[CHQ] Scour the Woods

[Alaina]

 

Guilds were not the only thing that the city of Arbolia had to offer. As it was a place that many an adventurer looked to start their journeys in, businesses of all kinds that dealt in supplying these adventurers sprung up like weeds as well. The group would be directed to one such place from their quest form. They were to visit an apothecary known as "Cosmic Fire," an odd one at that, to help them forage ingredients for a new recipe the owner was coming up with. Even with directions, the being among the crowd of other shops and buildings, it might've proven difficult to fight. However, as they would walk through the streets, they would here an almost boom sound coming from a nearby building. One building that a sign in gold letters atop it that read "Cosmic Fire." 

 

Once they entered the building, they would be greeted with a strange sight. Lining the walls were all kinds of herbs, plants, potions, salves and other such concoctions. The floor itself was was wooden, though it had quite a few scorch marks and glass shards almost randomly strewn across it. In front of them would be a large wooden desk, somewhat scorched as well, with a lavender haired girl, resting her elbows on top of it; in one had a broken beaker, in the other her face. While the girl seemed to be muttering about something she then looked up and saw that there were other people inside. Her expression was of an initial frustration, only to then shift to confusion as she said, "wait what are you all doing here? Didn't I leave the sign outside at closed? Or is it at open? Wait, do I even have a sign?" The girl looked away trying to wonder if she ever got around to purchasing it but looked back to them. 

 

"Hm, well you're here now," she said decisively. Without turning her head, the girl tossed the beaker behind her before chippering up and saying, "well welcome folks to the Cosmic Fire, best apothecary and run by the Greatest Alchemist of all time, Zvesda Yuri," she pointed to herself with pride, "this side of Arbolia- no! This side of whatever this continent is named, I kind of forgot." She said this without shame or pause. "So, how can I help you all today?"  

[Hakima]

---

Jīn walked with the group through the streets, surprised to be next to the shortest in the group, though it didn’t bother him. He had been tall compared to the monks at five-foot-eleven, but most of the people he had met in Arbolia had been taller than he was used to. Maybe Arbolians were just taller on average than those from Jianghu? It certainly seemed to be the case, standing next to the fair-haired younger man and the towering construct of rock. Fen was the shortest of the group by far, but Jīn was sure that he spotted some Jianghu ancestry in her.

 

He pushed the thought away and looked up toward the sky, shielding his eyes from the sun. It was bright and high, and Jīn had donned a cloak that covered most of his body to keep the harsh rays off his already sensitive skin. He was glad that he had done it, but everyone he passed stopped to cast him a suspicious look, and he wasn’t sure why. Were cloaks a foreign concept in Arbolia?

 

An explosion jolted him out of his hypothesizing, and Jīn glanced around for the source of it. It seemed to have been coming from a quaint little shop on the side of the street, with a sign hanging above the door, still shaking from the explosion, that read “Cosmic Fire”. “That’s our destination, yes?” he asked the rest of the group, then headed for the door and peeked inside. It was… striking, to say the least. Jīn glanced over the room, stopping when he noticed a cute woman behind a large wooden desk. Her face was covered by soot, as was the area around her, and she was holding a broken beaker in her offhand.

 

She looked up as he stepped inside, confused. "Wait what are you all doing here? Didn't I leave the sign outside at closed? Or is it at open? Wait, do I even have a sign?" She looked away, at nothing specific Jīn could notice, and then looked back at them. "Hm, well you're here now," she said decisively. Without turning her head, the girl tossed the beaker behind her before chippering up and saying, "well welcome folks to the Cosmic Fire, best apothecary and run by the Greatest Alchemist of all time, Zvesda Yuri," she pointed to herself with pride, "this side of Arbolia- no! This side of whatever this continent is named, I kind of forgot." She said this without shame or pause. "So, how can I help you all today?"  

 

Jīn stepped fully into the shop and approached her desk. His hood was still up, casting a shadow over his face that accentuated his eyes and the sharpness of his features, completely changing the tone of his the otherwise friendly smile painted across his face into something more sinister. “I’m Jīn, and we’re members of the Cherry Heart guild. You asked for help gathering materials for a new project?”

[Yui]

---

The trip to their destination had been an uneventful one. Short of meeting Deku - who was now joining her for this quest - at the guild hall, Lily couldn't really make any remarks about the rest of her day so far either. However, getting to take a quest that led her into a forest was more than welcome. She could definitely be more helpful here than she had been at the lake, by simple virtue of being surrounded by plant life. This kind of quest was much more her style. However, the client was not quite what Lily had expected.

 

Lily's mental image of alchemists had always been predominantly elderly men, sickly old figures that were nearly decaying where they stood, but with vast reserves of wisdom to make up for their physical shortcomings. However, as she and her guildmates entered the shop, it turned out Lily's guess couldn't be more off the mark. A young woman, face showing her confusion to the guildmates, as she proceeded to not know if she had a sign outside the shop or not. However, she seemed to shake it off fairly easily.

