Chapter 10 - Steel's Test

Paradisal Guild

Ewan and Ozzy couldn't help but stare at the leader of the Guild in wide-eyed surprise at his affirmation that he would, in fact, be joining them on their first official mission for the guild and, not only that, but they would be taking on an outlaw on their first day. Talk about a first impression that they'd have to make if they wanted to even stand a chance at becoming first-rate members of a Destiny Team.

"Seriously, you're accompanying us?" Ozzy blurted out, practically gobsmacked by the announcement.

"That is what I said, is it not?" Steel replied while looking over the paper that he had ripped from the board mere moments before. "In order to understand your current abilities, I need to see you work first-hand out in the field."

Folding his arms, Ozzy admitted, "I guess that makes sense… I guess this is what Twiggy was warning us about in the mess hall."

Ewan couldn't help but wonder though, "What about the guild? If you run the guild, couldn't something happen while you're out training us?" It's not that he doubted Steel's leadership - The Bisharp seemed perfectly capable of running the guild, but the leader of the guild looking to train a pair of recruits fresh from being accepted? Wasn't it a little… Careless?

"The guild will be fine in my absence, Ewan," Steel replied, looking down at the Mudkip with a severity that seemed to suggest he'd already thought this through. "You don't become a guild leader without being able to plan for these sorts of ventures."

"R-Right," Ewan agreed, looking away at the floor awkwardly. Perhaps he was being a bit too critical of Steel. Or perhaps he was just nervous.

"In any case, today we shall be tackling an Outlaw who has been terrorizing the Bejeweled Basin," Steel explained, handing the paper he was holding over to Ozzy, who took it with curious hands. "The criminal is a Seviper who has been snatching gems from travellers scouring the Basin."

Ozzy scanned the paper, Ewan sidling up beside him to take a look himself, though he realized that the notice was written in those weird runes that he couldn't read. He could remember all too well the awkward look that Janet the Chansey had delivered him some days ago when he asked her to read Ozzy's note. Perhaps learning a new language was something he'd need to invest in.

"What does it say?" He asked his partner.

"Right, you can't read Footprint Runes, can you," Ozzy replied, Steel arching a brow but saying nothing more at the information. "Basically, it says that Seviper's made a base on the other end of the Bejeweled Basin. We have to go through a small dungeon of four floors to reach the base, though it warns that Seviper is a tough Pokemon and to be prepared."

"And what dungeon is it that we will be heading through?" Steel asked curiously.

'You already know where we're going,' Ewan thought to himself, knowing that Steel was already testing them on their ability to read the notice fully.

"Uh… The Diamond Cavern," Ozzy answered, pointing to a spot on the paper where Ewan assumed that very location was written down. "It also says we can expect to encounter ground and rock types."

Glancing back up at Steel, Ozzy gave him a quizzical look before asking, "Do all job notices come with a dungeon description like this?"

"That is correct," The Bisharp nodded. "You would do well to read them so you know what to prepare for in the dungeon. While mystery dungeons, by their very nature, are randomly generated, by using the information about them that you do know, such as length and location, you can properly prepare for a day's expedition or rescue."

Despite the information seeming very tedious to learn about, Ewan could definitely see the merits of getting this information before entering a dungeon. Given he and Ozzy had experienced two dungeons while completely underprepared over the last few days, perhaps this information would help them to finally get a good grip on the whole exploring thing.

"So, when do we go?" Ozzy asked, looking up at their new mentor.

"As soon as we are able," Steel explained, looking at the two of them expectantly. "The Bejeweled Basin is to the north and the Diamond Cavern is on its edge. If we leave now, we should be able to reach the dungeon by the afternoon."

"The afternoon?" Ozzy choked out. "So we've got a four-hour walk ahead of us. Best to get moving before the sun rises too high, I can't stand the heat in the morning." Glancing back to Ewan, Ozzy's eyes were glistening with excitement. "I can't believe we're actually going to do a real mission! Let's give it our all, Ewan!"

"Right!" Ewan nodded, feeling that determination from his friend building up inside of him as well.

