2024-02-14: Misadventures on Mt. Moon
- Log: Misadventures on Mt. Moon
- Cast: Luna Meitner, Ruth Pauling, Ida Everstead-Rey, Sable Aomori
- Where: Mt. Moon
- Date: February 14, 2024
- Summary: Several Drifters attempt to brave the dangers of Mt. Moon, and one of them makes an unexpected friend.
=================================<* Mt. Moon *>================================= Mount Moon is a large mountain located between Pewter City to the west, and Cerulean City in the east. It is one of Energy Nede's most famous mountains, with many hiking trails to suit all levels of experience and fitness levels. Many Pokemon trainers also visit the mountain to obtain Rock-type Pokemon, and some brave the heights at night, chasing the rumours that Fairy-type Pokemon gather under a full moon. The mountain is rich in Fossils and mysterious minerals said to not originate in Nede. Is there truth to such rumours? BGM: Pokemon: Let's Go, Eevee & Pikachu! - Mt. Moon - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUp83pwzDS4
DC: You switch forms to Luna Meitner, Wandering Speargirl! DC: Luna Meitner switches forms to Luna Meitner, Wandering Speargirl! [SYSTEM] You change to your 'Nede' Description!
DC: Ida Everstead-Rey switches forms to Gentlewoman Adventurer Ida! DC: Anne Aomori switches forms to Punk Girl Sable!
DG: A party led by Luna Meitner is now entering Mt. Moon. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
=================================<* Mt. Moon *>=================================
==============<* CHALLENGE - The Bridge People No Longer Cross *>===============
| Type: Entry | Dungeon Ability: Agility | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
You come onto the primary path on Mt. Moon. The Kanto Police Department are
here, cordoning off what looks like a pretty horrific battle that's skewed
the landscape and torn bridges and paths down in its wake. Hikers around you
whisper to each other, concerns about the Ten Wise Men fresh on their mind.
The nearest constable suggests that you come back once the path has been
repaired, but...
Is this really a broken bridge situation? Was there really an unfinished
quest in Pewter City? Are you still the type to turn around and hope an
unrelated situation occupies your time until the bridge is fixed?
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Tire:_Exhaustion_Up! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Luna Meitner has posed.
There were many people hoping to get to Mt. Moon this day, and most of those people are going to be disappointed. The Kanto Police Department is out in full force, cordoning off the area. It looks rough, with trees uprooted and strewn about, great gouges torn out of the earth, boulders (and boulder fragments) littered haphazardly throughout. (They are very obvious and very much not stealthy, as it turns out.) And yes, someone is saying that the bridge was damaged so that travel is not possible.
EARLIER
The two Hikers stared each other down from across the clearing. Theirs was a fierce rivalry, one dressed in a red flannel shirt and the other dressed in blue. It was a rivalry that extended back generations, to the point that no one really knew how it started. But now that they had run into each other again, and had a dispute over a Gold Nugget that had been found, there was only one way to resolve it.
"Go, Onix!" shouted the first Hiker.
"Onix, I choose you!" shouted the second.
Two giant, towering rock snakes emerged from their pokeballs, roaring defiantly at each other. The first hiker smirked to himself. He knew something the second Hiker didn't know.
The trouble was, so did the second.
In unison, they shouted, "Onix, Dynamax!"
NOW
The bridge is actually fine, for the most part, except for all of the rubble and debris on it. The real trouble right now is navigating the devestated battlefield and evading the Kanto police.
Luna frowns softly from the back of the crowd. She's been exploring Nede for a bit now, long enough to get a change of clothes, it seems: A red, buttoned shirt, left open, a black crop top, leaving her midriff bare, cargo pants, and boots. But she's still got the same backpakc on, and...
Well, she's got the spear and the bow and quiver mounted on her back.
It's probably fine. They're remarkably low tech, after all.
But she's not about to let a random inconvenience stop her. She steps off the path, fading into the woods for a moment, and slips a small vial with an orange liquid from one of the pouches at her hip. She imbibes it, and with the fresh burst of speed flowing through her, takes off running.
She is quick and agile, keeping low and in the cover of the trees until she bursts from the treeline at the last moment, streaking and jumping precisely through the rubble to find momentary footholds before leaping again, covering great distancves with every leap.
All channels have been gagged.
DG: Luna Meitner has used her Tool Pegasus Draught toward her party's challenge, The Bridge People No Longer Cross. Stalwart! Party shielded from some Exhaustion this round!
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
When the Visitors first arrived, one of the more popular (or rather, infamous) images was of a far too heavily dressed Nedian(?) woman bearing a very large firearm with attached bayonet blade. It was so unsettlingly weird in a vacuum that even the Kanto Police Department were hesitant to approach her about where she got it.
Nothing directly untoward has come of it.
If Sable's kept tabs on it, well, she's right there today. She has a quiet, reserved bearing as she arrives to the site of a previous incident.
"...I heard there was trouble in this place, not outside of it," she muses aloud to herself as incidental passers-by speak (multiple times, with exacting diction, volume, pacing, and everything) of what all transpired.
There's a Kricketot following her, ambling along and making occasional xylophone-like noises but otherwise just being... there.
She watches Luna take off to make a game of parkour around the obstructions. Ruth takes out a strange object with two distinctive glyphs upon it, quietly invokes the object, and produces a stream of water that tries to wash aside some of the debris to make it easier to cross along... without having to go into gynmastics. (She does not need the words that the bridge is closed.)
She's not going to let that get in the way of want she wants.
DG: Ruth Pauling has used her Tool Rivercrest toward her party's challenge, The Bridge People No Longer Cross. Cleanse! All negative effects will be cleared at the end of the round! Shortsighted! The party will suffer a penalty next round... but not this round!
=================================<* Mt. Moon *>=================================
==============<* CHALLENGE - The Bridge People No Longer Cross *>===============
| Type: Entry | Dungeon Ability: Agility | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
You come onto the primary path on Mt. Moon. The Kanto Police Department are
here, cordoning off what looks like a pretty horrific battle that's skewed
the landscape and torn bridges and paths down in its wake. Hikers around you
whisper to each other, concerns about the Ten Wise Men fresh on their mind.
The nearest constable suggests that you come back once the path has been
repaired, but...
Is this really a broken bridge situation? Was there really an unfinished
quest in Pewter City? Are you still the type to turn around and hope an
unrelated situation occupies your time until the bridge is fixed?
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Cleanse:_All_Effects_Removed!, Shortsighted:_All_Stats_Down!, |
| Stalwart:_Exhaustion_Down!, and Tire:_Exhaustion_Up! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
The dangerous-looking Visitor has a shadow.
Ida has made a habit of checking in on Ruth regularly--it's part of her responsibility as a Seer, after all. Today, though, she found the Hellion in transit, and followed after, being sure to stay visible and noisy so as not to spook her unduly. Ida is... doing a better job of fitting in, but she's privileged there. Aside from the ears, the woman in the Pewter City hoodie, leggings, and hiking boots might as well be a local grad student out on a hike.
