[CHQ] Wyvern Hunt!

[Makο]

 

Quest: Wyvern Hunt!

 

BGM

 

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        The refreshingly cool sea breeze washed over the entirety of Prunus’ port in the early morning; a welcome relief to those plagued by seasickness, the sun, and other various ailments that plagued them. To others, it just gave them to continued determination they needed to complete the daily checklist of tasks these busybodies inevitably had; indeed, the port was always bustling with activity from traders, fishermen, and seamen of varying shapes and sizes.

 

On approach of the port, it’d be impossible to not notice the dozens of stalls that line the streets on the way in, packed to burst with varying goods from far away places. Stall owners hollered at the vague direction of anyone they thought would have a loose wallet, food stands prepped their foods for the busier lunch rush whilst selling pre-made snacks, and despite how early it was, a never ending flow of people walked to and fro the main market streets.

 

Commerce never sleeps, some are fond of saying.

 

Moving past the market, one finds the port major, with several giant stone slabs stretching out almost 200 meters in three different ways. Vessels of all sizes, ranging from government galleons, giant trading vessels, and even airships wading alongside the docks, with all manners of peoples moving goods around, performing maintenance, or keeping the docks clean and clear for efficencies’ sake. Moving down the line, away from port major, the port minor is found, a collection of almost a dozen different wooden docks of varying widths and lengths among which upwards of 30 unique vessels could be found occupying the spaces too small for anything deemed worthy of the port major. While not as busy, this area had no shortage of travelers, traders, and scoundrels doing all sorts of deeds alongside their ships.

 

 

 

Nearing the end of port minor, however, sat floating in the water a medium-sized airship; a decent 35 meters long, top deck brimming with various magical assistance floaters and crew stations. The bridge stood in the far back, and on the bow, a single proud Pressurized Harpoon Cannon stood, shining in the sun.

Or at least, it should’ve been, were it not for the thick coating of soot that lay over it. In fact, most of the vessel not submerged in water had a similar coating. Indeed, the airship had seen better days, as its tattered sails fluttered in the wind.

 

On the deck, a short young man tirelessly scrubbed away at the soot ondeck, sweat dripping from his pointed ears all the while. And yet, he didn’t seem to tire.

 

In the top mid-section of the ship, a strange whirring sound could be heard, followed by a light teal glow from the engine room. That is, until the whirring turned into a whine. An explosive sound rang out from said room, followed by smoke pouring out of every corner. A man with unkempt brown hair, now singed black, came stumbling out of the room, coughing along the way. Despite now being covered with soot, and despite his nearby companion’s exasperation that a once-clean section of the deck was now filthy again, he wore a sort of dopey-looking smile that never seemed to fade.

 

Down on the docks, a dark-skinned woman with strange ears and an even stranger tail dragged small supply crates around, organizing them into neat little piles. Having just stacked the last one, she stood up and stretched, with a sigh of satisfaction; one soon followed by a sigh of disappointment when the pile revealed how little supplies they actually had. The short man, having taken a break, met her eyes while leaning on the side rails and shrugged with sympathy at their plight.

 

“Aye, aye, oi nu. At dis rate, we won’t last another 'alf-week, let alone ‘till de end av de month. Oi jist 'ope dat bleedin 'elp gets 'ere soon…”

 

 

 

As soon as he said this, his soot-covered friend wandered over to the rails as he waited for the engine room to air out. Taking in the fresh sea air, he absentmindedly looked out into the various sea-goers on the dock. His eyes widened a little bit, before stretching out and pointing towards the crowd.

 

“Hmm? Now how about those three?”

 

The smaller man peered in the same direction his companion was pointing, scanning the crowd as well. Amidst the usuals and regulars for these parts, three people made their way through at varying intervals. A tall, imposing man with dark brown hair, a queer robe, and what could only be described as a sentient cloud of drew the eyes of everyone around him, as a few scurried to get out of his way. A shining beauty wearing a white dress and a red shoulder coat effortlessly made her way through the crowd, drawing the eyes and occasional howls of woman-starved sailors. And finally, a young man with hair that glowed golden like a pristine wheat field maneuvered his way forth through the regulars, donning what may have been the strangest of all their attires and seemingly scowling at every other person.

 

The short, long-eared man leaned back from the rail, looking up at the clouds. “'Ey, nigh. They al' steck oyt loike a sore thumb, don't they?” Leaning back, he waved, reaching into himself with the loudest shout he could manage.

 

“'EY! 'EY! YER TREE! YEAH, YER NU WHO I'M BLATHERIN' ABOYT! OVER 'ERE!”

 

That portion of the dock was visibly disturbed, and his two companions were both staggered by the loudness of his voice. Normally, he’d warn them.

[Hälō]

Vincent let out a sigh as he trudged through the bustling port with his trademark scowl plastered across his face. The carriage ride from the guild building was for the most part uneventful, with a thick silence having taken hold of the cart almost immediately because of the generally menacing aura that guild master seemed to exude as she sat to the side without saying a word, and the daggers Vincent himself had glared at the driver after the poor man tried to initiate small talk with the strange trio.  

 

Glancing over to Florentia as a group of sailors cooed for her attention, Vincent couldn't help but wonder what made them think that a stone faced broad like her would even bother to acknowledge their existence. Shrugging to himself, he shifted his gaze over to Jin, who strolled along on his left side with his... pet cloud close behind. He seemed like a nice enough guy, though Vincent couldn't tell if Jin wasn't talking much because he was a man of few words, or he was just smart enough to read the vibe of his company...

 

More interestingly, it turned out that Jin was the owner of the staff that seemed to be packing a hefty amount of magic in it. However it didn't seem to match the man's aura at all, almost as if he were carrying around another person with him, someone much stronger than himself. It definitely raised some questions, but Vincent didn't bother to ask. He had all the time in the world to find out how that worked. 

 

"Mages..." Vincent droned in his head as it finally dawned on him that he was actually going on an official guild mission. His eyes instinctively fell on the Cherry Heart brand that had appeared on the back of his right hand a few days ago. "I suppose they could have been worse though." He thought, as his mind glossed over the faces and energies he had seen at the guild base. There were quite a few odd balls that was for sure, but none of the seemed produce any particular nasty vibes aside for the floating kid with the horns. 

 

Oddly enough, Fen hadn't chosen to join this quest. Though going off of what she had told him at the festival, monster hunting sounded like it would something she'd be eager to get her little hands into. "Meh, maybe I'll bring her a doggy bag or something..." Vincent shrugged, making a mental note. "I dunno, Wyvern stir fry has a tasty ring to it!" His stomach grumbled slightly at the thought of such an exotic meal. 

 

 

“'EY! 'EY! YER TREE! YEAH, YER NU WHO I'M BLATHERIN' ABOYT! OVER 'ERE!”

