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Post by Robot on Sept 15, 2016 20:35:19 GMT
"It ain't all brute force and stamina in my line of work Emila, sometimes things are better with a light touch. Might get more out of Marissa if you address her as 'Baby' but it puts her in a weird headspace. We ain't leaving town again for a day or two, gotta off some critters and salvage, but I'll be waiting to hear from you." Rising, Cecil looked unimpressed. What was it with authority figures and talking down to him anyway? Whatever.
Departing her office, he was torn. No Marissa meant nothing to present Lucien with, but avoiding him was just going to stir up shit. The girls weren't exactly hard to spot, especially riding the modified jalopy. He'd wander town for a bit, maybe look into offloading his extra Pokemon, and see if he didn't bump into ol' Luce somewhere.
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Post by Lockdown on Sept 22, 2016 2:37:57 GMT
Inside of Scrimshaw's quasi-fortress is a trove of Old World items. Holotapes are neatly arranged on wooden racks next to a RobCo computer terminal, each one meticulously labeled and color coded according to some personal organizational chart. Near an old stove stands a handful of overstuffed armchairs, each one obviously handcrafted and lovingly cared for. Nearby against another wall are racks of magazines, comic books and several actual bound paper books, all of them showing signs of age and careful repair. Near the back is a stairway that leads up to the second level.
As the girls enter, there's a soft "plop" as a spider roughly the size of Bunnie's head drops gently onto the old man's shoulder, its thorax flexing upwards to show a smiling pattern of green and black hairs on the top. "Please ladies, don't mind ol' Nestor here. He won't hurt anyone that's not making a threat of themselves." Scrimshaw gently scratches around the thick spine growing out of the arachnid's head, earing a crooning chitter from the beast. Gesturing to the chairs, the old man stumps over to the stove, and pulls out a teapot and several mugs. "Please, have a seat ladies, and tell me what this old bag of wind can do for you all."
Finding Lucien isn't hard to do, the man apparently has his own personal bungalow that he uses when the weather's nice. The place is actually fairly nondescript, mostly stone construction just like the rest of the town; two stories with a small fenced-in "yard" and walkway. The only thing that marks it as Lucien's place is the sign bearing his name on the gate, and the red electric lantern hung by the door. Apparently he's a fan of the classics. Entering, you're met by the man himself, accompanied by what's possibly the strangest mon you've seen yet. A bipedal squid with softly glowing spots along its body and a beak that seems to be twisted into a perpetual smirk. Lucien's expression matches that of the mon as he regards Cecil. "So, the conquering hero returns eh?" He sucks on his teeth, regarding the other man for a long moment. "What brings you to my humble abode anyway?" He gives Cecil a small grin, the light reflecting from his gold tooth.
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Post by DataNinja on Sept 22, 2016 3:09:52 GMT
Christine gives a start at the large arachnid. It may not have been as physically imposing as some of the 'Mon that they'd seen so far, but it was unsettling in its own way. She does her best to ignore it, as she takes a seat.
"Well," she says, "From what Cecil's said, you've gathered that we're... not from around here. And that's more or less why we've come, because you've gathered a lot of information. And, well, she admits, "We've learned that we're probably not that ready for being out, away from home. It's lucky that we managed to make it to here."
"Even with that, we already... already lost one person. Almost two. I just want to learn as much as I can about around here, to stop things like that from happening again. Because we hadn't heard of the Gene-Children, so we didn't know what to look out for." She takes a breath, as she thinks of all that's happened over the past few days, before continuing. "So... that's it, essentially. We're here to try and see if you'd help us, because you have knowledge. Knowledge of around here. Knowledge of things that have happened. Maybe more knowledge on Pokémon. I don't know whether this is a fool's errand or not, but... I thought it would be at least worth asking if you would help."
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Post by Robot on Sept 22, 2016 15:04:24 GMT
"I had said we'd talk business after I got Bunnie back, even brought back a special someone who's eager for the line of work your girls are in." Cecil replied languidly, leaning against the gate. "Figured she'd more than square us for the tipoff before, if the guard don't put her down. Be a damn shame, but Emila seems to figure somethin' like an ex-raider is a bit too wild even for you. Said she's gotta question her first."
"Side from that, we lost one, pretty pissed about it." The greaser sniffed and rolled his tongue along his lower jaw. "The Gene Children didn't do Bunnie no favors either, so I got bones to pick next time we run into one. Might even make it a point to go lookin' now."
