Chapter 2: Ascending
"What's that supposed to mean?" Young Erkuli asked.
"I'm." she answered simply. "Somehow, I've been sent to this place—Naramsa. I'm sure it's the same thing that—" She paused herself, and sighed. "Never mind."
"Well, deal with that later on." Candace said, hastily moving to another subject. Erkuli gave her an angry glare. It was a very serious topic; but then again, his grandmother seemed to only care about herself at times. "It's almost dusk, isn't it? It's time for dinner! Let's see…Melanie, eat some Sitrus Berries, very healthy. Er, Erkuli…just have some leftover Rawst Berries. Vulpix, dear, what would you like?"
"Wait, what?! Uh—"
"Oh,, we have some delicious Gummis. All flavors! Hm…Red Gummis are good for Fire types. Have that." She grabbed all the food she had listed, and picked out a pair of big apples for herself. There was no table in the house, so she set the food down on the floor.
"Vulpix, it's not much," she commented. "But it should be delicious! Eat in!"
Vulpix hesitated for a bit, but she reluctantly jumped down. Like a suspicious dog, she carefully sniffed her food, and then took a bite into the Gummi. Her face was filled with amusing surprise, and she dug into the food. Erkuli was very jealous that she got Gummis for dinner.
During supper, Candace heard a knock at the front of the house. It was not at a door, but on the stone wall.
"Who is it?" she interrogated.
"Meowstic," a quiet voice answered.
"Miss Mayor!" Erkuli proclaimed with pleasure. He hopped over to the door and saw her standing there. "What do you want?"
"Oh, I'm just dropping by. Perhaps I could have a snack here?"
"Oh, yes!" Erkuli's grandmother shouted. "You can have all of our food! But, why are you visiting? As far as I know, it is not regular for you to visit the residents."
"Well," Meowstic said, walking towards the group of four. "I also wanted to talk to our guest in Sokieti. Vulpix?"
"Oh, she's right here." Candace replied. "Since she must be starving, we're giving her a treat. However, it's almost time for her and Erkuli to go to sleep."
"How unfortunate," Meowstic remarked. "I will take a short visit while you're sleeping, though. Is that okay?"
The quartet nodded.
"Good. Now, go to bed, you two. Don't be insubordinate to your guardian." She sat between Melanie and Candace. Erkuli hopped upwards a set of stairs, and Vulpix warily followed.
Erkuli hopped right into his bed, which was a nest of grass, leaves, and other soft material. Vulpix slowly crouched down.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"That…er, Meowstic? She's…just so void of emotion."
"Don't worry! She may seem scary, but she's really kind to everyone!"
"I…I guess so." She walked in a circle two times and curled up in her nest. "Good night…"
At the crack of dawn, the yelling of his grandmother woke Erkuli up. Had he really been asleep more than twelve hours ago? It seemed much minuter to him. Sighing, he walked into the main room.
It was the same meal as yesterday's supper—Vulpix still had Gummis. Surprisingly, she seemed to have been awake for a bit. "Good morning," she greeted.
He grinned back at her. His grandmother shouted, "Come on Erkuli, eat quick!"
"I've just woken up…" he mumbled like a zombie.
"SILENCE!" Candace ordered. "You have to go up the mountain soon to get the herbs from Ciad! Noon ain't that far away! If you're able to leave, you might get to the top by noon, in fact!"
"All by himself?" Vulpix asked.
"Oh, well, yes…" she said with a melodramatic sigh. "His mother is very ill—just look at Melanie, poor dear—and she needs medicine. She obviously ain't able to climb a mountain, and my old, fragile bones ain't up to the job either. Sadly, it's a lone journey for him."
"Oh…perhaps I could join him? He's so young."
"Oh, Arceus, what a wonderful idea!" Candace said even more overdramatically. "That's a bright idea you got there! Oh, you can go! You keep an eye on him, though, he's a damn klutz!"
Vulpix nodded, and jumped down. Erkuli thought she acted like an adventure was a hobby for her. Absolutely no big deal. To him, it was an adventure. For the first time in forever, he would be able to explore, and there would be magic in it all. He knew it was totally crazy to dream he'd find such joy in such a small errand, but he still dreamt so anyways.
"Come on!" Erkuli shouted. "Follow me to the eastern river!"
Vulpix followed him, and easily caught up to his pace. In no time they reached Tranquill Falls. Erkuli saw that as they were running everyone gave looks at them. He knew they were all worried about Vulpix. After all, who knew how long she had been floating, and how rough the ride had been? He couldn't tell if she was bothered by them or had even noticed.
They soon reached Tranquill Falls. While it churned loudly while flowing downhill, it silently fell from the top of the waterfall to the lake at the bottom. From Tranquill Falls, one could see that the lake covered the whole southern side of Sokieti.
