Ongoing Adventure by Post - Maxim

[nightblitz42]

Only Maxim and the active Judge should post in this thread.

Trainer: Maxim

Name: Maxim
Pronouns: He/Him
Description: An experienced trainer that has travelled across many regions. He has been a staple of the BBP League for quite some time, but despite his experience in Pokemon battling, his successes in competitive BBP have been relatively limited. This has frustrated him greatly, and he is currently taking a break from the circuit. Thus, he has gone on a journey to find a "spark" to reignite his skills in battling.

Desire (1 thing that motivates them above all else):

• A compassionate soul who chases the thrill of being the good guy and saving the day.

Expertise (2 things they are outstandingly good at):

• Navigator: Years of traveling has given Maxim a very good sense of direction.
• Pokemon Expert: Knows a great deal about Pokemon behavior and habits.

Vices (2 somewhat-troublesome and selfish things that they can do to relieve Stress):

• Attention Deficit....Ooh Shiny!: Prone to focusing on something silly that caught his attention.
• Lazy: Prone to "delegating" tedious tasks to others.

Stress Events (2 sloppy, reckless, problematic, or emotionally-charged things they might do if they lose themselves from overwork):

• If you want something done right you have to do it yourself: Tends to think that if something is going wrong, they personally need to do something right now! This is usually an incorrect assumption.
• Oh no what are we gonna do?!: Prone to freezing up in indecision if things go sufficiently poorly.

Partner: Nora the Volcarona

Name: Nora
Pronouns: She/Her
Description: One of Maxim's most steadfast companions, Nora has decided to tag along with Maxim on his latest journey. Despite being one of Maxim's strongest companions, her experiences in BBP have been limited (some nonsense about "4x weak to rock=useless"). She seeks to use this adventure to prove her worth and convince him to let her participate in more BBP battles.

Connection (What makes their bond with their Trainer strong):

• Has been raised by Maxim since she was a newly-hatched Larvesta.

Expertise (2 things they are outstandingly good at):

• Persistent: Refuses to give up a fight. Opponents usually get a feeling that a Volcarona shouldn't be this tanky.
• Flame Manipulator: Skilled at manipulating pretty much anything fire related, from lighting a room to...well, lighting a room on fire.

Vices (2 somewhat-troublesome and selfish things that they can do to relieve Stress):

• Impatience: Prone to acting out if things are meandering
• Stubborn: Prone to staying with her chosen course of action, even when a different approach is needed.

Stress Events (2 sloppy, reckless, problematic, or emotionally-charged things they might do if they lose themselves from overwork):

• Burn it All!: Prone to setting the source of her stress on fire. Even if the object in question should decidedly not be set on fire.
• Ramming Speed!: As a Larvesta, Nora tended to find a lot of success headbutting her enemies. In a moment of panic, sometimes she reverts to this tendency. It's usually not very effective.

Keepsake: Hoenn Champion Medal

Class: Trophy
Description: A hollow crystal necklace filled with azure blue water. It is engraved with the somewhat faded words "Hoenn League Champion 2008". Despite looking very fragile, it is actually very sturdy.
History: A trophy won by Maxim upon defeating the Hoenn Pokemon League Champion, Steven Stone, several years ago. It is greatly cherished by Maxim, as it reminds him of his first journey, and hearkens back to a time when the world seemed simple and easy to understand.
Held By: Maxim

Session 1 Start

Today, your wanderings take you to Cragbellow Valley. This route is a bit longer than most: a day and a half's walk if you don't stop, or two full days' if you take your time sightseeing. And, what sights there are! Throughout the trail, towering, sun-stained cliffs impose themselves over you from both sides. Looking up at them feels awe-inspiring... humbling, even. You briefly imagine yourself as a teeny bug crawling between the seam in a picnic table.

Ah, but your fantasizing is quickly interrupted. Something lies in your path. It's small, covered in green foliage, and two small horns jut from its cute, doe-eyed face. It would be none other than a Skiddo. Too weak to get up out of your way, it looks at you and bleats softly.

You and Nora recognize that the wild Pokemon is severely hungry.

Now, as a Pokemon expert, you also recognize that a weakened Pokemon probably wouldn't be left unsupervised. You look around. Sure enough, a large-horned Gogoat (presumably its parent) hangs onto a cliff face about 20 meters above you. With the sun behind it, it makes quite a striking silhouette. The Gogoat remains perched, unmoving, waiting to see what you do.

You ponder your options. Continuing through the route would involve moving towards and past the Skiddo, which could trigger the parent's aggression. Perhaps using some of your supplies to feed the Skiddo would earn the parent's trust and passivity, but all the same it might provoke an aggressive response from the parent. And turning around... well, that could cost you at least a day in traveling time.

What to do...

Maxim your turn.

........ Maxim - Stress ▯▯▯▯ 0/4
... Nora - Stress ▯▯▯▯ 0/4
........ Inventory: Resources ▮▮▯▯▯ 2/5

 

[Maxim]

Maxim's travels across the Karca region had brought him to the Cragbellow Valley, a beautiful route cutting across a canyon of red and orange stone. He strolled down the route taking in the sights, much to the annoyance of his companion. Behind him was a large fiery moth, an companion of his from some of his earlier travels. Nora, as the moth was called, was much more interested in getting to their destination of the next town as quickly as possible. Sadly for her, Maxim insisted on taking things slow.

Now, Maxim's path crosses a famished Skiddo, and he immediately starts fishing in his bag for some food to give.

("How much food do we have in there? I don't think we've stopped at a shop for a while")

"Not to worry, I've got plenty in here, at least for a couple days. Pokemon pellets, beef jerkey, we're set. We can afford to help this poor deer out."

("Those are my Pokemon pellets you're about to give to him.")

"Well, if you're that worried about our supplies, you can go scavenge some berries."

("Very well, let out a scream if you get gored by the Gogoat!" ;) )

Maxim will carefully feed the Skiddo some Pokemon pellets from his bag. Nora will attempt to scavenge the area (away from the Gogoat) to replenish supplies.

 

[nightblitz42]

Nora departs to scavenge supplies. Seeing this, the wild parent Gogoat visibly relaxes. It seems that the Gogoat was mainly concerned by your Pokemon, and not you.

You crouch before the Skiddo and feed it some pellets from your bag.
-1 Resources.
The Skiddo gobbles up your food hungrily. Then, it lifts itself up off the dirt. Having regained its vitality, it trots away and out of sight, followed by its parent. Seeing them leave warms your heart...