Before they could march out the gate though, Steel motioned for them to wait a moment, motioning to a small bag he had wrapped around him that neither of the Pokemon had noticed before. It seemed to emanate the same feelings as Ozzy's pouch, so Ewan assumed it was enchanted.

"Before we set off, I must give you some items to help you in today's mission," He explained, beginning to pull out a few items from his bag. Firstly, he pulled out a roll of paper, which he unfurled to show them a rather large map. "This is a Map of Pepromina," He explained simply. "It has the known locations of dungeons, towns, settlements and more."

Ozzy took the map gingerly, looking over it before motioning to Ewan.

Glancing at the map himself, Ewan was surprised to see that Pepromena itself was absolutely massive. It was seemingly split into four large regions. The southern portion of the map was tinted blue, the northern portion was tinted pink, the central portion was tinted gold and a large island to the east was tinted black.

He already had an idea of that last location, which was probably Katas, judging by Ozzy's description of the place before. Ozzy, however, was pointing towards a place on the southern coast of the blue portion of the map, where he could see a large town set up.

"Is that Paradisal Town?" He asked curiously, Ozzy nodding. "So that means right over here is…" Tracing a paw to the left across the coast, he noticed Coral Town fairly close by, illustrated by various coloured corals on the map. "Then above that is… Where I woke up." His eyes rested on the Everglade Forest where the duo had met the week before, noticing that the forest went on for quite a while west, with many other settlements further along that route.

"I would save the geography quiz for this evening," Steel explained patiently. "When you have an opportunity, you should study this map so you understand more about our land's geography."

Next up, Steel pulled out a small satchel of oran berries from his bag, tossing them over to Ozzy who caught them gratefully before stuffing them into his pouch, no explanations needed there. Next up, a shiny blue orb was tossed in Ozzy's direction, which Ozzy caught to show to Ewan.

Looking closely at the shining blue orb, Ewan noticed that there was some sort of energy swirling around just beneath the surface. "What is it?" He asked curiously, though Ozzy decided rather than telling him, he should hold it.

Passing it to his friend, who held it with his front paws while leaning back, Ewan felt the subtle thrum of energy in his hands, like he was holding some sort of an ancient power in his grasp. It felt weird, that was the best way to describe it, like static just beneath your skin. Though as he peered deeply into the orb, he suddenly found something whispering into his mind.

A voice with neither tone nor sound, yet it was clear that he could hear it. "This is an Escape Orb."

"Wha- It just talked to me!?" Ewan stammered, still clutching the orb as he didn't want to accidentally damage it, glancing to his two companions with a look of pure terror. This was freaky deaky, and he wasn't afraid to say it.

Ozzy couldn't help a snort of laughter at his reaction. "That's an orb, Ewan," He chuckled, as if it were some kind of practical joke.

"I can see that," He grumbled back, glancing over to Steel for an explanation instead, which the guild leader was more than happy to deliver.

"That, my young friend, is an Escape Orb. Where there are dungeons, there are also orbs. We have found and catalogued hundreds of different orb variations, with each orb creating a different effect for the user. The voice you heard is the orb's activation mechanism."

"Activation… Mechanism…?" Ewan muttered, clearly confused.

"Just ask it what it does, Ewan. Like, think it to the orb," Ozzy explained, though Ewan stared at him like he was a mad man. Think to an orb? An inanimate object?

Still, he didn't have any other options, did he?

'Uh, what do you do?' He thought, staring back at the Escape Orb in his paws, expecting no response. So of course, the moment he heard the voice speaking in his mind again, he froze up in surprise.

"When activated, the Escape Orb will teleport yourself and any nearby Pokemon who are willing, out of a dungeon."

His eyes widened. That sounded like an incredibly useful item, a sure-fire way of escaping a dungeon without any consequences?

"T-That's incredible," He stammered, looking over the orb one more time before carefully handing it back to Ozzy, who slotted it into his pouch. "And there are tons of other orbs out there just like that?"

