The lights of Driftveil finally began to peek through the heavy undergrowth, twinkling invitingly just beyond their reach. Chiluly let out an involuntary sigh of relief and readjusted her grip on Chevali's arm. They'd only been walking for a couple hours, and he was being as strong as he could, but she could tell he was tiring quickly.

She didn't blame him, though- she imagined having your soul stolen, albeit briefly, wasn't enjoyable.

"This must be it!" Hawthorne gasped, hopping around in an excited circle before recomposing himself, though his tail still wagged aggressively.

"It is!" Chiluly assured him. She could already feel her stomach growling.

Driftveil's Midnight Market was amazing. Salesmen and traders from all over the map travelled just to spend one night buying and selling anything they could. Pokemon made clothes and garments, baked goods, incenses and other highly coveted items just to trade them at the Midnight Market. It made for a rather chaotic yet incredibly captivating scene.

But Chiluly's favorite part- well, besides the food- was the Pokemon. Just like the peddlers, the visitors came from everywhere under the sun just to get a look at the market. Most weren't just there to shop- many stayed entire nights to make friends and meet others, and more importantly, share gossip. Usually, that was entertaining on its own, but Chiluly had a feeling there would be at least one Pokemon here who had the information they needed. A murder case of such magnitude wouldn't stay quiet forever.

"Maybe we should stop here," Chevali grunted.

Burnout looked dubious. "Why? It's right there! We can see it-"

"And dragging a half dead Escavalier through a crowded market will serve us quite well," Pharaoh finished for him. "We also need a plan on how to approach this effectively. We've already lost too much moonlight."

"One of us should stay with Chevali, and the other three should go out," Hawthorne suggested. "Two of us can search for information on Queen Perry, and the other can get the medicine."

For a moment, they all stared at each other, unwilling to volunteer to stay behind. "I'll stay," Burnout finally sighed.

"No, I can do it," Chiluly injected, even though it hurt. "I've already seen it all."

"We need you to locate the medicine as quickly as possible. You're the only one who has been here before," Pharaoh rumbled.

"Pharaoh, do you want to wait here?" Hawthorne asked.

He and Chevali's eyes locked for a blistering few moments before Burnout laughed nervously and started gathering springy moss off the nearby trees. "Uh… I think it'd be best if I stayed! I'll take care of Chevali…"

Chiluly nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! Great. I'll bring you back a sweet roll."

"Aww! Thanks."

Hawthorne adjusted the strap of his messenger bag with his nose and then looked at Chiluly and Pharaoh expectantly. "Are you ready?"

"Let's go!" Chiluly pushed back the bushes and into the blinding glamour of the Midnight Market.

Hawthorne gasped and blinked the stars out of his eyes as his hooves touched the pavement. Just beyond their secluded little spot laid the most wonderful array or colors, scents and sounds he had ever seen. Pokemon bustled and ran and danced down the aisles stuffed full of magical and mysterious items for trade, and the sweet smells of fresh-baked pastry and sickeningly sweet fruit juice made his stomach growl. They'd been running on nothing but Magistrate's rations, usually consisting of compact and tasteless food meant for survival and not flavor.

"Wow!" he gasped, flicking his tail in excitement. "Can we stop and look around?!"

"After we find what we need," Pharaoh reminded him, his cold gaze already sweeping out over the crowd.

Chiluly snorted. "You're no fun. We can window shop along the way!" She hopped off into the crowd, and Hawthorne stumbled after her, trying to keep up with her as she weaved her way through the streets with ease. His larger, more gangly form made it a bit more awkward to traverse the crowded area, but he felt Pharaoh close behind, parting the bustle with his mere presence.

It wasn't long before the traders began to descend on them, noticing how Hawthorne looked both lost and in awe as he wandered along. A Levanny flanked by two Swadloon stepped in front of him and held up a silk cloth. "Can I interest you in any silk garments, sir? Only the finest, straight from Pinwheel Forest."

"Um, very pretty, but no thank you!" he managed, skirting past her and feeling somewhat guilty. He heard them hurry out of the way as Pharaoh followed.

They'd barely made it two steps before another marketer popped up in front of them. And another. And another.

"Fresh sweetbread! You look like you need some, boy!"

"Perhaps you would like to learn of your future… step into my stall, traveler…"

"Eh? I usually polish metals, but I could probably help you with those antlers!"

