[ACTION | Caverns Expedition Log]

[antiseptic]

Log Deputy: Rei antiseptic and Charles makeitquick
Participating Characters: Jade Curtiss, Imogen Moreno, Flynn, Chris Ramirez, Ezreal, Melaka Fray, William Flemming, Varun "Banzu" Elmas, Eren Jaeger, Armin Arlert, Elhaym van Houten (Elly), Ondorus Univir, Lux Crownguard...possibly more! Feel free to gatecrash the party at any time.
Plot Description: A group of intrepid explorers set out in search of an iron mine. Things probably don't go as expected.
Warnings/Notes: Possible violence?

QUICK LINKS: Pre-exploration mingling | Travel | Arrival at Caverns | Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3

Overview:
At 6AM, the group will be meeting at the city gates, where there'll be some time for mingling and last minute emergencies before they set off.

The group will travel east through the Verdant Forest for around half a day before reaching the Caverns. It will be freezing with a few flurries of snowfall. Try not to get lost! Or disturb hibernating Pokemon, for that matter.

At the Caverns, Jade will split everyone up into three groups. Group 1 will consist of Elly, Eren, Armin, Ondorus, Chris. Group 2 will be Jade, Melaka, Banzu, Flynn. Group 3 is Imogen, Ezreal, Flemming, and Lux. These groups aren't fixed, and characters are free to protest and try move around! Ideally, each group will end up with at least 4 members just for safety's sake.

Aaand after that, the exploration begins! At first there'll be nothing but caves and tunnels, but it shouldn't take very long for that to change...


Misc notes: Feel free to go wild with thread-jacking! The mods recommend not strictly enforcing a post order since things will probably stall that way. Also, if anyone wants a random wild Pokemon bonding encounter going in the mountains during any of this, just respond to the Map post as usual!

If you need to ask any questions, the quickest way to get in touch with me will be through PMs.

Comments

GROUP TWO

[antiseptic]

[antiseptic]

[Jade waits until all the other groups have safely left the cave they were in before he sets off, walking at the head of his group. The tunnel he's chosen to take is quite wide and even at first, but it isn't long before it slopes down sharply.]

Watch your step.

[choseneutrality]

[Flynn takes note of Jade's warning and his steps become much more carefully placed. Fran also has to slow her pace to keep herself from accidentally tripping and go tumbling down at a fast pace.]

[outtahere]

[Banzu stays second-last in their marching order and moves cautiously, but not cautiously enough that he'll slow the group down; just because he's effectively a noncombatant doesn't mean he's going to allow himself to be The Load. Spur-Mesh, his Klink, doesn't have any problems as it floats along behind him, gears softly grinding away.]

[choseneutrality]

[At some point, Fran's foot slips and she almost starts tumbling down to which Flynn is quick to stop her from rolling. The Normal-Type clings to his arm and expresses thanks to her human partner.

He lets her go after making sure she found her footing again.]

[makeitquick]

[ Melaka tries to keep near point. She was trying to prove herself, after all. So... she obviously needed to stay at the front and keep on her toes. Everyone had said there ought not to be fighting (and ideally, there would not be) but right now, she suspects that won't be entirely avoided. ]

[antiseptic]

[The slope grows even steeper. Jade comes to a careful stop, motioning for Melaka to come closer.]

Melaka, take point.

[It'll be a good chance for her to begin proving herself. Their journey had been uneventful so far, but he won't be surprised if that changes soon.]

[makeitquick]

[ Oh, good. Well then, she will - she even smiles a little in spite of herself, eager for some action. Let's see what's on ahead. She almost hopes that it's something she can punch ]

[antiseptic]

[What's ahead is a long, long tunnel, with a few side paths. But at the end of the main tunnel is a faint glow and complete silence.]

[The group might feel strangely drawn towards the glow.]

Splinter encounter - for Jade and Melaka. The rest of the group may assist as desired

[bravenewmods]

As the team is moving through the caves they hear something... odd.

It sounds like the cry of some Pokemon, as well as the thudding of small feet on the cave grounds.

[antiseptic]

[Jade comes to a stop immediately, lowering his flashlight so it shines on the ground directly before him for fear of inadvertently alerting the Pokemon they had heard.]

[Barely above a whisper:] I don't suppose anyone has any idea what Pokemon that could be?

[makeitquick]

Aron?

[ But they sound a little harder than that. She frowns too, reaching for a weapon at her waist - in this case a short sword ]

[bravenewmods]

Suddenly, a Sandshrew comes flying by, riding on the back of an Aron running full tilt. They do not appear to notice you.

[makeitquick]

"What."

She wasn't even ready to fight something like that. That was just absurd.

[antiseptic]

[He casts an amused glance at Melaka.]

Well, you were partially correct.

[Now comes the question of how to proceed. Having the guidance of Pokemon would be helpful, but they'll have to attract their attention first.]

[Quickly, he focuses, throwing up an illusion of a solid wall of stone in the Pokemons' path in an attempt to get them to turn back.]

[bravenewmods]

[The Pokemon come screeching to a halt. They then look at Jade reproachfully WHY DID YOU DO THE THING HUMAN!?]

[makeitquick]

You even know what the mouse looking thing is?

[ She has never seen one of those before in her life - and in spite of herself, she's actually very curious. After all, you don't see something riding an aron all the time either. She puts aside her weapon to better just look at them ]

Splinter Encounter for Banzu

[outtahere]

[Banzu and Spur-Mesh, his Klink, are following the rest of the group through a tunnel, glancing at the walls regularly to see if they contain anything that could be iron ore. Neither of them have any intention of separating from the group; if they see something interesting they'll call for a stop rather than running off on their own.]

[bravenewmods]

[Banzu will see a Carbink come wafting by. It doesn't seem to have noticed him.]

[outtahere]

[The group is trying to keep reasonably quiet, but they're still making enough noise that this Pokémon should have noticed them. If it was interested in fighting it'd probably be paying more attention to its surroundings, or so Banzu's thinking went. Glancing it over, it looks to be at least partly made of rock, so he wonders if it's anything like an Aron and eats inorganic substances. If that's the case, it might have some idea if there's iron in these caverns.

While he'd acquired a Warp Band when he'd started looking into making a trip to the Old City, he hadn't gotten around to trying out any of its functions aside from the network. Now was a perfect opportunity to try another one out. The Carbink had almost passed him by when he thumbed on the linking function and aimed the Warp Band at it without stopping walking, getting right to the point as soon as a connection was made.]

Hey. Do you know if there's any iron in these caves?

[bravenewmods]

[The Carbink turns and gives him a bit of an odd look.

Probably.]

[outtahere]

[Hearing someone else's voice in his head is a bizarre experience, and his step falters for a moment before he replies.

You tell me where?]

[bravenewmods]

[Blink blink

I dunno.]

[outtahere]

[Well, it was worth a shot.

'Kay. Thanks anyway.

He goes to break the link, not seeing any reason to keep holding the Pokémon up from whatever it was doing.]

[bravenewmods]

[Hey. Hey man. Dude. Bro.

Did you try these rock salts?

They're WILD.]