Chapter 2: Rose Thorns
Rolling Fields Hollow
Roselia pulled herself behind the corner of the chasm wall. She watched nervously as Helioptile and Sewaddle prepared for battle. If she rushed in now and saved this amateur he'd give her a dopey thanks and run back to Leavanny to take credit. She'd have to wait until he knew he was outmatched before she saved the day.
Meanwhile, Helioptile sweated nervously as he stared down the flock of birds around him. These zombie-monsters hadn't been too tough so far. He'd probably toppled half a dozen by now, and even the infant took one out when he'd distracted it. But five at once might be a problem.
He gripped the magic stick he'd found in one hand, and the magic berry in the other. He was a lizard, being accosted by inky zombie birds, and he was about to fight them off with a magic wand. He wasn't sure if he ought to be trembling or laughing at the absurdity of it.
"Figh?" the infant asked nervously from its spot, shrunk up by his side.
He nodded. "Yes, fight."
He slammed into the nearest bird instantly, making the first strike.
He heard a sudden yelp and turned to protect the toddler. But the kid had only fallen onto its side when he had suddenly leapt forward.
WHAM! The bird he had just struck slammed into his back, sending him tumbling.
With a cacophonous array of screeches, the other birds dove into the fray. Two of them flew towards Helioptile, wings outstretched like blades. He braced to strike them when they got close.
"EIIIIHHHH!" the infant's cries broke his concentration. The other two small birds cut into him with their wings. The gash in his chest leaked a sickly green fluid, and the wound was slowly closing up.
With a sickening slice he felt two similar gashes open on his back and shoulder, the two birds flying through him with razor wings outstretched. He turned just in time to see the large bird coming in for a finishing blow.
Off of reflex, he flung the wand out in front of him and waved it around. It spat a massive flame from its tip which exploded against the bird's chest. Its momentum broke, and it quickly pulled up and flew off in an arc.
The lizard scurried over to the wounded infant, just as the smaller birds dove in for their second pass. With two quick tackles he diverted two of them. He swung the wand frantically at the third and...nothing happened. He dove on top of the infant and bore the pain as two more gashes were cut through his back.
Wincing, he picked himself back up and took an instant to examine his defective wand. The leaves growing from the tip had withered. That must have meant it was done. He threw the useless stick at the large bird as it closed in and it bounced off the bird's face.
He could swear it looked angrier than before.
He ducked and covered his head, expecting another cut from sharp wings. Instead the bird slammed into his torso with its full weight.
He rolled across the ground, the breath knocked out of him. His vision was blurring. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the infant, now exposed. He had to keep moving.
He sank his little fangs into the magic berry and took the biggest bite he could. His wounds started to close up even faster, and the rest of the berry withered. He pulled himself upright and growled, drawing two of the birds back towards him. The other four descended on the infant.
"Oh, by the stars above. Use your electricity you buffoon!" he heard a voice caw behind him. Purple shrapnel flew over his head, sinking into the large bird as it dove towards the infant. It shrieked and diverted course for its attacker. The smaller birds followed suit, abandoning the infant to chase after their leader.
Helioptile spun to see his savior. It was another strange creature which looked like living shrubbery. A short, humanoid one with three massive horns jutting from its head, and two giant rosebuds in place of hands. It was glaring at the birds with vehemence.
Her glare wavered a bit as she realized all six birds were now charging at her.
Helioptile pounced at the large bird as it flew past him, dragging it to the ground while the rest of the flock continued towards the rose-creature. He struggled to keep it pinned to the ground, but it easily threw him off.
A cry echoed out as the birds cut into the rose creature. She leaked green blood as half a dozen gashes lined her torso and arms.
"Useless idiot!" she chastised, falling forward onto one knee. "You're the electric one here! Fry these worthless birds!"
"Don't know how," he spat shortly as the large bird darted straight up. It arced up over his head and flew straight down towards him.
"Open your frills, moron!" she hissed.
Frills? Did she mean...
Helioptile searched his face for a certain muscle and found it right at the base of his useless danglings. The large bird was nearly upon him with talons outstretched. Out of time, he flexed the muscle.
The danglings tightened and contracted up towards his face, unfolding and expanding outwards. Two frills now fanned from the sides of his head. And as soon as they were open he could feel the overwhelming sunlight beating down on them. A wave of energy crashed over him, and electricity rippled through his frills.
Instinctually he shot that charge out from his frills and up into the bird as its talons clawed at him. The air was momentarily filled with blinding light as the bird was electrocuted. It crashed into him, bringing them both to the ground. He tried to shove the bird off of him, but it melted away before he could. The sickly goo slipped right over him and into the dirt.