Finally, when they were blocked by a travelling troupe of monkeys trying to sell them some kind of paint, Chiluly reappeared and shooed them away. "Go away! Leave em' alone! Great stars, they're like vultures. C'mon, there's a little herb stand right over here," she added, turning to them.

Pharaoh looked like he was ready to strangle one of the traders, but Hawthorne was thankful that Chiluly was there to lead them away before things got heated. He tried his best to stay close to her side, not letting any more sharp-eyed vendors prey upon his wandering gaze.

Down near the end of the road, where the roaring crowd thinned into a trickle of Pokemon moving at much more leisurely paces, Chiluly led them towards a simple carpeted block where a large, elderly-looking Conkeldurr sat cross-legged. Beside him were a couple of Timburr and Gurdurr, but they'd replaced their usual boards and beams with smaller, cylindrical sticks that they were using to methodically grind up some sort of concoction of different plants.

As they approached, the Conkeldurr opened his eyes and looked up at them without betraying any emotion. "You come looking for medicine?"

Chiluly nodded. "Yep. Do you-?"

"None of you are ill," he interrupted, though his eyes lingered on Pharaoh.

"Um, yeah. One of our friends is a little sick, and we need-"

"Mmm. What ails them?"

Hawthorne flicked an ear. The old man probably only meant well, but he found the constant interruption a bit irritating.

Chiluly tapped her claws together. "Uhh… he, er-"

"He was possessed," Pharaoh finished for her. "And is exhibiting symptoms similar to any common illness, even after the retrieval of his soul."

"Weakness, nausea, headaches," the Conkeldurr hummed, and Chiluly looked at him in surprise. "Woah. Are possessions common around here or something?"

The medicine man looked at her with a hint of amusement. "They are not as uncommon as you believe."

Behind him, the others had paused their previous concoction and started on a new one. The bitter smell made Hawthorne wrinkle his nose. They stood quietly for a moment before Pharaoh started talking again.

"What do you know about the murder of Queen Perry?" The accusatory tone made the Conkeldurr narrow his eyes.

Chiluly gulped and waved her arms dismissively. "He didn't mean it like that! Um- we just- we're looking for more information on the whole case. If you have any."

The medicine man arched an eyebrow, but didn't send them away. "I have not left the forests of Driftveil in many a moon, so I do not know much of the outside world. But there are many here who do. You just have to find the right Pokemon- and ask the right questions."

Pharaoh seemed unimpressed by his vague, mysterious answer, but the Gurdurr were finishing up their mixture, so Chiluly quickly said, "Alright, well, thanks for the help! And thank you for the medicine, we greatly appreciate it."

They took payment from Hawthorne's satchel and took the small paper bag.

"Okay! Time to find some information." Chiluly crossed her arms and squinted out over the bustling crowd. "I think the best way to do this is just gonna be… start asking random people."

Pharaoh, who looked eager to escape the market, grabbed a passing Watchog by the arm and pulled her closer. "What do you know about the murder of Queen Perry?"

The passerby balked and squeaked out a "N-nothing, I- I don't-" before bolting away and disappearing into the throng of Pokemon.

Hawthorne quickly interjected before he could grab another innocent passerby. "Let's- try a different approach! C'mon, guys-" He led them to the nearest stand away from the medicine man and lifted his head up to make eye contact with the Mienfoo that was perched above the array of sweets. "Hello! How are you today?"

The Mienfoo looked up from his nails in surprise. "Oh- hello. I'm fine, thank you. How can I help you?"

"Well, actually-! We're part of the search effort to hunt down Queen Perry's killer, and we were wondering if you had any information on the suspect. Or, if you could point us in the direction of somebody who does."

The Mienfoo blinked, then cocked his head thoughtfully. "Hmm. Sorry to disappoint, but I don't know much besides the fact that she was killed by one of her rivals. A friend-turned-enemy, was what I heard? But that's all I know." He pointed over his shoulder in the direction of the busiest part of the market. "I'm sure you can find somebody who knows somethin', though. Nothing stays quiet here for long."

"Thank you so much!" Hawthorne said cheerfully, and then backed away from the stand. "See? That was great!"

