---

Upon docking in New Dundorma's airship port, the crew aboard the airship helped the new hunters safely exit before going back on board to prepare for take off once the newcomers had become settled in. As promised, someone was on the scene to welcome the fresh new faces: A small, elderly Wyverian with a small hat, bulky robes, and a pair of glasses that were a few sizes too small. Despite his rather eccentric appearance, he was still eager to welcome the new hunters standing in front of him.

"Welcome, welcome!" he exclaimed, waving his arms about excitedly. "We've been eagerly awaiting your arrival! We were admittedly expecting more than the five of you here right now, but it's not presently a major issue. The captain of New Dundorma's hunting guild branch isn't in the streets right now, but please feel free to peruse the premises and make yourselves acquainted with each other and our wonderful city while I return to the castle to find him!" And with that, the funny little man ran off, almost prancing with how giddy he was.

With the new hunters alone to inspect the city and talk amongst themselves, they could see just how big and bustling New Dundorma really was: The buildings, ranging from single homes to massive apartment buildings to humble stores and huge, vast marketplaces were truly a spectacle. People from all walks of life could be seen traversing the streets, alone or with other people at their side. All in all, it was a warmly welcoming sight and a fine prelude to the hunter's life ahead for everyone. The true start, however, wouldn't be until they met the guild captain, but for now, all they had to do was talk, walk, and wait.

---

It was the end of a long trip. Not just on the airship (though that had been painfully long to Asuka), but for a chapter of her life. And now a brand new chapter was underway. The young hunter had stayed below deck for the majority of the journey on the airship, either reading or consulting with a Felyne she'd taken a shine to that knew about this new continent.

But what she was most interested in were the monsters. How the ecosystems worked. How humans and Wyverians interacted with the ecosystems in their day-to-day lives. Eventually the poor Felyne had taken off, tired of the young woman's questions. "No more questions, nya!" he'd shouted. "You get answers when we make it to gǎng! That means 'port'!" Asuka had been called up as soon as New Dundorma was in sight.

She wasn't disappointed.

The city was much larger than she'd anticipated. As they got closer, Asuka became more excited, and ran back below deck to grab her belongings: a bag of books and journals (most of the latter were blank), a few miscellaneous odds and ends (including a blanket), and of course her personal weapon: a Gunlance, forged from stone and metal. It had been a gift from her father before leaving Bherna, and she planned on putting it to good use.

Asuka came back up as the airship was docking. Of the people on board, only a few wore the telltale armor of a hunter. Four other people, by the look of it, two men and two women. She recognized two sets of armor, but not the others. She would have to talk to them to find out where they were from.

Frankly, she wasn't looking forward to it.

The group of hunters was greeted by an elderly Wyverian. As most old Wyverians were, he was of short stature, maybe coming up to Asuka's waist. Despite his appearance, he seemed to have quite a bit of energy, enthusiastically greeting the five of them. Asuka offered a smile.

---

It'd been a looooooong airship trip from Pokke village, though Marta had slept for a good portion of it so that helped to lessen the monotony, that and the beautiful landscapes they'd flown over on their journey. Though as the ship started to descend Marta felt the temperature going up ever so slightly, perhaps she should have brought gear that wasn't heavily insulated... No time for regrets now. Marta thought as she took off her helmet and got herself ready to disembark the ship, patiently waiting for the craft to land.

"Bloody hell..." was all Marta could say when she saw the unexpectedly massive city of New Dundorma. This being her first time to a settlement so big only added to the awe. Marta almost lost her balance when the ship finally docked as she was far too distracted looking at the bustling streets, the near fall did shake some sense into her though.

Making her way off the ship with the rest of the new hunters Marta was greeted by a tiny Wyverian, much like the village chief back in Pokke. The introduction was fairly brief, though mostly because the excited man spoke so quickly. It put a smile on Marta's face to see someone so enthusiastic, this adventure was off to a good start so far. Though a journey is only as good as the company you share and looking at her fellow hunters she guessed it would be a good idea to break the ice.

