Silly Plots 2: Electric Boogaloo

[Recaiden]

"What if we just...throw it overboard?" Chevin suggests.
The thing could obviously fly, so it wouldn't even be hurt. Probably.
"It was certainly destructive, wasn't it, angry or not?

[Devixer]

[Magic Woods]

With the satyrs bleeding, terrified, or distracted, the two young women can proceed swiftly but safely to the well, which sits in a glade on a small hill. It looks very plain and stereotypical. Next to it is a plaque:
The Spirit of Giving: make a wish for your friends!

”So I guess we gotta come up with something for each other. But now that we’re out of there-” Niji tries to give Ilknur a tight hug.
”Thanks. You were sweet.”

Ilknur is squeezed! She doesn't really try and do anything about it. Hugs are nice! "Ah, I'm just trying to help a girl out, you know? Don't wanna leave you to a bunch of jerks like those guys."

She floats up to read the sign, then finally lands. "Hm, I guess so." She folds her wings to consider her options. "You can't fly like that right? You were falling behind a lot back there."

[Deathkeeper]

Magic Woods Well

Niji smiles. She will try to lean in and give Ilknur a quick peck on the cheek.
”Aw you’re a real hero.

And no, I don’t think I can.”
Supposedly Kin had wings once, but Niji got fins instead, and doesn’t know about Kin’s History much.

[Murkus]

[The Frescot Home]

"Yes!" Laela says without hesitation. She's a growing girl after all. "Thumper's not though. He already ate."

[The Frescot Home]

"So I saw. Does that mean Thumper doesn't want to come with us?" Adir asks, bouncing Laela in his arm. "And why don't you pick where we go to eat, ey munchkin?" He whispers. "Even if it's something really bad for you!"

[Felandria]

"What if we just...throw it overboard?" Chevin suggests.
The thing could obviously fly, so it wouldn't even be hurt. Probably.
"It was certainly destructive, wasn't it, angry or not?

Felandria considers it a moment.

We can make it walk the plank!

[Recaiden]

"You know, that would be a great idea. But I don't think it can walk."
Chevin kicks the stunned rock over towards the gunnels.

[Devixer]

Magic Woods Well

Ilknur doesn't do anything to stop the peck on her cheek. One of her wings ruffles a little. "Don't mention it."

She hops near the hill, and peers inside. "I wish my friend Niji could fly as easy as I can." Then, as an aside: "Do-do I throw a coin in? Is that how this works?"

[Felandria]

"You know, that would be a great idea. But I don't think it can walk."
Chevin kicks the stunned rock over towards the gunnels.

Fel shrugs.

Fair enough.

Out you go, buddy.

And Fel picks up the spiky thing and lobs it off the ship.

[Recaiden]

The spiky thing falls away, slowly coming to its senses and starting to maneuver again, but by that time the pirate ship has sailed well away.

"Adventure complete!" Chevin cheers. "So what did you think of space?"

[Earl of Purple]

Ruins of Juniperwood Town

This settlement used to consist of ten buildings, before a nuclear-ish war destroyed it. Now, there's five buildings still standing, surrounded by twisted trees, bare earth, sparse grass and oily puddles of water. The five buildings are a red-roofed Pokemon Centre, the glass double-door shattered and spread across the street, a blue-roofed Pokemart, thoroughly looted with the shelves knocked over and partially dragged out the smashed windows, and three single-storey houses of stone; one is a shell, with no roof, doors or windows, all the furnishings open to the elements and badly deteriorated; one is in much better condition, though the door has been smashed in and a human skeleton lies dangling out of a window, and the third is well-fortified, with heavy planks still nailed across the door and windows.

The remaining ten buildings are little more than heaps of rubble, covered in oily soot and twisted grasses. There's the odd patch of long, brownish, poisoned-looking grass, but approaching and even entering the town is quite easy without going into the areas roamed by wild pokemon.

[Deathkeeper]

[Ruins of Juniperwood Town]

Jacen Vallarm smiles, taking a knee on the outskirts of the town. He's dressed in full adventurer gear again. He's glad all this still fits him, but then again, he does seem unable to gain weight even now. He turns back, scratching Zebes' chin who chirps affectionately.
"Well, not exactly our prettiest date spot. But there you go. Supposedly there's a lot of pokemon here. Want us to go in costume?" he jokes, beaming at the harpy behind him.

