But they quickly ran into trouble when they reached the foot of the white Searager's Cliffs.
Ahead of them, the path led to a large cave entrance, which was being guarded by two men in silvery armor. They both had a belt of Pokeballs, a sword sheathed by their side, and a tall pike in their hand. An image of a golden ring with four stars was emblazoned on their golden capes and tabards, which all the people present could recognize as the royal insignia of the king of Regiras.
"What business could the king have out here?", mused Catherine.
"I do not know, but I intend to find out.", Ulfsigr declared.
The Legendborn walked towards the guards, who quickly crossed their halberds in front of the tunnel.
"No one enters.", stated the left knight.
"What is the meaning of this?", asked Ray, walking forwards.
The knight on the right gasped. "Is that who I think it is?"
The knight on the left nodded. "It is Sir Derevin!"
"Sir?", asked Ray, befuddled, "Since when have I been a sir?"
The right knight chuckled. "Since the day you saved the prince's life, of course! Remember, at the tournament a few years ago?"
The left knight nodded. "Of course, you disappeared before the prince could officially knight you, but he has been looking for you all these years."
Ray frowned. "Has he, now? I never heard of this."
The left knight shrugged. "Wherever you disappeared to must have been at the very edges of the kingdom. But I promise you that is the case."
The right knight chuckled. "Better late than never, of course! The prince is staying at Azulia City for the next week or two. The king has finally announced who the prince has been betrothed to, and the prince is to be meeting with her soon."
Ray seemed to darken at the word "betrothed", but quickly regained his calm composure. "Who is she?", he asked.
"I'd let the prince tell you all about that.", the left knight said, "He would certainly love to see you again."
"Very well.", Ray said, "I shall see about that. Now, why do you two gentlemen need to guard the tunnel?"
The left knight sighed. "There are rumors that a family of Onix have moved in, and we need to make sure they do not harm anyone."
"That's right!", the right knight agreed, "But the savior of the prince and his friends are more than capable of handling that, I am sure!"
Ray nodded. "Of course. One of them is even a Water-type specialist."
Kelly murmured, "Please don't draw attention to me..."
The two knights uncrossed their spears. "Have a safe journey, and may your path be full of light."
The heroes walked into the tunnel, which slanted down into darkness. No one spoke in case of attracting that family of Onixes or accidentally destabilizing a part of the tunnel the Pokemon had weakened. There were too many stories of that sort of thing happening for anyone's peace-of-mind.
But finally it got too dark, and so one of them had to speak.
"Tamame.", Ulfsigr whispered, sending out his Braixen, "Illuminate our path, please."
The Braixen pulled her twig out of her tail, causing it to light up with flames and allowing everybody to see.
Then they continued walking silently, Tamame leading the way.
Looking around, one could see that the ground was well-worn with the steps of thousands of people and Pokemon, as well as the caravans that frequently traveled this route. Even with all this, one could see wild Pokemon were still everywhere. Zubats nested on the ceiling, Spinaraks lurked in their webs, and Digletts dug past them in the ground, burying the tracks of all who traveled here with fresh earth.
One could occasionally see cracks in the walls that led to other caverns, and blocked-off passages that had yet to be charted. Water occasionally dropped from the ceiling, and sometimes distant rumbling or roaring could be heard. These caverns were clearly full of life.
After a while of walking, the tunnel opened up into a large chamber, a deep black lake ahead of them. There were paths around it, but there was also a few old rowboats for those who wanted a quicker journey.
"We can take a break here for now.", Ray said, "The water is safe to drink, and wild Pokemon do not usually bother people here."
As everyone sat down, Ulfsigr asked, "So, what the heck were those knights talking about back there?"
"Very well, Mr. Mysterious.", Ray replied, "Clearly you expect some of my secrets before you even hint at one of yours. But very well. Three years ago, I competed in the Path of the Chosen. Defeated every Noble, managed to get all the way to the finals. But it was there that I uncovered rumors of a secret plot to murder the king's son, Prince Richard."
