Jason and the Fleece of Hoenn
Chapter 13 – Meeting the King
Rivalus led Jason and his two friends into the same hall where Jason had met the king in the morning. A long, lavishly decorated table had been set up, bearing a wide assortment of dishes, most of which Jason did not recognize. Ru was practically salivating at the sight. The king came in next, preceded by two guards and followed by two other men around the king's age. Another two guards came in last.
A young waitress soon came and led each person to their seat, starting with the King. She then sat Jason opposite the king and Rivalus to the king's left. To Ru's delight, the waitress came up to him next. She seated him to Jason's left and then Praxis to Jason's right. Then the other two men were seated to the king's right. Lastly, Jason's Pokémon, Ru's Happy and Rivalus's Herc were seated on a mat at the centre of which lay a plate full of a wide assortment of berries and other items. The guards remained standing at attention, a pair at the front entrance and a pair behind the king.
Jason glanced at the king opposite him at the centre of the table, trying to glean what he could from his expression, but the king's face was substantially blank. The only thing that Jason was aware of was his dislike for the man and wondered how he could participate in negotiations in his current state of mind. He took a deep breath and tried to relax.
Jason wondered why Lucario had not insisted on sitting at the table and taking part in negotiations. If Lucario was not letting on that he could speak and understand human speech, he must have a reason, so Jason decided to go along with it.
He noticed that Ru's attention had been diverted from the food to the waitress. Admittedly, Jason thought that she looked pleasing as well, but it's not like he wanted to keep staring at her. Maybe different guys like the appearance of different girls, he figured, just like different people prefer different things to eat. But something else bugged him: just because a girl is nice to look at, was that so important that it's all that counts about her? Unfortunately he did not have time to dwell on that now. The people of Johto were at stake here and he had to focus on that.
Jason wasn't sure what the protocol would be, but the king started the proceedings by inviting everyone to enjoy the meal. Jason and Ru were about to start eating, but Praxis said it's polite to let the king choose his food first. The king praised Praxis for his manners. Jason glanced to see how Praxis responded to the commendation, but Praxis did not show any response.
Jason put some food on his plate and started eating, but found it unusual. It wasn't unpleasant, but it wasn't food he was used to. A couple of dishes resembled what Auria had cooked for him, and he found that he liked them, but there was little of the food he used to eat back home.
His thoughts about the food led him to start thinking of home. If he succeeded in this mission and ended up becoming king of Johto, what would happen to the cabin in the Viridian Forest? Certainly it would be his home no longer—Johto would become his new home. Would Lucario return and live there alone, or would he stay in Johto with Jason? Would the cabin that Mr Green had taken the trouble to build be left vacant? In a hundred years' time, should someone find it, would they wonder who had lived there?
"Jason," said the king, interrupting his thoughts, "I didn't introduce to you my two advisors, Sophister and Amphilogus." He gestured to each of them in turn.
The king paused waiting for Jason to speak. Praxis nudged him with his elbow. "Introduce us," he whispered.
"Oh … This is Ru … Ruby, and this is Praxis," Jason said, pointing to each in turn with his finger."
"Is Alph involved in these negotiations?" asked Sophister, gesturing towards Praxis. He sounded as if the matter could be serious.
"No," said Jason, "uh … Praxis has just come along … uh …"
"I've joined Jason for personal reasons," Praxis explained. "Alph is not involved in this matter."
"Yeah, what he said," added Jason, who wanted to make it sound like he answered the question himself but knew he totally failed at it.
"Ruby, is it?" said the king. "You're Soteris's younger son, then?"
"That's me!" said Ru.
"That's why I thought you looked familiar. You resemble you father."
"You know my dad?"
"Oh yes," said the king, in a sombre tone, "we go back a long way." Whatever the history behind that was, though, the Pelias did not elucidate. "So how did you meet Jason?"
"Just by chance met him along the way," Ru answered with a shrug.