 

"Hm, well you're here now. Well welcome folks to the Cosmic Fire, best apothecary and run by the Greatest Alchemist of all time, Zvesda Yuri, this side of Arbolia- no! This side of whatever this continent is named, I kind of forgot. So, how can I help you all today?"

 

“I’m Jīn, and we’re members of the Cherry Heart guild. You asked for help gathering materials for a new project?”

 

"I am Lily, also from Cherry Heart. If it is not too much trouble, Zvesda Yuri, we will require all the details on these ingredients you need for your project." Straight to the point. As much as she would have loved to stick around and learn about alchemy, work always came first. There would be time to play later.

---

[Super Chaos Sonic]

-The Punching Bag Wizard-

 

"Hm, well you're here now. Well welcome folks to the Cosmic Fire, best apothecary and run by the Greatest Alchemist of all time, Zvesda Yuri, this side of Arbolia- no! This side of whatever this continent is named, I kind of forgot. So, how can I help you all today?"

 

“I’m Jīn, and we’re members of the Cherry Heart guild. You asked for help gathering materials for a new project?”

 

"I am Lily, also from Cherry Heart. If it is not too much trouble, Zvesda Yuri, we will require all the details on these ingredients you need for your project."

 

Deku remained quiet for a few moments, his hands in his pockets as he looked around the shop of the Cosmic Fire. He had to admit, this was the first time he ever stepped foot into an apothecary before. Nevertheless, it was an interesting experience to say the least on seeing the style and type of place that was run by an alchemist.

 

He let those in his team speak first, before looking back at Zvesda Yuri and waved a bit. "I'm Deku Shinobu. Hope you weren't waiting too long for some help." he chuckled a bit, before putting his hand back into his pocket.

 

Deku was, however, still surprised by the alchemist's appearance. Most stories and things he read regarding alchemists seemed to put them as looking old and wrinkley. This didn't seem to paint the same picture he was seeing before him. Then again, stories were always just someone's opinions and even viewpoints...didn't mean it WAS exactly just that.

 

"Sooooo, what exactly are you making, Miss Yuri?"

[Alaina]

As the hooded man started to approach the girl at the counter, her face seemed to be unchanging in expression as she stared right at him. However, one would be able to see her arm fumbling around underneath her desk, as if looking for something. As her hand closed around a glass bottle of some kind, her face then relaxed as she said, "oh," upon hearing what the man was there for. Pulling up a bottle labeled "Dragon's Fire" as she threw her arms to the side saying, "well, glad to see a guild answered my request of utmost importance! Well good, get to it!" With a slight pause she then turned to the golem as they introduced themselves and said, "ah, right! The detai- Wait! Are you a talking golem! That's so awesome!" The girl nearly smashed the bottle in her hand on the desk in enthusiasm, though came to a complete stop with her arm before the two collided. Setting the bottle gently down, she then seemed to be eyeing Lily with intense curiosity, trying to probe just what made the stone creature work. 

 

As the Deku boy introduced himself, her eyes were still locked on Lily as she said, "what was I making? Something explosive! As you can see, it worked very well," she gestured to her soot covered face. "As for what I need these ingredients for, well, that's a secret! None may know what a potion does before it is made after all! Now then, as the kids say, get to steppin' and -"

 

"Um."

 

The Alchemist's eyes darted over to Fen as she had been interrupted. "What?" 

 

"The uh, ingredients?" 

 

"Right!" Zvesda's expression perked up as she turned back to Lily saying, "sorry my Stone Flower Friend. Ahem, what I need from you all is the following. First, the petals of a Sun Flower! Note, there's a space between the words. They look pretty similar to their unspaced cousins except for their petals. Which glow. Like fire! It's pretty awesome. And they're pretty rare. Next! The leaves from an Azure Oak Tree! You'll probably know it when you see it! Following that, some Lemons! And finally, the arm bone of an Egg Bear! Now I've never seen an egg bear before but I'm sure they're absolutely harmless and maybe adorable. So, that all you folks need?"   

 

[spoiler=OOC]

If you guys have any more questions you can ask Zvesda them now, otherwise you'll be time skipped to the forest. For the most part, it'll just look like you're average fantasy forest with trees, flowers, bushes and other such flora. Some rodents would be scampering about too. But that's about it. 

 

 

[Yui]

---

"Ah, right! The detai- Wait! Are you a talking golem! That's so awesome!"

 

"Yes. Do most golems not speak?" Lily paid little mind to the alchemist's enthusiasm, or at least she seemed to. She was actually quite flattered to have someone so excited to see a golem, though the eyeing she got from the girl made her mildly uncomfortable. She wasn't about to denounce the girl's curiosity though, and she was the client for this quest. Lily opted to stay quiet on the matter. After a bit more conversation among the fleshier folks gathered here, Zvesda finally got around to explaining to the guild what exactly she needed.

