large pile of bones started to shift before his eyes, before a twisted limb emerged and crushed one of the Girros into the ground, draining the life out of the poor creature before the Effluvium in all of the others surged out of them and entered the beast in the pile. That was followed by something emerging from the pile, a twisted skeletal dragon whose flesh looked like it was fall off, even though he was sure it had some silvery scales on its body, it had some sort of double jaw, and it exploded out of the pile of corpses without delay.

Instead of wasting time, and trying to talk to such a creature, Grogar called upon his newest powers as Vaal Hazak readied itself for battle, his left wing became that of Kushala Daora and his right changed into a Teostra wing, due to the fact that he wanted to test both of their powers out and understand both elements better. As such he flared his wings for a couple of seconds and made the first move of this battle, creating a number of blast charges in the space around his foe, where he found that the corpse dragon stalled for a moment before glancing around, debating what to do next. He discovered that the wings on Vaal Hazak seemed to be useless, it didn't try to fly out of the area it was now trapped in, though he had to guess that it being a corpse of a dragon, based on its form, cancelled out some of the normal powers that it had, hence why he focused on the battle once more. In that moment he swung his arm and sent all of the blast charges at Vaal Hazak, surprising the beast as each one connected to it in a matter of seconds, where they flared for a second before detonating, blasting it backwards and caused it to collide with the wall behind it.

Normally such a thing would convince someone that this was a bad idea, though Vaal Hazak roared and gathered a vast amount of Effluvium in its throat, like a normal dragon gathering power to loose a burst of fire, though given what it was doing Grogar decided to counter it. What he did was gather the power of Kushala Daora and summoned the wind for a couple of seconds, as when the blast came at him, a horrid looking beam of Effluvium that would no doubt cut into his life force and deliver what was taken to Vaal Hazak, he swung his hand and summoned a tempest between them. This simple attack tanked the beam and forced it elsewhere in the cavern, meaning he wouldn't have to worry about taking it head on, though because Kushala Daora's tempests lasted a while he decided to have some fun as he loosed a burst of flames into his windy creation, creating a flaming twister. He then sent the attack flying at Vaal Hazak, who screeched, or whatever sound it was trying to make since he was sure its vocal cords had been rotten away, in pain as the flaming twister struck it, though he didn't let up at all as he summoned Fireballs and hurled a burst of them at the ground, causing him to magically seal his nose for a moment, as the smell of burning rotting corpses was too much for him.

Given the power of the combination of fire and wind Grogar kept at it, combining the powers of the two Elder Dragons he had fought earlier and blasted Vaal Hazak into the wall repeatedly, until the point where it seemed to whine and cried for a moment, as if it didn't want to be abused like this, before digging into the pile of corpses and hid from him... where he stopped and sighed as he returned to the camp, as it seemed like he was victorious.

"So, I beat Vaal Hazak... to the point where it whined and cried when it gave up," Grogar commented, where he reigned in his power as he rubbed the back of his head for a moment, as he wasn't too sure what to make of the situation, due to the fact that he made an Elder Dragon, one of the strongest beings in this world, whine, cry, and dig under a pile of corpses to avoid fighting him.

"...okay..." Ava said, though that was a shocker, meaning Grogar's power was either far greater than they assumed, or his intelligence in combining his new power with his magical abilities made him a force to be reckoned with, and she wasn't too sure what to make of the situation either.

Sherry really didn't know what to say either, this was too weird for her, even with the shapeshifting Elder Dragon that had taken her place for some time, though since this made a third beaten Elder Dragon she decided that they would return to Astera and give Shepard the good news, before worrying what Grogar would have to fight next.

Confluence of Fates

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With their objective in the Rotten Vale completed, even if Grogar was a little sad by how he went about finishing it, he and his companions headed back to Astera, where many of the Hunters were still working, making sure everything was taking on missions to make sure the other monsters didn't do anything foolish, and as he neared the settlement he spotted Keiji near the Canteen, waving at him.

