The sight was familiar to Katamar, but he'd never seen it. His wife lay unconscious in her kitchen, and his best friend lay impaled along his wall. He was helpless to help. Two hands grabbed his, and drug him across the floor. All Katamar could do was look in horror at the grisly sight, but he was sure he would kill this militiaman someday.
His anger turned to surprise, as he was hit by a cold splash of murky yellow water. Startled and cold, the man awoke in an unfamiliar room. Most obvious was the young women with a dripping bucket. Her eyes were tired, and much older than the rest of her. She was wearing green armor, which Katamar guessed to be made from the deadly rathian's scales.
"You finally awake?"she asked.
Katamar didn't answer, as he continued to examine his new surroundings. Behind her left side, sat a man on a bench. The man was average height, and looked very stressed. Katamar was somewhat sure he was the famous bourgeois hunter, a talented, rich gunner named Warren. Katamar looked behind him. He was caged in by black metal bars. It seemed he was in a jail cell.
"Katamar?" prodded the girl again.
"Where am I?" he asked.
"You're in a fortified place on the outskirts of Urbanius. My militiaman brought you here."
Militiaman. Katamar entertained the word. The man from his nightmare was a militiaman. Then it all came back to him. He remembered the knock at the door, the hunters, his unconscious wife, and the large metal boot. Confused, Katamar frantically scanned the room again. No easy means of escape, and the woman was armed with a rapier and a small side arm pistol. His eyes were constantly drawn to the pistol, and finaly, Katamar made a plan.
"You sure it's a good idea to leave these two prisoners unchained?" asked an armed guard outside of the cell, who had a brace on his neck.
"Katamar isn't a violent man, and Warren here is too smart to try something." she answered, turning her head to face the guard.
Katamar took advantage of the opportunity. He promptly leapt towards the women, and in one gesture spun her around and relieved her of the side-arm, which he then pressed below her right ear.
"Back off!" he yelled to the approaching guards. The women was correct, Katamar wasn't violent, but at this moment, he was desperate. His wife could be in danger, and who knew about his son.
"Where's my wife?" he whispered into the ear opposite the pistol.
"Your wife? How should I know?" she gulped.
"You sent the militiaman for us! What happened to her?"
The girl was truly ignorant, but Katamar wouldn't settle for nothing.
"If you can't tell me where she is, then tell me where the militiaman is!" he commanded.
"Look, I hired the militiaman cause he's an excellent tracker. His past is shady. I don't even know where he lives!" she panicked, not so much for her life, but the danger the "not-violent" hunter was putting Urbanius in. "We're wasting time Katamar. Just put the gun down, and I'll try to explain things better."
Katamar toyed with the idea, then pressed the gun harder to her neck. "I think I want things explained with the gun where it is!"
"Look, I'm sorry I sent the militiaman, but he's the best!"
"You're sorry?"
"Yes. I know what he's capable of, but you're presence here is more important than your wife." she attempted to explain.
"More important than my wife?! I bet it's more important than my son, too. And Trevor?"
"Yes! Yes it is. Just put the gun down."
Katamar humored the option again, this time it seemed more convincing. This woman didn't seem to know more than what she was telling, despite how little that was.
"I'll let you go, along with yer gun. Just promise that your guards won't jump me, and that after I do whatever it is you need, I'll get unopposed access to this militiaman." Katamar bartered, not expecting to receive either demand, but seeing no way out of the predicament he so foolishly put himself in.
"Okay, just promise your in on what I ask of you." she agreed.
Katamar could feel the strange authority coming from the women, who still had the gun to her neck. This helped to reassure him of the innocents of her intentions. Still somewhat uneasy, Katamar holstered the side-arm along the waist of it's owner, and backed away from his prisoner.
To his great surprise, the women walked to the door between the iron bars, then turned to face the defeated Katamar, and the noticeably panicking Warren, and raised her hand in a beckoning gesture. The two hunters, the latter noticeable wary of the former, rose and followed the woman.
Sarai, baby in her arms, went to answer the door. Hopefully it would be her husband Trevor, he was a day late, and she was worrying. The person at the door unfortunately wasn't Trevor, but still a friendly face.
"Kait! So nice to see you, been a while." smiled Sarai.
