bravenewworld | The Battle for Caldera

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The Battle for Caldera

The time for action is at hand, and the players have been set in place. Those who choose to make an attempt at diplomacy head off at the appointed time to meet with Valeria, the clerk and representative of the general who leads the Gigas army. Those who wish to take more direct action against Gigas leave with General Ironbrand to put their plans into motion. In the meantime, the refugees continue to stream into Union, while supplies are gathered and flow the other way.

The outcome of this war may very well depend on the combined results of these four efforts…

((This log will be a catch-all for all four efforts of the attempt to save Caldera. There will be four different parts of this post: Diplomacy, Aggression, Refugees, and Supplies. The first two should be well established, but the Refugees portion will encompass bringing those in Caldera who require help to Union and giving them medical aid and care, while the Supplies portion will encompass people in Union setting up shelters and gathering resources to send back to Caldera, as well as other miscellaneous tasks that may be of help. Gathering resources may entail leaving Union to explore out in other areas. You all signed up for groups, so please try to maintain these groups when posting, particularly to the Diplomacy and Aggression sections. The other two may be more free-form.

Mods will be responding at least once every 24 hours to keep the logs moving.

EDIT 5/31: Please try to group up if possible! We'll generally try to wait for threads to have 2-3 people before we jump in. Threads with 3+ may attract the attention of something a little more... interesting.))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Get out more. He had promised someone – or maybe it was two someones, and just one someone constantly reminding him from a little below his ear – and well, what point in going out if it wasn't going to be helpful in other ways as well?

At least a few people agreed with that thought, which is why Duke is waiting by the research tower, backpack at his feet as he explains how he would like Myorzo to hold the basket. Because working on supplies also means getting some. They're going to come with him, so he might as well see how much they help out (because they seemed particularly happy about doing so). ]

Stop swinging it, please, you might hit something. [ The drifloon seems to be so excited about the basket. ]

[It takes a bit of time for Aster to show up, a mostly-empty pack slung across his back and Tonitrus running at his side. He quickly spots Duke, waves, and approaches quickly.]

Hello! I hope I'm not too late.

[The Eevee says a greeting, too, a small little pack tied to his back, as well.]

[ Following behind Aster was Hilda, Sam the Mareep at her side and Eileen the Fletchling on her shoulder. She stops next to Aster and waves at the new guy. She didn't know him, but apparently Aster did? She wasn't sure. ]

Hi! Joining the ranks of "I hope we're not late."

[ Sam bleated a greeting as well, and Eileen chirped a little. ]

[The last to arrive is Dhaos, his own pokemon companions following from the air. Lavender had wanted to ride on his back, but between her recent evolution to Venomoth and the backpack he's carrying, he'd had to take a bit of extra time to give her a few berries to pick up her mood after having to refuse her request.]

I apologize if we are late.

[Astrid gives what passes for a bow for a Crobat, and Lavender makes a cheerful sound of greeting.]

.... Maybe I just have a habit of showing up early...

[ He can't tell now. Maybe he did just show up early, because he made sure he didn't get involved in anything beforehand? Laulyse seems amused by Duke's confusion, but greets the rest, as Myorzo swings her basket a little more cheerfully. Friends~ ]

... Ignoring timing, we have everyone, so- [ Blink, wait, he doesn't recognize someone, not sure if Dhaos does either, because Aster seems to. ~~Aster why did you invite a girl!~~ ]

... Aster, your friend is?

[ He's skipping steps, because he's already looking down the hall to start going. Duke is a little absent minded when not researching, why did any of you let him be sortof in the lead? ]

~~[But she is his friend, Duke! :c]~~

[Tonitrus, meanwhile, greets the newcomer pokemon and Dhaos, as well. He is getting pretty excited to finally get something done rather than follow Aster around as he studies pokemon around the town.]

Oh, right! I thought I mentioned, [He hadn't. Derp.] but I was going to ask a friend if she wanted to come, and so here she is! This is Hilda; she's my housemate and good friend! Hilda, this is Duke and Dhaos.

