[CHQ] Scour the Woods

[Super Chaos Sonic]

-The Punching Bag Wizard-

 

Deku saw that Fen stabbed the Eggbear with the polearm in the back while roots were trying to bind the Eggbear, most likely Lily's doing. Right now, the creature was in an incapacitated time, only violently thrashing around to try and free itself from its bindings. And with the full reservoir of magic he just got from that punch, he could go for a bit of time. But he did know that this needed to end right now.

 

-BGM-

 

Alright...here's hoping this finishes off the Eggbear. Deku thought, exhaling slowly. Otherwise we'll be needing a new plan in general...

 

Shifting his foot slightly, he conjured an orange magic circle around his feet before smirking. He pushed off as he was launched forward by his Reflector Burst, being propelled forward by the Burst.

 

"This oughta finish it!" Deku shouted, smirking. His two fists were still glowing with orange magic circles around them as he made his way towards the Eggbear. "Fen! Might want to move!" he said, preparing his off hand. Finally slowing down, Deku sent a punch to Eggbear once in his gut, and once it hit it's mark, he launched his right fist straight into the Eggbear's gut for a second strike. "Reflector Strike...2X!!!"

[Alaina]

The large bear continued to struggle against the roots that had ensnared its feet, slowly but surely breaking through them. All the while, it was flailing about trying to get Fen off of his back, the blade only digging in deeper as a result. However, due to the large size of its arms, it was unable to make any progress in actually removing the girl, as it could not reach backwards. As Fen had heard the warning shouted by Deku, though, the girl pushed off the creature's back, stumbling away. Letting out a growl in pain as the blade was dislodged, the beast's attention was unfocused only to then turn and see Deku running straight for him. Bringing up its fist for one last attack, it was still unable to move due to its legs still being rooted. With one resounding punch to the gut, the breath left the creature. With a second strike, the creature was finally freed from its rooted prison as its body was forced backward. The creature fell onto the ground, motionless, having succumbed to its wounds. 

 

With the beast finally defeated, Fen looked at the still creature, saying, "did, did we do it?" 

 

Agina jumped up, completely forgetting about Jin for the moment as she walked over to the rest of the group saying, "yes I do believe he is very dead. Good job! I've never seen such a display of raw bear abuse before, it was quite breathtaking." The girl made a small applause, as the other members of her guild started to walk over. 

 

Alpine, scratching the back of his head, said, "yeah, thanks for that guys. That bear really gave us a run for our money, so thanks for that." Looking over to them, then back to Agina he said, "but uh, what happened to you?" 

 

"And who the hell, are they?" Sen referred to the Cherry Heart members. 

 

"They're my new friends!" Sen raised an eyebrow. "That I met an hour ago!" 

 

The boy sighed. "Of course." Looking back to them he said, "so, what're you doing here?" 

[Super Chaos Sonic]

-The Punching Bag Wizard-

 

Deku watched the Eggbear being forced back, it being free from the roots and at the same time, falling to the ground, motionless. He shook his hands a bit, before chuckling. "H-Heh...now we're talking!" he said, celebrating now. That was the last thing they needed for this mission!

 

"Did, did we do it?"

"Yes I do believe he is very dead. Good job! I've never seen such a display of raw bear abuse before, it was quite breathtaking."

 

"That bear really could pack a wallop! Heh, too bad this time it was to it's downside!" Deku chuckled, tossing his hands behind his head and returning back towards the others.

 

"Yeah, thanks for that guys. That bear really gave us a run for our money, so thanks for that. But uh, what happened to you?"

"And who the hell, are they?"

"They're my new friends! That I met an hour ago!"

"Of course.so, what're you doing here?"

 

Deku removed his hands from his head and gave a quick wave. "We're from the guild Cherry Heart. We were on a mission from an alchemist who was in need of a few ingredients." he said, pointing over at Agina. "Saw her surrounded by some strange wolves so we stepped in and helped her out. We were trying to help her find you guys while also working with the mission we had here. Thankfully we found you guys and the one other thing we needed." he said, pointing over at the Eggbear. "Oh, right. I'm Deku Shinobu. That's Fen, Lily, and..." Deku stopped and saw Jin over on the ground unconscious and started to suck his teeth some. "Uhhhh yeah...the guy over there is Jin."

[Yui]

---

"Did, did we do it?"

 

"Yes I do believe he is very dead. Good job! I've never seen such a display of raw bear abuse before, it was quite breathtaking."

 

"That bear really could pack a wallop! Heh, too bad this time it was to it's downside!"

 

Lily nodded in agreement. That was a strong animal, but it seemed that its strength proved to be its downfall this time. She helped of course. The bear would have been able to put up much more of a fight if not for the vegetation around it also working against it. Good job, plants. The defeat of the eggbear, of course, brought Lily's attention to these other adventurers here. Come to think of it, she wasn't sure what they were doing here, but she couldn't imagine they were here just for the sightseeing.

