Darkness Rising (PTU)

[Zelphas]

Eira looks over the people attacked by the fish dispassionately, sharing a quick glance with Eops. Water Types are not terribly good matches for her team, and they have no obligation to help outsiders, especially ones who don't even know she's there. Unfortunately, by the time she has finished that thought, Velitus has already broken cover to go sprinting into an unnecessary fight, and Moghu has followed him in.

Eira keeps all her curses inside of her head, opting instead for a slow sigh. Sharing another long glance with Eops, Eira starts forward as well, the Sneasel keeping close by her side; if they're going to fight in this, they may as well all fight. Maybe they can bargain something from the gratitude of the sled people, though that's hardly a guaranteed resource.

[CateranEnforcer]

Jayce was still weary of involving others in their matters by simply interacting with them and possibly bringing danger their way, but the was forgotten when he saw the events unfolding. They had to help, no question. He wasn't far behind Velitus in going to the aid of the travelers.

"Come on, Sheba. We've gotta help them!"

[CosmicOccurence]

Your group raced down the hill towards the ford as the masses of fish continued to swarm around the travelling party. There must have been over fifty of the things, though they each seemed small. Like a true school of fish, they seemed to move as one, much like Zubat in a cave might.

The man turned, rudimentary club futilely trying to hit one of the fish. He started waving frantically while trying to push the pokemon away from the sledge, which had sunk into the mud of the riverbed and would need to be heaved out. The pokemon certainly wouldn't follow onto land.

As you got closer however, two much larger fish, each a deep red color, began swimming up towards the river towards you. Their calls were those of a challenge, and they didn't want you anywhere near their young, even if their young were a swarm of hyper aggressive Pokemon.

Spoiler

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The wilds and the travelling party will act at initiative 7!

Battlemap is up!

[Llyarden]

Velitus frowned, turning to watch the oncoming Pokemon. "We need to hold those two off. If they get to the raft I don't think they'll have as hard a time breaking it. Try to drain the energy of one of them, Laeo." Velitus raised his staff and a light slowly began to gather into it as Laeo leapt off his head and swooped towards the two Seaking, a handful of seeds flying from his flowers towards the Water-type as the Comfey came to rest between the Seaking and their swarming young.

Spoiler: OOC

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Akari will be 'sent out' into K6, Laeo into Q4. Velitus's command action will be on Akari.

Velitus Standard (Priority): Focused Training on Laeo.

Laeo Shift: Levitate into O8.
Laeo Standard: Leech Seed on Seaking #1.
To-hit vs AC 4 (+2 for double Focused Training): (1d20+2)[15]

[Zelphas]

Eira's grimace deepens, watching two new fish join the fray. Water is really not her strong suit. Start dealing with the swarms; I'll see if I can hold off the big ones, she sends to Eops, unable to keep all of her displeasure with the whole situation out of the mental link. It seems that her guide shares at least some of her feeling, for she races over to the swarm quickly and begins tearing at them with her claws.

For her part, Eira jumps forward into the shallows with a slight grimace, pulling arctic air into being through her fingers and sending the mixed wind and snow over the two larger fish. This ridiculous Southern weather meant that almost everything refused to stay frozen, but maybe she'd get lucky.

Spoiler: OOC

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Eops

Shift Action: Move to M7.

Standard Action: Fury Swipes on Swarm 2.
Accuracy: (1d20)[3] vs. AC 5
Damage: (2d10+34)[45] Normal Physical Damage
Crit: (2d10+10)[19]

Eira

Shift Action: Move to R6.

Standard Action: Powder Snow on both Seaking.
Accuracy: (1d20)[18] vs. AC 2, Freeze on 19+
Damage: (2d6+18)[26] Ice Special Damage
Crit: (2d6+8)[18]

[CateranEnforcer]

Jayce hurries to help after the others. "Go on ahead Sheba, and acid them off. I'm on my way to help push them out. Until then, ha!" he throws a spear at the nearest seaking while he splashes in the shallows towards the the swarms. They would clearly need to be dealt with since they were soon harming their young. Sheba disengages from her resting spot on Jayce and swoops up just above the water a supersonic cry mixed with her own venom forcefully expelled from from her fangs to affect as many of the swarms as she can reach.

