Darkness Rising (PTU)

[Llyarden]

"Um?!" Velitus managed to blurt out, as Moghu's Sandshrew seemingly brought down an entire segment of the warrens. Did...did he mean to do that?

He didn't have much time to think about it, though, with the battle between Hana and the Gumshoos in full swing. Without waiting for a command from him, the little Fairy-type drifted forwards, putting herself between the Gumshoos and the Nidoran and lashing out with aromatic tendrils that sought to drain the energy of the Gumshoos to restore her own.

It was the first time he'd actually had Hana fight since he'd caught her a couple of summers earlier; the danger of her presence attracting predatory attention had always been too great for him to consider it in the past. And no matter how much he might have consciously rationalised that Pokemon, with their powerful connections to the magic of the world, could be far stronger than their size might suggest, the sight of the little Fairy-type facing down the evolved predator made him scared for his Pokemon's safety. Impulsively, Velitus ran forwards too, raising his staff and swinging it clumsily at the Gumshoos in an attempt to distract it from her. "Leave her alone!"

Except...something happened, and the Flabebe petal that was still strung around his neck shimmered brightly and dissolved into glowing motes of light that swarmed around the tip of his staff, and as his wild swing missed and struck the ground, the energy blasted out, carving a line through the ground as though the moon was trying to shine through the grass and dirt despite the presence of the sun high above.

Wha...did I do that?

Spoiler: OOC

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Velitus Shift: Into Q9.
Velitus Standard: Resonance Beam on Gumshoos 2, with a Fairy Gem for good measure, lowering SpDef on 19+ thanks to the staff being his soulbond weapon.
Atk vs Special AC 4: (1d20)[17]
Fairy Special Damage: (2d10+20)[33]

Hana Shift: Into N10. Gumshoos 2 is now Flanked.
Hana Standard: Draining Kiss on Gumshoos 2.
Atk vs Special AC 2 (+1 for Focused Training): (1d20+1)[10]
Fairy Special Damage: (2d6+20)[24]
Hana heals...I'm pretty sure it's only half the hitpoints the target loses, but it's not actually very clear, so it could be half the damage she deals.

[Zelphas]

Despite the coils of vine wrapping around Omen, Eira grins; her prey is starting to struggle. "Make it regret that, Omen!" she calls out, holding her icy claws in front of her. A moment later, the claws fire off of her fingers, aiming for the fleshy plant matter of the creature. Omen, for his part, ignores the viney ropes after a brief struggle, instead breathign out a stronger blast of orange-yellow flames directly onto the Victreebel.

Glancing over at Jayce, Eira motions slightly for him to move in now, trusting the boy to take advantage of the situation. And if he does... Eira crouches a little lower, waiting for the moment of recoil to strike again.

Spoiler: OOC

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Eira

Move Action: No need.

Standard Action: Use Ice Shard on the Victreebel.
Accuracy: (1d20)[6] vs. AC 2
Damage: (2d6+18)[25] Ice Physical
Crit: (2d6+8)[10]

Eira heals 1 Tick of HP.

Omen

Move Action: Grappled.

Standard Action: Use Ember on the Victreebel.
Accuracy: (1d20)[6] vs. AC 2, Burn on 18+
Damage: (2d6+29)[37] Fire Special
Crit: (2d6+8)[11]

If Jayce hits with his Melee attack, I will roll the Pack Hunt attack in the OOC.

[CateranEnforcer]

Jayce breathes easy after Ivan's display. Well not exactly easy; the sweet smell and the humid air was a pungent mixture, but at least his head was clear for the time being. He was just in time to see Eira's signal and he keep himself low as he slunk through the taller grass and popped out right next to the Bel with a cry. "Get him again Ivan!" He pounces on the grass pokemon with his bone dagger like he had done so many times before in the cave ambushes with his tribemates. Ivan wandered forward again as fast as his tiny legs could carry him and let out a painful quack as he directed more psychic energy towards the Victreebel.