 

A enormously loud voice suddenly broke the peacefulness of the doc, ripping Vincent from his thoughts and causing the boy to cringe in annoyance. "What the..." He growled whilst rubbing the back of his head in irritation. Quickly spotting the source of the obnoxious voice atop the deck of a nearby air ship, Vincent turned to Florentia and nodded in the direction of the tiny man and his crew. "Those our clients?" He inquired before sliding his hands back into his pockets. "We still get paid if the little one falls overboard right...?" 

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

The trip to the designated port was, for the most part, uneventful. Florentia was busy with her own thought throughout the trip, and her presence there was primarily due to the quest needing another member for it to be approved. She had ruined her own clothing earlier during Celica's therapy session by accident, so she chose to borrow one of the blunette's many white dress, and grabbed a red coat on top of it to signify that she was still the Guild Master. The confrontation with a few member earlier were quite a handful, although it's something Flo had prepared herself for in the last few months. She still had quite a few concerns regarding the strange boy that pretended to be a human - questions that didn't have anything to do with whatever he was. And well, she had similar concerns regarding the lizard girl too, although she didn't get the opportunity to talk to her yet. Celica was always the most concerning one, however. But well, that fact wouldn't ever change so it's not something that bear repeating after this point.

 

Not long after, the trio reached the designated port. It was bustling with activity, as expected for the time of the day. As she and her guild members passed the port, some of the sailors seemed to attempt getting her attention, which was quite flattering, although pretty silly. It's not something she would really appreciate, but points for trying. Granted, her attempt to look back at them seemed to shut them off. At this time, Flo thought of asking Vincent regarding what exactly was he capable of as he wasn't very clear back then, but that ended up having to wait as something else took priority.

 

“'EY! 'EY! YER TREE! YEAH, YER NU WHO I'M BLATHERIN' ABOYT! OVER 'ERE!”

 

"We still get paid if the little one falls overboard right...?" 

 

"I don't know, but I will be sure to tell you once you hit the ground too,following him. But yes, I believe that they are our clients."

 

With their client having shown himself to the group in quite an excessively loud fashion, Florentia led the way and approached him. 

 

"I believe that you are the ones that we will be helping with now. We are in your hands, so just tell us our direction now."

 

---

[Hakima]

---

Jīn was fascinated by sights in the port. The smell of the sea, the soft breeze carrying the faint scent of salt and fish, was something he had grown accustomed to during the voyage from Jianghu to Arbolia, and it brought him back to the beginning of his journey to the western continent. The Ruyi Jingu Bang grew warm from where it was tucked up behind his left ear, reminding him of why he had come to Arbolia in the first place. He had artifacts to find, and Sun Wukong’s legacy to rediscover!

 

“'EY! 'EY! YER TREE! YEAH, YER NU WHO I'M BLATHERIN' ABOYT! OVER 'ERE!” a voice boomed from the top deck of one of the ships floating in the docks. It was a big ship, with a massive harpoon looming near the front and...wings? Jīn wasn’t sure what to think of that. Could this boat really fly like a normal boat could sail? If that was the case, Jīn had no idea why they were having trouble with a wyvern.

 

"Those our clients?" Vincent asked, looking peeved off at the boy(?) that had shouted at them in the strange accent. "We still get paid if the little one falls overboard right...?"

 

Jīn frowned. Why would he fall overboard? The boy(?) was probably experienced at sky-sailing, and would know to steer clear of the edges. "I don't know, but I will be sure to tell you once you hit the ground too, following him,” Flo responded monotonously. Was she worried about Vincent falling as well? “But yes, I believe that are our clients.”

 

She approached the flying boat after that. Jīn followed shortly, but not before patting Peng on the back and saying to Vincent, “do not worry. Peng will catch you if you fall, friend.”

---

[Makο]

 

A joyful lot, really. Oddly enough, the arguably most intimidating of the three ended up being the most personable, even offering to save his ally despite said ally's endearing attitude. The young man gave a quick cough before jumping over the hand rail, positioning himself right in front of his towering companion on the dock below. From this angle, it became abundantly clear of the height difference between the young man and the dark-skinned woman; she was almost twice as tall as he was, though he did seem on the short side in the first place. Four-foot something, perhaps? The soot-covered man soon joined them, jumping down in a similar fashion, before the three of them moved towards their saviors.

 

"Ahem! Allow me ter introduce meself. The name's Mack Opel, captain av de Argon an' wyvern 'unter extraordinaire." He gestured to the right, where the shaggy-haired man stood. "Thas Gene Asden, our magic enginare; tha most laid back guy you've ever met, oi tell yer."

 

"Good morning to you all," he spoke, with his soot-covered hair dragging itself down, concealing his eyes. He still wore that trademark dopey smile.

 

Mack gestured to the left of him, where the gargantuan woman stood, seeming a little nervous.

 

"An' she's Silvia, our expert 'unter. She might be lorge, but she's de most graceful lassy Ah've ever met, an' a master at 'er trade."

 

With grace, she gave a deep bow, still not even going below Mack's head level. She looked back up with a kind, almost motherly smile. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

 

The captain gave a satisfied nod towards her, before turning back to the three; particularly, towards the lady who had taken lead. "Nigh! Oi can clap you're eager, but let's not git ahead av ourselves. What're de names av yer lot? Easier ter call in a scrap than jist 'Hey you!', they say!"

 

His chuckling at his own words amused no one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[spoiler=OOC]Before anyone freaks out, after the introduction posts of you guys (they can be short), we'll be immediately in the air. Wyvern's wait for no man!

 

Oh, and for the record, Silvia is 7'6".

 

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"Florentia Philomel, at your service. If it is too much of a mouthful, calling me Flora would suffice."

 

A halfling, a normal man, and a...that seemed to be odd. Flo had her doubts regarding the dark-skinned woman as she soon noticed some oddities regarding her, but kept it to herself for the moment as her group were introducing themselves to the trio of hunters. Perhaps she just came from an island Flo hadn't visited yet. Flora, it had been a while since she asked someone to call her that. Then again, most people before chose to call her with her full name or never bothered to even learn her name. She had little to no sentiment about being called with either, but she would rather keep Flo for Celica's use alone for now.

 

"Tell us about the wyverns. While we are here are meant to help you out, it should be our first time dealing with such beasts. I would prefer to know everything about our situation before we head in to the hunt."

 

---

[Hälō]

"I don't know, but I will be sure to tell you once you hit the ground too,following him. But yes, I believe that they are our clients."

 

"Oh. Cool." Vincent replied quickly, his eyes wide at how casual the woman's death threat was. "I'll keep that in mind..." He added, his tone that of a child who had been threatened with a spanking. 

 

“Do not worry. Peng will catch you if you fall, friend.” Jin added cheerly, causing Vincent to sigh whilst slouching forward in his stride. 

