A Ballad for Icarus - A Historical Pokemon Quest

Winning Vote:

[X] Righteousness.
[X] Investigate the Brothel.

###

The brothel's building is comparatively small, more akin to a mansion though still blocky and built from stone like the rest of Olympia. It sits west of the temple, and it is crawling with guards. You can see some priests, dressed much the same as Ray, glaring around at the various women and men that are offering their services.

And though people are clearly suspicious of everyone around them, the injured woman in your arms and the one in front of you hurrying you along are enough to get past the guards and into the building.

It smells… strong. Like perfume and alcohol, and all kinds of things you've never smelled before. You're on your own, now, and while Ray's plan seems to be to sell the matron out to the temple for a payday, you're less inclined to use the people that seem like they're mourning for some coin.

But… what would they be mourning about?

"Here," the woman says. On the ground floor is a door, far to the right and past more of that overwhelming stench. The woman opens it, and you step in to find yourself in a rather plain looking room with a single bed and a man sleeping in a chair.

"Justus," the woman shouts. The man starts awake, his entire body coming alive to knock the chair over. You can see it in the way he stands, in the way his hand twitches to a sword that used to be on his hips, that he used to be a soldier. "Justus, Tia is injured!"

That takes all sleepiness from his eyes. His face turns into stone, and his hands take the still unconscious Tia from your arms before laying her on the bed, checking over the wound on her head. It's no longer bleeding, due to your first aid.

"The wound looks worse than it is," he says, quickly grabbing some equipment from the desk he was sleeping at. Though he is clearly equipped to handle these things, the collection of material in his office seems too little for the amount of people that the brothel must contain. "Lora, did you use a potion on her?"

"Not me," Lora says. She points at you. "Her."

"We can't repay you for it," he says quickly. You frown. Repay? "Thank you for taking care of her. Go home now."

"Repayment?" you ask, your thoughts spilling over your tongue. "It's a potion, it's—"

Not that cheap, is it? You calculate the price, you bought them in bulk, and you know the merchants who sold it to you were quite happy about Wilhelm's capture, but…

"It's worth any price as long as a life is saved," you say, frowning. He looks at you like you said something ridiculous. You glare at him. "I don't want any money from you."

"She's a friend of ours now," Lora says, stepping between you and Justus. "So play nice, Justus."

They stare at each other for a moment. The smell makes your breathing shallow, and the silence is broken by a cough that sneaks its way past your desire to make yourself small and invisible.

"Fine, sorry for doubting you," Justus says. He bandages Tia's head quickly, moving on from her to mix some herbs from his drawer into something that vaguely looks like a powdered painkiller Drake once gave you when you had a fever. "There, now that that's done."

He stands tall, you notice, as he walks up to you. A bit taller than tall, even. It's barely noticeable when he's hunched over a patient, but this man would tower even over Redwood. In exchange, though, his limbs look sickly thin. While he hides as much as he can under his baggy clothes that seem to be the approximation of a doctor's robe, his own health seems rather… precarious.

"I'm Justus," he says, shoving his hand at your face. You shake it, meeting his strong grip with one of your own. "And you helped one of us, which means you're not an Olympian."

"No, I'm not," you confirm. "I'm a wanderer, I arrived here in the evening."

"Then let me repay you by giving you advice," Justus says. You don't know what his problem is, but his attitude can not be more unwelcoming if he tries. "This city's going to war with itself soon, you better pack your stuff and go."

"Justus," Lora warns, her voice strained. "This isn't the time to make more enemies."

"No, it's not," you say, agreeing with her. "But I don't want to intrude on something I don't know about, so I'll go back to my companion."

"Wait," Lora says, grabbing your arm. She looks concerned. "The people saw you help us, it won't end here. Justus wasn't wrong, the temple is trying to throw us out of the city. They rile up the citizens, that's who attacked us."

"To help was her choice—"

"Not without the knowledge!" Lora shouts. You flinch at the volume. "We can't repay her by sending her out to those who'd do us harm! We owe a debt, Justus!"

You can't take it anymore. "Everyone shut up!"

Everyone is all of two people, and the still sleeping Tia on the bed. They turn to you, equal parts confused and annoyed. You know there's some people outside the door listening in, though that really doesn't matter.

"I'd have helped regardless," you say, pointing at Lora. Your finger moves to Justus. "And I don't fear the people who'd let anger grip their hearts. It doesn't matter whether the matron killed the high priest, does it? If it wasn't you, they'd find some other group to attack. That's a systemic problem."

"Your sword won't get you out of this, vagrant knight," Justus says. "The tension in the air will not resolve by finding the right words and speaking them to the right people, I urge you to find a different place."

