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Count Kord     The Dark Forests - Between Dragoni and Archengart

    Kord is hosting a hunting expedition. Not for game, but to track down the unnatural Hollowed beings and purge them from his lands. Since this is something he does fairly regularly, he has organized this not because he needs any sort of help but because he wants to introduce foreigners to his world. This means he's drawn in as many Elites that he could snag, some paid in gold and some paid in the experience and maybe whatever they could get for their own collections. He supplied each of them with transportation should they need it, in the form of trained Ponyta. Don't worry, even the smallest Ponyta can carry grown men. Kord himself is on a Rapidash with some black and red regalia on it.

    The path they travel is difficult. The Dark Forest is better called a jungle because of how thick it seems to be, and they travel winding hills and pathways, cross between ancient trees and under enormous canopies on their way through. Kord has a set path for them, because his aerial scouting found an oddity hidden among the forests. He takes it slow so everyone can get used to riding their fiery horse-like Pokemon and so they don't draw too much attention. Notably, wild pokemon seem to flee at the sight of the Yveltal-themed man.

    They stop before wooden walls thrown together in a ramshackle way, but sturdy enough to have been built almost twenty feet high. Smoke billows up from the center. It looks like a settlement. Didn't they come here looking for 'abominations'?

    "Open your gates." Kord commands the people in the settlement. A single figure with a mask with four eye holes and no other features peeks over the side for a second, scans the group, and then ducks back down into cover.

    Silence.

    Kord turns to look at the others, waiting to see what they do with this situation. "This is the place," he tells them. "I can smell it." He looks forward at the gate and then up at the edge of their wall, scanning for signs of activity, but it's still and eerie.

    So still that there is absolutely no sound within the walls.
Ira MacNally     Already Ira is enjoying this trip because she gets to ride a /flaming horse/. It really didn't take much to lure the redheaded teenager out on this expedition-just the promise of fighting 'things' is more than enough, though whatever reward could be offered to the self-styled mercenary would definitely be desired. Ira is not in the business to provide freebies, even if it's to allies.

    Not that she's an open ally today. If questioned, she easily claims the job as a Syndicate gig.

    It may be a little disconcerting to see the teenager unarmed though judging by her size it would be reasonable to assume that she was some kind of barehanded fighter. Her handling of the horse is clumsy, it quickly becoming clear that she's never ridden one before. But she manages through sheer force of will.

    "....sooooo I thought we were hunting stuff out in the wilds?" she's quick to speak up when they stop by a settlement. "Are you telling us they're inside that place?" she looks to the wooden walls and grins, "Need me to bust it open?"
Fuki     Fuki is following along but not in the manner normally expected of Fuki. Instead, she's taller than what she normally is and there's a single Pokeball on her obi that she wears. The Furisode Girl ( http://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/8/8d/XY_Furisode_Girl_3.png look) Fuki smiles. It's rare she gets to come out as a Pokemon Trainer, even if all she has is a single Dragon typed pokemon with her, currently held in that pokeball. The ponyta gets a soft brushing as well, she may have to get one herself if she could ever take up a lance in this body...

    In front of the settlement, however, she gives a curious look, "Mmm?" she questions, looking around some. Something didn't sit right here, wern't they supposed to hunt abominations or... When Ira speaks up, though, she turns to look at her. "That was my thought as well, however..." when he mentions that he can smell it, she looks back towards Count Kord.

    "You... can smell what we're hunting?"
Alexis     This was probably a stupid idea. But stupid risks had hardly been anything to stop Alexis before! (Probably shouldn't be -proud- of that but hey you take what you can get.) To be fair she really was curious about the state of affairs here, after the previous visit the Count had already paid her. So best investigate when she has the oppritunity, right? Of course.

    Not that she came ill prepared. A borrowing raid of the Union armory found her some more period suitable clothing, and a cloak with a hood she could pull up over her head to keep her pink hair hidden away in case that sort of thing would be unusual. It shadowed her face a bit too, though honestly she was more concerned with not sticking out painfully as an outsider than she was no one reconizing her. Beneath the cloak a rather large sword was sheated, as well as a smaller one and a shield that some would possibly reconize as an Aegislash.

