Chapter 46: All Ears

On Orleigh, Team Traveller slumbered away in a quiet guestroom in Rasp's hostel, the only audible sound being the faint snoring of the room's inhabitants. Everyone was sound asleep - save for Elty, who stirred slightly as a beam of moonlight hit his face through the shutter over the room's window. He blinked himself awake blearily, jolting upright with a start.

"Kurczę!" the Growlithe grunted. "I fell asleep!"

The little dog padded over to where Nida was sleeping, stepping carefully across the hostel floor. With every tense step, he dreaded the possibility that he'd stumble and wake up the rest of his companions. Elty shook those thoughts from his head; he couldn't let such thoughts distract him from his objective. He was getting his bag back, one way or another.

After tiptoeing across the room for what felt like an eternity, he finally reached Nida's sleeping form. There, loosely hanging from her shoulders was his bag, the last thing he needed before moving on and leaving Team Traveller to be Rasp's problem. He lowered a paw down to the strap of his bag, pulling it away with as much precision he could muster, and-

Waaah…

"Ack!"

A sudden cry in the distance snapped Elty out of his focus, causing him to flinch and yank the bag back far harder than he'd intended. Nida and Pleo both stirred, prompting the Growlithe to give up on the bag and dive back into his bed, pretending to snore as the others were roused from their slumber.

"Nrgh… Nida?" Pleo groaned. "What's that?"

"… Eh?" the Nidoran yawned back.

U-Uwaaah…

"… I think it's someone crying," Nida murmured. Pleo's eyes snapped fully open from their prior sleepy squint, the young Protector jolting upright and looking around uneasily as an expression of startled concern settled across his face.

"Huh?!" he exclaimed. "But then we should go and help!"

"Gah… right now?" Elty grumbled, rousing himself with forced lethargy. "Listen to how distant that cry sounds!"

Uwaaah…

"I may be familiar with this place, but I'm not going around looking for some stranger at this hour!" he snapped.

Pleo and Nida looked at each other hesitantly before grudgingly sinking back into their bedding. Their own run-in with the Marked from earlier was proof enough that Rosequartz Town was already dangerous by day... so whatever they thought about Elty's outburst on the outskirts, perhaps it was better to defer to his judgment here.

"I guess…" the little Protector murmured.

"... Let's just go back to bed," Nida sighed.

"Yeah, bonehead had the right idea," Elty grunted. "I haven't heard her all this time, so she must be out like a rock on her little drawer."

Nida and Pleo watched as Elty flopped back down in his bedding, curling up against the straw under his body. The two looked back at their own bedding and uneasily settled in as the echoing wails continued outside, prompting Pleo to look in the direction of the shutters.

"I wonder why that Pokémon is crying…" Pleo muttered.

"… No te preocupes, Pleo," Nida insisted, giving an exasperated shake of her head. "I don't think it's something we can really help with."

Nida nestled deeper into her bedding, pulling her bed's blanket around her sensitive ears in a vain attempt to muffle the mysterious crying. She groaned, coming to the sinking realization that her blanket barely helped a thing.

"Urgh… I hope that Crom's getting better sleep than we are right now."


Back on Mengir's olivine-green beaches, work on repairing the Siglo Swellow had continued through the night. Pladur roused Crom awake that morning, leading his child through the ship's passages and onto the deck where they passed numerous Pokemon hard at work. The young Druddigon saw for himself several crewmates dropping off coins into a collection box as others labored on various repairs and odd jobs around the ship. One recently-finished job could be seen through a freshly patched hole in the hull, where Kiran and Ander had been waiting for them, examining the new timbers.

"One down, three to go," the Fraxure sighed.

"Well, at least there's been some progress on getting the ship back in order," Ander buzzed.

"Hopefully the payout from our work at the shrine helps close the gap, 4000 Poké ought to buy that pitch the ship needs… right?," Crom asked.

"If I remember prices back home, that should be 30% more than we'd need, but it's handy to keep a margin for error," Kiran said. "Speaking of which, have you got the receipt for our supplies, Pladur?"

"Yup, lumber, nails, roofing, and the delivery fee for bringing it up to the shrine," Pladur answered, proudly displaying a paper slip laden with sloppy runes. "Right here."

"Then let's get moving," the Swellow replied. "The sooner we get started, the more progress we'll be able to make before sundown."

With their team prepared and their materials accounted for, the four Pokemon set off for the path to the shrine they'd covered the previous day. However, before they could get more than a few paces into their walk, a Servine's voice shouted out from behind them, stopping them in their tracks.

"Hey, Pladur! Wait up!"

"Huh?"