Spoiler

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Ivan moves up and uses Confusion!
Attack:(1d20+1)[7] Confuse on 19+
Damage:(1d8+27)[29] Special Psychic Damage
Crit:(1d8+8)[11]

Jayce moves through the rough Terrain and uses Cheap Shot!
Attack:(1d20)[15] Auto hit, only roll for crit.
Damage:(2d6+19)[23] Physical Normal Damage
Crit:(2d6+8)[19]

[Arcran]

Moghu involuntarily blinked in surprise as Podax's Magnitude. While he'd known the Sandshrew to create powerful quakes, this one was in a league of its own. The Paras Clansman felt a twinge of guilt at collapsing the warrens, but quickly steeled himself, focusing on the task at hand. They had to get the Nidoran out of here, and as soon as possible. Hopefully, with the threat of buried young, the Gumshoos would be more willing to let the Nidoran go.

Well done Podax! Moghu shouted. Keep that one busy, buy us some time! Hit him with a Scratch, and get behind him! Moghu shouted, quickly drawing and flinging a spear at the Gumshoos near Podax, before flinging one at the one near Velitus, then closing the gap to put himself between the Gumshoos and the Nidoran. As he did, he witnessed the flash of energy from Velitus, and looked at the other boy with a newfound sense of respect.

Spoiler

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Moghu
Standard: Use Double Strike with the 2 Target option, targeting both Gumshoos!

Gumshoos 1
AC 2: (1d20)[8]
Damage (Normal, Physical, DB4): (1d8+16)[21]
Critical: (1d8+6)[9]

Gumshoos 2
AC 2: (1d20)[8]
Damage (Normal, Physical, DB4): (1d8+16)[23]
Critical: (1d8+6)[7]
Hit or miss, the Gumshoos is Marked due to Moghu shifting adjacent, and takes a -3 penalty on Accuracy checks against targets other than Moghu.

Shift: Move from N8 to O11.

Also, while cardinally adjacent to Moghu, allies get 4 DR!

Podax
Shift: Move from L5 to M4!
Action: Use Scratch on Gumshoos 1!

AC 2: (1d20+1)[4]
Damage (Normal, Physical, DB4): (1d8+26)[31]
Critical: (1d8+6)[10]

[CosmicOccurence]

Jayce & Eira

It was as if a switch had flipped, and suddenly the two of you were working in perfect tandem. Ivan’s psychic blast was enough to knock Omen free, who retaliated against his attacker with a blast of fire. Meanwhile, Jayce and Eira slid naturally into a flanking maneuver, striking back and forth with rapid speed.

The giant plant was unable to withstand the onslaught of attacks, and it crumpled to the ground, unmoving.

As the two of you stood over its body, the figures of Petra, Beshelt, and Yueh burst through the underbrush. Rumbler! Help them out with a - Beshelt cut off when she saw that the two of you had dispatched the creature.

Well color me impressed, she said. That looked like one nasty critter you took down, though you all look a bit … messy. Indeed, Eira was covered in a thin layer of sickly sweet sap from her initial encounter with the beast, and Jayce’s clothes had several cuts in it from the creature’s attacks.

The Nidoran made a beeline for Yueh, who seemed to be holding a packet of leaves soaked in some sort of liquid. The Nidoran began gobbling it up, while Yueh shared, The mom and I came to an arrangement. She seemed more worried about the one who had already been attacked, understandably.

Petra, meanwhile, was staring slack jawed at the body of the creature, astounded that it had been taken down at all.

Velitus & Moghu

Moghu and Podax worked in tandem, expertly driving it into a corner until one of Moghu's spears took it out of the battle for good. Meanwhile, Velitus's strange blast of energy, combined with Hana's reaching tendrils, left the Gumshoos near you worse for wear. Moghu's spear didn't help, and it hissed angrily, looking for the first time like it was not confident in its victory.

It was the arrival of the enraged Nidoqueen, however, that prompted its swift retreat. The blueish pokemon, only slightly shorter than Moghu, sent a quick blast of spines at the rodent, who had immediately started slinking back into its warrens so quickly that none of you could even try to grab it.

The Nidoran, already running her direction, leaped onto her back as soon as he could. He nuzzled into a hollow at her neck, and she turned her gaze to the two of you. There was not anger in her face, but she was clearly still agitated at the loss of her other child.

Spoiler

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Hana heals 7 hit points!

