Altho 05-C/F Mini 01

[02:00] <~Garlyle> Date: February 21st or 22nd or so.  Time unspecified
[02:01] <~Garlyle> Location is, assumedly, the Ivoryscape Central Public Library which is a pretty massive building.
[02:02] <Reinhard> "WELL! Er... Indoor voice. Well. What is it exactly you wanted to look for here?"
[01:04:19] : Camellia looks up from the card catalog or computer or however they do things in this library. "Have you heard of the Ruins of Alph? They're quite well known in Johto, but I wasn't sure if Altho had a counterpart."
[01:04:53] * Reinhard scratches his head. "Ruins... well I'm aware of many ruins, but no."
[01:05:49] <Reinhard> "What do you think you'd want to find there, then?
[01:06:08] <~Garlyle> The library's card catalogue would be helping, but quite honestly all you can find are books -about- the ruins of Alph themselves, without knowing exactly what you're looking for.
[01:06:09] <Camellia> "You could say that, well, I have a history with the place." Camellia sighs. "And I recently met someone here in Ivoryscape that dug up some of those memories."
[01:06:14] * Geoffrey (Botherer@sux-8C4833F1.nycmny.fios.verizon.net) Quit (Ping timeout)
[01:07:18] : Camellia is looking more in particular about books that could explain the nature of the Unown. Whether they're divinity similar to legendary pokemon, whether they're a hivemind, or just...what the hell the buggers are. Secondary in her search is looking for locations of similar Unown ruins in the region.
[01:07:34] <Reinhard> "That's rather worrying... could you tell me exactly what's been happening, or..."
[01:09:08] * Reinhard starts picking up and flipping through those legendary books as she finishes them. Looks neat at least.
[01:09:32] <~Garlyle> The Unown are a pretty massive topic!  Just paging through, there's a metric buttload of places to start.  Even filtering out the fiction, there's tonnes of newspapers, periodicals, and scientific journals in the library nevermind non-fiction diaries and theorybooks.
[01:09:50] <Camellia> "A rather lot has been happening lately that's had me worried. It seems the longer I hang around other Wanderers, the more my circumstances turn toward the potentially perilous." She looks up again, taking another break from her search. "The man I mentioned wore Unowns as tattoos and seemed to worship them. It's..." She frowns, thinking of how to word this and how much to say.
[01:10:05] <Reinhard> "...If it's that personal, I won't pry."
[01:10:18] <Reinhard> "But if you're in danger, I'd rather not just leave it up to you alone."
06[02:11] * Camellia scribbles down the titles of the more scientifically inclined works first, ones that would pass muster when being presented in an academic setting. "The danger I thought had long passed, when I left Johto." She shrugs. "I've already confided part of my tale to another Wanderer, so I don't see the harm."
[02:14] <Camellia> "I...wouldn't want someone to worry needlessly though. You have your own path, your own circumstances. But anyway! The short of it is that I visited the Ruins, like any budding researcher of legendary pokemon and the mythological would, and I met something there. A something that...invaded my mind."
[02:15] <Camellia> "It felt like...being torn apart." She shivers subconsciously.
06[02:17] * Reinhard just looks on. "And... all in your mind? Nothing anyone else could even see?"
[02:18] <Camellia> "It's fuzzy. I remember examining the ruins, seeing the glyphs on another wall glow out of the corner of my eye, then a wrenching pain before everything...went black."
[02:19] <Reinhard> "Well. How do you know it's still there?"
[02:21] <Camellia> "I don't, but...there was another incident. I met two kids out in the woods. their names...Ly..something. And...Hans?" Camellia starts to reach toward her bag but stops. "Well, the names aren't important. They had a similar something with them, it gave off the same feeling. A legendary pokemon, and a malicious one."
[02:22] <Reinhard> "And you think they're all caught up in it?"
[02:23] <Camellia> "I know it sounds silly, but...you can talk to one of the Detectives in town. His name's Salino. He was there was well. It was clear that the boys were somehow aligned with this legendary pokemo- no, wait, there were two. I felt the presence of one when it attacked Kuji, and the other...Salino said he felt it."
[02:24] <Reinhard> "I'll keep that in mind. But!"
[02:26] <Camellia> "But...?"
[02:27] <Reinhard> "I have my own path, and must make my own decisions, and what I am deciding is that if there's an apparent god on the loose that hates someone as nice as you for an unfathomable reason, I'd be stupid to leave the matter alone."
[02:28] <Camellia> "I don't think it hates me, at least not in particular. What happened at the Ruins...is just the nearest analogue I can find to what I experienced there. It was hostile to all the Wanderers there, and I'm sure if they had wanted, the boys could have ordered it to destroy us."
