[Game Thread] Pokerole Mystery Dungeon: Primal Shadows

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

AHAHAHAHAHAHA, what a welcome cool-down for Ziggy Kee as he MLEMs that frosted spectral cat with some extra-strength, laughing and snickering to himself like he has lost his mind as he ends up stuck to them with his tongue. (^v^; ) Upon getting unstuck by Pyra's Ember (she gets a thankful-stylish wink for that (･ω<)☆), he shakes himself and gets out of the way just in time for Nohface hurting itself in all that chaos of a battle.

(...) And then Nohface suddenly starts to slink backwards, returning to the shadows from whence it came.
"Hey, come back here you coward!  We still have to finish this!"
Marcus holds his bone club sideways, thrusting it in front of Hoopa to pause the djinn's advance.  "They didn't return to their original position.  I think they're going to let us pass now, and we have bigger Magikarp to fry than them right now.  I think we should save our strength for what's up ahead."
"Grrrr...much as I hate to admit it, you're right.  If I was at full power, this would be a breeze...*sigh*...but I'm not.  And that black and red bat pokemon...he was giving even me the heebie jeebies!  Me!  Whatever's coming up, I've got a bad feeling about it..."
"Me too.  Everyone in agreement?  Though I suppose we'll have to wait for Kogeki to catch up first..."
"Maybe we can try and figure out a way to get through that collapsed tunnel in the meantime?" (...)

Kee's UP AND ABOUT to join Hoopa on pursuing the retreating creature, but stops as well when Marcus holds them back. Given the furry raver's IRRITADED and AGITATED expression, he's less than happy for Nohface having escaped, but for now he's going to leave it at snarling, gnarling and barring his teeth at all the shadows around as he's still full of energy and eager.

His piercing gaze of deep-red eyes rushes from one side of the room to the other, eventually toning down as it becomes clear that Nohface is not pulling a dirty trick on them. Kee huffs. "Meh. In stallin' us they've succeeded 'ndeed, am NAT enjoyin' this by a single bit. But, betcha we'll meet 'em an' their kittycat-vampire-master AGAIN sometime an' somewhere?~ Their UP FOR SOMETHIN', I'm tellin' y'all. *another huff, then a gentle sigh* But yeah, better we've got K'geki come back t'us first, right? They...should be here in a minute, right?" He jolts his head in the direction the deltadoggo fled, his paws twitching go go after him to see whether he's fine and alright.

(...) "...........Fine. I will follow your advice on this. Mark my words, though: I shall not let The Darkness rest for long. If allowed to it will only grow stronger from this Fight, and it will become a bigger threat than you can possibly imagine. All traces of it need be dealt with quickly, harshly, and with no hesitation. Remember this, Marcus."

Pyra, after staring holes into Marcus and thinking hard on what he said, grinds out a agreement to his suggested course of action, though not without informing him the the none-to-pleasant consequences of his decisions.. She isn't pleased with it at all, but she was not so far gone into her SEETHING HATRED of The Darkness as to ignore perfectly sound Logic (even if it was coming from someone she was well disinclined to like at this point). Nothing is going to improve her mood at ALL, though, until that Creature of Darkness is decisively taken care of. (...)

...But Pyra's change of mood and hearty words cause the crittercoon to halt, his furry head now jolting in HER direction to staaaaare at her with a gaze that's gleaming of concern, seriousness and determination: Every single hair of his black-and-white fur seems to be glowing of pure agreement of what she said, her desire and will to NOT let The Darkness rest and therefor grow for too long underlined twicely and boldly.

Unglueing his eyes from the fierly demoness, Ziggy Kee slowly looks over to Marcus, his gaze toning down only little so. He nods to the craftsman of a Cubone to express how WHOLEHEARTILY he agrees to Pyra here. He'd be giving her a gentle nudge or nuzzle to express it further, but he kinda feels that's, uh, not really the moment to do so, and he doesn't want to rruin the mood and tangible seriousness looming in the air right now.

[Dragonstrike]

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"Well, if it's really that important and...dangerous, I suppose I'll just have to trust you all on that for now.  I just have a bad feeling about what's on the next floor...are you sure there's nothing else you want to do here before Kogeki comes back and we head down there?  There's no turning back once we leave this floor."