    Riding a Ponyta? Hardly new. A little odd she couldn't strike up a conversation along the way, but she had expected that after Kord noted how pokemon of Bayern are more animalistic.

    "It's wood. We could probably just burn it down if need be."

    Already she's got the feeling this is not going to be what she expected, even knowing the... peculiar connections Kord has.
Steve     The Flat Earth being the mineral rich world that it is, Steve's interest wasn't in gold this evening. As he'd discussed prior, he was more interested in obtaining samples of these creatures that plagues these lands. If he can assist and develop a working relationship with a relative newcomer to the happy Confederate family, in the process, all the better. He's also no stranger to what the multiverse might consider unusual pack animals. Before the beard-stubbled miner, today opting for a bit of a throw back with his roughly-made and somewhat battered iron armor, climbed aboard one of the Ponytas, he takes a moment to scratch at his chin. "These ones don't talk, do they? I met a talking horse about this size, once. I've not made a habit of riding things I can discuss the finer points with."

    Any apprehension would soon fade, though, in favor of practicality. This is the way of the land, and he has no further misgivings about being that grown, armored man riding a Pokemon. He whistles appreciatively at some of the scenery. This dense foliage would be perfect for a wizard tower -- not that he's eyeing it up for settlement, just yet. To hear things over the radio, the wilds out here are super haunted, and he has enough of those troubles back home. Besides, it looks like there's at least a fortified camp of some sort out here, already. "Hmmm, not bad," he reasons. "Reminds me of the place we've put up while we excavate the Stronghold." There's something a bit off about the situation, though, that has others thinking of just busting right in.

    Steve, though, can appreciate the effort that somebody went through to create this spot. "I think I'll just climb up. I pack some ladders with me for just this kind of thing." With that, he dismounts, giving the Ponyta a pat on the mane for putting up with him, and places a hand to shade his eyes (regardless of actual light level) while he glances up at the stockades. "I guess you guys take the front door, and I'll see what's up there." And with no further hesitation, he moves up to the perimeter barrier, and begins placing what seems to be wooden ladders against its surface, climbing as he does so. Of course, he's not used to someone or something having access to the top side, or being able to drop or pour stuff on him. We'll see!
Count Kord     Kord measures their responses to this. He had expected the confusion, and he nods when they ask for confirmation that they were out hunting. "Yes," he replies, "What we track is not a simple beast or monster. What we track lives inside those walls, waiting for the chance to slip into the lives of my people and endanger them once more." He climbs off the Rapidash, and steps up to the wall. He looks over his shoulders at the others, the ones that haven't approached the structure yet, and tells them, "Go around. Enter from other angles, destroy the structure if need be. I will go in from the front."

    "You will understand what we face shortly."

    He reaches under his coat, and pulls out what looks like a folded staff. He unfolds it, and twists it to lock into place, and a black and red blade snaps out of it seemingly from nowhere, forming a scythe. Sparks of blue light shine down from the weapon. Then he gives a few rapid swings, and kicks the door, knocking the sticks and logs out and stepping within. He has to duck his head a bit when he does this.

    What Steve will discover shortly is, well. They don't appreciate intruders. A deathly silent person in plant fiber rags leaps over the edge of the wall and down at him during his climb, trying to tackle him on the way down, holding a sharpened wooden spear. There's not a single sound uttered from this figure that, at a glance, appears human. The mask has four holes in it, so this clearly is the one that spotted them before.

    And then a half dozen others leap over the wall in unison, holding stolen swords and shields, polearms, one has a flail, landing with unusual agility and charging the party, spooking all of the steeds severely and threatening to make them bolt. Several more appear, also acting in unison, aiming makeshift bows and arrows over the wall and firing them down at the party. They don't say a dang thing the whole time.

    As if that weren't distressing enough, a Venusaur soon bodyslams Kord out the hole he made in the door, throwing him past the Rapidash and sending him bouncing off a distant tree, throwing the doors open to reveal the shrine to Regirock in the center of the settlement, a statue in the middle of being built.

    The Venusaur sucks in a breath and ROOOOOOARS at the party. Its breath smells like... wet clay?
Alexis     Destroying the walls is okay? Well that makes this easy!