Spoiler

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Sheba uses Acid on both Swarms! Spend 1 GP for Supersonic waves, confusing and flinching Swarm 2 if it hits!
Attack:(1d20+1)[19] SDef drop on 19+
Damage:(2d6+27)[34] Specical Poison, Cone
Crit:(2d6+8)[13]

Jayce uses Pierce! on Seaking 1
Attack:(1d20)[6]
Damage:(2d6+23)[34]
Crit:(2d6+8)[17]

[CosmicOccurence]

The battle began with a flurry of action. Laeo immediately sent small seeds into the water around one of the lead Seaking, which immediately began to funnel health back to the pokemon. Eops struggled to find its targets in the swarm, losing its footing in the water, slow moving though it was. Sheba meanwhile, found that he was able to strike a great multitude of pokemon by spreading his attack wide, coating the creatures with acid and making the pokemon easier to hit as they swarmed in confusion at the sudden attack.

Eira's snow found its target, but the large pokemon didn't seem particularly bothered by the attack. Jayce's spear struck harder, and the pokemon turned its attention to him. It switly flew through the water, leaping out to spear Jayce with its horn, digging deeply into his body. The other rushed at Eira, hitting her in the leg. The river soon began to turn red from the blood as the battle began.

Meanwhile the swarms began letting out shrieks of sound similar to Sheba. One confused the poor Zubat, while the other overcame the Rockruff, who was in full panic mode. The swarm nearest Akari flowed around her, gently prying free bits of her armor with their multitude of bodies, though the Bug was able to avoid their prying horns.

Meanwhile the other swarm crashed into the sledge multiple times, sending large cracks through the frame. The children were withdrawing, and the man, who you bore the red eye and nose tattoos of the Mudsdale clan was swinging wildly with his club. The woman was throwing ... something at the pokemon, which distracted a few, but not enough for her to dive in and begin pushing the sledge once more.

Spoiler

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Remember that if you are commanding your guide AND ALSO another pokemon that round, you must spend 1 GP (you have 4 per battle right now, which also powers your maneuvers), or only use at will actions with a -5 damage penalty.

Seaking 1 loses HP to leech seed. Laeo gets 10 hp.

Seaking 1 uses horn attack on Jayce. It hits. Jayce takes 41 physical normal damage
Seaking 2 uses horn attack on Eira. It hist. Eira takes 39 physical normal damage

Swarm 1 uses Supersonic on Sheba. It hits. Sheba is confused.. It hits itself in confusion and stays confused.
Swarm 1 uses Tail whip on Akari It hits. Akari loses 1 defense CS. It hits itself in confusion and stays confused.
Swarm 1 uses Peck on Akari. It misses.. It stays confused.

Swarm 2 uses Supersonic on the Rockruff. Rockruff is confused. It hits itself in confusion and is cured of confusion.
Swarm 2 bashes the Sledge!
Swarm 2 Bashes the Sledge!

Rockruff uses bite on goldeen swarm 2. It misses
Man uses Struggle on swarm 2 It hits, but individual strikes don't seem effective
Woman uses ???. It seems ineffective

You all are up!

[Llyarden]

"There must be a reason the Goldeen are swarming like this..." Velitus scampered along the shoreline, sweeping his staff back to point at the Seaking that had attacked Eira as Laeo lashed at the other with a vine, and raising his voice in the hopes of being heard over the noise of combat. "Something in your belongings is attracting the Goldeen!"

But he didn't know enough about the fish to know what exactly could cause this kind of behaviour, and he wasn't sure the family would be particularly inclined to throw all their possessions into the river just on the off-chance it might stop the swarming. "I'm sorry. Akari, Razor Leaf."

The Swadloon hissed at the fish swarming over her, and their attempts to pry off her armour were rewarded far more than they'd expected, as a hail of sharp leaves tore into the water from beneath the armour.

Spoiler: OOC

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Velitus:
Shift: Into L4.
Standard: Struggle back at Seaking #2.
To-hit vs AC5: (1d20)[3]
Normal Special Damage (+5 for SpAtk Focus, +5 for Normal Booster, +5 for Arcane Training): (2d6+36)[40]

Akari:
Shift: Nah, she's fine where she is.
Standard: Razor Leaf on Swarm #2.
To-hit vs AC4 (+1 for Focused Training): (1d20+1)[17] +3 for swarm?
Grass Physical Area Damage: (2d8+26)[35]

Laeo:
Shift: Also fine where he is.
Standard: Vine Whip on Seaking #1.
To-hit vs AC2 (+1 for Focused Training, Seaking is Flanked): (1d20+1)[7]
Grass Physical Damage (-5 for double command): (1d8+23)[25]

[Arcran]

When the Seaking lunged at Eira she found herself suddenly tossed aside as Moghu leaned into the blow with his shield, trying to knock the Seaking off-balance. He and his Pokemon would struggle against the swarms, but he could certainly keep the two large Seaking busy for a moment. As he drew a spear Moghu flung out Rella's Pokeball, placing her near the cart.