"Yup," Ozzy chirped excitedly. "I actually made a whole list of notes on them, if I can just find them." While Ozzy began digging around in his pouch for whatever notes he'd apparently made and left in there, Steel was already pulling out another item from his bag, which at a first glance looked like a simple yellow seed, though about as large as an apple.

"Seeds?" He asked, looking between the two clearly more knowledgeable Pokemon with confused curiosity.

"They're like orbs," Ozzy explained, still rummaging around in his pouch, until his face lit up with joy, pulling something out of the pouch with an exclamation of, "Got it!"

What Ewan and Steel found themselves looking at was a leather-bound book, with those footprint runes written out along the front. Ewan, realizing it would be a fruitless endeavour to figure out the language, looked to Steel, who motioned for Ozzy to pass him the book.

"Please be careful with it," Ozzy explained, handing it over to Steel, who handled the booklet with care given his rather large knife-like arms, while he passed Ozzy the yellow seed he had been holding.

Turning to Ewan, Ozzy lifted the seed up, glancing at it with a close eye, while Ewan watched his friend seemingly trying to decipher something about the item. "Hmmm… This is a blast seed, right?" Glancing over to Steel, the leader nodded. "Amazing! I've never actually seen one myself - They only appear in dungeons, so I never got the chance to find one back home."

At the mention of a home, Ewan's ears perked up. He'd heard Ozzy mention his home in passing, mainly that he was following a dream that his family wasn't sure about and that he didn't want to dwell on them, but he had to admit he was extremely curious to know where this Treecko friend of his had come from.

But Ozzy didn't dwell on the subject, stuffing the seed into his satchel without another word on the subject.

Meanwhile, Steel was flipping through the pages of Ozzy's book, a thoughtful glimmer in his expression as he turned one of the parchment pages, nodding at some of the notes he could see. "You really have catalogued a great variety of information in this book," He muttered to himself. "I'm actually impressed, I've never heard of a ban seed before, though it states here that they're native to your home region so I'm not surprised."

"I can't take full credit for that one," Ozzy admitted sheepishly, looking to the guild leader with a sombre smile. "That note came from my brother. We worked on the book together when he was still with us…"

"You have a brother?" Ewan asked pointedly. "I had no idea."

Ozzy sighed, folding his arms, "We don't exactly see eye to eye so I didn't feel the need to mention him."

Steel arched a brow at the attitude, though neither Pokemon saw fit to continue the conversation as Ewan knew how cagey Ozzy could get if pushed too far. They may be better friends than they were a few days before, but he knew that he could still screw it all up if he pushed the wrong buttons, after all.

"Well then, I would like to look at this booklet in more detail tonight, if possible?" Steel asked, handing back the leather book, which Ozzy quickly grabbed and stuffed back into his pouch. "It has enough information concealed within that I could make updates to the guild archives."

"O-Of course," Ozzy stammered, a happy smile blessing his face as he looked over to Ewan excitedly. "Anything to help out!"

'Ozzy sure looks happy. Though I think I get it. Having his hard work be looked at so positively by Steel on his first day, it's bound to make anyone excited. Still, I had no idea Ozzy had a brother, or that they worked on dungeon stuff together. I wonder where he is…?' Ewan quickly headed out of his thoughts though when Steel gestured to the pair.

"It's time we depart," He announced, gesturing one of his bladed arms towards the open gate. "To the Bejeweled Basin, we go."

The two recruits nodded at the command, Ozzy quickly closing his pouch tightly so all their items would stay inside, while Ewan got ready to head out as well, looking over at his friend, who he assumed would be leading the way.

And lead he did, Ozzy marching forwards, past Steel, having pulled out the map to get an idea of where they'd need to go to get to their destination the quickest, Steel having no qualms with following after the Treecko, who strolled out of the gate quickly.

Ewan couldn't help but get the feeling that Steel had done this song and dance with all the other recruits before, though he could only hope that Steel would find something unique about the pair that would help them to stand out. Still, an outlaw mission straight off the bat, Ewan couldn't help the nerves running through his body as they all walked down the roadside towards the main countryside.

Still, he'd do his best. For Ozzy and for himself.

