[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Spiritmon]

(I'd be happy to hold onto that doll! Is that fine with everyone?)

(Fine by me)

[Iron]

Hm, Shuppet is definitely eyeing that doll too.

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Hm, Shuppet is definitely eyeing that doll too.

(Then I'm somehow more inclined to have Noire take it, as I bet that Ghost has a reason for reacting in such a manner to it?)

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

With Terra: (@Lord Windos)

Terra asking about those maps is certainly a pleasant surprise.  "Yeah, I'll take a look at 'em.  I'm honestly wondering what they depict myself."  'And if they're any good at all...', he adds to himself.  Well, does Natha  recognize any of the places on those maps, @Iron?

As a whispered aside when Terra hands him the maps: "By the way, did you account for inflation when doing your bartering earlier?"

The mountain of a man smiles back in thanks, and handed them over to Nathan, looking curiously/intriguingly over their shoulder as they deciphered the locals/landmarks on the maps. Now, where does the treasure lie in wait for him....?

He tilted his head at the boy when they quietly questioned him about his earlier transaction with the 'Good' Doc, but in the end he nodded back and spoke at the same volume they were. Didn't know why they were whispering, but if Nathan was doing it, their must be for a good reason.

"Yes. Learnt of half value of most Items from earlier transaction with farmers over there *Points to the farm in question* , and made purchases and sales with that in mind. Have $600 Poke of this year leftover, which is not bad amount... I think. *Looks thoughtful* Remember that Mama and Papa told me old currency fetches good price to right collectors, so this Poke could be worth more in present time. Hm...."

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Yeah, Azumarill gets in your lap and Raphael in your arms, as the Dr. sticks leeches all over you guys. They all close their eyes as the fangs go in. They're not sure that felt all that wonderful, and even Shiva herself isn't sure if the science here is legit, but it at least works as a placebo for Will point gain!

(Hooray for them being convinced! Lolz, I'd probably react just as nervous. Need/will try to do even more fun things with Raphael, as after all we've done together so far he's still not more happy or loyal to Shiva since Ven has given him to her.)


Shiva does tighten the hug to a good amount once she realizes Raphael's and Azu's discomfort, whispers calming words, hums a song Ven once expressed his sentiments to her to them, all in all shows that she's there and with them. While doing so, she realizes that she now carries tiny bite injuries all over. "You've done great, my two... Feeling better now? Not really? Oh well.... But, this was quite a unique experience for sure. Maybe a bit of casual shopping will distract you, shall we dare to see what we end up finding in all the shelves?"

Assuming they agree, Shiva and her faries now get to actually take a closer look at all the goods the good Doc and ancestor of the just as good Professor offer. She quite dislikes the Torchik Fang herself for what it does but admires the fang itself, the Psyduck Milk makes her wonder how he got it. Though what really caught her attention was a hat made of weird shiny material that she doesn't recognize, but for a reason the fae enthusiast can't express in words, she likes that hat. If allowed, she even tries it on and turns to Dr. M, a fascinated smile on her face. "E-excuse me... This hat, where did you get it from, and how much would it cost me to take it home with me? I've never seen such a thing..."

*probably gets the price of 500$ for the Mirror Hat and its effects explained*

This increases her desire to obtain it, though if it's a bit like his personal hat, she's aware that she'd have to come up with a good trade deal as she only has that 50$ coin of 1925-cash. One zero too little. She ponders, mulls over what she could offer in return - before she ends up rummaging in her bagpack with the hat still on. "Now, where did I pack it, I'm sure it's in there...... Ah! Here it is. I, well, I've been gifted that once by my partner in the hope that I can put it into good use - receiving something nice for it certainly counts. This is the shed skin of his Arbok. If your Snax are made from Ekans skin, I assume you could make some out of its evolution's skin as well? I've also got this, found it deep within the mountains - it's the infamous Black Sludge, very healthy for Poison Types. Maybe your Croagunk would enjoy it?"

100$ for the skin + 400$ for the sludge earns me enough to buy the Mirror Hat technically, yay! Shiva keeps it on for the time being just because she thinks it looks good on her.


What Shiva also happily does is trade Berries. In fact, she draws a full basket of sweet and tasty Nanab Berries from her belongings.

"My Tropius grows them on a regular basis. I don't know how rare they are here in the lands, but they're useful and fresh!" She ends up trading 5 Nanab Berries in total, leaving her with 6 now. Gets 2 Rawst Berries, 2 Cheri Berries and 1 Pirsif Berry for them. She with a liking for Fairy Type, Grass Type and nature in general can barely ever have enough ways to cure poisoning on hand.

[Dragonstrike]

Spoiler

Mito gives you the address, which is indeed downtown, or just west of it. Not too far from the modern day location of the West Pokemon Center.

The wife, Rita, is petting the Stoutland as you ask that. "I've heard about these...Stoutland trained as rescue dogs! They live in the mountains and if they notice someone in trouble, they'll always try to help!"

Calam winks at Spira, and Mito's family comes on over to talk to you guys. "Hehe, sorry to bother you again, but little Bubba here wanted to give you a gift once we explained to him that you helped save us and the carriage and our Pokemon!"

The baby in Chansey's arms is wiping off his doll. He grabs Smeargle's tail and gives it a new coat of paint - the old paint wipes right off as if by magic. The new coat of paint makes it look vaguely like a Rhyhorn. Now it's gray with spikes all over it. Of course, being painted by a 1 year old, it's pretty messy, and nothing can explain the red dress the doll is now wearing.

