{Creature Hunt} The Pythago Pack

[Namari Lovelle]

((for picture of beast, click on here... link))

The marshes were never friendly- in fact, they were one of the worst places to get yourself stuck in. Which is why they made their new home there.

They were silent as they crept through the marsh. One was in the trees, hoping from branch to branch. The other two were on the ground, sniffing. The three beasts slithered their way through the area, ready to catch their next prey.

Although smaller than the other creatures targeted in the hunt, these ones might have been the most deadly. Why? Because not only were they fast, and had venomous teeth, but because they were two in one. A wolf, and a snake. Just one of them could have been a handful- but there was not just one. Not only even three. There were eight.

A loud hissing could be heard, then another, and another, until the ear numbing hissing echoed through the marsh. They were howling. Soon, there weren't just three. All eight were there, looking each other over carefully with eyes of curiosity.

Without a moments hesitation, the beasts began to run, nearing a patch of water. They jumped into the water, and disappeared. They could not be seen through the darkness. Only a small bubble could be seen, as they disappeared. Were they hunting? Playing? One wouldn't know.

The Pythago Pack had disappeared, and it was up to the hunters of Avaleur to find them.

[Jordan Hielo]

Near along the edge of the marsh, a man stood against a tree, whistling away. His arms were crossed over his chest, his leather jacket wrapped around him in a fitting way. On his back, a longbow and quiver for arrows. On his hip a short sword, just in case. And lastly, a small bag that wrapped around his waist, and rested on his lower back.

He yawned, standing up straight and stretching. Of course he had not opened up shop that day- today was the day that four brave men would go into the marsh and collect the eggs- if they could, of course. One of those men was Jordan.

Jordan awaited the men to get there patiently, taking out an apple from the small back and biting into it. He was fairly excited to be hunting that day, out in the marsh. He had not yet been there, even after living in Avaleur for years. Alas, he had only hunted in the forest, really. So this was sure to be a great experience.

The man teamed up against the tree once more as he ate, awaiting his fellow hunters to arrive.

[Deleted]

Roland held his rather large equipment bag over his shoulder as he walked the pathway to where he had advised everyone to meet. His sword was within his sheath that rested on his hip while his spear and shield were mounted on his back at the moment. The Knight Commander was however, without his armor. Sure without it he was liable to the venom and other dangers such as claws and such but he needed the speed, an the marsh during this time of the year was often times very hot. The area so dense and humid that it just created tons of sweet. Armor would just be killer! He did feel slightly bad, he had forgotten to warm the others of that fact. But there was nothing he could do now. Nothing but keep on walking to where they would meet and give them all their share of antidotes. Hopefully they wouldn't need them.. But it was best to be prepared.

As Roland walked he mentally went through his schoolwork. Especially his magic class. They had been trying to learn simple spells... Something that Roland could not do. He could figure it out at all, an he had finally accepted the fact that he needed Dante's help. He would show him next class what he could do, and hopefully his teacher, Dante, could tell or explain to him what it was and what he could so with it.

After many more steps. Roland approached the area, quickly spotting Jordan and shaking his head. And here Roland thought he would be the first one there, early and everything. But it did seem as though Jordan was an early bird. He had gotten a hunch already, given the hours of the morning in which his shop was open. But still, earlier than Roland to a hunt in the marsh!? It made him smile.

"Good morning Jordan, lovely day for a hunt is it not?" He approached and set the bag carefully down. He sighed for a moment, "Get some rest last night?" He asked.

[Jordan Hielo]

He hadn't even noticed as the knight approached him, lost in his own thoughts of excitement about the hunt. With a big grin he stood straight up from the tree, placing one of his hands into his pockets.

"Slept like a rock," he chuckled, shrugging ever so slightly.
"Which is surprising. I'm rather excited for today. Haven't done a group hunt since before I moved here... so this might be an awesome experience, or a terrible one."

