Yankee

Pokemon: Ascendancy

_{_ _ _______________________________ _ _
mentions: Fiona @Psyker Landshark, Isiah @PrankFox, Sawyer @Vertigo}

Nordrin had to hand it to the cabbie, the man got him to Wyndon in record time. The ride had been anything but smooth, but in the face of some kind of emergency neither driver nor passenger cared. It was all too easy to spot the scene from the air - smoke and dust billowed upward in curling waves. The flying taxi touched down a couple blocks over. Nordrin ran the rest of the way.

To say the scene at the lab was chaotic would be an understatement. Masked goons were scattered about sending their Pokémon to rampage in broad daylight and succeeding at it if the rubble and unconscious bodies of police officers were any indication. Nordrin couldn't fathom what the attack was about - vengeance, a diversion, stealing some kind of secret lab tech? - but he didn't really care either. His job right now was not to solve a puzzle, it was to help but this battle to it's end. Nordrin released his Pokémon as he got closer to the epicenter of the attack. He hadn't had time to gather all of his Pokémon, but the ones he had on him were more than enough.

He arrived at the action just behind Isiah and Sawyer, giving the two men a sharp nod of acknowledgement. Despite any feelings he had about his fellow gym leaders, it was still good to see more help than just himself had arrived. The only other person still standing by the time the three of them got there was Fiona.

The sight of her toothy grin despite the circumstances was like a breath of relief. If you wanted anyone in your corner, it was that firecracker. He didn't quite smile back at her, it was more of a grimace, but it let her know that he was backing her up and about to get into the fight.

While Isiah went straight to business in tackling the three strange looking Pokémon (Steel-types by the looks of them. They seemed to be Bisharp, but with unnaturally long limbs and torsos that looked like they belonged to a Bug-type. They were weird, dangerous, and unfortunately for the fairy leader super-effective against his team.), Nordrin took a different direction.

"Marquant, Chiot!" he called, the Azumarill and Slurpuff jumping to attention. He pointed toward the other Pokémon that were still causing havoc and their masters, his own Pokémon already running in their direction even before he shouted his commands.

"Use your water gun to put out the fires and deal with those Fire-types while you're at it!" This order clearly meant for Marquant, the Water-type responded with a hearty "Azu!" and let out blasts of water. The lab fires were systematically doused, and any interfering enemy Pokémon were met with the water gun shooting them back.

"Now a fairy wind, drive them back and take them out!" The Slurpuff barked and skidded to a halt, doing a quick twirl in place to summon it's own attack. The fairy wind spread wide over the area, dealing heavy damage to the enemies' Dark-types. Chiot held it's stance, ready to let another wave loose at the first opening.

So far so good, but the sheer number of opponents meant that he and his team had their work cut out for them. Beside him, Feefee and Puck shifted anxiously. The Granbull was snapping her jaws open and closed, her eyes darting around at every source of danger. She usually wasn't one for battling, but she'd sensed her trainer's urgency back at the gym and had come along to protect him. She felt Nordrin's hand come down to pet her head once, comforting, and snorted with renewed confidence while keeping guard. Meanwhile, Puck's orders were the next to be issued.

"Fly up and use pollen puff, as wide an area as you can." The Ribombee saluted and flew up high, dodging moves and the flight paths of Fiona's Pokémon. Once he judged it high enough he let the spores loose over the area, the small puffs injuring any enemies they touched and healing any allies.

World of Light

^{____________________________________________________}
Level: 7 - Total EXP: 147/70 ------ Level: 5 - Total EXP: 22/50
𝙱𝙿 .●●●●● ---------------------------- 𝙱𝙿 .●●●●●
Word Count: 2991 (+3 exp)
Location: The Under - the Chasm

Therion Level Up

New power: Wildfire. A flame spell, and Therion's only natural magic. As an attack it deals heavy fire damage to a single foe.
***

Primrose and Therion were glad to give away the bulk of the equipment, especially the heavier or more awkwardly shaped items. For themselves they kept only the essentials: rations, canteens, and the like. Some extra rope joined Therion's own in the thief's inventory, as well as the compass and a pickaxe - never knew when that would come in handy. They both took a lantern, for as useful as Therion found the headlamp he also found that it was too awkward to wear in combination with his feline ears. Considering most of this group of Seekers featured members with horns, animal ears, or straight up in-human skull shapes the helmet was summarily plopped onto Omori's head once the stragglers caught up with the rest of the team.