"Ah, Grogar, just the person I was looking for." Keiji said, speaking as soon as Grogar landed near him, as he needed to speak with him about something and could see that Ava and Sherry weren't far behind him, meaning he must have finished taking care of the three Elder Dragons they knew about, "As you can see, Astera is buzzing with excitement, wanting to know about your battles with Teostra, Kushala Daora, and Vaal Hazak... however, that will have to wait, as I have a message from my old friend, who has been searching for a place brimming with energy."

"Anzix... he's discovered something, hasn't he?" Grogar asked, because he recalled the Admiral mentioning something like that at some point after he, Sherry, and Ava first encountered the man, though he also knew that the Wyverian in question had been searching for the final mystery of the Elder Crossing.

"He did. He found it big time!" Keiji stated, which was interesting, because Grogar knew that no one seemed to be getting ready for an expedition or mission into the area that the Wyverian had been searching for, though he remained silent as he waited for the Admiral to finish talking, and he had a big smile on his face, "I was thinking of heading out and seeing what he had discovered, because maybe, just maybe, it'll explain why all of the Elder Dragons have been going bonkers... and it just so happens that my friend has a message for you: 'I promised our paths would cross again, and so they must. I shall not take the boat until you get here.' His words, not mine."

Grogar almost couldn't believe it, from the sounds of it Anzix had found the final key to this mystery, what was drawing in all of the aging Elder Dragons to the New World so they could die in the depths of the Rotten Vale and add their bioenergy to the rest of the continent. This could be the discovery of a lifetime, one that his acquaintance wanted to share with him before sharing its existence with the people of Astera, and yet Grogar was excited about the potential this had, that they might finally solve the mystery of the Elder Crossing. Of course he had no idea what might happen to Astera if someone did that, especially since no one had mentioned such a possibility in the time he had been here, but such a thing was just a side note in his thoughts, as he was too focused on what might be found. He could tell that Ava and Sherry were surprised by this as well, especially given the significance of the discovery they were talking about, and he could feel them looking at him while waiting to see what sort of response he had to this discovery.

"Then show us the way." Grogar said, because he couldn't resist the desire to see what sort of key the Wyverian had found during his searches for the place that was brimming with energy, even though he had just fought Vaal Hazak, or bullied as he considered what he had been through, before he considered something, "Though, now that I think about it, I should report to Shepard first, let him know that the other Elder Dragons have been dealt with... he'll likely figure out that both you and Anzix have something planned."

"Yeah, we'll have Sherry make it an official quest while we're at it... just don't spill the beans to the others." Keiji replied, as if he already knew how his friend would react to the information that they were up to something, though as he said that he handed Sherry a piece of paper, which contained the coordinates of where they would be meeting up, for the quest to be made official, "Don't be late. You know I hate waiting!"

Grogar chuckled as he heard that, as the Admiral was an interesting person to be around, though as Sherry got to work on the quest, and Ava followed Keiji to prepare for the journey, he headed down to the Commander so he could report his success with the other three Elder Dragons. As he expected Shepard was vastly impressed with his power, even though he would likely be ashamed or worried by the end result of his battle with Vaal Hazak, before noticing that there was more to the report and guessed that it had something to do with the Admiral. He also explained that he wouldn't pry into what he and his companions were doing right now, as he knew how Keiji and Anzix worked and knew that it wasn't worth prying into what they were doing just yet, not when they would tell him when they returned to Astera. Grogar was happy to see that and apologized that he couldn't share more about what the were up to, but at the very least he understood that they were doing everything by the books and making it as official as they could before heading out.

With that done Grogar headed up to where everyone else was gathered and found that Sherry was ready, so once the rest of the paperwork was done Keiji used a Barnos and took off, where Grogar followed after him as his companions followed after him, where it looked like they were heading deep into the Elder's Recess... to a passage that had a river heading even deeper into the center of the region, and sure enough Anzix was waiting for them at a camp he must have set up after he found this place.

"Grogar! I knew you would come as soon as you got the message," Anzix said, though as he said that he watched as they landed in the clearing he had found, an indent to be exact when he considered the size, he discovered that Keiji's tale was true, his friend had gained a new power and now he was different from what he remembered, "I have heard stories of the power you unlocked, but I must admit that this is more than I was expecting."