 

"Yay..."

 

 

Vincent watched silently as the hunters went through their introduction. He already knew he didn't like the halfling, and could smell the magic from Gene moments after stepping on the vessel. The guy's contaminated particles were lingering all over the ship, which led Vincent to believe that he was using some sort of ability to control or maintain the vessel. Then there was only female of the crew, Silvia. "Expert hunter, eh?" He thought to himself as he sized the woman up.

 

"Florentia Philomel, at your service. If it is too much of a mouthful, calling me Flora would suffice." Florentia spoke first. "Tell us about the wyverns. While we are here are meant to help you out, it should be our first time dealing with such beasts. I would prefer to know everything about our situation before we head in to the hunt."

 

"Vincent Cypher." Vincent lazily raised his hand, and nodded in greeting. "What the Boss Lady said... I'm gonna wanna know this thing's feeding habits, behavior, and any weak points before we set out." 

[Makο]

 

Mack smiled to himself, standing cross-armed next to his comrades. He figured that getting help would've been an eventuality, even if they had to stake their very airship on it, but to get help so soon? He felt like it was a sign from the gods that they were destined to be great and powerful wyvern hunters. Despite maintaining his posture, however, when looking back over the still smoking engine room of their airship...

 

The gods must be crazy.

 

In a swift motion, he slapped both sides of his face and shook them, letting his short white hair flap around. With a swift hand motion, he signaled his two teammates with what clearly was their own little personal communication method, who both nodded and boarded the ship. Well, only Gene really "boarded," per se; he found his way towards the boarding ramp, while Silvia simply leaped from the dock to the Argon with surprising grace, her little stash of crates in tow. Turning back to his new help, with smiled.

 

"Quesshuns can wait, but Wyverns canny. We're gettin' in de air! Al' aboard!"

 

As if on cue, the entire airship began to rattle and spout as the magic engine came online, getting over the kinks that caused it to smoke before. While certainly not as majestic as one would hope, there was a certain beauty to her, as her charred and battle-damaged hull lifted itself out of the water. The whirr the force projectors had became near deafening, as she positioned herself to launch.

 

Piling on board, likely with a bit of nervousness, the six of them lurched back as the Argon shot forth into the sky, leaving naught but wingtip vortices in its place.

 

One hour later...

 

The group had likely become accustomed to traveling through the air at this point. While the first 5 or so minutes were rather harrowing, as the Argon struggled to keep itself in the air, it had achieved its groove and was soaring along at a steady pace. Gene stood at the helm, having taken over for Mack, and was seemingly confident that the engines would work on their own without his assistance. Silvia stood out on the bow, looking forward into the clear blue sky in front and the clouds that surrounded them. Mack, on the other hand, had gathered the guild members into the small but surprisingly spacious cabin, where the three of them sat in the back and he stood up front, near the door. For a moment, he paused, writing some things on a blackboard behind him, then cleared his throat as he turned back.

 

"Gran' so. Nigh, let's git down ter de nitty gritty. Oi mind sum av yer askin' for details on de Wyverns we scrap, in order ter gie us de upper 'an', aye? Well, you're fresh oyt av luk, cos Oi don't nu. None av us do."

 

Whipping around, his slammed his hand on a crudely drawn shape of indeterminant quality on the blackboard.

 

"Dis is a wyvern. Yer might say, dat looks loike a bunch av nathin'! Well, ye'd be roi. We never 'av any idea aboyt de beast we'll be facin' the-day, cos dare are naw two av de seem wyvern. Their species is so absurdly broad an' diverse dat we'll likely never nu 'til we can spot de beast wi' our own two eyes."

 

He paused for effect; no effect was given, so he moved on.

 

"Naw, de rayle call why oi gathered yer 'ere the-day is ter git yer up ter speed on dis."

 

Pointing out the window, their eyes would be drawn to the freshly polished Pressurized Harpoon Cannon on the bow of the ship.

 

"Dis tin' is de only call why us normies can even 'andle a wyvern in de first place. Usin' immense force av steam an metal, dis rod jams itself into de beast, gettin' stuk for gran' an' lettin' us scrap it. An' oi nade wan av yer guys ter man it."

 

He raised his shoulder up and down, wincing as he did so. "Clap, normally oi wud, but me shoulder got banged up in our last scrap, an' oi'm afraid dat if oi used it again, Oi'd dislocate me whole arm for gran'! So, if oi may- waaagh!"

 

The startled Mack finally noticed that Silvia had been standing in the doorway, staring at him. He had gotten caught up in his own words, and zoned out for a bit, like usual. She wore a rather concerned look on her face as she stood. "Mack..."

 

It took not a genius to figure out what she seemed worried about. Clearing his throat again, he turned back to his newly hired help.

 

"Looks loike our wee meetin' is gettin' cleave short. After al', whaen Silvia's feelin' ancy, we best al' shud. Before we git oyt, 'owever, oi tink oi can take wan quesshun. Anyone got somethin'? Or maybe a voluntare for de 'arpoon?"

 

 

[spoiler=OOC] Just to make sure we're all on the same page, we've been flying airborne for about an hour now; no sense lollygagging at the port. As you can likely tell, sheet's about to go down, so try and keep whatever post you do short and sweet. Once you do, we'll be neck deep in trouble, so prepare yourself!

 

...also, one of you NEEDS to use the Harpoon cannon. This is law. Doesn't matter who, but this quest is an immediate fail if you all ignore it. Just so you know.

 

[Hakima]

---

“I’m a terrible shot,” Jīn didn’t hesitate to confess to the small cabin of people. He hadn’t ever so much as seen any form of weaponry like the harpoon before, but he had shot a bow before, and his aim with that was laughably bad. It would have been a horrible idea to put such an important task in his hands...but the monk did have any idea that probably wasn’t any less dangerous.

 

“I can lure the wyvern out once we find it,” he said confidently. “Peng and I are much more maneuverable than this vessel, and I’ll have no trouble getting it to chase me with the help of my staff. What do you all think?” he finished. Peng floated beside him at shoulder level, and circled around him nervously at the idea. Jīn patted him reassuringly. It was going to be fine, he was sure of it.

---

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"I will handle the harpoons in his place."

 

Everyone should do what they could do best in situations like this, and Flo was far from convinced that Vincent would be able to handle the position. An overeager young lad like him would be better off dealing with the wyvern once the group had brought it down with the harpoon. Ah, it reminded her of the legendary giant archer that shot down these creatures with ease in his legend. For such figure to ever exist was baffling, but Flo had enough evidences to believe so.

 

"With the lack of sufficient knowledge on the matter, I reckon that brute force would be the primary tactic here?

 

Jin and Peng will help me lock into the Wyvern. Bringing it down with one shot, the rest of you will finish the job. Aerial combat is not my speciality, so this is the extent of what I can do."