"I heard the same," Ida says, to Ruth. One hand reaches down to idly drum fingertips on the surface of Sal's Poke Ball, which rests alongside three others on her hip. She waits for a moment as Ruth calls forth the water, nods, and clambers up over a remaining boulder. The brisk wind calms to a gentle breeze around her, making it easier to climb across. If there happens to be a field of shimmering green motes around it... well, simple utility Symbology's comon enough on Nede, isn't it?
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Zephyr Boots toward her party's challenge, The Bridge People No Longer Cross. Quicken! Party Agility boosted!
<Pose Tracker> Sable Aomori has posed.
Sable Aomori is familiar-ish with Pewter City. It's comfortable enough. And since it doesn't look like it was attacked recently, she hasn't had to stress out about that!
She hasn't been keeping much track of the story of that woman with the strange firearm. Her mother didn't tell her about meeting Ruth at all. But the trouble, she does notice. Sable, dressed in thick clothes for warmth and protection when climbing, steps over with her backpack. She regards Luna ahead with her weird weapons, as she steps off the path and then runs. And Ruth...
"...That's not Symbology," Sable reflects as she approaches Ruth. She looks at her, thoughtful. She finds her... intimidating. But she was told to be welcoming to the Visitors. Ida seems nicer, though. She could be a local, if not for the ears. And she has a POkeball.
"...You really want to get through the mountain, huh?" she reflects to them, and watches Luna.
Her Pokemon are all in their Pokeballs, but she thinks of how Ulpi would react, and...
"...I won't be left behind," she says quietly, and then starts off at a sprint and runs up the nearest boulder to start along the path, too, the runes on her sneakers lighting lightly.
DG: Sable Aomori has used her Tool Rune Shoes toward her party's challenge, The Bridge People No Longer Cross. Stalwart! Party shielded from some Exhaustion this round!
=================================<* Mt. Moon *>=================================
==============<* CHALLENGE - The Bridge People No Longer Cross *>===============
| Type: Entry | Dungeon Ability: Agility | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
You come onto the primary path on Mt. Moon. The Kanto Police Department are
here, cordoning off what looks like a pretty horrific battle that's skewed
the landscape and torn bridges and paths down in its wake. Hikers around you
whisper to each other, concerns about the Ten Wise Men fresh on their mind.
The nearest constable suggests that you come back once the path has been
repaired, but...
Is this really a broken bridge situation? Was there really an unfinished
quest in Pewter City? Are you still the type to turn around and hope an
unrelated situation occupies your time until the bridge is fixed?
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Cleanse:_All_Effects_Removed!, Quicken:_Agility_Up!, |
| Shortsighted:_All_Stats_Down!, Stalwart:_Exhaustion_Down!, and |
| Tire:_Exhaustion_Up! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
=================================<* Mt. Moon *>=================================
==============<* CHALLENGE - The Bridge People No Longer Cross *>===============
| Type: Entry | Dungeon Ability: Agility | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
You come onto the primary path on Mt. Moon. The Kanto Police Department are
here, cordoning off what looks like a pretty horrific battle that's skewed
the landscape and torn bridges and paths down in its wake. Hikers around you
whisper to each other, concerns about the Ten Wise Men fresh on their mind.
The nearest constable suggests that you come back once the path has been
repaired, but...
Is this really a broken bridge situation? Was there really an unfinished
quest in Pewter City? Are you still the type to turn around and hope an
unrelated situation occupies your time until the bridge is fixed?
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Cleanse:_All_Effects_Removed!, Quicken:_Agility_Up!, |
| Shortsighted:_All_Stats_Down!, and Tire:_Exhaustion_Up! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
=================================<* Mt. Moon *>=================================
========================< Results - Mt. Moon - Round 1 >========================
===============< CHALLENGE - The Bridge People No Longer Cross >================
Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Luna Meitner 0 --(0)--> 0 Best
Pegasus Draught Min Agility Effects: Stalwart
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ruth Pauling 0 --(12)--> 12 Worst
Rivercrest Min Agility Effects: Cleanse and
Shortsighted
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ida Everstead-Rey 0 --(0)--> 0 Best
Zephyr Boots Min Agility Effects: Quicken
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sable Aomori 0 --(0)--> 0 Best
Rune Shoes Min Agility Effects: Stalwart
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leader: Luna Meitner 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass
Conditions: Tire(2)
Effects: Cleanse, Quicken(1), and Shortsighted(1)
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
DG: The party led by Luna Meitner has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Luna Meitner has posed.
There are multiple people trying to make a go of breaching the police barrier and to make for the mountain. Most of them are getting stopped by the police.
Most.
Luna's approach, vanishing into the treelines and reappearing in an unexpected place buys her time to make it into the midst of things without being noticed, and by the time she finally is noticed she's out of reach, not that it stops multiple offers from shouting and trying to make their way to her through the rubble.
This distraction, though, creates an opportunity! One that Ida, Sable, and Ruth can take advantage of. Sable and Ida's enchanted footwear help them get into the worst part of it, beyond the reach of the police, while Ruth's crest graph clears out some rubble, but it's still a harder climb even with the small assist.
Luckily the police are still too distracted to stop any of them before they get too far into the rubble to be stopped.
DG: Ruth Pauling has drawn a new Challenge. =================================<* Mt. Moon *>=================================
=================================<* Mt. Moon *>=================================
====================<* CHALLENGE - Onixay on the Pathway *>=====================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Brute | Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
The earth moves... hurry! Something extremely dangerous is coming!
THOOOOOOOM
You barely escape an enormous stone serpent Pokemon erupting from the
ground. This is Onix, a creature of colossal proportion, frequently known to
burrow in search of food. It doesn't seem to have noticed you, but in doing
so seems... to have decided that this is also a nice place to rest for the
night, which is extremely problematic for you. Maybe you can... coax it to
find someplace else to rest.
https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/File:0095Onix.png
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Bad_Luck:_All_Stats_Down!, Quicken:_Agility_Up!, |
| Shortsighted:_All_Stats_Down!, and Tire:_Exhaustion_Up! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
"It's Crest Sorcery," Ruth says to Sable, having managed to catch her just at the edge of her hearing from her good ear. "I need to get there," she further emphasizes. She'll have told Ida and the others ARMS-side why - Mt. Moon had been subject to some mischief by bad actors, and it's one of the very few jobs Energy Nede has for her set of skills, and she wants the FOL.
Beyond this sudden interest and need, she's been mostly in emotional equilibrium.
As she follows Luna deeper into Mt. Moon...
"Consarnit! I ain't gonna call a draw!" Shouts one Hiker.
"Well I ain't gonna yield neither!" Shouts the other Hiker.
That Gold Nugget must be worth *that much* to them, but they have themselves their own problems.
Both of their beloved Onix partners are presently asleep, curled up around one another, because whatever animosity is between their Trainers is *clearly* not what they think of one another. This would be adorable, but the problem is... they're in the way of anyone coming or going, and that's really bad if anyone inside Mt. Moon right now needs to lead, because they're sleeping almost as heavily as Snorlax might. (Singular. Individually, each Onix is sleeping about as hard as 0.43 Snorlaxes by snooze-volume.)
