Session 35, VP1

After introductions were performed between Vern & our heroes, talk soon wound its way to the topic of the upcoming Food Festival. Every time the trainers tried to broach the topic of the rumors they’d heard, Vern would change the subject. It was clear there was something he wasn’t telling them.

In an effort to demonstrate their desire to help, they instead offered to help with harvesting the fruits & Berries. With thanks for the gracious offer, Vern laid out some wicker baskets for collecting the foods. Splitting up, the trainers each used their Pokemon to assist in the endeavor.

Despite wandering to separate areas of the orchard, everyone spotted more signs that something had been hungrily foraging from the trees. At lunch, they all reconvened outside the temple as Vern prepared a light meal. Over their break, the party once again tried to probe for more information. Whatever was going on here, they could tell it was something that was making Vern feel nervous & embarrassed.

Throughout their discussion, his eyes would periodically flick to the temple proper. Noticing this, Bergie asked if they could pay a visit to offer up some prayers. Vern seemed pleasantly surprised at this, & eagerly led them in.

The building was humble, & did not feature much in the way of man-made decoration. The only bit of construction was a stone fountain against the back wall: in its center was a representation of Idunn, her cupped hands holding an apple. A gentle stream of water descended from her palms into the clear pool below.

Beyond this, it was clear the goddess herself had lent a hand towards her shrine. Various vines & foliage wound their way in & around the walls of the temple. Instead of weakening the structure, the plants seemed to help support it. Small flowers bloomed along the vines in a riot of color. Hanging from the center of the ceiling was a massive bouquet of countless flowers, as if they were a living chandelier.

At the group’s request, Vern explained that a typical prayer to Idunn consisted of blowing a dandelion out from the door of the temple. Each of our heroes took one of the offered stems in silence. Once all the seeds had been gifted to the winds, the party asked Vern if they could camp out in the orchard overnight. Though clearly hesitant to do so, he agreed.

As our heroes were getting ready to seek out a campsite, Vern nervously cleared his throat. Earlier, the group had mentioned some of the things they’d encountered, mostly of the “mundane” variety. He now asked if they had encountered anything “unusual” in their travels.

Picking up on the subtext, the trainers recounted a few tales of their run-ins with things beyond the normal ken of mortals. Every story seemed to help ease Vern’s nerves. After a brief moment of quiet, he asked if he might trouble the group for some more help. He took a seat on a bench outside, & kept his voice low as he kept glancing back towards the temple.

Idunn, he explained, was a patron of love, nurturing, & acceptance. Thus, he did his best to keep the temple & its garden open to any who came by. A few days ago, a particularly unexpected visitor had made its presence known.

Like many of the gods, Thor had a familiar- a goat named Tanngrisnir. Easily three times as large as most Pokemon, the ungulate was known for being stubborn, with the power to back that up. As politely as possible, Vern explained that Tanngrisnir was “single-minded & enthusiastic”.

Ever since showing up, it had been treating the garden like a buffet. Vern was unsure how to proceed with encouraging the goat to move on. If it didn’t do so soon, there wouldn’t be enough of the crops left for the Food Festival. On the other hand, he was worried of offending Idunn & Thor.

With the problem laid bare, our heroes readily agreed to help drive the gluttonous beast off. To prepare, they paid a visit back to the center of Seeder Grove. After a stop at the Pokemon Center, the group helped some of the townsfolk with setting up for the coming Food Festival. As sunset drew near, they once more returned to Idunn’s Garden.

Vern provided dinner, & some comfortable though spare, accommodations. In the night, our three heroes all experienced the same dream: a shifting collage of color & scent, all appetizing. A low grumbling began to echo through the kaleidoscopic view, increasing in volume. Was this the rumbling of an empty stomach, or the sound of thunder brewing? Could it be both? The crack of a lightning bolt woke them from their dreams, as a dull tremor could be felt for a few seconds.

