The Erotic Monster Hunter RP

[Kaybee]

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Seated on the edge of the great desert, the port town of Val Habar thrives on trade and commerce. Sandships arrive from the desert, bringing goods and travellers from distant lands while caravans make their way to and from the more inland areas of the continent, creating a steady rhythm of trade that does not simply sustain this city but allows it to thrive in a way few others do!

Hunters and Huntresses frequent this place, younger and less experienced ones looking inland to where they can roam the Ancestral Steppes and the outer edges of the Everwood while slightly more experienced ones seek to ride with a caravan to range deeper inland to the Primal Forests surrounding the massive and thought-to-be-long-extinct Volcano known as Sunken Hollow

The marketplace makes up much of the town and borders the port, making it the first place any new arrival will reach. The great bulk of the Hunter's Guild Hall with its massive monster-repelling gong towers over the space, providing a fixed point of reference no matter where you might stand. For hunters in particular, a noticeboard is set up next to the hall, with an attendant guildswoman waiting to greet hunters and to keep them appraised of current requests and bounties posted for monsters in hunting grounds across the continent.

[u

Currently Available Hunting Jobs[/u]]

Gatherers Wanted!
Hunter with a little time on your hands or looking for a chance to get some extra Pokke?
To any hunters returning from local hunting grounds, the hunter's guild is currently purchasing:
Sushifish, Kelbi Horns, Sulfur Crystals, Unique Mushrooms.


Current Monster Alerts
Kecha Wacha (Female) sighted in the Ancestral Steppes:
Hunters are currently advised to be on the lookout for a female Kecha sighted in the Steppes. While she does not appear to have settled there, she may threaten caravan routes if she does. Hunters willing to attempt to drive her away from the city can sign up with a local Guildswoman.

Seltas males sighted in Ancestral Steppes:
Hunters are currently needed to suppress the local Seltas population in order to minimize the presence of the dangerous Seltas Queens in the coming months by capturing or killing local instances of the insects. Help keep Val Habar's hunting grounds safe!

Basarios sign sighted in Everwood:
Signs of a Basarios have been spotted on the deeper verge of the Everwood Hunting Grounds, low-rank hunters are advised to be wary of this monster, for we have no specific information on it's exact location, Gender, or Status at present, and thus it may appear without warning!

Rare Monster Sighting in Everwood:
Confirmed sightings of the rare 'Yian Kut-Ku' have been made in Everwood lately. Guild researchers are prepared to pay considerable reward for the capture of this monster! No payment will be offered for slain specimens.

Gendrome Pack Leader wanted:
A Gendrome female has been sighted leading a pack of Genprey in Sunken Hollow, The Guild is offering rewards for the death or capture of this monster by any hunters in the area!

DANGER:
A highly dangerous Gypceros has last been seen moving in the direction of Sunken Hollow. Any hunters making their way in that direction are advised to be highly cautious of its presence! Keep Antidotes stocked and to hand in case of contact with the beast!

To the north, a massive sea of caravan wagons sit, transient merchants sell their wares to passers-by and a steady roar of chatter rises between the rumble of wagons folding up to leave or unfolding as they arrive. To the south, the more static elements of Val Habar rest, a massive smithy district rests at the edge of town and caters to every sort of material imaginable from metal to bones to monster parts. At the inland edge of that, traders circulate to and from the caravans, working by commission to find what their customers want. Finally, inns and temporary lodgings are dotted all around the square, some catering to hunters while some cater to simpler folk passing through for business, pleasure, or both.

Being the busy town that it is Val Habar does had a less public side to it hidden behind it's colorful tapestry of shops and tradeposts. Every port has its red lantern district, and in such a cosmopolitan port it should come as no surprise that the less savoury elements of city life are as varied as their more savoury counterparts. Disreputable Bars and Brothels of all sorts make lucrative trade as long as they stay out of the eye of the common public and if you listen closely you might even hear a rumor that a willing down-on-their-luck hunter or huntress might be able to find a job or two in there instead of out hunting for the guild...

Of course, if you listen even closer, you might hear that a hidden pleasure palace will let you spend a night with a monster woman, but that's nothing but hearsay. Right..?

 

[Silverknight]

Into this great port town, Kaze walked, his eyes looking at the various colors and interesting things that could catch the normal person's eyes. He was not normal, he was here for a reason one reason alone. That was to make a name for himself as a hunter. He walked down the streets heading towards the market place where he had heard the jobs were posted. He looked at the places and the people waving to one or two calmly as he walked. He was wearing, a dark brown robe that hide his clothes under it as he walked, his grayish blue eyes scanning the area, as the dark haired archer could tell quickly where the guild hall was, and where the rest of the market happened to be as well. He had his bow over his shoulder easy to see, as well as his quiver of arrows, and his bag of supplies on his back as well. He looked at a woman who seemed to be announcing things and walked closer to her listening closer to her words as he walked towards her.

