Gravislayer

Monster hunter,

Like a fire the question about the history of his weapon consumed Roland's mind. Images lightened up and fell into darkness directly afterwards.
His youth, as a farmer's boy. The days hunting with his father and then the fire, the day which changed everything. The hunter who saved him, days of solitude, his mother in the kitchen and many many more memories lit up. He was shortly hypnotised by all the different emotions he went through until he could finally filters the memories which led to this weapon.

"You know..." He said as he was being drawn back in his past.

"It all started with a crossbow"

A faint smile appeared on Roland's face as images flashed behind his eyes.
" My stepfather, Red, was was a giant of a man and one of the best hunters I have ever seen. He was really kind. He had this friend Gaia, my stepfather was mute and Gaia was speaking for four,what an odd combo they were but best friends. I was still young and going through a difficult phase that time. Gaia was visiting Red and they got into anargument, imagine how one says nothing and just gestures with his hands and the other is yelling atleast 20 words per second."

Roland giggled and didn't payed much attention to the weapon or Elysia in any kind anymore, he was completely wrapped up in his memeory.

"Anyways I tried to eavesdrop and just then Gaia stormed out of the door, giving me a crossbow and yelled that we would go hunting. Red just shrugged and came with us. It was a Yian Kutku and I doubt that it was the normal prey for Red and Gaia, they seemed too experienced, I even bet they picked it just for me. For show you know. They told me to just stay still and watch and I did. I could barely follow their speed and perfectly matched attacks, I was so caught up in the moment that I accidentally shot the crossbow. The arrow hit Red in the ass. You wouldn't believe how funny a mute guy looks when he is swearing from the bottom of his lungs. As a gift Gaia modified the crossbow as a melee weapon, well probably to annoy my stepdad and later on, after my own first successful hunt of a Velocidrome Red turned it into a gunlance. This is still my first weapon, even thou I doubt any material from the old crossbow still resides in it"

It is rare that Roland would open up so easily and like he just realised that himself he nearly jumped up,packed his gunlance into his room and excused himself to look after the bones he seemingly forgot.

Monster hunter,

By the rising his eyebrow Roland's showed some serious confusion. She surely acted like she had seen a gunlance before but the way she acted during their hunt indicated that she had no idea how it worked. He just decided to let it rest for a while, she felt bad for Jacque since he got hurt during the hun, not life threatening but hindering.

Anyways to her snappy answer he just pushed the stock forward into the shooting mechanism and so opened the innards of the gunlance. The gaschamber stood now wide open and so unable to move from their places, they rested firmly on a spiral around the barrel. Small clouds of ashes rose from the weapon as the sudden movement set some particles free.

Roland whistled it away.

It was a swift, trained movement, a sign that he repeated this process over and over and over.

His hands moved over the weapon and described several parts of it.
"...When i pull the trigger the shell or the gaschamber moves over the spiral on the shaft of the weapon towards the igniter. By pulling the second trigger the igniter sparks the sudden released gas of the chamber and so causes an explosion. Now if I hold both, the air would be filtered through all three chambers, leaving an highly explosive gas, way more potent than a normal shot. It does need some time and the strain on the weapon is high but it can knock out a giant buffalo with a single shot!"

He used the trigger and looked over to Elysia.

"Hmpf, you see something? A spark? Or anything lighting up?"

He repeated to pull the trigger several times to make sure that the women would definitely see something...or maybe nothing.

"You know I wouldn't have thought you knew something about this" he rather muttered to himself than to Elysia in particular.

Monster hunter,

Finally back at the guild. The time during their trip back Roland felt a pressure building from his arm where the Jaggi has bitten him. He seriously doubted that the arm was broken but it would form a nice hematome. He decided to ignore the pain since the tight armour would keep the swelling in chek.

As they finally he was suprised by how the villagers greeted and cheered at them. Why the others handled it professionally, Roland was only able to grin stupidly as he waved his right hand which he pressed firmly against his chest, little by little.
It felt wrong!

Luckily he soon found distraction as he separated the slaughtered prey. While Reema went to the tanning station with the hidew, Roland decided to scrap off the theeth, claws and bones. Normally people would bury it aside some ant but that would take several days, Roland borrowed some salt from the Feyline kitchen and cooked the bones with the salt over the fire. He didn't heat them to boiling temperature since that would make the bone less elastic and more breakable. While the bones and claws slowly lost the kastriert parts of their meat Roland changed.

