victory_road | The dog days aren't quite over yet...

Entry tags:

The dog days aren't quite over yet...

Who: Everyone participating in the Dog Days of Summer event!
Where: Mt Mortar, the Bell Tower, OR the Seafoam Islands
When: August 17th-31st
Summary: With the Legendary Beasts running amok, it's up to everyone to help figure out what's wrong and get everything back to normal!
Log:

Bell Tower

Volunteers helping at the Bell Tower will arrive in Ecruteak City and be welcomed into the Bell Tower-- the normally-reclusive monks are still fairly stiff, but in the interest of not driving off the very help they asked for, they will be much more accommodating than usual.

Little studies have been set up all over the archive rooms in the upper floors, allowing volunteers to group up at tables and pore over old tomes and scrolls for any information that might be related to Ho-Oh or the three Beasts-- of course, there’s also a wealth of information about legendary Pokemon from other regions… just don’t let the monks catch you getting off-topic!

Gym Leader Morty will also be present helping with the research, and is using his Indigo League funds to finance inn lodgings in town for all volunteers. As for refreshments, local restaurants have also stepped up, eager to provide free food for all volunteer researchers! Gogoat-drawn carts full of fresh, traditional cuisine will come trundling up to the Tower several times a day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner)-- often accompanied by the restaurant-owners themselves. The guy who runs ECRUTEAK HOUSE OF DUMPLINGS will be there a lot-- he and his Emboar are particularly bombastic about stuffing everybody full of delicious fried dumplings at every opportunity. Gotta stay well-fed if you want to study!

That said, anyone wishing to pull an all-nighter will either have to bring their own snacks or rely on the monks’ supplies-- which means plain rice, hot tea, and not much else.

----

Mt Mortar

The base of Mt. Mortar is a flurry of activity no matter what the hour-- the center of operations is a large camping area at the foot of the mountain, where a small army of tents have been set up. Rangers and volunteers alike are rushing around, and anyone just arriving will be asked to sign in and mark whatever tasks they’ll be helping with.

Strong trainers can sign up for field work, which can involve anything from patrolling the mountain to evacuate campers to helping corral the panicking wild Pokemon population (bright side: there’s even more rare ones running around than normal, and capturing them is a quick and easy way to get them out of harm’s way!). Trainers with flying types may even wind up helping to carry water over from the Lake of Rage in case of what the Rangers all fear: forest fire.

More inexperienced trainers will lower-leveled Pokemon will be encouraged to stick around base where it’s a little safer-- but don’t worry, there’s still plenty of work to be done! Several meal tents are set up around the base, where you can serve (or be served) quick meals from hot pans, soup kitchen style. Nothing fancy or extravagant, but nothing that won’t taste great after a long hectic day of running around the mountain. And hey, it’s free.

A first-aid tent is also set up where trainers and their Pokemon can have injuries patched up-- the Nurse Joys staffing it can always use assistance to keep up with everything.

Sleeping quarters are provided via cot-filled tents set up around the base-- those ones are first-come, first-serve, so grab one fast! Helping the Rangers out is an all-day-all-night affair, so everyone just sleeps and eats when they get the chance to. Reminders to do both on a regular basis are posted all around-- nobody wants sleep-deprived trainers doing dangerous work, even if, between the constant roars of Raikou and Entei and the constant activity within the camp, sleeping could get pretty difficult.

Fortunately, one of the first things you’ll be handed upon arriving is a pair of heavy-duty earplugs.

----

Seafoam Islands

On the shores of the Seafoam Islands, everything is… well, chaos.

The beaches are COVERED in tents of all shapes, sizes, and… raggedness. It seems many folks have shown up in lieu of Greg’s frantic video post, and they’ve more or less taken over. You can barely see the sand! Things are quite a bit less organized than they are over at Mt. Mortar, which unfortunately means that for food and first-aid, you might need to wind up heading over to the teeny tiny little dock town with the inn (booked solid, sorry!) and the shop (Blaine’s beach is less occupied, but he can be seen from time to time passive-aggressively picking up peoples’ trash around the outskirts of the tent army and scowling).

Because out on the beach, there’s no first-aid to speak of and if you go to the ‘food tent’, you’ll just be handed something like this.

Fortunately, unlike their hilariously futile efforts to find Celebi and aside from their clear lack of event-managing knowledge, it seems the Seekers actually are onto something. Every six hours or so, Articuno, Zapdos, or Moltres CAN be seen soaring high overhead and disappearing around the back of the mountain, often with stolen food or shiny things glinting in their talons.