Vulpix looked up at the top, noticing that the waterfall was gigantic. "How are we supposed to get to the top?" she asked. There was no clear passage to the top of the cliff.
"I'm…not that sure…" Erkuli admitted.
"What?!" she said in shock. "Your grandma sent you to the top of the mountain, yet you don't know how to begin climbing?"
"It's…it's not like I do this all the time!" he said sheepishly.
"Still, you should know how to get up the mountain! Surely, it's common knowledge, being right next to the mountain!"
"Well…probably," he replied. "But I'm just a kid! No one would tell me until I'm old enough!"
"I guess we're going to—oh, wait!"
Suddenly, Vulpix walked towards the waterfall. She walked behind Meowstic's house to the edge of the water. It was the closest she could get to the waterfall. She put her paw on the blue, white, and peaceful water, and she stood still for a few seconds. She seemed to be expecting something to happen. Vulpix sighed and shook her head, muttering something to herself.
"What were you doing?" Erkuli asked.
"N-nothing…" she said. Her face got redder than it usually was. "Looks like it'll take a while. Couldn't we go to the other side of the mountain?"
"I don't think that would be needed." a lazy voice said.
Vulpix jumped, and her six tails stood straight up. She frantically looked around the area, scanning it for the Pokémon who had said that. "W-where are you?"
"Right here," it said again. This time Vulpix could tell where it was from. She looked towards the white and blue house. Meowstic stepped outside of the murky shade of her house.
"Who are—wait," She thought for a moment, and then added, "You're the Pokémon who visited his house last night."
"Yeah! She's Miss Meowstic!" Erkuli said joyfully. "She's the mayor of Sokieti!"
"Mayor? Oh—I'm sorry."
"It is okay." Meowstic replied dully. "Go behind the waterfall."
"Excuse me?" Vulpix asked. "Why would we go behind a waterfall?"
"Because it's the easiest way to get past the waterfall and cliff." she answered. "Now, there is a small tunnel behind there. After no more than ten minutes, you should come back to the surface of the mountain. Follow the river." Without another word, she receded to her murky shadows.
Gulping, Vulpix said, "Are you sure we should go back there?"
"If Miss Meowstic says so, we should! She's the most trustworthy mayor in all of Naramsa!"
"O-okay…" she said. For the first time she was showing cowardice. Her legs were shaking heavily. "I'll go first….and if I don't call back, don't jump in."
She got into a ready position, and then sprinted to the edge. She leaped off the ground, and rolled into the waterfall.
Erkuli waited in silence for a few seconds, and then heard, "Erkuli! It's safe!"
His legs shook greatly. He wiped away his tears and tried to put a serious, brave face. He hopped as he ran, giving himself momentum. As he reached the waterfall, he took a huge jump and landed safely inside the tunnel.
"See!" he said gleefully. "Miss Meowstic told the truth!"
"I guess so…" Vulpix replied. "Let's continue."
Inside, as Meowstic said to the two of them, there was a tunnel. It was obviously not naturally made, due to the rocky stairs that made ascending much easier. The only light that sneaked into the gloomy tunnel was from the waterfall entrance and the exit at the top. Even so, the light was bare. There were a few gemstone-like stalactites on the ceiling that reflected off light, making the tunnel a bit more visible. However, the two Pokémon traversed the tunnel by staying close to the wall.
"So…" Vulpix whispered, as if a loud echo would collapse the tunnel. "Your name is Erkuli, right?"
"Yep!" he answered, his fear and tears both gone. "What about yours?"
"Oh, that's right! I've not told you. It's Inasa."
"It's pretty!" The pair then bumped into a small set of stairs, and paused for a few seconds to ascend them.
"Th-thanks!" Inasa said. "Erkuli is a cool name too…"
"My mom said it's the name of a legendary hero. He fought all sorts of monsters, and banished them from Naramsa!"
"I don't think my name is anything—oh, we're there!" They had already reached the end of the tunnel. They climbed the last set of stairs and ascended into fresh air.
The ground of the mountain was a stormy gray. Scrubs and other small vegetation were scattered across the floor. To the pair's left was the river, called Dienka River, after the mountain. When they looked back, they saw that close by was the waterfall. They could observe the whole town of Sokieti from Dienka Mountain. On the other side of the river, the land was very similar. South and downwards of them were trees, which suddenly stopped at a point below them. Upwards, most of the mountain was obscured by a menacing fog. However, bright lights broke through the fog like fireflies, showing that there was a city up ahead. It was likely a big one, due to the abundance of lights. The only things the pair could use to guide them were the lights and the Dienka River.
Inasa stepped forward. Her short breaths could be seen due to how cold the mountain was. Her legs were shaking. She was obviously still weak from her trip down the river, and she looked uncertain of her chance of survival.
"Let's go," she muttered. "We have a long climb ahead of us."