Chapter Two: Tranquility
Through fire, blood,
The end of days
Cruel hands set their gods aflame
Crafting redemption from desolation
With angelic light guiding to salvation.
Rejoice, Verus, land of the ancients!
You are blessed under your divine regent!
—Scribe Martor Serperior,
Ballad of the Angel from The Rains of Erebus
A rustling of leaves through laden branches stirred the resting Charmeleon from his deep, dreamless slumber. While he had hoped to attain a few more minutes of sleep, a fluttering leaf dropped down onto his snout. The dozing lizard wrinkled his nose a few times to try and dislodge the foliage. The tickle of the lead force a sneeze, blowing it off his face with a puff of black smoke. He bolted upright from the sudden sneeze before giving the side of his head a ginger rub. A tremendous yawn issued from his maw.
Once the yawn was out of his system, Leo blinked the sleep from his eyes and took notice of his dim surroundings. He immediately jerked his head skyward and was quite confused to see the unobstructed sky he had fallen asleep under was now obscured by a dense canopy of trees. That's odd. Why would there be trees in a field? Those weren't there when—Wait! his thoughts jolted him to awareness and he glanced around at his surroundings.
What had been open grasslands was now a thick, dim forest of ancient trunks and large boughs of moss hanging from towering branches. There was no trace of grass to be found in the understory; only thin-trunked saplings that dotted the forest floor among the sea of leafy ferns. The Charmeleon picked up his tail, burning healthily with a merry flame, and took a hesitant step forward, feeling the moist soil and moss squish up against the bottom of his feet. To complete the experience, Leo's nose wrinkled as he caught the potent, earthy scent that permeated the primal woods.
"Gods... I didn't ... I didn't fall asleep here!" he exclaimed to audience of large, gnarled oaks offering nothing in reply aside from distant birdsong. "What's going on?" He grabbed the key on his chest and gave the cool, glass-like figurine a squeeze to try and call forth his mysterious watcher from the ruins.
Only the continued birdsong answered him. The Charmeleon sighed in frustration. I'm on my own... I suppose. Great. How did I even get here? He only remembered falling asleep in the open field just outside the cave. A brief moment of panic hit him as he wondered if he had not really escaped the ruins and this was some sort of trick. Leo sunk his claws into the nearest trunk and pulled away a section of the rough bark before letting the crumbly pieces drop to the ground.
"Feels real..." He muttered before he rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms to alleviate the ebbing soreness pulsing through his body. There were a few patches of discolored and white scales on his chest and sides were he had been cut yesterday, but his body had done well at healing those injuries. His claws traced over his flesh, the Charmeleon grinning at the touch. "This is pretty cool, I gotta say..." He chuckled softly before he again examined his surroundings.
He needed a new plan. Now out of the ruins, his priorities had shifted. Top of his mental list was finding out why he was here as a Charmeleon; that had not changed. However, second and third on the list were now to get out of these woods and find some sort of living civilization, human or –as he suspected from Nexus– otherwise. Leo circled around, seeing there was little difference in the paths; the woods appeared identical in every direction.
He let out another snort of steam and began walking straight into the sea of ferns. He figured that, sooner or later, he would find an exit or civilization if he continued along this path. Fronds brushed up along his scales and he breathed deeply, inhaling the fresh, humid air. Despite not knowing where in the world he was, at least this forest was better than the dead, dusty halls of the ruins.
Brushing aside the intruding fronds and keeping his flaming tail held close, Leo continued through the dense forest. The damp air held beneath the thick, leafy boughs made the salamander grow increasingly uncomfortable with his exploration, but he held fast and walked on. While he rounded yet another oak in search of the field he first woke in, his free claw went to examine the key that hung on his chest. The blue artifact Nexus described as a 'spark' certainly seemed to fit its descriptor. In the muted rays of sunlight that managed to peak through the dense canopy, his eyes were able to better catch the intricacies of the key.
The etchings into its hard, crystal surface were not as organic as he recalled; they covered the blue key in circuit-esque markings that gave it an aura that someone had poured their blood, sweat, and more into its design. As he ran his claws down the key's shaft, it seemed clear that he would be hard-pressed to even scratch the tough artifact. Suppose that's good. If this thing is important, it needs to be tough, he mused before a sudden gust of cold, intense wind hit from behind.
Leo spun on the spot, dropping his tail and raising his arms in defense, though they instantly fell limp at his sides. In the course of the second it took to blink and turn, the dense forest had vanished entirely. His feet stumbled and slid, struggling to find purchase on the icy rocks he stood on. The Charmeleon let out a yell as a furious gust of wind nearly toppled his unstable form. Judging from what he could see through the thick mist, he was on the crest of a snow-battered mountain. His tail sputtered angrily and flared brighter as wind-driven snowflakes stung at his fire. His body grew hotter to combat the intense cold, wrapping him in a blanket of warmth.
"W-What's going on?!" he shouted into the blizzard while he attempted to navigate the treacherous rocks. His claws dug into the layer of ice that coated the sloped stone in a desperate effort to provide more grip. "This isn't right! Where the heck am I?" Leo cried out again just before the ice around his claws broke and sent him sliding. His arms wheeled and grasped at the empty air as his legs skated out from beneath him and made him land flat on his back onto the bitterly cold stone. The wind was knocked out of his lungs for a long moment, returning in slow bursts.