"By chance?" The king waited for Ru to expand on that, but Ru just nodded. Obviously Ru was being as secretive about the past as the king was.
The king took the opportunity to take a few mouthfuls. He then turned to Jason. "So Jason," he said, "I trust everything here is to your satisfaction."
"Yeah, it's pretty good," Jason replied politely. "I've never had much of this stuff before, so it's a bit unusual for me."
"I see. Well, enjoy it." He clapped his hands twice quickly. "Some drink please."
The waitress who had been standing quietly a little way off came up, picked up one of the jugs on the table and began pouring drinks into each person's goblet, starting with the king.
Ru, meanwhile, was looking at her every move. "Hey, don't forget about me, cutie!" he said.
She ignored him, but the king said, "one of the guests has spoken to you, girl."
She turned to Ru and with a forced smile said, "I won't forget you."
She poured a drink for Rivalus, then came around to serve Jason, then Praxis, and finally Ru.
As she was pouring Ru's drink, he put his arm around her waist. "Thanks," he said. Then he asked, "Hey, do you want to have some drinks together afterwards?"
Jason, sitting next to him, could see Ru moving his hand down from her waist to her hips and spread his fingers wide as if to feel as much of her as he could. She gave a start and almost spilled the drink. Noticing what Ru did made Jason feel uncomfortable, with a feeling he had rarely ever experienced, a feeling like he wanted something that someone else had, but he couldn't understand properly what was going on inside him.
"Ahem," said Amphilogus, "this isn't a tavern, it's a formal banquet."
Ru sheepishly let her go and she continued pouring drinks for Sophister and Amphilogus. Jason was happy that Amphilogous got him to stop. He wasn't sure that he could focus on negotiations if Ru was going to fool around.
"So Jason," asked the king, "did you enjoy the game?"
"Yes," Jason answered flatly, not knowing whether it was the truth or a lie. He didn't particularly enjoy the feeling of being defeated, and he certainly didn't like knowing that he was manipulated into losing by a only hair when he supposedly could have been thrashed in five minutes. And he didn't like Rivalus's "factual" boasting after the game that Jason found himself powerless to counter. On the other hand, he couldn't deny that fighting with Quil by his side felt thrilling and fulfilling.
"You don't sound that sure of yourself. No matter. I'm sure it helped you to get to know Rivalus better."
"Uh … yeah, I guess so," Jason responded, unsure about what the king was getting at. It made him uncomfortable. Was the king suggesting that Jason got to know that Rivalus was stronger than him?
"Now Jason," the king continued, "don't think I offered you a banquet here because of ideas going around about … deposing me."
Jason stared back silently, again wondering where this would lead. He didn't expect the king to be so frank about Jason's intentions. He tensed up, like he had to guard against some sort of trick the king might try to play.
"Have no fear, I don't see you as a threat. It would be trivial for me to order one of the guards to slay you here and now," the king said with a shrug of his shoulders.
Jason's stomach fell like a stone. Was all this an elaborate trap? Then again, the king didn't know that Lucario fully understood every word he was saying. If Jason was attacked, Lucario could protect him instantly. Maybe that's why Lucario played dumb. Jason felt a surge of relief that his situation was not as dire as the king made out, but decided he should go along with it anyway. He had to think of something to say, something sounding fearless but also making it sound that the king was right.
"So there must be some reason you haven't done it yet, right?" Was all he could think of. Maybe it was good enough.
"Very perceptive," replied the king. "I have something better in mind. I've invited you here this evening to make you an offer, something that is likely to turn out much better for you than whatever you might have had in mind."
"Be careful," Ru whispered into Jason's ear. Jason nodded slightly. He was on his guard.
"Being a ruler is not as easy as it seems. You have so many responsibilities, so many worries, such a large land with so many people, and you have to know what's happening everywhere, who's planning a revolt, who you can bribe, you have to keep the people in line, you can't starve them to death, there's crime to worry about, there's keeping your army strong, keeping your navy in good shape, and then there's issues of trade with other nations, visits to and from, the list goes on and on."