[ Oh, well, this is awkward. Hilda hangs back a little, behind Aster. ~~What's wrong with her being a girl, huh. :|~~ ]

N-Nice to meet you guys ... I hope it's not an inconvenience or anything that Sam, Eileen and I are coming along.

[ Yes, she made her to include her sheep and her bird. ]

[~~Nothing wrong with bringing along a girl. She'll contribute to the group having fabulous hair.~~]

[Dhaos smiles at the newcomer.]

Hello Miss Hilda. I believe more helping hands on this mission will be far more of a use than an inconvenience.

[ ~~Good point. TEAM FABULOUS HAIR, GO~~ ]

... It really shouldn't be a problem.

[ Did he give that impression? He really didn't mean to. Laulyse scolds him a little for not watching his tone, then apologizes for her human being a bit dense. Drifloon giggles at the 'a bit' part. ]

We can do more with another person, it truly is fine.

[ and he starts down the hall, but turns around after a few steps. ]

As far as I can tell, Caldera is in a desert. Reading and a little bit of common sense indicates that water, and thus things that grow beyond.. cacti, might be in short supply. I thought to gather dry-able foods, perhaps fuel? ... any other ideas?

~~[We can pretend Aster has fabulous hair even though he doesn't!~~

[Aster laughs at the Floette's comment and addresses the pokemon.]

That's okay! Tonitrus thinks much the same of me!

[He moves to follow Duke now, allowing the older researcher to take the lead. He thinks about what else they could gather for a few moments before he speaks again.]

Food's always useful and non-perishable food items would definitely be a boon to those who travel across the desert. We may want to try gathering some firewood or kindling for fire, as well, considering that deserts get rather cold at night. Not everyone has a fire pokemon that can provide warmth, after all, so I think we should consider that.

[ She's laughing a little at Floette's comment, too.

But wow she's already feeling useless and dumb in this group. They've pretty much covered all of the common sense things she would have thought of as far as supplies are concerned. She decides to just let the smart people talk about things for now and she'll pipe in if she's asked for her opinion.

Sam seems to know what's going through Hilda's mind (as he usually does), and he nuzzles her gently with his face, being careful not to shock her with his fluff. ]

[He's polite enough to at least attempt not to smile at Laulyse's description of Duke, although his expression soon enough shifts to a more thoughtful one as he ponders what else might be useful.]

Perhaps we should gather flint as well, as it can be difficult to light a fire without the benefit of a fire type...

[That said, he goes back to thinking as he walks, relying on the ever patient Astrid to keep him from bumping into anything in the meantime.]

Flint...

[ Duke turns to face where he's going, arms crossed as he thinks. ]

Most easily found in rocky river or lakebeds. Flint itself, if cannot be found, isn't the only one that produces sparks when hit with steel..

... Or sometimes other rocks. If we can't find flint, hard enough quartzite would work. That method is all about sparks, so if we have a knife or... I ought to have something, to use to strike against rocks we find and see how well they spark.

[ He's silent for a moment again. ]

.. that or we make those friction bows. Where you spin the wood against the wood, although I've never managed to make those work for me.

Huh, I didn't know that there were other rocks that worked like that!

[He makes a mental note of this for the future.]

So, then, should we start by heading toward the Lake Shrine? Surely we'd be able to find some flint there, as well as good firewood in the surrounding forest. Maybe even some berries, too!

[At least, that's Aster's suggestion. It sounded to him like the perfect place to find all the things they needed, and it wasn't too dangerous for him to feel completely worthless if they had to defend themselves.]

((We'll hop in here as soon as you guys leave Union, probably! Sorry for not saying anything until now!))

[ Plus with this many nerds in the group, they wouldn't get lost! Duke and Dhaos seemed to know what they were doing, anyway.

Hilda really can't do anything but keep quiet, though, because she just. Doesn't have anything to contribute to this. Let the smart people do the talking, she'll just help where she can.

