Chapter 6: Not My Type
A Granbull and Mienshao glanced around the town anxiously. It was obvious at a cursory glance that they were both delvers. From the white and red ribbons wrapped around Mienshao's long arms, to his thin, metal headpiece, to the Granbull's bold green scarf, every inch of their equipment shimmered with telltale dungeon magic. The type of gear Pokémon only wore when they were out for an adventure.
And if their gear didn't clue onlookers off, anyone in Trespsis could recognize the badge of the Jade Crest. Though only a keener eye would recognize the status of theirs. The sharp tips and gemstone material of elite badges. The best the Crest had to offer. Or at least, on any other day they would have been.
But Team Poise was more than the sum of its parts. So at the moment they were at less than two-thirds of their former glory. With any luck, they'd be restored soon.
Everrime Town was usually a gorgeous village. The Pokémon here knew how to work with their snowy climate, and had turned the place into a winter wonderland. The street lamps made the snow in the air shimmer, and the banks on the ground had been kept clean of mud and filth. A healthy plume of smoke emerged from every chimney. The gentle atmosphere helped ease travelers in the northern cold.
But the duo weren't here to sightsee today. They weren't even here for work.
"So... Straight awp taw the tawndra, or we lookin' around town first?" Granbull asked his partner.
"Town. The tundra is a massive place. Best to confirm she went out there," the Mienshao said evenly.
"Hmph. There's naw delving supplier in this town, right?" he looked at the nearby buildings. He wasn't too optimistic in the peaceful little village.
"No. There's a general supplier. We stopped there last time we went up to Shiver Chasm, while you satiated your hunger at the bakery."
"Oh. Yeah. Haw, haw..." the Granbull scratched the back of his neck anxiously.
Mienshao led him down the wintry streets, earning surprised looks from the many Ice and Fire types who made their home this far north. Of course, it wasn't the duo themselves they were surprised by. It was the shiny, emerald crescent displayed proudly on their chests. The iconic Jade Crest.
Mienshao walked confidently through the door into a larger, wooden shack with a brightly colored sign: "Mime General Goods". A quaint store awaited them inside, stocked with simple goods of use to the townsfolk. A dim fire provided just enough warmth to keep visitors comfortable.
As soon as they had entered, a tip-tapping approached them from the back room.
"G-greetings!" a frigid Mr. Mime tap-danced his way into the room, unable to stop moving for a moment. "H-how may I help you?"
"Greetings, merchant," the Mienshao gave him a welcoming nod and puffed his chest forward to display his badge. "I am Mienshao Calm, and this is Granbull Gnarl of Team Poise."
Mime's eyes flashed with recognition. "O-oh! A pleasure to meet you! W-why do I have the honor?"
"The third member of our team came up here recently. She intended to head up into the tundra. Did a Gardevoir stop by here within the past two weeks?" Calm asked.
Mime stopped tapping for a moment to consider. His shiver intensified from the stillness. "O-oh yes. She stopped by to pick up some food for a trip. N-not often anyone goes up deep into the tundra. Is there a new mystery dungeon up there?"
"She was suspicious there might be," Calm said simply. "Did she ever come back here?"
Mime shook his head, looking relieved as he resumed his dance. "N-not here, no!"
"So it's like that then... " Gnarl muttered. "Guess we're going out into the tawndra after all..."
"Measure twice, and cut once. We can speak with anyone who might have new information before departing. If we must enter the tundra, we will do it as well equipped as possible."
"W-well, if you do end up going, I can s-supply you," Mime offered.
"We'll cawm back to stock up later if naw one knaws anything," Gnarled assured him.
In agreement, the two stepped outside to continue their search. They spoke with the hulking Beartic baker, the friendly Glaceon hunter, the curt Sandslash who cleared the snow from the streets... Anyone she might have spoken with, or who might have seen her. But the story was consistent. She'd left town for the tundra two weeks ago, and never came back.
Gnarl couldn't help gnashing his teeth with guilt. Faith was more than capable, so they'd both assumed it would be fine for her to go search the northern tundra alone. Just because they hadn't wanted to freeze their butts off with her. Everything had gone wrong because of such a petty reason...
Of course, Calm would never admit that was why he had declined her invitation. Calm pretended he never felt a thing. But Gnarl knew his teammate better than that. And he was sure the Mienshao felt just as guilty.
As their leads turned up dry, one by one, it became increasingly obvious that they'd need to venture out into the tundra. A vast, empty white void that spanned for miles in every direction. All in search of a single Gardevoir.
It was a doomed endeavor. But what else could they do? They'd never give up on her. So a hopeless search was all they could do. Maybe she had found the dungeon? Maybe if they could find it, they could find some hint of what had happened to her?
If the dungeon even existed, that was.
As they stared glumly to the north, a loud metal clang from behind broke them from their regretful stupor.
A massive bird, coated in a dark black armor, had fallen down to earth. It stared at them with sharp red eyes. Its armor was iced over and seemed brittle.
"C-Corviknight?!" Calm stuttered, quickly hiding his shock. "What do we owe the pleasure?"
"Good evening, Team Poise. Your presence here relieves me of a duty I was quite looking forward to," the messenger bird said with his usual imposing glare.
"We're... aw... sorry?" Gnarl tilted his head.
"Hmph. Merely an unfortunate coincidence for me. I was relieved to have received a message outbound from this dreadful climate. But it seems the necessary recipients are already here."
