[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Lord Windos]

Ventus was silent as Nathan finally unveiled the dark, sordid Truth he had been holding deep within himself, eyes hard and expression especially serious as he listened. 'The Lake Trio, Sarimonok's fall into madness, a Disaster of Stone, a Prophecy to Save Cheshire, with Kirlia and Nathan at its center....it appears the boy was correct in keeping this information to himself for the most part. If a random stranger got a hold of this intel, it might have caused an uproar and panic in the general populace, given how much severity they treat tradition and legends from their past, and if Alamanac or that cabal of wizards learned of this....I shudder to think what they would do. It does not entirely excuse him from not briefing us about it earlier rather than at this juncture if he 'trusts' us so much, but given how closely tied he is to the Prophecy and Mespirit's involvement, I can sympathize with the desire to keep it all to himself....though I have a feeling he's still holding out on us,' the researcher thought to himself, letting Shiva and Valder answer their own questions, before he raised his own in that same professional tone of voice. Despite the boy's praises/thanks, the sociologist opinion of them was still a black as the night, as it would take fare more than sweet words to regain his favor...

"Have you considered the possibility of failure, and planned accordingly for that outcome Nathan? This prophecy sounds harrowing to the extreme, and has the high potential to cost all of us dearly should we ardently pursue it in the hopes of saving Cheshire. I'm also curious enough to ask if you can teach all of us how to translate Old Unown script as well, just in case we come across it ourselves in our travels and can translate it on the spot, instead of being forced to come to you and Solomon to divine its meaning. As to how you will handle restoring Kirlia's empathy for all others, the Neverstone is a fine option, but you would still have to endevour to teach it to keep an open heart and expand it for others, and not form such a strong dependency on you if and when it evolves again to prevent it from prioritizing you above all else. Otherwise, history will repeat itself, and you and him will be back at square one. Have you also considered the riddle we uncovered on that pot we found exiting Fireweed Forest, and how it relates to the Skull Ruins as a whole, since that is the epicenter of those horrendous Vines ? That is all the pertinent question I have at the moment, as the rest can wait until we figure out what else can be done to halt the encroach of those Vines and the Manniken Kings that control them..."

[Iron]

Dagny nods approvingly. This is the kind of direct take-charge leadership she is all about. She doesn't say a word yet though, not wanting to kill the momentum.

[Dragonstrike]

In response where Mesprit is...

"No.  I've not even told Dagny that. Feel free to speculate about where and when I met the Being of Emotion, but I'm neither confirming nor denying anything concerning that.  I'm not risking Mesprit getting unwanted company waiting on its metaphorical doorstep that might mess with my ability to get there again without raising any kind of a fuss."

In response to folklore...

"The Hog Potato Swamp...hehe...if the 'ends of the earth' are anywhere, the most distant location in the region is definitely the first place to look.  Sounds like we might have to visit Arrowroot Village..."

In response to considering failure...

"If we fail, Ventus, we have no other options to fall back on right now.  I don't know of any other Legendaries in a position to do something about these vines...and that message suggests there's no other options with its wording.  We either wake Mesprit and discover what to do next...or Creshire gets smothered by those damn vines."

"And I am NOT letting those vines destroy my (and everyone else's) home."

In response to teaching Old Unown...

"If you wish, you can join me when Solomon helps me with understanding the language.  It's tricky, as contextual as it is concrete.  Not every symbol has a consistent, single meaning.  Unless you have a key like the one I'm making (which is unlikely to even be close to being finished) or an incredibly good memory, it's going to be difficult to learn.  If you commit to it, I can try and teach you.  I'm nowhere near fluent with it yet myself, though, and Solomon might still have some nuances to point out that haven't come up yet."

In response to the pot...

"For reference, Dagny, Ventus found a pot with a strange inscription in the middle of Fireweed Forest.  It read as follows after I filled in a few of the blanks:"

*Nathan flips back to his Creshire notes*

Ere man descends to layer four
A king must show the king's own door.

"I suspect it has to do with the location of the Throne of Skulls.  And the location of the source of whatever is manipulating things from the background. The bottom fourth floor of the Ruins is rather deep down...but we'll likely be exploring the Ruins in its entirety if we hope to win this war..."

In response to the Sharer of Unselfish Love...

