After their preparations the group of veteran hunters set off into the blizzard, the cold and wind fighting them every step of the way. They couldn’t see very far, but the river was an easy guide to follow, staying fairly straight. The lights from the Firefly shrunk behind them but remained visible in the distance, and after a long few minutes they reached their destination.

The cliff face along the opposite riverside opened up briefly, revealing a small hidden valley. From there a great wooden arch bridge spanned across the river, reaching up high and sloping off at each end, more than wide enough for a couple of wagons to pass each other by. Everything about its construction was thick and sturdy, built to stand the test of time. Even a giant monster could have strolled across it!

Just after the bridge was a tall and wide wall, built just as sturdy. It was at least two stories tall and reached around both sides of the bridge, going several feet into the water, preventing passage without swimming around. At its center was a double door gate, currently closed. Just behind the fence on one side was a roofed watchtower, currently vacant, just tall enough to see directly in front of the wall.

If one tried to look around the wall from the other side of the river, the village couldn’t yet be seen in the darkness, and no lights were lit. Nothing could be heard either over the winds.
Multiple series of little blango tracks came from beyond and went across the bridge, as well as one set of similar but much larger tracks, all going in one direction. Some little brown droppings were among them, frozen by the cold, also with some larger counterparts.

You could investigate to get more information on things.
See picture below for a rough idea of the layout. Not at all to scale.

Cat hopped to the larger pile of droppings, gave them a quick sniff to try and deduce freshness, before going to work adding to his stash of dung bombs. As he crafted, he worried aloud, "Why is it so dark? Is it pawssible they turned the lights off to sleep?"

"Hmm... Perhaps." Gaige commented in reply to Myar's musings as he warily walked across the bridge. "But look at these tracks. They only go one direction." He looked up at the wall barring them from the village, trying to see if there may be anyway to climb over it, or if it was at all damaged. "I don't know much about Blangos, but if I didn't know any better, I'd say they got in somehow."

"As I recall, Blango and Blangonga," Leon gestured to the larger tracks, "can burrow. If that's how they got in, then a wall wouldn't have saved these people. Check around for holes." he continued, as he went to do just that. "If we can find the Blangonga's tunnel, we also have a way in."

The exterior of one of the larger mounds of feces had frozen over, but the inside still had some warmth to it, soft to the touch and foul to smell when Cat dug in.

The tracks all led to the patch of land between the wall and bridge, where they meandered around.
There weren’t any holes going under the fence.
While the little tracks were scattered around, wandering the space, they all eventually seemed to lead into the water along the wall. (Blangos could survive being submerged for at least a short time.)
Some snow had collected at the top of the wall. However, a large section of it had been disturbed and knocked off. There were a few series of gouge marks in the wood as well, but otherwise no serious damage.

The wall was a bit too tall for a hunter to just vault or run and jump up. It didn’t make a great climbing surface either, having no footholds and the boards being vertical and a bit slick from the wet weather.

"It seems some snow has been knocked off the wall. Is it possible they jumped over?" Gaige wondered aloud. If that was the case, then the village is likely under attack as they speak. He knew they needed to get to the other side of this wall, but how? Then, an idea struck him.

"Myar?" Gaige turned towards the melynx. "If I have Alca fly you over or around this wall, do you think you can get this gate open?" It wasn't the safest idea in the world, but at the time, it was all he could think of.

Myar looked up at the wall and gulped. Unlike his hydrophobia, his fear of heights really only kicked in when he put a blood-thirsty monster between himself, defenseless, and the ground. Cat had a strong feeling this would be another one of those situations.

"If the bug's got the juice left in it, I've got nine lives left to lose," Cat sighed.

"Did they walk and then swim around the wall...?" Leon mumbled to himself, looking around as the path disappeared into the river. "If that doesn't work, I think I can get around this, open the gate from the inside," he called, pointing to the river.

"Alright then. Ready, Alca?" The kinsect fluttered its wings in confirmation. "Alright. I need you to fly Myar here over this wall." Understanding what it needed to do, Alca flew over to Myar and wrapped its legs around him, just like before. "Stick with Myar and help him however he needs it, alright Alca?" The kinsect one again fluttered its wings in understanding. "Alright then. If anything goes wrong, yell. Now, fly Alca!" In response, the kinsect began beating its wings, and flew up towards the wall.

The kinsect was able to lift Cat over the wall without trouble, setting him down on the other side. Fortunately it was just the two of them.

It seemed the door lock system had been designed with little people in mind. Instead of one massive bar spanning the gate, six were positioned at different points. Two on each side by the hinges, and two in the middle. Using his weight and a bit of leverage, Cat was able to tip each of the bars out of their holds, allowing the hunters on the other side to push the gates open. The snow on the ground quickly piled up as the doors swung, starting to jam them, but the hunters only needed the opening wide enough to get themselves through.

The ape tracks continued from where the hunters expected, one set of large tracks continuing from over the gate, the rest from the side coming from the water. They all led into the village.

The hunters could start to see the buildings, but still no sources of light. They were somewhat grouped together, but still had wide pathways between them, enough for wagons to pass by each other. The apes still couldn’t be seen, but it was entirely possible they were just hidden behind the buildings.

Now might be a good time to figure out a plan of action.

"Now would be a great time to get out of the open." Thandraug urged.

"If we're dealing with a whole pack, we're in for a hell of a lot more than those bird brains from back on the coast. We should lay low, make our way to the village, and figure out how many of the buggers are together. If I know anything about how these creatures work, we will want to smash the little ones' skulls before we run into their alpha. We won't have time to focus on small fry too if we end up having to fight a Blangonga."

He looked out for the greatest source of cover in the village where he would suggest the group come in by to avoid a risky encounter.

"Sounds like a plan." Gaige agreed as Alca landed back on his arm. "If we're going stealth, should we stick together? Or would it be best if we split up for now?" He asked as he carefully watched the village for any signs of movement. He also realized that in his current armor, he might stand out in the snow. He knew he'd have to be extra careful about how he approaches the situation, especially considering his inexperience with these particular monsters.

"I agree, the Blango have to die first, preferably quietly," Leon whispered, tapping the hilt of his Jaggi knife. "Only question is, where are they?"

Leon looked around from his position, eyes slowly coasting over the buildings nearby. "It's entirely possible that they're hiding inside the buildings themselves, so some care would be nice. If we do split up, I think it would be best for us to split two and two."

The hunters moved up to the edge of the village, hiding behind the first building they came across. It was two stories tall and was somewhat large, probably having several rooms inside. The log cabin construction would have allowed the lighter hunters to climb up to the roof. The roof was slanted though, and had a few inches of snow piled up, plus the wind, so they’d have to be mindful of their step.

The building also had windows made of glass, including a couple on ground level by the hunters. The curtains had been drawn and a stick placed to prevent the window from opening up, but the hunters could have broken in if desired.
Though the shapes and sizes of the other buildings varied, the architecture seemed to be similar throughout.

Peering around the edge of the building, the hunters spotted one blango roaming around. It was sniffing around the front of another building, interested in the windows and door. While it seemed to be alone, more easily could have been just around the corner.
If the hunters broke in through one of the windows, the sound probably would have alerted the ape, despite the blizzard.

I’m deliberately being a little vague about the buildings and village in general, to leave things open. If you have some idea or want, feel free to run it by me. Like “there’s a ladder against one of the buildings” or “snow shovel lying around.”

