Chapter Four: Observations
The boards were crowded with various Pokémon, so I stood back and watched for a moment. I focused on a Nidoking that was going through the one with pictures and saw him grab a couple off of the wall. Before I could ask any questions, he was mobbed by another group.
"Hey! That Outlaw was mine!" One screamed.
"I saw that creep first! He's mine!" Another hollered.
"Too slow then!" The Nidoking replied, his voice thundering over the complaints. "I have the request, so the job is mine! Now out of the way!"
Outlaws... Magnalu had mentioned them. Safe to assume that one of those Missions would not be the best for me. If context clues were to be relied upon, Outlaws must be tough Pokémon that are troublesome enough to be considered wanted by whatever form of law enforcement that they have in this world. Definitely not something to embark upon if I can't reliably use my moveset. My health takes priority at this juncture since I hated the way Derry looked so dejected and solemn before we went to the clinic in town.
Turning my attention to the other board, I noticed that there were no pictures on this one. While it was crowded, there weren't as many Pokémon as with the Outlaw Board. I made my way up to it, politely pushing my way up just to see what these ones were all about, when I noticed that footprint writing like at the Hitmon Gym. I couldn't read a word! That was rather unfortunate as I was really looking forward to going out and doing something. A disappointed look came onto my face as I got out of the way.
"Something the matter Kaloi?" Nightshade's voice came, piercing through any thoughts running through my head. I looked to my left and noticed a stack of papers in the Grovyle's claws. They looked to be for the board I had just left.
"Yes and no in all honesty." I replied before explaining. "I'm feeling over-energized after the trip to the clinic, so I figured I'd check the boards to see what I could help with. Something easy of course, but I can't read the writing on any of the pages."
He nodded in understanding as he moved to set the papers on a nearby table. He stood there for a moment before turning back to me, crossing his arms, eyes closed in thought. I shifted nervously in place, feeling placed on the spot even though it was really the other way around. I mean, I had just asked to accompany him somewhere potentially dangerous with really no foreknowledge of what I was talking about and a very very basic understanding of how to defend myself.
"I'll have to talk to Derry about it." Night finally said, opening his eyes to look at me. "You're still new around here and learning, and you're also not officially a part of the team. I can understand the curiosity, but it's still fairly dangerous. Walk around and observe everything for the time being, or take a nap. One can learn a lot by watching, listening, or even just being around various activities."
I nodded in understanding, but felt rather disappointed. It did make loads of sense why Night would want to confer with Derry; however, the connotations just didn't sit right. Lost in my thoughts, I wandered over toward the pool area. As Nightshade said, one can learn a lot by observing, so that's what I ultimately decided to do. It was at least better than going and laying around in my borrowed bed and attempting to sleep.
Standing off to the side, I watched as the children played various games with both each other and Uly and Magnalu. It brought a small smile to my face, seeing them all get along so well. Not wanting to interrupt, I went over to a raised stone table that had some sticks and what appeared to be parchment laying on it. There were a few other Pokémon there doing various activities as i saw some drawing and others writing in that strange archaic footprint writing. It seemed that the sticks were a writing instrument with one charred end.
"A writing station...I should take the time to learn that footprint writing they use." I thought. Taking a place at the table, I grabbed a small piece of parchment and a charcoal stick. However, I immediately put the stick down, mentally slapping myself since I didn't know how to write anything.
"Writer's block, eh?" A voice boomed behind me, or rather through me. "Happens to everyone now and again. Especially those in need of assistance!"
Startled by the sudden statement, I spun around to see a Bronzong floating along with an Elgyem. Where they came from, I wasn't sure. Hell, I wasn't even sure if they were the ones that had spoken. Upon looking around, it didn't seem like anyone else had heard the rather loud voice, so I concluded that I was just hearing things.
"Must be more tired than I thought..." I muttered, turning back around. Upon facing the table again, I found the paper I had grabbed now full of writing with the pencil floating above it.
"What the hell?" I voiced aloud, surprised by the change.
"I should hope that prompt will give the inspiration you sorely needed!" The voice boomed again, causing me to jump in surprise.
"W-who's talking?" I asked, unnerved.
"Our apologies, Mr. Cyndaquil." A softer voice chimed. "My partner and I are telepaths. We're the Bronzong and Elgyem behind you."
With that last statement, relief flooded my body and I let out a large breath that I had unconsciously been holding before turning to face the two Psychic-Types. I took a few slow breaths to calm myself before speaking again.
"Okay... I'm going to admit that you guys scared me right then." I said, trying to keep my tone even and calm. "Now as much as I'm sure the prompt would help me, were I actually a writer, writer's block isn't really my problem at all."
A feeling of being poked and prodded came over me in that instant, causing me to shiver. After a few moments of this, a feeling of sudden realization washed over me before the feeling was suddenly revoked. The Elgyem turned to the Bronzong, hitting it lightly with the lights on its hands flashing. If there was an Unown in the shape of a question mark around, it would probably be floating above my head due to how much confusion my face had to have been emanating.