"News, for us? Does it pertain to Faith?" Calm asked, eagerness seeping through his facade.
"It does," the bird nodded his head. "It came to me as a request. Seems some children were playing out by Shiver Chasm, and one of them made the well-informed decision to enter the chasm in pursuit of a stranger. I suspect you two will, of course, fulfill the rescue request while you are here? But you'd be more interested to know that the stranger was supposedly a Gardevoir."
Team Poise's faces lit up. "This was recent?" Gnarl asked.
Corviknight nodded again. "Request was just given to me. Supposedly seen entering a few hours ago."
"We gotta gaw!" Gnarl practically tugged at Calm. But Calm was still perturbed.
"Why Shiver Chasm? She did not return to town, or attempt to contact us," he mused.
"Probably got an imprawmptu request or sawmthing. Maybe she just got lost awp in the tawndra? Or maybe she found the rift and explawred it herself? You knaw how she is."
"Were she successful in locating the Spacial Rift, it is believable that she would attempt a solo exploration," Calm considered. "But I have heard no records of dungeons, even divine ones, which take a week to delve. And she would not accept a new request immediately after having gone dark for two weeks."
Gnarl scratched nervously at his collar. Everything Calm said made sense, but he wasn't sure what to make of the situation.
Calm gave him a gentle smile, sensing his uneasiness. "All questions shall be answered when we find her. We should set out immediately."
"If you can offer me a kindness," Corviknight spoke up again, "please come find me again when you return. And request that I deliver the most important news of your findings back to Sapsion City, post-haste. I want nothing more than to depart this dreadful place," his cold eyes squinted into an even tighter scowl.
"That can be arranged. I suspect we will have important news regardless," Calm assured him.
With a grateful nod, the bird took flight and returned to roosting on a nearby chimney, hoping to sap some of the warmth billowing up.
"We should have enough delving sawpplies for Shiver Chasm on us," Gnarl decided, rifling through their bags.
"Good. Now we find our teammate."
The massive crack in the earth grew wider and wider in the distance as Team Poise approached it. Shiver Chasm was just a tiny ways into the tundra, close enough that the villagers who came up here sometimes had to be wary of it. An enormous tear in the ground, filled by a dungeon that ensnared anyone who entered.
The walls rose up on either side of them as they took their first steps into the crack. They towered higher, and higher until the frozen dirt was twenty feet above them on either side. Then thirty, then forty. Huge mounds of snow dotted the chasm walls where prior avalanches had rained down on the path. They steered clear of the walls, lest they be buried under the next one.
Anticipation filled each step, as they prepared for the dungeon to swallow them up at any moment.
"Shouldn't we be in the dungeon by now?" Gnarl asked, visibly confused.
"It has been a while since we've come here. The dungeon must be deeper," Calm brushed it off. He had a strange feeling as well. But a memory failure was the most likely explanation.
They kept marching deeper. The sun was long hidden from them now. Only slivers of light crept down a hundred feet below the earth. The chasm had begun to split off into smaller tunnels and caverns. If they stepped down any of them, they'd enter a natural maze that might be even more dangerous than the mystery dungeon.
"Calm..." Gnarl muttered. By now, they both knew something was wrong. But Gnarl didn't want to say what he was thinking. The Mienshao would inevitably have a far more rational explanation, and he'd look foolish for saying it.
Instead, Calm said exactly what he was thinking.
"The dungeon is no longer present," he said, the tiniest hint of incredulity seeping through.
It was unthinkable. New rifts opened, and new dungeons appeared from time to time. That was natural, that was normal. But dungeons never just disappeared. Once a rift opened, that rift remained there. And by extension, so did the dungeon.
"Gone? Jawst like that?!" Gnarl let out the shock he had been holding back, "Where did it gaw?" Then he paused as a bigger question dawned on him. "What daw yaw think happened to Faith? Or the kid?"
"Don't jump to conclusions," Calm tried to stave off his distress, "We know nothing about the timeline. It is possible the dungeon disappeared before or after her entry."
Gnarl nodded. Right. Just focus on finding Faith, and they'd have their answers. "You think she's still here?"
"We cannot know. But this is the only lead we ha-" Calm stopped suddenly and his ears perked up. "I hear someone."
"Is it Faith?" Gnarl asked all too eagerly.
"No, it sounds like a child's cries. I believe it is coming from... " Calm's face scrunched tighter. Even with his headpiece enhancing his hearing, sounds echoed through the maze of tunnels around them, making it hard to pin. "That tunnel," he pointed without much confidence at an opening ahead of them.
Gnarl rushed towards the tunnel, searching through his bag as he did. He pulled out an orb with a shiny golden glow glimmering inside of it. He closed his fist around it, crushing the outer shell and leaving a marble of radiant light resting in his palm. It illuminated the dark pathway around him.
When the chasm had been a dungeon, sunlight had reflected throughout the ice to keep the entire labyrinth lit. But it seemed that was just a trick of the dungeon. Without the mysterious force, darkness had taken hold in the natural maze that remained.
"Left," Calm instructed as they came to a split. He kept guiding Gnarl through the tunnels as the cry grew louder and louder until Gnarl could hear it himself.
The tunnel let out into a massive cavern that the luminous orb could just barely light. Along one of the walls, a white Vulpix cowered on a thin cliff thirty feet up. It whimpered nervously down to them.
