Scene Four: The Stranger

"Hey, this kid's been out for days. You think he's dead or something?"

An unfamiliar voice was speaking. A girl. Somewhere in the darkness, I could hear her. A warm hand touched my chest. "It has only been two days, Sira. He has a heartbeat. A pulse. He will wake, and hopefully soon. With all the water he swallowed, this is the luckiest outcome."

"Whatever. I didn't ask for specifics, Will. Do I look like Nurse Joy to you?"

"Not at all." The sarcasm in Will's voice brought an unconscious smile to my face as awareness seeped back into me, very slowly. I heard the unmistakable chittering of Snacks, and small footfalls traveled across my stomach.

"Good news, you're not blind. Don't need a Chansey to tell you that." The girl made an irritated noise. "Hey, the small creature seems to be onto something. I think he's waking up. Or dreaming. Who knows? Maybe too much water got into his brain and damaged him for good. Or does he always look this stupid?"

I groaned, and my eyelids finally fluttered open. It was dark, but I could almost taste the coming dawn in the air. It had a certain chill to it, but I was wrapped in a sleeping bag that kept most of it at bay. That, and Snacks' little head appeared in my vision, emitting a series of gratified chirps. High above her head, branches of trees high above rustled in a gentle breeze, bringing back the scent of pine I felt was becoming my new life. I couldn't detect the taste of rain anymore, though.

I diverted my attention to the two figures kneeling before me. Will looked in disarray, his wavy brown hair tangled with twigs and grass. Little scratches lined his face, and he was a couple days unshaven. He looked like he'd ploughed through a jungle with his face.

The figure next to him was new. Sira, Will had called her. A girl, balancing on the balls of her boots, her arms dangling in front of her, bare but for a pair of thick black bracers. The look of her made me quickly wonder if I was at all presentable. Her locks of scarlet hair fell across her face, mostly parted at the brow and cut shoulder-length, and a bemused pair of scarlet eyes looked at me, appearing untowardly bored. For such a sharp, angular face and stubborn chin, she had a cute button nose and a dip to her pursed lips that drew my eye like candy. She had the handle of what looked like a rather large sword at her back.

"No, he always does," Will joked, drawing an immediate look of ire from me. Still, his smile looked a little worried. "How do you feel, friend?"

Sira made a dissatisfied noise. "I dunno, that's a pretty vacant expression if you ask me. I've seen Slowpokes with the same look about them. Can you speak, kid?"

"Urk," I replied, and found pleasure in the smallest of grins appearing on her lips. "Looks like I can."

"Show-off," she murmured. "Not everyone can string two words together, let alone four. I'd say a Slowbro at best."

Now she drew a smile from me. So she was funny, too. Around then, though, I started to recall flashes of what happened before I awoke. The drag of the current. Snacks trying to jet through the water to get me. "What happened back there? What was that… Was it a Pokemon?"

I tried to prop myself up onto my elbows, but the act proved more than I could handle. My muscles ached like they'd been filled with fire, and I nearly fell back hard – Will broke my fall and lowered me gently. "Careful, friend. Your body is in quite bad shape. You nearly met a swift end in that river."

"Seems like you boys got on the wrong end of that Pokemon," Sira remarked, sitting down proper and crossing her legs. "At least, talk in the village thinks it's a Pokemon. Calls it the Keeper of the Old Forest, though I think that's a little inflated. Just some wild Pokemon in the woods that's gotten all riled up. That's how you came upon me." She pumped a lazy fist in the air. "I'd been tracking that thing when I happened upon your sorry butts."

"You were hunting it by yourself?" I asked. "Why was it after us? We didn't do anything to harm the woods!"

I noticed Will's glance, and an image flashed across my mind. The arrows embedded in the tree. Could it have been…?

Sira shrugged. "Probably the raiders up north set it off, though this is pretty far from their stomping grounds yet. Either way, it scattered after I pulled you and your… weird Eevee, out of the water. You're lucky as all heck. One more gulp, and you'd have been Gyarados food. Still, that's preferable to if that thing got to finish the job."

I regarded her with full shock. "Wait – you saved me?"

Sira smirked – it was an attractive look on her fiery face. "Well, I was around. Saw you go down, and your Eevee plunged in after you. Saw it change, too – Will explained that as well as he could. Willy-boy got to shore safely, but you were halfway downstream before he could even turn his head. Lucky for you, I saw it go down, and I've seen worse storms. Cutting down that river was no easy feat, but I got you before you could hit the falls."

I couldn't hide my surprise. She did look cut out for it, I had to admit. She had a definitive curve to her shoulders, developed muscles on her arms and thigh. Of course, she was pretty, too. There was definitely some kind of dark accentuation to the corners of her eyes and lashes, making her scarlet glare that much more attractive.

"Uh, thank you," I stammered – it was annoyingly tough to form a coherent thought around this girl. "I think I remember. I was being pulled down by the current. I was trying to tell Snacks to stop, to go back, but I couldn't speak underwater, and… then I think I felt your hand."

For the briefest moment, a bit of a genuine smile leaked across her face – then her brow snapped down. "Yeah, obviously you couldn't speak underwater. Don't be dumb, and maybe I won't have to pull you out of another river." She turned to Will. "Hey, Willy-boy. Weren't you gonna whip up some sort of salve on this kid so we can get going? I'm not carrying him."

