[Game Thread] Pokerole Mystery Dungeon: Primal Shadows

[Dragonstrike]

There isn't a ledge there this time, as the ground slopes slightly upwards as the group heads through a tunnel entrance and exits the room, following the track.

The tunnel doesn't go particularly far, however.  The track and tunnel both end at a large pile of black rocks nestled in a dead end.

   

A single black rock at the bottom of the pile is slightly glowing with the dull red color of heat.


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"Well look at that!  It's a Charcoal!"


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"Hmmm...I wonder if this strange path has something to do with why this large pile of coal is here..."

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

There isn't a ledge there this time, as the ground slopes slightly upwards as the group heads through a tunnel entrance and exits the room, following the track.

The tunnel doesn't go particularly far, however.  The track and tunnel both end at a large pile of black rocks nestled in a dead end.



A single black rock at the bottom of the pile is slightly glowing with the dull red color of heat.



"Well look at that!  It's a Charcoal!"



"Hmmm...I wonder if this strange path has something to do with why this large pile of coal is here..."

Upon sighting the smoldering lump of coal, Pyra perked up immediately at the strangely alluring thingy and - if no one minds or stops her - made a beeline towards, not waiting anyone or scoping out the room for danger beforehand. The she demon tentatively hover over the Item for a few seconds, trying to discern what it was and how it was affecting her, during which Marcus' string of observations played out. She looked over at him, her expression weary but curious, and made a circular gesture at the now indentified Charcoal.

"This is burning lump, hot rock is a....Charcoal? What is that, what does it do, and is it safe to pick up and touch too?"

Intensely curious and willful as she was, the brimstone imp had taken to heart that such passions unchecked often lead to doom, peril, drama, embrassment, or so combination of them all, and so sought more information about the radiate lump of fuel before she attempted a closer inspection of it.

His comment on the pile itself is met with only a tired shrug; she was not overly interested in the hows and whys of the mine and it's various oddities, far too burnt out and focused on getting this increasingly burdensome favor of his over and done with. Maybe latter she'd contemplate these mysteries with much more relish and excitement, but definitely not now or soon.

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

That large pile of black rocks at the end of the path appears VERY interesting to Ziggy Kee, as within a second the furry crittercoon is right by that pile to sniff and scratch at these alluring black rocks with great zeal. "Hummmm...", he mutters to himself, "They feel an' smell d'fferent than normal rocks. They're nat like ord'nary rocks. ...That must mean they're SPECIAL! ( ÒωÓ)و☆ Gonna take some of 'em with me, hehe!!~" Three of these black coal from the pile (not the Charcoal Pyra's interested in) disappear into Kee's guitar bag. What for is a different matter, Kee just likes them!

"Hmmm...I wonder if this strange path has something to do with why this large pile of coal is here..."

About that, Kee eagerly nods his head. "Well, 'f course these two things 'ave somethin' t'do with each other!~ Waaaaay too s'spicious an' non-random for it nat t'be." He smiles and snickers a little, the shrugs. "In what way however, that's b'yond me. Even more so if this place 'as been created by hyumans. But there MUST be a connection, I'm suuuure!"

Concerning the found Charcoal that Pyra is eagerly interested in, Kee can't help but to sniff at it too, but quickly lunges back to prevent himself from accidently burning his nose. "Huh, it's warm. Hot even. Bet a Fire Type would enjoy it, wouldn't ya 'gree there, Pyra dear?~"


-----------
(To save time, I'll state in which direction I'd like to go next. Scene can still be elaborated in a flashback however!)

"Weeeeell.... Nothin' more of 'nterest here, so how 'bout we return and take a d'fferent way then? C'mon, letsa go!" Back on the previous tile, Kee scans the nearby area through the Specs... Until he casts an eager smile and starts streching and sharpening his claws. "Been a bit since we 'ad a fine battle, hasn't it?~ 'Bout time for some training 'gain, tyehehehe!!~~" Oh the curiosity about what Pokemon may lurk down this Hidden Mine - it's making Kee's fur bristle.