He holds the doll out to the party. "He wants you to have it - if any of you want to take it, we'd be happy to buy him another doll when we get to Cress later today. He has a very generous spirit for such a young babe."


(2)(2), (3)(2)
One of the maps, Nathan can't make heads or tails of, so it doesn't seem like Creshire at all. The other starts at the west side of Creshire, and quickly disappears into territory beyond Nathan's knowledge. And there's no scale on the map. But it definitely depicts a route to the west.
There is a big X on it, of course, but no indication of what kind of treasure you're looking for.

They live on the western side of Cress?  Well then...that's definitely interesting...

"...huh.  Neat.  Didn't know that about Stoutland.  Nice to see that all's well that ends well, and that Stoutland's doing its job."

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

The moment Nathan sees how artistic this little 1 year old is, Nathan chuckles quietly to himself.  A home on the west side of Cress, near the downtown area?  A young, young boy who's got a flair for art?  Nathan thinks he's beginning to put the pieces of this mystery together...he'll gladly take the doll for the time being.  (I'll discuss this with @Mikaruge108 later, but I'll be adding it to Nathan's inventory for the time being.)  He definitely noticed Noire eyeing the doll as well, but that can be a topic that's brought up later.

"Indeed he does.  You're using a lot of nicknames for him, though, right?  If you don't mind me asking, what's his actual name?  I want to be able to remember exactly who we got this from by name.  If, uh...that's okay with you, that is..."

The next question is: how accurate is Nathan's guess? (which I'm not typing out yet since I don't want to spoil the surprise if I'm right...)

-------------------------
@Lord Windos

"Hmmmm..."

Nathan turns one of the maps sideways.  Stares at it.

Turns it upside down, stares at it some more.

"...ummmm..."

Turns it...right side up?  How is he supposed to even read this map?  Is he even holding it the right way around?

He puts the first one down and shakes his head.  "...sorry, Terra, but I've got no clue where that first one is supposed to be off the top of my head."

He looks at the second one...

"...well, that's a better start...I can at least recognize the western coast of Creshire on this map...and then it says to go west, over the ocean...ummmm..."

Another head shake.

"...there's not enough information on there for me to decipher it on the spot.  There might be something there...or there might not.  Honestly, I have no idea how good those maps are.  Or even when you'll be able to use them or where exactly they're telling the reader to go.  Neither of them even say what exactly you're looking for, either..."

He shrugs, then hands the maps back.

"Sorry 'bout that, Terra.  Guess I'm not much help here since I'm not a well traveled cartographer...er, map maker."

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

-------------------------
@Lord Windos

"Hmmmm..."

Nathan turns one of the maps sideways.  Stares at it.

Turns it upside down, stares at it some more.

"...ummmm..."

Turns it...right side up?  How is he supposed to even read this map?  Is he even holding it the right way around?

He puts the first one down and shakes his head.  "...sorry, Terra, but I've got no clue where that first one is supposed to be off the top of my head."

He looks at the second one...

"...well, that's a better start...I can at least recognize the western coast of Creshire on this map...and then it says to go west, over the ocean...ummmm..."

Another head shake.

"...there's not enough information on there for me to decipher it on the spot.  There might be something there...or there might not.  Honestly, I have no idea how good those maps are.  Or even when you'll be able to use them or where exactly they're telling the reader to go.  Neither of them even say what exactly you're looking for, either..."

He shrugs, then hands the maps back.

"Sorry 'bout that, Terra.  Guess I'm not much help here since I'm not a well traveled cartographer...er, map maker."

Terra shrugs back good naturally, accepting his maps with nonchalance and putting backing into his deep pockets.

"It is fine. You found one treasure map.....not show a place in Cheshire, and found good starting point for treasure hunt on the other, so you were big help.  *Smiles* Thank you, my friend."

He almost asked about what in the world was a 'cartographer' was, but Nathan beat him to the punch and simplified the term pre-emtively, earning him a nod of understanding and another thankful, if somewhat bashful smile. On one hand its a good thing the boy understand him well enough to do that, but on the other it highlights how obviously......unlearned he is when somebody take the time getting to know him. At least he's learning and not being pitied/derided for it, though, so that's good!

(If Nathan doesn't have anything more to add, then Terra's ready to end the conversation, and therefore has nothing else to do until its time for the group to get moving!)

[Iron]

The Mirror Hat is one of these numbers:

Spoiler

I love how huge this image turned out lol.

Dr. M: "I can use this Black Sludge to make my Croagunk pus more potent, perfect. And Arbok oil is even better than Ekans oil, you know."


Mito: "Our little Poochyenapoo? He's named Keni, after his great-great grandfather."

[Dragonstrike]

Mito: "Our little Poochyenapoo? He's named Keni, after his great-great grandfather."

Nathan smiles at that. "Then I hope little Keni grows up to be a fantastic artist one day.  Seems to have the passion and talent for it.  I think he'll go far if he works hard at it.  And every time I look at this doll, I'll remember that name, and imagine just how far he could go.  Thank you for the gift, little guy."

Of course, Nathan, Terra, Heart, and Shiva all know exactly how far little Keni will go...this certainly explains why the 93 year old man seemed to be so fond of the four of them (heck, possibly even Spira as well if the two meet eventually) even though they'd only just met earlier that day...

Funny how things work sometimes, isn't it?

[Mikaruge108]

Spira realizes that there is one person in the group that he has yet to talk to and that is the big man with a really good talent for haggling, Spira approaches him and simply asks for his name (for now.)