Private Quest (Reaping Season 1) The Flavor of the Month is Rocky Road

[Aloe]

Aurora, Highmarch, Astorea
Noon
Fair skies (rare)​

One of the many forgotten, and uncharted villages of the area, Aurora is a lonely location that almost no one knows exists. They survive by the grace of hunting monsters in the area and retrieving rare gemstones and artifacts from the shadow of Titanius.

There is a string of rocks that block the main path back to the center of Astorean Civilization. If this Village is ever going to survive, they need those obstacles removed, and a clear road cut out for them, and free of any monsters...


Aloe and @Nyancy stood on the path of a long and winding road that veered between a pair of rocky, hilly cliffs. Or, at least, it would, if not for the fact that there had been a landslide that had clogged up the country highway full-stop.

"Thanks for coming Nyancy, you know I thought it was more than a little curious that I hadn't received my package yet but this... well this explains a lot, doesn't it?"

Shielding her eyes, Aloe looked the pile up and down.

"Hmmmm~ it's a little tedious but roads and victory go hand and hand, don't they? If I think about it that way I can get a little motivated. I won't be getting my very important package otherwise. I know I only asked you to show me the way, but do you think you could help me out Nyancy? I could give a parlor coupon for your trouble~"

The wind was beginning to pick up into a whipping, awful howl. This might have been considered a sign of foreboding, but in reality, it was actually the natural weather of this place. It was the fair skies that were strange. Yes, as you might have surmised, Aurora kind of sucked. There was no sugarcoating it. Aloe raised one hand to keep the winds from having her hair whip her face.

"You know, I don't like this wind, and not only because I'm going to have to brush my hair again later. If we're quick, maybe I can make it to the post office and have them refund the delivery fee."

 

[Nyancy]

Nyancy had little to no idea what was going on, what package Aloe was talking about, or really anything about the village they were heading to. Still, a hero is always willing to give a helping paw and so here she was.

"No biggie ah whateva, happy tah help someone that needs helpin an all that, ya know? Still, lemme get this straight-like, ya ordered ah package and it got stuck hea? Or ya ordered a package from this hea village and it nevah got sent?"

Nyancy scratched her forehead, it was all very confusing.

"What was in tha package? Was it not very important because if ya can return it all willy nilly doesn't seem like ya needs it much ya know?"

Still, whatever the case, Nyancy was happy to come along for a few reasons. First, it was her duty as a hero to help people that needed helping and second, as a wandering hero she enjoyed traveling and visiting new places. Jobs like these were right up Nyancy's alley.

"Well, whateva it ain't like I need to know much, just nice to be visitin' a new place an all that ah whateva. Nevah been tah this town befoah so maybe they got some special grub or ah nice view ah something."

Nyancy walked alongside Aloe as they headed toward the village on alert in case something evil was going on, but also relaxed enough to enjoy a nice walk.

@Aloe

 

[Aloe]

@Nyancy

"They're gravity stones, sometimes they fall off this place called Tertoria that I think floats or something. I dunno, I've never been there, but I thought they might be fun to play with, so I ordered some when I saw them in the Hare Mail catalogue."

Aloe's hands were now on her hips as she continued to stare at the massive rockslide. She really wasn't sure how to proceed. Her divine dice tended to play for a chance at nudging results one way or another, but this massive wall seemed rather final. Just then, she spied someone up on one the hills, he was rolling a heavy boulder down on to the path. That seemed strange, so Aloe called out to him as she waved both her arms back and forth in the air to get his attention.

"Haaaaay~! Why are are you blocking the road~? We're trying to get through you know~?"

Looking down the man, dressed in flannel and with a cap and scarf rubbed his eyes then suddenly started shouting.

"THE HELL?! DIDN'T YOU SEE THE WARNING SIGNS?! YOU HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE THEY'RE COMING YOU FOOLS!"

"Whaaat's coming~?"

"THE AURORAN VOID BEARS! THIS IS THE SEASON THEY WAKE UP FROM THEIR HIBERATION! I'LL TRY AND FIND A ROPE HURRY UP AND GET OVER HERE!"