"So we're all here to kick the shit out of some monsters aye? Well, I look forward to working with the lot of you." Marta spoke to nobody in particular, while her tone was friendly her choice of words was... Questionable.

---

With the end of one long journey behind them, another was about to begin. The Yukumon Village native was just glad now they would been landing back on solid ground. As interesting as airships were, Tyrin couldn't get over the odd sense of unease when he had first jumped aboard it. To bypass the time and ignore the feeling, he had spent most of his time talking with his fellow palico friend, Tove who enjoy teasing the hunter about it all the way to their destination.

That sense of unease was only snuffed out when the city finally came into view, leaving Tyrin with a sense of awe at the sight giving a whistle seeing how large it was."Definitely a long way from Yukumon," he said to himself while the palico joined him giving a nod."Big, yes very big," the palico shared his observation

He made his way off the ship, happy for the solid ground when a tiny and rather excited Wyverian greeted them before he left prancing down the street. Looking at the small group he had to agree with the Wyverian, only five hunters on the whole ship seemed more then a bit small. Was it really all they could find? Then again, he thought, it leaves more monsters for us to fight which is fine by me.

Hearing one of the hunter's speak up, a rather tall lady, Tyrin couldn't help but laugh."Yep to crack skull and bone," he stated.

"Ha your skull to thick to crack," Tove quipped back at Tyrin.

After their brief introduction by a quite animated Wyvervian, Einar steered herself back to the port to get a larger scale of New Dundorma. It was as she was anticipating: occupied and industrialized, yet intimate and not lacking of greenery.

"And one day, my dear daughter, you too will discover a new world."

The words of Dr. Asulf drifted away as Einar leaned over the port's rail. The scene before her was busy; the airship crew shouting over each other, Hunter's keeping their luggage in order and the occasional palico bustling about. The air smelt like a tint of the ocean and something sweet. "Flowfern?" Her nose sniffed curiously in the air and after some thought, she scanned the shops littered a couple of hundred feet from her. The suspect was built next to many other establishments. The small yet dainty shop had a smartly curated sign near the window facing her. It read "Cotoha Botanik".

Einar eyed the shop curiously. There seemed to be a garden of the sorts located near the back and the door was opened. Near the entrance sat shelves and wheels of all sorts of herbs and bottled potions. With her mind made up, Einar bent down to scoop up her leather bag. She decided it was better to stock up and familiarize herself now before the hunting guild arrived. The leather bag swung around her shoulders and weighed lightly behind her back. It held much of her necessities: from a jar of honey to her favorite book on winged wyverians. She even had a satchel of sweetened water for her Insect. Less her weapon, which she assumed was being brought to their dwellings, Einar's baggage was light.

As she passed the group huddled near the dock, the Hunter briefly nodded ‘hello’ to the familiar faces that traveled with her to their new home. There was likely time to get acquainted after they settled down. After all, there were only the five of them plus a couple of palicos. No handler was in-sight, but maybe they weren’t needed.. Or perhaps acquired at the latter.

Kaze was sitting atop a small crate, weapon in hand. Sparks flashed along the blade while a soft rasping sound emanated from the steel. He was running a whetstone along the simple, but large, blade while the ship docked. Most of the grew and other hunters had stood, but the large man did not enjoy being on ships. Whether it was sand, water, or air. Sturdy flooring but strange movements weren't his cup of tea, but he hid his discomfort well as the ship pulled into the dockyard...port...whatever people called an airship landing area!

Standing up he sheathed his sword, stuffed the stone into his hip-pouch, and followed along behind the others as they got off. They were met with an excitable elderly Wyverian. The guild master wasn't out currently so the short man in bulky clothing trotted off to find him for them. Such a strange fellow. It feels like the older they get the more energy they have... He thought to himself. The other hunters, another man and three women, started to talk.