 

"Ahem, what I need from you all is the following. First, the petals of a Sun Flower! Note, there's a space between the words. They look pretty similar to their unspaced cousins except for their petals. Which glow. Like fire! It's pretty awesome. And they're pretty rare. Next! The leaves from an Azure Oak Tree! You'll probably know it when you see it! Following that, some Lemons! And finally, the arm bone of an Egg Bear! Now I've never seen an egg bear before but I'm sure they're absolutely harmless and maybe adorable. So, that all you folks need?"

 

"Sun flower petals, azure oak tree leaves, lemons, and arm bone from an egg bear." Lily repeated. "Understood. We will return with these ingredients." With that, Lily started outside. She aimed to get information. And who better to ask about the forest, then the forest itself? Once outside, Lily turned to the first tree she could spot, and started walking toward it.

 

"Excuse me," she said to the tree, looking up to its branches and leaves. "We are entering this forest in search of alchemical ingredients. Do you know where we can locate a sun flower? There is a space between the words; the flower glows."

---

[Super Chaos Sonic]

-The Punching Bag Wizard-

 

"what was I making? Something explosive! As you can see, it worked very well. As for what I need these ingredients for, well, that's a secret! None may know what a potion does before it is made after all! Now then, as the kids say, get to steppin' and -"

 

Truthfully, Deku wondered if the explosive concoction was the only thing that worked successfully. Cause from his point of view, it seemed like she possibly fried a few brain cells in the process. But then again, that probably wasn't the case due to this alchemist knowing what she was doing...at least he HOPED she did.

 

"Right! Sorry my Stone Flower Friend. Ahem, what I need from you all is the following. First, the petals of a Sun Flower! Note, there's a space between the words. They look pretty similar to their unspaced cousins except for their petals. Which glow. Like fire! It's pretty awesome. And they're pretty rare. Next! The leaves from an Azure Oak Tree! You'll probably know it when you see it! Following that, some Lemons! And finally, the arm bone of an Egg Bear! Now I've never seen an egg bear before but I'm sure they're absolutely harmless and maybe adorable. So, that all you folks need?"

 

"Sun Flowers...Azure Oak leaves...lemons...and an arm bone of an Egg Bear..." Deku mumbled to himself, trying to remember the ingredients for the alchemist. Though what worried him was the Egg Bear. While not actually seeing one up close, he had heard some stories. And while some were just them being like the alchemist said, harmless and adorable...the other ones were pretty different. Like life threatening.

 

I could be thinking of something like a badger mole or something...can never remember. he thought, before sighing slightly before pulling his hands from his pockets and putting them behind his head. Deku looked over at the alchemist and smiled. "No worries, miss! We'll get these ingredients for you in no time flat!"

[Hakima]

---

Jīn scratched his chin, goatee rustling, as he tried to recall why the name “Egg Bear” seemed familiar to him. He was sure they weren’t an animal native to Jianghou… He shook his head, ignoring the feeling in the pit of his stomach. Sun Flower, Azure Oak leaves, lemon, and the arm bone of the bear. That wasn’t so bad, he thought.

 

“That’s enough,” he said under his breath, in response to her inquiry. Lily seemed to be on top of getting the location of these items from the alchemist, and Deku was presumably in the same position he was at that moment.

 

Hoping to get them answers, he began to pester Sun Wukong about his own experience with Egg Bears.

---

[Alaina]

Fen was a bit curious at the term "eggbear" quite like everyone else. She was sure she had heard of them before, more than likely from home. But outside of what it might've looked like on a platter, she couldn't remember any other detail about it. Regardless, with no questions left to ask, the group eventually left the Alchemist's shop, leaving Zvesda to her own alchemical devices. Once outside, Lily would find a tree that wasn't too far away from the shop, and as she asked the tree a question, it seemed to be pensive for a bit. It's voice was low and slow as it said, "hmmm, a Sun Flower. With a space. A flower. That glows. Hmmm." It seemed to think on this for a bit before saying, "I've heard of. Them. From the others in. The Forest. Down that way." As if on cue, the leaves of the tree seemed to rustle in the direction of the forest. If Lily asked any of the other trees still in the city of Arbolia, she'd hear similar things. 

 

With that, the group ended up walking to the Budding Forest, a large collection of trees, plants and wildlife that was just a short walk away from the city of Arbolia. It was a definite hot spot for up an coming adventurers, rife with special plants and smaller monsters, which was where it earned its name from. The interior of the forest was quite shaded, and there was a singular dirt path laid out before the group. Inside the forest, were Lily to ask a nearby plant a similar question to that of what she did in Arbolia, it would say, "a Sun Flower, hm? I've heard talk of a flower that glows deeper into the forest. Just follow the path and take a left. It should be a bit off the beaten road, but I can't be any more specific then that. After all, I've never walked there myself." The tree let out a chuckle, quite amused by its own joke. "I've heard its quite a spectacle to see, though, they tend to be surrounded by less than friendly of my kin, so do watch your step." 