"I'm going to climb this building, and scout their numbers." Gaige whispered to the rest of the group after a quick glance around. Having informed the others of his choice of action, he began climbing up the side of the building as quietly as he could. Once on the roof, he'd remain crouched and carefully creep towards the edge to get a better look at their surroundings while making sure he was out of sight of the Blangos. He also gave a quick glance across the roofs of other buildings, in case the snow apes had the same idea he did.

"On the off chance he comes comes back with blangos on his tail," Myar muttered as he scanned the sides of buildings, "we can purr-loin some of these tools to make a choke point and have the upper paw. With some rakes and hoes we could create a purrfect perilous purr-imeter."

Cat looked for rope he could hide in the snow to create a trip wire. A well timed yank on even a primitive pulley could create a bottleneck if Gaige needed and escape path. If he could get some sharp tools buried under the wintery tarp, they might serve as both caltrop and alarm against any unsuspecting snow apes.

"I'll help you out with that, Cat." Leon offered, helping to do the heavy duty work in his stead.

Scanning the rooftops first, Gaige didn’t see any blangos perched on the roofs like himself. At least, not the nearby buildings. More distant buildings were still difficult to make out, but if there were any apes out there they wouldn’t have been able to see him either.
On one of the rooftops, however, Gaige noticed some snow was out of place. Large tracks going from the ground, over the building, and somewhere else in the village.

Once he got to the opposite side, Gaige noticed another blango roaming the streets. Its face and front paws were covered with blood, but it didn’t seem to be injured by the way it walked. It seemed to be on its way to rejoin with the other blango. For the moment, it was far away enough that Gaige might have been able to dispatch of it without alerting the other, however getting the drop on from his current position might have been difficult.

Boot and felyne tracks also were about the ground, which all seemed to go into the buildings. The ape tracks seemed to follow them to the doorsteps before going off elsewhere in the village.

Cat and Leon spotted a tool shed across the pathway, and got inside once they verified the coast was clear. It was only a single room but quite large, and inside was a whole variety of tools and such.

Rope, rakes and hoes would be fine. Other stuff, maybe just shoot me a quick PM.

"Alright Alca," Gaige whispered to his kinsect, "I need you to distract that Blango for me while I sneak sneak up on it, alright?" He gestured towards the bloodied ape in question, and Alca took flight and flew towards the ape. It buzzed around in front of it, trying to catch the Blango's attention and distract it while Gaige carefully sneaked into position. Once he was close enough to successfully get the drop on the ape, he'd jump off the roof and draw his glaive into a downward thrust attack, aiming to stab the blade through it's head.

"You know, this shed might make a purrty good place to hide." Myar realized how cowardly his suggestion rang, so he added, "you know, if worst comes to worst, of course. Anyways, let's sepurrate the tools into small sharp and big sharp!"

Cat knew his way around a trip wire, and buried rakes and hoes with bits of screws and bolts tied to the end to work as both a minor trap and an alarm. Each of these large handles were tied at the ends by a rope. The other end of the rope would be tied against the corners of roofs through a bent stake (acting as a pulley). On the roof would be a bit of lumber, and some sharp tools. The idea would be a wondering blango would step on a rake, be taken aback (or struck) by it's jingling handle, that would also pull taught the roof rope, sending the sharp tools flying down at high speeds.

As he worked, he realized that Gaige might not be fully aware of this all, and called out to Leon. "Hey Lion," he ordered, "you got the heights to maybe paint a warning for bug-guy about our sub-fur-tuge here?"

"Yeah, I got it." Leon waved, picking up a black pail of paint, a brush, and then writing a message nearby on a white wall facing the street. "Gaige, watch...for...tripwire...and...sharp...tools..."

'Message' complete, Leon turned around and began helping set the trap up. Using his whetstone, he began to whittle down several shovel edges, essentially turning the shovels into makeshift spears. He handed these to Cat as the Melynx set the trap up, content to watch Cat's handiwork.

"Yeah, I patch people up after they get hit with things like this," he chuckled. "Never really bothered to learn how to make them myself."

The bloodied blango flinched when the kinsect started pestering it, more annoyed than threatened by the bug. Still, it swiped at the bug and lunged when provoked, jumping up in the air once, completely oblivious to the danger looming above.

Suddenly Gaige drove his glaive down hard into the blango, stabbing right through and into the frozen ground, pinning the ape down. He missed his mark and impaled it through the back instead, but it was a mortal wound nonetheless. For the moment though, the ape had some life in it, clawing at the snow and attempting to cry out.

Cat and Leon went about booby trapping the area, taking a bit of time to do so. Leon sharpened some of the tools for Cat and painted a warning for Gaige. Cat laid out the the rigged rakes and hoes in the snow. He brought the connected rope and sharpened tools up to the roof to start setting them up, but before he could do so…

There was a very heavy thud from the roof of the adjacent building, loud enough for even Gaige to hear from where he was. Cat could see some gigantic hands and incredibly broad shoulders starting to come over the peek of the roof.

To reiterate, there’s the toolshed that Cat and Leon have been booby trapping. Next to that is another building, which is where the super mysterious surprise is coming from.

Gaige jerked his head in the direction of the loud thud, already having a good idea what it was. Keeping his glaive pinned in the Blango, he released his grip and drew his duals as he rushed the other ape, Alca right behind him. Moving like a well oiled machine, Gaige moved to the side while his kinsect charged directly at the ape; as Alca strikes at the Blango, Gaige too would lash out with both his blades, intending to swiftly end his opponent before joining the others in battle.

Thandraug uncrossed his arms. He had taken in what the others were doing and was suspicious of the motion coming from that other building. Nonetheless, his attention returned immediately to the fallen Blango, impaled and left be. He didn't like that the beast still seemed to be moving, so he decided to fix the potential problem.

He leaned his hammer against the building they had setup near to, and quickly maneuvered his way around over to the Blango, unsheating his carving blade. He approached with intent to deliver a swift drop stab to the creature's head. Incapacitated or not, he needed the thing silenced.

Hopefully he'd have enough torque to sling the corpse over his shoulder. He thought to himself that it would be safe to hide the body and kick some snow over the fresh blood to cover their tracks.

Cat's go to strategy for these sorts of situations hadn't quite failed him yet, and so he saw no reason not to continue. "Paws over eyes! Flash bomb out!" the melynx warned as he hurled a flashbomb towards the large beast-claws on the adjacent roof. He then gripped the rope, and prepared for a speedy descent should the flash fail.

Leon wasted no time in moving, as he took cover behind the shed and deployed his Heavy Bowgun. He loaded it with Pierce shot, and waited for the flash bomb to go off.

The blango turned around curiously when it heard Gaige rushing in, then jumped into a ready stance when it realized the threat. Though Gaige may have lost his element of surprise, the lone ape was simply outmatched by the hunter and kinsect, and Gaige’s aggressiveness saw the conflict over quickly. After a series of hacks and stabs the death blow was dealt, and Gaige was untouched.

Thandraug had no trouble finishing off the pinned blango, jamming his knife through its skull. After slinging the ape over his shoulder, he was able to kick some snow over the more obvious pool of blood. With the blango continuously bleeding from its gaping wounds however, it was difficult for him to completely cover the trail of blood. The night blizzard and wind might have helped though.

The flashbomb detonated in the air about where Cat expected it too, and then for a moment not much could be seen or heard. Then a head-sized snowball flew past Cat, missing widely but with foreboding speed, and some roof shingles mixed in.

The Blangonga’s roar could then be heard, reaching throughout the village despite the blizzard. The hunters probably had a few moments before the alpha ape’s vision would recover, and even then it would still be hazy.

