Howl and Kor stood before Celestia in full armor and with a weapon on their back. Kor was sporting an Iron Great Sword that Vulcan had helped him make earlier that day. Celestia held a scroll in the air with her magic and used a quill to write on it. She set the quill down and hovered up a small metal bowl of hot wax and a stamp she used to put her seal on it with. "There, as of this moment you two are now Royal Monster hunters. You take orders from no one and have the ability to set up guilds around Equestria as well as recruit new hunters. Do not take advantage of these freedoms or I will banish the two of you somewhere far, far away.", she said after rolling up the scroll and teleporting it away. "Though, I do have a request of great importance."
"To the east of here is a vast forest known as Stag Haven. In the center lies a village where the only known tribe of Elk live. They are Equestria's main gold supplier due to their home being on the largest gold deposit within one hundred miles. Recently though their caravans have stopped coming and I have not heard from them in three weeks. I have sent several scouts to see what is wrong but none have returned. The two of you are to investigate Stag Haven and slay any monster that might be connected to this silence. And please, make sure everyone of them is safe.", Celestia said with a hint of worry at the end.
"We do it willingly Alpha", Howl grunted out in his deep voice while Kor nodded. "Thank you both, I'll have my cartographer Compass Charter give you both an updated map of Equestria, as well as the needed supplies to make your own local maps if you are able. I have also had a bag made for each of you with a few supplies. Now, make haste and be safe." With that Howl and Kor turned and left. They were met by two guards holding backpacks and and a parchment colored unicorn with a brown mane and a compass cutie mark. After obtaining their supplies the two left for the East gate, gaining odd looks from everypony around them.
)0(
The vast expanse of the Graze Plains was a truly awe inspiring sight, one that was not lost upon the two bipeds that were traveling across it. "It's like an ocean of green, I feel that I might sink beneath it at any moment.", Kor said. "Is truly a sight to behold", Howl replied. The two fell into silence and continued their walk. Kor, though, couldn't help but stare at the never ending green. Eventually the sun sank beneath the horizon, plunging the land into darkness. the two hunters had stopped beforehand and had pitched a canvas lean-to. Now they sat around an orange, glowing crystal that Howl had brought out.
A warmth rolled off of the crystal that amazed Kor to no end. "Howl, what is that? I have never in all my life seen anything such as it." Howl looked up at his companion and began to explain. "Is Element Crystal. The diamond dogs make by mining gems and enchanting them using ancient magics. We have one for each element, and each effect is different." He put the enchanted ruby away and pulled out a piece of quartz the size of an apple. A small bolt of lightning was visible through the transparent surface. Howl held the stone up and muttered something, causing the crystal to light up and illuminate the area they were in.
Kor gasped in both surprise and pain while throwing up an arm to shield his eye's. The light quickly died out and was replaced by the gentle orange glow of the Hearth Stone. "Wow, those are amazing...and very useful..." Howl nodded, wondering what Kor was thinking. "Anyway, we should get to bed, want to well rested in case we run into anything. Howl nodded in agreement and lay down under the canvas, quickly falling asleep. Kor though, stayed up just a bit longer, a plan running through his head before sleep put everything on hold.
)0(
Stag haven came into view around noon the next day, bringing with it a sense of unease to the seasoned hunter. "Howl, it would be best for us to be on guard" The Orvchaka nodded in agreement. Something on the wind was making him nervous, and something that should have never happened was making him even more uneasy. HE was being hunted. He had felt it during the night and it was enough to wake him. He was a little relieved to find Kor sitting up with his blade in hand. Now though... Now they had to move through the dark forest of pine tree's where anything could hide.
Howl took point, leading Kor through the darkness and using his nose to sniff out any threats. "Do you hear that", Kor asked in a whisper. Howl strained his ears but could hear nothing. "No...This is not good." A breeze rolled in from the west, making Howl hold up a paw. "Blood, we must hurry." They picked up their pace and soon came into a large clearing filled with wooden houses and a few blacksmith shops. The biggest feature of the village though was a massive hill that had large rocks jutting out from it. The smell of blood though was quickly becoming hard to ignore though and soon the two found the source.
Elk corpses, mostly chewed apart into red piles, lay strewn about the village square. Howl had to keep his nose covered to resist the urge to vomit and let Kor examine the corpses. "Velociprey, and Velocidrome as well... Alot of them. This is not good,come on,let's check the mine for survivors...if their are any." Kor led the way through the dead village with the only sounds being Howl and Kor's foot steps and armor. They left the log cabins behind , trading them for mine cart tracks and crates of gold ore. The one thing that remained constant though were the corpses and blood.
The cart track eventually led the two to the entrance of the mine where they stopped. Before them was a hastily erected barricade of crates and two by fours. "Hello? Is anyone there? Princess Celestia sent us, we're here to help!", Kor called out through the gaps in the barricade. He listened to his voice echo down into the earth and waited for a reply.
~hisssssss~
Howl and Kor whirled around, weapons drawn, and came face to face to face to face... you get the idea. An entire pack of twenty Velociprey stood in hunting formation, effectively cornering the two. Each Velociprey stood at around four feet in height and used their muscular hind legs to stay upright. Each foot was tipped with wickedly curved claws and a large "kill claw" that was used for disemboweling or to hold onto prey. Their front arms were clawed as well and could be used to hold onto prey as well as aide in climbing. "I think we might have problem.",
The crowd of blue scaled bird wyverns parted to allow one that stood twice as tall as the rest with a large crest on it's head. "You know Howl, I think you're right." The Velocidrome reared up on it's hind legs and pointed it's head skyward. ~KAHREE KAHREE KAHREEEEEE!~ The pack answered with their own calls and attacked.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Swift Talon, a female griffon with a black coat, steel grey feathers around her neck and on her head, a white tipped tail, and piercing blue eyes, flew over Stag haven at a lazy pace. She was dressed in a light chain-mail shirt and shin guards with an iron sword and buckler strapped to her back. She pulled a lazy barrel roll to avoid a flock of birds when a sound unlike any she had heard before rose from a clearing in the forest. Looking down she spied a sea of blue surging towards two figures, one a Diamond dog and the other...well she didn't know.
