[ti]story[/ti]Story Quest: Silent Night

The chatter of people, the sound of footsteps on tile, the beep of cash registers and rolling of carts all fill her ears. It prompts a twitch. The sounds are familiar, this is just another day at work and she's right in the middle of things.

She's slacking off. She shouldn't be doing that, she's at work.

Cypress continued to mine, the pickaxe providing a much needed difference in audio - clang, clang, clang...

The fear that rested inside her gut is turned to diligence, the familiar sounds pushing her forwards (she's working, she's at work, it's just another long shift and the tiredness in her bones is replaced with a metaphorical customer service smile and a chipper attitude as always! Occasionally, she'd glance over to Spearmint, checking on the mantis (concern filling her mind about the general malaise of the little mantis) before going back to her work.

Focus.

Focus.

The beat is still there, the rhythm is still there, just keep it going. You can't give up now.

Persistence and Great Service.

Spearmint "Mint" (Fomantis) 400/500 HP

[Fossil]Yf4Pv|cC1d15

Adarsa frowned, stooping to pick up the... CD? Were there even CD players here? "TM?" He echoed, confusion on his face. What was a tee-emm? His gaze flicked to Tuesday 's patch of ash, blinking. "Is that a fossil?" He asked, sounding almost... giddy. "Let me see it!!"

Dahlia, left to her own devices, slowly eeked forward, flopping down heavily on another dig spot. Adarsa was oblivious- so this was her item, now.

[Fossil]wFQ0bCUo1d15

dahlia || 600/700

"A TM lets you teach certain Pokémon a specific move. Some can be really useful and some are kinda trash. Which one did you find?" Tuesday knows that the likelihood that starlitlover will actually listen to her explanation is minimal despite the fact that he asked, but how is he supposed to get any better at the game if he doesn't learn things like those?

Of course, as should only be expected, her suspicions are immediately confirmed when his attention turns to the fossil she finds. In response, she sighs.

Fossilized Dino (Arctozolt or Arctovish)

Arctozolt? Arctovish? Neither are names she knows, which given the arguably-insane amount of research she had put into selecting the ideal Pokémon for her team based on rarity, type coverage, weaknesses, and aesthetic appeal, must mean that these are probably Pokémon that aren't good enough in her book. They either have bad type coverage or are ugly as fuck.

"Here." She offers the fossil to Ada for him to have a look, and with another sigh, Tuesday searches on.

[Fossil]oG2W7MzY1d15

Shouldn't she slow down a bit, though? She only has Linnear with her, and chances are that she may end up having to tell him to guard Ada, Rose, or even Kaz to keep them alive. Probably Ada, considering how much effort he's putting into digging. Damn. Honestly, she's almost proud; she has never seen this man work this hard for anything before.

"Damn, you must really want a fossil. Take it easy, though... Hold up, the hell is that?"

She means the spell tag[/] Ada had found. It looks useful.

GRENINJA || 600/700

Lucille listened intently to Dr. Bunya, the sound of crunching bone sending a shudder along her spine. It made sense that the top layer would be no good. They would have to clear some layers to get to the good stuff underneath. While she was only familiar with two generations of fossils, it made her wonder if they had come out with any more fossils since she had stopped playing the main games. Whatever they were, she hoped they were cool at least. Like a Tyrannosaurus Rex or a raptor, now raptors were some of her favorite dinosaurs. They looked cool, were intimidating, and could rip and tear flesh like no one's business. And the recent discoveries that they may have had feathers? Whew fluffy and deadly, sign her up. Now that Lucille thought about it, her Dragapult was almost prehistoric itself, being some kind of lizard-creature, it would make sense if that had been the case at some point. Pokémon did have a deep and rich history after all.

❝Byleth would you like to help me clear out the top layer? We might be able to get to something if you blast the ground with Dragon Darts. It would be like setting off dynamite. Just have to aim for the same spot. After that, I'll try the pickaxe to see what we find.❞ Lucille suggested, lifting her gaze to her draconic support companion. Byleth perking her head and nodding slowly before slinking her way down her trainer's back. The ghostly dragon shaking in anticipation as she took aim to an unoccupied spot and fired two sets of Dreepy-missiles, hoping the impact would shatter the ground enough to begin excavating for treasures that lurk beneath the depths.