"He's an asshole but he means well," Lora says, frowning. "If you stay here or are seen leaving after helping us, you'll be a target. The temple is out for blood, the emperor asks them to self-govern, and the Centurion in charge is unwilling to step in."

You note the new military rank down. "Is the empire's law so meaningless?"

"Not usually, this is…" Justus begins, stopping himself as he realizes he's doing exactly what he didn't want to: involve you. "Bah, fine. The Centurion's a noble scion, he slowly replaced most of the guards with yes men. While he's not actively working with the temple, he's usually on the side of the money."
"And the temple has more money?"

"No," Lora says. Justus gives her a warning glare, but she does not hesitate to continue. "Don't even try, this isn't a secret in the city. The matron has our funds hidden away, without her nobody knows where. If we don't manage to pay for the guard's protection, we'll be expelled from Olympia by the end of this week."

This is a lot more complicated than you initially thought.

A lot more complicated. In fact, it's probably information that Ray had but didn't share with you. The emperor's men running a protection racket? Why'd people even play along with this? Well, you suppose it makes sense. People are unbothered by the things that don't concern them, so the temple or a bunch of prostitutes filling the pockets of the guards while the average citizen can simply enjoy the privilege of fence-sitting…

That's wrong. It's wrong in a way you'd have struggled to articulate a month ago, but now you do have the right words for it.

"That's fucked up," you say. And that's all it'll ever be. Lora snorts, while Justus raises an eyebrow. "Okay, so we have actual hostile assholes, a really indifferent and corrupt guard force, that's not great. That's—sorry, why'd the matron have all those funds hidden by herself?"

"We got robbed too often, so now most of our earnings are kept by her," Lora says.

"And you don't think she might've taken them?"

"No," Lora says. The conviction in her voice makes you feel bad for doubting the matron. "Debora would never do something like this, even if she had murdered that bastard she'd come back here to tell us goodbye. If she's missing, something happened."

You nod. You suppose that's the kind of trust these people must have in their leadership. You cannot deny that it feels good to have your own doubts confirmed, even if the source of that statement is biased.

So you played the highest card in your deck—honesty.

"A priestess asked me to help look for Debora," you say. Lora frowns, her attitude towards you quickly cooling. "A few months ago I was in the same situation, someone I cared about was killed and I had to run because people accused me of the murder. Believe me when I say this, I have no intention of letting the temple get to her. Even if she is guilty, her judgement must be passed by the empire's law, not a lynching."

What little charisma you have seems to resonate with her. Justus, too, seems to see you in a better light.

The temple's scapegoats are numerous. While you don't know how many are in the streets, looking for customers, you'd estimate about seventy or so people who call the brothel home. The temple is, without a doubt, larger. Maybe two hundred priests and priestesses, mostly consisting of worshippers of the Thunderbringer, with a few stragglers that have come here from other cities.

You have ideas, but without Sophia and Ray you don't think you can make most of them reality. You'll need to find your allies and share what you've learned.

You might also need more than just them.

"I made a friend," you say. "At the border, his name is Uten. If you can send someone there, tell him what's going on with the guard's in the city, he might be able to help."

A friend might be a strong word, but in the end, someone with such earnest smiles will surely not side with a high-ranking soldier over the empire's own justice.

"Leaving the city at this stage is hard," Lora says. "People who leave might not be able to enter again, the priests are more meticulous than the guards in checking the city perimeters."

You don't know if Uten will be able to help, and even if he is willing, you are uncertain just what help he can offer considering there's little in terms of cities near the border. Even if he calls for reinforcements, or asks for a higher ranking noble to bring a hammer down on the guards, it could still be weeks that the brothel does not have.

But doing nothing is worse. "If the situation is resolved by asking for help, they'll not be able to stop them from coming back. Someone must be willing, someone must have that courage."

"I'll go," someone shouts through the closed door. Another voice chimes in, agreeing that they'd do the same. It opens, revealing two young men who are dressed at least somewhat more modest compared to the rest of the crowd. "Let us go!"

You smile at them, then turn your head to Lora and Justus. The former sighs, but ends up nodding. You're not sure about the hierarchy in this place, outside of the matron, but it seems that there's a good sense of harmony.

Then there's just one more thing to do.

"Inana," you say. Inana jumps out of her Pokeball, yawning. The day was long, but you can't quite go to sleep yet. Lora and Justus jump back, and once again you can see Justus' hand moving to something that is not at his hip. "Can you find Sophia?"

Inana stills for a moment, closing her eyes. The feathers on her back twitch for a moment, her nose following suit before she opens her eyes and nods.

