The Arboreal Cradle: The Eternal Forest Zone

[TheKnightsFury]

Originally Posted by Prof.Enigma

TKF:

You asked Merida if the two of you were going to be aiding or receiving aid from the natives of this Rainforest, and she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Well, normally yes, yes we would be. But the Lythanki people are not on speaking terms with us. A rouge healer from our guild sabotaged the Old King's Temple."
"And while we arrested the culprit, and restored the damage done to the temple, The Lythanki pulled all of their healers and people from the Healing Guild. All none Lythanki people are now forbidden from accessing the temple, and any trespassers will be punished horribly."

"It's quite surprising at how generally happy and calm tribes can be so... fierce when provoked.
Anyhow that is why we are scouting out other areas down the Leniazom river. A lot of the herbs that normally grow along the Old King's temple and Springstar's Glory that we used to collect are now off-limits to us and we are forced to substitute remedies with herbs we find along the Leniazom Banks and over upon the Canopy Crossways.
Luckily, we were not banned from there, because of the majority of herbs we use, and the Lythanki people use, are found up there."

Merida led you along the outside of the Healers Guild, to the riverside as she spoke. At the river's side, she withdrew a pokeball and called out a Swampert. This Swampert was a little bit bigger than you would normally find, but that's not uncommon.

"Swampy here will be our ride along the banks of the river unless of course, you have your own pokemon you wish to ride that is.
The reason why we are surfing is that the rain this morning has turned most of the bank-sides to sinkholes and mud pits. Not fun to constantly fall in and to get out of."

Do you have any questions you wish to ask? Or any pokemon you wish to use?

Merida explained that the guild had a falling out with the Lythanki tribes. It was a massive shame, their knowledge, their skills and the access they provided would certainly hamper the guild's efforts to support the Cradle. Atlas had half a mind to hunt down the rogue healer and give them whats for! He calmed himself with a deep breath, no, that wasn't why he was here. That didn't mean if the opportunity presented itself he wouldn't take it, it just meant he needed to concentrate on his studies.

As they walked and talked, Merida led Atlas out of the guild and down to the river. It had clearly been raining, Atlas could see the channels where water had run down the banks, it would be slippery and perilous if they tried to walk along the banks. Thankfully Merida was already aware of this and released a rather large Swampert into the river. Unfortunately he currently lacked a Pokemon large enough to surf upon. Aquilo could almost certainly walk through the river, however it wasn't worth the risk of the Aurorus getting stuck, besides, a massive ancient Pokemon walking down the river would likely attract unwanted attention.

"Nope, haven't got anyone as well suited to the job as your Swampert, so it'll have to do!" Atlas slowly made his way down the slippery bank, digging his toes in as best he could. Ceres and Apollo hesitantly followed, staying close to support each other. "So where are we hitting up first Merida? You mentioned the Canopy Crossways, or are there some nice spots for herbs down river?"

[King Ghidorah]

Originally Posted by TheKnightsFury

King Ghidorah- You lash out verbally, tearing all three of the Sirunsan boys to shreds with heartfelt words. Each point more brutal than the next, you can almost see the tears welling in Archie's eyes. You stick the branch of Spinarak Silk out in front of yourself, offering it Archie. It really meant nothing to you and in your eyes it should mean nothing to them as well. However, before Archie can accept it, a voice breaks the silence.

"That'll be enough, all of you", the elder walks out from behind a nearby tree. As he does, a number of other Sirunsan make their presence known, as does Arnold. "Unexpected that an outsider would better understand the true meaning of this trial better than three of our own." The elder glares, mostly concentrating on the two boys who had threatened to kill Archie and your Weavile. "The trial isn't about collecting a couple of items, its about revealing the type of men you will be." The elder pauses, allowing his words to sink in. "You two", he points at the two taller boys. "You were narrow minded, deceitful and have disappointed the entire tribe. Hugo was right, you always intended to let them collect what you needed and them dispose of them and claim the items for yourself. Consider yourselves exiled." Before the two boys can repute, they are grabbed by a pair of well built Sirunsan warriors and dragged out of the Wrath, their legs flailing helplessly.