"Slay them quickly and efficiently. Do not prolong pain and suffering if we're to actually kill them." Kaze rumbled out, his voice deep and rumbling like distant thunder. Flipping the faceplate of his helm up revealed off-white colored facial hair, dull gray eyes, and sun-darkened skin. His own baggage was non-existent. He came as he was, armor, weapon, a few basic items in his hip-pouch, and the clothing on his back.

"Lets hope this new place has some interesting creatures..." He stated, stroking his beard once before starting to move into the city. They weren't told to stay at the port and Hunters tended to find their own way as they went.

---

Asuka watched the old Wyverian leave. New Dundorma was a big city. A lot to see, a lot to explore. The idea excited her, but at the same time, she wasn't used to cities. Despite its ties to the Wycademy, Bherna was still a relatively small village.

The young woman wasn't exactly sure of what to do. That is, until another hunter spoke up: "So we're all here to kick the shit out of some monsters aye? Well, I look forward to working with the lot of you." Asuka had to look upwards at the speaker, a tall woman with bleached blond hair bordering on white.

"Y-Yes, ma'am!" Asuka said. Her response was automatic, drilled into her by her parents, even if the woman couldn't have been more than ten to twelve years her senior. "I suppose we should find where the Guild Hall is, right?"

@LemonZest1337

---

Once introductions had seemed to be somewhat passed about, Tyrin moved past the port and into the city, Tove following swiftly. With no Guild Captain to greet them, the next best thing was to get acquainted with the city streets and what they had to offer to the hunters. Eventually they would stumble upon the Guild Hall perhaps which would save the trouble of the Guild Captain finding them.

The streets were crowded with many people, so much so that Tove got fed up with dodging the footfalls of others he now rode on Tyrin's shoulder acting as look out and pointing places of interest out to check out for supplies or to come back to later after the hunts they would eventually go on.

"Potions low," the palico stated as a reminder as they past one of the numerous shops.Most supplies were low, they hadn't been able to pack much before leaving on the airship. So supplies would have to built up again and the palico was all to happy to pester the forgetful hunter on the matter whenever they past a shop.

"Yes I know," Tyrin replied back with a sigh of annoyance earning him a thump on the head from Tove ",I'll put you back on the ground."

"Ha! You'd be lost in seconds. You don't pay attention to streets. I do," Tove dared leaving Tyrin to grumble and continue their way down the streets on their own.

---

Marta looked at Tyrin as he spoke, from his response about cracking skulls Marta was pretty sure she'd like that one. He had gusto. Next to respond was a large brute of a man, with a physique Marta could respect. Though that guy seemed like a bit of a buzzkill, they were obviously here to hunt monsters and not torture them, but from the stories she'd heard growing up, Marta knew that sometimes the monsters dragged these things out limping away and retreating to their nests.

Then came the "Y-Yes, ma'am!" from the rather adorable girl with a gunlance on her back. Marta couldn't help but laugh a little, quietening herself down only to listen to what the girl had to say about finding the guild hall. "Ha-haaa. I don't think we need to worry ourselves with that. The little guy will be back here with the captain, then we'll probably get taken to the hall. Bet it's going to be fuck'n huge." Marta chuckled a little more before letting out an amused sigh. "Also the name's Marta. Not Ma'am."

As Einar approached Cotoha Botanik, a Wyverian scuttered out of the shop and planted himself in front of her. He was dressed in a white robe with a black sash around his waist. A royal blue overcoat, which seemed to be made out of wool, draped over his shoulders. Above his head he wore a matching colored pillbox hat. Laced around his textured ankles were sandals weaved from a dried hemp plant. Dirt crusted under his nails from years of analyzing soil and properties of the plants that he grew behind his shop.