Karen's walked over to the collapsed tunnel, both to examine it and to put some distance between herself and the current disagreement.  "Hmmmm...if we could just get these rocks out of the way, we could probably see what's on the other side...I'm almost certain that weird pink glow is going to be in this tunnel..."

While the group is waiting for Kogeki, a light wind suddenly blows through the tunnels without warning, ruffling fur and catching the embers of flames.  (Kogeki feels it blow past him too as he travels through the corridor on his return trip)


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Marcus seems to be momentarily startled by the wind.  He doesn't comment, but it definitely seems to have spooked him slightly.

Hoopa seems to barely take notice of it and Marcus's reaction.

"Huh.  That was weird.  Didn't think there would be wind in an underground cave system.  Must be a Mystery Dungeon thing or something."

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

(...) Karen's walked over to the collapsed tunnel, both to examine it and to put some distance between herself and the current disagreement.  "Hmmmm...if we could just get these rocks out of the way, we could probably see what's on the other side...I'm almost certain that weird pink glow is going to be in this tunnel..." (...)

Ziggy Kee follows her to the collapsed tunnel and starts to scratch a bit on some of the rocks, then gives the psychic fae an eager nod. " Ahaha Karen-dear, nat only 'almost certain' but rather 'certain' 'ndeed!~ That wae must be the shortcut to the curious! pink! light-thingies! we've seen earlier!!~ ( ÒωÓ)و☆Thing is, how d'we open that pathwae...?"

(...)While the group is waiting for Kogeki, a light wind suddenly blows through the tunnels without warning, ruffling fur and catching the embers of flames.  (Kogeki feels it blow past him too as he travels through the corridor on his return trip)

Marcus seems to be momentarily startled by the wind.  He doesn't comment, but it definitely seems to have spooked him slightly.
Hoopa seems to barely take notice of it and Marcus's reaction.
"Huh.  That was weird.  Didn't think there would be wind in an underground cave system.  Must be a Mystery Dungeon thing or something."

That ominous wind catches the furry punkraver off-guard, immediately triggering a protective and on-guard stance as he bares his teeth in the direction the light wind came from. His narrowed deep-red eyes turn to Marcus: "Is that a Mystery Dungeon thing 'ndeed, Marcus? Betcha it...means SOMETHIN', doesn't it? Something good or somethin' nat so good...?"

[no one]

As Daxter's Ice Fang lands, he leaps back, marvelling at his handiwork. "That was... a bit more than I was expecting. Let's keep it up!"

As Pyra shoots her embers at the frozen Nohface, Daxter yelps, but too little too late. "Oh, crap! It's alright, we'll co-ordinate better next time! Keep the pressure up. This kitty's almost down!"

As the Nohface flees, Daxter is with Pyra as he rages at its cowardice, but that quickly turns into puzzlement and mild discomfort as she starts ranting about the Darkness. He had no idea what exactly it was, but it didn't sound good. Then he remembers that it was Pyra who was describing it, and begins to grow deeply troubled. Pyra had shown a warped sense of right and wrong, so he had no bloody idea what to make of something she considered evil. Was it evil in the same way that Pyra didn't think that Team Artificers as so bad, in which case it wouldn't be that bad? Or should he be very concerned at something that disturbed someone with such a distorted perception of morality? Daxter grows quiet for several seconds as he tries to make something of this, but fails to do so. He stares at Pyra in concern, but chooses to side with Marcus. "Listen, love. If this Nohface is just a puppet and was using this Darkness stuff you're talking about, then that's all the more reason to chase after Count Dracula there. If the underling used it, then I'd wager that the boss would too. Come on, let's get after him. Gotta make sense of whatever has that Conkeldurr chap so spooked."

[Spiritmon]

Kogeki return to the group. With a serious face. More serious than ever. He didnt waste time and tell the others. "I remember. At least a bit some of my memories. I remember where I see NohFace. At least I have a idea what kind of thing it is."

"I had a feeling that I see that thing before. His evolution...Kitusnoh. It was a rare creature. A Pokemon huntend down almost to the point of extinction. They are natural hunters who hide in the shadows. And they whore white masks."

"The way Kitsunoh acts and hunts...Its to much similar to Kitsunoh. I dont know where that bat get such Pokemon to his side. Thats a reason for us go after that bat and get some answes."

