Chapter 8: Lost and Found
It had taken Amelia's crew a few days to find their way to civilization. They had been lucky enough to find a trail, not too far from the mouth of the cave they'd escaped from, and most of the path had been bountiful with fruit-bearing flora. It seemed that whoever tended the road had been quite thoughtful of starving travelers.
Of course, they had been quite nervous when a draconic beast lumbered down the road towards them with a goofy smile and a wave. Amelia suspected the rest of her crew would have ran for it, had her cooler head not prevailed.
But her suspicions were correct, and he had proven himself sapient. And quite friendly at that. He didn't seem at all surprised by their appearances, so she had done her best to pretend she wasn't surprised by his. And one strange conversation later, they had what they needed. Amelia had fished out of him that they were all something called Pokémon, and that a large city resided to the east. They had their destination, and the dragon continued on his way, none the wiser to their strange plight.
On the afternoon of the third day, a blue expanse began to grow on the horizon. The shimmering sea quickly stretched towards them. And growing closer, a dot along that wall of blue also grew larger. Soon they could recognize the city in the distance. A mass of clashing colors, with a large speck of green that dominated the peak. By late afternoon, that dot was no longer an abstract blob of color, but tall white gates, dead ahead, with a sprawling city beyond them.
"Alright, listen up." Amelia stopped and turned to the group. Instantly, they all halted.
Natalie nearly tumbled off of Geoff's head from the sudden stop. Constant flight was apparently quite dizzying for her, and she weighed virtually nothing, so he'd permitted her to ride along on his lily-pad.
"We really don't know what we're getting into here. Everyone we've passed on the road has seemed friendly enough, so I don't think this is particularly dangerous. But let's still try not to draw any attention," she directed.
Alek pawed at the dirt he was staring at. "Well, we kind of stand out, don't we?"
"To humans, yes. But no one we've passed so far batted an eye at us. I think our appearances are normal for this... place? It's like Keith always told you: as long as you look like you belong, no one ever questions you. Just do that here. Don't look like you're out of place, and you won't be."
The little goat gave a half-hearted nod. She could see a shadow cross their faces at the mention of Keith. The group's enthusiasm had only been diminishing lately. The further they got from the cave, the more they came to terms with the truth. They probably weren't finding him.
She wondered if they'd fully grasped how bad their situation was yet. Even if the first person they wandered into in the city could magically send them home, they were already in it deep. It had been days at this point. Half the country probably knew that they had vanished by now. They'd sealed their own fate, in that regard. If they suddenly came back, there'd be questions. Questions they couldn't answer.
But maybe it was for the best that if they hadn't thought of that yet. Let them dwell on one problem at a time, while she handled everything. And of course, she couldn't help but think that this could be an opportunity as well. If all of the stars aligned, that was. But she didn't know enough to stake her hopes on that quite yet.
A strange creature sat by the towering gates into the city. A chubby little bug, wearing a heavy set of armor, with a lance at either arm. Amelia's head raced with a thousand lies to tell the gatekeeper as they approached. But to her surprise he only nodded cordially and waved them through the gate.
She noticed the dim wall of green light in the gateway moments before passing through it. She had to stop herself from pausing and drawing attention through her hesitation. Her confidence in walking through it was the only thing that inspired her crew to follow behind. She glanced up and saw two green orbs in the corners of the gate that seemed to be producing it. They'd just been scanned for something, but she didn't have the slightest idea what.
On the other side of the gates, they stopped to take in a civilization of surprising grandeur. Cobbled streets ran between buildings of wood and stone, that rarely stretched above two or three stories. They were of wobbly and irregular, and they were poorly color-coordinated, but otherwise the architecture surprisingly sophisticated. The place dripped with... whimsy. Even the streetlamps curled and twisted haphazardly, bright marbles of light glowing at the end of each of them, even in the daytime.
One structure stood out amid all of the others. The city was built onto a hill, and at the very top, overlooking the sea from the cliffside, sat a massive conglomerate of towers and walkways all painted in vibrant greens and whites. Amelia could only imagine the building as some cross between a castle and a McDonalds playhouse. Even from here she could see it was brimming with activity. Not only on the walkways, but with creatures flying about it or even climbing the walls.
The group stared up in awe at the surreal architecture around them, and the bustling crowd of creatures in all shapes and sizes. Most of them walked along the streets, but others soared through the sky or even leapt in and out of windows with utter disregard for order.
"I can't believe this. We actually got freaking isekai'd..." Cole muttered beside her. She stopped staring at the city to roll her eyes.
"That is not a word," she chided. "You should know better."
Cole cringed instinctually, his rigid tail nearly spilling its contents. "Sorry..."
"It's... amazing," Natalie muttered from Geoff's head. She stared at the massive world around her in awe. "Do you think these things built all of this? Or did people help them?"
Amelia smiled a bit. It was good to hear Natalie opening up again. And she was asking good questions.
"I just hope they've built beds," Geoff grumbled. "Soft ones."
Cole turned to Amelia. "So we're here. What's the next step?"
Amelia stared at the ground pensively to consider. But before she could come up with anything, someone bowled into her and knocked her to the ground.
She braced defensively on the ground, preparing for some attacker who had seen straight through them, and knew they didn't belong here. But instead, the figure towering over her had an embarrassed look on its face.
"Sawrry, ma'am!" the towering pink figure cringed. Massive fangs protruded from its lower jaw and stretched over its entire canine face. A shimmering green badge adorned its chest. It would have been terrifying if it hadn't looked so sheepish.
"Watch where you are going, Gnarl," a bipedal weasel chided it. It reached out to her with a long arm, with long strands of purple fur billowing off the end. Gracefully, she accepted his hand and he pulled her to her feet. She noted the same badge on his chest.
"Thank you," she gave a kind smile. "My name is Amelia."
"I am Mienshao Calm. It is nice to meet you. However, we are in a hurry and cannot converse. I apologize," it recited anxiously, and tried to turn to leave.
"I understand. But if you don't mind a quick question. We're new in town and don't have any money with us. Is there anywhere we can go for rest and to clean up?" she asked quickly, before he could leave.
"I am not sure exactly what we can do for you, but if you go up to the Jade Hall and request help, they will do everything in their power." He gestured to the massive playhouse-like structure.
Amelia nodded. "Alright, thanks. Sorry to slow you down!"
"It is no trouble," it shouted, already leaving before it finished the sentence. The odd duo rushed down the street and vanished among the other eccentric denizens.
"Sometimes the plan comes up with itself," she finally answered Cole. "I don't have the slightest idea what a 'Jade Hall' is, but it sounds like they might be able to help us."
"'Help us' might be an overstatement. But I guess it's something..." Alek muttered.
"One step at a time. Right now, rest is what we need. We'll worry about the next steps after that."
Of course, she was already heavily considering their next steps.
Finding their way up to the Jade Hall was surprisingly easy. It seemed as if each street curled up towards the imposing structure, making it the focal point of the city. And each street held new curiosities for them to observe.
They passed cafés, storefronts proudly displaying colorful accessories, and a surprising amount of training dojos. And the parks. They could hardly travel a single block without passing a park. Some looked almost normal, while others were dominated by large ponds or massive rods where birds roosted. But every one was rife with Pokémon enjoying the day.
Amelia diligently harvested all of the information she could from their walk. She'd built up a lifetime of knowledge about the world she lived in, insignificant details most people didn't even think to consider, and that was now entirely useless to her. She had to do it again, as fast as possible, if she wanted to be able to get anywhere in this world.