He peered up at Einar through his rimmed glasses and broke into a pearly smile. "Why, so 'tis true! The rumors around New Dundorma was true! The next batch hunters have arrived!" The Wyverian straightened himself and bowed. "My name is Cotoha, the seer and researcher of New Dundorma's apothecary and more." Cotoha looked questioningly at Einar, "And you must be.. ?"

Einar gave the scholar a brisk nod and glanced behind her, searching for the other hunters. "Einar of Kokoto Village.. sir. I've come to inquire about supplies. Perhaps you could also indulge me on the organisms of New Dundorma? I find they might be quite different from Kokoto due to the latitude and climate."

"Ah, yes! But of course" Cotoha turned around and waved the hunter into the shop. "Come, come. I have an assortment that 'ye might just find useful for your expeditions! Kokoto Village, you say? Might you be familiar with Scholar Asulf? I've quite a liking to his research, 'ye kin. A shame he's passed!"

Einar smiled to herself and followed the Wyverian into the shop. "A shame it was."

@Kazemitsu

Not long after Kaze had started venturing into the city did he come across a towering structure with a mighty, spiked gate. In front of the coliseum-like structure was a muscular man adorned in what many veteran hunters recognized as Black Belt equipment, a set only the most skilled arena-goers could claim as their own. This particular man's face was adorned with a very short and thin mustache, and a very pronounced chin.

"Well, don't you look like the burly sort?" the man called out to Kaze. "If it weren't for your novice equipment, I'd dare ya to come and challenge the arena. I'd suggest waiting until your first proper assignment, though, rookie: I hear the guild captain had some new recruits ordered in by airship and wanted to meet as soon as they got here. So go on," the man flicked his hands as he spoke, "meet up with the rest of your group so you're not all scattered about. We don't want to waste our time searching for all of you, and that megaphone system doesn't run on an infinite supply of Qurupeco lungs."

---

@KingOfTheSkies @LemonZest1337

"The guild captain may be a while, I'm afraid."

A male hunter dressed in the iconic garb of the Yukumo guild branch's hunters walked up to the duo of Marta and Asuka, a pair of circular glasses on his face and a hunting horn forged from Yukumo Wood on his back. "I heard that he received a less-than favorable report from a scouting team somewhere far south of here. He's not the kind of person that would take that type of information and make nothing serious of it. Recent rumors say that-"

The hunter stopped himself, clearing his throat and smiling.

"Pardon my digressing. My name is Masaru." The hunter known as Masaru held his hand out to shake Asuka's and Marta's. "I was sent here all the way from Yukumo Village via airship some time ago, but I haven't been allowed to hunt yet. As for why..." The bespectacled young man sighed. "...Let's just say that I've been deemed to be too much brains and not enough brawn, even with a bow. Supposedly I'd snap like a twig just from having a Velocidrome look at me the wrong way."

---

@Argetlam350

"HAIL, FELLOW HUNTER!"

A rather tall and stocky male hunter dressed in Pokke's traditional Mafumofu hunting gear walked right up to the duo of Tyrin and Tove, a wide grin on his beard-adorned face and a similarly-dressed Palico of his own perched atop his head. On the man's back wasn't a massive sword or a hammer, both of which would've been suitable weapons for such a monumental figure, but a bow made of iron and monster bones.

"I see ya got a Palico of yer own! What's his name, eh?"

"Oy, oy!" The Palico on top of the man's head snapped at him, its voice distinctly feminine. "Not even gonna introduce yaself foist? Yer hopeless, Magnus, absolutely hopeless!"

"Pipe down, Charlie! Yer gonna scare the fellow newcomers off!"

With a "hmpf", the Palico crossed her arms in front of herself and looked away, seemingly disgusted.

"Pardon me companion, comrade," Magnus apologized, holding out his hand with a warm smile. "Charlotte has quite the...sharp tongue on 'er, eh?" Charlotte stuck said tongue out spitefully.

