Note: Monster hunter is owned by Capcom, characters and plot are of my creation.
Chapter 1: between a rock and a hard place
The sun beat down upon the cold, dry cliffs edging the great plains and forests of mid-west Minegarde. The cliffs perfect for daring adventures to scale, plenty of foot holds and areas to relax and take in the site of the vast grassy plains stretching for miles and plateaus jetted from the ground. Clouds cascaded their shadows onto the hills below them melting in unison with the darkness of the forests, clustering in flat areas and drawing thin as they try to link them selves to one an other between rock faces and along the rolling hills. Large Rivers cut through the landscape providing water for all who wish to drink from them, ages old these sanctuaries of life all pointed south joining together in an attempt to be free to the currents of the oceans. Many dub this area as a premium hunting ground for big game wyverns like Rathalos and Rathian, less substantial beasts also call this area home, Yian kut-ku as well as Velocidrome add to the diversity of this region. Groups of hunters set out here by word of the guild to kill problem animals that have attacked the various human settlements and farms dotting this region and also to keep the widely growing numbers of wyverns in check. Mostly hunters visit this wilderness but some seek the rich treasures of the forests to sell at market or to provide food for their families. The cliffs are not left out in its visits by treasure hunters, it's precious ores are very valuable and used to make powerful armor and weapons.
The tremendous rock wall was abandoned today, the only thing that remained loyal to it was the wind. Blowing ferociously into the face of the plateau without question creating its self a name of extreme pestilence for any would be winged visitors and a very dangerous hazard for humans wishing to get at the rock's ores. All heeded the wind's whistles as a warning, all but one very unnatural looking metallic fellow that was smack dab in the middle of the plateau's shortest face, on the northern most point of the cliff with the wind blowing wildly to the south. The man was almost to the top of the first ledge about 40 feet up and ever so slightly pulling upward. He wore a thick leather tunic on his chest accompanied by brass buckles and a steel shoulder plate sticking off his left shoulder and a giant hole, only an hour old, where his right one used to be. His pants were of a thinner material also leather like with steel knee and shin plates complementing the look of his steel imbued leather boots made for climbing and kicking till it hurts. He wore gauntlets of Aptonoth hide giving him great grip and water proofing the man also had many pouches and bags made to carry rough objects, he had three small satchels along his belt, two larger bags slung around each shoulder one on his right laying on his left side and vise versa, and one large sack strapped to his back. This guy was truly a treasure hunter not here to kill but to collect, the man seemed to have two occupations, one was to collect many ores, and the second was the art of looking like an idiot. "Great day to chose to collect ores Kyle!" the man said to himself. "You really know what your doing all the way up here in the damned wind!" he said miserably. Pebbles from the brittle section of rock Kyle had just climbed into continued to fall beneath his feet. He was not at all happy with the situation he put himself in, one thing was certain though, that there was a rather lovely ore deposit on the ledge but ten feet from him. This thought made him climb faster lifting with his legs and balancing him self with his arms one foot by one he crept closer to his goal. Things were going smoothly the last eight feet, that was until he tried to grab at the lip of the ledge, his haste made him choose not to thoroughly inspect his left leg's footing. As soon as he put a fourth of his weight to his left leg...CRUMBLE Kyle's foothold gave way and he slid down slightly before his bag strap caught on a rock, saving him. Kyle quickly pulled himself back up and scrambled to the top of the ledge and rested for a good five minutes contemplating what just happened.
"This is not how she described the rock to be like this far north..." Kyle mumbled. "That's it she's trying to kill me!" he spat into the wind with a thought of deception as he started to pack random ores into his bags. "Oh...yeah, which type did she want? Carbalite, if any, as well as Dragonite..." he thought while looking for the purple and green ore chunks that sat in a pile under a large fissure in the side of the wall. Once he found all he could of the requested ore he started to pack random ore bits into the other five bags these were for his own collection. One after the other his bags became filled with the heavy pieces of raw metals, he unloaded his right bag full of descending-gear picks, rope, hooks, clasps, and clinging tools. Kyle prepped the fissure by dusting bits of rock and ore out of the way so it would make and adequate point for his gear to cling to, he stuck a "V" shaped tool that had multiple steel spikes on each side into the now relieved of debris crack. He then pressed a button that made the mechanism expand sending the spikes into the rock making it impossible to remove Kyle then attached his rope to the contraption via a looped hook at the end of the 80 foot rope. With the rope secure and it clipped to the leather harness he wore, Kyle swung his bags over his shoulders "until next time" he said blowing a kiss to the ore vein then began to repel down the rock face.