Pladur paused and turned on his heels in the greenish sand. There behind him were Natrix and Philips darting up as quickly as their bandaged forms would allow, the Servine of the duo clutching tightly to a cream envelope in his nubby hands.

"A Skarmory brought this letter by earlier," Natrix said, handing over the envelope. "He said it was for you."

"Eh? Pat sent someone else to bring the mail in?" the Fraxure wondered, drawing a shake of his Raichu counterpart's head.

"No, he's someone unrelated," Philips responded. "Though he was insistent that you read it right away."

The two turned their heads as a scolding cry came from back in the direction of the ship. The pair muttered a few hurried and apologetic farewells before heading back off to the Siglo Swellow to continue repairing the stricken vessel, leaving Pladur behind to blink and stare down at the letter in his claws.

"Er… thanks?"

"What's it say, Dad?" Crom asked.

"Well, let's see," the elder Fraxure muttered, tearing open the letter. He squinted at the shoddy print of the message, taking a moment to make sense of the Torchic-scratch handwriting before reading it aloud to his companions:

"'I want to help your project, meet me at the fork in the path to the shrine at mid-morning,'" Pladur murmured.

"Eh? But we didn't ask anyone for help," Crom insisted. "And it doesn't look like Hertsog's handwriting."

The quartet looked to one another, unanimously sharing a skeptical expression. What a strange letter to receive out of the blue, and unsolicited at that...

"... Esto no me gusta," Ander muttered. "What if it's a trap?"

"Eh? But if the Company knew what we were up to, why wouldn't they come and bust us right now?" Crom asked. "It's not like we can just sail off right now."

"Let's see who wrote this," Kiran said. "It's on the way, and more help certainly couldn't hurt…"

Pladur moved a claw over his chin in contemplation before looking back at the letter. After a moment's pause, he stuffed the message back into his bag and turned to Kiran with a nod. The die was cast, and the four headed off down the beach, wondering just who and what would be waiting for them en route to the shrine this time.


The echoing cries around Rasp's hostel carried on deep into the night before finally abating, allowing Team Traveller to finally slip off into slumber.

"Nrgh…"

One which was rudely interrupted by the sun's rays poking through gaps in the shutters a few hours later. Nida stumbled to her feet, and propped open the window to let light in. The flowers in the planter had been damaged by something weighty pressing down on them overnight, perhaps a stray feral resting on it. Before the Nidoran could sniff and investigate the cause, she heard her teammates stir deeper within the chamber and turned to shuffle to them with a drowsy yawn. The Poison-Type lurched back and joined her sleepy companions at the door, setting off on a laggardly journey that took them down the hallway, downstairs, and into the lobby of the hostel.

"Blurgh..." Nida groaned. "What a night."

"So tired…" Pleo yawned. His drowsiness similarly spread to Guardia, who strangely enough had reddish eyes with dark circles underneath.

"You all had trouble sleeping too?" she asked.

"Eh? You couldn't sleep last night?" Elty exclaimed. "But you were quieter than a sleeping Abra during all that crying last night."

The Cubone grew suddenly silent at the Growlithe's words and shifted uncomfortably. Nida and Pleo looked at each other as the lizard seemed to pause for thought, only for the Ground-Type to shake her head and clear her throat to reply.

"… I was hoping that things would just move on a bit quicker, that's all," the Cubone answered.

Nida, Pleo, and Elty gave puzzled stares at their Ground-Type companion. Before the matter could be pressed, the bone lizard continued on, seemingly overeager to keep a topic of conversation going.

"Anyway," Guardia said, hastily changing the subject. "Now we're up, what should we do?"

Nida turned and looked at the light filtering in through the window's shutters, where some unseen Pokémon were having an indistinct conversation of some matter dealing with 'booty'. The Nidoran shook her head and raised her barbs out of disgust. The sooner they all got to Sormus and found Dimitri, the better! Though there was one complicating factor to their journey…

"Pleo," she murmured. "How's your wing doing?"

Pleo eyed his busted wing dubiously, feeling his faith in his ability to fly diminish by the second. It couldn't hurt to try, though... right? Carefully, he exercised his wing, rolling it around back and forth to make sure it didn't hurt only at a certain angle. To his delight, he realized that no matter how he twisted his arm, it didn't seem to hurt one bit!

"I- I think it's better!" he cried.

The young Lugia hastily pulled the bandages off of his wings with his beak, leaving ribbons of cloth in his wake as he hopped forward with his neck lowered to build up speed. He gave a few more beats of his wings, relishing in the feeling of wind beneath his wounded wing, and gave one last push off the ground...

"Ow, owowow!"