Rella, get that one out of the fight! Sinen and I will handle the other! Moghu shouts, quickly flinging spears at both as he slams his shield, trying to gain their attention. As he does so, Rella fires out a cloud of spores at the Seaking slightly further away, attempting to slow it down and debilitate it.

The small Poliwag darts towards the cart before slamming her small body into it, pushing with surprising force.

Spoiler

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Start with Rella released at O7 and Sinen on Moghu's back!

Rella
Action: Shove on Seaking 1!

AC 4: Rolled a 14!
Athletics: Rolled a 13!
Will push it next to Seaking 2 and move forward.
Athletics: (3d6+3)[13]

Moghu
Shift: Intercept for Eira, moving from R2 to R6! Rolled in the OoC!
Free: Triggering Mettle to gain Resistance to the attack! Seaking 2 loses 2 CS in Attack!
Action: Double Swipe, targeting both Seakings!

Seaking 1
AC 2: (1d20)[11]
Damage (Normal, Physical): (1d8+23)[25]
Critical: (1d8+6)[13]

Seaking 2
AC 2: (1d20)[3]
Damage (Normal, Physical): (1d8+23)[30]
Critical: (1d8+6)[12]

Seaking 2 is Marked and takes a -4 penalty on all attacks against not-Moghu. If Seaking 1 was successfully Pushed, they are ALSO Marked.
Swift: Shield Bearer!

Sinen
Action: Stun Spore on Seaking 1! Pay 1 GP to remove Suppressed!

AC 6: (1d20+1)[10]
On a hit, Seaking 1 is Paralyzed!

Swift: If that hits, trigger Hive Knowledge! 0 GP if Moghu hit!

Rella
Action: Hypnosis on Seaking 1!

AC 6: Rolled a 13!
Athletics: (3d6+3)[14]

Shift: If the Push was successful, move to S8. Otherwise, move to Q8. Seaking 1 does not get AoO because Paralysis.

[Zelphas]

Not sparing a moment for even a nod of thanks to Moghu, Eira spins and begins running towards the two swarms of smaller fish and the sled between them. Cut through them to the sled, she directs Eops, Then get clear. Maybe we can drop enough for them to seek easier prey. Eopd immediately dashes into the center of the swarm, slicing and dicing with her claws until she broke through to the other side. She immediately took a step backwards and around the swarm, clearing the space in front of the sled.

Eira considers for a long moment, then throws out Pebble, the Rhyhorn landing with a rumble of annoyance in the stream. "Push!" she commands simply, pointing at the sled. With another rumble, Pebble lowers her head and gets to work.

Spoiler: OOC

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Eops

Standard Action: Scratch on Swarm 2, Moving from M7 to I7 through three swarm squares.
Accuracy (AP spent): (1d20+1)[11] vs. AC 2, going through all three squares
Damage: (1d8+30)[37] Physical Normal Damage, 1 GP spent to negate the -5 to damage
Crit: (1d8+6)[10]

Move Action: Shift to I6; if necessary to avoid an AoO, this is a Disengage Maneuver.

Eira

Move Action: Shift to M7.

Standard Action: Release Pebble at I7.

Pebble

Move Action: No need.

Standard Action: Push the sled. Athletics: (3d6+3)[11]; Pebble has Power 6.

[CateranEnforcer]

Jayce reels from the powerful hit from the Seaking and retreats to let the pokemon deal with it, but not before taking one last swipe with his dagger. He clutches his side , feeling a twinge of pain from the sharp horn wound. He moves to go help push, but sees the sudden appearance of the Rhyhorn and backs off. Looks like Pebble has it covered.


Sheba meanwhile, continues to heap acid on the smaller fishes, careful not to hit her allies.

Spoiler

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Jayce uses Cheap shot on Swarm 2!
Attack:(1d20)[17]
Damage:(2d6+21)[25]
Crit:(2d6+8)[16]

Sheba uses Acid on Swarm 2!
Attack:(1d20+1)[7]
Damage:(2d6+28)[31]
Crit:(2d6+8)[12]

[CosmicOccurence]

Velitus's blast of energy went wide, sailing over the Seaking's head. Akari and Laeo, on the other hand, successfully struck their targets. Akari's leaves in particular left many of the Goldeen in the tatters. Eops was a whirling demon of claws, striking everything within range and further thinning out the herd. Sheba and Jayce continued the assault, leaving the second swarm with almost no members left, most lying unconcious on the top of the water.