Kait, who's beautiful smile was always present, didn't look at all gleeful.
"I have some bad news." she sighed. "We should sit down." Kait related her tragic tale to the weeping wife.
"We're barely making it as is. How are we going to make it without Trevor." cried Sarai, after the shock of her husband's death had began to pass.
Kait struggled for an answer, but she couldn't come up with one. She wanted to promise that her and her husband would be able to help, but she was uncertain on how she would fare without him.
"I have to go, now." said Kait, "I'll try and help as much as I can." With that, she left the weeping baby and the panicking mother.
She had to find her husband if anything was going to work out. She had already checked their new house, and Mike's house. She didn't find Katamar, Kyle, or even Mike. The only place she could think of to check was the local guild hall. Most people could find what they wanted there, and at the very least, a wanted poster could be put up.
She entered the smoke-filled room. Music played uncomfortably loud, and gleeful hunters chatted amongst each other and with the guild ladies, which doubled as bartenders. She looked at one table in particular. Two hunters, a large one and a small one, sipped their beers. Nothing unusual, except that they seemed to be trying not to see her. She decided they would be the best place to start for answers.
"Hello, fellas. You seem to know a bit more 'bout me than I know about you. Care to talk?" she smirked.
"We're not in the mood to talk, now bug off!" replied the smaller hunter.
Kait glared mercilessly into his eyes. Without warning she grabbed the carving knife of a nearby hunter who was too drunk to notice. She then rammed the table, tipping it and the drinks on to the baffled two hunters. The small hunter was trying to keep his balance, when he was tackled by the enraged woman. Kait placed the cold knife point down on his adam's apple
The other hunter recovered from the confusion, and drew his blade to help. The pinned hunter quickly shook his head to warn his larger friend not to attempt a rescue.
"You're going to tell me where to find my husband." ordered Kait. The small hunter nodded carefully, to avoid an unpleasant accident.
"You're insane!" shouted a large hunter with an even larger great sword strapped to his back. "Don't you think he's just a bit too young for the front lines?"
Haman grinned beneath his knight-like helmet, as he toyed with the concept of his sanity. Over the years many people had said similar words, yet he always managed to be hired. Haman liked to overlook his own powerful political pull, and his intimidating nature, and just assume he was the right man for every job.
One such job was the retrieval of the boy in question's father. He was told not to kill anyone unless they posed a threat. The boy's mother had came at him with a knife, he was sure, and his two companions said they saw it too. However, she was unable to be taken in time, and therefore she knew too much about his cruel methods. Haman felt hopeless at the time, but now he felt he could exact his revenge in a much more efficient manner.
"The boy goes to the front lines, and because you're so worried, you can join him." replied the cruel militiaman, Haman.
The man grumbled, and him and the boy rejoined their ranks. Kyle still had a lot of training to do if he was going to be ready, and even Mike wasn't comfortable with his new position. They were supposed to train to fight something that human kind had never even heard of. But Mike wasn't a man to question authority, and he and the boy joined their ranks.
"I'll hold on to it, ma'am, no promises though." said a fortunately friendly guard.
"That's all I can ask of you I suppose, but do try to make sure he gets it, and the note aa well." replied Kait. With that she handed over the bone katana and a note she took time to write. She left, the hope of Trevor's wishes being fulfilled with her. She emerged from the deceptively pitiful shack, that was the entrance to the newly constructed fortress on the outskirts of town.
She was unsure if the remoteness of it was just for convenience, or to keep the townspeople in the dark on the coming danger, which she just recently learned from her two conveniently talkative "friends" she picked up at the guild hall. Of course, she lacked the foresight at the moment to keep them around, but she was still confident in her success.
Kait held her carving knife like a security-blanket as she made her way through the empty streets under the coming darkness of twilight. She would stay at her new, unoccupied home, until she received word from her husband, or was visited by thieves, whichever would happen first.
Wolfbait entered the uncomfortably large council room, made for twenty, but currently contained no more than ten. The other three hunters, May, Warren, Katamar, and a few felyne researchers stared at the sad man. He was in shackles, and was escorted by two armed guards, who seemed too afraid to do anything about an escape attempt if the occasion arose.
