SIDEQUEST; Investigate the mountain!

[stahlflugel]

Log Deputy: Bat (holeinmysoul) and Jan (cantito)
Participating Characters: Eren Jaeger and Jean Kirstein
Date: Saturday the 15th of March
Plot Description: Newbie Rangers Eren and Jean investigate the mysterious signal jam in the high mountains. WHAT WILL THEY FIND??? And will they be able to work together to solve the problem?! (Probably not)
Warnings/Notes: None at the moment.

It was an easy enough assignment. There was warp band network interference in the high mountains. Go there, figure out what it was, and, if possible, fix it. Eren is accompanied by Blitz the jolteon, Matilda the scraggy, and Victor the lombre (somewhat hungover from his bar adventure the night before). Eren didn't want to risk being unprepared and unable to warp any of his Pokémon in if he needed their help, so he'd selected some of his strongest.

The hike up the mountains is mostly uneventful. Eren turns to Jean, "Do you think we should split up?"

Comments

[sturzflug]

It's kind of their first real mission as Rangers, so Jean knew he had to take it seriously-- yes, even him. Apollo, who was a Fletchinder by now, flew about to keep an eye on things. His Klefki, Kiki, hovered close by.

"Yeah, if you wanna get lost and in trouble, sure." Jean rolled his eyes. Why did everyone always want to split up? "We don't even know what we're looking for here."

[bravenewmods]

The air is chill around them, but they do feel something - a source of even greater cold further up the cliffs. It almost seems as if the passing snowstorms in the area are radiating from a point not far from your location.

[stahlflugel]

Eren was pretty proud of Jean, all told! Here he was, all prepared and everything. "Well, duh. That's why we'd split up! We could cover more ground that way. But I guess if you're really worried about getting lost up here, Jean, we can stay together."

He shudders against the cold, pulling his scarf and collar tighter around himself. Savior it was cold up here. It was times like this when Eren really wished he could wear real shoes again. The best he can do is wrap them in cheap, tough scarves. "Don't these storms seem weird to you?"

Victor nods in agreement, pulling his own parka closer around himself. {The wind seems to all be coming from one direction, don't you think?}

[sturzflug]

Nyeh-heh, sucks to be you, Eren. Jean, with his tailored coats thanks to his tailor parents is having only a little trouble with the winds up here. Good thing Apollo was a fire-type now, at least he wouldn't get cold.

Jean blows warm air into his palms, rubbing his gloved hands together.

"I don't really make it a thing to come up here-- how'm I supposed to know a weird storm from a normal one?" Really, Jean could try harder. But he's not gonna. He'll just follow Eren for now though. "If you've got a plan, then let's hear it!"

[bravenewmods]

As they approach the point, Eren's sharp bird-eyes spot a small, crooked trail leading down into the mountains. It goes into an area nestled between craggy peaks, it almost looks like there may be some level ground in there.

[stahlflugel]

Shut up, Jean. Maybe once he saves up enough money, he'll order some special boots. From some other tailor.

"I've never been up here either!! But usually, in storms, the wind blows around in all sorts of directions. Victor's right, it all coming from one set direction is kind of weird." Honestly, Jean was so frustrating. At least Eren was interested in getting the mission done...

"Plan... um...." He looks around, then spots the path. It's narrow, but definitely not impassable, and it seemed like as good a direction as any.

"That way. We'll walk that way. Send Apollo to scout ahead."

[sturzflug]

"You don't get to tell Apollo what to do, I do!" Apollo gives Jean a look. Yeah, whatever. Jean grumbles but falls into step behind Eren.

"Apollo, go scout ahead. Send out a flame if you run into any trouble, okay?" Jean instructs, his fletchinder nodding before flying off. "Alright, let's get moving."

[bravenewmods]

The walk is, for the most part, uneventful, although the cold is definitely becoming more biting as they go.

As Apollo scouts ahead, however, it finds itself targeted by an Ice Beam!

[stahlflugel]

"Savior's sake," Eren curses, re-wrapping his scarf for more warmth and shoving his hands in his pockets. However, the sound of Apollo being attacked catches his attention.

"Ah! Apollo! Matilda, let's go!"

For ranger training, he'd been studying up on his type advantages. And both fighting and steel were good against ice! Which was... pretty obviously at work here. Eren shifts and grabs the scraggy by the back of her "pants", tossing her up on his back and running ahead.

What?

Eren likes Apollo, ok. He's a nice bird.

[sturzflug]

A nice bird who's totally got this! Thanks to Apollo's speed, he manages to miss the brunt of the beam. He sets off a flame to alert them of the trouble, but Jean is on that in a flash-- running ahead to catch up to Apollo, with Kiki right on his tail.

"Hell no, they ain't getting you, Apollo! Show 'em who's boss!"

Apollo fires off an ember toward the direction of the beam-- and thanks Jean's Mastery of Battle, that's gonna be super effective and then some.

[bravenewmods]

As Apollo counters with it's flame attack, another ice beam pierces the sky, going directly for it.

