Sojaveña Wilds Totally Normal Bulletin Board

[Namohysip]

The bulletin board had formed an adventurer's guild.

Out in the middle of nowhere just north of Frontier Town, where crossroads to various other settlements met, a bulletin board sat only a few minutes' walk away. One could see it from the crossroads. Now, a whole makeshift settlement had formed around it.

Tents hastily made around the outpost were the vast majority of the structures. Dirt roads from footpaths had formed from the crossroads to the small settlement. Most tents were unoccupied, but only because the town's inhabitants were bounty hunters, adventurers, and rescuers.

The leader of this newfound guild? A bulletin board that was updated at mysterious hours by a mysterious force. Nobody knew who or how the board updated. Aura seers, psychics, and keen senses alike could not see who had changed the board's contents, only that the board itself had a mysterious air about it shortly before and after its contents changed.

But as mysterious as it was, the rewards were real, and its updates were scheduled. Nobody thought it was worth it to question the machinations behind the magical board.

They see a mission. They take it. They place proof of accomplishment or the requested items in a small basket next to the board. Then, at noon's apex, the mission paper and corresponding items in the basket disappear and a pile of coins or other rewards replace it.

That was how it worked for a few weeks now. And already, this magic board operated like a river--forming a new settlement around it for its resources. The only ones who could benefit? The daring and the bold who would take on its lucrative but sometimes enigmatic and risky tasks.

<><><>​

 

[AdamArtDraws]

Before now, Felin loitered the market streets and orchestrated plans to earn coin through musical prowess. She'd even come up with a lyric or two. Nothing struck her chords just yet. However, from the moment whispers of a mysterious bulletin board pricked her ears, she set about to find it with no hesitation. Music will have to wait.

"Now this is more like it," Felin said in a voice spiced with cheer. She could see the outpost just up ahead. Hastily built tents dotted the scenery and Felin could tell no old guild with a long history ever stood there. This was all new and recent. A green blur crossed he vision and Felin shot a glance at the other mon.

"Oh, you're the Treecko from before. Fancy meeting you here." Felin grinned at Mhynt and stood upright on her boots. She eyed her from top to bottom. "Are you heading down for the same reason I am or are you tending to other business?"

 

[Namohysip]

"I don't know your reasons," Mhynt said with a hum, arms crossed as she stared at the tents. "I'm here to see what this rumored bulletin board is all about. It could be a decent source of income, and I'd rather be able to purchase my own food than rely on others, even if we've just arrived."

Most of the Pokemon here seemed to be the rugged wanderer types. They all had gruff looks about them, but others had bright eyes and high hopes for any kind of excitement. Whether or not this single bulletin board was any of that was... hard to tell.

"That's it?" Mhynt said. It was a wooden post with papers pinned to it. Next to the board was a stack of baskets. Some of them were filled with items and a paper under the items. There was also an Ursaring standing near the baskets, along with a Watch over the supplies: 1000 order taped to his chest. He seemed to be taking it seriously.

 

[AdamArtDraws]

"I don't know your reasons," Mhynt said with a hum, arms crossed as she stared at the tents. "I'm here to see what this rumored bulletin board is all about. It could be a decent source of income, and I'd rather be able to purchase my own food than rely on others, even if we've just arrived."

Felin grinned much like a cat, which made sense because she was one.

"Guess both our paths and goals are aligned for now," she chuckled and dropped back on all fours. Having to be seen with wobbly legs would embarrass her. Curse Sprigatito's feeble legs!

Felin wore hungry eyes as she watched the mon they passed by. She scraped into her mind who she'd pick fights with, who she might lend a paw to and who would entertain conversation. Did the crowd hide pickpockets too? Catching any in the act and thwarting them always brought her some entertainment.

"That's it?" Mhynt said. It was a wooden post with papers pinned to it. Next to the board was a stack of baskets. Some of them were filled with items and a paper under the items. There was also an Ursaring standing near the baskets, along with a Watch over the supplies: 1000 order taped to his chest. He seemed to be taking it seriously.

"What do we have here?" Felin muttered to herself. She padded up to the wooden post and shot Ursaring a grin, and eyed the sign on his chest. "Afternoon, my good mon. This where we pick jobs? And who might you be?"

 

[Namohysip]

Ursaring wordlessly pointed a claw on the assignment on his chest and then stood firm.

Mhynt stared at Ursaring. Ursaring stared back.

"Yes, I believe I understand," she said. "His job today is to keep an eye on the supplies. Perhaps so nobody steals anything for what was turned in. Therefore, we're just fine if we look at the missions... though I suspect most of them are out of our league." She eyed them.