"Have a seat Wolfbait. We can begin now that you're here." said tired-eyed May upon his arrival.
"We want to know what we need to kill, that'll do it." said Warren, who was noticeably inching away from the shackled Wolfbait.
"Well, the monster as my father would've put it, is a moving mountain." she explained. "We humans, and even felyne have never even heard of it."
"However we do know the name, nya!" exclaimed on of the furry researchers.
"This much is true, but irrelevant However to sooth your curiosity, I will explain." said May. "Although felynes hadn't heard of the giant wyvern, they quickly sent their own out on an information gathering quest. For this we owe them many thanks. They discovered that the beast was in fact sent by the wyverns, a discovery that finalized our species' decision to declare war. The felynes claim that the beast is an ancient wyvern, known by the others as Lao Shan Lung."
"So if this thing's so dangerous, how are us four going to kill it?" asked Katamar.
"Kill it. To our knowledge, there is no way to kill the beast. We hope to repel Lao Shan Lung, and discourage any return." she corrected.
"And you expect us four to be able to accomplish this task?" chimed in Warren.
"No, of course not, all hunters in Urbanius have been recruited to our militia. They however, are your subordinates now." she explained. "You three were selected by myself to assist in protecting the main gate. I chose you because you all have unrivaled knowledge at your art, which I plan on utilizing to the fullest."
"Well, I spose it could work." said Warren.
"Did you say all of the hunters were recruited?" asked a worried Katamar. "Even an apprentice perhaps?"
May frowned, and explained. "Yes, your son is indeed with us, but by his own choice, not ours." This was the truth, but May left out that her sadistic tracker, Haman, had placed him in the most dangerous unit on the front lines.
"Bravery and dedication." Katamar mumbled to himself. He was crushed by the news, but he still swelled with pride.
"Oh, I almost forgot, this came for you." said May, trying her best to lighten the mood. She pulled out a long sac, and slid it across the oak table to Katamar.
Katamar peered in side, to see a sheath and what appeared to be 'shark'. He pulled it out in the middle of the meeting, and examined the blade. He was sure it was not 'shark', but it seemed like the same blade. He then examined the note. It was a couple inches long, and was folded in half. On the outside, it said 'dragon'. That must have been the name Trevor gave the beautiful blade.
Katamar opened the folded paper. The words that were written were chilling, but decidedly convenient. "Want militiaman's blood" it said. Katamar was unsure who's wish this was, but it fit perfectly into his plan anyhow.
"So, what rank will the militiaman be in?" he asked, a vengeful grin taking over his once sad face.
Mike stood, fully clad in his beautiful silver armor. It was made from the scales of the rare silver rathalos. It even had almost unrelieved-to-exist rathalos rubies melded with each piece.
"Okay, men. It appears I am in charge of this unit." he yelled. He was answered by a hundred gossiping "soldiers" rushing to attention, and raising their hands in salute.
"We are to hold the beast off long enough for the 'special' folks by the gate to finish prepping for the big bad beastie." grinned Mike under his shimmering helm. "The only thing special about them is their IQ I spose, sinse they can't handle the front-lines."
He was met by thunderous laughter. It was a good start. He needed his men to like him, but more importantly he needed them to relax. Mike just hoped he could keep Kyle out of harm, and that the miniature stone walls set up every kilometer or so could hold the coming threat long enough for the hunters at the gate.
Mike dreaded the time that they would have to rush to their positions. He was thankful for every second that went by without seeing this "Moving Mountain." Therefore, he was more than upset when a pebble fell from the high gray canyon wall, bouncing off his helmet.
Shortly following the pebble, larger rocks fell, and the ground started to shake. A loud crack came from the support of a scaffold, which contained a handful of gunners hoping to take advantage of elevation. The scaffold gave way, unsupportable by the quaking ground, and the hunters fell tens of meters to the ground, or if less lucky, splintered boards.
"To your positions!" ordered Mike. The soldiers scattered, trying unsuccessfully to look professional. Mike stood alongside his apprentice atop the first rock wall in the long pass. The two stood alone, staring into the unmoving mist. Then, much to their horror, the mist moved, making visible a large red, evil-eyed mountain. Lao Shan Lung had arrived.