FanFic:MHAdvance Chapter 3: Ravens and Schrades

>Introduction Page<

Jack passed his father and entered his cabin. Inside, it was quite spacious for one scrawny kid like himself. Then it occurred to him that these homes weren't just designed for hunters. They were houses, like the ones everyone else got. Everybody who lived in Freia Village had a house just like this one. He thought about that for a second. He would be living here until further notice.

The house itself only had a few rooms. A large living area, a bedroom, and a washroom. The living area had a Iodrome rug with a table on top of it. Chairs surrounded this table, and a fireplace was opposite to the door. His bedroom was relatively big, but not nearly as big as the living room. It was a simple room, with a bed, nightstand, and a closet that contained a chest along with clothes hangers. The washroom was small, with a toilet, shower, a basin, and a bin. He turned on the basin, and figured it used water from the nearby springs.

After he finished touring around, he sat in the living area. He hadn't seen it before, but there was another box. When he opened it, he found that it was full of ice and a little bit of food. Jack closed the box and went to sit back down, but he was stopped by a knock on the door. When he opened it, nobody was standing there, but he heard another knock on his neighbor's door. He looked over and saw a Guild Rep dropping off wooden boxes of various sizes in front of new hunter's doors.

He took his box inside and sat it on the table. He opened the box, and saw a neatly folded set of Derring armor inside. After he took out the armor, he found a small card and a notebook at the bottom. He took out the card first, and examined it. It had a sketch of him, along with his name and hunter rank. It was a clean white color. Next was the notebook, which he found to be full of weapon techniques and hunting styles and arts. But the notebook also had many other black pages, which read 'Hunter's Notes' across the tops of the pages.

Jack went to the bedroom and put the box in the closet. He began to take off the makeshift splint his dad had put on his arm. He didn't need it anymore, anyways. He tossed the split onto the bed and moved his arm around a little bit. It was just a little sore, but it would hurt if he took another powerful blow like the one the Astalos had given him. He changed into his new armor, feeling a new sense of freedom and courage he had never really felt before.

He sheathed his sword on his back and took his shield in his hand. He stepped outside, and ran right into his father. "Jack. You've finally done it." he said proudly. Jack nodded and smiled. His father took his hand and held it tight, smiling back. A tear streamed down his face, and he hugged Jack. "Do me and your mother proud, son..." he whispered. "I will. I promise." Jack replied. His father let him go and started to walk back to the cart. He mounted his Aptonoth and trotted off. "Don't forget to write!" He called back as he exited the village. Jack stood outside of his house, alone.

Devon led his companions to their own camp, stationed near a stream in the Autumn Hills. Some of Devon's men emerged from their tents to ask him about the Guild recruiting. "So Devon, what's the count?" one of the men asked. "Thirteen newbloods. I gave them the demotivational speech." Devon replied. Some of the men exchanged glances. When they looked back, they all were looking at Devon's hand. One of the men spoke up. "Devon? You're bleeding..." Devon raised an eyebrow in disbelief, but when he looked at his hand, sure enough, there was a cut there, and a pretty bad one at that.

Devon took out a piece of cloth and cleaned the wound, trying to think of where he could have gotten it. It wasn't a monster, since the coast had been clear all day, and nobody had struck out at him. Wait, there was one. The boy with the rusty sword. But the sword had been so dull that it didn't hurt at all to catch. Devon looked back to the village. "Thirteen newbloods. One of interest." He said.

As he said this, a girl in specially crafted Mizutsune armor emerged from a tent. "One of interest? It's been a while since I've heard you say that." she said as she walked towards Devon. "Hello Raven. I was just about to ask you something." Devon said cheerfully. Raven waited for Devon's request. "The new one that I have interest in... a young man with a rusty sword and shield... I want you to follow him and observe him." Devon explained. "So... you want me to... stalk him?" Raven asked. "That's a harsh way of putting it, but yes." Devon confirmed. Raven seemed uncertain about the job. "Will you buy me noodles if I do this?" she asked. Devon chuckled. "Yes, I will." he promised. And with that, Raven grabbed her insect glaive and went into the village.

Jack met Hilda at the start of a trail later that day. The sun was setting in the distance, but it didn't matter. Nobody would stop them from going out into the Autumn Hills anyways. Hilda showed off her new hammer and Jack showed his armor before they started walking. It was a nice evening; it was warm but not hot, and a light breeze blew through the wooded area they were walking through.

Jack and Hilda talked as they headed for the actual main Autumn Hills area, joking, telling stories, and getting to know each other. Jack learned that Hilda was a two star hunter back in Pokke Village, and she even ran her own amateur armory to pay for her supplies and house. Jack told her the entirety of his Astalos story, and made an effort to use some of his best jokes. But soon, the joy disappeared.