"Cat, whatever you're doing, do it quick!" Leon shouted, as he peeked around the shed to lay into the arctic ape with heavy bowgun fire. He made sure to aim for the shoulder joints in particular, attempting to disable the beast.

"Here we go..." Gaige muttered under his breath. He quickly glanced towards the direction the roar came from, and started to assess the situation; with the Blangonga on the roof, it had a clear advantage, since only ranged attacks could reach it safely. On the other hand, it was also currently blinded, and its vision wouldn't fully recover anytime soon. Gaige decided to act on this advantage as he swiftly moved towards the building the giant ape currently stood on, and made his way behind it.

He reached into the pouch on his left thigh, taking out a small vial filled with a purple-ish liquid. "I'll have to make this count..." He muttered under his breath as Alca landed on his arm. He slid the vial pack into the pouch as he glanced up towards the roof of the building, waiting for an opening as he tried to take in everything around him, keeping an eye out for any other Blango.

Cat scurried down from the roof and into the shed, making sure to grab a knife and a saw from the tool pile along the way. Once there, he went back to work on traps. This time he flung the knife into the inside wall above the shed's threshold, using it to drape a large fishing net down over the doorway. Then he frantically began carving a hole (just his size) in the rear of the shed with the saw. "We might be able to cat-pture him in here for a bit!"

Thandraug quickly finished making tracks with the dead blango in tow. He made his way toward the building from which he initially approached. The best he could do was deposit the body inside the building in a heap on the floor. He tucked it away in the corner before exiting the building. He needed to get away from his isolated location and closer toward the others. He also had to make sure not to be spotted by the monster, so he settled on moving a few buildings over in the direction of the shed where he would lay low until he had a better grasp on the situation.

FYI, the buildings are locked up. I’m not sure what Thandraug would do about that… For simplicity I’ll just assume he dumps the body outside somewhere away from the action. Correct me if he'd doing something else though.

Moving quickly, Gaige ran around to the rear of the building the Blangonga was perched atop, catching a glimpse of the beast on his way. He and Leon also caught glimpses of each other when he was between buildings.
As he was applying his poison however, he heard something further behind him. A couple of blango from deeper in the town had come running to their leader’s call. They quickly noticed Gaige however, growled at him and began drawing in. Worse, a third ape came from another direction. All of them had their faces covered in blood like those before.

Leon let loose some bolts from his heavy bowgun at what he could see of the Blangonga behind the roof in the distance. With the beast shuffling around in place and the storm, it was difficult to see which shots were actually connecting.
Regardless, the Blangona suddenly surmounted the roof’s peak, slid down the other side and dropped into the street - littered with traps. It landed on one hand awkwardly, falling to its elbow with a surprised grunt of pain.

Just about the entire alpha’s front was covered in blood, though it didn’t seem to be grievously injured. The giant ape looked into its palm to see what had happened, then ripped the embedded rake out and tossed it aside. It brushed off another rake in its forearm as it stood up to its full height, then began marching on its fists to the edge of the shed.

After he had dropped the blango’s corpse out of view, Thandraug moved to rejoin those at the tool shed. From behind the nearby building he could see the shed, but if he crossed over to it the Blangonga would almost certainly see him.

With some physical effort, Cat managed to drape the fishing net over the doorway of the shed. Afterward he started sawing his personal little escape route through the opposite side… However, getting a good angle of attack with the saw on the wall face was difficult, and the shed was built sturdy for the environment. It would take Cat some time to get through, which may have been running short with the Blangonga drawing near.

Rough map of things below, not really to scale. Any questions, please let me know.

Cat withdrew from his tunneling endeavor. "Ran into a slight purr-oblem!" his shout carried the defeated tone of someone resigned to their fate. But then he looked up, and his strongest instinct, after run, kicked in: hide. "Nev-fur-mind!" he chirped, as he made to scurry up into the rafters of the shed. He hoped he could escape detection long enough for his pawtners to finish the job.

With an almost silent growl of his own, Leon reloaded his HBG with more pierce ammunition. He gave Thandraug a short wave, silently miming cat ears and pointing to the outside wall of the shed. The combat medic then drew a long, arrow-shaped rod in the air, then a question mark, tilting his head. While waiting for the response, Leon listened very carefully for the Blangonga's movements, though did not reveal himself from behind the building.

"Hmm. Must be the rest of the pack." Gaige muttered to himself as he put away the poison vial; he wasn't going to use it for these three. He had to admit, though, he wasn't a big fan of these odds. Nonetheless, he knew he had to remain focused.

"Alright, Alca. You know what to do." Gaige whispered to his kinsect. Alca fluttered its wings in response, and Gaige rushed towards the third Blango, seperate from the other two. He drew both his blades as he rushed the ape, intending to slip past any attack it might have with a quick sidestep, and counter with a swift series of strikes. Meanwhile, Alca flew towards the other two Blango and fluttered around in front of them, intending to distract them; it made sure to keep just out of reach, though, so it was better poised to avoid any attacks.

The two blangos growled at Alca when it approached, but when they saw Gaige running away, their predatory instincts kicked in. Ignoring the kinsect, they rushed after the hunter from behind.

The third blango stayed evasive, allowing Gaige to run by but in turn avoiding his swords. As the other two began to catch up, they too remained cautious, all trying to encircle and then constrict the hunter with their superior numbers. Unfortunately for Gaige, the wild apes would have been able to outrun him in a chase, though his own speed might help draw it out just a little.

Leon and Thandraug both remained hidden behind their buildings as the Blangonga drew near. Thandraug was able to peek the corner without being noticed and see what was happening, while Leo could only listen, or risk being spotted if he peeked.

Fortunately the Blangonga was more interested with the inside of the shed than right behind it, leaning down and poking its head inside, its rear end towards Thandraug. Immediately the giant ape was perturbed by the net in its face, causing it to grab it and give it a yank. The slack of the net kept it hanging from the threshold, but a second, longer yank dislodged the knives holding it. With the net free the Blangonga discarded it towards Leon.

The Blangonga ducked its head in again, its growling audible to Cat, but it refrained from actually entering the shed. It didn’t seem to have noticed the melynx hiding above.

~

The roar of the Blangonga had been heard, followed by gunshots. Suddenly it was time to stop hiding and fight. Doors creaked as they opened, then the floors as monster hunters marched out, weapons drawn. “Alright chums, let’s do this.”

"Well, I think I've had just about all I can take of this standing around business. I'm not about to let fluffy take all of the attention."

Thandraug motioned at Leon, pointing at the large monster aggressively and waving toward any other hunters that might be looking his way. He signaled his intentions. He was not going to stand around any longer, and he knew if someone had to deploy a strong opening gambit, it was going to be him.

He clenched his hammer, drew in a deep breath, and set off under the silent cover of powdered-snow beneath his feet. He slung back his weapon and prepared to slam his weapon into the Blangonga's right hind-leg.

Leon nodded at Thandraug, popping out from behind his cover as the hammer user advanced. Taking a deep breath, Leon took careful aim at the same leg Thandraug was aiming for, hoping to help drop the snow ape. If the Blangonga turned around, Leon would adjust his aim for its face.

"Damn..." Gaige swore as he found himself cornered by all three Blango. Alca clearly wasn't going to be as much help this time. He still had some tricks up his sleeve, though. He swiftly glanced towards the nearby building, and the snow built up on top of it. Its not much, but it might be just enough.

"Alright you smelly, ugly apes. Come get some!" Gaige taunted as he slowly, carefully inched towards the building. He kept a keen eye on all three Blango, ready to evade and counter any attacks they might throw at him.

