An Odd Foreigner in Grassveil (southpawXlegacy/Gelius Joint Post)

Grassveil was as bustling as usual it seemed. Many people walked around town, and chit-chatter was very common. Shops were set as usual, and today, they were well filled with their stocks, ready to sell. Most newcomers and beginners came here, for a reason of course. It was such a friendly environment. Amongst these various pokemon, one, in particular, had just arrived, with two boxes waiting to be opened. I should check out that Swap Shop and see how this all works., the Cubone said to himself. He looked around, trying to remember where Kestro said it was located. “It was either the marketplace or the guild.” The forgetful Cubone cursed his short attention span. He should start writing this stuff down for future reference. So, Saturn decided to check the marketplace first, as that seemed like the most likely option. It was a service they were selling, after all.

“Hm. Don’t see any stalls with ‘Swap’ in their name. Guess this isn’t the right place.” That only left the Guild, which Saturn was hesitant to enter until he was ready to join up. As he was trying to build up the courage to go and see for himself, he spotted a rather vicious looking individual with sharp claws and a small yellow spot on its forehead, along with bits of red plumage on its head. Hey, that pokemon looks like they work with a guild, judging from the scarf. Maybe they can help me?, he thought. Saturn walked up to the Sneasel, assuming it to be part of the guild or at least know their way around the one in Grassveil. “Hey, uh, my name’s Saturn. I just got back from an adventure and procured these two locked boxes and need them opened. Do you know if there’s a place called the ‘Swap Shop’ in the Guild building? Apparently that’s where I need to go to get these unlocked.”

OOC: Post Town Theme (For Atmosphere)

Weaver, who was just making his way in town, noticed the fella that came up to him. Listening to his question, he did naught but blink. He had no idea what that Pokemon said. He understood the language, yes, but he didn’t understand the meaning of those words. Confused, he muttered out. “... Swap.... Shop?” He asked, before tilting his head slightly. “My apologies… I do not know what you speak of. In actuality, I just arrived.” Weaver added. This kind of civilization though… It was different from where he hailed… Certainly… The idea of a civilization living within broad light was new, for someone who up until recently lived among the darkness.


This said, it seemed to him that this Pokemon knew some things of the town, and meaning of things, and how things worked. Or at least, know someone who could help him. “My apologies, would you perhaps know of someone who could guide me? I’d like to learn how this civilization works, and it’s features.” Weaver asked, closing the map he was following up until now.

Saturn was rather taken aback by the Sneasel’s response. It sounds like this ‘mon doesn’t even know what a guild is., he thought. “Uhhh, well, I’ve been here a time or two, so I’d be willing to show you around this, uh, ‘civilization’ we have here.” Saturn waved his free hand out towards the area around him. “This is the marketplace section of Grassveil. It’s where all the businesses set up shop. Well, almost all of them, anyway…” Saturn wondered why the Swap Shop was the outlier. Hopefully, it was just tucked away inside the guild’s walls and not in another town or something.

“... Shops… Like trading posts? I know that back home, we have one. We trade one item for another.” Weaver spoke, thinking just on trading, how things were different. “So each civilization has their own inner-working on this works.” He thought to himself. He then spoke up. “And what do these shops trade? What items do you offer, or are in demand?” Weaver asked, unaware that there was a Poké System.

“Well, uh, at least for us adventurers, berries, seeds and orbs are always in relatively high demand. Of course, there’s also TMs and rare items that only benefit certain pokemon, but those tend to be very expensive to just buy on a whim.” Saturn wondered for a second on what less obvious items would be in high demand. “Of course, commoners need food and sometimes clothes, depending on the pokemon. Luckily those don’t usually cost very much poke.”

Weaver the Sneasel - Chapter 1: "An Odd Foreigner in Grassveil Town" - Part 2: "Economic Classes"

(Joint Post made with southpawXlegacy)

“... Po… ké…?” Weaver asked, tilting his head. He never heard of such a thing. “What is… Po-ké?” Weaver asked, struggling to say the word. Interesting. There was so much more than he knew.

“Wait, you don’t know what…. Oh…. “ Saturn carefully contemplated his response to best avoid confusing Weaver. “So, around here, trading one item for another isn’t the only way to get what you want. In fact, it’s probably the least convenient. In its place, we use what is known as currency.” Saturn drops one of his boxes and fishes out a coin out of his satchel. “This is what we call poke. It represents the concept of value in and of itself. It can be traded in for literally anything if you have enough of it. Think of it as a universally understood medium for trading in place of actual goods.”

