[Exam] Tidings of a Hunt

Thane was still in Magnolia, recovering from his pumpkin ordeal, as well as taking on a few more jobs, for he couldn't stay still. Even if his body needed to rest, his heart wanted to see more. The work and exploration within the city made him realise more and more, just how he needed to understand the knowledge that he had given by the Soulstone. He was still in disbelief of finding it. Those were the thoughts that milled around his head, as he came upon the Request board. Thane made sure to stop by every morning and evening, if possible, to see if there was anything posted that he could help with

This morning, when he stopped by the Board, Thane noticed a few posts in the 'urgent' section. Did something happen over the course of the night? Intrigued, he came closer. His eyes glided over the papers, stopping on one of them. It was just quick scribbles, but he recognised that kind of writing. And after reading the contents, he knew he was right. Somebody from Joya wrote the hastily written request. It was asking for help with a monster that had caused so much damage and took so many lives that they were calling upon foreign hunters to help them out. Thane wasn't sure if it was just pure coincidence. He spent a portion of his younger days, after he parted ways with his own tribe, in Joya. He met many colourful folks on his travels and learned a lot from them. It was high time that he returned the favour.

As soon as Thane packed the few belongings he had, he was off. Thinking of a timely ride to Joya was a little bit harder than he had anticipated, but soon enough he sat in a train that was headed towards Hargeon. He reckoned that a ship cruise would be the fastest route.

Even though the cruise took only a handful of days, Thane felt increasingly more anxious as they approached their destination. It wasn't often that Joya people would call out for help of others like that. They lived for the thrill of the hunt. The bigger the game, the bigger the fame. It was then when immense worry clenched his chest, when he thought of his friend, Fura'a Nowe. Was he safe? He wouldn't let a monster take him down easily. The Au Ra's grip intensified on the wooden railing on the edge of the vessel, as it slowly neared the land. He didn't realise how much his hands were shaking, until his train of thought ran out. Thane slowly let go of the railing and exhaled a shaky breath he didn't know he was holding.

It took a bit of time, until the ship reached its destination, but Thane felt still very much uneasy. He hoped that the locals would provide him with information he needed to both track down the monstrous nuisance, as well as find out about Nowe's status and whereabouts. Once the ship arrived at the port, Thane made his way into the heart of the town. While the people of Joya lived in tribal groups, much like Thane's kin, a hub was created for occasional ships to come to.

Thane knew what Joya felt like, what the atmosphere permeated through the thick woods. But it didn't feel that way when he stepped onto the land. It felt strangely foreign, despite the amount of time he had spent in those forests. The cat people were visibly snappy and seemed to be wary and in some sort of hurry. Joyans were usually pretty laid back, while knowing how to throw a great party. Such haste and general feeling of something unsettling in the air was not the normal experience. "Hey. Could I bother you for a second?" Thane would call out to a young lad with black ears and tail, who was armed with a bow and a quiver of arrows. The lad stopped in his tracks, seemingly surprised. "Oh, hi. Sure. What do you need?" Thankfully for Thane, people in Joya were open to conversations. "I came here because of the monster that has been wreaking havoc." When Thane noted the monster, the cat lad nodded. He immediately knew what the scaly man was asking him about, especially after he noticed the lance on Thane's back.

"The monster, huh? Every hunter is on high alert right now, because of it." The lad said, as he motioned around at the restless Joyans. Thane suspected that much. "You want to help us to take it down? Since you came around because of it." The young man asked and the Au Ra nodded. "Yes. Do you know where it roughly is or point me to a hunting party?" The man asked and the lad grinned. "Nice. We can use more people with it. I think that the last time the monster was seen was a bit north of here, possibly nearing a bigger settlement that's in the area." Thane hummed to himself as he painted a map in his mind. "The active tracking party is mostly comprised of survivors from one of the brutal attacks." The lad's grin faded. Thane snapped back, breaking his thoughts as the worry and anxiety pressed upon him, again.

"How many fell? Where did the attack happen?" Thane needed to know more. He wanted to know more. "Nearly a whole village to north east got wiped out. The survivors I mentioned want to put the monster down. They're all that's left of that tribe." The young man explained in a quiet voice. Thane sighed, attempting to control the various feelings started bubbling inside him. Worry, anger, fear.

