Frontier Town Grand Station Construction Site

[Jackie Cat]

Technological progress has a way of shrinking the world. As infrastructure is laid down, the wild places retreat, and the distance between here and elsewhere contracts.

Despite being well into the north side of town, it was hard to miss Frontier Town’s new rail station. Or rather, its soon-to-be new rail station. Perched at the northern edge of town’s along the north-south road, the rail station was well on its way to completion. Its sizable steel and timber frame skeleton was steadily being enclosed by a troupe of passimian carpenters and stonemasons decked out in yellow safety helmets.

Limestone cladding wrapped impressive two-story columns, and the arches atop them were receiving their final keystones. Two garganacl – their arms covered in decorative tattoo-like engravings – held the stone slabs in place as passimian clambered up and down their heads, tool pouches and belts jangling with chisels, hammers, and anchors. A roof extended from the colonnade to the station’s main facade, creating a covered exterior gallery along the entire face of the building. Above the porch, the wooden walls were complete, with several passimian carpenters setting and nailing the window frames into place.

Meanwhile, workers busied themselves on the ground floor – ticket booths, waiting areas, facilities, platforms, and a schedule board were all in the process of being erected. The rail line already extended through the station’s structure, and in the hazy distance, timburr and gurdurr could be seen laying ties and driving spikes as they worked to extend the western spur into the frontier. Soon, rail workers based out of Blaguarro would meet this stretch of track halfway. Then work would begin on laying more tracks, out to other, more remote settlements.

At the far end of the station, an annex building was also being constructed. No less ornate than the station itself, there was a reason this structure was off to the side of the main building. A spider’s web of telegraph lines ran on a series of poles that marched alongside the eastern spur of the rail line. Frontier Town’s new rail station would be a critical link for both travel and communication across the continent. When it was completed, of course.

Until then, there was plenty of work here, for displaced pokémon with strong limbs or nimble digits.

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Many thanks to @Panoramic_Vacuum for assisting with the writeup.

 

[Ambyssin]

Stone slabs. Crisscrossing wires. The exoskeleton of a structure marching steadily toward completion. Nova stood on the outside of the construction site, watching those who were already there swing their tools around or maneuver materials to their destinations.

It was a fairly basic operation. A far cry from the sorts of outposts and stations Nova was used to. And the sprawling fortresses that sprouted up after he had lost control. But perhaps that simplicity would be grounding in a way. If he could handle himself at a basic construction site, then he could hopefully keep steady in a skirmish. It wasn't like Nova knew the nature of what plagued Forlas. And he doubted answers would become all that apparent quickly.

But this sort of operation would be tied with the people in charge here. Not to mention the large slabs and ceilings would offer some measure of a vantage point to take stock of things beyond Frontier Town.

Nova took a steady breath. One step at a time. It wasn't like he had a job here, yet. Nova was here to meet Lucien. So, he sat down to wait patiently.

 

[Jackie Cat]

Lucien didn't keep Nova waiting. The prinplup marshal was punctual, it seemed. He stood stiffly at the chimera's side, still wearing his sash and badge, to observe the work on the station. The incremental progress would become perceptible if observed long enough.

"Your compatriots are settling in well," he remarked. "Are you, Graydian Nova? I certainly hope so – your helm rather obscures your expressions, I fear."

His voice wasn't unkind. Perhaps a little awkward.

 

[Ambyssin]

"That's correct, Marshal." Nova nodded slowly. He was mentally caught between berating himself for so readily using Lucien's title like a good little soldier and telling himself courteousness was important here. "The helmet's part of me, I'm afraid. But it insulates my head from the heat. Which is important when you're spending a lot of time outside."

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Mm, then I take it you do intend to find construction work. I had wondered whether you might instead feel inclined to pursue more ranger-oriented work."

Lucien's tone of voice was controlled as always. If Nova had any experience with politicians and their like, he might pick up on possible subtext – though what precisely the prinplup might be suggesting was hard to say.

