Chapter 27 - Ambush
Es ist nicht bekannt, wie es dazu kam, dass die Götter unserer Welt Attribute und Domänen erhielten, aber ob es Schicksal oder Absicht war, die drei Götter, die aus den Fragmenten der größeren Macht des namenlosen Drachen hervorgegangen sind, scheinen von Natur aus im Gleichgewicht zueinander zu sein:
Die Göttin „Wirklichkeit", die Drachin des Wahren Weißes, scheint sich unabhängig von den Berufungen, denen sie im Laufe ihres Lebens folgt, immer zu denen hingezogen zu fühlen, die nach der Wahrheit streben. Und in einem Leben nach dem anderen ist sie am meisten beleidigt von denen, die die Wirklichkeit missachten und der Gier verfallen.
Der Gott „Wunsch", der Drache des Reinen Schwarzes, der sich im Laufe seines Lebens denen mit starken Idealen und dem Wunsch, diese zu verwirklichen, nähert. Immer wieder wird er am meisten beleidigt über diejenigen, von denen er glaubt, dass sie den Sinn für Gerechtigkeit ihres Herzens verloren und ihre Ideale aufgegeben haben.
Zwei Gegensätze, mit einer Schwelle dazwischen, die die Macht hat, als Grenze zu dienen. Eine Macht, von der man sagt, sie sei noch größer, eingeengt durch eine natürliche Tendenz zur Unentschlossenheit und Neigung zur Zurückgezogenheit, jedoch trotzdem ausreichend, um auch Wunsch sowie Wirklichkeit nach Belieben ihrem Willen zu unterwerfen.
Jeder Gott ist ein Wesen mit großer Macht, so dass es verschwommene Mythen gibt, dass bereits einer der drei Drachen in der Lage sei, ganze Königreiche mit Feuer, Blitz oder Eis zu vernichten, wenn dessen Macht am größten ist. Mythen, die nach dem, was wir über ihre Heldentaten in der aufgezeichneten Geschichte wissen, wahrscheinlich durchaus in der Lage sind, sie zu verwirklichen.
Die Gunst dieser Götter hat im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes das Schicksal und die Geschichte ganzer Länder geprägt, und es überrascht nicht, dass Kriege nur deshalb geführt wurden, um einem Champion die Chance zu geben, sich ihre Gunst zu sichern.
- Auszug aus »Ein und Alles - Von Göttern eines Landes von Schwarz und Weiß«
Lyle's heart skipped a beat and he flattened his ears against his head as fire continued to smolder from his vents. He suddenly realized his mouth was hanging wide open, as the Corvisquire's words repeated in his head:
"That Axew with you is the Dyad of the Nameless Dragon: the reincarnation of the entity who begets our land's patron goddess and her counterparts."
He shook sense back into his face. I-Irune? The reincarnation of a god?
A quick glimpse at Kate and Dalton revealed both of them were as shocked as he was, with their eyes visibly shrunken to pins. Meanwhile, Irune had dropped that book in her hands and suddenly looked a lot paler than Lyle remembered.
"Wh-What do you hope to gain by telling them that?!" the Axew stammered.
The Corvisquire frowned briefly and ruffled her feathers in reply.
"... I'm surprised that you didn't tell them about why we were searching for you, Dyad. After all this time, I would've thought you would've changed your habits by now," Sophia said, a hint of disappointment in her voice. "Even if much about you is still a mystery to you and me, the logical conclusion of what we do know is clear."
Lyle briefly felt the fire in his vents pulse. Irune… hid this from them? She knew that she was some sort of god all this time? He turned over to Irune, staring at her wide-eyed.
"Irune, sh-she's wrong, right?" he asked. "You're just some kid that's gotten into trouble. N-Not some 'Nameless Dragon', right?"
The Axew froze at the Quilava's question, and the way she visibly squirmed made Lyle's fur stand on end. This should've been the simplest thing in the world for Irune to say 'yes' back to, even if she was just lying through her teeth. And yet Irune looked like he'd just jammed an Iron Thorn up against her throat.
"I… I don't know for sure that I'm-"
"W-Wait, are you all serious right now?!" Kate spluttered. "This is nonsense! Irune's just a normal Axew!"
Lyle stole a glance at the Sneasel as her fur bristled in frustration. Gods, he hoped Kate said that more quietly than it'd sounded to him. There weren't any immediate footsteps, so at least they were still alone, even if it didn't change anything about the Grünhäuter cornering them at the moment.
"Really now? There's nothing at all that you've witnessed of this 'normal Axew' here that has been strange?" Sophia asked. "No power you've seen from her that you've never been able to explain? No mannerisms that she struggled with as a Pokémon of your sort?"
Dead silence. They all knew what they'd seen from Irune back in Primordial Woods and then in Errberk Village. Irune had wanted to come to this city in the first place because she knew something wasn't normal about her. His eyes drifted back towards the Corvisquire as she stared down at Irune and shook her head.
"It's not just her powers that reflect the gods slumbering within her either. Has she even been able to tell a blunt lie to you the entire time you've been together?" the crow asked. "It's been something that Lacan and I have yet to see her do convincingly. The closest we've seen her manage to it is when she chooses to reveal bits and pieces of a truthful answer."
Lyle briefly stole a glimpse at his teammates, the others were staring at Irune, while the Axew was visibly trembling, with her expression looking almost like she was staring down a charge of enemy soldiers.
So she did know about everything all this time… even before they freed her on that very first night back at the wagon.
He began to inch back from the Axew and saw Kate visibly bite her lip, only to stop after seeing the Corvisquire staring at him.
"A normal Axew pursued by soldiers of the realm would surely be able to easily tell you that she isn't from Freeden Village," she said. "The entire reason we came across her in the first place last year was because of an altercation she got into with a guard there in which she attacked him with a gout of flame that looked like a fiery cross-"
"St-Stop! Please!"
Lyle turned over to Irune as she clutched her head sucking in sharp breaths. It dawned on him that for the first time since they'd met, Irune looked like she was about to cry. The Quilava gaped blankly, and heard Kate and Dalton letting out worried murmurs before he looked back at Sophia. The soldier's expression briefly wavered after seeing Irune's duress, before she shook her head and let out a low sigh.
"I thought as much," Sophia murmured. "But there's no reason for us to come to blows here, Dyad..."
Sophia held out a wing towards the Axew, who shrank back by reflex. Something about the Corvisquire's expression seemed to soften, and for a second, Lyle could've sworn Sophia looked less like a hardened soldier approaching a cornered foe and more like a caretaker trying to calm a frightened child.
"This realm needs the aid of that power that slumbers within you," she explained. "It is the only hope we have of bringing this war to an end. The lives of untold thousands hinge on whether or not we're able to successfully draw it out at the right time and place."