[no one]

Daxter looks at Kogeki with an expression of pure contempt. "Didn't take you for a coward, mate. Just left us out to dry."

He shakes his head, unwilling to say anything more on the matter as he starts thinking about how to get past the rocks. There were a lot of them, but maybe it everyone was to work together it would be possible. "Hmmm... Think I might have a plan. I'll see if I can weaken the rocks with Bubble. Maybe there'll be enough water among all the air. Then, maybe Marcus can use his own ground type oomph mixed with any of his little tinker stuff to jostle them around a little more. It might weaken enough for all of us to be able to push the rocks around a little more. Maybe Hoopa and Karen can use their psychic mojo. If we can get the big rocks out of the way, Kee can try and squeeze his way through to try and dig out some more space so that we can all follow him. And if the path isn't too too stable, Hoopa and Karen can maybe try and shift some of the rocks around with psychic moves. Or Pyra can try and heat things up inside so that everything just sticks together. Unless there's coal in there. Don't want to start a bloody fire after all. We'll end up burning up all the air in here. Hoopa, I think that you should go through first so that if it does fall apart, you can set up your rings so that we can just blip over to the other side. That sound good to everyone?"

[Spiritmon]

Kogeki didn't said anything at first. He chuckle a bit and said. "Didn't take you for coward. That's a very bold assumption of your part Dax. I take a surprise attack coming from NohFace. And a big strong one. I was badly wounded, and another attack from NohFace and I would be done for."

"It was a tactical retreat. You guys would be capable of finish off NohFace on a battle of many against one. But if you wanted me to stay then why you didn't spare a healing item? Or ask someone to use it?"

"In fact, you always like that towards me. I risk my skin for you and this group more than once before. Remember the rocks I receive to reach the items back there? The way I offered my own blood to that bat for us to continue our path?"

Kogeki then approach Dax and put a finger in his torso. "I can accept many things. You spare enemies? Complicated but doable. Your cold stare and call me worse than Team Artificer? Hurt, but I accepted."

"But you call me coward when I was the one to step to talk that bat while you do nothing when I was in deadly situation? You, Daxter did something you should never do: You spit in my honor."

"But I suppose this little matter to you." Kogeki shake his head in disappointed. "I will not ask a apology, because now I see you are incapable of do such thing. You care more to a enemy than a companion."

"Have a good day then."

Then Kogeki step away of Daxter path and try to help break the rocks. Even more some away.

[Lord Windos]

Quote PhantomUnderHerDesk:

...But Pyra's change of mood and hearty words cause the crittercoon to halt, his furry head now jolting in HER direction to staaaaare at her with a gaze that's gleaming of concern, seriousness and determination: Every single hair of his black-and-white fur seems to be glowing of pure agreement of what she said, her desire and will to NOT let The Darkness rest and therefor grow for too long underlined twicely and boldly.

Unglueing his eyes from the fierly demoness, Ziggy Kee slowly looks over to Marcus, his gaze toning down only little so. He nods to the craftsman of a Cubone to express how WHOLEHEARTILY he agrees to Pyra here. He'd be giving her a gentle nudge or nuzzle to express it further, but he kinda feels that's, uh, not really the moment to do so, and he doesn't want to rruin the mood and tangible seriousness looming in the air right now.

Pyra…..hardly pays any mind to Kee and his sudden spike of interest in her. The most she gave him was a cold, hard stare before focusing on the path ahead. Before this job she’d probably take the opportunity to tease or be playful with him, and even after all the recent drama the smol demoness would’ve humored him with a smile and head rub. Not now. Not after the group’s first unambiguous run in with a minion of the Darkness. It needs to be found and taken care of quickly, and she brooks little disruption in the way of those goals.

(...)

Quote Dragonstrike:

While the group is waiting for Kogeki, a light wind suddenly blows through the tunnels without warning, ruffling fur and catching the embers of flames.  (Kogeki feels it blow past him too as he travels through the corridor on his return trip)

The lil’ fiendess shivers ever so slightly as that wind rushed past her, and it was not from the flighty ‘chills’ it gave her. An……omen was carried in that air stream. One of premonition, urgency, and……rejection. More than ever, she wanted to make haste for that Dark Beast and its Master, before the portent of that wind came to pass….

(...)

