Video - un: detectiveforhierophant

[detectiveforhierophant]

Who: Ryotaro Dojima
Status: Open
Where: Cosmo Conservatory
What: Dojima is hoping he's just being paranoid, but as it's been several days now-- he decides to ask if anyone has seen Turo since he left.
Warnings: Nothing here, but the plot it relates to has some heavy stuff!



[The video opens on what some may recognize as the interior of the main building of the Cosmo Conservatory. A blurry tanned splotch on the side of the screen, a disgruntled, slightly rough voice as—]

Damn it— [Re-adjusting the shellphone—] there.

[A huff, and now one could clearly see Ryotaro Dojima, sitting at the desk that usually had Professor Turo seated behind it.]

Hey, this is Ryotaro Dojima, Head Ranger of Cosmo Conservatory, [A beat, something mumbled under his breath, was that ‘fuck it’?] Has anyone heard or seen from Professor Turo in the last three days?

[Ugh. The fact he had to bring this up at all— was it just his nerves? Also he prayed the heat on his cheeks was just the summer heat being too much--]

He was headed to Liansa— left his Pokemon here with me— to help with base construction, talking with the merfolk there…

[A hand wave, somewhat dismissive—]

Investigating, research, you know how he can be, right? It’s nothing unusual for us to work in separate locations for a few days, but…

[Frowning deeply, glancing to the side.]

Usually we at least send messages to one another before the end of the day, just to check in. I figured maybe the travel or heat wore him down, or he got deep into research and forgot—

[Which. Turo wasn’t likely to do at all, thanks to his AI mind—]

…But three days with nothing? That’s not normal. And he’s not… gone, his Shellphone ID is still active. He’s just… not picking up.

[There was no hiding the the concern on Dojima’s face, even if he had a measured tone to his voice, expression stern, focused— but that crease in his brow…]

—So if you hear from him or see him, tell him to give me a buzz, alright? Or if anything else is up, let me know ASAP.

[Annnd now that he's put himself out there more and feels more exposed then ever, that awkward clearing of his throat, glancing away...]

Ah... yeah. Thanks for your time.

[Slight bow of his head, and then he was reaching to switch off the camera--]

Comments

[detectiveforhierophant]

--Won't argue if you can make something more secure but less cumbersome.

[Turning to look at Kaveh. Reaching a hand to rub the back of his neck.]

Not much. I did see that cat video recently-ish. But... [How to explain this? It seemed crazy, but-- he needed to trust his gut.

Emet-Selch told me he could sense Turo's 'soul' out in the middle of the ocean, away from any Leviathans, and surrounded by a 'dense fog of malignant aether' that was making it hard to pinpoint who or what he was with. Maybe it's rash of me, but the only person I could think of who'd probably have that sort of power was Ganon, since he was able to not only tame an extremely powerful Bugsnax--

[Reaching for one of Turo's books, the full Dex he made about Bugsnaxs, opening it up to the page on the Mega Maki--]

Which you might remember, are actually an amorphic high mind of goop that turns into individual bodies all connected to obey just him, but also tried to turn other sapient beings he kidnapped into controllable minions thanks to feeding them some of that same Bugsnax's body. I don't know the mechanics of his power, but that's not quite as important as understanding it's a lot of it, and he has a M.O. of kidnapping and controlling those he wants to.

[empyrean_mirror]

[Kaveh almost physically recoils as Dojima talks, bringing a hand up over his mouth. He doesn't know what aether is. He hadn't thought much about the Bugsnax since they'd moved on from that island. but this--

It reminds him of Abyssal Corruption. Of the Withering. Of a malice that had nothing but hunger.]

...

[He's quiet for a few moments. He can't go. This is beyond his power. But--

He pauses. sets his box down, and rummages around before pulling out some of the "fireworks" in the box.]

I need to modify some of these slightly, but listen to what I am going to tell you carefully. [He's popped the bottom out of the firework to expose the powers inside, which he's replacing with a mixture of...seeds?]

In Sumeru, for a very long time, there was a curse upon the land called the Withering. It drained the life from plants and soil, warped the forms of life around it, even attracted abyssal creatures. Worse yet, regular people who came in contact with Withering Zones were drained too, and ran the risk of developing a disease called eleazar if they didn't outright die.

[He's very methodical, sticking seeds into each explosive, and leaving a small glowing charge of elemental energy in the bottom.] That malignance seeped into them. Corrupted their bodies. Left them dying slowly, and in pain. So only people with Visions were able to clear the Withering Zones. Even now that the root cause is gone, the Withering left behind didn't disappear overnight, and repairing the forest could take years, because the favor of the gods is rare.

A friend of mine happens to be in charge of that work, among other things. My vine bombs won't be nearly as effective as his...but they'll certainly be flammable from quite a distance. Do you understand?

[Because Doujima, whatever else he is, seems to be just an ordinary man. A good man, but not one blessed with anything beyond the tattoo this place gave him and his own intuition.

What can mortal men do against such a dark evil? Kaveh doesn't know. But he won't send a man unarmed into battle.]