She watched the skinnier of the two cleave one of the blue things in half with his massive sword while the Diamond dog buried the entire front half of another into the ground. They were holding out okay, but she could tell that if someone didn't help soon, they would be overrun. She watched the heavily armored and even heavier armed figures swing their weapons in their slow arcs at the more agile monsters that were now dancing around the attacks. With her mind made up, Talon pulled her shield and sword out, tucked her wings in, and dove.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
-ssssssssssshhhhhhhhhrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-
A dark shape hurtled towards the ground and extended it's wings. It caught the air and used it to avoid impacting the ground while swinging a sword in a deadly arc, beheading one Velociprey, then another and another. The winged beast weaved in and out of the throng of blue killing machines and came to a stop on it's hind legs in front of the slightly wounded duo. "Next time the two of you go out, make sure you have someone that is agile as well. Now, I got the ones on the right." Swift Talon took off with a war cry and swung her blade at the closest beast. Kor and Howl let out their own war cries and followed suit, acting as Swift's shield when she was flanked. Velociprey fell under the merciless onslaught of hammer, Great sword, and sword blows. Soon the pack was down to eight and one Velocidrome.
Swift, Kor, and Howl stood in a triangle formation each one sporting cuts and breathing heavily but doing alot better than the wyverns. The Velocidrome though wasn't stupid. It hissed at the remains of it's pack and they quickly turned and fled. Korlan let out a sigh of relief and strapped his Iron GS onto his back. "Thank you for helping us out their, it has been a while since I've hunted their kind. I'll admit that I forgot how dangerous they can be.", he said to the newcomer. Swift sheathed her sword and turned to face the two. "No problem, I wouldn't have been able to sleep well if I just let the two of you get eaten. Name's Swift Talon, and you two are...?" "I am Korlan\ and I am Howl.", the to said.
"Well, nice to meet the both of you. Mind telling me though what in the name of Scissor Beak are you two doing out here?" The sound of wood scraping along stone, coming from the mine entrance, interrupted the trio as the survivors of Stag Haven cautiously exited the mine. The largest of the survivors, a five foot tall, six point buck approached the three and bowed his head. "I apologize for not coming to your aid, but we were unsure if you meant us harm.", He said. "I am Pan, leader of the Elk and Son of our village Chief, Herne, may he find peace in Avalon."
Pan motioned with his head towards the mine. "Come, we can speak inside where it is safe." Pan turned and led the way into the darkness quickly followed by Kor and Howl. "Hey, wait for me!", Swift called out before hurrying after the group. Outside, a shadow passed over the mine and traveled across the ground before vanishing into the tree's.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Howl, Kor, and Swift stood before the remains of the council, a group made of the wisest members of the village. "It started not to long ago," began the wisest, "Those of us who lived closer to the forest began to slowly vanish one by one without a trace. When we sent out scouting parties, the ones that returned told us of blue lizard like monsters as tall as an Earth pony with sharp teeth and claws." Here she paused and let out a weary sigh. "We of course underestimated these creatures. They came at night, silently killing the guards and feasting upon their still living bodies." Here she stopped and bean to weep, leaving the elk to her right to continue. "A child's scream awoke us and sent us into arms. We managed to hold our own for a few days...until the big one came. It...tore through us like we were nothing and seemed to enjoy it."
Kor nodded with a frown. "Velocidrome, the alpha version of Velociprey. They are, for whatever reason, highly aggressive and cruel, choosing to torture their prey before eating." He put his hand up to his chin and rubbed it in thought. "What I don't understand is why two alpha's have paired up. That only happens when they are running from something big..." Howl put his hand on the handle of his hammer. "We fight big monster on top of these smaller ones? Sounds good to me. Maybe Vulcan can upgrade our armour with the parts." Kor nodded in agreement but had a worried look on his face.
"Pan, I have a proposition. We will take care of your monster problem in exchange for allowing us to make your village our home base for the Monster Hunters. With us established, we can guarantee protection from monsters and bring in more business and revenue." Pan's eye brows knit together as he thought it over berfore turning and speaking to the council in hushed tones. "Hey, uhhh...Kor come here."
Korlan turned to look at Swift Talon and knelt down. "I noticed that you said we, as in me and you two. What I wanna know is what's in it for me?", she asked. "Well, Money for one. Our job that we get paid to do is slay monsters. Their is also glory, fame, recognition, or enjoyment of helping people." Swift raised her eyebrow. "So what you're saying is that I get to help others, AND I get to eat? Well, sign me up then." Kor held out his hand, which Swift took in her talon. Pan turned around after the exchange ended with his answer. "He have decided to agree to your terms. Our gold makes us much money, but we are in need of expansion. Take care of these monsters and we shall build your guild hall ourselves."
Kor smiled and turned to his team. "Alright, we are going to need a few things, mainly spades and picks so we can build punji pits. Also, I want Swift to survey from the sky for any large monster, stay low though in case it can fly. We'll start tomorrow, for now get some rest." With that, he thanked Pan and left to find a sot to sleep. It turns out that he was really going to need it.