Meanwhile Roselia braced as the remaining four descended on her in formation. She stepped left and sidestepped one. Fell to her right and the next grazed her shoulder. But now on the ground, the last two landed directly and gave her two wide gashes across her stomach. Her vision was flickering, and she barely had the strength to move anymore.
Helioptile didn't hesitate to join the fight. His newfound energy hadn't left him after that attack. He slammed into one of the apparitions at lightning speed, splatting it into a wall where it melted away.
Three left now. He couldn't stay still. The sun still beat down on his frills. The energy was still crackling through them.
The remaining three dove towards him. He loosed another jolt of electricity into the leader and it dissolved in mid-air, some of its goop splashing on his face. He leapt to the side and avoided the next one. He prepared to dodge a dive from the last bird, but instead compressed air smashed into his face and threw him backwards.
Lying crumpled on the ground, he could see large cuts across his body and bruises all over. But he could barely feel it. He could keep moving. He had to keep moving. He had to use this energy.
He pulled himself up again, ignoring his muscles' protests. One of the birds was trying to cut him again, while the other sat back flapping its wings intensely. He couldn't move much more, so he let the bolder bird approach and let out the strongest shock he could.
It spasmed and then dissolved as Helioptile stared straight into its burning eyes. The orange light seemed to glow for a few moments after the body was already gone.
Perturbed, he spun to check on the final bird just in time to eat a face full of compressed air again. He flew back and slammed into the wall, collapsing in a heap. His vision was flickering now too, and he could tell that his new body was beaten to the verge of death.
But he still felt energized. Even when everything else was fuzzy, he could still feel the light pouring down on his frills. The sparks running across them. Demanding to be let out.
Before he could rise, a volley of thorns sank into the back of the final bird, who joined its companions in nothingness. Roselia collapsed back down in the dirt again to rest.
Somehow she had borne the brunt of that fight, despite Helioptile holding a huge type advantage over her. He hadn't gotten serious until she was down for the count already. Had he planned that? Had he turned her big rescue around on her?
No, he had been an idiot before he had even known she was there. She shouldn't give him that much credit. She closed her eyes and prayed for the pain to stop. Wounds sealed quickly in mystery dungeons, but they had all taken quite a beating. It would be a few minutes until either of them could stand.
Or so she thought. But Helioptile was looming over her within a few seconds.
"Hey," he said, fidgeting anxiously. She opened an eye to look at him. He looked like a walking corpse. He had several nasty gashes, was bruised all over, and was twitching like a lunatic. How was he even standing?
She wanted to chastise him for endangering her client's child and for being so useless. But she didn't have the energy.
"I'm fine. Check on the child," she said and closed her eyes again.
Helioptile nodded to himself and skittered over towards Sewaddle. Why did he still feel like this? This wasn't adrenaline. He'd had adrenaline all day. This was...it had to be the frills. Perhaps if he just closed them...
The instant he did he collapsed, groaning loudly in pain. All of his energy had vanished, and he couldn't ignore the pain anymore. If he kept moving he'd collapse. The kid was still crying, and that was proof enough that the kid was okay.
The trio laid sprawled out on the floor for several minutes as their wounds sealed up. Eventually Sewaddle's crying died down to a light sniffle, and he moved over to rest beside Helioptile as he healed. After Roselia's more serious injuries had closed up she rose and staggered over to the pair.
"You are Sewaddle, correct?" she grunted.
"...Sewabel." he nodded hesitantly, hiding behind Helioptile's collapsed figure.
"I am Guildmaster Roselia of the Rosethorn Delvers Guild. Your mother sent me here to rescue you," she said with all the authority she could muster right now. "Please come with me. I will escort you back to your mother."
"Hold up," Helioptile groaned, pulling himself upright in spite of his lingering injuries. "I have a lot of questions."
"Evidently," she muttered with an eye roll.
"Let's start with: why am I a lizard?"
Roselia stared blankly at him for several seconds.
"I'm really not sure how to answer that. Would you like me to explain egg-making to you?" she scoffed.
"I'm good. I moreso meant that I'm not supposed to be a lizard. Or supposed to be here at all, I think? Actually, that's a good starting point: where are we?"
"We're in the fields to the east of Tranquil Knoll. They've recently become a mystery dungeon. Which I am now using my authority as Guildmaster to title 'Rolling Fields'" she seemed particularly smug about that.
"Okay, well that's just like, three more questions. What is a 'Tranquil Knoll', and what is a-"
"I don't have time for this," she cut him off. "I have a parent waiting for the return of their beloved child. It would be irresponsible of me to make her wait." It was half true. She also just wanted to be free of this idiot. "Come with me Sewaddle," she beckoned expectantly.
