ToT - Intermissions 3

There's a bit of a long read below explaining everything going on here. You have been warned. 


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There are few private places in Ywaru available to outsiders: there’s scarce more homes than needed, and the only inn in town has closed temporarily owing to its sponsor’s arrest and the change that has caused.

Ultimately, however, the three envoys from elsewhere and Team Guang have found somewhere to stay the day: an abandoned home built with wood forced against a crag, an equivalent of the treehouses common to Tabira.

"Well, I think this will do," says the tall pink Pokemon, Cerise. From the books Penelope has read, Cerise looked very similar to something she saw from an old fairytale. Yet, the Pokemon from that book was depicted as green, not pink. "Mirya’s in the basement, by the way; after I explained the situation to her, I think she decided it’d be better not to talk."

She spoke of the Shaymin from their group, who had caused quite a stir during Don Kapon's arrest earlier today. For such a small Pokemon, her temper was as hot as Penelope's.

"Anyway…" Cerise continued. "It’s not every day that such a huge group leaves Tabira and marches this far south. I’ve been travelling the region for a while, and the last time I saw that many Pokemon moving from place to place was… the Glennish war."

The Glennish war was something Penelope and Lin Lin were only somewhat familiar with. Both of them were quite young and far away from the conflict during that disastrous time, so the details were scarce between them. The most they heard were stories of Glenmark's eventual defeat by Tabira from their parents and guardians.

"Indeed," Adrias, the Skiddo, said. "Now, I don’t feel like I’m looking at an army when I look at all of you. But it still makes the herd nervous. Essentially, what we want is an explanation of what you’re doing: why you’re so far afield from your own lands, and why your goals are important. The more we know, the better. If you seem trustworthy to us, and I personally think you are, some of the tribes may even be willing to help you in the future."

"And I’m interested in hearing this too, of course," Cerise chimed in. "You see, I don’t live in Fernfrond Village, like Mirya does; I just stopped by once, and decided to stay for a while. But as long as I’m there, I might as well keep them in the loop of what’s going on. Things aren’t going well for them… and you seem to be headed for Fever Flats, which has historically been their land. That’s why Mirya was so agitated, by the way."

No wonder that Shaymin was so hot tempered, Penelope thought to herself.

"So for my part, if you tell me about what’s going on, I’ll be happy to fill all of you Tabirans in about the situation to the south. Does that sound fair?"

"SHI. That sounds like a fair exchange to me," Lin Lin says.

"You're from Xin Tou, I take it?" Adrias asks, quickly picking up on her distinctly foreign dialect.

Lin Lin nods. "Born and raised! I traveled to Tabira to join the guilds here a while ago. I remember I was still a young Pancham then..."

"We were all quite young when we first joined the guilds," Penelope chimes in. "I only just evolved recently."

"I see..." Adrias hums.

"Let me just make one thing clear," Penelope tells them. "We came here to figure out this water situation and put a stop to it before it spreads any further. A war is exactly the last thing we want out of this."

"And spread it has," Lin Lin says, pulling out a world map to demonstrate their point. She points a claw down on Mosswood. "So far, it has already reached this outpost. The people who drank the water there became terribly ill as a result."

"And as you can see," Penelope explains, pointing out the blue lines on the map. "Most of the rivers around the continent connect to Mosswood. Tabira isn't the only area in danger of this plague. So is Xin Tou, Lason Spring, and possibly even Rubias. Almost all the major settlements across the country are being threatened by it."

"That does cause a great deal of concern," Adrias says. "And so you followed the river of this plague's origin to stop it at its source?"

"Exactly," Penelope tells them. "While we made our way here to Ywaru, we realized this region was getting hit with the water crisis the most, considering how arid it is. Not to mention the drought going on right now..."

"We could not simply leave these people to go without water," Lin Lin explains. "That simply would not be right. The Trackers Guild's leader, Vander, once lived here too, come to think of it..."

"And what of Don Kapon?" Cerise asked. "I understand he was causing problems by holding resources all to himself."

"You heard true," Penelope replies. She suddenly looks down a bit, hesitant. "I... Admittedly, I tried to reason with him; try to get him to at least lower the prices he's put on water. He wouldn't budge even when I was reminding him on how transparent his crimes were."