…only for a sudden cramp in his injured wing to throw him off-balance as he clutched it to his body, flopping facefirst into the floor with a defeated groan.

"Ow..."

"Not that much better, it seems," Elty sighed.

"It looks like it's coming along, though," Nida murmured. "If we had a way to speed it up a bit, I think he'd be able to take us to Sormus and Blackmoon just fine."

"Eh?! We can't just fly off without replacing my bone! I've already had enough close shaves since I lost it!" Guardia protested. "We don't even know where Blackmoon is beyond being in 'Imperial Territory', how do we know that there won't be danger waiting for us on the way?"

Nida paused and blinked at her teammate's protests, giving an uncomfortable shake of her barbs as the Nidoran realized that they were a little light on supplies and leads for how to get to the 'Blackmoon Village' Nerea told them about.

"Er… point. And we don't have Dimitri to ask right now about the place…" she admitted. "Maybe we could talk with someone about how to get there?"

"In this town?" Guardia scoffed. "Just who are we supposed to trust?"

"What about Rasp?" Pleo offered. "He seemed nice enough… Why don't we ask him?"

"Oh? Ask me what?"

The Nidoran looked over her shoulder and saw that Rasp had come down one of the hallways, waiting expectantly behind her. The little spike ball reared up on her hind legs and gave an uneasy twitch of her whiskers, before shaking her head, reassuring herself with all the help he'd already given the team, surely Rasp of all Pokémon would be safe to trust with such a question…

"Well... we were wondering what you could tell us about Blackmoon Village," Nida began.

"Eh? Blackmoon Village?" the innkeeper replied. "That place was destroyed years ago."

"Huh?" Pleo chirped. "What happened to it?"

"There are a lot of conflicting stories about what exactly happened," the Flygon answered. "The Empire claims it was a pirate crew who did it, but a lot of folks around here say the Empire burned down the village themselves after they tried to break away."

The Cubone stared stunned at the Flygon for a moment. A group of scarf-wearers that would destroy one of their own settlements for not following their leaders? Even the Company had not engaged in such behavior! Or at least, none that Tetsuzui and the others from the colony had ever heard of…

"That's… awful," Guardia murmured.

"What makes you ask anyways?" Rasp asked.

"Eh... you see we were supposed to head there with our friend after meeting up," Nida responded. "But he didn't really tell us where it was or even what island it was on before we got separated."

"I know it's on Pioppo Island, and as for getting there… you can still find it on maps easily enough, though I can't imagine why you would want to," he said. "The place is supposed to be cursed."

Team Traveller's eyes widened with a start, and Nida and Elty's fur stood on end. Had they heard Rasp right? If so, what did he mean by…

"…Cursed?"

"Yeah, Pokémon that get too close tend to get driven off by the island," the Dragon-Type explained. "And it's said that those who pry too deeply into the island never come back."

The four youngsters gulped and began to flush pale at the description of the island. With such a frightening-sounding island like that, it was no wonder that even a Protector like Nerea would have trouble reaching the place! But… if she already struggled so much, would they really have that much more of a chance?

"... Anyway, if you insist on going there, you could try to ask Laurens," Rasp suggested. "He led a crew from here out to the island some years ago, and got deeper in than anyone else around these parts."

"Gwark?!" Pleo exclaimed. "You're telling us to meet with a pirate?!"

"Ex-pirate," the Flygon insisted. "He currently owns a charm shop at the town market. It's on the east side of town and built along the creek that goes through there. That old alligator hasn't stolen from anyone in years… that I know of."

Nida frowned and bunched up uneasily. First a cursed island, and now having to ask a former pirate for directions? On the other hand, as intimidating as the matter sounded, Nerea was insistent that the part of the Knights' Ledger was in Blackmoon Village… or at least whatever was left of it. And if whatever was in there was important enough to keep the Company and the Empire in line…

"I think we can work with-" she began, only to be interrupted by a Cubone voice.

"But what about my bone?"

"Didn't we need to buy any supplies, Nida?" Pleo added.

"If you need to do a little reprovisioning, there are all sorts of traders in the market district," Rasp offered. "It's a bit of a shifty place, though everything you're looking for should be there, even a scavver where you can replace your friend's bone."

Nida looked to Rasp and bowed her head low in appreciation, breathing a quiet thanks to the stars that her team managed to run into the Flygon.

"Thanks for the tip," Nida said. "We'll be sure to stop by."

Nida hopped ahead, pausing at the door frame as her teammates shuffled along following her heels. After they had caught up with her, Team Traveller headed out the door and into the morning light, venturing deeper down the warrens of Rosequartz Town in search of their guide at the market.


