Yup'ik

[Kantolin]

The Kahasi cocked his head to one side. "Kahasi?"

"Among other things, killing for money."

"....Kahasi!" The Kahasi was now a little startled and upset by the explanation. Kope shook his head.

"Are they prone to swift action, or does it vary? I'm surprised they managed to arrive here without being detected."

[IrnBruAddict]

'They are known for their infiltration skills. They caused quite a bit of a stir in Johto a few years back. It took nothing short of two champion level trainers to stop them. If they are here, nothing good can come of it, I assure you. Are you sure you have seen no other forigners than us?'

Koyomi stood up and rolled his shoulders. 'Captain, I have faith in your investigation skills. I'll try and find them my way, and report back to you. Kope, earlier you mentioned a shaman? Do you know where he would be? I'd like to talk to him, he may be able to help me.'

[Mura-neechan]

Ferlyn frowned at the word of Rocket. Her fist clenched, as she was about to utter a rather profane swear at their entire organization. However, she was stopped when Kaori started talking to her, nodding a moment. "You have options. An Evee is a very rare thing to be breeding. I can't say it particularly interests me, although there's potential, but I need to keep my team balanced. Ukina was a bit of an oddball, but her overall friendliness and usefulness earned her a more permanent spot with me." Ferlyn would make her best fake smile, for all the sense of adventure about her, this was becoming quite the sour day. Her hand would rise to her chin as she listened, and finallly spoke up to Kope and the other adults. "The Rockets caused more than a stir in Johto. A lot of people were affected by them, the fact that they are here as well... seems like everyone on this continent is their target. I doubt this place is much friendlier to them though, they likely don't have access to obvious PokeMarts, Pokemon Centers, or Gyms to manipulate." Ferlyn would toss a rather annoyed look back to Faith as she would consider the current events. "I know I promised you a battle when we got out of the cave, but I'm pretty concerned with the Rockets. We might have to postpone it."

[Ajadea]

The room was tense indeed as Faith's little entourage returned. She wasn't exactly positive what was going on, but it didn't take a genius to tell it was very, very, bad. "Fine by me," she tells Ferlyn. There were clearly more important things happening right now. "So, we've got Rocket-people up here, probably looking to bag some of the rarer specimens - and creepy Pokemon with creepier auras that probably have access to TMs because I don't know of any Pokemon that can learn both Protect and Detect naturally. Oh, and they probably know at least a little about us and were trying to either murder us or force us to civilization by playing on our pride and the snow - which was way too conveniently timed."

[Steilos]

"I'd prefer we stayed together. Team Rocket can be incredibly devious, although I would be very surprised if they were behind the incident earlier." Something was bothering Mark, though... "Hmm... but in that case, how did they know we were coming? How, exactly were they able to spot us? There was no indication that they were using any Pokemon to spot us until we hit the Current. Unless the Squagila were somehow affected without their knowledge... or they were tipped off." He looked around at the table. "We're lucky it's just them, there's some other groups out there that well... Let's just say that for all the bad the Rockets do they do still appear to be sane." Stryker wasn't laughing anymore and neither was Marshall. In fact, something in particular seemed to be bothering Stryker... "The marking I found said to go right. It's a sign Rocket used in their earlier days and suggests that the gang in still in its infancy in this region. Of course, it could also be a trap." Stryker made a noise, and Mark turned curiously towards him. Rather awkwardly licking his lips, Stryker growls something out, a general feeling that Koyomi will probably be able to sense:

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<"Is... Was the Captain's friend being entirely honest with us?">

Turning back to the group, Mark folded his arms and sighed. "Faith is right, of course. There is something fundamentally wrong about all this. A bunch of criminals don't suddenly go exploring for new lands. Either they were desperate enough to try or they already knew about it."

[Kantolin]

Kope shook his head. "No other southerners who have visited our town, unless we were unaware of them as well. Troublesome. Unfortunately, our shaman is away at the moment - during this season, many of our village leave during the day and return at close to dusk, you see." He shook his head again - visibly a bit unhappy with what he's hearing about Team Rocket being present. "The town itself and the actions of the people tend to keep hostile pokemon away, as most will avoid the town due to frequent activity."