Jason's eyes opened wide. He had no idea that being a king meant all that.
"Yes, it surprises you, doesn't it," the king continued. "Fortunately I have my two experienced advisors to help me, especially when it comes to difficult decisions about how to deal with dissenters and rebels." The king paused to let his words sink in. "So Jason, do you really want to burden yourself with all these cares? Sometimes you have to make unpopular decisions. It's a thankless job, and a young, inexperienced boy like you doesn't need that kind of responsibility. I have a much better option for you."
"Uh-huh," Jason said. He really wanted this to be over with, so that he could make his offer, but he had the feeling the king wouldn't listen until he said his piece first. Oh well, he would have to endure it. He let the king continue.
"Wouldn't it be much better for you to have an easier job. You could have a job in Johto, one with power, one that pays well, all your needs catered for. You can still serve the people of Johto that you seem so keen to serve, but in an easier way."
"What do you have in mind?" asked Jason.
"From the game today, I can see that you're a fine Pokémon trainer. I need someone to establish a Pokémon tagma in my army. Very few recruits have any Pokémon skills, but with some more training, yours can be exceptional. Rivalus can help you with the task until you establish yourself."
"You want me to … join you?" asked Jason incredulously. Jason would rather die than join Pelias, but he didn't think he should say that out loud.
"You'll be joining the Johtian army to serve the people of Johto—a much easier job than being king, yet one with power that you could exercise for the benefit of the people you seem to love so much."
"Don't listen to him," said Ru. "He doesn't care about us. He just wants to get rid of you by making you join his side."
"I'm merely thinking about what's best for my nephew," the king replied. "Go up against me and you won't win. Everyone loses. Do it my way, and everyone benefits. Which course is wiser, do you think?"
Praxis shook his head. "Jason's not going to fall for that one," he said.
"Let Jason make up his own mind," the king replied in a flat tone. "Or if you don't want a military career," he said to Jason, "then I have another option for you. I need an ambassador to Kanto. Is that where you've been lurking all these years? I honestly have no idea, but Kanto's the easiest place to have escaped to. Now since I took control, Kanto reneged on its trade agreement with Johto. Surely with your credentials, you'd be the best person to re-establish an agreement where both countries can benefit. Talk to Argo and he'll tell you how much such a deal would mean to the people of Johto. Why I'll even sign up Ruby as your assistant. You'd like that, wouldn't you boy? You can have wealth, women, food, whatever you like."
Ru fidgeted uncomfortably and looked down. Jason could tell that Ru was being tempted by the offer.
The king clapped twice, and the young waitress approached.
"Some wine," he ordered.
The waitress bowed and left. Ru gingerly lifted his gaze and looked at her walk off, half a smile on his face.
Jason had had enough. He wanted to get on with what he came for. "Well, thank you for your offer," he said, "but there's something else I—"
"You don't think my offer is generous?" asked the king.
"Well I'm not saying that it's not generous—"
"Well what is it then? Name your price. Is there a girl you like back in Kanto? We can accommodate her if you want."
Jason didn't know what to do. The king was insistent on tempting him. Jason had no intention of joining Pelias, but he was worried that Ru would fall for it. Strange how the king had said nothing about Praxis. Maybe he figured that Praxis wouldn't be taken in so easily, or maybe he had nothing with which to tempt him.
Just then the waitress returned with a large pitcher. She came to the table and started pouring in everyone's cups, starting with the king. As she was pouring the king's drink, the king whispered something in her ear. She gasped at first, but the king whispered some more, at which she sighed and nodded. She served everyone their wine in the order she had done before. When it came Ru's turn to be served, she pressed close to him. She poured the wine with her right hand while she put her left around his shoulder. He responded by placing his hand on her like he did before, only this time he moved his hand around, like he was intent on touching every square inch of wherever he could reach. When she left him to finish the round, a look of pleasure was left plastered all over Ru's face.