"Ugh… how on earth did this happen?"

Back in Bluewhorl Town, Pyry's words floated around Mirlia's bar. The stools and tables were mostly vacant during the early morning hours, with the visible exception of a table claimed by a sour-faced Gabite, Trapinch, and Quilava, with the bar's Sableye help taking a nearby seat to join them. The four had finally won some much-earned rest from their Community Service, which was used in their customary way in the wooden-floored Juice Bar by taking swigs of drink from simple clay cups.

"Things were finally looking up for climbing the ranks," the Gabite moaned. "Yet, here I am stuck on some backwater island, drowning my sorrows in cheap berry juice in between shifts at a hut kneading dough with some lippy brat."

"Oi, you're not the one digging ditches and holes all day!" Pekka interjected. "And every time I just make it in my normal way, my boss complains that it's too big and a safety hazard!"

"And those little terrors at the Day Care keep sticking me with their barbs," the Quilava at the table added. "I haven't gone a single day in the past week without needing a Pecha Berry just to make it through!"

Pyry and Pekka traded blank, speechless stares at the Fire-Type, and the Sableye toppled back out of his chair. The Darkness Pokémon picked himself off the ground and gave a shake of his head, glad that he had been fortunate enough not to get the stoat's assignment on that fateful night.

"Yeah, I think you win, Kenny," the Ghost-Type sighed. "I can't say mopping up around here for that overgrown kangaroo and her kid really compares…"

"You know, I can hear you, Orlov."

The four froze and looked back at the counter, where they saw a Kangaskhan and her child looking up with a scowl in between cleaning cups. The Sableye blanched and fumbled with his clay cup, before hastily attempting to change the subject.

"Ehehe… weren't you out buying more berries for the rush tonight?" the Ghost-Type asked.

"Yes, we were," Mirlia growled. "We got them and now we're back to work."

"Why are you all still bellyaching anyways?" Minia retorted. "I heard you bragging about getting your bread put on Gwenith's main display earlier, Gabite! And your Trapinch friend was talking about getting extra apples from Mildrew just yesterday!"

The four ex-pirates traded looks with each other, before Pyry gave a stubborn harrumph back at the Normal-Type.

"Because it's the spirit of the matter that counts!" the Dragon-Type insisted.

The Kangaskhan and her child buried their faces into open paws, shaking their heads at the former pirates' stubbornness. How had they managed to last so long prior to their capture with attitudes like that?

"I can see your captain didn't bring you aboard for your smarts…" the little Kangaskhan sighed.

"Actually, now that she mentions it. What has the old boss been up to?" Pekka asked. "I haven't heard anything since we got stuck here."

As soon as the Trapinch stopped speaking, the sound of beating wings and a commotion outside rang out. The occupants of the bar turned their attention to the open windows, where they saw that an Unfezant with a brown courier bag had landed, prompting a small crowd of villagers to gather around him.

"Eh?! Pat?!" a Rhyhorn cried.

"What took you so long?" a Pinsir from the guards demanded "The entire town's been worried about the lack of word from your ship!"

"The Iron Fleet ambushed us off of Mengir," the Unfezant began. "And-"

"WHAT?!"

The exclamation quickly gave way to an indecipherable stream of confused and anxious questions to the Flying-Type. Mirlia and Minia left their posts to hear the Unfezant outside, leaving behind their ex-pirate patrons to peer out the window and sink in their seats.

"Uhm… on second thought, getting stuck by those Nidoran doesn't sound so bad right now," Kenny gulped.

"Yeah, I should get back to cleaning up around here," Orlov added. "Preferably in a backroom."

The Quilava and Sableye quickly darted away from the table and slipped into the backroom of the Juice Bar to avoid the crowd outside. Pyry and Pekka decided that it was perhaps best to similarly return to their work, hastily gulping down the remainder of their drinks before sliding off their stump-seats. Pekka left his place more reluctantly, hopping to the floor with a sighing shake of his large head-maw.

"Urgh… wonder if anyone else is having a bad day like us?"


Crom and his companions steadily made their way up the path from Fensedge Village leading towards the shrine. As they hiked, they noticed the sun began to climb higher into the sky and the shadows on the ground grew steadily smaller. The four carried along past the same fields and groves of trees as the day before, casting anticipatory glances here and there, only for their expectations to go unfulfilled.

"Shouldn't we have run into that help by now?" Ander asked. "We've gone halfway up the trail already!"

"Maybe it was just a prank," Kiran muttered.

