Monster Hunter I Part III

Monster Hunter I: Unite for Freedom

Scene 3.

[Zoom in on Rayasu's house. He is out in the back garden tending to his beehives. A felyne paws away at fish in a pond nearby. He notices the disturbances.]

Ra: Oi, Sarah, leave the fish alone.

[The felyne meows pinefully at him.]

Ra: [Pointing meaningfully] Hey, you're getting Pintuna for your dinner tonight, you don't need anything now. Go on.

[He gestures her back inside the house with a flick of his head. Sarah meows again and hops off inside the house. Rayasu shakes his head after her. He turns back to the hive and at the same time a loud knock comes from his front door. He rises and makes his way inside, through the house and to the door. He opens it. Vonara is on the other side.]

Vo: So are you coming to first class or not?

[Cut to a tent out the back of the Training Hall. Basolo and Sashje stand in conversation at the front of the tent behind a wooden desk. The desk itself is adorned with various monster body parts, set against a backdrop of armor, weapon stands and pictures of various monsters hanging on the wall. The back wall of the tent is also fronted by several armor sets on mannequin stands, and more weapon stands align the side walls. A woman leads the class of about 30 into the tent. Everyone makes their way to a desk and chair, admiring the decor. Some of them mutter comments along the lines of 'It's Basolo!' or 'It's Sashje!'. Sashje nods to Rayasu, who smiles back. He and Vonara take seats in the middle of the third row back. Tarro is also amongst the group and takes a seat in the middle row. After a short while everyone falls silent.]

Man: Welcome everyone. I am Basolo. This is my hunting partner, Sashje. We are your teachers for the year. Welcome to the Training School.

Sashje: Here you will learn the basics of what you will need to keep you alive when a Tigrex gets hungry and attacks your farm or a Rathalos goes patrolling his territory and you're unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[She removes her left gauntlet, letting it drop onto the table, to reveal a massive centimetre-wide scar running the full length of her arm from wrist to shoulder. The whole class bar Rayasu seems to move a few centimetres backwards.]

Basalo: The very first lesson every hunter should learn is respect. Respect for the potential power of every creature you ever come across, from the mightiest Akantor to a newborn Apceros. And for us of course. Respect keeps you alive, and your grades high. The second lesson is the difference between courage and cockiness. Courage makes you a great hunter. Cockiness gets you killed. And if any of you try it in our classes, we will personally kick you out of this Guild faster than an enraged Kirin. Do I make myself clear?

[There is a general murmur of agreement from the students.]

Sa: It is a kill or be killed world out there, for those who are hunters and for those who aren't. Anything can attack anywhere at anytime without warning or provocation. Anyone who knows the stories of Kisar or Hisito will already know that very well. Our job is to teach you how to kill so you do not get killed. Our job is to teach you how to be monster hunters. Any questions?

[One boy in the back row puts his hand up.]

Ba: [Gesturing] Yes?

Boy: Yeah, hi, so, like, when do we get to fight something? You know, like, I thought we were here to learn how to fight and stuff, not to prattle on about some useless philosophy.

[Basolo and Sashje exchange a brief glance.]

Ba: [Turning back to the boy] When you learn the first two lessons. [Looking round the class] Any more?

[A few more hands go up but the boy keeps talking.]

Boy: Yeah hang on…I'm not finished yet. I didn't come here to learn some pansy-arsed rubbish about the difference between courage and cockiness or whatever. I'm here to slay wyverns!

[The two boys either side of him grin and mutter in agreement. Basolo and Sashje do not share their enthusiasm. Sashje's eyes narrow slightly.]

Sa: [Gesturing] Okay…come here. Up to the front.

[The boy grins smugly and gets up and walks to the front.]

Sa: What's your name?

Boy: Karush Metriek.

Sa: Karush. Okay Karush. [She places her left arm round his shoulders. He immediately seems to recoil slightly to get away from it. She turns him to the table.] You want to learn how to slay wyverns?

Karush: Yeah.

Sa: Right now?

Ka: Yes!

Sa: Okay.

[She extends an arm to Basolo. He picks up a Heavy Bang sword and shield off the table and presents them to Karush.]

Ba: Here you go.

[Basolo drops them into Karush's outstretched arms. Karush catches them but he can barely keep them aloft. He sinks a lot into his knees. There are titters from the rest of the class.]

Sa: Try this.