He walked up to the board as he looked over the jobs, his eyes going over the list of jobs for a good moment reading over everything, reading over the list he could tell there was a number of possible jobs that he could take. His eyes looked over the list for a long moment before he decided to go after the first one himself, to go after the Kecha and earn some credit for taking such a thing down. He smiled as he fixed his bow and then looked at a map that he pulled out of his bag. He looked at it reading the information for a good moment before he headed towards the the path, he would leave town as fast as he could so that he could head to the steppes once, there he would hunt down this Kecha and either kill her or just drive her away, what ever happened happened. He was confident his first mission would be a success and he would be able to win some fame from it as well as some money and start a rep in the area for himself.

 

[Azecreth]

Alistair strode around the city of Val Habar with more than a bit of awe, doing his best to ignore the trappings and nuisances of the desert nearby to simply enjoy this place. It was a massive port, a center of the caravan routes that crossed the desert and led to incredible chances for riches and prosperity. Nonetheless he couldn't help but compare it to where he had come from, and even to that extent it was still impressive. That particularly could be made up by the sheer exoticness of it, the masses of people and goods that flowed from places distance through here, as opposed to a simple capital city and place of administration. He had the feeling that it would take some getting used to, but it seemed to suit his needs just fine.

Yes, that was right. No simple guardsman was he anymore. Instead he was a hunter, a vital occupation that dealt with the various monsters that threatened the land. It was not what he had been expecting to do when he had begun, but that was how fate had turned things. There were some regrets, but he would not let that deter him as he moved on. He would return eventually, he was sure of it. For now he knew what he would do, and he was ready to do it as he felt the familiar weight of Dual Blades, and the heat from this location combined with his chainmail armor. Yes, he was ready.

Having arrived with one of the latest of the many caravans that had arrived at the city, he made his way through the marketplace towards the guild hall, a matter of courtesy if nothing else. This was the place he would find jobs and get to know the other Hunters that operated in this area. As a former Guardsman, he could certainly understand the idea of responsibility and division of labor. He would not want to cause conflict by infringing where he didn't belong.

At last arriving, he saw that he was hardly the only person here, as expected. But posted out front there was what he expected, an attendant to greet people and a noticeboard right beside her that had requests listed upon it. "Hello," he said with a smile and a nod of his head to the attendant as he looked over the various requests posted. The top would be one to keep note of all the time really, an easy request that would only require being observant. He wouldn't base an expedition off of it, but he could certainly spare the time to look for gathering things.

Then there was the one that caught his eye. It certainly wasn't as impressive, as say, driving a monster away from caravan routes, but the mention of a rare monster was definitely interesting. And even if he didn't succeed, the fist gathering mission still basically ensured that something would come of it. As such, he was willing to put his effort to catching the Yian Kut-ku that was mentioned.

Well, he didn't think he was in need of supplies at this point, though he supposed that some rope might be useful. After inquiring with the attendant, he would go off to make that purchase before heading towards the Everwood and the area where the monster had been sighted. It seemed that it was time to get going.

 

[DuxT]

Sonya stepped off one of the many, many Sandships, docked at the port town. As the other passengers filed off, heading into the town, Sonya took a moment to stand and look over Val Habar. Here she would have a fresh start, away from the money and influence of her family. Here with nothing but a basic sword, armour and supplies, she'd make a name for herself. Sure she could of taken one of the many more exotic blades in her families collection, same for armour. But she wanted to prove herself the best from scratch, with no assistance make a name for herself. So with that thought it mind, the young huntress began walking.

It wasn't long before she reached the Guild, walking up to the Message Board. Giving a curt nod to the attendant, she focused her attention to the board. She wasn't the only one here, seeing a couple of men already looking. She paid them no mind right now though, more interested in proving herself than making a team. So, seeing the Seltas mission, she figured she'd start simple. The insects couldn't be that bad and would give the girl a good chance to break herself in.

So, Sonya took the mission, heading out of the Guild. She already had enough basic supplies to last her, so she wasn't concerned about stopping. Instead she made her way out of town, heading to the Ancestral Steppes. She took her time walking, in no rush to find the hive right now. She'd rather take it slow than run head first into an ambush. Although she was still very much seeking said ambush to begin with.

 

[Kaybee]

The Guildswoman was dealing with hunters and huntresses as they approached, taking mission requests as they came and handing out little stamped-wood tokens with complex symbols inscribed on them which would grant their holders passage on guild caravans to the regions considered hunting grounds where the monsters had been sighted. One by one, Sonya, Kaze, and Alistair approached, and while the guildswoman gave Sonya and Kaze cautionary advice regarding acquisition of slightly better armour for proper hunts she gave them the tickets they needed all the same.