[Magic Woods Wishing Well]

Niji smiles and gives Ilknur a knowing smile.
"Yeah, you have to say your wish as you throw a coin in. That's how wishing wells work, silly!" she chides.

[UncleWolf]

Ruins of Juniperwood Town

Veronica frowns a little at the appearance of the town, but it is more out of thought and caution rather than disappointment. She was actually quite glad to be here with her boyfriend, and she'd always wanted to go exploring and adventuring again. The Harpy was dressed as her form dictated, with cargo shorts and a tank top, but also a tactical style vest and bandolier that she's filled with home made potions and tinctures. Helping Heather with her witchcraft had certainly granted her some of her own skills in such, and floating next to her she'd brought her little floating drone. Still, one thought kept invading her mind as she looked between the ruins and her boyfriend.

"...Jace, honey, I gotta ask. Do you have some curse that just seems to attract Pokemon themed stuff to you?" She wonders as she tweaks her eye-piece that helps control her drone. It was rather uncanny. There was something else bothering her a bit and she quirks a brow, tilts a hip, and sets her wing on it. "And dear? Is this going to be a real dungeon or ruins, or something like one of those escape rooms or zombie runs you hear about?" She asks, taking another look around. "Though if this is something like an escape room you're taking me to as a surprise, I must admit, it is a damned impressive one. I say we check out the shell of a house first."

Despite her skepticism, she was somewhat excited to be out and doing this again. Her younger brothers had moved out, her younger sister was old enough to be spending time after school with her friends...it made things feel empty back home.

Still. She hoped Jace seriously hadn't brought a costume.

[Deathkeeper]

[Ruins Of Juniperwood Town]

Jace is shocked! Offended even!
”Of course it’s real! You asked me, several times, for a real expedition, and I picked out a real expedition! I just...picked a site that wasn’t known for ravenous demons or being actively cursed.” he shakes his head.
”So yeah, totally real hungry monsters. By costume I just meant, you know...” he puts his fingers up to the sides of his head, mimicking oversized ears.
Zebes snickers.
”I think he just likes it when you order him around.”
Jace turns away abruptly at that.
”We can try picking but it’s been open to the elements. If there’s been enough time to strip a corpse to the bone there won’t be anything left unless it was locked in a safe or cellar.”

[Devixer]

Magic Woods Wishing Well

"Well don't look at me! We don't have regular wells where I'm from, let alone the wishing kind!" Ilknur awkwardly reaches into a pocket hastily sewn onto her shirt with her wingtip. She withdraws with a coin carefully balancing on the tip of her wing, and it takes her an embarrassing amount of time just to toss the coin into the well, and repeat her wish.

[UncleWolf]

Ruins of Juniperwood Town

"Jace, there's enough time for that when we're alone and Zebes isn't watching us." Veronica points out, sticking her tongue out at the pair before peering a little more at the ruins of the town. "But if you want to change, go ahead, I won't stop you. I figure the gutted house might have a basement, but more important we can see how much of it has been disturbed and by what. If there's any nests, traces of feeding, territorial markings, that sort of thing." Veronica explains. Despite being a city girl, she'd been studying and reading up on things. Not to mention her own little forays into the wilderness every so often to get a taste of it all.

Still, with a course of action in mind, she walks towards the gutted house, preferring not to expose herself by flying so openly just yet. If nothing interrupts or intercepts them, she'll send her drone forward to see if there's anything obvious living there.

[Felandria]

The spiky thing falls away, slowly coming to its senses and starting to maneuver again, but by that time the pirate ship has sailed well away.

"Adventure complete!" Chevin cheers. "So what did you think of space?"

Space is the best!

And so are you, friend!

Fel crouches down to give Chevin a hug.

[Earl of Purple]

Juniperwood Town Ruins

Into the house they go! They aren't disturbed en route, which is probably useful.

Inside, the floor is covered in broken ceramic roof tiles and chunks of interior wall, which didn't survive long after the roof collapsed. It looks as though it was a two bedroom house, with a living/dining room, kitchen and bathroom, all separated by low walls of rubble. There's a rusted bracket mounted above a fireplace, with a shattered wall-mounted television lying beneath it, and a few faded photographs still hang on the walls. There's a square hole in the floor of the kitchen, partially blocked by the standing fridge, which has fallen over and rests over it. In the main bedroom (judging by the fact the rusty bed frame is double-size) there's a wall-safe, but it's hard to spot; it was mounted in a wall which has now collapsed, and lies in a heap of rubble. There's also a metal box sticking out from under the smaller bed, a faded pink colour; the bed is small enough to be a child's bed. The shelves, wardrobes and cabinets are nothing more than heaps of rotting wood, shattered crockery and the occasional shiny piece of metal.