Quote PhantomUnderYourDesk:

Ziggy Kee follows her to the collapsed tunnel and starts to scratch a bit on some of the rocks, then gives the psychic fae an eager nod. " Ahaha Karen-dear, nat only 'almost certain' but rather 'certain' 'ndeed!~ That wae must be the shortcut to the curious! pink! light-thingies! we've seen earlier!!~ ( ÒωÓ)و☆Thing is, how d'we open that pathwae...?"

“We don’t have TIME to investigate that. We NEED to pursue and SUBDUE The Darkness minion and it’s Bat Lord,” was Pyra’s curt remark on the subject, getting increasingly irritated, but of course she’s ignore in his exuberant curiosity and the rest of the group’s desire to see what was causing that Pink Light. Eventually, though, she relents and agrees to help clear the tunnel once Dax proposes a plan to do so, if for no other reason than to get it done quickly so that the group can Inferno damn MOVE ON AND GO AFTER THE DARKNESS LIKE THEY’RE SUPPOSED TO. 

She isn’t happy about this delay, to say the least.

(...)

Quote no one:

As the Nohface flees, Daxter is with Pyra as he rages at its cowardice, but that quickly turns into puzzlement and mild discomfort as she starts ranting about the Darkness. He had no idea what exactly it was, but it didn't sound good. Then he remembers that it was Pyra who was describing it, and begins to grow deeply troubled. Pyra had shown a warped sense of right and wrong, so he had no bloody idea what to make of something she considered evil. Was it evil in the same way that Pyra didn't think that Team Artificers as so bad, in which case it wouldn't be that bad? Or should he be very concerned at something that disturbed someone with such a distorted perception of morality? Daxter grows quiet for several seconds as he tries to make something of this, but fails to do so. He stares at Pyra in concern, but chooses to side with Marcus. "Listen, love. If this Nohface is just a puppet and was using this Darkness stuff you're talking about, then that's all the more reason to chase after Count Dracula there. If the underling used it, then I'd wager that the boss would too. Come on, let's get after him. Gotta make sense of whatever has that Conkeldurr chap so spooked."

Pyra, focused on vanquishing the Darkness as she was, was not yet blind to the happenings of her friends and allies. She caught the aquatic salamander’s reaction to her impassioned rant, and how it shook him for some reason. It was just that she did not care about it. Bigger, GRAVER things needed her AND the group’s full and undivided attention (that they were not giving), not frivolous introspection or any sort of hesitation. Honestly, if he and everyone was not her dearest, most cherished and beloved friends she’d probably SNAP at them by now – and even then her patience was growing ever thin.

She was forced to respond, however, when he directly brought up the matter of The Dark Beast, turning to face him with that intense, alien, and very Intimidating Look she gave Marcus.

“……..I have already agreed with Marcus to wait and go after the Bat Lord and his Dark Beast minion, so we have no…..conflicts of interest. Once Kogeki comes back, we hunt them down and end their Dark threat. That should be ALL we should be concerned about.”

The brimstone imp gives a scathing glare over to were the rest of the group was investigating the blocked off tunnel, before turning away to stare at the path forward once more. Ms. Social she was not, which is saying something coming from HER of all Pokemon.


(...)

Kogeki’s return to the group is meet with a small *sigh* of satisfaction and relief from the on edge demoness – good, he has returned unharmed and well – and gives a nod at the information he had about The Dark Beast. Anything that can help track and put it down was a something to note. It was when Dax lit into him about fleeing the battle and Kogeki shot back that she got MAD. She stomped forward and grabbed both of them by the arm and pulled them to face her, a GLARE on her face full of unbridled irritation just for the pair, sparing them none of her natural Intimidation in the process.

“We. Do. Not. Have. Time. For. THIS. Save your squabbles for LATER. Clear this tunnel, investigate that Pink Light if we can, then FINALLY continue our hunt for The Darkness. Those are our goals. G E T  T H E M  I N  O R D E R  . “

She hissed out the last part out in a unholy tone before she roughly let go of them, marching over to do her part in following Dax’s plan. Oh by the burning abyss why can’t her friends focus on what matters right now?!

[no one]

Daxter wrenches his arm out of Pyra's grasp furiously as he hisses, "What did I tell you about personal space?"