The Caravan was leaving within the hour, and so while all three of them had some time to explore the city if they wished, it was not long before they found themselves whisked away to their destinations on the same caravan, which did circuits from the Ancestral Steppe Hunter's camp and the Everwood Hunter's camp before returning to Val Habar, giving all of the hunters a chance to talk amongst themselves as they set out on their quests.


[The Ancestral Steppes]
The encampment bordering The Ancestral Steppes was one of the largest camps in the nation and thus it was somewhat shocking to new-come hunters to see how small 'the largest' actually was. A handful of shelters that are pitched year round to house hunters transiting in or out of the area or shelter wounded hunters while they recover. A dozen or so of the small cat-like monsters known as Felynes wandering between, keeping everything in good shape between practicing their own combat training. It is very rare for the little creatures to have the strength necessary to fight a monster as a hunter does, but they are more than capable of holding one at bay to rescue a hunter or huntress from its claws or clutches, a duty many of them often find themselves called to.

The camp rests in a stead of trees jutting from the far eastern reaches of the Everwood, and a stream flows along it's southern edge, providing cool and fast-flowing clean water for those resting in the camp as well as easily marking the path that would lead hunters and huntresses out into the steppes proper. Beyond the trees, a short strip of rocky grasslands mark the beginning of the steppes, steadily sloping upwards into a series of massive canyons and valleys between cliffs where the broad strip splits into dozens of little rocky paths. The height of it all looks daunting from the entrance, but the cliffs are surprisingly climbable, with dozens of easy handholds and footholds for an aspiring hunter or huntress to navigate by.

From here, Kaze and Sonya could travel together or apart. Kecha were native more to everwood than the steppes, and so would likely stick close to it's border in most cases, while Seltas males were often found roaming the cliffs in the central regions of the hunting ground. The two of them were unlikely to find their prey in the same places...[/spoiler]


[The Everwood]
The Everwood camp consists of a simple pair of shelters -more tents than anything- and a cadre of a mere half-dozen felynes attending to the area. Unlike the Steppes where the camp is on the edge of a broadly defined hunting ground, the everwood consistst of dozens of constantly splitting and re-merging paths that run through the area, and is thus far less mapped due to it's complexity. The Felynes are more than willing to point Alistair towards where the Kut-ku was last spotted, a path that seems shaded by massive stones as much as trees and what look like they could be ancient ruins, but beyond that, they promise only to help as they typically assist hunters, following and aiding to keep them from getting too-badly hurt in case a hunt goes bad.

"Watch out for the Kut-Ku's fire nya." One of the little cats advises sagely. "And keep an eye out for Melynx, they'll rob you blind the minute you turn your tail if you're not careful."

 

[khan]

Ahhh, Mirria finally reached the port town after a long voyage, perhaps she didn't had the most noble of the motivations and she wasn't either to prove herself or to build herself a reputation but as most of the hunters around she was here mostly for the money and Tol War sure was a great place for that, dangerous as it could be it was the top choice she had now. Without any experience at hunting at all she thought it would be a good idea first to walk around town and gather as much information as she could, listening to rumors and gossips around the streets as well as checking the posted requests, her long weapon sure drew a bit of attention towards her among the crowd but not too much either as hunters were something really common in town.

She was told how to reach the hunters guild and it was there where she headed immediately.

"Uhm that elusive Kecha Wacha sounds like a good choice for starters but so did the capture of the Yian Kut Ku, I sure would get a significant amount of money for that" After pondering it for a while Mirria decided to go atfer the Yian Kut Ku, whatever that might be, so she asked for bit more of information on the creature and the about any further details of the quest and then she went to the market to stock her up on whatever she would need.

 

[Azecreth]

The trip to the Everwoods wasn't that far, all told, and soon Alistair was at his destination, surrounded by trees and standing amidst the tents that made up the camp for the Hunters Guild here. There had to be no more than a half dozen people working here, which he was frankly quite surprised by, given the sheer number of caravans and travelers that he had seen in the city proper. But he supposed that it was reasonable, since this wasn't a major transit route for the city. The majority of their resources were probably devoted somewhere else, for now if not constantly.

Fortunately, a bit of asking took him to the path that he needed to follow. It was shaded by stones and looked like it went through some ancient ruins of some kind, but beyond that it was as shrouded in mystery and danger as any other path that he could have taken in this forest. There would definitely need to be some searching if he was to find what he was looking for, that was for sure.

At the same time, he accepted the advice that he was given with a grateful nod, aware that as a newcomer, any information that they could give him for his eventual success would definitely be useful. 'Thank you," he replied once Felyne had finished informing him of things to be wary of. "I'll keep that in mind, and keep an eye out just in case." The fact that it apparently had the ability to use fire was less than pleasant, making him wish that he had a shield at the moment to try and ward things like flames away. Without it though, he would just have to be quick on his feet and do the best he could. He certainly wasn't going to back down because of the possibility.