"Eh? But it seemed too earnest," Crom murmured. "Maybe we just passed up the-"

The leaves of a nearby tree rustled, and a green, sleek-looking reptilian Pokemon clung from the branch overhead. She dropped down, landing in a crouched position as the Pokémon from the Siglo Swellow stumbled back in a start. The gecko rose up, dusting her scales off and cocking her head slightly at the four Pokemon before her who seemed frozen in shock, jaws agape.

"Oh, so you're the Pokémon working on the shrine," the Grovyle said, before giving a blinking pause.

The Grass-Type's audience traded quiet, surprised glances with one another, prompting a glimmer of doubt to surface in the lizard's eyes. She cleared her throat and gave a sheepish rub of the back of her head.

"Er, you are the Pokemon who came to work on the shrine, right?"

"Uh… that's right," Pladur said. "But who are you?"

The Grovyle cocked her head further to the side, befuddledly holding her chin in an open claw.

"Eh? What are you talking about? I'm Salvini," she replied. "Why, someone sent me a letter saying that Hertsog asked you for help and needed a few extra claws to pitch in."

The Wood Gecko Pokémon held out a small scrap of paper, upon which was scrawled a short message to a 'mon by the name of 'Salvini'.

"Dear Salvini, I heard your friend Hertsog wanted to handle something before he left," Kiran said, reading from the scrawl. "I can't make it, but I've got a few friends to help you out. Please meet them at the fork in the path up to the shrine at midmorning and help them with their current mission."

"Eh?! But we got a letter from a Skarmory saying that someone would help us with the shrine!" Crom cried, fishing out the group's letter from Pladur's bag. "... Except, we never got a chance to meet the Pokémon that sent it."

A Skarmory? The Grass-Type paused and looked blankly at the Druddigon's letter. Now that the two letters were up side by side, it was evident the two had the same handwriting, and the same style of dictation. The gecko paused with a knowing look, as a weak smile began to creep up over her snout.

"... I might have an idea," Salvini said.

"You do?" Pladur asked. "Who is it?"

"A friend of mine, he doesn't stick around places for too long," she answered, brushing off the matter with a wave of her claw. "Anyhow, you still needed that extra set of claws to help you?"

"We'd love it, actually."

Kiran gave a bat of his wings bidding the Grovyle to follow. After a short rebalancing of the satchel on her shoulders, the gecko set off, the newly enlarged group following along for the shrine in the distance amidst a new atmosphere of camaraderie. But even so, the shrine needed to be repaired before Hertsog's reassignment. While the extra set of claws would help, would it be enough to finish those repairs in time with the state they'd found it in?

"We… kinda need all the help we can get right now."


After following Rasp's directions and following the creek that sliced through Rosequartz Town, Team Traveller came to a bustling warren of stony shops and stalls punctuated by the occasional building in the shape of a Pokémon head. The settlement's status as a pirate haunt was evident from the shops in the market.

There was the berry stand manned by a Comfey that openly hung Lansat Berries along with the expected Oran and Sitrus. Further along, there was another shop tended to by a Trumbeak with harpoons mounted on the wall and with wooden tubes poking out of the backroom. Even the shipping supply store was disproportionately sized for the settlement, no doubt due to the large amount of ships in port. Although the market straddling the creek was undeniably lively, a thick aura of peril and menace hung in the air, prompting Guardia to occasionally shoot a wary glance over her shoulder.

"Are you supposed to feel like you're being watched around here?" Guardia murmured. The Ground-Type's apprehension was echoed by the young Protector in the group, who ruffled his feathers uncomfortably.

"Wait, you feel watched too?" Pleo asked. "This town reminds me of that one place in Aisle Town… except bigger and without the pretty colors."

"So then it won't be so bad now that you know what to expect," Elty snorted. "Just look around, watch your back, keep your 'nipper's discounts' to stores that won't miss the stock."

"'Nipper's discount'?" the Lugia chirped.

"Nip something quickly enough from a shop and you'll get it for free," the Growlithe explained. "Simple, really."

"Hold on, what's the difference between that and stealing-?" Guardia began, only to be interrupted by an irritated thump of one of Nida's hindlegs against the ground.

"Enough already, let's just go find Laurens," she sighed. "I think that I can see the charm shop that Rasp told us about."

The Nidoran gestured ahead at a wooded storefront set into a squat stone building with a crude sign depicting a crystal shard with sloppy runes underneath. A row of pendants dangled from the eave and charms made of various gem and glass fragments were carefully arrayed on the counter, a Feraligatr proprietor occasionally leaning over the edge to attempt to badger passersby to browse his wares.

