Paved Roads Quest Catch-all! | OTA

[dripdrive]

Who: Emporio, You and maybe even some asshole ostrich (Anasui)
What: Paved Roads quest
When: Throughout May
Where: The city streets further towards the forest.
Warnings: Anasui being Anasui.

For a while, Heliolisk has been in charge of expanding the city streets further towards the forest, making transport of goods and services easier and overall expanding Bottlecap Bay. The project had been slow going but progressing well until about two months ago, when Heliolisk noticed that some of the streets have somehow diminished in length. The reason why remains unknown. Perhaps it was a quirk of the forest that the guilds didn't understand - 'Maybe the forest doesn't want to be expanded into?' - but that didn't explain why some of the roads closer to town were also disassembled, making patches in the road. Many other Pokemon also pointed out there are a number of cobblestone towers alongside the path wherever these patches are, obviously sourced from the road itself!

The mystery of why the roads are shortening is largely left to speculation in favour of actually solving the problem. Hence why the quest has appeared on the quest board again, this time from Polteageist: they need reliable Pokemon to help clear the roads of debris, flatten the dirt where it needs to be flattened and place the cobblestone back.

There are many roads to be fixed and you'll likely find Pokemon already there, regardless if you're doing a patch job or going all the way to the forest's edge to re-expand the paths. One of those Pokemon is a large Espathra, who only casts a half-glance at you before going back to what he was doing. He seems to be placing cobblestone in a very particular way...

...and according to the Cubone rounding up as many as possible for the job, that's entirely typical. He can't be sure if it's something he specifically did in their own world, mind you, but he's pretty sure he would have if possible. Emporio notably seems more concerned with just gathering stones to be available for Anasui to place. Perhaps it's a strength thing. Perhaps not? He's absolutely doing his part, but occasionally he'll watch someone else putting their stones down and then glance in Anasui's direction before wincing. As if he knows something.

And maybe he does, because after a good bit of work with their own team, Emporio will jump.

"...Anasui's gone!"

...It's probably fine, right? Best to just focus on your own work.

Although... if you are placing cobblestone down, you may notice Anasui behind you, pulling up the stones you JUST placed and swapping their places. What is up with that???

[[OOC - To account for how many are involved in Anasui and Emporio's team for Paved Roads, and the fact that the Mods saw fit to refer to him in the quest response over all, this is a thread-jack friendly open log! Specify if you want Anasui or Emporio most of all, but otherwise, there's no holds barred here. That said, if you do not want threadjacks, please note this in your tag in. That way it doesn't get too unwieldy for you.]]

Comments

[dripdrive]

It's sorting rocks. Any idiot can do it, most of all you, Emporio.

[Anasui appears out of nowhere and leans over and extends his neck right between Emporio and Firoza. ignoring Firoza, He quickly snatches the next stone into his beak and just walks off to place the next one.

Anasui, please.]

[seacub]

[Excuse him, while he places his head briefly in his hands.]

.....That, for one...

[mister anasui please]

Uh- I guess also just the matter of being able to prepare the road for the stones though. It's easy to feel like what we're doing is 'small' when other pokemon can just...take a step and flatten something for a few meters I guess.

[At least Anasui seemed to like that last rock though.]

[bladeofnymeia]

[C-Confusion,

Firoza just. Lets Anasui go off with the rock, not arguing, just looking quizzical. She isn't doing the rock-placing, after all.]

...He must very much like rocks.

[seacub]

[He shakes his head.]

Less that and more 'how things come together and come apart.'

[And with a cough, Emporio lowers his voice as much as possible-]

...I'm pretty sure he's why the roads shrank actually, he was pretty stressed when he first got here...

[For good reason, but still.]

...I'm surprised I didn't find the bed in our apartment in flat-pack slats...

[bladeofnymeia]

[Blinks.

Registers what Emporio has said, turns it around a couple of times in her mind.]

...But the road, though? But the road, though.

[seacub]

[The road though...] He was stacking paving stones in piles when I found him the one day...

[He Shrank Those Roads]

It's better than what he was doing in the Canopy at least?

[uh oh]

[dripdrive]

[Rock placing isn't hard and after putting it perfectly in place and then stamping on it, Anasui returns to the two. He gives a dismissive scoff.]

I put it back together. [Anasui says simply, as if that's all that he's really required to answer.]

[bladeofnymeia]

[What he did to the Canopy? Excuse? She lives there??

She's not sure whether to get irritated or thank him for putting things back together.]

So...you like to take things apart and put them back together, then, Anasui?

[Then, to Emporio,] There's got to be something less...of an issue, for him to do for that urge.

[seacub]

I- [Wince,] I didn't say you didn't..!!

[The cubone groans.]

He might have started taking apart a bridge... [he mutters, but only when he thinks Anasui is really, really far out!!]

...Mn. I'm not sure it's anything he's ever tried medication for...and honestly I don't know if it would work either?

Mostly it helps to just keep him calm.

[Alas, there is no Weather Report to do that.]

[dripdrive]

Putting them back together isn't as interesting but I suppose so. [Anasui calls back to Firoza.

Oblivious to the other conversation, he places the next stone down and frowns. He counts the placed stones again before he moves the stone once more. The road's gotta be perfect.]