The king picked up his goblet and said, "Let's drink to a happy future for all of us."
Ru, Sophister and Amphilogous also picked up their cups. Jason was about to, but Praxis stopped him.
"What's the matter, my little foreign friend?" said the king. "Don't they drink wine in Alph?"
"I think we should listen to Jason's offer first, before we make any commitments," Praxis replied.
The king glared at him. "You don't think Jason and Ruby prefer to live happy, peaceful lives? Do you intend to coax them into stirring up trouble that will surely end in their demise?"
Praxis smiled. "Don't misunderstand me. We value the opportunity to discuss a mutually agreeable solution. We merely have an alternative 'happy and peaceful' proposal that you may wish to consider."
Jason had no idea Praxis could speak like that, and with such big words, but he suddenly felt relieved that Praxis had managed to steer the proceedings the way Jason needed them to go. He was exceedingly glad Praxis had come along. He could never have done it himself, even with Ru to help.
The king looked at his advisors, who shrugged back as if to say, why not. The king looked back at Praxis and said, "Very well, go on." He put his goblet down and the others followed suit. Praxis turned to Jason, who took the cue.
"Um … apparently," Jason said, "you have some rare items … like some fancy feather or something … and other stuff." Jason couldn't believe his nervousness. When it came to the whole point of his being here, would he let everyone down?
"What of it?" said the king.
"Well … what if there's another item we could get for you … the … uh … Golden Fleece of Hoenn? Have you heard of that?"
The king's eyes popped. "Heard of it!?" he exclaimed. "It's of Johtian origin."
"OK, well apparently it's really valuable. What if we got it, and then said you can have it, and keep all the other things you've collected, in exchange for the throne?"
The king stared dumbstruck for a moment, then sat back and began to laugh. "What a ridiculous notion! How are you going to get it? If you can get to Hoenn and obtain it from Aetes, so can I."
"Have you tried to get it?" Jason asked.
The king looked at Jason curiously. "What if I have?" he asked suspiciously.
"Just asking," Jason replied. "Do you want it? I've heard you do."
"What else have you heard about me?" the king asked angrily.
"Pelias, sir," said Sophister, "I do not see the point in continuing this line of discussion. It's not proving productive."
The king ignored him. "The Golden Fleece!" he said in a low voice.
"Ah! So if we can get it," said Praxis, "you'll consider the offer then! Just imagine, all those treasures could get you and your advisors a comfortable retirement anywhere. You won't have unruly citizens to put up with or decisions to make—except what to have for dinner. You can live the rest of your lives in easy luxury."
The king stopped to consider Praxis's suggestion.
"Pelias, sir," said Amphilogus, "such an outlandish and ill-advised proposal is not even worth considering."
"Yes but what if they succeed in getting the fleece?" said the king in an undertone.
"Are you serious, sir?" said Sophister.
"Excuse us while we speak in private," said the king.
The four people on the king's side of the table turned their backs and huddled into a group. A lot of whispering could be heard, but very few words were recognizable apart from the occasional "fleece" and "Jason" and the like. Then their discussion seemed to get a bit heated for a while, but eventually, it settled down and they turned back.
The king spoke. "Jason, such a proposal is most likely the foolish product of a youth's reckless adventurousness. You're more likely to die than to succeed in getting the Golden Fleece. Why not accept my proposal, which has far more certainty of mutual reward?"
"Uh … I think I'll stick with my offer," Jason replied.
The king thought a while.
"Mister king," said Ru, "it looks like you really want that fleece, don't you?"
Pelias did not reply.
"Look," Ru continued, "what if Jason doesn't succeed—and survives the attempt—what if he then considers your offer when—if—he comes back?"
Jason didn't like the sound of that. Was Ru agreeing that the trip was dangerous? And was Ru really tempted enough by the king's offer to even consider it?
