A great sigh escaped Helio's lips as he slumped down into the sofa beneath him. It felt like it had been so long since he had been able to just sit and relax, there was alwayssomethingthat needed tending to, after all. Restructuring the entire Boressian Royal Court had proven to be far more difficult than he could have ever imagined. Each minor noble that came to him hadsomethingthey wanted. A beast slain that was threatening crops, a share of grain to make up for the harsh winter that had just blown through, private funding in order to open up a new mine to help bolster the strength of the royal mint.
Eventhathad proven to be difficult. With the ascension of a new king, new coins needed to be made and new heraldry to dictate the rise of the Solstrider dynasty. Statues, public works, visits to places to familiarise himself with the local population of the major cities across the Boran Empire... And in that came half a dozen noble-women all dressed in their very best to try and secure stronger diplomatic ties between their land and the throne than they'd had before. Afterall, Helio was 23, and by now he should have already had a wife. Back in Mercia, he'd probably have been married off to a Beoford woman, or perhaps one of Cornelius' less avian cousins. It was quite simply exhausting. The last thing he needed was a scandal, a one-night stand or a bastard child borne from a night where he got ahead of himself.
Come the end of those months of travel and diplomacy, all Helio wanted to do was fight something. To test out the physical limits of his evolved form and get used to it beyond a fight to the death. Which is what brought him to this blissful moment of Solitude. He'd picked a bunch of pamphlets from the mission board at random and began to filter through hem, looking for one that seemed particularly fruitful.
"Help guard my trade caravan!"No. Bandits and beasts were well and good, but he'd spent more than enough time on the road for this year.
"Recover the Sacred Bow Zephydrak!"Tempting, and it would be a good way to expand his collection of legendary weapons, but no. Zephydrak was buried way in the south-west, simply too far away for him.
"Hired hand needed for autumn harvest."Definitely not. He wasn't a farmhand, and even if he were, autumn was still months away yet.
All of these were awful options... None of them quite taking his fancy, even as he flipped through each of them. Did a battle to conquer a nation skew his perception of importance that much? No, maybe hewasjust being too picky. He needed to go and speak with the Linneans in the south-west anyway so maybe it would be best to go and hunt down Zephydrak whilst he was down there. He sighed and resigned himself to it, that's what he'd do, then. Another diplomatic mission, this time acting as a mask for his own selfishness. He placed the stack of pamphlets down next to him and made to get ready when-
"Milord?" Sebastian walked into the room, the Sawk holding a letter of some kind. Helio's heart sunk, fearing his heart-piece was ready to shatter. Another letter meant another request he had to oversee before he could do what he desired.
"...Yes, Sebastian? What is it?"
"Whilst you were... preoccupied with everything, we received a message directed to you. Would you care to read it?" The fighting-type's rocky hand extended towards Helio, holding out the piece of parchment. All Helio could do was nod and accept it.
"To he who claims himself king by conquest.
My name is Atalanta Flammschwert, a journeyman of many different organisations. I wished to join your guild, however when I made the journey to it, I found that it had been devastated by a great storm and I directed my efforts elsewhere. Now that the Guildmaster has claimed himself king, I desire to not just join your guild but to join your royal entourage. Before that, however, I need to see if you are worthy of the strength you claim to possess. Find me in the village of Tibayer, ask for their guardian. I'm waiting.
- Atalanta."
Someone wanting to join the guild and test Helio's worthiness of it to lead... Really? They couldn't have directed the letter to any other guildmember? He went to dispose of the letter and shake his head, but stopped himself. It would just be a fun, casual fight, right? He could manage that. There was just one sticking point.
"Sebastian... Where, exactly, is Tibayer?"
"It's to the south, I believe. A lumber village that lies on the River Valine. It's some days ride away from Gailtrad."
"...that far, huh?" It was still within Solkurn, but it was basically on the opposite side of it. Helio frowned as he considered it. The trip would take... ten days, if he rode there? Seven of those to Gailtrad and then another three to find Tibayer? He could pack light, in that case. The Gardevoir nodded, folding the letter up and stowing it inside a pocket. "Well, Sebastian, I would ask that you prepare Mathilda for a long ride. I'll leave in the morning."
"Yes, milord. Leave her to me."
All the enthusiasm that Helio had had going into this weeks-long trip quickly faded by the time he found himself wandering through the Ursain Woods atop Mathilda. The whole thing was an awful, awful tangle. The air itself was permeated by a thick fog that coveredeverything. Even as he lit a flame over his shoulder to act as a makeshift lantern, it was simply impossible to see more than five feet ahead of him. That wouldn't have been so bad if there were a clear path through to the village, but there wasn't. The ancient road that had fallen into disrepair as trade along the Valline became more and more common, was covered in thick roots. If they were lighter, if the fog hadn't hung in the air, then it would have been a simple issue of Helio being ill-prepared. Mathilda, although more suited to long-distance travel than her partner Clive was, was a fairy-type. Clive could've easily trampled through young roots, with his hard his hooves were, and the tougher ones could've been burnt. But no. These were thick and nasty. The trees seemingly centuries old and showed no signs of either rot or decay.