Cat's plan hadn't quite succeeded. Knowing he needed a way out, he felt softly in his bag. Flash bomb? The ape's eyes were still probably mydriated...

Purrfect!, he thought, as he felt another gadget. Cat tried his best to slink to the front of the shed. Halfway across, he tossed the smoke bomb, trying to get it to ricochet from the back wall of the shed before landing. Then he'd resume trying to reach the rafters above the doorway. 

While Gaige paced towards the building, the three blango continued to encircle him, jogging around with some berth, not yet attacking until they had the positional advantage. Alca continued to harass the nearest ape, causing it to turn part way between the bug and hunter, splitting its attention.
Once Gaige was surrounded against the wall, the three apes started to close in on the hunter, making it easier for any of them to strike suddenly.
Deeper in the town, Gaige thought he saw silhouettes coming his way, but they were too far away to intervene just yet.

Cat moved towards the exit and threw his smoke bomb towards the back of the shed without issue. The smoke started to fill the building, rising to the top.
The Blangonga let out some grunts and growls, but then pulled its head out of the shed and looked back into town, wondering where its cohorts were… It was still having trouble seeing, but it thought it saw them in the distance?

Then a horrible blunt force struck its leg, forcing the mighty beast to its knee with a cry of pain. Right after bullets began to rip through its flesh, but before Leon could empty the entire magazine the Blangonga rolled away in a panicked escape.

When the Blangonga got up again it wasn’t using its injured leg, only letting it lightly touch the ground. The giant ape turned with its powerful arms though, and let out a furious roar at the two hunters. Then it slammed its claws into the frozen earth, raking up a chunk into its palm.

"Thandraug, watch that chunk of ice!" Leon shouted, quickly shifting his aim and attempting to shoot the snowball out of the Blangonga's hand. Regardless of hit or miss, he would then take cover to reload (Pierce S)

"Now!" Gaige called to Alca. "The snow!" Having an idea what he wanted it to do, the kinsect swiftly flew towards and past the building, skimming along the edge of the roof to loosen the snow, hopefully bringing most of the building's snow cascading down. Meanwhile, Gaige swiftly moved towards the distracted Blango, aiming to land a swift slash with his blades as he ran past it and out of the snow's path.

Thandraug moved to cover Leon and raised his weapon once again. "Take cover if you need to, I'll keep an eye on him."

He wasn't so sure he'd have time to clear the rest of the distance needed to cover himself, so he defaulted to an offensive posture. He wound up and  planted his feet harshly into the powdery ground below, prepared to swing and smash at the ice chunk to buy his ranged ally some necessary time.

Myar whipped his small rifle off his shoulder, and scrambled to drop in three shots of sleep ammunition. He then moved into position to line up a shot on the beast.

(Will shoot from the rafters if the monster is visible, otherwise will climb down)

After loading his rifle Cat moved out of the shed, him and Leon being mindful of each other as the latter fired off. As Cat turned to take aim himself though, a giant clump of snow and earth almost took his head off, a few loose specs still spattering his face. Having seen it coming, Leon avoided the clump too by ducking behind the shed, where he loaded another clip. Meanwhile Thandraug moved over towards the two with his hammer at the ready.

The Blangonga didn’t waste any time standing around and started to rush the hunters. It’s injured leg and paw certainly slowed it down, but the giant beast was still coming in fast through the elements.

Right after the bowgunfire Gaige thought he heard a bolt fly past him, but didn’t have much time to think it over. He rushed the distracted blango while his neopteron partner flew for the roof. With the hunter running away from them, the two other blangos quickly gave pursuit.

Gaige managed to push himself out of the circle again, and cut deep into the blango’s hand and arm in passing, crippling the limb and probably the animal’s morale. The other blango closest to the building was stunned enough by the falling heavy snow that it was kept off Gaige’s tail for the moment. The third was unimpeded though, and rushed past its packmate to lunge at Gaige. Gaige was quick enough to avoid it though and give it at shallow slash across the chest, fending the ape off temporarily.

The two snow apes started to try and get opposite of each other around Gaige again though, with the third lingering back.
The figures Gaige saw deeper in town were probably drawing closer too.

"Thandraug, watch your head! Cat, try to get to the other side of the street, he can't watch all three of us at once!" Leon called as he popped back around the corner, taking aim at the snow ape's injured shoulder. He was careful to keep an eye on what the Blangonga was doing, and paced his shots to allow him to evade if need be.

Cat raised his paw to his brow in a stiff salute to Leon. Getting a start from the billowing smoke at the shed entrance, Cat shouldered his loaded rifle and darted across the street on all fours.

(ooc: if Cat safely crosses the road, and there's time in the action, I'd like to start firing that sleep ammo as well)

"Not this time." Gaige didn't give the Blango any time to position themselves, and lunged straight for the one he just gave a shallow cut, ready to swiftly side or back-step its attack, then counter with a thrust to the face. He was mindful of the other Blango as well, though, and was ready to evade and counter should either of the other two attack.

Meanwhile, its task completed, Alca looked back to Gaige; as it saw him rush a Blango, instincts and training kicked in and it fell back into the usual distraction tactics, and divebombed the ape with a wounded arm, aiming to jab its mandibles in the Blango's rear end and snag its attention. The kinsect was ready to pull back or perform evasive maneuvers, however, should an attack come its way.

"Let's keep backing up. I'll take this corner and surprise him on the bend. You get some more distance."

Thandraug motioned toward the corner and backpeddled toward it, keeping eye and posture on his foe.

Being injured, it was difficult for the blango to fend off the attacking kinsect, just hopping back onto its hind legs to try and swipe with its one good paw. Thus Alca was able to be more aggressive, putting in more gashes, but it would be difficult for the kinsect to actually finish off the ape.

Since it didn’t have the positional advantage, the targeted blango remained more cautious, and backpedalled when Gaige lunged at it. With Gaige focused on something else though, the other blango in turn then attacked, rushing and jumping at him. The ape managed to catch Gaige’s arm before he could fully swing across, pulling down on the hunter with its weight and trying to bite through his vambrace. With his second sword though, Gaige was able to run the ape through the chest.

After retreating and seeing Gaige occupied, the former blango tried to rush as well, but again with his free arm again Gaige was able to stab it deep in the shoulder before it got too close. With their now serious injuries, both of the blangos backed off, seeming to have lost their will to fight, but still facing Gaige in case he came after then.

“Rrrraaaaagghh!!!” A hunter roared from behind Gaige, rushing to join the fray with a greatsword held on his shoulder.


Partially concealed by the smoke blowing out of the shed, Cat was able to skirt past the rushing Blangonga, feeling the ground shake a bit when he did. As he got into the middle of the street he had to be mindful of his own traps. He could barely make out someone and the apes further down the road too, but had more immediate concerns.

Quick stopping, turning, then reading and aiming his rifle, Cat got some shots off on his big target, which hit their mark. It would take more to have any real effect though, and even then it would take some time.

At the same time Leon put some rounds into the giant ape’s shoulder, making the beast flinch and slow just a little. He went around the corner then, then was joined by Thandraug. And then by the Blangonga. With its powerful limbs it leapt the distance at the two hunters, its claws outstretched to either grab or just crush Thandraug.

For balance reasons, I imagine sleep shots aren’t as strong as they are in game (lest you just quickly slit the monster’s throat in its sleep).

Thandraug stood at thr ready. He knew there were few options in this scenario. He stood on his guard and readied his weapon to deflect the beasts claws with a defensive uppercut.

