Ch.1: The Life of a Treasure Hunter! Enter Wes Ravenfield!
It was a quiet, almost eerie day in a foggy swamp. The trees were had pale green leaves with white stripes, signifying old age. The swamp water bubbled with heat, popping bog gas into the air. One wrong breath and it could kill a creature in seconds. The vines hanging from the trees swayed back and forth, but not from the wind. No, they were just waiting to catch something in their grasp. The moment the bog gas hit them, they hissed at the swamp for attacking it.
Everything in this swamp was alive and ready to kill. No one in the right mind would dare set foot inside and risk their life in such a reckless manner. But one lone soul was more than ready.
A shadowy figure ran across the swamp, being careful to avoid the vines and swamp gas. Judging by its figure, it was a four legging fox of some kind. Its red eyes gleamed in the shadows, filled with curiosity and greed. It was looking for something. It was determined to find its target.
It sniffed the ground and searched around the area. It has been tracking something for the past few hours and was close to finding it. It tapped the ground and sniffed a bit more.
With a smirk, it stepped out of the shadows. A male Umbreon. He wore a black traveler's fedora, brown jacket with a white undershirt, and dark gray cargo pants. Around his body was a black messenger bag with a white 'X' across the middle. His eyes gleamed with excitement, after searching for hours, he found what he was looking for.
He pawed at the ground, trying to look for something in particular. A pressure plate? Perhaps a lever? Maybe a button? Anything that acted as a switch. He could smell his prize underneath.
He parted some dirt, revealing a small indentation in the ground. He leaned down and eyed it. It was a button. He grabbed a stick with his teeth and stuck it down the thin opening. He forced it down as hard as possible, hoping to activate the mysterious button.
Unfortunately, due to the age of the stick and button, he ended up snapping the stick in half. He groaned and spat the stick out. He looked down the hole again. He should have guessed. It was jammed.
"Oh course…" he muttered. He sighed and scratched his head. "Okay, think. Think, think, think…" He looked around at his surroundings, trying to find a suitable stick. Unfortunately, all of them looked just as frail as the one he used. The thicker ones were too big to fit down the hole. He sighed and tapped his chin before gasping. "Right, my bag!" He sat on his rear and opened up his bag. He poked his head in.
The inside of the bag was bizarre and freaky. The inside looked like a cosmic void. And in this cosmic void was a collection of stuff. Some of the items included odd looking amulets and charms. Even a book shelf filled with books floated around. There was also several miscellaneous items, such as bats, bowling balls, various instruments, old food he'll need to throw out later…pretty much various stuff.
Though, there was an abundant amount of treasure. Gold, silver, bronze, platinum and much more. Along with golden chalices, silver dishes, treasure chests, and much, much more. He drooled a bit upon seeing the gold. He has been accused many times of being greedy. Yes, that's pretty much considered a bad thing. But he can't help it. Treasure makes him happy. He wouldn't be a good treasure hunter if he didn't like treasure.
He shook his head and wiped the drool. He needed to focus. He checked around, looking for the item he needed. He smiled upon seeing it caught on a folder. It was a short, metal pipe. It was sturdy and looked to be a bit smaller than the hole. Perfect.
"Come to Papa!" he shouted as he gestured it over.
As if it heard him, it floated over to his paws. He grabbed it and unhooked it from the folder.
"Perfect. Huh, what's this?" He opened it up, then rolled his eyes. "Bleh, just wanted posters." He threw it away and pulled himself out of the bag. The folder drifted in cosmic space, slightly open. It revealed several posters of him, with quite the bounty on his head.
He closed the bag and spun the pipe in his paw. "One hidden and abandon temple full of possibilities and treasure coming up!" He struck the pipe down the hole.
Nothing happened for a few moments. He looked around, hoping to see if any changes occurred to the earth. He frowned and violently jabbed the inside of the hole.
"Open! Open! Open!" His eyes widened when he heard a crack. He looked around as a crack circled around him. "Oh no…" He yelped as he fell through a large hole that collapsed into the ground.
The debris crashed into stone pillars that were toppled over. The Umbreon would have followed them down if it weren't for the rope he pulled out just in the nick of time. He held on by his teeth, allowing him to wipe his forehead in relief. "That was close," he said with his mouth full. He looked down. Well, he found the temple…what was left of it, that is.
While he could see the temple floors, the ground under them was pitch black. His ears twitched as an echo occur from the bottom. The debris must have finally hit the ground. That was going to be a long drop. The temple itself was a mess. The once pure white stone has grayed over time, covered in swamp life.
He lowered himself down and tugged on the rope. A chunk of temple fell off and nailed him in the head. His eyes spun as he stumbled back and forth, nearly falling off the ledge a couple of times. Luckily, he got his bearings in check and stopped himself.
"Alright, focus." He leaned down and started sniffing. "If other treasure hunters came down here, I just need to look for the path with the most damage. So, that way!" He pointed towards a bridge that looked, and probably was, unstable. "Fortunately for me, I can just skip this part." He pulled out an amulet from inside his shirt.
A five sided amulet that looked like an upside-down trapezoid. It was a grim gray coloring and had a skull in the center of it. He closed his eyes and concentrated. The amulet glowed purple. The light spread around him and change his form. His body, clothes, everything, turned into dark wisps. He became a floating shadow.