---

Nora flies through the air in search of supplies. Unfortunately, there is nothing useful anywhere in sight. The vegetation here, sparse as it is, is completely devoid of any berries; and the dry, cracked earth holds not a drop of water to refill your canteens with. As Nora flies higher, she passes by a few more Gogoats climbing up the canyon walls. They scrape their tongues against the cliffs in an effort to scavenge trace amounts of salt out of the rock. Truly, a destitute life.

Oh, but what's this? At the very top of one of the cliffs, Nora sees a small building with a huge antenna sticking out the top of it. Nora, being a Pokemon, can't read any of the building's signage. But, peering through the squeaky-clean glass doors on the building's exterior brings to view a small office interior. Inside, a woman in a white coat types obsessively into a tablet. Nora can't quite make out anything beyond that.

---

Nora returns to you and reports her findings. You don't know what kind of building would be in the middle of such a desolate place, nor can you think of how a person might get up there. Still, as a traveler, you recognize that a visit to any potential rest stop with air-conditioning and amenities is at least worth consideration.

What will it be? Will you ignore the building and stick to the road? Or, will you try to find a way up the cliff? And if you choose the latter, how much effort would you willing to exert?

Maxim your turn.

........ Maxim - Stress ▯▯▯▯ 0/4
... Nora - Stress ▯▯▯▯ 0/4
........ Inventory: Resources ▮▯▯▯▯ 1/5

 

[Maxim]

“Hmm, that’s all you were able to find?”

(“Yeah, we are in a desert after all, it’s not that surprising.”)

“Well sure but…hmm.”

Something about this situation wasn’t feeling right to Maxim. The only other place he had personally seen Gogoat was in the lush fields of Kalos, so he wasn’t sure how the Gogoat lived here. Still, the fact that the youngling was starving was cause for concern. Then it hit him, Gogoat have access to Milk Drink. There’s no way a Skiddo should be starving like that, not with its parent so close. This wasn’t a one off event, this was a famine, a bad one. While possibly it was simply climate related, Maxim’s intuition told him perhaps not. A building with an antenna like that was probably either responsible, or would know what was. Then again, his intuition was not always correct.

Maxim is jolted from his thoughts by Nora speaking.

(“Well, we need to get going. We’ve got one day of supplies and one day of travel left.”)

“Hang on, I want to check out that building. Did you see a way to get there?”

(“Not really, that cliff looked pretty steep. Look I doubt there is anything of interest there.”)

“Well if there’s a person up there then there must be an access point somewhere. Let’s head over and start looking.”

(“I don’t know about this…”)

Maxim will use his navigation skills to find a way up to the building. Nora will use Tailwind to get Maxim to move…a little bit faster please so we don’t starve.

 

[nightblitz42]

As you speed through the route with a tailwind to your back, you keep close watch for any side-paths. It isn't long before you find one: a narrow, zigzagging slope that leads all the way to the top of the valley. If you weren't looking for it, you surely would have passed it right by.

Navigating the path is difficult for you (but not for Volcarona, who can fly). A few times you fear that you've lost track of the thin, twisting cliffside passage, but regardless you push through and find your way back onto the trail each time.
Maxim: +1 Stress (navigation expertise).

You arrive at the trail's peak. There is a small concrete building with a glistening plaque by its door. The plaque reads:

Cragbellow Meteorological, Environmental, Biological, & Animal Research Facility

Quite the mouthful.

Nothing to do but enter, you suppose. The automatic doors whisk open at your approach.

---

The building's interior is cramped and unadorned. Cardboard boxes full of scientific equipment are scattered on the tile floor. Furniture, there is none. Leaning on a wall, a woman in a white lab coat taps on a handheld tablet vigorously. She seems too absorbed in her work to notice you.

You try calling out to her.

> "H

Your breath is enough to startle her. With a high-pitched squeal, she drops her tablet. It clatters onto the floor. She apologizes to you as she goes to pick it up.

"Sorry, I didn't see you there! My name's Cara Li--"

As she walks toward you for a handshake, she trips over nothing and falls in front of Nora.

She gets to her knees and brushes herself off. "Oh, is that... a Volcarona?" Her eyes gleam with fascination. "I haven't seen one before. Could I, maybe, study it? Please? If not, that's no big deal. I've got other work I can do anyways."

> "I

She folds immediately. "Alright, alright! I lied! I have no other work to do! It's so boooring here!! I'll give you anything! I'll give you a tour of the facility! I'll... I'll pay you! I just need something to do science on! Please!"

You're not immediately sure what to make of the situation. Somehow, it seems you've ended up with a lot of leverage here, which you can make use of. At the same time, this place and this person both seem really sketch. What to do...

Maxim your turn.

........ Maxim - Stress ▮▯▯▯ 1/4
... Nora - Stress ▯▯▯▯ 0/4
........ Inventory: Resources ▮▯▯▯▯ 1/5

 

[Maxim]

Maxim, already winded from the climb up to this place, was taken aback by Cara’s exuberance.

“Ah…well…uh.”

An idea came to him. It made him a little bit nervous but, well, Cara didn’t seem that harmful.

“Well, I’ve had a hard climb up here, if you give me a thorough tour of the facility and answer some questions, you can study my Volcarona for a little bit.”

(“Huh?!”)

“Relax, all of the lab equipment is put away, how bad could these tests possibly be?”

During the tour (if accepted), Maxim will ask:
“So, what is the purpose of this place?”
“Have you noticed any anomalies in the area?”
“Who do you work for?”

Maxim will request a tour of the facility from Cara. Nora will be volun-told to be a lab guinea pig.

 

[nightblitz42]

"Ohh, thankyou thankyouthankyou SO~ Much!! for volunteering! Just fill out this consent form, this waiver of liability form, these forms disclosing any allergies you may have, and this form for if you die during my research! (Don't worry, that won't happen, it's just a procedural thing, hahaha~)"

Cara leads you through the facility, stopping every couple of steps to measure Nora's wingspan and thorax, and also to re-tie her own constantly slipping shoelaces.

> “So, what is the purpose of this place?”

Cara frowns. "What, did you not read the signage? It's a research facility, whose purpose is to study all types of natural science. As its only staffer, I record changes in the weather, the local flora and fauna, that sort of stuff. The antenna satellite system here automates most of that work, to be honest."

