Chapter 6
The Grip of Thorns
Ozerograd was a town prominent in Selenia. While it could hardly compare to some of the fancifully large towns that were present in Dresilia and Miletos, it was a sizable town by Selenian standards, and so by extension, it was regarded as an important centre in Selenian politics. When Mitrofan took over the country and instilled himself as tsar, this was one of the major centres that captured first, with the help of Hinnerk. After the latter took over the town by deposing the local lord, he created the Thorned Roses to help him exercise his newfound power.
The town itself showed evident signs of planning being put into it, as opposed to the haphazard nature that most cities and towns found themselves in as they expanded. Perhaps Ozerograd's nature would change in the future if its population grew, but for now, its planned nature served as a surprising newness to the town.
There was a good reason for this. In olden times, Ozerograd was in fact a smaller settlement located closer to the lake nearby it, a decently-sized mere by the name of Lake Lazurny. This was convenient for locals, as it meant water could be obtained more easily. However, the storms that often came in the autumn and early winter resulted in almost annual flooding for the town. The destruction of people's livelihoods, along with a number of deaths due to drowning and exposure on a yearly basis prompted the lord of the region to move his town to higher ground some two hundred years ago so as to mitigate the damage done to his people. And so Ozerograd received a new look in its reconstruction, with inspiration drawn from the architecture of the Eastern countries, renowned for their architectural prowess throughout the years. The old town was left mostly abandoned, but some still chose to live there and lived their lives despite the challenges that came with it.
Elvira was telling all of this to Arian when they first laid eyes on the town. Immediately, the amnesiac human had voiced his curiosity about the town, and so Elvira filled him in, basing her knowledge on stories she'd heard over the years and books she'd read. It was something that Flora couldn't stifle a remark about.
"You listened to those stories? I'm surprised you were able to. Mr Griffith's storytelling worked better than any Hypnosis in sending me to sleep."
"Yeah, I remember that," Elvira recalled, laughing slightly at what must have been an old memory. "He wasn't that bad, Flora. He just had a tendency of getting carried away. It is an interesting topic about the town, though, how it moved to higher ground. Stuff like that's always fascinating to me."
"...Well, whatever floats your boat. Or not, given where our town is now," Flora replied. "...Oh, here we are."
The group stood at a fork in the cobbled street. Down one end of the left-hand street, a shop with a colourful shopfront and bouquets of flowers placed outside it could be seen. It didn't take a detective to deduce the shop to be a florist's.
"Well, I'll leave you guys here," Flora said, beginning to make her way down that street. "Good luck on your little hunt."
"Goodbye, Flora," Elvira replied. "I'll come visit you soon, I promise."
"...You should. Who knows? We might even have a job for you. ...Oh, and...be careful. You never know what the likes of them hear." With that word of warning, the Petilil made her way toward her home.
"...And just like that…" Elvira muttered. "...Back to remembering where we are."
"Mmm," Arian murmured in agreement.
From the moment he walked out of Tamara's front door, he could sense that all was not well in the town. There was an air of hostility and fear, and almost immediately, he was able to discern the cause of the discord.
There were a number of Pokémon out in the street, all wearing a red band with a thorned rose emblazoned on it on their arm, neck or foreleg. All of them wore sour expressions, and all of them watched the streets like Mandibuzz looking for prey. Any passersby felt their harsh gazes, and they made a point to get on with their business as quickly as possible.
Arian, Elvira and Flora were on the receiving end of their treatment, too. The glares that faced them were piercing, almost as if they were boring holes into their skin. It was a great discomfort that unsettled all of them, and made them watch their backs a bit more, in case they were jumped on.
That hadn't happened yet. But Arian refused to discount the possibility of an ambush by the Thorned Roses. They did not look to be the sort of people to mess with, lest one wished to escape perfectly intact.
"Still," Elvira said. "We've come this far into town. Let's start looking. And remember...don't say anything about...you know…"
"Don't worry. I won't say anything," promised Arian.
"Good. ...Hmm...let's go to the town square. That's where the noticeboards looking for jobs are located. We might find something there."
Elvira and Arian moved to head there. On the way there, they caught sight of more Thorned Roses members giving them the evil eye, and tried to ignore them. However, on one occasion, this wasn't enough.
"Hey! You two!" a voice shouted to them. Looking ahead of them, the duo saw a Machoke with an armband walk up to them menacingly and threateningly. "State your names!"
"Elvira!" answered the Treecko, almost like an army cadet.
"...A-Arian," replied the Riolu, rather more lamely.
"What's your business being out and about?" the Machoke interrogated.
Thankfully, Elvira knew what to say, having no doubt been grilled by these rogues on a previous occasion. "Just collecting groceries for my mom," she informed. "She's not well at the minute, you see, and I have to do all the shopping for her. Hence why we're heading to where the merchants gather."
"..." The Machoke considered what he was told. "...Go on, then. But get out of sight quickly afterward."
"...Don't worry. We won't be long," the Treecko pledged, before moving on, Arian trailing her. "...At least...I hope we won't be long…" she muttered, after they were out of earshot of any Thorned Roses.
"Is it a problem if we take a while?" Arian wondered.
"...It might not be. But if we encounter that Machoke again...then we could have a problem on our hands," Elvira insinuated. "It's better that we find something quickly. Hopefully the noticeboards in the square have a job for us…"
They continued down the street. As they walked down it, Arian noticed something else that was off about the town. This time, though, the evidence was present on the walls.
Graffiti adorned a number of them.
The Riolu was rather surprised by what he saw. A range of different types of graffiti adorned the walls, from artwork to messages. And in the fashion of most graffiti, many of the messages were quite blatant.
Long live Mitrofan!
Down with Ruslan!
Down with Tsars!
Death to Monarchists!
They went on. And then there was the art. One of the pictures depicted was the Thorned Roses' logo that was also present on their bands. Another one that caught his eye was the artwork of an Obstagoon. Below it read the message, 'Long live the Boss!'
Hmm...I wonder who that is? pondered Arian. After this art, however, the painted messages returned, and the human found himself reading these as he and Elvira passed them by.
Down with mercs!
All mercs are poofs!
Mercs can go suck my -
Arian turned his head away immediately when he saw the end of the last message.
Okay...some of these are clearly not worth looking at, he mused, trying to forget what he just read. I did not need to see that. That's properly profane stuff there. ...Still, though...why the hatred for mercenaries? Could it just be the fact that the Thorned Roses are rogues, or...is it something else entirely?
"And here we are," Elvira said, snapping Arian out of his thoughts. "The main square."
The square in question was once again another sign of the planned nature of the new town of Ozerograd. It was a beautiful construction, reminiscent of the architectural patterns of various towns in eastern Ardalion. Ironically, it wasn't so much a 'square' - the streets sprouted out from it in a radial pattern, and the buildings surrounding it gave the plaza a more circular shape. In the centre of it, there lay fountains, as well as what seemed to be a plinth. However, oddly enough, where there should have been a monument or a statue, nothing stood atop it.
Arian's attention was partially on the square's eye-catching design. However, he couldn't focus on it for long. This was because several Thorned Roses were around the square, patrolling the area and using their usual intimidation tactics on anyone else. It proved to be working, given the lack of regular people in the square. And even those that were there stayed promptly away from the fountains and plinth.
"So...we're looking for a noticeboard, are we?" he asked, scanning the square.
"Yes. It's actually a little off the square, down that street." Elvira pointed to one of the streets directly across from them. "It used to be for posting missions for mercenaries to take. I don't know if people would be brave enough to post a mission that could potentially get them targeted by the Thorned Roses, but...let's check it anyway. You never know."