As they approached the gates of the massive, twisted castle, it became clear that this was the source of the little green badges many Pokémon wore. Soon, everyone they passed was sporting a green badge of some size and sheen.
They passed through the gates into a picturesque courtyard, filled with overflowing flower gardens and showering fountains. Many lofty spires stretched up into the sky around them, extending from the walls or the ground at seeming random, and just as many skywalks connected them all at bizarre angles.
One particularly massive tower shot out from the center of the courtyard, pillaring up above the rest. Enormous yellow orbs decorated its outside, up until it ended in a sharp red tip. They followed the crowd through the massive entryway into this tower's base.
The interior of the tower's ground floor was a single enormous chamber, fifty feet tall. The room was dominated by what appeared at first to be a massive screen that stretched up to the ceiling. On closer inspection, it wasn't a true screen. It was made of a glassy material and a strange inky substance was floating inside it, forming words and pictures that slightly shifted and blurred.
The crowd was gathered here, all staring up at the massive board. Curious, Amelia pushed through them to get a closer look. It appeared to be... job postings? They were somewhat strange, listing off odd locations and "quadrants". But this was definitely some kind of task board.
"How about that one, Fluffy? Sunken Shoals, quadrant six," a chipper voice said excitedly from beside her.
She glared down to see a short, blue, bipedal canid wearing a shimmering cape and pointing a paw eagerly at a posting on the board. A little yellow fox stared up at it with a nervous smile.
"Well... I don't do too good with water..." she protested lightly.
"Oh puh-lease!" he flipped a paw sarcastically. "You'll do amazing, either way. Let's do it!"
She sighed with a smile. "Oh, alright. Let's go put in a claim on it quick, before someone else does."
Smiling the two of them stepped away through the crowd.
"Please don't wander off like that!" Cole clacked anxiously beside Amelia as he approached, the rest of her crew behind him.
She looked down at him curiously. She'd barely stepped away. They were still nervous wrecks, even days later...
"Sorry, I wanted to get a closer look at what was going on here," she dismissed him. "It's a job board. Maybe they sent us here so we can put in some kind of request?"
"And where exactly are we supposed to do that? I don't imagine this thing's a touch-screen," Geoff scanned the room. His eyes caught on to long counters by the edge of the room where Pokémon were lined up. He pointed. "Over there, maybe?"
Before they could investigate, a Pokémon swooped down and landed in front of them. An oversized, blue songbird, with massive cloud-like puffs that covered its entire body and wings. Half obscured in this fluff was a massive, shiny green crest, much like the one that Calm had worn.
"Hello!" it chirped with beaming eyes. "Were you all looking to register?"
"Register? I'm afraid we're new around here. Someone suggested we come up here to look for a place to rest and clean ourselves," Amelia explained.
The bird tilted its head. "Oh. I'm sorry. It sounds like you're looking for an inn. I'm not sure why someone sent you up here."
"Well, the problem is that we don't have any money on us. We- ah..." she paused to think of a lie. Foolish. She should have had something prepared. Her eyes glanced up at a section of the board where Pokémon's pictures were shown, along with bounties. "We were robbed during our travels," she said, faking a look of shame. She prayed her companions were still right enough of mind to play along.
A sidelong glance revealed that Cole had mimicked her, but the others maintained their stunned appearances.
"O-oh! I'm so sorry!" the bird fluttered its fluffy wings a bit instinctively. "Well, I'm afraid I can't let you stay in any of our halls or use our showers. N-not by my own choice, of course! But we have policies that I'm not allowed to violate here. S-sorry..."
Amelia turned away to hide her scowl. A dead end. "I understand. Is there anywhere else we might be able to go?"
"For free lodging? I'm afraid your best bet is camping," it shuffled nervously. Then its eyes lit up, "Oh! There is one thing I could do! I can't set you up with a room for free, but if you all are desperate, you could register for the Jade Crest and I can make sure you get put on light maintenance duties. Then you'd be eligible for a room and making back some money!" It cringed a bit and added, "I'm really sorry. I think this is the best I can do for you."
Amelia considered it for a moment. Assuming 'light maintenance' had a normal definition here, that might not be a bad deal. It meant food and housing, and enough stability to maybe make her crews' brains function again. And this was the perfect place to stay, after all. It was at the center of everything.
She glanced back at her crew to see them all staring expectantly at her. Save for Natalie, who's eyes were still locked on the massive job board. There was no point in even asking them. They'd do as she directed.
"And I assume 'light maintenance' means..." she dragged out the question.
"Oh! Just simple things, like helping prepare meals and cleaning the halls. You won't have to go delving, if you don't want to," the bird assured her.
"That sounds good. Thank you for this," Amelia gave a grateful bow. "My name is Amelia."
The bird bowed its neck in return. "Altaria Tweet, of Team Cloudburst," she said. Then she stared expectantly at the rest of the crew.
Slowly, they gave her their names, one-by-one, still wary of the strange creature. Luckily Tweet seemed to chalk it up to nervousness about the new job.
"Alright, if you'll just step right this way, we can get you all registered," she said in a singsong voice, raising a wing towards the service counters they had seen before. "Oh, and while we wait. You should come up with a team name."
"Team name?" Amelia tilted her head.
"Yes, all members of the Jade Crest are registered as delving teams. Even if they don't intend to actually do any delving."
"And this name is used for... what exactly?" she asked slowly. She'd save the question of what delving was for later.
"Oh, just to refer to you is all! Delving teams use it for publicity, but I wouldn't worry about it all that much. Just name yourselves whatever you want. You can change it later too if you need," she reassured them with a smile.
Amelia considered for just a moment as they approached the short line for the service desks. Then a smile curled up on her face. She flashed her mischievous smile back to the rest of the group, who looked at her in confusion.
"In that case, how does Team Vista sound?" she asked. Smiles spread across the rest of her teams' faces as well now. For a few of them, it was their first smile in days.
Tweet nodded with a beaming smile as they approached the front of the line. "That's fantastic. Welcome to the Jade Crest, Team Vista."
"Here you go!" Tweet gestured into a small, empty room. They'd had to climb to nearly the very top of one of the spires to reach it, and it was a tight fit for the five of them.
"Thank you," Amelia nodded to her cordially and stepped inside. Sunlight streamed in from a single open window. Other than that, there wasn't so much as beds for them to sleep on.
Tweet sensed the disappointment from everyone else and ducked her head. "Sorry, I know it's not much, but this is what's provided for new recruits. And we don't really have rooms meant for a rookie team of this size."
"I understand. Is there somewhere we can purchase something to sleep on, once we receive payment?"
"I... I can probably furnish some beds for you all. But that's about the limit of what I can do."
"Thank you again. You've really done a lot for us," Amelia gave her a small bow.
"No, it's the least I could do. It's our duty to keep the continent clear of outlaws. Whenever anyone is robbed on Trespis, it is the Jade Crest's responsibility. That said, I've made a few exceptions for you. So please do a good job," she stared at them with pleading eyes. "Which reminds me. Generally we don't allow short-term temporary teams. You may resign whenever you want, of course, but do you have a sense for how long you'll be here?"
Amelia felt every eye on her, as usual. "We are... uncertain," she began her plotted story. "We're traveling to research a few topics, but we got badly lost along the way. We came here to regain our bearings and search out new leads. There's no telling when we'll find the answers we're looking for."
She paused to watch Tweet's reaction. Given all of the strange things they'd seen so far, she imagined she hadn't said anything too crazy. But she had to be careful not to overstep any invisible lines.
Tweet tilted her head curiously. "I see. Well, I wish you all the best of luck."
