Frontier Town Founder's Square

[Ambyssin]

And a glance did. Nova's head was too bulbous that he couldn't make a subtle gesture toward Lucien. The best he could do was move his tiny gray eyes in the prinplup's direction, hoping Mhynt would see the star badge and realize the group had found someone in charge.

 

[Shadow Serenity]

(From Wanderin' Zera)

Kimiko hadn't realized just how tense her body had become after Gerome called her out until she left the bar and started walking, allowing herself to relax in the light. Clover was right about that it seemed, at least; her grass-type body rather enjoyed it. She trailed after the others from her squad, most of which weren't actually that far away (she'd not even noticed Astrid or Clover come back to check on things until they were on their way out again). The water had been a good idea, too, as the heat only intensified once she was out of the shade of the building.

She kept silent during the walk over, Gerome's warning lodged in her head, until she too finally spotted some vaguely familiar faces. Another small squad, though, far from the numbers they'd had in the starry void place. But it was a start.

There seemed to be some sort of commotion in progress, though; law enforcement, perhaps? Had they done something to get themselves in trouble? Eco and Astrid didn't have a problem diving right in, but after the less-than-stellar first impression at the bar, Kimiko figured Mhynt had the right idea to not get involved just yet. She lingered near the treecko, still a respectable distance away, to observe and try to figure out what was happening.

 

[Navar]

More and more people showed up. Shiron would have a hard time waving and greeting each one of them, so he just nodded his head a few times.

Perfect social interaction.

 

[Weazel]

And so, paws stuffed in his coat pockets, hat tipped low to block the harsh sunlight from his eyes, Archie followed after Kimiko and the others. To be honest, when they’d arrived inside the Wandering Zera, the Oshawott had been expecting the town they’d ended up in to be much shabbier. In fact, the town was much more respectably built up. Not quite to the level of a human city, but easily more advanced than Treasure Town had been, where above ground structures of these sorts were largely the purview of those rich enough to be able to hire specialized crafters, and most Pokemon simply pitched a tent and dug the main structure underground.

The town had the makings of a standard grid layout, which meant, once they’d found one of the main avenues, it wasn’t too difficult to follow it to the town square, where a large gathering seemed to be going on. The Oshawott believed he recognized a few of the faces in the ground – including that of a very water logged Meowth, who Archie distinctly remembered watching stop be a human. They seemed to be talking to a few locals, including a Prinplup wearing a badge of some kind. Joy. Hopefully they weren’t getting themselves in trouble.

Of course, before the Oshawott could get all the way to the group in question, he reached Kimiko and the Treecko – Mhynt, he thought Clover called her? – neither of whom had gone all the way to the square.

“You two too cool for school?” he hummed, glancing over at the two Grass Types as he came up alongside them. Then he lowered his voice, before continuing, “Just act like you’re supposed to be here, you’ll draw less attention to yourselves that way.”

The Oshawott took a few more steps forward, then turned away from the crowd to face Kimiko and Mhynt properly. Of course, his relaxed appearance was just a facade. His best attempt at emulating some of his other lodge mates. But he figured, it was more useful right now for him to put on a brave face and try to act leader-like, rather than fall prey to paranoia. So he gave the two a smile that was only a little forced, “Hey, you got a professional Adventurer by your side, so try not to sweat the small stuff.”

 

[Shadow Serenity]

“You two too cool for school?” he hummed, glancing over at the two Grass Types as he came up alongside them. Then he lowered his voice, before continuing, “Just act like you’re supposed to be here, you’ll draw less attention to yourselves that way.”

Kimiko tilted her head at the oshawott in confusion. She hadn't felt like they'd been standing out particularly obnoxiously. She offered him a light shrug. "I'm just trying stay out of the way," she said, gesturing to the prinplup. "I'm sure they'd appreciate not having half a dozen new strangers coming up behind them by surprise."

 

[VeniaSilente]

The still-drying meowth coughed nervously and raised a paw. "My name's Laura. We are expecting a lot more people to show up, but given that the thing that sent us here kinda messed up the delivery, it's not like we can be sure they'll actually be anywhere nearby. It wasn't exactly a simultaneous process either, given Kalas only just arrived..."