A quick bite of his apple as he turned and rummages through the bag on his back, before taking out another apple. He put up his hand to Roland, offering the apple.

"And I trust you got some sleep last night as well?" the elemental asked.

[Deleted]

Jordan offered him an apple and it reminded him of what he had brought for him. He took his own pack and rummaged through it, grabbing out a larger vile and switching it for the apple.
He smiled, "Trade ya."

Roland sighed as he turned the apple round in his hand.
"No, not much sleep for me. Still stuck on Dorringo time I suppose, as well as the regular business." He smirked. "I can handle it though. Plenty of daytime naps."

As he chuckled over it he thought of the naps. Some in class, others during homework. Oh yes he found time to take them. He just hoped it wouldn't be too much longer before he was once again accustomed to the days and nights of Avaleur.
"It is an antidote by the way." He motioned to the vile as he clarified what it was. "For just in case."

[Jordan Hielo]

Jordan turned the vial carefully in his hand as he looked it over. He prayed he would not have to use it- he would hope that, for one, nothing would get close enough to him to poison him. And secondly, that his ice would withstand some of the attacks. But even then, he knew that his ice could only protect against a few slashes while it was on his body. It was still fragile. A bite could go through it easily.

"Let us hope we do not use any of this today, then," he stated thoughtfully, taking another bite of apple before shoving the vile in his bag.

"I can carry a few eggs if we can find them, by the way. As long as the eggs aren't huge," he chuckled, patting the side of his bag. The only things in it were the vile, and two more apples.

"So is there any other information that might be useful to us on this hunt?" he asked, once again leaning up against the tree, taking another bite and chewing slowly as he listened to Roland.

[Deleted]

Roland put his own apple, that he had received from Jordan, in his pack. He hated to be rude but he wasn't hungry at the moment. Later would be fine.

"I don't think we will, as long as we are careful." He reassured them both. As long as they worked together better than the Pythago, they would be fine.

Roland looked over Jordan's bag, it was a good idea, good planning on his part. They may need more than just Roland's bag to carry back eggs and a Pythago if need be.
He folded his arms as he thought, "Hmm, only a few more details really. Raymond seems to think they are a new breed of Hydra, a lower form or something or other. Something about the larger and more powerful beast of Hydra have begun to evolve into smaller, faster, creatures. He thinks it may have something to do with the fight for food between the swamp hydra now." Roland shrugs, "it makes sense I guess, Hydra have even thought to be related to snakes. How they made the transition so quickly and so distant is what gets me. That was when it was suggested that they were created with magic and science utilizing Swamp Hydra and snake species."

[Jordan Hielo]

Jordan listened intently, and as Roland finished he scratched at his beard. Magic made? That couldn't be legal. Perhaps it was the castle's doing- an accident went horribly wrong, covered up by the creature hunt.

Jordan was not about to dive too deep into it. He didn't really care- it was probably just some creatures the castle needed dealt with. That was all, nothing more nothing less.

"If that is the case, I suppose tactics to getting rid of hydra should work here if it proves needed."
His hands slipped back into his pockets as he tapped his foot on the ground in thought.

"Are all the creatures connected in any way, might I ask?" the elemental smiled, an eyebrow raised. He had been curious about that- sure, the beasts might have only been connected in the fact that they posed a threat to Avaleur, and they were new. But perhaps that was not where the similarities ended.

[Deleted]

"Yes, I would imagine that they would work well, at least a little if not very effective." HE agreed with Jordan's statement. Hydra had a few weaknesses that were easy enough to capitalize on.


It was his second wuestion that really made Roland think. Were they connected, I mean sure they had loooked into the idea of that, but he hadn't thought that idea would have spread to people outside of the castle. Of course, Jordan was a hunt, an experienced one at that, it made sense that he would notice and understand the significance of so many dangerous creatures appearing at what seemed to be at once.