"Greetings. Are you in need of rescue?" Calm called up nonchalantly. The Vulpix cringed, but as soon as Calm gestured to his Jade Crest badge it nodded pathetically.
"How are we gawnna get awp there?" Gnarl wondered.
"Are you able to climb? The area is no longer a dungeon, so there is no risk of the mysterious force attacking you," Calm suggested, appraising the cliff face. How had the child ended up there, anyways? It was a tiny ledge, and the face was steep.
"I cawld climb, yeah... But I weigh a gawd bit, and with how cawld it is, there's a shot the ledge gives out under my weight..." he shuddered. He could probably take a fall, but the kid up top sure wouldn't.
"Good thought," Calm reconsidered. "Do we have anything of use in our supplies?"
Gnarl began sifting through them again. Teeter orb, reviver seed, heal seed, slumber wand... All of their supplies were for fighting apparitions. Not helping people down from heights. He picked up their escape orb, wondering if they could toss it up to the Vulpix. But it was dull and lifeless in his grasp. With no dungeon to escape from, it was a glorified marble.
"All stuff for dungeon explawring," he shook his head. The Vulpix whimpered louder above.
"Let me take a look. We will need to be more creative," Calm resolved, grabbing the bag and shuffling through it himself. "Ah. This will do." He reached in and pulled out a switcher wand, handing it to Gnarl.
"Wawn't this just put me on the cliff instead?" he eyed it suspiciously.
"Yes. But you can climb down. If it collapses under your weight, you'll take the fall far better than the child. As long as you land properly you will suffer minor injuries at worst. We can restore those through our healing supplies."
Gnarl growled a bit at his partner's lack of concern. The idea made sense of course, but he was so nonchalant about the risk. But he was right. It was probably the safest way to let the civilian down. And his being right was the most annoying part.
"Fine," Gnarl grumbled and snatched the wand. He shoved the rest of the item bag into Calm's hand in return. "Kid! Stay still naw, awkay?" he shouted up. The Vulpix nodded nervously. Gnarl swung the wand out in front of him and the child cringed in fear.
A beam of cyan light stretched between the two of them. With a flash, Vulpix was safely on the ground and Gnarl was stranded on the ledge. A ledge which he quickly realized offered far less space to him than the tiny Vulpix. His feet barely fit on it, and he could already hear it creaking under his weight.
With a grimace, he jammed his claws into the wall behind him. He pushed his opposing foot into the ground just below the ledge. His claws chipped into the brittle stone with disturbing ease.
He dragged his other foot a bit down the wall and rehooked his opposite claw a few inches lower. Then he repeated, again and again. One step at a time, he began to make his way down the wall slowly.
His heart beat faster with each step, as the trail of cracks he was leaving behind expanded. The sound of fracturing stone was now a ticking clock. He moved faster.
Halfway down the wall now, the cracks were growing too fast. The wall would give out soon. Gnarl was bracing himself to fall the rest of the way down when the cracks began to glow with a faint red light.
No… the whole face had been bathed in light. Still holding close to the wall, he looked for the source.
A dim red glow omitted from an opening at the other end of the cavern. It grew brighter and brighter. Calm stepped forward, putting himself in front of the child who had begun to back away.
"I-it's her again…. ", the Vulpix muttered, eyes filled with a mix of awe and fear.
Calm's head snapped to look at the child. "Who?" he demanded.
But before the Vulpix could answer, she emerged from the tunnel.
Calm stared in utter shock at Faith's appearance. Her whole body was cloaked in an ominous red glow, and she had grown several feet too large. Clouds of black and red mist swirled freely around her. She had none of her usual delving gear, but instead wore deep blue, serrated gauntlets and a glassy red visor.
As soon as she saw them, a panicked look ran across her face.
"F-faith?" Calm cried out incredulously, all semblance of tranquility broken.
Gnarl suddenly leaned back, trying to get a better look at his lost friend. With that final stress the cliff gave out, and its face shattered into rubble. Gnarl crashed down onto his shoulder blade, groaning in pain. A rockslide of debris rained down towards him.
"Gnarl!" Calm cried, diving towards his teammate.
With a flash of red light, Faith was instantly towering over them. For just an instant, Gnarl was afraid she'd attack him. But instead she formed a psychic barrier, parting most the rockslide around them. The debris collapsed harmlessly into a ring around them.
Gnarl coughed as the dirt kicked up in his face. He tried to pull himself upright, but his shoulder screamed to stop and he collapsed back to the ground. "Faith?" he muttered up through a grimace. "What- what happened taw yaw?"
Faith stared down at him in horror. She opened her mouth to speak, but then wrenched it shut again. Wincing in frustration. She shook her head vigorously.
She looked at the heap of rubble around them and clenched her gauntlet. "I'm sorry. Don't try to find me until… it's over," she said sorrowfully, her voice booming throughout the cavern.
A cocoon of red light enveloped her and she was gone. Teleported to who knew where, and without explaining a thing.
The remainder of Team Poise stared at each other with a mixture of confusion and betrayal. Faith had answered none of their questions. She'd only given them a thousand more.
Their healing supplies were enough to get Gnarl up and moving, but he got the sense it would be a few days before it was fully healed. He held it gently with his other arm as they made their way back to town.
"How did you get up on that ledge?" Calm interrogated the child. He already knew the answer. But it was best confirmed.