After traveling down a few levels, the next step was to take a lift to the bottom of the Chasm. Ms. Fortune had been kind (or crazy) enough to test the platform for them before the rest of the Seekers piled on. It seemed safe enough - after all it must have been used to bring miners and their equipment up and down plenty of times. However, if the tense expression and clenched jaw on Therion's face was anything to go by, he was skeptical and uncomfortable with the ride. He would have preferred to walk the entire way down had their been paths that went that deep. While Primrose was content to listen in on the scattered conversations and explanation of what had gone on with the thugs from the Barge (and for her part, Primrose didn't mention Confessor Jiji. Only once she confirmed that Jiji's power was the real deal would she let anyone know), Therion was unable to relax. He had his arms folded under his poncho, his head tipped up as he avoided looking down into the Chasm's depths, his ears and other senses on high alert. So when the malicious stranger appeared, his ears swiveled and his attention snapped to him. Seeing the armored person taking hold of the rope supporting the lift, Therion's heart clenched and his tail puffed out.

"He's going to cut the rope!"

Because what else would someone like that do, especially after the corny one-liner?

Primrose jumped into action, preparing to fend the Consul off. She didn't know how long they had to go before reaching the bottom of the pit, but she didn't want to take the chance that a fall wouldn't be lethal. She raised an arm, intending to use a spell when she hesitated. Would she be risking damage to the rope herself if she used magic? Using pyromancy definitely would be, she wasn't sure about her dark magic - but she didn't get the chance to think on it anymore as the stranger summoned his light storm.

"Bastard," she cursed, using the Devout Beads to counter as many shots as possible - though it helped keep some of the Seekers from harm, it did little to stop the Consul's actual plan. He succeeded in blasting through their lifeline, and the wooden platform under their feet fell away.

A feeling of nausea rose through the dancer, the rush of air passing them by filling her ears and muting the screams of her allies - and her own scream, ripped from her throat once her mind caught up with her body. She tried to focus, knowing that someway they could get out of this. Couldn't they? She could, at least, save herself and another with the scarf if she timed it right.

Therion had gone pale, finding that the glider he'd had during the trek up Split Mountain was ripped through with holes from the Consul's light barrage and rendered useless.

No. No way. I can't believe this is happening again! he thought to himself. Just how many times in his life was he going to plummet from high places? It really wasn't fair in his opinion. Therion's expression hardened, his brain making the difficult shift from fear to survival. No glider and no Raz to save him now, so he had to look for other options. Plenty of the group had flight options, from magic to psychic abilities - but he couldn't rely on them.

Unfortunately, neither Primrose nor Therion succeeded in their plans. His grappling hook scrabbled along the stone walls, finding no purchase on the surprisingly smooth rock. The dancer took hold of his hand and activated her flotation, but as the others fell down they could see that there was a long, long way to go. Whatever spell was weaved into Primrose's scarf did not last forever, and so once the last sigil disappeared until the next recharge the duo resumed their fall.

...

The Travelers woke up at the bottom of the Chasm, Primrose with a start and Therion with a gasping cough. The latter bolted upright, dragging his hands over his chest and legs. No broken bones. No blood. Nothing impaled. He lifted a shaky hand to his face, pressing it against the scarred side. It was the same as ever, though it took him a moment to remember why his hair was a little shorter. I'm alive, he thought.

"Holy hell," he breathed, pushing himself up to his feet and fighting the urge to puke. At the same time Primrose also stood up, casting her gaze around at the ruins, the flowers, and the cavern's ceiling that featured the lengthy hole they'd fallen through.

"...some places seem to have a mind or a spirit of their own," she said, looking over at Ms. Fortune and Rika. The question they posed didn't call for an answer really, but Primrose thought on it anyway, recalling how Split Mountain itself had given the Seekers the strength needed to complete the climb. "Perhaps the borehole here saved us itself, who's to say."

Sure it was an outlandish theory, but given the state of the world they were currently in? Maybe it wasn't so far-fetched. A late arrival in the form of Kamek put forth a new theory that the flower bed they'd all landed on was just very, very strong and cushiony though. While the Troop moved to tend to their elder, Primrose made to offer her healing flame - but soon found that the Seekers weren't alone down here.

Alerted to the monsters' presence, the group's attention moved to the darkness in front of them. Therion held out his hand and snapped his fingers, a reflex more than anything. When a spark of fire bloomed showing that his magic had returned to him it took the thief by surprise, but still he cast it in the direction he could hear lumbering footsteps. The flame illuminated grotesque horrors shambling towards them, making Primrose recoil at the sight. By the time the monsters got close enough for the meager amount of sunlight to reveal them, both of the Travelers had drawn their weapons.

"What a warm welcome." Primrose had shifted slightly to give herself room to dance, but unfortunately the battle began before she could perform more than a couple of steps. It started with a blast of blue-green fire headed for Sectonia, and continued with the rotund junicorn taking aim at the closest targets.

There was a distinct whooshing noise as the red horn cleaved through the air. The projectile was hard to miss, so it crashed into the ground between Primrose and Therion as they separated to evade it. The horn sparked, not quite exploding but bursting into volatile pieces. Another horn shifted into place on the junicorn's body, and it positioned itself to take aim again.