Will was working on something in his hands, but a wry smirk painted across his lips. "You mean carry him any further? After all, we did make great progress thanks to –"

Sira cut him off with a ferocious look. "Well, you weren't offering," she snarled. Her glance flitted to me in clear annoyance. "Couldn't well make camp right next to that river, could we? I mean, we could have gotten further, but the fact that you weren't moving, and your little Eevee wouldn't shut up…" Her scowl deepened, and I thought a bit of a blush spread across her cheeks. "What do you eat anyway, Oran berries? I'm sure I've carried a Cottonee with more mass than you."

I was going red, too. What was I to say to this girl? How had my world turned so quickly upside-down? I mentally shook myself. She had a sharp tongue, but she'd saved me, after all. There was a kindness to her – one that she seemed to like to try and stifle, but it was there.

Will lifted up a small black mortar and pestle from his lap. I could see a thick bluish paste crushed up inside. "Moonwelt paste," he explained at my look. "Just Moonwelt herbs and water. Unfortunately, the plant is best harvested at night, so it took me some time to gather enough for this salve. Moonwelt is a strong natural painkiller native to Harohto. Alone, it is almost toxic to humans. Dilution by water is necessary for the painkilling qualities to activate for us, though many Pokemon will munch on it to the same effect." He turned to Sira. "Would you mind lifting his shirt for me? I must apply this over his lungs, where most of the damage will have taken place."

She rolled her eyes. "Can't very well do it himself, can he? Come on, you…" She knelt forward, sweeping Snacks off my chest – much to her protest. But Snacks sat near my head while Sira rolled back the sleeping bag, then slid my shirt up as high as she could. Her fingers briefly brushed against my skin, eliciting a response I didn't anticipate. On top of that, I could now see the dark purple bruising above my abdomen. Sira raised a brow at me, but said nothing as Will knelt forward, stuck two fingers in the bluish paste, and started applying it over my skin. It felt strangely warm, and dissolved quickly into my skin not long after it was applied.

When he was finished, Will scraped the rest into a small jar. He raised the jar to me with a funny smirk. "Traveling with you, my friend, I feel like I will have need of the rest before long." He stuffed it back into his bag, then got to his feet. "Allow me to go rinse my mortar and pestle in the creek, then we can see how you are faring."

He shuffled into the woods and out of view. By the faint sound of trickling water, the creek couldn't be all too far. I hoped it wasn't the same river as before.

"Think you can try standing?" Sira asked me dully, offering her hand. At my expression, she gave me a pretty smirk. "You might be surprised. Stuff works miracles, trust me. So many barfights, so much Moonwelt…"

Unsure of whether or not I could trust her, I took her hand regardless. She eased my other hand into gripping her forearm, and supported me as I pushed myself free of the sleeping roll and steadily upward. Her other hand supported my waist until I could stand on my own, and she lingered for a moment before withdrawing her hand like she'd touched fire. I teetered, but remained standing. As she stepped away, I noticed Sira was actually really tall – maybe even taller than Will.

"T-Thank you," I managed, giving her a small smile.

"Don't mention it," she waved off, stooping down to pack up what was left of our camp. Once I felt better standing, I stooped down to help. "Like, seriously. I have a rep. Imagine if all the people I bully find out I actually help people sometimes. A fucking disaster."

She startled a laugh out of me. She was actually funny, and attractive to a startling degree. It figured that our first meeting involved her saving my ass.

Once most of the stuff was packed up, she passed me a couple cut-up berries for Snacks. I had to assume Will had cut the berries, since they were so nicely chopped. As I fed some to Snacks, she pulled out a couple strips of meat and reached for a ball at her hip. This one was black and red, a bit fancier than the Pokeballs Will and I had. Two more balls sat at her hip, too.

Pressing it released quite a different Houndoom in front of me. Rather than its typical bone helmet, this one had a set of jagged, obsidian-like horns that curved menacingly around its head. Its black, slender body had orange markings like flames all over it, and a set of piercing crimson eyes. The creature emanated heat as soon as it appeared, and Snacks stopped munching her berries to stare at the new arrival.

"This is Infernix," Sira introduced, "an Ordenite Houndoom. He's been with me for as long as I can remember, since he was just a pup." She tossed him one of the scraps of meat, and Infernix went up on his hind legs to snatch it from the air in his powerful jaws.

As I watched her mighty Houndoom, I noticed something by her feet that looked familiar, and suddenly quite a few dots connected at once. I jumped to my feet, flabbergasted. "You stole my bag!" I cried out. "What the hell?"

Infernix just stared at me lazily. Sira looked ultimately confused until I had to jab my finger toward the bag. "Oh, that was you?" she asked mildly. "Funny part about when I left my home. Didn't bring shit with me. Just my sword, my shield, and my Pokemon. Not a single gold coin. Normally that gets me by well and fine, but I didn't anticipate coming here, with all these gross forests and stuff." She spoke of the Old Forest like a cemetery.