Rolling carefully onto his side, he let out a snort of hot steam that briefly melted a patch of snow before him. "Come on! Why?!" he exclaimed between gasps in frustration shortly before pushing his sore, chilled body upright. "What's going on here?!"
His impassioned pleas for answers are met with another howl from the uncaring glacial storm. Wind sang and screeched as it battered the stoney edifice, making Leo's descent even more disorientating. He grunted, trying to find proper footing that refused to appear. Steam issued from between his clenched teeth, creating a cloud of mist that obscured his vision further than the whiteout. "O-Oh gods..." he whispers, the Charmeleon wanting nothing more than to escape from this new loop of torment.
After two unsteady steps, the wind howled louder than it had before, its icy claws gripping the weary former-human. The force threw the Charmeleon off balance and sent him stumbling over a low ridge of slick rock.
"NO! NO! NO!" He exclaimed, arms flailing once again while he desperately wished for wings. His fall was swift, but not nearly as far as the drop into the chasm. A sheet of thin ice greeted his front by shattering into a thousands of pointed shards, but as he braced himself, he did not feel the bite of being skewered. Instead leaves, round and vibrantly-green, brushed by him rapidly before he smacked into warm, wet earth.
Gasping for air, the salamander groaned from the short fall and stared up at the hole his form had punched through the thick canopy of leaves. He was in the forest again as rapidly as he left it. His claws dug into the cool moss while his other hand brushed caked-on ice off his chest as it melted on his steaming body. "W-What...? How did..?" he asked aloud as he rubbed at his head. That had not been a dream. The mountain, the wind, the snow; they had all been very real and painful, but yet, there was no sign of them now in this warm forest.
"Hey there, stranger! Bravo! Nice dismount, but the landing was a little rough! Solid seven out of ten though! Very nice!"
Leo sat up and scanned the surrounding forest as quick as he could. The voice had come from nearby, but he could not see who had given the uncalled for ranking or from where. His head grew slightly dizzy from the swift scanning and he pushed himself to his feet with a hiss
"Who was that?! I've had enough of empty voices! Show yourself!" Leo snapped, grey smoke issuing from his mouth in threat. He was beyond fed up with the mysterious and unseeable beings that he had dealt with since he first woke in this world. "Where are you?!"
A rustling above him and a shower of disturbed leaves made his head snap up to the lower branches of the thick, gnarled oak before him. Leaning against the trunk on the mossy limb was an odd creature. Covered in two shades of blue fur, a pair of whiskers, and two shells on its hips, an otter-like creature clapped its paws once and laughed down at him with a smile on its round face.
Leo watched warily as the stranger stopped its jolly laugh, adjusted the cloth rucksack that was slung over his shoulder, and then nimbly front-flipped through the air from its perch. The blue otter stuck the landing and performed a bow before it again brought its gaze to Leo's. The curious creature then extended a paw out towards the cautious Charmeleon; the otter was clearly some sort of creature like himself, a Pokémon, but his mind offered nothing further.
"Greetings, stranger! Sorry for the sudden interjection, but you're the first 'mon I've seen in oh... Three? Four days?" The otter, seemingly male, shrugged his shoulders and wiggled his paw to again offer it in greeting. "Anyhow, it's nice to see a friendly sort, even if you do seem a bit on edge based on how you shouted at me. Should tone it down if you want to make friends."
Leo reluctantly put his hand out and gripped the otter's in greeting, to which the blue-furred creature eagerly shook. There was a twinkling in the otter's eyes that put belief behind his claim that he had not seen another Pokémon in days.
"Name's Noah. Noah Dewott. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Charmeleon. Rare to find another trekking through these unstable paths, though you don't seem very experienced..." The otter, a Dewott from his own admission, trailed off as he let go of Leo's hand.
"I'm Leo. Nice to meet you too, I guess... Suppose I've gone a while without seeing anyone too..." The salamander glanced about the woods. "You wouldn't happen to know exactly where we are, would you? I went to sleep in a field and woke up... here." He gestured about to the trees and dense ferns. "I'm a bit confused, to say the least..." He admitted, the Charmeleon rubbing at the back of his neck. Noah wrinkled his nose and had the slightest hint of a frown on his good-natured face.
"You're really saying that you don't know where we are? Friend, this is Anomaly Seventeen. Better known to folks who aren't royal cartographers as Tranquility Weald. One of the most unstable mystery dungeons this side of Verus." The Dewott folded his arms as he examined Leo from top to bottom. "How did you get in here? ... I had to sneak in past like... Four patrols to get inside, but you seem like you have no idea how you got here..." The otter stroked his whiskers for a moment before letting out a raucous laugh. "Leo, you're a curious one! I'll stick with you, if that's alright! And besides, it's far safer to explore as a team! Less chance of the dungeon playing tricks if there's two of us on the lookout."
Leo was not quite sure how to react to the otter's sudden offer to join up with him, though he supposed that Noah posed a good point. It would be better to not stumble through this "mystery dungeon" alone, even though he had no fixing on his new friend's nature yet. Noah seemed friendly enough and appeared to know something about where they were. That was all the convincing the Charmeleon needed to take the risk. His thoughts were interrupted by the Dewott's paw giving his back a swift slap, making Leo return to the present.