"Yeah, and with every monster I fight or observe I grow even stronger." Grogar replied, where he paused for a moment as he made a few alterations to his body, as in Odogaron legs, Nergigante horns, and Rathian wings, just to start, before he reverted to his base form as he noticed the dock that had a small boat for them to use, "So, you've found it?"

Anzix nodded his head as he, Keiji, Grogar, and Ava climbed into the boat, as Sherry didn't want to get involved with what they were doing, despite coming this far with them, but Grogar was fine with that as they made their way deeper into the heart of the Elder's Recess, to the heart of the mystery they were trying to solve.

"During my journey i discovered that an abnormal amount of bioenergy was flowing through the veins under the vale and was coursing throughout the entire continent," Anzix commented, all while he used an oar to move forward and the boat moved in tune with his motions, allowing Keiji, Grogar, and Ava to sit and relax a little as he talked, "but now I have found where that bioenergy has been gathering."

"Still, how did you find this damned place? Not even our best could find it." Keiji inquired, though as he asked that he and the others found that they were passing by a number of crystals that were growing out of the walls, small at first but kept growing bigger as time went on, even though Grogar knew he was referring to him.

"Oddly, we have Zorah Magdaros to thank for clearing the way," Anzix replied, where Grogar nodded his head, as the large Elder Dragon had caused some massive destruction to get to his true destination so he could wipe out the New World, so it made sense that he's actions would have consequences, both good and bad, "As you know, when the Elder Dragons die in the Rotten Vale their bodies are dissolved by the Effluvium and their bioenergy is moved throughout the New World, and the energy that accumulates in the veins of the earth crystallizes into what we're seeing."

"And some powerful Elder Dragons must have perished there, to allow the Elder's Recess to develop." Grogar said, as that seemed to be where the conversation was going right now and he was showing that he was following what they said with ease, all while Ava moved over to Anzix and took the oar, as he offered it to her so he could move into the middle of their vessel and focus on what they were heading towards.

"Indeed. However, in recent years, I have sensed a drastic change in the land's energies," Anzix continued, though at this point he wasn't too surprised to see that Grogar was keeping up with him and his words, while Keiji took a bit longer to do the same thing, though Grogar also determined that the Admiral must have told him about Ava'jiiva, since he didn't react to her presence at all, "I haven't discovered what's causing such a thing, though I know its ahead of us, but all I can say is that the changes in the land's energy brought me here."

Grogar readied himself for whatever they were going to find, where they reached a crystalline entrance of sorts, which all of them would have to carefully move around, that the river ended at, something that caused Keiji to climb out of the boat and drag it over to the ledge so the others could disembark. With that done he and his companions walked forward, while at the same time making sure to avoid the ends of the various crystals, though it didn't take long for the passage to open up so no one had to worry about being stabbed by a crystal. At the end of the passage they discovered a massive cavern that was also full of crystals, with what appeared to be a large blowing blue stone on the other side of the area, which was followed by Keiji saying 'great mother of... damn', to show that he was surprised by this place. As they walked across the cavern, however, Grogar's eyes widened as he realized what they were looking at, the glowing item wasn't a stone, though he could see how someone could think such a thing, rather it was a massive cocoon or egg, which Ava was staring at as well, as this had to be the first time she was seeing something like this.

As they started at the area, however, Anzix, came to a stop and picked up one of the crystal fragments that were resting on the ground, which was much purer than what they had seen in the Elder's Recess and the passage they had just walked through, before they glanced at the glowing object. Not a few seconds later Grogar felt a surge of energy and yanked Anzix back with his magic, allowing him to surround all of them with a barrier, and his timing was great since not a few seconds later several blue beams of energy surged out of the object, hitting the ground and ceiling with no rhythm or reason, but his companions were happy that he reacted before that happened. For a time they watched as the beams tore through all of the crystals and opened the cavern, making a flat area for people to fight monsters in, though Grogar kept the barrier up as they watched, as he wasn't about to take any chances with what was going on. When the beams came to a stop they simply remained silent as the cocoon opened before their eyes, revealing the head of a massive dragon that had rich blue scales, six orange eyes, a pair of wings that looked flowing at the end, powerful limbs that could likely tear through crystals and other material, and a powerful tail.

