The Hayle Region (IC)

[CosmicOccurence]

Dominic doesn't even get a chance to tell his father that he was already gonna stay before he got shoved out the door. Of course he was going to stay... He couldn't leave his dad to take care of himself. So he'd have to put off trying the league for a while, things happened. He'd just train with Arlo around the Oasis and maybe catch some weak pokemon to train too. In a couple months, or however long it'd take... he'd go then. It was no big deal. Maybe Savannah would train him. That was a good idea... He'd go ask Savannah if he could train with her for a while...

Dominic wandered out of the Center and towards the gym.

While it didn't take you long to reach the gym, when you asked for the leader at the front desk, the receptionist responded, I'm afraid that Savannah is out for the rest of the night. Is there anything else I can help you with?

[CosmicOccurence]

He watched the purple fur moving for a while before turning to Yellow, whispering, "I think there's a bunch of pokemon headed that way." Ray motioned toward the far off clearing, adding, "Let's go quietly."

With that, Raymond crouched down, moving slow and as silently as he could toward the clearing to see what this purple fur was up to.

Spoiler

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Stealth: [roll0]

Unfortunately, the creatures had already noticed your presence on the path, and four of the purple fur creatures, which you then realized were Venonat, hopped out in front of you and began buzzing angrily at you.

[Arcran]

"Oh, uh, sorry," Marcus says, hastily backing away from the Cubone to give it some space. "Can I help you?" the boy says a moment later, not quite sure what to do at this point. He did want to catch the Cubone but, at this point, it seemed wrong to just catch it without talking to it a little bit.

[Prehysterical]

Saeunn gave a dry cough, her wispy white hair tied back in a bun. It can connect us with the otherworld Angus. It can connect us with the gods. That in itself is worth the risk for those brave enough to plunge into the unown. I think one day you might find it useful. When it does, you can find me here. I've stayed for a long while, and I don't plan to go anywhere soon.

But now, to herbs. Follow me please. The old woman tottered to a side door. With a wave of her hand several blurred shapes shot from the door into the dark corners of the room. This, she said, Is my garden.

The garden seemed just as cluttered and mysterious as her welcome room. She tottered around, showing you the edible plants and those that could kill you upon ingestion. The sheer variety of plants in her garden was astounding, and many didn't seem like they would come from this area, including a towering tree that you didn't remember seeing before you came in and a large cactus that must have been from the desert in the south. Some of the vines and flowers seemed to be alive, moving from place to place. Occasionally one of the vines would reach out menacingly to either you or Saeunn, and the old woman would bat them away impatiently. You spent about three hours in the garden, with her giving you a comprehensive education. Of course, you weren't sure that you could remember everything, but some of it stuck in your head for sure.

Spoiler

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You gain an altered skill stunt edge for Survival (finding food). However instead of getting +6 for giving up a die, you instead get +4. You are not required to use this skill stunt and may forgo it anytime you make this kind of check

As they conclude, Angus bows respectfully to the older woman. "Thank you for your time, wise one. I will put what you have taught me to good use. Now, I must take my leave before my presence within the Fortress grows any more irritating."

[CosmicOccurence]

"Oh, uh, sorry," Marcus says, hastily backing away from the Cubone to give it some space. "Can I help you?" the boy says a moment later, not quite sure what to do at this point. He did want to catch the Cubone but, at this point, it seemed wrong to just catch it without talking to it a little bit.

The little creature seemed to be calming down now that it realized that you weren't going to immediately attack him, and he didn't seem to be upset that you were here any more, and its shivering had faded into a much calmer breathing.

[CosmicOccurence]

As they conclude, Angus bows respectfully to the older woman. "Thank you for your time, wise one. I will put what you have taught me to good use. Now, I must take my leave before my presence within the Fortress grows any more irritating."

Goodbye for now, but know that this will not be the last time we meet. I can see that our paths will converge at some point in the future. Your path has many forks Angus. Choose wisely. The woman vanished once again into the smoky interior of her abode.

[Arcran]

For now, Marcus just walks silently next to the Cubone, not really feeling the need to push the Cubone to speak any more than he had to.

Gelver, on the other hand, was far more impatient than his Trainer. With a quick hop Gelver disembarks his Trainer, crawling quickly to catch up to the Cubone, webbed hand outstretched expectantly towards the Pokemon's club.

[Blind Venetian]

Unfortunately, the creatures had already noticed your presence on the path, and four of the purple fur creatures, which you then realized were Venonat, hopped out in front of you and began buzzing angrily at you.

