Monster Hunter : Itineris

Fanfic based on the games of Monster Hunter. Well, kinda. The original Fanfic I made was all serious and stuff, which I decided wasn't my style. This Fanfic would be more laid-back, but still packing great action and drama. Watch as the Hunter Uakshi tackles wyverns, pigs, and dragons along with his teammates as they live the life of a hunter of Pokke. Itineris... means 'adventure'.

1) Dynamic Entry of the Courageous Stranger
Pokke Village is one of the numerous settlements scattered on the Schrade region. The cold environment the village is nestled in mean nothing to the humble villagers most of the time. However, during the winterous seasons, they would usually retreat into their warm homes, keeping the duties of the day to at the lowest priority possible. This season, however, was different. Today, the Gathering Hall is abundant with cheers and laughs as the villagers come together to celebrate the retirement of the village's oldest hunter, Mauve.

"Everyone! Everyone, may I please have your attention?" exclaims the village chief at one corner, tapping her staff unto the wall. "Good, good. Well, Mauve would like to say a few words to all of you." she continued, as the noise ceased. Mauve took her place, placing his Gunlance to rest against the wall. He had brought the pike of steel for today's event as it was very special to him. With a loud grunt, he turned to the fellow villagers.

"Honestly, I don't really have much to say, only that I wish to give my heartfelt thanks to everyone here, for honoring me with this festive event. I also wish to make a final apology to anyone I might have crossed on my line of duty before I step down. My job as a hunter may end today, but with all endings, there are new beginnings. That said, I would be teaching the new hunters, Jias and Grahm, the ways of hunting. With Master Marrow at my side, I 'm sure they would be well taught as I had been." said Mauve, looking at the two young hunters seated on the left table.

Jias and Grahm had just arrived from Minegarde, being replacement hunters for Mauve. Seeing old Mauve and the almost the rest of the hall looking at them, Grahm quickly stood up. "We look forward to learning from all of you," he greeted the crowd. Jias, who was a little embarrassed at the time, followed suit. "We'll... we'll do the best we can!" she said. Everyone cheered. The young hunters can feel their warmth; prompting smiles form the both of them as they looked at each other. Seeing this, Mauve smiled as well.

"Alright everyone, let's give old Mauve the best moment of his career!" exclaimed the Village chief. And with that, the Gathering Hall became noisier than ever, as celebrations began at full speed. Everyone ate, drank, and talked. Some were even dancing. The maidens joined in the fun as well, but something was bothering the Guild Master.

She sat quietly on a stool, at her usual spot. She had in one hand a letter from the wyverian scholar, while the other hand was covering her face. The scholar lived in a hot-air balloon, conducting studies on the environment around Pokke village. Just an hour or so before the party began, she received the message, brought to her by a messenger bird.

The scholar wrote that there seem to be anomalies around the top portion of the snowy mountains. What worried him even more was that the disruption in natural weather seemed to be moving slowly towards the middle portion, as if it was following something. The guild master knew what it was. So was the scholar, but he had refrained from saying anything, as not to worry her. It had happened before. The words 'Elder Dragon' popped in her head.

"On all the days in this year, it had to approach us today." she thought. "I can't possibly ask for Mauve for help... Neither can I from the two hunters..." But what could she possibly do, she thought. Any second now, a notice would appear from the Guild command, either to slay or repel the elder dragon. She was right. "Madam, a long-range messenger had just arrived!" an assistant notified her. "The message has been retrieved? Good. Hand it over to me now. I need to know whether..." reading half the notice, she stopped. Thank goodness, she thought. The objective was only to repel it. "How about it, madam?" her assistant asked. "Seems the guild does take notice of our village's condition.” she said.

"I'll notify the village chief." the Guild Master continued.