Gumshoos 1 faints!
Gumshoos 2 uses the sprint action to move 11 spaces into the Warren! Only small creatures could chase it if desired. Due to Run Away, it does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

[Llyarden]

Velitus hadn't really been exerting himself all that much, but he still found himself breathing heavily as the Gumshoos retreated back into the warren. "That..." His gaze followed the little Nidoran back to the origin of the spike barrage he'd barely seen land near him, and it was more seeing the Nidoqueen's posture and expression than anything else that snapped him back to reality. "I guess...we should get back to the pit trap?" he suggested, absently returning Hana, still mostly looking at his staff as though he'd never seen it before. "The others must have gone to help Eira, so presumably Pebble's trail shouldn't be hard to follow, at least, and hopefully they'll have retrieved the other little one before the Victreebel got it." He didn't really want to think about how the Nidoqueen would react if they hadn't.

If Moghu happened to meet his gaze, the older tribesman would notice that the deep blue 'petal' tattoos across his face were now streaked with elegant spirals of white.

[Arcran]

Moghu let out a sigh of relief, almost instantly starting to favor his uninjured ankle when the battle ended, leaning slightly on his spear. The boy took a few quick steps over to the unconscious Gumshoos before grasping his spear and, with a quick push, finishing the job, and tying the body over his shoulder. He and Podax had worked hard to take the creature down and, when the wilds gave a gift, it should be taken.

Inneq should appreciate the variety, Moghu thought to himself, Perhaps Petra can help with what parts of the creature are valuable for trade. As he quickly cleaned the spears he had used, Moghu turned to congratulate Podax, but found himself fixating on the Nidoqueen instead. He slowly dropped into a crouch, slowly making his way towards Velitus and trying to not make any sudden movements. As he got closer to Velitus, he noticed the spiraling streaks in the other boys' tattoos and stared far longer than he should have, momentarily distracted by the Nidoqueen.

Are you alright? Moghu whispered, doing his best to keep his focus firmly on the Nidoqueen. Your- Moghu starts, gesturing around his own face, -changed color. Is that normal for your clan? He quickly shook his head; idle curiosity could get them both killed right here. Let's let her make the first move, then follow her back to the others. I don't want to aggravate her, Moghu said softly.

[Zelphas]

Eira's smile sharpens as the Victreebel collapses. She nods to Jayce across the corpse. "Thanks. Good to know someone else--" a cough surprises her, and she rubs the raw, bruised ring around her throat ruefully. "--someone else knows their way around a fight." She digs in her bag for a moment, seemingly ignoring the others, until she finds what she's looking for: a tightly-wrapped bit of hide slathered with some kind of ointment. "Go ahead and rest for right now, Omen," she says as Pebble rushes up to them, returning the Houndour to his Apricorn and beginning to wrap the hide around her throat."Are all fights in the south this... sticky?" she says finally in response to Beshelt, one hand trying irritably to scrape off some of the residue before she goes back to tying the hide to her throat.

Squinting up at the sky for a moment, Eira finishes tying off the wrap on her throat and turns to the others. "Could someone help me tie this plant to Pebble? I'm sure the acid is valuable, but I don't know how to get it out safely, and I don't have time to find out if we're going to stop Felt and her group from killing themselves against the Nidoking." She bends down to grab the Victreebel as she talks, hoisting it up with a grunt and placing it on top of Pebble's back a few moments later.

Spoiler: OOC

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It may be risky in case there's another battle, but Eira will apply one of her Bandages to herself in this scene.

[CateranEnforcer]

Jayce himself is limping slightly as he acknowledges Eira's compliment. "We rarely go it alone in my clan. I know a chance when I see one. You fight far more fiercely than I do, I just took it by surprise," he says modestly. He too takes a moment to tend to his wounds with a wrap of his own. He pats Ivan on the head as the Psyduck finally catches up with them, breathing heavily. "And you did very well Ivan. That was a powerful attack!"

At Eira's urging, he helps to tie up the fallen Victreebel to Pebble. "So everything went to plan than? We should take the Queen her kit and try and calm down the Nidoking before high sun. Good job everyone!"