As Moghu, Rella, and Sinen moved in sync, Rella began to pulse with a deep light. Her tattoos glowed, and as she threw herself against the Seaking, arms began to sprout from her sides. She grew taller as her tail split into two sturdy legs, lending her strength behind her push, shoving the Seaking into position for Moghu's strikes. The now-Poliwhirl's stomach pattern flowed, putting the now heartily shut-down Seaking into a deep slumber.

Meanwhile, Pebble heaved at the sledge, unjamming it from the mud and shoving it further along through the river, jostling some of its contents. At Velitus's shouts, the mother began to weep. Our Daughter! she cried. They're trying to kill our daughter!

As you inevitably glanced towards the sledge, you noticed that Pebble's efforts had dislodged one of the baskets that had been hiding something from view. The creature on the sledge was the size of a young girl, her bottom half covered in blankets no soaked with water. The girl's face was elongated into a snout, and her hair was standing in unnatural clumps. Her tattoos had begun to expand, taking on the physical manifestation of a Mudbray, just like the one that pulled the sledge. You made an immediate connection to the creatures that had accompanied Fenris, though this girl seemed more sick than homicidally violent.

At the sight of her, the swarms went crazy. The thinned out swarms rammed their horns into Akari, while the others treated Eops and Sheba to the same treatment before ramming the wagon, nearly dislodging a runner and attempting to get under Pebble's feet to make his task more difficult.

One Seaking is completely immobilized, asleep, and being slowly drained of life by the maneuvers of the group. The other, however, takes Moghu's bait and rams itself deep into his leg. The children, those not half transformed, race to the shoreline, while the man and woman beat helplessly against the swarm.

Spoiler

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Laeo gains 10 HP from Leech Seed!

The Swarms are Enraged!
Swarm 2 uses Peck on Akari. It hits, dealing 31 physical flying damage
Swarm 1 uses Peck on Eops It hits. Eops takes 33 Physical flying damage
Swarm 1 uses Peck on Sheba It hits, dealing 30 physical flying damage
Swarm 1 shifts! It takes AOOs from Eops and Pebble.

Swarm 1 uses Peck on the Sledge! The sledge takes damage!

Seaking 1 is asleep. It does not wake up
Seaking 2 uses Horn Attack on Moghu. It hits, dealing 42 physical normal damage

[Arcran]

Moghu grit his teeth as the Seaking buried itself in his leg, a savage grin on his face. With Sinen on his back he could not falter; if he fell, the Paras would be in harms way.

Rella! Moghu shouts, barely processing her change in appearance. Get to the sledge! Protect the children! he shouts, twirling his spear in hand before lunging at the Seaking in front of him with it. When he reached to attach, Sinen's claws shot over his shoulder, attempting to find purchase in the Seaking and leech its nutrients.

At the same time Rella dashed forward, skimming away from the sleeping Seaking and towards the cart, intent on defending those onboard. With her newfound arms and legs she moved with alarming speed, closing the gap between herself and the sledge in short order.

Spoiler

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Moghu
Action: Struggle against Seaking 2!

AC 4: (1d20)[19]
Damage (Normal, Physical): (1d8+23)[26]
Critical: (1d8+6)[7]
Seaking 2 is Marked!

Shift: Disengage to Q6!
Swift: Shield Bearer!

Sinen
Action: Leech Life on Seaking 2! 1 GP to let her use Maneuvers!

AC 2: (1d20+1)[5]
Damage (Bug, Physical): (3d8+25)[46]
Critical: (3d8+10)[23]

Swift: If that hits, trigger Hive Knowledge! 0 GP if Moghu hit!

Rella
Action: Sprint!
Shift: Move to K11, moving in a way to avoid AoO from the Goldeen.

[Zelphas]

Eira is growing irritated with the whole situation. Not only are these fish annoyingly persistent, but now it seems like the shifting monsters that were after Jirachi are not a single-Clan phenomenon. Briefly, she considers switching sides to deal with the girl before she could be a possible threat, but she abandons that idea almost as it forms; wild Pokemon often don't care much about allegiances, and they've collectively done enough damage that these fish are unlikely to see them as allies now. The idea of simply abandoning the family to their fate is a slightly longer consideration, but a quick look around at her companions renders that idea useless as well. If she left now, she'd leave alone... and she isn't quite ready to forsake this odd journey quite yet.