The four youngsters made their way over as Laurens tried and failed to sway a Crabominable's interest in purchasing a protective charm, leaving Team Traveller to sit and wait expectantly. After a moment groaning an exasperated sigh, the Water-Type looked down, and quickly sprouted a toothy smile.

"Hoy, aren't you a bit young to be shopping around for protective amulets such as these?" the Feraligatr asked. "Not that I'm complaining, mind you."

"Protective amulet?" Pleo asked. "You mean like this lucky rock I'm wearing?"

Pleo fished under his scarf with a beak and displayed his King's Rock necklace. Laurens sized up the white bird's bauble, before giving a bemused chuckle at the comparison.

"Heh, I suppose you could think of it like that," the proprietor explained. "Well in the olden days, Pokémon would go up to the local shrine to this island's Protector, the Queen of Jewels, to wish for fortune and protection."

"Eh? Used to?" Guardia asked. "What happened to it?"

"It kept getting wrecked whenever the Company or Empire came by, and the place supposedly had these big crystals that weren't easy to replace," Elty said. "Eventually the Pokémon around here got tired of trying to repair it over and over again."

"Which is where shops like mine come in. They may not be as fancy as the old decorations from the shrine, but my wares are made of the same dungeon crystals mons would wish on," Laurens chortled. "Did any of them in particular catch your eye? They might be fun-sized, but they'll bring you the same luck!"

"Actually, we were hoping you knew some lore about a place called 'Pioppo Island'," Guardia said. "A friend of ours told us that you knew stuff about it you could share with us."

"Well, I do, but I can't just go around chattering willy-nilly," the alligator shopkeep answered. "Time is money, after all."

The Feraligatr's insistence drew a quartet of groans, prompting Nida and her companions to shake their heads. Even in a pirates' den, merchants truly were one and the same with each other.

"Uh… You wouldn't happen to have practical stuff behind that counter like a bone, would you?" Guardia asked. "I… kinda need that a bit more than any of these crystals."

"No," the Feraligatr retorted. "What you see is what you get."

"Then what's the cheapest thing you have?" Nida sighed.

"The small crystal there for 200 Poké," he said, gesturing at a twine pendant with a small, pinkish crystal at the far end of the counter.

The team rolled their eyes as the Nidoran slid a few coins over the counter. The Feraligatr took the glinting metal pieces and pushed them into a coin-box before passing over the amulet in return.

"Pleasure doing business with you," Laurens grunted.

"We did our part," Guardia huffed. "Now, what can you tell us about when you went to Pioppo?"

"It was six years ago, back when I captained my old ship. I'd quickly gotten into the swing of this 'civilization' thing after the Company kicked me out of my old sea den in Vollezee and eventually made a name for myself as a pirate," the Water-Type said. "At one point I was hitting my stride as the captain of the Wraaknemer. We were in the business of plundering back then, and we needed an easy score after a rougher job in Imperial waters, so rooting around a ruined town for salvage seemed right up our alley."

With the exception of a visibly unfazed Elty, the Pokémon of Team Traveller shifted uncomfortably at the towering reptile's account of his past. The Company kicking ferals out of their homes certainly didn't sound like a pleasant business, though then again, Laurens' cavalier demeanor in bringing up his career as a brigand wasn't much more reassuring. Even so, Nida reasoned that they would do well to leave no stone unturned with their lead.

"So you saw Blackmoon Village there?" she asked.

"What was left of it, yeah," the shopkeeper replied. "The place was completely burned down by the Imps and didn't have all that much left in it aside from a few coins and cheap baubles."

"Doesn't sound like anything worth sticking around for," Elty grumbled. "So why didn't you just leave after that?"

"I was, though a few of my 'mons were telling me they were seeing signs of life. Ashes from recent campfires, a small shack here or there in the woods, one of them even found a berry field," Laurens explained. "We cleaned out what we came across, and I sent out some scouts to try and go deeper to see what they could find."

"And what did they find?" Guardia prodded.

"Beats me, they never came back," the Water-Type replied. "After that, we spent the night camping out in Blackmoon Village's ruins and that's when the wraiths came."

Nida and Elty's fur stood on end, the two pulling their ears back out of reflex at the Feraligatr's ominous sounding words. She wasn't terribly sure she wanted to know the answer, but Nida pressed on, curious as to just what were these...

"Wraiths?" the Nidoran murmured.

"Big, purple cloudy spirits who nearly scared us to death. They chased us back onto our ship threatening to drag us off to the Spirit World," the ex-pirate answered. "We took off and never looked back on that blasted rock."

"And those Pokémon that got left behind?" Pleo asked.

"Those wraiths made good on their threat, I assume," Laurens said, shaking his head. "For obvious reasons, we didn't bother going back to find out for sure."