Sewaddle shrank further behind Helioptile.
"Why don't we both come with you?" he eyed her firmly. "I've been trapped in this hellhole for a while, so if you know a way out I'd like to follow. And Sewabble trusts me."
It seemed like his good deed escorting the kid was finally paying dividends. The walking weed clearly wanted him to leave, but he wasn't passing up his first chance at actual answers.
"Sewaddle." she corrected with another eye roll. "Fine. Come with me."
Without another word she walked towards the chasm at the far end of the clearing. Helioptile followed her, turning to make sure the slow Sewaddle kept pace. He was about to start asking her questions again when he noticed something unusual about this chasm. The walls weren't shifting in the distance. There was a small clearing ahead, and then a long constant tunnel beyond that. But the chambers never moved.
And when they came into that small clearing things only got weirder. In the center of the room was a massive circular hole in the ground. The ground around it seemed to twist into it, with dirt and grass going down the sides of the massive hole as if gravity had stopped working entirely. A dark fog emanated out from the hole, and he didn't dare get close enough to look what was at the bottom.
"What the hell is that?" he blurted out. This hole was somehow the most disturbing thing he'd seen today. Sewaddle was also eyeing it anxiously.
"The rift," she answered nonchalantly. "In the center of every mystery dungeon there is a hollow where the rift resides. It's what causes the dungeon in the first place. Probably." She began to lead them around the outer perimeter of the hole.
"And uh, what's down the hole exactly?" he eyed the rift anxiously.
"Nobody knows. Most people who fell down one were never seen again. Those who were appeared in mystery dungeons half the world away. So stay away from it," she glared at him.
She didn't need to tell him twice. They made it around the hole and proceeded into the long chasm behind it. A bright light poured out from the end of it.
"So this place we're in. This is a 'mystery dungeon'?"
"No, this is just how normal plains are around here," she scoffed. "Of course this is a mystery dungeon."
He ignored her sarcasm and nodded pensively. "I'm not from around here, to uh, say the least. I don't know what a 'mystery dungeon' is."
"Well they're dangerous and you should never go near one," she grunted. Either he was lying, or he had somehow come from an even more secluded hamlet than Tranquil Knoll.
"Did I offend you or something?I don't exactly know the etiquette for how a lizard is supposed to introduce themselves to a walking rose bush, so I'm sorry if I did something wrong."
"Here's a first suggestion: Calling me a 'walking rose bush' is not proper etiquette," she hissed. "I am a Roselia."
"Right. Sorry Roselia, I'm just a bit in shock at the-"
"That's Guildmaster Roselia," she corrected him.
Helioptile blinked at her a few times. Utterly insufferable. He was half-tempted to try polling Sewaddle for answers instead, but he knew it would be useless. He sighed and acquiesced.
"Sorry Guildmaster Roselia. Maybe it would be better if I just explained why I'm so confused. I'm not from around here, and I wasn't a lizard before I came here. I woke up in this 'mystery dungeon' with almost no memory of how I got here. Where I'm from there are no 'Roselia', and no 'mystery dungeons', and no talking lizards. So I'm really damned curious where exactly I am, what is going on, and why I am here."
Roselia's iron scowl broke for a minute. That was definitely an unexpected twist, and it did explain his complete incompetence. If it was true, anyways. But the truth of his story didn't matter much. What was important was that if everyone heard he was also lost in the dungeon, then she'd have two rescues for the price of one. If he really wasn't a delver, then maybe this useless lizard wasn't such bad luck after all.
"I see. That's terrible. I'm glad I was able to help you," she said with a fake smile.
"Yeah, thanks," Helioptile responded with a fake smile of his own. She acted like she hadn't been in it just as rough as he had. "So, about that: where are we? Like, beyond just 'in a mystery dungeon'?"
"We are near the eastern end of Trespis, or the 'Spirit Continent' as foreigners call it. East of Tranquil Knoll, and a-ways west of Sapsion City."
"...And what planet?" he asked with growing suspicion.
"P-planet?" she stared at him dumbfounded. "Earth?"
He nodded in thought. Even if the planet had the same name, he was pretty sure this wasn't the same Earth he knew. Unless he'd somehow ended up in the distant future? He was hard pressed to think of a scenario that led to the earth being taken over by talking bugs and plants, as amusing as the thought was.
"And all of these other towns and cities. Are they also populated by uh... Guildmaster Roselias?" he asked, barely holding back a smug grin.
She did not look amused. "I am the only Guildmaster Roselia. There may be other non-Guildmaster Roselia in those cities, yes. Among countless other Pokémon."
"Pokémon?"
"Oh stars above...I'm a Pokémon, you're a Pokémon, he's a Pokémon," she said pointing a flowery arm at each of them in turn. "We're all Pokémon."