This, however, did mean crossing the square filled with Thorned Roses. Arian and Elvira both braced themselves for the piercing glares as they began their stroll across the plaza. They tried to act casual, but that didn't prevent them from feeling the intimidatory gazes of the gang members they passed by.
Worse still, just when they were about to leave the square for the desired street…
"Stop right there, you two."
The voice stopped the two in their tracks. While it wasn't a commanding shout like the Machoke from before, it was a voice that was chilling enough to halt Arian and Elvira, and make them look around to see who the owner's voice belonged to.
Their question on that front was soon answered, when the sound of a snake's hiss pierced through the air, and in front of them slithered a Seviper. The scarf around his neck with the same red band indicated him to be a Thorned Rose.
"Well well well…" he uttered, his voice oily, slimy and unpleasant to listen to. "Who do we have here? A Riolu and a Treecko...neither of whom are residents of this town. Whatever are you doing in our domain?"
He proved to be greatly unnerving. His voice was the same kind that could send a shiver down one's spine. Immediately, Arian and Elvira were alike in the same thought.
Please get me out of this conversation.
"We're...fetching materials for my mom," Elvira said, choosing the same excuse as she'd used earlier. However, this time, she wasn't as confident as before, due to the Seviper's sheer sinisterness and the leer he was giving the both of them. As such, the delivery came out a tad feeble.
"Are you now?" The grin he was giving them could only be described as a malicious one; as if he loved the treatment of this kind of intimidation.
"Y-Yes," the Treecko answered, still perturbed by the snake's presence. "Really, it's true! My mom's not well at the moment, and so...I have to do the shopping for her." It of course wasn't the reason, but Elvira wasn't content with telling full-on lies. If she did, no doubt this Seviper would see through them.
"...That's what they all say," came the viper's reply. "It's a brilliant excuse, isn't it? Claiming your parents are sick in order to worm your way into the hearts of others. That might work on most...but it doesn't work in this town."
"It's true, though!" pleaded Elvira. "My mom really is - "
"Shut up, wench," the Seviper hissed. "You're in the territory of the Thorned Roses now. You should know better than to throw such sentimental crap in our faces. I certainly couldn't give a damn. After all, you do know who you face, do you not?"
"...Um...no?" Arian said. "Are you a bigshot in the Thorned Roses or something?"
"...Congratulations. You are correct," the Seviper replied. "I am Mikhail. The Thorned Roses' second-in-command, second only to the Boss." He licked his lips with a grin of superiority. "Did you think you could lie to my face and get away with it?"
"We're not lying," Arian insisted. "It's the truth! Get that into your serpentine brain and let us get on with our business!"
"...Oh? How interesting. We appear to have a backtalker in our midst," Mikhail observed. "...Do you know what happens to those that dare to talk back to me?"
Before Arian could react, the Seviper suddenly launched towards him, and struck his tail across the Riolu's midsection, eliciting a scream of pain from the amnesiac.
"Arian!" Elvira cried.
"...They get poisoned!" Mikhail cackled. "Learn your place and pick fights you'll actually win, runt. That ought to teach you never to stand up to me again. Perhaps the poison'll knock some sense into you! Keh hah hah hah!" Laughing evilly, he slithered away, proud of his handiwork.
"Arian! Are you alright?" Elvira asked, checking on her partner.
"...Urgh...N-No," the Riolu answered. "...I...I don't feel so great all of a sudden…" His hand went to his head, and he began panting.
"...Wait a minute." Elvira took a look at where Mikhail had struck, and his words came back to her when she saw a purplish stain amongst the bleeding wound. Immediately, she knew what it was.
"You've been poisoned!" she cried. "Oh no...and I don't have any Pecha Berries on me! Quick! We have to find a shop that sells them!"
"...But...what about…?" The Riolu looked in the direction of where the noticeboard was located. He could see it, in fact, located a little down the street they were about to go down.
"Never mind that! We have to heal your poison right away, before it gets worse!" Elvira frantically informed him. "...I know where to go. Do you need me to help you walk?"
"...I...think I'll be alright for now," Arian responded, his voice coming out in pants. "...I could be worse. Really, I can still walk."
"...Alright," Elvira permitted, as she turned and headed for another exit of the square, two exits to the right of the street with the noticeboard on it. "But don't hesitate to ask for help if you need it."
"...R-Right…"
They started down the street. As they left the square, Elvira could hear snickers and bemused laughter from the Thorned Roses at what just occurred. She thought she even heard one remark, "Serves him right." The viewing of what had happened made Elvira's lips curl in anger, and she had half a mind to turn around and yell a condemning remark at them.
No, she then thought to herself. That'll only create more problems than it'll solve. Arian needs help - that's the priority right now. Choosing to block out the remarks of the gang members, she continued down into the street, with Arian trailing behind her.
Occasionally, the Riolu would let out a visible wince as the poison gradually worsened. Elvira heard this, and crossed her fingers that he wouldn't faint on the spot.
Hang in there, Arian. We'll get through this.
Eventually, the street ended in a T-junction. It was lucky that Elvira knew Ozerograd well, and thus knew where to go. She turned right, and Arian followed.
This street eventually opened out into a wider street, and where they ended up had Arian looking around in slight wonderment, despite his current condition. It looked rather major, as if it was a place of importance. A number of merchants' stalls were set up along the street, and along with that, a number of prominent buildings were also present in this area.
"This is the merchants' quarter," Elvira explained to him. "Hopefully there's a merchant selling a pecha berry or a heal seed or something to cure the poison…" She walked down the street with her partner, keeping her eyes peeled for a vendor that did sell such items.
Eventually, they found one, being run by a Sandslash and a Midnight Lycanroc.
"Hello there, young'uns," greeted the latter, a male Lycanroc. "What are you lookin' for?"
"Do you have any pecha berries or heal seeds?" Elvira immediately asked. "Please, my friend's been poisoned, and he needs to be healed! We have to heal him before it gets worse…" She looked back at Arian, who was beginning to look worse for wear. He was now unable to hide the pain he was feeling from the poison.
"Yes, we do," the Lycanroc told her, picking out a pecha berry from the merchandise. "That'll be 80 Poké, please."
Then it dawned on Elvira.
"I don't have any money!" she realised. "...But I do have this cheque. I'll just go to the bank with it. Could you just hold on a minute? It's just across there, I'll be back in a jiffy. I promise I'll have your money. Until then, though - "
"Don't panic, dear," the Sandslash suddenly interjected. "You'll work yourself into a tizzy. Tell you what: take it for free. Your friend is more important than some gold."
"...Are you certain, Caitríona?" the Lycanroc asked. "She'll have the money…"
"No, Conall, it's best to help these people out," Caitríona reasoned. "They're not Thorned Roses. That's reason enough to help them. Besides, it's only a pecha berry they want. We can miss 80P."
"...I can never say no to you, dear. ...Alright, then. Take it." Conall handed Elvira the berry.
"...Thank you. Thank you so much," the Treecko said with gratitude, before handing Arian the berry. The Riolu bit into it, and quickly dug into it.
"Easy," Elvira said to him. "Don't eat it too fast."
"But I like pecha berries," he countered between bites. "And also surely, the quicker I eat it, surely the quicker I'll recover."
"...Whatever you like. Just don't choke on it. That would be a poor note to chalk up for today," the Treecko replied. She said nothing, as her partner polished off the rest of the berry.
"How do you feel, Arian?" the Treecko asked, once he had finished.
"You know, now that you mention it…yeah, I can already feel that poison going away," Arian reported, feeling slightly more confident. "I...just might need a moment to fully recover." As he said this, he sat down at the kerb.
"...Okay. I'll wait for you," Elvira said to him. "When you're ready, we'll go to the Klefki Bank and deposit this cheque. It's over there." She pointed to a building on the opposite side of the street to them further down.
