[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Dragonstrike]

...and there is a very particular reason that Nathan and Kirlia are not impressed with Ventre's most recent decision.

He has to work with cooperate with everyone here.  Not just now, but also in the future.

Based on everything they have seen of Ventus in situations like these, they have no reason to believe that this behavior is going to change voluntarily for any reason.

So Kirlia walks over to Ventus and crosses his arms rather impatiently, getting in the way of him leaving to go elsewhere.  With a series of gestures, he seems to say, 'This involves you, too.  You're not making this any easier for anyone, either, including yourself.'

Seeing as Windos said in the meta thread that Ventus would stay if Kirlia stopped him, there ya go.

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

So, with everyone present at the table, Nathan will read the stories.  Nathan turns to one of the bookmarked pages and begins reading...

Page 33

There once was a woman who received a gift from the Lake Guardians of three red gemstones.  'If you have need of our help, call for us, and we shall answer,' they said before flying off to the far corners of Creshire.

The woman did not know what to ask them for, however, and so decided to merely keep the pretty red gemstones on display in her home instead.

An evil man who knew what the gemstones were, however, decided to steal the gems from her one day and attempt to use them to achieve his own goals.  Stealing the gems was a trivial matter for him, and none were aware of what had happened until he was long gone.

The man ascended to the top of a mountain in the Great Divide, where he summoned Palkia, the Pokemon of Space.  He took the three gemstones and formed a Red Chain with them, attempting to bind Palkia to his will, as he had heard had been done in other regions.  Palkia, however, merely ignored the chain.  Enraged that a lesser creature would attempt to dare control it through force, Palkia did what was to be expected: severely wounded the man that attempted to bind it and left.

It was then that the Lake Guardians appeared before the man.  Thinking he had been saved, the man cried out to them for help.  However, the Pokemon of Knowledge, Emotion, and Willpower were not here to help him, but to punish him.  They completely drained him of all three spiritual aspects, turning him into a stone statue which was left on the mountaintop.  The trio then retrieved the gemstones that had formed the chain, and returned them to the woman they belonged to.  She was very grateful to the Lake Trio for returning their gift to her.  She still didn't know what she would use it for, but she promised she would do a better job of protecting it until she did.

Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf then flew back to their respective domains, awaiting for her call...

Nathan then puts his Tail Gemstone Replica on the table.  "That run down shack was more important than it appears to be.  Inside it was a very realistic looking statue of Uxie.  Upon pulling out my gemstone, it turned into a psychic projection of Uxie itself.  The Embodiment of Knowledge wasn't actually present, but it had created a facsimile for one purpose: answering questions about an item called a Red Chain."

Nathan pulls out his journal, flips through it, and pulls out some very professional looking documents that feature the Lake Trio, a picture of a Red Chain, and all manner of other things relating to the two.

"From Cynthia's research, I knew that the Red Chain had the ability to bind other creatures absolutely.  Enough power to bind even a single Legendary pokemon, in fact.  However...this story contradicts that, suggesting that all the item did was summon the Lake Trio.  After some thinking, it made sense that Mesprit would only give us something like this if it intended for us to call for its aid...but I wasn't sure how to make the Chain.  I asked Uxie's facsimile a few questions, and I have a better idea of what the Red Chain is now thanks to it.  The short of it is that if we put together the three gemstones and simply will for it to make a Red Chain, we can call upon one member of the Lake Trio once for a favor relating to their powers and what they represent.  Once the Lake Guardian has determined they no longer owe that favor, the gems will lose their luster and power.  And if you're worried about the responsibility of holding an item that could potentially control a Legend, don't be.  The gemstones were given willingly, so they can only call the trio's members.  If they were taken by force...that'd be another matter entirely."

He puts his gemstone away.

"If we lose even one gemstone or gemstone half, then we can't form a Red Chain to call for Mesprit.  That's all I had to say on that matter.  Now, there's something else we learned out there that's rather...important and worrying."

