[IC] Monster hunter: Story of Cantarco village.

The village of Cantarco was usually a quiet place positioned in a small oasis area next to a gigantic volcano. It's soil bared some of the most tasty and sought after fruit, many traders stopping by to trade things like fish and other foods that were hard to come by in the volcanic region. The town was nothing massive only holding about 40 souls, so everyone knew everyone, unless you were new in town. But the majority of the towns folk were around there late 30's to mid 50's. Their own veteran hunter was around 56, unfortunately his career was cut short when his leg was violently broken by a Gravios. He admits it wasn't his finest moment, and says that he was going to retire soon anyway. Nobody believes him, they all know how much he loved his job.

So now the village is in search of new hunters. Be they emerging or well established, the village would welcome them with open arms and healthy smile. The village was in constant need of protection because of the many aggressive monsters that called the volcano home. And this is were our heroes come in. They would have to start out small and prove themselves before earning fame and eventually maybe even preventing some calamities. If they can hack it that is.

[LemonZest1337]

Clara rolled her shoulders and hugged her other before heading out into town, she waved to her Uncle who was working on a damaged rooftop who polity returned the wave. She was headed to the main hall at the center of town so she could apply for the hunter's position. She cracked her fingers and walked up to the door of the hall and knocked on the door firmly. "It's Clara, I've come to apply for the hunter's position." She said proudly. A healthy laugh came from behind the door.

"Then come in, we've been waiting for some applicants!" The voice was far too young sounding to be the chief so Clara was puzzled, but when she opened the door to find the veteran hunter Cyrus crouched next to the fireplace she was shocked.

[Renny]

---

Armend Kinora ⚔

Armend felt cooked, hot to the very core of his being. He had looked at the volcano from a far and like an idiot, overestimated himself. His clothes were hanging off his torso and around his waist, dangling over the thick belt that acted fashionably and reasonably. There was something to be said about anything or anyone that could get his clothes off.

"Arghhhhh, what the fuck!" he screamed between labored breathes.

He trudged onward, the entrance to the village in sight now. "Who the hell told you being a Hunter would be fun? Oh yea, it was you dumbass. Trekking up a volcano must be pure jubilee for Hunters, either that or they're brains are fried from doing it." In a moment of aggravation, Armend finally yelled. "Who builds villages on volcanoes!!!"

To be honest, trekking up the super-hot mountain would had been easier if he hadn't jogged most of the way up there. So excited by testing his grit that he denounced his body's need for moisture. It all started when he read that a villager, in a village a few leagues back,
had completed the climb in an hour. The man's brother had said it would never be done again. Well... Armend had just done it in under forty minutes. Take that you rat bastard, thought Armend while he clawed his way through dirt roads; all in hopes that he was heading towards the Hunter's Guild.

[LemonZest1337]

The trek would have taken Armend around the base of the volcano to around to its side that faced the ocean, the village was nicely perched in and oasis that had fertile volcanic soil and easy access to the ocean's water via a stream that ran past the town. Once Armend entered the town he would have been greeted with a few looks, tho these looks were not hostile in any way. They were more amused seeing yet another traveller getting worn down by the trek to the town.

A spry little boy came running towards Armend then skidded to a halt in front of him. "You're here for the hunters job ain't ya!" The kid said with complete confidence. Armend was a new face in town, those were rare enough but the fact that he came alone was a dead giveaway of his intentions, even to the young boy. "Well don't just stand there! This way!" The kid then tried to lead Armend towards the hall.

-----

Clara was so taken back by being in the presence of Cyrus she forced herself to give a fairly clumsy bow. Cyrus chuckled, "Take a seat kid I'll go get the chief and we'll discuss your initiation." Clara watched Cyrus walk off and then heard a knock on the door. She didn't move, then it was knocked on again and she sighed walking over to the door and opened it. She then looked down on the boy who was practically vibrating with joy. "New hunter come to town! He looks kinda grumpy! But that's not bad! Look here he comes!" The kid was rattling out words far to quickly but Clara was able to understand and shooed him off the looked at the new hunter. He doesn't look that impressive. she thought to herself.

