Holgarde - Day One: Cleansing

“Sontruma Town - URGENT
All of the arena monsters have been released into the city. Requesting immediate assistance and supplies.
Known monsters include: Azure Rathalos, Blue Yian Kut Ku, unknown number and types of alpha raptors, unknown number and types of pack raptors.
Statuses of local monster hunters are unknown."

This message had been sent out to the other three main Holgarde towns via carrier birds, those three towns being Metke of the mountains, Rulbo of the rain forests, and Donoto of the desert.

Those three towns quickly gathering up what supplies and monster hunters they had available and could spare. As could be expected, for the worse, a handful of hunters were already out of town on quests.
Perhaps for the better, each of the town’s highest ranking hunters were already in Sontruma, originally planning to slay these monsters inside the arena as an entertainment event. At least some of Sontruma’s monster hunters were in town too.

Just as quickly as the available supplies and hunters were gathered, they were sent off to Sontruma.

It took about a day for the message to be received and for preparations to be made. It took two more days for each of the rescue groups to arrive at the town walls.
That meant for nearly three days, this town had been under attack by several monsters, including a large and small wyvern, all of which took the town by complete surprise.

~

(Rulbo)

Rulbo was sure to be the top contributor to the initial amount of supplies delivered to Sontruma. Five two-Aptonoth drawn wagons loaded to the brim with produce had been sent, along with enough medical supplies to keep a busy hospital going for a day straight and beyond.

As this caravan approached one of the city gates, the tall fence making up the boarders blocked just about anything at ground level from sight. Only the tops of a few tall buildings could be seen.
This included that of the great arena at the south end of town, which had a dome like cage top, meant to contain aerial monsters.
In the center of town was a flag post several stories tall, bearing at its top a white flag with the guild emblem printed on it. This was the standard way of marking the location of the gathering hall. The tall flag post was mounted to a taller building as well.

There should have been an observation balloon hovering over the town, the gathering hall specifically, as anyone who had been to Sontruma knew, but a quick glance at the horizon determined this not to be the case.
Small airships, as the town was known to have, weren’t bustling around either.

When the caravan arrived at the town gate, it was faced with its first problem; getting inside the town. No one was at the gate to open it. The gate stood at least eight feet tall, and was composed of small (but still a few inches thick) trees positioned deep into the ground with large planks of wood going across, pinned into them with nails as thick as children's fingers. Even a massive man couldn’t just barge his way through. It seemed climbable though, certainly sturdy enough to be, and a Felyne could probably squeeze his body through with enough effort.

~

(Metke)

The large change to a warmer climate wasn’t kind to those with the Metke rescue caravan. Even with less clothing, it was a hard transition. Luckily Metke, prepared for this kind of thing and gave the caravan a large supply of cool drink fluid, about half of which was just for the two Popo.
David, who had to drink just to not die from over heating and dehydration in his armor, had brought his own hefty supply.

Coming down from the mountains, much of the city, and its destruction, could be seen. The observation balloon that should have been in the sky had crashed beside and on top of the gathering hall, on the building’s east side. No airships were bustling about, and one of them had been forcibly taken down.

No one could be found outside. At such a distance it would be nigh impossible to see any individuals, but normally the life of crowds would be visible.
A few times some flashes of bright blue could be seen going through the streets.
Also, a large maze of dark blue could be seen moving about the area to the south. It didn’t take an animal expert to determine this was the Azure Rathalos. Alive, crushing any hope that the hunters stationed in the town prior had slain it already. The fact that it was alive boded for worse as well.

As the caravan neared the north town gate, losing elevation, it lost sight of inside the town, save for anything higher than the fence surrounding its boarders. Upon arrival, the caravan was faced with its first problem; getting inside the town. No one was at the gate to open it. The gate stood at least eight feet tall, and was composed of small (but still thick) trees planted deep into the ground with large planks of wood going across, pinned into them with nails as thick as a child’s finger. Even a massive man couldn’t just barge his way through. It seemed climbable though, certainly sturdy enough to be, and a Felyne could probably squeeze his body through with enough effort.