"I...I'm not sure I can convince Kirlia by myself...he...has every reason he could ever need to care for me.  I can talk to him about it, but...I don't know if he'll care, or if it would be a genuine change.  Not unless he has reason to..."

Nathan looks at Ventus.

"An open heart is a two way street, Ventus.  I'm the only one who's ever cared for him as far as I know.  Can you blame him for being so attached?"

Nathan looks at Shiva.

"Maybe if he has a reason to care, he will.  I can think of one reason he might be more receptive towards you, Shiva.  But I doubt one reason is enough.  This isn't going to be a fast, immediate change."

He looks at the dull Premier Ball next.

"...he means the world to me...I...don't want him to get hurt ever, ever again...and I don't expect him to want to open his heart to just anyone right away...not after what he seems to have been through..."

Nathan's grip on the dull Premier Ball tightens ever so slightly.

'Damn you, Almanac...'

[Spiritmon]

Heart was processing everything what was say until now: The Lake Trio, Disaster Stone, End of the World. All Heart was able to say was.

"And you wait all this time to tell this information, now, in the edge of the end of the world. I can understand in my case since we don't know very well each other, but not tell this information to Shiva, Ventus or Valder, who would might help with the translation about Unow? Man, I know you anti-social, but didn't know in that level."

"Anyway, to begin with it, what exactly is that Disaster Stone? Who or what create that thing? Like Shiva say, Kirlia must learn to trust in others before he met since Mesprit is the being of Emotion, so a blind loyal Kirlia is something he might know. No offence Kirlia but it's true. Where we should begin? I ready to kick some asses and all!" Told Heart excited to begin. A adventure to probably help save Cheshire and maybe the world? Damn, go to Cheshire was the best thing to happen until now. "But if next time you be rude to us and act was a bad leader, I swear I gonna kick your face."

[Dragonstrike]

Heart was processing everything what was say until now: The Lake Trio, Disaster Stone, End of the World. All Heart was able to say was.

"And you wait all this time to tell this information, now, in the edge of the end of the world. I can understand in my case since we don't know very well each other, but not tell this information to Shiva, Ventus or Valder, who would might help with the translation about Unow? Man, I know you anti-social, but didn't know in that level."

"Anyway, to begin with it, what exactly is that Disaster Stone? Who or what create that thing? Like Shiva say, Kirlia must learn to trust in others before he met since Mesprit is the being of Emotion, so a blind loyal Kirlia is something he might know. No offence Kirlia but it's true. Where we should begin? I ready to kick some asses and all!" Told Heart excited to begin. A adventure to probably help save Cheshire and maybe the world? Damn, go to Cheshire was the best thing to happen until now. "But if next time you be rude to us and act was a bad leader, I swear I gonna kick your face."

(Kirlia was recalled for now, Spirit)

"The only one who can actually translate Old Unown is Solomon, Heart.  He's the only one who can actually read it fluently right now.  And I believe I've stated exactly why I couldn't say anything before now 2 or 3 times already."

"I don't know what's orchestrating this Disaster of Stone, but whatever it is, it's ancient.  Don't get too excited.  Reckless action is going to be our downfall here.  We still need to be swift, though."

Nathan doesn't comment on the kicking part.  In fact, he's mentally daring Heart to do so and see how Kirlia and Orthros react.

[Iron]

Dagny: "This is not so far off from what I expected. Though, I must admit the Hog Potato Swamp is a surprise to me. I would never expect to find anything there of use. It does fit the clues as being the Ends of the Earth, doesn't it."

"Now for my part in all this. A Gym Leader from a distant region, Sheldon, will be mobilizing the defense of the city itself. I will lead the offensive front personally. If you're planning on a rapid journey, I can loan you three Metagross who will obey you unfailingly as far as navigation is concerned. I wouldn't attempt to use them in battle unless it's an emergency, though. They can travel with extreme rapidity along the Great Divide, for it is mostly ferromagnetic. In other words, their feet can attach to it, even upside down or sideways. Two of you can fit on each Metagross with room for supplies."

"When you need to leave the Great Divide, progress will be a little slower. A Metagross' normal walking pace is still faster than a human's, though, or I could assign you all with Ponyta from the approaching contingent from Trillium Town. They will be here around noon. Metagross will not be inside a Pokeball, so they won't count against your party limit, but Ponyta would have to. If any of you have fire types you'd like to leave under my command, I promise to treat them well and assign them only to the most competent of trainers."