"Sorry to have bothered you!" The Elgyem seemed to squeak before pushing the Bronzong along and away from the table. I stared after them for a moment before stepping away from the table myself and heading to the bedrooms. That whole ordeal made my brain spin in ways I hadn't thought possible. Time to lay down and let everything settle. I was sure that if I was needed, someone would find me. After slipping through the entrance to the sleeping quarters, I made my way down to the room I slept in earlier. I shuffled into the bed, once again covering myself with the leaves and shut my eyes.
I woke up a good while later feeling fully energized. There weren't any windows in the room, but somehow I knew that night had fallen. I must've been more tired than I had previously thought after the events of the day. Peeking out into the hallway, I heard some rather loud snoring coming from the direction of Quartz' room. It seemed like I wasn't the only one who went to sleep; although, she must've gone to bed long after I did. I tiptoed along past the rest of the rooms, peering into each one to see who else was around, and I only saw Magnalu quietly sleeping in his bed.
"I wonder where Night, Derry and Uly are…" I whispered to myself, tilting my head in confusion. "Maybe they're out in the main room?"
With that thought in mind, I opened the door and stepped out into the main room. Everything was dark except for a couple of lights by the mission boards. A splash caught my attention and made me jerk my head to the side to look at the pool area. In the dark, I could just barely make out the shape of the Buizel. He must've just been swimming laps or cleaning the pool of any trash. Another scan of the room revealed that Night and Derry were nowhere around, so I went back over to the mission boards with the thought that if I tried hard enough and focused on things, I could potentially decipher the footprint runes on my own. When I got over there however, on a nearby table were some papers I hadn't seen earlier.
Curiosity getting the better of me, I made my way to them and picked one of the papers up. The writing was different here. Instead of footprints, they looked like a whole slew of other creatures. Maybe they were a kind of Pokémon? Anything was possible in my mind at this point. The shapes of these things were striking a chord of familiarity that was rather intense. It was as if I knew them in my heart of hearts, seeing them clicked something in my brain and I knew right then that I could read this particular alphabet.
"Someone! Anyone! Please help me!" I read aloud. "I was out exploring Rockfall Valley and I was attacked by a group of Pokémon! I barely managed to get away with my life, but they chased me far deeper in than I was originally willing to go. I think I'm around B6F In addition, I dropped my bag while getting away that had an Escape Orb in it. Now I have no way to get out of here! I'm not strong enough to make it through the rest of the dungeon! Please, someone come and rescue me!
- Amaliza the Minccino.
Reward: 3000 Poké"
Once I finished reading the request, a strong feeling to go and help the Minccino rose up in me. Was this normal for those that were in Exploration Teams? It was definitely something to ask later on. I took a look at the other papers, thinking that there were others in this other archaic writing, but unfortunately the rest were back to the footprint runes. It was rather strange in my mind that this request for help wasn't up on one of the boards. I began pondering the potential reasons why it wasn't with the rest of the help requests.
"Alloy, what are you doing up? Is there something wrong?" Derry asked, concern evident in his voice. Having been caught up in my thoughts, I never heard the Riolu walk up behind me, so as a result I whipped around in surprise. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest though my fears were eased as I saw both Derry and Night there. I breathed out a sigh of relief and responded.
"Lord have mercy… Way to freak a guy out. Never heard you guys come up behind me." I said, getting control of myself. "Everything's fine, I just woke up not too long ago and felt restless. I was going to take a walk outside, but I was distracted by the lights over here."
"What's up with the paper in your hand?" Nightshade inquired. "Did you suddenly learn how to write?"
"No, it was on the table here. It's got a different funny writing on it from the footprint runes, but it seems to be a request for help."
"Different writing? Oh! That paper with the Unown text that came earlier today! You can actually read that? I asked everyone here if they could decipher it and no one was able to. That's actually quite amazing! I just don't understand how you can understand that and not footprint runes…"
That was something I didn't know either. Maybe it had something to do with my past as a human. At this point I was just ready to accept any possible explanation. Without waiting to be asked, I peered at the paper and read the contents of the request again.
"Rockfall Valley? Normally that's a fairly easy to traverse Mystery Dungeon." Nightshade said, putting a claw on his chin. "It's over to the east in Lamadd, and it's called that because there are groups of Graveler that like to throw boulders at each other from opposite sides of the valley. They tend to fall short and roll down the hills. That being said, as I mentioned earlier, it's an easier dungeon. Would you mind reading it out again so we can write it down?"
I complied and read the request through again a couple more times while Night wrote it down on another paper. Once that was translated, the Grovyle went over and stuck it on the board that didn't have any Outlaws on it. He dusted off his claws in satisfaction while Derritus removed the original request paper from my hand and cleaned up the rest of the papers on the table. Once that was done, the two leaders looked at each other and seemed to have a silent conversation. Not being privy to that I could only imagine what it was that they were communicating.
"We're going to head to bed, I suggest you go and try to sleep too." Derry said eventually, stretching and stifling a yawn. "I know you're probably still restless, but it'd be for the best in the long run."
I nodded and turned back toward the dormitory. Leading the way, I couldn't help but wonder what had kept them up so late in the first place. I looked in the direction of the pool to see the waters all still. Ulysses must have gone to bed not too long after I came out seeing as how he was nowhere to be seen. I made my way back to my room and settled into the bed, mind racing with various trains of thought. I didn't think that I would be able to fall asleep, but surprisingly not too long after closing my eyes and making sure my breathing was even, I was out like a light