"...Excuse me," the Sandslash from before said, drawing the duo's attention. "...We didn't get your names."
"Oh, of course. I'm Elvira, and this is Arian," introduced the Treecko.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Caitríona, and this is my husband, Conall," the Sandslash returned.
"Are you two from around here?" wondered the Lycanroc.
"...Yes. I live just outside of town, and Arian's living with me at the minute," Elvira informed, simplifying the matter of her partner, whose situation would only provoke more questions that she didn't necessarily know the answers to. "We're in town today to...um…"
She hesitated briefly here. She knew that she should keep the truth of her and Arian's status as unofficial mercenaries on the down low, lest they be harassed by the Thorned Roses. However, she realised that these two merchants were hardly in league with the infamous gang. And a brief look around this street showed that only a few Thorned Roses were in the vicinity of this street.
Elvira decided, therefore, to tell the truth...but in a roundabout way.
"...We're looking for work," she told them. "There's no one working in my house at the minute, and...well, obviously we have to think about money. So I'm looking for some work that'll keep us afloat." While this wasn't the sole reason, money did partly play into her decision, as she had worried about money on a few occasions in the last number of years. It was good fortune that her father had a considerable amount of income stockpiled from all of the missions he did, otherwise she and her mother would've been penniless and forced out of that house long ago.
"Work?" Conall said, before putting his hand to his chin in thought. "...Not sure you'd find too much around here. The Thorned Roses have made job hunting and...pretty much everything a lot more difficult here in Ozerograd."
"...That's not what I was thinking, actually, in regards to work," Elvira replied. "I was thinking more along the lines of...helping people out. Like finding lost items for them, for instance. Or finding people who got lost in Mystery Dungeons. Or capturing outlaws. Or - "
"Oh! You mean, just like a - " Caitríona said, before being cut off by Elvira.
"Yes, just like a...mercenary." The Treecko whispered the last part, hoping that word wouldn't draw attention to them. But whether it was a stroke of luck or not, this did not happen, and Elvira breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"Hmm…" Conall looked as though he was considering Elvira's words. "...Come to think of it, wasn't there someone just like that here earlier, dear?"
"...Now that you mention it, Conall, yes, there was," Caitríona recalled. "She was a Florges, if I recall. She usually shops along this street. But when she came along earlier today, she was unusually downcast. Then I overheard her talking to one of the merchants, and said her daughter had gone missing on her."
"Oh no…" Elvira uttered.
"There's more to that, though," Conall added. "If I recall, she said she didn't come back from...where was it again? ...Oh yes, I remember! It was Blossoming Meadow, I think she said."
"Blossoming Meadow? ...That's a Mystery Dungeon," Elvira said. "It's not that perilous, but...for a child...it might be quite a dangerous place."
"...Well, then. Looks like we've found it, then," Arian proclaimed. "Our mission."
"...Yes. Let's head there right away," Elvira said, before remembering what they were going to do. "...But before that, we need to get money and prepare to go out there. It's not too dangerous a place by Mystery Dungeon standards, but it never hurts to be prepared."
"...Yeah, that makes sense," Arian agreed. "But the quicker we do, the quicker we can leave, right?"
"...Can't argue with that," Elvira said. "Come on, then. Let's go." And they headed off...while being observed by the two merchants.
"...Two young adventurers, eh?" commented Conall.
"Yes, indeed. And did you hear what Elvira said?" Caitríona brought up. "It's like they're…"
"Mmm, true. ...Hey, Ríona." Conall turned to his wife. "You think we should tell them?"
"What, about…" Caitríona considered her husband's words, but shook her head. "No. At least, not immediately, and certainly not while we're here. If the Thorned Roses find out about you-know-what...then their cover will be blown, and then Lillian, Ishmael and Axel would be all at risk."
"...Good point. Let's keep it on the down low for now," decided Conall. "...But at some point. I would like to tell those kids eventually...about what's being planned."
"Blossoming Meadow's out to the north of town," Elvira explained to Arian, as they left the merchants' quarter. They turned in the cheque at the Klefki Bank, an enterprise run by the aforementioned Key Ring Pokémon, and spent a portion of the money on items for the delve into the Mystery Dungeon at Caitríona and Conall's stand. "It's not too far away, thankfully, and it's not that deep a Dungeon. With any luck, we can get it over with quickly."
"...Hmm...You think we should find the mother first?" Arian wondered. "She might be able to provide more information. We don't exactly have much of that."
"...It's tempting, and it's really what we should do," Elvira replied. "But the less time we spend walking around on these streets, the better. Plus, I don't want to potentially drag the Florges into something the Thorned Roses could find out about."
"Yeah...that might be better," the Riolu muttered in agreement. Although the poison from Mikhail's Poison Tail attack had been healed up, he still felt sore where the Seviper had struck. If there were any others in the Thorned Roses as sadistic as that, then I'd much rather spend as little time in this town as possible. "But how do we get out to the north? Where's that exit?"
"...Well, from here…" Elvira considered the route in her head. "...I know a way. Follow me."
"Okay," Arian agreed. "You...clearly know this town better than I do, so...follow the leader, I guess."
"It's not 'follow the leader,'" Elvira corrected. "We're equal partners in this relationship, Arian. ...But I do know Ozerograd well. I used to spend hours playing on these streets when I was a kid. I know them like the back of my hand. Follow me. Follow the partner. That's a better way of wording it."
"...Alright then, partner. You guide me."
Together, they walked through Ozerograd's streets. The path would've normally been a straightforward one to the northern exit of town. But Elvira chose to go a back route there, in the hope that they would encounter less Thorned Roses as a result.
The route in question took them through a number of back alleys and residential houses. While going through one street, Arian couldn't help but get an odd feeling.
"Elvira?" he asked. "Do you feel like...we're being watched?"
"...We are," the Treecko replied. "But it's not the Thorned Roses. I'm certain of it. ...It's the people in the houses."
"...Really?" Arian looked at the windows of one of the houses, and caught sight of a Blipbug. But once they did, the Bug-type immediately jumped and disappeared from view. "But why would they be watching us?"
"...Out of fear, I suspect," Elvira murmured, her voice a tad mournful. "It wasn't - and isn't - uncommon for Thorned Roses to break into people's houses and evict them because they can't keep up rent payments. A lot of people live in fear as a result of being kicked out of their homes. Some have even boarded up their houses to reinforce against a Thorned Rose eviction, or to give the impression it's been abandoned already. Like that house there." The Treecko pointed to a house with bricks on the window, and boards over the door. It did look like an abandoned house, alright.
"That's awful…" Arian said sorrowfully. "...The Thorned Roses have decimated the community here. How horrible do you have to be to think it's fun to kick people out of their own home?"
"...Very horrible, indeed," agreed Elvira. "But ranting about it within the town's walls won't do anything to help us. ...We need to keep going."
And so they went on, through the winding streets. Eventually, the narrow street ended as a side street to a wider road. Looking to their left, Arian could see an exit to the town, marked with an arch and a portcullis.
"Is that the exit to the north?" he asked her.
"Yes, it is," came her confirmation.
"...But...there's Thorned Roses there," Arian pointed out. This was true; two Pokémon guarded the entrance.
"...There's no way around it," Elvira sighed. "I don't want to interact with them either. But there's no other path out of town."
"...If you say so." The disappointment was clear in the Riolu's voice.
They walked towards the arch. When they approached it, the two Thorned Roses that were there immediately called out to them. They were a Krokorok and a Gligar, and both did not look the kind of Pokémon one would want to mess with.
"Oi!" the Krokorok called out. "Gotta pay up if ya wanna leave town. That's the rules!"