Eira sends a pang of sympathy towards her bonded guide when she sees the swarm strike at her with their horns, gratified to watch both of her Pokemon strike at the exposed backs of the fish the moment they turn away. See if you can finish off the smaller swarm, she suggests, stepping reluctantly into deeper water to clear the area for Eops to tear through again. She gathers snow into her hands and sends it in a whirling blast over the remains of the swarm even as Eops tears through it with her claws. "Keep pushing!" she cries out to Pebble. The Rhyhorn, it's craggy face oddly matching the annoyed yet resigned expression of her master, lowers her head to push once again.

Spoiler: OOC

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Eira

Move Action: Shift to M8, Disengaging if necessary.

Standard Action: Powder Snow on Swarm 2(?)
Accuracy: (1d20)[11] vs. AC 2
Damage: (2d6+18)[23]
Crit: (2d6+8)[10]

Eops (delaying turn until right after Eira)

Move Action: Shift to I7, Disengaging if necessary.

Standard Action: Scratch on Swarm 2(?), spending 1 GP for full damage.
Accuracy: (1d20)[13] vs. AC 2
Damage: (1d8+30)[37]
Crit: (1d8+6)[14]

If the above attack hits, Eira will use Pack Hunt on Swarm 2(?)
Accuracy: (1d20)[15] vs. AC 5; on a hit, Swarm 2(?) loses 5 HP.

Pebble

Action: Push the Sledge. Athletics (DC 10): (3d6+3)[15]

[Llyarden]

Velitus's eyes widened as he saw the half-transformed child. "What..?"

The lashing horn strikes started to find their mark on Akari, through the holes they'd already torn in her armour, and the Swadloon hissed in pain, the noise catching her Trainer's attention despite the chaos of combat and his own shock at seeing the girl in the sledge. "Akari, Laeo! Razor Leaf!" Light lanced again from his staff as Laeo swept away from the two Seakings, multicoloured lights around the Comfey glowing and crystallising into shimmering replicas of the leaves that Akari was still unleashing.

Spoiler: OOC

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Velitus:
Shift: Nope.
Standard: Resonance Beam on Swarm 2.
To-hit vs AC4 (lowers special defence 19+...or maybe 18+ if each square of swam counts as a target): (1d20)[11] +1 for swarm?
Normal Special Area Damage (+5 for SpAtk Focus, +5 for Normal Booster, +5 for Arcane Training): (2d6+36)[44]

Akari:
Shift: If Swarm 2 is down, then Threaded shift into I8. Otherwise, no.
Standard: Razor Leaf on Swarm 2, or Swarm 1, as appropriate.
To-hit vs AC4 (+1 for Focused Training, crits 18+): (1d20+1)[7] +1 or +3 for Swarm.
Grass Physical Area Damage: (2d8+26)[32]

Laeo:
Shift: Levitate into I9.
Standard: Copycat on Akari into Razor Leaf on Swarm 1, with a GP to bypass Suppressed (1 left).
To-hit vs AC4 (+1 for Focused Training, crits 18+): (1d20+1)[14] + 3 for Swarm
Grass Physical Area Damage (-5 for double command): (2d6+25)[35]

[CateranEnforcer]

Jayce almost misses the girl in the sledge, he is so occupied with the battle in front of him. He is panicked for a moment, thinking they had been followed by those things. But something is different, and there's no time to think. They are already involved in this one or another. He just hoped he wasn't right about bringing trouble on those they meet.

Still, there's not much room here for Sheba to operate. Pebble seems to have things in order and his weapons are barely effective. He lowers Ivan down from his spot, the duck happy to by in the water. "Sheba Help with keep them away from the girl! Ivan help Moghu!" The Zubat swoops around again to get a better angle before releasing more acid from her fangs. Ivan and Jayce focus on the nearest Seaking they can see.

Spoiler

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Sheba moves, hoping the swarm 2 is down
Sheba uses Acid on swarm 1! GP spent to bypass damage drop.
Attack:(1d20+1)[12] SDef drop on 19+
Damage:(2d6+27)[32] Area Special Poison
Crit:(2d6+8)[16]

Jayce releases Ivan.
Jayve uses Pierce on Seaking 1!
Attack:(1d20)[9]
Damage:(2d6+23)[34] Physical Normal
Crit:(2d6+10)[17]

Ivan uses Confusion on Seaking 1!
Attack:(1d20+1)[19] Confuse +19
Damage:(1d8+28)[35] Special Psychic
Crit:(1d8+8)[14]

[CosmicOccurence]

Moghu and Sinen continued their fierce battle with the Seaking. While the Pokemon was powerful, the two of you were clearly whittling it down with your teamwork while its mate lay unconscious in the water. It was Sinen that struck the final blow, sending the Pokemon into an unconscious state. Meanwhile, Ivan the Psyduck launched a dizzying array of psychic energy at the sleeping Seaking while Jayce was able to pin it down with one of his spears.