"I appreciate you meeting me," he said, sounding sincere. "I have, as you might expect, been most preoccupied with relaying your arrival to various persons whom it may concern. I trust your portrayal in the Gazette was not too unfavourable – I steered them away from more sensationalist avenues of speculation, told them this was a dungeon phenomenon not previously recorded. I believe you said something very much like that on our first meeting."

That subtext was less ambiguous. What really happened, hmm?

 

[Ambyssin]

"It's far from my worst portrayal, sir." Nova added a friendly chuckle for good measure. "This group has a lot of folks eager to join the Rangers. I think the organization will be more than occupied and I'd rather do something to where I know I'm making tangible progress every day."

Ranger work was a possibility, but Nova needed to trust he could handle himself, first. And working his way toward earning a sponsor felt like a more legitimate "in" with them. Nova needed whatever legitimacy he could manage.

"Wasn't lying with dungeon shenanigans. Us graydian are dungeon phenomenon." It was easy for Nova to go with this story. So many people back home assumed he was just a product of their distortion. "Every so often, a dungeon collapses on itself and spits out someone like me. Whatever figments or treasures lay within just jumble themselves together." Nova pivoted slightly to show more of his torso. "And a mishmash pops out. The more varied the terrain or weather inside, the more of a mishmash results."

He gave another nervous laugh. "But, well, I'm sure you're smart enough to tell that's not what plopped me down in the photo studio."

 

[Jackie Cat]

Lucien listened with relaxed attention, nodding and hmm-ing at appropriate points.

"Most fascinating," he remarked, at the explanation of 'graydian' origins. It was unclear whether he truly bought it, but the interest was certainly authentic. "I admit I wondered at first whether your appearance in the studio might have been by design, but neither you nor your fellow graydian seem to much seek the limelight. Certainly some of your party prefer attention more than others..."

He shook his head, a very slight smile on his beak.

"No matter. You were saying? That you – like myself – were not born yesterday?"

 

[Ambyssin]

"Right. I'm no spring torchic," Nova responded. "But I don't think I'm in my senior years, either." He leaned his weight on his left side to better show the white fur. "As days've gone by, more fur's turned white. My guess is the older I get, the whiter it'll turn. Not too much white, so not too old."

 

[Jackie Cat]

"You'll look quite distinguished in your elder years," remarked Lucien. "I expect I'll get a light grey speckling. May the Star save me from balding, at least."

The prinplup made a thoughtful noise, and pressed a little harder.

"So, none of you knew each other to begin with, and you're not from anywhere anyone's heard of – and many of you seem not to know anything about dungeons, whilst others are seeming experts. How did this – sizeable – group of you come to be involved in this unprecedented dungeon incident, then?"

 

[Ambyssin]

"I think you ask each of us and you'll get a different answer," Nova responded, shaking his head to better sell his befuddlement with it all. And he was confused... about how the call had reached him. What followed was straightforward enough. It wasn't anything he couldn't reproduce to some degree within Eternatus. "I have very vivid dreams. Probably because of the dungeon birth." He winced. "A couple of nights back, I wake up some place that feels quite dungeon-like... surrounded by strangers. Then a dungeon apparition appears and tells us they're transporting us to the heart of Sojaveña to help protect it. Didn't specify what to protect it from or even how to do it. Just sent us off and botched the execution. I wouldn't be surprised if they did such a bad job with it they scrambled some folks' memories."

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Ah, amnesia. I'm sure we all fear its onset with age... or head injury."

Then something in the bird's shoulders sagged for moment.

"It's not unheard of for pokémon with limited memory and no personal history to appear as if from nowhere, with notions of saving the world. We had one case of some repute, towards the end of the Entropic Crisis, though he hasn't been seen in years. And there were rumours of another about several months back. Only ever individuals, though. Not two-score at once."

The controlled expression fell, though only for a few seconds at most.

"Too early to speculate what that might suggest. Evidence matters more than conjecture."

 

[Ambyssin]

Entropic Crisis? A specific name Nova could look into. Hasn't been seen in years, though? There was one thing the voice mentioned to them. A human who'd been on Forlas for thirty years. That would line up with Lucien's claim. Probably. Nova wasn't sure whether to hint at it or not. In the end, he pivoted slightly.