He then paused for a moment, then ventured. "Although, you did mention 'Gym'. We do have one of those. Unfortunately, the man in charge of the gym is likely standing adjacent to the shaman at the moment, or at least certainly also gone until dusk." He shook his head. "The younger trainers I'm not as certain about, but they are most likely learning at this period and thus similarly nonpresent. I'm not familiar with the other terms you said, however, so presumably they're southern things."

"I... do apologize again. We did not expect your aniriq to heal so quickly, or otherwise they would've been here to greet you and offer more swift aid. Thank you for notifying us of this problem, however - I'm still surprised that people have managed to come to town unnoticed, given the snow."

This was about when Kenshin finally made his own appearance - stepping into the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kaori

Kaori, as she rides about the small town, notices that it's practically a ghost town - she sees perhaps two people tops, and both of them were indoors. Most of the buildings were relatively small, although the town is indeed quite a bit larger than may have been expected. As you travel, frequently, long 'streets' extend for some distance before being blocked by houses in a fashion that is entirely too artful to be an accident.

She does notice a building that stands out quite a bit from the others, mostly in that it's got the exceptionally bright red-and-white colors of pokemon centres everywhere. The pattern was a little different, but that's clearly what it was. Closest to a 'familiar building' thus far.

Poking her head in resulted in a second familiarish face - it was, clearly, a 'nurse joy'. Now granted, she was wearing the same clothing that the others in the village were, but that pink hair was very noticable. She was asleep, however, until you poked your head in.

"O-oh!" She popped up. "Excuse me, it's rare to see people here during the day. Welcome to the Eeyee." It was something like 'Aye ee'. "How can I help you?"

The building itself was somewhat less technological than you're used to - there was no machine behind the 'counter', probably more masks than anywhere else you've seen thus far, and a sizeable array of cots. There was a small fountain near the centre of the room with a bear therein. The water was pouring over the bear, who was on all fours - it looked moderately like an ursaring with jagged fur.

[Mura-neechan]

Ferlyn's rather negative demeanor would fade a bit as Kope explained things. She'd look to Coko as she suppressed a slight grin. She was trying to focus, but still, her own curiosities were boiling as she closed her eyes. When she finally opened them again, Ferlyn held a slight look of determination. She had her mission to explore and prevent these Rockets, but she also had her pride as a Travies and one of Johto's more elite trainers.

"Kope, you said you have a Gym, but I'm curious. In an area like this that the snow makes travel so difficult, how can you have an organized league. Whatever the case of the current events, however your people sustain communication and travel, is likely the same way the Rockets do."

[Kantolin]

Kope had to pause for a moment at Ferlyn's question. Those who were more adept at reading faces could tell that the pause primarily involved confusion.

"A league is... a big group of gyms, right?"

Qet had stepped in there again. "I've heard Egoak talk about that a little - people collecting a lot of badges from various gyms."

"Ahh." Kope shook his head. "If that is true, then we do not have a plethora of gyms as you may down south - merely four. You do recieve a badge if you manage to defeat one, and it takes some measure of skill to successfully defeat all four. Although I believe it's been some time since anyone's taken much interest in challenging Egoak to a battle."

He paused. "...actually, I do not believe that answered your question directly. Acting shamans can protect your aniriq, making travel through the snow less immediately hazardous, although if these - "

And he paused again. He brow furrowed a little - visibly, something had just 'clicked' to him.

"...hrm. I suppose... your statement makes... sense, actually." He sighed. "It is possible that these newcomers have support amongst the Yup'ik, which would explain their ability to move around."

Another sigh. "I apologize... the idea that there were Yup'ik people aiding them had not occured to me. I hope that isn't true, although it would explain how they have managed to travel about."

Kope was now much more visibly bothered than before, as he sipped his horribad tea.

[Mura-neechan]

Ferlyn would nod, as Kope went on to explain the situation. She didn't need to know the actual mechanics yet, she had gotten the idea well enough. People were people, and even people in this region were going to have some sort of criminal element, that was all Team Rocket would need.