All in all this monster was larger than most of the other beasts Grogar had fought so far, though as the dragon stood up it raised its head and cried for a moment, where this was the nail in the coffin, this was a baby monster and they had bared witness to the creation of a brand new species.

"He's so beautiful, despite his otherworldly appearance." Ava remarked, even though he found Grogar correcting himself and told them what he had found, the six orange objects were actually sensory organs and he discovered that the beast had two eyes, while parts of it gave off an ethereal blue glow, before he realized something herself, "Hey, Grogar, doesn't he remind you of someone?"

"Yeah, take away a few aspects and he resembles you, just blue." Grogar replied, as Ava's true form was imposing and was one of the few monsters that actually looked like a dragon, and if he remembered her size correctly she was roughly near the new dragon's height, before he really focused on the new monster, who seemed confused about everything and was lost, causing him to sigh as he lowered the barrier.

Keiji seemed to think that a battle would take place, given the fact that Grogar fought the other Elder Dragons, though that was when he and Anzix found that he and Ava were approaching it without any weapons drawn or abilities at the ready, a fact that made him pause for a second. Grogar, on the other hand, smiled for a moment as he raised his hand as he slowly walked up to where the monster was currently standing, as he knew that sometimes newborn would attack anything they perceived to be dangerous towards them, so by presenting himself in a peaceful manner he hoped that he would remain calm and do nothing. Ava shifted into her true form, confirming that she and the new monster looked similar, even though the blue beast was totally otherworldly, and as they approached Grogar found that the dragon remained passive, which was all he wanted since he wasn't about to kill a newborn monster. One thing neither of them were expecting was that the monster could actually fire beams or bursts of energy at will, as they assumed it had been a product of it being born, but the dragon aimed it at the ceiling, like he was hiccuping or something, and lowered his head, as if he was ashamed of the attack coming out on accident.

Grogar kept the smile on his face as he rubbed the side of the monster's face, as he confirmed that presenting himself like this had been a good thing in the end, and having someone like Ava with him made the dragon feel at peace, causing him to lay on the ground and rest, even though now he had to figure out what he was going to tell Shepard and the rest of his companions in Astera.

End of a Journey

View Online

As it turned out Grogar spent an hour in the massive nest Anzix had discovered the path to, where he found a seat and pulled out some of his materials so he could sketch out the monster that was in front of him and his companions, the large and otherworldly dragon that was unlike anything he had seen so far. Given that they were dealing with a new species of monster, and both Keiji and Anzix agreed with him since this was the first time both of them had seen something like this, but, at the same time, it presented a problem that they couldn't ignore. At first he assumed that it was about the fact that the new monster was passively eating bits and pieces of the bioenergy that was scattered throughout the New World, but as far as they could tell nothing bad was happening, meaning it was fine to leave the monster alone and observe him for some time. The true problem, as he discovered, was that they needed a name for him, a worthy name for a magnificent beast of nature, and for right now Grogar was thinking about that as he sketched out what he was seeing right now, as he wanted to share this sight with the Researchers and Scholars that were in Astera.

In the end, by the time the hour was up, he already had an idea as to what sort of name to give this new monster, but for now he decided to wait until they were back in Astera, so he could share the news with everyone else and then reveal the name with them.

"Okay, I'm done with my work." Grogar commented, where he made sure that the components that would be shared with the rest of Astera were neatly stored away, so they didn't get damaged, before walking over to where Keiji and Anzix were standing, as they decided to observe from a distance, as to not upset the sleeping dragon.

"We won't have to worry about your new friend, will we?" Keiji asked, as he didn't have Grogar's skill in speaking with the monsters of this world, or sheer strength to bring them down in battle, so it was hard for him to tell whether or not this new beast would actually stay like this or if they were dealing with a walking time bomb.