"So it's like, a general term? And Roselia is your species?"
"Correct," she groaned. Was there something wrong in the head with this Helioptile? He spoke too clearly to be feral, yet he didn't understand the concept of Pokémon? Actual infants understood that much.
"Then what's your name?"
"Why do you need to know that?" she eyed him suspiciously.
"Uh. Because I'm talking to you? I'm- " he stopped suddenly. "My name is... " He started to panic a bit as he realized he couldn't remember his own name.
"Helioptile is fine," she cut him off. "There's no need for chosen names."
He was almost glad. The fact he couldn't remember his name made him very uneasy.
"I'm guessing that's my species? Do you all just refer to eachother by your species?"
"Yes, and yes. Exactly what bizarre backwater did you come from?"
He wondered for a minute whether it was wise to tell the truth to someone so clearly hostile. But if he didn't figure out how this world worked now, it would be obvious to anyone he met that something was off.
"Uh, well... like I said, it was a very different place. We were all the same species, so we all used 'chosen' names."
"An entire town of Helioptile. How strange," she muttered. He'd told her several times he wasn't a Helioptile...Was she even listening to him?
"Yeah, about that...have you ever heard of a 'human'?" he asked innocuously.
"From stowy?" Sewaddle excitedly chipped into the conversation for the first time.
"Story? Uh, yes! What story were they from again?" he asked the child, while Roselia rolled her eyes. She knew that question was weird and pointed.
"Lowtha Thtowy! The homam that teek ethpeen how to weed! The homam thay make fwenth with thweecoon! The homam that beed up waykwatha!" he hopped in excitement. Helioptile barely understood a word of what he said.
"T-that's right! So uh, pop quiz: are humans real, or only in stories?"
Sewaddle giggled. "They weel," he said with a smile.
"No, they are not!" Roselia interjected indignantly. "And let it be known that your shallow attempts to pretend you are not seeking information from a child did not go over my head."
Helioptile wished he could snicker. She thought she was clever for figuring him out, but she assumed he just didn't want to admit he needed a child's help. He was already figuring her out. She was projecting her own pride onto him. But thanks to her ego, the significance of his question went over her head.
The glowing light ahead was close now. They approached it and he saw something he'd grown to miss: open space. This chasm extended outside of the labyrinth walls, revealing open fields beyond it. He could see several buildings in the distance.
As soon they had passed out of the dungeon walls, he saw a familiar figure.
"SEWADDLE!" she cried.
"Mama!" Sewaddle yelled and rushed towards her. Leavanny embraced her child, crying in relief.
"I'm so glad you're okay," she whispered to him.
Helioptile watched heartwarming scene awkwardly. He felt a bit good about having helped create it, but his mind was elsewhere. It was really hard for him not interrupt by blurting out questions.
After spending some time holding Sewaddle close, Leavanny put him onto her back and stood up.
"Thank you, Roselia." Leavanny said, staring right at her. Roselia squirmed a bit at the exclusion of her title but refrained from correcting the client. "I am greatly in your debt. For starters, consider these paid for," she said as she pulled out the pouch of scarves. She removed one to show a light green fabric, with a geometric pattern in the corner that resembled red and blue roses intertwined.
Roselia took the first scarf and looked it over, trying not to be too obvious with her quality assessment. Luckily even if she was, she didn't have a lick of disappointment to reveal. The scarves were perfect.
"Thank you ma'am," she said with a nod, regaining her formal tone. She tied the scarf around her neck, making sure the pattern was visible in front. Then she took the rest of the pouch. "But really, the greatest thanks you could give me would be to spread the news. We're a brand new guild, so it's important for people to know that we're here to help."
"Of course," she said with a smile. She knew what Roselia wasn't saying out loud: No one actually trusted her yet. "And uhm, I'm sorry... I didn't know you had a teammate," she said turning to the surprised Helioptile. "I don't have much money on me, since I was expecting your payment... "
"He's not with me," Roselia immediately corrected. "He was also lost in the dungeon, so I helped him out."
Helioptile shot her a cold glare.
"Hewoptoo thafed mama!" Sewaddle called happily from Leavanny's back.
"Hmm?" Leavanny cast a glance back to her child.
"Hewoptoo uth ethcab oob. Fwoosh!" the child reeled back excitedly with a giggle.
Leavanny tilted her head and cast a questioning glare to Helioptile.
"Oh. I uh, found you unconscious in the dungeon. Sewaddle told me to use some orb I found on you, and apparently it sent you outside?" he explained, toying nervously with his frills. He wasn't sure she'd appreciate him not using it on Sewaddle, but he'd had no idea what was going on...