    Alexis takes a few paces around to a side when Kord says to spread out. Holds up her right arm at her side. "Front and center, Balisong, I might need you." The sword-shield combo drops off her back, but then grabs onto her arm with it's banners and reslings itself there, though she doesn't yet draw the sword from the shield-sheath yet. It's eye is clearly watching at the ready though as she raises it over her head as protection from the archers. That's going to be a pain in the ass as well.

    So instead, Alexis goes for a pokeball instead to release one of her other pokemon, and moments later another roar booms through the air.
    And then a section of the fort wall goes collapsing inwards as the metallic bulk of an Aggron slams through it, taking down a section of the archers crashing down with it. Two birds with one stone, as they say!

    Except there's even more of a weird cult inside. Some kind of shrine? "This is just getting stranger by the moment." Grindstone just lowers his horned head a bit and snorts, shaking some of the rubble from the wall off. It's very much a 'come get some!' posture, though he's playing along by not actually saying anything, just snorting and growling like the 'local' pokemon would.
Ira MacNally     "The hollow things, right?" The gears in Ira's head seem to be cranking with these new bits of information. It's quick to click, given the properties of the mirror forest, "So they look exactly like humans and slip in with regular society, then cause havoc, right?" She doesn't expect the question to be answered right away-maybe later as she takes the ponyta around the side of the structure for another spot to make an entrance from. She only gets to partially see the person leaping over the wall at Kord. Others follow and Ira has to leap from her mount to avoid being thrown off of the panicking creature.

    The redhead grabs something out of her pocket, looks at it briefly, then calls out, "Come! PERSONA!"

    Leaping over Ira is a massive, black-furred creature that looks like a cross between a warthog and a gorilla. Its back is hunched and its arms seem almost comically oversized. Contrasting strangely is the immaculate white suit that it wears, befitting of a prince, and pinned with a red rose corsage. The Beast immediately leaps to intercept one of the charging cultists, throwing it fair overhead, and once he lands, Ira's quick to swipe the attacker's sword and shield.

    All the while, arrows sink into Ira's back, though they don't seem to penetrate her skin as much as it would against a normal human. She ignores these wounds, wheeling around to draw up the shield.

    "Beast! Wall!!" she calls out, the massive persona turning and hurling itself at the twenty-foot wall with Primal Force.
Steve     "Well, I won't be that hasty," Steve responds to the call for destruction, if it comes to it, as he climbs another rung. "It's quite a nice little fort whoever has got here, it just needs a little fixing up." Of course, if it really is just too much trouble, he'll gladly join in razing it to the ground. He's still got his practical side. It seems the residents don't take too kindly to would-be remodelers, though, and like their jungle fortress just fine like it is. Considering, that is, the one that had spotted them earlier leaps down right at him. "...huh?" Well, that's a new one. Steve barely has the reaction time to snag the raggled fellow with one meaty arm on his way down. The iron armor, it seems, was a good idea, since while the spear impacted solidly, the crumpled metal kept it from sinking in too deeply. Just a little blood, that's all!

    It's a good thing that his ladders have a sort of 'stickiness' to walls; the common ladder used for scaling defensive walls would have likely headed over with the both of them. As it is, though, Steve releases his momentary grip, aiming to let his assailant fall the remainder of the way, well clear of his ladder. That's just in time to see what he presumes is a good portion of the rest of the occupants leap from the same wall, which has Steve hugging his body against the wall, several arrows sailing in near misses and glancing hits off that same battle-beaten armor plating. "They're definitely riled up now," he laughs, the kind of laugh that sounds like the notion excites him. He's suddenly placing more ladders while drawing his thaumium sword - a blade made of a curious, dull purple alloy, and faintly shimmering with its enchanted properties.