"Okay," you say, turning to Lora and Justus. "Whether you want it or not, I'm getting involved. I cannot stand by and watch people suffer, especially not when those who are meant to protect them are turning a blind eye."

Justus gives you a nod. Lora looks skeptical, yet unwilling to reject a helping hand. She smiles at you. "Who are you, anyway?"

"I am Aria," you say, your hand on your chest. "Just Aria."

And that's all you ever want to be.

###

It's the next morning, before the sun even rises. You are on a mission, and it's of the utmost importance. Sophia and Ray are still sleeping, you cannot let anyone distract you from your prey.

In the high grass around Olympia, where the plants stand at attention from the charge in the air. The static is lessened inside the city itself, and though you know that part of it is the massive deposits of electricity aspected minerals in the ground, there is a feeling of something more surrounding you.

Or maybe that's just your entire body waking as the sun crawls over the horizon and touches your skin. You feel home—

Inana raises her arm, motioning for you to stop. You do, crouching down to look around and see what she sees. You spot him, the small lizard that you've had your eye on since you sprinted past the grass towards the city.

Helioptile.

Your fingers dig into the dirt as you give Inana a nod—

She tries to sneak up, but Helioptile is already aware of your presence. He jumps back, his ears flapping in the wind as the impressive jump creates a significant distance between the two Pokemon. You're no longer hiding in the grass, instead standing tall as you face your adversary.

Inana can't quite see anything outside of the grass though, too short to look above it. You grab her by the back and throw her forward. "Go, Inana!"

She makes a rude gesture with her arms as she flies through the air and lands on her feet, turning to glare at the quite nimble electric lizard.

"Snee," Inana says. Helioptile chirps, sounding vaguely mocking. Inana reacts as expected, shaking her claw at him. "Sneeeeeeeee!"

Though she's clearly upset, she waits for your command. You point at Helioptile and raise your arm. "Go!"

Inana jumps, understanding your motion without looking. You can see bits of ice dancing on her claws as she comes down, her body freezing the water in the air until it becomes a weapon. Helioptile's frills open up, the electricity in the air gathering around his neck and forming a ray of light that shoots forward.

Inana blocks, unable to change trajectory in the air, the beam of light hitting the cross she forms with her arms and sending her tumbling down. You catch her, ignoring the pain as the electricity runs down your arms, putting her on the ground. She shakes for a moment, then rights herself up, twice as angry as before.

The very air makes the Helioptile stronger. The ground itself is filled to the brim with energy. But neither you or Inana will lose a fight over something so trivial! "Inana! Stay low!"

Its ranged attacks are a surprise, but this does not mean you have to keep making the same mistake. If attacks from above don't work, then you'll have to stay low to the ground, make sure the electricity has somewhere to go to, rather than her body.

The approach begins again. Inana rushes over the ground. You can see small bolts of lighting under her feet—

"Inana," you say loudly, "dig your claws into the ground!"

She does, dragging along a cloud of dirt behind her as she runs forward. She knocks some of the dirt into Helioptile's eyes, then follows with a solid kick to its head when it's distracted. Instead of retreating, Helioptile responds by biting into Inana's leg, dragging her to the ground as streaks of blue begin to gather around it.

There's no way to block something like that, so the only way to keep going is to get the hell out. "Inana, the ground's soft! Dig!"

The order manifests in a rather ridiculous display of Inana digging a hole into the ground while Helioptile's teeth are still in her leg. The explosion of electricity happens inside the hole, sending the soft earth around it inside and filling the hole quickly.

You hold your breath for a moment, then watch as Inana digs herself out again, burns and scratches all over her. Helioptile is still holding onto her, though with his frill-ears rather than his teeth. It stumbles for a moment as they both touch normal ground again, then lets go to shout loudly. The sound makes you flinch, and Inana, too, seems irritated and slightly off-center.

She swings at him, only to miss and turn herself around. He tackles her, sending her to the ground.

"Inana, listen to my voice!" you order. She stills for a moment, then nods as she stands up again, still not quite able to stay steady. Helioptile attacks from— "Left!"

She raises her arm, catching the frill with her arm.

"Below!"

She lifts her other arm in front of her chest, catching the other frill. Helioptile looks slightly offended at how easily the attacks were stopped. Inana grins wide.

"Remember the Tauros?" you ask. Inana's grin turns feral. She jumps on the spot, twisting her entire body and dragging Helioptile with her. She spins the poor lizard, the frills tying themselves up before Inana touches the ground again and slams Helioptile down.

It cries out weakly. Though quite nimble, he should avoid close combat. That's something to remember for the future.

You raise the empty Pokeball up and throw it. It aims true, hitting Helioptile while Inana is still holding him down. You swear you can see a grin on his face as the red light takes him into the ball. It wiggles but once before a loud hiss announces the proper capture.