"It's not as black and white as that... Just because your people may be helping Team Rocket doesn't mean they understand them. You took us in, out of kindness and concern, and you have no idea what kind of people we are, after all."

[Eshkigal]

"Also, they may be paying in new tech and mon. When no one's seen...let's say zubat, then their value increases. Could just pose as traders and get whatever they wanted for things no one here would know are stolen, honestly. They tend to be deceitful like that when it helps them."

[Ajadea]

Faith nods, looking completely serious. "Zubat can easily go for over a thousand in Unova - they're incredibly rare, most of them are bred. Though I can't see why anyone would steal a Zubat - most places around here, just walk into a cave at night and a dozen of the little buggers come after you." She chews on her lip thoughtfully, doing a wonderful job of ignoring the kids manhandling her team. "But the aura thing... I didn't think Rocket went in much for stuff like that. Mysticalish stuff, I mean. TMs of Protect are very much within their domain. Or even HMs, depending on how many Pokemon they want to teach. Probably stolen, either way."

[Eshkigal]

"Just an example. But think about it this way."
He sends out Mojave, who he gives a few pats carefully, to avoid the poison.
"Mojave here would be a mon never before seen in any other region. Not in Dex or anything. Imagine squamata are common here, though. They could make tens of thousands due to rarity-imagine zubats going for the prices of starter tier mon. The mystic mon, who have benefits such as being able to see the intent of people and pokemon, mind you, making them invaluable as bodyguards for example, would be similarly priced per egg, if not more. Ignoring anything else, the mon here are seriously valuable to them, not to say anything of the natural resources and oddities, like the Current. Anyway, there's a location on there, right?"

[Kantolin]

Kope smiled at Ferlyn's response. "You are too kind to an old man's sense of pride." He states politely. His Kahasi seems increasingly bothered by the descriptions he's hearing about what Rockets do - obviously these were all quite new to him.

After listening to the other statements, Kope nodded. "I will keep you no longer, then. Thank you in advance for your aid once more."

~~

The group as a whole then discovers what Kaori had already known - the town seems nearly empty. The young girl Faith had met had apparently been a rarity over the norm - the group sees maybe one or two people as they travel. These people are not (Or do not seem to be) specifically avoiding the group, mind you, and you get a polite nod or a smile from them as you pass.

For most of the group, whatever 'patterns' the Captain is seeing are nigh-invisible. While he's actively looking at one you can kind of see a something, although they look more like 'mild wear and tear' than actual intentional markings of any sort. He doesn't seem to be having any trouble following them, however, as the group is led about for a bit.

It begins snowing very lightly within the town after you've been walking about for a bit, but it is definitely a bit warmer than when you first arrived. The sun shone in the sky - its rays were a bit further than normal for many of you, but it was still being a source of warmth.

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Everyone, please make me perception checks! Giving people a chance to react before 'arrival', heh.

[Eshkigal]

(1d20+7)[26]
Matt's mostly trying to see the scratches, his team now fully helping with the hatchlings and eggs inside the hut.

[Ajadea]

Faith takes Lily and Buck, recalling Raban when he comes into view. While tactically speaking, Raban would have probably been more useful, Lily was still a walking bundle of nerves and Buck had utility against pretty much all foes, which was nice. She leaves Anna and Terra back at the large-and-unpronouncable place, to take care of the kids. Anna would enjoy it and Terra didn't need training quite as much of the others.

She does her best to find some meaning in the scratches, but so far, they all look like nonsense to her.

Perception - (1d20+1)[18]

[Mura-neechan]

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Perception Check

1d20+1
3+1 = 4

[IrnBruAddict]

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Samurai senses, activate!

(1d20+1)[9]

[Steilos]

And so, Mark winds up playing the leader, leading everyone around the scratchings and myriad marks on the wall, wondering just where Rocket are going with this. Stryker trots along beside him, also wondering where Mark is going with this.

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Perception - (1d20)[7]