    Presuming he manages to make it to the top, he'll waste no time testing those properties on any of the archers that are within easy reach, making a short sprint before lunging. Thanks to Lezard's assistance, he was able to compound not only Sharpness, but Fire Aspect as well, onto his sword. Since at least some of these people seem to like wood and plant fiber so much, we'll see how they like that! "Weird, though. You people can't talk?" He also catches sight, out of the corner of his eye, of the Venusaur. While he's not familiar with any of the species names, he's been around the multiverse enough to know that it's one of those Pokemon. It doesn't look too pleased to have its (probable) home broken into.
Fuki     fuki gives a brief nod and dismounts from the Ponyta. This was something she was going to have to get later, that was a fun ride. Well, she'll have to talk to Lute about it, otherwise, she reaches for the red and white pokeball on the obi and presses the button. "Ria, is your time to shine!" and soon, the Dratini materializes around her arm, letting out its normal cry. <Hello, Fuki! Are we doing more training today?> it speaks, Fuki shakes her head a bit, "No, we're going to back up Count Kord here."

    She backs away a bit and the Dratini uncoils and drops to the ground readying herself. "Dragon Dance, Ria. Let's get you ready for what might happen." and soon enough, Ria's body glows just a bit as it wiggles some. "Alright." the request though to come at another angle and the permission to destroy a structure makes Fuki one happy Fake Human.

    Thank whatever out there that Fuki hasn't had any smell receptors made for her nose when that Venusaur comes bursting out of that hole and roaring. "Well, this... wasn't planned, was it?" she shakes her head and points, "Ria, iron tail! Smash through the remaining bit of that wall!" Though arrows fly towards her and smash right into her, wincing some. "Mmm, Let's get going!"

    Ria's tail starts to glow bright white before it smashes that wall, crumbling it and soon enough, Fuki and Ria are running inside, "Thunder Wave, start paralyzing them. Yes, the humans as well. Priority is to defend Count Kord." Ria gives another noise as sparks of lightning energy start to course off her body and zap at many of the others, mainly the archers! Fuki turns to see the Aggron ... o O (I'm going to have to get one of those....)
Count Kord     They are not very easy to hit. In fact, they fight coldly, moving only as much as they need to. But people quick enough and powerful enough soon find that they're getting purchase with their attacks.

    The wall segment crumbles beneath some of the archers! They are not prepared for this, and while some of them recover and make the landing by jumping off before it properly drops beneath them, a couple of them slam into the ground haphazardly and one of them hits a bunch of rocks with a strange ceramic-like CLUNK and just goes completely still, apparently seriously hurt or, well, dead. This ceramic sound is soon repeated when...

    Ira's Persona grabs one of them and throws him, which is much more violent than a plain drop. This creates a loud ceramic shattering noise, a bit like glass, and that one goes still as well.

    But it's Steve that first sees what they're really dealing with, when archers that try to make some distance from him get hit with that sword and just fall apart in two pieces. There's not a single drop of blood, and no gore to speak of, their insides apparently made of a facsimile of clay made to look like a living thing's innards. They do burn just fine, at any rate.

    Even though they're made of earth(?) they seem just plain vulnerable to Thunder Wave, many of the others getting impeded. The Venusaur gives absolutely no mind to the effect of paralysis, though, and seems to power through it to unleash a storm of razor sharp leaves in all directions, trying to strike the whole party. Kord, just recovering from the bodyslam, powers through it with a roar and slams the point of the scythe into its middle with a flash of red energy, which... doesn't get any blood, either, or even a moment of pause from the Venusaur... black energy slices into its side, and it retreats away, but staggers from the muscle tension Thunder Wave causes.

    These things are not living people and Pokemon. They /look/ like them, but it's clear they aren't, now. This is what the Hollowed are. Strange golem-like beings.
Alexis     Arrows and other attacks clatter against the Aggron's metallic hide, but the flurry of Razor Leaf projectiles manages to leave several nicks and cuts in the 'mon's armored form due to it also being a Rock type. That doesn't stop him from stepping in front of Alexis to shield her from the majority of the attack.

    With the moment of cover Alexis grabs the Aegislash by its hilt and draws the sword from behind the shield, the ghost weapon wrapping it's banners around her arm like those anti-disarm bindings you see in roleplay games, switching to it's Attack Stance as it's weilded. "Grindstone." Even with the pelting of projectiles he still turns to look at her. "Get their attention. Go piss them off. I think you know what to do." The Aggron looks back up, and a smirk can be seen briefly beneath the heavy line of his armored jaw.

