Beasts Connected

Welcome! What can I getcha?

Well, if it ain't Laclair! Lucky ya stopped by when ya did. Been sittin' on a message for ya.

What message?

I ain't read it. Here.

It certainly has my name on it. Thanks, Barkeep.

I'm feeling a little deja vu here.

Yeah, this letter's even from the same person as the last one. My foster father.

Huh. Was there something else you wanted to get his advice on?

No, he's contacted me first this time. Which itself is pretty unusual, but then he did so by mail. That's VERY unusual.

Well, any idea what the letter might say?

No, but I'm sure as heck not gonna wait any longer to find out. Here goes...

Laclair! How ya doin'? Alive, I hope?

Me? No change! Takin' each day as it comes and all.

But lately things ain't been easy. Tell ya the truth, the quarry I'm trackin' right now's provin' a real pain in my rear end.

I need your help, if yer willin' to lend yer old man a hand. That's why I'm writin' to ya now.

A target my foster father can't track? This must be some extraordinary prey.

I bet. You've said before that your dad is one of the best rangers out there.

A "legendary beast," huh? Legendary or no, I can see how a monster like that might pose a problem even for him.

Well? Are you going to help your dad out?

Absolutely. I mean, this is the first time he's even asked for my help. Ever.

Really? Guess there's no question about it, then.

Not one. Are you coming?

Absolutely.

Heh. Thanks, Aldo. All right, let's head to the Ancient Battlefield first.

...Hmm, I don't see anything that could be a clue.

How about you, Laclair? Spot any tracks or something?

...Nope, none.

Then again, if a ranger as skilled as my father couldn't find a trail to follow, there was no way we were going to right off the bat either.

I guess you're right. Then we'll have to keep looking.

Right. It's not like we have another option any...

...Pohhhh?!

Wait! That cry, !

Poh poh?!

*screech*

Kroo!

Wh-What was that?!

No signs. No transfer, no debris, nothing.

Besides...

The only prints here belong to that Nopaew.

That thing was almost like some sort of ghost, the way it just vanished and all. No ranger ever could track it.

Perhaps not me, having never hunted a ghost or anything like it.

But my father is a far more experienced ranger than I. Decades more experienced.

If anybody knows how to track a ghost, it's him.

You really think so? I didn't think exorcisms were part of a ranger's work.

They're not, but either way we've sighted the quarry and will have to relay what we've seen to my father. We can ask him what he knows after sharing our own intel.

That makes sense. We should be able to find him in Zarbo, right?

Right. Let's make for Zarbo as quick as we can.

Hahah! Ho, Laclair! That was quick!

Father! It's good to see you again.

Likewise. Ya look well.

And wouldja look at that, the kid too! Still lookin' out for my girl for me, eh? Y'know, one day I really gotta thank ya proper for keepin' her safe all this time.

Not at all. Laclair's saved my behind more times than the other way around.

Hah, is that right? C'mere a sec, kid.

I can see it's thanks to ya's that Laclair's able to feel freer than she's ever done. And I mean that.

That right there's the debt I owe ya. Ya saved my daughter's soul, yer really did. So, I thank you.

It's really nothing that major, trust me. I just did what any good friend should do.

Heh! Well look at you, as cool as a cucumber!

Ya got moxy, kid. I like that.

Okay, Father, enough of your "boy's talk." We have quarry to hunt.

All right, all right. S'pose I shouldn't dally, bein' the one who asked you to come out here.

I don't think it's a stretch assumin' this visit ain't just 'cause ya missed yer old man. Amirite, Laclair?

As always.

I need to know how to track a ghost. And if anybody can tell me, it's you, Father!

"Track a ghost"?! Don't tell me tanglin' with this thing's gone and scrambled yer brains, girl! Yer a ranger! Leave that sorta business to the priests and magicians, for heaven's sake.

Y-You're kidding? Then even a formidable ranger like you can't track something if it's intangible?

(As you'd expect...)

Hold on now, I never said that! Slow down, girl. I swear, ever since a kid y'were always puttin' the cart before the horse. Start from the beginnin' and then we'll see.

O-Okay. Well...

...Now I geddit! So that's watcha found on our little phantom friend, huh?

Ya did good, Laclair. Miles better than I did. I'm thinkin' maybe it's time for me to be passin' on the torch already.

We both know that's nowhere near true. I've still got a lot to improve before my overall skillset even compares to yours.

Heh! Well, better humble than arrogant. You'll be one of the best someday for it.

Is that ghostly creature really the same "legendary beast" you're hunting, sir?

Ya said it upped and vanished with one'o the Nopaew Clan, right? Then make no mistake, that's it.

What does the Nopaew have to do with it?

It was one of 'em I met by the Rucyana Sands what asked me to go trackin' down this slippery varmint.

"Asked"? But the Nopaew Clan aren't capable of speaking our language. How did they...

That's right, not a single word. But words ain't all the way things can be said. I got his meanin' just fine after enough frantic gesturin' and picture-drawin' was exchanged.

O-Oh. Right.

It's a delicate kinda communication that I picked up bein' in the company of some real ol' figures in the Nopaew Clan. Comes in pretty handy too when yer gatherin' intel. Those critters see all kindsa stuff we miss, y'know.

So why'd this Nopaew want you to track this thing down?

Said one o' his buddies was in trouble, spirited away by a black cloud o' somethin' that didn't seem all too friendly. Wanted me to poach that evil sucker and rescue his lil' buddy from its devious clutches! Or somethin' like that, anyway.

It's more about the feelin' than the words with them, ya know? So, I could be wrong, but I reckon I got the gist.