"...I have the money. Don't worry," Elvira replied, her tone slightly snappy. She reached into her bag and dug out 100P. "There. Take it."
"...Good," muttered the Krokorok, after counting the coins. "Now go. Scram!"
They didn't need to be told twice. If it meant getting away from the Thorned Roses, then Arian and Elvira were all in favour of getting away from town. They briskly made their way out of Ozerograd, and into the open countryside.
Once the town was a comfortable distance away, the human-turned Pokémon took in a breath of fresh air.
"Ahh…" he breathed. "It's like a weight's been lifted off our shoulders. No more Thorned Roses to worry about out here."
"...I wouldn't say that too soon," advised Elvira. "Remember yesterday? They're not just present in Ozerograd, but in the surrounding vicinity, too. Just because we're out of town doesn't mean we should drop our guard. We might even find some in Blossoming Meadow."
"...Hopefully we don't," Arian wished. "Especially not Pokémon as devious as that Mikhail fellow." He shuddered at the memory of the venomous viper.
"Here's hoping. Who knows what they might do if they found an innocent little girl out here alone in the meadow?" Elvira brought up. "We should move quickly."
"Agreed."
They walked along the path for the next while. During this time, Arian took the time to look at his surroundings. And once again, they were as alluring as always. Not only was the greenery of the trees and grasses ever present, but the view also included the lake that Ozerograd had previously been built near.
"What's the name of that lake again?" he asked Elvira.
"Lake Lazurny," the Treecko answered. "It's the lake that regularly flooded the old town of Ozerograd. It's also where the town still gets its water from. They have an ingenious system of channels that get water to public taps in the town, so the people can still get water as easily as they once did. It's a good thing they did that as even now, when the Thorned Roses have put tolls up to those entering and leaving town, people can still get water."
But despite her words being slightly optimistic, Arian could sense worry in her emotions. He wondered to himself if it was to do with the Thorned Roses, but...something about the way her expression made him think it was something else.
...Hang on, I remember. She felt that same worry when we were crawling through the undergrowth earlier this morning. Is there...a connection? Should I ask her?
"There's still people living down there in the old town," Elvira continued. "But it's a shell of what it once was. You couldn't call it a town anymore. Especially when you compare it to the new town. Ozerograd was made a lot bigger when it moved to where it is now. It went from being a village on a lake to being one of Selenia's most principal towns. Its transformation was rather dramatic. But few would say that was a bad thing for the place. It used to be a backwater place, but now it's more prosperous in the eyes of the tsar. ...Well, it used to be, anyway. Before all this happened…"
"...A shame...Hopefully, prosperity will return," Arian said, with some hope in his voice. However, he knew in his head such a thing would falter before reality.
"...Yeah...hopefully." Elvira, at least, carried that hope in her heart, that one day Ozerograd would live to see a day without the Thorned Roses. "...But that's for another time. For now...let's focus on the present. Let's rescue this child of the Florges."
They walked a bit further down the road. Arian looked around him in curiosity.
"So...where is this Blossoming Meadow?" he wondered.
"It's slightly off the beaten track, like Verdant Woods," Elvira informed. "But you can't miss the path for it. There's clear signage for it when we get to it. It's just before that wooded area." She pointed to a treescape ahead of them.
"Gotcha," Arian understood.
They continued on for a bit longer. Arian looked to the left, where from the road they were on, a vantage point of the lake could be seen. Curiously, though, he noted the sight of what appeared to be a small settlement down near the water's edge, and from it, a road appeared to lead away from it and towards the same wood that Blossoming Meadow was located in. Based on what he'd been told earlier, the Riolu believed he knew the answer.
"Elvira?" he asked. "Is that the old town down there that you were talking about earlier?"
"Hm?" Elvira looked over to where the Riolu was pointing. "...Oh, yeah, it is. But that area tended to flood a lot when the autumn storms came in, so they moved the town to higher ground. It...doesn't quite stand up to the new Ozerograd, in my opinion. But don't say that too loud. Some of the people that live down there don't take too kindly to their settlement being compared to the new town."
"...Noted," Arian said. "I'll keep that in mind if I meet someone from there."
Silence reigned for another while, until the duo eventually reached a small crossroads. A sign was there prior to it to tell them what was in each direction.
↑ Iria
← Ozerograd Quay, Lake Lazurny
→ Blossoming Meadow
"Ah, there we go!" Arian pointed out, noting the third line of the sign. "Blossoming Meadow, to the right."
"Yes. It's down this way," Elvira confirmed. She headed to the right, with Arian following closely behind. "It'll be another short walk to the Mystery Dungeon."
"Have you been here before?" Arian wondered.
"A few times. I'd visit it with Dad a few times when I was younger to hone my skills by battling the Pokémon that live in the meadow. I'd also visit it with Flora and Tamara to gather flowers for the florist's that Flora's parents run."
"I see...Well, it is called Blossoming Meadow. I'd be a tad disappointed if I didn't see any flowers."
"You won't be. This place is full of them. ...Speaking of which, there it is." Elvira pointed to a point straight ahead of them. "The Mystery Dungeon entrance."
Once again, Arian caught sight of the same unusual phenomenon he'd seen at the entrance to Verdant Woods. There was a point in the path ahead of them where it seemed to be obfuscated and unclear, even as they got close.
That is bizarre, alright. ...But it's how this world works. No choice but to get used to the workings of it.
"You ready to head in, Arian?" Elvira asked.
"...Yes, I am."
And so the two walked into the Mystery Dungeon.
Blossoming Meadow
1F
Once again, Arian found himself in the strange reality of another Mystery Dungeon. He and Elvira found themselves in a room with a number of different exits, just like in Verdant Woods.
However, this area wasn't quite as densely forested as Verdant Woods was. It was still full of trees and vegetation, but more commonly seen now were hedgerows and bushes. More than that, however, there was something abundant in the meadow…
"Flowers," remarked Arian, staring at the scenes before him in slight bewilderment. "There's flowers everywhere…in all sorts of colours..."
"...Yes. It's beautiful, isn't it?" Elvira said. "I always like coming here. The sight of colourful flowers never fails to lift my spirits. ...Maybe that's why I've been so down for the last while. It's been some time since I was last here."
"...Well, we're here now. ...A bit of a shame we have a mission here," Arian lamented. "I was thinking that if we didn't have a mission, we could stop and smell the roses...quite literally."
"...Maybe. But we do. So no time to waste. Onward we go, down that way."
"...Bummer," muttered a disappointed Arian.
The human followed Elvira down the path. He was silently grateful that the paths the Mystery Dungeon had for them didn't involve running through the flower meadows. I wouldn't want to trample flowers as beautiful as these, he thought to himself. Blue, yellow, red, orange...it's so pretty! Like a kaleidoscope of colours…
"Arian! Focus!"
"Hm?" The Riolu looked over and saw Elvira battling a Cottonee. "Oh! Sorry!" Quickly, he snapped back to attention, and launched a Quick Attack at the Pokémon. The Grass-type succumbed to it quickly, and fainted.
"...Thanks, Arian," Elvira said.
"I'm sorry I lost focus!" apologised Arian. "I was too focused on the flowers, and I didn't see what was ahead..."
"Arian, it's okay. We all lose focus at some points," soothed Elvira. "It could've been worse. I would've been able to handle that Cottonee anyway. It's just that I noticed that you seemed to be in a trance, so I...called out to you."
"I'll keep my focus," promised the Riolu. "I won't get distracted by any more flowers here."
"Distracted by flowers…" murmured Elvira. "...I can already hear Flora's snarky remarks."
"...Oh dear...that was quite embarrassing," Arian said, feeling his face begin to burn red with humiliation. "...Please forget that happened."