"That doesn't explain why you took my bag," I muttered, lowering my hand. Snacks took the opportunity to leap up into my arms, and I barely caught her in time to stop her from tumbling right out of my grip. "Not that I had much in it, but if I wasn't with Will…"

She chuckled. "Yeah, Mister Bags, there. Sixty percent more backpack than human, I hear. Well, you're luckier than me. Your bag didn't have shit! A sleeping roll, some dried fruit, and not even enough gold for a room at the inn!" She scoffed, like it was my fault she had to rough it. "It was okay, though. Better than nothing, that's for sure. Now Mister Bags has us set. I think he could support the village if they all had to move into the woods overnight."

Even given her complete lack of empathy, it was hard to be mad at her, and I quickly realized I didn't have much reason to be. She'd saved our lives, after all. A petty theft shouldn't change my opinion of her so drastically.

"You said you left your home in a hurry," I said. "Why? What was home?"

The scathing look in her eyes immediately made me regret my question. "Save one kid and his weird Eevee, and suddenly I've gotta give my life story?" She scoffed, annoyed, and Infernix huffed smoke from his nostrils. "Whatever. All you gotta know is, if you ever get the chance to visit my homeland – don't." Her glare alleviated a little, and she cast her gaze around. "The hell did Will go? He go and fall in the creek, too? I ain't saving his heavy ass."

I wanted to ask where her homeland was, but Will reappeared, stumbling through the brush behind me, smiling apologetically. Valor flapped her wings over his shoulder for a moment before he called her back. "Sorry about that. I did some quick scouting." He knelt down to his bag and packed away his mortar and pestle once more before shouldering the huge bag. "You two look ready to go. I estimate about a two-day journey form here. If we cut through a small deer trail I located to the southwest, we might be able to shave off that last night in the woods." Then he glanced up at me, as though noticing me for the first time. "You can stand already."

I nodded. "Thanks. My mom taught me when I was little."

Sira snorted, and even Will chuckled. "Did she teach you how to navigate forests, too?"

I smiled as I knelt to replace my bag once more, which Snacks didn't make easy. "No, she…"

I quickly realized the avenue I was about to venture down with two people I'd just met, and I quickly shut up. When I got to my feet, holstering my bag, I didn't miss Will's lasting look. He could read me far too easily for such a short time together.

I noticed Sira looked ready to go, too, waiting for me. "You're coming with us?"

Sira shrugged. "Eh, I signed on while you were zonked out." At my expression, she smirked. "Willy-boy told me you're on some big mysterious mission, and I told you mine: to hunt that damned Keeper. I dunno what happened to your squad, but it made a couple things seem crystal: I can't do this one on my own, and you lot could use my help."

I gave Will a look, who nodded shortly. "Forgive me. I thought you might consider joining me on one more task before you set off on your grand journey. Given what you displayed at the inn, and with Snacks' powers, I think you might be more than a little useful. Worst case scenario, I wager you could use some practice before you set out. We can go to the League, get you set up as an official League Trainer, and maybe suit you up with some new gear. Catch you a new Pokemon or two. It may prove invaluable experience to you."

"That, and people tend to listen when a League Trainer pokes around," Sira added seriously. "Maybe the Capital's got something on this Keeper that they ain't sharing to backwater Bytold. Either way, if you were to go and ask for help, stuff's likelier to happen."

"You actually want my help?" I asked, a little surprised. It sounded abstract, but this might be a good way to pay both of them back. It could be my first League Trainer task, something my benefactor had warned me about. I had something that needed doing, but I needed to get stronger, too. Snacks and I could both use the practice. I was sure I could use the time wisely.

"This became quite a personal endeavor for me," Will admitted, almost apologetically, fists clenched at his sides. "I do not know what became of my squad. I only hope they got to the Capital ahead of us, but we were unable to retrace their steps. The storm washed any hopes of that away. Perhaps they are ahead of us now, but…"

That sealed it for me. I pictured his squad, all friendly faces who'd stood up for me. Oliver and his bold Bisharp, who stood up for us against Lancet. Leif and his Frogadier, grinning at me in support. Alex and his Ledyba, the brave and outspoken adventurer who offered me his bag and had no problem taking a chunk out of Lancet. I hadn't committed the names of the others to memory, but all had been nothing but kind to me.

"Absolutely," I told Will, meeting his gaze squarely. "If there's aught Snacks and I can do to help, I'd be happy to."

Snacks chittered his own agreement. Will looked positively moved. "You have already exceeded my expectations," he said sheepishly. "I apologize that such a simple guiding mission has gone so terribly awry. I know your mission must be dire as well. If Lancet were to find out what happened…"

I stopped him short with an adamant look. "I need the experience. Anyway, I was dumb to think it'd be such a simple journey. Things tend to go wrong when I'm involved. But yeah, I think I need to get stronger to do what needs to be done. Me and Snacks both. So we're on board."

"You could stand to gain some muscle," Sira teased, squeezing my arm. "Will says you did pretty okay in a bar fight back in Bytold. I'd laugh, but coming from this guy…" She jabbed her thumb at Will like a private joke between us, who blinked. She then jabbed me in the chest, and ruffled Snacks' fur. "I look forward to seeing what you two can really do.

"Anyway," she almost cut herself off, like giving even the smallest compliment was taboo, and stuck out her hand instead. "Guess I didn't really introduce myself. The name's Sira Jessura. I'm an ex-knight of Orden."

I accepted her hand, and was hardly surprised when her grip practically crushed mine, but she eased it a little after a second. Snacks quickly hopped on, sealing our handshake with a waggle of his tail and an excited cry.

