Wardens Eternal

Chapter Fifteen: Mount Bristle

It was becoming increasingly obvious that their mission wasn't going to be an easy one. The two Wardens had come under almost constant attacks by swarms of Doduo and flocks of Staravia. Had the birds picked another location they would have been a frustration at most, but along the mountainside, they took on the form of a deadly distraction.

The real danger came from the Geodudes' ability to blend into their home, hiding in plain sight, lashing out whenever one of the explorers unknowingly drew too close. The aching pain in Martian's side enough to prove that fact.

It was a perfect ambush, set up at a chokepoint between a pile of stones to his right and a ledge eroded smooth by the wind to his left. The Wardens had no idea that some of the stones were, in fact, a trio of the rock pokemon until one launched its attack, slamming itself into Martian's side. The luxio tumbled and rolled down the decline, quickly approaching the cliff overlooking the lethal drop below, leaving his partner to fend off three of the rock types alone.

Without any vines, roots, or anything else to stop his fall, Martian pierced his claws into the smooth stone. The moment they caught, he exclaimed at the pain of having his claws almost forcefully yanked out of his paws as he slowed to a stop, leaving sixteen clean lines dug into the face of the mountain.

Now to get back to Scarlett and even the odds against those wild Pokemon. . .

Then again, judging by how two unconscious Geodudes almost hit him as they rolled and ultimately fell off the cliff to parts unknown, Scarlett seemed to be doing just fine. The hostiles' fates confirmed by two loud cracks of stone colliding with stone echoing across the mountain.

When the luxio finally managed to climb back up to the original path, he found his partner and the last attacker in a standoff. Neither side wanted to attack, despite the Rock type's advantage over the vixen. Time to break the stalemate.

The Geodude failed to realize it's situation until the luxio's shadow was draped over him and the lion's battle cry echoed off the rocks all around them. The rock type crossed its stony arms across its face in an attempt to block the incoming pounce, but the defense did little other than soften the blow from Martian's first Metal Claw.

The Blue Warden was ruthless in his attack, pummeling the enemy with the same metallic paw until the Geodude was finally knocked out. It's damaged and pitted body was discarded as the Luxio roared out his victory, a call so loud that every Starly and Staravia nearby promptly fled, and would continue to give the electric type a wide berth.

And then he promptly fell to the ground, his cry of dominance turning into a furious growl of pain as his left paw covered his right flank. The same spot that one of the Geodudes slammed into him earlier. There wasn't any blood, none of his ribs felt broken, so it was probably nothing more than a nasty bruise. That said, it would be best to avoid any further injury to that area, he'd have to be careful.

"Martian! Are you okay?" Scarlett asked as the luxio managed to stand on his other three legs.

"Hurt, but not too bad." The luxio muttered, "Can you get an Oran Berry from my pack? It will keep the swelling down for now and numb the pain."

"R-right." The vixen stuttered for a second before opening the pocket on her partner's vest, removing one of the medicinal blue berries and setting it down in front of him.

The former human relished the sweet and juicy fruit as he ingested it, immediately feeling a notable decrease of pain coming from his side and paws. It would still take time for his body to fully recover, but the berry could ease the process and renew some of his strength.

Time to move on, they still had a kid to save. . .

Wardens Eternal

Resistance had been light since the wild pokemon's failed ambush, a Machop here or there and the occasional Doduo still trying to get a piece of the action but nothing that really posed a challenge or true threat. Still, with no guide or map to show the explorers exactly where the kidnapper was on the mountain, it was becoming a rather long search.

At least they found the pokemon responsible for poisoning and impaling the poor Marill, A Nidorino, or more likely about three dozen Nidorino gathered together, fighting to impress nearby Nidorina.

"They're fighting to impress the females," Martian whispered from their perch above the poison types, "Must be close to the mating season for them, this must be the mountain's entire population of them."

"Meaning in order for Marill to get that injury he must have fallen in there," Scarlett pointed out, "Is there any chance we might pick up his trail here and track it to Drowzee's last known location?"

"Possible, but I wouldn't count on it, no footprints, no blood trail from before this point, and his scent is probably lost by now." The luxio reasoned, "And I don't think it's smart to go down there and ask them, they are nasty enough when not trying to impress a mate."

"Marill wouldn't wander into that willingly, he had to have tripped or fallen in." Scarlett reminded herself as she looked for where the fairy type had to have dropped into the arena below. There wasn't any obvious sign of recent rockslides or anyway the ground may have given way under the little guy. No way of entering the pit without knowing what was at the bottom.

But a different detail caught the vulpix's attention: Smoke from the other side of a small ridge. She knew what that meant. If there is smoke there is fire, and where there is fire is often a campsite or structure, and those meant civilization.

That beacon of smoke would lead them to someone who could help them, or maybe even lead them directly to the kidnapper himself. Only one way to find out. . .

Wardens Eternal

"Hello? Anyone here?" Scarlett called out as the Wardens approached the smoke's origin. Looked like it was a fairly nice camp had been set up, it had the bare essentials like a campfire and a shelter but had a few extras like a few potted berries and a bucket of water at the ready.

"Yeah! I'll be right there!" A voice replied, coming from a nearby opening in the mountain wall that had been reinforced with wood beams and illuminated with candles: a mineshaft.

Eventually, a large ball of dust and dirt rolled out of the mineshaft, opening to reveal a Sandslash as he skidded to a halt on his feet. A red bandana with a green pattern was worn around his neck that seemed to radiate even more dust while he placed a hat of some sort with a large brim on his head.

"Howdy boy, little lady," The ground type greeted as he adjusted his hat again until it stayed on right, "You don't look the type to be makin' trouble, so what can I do for you kids?"

"Sir," Martian returned the greeting, "Scarlett and I are looking for someone on this mountain. A kidnapper, and his latest victim." The Warden explained.

"Sorry kid, but I ain't seen nobody but wilds since I came back up here a month ago. Reckon that don't help you none." The prospector admitted, "Not many civilized pokemon come up here, a few prospectors like myself and miners come for the ore up here but there ain't much else."

"Can you tell us anything about the mountain? Where they might be headed? Please?" Scarlett pleaded, desperate for progress of any sort.

"I told ya, nothin but a handful of mines." The Sandslash repeated before pausing, "Although there is that old thief's stash. Been there for ages, a hallow rock formation. Word is that someone hid their treasure in it, but no one's been able to get it open."

"Sounds like something that would attract a criminal," Martian thought out loud, "Why can't anyone get it open?"

"There's a big ol' rock blocking the way. Pokemon have spent years trying to move it, smash it, anythin' but the rock don't budge." The Sandslash explained, "I tried, spent a whole day slashin and grinding against that thing, all for nothin, not even a scratch. Plenty of gaps around it so Pokemon can see the stuff, but too small to reach through and snag somethin"

"Unless you are a little boy like the one Drowzee kidnapped, you might be able to squeeze through." Martian thought out loud, putting the pieces together. "It's worth taking a look, mind showing us the way?"

"Better, I'll show you a shortcut through my Mine," The ground type agreed, "I just hope you don't mind all the loose dirt and stuff, I wasn't expectin' company."

With that, the prospector curled up into a ball again and rolled into the labyrinth of tunnels, leading the Wardens to their goal. . .