[CosmicOccurence]

Velitus & Moghu

When the two of you didn't make any sudden moves, she breathed on you two for a long moment. Then, she turned and barreled back towards the pit. Much like her mate, she'd left a trail of broken trees in her wake to get to her pup, making the journey back a quick one.

Eira & Jayce

You won't need to expect this kind of thing much, Beshelt said with a grin. I've never seen one of these before, and Bellsprout don't produce nearly as much of this stuff.

Petra and Beshelt helped lash the plant to Pebble while Yueh kept the pup calm. It only took a few minutes of awkwardness before you began the trip back to the pit.

All

The two groups met back up, both a little worse for wear, but without any critical injuries. The Nidoran Yueh held struggled out of her grip at the sight of her mother and dashed towards the Nidoqueen. The two nuzzled for a long moment before the pup huddled next to her brother on her mother's back.

While the happy little reunion was happening, Petra was creating a quick message on a roll of birchbark. He quickly etched the crude symbols for disaster, solved, and peace, on two separate pieces before releasing a pair of blueish birds. One had a ruffle of white plumes around its head while the other was sleek, with a red face to compliment its body. I hope one of them can read runes, he said. Though I can't promise either of them will find that crew in time. We should probably hurry in any case. He tied the messages to the birds with twine and sent them into the air with a few brief instructions on what to look for.

Meanwhile, the Nidoqueen was already heading down the path that her mate had gone, following his path of destruction back into the forest.

[Zelphas]

"'A hunter who hunts alone is prey,'" Eira quotes, nodding in agreement to Jayce's statement. "Good thing this plant didn't grow up in my Clan." Eira grins again, slapping the yellow side of the Victreebel to make sure it's staying in place.

"That's good to hear; Winter doesn't need the help to freeze us to death," she replies to Beshelt, still scraping somewhat ineffectually at the sticky goo.

-----

Eira watches Petra scribe the runes with interest; they were somewhat different from her Clan's markings, but the fact that they existed at all was intriguing to her. She rolls her neck, wincing at the discomfort and bruises, and nods to the rest of the group. "Got a prize? Mine's bigger," she teases, looking up at Moghu. "Well... I guess that balances things out a little." Tapping Pebble on the shoulder, Eira directs the Rhyhorn to follow the Nidoqueen's path.

[Arcran]

Moghu let out a deep sigh of relief as the Nidoqueen let them be, the momentary tension washing off of him. As confident as he was, he didn't like his odds against a Nidoqueen.

---

Moghu grunted at Eira's joke. Still, she fought a creature that size and was barely injured? Perhaps she is not one to underestimate, Moghu thought to himself, sizing up the rest of the group. He did look at the runes Petra scribed with great interest; whatever they were, they weren't something Moghu was familiar with. Perhaps it was some secret knowledge the Spore-Speakers would have? Another thing to learn from the other clans, I suppose.

Hopefully mine is a bit more edible, Moghu replies, looking around the group before he begins to follow the Nidoqueen, still heavily favoring one of his legs. Perhaps, when this is all done, one of you can show me how to best prepare it.

[Llyarden]

With the Nidoqueen watching them, Velitus didn't immediately start tearing around trying to find a puddle of water to see his Clan tattoos in when Moghu observed that they'd changed. "Uh...I'm fine. I think. When you said they'd changed..?"

---

"Our more important prize is back with his mother, where he belongs," Velitus answered Eira lightly, nodding to the Nidoqueen, a soft smile on his face as he watched the family (or at least three-quarters of it) reunite. "Oh, also, if it helps, I have some healing herbs and poultices with me. Once we've found the Nidoking and let the family go on their way, I can look at anyone's wounds, if you want." This was...mostly intended for Moghu, but in the interests of politeness he didn't explicitly state that the Paras tribesman had suffered a nasty wound in front of the others. (And in fairness Jayce and Eira did look a bit beaten up too.)

"Uh...is the mother going to be okay with us following her?" he asked Yueh.

[CateranEnforcer]

Jayce nobs in reply to Velitas. "I took a big hit from the plant before we took it down. It should be fine in time but maybe after we find Felt, we can have a look. We have to make sure she doesn't get antsy." He looks around at everyone, pleased with the results of the morning.