Ray looked fondly into the distance. "I nearly died fighting the assassin that tried to claim his life. But the assassin got away, and no one ever found out who they were or why they acted. I started trying to track them, but then received word that my grandfather was ill. I returned home to find him dead. My grandmother was the only family I had left, and I decided to stay home and help her out. I do not care about riches or titles, only protecting those I love."
He sighed. "That's all you need to know right now."
"...I'm surprised I did not recognize you.", Catherine finally said, "I was one of the spectators at that tournament. Everyone adored you."
Ray chuckled. "I'm not much for fame and attention, either. It appears, however, that Prince Richard has been looking for me. Who am I to resist?"
John commented, "Well, looks like you guys all have interesting stories. Now I know why you dominated me in that battle. You were nearly a champion!"
"Nearly is the important word.", Ray said, a little sharply.
At that moment, there was a soft splash, and something clinked into Ulfsigr's lap.
"What in the world!?", he yelled, standing up.
The object fell to the ground in front of him. It appeared to be an old hilt of some kind, marked with runes and a name in some forgotten language.
Ulfsigr froze. "Hey, this looks like my amulet..."
He picked up the hilt, and with a soft hum it extended into a crackling blade of blue energy.
Ulfsigr whistled appreciatively, swinging it a few times.
"Whoa, that's an aurablade!", cried Catherine.
Ray nodded. "Indeed it is...but why was it in the lake, and who tossed it out?"
"I dunno.", Ulfsigr replied, "But I'm definitely keeping this."
He stared at it a moment. "Assuming, uh, I figure out how to turn it off so I can put it away safely."
Tamame helpfully suggested, "Perhaps will it to shut off?"
Ulfsigr focused, and the blade vanished. Tucking it into his pack, he said, "That is pretty cool. Will come in handy if I can't use my gun for some reason."
Carlos asked, "So, uh, can we go now? I think we've sat here long enough."
The heroes stood up, and started walking around the lake. Everyone kept looking at the lake, wondering who or what had tossed the aurablade at Ulfsigr.
On the other side of the lake, the tunnel continued, and the Legendborn followed it.
It wasn't long, however, before a deep constant rumble began to be heard, rapidly growing louder.
"Um...what's that?", asked Carla fearfully.
Suddenly burrowing out of the wall ahead of them was an Onix.
"Watch out!", Ray cried, as another one emerged behind them, "Get ready to fight!"
A third Onix burst from the ground, knocking the heroes off their feet.
Kelly screamed as a fourth one appeared, smashing out of the ceiling and through the floor as it continued digging a tunnel.
"How unlucky can we get!?", cried John, "This must be that Onix family the guards were talking about!"
The ground cracked beneath them, threatening to give way.
Ulfsigr fired up his jetpack. "Get a rope ready!", he shouted, "The floor is going to collapse!"
Clara unslung one from her pack, and tied it around a nearby stalagmite. "Everybody, hold on!", she cried.
Everybody grabbed the rope, and Ulfsigr returned Tamame so she wouldn't be at risk. The tunnel was plunged into darkness, the glowing eyes of the Pokemon the only light.
Ulfsigr then switched on some spotlights on his armor, nearly blinding everyone. Unfortunately, an Onix got a good look at the lights, and was enraged when it was blinded.
"Watch out!", cried Wolfe, "It's about to attack!"
The rock snake lunged at Ulfsigr, denting his armor and slamming the man into the wall. Ulfsigr grunted in pain, before activating something in his suit and somehow pushing the heavy Pokemon off of him.
At that moment, the floor gave way, leading into a deep dark abyss.
The rope tightened as the Legendborn lost their footing, but held strong. The heroes dangled there as the rumbling began to quieten, one slip away from a nasty fall.
At that moment, a curious Rattata appeared, and sniffed the rope. Clara screamed, "Ulfsigr! Stop it!", but it was too late.
The Rattata bit the rope cleanly in half, and the team of heroes fell into the abyss. (-o-)
AN: Whew, looks like we ended this one on a LITERAL cliffhanger! How will they survive? You'll find out next time!
See you then!