He opened his eyes, which were white and vacant. He spun around and flew in circles like a ghost, enjoying the form he took on multiple times before. "Sweet!" He floated over the bridge and landed on the other side. He glowed in the purple light again and reverted to his normal form.
He looked ahead at a dark hallway. He glanced to the side and saw a circular tray. On it was burned up wood. Near it was a small stone channel with ancient ruin signs on the inside walls. It ran from the tray toward the hallway.
The Umbreon narrowed his eyes and reached into his bag. He pulled out a match box and some logs of wood. He threw them onto the tray, then a lit match. After a few minutes, the fire blazed.
The ruin signs glowed after sensing the presence of fire. A pink aura surrounded the fire and, starting from the bottom, slithered down the channel. It streamed into a hole, blocked from outside view.
He turned back to the hallway and, one by one, torches lit, illuminating the once black passage. He tipped his hat down and walked through.
As he passed by the torches, he got quick glances at the paintings on the walls. Each depicting a moment of time in the temple's history. One shown two armies preparing to collide with each with the temple in full view of the background. Another showed each generation of the temple's ruler. The most faded image told him that was the original ruler.
He rolled his eyes with a smile. "Man, Flint would love this place." He sighed. "Wish he came along. But apparently college is much more important. Please, I'm getting rich from my treasure hunts. And where there's magical artifacts to be found, there's treasure to be taken." He rubbed his paws together with his eyes lighting up with greed. "Sweet, sweet treasure."
He continued his walk until he found his left foreleg sinking a bit. He saw that his paw had landed on a pressure plate. He glanced to the side and saw the walls open up, firing what he could only assume to be poisonous darts. He ducked down and watched them fly overhead. A drop of poison from the dart dripped off and landed in front of him.
He took a quick whiff of it. "Man, this poison is at least 300 years old." He stood up and eyed the rest of the pathway. There was no telling where the other pressure plates were. He could use his shadow amulet again, but that wouldn't be as fun. Unstable bridges are one thing, avoiding dangerous and potentially lethal traps was just fun.
He took some steps back and tipped his hat down. He stuck his tongue out as he focused on the path. His ruby red eyes scanning the floor for keen and virtually unnoticeable details. Trap Masters had a knack for setting up complicated traps that would be impossible to avoid. However, those were the masters from centuries ago. There were ways to avoid these traps, as their skills from the past have been improved upon.
He noticed the impressions and wear on the floor, indicating the areas the temple residents have more than likely walked on. But there were tiles that have little to no wear on them. The tiles that needed to be avoided. The pressure plates. They were laid out in an intricate way that would make it impossible to walk over with going in a certain pattern.
Simply walking wouldn't work. Walking in zig-zags, while less of a threat, still has a significant chance of doom. Then there's was jumping. Oh Arceus, that was worse. What idiot would jump in a hallway full of pressure plates?
And what did the Umbreon do? He jumped…on every…single…plate…on purpose.
He laughed joyfully as he jumped onto each plate, sending out an array of traps that should have killed him. But he was moving too swiftly. During his little analysis of the hall, he examined the walls and ceiling. He saw the stones that were obviously painted to look like stone. He had to admit though, they would full untrained eyes.
He avoided everything, ranging from flying razor discs, poison darts, a boulder which was now chasing him, spears, a trap door that dropped down to a spike pit, and much more. Some of the plates were even enchanted. One of them created a magic circle that should have trapped him in a pillar of ice. One released an inferno of flames that could have singed his fur off. He wasn't even trying to be cautious. He was having the time of his life.
The air tickled his fur as he jumped left and right on the plates further ahead, not giving a care in the world about all these deadly tricks. It's not his first time dealing with trapped hallways.
Course though, he didn't get out unscathed in his first attempts. One time he entered a well that had rare gemstones buried underneath. He could easily climb down with some climbing gear. Unfortunately, he didn't account for certain stones to be enchanted and motion sensitive. Next thing that happened, he's being zapped by tons of electricity. He was fine, but his fur definitely wasn't Have you smelt burnt fur before? It does not go away for a while.
Over time, he did become much more observant and capable of avoiding anything that could do him in. It was his job after all.
Eventually, he made it to the end of the hallway and took a bow, taking off his hat. "Thank you, thank you! You're too kind!" He was talking to a skeleton that was leaning against the wall. It wore monk robes. "I must admit, you guys develop some pretty sweet traps." He looked at his hat and saw a poison dart was sticking through it. "Whoops. Almost got me there." He plucked it out and threw it into his bag. "I'll just keep that for later."
He jumped when he heard an explosion behind him. The small force was enough to knock the skeleton's head off. It was pretty far from what he could tell. He raised his ears and listened to the noises. The sound of trees falling caught his attention. Along with…hearty, yet evil laughter.
His ears drooped as he frowned. "Ah man…don't tell me they're here?" He looked at the skeleton and picked his head up, dusting it off. "I need to get going now. Nice talking to you." He placed the head back on and adjusted it to make sure it didn't fall off again. With a respectful tip of the hat, he was off.
He ran into a room full of collapsed pillars and vines. Swamp foliage was growing all over them. He kept his distance from the plants, as they snapped at him when he got too close.
"Alright, it's got to be here somewhere." A glint caught the corner of his eye. He looked down into the darkness below him. A light from a few holes in the ceiling shined down on a sparkling mass. A familiar shine that made his eyes light up. He knew that glow all too well.