"My name is Magnus. I'm a rookie hunter from Pokke Village, but erm...I haven't been doin' any huntin' since I got here a few days ago. Guild says someone my size shouldn't be usin' a bow, but who are they to tell a hunter what they can and can't do, eh? Free world, I say. Let hunters use whatever weapon suits 'em."

---

@Yidu

"Hmmmm...I wonder which of these herbs can be mixed with certain other ingredients to make potent toxins...?"

A female hunter with long, jet black hair stood at the far corner of the shop, examining some of the more exotic parts of the stock and musing to herself. She was clad in the widely recognizable outfit of the Captial C Caravan's hunters: Derring Gear. The equipment had long since become widely sold and available in certain stores across the globe, but the association remained in tact and perhaps always will be. On the woman's back were a pair of dual blades, a fitting weapon choice for someone with so seemingly morbid a fascination as the potential toxicity of herbs.

---

Tyrin lightly chuckled from the exchange the two newcomers had before giving a warm smile and returning their greeting."A pleasure to meet you. My name is Tyrin, hail from Yukumo Village. The bundle of fur on my shoulder is Tove," he stated as the palico gave roll of his eyes at Tyrin.

"Yes bundle of fur that keeps you alive," Tove sarcastically replied ",You can't find helmet without me. How you have lived so long is anyone's guess. Should be Gammoth food by now."

Tyrin merely shook his head at the response."I think sharp tongues just are a common trait among them. Now getting him to be silent is quite a trick." In response Tove hit the top of Tyrin's head, giving an annoyed hiss and a few mumbled curses to which Tyrin laughed before returning to talking to their new found fellow hunters.

"As for your weapon, as long as you know how to use it and use it well, then continue to do so. As you said, let hunter's use what suites them best. Besides wouldn't want you taking all the fun from me, I enjoy giving a monster a greeting with my hammer. Look forward to hunting with you and hopefully we'll get a few hunts sooner rather then later."

Kaze looked up at the Arena with dull eyes. He was impressed by the size, but having a smaller gate leading into the city would have been smarter. If a monster finally got free, there was a nice big gate to bust through instead of a fully reinforced wall with a mouse-hole for it to try and squeeze through. He took note of the man in front of the gate, probably to keep things orderly going in and out. Or to act as a last line of defense given his build.

A single bushy, gray, eyebrow rose up when the man began to speak. "I'm no rookie. Sold my gear to travel and come here. No point dragging an armory across the continent." He rumbled out before shrugging thick muscular shoulders. "Guild Captain wasn't at the port, so decided to take in the sights a bit. No one really gave directions on what to do." He continued, ignoring the shooing gesture of the mans hand. With that he wandered off again, hunting for the Guild Hall. It shouldn't be too hard to find, they always tended to stand out from other buildings.

---

Asuka almost responded to the other woman when she was cut off. She recognized his armor from around the Wycademy. She offered a smile. "My name's Asuka," she introduced herself. She shook Masaru's hand. "This is Marta."

@QueenOfTheLand@LemonZest1337

---

Marta nodded as Asuka gave out both their names to the new hunter. Marta then gave Masaru's hand a solid shake, possibly too solid. "Happy to meet you Masaru. Shame about the captain, we'd been told to wait for him. Guess we're free to piss about now then." Marta said. A slight grin creeping onto her face. "Say Masaru? You'd not happen to know where I could store my armour? This heat is getting to me, these furs are fucken warm." Marta removed her helmet and wiped her brow, a slight bit of sweat had already started building on her forehead.

Before the man could even start to respond, Marta would lightly curse to herself and start removing her armour. Eventually revealing quite a lot of her skin, the crop top and shorts combo letting her skin finally breathe properly after having been suffocated by heavy furs for the entire airship trip over. "Ahh much better! Fuck I hate heat."

@Kazemitsu

"Sold your gear?" The arena master guffawed at the thought, clearly not buying Kaze's story. "Whatever you say, greenhorn. Go off and wander around a bit, and come back when you don't have a date with the Captain." With that, the man stood tall and crossed his arms in front of himself, acting as though the exchange never happened.

