There was a small monster-hunting group in the town. They would clear monsters in the area and sell the carcasses. Monsters were uniquely different from normal animals, even magic beasts. Monsters were not natural; they came from the corrupted lands, places of such high ambient magic that the landscape was in constant flux.
Yuhia had no corrupted land, but plenty was outside the kingdom’s borders. Monsters that crossed the border were hunted down and killed. The monster hunters in the town weren’t a permanent group but human mercenaries. They had an exclusive contract with the city, so anyone who wanted to hunt monsters in the surrounding area had to have their approval.
Bjorn and Tanisha were on their way to the mercenary outpost so they could register Bjorn and he could hunt in the area. The town was quiet this early in morning; the sun barely rose over the horizon, and even the morning birds were waking up.
“Failsafe, are you still ignoring me?” Bjorn asked.
Failsafe whispered, “You never apologized.”
“Apologized for what—you are mad about the hunting thing?” Bjorn said in disbelief.
“I was just trying to help.”
Bjorn breathed out his frustration from all of his noses. “You know what, you're right. I was being unfair. In the future, though, how about this: if we are hunting, let me do it on my own so I can learn. You keep a lookout for threats to us, deal?”
“That was a terrible apology. Okay, I agree but with my metaphysical arms crossed.”
“Great to hear, buddy. Not the arms thing.”
“There it is, I think?” Tanisha said as she pointed to a building near the town’s wall. “That is where the innkeeper said it would be.” Tanisha was far less confident.
The building looked terrible, as if it had been knocked down several times and rebuilt with whatever scraps remained. There wasn’t even a door, just an open frame that led into darkness. A man stood outside the door with a boar spear and watched as Bjorn and Tanisha approached.
“G'day, miss. Watch yer step,” the man said with a smirk.
“Good morning, thanks,” Tanisha said as she passed the man.
The inside of the decrepit-looking building was surprisingly lovely. So much so that Bjorn wanted to walk back outside to see if they had entered a different building. He nearly tripped when the first step was a step-down, which he had not expected. He caught himself, but not before Tanisha noticed him freak out for a second and giggled to herself.
“He said watch your step, Big Man.” Tanisha covered her mouth poorly, hiding her laughter.
“Ah, guests this early? That is a surprise.” A man said from behind a desk. “Welcome, I am Robert Smith, the official Registrar of the Jackrabbits.”
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Identify
Name: Robert Smith
Species: Human
Level: 70
Vocation: Chakra Pugilist (Retired)
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Robert was all silver up top, but his beard retained some of its red color. From what Bjorn could tell, he was in his late sixties and seemed friendly enough. The room was well furnished with file cabinets, a refreshments and waiting area and even a chandelier. This room looked to be the only place they renovated however as Bjorn could see into one of the adjacent rooms and it was as destroyed as the outside appeared.
“Jackrabbits?” Tanisha questioned as her eyes looked around.
“The name of our monster hunting company. Don’t worry about the state of the building,” Robert said preemptively. “We only needed one room for my office inside the town per our agreement with the town hall. If you're looking for the monster hunters hired by the city, you've found us. How can I help you today?”
So they did this to be as cheap as possible? Bjorn thought.
“Uh, okay,” Tanisha was also thrown off by the information but quickly righted herself. “I want my familiar to be able to hunt in the area. I was told I needed to come here first.”
“Yes, of course, we can do that. Will you be joining him on the hunts as well?” Robert asked.
Tanisha nodded. “Yes, but just for today to see the process. He is intelligent and can do it on his own after that.”
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Robert looked at Bjorn for a moment. “A hydra, eh? Looks like he’s a mixed breed between the Britax Plane hydra and an aquatic northern blue hydra. Three heads that young? You both must have been through a lot.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully as both Bjorn and Tanisha tensed up. “I'm surprised you have one; they aren’t common in the region. He’s the only one I've seen for a long time. The antlers are new. Is that from the bond with a wendiーyou’re not a wendigo, are you?”
Tanisha responded promptly. “No, my species just happens to look similar. You’ve seen other hydras?”
“Ah, yes,” Robert responded with a chuckle. “There isn’t a magical beast on this continent I haven’t at least heard about. Hydras and dragons are among the few that we run from. We figured it was better to retreat than to get burned to a crisp or poisoned and die slowly over a few hours. Your hydra is still a pup; he'll get much bigger and probably grow a few more heads. I've seen some with only three heads, but that’s rare, especially with him being a mixed breed.”
“You’re okay with him being a hydra?” Tanisha asked.