The Seekers themselves are more concerned with getting all their equipment functioning than they are about accommodating all the tourists who just showed up to sit on the beach and stare at the horizon in hopes of seeing one of the Birds-- but if you can actually find them in the chaos, they’ll eagerly put you to work.

In this case, 'work' means 'heading straight into the caves to try and #FindLugia'. Well? WILL YOU?

(Remember to SIGN UP over here!)

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Archives

[It's extremely difficult to stay on topic.]

[It's only that there's so much to read, and Lust has always had a mind that's more curious than is perhaps healthy. And she's never had so much information on Legendary pokemon at her fingertips before.]

[While she has a number of books and scrolls on the Legendaries currently causing problems, keen eyes might note a few other volumes, mostly hidden beneath immediately relevant selections, and a small notebook tucked into her lap.]

[Occasionally, she discretely copies something down into it, then returns to her main journal that's open on the table in front of her.]

Lunch Break

[If Lust had doubted her choice in where to lend her efforts, the food available would have been enough to change her mind. She's more than happy to leave the stuffy archives behind for an hour to indulge in an extended lunch break. Considering how hard she's been working, she feels she more than deserves it. It isn't as though there's a scarcity of it! And it's just silly to not take advantage of free food.]

[Which means a rather common sight is Lust, in a hallway, popping dumplings in her mouth with one hand and flipping through her journal of notes with the other. The scene wouldn't be complete, of course, without her Spheal rolling at her feet, hoping some bit of lunch will drop.]

You're on a diet, Guttle. Be useful and go get me another napkin, I keep smudging my notes with grease...does this say 'watch' or 'hatch?

Lust wasn't the only person doing...additional research.

Walter was making notes in a private journal as well, with Assumption copying the illustrations and tucking his pictures into the journal with Walter's writing. Of course, his research on other Pokemon was largely centred around Pokemon connected to the Sun or 'otherworlds'. And of course, his Pokemon were helping in that.

Claudia, Walter's shiny Alolan Vulpix, was looking for another book for Walter, helping to keep a steady supply of material. She spied the books Lust had and gently pressed a paw to her ankle. Excuse her, but you have a book she believes her trainer could use.

"....May I help you?"

Lust's used to being approached by Pokemon, and she's never certain how it's going to go. Some are very good at expressing themselves, others...not as much. She still doesn't understand most of what her inherited Cleffa is trying to say.

Claudia hopped onto the table lightly. She trotted carefully to the pile, making sure she didn't upset Lust's items, and pressed a paw to the book she thought would be most useful to Walter. It had a sun on the spine.

As she did that, Walter came around the corner. It was fortunate he had left Assumption at the table; the now Marowak would remember Lust and her 'not a friend' Spheal. He soon noticed his Vulpix and approached quietly.

Edited 2017-08-28 17:26 (UTC)

"....and why are you interested in that, particularly?" Lust's voice was mostly amused. She couldn't help but wonder how many others were doing a bit of side studying.

"I'm not done with it, but I imagine I can make sure you know when I've finished." Her focus was on the Pokemon on her table, not anyone drawing near.

"I apologise." Walter spoke quietly, stopping in front of Lust's desk. "Is my Pokemon bothering you?"

Claudia looked up at Walter and shook her head gracefully. She wasn't bothering her. But she had found a good book. She called to him and patted the book, getting Walter's attention and noticing what she was trying to get for him. Ah. That would be useful.

"...no. No, we were simply discussing research material." Considering how well the Pokemon made herself understood, Lust considers it a discussion.

"It seems we're broadening our searches in the same directions."

"You are also researching Pokemon connected to the sun?" That is curious. He wasn't surprised others were using this opportunity as he was, but to follow the same topic was interesting. He lowering his hand, offering it to Claudia who considered, and then pressed against it. Yes, she would not mind being carried.

"Not specifically, but...legendaries beyond the specific ones we're here to research. It simply seemed a wise idea, to broaden the scope. One never knows what will be mentioned where."

Lust may sound a touch defensive, but not much. She wasn't the only one making the most of this access.

Walter picked up Claudia, supporting her and letting the Vulpix press against his front. She watched Lust with bright eyes, expression revealing nothing.

"I see. I doubt there are many who are not researching beyond the beasts we were called here to look into." It was his own way of saying that he knew she was pursuing her own interests, but so was he and so were others.

"It's certainly arguable that it would be foolish to waste the opportunity." Lust wasn't about to outright agree with someone she doesn't know, but she does agree.

"You've a lovely Vulpix. One of the few kinds I don't have - though I do have a Ninetales."