At that point the Travelers were on the move. Therion dashed in on the junicorn's flank, while Primrose intended to move in on it's other side. She sprinted toward it, vision tunneling in the darkened chamber, when suddenly she was knocked off of her feet. Caught in the mid-section by a powerful limb, she grunted as she landed on her back a few feet away. The pale, discomforting, cloven-hooved form of a dizy emerged, baring it's claws. It towered over her and some of the other monsters, it's whole body swaying as it stalked toward her.

The sounds of the other Seekers engaged in battle echoed around them in the cavern. With one opponent a piece, the Primrose and Therion fought. The junicorn favored into horn in attacking, attempting to stab or whack the thief with it whenever he got close. Therion made sure that he was close enough to prevent the thing from shooting that horn at him whenever possible, for as much as he kept closing in on it the junicorn would hop backward and try to fire. More annoying than that was that when Therion did strike at it, aiming for the bright red limbs, the junicorn would pull them into it's armored shell like a tortoise.

"Tch." Therion darted around the junicorn in a circle, blade catching against the steel shell. When he felt the sword connect with the monster's flesh, it was met with a retaliatory stab - that small knife the monster held so much less imposing than the creature itself sinking into the thief's shoulder.

He backed off, clutching the wound.

"No good, I'm not making a dent," Therion said, figuring that Primrose was nearby given that he'd caught glimpses of her and the monster she was fighting while he was working on his own.

"I'm having the same problem." Her fight against the dizy was not going well. Because of it's size, in the tight space the monster had no trouble keeping Primrose within it's reach. It's claws weren't the only problem, as the razor-like spines on it's arms and back caught her during hasty evades forming cuts that oozed on her arms and legs. The dizy also seemed completely unharmed, and showed no signs of slowing down. Even where there were no scales, it's skin was packed in layers, solid enough that it might as well have been dressed in iron like the junicorn. Primrose's attacks weren't getting through, whether she used her magic or her might. Her own stamina was drained, but she held her dagger up defiantly. Where and how could she strike at it to actually do damage?

"Primrose!"

She turned in time to Therion's shout only to see the crimson horn of the junicorn meant for Therion headed straight toward her after the thief had rolled out of the way. In a spot of quick thinking she teleporting behind the dizy with Ravaging Confession, using the creature as a meat shield. The horn struck the monster's leg, boring a hole into it and combusting. Unable to cry out with no mouth the dizy flinched and shuddered in pain while Primrose struck it with her magic and dagger. Even with the few times she'd felt her power increase with her attacks, she was still just barely able to leave marks on the dizy's flesh. Where the junicorn had struck however, the wound sizzled and bled.

It was the only thing that had done any real damage to dizy so far. So naturally, an idea came to mind.

"Once more," she said, "get it to shoot another, we'll point it toward this thing." She didn't dare look away from the dizy after it had recovered, but since she heard no argument from Therion's side of the ruins she counted on him following through. Staring down the knotted muscle of a monster in front of her, the dancer lashed out with a spell. The dark energy hit dizy dead on but had as little effect now as it had before, simply washing over it. It slammed it's claws down hard, shaking the area with it's impact but narrowly missing the dancer. She had jumped up, using the recharged scarf to hover above the monster. It shifted it's focus up and raised it's arms in an attempt to snatch her out of the air.

Then came the second horn. Therion had been endeavoring to line of the shot with an uncooperative creature by going against his instincts and leaving openings for the junicorn to shoot at. It swiveled it's body while trying to catch him, the moment of truth being when he'd jumped onto it's armored exoskeleton and kicked off of it, suspended in the air for just a few scant seconds the junicorn fired at him. Therion lurched, flinging his body weight to the side to avoid the horn - it scraped by him, carving a burn just below the stab would on the same arm, and sailed right toward the dizy.

The missile struck the abomination's center where it's muscles twisted and collapsed in on themselves. It sunk deep, and when it began to sizzle to signal it was about to burst the dizy dropped it's arms from pursuing Primrose in order to try and remove the offending object. The horn combusted before it could, blowing a bloody hole into the dizy's core. It flailed wildly and fell over backward, twitching and writhing until it went still.

Their battle wasn't over yet. Unconcerned with the fate of it's fellow monster the junicorn was already preparing to fire again, it's horn able to regrow with insane speed. It took aim at Primrose, but it's shot went wild as it was suddenly jerked down, the projectile colliding with the ceiling and sending a rain of dirt over the area. Therion was attached to it's back, his tail swishing back and forth as he scrabbled around on it's shell to try and avoid it's blind stabbing with it's knife, unfortunately being caught by a few.

"Now how do we deal with this thing?!" he asked. He doused the thing with an Armor Corrosive while he could, not a moment too soon as it had the bright idea then to pull all of it's limbs into it's body and roll itself backward in an attempt to crush the thief. He leapt off of it, landing in a low stance and ready to jump back in.