Ray gasped as the four pokemon jumped out of the brush. Bug pokemon! He was more excited than afraid, getting ready for a fight. "Oh wow! I gotta get me one of those! Come on, Jasper, lets catch it!"

The Joltik leaped off of his shoulder to land in front of him, the tiny tick getting ready to take on the Venonats.

[CosmicOccurence]

For now, Marcus just walks silently next to the Cubone, not really feeling the need to push the Cubone to speak any more than he had to.

Gelver, on the other hand, was far more impatient than his Trainer. With a quick hop Gelver disembarks his Trainer, crawling quickly to catch up to the Cubone, webbed hand outstretched expectantly towards the Pokemon's club.

The pokemon clutched its club tightly and turned away from the pokemon. Bone it said indignantly, although in a slightly playful manner. Gelver responded by hopping on the pokemon's head, which the pokemon didn't seem to mind at all.

[Prehysterical]

Goodbye for now, but know that this will not be the last time we meet. I can see that our paths will converge at some point in the future. Your path has many forks Angus. Choose wisely. The woman vanished once again into the smoky interior of her abode.

Angus walks away and shakes his head. Sure, she knows everything, but doesn't give out any details! Thanks for that. He makes his way down to the gate.

[CosmicOccurence]

Ray gasped as the four pokemon jumped out of the brush. Bug pokemon! He was more excited than afraid, getting ready for a fight. "Oh wow! I gotta get me one of those! Come on, Jasper, lets catch it!"

The Joltik leaped off of his shoulder to land in front of him, the tiny tick getting ready to take on the Venonats.

Spoiler

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Jasper has the highest initiative, chart is on the map

[CosmicOccurence]

Angus walks away and shakes his head. Sure, she knows everything, but doesn't give out any details! Thanks for that. He makes his way down to the gate.

When you made it to the wall, four guards casually lounged near the closed gate and the small door next to it.

[Blind Venetian]

Spoiler: Stats

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Ray - HP: 57 Initiative: 10 Evasions: ATK 1 SATK 1 ANY 2 Injuries: 0
Jasper - HP: 40 Initiative: 20 Evasions: ATK 1 SATK 1 ANY 4 Injuries: 0

Narrowing his eyes, Raymond focused himself before shouting, "Let's be a little more careful this time. Jasper, use Spider Web on one of them!"

Jasper did as he was told, shooting a spider web at one of the closer Venonats, wrapping it up in webbing to keep it from easily joining in on what looked to be a already tough fight.

Spoiler: Round 1

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Jasper uses Spider Web on the Venonat in L10. Spider Web automatically hits and the target is Stuck and Trapped. If the target gets out of Stuck they are no longer Trapped either.

Raymond binds 2 AP to activate Iterative Evolution.

[Prehysterical]

When you made it to the wall, four guards casually lounged near the closed gate and the small door next to it.

Walking up to them, Angus greets them by saying, "Good evening. When does the next squad of mercenaries leave?"

[Arcran]

Marcus can't help but laugh at his Froakie and the Cubone, hoping that the fact that they were getting along so well would mean there was a chance of the Cubone sticking around.

"Hey, I was going to go meet up with my friend," Marcus says, doing his best to sound, well, nice. "Wanna come with us?"

Spoiler

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Chronicler on Cubone!

Also, Charm!
(2d6)[6]

[CosmicOccurence]

Spoiler: Stats

Show

Ray - HP: 57 Initiative: 10 Evasions: ATK 1 SATK 1 ANY 2 Injuries: 0
Jasper - HP: 40 Initiative: 20 Evasions: ATK 1 SATK 1 ANY 4 Injuries: 0

Narrowing his eyes, Raymond focused himself before shouting, "Let's be a little more careful this time. Jasper, use Spider Web on one of them!"

Jasper did as he was told, shooting a spider web at one of the closer Venonats, wrapping it up in webbing to keep it from easily joining in on what looked to be a already tough fight.

Spoiler: Round 1

Show

Jasper uses Spider Web on the Venonat in L10. Spider Web automatically hits and the target is Stuck and Trapped. If the target gets out of Stuck they are no longer Trapped either.

Raymond binds 2 AP to activate Iterative Evolution.

Peny, who had been released from her ball only moments earlier, shot towards the very same venonat that your web had trapped, striking it with almost supernatural speed. With a cry, the very same Venonat fell to the ground in surprise, where it quickly began to work its way out of the webs. While it was still on the ground an vulnerable, the little pokemon seemed to have freed itself of the sticky webs that held her down.

The other three venonats advanced, launching strage rays from their eyes that gleamed in befuddling patterns.