"Space out there for a moment, pal? Come on, let's keep moving. The dungeon doesn't like it when those inside it stay put for long..." The blue-furred otter paused for a second and chuckled. "Well, it doesn't like it when you're moving either, so I suppose there's no pleasing it. But still, need to move. We can walk and chat." The Dewott urged, giving the confused lizard a light shove forward. Leo stumbled slightly on a root, but quickly got his feet under him.
"R-Right, Noah, was it? ... Well, I don't remember much of how I got in here, to tell you the truth. I've never been in a 'mystery dungeon' as you called it," Leo explained as he and the Dewott trudged through the waist-high scrub that covered the forest floor. The Charmeleon was certainly glad for his scales that repelled the small branches that Noah had to deal with, though that was quite a spectacle to see. The slightly-shorter otter had taken the pair of sharpened shells off his hips and was effortlessly using them as dual machetes against the brush.
"Yep! Noah's the name! Quite proud of it too! It's a good one if I do say so myself!" Noah exclaimed as he swung his scallops repeatedly at a thick branch that obscured their path. With a few swings, the Dewott made short work of the obstacle. He possessed quite a bit of strength judging from easily he chopped the branches down. "Anyhow! Why don't we start at the beginning for us both? I'll go first, though I'm really dying to know your story, friend." Noah flashed another grin as he idly adjusted what appeared to be a tooth or claw from a larger beast hanging from a string around his neck before slashing again at the thick foliage ahead of them.
"I like to think of myself as an explorer of sorts! I like delving into the dungeons, even though everyone but guilds and cartographers usually avoid them. Something about 'massive danger' and 'risk to life and limb.' That's hardly true. The dungeons can be fun if you aren't blind." Noah said nonchalantly, downplaying the apparent risks. "So, I sneak into them every so often and spend a few days seeing what I find. Usually can score some neat trinkets and stuff left behind when the dungeon expanded over a town or some merchant got lost."
"You're a scavenger?" Leo inquired, which made the Dewott scoff and stop clearing the brush for a moment.
"I prefer the term 'salvager,' thank you. Looks better on paper, not that I advertise my services... But, I mostly do it out of curiosity. There's a lot you can learn and see in these dungeons. You'll see a lot more by wandering around one than you will following the stuffy exploring procedure the royal mappers all follow to a T." Leo had no idea what most of those terms meant without context, and was hesitant to interrupt the Dewott's story again, so he simply nodded his head and let Noah continue as the shells sliced through the air and leaves.
Dungeons? Mappers? Guilds? Gods, I'm so lost... Leo thought dizzyingly as Noah continued on.
"Not to say those mappers and patrol folk are bad or anything; I just think they're going about these dungeons the wrong way. But, I digress. I came to Tranquility Weald to see about finding some ruins that are rumored to be here, somewhere. Haven't found them yet, but I'll try again another time. Got some neat stuff at the very least. I was just about to try and leave when I found you; fate's funny like that, isn't it?" Noah beamed back at him, his smile lighting up his face. "So, I've spilled how I got in here. How about you, Leo?"
The Charmeleon scratched his crest and gulped. How do I go about this...? "Well... I ... Err... I woke up a few days ago in an underground ... place made of metal." Leo nearly groaned with how poorly this was sounding. "I can't remember much beyond then, either, except my name and that I wasn't a Charmeleon..." He explained, gesturing down at his red-scaled body. "I'm almost certain..."
Noah glanced back at him curiously and halted his hacking of the shrubbery. The otter seemed to wear an amused expression on his face. "What do you mean? You saying you were a Charmander before you woke up? Evolving in one's sleep... That's a new one! Can't say I've met any 'mon that claimed they managed that outside of a weird Snorlax fella I passed by in Copperleaf a while back, though he isn't the most reliable of sorts," Noah laughed once more, though for only a brief moment before returning his attention to Leo's claim. "How did that come to happen?"
Leo frowned and shook his head. "N-Not quite in that way, no. I wasn't a Charmander... I was..." He stopped himself, looking at the Dewott he had only just met. It would be on the verge of idiocy to simply admit such a revelation so wantonly. "I was something else..."
Noah put a paw to his chin, expression puzzled. "Alright, you've got me intrigued now, Leo, my friend. You a Ditto? A Zorua? Your disguise looks pretty good if you are. Sturdy too, if it remained even after that fall you took back there," Noah theorized without missing a second. "You care to elaborate a bit on that?"
Leo gulped and meekly shook his head at the sudden question. "N-Not quite, Noah. I am not quite sure of the details myself..." The Charmeleon trailed off as Noah took a step closer, looking Leo up and down in scrutiny. "I wasn't... I wasn't a Pokémon..."
"Not a Pokémon? What were you then, hm? One of the dead gods? A ghost or spirit? You seem solid to me..." The Dewott inquired, his curious eyes not leaving Leo's. The Charmeleon stammered for a moment, not getting any meaningful words out. "If we're to be navigating this dungeon together, I'd like to know just who I'm trekking with, you know? That sounds fair, doesn't it?" His tone was not threatening in the slightest, but Leo felt the pressing tone behind it.
"I... Gods..." Leo took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I think I was a human before..." he admitted to the Dewott after a hesitant pause.
"... That's quite a claim, considering humans vanished eons ago... They're legends that built Verus, if you subscribe to that school of thought." The Dewott shrugged his shoulders to display his ambivalence, his intense stare moving away. "I personally think it's a bit far fetched, considering you're standing here as a Charmeleon. There are some old stories that mimic yours. Lot of the weird stuff that happened to Verus have links to 'mon who also claimed to be human..." Noah explained, which caused Leo to perk up ever so slightly. "But, after all, they're just stories. I do appreciate the answer."