"Sandshrew dared me to follow the weird Gardevoir," the kid confessed. "I didn't think she'd go all the way into the dungeon. But I got stuck in there, and there were these creepy ferals with glowing eyes everywhere, and I was running, and then I hid, and then all the walls started moving. And then it got really dark all of a sudden, and I could feel the floor moving under me, and then there was nothing there. There was nothing in front of me and I was too scared to move... Then I heard voices, and you showed up," he blurted out his story, tails drooping low.
Gnarl and Calm glanced at each other. The kid had been inside the dungeon when it had disappeared. Which meant Faith had been as well. Her presence, her strange appearance, and the disappearance of the dungeon. They were surely all related.
But why had she fled from them? Why couldn't she tell them what was going on?
As soon as they reached the edge of town, Corviknight dropped down from the skies, making Vulpix nearly jump out of his skin.
"I see you are still short a member," he noted cooly.
Calm gave him an exasperated nod. "We have your message for you. Tell the Guildmaster that we are gathering the elites. Immediately."
Corviknight glared at him curiously. His beak curled up into a rare hint of amusement. "I was expecting some nonsense message simply to get me home. You've made this exciting. And perhaps, if I must speak with the Guildmaster, I can renegotiate my assignment."
With a deep chuckle, Corviknight took the sky on steel wings and made for dead south. Team Poise brought the child home and prepared to make the same trek by land. Within a few days the Jade Crest's greatest would be investigating the disappearance of this dungeon. And hopefully, what had become of their friend.
Bristle was bursting with excitement as they approached the Tranquil Knoll job board for first time in days. There were jobs posted!
And it looked like there'd soon be more. Talonflame was perched on top with a stack of paper under one talon, pinning another piece to the board with his beak as Hypno held it in place for him. Galvantula stood by watching.
Bristle ignored all of them and stared up in awe at the stunning two job requests already pinned to the board with thorns from her bushes. A vine coiled around each and dragged them down to her.
"Morning, Helioptile! Morning, Roselia!" Galvantula waved a pincer cheerfully at each of them. Hypno shot them a side-eye and a grunt of acknowledgement.
"Morning, Galvantula," Bristle muttered half-heartedly as she eyed the two requests. One of the Flak Grotto kids lost their ball into the Bombard Plateaus. Trite. The other request was from Chesnaught himself. Rolling Fields had apparently stolen two bags of gravel from him.
"Morning," Rex eyed the giant spider suspiciously as he cracked his neck. Leafeon had been so gracious as to offer them both a place to stay, even after Bristle's poaching attempt. But his extra beds weren't half as comfortable as the inn beds.
"Galvantula, Hypno, where is Chesnaught?" Bristle cut in.
"He and Excadrill are out working on the new road towards Sapsion," Hypno grunted. "Told me and Galvie to make ourselves useful somewhere, since we don't have much to offer on that job. So I did," he nodded towards the board as Talonflame pecked a thorn into the paper he was holding.
"Are those... bounty postings?" Bristle asked with eager eyes. She quickly tore down the one Talonflame had just pinned, earning an exasperated look. "Three million Poke?!" she cried in awe at the bounty.
"Standard issue to post them up in any town with a place for them," Talonflame squawked out in and old and worn voice. "Along with news," he said as he passed another paper down to Hypno with his talon.
"If we were to catch her, we'd be able to afford a guildhall that rivalled the Crest... Not to mention the acclaim," Bristle fantasized as she stared at the wanted poster in her grasp.
Rex pushed up beside her and took a look at it. It depicted a massive, black, bipedal fox with a flowing red mane. A nasty scar ran from the base of its mane to the bottom of its jaw, and its mouth was curled into a malicious grin.
Rex snorted. "If you were to find her, you would be six feet under. Why don't we stick to catching litterers and helping cats out of trees?"
Bristle gave him a disapproving glare but plucked another thorn and re-pinned the bounty. Even she had to admit that one would be a stretch. She had seen that particularly bounty on the Jade Crest's board for years.
"Well, we need to start small anyways. Since someone is in desperate need of training. We wanted to go to Rolling Fields anyways, so we may as well find Chesnaught's gravel." She pinned up the other request, and stuffed Chesnaught's into her bag.
"He'd appreciate that," Hypno said with a nod as Talonflame pinned up the last of his notes. Now that his hands were free, he turned his attention to Rex.
"I don't believe we met properly. I'm Hypno. This is Galvantula," he gestured to the spider. "We're short a few members here, but we're part of good old Team GitErDone," he said with a chuckle.
Rex tilted his head. "You guys are a delving team?"
Hypno laughed again. "No. We're the construction crew around here. Chesnaught started calling us that as a joke."
"Ah. Well, I'm Rex," he said, earning the usual curious look in return. "You uh... you guys are part of a construction crew?" he looked at them skeptically. He didn't want to ask outright, but… how did this scrawny creature and a giant spider construct much of anything?
"Yes. I'm in charge of planning and measurements. Galvantula is in charge of adhesives."
Galvantula pointed one pincer towards her abdomen with a nervous grin in explanation. Rex shuddered. He glanced anxiously at all of the buildings around him. How many had been assembled with giant spiderwebs... Was it all of them? It was all of them, wasn't it?
"N-nice to meet you, Rex!" Galvantula stepped forward eagerly. "Leavanny told me about what you did for her. I think... that was really cool of you."