Primrose appeared at his side then, covered in cuts, bruises, and scrapes. Her eyes darted all over the junicorn's form, searching for some weakness. It's arms and legs reappeared and it started to wobble to its feet.

"It's limbs, the ones it can pull inside, are they made of steel too?"

"No."

"Alright," she paused, took a breath. "And your fire has returned to you?"

"Yes," he said, his eyes narrowing as he tried to figure out the plan she was putting together. "Burn it?"

"From the inside," she said. A smirk made it's way onto Therion's face just before he nodded. Without further deliberation they moved in. This time with no dizy to get in the way when the Travelers split up to flank the junicorn they were successful. It turned first to Therion and then to Primrose, unsure of which to focus on. It felt the sting of Therion's sword against it's arm and turned again, pulling the limb in to safety. Soon after the same thing happened with Primrose's dagger, and then both of it's arms were inside it's iron shell.

The Travelers reached in after them, taking hold of the junicorn's limbs. Together, they cast their magics.

"Burn up!" "Wildfire!"

The junicorn reacted violently, shaking and kicking the two humans. They held firm, and though it seemed to be effective it wouldn't be enough to kill it. Primrose grit her teeth, knowing that her pyromancy had been weakened. She activated her Boost, her body glowing as the power of her spell increased. Across the junicorn's body she heard Therion snicker and join in, Boosting his flame until the monster was cooking alive inside of it's shell. The Travelers yanked their hands out when the heated metal got too hot for them to stand, watching the monster thrash around until it fell over, smoke billowing out of it's arm holes and it's body collapsing into ash.

The Orsterrans both let out a huge sigh, taking but a moment to collect themselves. Other battles were still going on around them, so they couldn't afford to sit back and relax until the rest of the Seekers were safe. Primrose opened her palm and summoned the flame of Warmth to deal with the worst of their wounds, though she didn't get far in the healing process before an unwelcome interruption. Next to her, Therion's ears flickered toward a shifting sound.

"You're kidding me," he said, incredulous, as they both looked over and realized the dizy's body had never disappeared. It was rising to it's feet despite the hole in it's chest... did it's wound get smaller? Primrose realized, eyes widening in dread. Though the process was slow, the dizy's muscles were gradually knitting themselves together again.

It flexed it's claws as if to make sure it still had it's full range of motion. Satisfied, the monster ran at the Travelers with it's arms swinging wildly. With razors concentrated on it's hands and running up it's arms, the sudden and vicious attack sliced ribbons into both Primrose and Therion. The former caught one of it's arms was it slashed away, using her temporary strength to throw it off balance. It staggered back, heaving and weakened - for the moment. It it healed the open wound it would be that much harder to damage it.

Primrose summoned a fireball and threw it at the cavity in the dizy's center. It halted the reformation of the skin for as long as it burned, but once the spell was finished the process began again. The dancer was breathing hard and nearly out of mana. Therion held his blade up but was wary of getting too close to it and couldn't find a weak point save for the one they'd had to make.

"...we made need a hand with this one," Primrose said, earning a half-amused noise from Therion. The dizy recovered and rose to it's full massive height, headed toward the Seekers once more.

World of Light

Word Count: 651 (+1 exp)
Level: 2 - Total EXP: 62/20
Location: Dystopiascape - Gutsford

Pretty much everyone agreed that they didn't want to hoof it all the way to Midgar, so slowly they made plans to look around town for supplies and transportation. Even though they were on a mission, there was no reason not to make it fun - as Sakura was trying to do. Pit probably would have joined her on her escapades, if not for a comment from their Pokémon Trainer.

"No they are not just for show! Watch!" Pit said, his cheeks coloring. A petulant pout formed on his face, but it was hard to see when he crouched low and then sprang up, using his wings to propel himself high into the air. After three wingbeats and he was able to get a great view of the immediate area even if not the whole of Gutsford, but that was his limit. He fell straight back down, using his wings to slow his landing toward the end. Once back on the ground he crossed his arms.

"See? They work perfectly fine!" It was pretty obvious during the demonstration that Pit had not actually flown though. After a moment spent chewing his cheek in thought, the angel let out a short sigh. "I just... can't... fly with them, that's all. It's a whole thing, okay?"

There, now the crew knew he couldn't fly. Better to get it out of the way now anyway, he'd hate to have someone expecting an airborne rescue from him... even if he wanted nothing more to be able to do just that, and would probably pitch himself off a cliff to try it anyway. He had before.

Pit was eager to make himself useful after divulging that he couldn't fly, so instead of going the fun route and following after Sakura he went another way to focus on finding some vehicles. He made a point of hopping up onto the rooftops within reach, just to show that he could. Bede may have touched a sore point.