At that time, Mauve was talking with Master Marrow about their past experiences. A few villagers had gathered on the opposite side of the table, some of them children, as the two man continued telling stories to all open ears about the mountain dragon, the king of flames, getting thrown to the air by a certain Master's hammer, and much more. Everyone including the children laugh as each tale always comes to a humorous stop because of Master Marrow. But, as Master Marrow was about to begin telling another one, the village chief approached their table. Mauve put down his pitcher of water.

"Anything wrong, chief?" he asked.

"I'm... very sorry to interrupt your fine day, Mauve, but the Guild Master needs to talk to you." she said.

"I never consider needing help as an interruption, chief." said Mauve as he got up from the table.

"Don't worry, Mauve," said Master Marrow. Mauve turned around."I'll keep the children entertained." said the master, giving a thumbs up. Mauve smiled.

Mauve went over to the Guild Master, who was setting up a few preparations. They talked. Mauve gave a look of worry. The Guild Master gave a suggestion, but Mauve quickly cut her off. Jias was watching all this. She jabbed Grahm, who was talking to one the counter maidens.

"Ouch! What, what is it?" he asked. "We haven't said anything to old Mauve since this party started. Why not now?" she said, pointing at Mauve, who was still talking with the Guild Master. "I don't know... He's busy talking to the lady. We shouldn't barge in.” replied Grahm. Obviously he was never going to comply, she thought. Jias grabbed Grahm by the arm and dragged him with her towards Mauve and the guild master. Soon the two hunters were in their presence.

"Hey there old Mauve!" greeted Jias.

Mauve saw the two coming and stopped his conversation with the Guild Master.

"Ah, how are you two enjoying the party?" he inquired. "The food's good, and the people are wonderful!" replied Jias. "Not to mention the girls... Ouch!" said Grahm who just received another jab from Jias. "Haha! Well said boy! In fact, We have here in our presence right now another fair maiden." said Mauve, introducing the Guild Master. "Meet our village's very own Guild Master, Madam Orana." continued Mauve.

"Um, hello...." muttered Orana.

Seeing the look on her face, Jias had her suspicions confirmed. Something wasn’t right. But before she could say anything, another voice spoke. "Old Mauve... Is everything okay?" asked Grahm. "He noticed it too?" thought Jias. Mauve and Orana stayed silent. They looked at each other.

"You have very sharp disciples indeed, Mauve." sounded the village chief.

At that moment the four realized how quiet the Gathering Hall was. Everyone in the hall had stopped the celebrations, and are now watching them.

"...We have news that an elder dragon has appeared on the snowy mountains. Kushala Daora." stated Mauve.

There were gasps and halted breaths. The look on everyone's faces changed, including Jias and Grahm.

"And you're going to have a go at it?" said a voice. It was Master Marrow. "At the direction it's moving in, it poses a very liable threat to the village." Mauve replied. "A notice has been sent. So yeah, I'm having a go at it.” said Mauve some more. "You're not going alone against it." said another voice. Grahm turned to his right in disbelief. It was Jias.

"Jias... what..?" muttered Grahm.

"If anything happens to you, you can't very well enjoy your retirement, can you? I mean, you’re supposed to wake up tomorrow without any worry for facing these kind of things." Jias continued. "I can't very well in a sound state of mind let you fight this thing alone." she said.

"That's how things will be." said Mauve. "My job as a mentor already begun. And as so, I will not endanger those under my wing! You have no idea what we're facing here, Jias."

Jias thought for a moment. "Kushala Daora. Elder Dragon, Tempest of the Wind. Rumors include great susceptibility to poison. " she said.

Mauve looked at the female hunter with amazement.

"Reading monster information can be pretty fun sometimes." she said with a confident smile. "And useful too, it seems." Grahm said. Now he had that look on his face too. "We may be greenhorns, but that's where you come in, old Mauve. To guide us." said Grahm some more.

Mauve sighed and dropped his head down. But after that he smiled. He can't believe he's being upstaged by two youngsters like them.