Rex instinctively recoiled as the massive spider approached him. Little spiders? Harmless. One that was bigger than him? Big nope. He was struggling to look her in her two large eyes and to ignore the beady additional ones, which were also locked on him.
"Oh- oh, she did? It was nothing. I was just lost and stumbled into her," he forced out. He owed Leavanny for correcting whatever lies Bristle had spread about him.
"Yeah! So... Chesnaught told us to be useful and all... So if you guys were going into Rolling Fields after his stuff... I-is there any chance I could come, too?" she asked Rex nervously.
"Of course!" Bristle responded immediately. It wasn't exactly a request to join the guild, but Galvantula was showing interest. Her temperament would need some hardening, but if Bristle could use this opportunity to sway her over... "Have you ever explored a dungeon before?"
"W-well, no... " Galvantula twiddled her front pincers nervously, "But the other day you said this one was super harmless. And you two would be there with me..."
"You're exactly right. You'll be totally safe," Bristle reassured her. Galvantula perked up and nodded eagerly.
Rex scowled. Of course. Galvantula was nice. But for heavens sake, she was a giant spider. Maybe that wasn't her fault, but it wasn't on him for finding her a bit freaky.
But it wasn't his decision, and frankly it was hard for him to raise any complaints. What was he supposed to say? "I don't want to be around you because you're freaking creepy"? That would go over well.
"Sounds good," he muttered half-heartedly. "Let's go get this over with."
They made their way to the outskirts of town. Rex spent the walk desperately trying to stop watching the hypnotically creepy movements of the six-legged bug. But whenever he would look away, the thought of her walking silently behind him just became creepier.
Rolling Fields Quadrant 1
Galvantula stared around in awe as the dungeon formed up around them. Her eyes flitted from place to place, taking in the alien scenery.
"Whew... Is it just me, or is the dungeon looking particularly eldritch today? This might just be the most ominous and uhm, otherworldly dungeon I've ever been in," Rex uttered loudly to no one as the labyrinth formed around them.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Bristle squinted at him suspiciously.
"I'm trying to get on the dungeon's good side, so it doesn't try to kill me, like with you," he whispered with a smug grin.
"Stop trying to flatter the dungeon," she growled.
Galvantula giggled behind them. Rex scowled and took the lead, putting Bristle between them. Hopefully this didn't become a regular occurrence. It would be just his luck if the only other person stupid enough to work for Bristle was the one that creeped him the hell out.
Rolling Fields was exactly as Rex remembered it. Perhaps too much like he remembered it. He was fairly sure the tree protruding from the wall was identical to one he'd seen the other day. But he'd definitely never been in a clearing of this size and shape before. It sloped downwards, inviting them deeper into the maze.
"Remember, we're looking for fights today. I want you to get some practice before we make it out of here," Bristle instructed.
"Yeah, yeah," Rex muttered.
"Uhm... g-guys? Is that supposed to happen?" Galvantula asked nervously, pointing a leg up towards a pulsating wall.
It seemed there'd be no absence of fighting. The walls spit out a seed-like apparition. The exact same shrub-zombie that had been hunting him the other day. It slowly sauntered up the hill towards them.
Galvantula gasped and skittered backwards.
"So what exactly am I supposed to do?" he asked, ignoring her.
"Let the Oddish hit you," Bristle said.
"What?!" Was this training literally just going to consist of him getting beaten?
"Just trust me. Leafeon said it best. You need to learn to take hits," she rolled her eyes.
He distinctly did not trust her. But he knew a single strike from these apparitions wasn't critical, and they had healing supplies with them. So he put up his guard and waited for it to approach.
As soon as it got close, it pounced and lashed out at him with sharpened leaves. Against his instincts he stood his ground and let it cut into his crossed arms.
He winced at the pain, but it wasn't enough to break his concentration. At a glance he could see the cuts were shallow.
"Now strike back!" she barked.
In an instant he had it pinned to the ground, and a few swipes of his claws were enough to dissolve it. He stood back up and dusted himself off as the inky blue mess melted into the dirt. Hard to believe he'd spent hours running from that thing.
Bristle smiled at him approvingly. "See? Feels fine, right?"
He examined the shallow cuts on his arm, which were already sealing up. He definitely had felt it. But no, it hadn't been too bad. That was just because the cuts were shallow and ineffective, right? There was no way that he'd feel like this while being bathed in flames.
A rapid stamping broke his train of thought, as Galvantula excitedly pounded her front pincers into the dirt in applause.
"Nice job!" she called, smiling with her eyes.
"Uh... thanks..." he muttered, trying his best to ignore her. "So, how exactly was that helpful? Because I definitely don't feel like that helped anything," he directed to Bristle.
"The same way any exercise is helpful. You get better at things the more you do them. Though that one was probably a bit beneath you," she glared at the ground where it had vanished with contempt." Ideally, if you're fighting a foe more appropriate to you, you should be taking some hits naturally. Hopefully there's stronger ones further in. Maybe more of those dreadful birds. I'd like to see them again now that I have my supplies..." she glowed at the thought of vengeance.
They started making their way down the hill and into the labyrinth proper. Bristle turned to Galvantula and asked, "How about you? Why don't you deal with the next one?"
Galvantula shrunk back a bit. "O-oh... I'm not too good at fighting... I probably wouldn't do it as good as you two..."