The Hikers are arguing far, far too loudly to hear or really entertain anyone trying to ask them politely to wake up and move their Onix friends, because neither one wants to yield.
Ruth pulls out a different Crest Graph and sets it down on the ground after invoking it, setting off a pleasant, relaxing watery mist as if already aware of what sorts of means might need to be done via gently moving any part of the enormous rock-serpents along.
"So," Ruth turns her head vaguely in Sable's direction, "what I have on me is very loud. It's a sound I don't think most of you have heard much," she says as she looks ahead. "If it comes to it... I'll tell you to cover your ears."
Ruth using a firearm's bang to wake them up is the last-ditch effort. What other things can be done to prevent her from resorting to that?
DG: Ruth Pauling has used her Tool Mistcrest toward her party's challenge, Onixay on the Pathway. Cleanse! All negative effects will be cleared at the end of the round! Sacrifice! The party will take slightly more Exhaustion this round!
<Pose Tracker> Sable Aomori has posed.
"Crest Sorcery..." Sable nods. Ruth, despite being scary-looking, is nice in her explanation. She further explains that she has to get there. And she follows along. It's better to travel in a group, isn't it?
She's curious about that girl ahead, too...
The Onixes are adorable, as it happens. But Sable frowns, her expression turning almost imperceptibly flat at the argument. Her expressions are not very easy to read--she doesn't emote very openly in the first place. But her body language still suggests it.
"They're in the way..."
Something relaxing. More Crest Sorcery. But--
"Loud? Sable wonders. "...Okay. I don't like loud."
What can she do...
"I could challenge them to a battle..."
DG: Sable Aomori has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Onixay on the Pathway.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida doesn't look back until she's in the cave, and out of sight. She takes off her backpack, sets it down, and opens it--something inside casts rays of light through the entryway. Ida pulls out the object, a chunk of quartz crystal about the length of her index finger. She fastens it to her backpack strap, and then puts her pack back on.
"So we're looking at two likely possibilities," Ida says, as she falls into step beside Ruth, the Scary Woman. "The Wise Men sent some of their... cryptic Pokemon here, or these are Visitors." 'Visitors' is admittedly extremely broad. Ida glances sidelong at Sable, brow furrowing. She looks familiar, hasn't she... seen that face somewhere?
And Luna's here, too. Whatever her deal is.
It isn't long before the group comes across an unexpected roadblock. "That... might be an option," she says to Sable. Honestly part of her feels bad about interrupting this, but:
"Excuse me!" Ida raises her voice, trying to get through to the two arguing Trainers. "Would you kindly recall your Pokemon? They're blocking the path."
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Onixay on the Pathway.
<Pose Tracker> Luna Meitner has posed.
Luna might have gotten a drastic head-start up the trail--her busting through is what caused the diversion that allowed the rest of the ad hoc party to follow behind, but she is easily caught up with by the rest when they make their way through the rubble.
It's probably just as well, as she would have likely pressed forward and left everyone else behind, and that would be less satisfying narratively.
But she is watching, with a clearly disapproving expression as she looks over the two slumbering road blocks. (Well, her normally stoic demeanor means she kind of always looks disapproving, to some degree, but here the extra furrow of her brow means she is Displeased with this current state of affairs.)
But this close up, and not moving with a potion's magic, it's clear to see she's got long, pointed ears, like most Nedians. But also, yes, a spear and a bow and quiver. (She is also, it seems, maybe about a year younger than Sable is.)
She is looking upwards and clearly considering just climbing the thing, but unsteady, could-move-at-any-moment surfaces are not ideal.
She looks back, as she hears Ruth, Ida, and Sable arrive behind her. She doesn't appear surprised so much, but she does quirk an eyebrow and make a soft "Hmm." sound. It is an interesting coincidence, at least, to run into two of them again in Nede like this.
She regards Ruth's crest graph curiously, when she unleashes it, though. Interesting.
She looks over Sable for a moment, at her suggestion of battling them. That's her preferred solution, though she gets the feeling Sable means with pokemon, which is not quite her speed. Ida tries just asking, which is a simple solution that Luna may or may not have tried in the moments before the rest of the group caught up to her. "They refuse to relinquish their fight."
She, however, prefers a more active approach. With a booted foot she kicks a rock up into the air in a high arc between the two hikers...
And then in a lightning fast movement she whips out her spear, and brings it crashing down onto the rock, splitting it while still in mid-air. The blade of her spear embeds itself in the ground as the bisected rock pieces fall at both trainers' feet.
There is a clear note of irritation in her voice as she looks between the two. "This 'battle' of yours is a waste of time. Remove your pokemon, or neither of you will secure this prize you are squabbling over."
What does a 15-year-old girl hope to do to two grown adult men twice her age and three times her size?
Then again, they don't have any weapons handy, do they?
Huh? (Type "help" for help.)
DG: Luna Meitner has contributed a risky Brute Action toward her party's challenge, Onixay on the Pathway. =================================<* Mt. Moon *>=================================
=================================<* Mt. Moon *>=================================
====================<* CHALLENGE - Onixay on the Pathway *>=====================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Brute | Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
The earth moves... hurry! Something extremely dangerous is coming!
THOOOOOOOM
You barely escape an enormous stone serpent Pokemon erupting from the
ground. This is Onix, a creature of colossal proportion, frequently known to
burrow in search of food. It doesn't seem to have noticed you, but in doing
so seems... to have decided that this is also a nice place to rest for the
night, which is extremely problematic for you. Maybe you can... coax it to
find someplace else to rest.
https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/File:0095Onix.png
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Bad_Luck:_All_Stats_Down!, Cleanse:_All_Effects_Removed!, and |
| Tire:_Exhaustion_Up! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
=================================<* Mt. Moon *>=================================
========================< Results - Mt. Moon - Round 2 >========================
=====================< CHALLENGE - Onixay on the Pathway >======================
Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Luna Meitner 0 --(42)--> 42 Worst
Force Bsc Brute Effects: Risky
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ruth Pauling 12 --(22)--> 34 Good
Mistcrest Min Brute Effects: Cleanse and
Sacrifice
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ida Everstead-Rey 0 --(34)--> 34 Worst
Force Bsc Brute Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sable Aomori 0 --(34)--> 34 Worst
Force Bsc Brute Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leader: Luna Meitner 20 --(15)--> 35 Fail
Conditions: Bad Luck(2) and Tire(2)
Effects: Cleanse
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
DG: The party led by Luna Meitner has failed this challenge! The party gained 15 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has drawn a new Challenge. =================================<* Mt. Moon *>=================================
=================================<* Mt. Moon *>=================================
===================<* CHALLENGE - The Sandslash Redemption *>===================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Agility | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
You've come onto a sandy pit where visibility is low and your footing is
treacherous. A battle is taking place here between a pangolin-like Pokemon,
Sandslash, and several Zubats that have encroached upon its nest, and the
Sandslash is responding to this threat by bouncing around the walls and
firing its quills at it, not to mention slashing up sand everywhere.
Between the Zubats and the Sandslash's quills and the sand everywhere, you
have your work cut out for you. Leave quickly before you get bogged down
into their territorial dispute!