   

[Spiritmon]

Spoiler

There isn't a ledge there this time, as the ground slopes slightly upwards as the group heads through a tunnel entrance and exits the room, following the track.

The tunnel doesn't go particularly far, however.  The track and tunnel both end at a large pile of black rocks nestled in a dead end.



A single black rock at the bottom of the pile is slightly glowing with the dull red color of heat.



"Well look at that!  It's a Charcoal!"



"Hmmm...I wonder if this strange path has something to do with why this large pile of coal is here..."

About the discovery of the Charcoal Kogeki didnt had much to say about it. 

"Well. Since you Pyra is the only one with Fire-type Moves at the moment, I think you should grab it. That way, your Fire-type moves will be more powerfull than before. And in terms of raw strengh you are one of strongest in our team."

Kee words about "more battle" make Kogeki excited in some good action. "Awesome. Lets go ahead then. Whatever enemy is ahead will be a good training in preparation for our battle against Machamp. They will taste my blade today."

"But just in case something happen, be ready to use the Escape Orb Karen. We might not need, but you better be prepared for everything. Lead the way Leader Kee."

"...Now that I stop to think about it, we have three members with "K" in the names: Kogeki, Karen and Kee. This is not something related to the actual situation, but I found that kinda funny. And it is difficult for me to find something funny."

[Lord Windos]

Pyra looked a bit concerned at Kee's unfettered curiosity with these pile of 'coal' and his subsequent pilfering from it, as she hadn't yet received or learned anything about them (and, most pertinently, whether they were dangerous or not). Still, she let him do as he pleased; it was not her place to restrain such innocent desires, least of all from a beloved, most cherished friend.

His comment prompted a quizzical replay on the she demon's part, "Why do you assume so, believe that this and that are connected emphermarlly oh? Intuition, perhaps, or an idea unexplored?"

The punk star's attempt to directly investigate the smoldering Charcoal was almost meet with splayed claw to the face to push him back, as she did NOT want him to torch himself on it, nor have something *unspeakable* occur because of some arcane interaction she does not yet know about. Fortunately he had enough sense to back off, earning him a soft, relieved sigh.

"Yes, I agree, most certainly. My heart, my inner Inferno, feels drawn to it, unexpectedly so. But, yet....I don't want it touched, anyone to lay upon it, until we learn more about it, least it hide some nefarious secret for us all. *Frowns* Be careful, Kee. It is okay to be curious, such feelings are wonderous indeed, but it can lead to ends and perils most dire and avoidable."

Considering that Pyra almost got flattened by a dead tree back in prior M.D. the Team was in because she was too noisy for her own good, her lingering warning SHOULD resonate strongly with the black 'n white crittercoon.

///

Kogeki's vague Insight on the Charcoal immediately attracts Pyra's interest, causing her to gaze at him intently and imploring.

"You say that this 'Charcoal' would embolden my Fire, increase it's potency, ferocity, and scornful ire? Are you certain of this, my dear Kogeki?"

His eagerness to face the upcoming battles brings forth a *grim* smile to the fiendish imp's face as she nodded to him. Though she does not share in such thrills so easily or readily, she always took a great deal of satisfaction of CRUSHING and BURNING all that dared opposed, threaten, or harm her friends. She also gave him another approving nod as he gifted Karen the Escape Orb; if something BAD happened to the group, she could Teleport somewhere to safety and use it to escape and save herself, and possibly send help and aid to the rest of them.

Their latest observation only earned him a confused, ponderous look, however.

"....How is that funny, why is it so bemusing to you? And why does such jollity and free humor remain beyond and not behold to thee?"

[Dragonstrike]

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"I can confirm that holding a Charcoal will strengthen the Fire type moves of whoever holds it.  They're pretty easy to heat up, so they're great to use as crafting material if you want something combustible.  It's still great on its own, but you could use it as a basis for something else to potentially strengthen the effect.  General rule of thumb for crafting: if you want an item to do something in particular, it's easier to use an item that already does part of what you want it to do as a base.  That Charcoal should be safe to pick up as it is if you want it.  It should just be warm to the touch."