“It sure isn’t universally understood. Or else, those such as myself would have understood it.” Despite his thoughts, Weaver nodded. TMs was something he never heard of as well. But alas, he probably shouldn’t ask too many questions. One thing he did notice a couple people talking about when he walked in town… “And what are these… Organizers everyone’s talking about?” Weaver asked, clearly mentioning the name Organizations, though failing really hard at the name… Oh well.

“Uh, Organizers? I’m not sure I- oh wait. You’re probably talking about Organizations. Well, there’s several of them, and they are pretty much just a group of pokemon that get together to accomplish some goal. For instance, there is a Guild here in Grassveil, which is an Organization that focuses on helping those in need and exploring new places. Many adventurers enlist there as a way to make a living.” Saturn briefly considered mentioning the Windrose Scouts, but figured it would be best not to overload this new pokemon with too much information at once.

Hearing the explanation, Weaver blinked his eyes. Well, that seems interesting. The so-called Guild was an interesting concept, and while he doesn’t mind helping those in need. That’s not so much along the lines of his goal of enlightenment. As such, he made what one could see as a stupid question. “What other kinds of… Groups, there are?” Weaver asked. Seriously, he didn’t know what was harder. Climbing out of that ravine during a couple days, or keep up a goddamn social interaction. Such is the way how it goes for someone who lived mostly in the dark, that now came to light, I suppose.

“Uh, just a quick question, is the common tongue that we use your primary language? It’s fine if it’s not, I’m just curious. You seem like you grew up far away from most civilized places. Did you live in a Mystery Dungeon?” Hopefully, Saturn’s scatterbrained response didn’t confuse the Sneasel too much.

“It is not my first language… But I can understand rather decently... “ Weaver asked… Though… Mystery Dungeon? That’s a new term. Though I guess he had an answer to that. “As far as i’m aware… No. However, it is true I come from far, in a sense.” Weaver added.

“Ok, that’s good to know. But, Mystery Dungeons are definitely something you should know about, for your own safety. Scattered all around the world, are places called Mystery Dungeons. They are where most adventurers go on a regular basis, as there are a lot of valuable items laying about in them. However, they are also inhabited by feral pokemon. These ferals, as some call them, aren’t like you or me. Most of them are devoid of reason, and attack on sight. They have no respect for others and will likely try to kill you and even eat you if they think they can take you on. Not all ferals are completely vicious, but most of them are. There’s no foolproof way to tell if you are in one, aside from the fact that the layout of a Mystery Dungeon periodically changes, with no rhyme or reason to it. There are the occasional pokemon that live in these places that have their wits about them, like you or me, but they are few and far between. Many pokemon will form small teams to explore them, as going into one alone is extremely dangerous. Take care if you find yourself in one of these places.”

Oh. So much like the ravine he climbed out? He was attacked a couple times there, had to survive for a few days… Though he still didn’t know what was distinguished from what was a Dungeon or not… So he might just be misthinking… But then he tilted his head. “And what has that to do with those Organic groups, and if there are any others?” Weaver asked.

“Well, many Organizations, like the Guilds, specifically deal with Mystery Dungeons as a way of getting lots of resources. The possibility of riches alone attracts many pokemon to these places, which in turn leads to some of them getting in a bad spot and needing someone to rescue them. That’s what the Guilds mostly do, and only hire pokemon that can handle themselves in a fight, and know how to safely navigate Mystery Dungeons. Another Organization, called the Windrose Scouts, is mainly composed of pokemon that want to better understand how Mystery Dungeons work, along with investigating strange rumors that they hear about. I’m sure that there are other Organizations but the Guilds and the Windrose Scouts are the only ones that I know anything about. The Scouts, specifically, don’t have as high of standards for recruitment, and almost anyone can join, I think. At least, they didn’t seem to expect anything in particular from me when I joined them.”

As soon as he heard the words “understanding” and “investigating” slotted in with this group’s description, it was as if something lit up in Weaver’s mind. Perhaps, THEM, could fit him well in his road to enlightenment. Plus, the Cubone said they had low Standards… So… It was a shot for him. Not to forget… He really didn’t have a place to stay for the day. He could sleep in a tree, he doesn’t mind that, but sleeping in the forest and sleeping in a civilization are different. Even back home, people wouldn’t sleep outside of their own homes for nothing. After a while debating, Weaver asked. “How may i join these Rosy Scouts of the Wind?” Weaver said. There he goes. Completely failing at a name, yet again.