Sensing she was in the clear, Amelia continued. "This may be a strange question, but it pertains to our research. Are you familiar with humanity?" she asked, trying her hardest to make the question not sound insane.
To her surprise, Tweet nodded. "Of course. I'm not super familiar with mythology, but my mother used to read to me from the hundred tales."
Amelia's heart sank a bit. Mythology? Tales? She'd been hoping there'd be humans here she could seek for help. Or at the very least that she'd be able to shed the pretenses and confess their problem in full. But that was a definite no-go. She wasn't about to tell this useful bird that she was a mythical creature.
"Yes. I was seeking information on a few things about them. I was wondering if you'd be willing to talk to me about what you know sometime?" she continued.
But Tweet only shook her head. "You're flying in the wrong direction asking me about them. Sorry. Everything I know is from stories. That would be a question for our lorekeeper."
"I see," she muttered. She wasn't optimistic about a 'lorekeeper' feeding her much more than fairytales either. But frankly, their situation was in the domain of fantasies. So perhaps some truth would be mixed into his knowledge. "Would it be possible for me to speak with them?"
Tweet smiled widely. "I think he might burst with excitement if you asked him to talk to you about the old legends. I need to get back to my team now, but his study resides at the pinnacle of the fire tower. He's almost always there. It will be a good opportunity for you to learn how to navigate the Jade Hall, I think."
"I'll do that then. Thanks for everything you've done for us. It's been quite a lot," Amelia said. The rest of Team Vista murmured their own thanks.
"You have the rest of the day to yourselves to get settled in. Unless any of you want to do delving assignments, I'll have maintenance duties delivered to your room in the morning. Enjoy the rest of your day," she said with a smile and a bow of her long neck.
Rather than hobbling out the door, she hopped up onto the windowsill. She pushed her body through the tight gap and jumped out, soaring back up into the sky a moment later.
Amelia collapsed against the wall and sank down to the floor. Four sets of eyes stared doubtfully back at her.
"So uh... what exactly are we doing here?" Alek asked.
"Making sure we got something to eat, I assume," Geoff answered for her, sinking back against the opposite wall with Natalie still in tow.
"I guess we're not too optimistic about finding a way home soon then, huh?" Cole muttered, staring at the ground.
Amelia just sighed. "We'll see what this lorekeeper has to say. But let's examine the facts. The... entrance to this world vanished behind us. I'm confident that even if we went back there with shovels and dug through the walls, whatever actually took us from the canyon to here is long gone. We can't just turn around and walk away. We need to find another path home."
Gloom fell over the room as she said out loud what they all already knew.
She continued. "So all we can do is try to figure out why we're here in the first place. Maybe this has happened before, and the solution will be surprisingly easy. But I think we've all learned by now that the story is never as simple as it first appears. It's better to be prepared for a long haul than to bank on optimism and have it fall through."
Solemn nods filled the room. They sat against the empty walls in silence for a few minutes, until a grumble broke the quiet. Then another, and another, as each of them grappled with their own empty stomachs.
"We haven't eaten all day," Geoff muttered, pointing out the obvious.
"Think there's a cafeteria here?" Cole asked.
"What am I even supposed to eat?" Natalie mumbled, staring cross-eyed at her own proboscis.
"Probably fruit? I'm not an entomologist..." Cole answered. "You're not the only... eh... bug I saw on the way up here. So I'm sure they've got something for you."
She nodded quietly, now fixated on her own proboscis. It was terrifying, but she could never escape it.
"Cole, do you still have all the stuff you picked up?" Amelia inquired.
Cole's eyes flashed with surprise as he realized he'd entirely forgotten all of the items stored in his tail. It was downright amazing how effortlessly it could hold so much junk. And almost as soon as anything entered, he became numb to it.
He turned his tail to the corner, and in one motion squeezed everything out of it. An array of clattering and bangs sounded as a pile of rocks and sticks and coins fell to the floor, as well as one small, locked chest. Looking at the pile of junk, his eyes narrowed as he honed in on the golden coins. He reached down and held one up.
"You don't think these are currency here, do you?" he eyed it curiously.
"Hopefully. They look like it, but I'm not sure why they would have been lying around that cave. No harm in finding out. After I finish taking a rest, I'm going to go find this lorekeeper. You guys should try and find food in town. We don't have any kind of badges or anything yet to use a cafeteria, even if they have one. And while you're there, you see if you can't find a locksmith for that chest. I'm curious why it was in the cave."
Cole nodded hesitantly. "Okay." He was still hesitant about this strange city, but everything seemed harmless enough.
After a short rest, Amelia set off down the many flights of stairs to find the lorekeeper. It was best she left her team behind for this one. This would be a potentially awkward conversation, and one that was best handled with tact. And it was good to get them off on their own for a while. Hopefully it would kickstart their heads.
Amelia quickly learned just how labyrinthine the Jade Hall truly was. Certain towers were only accessible by skywalks, which were themselves only accessible on random floors of other towers. The posted signage was offensively bad, and she was fairly sure it had taken her the better part of an hour just to find the correct tower. She certainly hoped it was the correct tower, as she ascended what felt like her millionth stair.
A large pair of doors awaited her at the top, inscribed with an ornate pattern of a kitsune, viewed head-on. Hesitantly, Amelia grabbed the metal knocker and rapped on the door.
"One moment," a soft, male voice called out from the other side. There was a brief scuffling sound, and the doors pushed themselves open as a slight blue glow surrounded them.
Inside the study was an entire miniature library. A ring of bookshelves rounded the domed room, extending up onto an upper balcony. A comfortable looking mat sat in the middle, surrounded by three small tables all teeming with stacks of more books. A fireplace crackled on one end of the room, a sight that gave her anxiety around this much paper.
On the center mat sat a large fox, with nine yellow tales laying stretched out comfortably behind it. Little spectacles sat on the bridge of its nose, and it stared at her with a patient gaze.
"Please, come in. To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked.
She stepped into the study and gave an acknowledging nod to the fox. "Hello. My name is... Amelia," she winced. The Pokémon had all been introducing themselves along with another identifier. Perhaps their species. But she had no idea what she was in order to mimic it properly.
"I am Ninetales Lore," he nodded in return.
That seemed a bit on-the-nose.
"I was directed to you by... Altaria Tweet. She said you would be the person to ask questions about the mythos of humanity."
Lore's eyes lit up, and he instantly rose to his feet.
"Yes, absolutely! By all means, ask away!" he practically begged with excitement, a wide smile forming on his snout.
Tweet hadn't been kidding. Still, a willing source of information was never anything to complain about. "Right. We're researching them, so anything you know is appreciated, really. Whether they're real, what they're like, where they come from..." she subtly emphasized that last question.
Lore nodded eagerly. "Well, I know a lot of things! I assume you're familiar with the hundred tales, at least?"
Amelia shook her head. "No, I'm afraid we're just starting up this investigation from scratch. Assume I know nothing."
Lore tilted his head curiously. "That's a shame. You should really read them sometime. There's a lot to be learned from humanity, even still. To summarize, the hundred tales are a collection of stories about times that humans supposedly worked alongside Pokémon and taught us their ways. There's an old urban legend that reading all one hundred tales to any feral would instantly civilize them." He grinned. "That's utter nonsense, of course, but as with much nonsense, it rings true in a metaphorical sense. It was learning the ways of humanity that allowed Pokémon to civilize."
"So humanity is certainly real then?"
