"This must be it!" Hawthorne exclaimed as he stumbled through the snow. He shook his head vigorously, and snow sloughed off his antlers.
They'd been climbing up the mountain for what must have been a couple hours now. They were making good time, but a sudden snowfall had landed on them, and now their path was buffered by deep snow. The cold was to be expected this far up the mountain, but it still caused many complaints.
Chiluly's head jerked up at Hawthorne's exclamation. She'd been staring at the ground as they trekked, internally grumbling about the snow and the cold.
"Where?" she called to the Sawsbuck. She was following the trail he'd been making through the snow, as she had the unfortunate curse of a lack of powerful hooves or thick fur for the current conditions.
"I see it!" Burnout cried, his flames flickering with excitement.
Chiluly was thankful for the brief flare of heat. Squinting, she stared into the bitter winds, searching for a source of light. Is that it, off to the left…?
They pushed on a little further, and soon the shape of a lodge rose up in front of them, its windows producing a homely glow.
"Finally!" she cried, her shoulders sagging with relief. "If we'd had to walk any further, I'd make Hawthorne carry me."
"Hey!" he protested, giving her an affectionate nudge.
"Well, we're here now," Pharaoh said, his deep, flat voice carrying through the still air.
He moved past them silently, his glowing eyes surveying the area. The faint silhouettes of Pokemon were now visible milling around the lodge.
"I see others!" Hawthorne said excitedly, leaning forward. "Come on! Let's go introduce ourselves." Picking up his hooves in an almost comically exaggerated way, he hopped across the snow, Burnout cheerfully floating alongside him and Pharaoh following them at a more leisurely pace.
Chiluly glanced back at Chevali, who had been silent almost the entire trip from Magistrate to the mountain pass. He was still, staring at something in the direction of the lodge.
"You alright?" Chiluly tried. She considered reaching out and bumping him, but quickly remembered how he'd snapped at her last time.
He blinked twice and stared down at her. "Yes. I am fine." Without acknowledging his trance, he continued forward, gliding across the icy ground.
Chiluly scrunched up her face and gave him a disbelieving look. "Sure. Something tells me somebody like you doesn't just casually space out at random times."
He gave her a narrow-eyed look, then shook his head and kept moving.
She followed as quickly as she could.
"We can discuss later. I have some... suspicions."
"Huh? About wh-" she started, stopping when she almost ran into Hawthorne's hind legs.
She muttered an apology and peered out from behind him, straight into the eyes of a stern looking Stoutland.
His nose twitched as he observed her, before turning his head to face Hawthorne again. "There are more of you?"
Hawthorne turned to look back at the group, making sure they were all accounted for, before shaking his head. "No, this is all of us now!"
The Stoutland nodded briskly, his bushy eyebrows obscuring his eyes. "Well, then. Right this way."
The Stoutland, who's name was Yukon, had led them into the lodge, which was bustling with more Pokemon- mainly other Stoutland and Herdier. Yukon appeared to be the head of the station. Chiluly noticed several others incline their heads as their group passed.
When they reached the back of the massive hall, their guide dipped his head in the direction of the fireplace and turned to bark an order at a passing Herdier while they settled around the open flame. A few minutes later, somebody else arrived with a tray of hot drinks, which Chiluly accepted gratefully. It tasted like cinnamon and spice and warmed her from the inside out.
After they had all warmed themselves, Hawthorne began to tell Yukon of their journey up the mountain, and where they were heading to. Yukon listened silently, nodding in the correct places or cocking his head when he needed clarification. After Hawthorne was finished, he rose to his feet again and surveyed their group.
"Well. It sounds like you all have had quite the last few days. The passing of Queen Perry had not reached us yet." He bowed his head for a couple heartbeats before continuing.
"You are doing a good service for our kingdom. I hope you manage to find and apprehend this terrible criminal in your journeys." He paused again, cocking his head thoughtfully.
After another moment, he grunted and nodded to himself, then pointing a paw in the direction of another Herdier who was idling behind them. "Timber! Find Bess. Tell him to come to me."
The Pokemon nodded quickly and scrambled away.
Yukon turned his attention back to the group with a sigh. "If this were any other season, I would let you through the mountains by yourselves," he started gruffly.
"But, unfortunately, we've been having bandit problems on the pass. As soon as the snow started, nasty group of Liepard followed. They hide in the cliffs and leap down on passerby, stealing whatever valuables they can manage."