"Are you familiar with the troubles that happened here in Avaleur some time ago?" Roland asked, "The take over of the city, the Blood Witch?"

[Jordan Hielo]

Jordan pursed his lips, really thinking over what he was about to say, before slowly nodding.

"Aye. I was in Riverbed at the time, protecting what citizens were there. So I didn't get a first hand chance to see what was going on. But I heard about it. The witch who was controlling the guards, how the werewolves were helping out. The arena, the storm."

He left out the fact that Roland had been attacking his own- it didn't exactly seem appropriate. Besides, Jordan figured that if they let Roland back, he was safe to be around.

Then suddenly, his eyes went a bit wider, and his eyebrows went up.
"Do you lot think they're connected? I thought we'd been done with that- it happened a year ago, why start up things again now?"

A sickening feeling went into his stomach. Were things about to go wrong again? After all this time of peace?

[Deleted]

"Speculations and theories is all Jordan." He tried to calm the man down a bit if he could. "But it is suspected that it is possible. What better way to keep us busy while they regroup?"

Roland cracked his nexk by tilting it to the side, growing anxious, waiting for the others and wanting to begin.

"The Milipede his supposed to have been in the ruins since the great fall of old avaleur. But other than that, the creatures are not connected in a way where one can be certain."

[Jordan Hielo]

Worry was still coursing through the man, but it was beginning to settle. Only speculation, of course. Otherwise they wouldn't have been letting citizens try and capture them. He rubbed at his arm to try and calm himself down, biting into the apple and finishing it off, before chucking it to the side. An animal would likely go and pick it up sometime soon.

"As long as it's just speculation..." he mumbled nervously, before looking up to Roland once more and smiling, turning his smile into a chuckle.
"Not much to worry bout anyways. Avaleur always comes through, y'know."

Another moment of silence, before he furrowed his eyebrows and looked around.
"Shouldn't they be here by now? Hmm. Don't suppose they chickened out, do you?" the elemental grinned wide, a laugh escaping his throat.

The two newcomers were new to Avaleur, after all. Certainly dealing with foreign monsters was a difficult task. Perhaps they thought they were not ready to battle any beasts of Avaleur.

[Hector Olith]

Hector and Harul walked together towards where the hunt was taking place. Hector flexed his shoulder, having gotten in a little bit of a brawl at the inn the night before. He was as armed as he ever was, full plate with hard leather underneath. He had his axe strapped to his back and his sword at his hip, ready to use either at a moments notice. He didn't have much else, relying on his quick healing factor to counteract any poison he may get put into his system during the hunt. If all else failed, he could pull back a bit should the need arise. He glanced over at Harul, thinking that the man was insane. He came with what he had yesterday, plus one vial of liquid in what looked to have a needle on the end. Was it an antidote of some sort?

He had on thin clothing that couldn't possibly protect him, but you never knew. Maybe it was like Hector's armor, as magic was very broadly known in these lands apparently. What worried Hector most was that Harul had no weapons on him at all. The only thing that came close were those strange bracers he had on, but Hector didn't really count armor as a weapon. He told himself secretly that he needed to protect the old man, ballsy as he was. "They are there." Harul said, pointing ahead. Hector squinted ahead and saw both Roland and Jordan talking to each other. There was a rather large bag of items by them, too.

Hector and Harul picked up the pace a bit to make up for a small amount of time. "Hey! Glad to see you didn't start without us!" Hector called out. A few more seconds, and they were standing by both of the other hunters.

[Deleted]

Roland smiled, "Nah, they wouldn't have chickened out, not them. You could tell that they..." he saw them out of the corner of his eye and turned. "Here they come, we should have started talking about them sooner." He joked as they approached.

Roland looked over the two men and it was as if they were the complete opposites of one another. Hector wore thick and heavy armor, Harul almost none. Hector was outfitted with weapons, again, Harul none. It did make Roland smile. "Here, you may each take an antidote if you wish." The night offered as he first searched through his bag and offered the glass to them each.