It hasn't been disturbed, at least in an active, people-are-looting manner, since before the roof and internal walls collapsed, which means all the rubble is mostly an even layer spread across the whole ruin.

[Deathkeeper]

Ruins Of Juniperwood Town

Jace sputters. Zebes gives Veronica a devilish grin.
”Oh, Veronica.” he says as one would to a child. Everyone knows Jace and Zebes share a brain, so to speak. It’s essentially impossible for him to not be watching. Only he doesn’t say all that because he knows doing so would make her uncomfortable.

At the house, Jace does not see the safe, but he does spot the child’s locker. Maybe there will be something he can give Khannie. Not that Khannie really likes girly things.
Meanwhile, Zebes switches to his Dragonite shape and starts to try pushing the fridge away from the hole with all the STRENGTH the tubby dragon-type shape can muster.

Magic Woods Wishing Well

Plunk!
A soft glow surrounds Niji. Nothing else seems to happen, though Niji’s fins extend. She can now swim through air as well as water! Surely nothing about god could go wrong.
”Oh, me next, me next! I wish my friend Ilknur had hands as functional as mine!” she declares as she tossed a coin, having noticed the harpy having trouble getting the coin out.

[UncleWolf]

Ruins of Juniperwood Town

"Yes Zebes, I'm well aware you two share a mind. But until I am forced to summon my own familiar for you to boink, I'm going to continue to choose to ignore your link with my boyfriend." Veronica states, frowning slightly as she signals the all-clear for the empty house.

When she goes in, she takes a moment to look at the pictures just to see what kind of people had lived here before. Once she sets the picture back down, she'll head into the master bedroom. Luckily for her, she knows where people are likely to put wall safes and she's able to find it. Unfortunately for her, unless there's a note with the combination on it, she can't unlock it herself. Still, she jots down a reminder in her drone's memory about it. If nothing else, she could come back to it later.

"Cellar?" She asks, joining Zebes to put her back to the fridge in order to help shove it away.

[Earl of Purple]

Ruins of Juniperwood Town

Unfortunately, the photos have been exposed to the elements for too long, and they're faded. One depicts a girl in a red dress, but all that's visible is a faint pink smudge of a dress.

Even if there was a note, it hasn't survived. The safe isn't that big; Veronica could pick it up and carry it closer to the others. It's a bit heavy to carry for long, though.

Inside the box is a delicate brass music-box, in surprisingly good condition. If Jace tries it, it plays a vaguely creepy tune, and a little scarecrow figure dances. There's also a wooden sword and a plastic bag, the sort used to store dry-cleaned clothes; inside is a beautiful child's dress of red and green silk and satin, looking like a Medieaval princess dress, complete with the silly tall hat with the pennant from the top. It probably won't fit Khannie, which is a pity, but it's certainly valuable.

Zebes uses Strength on the boulder fridge! It rumbles and is shunted aside. There's a hole in the ground descending into the destroyed building's cellar. There's a metal ladder bolted to the wall into the basement, but it's old. It might not be very stable, and the basement is dark enough that not much is visible within. Anything could be down there.

[Deathkeeper]

Ruins Of Juniperwood Town

”Joke’s On you, you know I’m totally aces!” Zebes teases, and they head in. Sort of.

Jace takes the dress and goes over to Veronica. It definitely wouldn’t fit his adorable dinosaur-marsupial daughter, though she does have a human shape.
”Well, I found a cute dress for one of the girls, if we get it sized or the sleeves removed. I hate finding kids’ stuff. Hope they got out alright.” he says it, but he doubts it sometimes.

Jace has a passing knowledge of lockpicking from seeing it done and trying it a few times. He could try it on an old school mechanism, but if it’s a modern safe with a dial or buttons he can’t even try.

”That ladder looks old. Maybe send the drone or the bunny down? Not enough room in the hole for you to fly straight up if the ladder gives way.” he observes, staring down the hole. The bunny is, of course, himself.