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Bad_Luck:_All_Stats_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
Ruth nods at Ida's assessment of what the deal might be, as a comforting mist fills the air for what it's wroth.
They could be challenged to a battle... but they can't commence their current one much because their Onix friends are too asleep to do it.
Ida, responsible adult, tries to speak up to ask to recall them.
"If we recall, that's as good as surrenderin' this Gold Nugget we found!"
"'n it's a big one! Worth a whooooole lotta FOL!"
One of them states the number. It's a lot! And it's something so desired between them that not one of them is thinking of accepting Ida's perfectly reasoned request, because what's going on is both rude and inconvenient to everyone involved!
Luna makes a great display of her impatience and ire at the situation at hand, with a dire threat to both of the squabbling hikers. It is a display of strength, technique, and determination that could shake anyone (and it sort of has, with Ruth over there).
"That's a neat trick, kiddo."
"Can't ya see we're busy?!"
Ruth dips her head and starts to have a mischievous smile. "Well... cover your ears, then."
Kricketot's doing that already, or at least making the motion as Ruth draws her handgun.
*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*
Both of the snoozing Pokemon wake up abruptly, startled, and proceed to clear out in a panicked, hurried manner leaving their Trainers to follow suit. It's dangerous and scary for a bit in the ruckus, but in the end... they're out of the way.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida presses her hands to her temples. God spare her Independent Wilderness Men and their egoes--not even Energy Nede is safe from them, apparently. She glances sidelong at Ruth, and nods. Her expression speaks volumes.
'Do what you have to', it says.
Three harmless gunshots echo through the cave. The slumbering Onix awaken and flee, the earth trembling beneath their bulk. But that's not the only thing the gunshots have awakened. Sharp, shrill squeaking erupts from above.
"Bats?" says Ida, her head whipping up. She's braced against the wall, squinting into the darkness. She moves to half-cover her light crystal with one hand.
SCREE SCREE SCREE SCREE
It spreads. The first Zubats swoop in, coming dangeorusly close to her head. More of the flock follow, and within seconds, the cave is full of shrieking, squeaking Zubats. "RUN!" Ida shouts.
The only way out is deeper into the cave. Ida runs, the light crystal making her easy to spot. She stops abruptly, glancing down to see the rocky floor give way to sand. And within this sandy area is a Pokemon, like a giant pangolin; Zubats swoop down and shriek at it en masse. It responds by flinging quills at them. Several Zubats have already fainted on the ground.
Ida looks at the battle ahead, and glances over her shoulder at the horde behind. "Apologies," she says, as if the Pokemon were in any mood to talk. Hugging the wall of the cave, she dashes through the sandy area, the Symbological enchantment on her boots lightning her steps. The wind kicks up, adding a minor sandstorm to the mix--but thankfully, it stays between the travelers and the feuding Pokemon.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Zephyr Boots toward her party's challenge, The Sandslash Redemption. Quicken! Party Agility boosted!
<Pose Tracker> Sable Aomori has posed.
Luna throws her spear. And in a moment, Sable is beside Luna, having made her way to her without being seen. "No," she says to her, shaking her head. "We don't do things that way here."
A pause. "Please don't antagonize the Visitors," she says to the old men. (They're old. Because Sable is sixteen.)
Then, she covers her ears, and she notices Ruth's mischief before--
BANG. "Ah!"
Sable has her ears covered so it's not so bad, but it's still alarming.
"You used your firearm..."
And then--Bats.
"Zubats!" Sable exclaims, and she jumps, her rune-inlaid sneakers ensuring that she doesn't lose her footing as she darts into the horde.
She notices the Sandslash, of course. "...Zubats do their best, but they're easily scared," she supplies.
<Pose Tracker> Luna Meitner has posed.
There is a half-glance in Sable's direction as she suddenly appears next to her. They don't do things this way. She drops her voice low, and simply says, "I would not." It's mainly meant to be a display of force, to back them down.
But it seems to backfire horribly.
Kiddo.
Kiddo.
Luna looks taken aback, and her wrathful vengeance that was being promised by her seconds-ago glare is being stymied by simple shock. She opens her mouth to say something but is left sputtering for a moment. "I-- You--dare--"
But finally she finds her footing. "I am a warrior who has honed her skill in battle time and again and I will not be treated as a mere child!" (Luna you're 15 and you're literally the youngest person present.)
This might actually be the most emotion Ida and Ruth have seen her express yet.
She can see, out of the corner of her eye Ruth's mischevious smile, and the preparation of a firearm. Ah, then... Good. She pulls her spear back, sheathing it behind her and doesn't even bother to cover her ears. She just crosses her arms to watch instead.
Once the way is clear she stomps along the path, muttering to herself. "... disrespect...see them again...bare hands..."
But then they are swarmed by bats--and then chased into a battlefield of sandsalsh and Zubats. Luna whips out her spear and actually bats a few quills out of the way before slipping out a vial with an orange liquid in it. She slides the cap off and downs it in one smooth motion and is suddenly zipping along with the speed of the wind infusing her body. (Don't worry, she put the spear back to focus on dodging attacks instead.)
DG: Luna Meitner has used her Tool Pegasus Draught toward her party's challenge, The Sandslash Redemption. Stalwart! Party shielded from some Exhaustion this round!
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
Ruth makes up the flank of the Zubat horde chase. It's a cacophony of emotions that bring the world to life upon this dark cavern, brighter than any light and more vibrant than any color. Fear, everywhere, from the Zubat horde... and it feels like someone had an ouchy, somewhere (it was one of the sleeping Onix duo).
She treasures the guilt of it, which is just a spiral she has to keep in check.
Luna's pride in her skill as a warrior despite her age is grounding enough, in the big picture, as she's close to the back by the time they close in on the Sandshrew and Zubat melee.
"I've noticed," she says to Sable, right hand over her chest as she bows her head to look upon the battle under the protective cover of a small sandstorm, as she brings forth that Crest that calls forth a River to provide a grounded divide to prevent the Sandshrew half of the chaos from closing in on them too much.
Her Kricketot keeps pace, a presence that seems happy to just exist in proxy despite everything.
DG: Ruth Pauling has used her Tool Rivercrest toward her party's challenge, The Sandslash Redemption. Cleanse! All negative effects will be cleared at the end of the round! Shortsighted! The party will suffer a penalty next round... but not this round! DG: Sable Aomori has used her Tool Rune Shoes toward her party's challenge, The Sandslash Redemption. Stalwart! Party shielded from some Exhaustion this round! =================================<* Mt. Moon *>=================================
=================================<* Mt. Moon *>=================================
===================<* CHALLENGE - The Sandslash Redemption *>===================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Agility | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
You've come onto a sandy pit where visibility is low and your footing is
treacherous. A battle is taking place here between a pangolin-like Pokemon,
Sandslash, and several Zubats that have encroached upon its nest, and the
Sandslash is responding to this threat by bouncing around the walls and
firing its quills at it, not to mention slashing up sand everywhere.
Between the Zubats and the Sandslash's quills and the sand everywhere, you
have your work cut out for you. Leave quickly before you get bogged down
into their territorial dispute!