    Heavy tail swings to settle his balance and he paws the ground with his back feet a few times much like a rhino would, then lowers his body down and charges into the fray. More importantly, he's charging straight for that statue or idol or whatever they were building in the center of the fort. They're not going to like that are they? Counting on it!

    Alexis meanwhile is using the Aegislash much like the weapon it resembles, swinging at whatever gets too close at her. They just break apart like dolls when hit? What -are- these things?
Fuki     Now, Fuki might be a beastmistress when it comes to say... larger things like a Coeurl or a Behemoth. Pokemon, on the other hand, is something she is still relatively inexperienced with. She reaches into her Pokedex and starts poking at it... "Okay, what can Ria use... what can Ria use..." she ponders, ducking arrow fire and trying to dodge through spears. "Okay, she knows... this... this..." she frowns, "Not much, I haven't been fully training her. Ugh, Lute's going to have my head."

    Ria, meanwhile moves to wrap around one of the spear wielders that are running towards Fuki, squeezing it tightly to keep it from getting to her. <Watch out!> it calls out, snapping Fuki out of the new trainer daze. "Ah! Iron Tail that thing, Ria! Clobber it!" while she looks towards Alexis, watching her command Pokemon like it was second nature. A bit of jealousy creeps across her face.

    Ria's tail glows once more and starts smashing at the person, trying to get it to stop moving, <Stop, stop, stop!> it shouts out, as Fuki starts to run towards it, the tip of the spear grazing the body, cutting right into the fancy kimono, while a fist runs right into the body!
Steve     There was no satisfying blood spray to be had here. Not that Steve is completely addicted to the sensation, what with most foes of his world not really having blood, but it's been a useful feedback for damage in the multiverse. There isn't much that gives him pause, either, though he does when he sees their true nature. Count Kord had prepared them for what these were, but seeing it himself was still pretty damn weird. "Hollowed...well, this world sure knows how to pick fitting names for things." At least, they do still burn, despite apparently being baked clay and ceramic. He actually takes a moment, ignoring the dangers around him, to withdraw a curious, golden ring-like device with a glass viewing window in the center, and trains it on one of the remaining Hollowed archers. Vacuous...similarly fitting.

    He's about to return to dealing with the archers, when the distraction finally catches up with him, in the form of razor-sharp leaves. The Venusaur might not be a properly living variety of Pokemon, but it seems it can still use the attacks just fine! Unlike the crude, wooden weapons the human-form Hollowed possess, these honed projectiles are able to slice more readily into his armor, easily carving through to lacerate both flesh and his styling cyan blue shirt. His pain finally convinces him to duck down under the rampart, himself, to weather the remainder of it in the relative safety. "Ow, damn thing," he mutters! "Who knew leaves could be that sharp?" That gives him another moment's pause, and after raising back up and advancing on another of the remaining archers, to buy both himself and his allies some space, he goes to study one of those razor leaves, that had embedded deeply in a plank of wood.

    Just in time for it to begin to return to the basic elemental forces it was originally conjured from, and then it's gone. He would have liked to have a sample of that -- just imagine if he could make a blade out of it. After a suffering sigh, the aching in his body from the deep cuts and the fact that he's in an active battlefield shatters his disappointment. He'll set to securing the wall as best he can, so that at least no more attacks are likely to be launched from above. It's also quite likely that he has a wooden arrow or two sticking out of him by this point, with all of his various distractions, but he's got too much adrenaline pumping through him to apparently notice or be slowed down that much. "You're just a bunch of clay jars! I've made better golems than you out of straw!" Yes, trash talk the things that apparently have no consciousness.
Ira MacNally     Ira finds herself picking up a weapon and shield from a pile of person that reminds her of a shattered flowerpot. This is weird, but she decides to shelf the reflection on the weirdness for later while she concentrates on not dying! "Huh! I guess that's what was meant-Beast! Smash them all! Smash them ALL!"

    Or 'smash the wall' because that is exactly what the big hairy persona does, slamming its massive fists against the settlement's wall until it is pulverized and the archers come tumbling down like a bunch of arrow-shooting Humpty Dumpties.