"Hehe~ what is this guy talking about Nyancy~ void bears~? There's no way something like that exists~~~"

There was the constant sound of 'fwooping' was coming from some couple hundred something yards behind them.

"OH GODS THEY'RE HERE! TAKE THE ROPE! HURRRRRY!!!!!!!"

"I don't understand Nyancy~ I think we would have seen some bears or something~ maybe it's like a rural harvest superstition or something~"?

fwoop fwoop fwoop fwoop fwoop fwoop fwoop fwoop fwoop fwoop fwoop fwoop fwoop fwoop fwoop fwoop fwoop fwoop fwoop fwoop

Following the direction finger that the screaming man was pointing behind her...

"Oh."

...Aloe saw bears made up of purple cosmic chaos flitting in and out existence as they leapt through space using short distance warps. There were quite a few.

"THEY CAN ONLY PHASE 5 YARDS, THIS WALL IS 10 YARDS HIGH YOU HAVE TO GET UP HERE NOW! IT'S YOUR ONLY HOPE, STOP GAWKIN OR YER GONNA DIEEEE COME ON!!!!"

But Aloe was indeed gawking. It was Void bear season up in these parts. It was true. Aurora really did kind of suck.

"Oh."

"..."

"..."

"..."

 

[Nyancy]

"Void bears, eh..."

Nyancy sighed.

"It always comes down to ah fight..."

Shouting back to the old man, Nyancy quipped.

"Don't suppose they can be reasoned with ah nuthin' right?"

As the bears charge ferociously flicking in and out of existence, Nyancy began to get into battle stance.

"Figyad not... welp, good chaynse tah try my new fightin' style ah whateva. Can't let void bears goin' around runnin' amoke ah whateva. Guess I'd bettah get tah woak."

Readying herself, Nyancy began to channel the power of the Beastlord running through her veins.

"BEASTLOAHD CHAMPION STYLE!"

Suddenly, an orange aura erupted around the small Felis.

"MIDARE KISETSU!"

With her shout, Nyancy conjured four swords wrought of elemental power. The first two, one of lightning and one of wind, appeared in Nyancy's hands, a third formed of water formed in Nyancy's mouth where she bit down on it. The final, a blade of ice coalesced in the air as Nyancy wrapped her tail around it.

Holding the four blades, Nyancy charged forth.

"Covah me if ya can. This might be a lot."


@Aloe

 

[Aloe]

@Nyancy

Aloe glanced at the rope, then Nyancy, the rope, then Nyancy, then the rope, and then Nyancy once more. Everything was moving in slow motion as her future flashed before her eyes. Yes, that's right, her future. It was her funeral, only nobody was there. This made her sad. And a little angry too. Because...

"Aren't I supposed to be The Goddess of Victory?!"

She shouted with tears in her eyes.

"WHAT'RE YOU TWO IDIOTS DOING, THE ROPE DAMN IT THE ROOOOPE!"

Aloe charged after Nyancy with eyes like googly swirls, in the corners of them were her tears of victory, of fear too, but mainly victory, we can be certain. Catching up, Aloe brandished her staff, twirling it, and slamming it down to produce a barrier of twinkling rainbow sparkles. A bubble of divine energy expanded knocking back the phasing void bear cohort as she continued to yell incoherently.

"IT'S US OR THEEEEEMMMMM WAAAAAAAAAAH~!!!!!!"

The staff remained in place as Aloe's wings spread wide. The bears could no longer phase in the area and seemed momentarily confused as they began to charge once more. Their ability was being jammed by none other than Aloe's divine field as she continued to blubber.

"DIVINE JUDGEMENT! DIVINE JUDGEMENT! ALOE'S DIVINE JUDGEEEEMEEEENNNNT! ALOE BEEEAAAMMM~!"

Spinning sparkly die began to appear along the length of her wings, they would roll stop, flash a number, then begin the process again, like a slot machine or a ticking random number generator. When they did so, beams would arc and fire out before exploding on contact in a glitter of divine energy before momentarily leaving behind a twinkling script showing that same roll. Aloe couldn't----or wasn't bothering----to aim at the moment. It was pure chaos.