"Time to wrap this up." Gaige muttered to himself, lunging for the Blango on his left, aiming to maintain a strong offensive and finish it off without giving it much chance to act, while leaving the other ape for the newcomer to take out. He was still mindful of any oncoming attacks, and was ready to evade whatever came his way.

Meanwhile, Alca was determined to keep its Blango occupied until Gaige could come finish it off, but it was still careful in its assault on the ape, in case it still had any tricks left up its sleeve. With the Blango already wounded and likely not able to pose much threat to a hunter, though, Alca was ready to leave the fray and take to the sky should it feel threatened.

Cat pranced southwest, kitty-corner across the street. He kept firing sleep ammunition as fast as he could, hoping to at least dull the monster's reflexes and split his attention enough for the stronger hunters to get in some heavy cheap shots. 

"Ah dammit!" Leon hissed, taking a step to his left to get Thandraug out of his line of fire. Leon then took careful aim at the Blangonga's face before pulling the trigger.

Thandraug swung his hammer up into the already bleeding hand of the Blangonga, jamming up the wrist and throwing off its aim. The claws thumped off his stone pauldron and landed awkwardly in the snow, followed by the elbow.
The other paw landed hard on Thandraug’s other shoulder though, squeezing tight. His strength and balance barely kept him from being grounded, and his armor kept the nails from digging in. Still, it was difficult for the hunter to move around, or even stay standing. Being splayed out, the Blangonga wasn’t yet pushing down as hard as it could have either.

The Blangonga started to posture up though, but then Leon fired over Thandruag’s head and right into the monster’s face. Hitting about center, the round disappeared next to the monster’s nose, causing the beast to recoil sharply with a cry. It quickly roared back with anger though, continuing to get up, its injured hand trying to claw up some snow or dirt. The ape had to look behind itself though, wondering what was continuing to jab its behind, but not seeing the one responsible. Its legs weren’t feeling quite as responsive either.


Gaige rushed down the leftmost blango without issue, finishing it off in a few strikes.

“Heeeyah!!!” The approaching hunter swung his down with vigor, splitting the frozen earth beneath. Except he missed his mark, the blango having seen him coming from several paces away and hopping aside when the bone slab came down. “Hrrt!” The ape started to make a run for it, getting away from the hunter despite its injuries.
After jerking his sword from the ground, the hunter took several steps forward, spinning his weapon into another vertical swing, and dropped it on the remaining blango. Luckily it was so distracted by the neopteron that he actually hit, killing it instantly.
An arrow struck the fleeing blango, stopping in its tracks. The responsible huntress came upon it and manually jammed another arrow into its throat, saving the other hunters the trouble.

“Whoof, I’ve been waiting to cut loose.” The greatsword hunter shouldered his weapon, then turned to Gaige. “No need to worry anymore. The cavalry's here!” He gave him a confident thumbs up. The man was wearing bulkier metal armor with… Mosswine hide grafted to it? The helmet just looked like the pig’s head, though some of the man’s face could be seen underneath. His bone sword was of the common Agito design.
The archer huntress came over, wielding her bone and metal bow, wearing warm hides of the famous Mafumofu female design from Pokke.
A third hunter came, wearing the male variation, but also had metal plates worked into the armor, increasing its protection considerable. He carried a lighter lance and shield set made of bone and steel (bone javelin).

Gaige could see the flashes of Cat’s rifle in the distance.

Cat is probably out of ammo at this point. Leon is probably on his last one or two shots.

"Hold it nice and still for me!"

Leon stepped around further to the Blangonga's right, but kept his distance, as he fired his last two rounds into its face. Upon emptying the magazine, he reloaded with Normal S.

"Thanks for the help." Gaige thanked the hunters as Alca landed on his arm. "That should leave only the Blangonga remaining now." He sheathed his blades and glanced towards the giant ape, noticing it seemed to be distracted for the time being. "I'm Gaige, by the way, and on my arm is Alca." He quickly introduced himself to the village hunters. He'd follow their lead for now, seeing as this is their village.

Thandraug shook off the pressure when the Blangonga's grip was loosened. He straightened himself out and prepared to maintain the beast's ire.

"Eyes on me, ape."

Thandraug raised his weapon again, this time on the offensive. He sunk his feet into the ground to maintain balance as he wound up and swung the hammer in an uppercut. He brought the weapon directly toward the beast's nose, hoping to hit the tender weak spot Leon's most recent rounds should have facilitated for him.

“Name’s Elroy, and these are Zach and Zoey.” The two others nodded. “Now let’s roll, time’s a wastin’!” The mosswine hunter trotted off with the three not far behind.

After a short distance, they could see the Blangonga’s rear legs sticking out from behind the shed, made more evident by the repeated sound of gunfire. “I see it’s ass hanging out!” The hunter pointed before running ahead. “Let’s do this! CHAAAARR-oof!” Something in the snow sprung up and hit the hunter in the face, causing him to tumble over.

“What the hell?”
“What’s it say there?” The huntress squinted at the side of the shed. "Gaige... watch… for… tripwire.. And… sharp.. tools… Oh…”

Reloading nearby, Cat saw his trap spring on the unfortunate hunter, but too late to stop it from happening.


Leon’s follow up shot went a bit wider, going through the Blangonga’s cheek. The ape haphazardly flung a frozen chunk of dirt at Leon as he let off his next shot, throwing off his aim when he stepped out of the way. The round didn’t seem to connect, but may have hit the dirt clump.

The Blangonga managed to keep its grip on Thandraug, making it hard for the hunter to get a proper swing off. With the ape distracted with Leon though, Thandraugh did manage to hit the Blangonga in the teeth with some force, getting a jerk reflex but not quite breaking its tusks.

Becoming more and more enraged, the Blangonga pushed itself up onto its three working paws. Its leg shook awkwardly, but one hand pushed down harder on Thandraug’s shoulder, almost making him kneel, while the other grabbed the head of his hammer and forced it to the ground. Thinking the stone clad hunter was pinned, the ape leered at Leon, starting to hop its leg to turn towards him.

The pressure being put on Thandraug began to build up. Lactic acid formed, and muscles began to lock as he fought to stay up against the Blangonga's pressing weight.

The Hunter looked down and ahead. He grit his teeth but let out a smirk, gingerly allowing his grip on the hammer to loosen and beginning to fish out one of his dragonite knuckle pieces from his pouch. He slid the fingers of his free hand through the metal slots, all the while continuing to push back against the beast's grapple with his other arm.

What did I just say about where you're putting them eyes, monkey?

With as much fluidity as he could manage, Thandraug allowed his form to buckle for just an instant, turning the downward momentum into forward momentum as he attempted to roll and slide down toward the ground, hoping to throw off the monster's balance and to reach as much as he could with his knuckled fist toward the brute's shaking leg.

"Oh... Whoops. My bad; I guess I should have been paying more attention. Sorry." Gaige apologized sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. He felt pretty stupid for not noticing the writing left for him. "I have some poisons in my pouch here." Gaige reached into the pouch on his left leg, pulling out a small phial full of paralyzing fluid and taking the top off. "I'll sneak up behind it first and try to paralyze one of its legs; that should make the fight much more manageable." He added as he drew his thinner sword, dipping it into the phial.

Having poisoned his sword and put the phial back in his pouch, Gaige swiftly and silently worked his way towards the Blangonga's rear, being careful to avoid the tripwires and various sharp objects. Once within range, he made his move; noticing one leg was already injured, Gaige made to thrust his sword into the thigh of the other leg, intending to leave the sword then quickly back out of range.

Cursing under his breath as his last shot missed, Leon glared back at the Blangonga as he loaded his bowgun.