"Relax, Arian," Elvira placated. "It's nothing to worry about. I won't go blabbing about it."
"Please don't…"
The two continued down the narrow pathways. While they were strolling, something suddenly occurred to Arian.
"...Who exactly should we be looking out for?" he asked.
"...Well, since it was a Florges...it's likely the child could be a Flabébé," Elvira said. But as she said this, her gaze happened upon another row of flowers, and then she suddenly stopped, as if in realisation of something. Unfortunately, Arian didn't register this, and accidentally walked right into the back of Elvira.
"Oof! S-Sorry," he apologised. "...Um, Elvira? Why did you stop?"
"...It literally just occurred to me," the Treecko said, in slightly horrified realisation. "Finding a Flabébé in here will be like finding a needle in a haystack." She turned to Arian. "...A Flabébé is a little fairy that's always clinging to a flower. It's quite a small Pokémon, and so are the flowers it carries. ...So do you see the problem?" Elvira gestured to the multitude of flowers.
"...Oh…" Arian uttered, realising what Elvira was getting at. "That is a problem, alright…"
"...Well, there's no use complaining," Elvira said. "That won't help us find this lost child. We just have to keep looking. ...Besides, there's also a possibility the child isn't a Flabébé. She could be someone else, depending on who the father is. But we don't have enough facts to determine that. ...Let's just keep looking."
The duo kept on down the path they were on. Eventually, it opened to a wider room, in which there was a Silcoon and a Cutiefly. Immediately, both Pokémon turned their attention to the new arrivals.
"One each?" Arian said to Elvira.
"...That's fine. I'll take the Cutiefly, you take the Silcoon," Elvira directed.
"Got it." Arian focused his attention on the cocoon. Immediately, the first thing it did was stiffen as it used Harden. The human was not fazed, and slashed the Bug-type with a Metal Claw. Curiously, he noted that all it seemed to be doing was use Harden over and over.
...Well, it is a cocoon. It's not like it'll be capable of much. Arian found himself a bit more relaxed as he attacked again with Quick Attack. But still, the Silcoon would not yield. Arian attacked again, this time with Force Palm. However, this didn't appear to do much either.
"This thing is stubborn, alright," the Riolu remarked, taking a deep breath. "...Just gotta get through it." He readied another Metal Claw, and struck the cocoon.
Right after that, the Silcoon was also attacked with a Quick Attack. Looking over, Arian saw Elvira return from where she'd attacked.
"I'm finished with my fight." She pointed to the fainted Cutiefly. "So I'll help you with yours. ...Silcoon are known to be quite defensive. Attacking, however, is beyond them. We just need to keep at it with our attacks. You appear to have done most of the work, at least."
"Got it. ...Wanna see who can do the quicker Quick Attack?" Arian challenged.
"Oh, you're on," Elvira accepted. Next moment, both Pokémon used Quick Attack, and struck the Silcoon. Both attacks finally managed to cause the Bug-type to fall, and it collapsed onto its side.
"...That goes to me," Elvira said. "I attacked the Silcoon first."
"...Yeah...I think that does go to you," Arian agreed. "I did feel you strike slightly before me, to be honest."
"...Hm." A smile of slight bemusement crossed the Treecko's face. "It's not often the other side is willing to concede defeat to a competition like that."
"But you did win. You hit the Silcoon with Quick Attack first," Arian replied. "The stakes aren't that high, either. What would arguing about it accomplish?"
"...Maybe you have a point," Elvira said in agreement with the Riolu's last statement. "I'd rather not get into arguments over something as petty as that. We're barely off the ground; I wouldn't want our team to collapse before it got going."
"Nor would I. ...Let's not dwell on that thought," Arian decided. "Better to focus our minds on this mission."
"You're right. Let's continue looking for this Flabébé."
But unfortunately, a thorough search of the first floor yielded no sign of a small sprite carrying a flower. Once they were sure she was not on the floor, Arian and Elvira found themselves looking at the stairs leading to the next floor.
"That reminds me….I never did ask," Arian said. "How many floors are in this place?"
"...Four," Elvira told him. "There's a small grove at the end, just like in Verdant Woods. It's possible the child might be there, too. But let's search all the floors, just in case. It's just as possible she's in the Mystery Dungeon."
"Well, she doesn't appear to be on this floor. Should we go up?" Arian proposed.
"Yes," Elvira agreed.
And so the two climbed the steps.
Blossoming Meadow
2F
Another new floor of hedgerows and flowers greeted them. This time, the room they started in was a narrower one with three exits to the south, west and east, with no exit to the north.
There was, however, something on the floor that caught Arian's attention.
"...Money?" he said, upon seeing some gold. "...That's a coin. This is money." He picked up the coin, and examined it.
"Oh, yes, I forgot to tell you. Sometimes money can show up on the ground in Mystery Dungeons," Elvira explained. "...No one knows why, or how. But I imagine few people will object to the concept." She walked over and looked at the coin her partner lifted. "...It looks to be a 50P coin. ...Not much, but it's something. I heard other dungeons can have lots of money in them, and some are said to strike it rich by delving in and out of those Dungeons and scouring the floors for coins."
"Shame this doesn't look to be one like that," Arian lamented, though with only slight disappointment. "But we'll pick it up regardless." He slipped it to Elvira, who filed it away in the coin pouch.
"Now then…" Arian returned his attention to the room. "Hmm...We should go this way." He pointed to the west path. "If the child's not here, we'll end up exploring the whole floor anyway."
"...I suppose it wouldn't matter in the long run what path we take, if the child isn't on this floor," Elvira said. "But if she is down a different path….we'll probably be kicking ourselves later. ...Still, it's a mercenary's duty to complete their mission. We won't stop until we've investigated every nook and cranny of this place."
"Then let's get looking, and kick ourselves later if we don't find her," Arian said, readying himself to head down the proposed path.
Arian and Elvira walked down the corridor, looking all around the flowery hedgerows for a lost child, presumably a Flabébé. All the while, the former, who was in the lead, kept a lookout for any enemy Pokémon.
Soon, one such Pokémon came into view. As he was walking down the hallway, Arian suddenly caught sight of a black and white blur moving in front of him.
"What is that?" he murmured, squinting to see. But as it got closer, it occurred to him that it was a Pokémon. A black and white-furred raccoon with a long pink tongue, to be specific.
"A Zigzagoon," Elvira pointed out. "A few of these do live here."
The Normal and Dark-type got closer to them, with Arian readying to use a Force Palm. However, before he could unleash it, it rammed straight into him.
"Argh! Hey!" cried out Arian. However, he saw the Zigzagoon make some sort of taunting snicker, as if to goad him into a fight.
"Fine! You want a fight? Then I'll give you one!" He charged a Force Palm and struck the Zigzagoon...which caused the Pokémon to faint immediately after being hit.
"...Er...wow," a bewildered Arian remarked, slightly stunned at his curb-stomp victory. "I...didn't expect that."
"...A Zigzagoon's biggest weakness is Fighting-type moves," Elvira explained, "Normal and Dark-types don't do so well against Fighting-types, and Zigzagoon happens to be both. Your Force Palm was clearly enough to knock it out."
"...Maybe I don't know my own strength," he joked.
"...Perhaps. But don't overestimate yourself, either," Elvira advised. "Pride comes before a fall, after all. And as your partner, it's my duty to make sure that doesn't happen to you."
"...Thanks for reminding me. Good to know I have someone like you at my back," Arian said.
"That's what partners are for," reminded the Treecko. "Now let's keep moving."
"...Actually, there's something I'm curious about," Arian wondered, as they moved on. "That Zigzagoon...It reminds me a bit like that graffiti I saw back in town."