Most appeared to be missions to navigate an uncharted road and to chart it. Another seemed to be for gathering resources of a specific kind. There was one asking for a Moon Stone. Another seemed to be about suspicious activity in another area, though that one seemed too dangerous for now... Most had payments of 1000 Poke -- enough for a week's worth of food.

"...If we can find a decent one or two here, we might be set for ourselves at least in the short term," Mhynt hummed. "It's no replacement for a proper job... but anything will do as it stands."

 

[AdamArtDraws]

"...If we can find a decent one or two here, we might be set for ourselves at least in the short term," Mhynt hummed. "It's no replacement for a proper job... but anything will do as it stands."

"I see, I see," Felin muttered. She watched the very dangerous job posting like an owl who'd spotted a rat in the grass field. A grin slowly formed on her face, but it unwound. She pulled back with a sigh as if she'd remembered remembered something.

"You know, I often helped newcomers pick out their first job whenever I swung by a guild building," Felin said, now eyeing the job about the moonstone. "Never thought I'd have to do that for myself. How things have come full circle. You relate?"

 

[Shadow Serenity]

(From Offscreen activities)

Kimiko realized too late that she had never set a place or a time to meet Laura, but standing around in the Haus waiting for her to show up was just wasting time. So instead, she decided to look around. Maybe they'd bump into each other somewhere.

As she aimlessly wandered Frontier Town, she spotted a few familiar pokemon around, seemingly looking for work. The ease and eagerness with which some of her companions were settling down unnerved her. Not that Kimiko believed any longer that this would be a quick and easy mission, but she also didn't hope to be here long enough to start a new life, so job hunting... wasn't really something she was keen on doing at the moment.

With that in mind, she'd overheard news of the Totally Normal board that offered different types of one-and-done jobs to complete for money. That was more along the lines of what Kimiko felt was necessary; just enough money to afford to feed herself and, if she were lucky, enough to get off the prinplup's tab at the Haus. And if they paid really well, maybe scrape enough spare change together to buy a new, cleaner ribbon.

By the time Kimiko reached the tiny settlement, she spotted two familiar faces already standing there, looking over the missions - Mhynt, who she briefly met in Gerome's bar, and the sprigatito who approached her previously that she'd foolishly not exchanged names with.

"Fancy meeting you here," she said by way of greeting, not addressing either one in particular. "Anything look interesting?" She gestured to the board, then begun to look over it, herself.

 

[Namohysip]

Mhynt nodded. "For one, it seems that there's already a system in place powered entirely by requests of this... magical bulletin board," she said. "If people are working along with it, perhaps the rewards it provides are worth it. Most of these missions seem to be charting, scouting, and gathering. They aren't dangerous. We could get one or two of these and have enough food to last us a few days, from what I've gathered..."

 

[Inkedust]

"At least there's something out here that rings familiar," spoke a little girl's voice from behind the group. Turning around would reveal a politely seated pale zorua appraising the board. "It will make for a good buffer before finding a more stable source of income."

She walked up to the board to try and picked out the few requests she could reach, laying them all out on the ground in front of her to read them. "I will need to figure out comparative prices and exchange rates," she added, looking at the reward money, "and find the most efficient means of making money from these."

 

[Namohysip]

"From what I've been able to gather," Mhynt said, "if you spend at a reasonable rate for food, and find yourself a place to comfortably rest without much pay, a thousand Poke is equivalent to ten gold. Ten gold is enough to last you up to a week. If you wanted to live life simply, a mission a week for these average missions would be... relatively simple."

She eyed the tents that had formed around the bulletin board.

"I suspect quite a few people already got that idea. But what I need to know is..."

The board, so normal, so mundane...

"Who's running it?"

 

[Inkedust]

Bellatrix followed the treecko's gaze and tilted her head to the side. "Nobody knows or has claimed ownership?" she asked. Granted, she did hear that this board had mysterious properties during her quick job scouting but no sign of an owner anywhere either? What was a guild without its master?

 

[Shadow Serenity]

Most of these missions seem to be charting, scouting, and gathering. They aren't dangerous. We could get one or two of these and have enough food to last us a few days, from what I've gathered..."

Ten gold is enough to last you up to a week. If you wanted to live life simply, a mission a week for these average missions would be... relatively simple."

"Sounds reasonable to me." Kimiko scanned the board for something relatively simple, something she could do on her own that wasn't too difficult. "Scouting doesn't sound too hard," she mumbled aloud. She needed to learn the lay of the land, anyway. That did pose a question though... she decided to poke her fellow grass-types about it, more to make conversation than curiosity. "If they're not dangerous, why do you think there's scouting requests, anyway? Is that something people can't do for themselves?"