"Archie, you acted rashly, you let your heart get ahead of your mind. You fail to realise that your mind is your strongest weapon, you need to learn to wield it better. You're trusting, perhaps too much so. However, your commitment to our beliefs and traditions is to be applauded. You also showed strength in standing up to a friend and were even willing to through away your chance of completing the trial to save the life of another. While you lack the skill set of a traditional Sirunsan, we find our world changing around us. It is because of this that, it has been decided that you will be appointed as an ambassador for our people. Arnold is to remain as your mentor, until a time comes that he believes you no longer need him by your side." Archie is left stunned, still processing what the elder has said. The elder reaches into his coat and produces an old fashion ball, made from a white Apricorn. "As ambassador for our people, you are presented with our tribes most cherished Pokemon, the white Bouffalant." He releases the Pokemon from the ball. The Bouffalant was a sight to behold, its was indeed almost entirely white. As white as pure snow, apart from the gold rings on its horns and the black of its hooves and muzzle. Archie stepped forward, placing a hand on the bull's shoulder as he accepts the ball. "I promise to do the best for our people as we seek to secure our future, you have my word." The elder nods and hands the ball to Archie.

"Finally Hugo we come to you." The elder slowly approaches you, his eyes locked with your own. "Despite you're clear disregard for our tradition that we so kindly let you participate in, you performed admirably. You showed compassion in the treatment of the Swinub. Charisma that allowed you to use the natural talents of others to your advantage. You showed tactical prowess and strength of character, if you'd been born a Sirunsan I dare say you'd be one of our best. I would like to present you with a few rewards, we don't have much but hopefully these will make your efforts worth it."

You are presented with 3 Yache Berries, 2 Friend Balls and 2 Heavy Balls, as well as a Sirunsan Artefact (claim $500 in your bank post).

"Also, you should be aware that we weren't the only ones following you." Almost on cue, a small yet familiar figure pushes its way through the snow. It was the Pilowsine! The Ice type grunts at you, you're unsure what it wants. One of the Swinub then emerges from behind it, the one you accidentally burnt but then healed. The Swinub grunts at you aggressively, it seems to want a fight?

"We'll leave you to it Hugo, it was a pleasure meeting you, thanks for looking out for Archie". Arnold wishes you fair well, walking to Archie's side as the Sirunsan make their way out of the Wrath. Archie turns his back on you and walks away, his newly received Bouffalant alongside him. He wishes you no fairwell, not a word leaves his mouth. Looks like there is some bad blood there....

With everything pretty much resolved, you now found yourself alone, apart from your Pokemon, the Piloswine and its two children, one of which seems to want to battle you.

Hugo pocketed the berries, balls and the artifact. It was not a poor haul, but watching Archie walk away with the white Bouffalant stung a bit. But despite everything, Hugo didn’t really have any regrets. Had he been a bit of an asshole? Sure, but he was always a bit of an asshole. But he revealed the two Sirunsans to be the murderous deviants he thought they were. And he didn’t let Archie die and, if anything, elevated him to the point of walking away with the grand prize. But hopefully he got through to him. Hugo didn’t like Archie, but he meant what he said about not being able to survive in this world if he couldn’t fend for himself. He could see it cut deep, and now that Archie apparently had a newfound confidence in himself, maybe someday he’d come to exact his revenge on Hugo.

“I’d like to see him try,” Hugo muttered to himself. “I’d drop his ass in the snow once and for all.”

Speaking of revenge, he had a feisty Swinub on his hands now who was looking for a fight. Hugo admired the little one’s determination, and he really did feel bad about scorching it earlier. Weird how much more compassion Hugo had for Pokemon than people. I guess more sad than weird.

“So,” he said to the Swinub half-playfully, “you’ve come for my head, have you? Well, you should know that I won’t go down without a fight!”

He turned to Houndoom and Weavile. “Which one of you is ready to fight?!”

The two Pokemon exchanged a glance and then looked away, neither of which seemed very eager to participate. Perhaps it was because they didn’t want to hurt the Swinub, but probably because they were simply exhausted, having been put through the ringer through the trial. And besides, now that the trial was over, there were no more Pokemon restrictions in place.

But even though the trial had been completed, the cold had not dissipated. Houndoom’s Fire and Weavile’s Ice protected them, but would other Pokemon be able to cope?

“So what am I supposed to do?” Hugo asked his Pokemon. Houndoom nudged at a Pokeball dangling from Hugo’s belt with her muzzle.

“Ah,” Hugo said, understanding. “I guess that could work.”

“Alright,” he said, addressing the Swinub. “You want to fight? The let’s fight!”