Lyle had to catch himself to make sure he wasn't hearing things. 'Bringing this war to an end'? With a kid who was frozen in place as if she'd been hit by a Petrify Orb? Even if Irune really was this 'Nameless Dragon', it wasn't as if that glorified Fire Blast and Shock Wave was going to end a war!
There was something else that was bugging him. Why hadn't Sophia told them how the army was going to end this war with Irune's help? Or even given some sort of hint? If the Corvisquire was being truthful, then somehow, Reshiram—the patron goddess of Varhyde and stalwart defender across her lives—was deep inside of Irune somehow.
"So then why does she keep running away from you then?" Dalton demanded.
There was a long silence afterwards as Lyle felt his stomach start to knot up. Why didn't the crow answer? Wasn't their plan to get Reshiram from that 'Nameless Dragon' and have her fight alongside the army? It wasn't as if Reshiram hadn't done so since the earliest years of Varhyde, so was she not expecting them to like the answer? What was the army going to do with the other two gods in her? Were they going to have to hurt Irune in order to bring them back?
Every question that came to mind just made that feeling in his stomach worse and worse. But what were they supposed to do? The moment that Corvisquire called for her buddies, every soldier in this library would be on their asses!
"Dyad."
Lyle snapped to attention and saw Sophia staring straight at him for a moment, before turning back to Irune and staring intently.
"These three seem to mean something to you, more than I was expecting for how little time you've spent together. Considering how this past year has gone, I can understand if you're afraid for them," the crow said. "So let me do what I can to put your mind at peace about everything. Lacan and I have been close friends since childhood, and even if he can sometimes be mercurial, he respects my judgment."
The Corvisquire stooped and motioned forward with a wing with an almost pleading expression. Was… this really the same 'mon that had wounded Alvin and kept him from retreating back in Waterhead Cave? The same one who'd tangled Hermes' wings over the jungles outside Primordial Woods?
She seemed so… sad. Like she was trying her hardest to be kind when she wasn't supposed to be.
"If you come quietly, I'll ensure that he lets these friends you've made leave peacefully and have a chance to put their pasts behind them. Even if I have to put my wings on the scale to make it happen," Sophia insisted. "I don't make promises like these glibly. And you know as well as I do what their likely fates will be if they stay on these present paths of theirs."
A chance to leave? To put everything behind them? Lyle looked at Kate, who seemed frozen for a moment. Probably because like him, she wasn't sure what to do. A… chance to go home? To not be chased around by snarling guards and or constantly fearing for his life and limb?
It meant giving up the treasure at the Divine Roost, and it wouldn't change anything about his meager existence drifting from one crappy field job to the next… Or Alvin or the others who'd already been captured… but if Irune really was the key to ending this war, wasn't there hope that all of that would get better soon anyways?
Lyle turned over to Irune and saw that her eyes had drifted towards the floor. She turned back, with a guilty, misty-eyed look over her face and opened her mouth with a halting stammer.
"L-Lyle… I…"
"Verpiss dich₁, Grünhäuter! Nimm dein Angebot und steck's dir sonst wo hin!ᴰ¹"
Lyle rolled out of the way as a thick bolt of electricity zipped along the corridor and caught Sophia in her throat. The crow staggered with a pained squawk, stumbling back spread-winged. Lyle's eyes shrank to pins and he whirled back towards Dalton, where the Heliolisk was standing, static still crackling on his scales as his eyes narrowed into a hateful glare.
"Dalton?! Wh-What the hell was-?!"
"What tripe! As if there wouldn't be some horrible catch to your offer!" the Heliolisk hissed. "There always is with you damned army types!"
Lyle heard shouts in the distance further below and pinned his ears against his head as his vents came alight with startled fire. Right, Sophia had warned them about making a racket, and there was no way in hell everyone in the room hadn't heard all of that.
"Everyone, there's someone inside the main reading room! Four auras on the fourth floor-!"
"I've found them. They're in the Mythology section."
Lyle felt his blood run cold at the voice in the air cut out and looked over to see Sophia getting up from the ground and pulling a wing back as a badge poked out of a mussed scarf. She breathed in heavily as a brief flicker of dread came over her eyes. It passed almost as quickly as it appeared, as she hardened her gaze and hopped up to take wing.
"I tried to reason with you, but you leave me no-!"
Sophia never finished her words before Kate hurriedly yanked a thick red tome off the shelf and flung it at her face. The crow hurriedly ducked, but it was too slow to keep the book from clipping her wing with enough force to knock her out of the air. For a brief moment, Lyle just stood there alongside Irune slack jawed as Kate sucked in heavy breaths and hurriedly grabbed onto Irune.
"Guess you really can knock someone into next week with that tree-killer from earlier," she said. "Though come on, we need to get out of here!"
Kate grabbed Irune and took off running after Dalton. Lyle looked at the ground and spotted the copy of Ein und Alles on the ground, before hurriedly scooping it up as he saw Sophia right herself and fly after them. He shoved it into his bag and dashed ahead, ducking as a slicing wind zipped in and sent books raining onto them from a nearby shelf.
Lyle bobbed and weaved around tomes that hit the ground, some glancing off his body as he whirled and lobbed a Seed from his bag. He didn't bother to check what it was or see if it found its mark as he heard the voices and footsteps of the soldiers reverberate from the floors above and below. The corner of their aisle came into view and he hurriedly skidded around the corner. He briefly saw Kate up ahead, and darted to find his teammates lingering before taking off running again.
He grit his teeth as adrenaline flowed through his veins and his vents ran hot. Partly from stress from the sound of dozens of encroaching soldiers, and partly from frustration as he shot an exasperated glare at his Heliolisk teammate.
"Dalton, what the hell is wrong with you?! Why would you do that?!"
"To keep Irune and the rest of you from making a terrible mistake, that's why!"
"Oh, but you're far too late for that."
A pulse of dragonfire abruptly sailed overhead, sending Lyle diving to the ground as yelps rang out the bluish orb carried on until it struck a set of bookshelves at the end. Irune suddenly screamed, as the sound of rattling mail pricked Lyle's ears. The Quilava felt his blood chill, briefly glimpsing the terrified looks on his friends' faces as he turned around and saw Lacan fanning his wings out, and flashing the fangs in his mouth.
"You are outmatched," the Salamence snarled. "So will you come quietly? Or must I grind you into the floor first?"
Everything afterwards came by in a blur as instinct took over. Lyle remembered spitting up a Smokescreen in a panic, filling the bookshelves with smoke as his teammates turned and bolted. The Quilava then bounded ahead, when he suddenly heard a harsh stomp and then an overpowering tremor knocked him off his feet with a chorus of yelps. The next thing he remembered after the Salamence's Earthquake hit him was chunks of tiling flying up, him hitting the ground, and a hail of books falling off the shelves.
