The dimly-lit spire was immaculately clean, with spotless floorboard and shining windows and all. Next to the curving walls were many shelves laden with various Mystery Dungeon Items, such as Orbs and Wands, covered with glass doors, curving with the wall. To the north, a desk covered with various papers and writing utensils sat in between the various shelves. There seemed to be no place for Arthus to sleep, as there was no bed or any other seat except for the wooden chair next to the curved desk. Scattered on the walls behind the shelves lay rust-covered tubes that each had a bell-like head at their peak.
"Welcome to my humble abode, which I call the Spire of Wisdom, or simply the Spire if you will. I try to make everyone at home here in Fortress Ervine." He stated to Azure and Wenstrel as Borik and Gregorius carried them out from the trap door.
Azure looked around fascinated by the sheer number of items that Arthus had gathered from Mystery Dungeons. She shook her head soon after, maintaining a neutral expression. "If you try to make everyone at home here, then why are you forcing people into this place. Those children and I didn't come here because we wanted to." Arthus chuckled, holding up a claw to Azure.
"Do not fear, it is far better than you initially think here. Children are prone to making some bad decisions when fearful and angry, so we need to make sure that they do nothing while they are being brought to their rooms." Arthus replied, moving away from her and sweeping some dust off the top of one of the shelves.
Azure pointed back to Borik and Gregorius. "Why did you need them to carry us up here then? We aren't children." Borik growled, looking snidely to their captives.
"Obviously, you're more dangerous than those kids because you're adults. It's a wonder that Maxim even captured you two. Both of you would be dead if it wasn't for Ma-"
"Do not mention his name!" Arthus warned, his voice elevated. Borik quickly went silent, his eyes exposing fear.
Arthus sighed, massaging his temple. "The fool is correct; we can't have you going off on your own accord within Ervine, for I know full well of the measures that Maxim and his retrieval gang take to gather more children for our purpose." He looked out the window that faced the east, the direction that Azure and the other children had come from.
"If it isn't too much, maybe you can tell us what you want all these young ones for?" Wenstrel asked. Arthus grinned, staring down at his claws and scratching them together.
"That information is on a need-to-know basis, and you, sir and madam, do not need to know. I will tell you that it has very much to do with our name: Empowerment." He looked up to them, his smile fading away.
"Bring them to their rooms, and make sure that their meal is delivered to them. I do not trust them enough to let them into the main lines." Arthus ordered, turning back to the window. Borik and Gregorius took Wenstrel and Azure respectively, with Borik opening the trapdoor beforehand.
"You cannot feed us that food!" Wenstrel exclaimed, his normally calm nature melting away. Arthus turned back to him, his face one of amusement.
"I see we have a chef among us! Well...Borik, what are the guests having today in the mess hall?" Arthus requested. Borik stood at attention as best he could with Wenstrel in his claws.
"I believe it was supposed to be a delicious mixed-berry soup sir. The prisoners-"
"How many times must I tell you that they are guests!" Arthus interrupted. Borik fumbled on his words, finding the right words.
"Pardon me, 'guests', will have professional cooking by our dear Gaska. The Quagsire complained about the smells coming from the mess hallway, but he must have been mistaken." Borik explained, earning skeptical looks from Wenstrel and Azure.
Arthus nodded sagely, moving towards one of many pipes that funneled from the floor. "Ah yes, a wonderful menu. Now, how about we ask dear Gaska if that is indeed what we are having." Borik's eyes filled with fear as Arthus pulled off the metal cap on the pipe's end.
"Gaska, are you there. This is Arthus calling from the Spire." Arthus said into the pipe. It echoed slightly, a shudder climbing down its body. Soon after heaving breaths could be heard from the pipe, indicating a huge Pokemon approaching.'
"Well, let's see what's in the pot...ah, yeah, it's gonna be a soup o' sorts for Project members, but a mixture of table scraps and undesirable ingredients for the 'guests'. Orders came from Captain Borik to conserve resources until our expedition party comes back." A voice replied. Arthus nodded, looking at Borik with a sneer.
"And do you know when they will come back?" He added. A loud hum echoed into the pipe, the voice deep in thought.
It replied, "I'd say in a couple weeks. It takes a while to scour the Dungeons for enough food to sustain this place y'know. We thankfully have a year-supply, but most of it's for emergency purposes." Borik began to quake, his master's teeth glinting in the paling sunlight from outside.
"Thank you for your time Gaska. I'll make sure to come down and investigate your hard work. Don't serve it until I do." He finished. He capped the pipe afterward, not hearing Gaska's reply. His smile faded as he looked down at a streak of grey fur that lined his arm, stroking it curiously.
"You know, I don't like Captains who feel like their authority overrides mine." He stopped stroking his fur and looked Borik dead in the eyes. "So, tell me, why is it that you've explicitly ignored my orders to give our guests the best treatment possible?" Borik stuttered, his words incoherent as he tried to think of a suitable explanation.
