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Post by UmbralHero on Feb 23, 2017 0:40:50 GMT
Sano's eyes widen as the man moves toward them. These people must have some sort of sorcery he isn't privy to, but that isn't why they're here.
"Uh, Hello. I'm Sano, and this is my friend Rei. Necessity and curiosity are taking our party to the Cerulean coast, but we're relatively new Guild Members, so we're digging around to see if there are any Guilds that would have an interest in the Cerulean beach ecosystem or other mission close to that area. We are fairly low on funds, so a sponsorship or advance on reward money would help us out a great deal."
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May 31, 2023 21:25:23 GMT
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Post by Raven on Feb 23, 2017 1:59:32 GMT
The man considers for a moment. "We generally don't offer sponsorship to newly joined Members. However, I do believe I might have a task or two that you can perform in the Cerulean area. The first is an easy job: I need soil samples from the following locations." He produces a list of locations in and around Cerulean Village as well as some test tubes.
"If you can procure for me a sample of soil from each of the locations on this list, I will be happy to pay you 200 crowns for your time." He pauses a moment before continuing. "As to the second job: There is an ill-tempered Pokemon causing tremors near Mt. Moon, and I fear that the effects may soon extend to Cerulean. It has been riled up by mistake from a group working to clear a path through the mountain for ease of travel. It is not so much their presence that causes it to act up as their method of clearing away. They have been using some fancy gadgetry or something that has upset the local Pokemon population, and the one causing the disturbances is said to be the Guardian of the Mountain. Your task is two-fold: First, you must calm the Guardian. Do not attempt to fight it. I cannot stress this enough. You must talk to it. It cannot speak our language, but it understands well enough. Second, you must convince whoever is in charge of this path-clearing operation to switch to using hand tools rather than magi-tech machinery. It will be slower, and more difficult, certainly, but much less so than having the Guardian's wrath brought upon the village. I'm certain you can figure out everything from there. While this is meant to be a humanitarian mission, I am certain that if you speak to the Chief of Cerulean about this, he'd offer you some form of reward.
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Post by carnackiArdent on Feb 23, 2017 2:17:49 GMT
"That's cool. Mine pretty much just -" Clay doesn't quite get the chance to finish his sentence before they're off again... off, down the hall, and out the door.
"Whoa, Tiki!" Clay finally manages to catch his breath enough to disentangle his hand from Tiki's. It doesn't help that he's being dragged around somewhat literally - Tiki's got longer legs than him and keeping up with her top speed is difficult. "We're, um, kind of outside. I don't think Ground Branch is out here." Well, you never know, but he'd at least expect the branch to have an entrance in the actual building.
He runs a hand through his scruffy (and still somewhat wet) hair with a sigh. "Okay, so. No luck finding money opportunities there. Upside, new friend. Speaking of parents I gotta introduce you guys to Master Nob someday. I was thinking about dropping by the dojo sometime but it seems like we're kind of eager to get going." Besides, he'd rather not discuss his misgivings about his current win record in front of his friends, so it'd either need to be separate trips or he'd need an excuse to be alone with his teacher for a while. Granted, Sano and Rei would probably take the hint, at least...
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Post by oddeyes on Feb 23, 2017 3:36:25 GMT
Tiki comes to a halt, and looks around. She smiles sheepishly. "Hehe. Woopsie...." She takes the time to ring out her wet hair, and dry off. "I wonder how the others are doing. Too bad we couldn't help...Hm...Going to your home sounds super cool. My parents have always traveled, so I don't know where they are!"
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Post by carnackiArdent on Feb 23, 2017 3:49:16 GMT
"Well, 'parent'. I... oh. Right. That was just Rei I told, wasn't it."
Clay looks a little embarrassed. "Master Nob basically taught me how to do the whole 'human' thing. I guess he's more like a teacher than a parent. Up until about a year ago I was raised by Infernape. That's why I can talk to Pokémon. But actually talking about my troop like they're my parents... well, Master Nob thought that might weird people out." He's going to insist that being raised by Infernape is why he talks to Pokémon until somebody actually tells him otherwise.
And a little more embarrassed when he realizes he's rambling about his family - adoptive or otherwise - when Tiki's talking about not knowing where her parents are. "That sounds kinda rough. I mean, they might be a different species but the troop are still my family. I always knew where to find them."
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Post by oddeyes on Feb 23, 2017 4:24:49 GMT
Tiki goes quite, eyes go wide, and looks off at nothing. Everything Clay has talked about. The poke talk, the Fan being his sister stuff, and etc. It all made sense. Tiki felt like the universe had opened up, and all her questions were answered at once. "OOOOHHHhhhhhh.....OK! That's really neat-O!" She giggles.