"Father," said Rivalus, who seemed to be eyeing Jason and his friends, "can we talk again?" His eyes narrowed for a moment.
The king nodded and the four of them spoke between themselves again. This time the conversation was more animated, but they still spoke in hushed tones. Even from behind, the king was looking more agitated, while Sophister and Amphilogus were looking more and more insistent. Rivalus was making gestures as if he was earnest about something, but Jason had no idea what they were trying to say. Finally, they turned back to face Jason and his friends.
"Very well," said the king. "We accept your proposal. I will grant the throne in exchange for the Golden Fleece to the one who presents it to me."
"So if I succeed in getting the Golden Fleece from Hoenn," Jason confirmed, "you'll give the throne to me."
"Merely getting the fleece is insufficient," the king replied. "You must hand it over to me, and I will keep it and all the items in my collection, and my advisors and I will have safe passage out of the country."
Safe passage? Jason wanted to punch the man in the guts. And in the face. Several times. But he put personal differences aside for the sake of his people. "OK," he said.
"Shall we drink to that, then?" said Praxis.
"Indeed!" said the king. "To good fortune on your adventure!"
This time they all drank the wine. Jason found he didn't like it much, so he took only a small sip. Praxis and the others only seemed to drink it slowly, except for Ru who drained his goblet in a few gulps.
It only hit Jason what he had done when he put down the cup. He did it! He had succeeded in getting the king's agreement to the plan. He almost trembled with excitement and relief.
It dawned on him that Rivalus might not be happy about this arrangement, even if the king was. Rivalus did say that he wanted to be king. He looked at him. For a moment they exchanged glances. Rivalus did not look unhappy, which didn't make sense. In any case, Rivalus would not want him to succeed, so Jason would have to be careful of him. Rivalus would not be easy to deal with if he tried to disrupt Jason's plans.
Jason hadn't finished his wine, so Ru asked if he could have the rest. Jason shrugged an OK, so Ru poured Jason's wine into his own cup and quaffed it down.
Having concluded the purpose of the event, they finished their meals, stood up, and Jason and his party were escorted to the main entrance.
When Ru heard the waitress start picking up the dishes, he turned to her and said, "Hey, doll. Are you sure you don't want to go out tonight?" She ignored him, but Ru went on, "What's your name, sweetie?"
"Her name's Omorphe," said Rivalus. "I think she's got work to do right now."
"See you next time I'm here, Omorphe!" said Ru as Praxis practically had to drag him out by the arm. She half-smiled back awkwardly. "Did you see that?" said Ru when they were outside. "She smiled at me!"
"You had a bit too much to drink," said Praxis. "Take a few deep breaths."
Outside, in the fresh, evening air, Ru did as he was bid and recovered a little, but not much. He stumbled down the stairs and had to lean on Lucario not to fall down and hurt himself. Happy stayed clear of his own trainer and climbed up onto Fluff, who didn't seem to mind.
"We've got to get back to Goldenrod," Praxis said. "Only, we kind of forgot to work out how to do that."
"Uncle Argo said to send a pidgey," Ru answered.
"We don't have any money," said Jason.
"Anyway, it's nighttime," said Praxis. "We'd have to send a noctowl."
"They cost more, don't they?" Jason asked.
"Let's go back to the docks then," Praxis suggested. "Hopefully one of the ships might be able to help us."
The party including the three boys, Lucario and the other Pokémon set off for the port. It was night time, but the moon had risen, and lamp light leaked out of buildings, so they had enough light to make their way.
As they were walking, Ru couldn't help commenting about the waitress. "Her butt was so … so … gorgeous."
"Yeah well making out like that in front of everyone was rude," Praxis reproved.
"Now you're talking like Lucario!"
"Yeah well, we were in front of the king himself! I really felt uncomfortable, and embarrassed."
"A king?" replied Ru. "Yeah, right! He's a usurper!"
"Well I felt uncomfortable too," said Jason.
