[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Iron]

When Terra proposes his deal, Cosh signals the waiting Scims, who lower their hefted boulders slightly. Shiva and Heart can see occasional sparks coming from the Gauntlets, quite dramatic in the perpetual gloom surrounding the Ruins.

"We might be able to work something out. Our purposes align, as I hear you've been told before. For a start, we need to head further East into the Barrow-Downs. This area where we stand holds only tunnels leading to the Kadabra Chambers, which are of no value and of infinite danger. I'm also told I am not to negotiate on this point - we cannot allow you access to the Kadabra Chambers."

Nathan and Gallade do not relax, unlike the scims.

Instead, Nathan finally speaks up, posing a question that points out a flaw in the scims' spoken logic.

"...if there's nothing of value in that place and we're headed to certain doom by going there, then why are you guarding it?  Simply to spite us?  That sounds like a huge waste of your resources and time to me."

Nathan's fairly certain he already knows why they're guarding it, of course...there might be nothing of value for the Scims there, but for Nathan and company...

Nathan wants to know if Cosh knows why they're going to the Kadabra Chambers, though.  Gallade is analyzing the Scim veeeerrrry carefully, trying to determine if Cosh is about to lie, tell the truth, is going to avoid answering the question entirely to hide information, or just genuinely doesn't know what's in the K.C. and is only following orders.

Exactly. "Were we to team up, it would be a waste of our resources and time to accompany you there." He seems to know you intend to go straight there...

"Our focus needs to be on obtaining the weapons. We can work out who is to wield them later... we do have many members of our little band who are quite capable, and have had some training in it, so that is something of value we can offer toward our common cause. Perhaps we split them up between our two parties - there are Four, after all."

"Years ago, another team in our organization stowed a dangerous entity away in the Ruins. Quite nearby. It won't do to have anyone disturbing that entity, if it yet lives."

Here's the interesting part - Cosh is not lying. That's apparently how the orders have come down to him. He doesn't know the exact identity of the "dangerous entity," but he could still be hiding something.

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

You'd need a pretty good plan to outspeed those flying Scimitars at least. The Scimitars also block your path toward the part of the Ruins you want to get to - but if you wanted, you could enter at a different point and try to make your way underground back to here. 

(Humm... No, no thanks, sounds way too risky. Guess escaping by normal means is no option.)

(...) "Our focus needs to be on obtaining the weapons. We can work out who is to wield them later... we do have many members of our little band who are quite capable, and have had some training in it, so that is something of value we can offer toward our common cause. Perhaps we split them up between our two parties - there are Four, after all."

"Years ago, another team in our organization stowed a dangerous entity away in the Ruins. Quite nearby. It won't do to have anyone disturbing that entity, if it yet lives." (...)

These are noble words from Cosh, if they are honest in the first place. But from that digusted expression in her face it's easy to realize that at least Shiva isn't up in the slightest to share the Artifacts with THEM. She's also wondering why he's calling them 'weapons', this only serves to increase her distrust towards 'em.

Same with what he shared about that ominous 'entity'. "Fine... But what if in order to obtain these Artifacts this entity happens to HAVE to be approached or at worst disturbed, yet unintentionally? What's more important for you in such a scenario?"

[Dragonstrike]

Spoiler

Exactly. "Were we to team up, it would be a waste of our resources and time to accompany you there." He seems to know you intend to go straight there...

"Our focus needs to be on obtaining the weapons. We can work out who is to wield them later... we do have many members of our little band who are quite capable, and have had some training in it, so that is something of value we can offer toward our common cause. Perhaps we split them up between our two parties - there are Four, after all."

"Years ago, another team in our organization stowed a dangerous entity away in the Ruins. Quite nearby. It won't do to have anyone disturbing that entity, if it yet lives."

Here's the interesting part - Cosh is not lying. That's apparently how the orders have come down to him. He doesn't know the exact identity of the "dangerous entity," but he could still be hiding something.

Nathan laughs.

"...hehehe...hahaha!  Dangerous entity?  Oh, that is rich.  You don't even know what exactly it is that you're guarding!  Do you even know who sealed that 'dangerous entity' away, or what happened to that individual? Do you even know what you awakened by digging too deep?  Do you even know exactly what you're going to be facing?  Are you even 100% confident that you can stop all this chaos in the first place, that your artificial 'enhancements' are somehow equal to a Legendary's blessing and truly make you 'more than human'?  Because I'd love to hear what other information might have been omitted in your orders."