 

Noticing where the harpoons were, Flo went into position almost as soon as she finished talking. With their target coming, no more time could be spared for idle chatter. She hoped that Jin didn't end up running straight into the bolt, oand for Vincent to not do something typically reckless, like running to the fired bolt's direction in an attemot to get the first hit in.

 

"Tell me, how should I prepare and operate this contraption?"

 

---

[Hälō]

"I guess I'm our fire power then..." Vincent nodded to the group before flexing his right hand in the air in front him, causing a small flicker of red light to dance across his fingertips. Tasting the magic particles that floated around them, the boy figured Gene's magic would be more than suitable for Mugen. 

 

As he watched his guild master move towards the harpoons, Vince leaned back against the cabin wall. Though part of him thought that he'd be better off manning such a weapon, he decided against speaking up after remembering Flo's threat to throw him overboard. "So we nail it with the harpoon, then hit it with everything we've got before it decides to show us what makes it special?" He smirked at the prospect of such an easy hunt. They didn't even have to track the beast...

 

"Sounds good to me." 

[Makο]

Mack watched with mild disdain as Flo walked off before he could even address her. On the other hand, getting an immediate volunteer for the Harpoon Cannon tickled his fancy; no one present on the crew really wanted to touch the damn thing, so it always fell on his shoulders to use it. Having someone else do it for a change would be quite the relief. Turning to the one named Jin, Mack simply shrugged.

"Yer won't 'av ter worry aboyt that; de moment de beast catches a whiff av us, it'll be on top av us rayle queck."

Without lowering his shoulders, he whipped around towards Vincent.

"Well, if we can belt de beast oyt av de sky before it gets a chance ter lash oyt, that'd be terrific. Don't sit on de idea though; wyvern's are not so easily dealt wi'."

Clapping his hands together, he looked over the two remaining guild members in the cabin.

"Well! Oi tink that's aboyt as gran' as we can git. Noggin on oyt dare an' keep yisser eyes peeled, woulda? Gene! Back ter yisser stashun, Oi'm takin' over."

The short man tromped over to the helm, taking over from where Gene left off, as the latter made his way back to the engine room to ensure nothing was on fire. Again. Steering hard to port, Mack looked out over the wide open blue skies. Well, save for a small patch of dark clouds in the distance. Perhaps a thunder storm was heading in...?

-

Out on the deck, Silvia continued watching out over the skies. However, her attention was drawn by one of the hired help--Flo, if her memory served her--had approached the Harpoon Cannon, giving it a once over. She turned to the tall girl, peering up as she did.

"Tell me, how should I prepare and operate this contraption?"

Silvia blanked for a moment, quickly shaking herself out of her stupor and bending over. She hadn't expected to be directly addressed during this trip, so it had caught her off guard in the moment. Though, she was a little scatterbrained at the moment. She normally had more focus; what could be distracting her?

"R-right. The Harpoon Cannon. It is currently prepared and ready to be fired, so preparation should not be an issue that you will need to attend to. As for firing, it is fairly simple; you grab the handle here," she moved a bit closer to Flo, looking down the sight with her, "line up the back line with the front circle on to your target, and then pull this small trigger. It has a range of about 2.5 kilometers, I think? Please be warned that firing will certainly kick back with tremendous force; I would advise you brace yourself, and expect to at least be knocked off your feet."

Standing straight again, Silvia adjusted her bow over her shoulder and began to explain how reloading works, should the first shot miss. However, she was hardly a few moments into her explanation before she stopped dead; frozen stiff as a plank. A terrible chill ran up her spine, and were it not for the violent swishing of her tail and the rapid twitching of her ears, one might thought she had been suddenly paralyzed by poison. She quickly abandoned Flo, heading off to the very tip of the bow. Scanning the sky with laser focus, detailing everything she saw, she hoped to find the source of her feeling. Nothing but sky and clouds. Except... one formation of cloud was darker than the rest; considerably so. And it was moving erratically fast.

"Oh... oh god. Mack! MACK!!"

Uncharacteristic of her generally soft demeanor, Mack, who had been otherwise enjoying being behind the wheel of the Argon again, seemed visibly disturbed. He leaned out of the nearest window, looking towards Silvia.

"What? What's de matter? Did you-"

BGM

Two kilometers out from the Argon, a formation of dark clouds drifted through the sky. Within the formation, wind blew with ferocity uncharacteristic of the mild skies. Lightning shot across and within the clouds, flashing brightly even for the middle of the day.

Deep within the cloud, a long and thin form snaked its way about, occasionally showing off a large wing or horn from within the clouds. The form was majestic in presentation, smooth in its movement, and rather a sight to behold, despite not being completely visible.

A roar rang out through the sky, easily heard by all on-board, as the long figure seemed to shudder; floating for a few seconds, the entire cloud bank shifted direction, aiming directly towards the Argon. Before long, the beast no longer made any effort to hide itself, as it bobbed in and out of its own cover. It's eyes glowed a piercing yellow, as it unleashed another ear-splitting roar directly towards the wayward airship.

"By... by de gods. Dat wan seems a wee bit more than we can chew, don't it? Silvia, do yer tink it..."

Silvia, drawing a massive iron arrow from her quiver, stood crouched low, tail continuously swishing.

"It is coming for us; this, I have no doubt."

"...perfect. Al' 'ands, man yer battle stashuns! De beast is inboun'!"

[Hälō]

"... we're gonna need a bigger ship." Vincent tried his best to keep his cool as he watched the massive winged serpent set it's sights on their vessel. This certainly wasn't what he was expecting...

 

"...perfect. Al' 'ands, man yer battle stashuns! De beast is inboun'!"

 

"Sounds good to me." Vincent sighed before shedding his jacket and throwing it to the side of the cabin. "Jin, lets do it..." Rolling his shoulders, he made his way towards the door, not even bothering to look back at his fellow guild member as he addressed him. 

 

Upon stepping onto the deck, Vince reached forward as he were grabbing at the air. Heading his call, numerous amount of glowing red particles began manifest all around him before packing together to form a sleek bow of crackling energy. Placing his index and middle fingers on the center of his newly crafted weapon, the boy brought the bow up in an archer's stance, before pulling his right hand backwards as if he had already nocked an arrow. As he did so, a glowing red bolt of energy manifested itself from the magical particles in the air.

 

Now ready for battle, Vincent set his sights on their target as he waited for Flo to fire off the harpoon. 

 

 

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"An oversized winged snake. A blight of nature more than a creature of legends. Your form is majestic but you are born to be forgotten by history."