 

As the group set out, Fen looked to the others and asked, "is that a thing she does often?" In regards to Lily talking to the plants, a bit confused as to what it was she was doing. 

[Super Chaos Sonic]

-The Punching Bag Wizard-

 

"is that a thing she does often?"

 

"Hm?" Deku asked, hearing Fen's question, although it wasn't specifically directed at any certain person. He looked over at Lily, who was doing her thing, and he only shrugged. "In all honesty...I have no clue." Deku admitted before rubbing the back of his head. "I only met her back at the guild when I returned from my first mission...quest thing. All I really got was the name."

 

Speaking of which...he WAS in the presence of new individuals, so he knew he had to introduce himself to them.

 

"By the way, I'm Deku Shinobu." Deku introduced himself with a smile. "Lived in a small village near the Valais Mountains before joining the guild. And you guys are?" He hoped, that none of them were like the reptile druid chick...she wasn't the friendliest of individuals to chit chat with, so he hoped they were like Lily.

[Yui]

---

"Hmmm, a Sun Flower. With a space. A flower. That glows. Hmmm. I've heard of. Them. From the others in. The Forest. Down that way."

 

"I see. Thank you for your time." Lily gave the tree a short, respectful bow before trying other trees. They all gave her similar answers, and she responded with similar expressions of gratitude.

---

Eventually, the time came for the guild to set off into the forest proper. Once there, Lily of course made a point to ask the local trees about the sun flower. This t ime, she received a much more helpful answer.

 

"A Sun Flower, hm? I've heard talk of a flower that glows deeper into the forest. Just follow the path and take a left. It should be a bit off the beaten road, but I can't be any more specific then that. After all, I've never walked there myself. I've heard its quite a spectacle to see, though, they tend to be surrounded by less than friendly of my kin, so do watch your step."

 

"I understand. Thank you."

 

"Is that a thing she does often?"

 

"Hm? In all honesty...I have no clue. I only met her back at the guild when I returned from my first mission...quest thing. All I really got was the name."

 

Guildmates, right. She had those now. It was still taking a bit of getting used to that Lily was no longer a solo adventurer. The golem turned and joined the others, as Deku reintroduced himself for the other fleshlings gathered here, and asked who everyone else was. Lily answered first. "I am Lily." Her emerald eye turned toward the girl among them specifically, before continuing "I have the ability to communicate with plant life. That tree up ahead was kind enough to provide us with directions to a sun flower; when we reach a fork in the road later, we are to turn left. It should be just a bit off the beaten path, it said, but it also said to be wary of less friendly trees that will likely guard it."

 

This was definitely a quest Lily was well-suited for.

---

[Alaina]

As the boy responded to her, she realized that it was probably a silly question as none of them had actually been apart of the guild for all that long. This made his answer of him not really knowing much about the golem something she then expected, but then went on to introduce himself. As the golem, Lily, reintroduced herself as well, Fen had realized that she hadn't actually done one for herself yet and felt a bit embarrassed at that. "Ah, right, I'm Fen." She gave a small little bow to the rest of her teammates after that. "I um, come from Fraxinus and uh, yeah..." She wasn't entirely sure how much she should actually say for a proper introduction, and didn't feel like it would be polite to just start rant about herself. As such, she kept quiet as Lily told them about the ability she had and what exactly she had learned from the forest. Fen was certainly astounded at the ability she had, and nodded when they were given a direction to get going in. 

 

As the group continued to travel along the path through the woods, they were eventually met with a fork in the road. Also the path split, one road that went to the left, one the right and one straight ahead. While the group was more than likely ready to get going to the left, they would suddenly hear something that sounded like yelps from a female voice, and something akin to a dog barking. 

 

Were  the group to travel left they would eventually come across a bit of shrubbery off the beaten path, that then went showed a collection of the flowers they were looking for. Though the flowers seemed to be sitting in what appeared to be an island surrounded by almost writhing vines.

 

If they went to the right though, they would say a girl who seemed to be engaged with what appeared to be a pack of green furred wolves, with almost leaf like patches across their bodies. The girl seemed to be fending them off, and while she herself didn't seem to have much of a worried look on her face, it was clear that she was not in a good situation. 

[Super Chaos Sonic]

-The Punching Bag Wizard-

 

Deku got to be introduced to Fen, as now the group were told by Lily that there was a fork in the road up ahead and that they were to go left. Sorta was beneficial for an individual who could talk to plants and trees on their team then. This might even be a bit of a cakewalk for them if this kept proceeding!

 

 

If only it were that simple...