"I'm Ryoku Dragontalen. Soon to be League Trainer, I guess." When she withdrew her hand, I held her gaze. "So Orden is the place you ran from?"

She looked annoyed by my question, but Will piped up. "Orden is near my home. Both are medieval kingdoms much like this one, but… well, Orden has always had a penchant for the darkness. Their royal line is formed of established dark knights, each with their own elite Pokemon. They learn to swing a sword before they learn table manners. If nothing else, it serves to profess Sira's extraordinary swordsmanship skills."

She looked upset until Will's compliment. "You bet your ass," she boasted. She tapped the sword over her back, and her mighty Houndoom unleashed a snort of fire in what I guessed was some kind of theatrics. "You met Infernix, my Houndoom – but this is my sword, Sinistra. She's been my blade as long as Houndoom's been my Pokemon. Most men would wield this sword with both hands, and they'd be so slow I could cleave them in four before their sword picked up momentum." She lifted it partway from the belt securing it at her shoulder. The entire sword was a deep shade of bloodred, the surface almost seeming to flow like magma. "Me? I can use this baby one-handed, thrice as effective as any man with two hands."

I gazed at her incredulously. "You can swing that thing?"

"You named your sword?" Will asked, a little skeptically.

"She named herself," she replied easily, as though it should have been obvious. "That lance looks like it means something to you. Haven't you named it?"

Will's expression cast over a little. "Some weapons are too important to be named." He turned to me without batting an eye. "Should we move on? Do recall I mentioned our timing. I would like to leave this region by nightfall."

"And sleep in bandit territory," Sira remarked dryly. She adjusted her bag on her shoulder with her weapon, called back Infernix, and smirked at me. "You good to walk? I could stuff you in this bag if you're unsure."

I gave her what I hoped was a dirty look, and tested my legs. I couldn't contain my surprise that their mobility was almost fully back – even the sharp pain in my chest had largely abated, and I could hardly feel the sticky residue of the paste on my skin beneath my shirt.

We started out on the path, a much easier path than before. We turned out to be a stone's throw from the main path, but Will quickly worked us onto a tight side trail before the sun even fully peeked out over the mountain range to the east, now cutting deeper into nature than I had ever been. The path wasn't wide enough to walk abreast of one another, so Will led the way, occasionally slashing aside the thickest of brush with his short gladius.

I tried to pay attention to every detail as we traveled. Keeping behind Will, he occasionally stopped to inform me of things about our surroundings, details I was eager for. Much of the foliage around us now was pine or oak. Only in the highest altitudes of our hike did the trees crowd in smaller heights, otherwise they towered over us like castles.

He kept an eye on the path, and he showed me the different markings of Pokemon. Deerling droppings and tracks littered a lot of the trails, along with signs they'd nibbled at the berries and lower brush. He even pointed out spots where their evolution, Sawsbuck, would scrape their antlers against the trunks of trees to sharpen them. While Sawsbuck would mark multiple trees in a wide zone, he pointed out that Stantler would choose singular trees to mark, and all sides of the tree bore different scrapes of differing sizes. He showed me the difference between several types of tracks, from Lopunny and Bunnelby to what he believed to be a Luxio.

There were things he taught me to avoid, too. He pointed out a large, dug-out next that dangled in the trees and buzzed angrily with Beedrill. Luckily, it was far above our heads. He swerved us around the large burrow of an Obstagoon, a creature I wasn't as familiar with as some. Even the stalwart woodsman didn't feel comfortable tangling with an Obstagoon.

Sira wasn't entirely alien to the woods, either. She only explained the odd thing now and again, and if only because I seemed interested. She informed me how clouds gathered around the furthest mountains, how they would eventually throw cover over us and cause a drop in temperature. She pointed out how the darkest clouds were full of rain, but wasn't sure if we would encounter it.

Our hike brought us on a winding ascent to a plateau, and the deer trail we hiked on started to snake up the higher altitudes of the forest. The huge forest canopy made it hard to see the full extent, and occasionally it blotted out the sun in varying degrees. We saw a ravine in the eastern half of the woods that dipped even below sea level. Will scoped out the cliffs with me, pointing out how the river – despite being invisible to us from our dizzying height – caused a slight decline in the trees along its path, and how we could just barely see the mist thrown from a set of falls. While we observed, a great, booming crash came from below, and some trees toppled, creating a dusty cloud we could see from the sky. I had half a mind to learn what caused it, but Will whisked me away hurriedly. Some puzzles were best left unsolved, he assured me.

Atop the plateau, the trees stood further apart. Much of the tall grass and pine needle-laden trails gave way to a coarser stone, moss covering much of the cliffs. A bit of the path remained, only to snake around the top of the plateau and descend back on the far side.

Will pointed out a messy nest in the top of one tree. Stepping a bit into the sunlight revealed that parts of the nest caught the sunlight, and that marked it as a Skarmory nest. They were unlikely to pay us a visit unless we offered food for their young. A small group of young-looking Drilbur patrolled around a far end of the plateau, and watching them revealed a larger mole Pokemon – an Excadrill shot free of the rocks, spraying a good ten feet of soil and minerals around.

As we walked, I heard a loud, powerful trumpet like call from nearby. The might of the sound make some of the trees and bigger boulders shudder. I started, but Will put a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "Just the Donphan communicating with one another," he told me. "A few herds of them are likely near – they prefer higher elevations with great hills."