Chiluly frowned. "I dunno, it didn't seem like a lot to go off of…"

"Actually, it was more than I expected," Pharaoh said. They looked at him in surprise. "He mentioned that there was a rumor of the killer being one of Perry's old friends. Now we have more direction for our questions. We need to either confirm or debunk that rumor, and if it is true, we need to find out more about who Perry was friends with."

"Woah, you're right! That's so cool!" Chiluly gazed up at him with admiration. "I forgot you're not new to this bounty hunting stuff."

Hawthorne arched an eyebrow. "Wait, if you've done this before, then why don't you know how to nicely question people?"

Pharaoh rolled his eyes. "I let Burnout do the talking."

Back at their makeshift camp, Burnout was doing most of the talking. As usual. He didn't really mind it, though. It was something he'd grown accustomed to over the many years, and his adeptness at it made things much less awkward, usually. He'd chattered on about how exciting the night market must be until he realized the sick Chevali probably wanted nothing more than to take another nap.

The Escavalier was settled across from him, leaning on a sturdy tree trunk with his eyes closed. They fluttered open occasionally, when the sounds of the market grew nearer, but for the most part he was perfectly still, willing the world to pass him by.

"How are you feeling?" asked Burnout, not wanting the other to randomly die on him. That would be embarrassing.

"Tired."

"Don't worry. They'll be back with the medicine soon." A pair of voices right outside their camp chattered above the din, and both he and Chevali tensed, but they moved on quickly, as usual.

Burnout wasn't really sure why the existence of random strangers minding their own business made them nervous. It wasn't like they were hiding, and they hadn't done anything wrong. In fact, they were one of the only groups of Pokemon doing the right thing- arguably the most honorable thing that could be done in such a situation.

He'd been skeptical of the whole situation at first, even a little begrudging, but the deeper they got, the more excited he found himself. He tried not to express it. The Celestial Clan encounter had been a minor setback to his mood, but despite the frightening run-in he found the adrenaline was something he'd missed.

Hunting with Pharaoh was probably the highlight of Burnout's spirithood. It had been many, many years ago, before Pharaoh had tired of wild goose chases and settled back into the most difficult-to-find crypt in Unova, surrounded by his garnered riches. Personally, he thought that their re-acquaintance was some sort of fate. The most heavily guarded tomb in the ancient desert didn't just reveal itself to any old wanderer- or treasure hunter.

As if he'd read Burnout's mind, Chevali said, "They should've sent you out instead of Pharaoh. If he gets impatient with questioning, he'll just rip their soul out."

It was a rather crude joke in light of recent events, but the darker humor made Burnout give a snort of amusement. "I think the others just thought it was a bad idea to leave the two of you alone." Chevali arched an eyebrow.

"Oh, you know- it's obvious you guys don't get along. Or like each other, in the slightest," Burnout added quickly. "Last thing we need is a full-on battle erupting in a public space."

Chevali huffed with a dry half-grin. "Fair enough."

They were silent for a couple moments more, but he didn't go back to resting. They both gazed out at the light leaking through the underbrush beyond their little campground.

"Do you miss this?" Chevali asked, catching Burnout off guard. "Huh?"

"Bounty hunting. That's what you and Pharaoh did, didn't you?" Suddenly, the innocent small talk felt a lot more like an interrogation.

What's he trying to get out of this? He can't get upset with me for being a bounty hunter- that's what we both are right this very moment.

"Oh- yeah. Pharaoh retired before I did, but I didn't really want to continue without a partner."

Chevali nodded slowly, his eyes still sharp and dangerous through the haze of exhaustion. "Do you trust him?"

That question was even more surprising than the last. "Um- yes? I mean, I have no reason not to. He's never wronged me. Why?"

The Escavalier paused to think before responding. "He strikes me as more of a criminal versus a criminal hunter."

Burnout's flames flickered nervously. As far as he knew, Pharaoh was no villain. Another rather shocking thought came to him. Does Chevali think… Pharaoh was involved with the murder?! It seemed like a terribly long reach to connect the two, but then again, Chevali knew close to nothing about Pharaoh. He was a generally suspicious figure by nature, and Burnout could imagine the knight was curious to know how he'd accumulated great wealth.

Before he could protest and try to defend his hunting partner, Chevali continued. "He is… shady, at least to me. But I find you considerably less suspicious. If you truly do trust him, then perhaps he is nothing more than an ancient, aloof spirit. If not… perhaps our differences will meet an end one day."