[She draws a knife from her belt and slashes the ropes holding the canvas at the back of the tent up. It drops away from the frame to the ground. Behind the tent, the egg-cart Rathian lies asleep on a large bed of straw. The class recoils, a few screams escaping some mouths. Baslolo picks a sonic bomb up off the table, pulls the pin and throws it at the Rathian. It explodes, emitting a brief high-pitched wail. The Rathian stirs and opens its eyes. It spies the tent and its inhabitants, rises almost instantly and screeches loudly. Everyone except Basolo and Sashje rush backwards in various degrees of falling/jumping out their seats, including Karush, who drops the SnS and clambers back with the others. The Rathian scrapes one foot along the ground in preparation to charge. Its eyes are fixed firmly on the two teachers. Sashje calmly picks up a bowgun off a stand, cocks it and fires at the Rathian. A small rapid flurry of shots explodes with a lilac haze round the wyvern's head and the Rathian collapses to the ground, once again asleep. It begins to snore gently. Sashje relaxes in her stance, and the class calms down.]

Sa: That…

[She replaces the bowgun and turns to face the class.]

Sa: …is why we're starting with the philosophy.

[There is a brief moment of stunned silence.]

Ka: You're absolutely crazy!

Sa: Hmm?

Ka: What the hell was that for?!

Sa: Well, you said you wanted to learn how to slay wyverns and skip over the philosophy. The best way to learn how to fight a wyvern is to fight it and work it out. Study its movements, its habits, find a way to use them against it. We were going to show you it later but you were so eager to get going I thought I'd let you get going early.

Ka: Yeah, but…I didn't mean straight on with a Rathian! Something…smaller..?! I mean that's just insane!

Ba: Oh, believe me, that wasn't even close to throwing you in at the deep end. The Tigrex, a Lao Shan Lung, the Narga…there's a whole host of things out there much worse than one elderly Rathian. And just because it's smaller doesn't mean it's less dangerous. Unless you'd like to try your hand against an adolescent Rajang.

[Karush stays silent. A few giggles are heard from the class and Basolo folds his arms.]

Ba: [With the faintest of smirks] I didn't think so.

[He sits down behind the desk.]

Ba: Now, who's for a bit of philosophy?

[Vonara, Rayasu and many other students smile as they all begin to pick themselves and their desks up and return to their seats. Karush does the same but with a stern glare fixed on Sashje, who begins to clear the desktop.]

Ba: [Walking round to the front of the desk and sitting on the edge] Now, we're not going to bother lecturing you about the ideology or the moral and ethical issues of hunting. There are a thousand and one books out there that can do that for and better than us, and to be quite frank, once you're out on your own two feet they have no place in your life. When you consider ethics in a battle, you dance with death and are almost guaranteed to come in second place. But that is not to say that throughout your training you shouldn't consider them. Hunting is not for everyone, and you may find over the months that you are one of those people. There are a lot of good points to be made in a lot of good books. Igon Duman is one of the most acclaimed authors in the world for his works on why hunting should be restricted, and he was once one of our top students. If you read nothing else, read his books. It may be our job to train you to become the hunter and not to evaluate the hunter, but we would be foolish and ignorant to cast any aspect of hunting aside as though it were meaningless and irrelevant. Only the best hunters make the effort to consider all it's aspects, and we expect that from all of you.

Sa: After a few weeks of basic classroom learning to get you to grips with the essential basics, you'll be introduced to your first and most benign monsters under strict and intense supervision. As you get used to being around them, you'll be introduced to some more and increasingly hostile and dangerous creatures, again under intense supervision. Following that, we'll move you onto basic One Star rank Town Elder Quests and gradually take a step back to let you get comfortable with being out on your own. Firstly however, we'll begin by learning about the one thing that all hunters, regardless of armor or weapon class or quest level, have in common. It is the most important part of any hunter's training. [She hauls a sack from out behind the desk] Backpacking. If you don't know how to backpack properly, you won't get very far on any quest. I suggest you write this down.

[Everyone gets paper and pencil out from their bags.]

Ba: The basic rule of backpacking is this: take what you need and nothing more. There are few hunting practices worse than taking more than what you need on a hunt. It slows you down. And you never want that. Judging what you'll need is very difficult at first. You have no real experience with the items, how effective they are in different situations, you don't know the monsters, you don't know what works against them and what doesn't, you don't know what will be needed in different environments…even years down the line you will still find yourself questioning whether or not you need to take the extra potion or pickaxe. However, the more you do it, the easier it will be. Now we have a full compendium of all hunting aids and items and how to make them here [he picks up and waves a book in the air for them to see] if anyone wants to get ahead of the game. And there's one for everyone. Hint hint.

[He drops the book down on the table. There is a heavy thud.]

