Group RP Pokemon: Evolution Quest (IC thread)

Now that Atelier had what he need for spoils, he waited at the room where the job bulletin board and outlaw notice board were. He couldn't understand how his satchel hadn't split apart yet, given what he was carrying. While he was in the room, he glanced at the map which pinpointed where current jobs were. The land was pretty big, and with dozens of jobs to populate it.

Balance: 25,300C
Inventory: ?x Books and Novels, 1x Journal, 1x Strategy Book, 1x Middle Rune of the Moon, 1x Watera Tome (SotS), 1x Firaga Tome, 1x Lunar Tome (CdL), 1x Ethereal Grimoire, 1x Steel Short Sword, 10x Geo Pebbles, 10x Gravelerocks, 1x Thundara Gauntlets, 1x Potion of Fire, 2x Aloe Vera, 1x Grass Materia, 1x Kettle and Cup Set
Equipped: Eevee Scarf

Party Inventory: 8x Dazzling Opal, 7x Amethyst, 4x Ruby, 5x Potion of Shrinking, 4x Potion of Power, 4x Potion of Magic, 1x Potion of Guarding, 4x Middle Runes of the Moon, 4x Middle Runes of the Stars, 2x Reviver Seeds, 1x Vile Seed, 1x Eyedrop Seed

 

@WavePearl @ChocoChicken @122 Generation
(Apparently my braincells got stuck again. Apologies. )

Now that Blacky had taken the Spirit Shackle scroll and the Detect Band Atelier had spotted earlier, he took a look at the map. Apparently the group hadn't explored the settlements on the eastern path from Kickenham: Ludester and Spikeford. The former was more to the northeast, while the latter was straight to the east. But considering Spikeford townsfolk's potential hostility to whoever might threaten their dragon overlord...

 

Xuehua immediately looked at the map, her eyes drifting to Spikeford, then when she hoped no one was looking, scowled at it and turned to Ludester. Both had their ups and downs, she supposed. One of those places should be taken down ASAP, but at the same time, it was more dangerous and she was particularly not enthusiastic about revisiting it. Or at least, visit it for the first time, as she'd tell the others.

 

"Ludester... Spikeford..." Blacky mumbled as his paw pointed back and forth between those two towns on the map. "...yeah, Spikeford can wait," the Umbreon mused. While he'd heard that both Ice and Shadow Dragon Kings were equally vicious, the latter most likely had a lot of backups from the citizens he, uh, ruled over. Plus, their morale would be most likely higher with another Dragon King(s) on the loose, so going for Ludester first should be better for the group's sanity.

That said, they would need to backtrack to Kickenham first before actually making their way to Ludester. Maybe they should do it the quick way (via Aine's Song of the Wind) or the slow way (walking all the way back to Kickenham) or somewhere in-between (getting Venti and co. to take the group there)...

 

("Venti and co." I almost forgot about the Genshin influence )

Atelier eventually went to meet up with the rest of the party at the map. "Hiya," he greeted in Wigglytuff style. "Looks like there's still a bit of travelling to do, so... are we attacking Ludester first then? We should prepare for the trip." He had notes about the Shadow Dragon King's lair that would could review later. If he had time, he would want to see what he could find about Ludester too.

(Reading back, if I'm not mistaken, it appears this is the same in-game day as it was before the party arrived at Piquedilly - back on page 152!!)

 

(Oh, right. We need to have the gang rest up after all that. )

"Ah, yo," Blacky returned Atelier's greeting. "Ludester first, yeah. I heard Spikeford isn't that friendly to people like us," the warrior chimed in. And yes, by "people like us", he meant whoever aiming to take the Dragon Kings' lives, given their track records and all that jazz.

Looking outside from a nearby window (which was somehow there even though they were technically underground) only to find the already dark Piquedilly even darker due to the nighttime, the Umbreon lamented, "But it's late already."

 

(‘Technically underground’ unless the guild was built on top of a cliff like the game)

Atelier looked like he was on the verge of passing out. For now, he just wanted to catch up on his novel and then go to sleep. Travelling and fighting had left him drained for the day.

“Let’s go find an inn or something. I’m sure the locals will be happy to accommodate us,” he said. He made his way to the steps and ladder that led to the guild entrance.

 

Now that the rest of the group was starting to come down from the "dungeon raid high", Xuehua too started to feel a little drowsy - her fighting spirit didn't let her go down that easily, but seeing as Atelier started to look like he would fall over any moment, she shrugged and went with the rest of the group. Where was Piquedilly's inn located, anyway?

 

Right after Blacky paid for the room rate (which was, honestly, as cheap as one would expect), he unceremoniously plopped on the bed. It's been a long day and the heroes of the day deserved a good night sleep.

 

Atelier had slept soundly with his books on his bed. He spent his time catching up with the latest chapters of his novel and had no sooner passed out after reading a handful.

Balance: 25,270C
Inventory: ?x Books and Novels, 1x Journal, 1x Strategy Book, 1x Middle Rune of the Moon, 1x Watera Tome (SotS), 1x Firaga Tome, 1x Lunar Tome (CdL), 1x Ethereal Grimoire, 1x Steel Short Sword, 10x Geo Pebbles, 10x Gravelerocks, 1x Thundara Gauntlets, 1x Potion of Fire, 2x Aloe Vera, 1x Grass Materia, 1x Kettle and Cup Set
Equipped: Eevee Scarf

Party Inventory: 8x Dazzling Opal, 7x Amethyst, 4x Ruby, 5x Potion of Shrinking, 4x Potion of Power, 4x Potion of Magic, 1x Potion of Guarding, 4x Middle Runes of the Moon, 4x Middle Runes of the Stars, 2x Reviver Seeds, 1x Vile Seed, 1x Eyedrop Seed

 

Xuehua lay awake for about a minute in bed. Though the team seemed to have decided to go to Ludester, it sadly didn't erase the existence of Spikeford. She'd have to face it again sometime, but... well, that wasn't going to be tomorrow, and that was a problem for future Xuehua. She turned over and let her consciousness drift away.

 

@WavePearl @ChocoChicken @122 Generation

The next morning, Blacky did a quick freshening up as soon as he woke up and went straight to the lobby for his daily dose of breakfast. Depending on whether someone else (preferably any of his teammates) had already woken up before him, he might join that person for breakfast.

(Should we play out the whole Piquedilly-(Latermore-)Kickenham-Ludester route with the Latermore part being totally optional? Or should we fast forward straight to Ludester instead?)

 

(I think if Blacky wants to see his master in Kickenham again, to further set up what might happen at the Sol Lair, that would be a good stop to make. If not we can skip to Ludester.)
Xuehua eventually rolled awake, rolled off to freshen up, then down to the dining area, in a metaphorical sense. She waved a greeting to Blacky and slid onto the opposite side of the table with her own breakfast, once she'd managed to nab it.

 

(Agreed. We can skip to any key events before moving on to Ludester)

Atelier also arrived at the lobby with his usual appearance of having his arms full of books. Seeing that Xuehua and Blacky were already awake, he too went to get his fill of breakfast as well as making a fresh round of coffee for everyone. Then he joined them at the table.