Putting those fanciful concerns aside for the moment, Isis and the others followed Chia, squeezing sideways through the narrow rock crevice and into the cave.
The cavern was roomier than Altaïr had expected. Though irregularly shaped, it covered a total area of roughly three or four hundred square meters.
The opening they had entered through was the cave's only way in or out. The cavern itself was almost entirely sealed, making it a natural refuge.
The missing mountain folk were huddled inside, sheltering there.
It was daytime, so a little sunlight filtered through cracks in the cave roof and dimly illuminated the interior. The refugees had not wasted fuel on a campfire. A faint smell of blood hung in the gloom, mingled with several less pleasant odors.
Some twenty or thirty mountain folk had gathered there. Their spirits were low. Their homes had been destroyed, and their future was uncertain. Even the greatest optimist would have struggled to smile under such circumstances.
A man of about fifty came forward to greet them.
Lean and dark-skinned, with a machete at his waist for clearing trails and defending himself, he looked every inch a mountain villager who made his living in the forest.
If Altaïr was right, this man was the leader of the mountain folk, or rather, the Village Chief.
"We're Hunters from the Guild. Were there any casualties?" Altaïr offered his hand, and the man shook it.
The Village Chief gave a bitter smile. "Thanks to those young people, hardly anyone was injured, and none of the wounds are serious. That young Hunter, though, is in bad shape."
He sighed. "If only I'd listened to them and evacuated sooner."
Altaïr glanced at him but did not pursue the subject.
Those words were nothing but hindsight. Just as farmers would not abandon cultivated land unless they had no other choice, these mountain folk would not casually leave the forest they knew so well.
Those who held out in small villages without a resident Hunter were almost invariably stubborn people unwilling to give up their ancestral way of life. Every day they survived was another wager against fate.
It might seem foolish beyond belief, but no one could deny their importance. How much of the vast mountain forests' bounty could Hunters gather by themselves? Most of it still came from mountain folk collecting supplies and transporting them out little by little.
That steady flow of resources kept human society running.
Altaïr offered neither comfort nor advice. The Nomads of the sand sea were much the same, and he knew exactly what these people needed to hear.
"We'll Hunt down the Monster as soon as possible. Once it's dead, the surrounding area should remain relatively safe, at least for a while.
"You'll have time to rebuild your homes and resume gathering. The rainy season has only just begun, so your losses shouldn't be too severe."
Sure enough, hope lit the Village Chief's eyes.
If events unfolded as this Hunter promised, everyone could put in the work and keep their lives going.
As the Village Chief passed the good news along to the other villagers, the mood inside the cave grew noticeably brighter and more animated.
After speaking with him a little longer, Altaïr headed to a corner of the cave.
Clawdia and Sajji were resetting Vari's bones. Sweat poured down Vari's face from the pain, but he gritted his teeth and did not make a sound.
Isis, meanwhile, was examining Lambert's injuries. Lambert was wrapped in so many bandages that she looked rather alarming.
After a careful examination, however, Isis found that Lambert's wounds were not actually serious. Thanks to the Potion, most had already healed. She raised a hand and gave Lambert a resounding smack on the back.
"If you're fine, hurry up and take off those bandages. Aren't you sweltering in them?"
Lambert winced and rolled her shoulder. That slap from Isis had nearly given her a serious injury.
"How do you feel?" Altaïr asked with a smile.
"Not bad."
Lambert tilted her head toward the mountain folk nearby, who were discussing how to rebuild their homes and plan their future gathering trips. "They're actually good people. During the days we spent in the village, they always served us their best food.
"Even after coming here, they only had a few blankets, and they gave every one of them to Vari to lie on. They also changed our bandages every day, even though my wounds were almost healed..."
"Well, look at you, speaking up for other people now." Grinning, Isis poked Lambert's bandaged head. "Back when you first set out, you probably would've shouted, 'I shouldn't have bothered with them!' and stormed off in a huff, right?"
Lambert fell silent for a moment, then muttered, "They may have nothing but gathering mushrooms on their minds, but they're not bad people. Everyone's just trying to make a living."
Isis planted a hand on Lambert's head and rubbed vigorously, making her already disheveled hair even messier. "All right, stop tormenting her." Altaïr laughed as he put an end to Isis's rather rough display of praise, then turned to Lambert. "Tell me about your fight with that Yian Garuga."
Lambert had looked utterly despondent while Isis tousled her hair, but her expression now grew serious. "Something's definitely wrong with that thing. I couldn't beat it--"
"Of course you couldn't. The Guild Manager said it's a Deviant known as 'Deadeye.' The Guild assigned it a 6★ Danger Rating, and there's even a record of it killing a 6★ Hunter. You're lucky you escaped," Isis said reassuringly.
Lambert shook her head with a self-deprecating laugh. "I wouldn't call that escaping. I got completely flattened and hauled away on a Felyne cart."
"At least you held it off. Otherwise, the mountain folk would have had a much harder time retreating safely. A 3★ Hunter holding back a 6★ Monster is an achievement worth bragging about anywhere."
Altaïr smiled, then continued, "All right, down to business. We need detailed information about the surrounding terrain and as much intelligence as you can give us on that 'Deadeye.'"
"Of course." Lambert pulled a heavily annotated map from her pack. "But honestly, if you want to know about the terrain or that Yian Garuga, you should ask Ning-Ning--oh, that's the Felyne who looks like..."
"The Felyne who looks a lot like you, meow?" Sajji chimed in while helping Vari with his bones.
Vari could not suppress a snicker, but the movement tugged at his wounds, and he twitched in pain.
"Stay still, meow!" Clawdia snapped. "If I set your bones wrong, that hand will be ruined, meow!"
Vari quickly shut his mouth.
Lambert unconsciously touched the smoky makeup around one eye. "Anyway, Ning-Ning has been tracking that Yian Garuga. She knows where it nests, the routes it usually takes, and even some of its unusual fighting habits."
"Oh, really? Too bad she left just now. We should've called her over," Isis said regretfully.
"Left?" Lambert raised an eyebrow and called out, "Ning-Ning? Where are you? Come out!"
"How much are you paying, meow?" Half a Felyne face peered down from a narrow crevice in the cave ceiling.
"She's obsessed with money." Lambert looked at Altaïr. "We've already been cleaned out. How much are you willing to pay?"
Before Altaïr could answer, Sajji looked up and snapped, "No money, meow. How about a cannon shell instead, meow?"
At that, Ning-Ning immediately scrambled out of the crevice, landed in front of Sajji, and held out a small paw.
"I want it, meow. Please give me the shell, meow. I'll tell you everything, meow."