"He was a very corrupt individual," Lin Lin tells them. "Everything he did, he did for money and power. He hired thugs to guard his reservoirs, withheld water within his hideout. He even sent assassins to take us down."

"To which said assassins were promptly knocked down and taken into the sheriff's custody," Penelope chimed in. "She was able to obtain solid evidence from them that soon lead to Don Kapon's official arrest... and eventual exile."

"Which brings us back to the present," Adrias finishes. "It seems you Tabirans have done some good work around here."

Penelope seemed pleased. Thank you! Finally, some appreciation!

"This was all certainly very informative," Cerise says. "It would seem this poison water situation was much worse than we thought... Thank you for sharing your side of the story with us."

"BIE KEQI. It was a pleasure talking to you." Lin Lin bows her head respectfully. Cerise does the same in return.

*

Outside the abandoned hut, Penelope and Lin Lin are the first to leave. It was getting late as the bright-orange sun began to set over the craggy horizon.

Penelope breathes a deep sigh of relief. "...Well, that certainly went better than expected."

"It was better than trying to negotiate with a mob boss, wasn't it?" Lin Lin chuckled.

"Yes, it was," the Houndoom huffed. "Anyways, Cerise says she'll tell us everything they know about the situation down south with everyone in the guilds while we make our way there. Until then, let's rest up a bit."

"SHI," Lin Lin agrees. "Let's meet up with Birch and tell him the news. He should be at the local orphanage somewhere in town."

"The one where Prier's uncle works?" Penelope grumbles. "Great... Well, babysitting isn't something I'm unfamiliar with at this point."

The Pangoro laughs. "Come on. Our friends are waiting for us."

"Right behind you Lin."

*

Nestled amongst the boulders on the outskirts of town lies a modest, clay building. Colorful paintings cheerfully decorate the walls, but these murals do little to hide the numerous cracks and overall debilitative state of the structure.

Lin Lin begins to help the Artisans' architect Cetra spruce up the place, while Penelope looks after the gaggle of children nestled in the corner of the room. Birch is outside, apparently still feeling glum about his series of unfortunate events happening recently. Prier, the Absol apprentice of the Keepers, is also watching Samara and Gemma playing with the children from a distance.

He was pouting, one claw holding up his face, and looking incredibly bored.

"Your back will start aching if you stay slumped over like that."

Prier looks up, visibly surprised to see a familiar Houndoom walking up to him. "...You evolved," he muttered.

"Yes, a little while ago. So glad you noticed," Penelope tells him. "Mind if I sit here?"

The Absol lets out a disgruntled huff, but doesn't reject her offer. She sits down only a couple feet away from him, respecting his space.

"...So," Penelope starts, but doesn't quite bring up a conversation yet.

"So," Prier repeats, signalling to her that he's listening. Begrudgingly, but still.

"...Look," she says. "I'm sorry... about the whole 'spying on you' thing. Back at Morgan's?"

Prier sighs.

"Personally, I would've left you alone had it not been for Samara dragging me into the thick of it," she explains. "And honestly, I still would've been suspicious of you anyway."

"How so?" he asks.

"Well," the Houndoom beams. "One: You're not the best liar in the world. And two: Morgan has this particular stink about her that is distinct from anything else in Tabira. I would've smelled her on you a mile away. Basically, there was no way you could've NOT been caught in the act."

"What's your point?" Prier grumbles.

"My point is," she answers. "Is that you're curiosity towards 'magic' is getting the better of you and you need to stop before others get hurt. Or worse."

The Absol turns his head away in frustration. He doesn't want to hear another lecture, especially from someone he barely knows.

Penelope quickly catches on to his sour mood. "You know, I'm only telling you this because everyone is worried about you."

"Worried?" he scoffs.

"Yes. Very worried," she tells him. "In my eyes, you're acting like that one guy who craves something like, say, power, and will do everything they can to achieve it no matter the cost. You know what happens to those guys? They get the full brunt of the consequences."

"Really." He sounds unconvinced.

"YES. It happens in EVERY SINGLE story I've read," she spats. "Seriously, DON'T be that guy. If you continue dealing with bad witchcraft, chances are you're going to bite off more than you can chew and cause a disaster not even YOU will see coming."