[Renny]

---

Armend Kinora ⚔

From his self-loathing place on the ground, he had missed the clinquant ocean. He stood to his boots, scratched his head and wondered. H-How did I miss this? Suddenly he wasn't as hot as before, his skin was still sticky with heat but now he felt the ocean's wet-whisper on his skin.

The young boy who was annoyingly eager for his arrival had led him to some pretty big shack. Armend followed casually, his hands locked behind his head as he took glances at his surroundings. There were elderly people everywhere. The few young people he had spotted weren't capable of stealing a kiss, forget wielding a blade or hunting monsters.

"Hey kid-" he blurted, wondering just whose home he was banging on.

When the door opened to revealed tanned-skinned girl with an eye-patch on. Armend raised a brow, cupped his chin in his hand, and glanced her up and down. She wasn't anything special. Her appearance told stories of hardship and callous work. It invoked some form of respect... or pity. As she stared, he fitted on his shirt and strode pass her into the shack. He pressed his hand firm against his head, poked his chin out a bit out of habit, looking near condescending, and smiled a princely, powerful, grin.

"I'm just gonna be blunt here, Pops, this shabby little village needs a Hunter, right? well look me up and down, inspect me, tell me you don't see greatness in these eyes of mines."

[LemonZest1337]

Clara watches Armend pass with a look of slight distaste. She closed the door behind him and watched him put his clothes back on, then she frowned at his disrespectful words about her village. "You would do well to watch that tongue." She hissed at him, she was about to say more but then she heard the sound of a walking stick on the stone floor of the hut. She instantly bowed her head to show respect to the chief.

-----

A soft and crocked voice came from the now open side room door. "I'm sorry but you're going to have to repeat that son. My hearing isn't what it used to be." the voice belonged to a very small old lady. She was easily only a meter tall and her face looked like it had been left out to dry for far to long. Cyrus chuckled "Don't worry about it Chief, he just said he wanted to be our new hunter as well." the old lady bounced up and down a little "Oh how exciting! I guess we would need more than one hunter if we are to replace you no?" Cyrus nodded with a modest look on his face "You are to kind. But I do agree, more hunters sooner would mean we are far better defended." the chief nodded.

"So! You two fancy yourselves as hunter material ayy?" The chief said with a slightly mocking tone. "Well you can't be a proper hunter without a weapon!" She snapped then hobbled over to a closed door and slowly pushed it open. Behind it was an assortment of weapons Ranging from bow's and bowguns to hammers and lances. "Take yeer pic! If ya tough enough!"

Great sword

Long sword

Sword and shield

Dual blades

Hammer

Hunting horn

Lance

Gunlance

Switch axe

Charge blade

Insect glaive

Bow

Light bow-gun

Heavy bow-gun

[Renny]

---

Armend Kinora ⚔

Armend's hair veiled his laughing eyes as he forced a smirk back. The world was so big, so huge, that it had literally everyone and everything possible inside its massive grasp. One just needed to know where to look to find the elusive dwarf. He lifted his head up, all hints of a smile gone and stared at the elderly woman. She's so small, he thought to himself, while sauntering towards the wall of weapons.

He eyed each of them with equal importance, as if a single detail would dictate his choice. When he scoured them for the second time, his attention was drawn by to the dual blades. He narrowed his gaze, imagined himself twisting and dancing with them in his hands. Suddenly his eyes were lit with life. "These! I want these!" He reached out to them, took them off the wall, and crudely swung them around. It was obvious he lacked the skills to actually use them.

"And I can have this for free, Lady?"

[LemonZest1337]

The chief nodded to Armend, "If you can look after the town yeer bound to get more then just some dull old blades." She smiled then looked back at Clara. "So Clara, what are you going to pick?" The chief's tone made it sound as if she already knew the answer. Cyrus was more focused on the lack of skill that Armend had just shown with the dual blades, those being on of his favoured weapons. He chuckled to himself They have a big journey ahead of them. Cyrus thought, unable to strike the grin from his face.