"We would not have started without you, last thing we would want is for you to wander aimlessly through the marsh, they are not the area for that."

[Hector Olith]

Hector smiled and took the antidote from Roland, tucking it into his coinpurse that he had been sure to empty beforehand. It should be relatively safe there and if it broke Hector figured he could eat the purse to avoid death should his healing not do anything to help. Harul also took one, untying his sash and then retying it with the glass tucked parallel to it. "Thanks Roland." Hector said. Harul tilted his head forward in thanks.

"It is good for you not to leave us, though, I'm sure the sound of fighting would have given us an idea should you have left us." Harul said. "Do we have any sort of strategy in mind, or are we floating in the dark on these creatures?"

[Deleted]

"No trouble at all." Roland stated as he also nodded back to te two men as they took the potion that could very well save their lives soon.

Although Roland hated to admit it, as he much preferred a good plan, to be ready for anything, they just weren't and could not be.
"Honestly, we are very much in the dark. However we will track them like you would a pack of wolves, except water and climbing isn't out of the question." He explained and waited for anything Jordan may want to add, who knew, Jordan could have discovered something.

[Jordan Hielo]

Jordan pulled out two apples, the last of the fruit in his back, and handed it to the two men. He was astonished at what they were armed with though- armour would slow a man down, no matter how strong they were. And a man with no weapons? Jordan sure hoped that he was a good enough fighter to no get killed if need be.

Jordan himself would rather not get close to the beasts at all.

"I found tracks when I first got here. Might not be them, but it was what I'd think the prints would be like. Decided to wait before I followed them, but they seemed to be heading south-east. Now either we follow them, hope it leads to a nest of sorts. Or we go the opposite way and hope the same thing.

"Personally I'd just start wandering myself, see if I find anything else," the man smiled, straightening himself out.

He thought that, either way, the trip in the marsh would be highly dangerous. It didn't really matter what way they went. But they would have to keep silent. And hope for the best.

[Hector Olith]

Hector noticed that Jordan seemed a bit taken aback at Harul and his choice of armament. Jordan himself was wearing little armor but had weapons so it may appear to him as if Harul and he were opposite ends of the spectrum. He did worry about Harul, though. "Well, if we follow the tracks then we're sure to at least find the beasts. If we go the opposite way, we could find their nest but may also find ourselves backed into a corner in their own home. Neither bet is particularly safe, but the first at least gives us more options." Hector said.

"That isn't my concern at all." Harul piped up. He put his hands behind his back and clasped them, like he does when thinking. "For all we know, they could have smelled Jordan before he got to this spot and made tracks for him to follow and be lead to death. If we truly know this little about the creatures, then we don't know how intelligent they are either. They are smart enough to survive in this harsh environment as a pack facing creatures much larger and stronger than they are." He started. "Any path we take will be extremely dangerous simply because we lack knowledge. Hell, I may be entirely wrong and the beasts may be as stupid as a goldfish but they survive from raw luck." He finished.

[Deleted]

Roland looked up into the sky as he listened and thought. The hardest part of this task would be to get these four independent men to think and work together. It would be what brought death or success.

"The tracks will be there to come back to." Roland stated finally before looking down from te sky and around the men. "If we search the area, we may find more information, we may not but the tracks will always be there for us to return to. It doesn't look like rain today or anytime soon." He explained. "As for intelligence, we'll let's just hope we can bet safely on ours out matching theirs. I already am." He said with a smile before slinging the bag over his shoulder and tightening the strap firmly before lettin it go to hang snug against him. He continued to smile as he waited to go.

[Hector Olith]

Well, how about we just follow the guy who hunts for a living?" Hector asked, indicating Jordan. "I'll just follow for now, can't really do much else until we find the damn things." After speaking, Hector folded his arms and waited. Harul stayed silent, waiting to see what the others would say.