Bristle shook her head. "No, no. It's fine. These apparitions are easy, even for Rex. You may find you enjoy it." Bristle hoped she'd enjoy it. She needed Galvantula to realize the satisfaction in dispatching apparitions. Surely then she'd want to join.
"O-okay. I'll give it a try. Just uhm... be ready to help me if it goes badly..." she clicked her front pincers together nervously.
A small brook flowed down from the upper walls and intersected the trail they were following, travelling down along the path. It quickly opened up into a large, shallow stream that filled the next chamber. A small rodent-like apparition with big, buck teeth was watching them from the water. As soon as they came close, it desperately struggled to march upstream towards them.
Galvantula noticed it and stepped forward. "A-alright, here goes..." she muttered.
Rex flinched. Hopefully she'd just shoot lightning at it. But he was terrified she'd pounce through the air and disembowel it with her pincers. Instead, she did something worse.
Galvantula span in place, pointed her abdomen upwards, and ejected a mass of flashing light from her backside. The light spread out, revealing itself to be a net-like webbing with voltage running through it.
The web crashed down and pinned the poor apparition into the water. It spasmed violently, the charge now running through it. Within moments it melted into the stream, leaving behind only a gooey spiderweb behind that quickly washed away.
Rex's mouth was agape. He groaned loudly and buried his face into his claws. Just why?
"Excellent electroweb!" Bristle called out with a pleased smile. Yes, Galvantula would be a fantastic addition.
Galvantula looked back to them proudly. Rex shuddered. She was looking right at him, with all six eyes.
"Yeah, nice one..." he forced out between clenched teeth. Of course the giant spider could just… eject giant electric webs. That wasn't the most disgusting thing he'd ever seen, or anything.
"Thanks! Do... do you know how to do electrowebs?" she smiled and skittered back upstream towards him.
"I'm not a spider," he informed her with a blank stare.
She giggled. "I can see that! But you don't need real webbing to do it. Can make them with raw electricity too!"
That... made no sense whatsoever. And frankly, whatever the hell he had just witnessed was pretty much the last thing he ever wanted to do or see again in his life.
"Uh... thanks for the offer, but... I'm good," he said awkwardly, trying desperately to think of a good excuse.
"O-oh. Okay..." she said despondently, her head drooping a bit.
"And why not?" Bristle interjected. "I've seen you do nothing but standard quick attacks and your voltage is too weak to be classified as anything more than a thunder shock. You need to diversify your skills some."
"Well, I have a lot of other things I'm working on right now," he hissed at her. "Maybe I can learn it when I'm done training everything else."
Bristle glared at him. She didn't want to argue with him in front of Galvantula. Galvantula wasn't here because of a love for delving. But Bristle had a growing suspicion as to why Galvantula was actually here. If she wanted Galvantula to stick around, she had to make sure this was fun for her.
"Very well. Another time," she begrudgingly relented. "Why don't we continue with your training? And Galvantula, you seemed to enjoy that! You should help him out. He needs to learn to work as a team anyways."
The color drained from Rex's face. Oh dear god, could she see him squirming? Was that why she was doing this?
But Galvantula nodded eagerly. "Yeah, I guess that was pretty fun! Okay! Let's do this Rex."
Rex held back another groan. Whyyyyyyyy.
Rex groaned loudly as he dragged the massive sack of gravel out of the dungeon. The damned bags were as big as Rex, and they were literal sacks of rocks. Bristle had to twine several vines together just to haul the other one with equal struggle. They had been lucky to find the bags in the final quadrant, but even then it took half an hour just to get them out of the dungeon.
Galvantula followed behind them, looking guilty the whole way. She had offered to help drag Rex's along with some webbing, but he had adamantly refused.
"How. Much. Furtheeeeer..." Rex groaned as he made inch after precious inch away from the dungeon's exit.
"Well... they should be... somewhere around... the dungeon" Bristle huffed between tugs on her own gravel bag.
"They haven't gotten too far with laying the road yet... ah... but you guys are moving very slow... Are you sure you don't want some help with that?" Galvantula gave Rex a concerned look.
"Nope. I'm good," he grumbled with labored breath.
"Alright," she relented. "Well, why don't I get ahold of Chesnaught for you guys? You did so much already today, and I've seen him carry those in one hand before... "
"That... would be appreciated," Bristle breathed a sigh of relief. The bag fell flat with a thud as her coiled vines retracted back into her buds.
With a nod, Galvantula skittered ahead, heading past the edges of the dungeon to a new pathway extending out of town.
"If he's so strong, why couldn't he get his own damned rock bags back..." Rex grasped his stubby knees to catch his breath. He flinched when he realized Bristle was smiling at him.
"Well, that went fantastically," she said with a devilish grin.
He eyed her nervously. A smile from Bristle was never a good thing. "Well I don't feel different in the slightest. I think I got more exercise hauling rocks than I did fighting anything. But I guess I wasn't lit on fire today, so I'll consider that a win."
"Not that," she rolled her eyes with smile still intact. "I'm talking about Galvantula. She's never shown any interest in delving. But she is interested in you."
Rex froze.
"I'm sorry, what?" he asked in complete and utter disbelief.
"Oh come on, it's obvious. She's far too friendly, and doing something like this isn't like her. She's curious about you," Bristle said eagerly.
Rex buried his face into his claws. "No. No, no, no. No. No thank you. Nope. How would we even... eugh, no."