> “Have you noticed any anomalies in the area?”

"Anomlies? Well... You're the first! In all the time I've been here, nobody else has come to visit. That makes you... a statistical anomaly!" Cara claps her hands enthusiastically. "Also, did you know that your Volcarona's wings have a range of motion of +/- 80 degrees? That's quite impressive, as far as insects go." Cara pinches one of Nora's wings and wrenches it backwards. Ouch! Nora squeals and squirms with displeasure. Cara notices this and quickly lets go. "Ah, sorry. 79 degrees, it turns out. Hypothesis rejected!"
Nora: +1 Stress.

"Ehehe... Truth be told, mine's a boring job. The weather here never changes (it's always sunny), the plants are all the same (just corn and scrub grasses), and the Gogoats and Skiddo who live here... well, they don't even let me get close enough to study them. I've been having to look for other ways to keep myself busy..."

> “Who do you work for?"

"Ah, good question. My funding comes from the Galar National Science Foundation. Ah, wait just a moment..." Cara quickly flashes a bright flashlight in Nora's eyes. Nora squints with irritation. "...Eye dilation at 20%, reaction speed 0.1 seconds... I see, I see..." Cara scribbles some notes on a notepad.
Nora: +1 Stress.

"...Anyways! Back in the day, I got paid to revive ancient Pokemon from fossils. I was really good at it! Once I mastered the basics of Fossil restoration, I decided to start doing new science by inventing new fossils! My funders were really excited by that particular work, as was the ethics committee. So excited, in fact, that they paid me to stop working on fossils and relocated me to this lone research station in the middle of nowhere to do busywork! ...Hm, you know, the way they explained it sounded better."

Cara stops walking and turns around on her heels. "Anyways, that concludes our tour! All the stuff past this door (she gestures towards a sealed metal door) is top secret. Wish I could show you, but I just can't~ Not until it's finished, at least."

Cara smiles and hands Nora a lollipop.
+1 Resources.

"So, with that done, if you don't mind my asking... What do you have planned next? If nothing else, I'd love to have you on staff for some temp work. As I mentioned earlier, I haven't been able to get close to any of the wildlife to study them. You're a Pokemon Trainer, though, so they might trust you more. If you would bring me a Skiddo or a Gogoat for my research, then I could register you as an employee, which means you'd be entitled to a room here and a cut of some of my Science Foundation funding. Otherwise, I suppose, I wish you a good trip?"

Maxim your turn. What will you do? Help with her research, say goodbye, ask more questions... or perhaps something else?

........ Maxim - Stress ▮▯▯▯ 1/4
... Nora - Stress ▮▮▯▯ 2/4
........ Inventory: Resources ▮▮▯▯▯ 2/5

 

[Maxim]

Maxim looks longingly at the top secret metal door. His insatiable curiosity wanted to know what was there, perhaps controls for the antenna? Sadly his attempts to determine whether this facility was legitimate were rather…inconclusive. This could be a normal if undermanned research outpost, as the Galar National Science Foundation…sounded legit. Or it could be the controls to some kind of weather control machine. Was this even a reasonable question, or had his adventurous youth years colored his perception of reality?

Maxim realized that nothing had been said for a minute or two, and the silence was starting to become a little awkward. Thus, he decided to break the silence with conversation. It would buy him time to think of a plan.

“Well, I am interested in your research about fossils. And what is it that you do here on the side?”

Maxim was actually having a blast. Exploring new places, talking to interesting people, this was what it meant to be on an adventure!

Someone who was decidedly not in an adventurous mood was Nora. Maxim had decided to take a very scenic pace through the mountains, then he decided to give away her lunch because clearly some random Skiddo deserved it apparently. Now they were on a detour that Maxim showed no sign of hurrying on from, and all she had was this stupid lollipop. She was seething from all the delays, but Maxim was oblivious, engrossed as he was in the game of “is this an evil hideout?”.

Nora couldn’t take it anymore.

Maxim will ask questions of Cara. Once he has finished his round of conversation, Nora will finally lose patience and Fire Blast the top secret metal door.

(“There, that’s better. Now we can see the real guts of this place and move on.”)

“N-Nora!? Are you nuts?!”

 

[nightblitz42]

> “Well, I am interested in your research about fossils. And what is it that you do here on the side?”

Cara's face lights up like a Xurkitree's. "Oh, another fossil enthusiast! Wonderful! As for what I'm doing on the side, it's just a bit of... independent research, you could say. I'm still hoping to get back into my real passion of Fossil restoration eventually. You know, the field is surprisingly underdeveloped! The process of reviving an ancient Pokemon is only 3 steps: studying the fossil record, creating a synthetic body that we believe best resembles the original Pokemon, and then injecting the body with Life Energy. But as for what the exact criteria of a viable synthetic body are, we're still largely in the dark. Anyways, to circle back to my job offer--"

You notice that Cara deflected your question. Nonetheless, you continue your line of questioning; starting with the topic that sounds the most evil-hideout-y.

> “'Life Energy?' What's that?”

"Ah, Life Energy?" Cara delivers a rehearsed speech. "Life Energy is a quality that all living organisms possess. Often manifesting in visible forms as an 'aura' or 'glow,' Life Energy is a necessity for any being's continued persistence. Most Pokemon have moves that weaponize Life Energy (for example, Hyper Beam and Energy Ball), and additionally some Pokemon species such as Lucario have sensory organs that can perceive it.

"Our capacity to capture and harness Life Energy is the foundational basis for modern Fossil Restoration." Cara smiles proudly.

Nora, of course, has been clocked out ever since "independent research." Cara notices this. "Oh! Sorry for boring you," she says. "Would you like another lollipop?"

Instead of accepting the treat, Nora Fire Blasts the metal door. The door reduces to a puddle in seconds.
Expertise: +1 Stress. (3-Stress: no)
Vice: -1 Stress.

The suddenness of Nora's outburst causes Cara to jump backwards. Her shoe snags on the corner of a table. Oh no, she looks to be about to fall! Her arms swivel in windmill-circles, and her feet step backwards once, twice, thrice, scrambling to catch her weight, and then... she stops. "Whew! Caught myself. Just a bit... shook, is all......" With that, Cara faints standing.

You wave a hand in front of Cara's face. No response. Guess the action was too much for a shut-in like her to handle.