"We did good, I feel. That was good teamwork, from our side anyways. Hopefully the others learn to work with us too." He hoisted Ivan onto his shoulders for the quick pace he wanted to set. They had to make sure they were there in time to stop any problems.

[CosmicOccurence]

After Yueh assured you that the Nidoqueen would be fine with you following her, the group followed her at a respectable distance. You trotted for about an hour before you heard the commotion.

KIINNNNNGGGGGGG

The roar was so loud that it shook the leaves even though it was still a good distance away. You saw the trees rustling ahead of you, and the Nidoqueen was sniffing the air curiously. The sound of crunching trees and panicked shouts great closer and closer: it seemed the Nidoking was chasing humans.

Suddenly Felt, Kurtakh, Uldeen, and Malta came bursting from the trees. Felt and Kurtakh each were clutching a screaming child, probably no older than five or six summers, who were screaming in panic. They bore the tattoos of the Chespin Clan, and were wailing nearly as loudly as the Nidoking.

Despite seeing you, the group did not slow, putting some distance between them and the trees. And crashing through the forest came a beast that stood almost seven feet tall, with deep purple scales and a massive horn. The Nidoking had arrived, its eyes shot pure red. In fact it seemed so enraged that it did not immediately notice its mate and children a short distance away.

Spoiler

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I don't think we'll need a combat map here, but if we end up needing one I'll whip it up!

[Arcran]

Moghu doesn't think much before doing the first action that came to mind. Moghu dashed forward, putting himself close enough to the Nidoqueen that the Nidoking would certainly see both, then start bashing his spear against his shield and shouting, trying to make as much noise as humanely possible.

KING! KING! KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING! the boy bellows, trying to get the Nidoking's attention, and desperately hoping the beast will calm down upon seeing his mate. If he didn't, well, Moghu would get a true test of how strong his shield is, likely coupled with a host of broken bones.

Spoiler

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Athletics to YELL! (4d6+3)[15]

[Zelphas]

Eira watches Felt and her group run by in some surprise; the Nidoking had been faster than they expected. She looks over the giant Pokemon in a flash, trying to weigh her options--then the tall Paras boy starts trying to out-yell the Nidoking.

Stifling a smile at the pure absurdity of the situation, Eira slaps Pebble's shoulder beside her. "Full distraction, Pebble," she calls out. The Rhyhorn responds immediately, rearing up to stomp both front feet into the forest floor and letting out a rumbling rockslide roar of her own.

Spoiler: OOC

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Pebble's Athletics to join in on the noisemaking and hopefully not eat an Earthquake in response: (3d6+3)[10]

[CateranEnforcer]

Jayce ducks instinctively at the King's roar. Thoughts fly through his head as he observes what Felt and crew are dying and what his group is doing and he comes up with a quick plan. "Dao, if the King comes to close, use that Grass Whistle trick we learned. I'll see if anyone else needs help getting away!" The Machops nobs sharply and gives an agreeable cry, and waits next to the others trying to get the Nidoking's attention.

Meanwhile, Jayce runs over to meet Felt and the rest, "We got the mate free, trying to calm him down. Does anyone else need help?"

Spoiler

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If the King comes close, Dao uses Grass Whistle!
(1d20+1)[9] vs AC 6

[Llyarden]

Velitus had to admit, he froze for a moment seeing the raging Nidoking, even as Pebble and Moghu roared back at it and Felt and her team came hurtling past. But the terrified screaming of the Chespin clan children snapped him back to reality, and he followed Moghu towards the Nidoqueen, waiting for the Nidoking to change focus to the ones challenging it - and then threw Hana's Apricorn Ball straight at the hulking Pokemon. In all likelihood the impact of the Pokeball would be less than that of an insect, but the sweet, soothing scent of the Fairy-type as she appeared would do far more to calm it than anything else Velitus could conceive of.

He hoped.

[CosmicOccurence]

Moghu and Pebble certainly got the Nidoking's attention with their noise. His head snapped to the two of you, and he lowered himself, his massive horn to charge. You weren't sure which came first, his sight of the Nidoqueen or of Hana's calming scent taking an effect, but the red faded from his eyes. His posture relaxed. The tension fell from the air.