It's unusual for her to be so quiet, though, and Sam can definitely see it. For sure see it. He keeps nuzzling his friend. ]

[Dhaos absently hums in approval at Aster's suggestion. The boy's points are all logical, and it's certainly more sensible to attempt to find things closer to Union first to speed the process of getting necessary supplies to Caldera.]

Start at the Lake Shrine for food and striking rocks, loop toward and through the Scorched Forest for burnables, and then on toward Caldera?

[ Or they can head back to Union and try to recruit others, if anyone is uncomfortable about that. ]

So... This way. [ He turns to talk to the Drifloon after a moment though, talking about a Sulion and Truffdae and takes the basket as the ghost floats off. ]

[Aster nods.]

That sounds like a good plan to me!

[However, he notes with a mental frown that Hilda is being rather unfortunately quiet and he looks over to her with a slight look of concern.]

Hilda, are you all right?

[He speaks softly, a touch of worry in his voice. She's usually talkative enough--at least from what he is used to from her. It worries him slightly that she's hardly said a thing other than when she greeted the others. Was she perhaps uncomfortable, then? Maybe that was it...hopefully it was not something worse, but he would definitely keep a closer eye on her just in case. He didn't want his friend to not feel well, after all! And if she was bothered by something, it surely would not do for her to get lost or stumble over something in their path and get hurt because she wasn't paying enough attention!]

[ Hilda nods in agreement to everyone again. Really, she'll go wherever, as long as the others are leading the way. When Aster speaks to her, she looks over at him and offers him a small, sheepish smile. ]

Yeah. I just didn't know what to say.

[ Her voice is quiet as well. Sam looks up at the two of them, but keeps quiet. He could understand why Hilda was being so quiet. She's pretty out of her element, around all of these brainy people. ]

[Well, it's certainly good that there's a plan in place, but Hilda's admission brings him to the conclusion that no, he really can't think of anything else they can gather that might be useful to Caldera.]

...I believe I have run out of contributions to the current conversation as well.

[Oh look, there are the city gates. He... might have picked up his pace a little in some vague hope that getting out of Union will somehow provide a topic of conversation he knows more about. Help, how does he speak to non-scientists to make them feel included in the group?]

[ That is a very good, and very big question. It could be added to 'how do I talk to non-scientists in general', which is Duke's thoughts. Nevermind that he's managed it before. ]

... No objections either, then?

[ Guys, he really doesn't know what he's doing, this route just seemed like it would work- ]

... If we think we're all set, then we can start for the Lake Shrine now. [ His drifloon isn't back, but he doesn't seem worried about it. ]

If you say so, Hilda.

[He's still a bit worried about his friend, but he won't voice those thoughts quite yet.]

Let's get going, then! It'd probably be best to get back before dark, or else we'll have to camp out or fumble around trying to find the way back, and that might not be a good idea.

[Honestly, Aster's still just nervous about being out for so late. He won't say it, of course, because he wants to keep morale always high and he doesn't want anyone to worry about him. Those worries would dissipate with time, hopefully.]

[ She can tell Aster is nervous, and she smiles a little, taking his hand into her own and giving it a reassuring squeeze. It's okay, buddy. Everything will be okay. We're with adults! ]

I'm at least pretty familiar with the Scorched Forest. That's where I met Oliver and Gavin.

[ Her Magby and Slugma, she means. She loves them both. Even if she can't tough Gavin at all. ]

Once we get there I'm sure we'll be able to find plenty of burnable things.

[It's kind of hard not to tell Aster's a bit nervous, really. Dhaos tries to smile reassuringly.]

Indeed. If it happens to become late however, Astrid and I have experience with camping, so we will have little in the way of problems in that regard.

Supplies (with nerds)

Enter nerd #2

heeeey I'm not a nerd 8|;; but I like that you guys are

And here is nerd number three.

nerd party + 1!

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