"We have no way to know for sure. We are, after all, in unfamiliar territory now." Anzix replied, as he had the same feeling that Grogar had on the matter, that there was no true way for them to know since this was, quite possibly, the first dragon of his kind, or maybe he was a unique subspecies that they were only now discovering, so there was no way for them to know if it was truly dangerous or not, "At the very least we should keep an eye on him and try to help him understand the New World, which Grogar and Ava can do just fine."

Grogar nodded as Ava caught up with them, after making sure that the blue dragon was sound asleep and didn't need to be watched over, though as they walked out he set a few spells around the entrance they had used, just in case the beast moved or trouble came looking for him. With that done he and his companions returned to the boat and headed back to the camp Anzix had set up some time ago, though he made sure to alter the environment to make it easier for them in the future, in case someone needed to come back and not fly through the ceiling. Once they reached the camp it was a simple matter for them to depart, Keiji, Anzix, and Sherry using the Barnos while Grogar and Ava flew out of the area they had been brought to, where they angled themselves towards Astera and flew home. As they did that Grogar found that all of his companions, including Sherry, were thinking about what they had discovered, due to the fact that Keiji went back and brought Sherry so she could see what they had found, as everyone was silent and allowed him to focus on what sort of reaction they would get upon their return to Astera.

Sure enough when they returned to Astera Grogar found that Commander Shepard and the others were waiting for them to return with news about their quest, to which he landed near the Canteen, finding that it was evening now and that night would be upon them soon, though as the others let their Barnos land he collected a few Researchers as he approached the table Shepard stood at.

"It seems that you've returned with news about what the others were up to." Shepard said, though as he said that it was easy for Grogar to see that everyone else, such as Cindy and Hiroko, were standing nearby as well, meaning he must have brought every important person together to wait for his return, so everyone could hear his report on whatever Anzix had found and called for him to come see it, "So, what did you find?"

"You aren't going to believe it, but we found a brand new monster... possibly even a new Elder Dragon." Grogar replied, as the blue dragon in question was far too unique to be a known beast, though as the others considered his words, and what it might mean for the New World as a whole, he pulled out the pages he had worked on and handed them over to one of the Researchers, whose eyes snapped open as he stared at his sketch, "Anzix was tracking some changes in the bioenergy of the land and it brought him to this guy, who we watched emerge from a cocoon or an egg... still not totally sure on that, but I'm betting it might be a combination of the two... and while some newborn can be aggressive to anything that might be perceived as a threat, by presenting myself without any aggression I was able to calm him down."

"Commander Shepard, look at this otherworldly beast they have discovered!" one of the Researchers said, which was the moment that he walked over to their leader and showed him the sketch that Grogar had made earlier, something that was followed by his jaw dropping as he stared at what Grogar and Anzix had discovered thanks to the latter's desire to follow the bioenergy of the New World.

"Wha... What is this monster?" Shepard asked, as he was surprised and stunned by what he was seeing, even though he knew it was a sketch of the monster in question and understood that Grogar wouldn't embellish anything when he made something like this, hence why he looked at the figure who created it as the others stopped behind him, "If it... sorry, he... if he is a new monster, and you seem pretty sure of that, than what do we call him? We'll also going to have to share this with the Guild, though they'll be surprised by a new Elder Dragon being discovered... after learning about Ava, since she was brand new to them."

"Simple: Xeno'jiiva. Epithet, 'Dark Light Dragon'." Grogar answered, something that caused many of them to pause for a moment, no doubt because they were focusing on the 'jiiva' part of the name, where Shepard glanced at the sketch for a few more seconds before glancing at Ava, who nodded her head to the unspoken question, "As you can see, his form is similar to Ava's, with some obvious changes that make them two different monsters, but also unlike anything anyone has seen before... I believe that's what the 'jiiva' part of Ava's name means, or could mean... hence why the name is based on her unique name."

"I see. Well then, I'll prepare a new report and send it to the Guild." Shepard said, as he was sure that everyone back in the Old World would be interested in this discovery, though he was totally surprised by the fact that they had found the cause of the Elder Crossing, because he could make the connection between this Xeno'jiiva and Anzix's studies into the energy of this continent, "Also, we haven't seen Nergigante in some time... she's probably looking for her brother."