 

Monitoring the movement of the wyvern, Flo carefully aimed the harpoon towards the creature. It was an awe-striking sight, the wyvern, yet that feeling of awe would be a complete distraction. Whatever it looked like, it's their target. No matter how strong it was, they're here to kill it. It moved quite fast for a few moments, but now its pride made it show itself fully out of the cloudy sky. A foolish mistake, and Flo was fully intent on having it pay for it dearly. Everyone else was getting ready and waiting for her to shoot. She took a breath to retain her focus, and locked in on the wyvern. Pulling the handle as instructed as the front circle lined up with the back line, what was left for her to do now was to pull the trigger.

 

"Roar as much as you want now. I will personally see that roar turn into a cowardly whimper."

 

WIthout hesitation, Flo pulled the trigger. The harpoon flew rapidly towards the creature, as the backlash from the harpoon shot broke Flo's arms and smashed right onto her abdomen as she chose to stand still and withstand it. They healed soon after anyway, and Flo barely winced. Noticing Mack getting ready for the assault, Flo calmly addressed him with her naturally loud voice.

 

"The deed is done. Is it necessary to prepare for another shot?"

 

---

[Hakima]

---

Jīn would be lying if he said he wasn’t at least a little bit scared. He had seen creatures larger and even more terrifying, real dragons the size of mountains, but only through Sun Wukong’s eyes. It was a entirely different experience to have the creature in front of him, and to see it through his own eyes instead of the demi-god’s. His stomach turned when he noticed the crew’s reaction, dashing his hopes of this being a normal occurrence.

 

Does the dragon-whelp want to play? the normally silent Sun Wukong rumbled suddenly, stirred from his slumber by the apparent presence of a dragon. Hoohoohee, this will be fun, heeheehoo.

 

"Sounds good to me." Vincent said, pulling Jīn from his ruminations. "Jin, lets do it..."

 

Jīn nodded, pulling the Ruyi Jingu Bang from behind his ear. It expanded in his grip until it was taller than him, and it hummed with energy behind his palms. Sun Wukong’s conscious tugged at the back of his mind, pulling, reminding the Nimbus mage that he was not alone. Ciela fired the harpoon, and Jīn relinquished control to the Monkey King.

 

His eyes closed, and when they opened again, they blazed like golden fire. A wide smile slowly enveloped his face, and he spun his staff around experimentally. 

 

”Hoohoohee,” the new voice snickered. ”Don’t you know who you’re facing, dragon-whelp?” His voice was magically amplified, loud and audible even over the storm and the ship’s engines.

 

Jīn threw himself over the side of the ship, and Peng caught him before his free fall truly began. ”I didn’t think I was so easily forgotten, heeheehoo. I’ll just have to remind you, so you can tell the rest of them. My name is Sun Wukong,”  Peng lifted him higher into the air, jetting until he was within ten feet of the wyvern and then swerving sharply to avoid a stray bolt of lightning. Jīn drew back the Ruyi Jingu Bang, then smashed it into the creature’s head. "And I'm the Great Sage, Equal of Heaven! Bow before me, dragon-whelp!” 

[Makο]

 

With a bang and a whizz, the harpoon and its attached rope shot off into the sky with unbelievable velocity, breaking the sound barrier at one point as it went. Even with incredible senses and battle sense, the approaching wyvern had no time to react. Be it fate, the whim of the Gods, or just beginner's luck, the first harpoon hit its mark. A specialty bone-iron arrowhead easily penetrated the hide of the beast, not only burrowing itself into the wyvern but also shooting straight out the other side. With a terrible roar, it thrashed about in the air, attempting to unlodge the harpoon, but to no avail; all its thrashing did was pull the harpoon back towards its flesh, lodging itself on the outside, and wrapping itself in cable. So long as the cable still held, the beast was firmly trapped.

 

Looking through a pair of binocs, Mack nearly shouted with joy at the sight of the struggling wyvern. He leaned out the nearest window, yelling above the wind.

 

"Perfect shot, laddie! You're a natural at dis!" Giving Flo a thumbs up, he turned to the rest of them.

 

"De kip av yer, git ready, cos we're movin' in close to-"

 

His thought was cut short, however, as a snickering and taunting Jin surged forth towards the wyvern at quite enormous speeds, considering the beast was a little less than two kilometers away. Mack had no time to even try and stop he, as he scowled and re-manned the wheel. "God-forsaken brat..."

The Argon surged with renewed vigor, gaining speed as it tried to get closer to the beast itself and the ally who jumped off towards it.

 

 

"And I'm the Great Sage, Equal of Heaven! Bow before me, dragon-whelp!”

 

With a mighty force, the staff klonked down onto the wyverns head, tearing small bits and flesh and shattering a small part of the skull. This, however, did not set it off. The harpoon, neither, set it off. What did set it off, reaching down into the very essence of the beast... was the taunting. Particularly, being labeled a dragon. Even without comprehension of language, it knew.

 

Wyverns despise dragons more than they love life.

 

BGM

 

Seeming to float still in the air for a moment, its eyes contracted to a slit. Slowly, the entire form began to shake and tremble. Static filled the surrounding air as lightning became more common, striking indiscriminately in all directions. The beast had not intended to take this sort of hunt seriously, but now, it was aggravated beyond belief.

 

They would pay.

 

With an incredible roar, the beast cried out. The static in the surrounding areas turned deadly intense. A loud whirring seemed to sound, echoing far into the area, until...

 

An incredible Thunderclap.

 

A kilometer-wide radius circling the beast was struck with incredible force and burning sensations; anything caught in the inner circle would be fried, and anything outside would be launched out rapidly.

 

The beast's blues and yellows were replaced by reds and whites, as streams of flaming air huffed out of its nostrils. It peered at its mocking foe, intent to kill.

 

 

Having taken a moment to peer out of the engine room, Gene happened to catch the spectacle in the distance; had he not seen it, he CERTAINLY would have heard it, as the sound cracked against the hull of the vessel. The shockwave caused the vessel to teeter and stutter as it flew forth.

 

"...Plasma variant..."

 

With the biggest, dumbest grin, Gene rushed towards the cabin, bursting inside the wrapping his arms around a visibly shaken Mack.

 

"Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-"

 

"Plasma variant! It's a plasma variant! Gah hah, I thought I'd never see this day come to me!"

 

"What did it do?!" As he said so, he leaned out the window. "FLO! SILVIA! ACTIVATE DE WENCH! 'TIS 'EADIN' AFTER OUR EEJIT MUCKER! REEL 'ER IN!"

 

"You see, wyverns with a lightning affinity can, under extraordinarily rare circumstances, turn into a Plasma variant! Instead of using lightning itself to attack, it just sets the AIR on fire! I can't believe I got to see one!"

 

Almost hesitant to shake Gene out of his nerd-ish rant, Mack coughed. "Is it... dangerous?"

 

"Hmm? Oh, incredibly so. Even veteran wyvern hunters try to avoid variants if they find them."