---

@KingOfTheSkies @LemonZest1337

Masaru happily returned the handshakes from his fellow hunters, almost falling stumbling and falling flat on the ground from the force of Marta's very firm shake. "A pleasure to meet the both of you," the bespectacled young man said with a smile after regaining his posture, "and yes, it is rather unfortunate that the captain isn't in a proper situation for greetings and mission briefings at the moment. In the meantime, we should start familiarizing ourselves with one another."

Masaru hadn't even opened his mouth to respond when Marta suddenly began stripping herself of her armor, leaving her to stand in nothing but a crop top and a pair of shorts. Understandably, the younger hunter felt his face flush bright red afterwards as he stammered words out. "M-M-Marta, I understand that the heat is qu-quite irksome, but there's a time and place for everything. This is neither the time nor place fo-" Masaru sighed, realizing that his words were falling on deaf ears. He turned to Asuka and spoke to her instead. "...Is she always like this, by any chance?"

---

@Argetlam350

"Nice ta meet ye, Tyrin!" Grinning, the burly man happily shook the other hunter's hand, a fittingly firm and strong grip for someone of his size. "I'm sure Charlie's happy ta meet yer furry friend as well."

"I'm only happy 'cos anotha Felyne shares my pain, comprende? I couldn't care less about 'im otherwise, not even if he was swimmin' in zenny."

"Well, it's good to know yer not a gold digger then, Charlie!" Magnus gave a bellowing, hearty laugh, to which his companion responded with a swat on the nose. "Aye," the Pokke-born hunter confirmed, tenderly rubbing his nose, "sharp tongues an' sharp claws.

"But don't worry about me stealin' any of yer thunder, comrade," Magnus digressed from the Palico discussion, "while yer out in the vanguard bludgeoning monsters ta death, I'll be hangin' in the back filling them with more holes than Bhernese cheese with me arrows!" Magnus again laughed, 'lightly' patting Tyrin's back.

---

ATTENTION, PLEASE, the megaphone system suddenly rang out. ALL ROOKIE HUNTERS WHO HAVE ARRIVED BY AIRSHIP OVER THE PAST WEEK AND HAVE NOT YET BEEN BRIEFED BY THE CAPTAIN ARE TO MAKE THEIR WAY TO THE GUILD HALL AND MEET WITH HIM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. IF YOU CANNOT FIND YOUR WAY, PLEASE WAIT WHERE YOU ARE AND YOU SHALL BE ESCORTED TO THE GUILD HALL BY THE STREET PATROL. THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDIVIDED ATTENTION.

---

Tyrin laughed."Eh I think we'll get along swimmingly," he said as he braced himself from the 'light' pat. While he agreed with Magnus to use whatever weapon he felt comfortable, he could admit that the man had the strength to really throw into with any heavy weapon if he ever changed his mind.

While he talked with Magnus, Tove scoffed at the other felyne with a roll of his eyes."The feeling is mutual," he stated while maintaining his position on Tyrin's shoulders. Before either could continue their various discussions however one of the various megaphones strewn out the city came to life shouting for all new hunters.

"Well guess they are playing our song. Time to get going to the Guild Hall. Take care Magnus and if you ever feel like trading felynes, don't hesitate to ask," he joked being rewarded with a hit atop his head from his furry companion. With that he began making his way down the streets once more. They had seen the Guild Hall while on their stroll so it was a matter of retracing their steps to find it once more.

"You know maybe you should get to know Charlie, I'm sure you get tired of me and doubt you have interest for me," Tyrin teased while he waled with the palico sputtering.

"I have no time to work on such matters with having to watch you. Besides I have no interest. Just sympathy for someone who has to deal with another idiot partner like me," Tove responded hitting Tyrin once more on the head.