You sigh in relief. It's your first actual capture, and your first battle against a wild Pokemon with Inana. Even if Helioptile is clearly at an advantage in this place, it really shouldn't have been that hard of a fight. You need to practice more with Inana, or perhaps learn more about your enemies before you start approaching them.

Inana falls over and breathes heavily, sneeing at the sky. You sit down next to her, picking up Helioptile's Pokeball. You hold it up, letting the lizard out again. He comes out slightly miffed, though clearly unwilling to make a scene. He walks up to you, poking your arm with his face. You respond by patting him in the head, ignoring the rather strong electric charge that is dancing under his skin.

"Hello," you say. It feels strange, to actually have captured something for the first time. To go out of your way to battle and find yourself a new friend and ally.

Helioptile seems quite new to the experience, too, so at least that makes two of you.

"I am Aria," you introduce yourself. "And this is Inana. I'll have a name for you soon."

You have made a new friend. Helioptile represents your Righteousness, your belief in yourself, and in the path you have chosen. It is also something that resonates with your Authority. In that tall grass, you find yourself with a letter [R]. Imp r al. That's strange, perhaps you can find the others on the way through Sol?

You cannot watch as the world around you treats people badly, for all the wisdom you have you'll never find yourself without the courage to speak up against monsters. This is what you asked for, and you do not regret it.

Your new friend needs a name. He's a bit too exhausted from the fight, though. Some rest and food will surely help.

Helioptile has been caught. Do you want to give Helioptile a nickname?

[ ] Major.
The melody keeps going, even when the instruments have long stopped playing.

[ ] Zeus.
Though the name is positively electric, you have already chosen a name for Lissy.

[ ] Topaz.
The stone shines so beautifully in the sunlight, you are blinded by its brilliance.

[ ] Perun.
Thunder and lightning follow where he walks. Drake loved the old myths.



###

You decide to investigate the brothel. Ray will check with the temple, and Sophia is going to check out the guards. Though there's suspicion on every faction in this conflict, the ones who have the most to gain are the emperor's knights.

But that does not mean there's nothing wrong with the brothel itself. The temple's cause is clear, they never liked the prostitutes but they accepted their presence in the city as much as they had to with the guards enforcing some sort of truce.

Money speaks, and the amount of gold coins that must be produced from the work of all the men and women you've seen cannot be small. If anything, it'd fit the kind of intrigue that you've read about before. Someone decided to steal the money, frame the matron? It's not impossible.

But until you know the people you are dealing with, the brothel is the target of your own search. When you're not running to save a life, the brothel looks a bit different. It's a home, in a lot of ways, the outside is taken care of. Flowers and trees, decorations with lights of various colors. While the mansion where the brothel is located lies in a rather suspicious neighborhood, where the sun barely reaches in between the taller buildings which have been built on the higher hills, it begins to look more like a home when you watch the people.

"It's kind of a mess," Tia says. You glance at her. She woke up after a good night's rest, the painkillers and potion doing their work. "Debora was always telling us we had to be prepared for something like this, but we always thought she'd be there to help us through it."

"Like this?" you ask.

"The temple never liked us," Tia says. Her frown is deep. "We never hurt anyone, our profession isn't outlawed, they simply hate us because it's easy to. As if the color of their robes and the target of their worship make them better than us."

You can't comment, because you're unsure just where your own opinions on the matter are. It does feel strange, to you. To have shows of affection so intimate with strangers for coin, is that really alright?

Can you articulate why you think it isn't? Can you articulate why you think it should be?

But in the end, your approach to this follows the way you've always chosen—the people involved all know what they're doing, at least nobody here you've met seems uncomfortable or unwilling.

You can hear children playing in the distance, running through the streets uphill.

"I can't say I understand their issue with you." You lean back on the bench, against the wall of the building. "My own issue lies with the guards, are they not supposed to be knights? Is it truly this easy to accept the greed in their hearts as normal?"

"Most of them aren't knights," Lora says. You scowl. "Guards technically don't get involved in the hierarchy of orders that exist in Sol, they can consist of knights, like the border guard, but it's just a job you can apply for. The only condition is that their leadership has at least one knight."

"Centurion Argos Thile" you say. The name fell as you continued asking your questions, and it's one that keeps tasting like bile on your tongue when you say it. The Thile family is one of those that use their knights to harass the Spectrier Knights at the border. Sophia has had a few choice words when she heard the name. "I understand why he doesn't help you with the expulsion, but if he was relying on the money from Agamemnon, would he not be interested in finding the murderer?"