It was a rather ominous statement, but Burnout chose not to read into it, even if the interpretation was practically jumping off of its figurative page. Who would win a battle like that?... He wasn't sure he wanted to know. He didn't view Chevali with the same disdain Pharaoh did, but it still felt like it was traitorous to pick a side either way. He could only hope nothing violent would ever arise of their disagreements, because he was far too weak to stop it from happening.

When he glanced back to the knight, his eyes were closed once again, ignorant of the outside world.

Beyond the initial tip about the murderer being a friend-turned-enemy of the Queen's, their searches proved to be rather unfruitful, much to the group's frustration. When most Pokemon were asked about the rumor, they either responded with surprise, as if they'd never heard it, or merely acknowledged its existence without having concrete evidence for if it was true. Hawthorne made sure to keep close to Pharaoh, and Chiluly was never far behind, but even with three of them asking questions, the market seemed mostly devoid of any real evidence beyond grief and wild speculation.

Hawthorne even heard a few wild theories about how the murderer was Perry's secret child, spiteful over being hidden away for many years, or even better (or… even worse?), it was actually a long-lost lover who had come to take their revenge.

Those seemed particularly appalling to Hawthorne, and even Chiluly was quick to brush them off with a snort of disapproval. "Seriously. If it was her child, wouldn't the kid stage a murder and then take the throne?"

Other Pokemon suggested that they should leave the case alone, and divine intervention would solve it. That surprised Hawthorne the most out of anything; he'd always thought there was probably some sort of ultra-powerful being watching over them, but to his knowledge, the deities had never been benign.

The dragon god of ideals was said to threaten to strike down those that opposed him with blue lightning, and the land guardians were always framed as being kindly towards humans rather than the Pokemon. He didn't really blame them, though. If he was that big and powerful, he thought it would be rather overwhelming to try and solve every single creature's problems.

What about the Swords of Justice, though? He'd always loved those legends when he was a fawn. The idea of the legendary swordsmen galloping across the land and righting the wrongs of evil.

Pharaoh, however, was even more unimpressed by these theories than Chiluly had been about the others. He reprimanded them for giving in to foolish folktales rather than logic and quickly reminded them of Noot's initial clue back at Magistrate instead. It was a good place to start, but very few Pokemon seemed well-versed on valuable relics or Sigilyph activity, and especially not how those two were linked.

An eccentric Archeops who collected shiny stones and other sparkly objects rambled to them about certain ancient relics, like a gold-woven horn that was said to bring bountiful harvest when blown or a simple, round stone that was said to summon the power of a dragon, but again Pharaoh's dismissiveness made them all move along quickly, with Hawthorne throwing one last compliment towards the Pokemon's gemstone collection.

"An absolute fool," the ghost growled as they moved away. "Over half of those 'gems' had no value whatsoever, and both of those relics have been all but disproven as simple myth."

At that point in the night, the sky was slowly melting from a midnight blue to a gentle periwinkle, signalling the coming dawn. Some Pokemon were already making their way back into the surrounding woods and rivers.

"Let's just… try one more Pokemon," Chiluly yawned, rubbing away tears of tiredness. "Then we can get this to Chevali…"

The group split up to search for one last desperate clue. Hawthorne went the opposite way of the other two, closer to their makeshift base, hoping to find uncovered territory.

The area was full of a different kind of bustling now, a more organized sea of movement as most of the shoppers and stall-keepers packed up and headed for the wilderness. One of the only creatures not moving away was a haughty looking Unfezant perched upon a human-made stall. Hawthorne thought she didn't look like one who was eager to talk, but it was worth an attempt.

"Hey- excuse me! Down here, ma'am!" he called as he trotted up to stand beneath her. She barely moved her head as he approached, letting only her eyes move downwards with disinterest.

"Would you happen to have any information on the murder of Queen Perry?"

Her reaction was almost immediate. She gave a squawk of annoyance, or disgust, or some other unhappy emotion before launching from the stall and winging away into the morning air. He flinched as the cold, sharp air bit at his nose.

Ow! What was that all about?... Lots of the Pokemon at the market had been avoidant or uninterested in talking to him, but none had reacted aggressively like that.