~

(Donoto)

Despite being the farthest of the three other Holgarde towns, Donoto’s rescue group could arrive at the same time with the faster speed of an airship for transportation rather than the commonplace Aptonoth drawn wagon. Having a primarily open path, rather than mountainous terrain or trees, helped significantly as well.

The elevated position of the airship gave an excellent overview of the town, for better or worse.
At the center of the town was a gigantically tall flag post bearing a flag with the guild’s emblem, a common marker of the town’s gathering hall. The flag post was mounted to a larger than usual building, probably said gathering hall.

Crashed down on the east side of the gathering hall was an the town’s observation balloon. A small airship could be seen blown out of the sky elsewhere, but no others were floating around.

Light blue sometimes flashed through the streets, but down at the southern end of the city was a dark blue mass roaming around. This was obviously the Azure Rathalos, which, still being around, must have been terrorizing the town for all three days.

No other life could be seen, however. Normally masses of people could be picked out even at extended distances, but not now.

The airship went right over the town gates and into the Donoto marketplace. Like everywhere else, the marketplace was void of life. All the stands were missing were their merchants and customers, as products were still out and around. Signs of panic, like turned over stands and spilled valuables, weren’t hard to find.

Inside the marketplace was an open space, where a few smaller (deflated) airships sat. The rescue group airship started to descend to this landing bay, and shortly after they touched ground. Before anything else, a ramp to the ground was dropped.

-
ooc:
@Everyone: You are free to read parts of posts directed at other parties. If you see something you shouldn’t know of, however, pretend you don’t know of it.
If you “cheat,” expect something equally “unfair” to be done to you.
Each group would have two lower rank accompanying hunters and some physical labourers. They won’t be doing a whole lot with you. They’re around to help get supplies out and stuff.

Here is a map each party would have among them.

Spoiler:

@Sunfish: Before you just try to squeeze through the fence, think of things that might make it hard/impossible for you to do so.

"Well, nya," Edo said turning to the others, "looks like we got some trouble, nya! We'll probably want to get the Rathalos first, nya, because that is the highest threat, nya." Edo grabbed his supplies and awaited a response.

"I think I can fit through here, nya." Totoro said as he took his weapons and armor off, "I'll open the gate in no time."

Once he stripped down he would squeeze through and then try to open the gate from the other side.

Jack looked at the small felyne with a mix of amusement and curiosity.

"And how, my little furry friend, do you suggest we do that? I'm not in a rush to die."
--

Totoro slipped through the fence with little issue, and made his way over to the gate. Unfortunately, it appeared to have been built for human use more than felyne. It was likely that Totoro wouldn't have the weight to open the gate, even with all of his equipment on. The hunters with him would simply have to climb the fence.

In fact, there was a human here. Unfortunately, he was dead, a large gash on his face and large chunks of the man torn out from his torso and arms. It appeared as though he attempted to open the gate himself, a look of sheer terror and pain frozen on his face.

There were no other living beings around, human or otherwise.

"Well, nya, I got a Bowgun, as well as a bow, nya, I could sit on top of a high roof and snipe at it, nya." Edo said. "I just think we should focus on the Rathalos first, nya, as it will be the highest threat, and with it around, no one is safe, nya. I'm going to go scout ahead, nya." Edo looked for a tall building, then climbed on top. He would go jumping from building to building, scouting towards the area where the Rathalos was.

ooc:
@Everyone: Just as a reminder, each of you probably would have already quested with each other at least once or twice in your "home" towns. Maybe more, maybe a lot more (leaving that open ended).
So you'd know each other at least somewhat. You'll want to look at each other's character data if you haven't already.

It should be said right away that just two of you probably will not take down the Rathalos, as in it basically isn't going to happen.

As another heads up, I won't say you shouldn't go off alone, but at least consider the inherent risks.
Again, I'm not saying don't do it, just be mindful of what could go wrong.

@Sunfish/Rekee: Regarding the mechanics of the gate, I'm imagining its a large drop block kind of thing.
It'd be too tall for a Felyne to push up from the ground, and there wouldn't really be any way plausible for a Felyne to slide the block out.

@Coyote: When you get a chance, could you explain to me what you meant about not enough weight? I'm just curious.