Again, Gallade is analyzing Cosh's response carefully...

[Mikaruge108]

Spira walks up to Cosh (well, as close as Cosh will allow without hostility), and doesn't mince words this time; "Listen, we really need to gain access to that chamber; so you can do what ever the f*** you want, just don't. get. in. our. way."

[Spiritmon]

"Besides, I don't trust in anything you say. I bet you Scimitars plan to put a dagger in our backs in the first opportunity. You guys don't really care about saving the region." Heart then look around the Scimitars. "I see your kind of person before Cosh. Your eyes deceive you. They are filled with greed. The only reason you want use those artefacts is taking control of the region after this "Calamity" is dealt. What if YOU not going to take control of that entity. You and your Scimitars."

"You Scimitars in a point of time might have fight for Noble causes. But look to you now." Then Heart point a hand to the chained Drudigon. "You long have corrupted your ideals. Killing people. Killing Pokemon. Brainwashed Pokemon, making them slaves."

Then Heart point a finger towards Cosh. "Your true enemy it's not us Cosh. Your true enemy is yourself Cosh. Your fear. And your self absorbed Greedy."

And that's is that. Heart say his words. "My family long gone Cosh. We were knights. Defenders of Justice and Freedom. Like you Scimitars might once have. But because of greedy, we destroy ourselves. In our self absorbed greed, we doomed ourselves. And the only Legacy we left to this world was a legacy of hatred, corruption and dishonesty. This is the path you Scimitars are walking."

"The world will only remember the evil you all caused. The means don't justify the end Cosh. And if you think it is, then you are only a poor solitude old man. And I pity you."

[Iron]

You'd need a pretty good plan to outspeed those flying Scimitars at least. The Scimitars also block your path toward the part of the Ruins you want to get to - but if you wanted, you could enter at a different point and try to make your way underground back to here. 

(Humm... No, no thanks, sounds way too risky. Guess escaping by normal means is no option.)

(...) "Our focus needs to be on obtaining the weapons. We can work out who is to wield them later... we do have many members of our little band who are quite capable, and have had some training in it, so that is something of value we can offer toward our common cause. Perhaps we split them up between our two parties - there are Four, after all."

"Years ago, another team in our organization stowed a dangerous entity away in the Ruins. Quite nearby. It won't do to have anyone disturbing that entity, if it yet lives." (...)

These are noble words from Cosh, if they are honest in the first place. But from that digusted expression in her face it's easy to realize that at least Shiva isn't up in the slightest to share the Artifacts with THEM. She's also wondering why he's calling them 'weapons', this only serves to increase her distrust towards 'em.

Same with what he shared about that ominous 'entity'. "Fine... But what if in order to obtain these Artifacts this entity happens to HAVE to be approached or at worst disturbed, yet unintentionally? What's more important for you in such a scenario?"

"The Entity is a threat to the Artifacts, so that question is not worth considering... What?"

"...hehehe...hahaha!  Dangerous entity?  Oh, that is rich.  You don't even know what exactly it is that you're guarding!  Do you even know who sealed that 'dangerous entity' away, or what happened to that individual? Do you even know what you awakened by digging too deep?  Do you even know exactly what you're going to be facing?  Are you even 100% confident that you can stop all this chaos in the first place, that your artificial 'enhancements' are somehow equal to a Legendary's blessing and truly make you 'more than human'?  Because I'd love to hear what other information might have been omitted in your orders."

"We sealed it away, as a vital necessity to our plans, three years ago. I'm quite interested in what happened to it in the intervening time - do you know?"


"The incident with the vines was regrettable, but a necessary part in obtaining the information we now have, which I think I shall not reveal as it is a potential bargaining chip. Suffice it to say, we Scimitars are far more informed on how to plumb the depths of the Ruins than you are. We've been there - have you?"

No feeling of lying.

"We're very confident. We've been researching this a long time."
Definitely true, but he is nervous about confronting a Legendary.

A spark from Cosh's gauntlet makes him wince mildly. He casually sets his boulder down and leans on it, looking pretty cool.

[Iron]

Spira walks up to Cosh (well, as close as Cosh will allow without hostility), and doesn't mince words this time; "Listen, we really need to gain access to that chamber; so you can do what ever the f*** you want, just don't. get. in. our. way."

"Why?"