A shiver went down the backs of the four Pokémon as unpleasant mental images of being dragged away screaming by billowing clouds flickered in their mind. No wonder why no one had managed to find the part of the Knights' Ledger there! But… if Nerea was sure it was there, there surely had to be a way around them…

"But we're supposed to go to that island," Nida insisted. "How are we supposed to get anything done if there's a bunch of evil spirits floating around?"

"Wait, you're going there?" the Feraligatr pressed, raising a brow skeptically.

"Don't ask," Elty sighed. "It's something that they set their mind to and I couldn't talk them out of it, so I don't think you'll have much luck either."

"… Perhaps if we impressed them with the teachings of the dead they would be more accepting?" Guardia offered.

The Feraligatr gave a flummoxed stare at the bone lizard, with even her teammates seeming to be at a loss for the Ground-Type's logic.

"Not sure what sort of 'teachings' you're going on about, but if you're serious about this… I'd try finding out if those shacks are still around and who lives in them," Laurens suggested. "I can't say if they'd be friendly or not, but if they're still around, they'd certainly know how to get past those wraiths."

"How do we find them?" the Ground-Type pressed.

"Like so."

Laurens slid over a simple map that depicted a mountainous island with a dense forest in the middle. On a bluff near the eastern coast, a few lines depicting the paths of a town had been drawn, along with a few red crossmarks just beyond the town's fringes.

"When we were around, we saw a few empty huts with fresh bedding spread out on the floor nearby as we got closer," the shopkeeper said. "If the shacks aren't deserted, then you'll likely see something similar."

"Right. I think we can work with that," Nida answered. "Thanks for the tip."

The Nidoran hastily doodled a rough copy of Laurens' map onto a sheet of paper from deep in her bag, before she and her partners gave a hasty farewell to the Feraligatr and ventured out into the market. As the charm shop and its crystalline baubles faded into the commotion of the market, Elty gave a dubious frown and pawed at the Poison-Type.

"Was that really enough information to move around in a place like that?" he asked.

"I mean, we have a map now, and before this we had nothing," Nida replied. "That's a pretty big step up."

"I personally think we could have gotten more lore out of him," Guardia grumbled. "What about you, Pleo?"

Guardia waited for a response, only to be answered by the din of the market behind her. The Cubone turned and went wide-eyed after seeing that Pleo was gone. Nida and Elty similarly looked unsettled, trying to catch a glimpse for any sign of their teammate.

"Pleo?" she asked.

"Hey!"

Nida pricked her ears and turned to see Pleo waddling triumphantly down the lane, his beak filled with what appeared to be a brown, sugary-smelling bun. The young Protector set his treat on the ground before craning his head up to his teammates.

"So, we're shopping for supplies before we go now?" he chirped. The little Lugia craned his neck down to give an exploratory peck at the malasada, tearing little hunks off and gulping them down, blissfully unaware of the dubious looks his teammates were trading one another as they tried to puzzle out how their companion had stumbled across his treat.

"Um… Pleo?" Nida asked. "Where did you get that?"

"There was a shop with these sweet bread thingies down one of the alleys they called a 'mah-lah-sah-dah'. I used a 'nipper's discount' to get it and it worked fine," Pleo cheered, before turning back to continue pecking at his pastry. "The only thing that I'm a little confused about is why it's free. Since doesn't a 'discount' just make a price lower but not get rid of it completely?"

The Nidoran turned and glared at Elty. Of all the things that stupid mutt had to teach Pleo, it just had to be how to shoplift.

"This is your fault!" Nida hissed.

"My fault?!" Elty spat, arching his back irritatedly. "He's the one that took the damn malasada!"

"Hóigh tú!"

Nida whirled and saw a visibly livid Slurpuff storming up the path, with a small group of thuggish characters following after the Fairy-Type. The Poison-Type was under no delusions as to why they had come, prompting her to hastily tug at Pleo's wing with a squeak.

"Come on, let's get going!" the Nidoran cried.

Pleo hopped up with a startled squawk, hastily abandoning his pilfered pastry as he and his companions bolted through the market. The four tore ahead, not stopping for the yelps or angry shouts of disrupted shoppers as they eagerly took flight from the wrath of a merchant unwillingly parted from his wares.


"See anything?"

Deep inside the Crystal Mangroves, the forms of a Tentacruel and a Sharpedo floated about root-lined walls of the dungeon. The two looked here and there amidst a watery maze with seawater overhead flowing off into a void; but all the while, their search had been crucially absent of any leads towards their target.