And then a tree broke when he began wagging his tail in excitement and rushed up to this mate, nuzzling her affectionately. Yueh sighed, sensing that the danger seemed to have passed as the family was reuinited.

While this was happening, Felt whispered back to Jayce, obviously hoping that she would avoid being noticed. No casualties. We tracked him until he ran into these two collecting water by the river. Malta got a bit banged up in the diversion, but we managed to get these two out alright. He never made it to their camp, thank Latias, but this was a closer call than I'd have liked.

Her eyes landed on the Victreebel and the Gumshoos corpses, and she nodded at them. Looks like you all aren't totally useless in a fight after all.

[Zelphas]

Eira sighs in relief, seeing the Nidoking calm itself... then steps back sharply to avoid the crashing tree trunk. She looks around, ignoring Felt's comments, and nods into the forest, certain that Ithgar is off watching somewhere even if she hasn't noticed him yet. He knows these woods better than all here, I would assume; even Petra, having grown up here, is not the same type of hunter as he is.

Refocusing on the Nidoking and Nidoqueen, Eira glances speculatively at the young for only a moment before shaking her head. Too young, another mouth to feed, and an altogether bad idea, she decides finally, though not without a bit of regret. The power displayed by the two parents of these Pokemon was nothing short of impressive. She simply waits, one hand on Pebble's shoulder to calm her, making sure that this trial is fully over before making any other suggestions.

Spoiler: OOC

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More a roll just for my own fun than for anything serious, but Survival to pick out the best spot in the area that someone could be hiding and observing our group: (4d6)[14]

[Arcran]

Moghu's whole body tensed as the Nidoking looked his way, and he began to instinctively raise his shield in defense, only to let out a massive sigh of relief as the Nidoking's rage vanished. The large boy gave a quick nod to Eira and Pebble, before slowly working his way back to the rest of the group, gaze never leaving the Nidoking and Nidoqueen.

Do we take these two back to the tribe, then return to camp? Moghu asks, unsure what the next step would be.

[Llyarden]

"Aww..." Despite the falling tree, Velitus couldn't help but smile at the affection between the Nidoking and his mate, though his expression fell slightly as he heard Felt's remark. "I assume Ithgar will tell us what to do next? he suggested. "He said he was watching, after all. But first...this happened because the Nidoking's mate was caught in a pit trap," he explained to Felt - and then turned to regard Petra. "Why would the clan need a pit trap that large?"

[CateranEnforcer]

Jayce nods at Felt. He wasn't expecting such heroic action from her after their first encounter and he took her jab at him in stride. "Well, that's very good that we divided up like we did. Looks like you're not a short sighted brute after all." He throws in that last bit playfully in contrast to her own comment on him. I think I like her.

Taken down a notch from his victorious high from before, Jayce considers Velitus' words. "You're right. These traps are out of place. At the very least, they need to be removed. Otherwise, this will just keep happening. The Chespin Clan doesn't need to be taking on more than they can handle. That's the real fix, not that I'm saying the Clan is weak." He hastily adds at end, taking note of the present company.

[CosmicOccurence]

The Nidoking and Queen spent a long minute together before they turned to the group. As one, they lowered their heads, their horns molting to fall off onto the ground, revealing smaller, paler horns underneath. The Nidoqueen rolled them to you with her snout before the family turned and began trotting off into the forest.

However, even after the Pokemon disappeared and the children calmed down, Ithgar did not make his reappearance. It seemed that this trial was not over quite yet. Felt picked up the Nidoking horn, but did not claim the Nidoqueen's.

Petra, for the first time, seemed to be speaking up. This is something my clan could handle, he said, casting a glare at Jayce and Moghu. Ithgar said at the start that since it was so close to the Clansmeet that they simply left it to give us a challenge. Besides, we don't normally have any issues with this. If our pits were a problem, we would have abandoned them long ago. I'm not training to become a pitmaster, so I don't know more about things like this, but its not happened in my lifetime before.

Did you all find anything strange about the pit trap the Nidoqueen was in while you were there? Malta said. The Fennekin Clan member spoke calmly, but heat had begun to emanate from the red tattoos at her palms.

