The Bird & The Bear - Jacob Staples (short story to read .txt) 📗

Character Summary

 

Robert Fluffington (Nicknamed SQ for Senor Quackers, his alias)

 

Summary: Abandoned by his mother and father bear, his baby body was stumbled upon by a group of ducks (a lesser species of creature in this world). These ducks more or less took him as one of their own, perhaps because his body provided them with shade.

SQ knows basic avian and common Erfen (English) language. He is 6 years old, and an adult in bear years.

Race/Class: Polar Bear with duck-like characteristics, Mage-Alchemist.

Goal: SQ wants to create a virtually unheard of rare potion of growth and puberty that advances his age and maturity. He wants to look like a duck as he believes that he only looks like a bear due to young age.

 

Fy'Ranga (Nicknamed Fy)

 

Summary: Fy is a 500 year old phoenix, born in the trees of the Dakendillo forest, whilst phoenix’s are known to Erfeners, they are not common. She spent most of her life as the guardian of her people (having been born of uncommon feather colours of light yellow and light blue instead of the normal red, yellow and orange), she is one of the only phoenix’s that can fight. She is adept in archery, and as per her ties to the fire stone, she can weild heat and control it. She can speak common Erfen, and Elfen (Elven).

Race/Class: Phoenix, Ranger-Fire Mage.

Goal: Fy has just turned 500, and as per a phoenix’s end life cycle, she must venture forth into the wilderness for the first time and find the mythical fire stone, an element of great power that provides all phoenix’s with the gift of rebirth. This stone can only be found in Phoenicia, which is kept secret by phoenix-kind but it is said to be on a massive floating island in the sky.

Episode 1 Summary

Walking through the darkened forestland filled with only the crisp smell of lodge pine and evidently a wisp of burning wood that seems to be coming from a bonfire in the distance. SQ came across a caravan of traders and gipsy folk; no sign of violence in sight, Fuzzington surely knew it was a place he would like to hang about until he arrived at the closest village or town, considering he’s been walking for so fricking long. SQ met with the caravan owner, a posh looking rat wearing a monocle named Ratty, as gentle-like as he seems there is no doubt that he is just as cunning, as most rats are. The rat offers SQ a position among some others as a mercenary whilst travelling, to protect the caravan until they get to the port of Loudwater, he is offered 50 gold pieces upon completion of this task ”you can never get enough bear protection”. SQ is clearly unknowing of the fact that he is worth far more, that cunning rat... SQ willingly accepted, knowing he was running out of money, low on adventuring gear and also Loudwater was the next town anyway, so it was a win, win situation for him, or so he presumed.

SQ and the caravan have been travelling for days, coming closer and closer to Loudwater, surely just one more day shall do it. On his travels with the caravan, he met many of the gipsy’s and grew a somewhat weird fondness to a beautiful looking blue and yellow bird the gypsy animals called her Ranger for the obvservation that she wields a hand-crafted Elfen bow, but you (viewer)  may know her as Fy. She is seen hanging about some other aviary creatures, in particularly, eagle Jon.

SQ and the others have been noticing signs of followers, rustling tree branches, shadowy figures running from one boulder to another, and the slight tinge smell of bear shit in the distance, SQ is the only bear in the group, the suspicions were correct.

We will reach the end of this journey by noon, Ratty makes an observation. “Wait, do you hear that”, suddenly, a group of grizzly bears show up from out of the rustling bushes, six to be exact.

You would think that by this time, a bear of SQ’s age, would have plenty of fighting experience, but you’d be wrong, in fact, anyone who even know’s this clumsy polar bear, would tell you that he would not succumb to killing even the most vilest of creature, i.e. the roach. But this is where it might come as a shock, as he may have just been the leading cause of victory in this battle; his first battle…

 

Battle :1

Without a single thought, SQ panics and rushes behind everyone to the caravan, and with all his might, forces it towards the group of enemies, however the disoriented slope critically affected SQ’s impulsive action, having missed all of his advesaries.

Fy takes up arms with SQ and draws her bow for a kill. But struggling in haste, she shoots an arrow too early, yielding a weaker draw-back and misses her shot.

Noticing his mistake, and Fy’s missed try, SQ believes that all is lost, that none can best the hungry fiends, he makes a break for the caravan that he had unthinkably pushed towards the scattered foes, and dives underneath it in a cowardly fashion.

Whilst the bandit bears scatter to fight the hoards of prey, Eagle Jon included, one of the bandits look up to see Fy wielding a fiery ball of light and screams in a scooby-like cowardice “Oh no, she’s magic”. One of the other bandits in the background yells “NO WE’RE MAGIC” and rips open a bird character with his teeth.