The Dewott smiled warmly and continued. "I believe you. I've found even the most outlandish things can have a grain of truth to them. Leo the human. Amazing to meet a genuine human. Never thought I'd be so lucky!" He gave the reptile a pat on the shoulder.
Leo sighed and shook his head, wondering if he had made the right decision. "Thanks, I suppose..." He looked down his chest, seeing he still wore the odd key from the ruins around his neck. With a bemused expression, the Charmeleon raised his head and gripped the blue artifact in his claws. "Wonder if this is also a human thing..."
The Dewott turned back and bent over slightly to examine the blue key with his keen, black eyes, definitely intrigued with the artifact. "It's certainly pretty; no doubts there, friend." The otter reached out and gingerly touched the two bits at the tip of the key, lifting it up to see the intricate lines that ran along its shank. "I've never seen anything like it... Where'd you find it?"
Leo mentally retreaded the fresh memories of his time underground with Nexus, the voice, and specifically how he found the key he now wore before his dramatic escape from the manmade labyrinth. "... I found it in the ruin I woke up in. No clue beyond that..." He answered simply, keeping the story to himself. Noah, for his part, returned to clearing the path with his razor-sharp shells, but was attentively listening all the while.
"Fair point. Seems like a lucky find!" The Dewott explorer remarked. "I'd be cautious about who you tell about being human. Remember what I said about humans being legends and weird stories attributed to them? Well, some folks do subscribe to different schools of thought on them. Some may not like you claiming to be human, or, at the very least, might think you're touched in the head. No offense, but you're still a Charmeleon to anyone looking your way. I believe you, but that doesn't mean others will hear you out."
Leo nodded. "R-Right. I'll keep note of that. Thanks." The Charmeleon sidestepped around a thorny bush and takes a deep breath. "So, mind explaining what a mystery dungeon is? I'm afraid I haven't the foggiest idea..." Leo admitted weakly as the otter let out an amused chuckle.
"Oh, that's a good one! Though, suppose that isn't too surprising, considering your situation." The Dewott remarks, his shell slicing through a tough sapling while the forest grew thicker around them. "To get a detailed answer, you'd have to ask one of the master explorers or researchers. They'd talk your ears off about dungeons..." Noah snorted, as if he had experience with this before. "The short of it is that mystery dungeons are patches of Verus where things don't quite... Add up, so to speak. They're realms of weirdness where space connects to places it shouldn't. Some say they're divine places where gods fell... They appear one day and, as time passes, grow to cover a large chunk of land. Sometimes they stay for a few days or weeks before vanishing, and other times they are there for good...
"It's a big inconvenience for a lot of folks, especially when a dungeon decides to plop itself on a route or next to a town." Noah rolled his shoulders, taking a quick break from his bush-clearing, which had made a decent path so far through the thicket. "Wild packs and strange Pokémon live in them at times, which makes them more dangerous." That last part made the Charmeleon nervously glance around the woods.
"Hold up. You're saying wild Pokémon actually live in this place? It tossed me around a forest, the top of a mountain and back all in five minutes!" Leo remarked as a light breeze rustled through the trees, making the branches sway noisily. Noah once again cracked a smile and pointed up at the swaying boughs.
"That's the dungeon laughing at you, Leo. While it is hard, one can navigate around. Tranquility Weald is an old dungeon, so it's way more weird," Noah replied before he climbed over a thick root of a large, drooping tree. Leo followed suit, scrambling over the rough root that impeded their way.
"Then why on earth did you come inside, Noah? Why deal with all that?" Leo inquired, quite baffled with how the otter could justify entering this hellish realm. Leo could not fathom the allure of treasure outweighing the risks.
The Dewott rubbed his paws over the claw necklace and gave Leo a soft smile. "Because it's all some of us have. If you're as new as you claim, then you don't know what it's like on Verus; you'll learn though. The dungeons are blessings to those of us willing to brave them." Noah patted the side of the worn rucksack at his side. Leo could make out the jingling of coins and other objects from within. "The dungeons provide, my friend. Remember that, regardless of what others say. They're just scared of getting stuck."
Leo tilted his head in confusion. "Getting stuck? What do you mean by that, Noah?" He asked, following the Dewott down an inclined path through tall ferns that brushed up against the Charmeleon's face uncomfortably. Leo held his tail tightly to his chest, keen on keeping the flame from torching the dungeon, which had a mind of its own according to Noah.
Noah waved a paw dismissively in the air. "Sometimes, if the dungeon doesn't like you, it'll decide to mess with you. That's when rescue teams and others go to rescue those poor suckers. A small chunk of 'mon who get stuck tend to get mauled or just waste away wandering." The otter apparently did not see the horrified expression Leo wore, as he continued without care. "Done a few rescues myself, but it's not the field for me. Ungrateful bunch they are. Always complaining and flailing about cluelessly. Once had to chase a Volbeat I was after across a lake because they decided to buzz out in the middle of it." Noah chuckled. "Definitely did not get paid enough for that job."
"You're telling me that this place... This Tranquilty Woods or whatever might just decide not to let us go? What sort of insane place is this?!" Leo exclaimed as a wind again blew through the boughs. "Noah, I just got out of one dungeon! I don't want to die in another!"