As soon as he obtained every bit of information that he deemed to be useful, he was off. The directions he received were rather vague, but it was to be expected. The monster wouldn't stay in the same place long enough for Thane to get there. The forest trails felt so incredibly familiar. It almost felt like coming hope, because of how many memories he had forged here. Maybe thanks to his previous experiences, Thane noticed a campsite, just as the sun was setting. If it was occupied by Joyans, it wouldn't be a problem to have a place to sleep off his voyage.

The man approached the makeshift tents. The area was illuminated by a campfire, around which sat a group of cat people, but they were eerily quiet. As soon as they heard approaching footsteps, they sprung up, some of them having daggers drawn. They were looking in Thane's direction, who stopped in his tracks. He lifted his hands up a little, to show that he was not there to harm them, despite the humongous weapon strapped to his back. "I'm sorry for disturbing you. I am looking for the party that has been tracking the monster that is on the loose." Once he gave them the gist of why he was at their campsite, the cat people seemed to somewhat relax, but they still seemed to be wary. "Alright. Have a seat, then." One of the ladies motioned for him to join the circle and he took the offer.

The more he talked with them, the more they opened up. The group was composed of 4 ladies, one of which seemed to be quite older than the rest and 3 young men. They confirmed the information he had been told in the port tow. The survivors described the monster as a large being with prominent front claws and covered in scales. According to them, it could also stand up on its hind legs and spew fireballs. It seemed that speed was not one of his strengths, but it was most likely quite resilient, if it took down a whole village. Joyans didn't mess around when it came to hunting.

Eventually they fell asleep. One person was always supposed to keep watch and one of the lads volunteered to scout for the monster. The night had fallen, that was true, but the young man in question wanted to make sure that it wasn't too close to the camp. Thane's exhaustion got the best of him and he fell into deep slumber just moments after his head hit the ground. It didn't last, though.

Thane didn't know how much time had passed, but he was woken up by somebody's yells and then being shaken momentarily. His eyes snapped open. It seemed that the night had possed, for the most part, with small amounts of morning sun filtering through the trees. The man sat up as he looked around. "It found us. Quick. It's either us or it." The lady who approved of Thane the evening before urged him on, as he put on the metal pieces of his gear. She was patient, but it was obvious that she was eager to sprint off and help her friends. Thane grabbed his lance and followed her lead.

A loud roar pierced the morning stillness, as the two hunters approached the scene of a battle with the monster they had described. It was rather accurate, seeing as it just swiped its claw at the cat people who were standing in front of it. Size-wise, it was a bit bigger than Thane was tall, but it had very short tail and a long body that ended in a head with a toothy mouth. The monster had a few arrows jammed in its legs and back, but the monster didn't seem to mind too much. "Me and Orana have poisoned arrows. It looks like a few of those arrows made it in, hopefully deep enough too get through the scales." Thane couldn't tell which of the survivors was the aforementioned Orana, but once he realised that the monster had scales, he had a plan. He sort of glided over the fact that the monster was covered in scales last night, but thankfully his sight reminded him.

"Can you keep it in place?" Thane asked and received a look of confusion as the monster roared again and bumped a few trees over with its massive claw. The breaking of the wood was loud and the animals were properly disturbed, if they weren't before. "What?" The lady asked, not sure if she heard correctly. "Keep it in place. I have a plan." The man replied and ran towards the monster, banking on Joyans to do something. The woman yelled something at the others, but his mind was too occupied to decipher what she yelled.

If Thane had to guess, joints would be the monster's weakpoints. Especially around the neck. They could try to have it stand up on its hind legs as they had described, but the man felt like that was just too much of a risk to try. Thus, his plan was to get on the monster's back and see if Gae Bolg could do something about this dangerous problem.

The survivors launched a hail of arrows and some of them closed in with daggers. Thane sped up his sprint and jumped onto the monster's leg. It didn't seem to notice him, but it was trying to swipe at the Joyans, making Thane's job of climbing up much harder. He latched onto the edges of the scales, doing his best to not fall down. He had to climb both fast and careful, which was nigh impossible on a beast that kept thrashing around. So much for keeping it in place. "At least it's not running away." The man mumbled to himself as he swung himself upwards, onto the monster's back.