"But you gotta admit, she was hot! Don't you think?"
"I don't know about her temperature," Jason replied. "She had a pleasant body shape, if that's what you mean."
"Yeah she was nice," said Praxis, "but I think girls in Alph—"
"Yeah, yeah," Ru interrupted, waving his hand at Praxis, "you think girls in Alph look cuter."
"Keep your voice down, you're shouting," said Praxis, looking annoyed.
"I have to admit," said Jason, "that Alph girl with the long black hair looked nice. Do you remember, Ru?"
"Which girl?" Praxis put in sharply.
"The one Ru couldn't stop gawking at."
"Huh? Oh yeah," said Ru, "the one in the dining hall."
"Dining hall?" said Praxis. Now he was starting to get loud.
"I think it's not far from your place," said Jason.
Praxis gasped. "The council servant girl?" he said with alarm. "How did she react?"
"I think she pretty much ignored him," said Jason.
Praxis uttered a sigh of relief.
"Hey, you sound like you got the hots for her," said Ru.
"Ah … well …" Praxis seemed at a loss for words.
"Jason was looking at her too," teased Ru, elbowing Jason, and losing his balance in the process. Jason had to grab him and set him upright again.
"Yeah well both of you keep your filthy minds off her!" Praxis shouted.
"Hey is this the right way to the docks?" Jason asked, trying to change the conversation, while helping Ru to stay on his feet.
"Does she like you too?" Ru inquired, raising his eyebrows at Praxis.
"Keep your voice down. Let's work out how to get back to Goldenrod," Praxis replied.
The conversation more or less continued like that—Ru trying to talk about the opposite sex and the other two trying to change the subject—until they reached the docks where they came to the realization that not only was there no way of contacting Argo, but there was no-one they knew, and nowhere to sleep for the night, let alone the means to get food the next day.
"I guess we didn't plan this very well," said Lucario.
"Sorry for this guys. I should've thought it through better," said Jason.
"This might be tough," said Ru, his face looking sneaky. "I'm still a bit tipsy."
"A bit?" Praxis commented.
"What does that mean?" Jason asked.
"I've 'ad too much to drink 'n' I'm gonna have to pick someone's pocket." He slapped his face with his right hand.
"You'll do no such thing!" Lucario exclaimed.
"You send a message then!" Ru replied. "Anyway," he said with a frown, "there's hardly anyone around. It's easier in a crowd."
Eventually, though, they asked for help among the several ships berthed at the port and they found one that was about to head off to Goldenrod City. When they explained the situation, the captain agreed to take them for free, and within a few hours, they had arrived at Argo's house—although Ru had to be carried in on Fluff's back.
They related what happened during the day to Argo, who was very pleased. It turned out that he had spent the day getting the ship prepared for the expedition to Hoenn, and was ready to set sail in the morning. Jason went to bed content that things had gone better than he had expected. He had thought that the king wouldn't agree so easily, but in the end he did. He had a niggly feeling that he must have missed something, that maybe it was too easy, but his tiredness got the better of him and he fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.
- – — – -
"Please, I really want to go too," said Praxis.
"Your arm's still in a splint," replied Argo, "and your parents must be worried sick about you by now!"
"Can't you send them a pidgey? It's not a secret any more."
"Yes, I'll send them a message all right—telling them you're on your way home!"
"Argo," said Jason, "I couldn't have succeeded with the king without Praxis. I'd like him to come too."
"You be careful Jason. Your word carries a lot of weight, but with that weight comes responsibility," Argo said waving his finger. "Just because you'd like something to be a certain way doesn't mean it's always the right thing to ask. Anyway, you're not king yet, and I'm the captain of my ship, and I'm responsible for the welfare of those on board."
"Why do you want to come so bad, anyway?" Ru asked.
"We'll be going to parts of the world where I haven't been," Praxis answered.
"Dangerous parts," said Argo. "Believe me, I've been there."