"I don't believe people like him have friends," Lora says. "The next high priest will no doubt pay him what he's owed, so why'd he care about one or two falling over dead?"

"Because he clearly cares about the brothel," you say, putting a finger on your chin as you lean forward again. "No, I think it makes no sense, actually."

"What doesn't?" Tia asks. You think for a moment, the puzzle pieces are nowhere near complete, but…

"I think he knows that only Debora knew about the stash," you say. Tia and Lora don't look happy at the idea. "He waits until she's vanished to approach the brothel, he knows he's going to meet people who don't have enough at hand to pay his demands. So someone at the brothel informed him."

"Nobody would betray her," Tia says, and the conviction in her voice makes you want to believe that as well. The truth is that everyone has a price, and in a group of seventy people, who work hard yet have barely enough to live most days, that price might be lower than you're comfortable with.

"No," Lora says, looking sad. "Some would. We work together, so the money gets put together. Some people try to take a larger cut, they end up expelled when caught."

"Angry former employees," you say, nodding. "That's an angle. Those tend to have loose lips, though if they wanted to hurt you they'd not tell the guards, would they? They'd go to the temple."

"They would," Lora confirms. "They usually don't get to do that, the temple's puritan enough to reject them outright."

So the guards might double dip with that information. Of course. Yet, somehow, you don't think a former prostitute did this. Something about the situation smells fishy, and it's not just the excess amount of perfume on Tia and Lora.

"Does she have an office?" you ask. Lora tilts her head at you. "Matron Debora, did anyone check her office after she vanished?"

"Justus did," Lora says. You don't know much about him but his mannerisms don't make you suspect him, something about the way he holds himself, the distinct movements of a former knight, makes you biased. "But nothing stops us from checking ourselves, you think you can find something he missed?"

"I think so," you say. If nothing else, it will not hurt. Lora stands up, helping Tia get on her feet before leading you back to the brothel.

###

Debora's office is… not plain at all. There are various furs on the walls, a desk with so many decorations that you don't even know where she'd write a letter if she had to. You can see a bed that's likely enough to hold four people, a large window that points at a building which blocks out the westward sun.

You sit down at the desk, thinking. If you are a prostitute, where'd you hide a secret? On your person, if the clothes permit. If they don't then—

You rub the bottom of the desk, trying to find something off. Nothing stands out. You bend down under it, checking if there's something off, but from the looks of it it's completely normal. You stand up, perhaps you've read a bit too many—OW.

A loud bang, a hollow thud, you didn't crawl out enough and bashed your head against the bottom of the table. Tia has the decency to say nothing, but Lora laughs loudly. What a, wait, hollow thud?

You stand up properly this time, looking at the table again. The desk is too cluttered. You will apologize later, shoving all the decoration off. Lora protests for a moment, but you ignore her. You knock against the table with your knuckles. Solid wood, solid wood, solid wood—hollow thud.

Near the edge, where you're seated, something is off. You grab the edge, push and pull, even try to twist it, but nothing works. If Sophia was here, surely you'd find some way to finesse your way into this, but right now you're not interested in showing off. You grab your sword, using the pommel to bash against the table. Something cracks. You do it again.

"Hey, that's—why is that cracking so easily?" Lora says. Tia looks in awe as you raise your sword one final time and bash clean through the table's edge, sending wooden chips and dust across the ground. "Justus is gonna be so angry."

Under the cloud of dust you find a key. You hold it up, checking the girls' reactions. They don't recognize it.

"I'm sure there's some mechanism to release the key without breaking the table," you say, shrugging. "But I'm not here to keep a desk intact, I'm here to help you find your matron."

Fair is fair, and the search continues. You point at the north-side wall.

"Remove all the furs from there," you say. You'll take the south-side wall. A key must have a lock. Unfortunately even after ruining most of the expensive furs, which do feel a bit too expensive for what looks like a struggling operation that can just barely afford protection money, nothing on the wall looks off. You knock on the walls, but all of them simply return the hollow noise of a room next door, which you know are the various bedrooms that the people here use for themselves and their customers.

You check the key again. It makes sense that you can't find the lock in this room, it looks too old for it. Made from the same metal as the armors of Sol's own knights, shining bronze and gold, with cuts from uses over many, many years.

It looks as old as the temple could be, perhaps. But there's no way Debora vanishes from the temple with the key still being here, this could mean that whatever door this opens is nearby.

"What's the oldest building in this neighborhood?" you ask. Tia shakes her head, unable to answer. Lora thinks.

"Probably the old tower," she says. "It used to be a watchtower before the city expanded outwards. It's the building right out the window."

While you do want to believe it can't be that easy, you also know that there's no real need to think too hard. You look out of the window, at the base of the old tower, and spot the strangeness of dead plants in the middle of a patch of living flowers.