He headed towards his room and finally got rid off his armour, as soon as he removed his arm guard a dull pain spread over his arm. A nasty blue and black bruise was revealed and Roland's face changed into worry. He grabbed a bowel and filled it with water. He shoved the rest of the herbs he left over from the hunt into his mouth and spit the roughly chewed substance into the bowel, afterwards he added some bandages and let them soak with the brood of water and herb. As the bandages soaked Roland used his hunting knive and produced produced a small cut on his swollen arm, blood was flowing quickly out of the wound but also slowed down quickly after, the dull pain shortly rose to a sharp one but then toned down as quickly. Bandaging the arm with first some of the soaked bandages armed then some dry ones he left the room. He was armed simple with his yellow tunic and his leather pants, the gun lance still on his back and a pouch in his hand.

He nearly stumbled over Elysian as he opened his door.

"Woah!" he nearly yelled out of suprise, this way it came rather muffld. Weirdly he looked after her as he saw her carrying a chest piece way too big for her.

Roland opened his mouth for a witty comment but closed it directly afterwards as he remembered that he would probably provoke a triad of swearing this way. So he just sat down on the table and tried to repair his hunting knive as well ands his gunlance.

He placed down the pouch and took a Wheatstone out of it, he first sharpened his knive since the gunlance would need more than simple sharpening, it would need maintaining. Quickly he was finished with his knive and send went towards his gunlance, quickly he glanced around.

"Uhh i might need some help with this!" He uttered to no one in particular but hoped that someone would offer his help.

"Nothing heavy or complicated, just need someone to chek the igniter unit while in pull the trigger."

Monster hunter,

Roland used some stripes of the Jaggi hide as binding material to form two decent packages consisting of 5 hides. They were huge but their weight was rather normal and so he tucked them left and right on his bagpack, making him look like a smaller version of a packing Aptonoth. He left the skinned smaller ones alone after he also put some claws almond theeth into his bagpack, he denied the flesh for obvious reasons and left it for others to harvest.

"Sure we celebrate! A small but surprisingly sucessful hunt and additionally our first one together! If that isn't reason enough, then what is?"

He turned to Elysian "My name is Roland! Might as well give me a nickname but do not expect me to listen to it."

Finally he answered Reema's question if they still wanted to do something. Roland didn't shared his gunlance and his hunting knive could wait but the loot would definitely attract other wild beasts. It wasn't a genuine idea to stay.

"Mhhh let's see what we can harvest on our way back, we may find some herbs, mushrooms and maybe even ore veins but I wouldn't go scouting. Sure we could leave the hides, claws and theeth but the bones, the head and the flesh will be undoubted targeted by other predators. If we have an outpost around here, I think we could place the stuff there for the village to collect it later on but such a small prey like a Jaggi wouldn't be worth it unless we stumble across it while we hunt something bigger. It for myself could also find my peace if you still insits on scouting some more but do not expect full agility from me!"

Monster hunter,

Next time:
"just shoot the damn dragon"

"It is in mid air, atleast 20 metres above us, moving real quickly AND THIS IS STILL A GUNLANCE"

"SO WHAT?"

"So I can't shoot it! It ain't a gun or a bow."

"It has gun in it's name...."

"......" -throws himself off the cliff-

Monster hunter,

The battle was over and Roland sheathed his his gun lance, the immense heat still emitting from it's open barrels. Luckily the need for weapons was over. While his gun lance was a superior beginning weapon, it lacked sturdiness and was known to break quiet easily compared to ones crafted out of bones. He still preferred it and while it might not have been a necessity to use the big shot, it left some impression and surely haunted the last Jaggi away.

Roland saw that Jacque was buried under the great Jaggi but Reema was too quick already, that aside Roland's shaking hands weren't a good support right now. While the recoil didn't dislocate his shoulder or anything like that, which happens way too often with untrained wielders, his hands shaked from the immense power and the continously heat they had to endure. While it seemed that he easily can wield the gun lance and shoot with it, each shot went through him like an earthquake.

Roland stuffed some herbs and some dried meat into his mouth to regain some of his older self as he walked towards the rest of the group.
He could lecture the unknown huntress now but he was way too happy the way the hunt turned out to be. This was exactly how he imagined it, this was a true test if someone was use able or not. A hunt never happens as planed and so people have to improvise, while doing so they also show their real value. While planing gets you too stuck on a predetermined path and so caught you off guard if things do not go accordingly, being too spontaneously also gets you! Roland knew of his weakness and was happy that the team shifted it out. Reema being the quick one which liked to plan ahead, Jacque being the one who can deal a lot of damage and tries to get the grip of the situation and Roland himself, who can get a hit and is medium in fighting speed but tries to engage the monster as soon as possible.

"So?" Roland felt like something had to be said or rather be done!