"They'll charge right off them," Sira told me with a grin. "Their shells are harder than most rocks they'll slam into, so they'll take chunks out of craggy fields and cliffsides."

"On that note, Will added, gesturing over to a moss-laden rocky outcropping near us. "This is where we shall take our first break of the day."

The three of us sat down on the moss. It was surprisingly comfy, and my legs welcomed the short respite. We brought out some food between us to share, including some fresh berries Will ciphered along the trail, and Sira had picked a few apples. I had some dried meat to contribute, though it was still from what Will gave me.

To my surprise, both Will and Sira decided to let out their full teams for food. I hadn't even seen Will's full team, let alone Sira's. Will sent out Valor, as well as the Herdier I'd glimpsed earlier – a shaggy dog-like Pokemon – and a small, furry Growlithe, sitting straight and sleek. As Will offered them his food, both dog Pokemon looked highly obedient and sat at attention, despite Snacks immediately hopping over to play.

The Pokemon Sira sent out gave me pause. First was Infernix, the mighty Houndoom who sat immediately at her side. One was a long black, violet, and red lizard with long, webbed fingers. A Salazzle, if I identified correctly. She skittered around the ground quickly, her lengthy appendages making easy work of the moss and rocks. Next to it appeared a grizzled Mightyena with darker fur than most I'd seen, its red eyes quickly taking in the rest of us, and dug its heels in.

Snacks tried to associate with all the new friends out, but many didn't seem to care much for her. Only Valor gave her the time of day, and she sat at attention next to Will, keeping a vigilant eye on the horizon. His well-trained dog Pokemon simply ate and kept near Will's heels.

Will introduced his Herdier as Rocky, and his Growlithe as Blaze, and told me a little bit about them. Rocky was from a line of noble Stoutland that were bred by his kingdom and often given to new officers. Rather than inherit Rocky, though, Will found Rocky as a wild Lillipup abandoned by his trainer, a Syaotoan army deserter. Blaze was a bit more of a recent addition, gifted to Will from a noble Syaotoan family after saving their daughter.

Sira's Salazzle, Embera, and her Mightyena, Shadowfang, were different stories. She explained how she found Salazzle as a Salandit while she served in Orden's army, protecting the poisonous fire-type Pokemon from the elements until she got home, and it eventually became obvious that they should partner up. She found her Mightyena as a rugged wild Poochyena that would let nobody near him, but she won its respect by challenging it with Infernix.

While most of the Pokemon ate, I tried to keep an eye on Snacks as she darted around, trying to get the others to play. From our sitting spot, though, Will could point out something of interest to the north – the edge of the woods. It was hardly visible from our current spot, but I could see the edges of a bold stone wall far ahead, nearly obscured fully by fog.

"The Capital," Will said proudly, scratching his Growlithe behind the ears. "Hardly visible from here, but I thought you could use the motive. One more day at this pace, and we should be there by nightfall tomorrow. Wait til you see it at sunset."

I remembered something my benefactor had mentioned. "Dusk stones?" I asked.

Will nodded. "Their city lights up like a festival at nightfall. Some say it is a beacon for bandits and raiders to find their destination in the night, but others say it keeps many wild Pokemon from finding new food in the city. I have heard the stones act as an evolutionary catalyst for many Pokemon, too. Nothing quite like the ones in my home, but…" He trailed off, still petting Growlithe and staring at the city from afar. I wondered if he missed home.

Sira nudged me with a wry smile, and her Salazzle mimicked the grin. "You might see Slowpoke more exciting than this stuffy old place," she informed me. Will gave her a glare, but she just beamed more.

A sudden noise alerted me, and I turned like a shot. I'd lost track of Snacks. Luckily, she was still nearby – but the sound came from a Pokemon who Snacks had approached. A Mareep gave her a cautious, melodious sort of 'baa!' when she neared, and Snacks chirped back. It looked fluffy, its wool a bit longer and darker than the few I'd seen in the village, its cute ears and tail both colored black and purple. Little sparks hummed around its ears, but otherwise didn't look particularly hostile. I hesitated to stand up, watching their interaction.

"A Mareep all the way up here?" Will asked, a bit stunned. He then caught my glance, and smirked. "This could be a good opportunity for you, my friend. Why not feed it some of our berries?"

A mix of trepidatious and scared, I slowly got to my feet, picking up a couple of the berries that Will offered to me. I kept low, crouched to the ground. Sira and Will watched me as I slowly, steadily approached the Mareep with Snacks.

Snacks was chirping happily, dancing around the Mareep, who just watched her and didn't seem to interact. Once I got close enough, it turned its gaze to me. It emitted another cautious 'baa!', and the reddish ball at the end of its tail started to glimmer a little.

"Not a bad sign," Will called to me when I hesitated. "Just interaction. Go on!"

Lowering to my knees a few feet from the Mareep, I held out the berries loosely in my fingertips. Snacks finally stopped prancing and sat back, more curious than anything. The Mareep looked at me, its black eyes not unkind, and emitted another short 'baa!'. Then, very slowly, it took a few steps forward on its round little legs. I noticed its hooves were defined and a bit rugged. It had little to no concern over trudging across the mossy rocks.