"Perfect." He reached for his rope, but jumped again when he heard a second explosion. "Oh crud, they're getting closer." He grabbed the rope with his mouth and lassoed it onto a brick sticking out a bit. After a hard tug to make sure it was safe, he swung down like a Pansage in the jungle.
He landed on his feet and dusted his shoulders off before running over to the mass. As usual, he was right. It was a pile of treasure surrounding a pedestal. On the pedestal was the item he was looking for. A knife with a golden hilt. However, the treasure hunter knew it was just pyrite or its more commonly referred to name, fool's gold. Still, it didn't make it any less valuable.
Temples like these surrounded magical artifacts with treasure as a way to preserve them. Though, back then, the concept of magic wasn't fully realized. Treasure had no special properties that could keep magical artifacts from aging or rusting. So really, they accidentally gave treasure hunters like Wes an easier time to find artifacts and treasure.
With a snicker, he reached out to grab it. "All mine…" He heard chattering above him. Crud. They're here. He looked around for a spot to hide in.
There wasn't much to work with. He did see a crack in the walls, narrow enough for him to squeeze through. But escaping would prove to be difficult. He looked at the amulet around his neck. There were plenty of dark areas to blend in with. In fact, that gave him a devious idea. No sense in just taking the treasure without a little fun first. Sure, avoiding the traps was entertainment enough, but this would be better.
With his mind made up, he touched the amulet and melted into the shadows.
A few seconds later, a group of figures came in. They were all dressed in ragged clothing, filled with holes and covered in dirt. Many of them had various accessories, including golden earrings, eyepatches, bandanas, gold teeth, and a few with hooks and peg legs.
They snickered madly as they looked down the darkness. They could see the treasure in plain sight. "Captain Arid! We found it!"
A figure walked out of the hallway. A Darmanitan with a stoic expression. He was clad in a black, buttoned down jacket and tattered white shirt underneath. He wore a faded brown cloak that draped over his body, covering his arms. As he walked, the sound of metal banging against the ground echoed through the deserted temple. He left a path of cracks in the ground behind him.
His men saluted to him, standing upright. "At ease." They did so. He walked over to the edge of the stone bridge and looked down. He nodded at the treasure lying below. "Excellent. Jeffery?"
A Chatot flapped out of the hallway and onto his shoulder. He wore a scarf, white shirt with red stripes, and a hat with the musical note headpiece sticking through. He was slightly out of breath, but got control of himself. "Yes, captain?"
"It would seem your sources were correct. A magnificent hoard of jewels and gold are here."
He saluted. "I would never steer you astray, captain." He placed his feathers in his beak and whistled. "Alright you scallywags, climb down and collect the treasure for our captain!"
"Aye!" They pulled out some rope with hooks on the end and latched them to the stone floor before shimmying down.
Jeffery placed his wings behind his back with a smug expression. "Well, my captain, does this please you? This should help with the repairs to our ship. Not to mention quite the hefty feast that'll await us. Perhaps we could pillage a local town somewhere in the Swamp Zone." Arid's eyes darted off as he observed the surrounding area. "True, the residents probably have bones and scraps for 'valuables', but we're bound to find something of importance."
"…don't you see it?" the pirate captain spoke as he glared down the hallway.
Jeffery blinked. "Uh…see what?" He looked down the hall. "Oh, you mean the traps? Well, I must say we were quite lucky, captain. A good chunk of our men would have certainly been killed. Whoever came here previously must have set them all off and got themselves killed." He chuckled. "Truly we are thankful for their help in handling the hard part."
Arid sighed. "You're an idiot, Jeffery." The Chatot blinked in confusion.
"Whatever do you mean?"
"Look at the hall again."
The Chatot looked back into the hallway and gasped. In his haste to keep up with everyone, he completely missed that the torches were lit. "B-B-But…maybe they were just killed recently."
"Then where's the body?" He gestured around. "No disintegration based traps of the sort anywhere." He glared down at his men. "He's still here."
The pirates were loading treasure into their sacks. One of them, a Simisear, was unaware of the shadow slithering behind him and wrapping around his sword, possessing it. He felt a cold shiver and looked around.
"Hey!" he shouted. "Which one of ye is messing with me?" They looked at him and shrugged with confused expression.
His sword pulled itself out of his hilt and started swinging. The pirate jumped back and blocked the strikes with a dagger. Two pirates came up behind it with their swords, but were thrown off by it spinning and disarming them. Pointed end aimed straight at them, it chased them around in circles.
"Captain! Help!"
Jeffery groaned at the crew. "What's going on with them now?"
"This is the work of the Amulet of Umbra," Arid muttered.
"The Amulet of Umbra?" Jeffery parroted. "Impossible! The only person who could possibly have that is…oh…"
With a nod, Arid jumped down, the ground cracking beneath him upon impact. He walked over and, just as his men passed, grabbed the sword with his left hand. "Reveal yourself…Wes Ravenfield."
The sword emitted a shadowy aura and flew off. The shadow took shape in midair and turned into Wes, who landed on his feet and smirked. "Captain Arid…long time, no see."
The pirates pulled out their swords and growled. The Darmanitan captain narrowed his eyes. "Should have known it was you who set off all those traps at once. Only a cocky nuisance such as yourself would be stupid enough."
Wes chuckled. "You call it stupidity. I call it cleverness. Well, that and just having a spot of fun."
"You won't escape me this time. You will pay for what you did to our ship."
"You're still mad about that?" He sighed. "Hey, not my fault you tried to kill me. I found the treasure fair and square."