Meanwhile, Eops continued his wild flurry of attacks, neatly finishing off the rest of the swarm. Velitus began to distract the others, his blast of energy clearly showing his rapidly developing ability to control his powers. It was Akari and Laeo however, that truly devastated the Goldeen.

After their barrage of leaves, crystalline or real, quiet fell over the ford. Even Pebble, who had helped the Mudbray clear the sledge from the mud of the riverbed, fell still as the raging battle waned. The moment was broken when the mother and father ran to their children, the fully human ones, hugging them tightly and checking for major wounds. Satisfied that they were ok, the father went to the girl in the sledge while the mother came up to you. Covered in mud and clothes stained red from the bloody river, she looked a mess. However, thanks was written clearly on her face.

I have no idea what we would have done without you all. Thank you so much saving us. It has been ... well its been hard recently, she gulped. We don't have much, but we'd be happy to give you what we can afford to in thanks. She gestured to her sledge, which seemed to be stacked with their worldly possessions.

Now that the battle was over, your Pokemon were very averse to going near the sledge, and Pebble moved away as quickly as he could. Eops was busy fileting a goldeen, and Sinen and Sheba were restoring their strength from the Pokemon as well. Laeo had settled onto Akari's head, attempting to replace some of the lost leaves that had been torn away in battle.

Spoiler

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Congrats! That went smoother for you all than I anticipated.

In terms of loot, here's what we've got:
Enough Goldeen meat to supply you for three more days of travel before needing to pause and restock (which translates to six open forest squares).

Loot: this shakes out to around 2k for each of you of stuff.
Two Seaking Horns: these are worth 1,000 each and might be useful in upgrading a weapon

Seaking Scales (2 sets): these are worth 1,000 each and might be useful upgrading armor, shields, and equipment with water attributes

Goldeen Tails: Enough to be worth 1,000 all told. They aren't strudy enough to be useful, but catch the light and would likely be good in a trade or to decorate clothing

Trade Goods From the Family: They can spare 3,000 worth of supplies in thanks. Feel free to think of things they might have on hand that they would be able to part with. Their clan is known for hardiness, strong tools, and stonework. Their foodstuff are fairly basic and not of a high quality (no chef meals here sadly). Their clan sits on the intersection of Desert, Mountain, and Open Forest (AG 27 on the map) and might have stuff from any of these regions.

[Llyarden]

Velitus sighed in relief as the sledge made it to the other side of the ford, the light fading from his staff as he splashed his way through the river to catch up with the family. "You're welcome, but...how did this happen?" He nodded past the woman to the girl on the sledge. He wanted to ask Laeo too, but while he was getting better at communicating mentally with the Comfey, he wasn't quite capable of carrying on two separate conversations.

Spoiler: OOC

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Loot-wise, my first preference would be for one horn and one set of scales from the Seakings, but if other people want those too I'm fine with rearranging.

[Arcran]

Moghu took a moment to catch his breath as he and Sinen dispatched the Seaking, taking a moment to absorb the rest of the battlefield. They had worked well together; after all their days of travel the group was finally starting to coordinate. When Sinen began absorbing energy from the Seaking, Moghu finally had the chance to devote his full attention to Rella.

The Poliwhirl was moving about, marveling at her newly-sprouted arms and much longer legs, nearly dancing in the stream. With a laugh Moghu closed the gap, picking up the Pokemon and tossing her into the air, absentmindedly noting that her tattoos seemed to cover far less than they previously did. For a few moments Moghu simply took the time to celebrate the evolution of his oldest companion, largely by wrestling with the Poliwhirl's newfound arms.

After a time though, the state of the sledge drew Moghu's attention, and he began to make his way towards it. For now he simply stood behind Velitus, surveying the scene.

Without her companion to play with Rella began swimming rapidly, putting her new arms to use as she made her way towards Sinen.

Spoiler

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Depending on what we can buy with the floating cash (hopefully a TM?), my loot preference changes

[CateranEnforcer]

Jayce splashes over to the sledge to get a closer look at it occupant. This was something unnatural, their pokemon were very uneasy about this, including the goldeen that attacked. He is not sure what he expected, but this wasn't it.

