Chapter 2

Caledo

Caledo was exactly what Faed was told it would be: a small village. A small village with few residents in small houses. Situated at the base of the mountain, with a lake nearby that was the livelihood of most residents during the summer months. The fish that are rarely seen elsewhere were found in great abundance at Caledo Lake, not the least of which, the valued large Goldenfish.

During the winter months, buildings and boats were built, repaired, and remodelled. While most of the citizens were human, there were also some felyne and wyverian households in Caledo as well.

Walking through the village, Faed was amazed by how busy the residents were. Unable to stop working on their renovations to speak, most civilians did smile and wave at the trio of hunters as they passed by.

"Did you really have to hit me that hard?" Kaires complained, holding his sore ribs.

"You shouldn't have hid behind me." Faed replied. "It was a reflexive action."

"But she was gonna kill me! I had to hide behind someone." The bigger man whined.

"I'm sure she wouldn't have killed you, maimed perhaps, but not killed. Besides, you had it coming" Faed pointed out.

"You're darn right he did," Tsairynn said with a scowl. "He knows I don't like bugs. But I think you got him good enough for now." She smiled.

Faed was led towards a house with an elderly Wyverian couple standing outside by a fire. The house wasn't any different from the others in the village, but Faed immediately knew these were important people.

"Faed, this is the village elder and his wife" Tsairynn introduced.

"Ah, you must be the third hunter the Guild appointed to protect our village." The elder said, studying the young man. "You must be wondering why such a small village like ours needs so many hunters, hmm?"

"Yes, sir" Faed answered. He had not thought of it before, and was now rather curious.

"You see," the elder explained "not only is Caledo plagued by monsters and wyverns, but bandits as well."

Faed was confused. "Bandits? I thought the Hunters Guild only dealt with monsters and wyverns."

"Let me explain a little more clearly, dear." The elder's wife said. "These are no ordinary bandits. We believe them to be either independent or renegade hunters, as they are both well trained and equipped."

Kaires turned to Faed. "As members of the Guild, it is also our duty to subdue any hunters working outside the Guild and bring them to the local Guildmaster."

"I understand, do we know how many there are?" Faed inquired.

It was Tsairynn who answered. "No, they act fast, and under the cover of night. Normally just theft, but some people have been injured trying to protect their homes. Luckily, no one's been killed"

"As you can see, this is very serious." The elder said. "We appreciate your help with the situation."

With that, the three friends made their way to the Caledo Guild Hall. Larger than any other building in the village, it was comprised of the hall proper, which was open to the public for food, sleeping quarters for the staff and hunters. As well as the local Guildmasters personal Quarters, and a blacksmith ready to assist the hunters in any way he can.

XXX

"This could be a problem." The Caledo Guildmaster said in a serious tone. "A Kushala Daora this close to the village at any time can be dangerous. I'll send a message to the other Guild outposts in this region. Thank you for the report." The Guildmaster was a man in his early fifties, his dark hair and moustache were thinning and speckled with grey spots.

"Sir, I have a request." Faed said. "If the Elder Dragon is brought down, I would like my sword to be returned to me. It is important to me, and I will offer an additional reward upon its return."

The Guildmaster thought about the request a short while. "Very well," he said "Now go get yourselves some food, and some sleep, you'll need it. I will keep you updated on this situation when I can, but tell no one else, not even the village elder, am I clear?"

"Yes sir." The three replied simultaneously and saluted their superior. After they left the Guildmasters quarters, they entered the hall proper and sat down. A felyne waiter came to take their order.

"Not much on the menu" Faed commented after their food arrived.

"You don't like it? Hire a personal chef or two." Kaires replied through a mouthful of food. "This stuff is free, so I won't complain."

"That's because you'll eat anything put on a plate in front of you." Tsairynn remarked.

"At least this is better than your cooking" He countered

"How can you tell? You don't even stop to taste it before it goes down." She said with a smirk.

Kaires glared at her. "That hurts, Tsai, I hope you know that."

Faed almost choked, she always hated that nickname. He watched the two glare at each other a few moments then rose to leave.

"Sit!" The other two said simultaneously, eyes still locked.

Too frightened to refuse, Faed sat down again. The whole room was silent, everyone watching the two hunters.

The main door burst open, breaking the tension, and drawing everybody's attention from the argument. There were two men at the entrance, one clutching his am in pain.

"Bandits!" The uninjured man yelled

"Where?" Tsairynn demanded as she and Kaires ran from their quarters fully equipped. Faed was shocked, how did they get ready so quickly?

"North, by the mountain. My house." The injured man answered. "Please, hurry." Faed noticed blood flowing between the man's fingers.

The two hunters ran off to catch the culprits. Faed, not wanting to get in their way with no equipment, ran to help the injured man. "Show me your arm. Tell me, what exactly happened?"

XXX

Tsairynn slowed her pace slightly once the house came into view. She readied her light bowgun and loaded it with a clip of tranq shot, while Kaires continued at a run towards the building.

How that man can move that fast without making a sound is beyond me, she thought to herself as he burst past her.

As the large man approached the house, Tsairynn heard the quiet but unmistakeable strain of a bowstring being pulled. "Roll!" She yelled at him.

Relying on his partners instincts, Kaires rolled just in time to dodge an arrow. How can she hear these things? He wondered.

A dark, slim figure burst out of the house and ran straight for Caledo Lake. Lining up her shot, Tsairynn fired a tranq shot at the bandit and missed. She continued to run after the crook, seeing an opportunity when the figure slowed to catch its breath, she fired again, just missing her mark. Right as she was about to fire her last shot, she saw Kaires close in on the unknown person and bring them to the ground.

"Gotcha," the big man panted, out of breath, "Now tell me, who else is with you?"

"No one" The thief replied. "I've always worked alone"

Realizing the voice was a woman's, Kaires felt a little embarrassed, he tackled the crook full force, if he had known it was a lady...

Kaires came out of his thoughts in time to catch a boot from the bandit with the side of his head. Reeling from the blow, Kaires was unable to stop her from scrambling away.

Seeing the bandit running again, Tsairynn let her final tranq shot in the clip fly. This time, she hit her target, the bandit fell instantly.

"Come on," Tsairynn said as she helped Kaires stand up. "We better get her back to the Guild Hall, the Guildmaster will want to question her."

Disclaimer: I don't own monster hunter, etc.