"I'm a pirate. The word 'fair' doesn't exist in my vocabulary." He snapped his fingers. "Bring his head to me." The pirates charged at the Umbreon like wild beasts.
He smirked. "Things just got interesting…" He leaped into the air and flipped over their heads, landing two well placed kicks at two pirates' heads.
They turned around and threw throwing knives at him. He ducked and dodged the flying projectiles, catching one in his teeth. He threw it up and kicked the end of the hilt, sending it through one pirate's hand.
Two pirates spun their swords in their hands and swung madly. Wes jumped back, narrowly dodging the vicious slashes. They were close to cutting a few hairs off. It was like dodging the buzz saws earlier. This was nothing! And speaking of which, he ducked his head. The swords sung over him and lodged themselves in the rock. The pirates gripped their hilts and tried to pull them out. They sighed, seeing they were too deep in. They felt something tapping them and turned towards a face full of Shadow Ball.
One pirate decided to play it safe and pulled out a small charm, which had the shape of a flame. He clenched it and released a mystic flame from his fist. Wes jumped onto the rock wall and sprung off as a stream of flames followed him.
"Ooh! You guys have a Flame Charm?" Wes admired with glittering eyes. He landed and dashed in circles around the pirate as he continued to fire flames at the cocky treasure hunter. "I don't have one of those yet!"
"Hold still, ye wee nuisance!" the pirate demanded in anger.
He snickered. "If I did that, I would get burned!" He back-flipped over the flames and reached into his bag. "Luckily I have something for that!" He pulled out a charm with an iceberg shape. "Freeze Charm!" He held it out and fired a stream of icy energy.
The pirate fired the Flame Charm's power into the cold magic attack. The two magical beams pushed against each other, trying to overpower the other.
Arid watched with narrowed eyes. Jeffery tried to reassure him that they would be fine. "Fret not, my glorious captain. Our men are armed with the finest magical artifacts we could steal. Victory will be ours."
"They're using charms, Jeffery. They aren't exactly the most powerful of magical objects."
"Err…yes, but our crew is skilled enough to take on Ravenfield." Just as he said that, the pirate that was trying to overpower Wes…got overpowered and frozen to the wall. "…like I said…they are skilled enough to weaken him." He chuckled nervously.
Arid growled. "This is ridiculous. I'm destroying him right down." A golden glow came from within his cloak.
Wes flipped away from five pirates firing Tempest Charms at him. One blast of wind knocked his hat clean off. "My hat!" He growled and skidded to a halt. He pulled out a metal disc from his bag. Red and green swirls were painted on it. "Spiral Amulet!" It emitted red and green waves that washed over the pirates.
They stopped and held their heads. Almost suddenly, their surrounding environment became dizzying. They each felt like they were in the center of the room and it was spinning like a carousel on overdrive. To make it even more dizzying, they saw spirals distorting the already spinning room.
The Simisear pirate turned green. "I don't feel so…" His cheeks puffed and he fell over.
The pirates groaned and teetered back and forth like they recently came out of a bar. Wes smiled before pocketing the amulet and walking over to the frozen pirate, who was slowly melting his way out. Wes snagged his charm with a quick 'Thank you' and aimed it at the woozy pirates. "Open fire!" He set them ablaze.
They screamed and ran around like crazed maniacs. They ran into each other and fell over, still under the effects of the amulet.
Wes chuckled and placed the charm away. "I get treasure, an artifact, and a new charm. Is it my birthday or something?"
One pirate jumped down on him and pinned him down, with the sword to his neck. "Prepare to de, treasure hunter!"
Wes chuckled with a sweatdrop. "Let's not get hasty here." He slowly reached into his bag. "Why don't we just talk this out like the adults we are and…" He pulled out the poison dart from earlier and stabbed his side.
"AGH!" The pirate leaped off and pulled it out. Already the poison was taking its effects. He felt weak and his eyes were glazed over. "You…stupid…rat…" He fell over unconscious.
Wes stood up and dusted his jacket off. "Well, that went swimmingly."
His eyes widened a bit when the sound of cracking in the ground echoed throughout the temple. He looked down and saw gray sand spreading under his feet. Having knowledge of what is happening from before, he jumped away as the sand tried to grab him. It shot into the air and took the shape of a hammer.
He sidestepped quickly as the sand hammer slammed down, leaving deep impressions in the ground. He thought he could dodge each strike, but he now had to dodge sand bullet firing out of the hammer. Good news, the hammer was shrinking bit by bit and losing its strength. Bad news, it was becoming faster. Even more bad news, there were sand bullets flying at him!
Wes bent his body in peculiar ways as he dodged the bullets and rolled out of the way of the large hammer trying to crush him. One would think sand wasn't deadly, but it was. It was basically powdered rock. If it's compressed enough, along with some magic added into it, it becomes just as dangerous as a real hammer and bullets. After all, the bullets were leaving cracks in the ground that could have harmed him or worse.
Eventually, the hammer wore itself down and the last of the bullets came. Wes landed next to his hat and breathed lightly. "Well, that took a lot out of me." He glared at Arid.
The captain tore off his cloak, revealing his right arm. He wore a large, golden gauntlet that looked way too big for him. He actually had to walk on all four limbs half the time to move with it. But he had enough strength to move it around like he was wearing a normal glove.
He clenched his golden fist. "I shall bury you in a mountain of sand, Ravenfield."