[UncleWolf]

Ruins of Juniperwood Town

Veronica doesn't move the safe, just in case it was trapped or something sensitive was inside. She'll come back later with a vial of acid or something similar to eat through the hinges instead of anything hot though. The last thing she wanted to do was damage the insides. "We'll send the drone down, and I found a locked safe in the master bedroom. Not sure if you can open it now, but I can always return later for it." She explains as she sends her little floating drone down into the dark hole, activating night-vision when it finally reaches the darkness.

"I don't think Heather would like the dress since she's kinda hitting this goth stage thanks to her witchery, but I know a few people we could probably sell it to." She adds as an idea comes to her and she opens the fridge that was moved, just in case.

[Recaiden]

Space is the best!

And so are you, friend!

Fel crouches down to give Chevin a hug.

Chevin is surprised for a moment, then hugs Felandria back. A bit awkwardly, like shi isn't used to the motion. Or maybe just like Felandria is triple hir size.
"Aww, thank you."
"Friend." Friend, right, kinda had forgotten those, huh?
"Time to get you back to work?"

[Earl of Purple]

Juniperwood Town Ruins

If it makes Jace feel better, there were no bones in the bedroom he visited, nor in the bedroom Veronica visited. No bones in the house at all, in fact.

Except in the fridge, where there's a jumble of chicken bones, a lamb leg-bone, a broken plate, shards of glass, a silver spoon and an empty plastic tub. Fortunately, the house has been abandoned so long all the food within has properly decayed. The only organic matter- besides the bones- is a scrap of paper wrapped around a key behind the vegetable drawer at the bottom, sealed with a resealable plastic bag.

The drone will see that the ladder looks sturdy enough, solidly bolted to the wall and made of aluminium. No rust or crumbling masonry to worry about, which is good. What might be a worry are four Zubat roosting on the ceiling, and dark water covering the bottom of the cellar to the depth, judging by a steel shelving unit, of a foot. The shelves are stacked with disintegrating books and crumbling cardboard boxes, and there's also a pool table in the centre of the room, complete with cues and balls, a washing-machine with a plastic basket on top next to a dryer, a standing fan in the corner and a dart board hanging on the wall. A small steel dart is embedded in the dartboard, likely fired from the small, concealable crossbow of steel construction resting upon the pool table, next to three more darts. There's also a wooden door, swollen and warped by water, leading into another part of the basement.

[Deathkeeper]

Juniperwood Town Ruins

"What does our mechanical buddy see?" Jace asks Veronica as he waits for her to tell them how the recon goes. He plucks the key from the fridge as she pops it open and they search it.
"Nice going, Veronica. I might have missed that. Where was that safe?" he goes looking for it, peeking at the paper and seeing if either it or the key lets him open it.

[Felandria]

Chevin is surprised for a moment, then hugs Felandria back. A bit awkwardly, like shi isn't used to the motion. Or maybe just like Felandria is triple hir size.
"Aww, thank you."
"Friend." Friend, right, kinda had forgotten those, huh?
"Time to get you back to work?"

Felandria, still on her knees, gives Chevin a salute.

Yes, Captain!

And be sure to give me a call when it’s time for another space or pirate adenture.

[Recaiden]

Chevin gives a nod. "I'm sure it won't be long."
And that's that!

[Gullara]

[The Frescot Home]

"So I saw. Does that mean Thumper doesn't want to come with us?" Adir asks, bouncing Laela in his arm. "And why don't you pick where we go to eat, ey munchkin?" He whispers. "Even if it's something really bad for you!"

[The Frescot Home]

"Thumper can come too! He just won't eat." Laela says. But oh, what does she want. Hmmmm. "Ice cream!" The girl exclaims. She loves ice cream.

[Devixer]

Magic Woods Wishing Well

Similarly, the same glow surrounds Ilknur. Though at first nothing seems to happen, she finds herself stretching the joints at her wingtips, that form similar talons to the ones at the ends her her legs, though much, much smaller.
"...Hm. It'll take a while to get used to, but... it's nice." she grins at Niji.

[UncleWolf]

Ruins of Juniperwood Town

Veronica has no idea why a key would be in the fridge and at this point she's too afraid to ask.

When her drone sees the basement, she frowns a bit and purses her lips in thought. "Four rather large bats with split tails? Dunno what those are. There's what was once a finished basement and game room with a dart crossbow for games and another door. Looks like it'd be stuck so Zebes would have to force it open or destroy it. Make a lot of noise though. Could possibly use the little laser system on my drone to get rid of the bats or spook them away if that'd work. Oh, and the ladder looks pretty safe."