"Should have brought my Charge Blade, would have had his head split open long ago..." Leon mumbled under his breath, then again took aim at the ice monkey's neck as he pulled the trigger.

With a sudden drop, twist and metallic jab to the thumb, Thandraug managed to shrug off the beast’s grip on him, dropping its palm onto the ground and shaking its stance. He really didn’t have a clear path to its rear legs however, the ape's whole body falling into his way. Settling for something else, the hunter took an initial swing at the monster’s snout, with more to rapidly follow.

The Blangonga flinched from the first hit, but quickly retaliated with a headbutt. It knocked Thandraug back some, but otherwise he was unhurt underneath his heavy armor. As he quickly regained his bearings however, he could see the Blangonga winding back its fist. The subsequent punch to the chest knocked the hunter flat on his back, and knocked the wind out of him too. Nothing seemed broken though.

Snow and dirt then fell from the hammer as the Blangonga lifted it up with one hand. Rather than smash in the hard shelled hunter, it set its eyes on the infuriating gunner, knowing more pain would follow if he was left alone. With a straight push the Blangonga sent the hammer flying towards Leon just as he was about to insert his next magazine. Barely falling out of the way, Leon could feel the ground shake when the hammer embedded itself where he was just standing, inches from his leg.

As he collected himself and finally finished reloading his bowgun, Leon saw the Blangonga was coming for him directly. It was half running and half crawling, using his powerful forearms to just drag itself whenever its legs stumbled.


“We’ll follow your lead.” Zach nodded. He followed Gaige’s footsteps as he waded through the field of traps, followed a few steps behind by Zoey.
“Oooh, what the hell?!” The mosswine hunter cursed standing up, looking at what had thwarted him. “This is why we put away the tools, people! Ugh…” He kicked aside the hoe, then started to run forward again before falling over suddenly once more. “Oooh, what the FUUUUUUUUCK!!!” He had found a rake with its teeth up, which luckily did not fully embed itself into his foot.
“You alright?”
“Do I look alright?!”
“... He’s fine, let’s keep moving.”

Having to carefully trek through the field of traps delayed Gaige from getting to the Blangonga. He could see Thandraug and Leon though, and vice versa.


Cat was futzing with his jammed rifle when his kitty senses started to tingle. A rake landed nearby him, flung by the frustrated hunter, who proceeded to disarm another trap and fall over. “What is this, booby trapped?!” Something still didn’t feel right though. "Oooh, I'm gonna find the person responsible!"

"You're gonna learn this lesson sooner or later. If you don't kill me, you're not getting rid of me, monkey."

Thandraug returned to his feet and quickly stretched and cracked some of his joints, making sure to keep his muscles loosened up. Then he fished out his other knuckle and applied it to his empty hand. Thandraug moved in to close the gap between himself and the two combatants in front of him. If he had anything to say about it, the gunner wasn't about to see more than one attack aimed his way in a row.

He ran in with both knuckles raised, preparing to deflect and slide off should the beast turn early. He wound his arm back and readied a strong right hook. This may be a brutish monster, but no amount of muscle padding and bone is going to protect this thing from his single most practiced combat maneuver, so long as he'll land it.

I'll take as many chips out of this thing's face as I have to to keep this pissant's attention.

"You really should have rolled over long ago!" Leon huffed, taking advantage of his close range to aim at the limping Blangonga's elbow and firing as quick as he could pull the trigger, attempting to blow out the seemingly uninjured joint to make the monkey's ability to move that much harder.

His claws raked against the inside of the barrel, as the would-be sniper sheepishly removed the jam. Cat figured his best bet to avoid getting thrown out of (another) town was to appear essential to the fight. "Good work, fur-iends! You got 'im right where I wanted 'im!" The Melynx took exaggerated aiming motions, before properly lining up and firing.

'Here we go...' Gaige thought to himself as he approached the Blangonga's rear. He spared one last swift glance all around him, just in case, before aiming to drive his paralysis dipped blade into its uninjured leg, intended to leave the sword in and swiftly move away, anticipating retaliation.

Leon squeezed off another couple shots, each piercing the blizzard air and seeming to find their mark in the Blangonga’s uninjured arm. Though the arm recoiled slightly, the shots weren’t enough to stop the enraged and hulking beast. Suddenly the monster got good footing and managed to dive the remaining distance with alarming speed, taking Leon by surprise. His third shot went off before he was knocked to the ground by the ape’s outstretched claw, which proceeded to wrap tightly around his tasset and thigh.

Thandraug didn’t have great positioning to strike the Blangonga’s face, with its giant arm being in the way, the same arm clutching Leon. Settling again, he started to pummel the limb with his dragonite dusters, seeing it shake in pain. Huffing when it looked over, the Blangonga then brought its elbow sharply into the boxer’s body, knocking him back and forcing a cough. Leon was probably hurt worse, his armored body being jerked along while his leg was gripped and pressed on. In the brief pause though, Thandraug saw his hammer was just a few strides away.

Once more Gaige heard a gunshot from behind then felt something zip nearby him, but regardless moved in on the Blangonga’s functioning leg. He drove his sword in deep, feeling the limb convulse with pain through the handle, before trying to kick him in the chest. He backed away without harm though, but almost bumped into the lance wielding hunter, who moved around him to take a stab at the other leg. He (and Thandraug) saw an arrow fly into the monster’s ribs then.

Cat had gotten off one shot, but friendly fire was becoming a concern, particularly with the lancer.
The mosswine clad hunter finally noticed Cat, then screamed “BEHIND YOU!!!” while stumbling in his direction.
Whipping around, Cat saw two blango, one mere feet away and already rushing at him.

"Oh no you don't!" Leon shouted as he was being drug around. He dropped his bowgun and ripped his Commander's Dagger from his belt, then stabbed the Blangonga's offending wrist and twisted the blade.

Thandraug took a deep breath to regain his composure, rubbing his face with one arm and shaking his head. When he glanced his weapon nearby a grin appeared on his face.

Alright, I'll take it.

He stowed his knuckles and paced over to grab has weapon, keeping his attention on the brute. Finally rearmed, he closed the gap with reckless abandon, not willing to let his flimsier ally take the fall.

He paced quickly toward the monster's side, locking eyes with his target: the freshly pierced arrow. With the hammer wound, he pressed forward and aimed a right-hook styled swing, centering the point of impact directly on the back of the arrow, following completely through on the swing whether the arrow shaft breaks or not.

"You're really not good at remembering the rules, bud. You don't take your eyes off the other boxer in a fight. You didn't even count to 10."

His eyes sharpened as he put his back into it.

Gaige backed off a little from the fight, partly because he felt like five people would be overkill at this point, largely because he's down to one sword, having left his glaive somewhere else in the village. He figured he wouldn't be able to do much with just one short sword.

As he contemplated his next course of action, he heard the mosswine hunter's shout, and turned to see what was wrong. Catching glimpse of the Blango, Gaige wasted no time in rushing to Myar's aid. "Alca! Try to draw one of the Blango's attention away from Myar for now!" His kinsect acted swiftly upon hearing him, and took flight towards the melynx. It dive bombed one of the Blango, trying to draw its ire, but was, as always, cautious not to let itself get hit.

Cat glanced behind him as he abandoned offense and committed to fleeing. "Thanks for the head's up! Time for a catctical retreat your way!" Myar bolted to the the trap area. He hoped his light paws would spare him the worst of it, and the great sword hunter and traps would slow his purr-suers.

