As the sun dipped below the horizon, Altaïr's group arrived at a spot on the shore about one or two kilometers from the Lagiacrus nest.
Wielding his Carving Knife, Jara scratched marks into the rock face, mimicking the gashes left by a Lagiacrus's claws.
To human eyes, the claw marks were a rather crude imitation. Any Hunter with a bit of experience could tell the cuts had been made with a blade.
But Monsters would not inspect them that closely. More important than the claw marks themselves were the scents and auras clinging to them.
Once Nymera confirmed which batch of Lagiacrus mucus was the one they needed, they would go over and smear a little onto the marks before the operation began.
While Jara prepared the marks, Altaïr was busy with other tasks.
He took two small bottles meant for Potions, downed the liquid inside like a drink, and after a quick rinse with seawater, stuffed a hand towel into each bottle.
Then, he carefully opened the two bottles of mucus that Clawdia had worked so hard to bring back. He poured a little into each of the two small bottles, letting the mucus soak into the hand towels, and immediately pressed the caps on tight.
The evening sea breeze was strong, so the faint scent leaking from the bottles was quickly scattered, preventing it from drifting toward the Lagiacrus nest.
Altaïr rinsed the outside of the two small Potion bottles in seawater before handing them to Nymera.
"In a bit, take these two small bottles and run to the entrance of the Lagiacrus nest. Open one and wave the hand towel to disperse the scent of the mucus on it. Watch how those two Lagiacrus react.
"Remember, test one at a time. Run as soon as you've tested it. Wait until they've calmed down and returned to their nest before trying the second."
"Understood." Nymera accepted the two small bottles with a serious expression.
Altaïr had already etched corresponding marks onto the Potion bottles and the glass bottles Clawdia had brought back to avoid mixing them up again.
If they got confused one more time, they could forget about getting any sleep tonight.
"Speaking of which, I just remembered something," Jara said, still busy working nearby. "Isn't a Palamute's sense of smell considerably keener than a Felyne's?"
"Woof!"
Hibiki, who was sitting nearby and watching them curiously, gave a short bark, as if to say yes.
"If we'd let Hibiki sniff those two bottles at the very start, wouldn't we have avoided mixing them up?"
Altaïr fell silent.
He took out the two glass bottles containing the mucus again, holding one in each hand, and approached Hibiki. "Take a whiff. Can you tell them apart?"
Hibiki leaned in to sniff. He sneezed as if the scent had irritated him, then nodded his big head.
Altaïr put the two bottles behind his back, swapped them between his hands a few times, and presented them to Hibiki again.
"Which bottle was in my left hand just now?"
Hibiki kept his gaze fixed on Altaïr's left hand.
Altaïr fell silent again. After a few seconds, he sighed. "He really can tell them apart. If only we had let him sniff them first at the very beginning."
"Sigh..." The three of them sighed in unison.
Sometimes people were like that, making one foolish mistake after another.
"Mochi's back." Nymera looked up and whistled toward the darkening sky.
The Cohoot landed on her shoulder with a clear cry, then cooed softly for a moment.
Nymera nodded. "Mochi's already checked the nest. Luck's on our side; both Lagiacrus are there right now. I'm heading out."
With that, she vaulted onto Hibiki's back, gave a shout, and charged off.
Altaïr, Sajji, and Jara continued along the lure path, setting up more traces as they went.
Hibiki was fast. In less than two minutes, he carried Nymera to the vicinity of the Lagiacrus nest.
Before they even reached the entrance, she could smell it from a distance, a rank odor somewhat like the stench of fish.
Clearly, the two Lagiacrus had long since laid down heavy scent markers around the area, proclaiming this seaside cave and its surroundings as their territory.
"First, bottle one." Nymera pulled out a small glass bottle, removed the stopper, and unfolded the hand towel inside, soaked with Lagiacrus mucus. She began waving and shaking it at the mouth of the nest.
