WQ - Restoration of Astorea - Clearing the North

Vina overlooked the area with a sad expression, and some nervousness as well. It had already been a while since the Lion's Pride had taken the fort which the bandits had been using as their headquarters, and ever since then the bandits had been getting pushed out of Northern Astorea. Some of them returned to being more freely roaming bandits, but now that their safe haven and strong leader was no longer around a lot of them were also returning to other paths of life. There was a limit to how many bandits could be in the same area before they began to get in one another's way: the fortress and its powerful leader had provided enough prosperity, but now things were different.

But even now they were still dealing with the aftermath of the presence of these bandits. That included clearing up the mess they left behind, as they'd had enough time to make a mess of the North before being pushed out. And that wasn't even talking about the obstacles created by nature itself... With so much neglect things had been piling up, ranging from a forest grown so thickly that it could take days to cover a distance which otherwise could have been done in mere hours, and in the more mountainous regions to the north-west there were areas made completely inaccessible by boulders and rubble.

However Vina wasn't going to be dealing with anything as clean as a forest which had grown too big for its branches, or a mountain which had to stop throwing shards everywhere. Instead she had ended up with the task of clearing out a swamp. Worse yet, a swamp which the bandits had been using the dump bodies. Which meant that due to the various causes of death there was now a bunch of unhealthy stuff in the marshes and in the air, there were a bunch of animals who had become a lot more aggressive than before due to getting infected or corrupted, and some of the dead wouldn't stay down.

So in short there was poison, there was rabid animals, and there was corpses both moving and unmoving.

Vina certainly didn't mind helping, but she had to admit this task put her on edge. She'd already done her best to return the animals to normal, using the magic of song to first calm them down and then heal them insofar as that was possible, but there was also things she couldn't completely cure herself which had forced her to make some of them fall asleep until someone could help her out. It was fortunate then that she was here together with two others, who should be suited for this task as well.

Well, let's try our best to clean this place up quickly and efficiently, okay? The longer this place remains untended to the worse it'll become, so if we just clean it up nice and tidy we'll have made the area a lot safer for us and the inhabitants alike.

Her companions were one @Yukisa, who apparently wished to combine mastery of the sword with flexible movements and control over the winds, and one @Rivers Asteire, who gave the impression of being a noble and altruistic soul. Vina immediately liked the both of them, smiling widely despite her unease about their location as she tried to get some proper cooperation going.

Given that some of the animals got into contact with the nasty stuff that the bandits used we'll all have to help subdue them, and I'll try my best to cure them. Any help saving them is of course greatly appreciated by me~

She gave the two of them a quick playful bow before returning her attention to the matter at hand.

Beyond that we'll have to get rid of any undead and remove the poison and cursed magic which is causing all the trouble in the first place. I can do some of that but I'm hoping you two can help with the trickier stuff, like purifying the undead and cleaning up the air so the bad stuff doesn't just spread itself invisibly after we've finished cleaning the waters and the ground. Which parts of the task do you two think you'll excel at? I myself will do best curing the animals and the plants around here.

As long as they had a good idea of who could help with what they could get to work, and once they got to work it should go pretty smoothly according to Vina's own predictions and hopes.

 

No matter how many days and battles passed, or how many efforts Yukisa made to leave that day behind, somehow the cold, desolate northern fortress still comes back to plague him once in a while.

With the time he took to clear his head after the battle with Titanius, the white-haired male had managed to entirely forget about the gruelling quest to eliminate the Bandit King and his forces. The guilt he felt for taking part in such a massive killing had drifted away, only a slight remnant remaining with him.

However, when he went to take upon himself his third and (hopefully) final quest to assist the people of Astorea, he was once more greeted with the nightmare that was that day.

It was just Yuki’s luck, to shut his eyes, pick out a random quest and have it be “Clear the Northern Fortress.” The moment he saw the rough illustration of the fortress, recognition immediately struck him, and his heart ached.

Yet despite the pain it caused him, he still could not bring himself to refuse the request and take another. It was as Zeus said: he needed to stand tall and have heart in order to help those who could not help themselves. Not to mention, he was the kind of person who couldn’t say no when someone requested his assistance, even if it was just a poster on a billboard.

So, as fate would have it, Yukisa found himself in the abandoned stone structure once more.

Fortunately, he wasn’t alone, which put his heart at ease to some extent. Joining him were @Vina Skysong and @Rivers Asteire , two adventurers like himself. Though he didn’t know them personally, he recalled spotting their faces amongst the throngs of fighters in the battle against Titanius.

Yuki listened to Vina’s thorough explanation, nodding in agreement. Her words sounded reasonable enough, and it was definitely a relief to know they wouldn’t be killing anything or anyone this time around.

When she finished speaking, he lifted his hand in the air like a kid in class wanting to speak. “I have Aeromancy, so I can help clear the air… I think,” he offered. Though he already gained some experience with the manipulation of the winds, he wasn’t certain he was skilled enough to completely adjust the air’s composition and cleanse it quite yet. However, it was worth a shot, and he wasn’t certain if either of his companions could accomplish the same. “If not, I’m willing to help with anything else!”

The male’s pink eyes drifted away from his group members to survey the area around them. It definitely wasn’t a pleasant sight. The swamp was a dark bog, the murky waters so tainted that they nearly appeared black. He wasn’t sure what had gotten into the water, perhaps Titanius’ taint, but he got the feeling that it would be best to avoid touching it if he could.