The North Road

Travelling through the Paradisal Countryside in the early morning had been quite relaxing, what with the winds blowing gently across the grassy fields, the smell of morning dew on the air and the distant bustle of the large city in the distance. Though upon reaching a crossroads, their attention had been directed to the north.

As such, they had chosen to travel along the North Road, a large dirt road that spanned from Paradisal Town all the way to the large line of mountains that Ewan had seen northwards, which he now knew from the map Ozzy was carrying, separated the Tempori region from the central and northern regions of the country.

"The North Road actually leads straight to the capital," Ozzy had explained while they were walking, Steel strolling along at a leisurely pace behind them to monitor the pair without too much supervision. He didn't seem one for peaceful chit-chat, to be fair.

"And the capital is…?" Ewan asked, really wanting an answer this time. He knew the capital had to be in that central region, that much was for sure, but still, he wanted a name to a place.

"Avra Vasilias," Ozzy replied casually. "It's the largest city in Pepromena, built high into the mountains. I've never been there myself, but it's basically a giant fortress with a town inside."

"Sounds impressive," Ewan admitted, the mental image enough to leave him wondering what the place was like. He definitely wanted to visit the capital if he had the chance, just based on the brief description alone.

"You know that to become a fully fledged Destiny Team, you need to visit the capital upon graduation for official licenses," Steel added from behind them, with Ozzy nodding an affirmative to the Bisharp who was walking behind them.

"So we'll definitely be going there sometime," Ozzy stated.

If becoming a fully fledged Destiny Team meant getting to visit an impressive sounding place like Avra Vasilias, Ewan could definitely get on board with that.

The morning wore on as they continued their trek up the rather featureless road, passing by a few Pokemon and their carts along the way, giving polite waves to them as they did so. Every now and then, Ewan would ask his friend different questions about the new world he was in, picking up little tidbits of knowledge as he went.

By the time they'd gotten halfway from the guild to their destination, he had learned the names of the remaining two regions in Pepromena. Aside from the Tempori region which they were in, there was Katas across the ocean, Choris to the north and Archai to the centre, where Avra Vasilias was.

Though Ewan had to stop Ozzy before he started getting into deities, explaining that he was already trying to remember enough names as it was and any more would make his head burst.

"Seriously, it's so weird needing to teach this stuff to someone my age," Ozzy admitted, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "Your circumstances are beyond normal though, so it's fine."

"I'm grateful," Ewan smiled back, "I mean that, I really am. Still, this world is so different from what I'm used to, I'm sure of it. While I don't remember much about the h-" Though he cut off his sentence before he could finish.

Ozzy gave his friend a bemused stare, though Ewan very minutely gestured towards Steel, hoping the leader wouldn't notice.

Though if Steel did notice Ewan's slight head tilt, he didn't say anything, glancing up at some Pidgeys that were circling overhead.

"As I was saying," Ewan whispered, this time keeping his voice low so Steel couldn't hear. "I don't remember the human world, but it definitely wasn't this… natural."

"And you still haven't remembered anything?" Ozzy folded his arms as he walked, which Ozzy was starting to recognize as his friend's serious stance for when he wanted to talk about serious stuff. "Anything at all?"

"Nothing," Ewan sighed, shaking his head. "Nothing concrete, though…"

Ewan's voice trailed off, though as at that moment his mind seemed to ping, a sudden vivid flash of colour interrupting his thoughts. His breathing hitched ever so slightly as he was suddenly aware of those dreams he had been having. So much had happened that of course, he didn't have time to dwell on them, but perhaps talking about them could shed some light.

"...Actually, there may be something," He replied thoughtfully. "Though I'm not really sure myself so I don't know if it really matters."

"Well, what is it?" Ozzy asked, his full attention on his friend.

"I… I've been having-"

Though before he could say anything else, Steel's voice rang out behind them, "Should we not be leaving the road here, Ozzy?"

With a flustered yelp, Ozzy's eyes dashed back to the map he'd been holding, tracing their route and looking around at the countryside as he moved a finger towards a rather rocky looking area on the map to the left of the North Road, which lo and behold happened to be on their left as Ewan turned west, noticing how the grassy fields began to merge into a rather rocky terrain. The green of the grass turned to orange as the ground began to change, earth becoming stone, though as he looked around from their vantage point on the road, he could still see splotches of grass and plants growing here and there.

