The Guildswoman was dealing with hunters and huntresses as they approached, taking mission requests as they came and handing out little stamped-wood tokens with complex symbols inscribed on them which would grant their holders passage on guild caravans to the regions considered hunting grounds where the monsters had been sighted.  One by one, Sonya, Kaze, and Alistair approached, and while the guildswoman gave Sonya and Kaze cautionary advice regarding acquisition of slightly better armour for proper hunts she gave them the tickets they needed all the same.<br/><br/>The Caravan was leaving within the hour, and so while all three of them had some time to explore the city if they wished, it was not long before they found themselves whisked away to their destinations on the same caravan, which did circuits from the Ancestral Steppe Hunter's camp<i>and</i>the Everwood Hunter's camp before returning to Val Habar, giving all of the hunters a chance to talk amongst themselves as they set out on their quests.<br/><br/><br/>[<u>The Ancestral Steppes</u>]<br/>The encampment bordering The Ancestral Steppes was one of the largest camps in the nation and thus it was somewhat shocking to new-come hunters to see how small 'the largest' actually was.  A handful of shelters that are pitched year round to house hunters transiting in or out of the area or shelter wounded hunters while they recover.  A dozen or so of the small cat-like monsters known as Felynes wandering between, keeping everything in good shape between practicing their own combat training.  It is very rare for the little creatures to have the strength necessary to fight a monster as a hunter does, but they are more than capable of holding one at bay to rescue a hunter or huntress from its claws or clutches, a duty many of them often find themselves called to.<br/><br/>The camp rests in a stead of trees jutting from the far eastern reaches of the Everwood, and a stream flows along it's southern edge, providing cool and fast-flowing clean water for those resting in the camp as well as easily marking the path that would lead hunters and huntresses out into the steppes proper.  Beyond the trees, a short strip of rocky grasslands mark the beginning of the steppes, steadily sloping upwards into a series of massive canyons and valleys between cliffs where the broad strip splits into dozens of little rocky paths.  The height of it all looks daunting from the entrance, but the cliffs are surprisingly climbable, with dozens of easy handholds and footholds for an aspiring hunter or huntress to navigate by.<br/><br/>From here, Kaze and Sonya could travel together or apart.  Kecha were native more to everwood than the steppes, and so would likely stick close to it's border in most cases, while Seltas males were often found roaming the cliffs  in the central regions of the hunting ground.  The two of them were unlikely to find their prey in the same places...[/spoiler]<br/><br/><br/>[<u>The Everwood</u>]<br/>The Everwood camp consists of a simple pair of shelters -more tents than anything- and a cadre of a mere half-dozen felynes attending to the area.  Unlike the Steppes where the camp is on the edge of a broadly defined hunting ground, the everwood consistst of dozens of constantly splitting and re-merging paths that run through the area, and is thus far less mapped due to it's complexity.  The Felynes are more than willing to point Alistair towards where the Kut-ku was last spotted, a path that seems shaded by massive stones as much as trees and what look like they could be ancient ruins, but beyond that, they promise only to help as they typically assist hunters, following and aiding to keep them from getting too-badly hurt in case a hunt goes bad.<br/><br/>"Watch out for the Kut-Ku's fire nya."  One of the little cats advises sagely.  "And keep an eye out for Melynx, they'll rob you blind the minute you turn your tail if you're not careful."