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Post by Slytherclaw on Sept 23, 2016 12:57:32 GMT
Amber watches the spider pokemon curiously, ignoring the slight tingle of nervousness that crawls up her spine at a new unknown pokemon. She tilts her head towards Topaz, who readjusts on her shoulder--it's comforting to be reminded that he's there, and she pointedly doesn't think about how much she's bonded with the critter in only a few days, or the potential dependency issues it might imply.
But when it comes to dealing with the old man, she bows to Christine's dominance of the conversation, settling on the edge of an armchair and watching the conversation that bounces between them.
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Post by Lockdown on Sept 29, 2016 15:05:23 GMT
Scrimshaw regards the three girls with sharp eyes, even as he serves up mugs of tea to them. "Mmmm, I can understand that. However, I'm afraid that things don't work like they do underground kiddo. You want something, you've gotta trade for it. Nothing for nothing after all. Your friend had that holotape from the wreck you lot visited; he traded it to me for the info I gave him, got a magazine out of the deal too.," he gestures towards the overstuffed racks of magazines and comics, before arching a brow in your direction. "So, what've you got to offer an old man, hmm?"
Lucien lets out a short laugh, gesturing for Cecil to follow him inside lazily. "Well then brutha, come on in and we'll talk turkey. Can't exactly do business on the front lawn after all." Inside, the place is lavishly, almost garishly decorated in bright colors and drapery. There are a couple of town guards moving through, mainly moving up and down a staircase to the upper floor. Lucien however, leads Cecil to a small office space, his strange mon taking up a position on the man's right shoulder as he seats himself behind a desk, popping open a gold-plated case and withdrawing a cigarette, before offering one to Cecil. Lighting up, he takes a deep drag before blowing streams of smoke from his nostrils, the haze clouding his features.
"So, you managed to bag a wild one, and you're thinking that she'll be a good fit for my little stable here, provided Emila doesn't ice her? Hmm, the woman knows the way the world works, I can talk with her. Provided this little queen bee of yours isn't too dangerous, I'm sure a compromise can be reached." He takes another drag, before looking at Cecil through hooded eyes. "Of course that brings up the question of your finders fee, as it were. You say you're goin' after the Gene Children? Good fuckin' luck with that, but don't expect me to bend over backwards to help ya. Anything else you might need that I might be able to supply... well, we can negotiate."
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Post by DataNinja on Sept 29, 2016 17:03:12 GMT
"I see..." muses Christine, taking the tea. Much as the it looks tempting, and might help wake her up, she isn't about to trust out of hand anything. Not after Bunnie. DeLoria, you and I are going to have a talk tonight about what constitutes important information to talk about. He'd not mentioned either giving the tape, or the fact that Scrimshaw would want some payment - although, the latter probably should not have been entirely unexpected.
"I'm afraid that I don't have anything myself," she says, Besides a Vault location, but no way in hell am I revealing that. "But..." she turns to the others, "Huh. I don't actually know. Do you guys have anything that might be of interest, and that you'd mind giving up." She gives a weak chuckle. "I should probably pay a little more attention to what's going on outside my little bubble." Though, hopefully in the future my specialty won't be required...
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Post by Robot on Sept 29, 2016 17:31:08 GMT
Cecil made a small gesture of thanks with the cigarette before lighting up himself, taking a few half puffs while Lucien spoke, nodding at the end with an 'Mnh', nodding as he removed the cancer stick from his mouth and blew the smoke off to one side. "Actually a rumor caught my ear from a reputable source last time we were in town, sparked an itch to know that I really need scratched. With all the guard that roll through this place wouldn't be too surprised if you picked up something."
The greaser let the thought hang on the air for a moment, appreciating the damn fine cigarette. It was either a surface brand he hadn't tried yet or genuine tobacco, felt like the latter with the rush he was getting. "There's something going on up at the water plant that his Mayorship is trying to keep hush hush on, word was the city is running on reserves and he's trying to keep it quiet while he fixes the problem. Any idea what that problem is, or how we can get an in with him to have a look round the plant?"
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Post by Slytherclaw on Oct 1, 2016 4:40:45 GMT
Amber pauses, considering the man thoughtfully. "Do you only accept physical trades?" She asks, thinking back on the dozens of information disks for the machine she'd largely dissembled, as well as the darts for the syringe guns they'd collected. Otherwise...hmm. She supposes there are services trades, or information she and Cecil might have after their...excursion.
"Do you accept trades of services and other information? Are there things, services, or information that you're particularly interested in?"