Spoiler

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Penny uses quick attack and deals 14 damage

V1 uses take a breather! It is tripped and vunerable, but no longer suffers from Spider Web!

V2, V3, and V4 all use confuse ray! AC 2, status

V2 vs Jasper (1d20)[19]
V3 vs Penny (1d20)[11]
V4 vs Ray (1d20)[1]

[CosmicOccurence]

Walking up to them, Angus greets them by saying, "Good evening. When does the next squad of mercenaries leave?"

One of the guardsman looked down at you. Think they're supposed to leave tomorrow. If you're one of Androssi's new trainers, make sure to bring your license or you'll have to pay for the travel. The Ironwall's are an interesting bit. They bridge the gap between Zahaard and the rest of the world. Not often you see swords on anybody but one of ours these days.

[CosmicOccurence]

Marcus can't help but laugh at his Froakie and the Cubone, hoping that the fact that they were getting along so well would mean there was a chance of the Cubone sticking around.

"Hey, I was going to go meet up with my friend," Marcus says, doing his best to sound, well, nice. "Wanna come with us?"

Spoiler

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Chronicler on Cubone!

Also, Charm!
[roll0]

Still clinging to its bone, the pokemon ***** its head and thinks about it for a second before giving a resounding afirmative nod and a decisive Bone in response.

Spoiler

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1 Trainer Exp for befriending a pokemon without violence!

[Arcran]

Marcus grins widely as he begins to make his way to the river, occassionally glancing at Gelver and the Cubone to ensure they're alright.

[Prehysterical]

One of the guardsman looked down at you. Think they're supposed to leave tomorrow. If you're one of Androssi's new trainers, make sure to bring your license or you'll have to pay for the travel. The Ironwall's are an interesting bit. They bridge the gap between Zahaard and the rest of the world. Not often you see swords on anybody but one of ours these days.

Being mercenaries, the men of the Ironwall had attracted nothing but contempt from the knights of the Order. Curiosity gets the better of Angus. "What are they like? I've never met one and have heard less-than-flattering things about them."

[Regalus]

"Okay; guess I'll have to ease up on my awesome when I call ya," he quipped airily before digging into the stew; quietly enjoying his mothers cooking for a while, and trying not to dwell on how long he might be stuck with trail rations, before recalling a rather important fact brought on by the subtle dread.

Looking up from his meal with a bit of hesitance, Adam spoke the last bit of advice he had received, "Oh.. and Leo gave me one last bit of advice. He said that it might be best for me to head to Central the day after tomorrow, and I think I'll be following his suggestion,"

[Jacior]

"No... Not really. I just wanted to ask her about training at the gym for a while... I guess I'll come back tomorrow." Dominic says, slightly dejected, but mostly without much enthusiasm. He stands there for a minute. "Could I train Arlo here for a little bit?"

[CosmicOccurence]

Marcus grins widely as he begins to make his way to the river, occassionally glancing at Gelver and the Cubone to ensure they're alright.

While Puck wasn't exactly where you thought he was, it was easy to follow the sounds of battle and caught the end of Puck capturing a Bulbasaur as Lily lay exhausted on the ground, tired from the long battle.

As he heard your approach, he whipped around before seeing you and relaxing. Oh, its only you Marcus. I mean, not only you but ... well I've been a bit jumpy since last night, that's all.

[CosmicOccurence]

Being mercenaries, the men of the Ironwall had attracted nothing but contempt from the knights of the Order. Curiosity gets the better of Angus. "What are they like? I've never met one and have heard less-than-flattering things about them."

The man shrugs noncommittally. Depends on which one you're talking about. Most of them are good enough, if kind of quiet. Some are nasty, but every group has a few bad eggs in them. They're not one for socializing aside from among themselves, but they sure as hell do their job. Casualties were much higher before they came around.

Another one of the men chimes in. Just make sure you don't insult their pride. They're like dragons they are, strong as a Tauros but they take insults pretty badly. The other men nodded in agreement.

[CosmicOccurence]

"Okay; guess I'll have to ease up on my awesome when I call ya," he quipped airily before digging into the stew; quietly enjoying his mothers cooking for a while, and trying not to dwell on how long he might be stuck with trail rations, before recalling a rather important fact brought on by the subtle dread.

Looking up from his meal with a bit of hesitance, Adam spoke the last bit of advice he had received, "Oh.. and Leo gave me one last bit of advice. He said that it might be best for me to head to Central the day after tomorrow, and I think I'll be following his suggestion,"

Your mother looked surprised at your admission to head to the center of the region first thing. Realy? she asked as if trying to gather her wits. I mean, Central's a nice place for sure but ..