Wes picked up his hat and adjusted it. "Keep telling yourself that, cap."
Jeffery shook his winged fist. "You dare mock our captain, you pathetic-"
"Silence, Jeffery," Arid commanded. "You may want to stay back." He bowed his head and flew back up top. The Darmanitan raised his fist and punched the ground. Large cracks opened up, raising rocks from the ground and sending a wave of sand at Wes.
The Umbreon jumped away from the attack and jumped off the walls. He landed in front of Arid and reeled his hind legs back. "Take this!" He kicked Arid in the face, but grunted in pain. His attacks went right through the captain. "Sand clone…"
"You really think I would stay around and let you try and harm me?" the clone spoke as he grabbed Wes by the scruff of his neck and slamming his face into the ground. "Now, be a good boy and let me chop your head off."
Wes muttered from the ground. "Yeah, uh…I'm gonna need my head." He glowed purple and turned into a shadow, freeing himself from the sand clone's grasp. He threw strands of shadow onto the pirates' swords and flung them at the clone. They merely impaled him and sank into his body.
"My turn." He aimed his fist and blasted the swords out at him.
Wes gripped his hat and ducked as they flew overhead and struck into the wall much deeper than the previous sword. "What is with you people and trying to destroy my hat?!"
The ground under him rumbled and unleashed a geyser of sand into his face. It blasted him up top and smashed him into the stone bridge, scary Jeffery away. The sand pounded Wes harder and harder against the bridge, each strike creating more and more cracks into it.
"Give it up, Ravenfield. There's plenty of rock here for me to use. More rock to crush up, more sand."
Wes tensed his body up to endure the strikes more. He reached into his shirt and pulled out a second amulet. A silver star with purple outlines. "Then I'll just even the playing field!" The amulet glowed, but he got buried under sand and smashed through the bridge, sending him back down to where the pirates were.
The ground opened up and Arid stepped out. The sand clone walked over to him. "He is done."
"Good," the real captain said. He looked at his men, who were getting up groggily. "Alright boneheads, break time is over. Back to work." They groaned, but saluted and got up to collect treasure.
The sand clone looked to the side, where Wes was buried, and gasped. "Oh crud…" Arid looked in his direction.
A purple glow occurred under the sand. With a flash, the sand blasted off in multiple directions. Standing up was Wes. His midnight black fur has turned purple. His eyes glowed a mystic purple. The amulet around his neck glowed for a brief moment.
Wes smirked. "Alright, time to get rid of your ammo." His eyes flashed blue. "Aquos Mist!" He exhaled a thick, white mist from his nostrils. It spread around the area, obscuring everyone's vision.
Arid growled. "Clone, destroy him!"
The sand clone lunged at where Wes was, but his movements became sluggish. His colors began to become sand like. His now gray body became darker with each movement. He was absorbing water. "What's…happening…?" He slowly fell to pieces, tripping over himself and splattering across the ground.
Arid glared as he heard Wes' laughter echo throughout the area. "Where are you, Ravenfield?"
"Infernius!" He turned and was met with a white ball of fire that burned his fur. Fire-Types have resistance to fire. But this was no fire. Magic can allow someone to bypass those resistances. Thankfully, the misty area weakened the attack.
Arid clenched his fists. "You're getting on my nerves, boy!" He slammed his fists down and sent a wave of sand. Again, it was absorbed the water in the air, so it didn't get very far. "Men, the Tempest Charms!"
The pirates pulled the charms out and created a tornado that blew the mist out of the pit. There was nothing except the pirates. Wes, the treasure, and the artifact were gone.
"Hey losers!" They looked up at Wes, who was holding Jeffery by the ankle. "Thanks for the fun, but I need to get going."
"Let me go, you rotten hunter!" Jeffery squawked.
Wes rolled his eyes. "As you wish." He threw him up and headbutted him down at the pirates. Arid caught the bird without looking. He had his attention on the Umbreon. "Later! Warp Tunnel!"
A purple wormhole opened up next to him. With a mocking salute, he jumped through. The wormhole closed.
Jeffery rubbed his head. "Oh, that's going to leave a mark." He squawked as his captain dropped him. "Captain?"
"Get to the ship. All of you will be scrubbing the deck as punishment."
One pirate spoke up. "Uh, captain…we have some treasure to repair the ship." They smiled, hoping that would lessen their captain's anger.
He glared at them. "Great. You can also repair the ship once we get parts." They frowned and followed their captain out of the pit. As Arid raised himself up on a sand pillar, he had his fist clenched tightly. I'll kill that rat.
The wormhole opened up and Wes skipped out. "Woo! That was fun!" His amulet glowed and his fur returned back to its natural midnight black. He tucked the amulet under his shirt and looked towards the town in front of him.
It was rustic looking. The path was made of stone, soaked due to a recent rain shower earlier. The buildings varied in styles, some made of brick and stone, others made of wood and tile. People were out and about, greeting each other with friendly smiles.
The strange part was that the town was rich with magic. There were kids flying down the path on broomstick, clearing having a race. Some were using various charms for their daily activities, like a Flame Charm to start a fire for cooking. Wes could sense a great deal of magic flooding the air.
He breathed it in and sighed. "Feels good to be home." He walked down the path and made his way around town.
A few people he passed greeted him, to which he tipped his hat in reply. He didn't have time to talk. He needed to speak with a friend of his.