(Pokemon can sense what's going on outside their balls if they've a mind to, so perhaps apologizing to Kirlia isn't a bad idea).

[Spiritmon]

"My Monferno will be with me, but I would like to travel in that Metagross. This would help a lot. I always wanted to travel in one of that Pokemon."

[Lord Windos]

In response where Mesprit is...

"No.  I've not even told Dagny that. Feel free to speculate about where and when I met the Being of Emotion, but I'm neither confirming nor denying anything concerning that.  I'm not risking Mesprit getting unwanted company waiting on its metaphorical doorstep that might mess with my ability to get there again without raising any kind of a fuss."

In response to folklore...

"The Hog Potato Swamp...hehe...if the 'ends of the earth' are anywhere, the most distant location in the region is definitely the first place to look.  Sounds like we might have to visit Arrowroot Village..."

In response to considering failure...

"If we fail, Ventus, we have no other options to fall back on right now.  I don't know of any other Legendaries in a position to do something about these vines...and that message suggests there's no other options with its wording.  We either wake Mesprit and discover what to do next...or Creshire gets smothered by those damn vines."

"And I am NOT letting those vines destroy my (and everyone else's) home."

In response to teaching Old Unown...

"If you wish, you can join me when Solomon helps me with understanding the language.  It's tricky, as contextual as it is concrete.  Not every symbol has a consistent, single meaning.  Unless you have a key like the one I'm making (which is unlikely to even be close to being finished) or an incredibly good memory, it's going to be difficult to learn.  If you commit to it, I can try and teach you.  I'm nowhere near fluent with it yet myself, though, and Solomon might still have some nuances to point out that haven't come up yet."

In response to the pot...

"For reference, Dagny, Ventus found a pot with a strange inscription in the middle of Fireweed Forest.  It read as follows after I filled in a few of the blanks:"

*Nathan flips back to his Creshire notes*

Ere man descends to layer four
A king must show the king's own door.

"I suspect it has to do with the location of the Throne of Skulls.  And the location of the source of whatever is manipulating things from the background. The bottom fourth floor of the Ruins is rather deep down...but we'll likely be exploring the Ruins in its entirety if we hope to win this war..."

In response to the Sharer of Unselfish Love...

"I...I'm not sure I can convince Kirlia by myself...he...has every reason he could ever need to care for me.  I can talk to him about it, but...I don't know if he'll care, or if it would be a genuine change.  Not unless he has reason to..."

Nathan looks at Ventus.

"An open heart is a two way street, Ventus.  I'm the only one who's ever cared for him as far as I know.  Can you blame him for being so attached?"

Nathan looks at Shiva.

"Maybe if he has a reason to care, he will.  I can think of one reason he might be more receptive towards you, Shiva.  But I doubt one reason is enough.  This isn't going to be a fast, immediate change."

He looks at the dull Premier Ball next.

"...he means the world to me...I...don't want him to get hurt ever, ever again...and I don't expect him to want to open his heart to just anyone right away...not after what he seems to have been through..."

Nathan's grip on the dull Premier Ball tightens ever so slightly.

'Damn you, Almanac...'

At Nathan response to Valder's question, Ventus could only a firm nod of approval despite his animosity towards the boy, as the location of a sealed and partially powerless Legendary Pokémon was EXTREMELY valuable and sensitive information that only the bare minimum should know about. 'I suspect that Merspirt's domicile is located in the general vicinity of Ginger Town, most likely somewhere within the Vapor Falls due to the Legend's affinity towards large bodies of water and that being the direction Nathan was chasing Callam down. I won't investigate further, though, since that would invite trouble to almost everyone in the region if things go horribly arry....'

The researcher also gave another nod of support to visiting Arrowroot Village, giving his own two cent on the matter by saying : "Agreed. I was originally planning to travel to Hog Potato Swamp to conduct my research there and obtain a Pokémon for further study, so I say we should leave for the village at our soonest convenience if at all possible."