It felt like an eternity until the Mareep got close enough to eat from my hand, and took a step or two closer so it didn't have to crane its neck. After an encouraging look from Will, I drew all my courage, and reached in to scratch it behind the ears. It only watched my hand for a second, a bit stiff, but let me continue.

As I scratched behind its ear, it emitted a content, melodic 'baa!', and leaned into the scratches. Will chuckled behind me, and Snacks unleashed a series of happy chitters and closed the gap between them. Within minutes, both Pokemon were eating berries and enjoying scratches behind their ears.

I decided to let the two Pokemon play for a bit. Snacks was thrilled to have another Pokemon who reciprocated the effort, and Mareep appeared overjoyed to have some company as well.

"I wonder why she lives so far out," Will commented, coming to stand with me while I watched the two play. "She looks wilder than most. Her wool is darker and shaggier, but in a strange way. Their wool normally grows outward, but the wool on this one is growing back like a cloak. Her coloration is a little unusual, too, but that's not unheard of. She appears well-adjusted to the cliffs."

I glanced up at Will. "How can you tell it's a she?"

"Only by the pitch of her voice," Will admitted. "Mareep are tricky to tell, short of encroaching on their bodies to check. Syaotoan crusaders make a job of being able to discern wild Pokemon from one another, as well as to track them and know their habitations and ways of life. At my level, the lives of many basic Pokemon are generally within my knowledge."

We only watched the two play for a short time before Will got up, explaining how our muscles might relax too much if we took too long of a break. He even had us do some easy stretches to keep limber over the remaining hike.

When it was time to go, I called to Snacks. Curious, the Mareep followed. Standing next to Snacks, I noticed it might be a little bigger than the ones from the village. I knelt to greet the both of them, and they regaled me with a set of chirps and a hearty 'baa!'.

Will put one of the Pokeballs from my bag in my hand. I tested its weight, rolling the ball in my hands. The wooden ball felt oddly light and soft, the crystal on it a bit cold to the touch.

"My journey ahead may be fraught with danger," I admitted softly to the sheep. "I may have to partake in some tough battles. I don't have a choice with Snacks, but I want you to be free to choose. I'd love to let you play and frolic whenever the chance comes, too. Snacks could use a friend of… roughly the same size.

"But if you are happy in these mountains, don't let us stop you," I went on. "It is a beautiful forest, the first one of its kind I've ever seen. I'm sure the wild Pokemon here make excellent friends, too."

I had the odd feeling the Mareep understood me. It went quiet for a moment, looking over at Snacks, then up at me. A little smile appeared on its face, and it unleashed another hearty 'baa!' before it headbutted the Pokeball in my hand – and the red crystal shimmered, then the ball shot open with a bright ray of light, expanding out to cover the Mareep entirely. The little sheep vanished into the ball, which closed and tumbled out of my hand. On the ground, it started to wiggle – strongly at first, then weaker. After three or four shakes, the ball stopped, and the red crystal lit up.

I stared at it for a moment, unsure. "Did it…?"

Will smirked, clapping me on the shoulder. "Congratulations," he told me. "It tends to shake three or four times before a capture is sealed, then its crystal lights up – like mine are. That means it is an occupied ball, if you were to ever happen upon an abandoned ball. And if their crystal shatters, they are freed from capture."

Sira appeared on my other side, arms crossed. "I've never seen a capture quite like that before. Congrats, I guess. Would've been cool to see it in battle first, though. What if you caught a useless Pokemon?"

I picked up Mareep's ball, holding it a little away from Sira. "There's no such thing," I told her, sticking my tongue out. She mimicked my gesture.

"Are you going to name her?" Will asked. "If you need time, some trainers do not name their Pokemon for years."

I thought about it for a second. "Glimmer," I replied, thinking of how her dark tail lit up when she was interacting with us. "Glimmer sounds good."

Sira gave me a dry look. "Glimmer? Do you just name them the first word that pops up into your head?"

Will cleared his throat, looking at Snacks. "Clearly, but at least he was not hungry this time."

I felt my face redden a little. "It's because she ate all my snacks."

As we started off across the plateau again, I decided to try letting Glimmer out to see if she'd walk with us. She did, and she kept pace quite easily, but it was distracting to Snacks. She was too small to keep pace on her own and was usually content with being in my arms or on my shoulder, but seeing Glimmer walk on her own frustrated her. It didn't take long for me to find a solution: I let Glimmer carry her on her back. It went over well, and soon Snacks was napping deeply in her fluffy wool. Glimmer looked up at me and gave me an encouraging 'baa!'.

Our hike continued through the heat of the midday. True to Sira's idea, though, a chill began to settle in during early evening. I liked it at first, a reprieve from the day's heat, but quickly dug out my cloak from my bag while we descended from the plateau due north.

Darkness fell early in the autumn weather, and Will started seeking out our next camp before the sky even began to darken. He didn't find one, however, until a few hours past dark. He ushered us in under the boughs of a large pine tree, one that had long, bending branches that touched the ground in a sort of dome around us. Beneath its lowest branches was tall enough for Will and Sira to stand comfortably, and it offered us plenty of cover. It was laden, however, with a heaping load of pine needles and cones.

