ToT: Reap What You Sow

In the inn that had been set aside for the guilds’ use, Sinclair looked at the two new arrivals. Outwardly, she was completely calm. Inwardly, she was simultaneously frowning with concern about him and laughing hysterically about her. “The two of you are taking the Trial of Temperance. This should be… interesting.”

Samara began. “Look, I know that fracas in the Wonder Room last month put a bit of a black mark on our records…”

“Our records?” David cut in. “I wasn’t even there!”

“That is quite true, David” said Sinclair. “However, Vander has informed me of the restraint- or lack thereof- you show when dealing with bandits.” Before David could protest this, Sinclair stood up. “As you know, that lack of restraint had already been made clear to us." David winced a bit at that. "Many of the bandits who raid this field are simply starving and desperate. I worry for their safety if they run into you out there.” She raised one armored hand. “However, this would not be a trial if it was not in some way a test.”

David opened his mouth, and then closed it again, as though he were arguing with himself. After a minute, he said: “Understood.”

Sinclair nodded. “We will see. Samara, I want you to head for the workshop. It’s down the road, the building that looks like a blue barn. Darius and Corduroy are there doing maintenance work. They asked me to send an extra pair of hands if they could be spared.”

“Got it” said Samara, heading out the door. Incident in the Wonder Room notwithstanding, Sinclair knew the Sneasel didn’t really need to be tested for temperance. Although moderation was not a word that would seem to describe Samara, she’d restrained her kleptomania well enough that she’d never stolen anything truly important. In any case, Darius really had asked for the help.

As Sinclair looked at the true cause of her concern, Prier strode in. “The cistern has been cleaned like you asked, Sinclair.” The Absol sniffed. “I’d prefer that my next job would be considerably less filthy, if at all possible.”

“Excellent timing, Prier. I do indeed have another job for you.” Sinclair gestured at a large pile of bags full of seeds. "The workers just finished tilling the field next to this building. Prier and David, you two are going to plant it.”

“Work with him?” said Prier, visibly outraged. David, presumably keeping in mind that this was supposed to be a test, kept his mouth shut.

Sinclair looked Prier in the eye. “You will work with him” she said, very deliberately. “And you will do so in a way that does not end in blows. I trust you understand?”

Prier gritted his teeth. “Very well.” He gestured at David. “You- grab a seed bag.”

David wordlessly went to the pile, grabbed a bag, and unceremoniously dropped it in front of Prier. He then grabbed another one, and started off for the field.
_________________

Samara walked into the workshop and found Darius talking with one of the farmers, a Drillbur. Corduroy was in the rafters, sniffing the wiring for breakages, marking the ones he found with paper tags.

“I can’t fix the wiring if I can’t open it” Darius said

“Couldn’t you just break it open?”

“Do you need me to explain why leaving exposed wiring is a bad- hold on” Darius broke off, looking at Samara. “Ah, Samara. Didn’t know you’d be here.”

“Hey, Darius” said Samara. “Ummm… no hard feelings about what happened in the Wonder Room?”

“Nah” said Darius. “The headache only lasted a few hours.”

“I thought we all agreed never to speak of it again!” Corduroy called down from the rafters.

“We did” said Darius. “So, naturally, everyone is speaking of it. Anyway, Samara, did you need anything?”

“Sinclair sent me here. Said you asked for some extra help.”

“I did ask for that, but nothing really jumps out at me right now.” Darius shrugged. “We’re trying to fix the electrical lighting in this building, but the junction boxes are all locked and nobody can seem to find the keys.”

“Not a problem.” Samara flicked her wrists, and a pair of Ice Shards formed in her hands. Sticking them into the lock, she twisted them around for a couple of seconds. The lock popped open. She handed them to Darius.

“Ice lockpicks?” said Darius. “Nice. I’ll need to tell Graham about that one. Alright, at the other side of the building, there should be a switch. When I shout the order, flip it.”

“Got it.” Samara darted towards the switch in question,

Darius examined the open junction box, reached in, and pulled out a bunch of rusty wires.