As they arrive on the scene, they see two stunning, sleek Pokemon. The burnt ground from the Ember is clearly visible as Eren arrives just in time to have seen one of the pair leap nimbly to the side. With the snowstorm raging around them, they both hiss in anger. Behind them is an enormous rock, completely iced over. It's unclear if the snowstorm is indeed flowing from the rock, but it definitely seems to be drawing it in, if nothing else.

[stahlflugel]

Well, the first step is always to try reasoning. As much as Eren is sure he could kick these pokémon's butts. They were eevees, of some kind. Long ears, fox-like bodies. They couldn't be anything else, even if they seemed to blend in with the blizzard like camouflage. Matilda jumps off of Eren's back and... well, attempts to run in and fight then directly. Eren quickl grabs her by the back of her pants again.

"Hold your ponytas, slugger!"

Ugh. The air is so cold, and the wind is just howling. Eren closes his clear eyelids to try and protect his eyes from the ice.

{We're not here to hurt you! Cut out the refrigeration already!}

{*I* want to hurt them...} [Matilda mumbles]

[sturzflug]

Apollo takes the hit and takes a dive, shaking it off for the most part, but landing in Jean's arms anyway. It was getting hard to fly with all this wind.

"Guess that answers our question about the weird storm," Jean mumbles angrily, glaring at the two weird ice eevees. Jean's not the type to shoot first and ask questions later, but they'd be in for a fight if they went after Apollo again.

"HEY! What the hell's wrong with you!? We're just fucking lookin' around!"

[bravenewmods]

[Both of the Glaceon are snarling, hackles raised on their back]

This is our home! You can't have it!

[stahlflugel]

Eren waves his wings, {We're not here to take your home! Promise! We're just here to investigate and explore. Something around here is messing with our Warp Bands}.

[buttwingss]

Even Kiki pipes up at that one-- These losers couldn't take your home even if they wanted to! They're because something weird was apparently happening... And besides, attacking people without saying a single thing first is rude, you know?

Well, except that to Jean, it just sounds like a bunch of angry key jangling. But he can tell from his Warp Band that Kiki was pissed. Jean's pissed too! "You tell 'em, Kiki."

Hey, at least they're talking.

[bravenewmods]

The Glaceon slowly back away. They're still hunched over a bit, watching everyone suspiciously, but they're not making any aggressive moves - for now.

Both Eren and Jean are getting a bit of static on their Warp Bands. This definitely seems like the source of the interference.

((OOC: I forgot to PM you this information, but because they were going to investigate the anomaly Eren and Jean will both have beacon devices. If they pinpoint the interference, they can place them in the area and it should help clear up the signal. They'll have to keep them safe, however, if the beacons are disturbed or damaged they won't function properly. The beacons are small discs that fit in the palm of your hand. Only one needs to be placed, but both can be placed if desired for insurance.))

[stahlflugel]

{Yeah! That's right! We... hey!} Eren glares at Kiki. RUDE. They could totally take this place if they wanted to! Humph. Eren shifts back to his human form when it seems like the weird ice eevees aren't going to attack them any more. Matilda, however, keeps her eyes on them, chewing on her stick with her arms folded. If they so much as twitch funny, she'll be on them like flies on shit.

Because she's a scraggy and scraggies aren't known for their intelligence.

Eren checks his warp band, tapping it. "The interference is definitely worse around here. Do you think it might be this rock? I mean... it's blowing snow and ice!"

He turns again to the Glaceons. {Can you tell us about this weird rock? We think it might be what we're looking for up here}

[sturzflug]

"I dunno if blowing is a good way to put it, but-- I mean it sounds about right. Ask 'em about the rock, maybe we can find out what's up."

Kiki continues to jangle by Jean's side, glaring at the glaceons. Apollo just huddles close to Jean, not really caring to make them mad a second time.

[bravenewmods]

The Glaceons exchange a look and start chittering.

Look at the stupid humans, dear. They don't know of the Sacred Stone.

Yes, it's quite a shame. They aren't aware of the power of the Sacred Stone.

And now they come to it's sanctum. Are they defilers?

I think they may be defilers. We shouldn't allow that.

[stahlflugel]

{H-hey! We're not here to... defile it. We've just never seen anything like it before!}

But this looked like it was about to get bad. Eren frowns, looking over at Jean.

"They say it's a Sacred Stone. And that we're 'defilers'. I think this is some sort of religious object for them. But their sacred hunk of ice is messing with our warp band frequencies..."

{Look, we don't want to 'defile' your Sacred rock. We just want to see if it's what's causing the interference with our technology.}

[sturzflug]

"Think so?"

Those Glaceons looked miffed, alright. Jean doesn't like the look of that. Apollo shuffles closer. Kiki too. if it came down to a fight, well...

"Hey, whatever you two think we're doin', we're just here to make sure out Warp Bands work out here! We don't wanna mess with your stuff, alright?"

[bravenewmods]

Your "technology" is probably the problem! The rock is fine!

More hissing ensues.

[stahlflugel]

{Look, it's not our tech messing with your rock, it's the other way around! Your stone is just fine, see? No problems with it. Could you please just... let me try something?}

Eren pulls one of the small devices from the pocket of his coat and holds up his other hand, palm out, as he approaches the rock and the glaceons.

[bravenewmods]

The Glaceon are definitely not too happy to see the device. They aren't attacking yet, but there's definitely some snarling.