Well, in for a gold coin— you open the window, jumping out and holding onto the windowsill, letting go once you get into the right position to roll from the fall, and rush the rest of the way with the key in hand. Fortunately none of the guards are back here, unable to fathom that someone could be scaling the tower to sneak out of the mansion.

Tia and Lora shout something at you. You don't hear them, all your focus is on the key and the patch of dead plants. There in the wall you can see a hole, filled with what looks like wax. You grab some firestones from your bag, igniting them in your fingers and pressing against the wall. The wax melts within a few seconds, leaving a keyhole plain to see.

The key fits perfectly. It does not turn from your hand, instead some mechanism forces it around, and you take a step back as the ground under you opens up. A trapdoor, so silent that nobody in the neighborhood could hear it even on the quietest of nights.

The door opens wider and wider. There's a secret underground dungeon. You try not to sound excited, you really do.

But it doesn't work.

"Lora," you shout back at the window, grinning so wide you must look like Inana when she gets going. "Please get Sophia and Ray here. We have a lead."

Every little penny in the wishing well, every little nickel on the drum—all them shiny little heads and tails, where do you think they come from?

There is a world under Olympia, where stone has been built up top. You can hear the howls of the wind underground, you can hear the growls of Pokemon you've never heard before.

The electric charge grows stronger the further down you go. The road to hell is paved and quite cold— down here, Sophia seems to be looking for a new friend of her own. Ray joins, looking almost as excited as you.

[ ] You explore the left. You hear a familiar tune there, a melody whistled, the smell of blood.

[ ] You explore the right. You hear a deep howl, a drummed rhythm, the taste of ash in the air.


We continue in Arc III: I Still Believe In Magic

At this blowout we probably don't need to keep it open, I'll be working on the start of arc 3 tomorrow

I lied.

Winning Vote:
[X] Perun
[X] Explore to the left.

###


The door is locked again and you retreat to the mansion, giving yourself some time while waiting for Ray and Sophia to join you. Your excitement grows, but it's dampened by the worry on Tia and Lora's faces as they sit with you. Justus was only slightly irritated at the broken desk in the matron's office, his own emotions clear as the possibility of finding where she had gone opens up.

"The Undercity has been a rumor in many places," Justus says, leaning against the wall of his own office, where you've decided to wait and maybe annoy him a bit. "There's always something like this, it's in fiction, it's in history, it's in myth. The old heroes explored labyrinths, or people would speak of whispers under their feet."

"Is that far-fetched?" you ask. "The mountains were formed by the Sunsinger using his sword, after all."

Justus looks slightly doubtful for just a single moment. You guess he does not like the old stories too much.

"It's just unfeasible, the infrastructure of the city, the hill itself, the force that these stones must be putting on the caves below. It's a wonder it hasn't collapsed onto itself by now. It's no wonder to me that some people know about it, though."
You nod. "I imagine the high priest was at the very least aware, one doesn't have that much power in a city like this without knowing a few secrets."

"The Centurion might know, too," Justus says. You see his hand gripping into his sleeve. "You are lucky none of the guards were there when you found the entrance, there's a good chance we'd be flooded by them by now."
"I imagine if he knew something like this, he'd have increased the presence of his men." Ray stands in the doorway, smiling as she walks in. Justus looks very pissed off by now. You try to negotiate, but before you can get a word in, Ray continues. "Justus, old pal, how's it going?"

"Quite well, Ray," he stresses her name, and you can see her smile widen. "I didn't think I'd see your tiny ass in the city again, didn't the high priest banish you?"

"Bah, dying has a habit of destroying your credibility," Ray says, shrugging. She sits down on the man's desk, jumping up to make it. "If anything, you being here makes much less sense. How's your arm?"

"Good enough to throw you out," he says. You can see it shaking, though. At first you thought his motions were badly concealed anger, but now that Ray mentioned it, you feel like something else is going on with him. The spasms in his limbs are rhythmic, and the time between them is almost always less than five minutes.

You don't comment on it, for fear of his threat against Ray coming true. Right now, you need all hands on deck.

The door opens again, and Sophia walks in. She looks a bit uncomfortable, and very unhappy to see Tia and Lora for some reason, which causes the two young women to take a step away from you as Sophia approaches.

She gives you a once over, then nods, as if nothing is wrong.

"Alright," you say. "We have two choices, really, we can wait for the reinforcements that Uten might send us, if he's willing to listen to the two messengers we sent. Or—"

"There's no choice," Ray says, sounding unusually serious. Her voice tightens further as she continues. "The energy in the city is off, there's lanterns of thunder stones popping left and right. Whatever's going on is probably related to the underground you found."