The void bears kept coming, numbering as many as 30-50 wild hogs, and so did the beams. Neither side seemed to be giving much ground as Nyancy was given an opening. Just then, one die descended from the heavens in front of Nyancy, sparkled and wreathed her in its glittering aura. Fate had chosen her for its blessing.

 

[Nyancy]

"Now wea talkin!"

With Aloe's magic stapling the void bears to this reality, they were prime for the taking.

"Whateva ya doin' keep doin it!"

Nyancy shouted as she charged forward. Meeting the first bear, Nyancy ducked under a swiping claw, only to spin slashing twice as the bear caught off guard burst into smoke and void matter.

"One down! Gotta keep goin'!"

The next two void bears proved more difficult to deal with. Each one seemed to be protecting the other one while attacking in waves.

"Didn't know beahs could use tactics like that but whateva, just have tah push through!"

Waiting for one of the bears to swipe, Nyancy dodged the attack and then hopped up on the bear's paw. Using it as a vaulting point, Nyancy front-flipped turning herself into a pinwheel of magic blades. Landing behind the bear. From behind, the second bear began to swipe but Nyancy was ready. Back flipping over the attack, Nyancy's tail blade struck down slicing through the bear causing it to dissipate.

"SO FAH SO GOOD! HOW YA DOIN' OVA THEA GODDESS AH VICTORY AH WHATEVA?!"

@Aloe

 

[Aloe]

"Waaaaah~ YAH~!"

Crying, Aloe ducked under a void bear's swipe and rose with a Mortal Kombat 1 Style uppercut that sent said void bear flying.

"I hate this!"

She shouted with tears in her eyes as beams continued to fire. But the bears wouldn't abate, and Nynacy's senses were totally correct, they seemed to be employing some sort of battle tactics. In fact...

"..." <--- (One void bear looked them over)

And, slowly, they started to back off and form a circle encircling Aloe and Nyancy as Aloe looked around in a confused panic.

One void bear entered the circle.

"Hold travelers lower your weapons. We shall battle you no longer…"

"Wha…?"

Aloe looked behind her, but the man was gone. It was one of the void bears who was speaking.

"We would parlay; we see now that you are not members of the village. We do not need to be enemies. Will you listen to what we have to say?"

"Huh…?"

Aloe's brain broke as she slowly lowered the dive raiment she'd summoned, stuffed full of divine dice, and had been using as a blackjack.

"B-but we j-just k-k-killed all these guys… i c-cant go to jail… I'm the g-g-godeess of victory…"

"They will reform… in time…"

"Oh… okay…"

Apparently, they would reform in time.

"And now for my story…"

Nyancy and Aloe hadn't asked.

"Long ago before Titanius these were once the golden lands of honeysuckle but that has nothing to do with this…"

"?!?!?!?!?!"

"In the times of now, the villagers have been making off with our sacred void porridge as we sleep. And so every season we awaken to rampage because we are very hungry. We would rampage upon the village instead, but the blasted villagers have discovered that we can only warp 5 yards, and so every season, they bar the path with 10 yards height in stones. This is very annoying."

("Nyancy, i don't want my package anymore, i just want to go home…")

"The villagers are like devils but their wall is a fine metaphor on life and unites us against one great enemy, so in that sense, I cannot bring myself to hate the wall. There has been peace since it entered our history, but great anger as well. It is the subject of much void bear literature."

(“Nyancy… heeey... Nyancy... let's get out of here while he's still talking…”)

"You are a beast lord champion are you not? (The Void Bear Chief turned to Nyancy in particular). As am I. Face me, and through ritualistic combat, we shall receive divine revelation from the beastlord itself. I see now that this encounter is no mere coincidence but a day of change to be scratched with claw into the annals of void bear stones. I challenge you to Bear Makgra. The winner shall decide the course of beasts this day. This is the law of nature.

"Uhm Nyancy~ what is he talking about~? ~We can go home now right~?"

As if to answer her question, a bear chant began from the surrounding void bears around them.

"BEARSHI BEARSARA BEARSHI BEARSARA BEARSHI BEARSARA BEARSHI BEARSARA"

This was no longer war, or even a battle, but a contest of natural wills. A civility that those of the two-leg kingdom had never known, and long since forgotten.


@Nyancy