 

"Yeah, thanks for that guys. That bear really gave us a run for our money, so thanks for that. But uh, what happened to you?"

 

"And who the hell, are they?"

 

"They're my new friends! That I met an hour ago!"

 

Friends? But we only just met recently. Is it really that easy to make friends with people? If she knew that earlier, she probably could have pursued a career as a florist or something. So far, this adventurer stuff was proving to be very dangerous. Lily had been fine through it all though. And if she didn't choose to join Cherry Heart, she probably would have never met the azure oak tree, or got to briefly interact with assassin vines. This was a good idea after all. It took the golem a bit to shake off the thought that she probably wouldn't see much of Agina after this quest. I need to make friends within my guild.

 

"Of course. So, what're you doing here?"

 

We're from the guild Cherry Heart. We were on a mission from an alchemist who was in need of a few ingredients. Saw her surrounded by some strange wolves so we stepped in and helped her out. We were trying to help her find you guys while also working with the mission we had here. Thankfully we found you guys and the one other thing we needed. Uhhhh yeah...the guy over there is Jin."

 

"A pleasure to meet you all," Lily kindly said, raising a stone hand to wave at them. "If you do not mind me asking in return, what brings your group into this forest?"

---

[Alaina]

Sen seemed to still be skeptical about the Cherry Heart members, though Alpine seemed to fine their explanation more than enough. "Well, thanks, and good to meet you Cherry Heart. As you might already know, we're from Lemon Soul. I'm Alpine, she's Agina," the girl waved absentmindedly towards the others, "and he's Sen," he pointed towards the black haired boy. "Don't worry, he's usually grumpy." Sen gave a small look of annoyance and disbelief at this, though Alpine seemed to pay this no mind. "What we were doing here is simple. We were on a mission, more of a personal one on behest of our guild master to get lemons from this forest. It just so happened that this bear-"

 

"The egg bear!" 

 

"The egg bear," Alpine corrected himself, "lived in a cave near the lemon bush."

 

Fen then said, "o-oh. Well um, you see, we also were looking for the uh, lemons."

 

"Oh, well it shouldn't be a problem. I don't know how many you need, but I'm sure there's enough to share.It's the least we can do for all the help you've given us." 

 

"I don't get it," Sen said. "Why couldn't we just have bought Lemons from the market or something?"

 

"Well, about that!" Agina raised her finger, poised to begin dumping exposition dialogue before looking at the group, and walking away towards the lemon bush. Wordlessly, she grabbed a few of the lemons, walking back to the group. "Alpine. Somewhat unnoticeable girl. Over here." Fen looked around, then back towards Agina, who nodded assuredly at her before walking over. Handing off a lemon to both Alpine and Fen, Agina said, "see, the lemons that grow in this forest have a special property to them which allows them to absorb certain elemental magics. If you will," both mages channeled their magic into the lemon, Alpine's turning a deep blue with Fen's turning a luminous white. Both of them looked shock at this before Agina continued. "Not only does it change their color, but also their flavor. Alpine's is a blueberry and Fen's is a...cold water? White Cherry? Mystery? I'm not sure! I haven't eaten one of these before myself! Regardless, they're called lemons as they still retain the same shape and are naturally yellow. Sadly his name still leads to a lot of confusion in locating them and if a wayward traveler uses magic near them and they were expecting lemon flavor then I'm sure they would be surely disappointed." 

 

"R-right." Fen seemed to be a bit taken aback by this girl's knowledge of magical fruits, never having heard of these herself, but shook it off. Handing the lemon over to Deku she said, "I'll um, I'll go get the bone now." Bringing a knife out, the girl began to harvest, on the spot, the bone located in the Eggbear's arm, massive as it was. Both the Lemon Soul males seemed off put by this, but otherwise didn't say anything. 

 

Sen, instead turned towards Agina saying, "So, how did you get lost anyway?"

 

"Ah well you see, I was following you all when I noticed a very interesting leaf and-"

 

Sen's hand clasped over the girl's mouth, seemingly already done with the story, as he said, "right, that's enough."

 

While the girl continued to speak, muffled though she was, Alpine looked to the rest of the group saying, "well, we're all about done here I would assume then. We're all headed back to the same place I imagine so once your friend over there is done with her uh...task, I don't mind walking back with you." 

 

[spoiler=OOC]

Alright, you're almost there. Now's the final time to ask the NPCs any questions on your walk back home, or not if you don't have any. Regardless, if you're all ready to go you can just time skip yourself back to Zvesda's place, where she will seemingly be lost in her work and not notice you all entering. 

 

 

[Super Chaos Sonic]

-The Punching Bag Wizard-

 

"Well, thanks, and good to meet you Cherry Heart. As you might already know, we're from Lemon Soul. I'm Alpine, she's Agina. Don't worry, he's usually grumpy."

 

Deku smiled and waved at the two, seeing that they were in the same boat they were. Though these Lemon Soul mages were on a mission to get lemons from the forest. It was an odd request to say the least, but either way, they had their mission and the Cherry Heart mages had theirs. To each their own.