Chiluly instinctively glanced at Chevali, who was looking at Pharaoh out of the corner of his eye. She noticed the spirit was holding both staffs in one hand, with another obscuring the heads of the staffs from view. With a start, she remembered how they were modeled to look like a Liepard and a Stoutland.
Would the staff have a connection to the Stoutland clan here…?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of another approaching behind them.
"You called, Grandfather?" the Herdier said, striding up to stand next to the group. His coat was a shining gray instead of the normal navy color, and Chiluly swore it sparkled in the firelight.
"Ah, Bess. Yes, boy, I need you to do something for me," Yukon rumbled.
Bess's ears perked up and he stood up straighter, at attention in Yukon's presence. "Yes, sir!" he answered excitedly.
"This group wishes to travel through the mountain pass-"
"But there are bandits, sir!" Bess interrupted before Yukon could finish, earning him a stern glare. The pup shrank under his harsh eyes.
"Yes, there are. That is why I called for you. You and your team are assigned with defending the travelers against the thieves and guide them safely through the pass today."
Bess's eyes widened, and he nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! Yessir! I will go ready my team right now!" He turned and dashed back through the lodge, his paws sliding on the polished wood floor.
Yukon sighed and shook his shaggy head. "Bess is a good dog at heart. He just needs to learn to control his energy."
He turned his head to look at Hawthorne, who he had obviously interpreted as the leader of the group. "Can we do anything else to assist your group before you leave?"
Hawthorne shook his head, his large ears flopping back and forth. "No, thank you, sir. We're ready to go, right?" He turned to look at the rest of them.
They all nodded, though Chiluly muttered, "Well, I could've gone for another one of those drinks." Yukon either ignored her, or didn't hear her, as he began padding in the direction of the entrance. "Then come this way. I'm sure Bess's team is already at the ready."
As they exited into the blustery mountain air, Pharaoh's low voice traveled towards her. "Hawthorne."
Hawthorne stopped in his tracks and turned back to look at the spirit. "Yeah?"
Without another word, he unscrewed the figureheads of his staffs and held them out. "Will you carry these in your bag. For me." His words were devoid of intonation.
Chiluly got the feeling it wasn't really a question.
Hawthorne cocked his head for a moment, then nodded as the realization came over him. "Oh! You're worried about them getting stolen, right? Don't worry, I'll carry them!"
He trotted over to the spirit's side so he could slip the golden sculptures into Hawthorne's messenger bag.
"Many thanks," Pharaoh rumbled, and then continued towards the group of Herdier waiting across the clearing as if nothing had happened.
As soon as the other three were out of earshot, Chevali's voice growled in her ear. "That is what I am talking about."
Chiluly frowned. "Well, I dunno. I mean, it's pretty reasonable he wanted to hide his valuables if we're walking straight into thief territory."
Chevali was silent for a few moments before speaking again. "You're right. But I still find it curious he was hiding those relics from the Stoutland, because of the nature of the figurehead."
Chiluly nodded slowly. "Yeah. I was wondering about that."
"Hey, are you guys coming?" Hawthorne called from Bess's side.
"Be right there!" Chiluly yelled and began hopping across the icy field, Chevali following. "We should keep an eye on them," he muttered as they approached.
Well, with the way this adventure is going, I think we'll have more than enough time to keep an eye on them.
Burnout hated feeling like an outcast. His family had treated him as little more than an afterthought, especially after his failure, and now he felt disconnected from this new group as well. Which shouldn't have been possible, considering Hawthorne and Chiluly could probably click with just about anyone, but here he was.
It wasn't that they weren't nice to him, it was just that the others got along better with each other. Chiluly and Chevali, who had been butting heads at first, were now sticking close to each other, and at this particular moment Hawthorne appeared to be clinging to Pharaoh, most likely for safety.
Bess was doing a good job of herding them away from crumbling cliffs and sinkholes hidden in the snow, but the looming threat of bandits still hung over them like a silent fog. So far, it had been eerily quiet on the path.
Hopefully, it would stay that way.
They were on their final stretch of the journey, according to Bess. Once they traveled through the thin cliffside path, the trail would open back out again into an easy downhill trip. On one side, the steep cliffs rose above them, disappearing into the gray cloud cover. On the other, a steep downward drop off led to the bottom of an inescapable ravine. After looking that way, Burnout was very glad he was already a ghost.
One of the Herdier surrounding them was keeping pace with him, occasionally attempting to make conversation. "So, where are you headed when you get down the mountain?" she was asking now.