You peer through the doorway into the secret room. You see a small chamber, about 3 meters on each side. Embedded in one of the walls is a control panel with a bunch of high-tech buttons and dials on it. Along the opposite wall, a small bookshelf holds a collection of notebooks and binders. And in the back of the room, most strangely, is a giant effigy made of bundled-together cornstalks.

How much time you have to explore until Cara wakes up, there's no guessing. What's your next move?

Maxim your turn.

........ Maxim - Stress ▮▯▯▯ 1/4
... Nora - Stress ▮▮▯▯ 2/4
........ Inventory: Resources ▮▮▯▯▯ 2/5

 

[Maxim]

Maxim's initial reaction to Nora's outburst is one of shock and horror. At this point he was clearly harassing the poor girl. Maxim starts to worry about Cara's well being, but just before he goes to her, he gets distracted by glimpsing a cornstalk effigy out of the corner of his eye.

"Who the heck puts a big cornstalk in the middle of a top secret storage room? That's weird...a synthetic body for one of her experiments with life energy...? Nah, I've been reading too many sci-fi novels."

Still, he couldn't help but be...just a little curious. Maxim checks Cara visually, confirming that she hasn't sustained any physical harm. After affirming that, he heads inside the top secret room and starts rifling through some of the notebooks.

("Huh, that wasn't as stress relieving as I hoped. Maybe if I burned down this stupid statue.")

"Hold it for now." Maxim says in a slightly harsher tone than he wanted. Taking a deep breath to calm down, he says "Can you inspect it and see if anything is up with it? We're going to have a talk later about using moves without orders..."

Nora sighs, but decides to check out the statue.

Maxim checks through some of the notebooks, trying to go through them fast before Cara wakes up. Nora examines the effigy.

 

[nightblitz42]

You hurriedly flip through Cara's notebooks. Since you're in a bit of a rush, you set aside the books with boring-looking titles. Out of everything here, four documents catch your attention. [There's a lot to read, but none of it is required. Read as much, and as far, as you'd feel good about.]

While you stick your nose in some books, Nora inspects the effigy. It seems to be a crude approximation of a goat or deer, made out of cornstalks bundled together with string. The cornstalks are vibrantly healthy, as if they were freshly plucked -- although, where they would have come from in this barren desert clifftop, Nora has no clue.

The effigy's craftsmanship is sloppy. One might assume it's supposed to look like a Skiddo or Gogoat, but the proportions are all distorted and the horns end in a cluster of tangled-up spokes. Honestly, it's a little bit grotesque to look at.

As Nora eventually bores of it and looks away, in the corner of her eye she could swear she saw it move.
+1 Stress. (3-stress penalty? no)
It was probably the wind.
-1 Stress.

Nature-Surveillance Antenna Operation Manual

A small, yellow-stained paperback. Contains instructions for operating the large antenna on top of the building.

> You read the notebook.

It seems surprisingly simple; all the operator needs to do is flip a switch, and then the antenna instantly compiles detailed information on every plant or animal in a 10-mile radius. You don't see any explanation in the notebook for how this is accomplished.

Cara must have been just as puzzled by this as you are. The margins of the notebook are filled with frantic scribbles. [...Expand the menu to see a list of individual Pokemon. Right click on any one to display their age, blood type, genome sequence, preference in potential mates, and favorite color.] "WHATT??? HUH??" "Follow-up: It works. I don't. I don't even." [Emotional condition is indicated by an icon to the right of the toolbar. To the left of that is physical condition, and above that is the being's current luck, karma, and spiritual power.] "If I wasn't already crazy, I'm definitely going crazy by reading this. What kind of quack science is happening here?"

Pencil-Drawn Schematics

Crude pencil drawings of incomprehensibly complicated machine wiring. Below it, an annotation:

"I disassembled the antenna's circuitry a bit (even though I really shouldn't. Imagine the expense if I broke it!). Turns out this whole station is a Life Energy Extractor on a scale I've never seen before! The antenna collects a negligible amount of Life Energy from nearby organisms, and then analyzes it to turn into output data. In theory, overclocking the machine would increase the amount of Life Energy extracted, which I could apply in all sorts of scientific processes. The ideas for projects keep coming... I must be abstemious, though, else I'll rather quickly drain this entire grassland into a barren desert.

Vessel Design Logs

Vessel Shape	Material	Input	Result
Geodude-like	Rocks	10KXz of Life Energy	Attempt to animate resulted in failure.
Geodude-like	Rocks	1,000KXz of Life Energy	Attempt to animate resulted in failure.
Geodude-like	Rocks	10,000KXz of Life Energy	Attempt to animate resulted in failure. Note: I'll need to dial back Energy absorption in the future, in order to prevent damage to the ecosystem.
Skiddo-like	Rocks	10KXz of Life Energy	Failure.
Gogoat-like	Cornstalks	100KXz of Life Energy	Vessel absorbed the Life Energy, but no response.
Gogoat-Like Shape, modified to have an elongated neck	Cornstalks	1,000KXz of Life Energy	Vessel absorbed the Life Energy slightly more efficiently, still no response. Perhaps more adjustments need to be made?

You flip through dozens more pages of this. The final entry has a note:
"None of my attempts thus far have outperformed the Gogoat-Like Shape modified to have 8 horns. What makes this vessel-shape more conductive to receiving and storing Life Energy than others is currently unknown. Regardless, the surrounding natural environment no longer contains enough Life Energy to fuel more tests. The plants are all but gone, and the remaining fauna have retreated into an adjoining valley where the antenna's signal cannot reach. I will need to find another way to obtain Life Energy for my project."

Nature Interaction Logs

X/X/20XX.
Method: Tried to bait a Skiddo into a cage by offering it food pellets.
Result: Specimen fled. Attempt ended in failure.

X/X/20XX.
Method: Left food pellets outside unattended daily for a week. On the 8th day, attempted to bait a Skiddo into a cage by offering it food pellets.
Result: Specimen ate the unattended pellets for the first 7 days, then fled on the 8th. No longer comes to feed on unattended pellets. Concluding this attempt as a failure.

X/X/20XX.
Method: Left a large pile of food pellets inside an unattended cage overnight.
Result: A Skiddo fell asleep inside the cage. I locked the cage and carried it away effortlessly. Success.

[No entries for the following 3 weeks.]

X/X/20XX.
Method: Left a large pile of food pellets inside an unattended cage overnight.
Result: Food was left untouched. Failure.