"Weald. Tranquility Weald. Old word for 'woods'," Noah corrected before chuckling. "Oh, don't tie your tail in a knot, Leo! We'll be fine." Noah brushed off Leo's concerns with a soft laugh. "Ol' Weald-y and I are thick as thieves! Aren't we?" The Dewott slapped one of the trunks with a grin. Leo winced, expecting the dungeon to react adversely to the action. However, the forest remained calm
"Anyways, we've got a ways to go still. Let's keep walking. Might even be able to make it out of here in time for dinner in Kingsend. That's the town closest to us." Noah explained before refocusing himself on the task of forging a path. Leo tentatively kept close behind his new acquaintance, processing all the tidbits of info he had been told.
What sort of world is this? Places that spawn and mess with space... Leo knew, as far as he could recall, that no such problem existed back in the vague world he came from. The prospect of dinner sounded good at least. He would take up the Dewott on that offer.
Time passed and the two continued to hike through the woods, passing through glades and gnarled trees. The dungeon refrained from shifting on them, so perhaps Noah was onto something about going through as a team. The two Pokémon had decided to rest in an open glade with a fair number of fallen logs that served well as seats. The sun shone brightly through the break in the canopy and Leo took the time to bask in its rejuvenating warmth. While he reclined in the light, the Charmeleon took out an apple Noah had tossed his way earlier.
Leo ravenously bit into the dull green skin, having been without food for as long as he could recall. The fruit's potent juice leaked out of the corners of Leo's snout, which made Noah snort in laughter. Leo's scales flushed redder as he wiped off his mouth and continued to take careful bites while he got used to his new, differently-shaped snout.
"Thanks for helping me back there. I'm not sure I would have gotten anywhere without your help, Noah," Leo said after a moment of mulling over how to phrase his words. "I really am grateful. I'm sorry I don't have anything to show for it though..."
Noah shook his head and took a quick swig from the water skin. "Don't mention it, Leo. There's a lot of mean 'mon in Verus today that'll try to take advantage of kindness, but you definitely aren't one of them. And that's payment enough, I think," he replied and lifted the waterskin in a toast to Leo. "Besides, I'm happy to show a 'new guy' around. It's not every day that a human arrives in Verus."
He shifted on the log, the Charmeleon trying to get comfortable. "I appreciate that too... I'm still not quite certain exactly how these dungeons work or how your world is, but I'll figure it out with your help, I'm sure." Leo smiled before sighing, looking up at the sun above the ring of trees.
The Charmeleon tossed the picked-over apple core into the bushes and lifted up his right foot onto his knee to rub the his worn sole. "Know I've asked this before, but are we almost out of the Weald? We've been going for hours now. I'm starting to think the bottoms of my feet are going to be permanently green with how many bushes we've tramped through," Leo asked while the Dewott stretched his arms out and yawned.
"Oh. Probably should have told you earlier when I noticed it. We're pretty stuck. The Weald's not happy with us. Probably. Been getting angry with us for a while now." Noah hopped to his feet off the log and twisted his arms to limber himself up. "It's been leading us in circles for the past hour or so. I wasn't sure, but I bent a branch to mark where we've already been. And sure enough, we came back here," Noah said, pointing to a small branch jutting off a trunk broken sharply at ninety degrees.
"By my reckoning, we don't have long before the Weald tries to separate us. The wind's been stirring more and more lately..." Noah trailed off and his gaze suddenly shifted to the swaying branches as they conveyed the dungeon's fickle and angered tone. Leo watched the creaking boughs while his mouth struggled to form the words he wanted to shout at the Dewott.
"You knew we were stuck?! How are we going to get out?! I trusted you to get us out, Noah!" Leo shouted. His nostrils flared and emitted smoke as the Dewott held up his paws in defense.
"And you still can trust me! I wanted to be sure we were stuck before causing any alarm is all. Easy, Leo." The otter leaned in and lowered his voice. "All we gotta do is just wait for the Weald to start changing on us. It'll try to confuse us, but if we stick together, it'll open up the way out in the chaos. Simple really. You just got stay close to me..."
"For some reason I'm not entirely feeling confident about this, Noah..." Leo huffed before the forest shuddered, as if a pulse of energy rushed up from its emerald depths. Leaves shook and branches swayed, the whole forest coming alive with a cacophony of sound. The Charmeleon hopped to his feet in alarm while Noah scooped up his bag.
"Follow me! It's going to shift soon! You'll have to stay close!" With that, Noah rushed back into the swaying thicket even as the ground rumbled beneath their feet. Leo did not need any further convincing to flee the irate dungeon. As he hurtled over a trunk that suddenly fell across the path with a shower of dirt and leaves, the Charmeleon briefly pondered what gods he had upset to deserve being at the mercy of yet another malevolent maze.
"Are all dungeons like this, Noah?!" Leo inquired, barely managing to duck in time to avoid a falling branch while the forest raged. His feet nearly caught on roots that forced themselves up through the dirt path, but thankfully Leo kept his balance. He could not fail now; he had yet to truly taste freedom. Come on! Got to keep up! Got to keep up! Leo repeated internally, his claws digging into yet another trunk that tried to separate him from the Dewott.
It was a sight to behold, watching Noah laugh and gleefully spin and dodge the hurled debris and branches as if it was a mere game that he was excelling at. With his denser body, Leo could only dream of using such agility against the frenzied Weald. Branches slapped hard against his back and sides, making Leo stumble before he regained his footing. Adrenaline pumped hard through his blood, giving him energy to outpace the antagonized mystery dungeon.