It was almost desert-like, but without the sands, though it seemed that was their destination, as Ozzy quickly made a sharp left turn, gesturing towards the rocky region.

"Next time, pay more attention to the navigation," Steel stated, walking past the pair. "I shall lead the rest of the way, as the rocks can be treacherous to navigate for newcomers to the area."

"Right, sorry," Ozzy stammered, speeding up to catch up with their mentor, Ewan following suit.

Though as they transitioned from the comfortable springy grass to the cragged rocky region, he began to feel small pinpricks of pain under his paws, realizing that every little stone was going to a problem at this point.

"This is why humans wear shoes," He muttered to himself, Ozzy glancing back at him with a bemused expression.

"What's a shoe?" He asked.

Ewan glanced down to his paws, gesturing to them as he walked, "You wear them around your feet to protect them from the elements like rocks and stuff." And boy did he wish he had a good pair of trainers given he just felt a rather jagged rock underneath one of his back legs.

This was going to be a long hike…

Bejeweled Basin

"We're coming up on the basin," Steel called back to the two starter Pokemon, the Bisharp sitting at the edge of a rather large grey rock, which was at the top of a small ridge, which they had been climbing.

Ewan had never heard such sweet words, for though his paws were beginning to get used to the terrain, the lack of any water in the air was bothering him far more than he would have liked, and as they had travelled the sun had risen higher and higher until it was directly above them, which only served to heat the rocks up further.

Ozzy was faring much better, practically bathing in the sun, though as they had walked, he had noticed Ozzy brushing some beads of sweat from his brow. It didn't help that there wasn't a single cloud in the sky, which gave the arid rocky wasteland they had found themselves traversing a more desert-like feel.

"It's just over this ridge?" Ozzy asked, once they had caught up with Steel, who simply gestured with his blades.

Scrambling up the next rock, Ozzy was the first to look out upon the basin, his eyes widening at the sight.

Stretching out in what seemed to be a perfect circle from where they were to the other side many miles away, was a massive circular basin. Created from the rocky mountains they had been traversing to reach this spot, the basin sloped all the way downwards into the earth beneath them.

Trees lined the hills that led downwards and Ewan could hear, in the distance, the sound of rushing water, hopping up by his front paws beside Ozzy to get a good view himself. The first thing he noticed was the sparkling of a small lake in the centre of the basin, which seemed to be down a second hole that they could see from the top of the basin.

"The lake at the centre of this basin is actually underground, though there is a large hole that pierces through the ceiling," Steel explained. "Though that is not our target. Instead, we're aiming for that over there."

Pointing a bladed arm, their eyes were drawn towards some cave entrances that, as Ewan looked around, seemed to dot the cliffs around the basin. Some were concealed by the trees that were growing there, but there were definitely paths into the cliffs here, which he assumed led to the mystery dungeons of the area.

"So which one is Diamond Cavern?" Ozzy asked curiously, glancing to their mentor for clarification.

"Each cave is marked with a jewel above its entrance, a way for Pokemon to tell which caves link up to where," Steel explained, the Bisharp hopping over the rock they were on to skid slightly down the other side of the ridge. "Careful moving down this terrain. You wouldn't want to slip, it could prove fatal."

With that warning stuck in their minds, Ewan and Ozzy very carefully began to manoeuvre their way after Steel down the ridge, trying not to take any steps down any steep inclines, with Ewan especially trying to keep his balance given he had all four of his legs to worry about.

Multiple times, Ewan found himself struggling with the terrain, needing Ozzy's help to get him down some of the harder hills, with the Mudkip whispering kind thank you's to the grass type every time. He knew he was holding Ozzy back from speeding his way after Steel, but he was glad his friend was willing to help him from struggling too much.

Steel, however, didn't seem too phased by this, watching them from further ahead as he marked the safest pathways down into the basin, while Ozzy and Ewan attempted to continue following him, scaring a few wild Rattatas and Spearows along the way as the slipped down the ridge.

