Outback Straya

You have entered the fields of Straya.
You can not leave until you have defeated the boss.

John and Cynthia found themselves in a large, savannah like plain. Reddish sand scattered all around, a few brownish bushes here and there. A lone tree poking its leaves into the sky nearby, a few scattered like scarecrows through the landscape. Off in the distance there were a few hills, their jagged edges making them look desolate, barren even. The temperature was warm, like a summer day in town. There was a slight breeze with little to no humidity.

“John… where are we?” Cynthia asked as she felt a hot wind blow past, the red sand getting picked up, dancing in the air, only to be deposited again a few meters away.

“The dungeon description said these are the ‘Fields of Straya’. Is that, like, a mythical country I never heard of?” John asked her as he tentatively took his bow from his shoulder.

Cynthia followed suit as she shook her head. “Never heard of it. Atlantis, Bermuda, Loch Ness, heard of them all, never heard anything about Straya though.”

“Well, it said we can’t leave until we find and defeat the boss. So… I guess we should start walking?”

Cynthia shrugged. “Well, sure, not like we can find him by staying in the same spot”

Both of them pulled an arrow from their quivers, laying them on the bow, ready to be drawn whenever an enemy appeared. John decided it might be a good idea to walk towards the mountains, the only place he could imagine a boss hiding in the nearby area.

They had been walking for a few minutes when suddenly a bird came diving from the sky. John noticed it as he saw it drop something. “Get out of the way!” he yelled, pushing Cynthia out of the path of whatever it was that came hurtling down towards them. Seconds later, the item fell onto the ground, cracking and spilling white liquid into its vicinity. A loud laughing sound came from the bird as he circled around.

Observe!

Cocokaburra
level 10

Health: 10/10

Straya’s clowns. Birds that carry coconuts with them, then drop them from great heights so they can drink the milk inside.

“That’s… A… I can’t say this with a straight face,” John said with a groan. “Cocokaburra.”

Cynthia giggled as John drew his bow, aiming at the bird that came down for another dive run. John squinted his eyes, then released the arrow as the bird was about to drop the coconut.

The arrow flew through the air piercing the bird straight through it’s left wing, who cried out in pain.

5 damage

The bird could no longer keep himself up with just his right wing, trying to glide before it could not even keep that up, and fell to the ground 5 meters away from them. John rushed over, where he stabbed at it twice with his sword, wielding it clumsily, but the bird was not able to avoid him from this close up.

3 damage

2 damage

+5 exp

John then proceeded to tap the bird, seeing it disintegrate a few seconds later much to Cynthia’s amazement.

“It’s one thing to hear about it, it’s another one to see it happen in real life,” she said happily, giving him a tight hug. “Thanks for saving me, John,” she said flirtatiously. “I appreciate it.”

John blushed as he felt her press her breasts against his side, not really sure what to do, so instead he looked at the items the bird had dropped. There was not much, just a couple of feathers and a beak.

Small Feathers
A small feather dropped from birds.
Crafting Material.

Bird Beak
The beak of a slain bird.
Hunting Trophy.

John shared the information about the items with Cynthia who seemed to be thinking for a moment.

“Alright, so you can get trophies from your slain prey this way too. Well, at least it’s efficient. Saves you the gruesome task of carving it from their bodies.”

“Pretty much. So ehm, can you do me a favor and try to shoot the next one? I wonder if I can get experience from them when you kill them as well,” John asked her, garnering a thumbs up from the girl.

“Sure, I’m just as curious as you to find out how these powers of yours work, you know. I mean, well, who doesn’t like a good mystery in a man, right?” She blushed slightly and turned away, walking in the direction of the mountains.

John wondered what made Cynthia so flustered; he did not want to invade her privacy but...

John’s jaw dropped. The information was world shaking to him. A girl was developing a crush, on him? Wasn’t that just a fairytale?

Cynthia turned to see John hadn’t moved. “Come on, ya lazy bum! We got a boss to kill!”

John hurried to catch up to her, smiling at her as they walked towards the nearby mountains. A few minutes later, another bird appeared, this time getting shot out of the sky by Cynthia before it could drop its first coconut. John was happy to see that he got 3 exp from it as well as being able to loot it.

“So, due to partying with me, my powers somewhat work on you too. And I guess, due to me not being active in killing it, it would make sense to receive less exp.”

“Whatever you say, gamerboy,” Cynthia said with a wink, retrieving her arrow from the floor.

“Ehm, John?” she asked a few seconds later, John busy stuffing the loot into his inventory.

“Yeah?” he asked absentmindedly.

“Do you see a column of smoke coming from over there?” Cynthia asked as she pointed at a few boulders nearby.

“Ehm, yes, yes, I do,” John said while scratching his head.

“Wanna go and have a look? Might be worth checking out. I mean, I don’t think birds can start a bonfire, now can they?” Cynthia proposed.

“Fair enough, I mean, it’s on the way to our destination anyway… Why not!”

The two continued their trek through the plain, walking around the boulders to see…