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Bad_Luck:_All_Stats_Down!, Cleanse:_All_Effects_Removed!, |
| Quicken:_Agility_Up!, and Shortsighted:_All_Stats_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
=================================<* Mt. Moon *>=================================
========================< Results - Mt. Moon - Round 3 >========================
====================< CHALLENGE - The Sandslash Redemption >====================
Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Luna Meitner 42 --(0)--> 42 Good
Pegasus Draught Min Agility Effects: Stalwart
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ruth Pauling 34 --(0)--> 34 Best
Rivercrest Min Agility Effects: Cleanse and
Shortsighted
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ida Everstead-Rey 34 --(0)--> 34 Good
Zephyr Boots Min Agility Effects: Quicken
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sable Aomori 34 --(0)--> 34 Best
Rune Shoes Min Agility Effects: Stalwart
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leader: Luna Meitner 35 --(20)--> 55 Pass
Conditions: Bad Luck(2)
Effects: Cleanse, Quicken(1), and Shortsighted(1)
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
DG: The party led by Luna Meitner has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
'Zubats!' says Sable, and Ida commits the name to memory. Easily spooked, and extremely vocal. Ida feels a headache building behind her eyes as she runs. Is it from the noise alone?
Ruth's Crest calls forth a burst of water that spills across the floor. It cuts the battlefield in half; the Sandslash glances back, but refocuses its attention on the Zubats, firing another volley of quills. It seems detered, at the very least. Sticking to the edge, Ida and Ruth make it through the chamber unscathed.
Sable and Luna take a slightly riskier route, cutting through the battle. But they, too, have the means to speed their passage. Luna ducks as a Zubat lets loose with a sonic burst, while Sable dodges a volley of quills.
Everyone made it through, but will the Zubats take a hint and let up?
DG: Sable Aomori has drawn a new Challenge. =================================<* Mt. Moon *>=================================
=================================<* Mt. Moon *>=================================
===================<* CHALLENGE - A Truly Remarkable Find *>====================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Wits | Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
A glimmer catches your attention in the rocky wall. This is...
A Fossil! No doubt about it -- and an intact one, too. This is undoubtedly a
great find, and the Princebridge University in Pewter City would marvel at
this discovery. With some luck, they may even be able to resuscitate it and
discover a creature from Nede's ancient history. You may yet be famous!
One problem.
It's impossibly embedded and stuck in the rock wall, and digging it out
without damaging it is easier said than done.
OOC: If you pass this challenge, you obtain a Fossil! Consult with staff and
you may be able to resuscitate it into a Pokemon in a later Act.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Bad_Luck:_All_Stats_Down!, Quicken:_Agility_Up!, |
| Shortsighted:_All_Stats_Down!, and Wonder:_Exhaustion_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Sable Aomori has posed.
Sable is confused by Luna's initial response. "If you wouldn't then why are you?"
She may not 'get' the subtlety of the trick. But she does notice Luna's sensitivity to being treated as young... She isn't quite confident enough to explain about that for now. Instead, she hears Ruth acknowledge what she says, and that's nice.
Sable has to do some dodging, though. She does it while making it look easy. Which is unusual for a Trainer, probably.
When they come to a stop, "Your Kricketot is very persistent..."
The Zubats do let up, as it happens. And then there's a glimmer at the rocky wall. As they move to take a rest, Sable spots it, and has a look. "A Pokemon fossil," she points out. "These are ancient..."
"There's labs that can revive Pokemon from fossils like this, maybe. If the fossil has enough DNA left in it."
She considers. "If you give me a few minutes, I can compound a solution that should loosen the rock while leaving the Fossil intact..."
DG: Sable Aomori has risked with her Tool Lezard's Flask toward her party's challenge, A Truly Remarkable Find. Stalwart! Party shielded from some Exhaustion this round!
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
"They are." Ruth's words are of acknowledgment, rather than irritation or contentment. That Kricketot really wants to be with her, and as far as anyone's seen, she hasn't used a Pokeball to seal the deal yet. Pokemon are creatures that seem to, by default, love and cherish those they become partners to.
As they escape the chaos behind them, Sable points out a fossil, and what can be done with them.
In that span of time where Sable can get to work to compound a solution, Ruth walks up and puts her right hand up against the rocky wall. Her Granasian rosary glints off of whatever available light source is there, as the strange and somewhat scary easily-confused-for-Nedian woman bows her head, eyes lidded.
"Do you remember, Ida? At Halim, in Zoara." She asides to Sable. "It's somewhere far from here."
"I remember what happened with Summer and the Fossil Mine there." She says this while eyeing the Pokemon Fossil of a creature whose time has long since come and gone. "For all the suffering our world has, and we give one another... it ends at death. The dead should never suffer." A teaching of Saint Calucion under Granasian tenets.
Kricketot leaps up to the space between her and the wall, looking up at her. She can't look him in the eyes ,directly, as she closes her eyes. Is she going to oppose their resurrection, if it were possible?
"...They're happy in this world," she says, drawing a hand back. "If they knew they could return... would they?"
She draws back. The best she does is not get in anyone's way over it.
DG: Ruth Pauling has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, A Truly Remarkable Find.
<Pose Tracker> Luna Meitner has posed.
Luna looks to Sable, gauging her reaction for a moment. Then she looks forward. The two men are well out of earshot now. "It only matters if they believe I would. There would be no challenge in attacking them."
There might be more muttering under her breath after that.
But they get through mess with the Sandslash and Zubats--the latter a name that Luna also commits to memory--and Luna seems to have regained most of her temper and stoic demeanor. There is a moment of consideration. "You are very skilled. Is that typical training, or a Trainer?"
She could believe it, honestly, if it were. Dealing with wild pokemon could be dangerous. Then again, she doubts that those two hikers were possessed of such skill.
Sable spots the fossil, and Luna moves to take an interest. "Hmm... so the beast within could yet be revived? This must be a wondrous technology..."
But she can see how its extraction might be tricky, all the same. "Hmmm..."
Without a word she retreats back the way they came, and comes back having gathered... quite a number of the Sandslash spines that ere lobbed during the fierce battle. She sets about fashioning them into a bundle around a stick, using materials from the pouches at her hips to tie everything together.
She's made a rather impromptu brush. "We should be able to apply your compound using this."
DG: Luna Meitner has used her Tool Survivalist Toolkit toward her party's challenge, A Truly Remarkable Find. Enlighten! Party Wits boosted!
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Luna's earlier outburst was telling. Maybe sixteen years old, wandered through one of the most dangerous parts of Filgaia alone, and now claiming to be a warrior. There's something there, even if it's only the possibility that Luna is lying, or lucky. Ida's gaze lingers on her for a moment as the Zubats regroup, before settling on Ruth, and then Sable.
Sable calls her attention to the Kriketot, first. "...Hello again," she says to the Pokemon, and she fishes in the side-pouch of her backpack before coming up with an Oran Berry. She kneels down, and offers it to Kriketot.
Sable points out the fossil. There's a trip down memory lane.