She paused for a second, trying to compose herself.

Oh I'm just being silly, Central's a fine place to go. I just thought that you'd hightail it to Stormwrack and try and enter the Ranger Academy as soon as possible.

[CosmicOccurence]

"No... Not really. I just wanted to ask her about training at the gym for a while... I guess I'll come back tomorrow." Dominic says, slightly dejected, but mostly without much enthusiasm. He stands there for a minute. "Could I train Arlo here for a little bit?"

The secretary nodded. Sure, though we close in an hour, and there isn't anybody at your level left in the gym. We got a small haul this time around, just you and Katie in fact, and she's not around at the moment. You know your way around the gym though, and you can set up the training equipment however you like. Just make sure to clean it up after!

[Prehysterical]

The man shrugs noncommittally. Depends on which one you're talking about. Most of them are good enough, if kind of quiet. Some are nasty, but every group has a few bad eggs in them. They're not one for socializing aside from among themselves, but they sure as hell do their job. Casualties were much higher before they came around.

Another one of the men chimes in. Just make sure you don't insult their pride. They're like dragons they are, strong as a Tauros but they take insults pretty badly. The other men nodded in agreement.

Angus nods his head in thanks at the men before walking away. He tries to find a section of the wall that offers cover from the sky before settling down with his back to it. I can't afford to stay a night at the inn. I might need the money for supplies down the road. Guess I'd better get used to sleeping like this. Far off from how I envisioned my first day. As the young knight sits and lays back, Gladia moves herself to rest in Angus's lap. Her eye gazes up at him, silent but caring and supportive. He pats her blade reassuringly before his head lolls back and he closes his eyes. When the stone begins to dig into his skull, however, Angus thinks to place his shield behind his head as some mockery of a pillow.

[Regalus]

"Well, yeah; it's just...I got to thinking..." Adam began hesitantly as he absentmindedly played with his stew, "I need a badge for them to even consider letting me in right? And with the Harbor's setup there's a good chance Thistle might bet stuck with a pretty bad match up; and if I lose there I'm gonna have to wait a while before I can give it another go; so I figured it might be best to take the long way there. That way I can challenge more gyms, and I have a better chance of finding some nice fellas to join me and Thistle; which would help a ton,"

"Then I remembered that for a lot of trainer and ranger stuff, badges are real important if you want to have access to the best gear for yourself and your pokemon; and I figured some extra experience would do me a lot of good, and more badges would probably look great for when I actually try to join up. So I kinda got the idea, that maybe trying a good run through the league might be better for us than a speed run; I'm thinking for our five badges might do the trick, I can even visit here to take on Leo again before I try to join," the boy explained perking up a little at the vision of that rematch.

"But well, that's quite a while from now so I might change my mind at some point; but I like the idea and it'll give Thistle and me more time to iron out our team work,"

[Arcran]

Marcus' grin is cut a little smaller at the comment from Puck, although more from remembering yesterday than any actual offense at the remark.

"That's more than understandable," the boy says. "I was still looking over my shoulder on the way back to the Pokemon Center last night," the boy says. "I think we should be safe for now though? Augustus knows they were in the area, so they'd be stupid to try to fight us again, right?"

"Anyways, that's enough about scary things. Nice catch," the boy says, trying to change the subject more than anything. "You think you're gonna use all Grass Types?" the boy adds, looking at the Cubone to see how it will respond to Puck obtaining a Pokemon in the normal way.

Gelver, on the other hand, takes the chance to go lay out on the ground by Lily. He hadn't earned the nap with a hard-fought battle, but that didn't really matter much to the frog.

Spoiler: Actions

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Chronicler on the Bulbasaur!

[CosmicOccurence]

Angus nods his head in thanks at the men before walking away. He tries to find a section of the wall that offers cover from the sky before settling down with his back to it. I can't afford to stay a night at the inn. I might need the money for supplies down the road. Guess I'd better get used to sleeping like this. Far off from how I envisioned my first day. As the young knight sits and lays back, Gladia moves herself to rest in Angus's lap. Her eye gazes up at him, silent but caring and supportive. He pats her blade reassuringly before his head lolls back and he closes his eyes. When the stone begins to dig into his skull, however, Angus thinks to place his shield behind his head as some mockery of a pillow.

The sun rose to a warm day and, while you seemed a little creaky, nothing seemed to have happened during the night. Heck, it didn't even rain, which would have been a nightmare in the armor that you wore.

Spoiler

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I didn't know if this was an IC choice or not, but the Pokemon Centers and Temple of Mew provide free room and board for rank 0-2 trainers.