He walked for quite a bit until stopping in front of a pawn shop. The shop had a welcoming red exterior, along with a sign on the window that said 'Hal's Pawn Shop'. The treasure hunter opened the door and walked in.
His vision exploded with various artifacts and items littering the shelves. There were several items of different shapes and sizes, such as a statue with ruby eyes and green glasses on another shelf. Many knickknacks hung on the walls, giving the room a calming feel. Good thing too, because there were some creepy items. One of them was a shrunken head that, from his experience, released an earsplitting scream that could shatter glass. And brick if it was open long enough.
He loved coming here, not because it was his job. Seeing these various magical items filled him with glee. He wanted to buy them all, but he couldn't. For one, it wouldn't be fair to other customers. And two, he already had enough of a hoarding problem. Didn't need to make it worse.
He walked up to the front desk and rang the bell. "One minute!" a deep, eccentric voice shout from the back.
Wes occupied himself by looking at some of the artifacts. Most of these he collected. A few were new to him. Obviously Hal did some trades while he was gone.
"Ye better not be stealing those, lad." Wes turned to face a Krocorock. He wore white long sleeved shirt, black vest, and tattered gray pants. He wore an eyepatch over his right eye. His face looked weary and aged, but he looked spry for his age. "How ye doing, Wes?"
The Umbreon smiled and walked over. "Hey Hal. Doing fine, actually. Had one heck of an adventure exploring that temple!"
Hal chuckled. "Ye set off all the traps, didn't ye?"
He innocently smiled. "Maybe a little."
He shook his head with a toothy grin. "Heh, classic. Alright, did ye find anything useful?"
"Some gemstones and a sweet artifact!" He reached into his bag and pulled the knife out. He handed it to Hal, who began examining it. We looked away and rubbed his paw on his short. "Impressive find, wouldn't you agree?"
"I'll admit, this is some fine craftsmanship." He sighed. "But I can only give ye ten bits for it."
Wes' eyes widened. "Ten bits?!" He slammed his paws down on the counter. "Are you trying to rip me off or something?!"
"Kid…"
"Those traps nearly killed me! I deserve more than that! It must be worth something if it would require that many traps to protect it!"
Hal sighed and focused on the knife. "Kid, the locals of the past were very superstitious about magic. They worshipped artifacts like they were gods. But in reality…" The knife glowed and wrapped around his wrist, taking the shape of a wristband. "…they were protecting junk."
The treasure hunter frowned. "A plain ol' concealment knife?" He sighed sadly. "Just give me the money."
Hal placed two bronze bits in his paw. "Sorry kid. But hey, maybe ye'll find something worthwhile in the future."
"Doubt it…" Wes pressed his back against the counter and slid down. "It has been six months since I found anything useful. I think I'm losing my touch."
"So ye didn't find anything flashy. Big deal." Hal polished the knife with a rag. "I don't see why it's bothering ye."
"Because six months ago was when Flint and Ella stopped joining me."
The pawn shop owner stopped cleaning the knife. He sighed and placed it on the counter, then pinched the bridge of his nose. He was never good at heart to heart talks. Still, Wes needed someone to talk to. He was the closest thing to a father figure he had now.
He asked, but it came out a bit cruelly, "Ye're still upset about that?" Dammit, why did I say it like that?!
Thankfully, Wes didn't notice. "I guess when they stopped coming along with me, I haven't had the best of luck. They rather do boring stuff than hang out with me."
Hal walked around the counter and sat down next to him. "I'm not trying to take sides, but they're life is a bit more important than yers. Isn't Flint trying to become an archeologist?"
"Yeah…"
"And Ella has a job. She can't join ye all the time. Plus, uh…ye two weren't on the best of terms from what I remember." He narrowed his eye in concern. "Ye're still not upset about that, right?"
He shrugged. "I got over it. She only broke up with me because I put her life in danger." He sighed. "Worse mistake of my life."
"Kid, ye've made far worse mistakes than that…uh, ye know what I mean." He shook his head. "Listen, maybe ye should take a break or something. Trust me, the life of adventure was not an easy one. Even an old pirate like me needs his rest."
"I can't give up treasure hunting!" Wes complained.
Hal placed his hands on his shoulders. "Break, not retirement, kid. Ye wear yerself out faster than yer father did. Trust me, he was just as treasure obsessed as ye." He looked up in thought. "Well, he wasn't greedy like ye…but ye get me point."
Wes sighed and rubbed his head. "I guess…still, what if I don't find anything useful later on? I can barely afford my apartment and apparently gemstones aren't a 'reliable' currency."
Hal chuckled and rubbed his head. "Eh, ye'll figure something out. Speaking of which…ye may want to get going."
"How come?"
He pointed at the clock hanging on the wall. "Ever heard of college?"
The gears in Wes' brain started turning. He shot up in shock. "Oh crud! I'm going to be late for class!" He grabbed his bag and raced out. "Later Hal!" He slipped on the stone path, but quickly got up and continued running.
Hal chuckled and sat up, his back cracking a bit. "Ugh…crazy Umbreon…" He shook his head with a smile and walked back around the counter.
Wes raced down the path, passing people and nearly knocking them over. He could see the college ahead of him. "Maybe I could use Warp Tunnel to get there faster!" He shook his head. "No, I didn't place a mark anywhere close." Wes' Warp Tunnel spell only worked when he placed a special magical seal on something. It was useful for quick escapes, but not traveling to new locations. Plus, he normally didn't attend his classes, so he never bothered marking it.