X/X/20XX.
Method: Left a large pile of food pellets inside an unattended cage for a week.
Result: Food was left untouched. Failure.

X/X/20XX.
Method: Left a large pile of food pellets inside an unattended cage for a month.
Result: Failure.

X/X/20XX.
Method: Chased a Skiddo with a net.
Result: Failure.

X/X/20XX.
Method: Threw food pellets at a Skiddo.
Result: Failure.

X/X/20XX.
Method: Does it even matter?
Result: Failure.

X/X/20XX.
Failure.

X/X/20XX.
Failure.

Failure.

Failure.

Failure.

Failure.

I suppose I could always use myself.

Failure.

Failure.

Failure.

Failure.

Failure.

Failure.








9/5/2025.
Method: The trail cams picked up somebody heading towards the facility. What do people like? Dry food pellets? No, I think it was jobs and money. Let's offer them some of that.
Result:

Immediately after you put down the papers, you hear Cara groaning in the next room over. "Ugh, what happened?" She props herself up weakly by the doorway and rubs the grogginess out of her eyes. "You rascals, you know you shouldn't be in here. ...You didn't... touch anything, did you? I had this room locked away because there are things in here that could be dangerous. (Although, I guess Nora did sign a waiver...)"

Options:

1. Assist Cara with obtaining a Skiddo.
2. Ask Cara if something's wrong with her.
3. Rest at the Facility.
4. Improve the effigy.
5. Attend to Cara (post fainting-episode).
6. "Dangerous?" (What here is 'dangerous?')
7. Lie.
8. Console.
9. Attack.
10. Extort.
11. Destroy.
12. Flee.
13. Something else? (Your idea).

Maxim what will you do?

........ Maxim - Stress ▮▯▯▯ 1/4
... Nora - Stress ▮▮▯▯ 2/4
........ Inventory: Resources ▮▮▯▯▯ 2/5

 

[Maxim]

Maxim rifled through the notes, getting a good look at the antenna operation manual and schematics.

"I don't like this Nora, looks like this is some kinda giant energy extraction device. One that seems to have been draining the area of Life Energy. That might explain the unusual famine. Doesn't explain the weird statue though."

("Well, let's blow it up then!")

"Not quite yet, I'd like to see if I can sabotage it quietly or something. I don't know yet."

Maxim started reading through the vessel design logs, but was only able to note something about Geodude and rocks before he was interrupted by Cara's stammering.

"Dangerous? What's so dangerous here? Other than your weird obsession with making cornstalk statues."

Maxim inquisitively asks Cara about what in the room could possibly be dangerous. Nora gets sidelined again becomes paranoid and starts checking the statue more.

 

[nightblitz42]

"Dangerous? Well, for starters, there's zero ventilation in this room. Whole thing's a fire hazard waiting to happen. On top of that, considering all the modifications I've made to this control panel, one spark in the wrong place, and... whoosh!!" Cara makes wild exploding gestures with her arms. "Everything in here, right up in flames! Exciting, isn't it? As a knowledge-seeking species, we're constantly teetering on the brink between breakthrough and catastrophe in many, many ways!

"But, it's worth it. The potential to create completely novel synthetic life has applications in medicine, biology, genetics, psychology, and agriculture which stand to benefit all of humanity... why, it might even revolutionize ethics -- no, religion, even!" Cara notices Nora inspecting the statue. Full of energy, Cara leaps in front of Nora. "Ah, curious about that? Good, good! So am I. In fact, I'm in the middle of an experiment to see what happens if I supply this effigy with a large amount of Life Energy. I might hazard a few guesses -- but, it would be unprofessional of me to share such hypotheses without proof to back them up. If there's anything more you want to learn about this thing, we'll both have to find it out together; as scientists!!

"And, believe it or not, I have exactly the way to do that!" Cara reaches inside the wall's control panel and yanks out a cluster of 4 exposed wires. "We simply have to attach these two blue wires to the effigy, and these two red wires to Volcarona, and then flip the large switch on the control panel, and then... we'll make history."

Maxim, Cara offers the wires to you expectantly. "Well? You've poked your nose this far. Don't you want to see where it all leads? ...Hm? What will happen to the Volcarona? Who knows. But, I'm sure it'll be worth it! Can't make an omelette without cracking a few Exeggcute, am I right?"

You try to ask for details, but Cara is shaking like a caffeinated child, and in her excitement doesn't seem to acknowledge any further questions.

Maxim what will you do?

........ Maxim - Stress ▮▯▯▯ 1/4
... Nora - Stress ▮▮▯▯ 2/4
........ Inventory: Resources ▮▮▯▯▯ 2/5

 

[Maxim]

Maxim’s eyes grow wide as Cara tells him the true purpose of her experiments, and the reality of what this place is truly sets in. He tosses the wires to the ground.

Maxim: “Nora, torch the place and run!”

Nora: (“Thought you’d never ask!”)

Maxim attempts to run and drag Cara out of the facility. Nora attempts to launch a Heat Wave at the effigy and the control panel to trigger an explosion, then will also attempt to escape.

 

[nightblitz42]

As you take the wires, your hands brush against hers. You feel her trembling with excitement. And yet, you know what you must do -- On the spur of the moment, you drop the wires, take both of Cara's hands in yours, and run out of the room together with her.

Cara blushes. "H-hey! Where are you taking me, all of a sudden? Don't tell me, you're... we're...?!" (I've misread him. I thought he was a fellow science enthusiast. But from the start, he only had eyes for... me? Oh my~) >///<

And then you tell Nora to torch the effigy.
Nora: +1 Stress (3-stress event: no)
The effigy goes up in flames! Its encompassing fire billows up towards the ceiling and spreads out rapidly from there.
........ Effigy - Damage Clock ◑ 2/4 (If it reaches 4 damage, the effigy is destroyed.)
........ CMEBARF Building - Damage Clock ◔ 1/4 (If it reaches 4 damage, the building collapses.)

Cara: "Hold on, this part doesn't happen in any of my Visual Novels..." She notices your dumbstruck reaction to that statement. "Ah! Hold up, you're not trying to seduce me! You're trying to sabotage my project!! How dare you!"

Cara tries to escape your grip. In the bustle, her flailing causes the back of her head to smack against your nose. You wince and hold your nose in pain while she crawls away on hands and knees towards the control panel.
Maxim: +1 Stress.