"Uh- I'm really not sure," he confessed, swinging his arms idly. "We're looking for someone, but I don't really know where to start."
Her rust-colored ears perked up. "Well, if you're looking for somebody in particular, you might want to check Driftveil City after dark! I heard the local Pokemon set up big parties in the empty markets after all the humans leave and tons of people come. Even if they're not there, you might find somebody who knows them."
"Driftveil…" Burnout muttered, imprinting the name into his memory. "Thanks! I'll make sure to tell the rest of the group." Which wasn't paying any attention to them.
Before the Herdier could respond, Bess, who was leading the procession, froze and pinned his ears back. "Stay alert," he barked shortly. The rest of the group leapt to attention, bristling. "I smell Liepard."
The words were barely out of his mouth when a whip-thin shape dropped out of thin air and landed on Hawthorne's back. He screamed in terror and bucked wildly as the Liepard clawed at the straps of his messenger bag. Out of nowhere, one of Pharaoh's hands slammed the attacker off of Hawthorne's back and sent them crashing into the cliffside, leaving the messenger stunned and breathless.
"Get into formation!" roared Bess, and the Herdier around them contracted their circle to defend the travelers.
Already, more bandits were leaping down the cliff walls, hissing and jeering at them. The Herdier surrounding them growled and snapped and the circling thieves, their hackles raised.
"What do we do?" cried Hawthorne, whose legs were trembling.
"Stay close," growled Bess. "They'll look for signs of weakness-"
A sharp, pained yip cut through his words and Burnout looked over time to see one of the Liepard leap forward, grab a Herdier by the scruff of its neck and throw it away from the circle. Immediately, the rest of the Liepard rushed forward, slipping through the hole in their defenses and descending on the Herdier guards. The sounds of battle echoed horribly off the cliffs as the cats sliced through them with ease. Burnout's rust-colored companion from before squeaked in terror as a black and yellow Liepard bore down on her, vicious fangs bared.
Burnout gasped, summoning fire, before wincing with realization.
I can't! What if I hit her, too?
Before he could sort out his dilemma, a striped lance slashed at the attacker's face, making them yowl in pain. They leaned back, pawing at their injured eye and giving the Herdier enough to scramble away. It also provided an opening for Chevali to land another powerful blow, sending the thief reeling away. Chevali didn't give Burnout a second glance and he spun back around and lunged for another Liepard.
All of a sudden, the echoes changed from the pained yelp of Herdier to the terrified screeches of Liepard. Burnout watched as one cat narrowly avoided being skewered by Chevali again as it dashed away, and two more scrambled blindly through the snow, their coats peppered with needles, while Chiluly shouted obscenities at them. Pharaoh grabbed another two by their tails and flung them away.
"This is the biggest group I've ever seen!" gasped the red Herdier from beside Burnout. "Usually it's just two or three bandits, and they don't stick around long…"
Before Burnout could respond, a shrill scream pierced the frozen air. Hawthorne, in his haste to back away from an oncoming bandit, was now sliding across the icy ground on his ill-equipped hooves, and he was heading straight towards the steep cliffside.
"HAWTHORNE!" Chiluly yelled and lunged forward, but she wasn't fast enough to grab him.
Burnout's heart dropped as Hawthorne's back legs disappeared over the cliff… and hung there.
He blinked in disbelief. "What?!…"
Pharaoh grunted with effort to his right, and Burnout realized in shock that he had grabbed Hawthorne's front legs before he had tumbled into the ravine. Slowly, he pulled the Sawsbuck back onto solid ground and approached him, his face still unmoving. Hawthorne stared up at him in terrified shock, still speechless.
Everyone stood still, staring in utter disbelief and no doubt still trying to process the near-death encounter unless Bess shouted, "We still have a bigger problem!"
Everyone turned to see the Liepard gang gathering at the exit to the pass, watching them with savage sneers. Their numbers seemed to have doubled.
"How are we going to get past?" Chiluly growled, baring her claws. "There's more of them than there are of us. We're not in a great position, either." The group shifted nervously, but the Liepard seemed unconcerned.
"Oh, we'll let ya' pass," purred one of them in a gravelly voice. "Just give us everythin' on ya."
"That's what we're not going to do," Chevali said coolly. "If worse comes to worse, we run the other way. But it's never smart to turn your back on your opponent." His eyes watched them without remorse. "We may not need to defeat them all, necessarily. We just need a way to throw them into disorganization long enough to let us pass."