Lyle's head spun as he began to see double in his vision, looking up to see books on top of him with Kate pulling Irune free just in front of him. Lyle panted and struggled out from underneath a bookcase leaning at a precarious angle over the corridor, when a sharp snarl rang out and he saw Lacan's armored body emerging from the dust.
"If that's all you can take, then let me do you a favor and put you out of your misery!"
The Salamence built up dragonfire in his mouth as Lyle, Kate, and Irune froze, the Sneasel pulling the Axew into an embrace to try and shield her. Just then, a weak arc of electricity sailed in and made the Salamence freeze up. Lyle and his companions looked back to see Dalton panting wide-eyed fresh off the heels of a Thunder Wave, which Kate reflexively followed up with an Icy Wind at the dragon's face that made him reel and paw at frost that'd flecked over his face.
"Come on, we're getting out of here!" the Sneasel shouted.
Kate hopped up the back of the toppled bookshelf, scrambling up onto the top of the row on the left, as the rest of Team Forager hurriedly followed suit. When they slipped over to the other side, they bolted as Lacan's angry bellows started coming from the next row over. Lyle carried on running as fast as his aching limbs would let him, as the shouts and footsteps of approaching Grünhäuter could be heard coming from other parts of the library, prompting Irune to turn wide-eyed to her companions with a nervous stammer.
"Wh-Where do we go now?!"
Lyle saw the row of shelves along the wall approaching, when his mind turned back to the stairwell they'd taken to sneak into this reading room in the first place. It was a risky bet, but as long as they could just make it there before any of the guards did…
"Those stairwells from earlier!" he cried. "Keep your eyes open for a door around here!"
"There they are!"
Just up ahead, a Scolipede and Inteleon that looked vaguely familiar popped out from behind a row of bookshelves up ahead. Lyle's eyes widened briefly at the sight, as the Scolipede braced herself with an audible hiss.
"Pick off the Dyad and I'll handle the rest of-"
"A-Aah…"
Lyle briefly noticed the Inteleon freezing up with his eyes widening. The lizard stumbled back hastily raising a finger and leveling it ahead as the Water-type visibly faltered.
"Karl, what the hell are you-?"
"Eat sparks, Grünhäuter!"
A yellow and black blur shot past and let loose a close-quarters Discharge in front of the Scolipede. There were a pair of pained cries as the Bug-type visibly writhed while the Inteleon seemed to visibly lose his nerve and wildly flung a Snipe Shot ahead that sailed off into some nearby books behind him.
"Karl! Get it together for gods' sa-!"
The Scolipede's hisses were interrupted by a Dual Chop at her foreleg, making her recoil and stagger trying to avoid putting weight on it. He could see the door just past the soldier, they just had to get past these two somehow!
Lyle threw himself forward as flames wreathed his pelt that loosened his limbs, diving into the Scolipede's side as he felt his head bounce off her armor's plates. Her body still moved with the blow, as the Bug-type toppled over onto the Inteleon and the bookshelf behind with a startled bellow. He and the rest of Team Forager slipped past in a blur, Kate throwing an Icy Wind behind them at the stunned soldiers to slow them down as they took off running.
He couldn't see Lacan or Sophia, but knew from the sound in the air that the Salamence was coming closer to them. Lyle rammed the door with his shoulder, forcing it open with a crash as the four hurriedly ducked into the darkened stairwell. He made it down the first flight of stairs when a pulse of dragonfire hit just behind him. He heard yelps and tumbled down the steps to the next landing, struggling to keep his vision from spinning when he heard Kate cry out.
"Lyle, come on!"
He felt the Sneasel's claws latch on and yank him onto his feet and saw Dalton and Irune running past, the Axew briefly staring up. Lacan was up there, briefly trying to pull his shoulders past the door's threshold only to pull back with a frustrated growl after finding he was too wide.
"This is Sucher! They're in the eastern stairwell! Cut off the exits and lock down the perimeter!"
Gods, they really weren't getting much of a head start here. Lyle tore along with his teammates down a flight of stairs, and then another as he started to hear voices from the floor where Lacan had been. The records room they'd broken into had been two stories below where the entrances into the main reading chamber started, so then this next one-!
"Hey! That's them coming from above!"
Lyle froze at the sound of pounding footsteps and dove for cover as a brilliant blue orb of light zipped in from below. The Quilava panted out of fright as shouts rang out in the stairwell and lanternlight could be seen coming from the level below.
"Contact! They're on the fourth floor!" a barking voice cried.
They were trapped. Their exact location had just been given out to every soldier in this damned library and if they couldn't get out of this hallway soon, they were going to get mobbed. The only way forward then was to fight their way past whoever was in the way and get out before their buddies upstairs caught up. Lyle looked in his satchel quickly and saw a Slow Orb near the top. He vaguely remembered everyone priming their Wonder Orbs on the way up here. He didn't know if it was still good after this much time, but beggars couldn't be choosers.
He reared up and briefly ran a paw to try and fish it out, only for the shouting and rapidly approaching to quickly disabuse him of the idea. A brief flash of inspiration crossed his mind, prompting him to look over at Dalton.
"Dalton, can you still use Surf right now?" he asked.
"Yes? I did it fine at Errberk Village even with my injuries, but what are you expecting me to do here?" the Heliolisk demanded. "It's not as if I'm going to be able to just bring down an entire river whoever's down there!"
"No, but we're going to need to get past them and then outrun them," the Fire-type explained. "And the easiest way to do that is to slick up the stairs on our way out."
Kate blinked as a small smirk came over her face.
"Yeah, I think I know what you're getting at here," she said. "Just leave it to me!"
"Great," Lyle said. "Since they're coming around the corner right now."
The Quilava tightened his grasp around the Slow Orb, which faintly hummed as his paw slid on it. With a swift motion, he threw his free paw behind Irune's shoulder and grabbed her, making her go wide-eyed.
"All that's left is for you to get out there and distract them."
"D-Distract them?!" Irune yelped. "But Lyle, I-!"
"Just put up a Protect!" the Fire-type cried. "We'll take care of the rest!"
Lyle wasn't sure how well Irune had gotten used to that move from the tay-emm, but there wasn't time to find out. He shoved the Axew forward with a yelp just as a group headed by a Lucario made his way up the stairs with a Drednaw trailing behind. Irune and the Lucario's eyes locked and the pair mutually froze, the Lucario reflexively dropping into an attacking stance and calling out to his teammate.
"Ah! The Dyad's here!" the soldier cried. "Neutralize her and then take out the others!"