-----

Clara looked down at the chief then back up at the assortment of weapons. She reached in and pulled the massive Great sword from the wall. This seems to please the chief who then waddled over to Cyrus' side. "What's next?" Clara asked slightly unsure of what the response was going to be. Cyrus looked over at her with the grin still present on his face. "You two are going mushroom gathering!" Cyrus said with the amused grin still on his face making it seem as if he could be joking. Clara herself honestly couldn't tell if Cyrus was being serious, but either way she really wasn't sure how to react.

[Renny]

---

Armend Kinora ⚔

His curiosity piqued, Armend flourished the dual blades with a surprising amount of natural talent before turning to Cyrus. "Mushroom Hunting? That should be easy. Do you have like a basket or something? You guys making soup later? cause to be honest I'm soooo hungry."

He brought the blades to his side and peeked over towards Clara. I'm not surprise by the Greatsword, I could tell she'd be the manly type.

[LemonZest1337]

Cyrus nodded to Armend "Indeed it should. So I'll leave you two to it. Here's what you got to get." Cyrus handed Armend a parchment with a picture of a peculiar looking bright red mushroom Most people would be able to identify it as a Nitroshroom, it also had a little X10 on the side. Cyrus smiled, "When you get back I might have to show you a few tricks." He gestured to the dual blades.

The chief tapped the back of Clara's leg and nodded towards Armend. "You better get going you two. The faster you prove yourselves the faster you can fight some real baddies!" She seemed overly excited for one so old.

-----

Clara nodded to the chief and bowed to her then turned and bowed to Cyrus as well. "I will see you when we get back." She said in her firm slightly commanding voice. She then looked over Armend's shoulder at the quest paper easy. She thought then started to head towards the hall doors. "Lets get going... Partner." She said the last word with an amount of apprehension.

[Renny]

---

Armend Kinora ⚔

Armend shrugged his shoulders with a whimsical smile. So they were officially partners now. He locked his hands behind his head and sauntered behind her, following behind with a undeserving confidence. "Hey, can I get something to drink first? I'm thirsty."

"Claaaraaa? hey, ya hear me? I'm dying here."

[LemonZest1337]

Clara sighs and reaches into a small satchel on her hip and pulls out a nice cool drink. She then holds it out for Armend. God he really is new isn't he... She hadn't really interacted with many people from outside the village. Excluding traders but they knew how to survive everywhere. So someone not having a cool drink handy in her town was slightly baffling. "Just drink it quickly, we shouldn't waste time." She said and started off towards the village gates.

-----

The chief smiled as she watched the two walk off. "they'll be alright." She said with a slightly proud tone, "if you're say so." Cyrus replied as they watched the doors to the hall close.

[Renny]

---

Armend Kinora ⚔

Armend reached for the drink and took a nice swig of it. The regard he had for himself and other people's germs were non-existent, especially with the amount of dry mouth he held. A good gulp later and he was admiring the unusually clear sky of a volcano village. He imagined red billowing clouds would be the constant forecast for Cantarco. He jogged next to Clara and held her drink for her to grab.

"Thanks, Partner." Partner had a nice emphasis on it, one that was added upon with a smirk.

[LemonZest1337]

Clara shook her head and waved off Armend's hand. "Keep it. Heaven knows you're going to need it later." She didn't even bother to think that he might not have somewhere to put it. The giant sword sat on her back and she felt it's weight was quite welcome she could only imagine what it might like to also wear a heavy set or armor along with it. "I guess we're going to be working with each other for a while. Might as well get acquainted. I'm Clara, what was your name again? Almond?" She said with a straight face, she had legitimately not been paying attention when he talked.

-----

The two would trek for a around 20 minuets until they got to a secluded cave that housed a well crafted tent. The tent was home to a hard looking bed, a blue and red set of chests. The blue chest was full of supplies like more cool drinks some first aid equipment and some maps. The maps gave a fairly crude but still useful layout of a the volcano. There was a zone that was colored half blue and half green this was to indicate that it had a body of water and plant life, most likely where the herbivores would live this area was the only one connected to the camp by the map it was labeled area 1. Then 3 areas broke off from that one being a long dark grey area the was a dead end, most likely a cave some large monsters would retreat to once weakened, this was labeled area 4.