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Post by carnackiArdent on Feb 23, 2017 4:33:02 GMT
"Sorry, I, uh, forgot I hadn't really come out and said it. Guess I still need to tell Sano too." Clay rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. "I keep losing track - I told Rei a couple nights ago when she asked me about something I'd said. And boss lady actually worked it out on her own... I dunno how, actually. I used my troop's name - well, translated it - and she said 'raised by monkeys' pretty much right away. I don't think I ever saw another human in their territory, though."
He frowns thoughtfully. "Boss lady's hard to figure out. I'm not sure whether she's just trying to challenge us or actually wants to get rid of us."
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Post by oddeyes on Feb 23, 2017 4:44:00 GMT
Tiki frowns as she recalls her own experience with the mean fire lady. She scratches the back of her neck. "Yeah she doesn't seems like the most likable person. Probably should've warned ya'll after my run in with her. Very scary..."
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Nov 23, 2023 19:11:09 GMT
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Post by lichlord on Feb 23, 2017 5:03:24 GMT
Rei blinks a few times, absorbing the info-dump.
"Alright! Always happy to help, and I know we can at 'least' handle the first of those tasks. And I wouldn't stand by while a pokemon guardian gets disturbed! ...Although my track record at talking to pokemon is... varied. But there's a couple in our group that might do better than myself."
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Post by UmbralHero on Feb 23, 2017 5:59:36 GMT
Sano nods, much more comfortable being spoken to than speaking. He accepts the paper and test tube, glancing briefly at the list.
"I'm sure we can make peace with the Guardian. Is there any more information you can give us?"
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May 31, 2023 21:25:23 GMT
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Post by Raven on Feb 23, 2017 6:50:02 GMT
"Afraid not, as I've never met the Guardian myself. I've only heard about this through word of mouth, you see. From Officers I have stationed in the area. If you contact one of them, I'm sure they could tell you more. Assuming there is more to tell, of course."
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Nov 23, 2023 19:11:09 GMT
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Post by lichlord on Feb 23, 2017 9:11:55 GMT
"I suppose there's only one way to accomplish this then! Sano, shall we find the others and depart then?"
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Post by UmbralHero on Feb 24, 2017 3:54:01 GMT
He folds the paper and tucks the test tubes into his medical pouch.
"Ready when you are."
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Post by lichlord on Feb 24, 2017 4:12:22 GMT
Rei (and Sano) head out to find Tiki and Clay, and begin their journey.
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May 31, 2023 21:25:23 GMT
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Post by Raven on Feb 24, 2017 5:43:12 GMT
Rei and Sano find Tiki and Clay standing in the middle of the street about halfway to the city's central square. Seems like they're just having a nice chat.
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Post by oddeyes on Feb 24, 2017 6:21:53 GMT
Tiki waves excitedly at seeing her friends again. It felt like sooo long since she had seen them! "Hiya! How did you guys do in finding the ground branch? We found the water one, but we didn't find any work or sponsors tho." She kicks the ground, and looks at her feet, but perks back up. "We did make a new friend tho! Callidora, the daughter of the leader of the branch! She was super nice, and even splashed Clayand I with water! Hehe! Soooo....you guys?"
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Nov 23, 2023 19:11:09 GMT
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Post by lichlord on Feb 24, 2017 8:05:46 GMT
"Oh yes! We did actually find some! A simple soil-collection mission, and one more dangerous about going to Mt Moon and calming some sort of mountain guardian."
Rei proceeds to go into more detail about each.
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Post by UmbralHero on Feb 24, 2017 19:09:47 GMT
Sano pulls out the test tubes and list for emphasis.
"It looks like it'll be a long trip, so we should stock up on any supplies we need on the road before we head out. I felt vastly under-prepared during our swamp trip, and I'd love to avoid those stresses again."
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Post by oddeyes on Feb 24, 2017 20:12:03 GMT
Tiki hops excitedly at the news. "Awesome! Alright then! Let's hit the market, and then,....THE BEACH!!" Tiki runs off ahead of the group to the market.
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Post by carnackiArdent on Feb 25, 2017 4:37:34 GMT
Clay hums thoughtfully when the Guardian idea comes up. "I never heard about any Guardian, but I guess he's on the wrong side of the mountain. Yeah, I think we can probably settle him down."
He grins ruefully when Sano mentions supplies, though. "I'm, uh, gonna have to let you guys handle supplies. I've got, um... seventeen crowns."
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