[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Iron]

You walk laterally among a cluster of chambers. This place has been heavily colonized by Ghost Pokemon - Duskull, Gastly, and especially Yamask are ubiquitous. In fact, you're seeing more and more Yamask as you go - hiding behind statues, hiding in the burial niches of burial chambers, or just poking their masks through the walls to eerily watch you as you go.

Unown-runes on the walls proclaim, "The King shall show the way. The King shall show the way. The King shall show the way." Often, this is punctuated by the sign of a purplish-pink Eye with a pastel-blue pupil.

Then you came to a place that caved in long ago, creating an area that is more rubble and dirt than hollow chamber. It's very rough going, but luckily Cosh has something of a map created from Almanac's sonar. Angie's Dig is also extremely helpful. You're still seeing the occasional proto-capture-web, formed by nature. Some look to be working and others do not.

Gallade seems to be getting agitated - he senses the proximity of an Artifact nearby, but also strong ghosts.

Terra, leading the way for the protection of the party, pokes his head through a hole dug by Angie. He reports back about a new room. It had collapsed like the others, but was carefully dug out. In fact, you see Yamask streaming by holding scoops of earth in their dead faces, continuing to excavate. Some also bear crystals or odd stones. All bear a mini key in each hand.

Fossil-bearing ores have been tastefully placed about the room. Some are on crude stone pedestals, really just sandstones piled up in little heaps. Some are stuck directly into the ground. Many have a rainbow of different mosses growing on them, or pebbles arranged around them in Egyptian designs similar to Ratsy's. There's also an Odd Keystone in a place of honor, with a nascent swirl of a young Spiritomb in it. Tended paths lead from one attraction to another.

For some reason, there are also a couple Slowpoke around. The gardener has gardened right around them without disturbing them. Perhaps they water the slow-growing moss.

Really, it seems you've stepped into what appears to be a fossil garden.

There are two Pokemon that stand out.
1. The Geodude who has often followed you around since Ginger Town, sneaking up on one of the fossils in an attempt to excavate it.
2. A fabulously ornate Cofagrigus, using its four hands to rearrange fossils and stones. It's being very selective and careful. The thing exudes power, and is constantly looking around furtively before making a change. Cofagrigus orders the Yamask around and commands the respect of the other, smaller Ghosts. In its shadow are several 2D Gengar, jostling for position. An array of stone Clefable statues might be their homes or hosts or something.

Beyond the Fossil Garden is a downward path, leading to a door carved with hieroglyphics and made of an unknown metal - maybe orichalcum according to Nathan. You can't really see the door well from here.

There are great heaps of earth like compost all over.