Gutsford wasn't a maze-like city by any means, but the higher point of view did help with getting around. He moved straight toward any areas that looked promising, but mostly he just looked for any kind of vehicle in general. He did manage to find a few larger ones, but they weren't for sale, rent, or borrow. All deployed for specific jobs already. After getting rejected he'd move on, then rinse and repeat.

...he was getting no where fast, but he kept at it until he was sure he'd tried everywhere he'd seen. Then, he took a quick break.

"This town feels weird," he said to himself. He was lounging at a roof-top cafe, just gathering his thoughts. Maybe he was just unused to college towns, but whenever he was exploring on the ground he felt like someone was looking at him funny. That wasn't the weirdest thing though, the weirdest thing was that no one seemed willing to give the Seekers a ride. It was strike out after strike out!

He looked out over the roof toward the road, thinking about what to do. If they wanted to get to Midgar fast, they could all probably stow away on the cargo trucks. It wasn't allowed by whatever company they drove for (hence, stowing away), but if they were sneaky about it then it'd probably work. Otherwise... nope, he was out of ideas.

Pit swung himself over the edge of the building, landing at the shop's entrance. Had it been long enough to meet back up with everyone? He didn't really know, but considering the Seekers were scattered around town he figured if he looked for them he'd find one or two. Maybe one of them had gotten luckier than him with the whole 'find a ride' thing, and if not - then they'd better hurry up if they wanted to try and slip into the truck beds headed for Midgar.

------

^{____________________________________________________}
Level: 7 - Total EXP: 144/70 ------ Level: 4 - Total EXP: 59/40
𝙱𝙿 ●●●●● ---------------------------- 𝙱𝙿 ●●●●●
Word Count: 2264 (+3 exp)
Location: The Under - Dirtmouth, the Chasm

Primrose and Therion's search for equipment took them all throughout the small fading town, it's far edges and outskirts. As expected of a practiced thief, Therion put his skills to use and swiped anything useful looking that he could get his hands on. Primrose's approach took longer to execute, but earned her better quality equipment than her friend - a compliment or two, a batting of eyelashes, and the miners were putty in her hands all too eager to help out. They didn't necessarily stick close to each other, but whenever they did work together they fell into a familiar routine. Primrose would flaunt her looks and distract the mark, while Therion snuck up and did his thing. They'd separate then, leaving poor men and women wondering what had happened.

After she was done flirting and, frankly, manipulating people out of their spare equipment Primrose shed the overly long habit she'd been wearing and donned the twin crown. The spiked and feathered headband was added to hold the longer white cloth away from her face, giving Primrose the look of some barbarian queen. It was a nice look, she decided. She waited in a wide open area, searching for a glimpse of purple and then reminding herself that she should be looking for orange now. Eventually she spotted her partner in crime, waving him over.

The two of them reconvened, sharing their spoils with each other. They'd done surprisingly well, and though the items they'd gathered were too much to comfortably carry alone for long the two travelers grinned at each other, sharing the feeling of accomplishment.

As they started back toward where they'd last seen the other Seekers, Primrose tossed Therion an empty hand-me-down pack she'd been generously gifted by one of the working men. It was decently larger than the satchel she knew Therion to carry, and without delay he started shoving what he could into it.

"Thanks, this was getting to be a pain to carry."

Primrose couldn't agree more. Between the two of them there were ropes looped around their bodies, bedrolls and wood tucked under their arms, cookware and mining equipment attached to their persons, all number of things tucked into their bags, and Therion had his new cat ears flattened by a helmet he was carrying by wearing. She'd taken Midna's spatial storage for granted. While wondering if she could convince someone to part with their wheelbarrow, Primrose glanced at Therion.

"No extra 'goods' this time?" she questioned, tone playful.

In response he wordlessly held up a lump of something that glinted when the sunlight hit it in a certain way. Of course, how silly of me, the dancer thought. If it was ore from down in the mines, it might even come in handy if sticky fingers or a honey voice couldn't do the trick.

"Got this too," he said, swapping the copper for a compass.

"Do you think it will work down there?"

"Why wouldn't it?"

"If we'll be surrounded by iron veins or other metals, it might affect the compass..." Primrose peered at the device, curious if it even worked at all. She was no scholar, but she knew compasses pointed north because of the world's poles... did the patchwork world of Galeem work the same way? Apparently it did, or at least there was some force attracting the compass' needle, for it held steady in Therion's hand.

The thief shrugged, pocketing it. "Well, whatever. Doesn't hurt to have it, and if it doesn't work I'll just toss it."