 

With a wince, Mack shook Gene off and let go of the wheel. "Take it, Gene. Oi'm pisser dare." Grabbing a blunderbuss from the corner, he stepped out into the wind, almost getting knocked off his small feet as he approached Vincent.

 

"Hey, that's magic, roi? Can yer use buffs? Can yer buff de kip av us? Cos... we're gonna nade it."

 

Just as he said so, for all intents and purposes, the Argon was within combat range of the Plasma-variant Wyvern.

 

 

[spoiler=OOC]What that last line means, is now everyone can just DO FIGHT YEAH! Lay into it! Try not to get blasted to ash! Hopefully we'll win!

 

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

Flo watched as the chaos unfolded as the Wyvern came into position. Everyone was preparing to fight it, and she should find out a way to help them too. The recoil from the harpoon did some damage that had been healed by her. She heard about the talk about the wyvern being Plasma-variant. Capable of setting the air itself on fire. Magic? If the process was natural then Flo was interested in dissecting the wyvern on her own for the sole purpose of research, but if it's just magic, then it's not something she should mess with. She ended up just reeling the harpoon now to get the wyvern into a more proper position to be beaten up.

 

Turning to Sylvia, she decided to ask a question.

 

"If this would be enough to hold the wyvern at bay, I feel obliged to utilize the remaining ammunition of the harpoon in my attempt to help with the effort to bring down this beast.

 

Would that be acceptable?"

 

---

[Hälō]

 

"If this would be enough to hold the wyvern at bay, I feel obliged to utilize the remaining ammunition of the harpoon in my attempt to help with the effort to bring down this beast. Would that be acceptable?"

 

 

"You kidding me?" Vincent called over the the storm before an arrow aimed towards the creature's face. "What are you waiting for?! Load that bad boy up and let's get to killing!" Taking a step forward, he quickly formed another arrow before moving to the ship's railing. Taking a moment to line up his shot, Vincent let his second arrow fly toward's the Wyvern's left eye before suddenly closing his own eyes to focus.

 

Slowly he drew his hand backwards yet again, though this time the arrow he created resonated with a pulsating light that illuminated the area around Vincent. "Let's see how it likes this..." The boy mumbled to himself as he placed one of his feet atop the railing for support. Shifting his aim to one of the Wyvern's massive wings, a small smirk creeped it's way to the side Vince's mouth as he released his grip and sent the explosive arrow forged from his very soul soaring towards it's target.

 

"Bang!" 

[Hakima]

---

Sun Wukong spun his staff above his head and then brought it down heavily on top of Peng. Nimbus bloomed from the end of the Ruyi Jingu Bang, exploding outward in a flash of bright gold, constructing itself into a thick sphere around him that absorbed most of the wyvern’s attack. Sun Wukong grinned, and it took up most of his face, toothy and taunting. “Ahahah, dragon-whelp,” he tutted, waggling a finger at the enormous, rather angry creature in front of him. “Why are you all like this? I come up, introduce myself, and you attack me without so much as a ‘how do you do’! Bad dragon-whelp!”

 

Sun Wukong struck out with his staff again, aiming to swat the creature’s snout. Whether he hit or not, not two seconds after he did that, he back-flipped off Peng - launching himself a good fifteen feet into the air (and over Vin's arrow) - and then constructed a Nimbus platform for him to land on in the opposite direction of the ship. He sat down on the edge of it, kicking his feet back and forth. “Tag, you’re it! Come and get me, dragon-whelp!”

---

[Makο]

The loud metallic twang of a greatbow used to fire arrows too large for any normal bow filled the air around Silvia; with rhythmic motions, she retrieves an arrow from her quiver, applies it to the arrow, pulls back and releases, letting another twang sound. From this distance, around 1 kilometer, her accuracy was certainly lacking, but in spite of this a few arrows had managed to impact on the beast, each penetrating deep into its flesh and getting stuck. Her skills certainly didn't appear exaggerated, anyway.

 

"If this would be enough to hold the wyvern at bay, I feel obliged to utilize the remaining ammunition of the harpoon in my attempt to help with the effort to bring down this beast. Would that be acceptable?"

 

Without losing rhythm, Silvia shook her head. "The tether runs through the Harpoon for extra support, in order to keep the line from stressing and breaking... is the excuse we like to say. Our cannon is rather old and outdated; this flaw was solved by external loading systems on newer models."

 

She turned to face Flo, with an almost sad grin on her face. "Part of the reason why this is now or never. Do not worry, however; we are approaching very rapidly. I doubt it will be much longer."

 

Just as she said this, the Wyvern roared with increased ferocity. Or rather, it was just louder. The Argon soared over the top of the giant sky wyrm, as plasma jets shot too and fro from it's body. In its inexplicable agro towards the curious man with a staff, it was completely oblivious to the airship, even with the tether tightening and pulling it back. Silvia hesitated for a moment, holding a arrow, before re-quivering it and standing straight. Despite her fairly thin frame, her strength was baffling, as she suddenly one-armed Flo into the air.

 

"Speaking of the devil, this is your spot. Vincent and I will be able to support you from here. We will pick you up after!"

 

With a toss, Flo would suddenly find herself tumbling overboard towards the Wyvern; however, out of the corner of Silia's eye, she saw a more willing participant rush towards the edge and leap off.

 

"Wait for me, yer rat bastards! Oi 'ill in me be outdone!" Mack soared towards the Wyvern, landing directly on top of one of Silvia's arrows that only made it half way in; the impact sent it careening into the flesh of the beast. Seemingly at random, he took a blast of his Blunderbuss into the flesh of the creature, leaving a rather large hole.

 

BGM

 

"Gran' so boys! 'Tis nigh or never! We end dis soon, or we're al' dead!"

 

 

The Wyvern took the attack directly to the face; however, unlike before, it felt no damage from the blow. Whether the transformation into a plasma variant toughened its skin or it was simply ignoring the damage, it didn't matter, because the beast had set its sights solely on the irritating cloud person; its pride forced it to do so.

 

Emanating from its skin, plasma bolts launched forth towards the man with rather intense ferocity, with intent to smother him with fiery death; however, in its aggro, it failed to notice as a magic arrow of some kind impacted with one of its wings, leaving a large burn mark in its place. It still failed to notice, regardless of the damage done to it.

 

It attempted to use its horns as a battering ram as it chased down the cloud; however, this time, it noticed as two other creatures had found their way onto its back. It, for a moment, attempted to turn around to face them, but the thought of the mockery from earlier boiled its blood and kept it giving chase.

 

Before long, the Wyvern seemed to falter. Arrows rained from the sky; magic impacted its wings. Small beings walking across its scales, attacking everything they could see. The sting of iron arrows being rammed deeper into its flesh. The annoying opponent it chased. There was suddenly so much going on; far more than it was able to handle at the moment. And when Wyvern's get highly stressed...