"There is no credible doubt. Too much evidence exists in favor of them. Where they come from is a far... hazier matter. Some believe humans lived in our world in the ancient past, a time so far back even Celebi couldn't return to it. Others believe humans cross over from an adjacent reality. Both are reasonable proposals. Some small sects even believe that humans live among us, hidden in the world. I find that proposal a... bit more incredulous, though," he snorted.
Amelia smiled but held back a laugh. Like that was the most incredulous thing he'd said. As expected, he seemed to be deriving all of his information from folklore. Perhaps some of it could be true, but there was no way to separate the truth from the nonsense. Still, it didn't hurt to keep prodding.
"If humans came from the distant past, or another reality, how would they end up here?"
"Different legends, different answers. Among the more credible tales, however, it is usually by some particularly powerful force. Like the will of the planet itself, or a wish on Jirachi, or...", he grinned goofily, "...the curse of a Ninetales."
Hearing that the most credible tales centered on wishes, curses, or the "will of the planet" was something short of reassuring.
"I see," she nodded in faux pensiveness. "Are all of these tales like that? Some intangible force? What about physical links, like some kind of portal between worlds? A mysterious staircase in the woods, or a rift in the sky, or some gateway in depths of an ancient ruin?" she probed, feeding into his fairytales in a desperate bid to bait out a relevant one.
He chuckled. "Of course there are. I've heard dozens. Magic portals are a staple of any good fairytale. But I assumed you wanted to talk about the ones that are true."
"I see. So you don't think any stories like that are true?" she asked.
"Well, I didn't quite say that! I just don't have any reason to believe any stories like that are true. When there's so many fantasies, it can be hard to pick out the reality mixed in. Any number of those stories could be true, and I just don't know it. That's the fun part!"
She smiled. This fox was a strange creature. But perhaps it was more rational than she'd realized.
"Are all of these tales written? Do you keep them here?" she asked, looking around at the countless books surrounding her.
"Most are. I already know what you're thinking! You may borrow most of the books from my study, with my blessing. Just so long as they are returned in perfect condition!"
"I may take you up on that."
He might not have been able to separate fact from fiction in these fairytales, but with her experiences it was possible she could. It was easier, and less risky, to read them for herself than to probe him about the intimidate details of every story he'd ever heard.
The fox wandered over to one of his shelves near the fireplace, and a faint blue glow surrounded a large book. It hovered down to him and back to her with him. It settled down in front of her.
"This is a copy of the hundred tales. I'm a believer that anyone should read it, to best understand the roots of our civilization. But especially anyone investigating humans should."
She took the huge book into her hands and examined it. The spine was a bit wobbly, and it seemed old, but otherwise it seemed like a normal book. She wondered if Pokémon had invented the printing press. Or inherited it from humanity, at least.
"Thank you. I absolutely will read it. While I'm here, do you mind if I ask you about something else?"
The fox's eyes lit up again. "You may ask me anything you wish! That is my duty as lorekeeper."
"On our way here, we found ourselves lost in a cave. It was... a strange place. Someone had built stairs connecting different levels of it," she started slowly, telling the scarce few believable details about the cave first and scouting his face for any sign of recognition. She could decide from there what details were safe. But instead of any subtle hint, he burst out into laughter.
"Sounds like you ended up in a mystery dungeon. That's pretty hard to do without noticing though."
So he knew about it then. That was good, but the casualty with which he mentioned it... was this something she should know about? Would it be bad to reveal her ignorance?
No, this was too important a question to pass up.
"A mystery dungeon? I'm afraid I'm not familiar," she said, carefully gauging his reaction.
His smile disappeared as he stared at her with intense curiosity. Damn it, that was exactly what she was trying to avoid.
"I'm sorry. I'm a bit confused by the circumstances. I had been under the impression you were a new recruit here. Do you mind my asking who exactly you are?" he asked her skeptically.
"We are new recruits!" she quickly reassured him. "But we ended up here by circumstance. We were robbed along the road, and Altaria Tweet offered us work here to get back on our feet."
Lore tilted his head, eyes still drilling into her. "But you don't know what a mystery dungeon is? Where are you from exactly?"
Amelia cursed silently. It had been too long since she had been in these situations. Her lies had gotten slower and shakier. But unless she wanted to confide in him, she'd need to come up with something.
"We came from across the sea. Our island was isolated, but our farms were being spread too thin as our population grew. We heard that the Pokémon on the mainland had learned better techniques from humans, so we came here to learn about them," she tried to avoid stuttering as she constructed the lie. She repeated it in her head, trying to cement it to memory and identify any cracks she could have left.
The fox's snout curled up into an almost devious smile. "Oh! I quite love the island cultures. Which one are you from? Gloom? Sunlight Island? The Sea of Stones?" He glared at her expectantly.
"I- none of those," she finally cracked and stuttered, "We called it... Vista. We named our team after it. We almost never saw visitors though, so I don't think it's too well known."
"I see," he said simply, an amused smile curled across his snout. "To answer your question, mystery dungeons are anomalous zones affected by what we refer to as the 'mysterious force'. This force pours out of a tear in space and warps the surrounding area into a labyrinth, among other things. They exist all throughout the world. Exploring these affected regions is one of the primary tasks of the Jade Crest. But I suppose if you came here from far away, you may not have known that."
Amelia shut her eyes and contemplated the absurd explanation. A tear in space, huh? Maybe that was what happened then. But...
"How does... space tear? Like, what makes it happen?" she asked.
"Well, that part is the mystery!" he said with a smile. "But as with all mysteries, we have theories in progress!"
"I'd like to hear some, if you don't mind," she requested immediately.
Lore seemed overjoyed by the request. "Absolutely! Well, there's those that can be largely discredited, like the rifts occurring as a product of monumental amounts of aura output in a condensed location in space. Any event or creature capable of that kind of aura output would almost certainly be recorded. Almost all folklore pertaining to the abilities of specific species can be similarly discarded. The idea that the psychic energy contained within a Meowstic's ears is powerful enough to rip the fabric of space when unleashed is an amusing urban legend, but the notion that a Meowstic was present for the creation of every mystery dungeon in the world is a laughable absurdity," the fox stopped rambling to laugh at his own comment.
"So, more than likely, it boils down to one of two explanations: natural phenomena or the activity of one of the old gods. However, explorers who have spoken with the Legends say that they claim no responsibility for the emergence of mystery dungeons. So if it's the doing of an old god, then it's likely the work of a maverick. That is one of my personal favorite theories."
"Maverick?" she asked. She could verify whether these 'gods' and 'legends' were real or nonsense later, from a second source.
Lore hopped up again and wandered over to a large bookshelf in the back of the room which stood separate from the rest. Every book on it looked positively ancient, but all had been treated with the utmost of care. He stared up at one book in particular, and a soft blue glow surrounded it. It floated down by his side, and he returned to his seat, hovering it in the air before him and flicking through the pages with psychic powers.
"The mavericks were the rejects of the old gods. Those who refused or scorned their responsibilities or who rebelled against Lord Arceus. It was forbidden to ever speak or write their names, so that they would be lost to history. Most were stripped of their powers or sealed away if they were too dangerous."
"I see. And you believe one of these... reject gods is responsible for mystery dungeons?" She was really trying her best to take this seriously. Nothing she was being told was anymore absurd than everything else up to this point. But she'd spent many years learning to tune it out when folks started rambling to her about gods and devils.
"Well, that's just my personal theory," he said with a grin, psychic energy pushing his spectacles back up onto his face, "there is credibility in the natural phenomena theory as wel-" He stopped suddenly and stared at his book in awe.