Fy reaches down behind her where SQ is hiding (beneath the caravan) and finds a piece of cloth, she uses her fire magic to light it on fire, placing it in a bottle of half empty rum and throws it towards the leader bandit bear, it frightens him as he screams “Oh no! It’s REAL magic, let’s go boiz”.

As the bandits flee, they grab a wounded Eagle Jon and run off, as they make their way onwards, the forest behinds them starts to burn, the cost of battle.

 

End of Battle :1

Low and behold, Ratty and his trading caravan have finally made it to the trading town, “alright lads, here we are, it was a wild journey indeed but we have finally made it to Loudwater”.

Arriving into town to set up shop, Ratty rewards SQ and Fy for the extra muscle. “Wha...what is this, the deal was 100 gold pieces Ratty (originally 50 but it was agreed that the other mercenaries who died in the battle would declaim their earnings to the two), where’s the rest” Fy makes a kean observation. “Well having run into those wildly rascals, and practically, single-handedly saving the day, it’s clear that some of my product was destroyed in the battle, no thanks to you two. Your halves more than make up the amount needed for damages”.

SQ and Fy accept that they may have spoken in haste, they did use his materials to bake a breakfast cake without permission afterall. They both shake Ratty’s paw and go their seperate ways.

We begin this adventure in Loudwater with SQ, he spends better-most of a day searching for anything that would get him one step closer to brewing the rare growth, puberty and maturity potion, that by this time we’ve established is his life mission, as he believes that this potion will help him grow into a duck, his biggest dream.

SQ, after walking through the entire town, it is a small town, figures that the best place to search is the Grand Library, right smack in the centre of the village. It is said by the locals to contain the largest amount of knowledge stored anywhere in all of Erf (Earth) which is weird considering how small and secular Loudwater actually is. Now whilst it’s actually a great place to begin his quest for the maturity potion formula, the issue is that the only way in is via. Invitation, and only the greatest scholars of Erf may enter. To satifyingly overcome this pradicament, SQ decides to force his way in, illegally, searching the old tomes for something, anything that will help him achieve his goal.

SQ finds what he is looking for, an old document telling that of the elements, the origins of Erf and how it came to be. When the destruction of Pre-Erf came about, the nuclear radiation did not only affect the animal inhabitants of the world, but also the soils, oceans, and winds. This document tells of pieces of Erf that became maluable but powerful, there may very well be elemental stones that have never been found, but for the fair few that have been, it has greatly impacted Erf in ways that never did in the Pre-Erf days. The wind elemental stone crashed into the ground, and like a stone being tossed into a body of water, arose great mountains towering the skies, piercing the clouds. The collision is said to have been the reason dragons came about. The plantation stone element, sprouted pixies, fairies, and other unworldly creatures, as well as being capable of smothering landscapes in lush green in mere seconds. Although the importance of these stones come to mind, it turns out that the reason the growth potion that SQ seeks is so rare is that it requires a piece of the elemental fire stone, the very stone that gives phoenix’s the abilitiy to be reborn in the ashes.

SQ wraps the documents in string and walks towards the exit, a mistake as he had forgotten that it was guarded, and that he had come through a shaft in the buildings exterior. One of the guards hear a noise and spots SQ, although in dimly litted light so as to be unable to see him clearly. SQ cleverly uses his magic of illusion and casts a smoke pouch spell, making a successful escape. His figure is now searched for in the town, although it doesn’t lack it’s fair share of bears. Although word doesn’t travel far in New-Erf so our fuzzy crusader is in luck.

Next stop is the alchemy goods store, SQ cautiously approaches the clerk, a squirrel in shady clothing, asking him for a few ingredients, he buys a phoenix heart for 80 gold, as they barter, SQ confesses to the clerk as to what he’s trying to make “the potion is unheard of, impossible!” the clerk then offers SQ a small sack of grizzly toes, which he then reluctantly admits to being apart of the ingredients list of the growth formula. SQ, unsurprisingly gets angry at the clerk, he’s obviously being hustled for his gold, it’s fair enough to say that a rare phoenix heart costs 80 gold, but now the sly squirrel wants 70 gold pieces for a pack of grizzly toes that could just as easily be collected from any old home (implying that he would cut them off old bears as they are too old to fight). SQ impulsively screams in rage, slamming his paws down on the bench in a feiry fury, leaving the desk burnt with the mark of his