"Only the fun ones! Remember what I said?! The older and bigger a dungeon, the more unpredictable! By the dead gods, this is amazing!" Noah called back as he caught a branch as it swung and used it to propel himself forward several paces. "Tranquility Weald's one of the oldest! And fiercest, once it's tired of explorers!" The Dewott flashed a grin entirely unbefitting the situation and then continued to sprint ahead.
Grunting, Leo ran as quickly as he could to close the distance between him and his so-called guide. Around him, the debris only whirled faster as the powerful breeze intensified into full gale within the forest. Breaths came to Leo in ragged gasps while he pushed his reptilian body to the limit. Noah was only a couple steps ahead and Leo was determined to stick with him.
"Brace yourself! We're about to go on a ride!" Noah yelled in time with a sudden rush of wind and debris. In the moment Leo took to close his eyes to shield them from the shower of twigs and leaves that pelted him, his feet abruptly sunk into soft sand. Leo's gait wobbled, the Charmeleon having to take wider steps to escape the pull of the desert canyon he and Noah suddenly found themselves in. As before, there was absolutely no sign of the forest anywhere in sight except for the green and brown stains on Leo's cream-colored chest. Harsh light beat down on them from above.
Noah appeared unperturbed by the situation and navigated the rose-red canyon with the same ease as he did the Weald's forest. "Keep up, Leo! It'll shift again in a moment! We've got to keep moving if we're going to find our exit!"
Swallowing a gulp of dry air, Leo nodded and forced himself through the fine, hot sand at the bottom of the narrow canyon. "How many times have you done this, Noah? Tell me! Just so I know this will actually work!" Leo snarled while clutching the key as it swung about on its chain, bouncing against his chest with every uneven step. He wanted to swipe at the Dewott, but Noah was regrettably just out of range of his claws.
"Like six or seven times? I lost count, as they kinda blend together after a bit! Besides, this is almost standard routine for tackling dangerous dungeons! Can't always wait around for rescue! Otherwise the dungeon will toss you around like earlier!" Noah remarked, the lighter otter able to skip across the sand without sinking much, a feat Leo was envious of as he fought the loose sand with every step.
Sand billowed with each of Leo's frantic steps and he coughed upon catching a wave of grit in his mouth. "Grah! Noah! Hold up! N-Not as fast!" Leo gasped and spit out the sand while he awkwardly ran across the dunes. The ethereal wind gusted from behind and stirred up the red desert. Leo had to close his eyes to shield them from the flurries.
With his next step, he sloshed into something wet and slimy. His eyes snapped open and he saw he was in a swamp. His feet slipped through thick, decaying plant matter and muck. To his left and right, twisted, gnarled trees and roots lifted out of the marsh as if they were corpses dragged from the depths. The Charmeleon held his tail high above the swamp's surface as he quickly slogged through the mire. Thank the gods it isn't as deep as the sand! Leo thought as he scanned the area for Noah.
Sure enough, Noah was a long way ahead of him and waved for Leo to keep up. Leo was not sure how he had gotten that far from him; the otter had only been a few paces in front in the desert. Noah shouted something, but the Charmeleon could not hear over the loud, squishing sounds of his own travel. Regardless, the Dewott's urgent body language provided no ambiguity and Leo pressed ahead, managing to go faster here than in the desert.
"...gotta hurry! It'll separate us..." Noah's words were barely perceptible. He had plans to give Noah a piece of his mind at the end of this. The muck was unrelenting as it tried to bind the lizard's struggling legs. Leo snapped his jaws and roared in frustration. A tongue of fire issued from his mouth while he thrashed against the thick mud and stringy swamp plants that ensnared him.
"Noah! Grah! W-Wait! Wait!" Leo pleaded, though it was of little use. The Dewott was beyond his sight in the swirling mists of the mire. The Charmeleon pulled himself up after shaking off some of the vines. The former human only managed a couple more steps before he stumbled again due to some unseen root in the fetid waters. The splash almost muffled the damning rustle of the mystery dungeon's enraged winds that were beginning to stir, signalling the next phase to pull him into somewhere else.
Leo snarled and kicked until he was free of the writhing plants, not willing to be dragged about by Tranquility Weald any more. He fought and waded through the marsh as the mists began to close in on him. The Dewott could no longer be seen, but Leo pressed on in the vague direction he last saw Noah go. The soggy ground rumbled as the dense air swirled around the Charmeleon in slow eddies at first; the fog growing more intense with each step and gust of wind. The dungeon was changing, but Leo would not let it take him without a struggle. No! Got to get out! I'm close! I know I am! his mind urged, coaxing him onward.
In seconds, his sight declined until he could hardly see his red hand or even the tail flame that swung behind him. The marsh beneath his feet slipped away, though it did not appear to be replaced by anything. It felt as if he had left the swamp, but he could see nothing. "C-COME ON!" Leo cried out as his arms swung wildly at the vapors before him. "Noah! Noah! Can you hear me?! Anyone?!" He called out into the white fog while his feet stumbled on the ethereal plane he was confined to.
There was no answer. Even the Weald itself, noisy and billowing just a moment ago, had gone deathly quiet. Only his own, heavy breathing broke the silence of the empty realm he was trapped inside. He could see nothing, not even his own hand as it waved before his face. Leo gulped and clutched blindly at the key that, thankfully, hung from his neck. It was cold in his claws, its crystalline body almost icy to touch.