"I'll just have to pick up the pace!" His legs moved like the wing and propelled him faster down the path.
The bell rung, signifying that class was beginning shortly. With widened eyes, he used the Amulet of Umbra to turn into a shadow and slither through the doors just before the closed. He reverted to his normal form and looked around. He clutched his head in annoyance.
"Ugh! Where the hell is the classroom?!"
He kicked off the floor and raced down the halls, trying to find his class. All of the doors were closed. This is what he gets for not paying attention to his schedule.
He didn't even want to be here. He was perfectly happy with taking a career as a treasure hunter. But he had to go to college. One, his mother wanted him to and he didn't want to disappoint her…despite skipping almost every day. And second, Flint forced him to.
That older brother of his…what did he know? Sure, he hasn't had the best luck with making money as of late and he does have trouble buying food and renting his apartment. One of the main reasons Flint quit joining his adventures was because of the risks of being a treasure hunter. It was never an easy job. Sometimes you get a huge bounty, other times it was a complete bust.
He knew his brother was only trying to protect him, but he wanted to explore the vastness of Mysto. The region was practically infinite in places to explore. So many different treasures and artifacts to collect.
Flint loved joining him in the past. He loved architecture and history. The different temples and how they were designed were always something he wanted to see. It was the one thing they had in common. Exploring new things.
But Flint wasn't the adventurous type. He wasn't as athletic, quick witted, or motivated towards treasure hunting. The only thing he had over him was magical talent.
Some people are born with a magical aura that grants them the ability to perform…well, magic. But Wes couldn't use his. For some reason, when he was born, his wouldn't surface. It was buried deep within him, locked up in a cage. His Star Amulet was his only way around it. It granted enhanced magical power. In his case, it released his magical aura from its prison. Without it, he couldn't perform magic. He relies heavily on amulets and charms to defend himself.
It's one of the reasons why Flint disapproved of Wes' adventures nowadays. Now that they were older, he realizes he's putting himself in danger. The Star Amulet is powerful, but it's just as easy to rip off someone's neck as it is to steal from a kid. Wes was more or less defenseless without it.
He sighed. He and his brother have grown quite distant from each other. They could never see eye to eye these days.
Lost in his thoughts, he wasn't paying attention to the environment around him. He ended up crashing into somebody and tumbling across the floor. He sat up with his eyes spinning. "Anyone get the number of that ship…"
"Ugh, Wes!" The Umbreon shook his head and faced a Flareon who was trying to collect papers scattered across the floor. He wore a bowler hat, white buttoned down shirt, green sweater vest, and tan trousers.
Wes smiled. "Oh, hey bro." He got up and helped pick up the papers. "Sorry, I was kind of in a rush."
Flint rolled his eyes. "Let me guess…you just got back from a treasure hunt?"
"Yeah! How did you know?"
"Lucky guess…" He picked up the last of the papers and took the ones Wes picked up. "Thanks."
"No problem, bro!"
The bell rung and their eyes widened. "Crap, we're gonna be late!" The Flareon bit down on Wes' jacket and dragged him down the hall.
"Hey! Watch the jacket!"
They went around a corridor and came across two sliding doors. Flint dropped his brother and opened the doors. "Sorry we're late!"
The students looked down at them with surprised expressions. Standing at the front of the classroom was a Scrafty wearing a white shirt, red tie, black blazer, black dress pants, and black dress shoes. He held a book in his hand and turned towards them.
"Wes and Flint Ravenfield…cutting it a little close, aren't we?"
They bowed their heads. "Sorry Prof. Geno."
Geno rolled his eyes, but smiled. "Just get to your seats so I can begin our lesson." They nodded and went to the rows of seats. However, Geno stopped Wes for a moment. "Glad you can join us, Wes. Haven't seen you in class for quite some time."
He rolled his eyes. "I was kind of on a hunt in the Swamp Zone. Didn't find anything useful."
He chuckled. "Well, no one said being a treasure hunter was an easy task."
"So I've been told…" He sighed. "Hal said I should take a little break from the searching. So I'm going to be attending classes a bit more."
The professor patted his back. "Glad to hear. Now please take your seat." He nodded and ran up to where his brother was. "Alright class, we'll be continuing our lesson on the Grand Imperium Age." He went up to the chalk board and started drawing some symbols.
Flint opened up a notebook and began writing. Wes, however, pulled a sandwich out of his bag. He was about to munch down on it when his brother slapped it out of his paws. "Pay attention," he whispered harshly.
Wes rolled his eyes and whispered, "Please, why do I need to learn about the Imperium Age? It's in the past. Done for. History. No longer our problem."
"Do you even know what the Grand Imperium Age is?"
"Course I do. It's…uh…" Despite his gifted knowledge in magic, Wes lacked knowledge about the history of magic. Or any history for that matter. If it wasn't in a spell book, he probably doesn't know about it. "It's about…magic?"
Flint face-palmed. "Well, you're not totally wrong. It was the time when magic was at its most offensive. Where more spells were developed and perfected to become more destructive. It was one of the bloodiest time periods in history. How could you not know about this?"
"I think we've clearly established I'm not the most studious of people." He leaned back in his seat. "Besides, I don't see why learning this stuff is useful. I can make money off of treasure hunts."
Flint crossed his arms. "And how much money did you make recently?"
Wes smiled as a sweatdrop formed on his head. "Oh, uh…well…ten bits?"