"Good thing we arrived when we did. We couldn't just stand by and watch." He took a deep breathe before asking the question. "If you don't mind me asking, is there anything we can do for you daughter?"

[Zelphas]

Eira wastes no time gathering up the fallen fish to use for meals down the line, letting the others talk to the family for the moment. That Mudbray-person bothers her, suggesting that Fenris and his group have already reached them here, and she doesn't want to linger for too long. Or does this mean that Fenris and those Mightyena-people are able to change only incidentally, and it has nothing to do with their agenda? We have several questions and few answers, and either one of those can get us killed.

Realizing that the group seems to have congregated next to the sledge, Eira moves in that direction as well, though she still keeps her distance. Her eyes are only rarely on the sledge, instead surveying the woods and the water nearby; so much noise might scare away prey, but predators and scavengers might see it as a possibly source of easy food or a challenge to their territory, so it seems best to be wary.

Spoiler: OOC

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Unless someone else wants it, Eira will take one horn and one of the fins; with a Nidoqueen Horn and a Seaking Horn, she's well on her way to making some Claws of Royalty, which might be fun.

Also (though I'm sure we'll be fine) Perception on the woods around us to make sure nothing's been drawn here by the battle: (2d6)[6]

[CosmicOccurence]

The mother took a deep breath, and glanced back at her daughter. Quellin was sick. Very sick. She'd been pale and sweating for months, unable to help. We thought it was spirits, ghosts, but our shaman couldn't find any nearby that could have caused it.

Then one day a shaman came. He had helped a few hunters catch some game, so we welcomed him into camp and asked if he could look at our daughter. Mightyena shamans aren't known for healing but, well it was better than nothing. He insisted on secrecy in his rituals, but gave her Hollythorn Tea constantly. And she began to get better. Her color returned, and she was growing stronger than she'd been even before the sickness.

And then when this started happening he disappeared. We tried to cope, to care for her for these past two months, but nobody else would touch her, let alone nurse her. And so we decided to head to the deep forest, to see if the Audino Clan could provide aid that our clan could not.

As the woman was talking, Rella had finally reached Sinen, who was quite interested in the new version of her companion. The two were developing an easy relationship, though you still weren't quite sure how the Great Mother felt about all this.

As Eira was collecting fish, a young girl, one of the other children, came over to help. She can't have been older than seven, but she began steadfastly cleaning the fish to prepare them for storage, not saying a word unless talked to. She had a bit of a grim look about her that reminded you of some children from up north, who had gone through a blizzard and grew up early because of it. Thankfully, nothing seemed drawn to the ford by the battle. It was a well-travelled path, so many wilds avoided the area if they could, favoring quieter stretches of river.

Spoiler: Occult DC 10

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Hollythorn is an herb that's primary effect is to dull the power of the Name Soul, the soul that helps you identify as an individual. The Name Soul is also associated with Jirachi, just as Arceus is associated with the World Soul

[Llyarden]

Velitus frowned slightly, but he didn't say anything aloud immediately, instead turning his attention to Laeo. ~Hollythorn tea dulls the power of the Name Soul. So...maybe the rituals stripped away the girl's Name Soul, somehow causing her Clan Soul to come to the fore. If that is the case...the Name Soul is Jirachi's domain. Is there something they - or we - can do to help her?~

He looked back to the woman. "Aside from her...appearance...is she still well, physically? Or did she return to her old state once the Mightyena shaman left?"

[CateranEnforcer]

Jayce's eyebrows raised as they talked. "Mightyena Clan? Oh no what have they done? They too take a hybrid form, and we think we know how. We are quickly learning they are not to be trusted." He is not so subtle at steering the conversation to make sure that should they be followed, the Mightyena Clan will not be welcome here.

[Arcran]

Moghu fails to hide his discomfort when the Mightyena Clan is mentioned, his knuckles popping as he clenches his fist. The large boy grunted as the other two began to ask more relevant questions, looking around the area to make sure nobody else was coming. After satisfying his need to check the area, Moghu joins Eira in picking up fish, giving a nod to the other girl in the fjord.

[CosmicOccurence]

If you can call that well, then I suppose she's well enough. Doesn't have the sickness in any case. The woman gripped her tunic in anguish.

I've never heard of the Mightyena Clan transforming. But then again, I never heard of a Mightyena Clan member who travelled alone either, let alone one of their shamans. They run in packs, sort of like you folk, she nodded at Velitus. But I was desperate enough that I wasn't about to ask any questions. .