"I gave you sight against the darkness, yet you are blind again. Perhaps the gods' call was incorrect? Perhaps I misinterpreted? Perhaps, instead, it is your luck to be perpetually blind." The wispy, ethereal voice from the ruins emanated from the swirling winds. Leo froze and felt his tail flame instinctively grow dimmer, even though he could not see it. The void of Tranquility Weald was silent as a tomb.
"W-Who are you?! You were there before! In the ruins! I remember you... Whatever you are! I know... who..." His voice tapered off, as if snatched from his mouth by an unseen hand. Words no longer came despite trying. Realizing this quickly, the Charmeleon snapped his snout shut lest any further consequences were heaped upon him.
"I cannot reach well into the realms of mortals any more, but here... In this place between places, amongst the realms torn apart by anomalies and godless curses, this is my domain. Where the shattered gather, where the exiled dwell as shades, a crueler fate than Erebus. Where listening is better than feeble questions." Leo felt his warm body grow colder, causing a wave of lethargy rush over him; he had to fight it to stay awake. He could not will himself to move, however. The voice had sapped his will to flee.
"Only few fates are more cruel: stagnation, dissolution, crumbling to nothing. That is why you are here, is it not? Why I salvaged you. But first, you must escape. You must see. A shudder passed through the void, a shockwave that distorted the obscuring mist. A distinct path through the fog was revealed. He could not see where the path lead, but he knew it had a destination. The path had always been there, he only failed to see it. The way forward was obvious now; had he truly been blind?
"Sight returns at last. Perhaps the gods were not mistaken; there is yet hope. Go. Rejoin the realm of the living while it remains. Another jolt passed through him, causing the Charmeleon's legs to buckle as he was released from the invisible hold. Air slowly returned to him as he stared at his trembling limbs. Leo could see his reptilian body again with all its crimson scales and claws. With a gasp and groan, he managed to stagger to his feet with minimal swaying.
"Leo. Child of the ruins. Do not falter. Do not fall blind. Trials await. Stagnation, decay, dissolution, all must cease. By your hand, by your determination, by your humanity. Hold fast, child of ruin, to these things. Lest you will fall into such a darkness that none may find you." The light grew dim and the voice's harsh presence lifted. Leo began to tread forward as quickly as he dared. His feet collided with the barely visible solid ground. He could vaguely make out forms of trees in the distance, but he dared not stray from the path. He had gotten lost once already. Though he could see the way forward, he continued to walk with blind faith.
How long he walked or even if he had gone anywhere at all were unknown to the former human. The path remained unchanged as Leo trekked through the ghostly realm. He was not sure if he was making progress, but he did not stop and question himself. The voice had ordered him forward and it had not gotten him killed yet. Those facts were compelling enough for him to obey for the time being.
That thing... That voice... It knows me. It knows me and how I came to be here. Leo mulled over his thoughts on the ethereal being that had become a vaguely-sinister guide. It knew Nexus would hunt me down... It told me how to find and use the key. How? Why am I even here? It hasn't told me that... He touched the side of his head as a small headache began to form. It was not doing him any good to focus on the enigma of his purpose. Right now, I need to get out of this dungeon. There's a path here... Maybe it leads out?
He sucked in a breath through his nose and began to jog slowly to avoid potentially upsetting the beast that was Tranquility Weald. This world is so weird... I don't remember home, but I'm sure it wasn't like this... Dungeons, curses, weird voices... It had these creatures, but they didn't talk... Leo shook his head as he trudged forward through the mist-covered path. He looked around while he kept up his pace. Occasionally, he could make out ghostly forms of trees or of looming mountains that were hidden behind the veil; ghostly visages of the places he had roamed hours ago. This place... It said this realm was a place in between. Maybe it'll take me to wherever Noah got to...
Time passed, though Leo was not quite sure how long had passed. He felt no different than when he first was engulfed by the fog and deposited in this plane. His thirst, hunger, exhaustion remained unchanged. Whether it had been five minutes or five hours made equal sense. Leo clutched at the key that swung on his chest while he kept jogging, taking slight comfort in the faint blue glow it gave off.
"... There! I see something over..."
Leo immediately snapped out of the near-trance he had gotten himself into and perked up. He had distinctly heard a voice from the fog, a different one than Noah's or the voice's. He brought himself to a halt, listening for further sounds and signs of life.
"... seems it's our guy! Grab him..."
A different voice that time, though he could not quite discern who was speaking. The Charmeleon gulped and carefully focused on the direction of the voices. They sounded extremely close, yet there was no indication of anything in the shimmering mist.
He took another step forward and then jerked as something emerged from beyond his vision and latched onto his arm. The Charmeleon's heart pounded rapidly in his chest as he yelped and attempted to tear his limb away from whatever had grabbed it. He could feel the tight grip on his wrist, but Leo saw nothing there, only the encroaching mist from Tranquility Weald. More shouts broke through the fog.
A cold, metal sensation pressed against his arm, just above where he had been grabbed and a fierce tug made his head jolt. At once, the walls fell away. The ethereal labyrinth's mists dissipated in the blink of an eye. Leo's pupils shrank at the influx of color and light that had been withheld during his sojourn in the Weald. He was outside, he could feel that much. There was actual sunlight on his scales and it felt real, more real than it had inside the mystery dungeon.
