[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

[choseneutrality]

[Flynn silently nods his head in agreement with Melaka. Though to be on the safe side, he hardens his left arm so he can bring it up to defend him and everyone else in their group should something come at them in the shadows.]

[outtahere]

[Banzu silently nods as well. So far, despite all the walking and the potential for danger, exploring these caverns is at least interesting. Too tense to be fun, but interesting for sure.]

[antiseptic]

We seem to be in agreement, then.

[He had wanted to proceed anyway, and since nobody is protesting, he nods for Melaka to continue leading the way.]

[The tunnel opens up into a vast cavern, much larger than the initial ones, with many tunnels branching off of it. What's notable about the cavern, however, is the multitude of glowing stones scattered everywhere, some embedded in the walls and ground, but most of them should be easy to pick up. A few of them glow much brighter than the others.]

[At the very center is a large boulder, and the source of that strange draw the group may have been experiencing. And, almost unnoticeable among the other curiosities in the cavern are a few Nosepass, none of them stirring despite the presence of intruders in their home.]

[makeitquick]

[ Melaka, up front, has taken note of the stones but - to be frank - largely ignored them. She's been trying to keep attentive, in case they need to get caught up in a fight. She's trying to be situationally aware of any upcoming pokemon, and notices the Nosepasses before their upon them. She holds up her hand ]

Hold it, we got something in the corner there.

[ The boulder is interesting, but those not moving things have big red noses which... are probably a pokemon ]

[choseneutrality]

What is it?

[makeitquick]

No idea. Can anyone see better?

[outtahere]

[Banzu's initial curiosity about the glowing stones is clamped down when Melaka sounds like she sees something dangerous. He squints and peers over at the corner.]

All I can see is something red.

[antiseptic]

[Jade moves closer, slow and wary. Being part Ghost-type, it's easier for him to see in the dark, and he can make out the way that the red rocks are attached to blue ones, all of them too geometrically-shaped to be natural.]

They may be Pokemon. Flynn, can you attempt to speak with them? Ask them if they know where iron can be found.

[Although he's curious about this cave, searching for the iron mine took precedence.]

[outtahere]

And if they're okay with us taking some of these stones.

[choseneutrality]

I can.

[Flynn approaches one of the Nosepass and clears his throat.]

Excuse me, could I ask you something?

This is largely an NPCing comment hi

[makeitquick]

[ The Nosepasses do not respond. In fact, they don't turn either. There aren't that many in this group, maybe only five or six, but all of them are pointing in the same direction and are immobile. They also don't seem to even acknowledge Flynn's presence. Or the presence of any of them for that matter ]

[choseneutrality]

[Huh...]

They don't seem to be responding.

[antiseptic]

How odd. [He's surprised that they are so unconcerned about intruders.]

Well, let's take a look around the cave. Perhaps there's some sort of clue in here.

[And he's quite curious about these glowing rocks. It might be worth taking a few of them back to the Union for research purposes.]

[outtahere]

[Banzu nods, though no one is likely to have seen him do so. Keeping one eye on the Nosepass (and Spur-Mesh keeping two on them), Banzu slowly and carefully makes his way to the nearest of the brighter-glowing stones. He crouches and, watching the Nosepass, picks it up, then pauses to see if there's any reaction from them.]

[makeitquick]

[ There is no reaction. Really, the things don't seem to be aware of much of anything. Just standing there. Like immobile statues.

Which is why Melaka is ... not quite disappointed, but definitely confused. She had thought this chance to prove herself would result in a fight she could win. But if they aren't even going to react to anything. ... Well, whatever. She follows to examining the stones, keeping her weapon in hand for good measure. (Even if it does feel heavier for some reason, like it might be being pulled lightly by someone ]

[choseneutrality]

[Flynn released his augmentation, his arm going back to normal and he also picked up a glowing stone. He turned it over in his hands curiously, feeling the surface with his fingers.]

[antiseptic]

[While exploring, the group may come across a few more groups of Nosepass scattered around the cavern. Much like the first group, they are all immobile and unresponsive, all of them pointing at the same direction.]

[outtahere]

[Since the Nosepass apparently aren't going to do anything, Banzu will scoop up two of the less-glowy stones and four more of the more-glowy stones, putting them all in his pack. It seems that he left space for collecting things like this. Mysteriously, however, only one of each type of these stones will be making their way to the labs once they get back. At least right away.

The easy collection out of the way, he and Spur-Mesh move over to the boulder in the center. Banzu can't explain it, but for some reason he feels drawn to it. He places his hand on its surface.]

[antiseptic]

[Jade makes a slow circuit around the cavern, collecting some of the glowing stones for himself as well. His sharp eyes catch sight of more Nosepass, and he taps his chin, thoughtful, as he realizes that all of them point in the same direction. Following that direction leads to the entrance of a tunnel, one that is barely more than a crack in the wall.]

[choseneutrality]

Did you find something?

[Flynn walks over to where Jade was, a glowing stone in his hand.]

[makeitquick]

[ Melaka ends up tapping the large boulder a few times with her axe. to listen for whatever sound it might make it. Eventually she decides to think nothing of it and collect one or two of the glowing stones for herself. They might be worth something ]

[outtahere]

[Banzu, meanwhile, pulls out a geologist's hammer and tries to break a couple samples off of the boulder.]

[antiseptic]

Hmm, possibly.

[And that's all he'll say for now as he continues to examine the Nosepass, wondering if there's any significance in what he's noticed.]

[outtahere]

[Banzu successfully obtains two samples and keeps one out of view of the others for a moment before pulling out a notebook and some basic field testing equipment. He compares the results with what he'd previously written down and shakes his head.]

Doesn't look like this is iron ore. Ain't like it would've been enough even if it was.

[He starts putting everything back in his pack, including the samples.]

[antiseptic]

Do you have any idea what it could be?