"Ooh, you should definitely take it, Pyra!  You're great with Fire type moves already!"

Nothing in particular happens when Kee approaches the pile of black rocks to sniff at the Charcoal.  It's at the bottom of the pile, out in the open, and it looks easy to pick up.

-----------------------------------------------------

After deciding what to do with the Charcoal, Team OS and Marcus follow the tracks in the other direction, traveling through another tunnel that eventually splits off in two directions.

   

The track continues going straight ahead through the corridor (to the south-western corner of the tile to use some meta speak), disappearing into the darkness.

The split in the corridor does not have a track on it, appearing to be a simple stone corridor.

Both paths seem to have veins of black coal laced throughout them, though there's also many holes in the veins.


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"Well, I guess that explains where the coal and charcoal came from.  But who's digging it all up?"

And that's when the group hears a sound coming from further down the corridor with the track, getting steadily louder each time they hear it.

*chachunk chachunk chachunk chachunk chachunk chachunk*

"I think we might be about to find out...," Karen whispers.  "Kee, what should we do?"

"I think we should just confront them head on!  It'll be good experience, and trust me, you'll be fine with me around!~  Hehehehe!"

"I wasn't asking you, Hoopa...Kee?"

[Spiritmon]

Spoiler

Kogeki's vague Insight on the Charcoal immediately attracts Pyra's interest, causing her to gaze at him intently and imploring.

"You say that this 'Charcoal' would embolden my Fire, increase it's potency, ferocity, and scornful ire? Are you certain of this, my dear Kogeki?"

His eagerness to face the upcoming battles brings forth a *grim* smile to the fiendish imp's face as she nodded to him. Though she does not share in such thrills so easily or readily, she always took a great deal of satisfaction of CRUSHING and BURNING all that dared opposed, threaten, or harm her friends. She also gave him another approving nod as he gifted Karen the Escape Orb; if something BAD happened to the group, she could Teleport somewhere to safety and use it to escape and save herself, and possibly send help and aid to the rest of them.

Their latest observation only earned him a confused, ponderous look, however.

"....How is that funny, why is it so bemusing to you? And why does such jollity and free humor remain beyond and not behold to thee?"

Kogeki stop to think for a second and then he answer Pyra question. "...I think so. Normally certains Charcoals have some kind of effect when the user use some kind of Fire-type Move. If I knew some attack Fire Move, the Charcoal would increase its power. If thats the type of Charcoal I think it is, it might increase your flames. We could test the Charcoal and see if it somehow increase the power of your flames. There some rocks here, so I dont see any problem in test your increase flames here."

Kogeki shrugged and tell her. "Dont know. Its just a bit funny. The idea of a team called K3 or 3K is kinda of a funny though. Its a bit stupid I know. Maybe a choice of name of team before I could have though could be Team 3KDP. Or maybe K3DP."

"Dont know why I found that funny. Maybe the sonority of the name is funny? Or maybe the coincidence of having members with the same letter "K" in their names is funny. Or perhaps certain strange things or situations funny. Or I finally beggining to loose my sanity after a while as a D-Riolu in this world."

"Or maybe I just overthinking to much."

[Lord Windos]

Pyra listened carefully as both Marcus and Kogeki gave their own take on what this 'Charcoal' does and can be used for. Once they finished, she didn't have to dwell on the info long to make her decision, promptly scooping the Item up and placing it in her Bag. She briefly shivered in delight as the black lump's warmth radiated through her claw and stroked her inner Fire, before giving the two (and Karen!) a slight smile and thankful nod.

"My appreciation and gratitude for your explanations, Kogeki and Marcus. This Charcoal will be of great use and splendid interest for me in the future, oh yes. For now, however here, I prefer to wear my Pecha Scarf. Know not if anything that dwells in these sooty-dusty caves be Poisonous most festering and reviled, but better safe than sorry, no?"