We sent out some Pokemon to help us clear out some space. I kept Glimmer and Snacks aside, dreading the idea of combing out more pine needles from their fur. Embera and Shadowfang, however, were quick to set to work, and Will sent out Rocky as well. With their help, we set to clearing out a round spot for a firepit and enough room for all of us to sleep near the base. Once the firepit area was cleared, Will switched focus to creating the pit itself, and I watched with curiosity.

He let Rocky and Blaze dig out two holes, one about ten inches around, the other narrower and upwind from the first. All the earth they dug up, he placed onto a cloth tarp. "The most important thing is to keep nature as we found it," he told me. "In the morning, we put all this dirt back."

He then explained his reasoning behind the two holes. The bigger one was for our fire, but the smaller one – which was connected to the bigger – would ventilate the smoke to outside of our den. He also had a system set up to produce less, clearer smoke, which could avoid unwanted attention as we now entered the northern section of the woods.

"And being in the ground, we require much less tinder." At this point, he reached for his black bag and pulled out a fistful of reeds. They looked fresh enough that I realized he'd probably been gathering them all day for this very reason. "You want your initial tinder to be mostly lifeless. This outer layer will be what the fire burns into overnight, so it can be a little fresher."

He used a great amount of the pine needles we'd scooped aside to form a diamond shape in the middle of the pit, then added his fresher reeds around it. "I have tinder with me just in case, but Pokemon can be very useful for this kind of thing as well – as long as they can control their fire." He gave Sira quite a look, and it made me wonder if they'd had some kind of blunder earlier.

Once Blaze lit the fire, Sira left with all three of her Pokemon, and came back an hour later, to my shock, with two slain Pidgeys. One was felled with what looked like my own arrows, which it turned out Sira had 'borrowed' along with my bow. Will didn't look overly thrilled, either, but he set up a sharp stick as a spit for the Pidgeys to cook. Will explained that, while most humans where he came from didn't believe in consuming Pokemon, it was often a different matter for the Pokemon themselves. A cycle of life was natural among them. As the smell of roasting Pidgey rose, I was glad neither Snacks nor Glimmer took any interest in the meat and were perfectly happy with berries and fruits. Will did roast a few wild apples, though, which were a treat for all involved. Even Sira admitted the crisp difference was commendable, despite partaking in Pidgey meat herself.

As we ate our dinner by the gently lit fire, we talked about our homes. Will's stories of Syaoto fascinated me. It was far from Harohto, ruled by a kind but firm king. By the sound of it, Will was also quite close to his king, a fact I recalled Alex mentioning before.

It sounded much like any medieval realm I'd ever encountered. Will, despite being a median-rank soldier, had auspicious esteem with his fellow soldiers because of his father – he left out a lot of details surrounding that, conveniently. The army divided soldiers not just by their ranking, as I'd already learned, but by their work. Will and his squad of crusaders were field soldiers, which mean they most often worked far outside the kingdom's walls and acted as supplementary forces to other realms. Other soldiers would serve in the castle, in the main army, or as auxiliary forces. The different rankings he listed off was dizzying at best. Above it all was Lord General Brom, the leading commander of an elite unit called the King's Own, as well as the entire army itself – second only to King Lionel Pendragon.

Sira didn't speak much of her home. She only elaborated on it being some kind of dark empire, virtually the opposite of Will's esteemed Syaoto. She gave no names or titles of her leadership, and actively seemed to avoid that topic in particular. A sole emperor ruled the realm, keeping little in the way of councilmen, advisors, or other assuagements to the royal family. They kept only their general and a set of vassals, powerful figures sent from other realms as a form of allegiance. Not only did she not seem happy to discuss it, but even Will shrouded over a little on the topic.

I couldn't say much about my own home. I could only reiterate what I'd told Will. I'd shown up in the forest with Snacks and my benefactor, the one who gave me all my supplies. I kept quiet on the truth about Snacks and our mission, and I was glad they didn't press on it. They were more concerned about where I'd come from and how I knew so little, but could recognize a lot of Pokemon by appearance or name. Sira cryptically wondered if I came from another plane entirely, but Will had different ideas. He wagered I hadn't walked all the way to Bytold from a place I called home and just forgotten about it, which meant I'd likely traveled there somehow in the way he explained arriving from Syaoto, and something had gone awry. If I hadn't used official methods, it wasn't unheard of.

They did explain a little more about traveling between realms, though it still sounded alien to me. Will described our world as virtually massive, and the distance between habitations could be quite severe. Many realms were inhabited and populated – Harohto, Syaoto, and Orden were but a few bigger examples of these – but even a swelling population couldn't put a dent on the dizzying amount of wilds between realms. Harohto was a continent surrounded by harsh ocean and largely on high elevation except for one port in the southeast, so people used Travel to negate that distance. Neither Will nor Sira could specify what technology was used to facilitate Travel, but compared it to the logic of Pokeballs and a type of Pokemon storage available to League Trainers.

I still had more questions than answers, but we needed an early rest to start at the break of dawn. Will took the first watch, Sira would take the second, and I would take third. Will added a few carefully-chosen logs to assist with our warmth through the night without creating a smokier fire. I curled up with Glimmer and Snacks in my sleeping roll. Snacks had already been zonked out for hours, and Glimmer emitted a soft, soothing sort of hum from within her fur that made me soon follow suit.