Leon felt greater pressure on his leg as the Blangonga put more weight down, straining the bone underneath the armor that could only do so much to protect it. There was sudden relief when Leon jammed his sword into the monster’s wrist, forcing it off after a moment of resistance, but then the ape brought its clenched hand up high in retaliation. Leon only had a moment to ball up before the fist came down, and his limbs helped distribute the blow some, but the frozen ground had little give to it. Nothing broke outright, but everything hurt and the hunter was left stuttering in the snow.

Before the Blangonga could lay down more strikes, another arrow sunk into its ribs, diverting the beast’s attention. It mistook Thandraug for the one responsible however, not noticing the huntress further behind and away. Thinking quick, the Blangonga swept up Leon’s bowgun from one end, wound back slightly, then flung it at the stone clad hunter, sending it spinning through the air. Having just picked up his hammer, Thandraug managed to block the flying bowgun without any harm to himself, but the gun made an uncomfortable chatter on impact.

Piercing pain shot up the monster’s leg again from the lance hunter, and Thandraug began charging in once more with his hammer. The situation was becoming more and more clear to the alpha ape, severely wounded and alone against increasing numbers. Just as Thandraug came in to swing the Blangonga shoved off to the side, narrowly avoiding the hammer head and landing sloppily mere feet away. As the two hunters then tried to follow up the beast scrambled to get up and away, once more just barely staying out of reach.

Now fleeing for its life, the Blangonga pushed through its injuries, limping along hurriedly, just needing to last a little longer. Though out of sight in the storm, the river wasn’t too far away, and could probably serve as an escape for the furred ape, provided it didn’t drown. Thandraug quickly fell behind and the lance hunter couldn’t keep pace either. Another arrow flew into the beast, but only got it to glance back as it continued on, leaving trials of blood behind. “Do we go after it?” The huntress shouted as she caught up with the group.


The blango nearly got Cat as he put away his rifle, and was right on his tail as he bolted for the bigger hunter, inches away from tearing apart the lynian. The greatsword hunter hesitated to attack as they raced closer, for fear of hitting Cat, so he held his sword horizontally to block, legs apart. Cat dashed underneath the sword and through his legs, then the man lowered his sword to cut off the larger ape. The ape instead, however, jumped up on the man’s chest and face, trying to claw and bite at an opening. “AAHHH!!! Get it off me!” The hunter tried in vain to just pull off the ape before the second wrapped itself around his leg, then dropped his greatsword and started punching.

Catching up, Alca put a gash across the topmost blango’s back and flew off, avoiding the ape’s quick retaliatory swing. The opening allowed the hunter to get a hold of the ape, but when he went to throw it down it just clung to his arm instead. “Sonuvabitch! -Hey!” His armor protected him well, but the lower blango started to go for the less protected inner legs, drawing the man’s focus in his struggle.

Not gonna bother with a map.
I assume Gaige is now close enough to attack personally.
Any questions on the current situations, let me know.

"Ugh..."

Leon slowly opened his eyes, head spinning. Everything hurt, and it was all he could do to drag himself away from the fight. His Jaggi blade was still clutched tightly in hand, watching warily to avoid being taken by surprise again.

After watching the Blangonga begin to flee, he let out a sigh of relief and propped himself up against the nearby building. He wasn't too worried about his bowgun at the moment, instead beginning to check himself over for anything more serious than bruising.

"Honestly? With all those injuries and bleeding as it is, that frozen water will only cause more problems for it. Frostbite does terrible things to internals, especially with that hole in its nose and wrist." Leon said as the huntress closed in, watching the Alpha Blango flee towards the river. He hissed in pain as he touched a rather tender spot on his thigh, praying that it wasn't broken. Still, he figured he would be alright enough after a few moments, at least alright enough to walk. "If you all want to go after it, be my guest. I'm out of the fight for right now."

Instead, Leon looked up the street, towards where the trap had been set. He laughed inwardly at the mosswine-masked hunter struggling with the sole Blango, remembering something similar on his first hunt.

"I need my med bag. I left it up where the sharp tool trap was. The trap should be obvious, has a great big sign saying to watch out for sharp tools and such. Damn shame it didn't work out as well as Cat and I thought it would."

"Hang on! I'll this one off your leg!" Gaige said as he struck at the Blango hanging onto the hunter's leg, being careful to hit only the Blango and not the man himself. Once the ape was off the hunter's leg, Gaige would go for the kill, and help with the other one if needed.

Cat, no longer being chased, turned to help the greatsword hunter. "Thanks for the pawssist, big guy," he tested, "knew you were the man fur the job!" As he rambled, trying to mitigate the damage he'd done to the man, Cat was scouring the discarded tools.

Myar pulled a pitchfork from the snow, and began brandishing it at the the arm-locked blango, poking it when the opportunity presented itself. Cat's fur stood, and his eyes bulged as he hissed with all the primal menace he could muster.

Thandraug cracked his joints and stretched, taking a moment to return his weapon to the straps on his back and securing the holds and freeing his hands.

He looks over at the group dealing with the Blango and shrugged.

Poor creature.

He turned his attention over to Leon, who seemed a little banged up after the prime's closing gambit. He closed the distance and offered a hand.

"I don't know whether they actually want to go after the monkey, but we definitely shouldn't stick around here. Here, share the load a bit."

Thandraug postured to steady Leon on his weaker side and wrapped that arm across his shoulder to put half of his weight on.

"I'll get you there."

Catching the lower blango unaware, Gaige struck a deep blow that had the ape writhing on the ground. Repeated attacks after saw blango swiftly taken care of.

Cat similarly was able to remove the upper blango from the man with a well placed thrust. As the ape scrambled to get back up it snarled at Cat viciously, only for the man to then pin the blango down with all his weight. The two of them then finished off the furry primate.

The man took a moment to catch his breath before standing back. “Whew, good thing I came along, eh?” He said to cat before retrieving his greatsword. “Mysterious ways and all that. You too, uh… Alex was it?”


Seeing the two more veteran hunters not give chase, the two Mafumofu hunters decided not to pursue either, and so the Blangonga continued off until it was lost in the storm.
The male hunter assisted Leon from the other side, while the huntress went and retrieved his bowgun. The group soon rejoined the other three on the other side of the shed.

“Watch your step!” The mosswine hunter warned. “This place seems littered with sharp tools. I, uh, disarmed a few myself...”
A few other hunters came into view from somewhere else in town, vigilant until they saw the more relaxed group. “Where’s the Blangonga? Is it dead?”

I figure things are a little more open ended at this point. Don’t necessarily need to wait for me to post again.
Remember you have signal flares to inform the rest of the ship crew.

"Thanks for the lift, Thandraug. I think I can get it from here." Leon mentioned as they moved towards the shed. Stepping away from the stone armored hunter with a bit of a limp, he made it over to his med bag and sat down, digging through for a painkiller or two.

"Uh, right," Leon mentioned to the mosswine hunter, looking to the patch of impromptu weapons with a small bit of disappointment. "I'll be sure to be careful. The Blangonga isn't dead, but it is severely injured. Without a troop, it should stay well away from here for a good long while. That's even assuming it survives the night with its injuries." Leon mentioned to the other hunters. Popping a small painkiller, he leaned against the wall and waited for it to take effect.

The fighting now at an end, Gaige relaxed his posture as he sheathed his remaining sword and Alca landed on his arm. "Good boy." He praised his kinsect, softly stroking its back as he walked over to retrieve his glaive, sheathing it on his back. "Hmm..." He glanced towards the village exit, where the Blangonga left. Normally, he's not one to pursue a fleeing monster once it no longer poses an immediate threat. However... his other sword is still in its leg. The other half of his first weapon, and a memento of his late father. "Guess I'm not done yet." He muttered to himself.