He frowned and shook himself. Everybody had bad days. Maybe she thought he'd said something else. Regardless of the issue, it still meant that he'd have to return empty-hooved, which was quite disappointing.

He sighed and turned back to see where the others had gone, immediately noticing Pharaoh's glittering form speaking to a group of Darumaka and Darmanitan a small distance off. There seemed to be no aggression there, thankfully.

He quickly hurried over in time to catch the end of their conversation. "...good to speak to another desert-dweller. Perhaps we will find you there upon our return. Best wishes," the Darmanitan was saying.

"To you as well," Pharaoh rumbled, and the Darumaka clan continued on their way. The little ones ran through Hawthorne's legs, giggling.

He looked up in surprise, but before he could say anything, Chiluly's voice said, "Wow, Pharaoh, did you just talk to a stranger without threatening to strangle them? I'm so proud of you!"

He rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time that night and set his expression as she made her way over to stand with them, using their bodies as a buffer so that the traffic wouldn't carry her away.

"On a less happy note- I got nothing out of that," she added disappointedly. "Neither did I. Sorry…" Hawthorne said, his ears drooping.

"I did," Pharaoh said, so disinterestedly he could've been commenting on the weather.

"What?! Well, why didn't ya say so! Tell us!" Chiluly squawked, hopping up and down.

"I will tell you when we get back to the others, so I don't have to repeat myself," he grumbled, setting off in the direction of their camp without a backward glance. Hawthorne and Chiluly fell into step behind him.

"I feel like a real detective!" she told him, her eyes shining with excitement. Hawthorne's tail wagged, invigorated by her enthusiasm.

"This is so cool! I wonder where we're going next. I've been to a lot of places, but nothing like this!"

She nodded. "The human territory is a whole 'nother world, right? I hope we get to stop at another, bigger city. I wanna show you around Castelia!"

"What's that like?"

"Well, it's massive! It's got huge buildings, like Perry's castle but five times bigger, and…"

"I was informed by some passerby that if we are to find a connection to the Sigilyph, perhaps what they are guarding or where they are going, we need to head to the desert territory, past Nimbasa," Pharaoh told the group, gesturing with one of his free hands. The shadowy material reformed itself into various shapes as he spoke.

Hawthorne and Chiluly, along with Burnout and Chevali, had gathered in front of him in a semicircle to listen to him talk. Chevali had taken the bitter green medicine, and though his face had shown clear displeasure at first, he was already looking noticeably more awake.

"Nimbasa…?" Burnout asked. Hawthorne felt the same way. Everything beyond the mountains was completely new and confusing to him.

"Yes! My home!" Chiluly cheered. "The desert, I mean. And Nimbasa is a city, which I also love! Wait- Burnout, how did you get to the desert before if you didn't go through Nimbasa…?" she added as an afterthought.

"Irrelevant," Pharaoh stated before they could start another off-topic conversation. "What we have learned from this is that we need to head south as soon as possible. Does anybody object to leaving immediately?"

Nobody spoke up, so Chevali took up the head of the party and pointed them in the right direction. "Then let's go."

The others whooped and cheered, and Hawthorne's stomach twisted with excitement and apprehension as they set out. It always was this way, when they chose a new destination, and he found himself anticipating it more and more every time their journey progressed. This time, however, something was still nagging at him a little… what was it? He pondered for a few more seconds before remembering his strange encounter.

"Oh! Hey, Chiluly?"

"Yeah?" She slowed her pace to walk next to him.

"When we were at the market, I asked an Unfezant about Queen Perry and she got really upset and just flew away. Do you think that's weird?"

Chiluly thought for a couple of moments before her eyes widened. "What if… could that have been the bird that was following us before?!" The idea startled him. But if that was the truth, why would she reveal herself so blatantly when he came into contact with her?

"I doubt it," Chevali said, stepping into their conversation, and then voiced the same idea that Hawthorne had thought of before continuing. "But, regardless, that is still somewhat suspicious. Next time, keep a close eye on Pokemon who react strangely to the subject."

Hawthorne nodded dutifully and looked down at his hooves as they headed out of the forest. Did I just lose us a lead on the whole case?...

The others, however, didn't seem at all concerned with the new lead. Chiluly and Burnout were already chattering away again, and the lump in his stomach loosened while he listened to their words.

"Hey, Chiluly, what happened to that sweet roll?..."