Judging by Mhynt's pricing analysis, food should be easy to cover. However, economics were not Kimiko's strong point, and she couldn't help but wonder how much the rooms at the Haus would set her back on top of that. Probably more than just one or two missions a week... maybe she'd have to end up finding a proper job after all...

"It will make for a good buffer before finding a more stable source of income."

Another unfamiliar pokemon had popped up behind them, offering a similar train of thought. Kimiko didn't recognize the species, but the newcomer had an air about her, made all the more apparent when she pulled some request notices off the board for herself and started doing math.

Then they started discussing the board's origins. "I would imagine anyone who needs something doing can just walk over and stick their note on the board," Kimiko said with a shrug. She paused a moment to examine some more notices, then added, "I guess that doesn't answer how the proof of completion and payment get exchanged, though..."

There was also an Ursaring standing near the baskets, along with a Watch over the supplies: 1000 order taped to his chest. He seemed to be taking it seriously.

She shot a glance at the ursaring out of the corner of her eye, who'd been quiet throughout the exchange so far. He was watching over something... perhaps someone had completed a gathering mission, and this ursaring was making sure it wasn't stolen until the board's maintenance could collect it? But then, why would he not just... bring it to them?

But no, he had one of those request forms taped to his body, so more than likely he was just another 'mon out to make some easy money. Still, it was an odd sight... so, someone posted a request to just stand at the basket and watch the items left there? For what purpose? The longer she thought about it, the less it made sense.

Couldn't hurt to ask. She turned to fully face the large pokemon. "I don't suppose you're employed by the board's keepers, are you?" she inquired.

 

[Namohysip]

"First mission on the board, every rotation," Ursaring finally said, noticing the crowd. He seemed cautious, but also open enough to explain its inner workings. "If you want to see how it works, all you gotta do is wait a little longer. We're close to when the rotation happens. Around noon's apex."

And based on the position of their shadows on the ground, that was perhaps a small few minutes away.

 

[Inkedust]

"I would imagine anyone who needs something doing can just walk over and stick their note on the board," Kimiko said with a shrug. She paused a moment to examine some more notices, then added, "I guess that doesn't answer how the proof of completion and payment get exchanged, though..."

"If it's all self-maintained, it would require some kind of honour-system, would it not?" Bellatrix asked in turn. "Perhaps possible in small communities but -" she glanced at all the surrounding tents "- this would need to be brand new based on the lack of more permanent structures."

"First mission on the board, every rotation," Ursaring finally said, noticing the crowd. He seemed cautious, but also open enough to explain its inner workings. "If you want to see how it works, all you gotta do is wait a little longer. We're close to when the rotation happens. Around noon's apex."

When the ursaring spoke up, Bellatrix took the opportunity to get another question in. "Who pays you after the job? Or rather, who ensures you get paid your due diligence?" Her tail moved from side to side in thought. "What happens at the rotation that is so noticeable for the board to have the reputation it has?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Give it a sec." Ursaring said.

And indeed, once he finished, Pokemon from their tents were starting to emerge, or others were falling in from the far reaches of the fields and roads. Like a schedule. A known system that had been set up fairly recently, apparently... Some still seemed confused. Newcomers looked skeptical, just like Mhynt. But she shrugged and stepped back, letting whatever spectacle take hold.

The notice board was still.

Then, Mhynt squinted. She, and all the others, could see a strange... warping of light around it. Some kind of distortion, but she couldn't place the source or the nature of it.

Then came a ripple and a blast of air. She squinted and shielded herself, but the change was already made. Papers vanished; others appeared. Baskets of berries and supplies and maps were replaced by coins with names on top of them of species who'd completed it, written in elegant handwriting. Those whose names and species matched the baskets picked them up in a surprisingly orderly fashion, showing it to Ursaring, who seemed to have a vested interest in keeping track of it all. Then, as everyone took their baskets, Ursaring held out a paw.

In a flash, a bag of coins appeared. He smiled and went on his way.

For the first time since their arrival, Mhynt looked surprised.

 

[Inkedust]

Why do I even question anything at this point— "Fascinating, so the rumours were true then," Bellatrix stated plainly, like she was discussing the weather. "Far more elaborate than any illusion or anything else involving smoke and mirrors for that matter." She turned to acknowledge the grinning ursaring only to find that he'd already departed.

"Perhaps we're unknowingly within some kind of Dungeon, or the board itself is a Dungeon that changes contents instead of layouts," she theorised. Though she wondered if any aura-readers attempted to get to the bottom of the phenomena.