“Uh, while I can’t exactly promise anything, I can show you where their base of operations is so you can sign up. I’ll even put in a good word for you and let them know about your situation. It would be pretty ideal for you, since they have a library. I don’t know if you have ever been in a library, but it’s a place where many books are stored, with information contained within them on just about any subject you can imagine.” Saturn hesitated before asking this next question, as it might offend anyone else. “Do you know how to read, Weaver?”

Weaver, for once, had a different look than his rather emotionless look on his face. He narrowed his eyes. “... I may seem odd, but I can assure you I've read before.” He said, before returning to his emotionless face. “Back where I came from, there’s not much ease to read. With the lack of light that is, despite your eyes being used to the dark.” Weaver spoke. “Either way, it would be pleasant for you to guide me to them. It would be better than causing a scene by sleeping in a tree and causing confusion to people” Weaver added.

“Sorry, I should probably elaborate on that. I meant, ‘do you know how to read our written language, assuming it is different from your kind’s written language? Also, I would be happy to guide you there, but unfortunately I’m in the middle of a mission with someone to explore a Mystery Dungeon called Serene Cave. I was only stopping by here briefly to see what was in these boxes I found in the Mystery Dungeon I was travelling through the other day called Fallen Leaf Copse. The Windrose Scout’s base of operations is built into a gigantic tree that lies within Fallen Leaf Copse. That particular Mystery Dungeon isn’t as dangerous as some of the others, so if you’re careful you might be able to make it there on your own, but if not you can wait for me to finish my mission in Serene Cave. I will warn you, though, I have no idea how long it might take. I assume it will only be about three days, give or take, but I’m not sure. I’ve never explored that Mystery Dungeon before. But anyway, if you want to seek them out on your own, I can at least give you directions on how to get there.” Saturn sets his boxes down and pulls out his map.

Weaver glanced at the paper… It’s kinda like the one he was on the way to the town. That had the road trailed it’s way to Town… Though, this one was… Far vaster than just a paper that lays out a simpler path. But he was still willing to listen. “If needed, i can go on my own.” Weaver spoke.

“Ok, good to know. If you want, I could write down the directions on a piece of paper, so you don’t forget. I wish I could do more to help you, but I’m a bit busy at the moment. With any luck, you might come across someone who happens to be traveling to the same place. Teaming up with someone else, even temporarily, is a big help. Other than that, I don’t think there’s much else I can do to help you.”

Weaver simply nodded, passing him a piece of paper. “Thank you for the advice.” He added.

Saturn happily writes down a set of directions to get to Fallen Leaf Copse from Grassveil and a general idea of how to find the tree once he gets there. He lets Weaver know in the note that the exact location of the tree changes a bit as it’s in a Mystery Dungeon.

Receiving the paper, Weaver takes it all in and keeps it with him. “Well, I suppose I should be on my way before nightfall,” Weaver spoke. He didn’t know what dangers could be in this place at night. Who knows, this place could be a hostile environment at night. There could be Drapions and other things like that at night.

That or he might just be thinking wrong, mostly because he doesn’t really know how an environment like this works.

“Well, good luck to you, Weaver. I’ll just be on my way.” Saturn picks up his boxes and heads towards the Guild, hopeful that the Swap Shop is located inside.

Once Saturn left, Weaver glanced at the instructions again, specifically the part saying “Giant Tree”. “It seems I’m sleeping on a tree anyway…” He added, storing the paper again, and moving out… He did momentarily stop on his tracks, to see if Saturn was still around… But sadly, not really. Crud. He forgot to ask what dangers he could expect in that… Fallen Leaf Collapse or whatever he called it. I guess one way to find out. Time to hit the road.

(Weaver and Saturn became acquaintances!)

Saturn eventually musters up the courage to take his first step into the Grassveil Guild. And to his surprise, nobody was there to question him on whether or not he had any business being there. The inside was fairly well furnished, and properly taken care of. He quickly found Izumi’s Swap Shop, which had a little self-service contraption comprised of multiple individual crates with a piece of paper and a pencil on top of each one with a sign behind them saying; “Put poke and boxes in the crate and write your name on the crate. Come back later to receive what lies within.” Saturn did as he was told, and promptly left the establishment, not wanting to run into any Guild members and potentially have to explain why he was there. “Well, that wasn’t so bad at all. Hopefully, there will be some useful items in those boxes. Or at least something valuable. Either way, I’m sure I will find some use for their contents.”, he thought as he made his way to Kestro. He wouldn’t want to keep the Cranidos waiting, after all. “I’ll definitely want to keep tabs on that Weaver fellow; make sure he doesn’t need any more guidance. Seems like he’s really out of his element in this region.”

“...or maybe I’m just being a bit paranoid.”