"What is your name, women!?" it was was a short pause between the name and the women since he first wanted to say lady but as things are....she wasn't too ladylike aside from her height.

Shortly Roland peered towards Jacque as he kneeled beside the severed head of the Jaggi, a shame that he decided to keep it as a trophy, the theeth would have made a nice reminder of the hunt together but it was technically Jacque's kill so he had decision over it.

"And why would you try to angry a Jaggi? Even more unprepared like this? I would have tried to avoid a fight"

He shook his head in disbelieve and also to calm himself, a sharp pain in his arm reminded him that he voluntary let himself bit by one of the Jaggis.

"Anyways since you helped with our hunt you can also earn some carvings"

With a simple gesture Roland pointed towards the dead pack of Jaggi behind him. He was sure Jacque and Reema would take care of the big one, so why let the smaller ones let to waste? A good hide or small theeth can be still used for a decent rug, armour, dagger or ammunition if you happen to use a crossbow or bow. The options were limitless and even if Jaggi scales and hide aren't the most valuable items, they would still fetch some worth and be proof of the killed pack.

Roland went over to the corpses and tried to get as much as possible, even thou the crispy ones didn't promised much aside from their fatty, livery meat.
Some hunter actually eat Jaggi meat but for him it tasted like crap! Wait he would rather eat a bucket full of fresh Aptonoth dung than a single slice of perfectly roasted Jaggi meat! It was more than disgusting to him but he still leaned over the roasted cadavers and breaks out the theeth and claws and additionally scraps some unscathed scales.

He suddenly stood still as he remembered something.

"Jacque! Cut out a bone! If I remember correctly there was a message on the board, saying a little girl pays for any bones we might stumble across, if you boil it in hot water the flesh will just peel off and it will look bright and shiny, otherwise let the Feyline do it, they might help you with it. A bone of a Jaggi this size is not found quiet often."

He hoped he remembered correctly and Jaggi bones aren't normally collected but the Jaggi had a respectable size, so he hoped the girl would make an exception.

Monster hunter,

The part of the gunlance is not canon but I hope it's okey the way it wrote it! Since they have infinite shots I always imagined them to be like this.

Monster hunter,

Roland was short of words as he heard the unknown huntress scream that someone should shot the great Jaggi in the face! Does she know how how a gunlance works? To simplify it, a catalyst is dragging the oxygen from the air and gathers it inside chambers which are crafted into the weapon. The number of chambers being the numbers of shots fired. When pulling the trigger the oxygen inside the chamber gets released and ignited via a spark the gas will forcefully expand, leading to an explosion. And when all chambers get emptied in one go, well this is what causes the huge explosion when using a gun lance. So all he did was yelling back.

"Women! This a gunlance! Not a crossbow!" Furthermore he was busy dealing with the smaller brood. He was too far away to land land a decent shot but the tides of the battle were shifting, he saw Remark creating a small opening for Jacque and him. Jacque would earn the honor to slay the monster and with that weapon, it would be rather easy for him to deal the final blow. It was only a short gap Reema created but enough for Roland to act as well. The gun Lance snapped open as the chambers recharged with fresh air as he jumped behind the group of Jaggi which Reema was pushing towards him.

A sharp sound mixed into the battling noise as the gun Lance prepared his ultimate attack. Roland steadied his stand and held the weapon with both hands, his shoulders relaxed to take the recoil.

"DOGDE" he yelled over the noise of the gun lance, just a second before it would go off. The sound and the yelling was enough to catch the attention of the Jaggis, who all turned towards Roland, their demise.

What they saw was only a big fireball engulfing them completely and those who were luckily enough to be out of the range of the fire, the heat and the shock would still throw them back. The damage wasn't as bad as it looked like but it was the show, the fire, the noise which had a great effect on the monsters, if other Jaggi would try to come to aid now, even they would think twice.

Roland slithered on the ground as he tried to take hold of the recoil, he managed to control the weapon and exhaled as he came to a stop. The innards of the gunlance stood wide open and glowed in a bright red as the metal tried to cool down. Roland wouldn't be able to fight effectively during that time but he hoped that it was worth it, even thou he now risked his weapon to break, he turned around to face the great Jaggi.

Behind Roland was only scorched ground and crispy Jaggi to go!

Monster hunter,

Roland had to blink a few times to realise what was happening below. The scenery quickly changed as the pack closed in a young huntress who was more swinging her weapon than actually using it, sooner or later the Jaggi would do some serious damage to her. Reema was already on her feet to help the young huntress and Roland dived in after. He was smiling, weirdly he was smiling!

"What happened with 'I tend to watch a beast for a few days to a week before we move on them though.'"