Grogar nodded before noticing that people weren't immediately moving to celebrate the discovery of what was causing the Elder Crossing in the first place, where he glanced back for a moment and found a surprising sight, Discord, in all of his mismatched glory, was emerging from what looked like a tear in reality, which closed behind him.

"Wh... what in the world is that?" Ava asked, as while she had seen some interesting and unusual things since coming to the New World, allowing her to learn why all of the other Elder Dragons were flocking to this place, this single being was an oddity that seemed to rewrite the fabric of reality, with how weird the body looked.

"Discord, the Spirit of Disharmony... a being unlike any in this world." Grogar replied, where he turned his head for a few seconds and beckoned for the Draconequus to come down to where he was currently standing, who floated down to the part of Astera he was standing in, even if many were staring at him while he did so, trying to comprehend what Discord was and how many creatures went into making him, "Discord, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

"Grogar, Father of Monsters, I..." Discord started to say, though that was when he found the Meowscular Chef staring his way, with his arms crossed and a serious look in his fierce eyes, before he glanced around and found a few other things he wasn't expecting to see, like how Ava had readied her claws and found a few Felynes at the ready, while the rest of Astera stood at the ready, "I come in peace, humans. No need to look at me like I'm going to destroy the world or something."

Shepard glanced at Grogar for a second, as he wanted to see what their best Hunter had to say, who simply nodded and he motioned to the others, causing Astera to stand down as he ordered a celebration to be held for solving the greatest mystery of their time, while he got to work preparing the report.

"You must have had experience with the residents of another world, given your reaction." Grogar remarked, because he had noticed how Discord had reacted to everyone readying themselves for a potential fight, meaning something must have happened during the time he had been gone, even though he had no desire to return to Equus, though he might go back to speak with Princesses Celestia and Luna, "Come, let us talk in private."

Discord tilted his head for a moment as Grogar unfurled his wings, something he knew the figure didn't have before he was displaced to this world, but followed him up to the area that he wanted to talk in, all while noticing that the lady with claws glared at him for a moment before returning to normal and helping with the preparations, before they landed right in front of a large building.

"Before you ask, my power was boosted by being displaced and, by fighting a beast called Zorah Magdaros I was able to unlock an even greater power, mimicking the power and forms of my enemies," Grogar explained, knowing the question that Discord was going to ask first, given the use of his wings and anything else he might have noticed before revealing his existence to them, even though he knew there were more he wanted to ask before trying to convince him to head back to his old home, "I have some rather interesting powers now, but I have a feeling that there is something important you want to talk about, instead of listening to me talk about my brand new skills."

"You are one of the Displaced, capable of unlocking great power, so I'm not surprised by this discovery," Discord replied, where the only fact that caught Grogar off guard was that he was speaking without making jokes or anything like his usual chaotic self, meaning something important had to be going on, something that bothered him as well, "our world sent you, and many others, out into the vastness of our universe to gain both powers and allies, so that when the time came those who were lost could be brought back in time to save Equus from an invasion of demons. My role is to track down all of the Displaced and convince them to return home, even if its only for a short period of time, so they can better understand this event and be prepared for our incoming enemies, even though many of you have chosen to stay in your new worlds..."

"And, unfortunately, I'm going to agree with them. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to head back and see what's going on with my old home world, but I am the Father of Monsters, a negative title mind you," Grogar said, because he knew that those who knew his name understood that he was a dark being and wanted to steer clear of him at all costs, and he suspected that some would even want him to be sealed back in his dark realm for the rest of his life, "other than the Princesses, I have no reason to return to Equus... though I'll likely come back when these demons show up and hunt them, especially given the powers I've awakened so far."

"So, you've really become one of these 'Hunters', as they call people like you." Discord commented, where he glanced at the ground for a moment and found the Commander seemed to have finished his report, to which he snapped his fingers for a second and opened a portal for him to send the messenger through, which he did so without delay when Grogar nodded his head, though he sealed it for a time so they could keep talking, "I'll open it again once the reply is ready, if they have one anyway. Anyway, most of the Princesses have gone missing, as Celestia seems to be in world where people have all sorts of powers some so go to school to become heroes, Luna is in a world that angels and demons fight over, Cadance is still in the Crystal Empire, and Twilight seems to be in a world full of fighting."