[02:29] <Reinhard> "But they didn't?"
[02:31] <Camellia> "No, they left and told us not to follow. But what they were doing, some sort of sparring, we could all feel the resonance of some powerful energy it gave off from far away, and then as we got closer I felt the hostile presence of that pokemon."
06[02:33] * Reinhard keeps on thinking, the gears are CLEARLY running as hard as they can here. "So... maybe it can't stop being dangerous? Maybe it's... tainted or what have you?"
[02:35] <Camellia> "That's what I'd thought. What I've always been taught is that the legends are forces of nature, ethically neutral embodiments of concepts like order and chaos or the elements. Maybe this one is...a less tasteful concept." Camellia decides to just chance it and go for one of the books she's scribbled down from the catalog.
[02:35] <Reinhard> "I suppose that makes sense... but they are still pokemon, no? Why would a god like that take the form of a pokemon over everything else, is it the strongest existence achievable?"
[02:37] <Camellia> "I'm not sure, nor am I sure why it would align itself with those young boys. They seemed all too comfortable with the idea of having divinity tagging along behind them. And this is why I'm starting with what I know, that I have met something like this where the Unown have gathered."
06[02:37] * Reinhard takes up the most basic book on the subject they grabbed. Have to grasp the rules of all this first. "That worries me too, what happens when someone simply catches the elements themselves?"
06[02:38] * Camellia frowns. "That possibility was not even considered in my education. I simply do not know."
[02:39] <Reinhard> "Then we have to find out."
[02:39] <Camellia> "You propose to try?"
[02:40] <Reinhard> "We're already taking the first step, aren't we? And I can hardly just leave someone alone to such a task, especially if it has BEEN plaguing them previously."
[02:40] <Reinhard> "Take my word as truth, here and now: By the time we figure something out, I'll be ready to help stop whatever any of this is, your head demons or that cat."
06[02:43] * Camellia taps at the books, hesitance crossing her face. "I'm not sure if I want to take it that far. I had wanted to explore similar ruins in Altho as a start, but actually capturing a legendary pokemon..."
[02:44] <Reinhard> "Everything starts somewhere, but everything needs an endpoint too. Would you call it insane to set out and not come back until you've taken on the entire league like I have?"
[02:44] <Camellia> "I mean!" Camellia looks up suddenly. "I...really do appreciate your concern, and I never imagined I'd meet someone so willing to help at a drop of a hat, but..."
[02:45] <Reinhard> "Ahaha, don't worry. I won't be interfering with any... difficult ritual or what have you, just helping where I know I can help."
[02:45] <Camellia> "Well..." Camellia sighs again. "My aspirations were never so high as that, nothing comparable to the pokemon league. I left Johto because I was worried my new condition would render me a danger to Ecruteak, being a place so suffused with the presence of myths and legends. That's...all I really wanted to begin with. The answer to that question."
[02:46] <Reinhard> "...hrmn. So you can't go home either."
[02:47] <Reinhard> "In any case, that cat... What you said about catching legendaries, it sounds reasonable. With they way they treated it, it's as if they had already caught it, no? And if someone happens to be misusing an unpleasant aspect of existence, you fight it with something that can match, right?"
[02:49] <Camellia> "Right, I left home long ago, when I discovered I was a magnet for ghosts. And then there was the Unown incident." Camellia ponders a bit on Reinhard's last point. "I...suppose. I saw no pokeballs on their person, however. Perhaps it simply chose to be with them. In any case you...might be right."
[02:49] <Reinhard> "We have plenty of options I imagine, and plenty of time to explore them. Even if the cat doesn't need standing up to, that just means we get more time to work out your... condition."
06[02:50] * Camellia nods "But if you are going to look into this, I'd rather find a pokemon willing to align itself against this creature of its own will. Nature has a balance to it, and this creature must have its own balancing force."
[02:50] <Reinhard> "And there we begin."
[02:52] <Camellia> "I suppose, if you really are serious about this. I had hoped to put it all behind me and live a Wanderer's life, but...I don't want this to interfere with your own aspirations. You need to collect 7 more badges before the year is up, right?"
[02:54] <Reinhard> "I imagine that they can both be done. After all, we'd need to search for the thing all across the region most likely, and if there are ruins we'll probably pass a gym or two on the way... And building yourself up to a point where you can take on a god naturally lends itself to being capable enough for the league."
[02:54] <Reinhard> "A year's a lot of time to do things."
[02:56] <Camellia> "Indeed. Would your family know much about the legends of Altho? Many of the pokemon of old myths tend to be dragons, after all."
06[02:56] * Camellia shoves aside the more theoretical books on Unown for the moment, settling for just looking for a location of Unown ruins.
