Chapter 2: The Road to Royalty

The path didn't take long to deliver the group to the edge of the forest, to the newcomers this was a surprise, they expected it to take maybe a day or two to reach the castle yet in only half an hour, it was in sight. From the distance the castle seemed eerie, the stone made of black and the structure jagged and angular, it was hard to tell if it was tilted or how it was tilted if it was. What's more, it found a way in the dark to create an imposing shadow over what seemed to be a village nearby, with several lights illuminating it beyond its walls.

Gengar kept walking as he closed his eyes, arms behind his head "not long now tin head, I swear ya could go anywhere in this place in a day"

Sinestea sighed as she looked at a more than offended sword who looked about 5 seconds away from stabbing their guide.

"My name is Honedge and thou shall refer to me as such!" The sword said in a still post but much more growly tone.

Gengar did not seem phased at all "Yeah, that's what I said, tin head"

Honedge's banner was around his sheath, slowly lowering it, but Sinestea quickly grabbed the sheath herself, stopping it from lowering "ignore him, he's just trying to annoy you."

"But- But thou is making a mockery of my lineage!"

"But he is the only one who knows anything about where we are and we have no clue how important he is, you really want to start a war in unknown territory?"

Honedge paused for a second before pulling the sheath back up. "Fine, I shall bite my tongue for now"

Gengar chuckled "that assumes you have a tongue"

"Do not push thou's luck"

Sinestea let go and continued forward, starting to think about the pokemon she was travelling with. At first glance this Gengar seemed to be trouble, he hadn't shared much about who he was and found fun in annoying people, however he was also calm and kind to Phantump, and he didn't seem hostile, so for now he seemed trustworthy. Honedge seemed to have the demeanour of royalty, whether he actually was one was hard to say, but it was the main cause for quite the ego, an ego that gave Gengar free reign to prod. As for Phantump, he was quiet, only spoke if someone directly acknowledged him, they were like a scared child, it was very possible they actually were one, but either way she knew who she would prioritise to help if a fight would break out.

She paused for a second, looking around. The grass was purple briefly broken up with patches of red and the plain rolled on for miles, and yet… she decided she would ask but not in an intrusive way it's quiet, not a pokemon in sight out here"

Gengar turned around and smiled "really? Cause I see 3 right now"

The eye roll was bigger than her cup could properly show "I mean other pokemon besides us, no Swovert, no Blipbugs, not even a Rookidee"

"Well most pokemon are in the town right now, not many leave it these days, especially after what's been happenin lately"

"Even so, I don't see any signs of wild pokemon."

Gengar paused for a moment, almost confused by the statement

"Wild? What, like feral? We ain't animals tea leaf, we had ta survive somehow."

"So, you invaded a town?"

"Less invaded, more built the entire thing"

Sinestea was surprised, they- they what? "The whole thing? Without human assistance?"

"Humans? Man, haven't heard that word come up in years."

Pieces were coming together, this world was very different to her own, yet it also felt familiar. Still, it was a shock to hear how a fundamental part of her world's society was completely missing from this one.

A fork in the road soon approached, one path leading to the city, the other curving round to the castle. Gengar didn't say anything as he made the turn, clearly not looking where he was going as he phased through another pokemon. This one was predominantly wearing white with patterns of light blue on the arms and back of the head and a white face mask with 2 ice shards on it's top, the face being a deep purple. The figure spoke as they turned to Gengar "where are you going?" The voice was monotone, female but with no sense of emotion, the face barely moved as it spoke.

Gengar didn't even turn to face her as he continued to walk "castle, where else?" He grinned a little, but quickly flicked his eyes up and dove back as a shard of ice slammed down in front of him. Sinestea quickly realised it was the mysterious female that created it, the pokemon holding a second hand out to prepare another "you are not permitted to go there Gengar. Royalty only"

Gengar crossed his arms "Oh come on ice queen, you ain't Royalty and you're allowed in"

"I am the exception, you are not" She narrowed her eyes a little, the rest of the face staying emotionless

"Listen, I know I've pulled ya leg in the past-"

"Indeed you shrug your duties at every opportunity."

"-BUT! I said it could happen again and bada bing, we got 3 more from the site"

The 'ice queen' took a glance at the 3 arrivals, it felt judgemental, something Sinestea was used to but it still made her uneasy.

The pokemon looked back to Gengar "And why are they going to the castle?"