Roland tried to imitate Reema's voice as he remembered what she said yesterday and it was surprisingly well, if you leave out the deep bass like voice of Roland but a solid 5 outta 7. He just remembered it since she gave him 'the look' as he described his rather rash way of hunting to her. It was funny how quickly she threw over her principles for someone she never met and so could not trust but this was probably only his usual human hating manner which gave him that thought. It went rather well, he got a hunt like he loved it.

A shriek sounded as Roland threw himself off the cliff, using the bagpack as as kind of sledge and the scale armour of his arms to control the short and fast slide downwards. The heavy weapon didn't allowed him any other way down since it would hinder his equilibrium. The dirt and sand clenched into the scales of his Jaggi armour and Roland took took a mental note to clean it as soon as rossi he returned to the village.

He hit the ground but landed with his feet first and his gunlance ready to fight. It was a weird and painful way down, but an effective one. A second, already too much for Roland's taste, took it to recognise what happened.
Reema tried to bring the Jaggi in a pincher between her and the unknown female huntress, further smaller Jaggi are entering the cavern while some others regained as they heard their reinforcements coming closer. Jaggis are rather aggressive but also easily to scare without a pack leader.
Roland decided to fence off some of the pack to allow Reema a fight without disturbance, such a weapon like his would only get in the way since she Reema needed much space to act so agile.

With a short sprint Roland was at the first Jaggi, he used a slow stab and the small creature doged it by an inch, just the way Roland wanted it to be. The creature tried to close the gap with a quick launch but was instead deadly suprised as an explosion send it flying instead. The gunlance glowed in inactive slight red from the sudden released heat. Two other Jaggi closed in as the third one, who was hit by the shot of the gun Lance stood up. They tried to close him in and Roland let them. As the first launched he did a quick step to the side and used the heavy blade of his axe to bring bring a swift end to the creature. The blade now stuck in the neck of the dead Jaggi and so being pulled to the gound, the second hoped for it's chance and closed in from the body of his dead kin as the third closed in for Roland's right side. He used the trigger of the gun Lance and shot the first Jaggi, the explosion knocked him off the feet and leaved it crippled but living. The second bit at Roland and he shifted his position a bit, offering the Jaggi his heavy armoured side. The Jaggi took the offered side and nd bit into Roland's arm, who still hold the axe with it. Bone met Scale and flesh was bruised as the long jaw completely enclosed Roland's arm. Only the armour and the loosely attached shield saved Roland's from a serious injury and he knew that, in fact he counted on that. Quickly he grabbed his knive with his free hand gutted the poor Jaggi swiftly yet effectively. Few wou,dass know but when biting it's prey most wyvern, no most and niemals are closing their eyes to prevent damage. It would also mean that they wouldn't see such an attack coming. As quickly as he drew his dagger, it also vanished.
"Oi huntress! Maybe they are mistaking your firey language as calls for help because there are coming more and more of them"
He yelled over the sound of Jaggi cries and the roaring of battle towards the young huntress.

With a yank Roland pushed the now dead Jaggi away and also freed his gunlance from the corpse of the other. He regained stance as he held his weapon crossed before his body, the heavy axe blade over his right shoulder and tilted towards his front, the stance of an executioner, as he awaited further attacks of the small beasts.

Monster hunter,

Roland noticed the glares and the comments of the other hunters but tended to ignore them, it was personal, too personal for some hunting companions he just met the day before. He grunted that he was fine and let it be. Sure it was stupid to let emotions influence him during a hunt but Roland quickly regained his old self. It was now the great Jaggi and the pack around which completely consumed his cautious and mind. He was now fully in hunting mode and directly weighting the pro and contras of fighting either the pack, it's leader or both and that even before Reema offered him help to climb the stoney ledge. It was a short climb and left Roland's a bit huffing, the big weapon restricted his movement while climbing just enough to make it a noteable exercise, so he stuffed some dried meat in his mouth as he crouched down to see the pack in the far distance.

"If we slay the pack without the leader, the great Jaggi will quickly gather smaller ones around him. It will bring peace for a short time, either if another pack takes over or he regained his pack size."
The words of Roland were only disturbed by the occassional munching on the dried meat and what he uttered was just simple book knowledge but none the less important.

"If we slay the leader, the pack will undoubtedly scatter. So both decisions, in my opinion, would full fill the contract. It gains the village a short pause of Jaggi attacks but personally I would root out the great Jaggi and parts of the pack. With the Aptonoth in breeding season we would so offer the pack some protection and greater wyvern some food sources without the need for them to prey on a near village or farm"

Roland shrugged, it was obvious that he was for hunting both but it was a group decision.