Cara sticks the two blue wires into the burning effigy, and then clenches the two red wires in her teeth. "I heard it bleat once," she grumbles. "The effigy, after I put a Skiddo's Life Energy in it. That's how I know that whatever I stick in there persists. If I do this I won't die. I'll just be in there. I won't die. I'll be alive."

You realize she's not talking to you. She's hyping herself up to pull the switch on the control panel.
........ Cara - Stress ▯ 0/1 (If she reaches 1 Stress, she'll be overcome.)

Maxim what will you do? Escape the burning Facility as fast as you can? Try to stop Cara? Or perhaps something else entirely?

........ Effigy - Damage Clock ◑ 2/4 (If it reaches 4 damage, the effigy is destroyed.)
........ CMEBARF Building - Damage Clock ◔ 1/4 (If it reaches 4 damage, the building collapses.)
........ Cara - Stress ▯ 0/1 (If she reaches 1 Stress, she'll be overcome.)

........ Maxim - Stress ▮▮▯▯ 2/4
... Nora - Stress ▮▮▮▯ 3/4
........ Inventory: Resources ▮▮▯▯▯ 2/5

 

[Maxim]

Maxim winces in pain from the nose injury, and notices that Cara is attempting to conduct the experiment on herself.

“No, wait you fool! You’re going to drain yourself your life energy! Even if you are successful, you’re going to be in an effigy that is on fire! Don’t do this!”

Maxim attempts to convince Cara not to throw her life away on the experiment

---

If successful:

“Okay, let’s get out of here then!”

Maxim and Nora attempt to evacuate the building

---

If unsuccessful:

“Blast it all! Nora, stop her in her tracks with a String Shot!”

Nora dutifully complies, and fires a sticky string to bind Cara.

Nora attempts to stop Cara with a String Shot. If this is successful, then Maxim attempts to drag her out of the building, otherwise, Maxim watches in horror as Cara completes the circuit.

 

[nightblitz42]

Cara looks at you. And back to the lever. And back to you. "Well," she sighs, "I won't say that you're wrong. But, after all I've done, if I weren't willing to put up my own Life Energy when it mattered most then I'd be quite the hypocrite, no?"

Alright, reason's failed; time for Plan B. Nora shoots a line of sticky webbing through the smoke. A satisfying "fwwwtp" can be heard as it latches onto something. She retracts the string. Out from the smoke she drags along Cara, whose entire body (save for her head) is wrapped up in a silk cocoon.

"Don't expect any thanks for 'saving' me, you brute," Cara says to you. "You've set scientific progress back by decades. That's worth more than the value of one person's life."

You watch as the entire secret-area (with the effigy and the control panel) is consumed by fire.
Effigy: +1 Damage (2->3)
CMEBARF Building: +1 Damage (1->2)

The room you're in is filled with computer equipment and stacks of hard drives. Seeing you run past it without bothering to save anything, Cara groans from dissatisfaction.

You try to exit the room through the room's only door, but the doorknob doesn't budge. It's at this point that you begin to hear a hissing sound: gas moving through a funnel in the ceiling.

"Oh, great," says Cara. "That must be the clean agent fire suppression system."

> The what?

"The... oh gosh, how do I always wind up having to explain fire-related stuff? There's a system of pipes in the ceiling that, if they detect the presence of fire, will emit Carbon Dioxide. Once there's enough CO2 in the air to displace all the oxygen, the fire will be unable to continue burning. Normally, fire suppression systems use water or foam, but that would damage the computer equipment in here.

"The same mechanism that causes the clean agent fire suppression system to activate, also locks the door to this room to prevent entry. Reason being, too much Carbon Dioxide in the air is toxic to breathe."

> So, what about us?

"Yeah. About that. There's a button we can press to unlock the door in case someone's trapped inside. Guess where that button is?"

Cara tilts her head in the direction of the forbidden-area.

"You know, you could've run away and let me give my life for science. Now, we're all gonna lose our lives for nothing. I'd clap sarcastically, but I'm currently tied up. Just imagine the sound of it for me, would you?"

Maxim what will you do?

........ Effigy - Damage Clock ◕ 3/4
........ CMEBARF Building - Damage Clock ◑ 2/4
........ Cara - (webbed up) Stress ▯ 0/1

........ Maxim - Stress ▮▮▯▯ 2/4
... Nora - Stress ▮▮▮▯ 3/4
........ Inventory: Resources ▮▮▯▯▯ 2/5

 

[Maxim]

"W-What?! Who the heck designs a fire suppression system that traps people inside?!"

Maxim starts to panic inwardly. This is a concrete building, so what few windows exist are not big enough for the party to get through. He had only brought Nora with him, as much as he'd love Bruce the Machamp's strength or Fabio the Dugtrio's Dig right about now. No he needed to find a way through either the wall or the door, both of which weren't appealing options. While he could try to command Nora to blast down the door, given this was a fire suppression door, it probably wasn't going to give way just for that. What could he do to get enough force to get through?

Force?

Maxim looked around the laboratory, and an idea launched into his head. Suddenly, he grabbed a push cart, and started loading it with as many boxes of equipment he could get a hold of.

("Maxim what are you doing?! This is not a time for arts and crafts!")

"No no I have an idea. Force is equal to mass times acceleration, and we're gonna need a lot of force to get through this door...or maybe the wall? Regardless, I have here a very very heavy cart, and you can provide the acceleration we need to ram our way through!"

("I'll...pretend I understood that. I hope you know what you're doing...")

"So do I, let's roll!"

Maxim takes a look at the walls and the door to see which one looks easier to muscle through and/or which will get the team out of the facility faster when pushed through. Then Maxim loads a cart full of unused scientific equipment, gets everyone behind it, and starts pushing. To give the necessary speed, Volcarona will use Flame Charge to rocket the party into the door/wall, hopefully breaking it down and getting everyone out of the facility.

 

[nightblitz42]

You grab any equipment can find that has mass. This being a computer room, most of what you find is desktop PCs, CRT monitors, portable printers, and bundles of backup tape. As quickly as you can, you heave equipment onto a cart.

Out of concern that Cara might try to act up again or get in your way, you elect to keep her tied up.

> "Force is equal to mass times acceleration, and we're gonna need a lot of force to get through this door...or maybe the wall?" you say to Nora.

"It's fascinating that you phrase it like that," butts in Cara. "That'd be..."