Well, with information gathered, path pointed out, and all supplies ready, there was no point in delaying here longer than he had to. He would do one last check to ensure that he was prepared before departing down the mentioned path, aware of his surroundings as he headed into the wild woods. Time to see if he could find what he was looking for, or anything at all for that matter.

 

[Kaybee]

[Val Habar]

Stares were not rare, but neither were they particularly frequent either, and Mirria approached the guild she found less and less people so much as looked at her twice, though a few hunters gave her an odd -almost searching- look. What they were looking for? Mirria couldn't tell, but none of them seemed willing to approach her over it, so she could suppose for the moment at least that it was nothing, or at least nothing important...

"Oh!" The Guildswoman seemed a bit startled at the request for information. "I just had a hunter by a few minutes ago who wanted to take that hunt, he's already on the way I'm afraid, but if you hurry you should be able to catch up at the campground. I hope you already had everything prepared..." She winced as she looked Mirria over properly, seeing no pack or preparations, but she handed her a pair of caravan tokens anyways. "Well, make sure to get some traps and some tranquilizers before you go, and don't forget to bring some potions and food!" She motioned towards the guild hall, outside of which stood a low stand festooned with all manner of hunting equipment, a vendor's hut of some sort clearly. "Hurry along now! Guild supplies should be able to get you everything you need, I'll see if I can't hurry along a new caravan to take you out there!"

Hunts in the Everwood could take some time due to the maze-like nature of the grounds, Mirria might be late to the party, but she would probably still have a chance if she could move really quickly...


[Everwood]

It was not entirely a surprise that the Everwood camp was small. While the everwood was a close ground to Val Habar, caravans heading through the wood often brought their hunters with them directly, and outside of caravan protection hunts in the Everwood were considerably more rare than those through the Ancestral Steppes, and the camp was proportionally smaller as a result.

As Alistair made his way past the borders of the camp and into the shaded ruins, the path twisted and turned under his feet, and even when he would swear he had gone no more than a dozen paces he could no longer see the camp behind him were he to look back. The path was right there of course, and it would be easy to follow, but as he pressed on, the path began to split, and the only way to keep his direction straight was to keep an eye on the position of the sun as noon moved towards afternoon and keep his direction consistent.

Ruins gave way to a clearing, a mossy canyon and a handful of caves at it's bottom as well as a tangled canopy of vines along which a handful of humanoid and inhuman figures moved. Yellow scales, larger and tougher on the more obviously reptilian males, smaller but no less defensible on the slender humanoid figures of the females. A pack of Genprey, distant and more dangerous cousins to the common Jaggi with the same sort of reptilian appearance but the additional evolution of organs that could produce nasty electric shocks from their claws or fangs that could even paralyze an unlucky hunter or huntress.

Alistair could wait a while, for them to move away or at least move down from the canopy that he might sneak by over their heads, but as he watched, others began to emerge from the caves closer to the valley floor, and he realized that this canyon was not in the pack's path as well as his own so much as it was home to the pack itself, which meant that at least one or two of the Pack Leaders known as Gendromes could easily be around... It would be a fight to get by if even one of them spotted him.

He could go around of course, though he would lose time and possibly direction in doing so, Alistair could try to sneak by the pack, or even fight his way through if he thought himself up to the task...

 

[Silverknight]

Kaze walked into the small camp, he kept his eyes open as he walked though, talking to a person or two about general information about what happened to be around himself. He wanted to know so that he could plan his next move. He found out the general direction of the Kecha, and he knew then where he was going to go. He did notice a number of other hunters who happened to be in the area. He didn't talk to them at this time though as he had his own goals, and his main goal like so many others was to prove himself to be a great hunter or a good one at least. He would have to complete this mission to work towards showing himself to being a good hunter. He wanted this a great deal as in his mind it was the first step into becoming a great hunter, but like everything he had to move one step at a time. He had to take this challenge seriously and focus on success.

Kaze kept his stuff together as he headed towards the everwood border, knowing that he would find the tracks or any sign of the Kecha being out of the area. He would fine the ones that were causing the problems and work to solving the problem. Then he could also look for other things to use as far as supplies for later on, and he knew that the mission would pay, and he would use that money to increase the quality of his supplies as well too. He followed the natural path that he founded headed towards the board, his eyes always open looking for a sign of anything that might be a tell tell of the creature that he was going out to drive out of the area. He took his bow of his shoulder and was in his hand as he walked so that he could use it far faster if the need came about.