“Corduroy!” He called, bundling the wires in his fist. “Lunchtime!” He tossed the wires into the air. Corduroy stuck his head out and snapped them up. Then, he grimaced.

“They’re rusty, Darius” said Corduroy. “You know I prefer the new ones.”

“The new ones are going into the walls, Corduroy” said Darius. “We’re replacing these because they’re rusty.”

The Eelektrik looked sad. “You always put the quality of our work before the quality of my lunch.”
____________________

Aveline snuck towards the farmland, staying alert for… well, anyone, really. Bandits were of course an issue, but there was clearly a Tabiran guild presence in this area. This was theoretically good for her, but considering her reason for sneaking onto this farm, it would probably be a bad idea to let them see her.

She hadn’t eaten in three days. Raiding a farm for food railed against her conscience, but she had no way to pay for them and no luck living off the land. Hunger overrode all other concerns.

The Buizel reached the first field and examined the crops. Corn, mostly. Only half-grown, not yet edible. She picked a random direction and started walking that way. After a few minutes, she heard the voices. Two of them, arguing.

“… bad enough that I’m made to work as a farmer instead of learning actual keeper’s duties. Now I’m forced to work alongside you.” This voice was young, and tried very hard to sound cultured but didn’t quiet succeed. It reminded Aveline of her mother, sort of.

“Rivercross Acres heard you the first five times” responded a voice with a slight foreign accent. “Now shut it.”

“I will not stand here and be talked down to by-”

“Then take a seat, by all means. Or better yet, actually start working. Either way, quit whining, brat.”

“Disrespectful brute.”

“Explain to me how you’ve done anything to earn my respect.”

“I am your senior in the guild! You aren’t even a full member yet!”

“You’re still an apprentice. Not a lot of rank to pull.”

“What I have should be more than enough!”

“Try following your own advice, Mr. farming-is-beneath-me.”

Aveline reached the edge of the field. The one next to it was still empty. It was already tilled, ready for planting. The voices belonged to an Absol and a Riolu, who were working on planting the seeds. Or rather, they were trying to plant the seeds, but were too wrapped up in their argument to make much progress. The Absol didn’t even seem to have started.

The Absol continued: “I must admit, it completely escapes me why Sela would even consider letting someone like you into the guild. I’d told her letting any old rabble in was a mistake, but…”

“Maybe she wanted someone else around for you to bother” the Riolu retorted acidly. “I’ve interacted with you maybe four or five times in the three months I've been here and I’m already sick of it!”

“The feeling is entirely mutual, I assure-”

Aveline tried to back away as quietly as possible, but to no avail; her foot backed into one of the cornstalks, which bent over with a surprisingly loud rustling noise. The Absol and Riolu both heard it and saw her. The Riolu’s paw darted up to the knife sheathed on his chest.

“Who are you?” The Riolu’s voice was heavy with suspicion. Aveline looked at the knife for a few seconds. She knew that he’d reached for it as a reaction to her presence, but she was still pretty sure she’d accidentally prevented a fight.

“I-I’m sorry” said Aveline. “I know I shouldn’t be here. I’ll just go-”

“So you’re not a worker” said the Riolu.

The Absol sniffed. “A bandit, then.”

“No, I’m not a-” Aveline stuttered. “I mean, I did come here for… but, my supplies were stolen and…” She trailed off into silence.

“There won’t be any food here for a few months” said the Riolu after a moment. He gestured to the field on the other end. “But the crops over there are ready. The farmers only started picking them about fifteen minutes ago. They probably won’t notice if a few potatoes or something go missing.”

“I- thank you so-”

“You’d better hurry” said the Riolu. “Wait too long and someone will notice you. And we have work to do.”

Aveline sighed in relief. She’d expected that to go so much worse. Mumbling thanks, she went off towards the field the Riolu had been pointing at. She pulled six or seven radishes out of the ground, ate one, stuffed the rest in her bag, and made for the edge of the farm, continuing her journey south.