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Post by David Hilm on Oct 2, 2016 16:40:58 GMT
Bunnie waits quietly for a response to Amber's question, but does give her best Baby-Doll Eyes in hopes that it will provide some kind of positive response.
mEIb6SwU5d6 Charm Roll5d6
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Post by Lockdown on Oct 4, 2016 3:45:11 GMT
Scrimshaw harrumphs as the girls look at him, fidgeting slightly under Bunnie's dewy-eyed gaze. Finally, the old man caves. "Hem... alright, I suppose that after everything you've been through, a little charity can't hurt. I'll tell you what. You get five questions; I'll answer them and any specific, directly related questions that arise from my answers, to the best of my ability. As for trade, yes, information for information is an acceptable exchange. Of course what you give me determines what you get back, as your friend found out." He seats himself in one of the empty chairs, sipping at his own mug of tea; while his companion mon skitters upwards to perch on the top of the headrest. "As for services, I've a few inklings of interesting places thanks to my habit of catalouging information. Most of them are further to the West, towards the City and even past it. Zoological parks; botanical gardens, some Old World government buildings. There's supposedly a college campus out there that may still be semi-intact, there could be invaluable catalogues of Old World knowledge..." he trails off, smiling slightly as he rubs the grip of his cane, before focusing on you three.
"Most of those places are fairly dangerous though, I want you all to be sure you're capable of going out there before I give you those coordinates." He takes another sip of tea, "Now, ask your questions. Feel free to talk among yourselves first, I don't often get such lovely company."
Lucien strokes his chin, smiling so that the light glints off his gold tooth. "So, you wanna know what the Mayor's play is huh? Well listen close brother, I'll only tell you this once. Now the Mayor, he's a smart cat, but he doesn't have the street smarts to con a con, y'know what I'm sayin? He's frontin' hard. See, the plant's not just a source of water. It's also where all the Royal Blues that the settlement uses come from. Now the guards, they're pretty tight-lipped about it most of the time... but like you said, my lads and lasses, they hear things said in the afterglow."
The pimp leans back in his chair, pulling a bottle from his desk and taking a swig as he continues in a conversational tone "Apparently there's a bunch of caves under the surface, half-drained water pockets in the aquifer that got cracked open during the Cataclysm I guess. It's the source of all the pure water here. But somethin's moved in down below, and the Mayor and his boys, they ain't able to deal with it on their own. Can't call in someone public-like either, 'cause it'll make him lose face, might start a panic or get him pulled off the big chair. So he's draining the reserves and stockpiles to make things look normal; while he tries to use that big brain of his to figure out a solution I guess."
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Post by Robot on Oct 5, 2016 17:43:38 GMT
"What kind of temper does the big man have? 'Magine if someone had the stones to clear up his little issue, they'd be set." Leaning back Cecil took a few more slow drags on his smoke. "This is good shit, tobacco and something else yeah?" There was a certain directness about the question that didn't hold with the teen's relaxed tone, it was in his posturing and the slant of his eyes.
"Anyway, bit of a roundabout, but while you're chatting up Emila about Marissa maybe do me a solid and we'll call the finder's fee square. Just eh... let her know you noticed the tourists and think they might be able to help with the Mayor's little problem. If she's in on it, it'll get back to him, and that should get me the in I want."
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Post by DataNinja on Oct 7, 2016 14:49:17 GMT
After barely a moment's consideration, Christine asks "The Pokérus. What can you tell us about that? Everything you know about how it's spread, treatments, effects, all that. Anything regarding it would be helpful, really."
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Post by Slytherclaw on Oct 9, 2016 22:53:46 GMT
Amber hums softly to herself, looking up as she thinks. She doesn't snort when Christine asks the stereotypical medical questions, but it's a close thing. On the tail end of Christine's statement, she nods to herself and glances back at their information broker.
"Well, besides the particularly dangerous places, I guess, my question would be surrounding areas and points of interest? Whatever you can tell us about them. We're not...local," She smiles wryly. "If we could trade or barter for updated maps, I think we might also be interested, but any information is good."
She pauses for a moment, and glances at the other two. Five questions...five people. Well, four and a bonus, since Kat probably doesn't need to know anything. She undoubtedly knows it all already, Amber thinks a bit uncharitably.
"And he's not here, but...I think a friend of ours would be really interested in local pokemon information? Um...any restrictions on types or breeds, things we should watch out for like dangeorus nests, or, um, I dunno, things that we should keep our eyes out for in general? Pokemon aren't kept as commonly or...closely... where we're from, so I'm afraid we don't know as much as we probably should."
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Post by DataNinja on Oct 10, 2016 4:08:19 GMT
"Regarding the Pokémon," Christine adds, "Really, just anything in general about them would be excellent. Our knowledge concerning them is... noticeably patchwork."
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Post by David Hilm on Oct 10, 2016 11:44:18 GMT
Bunnie decides to be selfish with her question, not hesitating if she didn't have to.