He tossed the Pokeball to the ground, and Salandit appeared! The Toxic Lizard turned to the Swinub and released an eager hiss. It was cold, but hopefully her typing would keep her warm.

“Okay, Salandit!” Hugo shouted. “Let’s go! Use Ember!”

Collecting:
2x Friend Ball
2x Heay Ball
4x Yache Berry
1x Sirunsan Artefact (worth $500)

[Prof.Enigma]

Kawaii: Last update


TKF:
Merida noted your quickness to jump into some kind of job, however, she hoped it wouldn't get you in trouble.

"Sure thing, We need to see if there are any special herbs along the banks, otherwise we will have to resort to the Crossway."
You and Merida hopped up on the Swampert's back, who seemed to carry you two with little to no effort at all.

As you two floated, she showed you a picture of a herb, well several, that were all unique. You certainly hadn't seen any of these before, at least that you knew of. Well except something tickled at the back of your mind.

Merida was showing drawings of the herbs, not pulling any out of her bag, but that could be why she's showing you drawings and not pictures or the actual thing.
But you couldn't help but think that there was more to the story than she was letting on.
Now if this was some other guild that didn't need the resources, you thought, then yeah they can easily get by without going to those banned areas.
But, these people were healers. More often than not, they weren't good or bad, just there to heal and fix what's wrong with people and pokemon.

Merida steered her Swampert closer to one side and was leaning over to look for any herbs.
A thought crossed your mind and a ridiculous one at that.
How was the guild really doing...

If it was doing worse than they were letting on, then perhaps you should do something about that...
But, what?

Should you try confronting the tribal leaders? Challenge them to a battle or a challenge to get them to open up their area's and let people look for herbs? Or at the very least, set up a trading post?
Merida here never spoke of a place where they could get herbs...
On one hand, you can fix a wrong that was caused by an outsider, on the other hand, you could completely mess it up even more.
But was it worth it?
While you had been thinking over your thoughts, Your Jangamo-o and Chikorita played with the fish and pokemon that poked their heads up to stare at you guys.

What do you think you should do?

Stormingwolf:
You explained your story of how you got here at the castle, and the Sirunsan got out and dusted himself off.
"Well as soon as we get out of here, you must leave."

He looked around to the other shells of ice and shook his head.
"Idiots," he said and started weaving through the shells.

Well isn't he a little ray of sunshine, the snot.

Anyhow you were torn between two options, you could follow this Sirusan ( who never offered up his name in the first place ) and try to defeat or escape the Froslass, OR you could try and free the rest of the people stuck here in the Castle.

On one hand, if you left with him, you'd get back to Rolu sooner.
On the other hand, if you stayed, Rolu may not be able to find you, but you could rescue these poor people who could get eaten by Froslass.

Doubt and Regret were tugging inside you, trying to make you choose one or the other.
Then the little swniub shuffled forward to the next shell and looked at you with a questioning look in its face? Did it even have eyes? Perhaps so, but you couldn't see them.

What will you do?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You asked Manny if he had been out here often and if he was lonely, and in reply, he only nodded.
The wind bites into you some more, and you shiver in the cold.

You sincerely hoped you would get there fast, and currently, you were.
You and Manny were moving at a fast pace, and you were moving away from the clearing that you started in and were heading to a more wooded area, though the wind continued to cut through it from what you could see of the snow.
What will you say or ask?

Rolu's Health 1/4th missing
Faints: 1
Energy roots x2

[Stormingwolf]

Originally Posted by Prof.Enigma

Stormingwolf:
You explained your story of how you got here at the castle, and the Sirunsan got out and dusted himself off.
"Well as soon as we get out of here, you must leave."

He looked around to the other shells of ice and shook his head.
"Idiots," he said and started weaving through the shells.

Well isn't he a little ray of sunshine, the snot.

Anyhow you were torn between two options, you could follow this Sirusan ( who never offered up his name in the first place ) and try to defeat or escape the Froslass, OR you could try and free the rest of the people stuck here in the Castle.

On one hand, if you left with him, you'd get back to Rolu sooner.
On the other hand, if you stayed, Rolu may not be able to find you, but you could rescue these poor people who could get eaten by Froslass.

Doubt and Regret were tugging inside you, trying to make you choose one or the other.
Then the little swniub shuffled forward to the next shell and looked at you with a questioning look in its face? Did it even have eyes? Perhaps so, but you couldn't see them.