Pointless Yapping (possible for you to tune out)

"Newton's Second Law of Motion: F=ma. Quite the beautiful equation, isn't it? But, despite it being a precise way to quantify the interaction between you and the cart, its use here is redundant because the equation is simply going to convert back in reverse once the cart impacts the door.

Suppose we define F₁ as the net force you exert upon the cart, and F₂ as the force the cart exerts upon the door. In that case, we can derive from Newton's Second Law:
F₁ = ma
ma = F₂

which can be combined as:
F₁ = ma = F₂

and then, finally, condensed as follows:
∴ F₁ = F₂

F₁ = F₂. That is to say, regardless of how much mass you pile onto the cart, the force enacted upon the door will always equal the net force you exert upon the cart (ignoring friction and elasticity). If you throw a 30kg baseball at the door with 500N of force, the door will receive 500N of force. Same as if you pushed a 250kg cart with 500N of force.

Despite that, intuition tells us that a massive cart will work better for us than a light baseball. And, for once, intuition would be correct this time. But why should that be the case, if the cart's mass doesn't directly alter the amount of force you need to knock down the door? If you can answer that, I'll give you something nice as a reward~"

> "Are you always this talkative?"

"Well sheesh, you've taken away all of my agency except the ability to talk! I mean, let's recap real quick: you barged into the only part of the lab I didn't immediately and voluntarily give you a tour of (breaking the only boundary I set for you), torched my notes, destroyed my research, and then salt-on-the-wound -- tied me up against my will as soon as I dared to try and salvage anything. What you're doing to me is the modern equivalent of the house arrest of Galileo."

> "You're omitting a lot of context."

"Yeah, true. You want context? How about this: Galileo wasn't a woman in STEM. Zing! Anyways, are you going to answer my riddle, or not?"

> "Oh, for the love of..."

You toss Cara onto the cart too. The more mass you can get, the better.

You and Nora start pushing. Once the cart's built up some speed, Nora, cloaked in flames, rockets forward with her Flame Charge attack! You have no choice but to let go so that your arms aren't yanked out of their sockets. The cart's wheels screech and spark as they bounce off the tile floor. The massive cart is in the air now -- and Nora practically throws it at the door.

The door is vaporized. The cart is crumbs. Cara is dizzy and pale, but fortunately her dense string-cocoon cushioned her from any and all damage (physical, at least).

Following the exit signs, you turn a corner...

---

A large room. At the far end of it, a glass sliding door. You can see through it outside: freedom!

Between you and glorious safety: large cardboard boxes of various sizes, filled with dusty glass vials and test tubes. The boxes are strewn about the floor haphazardly. You tiptoe in zigzags between the clutter, mindful to not trip over anything.

"Sorry," says Cara. "If I was expecting visitors, I would've cleaned up."

Smoke comes in through the doorway at your back. You feel the room heating up... And then, glass loudly shatters. The glassware in the room is all beginning to erupt from the heat!

"Ah! Cover your face!" says Cara.

Too late -- an erlenmeyer flask as large as a Cleffa blows up at your feet. You wince in pain as glass shards embed themselves in your face and eyelids.
Maxim: +1 Stress (3-stress event: no)

Nora, worried for you, flutters to your side. You're mostly fine, the glass only scratched skin... but for the time being you can't seem to open your eyes. For the moment, you've been blinded. With eyes shut you try to take a step forward. Immediately your toe bumps against a heavy box. Ah, that's right... walking blind in here will have you acting more clumsy than Cara. How in the world are you going to get around all these obstacles?

Effigy: +1 Damage (Broken, gone forever)
CMEBARF Building: +1 Damage -> 3/4

Maxim what will you do?

........ CMEBARF Building - Damage Clock ◕ 3/4
........ Cara - (webbed up) Stress ▯ 0/1

........ Maxim - (temporarily blinded) Stress ▮▮▮▯ 3/4
... Nora - Stress ▮▮▮▯ 3/4
........ Inventory: Resources ▮▮▯▯▯ 2/5

 

[Maxim]

“Wait, wouldn’t that…”

*glass explodes*

“Aah my eyes, my eyes! Gah! Somebody please tell me there’s an eye rinse station around this blasted place!”

Nora looks around. She isn’t sure what an “eye rinse” station is, but she does see a water fountain looking thing…that seems to be gushing water from a broken pipe. This gives her an idea..

Nora uses her HM training to use Fly to get Maxim and Cara to the door in one piece. Along the way, she dunks Maxim’s head in water gushing out of a nearby pipe. If a little water is good then a lot of water should be great!

 

[nightblitz42]

Nora scoops you and Cara into her tiny bug arms. Takeoff is a struggle (two passengers represent double Nora's own body weight!), but undaunted, Nora succeeds in taxiing you away from danger. She nudges the door open with her head. Once outside, she breathlessly deposits you and Nora on the ground, at which point she then drags you over to a busted water pipe to wash out your eyes. The pipe's water is grossly sooty, filled with ash and debris -- not to mention, it's coming out way too fast. Nora doesn't seem to notice the problem. While you rinse away your injury, Cara makes idle chatter.

Boring Physics Stuff

"You know," Cara says, "if you bothered to plug in some numbers, you'd figure out all the math I gave you is baloney. I was messing with you."

"Let's go ahead and plug in some hypothetical numbers. Suppose you accelerate the cart from 0m/s to 5m/s in twenty seconds. That means average acceleration is equal to 0.25m/s². If we estimate that the cart has a mass of 100kg, then we can plug those values into Newton's Second Law to find the force you exerted upon the cart.
f = ma
f = 100(0.25)
f = 25 N

When the cart impacts the door, suppose it decelerates back from 5m/s to 0m/s in 0.05 seconds. That gives us an acceleration of 100m/s². The cart's mass is still 100kg. We can plug those numbers in to find the force the door imparts onto the cart, which (going off Netwon's Third Law) is equivalent to the force the cart imparts onto the door. We can calculate that out using the same formula as before:
f = ma
f = 100(100)
f = 10,000 N

What this tells us is that force is not conserved. In other words, the force you exert upon the cart can differ substantially from the force of the cart's impact with the door. This makes sense -- if force always remained equal on both sides of the interaction, that would necessarily mean that pushing on the cart with enough force to destroy the door would explode your entire body.