As they walked, a flicker of light caught Primrose's eye. It was unlike the shine of sunlight on steel, or the wink of electric devices. It was a flame atop a candle, opposite it's twin, both of them on either side of a stone door set into the rock face of a cliff. It was a curious sight only because none of the other buildings featured candles. Most of the dwellings looked either completely abandoned like those above the chasm, or overtaken by miners or bandits like those closer to the pit. The glow of the candles, set against a foreground that Primrose came to realize was a graveyard, gave off an eerie feel.

She hummed in thought, drawing her companion's attention. Therion followed her gaze to the door. "Spooky. Want to check it out?"

She thought about it. Dirthmouth left a lot to be desired in many areas, and it's lack of what Primrose would consider magical or spiritual places had led her to believe the person she was looking for was further in... or further down, as it were. But while they were already here, a door like this could give her some clues. Even if it didn't, they had time to explore.

"Let's go," she said.

The Travelers made a beeline to the door. If not for the candlelight it would have been half-hidden from the rest of the town. After navigating through the tombstones Primrose and Therion arrived, and were met with a lock.

The dancer knocked, and wasn't surprised to receive no answer. She pressed her ear to the cold door, and couldn't hear anything inside. The only sound that reached her ears was a faint scraping noise, and she glanced down to find Therion already kneeling at the door's keyhole with his lockpick inside.

"Really?"

"Don't even pretend you aren't curious what's inside," he scoffed. "Besides, this is a simple lock. Not anything like that ass Orlick's manse lock." Ugh, that thing was a nightmare. "It'll take me no time to pick."

True to his word, the door clicked open only seconds later. Pleased with himself, Therion stashed his tools, stood up and made a sweeping gesture for Primrose to take the lead. She refrained from speaking so as not to inflate his ego, but she did take his invitation - pushing the door open and stepping inside.

A wave of thick, musty air greeted them, and within the pair discovered a dingy chamber, more of a hollow than a home. Draped in murky vegetation like tattered curtains and aglow with the flickering flame of a few dozen candles, it featured no other amenities, and only a single occupant. A rotund insect swaddled in cloth, with a bulbous head not unlike a giant turban, stirred as if from a deep slumber when the light of day fell across her face. Glowing white eyes blinked open, and they regarded the newcomers curiously.

“Welcome, strange intruders. I've been sound asleep in here for some time… Some, time?” She paused for a moment. Her voice was strange, a chittering murmur, far from human. “Ah. Yes. Yes. Well now you've gone and woken me up. It's no matter, I suppose. I might even be able to help you. I am Jiji, and if you have found your way into my chamber you must need my help.”

Primrose and Therion spared each other a quick, confused glance. Given that they'd apparently just broken into someone's home while they slept, the friendly reception of the occupant was unusual. If the plethora of working miners outside weren't commonplace, they might have even looked the part of burglars too - what with all the equipment hanging off of them. Still, rather than let this chance slip by and the old bug come to her senses about helping out strange intruders, Primrose took a step forward and greeted her.

"Just so. Thank you, Jiji. I've heard that there is someone in this land that deals with departed spirits. A 'Confessor,' though that's all I know. I was hoping to find some information about their whereabouts."

“How fortuitous that we should meet, then. For that is I.” The Confessor tilted her head. “You see, sometimes we leave our regrets behind in the world, like black stains. If we don't deal with these regrets, hope starts to drain from us. As a service, I can return your regrets to you, so they can be dealt with. You have regrets of your own, yes?”

There was a pause as Primrose blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected to find the 'Confessor' so quickly, or so easily. Rather than hope, the dancer felt some anxious energy begin to grow. Either there would be a catch, or the journey ahead would be fraught with hardship, or both. She remained silent for the moment, and Therion the same behind her, not answering Jiji's rhetorical question. The stains of regret... it was an apt simile, if that was all it was.

Then, the Confessor went on. Jiji closed her eyes, bowing her head. “Ah, but I am very hungry. Perhaps you'd be willing to part with a little of your food? Sleep for as long as I have and you build up quite the appetite. Can return your regrets to you, if you share your delicious food with me.”

"...food?" Primrose questioned, skeptical. "Of course you can have some food."

She gestured for Therion to come forward and the thief rolled his eyes, digging through their packs for the rations and lunch leftovers. He held a small wrapped bundle of food out to the Confessor, while Primrose went on to question her.

"Jiji, when you speak of returning regrets - can you return spirits to life?” She asked. “Surely there is a price involved besides feeding you.”

The bug peered among the offered morsels, as if scanning for something she couldn’t find. “Life...?” she murmured quizzically, distracted. “Regrets... are a part of us. My ritual can only bring them here, from wherever they might be. What you do with your regret is up to you. Bury it, destroy it, accept it, I am but the usher...” She looked up at Therion. “Hmm, but you don't have any food on you. At least nothing that interests me. I can't perform on an empty stomach, so please return once you've found something truly tasty... something nourishing.”

"Pretty picky for a- oof."

Primrose retracted her elbow. "What kind of food do you eat?"