    On the ground, the wounded Ira focuses on the remaining hollows that are nearby, swinging her sword with enough force to possibly /break/ it against the clay dolls.

    Once the sword is rendered useless, she picks up the next one and uses that. Or the next javellin.
Count Kord     The statue is impacted by an Aggron. This results in it falling to pieces in an impressive spray of rock and mud, and then... None of the cultists really pay attention. They're too busy fighting, or they just don't care enough about the shrine to stop trying to kill the intruders. They don't even make pained noises when struck, which is especially strange.

    Fuki's Dratini uh... well, it smashes one of the Hollowed to bits with Iron Tail, and the fist does a fair bit of damage on top of that. Looks like she's doing alright! That one fell with little crumbly noise.

    The rest of the archers up there are easy to dispatch when faced with someone like Steve. They fall apart and eventually are defeated, which gives Steve some time to notice...

    The walls falling the hell down! Ira's Persona knocks more of the wooden structure over, destroying some valuable flooring a small distance from Steve and creating a bit of a chain reaction as the falling bits tug some more of the wall down with the fiber ropes holding some of it together. Ira herself works alongside Alexis to clean up the rest of the humanoid cultists, slicing and stabbing through them until there's not a whole lot left to deal with. The only one left is...

    The Venusaur. Kord narrowly avoids lashing vines and swings the scythe down again with a flash of red energy, and the Venusaur actually makes a wheeze noise when it gets hit, and instead of just falling apart like the others, the red light courses over its body and turns it into a dull grey statue of its own. It slowly begins to fall apart, but there's no blood to speak of, and the inside of the Venusaur is clearly not really what you'd expect of a living creature.

    The battlefield grows still again, after the rest of the structures crumble from the battle. Kord grunts and checks his wounds, propping himself a little bit with the scythe and giving away how hard that Venusaur had hit him. He doesn't have a lot to say when the battle draws to a close. He just mutters "Damnation" to himself and presses a sore spot with one of his hands.
Alexis     It didn't do anything to stop the fighting, but that doesn't stop Grindstone from living up to his name, stomping on the biggest remaining chunk of the idol and grinding it down to literal dust under his heel.

    "Huh." Is all Alexis really has time to say when smashing the idol doesn't stop the attackers. Or even get their notice. Just goes to show what might work in one world isn't garunteed to work in another. A little busy finishing off the rest of the Hollows to say more about it. The last one she wacks gets impaled nicely in the back when she throws the Aegislash at it and the ghost blade does it's own thing by literally disappearing until it hits with Shadow Sneak. A moment later when it grumbles to dust the ghost sword just blips right back into her hand like it never left. Got to love having a weapon with a mind of its own.

    "Well, that's pretty much something entirely new and terrifying as far as Pokemon go."
Steve     It was such a nice little fort they had, too. Steve finishes off the last of the archers, just in time to feel a slight shake of the floor planks beneath his feet. Once upon a time, such sensations would have been completely alien to him, given the strange physics of his world, but he's been around enough now to know: That's bad news. As the crudely fastened together logs and planks begin to give way around him, he quickly places his sword away to instead draw out -- a water bucket. Being Minecraft water, placing down the source of it, in theory, allows him to descend the height in relative safety, right before the rest of it collapses behind him. The pressure is still enough, though, to drive one of the latent arrows more deeply in, which causes him to visibly wince, now that the adrenaline is somewhat wearing off. "Augh!" That also freshly awakens all the stinging and burning over his body.

    At least it seems they're pretty much finished, having fallen into shards of what looks like pottery. Pushing the body aches out of his mind as he otherwise painfully wrenches some of the arrows stuck in his body free, he takes several deep breathes, to gather himself. "As bad as skeletons," he utters. "...but, this stuff looks inert enough to handle, now." He unevenly picks himself back up to his feet, and if left unchecked, begins to gather some of the more interesting Hollowed shards. "These things," he breathes, between pained grimaces, "They had an interesting, but perhaps unsurprising, mix of aspects. That attack the Pokemon-shaped one used also gave me some ideas..." He still finds enough satisfaction to grin to his fellow aching warrior in Count Kord, with that, "I'd say that should cover any debt on my part, imagined or otherwise."