 

Sensory overload.

 

A purple light began to emanate from its mouth as it floated still, no longer giving pursuit. The air began to crackle, as an oppressively low sound filled the air*. The light grew with intensity each moment, as it stared down its old target. It seemed calm and tranquil, compared to before, until...

 

Its mouth opened wider than ever before, unleashing an incredible beam of reddish-white energy directly in front of it. For a moment, it seemed to lash around in response, unable to control it, but before long, the beast aimed it directly at the foe who had mocked him prior.

 

 

Turning hard left, Gene had barely managed to avoid an early grave for everyone aboard the airship; as the beast unleashed its attack, it was poised to nail the Argon head-on; instead, it only sheared off 20% of the the right side of the vessel, leaving delicate internal components exposed. Despite gripping the wheel so tightly it was starting to splinter in his hand, he wore his same dopey smile.

 

"It's a wonder this thing is even still afloat at this point."

 

Silvia faltered for but a moment as she saw the beam come out, but spent no more than a moment before almost doubling the rate at which she fired arrows, at the cost of accuracy and power.

 

"Vincent! Hurry!"

 

[spoiler=OOC]NOT DEAD

 

*This is for visual and sound reference. No, the wyvern is not a particle uplink cannon in disguise. Yes, that'd be cool, but we'll save that for another RP.

 

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"Part of the reason why this is now or never. Do not worry, however; we are approaching very rapidly. I doubt it will be much longer."

 

"I shall trust your word."

 

Flo answered the lady flatly as she continued to pay attention to the Wyvern's movements. Before long, the time that the lady promised arrived, and Flo was sent towards her supposed position, where she ended up tumbling towards the foul beast's direction. What a bother. How was the other doing right now? Ah, a soul arrow hit the wyvern. Ah, the foreign monk was being cocky. Ah, the beast fired a huge destructive beam. Ah, it didn't manage to demolish the ship. But ah, what happened to the monkey boy?
 

Ah. Right. She should also help too. Her pepperbox gun would be too innacurate for the situation they were in. While it would hit the beast, it wouldn't hit it where she wanted it to be. Flo used her body enhancement magic to magnify her senses and accuracy, and she started to aim her fingers towards the beast's direction. Increasing her own blood pressure on her hand to gain the thrust she needed, she unleashes her attack - a barrrage of nails and fingers fired at the speed of a machine gun towards the beast. Her hand rapidly regenerated whenever she fired it, but the primary issue was how it's not exactly something with a strong penetrative power.

 

Rather, she used it as catalyst for her own magic - she currently aimed the barrage towards any spot that the wyvern might be less protected from and perhaps from spots it had already been wounded from, including where the harpoon earlier struck it. If Flo's "bullets" managed to hit any of those exploitable points, she would be able to start growing cancer-like growth on the dragon that would debilitate them physically and magically to some degree for each major growth Flo could manage.

 

It's not exactly the most efficient way of doing things, but right now she wasn't in a position to jump into the beast's head and carve its skull on her own, sadly.

 

---

[Hälō]

"Vincent! Hurry!"

"How the hell is this piece of junk still flying?!" Vincent shouted back at Silvia as he struggled to bring himself back up to his feet after the ships sudden turn. Blowing a strand of wet hair out of his, the boy shifted his gaze back to their target.

"Not good..." He watched as the creature struggled to control it's a attack for a little while longer, before finally guiding the laser towards Jin. With no time waste, Vincent began hastily gathering more magic particles from the air to increase the size of his bow and change it's shape slightly. "JIN, GET OUT OF THERE!" The boy called over the sounds of battle whilst studying the creature's body. He just didn't know enough about it anatomy to pinpoint it's weakness... 

"Damn..." Follow the beast's movements carefully, Vincent hastily started to run necessary calculations through his head as he dashed across the slippery deck to adjust his firing position. "If I don't do anything cloud boy is toast..." Once again placing his foot atop the railing of the ship, Vince grunted with effort as he swung his new great bow into an archer's stance and drew back his left hand to begin forming a another arrow from his soul.

 

A bright red light filled air around the boy as a large mass of energy began to manifest itself. "I guess this is one of those all or nothing scenarios, huh?" Vincent sighed to himself. He'd put everything he had into one shot... 

 

Within moments, the shapeless mass of energy condensed itself into a colossal arrow that brandished a quite menacing looking drill at the tip. Panting from stress of molding such a large portion of his soul, Vincent grit his teeth and tighten his grip on the massive piercing shot, causing it's drill to begin spinning hungrily and red sparks to fly into the air. 

[Makο]

Plasma particles darted through the sky, remnants of the massive beam that continuously shot from the gargantuan creature's mouth. Adrenaline pumped through the wyvern's bloodstream, clouding its mind from the pain it felt and all other forms of rational though; instead, it focused all of its blood lust directly towards the mocking cloud man that had drew his ire before. Swift as he may have been, even he was finding himself singed by the raging breath as he frantically dodged and weaved to avoid it. Yes... the display of cowardice and worry from hid foe gave great joy to the creature.

 

Soon, its foe would be evaporated into nothing, and it could finally return its focus to the rest of his companions. Within these parts, none may best the king of the skies!

 

 

The situation had suddenly appeared to be rather grim, from Silvia's perspective. Down on the wyvern, Flo and Mack attempted to chip away at whatever part they could; but the beast was so large, and lower hide so thick, that they were making little headway. The monkey boy was fleeing for his life as a massive beam of energy chased him through the sky, effective in running away but making no headway otherwise. Gene was himself rapidly attempting to make field repairs as he expended more and more magic force to keep the vessel afloat; despite still wearing his signature smile, he was clearly becoming exhausted. Finally, Vincent and herself were attempting everything they could to take the beast down a notch; but even with many successful penetrations and magic arrows blasts, nary a single hit seemed to slow it down.

 

Unbecoming of herself, Silvia broke out into a cold sweat. The entire situation seemed awfully familiar to the event that had landed her and her friends in their run down state to begin with: biting off more than they can chew. Past events seemed almost to flash before her eyes in her trance-like arrow-notching state, watching as friends and allies fell one by one to swarms of raging wyverns. Ships burned, people slaughtered, and for what? The mere pursuit of profit?

 

...Certainly not. This was more than just that. Wyverns are dangerous and wicked-evil creatures; should they be left to roam unchecked who knows what grand tragedies may befall upon the lands? This is for more than just the profit; this is for the lives lost of those she was with. This was for the guaranteed safety of the innocents surrounding her. This is for redemption of the deeds of her past.

