[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Dragonstrike]

Nathan's curious when Shiva asks him to meet her in her room in 15 minutes. He's not one to turn down honest requests, however...strange.

15 minutes later, he's in front of Shiva's room. He was...just a tad nervous that one of the other members of the group might spot him. Everyone else was in their rooms though, so he relaxes slightly when he reaches the door to Shiva's room. He doesn't know what Shiva wants, but it'd be better for everyone if nobody got any...ideas. Ralts is quietly giggling at Nathan's nervousness, knowing that nobody is around anyways. "Ralts, no laughing. It's not funny. Now then, behave yourself, please." Ralts stops giggling. At least, he stops making the sounds. Nathan can still feel Ralts's amusement though. "Sigh...alright then, let's see what she wants..."

As Nathan opens the door, he sees Shiva as described. Comfortale black clothes, snivy plushie in hand, and waiting on him in a dimply lit room. He takes a seat at her request, and Ralts goes over to play with her pokemon and share the treats. He's still nervous, but he hides it. Now was not the time for such thoughts.

Her thank you is sincere, and he relaxes a bit when Shiva leads with that. "It was really no big deal. I, uh...kinda felt a little responsible for getting us in that mess, anyways, so it was the least I could do to help make sure you made it back safely..."

When she mentions the murkrow and the mark though, Nathan's stumped. "A Murkrow that talks in riddles? Wild ones don't typically exhibit speech capabilities of that nature...and it led you to a symbol carved into the sand?" She shows him the picture, and he looks...confused. "I'm sorry, but...I have no idea what that symbol is. I consider myself rather well read too, but I've never seen anything like that in all of the history books and basic pokemon training articles I've read. Maybe...it's related to that strange man we encountered, though?" Nathan shifts in the chair, just a little on edge now that the topic has shifted to the Scimitar.

"Speaking of which, I'll give you the brief summary. Valder said he is one of a small group known as Scimitars. Whether it's through 'magic' or technology or pokemon, I don't know, but they somehow have the ability to manipulate the earth, creating things such as earthquakes or swamps. I didn't get a definite answer from Valder on it, but from what I observed of the battle, it seems like large parts of them consist of metal." Nathan pulls out the metal finger. "Valder called it a gauntlet, but I would say it would be more than just a mere glove. Look at this finger. It looks purely mechanical. No room for a fleshy finger anywhere. Valder also said that their equipment, such as the 'gauntlets,' belts, and staves, give them rather...inhuman capabilities. He moved faster than he should of, knocked over the RV with a single blow, didn't flinch when a frying pan struck his head...my theory is that he's mostly, if not completely, made of metal. I'm not sure if we can even call him human...they still carry pokemon, though, but don't always use them. They also tend to not travel alone...Ventus said he'd heard a second voice in the fog, a female one, but she sounded irritated with the Scimitar we faced, and left, with her pokemon, before we were attacked." Nathan pauses to let the information sink in.

"I also told Valder that he could brief us on the rest when the whole group is together. That'll probably be soon. When we head off from Ginger Town to wherever we go next being the latest opportunity. I haven't told Larry any of this yet, but that can wait until the briefing. He can enjoy the festival in the meantime. I'm sure he's got a lot on his mind already, just based on what's happened with him recently." Nathan ends the explanation there and awaits Shiva's response.