-

(Donoto)

Since the airship dropped down almost directly in the middle of a market place, there were no tall building nearby. Just stands, tables, tents, etc.
There was, however, something like a watch tower in the landing pad area, made of wooden beams. More like a lighthouse for guiding the airships. It had a ladder on one side, a booth up top, some lanterns and tools inside the booth, and was somewhere between the equivalent of two or three stories tall.

From up here, Edo basically saw what he saw from the airship while it was still up in the air.
Around the center of town, where the tall flag post was, were a few other larger buildings.

Edo looked all around the area he could see from the watch tower for any signs of any monster.

There was the fact that no one was outside, signs of panic and the downed observation balloon, and then the dark blue mass lurking around the southern end of town. Otherwise, nothing.

ooc: About how far away would the blue mass be? And would it be safe to assume my gun has a scope on it?

ooc:
The Rathalos would be a few miles away.

It would be safe to assume that your bowgun has a scope.
You'd only be able to shoot a certain distance with it though. Considering its a bowgun and a less powerful Felyne one (power matters with accuracy), that range would probably be less than a football field, really.

Edo looked around for more buildings towards the south. If he sees some, he'll get of the watch tower and climb on top of it, slowly working his way towards the Rathalos. Once it is in range, he'll load in a crag, aim at the head until the aim is absolutely perfect, then fire.

(Rulbo)

"Hang in there, little buddy. I'll scale this thing," Three Wells said as he passed Totoro's equipment through the gate.

The hunter stood up and stepped back, examining the fence. Once he ensured that his lance and longsword were secured onto his back, he began climbing, utilizing the space between the large horizontal planks as handholds. The weight of his equipment was offset by his massive upper body strength, as well as his experience in climbing the cliffsides of Rulbo.

Once over the top, he would climb down on the other side and open the gate.

ooc:
@Blaster: I'm gonna hold you up a little to let Coyote get in on things.
You're free to climb back down the tower whenever though.
Just to be more clear about the accuracy of your gun; relatively pinpoint accuracy would only be possible at like about ten (human) paces (30-40 feet?), lets say. Not particularly far, but certainly away from melee.
Being able to hit a man size target would probably be under a football field (300 feet).
Crag and Clust would probably require you to aim higher, more so Clust.
Do you kind of get the idea? Sorry if it seems like I'm trying to put down on you, I just want to let you know your limitations so you don't attempt something beyond them.

@Everyone: A correction about where the Rathalos is lurking; He is in the southern east field inside the town fence. Not just "the south."

-

(Donoto)

There were some buildings further to the south, out of the marketplace. Probably residential areas, by the looks of it.

Further south though, where the Azure Rathalos was lurking, was like an open field, albeit caged in by the town wall.
Some Aptonoth corpses littered this field, and the fence inside the town (keeping the Aptonoth from roaming the town), has been broken down.
Only some farm buildings were near this patch of farmland to the south, on its outskirts past the inner fence.

~

(Rulbo)

The drop block came out easily enough for the heavy weight hunter, who set it aside once it was out.
Once enough force was applied to the double doors of the gate, their momentum carried them all the way open. The carcass leaning up again it flopped to the group as this happened.

The other accompanying lower rank hunters came in ahead of the caravan, one of them suppressing the urge to vomit at the sight of the corpse.
Another one of them, avoiding looking at the corpse as best as he was able, moved the body aside so that the caravan could roll in.

"Alright, we should be able to handle things from here. We'll flare you if anything comes up." Another said to the higher ranks.

-
ooc:
I'm leaving the flare colors and signals open ended. I imagine red would mean "emergency, come help asap," and blue would mean "come here," though.
When or if the time comes, I'll tell you what the color means.

Edo looked all around the city, looking to the north, east and west as well as the south.

ooc: Scrap him going building to building, he'll just stay on the tower.

(Rulbo)

"No. I will stay with you all."

Three Wells stood over the lower ranked hunter and looked at him in the eye.

"One, our medical supplies are very important to the people in this town, so we cannot risk any damage. Two, with ten aptonoths, this caravan is going to be a major target for all the hungry monsters loose in this town. Three, I don't want to run over from the other side of town, only to find half of you torn apart like that poor soul over there, just because you did not get all the help you need."