Something slammed down on Jack's head hard, knocking him to the ground. He heard Hilda scream and he rolled onto his back to see what was going on. When he flopped over, he was met with a longsword near his neck. Hilda had been restrained by two thugs, one with a greatsword, and the other with a lance. They all wore black leather armor. The man with a sword to Jack's neck took off his helmet. "Zenny. Hand it over." he demanded.

Jack stood up, but the man moved his blade closer to Jack's neck. Jack gave the little bit of zenny he had to the bandit, who then turned to Hilda. Jack lashed out with his sword, knowing that the actual hit wouldn't do anything. The bandit turned around and punched Jack hard in the face, causing him to fall to the ground again. Blood dripped from Jack's nose and lips, but he had been hit by worse.

As soon as the bandit had punched him, the sword's strange effect kicked in., and a large gash formed across the bandit's back as the red bolt shot across. Blood spewed from the wound, but the bandit seemed merely stunned. His friends dropped Hilda and came to his aid, getting bloodied themselves as the wound bled. Jack sprung up and was immediately tackled to the ground by the leader and thugs, who all began to throw punches at him.

Hilda stood up and grabbed her hammer, then charged the bandits. Underneath the pile of criminals, Jack fought back, punching one of the thugs, trying to escape. Hilda brought her hammer down on one of the thug's back. He turned around and unsheathed his greatsword. Hilda prepared to dodge the attack when a large neopteran emerged from the brush. It moved incredibly quickly, and bashed into the bandit's face.

The bandit tried to slash at the insect, giving Hilda a great chance. She slammed her hammer into his stomach, sending him flying. Jack bashed the second thug with a lance and threw him off, leaving Jack and the leader. Hilda ran to Jack's side to help fight. The thugs stumbled up, both dazed. All of a sudden, the two brutes were knocked unconscious. Behind them stood a girl in what looked somewhat like a white, iridescent dress with pinkish-purple highlights.

She had black hair and wielded a very basic looking insect glaive, which looked like merely a stick with a blade attached to it. The neopteran returned to her and latched onto her arm. She stepped closer to the bandit leader, trembling a bit. Hilda circled the leader a little bit, making a circle he couldn't escape from unscathed. The leader unsheathed his longsword, but he knew he wouldn't be able to win. Jack suddenly got an idea. He made a fist signal, which Hilda took a second to understand, then she passed it on to the new girl, who also seemed to understand.

They all charged the leader, and slammed him with their blunt attacks. Jack used his shield to bash the leader's head, Hilda made a glancing blow on his head, and the girl used the blunt end of her insect glaive and slammed it down on his head. The bandit leader crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Jack fell back and started breathing heavily. The girls sat down to rest for a second.

Jack sat up and looked at the girl. "Thanks for the help." he said, still breathing deeply. "Oh, um... no problem. Right place, right time, I guess." she replied. "I'm Raven. What are your names?" she asked. Jack and Hilda introduced themselves and talked for a few minutes with Raven. By now, it was almost pitch black outside, so the three decided to head back to the village.

After about an hour of feeling around the trail, they all finally made it back to the village. The group said their goodbyes and split, going to their homes for the night. Jack slept well that night, and waited for the sun to rise the next morning.

That night, a great many miles away, was the Schrade Kingdom. It dominated much of Northern Minegarde, excluding Kokoto Village and the surrounding wilderness. In the castle, an argument was taking place. Luka Schrade, the King of the Schrade Kingdom paced back and forth in the throne room, holding his switchaxe. Meryn Schrade, his Queen sat in a chair in the middle of the throne room, tied up by some of Schrade's soldiers. "Advisor Star! What are we to do? We cannot allow a traitor to live within the castle walls!"

Wade Star, the king's adviser, thought for a second. "Can we really trust a traitor to the kingdom at all? Devon's own resistance gets stronger every season. Eventually he'll catch up to us." he said. Schrade's personal assassin Venus stood next to Wade. She felt a little worried for the Queen, but didn't say anything. "So what do you suggest? We kill her?" Schrade asked? Wade nodded. He knew Venus would be heartbroken over this, but overthrowing that punk Devon was top priority.

Schrade approached the Queen. "You damn traitor!" he yelled. "You dared defy me, so I won't show mercy any longer!" The Queen trembled as Schrade readied his switchaxe. Venus' eyes watered a little, but she didn't try to stop the king. He brought down his switchaxe, and Venus closed her eyes. All she heard was a wet splatter, followed by the sound of something hitting the floor. "Wade, clean up this mess. I need to talk to Venus." Schrade said, without a trace of remorse.