"Yes but my job in Alph is to record information about Pokémon. I've already recorded information about all the Pokémon around Alph."
"So you want to come just so you can write!? Of all the most ridiculous excuses I've ever heard …" Argo scratched the back of his head.
"No, it's a serious job," Praxis insisted. "Alph wants to continue to be a centre of knowledge."
"And what use, may I ask, is knowledge about Pokémon that don't even live around here?"
"Well that's the strange thing about knowledge," Praxis replied. "You don't know what it's useful for until you get it!"
Argo scratched his head again trying to comprehend that remark, but it didn't seem to help.
"Look," said Praxis, "let's send a message and tell my parents to reply straight away. We can wait a couple of hours, can't we? Alph isn't far from here as the murkrow flies—uh … the pidgey in this case."
Argo looked dubious. "Waiting is not as simple a matter as you might think. To get past the whirlpools, it depends on the tides, the wind, the weather. If we set sail now, conditions are favourable for a journey south out of the bay. The longer we wait, the greater the chance of running into danger."
Eventually, though, pleading from the three boys wore Argo down, and they went to a message sender and sent a letter to Praxis' anxious parents as follows:
Mom, Dad, Sis, it's Praxis. Just letting you know I'm fine. We got lost in the forest and I ended up having to go with Jason to Goldenrod City. I hurt my arm, but Ruby's aunt fixed it up and I should be good in a few weeks. Jason's sailing to Hoenn and I thought it was a fantastic opportunity to find out about different Pokémon. Is it OK if I go with them? No one from Alph might get this chance again. Thing is, we need an answer like right now, hope you don't mind. Say hello to Aphrodia. Actually, give her a hug from me and tell her I miss her heaps.
On the way back home, Praxis realized something. "Uh … by the way," he said, "while we wait for the reply … can you buy me a scroll?"
Argo hit his forehead with his palm. "I just spent all the money I can spare on supplies for the journey. I can't help with your job. That's your responsibility."
Not fazed by Argo's reply, Jason and Ru tried to come up with ideas about how Praxis could get a scroll—short of stealing one, which was Ru's immediate suggestion. Jason offered to sell some of the medications he had, but Lucario said that they may be needed on the journey, all the more if the journey was dangerous. In the end, they couldn't think of anything, until a message arrived back from Praxis' parents:
Praxis, it's Dad. We just got your letter and I can't express how relieved we are. We sent a party to search for you but there wasn't a trace of any of you and we've been worried sick. Mum couldn't go to work. Korie and Aphrodia were both in tears. Anyway, what counts is that you're safe. If you have a chance to go to Hoenn, then take it. We'll miss you even more, but don't let go of an opportunity like that! Don't forget you'll need scrolls and ink and pens. The library will pay you back for the expenses. I'll let Aphrodia know you're OK when we see her this afternoon. Lots of love.
Argo scanned the letter and shook his head in exasperation.
"All right, you win," he said. "I'll pay for your writing materials, and for your food for the journey, but I'm sending a messenger to Alph with the bill!"
"That reminds me," said Lucario. "When we went to Alph, the council said that if Jason had a plan about defeating the king, to send a messenger to let them know, and they would reconsider offering help."
"What? Now you tell me!" Argo replied.
"I suppose we can't send another pidgey about that," said Jason.
"No you certainly can't. Any written message to Alph can and will be seen by the king's spies. The only way to tell them is by word of mouth." Having said that, Argo's eyes popped open wide. His mood suddenly switched from angry exasperation to eager excitement. Turning to Praxis, he grabbed him by the shoulders and said, "Tell you what, boy! This letter of yours is the perfect opportunity to send a messenger. He can take your father's letter with the bill as proof! And even if it falls into the king's hands, he'll just think your parents sent you on a fool's errand! It's perfect!"
"Thanks!" said Praxis sarcastically.
"Don't worry," said Ru, "let's just go and get your scroll."