At this angle, it's impossible to make out what, precisely, it is. But Ida's eyes go a little distant as Ruth prompts her, remembering a friend she almost lost. She takes a breath, and reaches out to touch the wall, rooting herself in the present. The memories of Adlehyde stay memories.
"As luck would have it," Ida says, "I'm a--" And then she double-takes, mouth falling open. "You can--raise the dead?" It can't be that simple. "Or--DNA. Is it creating a clone of the fossil?" That's... not something she's wholly comfortable with, but Sable mentions it so casually it feels like Nede must be comfortable with it. Ida shakes her head, and pulls out a well-worn leather case. She goes through the contents, then studies the site for a moment, running a hand across the grain of the stone. Armed with this data, Ida selects a chisel, and readies her trusty rock hammer.
Tink tink tink tink tink.
She can keep at this for hours.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool ARMs Meister's Field Kit toward her party's challenge, A Truly Remarkable Find. Enlighten! Party Wits boosted! =================================<* Mt. Moon *>=================================
=================================<* Mt. Moon *>=================================
===================<* CHALLENGE - A Truly Remarkable Find *>====================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Wits | Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
A glimmer catches your attention in the rocky wall. This is...
A Fossil! No doubt about it -- and an intact one, too. This is undoubtedly a
great find, and the Princebridge University in Pewter City would marvel at
this discovery. With some luck, they may even be able to resuscitate it and
discover a creature from Nede's ancient history. You may yet be famous!
One problem.
It's impossibly embedded and stuck in the rock wall, and digging it out
without damaging it is easier said than done.
OOC: If you pass this challenge, you obtain a Fossil! Consult with staff and
you may be able to resuscitate it into a Pokemon in a later Act.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Bad_Luck:_All_Stats_Down!, Enlighten:_Wits_Up!, and |
| Wonder:_Exhaustion_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
=================================<* Mt. Moon *>=================================
========================< Results - Mt. Moon - Round 4 >========================
====================< CHALLENGE - A Truly Remarkable Find >=====================
Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Luna Meitner 42 --(0)--> 42 Good
Survivalist Toolkit Min Wits Effects: Enlighten
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ruth Pauling 34 --(4)--> 38 Bad
Investigate Bsc Wits Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ida Everstead-Rey 34 --(0)--> 34 Good
ARMs Meister's Field Kit Min Wits Effects: Enlighten
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sable Aomori 34 --(0)--> 34 Best
Lezard's Flask Maj Wits Effects: Stalwart and
Risky
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leader: Luna Meitner 55 --(20)--> 75 Pass
Conditions: Bad Luck(1) and Wonder(1)
Effects: Enlighten(1)
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
DG: The party led by Luna Meitner has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Sable Aomori has posed.
"Oh," Sable says. "That's lying, isn't it?" A pause. "But I suppose that's true..."
Then, the question of her skills. "No, it isn't," Sable explains. Well, doesn't explain, really. But she answers it anyway.
That seems to be that. The Kricketot is stubborn. It is!
But Sable listens, while she works, to Ruth's words. To the things that she has to say, there... The fossils. And death.
"It would be more like a clone," Sable explains. "...We can't revive the long-dead. But it would give the species another chance at life, if not the individual."
"We've lost so much on Nede," she says seriously, quietly, without emoting much. "And we stand to lose more..."
"But in this way, we can bring some back. I'd like to do that."
In the end, the group of them come together. Ruth may be uncomfortable, but she doesn't stand in the way. Ida is able to unearth the fossil enough through painstaking work that it's easier to apply Sable's compound to the rock through with Luna's paintbrush.
"...We did it," Sable says, and gently takes the first fossil. The second they can acquire in much the same way.
"If you're a researcher too," Sable says to Ida, "Then... I'll trust you."
"My mom is a researcher..."
DG: Luna Meitner has drawn a new Challenge. =================================<* Mt. Moon *>=================================
=================================<* Mt. Moon *>=================================
===========================<* CHALLENGE - Dynamite *>===========================
| Type: Final | Dungeon Ability: Brute | Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
The eponymous Moon is high in the night sky when you reach the summit of the
mountain. There is a chance to relax and take stock of your situation here.
As you ascend, you notice the soft glow of moonlight from within one of the
valleys and witness a rare sight -- the native Fairy-type Pokemon, Clefairy
and Clefable, dancing and singing. All around them are chunks of glowing
Moon Stones.
The peace is soon disrupted. A tall, demonic creature rises through the air,
silhouetted by the full Moon. "So, this is where you've been hiding. Hand me
those moonstones, or suffer the consequences of defying the Ten Wise Men!"
It doesn't take long before the demonic creature, Cynne, launches a mystic
fusillade, blasting the valley with magic. The Fairy Pokemon cry in terror
and run, and a large chunk of the mountainside collapses, trapping them
underneath stone and rubble! You're in no position to engage the creature --
but you are in position to aid the trapped Pokemon!
BGM - Dynamite - Star Ocean: The Second Story OST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFfEYuF1JLc
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Enlighten:_Wits_Up!, Injure:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, and |
| Tire:_Exhaustion_Up! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Luna Meitner has posed.
"In the strictest possible terms you may consider it a lie, of sorts. In this scenario, however, I would prefer the term 'ruse'." It might be a distinction without a difference, but the key thing is...
Luna could probably back those threats up. She's not a bodybuilder but she is pretty solidly muscle, from the arms and midriff on display.
But they're not typical skills for a trainer... "I see." She is intruiged, but... there will be time enough to ask about those later.
Luna has noticed the Kriketot following along with Ruth. There is the occasional glance spared for them, and a stray thought or two spared for what she knows of Ruth, so far.
There is a silent glance and a raised eyebrow cast Ida's way as she is regarded. Is she paying attention to Ida in particular, or did she just get the feeling she was being watched.
Sable's sentiment is a powerful one, however, and Luna listens with interest. The power to restore a missing piece of the world... this is a powerful ability, indeed. After it is excavated, she asks, "... If it is revived, I would like to be present to observe."
They proceed onwards, however, and eventually reach the summit. Luna watches the pokemon dance with that same stoic expression, not seeming particularly moved by the sight, but interested in it nonetheless. "They seem to dance only for themselves... do they have their own culture...?" she posits quietly.
And then a demonic laugh rings out through the summit, and Luna has instantly taken her spear in hand, turning towards the source of the sound as Cynne makes his appearance. "You will not gain what you seek." she declares, and seems ready to throw down right then and there.
Is she nuts!?
But the fusilade comes, and though she attacks and deflects a few of the bolts that wander in their direction, she can do nothing to stop the landslide that comes. There is a moment where she is glaring at Cynne defiantly, seeming to consider chasing after them...
But instead she turns and heads for the rubble. Wordlessly she leaps right into the thick of it, using the butt end of her spear to jam it into the rocks and start trying to pry things apart.
Huh? (Type "help" for help.)
DG: Luna Meitner has contributed a risky Brute Action toward her party's challenge, Dynamite.
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
"Are they?" Ruth asks, as they come to the beautiful summit underneath a gleaming moon. She can see the moving colors and shapes, of melodies... but she can't quite pick up that sense of serene joy of the rare Fairy-type Pokemon going through their strange rituals. This world isn't made for the likes of her, the spiritual venom entrenches further upon her mind.