Kalas didn't exactly liked his rather eventful arrival, and he gave Laura a bit of an exasperated look. "Yeah... eh, I'm hoping this only happens to each one of us *once*, but so far, I don't know what to expect anymore."

Lucien's avian smirk twitched. "We can discuss how you might earn your keep in a less public setting, but yes, I will have you put up in the local boarding house for now. Note that this will not be an indefinite arrangement. Doc, can we trust their civility?"

The indeedee adjusted their glasses again, peering at them. "While I can't precisely say I trust our new guests overmuch, a war footing would be, hm, unwarranted."

"Well, if it means anything for getting a job, I am... used to be, trustworthy. I was a police officer back home." He shut up quickly after and brushed his wing, a bit worried about having to bring an old line of work up.

"Look, it's not our fault that whatever brought us here threw us into that vault!" Arctozolt said, eyes narrowing more than they already were. "Naylene and Decibel. If you're referring to both of us, call us Arctozolt."

Kalas kept an eye trained on the strange being for a moment. He had never seen anything like this creature at home, or anything like the strange Pokémon with a helmet back at the cloud's... on the one hand, he had so many questions to ask; on the other hand, he was sure there would be plenty chance for that later, at the moment he was more preoccupied about how much debt he would have to incur into before getting into a stable pace of life, let alone 'helping'.

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Yessir. Helped a lot with moving materials and heavy equipment. Installing foundations. Biggest pieces and all that."

"Good, good. That's important work. Honest work."

Lucien seemed sincere as he said this. Not dismissive – thoughtful.

"If your story of being supernaturally waylaid is any way true, I feel I must express my sympathies, Mr Nova. You must be terribly disoriented. Perhaps once your party has, ah, had a moment to acclimatise, you and I can discuss the details of your account further, in a more comfortable setting?"

"So there's more of you here, as it seems."

"Um, wow, aheh, I was naked there for a second. Couldn't have that, am I right my fellow civilized Pokémon?"

"Seems like you're a veritable beacon calling us together, Marshal."

"Hm. Twenty or so, was it? Additional, not total? Perhaps we'd better assume that's a lower estimate..." Here he eyed Astrid with aloof concern. "...and that they might be from distant parts, that sounds good enough... I'll have someone notify the deputies. And the mayor. And, mm. Doc, would you mind nipping to the Gazette and asking them to expect me?"

"Tell 'em yourself, son."

Lucien scoffed. He didn't object.

"Folks will ask questions," added Drungfield.

Lucien's smile looked utterly artificial.

"Yes. I expect they will."

"Ah. That'll be the ranger boy. Wattrel Nico, I think it was."

The wattrel finally descended in a flutter of wings and dust, and firmly brushed himself off before detaching the goggles from his face, letting them hang from an aviator's helmet. The gear looked well-fashioned and well-worn. Perhaps a seabird had real use this far inland for protective gear like this.



"Good day, Lucien! Doc."

He exchanged nods with the locals, then his gaze shifted to remain on the gathering crowd of off-worlders.

"Well," he said. "I have several questions! Why don't you shoot first and save me the trouble?"

Lucien sighed. "I've got other responsibilities, ranger. Why don't you speak to the newcomers yourself? Or better yet, read all about it in this morning's Gazette."

Lucien waved a wing and made a small bow to the crowd. "Pardon me, everyone! Wattrel Nico, here is a helpful, upstanding young member of the Ranger Union. He would be more than happy to answer any of your questions, show you around town, and so on."

"Oh, would I? I suppose! I do have to get back to HQ, but not until—"

"Much appreciated, Nico, you're a great help. I'll have them put up in the boarding house on credit."

"Oh, but will you—"

"I'll be the guarantor, Nico. Relax. See you around."

With that, Lucien tipped his beak to the indeedee doctor, and strode off towards the Town Hall.

Nico looked around, and pulled a rueful face. "That's a lot of credit to guarantee," he said to himself.

The wattrel ranger assessed the situation again, and exchanged an inquiring minute or two of conversation with Doc Drungfield, before flying up to perch on the outstretched wing of the empoleon statue in the middle of the square's fountain. From there he gestured with his wings demonstrably and lightly but firmly cleared his throat.