However worse than that was the stench. It smelt like the entire ecosystem of the swamp had died ten times over instantaneously, leaving the odor of rotting flesh to drift through the dead trees. Luckily, he had used his magical abilities to create a bubble of air around his party to keep the scent out, but the moment he has to focus his energy on cleansing the air, he won’t be able to protect his companions from the wretched smell. He definitely wouldn’t want his newly made friends to feel discomfort…

“Ah…” Yukisa muttered in realization, eyes widening slightly. He turned to look back at the pair. “My name is Yukisa, by the way,” he announced, realizing he hadn’t introduced himself yet. “And you two..?”

 

Rivers had some experience with helping with the clean up of Astorea. After a bit of killing nobles, and helping some other friends, he decided to continue helping out. After all, there was still so much today. Like a whole site's worth. So, when he heard about clearing out the North, he jumped at the opportunity. Well, not literally jumped. Not that he was against jumping for things, but he didn't make a habit of it. What would it be like? This was a video game, technically. Could he just jump everywhere? Y'know, like you did in video games. No. That'd probably make him tire out quickly. Wait, what was he thinking about?

OH RIGHT! Astorea! They had to fix it! And up north too. It was gonna be cold up North. Rivers had bundled himself up for the cold and gotten ready to meet his new friends. There was a trio of them working on this mission, and Rivers hadn't met either of them before. They seemed familiar, maybe he'd caught glimpses of them during the fight against Titanius. Ugh...he was trying to repress all those memories.

First up on the introductions was @Vina Skysong. Well, it wasn't so much an introduction as it was a goal. She wanted the trio to clear up some of the obstructions in the North as efficiently as possible. Ahh efficiency, the goal of every manager and programmer alike. Rivers wondered if Vina was a manager in real life. No no. Don't worry about that. That didn't matter now.

"Sounds like a plan! I'm sure there's a lot we can do around here. Those bandits left quite a mess so there's a lot to clean up. Where do you want to start?"

Answering his question, Vina replied that she'd like to help the animals in the area. That sounded very humane of her. Perhaps she was a beast tamer, or she just liked animals. Rivers gave a nod to show his willingness to go along with this plan. Then, his other companion, @Yukisa , mentioned that he could help clear the literal air with his aeromancy. Hmmmm...Rivers couldn't contribute to that plan at all. He could stab things, heal things, and lift things. In that order of efficiency.

"I dunno about clearing the air. I can't really help with that. I have Pierce, White Magic, and Heroic Might. So maybe I could help heal some animals or we could break up some boulders or something. Whatever you both think would be best." Rivers offered a smile to them both, showing his trust in their decision. Anything they could do would help, so really it all came down to whatever they thought they could do the most efficiently. They needed to...optimize their workflow. Hehe management terms.

Yukisa introduced himself. Oh! That meant Rivers was up next. "Hi, I'm Rivers! It's nice to meet you. I've been helping out with some Astorea restoration around. It's crazy how much damage Titanius did to the landscape. I kinda thought that after we defeated it things would...be back to normal." Rivers suddenly became aware of his ramblings and turned red. He'd inconvenienced his new friends with his ramblings. "S-sorry for ramblings like that..."

 

Having @Yukisa declare himself an Aeromancer was a great relief, since Vina herself was still not that experienced with using wind magic except in combination with her music. She favoured the young man with a grateful smile, nodding and looking pleased as he explained that he could take care of the air.

That's great! I've got a little experience with wind magic myself but I'm not very good at it yet, so you'll definitely contribute a lot. Although since we'd first have to clean up the source of the corruption before purifying the air would help much maybe you can help me subdue and cure the animals until we're done removing the pollution?

She followed the man's gaze to their surroundings, her expression becoming troubled for a moment as she once again thought of what had happened here before she returned to her cheerful self, even giggling when Yukisa appeared slightly embarrassed the moment he realized he hadn't introduced himself yet.

Oh, right, I tend to get enthusiastic and forget to introduce myself. I'm Vina Skysong, and it's nice to meet both of you~

Her tail swished behind her as she also listened to the other participant introducing himself and explaining what he thought he could do, nodding as he named himself as she memorized it before moving on.

Don't worry about it, I'm happy to hear that you've been trying your best to help, and I also would like to have things return to normal as quickly as possible. Which is why our work is so important: this doesn't have anything to do with Titanius so far as I can tell, but having a pit of rot and disease lying around isn't healthy even if it's not created by a massive tentacle monster. However I think you can do more than just remove boulders and help with the animals.

She indicated towards the waters of the swamp, murky and possessing a stench one would rarely find the equal of. The entire thing spelled gloom and bad news, Vina herself taking care not to get too close even as she indicated it.

It's a nasty job, but there's corpses in there which we'll have to fish out and purify so this place won't become a breeding ground for zombies and the like.

She shuddered, the felis obviously uncomfortable with the idea of undead rising from the black waters before she regained her composure.

If you've got White Magic you'll do a much better job purifying the corpses than I'd ever do, and if you've also got Pierce and Heroic Might you should be able to drag them out without much trouble.

Looking around as if searching for somethign the druidess then walked to a nearby tree, placing her hand on the trunk and singing softly as she grabbed a piece of the tree and pulled, the wood lengthening and stretching as if she was pulling a long piece of wood out of the tree even though there was no sign of damage. Once it was long enough the stick separated from the tree, leaving no wound or marking as Vina formed a V-shape at the end of the long stick and walked back towards the other two, holding out the pole towards @Rivers Asteire.

Sorry for asking this of you, but do you think you could fish out those corpses and purify them Rivers?

While she was already holding out the pole Vina's tone wasn't insistent or pressing, her eyes gentle as she waited for his response, understanding that she was asking him to do something which most people would feel pretty dirty doing even if they had a long stick to minimize their contact with both the water and the corpses.