In the meantime, David and Prier started arguing again.
________________

Samara watched a light bulb do absolutely nothing. “New lightbulb didn’t work!” she called down to Darius.

“Corduroy, get to the north wall, second floor. We’ve got another bad one.”

“It’s like every wire in this building is broken, rusted, or both!” groaned Corduroy. “And I’m stuffed.”

“You don’t have to eat all of them, you know” said Samara.

Corduroy looked shocked. Possibly. An Eelektrik’s facial expressions were a bit difficult to read. “But that would be so wasteful!”

“Why do you like wires so much, anyway?” asked Samara. “Are they that delicious?”

“Absolutely!” declared Corduroy. “Well, probably not for you, since you’re a mammal, but for me it…”

Samara stopped paying attention as Corduroy launched into a long lecture on the subtleties of the fine dish regarded by most species as inedible metal. She’d found something on the rafter.

“Darius” she said. “I found a key up here.”

“Please tell me it’s for the junction boxes” said Darius. “These picks of yours keep melting.”

“Ice tends to do that.” Samara hopped down and tossed Darius the key. He caught it and tried it.

He shook his head. “Nope.” He examined it and found a tag. “‘If found, please return to Dandolo at the Bank of Tabira’.” He frowned. “Belongs to Prier’s dad. Must have been another of those thefts we’ve been hearing about.”

Samara frowned. “I know it’s been random, and that some of the missing items have turned up in other towns, but who the hell steals a key and then hides it on a barn rafter?”

“Wonder Room” Darius coughed.

“I meant when sober!”

“…leading to the tingling feeling which is what truly makes them such a delicacy to my kind. Unless, of course, it’s rusted. Of course, there is also…” Corduroy looked down. “Hey, Samara, weren’t you up here?”
__________________________

Prier industriously buried seeds in the ground, and fumed.

After tiring of their argument, the last hour of which had basically been a multilingual war of insults (he still felt a bit shell-shocked by some of those Glory’s Peak swearwords, and he didn’t even know what any of them meant when translated into Tabiran), David and Prier had settled down and started working. They’d made steady progress, largely because, by silent agreement, they were working at opposite ends of the field.

Still, that argument had lasted a long time. The sun had almost disappeared behind the horizon. When Prier had suggested that they leave off for the day, David had responded that they would stop when they had finished their job, and not before.

Rude, impertinent, and a workaholic! Prier cursed his luck. He was about to curse Sinclair as well, but he stopped himself. He had a sneaking suspicion that being made to work together had been a test of him as well as David. If so, they’d both flunked rather miserably.

As if that Aggron had any business testing him, but… still.

Finally, he finished planting his seeds. He glanced at David, who appeared to be almost done as well.

Suddenly, someone grabbed him. Before Prier could even react, he was pinned to the ground. He couldn’t see what was doing it, but whatever it was had sharp claws. With a bit of effort, he twisted his neck for a better look. It was an Ursaring.

“Where’s the food?” said a voice to his right. Prier looked up.

A Machamp loomed over him, a smug grin on his face. Behind the Machamp stood a Conkeldurr carrying a stone club. Curiously, both of the Machamp’s right arms hung limply at his side. A group of bandits? he thought.

“What?” said Prier.

“Yer a farmer, right?” the Machamp said. “You probably grow lots of food here. We want it. Where is it?”

Prier looked around at the field he was in- lots of seeds just planted, all of which took longer than an hour to yield food. He glanced at the field David had directed the Buizel towards, which had been harvested several hours ago. There was not a single crop in sight.

An incredibly stupid group of bandits, then.

“The food is not here yet” Prier said. “But it is on its way.”

“Good to hear” said the Machamp. “We’ll just wait right here for it. And of course, you’ll stay with us until it shows up. Help prevent any misunderstandings, see?”

Prier considered his words for a minute and began to speak when all three of the bandits turned to look to the left. The Ursaring’s grip loosened, and Prier wriggled free.

David stood there, looking impassively at the bandits. Noticing Prier, his lip twisted. “I don’t suppose you finished planting the seeds yet?”