“The food I like... it's soft and round and bursts delightfully in your mouth. The smell it emits... just thinking about is getting me excited. It truly is the most sumptuous thing in the world.” Jiji gave a wistful sigh.

"I see." Primrose closed her eyes, considering the Confessor in front of her. She didn't get the feeling that Jiji was a fraud or otherwise untruthful. She also doubted her feminine wiles would work on an old, sleepy, shamanistic bug, so they wouldn't be convincing her anytime soon. Likewise, threatening Jiji was out of the question - not only because it would be tasteless and cruel, but if they wanted to use her services more than once, it would be best not to get on her bad side.

She opened her eyes and nodded. "Then we will be back with something for you. Farewell until then."

The Octopath Travelers left Jiji's hole in the wall, the bug bidding them goodbye. As they found their way back to the only road through town, Primrose remained deep in thought. Usually Therion wouldn't try to break the silence, but he found himself chatting as they walked.

"Well, now that you know where she is you can come back anytime." The dancer hummed to show she was listening so he continued, his tail flicking. "No clue what she eats though. ...berries?"

It was his best guess, and he followed it up with a shrug. Primrose glanced up, tapping her chin.

"I'm not sure. Hopefully it isn't too difficult to find. I'm sure we'll run into it somewhere in the Under."

A bit of unusual food was a small price to pay for what she thought Jiji would be able to do. Although as they'd talked with her, she was beginning to doubt that it was true resurrection. Even so, she was sure that it would be useful.

They eventually arrived to where they'd last left the other Seekers, a spot between Dirthmouth proper and the lip of the Chasm. That they didn't see all of the Seekers there wasn't surprising, but it wasn't just a few that were missing - it was all of them. Primrose and Therion set down most of the equipment they'd been lugging around to rest, peering around for any sign of the others. Were they still exploring the town, having somehow avoided the Travelers on their way back? Or...?

The final sounds of a battle below drifted up out of the Chasm, echoes of shouting and gunshots. When thief and dancer poked their heads over the side of the pit to look down, they found the Seekers of Purple Team minus Ms. Fortune and Sectonia having just driven away some bandits and about to head deeper in. Primrose sighed as the two Travelers straightened up.

"So much for gearing up first," Therion said, clicking his tongue.

"Eager to explore, I suppose. It wouldn't be the first time we've been part of an unpredictable group, hm?"

"Sure. I do know someone who loves going off alone to 'handle things'."

"Speak for yourself," she laughed. Primrose went down the path into the Chasm a little, waving and calling out to Kamek, Bowser, Rika, and any who weren't too far down yet. "Yoohoo~ We'd appreciate some help up here."

Splitting the haul would make it that much easier to carry, and both Travelers were eager to shuck all but their share onto the others. While they coordinated to go deeper and meet with the rest, hopefully the final members of the group would appear so the entire team could descend as one.

World of Light

Word Count: 805 (+2 exp)
Level: 9 - Total EXP: 157/90
Location: Edinburgh MagicaPolis

It was lucky that the tigress woman hadn't woken up while being transported. It would have made the already awkward situation a lot worse. With only a little difficulty they were able to find a doctor, after which they dropped her off and made themselves scarce.

They'd only seen a small part of the city so far, but from what the Cadet could see it stretched into a massive icy sprawl. Skyscrapers were dwarfed by brick towers, roads and aqueducts cut through pedestrian streets... just from their short time walking around, the place seemed even larger than before. At least it would hard to get lost, seeing as they could always find their way back to the city's centerpiece.

The trio soon found themselves in a pub, and after settling in they contacted the Seekers' base of operations via Moogle.

Hearing the news that the three of them were indeed far from the others, the Alcamoth, and everything that had come to be familiar in general, the Ace Cadet started slumping further and further into his seat. He was still one hundred percent sure that everyone else was fine, but still, what a bummer to be separated from them. Especially Nadia - he wanted to spend more time with her in general but after their conversation on the Tinkerslug that feeling was particularly strong. He would have tolerated being surrounded by four mages to stick close to her, but of course it didn't happen that way.

He couldn't fault the Moogle for trying to cheer them up. In all honesty it worked, at least for the monster hunter - seeing her little cheer, he couldn't just mope. There was adventure to be had! The Cadet dragged himself back up until he was sitting properly in the chair. He slapped his palms to his face to get back into the right mindset, putting on a grin.

"She's right. Getting stuck in a whole new places means there's a ton of new stuff to see. Gotta go with the 'snow', right?"

It would also be pretty great if they could figure out the where and whats of the local Guardian, and come up with a plan of attack by the time the cavalry rolled in. Big Band had mentioned before that he was a detective, Wonder Red was a crime fighter, and if their search led them out into the wilderness then the Cadet himself was pretty good at tracking. Between the three of them, it was possible. The little flying creature mentioned not to go fighting it on their own, buuuut maybe they could just play it by ear. After all it would be even better if they could return triumphant.