Deciding it's better to go after the ape sooner rather then later, he glanced towards the group of hunters. He thought about asking for assistance, but considering the severe wounds the Blangonga suffered from, and there being no other reason to go after it than his own personal problem, Gaige decided there was no need to involve them; this was something he should be able to handle himself. Without a word, he started to leave the village in pursuit of the Blangonga and his lost sword.

Cat, having more or less successfully killed a monster, was glowing. As he looked to share his triumph with Gaige, he noticed the human wasn't around. His cat-eyes made out the hunter's form in the dark, and Cat bounded off into the snow after him.

"Just cause you're the insect guy," Myar chattered, the adrenaline high being replaced by shocking cold, "doesn't mean y-you have to bug off!" He shivered, "what ya doin' out here? You got any of those hot drinks, pawtner?"

"Oh, yeah, I still got a few of those left." Gaige replied, digging into the pouch on his right thigh, taking out a few more of the small red pellets. He handed one to Myar, fed one to Alca, and popped the third himself. After swallowing, he spoke up again. "I'm going after the Blangonga." He explained. "When I stabbed one of my swords into its leg, I left it there, so that's left me down a sword." He patted his remaining sword, sheathed on his lower back. "I still have my glaive, but these duals are my first and primary weapon. That, and..." Gaige paused for a second, then shook his head and resumed. "Never mind. Anyways, I figured I shouldn't drag anyone else into this, since there's no other reason to go after the Blangonga, with it as injured as it is."

Gaige paused his stride for a moment. He'd gotten so used to how things went for him back in his village, that he almost forgot a resolve he made going on this mission; that he'd take the opportunity this trip presented, and work more with other hunters. Hone his ability to function as part of a team. "But... Even though it is injured, I suppose I still shouldn't go after it alone." He turned towards Myar as he remembered something his father once told him. "Would you be willing to give me a hand?" Gaige asked. After all... 'No hunter is an island. At least, not a successful one.'

The glow of the chemicals began kicking in. "I'll give you a paw, bug boy!" Myar made as if to salute, and went to reload some more sleep rounds into his rifle. "I've got a few nar-cat-ics in him already, and with the adrenaline of scurrmish dying down, we might be able to topple him with a couple more pops!"

"Thanks." Gaige already felt better knowing someone had his back, and that he's not going after the Blangonga alone. "Hopefully things'll work out that way." He said in response to Myar's comment about the sleeping agents. "Well, here we go!" He tried to muster up something of a rallying cry, then continued after the Blangonga, his mind more at ease with an ally at his side.

"Hey, where are you two going?" Leon called as Gaige and Cat passed him, gratefully taking his bowgun from the woman and checking it over for damage. As he did so, he pulled out a green flare and launched it high into the sky. "We came from the A.S. Firefly, sent up here because the lighthouse wasn't lit." Leon mentioned to the nearby hunters. "The ship has taken a fair bit of damage, so I can't say how quick assistance will come, but it is coming. Are there any wounded?"

“Dah, bastard.” The mosswine hunter remarked about the fleeing Blangonga. “Must of known I was coming…! Good job though.”

“... After the Blangonga?” The archer guessed about Gaige and Cat. “I’ll go with them.”

“I don’t think there’s any wounded. Think we all managed to hide away before the apes came in. The lighthouse must have burned out during that time… We’ll do one last sweep of the town then get things going. In the meantime, we can take you somewhere inside, get a fire going.”

Checking his bowgun, Leon found one thing wasn’t moving as it should have been, and another thing was moving that shouldn’t have been. An actual smith would probably be needed to fix it.


Cat and Gaige heard the flare go off then saw it shining overhead in the blizzard night sky. The ship crew would probably be able to see it too. The archer huntress caught up with them a moment later, having an arrow knocked.

They found the Blangonga’s tracks, accentuated by the trails of blood, and followed them away from town to the riverside (away from the bridge and gate). The pattern of the tracks changed though. At first the Blangonga was on all fours, or three, limping. Then, however, it seemed to just be dragging itself with its arms. This continued all the way up and into the river.

The Blangonga was nowhere to be seen though, and the river was flowing towards the downed airship, occasionally bringing along small icebergs. Gaige’s sword was nowhere to be seen either.

"Ah, dammit. Well, at least I've got my spare weapon on the ship." Leon muttered, placing the ruined gun on his back. "Shelter would be nice. Still a little sore from the Blangonga using me as a drum set."

"Hmm... Did it get caught in the river's flow...?" Gaige mused to himself. If that was the case, it seemed likely that it passed the airship. Maybe the hunters who stayed behind fished it out? Or maybe it managed to get across the river, but that didn't seem likely to him. There didn't seem to be any immediate way for them to cross the river themselves, unfortunately. "Looks like we'll have to take the long way around. It seems to be moving pretty slow now, so even if it managed to cross the river, I doubt it got too far."

"Yah! The crew can take him if he floats down to them, surrley," chirped Cat. As he mentally prepared for the long hike back (in the dark) towards the boat, doubt's shadow crept over his thoughts. "Of... of course.... if they aren't prepared, or if those giaprey came back, it could be cat-a-strophic. Cat-a-clysmic, even." Cat's teeth chattered. Just the cold, he rationalized. Deeper down though, the melynx knew he was just a scaredy-cat.

At least from where they were standing, Cat and Gaige didn’t see any exit tracks on the other side of the river, or a sunken body at the bottom. The night darkness and storm made it difficult to see far though.

They heard something though, coming from upstream, an animal’s cry. Then they saw it, a young anteka, stranded on a floating sheet of ice. It wandered around its island, contemplating jumping ashore and noticed the hunters. It probably could have made the jump and just gotten its feet wet, but lacked the courage to try.


Leon was assisted to one of the larger buildings before the town hunters went off to sweep the town one last time. It must have been the gathering hall, having more open area with large tables and benches and a big bulletin board. There was probably a kitchen in the back and lodging upstairs. The place wasn’t much warmer than outside, as all the fireplaces (which there were several of) had been put out, but at least the wind was gone.

People started to creep out of hiding in the darkness, dressed fully for the cold. Among them was a small and old wyverian woman, who approached Leon directly. “Well you sure took your time getting here. We were beginning to think the ship crashed in transit. I take it our uninvited guests have been evicted with extreme prejudice?”

A similarly dressed poogie came wandering out as well, taking an interest in the unfamiliar hunter, sniffing at his ankles.

"Yes, the Blangonga and his troop are gone," Leon said, nodding as he did so. "All of the Blango that we have seen are dead, the Blangonga hightailed it after we severely injured him. Two of my group are tracking him down, possibly to make sure he's dead."

Leon rubbed his shoulder, then tilted his neck until he felt it pop. Satisfied, he continued. "Unfortunately, the ship did crash on the way here. I'm not too certain myself what happened as I was still inside, but the ship was nearly lost in the chaos. I'm honestly shocked that we didn't have any casualties."

"An Anteka? How'd it get there?" Gaige wondered aloud. Noticing it seemed too scared to jump to shore, he walked towards the river and called out to it, making himself seem as nonthreatening and friendly as possible. "Come on little buddy, you can do it!" Gaige raised the pitch of his voice a little and patted his thighs, encouraging the animal to jump to shore.

"Nyah! Good luck gettin' him to hoof it over here that way. You don't even bait!" Myar's tone was mocking, but not cruel. He explained with unearned confidence, "with a wild critter you gotta make going more purr-omising a choice than staying. I bet if your bug gives it a little sneak-attack he'll spurrint right over here!"