The trainers got ready as quickly as possible, before running out into the orchard. The sound of something heavy walking through the trees was coming from somewhere to the West. Splitting up seemed the prudent course of action. Both Gunnar & Naivara came to a halt as they passed by the same orchard “alley” on opposite ends.

Walking between the trees was the biggest goat they had ever seen. His fur was brownish-white, but food-stains marred that coloring heavily. Tanngrisnir’s beard looked practically like a rainbow as a result. Two long horns curved back from his head, & small crackles of electricity arced off of them sporadically.

The goat made eye contact with both of them, but seemed to decide they weren’t any threat to his repast. The trainers regrouped, & tailed Tanngrisnir for a couple hours, until he settled down for a nap. Curiosity got the better of Bergie. After quietly approaching the sleeping beast, he attempted to see if the goat was injured in any way. If anything, it looked to be especially healthy.

Unable to resist the temptation, Bergie reached out a tentative hand to give the legendary a pat. There was a bright burst of static as Bergie was flung back a few feet. For the duration of the flash, Tanngrisnir’s coloration shifted to a blackened grey. The annoyed goat snorted & pawed at the ground with its hooves.

When Bergie threw his hands up in a sign of surrender, Tanngrisnir let out a braying laugh, & loped off a short ways. Growing tired of being followed, or simply having had his fill, the goat leapt off the ground. Nearly as soon as his hooves left the ground, he dissipated into crackles of sparks that faded into the sky.

Our heroes discussed what they had learned & observed. From what they knew, Tanngrisnir would stop by a few times a day. The only other god’s familiar they had encountered was Munnin. Since the raven had been capable of conversation, would it be possible to reason with the goat?

Once noon had passed, the now familiar rumbling came again. This time, Gunnar approached Tanngrisnir directly. Appealing with his words, the Martial Artist attempted to convince the legendary to seek food elsewhere. In return, all he received were boisterous goat noises. Still, it was obvious the creature could understand what they were saying, at least. As the familiar turned to leave, Gunnar ran around to block his path.

This evidently upgraded the trainer from “minor annoyance” to “obstacle”: Tanngrisnir rammed his head into Gunnar, throwing him back into a tree. Once again, the party reconvened for some planning. Most of their ideas came back to the idea of somehow making the garden unappealing to the intruder. The problem was that most of these tactics might also harm the crops as well.

Suddenly recalling how lovely Saffa’s musical performances were, a short plan was hatched. Bergie would keep watch on the goat from a safe distance, while the others would stay near the temple. After buttering Saffa up, they convinced her to put on an extra-loud performance to “soothe the goat’s palette” during his meal.

As expected, the din of Saffa’s Rabbscuttle echoed far across the orchard. Bergie relayed what he was seeing to Naivara on a Pokedex call: Tanngrisnir’s chewing slowed as the song went on. In short order, he was once again pawing at the ground, clearly about to charge at the “offending” musician.

Naivara grabbed hold of Saffa, shaking her to get her to stop playing. To say Saffa was displeased would be an understatement. She demanded to know why Naivara had interrupted her performance, only to be told that the legendary hadn’t enjoyed the tune.

Familiar fires of pride lit Saffa’s eyes, & she stormed her way over to Bergie. Grabbing a hold of his shirt, she pulled him down to eye level, demanding to know where the goat was.

After Bergie confusedly pointed out the form of the beast in a nearby grove, Saffa marched off in a rage. By now, Naivara & Gunnar had caught up to Bergie. Before they could try to talk her down, Saffa planted herself inches away from Tanngrisnir’s chewing face.

Her verbal tirade did nothing to faze the feasting foodie. And so, she did what came naturally: burst into a new song, whose lyrics were simply a repetition of “Stu-pid Go-at!” The chewing slowed again, coming to a complete stop. Both of the beast’s eyes were locked on Saffa’s one-man-marching-band. Eyes that began to narrow, as everyone felt a growing crackle in the air……