Finally, much to Ewan's intense relief, they found themselves able to rest for a moment after reaching a good halfway down the ridge, with Steel explaining that the Diamond Cavern entrances were all around this level of the basin.

"I think I almost died about five times," Ewan groaned, looking back up at the steep cliff with a glare.

"You wouldn't have died with me around," Ozzy grinned, breathing a little heavily from helping Ewan, but looking absolutely elated at the whole situation.

"You're really loving this, aren't you," Ewan asked incredulously.

"And you're not?" Ozzy asked excitedly. "We're exploring, like actually exploring. We just had to hike down a rocky ridge where we could have easily hurt ourselves, but we didn't and we're adventuring!"

"Of course I teamed up with the adrenaline junkie of the Pokemon World," Ewan snorted to himself, quietly enough that neither of the others would hear him.

Steel watched them, raising a brow at their conversation before adding, "You both showed great teamwork scaling the ridge. You'd be surprised at how many recruits were willing to leave their teammate to scale tough terrain due to their drive for adventure."

"You mean that was a test?" Of course, it was, Ewan should have seen that coming. This whole mission was a test after all.

"You catch on quick, Ewan," Steel mused, glancing towards his right, where around thirty feet away, they could see a rather large looking cave entrance. "Though this is where the real test begins. That cavern is the entrance to the Diamond Cavern, the dungeon from your mission."

"And we have to beat it," Ozzy muttered quietly to himself, though not before glancing up at their teacher, asking, "I'm guessing the items we got this morning are supposed to be used in the field, right?"

"I wouldn't have given them to you otherwise," Steel shrugged. "Whether you choose to use the items I provided is up to you, your main task is to get through the dungeon." With that, Steel pushed himself up from where he was leaning, moving over towards the dungeon entrance.

Glancing upwards, Ewan and Ozzy could see a rather clear looking crystal hanging from the entrance, shining in the afternoon sun. "Is that a real diamond?" Ewan stammered, surprised at the sheer size of the crystal. It was almost as big as him.

He could already sense it - In the human world, they would kill for diamonds that large.

"Indeed it is - You seem surprised though. Diamonds are fairly common at market stalls here in Pepromena," Steel replied, his gaze resting on the Mudkip with an inscrutable look in his eyes, his mouth curled up in thought.

"R-Right, of course they are. I just… I haven't seen one before myself, so I'm a little surprised, that's all," Ewan backpedalled, knowing full well that he wasn't convincing anyone if the questionable look Ozzy was giving him said anything.

"So anyway," Ozzy cut in, trying to defuse the sudden tension. "We've got four floors to get through, so should we go in?"

"No time like the present," Ewan stiffly muttered, strolling forwards towards Steel and the cave.

Though as they approached, he could feel that familiar eerie sensation wash over his skin, like it was being electrified underneath. There was a rather stuffy feeling as they reached the cave entrance, though he hadn't ever experienced a cavernous dungeon before, so perhaps this was only natural.

"It feels claustrophobic," Ozzy stated quietly.

"You'll get used to it," Steel replied, tone serious. "When you're ready, we'll begin."

"Are we ready?" Ewan asked, looking over to the Treecko he called a partner, who was looking through their pouch, before taking out two oran berries and slotting them into a little outside pocket that he had.

"I'd rather have healing on standby," Ozzy explained when he saw Ewan's stare. "It's safer to have them at the ready, than for me to have to search through my bag for something to heal us."

"Wise choice," Steel remarked. "You seem prepared. Shall we?"

The two smaller Pokemon nodding in agreement, the trio turned to face the cavern entrance, Ewan noticing that the cavern walls, from the moment they stepped forward into the cave, were discoloured and chalky.

Moments later, the sunlight they had brought in with them suddenly vanished, Ewan spinning around to find a rock wall where the entrance had been.

"No going back now," He muttered to himself, looking over to the other two, who were looking around similarly.

"You never get used to that," Steel muttered silently, stepping forwards, the duo following him into the dark unknown.