 

[DuxT]

Sonya had to stop a moment as she beheld the camp, this was one of the regions largest camps? Seeing just how small and pathetic it was, really hammered in how far from home to girl was. Shaking her head she began to walk again, heading into the camp her eyes scanned her surroundings. She saw many hunters about the place, most moving in, out and around the camp, a fair few stopped to rest up though. She began with them, asking around camp for where she'd find her quarry, seeking to make this quick.

With a destination sorted, Sonya made her way out of the camp, fairly swiftly. Heading deeper into the hunting grounds, she made for the cliffs. As she got closer she drew her blade at this point, slowing down. She was wary of ambushes, especially the closer she got to potential nests. Course she had no idea how close to a nest she was, just electing for general caution.

 

[Azecreth]

Alistair embarked on the path that he had selected with a confident gait, not devoting his full effort to tracking down the Kut-ku just yet, given how close he was to the camp. It would be silly for it to be lurking this close. Nonetheless he was taken off guard by how rapidly the camp seemed to vanish once he had walked a bit away, leaving him in virgin wilderness then. It was unexpected, and he glanced back before turning forward. No way to go but forward then, even as he made himself a mental note of the camp and how to get back.

Moving on, the paths began to split, leading to a dizzy array of options and possible ways to move on forward, and the only way that he could keep track was to follow the sky itself and he sun burning overhead, leading him in general directions. Soon enough he exited the forest and the ruins to a canyon and caves as part of a larger clearing, with a canopy of vines overhead. He crouched and took cover to keep from being spotted, even as he assessed the situation.

Genprey, not the nicest thing to see. He knew about their electrical ability which would prove more than a bit of a nuisance to him, especially as he came to the worrying realization that there was more than one pack here, and the possibility of multiple Gendromes to deal with. That was the sort of thing he wasn't equipped for at the moment, so he'd prefer to avoid it if he could. For now though he decided to wait, to observe them and look for a good opportunity to sneak past. Going the long way would risk him getting horribly lost, but he wasn't about to charge through there like an idiot. For now, discretion was the better part of valor.

 

[Kaybee]

[The Ancestral Steppes - Everwood Border]

As Kaze wove his way through the rocky half-jungle of the the border between the steppes and Everwood he began to hear the movements. At first he could dismiss them as the trees and vines overhead rustling in the occasional winds but they came too irregularly, never quite in sync with their apparent cause.

No clear target presented itself though, even as Kaze warily delved deeper into the area. A sudden crackle of branches and a shower of tumbling leaves in one place, a lithe figure moving in the shadows out of the corner of his eye, a blur of motion amidst the canopy overhead, glimpses here and there, but nothing concrete.

Silence... For a long moment.

Then the lunge, giving Kaze his first good look at the monster girl as she swung in towards him. Like most monster girls, she was largely humanoid, with patches of rusty orange-red fur decorating much of her body, though it did little to disguise taut muscles that moved beneath her skin or lend any modesty to her uncovered breasts. Her fingers were tipped in viciously pointed claws, clearly demonstrating her monstrous nature, and her face was covered by what appeared to be a brightly coloured mask, with two massive yellow almost insectoid-looking eyes on it, while it concealed the rest of her face.

She flung herself at Kaze, swinging in from above and bringing both gravity and momentum to bear as she shot towards him, claws raised for a powerful slash!


[The Ancestral Steppes - Step Cliffs]

The cliffs that gave the steppes their name were a series of massive rises, much like stairs made for a being of unimaginable size. Great walls led to long ledges that led to other great walls, slowly ascending the mountain in a series of relatively simple rock faces. Or at least, they would be simple if so many monsters did not call the area their home. Even the easiest climb could be made incredibly dangerous with the introduction of hostile wildlife...

Reaching the base of the cliff, Sonya could hear a low hum of massive insectoid wings overhead, and knew that the Seltas must be close. The enormous bugs tended to stay relatively close to the ground to search for food with their massive compound eyes, which meant that the sound was probably coming from the next ledge up, or perhaps the one after that. She would need to climb up and hope the Seltas would be looking the other way when she poked her head over, or she would need to hope the monster would come down here. Perhaps she could draw it's attention somehow?


[Everwood]

Alistair spent some time waiting and fortunately the Gendrome did not appear while he waited, but eventually he began to discern something resembling a way to sneak by. The canopy of vines was utterly out of the question as several Genprey and Genprey girls lay atop it, apparently sunning themselves in the mid-afternoon warmth. The heat would make them more lethargic given their reptilian nature, but there were close to a dozen up there at any one time, perhaps more, probably too many for him to evade them all, though there was a decent chance...

The second option was sticking to the cliff edge, where he had little-to-no cover from any eyes on the valley floor but could move most freely compared to the other options...

That left the valley floor, which had it's own dangers given that most of the caves opened into it. The moss would muffle his footsteps and there was cover from sight in the form of fallen stones and trailing mounds of underbrush and vines. It was a safer attempt, but it was also more dangerous, since if he was spotted, he would have the pack surrounding him not just from all potential sides on the ground but also able to descend upon him from above thanks to the canopy.