"Oh, to the contrary, yes. Come on, show some interest for a bit. Just keep her around until she's hooked on delving with us," she pushed with an insidious smile.
"Did- did you actually just ask me to flirt with a giant spider?" Rex stared at her in awe. He knew she was a pain in the ass, but was she actually out of her mind?
"What's the matter? Bad with girls?" she taunted.
"No. I'm bad with giant spiders!" he yelled. If he hadn't been arachnophobic before, he sure as hell was now.
Bristle rolled her eyes again, smug amusement vanishing. "Stop being a baby. I'm not telling you to be her mate. Just… keep her interested, is all. She's just curious right now, but if you keep being cold to her that's going to pass."
Rex rubbed his temple, trying to soothe his torrent of emotions. "There are so many reasons I'm not going to do that."
But Bristle just huffed. "You'd better not drive her off," she growled with an angry glare.
Rex waved to Galvantula and new Pokémon in the distance, catching their attention so Bristle would have to stop. He quickly pulled his hand down when Galvantula waved back all-too-eagerly.
The new figure was a hulking biped with an armor-like shell. He stared down to greet Rex. "Howdy, new feller. Yer Roselia's errand boy, right?" It kicked a haystalk around in its mouth as it spoke.
"I'd prefer if that didn't become my identifier... but, yes. Name's Rex," he waved up at him, rather than bothering attempt a handshake. Its hands were nearly the size of his body. He was getting pretty tired of being smaller than everyone.
"Nice ta' meet ya'. I'm Chesnaught. That's my gravel," he explained. Rex gaped as he lifted the huge bags up in a single hand each and set them down beside him. He tossed Roselia a few coins, which she eagerly snatched up into her buds. "And I hear ya kept my crew busy, too."
"That's right," Bristle chipped in eagerly. "And if she's free again in the future, she can tag along with me and Helioptile anytime she'd like."
"Oh! Well, how long do you think you and Excadrill will be working on the path, Chesnaught?" Galvantula asked excitedly.
Chesnaught tilted his head, swishing the haystalk rapidly as he considered. "Well, prob'ly another week and a half at least. And we don't got nothing queued up right after that, anyways."
Bristle couldn't hold back a grin. It was too perfect.
"Well, would you mind if I tagged along tomorrow then?" Galvantula looked at Bristle with giant-creepy-six-eyed-puppy-dog eyes.
"Of course!" Bristle purred, the gentle cheer sounding dissonant from her. "Just meet us by the request board around sunrise."
"You promised we could get breakfast first," Rex grumbled. "Speaking of, you also promised to show me where I can get real food."
"That's a great idea! Why don't we all go grab some dinner?" Bristle proposed.
Rex backed away slowly. This much cheer from her was unsettling him. And of course, she invited the damned spider. She wasn't going to take his no for an answer, was she? This was inevitably going to end in disaster.
But Galvantula had agreed before he could say anything.
"There's fur in my soup," Rex remarked, more as an observation than anything else, as he plucked out the twelfth hair.
"What, do you expect him to make it without any hair at all?" Bristle asked annoyed.
"Uhm... yes?" he responded, confused why that was so much to ask.
Then again... he glanced over to the eager chef. A massive ferret, puffing with thick fur. Short of a full-body hair net, he might have been asking too much.
Galvantula only laughed while digging into her own hunk of meat. Rex tried desperately not to think about what Pokémon she was devouring.
"That was fun today!" she said cheerfully. "Mystery dungeons aren't too scary when you're with strong friends."
Bristle nodded eagerly. "Dungeons are as dangerous as you want them to be. There are dungeons feeble enough for a beginner, and mighty enough to challenge a veteran. That's the interesting part about them."
"Unless the 'beginner' dungeon randomly decides to burn you alive," Rex muttered bitterly between sips.
"Don't listen to him," Bristle quickly piped up, casting Rex a death glare. "He had one bad experience and he's still upset about it."
Galvantula looked at him with concern. "O-oh. I'm sorry to hear that. I don't do so well with fire either..."
"Does anyone? Does anyone do particularly well with fire?" he asked sarcastically. He cursed himself silently for being so rude. She really hadn't done anything to him. But he couldn't help it. He wanted her to dislike him now.
"W-well, there's fire types. And water types... and some Pokémon can apparently absorb it into their own flames... " she stopped when she noticed his blank stare. "Oh, you didn't mean that literally, did you?" She fell silent and stared awkwardly at her food.
As soon as Rex had finished his soup, he'd dip out. Now that Bristle had pointed it out, he had seen it clear as day while they ate. Galvantula wasn't infatuated with him or anything, but she was definitely prying. And if he wasn't careful, that could grow into something more. That was the last thing he needed right now.
"So Galvantula, Helioptile is in desperate need of some new attacks. Is there anything you think you could teach him?" Bristle asked innocently, trying again to get the two of them talking.
"Oh. Well, I'm not the best battler. But I do know a few things, " she tapped her pincers together with a nervous smile. "There's electro webs like I mentioned earlier. I could probably teach him how to do shockwaves... oh, maybe he can learn how to doubleteam?"
"Like I said, I'd rather just work on one thing at a time," Rex sipped his soup disinterestedly. He knew what Bristle was doing, and he was not playing into it.
"I really think you need to expand your repertoire," Bristle glared at him knowingly. She really wasn't asking a lot of him here. Just give a wink and a smile to Galvantula. That was all.