"Alright, then... Welcome, strangers – new friends – to Frontier Town! I'm Wattrel Nico, a ranger of Sojavena! I'm sure you've answered plenty of questions about yourselves already, so I'd like to offer to tell you anything you'd like to know about this fine township, or anywhere else in the region!"

The bird wore a much brighter smile than Lucien, at least, even if the tapping of his webbed feet and occasional anxious preening gave away his nervousness.

 

[Mr.RMA]

From first impressions, Lucien appeared to have Nova pegged as the leader of this band, for one reason or another... Perhaps the type: null had just that sort of presence... or maybe he just looked the least baby-ish of the bunch, that seemed to be affecting perspectives the most. Whatever the case, Corey was beginning to feel a bit claustrophobic in this crowded setting.

Without a word he slipped his way off the bench and carefully shuffled away from the majority of the group, still within hearing range as to hear whatever questions were surely going to be answered. Frankly at this point he just wanted to know if they were even in the right place to fulfill their collective mission, but how to even ask about that without coming across as even more of a loon to these locals?

 

[IFBench]

"Alright, first up," Arctozolt began, as its tail was already rearing up to smack its snout again. "Are there any tra-"

SMACK!

As Arctozolt recovered from that, they grumbled, "Fine, fine."

Then, speaking up, they asked, "What's this "Sojavena" like? Any places we should know about?"

 

[Ambyssin]

Musings of the Gazette had Nova tempted to say there was strong a chance he'd be showing up in its next addition. He did pop into a photography studio... then foolishly assumed leaving the photo would be for the best. It was careless. Eterna or rebel, both would've buried him for such an amateurish decision.

Would this town think him some ugly brute? He sure hoped not. He'd take oglers over haters any day.

But Nico's introduction seemed to ease things a bit. And already answered a few questions. This community was Frontier Town. Sojavena was probably the continent. He doubted this was the type of world to do countries or regions like ones populated by humans. Still, it meant there were other continents out there. Good to know for later. It also sounded like the Rangers Union was a separate organization. Perhaps one with a bit more... intercontinental jurisdiction?

Only one way to find out, though. "What sort of organization is the Rangers Union, exactly?"

 

[Navar]

Maybe I should ask about clothes—wait, I don't have any money to buy them. Shoot.

Shiron shook his head. Okay, so there were more important things to ask that bird about. First, about that Ranger thing.

"Uh, how does one join the Union, exactly?"

 

[AdamArtDraws]

"If diving into dungeons comes with the job description then you'll surely have my interest," Felin said as she stretched her legs out onto the empty space Corey had left. The spot was still warm.

 

[UnknownUser55]

Seems like there was a whole lot for Eco and the others to listen to, here. Hopefully, most of it would be important information, such as anything that would tell everyone more about this 'world' they were spawned in. Maybe even something that'd allow them to find the rest of the separated group, though that was too optimistic.

Still, something was better than nothing.

"Are there any maps around this town?" the Grubbin spoke. "Maps about any places close by, this town, this entire world, anything?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

"What's this "Sojavena" like? Any places we should know about?"

Nico laughed nervously. "Well, it's big place! Pretty much everything east of those mountains," – here he gestured with a wing – "and west of the grass plains a few hundred miles or so from here, is Sojavena. There aren't all that many big, civilised communities out here, it's kinda the frontier of civilisation. There's here of course, then there's Little Scriven up north, and naturally the Ranger HQ is based here. And on that note—"

"What sort of organization is the Rangers Union, exactly?"

"Uh, how does one join the Union, exactly?"

"If diving into dungeons comes with the job description then you'll surely have my interest,"

"The Soja' Ranger Union," began the wattrel, with pride, "is a fully independent emergency services organisation, meant to help folks out and keep the peace on the frontier. We aren't law-'mon, exactly, but we all know how to perform a citizen's arrest, and we do hire the more respectable kind of bounty hunter from time to time. Mostly we patrol the Soja', looking for lost souls or trouble brewing, and we do a lot of search and rescue. Especially in Mystery Dungeons."