There were risks either way, but if Alistair was bound and determined to sneak through the valley, these were the only real options...

 

[DuxT]

Sonya looked up the cliff face, stopping before it. She could hear them, the buzzing of their wings, this was the right place for sure. Although she could hear them, she had the problem of actually fighting them. Not only did these things have the home field advantage, they also had the skies. The young huntress, though inexperienced, knew that climbing up to meet them in their burrows would be foolish. Even if they didn't attack her on the climb up, they knew their lairs far better than her.

After a short time thinking on it, she eventually came to the conclusion to just draw them out. So Sonya's sight returned to the ground, looking about her feet. What she looked for could not be hard to find around here, simply looking for a rock. In a place like this rocks were bound to be plentiful so she wasn't concerned about not finding such a thing. When Sonya had said rock, she looked up again, throwing it right at the ledge she thought she heard the buzzing. Should that note invite a response, she repeats this against the ledge above that one, hoping the noise and impact would draw one of these things out.

 

[frightorflight]

Dust slowly blinked his eyes awake. He wasn't really sure where he was or how he had got there. He remembered being on a ship. He also remembered a lot of strong drink. Apparently someone had decided to put him off some place.

Where ever this place was. He checked to make sure he still had everything. Both bodily and otherwise. It was amazing the types of things people would steel. Some might steal the eyes out of your sockets just because they liked the color. We went over his mental list of what he had attached to him and unattached from last he remembered. All there. Well since he was in town he would have to find some work. First though, a bar. The first when he stumbled across he wondered into he waled up to the bar and slapped it.
"Hit me," he said to the bartender.

 

[Kaybee]

[The Ancestral Steppes - Step Cliffs]

The first stone arced up, and clattered to the ground atop the ledge, out of Sonya's sight. Almost immediately a snarl of buzzing announced a reaction, and a sudden screech of what could only be claws meeting stone told that the Seltas had at the very least caught sight of the thrown rock. The buzzing continued, pulsing in frantic motions, and Sonya could imagine the massive insect twisting this way and that, searching for what had caused the flash of movement.

Slowly, the sounds grew louder, as the Seltas searched across the ledge. The insect believed it must have seen and just missed some small animal or something, and was searching to see if it was still around but as it drew close to the edge it grew aware of the more pressing concern that was the infringement of it's hunting grounds by a human, and while it had not faced a human and lived to learn of them, it had seen and heard that such creatures could be fearsome predators.

Determined to defend its hunting grounds, the Seltas gave a chittering cry and launched itself downwards at Sonya! Charging with it's horn lowered and ready to strike her!


[The Port of Val Habar]

The bar was relatively quiet, and Dust found he drew surprisingly few stares as he stepped inside and made his way towards the counter. "Hair of the dog eh?" The Bartender replied cheerfully. "What did ye kill to be celebrating so hard last night then? You look like a Rathalos decided t'use you fer a chew toy."

 

[DuxT]

Sonya gave a slight smile as she heard the beast screech, she got its attention alright. She returned both hands to the hilt of her sword, taking a deep breath. This was her first taste of real combat and she would not screw it up! Spreading her legs, the girl took a stance, holding her blade up as her eyes locked towards the source of the sound. It wasn't long before her eyes beheld the giant insect, nor did it take the beast long to see her. Sonya attempted no deception or ambush, she wanted a straight one on one fight to prove herself and that's what she was about to get.

When the beast launched at her, Sonya had plenty of time to prepare her next move. So she waited, kept her ground as the thing closed the distance rapidly. Then, timing her step for when it was almost atop her, she quickly sidestepped away, brining her sword in to swing at the passing monster. Her movement was much like a dance, her technique revolving around finesse and timing. Of course she was aware the beast wasn't going to telegraph all its attacks like that, nor was she foolish enough to think her first strike would kill the beast. So she quickly turned to face her foe again, sword held before her.

 

[Silverknight]

Kaze heard the sounds of the woman as she closed in on him. She was way to fast for him to use his bow in the way that it was normally used, he would have to adjust and work this situation out on the fly. He didn't have time to adjust, he threw his bow up to block the claws of this female as she came falling towards him, falling backwards he let himself fall as he hit the ground he rolled backwards and ended up rising his legs up high to force her off him and he came to his feet, a moment later looking at the yellow eyes of the female foe that he had been sent to force off out of this area. He didn't have time to think it was now just about reacting and moving, he had to move, he knew it to well, he had to move away, give himself space as he had been found first which wasn't a great situation for him to be in.