“Yes, of course. He’s a powerful familiar. I wish I could form familial bonds. Infernal Planes, I would gladly take a hydra or two. I heard that there’s a noble family here where every member has a dragon familiar. That’s crazy, obviously not true, but could you imagine?”
Tanisha looked away at that. “Nope. Sounds far-fetched.”
“Anyway, you said you wanted to hunt. Have you ever hunted monsters before?”
“We killed a steel wolf, his pack, and a troll.”
“Those are magic beasts. The troll is closer to monsters, though.” Robert’s demeanor turned all business. “The registration fee is two silver, non-negotiable. Since this is your first hunt, I can get you an escort. His name is Alfred. The escort gets fifty percent of any monster corpse payout. If you don’t find anything today, you’ll pay him three silver for his instruction. I’ll hold his three silver here, so if any...” he paused to find the right word, “...unfortunate accidents were to happen, and you can’t pay, he still gets the money.”
“Or if he runs off and leaves me, I get a refund,” Tanisha added, and Robert nodded. “That’s fair.” She handed the man five silver.
The registrar placed the money on his desk and pulled out a document. He and Tanisha signed it and she was given directions to the mercenary camp, along with a sealed letter. They were set up outside the town to respond quickly to monsters entering the area. Tanisha thanked him, and the duo left the small faux-office building.
“Well, at least we know you'll be getting more heads sooner or later,” Tanisha said.
Bjorn had already figured as much. After all, he had already seen his mother; she was the Queen of a Thousand Heads, not the Queen of Three Noggins. He wondered what would happen if he met a wild lesser hydra. Would they also be afraid of him, or would his King of Reptiles skill do something else to them? Maybe he could control them, or they would see him as an alpha or something. He really wanted to find out, but that was an experiment for another day.
The Jackrabbit camp was a mile from the town, and Bjorn could smell it long before they arrived. The camp smelled of blood and decay along with the tang of fires and ironworking. The camp was far more impressive than the little collapsed building they had in town. Wooden walls and guard towers surrounded the burgeoning settlement, and a notable amount of goods looked to be coming and going.
Bjorn and Tanisha weren’t stopped from entering the front gate. They saw permanent structures erected inside, making it into a small village. Monster hunters, leather workers, smiths, healers, and even inns and restaurants were all inside the camp, which by all definitions should be called a village by this point. The establishments looked to be run by members of the town and the Jackrabbits.
Most of the people here were human, but not all. There was a good number of wendigo and a smattering of elves and goblins. Unlike the town, which was still sleepy at this point, the Jackrabbits camp was full of life. Tanisha led Bjorn to the building Robert had described. Before Tanisha could touch the door, a man was suddenly thrown out and hit the ground on his back at her feet. The two jumped out of the way as the man rolled over to his side.
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Identify
Name: Kevin Horner
Species: Human
Level: 18
Vocation: Prana Bowman
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Kevin looked young, early twenties at most. He was thin but had a good build meant for combat. His face was red with anger as he punched the ground and stared daggers at the doorway.
“I told you, if you’re gonna work here, you listen to what the fuck I say!” A second man said as he lowered his foot from a blatant kick and stepped out the door. “Get the fuck out of here before you get yourself or a squad killed. I don’t want to see you around here again!”
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Identify
Name: Alfred Quarter
Species: Human
Level: 50
Vocation: Prana Iron Netcaster
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Alfred was far better put together than the young man, but he reeked of alcohol. He was in casual clothing, a tunic and harem pants. His long raven hair almost completely covered his eyes. Someone handed him something, and he pulled back his hair and quickly tied it into a ponytail.
“You're going to pay for that, Alfred!” Kevin said as he stood up and held out his hand. “You don’t have the fuckin' right to kick me out!”
Alfred stepped to the side as a longbow flew through the air from the building and into Kevin’s open hand. He rose to one knee and nocked an arrow in a smooth motion.
“You sure you wanna do that, Kevin?” Alfred asked with a smirk. “We can go there if you want. If you could shoot worth a damn, maybe I wouldn’t be kicking your sorry ass out.”
The man lowered the bow when he saw more people crowd around to see what was happening. He clenched his jaw as he stood up.
“Fuck you, it’s not like you're even worth it! You washed-up Jackrabbits are all bark and no bite,” Kevin growled. “What the fuck you looking at?” He turned and pushed someone out of the way as he stomped off.
The crowd slowly dispersed, seeing there wouldn’t be a fight, which disappointed everyone. Alfred shook his head and walked back into the building.
“Well, we found Alfred at least,” Tanisha said quietly. “Come on, Big Man, let’s talk to him.”