Lucille lifted her hands up to cover her eyes from any debris and dust that came her way, waiting for the smoke to clear before she made her way to the impact site and began swinging her pickaxe, the distorted sleigh bells ringing in her ears insistently.

Byleth || 450/500 HP

[Fossil]zqD1TPxF1d15

"More like it's the only thing that's... well, here," Josh answered, addressing Bee by name if his settings displayed it. He caught Granmarg's muscles twitching out of the corner of his eye; it was concerning. "This is my first time here. I don't think I could make it anywhere meaningful on my own until I get a stronger Pokémon and some more levels." Ah, the woes of early game hell. A lack of self-sustainability kept him from going anywhere. His only Support Pokémon was Ulysses, a Seel that could only move easily in water and on ice.

Time to get to work.

The music was... unsettling, to say the least. If Dr. Bunya was right, though, the only way to dig through the layers of rock would be in time with the music. A metronome appeared at the bottom of the young man's UI, though he didn't need it. He didn't play an instrument in-game or in the real world, but his music game experience outside the game let him remain within a tight timing window. There was something satisfying about seeing "Marvelous!!!" flash above the metronome with every impact of the pickaxe.

Alistair huffed out a sigh at Lacrimosa's dismissive reply- and then his immediate, icy focus on their surroundings. He frowned doubtfully at his boss. It was hard to argue with the man after his own experiences, but all the same he wasn't sure if he quite approved of this... obsession. But then, breaking into his thoughts like a ray of sun- Lord Darien Blackthorne arrived.

He grinned despite himself, hearing his pidove tsk from his shoulder and flutter off- perching instead on some jutting ribs. He ignored her.

"Lacrimosa said there was a story event here- he wanted me to come with," He responded, "I am glad you're here, though. If there are enough of us, I'm sure we'll at least be a little safer." At this he looked over the crowd, already breaking off into little groups. It may not be the best strategy to only stick near Sarthor who... honestly was not apt to actually help them when it came down to it. Alistair wouldn't leave the other man to fend for himself -not here- but a few more allies to make up for his boss's lack of altruism couldn't hurt.

There were plenty of players he didn't recognize, and hadn't seen yet. Events like these were probably as good of a time as any to make new friends and allies, if one wished. However, it was the familiar ones that got his attention. First was Kazuki, who was too sttriking to not notice- followed by Tuesday and... well, starlitlover, of course. Alistair blinked blandly at them. Kazuki and Tuesday were experienced players, and Alistair had liked them. The issue was having Ada anywhere near Sae. That felt like a disaster waiting to happen, so he needed to avoid it as long as possible.

He turned abruptly away from them, hoping they wouldn't notice him (despite his fiery red hair). "[b}Nevermind. Let's stick to this spot for a bit,

[Fossil]O2k87kDl1d15

Pidove HP | 650/700

He… might have fucked up. Approaching Nero was supposed to help the new player, but from his responses, it seemed all Saint had accomplished was making things awkward. The guy was already busy, and to be fair, there was no assurance that he even remembered the quest, or their brief interaction.

At least it seemed he had the hang of digging, and was even smiling when orioncayge had given him a thumbs up. Short-lived, though—maybe he didn’t like people seeing him smile?

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. I’ll leave you to digging.” Saint nodded, pulling his collar up to cover his mouth. “I’ll be working nearby, though, so if you need anything, just holler.”

Gumball gave a curious honk as Saint turned around and walked to a better spot. At least this one was peaceful. He carefully pulled the pickaxe over his shoulder and began chipping away at the stone, pausing only when Bunya began her announcement and leaving them with the horrifying trivia that they were apparently digging through a layer of human remains.

Saint blanched, staring at his feet. “She’s just joking,” he mumbled, swinging faster. “Just joking.” The little white fragments in the ash were clearly just White Rabbit candies, and definitely did not resemble metatarsals.

[Fossil]X4Q1ZSyy1d15