Beshelt spoke up. Regardless, Moghu's right. Some of us need to get these pups back to camp at the very least.

Eira

You didn't spot Ithgar as you were scanning the forest. You noticed an Ekans in the grass nearby, and maybe a shadow that could have been his Mightyena. However, as you were searching, your eyes caught a flash of white, just for a second. As you backtracked to find it, you saw a white pokemon with shaggy fur, about the size and shape of a Mightyena, but with a massive crescent moon shaped horn sprouting from its head.

When you blinked, it had vanished.

Spoiler: Pokemon Edu DC 4

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This Pokemon was one that even a child would recognize. It was Absol, bringer of disasters. If it was here, that meant he brought calamity in his wake.

Spoiler: on a 10+

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At least, that was the common belief. Realistically, Absol was merely a messenger, sent in warning. It still wasn't a good sign that he was here, but he was warning of disaster to come.

[Llyarden]

"Well, the fact that it's not happened in your lifetime is sort of the point," Velitus replied, mildly. "I don't think any of us are saying that your way of life is a problem - just that specific pit. And given that our trial appears not to be finished yet, it might be the case that uncovering what caused this to happen is part of the trial too. It would be quite unfortunate if no sooner had we believed we'd resolved the issue than another pit caused an identical situation."

He glanced down at the Nidoqueen horn, and leant down to carefully pick it up, though he didn't try to stow it away, instead holding it out so the others could examine it too. "We will need to work out a fair way of distributing what we've gathered, or anything we can barter for with them," he commented - he kinda glanced at Felt, but if she wanted to keep the Nidoking horn he was fine with that, since they had the Victreebel and Gumshoos. "But we can probably afford to do that later. Let's get these little ones back where they belong too. Clan Chespin's camp is the most obvious place to ask about the pit in any case."

[Zelphas]

Eira's eyes widen, slowly. She instinctively glances up at the sky, looking for the tell-tale black clouds that would mark a blizzard rolling suddenly in. I don't know what kind of disaster is normal in this world of green, she realizes, turning back towards the rest of the group. It only came after we stopped the rampage, which means...

Eira breaks into the conversation between the group without preamble. "We're missing something. The Trial's not over." She pauses, swallowing once. "I just saw Absol. Something worse is about to happen." Throughout her explanation, her feet and eyes don't stop moving, scanning the trees around them for danger.

Spoiler: OOC

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Perception to be on guard: (2d6)[4]

[Arcran]

Moghu looked at the group, impressed with the work they'd accomplished. All things considered, it had gone smoothly, despite the smarting wound on his ankle. He looked at the Nidoking horn, imagining a spear tipped with so formidable a point, but decided against it. The others had helped, and deserved their own shares of the loot.

We didn't have time to look over the pit, Moghu said, a bit more hostility creeping into his voice as he spoke to the Fennekin Clan member. But the thought has merit. Should we split up again? Some get these two back to camp, the rest of us investigate the pit, see if we can't find out something else? Maybe the escort group can try to grab a pitmaster and meet back up with us? Moghu stated.

When Eira mentioned the Absol, Moghu began scanning the trees, tensing up immediately. Even among the Paras the legends of the Absol had circulated, if only barely. Should we hunt the Absol as well? Before it can cause something worse? Three groups is thin, but it is a bad omen.

[Llyarden]

"No," Velitus answered Moghu simply - and much more firmly than his normal, somewhat hesitant, meanderingly-polite tone. "Absol is the harbinger of disaster, not the one who brings it down upon us. The land let Eira alone see him for a reason. To try to hunt him would be an insult."

[Zelphas]

"Hunt Absol?" Eira responds blankly. "You don't 'hunt' disaster. You get out of its way."

She listens to Velitus' explanation with a bit of skepticism, her eyes still darting the round. "...I was thinking about whether or not this Trial was over when it appeared," she says slowly. "I'm guessing that's a 'no', so checking the pit again seems like a good idea. There's also less people around there, too, just in case..."

She trails off for a moment, then fixes her eyes on Petra. "Is it common for people around here to know how your Clan marks your traps?" she asks rather suddenly, connecting a few dots in her head. It may give her nothing, but those water-soaked clumps of holly seemed important.