Luck was with her. At that very moment, a sea breeze swept in, carrying the scent straight into the cave. In barely ten seconds, the enraged roars of the Lagiacrus erupted from within.
Nymera hastily stuffed the hand towel back into the glass bottle, jammed the stopper tight, hurled it with all her might into the sea, and shattered it against an offshore reef.
"Hibiki! Up the rock face!"
"Woof!"
The ground trembled slightly. With a low growl, Hibiki's limbs surged with power, and he shot up the nearly vertical rock wall with Nymera on his back.
Just seconds after they scaled the cliff, the two massive Lagiacrus burst out of the cave, scanning their surroundings with nervous tension.
One of them leaped forcefully onto the large reef, the one reeking of that unsettling foreign scent, and unleashed a barrage of threatening roars toward the dark ocean.
The other sniffed left and right, then suddenly raised its head, looking up toward the cliff face.
It had caught the scent clinging to Nymera's hands.
Fortunately, Hibiki was fast enough, and the twilight dim enough. He carried Nymera to the top of the cliff before the Lagiacrus could lay eyes on them.
Moving with swift precision, Nymera retrieved the Deodorant she had prepared in advance and crushed it in her hand. The dispersing blue-green mist eliminated the faint traces of scent clinging to her fingers and body.
The sharp-nosed Lagiacrus stared at the top of the rock wall for a few seconds, then finally withdrew its gaze. Together with its mate, it turned toward the sea and roared in defiance.
Atop the cliff, Nymera donned her Ghillie Mantle and carefully lay flat, silently observing everything unfolding at the mouth of the nest.
After the two Lagiacrus raged and roared for a while, the one perched on the reef began to writhe, smearing copious amounts of mucus over the rock to overwrite the foreign scent left on it.
The other one crackled with lightning, spewing several dazzling thunder orbs toward the sea in succession. They illuminated the dark waters in brilliant flashes, but after receiving no response whatsoever, it finally began to calm down.
"RROOOAARR!!"
Letting out a final bellowing roar toward the sea, the two Lagiacrus turned and retreated back into their nest.
The wave-lashed rocky cliff returned to peace, and atop the cliff wall, Nymera finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Judging by the horns of the two Lagiacrus, the one that had leapt onto the reef to roar and had smeared its own mucus over the foreign scent was likely the female. The one that had nearly discovered their presence and hurled thunder orbs into the sea, on the other hand, was the male.
After confirming that both Lagiacrus had returned to their nest and settled down, Nymera deactivated her Ghillie Mantle and sat back down on Hibiki's back.
Hibiki glanced back at her, as if asking when they should test the second sample.
Nymera patted Hibiki's neck. "It seems that won't be necessary. Let's go and regroup with the others."
When Nymera, riding Hibiki, found Altaïr and the others near the small canyon designated as the battlefield, Jara was lying flat on the ground while Altaïr and Sajji struggled to drag him by his feet.
"What... are you doing?" Nymera's face filled with bewilderment.
With no time to answer Nymera's question, Altaïr called for Hibiki to come help. Lying on the ground like a sack, Jara lifted his head and replied:
"Mimicking the drag marks a Lagiacrus leaves when crawling on land. How did things go on your end?"
"...I only tested one type. Both Lagiacrus showed extreme aggression. After I smashed the glass bottle against the reef offshore, the female even jumped onto the reef and covered the scent with her own mucus.
"I believe, at the very least, this type of mucus is unsuitable for use in a luring operation."
"Indeed." Altaïr dropped Jara's thick, stocky legs. "It seems the one you tested came from that ridiculously powerful individual with no interest in mating, a scent marker from a dominant beast."
"Mm. Considering that repeated use of scent will put the target on alert, I believe directly using the other bottle of mucus tomorrow may produce better results.
"Of course, if we want to be absolutely certain, I can go and test the second sample now."
"No need." Altaïr let out a heavy breath. "We've pretty much finished setting up the traces on our side. Let's head back to camp. Tomorrow, the Hunt officially begins!"
(Translated by yourtl.app)