I dreamt of the noble knights of Syaoto and the tyrannical empire of Orden. In my dreams, Syaoto knights kept handsome and clean-shaven, with shiny armor, and were all as tall as Will, while Brom towered over all of them like an absurd skyscraper, a grizzled Ursaring at his side. Sira's dark empire was different, a shadow cast over the world. A myriad of knights stood in vast columns, all paired with frightening Mightyena or Houndoom like Sira's Infernix. A mysterious, dark-haired figure whose face was cast in shadow laughed at me, his foot on a cage. Within the cage, Snacks whimpered, covered in bruises and scrapes.

I awoke suddenly and in a cold sweat, only to hear Snacks whimpering and pawing at my side. Will and Sira were both awake and packing our campsite in a hurry. Our firepit was already covered. Sira cast a glance my way and signaled to her ear. Confused, I listened – and stiffened when I heard that distant, haunting call.

The Keeper.

I scrambled to my feet, all but forgetting my troubling dreams, gathered my things, and called back Glimmer. I put her ball back at my belt, picked up a whining Snacks, and ensured my weapons were close on hand. I wasn't going to let the same thing happen twice.

I half-expected the monster to bear down on us when we left our tree camp, but we set off unhindered onto a rushed path through the thick of the woods. Will and Sira kept close, both Valor and Infernix out, their glances constantly searching the trees. I could still hear the faint cry of the creature. After a while, I wasn't sure if I was actually hearing it or it just lingered in my memory like a haunting tune.

Will and Sira led the way across a much sturdier bridge than before. Still nervous, I took it slowly, clutching Snacks and my knife tightly. But as soon as we crossed the water, I no longer thought I imagined the noise. It picked up so sharply that it became a screech, pounding against my ears.

"Damn it!" she snarled, pushing me and Snacks behind her. "Will, let's go!"

Will sidled around me with the ease of a branch rustling in the wind, his lance drawn, Valor emitting a piercing cry at his side. When Sira drew her scarlet sword, Sinistra, I immediately felt some sort of presence between it and Infernix. Both radiated some sort of aura that made my hair stand on end. The face of her sword looked razor-sharp and like fire in the wind. Strapping her kite shield to her other arm, the huge sword clutched in one hand, she cut an imposing figure. Hearing her boast about the weapon and actually seeing her hold it were two different things.

Thinking fast, I stuffed my knife back in its concealed case. Instead, I drew the short oaken staff with the clear jewel that Kimball gave me, contained in a holster near my knife. All I had to go on was Kimball's brief lecture on how it worked. But, seeing Snacks' fur bristling in my arms, I knew I had to try.

"The hell good's that gonna do?" Sira muttered derisively in my ear. "We can't do shit but hope to scare it back where it came from. Do you even know what you're doing?"

I felt an odd synergy with Snacks in that moment, who perked up in my arms. The voice that spoke didn't feel like my own. "I won't let you stand alone."

Sira cursed. "It's fucking hopeless. Come on!"

She dragged me with her, running while scanning the trees still. Will kept close at my side, Valor's blades cutting away any brush that obscured her flight. Infernix dashed to keep level with Sira, his scarlet eyes as alert as any of us.

Without warning, Infernix suddenly let out a warning yip, and Sira spun around, her sword screaming through the air like it would ignite it, cutting a bright swath in the air. As she swung and Infernix unhinged his jaw to launch a burst of flames, a green-robed figure before them vanished, and their attacks both missed. Then, both human and Pokemon hurtled back, Sira hitting the ground hard. Infernix was sent flying into the woods, whining as he struck a tree hard.

Will shoved me aside with such strength that I stumbled down the path, and Snacks flew from my grasp. I hit the ground hard, scraping both knees badly and striking my elbow on a jagged stone. I cursed, dragging myself up, and turned.

I froze.

It was floating before me. I couldn't tell if an instant or a minute passed as I stood there, the full height of the monster in front of me. It must be taller than Will or Sira, covered head-to-toe in a ratty green cloak that smelled of the deepest, untouched corners of the woods. Only darkness stared at me from under the wide-rimmed hood, but I thought I could make out a faint, ghostly silhouette.

It floated in complete, gut-wrenching silence. Even dirt or dust that streamed from its cloak didn't make a sound. In that moment, I couldn't place just where Sira or Will and their Pokemon had gotten to, and I hardly registered that I clutched my staff tightly enough to drive splinters and pebbles into my already-scraped palms.

As silently as the night, the creature lifted an arm. At least, it might be an arm. The appendage looked twisted and black, ending in razor-sharp blades that seemed to cut the very air with a simple movement. I kept eerily reminded of an executioner's axe, hanging in the air like the very sentence that spelt certain death. Though the darkness of its cloak, I discerned the faintest glint of a single, piercing eye – a ghostly green ember. It had to be a Pokemon, I realized distantly, but like nothing I'd ever seen before.

An emotion welled up in my chest, so strongly and powerfully that it paralyzed me. I was no stranger to it, but now it coursed through me like a physical being, drawing from every last breath in my chest to feed its fire.

I felt the faintest of footfalls on my shoulder, and then heavier, as Snacks launched over my shoulder. Mid-air, her form changed. Her fiery fur blazed like the sun, her vibrant orange mane seeming to emit a harsh radiance. Flames erupted from her wild mane like a roaring inferno, and she unleashed a ferocious, intense burst of heat – straight at the Keeper.