 

"See, the lemons that grow in this forest have a special property to them which allows them to absorb certain elemental magics. If you will. Not only does it change their color, but also their flavor. Alpine's is a blueberry and Fen's is a...cold water? White Cherry? Mystery? I'm not sure! I haven't eaten one of these before myself! Regardless, they're called lemons as they still retain the same shape and are naturally yellow. Sadly his name still leads to a lot of confusion in locating them and if a wayward traveler uses magic near them and they were expecting lemon flavor then I'm sure they would be surely disappointed."

 

Just standing there blinking, Deku listened to Agina's little tangent regarding the lemons and what they did. Though he was brought back to the present when Fen handed him the lemons that they needed. He held them in his hands before deciding to just put them in his pockets for the time being. "Guess that's all the ingredients then!"

 

"Well, we're all about done here I would assume then. We're all headed back to the same place I imagine so once your friend over there is done with her uh...task, I don't mind walking back with you."

 

"I don't think any of us would have a problem with that." Deku said with a smile. "After all, I don't think either of us could take another eggbear assault on our own like that."

[Yui]

---

In response to her question, Lily learned that these other adventurers - from a guild called Lemon Soul - were here looking for the same lemons as the Cherry Heart team. Which Agina found, following it up with an explanation on what made these lemons so special. Were they really lemons? Lily imagined that a specific type of lemon with those sorts of properties would have a more specific name, but who was she to judge? A sunflower by any other name still grew tall and faced the sun. While Fen worked on getting the bone from the eggbear, a task she seemed rather fine with, Lily and her team were met with an offer from the Lemon Soul team.

 

"Well, we're all about done here I would assume then. We're all headed back to the same place I imagine so once your friend over there is done with her uh...task, I don't mind walking back with you."

 

"I don't think any of us would have a problem with that. After all, I don't think either of us could take another eggbear assault on our own like that."

 

"Another eggbear assault seems unlikely," Lily commented. "However, your offer is appreciated, and I would be happy to accept if my companions here do not object."

---

[Alaina]

After a gruesome bit of harvesting from the egg bear, the generally frail looking girl said, "done." Hoisting the bone up, the girl seemed ready to leave, as did everyone else. With either Lily or Deku carrying the unconcious body of Jin with them through the woods. As both groups ended up making it back to town, Jin had regained conciousness, and the party of Lemon Soul had departed, going back to their own guild. As the Cherry Heart members made their way to the Cosmic Fire, they would find Zvesda busy at work, reading a book with an odd assortment of plants on the table before her. As she had not noticed the group enter, it took a bit before Fen finally said, "um, we're back." 

 

"Ah!" The girl dropped the book she was holding, seemingly shocked at the sight of the people. Reaching under her table and pulling up a flask of something unidentifiable, she seemed to have a suspicious look on her face as she said, "who are you all and why do you have a giant bone?" 

 

"Uh." Fen seemed to be caught a bit off guard by the shop keeper's sudden hostility. "The uh, quest?" 

 

"Oh. Right. Wonderful! Bring the ingredients here!" As they did, the shopkeeper looked at the bone, the petals, the leaf, and the lemon. "Perfect. Now, stand back a bit as you watch genius! At its finest." Bringing out a large beaker, the girl first poured water into it. Next, she crushed the leaves and petals, sprinkling them in. Shaving off marrow on the bone, she placed the shavings in. Following that, the girl split the lemon in half, then peeling one half's skin off, putting it into the beaker and squeezing the juice of the actual fruit into it. "And now for the finale!"

 

The girl a lid on the beaker, rubbed her hands together, and then placed them against the beaker. As her hands glowed, a brilliant flash of light, followed by a surge of heat and force followed. When the light died down, the both the girl and beaker seemed to be intact and the beaker seemed to be filled with a blue liquid that seemed to glow with shifting colors like fire. "Perfect!"  Pulling the cork off, the girl smelled her concoction saying, "energizing. Anyway, thank you Cherry Heart. Making this would not have been possible without your help, and for that both I and science! thank you. As a reward, here you are." Pouring the liquid into three smaller vials, she handed one off to Deku, Lily and Fen. As she gave it out to Lily, she looked at the stone golem, saying, "well. I'm sure you'll find some use for it."  

 

As Fen looked at the potion she got, the girl asked, "so, what does it do?" 

 

"I haven't the faintest idea. I just picked random ingredients and wanted to see what they'd make. And look, it's blue! And glows! So I'd call it a success." Looking more enthusiastic at the party she then said, "but if you find out, please tell me. More tests are the only way to make sure something gets perfected! Once again, I thank you Cherry Heart and if I ever need more ingredients collected I'll know who to call. And if you want just general potions at completely ungeneral quality, sold at affordable prices you know right where to come." After switching to a salesperson, the alchemist seemed to then stop caring about the party, and went right back to whatever work she was doing prior to their arrival. 

 

QUEST COMPLETE

 

Check OOC.