[Iron]

"Besides, I don't trust in anything you say. I bet you Scimitars plan to put a dagger in our backs in the first opportunity. You guys don't really care about saving the region." Heart then look around the Scimitars. "I see your kind of person before Cosh. Your eyes deceive you. They are filled with greed. The only reason you want use those artefacts is taking control of the region after this "Calamity" is dealt. What if YOU not going to take control of that entity. You and your Scimitars."

"You Scimitars in a point of time might have fight for Noble causes. But look to you now." Then Heart point a hand to the chained Drudigon. "You long have corrupted your ideals. Killing people. Killing Pokemon. Brainwashed Pokemon, making them slaves."

Then Heart point a finger towards Cosh. "Your true enemy it's not us Cosh. Your true enemy is yourself Cosh. Your fear. And your self absorbed Greedy."

And that's is that. Heart say his words. "My family long gone Cosh. We were knights. Defenders of Justice and Freedom. Like you Scimitars might once have. But because of greedy, we destroy ourselves. In our self absorbed greed, we doomed ourselves. And the only Legacy we left to this world was a legacy of hatred, corruption and dishonesty. This is the path you Scimitars are walking."

"The world will only remember the evil you all caused. The means don't justify the end Cosh. And if you think it is, then you are only a poor solitude old man. And I pity you."

"If you worry about being betrayed, that's the kind of thing negotiations are for, my man. We could arrange for you to hold the Shield, for example, protecting you from harm. We could leave half our force up here, so you aren't outnumbered. We'll certainly allow you to keep your Pokemon with you for your protection."

"Scimitars are not motivated by greed. If we were, we'd simply let Almanac do their work and skim off the profits. We act only from altruism and a desire to learn. I know you know this."

"These Druddigon are not brainwashed or enslaved. They are on chains so they don't rip you to shreds - but notice they make no attempt to attack their handlers? How is that different from a Pokeball?"

"The legacy of the Scimitars will only be that we saved the world, as only those who are more than human can. After that, we simply do not care. We will probably retreat back to the solitude we loved so much, to train and hone our mystic arts."

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

(...) Same with what he shared about that ominous 'entity'. "Fine... But what if in order to obtain these Artifacts this entity happens to HAVE to be approached or at worst disturbed, yet unintentionally? What's more important for you in such a scenario?"

"The Entity is a threat to the Artifacts, so that question is not worth considering... What?"

".....Don't say 'what" in such a tone to me." Shiva spits these words to Cosh directly in a very displeased tone, emphasizing it with a glare an oversized and two-headed Mega Arbok would be proud of.

"Fine. FINE THEN." She takes a deep breath and crosses her arms even tighter. "Assuming - ONLY assuming - we'd be to join forces with ya, with you making sure nothin' disturbs that Entity's slumber or whatever and us finding those Artifacts: How can we be sure that you won't end up breaking words? Like, set this being on us or stealing those Artifacts from our hands in the end? Retriving them from down there is OUR task, wielding them - that's a different matter."

[Iron]

(...) Same with what he shared about that ominous 'entity'. "Fine... But what if in order to obtain these Artifacts this entity happens to HAVE to be approached or at worst disturbed, yet unintentionally? What's more important for you in such a scenario?"

"The Entity is a threat to the Artifacts, so that question is not worth considering... What?"

".....Don't say 'what" in such a tone to me." Shiva spits these words to Cosh directly in a very displeased tone, emphasizing it with a glare an oversized and two-headed Mega Arbok would be proud of.

"Fine. FINE THEN." She takes a deep breath and crosses her arms even tighter. "Assuming - ONLY assuming - we'd be to join forces with ya, with you making sure nothin' disturbs that Entity's slumber or whatever and us finding those Artifacts: How can we be sure that you won't end up breaking words? Like, set this being on us or stealing those Artifacts from our hands in the end? Retriving them from down there is OUR task, wielding them - that's a different matter."

"Now we're talking! We're finding common ground. This is good. This is the kind of thing we can negotiate."

"The being is nowhere near where the Artifacts are, so that's no problem. Even the thing we disturbed shouldn't be too close to them...maybe the fourth Artifact, if any."

"Like I said, we could bring an equal number of us down there. There are five of you - I could choose four men and women to accompany me, while the rest stay aboveground in a supporting role. It's not an easy thing to steal an Artifact once wielded. They bond with their wielders over time, quite rapidly. And they possess an intelligence of their own, a specific counter to the Psychic threat descending on us from above."