Fanfic:A Legend Begins

Chapter One: Barroth
“Oh crap,” said Vanyel as the Barroth discovered him. He’d been trying to sneak around the beast to set up a trap but instead almost stepped on the monster. “So much for that idea,” he thought aloud. The Barroth was not in a good mood. It stared him down with a rage in its eyes. Barroth are highly territorial creatures, basking in the mud until something disturbs its rest. Too bad that it was Vanyel that disturbed him this time. As the Barroth stared at him with the fixation of the most trained hunter, Vanyel saw a signal from his friend and hunting partner, Devin Reiter. Devin was unlike most hunters, whom were mostly knuckle dragging apes. Devin was very intelligent and remained calm during situations. Devin was good at physical obstacle courses but was beaten by stronger hunters. He was fiercely loyal to the group and saw others before himself. As Vanyel saw the signal, he instantly started running to the right, towards a thin rocky crag in the canyon wall. The Barroth was not going to just watch this as he shook off some mud and locked his gaze on Vanyel. As Vanyel was getting close to the crag the Barroth started charging and was catching up to him fast. Barroth are well known for their ability to charge at high speeds and knock most things straight into the air. Vanyel started panicking, I’m not getting a broken leg now, he thought, I can’t, not with the exams so close. He could hear the Barroth approaching fast, and he was running as fast as he could towards the rocky crag. He had almost made it when he felt the rumbling of the earth behind him and felt his weapon being pushed. Vanyel made a desperate leap into the crag and felt a huge rumble followed by the Barroths' screams of pain. It had run into the wall just as Vanyel made it in. Vanyel had no time to rest; he jumped up and drew his weapon, a Switch Axe. Switch Axes were invented by a wyverian artisan trying to make a weapon with the mobility of a Longsword but with the strength of a Great Sword. He fashioned an axe, but with special mechanics that allowed a second blade to swing around on top of the first blade while the first blade sinks lower on the handle. The result was an axe that could morph into a Great Sword with reasonable ease. Vanyel charged out of the crag and swung his weapon at the stunned Barroth, cutting it but not injuring it as much as Vanyel had hoped. Barroth have very tough hides that duller weapons bounce right off of; to add to that, their coat of mud acts as a coat of armor, and even gums up hunters’ weapons. Vanyel was unfortunate; his Switch Axe was now unable to morph into sword mode. The mud was keeping the blade from moving properly. “Ah to hell with it,” Vanyel said as he charged in for another slice. He swung his weapon and again hit the Barroth in the leg. The Barroth reeled back in pain as Vanyel went in for a third slice. He was too slow though, as the Barroth recovered and rammed his head into Vanyel. That hit took the breath out of him, knocking him onto the ground. The Barroth stepped back and prepared to charge him again. Vanyel knew he would receive at least a broken rib if the Barroth charged. He tried to get up but all of the mud that had fallen off the Barroth was gluing him to the ground. He knew this was it for him as the Barroth charged. He braced himself for the impact and then the sudden, extreme pain of broken bones. He waited, but nothing happened, instead the Barroth was again reeling in pain. Then Vanyel saw who had made him reel, it was Devin, Longsword drawn, ready to attack the Barroth again as it recovered. But instead of charging again, the Barroth started limping away with an injured leg. It dug into the ground and disappeared. Devin turned around, “Hey Vanyel, are you ok?” he asked. “Yeah I’m fine,” Vanyel said, “but the Barroth…”. “Don’t worry, I marked it with a scent ball, we’ll be able to track its scent wherever it goes so let’s take a break.”

They sat under a desert tree and ate some Aponoth steaks. “Damn Vanyel, you’re a good cook.” said Devin as he bit into the juicy steak, “I could never cook this good, my steaks are always burnt.” “I get lots of practice having to cook for my family.” said Vanyel, laughing. “Yeah well you will have to teach me how to cook one of these days.” said Devin. “By the way, what do you think the chieftain will do for our exams?” “I don’t know, I have been thinking about that this whole hunt.” said Vanyel. They continued their discussion when suddenly they heard a voice behind them. They turned to see Rodrik Wood and Ike Helban, two fellow hunters, and friends from their village. Rodrik Wood was a tough guy. He was tall with wide shoulders, a square chin, and a look that would intimidate even the most seasoned hunters in the village. Rodrik won any arm wrestling challenge. He could be stern at times but he was a great friend and fiercely loyal. Rodrik always had your back in a fight, whether it be against a monster or human. “Hey guys, did you bag that Barroth yet?” said Rodrik. “Almost,” said Devin, “we sent it packing with a wounded leg. We got it with a scent ball so we’re taking a quick break.” “Seriously?!” said Ike, “we’ve been busting our asses doing the sub-quests and you guys just wounded it?” Ike Helban was slightly shorter than Rodrik and a little skinnier, but some would argue he was the most intelligent person in the village. Ike also had his friend’s backs in fights; being a gunner, he had to. He often tried to cheer people up with jokes but he was also the village trouble maker, making mischief with his friends was his favorite hobby. He was also a little too cocky, often getting himself into more trouble than he made. “Well Barroth aren’t exactly easy to capture.” said Devin. “Do you know how hard it is to catch a Delex with the rest of its group charging you?!” said Ike. Delex are sand fish that swim under soft sand and always travel in groups. “Well I can assure you that a 2-ton beast charging at you is a bit more of a challenge.” said Devin. “Hey guys break it up.” said Rodrik, “I know the heat is getting to all of us so let’s just go bag that Barroth so we can go home.” “Alright guys, let’s go.” said Devin. The group set off towards the pungent scent of the scent ball.