The spiritual ninja's not at all enlightening replies only intensified the confused and perplexed look the she-demon was giving him, before she let out a small *sigh* and shrugged it off. Guess his sense of humor is yet another thing that escapes her comprehension and rationale's grasp...

////

The brimstone imp almost has time to slip back into her moody introspections as the group backtracked and further explored the Mines, but the bone crafsmon's comment and the subsequent *sounds* nicely jarred her out of it.

"Ho, huh, where is what is that sound coming from?"

Hoopa's suggestion is meet with an enthusiastic nod, as while she WAS growing more cautious she would always instinctually favor the most direct course of action if she it was safe to do so, curious and energetic being that she was. With the whole group together and the djin's magical assistance, she was more than confidant of their chances of just waltzing in and dealing with whatever was the cause of that *noise* and these mined rocks.

Karen's stern rebuke does tempered her response, though, and she turns to Kee, giving him an expectant and almost imploring look, hopeful that he heeds the wispy genie's advice.

[Spiritmon]

Kogeki follow all the path making sure to watch every step in the way toward in the front. When everyone begin to hear that sound ahead and point what they think, Kogeki interject and say his opinion. "I like too a direct approach...but it would not be wise. We dont know how many enemies are ahead. If we go now, we might surprise them yes, but it could also compromise our position with many enemies attacking us in all directions. We dont know if Machamp is even there, and direct battle could make us use our healing items to much soon depeding in how many or what kind of enemies we wil deal."

"My plan is: For me to scout ahead. I the most stealth member among us. And the most agile. I might hide easier in the shadows and analyze how many are ahead for us have a better plan in how and what to do. Thats the kind of thing I train for." 

"Besides, even if I fail in my stealth mission and they see me, I can use my speed to run away who also can help us sorta. We could prepare a ambush in case our enemies chase me. A decoy for us to ambush them, and not the other way."

Kogeki then look to the others and tell them. "In terms of desensive abilities and strengh I problably the weakest. But what I lack in power and defense, I make up in deception and speed. Thats the main strongest weapons of a ninja."

"Of course, thats just a idea of mine. And I know that plan have risks, but its the one with better chances of survive without much risks to you people. If someone have to take the risks, the best one for this job is me." Kogeki then look at Kee/@PhantomUnderYourDesk. "However, I not the Leader today. You are. its up to you what we should do."

"Should we attack right away, without knowledge what we might find ahead and risk everyone safety? Or risk the life of only one member to scout ahead, and prepare a possible ambush?"

Kogeki then let his words stay in the air, waiting for Kee decision.

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Original Post 1

"Hmmm...I wonder if this strange path has something to do with why this large pile of coal is here..."

About that, Kee eagerly nods his head. "Well, 'f course these two things 'ave somethin' t'do with each other!~ Waaaaay too s'spicious an' non-random for it nat t'be." He smiles and snickers a little, the shrugs. "In what way however, that's b'yond me. Even more so if this place 'as been created by hyumans. But there MUST be a connection, I'm suuuure!"

Concerning the found Charcoal that Pyra is eagerly interested in, Kee can't help but to sniff at it too, but quickly lunges back to prevent himself from accidently burning his nose. "Huh, it's warm. Hot even. Bet a Fire Type would enjoy it, wouldn't ya 'gree there, Pyra dear?~"

Pyra looked a bit concerned at Kee's unfettered curiosity with these pile of 'coal' and his subsequent pilfering from it, as she hadn't yet received or learned anything about them (and, most pertinently, whether they were dangerous or not). Still, she let him do as he pleased; it was not her place to restrain such innocent desires, least of all from a beloved, most cherished friend.

His comment prompted a quizzical replay on the she demon's part, "Why do you assume so, believe that this and that are connected emphermarlly oh? Intuition, perhaps, or an idea unexplored?"

The punk star's attempt to directly investigate the smoldering Charcoal was almost meet with splayed claw to the face to push him back, as she did NOT want him to torch himself on it, nor have something *unspeakable* occur because of some arcane interaction she does not yet know about. Fortunately he had enough sense to back off, earning him a soft, relieved sigh.