"Graffiti?" Elvira queried, before a thought came to her. "Oh...I think I see what you mean…"
"There was a bit of artwork depicting a Pokémon like that Zigzagoon," the Riolu went on. "It had the same black and white colours as it, and I remember that below it, there was a message saying, 'Long live the boss!' ...Is that Pokémon...the leader of the Thorned Roses?"
"...He is. That's Hinnerk, the Thorned Roses' founder and leader, and a strong ally of Mitrofan. You might have heard his name a few times now," Elvira informed. "He's an Obstagoon, who are fully evolved forms of Zigzagoon. He's...selfish and cruel. When Mitrofan took over Selenia, Hinnerk came down to Ozerograd and personally killed the lord who ran the oblast around the town. He then declared himself the leader of Ozerograd, and struck an alliance with Mitrofan that gave him effective autonomy of the oblast. And to reinforce his power, he set up the Thorned Roses and used them to intimidate all of us. It's worked well for him. Five years later, he still rules over us with an iron fist." She looked sadly off to the side. "...We really have had the power to rise up stripped from us. When will this cycle end?"
"...When someone stands up to him," Arian said. "Someone has to."
"...That's easier said than done," Elvira replied. "Hinnerk is powerful. He isn't the leader of a gang and retainer of his power for nothing. Any form of resistance that manages to crop up in our town has its earth salted before it can sprout. ...Oh, if only we could manage a breakthrough…"
"...One day," Arian said. "...But let's keep looking in the meantime. Let's not think about what may or may not happen in the future."
"You're right. Let's find that child."
And so the two kept looking high and low for the child of the Florges. They looked thoroughly throughout the floor, searching in all the flower beds for the sight of a little sprite holding a flower. They fought any wild Pokémon that came their way, all in search of the lost child.
However, they found themselves at the stairs once again, their search having borne no fruit.
"...Well, up we go, I guess," said Arian, beginning to start up the steps.
"She has to be somewhere," Elvira murmured. "We still have more floors to search. Let's go."
Blossoming Meadow
4F
Arian and Elvira scoured the third floor as thoroughly as the first two for the missing child. They battled the various wild Pokémon of the Dungeon, of which there were Cottonee, Cutiefly, Zigzagoon, Pom-Pom Oricorio, Weedle, Kakuna, Silcoon and Beautifly. All the while, they kept a lookout for the child of the Florges, presumed to be a Flabébé.
But the third floor yielded no sign of the lost Pokémon. By the time they climbed the stairs to the fourth floor, Elvira was beginning to despair.
"This was a bad idea," she bemoaned. "We should have found that child's mother and asked her about this. It's never a good idea for a mercenary to not know what they're about to get into."
"...Well, there's still one more floor to check," Arian told her. "Let's at least scour this one, and the meadow at the end, before we throw in the towel. This is the responsibility of the mercenary, to look out for the helpless. Remember?"
"...You're right. Now's not the time to give up hope," Elvira said. "A mother's lost her child, and that's not someone the Thorned Roses would ever help her with. This is the time for a mercenary to shine. And a mercenary never gives up until the end."
"There you go. That was all you needed," Arian observed. "Now come on. Let's find the child."
"...Of course, Arian." Elvira then looked around the room they were in. "Now then, which way could the child be?"
"Let's go that way," suggested Arian, pointing to the exit southeast of them.
"...Alright. You lead the way, Arian."
And so the Riolu led Elvira down the chosen path. Once again, a multitude of flowers in a plethora of different colours greeted them on the hedgerows. Both Pokémon searched the hedgerows for a potential Flabébé, but no luck greeted them.
And before they were out of the corridor, a Pom-Pom Oricorio confronted them, dancing on its feet as it flew at Arian, striking him with a Pound.
"...You like to dance, huh?" Arian said, looking at the Dancing Pokémon. "Then let's dance." His claws turned a metallic sheen. "Let's dance with our moves!"
He lunged forward, slashing the Oricorio with Metal Claw. The bird staggered back a bit from the attack, before moving in with a Peck. The speed was quick, and unfortunately, Arian couldn't dodge out of the way in time. He was hit in the right shoulder, eliciting a cry of pain from the Emanation Pokémon.
"Arian!" Elvira cried, worried for her teammate. "Hold on, I'll help you!" She dashed forward with a Quick Attack.
"Thanks, Elvira!" Arian returned, before unleashing another Metal Claw upon the Oricorio. This strike was enough, and the Dancing Pokémon fainted.
"Are you alright, Arian?" Elvira asked.
"...A bit sore. But I'll be fine," assured the Riolu. "Really, Elvira, don't worry."
"...If you insist," the Treecko relented. "Look out for Flying-type moves like that one. ...You don't look too bad, at least. We can keep moving."
"Then we shall. Let's keep looking."
They eventually reached the end of the corridor, which opened out into a huge room with a number of different exits. A number of flower patches were present in the room, meaning more places to look for the Flabébé, if the child was indeed one.
"Well, let's start looking here," Arian said. "...Hello? Anyone here? Anyone?"
His voice echoed around the room. But no response returned to him.
"...They're not here," Elvira mournfully noted.
"Let's not jump to conclusions so quickly," Arian replied. "Let's look around. It could be possible they're trying to keep quiet in order to let the wild Pokémon not detect them."
And so they did this, scouring every flower patch for the child. But by the time they were nearing the other side of the room, there was no sign of a Flabébé or any Pokémon like that. The two were also sidetracked by combating against a Beautifly and a Cottonee that had wandered into the room, and so the focus was for a time taken off the search.
But soon they returned to it, and Arian was investigating a flowerbed over by one of the room's exits. Elvira was over by one of the other flower patches, across from him.
Hmm...no sign of any Pokémon here, he thought to himself. I wonder...does Elvira have any clues?
Then he heard it.
"...*sniffle**sniffle*..."
Hm? What's that noise? Arian's attention was grasped by what he'd heard. Where's it coming from?
"I couldn't find anything, Arian," Elvira called from across. "Should we move on to - "
"Shh," Arian interrupted. "...Hold on a minute, Elvira."
"...What is it, Arian?" she wondered. "...Do you hear something?"
"...I think." The Riolu closed his eyes, and listened to the sounds of the meadow. The chirping of distant Oricorio, the rustling of leaves, the gentle blow of the breeze…
"...*sniffle**sniffle*..."
"...There it is again," murmured Arian.
"There's what again?" Elvira wondered. "I don't hear anything."
"...No. I'm definitely hearing something. It's faint, but...it almost sounds like...someone crying? I think that's what it is."
"Someone crying? ...Could it be? The crying of a lost child, perhaps?" Elvira presumed. "...Which way, Arian?"
"...That way." Arian pointed to the path he was next to, the southwest path. "It's down this path." He began his walk down the corridor, with Elvira following close behind.
With his ears pricked, he caught the sound more clearly. It did indeed sound like crying, and specifically, it sounded akin to the sobs of a young girl. In other words...just who they were looking for.
"...It's here," Arian said, stopping in front of a flower patch. "The crying's coming from around here. ...Hello? Is anyone there?"
He scanned the patch of flowers. A plethora of colours greeted him back. Red, yellow, blue, white, violet…
...Wait a minute. Arian looked closer at a part where a number of yellow flowers were located. Oddly enough, though, amidst the yellow, there was one red flower that looked decidedly out of place. Not to mention...it was moving, but not with the breeze.
It was if someone very small was holding it. Someone...like a Flabébé.
Arian and Elvira looked at each other.
Bingo. We've found her.
"Um, excuse me? Flabébé?" Elvira chose to say.
"Eek!" a small voice squealed, and the flower, along with the little fairy that held it, jumped into the air. "Please don't eat me! I taste terrible!"