The Lucario threw a paw forward, Irune hurriedly throwing her hands out in front of her as a barrier of light formed in front of them right as the Lucario's strike hit it. The Steel-type's fist struck the barrier, sending a shockwave rippling across as Irune staggered back and struggled to hold her Protect. It held, but visibly flickered, as the Drednaw started coming lumbering up the stairs with water beginning to wreath the armored turtle's shell. Without a moment to lose, Lyle bounded ahead, popping out from behind Irune as the Lucario came after her again, his vents coming alight.
"Now!"
The Quilava flung the Slow Orb to the ground with a shattering crash, as silken strings shot out filled the stairwell. Yelps and shouts rang out as the silk tangled up and ensnared the two guards in front of them. Further cries came from further down the stairs as the lanternlight from further below vanished after the sound of a sharp crash. Lyle saw yellow and black from the corner of his eyes and hurriedly ducked out of the way as Dalton stormed in with a Surf, droplets of water landing on his pelt as the Heliolisk's wave barreled into the soldiers down the stairs with a chorus of startled cries.
Lyle charged ahead without thinking, dragging Irune along as the pair ran through slicked tile and concrete and ducked past flailing limbs, he briefly heard a Yanmega's furious buzzing, only for a blast of cold air to stun her, followed by a loud crash. When he looked back, he briefly saw the remnants of Kate blowing out an Icy Wind, and the darkened form of the Drednaw tipped over on his shell and flailing stranded on top of the steps above them.
Lyle let go of Irune and dropped to all fours, running along as his body's fire cast flickering lights along the walls as he bounded down the steps. One flight, two flights, with the basement level just up ahead. The Quilava suddenly felt a sharp smack at his side and winced briefly, looking back to see Irune. She was moving along at a good pace without any silk on her as he'd feared, except her red eyes hardened into a furious glare.
"Lyle, what the hell?!" the Axew fumed.
"Look, sorry for not giving you more warning, but we really needed a distraction there!" the Quilava insisted. "Take it out on me sometime when we don't have a bunch of Grünhäuter on our asses!"
"Heads up!"
Lyle hurriedly stepped aside as Kate spewed an Icy Wind just past the side of his head. He heard a Yanmega just ahead hiss in pain and then a thud as he briefly saw her thrashing on the ground with crusted-over wingtips. A cutting gust of wind slicing into the concrete just ahead prompted him to ignore the soldier and charge along, as his firelight dancing against the walls revealed a turn and the door up ahead.
Their exit, and judging from the sounds of the shouts and smashing of Wonder Orbs on the floors overhead, it'd come without a moment to spare. Kate was the first to the door, pulling her shoulder back and ramming into it as the door swung out and abruptly stopped with a dull thud and a sharp yelp on the other end.
"Agh!"
Lyle's eyes widened as he realized that someone else was behind the door, and rammed the door with a fiery somersault, sending it flying wide. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a Toxicroak reeling and knocked over onto her side in a daze. Kate didn't waste any time and at once dove and slashed at the straps over the soldier's breastplate, when Lyle whirled around with vents blazing at the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps.
That was when it hit him. A flash of blue light zipped in as blinding pain broke out all along the side of his body. He went tumbling along the floor and heard Kate and Dalton cry out and try to come from him when the Toxicroak growled and Dalton's voice suddenly cut in.
"Lyle, look out!"
Lyle tried to get onto his feet, only to feel something heavy pinning him down, and looked up panting for air to see the Lucario from the stairwell holding him down.
"So, du kleines Miststück!₂" the Steel-type snarled. "Looks like you need a lesson about what happens when you play stupid games!"
The Lucario grabbed his shoulder and pressed him down on his side and pulled a fist back and everything just came in a blur one after the other. Lyle felt air rush into his lungs and the fire in his belly burn hot in a panic. He wrenched his head up from under the Lucario's grasp, opened his mouth, and desperately blew out. An overwhelming stream of flames came out, the soldier's face and helmet vanishing under the brunt of the Flamethrower. The Lucario screamed in pain, prompting Lyle to hurriedly scurry away as the Steel-Type's lost his grip on him. He looked back to see the soldier howling and cradling his face, when a sudden gout of dragonfire zipped in and struck the back of his head. Even through the helmet, the soldier staggered from the blow. The Lucario's paws left his face, revealing ugly patches of burnt fur, before the soldiers strength gave out and he slumped over against the door, his limp body pushing it shut.
Lyle quivered and breathed in and out shakily, when a sharp cry from his left turned his attention over to the Toxicroak. Kate pulled a claw still trailing pink light back as he noticed a faint cut along the Poison-type's chest that ran past a partly-dislodged chest plate. The Poison-type's limbs suddenly locked up as she toppled over onto the floor, struggling to get up with static dancing on her hide when the sound of pounding against the stairwell door rang out.
"Gah! Something's blocking the way!"
Everyone grimaced as the door batted against the fainted Lucario. Gods, if that mutt had passed out anywhere else after Irune finished him off… though Lyle wasn't sure how much of a reprieve it would be.
"All aerial units, close in on the library and help the outside team seal the exits. Rakete will coordinate with you-"
Lyle jumped after hearing Lacan's voice, when an electric crackle and then a yelp suddenly came from the Toxicroak. He looked over and the Poison-type splayed out on the floor with Dalton standing over her in close quarters, and Kate kicking one of the frog's hands away from a badge. The Sneasel quickly froze it against the floor with an Icy Wind, before whirling back to them with a haggard pant as voices began to ring out from further down the hallway.
"Now would be a good time to leave!" Kate hissed. "Scales, where on earth is that Records Room right now?"
"It was Room 104," he explained. "Judging from the rooms around us, it shouldn't be far from us"
Lyle flinched after hearing the door slam and saw the Lucario's body topple onto his side as the door cracked open. He briefly glimpsed faces on the other end as the rest of his teammates took off down the opposite end of the hall. He bolted after them, diving ahead into a Quick Attack that made his surroundings vanish in a blur. When he exited out of it, he heard the sound of wood splintering and a loud, draconic snarl echo through the ceiling.
Unless there was another dragon on Lacan's Fähnlein, that had to be him. Lyle didn't know whether or not the Salamence was still in the building right then, but he knew that they couldn't outrun him and his underlings much longer like this.
"Lyle! Hurry it up already!"
Lyle snapped to attention after seeing Kate at an ajar doorway that Dalton was pushing open with his uninjured arm. He broke out into a sprint, and partway to the door, his ears swiveled at the sound of approaching footfalls. He briefly overheard the sound of pooling water, and dropped to the ground by reflex, just in time for a jet of water to just barely miss him overhead.
"We found them!" a voice cried. "They're in Room 104!"