Area three was a bright red meaning that it would be intensely hot there and there would most likely be exposed lava, it was a fairly small round area. Area two was again dark grey but this one was by far the largest zone having at least 2 times the area of area 1, it was fairly formless but it looked fairly close to a deformed rectangle. Area 3 and 2 both linked up to area 5 which was again bright red, it was a y shape having two break off points leading to another set of red areas 6 and 7. 7 was a dead end that was possibly a cave that monsters who could take the heat would sleep in. Area 6 led to a very long red area labeled with a 8. area 8 had three branches one that went a tiny red ring that was possibly the top of the volcano, that was labeled area 11. Area 11 and 8 both led to area 9 which was again bright red but it had a dark red line in the middle possibly signifying a raise in terrain.

And finally area 9 led to area 10 which seemed to be a complex network of tunnels that no large monster could fit into, perfect for safe mining. Area 10 also had a pathway back to area 4 but it looked like it was a one way deal, only down from 10 to 4.

[Renny]

---

Armend Kinora ⚔

Almond? Well he couldn't say he had heard that one before. It was a tad dry but the mistake hadn't be looked over. "Oh come on, Almond? really? Its, Armend, Clara. Armend Kinora. And as your new partner, I sincerely hope you don't forget it." He shook his head and let the drink hang in his loose grip.

He had a bit on his mind during the long trek. Things that were too late to contemplate. Like "What did I get myself into?" and "All this just to show up one dirty bastard." Reminders on top of reminders flooded him. It was more than just some petty grudge. That son-of-a-cow had disgraced not only him but his comrades too. Taking everything he held dear was the least he could do. The most was outright killing him.

But he didn't want to do that. He liked to think he was better than a murderer.

The trek was lightweight for him. So he entered the tent, found a small stool, and squatted on it. For a moment he felt he owed, Clara a discloser. "Listen, Clara, I'm new to the hunting scene. If I fuck up, don't get yourself killed trying to save me. I dove headfirst into this, so I expect bumps and bruises, got it. In other words, if things get dicey because of myyyy... my lack-of-know-how just let me go." As he spoke calmly about his own demise, he made his way to the chest and gathered anything he felt necessary.

Plenty of drink, plenty of first aid, and of course that handy map. He opened it and just quickly closed it. "Uhh, can you read this thing?" he wondered.

[LemonZest1337]

Clara Baldwin

Clara shrugged "Sorry I must have misheard you the first time." She walked in silence thinking of just how easy it was to enrol. There had to be some kind of catch, some hidden detail to prove their worth. She raked her mind trying to think of what the chef and Cyrus' plan was sending them after mushrooms. Was it just to show the she could follow orders or that she could survive out in the field. She eventually decided that it didn't matter, she was on her way now. And she had a "companion". She briefly looked down at Armend and noticed he was deep in thought also, she didn't feel like saying anything. She'd only just met this guy and she really couldn't get a read on him.

When they got to the tent Clara had gone straight to the blue box to grab some supplies, she grabbed 2 cool drinks and some first aid meds. Then she looked back at Armend who had started talking. Her face turned to a slight frown upon hearing him cuss but immediately went back to its usual more stoic look upon him mentioning saving him. At this point she turned around fully to face him and had stepped out of the way of the chest. She sighed and shook her head. "Look you idiot. I'm new at this to alright, and I'm not going to just up and run if you get into trouble. Hell I'll drag your sorry butt out of there myself if I have to." She put a hand on his shoulder "I may have just met you, but I didn't sign up to be a hunter to watch others get hurt. You get me?" her tone had gone from a very stern one to a slightly softer one towards the end.

She then pat him on the back rather forcefully. "Let's get going you idiot. We don't want to keep them waiting." She said as she strode off looking at map, "Yeah I'm pretty sure it's this way." She was headed towards a clear pathway that could have possibly been carved from the rock to make it easier to get through. And surely enough it led to area one, at least it looked like area one.