He moves a few feet away, seething at both Pyra and Kogeki before pulling a bottle of Berry Juice out of his pack. He tosses it in Kogeki's direction, insulted by Kogeki's insinuations. "If you had waited around a little longer, I would have given you the berry. Such a shame you didn't trust any of us enough to have your back. Hope you choke on it."

At that, he refuses to reply to anyone else as he starts assaulting the pile of rocks with his Bubble.

[Dragonstrike]

Karen winces as Daxter and Kogeki attack each other verbally.  She doesn't say anything about it, but she's very uncomfrotable with being this close to a disagreement between her teammates.

Marcus steps in and tries to break it up along with Pyra.


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"Pyra's right.  We don't have time to be fighting with each other right now.  Less so because of whatever that that bat's up to, to be honest.  Time works...strangely in Mystery Dungeons.  Unless you're on the same floor as them, you can't be certain that someone's making progress at the same rate you are.  What's more worrying...is that wind.  We really shouldn't linger any longer than we have to.  Yes, it's a mystery dungeon thing, Kee.  Nobody knows quite why it happens, but that strange wind is liable to toss adventurers out of mystery dungeons if they stay on a single floor for too long.  There's always two warnings before a third, powerful ghost blows through the dungeon corridors...we need to finish our business on this floor and keep moving, so let's get this tunnel open."

And so begins the grand plan to open the collapsed tunnel!

Daxter blasts the rocks with Bubble to loosen them! (Bubble Accuracy)
(6)(6)(4)(6)(2)
(1)
4 successes!

Daxter's attack is very effective at loosening the rocks, making them slick and damp.

Marcus tries to shove the larger rocks out of the way and create an opening, using his club to give the attempt some extra oomph! (Strength + Survival + Athletics)
(3)(3)(1)(2) 0 successes

"Hrrrrgh!"  Marcus tries to push, but despite being rather competent in battle, he's not particularly Athletic, so he struggles to make much progress by himself.

Karen and Hoopa try to help Marcus out with their Confusion attacks! (Confusion Accuracy)
(3)(3)(2)(1)(1) 0 Successes
(1)(2)(1)(5)(5)(5) 2 successes

Karen's still getting adjusted to this surge of power, and she finds it difficult to control the output of her attacks' power.  Hoopa manages to create a small opening in the rocks.  "This is...harder than I was expecting..."  "Guess I need to pick up the slack!  What would you guys do without me?~"

Pyra looks for coal first at Daxter's suggestion... (Insight + Survival + Alert)
(5)(4) 2 successes

...and then she blasts a chunk of the damp rocks with no coal in it with her Ember! (Ember Accuracy, +1 from Alert check)
(6)(5)(4)(6)(3)(1)(6*) 5 successes!

Pyra's Ember glues some of the rocks that Marcus and the Psychic types are holding up, though it looks like they won't be able to keep this up for long.  "Kogeki, Kee, go now!  Quickly!  Hoopa needs to stay here and help hold this up!" (Dexterity + Survival + Athletics)
(5)(4)(3) 2 successes
(4)(2)(2) 1 success

Kee makes it through the small opening with little trouble, but Kogeki, being a much larger pokemon by comparison, gets nicked by some of the rough rocks as he tries to squeeze through it.  They both make it through, however, and find themselves on the opposite side of the chasm the team had encountered earlier, standing on what remains of the broken tracks.

The path ends there, but on their left, they see something very strange poking out of some of the rubble: a softly glowing, pink crystal of some kind.  The glow is almost hypnotic in this dark cave lit only by dim firelight from torches...

"Kogeki, Kee, hurry!  I don't think we can hold this open for much longer!"

The two of them nab the crystal and hightail it back to the rest of the team, making it back through the small opening just before Marcus has to drop the rock he was supporting.  Karen drops her focus on the psychic energy she was Channeling, panting from the effort.  Hoopa casually does the same, seeming to be no worse for wear by comparison to Marcus and Karen.

"Well, that was both harder and easier than I thought it would be.  So, what'd you find?  Treasure?"

Before anyone can respond, another gust of wind blows through the cave system, stronger than the last one.  More ominous feeling.  It shocks Marcus into catching his breath more quickly.


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"That was the second warning!  We need to move, now!  Everyone ready for a fight?  The stairs are just over there!"