Prier almost had to laugh at that. “As a matter of fact, I did.”

“Ah, great. We’re done for the day.”

“YOU!” yelled the Machamp.

“Can I help you?” David said mildly.

“Dontcha remember us, punk?” snarled the Ursaring.

David smirked. “Vaguely. What are you three doing here? Did the ‘toll road’ business go sour or something?”

“Where d’other one?” growled the Conkeldurr, in almost exactly the caveman voice Prier had expected him to have. “Dat mean girl who hit me?”

“You stuck a knife in my back!” yelled the Machamp. “Half my arms are dead cuzza you!”

“You tried to enslave my partner and I” said David, coldly. “If you’re after sympathy, I have none to give you.”

The Machamp pointed both of his good arms at David, and said to the other two bandits: “Kill that liddle shite and yew gets first pick of the food when it comes!”

David looked askance. “When it comes?”

“Dis kid say dere’s gonna be food soon” supplied the Conkeldurr.

David looked blankly at Prier.

The Absol shrugged. “Evidently, they are such dolts that they do not even understand sarcasm. In any event, ‘soon’ is a rather general term.”

The Ursaring charged at David, swiping at him with massive claws. David simply leaned out of the way, let the Ursaring lose his balance, and brought his leg up between the bandit’s thighs. The Ursaring doubled over, curling into a fetal position. The Conkeldurr swung his club. David neatly sidestepped it, and it hit the Ursaring. David punched the Conkeldurr solidly in the throat, and that was two bandits out of the fight. The Machamp looked at it, and then spat on the ground. “No knife today?”

David turned to look at him. Then, he started to glow.

As Prier and the remaining bandit watched, the glow got brighter and brighter. Then, as it became too bright to look at, David screamed in pain. The glow winked out.

Where a Riolu had been standing, a Lucario lay panting on the ground. David struggled to his feet, but stumbled and fell to his knees.

Prier was confused. This was the wrong way around. He’d always heard stories of Pokémon evolving during battle and turning a near defeat into a triumph. As a Riolu, David had been soundly beating the bandits. Now that he was a Lucario, he could barely stand?

The Machamp stared at David for a few seconds. An ugly smile spread across the bandit’s face. Picking up the club belonging to his Conkeldurr companion, he strode over to his opponent, and cocked both left arms.

As he started to swing, Prier charged forward. He grabbed the club, and it flashed grey for a second. Then, it changed direction, seemingly of its own accord, and smashed the Machamp’s face. The bandit dropped like a stone, blood spurting from his nose.

David finally managed to get to his feet. “What the hell was that?”

“Me First” said Prier.

“A practical application for that irritating self-entitlement of yours” said David. He experimentally took a few steps- clumsy ones. “Still, it saved my life, I guess, so… thanks.”

Prier looked at the bandits, all three of whom were unconscious. He sniffed. “What do we do with them?”

David shrugged. “Leave them.” He cracked a faint smile. “They can keep waiting for the food to show up.”
_____________________

“I already knew about the argument” said Sinclair, once David and Prier had explained why they had finished so late.

Prier excused himself to go to bed. David winced. “That loud, were we?”

“We could hear it all the way in the workshop” said Darius. “Samara was even nice enough to translate on your behalf. I think a few things got lost in translation, but it was still impressive.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment” said David.

Samara was still staring at David, who was now more than twice her size.

“David, I know what you went through. I have done it twice now” said Sinclair. “You’ll probably want to head back to Tabira to recuperate.”

David nodded gratefully.

“Recuperate?” said Samara. “Isn’t evolution supposed to make you stronger?”

“That’s the end result, sure” said Darius. “But at the time, it hurts like hell and leaves you clumsy. Didn’t you see how much David stumbled just walking across the room?”

“Oh” said Samara in a small voice. “Something to look forward to.”

“Get some sleep” said Sinclair. “You can leave tomorrow.”

Out in the field, the Conkeldurr sat next to the other two (still unconscious) bandits, and waited for the food to arrive.