"I find that rather hard to believe," he rebukes.

"I don't care if you believe it or not," Penny tells him. "If you know what's good for you, stop seeing Morgan. Or any other bad witches for that matter. Don't think I didn't notice you trying to sneak out every now and then."

"What's it matter to you who I see?" Prier barks. "As far as I'm concerned, this has nothing to do with you."

"I'm already involved whether either of us like it or not," she rebuttals. "In fact, the entire Keepers guild is involved. Everyone is worried about you."

"I highly doubt that," he grunts. "I'm just another apprentice to them. They only punish me like this because it's their job. Nobody cares what I get myself into."

"Well I do!"

Prier turns his head around in surprise. Penelope, after a moment of realization over what she just said, turns her head away in embarrassment.

"You're... You're acting like a stubborn, stereotypically angsty teenager," she huffs. "I... People do care about you... more than you know... l-like Gemma and Mistress Sela."

Prier remains silent.

"I... I mean it," Penny stutters. "Please stop seeing Morgan. A-at least for their sake."

After a moment of awkward silence, Prier breathes out a disgruntled "Fine" before finally getting up from his spot. "I'm going out for some air."

Penelope says nothing as the Absol makes his way to the back door. Right as he was about to open it, Penny suddenly notices something right above him. "Hey, wait-"

*SPLAT*

Everyone turns at the noise. A bucket of guacamole falls on Prier's head, covering him in delicious green avocado goo and red pepper bits (a better alternative than poisoned water). All the children start laughing.

He turns an angry glare at Samara and the children, making them stifle their laughter. They all respond in unison, "Penny did it!", pointing at the already-dumbstruck Houndoom.

"Oh for the love of..." She sighs miserably. "Please leave me out of this."

Prier wipes the guacamole off his fur in disgust before leaving and slamming the door behind him. 

*

Meanwhile, outside of the orphanage, the nighttime sky reveals a stunning string of bright white stars. Birch sits on a boulder some ways away from the building, staring off into space.

He sighs deeply. The other day had been a complete mess for him. It seemed like everything he did, all the good he was trying to do for himself and others... The moment he has his hopes held high, it all suddenly u-turns into the opposite.

It's like he's a floating magnet for bad luck.

"Maybe I should just leave," he mumbles to himself. "Everyone would be better off without me... I'd just be a burden to them..."

Suddenly, as if to answer his musings, the wind picks up and something flies onto one of his horns. He's startled by it for a moment, but quickly calms down as he realizes it was just a piece of paper.

...A piece of paper with writing on it. He looks around him. No one seemed to be nearby who could've dropped this. Curious, he reads it. There is only one passage:

Look beneath the rocks in Ywaru Canyon. A juicier history awaits for Those brave enough to seek it. For Those valiant challengers: do not let your endurance falter, even in an uphill battle. Numbing death will find you from the walls. Water has long left these time-worn caverns; do not neglect to bring your own. Ancient cobalt regalia from a forgotten era will be your reward. Godspeed to those who risk their lives, and goodwill to those who do not.

Below the inscription is a map of Ywaru, with an X marking the area of the challenges mentioned. And below that is an unfamiliar symbol. For some reason, looking at this symbol stirred something within him. ...Confidence? Probably.

He looked at it long and hard, and then stared up at the stars again, deep in thought.

Once more, Birch is unsure of what to do now.

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Phew, finally got this done! The tasks done here are Difficult Debriefing and Orphanage Overhaul, in which wedward45 also gets one more CAMEO. 

Also, the last bit is left for RP shenanigans. Birch needs someone to come up and give him a boost of confidence, and a Test of Willpower is exactly what he needs. But considering how glum he's been feeling, you guys need to find a way to convince him to go and take on the challenge (not alone, mind you. He's still just a kid after all). 

The first one who leaves me a note gets to RP with me and my tiny Phantump son. Let's kick this thing into full gear!

Already started an RP with MidnightRose1918. Stay tuned!


Story (c)Tales of Tabira
Pokemon (c)Nintendo
Comic (c)Me
All characters belong to their respective owners.