[02:57] <Reinhard> "That... was a question I was indeed dwelling on. There are plenty of stories about ancestors taming dragons of legend, but that does not necessarily mean it's A legend. They used to call Dragonite that, you know."
[02:57] <Reinhard> "I wouldn't mind writing Mother on the subject in any case, whether our histories at home have anything more concrete."
[02:59] <Camellia> "I could write my brother - he's studied the old myths far more extensively than I, but...I'm afraid nothing I've heard about in Johto even remotely approaches what we're dealing with here. If he had found out anything about what I met in the ruins that day, he would have let me know by now."
[02:59] <Reinhard> "Any help is appreciated, in any case."
[03:00] <Camellia> "This man though. I...am afraid now that I pushed him away too quickly. I'm sure the Unown had some hand in what had happened to me that day, and I'm losing a chance to find out if I don't talk to him."
[03:01] <Reinhard> "I'm sure he has it in his heart to look into this for you. Nobody could just leave family alone like that, not for good."
06[03:02] * Camellia nods. "They set me up well even after I left home, ensured that my studies and training wouldn't be interrupted."
[03:02] <Reinhard> "There, you see? Nothing at all to worry about."
[03:04] <Camellia> "Right. And as heir to your own family's fortunes, you have the full support of your parents as well then."
[03:05] <Reinhard> "I can hope. Must make it clear that this is another part of training."
[03:05] <Camellia> "Setting out to capture a draconic god would qualify as job training in my books." Camellia cracks a small smile.
[03:06] <Camellia> "Maybe call it searching for breeding stock."
[03:06] <Reinhard> "Don't even know where I can start, but any start's a momentous step... We can do this, though."
[03:07] <Reinhard> "You think we have enough books, though? I just took the basics, and I guess the history of them too. I've never read this much in my life."
[03:07] <Reinhard> "Not at once, that is."
[03:08] <Camellia> "This is really much, much more than I expected you to offer me when we arrived her- and oh uh, I suppose I won't need quite this many." Camellia tries to trim down what she's collected to a more manageable pile.
[03:09] <Reinhard> "Well, what I expected to hear was quite a bit less."
[03:10] <Reinhard> "I don't mind at all, though! Just... as long as we can take something of a break in between. Obviously it isn't dangerous work yet at this stage, but gives us time to think over things."
[03:10] <Reinhard> "Enjoy what we can, you know."
[03:11] <Camellia> "Oh I'm all for breaks. Before this all came up - the man with the Unown tattoos, the boys with the black cat - I'd just wanted to stay a Wanderer long enough to save up to start a tea shop. This is all a bit much myself, to suddenly be immersed in again."
[03:12] <Camellia> "And I had waited and deliberated for a while before deciding to act...this happened a month ago."
[03:13] <Reinhard> "Mmm... I don't know. In the end, you always have the tea shop idea to fall back on."
[03:14] <Reinhard> "You know, I'm not sure we have one back home. Or at least not something for tea and only tea."
[03:15] <Camellia> "It's a rare thing nowadays, an appreciation for fine teas. I had planned for a traveling shop for that reason. And, well, because staying in one place tends to cause hauntings."
[03:15] <Reinhard> "...Hauntings. You didn't mention that part."
[03:16] <Reinhard> "I guess that makes it a little easier, doesn't it?"
[03:16] <Reinhard> "Well, easier in one way."
[03:16] <Camellia> "I mentioned the part about being a ghost magnet, right?" She blinks. "Well, I thought the implication was clear enough."
[03:16] <Reinhard> "You can hit ghosts! With some things. Other people can also talk with ghosts."
06[03:18] * Camellia chuckles. "I've done both, but it's easier just to keep on the move."
[03:18] <Reinhard> "Suppose it is until we have more of an idea. How long do you have here until it starts, you think?"
[03:21] <Camellia> "Not terribly long, but making the trip out to challenge Saxton Hale and coming back helped I bet. Still, this city is far too busy to stay in. I'm surprised we haven't gotten yet another call since the last."
[03:22] <Reinhard> "I'd consider it lucky, if anything. Now that we have something else to do, continuing to be dragged off like that..."
[03:24] <Camellia> "Definitely lucky, especially since I wager some of the other Wanderers are planning to leave or have left for similar reasons."
[03:26] <Reinhard> "So, after this... hrm. Do we start reading everything in here, or go elsewhere? Or just... leave the reading for later, I guess, now that we know WHAT we have."
06[03:27] * Camellia taps a book. "We can find the location of some ruins in one of these, cross reference it with where the gyms of the region are, and plot a path from there. I...feel obligated to help you with collecting the badges, since the last time we tried was such a near miss, and I'd failed to pull through in the end."