It was heartwarming in one sense, that there was still land around the continent that was entirely untouched by the blight that came from Dialga's magnanimous blessings. In another sense, it was the worst thing that Helio had ever trudged through. Such was only compounded as he wandered almost aimlessly. The canopy was thick and, were the canopy the only thing around, it would've been difficult to tell what time it was. With the fog working in tandem with it, Helio couldn't tell how long he'd been wandering or how long it was until night.
"Well, Mathilda, we've had a good run, haven't we?" He half-joked, patting the mare's neck. Part of him did worry that they'd run out of supplies here. Even if his newly enhanced heart-piece senses told him that there was nothing around shy of a pack of Mightyena or Houndoom, he was still suspicious and wary. This whole gnarled forest was the kind of place warned about in myth, where even the greatest of warriors met their ends. Mathilda, however, seemingly didn't care for Helio's joke. She huffed and shook her head, taking her attention away from the ground momentarily to tell him off.
"Alright, alright, let's just keep going. We'll getsomewherein the end, right?" The mare snorted and continued trotting on, carefully stepping over root after root. So long as they found a nice place to rest today, they could perhaps try again in the morning... or maybe Helio could use some longer-range telepathy to get in contact with his sister. Summon Cornelius and have him blow away the fog... Oh, if only. The thought of rest, however, summoned a yawn from Helio. The psychic covering his mouth as he did and feeling his eyes grow uncharacteristically heavy.
"Come on, Helio... stay awake... Stay awake..."
He found himself waking up in a bed. Beneath him, a layer of straw and atop of him a scratchy woollen blanket. He yawned as he sat up and looked around, spotting three other beds alongside him, although those ones were unoccupied. He stood himself up and appraised himself. He was still wearing his armour, Durandal rested against the wall next to his bed and, given by the level of light in the room, it must have been around noon. The door to his room creaked open, a pink-haired young woman walking in with a tray in hand, which quickly fell to the floor as she saw the awakened Helio. She winced at the noise it produced but focused on Helio before gathering what she'd brought in.
"Oh, good sir, you're awake!"
"Yeah... I am. Just." He stretched his back, glancing down at the bed again. His body felt as stiff as steel, and he doubted it was just due to the bed he had the displeasure of sleeping upon. "I take this is Tibayer?"
"You know of us?" The young woman sounded surprised, though as Helio thought about it, it was entirely logical. The village was buried deep within the woods and likely very rarely traded with the outside world. If they needed food, it would be much easier to simply hunt for it.
"I received a letter... I'm going to guess you'renotAtalanta?" The mention of that name only brought a frown to pink-hair's face and she nodded.
"I'm not, no. I'll go get her. But please, if she's your friend,take her with you." She picked the contents of the tray up off the ground and placed it on Helio's former bed – just a collection of various snacks. Some dried meat, and a small buttered bread-roll. He combined the two together and began eating as he waited.
The waiting would soon be rewarded as the Audino, as Helio figured she must've been, reappeared and behind her... Behind her was easily one of the most striking women Helio had ever met.
She stood about the same height as Helio, apair of rounded ears sat atop her head, coated in tan fur. Her hair, like fire, was a mix of intertwined red and blonde and rested, plaited up over her shoulder. Her hazel eyes were intense and focused on Helio, appraising him. Despite that, a small smile played on her face. She wore a long coat, primarily blue, with red trim and her hands were covered with long, sleek tan gloves. The same colour appeared at her feet, those akin to sturdy paws, and stretched up her legs to meet with the tails of the coat. Two things drooped down from her waist. The first of them was a wiry tail that ended with a tuft of hair that looked like a small flame, and the other an unusual sheathe.
It held a sword, one that bore a distinct curve. Far more than a Falchion's was, but slenderer and straighter than that of a scimitar. Its hilt had the visage of a wolf emblazoned upon it, a red and a blue gem making up each of its eyes. It was a blade unlike Helio had ever seen and, if this really was the Pokémon who had challenged him, he would be more than happy to cross blades with the Pyroar.
"Hey. Looks like you're not immune to the fog around here, huh?" Her voice held confidence and playfulness in equal measure. Despite her words, she didn't sound too disappointed in Helio, as if it was the fog itself that had put Helio to sleep, and had done so for others. "Lucky for you, it was me that found ya, not some wild beast."