He started flipping the pages frantically, looking through the entire book. When he finished he howled at the ceiling angrily. Amelia cringed, no idea what was going on.
"Ingrates! Little ingrates! Oooh- I will find them, and I will... I'll... " His face scrunched up in anger and fire leaked out from his maw, flicking frighteningly close the book without ever touching it. "Well, I don't know what I'll do! But it won't be pleasant!"
Before Amelia could question his outburst, another voice called out from the study doorway.
"Gawsh, hope that anger isn't fawr me," Gnarl said, poking his head into the study. He locked eyes with Amelia. "Oh, funny seeing you again. Guess you found your way awp here alright."
"This is a bad time Gnarl," Lore snarled.
"It's time for the meeting," the Granbull responded hesitantly.
"Is my presence absolutely necessary?"
Gnarl shook his head. "We awbsolutely need you for this one."
Lore snarled again. Then he took a deep breath and exhaled a puff of smoke.
"Alright." He turned to Amelia. "You will be staying here a bit, yes? We can speak later? I find this conversation quite interesting."
"Yes," she agreed, trying to hide her frustration at the interruption.
"Cawm awn," Gnarl tapped his massive foot nervously in the doorway, "We've gawt a real doozy."
Lore rose, eyeing the Granbull curiously. "Very well. I will come find you later, Simipour Amelia. We have much to discuss."
Lore escorted her from the study, the hundred tales in her arms, and sealed the heavy doors behind him. They said their goodbyes and split ways.
Amelia was frustrated that the conversation was cut short, but the lorekeeper had still proven himself an interesting informant on the world they'd found themselves in. Something about the way the fox spoke made her trust that he wasn't just crazy. Though the things he said sounded absurd, there was an intelligence behind his voice that made her want to believe he knew what he was talking about.
And as for how they'd arrived here, she'd received a critical hint. Mystery dungeons... The spiraling labyrinth they'd descended into was apparently commonplace here. How had they ended up in one, in this world? Perhaps more importantly: how did dungeons come to be here?
Her grumbling stomach interrupted her thoughts as she made her way down the trillionth stair to the ground level. Perhaps it was time for her to finally take a break.
The rest of Team Vista had hesitantly made their way back into the larger city. They moved slowly and awkwardly, as no one knew where to go without Amelia's guidance. But after a few minutes of aimless wandering, Cole grew sick of it. It was clear that no one wanted to take the initiative, so he might as well. And as soon as he started weaving through the crowd with determination, they followed.
He remembered a particular small café that they had passed on the way up to the Jade Hall and guided the group back there. Hopefully they'd have some cheap food. The outside was still popular with a myriad mixture of creatures. He pushed through a knobless, swinging door.
The interior of the café was filled with tables and mats of all varying heights where patrons were chattering with one another and sipping on colorful drinks from a mix of different containers. The room had a surprisingly drab and down-to-earth atmosphere compared to the bright and erratic colors of the outside city. At the back, a single tiny counter blocked off access to the kitchen. No one was there when Cole approached.
"Uhm... hello?" he called nervously back into the back.
After a moment, a brown blur waddled rapidly through the door, and leapt up onto the counter in a single bound. A brown duck stood on the counter, holding out a leek three times its size in a challenging pose.
"Greetings, challenger!" it yelled, glaring at him with narrowed eyes.
"Uh- challenger?! I'm sorry, I thought this was a café!" Cole backed up frantically, cringing. Alek had already backpedaled halfway to the door.
"Yes!" the duck screamed. "We are a café! What shall you challenge today?"
"I- uh, nothing? We just wanted to eat!" Cole waved his hands frantically. Natalie frozen like a statue on Geoff's head again.
"Yes! Our fine food and drink will challenge your faculties! Can you withstand the powerful flavor of our dishes? Will you succumb to the slightest spice, or fall to the frigid chill of our cool blends? Or will you prevail, fulfilling both your hunger and your sensations?" it screamed aggressively at him.
Cole was seriously considering just finding somewhere else to eat. But with how crazed the creature was, he was worried it might attack him if he left.
"Uh... I- What do you have?" His neck tensed as he anticipated the duck's next move. He glanced around at the other patrons of the café. None of them seemed to even be paying it any attention.
"Meat! Berries! Vegetables! Special!" It rapped its huge leek against the counter with each word.
"Special?" Cole asked cautiously.
"You shall challenge the special!" he declared loudly. Cole made a feeble effort to protest, before realizing it was probably best left alone. The duck turned to face Geoff. "What shall you challenge?"
Geoff's eyes widened as he glanced at everyone else nervously. "Uh... Are we even able to pay for this?"
The duck turned and glared at Cole angrily. "Can you afford the challenge? Twenty Poké for special!" it squawked.
Trembling, he pulled the coins he'd found out of his tail. "Do you... ah, accept these?" He held them forth.
The bird examined the coins and its expression became... less stern. "You have sufficient coin. Now, you! Think fast, hesitation means defeat!" it yelled at Geoff again.
"Er- I guess I'll have the uh... meat?" Geoff tilted his head, causing Natalie to tumble off. Her wings started buzzing instinctually and she caught herself in midair.
She nearly fell out of the air when the duck yelled at her next. "What shall you challenge, bug? Shall you cower in the safety of berries, or tackle the challenge of meat?!"
Natalie only hovered in the air, staring at the duck with wide eyes, and not responding. The duck stared back with the same silence and intensity, not willing to break gaze first.
"She'll have the berries," Cole finally cut in, taking his best guess at what her diet might be. The duck gave him another intense glare to show his displeasure at the interjection.
"Fifty Poké!" it shouted "And then we shall begin!"
"Hold on a moment, where's Alek?" Cole looked around for the nervous goat.
"I think he left when uh... the yelling started," Geoff answered. Natalie had returned to his head, resting off the trauma of ordering lunch.
Cole sighed. They were all a bit messed up in the head right now, but at least Natalie could manage to stick with the group.
"Add another uh... meat to that. If we can afford it," he added, holding out the coins again. The duck eyed them, and then plucked up coins in his free wing with surprisingly dexterity.
"Find an empty table! And prepare!" it demanded. Then it hopped off the counter and returned to the back without another word.
Cole turned to Geoff and Natalie. "Well, hopefully the food is less crazy than the cook. Get a table. I'm going to go find Alek."
Geoff nodded slightly, gradually learning not to buck Natalie off of his head.
Cole made sure his teammates found an appropriately tall table before returning to the street. His eyes scanned the chaos for any hint of Alek amid the bustle. But the little goat had vanished entirely.
Cole made his way down the street, pushing past Pokémon towering above him or waddling below him. Trying to pick out one small Pokémon among the bright colors and the flashy street vendors was nearly impossible.
Alek running off alone was basically the last problem he would have expected. The kid had been a nervous wreck since before the real weird stuff had even started. Of course, the kid's anxiety had been entirely justified in the end, even if for completely wrong reasons.
Something else caught his eye along the street side. A mural of a key was painted onto a sign above a cramped-looking storefront. It read "Ito's Little Lock and Key". The place seemed desolate.
Cole placed a hand on his tail, feeling the chest still within. Did they even have enough coin left to pay a locksmith? He shook his head. No, he was getting distracted. Alek first.
He very nearly missed Alek. He had crawled into an alley between two buildings, where the shade dimmed his bright green collar. He hadn't gone too deep, but he had found a small bit of isolation from the busy crowd to curl up into a ball and cry into his own flank. Most of the pedestrians didn't even notice him as they passed by.
He picked his head up and looked at Cole with teary eyes as he approached.