"P-Please sir, it was an honest mistake! I assure you that all your other orders have been followed to the letter! Members are keeping composure at all times, the pris-'guests' have proper bedding and light, a-and harsh treatment is strictly forbidden!" Borik exclaimed, letting go of Wenstrel and stepping closer to Arthus. Gregorius slowly let go of Azure, his smile growing gradually as Borik said attempts to protect himself.
Arthus nodded sagely, motioning to Gregorius to take both Azure and Wenstrel down the trapdoor. His smile sliding to a frown, Gregorius complied, taking their arms and bringing them downstairs. After he closed the door, a drawn-out scream came from above.
"What shall we have for dinner tonight?" Arianne asked Theus and Laryon. Both were playing against each other in PokeBlock, attempting to block each other's Pokemon with their own strategies. Theus played the Mewtwo side, while Laryon played the Mew side.
"Mmm...what to do...oh, sorry Arianne. Do you know how to make Wacan Berry stir fry?" Theus asked, thinking intently on his present situation in the game.
Laryon, who was currently winning, added, "Aunt Azure loved making that!" He moved his Metapod next to Theus' Weedle, causing his uncle to yell dejectedly.
"Oh, come on! I was so close!" He exclaimed, banging his paw against the table. His eyes widened and he let out a grunt of pain. "Arianne...my back's hurting again. Going to need some of that salve." Arianne turned to him, having in her hands some Wacan berries.
"Laryon, maybe you can give your uncle some of it. Just look on the bed for it." She told Laryon, turning back to prepare the stir fry. "Just pour some of it in your paw and rub it along his upper back; the effect will spread to all his back soon after." Laryon removed his pieces from the board and obliged, running over to the bed.
Theus groaned and said, "When do you think I'll be able to stand up straight without worrying about the pain?" Arianne continued preparing the meal as Laryon began pouring the salve into his paw.
"It's hard to say. I haven't healed someone from one of the Trevenant's scratches. I believe that his claws didn't contact your spine, but there certainly was a lot of damage made. Until you can stretch out your body with no pain, I think it would be best for you to stay put." Arianne replied, leaning down and striking the wood down below with two fire stones. It soon lit up, the dry grass igniting and burning the wood below.
Theus groaned once more, although more in disappointment than pain as the salve began to take effect from Laryon's application. "I can hardly stand, let alone stretch. It'll take a miracle for me to get back on my feet again." He muttered.
"I bet you've recovered from more than this." Laryon asked. Theus chuckled, sitting straight now that his pain relieved.
"Well, I don't know about that. I remember one time I suffered some severe burns from a Charizard." Theus replied, shuddering after. "I will never forget the pain I was in. I was lucky that I escaped, let alone made it to the nearby village. Chansey lived there, so I was soon able to be healed." He tried stretching, quickly going straight again.
"Although that was a different case. While that would have only caused fur and skin damage, this could cripple me. I won't be able to be as acrobatic I need to be in battles unless my back heals." He continued. Arianne looked back to him, stirring the fry in a pan.
"You should be grateful that you're even alive. If it wasn't for the kindness of the Trevenant toward Laryon you would have been dashed to pieces." She scolded. Theus nodded, and Laryon looked to his uncle curiously.
"Do you know why the Trevenant would do that? That thing hasn't let anyone through the woods ever since it came here, so why would it start now?" Laryon asked, his pendant's swirling design glinting in the sunlight that shown through the window.
Theus held his jaw thoughtfully, staring at Laryon, with his eyes gradually going down to the pendant. "I'm not sure, but it may have something to do with that pendant." Laryon picked it up in his paws, tracing the design, wondering how it might have saved them.
"You said yourself that it was just a thing you found lying around in a dungeon. You gave it to Azure while I was too young to remember anything." Laryon replied. Theus nodded, mumbling to himself.
"Yes...but that doesn't mean it wouldn't have something linked to it that wild Pokemon would recognize, more specifically powerful entities like the Trevenant." Theus looked to the ceiling, reminiscing.
"On my travels, I remember seeing that same design, though not in plain sight. An occasional branch had a knot in that shape, or a cave had what looked to be it popping out on the wall. It always appeared within Mystery Dungeons, more so in dungeons with guardians such as the Trevenant." He looked back down to the pendant, his eyes full of knowledge.
"The mountain I was climbing, with that Charizard I mentioned earlier, had that symbol embedded in various rocks. I don't truly know why they occurred, but the one thing the Mystery Dungeons that had them had in common was that they always had guardians. Whether it be a Gyarados or a Luxray, it was there." Arianne came over, with a pan full of the delicious stir-fry.
"Mysteries aside, I think this has been a lovely morning." Theus finished, scooping the stir-fry to a plate that Arianne gave to him. Laryon did the same, and soon Arianne joined, digging into the fine cuisine. Night fell gradually, and the Trevenant and Phantump swarmed out of the Were-Forest, right on cue for their daily schedule. Kricketot chirped, and Parasect screed, not daring to assault the little house with the Trevenant patrolling around it.