Nathan turns to the other bookmarked page in the children's book.

Page 56

There once was a girl who sought to prove she was brave.  As a symbol of that bravery, she wanted to find a magic sword.  She'd heard stories about it being in hidden in the Long Grass growing in a meteor crater near the Skull Ruins.  She didn't think it would be that hard to find.  She'd been exploring Long Grass without incident for years, so what could possibly go wrong when she went to look for this sword?

Not long after entering the grass, she encountered some Clefairy.  Thinking they were cute and friendly, she decided to follow them.  She walked and she walked, never quite able to keep up with the wandering, cute fairies...

...and then she realized she was no longer in the Long Grass.  She was now deep in the Skull Ruins, surrounded by terrifying, dangerous Ghosts.  What she thought was a Clefairy had suddenly become a Gengar that was now chasing her.

She ran, and she ran, and she ran...deeper and deeper into the Skull Ruins she went, hounded by ghosts and slimy things and spooky noises...it wasn't until she entered a scary looking crypt and slammed the door shut behind her that she found some respite.  

Of course, she was also now in a crypt.  But she couldn't exactly walk back outside, either.  So venturing into the crypt she went...she didn't know why, but it almost felt like something was calling to her from this crypt...maybe that's why she ran into it?

A short while later, she found out why.  A helmet that glowed with the same light as a meteor was on display in this crypt.  Fascinated, she decided to put it on.  It shone with a warm, bright light, and she thought that she felt just a little more focused with it on.  Maybe?  She wasn't quite sure...she didn't really feel much different...but maybe with this light on her head, the ghosts would leave her alone.

Upon leaving the crypt, she found there was nothing to chase her, so she slowly and carefully made her way back to the Long Grass, ever mindful that there might be another ghost around every corner.  She reached the crater without incident, though, and plunged back into the Long Grass.

...and almost immediately, she was faced with another Clefairy.  'Follow Me!' it seemed to say as it disappeared into the grass again.  And she almost did.  But the helmet shone with that bright light, and she realized that she shouldn't follow the Clefairy.  She decided to investigate in the opposite direction.

And that was when she found the Magic Sword, it's blade glowing with a soft, comforting light.  Her symbol of courage found, she headed home to tell everyone of her adventure...

Nathan closes the book.  "...The Gauntlet is a Relic Stone, and thus tied to Celebi's power over Time Travel and Memories, as well as Celebi herself.  Upon touching it, Heart apparently heard the voice of one of his ancestors.  She apparently talked about finding a Sword of some kind, of saving this region and ending an experiment...I have reason to believe this Sword that Heart's ancestor mentioned might be related to the one in this story.  That Helmet the story mentioned might be related, too...and that vision that Lilith and Kirlia shared earlier seemed to imply that there's four items of some kind hidden in the Skull Ruins.  Kirlia had a feeling these two stories in the book might be important, and it seems they are for different reasons."

...

"...there's one more thing.  Heart and I were talking with Celebi, and...she confirmed one of my fears.  The Disaster of Stone...seems to be partially related to an out of control Rock Peak Pokemon, otherwise known as Regirock.  One that Sarimanok bound to his will...when Sarimanok was dethroned and the palace fell into disrepair, Regirock, who apparently serves as the foundation of the location, apparently began losing control as its powers mixed with the more...dangerous ones that were present in the Ruins."

...Nathan puts the book away and looks over at Slaking.  Ah, looks like he's done with his short nap.

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

Post riddle evaluation, Nathan's pretty much done with talking to the group unless anyone has anything to talk with him about/questions to ask him.

Now that the important thing of informing the group is done, his main priority at this moment is helping Solosis.  So it's off to go see the Slowking with the Delta Shellder crown they go!

"...*ahem*...uh, excuse me, Slowking, but Celebi mentioned that you have a way to 'release pokemon from an apricorn's bindings', or something along those lines?  Regrettably, it seems Solosis here is in need of that kind of a service..."