Well, if we take it that you're not wrong, the thing we saw is the same monster you've been looking for, without a doubt.

Bullseye.

But even with that confirmation we're still no closer to figuring out how to track it.

Oh, trackin' somethin' like that's beyond me. Sounds like only magic can pin that thing down... Or a monster with that kinda magic anyway.

So, Laclair. Ya think to call on yer babies yet?

"B-Babies"?!

You're right, I can't believe I didn't think of that! Is that what you meant all along asking for my help? Me calling on their abilities to help you in turn?

Well, I ain't gonna say that the hypothetical weren't considered.

I had no idea you were a mother, Laclair. I can't believe I didn't know all this time.

Bwahahahaha! From my point o' view they might as well be my grandkids, that's for sure. Not like they love me like a grandpappy. But still.

They've always been fussy, Father, you know that.

Ain't that the truth! Anyway, no time like the present. Let's call 'em back and get straight to pinnin' down that miserable cloud.

I'm on board with that plan. We'll go pick them up.

Pick them up from where?

The Nuaru Uplands. Come on, let's hurry!

...Wait a minute, Laclair?

Don't mind her, she's just makin' the necessary preparations. Won't take a minute.

Oh, okay.

Speaking of Laclair, it sounds like you're pretty up to date with what's been going on with her lately.

Yeah. She likes to write me from time to time and tell me how she's doin'. She ain't the sort to show much affection in her words and manner an' whatnot, but...

Give her a pen and paper and suddenly she's a real chatterbox, that one! It's real cute, I tell ya.

Really? I never would've guessed.

She talks about ya quite a bit too, ya know. And all the rest of yer little gang o' adventurers.

She's finally thinkin' about somethin' other than revenge: about bein' happy. Almost brings a tear to my eye, really does.

I guess I have noticed she seems to have been smiling more recently. A lot more, actually.

All thanks to ya, kid.

Sorry I kept you waiting!

Wait, wha, ? Laclair, what's with your clothes?

They're for calling my boys to me. I can't do it without them.

Without these furs, specifically.

What now?

Anyway, here goes.

*distant howling*

Hahaha! Down, boys, down! All grown up but still acting like big babies around Mommy, huh?

Well, kid? Whaddya think o' our boys, huh?

They might be monsters, but Laclair's been the only thing close to a mother they've had since they were cubs.

So that's what you meant...

We let 'em out into the wild eventually but they still pine for their mom, y'know. And when she calls you bet they come runnin'.

Here, boys! C'mere and say hi to Aldo.

Aldo, this is Gau.

And this is Bau.

Uh... I can't tell the difference.

Come on, don't be mean. The difference couldn't be starker!

Gau has a sharper edge about him whereas Bau's got softer eyes. See? Look.

O-Oh, um, right. I see it.

Heh, don't worry yerself about it, kid. After all these years I ain't see it either. Ya just call the one ya want and the one that reacts is the one ya called. Probably.

That's some nonchalance there...

Ghost or no, they should have no problem sniffing out our target.

Makes sense since they're monsters and not regular animals.

Right. So let's hurry to the Ancient Battlefield. My boys get restless when there's prey to catch.

Listen to me carefully, boys. This time Mommy's quarry isn't gonna be easy to find. It can disappear itself somehow.

Ruff!

So follow the scent, corner it and drive it out into the open, okay?

Ruff! Ruff!

Now we wait.

*distant howling*

That's them! They've found something!

It sounds like they're that way!

Whatta ya waitin' for then? Let's go!

Here? All right. Thank you, boys!

That should do it! Gau, Bau! Show us what this cowardly cloud we're dealing with really is!

AWOOOOOOOOO!

Woah! How did they do that?!

Can't say I much know how it works but their howl has the power to dispel illusory magics.

A formidable power. I'm glad they're on our side.

Ready, Laclair?

As if you need to ask!

Ya did it! All we gotta do now is find out where the funny-talkin' lil' guy's got to and...

Poh poh!

Ah! There he is!

Defeating that creature must have opened the closed space it imprisoned the Nopaew in.

Yeah. Thank goodness he wasn't hurt.

W-Wargh! That thing had a whole stash of Nopaews?!

Hah! Guess it fancied itself some kinda collector or somethin'!

Man, I ain't got no idea what they're sayin'.

...Laclair was there to see their mom breathe her last, y'know.

One day she was fightin' a real tough monster and suddenly this big white wolf comes boundin' in to lend a paw.

Gau and Bau's mother? Why would a monster help a human?

I reckon that's 'cause her lair was nearby with those two all vulnerable, bein' newly born and all. If I were her, I'd see helpin' a human take down a potential threat to my kin as a smart move, no doubt.

Laclair made it outta the scuffle but Mommy Monster? She weren't so lucky.

Those poor cubs.

Lucky for them, Laclair's real soft at heart. Couldn't bear leavin'em to fend for themselves. Took 'em in just like that, she did.

Does that mean those hides she's wearing are...

That's right. I did the tannin'. Without 'em, at first, those pups wouldn't take to her no matter what. But once she put it on, well... It took a while, but eventually they came to think o' her as their kinda funny-lookin' mom.

So that's why they're tame with her.

There y'have it. And until she met you me and those two were her only family. Really, yer her first friend who talks in people words and don't have four legs! So I'm really countin' on ya. Keep lookin' out for my girl, y'hear?

Hah, roger that, sir! Rest assured, I'll always be a friend to Laclair!

(Although...I might talk just like a human,) (but I've actually got four legs too.) (So...Sorry about that.)