Well, you were hoping to have the joy of sharing yourself, but it seems the people that were sent out had loose lips. Hopefully not so loose that anyone overheard, though it hardly seems to matter now.

"As much as I dislike saying this, I agree with her," Sophia says. "I was doing my investigation at the guard's headquaters, the Centurion has gone missing as well and someone has reported cracks in the ground visible from the temple."

Something is stirring. You don't know what yet, but it does remind you of that old story in Lissy's book. Something so powerful, it practically electrifies the air with its presence.

More than it already is of course.

"Before we go," you say, turning to Ray, "be honest with me, did you know about this?"

"No," she says. Her tone is still curt and serious. "There's always been rumors about the 'old city', but even in a place of faith we were taught that these are nothing but superstitions."

That adds more credibility to the high priest knowing and keeping the information from the other faithful.

"I can't join you, as much as I wish I could," Justus says. "But if you find Debora, please bring her back. I promise, whatever I have is yours if you accomplish that."

"I don't need anything, Justus," you say, walking up to him. You put your hand on his shoulder, and you can feel his body shake under your grip. "I don't help because I want anything from you, I told you this before."

"Nobody is that kind," Justus says. He hesitates for a moment, then raises his own hand to put it on yours. "But I suppose I've never met a hero before."

You laugh it off, but his words do warm your heart. While you're not sure if you can call yourself something like 'hero', it is a virtue to help where one can. And in that virtue, you will forever find solace and hold onto the ideals that your grandmother and Drake have taught you.

"Hey," Lora calls out. Sophia takes a step between you and her. You let go of Justus' shoulder and turn around, leaving Sophia to pout as you step around her. "Tia made this for you, it's a bit gaudy but—"

"It's not!" Tia says. Lora turns around, smiling.

"Then why are you making me hand it over?"

Tia makes a rude gesture, then turns around. You can see her side-eyeing the gift though, held in Lora's hands. It's wrapped up in a box, which she opens to reveal—clothes?

Shirt and trousers, in a rather distinct red that you've seen some of the prostitutes wear. It's a material and color that does not come from Olympia itself, you know, which means it must have cost quite a bit.

"Before you say you can't take it, consider it's not go to anyone else," Lora says. "And Tia will cry."

"I will not," Tia says. You… you can see some cuts on her fingers, she must've taken all the free time she had since waking up to work on it. Considering how much time Tia and Lora spent with you, that must include even when you were asleep.

"I'll accept it," you say. Sophia makes a sound, but you ignore it. "Thank you, Tia, Lora."

It lacks any emblems, and it looks a bit too noble and expensive for you, but it's incredibly comfortable and easy to move in. There's even a cloak, with a heavy hood to use in heavy rain. Sophia does look slightly less annoyed when she sees you in it, and you give Tia a grateful smile.

"Can we go?" Ray asks. You nod, tying your sword to the belt and your shield to your back.

"Let's," you say, taking the key to the secret entrance.

The Underground. The Undercity. The Old City. The Labyrinth of King Minos (you know Lissy would call it that, even though Minos' Labyrinth is a very popular tourist location in Eastern Sol).

You have arrived in something that very few humans have ever seen, and you know it will take some time to get through here. There's a good chance you'll have to take breaks, make camp, eat some of those rations you have eaten way too much of already…

While you're doing that, you can talk with your companions. You'd love to hear…

[ ] About Justus' Arm. Though she tried to hide it, you saw Ray's regret when she mocked him for it. The tremors in his arm felt like electricity.

[ ] About Ray's banishment. That's new, you thought she's been in the city the whole time, but she was also out and about? What'd banish a priestess?

###

Ray, for her part, looks both excited and annoyed. The prospect of finding something like this would be incredible if it wasn't on the back of a murdered high priest and a missing woman. It reminds you of Gildera, in some ways, with dark rocks and blue rays of light that seem to spill from cracks in the walls.

On proper observation, you can see fungi in those cracks, glowing so bright you have to look away after only a moment.

"I guess we're learning something new today," you say. You hear something in the distance, and strain your hearing to focus on it. A melody of sorts, something that feels familiar. The path continues on and further down until you come to a fork in the road.

What started human has become more like nature. Cut stone gives way to roughness, and the path diverges either to the left, where that familiar melody comes from, or right, where you can hear rhythmic drums.

"You decide," Sophia says before turning to Ray. The priestess gives a nod, agreeing with her. You take a deep breath. Both directions offer something that urges you forward, yet there's no certainty, and in the face of the unknown, you pick what irritates you the most— "Why do I know that tune?"