So, where was the error? You made a mistake earlier in assuming that Netwon's Second Law works in both directions. It does not. Despite being presented as an equation, Netwon's Second Law describes a one-way causal relationship between force and acceleration. Force causes mass to accelerate. The inverse is not true: the acceleration of mass does not "cause" force. One does not "gather up" a bunch of mass and acceleration to create force. When mass accelerates, that is an indication that your force is acting upon that mass; it is a receipt for force spent, not a promissory note.

So in summary, my math was bogus, as were any conclusions that could be drawn from it. The assumption that one can "build up" force within an object is a common one, and it is an error that leads to thorny conundrums if left unchecked.

So then, how can we quantify what's happening?

We can calculate the momentum of the cart, which (unlike force) is a property inherently stored in an object, and is conserved through the cart's interaction with the door. The magnitude of the cart's momentum is proportional to the amount of destructive force it can impart upon the door. This makes it useful for our purposes. We can find an object's momentum with the following simple formula:
p = mv

p = momentum (kg*m/s)
m = mass (kg)
v = velocity (m/s)

As far as finding velocity, we can express that in relation to the amount of force you exert upon the cart via the following formula (assuming no friction):
v = (F*Δt)/m

v = velocity (m/s)
F = input force (N)
Δt = the amount of time you are exerting force (s)
m = mass (kg)

Combining the equations (which is actually possible this time, I swear) gives us:
p = m((F*Δt)/m)
∴ p = F*Δt

p = momentum (kg*m/s)
F = input force (N)
Δt = the amount of time you are exerting force (s)

In layman's terms: The momentum of the cart, and therefore its potential to destroy the door, is proportional to not only the amount of force you exert on the cart, but also the amount of time you spend pushing the cart.


--- Summary ---

Momentum correlates to destructive power.

p = F*Δt (when pushing an object on a frictionless surface)
In order to generate maximal momentum, you need to apply great force over a long period of time.

f = m*a
Applying force will cause an object to accelerate. The rate of acceleration is inversely proportional to the object's mass.


"If you understand fully what I've put forth here, (which is all true, to the best of my knowledge), then you should be able to answer my riddle from earlier. Why might you choose to push a cart with greater mass? (Hint: How does increasing the cart's mass change the other variables at play?) I'll leave the remainder as an exercise for you~"

In the ensuing silence, you hear the science facility crumble to dust behind you. The building has been damaged beyond repair, and everything within it lost to fire.

"Here's another question for you to chew on: what next?" Cara wriggles in her wrappings. "I have no personal project or office to return to. I'm shunned from the scientific community at large (due to ethics violations I've committed in the past), and you've destroyed what could have been my one and final ticket back into prestige, so I essentially have no career anywhere else. And, don't even suggest that I join in your wacky drifter lifestyle or I'll scream. So, what were you hoping was going to happen, after all this? I'm really curious."

Maxim how might you answer?

Options:

1. [Litigate] I'm taking you to jail.
2. [Befriend] Sure you don't want to tag along?
3. [Repurpose] I'm feeding you to the goats.
4. [Sympathize] I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you, somehow.
5. [Extort] What can you afford to happen~ you tell me.
6. [Surrender] I don't know, I panicked.
7. [Reset] Can we just forget this ever happened?
8. [Abandon] Not my problem.
9. Something else (your idea)

........ Cara - (webbed up) Stress ▯ 0/1

........ Maxim - Stress ▮▮▮▯ 3/4
... Nora - Stress ▮▮▮▯ 3/4
........ Inventory: Resources ▮▮▯▯▯ 2/5

 

[Maxim]

“Girl, you nearly wiped out an entire ecosystem for the sake of quack science! I’m taking you to court for this!”

(“With what evidence? With what government?”)

“In the…government that barely exists, and the evidence that…we just burned to the ground…Ah.”

(“If anything you sound more guilty for burning down a random science building.”)

“…Look I’ll just leave you here and we can forget this ever happened.”

The trio returns to the main road. Then Maxim finds a sharp rock to hang Cara on in an attempt to free her from the webbing, but with enough let time to let Maxim and Nora get away first. Maxim and Nora will attempt to make it to their original destination.

 

[nightblitz42]

You head back to the main road in search of a particular kind of boulder. Eventually, you find a rock that suits your purpose: about 3 meters tall, this boulder sports a wide base and tapers upwards to a sharp point.

Nora grabs Cara from behind and lifts her onto the boulder.

"Wait, are you seriously going to impale me? No way! You wouldn't, right? Wait, hold on, we can talk this out! Eeeek!!"

Of course you don't plan to impale her. Nora wedges the tip of the boulder into her silk bindings and leaves her to dangle off the top.

> You explain that the boulder's pointy tip will tear through her bindings over the course of a half-hour or so, at which point she'll be free to go. If that doesn't work, a passerby will probably find and release her.

Cara squirms around to quicken the process. "If a passerby (huff!) sees me like this, I might (hmph!) die of embarrassment, so let's hope that doesn't happen."

---

As you continue your trek, you spot various small plants sprouting out of cracks in the canyon walls. With Cara's energy-leeching facility destroyed, nature might yet claw its way back from the brink.

---

You continue to walk. The town is less than a mile away, so you quicken your pace.

Unexpectedly, a rustling sound can be heard from behind.

You turn around. You see a Gogoat clambering hastily up a cliff face -- and at your feet, a pile of medicinal plants. A gift, you must assume. You call out to the Gogoat to thank it. It pretends not to hear you as it vaults the cliff out of view. Well, there's only so much frendliness you can expect from a wild animal.

These are useful plants, either for mending or selling. And such a great heap of them, too! You hope the Gogoat isn't going without for the sake of this gift.
+2 Resources.

No use dwelling on it, though. You've suffered Nora enough distractions for one trip. Eagerly you look forward to a good night's rest in the next town.

........ Maxim - Stress ▮▮▮▯ 3/4
... Nora - Stress ▮▮▮▯ 3/4
........ Inventory: Resources ▮▮▮▮▯ 4/5

[Session End]

Session Summary

While walking a route, Nora spotted a research facility.
This high-tech research facility, operated by Cara Liss, was being used to drain the surrounding environment of all its resources in order to fuel pseudo-scientific experiments of questionable ethics.
Shocked by Cara's heedlessness, Maxim and Nora burned down the facility and tied Cara to a rock. (Presumably Cara freed herself eventually, after Maxim left.)
Maxim's actions earned the gratefulness of the wild Skiddos/Gogoats in the area.
He arrived at the next town without further complications.