"Oh! So that's why I woke up outside. But why didn't you use it on all of us?"
Helioptile froze. "...I could do that?"
"As you can see," Roselia growled with visible anger, "Helioptile here is very naive. I found the two of them at the mercy of a flock of Starly apparitions. Had I shown up a minute later they both would have been defeated."
"Hey, you got beaten up just as badly as I did!" Helioptile protested. He didn't need to cater to her attitude as much now that he had met a seemingly sane Pokémon.
She glared daggers at him. But before she could retort Leavanny interrupted with a pitying smile.
"Well it's not a big deal who did what. I appreciate what both of you did for me. I'd feel bad not doing anything, so can I at least buy you a drink or something?" she offered, turning to Helioptile.
Oh yes, he could absolutely use a drink right now.
Tranquil Knoll
This was not the drink he had expected. Helioptile eyed the gooey, crushed berry in his cup suspiciously. Then again, there was a giant spider sitting at another one of the tables. He'd dealt with far more today than a weird drink. With a shrug he chugged down a bit of it. It had a bitter taste, almost like coffee. He liked it.
Leavanny had led them straight to this cafe in the town. He had taken in every glimpse of information he could get along the way. Strange as they were, these creatures were definitely civilized. Their town was eccentric and disorganized. In spite of the relative simplicity of their homes, he was impressed that they'd managed it when half of them seemed to lack hands.
That was the really weird part about it. He had been prepared for lizard-people, and even bug-people and plant-people. But these were an everything-people! Every Pokémon he'd looked at was entirely different. Some were like animals, others looked like dragons or misshapen humans. There was no rhyme or reason to any of them. Yet somehow they'd made a cohesive society despite not even agreeing on how many limbs they should have.
This probably should have thrown him off more than it had. But after the day he'd had, he was okay with anything as long as it wasn't attacking him. He nervously eyed the giant yellow spider at one of the tables again. Alright, perhaps not anything.
Roselia on the other hand had strutted into the cafe like she owned it. Making sure she was loud enough that everyone noticed Leavanny returning with her, Sewaddle in tow. She caught a glimpse of the shock throughout the crowd when she returned successful, but they had all quickly hidden it beneath cheer. She'd found herself a seat near the center of the crowd and eagerly regaled them with the events of her rescue. Or at least, how she remembered them.
Helioptile grabbed a seat at the bar, as far from Roselia as possible, and sat on it awkwardly. He eyed his tail with disdain as the weight of it dangled down under him. Leavanny followed him over and paid the big blue blob for his drink, and then grabbed the seat next to him.
That was good. She was amicable. She'd give him good intel.
"So... is she always like this?" he started the conversation casually, smiling and nodding over towards Roselia.
"Oh... I'm not actually from around here," Leavanny clarified. "She hired me to make and deliver some scarves for her guild. But... judging by the letters she sent me...yes."
Helioptile laughed. "What's this about a guild? What kind of guild?"
"A delvers guild it seems."
"You know, I'm not actually from around here either. I'm not too familiar what a 'delvers guild' is."
"Oh uh...they do a lot of stuff. Most importantly they're folks that are trained to enter mystery dungeons for exploration and rescue and whatever else. But they get roped in for a lot of other jobs as well."
"I see," Helioptile nodded and sipped his juice. Leavanny paused as Roselia's audience roared with laughter. Tuning in for a second, he could hear her telling them about how he'd wasted the orb.
"But don't base your thoughts on them after Roselia's guild. She's just starting up," Leavanny continued, stirring her own drink with a concerned look. "And truth be told, this seems like a weird place to start a guild. If she just formed a single team or two she could probably cover the whole village's needs by herself, don't you think?"
"I don't know. Since I'm not familiar with the concept I don't know how much work they receive. But this town does seem pretty small. There are bigger ones in the area, right?"
"Yeah. I'm from Sapsion City, just a few days east of here. You might be familiar with the Jade Crest?"
"No," Helioptile shook his head. "I'm from uh... really far away."
Leavanny tilted her head curiously but didn't press the matter. "Oh, well that's the city's guild. They're a pretty famous name across Trespis. But they're more what most people picture when they talk about delver guilds. Dozens of teams, servicing people across the continent. It's rare to see a small guild like this pop up."
This was all interesting, but none of it was of significance to Helioptile. He needed to segue back to his own problems.
"So you're from this uhh... 'Spirit Continent' then? It's Trespis, right?"
"Yeah, it's Trespis. And yes."
"Right, thank you. Would you mind answering a few questions about it for me then?"
"Of course," she nodded with a warm smile.
Finally, a willing informant. He could hear Roselia at the other end of the dining room telling a giant mole just how she had heroically saved Sewaddle from the birds. He tried to blot it out as he continued.