He grinned at Shiron and Felin.

"If you're interested in signing on with us, we are always recruiting, but you'd need a sponsorship from a respected member of your community – any recognised Soja' community, I should say – which means that they're willing to submit an affidavit attesting to your good character, and pay for your training and provisions. I gather that you're all... not from Luctemar, if that's even possible. So, uh, I guess I'd recommend getting your sponsorships from Lucien? Or if for whatever reason, you'd rather go to Little Scriven and ask Mayor Enubel, or... I guess we do accept sponsorships from the Escarpa Clan, but it's been a long time since they sponsored an outsider."

 

[AdamArtDraws]

"If you're interested in signing on with us, we are always recruiting, but you'd need a sponsorship from a respected member of your community – any recognised Soja' community, I should say – which means that they're willing to submit an affidavit attesting to your good character, and pay for your training and provisions. I gather that you're all... not from Forlas, if that's even possible. So, uh, I guess I'd recommend getting your sponsorships from Lucien? Or if for whatever reason, you'd rather go to Little Scriven and ask Mayor Enubel, or... I guess we do accept sponsorships from the Escarpa Clan, but it's been a long time since they sponsored an outsider."

Felin reclined on the bench and listened. Some of the words tickled her ears in a good way, and others made her want to groan in displeasure. With the explanation finished, she laid out all that she gathered like a stack of cards in her mind.

Lucien was out. She did not want to be indebted so much to that mon giving her a roof over her head. Not when she knew so little about him. That ruled out 'Mayor Enubel' for similar, but different reasons. The third group however ringed with intrigue.

Felin's ears propped up and her whiskers twitched as she fixed Nico a grin. "Tell me more about the Escarpa Clan?"

 

[Shadow Serenity]

Especially in Mystery Dungeons."

Kimiko stepped forward and raised a leaf - then, realizing it didn't even go above her head and probably couldn't be seen, she raised a vine into the air, instead.

"Hi, um... at the risk of sounding insane, what is a 'mystery' dungeon?" She hoped she wasn't the only one confused by the term, but it wasn't the first time it had been brought up since they'd been here, so it was probably going to be important. It was nothing she had back home, at least. Dungeons were not something she associated with a good time, and adding mystery to that did not sound like an improvement.

Still, better to get this out of the way now, while the group already had a lot of questions surrounding them.

 

[Ambyssin]

First responders, then. That's what the Union sounded like, at least. Though the odd bounty hunter or two made Nova's uneven, black-and-white fur stand on end.

Breathe. Just breathe. Nothing said he had to join this group. There were at least two overly-eager people ready to dive in. Surely others would join them. Besides, they relied on sponsors. Which left room for rampant corruption and backroom dealshad to mean honor was important to them, right?

at the risk of sounding insane, what is a 'mystery' dungeon?

"It's complicated," was Nova's reflexive answer. Given without him thinking straight. He hesitated to add more. Because he certainly wasn't going to go off the mystery dungeons he knew. "Think of them like... buildings that could spring into existence anywhere at a moment's notice and trap everyone around inside. Buildings where the furniture is arranged in ways that don't make sense. Oh, and the furniture might be booby-trapped."

Yep, definitely a rational, totally-not-winged-on-the-spot explanation. Top marks, pat on the back, and all that jazz.

 

[Mr.RMA]

Corey had only managed a few paces distance from the crowd when the question of Mystery Dungeons was brought up, and the subsequent response only seemed to motivate him to actually ask a question of his own.

"...What kind of monstrous creative force would make such a nightmarish thing?"

 

[Navar]

"I'm not from around here, no. I'll, err, keep that all in mind, mister."

Bummer, but there was a possibility, at least. Shiron would just consider it later. And now people were talking about dungeons.

...Not like I know that much about them in the first place.

 

[Namohysip]

"A sponsor, hm?" Mhynt repeated. "Well, I'm a GMPC so I can sponsor my own NPC just arriving from The Wanderin' Zera and happened upon Tyranitar Gerome. He seems well-respected in the community. Would that be adequate if I were to go back for a sponsorship there, or if he were to meet any of us to vouch? What determines... a well-respected individual?"