In a small town like Crescent Cove, word travels quickly, especially when there is a feast involved. Following the felling of two fresh and delicious Bigshells at the hands of Lyne, Eira, and a couple of Blitzballers, culinarians quickly took to taking it upon themselves to make a feast for everyone. Cheers and song rang out into a starry night, dancing across the quiet hush of calm waves meeting the shore. Even Meridia, now recovered enough to move on her own, joined in on the festivities, a final remedy for her emotional slump.

It was at this gathering that the subject of the nearby cliffs was brought up. An old fisherman, perhaps trying to impress the youthful fighters that provided the bountiful base for celebration, told of his glory days diving from great heights into the ocean, harpoon in hand. It had been a popular pastime and method for gathering sea critters to scale the cliffs and leap into the sea below until just a few short years ago.

Eria, intrigued by the notion, questioned the cessation. Why suddenly stop a traditional hunt? She looked at Meridia who simply returned a shrug. The old man piped in, attempting to wrangle the attention he felt he built. “It was a monster! Took to roosting in the cliffs! Don’t let no one up and don’t fear no fishing harpoons!”

Meridia frowned and turned to her father. “Why didn’t you say anything about this?”

“Not going to ask you to-”

“We ain’t got the cash for that!” The old man was standing on his chair now. “Monster hunters ain’t a dime a dozen! The lousy…” he trailed off, realizations of the company that brought him his meal creeping back to the forefront of his mind.

“We can take a look, at least.” Meridia offered. It was said as though it were one, but not in a way a declination would have much meaning.

“For sure!” Lyne chimed in, hands and mouth full of crustacean.

Meridia’s father frowned, weighing the pros and cons of telling his wife, accepting that he would be powerless to protest his daughter’s involvement either way. It would be a long night.

As the embers faded, their orange glow burned into that of the morning sun. Eira, Lyne, and Meridia had already risen and began to scale the cliffs. Looking out into the expanse of water, a gentle salty breeze brushing by, the trio felt a sense of calm.

“Wow! It’s really nice up here! And just imagine all the fish you could catch down there…” purred Lyne.

“Yeah, it’s really nice… I kind of remember coming here when I was young but.. It’s so weird no one told me about the monster.”

Eira gave her best look of concern, but a thud and the beating of wings stopped her before she could speak. Before them, a dodo of unusual size towered, squawking with recognizable fury. It lashed out like lightning, its beak a flurry, smashing ground and rock around as the team scrambled to get back.

Another warning squawk bellowed out from the great bird, but it was ignored as the three armed themselves. Without a thought, Lyne charged forward, readying a punch. The dodo was not caught of guard and even seemed ready, pulling its head back in preparation to skewer the little Miqo’te. As if in anticipation of her hotheaded companion’s actions, Eira had already launched an arrow and before the dodo could spring forth with its counterattack, the arrow collided with its beak, stunning it momentarily.

Lyna looked back at Eira and the two shared a smirk before she returned her attention to what she was doing and delivered a punishing blow to the dodo’s chest. It staggered back, flailing its wings to retain a sense of balance. “Now, Meridia!”

Lyne’s command brought the Hyur’s focus into full. “Right!” She stirred her staff through the air, channeling aether into it, her open hand acting as a guide. Before long, a series of crackles grew to form a cacophony, light frantically jutting around at the tip of her staff. The dodo was just regaining itself as Meridia unleashed her spell, a spear of lightning closing the gap at unimaginable speed. Hit hard in the shoulder, the dodo was slammed back into a rock wall then fell to the ground.

Knowing the pressure would have to be kept up, Eira fired another arrow. However, the ferocity of Meridia’s attack was not something she had taken into account and the arrow missed its mark, passing the dodo and flinging into the sky.

Lyne had the same thought but was able to adjust her approach. With a loud crunch, her fist connected with the dodo’s head, the feel of bone pushing into the rugged terrain ran up her arm. Leaving it in place a moment, she pulled it back, massaging her shoulder, once she was confident the dodo would not move again.

With a wide grin, Lyne jogged back to her cohorts. “We did it!” Eira’s toothy smile quickly became a laugh and even Meridia’s face showed signs of joy.

“Thank you both,” Meridia finally let out. “I needed this. A lot… But I think I’m ready to go back now.”

Eira’s hand clapping Meridia’s shoulder shook her, but the friendly warmth of it made it a welcome gesture. Lyne jumped into the air, typical of her excitable personality. “That’s great! Let’s drag this thing-” as she turned, she stopped speaking. The dodo was gone, seeming to have rolled off the cliff. “Oh well.. I guess two nights of crab could be worse.” Laughing and enjoying their newly revitalized state, the hunters headed down the cliffs and back to Crescent Cove.