 

Upon arriving at the fork in the road, the group immediately heard the sounds of a yelp from a woman and barking from dogs, originating from the right path. Deku looked at each path and debated on what to do. On one hand, they could go left like Lily said. They could finish their mission without a hitch... Then again, if he went right, he could see what was going on.

 

Jeez... he thought, running his hands through his hair for a moment. After a second to think, Deku immediately took off running on the right path. Right path it is then! he thought, hearing the sounds of the yelps and barking getting louder and louder.

 

Upon arriving at the source, he saw a girl in a situation where she was engaged with a pack of green furred wolves. Deku began to grit his teeth some, before sighing and started conjuring up an orange Magic Seal around his feet. With a deep breath, he rushed towards the pack of wolves and lifted his leg back and kicked the nearest wolf in the side.

 

-BGM-

 

"REFLECTOR BURST!!" Deku shouted, watching the wolf he kicked get knocked back quite a bit away. He now shifted himself in front of the girl and took a defensive stance. "Alright! You just stay behind me, I'll take care of them!"

 

Soon Deku had Magic Seals around both his feet and his fists as well. With a bit of a smirk, he stood there, waiting to see what the wolves would do.

[Yui]

---

With a bit more walking, the group had come to a fork in the road. As per the tree's instructions from earlier, Lily was ready to go left at the fork. The other options were to move straight ahead, and to the right. Perhaps she'd head down those paths later, if the ingredients she needed were in those directions. However, as Lily was about to start down the left path, she heard a barking, and a person. It came from the right. Lily wanted to investigate, and it seemed Deku had the same idea. He started down the right path, and the golem followed. When they arrived, they saw a girl, being attacked by wolves. Deku made the first move, attacking the wolves and getting them away from the girl.

 

With the wolves away from the girl... well, she didn't want to hurt the wolves. At the same time, she couldn't just leave the fight. Lily was more focused on trying to defuse the fight rather than win it. She turned her attention to a nearby tree. Then to the wolves. Lily had an idea. She extended her stone hands outward, pointing one toward the wolves, and the other toward whatever tree was closest to them. Bind. If all went well, Lily could bind the wolves for a bit and get the girl out peacefully. Hopefully wolves didn't like chewing on plant life. She'd feel bad if that's how it went.

---

[Alaina]

Despite the situation, the purple haired girl locked into combat with the wolves didn't seem to be all that worried. Holding out a quarterstaff, as if to defend herself, she said, "well, I'm sure we can just talk this out. After all-" before she could finish a brown haired boy appeared out of nowhere kicking one of the wolves away from her. "Oh my!" She exclaimed, with both surprise and delight at the sudden turn of the situation. Clapping a bit, she said, "oh no worries, I'll stand right here. Go gettem! Yeah!" She seemed strangely enthused to watch Deku punch some wolves. The other wolves, however, were not amused by this at all. There were five, the one he kicked seeming to struggle to get back up on its feet, and they all were now snarling and baring their teeth at the boy. As one leaped at him, it, and one behind it, was suddenly restrained by the surrounding vegetation seeming to conspire against them and bind them in place.

 

The two wolves started to struggle but no matter how hard they tried, the vegetation wouldn't let up. With only two wolves being actually able to fight, and the odds suddenly being turned drastically against them, the other three wolves merely let one final threatening bark out before scampering back into the forest. With that out of the way, the girl merely waved to the wolves saying, "good bye my leaf fur friends. You shall be dearly missed." Nodding to herself for a moment she then looked back to the Cherry Heart group saying, "well, hello there friends. Thanks for saving my bacon...no wait I don't have any bacon on me...but thanks for saving me! Even without bacon!" 

[Super Chaos Sonic]

-The Punching Bag Wizard-

 

Deku was just staring the wolves down, watching them before glancing back and hearing the young purple haired girl speak.

 

"Oh no worries, I'll stand right here. Go gettem! Yeah!"

 

"Heh, no worries!" he said, flicking a thumb over his nose some, before glancing back and noticing a wolf trying to jump at his blind spot. However, he noticed that it and the wolf behind it were instantly bound and restrained by the surrounding vegetation. "What?" he began to question, before noticing Lily and nodding, before giving the golem a thumbs up. "Nice one Lily!"

 

It wasn't long before the other wolves saw the situation change and immediately turned tail and ran off. "Yeah! You better run away!" he shouted, before dusting his hands off a bit, turning around to face the young girl. "I don't think they'll be bothering you again, miss."

 

"Well, hello there friends. Thanks for saving my bacon...no wait I don't have any bacon on me...but thanks for saving me! Even without bacon!"

 

Deku looked at her, questioning what she was rambling about for a bit, but shrugged as he put his hands into his pockets before smiling. "No thanks necessary! Your just lucky we heard the commotion on our way to our mission." he said, before looking over at Lily and then back at the girl. "Oh right, introductions. I'm Deku Shinobu and this over here is Lily. We're from the Cherry Heart guild."