"Right. So where do I begin?" he mused. "I don't know how I ended up here. As in, I have no memories at all. And I'm fairly sure I wasn't a Helioptile before. Maybe this is a weird question, but like... do you know any reason that might be?"
Leavanny tilted her head and cast him concerned look. Sewaddle nearly fell off, gripping tighter. "I mean, I've heard about stuff like that in stories. But I don't know anything about something like that..."
"Ith like the homam that beed up waykwatha!" Sewaddle declared. But Helioptile couldn't make out a word of it.
"Of course, I understand. I know it's really weird, but there's a lot of weird stuff here that I haven't seen before. So I had to ask. Next question..." he stopped to consider what he should ask next. "The one thing I do remember is a weird voice. It was... impish and kept laughing. It said I was looking for trouble, and that it was going to give me a part to play. I think it's behind all of this. Still doesn't ring any bells, does it?" he asked without much hope.
"No... I've never heard of anything like that," she shook her head. "This... isn't really about Trespis..." she tapped her glass nervously with her scythe-like leaves.
Judging from her expression, Helioptile knew he couldn't pursue this angle any further without alienating her. He'd have to be a bit more down to earth. He hadn't been able to think about what came next until he'd escaped the dungeon. He'd just assumed that escaping the maze was synonymous with solving all of his problems. But now it was clear that he hadn't even begun to understand what was going on. He'd need to worry about the more mundane issues, like how he was eating and where he was sleeping.
"Of course, sorry. Guess I'll just worry about what's right in front of me," he said with forced cheer. "Anyways, since I'm not really supposed to be here, I don't have anywhere to stay or have anything to eat. I also don't have any money. As a uh... more-local-than-me, do you have any suggestions?"
Leavanny seemed to eye him for a bit before replying with a guilty look. "I'm really sorry I don't have anything to offer you. I really am grateful for what you did..."
"Oh, no no no... I don't mean it like that. I really don't know what to do!" he scrambled to reassure her.
"There should be an inn in town. I can give you enough Poke for tonight's stay... " she said, feeling her coin pouch nervously. "Unless you want to hunt or scavenge in the woods, you'll need to find work. If you ask around, someone is sure to need help with something. If Roselia's guild is open now, there's probably some kind of job board in town for it..." she fidgeted.
Odd jobs, huh? He wasn't the most qualified person to do anything, given his unfamiliarity with his own body. But maybe there'd be something totally unskilled for him to do.
"Hm, guess I'll figure something out. Thanks for the suggestion. One last question, if you don't mind my asking. What's your chosen name?"
Leavanny recoiled a bit at the question. He quickly clarified.
"Sorry if that's a personal question or something! Like I said, I'm not from around here. Figured I should take on a name that's uh... appropriate to the area. Just wanted a few examples to work with is all."
"Oh. Oh of course, sorry. It's just that chosen names are generally reserved for good friends, or situations where species names may be confusing. It seemed rather... forward." she explained with a nervous grin. "I am Grace," she said and gave a gentle bow. "My mate is Cling, if that helps."
"It does, thank you," he said with a gentle smile and a nod. Simple words, descriptive... He wanted a few more examples, but he was getting a sense already of what to expect.
"Iiiiiiii'm Bluuuuur!" the blue blob suddenly spoke up from behind the counter, making Helioptile jump. The dopey-looking creature had been so still he'd entirely forgotten it was there. It hadn't even blinked!
"Uh, thanks," he gave it an awkward smile. It continued staring at him with a wide and dopey grin.
He turned his attention back to Leavanny, trying to escape the feeling of its stare drilling into the back of his head. They enjoyed their drinks for another few minutes with only idle chatter. He had a thousand more questions to ask, but he didn't want to risk scaring off the first sane person he'd met. If he formed this into a friendship he'd have all the access he needed to easy answers.
Sewaddle had quickly fallen asleep after being given a few sips of Leavanny's drink. Somehow he managed to keep clinging to the back of her head even while totally knocked out. He must have been exhausted to have kept sleeping in spite of all the noise in the cafe.
In spite of everything, Helioptile couldn't help but appreciate the atmosphere of mirth as he drank. Everyone had been put into a good mood by the day's happy ending, and they even seemed to appreciate Roselia's energetic tall-tales.
He could see people casting him curious looks all throughout her story. No doubt Roselia had told them all that he was a bumbling idiot that she had heroically saved. If he was around here for a while, he'd have to set that record straight.
"Leavanny!" a smug voice broke their brief tranquility as Roselia approached, still glowing from all the attention. Leavanny quickly masked her alarm with a smile.
"Yes, dear?"