"You were the one who- Where's my horse? Mathilda? She's alright, isn't she?"
"Course she is. She didn't take too kindly to me taking you, but when I explained myself to her, she followed along nicely enough and is happily chomping hay in the stable. She's well-trained, you don't see that too often in an older mare." She squatted down to meet Helio's eye-level and grinned, holding out a hand for a handshake. "You already know who I am. Atalanta, the one who sent you that challenge." He accepted her hand. Despite seemingly being in a glove, her hand was noticeably warm, even to Helio who was something of an expert when it came to using fire moves.
"Right. I'm awake, I'm here. Thanks for taking care of Mathilda. I'm ready for our duel, if you'd wish to go ahead with it?" Despite being the one who hadchallengedHelio, she sucked air in through her teeth as Helio returned mention of the challenge and shook her head.
"Yeah, see... It's gonna have to wait. Frankly, it's more impressive that you evenmadeit here than beating me in a fight. This fog... Yeah, it's damn-near impossible to navigate. And what do you know... it's not natural. I mean, really, when have you heard of fog that puts you to sleep?" Atalanta's tail flicked behind her in frustration and she looked at the Audino who found herself staring at the Pyroar. Not that Helio couldblamethe normal-type, but they were staring for two very different reasons.
"Of course it isn't natural, you were the one who brought itwithyou. Putting everyone to sleep so you can steal from us!" The Audino accused Atalanta, but the lioness just shook her head and sighed.
"What would I evendowith freshly cut timber? If I wanted to build a house with it, I'd have plenty of wood just from clearing a spot in the forest. Zip it." The Audino grumbled and left the room, shaking her head. Atalanta laughed slightly and sighed, plopping herself down on the bed next to Helio. "Sorry about that display,Your Majesty. As you see, these locals think I brought the fog with me. Really, I just came here for easy passage down into Mercia. Get to see my homeland for a bit before calling upon you. As it was... This dreadful fog rolled in not long after, the boats were stopped and I was left with the blame. I only took up the job defending this place to keep a roof over my head and my name clear. Frankly, you can see how well that's going for me."
"So, the reason you called on me..."
"A half-truth. I do want to see what you're capable of, see if there's anyone worthwhile fighting alongside in your guild, but... Listen, we can fight once we've dealt with whatever's making this mist, yeah? Mind doing me a tiny lil favour like that?"
Helio frowned and thought. He didn't even know what kind of creaturewouldmake a fog like this, let alone how he'd be able to find it. Afterall, wouldn't he just fall asleep whilst searching for it? He'd be just as much a liability to Atalanta as he could be a potential help. ...Though come to think of it, how come Atalanta wasn't suffering from the fog as well? As far as he knew, Pyroar didn't have Vital Spirit.
"I would, but- where would we even start? How could I keep myself from falling asleep?"
"Right, yeah, that would be a problem... I should've bought some Chesto Berries, or gathered them whilst I was out in the forest..." She tapped a paw against the ground, bringing a finger up to her chin as she thought. "Well, Balmung is pretty good about keepingmesafe from this kind of thing, so push comes to shove, we take it in shifts? The moment one of us starts feeling tired, we ask for it. I don't know if itwillwork for you, though. Or if Balmung will only work for me... Galtinum's tricky like that. Magic resistant, but it bonds to you..."
So that's how she kept herself awake and immune to the sleeping spell that the fog placed on people. Perhaps it would've been most rational to send Atalanta out there and then rush towards the creature once she'd found it, but... he doubted that'd work. There was only one thing for it then, wasn't there?
"We'll wing it. I was in the forest for quite some time before I fell asleep. I'm not sure how effective it'd be, but I can raise a protective field around myself. It should keep the worst of it out. If I fall asleep, we'll return here... Keep pushing forward until we find it. I'm assuming youdoknow where it is, right?"
"mmmm... well... No. But I have an idea. When I came to collect you yesterday, Ididfind a patch of fog that seemed thicker than the rest of them. We head over there, see if it gets any thicker, and then take down whatever's making it. Simple." The confident grin she gave him was infectious. The plan would've made Sebastian wince, the lack of preparation was blatantly apparent and this was only going to end in disaster,yethe couldn't help but be excited by it. Why not? They could handle this. Helio and Atalanta together... It was the kind of thing most of those noble daughters wouldn't have dreamt of- gods what was he thinking? He'd just met the woman and was already smitten. It's the kind of thing that Sebastian or Hylia was usually around to keep him in-check for...
As far as he knew, she was just some random swordmaiden. A mercenary. The gap in social status alone would be scandalous, let alone the fact that they'd first met whilst Helio was just off alone doingwho knew what?He could already hear the rumour mill turning. He shook his head and nodded, returning her confident grin.
"I'm in. Let's do this, Atalanta."