"I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have run off. I probably scared you guys..." he muttered. "With all of the yelling, everything just... hit me. I needed to find some quiet, but... there's so many people here."
Cole shook his head. "No, it's fine. You... seem like you needed this. Honestly, I think we all do. We just haven't really had a chance."
"You think so?" he sniffled. "Amelia seems barely affected by all of this. And you and Geoff have been so composed... And I don't think I have any right to complain compared to Natalie..."
Cole sighed and slumped down against the wall next to him, kicking up dust. "It's probably not a good thing. I've just not been thinking about it, is all. But it's going to catch up to me eventually. And trust me, Amelia is more affected than she's letting on. She's good at hiding her emotions, but even she's starting to crack."
A bit of panic cross Alek's face. He buried his head in his neck again. "What are we going to do?"
"Well, I imagine Amelia has the right idea. We're all on the verge of collapse. Securing a bit of stability for us was a good move. If we kept going without relieving all of this stress..." Cole grimaced. He put his hand on the back of Alek's neck in a position that felt awkwardly close to petting his coworker. "We're safe now. We've got a place to sleep, food to eat. We can breath again. Alright?"
"What about my parents?" Alek moaned. "Maybe I'm safe, but they don't know that. Every second we spend here, they're probably thinking that I'm dead."
Cole frowned. That was another thing he'd been trying not to think about. He wasn't close with his parents, but his girlfriend and his friends were doubtlessly already worrying.
"Well... that's still kind of bad I guess," he twiddled his hands awkwardly. They still felt so unnatural. "But it's not like we're choosing to be here. We're doing our best..."
Alek sniffled again. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be complaining to you. You've got just as many problems, and I'm burdening you with mine as well..."
Cole shook his head again, tears forming up in his own eyes. "No, like I said. It's best that we get this out. This has been... really stressful. It's better to talk about it, I think. We all should, probably, when we can."
Alek noddled and ducked his head down again. Cole sat with him for a few minutes, enjoying a light cry himself. But gradually the stream of tears became lighter, and eventually Alek stood up.
"We should go back... I... I don't want to worry anyone else anymore," he resolved, trying to rub his eyes against his foreleg to wipe the tears away.
Cole nodded, wiping away his own tears. "Alright. If you need to talk any more... just let me know, okay?"
Alek nodded silently. The two rejoined the crowd on the street, and a moment later Cole caught sight of the locksmith's sign again.
"Do you mind if we make a quick stop?" he pointed up to the sign. Alek paused, and then nodded.
Cole pushed past another swinging door into a dim and dusty shop. The interior was narrow and cramped. A single long shelf along the backwall displayed a disorganized array of different locks, some hung up by hooks and others laying collapsed into a tray at the bottom. Cobwebs ran all throughout the room, and for a moment Cole was certain the place was abandoned.
"Greetings! How may I help you!" a helium-pitched voice squeaked from behind a desk that was nearly as tall as Cole.
He froze up a moment, looking for who had spoken. He approached the desk and peered behind it. No one there.
"Hello! Down here!" the voice squeaked again from beneath his face. Cole glanced down at the surface of the desk and gaped.
A tiny yellow insect, no bigger than a single one of Cole's claws stared up at him, equipped with proportionally tiny goggles.
Cole blinked a few times. About a thousand questions were racing through his head. But... no, don't think about it. Just... don't think about it.
"U-uh. Hello!" he shouted awkwardly. "Are you a uhm... locksmith?" he asked, the absurdity of the question sinking in.
The tiny bug held its front leg up to its head in a makeshift salute. "Master smith, Joltik Ito! At your service!" it squeaked excitedly.
But... But the locks were bigger than him. How did he... no. He was asking questions again. Stop that.
"W-where is he? Can you see him?" Alek whispered, nudging Cole. His stature was too low to see onto the desk.
"I- uh..." Cole debated whether telling Alek he was 'a tiny bug' would be offensive or not. "He's on the desk. You can't see him from there."
Alek gave him an understandably confused look. He hopped his front hooves up onto the desk and peered over, grimacing as his back protested the posture. Surprise flashed on his face as he registered their locksmith.
"A-anyways. Can you open a lock with a... lost key?" Cole returned his attention to the bug.
"My specialty! Show it to me!" Ito leapt up and down, several times its own height, with eagerness.
Cole reached into his own tail and removed the chest, planting it down on the table. The vibrations were enough to bounce Ito into the air. The chest as big as a house compared to the bug, and the lock itself was several times his size. Ito pounced through the air and landed on the side of the lock, crawling around it and examining it excitedly.
"Ohohoho. This is a nice lock. A reeeal nice lock," he hummed excitedly, a tiny smile on his face.
"How much to pop it?" Cole asked, pulling out the remains of their coin. He had gotten a sense for how to count it out based on the crazed cook's prices.
"Fifty Poké! No- wait! Forty, for the privilege of playing with such a fancy toy~" it chirped, staring eagerly into the chamber.
Cole hesitated. That was most of their remaining money. But they did have jobs now. And they'd gotten this chest in the same place they'd begun this mess. It could be important.
He placed the coins down on the desk, noticing that each one was bigger than their supposed locksmith.
"Deal," he muttered begrudgingly.
"Alrighty then! It's tiiiime!" Ito cheered with a high-pitched, gremlin-like laugh. He scuttered into the lock chamber itself. A serious of clicking and ringing noises sounded from inside the chamber. And then, just a moment later, the hood of the chest clicked open. Ito emerged with a triumphant smile his face.
"A respectable lock, but no match for the mighty Ito!" he crowed. He jumped down from the chest and started spitting webbing out at the enormous coins scattered around him. "Got any more?"
Cole picked up the chest and peered inside. There was no pile of gold awaiting him. Only two worn out pieces of paper. He pulled them out and examined them. They looked like pages torn carelessly right out of an old book. One had a large diagram taking up half of it, depicting a skeletal dragon, while the other was all text. Ink had been haphazardly blotted across both of them, censoring certain sentences and words. The censorship seemed fresh.
"D-did you just climb in and open the lock from inside?" Alek asked Ito while Cole read the pages.
"Indeed. It's an embarrassingly common design flaw that most smiths overlook," he grinned. He dragged the coins into one bundle with a dozen strands of web. "No one ever thinks about those of my stature! We're easily forgotten! And that makes us the most dangerous!"
"By your stature you mean like, just being really small?" Alek asked.
"Yep! People never realize that being so small is a big advantage! You can do lots of stuff, like picking locks or picking fights!"
"Uhm... Sorry if this is rude, but how do you fight at your size?" he asked hesitantly.
"Oh, I don't!" the spider gremlin-laughed again. "But my mother used to be real good at getting into peoples' ear canals, and she knew how to knock out dozens of different Pokémon from in there!"
Alek looked like he'd seen a ghost. He should have known better than to converse with the Pokémon.
He turned to see Cole looking just as aghast. But Cole hadn't been listening to a word Ito had said. His eyes were still locked on the pages.
"S-someone is toying with us. Or using us for... something..." he muttered and shook his head in disbelief.
Alek tried to circle around and peek at the pages for himself, but he was too low to get a good look. "W-what does it say?"
Cole just shook his head again, rolling up the pages. "I want Amelia to see these. But... I think they're meant to be instructions. I think someone is trying to tell us how we can get home."