A dizzying sensation rushed over the former human and he collapsed to his knees as he clutched his swimming head. The exhaustion, hunger, and thirst that had eluded him now hit him full force. A guttural groan escaped his clenched snout before Leo felt the grip of a paw on his arm loosen and move to his throat. His eyes flicked open, though he failed to get a look at who or what was accousting him as a spout was forced into his mouth. An overly-bitter fluid with vague hints of spice poured down his throat, causing the Charmeleon to cough and sputter, though the paw held his weakened form firmly. Leo's throat burned worse than when actual fire had spewed from his lungs as the strong drink made its way down.
"Drink. Trust me, you need it. A few solid swigs, come on, Charmeleon. You'll regret it if you don't."
The voice was stern and possessed a commanding tone which compelled Leo to listen. He sucked in a breath through his nose and forced himself to swallow three large gulps of the strong, hot fluid before the canteen was removed and the paw let go of him entirely. Leo gasped hard and hunched over, his arms catching himself on his thighs. He heaved, but amazingly, the weariness appeared to fade with each passing second. Soon, Leo regained enough strength to lift his head to view the voices that had pulled him from the fog.
"There you go. Easy now. You're out. Weald can't hurt you any more."
The commanding voice again. Leo swung his head over in its direction and had to blink once to clear his vision that was blurred from tears. A blue and black creature, equivalent to Noah in height, stood a couple steps away. Its canine features triggered a few latent memories in his head; he recognized the species: a Riolu. How was it he knew such things but so little on his own memories, he would never know. Leo watched in burning agony as it plugged a cork into the small leather canteen.
"Name's Jay. What's yours?" The Riolu, Jay, inquired, his blue-furred arms folded across his chest. Leo could not answer with his mouth and throat still on fire from the potent drink Jay had splashed down it. He weakly clawed at his scales, wanting the burning to cease. He managed to get a better look at the Riolu once the tears had passed.
A plain brown hood was drawn up over Jay's head, though Leo could make out his face underneath. It became clear that it had been Jay that had grabbed him from the fog and forced him to drink. The Riolu waved to his right with the paw not holding the canteen. "So, think we've got our guy. Doubt there's too many Charmeleon wandering in the Weald's fog."
From a nearby thicket, a smaller, fox-like being pulled itself free with an exasperated sigh. It's spiked yellow and white fur gave him the indication that touching it might be painful. The new Pokémon, a Jolteon, glared up at Jay, not yet giving Leo a glance as it shook itself off of twigs and leaves that clung to its fur via static.
"Jay!" The feminine voice that Leo had vaguely heard earlier snapped. "Just because you sensed him doesn't mean you can go galavanting off! We might be on the outside of the dungeon, but you don't know what could happen!" Leo winced at the loudness of her accusatory tone; his head had not settled enough to deal with that. The Riolu grumbled something under his breath in apparent defeat before uncorking the canteen while the Jolteon turned towards Leo.
"... I do apologize, Charmeleon... Or, should I call you Leo? I presume you are the same one we were hired to rescue. My partner can be a bit overzealous and blunt at times. Means well though." She quickly apologized in a softer volume. Leo tried to nod as he continued to gag from the continued burning in his throat. The newcomer Jolteon saw that and placed a paw on his hand. "And sorry about the drink... Cheri Berry wine isn't made to taste good, but it'll revive even a stone-cold Slugma, or so the brewer claims." She added quickly before she backed up to allow the Charmeleon space. "I'm Kelly by the way. My colleague, Jay, and I were hired to find you by your Dewott friend."
"I-I'm L-Leo... B-By the gods," Leo coughed, at last managing to suck in a breath that did not irritate his abused mouth. "F-Foul..." Leo spit into the thicket and pulled himself up while gasping. "... T-Thanks f-for the rescue... Urgh... Was lost..." The former human huffed while a claw rubbed at his throat soothingly. "... Noah? Where... Where is he?" Leo asked, his voice hoarse from the wine.
The hooded Riolu pulled the canteen from his mouth and shook his head from the harsh, awakening effects. "Ugh... Your Dewott friend? He's in Kingsend. Least he should be there. Dewott owes us the other half of the reward for getting you out safely." Jay then stowed the canteen away and reached into his hood to adjust something Leo could not see.
Kelly cleared her throat. "As Jay said, we shall be returning you to Kingsend. Noah's been waiting a couple days for you, by his account," the Jolteon said with a final shake that caused a crackle of electricity to spark from her fur.
Leo's eyes went wide at that; there was no way that could be correct. "H-Hold up! Two days?! I was only a few minutes behind Noah!" The Charmeleon exclaimed and glanced back at the dense woods that housed Tranquility Weald. "You're telling me two days passed?"
The Jolteon cocked her head in confusion while Jay stifled a soft snort. "Yes, Leo. That is how dungeons can be. They distort space and time. Though, I suppose you wouldn't know that. Noah said you weren't familiar with them at all." The Jolteon gave the confused salamander a smile. "Not to worry though. We'll get you up to speed on the road back to Kingsend. We'll even cover dinner, if you'd like."
Leo eagerly nodded as his stomach growled. He could go for a proper meal and bed. With a roll of his sore shoulders, he began following the two Pokémon without looking back. A pair of crimson eyes in the mist vanished as the dungeon laughed its hollow laugh.
End Chapter Two