Lyle hurriedly stumbled through the doorway as the hallway outside seemed to disappear in a hail of beams and missiles and his teammates rammed the door shut behind them. The footsteps outside were coming much louder and faster now, prompting him to turn for the window they'd broken through and began to run. Except Dalton was on the completely wrong side of the room, pushing up against a cabinet just left of the doorway.
"Dalton, what are you-?"
The Heliolisk toppled over the cabinet in front of the doorway, just in time for the door to jostle from behind as growls and snarls came from the other end. Lyle stumbled back towards the window and gulped as fire poured out of his vents. Kate started after him with Irune, only for the Sneasel to hesitate. She quickly glimpsing at Dalton and then at the bookshelf, when she motioned at it with an outstretched claw.
"Scales, hit it with a Surf!"
"What on earth are you-?" the Heliolisk started.
"I'm borrowing an idea from you! Just do it!"
Dalton obliged, spitting up an orb of water which he fanned out into a wave. The water crashed down into the cabinet in front of the door, drenching the entire wall and ceiling around it. The Heliolisk hopped aside after hearing shouts from the other end and pounding, when Kate ran up and used an Icy Wind that slicked over the entire barricade in a layer of ice.
The pounding and noises dulled afterwards, as Irune blinked in surprise at Kate's pawwork.
"... Nice thinking there," the Axew said.
"Yeah, well don't get used to it, since it's not going to hold them for long and I'm not holding my breath on them not checking the scaffolding," Lyle insisted. "Eat a berry if you can to patch up those earlier hits and let's get out of here while we can."
The Quilava reached into his bag and hastily grabbed a berry, only briefly checking that it was an Oran Berry before popping it into his mouth. The others hastily tried to do the same as the pounding continued from the doorway, while Lyle chewed through his berry and darted up to where he remembered the shutters being. The bars were lying in a puddle on the floor where from Kate's ice having long melted away, but the shutters were still closed. He gulped down what he could of the berry, and ran up towards the shutters, charging ahead in a dash that made the world around him blur as his head hit their wood.
CRACK!
The shutters gave way under his weight as Lyle came to a skidding stop on the scaffolding. The wind and rain pricked his ears as he started to pat down his fur, when he realized he felt empty air under one of his forepaws.
He widened his eyes and jolted up onto his hindlegs, looking down to see the edge of the scaffolding… and the ground so far below that it was murky from his vision's farsight. Gods, if he had kept going forward just another step or two…
"Lyle! Help us out here!"
He whirled back and saw Kate and Irune had already crawled out of the window and were helping Dalton clamber up as the room behind them suddenly sounded noticeably louder. Almost as soon as the Heliolisk got onto his feet, the four of them were already off and running for the ramps down to the scaffolding's lower levels.
Everything went by in a chaotic blur down to the next floor, as the wind and rain intermixed with shouts in the distance. Lyle turned back briefly after hearing a crashing sound from the direction of the records room and saw that Kate had passed him up, with Irune and Dalton quick on his tail. The next ramp was just up ahead, and as he swung around its corner and down to the next floor, he noticed there was more shouting. Shouting that sounded like it was coming from the front of the library…
"Freeze!"
Right as they were about to make their way down the next ramp, a shadowy ball suddenly flew in and hit the wood right in front of him. Lyle screamed and stumbled back as rain sizzled against his fire. A clod of sand sailed in as he looked over and saw a Gengar and Liepard in green plates blocking the way, their eyes both trained on Irune.
The Gengar suddenly phased the uncovered parts of his body through the scaffolding to the left, and lunged through open air to grab at Irune. Lyle watched as the Ghost-type's claws reached for her, hurriedly spitting whitish fire at the Ghost-type's arm. Not all of it got under the 'mon's armor, but enough of it did to make the soldier recoil with a sharp hiss and throw him off-balance. A frigid gust of wind came just after and swept both the guards up, as Lyle noticed Kate wrapping up Icy Wind from the corner of his eyes.
"That ought to slow them down, keep running!"
Kate vaulted along one of the poles and swung around down onto the ramp below. Dalton came charging next as sparks danced on his hide as he kept his wounded frill shut and a thick bolt of electricity at the Liepard point-blank. The bolt split the air with a loud crackle, throwing the Liepard up against the side of the tower with a sharp yowl. In the process, Dalton's blow had left an opening to the ramp, and everything just came by reflex afterwards. Lyle lunged ahead and ran as fast as his legs would let him without breaking into a Quick Attack. The blurry form of the top of the ramp passed underfoot, when a chilling pulse suddenly struck him from behind.
He yelped and rolled along the wood, his hindlegs going over the edge and feeling empty air as he looked up and saw he was clinging to the ledge. Dalton and the Liepard were still scuffling with each other while the Gengar had a clear line of sight with Irune, she froze up after a faint blue glow came over the Ghost-type's eyes and matching rings began to pulse forward from in front of the soldier's face.
Lyle knew a Hypnosis when he saw one. He needed to nip that in the bud, fast. He hurriedly spat fire up after the Gengar. It hit the back of the Ghost-type's head along his helmet, as the Gengar hissed and whirled around towards him.
He briefly saw the Ghost-type's eyes look past him towards the abyss below and then narrow, when it dawned on him that the 'mon was going to shove him. Lyle panicked, frantically trying to pull himself up to no avail as the Ghost-type brought his arms together and the shadows took shape into a swirling ball.
"Get away from him!"
All of a sudden, what looked like a brilliant ball of blue electricity slammed into the Gengar, flinging him back into the scaffolding. Lyle flinched from the overpowering flash, feeling the static in the air even from the edge of the scaffolding as sparks flew wildly by his paws. An agonized scream lingered in the air, along with a forceful crash that almost made him lose his grip. He pulled himself up and saw Irune panting and shaking next to the spot where the Gengar had been, stray static still dancing on her scales with scorch marks all around the site of impact. Lyle's nose wrinkled when he noticed he smelled smoke, when he noticed that all around him, the wood was smoldering and the Gengar was laying in a faintly-breathing heap against a set of broken shutters past a streak of dislodged poles. The Quilava looked the other way as hoarse panting reached his ears, and saw Irune panting for air, with Dalton staring at the Liepard frozen in place, the soldier's tail erect and his fur visibly standing on end.
"A-Aah…"
Irune let out a roar which wouldn't have sounded all that impressive had it not been for how feral it sounded. Lyle looked up and his eyes shrank as he noticed fires were starting to spread on the inner section of the scaffolding, Dalton hurriedly ran past and he started to follow when he noticed the fire beginning to gather about Irune's mouth as the Liepard hastily bolted and stumbled over some loose ropes.
"Irune, wait!"