 

In a moment of clarity, she laid her eyes upon a certain part of the wyvern. It looked... strange. Rotting, pulsating parts of its flesh...? Perhaps the result of an attack from Flo. While thinking, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a glowing red light. Vincent's bow... it had turned into a great bow? And one not so different to hers. Some sort of mass of energy, shining bright and swirling like a drill. He was charging some sort of attack...

 

Silvia's eyes suddenly shot wide open; rapidly, a plan of action formed in her mind. Standing up from her crouching position, she peered inside her quiver. Only one Wyvern Bone arrow left... she would have to make it count.

 

"Mack! Return! It is time!"

 

 

Firing another shot of blunderbuss into the wyvern, Mack grumbled to himself at the apparent lack of effects on the beast. His ears perked up, however, as he heard Silivia call his name from above, gesturing for them to return.

 

"Aye? Stop de lights! Well, if she says so. Gran' so lady, 'tis time ter go!"

 

The return signal means waste no time in coming back, and waste no time he did, grabbing Flo by the back of her shirt and yanking her to the harpoon, still connected deeply inside the creature. Letting her go, he passed her a small belt harness with a hook on it.

 

"Better 'urry up. we don't 'av much time!"

 

With a hook of his own, he attached to the harpoon rope, and jumped off the beast; now dangling from said rope, he began to shimmy his way up it, just to get some distance between him and the wyvern.

 

 

Silvia made her way over to where Vincent was, eyeballing the creature the entire time. With a few distinct hand signals, she managed to get Gene's attention enough to have him adjust the angle of the vessel. Then, she crouched down practically on top of Vince, almost as if she were hugging him, placing her greatbow directly overlapping on his magic one.

 

"Silvia, I need a weak spo- Oh. Hey there..."

 

She pulled her final Wyvern Bone arrow from her quiver, drawing it on her bow and overlapping her arm over Vincent's, almost taking his exact stance.

 

"Stay calm. Aim where I aim, and fire where I fire. Da?"

 

"Da, ya, I'm all yours, sweetheart~"

 

Trying her best to ignore the comment, Silvia's focused narrowed tenfold. She thought of nothing but hitting the target in front of her; that particular piece of rotted flesh, so potent in its decay that it penetrated through the tough lower flesh. Slowly, the energy from Vincent's shot began to swirl around her own arrow, as it seemed to seep in and out of the magic-attracting arrow. One single shot... to end this fight in one go.

 

All that reminds is just the right angle...

 

...

 

"NOW!"

 

In unison, Silvia and Vincent let loose their shots, wherein they soon combined into a shot so bright it seemed a star had fallen down, as it barreled directly towards their great adversary.

 

 

[spoiler=OOC]

Reiterating what I said in the skype, the quest is basically over by this point. Use your last mandatory post to basically get out of dodge and tie up any combat-related loose ends. After MY final post, you guys CAN make another post if you WANT, but it's like... not mandatory.

 

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"I see. You two, fall back immediately."

 

Florentia acknowledged the two hunters plan with a simple nod and ordered her guildmembers to escape the blasting area of the oncoming attack or the potential of the wyvern crashing into them. Her magic that created a cancerous growth on the prideful beast's body allowed its thick and protected skin to have a weak point, and that very weak point was the one being targeted by the hunters.

 

"In that case, I suppose that our job here is done."

 

WIthout a readable expression on her face, she chose to watch from her position as the bright shot was fired. There was of course still the issu on how would they salvage the wyvern or how to not get it to crash into the ship, but she's not the hunter here, and Flo would be quite disappointed if the actual hunters didn't have anything in mind regarding it. Doubtful, but it's a possibility regardless.

 

Nevertheless, it's none of her concern so the only thing she had to think of now would be to get back to earth as soon as the wyvern could be confirmed as dead, collect the rewards, and arrange a trip home. Her presence in this quest seemed to have an adverse effect on the growth of her guild members. Perhaps she should reconsider her direct participation in quests for the next times.

 

---

[Makο]

A muddled mind seemed to float through an endless void, devoid of meaning or substance. A swirl of raging emotions that disrupted an infinite calm, yet were calm themselves. There was no right, wrong, up, down, or any sense of life's direction.

 

The wyvern drifted among this infinite nothing, disturbed and without rest. However, it had clarity of itself. In arrogance, haughty pride, and overconfidence, it had lost control of that which was most important and been snared in a trap laid by those who wished to do it harm. Even then, it could not blame them, as the one who strove to deal the first blow.

 

As it's dying husk of a mortal form thrashed outside itself, the beast curled up into its own solitude. It had accepted its fate, as a consequence of the life it led. Karma, in a way. As a final gesture, it gave its goodwill to the one who shared its kind's blood, for the future to come. And then it lay, drifting off to an eternal sleep.

 

 

The bright blue shot streaked across the sky, seemingly adjusting its course as it targeted the thrashing wyvern. Energy seeped from the bone arrow, leaving behind a gallant trail as it went. The swirling drill met it's mark, a rotting section of the still-living wyvern; it seemed to hang on the surface for a moment. However, before long, it pierced through, penetrating the whole of the beast and coming out the other side. It's endless beam of energy it was shooting suddenly ceased, its thrashing stopped, as it seemed to suspend itself in mid air. Flo and Mack were busy climbing the harpoon rope, and Jin had finally gained moments rest from running and returned to the Argon. But otherwise, all was quiet.

 

...

 

The length of the creature suddenly went limp, as its huge mass began to descend downward. The harpoon line suddenly went rigid as the multi-ton creature yanked the rope with incredible force. Gene himself had to put even more effort into simply keeping the airship afloat with the giant creature being dangled beneath it. However, it managed, and was able of moving at a steady pace.

 

Still dangling on the rope, Mack simply stared, wide-eyed at the creature they had just slain. No words, short of breath, frozen solid, until...

 

"Did...did we do it?"

 

...

 

...

BGM

 

 

Upon returning to the port from whence they departed, wide-eyes and gaping mouths met the beat-up and half-destroyed argon as it towed the absolutely massive beast into port. The three crew of the wyvern hunters worked tirelessly to begin to prepare the beast for selling and find a buyer, but it certainly didn't take very long. Special variants are incredibly rare, and to have brought one to the region's largest buyer's doorstep? They were chomping at the bit to gain a piece of that action.

 

Afterwards, Mack met with the three guild members, whose assistance was critical in the defeat of this creature. Instead of having their payment doled out after parts sold, dozens of pre-payers left Mack with more gold coins than he knew what to do with. As such, each member was paid ten times the promised price, ensuring them that they still had more than enough money to not only repair their airship, but turn into respectable Wyvern Hunters.

 

Seeing them off, the three hunters waved a hearty goodbye to their saviors, with their futures now secured, their troubles vanished, and infinite possibilities ahead.

 

Silvia, however, seemed to be in deep thought. A glimmer in her eye let her know that the future is yet uncertain...

 

 

- - Quest End - -