章 6: Her First Expedition
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Somewhere in the middle of the woods, laid a small hovel.
It was rustic and had clearly suffered from the last rainy season, not more than a few months ago. Squeaky wood floors, stained windows with some corners broken or cracked... Minor leakings in the ceiling...
But make no mistake... To the right set of eyes, it was splendid.
And most importantly, it was a relatively safe place to live in.
That was due to the fact, that within this forest, there was an extremely low presence of carnivorous and predatory creatures... Let alone of the monsters and repulsive creatures that made their home beyond the Miraculous Pillar of Vixasta...
Hence the name that was given to this forest by The First Explorers:
Hunter's Heaven.
It was quite literally a place where hunters enjoyed undisturbed (yet regulated by the Labistalan government) hunting all year round, except for winter, of course.
This was mostly a place for veteran hunters to pass on their trade to future generations. The perfect training grounds, with little to no risk of getting eaten by a wolf or a bear...
The absence of hostile creatures, however, didn't mean an absence of overall wildlife...
Multiple species of plants, animals, and insects co-exist peacefully in this biome.
All of this harmonic combination of green and fauna making for a breathtaking scenery for anyone who travels the Mainer Fields or makes their way through the pass of Jerion Peak.
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It was not a question of how big, or how luxurious the hovel was... But more of -where- it was built...
Despite this being a place most would want to make their living in... It was actually prohibited by the law of Labistal since time immemorial...
This was made to conserve the ecosystem and allow for the wildlife and vegetation to recover at the end of every hunting and logging season.
A sustainable cycle that had kept the people of Labistal and the country of Labal enjoying a period of peace and prosperity that had already lasted for centuries...
Gathering what they need for themselves and a little bit for commerce, without endangering the very place they call home.
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And for someone to live in the middle of a natural reserve protected by the State, Hunter's Heaven was a place of peace and quiet.
This could be considered illegal, if not for a small detail...
That neither government officials, hunters, lumberers or even Explorers... ever made their way so deep into the forest...
This hovel was located a little bit off the exact center of the forest, and therefore, this would probably be both the most beautiful and illegal hovel in all of the Labal Kingdom...
And, 'Who?' you might be asking. Who would be so daring... so tired of society... or so stupid, to build their home here...?
And why...?
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This was Jennie's first time handling the "expedition", as she likes to call it. She always wanted to become an Explorer when she was little... but of course... that couldn't be...
Anyhow, she refers to the hunting runs she did with her uncle every Saturday, as an "expedition". For as long as she can remember, she's been calling it that, and will probably still call it like that for a long time...
And Uncle Lou doesn't seem time mind at all. Yes, when she first got excited to go to 'her first expedition' 6 years ago, his eyebrow twitched a bit...
Eventually, though, he even started finding it funny as well, and actually enjoyed seeing Jennie's reaction every time it was time for another 'expedition'...
Now that she was all grown up, he looked at her saying her classic phrase of 'Let's go Explorers!!' with that same enthusiasm and that bright smile on her face, that he couldn't help but feel glad to have her with him...
He had lost everything, but he still had his sweet niece keeping him from his darkest thoughts...
But the thought of admitting it, wouldn't even cross his mind for an instant...
Given that, if he did, he would then have to endure Jennie's bragging, cheek-poking and teasing for days...
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She was looking forward to this expedition for days. She had prepared everything they would ever come to need: she fed the horses, checked their saddles and bags, and picked up whatever item was missing from the 'gear list'.
This list contained every possible item they could ever need to survive for 3 days out in the woods and made the bags heavier than a sack of bricks.
There's no need to add that this 'gear list' she had put together herself...
In the end, Uncle Lou ended up scolding her with his classic phrase of 'What the hell you think you're doing Jennie?!"
So yeah, she had to spend 2 hours on top of the 3 it took her to arrange the list and items, as she had to then take out 90% of the items and put back in their place.
Once the bags were at a reasonable size and weight for the horses to be able to carry without breaking their backs in the process... They were ready to go hunting for the food that would sustain them for the week.
With a 2-hour delay...
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She was just too excited, you see...
This was going to be the time, where she actually called the shots...
She had finally reached the age of 18... That's when, in the words of her uncle, she would be mature and experienced enough to handle the situation...
She was a little mad because of how overprotective he was with her since they literally lived in the safest place on the face of the world...
But even though she even yelled at Uncle Lou when she was little for that fact, she eventually got his reasons...
'In an expedition, anything can happen Jennie...' -He used to say whenever she pestered him about it.
At first, she didn't get it and thought it was all excuses... But as she continued with her studies, reading everything her uncle had stored in his humble bookcase... She finally understood...
And today was the first step in her way to becoming a true Explorer...
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A beautiful brunette girl with sapphire blue eyes and a few freckles could be seen. She appeared to be right out of her teens and into adulthood and was standing beside her horse; a magnificent black mare.
Her mare was named Rain, after all, it was one of the things she loved the most. Rain was too thirsty and tired, so she decided to stop for a bit to rehydrate themselves because she also wanted to refreshen a bit.
Rain started drinking water from a nearby brook that derived from the river since it would be too hard for her to drink directly from the river itself.
After all, she hadn't stopped all morning in chasing that group of healthy-looking deers...
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"Jennie!! I'm back!" -Said a drenched man, somewhat advanced in years.
He looked to be at least 50, but with a tough build and had a long white mane tied in a ponytail, a rough middle beard, and the same sapphire blue eyes as the girl. He also had a bunch of scars showing up in his arms.
"Uncle Lou, what happened?! Did you catch them?!"
Asked the girl with expectation in her voice.
"Naaah..."
"But how'd they get away then?! You're the best hunter ever!!!"
"They didn't get away... They were... hunted down before ever I got the other side of the river... It took me too damn long between having to leave Horseshoe behind and swimming across! (yeah, that's the oh-so-original name of his pinto horse)"
"They were... hunted down...? ...You better speak up clearly, or I swear we'll go collect more Cassia flowers!!"
"OK! OK! ...I'll be direct. They were killed, or more like... eaten... by some kind of predator."
"WHAAAAT???!!! A predator?! Are you sure?!"
"Have I ever not been, Jennie? I've no doubt, it was the work of a cursed beast... There was that unmistakable stench... all around the bodies..."
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"Not sure what type of cursed beast it was though, considering they normally all smell the same... But judging by the tracks and the bite marks left on the carcasses, I'd say it's below-average size, fortunately..."
Jennie remained silent in mild shock, while Lou stood there with a stoic expression looking over Horseshoe while he joined Rain in drinking water from the brook...
He was contemplating what to do about the beast that was potentially threatening them... When suddenly...
["aaaAAAGG!!!!"]
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"What was that?!"
"DAMN IT!!! It must be the cursed beast!"
"But why would there be someone else out here, Uncle?"
"For all we know, we may have just stepped in the middle of an Expedition. A -REAL- one."
"You're right! We better go check that out, someone might be in danger!"
"But be careful Jennie!" -Exclamation the tough man with a worried expression.
And with a smile on her face, she answered:
"It's my show, remember?"
"Hmph... Anyway, I'll be right behind you!"
"Sure thing!"
And so the hunters quickly got back up on their horses, bows in hand, and galloped further along the river bank...
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Chili_Dog
Chili_Dog Hope you like where this is going
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