The Axew faltered as the power seemed to drain out of her and she slumped to the floor. The Liepard briefly turned back and frantically readied a Night Slash when an awful creaking and groaning that sounded like a Meowth scratching a slate rang out. Everyone froze, and Lyle looked up and saw the supports above sagging and leaning out away from the wall, as he hurriedly grabbed the Axew and dragged her along in a shambling run for the ramp. Frantic shouts rang out from above as they made their way down, along with hurried footsteps away as the entire structure of the scaffolding lurched outwards as the boards underneath tilted out further and further into the empty air. As he reached the level where the ropeway was supposed to be, Irune's lucidity came back to her, and her eyes shrank to pins with a startled whine.
"L-Lyle?!"
"Yes, I see it! Just keep running and don't look-!"
He briefly glimpsed Kate and Dalton up ahead turning back for them when a sharp crack filled the air and all of a sudden, the levels above gave way. Curiosity got the better of him as he saw over his shoulders and watched the scaffolding around the descending ramps just vanish in a cloud of smoke and dust. A plank fell from above along with metal piping, and without thinking, Lyle pulled the Axew into the alcove of a nearby window and clung to her, bracing for the end as wood and metal crashed all around him. The alcove shook for a few seconds that felt like an eternity, as the din slowly settled, leaving him breathing in and out shakily as Irune dug her claws into his pelt for dear life.
"Help! Heeeelp!"
He snapped to attention after hearing the Liepard's voice yowling in a panic and noticed the world wasn't shaking and the wind and rain were still blowing. What remained of the scaffolding beside them was a tangled mess with a board lying at an angle and a purple limb poking out limply. He froze after noticing that it was the Gengar, wedged between boards. Lyle vaguely remembered that most Ghost-types' bodies faded away when they died, so this one was alive enough to cause problems if he managed to get onto his feet again. Off to the left, through a gap amidst the tangled wood and metal, he could see the Liepard dangling from a now-solitary metal pole from a rope that had caught one of the soldier's hindlegs. There was another gap to the right was a small gap that suddenly had white claws shoot in and pull the plank aside and his face suddenly fill with Kate's wide-eyed face.
"Lyle, don't scare me like that! Hurry up, you two! There's already Grünhäuter headed for the bridge!"
Lyle and Irune shambled out as he pushed Irune ahead for Dalton to grab her. His legs were still wobbly as he tried to run along and his breaths grew hoarse as his vision started to settle. The stretch of scaffolding up to the ropeway had somehow survived, for how long, he didn't want to stop and think too hard about. His surroundings flew by as he kept pace with his teammates up for the ropeway's entrance on the left, trying not to look down as the sturdy planks gave way to those of the ropeway which swayed and bounced in the wind even as the rain kept pouring down.
A crackling bolt of electricity suddenly zipped across right in front of his eyes. He froze briefly and flared up in a blind panic when he heard a shout coming from the ancient bridge overlooking them.
"What are you doing?!" a voice cried. "You're endangering the Dyad attacking like that! Cease fire! Cease fire!"
"Rakete, where are you and Sucher right now? You said there'd be units with nets!"
Lyle briefly looked down and sorely regretted it as he was reminded of the ground that too far away to see clearly. He felt Irune brush past him and snapped back to attention as she ran along, hurrying along as it dawned on him:
The soldiers weren't attacking them. They evidently couldn't afford to just let them fall to their deaths and wait for Irune to be reborn again. So at least until she made it to the end of the bridge, he was safe.
Something sticky suddenly hit his fur. Lyle briefly thought to check what it was, but a quick glance at the now-visibly singed and frayed rope on the left side of the bridge and with the sound of approaching wingbeats quickly disabused him of the idea. He dropped to all fours and ran along after the Axew, lunging ahead into a Quick Attack once she cleared the bridge in case one of the soldiers took it out behind her.
He suddenly felt water under his feet and splash all over his pelt. By reflex, his vents came to life and he struggled to stifle a disgusted whine. Right. That pile of construction materials had been near the ropeway… along with that puddle Dalton paralyzed that Turtonator in. He should've seen that one coming.
"Lyle! Cut the lights and get down here!"
He looked over and saw the others down the ramp where the Turtonator had fallen and ran down still-dripping. He briefly noted there were scorch marks at the base as he ran after his teammates, when he felt claws dig into his pelt and yank him sharply left. The next thing the Quilava knew, he was wedged between a set of pallets on damp concrete. As his eyes adjusted, he slowly saw the obstructions around him were sacks filled with mortar mix with water dripping somewhere from a leak above. A glance up and there was Kate, motioning with a claw for quiet.
The reason quickly became apparent as he heard multiple sets of wingbeats entering from above along with footsteps tromping around. He briefly saw a Falinks in a set of green helmets run past, his heart skipping a beat before the Grünhäuter moved on. He breathed in and out shakily and felt Kate tug him and then flash her claws in front of his face.
"Hang on, you've got something in your fur."
She brushed them up against his pelt before sharply tugging upward. He looked over and saw that it was a length of silk, with a glob still attached to his pelt just like the one that Wilder Spinarak tagged him with earlier in the week.
Gods, this crap again. At least they'd found it before whoever stuck him with it tracked them down. Kate hurriedly pulled the glob out of his fur and stuck it to a pallet, hopefully enough to slow down whoever was trying to track him.
"There, now come on, we need to move."
Lyle followed along after Kate out past the other end of the pallets, where he found Dalton and Irune waiting for them, wide-eyed.
"How are we supposed to get down from here?" Irune panted. "I don't think we're going to last long if we show our faces on the Upper Streets again."
There was a brief moment of silence between them. All of a sudden, a flash of realization seemed to come over Dalton's face, as the Heliolisk set his teeth on edge.
"We'll need to try our luck with the doors on the central shaft of this tower," he said. "But not here. Even if the Grünhäuter assumed that we tried to go back up, this is too close to that ropeway. We should find a way down and go down another floor or two to be safe."
"You mean like that way right over there?"
Lyle turned and followed after Kate with his teammates as he saw a missing patch of floor with concrete dangling from exposed metal bars that went about a third of the way down. He went up to the edge and spat an Ember down. Much to his surprise, hit the ground barely moments later.
"It doesn't look that far down," he said. "Maybe two metri at most."
"Well, that makes that easy, then," Kate said.
The Sneasel vaulted forward into the darkness, coming to a crouching stop with a faint thump. Lyle briefly held his breath, before just from the furthest reaches of his vision, he saw Kate looking up and waving at them.
"Alright, it's your turn," she said. "Get down here and let's find that shaft."
Lyle followed suit and jumped ahead, landing on all fours and tumbling ahead. He fell and rolled on cold concrete, hurriedly stumbling up onto his feet as he saw blackened marks left behind on the ground, when he looked up and saw Dalton and Irune staring down with a shared grimace as the Heliolisk eyed the splint on his right arm.
"I… don't think I can get down there like this," the Heliolisk said. "Even if I could, there's no way the sound of me landing wouldn't echo all through an empty space like this."