[Yui]

---

"Well, hello there friends. Thanks for saving my bacon...no wait I don't have any bacon on me...but thanks for saving me! Even without bacon!"

 

"No thanks necessary! You're just lucky we heard the commotion on our way to our mission. Oh right, introductions. I'm Deku Shinobu and this over here is Lily. We're from the Cherry Heart guild."

 

This girl may be a bit odd. Not able to tell for certain yet. Lily nodded when mentioned by name, and followed the introduction up with a "Pleased to meet you." As much as she would have loved to sit around and chat with another human though, there were still jobs to be done. Like finding those ingredients. Sun flowers were the other way, but perhaps if she asked around, there may be another ingredient nearby? That was Lily's logic as she walked up to the nearest tree, and looked up to its leaves. In her experience, they preferred having their leaves and branches looked at instead of the trunks. Or was that just specific types of trees, and some were more proud of their trunks than the branches and leaves?

 

Oh well.

 

"Excuse me," Lily said. "I and a few other adventurers are here to collect alchemical ingredients. We are looking for an azure oak tree, a lemon, and an egg bear. Are any of those things near here?"

[Hakima]

---

Jīn was feeling quite foolish. Preoccupied with quizzing Sun Wukong on Egg Bears, he been left behind by his guildmates. His spiritual companion had been rather tight-lipped on the matter, not feeling very up for sharing that day, saying things like, “they’re bears that hatch from eggs”and “they’re big, smell bad, with hair all over”. He hadn’t been of much help.

 

Jīn whistled for Peng to swoop down and hopped onto the cloud, hustling to catch up with his guildmates. He spotted them in the forest, hard to make out beneath the foliage. Were they… talking to someone? He jumped off of Peng and fell twenty feet, conjuring up a soft cloud to catch him so that he didn’t break any bones when his feet touched the ground, right beside his guildmates.

 

“Sorry that I’m late,” he said. His face colored. “I, erhm, got a bit distracted inquiring about the Egg Bear.” He turned to face the girl that he didn’t recognize. She was purple-haired, which was odd, but he wouldn’t make a habit of judging others based off appearances. “Hello, my name is Jīn,” he smiled. “I’m with them. We’re part of a guild on a mission to--”

 

Sun Wukong interrupted him, mentally. “They’ve heard that already. Guaranteed.”

 

“...Right. Ah, well…” Jīn was glad to have a hood up, his face shadowed, so that no one could see the look on his face. He was really messing up this whole “people” thing.

---

[Alaina]

As the group introduced themselves, the girl's face lit up as she said, "ooooooh, guild goers?! How exciting!" The girl pointed to herself saying, "my name is Agina, and I too am from a guild. The great and glorious Lemon Soul!" She seemed to carry great pride in that name, though, it would be fairly unrecognizable to everyone around here. 

 

Fen looked a bit confused at the name saying, "Lemon Soul?" 

 

The girl nodded saying, "yes, yes.The greatest of all guilds in the world! Or well, it will be, eventually, probably." She seemed to trail off a bit at that before looking back to Lily, who had asked her a question. The girl seemed to look at the stone golem for a second, not really saying anything, merely just processing what they were looking at, before brightening back up, overhearing their question to the...tree and saying, "oh! You're on a mission! How wonderful. Let me think, let me think." After ruminating on it for a bit, she then said, "aha! Well, I have no idea where you'd find an egg bear...nor have I ever actually heard of one, but it sounds exciting! As for the others, this forest has a lot of different Azure Oak trees scattered about, not really in any one specific spot but if you keep wandering about you'll be certain to find them. Despite the name, the bark itself isn't actually blue so don't let that throw you off!"

 

The tree itself merely said, "there are a few nearby. Old Bobert is probably the closest one and uh hmmmm. I haven't seen him since all these sproutlings started blocking my view, but he was probably down the path left of this one. I don't think I know what this Egg Bear thing is, but I've seen a lot of bear like creatures wander through these woods before so...good luck. As for lemons....hmmm....never heard of 'em."

 

The girl seemed to think about it more for a second saying, "as for lemons well...I suppose you could just buy those at a store but - oh! Those lemons!" She seemed to have an epiphany before saying, "those are very rare indeed, and I myself was on en-route to find one before I uh, got split off and nearly got eaten- you know how it goes." As the final guild member made his way into the scene, the girl gave him a wave and a greeting with equal vigor as before saying, "hi Jin, I'm Agina. And I too am part of a guild on a mission!" Despite the act seeming rather patronizing the girl herself seemed entirely sincere in the greeting. 

[Super Chaos Sonic]

-The Punching Bag Wizard-

 

"My name is Agina, and I too am from a guild. The great and glorious Lemon Soul!"