As Vanyel was walking with the group he couldn’t help but think about the exams. The exams were a set of trials set up by the village chief for hunters to earn their manhood. They were centered on teamwork, if a hunter could not work well in a team they were often killed by the monster. The tests were known to be extremely difficult and often very dangerous. If a hunter passed the exams they were officially recognized as adults. They could initiate quests on their own and they could keep all of their earnings. Vanyel, Devin, Rodrik, and Ike were all old enough to take the exams. Vanyel was so deep in his exams thoughts that he slammed right into the back of Rodrik, almost tipping them both over. “Hey, watch where you’re going.” said Rodrik, silently pointing to the injured Barroth in the distance. It was nursing its leg in a pool of mud so the group had some time to prepare an ambush. Devin grabbed his Longsword and started sharpening it while Vanyel tried to clean the mud from his Switch Axe. “I’m getting a better vantage point.” said Ike as he started to climb the canyon wall overlooking the scene, “Vanyel, go to the mouth of the canyon and set up a trap.” “On it.” said Vanyel setting off towards the canyon. “I guess that leaves me and Devin.” said Rodrik. “What are we waiting for then?” said Devin with a smile. They jumped down the small ledge and headed towards the Barroth.

Vanyel found a good place to set up the trap. He took it out, a shock trap…I hope this works, he thought. He dug as fast as he could and placed the trap into the shallow pit. Shock traps are devices about the size of a small back pack. They are buried about halfway in the ground and emit an electrical pulse that acts like a taser, temporarily immobilizing the monster. Hunters use them to allow some, although brief, time to attack or capture monsters. As Vanyel finished burying the trap he heard the shots from Ikes’ Bowgun signaling that the rest of the team had begun to fight the Barroth. Vanyel quickly activated the trap; it came alive with the crackle of electricity as he ran to go help his friends.

Rodrik and Devin were in the middle of intense combat. Rodrik had his hammer out, called the Ludroth bone maul, and was getting ready to attack when the Barroth suddenly turned around and stared right at him. Surprised, Rodrik got ready to jump out of the way when the Barroth decided to charge. And charge it did, right at Rodrik. He managed to evade the charge barely, landing on his stomach with a thud. Devin swung his long sword, made of a giant bone, at the Barroths' tail. It cut but it didn’t cut it off. The Barroth was in pain as it reeled foreword but it quickly recovered. Most of the Barroths' mud had fallen off by now. The Barroth charged at Devin. Devin jumped out of the way just in time but the Barroth wasn’t even trying to get him, it was heading for the mud pool. The Barroth jumped in the waist deep mud and started rolling around, giving itself a fresh coat of mud armor. The Barroth got back up and pointed his crest in the direction of Devin. “Come on beasty.” Devin said. The Barroth charged, fast, straight at Devin. Devin did an impressive maneuver that placed him right behind the Barroth. Devin swung his Longsword as hard as he could right at the Barroths' tail. It hit its mark, slicing the tail clean off. The Barroth shot forward and fell over in pain. “Now!” said Rodrik. Ike heard him and started firing tranquilizer shots from his Bowgun. Bowguns are exactly what they sound like. They launch a shell with the guns bow. The gunpowder in the shell then ignites. The shell splits open launching the arrow/bullet towards the monster with reasonable power. The Tranq S shots were making the monster sleepy but they were not enough, they had to put the monster in the trap.

Vanyel knew this and started making a bunch of noise. The Barroth took the bait and looked at Vanyel. The Barroth started charging, but noticeably slower than normal. Vanyel had to zig-zag a couple times to make the Barroth have to re-aim. As he neared the trap the Barroth was wobbling back and forth. Vanyel knew that the tranquilizer was setting in and the Barroth had to be in the trap to capture it. Vanyel shouted, “Get over here!” The Barroth listened and charged at Vanyel one last time. Vanyel ran to the trap as fast as he could and gave a desperate leap over the shock trap. The plan worked perfectly; the Barroth stepped on the trap and was immediately stopped by its electric grip. Devin grabbed 3 Tranq grenades and threw them at the Barroth. The Barroth had no way to fight back and finally hit the ground with a hard thud.

“Hell yeah!” Ike shouted. “Nice work,” Rodrik said. “Now…how are we going to get this thing home?” Everyone let out a good laugh. “Ha-ha…no seriously, what is the plan?” “Well I believe we mark it on the map and we head back,” Devin said. “The village will take care of it. We should leave monster repellant though in case any small monsters get any ideas.” “Alright then lets head back. I can’t wait to drink some of Aerons' homemade Hunter Cola,” Rodrik said. “Oh yeah that stuff is good. He said he got the recipe from a city in the desert,” Devin said. “Well I don’t care where he got the recipe I just love the taste,” Rodrik said. “That reminds me, hey Vanyel, Devin told me you cook up a mean Aponoth steak.” “Yeah I guess…” Vanyel said. “I think you should cook at the festival,” Rodrik said. “Hey, he’s a Monster Hunter, not a cook,” Ike said laughing. The Rest of the group laughed as they walked home.