Chaos soon ensues, as a terrible demonic creature sows chaos and destruction with demands. There's a smile here that doesn't belong, in the least.
"This world has made clear what it wants of us," Ruth turns her back to Sable and the others. "...It took me this long to find work that'd give me FOL for more of these clothes. There wouldn't be a place for someone like me if it weren't for..."
The Ten Wise Men, and now Cynne. She steps forward. Something strange emanates from her. If Sable's not Resonant, it's just an eerie, tangled emotional feeling in the air (that she's far away enough from to not have to worry about it). Otherwise...
"If Energy Nede can't live with the fear of the likes of that one," Ruth says as her heart goes on ahead and lets herself /be/, she draws that Crest Graph that emits the mist again, invoking it and throwing it over her shoulder.
With a pained hiss that sounds progressively less Nedian-adjacent, she draws her rifle from her back, and her shape reverts in all the ways largely familiar, though Symbols flare as bindings along her coat expand to re-fit her larger frame, gloves and boots shifting material away from stress points to stay intact. Her tail... has a pretty gray bow on it.
Her own shape is progressively more demonic in ways she could be confused for an Ardaemont at a glance (but not in a more thorough examniation).
"...Then let me be worthy of it," she holds up that rifle, resisting the immediate urge to pull it for one last act of consideration, "it'sss... going to get loud," a hiss trails.
Cynne is not going to be able to stop them from helping the trapped Pokemon, because Ruth is now shooting at him. Cynne might parse the world under the terror of the Ten Wise Men and their power.
The Visistors have brought their own horrors.
DG: Ruth Pauling has risked with her Tool Mistcrest toward her party's challenge, Dynamite. Cleanse! All negative effects will be cleared at the end of the round! Sacrifice! The party will take slightly more Exhaustion this round!
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Whatever else she is, Luna is absolutely, positively a teenager. That is absolutely the sort of hair-splitting Ida used to justify herself when an adult caught her in a lie.
The heiress gives Sable a somber nod. She cradles her fossil gently, reverently--before setting it in a hard metal case lined with cotton padding. Sometimes, important finds are also fragile.
Onward and outward. For a few moments, Ida is silent, awe dawning on her face as she watches the Clefairies dance. She's privy to a natural miracle of this world, Pokemon behaving--
That laugh.
Ida's hackles rise. She raises an arm to shield her eyes as Cynne's assault kicks up sprays of crushed rock and bursts of light. She can feel Malevolence suddenly pouring off Ruth. "Keep him busy!" Ida shouts, and she rushes ahead, willingly turning her back on Ruth.
Ida snatches three Pokeballs from her belt of four, throwing them one after the other. "Girls!" she shouts, as three Pokemon appear--a Metapod and two Eevees, one smaller than the other and wearing a bright orange scarf. "Sal, String Shot! Aurora, Marigold, help me with the rubble!" Sal sprays silk at the edge of the crumbled rock, stabilizing it. Marigold and Aurora stay at their trainer's side as she starts clearing debris. Aurora digs as best as she can--she's not a specialist by any means--while Marigold lets out reassuring "Evoi!" to let the Clefairies know everything will be okay.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a risky Brute Action toward her party's challenge, Dynamite.
<Pose Tracker> Sable Aomori has posed.
"Hmm."
Sable doesn't argue ruse or lie; instead, she moves on, and once they're there at the fossil... Luna makes a request.
"If I can find you," she says, "Then I'll ask you to come." She knows a lot of the Visitors can be hard to find. And Luna, despite the ears, is definitely a Visitor for her.
"Oh..." The summit. The dancing Clefairy. For the first time, the group can see Sable's expression turn up into a smile. She watches, in silence, until--
"No!" Sable calls in dismay at the demon's laughter. She shrinks back immediately, and the fear Ruth speaks of is in clear evidence, even as she turns her back to Sable. The world... and what it wants for them. "I-I--"
"I don't--"
Let her be worthy of it. Sable stares in alarm as she sees Ruth change, rooted to the spot by that an Cynne. She can see the shape there--the demonic nature of her, too. But that is what she says. To be worthy.
"Of..."
Tears well up in her eyes as she stands there, staring at the rubble and the demon--until Ida shouts, and starts to surge into motion. "But I..."
"What can I do...?"
String shot. Digging. Sable looks forward--and then reaches to her belt, where she keeps her Pokeballs.
"This is..."
She pulls two, and throws them immediately. Out of the Pokeballs spring a Piplup and a Bellsprout, and Sable sets her jaw as she looks forward.
"Go! Take out those boulders with your Bubble Beam and Vine Whip!"
She whirls into action as surely as she was frozen before, running up behind her Pokemon after Luna.
"This is our world!" Sable cries. "I won't let you hurt them!"
DG: Sable Aomori has contributed a risky Brute Action toward her party's challenge, Dynamite.
=================================<* Mt. Moon *>=================================
=================================<* Mt. Moon *>=================================
===========================<* CHALLENGE - Dynamite *>===========================
| Type: Final | Dungeon Ability: Brute | Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
The eponymous Moon is high in the night sky when you reach the summit of the
mountain. There is a chance to relax and take stock of your situation here.
As you ascend, you notice the soft glow of moonlight from within one of the
valleys and witness a rare sight -- the native Fairy-type Pokemon, Clefairy
and Clefable, dancing and singing. All around them are chunks of glowing
Moon Stones.
The peace is soon disrupted. A tall, demonic creature rises through the air,
silhouetted by the full Moon. "So, this is where you've been hiding. Hand me
those moonstones, or suffer the consequences of defying the Ten Wise Men!"
It doesn't take long before the demonic creature, Cynne, launches a mystic
fusillade, blasting the valley with magic. The Fairy Pokemon cry in terror
and run, and a large chunk of the mountainside collapses, trapping them
underneath stone and rubble! You're in no position to engage the creature --
but you are in position to aid the trapped Pokemon!
BGM - Dynamite - Star Ocean: The Second Story OST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFfEYuF1JLc
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Cleanse:_All_Effects_Removed!, Enlighten:_Wits_Up!, |
| Injure:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, Sacrifice:_???, and Tire:_Exhaustion_Up! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
-----------------------------------< TOOLS >------------------------------------
|Player |Tool |Lvl|Ability|Effects |
|Luna Meitner |Force |1 |Brute | |
|Ruth Pauling |Mistcrest |3 |Brute |Cleanse, Sacrifice |
|Ida Everstead-Rey |Force |1 |Brute | |
|Sable Aomori |Force |1 |Brute | |
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
=================================<* Mt. Moon *>=================================
===========================<* CHALLENGE - Dynamite *>===========================
| Type: Final | Dungeon Ability: Brute | Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
The eponymous Moon is high in the night sky when you reach the summit of the
mountain. There is a chance to relax and take stock of your situation here.
As you ascend, you notice the soft glow of moonlight from within one of the
valleys and witness a rare sight -- the native Fairy-type Pokemon, Clefairy
and Clefable, dancing and singing. All around them are chunks of glowing
Moon Stones.