"Just the same old scenery and ferals as the last floor," Katyusha said. "I don't see any sign of the bird anywhere."

"Ugh…" Cyanea groaned. "This just isn't our day."

"Well, we've at least narrowed things down to one conclusion," the shark offered "That Lugia and his friends didn't fall in anywhere close to the midpoint of this dungeon."

"We shouldn't even be looking for him right now!" the Tentacruel hissed. "We found him once already, and if it wasn't for the help of that lousy crab, he'd be on the ship and en route to Tidemill right now!"

The Sharpedo rolled her eyes and gave an unamused scowl. Between the dungeon and Cyanea's attitude, this search for the Protector was turning out to be more tiring than she had anticipated.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever-"

"Any luck?"

Katyusha clamped her mouth shut as a voice sounded from somewhere nearby. Squinting into the distance, she scanned the waters around her, searching for the source of the noise, but nothing made itself readily apparent.

"Who said that?" Cyanea murmured.

The jellyfish bobbed uneasily along with her partner, as the sound of murmuring filtered along with the flowing water. The two swam along quietly towards the voices as they began to hear the hazy sound of arguing. Finally, a small group of sea dwellers sporting blue belts with a red central dot design came into view. A Dewgong and a Whiscash grumbled impatiently as a Kingdra bickered on with a Kabutops, who seemed awfully familiar to the Tentacruel and her partner.

"Ah!" Katyusha whispered. "It's that crab from earlier!"

"Then he must be after what we're looking for," Cyanea growled. "Let's see if he's found any leads we haven't."

Cyanea and Katyusha hastily dove behind a nearby stone wall, peeking out from their cover just far enough to keep an eye on the targets of their eavesdropping. From this nearer location, the sound of the argument seemed a bit clearer, the pair finally able to understand most of their words properly.

"I'm telling you," a Dewgong insisted. "If they're still in this dungeon, they're not below the midpoint anymore!"

"But could they be waiting for us in a stable zone?" Dimitri asked. "Or what if they were moving and we missed them?"

"We already checked everywhere on this floor!" a Whiscash huffed. "And we did it on the last floor, and the floor before last!"

"If you'd just done your job in the first place, we wouldn't be in this mess, Dimitri!" Kuda snapped.

Dimitri and Kuda withdrew and shot hardened glares at each other. As the pair locked themselves into an uneasy standoff, a sighing voice filled the minds of the nearby Pokémon.

"Looks like it's time to head back."

"Huh?!" Dimitri cried. "What do you mean, Gersch?"

"I mean that all of the other teams are turning up nothing too, including the ones above the midpoint," the teleporter's voice chimed.

"So in other words, the kids aren't in this dungeon anymore and we've all been wasting our time," Kuda huffed.

Dimitri's Dewgong and Whiscash partners traded concerned murmurs as the crab rubbed his scythes together nervously. The Kabutops turned back to his Kingdra partner, waving his arms as he stammered out in protest.

"We- We must be overlooking something!" he insisted. "There has to be someplace that we didn't get to-"

"Dimitri, just give it a rest. We'll tell the Ataman about this and try to figure out what our options are."

Dimitri opened his mouth to protest further, but he fell silent, mulling over the teleporter's words. After a moment's pause, his gaze fell to the floor as he begrudgingly conceded his point.

"I mean…" he murmured. "If we're really sure they're not here…"

"Ugh, just hurry up and get us out of here, Gersch," Kuda growled.

Right as the Kingdra finished speaking, a blip of light illuminated the dungeon floor, revealing a waiting Cloyster. Tired and frustrated, the four Pokémon from the Khranitel Rod swam over and joined appendages to form a circle. Just after closing the ring, the mollusk teleported the whole group out of the dungeon. From their hiding place, Katyusha and Cyanea slipped out, and traded each other blank looks.

"Eh? The bird's not in here?" Katyusha murmured.

"That's what I heard too," Cyanea answered. "Come on, let's get going."

"Huh?"

"You heard 'em, the sea god's not here and those kocevniki outnumber us," the Tentacruel insisted. "We're better off going back to the ship and tipping off the Captain."

"Right."

The Tentacruel moved a tentacle towards her scarf, and after running it along the metal badge affixed to it, she clung down on it and began to speak.

"Schuster? Come and get us out of here," she said. "We've just stumbled across something big."


Author's Notes:

- Esto no me gusta - Spanish: "I don't like this"
- Wraaknemer - Dutch: "Avenger", lit. "Revenge Taker".
- Hóigh tú! - Irish: "Hey you!"
- kocevniki (кочeвники) - Russian: "nomads" (BGN/PCGN Romanization)