Heroes of Moga VI - A Bad Day for Hunting

The next day was when the trouble really began to start.

Phisto woke up in his rather small bed unceremoniously when Catry shoved him out. "What the rampaging Rhenoplos has gotten into you?" the boy hissed, getting up angrily and glaring through his heavy-lidded eyes. "Our next monster slaying requests," Catry stated. "Come on, put your armor on and we'll go see the Chief."

In the bed next to his, Morgana sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, gazing at Catry questioningly. "You too," he said, throwing her the Lance and shield she always carried. "Come on, there are monsters to slay! Are you two going to sit around all day?"

Catry ran out of the hut the three of them shared. "I've been living with that kid for months, and his enthusiasm about hunting never fails to impress me," Morgana said sleepily, reaching for her Gigginox armor. "I think 'frustrates' is the word you're looking for," Phisto muttered, already halfway into his Jaggi armor set. "We might as well not keep him waiting, although I would like to get a decent breakfast first..."

The two friends emerged from their hut fully equipped, weapons shining in the early morning sunlight. The villagers already going about their work stared at the two teenagers in awe as they passed. It was clear that these people had little experience with hunters. You know what I'd like? Phisto grumbled to himself. ''Little experience with over-eager hunters like Catry... Why must the day start at such an ungodly hour?''

Catry joined them shortly, and they found the Chief out at the end of one of the docks, smoking his pipe and staring out at the sunrise. He didn't even turn around when the three friends approached him. He simply murmured, "It's not often people wake up in the mornin' and simply admire the sunrise. You kids ought ta do it once in a while. It helps this old man relax, knowin' that a brand new day is about to start."

"If you don't give us those hunting requests quickly, those monsters are going to make sure you never see another one," Catry pointed out, and Phisto and Morgana simultaneously rolled their eyes. While they did love their friend, he took their job way too seriously.

The Chief laughed and finally turned around to face them. "It's clear you're itching to start yer work for today," he chuckled. "Speak for yourself," Phisto muttered, yawning.

"So," the Chieftain suddenly said, handing them two slips of paper. "These are the requests that the Guild sent yesterday. It seems like they're keepin' an eye on ya. Anyhow, they want ya to slay a coupla monsters in different locations. According to our local Guild associate, these two popped up unexpectedly and out of nowhere and are causin' a heckuva lot of trouble."

Phisto took the paper and examined both sheets, while his friends looked at them over his shoulder. The first one entailed hunting a Nibelsnarf. Apparently (according to the quest description), this monster had appeared almost overnight in the Sandy Plains, and the Guild had no idea it was even there until it had eaten three trade caravans going through the area the following morning. The quest was marked "Unstable".

The second was hunting a Great Wroggi in the Volcano. This Wroggi leader had spontaneously jumped a group of hunters while they were on an Agnaktor hunt, and their shock had cost them their lives. Like the Nibelsnarf, the Guild was totally surprised by its presence in the hunting ground. This quest was also marked "Unstable".

"That's weird," Morgana commented, seeing the quest descriptions for herself. "Why hadn't the Guild predicted the appearances of these monsters?" Catry shrugged and replied, "Who cares about that when we get a profit from stepping over their corpses?"

Phisto thought hard about it, but couldn't come up with an answer. Indeed, the erratic behaviour of the monsters in the Moga region was worrying.

MORE COMING SOON