The Jade Hall's meeting room sat at the top of the central tower, just outside of the guildmaster's office itself. It was a spacious place, with a large round table in the center, surrounded by pillows and roosting rods of varying heights and sizes fitted to the elite staff. Eternal luminous orbs were mounted on the walls, leaving the entire room as bright as the day outside. Retired treasures, tokens of thanks, and other accolades lined the shelves around the room, running all the way back into the guildmaster's office. The room was clean and dignified, as the seat of any guildhall should be, and painted in deep leafy greens that indulged the guildmaster in a bit of vanity.
A collection of Pokémon sat around the table, anxiously awaiting their missing attendees. Team Cloudburst sat roosting on their rods, Tweet preening herself anxiously. Gliscor Seren hung down from his rod by his barbed tail, trying desperately to catch some sleep while Braviary Valor did his best to keep him awake.
Team Poise sat beside them, looking agitated. Faith's pillow laid empty between Gnarl and Calm.
The next five pillows sat empty as well. Three for Team Operetta, who were far too deep into the ocean at the moment to have been summoned. Then there were two more pillows for the ever-late Team Bunker, one massive and worn, and the other pristine and unused.
The next attendee was the guildmaster himself. Sceptile Ithycus was an imposing figure, his towering height accentuated by his firm posture. And true to the guild's name, he wore a massive, deep green crest around his neck that extended up past his head on either side. A shimmering red and green stone adorned the base of it.
There were still rumors that the crest was actually made of jade. Rumors that Ithycus had felt little motivation to quash. He'd be lying if he'd said he hadn't considered it before. But even for him the weight of solid jade would have been too much to carry around.
The final, and noisiest, figure around the table was Lore, who's every tail was puffed out indignantly behind him.
"Torn, right out of the book of mavericks!" he howled. "Do you have any idea how old that book is? Who just rips pages out of books?" Several of his tails flailed furiously, smacking the floor.
Ithycus respectfully refrained from rolling his eyes. Lore was brilliant, and a tremendous boon, but the fox greatly overvalued the significance of books to their line of work.
"Likely some rookie-rank team had an accident while loaning the book and put it back quickly out of fear. I doubt anyone deliberately ripped pages out of your book," he said dismissively. He eyed the doorway, hoping Team Bunker would rescue him from the incensed lorekeeper.
"As if I'd ever allow a rookie to touch the book of mavericks! That book is older than me! Older than this guild! If some rookie team had their paws on it, then they stole it!"
"With all due respect Lore, what exactly do you want me to do about it?" Ithycus sighed. Messing with his books was the only surefire way to make the usually level-headed Ninetales lose his mind.
"Well… I… " Lore paused, realizing the fruitlessness of his complaints. "Can't you make anyone confess?"
"By doing what exactly, holding some kind of inquisition? That would be great for morale. How do you know it was even someone in the Crest? Maybe some devious ghost-type snuck into your study and tore out random pages, just to get your tails in a twist. You have a bit of a reputation, you know."
"They can mess with me all they want," he pouted. "But leave my texts out of it."
"Sorry we're late," a smug female voice called from the doorway. "We got lost, but the sound of a whining Ninetales led us right up here."
Team Bunker hulked in the doorway. Or rather, the enormous Venusaur Brutus did, while a Roserade lounged leisurely on his back. Brutus lumbered over to his massive pillow and collapsed down.
"Bite me, Thorn." Lore growled at the Roserade.
Thorn grinned widely, revealing rows of small, sharp teeth. "If you keep asking, I just might."
Lore cringed. He'd known the Roserade long enough to worry that she might not be joking.
"Why is it that you two can never arrive on time?" The guildmaster leered at the duo.
Thorn finally sat herself upright on Brutus's back. "Sorry dearie, my palanquin is a bit slow," she said, patting the Venusaur on his head with her bouquet. He grunted in response.
"Then plan better," Ithycus growled and collapsed down onto his own pillow. "Team Poise, you have the floor. I assume this has to do with Faith?"
Gnarl stood up, looking perturbed, and shook his head a bit too vigorously. "No- aw- yes- er..." he spat out in his guttural voice. "We aw, picked awp a mission in Shiver Chasm along the way..."
"I see. And something went wrong?" Ithycus asked hesitantly. Even down a teammate, Shiver Chasm should have been a breeze for them.
"I- err… Kinda?" Gnarl scratched his head, trying to figure out how to explain.
"Shiver Chasm no longer exists," Calm cut in matter-of-factly.
Every eye in the room turned to the duo, making Gnarl freeze up entirely. Calm stared back unflinchingly. Lore opened his mouth, but then closed it, snapping his head down to the table in intense contemplation.
"I'm afraid I don't understand? What do you mean by 'doesn't exist'?" Ithycus asked calmly, his mind racing beneath the facade.
"Shiver Chasm is no longer a mystery dungeon. It has returned to its natural state. The victim we were dispatched to retrieve confirmed the mysterious force dissipated while they were within it," Calm explained.
"Astounding!" Lore blurted out, earning an irritated look from Thorn. "A mystery dungeon disappearing? You're absolutely certain, right? You didn't go to the wrong place? The victim wasn't just confused?"
"Naw… Naww… That was the right spawt for sure," Gnarl shook his head. "But it was jawst a normal chasm. Still kinda dangerous though..." he mumbled, rubbing his still-bruised shoulder.
The guildmaster stoked his chin pensively. "That's… quite the revelation. Dungeons pop up now and then, but one disappearing is unheard of. Did you look around for the rift?"
"Naw… Place is a natural maze. I hawnestly think it would prawbably be easier to get lawst now that isn't a dungeon!" Gnarl chuckled nervously. "But if there was a rift, it should have been a dungeon still, right?"
"Not necessarily," Lore cut in. "We link the rift and the force intrinsically because the force has historically always spilled out from rifts. But this is unprecedented territory! Whether the force simply stopped spilling out of the rift, or if the rift disappeared entirely, both would be completely unheard of!"
Calm nodded. "I see. I apologize. We were a bit shaken, due to our other revelation."
The room paused at the realization there was more.
"We did encounter Faith. However, her appearance was significantly distorted, and she fled at the sight of us," Calm explained, not letting a hint of emotion drop into his report.
"Fled?" Ithycus asked incredulously, "You need to provide more details than that. Fled like 'in fear', or like she didn't want to be seen? Distorted how? Where did you find her? Details, Calm, details!"
The Mienshao nodded and obliged, giving the elite teams a full recount of their trip to Shiver Chasm. They listened intently, Lore trying his hardest not to interrupt with questions. Calm saw his eyes light up as they described Faith's strange appearance however.
"Could you two please commission a drawing of Faith's gear?" Lore blurted as soon as they had finished.
Calm looked to Ithycus, and the Sceptile nodded. "I assume you have a theory, Lore?"
Lore nodded in return. "Yes, but I won't know if it's plausible at all until I can see an accurate depiction of her gear."
"Alright, please oblige the lorekeeper. I'll allocate funds for you two to request a sketch."
"So... what do you think this all means? Not just Faith, but the dungeon disappearing?" Tweet asked, looking to the guildmaster.
Ithycus paused, and looked at Lore expectantly. The Ninetales perked up and began to theorize.
"Well, it could mean a lot of things! Given the timing, I think it's almost certain that Faith is somehow related to the disappearance of the dungeon," he gazed at Team Poise, offering them a chance to challenge him. "The primary question is whether it's linked directly or indirectly. Is there some larger factor in play that has lead to both Faith's presence and the disappearance of the dungeon, or did Faith cause the dungeon to disappear?