The Flareon raised a brow. "Ten bits, you say?"
He sighed. "Okay, so I haven't had the best raids lately. But hey, I'm doing fine."
"Are you kidding? That wasn't even your sandwich! That was from the cafeteria!"
"Hey, if they didn't want me stealing their food, they should have kept a better eye on it."
Flint rubbed his face in annoyance. "I've seen your apartment. It's a wreck."
"Okay, you're making it sound like my life style is actually ruining my life."
"I'm not the only one who thinks this, Wes. A lot of people agree with me, including Mom."
The Umbreon's eyes narrowed a bit in concern. "Mom really said that…?"
Flint bit his lip and looked away. "W-Well…I mean, she's only worried about you. And so am I. I just want you to live a happy life. I don't want you to end up like…Dad."
Wes looked down at the table. He didn't like revisiting those old memories. It was never pleasant to listen to. He sniffled a bit and looked away from his brother. "Oh…I understand…"
Flint narrowed his eyes apologetically and placed a paw on his shoulder. "I didn't mean it like that…"
"Can we just change the subject?"
This made the oldest of the Ravenfield's flinch. He shook his head and did as his brother requested. "So…how have you and Ella been?"
Wes sighed. Should have expected that one. "We're doing fine. We've agreed to just be friends. I'm over it, trust me."
"You sure?"
"Positive. You know me. I can bounce back from anything with no issue."
"If you say so…"
The Umbreon smirked. "How come we always talk about my love life? What about you?"
Flint rolled his eyes. "Wes, I don't have time to pursue relationships. Maybe when I was still fifteen or sixteen, but I try to focus on my studies now. Besides, there aren't that many girls I take any real interest in. Maybe when I get my degree, I'll consider dating. But for now, I just want to focus on passing college."
He chuckled in response. "Whatever you say, bro."
He playfully punched his arm. "Shut up…"
Once class ended, the students headed out to do their own thing. Wes and Flint prepared to head out, but Prof. Geno stopped them. "Wes, may I have a word with you? Flint, you may go."
Wes looked at his brother in concern, but he gave a reassuring smile. "You'll be fine, don't worry." He gave his brother a hug before walking out.
The Umbreon sighed and looked at the professor. "Yes, Prof. Geno?"
"Follow me, please." They walked out of the room and down the empty hallway. "Tell me, Wes, do you find my class to be boring?"
He rubbed the back of his head, laughing sheepishly. "I wouldn't say boring…"
Geno smiled a bit. "I understand college isn't your thing, but you should be more responsible with your work. I'm not obligated to force you to come to class, but you should put more effort into trying."
Wes sighed and rubbed his face. "I know…but it just doesn't feel right. I mean, sitting at a desk listening to some old guy talk, no offense, just doesn't feel natural. Just recently I ran through a temple, evaded several deadly traps, and took on Captain Arid and his crew. Tell me which you would rather do?"
Geno shook his head, chuckling. "You do make it sound like a fun time, but someone like me can't go on those kinds of adventures. Despite your…disability, you still possess great magical potential. Me? I wasn't born with a magical aura."
"So? There's lots of treasure hunters throughout history that didn't have magic and they got around just fine."
The professor smirked. "Where did you learn that from? A textbook?"
He laughed sheepishly. "No. When I was younger, my dad would tell me these grand stories of famous treasure hunters. It's people like him and those hunters that inspired me to become a treasure hunter. They were considered legends for uncovering powerful artifacts."
The professor nodded. "Very true. Still, I still couldn't do stuff like that. I'm much more suited teaching kids about our history. Your brother is one of my sharpest students. It fills me with joy teaching a student with a passion for history."
"Personally, I don't get the point of learning stuff like that."
They walked out of the building as they talked. "Wes, it would take hours for me to explain the importance of it, but I will say this: If we don't learn from our history, we're doomed to repeat it. What do you do when you make a mistake?"
He looked up and stuck his tongue out. "Uh…don't do it again?"
"Exactly. While it may not seem like fun, it is important for our growth as Pokémon."
"I guess that make sense…still, that doesn't mean I'm going to like coming to class."
Geno chuckled. "Eh, not everyone does."
Wes looked down a bit before saying, "Uh, professor? Do you think I'm ruining my life by becoming a treasure hunter?"
The Scrafty placed his hands behind his back. "That really depends on the person, Wes. Why?"
"Just been having rotten luck with hunting…"
Geno shook his head. "Millions of years on this planet. It wouldn't surprise me that rare artifacts are hard to come by these days."
"So…should I quit?"
"I wouldn't want you to force yourself to give up your passion. But you may want to consider getting another job just in case your luck officially runs out."
"Oh…"
They stopped and the professor turned towards Wes. "Listen, this isn't something you should be talking to me about. I'm only a history professor. Try talking to someone else about this." The Umbreon looked down. "I need to go. Will I see you tomorrow in class?" He only got a simple nod. "Alright. Take care." With that, he walked away.
The Umbreon sat there, pondering what his professor had told him. "Talk to someone else, huh?" He looked up a bit.
He reached into his bag and pulled out a sack of bits. There wasn't much in them. He needed at least fifty to rent his apartment and he still needed to afford food. He looked inside the sack. Only sixty. And his rent was due soon.
"Maybe I can go to the bar. If I beg hard enough, they could give me a discount." Having no other options, he threw the sack back into his bag and walked off to the local bar.