Lyle bit his lip and hesitated when he thought he heard wingbeats somewhere off in the distance. They needed to get out of here, but he and Kate couldn't just turn and bolt. Dalton was the one who knew how to get around in this maze of a city, and Irune…
He shot a sidelong glance up at her and hesitated. It would've been so easy for them to just leave her and flee. She was the one that the army wanted. Except, Dalton had wrecked their chance at leaving peacefully without Irune, and he wasn't going to hold his breath on the army honoring an offer one of their own made off-record.
"... Kate, Lyle. What if you two stand on each other's shoulders so that way we can climb down?" the Axew asked. "It sounds a little silly, but I've heard of Exploration Teams doing things like that to navigate obstacles in Mystery Dungeons."
Lyle blinked before looking back up at the ledge. He let his fire peek out from his vents and noticed that sure enough, the gap to the ledge did look about his and Kate's heights combined. He felt a tug at his side pulling him onto his hindlegs and before he could say protest, Kate was already pushing him onto her shoulders.
"I don't feel like getting my tail toasted if you get startled, so you can take the top here, Lyle."
Lyle briefly frowned and straightened himself out as Dalton crouched and planted his feet onto his shoulders. He felt the Heliolisk's scales brush up against him as the Electric-type slowly clambered down with his legs resting on Kate's shoulders, before letting go. A quiet thump rang out as Lyle peeked back to see Dalton on the ground, shakily keeping his balance as Kate looked over.
"Scales, there's a length of guiding string in my bag," she said. "Leave one end inside it and go and try and find the way out of here."
Dalton grunted and Lyle heard him root through something in the background as Irune came up and clambered over the edge and onto his shoulders. She began to make her way down, but right as she was climbing down his back, Lyle heard wingbeats again.
The Quilava flared up with a start and heard Irune yelp on his back and suddenly push her weight against him forward. He suddenly grew aware that he was leaning forward and heard Kate and Irune cry out. Then he lost his footing and fell, landing on the ground on his belly as Irune bounced off of him and onto the ground.
He lay there for a moment and stiffened up as he thought he saw someone ahead of them. He hastily gathered fire in his mouth, only to hesitate after seeing the figure was red and not moving. He blinked and got up wobbly, coming face to face with what looked like a Corphish staring vacantly off into space.
"What in the-?"
"For crying out loud, these Substitutes are here, too?"
He looked behind as Kate got up and brushed her chest with an unamused frown before helping Irune onto her feet. There was a moment's silence as they waited for someone to follow them up to the lip, but nothing.
He looked ahead and saw Kate's bag suddenly lurch and flop over. It was Kate's guiding string, the other end of it was stuck at the bag's mouth, fully taut.
"Looks like Scales is at the end of his rope," she said. "We should catch up."
The Sneasel darted over and scooped up her bag as Lyle made his way over and began to follow along with the string, only sporadically flaring up whenever he lost track of where it was as they crept along the darkened floor. A pylon here, a void-like expanse there, and cold concrete underfoot. All the while, he swore that he could hear voices echoing from the distance. The Grünhäuter hadn't already gotten wise to them, had they?
"Over here!"
He heard Dalton's voice calling out from the right, and briefly looked up to see him waving from beside a bare concrete wall with faded glyphs made of paint or dye and a corroded door that looked like it was sized for a Machoke.
"There's a simple padlock holding this door shut," he explained. "It looks like the one we picked to get up here, so-"
The Heliolisk suddenly cut himself off and began to spark. Lyle hurriedly vented fire and whirled around, just in time to see a darkened shape flinging a bundle at Irune which suddenly spread wide like a web. A brown orb with purple bands on its side flew out from it, hitting the ground with a glassy crash.
Sparks suddenly flew about all around and filled his vision. Lyle heard his teammates yelp and felt a hot, numbing sensation run through his body. He lost his footing as he pitched forward onto his belly onto the floor, when it suddenly dawned on him that he couldn't move his limbs.
His breaths began to pick up in a panic. He'd been hit by a Petrify Orb. He didn't think that they worked so well outside of Mystery Dungeons, or else he was just the world's unluckiest bastard right now. No matter what he tried, he wasn't able do more than slightly move his mouth or let his eyes darted around on the floor to try and see who'd attacked them.
"Aah! No! Let me go!"
He heard Irune cry out, and after straining his eyes as far as he could up off the floor, he saw her: tangled in a net as that Corvisquire from the library was there perched on her. He could see the Axew moving, either she hadn't been affected by the Orb earlier, or else the crow had jostled her free. It didn't make much of a difference, since no matter how Irune thrashed, the little dragon just couldn't break free any more than he could.
"Sucher, I've snared her. I'm on the twenty-second-!"
"Get off of her!"
A sharp hiss rang out as a spray of icy flechettes sailed in and struck the Corvisquire. Lyle briefly saw Sophia beat her wings and fall back and then felt a firm shove that rolled him onto his side. He sprang back onto his feet, vents coming alive as the numb feeling started to dissipate from his body as cries from ahead rang out. He looked up and saw Dalton hitting the Corvisquire with a weak jolt of electricity as he briefly made out static dancing on the bird's armor and plumage as her flight grew erratic. He charged ahead without thinking, fire starting to build up on his pelt, when he suddenly heard a cry from further to his right.
"H-Help!"
He looked over to his right and saw Irune still in her net, thrashing for dear life as her red eyes were visibly wide and frantic.
"Lyle, please! I can't get out of this!"
He heard a sharp cry and saw Dalton being driven back by a spinning peck by the Corvisquire and then frost flying about on swirling air, before turning back to the Axew. He hastily darted up and tugged at the net, and after a brief moment struggling to make heads or tails of it, looked down and noticed the netting stretched out a bit when he tugged it.
"Pull your limbs and tail in as close as you can, this is going to get a bit hot."
The Axew obliged as Lyle pulled the netting along Irune's back as far as he could and lowered his head against it. He pushed fire out his vents, breathing deep to try and stoke it as from the surrounding whitish glow, he could tell it was hotter than normal. The strands gave way in his grasp and he pulled the net apart, Irune rolling over as he pulled her up.
Lyle turned back and saw the Corvisquire flailing in the air with the central shaft in the background as Kate lunged up and tore strips off her armor. He spat a Flamethrower towards her that struck the damaged plates, and from how sharply the Grünhäuter cawed, it must have gotten under it. He reached into his bag and tried to fish around through it. He had to have a Seed or two left somewhere in there-
RAAAAGH!
Lyle flinched and felt his blood run cold as a deafening roar filled the floor. He heard Irune scream and whirl about, seeing her frantically throw up a Protect as a hulking Salamence dropped down. The floor shook and cracked underfoot and Lyle lost his footing and went tumbling back. The world spun in his vision as he got up and saw Dalton laying splayed out and Kate struggling to stay on her feet.