With a small sigh, Bellatrix looked back upon the, now refreshed, bulletin board to try and find a few more missions that were up to her speed. She'd built quite a stockpile from the prior rotation already, having several days worth of work on her paws.

 

[AdamArtDraws]

"Where do the job requests come from?" Felin asked. She hummed to herself and elaborated further. "Someone alive has to have a problem to solve and rewards to offer for anyone wanting to take a job. Even if this is a dungeon, which I doubt, it can't make requests out of thin air."

 

[Shadow Serenity]

"First mission on the board, every rotation," Ursaring finally said, noticing the crowd. He seemed cautious, but also open enough to explain its inner workings. "If you want to see how it works, all you gotta do is wait a little longer. We're close to when the rotation happens. Around noon's apex."

For some reason (a reasonable guess being the mysterious method of how the board was replenished), Kimiko had assumed the change happened overnight, like at midnight or such other ungodly hour. To witness it in broad daylight right in front of several pairs of watching eyes was a bit of a surprise, however... "Somehow, not the strangest thing I've seen in the last twenty-four hours," she muttered.

And it wasn't even just the board itself, but the baskets surrounding it, too; items were replaced with coin and other rewards, seeming to pop into existence out of nowhere, all neatly labeled with the names of who they were intended for. "I wonder what happens if someone tries to claim a reward that isn't theirs," she mused, turning to where Ursaring had been. He'd remained there until everyone had gathered their prizes before walking off, so perhaps he was some sort of sentry in addition to earning some spare cash, too. "On the other hand, that's probably best left a mystery."

"Perhaps we're unknowingly within some kind of Dungeon, or the board itself is a Dungeon that changes contents instead of layouts," she theorised.

"The board itself... could be a dungeon?" Speaking the sentence aloud did nothing to make it make sense.

Apparently, not all of the former contents had vanished - the paper chaos previously removed from the board remained scattered on the ground. Kimiko decided she'd better snag a few for herself before they were all gone (although, for all she knew, if every task on the board had been claimed, it could simply spawn new ones).

"Where do the job requests come from?" Felin asked. She hummed to herself and elaborated further. "Someone alive has to have a problem to solve and rewards to offer for anyone wanting to take a job. Even if this is a dungeon, which I doubt, it can't make requests out of thin air."

That, too, was an interesting question. No one had walked up and pinned new messages as Kimiko had originally assumed would happen... "Where do people normally go for help?" she wondered. "The ranger's HQ? Maybe they have a hand in this?"

She cast a sideways glance at the sprigatito as she examined the new requests. "I didn't ask your name earlier," she said, introducing herself as she plucked a few more scouting missions off the boar, hoping they were relatively nearby.

 

[AdamArtDraws]

She cast a sideways glance at the sprigatito as she examined the new requests. "I didn't ask your name earlier," she said, introducing herself as she plucked a few more scouting missions off the boar, hoping they were relatively nearby.

Felin stopped short of snagging a request to flash the Snivy a very friendly smile. She jabbed the thumb of her paw at her chest proudly.

"I'm called Felin Boots! Silver ranked solo delver extraordinaire!" she made little paw gestures as if performing an act. Then she settled down with a calmer smile. "Who might you be? Everyone here seems to have a name, which I'm not quite used to."

 

[Inkedust]

"The board itself... could be a dungeon?" Speaking the sentence aloud did nothing to make it make sense.

"If you have a better idea as to what we just witnessed, I would like to hear it," Bellatrix replied, knowing that her explanation was likely nonsense. Then again, with little idea as to how Dungeons worked in this world, any idea was on the table.

"I'm called Felin Boots! Silver ranked solo delver extraordinaire!" she made little paw gestures as if performing an act. Then she settled down with a calmer smile. "Who might you be? Everyone here seems to have a name, which I'm not quite used to."

"You named yourself after what you wear?" Bellatrix deadpanned with a flick of the ear. Did she leap out of the pages of a fairytale? she added in thought. At least she understood what 'silver ranked' meant. Probably.

"Perhaps the naming conventions of your world are just odd," she said instead, "but seeing that we haven't acquainted, my name is Bellatrix, and since we're adding our credentials, bounty hunter in-training at the Gallium Wind Guild. Bronze Rank." As she said that, she conjured an illusionary copy of her badge from memory in her paw. The badge was composed of a bronze, hexagonal frame with a pair of small wings that jutted out from the sides. The frame firmly held an eight-pointed star made of a silvery-blue metal with a green button in the middle.

"The official term is 'Fighter' seeing that it better fits the mould of 'Rescuer' and 'Explorer' but I'd rather call it what it is."