 

Lemon Soul? That name didn't exactly ring a bell for Deku, if he was honest. But the fact that she was from a magic guild proved that she probably was a pretty impressive mage. Then again, now that he thought about it, perhaps this Agina was able to handle those wolves by herself. With a quick shake of his head, Deku threw that thought immediately out of his mind.

 

He was taking action and making sure the lady was alright. That was all. No need to dwell on IF she could.

 

"Oh! You're on a mission! How wonderful. Let me think, let me think. aha! Well, I have no idea where you'd find an egg bear...nor have I ever actually heard of one, but it sounds exciting! As for the others, this forest has a lot of different Azure Oak trees scattered about, not really in any one specific spot but if you keep wandering about you'll be certain to find them. Despite the name, the bark itself isn't actually blue so don't let that throw you off!"

 

"Well we know the location of one item...it being the Sun Flowers." Deku mentioned, before taking his hands out of his pockets and putting them in front of him, showing a small gap between them. "Space between the two words included. They were on the left path...but the other stuff is still needing to be found." he said, before rubbing the back of his head. "But if what your saying about the Azure Oak trees is right, then that's another ingredient we can check off!"

 

"As for lemons well...I suppose you could just buy those at a store but - oh! Those lemons! Those are very rare indeed, and I myself was on en-route to find one before I uh, got split off and nearly got eaten- you know how it goes."

 

Actually...this was quite lucky for them. Agina was en-route to find these exact lemons they were looking for. With a small smile, Deku chuckled. "Well if that's the case, maybe we can find these lemons real quick then. If you want, maybe you can stick with us for a bit. Maybe we'll find your guild along the way." He felt good right now. He did like to help those he came in contact with and right now, this also benefited the group. The sooner they found the lemons the better!

[Alaina]

Agina seemed quite curious about the sunflower they were looking for, only to perk up as she realized that it was instead a sun flower. She hadn't seen one of those in quite some time, but remembered them to be quite beautiful looking. As Deku then brought up the suggestion of bringing her along with the group to go and search the forest together. Clapping her hands together she said, "oh I hadn't thought of that! That does sound like a good plan. Though, I do like wandering the forest myself sometimes. Oh but if a wolf were to eat me that'd be very bad. Hm." She seemed to be seriously considering the two options before nodding and saying, "well if you'd be fine to have me then I'll certainly come along!" 

 

Fen looked to the other two, and given that they seemed to have no objection, the girl merely nodded back at Agina. Her expression becoming far more enthusiastic she then said, "very good! Well, I suppose I'll help you out first before you help me out. After all, I'm not eaten thanks to you all!" She let out a strangely emphatic chuckle before pointing her staff in the direction that the group said to be going. 

 

Back tracking across the road, the group then went on to the left path until they were met with a small shrubbery. Beyond that, they'd be able to find the glowing flower that they had been looking for. True to description, it looked to be an ordinary sun flower with petals that glowed like fire. The flowers seemed to be growing atop some kind of moss covered rock, and was not too far a distance away from the group. Before they would approach however, Agina would simply say, "wait." As she did, she pointed to the mass of vines on the ground that had large patches of leaves over top some of them, as if to be concealed, albeit rather poorly. The vines then seemed didn't appear to move, though there were a few areas where the group could see them writhe a bit. "Assassin vines," she stated. "They usually don't live in such large clumps like this, but I suppose the sun flower is super pretty enough that enough wild life is drawn here regardless. if you like your limbs, or living in general, walking on top of them is very ill-advised." Despite the grim message she just conveyed, Agina still seemed to be as cheery as ever.

 

Fen, however, gulped a bit at the news. Her mind briefly wandered to what kind of uses the vines might have as some kind of side-vegetable, but she quickly shook that off as she realized that getting one would be a not so smart idea. Unsure how to get past them, the girl looked over to her other guild members and said, "so, what do you think we should do?"

 

[spoiler=OOC]

So yeah, just talk or try to do something in order to get over the viney obstacle. If you have any questions about the terrain or stuff feel free to ask. 

 

Also will just say here that both Hakima and Yui have accrued a strike for not posting within 10 days and not making any sort of mention or notion that they were going to post here at all or not post, for that matter. At three strikes I'll simply eject you from the quest, so try to make sure not to get that far. 

 

 

[Hakima]

---

Jīn cautiously surveyed the vines. He had the strangest sense of deja vu, which lead to him believing that Zongshi Wukong must have have run into assassin vines at some point. Getting any information from the Monkey King had proved entirely too difficult that day, though.

 

Unsure how to get past them, the girl looked over to her other guild members and said, "so, what do you think we should do?"

 

Jīn flashed what he thought was a disarming smile. “I can get us past this, don’t worry. Watch and learn!” He clapped his hands and rubbed them together, a golden glow surrounding them, and then blew a weak stream of air between his fingers. A wispy trail of gold flowed out, landing on top of the vines, and slowly forming a fluffy golden bridge over top them.