"Anything you know about the Genechildren. How they got started, who started them, recruiting stations, potential hide outs. Anything."
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Post by Lockdown on Oct 15, 2016 3:08:52 GMT
Scrimshaw strokes his stubbly chin as he considers the questions the three girls are asking. "Mmm, you girls don't pick easy topics, do you? Let's start with you then miss, yours is relatively the easiest. Pokerus... no one's sure where it originated from. Some people think it's a variant of some kind of plague that was happening right before the lead-up to the Cataclysm. Others think it's just another Old World invention that went nuts. As to how it spreads, it's generally found in water and food grown in contaminated soil. Cooking things helps, so long as you're not tryin' to do something stupid like eat a Slugma, the heat causes the virus to break down. It's also spread by exposure to the bodily fluids of pokemon; stuffs in their blood, feces, urine... though thankfully for some reason it's not been found in their saliva; so we don't have to worry about an overly affectionate Growlithe or Lillipup infecting you just by greeting you with a lick. Some other mon, like that Chansey I heard you've got, can create uninfected foodstuffs. We're still not sure exactly how they manage it. Even if you do get infected, it takes a long while for things to get really bad. The virus has had two centuries to mutate and evolve, or even devolve in some cases, and now it's more of a blanket term for all the variants than just referring to a single strain. Hell, some of them are cannibalistic, so the virus isn't just fighting your immune system, it's fighting itself."
He takes a sip of his tea, soothing his throat before continuing. "There's some places I've heard though, where the stuff is so thickly contaminated in the water and ground and in plants that just breathing in can raise your exposure levels. Now early on, you're relatively okay. A little fatigued, but nothing too bad. But as the virus starts to build up in your system, you start getting muscle ache, spasms and dehydration. Really advanced cases... well there's hallucinations and chills. That's really the final stage before you either croak or... well, you've all met our resident example..." He shakes his head, before turning to look at Bunnie.
"This next bit ties into what you're asking about. See there's a chance, a slim one, but still a documented one, that a person infected with pokerus at the very final stages before it becomes terminal, will only partially mutate. They gain powers much like pokemon, though it seems to be random, and keep em even after a full purge of their system. Some folk don't trust 'em just for the fact that they've got weird powers, but others think of them as living demigods. The Gene Children fall under the latter category. But I'll be honest miss, I don't know a whole heck of a lot about them. They've got occasional small groups out here sometimes, but for the most part they tend to be further out West; butting heads against the raiders and gangs out there, and picking off folks looking to get to one of the bigger settlements. I'm thankful to say that they don't have any real strongholds around here... though if I were to hazard a guess, I'd wager that Red Mound would be a good place to look. Place is a large settlement, even bigger than Purewater; serves as a gathering place for Scavvers and other folk looking to trade that don't want to chance heading into the Old City itself."
He pauses and clears his throat. "As for how they got started... same way as any other cult I'd imagine. Someone started raving and enough hopeless folk desperate for a direction or a reason listened to em to start a movement. From what little I have managed to piece together, they call their leader "The Hand of Arceus". No idea what the hell an "Arceus" is though, but they put a lotta stock into it. They don't do recruitin' out in the open neither. If they're not creepin' in to snatch people, they trade and wander and most important of all, they listen. See if there's anyone in the place that might want a change of scenery. Then they chat em up, feel em out, and see if they might be interested in joining up. Most a the time they're gonna have one of those fuckin' mutants with em to do some parlor tricks and promise the poor sap the moon in the sky. No idea how many of em have second thoughts, but I ain't come across anyone that's ever scarperd and lived to tell the tale."
Taking another deep drink of his tea, he turns his eyes to Amber. "Judging from what your friend has told me, you folks have already found most of the close by places of interest. Anything else.. well it probably hasn't been found yet, so if you do stumble onto something new, let me know would you? Further out there's Red Mound going north, or you can circle around to the south and try to get to Bell's View. Unfortunately, most of what I know about the area is dedicated to Pre-Cataclysym knowledge, and I'm afraid I can't help you much. I can at least show you where they are though."
He laughs then, a somewhat rusty sound. "As for pokemon... well there's a lot to know, especially if you've spent your life underground." He smiles, idly scratching the base of the giant spider's head stinger, getting a chitter that almost sounds like a purr. "They weren't meant to be weapons you know. At least not at first. While Watson and Crick were the ones to discover DNA, Dr. Tajiri was the one to unlock its potential. Man wanted to create a new class of pets and companions for people." He sighs then. "But when the news got out that he could create creatures that could spit fire, channel electricity, or even use raw mental power to preform feats of strength and fine manipulation... well of course the militaries got involved. Poor man didn't realize the Pandora's box he'd opened. They're surprisingly adaptable and hardy as well. Suppose their ability to rapidly evolve into more powerful forms has something to do with it. Their DNA's not all stable at first ya see," he points his mug at Amber.
