[Game Thread] Pokerole: Mount Coronet Mystery

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

By the time everyone has regrouped at the Pokemon Center, it's getting rather late in the day.  Everyone's probably getting a little worried since Professor Rowan hasn't walked in the door yet, and the sun's starting to go down.  Snowpoint is cold during the day, but at night?  It's freezing.  Even the locals don't stay outdoors for long when night falls.

The Pokemon Center's lobby is just as busy at the end of the day as it was in the morning.  Bug Catchers, Youngsters, Lasses, Ace Trainers, Snowboarders, Skiers...everyone who's gotten a room at the Center has returned by now.

Eventually, the crowds start to thin as it gets later and later.  An hour passes.  An hour and a half.  The lobby ends up much quieter as the majority of people turn in for the night.

...but just when members of the group start to consider turning in themselves, the front door of the Center is flung wide open, and a frigid breeze heralds the arrival of someone!  The coat and other protective gear they're wearing are so thick that it's impossible to tell who they are at first.

But everyone (except maybe Kee if he's still waiting with the group) recognizes who he is as soon as he takes off the hat and goggles.


Music: Professor Rowan - Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum

"...well, that took longer than I was expecting it to..." he mumbles to himself.

The first thing he does upon entering the Pokemon Center's Lobby is head over to the counter and hand the overnight Nurse (it's a different person, not Nurse Joy) a pokeball.  "Staraptor could use a little warming up, if you don't mind, Nurse.  It is positively frigid out there."

His pokemon accounted for, he turns and looks around the room to see who's present.  Once he sees everyone gathered at the table, he pulls up a chair and sits at it himself.

"Ah, good to see you all again.  Apologies for taking so long.  Those last minute arrangements were trickier to negotiate than I thought they'd be.  Anyways...how have you all been fairing in the meanwhile?  I trust there hasn't been much trouble while you've been awaiting my arrival?"

As the daylight dwindled and faded into the smoky blackness of night, like the fires of a forge slowly be put out, Randolph was seriously starting to get irritated that Professor Rowan had still not dragged his feet through the Center's doors yet. By this point he'd read his all he cared for, drank all his cocoa, and Beethoven had fallen asleep earlier in the evening (So no more of their favorite music from them), so with no distractions and no desire to pass the time nattering with his co-workers, his patience for this long wait was growing thin.

He knew they got caught up in some dang last minute business or complication of sorts, but for a day and then some to pass and there was not yet any sign or hint of that proper old coot was really testing his commitment to this confound-it supernatural conspiracy mystery they called a 'job'. If it was anyone else that kept him waiting this long and for nearly ANY other work, he'd just blow the whole thing off and tell them to shove it if they badgered him for help again. Sure, he managed to keep himself occupied in the mean time, and he and his partners managed to chase up some leads on this catastrophe in progress - including finding someone else that had be dragged half-way across the world here, and now wanted to help solve this global problem - but that was no excuse for them to take so bloody damn long -

The internal tirade he was having was cut off when the doors of the center were dramatic forced open to reveal some the totally decked out stranger, catching his attention like a Magikarp to an Old Rod and causing him to frown and scoff.

'What's that bloke over there trying to do, causing a scene at this time of day? Bah, only a fool or someone suffering from frostbite pulls that kind of stunt......'

Ran, your hippocracy is showing!

Before he could properly get another good silent grumping going, the stranger revealed himself to be none other Professor Rowan, prompting the bristly blacksmith eyes to go wide in recognition until he threw his hands up in the air and nearly exclaimed thus in mixed exasperation and relief:

"Endlich ist der alte Forscher da! Von Feuerstein und Stahl, für einen so verdammt wichtigen Job, für den er uns engagiert hat, hat er sich nicht beeilt, pünktlich hierher zu kommen!"
Translations: Finally, that old sodding researcher has arrived! By flint and Steel, for such an damn important job he hired us for, he didn't make much haste to get here on time!
When sat down greeted them, Randolph  gave the scholarly gentleman a frown and deadpan look, his tone was gruff and at some points knowingly droll.

"We've never meet before in our life until now, Rowan. Unless you count the mail you sent, or done some snooping on me. And yes, you sure took ya time getting here. An outrageous amount of time, with very little warning or contingencies in place for the wait, some may say. Like me."

Yeah.......Ran ain't regarding the good old professor that well right now, for a number of reasons, obvious and not.

After a moment of purposeful silence, the midget man closed his eyes, let out a *Sigh....* and looked back at Rowan again, his expression now neutral but serious.

"You're here now though, so I suppose that's what matters in the end. Name's Randolph Schimdt. I'm that old bastard of a blacksmith and miner that the lad recommended to ya. Would say its a pleasure meeting ya, but  it ain't. Don't hate ya, but I don't have much reason to like you that much either right now. Not too happy with ya or the job you baited me into too, in case you didn't know that by now."

Blunt as a hammer, and his manner course as sandpaper, Ran is. Seesh.

"As for trouble besides making us all wait like Breeder hatching their Eggs...."

He jerk a thumb at Kee (or Kogeki/Karen, if they are not there).

".....I'd say your trust has been misplaced a bit. Kogeki and Karen know this more than me, but to be brief...."

[Insert Explanation Here!]

".....So in sum, I'd say this problem mystery of yours is starting to get well out of hand. A bit. A lot of bits. But maybe that's just me."

His tone was so dry, you could make jerky with it.