"That's would be tin head"

"MY NAME IS HONEDGE! RULER OF THE CASPIAN KINGDOM! AND I SHALL BE REFERRED TO AS SUCH!"

The pokemon looked at Honedge, for 5 straight seconds the stare was unbroken, face unmoving before she responded "Your conviction tells me you are not lying, however no Caspian kingdom exists or has any record of existing"

Gengar chuckled "Oh so he's insane then, he believes in a made up kingdom"

Honedge quickly drew himself out "It is NOT MADE UP! Thou shall apologise THIS INSTANT or prepare thyself for combat!"

"Oh by all means, I would love ta shove ya ego down a few pegs"

The two's eyes locked, both preparing for combat….. Well Honedge was anyway, Gengar was casually leaning back into the shadows. As Sinestea looked around she noticed someone, or the lack of someone. Phantump was gone, cowering behind a rock between gengar and honedge, clearly overwhelmed by the fighting and the scary pokemon that was there. As Honedge dashed forward, Sinestea noticed the other pokemon was doing something. Her hands were covered in a frosty mist yet nothing seemed to be happening, until sinestea looked up. What was happening was a giant icicle forming above them, dwarfing the sky in comparison as it grew ever larger. With but a motion, the pokemon sent it crashing down, the icicle heading for between Gengar and Honedge, certainly taking the rock with it. With not much hesitation, Sinestea rushed to the rock and began building up energy. Fairy-like sparkles began to form as she floated next to the rock and let off a mist that surrounded Phantump, a trick she learned to help protect others from ranged attacks. With a loud thud, the icicle hit the ground and shook it, the shake itself not affecting anybody since all around we're floating or phasing through the floor, but the icicle barely missed the rock as it lodged itself in. Honedge quickly stopped but not before hitting his handle on the icicle and hitting the floor.

The pokemon looked at everybody as she dusted herself off "i never said it did not exist, it likely does not exist on this side. However it is clear that someone is giving our kingdom a bad first impression." she looked at Gengar "so you shall wait here while i take them to the king"

Gengar looked a little disappointed but the smile did not drop "aww but I'm havin more fun than I have in years."

The pokemon narrowed her eyes at Gengar, before turning back "I apologise on the kings behalf. If you will all follow me"

Sinestea came up from behind the rock, yelling a little as she resurfaced "After you nearly hit a child? Why should we trust-... either of you honestly?"

The pokemon looked over at Phantump and looked down a little. "I did not realise there was anybody else there, and I once again ask for your apology. But you can trust me."

Honedge got up, rubbing it's hilt as he looked at her miffed. "Why? Our last guide was a pain to listen to, so why should any of us listen to you?!"

While Gengar rolled his eyes at the insult, the pokemon sighed a little and reached down to the inside of the dress she was wearing, pulling out a golden crest. It was some sort of helmet, a crown like half circle with a second half circle creating the illusion of ears and 2 holes where eyes could be seen. "I am Froslass, oracle of the king and queen of the ghost kingdom. And while I understand your concerns, I wish for you to trust me and my judgement for only a short time. if once we reach the castle you still do not trust me, you can part with me and we will never have to meet again"

Sinestea looked at her "you think that crest means anything to us, you could have made it out of bottle caps for all we know" she looked at the other 2 for confirmation, and while Phantump was still unsure and cautious after everything, Honedge was stunned for a second as he looked at the crest "I-... I trust her" Sinestea looked at Honedge almost shocked. Honedge turned back "that crest, I have seen it before. I daresay I trust it with my life."

Sinestea looked at Honedge, for the first time the confidence seemed quieter, more sure of himself. She nodded "ok, we'll go along with this for now."

Gengar smiles "well, i got nothin better to do right now so I'll wait here k? Don't worry about me"

Froslass looked at him "i always worry about you Gengar"

"Come on ice queen, i can handle myself any day"

"That's why i worry"

The 2 exchanged glances, Gengars of friendship and playfulness, Froslass while still emotionless, somehow powering through it to also show one of friendship. Gengar then waved them off, Phantump also waving Gengar back as he nervously followed Froslass. To Sinestea this was an odd circumstance to be in, among strangers that seemed to want to help but also possibly hinder them. All she knew was her gut was telling her something was off about all this, and that she was going to make sure that Phantump was safe, Honedge less so, could really do with shutting up but the child was worth protecting at least.