He wanted to stand up, but he knew that with his height it would be extremely difficult to keep his balance. Thane was down on all fours, as he crossed the monster's back, as he noticed its movements becoming slowly less erratic as he neared the weakspot he had in mind. "The poison is working!" A familiar voice called out. The poison most likely numbed the monster's limbs. Still, Thane was hoping that the monster didn't notice him up until then.

Thane gingerly approached the neck, where the scales were much softer than on the rest of its body, perhaps save its belly. The man took a deep breath and stood up. Just then the monster lunged forward, making Thane loose his footing. He quickly grabbed onto any scales that he could reach, before he slid off. Only a bit of progress was lost by the monster's sudden movement and soon enough, Thane was standing on its back, once more.

He had to be quick, before the monster changed its mind. Thane grabbed his lance and then he swung it downwards with the tip aiming for the neck. He drove Gae Bolg about half way of its length into the monster's flesh. It let out an incredibly loud screech, as a response to the sudden pain. Thane winced, as he saw the monster spew out a flood of liquid flame. That was probably where the part about it spitting fireballs came from. The survivors yelled aswell, trying to get away from the sudden danger. Thane was holding onto the lance, as the monster attempted to shake him off. However, between Thane's iron grip and the monster being weakened by the poison, it only drove the lance further into itself. The Au Ra clenched his teeth and partially pulled out Gae Bolg at an angle, rending the flesh.

The screeches and roars were becoming quite the nuisance and Thane wanted to put the monster out of its misery. He took a deep breath and shoved Gae Bolg back downwards. The monster wanted to keep thrashing around, but it hadn't the strength to do so. That left Thane with almost free reign to tear its neck apart. The lance pierced more of the inner flesh and it was high time for the coup de grâce. Thane pulled the lance to the side, ripping a hole in the scales. He was placing his trust in Gae Bolg and its ability to rend flesh and scales.

The Au Ra tightened his grip on the lance, as he jumped off of the monster's back. With him falling down, the lance followed, leaving behind a gaping hole in the side of the monster's neck. The fall wasn't as smooth as Thane expected it to be, but he most certainly came out incredibly dirty, as blood covered his gear and face. He grunted as he landed, Gae Bolg still lodged in the monster's neck. The man sighed as he stood back up, looking over the wound he had inflicted.

The monster was still alive, but only barely. The smell of burnt grass and some stinky flowers permeated through the air, slowly being dominated by the stench of blood. The survivors came out and went to see what Thane had done. One of the lads whistled. "Wow, that's kind of nasty. Nice job!" He grinned. "It will not bring back those whom we have lost, but at least no more will suffer the same fate as us." The cat lady said, as she put away her bow.

"Again, thanks for the help." The lady thanked Thane, as they were collecting their camp. "It was a pleasure. I'm glad to have returned to Joya for a little bit, although the circumstances could be better." Thane would reply, as he helped the survivors pack. "You never told me your name." The Au Ra stated, hoping that he would illicit a reply. "Oh, I never introduced myself, did I? I am Garana." The lady replied, as she smiled at the tall man. He smiled in return. "I'm Thane. I never introduced myself, either." Thane chuckled and Garana did aswell. "I guess we all forgot about those formalities when danger was near." She noted and Thane couldn't help but agree.

The camp was packed and it was time for Thane to leave Joya. He was there to help with this issue, after all. "Hey, before we part ways, may I ask something?" There was one question that burned him. He didn't think of it before, because of the fight, but now that his mind was free to wander again, he couldn't help himself. "Shoot." Garana motioned for Thane to spill it out. "Do you know somebody named Fura'a Nowe?" He asked, not knowing what answer he was hoping for. Garana seemed to be lost in thought for a moment. "The name rings familiar, but I can't say I know them personally. There wasn't anybody with that name in our village when it was attacked." She replied, seemingly knowing why Thane asked about a particular person. "Thank you. I hope he's alright." Thane would thank Garana. "I hope that when you rebuild what you have lost, I can visit."