 

It looked like something out of a storybook. Jīn smiled at the others. “Good to go!”

[Super Chaos Sonic]

-The Punching Bag Wizard-

 

"Oh I hadn't thought of that! That does sound like a good plan. Though, I do like wandering the forest myself sometimes. Oh but if a wolf were to eat me that'd be very bad. Hm, well if you'd be fine to have me then I'll certainly come along!"

 

Deku smiled as Agina seemed to take his proposal of her joining the party for the time being to heart and accept it. He figured it would be better for them to stick together, especially if the wolves came back again. And it seemed that the party also had no grievances with her joining for the time being. Besides, Deku thought of it as being a small temporary arrangement here anyway.

 

"Alrighty! Let's get going!" he chuckled before turning back in the other direction and walked back in the opposite path.

 

 

After a while, it was just finally in sight: the Sun Flower that the alchemist had mentioned. The petals on the flower were glowing like fire, true to what the alchemist described to them. "There we go!" he smirked, preparing to move forward towards the flower. "One dow-"

 

"Wait."

 

Deku stopped dead in his tracks, hearing Agina say this and he moved back slightly before looking back at the young lady, who immediately moved and showed Deku and the others of Cherry Heart what they were up against now.

 

"Assassin vines. They usually don't live in such large clumps like this, but I suppose the sun flower is super pretty enough that enough wild life is drawn here regardless. if you like your limbs, or living in general, walking on top of them is very ill-advised."

 

Ooooof course it can't be that easy. Deku sighed, thinking as he stared at the vines before them. Still...no ghosts throwing up ecto crap...so this is a plus still. he thought with a small nod, before hearing Fen speak.

 

"So, what do you think we should do?"

 

He was about to suggest maybe someone using a bit of fire magic if they had any to take care of the vines. Just to be cautious of the Sun Flower there. However, before Deku could suggest it, he saw that Jin created a fluffy golden bridge over the vines.

 

“Good to go!”

 

"Okay...that's pretty awesome!" Deku chuckled as he gave Jin a quick thumbs up before starting to move onto the bridge.

[Yui]

---

"Assassin vines. They usually don't live in such large clumps like this, but I suppose the sun flower is super pretty enough that enough wild life is drawn here regardless. if you like your limbs, or living in general, walking on top of them is very ill-advised."

 

"So, what do you think we should do?"

 

This didn't feel like a situation Lily was very well capable of solving as easily as she would have liked. Assassin vines didn't sound like the type of plants to move over just because a living piece of rock asked nicely. Just walking over them was absolutely a bad idea, as Agina pointed out. Unless someone were capable of flight, getting over these vines wouldn't be an easy task. It was a shame too. That sun flower was quite the sight to behold, and she was sure it had some interesting things to share if someone were capable of hearing it. That and the group's quest demanding they retrieve it put together, Lily couldn't very well just leave this flower alone. In the end, it was Jin who had the idea that got them over the vines. He created a bridge of some sort over the vines, leading them to the sun flower.

 

“Good to go!”

 

"Okay...that's pretty awesome!"

 

"Good job," Lily nodded toward Jin, following Deku onto the bridge. What kinds of things would that sun flower say, she wondered. Was it hot to the touch? It was a plant she'd never seen before, and the chance to see one so soon after learning it existed at all was rather exciting. Lily imagined the others didn't appreciate this opportunity quite like she did. Not everyone could talk to plants after all.

---

[Alaina]

Both Agina and Fen were both surprised as Jin created a bridge of golden clouds across it. Fen seemed more amazed the anything else, nodding alongside Deku and Lily's statements. As the boy and the golem started to walk across the cloud bridge, Agina clapped her hands together with a joyous expression across her face. "Excellent my new guild friends! Oh, but be sure to make it quick, they probably won't like you stick around that much." The assassin vines seemed to be really confused by the sudden golden bridge formed across them. The Assassin Vines started to wriggle around the bridges, trying to figure out just what was suddenly above them. Continuing to feel it, and it being mostly nonreactive to the cloud covering, and eventually they settled down.

 

Once the group reached the end of the path, the would be greeted with the sight of the Sun Flower. Up close, one could actually see the shifting colors resembling fire move across the petals, and both the stem and leaves seemed to give off small flecks of orange and golden light as well. The Assassin Vines began to writhe around, noticing something was atop their hunting ground, and vines started to shift around, starting to shoot out and reach for both the boy and the golem. Fen stared in horror as she started to panic, only for Agina to bluntly say, "oh this is bad." 

 

Not amused by the obvious statement, Fen said, "o-of course it is! What should we do about it?" 

 

"Hm." The girl seemed to be pensive before yelling out, "hey Deku! Lily! Don't die!" Content with all she had done, the girl nodded satisfactorily to herself.