Given she was talking to Claudia, Walter didn't answer. Claudia fanned her tails in front of her, only looking down briefly before fixing Lust was another quiet stare. People insisted that she was lovely, but she simply was. Whether what she was and how she behaved was lovely or not, was something people would take in different ways.

Quiet one.

"Were you interested in this volume?" She kept her voice low, as not to draw attention from the monks. But she gestures to the one the Vulpix had pointed out.

Walter nodded. "Claudia knows what I am looking for." The Vulpix smiled slightly from his hold.

"Apparently so. Well, I can pass it along to you once I'm done. I'm afraid I'm not finished with it yet." And Lust isn't about to let any of her extracurricular study materials out of her sight until she's copied everything she'd like to copy.

Walter just nodded again. "I would appreciate that." He wanted to ask her name, but didn't know how, hesitating. Claudia echoed his gratitude. She had manners and wouldn't try to take it. There were other materials to browse through in the meantime.

"...What is your name?" He finally managed to ask.

"Yes, of course. I'll copy what I'd like from it next." Or at least the next chance she gets. The monks are watching out for this sort of thing.

"Hmm? Oh. I'm Lust. Or Miss Fitz, if you prefer, I understand my name can be uncomfortable."

...Lust? He needed a moment to digest that. It was like naming your daughter 'Temptation'. He could not call her 'Lust'. He might call Henry 'the receiver of wisdom' but he never used it solely in place of his name.

"Miss Fitz." He nodded. Still, she would certainly stand out in his mind. And then he went to leave. Polite as he is, he thought she simply wanted him to leave, not introduce himself.

"...should I simply send one of my Pokemon to find you, when I've finished with the book?" Lust's eyebrow raises as the young man just turns to walk away without another word.

She doesn't take offense, however. God knows she wasn't the most polite of people when she'd been newer to this place.

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11121_assumption - 2017-09-07 20:36 (UTC) - Expand

[Guess who has keen eyes...at least for Lust's study habits?]

[IT'S ENVY.]

[He sees those extra books, and he's not exactly surprised. When has she ever stuck to only learning about one thing when there was more to be found? He's surreptitiously looked at what he can see of the contents whenever he's come over to compare notes, and he thinks he's come across another scroll on the same subject...but who would he be if he just handed it to her without being a little shit about it?]

[He's got his arms casually behind his back as he leans over her shoulder, conveniently just when she's looking at one of the NON relevant to the crisis tomes, speaking in a lower tone so as not to actually draw the attention of a grouchy monk. He wants to be a smarmy older brother, not actually get her in trouble.]

That doesn't look like Lugi-oh.

[Yeah he sure said it wrong on purpose.]

It's contextual.

[As it's Envy, Lust makes no move to further hide her extracurricular study material. But she does take a quick glance about, to make sure no monks are wandering too near to see what they're discussing.]

[They are a dour lot, and not likely to be terribly forgiving.]

Entirely relevant to understanding the mindset of Legendaries. It always helps to have a proper grasp of the big picture.

Oh, of course. How silly of me not to have thought of that.

[His smirk gets a little wider.]

In that case, I did stumble across this one scroll that has some more of that bigger picture...

[Finally his hands come out from behind his back, revealing said scroll that definitely isn't about Lugia or Ho-oh or even the three beasts. He holds it out to her, glancing over his shoulder to make sure there really aren't any monks around.]

This is about the same one you're studying, isn't it?

Exactly. Really, you should know that to properly study a thing, one must study all things with any connection. That's simply good academics.

[Lust's tone is smug but amused. And then her eyes brighten and she leans forward, eager for what Envy's found.]

It is, you've a very keen eye.

[She's quick to stash it from any casually wandering eyes. She lowers her voice further, because it's impossible to be too careful.]

It's really a shame we're so limited in what we can be looking at...there's so much here!

[He looks so pleased with himself over her reaction, and lowers his own voice further to match hers.]

Well, so long as we're sneaky about it, I don't see why we can't spend some time reading whatever we like.

We're doing them a favor, and there's plenty of other people here to pick up slack if someone takes a break.

So what did you find exactly? I was just looking at the pictures to match them.

A pity we have to be sneaky about it. It's unfair to horde knowledge.

[Says the woman who once dispensed and held back alchemy knowledge as she saw fit. But that was business.]

Oh, it's mostly folklore, honestly. Discussions of origin stories and the like, speculation on obscure forms of Pokemon worship, that sort of thing. I find those sorts of legends particularly fascinating. And often difficult to come by in any dearth.

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