    He also gives a glance to Alexis, Ira, and Fuki. He'd spoken with the latter, but had never met her in person. "The name's Steve, by the way. If you're ever in the Flat Earth neck of the woods, feel free to stop by for some food and laughs." He draws out a personal communicator, at this point, while sifting through some rubble for more interesting tidbits. "Hey, Izumi! I think I'm done here for now. Have the spa ready, I'm going to need it, ha ha--" He winces again, as his laughter disturbs a still-fresh arrow wound, "Augh." Ahem, "So. Do you know how these things come to exist? Anyone ever seen a...Hollowization, or is that the 'noone that has lives to tell about it' kind of deal?"
Ira MacNally     "Woo!" Ira whoops with excitement as the walls start to tumble down thanks to their combined effort, sending more cultists crashing to the ground. Ira does make quick work of the rest with reckless abandon, apparently taking in quite a bit of /glee/ through the act. A worrisome amount, actually. She really enjoys her violence.

    In fact, she seems disappointed when there are no more left.

    "Hi Steve." she greets, the Beast fading even as she speaks, becoming transparent and then disappearing entirely. "The name's Ira. Ira MacNally. I'm from one of the earths." She then pushes past everyone and heads for the ruined settlement, eager to get inside and give that Regirock Shrine a peek.
Fuki     For being a new trainer, she's at least a bit adept at handling her Dratini. Blame Lute. Though, when everything seems to settle down, Fuki gives a brief smile and holds out her arm to which the Dratini coils up around happily, nuzzling into Fuki's cheek. "Good job, perhaps I should find a way to give you new moves." and with a ruffle, she gives a light sigh, turning around to look at everyone, in particular to Count Kord. "So. I should feel the need to ask..."

    A moment passes, "What the hell were those? I'm used to killing humans and such but ... what the hell were those?" a pause, she's being spoken to by Steve! "A...ah. I'm Fuki, this isn't my normal self though. A pleasure." a brief smile then she turns back to Kord...

    "What Steve asked..."
Count Kord     Kord looked up from himself, and let out a sigh as some of them started asking for a proper explanation. He held out a hand, urging them to wait for a moment while he got his wits back. He folds the scythe back up and places it in a holster behind his back, then stands up straight. He speaks clearly, though the pain sneaks into his voice every moment or three.

    "The Hollowed were once humans and Pokemon themselves." He steps over to one of the more intact examples, and crouches to remove the mask from it. The dead Hollowed has a human face, covered in grime with ratty hair. He drops the mask to the side and grunts while he stands. "They are formed when one of the three golem Pokemon, created by Regigigas, finds a nexus of power and spread the curse over an area. This turns anyone not strong enough to resist it into a Hollowed being. Thankfully, this is rare enough of a disaster that I have never seen it in my life, and I am over fifty years old."

    He turns to look for how many of the Ponyta stuck around, his Rapidash just sort of standing there, munching on a vine it discovered. It really does not give a damn about the fight.

    "They keep all of their memories, and their ability to think, but they lose their soul. They become this: Husks, things that only look alive. And they use their old memories to slip into society as if nothing had happened, and manipulate the world from the shadows so that they can release Regigigas from its prison and destroy the life that covers this world they covet so much."

    "So... this is what I deal with weekly," he tells them, his more dire tone deflating because he's in too much pain to seem regal and tough. He finds a place to sit down and lets out a groan of complaint.

    The Regirock shrine is crumbled. Really, all it seems to be is rock thrown together with mud to make a decorative shrine. There's little gemstones here and there, left in earthware bowls, but it's arranged in a strange geometric way, as if they were making a ritual or left by cult robots. Some of the gemstones are things like Fire Stones and Thunder Stones, while others are just emeralds or rubies. It's all pretty valuable. Ripe for looting.
Alexis     Alexis turns a bit to look down at the crumbling remains of dust from the recently demolished enemies. "... So they were pretty much dead already." Or undead. However you want to look at it. She sheaves the sword half of Aegislash behind the shield half again. "Welp, out of their misery now." She rationalized that quickly enough.