"So, the number of Princesses has changed... can't say I'm surprised." Grogar remarked, though as he said that he found that all of Astera was now buzzing with excitement as people got ready to celebrate the end of their mission, because they now knew the reason behind the Elder Crossing, in its entirety, and soon the Guild would know as well, giving him a couple of things to look at as he processed Discord's information, "Also, I don't go out and just kill everything and anything that has a quest for it, rather I go out and fight the monsters of this world to try and calm them down, or convince them to stop doing whatever they might be doing at the time... we learn more with the monsters alive, instead of guessing or grasping at straws. Also, it seems you were followed."

Discord glanced at the area that Grogar was staring at, up in the air, and found a person wearing a black robe that hid all of their body features, where it was incredibly easy for Grogar to see that the Spirit knew who this was, more in the sense that they had crossed paths a few times in the past, who realized he had been spotted and departed by using a portal that was made of darkness.

"I don't know who that is, but he's also interested in the Displaced." Discord said, as there was no other way to describe it to Grogar, especially since he hadn't gotten any information out of the figure since he teleported away without giving him a chance to speak with him, before he shrugged for a moment as he focused on Astera once more, "I'll stick around for a while, see what your friends are like, before bothering to track down the next member of the Displaced... it takes a lot to find and track you guys down."

Grogar nodded his head and headed down to the council table as Shepard called for everyone to stop for a moment, not because the report had returned, rather because he had something he wanted to say before they did anything else, given that many were excited and wanted to celebrate.

"Everyone, thanks to your hard and diligent work, we have completed the Research Commission's purpose in the New World and the Guild will relieve us once they go over my latest report," Shepard said, which was common for this world, as in it would take some time for the Guild to determine how to react to the information that had been provided, but if they were smart they would ask that they stay and continue to preserve the New World, "I must commend all of you, even our unlikely allies, for your hard work in making all of this possible. With that said, there's one last thing to say..."

"To banquet!" Keiji stated, raising a fist into the air as he declared it was officially time for them to celebrate their victory in figuring out the entirety of the Elder Crossing, and his words had the effect he was hoping they would have, as everyone cheered and started to move so things could be set up.

Grogar watched as everyone quickly set up all sorts of games and tables so they could enjoy some food, while passing the time with games and drink, causing him to chuckle as he found that Discord was surprised by the sheer speed they were moving with. As that happened, and he found both Sherry and Ava getting ready for some of Meowscular Chef's food, that an unexpected arrival appeared nearby, Nergigante had returned and Grogar found out that she might have found a trail her brother left behind, though she wasn't totally sure yet. He informed her of what she had missed, about his battles with the other Elder Dragons and the discovery of Xeno'jiiva, the latter surprising the black dragon for a moment, even though she guessed that was why her family was protecting this continent for all these years, to allow the beast to grow without being taken out by something like Zorah Madgaros. Other than that there wasn't much else for him to say, not when they were caught up now, though at the very least someone brought her something to munch on before she either rested or headed out to continue her search for her brother.

As the next hour went by Grogar found that he was back up in the Canteen, where Sherry, Ava, and Patches were hanging with Cindy, Shepard was sitting with the other Fleet Masters as they celebrated their success in figuring out the mystery that had brought them here, before Anzix approached the table he was sitting at.

"You have quite the eccentric group here," Anzix commented, which reminded Grogar of the fact that this was possibly the first time he had been back to Astera in years, meaning most of the people he knew were likely gone, though he smiled as he glanced around the area, taking in all of the new faces, before focusing on him again, "all of them talented, unique, driven... I'm sure that there is no challenge you cannot overcome, especially given your powers. Still, a monster that has been incubating in bioenergy... I had theories on what the cause of the Elder Crossing was, but never did I think it would be something like this."

"It was a surprise, that's for sure, but Xeno'jiiva will provide us with all sorts of fascinating information," Grogar said, as he stood behind his decision to keep the beast alive, since it seemed to be the only one of its kind, all while Anzix pulled out a crystal he must have collected from the nest they had discovered, the pure sample anyway, "We may have figured out the cause of the Elder Crossing, but it only opens more questions for us to figure out."