“I’m not getting any younger anyway.” thought Mauve. "Very well. Grab your equipment." he said. "We leave in 5 minutes." "Yes sir!" the two replied.

Everyone in the hall cheered again. And this time even louder than ever. They had just witnessed the birth of two new hunters. As they cheered, the doors creaked open loudly. Gusts of cold wind flowed in. The cheering stopped; all eyes were on the door.

A male figure stood on the spot, with a Greatsword strapped to his back, gaining Grahm's attention.

"Whoa, did I just miss something here?" said the stranger.

"Well…" spoke Mauve.

"I see you've finally woken up."

2) Urgents Apparently do not Supply Hot Drinks
There was a moment of silence. The stranger changed the surrounding atmosphere. All eyes were on him. Old Mauve had spoken, and so Grahm does so as well.

“Old Mauve… You know him?” asked Grahm. “Well yes, but….” Mauve motioned at the Guild Master.

“Ah, right, 5 minutes. Let’s go Jias.” said Grahm, looking at Jias, who nodded briefly. The two headed for the door. Passing the stranger, the two glanced at him. He glanced back. Just before the doors closed completely, Grahm heard a name; Uakshi.

“Uakshi? Weird name.” remarked Jias. “I guess the armor choice fits then.” she continued. “What do you mean?” asked Grahm. “You didn’t see? He was wearing mixed nuts.” replied the girl. “Um.. I don’t really spend much time studying about armors, or monsters, for that matter. And you know that.” said Grahm, pushing the doors to the hunter’s boarding house. “Now, ready everything you need. Bring side items just in case. It’s a dragon we’re dealing with here and I don’t want anybody to…” Grahm turned around. Jias hadn’t given a further explanation to the term ‘mixed nuts’ she used, and that was pretty uncommon. “Hey, what’s wrong?” asked Grahm. Jias had just entered the door when he asked the question. She was deep in thought. “It’s… somehow… I think I’ve heard the name Uakshi before, although I can’t place my finger on it.”

“It’s an unusual name, maybe a friend of yours just mentioned it and it got stuck in your head?” Grahm suggested. “Don’t know… forget about it. I’m so silly, we have something real on our hands right now.” she said. Jias walked over to a large box at the corner that was right next to the door. “Well, what are you standing around for?” asked Jias, taking out her Dual Rapiers. “Grab your hulk of a sword!” she continued. Grahm smiled.

10 minutes later, they were already standing at the base camp of the Snowy Mountains. Mauve, Grahm, Jias, and a last-minute addition to the team; Uakshi. It made sense, and nobody argued about it. Grahm wasn’t the type of guy that knew his place. And right now, he knew they were going to need a full team of hunters. Jias was a bit worried. A soon-to-be retiree, two newbies and a guy that didn’t prepare a bottle of Hot Drink for the Snowy Mountains…

“What are you going to do now?” asked Grahm to Uakshi.

“Looks like I’ll have to do without some heat for a while.” he replied, still rummaging through his rucksack. He found a pack of Well-done Steaks and had an idea.

“Well, how about if you take a few sips from our bottles?” asked Jias.

“A no-go. If you guys don’t drink up all of it, the effect will only be around half as good.” he replied.

“I’m sure I’ll be fine, the temperature here should be just like in the vill…” he got hit by a cold gust of wind, and shivered. “Crap, scratch that.” he said. “I’m just gonna have to try this out…” said, Uakshi, checking that he didn’t drop the steaks or something. “You have something?” ask Jias, who had just finished drinking up her bottle. “Hopefully. C’mon, let’s go.” replied Uakshi. He and Jias started moving downhill, towards the foot of the Snowy Mountains. Grahm finished eating a piece of ration, and followed suit. Mauve was already there; waiting for them.”So, ready?” he asked the three. “Another beast stands in our path before we actually find the Elder Dragon.” he continued.

“The mountain itself.” said Grahm.

“Correct.”