The young trainer's pessimistic attitude and lack of foresight, however, earned him frown this time and a sigh, before they chided them rather gently, all things considered. "Nathan, alternative measures must be planned and put into place, as if we fail and their is no back up plan, then it is as you said, all of Cheshire is lost to the Vines, as it smothers the breath out of each an every individual or....worse." Ventus then turns to address Dagney, displaying none of the familiarity they had with her if she was the egnimatic trader he worked with in the past, and spoke with them directly. "Dagney,as the Gym Leader and steward of the Stair, I imagine you already have contingencies in place should the Vines break containment or the crisis concerning the Skull Ruins escalates, but have you already made preparations in the event that Nathan and the rest of us should fail in our tasks? Do you think any other regions might be able to rendor aid to Cheshire, should its League and Authorities struggle against the onslot of Vines? More than anything right now, save intelligence, we need options to fight whatever is plotting this fair lands subjication."

Concerning learning Old Unown, he gave Nathan a nod of his head and left it at that for now. While they were well versed in history and lore, he was a Researcher with a sharp mind, keen memory, and notebooks that he could record information, so learning the language would not be too much of an obsticale for him to overcome.

Ventus gave the boy a passive stare at the comments about Kirlia, until he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out a heavy breath that conveyed his understanding. "No, I do not. That just means we'll have to work that much harder for Kirlia to open up to outsiders, though, doesn't it? Be at peace, Nathan, for so long as Kirlia is with you, I do not doubt that he is in good, loving hands."

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

At Heart's worde, Shiva stared at him in an almost distressed expression, keeping her arms loosely crossed. "...Heart, no. Please don't let it come to blows, as this only causes a ruccus among us. We don't need any injuries to handle. Okay?" Her voice that formed these words was soft, there was no sadness or anger in it. However, there was something in it that clearly showed that she won't allow objection in this case. As long as she's here and cares, NONE of the group shall get into a physical fight!

Now, back to Nathan. "Of course we'd have to visit...Arrowroot Village at some point. According to the Fortune Hunter, there are treasures to find! However, I'd rather travel West first in direction to Elanor... Depends how urgent the vines are, though, and how long the League can handle them. One way or the other, we cannot really 'stop' them ina short time it seems..."

According to that Share of unselfish love... Actually, it longer for her to respond on this. It was clear that she mulled over things, as well thought about her own Starter: Her fairylike wad of cotton, that grew incredibly attatched to her in way less time than she thought. It was true that Shiva was the most important person for this particular Cottonee - yet she felt like comparing her loyalty with Kirlia's would make no sense. Still, she certainly saw the differences, wondering where these came from... The background is definitely a different, but she felt like it has a lot to do with how a Pokemon is raised and cared for as well. Her voice only grew more calm, more serious. Hard to believe her heartrate was so high only a few minutes ago... "Of course he has reasons to only care for and about you, Nathan. Really. None expects a change in that to happen so easy or fast, I believe... My, now that you speak about it, it only grows harder to believe he ever could change. Oh, and yes, I guess I know which reason you might mean concerning caring for me..." At this words, a very subtle smile formed on her. Of course. "But what impact that may have... Well, time will tell."  One thing was for sure for Shiva - not that she spoke it out though - that'd be, that she wouldn't fight and struggle for Kirlia's appreciation. This felt like and endless fight for her, and the time and effort put into this might be better used in caring for her own Pokemon. Pretty sure Nathan would understand.


After even more silence... "Well... And what shall we do now? If they're having enough firepower to handle the vines on their own ... " There was still a bittersweet taste on this, as Shiva still felt like every bit of help could count - " ...the Shelter for disobediant Pokemon awaits me and Ventus for work."

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Ventus gave the boy a passive stare at the comments about Kirlia, until he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out a heavy breath that conveyed his understanding. "No, I do not. That just means we'll have to work that much harder for Kirlia to open up to outsiders, though, doesn't it? Be at peace, Nathan, for so long as Kirlia is with you, I do not doubt that he is in good, loving hands."

Shiva gave her the researcher a subtle, yet kinda speaking look that only lasted for a few moments. It clearly said what she thought but didn't spoke out: That she won't struggle and fight for Kirlia's attention and appreciation if it can be avoided, as she actually has better things to do. Neither would she want to see that any effort she'd put into this would be pointless/doesn't bring the desired effect, as it'd only frustrate her to no ends.