"The latter explanation seems simpler, and as a result more appealing. Shiver Chasm would generally make for a good testing ground for such a capability, as it is particularly remote. But this angle invokes the strange question of how Faith could have acquired the powers or equipment in two weeks to perform a task that supposedly even Lord Arceus himself could not accomplish! I do have some theories pertaining to that, mainly focused around the notion of aural power sources external to our dimension. But that's all purely hypothetical of course.
"And of course, just because it's easier to assume a direct link doesn't mean it's true. For all we know, Faith was acting to prevent whatever erased the dungeon. The side effects of doing so are entirely unknown at this point in time. And even sheer coincidence can't be ruled out entirely!"
Ithycus could see Seren's eyelids drooping as he hung from his roost. The Gliscor had been struggling to stay awake this early in the day to begin with. Thorn was glaring at Lore with irritation, and Gnarl looked like he could barely keep up with Lore's fast muttering.
"I think," Ithycus started loudly, surprising Lore as he snapped back to reality, "that you should refine your hypotheses as we collect more information, and we can reconvene on them then."
"Oh, yes! Of course! There's so much more we need to know now," Lore nodded eagerly.
Ithycus smiled. Lore could be difficult at times, but it was easy to appreciate his enthusiasm for information. The Sceptile's father and grandfather had both been good friends with the Ninetales before him. It had taken Ithycus far too long to understand why.
"What can we do to help?" he asked.
"Well, I'd recommend adjusting job prioritization strategy for now. Prioritize sending guild members out to as many different dungeons as possible, so that if any more vanish we're alerted immediately. I'd also like a more thorough investigation of Shiver Chasm. Or at least, what remains of it."
"Oh uh, we can go!" Tweet spoke up. "We could get there and back in just a couple of days,"
Ithycus let out a hearty laugh. "Tweet my dear, look at your team. The last place I'm sending you is up north."
"Well, it's not like we'd be going into a dungeon… " She scratched at her post nervously.
"I'd be less concerned if we were sending you into a dungeon. At least then I'd know Team Operetta could come save your sorry butts. But we have no idea what's going on here. The dungeon could reappear, it could move, whoever or whatever destroyed it could be hostile... "
"But… " Tweet squawked nervously.
"Let it go, Tveet. Vy in the vorld vould ve vant to freeze our behinds off anyvays?" Seren mumbled, half-asleep at this point.
"No, Team Cloudburst should continue on as normal. Team Poise, I know you've just gotten back, but would you be opposed to returning north for a further investigation of the chasm?"
Calm nodded. "Understood. We will sweep the area and confirm there is no longer a rift present."
"Good. And our final task should be obvious," Lore spoke up again. "We need to locate Faith."
"No." Calm immediately spoke up, surprising everyone. Even Gnarl stared at him in shock. "Faith requested that we do not attempt to find her. Regardless of the strange circumstances, she appeared lucid. We must respect the wishes of our team leader."
After a moment's hesitation, Gnarl nodded in agreement. "I'm worried about her... but she made herself clear. I trawst her judgement, no matter what."
Lore's tails twitched irritably. "She is, quite possibly, performing unprecedented miracles. If you think we're going to pass up such an opportunity to study and record these events, you are sorely misguided."
Calm glared at the lorekeeper with unwavering conviction. Gnarl tried his best to match the look.
Ithycus cut in before it could escalate further.
"Our interest is in the disappearance of the dungeons. We will not actively go out of our way to pursue Faith, but should we find her at the center of these events, it is our duty to explore them fully. Is this an acceptable compromise?" he eyed Team Poise with a sternness that made it clear this was their only compromise.
"...Very well. That is a fair compromise," Calm relented, returning to his usual neutrality.
"Thank you, Team Poise. I understand the difficult position you're in. And I respect your choice to adhere to your leader's request, even though that must be difficult. I certainly hope she's alright," the Sceptile continued. "Very well. I'll adjust the job strategies. Team Poise will return to Shiver Chasm. Lore will investigate... all of this. And Team Bunker? I have a special request for you."
Thorn finally sat up again, zoning back into the conversation for the first time in a while. "Oh, thank the stars. It's been sooo drab lately. Last week we had to escort some big-headed Weezing from Sapsion to Sylveil. Highest ranked delving team on the continent, and we're seriously spending the better part of a week making sure no one shakes a stick at some pompous prick while he huffs his own fumes?" she rolled her eyes.
"It paid well," Brutus croaked from beneath her, his booming voice echoing throughout the room.
"Fine, fair enough. Point being, it's been too long since we've done something worthwhile." She leaned back against his flower again, throwing her bouquets behind her head. "So, what have you got for us?"
"Nothing particularly challenging, I'm afraid. You recall Flak Hollows?"
"That new dungeon on the northern face of Flak Mountain? That's the one where they found that annoying Riolu kid, right? The one that won't shut up? Oh, please don't tell me you're sending us there. That's no better than escorting swaggering aristocrats," she groaned.
"We need a complete survey of that dungeon," he explained. "A complete survey. Both internal and external, consult with the locals on it, and report back to us on any oddities."
"But why us? Why not send rookies out? Aren't Team Pride already deployed pretty close to there anyways? This is an utter waste of our time!" she continued to whine.
"Because... this one is important." Ithycus cast a knowing glance to Lore. "Please. Do this well, and when you return, hopefully we will have made more progress on the dungeon-disappearance issue. If anything interesting comes up for that, you'll be the first ones we call," he added.
"We'll go," Brutus boomed before his mate could protest further. She glared down at him in betrayal.
"And while you're in the area, you should assess the dungeon near Tranquil Knoll as well," the guildmaster added. "It's not as important, but give it a pass through so we can classify it for future missions."
"Didn't someone already investigate that dungeon? Isn't it like, super D-rank or something?" Thorn protested.
"The someone who investigated it was your daughter. I would have thought you'd at least acknowledge her as far as it pertains to your job." He cast her a cold glare. "All we have are secondhand reports. She is no longer with the Crest, and as a result we need an actual member to assess it. And you'll be passing through anyways."
Of course, that dungeon was just a convenient excuse to dispatch Team Bunker to Tranquil Knoll. He'd read Team Pride's report. Everything was fine in the eastern Flak Mountain region. But they'd run in with Team Bunker's daughter and were... concerned for her.
It was true that Roselia was no longer his responsibility. But he had made far too many concessions to Thorn when it came to the girl. Even he had let himself fall into the hype surrounding her. At the end of the day, she had been a child. His primary obligation as guildmaster had been to protect her, and he knew he'd failed at that.
But his exceptions had already been made, and the damage had already been done. And at this point, he knew there was nothing he could do to get through to her. More than likely the only one who ever could was her mother. So while it was optimistic to think that forcing Thorn to acknowledge her daughter would improve anything, it was the only effort he could make.
"Fine, fine." Thorn waved a few vines in the air dismissively, shutting her eyes again as she lounged back. "But I'm holding you to that promise of a good job!"
Ithycus sighed. "I'm certain you will. Does everyone understand their duties? Any further comments?"
"Quite a few actually, but most of them will probably just get me in trouble," Thorn grumbled. Brutus snorted beneath her.
"I have one matter I'd like to speak to you about. Privately," Lore added.
"Alright then. For everyone else, meeting dismissed," Ithycus called. Brutus rose to his feet and lumbered out with Thorn eyeing the Ninetales suspiciously from his back as they left. Team Poise and Cloudburst filed out after them, leaving the two alone.
"Well, I'm frankly terrified to imagine what this could be. After that conversation, I assumed everything would be out in the open," Ithycus laughed with a hint of nervousness.
"Nothing bad... necessarily. Just another curiosity for the pile," Lore said hesitantly. "I think I found another human."