“If so, I’ll need to go on a short errand right away.” said Uakshi. Mauve was puzzled. He wanted to ask about it, but decided they needed to move quickly. He also knew that he need not worry for his safety. “Alright, but make sure to rejoin us quickly. I haven’t slain an Elder Dragon for years.” he said. Uakshi went off. The three continued with their quest, and began climbing the mountain from the southern wall. Uakshi took an entrance that led into the mountain instead.

“Old Mauve.” spoke Jias. “I’m not really that old…” replied Mauve. They were moving against the icy wind; the chill could be felt even after gulping down Hot Drinks, and the snow beneath their feet thickening with every step; making it harder to walk. Basically, he wasn’t in the mood to talk. “Sorry, but you knew Uakshi before he joined us, right? How?” she asked.

“Later. We need to focus right now.” replied Mauve. Jias stayed silent. She looked behind her. Grahm was struggling with the straps on his Buster Sword. It seemed as if he was always a bit left behind wherever he went. “Don’t mind me, this thing just keeps getting loose.” he said. “Well hurry up, old Mauve is already leaving us behind.” she joked. Mauve walked a few steps more, than felt something. The blizzard, it was ceasing. At first it lessened slowly, but then it disappeared completely. “I was right.” thought Mauve. Jias and Grahm were bewildered. The blizzard subsided in the blink of an eye.

“You two, hurry! The dragon is near!” Mauve yelled. “What?!” exclaimed Grahm. The two quickly caught up with the veteran, who was checking the map of the Snowy Mountains. “We found it already?” Grahm asked. “If I am to be right, the Elder Dragon should have moved north-east.” replied Mauve.

“The peak of the mountain.”

“We’ll need to move with haste.” he continued. The three fasten their steps, with the blizzard now gone. They were now at the peak, after passing through a few empty areas. At first nothing seemed to be there. The three got ready to unsheathe their weapons nonetheless. Moments later a blizzard covered the area. Visibility became low all of a sudden. Through the thick snow, they could see a creature landing. Wings the size of its own body. Kushala Daora, Tempest of the Wind. The elder dragon noticed them instantly. It didn’t waste any time and gave out a loud roar. Jias, who was closest to the dragon, had to cover her ears or her ear drums would probably get punctured. Opening her eyes, she saw the dragon heading towards her. Not sparing time to even curse, she quickly dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the dragon. Wind enveloping the elder dragon disrupted her dodge, and she fell on her side. It turned around for another attack at Jias.

“Damn it! Over here, you bastard!” cursed Grahm. He tried to attract its attention.

Jias couldn’t recover from her dodge quickly enough. The dragon readied to charge, when suddenly a small spherical object was thrown into the air in front of it. The object detonated, releasing a blinding flash. It staggered.

“Hurry, unsheathe and begin attacking cautiously. Don’t waste that Flash Bomb!” yelled Mauve. He began heading towards the dragon, ready to unsheathe his Gunlance. In confusion, the Kushala Daora violently slashed its claw around. Grahm saw its long tail and decided to hack it off. His first swing missed. He swung his Greatsword a second time, this time an upswing, but missed as well. The tail lashed back and forth, and because of the rebound caused by the upswing, Grahm was hit in the left shoulder. The hit sent him falling on his back. He ignored it, grunting at the fact that it was only the thing’s freaking tail.

Jias already unsheathed her dual blades and had begun slashing at the dragon’s side. She realized that they were ineffective, and her attacks keep coming to a halt even at a green level of sharpness. “What’s wrong with this thing?” she yelled. She went at the skin some more. What seemed like only dents showed up. It was too late when she realized claws coming up her side instead. The Kushala Daora had recovered from the flash. It threw Jias to the ground with a slash. She could feel its cold claws going through her leather armor. Grahm gave a side swing to the dragon’s hind legs. The blade cut through its scales and blood flowed. Angered, the dragon attempts to slash Grahm instead. He moved his Greatsword and blocked the hit. Seeing chance, he rolled quickly to the side and made an upswing that manages to hit its chin. Blood poured out.