[bladeofnymeia]

It wouldn't need to be medication. It could just be...something to do with his hands-equivalent. So it isn't the road.

[The last bit was only soft enough for Emporio to hear.]

I'm just not certain what sort of thing it would be if putting things together isn't as engaging...

[seacub]

Oh-

...I mean really the only thing you could do in that way was find something worth taking apart...

[That part they can keep at normal volume, it's whatever. Anasui might even get a bit happy to hear about the idea of looking for something cool to take down.]

Well, working on various questboard tasks has helped a little at least. It's something to do anyway...

[Emporio suspects there's also only so many times even he can dismantle someone's shopping stall before it's boring.]

[bladeofnymeia]

Well, if we ever encounter something in need of dismantlement, we know who to call.

[You know, if there was ever a wall suddenly erected somewhere, or some kind of mechanical monolith monstrosity - though she wonders if Anasui would be up to the task of taking apart something as big and complicated as Alexander...

She kind of wouldn't mind seeing him try.]

[dripdrive]

Good. I welcome a challenge. One that isn't going to get me in trouble with those two Grumpigs.

[Someone has been playing with his Grumpearl again. But don't worry, he'll find ways to entertain himself. While Anasui does feel compelled to disassemble, he does quite like reading. He probably will go back to that once he calms down a notch.

... And honestly, Anasui would love to take a crack at dismantling a primal like Alexander. So many different parts to tinker with.]

[seacub]

Oh-

[Right he caught him trying to pull that thing apart earlier.

It wasn't working.] Well, with the kind of stuff we've seen so far...there's bound to be something, right?

...uh...

...Do you really think there's anything internal to the pearls though? I got the impression they were using psychic power to alter than instead of anything tangible.

[bladeofnymeia]

...I thought they were also normal pearls. With Pokemon ability-powers applied.

[She's never taken apart her own linkpearl but she thinks that must have tiny doodads in it that react to aether or...something...

Firoza Istus: can turn on the weird technology but could absolutely not tell you how it's supposed to work.]

[dripdrive]

What constitutes a 'normal' pearl? [Anasui asks flatly, looking at Firoza with a thin frown.] Many people would say a true pearl isn't one because has thicker nacre along its surface and isn't as symmetrical as the pearls made in jewelry. But that's a natural pearl - in nature that's more 'normal'.

I'm not expecting any mechanical components. I expect to see in the pearls... some sort of pattern. If it's just Pokemon psychic powers then they should be able to use any pearl for communication, right? What about a calcium carbonate mixture instead? If it's a Pokemon ability then can any psychic type do that sort of thing? Could I do it? Would I have to use a pearl or do I need to find something else that resonates with my abilities like my feathers?

...

Of course, I've had to stop that line of questioning. Since apparently that sort of thinking is "dangerous". [For him exclusively, really.]

[seacub]

[He can tell what Anasui means by dangerous and he doesn't like it!!!!]

Th-thanks for realizing that...

[Aaaa!!!]

I don't even think the grumpigs are where the pearls originally come from...I'm pretty sure I heard something about 'clamperls'?

[don't send that bird oyster shucking!!!]

[bladeofnymeia]

[She tilts her head to think about it. That's a lot of information about pearls that she did not know!]

Hm. I suppose...pearls that come from oysters. Color or shape or the nacre thing don't really matter in that regard

[But where she's from people just use those pearls for jewelry and other crafter things. True, you synthesize it from the oyster, apparently, but that's still getting the pearl out of a living mollusk.

At Emporio, though, she nods.] I heard that too! So there must be a Pokemon with the same role as an oyster in this world. But perhaps they can just make and give their pearls, instead of the way I know how you get pearls. Pokemon seem to have a different sort of order to their nature in that way.

[dripdrive]

Clampearl... I see. I'll have to find and ask them if the Grumpearls are specific pearls or any ones they produce then.

[Actually, Firoza has a point. How do the Clamperl produce the pearls? And are they given away or traded or something else? Now he's considering going back to the Grumpig brothers and interrogating them about their pearl stash. Where are the goods coming from, pigs?]

Either of you ever seen a Clamperl?

[seacub]

It would be fairly strange for them to harvest this many pearls the normal way...

[As he muses on that, Emporio looks to Anasui. With the shake of his head, the cubone is forced to shrug.] The most I know is that they're water type... ...and apparently found somewhere deep in the bay.

[bladeofnymeia]

I haven't, no - and if they're deep in the bay, I can't go looking myself. I'm not built for such swimming.

[Now if she were her normal self and had access to the Kojin's blessing, this wouldn't be an issue...]

[dripdrive]

Few of us are. I'll find out how the Grumpigs get it... one way or another.

[Ominous...

With that, Anasui will grab his select stones and wander off. What a peculiar exchange...]

[seacub]

Uhhhhh...

[Emporio watches the other wander away, and slowly looks back to Firoza.]

D...

You don't think I should worry, right?

[Theoretically yes, he should be the one with the answer to that, but emotionally please reassure him oh no-]

[bladeofnymeia]

[Just blankly stares back.]

You know him better than I. Should I worry?