[03:28] <Reinhard> "Pah. Only if it's not too far off course, we'll be leaving the area we go to at some point, after all."
[03:30] <Camellia> "Then let's get started. We could get a call any minute, and the longer we stay in Ivoryscape, the more likely that'll happen."
[03:31] <Camellia> (have I actually managed to locate any books that would specify the location of Unown ruins in the region or say anything about the nature of Unown? or was that all just seekrit roll crit fails?)
06[03:31] * Reinhard immediately starts sorting through everything he had picked up after Camellia's sort, and just grabbing the stuff that's immediately relevant to his end--basic primers, what to do about working with or against legends, just WHAT legends are around, whether they can be caught... "Of course, of course. I'm... more or less ready here."
06[03:35] * Camellia scoops up whatever she's found that furthers her aims as well. "I feel uneasy digging into this alll again, but I feel a responsibility at the same time. I'm ready."
[03:35] <Reinhard> "Mmn."
[03:35] <Reinhard> "You know, this is actually pretty funny."
[03:35] <Camellia> "Yeah?"
[03:35] <~Garlyle> (Oh, you found tonnes of ones that theorize about the nature of the Unown, but the thing is they're pretty much all over the place in terms of conclusion)
[03:35] <~Garlyle> (As for location I still have yet to actually DECIDE if Altho has such a place, but you did find books about unown ruins)
[03:35] <Camellia> (alright, so Schroedinger's Unown Ruins it is, until you decide >_>)
[03:35] <Reinhard> (I honestly wasn't expecting the unown focused stuff yeah but it could be interesting)
[03:36] <Reinhard> "I had... no idea what you wanted to look for here was quite this serious. Not that I'm complaining, still going to help and all and it gives me something very interesting to work for but, er. I was actually going to ask you out during all this."
[03:37] <Ryuu> (if all else fails, ask Grant :P)
[03:38] <Ryuu> (he's likely to spend most of the day talking about how wonderful unowns are rather than answer you, though)
06[03:39] * Camellia nearly drops her armful of books. "I...y-yes." She adjusts the books and awkwardly fumbles. "You've helped me a lot since we first met on new year's day, and...honestly since joining the Wanderer's it's been a while since I've had anyone I could talk to about...anything serious."
[03:39] <Reinhard> "...Well! Today's a day full of surprises! Off we go?"
[03:40] <Camellia> "S-sure." Camellia is still looking slightly shocked. "I...you want to make plans to leave over dinner or maybe just coffee or um..." She does that thing where she kinda babbles and trails off again.
[03:41] <Reinhard> "I... hm. We've had quite a bit of coffee in the last couple days, dinner would be lovely."
06[03:43] * Camellia nods quickly and is extremely grateful that she thought to leave Oolong in his pokeball for the library excursion.
[03:44] <Camellia> "Where to though? I don't really know any places other than that cafe what with the constant traveling all the time and well I guess we can just go there but it's not really high class or anything but yeah."
[03:44] <Reinhard> "Hrm. They have to have tourist guides or something..."
[03:46] <Camellia> "Something like that I'm sure, but maybe the hotels also have some guides I mean people go there to stay when on vacation here so they have to find places to eat."
[03:47] <Reinhard> "Of course. Tell you what, let's both make plans separate, see what we come up with and go with the common ground. Or I'd just default to you if you get anything particular in mind... er, are you sure you aren't going to drop those things?"
06[03:48] * Camellia isn't really sure, and the books are precariously swaying as Camellia herself kinda nervously tips back and forth. But they haven't fallen yet. "Um, I think so!"
[03:49] <Reinhard> "If you're sure..."
[03:49] <Reinhard> "Well, I'm here anyway."
06[03:50] * Camellia straightens up and manages to pile the books into a neater, more stable stack. "I'm sure whatever you pick will be fine I mean I just go to the same cafe all the time anyway and it'd be nice to try someplace new or yeah."
06[03:51] * Reinhard nods slowly and stops himself from laughing a bit. "Don't worry so much, I'm a fun person."
06[03:52] * Camellia just nods in response, realizing it's probably best for her to keep her mouth firmly shut until she composes herself again.
[03:58] <Camellia> "So..." Camellia takes a deep breath. "I suppose I'll get started with some reading here, and you can give me a call or come find me once you've figured out dinner?"
[03:58] <Reinhard> "Sure thing!"
06[04:03] * Camellia flashes one last smile and takes a small bow before stumbling off to the nearest desk to commence reading.
06[04:03] * Reinhard goes ahead and takes all his stuff back to where he can get to it later.
[04:03] <Reinhard> and /mini?