“Nice shave!” Grahm remarked.

“My turn now!” yelled Mauve. Turning around, the elder dragon was blasted right in the face by a fully loaded Wyvern’s Fire. Scales and blood scattered on the snow. Mauve grinned. The timing was impeccable, if he could say so himself. However, he expected greater retaliation from the dragon. He quickly raised his shield. Recovering from its stagger, the dragon roars again, this time even louder than before. Ice began forming in the air around its mouth. Blocking the roar pushed Mauve back. Before he could regain his strength, the elder dragon charged towards him and slammed into his shield, pushing him back even further. His strength was getting lower, the force was too powerful. Grahm, unsheathing his sword from blocking the roar, went to help Jias up. She had difficulty moving. She thought the effect of the Hot Drink was depleting. She realized then that her armor was slowly being enveloped by ice. “The dragon’s claws?!” she thought.

“Come on, you have to get on your feet!” said Grahm, kneeling down to check on Jias. He realized the condition of her armor. “You can’t move?” he asked.

“Don’t worry, it’s just the blizzard.” she tried to get on her feet. Struggling, she finally managed to get up. However, the elder dragon wasn’t finished with them, blasting a tunnel of wind towards the two. Jias pushes Grahm to the side. She was too slow. The freezing wind caught her legs, and they were instantly covered in ice. She found herself stuck to the ground. Grahm was down as well. Trying to get up, his shoulder started giving him pain. He cursed. Jias resorted to picking the thick ice with her knife. It wasn’t working. The dragon charged at her. She knew her damaged armor won’t hold at all against its attack.

At that very moment a figure landed on the snow. Seconds later steel clashed with steel. It was Uakshi. He managed to instant-guard against the elder dragon. Jias couldn’t believe it. Uakshi had come between her and the dragon in a split second.

“Uakshi!” Grahm yelled. Thank god, he thought. Fearing that this chance wouldn’t come again, he forced himself past the pain and got up on his knees.

Feeling that the dragon’s strength was lowered, Uakshi kicked it in the face before releasing a swing of his Greatsword at its head. Blood poured out even more. He rolled to his left in order to attract it away from Jias and Grahm. Tightening his grip on the hilt, he swung his Greatsword numerous times at the dragon’s head. Outraged, it tried to blast him with a point-blank wind tunnel. He blocked the shot. Kicking it in the face again, Uakshi quickly made a side swing at the head. The blade cut somewhere near the right eye, and it screeched. Uakshi backed off. The dragon does the same, jumping back quite some distance. Still aiming at Uakshi, it blasted another wind tunnel. The hunter rolled and threw a flash bomb. It staggered as its eyes became blinded.

“Grahm,” spoke Uakshi. He threw a small bottle at him. “Cleanser, use it to clean off the ice on her body.” he said, motioning at Jias. Grahm immediately caught the bottle with his right hand and headed towards Jias. The ice covering her legs and armor were getting thicker. She couldn’t move at all. Her body was locked in place. Grahm came up to her and poured some of the liquid on her legs. In an instant the ice melted away. “Here, take some of it and wipe off the layer of ice on your armor.“ he said, handing the bottle to her. “It’s coming round. I’ve got to give Uakshi a hand.”

Grahm took out two flash bombs from his rucksack. “If it comes at you and you’re not done yet, throw one of these.” he continued. “I’ll be fine, go help him.” she replied. He nodded, and went towards Uakshi. With the dragon blinded for a while, Uakshi took the chance to sharpen his Greatsword. “How’s she doing?” he asked, with Grahm approaching from the side. “She’ll be fine, thanks to you.” Grahm replied.

“We can’t let this fight go on much longer.” Uakshi said, sheathing his Greatsword. The dragon regained its sense of sight.

“I’ve got only one more Hot Meat left.”

Continued...