"Yes, I agree, most certainly. My heart, my inner Inferno, feels drawn to it, unexpectedly so. But, yet....I don't want it touched, anyone to lay upon it, until we learn more about it, least it hide some nefarious secret for us all. *Frowns* Be careful, Kee. It is okay to be curious, such feelings are wonderous indeed, but it can lead to ends and perils most dire and avoidable."

Considering that Pyra almost got flattened by a dead tree back in prior M.D. the Team was in because she was too noisy for her own good, her lingering warning SHOULD resonate strongly with the black 'n white crittercoon.

Pyra's innocent question earns her a joyous laughter and friendly nudge from Ziggy Kee. "Oh, mere guessin' an' puttin' hints t'gether, my dearest!~ (･ω<)☆Like, would ya build up some steady-lookin' metal lines that end up on a bunch of nice black rocks down a dark an' hidden mine for absolutely nothin'? ...I for sure would nat, ahaha!~~ *cough* Well, unless the hyoomans would. If so, their way of thinkin' is ODD."

Original Post 2

Kee's words about "more battle" make Kogeki excited in some good action. "Awesome. Lets go ahead then. Whatever enemy is ahead will be a good training in preparation for our battle against Machamp. They will taste my blade today."

"But just in case something happen, be ready to use the Escape Orb Karen. We might not need, but you better be prepared for everything. Lead the way Leader Kee."

More laughing and snickering from the crittercoon. "Ahahaha, THAT'S da spirit, K'geki! Kinda like yar enthusiasm." He also gets a friendly nudge with the nose. "Oh pwease, 'Leader Kee' is no title I'm worthy of. By far nat, ahaha!~ (^v^; ) I like the...ring of it, but dear-me's just a furry Zigzagoon on tha outside an' a crazy yet tender guy on tha inside."

Original Post 3

"Well, I guess that explains where the coal and charcoal came from.  But who's digging it all up?"

And that's when the group hears a sound coming from further down the corridor with the track, getting steadily louder each time they hear it.

*chachunk chachunk chachunk chachunk chachunk chachunk*

"I think we might be about to find out...," Karen whispers.  "Kee, what should we do?"

"I think we should just confront them head on!  It'll be good experience, and trust me, you'll be fine with me around!~  Hehehehe!"

"I wasn't asking you, Hoopa...Kee?"

Just when Kee was scratching and licking on these veins of coal in the walls and in the path, that sudden sound came in, causing him to make a beeline-jump in front of his people and take an aggressive-protective stance; complete with bristled fur and bared teeth. Whatever's ahead, it has to deal with HIM first before even touching the others!!

They turning towards him in terms of what to do increases his protective nature, on top of making him cough and blush a tiny little bit. Still, he manages to keep a cool head, yay! "Well, am gonna tell ya what we'll do... One moment pwease!~" In a swift movement Kee disappears into his guitar bag to swap the X-Ray Specs with one Gravelerock (which now counts as Held Item). "What- or whoever's there, very likely doesn't know WE'RE there yet, so how 'bout we use that fact to our advantage?~ *pointing towards the split corridor without tracks* Let'sa gonna hide there an' wait for the 'proaching 'Mon. No jumping at 'em yet! I'd like to see who or what they are an' how they're makin' that sound first. And of course whether it'll notice US b'fore we notice it, an' whether IT'll jump at us 'f so. 'F nat, well then, then I'll MAKE 'EM notice us viathe Gravelerrock while ya people attack in an ambush!~"

"Sorreh there, Pyra, Hoopa an' K'geki - no direct confrontin' t'day, nor scoutin' ahead. K? K, thanks!"


(Metawise, I wish for us to hide in that corridor
   
in the hopes of whatever's coming there, does not notice us right away. That way we can ambush it, Kee via throwing a Gravelerrock at it [2 Dext + 2 Fight + 0 Throw as Accuracy = 4d6, 2 dice of damage].)