Speaking of, she glanced at your group. Quite an odd bunch.
Deep and Open Forest mix often enough to not be remarkable, but that girl is from the Far North, and you don't see Zubat outside their caves much. She shook her head, cheeks flushing. But what am I saying. You all deserve our thanks, not our questions.

She began to rifle through the packs, hunting for some food for the lot of you. If you wanted to approach, you'd be more than welcome to.

Velitus
You felt a wash of agreement from Laeo at your suggestion to help the child. It would explain why that Soul Eater wanted to destroy Jirachi. Imagine what havoc he could wreck if nobody had a Name Soul anymore. As for helping, if anyone could, it would be us. We do have Jirachi after all. Laeo seemed totally oblivious to the fact that bringing out the crystal would be revealing a great deal of information to this family. To him, it might help, and that was enough.

[Llyarden]

~I want to help too, but...Jirachi is as much the responsibility of the others as they are us. Can you pass a message on to them? For what it's worth, I think proving that Jirachi supports us will go a long way to convincing people that we're in the right - doubly so if we're resolving a problem that the Soul Eaters caused - and sooner or later word will get out that we have Jirachi with us anyway. We might as well make it on our terms.~

[Zelphas]

Eira lets the girl pick up and clean the fish, imperceptibly slowing her pace so that the girl gets to some of the fish before her. Well, it looks like there are some in the South who know the dangers around them, she thinks, mostly to herself; contrary to that thought, however, she feels almost... disappointed, that such an expression can even make its way into these soft, fertile lands. She grimaces lightly to herself, unsure of what to do with this unease.

Her grimace turns into a glower when she hears Jayce mention their distrust of the Mightyena Clan to this group. Our entire journey is dependent upon secrecy. We already made ourselves memorable by helping them, but now our actual characteristics are going to stick in their minds! People ask ten questions for every one they speak aloud. We need to break contact, soon, without revealing anything else, or Fenris and his creatures will know exactly where we've been ten minutes after this family gets to the Audino, she thinks more clearly to Eops. She tries to catch Jayce and Velitus' eye and subtly gesture at them to break off conversation, but since she's also trying to make sure no attention is drawn to her at all, she doesn't really think that the message gets across.

[CosmicOccurence]

Veiluts

Laeo assured you that he would pass the message on before contentedly sitting on the head of the young child helping to collect fish, which delighted the youngster to no end.

Eira

That wailren might have shed its tusks already I think, Eops said, happily gutting fish for to be stored. As the two of you worked, Laeo settled on the child's head, and you saw a grin break through her grim demeanor. Laeo passed a message to me by the way. Velitus wants to use Jirachi to try to heal the child. Something about souls and tea and Jirachi.

Jayce

This fish is delicious! You should try some! Sheba chirped at you as it crunched on one of the Goldeen bodies. This Fenris you all are so worried about seems to get around. I wonder what he looks like ... OH! I almost forgot. Velitus wants you to get out Jirachi. He and Laeo think they can cure the child with it.
I always wanted to see some serious magic. I think it'll make my wings tingle, but it'll be worth it!

Moghu
Having finished examining Rella, Sinen returned to you, clambering up with her thick claws. You might need to repair your tunics soon with how much she was clinging to them. Now Rella is part of the family, Sinen said, her voice fiercely protective. Podax is still a bit too covered, but someday soon I'll join him to us as well.

A quick glance showed that Sinen had given the Poliwhirl a tattoo similar to yours in the open space left after evolution. At the sight your own tattoos tingled, The Great Mother's from nervousness and Sinen's from satisfaction. Velitus wants to use Jirachi to heal the child. Laeo is a good fit for him, always wanting to help others It was clear that Sinen thought she'd gotten the better deal though, if the way she clung to you was any indication.

[CateranEnforcer]

Jayce is hesitant himself. We've come this far. Me may as well do what we can. We have a head start. Maybe if we can hurry, we will lead them away from these people. The boy kneels down and takes Jirachi off of his back and sets it down on the dry land.

"I'm not sure what else I can say right now. The Mightyena Clan has done something terrible, and we are trying to make it right. Be careful in the future interacting with them. I don't want to bring danger onto you and your tribe anymore than we already have. If you see them, make sure your safety is a priority." He solumnly waits to see if the stone reacts in any way to his actions. What now?

Spoiler

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OOC shopping! If able, Rock Tomb for 2800 and a potion for 200. If that means less loot for someone, they can have 1000 of my own scrap, either the vine or two acid doses.