"I was just wondering what you planned to do, now that the road home is blocked off by a mystery dungeon?" she asked cheerfully.
Leavanny shifted uneasily. "Uhm...well, I suppose I may be stuck here for a bit..." she confessed. "Even if there are no ferals in the fields to be worried about, I've heard stories of dungeons swallowing up people who try to travel around them. I could never forgive myself if Sewaddle ended up back in there..."
Helioptile couldn't believe he'd heard her right. They swallowed people up?
Roselia just nodded, still smiling. "Well if that's the case, wouldn't you like to join my guild? Even if not for dungeon missions, we can still definitely find a use for you!"
"J-join the guild?" Leavanny glanced around anxiously. "I-I'm sorry. I don't think so. I'm only going to be around until the road is safe. And I'm not sure delver work is right for me."
That and she didn't want to work for a smug child, Helioptile imagined.
Roselia deflated immediately. "R-right. No worries," she mumbled. "If you need anything else from us while you're in town, you know where to find me. Remember to spread the word."
She headed back towards the crowd, presumably to refill on self-aggrandizement. Leavanny breathed a sigh of relief.
Helioptile had to smirk at it all. Roselia's pride wouldn't let her ask him, who had actually fought alongside her, but she wouldn't hesitate to ask a dismayed mother. Utterly hopeless.
They stayed for another hour, with Leavanny happily paying to refill Helioptile's cup with the strange bitter juice. She taught him the names of many of the Pokémon in the cafe. The slow-moving blue blob was a 'Quagsire'. The mole-drill an 'Excadrill'. That terrifying giant spider was a 'Galvantula'.
By asking her about her travels he'd managed to get a decent sense of the geography, too. He figured making his way towards the city to the east would be a good goal if no other leads popped up.
But this new mystery dungeon in the way would be a problem for him, just the same as Leavanny. He'd made it through once, but he wasn't about to wander in again willingly. It seemed he'd be stuck here for a while.
He'd have to work with what he had, starting in the morning. The sun was setting and he was tired. The whole cafe had quieted down, with people beginning to funnel out. Leavanny offered to show him the way to the inn.
It was a blocky building, with several discrete cubes making up what he assumed were the half-a-dozen rooms of the inn. Entering into a lobby in the central one, they were greeted by a monkey-like creature with an oversized hand at the end of its long tail.
"Good evening, Aipom," Leavanny whispered, tilting her head to show the resting Sewaddle.
"Good evening! Hehe!" it responded loudly, grinning and oblivious to the sleeping child.
"Do you have two rooms to spare?"
"Do I ever! Do you have eighty Poke to spare?"
Leavanny pulled several golden coins from her pouch, looking guilty in the process.
"Hehe! Awesome! Right over there!" he yelled, pointing at one doorway with his normal hand and another with his tail.
Leavanny took the now-stirring Sewaddle down into her arms and cradled him. "Thank you," she hissed with an angry glare at the loud monkey. Then she turned to Helioptile. "Sorry I couldn't do more to repay you. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask." With a smile she disappeared into her room.
Helioptile glanced at his own room and considered collapsing for the night. But even though he was exhausted, his thoughts were still racing from the day's events. He may as well get a jumpstart on tomorrow.
"Hey uh... Aipom?" he looked over at the strangely gleeful innkeeper.
"Ye'siree Mr. traveler?"
"I'm gonna go for a quick walk. I was told there might be somewhere in town for job postings. You know where that might be?"
"No'siree Mr. traveler! Most folks just ask."
"Right...Well, I'll be back soon."
Aipom nodded and waved him off with his tail-hand.
Helioptile stepped outside and let himself appreciate the cool air and quiet as he walked. It was definitely the weirdest town he'd ever wandered through, but it was also endearing. The simplicity of it all, and just how different each and every building he passed was. All different shapes, and sizes, and colors. The path itself winded at random throughout it all. There was none of that human uniformity to it.
He'd figured if he couldn't sleep yet anyways, he may as well get a look around while he let his thoughts run rampant. He'd need to figure out his next steps tomorrow and being armed with the knowledge of what was in the village would help.
But once he let his thoughts start to wander he stopped paying attention to his surroundings anyways. How could he, with everything that had happened today? Now that he was alone and out of danger, the floodgates were opening.
He was a lizard! He'd gotten accustomed to moving around in this body, but it still felt so weird. And even if he wasn't alone here, running on four legs felt degrading. If anything, he felt like he wasn't freaking out enough about that. But the more he thought about it, the more weirdly unimportant it felt. It was bizarre, and surreal, but it didn't actually change that much in the end as long as he was living among other freaky creatures. He was certain he'd end up missing thumbs though.