(Rulbo)

"...-Alright." The lower rank hunter responded with delay.

The caravan pulled into all the way into town, and one of the low rank hunters closed the gate and blocked it again.

The escort hunters then spread out around the caravan, usually on the other side of a building. A simple yell from anyone would alert everyone of danger.

Less than a minute of travel later, the caravan was pulling into the Rulbo marketplace. There were many tables, stands, tents crates, even some modified wagons.
Signs of panic stood out, such as many thing being tipped over, produce left out. The place reeked of rotting food, but unfortunately that was over powered some by the scent of decaying meat. The source of the latter had yet to be found.

Someone sent off a white flare into the sky, just announcing the group's presence to anyone. Other potential rescue parties, or survivors. Either was important.
Less than a minute later, two white flares were sent off from else where in the city. One was directly east on the other side of the city, and one was to the north side of the city.

-

(Donoto)

To the east, Edo just saw a little more marketplace then some smaller buildings at the town border, ending at the town fence.
To the north were some risen land that eventually became mountains, covered with random buildings within the town limits. There was another marketplace, probably that corresponding to the mountain town Metke.
South was more buildings, then the farm land.

In the center of town was the presumable gathering hall and downed observation balloon. Some other large buildings stood out, but what they were specifically couldn't be determined through sight.
At the south end of town was the arena.

Further east was the marketplace probably corresponding to Rulbo.
A white signal flare suddenly came from this area, which was a calm signal for "we're here." Someone from the Donoto company sent off a white flare in response.
Then a white flare near the Metke area flew into the sky.

-
ooc:
@Blaster: You'll probably want to look at the map to get an idea of what I mean about the area.

@Everyone: I suppose we'll say white is a calm signal for just saying where you are, and that you're there in the first place.

"So do we wait here, nya?" Totoro asked the other hunters, "Or do we go and find their caravans?"

Edo looks up to see the flares, then climbs down the tower and says to Jack "Well, nya, I think out first course of action should be to group up with the other hunters, nya.".

(Rulbo)

"We move on, towards the town center." Three Wells answered. He pointed to the guild flag in a distance, and then to the corresponding point on the map. "Our destination, the hospital, is there. The gathering hall is there. And from there, we can still decide whether to go north or east."

ooc:
Rekee's probably got more of a game plan than I do. I hadn't thought of what exactly the caravans would be doing (kind of an important thing, doncha think?).

-

(Rulbo)

The caravan continued through the marketplace in a relatively straight line. A couple of hunters to the front moved tables and stands out of the way as the lead Aptonoth progressed, generally tossing them aside. Just one time they weren't fast enough to get a stand out of the way, but the caravan simply steered around it.

Some bodies were found along the way. Half eaten, half decomposed, but still there. Luckily none of them were in the way of the caravan.
Even after the city was purged of the monsters inside, recovery was going to be a huge endeavor.

As the caravan left the edge of the marketplace, it passed an open area. Some deflated airships were present, so it was probably a landing pad.

After the marketplace, the caravan entered an area with buildings around. Some seemed like homes, others small business. Perhaps surprisingly, not everything was shut tight and secure.

One person appeared, then some more, then a dozen, then a small mob. They rushed the caravan joyful cheering, finally about to be fed after however long they held out.
The non-hunters with the caravan started breaking open crates and distributing food, but the caravan continued along.

Monster hunter instincts indicated that trouble was about to come. The noise of the crowd would alert predators of the crowd's presence, which more likely than not would bring them running.
An issue was, with the hunter's spread out around the caravan a small distance in every direction, the crowd drowned out any communication between them.

"This isn't good, nya!" Totoro tried to yell over the noise, "We need to regroup at the caravan!"

Totoro's little Felyne voice wasn't heard by anyone.

-
ooc:
Everyone's still with the caravan (hunters), it's just that they're spread out around it, generally a few paces away (on the other side of a building in between).

(Metke)

Looking over the huge gate in front of her Cyra sees no other way to get in the city other than climbing over the gate and opening it for the caravan to come through.

She removed her weapons for easier climbing and handed them to one of the other hunters with the group.

Being agile she knew this would not take her long.

"I will have this open in a minute," she says as she begins her climb.