He ran away from the woman, he was glad he went with a strong bow, but he knew that even that wouldn't take many hits before it broke, he ran away from her as he grabbed an arrow, moving away from her as he listened to the sound of her footsteps, he would have to get away far enough or stay away long enough to string up a arrow upon his bow and then fire it. It would be really all that he could do to defeat this woman, or at least slow her down. As he ran he got the arrowed stringed up very quickly, as he finished stringing up the arrow, he turned and almost dove right as he figured the female would be after him, and fired the arrow at the female.

 

[Kaybee]

[The Ancestral Steppes - Step Cliffs]

The Seltas' horn bit into the rock with a scream of splitting stone as Sonya sidestepped the assault and her sword struck it's exoskeleton with a ringing hum of chitin and blade's edge meeting in a long pass. The creature was moving too fast and the strike was too shallow to pierce through the tough shell but the blade was sharp enough that it carved a line in the chitinous material and vibrated almost painfully in Sonya's hand until the insect was away.

It whirled, charging again, a faster and shallower dive that skimmed low to the ground before pulling up into a sudden stop as Sonya evaded. The bug turned again and up close Sonya realized that on it's legs it stood easily half again as tall as her, perhaps more, but she had no time to truly process that fact as it lashed out with it's sharp forelimbs that hummed of their own accord as they scythed the air in front of the Seltas before it leaped back and it's abdomen curled up from beneath it's hovering form, pulsing as the creature fired some sort of green-blue liquid at Sonya with surprising force!


[The Ancestral Steppes - Everwood Border]

Monster Girl and Hunter met in an explosion of leaves as she knocked him to the ground, her claws managing to strike a couple chips from the material of his bow before he twisted and managed to throw her off.

Kaze pulled himself to his feet, and the monster girl rolled, twisting to face him as he managed to nock his arrow. For a curious moment she didn't react, but as soon as the heavy sound of bowstring snapping taught sounded she leapt, and Kaze realized as he turned to run again that her reaction had coincided with the sound. As long as that mask was on her face, she must be at least partially blind!

He ducked behind a tree trunk, and though he tried to follow the footsteps as the Kecha girl moved those vanished to be replaced by rustling in a matter of seconds, a chaos of sound that confused the senses until he realized that she must be swinging through the trees again! With that in mind, his bow was aimed high when he spun around the corner, and though the arrow did not catch the Monster girl full on as Kaze had hope, it did pierce her 'mask', prompting a rather undignified sound from her as her diving attack turned into a half scrabble and rather than landing claws-first she struck him with considerably less coordination, landing heavily on her back on top of him!

 

[Silverknight]

He was surprised at how fast and agile that Monster Girl happened to be, she was most impressive, she was as dangerous as they got, and all, but he knew that this was a real challenge. He noticed that the female seemed to be using the sound to help her move about and was unable to do much with a lot of noise, a fact that he was going to of course have to remember. He had fired off the arrow at the female as it hit the mask, he knew that it wouldn't be fatal or near fatal, maybe though it would mess up the sense of direction that the monstergirl happened to have on him. He didn't have much time to react, as he was hit right in the chest by the female knocking him to the ground, on his back as well. It also knocked the air out of him for a moment as he felt the weight of the monster girl.

"Damn, your heavy, if you could only communicate, you aren't wanted here, this is the damn wrong region," he commented as he grabbed her arms and tried to roll out from under her, he knew that once she came to, she would be deadly and he would be in a bad spot, he knew that if she turned around, she might as well finish his career as a hunter rather quickly. He looked for hia arrow which was knocked away from him as he hit the ground, as well as his arrows which happened to spilled out as well, he could get to them, he would grab one of the arrows and his bow and take his chances but first it was needed to get to his feet. He would perhaps be able to hum or sing to throw off the female if she were to come at him again.

 

[DuxT]

The vibration of her sword nearly made Sonya drop it, however she knew better. She'd always been taught that losing your sword was fatal in a real encounter and sought not to make such a mistake. So she held on and took time to recover as the insect crashed into the rock. She could see her first strike barely did anything, it too shallow to wound the beast. She'd have to go for deeper cuts or lunges to get past this thing.

As it charged again, Sonya evaded like before, bringing her sword round for another cut. What she did not expect however was it to stop on a dime and turn to face her. Cutting her strike short, she brought her sword up in time to block the legs of the giant bug. She moved quick to block each strike the Setlas made, only barely parrying the strength of it. However this left her no time for its next strike. Leaping back with lightning speed, the insect shot at her while she still recovered. Sonya attempted to leap to the side, but found her self sprawled across the ground as the blue liquid knocked her down. She attempted to get back up and guard quickly, if the liquid did not prevent her in some way.