The peace is soon disrupted. A tall, demonic creature rises through the air,
silhouetted by the full Moon. "So, this is where you've been hiding. Hand me
those moonstones, or suffer the consequences of defying the Ten Wise Men!"
It doesn't take long before the demonic creature, Cynne, launches a mystic
fusillade, blasting the valley with magic. The Fairy Pokemon cry in terror
and run, and a large chunk of the mountainside collapses, trapping them
underneath stone and rubble! You're in no position to engage the creature --
but you are in position to aid the trapped Pokemon!
BGM - Dynamite - Star Ocean: The Second Story OST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFfEYuF1JLc
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Cleanse:_All_Effects_Removed!, Injure:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, and |
| Tire:_Exhaustion_Up! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
=================================<* Mt. Moon *>=================================
========================< Results - Mt. Moon - Round 5 >========================
============================< CHALLENGE - Dynamite >============================
Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Luna Meitner 42 --(101)--> 143 Worst
Force Bsc Brute Effects: Risky
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ruth Pauling 38 --(101)--> 139 Good
Mistcrest Maj Brute Effects: Cleanse,
Sacrifice, and Risky
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ida Everstead-Rey 34 --(101)--> 135 Worst
Force Bsc Brute Effects: Risky
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sable Aomori 34 --(101)--> 135 Worst
Force Bsc Brute Effects: Risky
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leader: Luna Meitner 75 --(15)--> 90 Fail
Conditions: Injure(2) and Tire(2)
Effects: Cleanse
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
DG: Luna Meitner is too exhausted to continue! DG: Ruth Pauling is too exhausted to continue! DG: Ida Everstead-Rey is too exhausted to continue! DG: Sable Aomori is too exhausted to continue! DG: The party has failed this challenge! All party members are now Exhausted. This attempt is over. DG: The party led by Luna Meitner has been fully Exhausted by Mt. Moon! DG: The party will now draw a conclusion. =================================<* Mt. Moon *>=================================
=================================<* Mt. Moon *>=================================
===================<* CHALLENGE - Moon Healing Escalation *>====================
| Type: Landmark | Dungeon Ability: Conclusion | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
The battle comes to a fierce standstill, but you stand your ground against
the demonic Cynne.
"I didn't expect to encounter such resistance. But no matter, our masters'
plan continues apace!" he taunts, beating a hasty retreat into the darkness.
His minions follow suit, bereft of leadership.
As you pack up and get ready to leave, one of the Fairy-type Pokemon, a pale
pink creature known as Clefairy, hops up and down excitedly, and then heals
your wounds! It seems grateful for your assistance.
Saving the day's got to feel pretty good right about now.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Cleanse:_All_Effects_Removed!, Hope:_Exhaustion_Down!, |
| Injure:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, and Tire:_Exhaustion_Up! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Luna Meitner has posed.
Yes, Ida. Whatever else she may be, Luna is definitely a teenager.
But Cynne was definitely not expecting a Drifter resistance this night--especially not Ruth, with the likes of her fearsome rifle, able to overcome all obstacles of reach at quite some remove. There is more furious yelling and bellowing, but eventually, the beast is driven off.
The others see to the rescue of the Clefairy and Clefables, with two of them summoning pokemon forth to aid in the efforts. Luna, seemingly, does not have any pokemon to call upon, though there is, curiously enough, a pokemon that comes to assist that doesn't belong to any of them: a Meditite, rushing out and using its small but formidable prowess to assist with moving the rubble.
It is a slow and arduous rescue, but eventually they free all of the trapped pokemon. The pokemon show their gratitude with some healing, and Luna nods to them. "Thank you," she says simply.
She regards Ruth, silently, for a moment. A Hellion who wishes to be worthy of the fear around her, who uses her powers to protect.
A most curious contradiction, indeed.
To Sable she nods simply. "You did well." There is a nod of acknowledgment to Ida, as well, and then Luna turns to leave, seemingly ready to split off from the group once more, like she did once leaving Eluria.
The Meditite stands in her way.
Luna regards it for a moment, frowning in thought, or possibly slight confusion. "You have been following us since we encountered the two men. Why?"
The Meditite pantomimes drawing a spear from behind its back, and then mimicing the motion Luna attempted to use to intimidate the two Hikers.
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
The battle between Ruth and Cynne is noisy and bright and dangerous. When Cynne takes his leave, Ruth's tail grabs hold of the rifle and stabs it into the ground, blade-first. (This is never good handling technique, but some aspect of this always feels good in the moment, and so it keeps happening.)
She lurches forward into a kneel, where the Kricketot that keeps following her leaps in front, tilts their upper body to the side, and looks to her. He is entirely unbothered by the Malevolence.
She looks over her left shoulder - her right wing, even when folded, often gets in the way of it otherwise, where Sable might catch the glow of her eyes though she's not looking at her. Tears are in evidence, as Ida's already familiar with - her Malevolence is largely driven by the emotional gradient of sorrow.
"You didn't hide," she says to Sable. Her tongue flicks, as she looks back ahead to work out the rest of her feelings to drain the buzzing of her mind into a weight in her chest. "...I didn't notice you, for a moment. You're... braver than most of them."
She holds her vigil while the others tend to (and get tended to) by the Clefairy that's seeing to them. Eventually, even the Hellion will have her turn despite her nature and bearing.
In the world of Pokemon, Dark-types are not inherently evil despite the nature of their Moves and bearing. It's far too easy to apply the innocent way of thinking to someone like her, sometimes.
She'll make sure everyone's able to take their leave safely before finding some place to once again put on the guise of her former self.
<Pose Tracker> Sable Aomori has posed.
She did well, Luna says, and Sable finds that the adrenaline is starting to wear off, and she feels very tired. She watches Luna and the Meditite for a moment, until...
Until Ruth acknowledges her. "I... didn't," Sable answers.
Braver than most...
"I didn't want to just do nothing..."
Sable feels better, for the Clefairy's attention; she had scrapes and bruises from her own work, and her Pokemon too. But also because it shows the Clefairy is okay.
"...Thank you," she says. "For helping. You didn't have to."
She looks to Ruth. "...You, too."
She calls back her Pokemon, but not before giving Piplup a hug.
"...I need to go to Cerulean," she says.
"...I'll guide you all there, if you want."
She has... a lot to think about. She'll be quiet on the trip.
<Pose Tracker> Luna Meitner has posed.
Luna is still regarding the Meditite, even as she listens to the background conversation. A guide to Cerulean will be fine, but...
"You were following me... because of my proficiency with a spear?"
The Meditite nods.
There is a frown as the teenager regards the pokemon. "... Do you seek to accompany me?"
Another nod. "Medi."
Luna cocked her head. "And why should I accept your companionship?"
"Meditite." Meditite sits on the ground and takes up a meditative pose while closing its eyes. They focus, and soon enough, a glow surrounds them and they lift up into the air for a moment, levitating.
"Interesting..." She regards the small pokemon. "... I train hard. You had best be prepared to keep up."
The Meditite nods. "Medi medi!"
"Hmm. Then follow along, if you wish." Luna moves to step around it, and Meditite turns to follow behind her.