And off at the other end, there was Sophia fighting to correct her flight in the air, along with Lacan beating his wings in place and scowling down at them.
"Pitiful, poor fools…" he snarled. "You don't even know how powerless you are. But I will show you!"
Lacan's wings batted wide, as much to Lyle's horror, he saw the Salamence rise up as his body started to grow wreathed with dragonfire that began to congregate in between his claws. Lyle froze, his limbs locked up almost as if he'd been hit by another Petrify Orb. He vaguely remembered stories of an attack that dragons first learned to wield in human times. One with such power that it was said to shake the heavens.
It dawned on him that that was what Lacan was about to hit them with.
Lyle's body screamed for him to attack, or run away, or do anything as the orb of dragonfire took shape. And yet, he couldn't do anything but watch his impending doom.
"Stop it! Stop it!"
And then, as quickly as it formed, the orb suddenly dissipated. Lyle saw a sudden flash of fear cross Lacan's face, the fireball forming in Irune's mouth and her angle, and saw what the Salamence saw:
There, struggling to stay in the air, was Sophia, looking down blankly at them.
"Sophia!"
The Salamence suddenly lunged and dove for the Corvisquire as a searing flash of heat rang out. Lyle hit the ground as his ears rang from a deafening blast and rubble and dust fell in chunks from above. He went and grabbed Irune as she stared at the ground, when he heard coughing and heard stirring from deeper on the floor.
It was Lacan, hunched over the Corvisquire with his wings outstretched as she panted wide-eyed and looked down at her.
"S-Sophia, are you alright? S-Say something to me…"
Lyle breathed in and out shakily as he turned and started to head off as Irune lingered in place. He saw the Axew staring off at the pair, her expression visibly bothered.
He didn't know what that was about, but decided it was for the best to not stay and find out. He sharply tugged Irune after him when he heard coughing and groaning as he saw Dalton gagging up a Plain Seed and Kate hurriedly pulling Dalton onto his feet as the Sneasel peeked past.
"Might as well cover our tracks here."
She spewed out an Icy Wind past them as a startled caw and angry bellow rang out. Lyle didn't look back to see what happened, and took off running, all but shoving Dalton along as they bolted towards the door where Kate was already at work on the padlock with an Iron Thorn. He looked back and saw the Salamence righting himself with a livid glare as the Corvisquire seemed to weirdly freeze up.
He heard a faint click and then a thump as Kate whigged the padlock aside and kicked the door open. She darted ahead as Dalton squirmed through, briefly yelping after brushing his splinted arm. Lyle reflexively tore ahead and made his way through the doorway as Irune reached out for him.
"Enough!"
He saw the glow of blue dragonfire coming in and yanked her past the threshold and around the corner, and then all of a sudden, a ball of dragonfire that looked almost like a comet sailed in and struck the door. There was a deafening crash as Kate and Dalton cried out as the door ripped from its hinges and flew down the shaft. Ball after ball of dragonfire flew in, as concrete shattered all about them and kicked dust into the air. Then there was a groaning noise, followed by a loud crash that shook the floor.
The Quilava jumped back down the stairs and braced himself, Irune clinging tight and hiding behind him as they heard low snarls and claws scraping concrete. There was a large hole around where the door had been, along with a pile of rubble that blocked it halfway where Lacan was vainly pawing at it and trying to push it aside. Their eyes briefly met, as he saw the smoldering frustration in the dragon's eyes, along with the Corvisquire flying up in the background.
This time it was Irune who dragged him along, as Lyle hurriedly darted down the stairs, past the door lying ajar a flight down, and smoldering scorch marks where the Salamence's dragonfire had struck. The second flight down, he caught up with Kate and Dalton, peering up in quiet awe.
"... I think he overdid it a bit there," Kate said. "Though how are you not dead?"
"I have no idea," Lyle said.
Another thump along with indistinct voices from above, as Lyle briefly looked up, panting as he saw Dalton from the corner of his eyes headed down.
"He'll likely try to cut us off at the bottom once he figures out where this shaft goes," the Heliolisk said. "We should get moving while we can."
Lyle briefly looked down at the stairs headed below them, which went far enough that he couldn't see the bottom. He wasn't sure what they were supposed to do right now, but he knew there was only one place they could go:
Down. He ran off into the darkness, going down the steps as fast as his legs would let him.
Author's Notes:
Words and Phrases
1. Verpiss dich - "Piss off", carries ruder/more vulgar connotations in German than in English.
2. So, du kleines Miststück! - Expression of abuse roughly equivalent to "Alright, you little shit!" or "Alright, you little bitch!".
Dialogue
D1. "Nimm dein Angebot und steck's dir sonst wo hin!" - "Take your offer and shove it up your ass!", lit. "Take your offer and stick it somewhere else!"
Teaser Text - Special thanks to TorchicBellow for Translation
It is not known how it was that the gods of our world came to have attributes and domains, but whatever it was fate or design, the three gods spawned from the fragments of the Nameless Dragon's greater power appear to be naturally in balance with each other:
The goddess 'Reality', the Dragon of Vast Whiteᵃ, regardless of the callings she answers across her lives, seems to always be drawn to those who strive after the truth. And in one life after the next she is most offended by those who ignore reality and grow consumed with greedy desiresᵇ.
The god 'Wish', the Dragon of Deep Blackᶜ, who across his lives, draws near to those with strong ideals and the desire to realize them. Time and again, he grows most offended by those that he judges to have lost the righteousness of their heartsᵈ and abandoned their ideals.
Two opposites, with a Threshold between them that holds the power to serve as their boundary. A power that is said to be greater still, hemmed in by a natural tendency for indecision and propensity for reclusiveness, yet sufficient to bend either Wish or Reality to its will as desired.
Each god is a being of great power, enough so that there are hazy myths of one of the three dragons alone being capable of laying waste to entire kingdoms with fire, lightning, or ice when their power is at its fullest. Myths that from what we know of their exploits in recorded history, are likely well within their abilities to realize.
The favor of these gods has quite literally shaped the fates and histories of whole lands, and quite unsurprisingly, wars have been waged just for the chance for a champion to secure their favor.
- Excerpt from 'Ein und Alles - Of Gods from a Land of Black and White'
a. A more faithful translation of the original text would be "True White"
b. The preceding five words differ slightly from the original text for thematic purposes. They would be more properly rendered as "give in to greed" in a more faithful translation.
c. A more faithful translation of the original text would be "Pure Black"
d. The preceding six words differ slightly from the original text. They would be more properly rendered as "lost their hearts' sense of justice" in a more faithful translation.