"...We're not here to eat you," Arian placated. "We're here to get you out of here and back to your home." He spoke a bit more tenderly, knowing he was talking to a child.
"...R-Really?" the Flabébé sniffled. Now that the two could see her clearly, it was evident from her face that the sprite had been crying. "Wh-Who are you guys?"
"I'm Elvira, and this is Arian," the former introduced. "We're here to bring you home. Your mother's been worried sick about you."
"My mommy? Oh no...She's gonna be really mad at me…" Tears pricked in the Flabébé's eyes.
"She might not be," Arian suggested, his voice still having that same softness to it. "She'll probably be relieved that her child's safe and sound. ...Actually, on that note. Are you hurt?"
"...No…" sniffled the child.
"Good. That's good to hear. ...What's your name?"
"...Iona…"
"...Well, don't worry, Iona. We'll get you out of this Dungeon," promised the Riolu. "We just have to find the exit first. Stay with us, and we'll get you there. And don't worry; we're not Thorned Roses. You don't have to be scared of us."
"...Th-Thank you," Iona said, still tearful. "Mommy said I should never talk to strangers. But...you guys seem alright."
"We are. Not all strangers are bad people," Elvira said to her. "Some...aren't so nice, but there are people out there who will help you. Like now."
"...Yeah. I mean, Elvira and I were random strangers only a few days ago," Arian added. "But now here we are, dungeon diving like we've been companions for years."
"Wow…" Iona was slightly amazed. "How'd you two meet?"
"That's...a bit of a long story," Elvira cut in. "We should focus on getting out of the Dungeon first, then we can talk."
"Good point," Arian accepted. "Stay by our side at all times, Iona. There may still be Pokémon on this floor looking to attack us."
"...They nearly got me…" Iona recalled, shaking slightly. "That's why I hid, hoping they wouldn't find me. They didn't, but...I've been stuck here for hours, and I don't know how to get out of here. Please, you two...please help me..."
"Of course we will. Don't worry," reassured Elvira. "We'll protect you from any wild Pokémon that try to attack us."
"...Okay…"
And so it was arranged that Iona would travel between Arian and Elvira, in order to keep her safe from any attacking Pokémon. It was lucky for them that the only foe they encountered on the way to the exit was a Zigzagoon, which Arian dispatched quickly with a Force Palm.
The corridor after this, the trio spotted the stairs.
"There they are," Arian gestured, pointing to them. "Let's get out of here. ...After taking this, of course." He picked up some money that was right next to the stairs.
"...That would be good to have," Elvira agreed. "Now let's really get out of here. The sooner we reunite Iona with her mother, the better."
And so the three went up the steps.
Blossoming Meadow
Grove
Once they reached the top of the steps, they could immediately see surroundings of a more normal nature, implying they were out of Blossoming Meadow's Mystery Dungeon.
"Finally," Arian said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Back to normal surroundings. Boy, Mystery Dungeons are weird places…"
"Yeah, you're right! They're so weird!" chirped Iona in concurrence. "Why do Mystery Dungeons turn places into mazes? Why do they appear only in some places and not others? Why isn't our whole world a Mystery Dungeon?"
"...Don't look at me," Elvira said, once the gazes of the other two fell on her. "I didn't make them. And I didn't choose to put one here. ...Though, that said, once you get through the Mystery Dungeon, this is a lovely place to visit." She turned to look away from the exit, and towards the grove.
Arian blinked, in bewilderment. Just like in the Mystery Dungeon, flowers of all different colours greeted his gaze. However, because there were no narrow corridors or walls, it was a perfect field of flowers, unconstrained by the labyrinthine Mystery Dungeon.
"Wow…" the Riolu remarked, enchanted by the sight. "It's beautiful…"
"...This is what I wanted to see," Iona said. "I always love coming here with Mommy and Daddy. But we hadn't come here in a while, and I wanted to go...but they wouldn't let me. They said it was too dangerous. So I snuck out and went to Blossoming Meadow…but it was much scarier alone..."
"...Well, now you know why they said it was dangerous," Elvira replied.
"...Y-Yes." The Flabébé looked down in shame. "I won't do it again...I promise."
"...At least you know now," Arian said, his voice returning to that same soothingness his voice had earlier. "Just don't make your parents worried. With the Thorned Roses in town, they have enough on their plate to be worrying about without you running off on your own."
"...I'm sorry," Iona apologised.
"It's fine. It's alright to make mistakes. Just remember what you did wrong, and learn from it," Arian advised. "That's how we grow as people."
"...Oh...Okay, then," Iona understood. "I'll learn from this, Mr Arian. I promise."
"H-Hey, you don't need to call me 'Mr'," the Riolu replied. "Just Arian is fine."
"...Alright." The Flabébé looked as though she was going to say more, but then her attention was caught by something else. "...Um...Arian? Elvira? Do you mind if I...do something before we leave?"
"...Not at all," Elvira permitted. "What is it?"
"...I want to pick some roses for Mommy and Daddy," Iona answered, pointing to a patch of flowers near them. "They've been down in the dumps lately, so I thought picking some flowers for them might brighten their mood. ...Can I pick them?"
"...I don't see why not," Arian replied. "We've come all this way. Might as well. We'll even help you."
"Really? Oh, thank you!" Iona said gratefully.
"No problem. It's what we're here for."
In truth, Iona didn't want many roses. Arian and Elvira each picked about a handful each, before the Flabébé declared that to be enough.
"I'll carry them," Elvira volunteered.
"...Alright, then." Arian handed his roses to her. "Now...will we go?"
"Yes," agreed the Treecko. "Come on, Arian. Iona. Let's go back to town."
And so the three of them walked out of the meadow and back to the main road.
"And then, before you know it, my Force Palm had that Deino pinned to the ground," Arian was telling Iona. "It was a decisive victory for both of us."
"Wow…" a mesmerised Iona reacted, slightly awestruck at Arian's story, which was about the battle they had against Bruno and Vivian the day before. "I knew you guys were awesome! Facing up against two Thorned Roses and beating them like that...no ordinary Pokémon could do that."
"Well, it was for a friend of Elvira's," the Riolu added. "And there's nothing you wouldn't do for friendship. Isn't that right, Elvira?"
"...It is," agreed the Treecko. Her attention then directed to the road ahead of them. "...Oh. There's the edge of town. Hang on a minute." She dug into the bag of coins, searching for 100P for the toll.
"It's the toll, is it?" guessed Iona.
"...Yeah," Elvira said, with a tone of slight annoyance.
"Actually, speaking of which," Arian brought up. "Iona, how'd you get out of town?"
"I snuck past when they weren't looking," the Flabébé answered simply.
"Really?" The amnesiac was surprised to hear this. "Wasn't that dangerous?
"No, it wasn't. Really, when I came up here earlier, there was no one guarding that gate," insisted Iona. "I'm telling the truth! There really was no one there when I came through here earlier!"
"...Hmm…" Arian's paw went to his chin. "What could this mean?"
"...It could've just been a change of guard duty," Elvira reasoned. "It could've happened that they were in the middle of it when you came up, Iona."
"...Maybe," Arian said, thoughtfully. "But let's wonder about that later. Let's get Iona back to her home."
They walked up to the gate. Based on what the Flabébé had told them, the Riolu was hopeful that perhaps there'd be no one on the other side of the gate this time as well. Hopefully they're in the middle of a duty change. ...Please, if there is a god up there…
"Halt!"
...Damn it.
The Krokorok from earlier had his claw held out. "Ya wanna come in, ya pay the toll! That's the law here!" He then looked at the two again. "...Hang on...Yer the two from before, ain't ya?"
"They are," the Gligar from before confirmed. "It's the same two from before. ...Along with a Flabébé."
"...Whatever," the Krokorok dismissed. "Pay up, you lot."