And shooting lightning was a plus, he admitted to himself. Though he certainly wasn't about to open those frills again anytime soon considering how reckless they had made him.
No, what was actually bothering him was that he couldn't even remember how he'd gotten here. Hell, for all he knew he'd been a lizard in this world all along and got conked on the head so bad he'd gone psychotic. It was about as reasonable of an explanation as anything else!
But that couldn't be. Because he could still remember the laughing, ghoulish voice...That damned voice. That was the lynchpin in all of this. He needed to learn about it. That's what he'd chase. Starting tomorrow.
...Right after he chased a way to eat regularly.
With that note, his subconscious tugged him back to his surroundings as he passed by a domed green house with dense flowerbeds out front. He could fathom a guess who that belonged to...
But more important was the dark shape of a bulletin board out front. He scurried towards it, trying to make out any postings in the dark. To his disappointment, only a single piece of paper was pinned to the board by a thin golden rod. Looked like he wasn't getting options.
With a big hop he leapt up and tore the note down. His mood soured further as he read the handwritten note:
Rosethorn Delvers Guild: Now recruiting
Seeking new members to form delving teams for reconnaissance, rescue, and other assorted services inside and outside of mystery dungeon environments.
Ideally looking for practiced delvers. Will tolerate apprentices who are sufficiently dedicated to be required to pass an entrance exam.
No slackers, no cowards, and no children!
He nearly smushed up the note and tossed it away right then and there. This wasn't a one-off job, and he wasn't going to work for a petulant child. But he kept reading and caught the final note at the bottom.
Meals, training, and lodging provided for contributing recruits.
He paused to consider. A devious grin curled across his face. Food, housing, and questions answered? It really was everything he needed right now. Roselia was repugnant, yes, but he'd already established that she was quite easy to manipulate. A tiny bit of sucking up and she'd definitely accept him. He just had to play along enough to get her help until he could figure this whole thing out, or at least find a better arrangement. And the thought that she'd be giving him everything he needed felt like more than enough karma for her attitude.
A grin still on his face and the note in his hand he rapped on her wall by the doorway as hard as he could with his little yellow claws.
A small, four-legged figure pulled itself through the gap between two large tree roots, into the small hideout under the trunk. An oversized and ragged gray cloak covered his body and dragged through the dirt behind him.
With a sigh he curled up on a bed made from straw he had snuck out when no one was paying attention. It had taken him an hour, right smack dab in the middle of the day, to drag the small bale all the way here. No one had even noticed he was gone. But he'd heard them complaining about the missing bale that night.
That was always the case. They'd always notice the little things he took, but never that he'd been gone. Why would they, after all? What did he contribute, besides leeching off their supplies?
"Kee-hee-hee! Welcome home! Such an adorably pitiful little hovel you've made here. I quite like it!" a high-pitched voice broke his solitude.
The figure leapt to his feet and spun in a panic, eyeing every corner of his little hideaway. The sunlight streamed between the roots, leaving deep shadows where it didn't hit. He glimpsed movement in one of the shadows, but by the time he focused it was gone.
"Wh- who are you? How did you find me?" he stammered nervously, getting ready to run.
"Who am I, hm?" the shadow mused. "Well that depends. I was hoping I could be your friend."
That was not the answer he had expected.
"What?! Friend? B-but why? Why me?"
"Well you see, I need a new friend to play a very important part for me," the sound of hands clapping together filled the den, "And what do you need, my sad little child? Hmm?"
"Well... I uhm...I..." the cloaked figure pawed at the ground nervously. This was all weird and ominous...but nothing like this had ever happened to him before. Someone had gone out of their way to find him?
"Rhetorical question. You want them to notice you, don't you? You want people to know about you. To feel like you make a difference in anyone's life," the shadow stated gleefully.
"I- I guess it would be nice, but...I'm not really anyone worth knowing..." the figure bowed his head. "That's... that's why I don't have any friends yet. I can't really help anyone with anything..."
"True, true! But our interests are aligned! If you play this part for me, everyone will be talking about you. They won't be able to wait to hear more about you."
"I'll... I'll be useful to them?"
"Mmm, you won't make friends like this, if that's what you mean. Not besides me, of course! Take it from me: they'll never understand what you've done for them. But yes sad child, you'll be helping them."
The cloaked figure twisted anxiously. He wouldn't make any friends huh...But if he could be useful to people, and he didn't...Then he wouldn't deserve any friends anyways, would he… ?
"W-what is it you want me to do, exactly?" he asked hesitantly.
A hearty laugh filled the air, and the shadow's voice grew more serious. "I need you to play a part most critical. The driver of the show, the scarer of the masses, the one everyone loves to hate. I need you to play the villain."