An idea kindled in Burnout's mind. As to not alert the bandits, he moved behind Chiluly and Chevali and began gathering fire.
Chiluly turned to glance at him, blinked in surprise and turned back to the Liepard. "We don't have anything on us, idiots!" she yelled, waving her arms.
The two thieves who still had needles sticking out of them flinched, but held their ground.
"Bull!" the Liepard who had spoken before spat. "One of you's got a bag with something in it, and the other is made out of gold!" The cats jeered and hissed, kneading their claws on the icy ground.
Burnout was beginning to feel the strain of gathering such a massive fire. It was something he'd never done, and he was beginning to think maybe he should have started practicing before this very moment.
"And what makes you think you'd even be able to beat us if we rushed you right now?" Chiluly shot back. "We kicked your tails pretty hard about five minutes ago."
The Liepard leader shook his head. "You are fools. What do you think you're going to do to us? Bark us to death?" The bandits roared with laughter again, and the Herdier growled.
Bess's head fell, his tail dropping between his legs. "He's right. We can't do this. I can't let any of you get hurt. I… I failed," he whimpered.
The flame was almost too much to contain now. "Chiluly!" Burnout hissed. She turned to face him again and balked.
"Uh, guys! Take cover! Like, now!"
Chevali narrowly avoided being incinerated as Burnout let loose his bonfire, the cone of flame roaring directly towards the Liepard. The bandits screeched in terror and scattered, though a few of them were too slow and disappeared into the fireball.
"NOW!" Chevali roared.
The group charged through the now-open pass, surrounded by steam as the snow melted in the sudden, stifling heat, and into the light of day once more.
"I don't know how else I can thank you," Bess said for the hundredth time, his head bowed so low it was almost touching the ground.
"Don't worry, Bess! You helped us through the pass, and that's all we needed," Hawthorne assured him. He still looked a bit shaken from his fall, but his voice didn't betray it.
"You can tell Yukon you guys fought off the Liepard all by yourself. We won't spill," Chiluly laughed.
Bess sighed. "I can't, but I appreciate it. It appears you're all more than capable of protecting yourselves, so this is where we'll part ways."
"Are you sure?" Chevali asked. "Those Liepard could still be waiting in the cliffs."
"They usually don't attack us if we're not escorting. They know we've learned not to carry important things when travelling the mountains."
"Whatever you say. Good luck."
Bess nodded in thanks and herded his team back towards the mountains. The red Herdier wagged her tail at Burnout one last time before trudging back up the mountainside.
"So… where are we supposed to now?" Chiluly asked, gazing towards the horizon . They could see the edge of the human world just beyond the treetops.
"Oh! One of the Herdier told me we should try Driftveil. Do you know where that is?" Burnout interjected.
Chiluly's eyes brightened. "Oh, yeah! Apparently the locals hold wild parties at night. We just have to head straight, I think!" She turned to head towards the city, but paused.
"But first…" She hopped over and raised one of Burnout's arms. "Go Burnout! That was awesome, how you saved us like that!"
The rest of the group cheered and congratulated him, and he could feel the heat rising to his cheeks. "A-actually, maybe you should thank Pharaoh. He saved Hawthorne's life back there."
Hawthorne nodded enthusiastically and nudged Pharaoh gently. "Thank you so, so much, Pharaoh. I… don't know what I would do if you hadn't been there…"
Pharaoh dismissed the attention quickly. "It would have been rude of me to let you die. You will repay me eventually."
"He already did," Chevali cut in coldly. "He kept your figureheads safe."
Pharaoh watched him without answering, and for a second dread coiled in Burnout's stomach. He wasn't exactly friends with the spirit, but he didn't like the way Chevali and Chiluly were looking at him.
Hawthorne, who was oblivious, cut through the tension. "Oh, that's right! Here you go, Pharaoh!" He trotted forward and offered the bag.
The spirit took it without another word and reattached the figureheads to their staffs. The Liepard and Stoutland head glittered almost ominously in the dying light.
"Now we're good to go!" Hawthorne said cheerfully, looking out over the expanse of treetops.
"Right! Let's get to Driftveil!" Chiluly said, hopping forward to walk with him.
Chevali's eyes met Burnout's once, a thinly veiled warning hiding in his gaze, before following Chiluly. Annoyance bubbled in Burnout's mind as he followed.
They don't trust Pharaoh. Which means they don't trust me, by association.
So how can I prove myself to them?