So that was that. The Moogle left them to their own devices. They were, unofficially, a third contingent of Seekers investigating the furthest reaches of the world now. The Cadet brought the mug of warm liquid up to finish it's contents, then kept his hands wrapped around it to siphon off any lingering heat.

He turned to Wonder Red. "By the way, that unite-thing? Pulled me out of a tough spot back there. Could come in handy that way if you work out how to do it on purpose," the Cadet said, clapping Red on the back good-naturedly. Then he looked to Big Band, ready to get a head start in this region. "I'm in!"

With Band's suggestion for new clothes, the Cadet glanced down at himself. His armor was sturdy, more protective than most given it's use in withstanding wyverns and other monsters, but... it wasn't built for the cold, that was true. Even now whenever the pub's door opened, he could feel the wind right through what he was wearing. Thinking back, Astera and the rest of the 'New World' barely got colder than a slight chill, all of the ice concentrated where Legiana made their nests. And in Lumbridge, the End, the Seaside, the Carcass Isle... the cold had been from being drenched in water, not the bone-chilling frost of winter. And of course because he hadn't planned on ending up a frozen place, he hadn't made any 'hot drinks.' Yup, Band definitely had the right idea.

"Don't need to worry about that, I hardly get sick," the hunter mentioned, proving the adage 'idiots don't catch colds' true. "But you're right - if we'll be here for a while, we are gonna need something warmer. I've got some other clothes with me, but they probably won't be enough."

Plus, getting new equipment was always something the Cadet enjoyed. He imagined hardy pieces of armor lined with warm fur and thick animal hide coats that were tougher than they looked. "Step one, find some new gear - step two, find the big, bad boss."

In a city this huge, there was probably nothing they couldn't find... with time, at least. And some directions.

Hi?

hands you this

Hello, and welcome to RPG!

Good Morning, Starship! The Earth Says Hello!

Welcome~!

Hi! I'm Perio :>

Hey there, welcome! Have fun and let us know if you have any questions!

What Are You Listening To?

Hello :)

Welcome to the guild!

World of Light

Word Count: 591 (+1 exp)
Level: 9 - Total EXP: 155/90
Location: Edinburgh MagicaPolis

The further the trio ran, the more hopeless the thought of reuniting with the other Seekers for their respective missions became. The trains could have taken off already without them, or worse - one or more of them could have succumb to the onslaught. The Cadet chose to believe that everyone else had made it out alright though, given how tough and resourceful the people he'd come to consider friends had proven themselves to be. Anyway, if he, Band, and Red couldn't meet up with their teammates then they'd figure out a plan of action later once they were safe.

So they toughed it out, lungs burning until they could see escape in front of them. It wasn't one of the many colored metro stations that they ran toward, but an exit from the metro altogether. Daylight filtered in through the windows and doors of a wider open space, and it was through there that the three men made it out. Even after bursting out of the metro, the Cadet didn't stop running until the sound of feline tidal wave was cut off. He then slowed to a jog, then a stop as he turned back and noted that none of the cats were following them out.

"Oh my wrog..." he panted, working to catch his breath quick. He made his way back toward the other two, craning his neck to get a look at the city while they were out there. It was huge, more modern looking than not, and pretty damn cold. If the Cadet had to take a guess where they were, it would be that vague frozen section of the map they'd gone over at Alcamoth. Of course the most striking thing about the area was the super massive bumblepumpkin in front of them, in fact being where they'd just exited. That the entire metro had really been indoors, and not just underground somewhere was mind-boggling. As an aside, the fact that other-worldly cultures also carved their bumblepumpkins like his did was amusing.

The Cadet refocused his attention back on the doors that the trio had just come from. Through the glass they could see what remained of their pursuers, unwilling to leave the building. Though glad that the chase was over for now, it would have been a lot easier to lose a big chunk of the cats in city streets, he thought. Then, maybe they could have snuck back inside and chanced another trek toward the stations. With the horde staying put inside, that was a pipe dream.

"This giggisux," the Ace Cadet said, staring into the slowly disappearing crowd of cats behind the doors. "What are we gonna do now? We can't get back inside. I guess we call a Moogle and let home base know what happened, see how far away we are?" From the other two teams or from Alcamoth, he didn't specify. He let out a groan, rubbing the back of his head.

Among the metro cats, only one pursuer remained while the rest retreated back into the depths of the Nyakuza Metro. She was more woman than cat, with a large frame and the Gleaming coloration that forced her to stay and fight even while she was suffering from the cold. She charged then, right at Big Band. She was so focused on her prey that she didn't notice the monster hunter come up next the detective, and with shield still in hand he swung his arm out into her path. She crashed into it, skull colliding with the thick steel.