Rex slammed his bowl down as he finished sucking up the last of it. He cast Bristle an accusing glare. "Well, that was delicious. It's been fun today, but I'm really exhausted. Guildmaster, you said you had a place for me to stay?"
Bristle was steaming. But what good was it? He wasn't going to do this for her, and it wasn't like she could yell at him in front of Galvantula. No, she'd have to take matters into her own hands.
Her hostility vanished. "Yes. You know where my home is. It's the first room along the right wall. I'll be back in just a little bit. Don't touch anything but the bed," she waved him off. She hadn't actually cleared the room out yet, but she needed him gone.
Rex stood up hesitantly. That was too easy. Why was that too easy? He had the sickening feeling that leaving her alone with Galvantula was a bad idea. But it wasn't like there was anything he could do to stop her.
"...Alright. Thanks," he muttered. He made his way outside, watching them leerily as he exited.
Bristle saw Galvantula's mood drop visibly as soon as he left.
"Well, I should probably be getting going too. Gotta get up early tomorrow to come with you guys and all..." she said as she jabbed her pincers into her last few chunks of meat.
Bristle only laughed in return. "Stars, isn't it adorable?" she asked with an innocent grin.
"H-huh? I-isn't what adorable?" Galvantula froze up.
"How bad he is at hiding his crush," she laughed again. "He's so awkward."
"H-his what?!" Galvantula cried, earning glances from the few other diners.
"You didn't notice?" Bristle feigned shock. "I've never seen him so nervous about talking to someone. And how he was trying to show off by carrying that gravel alone..." she shook her head gently. "He's hopeless."
"R-really? You think he has a crush?" Galvantula asked, a mix of eagerness and doubt in her eyes. "H-he seemed pretty curt..."
"Oh, that's just because he's anxious! But I don't envy you," Bristle said with a pitying smile. "Having to let him down and all."
"W-well I don't know... I barely know him. He does seem nice enough, even if he's a bit shy... " she laughed uncomfortably. "I'd like to get to know him over the next few days while we do jobs."
Bristle could barely hold back a sly smile. Perfect. She'd come for Helioptile, and stay for the guild. If Helioptile wouldn't keep Galvantula hooked, she'd do it for him.
"I'm sure he'll open up over time. And we can always use the extra... legs."
Galvantula gave an earnest smile. "Yeah! I'll hang around a bit. If he's uh... if we don't get along too well, I'll let him down gently. But wh-who knows, you know?"
With a bit more friendly chatter, Bristle and Galvantula parted ways. To Bristle's relief, Rex had already collapsed on the correct bed. Good, let him get his sleep tonight. She needed him well-rested and in good spirits tomorrow.
Rex was surprisingly easy to wake the next morning. Of course, Bristle had to yell as usual, but he rose with little complaint. That was an improvement.
And to her pleasure, Galvantula was already waiting for them under the job board. An early riser, or just particularly eager for today's mission? Either way, it was a win for Bristle.
But Bristle was surprised to see who was also waiting under the job board.
"Umbreon?" Bristle tilted her head as her and Rex approached the anxious-looking black fox. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, Roselia, Helioptile," she said with concern, "I came to ask for help... When... When Mumble disappeared at dinner the other night, he- he never came back," she stared down at the dirt guiltily. "We can't find him."
Bristle started to respond, but Rex cut her off. "It took you a day to notice your kid was missing?" he asked with an accusing glare.
Umbreon only bowed her head deeper. "He's usually sleeping when I'm up... and Tap was so busy during the day..." She could feel his judging stare boring into her head. She sighed and looked him in the eyes. "Yes, we messed up. Big time," she confessed.
Bristle shoved past Rex before he could respond, "It's fine. We'll find him. Is there anywhere he might have gone? Did anyone see him?"
Umbreon shook her head sadly. "We asked all of the other kids. Apparently they don't actually play with him much. He's just been running off into the woods. Tap and Spritz have been searching for him... but they've had no luck."
Bristle huffed her chest in her usual fashion. "No worries, ma'am. The Rosethorn Delvers Guild will find your child posthaste."
Rex rolled his eyes. "And I imagine we're going to do that by just wandering around the woods, the same as everyone else?"
"We'll figure something out," Bristle growled, breaking her pose.
"The woods, you say? I would steer clear of them for now," Talonflame swooped down on top of the job board. He seemed tired.
"And why would we do that?" Bristle asked.
"Because there's a bout of wildfires running through them. Rogue fire-type must have wandered into the area and gotten spooked. A few water-types have been sent out to contain the fires. Your daughter was among them," he waved a wing to Umbreon. "I enjoy a good ember bath, and even I wouldn't want to get caught up in a wildfire."
Umbreon looked horrified. "Fires?" she cried, and then stared at Rex and Bristle pleadingly.
Rex was this close to just walking away. He'd had enough of fire. He'd had enough of spiders. And he'd had enough of Bristle. But the rational part of his head still clung on by a tiny thread.
"I'm not going anywhere near a wildfire," was all he muttered while reliving the Magmortar incident over in his head again.
"I uhm... also do not handle fire well..." Galvantula added, shrinking back nervously.
"Don't worry. We'll just avoid the fires," Roselia said dismissively, like it was that easy.
Rex should have just said no. He knew what a disaster brewing looked like. But he'd needed to stay in Bristle's graces for just a little bit longer.