"I agree. Maybe it's just dungeon instincts, but I'm a bit paranoid of whatever scattered us to the wind like this." Nova hung his head. "Teleporting's no easy feet. Flinging this many 'mons with it? Must take some degree of power." He brushed his forelegs together. "I figured, based on what Nico said, I'd be far more likely to find a person like that in the Commonwealth than out here.

"So, uh, guess I've got some personal desires for wanting to help construct this thing." Nova held his head up, trying to look formal. "But I do want to repay your generosity. And pay back the photographer for wasting their film. This feels like the best way to do it."

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Most creditable," said Lucien, with approval. The mask was firmly back, now. "I wish you every success – and would invest further in the station's speedy construction, were the mayor not already funding as much skilled labour as is available."

He frowned, mildly.

"This powerful... benefactor, of yours. I hesitate to say this with any certainty of its usefulness, or its veracity... but the gentlemon I mentioned earlier, who may have abated the Entropic Crisis? Supposedly, he once claimed the entity that landed him in the middle of clan territory all those years ago was the Voice of the Desert. The folklore goes that there's a powerful being – perhaps a Saint, perhaps something else – out in the deep Soha', who chooses champions to protect the world's balance."

Lucien looked as if he might scoff. Instead, he turned his face slightly away, and his frown deepened.

"True or not, some might make the same connection, or even believe in it."

 

[Ambyssin]

"Point taken." Nova forced his fur to prickle a bit. "Something about that does... bring some of my more vivid dreams to mind."

He nodded slowly. "So, it sounds like if I want a job I have to talk to the mayor or look elsewhere?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

"No, no, perhaps I misspoke. I am confident that one of the construction companies would gladly hire you, Nova. I simply meant that I cannot hasten the work by finding additional staffing elsewhere."

Lucien chuckled mildly, before the more serious mask returned.

"I do wish you the best with your troubling dreams. The local pharmacist makes a fine laudanum, if you require more peaceful sleep. It has my personal recommendation."

 

[Ambyssin]

"Ah, it's fine." Nova sounded thankful. "I'm sleeping decently. First roof over my head in years. I did do construction work in the past, but I tended to live closer to what you guys call roughlanders. But I'll keep it in mind in case things change.

"Anything else I can help you with? I'm sure we've got you running around enough as is."

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Roughlanders...?" muttered Lucien. Then he waved the thought away. "Mm, quite so. For the moment, I have very much to attend to indeed. If you do want to lift my burdens somewhat, perhaps you could see your way to persuading one of your associates to conduct an interview with the Gazette – one of the more respectable ones, it goes without saying – that would very likely alleviate some of my difficulties with public relations. I'd thank you for it, and consider it a serious favour."

 

[Ambyssin]

One of the respectable ones, huh? Nova hadn't talked with enough of them to figure out who fit that criteria. "I'll put out a couple of feelers and see which respectable member would be willing."

He stretched his hind legs out. "I'm gonna put that application in." Then Nova would see if hunting outside town was viable. He wouldn't have to run up any tab that way. "Take care, Marshal."

Nova nodded and walked off, mainly in search of the right spot to properly apply at.

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[Sinderella]

Odette wasn’t sure what she was expecting when she wandered over to the construction site. Maybe something that would make her otherwise uneventful day a little more exciting. But all she got was the sight of a bunch of sweaty ‘mon toiling away at a half-finished set of buildings. She supposed if there was any group who would either have the most interesting things to say, or make her want to reconsider the concept of having ears, it was them.

“So this is where we should have come in,” she muttered under her breath, eyeing the unfinished archways. It certainly would have beaten the walk her group had had to take.

@Inkedust

 

[Inkedust]

"At least we made it here at all, if only that cloud had waited until it finished construction," said a sourceless voice behind Odette. She didn't need to look for long, though, as Bellatrix suddenly appeared, sitting next to her; her gaze focused on a distant, wild murkrow loitering on the scaffolding. "Good day," she said with a slight nod. It seemed that, coincidentally, the zorua had gotten the same idea as the mawile.

"Then again, we seemed to be astronomically lucky that we were allowed to ride that train at all. If Jaak hadn't been there..."