"Perhaps Xeno'jiiva was drawing the aging Elder Dragons here, to satisfy his craving for bioenergy." Anzix offered, though he didn't phrase it as a question, rather as an observation from what he had seen during his travels across the regions of the New World, to which he offered the crystal to Grogar, but as he took it he found that the strange being, Discord, had opened the small hole in reality so the response to Shepard's message could come through.

"Could be right. Maybe he used some sort of pheromone or something to draw the Elders in?" Keiji inquired, who walked up to the table and stood near them, though he had one of the mugs in his hand and showed them that he was enjoying the celebration, all while they considered the information they were talking about, "Eventually, the land became rich in nutrients, drawing in powerful monsters, like Nergigante, and us... I'm guessing the energy smorgasbord is why most of the Elders inhabit the Recess."

"But the question remains: did something lay the egg and leave Xeno'jiiva behind, or is this a natural occurrence that we're only now discovering?" Grogar added, as those were his thoughts on the matter right now, though he was positive that the latter was correct, given that this was the first time anyone had seen something like Xeno'jiiva, but even then he knew that there had to be more to this than what they had discovered so far, "Either way, leaving him back there was the right call, as we can study him in his natural habitat and see what sort of effect he'll have on the continent... if any at all... and what to expect in the future."

Keiji and Anzix glanced at each other, one agreeing with him and one thinking that they should have killed Xeno'jiiva once he revealed himself to them, though Grogar could see who thought what, but before anyone could say anything else they found Shepard calling for everyone to come listen to what the Guild sent them.

"Everyone, we have received word from the Guild, thanks to Grogar's friend," Shepard said, causing some excitement to spread throughout the crowd of people that was gathering around the area near his council table, where he raised the parchment that had been brought back, even though he was surprised by Discord's powers, "This is what they have to say about our discoveries: 'The Guild commends you for your dedicated research into the Elder Crossing. In light of your findings, we have confirmed that the monster you have discovered is, in fact, a new species of Elder Dragon and we agree with the proposed name and epithet that have been provided. From this day forth this brand new species will be known as Xeno'jiiva, the Dark Light Dragon, and Grogar shall be credited for naming the monster. This concludes your duties with the Research Commission, and we thank you again for your service in solving the Elder Crossing. You are free to return home at your discretion... however, the Commission's presence in the New World still has potential to be of great benefit to the Guild, and we would ask you to continue your work there, if you are so willing.' There you have it... if we decide to stay, and take on new research, there are bound to be hurdles..."

"And we will face whatever those hurdles might be. Right, everyone?" Grogar remarked, where he glanced back at the rest of the Commission and found that they were cheering, showing their support for what he was saying, especially since the vast majority of them were used to living on this continent.

"Well then, enjoy the celebration while you can, because tomorrow we'll get back to work!" Shepard stated, showing them that he was perfectly fine with their decision, in fact he knew Grogar would continue on, regardless of whatever the Guild had to say on the matter, and his fire had fueled the desire in the others as well.

While that was going on, and everyone resumed their celebration, Grogar glanced up at the sky for a moment and found that Discord was leaving him to his business, causing him to chuckle as he focused on whatever adventures the upcoming days would have for him and his companions.

Monster Hunter World: Monsters and Magic

by Blackdrag-rose

Rough Landing

Interesting Discoveries

The Decision

Getting Used to Things

First Contact

Astera

First Mission

Forest Bandit

Best Kind of Quest

Swamp Surprise

Recovery

Back to Work

One for the History Books

Into the Coral Highlands

New Allies

Coral Discoveries

Ballooning Problems

Return to the Rotten Vale

Shocking Discoveries

A Fiery Throne

The Horned Tyrant

A Colossal Task

The Secret

Aftermath

High Rank Discovery

Elder's Recess

Rematch

Elder Problems

The Troublemakers

Tempest and Flame

Corpse Coat Dragon

Confluence of Fates

End of a Journey