What will you do?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You asked Manny if he had been out here often and if he was lonely, and in reply, he only nodded.
The wind bites into you some more, and you shiver in the cold.

You sincerely hoped you would get there fast, and currently, you were.
You and Manny were moving at a fast pace, and you were moving away from the clearing that you started in and were heading to a more wooded area, though the wind continued to cut through it from what you could see of the snow.
What will you say or ask?

Rolu's Health 1/4th missing
Faints: 1
Energy roots x2

"I suppose that he really doesn't like outsiders."
"Or he's just plain rude."

Storm shrugged and looked around at the many shells.

"Running outside or following that guy might not be a good idea."
"It would be even harder for Rolu to find me in a snowstorm..."

Storm observed the swinub as it approached another shell.

"You want to help them too, don't you?"

Storm chuckled and approached the next shell.

"Let's help them all, Swinub."

And so the two started breaking the icy shells....

----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Manny...How did you end up in this place?"

Rolu walked on, still staying close to Manny.

[TheKnightsFury]

Originally Posted by Prof.Enigma

TKF:
Merida noted your quickness to jump into some kind of job, however, she hoped it wouldn't get you in trouble.

"Sure thing, We need to see if there are any special herbs along the banks, otherwise we will have to resort to the Crossway."
You and Merida hopped up on the Swampert's back, who seemed to carry you two with little to no effort at all.

As you two floated, she showed you a picture of a herb, well several, that were all unique. You certainly hadn't seen any of these before, at least that you knew of. Well except something tickled at the back of your mind.

Merida was showing drawings of the herbs, not pulling any out of her bag, but that could be why she's showing you drawings and not pictures or the actual thing.
But you couldn't help but think that there was more to the story than she was letting on.
Now if this was some other guild that didn't need the resources, you thought, then yeah they can easily get by without going to those banned areas.
But, these people were healers. More often than not, they weren't good or bad, just there to heal and fix what's wrong with people and pokemon.

Merida steered her Swampert closer to one side and was leaning over to look for any herbs.
A thought crossed your mind and a ridiculous one at that.
How was the guild really doing...

If it was doing worse than they were letting on, then perhaps you should do something about that...
But, what?

Should you try confronting the tribal leaders? Challenge them to a battle or a challenge to get them to open up their area's and let people look for herbs? Or at the very least, set up a trading post?
Merida here never spoke of a place where they could get herbs...
On one hand, you can fix a wrong that was caused by an outsider, on the other hand, you could completely mess it up even more.
But was it worth it?
While you had been thinking over your thoughts, Your Jangamo-o and Chikorita played with the fish and pokemon that poked their heads up to stare at you guys.

What do you think you should do?

As they searched for herbs, it became more and more obvious that the broken ties with the local tribes was having a massive impact on the guild. Merida hadn't said it outright but he could tell they were struggling to get by without their usual harvest spots, it was probably why there had been a lack of guild members present when he'd arrived. Even if he helped Merida find the herbs she needed, who was going to help her next time? The only long term solution to the guild's problem was to bend the broken bond between the guild and the locals. Opening up the banned areas would go a long way towards getting the guild back on track. It wouldn't be easy but Atlas had been present a few times when the Romma army had to meet with native tribes. It was rarely straight forward, both sides often had strong demands and no side ever liked giving ground. That said, he was confident he could manage something.

"Merida, the guild is in dire straights isn't it?" Atlas spoke plainly, hoping his words wouldn't be taken as an insult. "I can hear it in your voice and see it in your actions, you're getting desperate. I'd like permission to negotiate on behalf of the guild." Atlas took the pin from his chest and handed it to Merida. "I can't afford to be seen as favouring a side, they need to perceive me as a neutral party. I know how desperately you need the help of the tribes and how much you rely on the access to their lands. I'll do my best to get you access again, however you'll need to trust me and go along with what I say." Atlas looked to his Jangmo-o and new Chikorita. This was meant to be about developing his connection with his new healer, but now it seems they had a peacemaking mission. He knew he'd have to find out what the Lythanki needed that the Healers Guild could supply. He knew that native tribes often fell sick due to diseases introduced by settlers and travellers. It was certainly something to look out for, but it was far from a guarentee. "If there aren't any issues, I'd like you to take me to the Chieftain of the Lythanki."