 

[Kaybee]

[The Ancestral Steppes - Everwood Border]

The Monster girl tried to roll and gave a muffled noise of surprise as Kaze kicked her away with an impressive effort of strength. She didn't go far and landed with less coordination than usual, but as she rose to that wary half-crouch again and turned back towards the hunter her 'mask' parted, the two halves of it perching atop her head -as he realized that they were in fact her ears- revealing slit-pupil golden eyes that glittered as they regarded him. She could definitely see him, but her massive ears were exposed now, and he'd heard of devices appropriately known as 'sonic bomb' used to harass sound-sensitive monsters and monstergirls...

The question was, had he thought to bring any with him?

He'd have to move fast though, as while Kaze began to scramble for his arrows, the Kecha advanced on him, moving just fast enough to menace, her golden eyes seemingly unblinking as she regarded his struggle, a feral grin tugging at her lips as she prepared to pounce.


[The Ancestral Steppes - Step Cliffs]

The liquid shot out with enough force to knock Sonya on her ass, but it wasn't until she'd half scrambled to her feet that she realized the real danger of the stuff as she caught a powerful scent rising from her wet armour. Her head spin and a creeping lethargy seemed to settle over her, as though she just wanted to lie down...

Adrenaline would drive the feeling back in a moment, but the substance was a mild soporific, and she would need to be careful about breathing in any more of it lest it render her helpless...

 

[frightorflight]

"Last night, a few nights ago, who knows." He searched his pockets and found a few coins. He tossed them on the table and drained what the bartender produced. Now that he was awake, and his thirst slated. He needed a way to make money so he could buy more food and drink. "My good man. I can promise you that I will be coming back here, and spending a lot more coin, I just have to earn it first. I don't suppose you know anyone who is hiring? I don't much care what the work is as long as it pays, and it pays what it promises in copper, silver, or gold." He never accepting payment of any other kind. It was coin, or a sword through your throat. No woman, no booze, no favors, coin. He didn't too much care what the work was as long as it was good and it paid.

 

[DuxT]

Sonya shook her head, clearing the drowsiness as best she could. Didn't take a genius to figure what was causing it, though her options were limited. The best for getting away from the stuff, was also the worst in combat and that would be throwing her armour off. However the insect certainly wasn't going to sit by and let her do it, so that was out of the question, not even considering the downsides of not wearing half her armour in a fight.

So the woman made her choice, leaving it on. She slowed her breathing though, doing her best to not breath in too much of the stuff. Trying to end this quickly, Sonya raised her blade, narrowing her eyes at the Insect. She took the offensive, running forward at the beast, closing the gap so it couldn't get a good charge off, or shoot her with more of the liquid. When she was close, the swordswoman lunged at the thing, seeking to pierce its armoured hide with the tip of her blade.

 

[Silverknight]

Kaze went to his arrow, as he knew his amount of time was limited, he had to move quickly, he grabbed the bow with his right hand as he reached out for it, he reached into his pants pockets and then grabbed the device he had for dealing with monsters and monstergirls who used sound to find their targets. He was one to prepare for every single situation that he happened to come across. To be prepared happened to anything that might come at him. He activated the sonic boom device to throw off her rather quickly as he grabbed the arrow a moment later and then turned on his back and aimed towards the female looking at her down the sights of his arrow, aiming as well as he could towards the female, knowing that his aim would be important and that this shot would be key and his best shot to take down the female.

He let loose the arrow, he hoped that the sound would distract her into not being prepared for the shot that he had fired. He figured that the arrow was aimed at the core of the woman, it would hit and do some serious damage if not take down the monster girl completely if he got lucky. He grabbed a second arrow quickly and fired it off too, so that he would get two quick shots in, the second arrow closer to him then he first thought it had been when he had looked for the arrows. He took a deep breath as the second arrow left the bow heading towards the female who happened to be in front of himself.

 

[Azecreth]

Alistair waited patiently as time slipped past, observing the scene before him as he took in and got what information he could. There was no sign of the Gendromes, but that was no guarantee that they weren't around. It just meant that either they were busy, somewhere else, or this was a very clever trap that he basically had no hope against, and he wasn't about to give much credence to that final option. There were limits to the intelligence that someone could display, and even he was fairly certain that the monsters he was watching weren't clever enough to pull off such a deceptive ruse. There was reasonable caution, and then there was just excessive paranoia.

With that thought out of the way, he eventually began to discern a way to move along. He could go along the canopy, which was closest to the monsters currently tanning themselves above, though they would be lethargic. He could move along the ground with the cover that it provided but also the greatest potential for being surrounded. Or he could go along the cliff face, which would leave him exposed but out of reach.

He took a moment to think on it before slowly getting underway, doing his best to avoid drawing notice as he headed out and towards the cliff face. He needed that freedom of movement, and with his dual blades he could take advantage of the limited space should he get into a direct fight. For now though he moved to cross, making all effort to limit the time that he was exposed and visible as he headed across the valley. He just needed to get past this and then he could be on his way. How hard could that be?