    The gemstones catch her eyes though and she kneels down to grab a couple. Mostly to do so before he Aggron notices and tries to eat them. "Huh. Some of these are Elemental Stones." Kord said he didn't actually train pokemon, so she looks to Fuki-Fake-Human instead. "You got use for any of these? Certain pokemon can use them to evolve, y'know."
Fuki     Fuki blinks, tilting her head slightly when Kord makes his explination of the Hollowed people. "So, a pokemon god wreaks havoc, turns people into soulless husks and goes around terrorizing things." Fuki taps her foot, shaking her head, "I think we may have to involve Lute in further outings, I know he's really into this so he might be able to find a solution for your god-turn-people-into-soulless-husks problem." a pause, "It's not much fun killing people when you can't hear them scream."

    Inside her head, a certain little music file plays... a scream of a fellow confederate. Fuki grins a bit and turns towards Alexis, tiltig her head at the offer. "Eh?" she looks towards Ria, "I think I can use them, I'll have to see if Ria can use them." she nods, moving over to take one of each of the Elemental Stones, tucking them into her obi. "Ria's the only one I have so far... been meaning to find a way to go out and get a few more Pokeballs."

    She turns to look at Ira, "That thing was impressive, by the by, smashes things really good."
Steve     Gems, huh. While, in his combing through the rubble, a few varieties he's unfamiliar with do happen to catch his eye, Steve leaves them be for the time being. He has enough diamonds and emeralds in his current stock. Sadly, now he'll never get to know what happens if you use an elemental evolution stone on a pig. What he does, do, though, is scan them with his thaumometer. One can never know too much about the worlds of the multiverse. "Hmmm." The mixture of aspects, while the ratios are slightly different, remind him of thaumic shards. Useful, but not so much that he'll be greedy...this time.

    Once his coming is finished, he gives an honest appraisal of the shrine they were building. Or at least, what's left of it. "Kinda homely, but I appreciate the potential. Reminds me of some of my very early works, before I really knew what I was doing." This coordinates well with Count Kord's explanations of the nature of these creatures. "My curious side is kind of interested in seeing it. But my practical side is saying 'hell no.' I'm not ending up as some mindless clay pot." Even if, as Kord suggested, it is quite possible he has the mental fortitude to resist it, it's also not the kind of gamble he's going to take. And this is a man that regularly shuffles around molten lava pools. "Lute...yeah," he gives a scratch of his beard stubble. "This kind of thing seems right up his alley, with those...'Unknown' he keeps around him?" He badly mangles the name, despite it sounding close enough.

    "Well then, since this is a somewhat regular event," he addresses Kord directly, the pain wearing dull quickly now that he's getting some information, "I'd like to make the best of it, and continue my research. Maybe get to see some more of your world while I'm at it. And, that invitation earlier goes for you, too, of course."
Ira MacNally     "They didn't seem that hard to deal with." Ira says as she pulls arrows out of her back. The wounds left behind seem to start shrinking once she has, the blood flow stopping and the skin sealing back up. Seems she did manage to retain a measure of that power. "Some good hits and a hollow husk will go down really fast, right? The bull in the china shop can take care of these things."

    After she tosses the last arrow aside, she takes a closer look at the shrine and the /literal gems/ left out as offerings. Ira promptly loots the hell out of those, though lingering on the elemental stones, which she doesn't recognize but obviously look very, very different from standard rubies and emeralds. She seems more interested in the gems she knows she can get money from. The explanation from Alexis on what they are only further serves to make Ira leave them alone. She has no use for pokemon evolution.

    She gets a really wide grin on her face when Fuki compliments her. "Why thank you. The Beast IS super awesome, isn't he/"
Alexis     Alexis shakes her head a bit as she passes several of the stones over. "Nah, Dratini just has a very long developement rate. Most Dragon types do. You've just got to be patient and raise her carefully." She makes a bit of a face at the mention of Lute, but really, he -is- the Confederate's primary source of Pokemon know-how. Can't really deny that. "But get yourself an Eevee or a Pikachu or such and some of those would work."

    She also takes one of the normal stones and tosses it to her Aggron to chomp down.