With only Sajji accompanying him, Altaïr had little to prepare. That same afternoon, they boarded the high-speed airship arranged by the Guild and set out for Port Tanzia.
Altaïr had considered asking the Knowledge Seeker to deploy with them and provide comprehensive support for the investigation.
Mobilizing the Knowledge Seeker was not something that could be done in a matter of hours, however. Preparing its personnel, supplies, and equipment would take considerable time.
The investigation had not even officially begun, so there was no reason to commit so many resources yet. It would be better to wait until the initial inquiry produced concrete leads and specific needs, then request targeted assistance.
—--
An emergency high-speed airship flew far faster than an ordinary small airship. After a single day and night of high-speed travel, Altaïr and Sajji were already in the skies above Port Tanzia.
From the air, the damage was impossible to miss.
The main harbor and many coastal buildings had been devastated. The tsunami had hurled vessels of every size ashore, with the farthest stranded hundreds of meters inland.
Giant ocean-going freighters had plowed through the city and come to rest across its streets, while wrecked fishing boats perched askew atop buildings. Everywhere they looked, houses and ships lay tangled together in scenes of surreal destruction.
The pilot circled for a long while before finding a barely suitable landing site where Altaïr and Sajji could disembark.
—--
Once on the ground, Altaïr and Sajji stared at the chaos around them in silence for nearly ten seconds.
Altaïr sighed. "Let's go. First we'll find whoever is in charge of the local Guild, then Isis and the others. After that, we'll decide what to do next."
After asking for directions along the way, they soon found the Tanzia Guildmaster beside a heap of rubble from a collapsed building.
He looked about as old as the mustachioed Guild Master in Loc Lac, old enough to be called "elderly," but nowhere near frail or senile.
Instead, he radiated strength and boldness.
He was bare-chested, revealing a solidly built torso, with a naval greatcoat draped over his shoulders and a naval cap on his head. He looked more like an admiral than a Guildmaster.
At that moment, he was waving his arms and directing a crowd clearing wreckage from the streets, occasionally lending a hand himself.
Altaïr joined in and helped them heave a broken pillar aside. While everyone caught their breath, he introduced himself and Sajji, then explained why they had come.
The Tanzia Guildmaster studied him, nodded, and called someone over to take his place directing the work. He dusted off his hands and said, "I received the Guild's letter. Investigating the source of the earthquake is indeed crucial. The Port Tanzia Guild will do everything in its power to support your operation."
He paused, and a note of helplessness entered his voice. "But as you can see, our current situation is far from ideal. The support we can offer is rather limited."
"What we'll need even more than manpower or supplies is intelligence. Quest reports from the past two years, records of abnormal Sea Beast activity, seismic records, anything along those lines.
"If possible, we'd also appreciate two clerks to help us sort through the reports."
"That's simple enough. The Guild receptionists are already gathering the scattered documents and files. I'll have them assist you." The Tanzia Guildmaster breathed a sigh of relief.
If Altaïr had asked him to organize a dragnet search of some area, he would have faced a real problem. Nearly all available manpower was tied up in the disaster relief effort.
Assigning a few clerks to sift through records, on the other hand, posed no difficulty at all.
Having secured the support he needed, Altaïr asked about his companions.
The Tanzia Guildmaster seized the opportunity to launch into a torrent of praise for Isis and the others. "Those three young ladies have been an enormous help!"
Altaïr said nothing.
In the chaos of the disaster, it was understandable that the elderly Wyverian had not found time to confirm Morgan's actual gender.
"They saved many people. The earthquake and tsunami destroyed many homes, and hundreds of people were buried in the rubble. They had the Palamutes identify which sections held survivors, then sent that pale, oversized rat through the cracks to pinpoint them. After that, the astonishingly strong young lady cleared the rubble faster than any crane and pulled people to safety. Those two Gunner girls led others in guarding the city's perimeter, killing or driving off the Monsters drawn by the smell of blood and corpses. They kept those damned Jaggi and Ludroth from entering the city and causing even more casualties. Once the relief effort is over, we absolutely must reward and thank them properly!"
Altaïr smiled faintly. Knowing Isis and the others, they could never have stood idle in the face of such a calamity.
When several local children learned that Altaïr belonged to Isis's group and was looking for his companions, they eagerly volunteered to guide him.
—--
Altaïr accepted. With the children calling out directions as they picked a path through the wreckage, the group soon found Isis working in another rubble-choked block.
She had wrapped both arms around a thick roof beam nearly half her height and was wrenching it free from the wreckage to carry it to the roadside.
The citizens around her could not match her strength, but they worked like a colony of ants, carrying away bricks and blocks of wood piece by piece.
Isis looked rough. She had traded her cumbersome Kuarusepu Armor Set for simple, lightweight work clothes that allowed her to move more easily.
Her treasured Gunlance, Demon King Tyrant, had been set carelessly to one side. Her clothes were caked with mud and dust, their hems torn, and her filthy, disheveled appearance made her look more like a refugee than the actual refugees around her.
Altaïr called out to her. At the familiar voice, Isis looked up.
Her spirits were clearly low. She did not hurry over with her usual cheerful bounce. Instead, she finished carrying the massive beam to the roadside, then walked over in silence and stopped before Altaïr.
Seeing her like this, Altaïr could roughly guess why she was so subdued.
The first two days after an earthquake were the crucial window for finding survivors. In the days that followed, as the rubble clearing continued, rescuers found fewer survivors and more broken, twisted corpses. With the cries of people mourning their dead echoing around her every minute of every day, even the most carefree person could not force a smile.
"I just dug out two more corpses..." Isis said quietly.
For a moment, Altaïr was silent.
According to the Tanzia Guildmaster, Port Tanzia's confirmed death toll had already exceeded five hundred. Several times that number were seriously injured, and many people remained missing. The toll had not climbed even higher partly because Port Tanzia, a port city frequently struck by typhoons and occasional minor earthquakes, consisted mostly of low-rise buildings. Had the city shared Dundorma's architecture and population density, the casualties would likely have been several times worse.
You did a great job. You did everything you could. You saved so many people...
Altaïr did not offer Isis those words of comfort. He could see in her eyes that they were not what she wanted to hear.
She appeared to have heard the same news from the Tanzia Guildmaster.
"The Guild has determined that this earthquake and tsunami may not have been entirely natural. They may have resulted from... some form of biological activity. The Guild has ordered us to investigate and find the source that triggered these calamities."
"All right." Isis brushed the dust from her clothes several times, then picked up Demon King Tyrant from beside the road.