Sa: Items are divided into three categories: consumable, gathering and combat. Consumable items are, as the name suggests, consumable. Gathering items are the ones you use to gather resources in the field. Combat items are those used against monsters. Each of these categories is divided into a further two groups: stand-alone and combined. Stand-alone items are those which fulfil a function on their own. Combined items are those which are made of two or more one-step items. Questions so far?

[The class stays silent.]

Sa: Good. You.

[She points to a girl sitting in the front row. The girl looks up expectantly.]

Sa: What's your name?

Girl: Khailanna ma'am.

Sa: Khailanna. Give me a stand-alone combat item.

Kh: Uhh…uhh…a boomerang?

Sa: Good. You.

[She points to a boy in the back row. He doesn't look up from writing his notes. The boy next to him nudges him and he finally and hurriedly looks up.]

Sa: Your name is?

Boy: Foyorn ma'am. Foyorn Kalang.

Sa: Foyorn. Can you give me a combined consumable item?

[He thinks.]

Foyorn: Nutrients. Made using…blue mushrooms and godbugs.

Sa: Very good. You there.

[She points to Vonara.]

Vo: Vonara ma'am.

Sa: What's the difference between a pickaxe and a mega pickaxe?

Vo: A mega pickaxe is a superiour version of the pickaxe. A pickaxe is made from moulded iron and has a tendancy to break when trying to mine for the heavier ores. A mega pickaxe has been worked and machined with purer iron and an Eltalite Ore weave, making it much stronger than a regular pickaxe. The handle of a mega pickaxe is also made from a stronger wood. But I don't know which one…

Sa: Very good indeed…it's Halorian Red Oak by the way.

Vo: Thank you ma'am.

Sa: [Addressing the whole class] It is knowing these things like the back of your hand that will make you into a great hunter. We will not be passing anyone who has not memorised this entire book [she places a hand on the compendium book on the table] for the Final Trials. So the quicker you start to learn it the better. So [she claps her hands together] on to the practical stuff.

Ba: [Picking up a crate from beside the desk full of glass vials as Sashje begins to empty the sack onto the table] Foyorn has already told us how to make nutrients, which are one of the most basic and essential things you can use. The other is the humble potion. Anyone else tell me how to make a potion?

[A few hands go up including Tarro's and Vonara's.]

Ba: [Pointing to Tarro] You are?

Ta: Tarro sir.

[Basolo gestures for him to continue.]

Ta: You make a potion with herbs and blue mushrooms don't you?

Ba: You do indeed.

[Tarro smiles.]

Ba: We want you, in pairs, to have a go at making a potion and nutrients. I have the vials, Sashje has the sack of ingredients. So…

[He plonks the box down on the table next to the sack.]

Ba: …you two first.

[He points to the boy and girl sitting in the front row furthest to his right. They make their way up to the front. Basolo hands the girl a vail and Sashje hands a small bag containing herbs, godbugs and blue mushrooms to the boy.]

Ba: Next!

[He signals to the next two girls in line. They follow suit of the previous two as they return to their seats.]

Ba: [As he hands the vial to the girl] Next two, come on, quickly now.

[Vonara and another boy are next, followed by Rayasu and a girl. The procession continues until they are all back in their seats attempting to make their items. Basolo and Sashje watch on expectantly.]

[One by one the students begin to finish, Foyorn and his partner being the first. Basolo goes to inspect. He picks up the vial, looks at it through the light, sniffs it then dips a finger into the vial and tastes it.]

Ba: Hmm…

[He places the vial back in the desk, walking on to the next person without a backwards glance. Foyorn watches as though expecting something more, then anxiously checks back to his vial and tastes it himself.]

[Basolo and Sashje make their way round the classroom checking what the students finish when they finish it. Eventually they make their way back to the front of the tent. There is a somewhat tense and nervous air to the tent.]

Sa: I'm not going to beat about the bush. There is a lot of room for improvement here.

[A few faces drop slightly.]

Sa: But given that this is a first try for most of you, that's to be expected. Combining is a fine art that takes a while to master. The important thing is that you've had a go. It's very good to see that you all tried. Keep that spirit and you'll go far. Always remember lesson two: courage makes you a great hunter, cockiness gets you killed. Doing is the best way of learning. But if you get stuck, ask for help. Don't keep going and hoping, or one of these days you will die.

[Silence falls in the class.]

Sa: Off you go then. See you tomorrow.

[She smiles. The silence is gradually broken by the moving of chairs and tables and very quiet murmurs and whispers coming from the class. They gradually filter out of the tent, through the Guild Hall and out into the town.]