David took Cyra's weapons, being the closest one at the time. He had her duals swords and shield in one hand, and lance in the others.

On the other side of the fence were some buildings, mostly animal barns. They were insulated and had reflective roofs and walls that prevented them form being heated by the sun. These were Popo barns, like over-sized refrigerators.

A drop block was holding the double door gate shut, and a considerably large one at that.
Regardless, Cyra was able to lift it up and out, then set it aside away from the gate.

Once she pushed the gates open a crack, David was right there to help. He gave one side hard push with his foot to open it all the way, then the other.
He moved out of the way of the caravan after, then said, "Here," to Cyra, holding out her weapons for her to take.

Luckily the wagon didn't have to stop at the gate, as it was opened in time. It continued along the downhill road into the town walls.


A white flare was then shot off from the west side of town. White was the simple signal for "we're here."
Another white flare shot off from the east side of town.
Someone with the Metke caravan shot off a white flare too.

ooc:
I was just working with what you gave us. We're sending medical supplies, and there's a hospital in the town. So yeah, we're most probably sending medical supplies to the hospital.

~~~

Three Wells continued distributing food to the masses, serving people with a smile.

(Metke)

"Thank you," Cyra said to David as she took her weapons back.

"Which way do you think we should head?" she asked in regards to the two flares she saw.

ooc:
@Rekee: That makes enough sense to me. Having them at the center of town would get them closest to everyone too.
For some reason I thought they'd be going around town randomly looking for people.
Thinking back, having you leave the caravan probably wasn't a great idea.

-

(Metke)

"The center of town will have us closest to both of them and the rest of the town." David stated, indirectly answering Cyra's question.
As he started off south again (keeping a certain distance ahead of the caravan), he got out one of his cool drink canteens and took a swig. Being a Metke villager in a warmer climate was one thing. Being a Metke villager in his near cold-proof equipment was another.

The caravan continued to trudge along as usual. It's accompanying monster hunters kept a little distance between themselves and the wagons, in order to intercept any danger before it got to the caravan. If any danger came, a simple shout from any one of the escorting hunters would alert everyone.

It wasn't more than a minute after the barn houses that the caravan was moving through the Metke marketplace. A lot of thick animal hides were on display, and snow or ice containers of largely varying types weren't hard to spot.
A lot of stands and tables were turned over, and no one was around.

David undid two buckles to his wide blade longsword, letting it fall out and brought it to his front. He kept it in one hand with the blade resting on his shoulder. Though the blade was sharp on both ends, his cloak and armor were undamaged.

~

(Julbo)

The hunters surrounding the caravan grew paranoid, drawing their respective weapons and looking more closely for approaching danger.

Civilians took their food and rotated out for the next person, giving and showing all kinds of appreciation. Fortunately, there was no fighting, and no need to reserve supplies yet.

The caravan continued along as usual, and so far no danger arose.

-
ooc:
@Sunfish: Can you pick a location relative to the caravan? Like in front, in back, to its left, right, back left (keeping in mind its five wagons long).


It's dawning on me that the monsters trapped inside the town ('Prey) would have a hard time finding stuff to drink.
I suppose fountains of sorts aren't too unreasonable though. The town must have some kind of water supply too, though whether or not the monsters could get to it is debatable.

Cyra followed David towards the center of the town.

She was observant of all that she was seeing, and was on alert for any threat, she could quickly draw her dual swords.

ooc: In addition to your water supply consideration, there's also sanitation, for both the humans and the monsters. I'd imagine some raptor poop around parts of the town.

~~~

(Rulbo)


Three Wells, on the right of the lead wagon, noticed his fellow hunter's uneasiness, and began to take out his weapons as well. He loosened the lance from his back, placed it on the bed of the wagon, and then fastened the shield onto his arm. He made sure the lance could be easily grabbed if danger approaches. Meanwhile, his katana remained sheathed on his back.

Once that was done, he continued distributing supplies, albeit slightly more hindered by the large shield on his arm.

"How did you all hold out for the past three days?" he asked a grateful civilian.

ooc: I guess at the front

A little annoyed that he wasn't heard, Totoro climbed on top of one of the wagons and looked around for danger.