The West
The trail coming out from the Western path had a similar rocky, natural form the East path harbored. The terrain was mildly jagged, rocks scattered here and there on the route Team Supreme walked down. Scrafty kicked a small pebble to the side, trying to use the flame of the group's lantern to see further down; she was met by the same scenery, simply more darkness and more rocks. Samurott, using the well-placed horn on her helmet as a hold, carried the lantern in front of her, shifting her eyes left and right as she looked around for something, anything that would lead them in the correct direction.
Garchomp, next to Samurott, treaded carefully on the rugged ground, giving a small groan as the minutes passed by slowly. She squinted slightly, taking note of the formation of some figures a way in front of her, and stopped the group. "Think I see something over there, might be useful to help us know where we are" Garchomp mumbled out, the two others focused their eyes to make out the figures Garchomp pointed out. The three carried on, their new target the mysterious looking objects. As the light of the lantern atop Samurott grew closer towards the impending objects, Garchomp gave out a curious look. "It looks…like mining carts? Or, whatever they're called" she spoke out, approaching closer to the silhouetted objects in question.
The three walked up carefully, and sure enough, a mining cart tipped over presented itself to them. A small distance away illustrated to them a long, distant railway, the direction headed down the Western path the trio had followed. "I guess it's a nice find" spoke out Samurott "What do we do with it?" Scrafty gave a small look between the two, scratching her crest "I say we follow where it leads, could bring us closer to the Star."
Garchomp looked between the two, then over to the mine cart. She turned around, using her formidable strength, and lifted up the mining cart onto the tracks, the cart fitting snuggly within the rails. She tapped the side, motioning them on. "Get in; we're going for a ride" she smugly stated, the other two giving her a look of question. "We literally have no idea where it goes, we don't know if the tracks are broken" remarked Samurott. "We might end up worse than where we started" commented Scrafty.
Garchomp shook her head, giving off a smile "We're explorers, we take risks. And I say, this one is a go!" she jolted out, grabbing the two and placing them into the cart. She stood behind them, pushing with force, the cart moving faster and faster, and in one final shove, she jumped in, the cart freely careening down the rail. The landscape gave form to a number of hills, the free-moving cart blistering along the ancient railway, the trio inside giving a few signals of panic, yet enjoyment as well.
The cart dashed along, until a faint glowing in the distance came into view. It seemed like a structure lied at the end of the tracks, illuminated by nearby torches…but more importantly, the cart was moving far too swiftly for the rate they were approaching. Garchomp gave a small sweat as Samurott and Scrafty started to jump to the back of the cart, the Dragon letting out an "Ohhh boy" as the cart slammed into the end, Team Supreme launched off and onto the ground. The three groaned as they lay there, looking between one another. "That was…graceful" mumbled out Samurott, before she gave off a small giggle, the other two joining in. The trio stood up, dusting themselves off, giving their joints a few cracks, then looked up to the structure that rested before them.
Garchomp headed the group into the building through the side. It was a simple area, a large, square-like room lined with stone, sand-colored bricks, torches lining the side of the room. As the three approached inside, walking in towards the middle, a thud was heard. The trio looked around, the entrance they had entered from now no longer there, all points of exit having disappeared. An omniscient voice bellowed out from seemingly nowhere, a large laugh emanating from it "Look what fell into my domain! Guess I'll have some fun before I bring them pain."
The three stood firmly, looking around, unable to see anyone. The laugh continued, the voice calling out to them "It's okay to hide your fear, after all your demise is HERE!" The voice continued on "You better start praying before it's—" before being cut off by Garchomp, speaking out to it "Uh, can you show us the exit?"
A moment of silence filled the room, the voice starting up again "You better start praying befo—" and was then promptly cut off by Samurott, voicing out "We're in the middle of something and really need to get going." The voice began to grumble out, shouting a few words in irritation—until his mumbles were cut off by Scrafty calling out to him "Like, soon? Please?" The voice erupted in anger "YOU BETTER START PRAYING BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE" he wheezed, breathing heavily "Because I'll never show you the gate! Unless, of course, you do these tasks three, and then I shall allow you all to be free!" He gave a small snicker, his voice still audible to them "Little do they know, the genius that I am will NEVER allow them to be free!"
The three rolled their eyes, Garchomp casually muttering out "Please, I've heard more intimidating stuff from a Noivern." The voice, infuriated, hissed back to her "I AM A NOIVERN!" She held in a snicker, the other two following suite. "Well I guess that says a lot about you then" Garchomp taunted out. After a yell of frustration from the Noivern, the trio cracking up, the voice breathed in and out heavily, declaring out "Here's the task I have for you twits, a riddle to test each of your wits."
The voice coughed, a small silence filling the room, before he slowly declared "The thunder comes before the lightning, and the lightning comes before the cloud. The rain dries all the land it touches, wrapping the earth in a blood red shroud. What, am I?" The three looked between themselves, discussing the possibilities. "Thunder before the lightning…but rain that dries the land…it's not a storm" whispered out Samurott. "Thunder could be a placeholder for a loud sound" remarked Scrafty, "But blood red shroud?" Garchomp looked around, giving a simple smile "It's a volcano. The explosion, the pyroclastic flow, and then the lava that 'rains down' and burns everything in its wake. Next" she stated apathetically.
The voice grumbled, booming out in a more rushed manner "They are sometimes on a wall, and sometimes on a shelf. When you look at one, you always see yourself. How about now, huh?"
"See one's self? Wall and shelf? Easy" Scrafty retorted "It's a mirror!" The voice boomed in anger, Samurott and Garchomp giving her a high five in return.
"NO MORE GAMES" bellowed the voice, the subtle in and out of his angst-ridden breathing clearly audible. "The more you take…the more you leave behind…" he hyperventilated, "WHAT AM I?!" Samurott tisked, giving off a swift answer, "Footsteps."
"IMPOSSIBLE" boomed the voice, the being raging about, yelling and shouting, a rumble being heard on the far side of the room. The trio walked towards the area, before the wall shook and broke in the middle, revealing out an enraged, hysterical Noivern, giving out a large grin. "How about one more?!" he cackled, his form betraying the voice that once bellowed, the three giving a withheld smirk as they took note of him. "What is broken, without ever being held?! A PROMISE!" he screeched out, laughing hysterically, answering before the trio could even remark. He took a few steps towards them, pointing to each member "And I PROMISE, I will NEVER let you three out of here, do you hear?!"
Team Supreme simply walked up to him, Garchomp giving him a small pat on the head, and walked around him, proceeding through the hole he had created. The Noivern stood there, breathing up and down as he stared at a now empty room, shaking his head and chasing after them "W-wait! You don't even know where that leads! A-A rematch?!" he cried out after them, the three girls giggling as he pleaded with them on their way to the Star.