"As they gain more life experience, their internal chemistry starts to change. The process seems to be sped up exponentially by battling against other mon or even humans though, adrenaline and other chemical byproducts from the fights making them faster, tougher, stronger... When it hits a certain tipping point, they "evolve", usually getting bigger and generally tougher. Some of em need special rocks though, evolution stones we call em. Something during the Cataclysm energized certain deposits of minerals that were on the surface; some of which got buried, or just generally scattered. Things emit a special type of radiation, acts like a trigger for the beasts' endocrine systems. Unfortunately, sometimes that also means that something that's relatively harmless can find one out in the wild, and become a real monster. There's a Nidoking, nasty poison and ground type mon with a lot of power that's taken to nesting a fair bit away from town; used to be a Nidorino that some gangers abused from what I hear. Found a Moon stone, and evolved into a true beast. Thing absolutely hates humans. Probably a big part of why we haven't had as many caravans coming through lately..." he trails off thoughtfully, before shaking his head.
"Anyway, as I mentioned, pokemon also have "types". It's part of a classification system, though in particular it denotes their elemental strengths and weaknesses. Like a giant game of rock-paper-scissor... but with at least eighteen different variables to take into account. Some of them have extremely intimidating powers. Especially Psychic types. Not a lot of people like em, think they can meddle with someone's mind, make em go all loco. And that may be the case, Pre-Cataclysym there's a lot of warnings I've found about Psychic types needing to be reported to the authorities, and needing to have special licenses to own and train em. Luckily, they've got weaknesses as well. The best hard counter to a psychic is a dark-type, they're flat-out immune to any sort of psychic powers. Next best bet after that are ghost types, they seem to be able to disrupt psychic energies when they attack. So do bug types for some reason." He smiles down at the spider in his lap, who rustles its thorax fur, creating a pattern very much like a smirk. "Bug types are also able to do serious damage to dark types, so they're handy critters to have around. Now locally, there's no stipulation against owning a psychic type. Hell, some of the town guards have mon that are part psychic... and Lucien has a real oddity. Psychic and Dark at once. Other places may have their own rules though; but most guards are gonna warn ya before they letcha into town." He stops, peering into his mug, and then creakily gets up to pour himself another cuppa. "Anything else you ladies would like to know?"
Lucien smiles again. "I like the way you operate kid. Not trying to demand things, leaving favors open for future collection... yeah, I think you and I are gonna get along just fine. As for the mayor..." Lucien takes a sip of his alcohol. "Well Trehan's the kind to get obsessed with things. New tech, improving old tech, making sure his current tech is running. Given current issues, that might make him amenable to outside help, provided you're able to keep things on the downlow. Man has a reputation to protect, savvy?" He chuckles, leaning back in his seat and taking a lit cigar that hovers into view, a strange purple glow matching the soft glow being given off by the pokemon surrounding the stoogie. "I'm pretty sure that our esteemed Guard Captain is aware that there is a problem, but not the extent to which it exists. Trehan commands the guards for the water plant personally, sort of a balance of power thing, or so he claims. So Emilia can't take the water plant, and Trehan can't run roughshod over the other people while he plays with his toys an' ignores that hot piece of pie sittin' at home playing dressup... or dressdown on occasion," he smirks at Cecil over the rim of his glass.
"And the cig? Yeah, litle additive to it, condensed dream smoke, gives the tobacco a nice smooth quality you can't get otherwise. I can set you up with a supply if you'd like," he offers negligently.
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Post by David Hilm on Oct 17, 2016 14:27:12 GMT
Bunnie takes a moment to consider the information about the Children. She curses to herself, wishing she could remember anything they said to her while she was captive. A sudden wiggling from her bag startles her and causes her to jump almost out of her skin.
"What the hell?"
She swings the pack around and pulls out the egg she had found before as it wobbles back and forth.
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Post by DataNinja on Oct 17, 2016 15:04:44 GMT
"What... what's that, Bunnie?" Christine asks, releasing Bones. "Where did you get it?" Please, please tell me she found it, and not that the Pokérus is getting to her. As soon as we are done here, I'm giving her that diagnostic, no ifs-ands-or-buts.
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Post by David Hilm on Oct 17, 2016 15:13:25 GMT
Ask a stupid question...
"I laid it." Bunnie rolls her eyes, not thinking about the implications of her statement at this moment before sighing inwardly. "I think its about to hatch though. Wonder what its gonna be?"
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