"...Here's the money," Elvira said, presenting the sand crocodile with 100P. "Now can we go in?"
"...Go on, then. Scram!"
"...With pleasure," Arian scathingly returned, before walking into the city, with Elvira and Iona following him.
"You tell them, Arian!" encouraged the fairy, once they had gotten far enough out of earshot. "The Thorned Roses are a bunch of meanies. I hate them, and so does everyone else!" she finished with a pout.
"You're certainly right about that," agreed Elvira. "Now then...Iona, do you know where you live?"
"Hmm…" The Flabébé examined the streets, before her eyes lit up in recognition. "It's down that way." She pointed to the street on their right...which Elvira couldn't help but recognise was the back street they had gone down earlier that day to avoid contact with the Thorned Roses.
"...All right. Lead the way, Iona."
And so the two went down the back alley, with Iona leading the way. They went past the same miserable, boarded up houses that they'd gone by earlier, and once again, Arian got the same feeling from earlier that he was being watched. It was still quite unsettling, and the human silently wished to himself that the search for Iona's house wouldn't take much longer.
Thankfully for him, it didn't. The Flabébé floated to one of the houses with boards on the outside.
"This is my house," she told Arian and Elvira. "Now, to let Mommy and Daddy know…" She floated up to one of the timber boards, before, to the surprise of the other two, she was able to pull one slightly outwards and knock with it. And not just any knock - it was five slow knocks, carried out in such a way as if it was meant to be different to a normal knock.
There was a brief silence. But then, the door opened, and a Florges came into view.
"Hi, Mommy!" Iona greeted.
"Iona?!" cried the Florges. "Oh, thank goodness you're here! I thought you might never come home…" She embraced her daughter with relieved joy.
"Me too. I thought I'd be stuck in the meadow forever," the Flabébé replied. "But these nice people saved me."
"Hm?" The Florges's attention turned to the other two Pokémon standing outside the door. "...You aren't Thorned Roses. Who are you two?"
"I'm Elvira, and this is Arian," Elvira introduced. "...We overheard about your lost daughter in Blossoming Meadow, and so we set out there to look for her."
"...Thank you both," the Florges said gratefully. "Iona means the world to me. If I lost her forever, I don't know what I would do. I feared the Thorned Roses had kidnapped her. Thank the Creator it never came to that. ...Truly, I can't thank you enough for rescuing my daughter."
"It was no problem," Arian returned. "We're happy to help." He looked over at his partner, before his gaze drifted to the roses in her hand. "...Oh yeah, nearly forgot. Iona wanted to pick flowers for you in the meadow. So we picked some."
"...You haven't been growing flowers in the last while, Mommy," Iona brought up. "I don't know why you've been sad, so...I thought maybe you might like some flowers. I hoped they would cheer you up, and you would tend to them like you always used to."
The Florges gazed at the roses in Elvira's hands, which the Treecko then gave to her.
"...So that's what this is all about…" she murmured, looking at the roses. "...I've been worried about the Thorned Roses. I've been worried about them so much I've lost the will to do what I love most, which is tending to the flowers in my house." She turned to her daughter. "...Thank you for reminding me of that, Iona."
"...I just want to make you happy, Mommy," Iona replied. "If you're happy, then so am I."
"That's very sweet of you to think, dear." Iona's mother embraced her daughter once more. When they were finished, her attention turned to Arian and Elvira. "...How can I ever repay you back? I'm afraid we don't have much in the way of money, but...I can think of a gift to give you two as thanks for saving Iona. Hold on for a minute, I'll go get it."
The Florges returned into the house. A minute later, she returned with something wrapped in cloth.
"Here you go. It's nanab bread," she said, handing it to Arian. "I made it yesterday. I hope it satisfies you…"
"Oh, I like nanab bread," Elvira inputted, a smile crossing her face. "Of course it does. You don't have to worry about any more repayment."
"...Good. ...Say...it's getting late." Iona's mother looked up at the sky, where the evening was setting in. "It's best we head in, Iona. The dark streets are dangerous places at nighttime."
"Okay, Mommy," Iona obliged.
"And that goes for you two as well," the Florges added, looking at Arian and Elvira. "I'd rather not keep you from your homes for too long."
"Understood. Thanks for that advice," Elvira thanked. "...We should get going, Arian. The night's a dangerous place to be, whether inside the town or out of it."
"Okay. Thanks very much for your advice, and the bread," Arian said to Iona's mother.
"It's my pleasure. I bid you a safe journey. May Lunala's light guide your path."
The door closed in front of them.
"...So...our first mission was a success," Arian summarised.
"Indeed, it was. ...I enjoyed working with you, Arian," Elvira said, with a smile on her face.
"I did too." The Riolu found her smile infectious, and he had a grin on his face in seconds. "Let's go back to your place and tell Zenobia all about today. Today may not have been a wholly smooth ride, but it was an adventure all right."
"It was. And I did find out a few more things about you," Elvira added. "Like, for instance, who knew you were good with kids? You took to helping Iona out and telling her that story really well. ...Even if you did exaggerate some details. We didn't win that duel, Arian."
"...Well, yeah, but that would be rather anticlimactic as a story, wouldn't it?" Arian reasoned. "Besides, Iona's only a child. A small bit of exaggeration wouldn't hurt a story like that to an audience like her."
"...Maybe. Still, it's best to stick with the truth. Too many lofty lies and they'll come back to bite you in the end," Elvira advised. "Dad never lied when telling me stories growing up."
"...Point taken. Anyway...shall we get home?"
"Yes. The sooner we get home, the better," agreed the Treecko. "Follow me. I know the way."
They ended up treading the same paths they'd walked earlier that day. As they made their way back to Tamara's house, where the tunnel to the outside lay, Elvira reflected on her fortunes in a good light.
I have a teammate now. And I'm doing the work Dad always wanted me to do. ...It's looking good. Maybe things are turning around for me.
She looked up at the evening sky.
...Are you up there, Dad? I don't know if you are or not, but...I'm doing this at last. If you are up there...watch over me, will you? And if you aren't up there…
….Then I'll find you, wherever you are.
Notes
I tried to envision Ozerograd in the style of many towns we see in medieval fantasy games. The setting for the world of Ardalion is a rustic one, just like the other Mystery Dungeon games, so I'll stick to that model.
The last message on the graffiti was intentional, and meant to reflect graffiti language we would see in real life. But of course I would not reveal such language here, hence why Arian turned away before it could be read. I intend to keep this at a T rating, after all.
Also, Ozerograd translates to 'lake town' in Russian. As a supplementary note, Lake Lazurny was named for its colour: 'lazurnyy' means 'azure' in Russian. And Selenia is derived from the Russian 'zelenyy', meaning 'green', as a reference to the country's lush greenery that I envision it to be.
Why Russian? ...No particular reason, really. But when I was making this story, the idea came to me to use different names and etymologies for each country, its locations and the people that live there. As for what would be called Selenia, I decided to use Russian and Slavic names for the country. There'll be more examples of this naming in the other countries to come, and I'll explain them when we get to them.
There will be exceptions, though, like the fact that several characters already have had names that decidedly are not Russian, like Flora. I look at it this way: in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 they employed a similar system of giving different accents to characters from each region. But not every character in that region necessarily has a name adhering to that dialect(e.g. not every Gormotti has a Welsh name, not every Ardainian has a Scottish name, etc. If you've played it, you probably know what I mean). Also, Mystery Dungeon names won't usually apply to this, and they'll typically have names reminiscent to Dungeons in the games.
Speaking of Mystery Dungeons, I won't cover every floor that our heroes go through from here on. Just the ones where something notable happens or an important conversation carries out on that floor.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and see you next time.