[Renny]

---

Armend Kinora ⚔

He would have to explain himself properly to her one day. It never did sound right when he tried to play the martyr. Best guess would be it just didn't fit his persona. It was too angel-like, truth was though he was so use to being the martyr. It came second nature to him now. What he really wanted to tell her was, that he'd willing put his life on the line for her. But that was too mushy, too emotional.

So he took her words in, shrugged his shoulders, and smiled as he followed her down the beaten path. As Clara moved, he could see the fluidity of a disciplined fighter. She had potential, it wasn't just her form that told him that. It was her smarts, the amount of brainpower she had used so far was indicative of her grit.

"This isn't just some job to you is it, Claire?" he asked, hoping the nickname wasn't stepping on toes.

[LemonZest1337]

Clara Baldwin

Clara slid down a slight slope then folded up the map and looked around at what was area 1. There was a group of Aptonoth drinking from the small body of water. She looked around for some mushrooms then Armend asked his question, she was not fond of the nickname but let it slide because she called him almond. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I was a builder, lord knows we need them. But I never got a massive sense of enjoyment out of it. And I always admired Cyrus... So yeah, I think this is going to be more than just a job for me." Clara then found some mushrooms but they were all green and blue. She frowned but picked them anyway, she'd probably need them later. Clara absentmindedly put a hand on her eye patch and sigh quietly. "So what brings you to our fine village anyway? You catch news of us needing a hunter and decided to come and help us out?" Her voice displayed a distinct vibe of curiosity which Clara would not often show.

Environment

The group of Apatonoth was 6 strong with 1 child following close behind rather than drink from the water like the rest the baby decided it wanted to eat some shrubs, it chewed away happily making soft crunching noises. Area 1 seemed fairly tranquil, nothing really happening except for herbivores grazing.

[Renny]

---

Armend Kinora ⚔

Armend Kinora followed Clara's lead. He sensed her distaste for the name, Claire, and noted never to call her that again. If managing a group of "Abandoned" had taught him anything, it was picking up on the quaint vibes. Her question had paused him mid-pick, his thumb and forefinger loose on the stem of a mushroom. It was quiet but he let out a weird Hmmp!.

"Personal reasons, I suppose. There's some business I've gotta take care of. A promise of sorts," he told her while plucking another mushroom from the vibrant greenery. A kind breeze swept across him, the kind that he'd learn to embrace and enjoy. They came less frequently than he'd like. He face the wind, closed his eyes, and ceased all thought.

When it died down, a serene sigh left him. "Y'know, Clara, this isn't so bad. A little easier than I thought it'd be. It has me restless to be honest. But I could get use to it, y'know? Walking these lands has been the most free I've ever felt. Perhaps being a Hunter isn't as hard as I first thought." He laughed then, a hearty, powerful chuckle.

[LemonZest1337]

Clara Baldwin

Clara nodded to Armend, "Personal stuff. Got it. I'll not pry." she then plucked her first three Nitroshrooms then looked over at Armend. "Yeah. You're right it is kinda nice. But trust me, when we get into the gritty stuff. Any notion of this being easy is going to fall out of your head. Or be knocked out." She said this having seen Cyrus fight monsters that got to close to town. She then stood up and walked over to Armend. "Gotten any Nitroshrooms yet?" She said in a slightly more relaxed tone then what she'd be using previously. She rolled her shoulder and looked over at the Aptonoth with a slight smile.

Environment

The baby Aptonoth eventually joined its parents and started drinking it's tail wagging slightly. The larges male backed off from the water and then reared up on its hind legs, it looked all around making sure there was no sign of danger.

[DeletedUser9Gh7]

Edon Kruxs

Edon walked to the town hall the veteran hunter retired and he is interested in perhaps killing monsters. He asked around on where he can apply to become an hunter. He then found the town hall where he think he can talk with the chief of the village.Edon opened the door. "Hello is anyone here?" Suddenly a man approached him.