Sophia frowns, but says nothing as she can't offer any answer that'd satisfy you. So you move on, taking the left path slowly, your Pokemon stirring on that belt of yours. The paths are too tight to move with a large group, though. A little bit of patience. Just a little.

A few more minutes of walking, you don't know how long exactly considering the lack of natural light down here, but you reach something. The path narrows, before it opens into a large area. You can see yellow crystals on the walls above, you can see blue fungus lighting the way, you can smell blood.

The hairs on the back of your neck stand at attention. Your hand moves to your sword, the Skarmory steel ready to be unleashed at whatever lies in the darkness. Inana stops wiggling and just comes out of the Pokeball, unable to leave you by yourself. Spring does much the same, putting himself in front of Sophia.

"What unruly children," Ray says. She puts her hand into her sleeve, pulling out a tiny ball that expands to a normal Pokeball size. A flash of bright yellow light is released, revealing a very spiky and very annoyed Jolteon.

"Gumi," she says, pointing at you and Sophia, "those are our new friends. Do not hit them when you're fighting."

Gumi the Jolteon looks only vaguely offended at the idea that she'd do such a thing, but she does not do much more than nod before sniffing at Inana and Spring.

You give Ray a blank stare. "Your partner has an interesting personality."

"Isn't she just the cutest?" Ray asks, smiling brightly at you. It's the most teeth you've seen from her, and it looks more feral than it should on a girl that tiny. "Anyway, we have to focus."

You nod, taking a look around. You can't describe it properly, because there's so little to describe. It's a hollow space inside the cave, filled with nothing but lights and paths that cross up and down. A maze, of sorts, though you're not sure just whether it was created by human hand or by the sheer will of nature.

There are more and more paths, but you can strain your ears and hear the whistling come from a specific one. Knowing which path to take makes the decisions much easier.

Until it gets hard. A loud growl behind you makes you turn around slowly. The ground starts shifting, and from below you can see spikes pierce through the rock as it moves like water. Stone upon stone, an angry face, a very, very large Rhyhorn whose slumber you've just disturbed.

"Yeah," Ray says, looking at Gumi before both turn to you. "You're on your own with this one."

You try not to sound irritated as you bark for her to get back. Inana and you catch the Rhyhorn's tired swipe with claw and sheath, actually stopping it long enough for Spring to shoot a burst of leaves into its eyes. The Rhyhorn reels back, standing on two feet for just a moment as it scratches the tiredness from its face, then comes down on its forelegs with a thud that cracks the stone beneath it.

You see some flashes of lightning, Gumi trying to help, but her attacks don't bother the Rhyhorn whatsoever, all the electricity immediately traveling into the ground where it stands.

"We can win this," you say. The confidence in your voice rallies your friends to you, though Ray looks still quite helpless without any weapon. You catch sight of a few stones in her hands, shining brightly blue. "Go—"

The quaking floor is shifting again. Heads dig up, some bald and some with a few strands of hair. Digletts, who have been roused by Rhyhorn's movement.

"Run," you order, and they do. Inana and Spring jump back into their Pokeballs, while Gumi rushes under Ray and lifts her up, giving her a ride. The mad dash ends at one of the new entrances leading further into the cave system, where Rhyhorn decides it just wants to go to sleep again and lies down.

You see the Diglett bury themselves around it, shoving more and more stone and sand on top so it starts to sink into the ground again. This is either a very sophisticated alarm system, or the weirdest case of symbiosis you've ever seen.

Maybe the second weirdest.

You catch your breath. Sophia shudders.

"That's a lot of Pokemon," she says. A lot at once, at least. By the end of the Diglett's ascent, you must've counted a solid three dozen of them.

"A lot of pokemon aspected to Ground," you say, frowning. That's the strangest thing. Caves like these would obviously be the kind of place where you find ground and rock Pokemon, but this close to Olympia the electricity is still incredibly thick in the air and even resistance and immunities would not make it a place where they'd nest. "I think the Pokemon were brought here, that's not their natural habitat."

"It's not," Ray agrees. "But I can't seem to figure out why you'd need so many of them guarding an entrance, there's nothing here."

"Not that we know, there's still a long way to go," you say, pointing at the cave where the whistling comes from. The smell of blood is growing stronger. "Can you smell that?"

"No," Sophia says. Ray shakes her head, leaving you alone with the uneasy feeling. You shrug, continuing the path. Inana is not happy at having to run away from a fight, but you can't be hung up on minor things like these when there's a mystery to be solved.

So you continue, and the blue fungus becomes more and more sparse…

Calling it caves would be too diminutive. The system of pathways under the city lead further and further, the temperature rising as stairs take you down. Ray looks unbothered, unlike Sophia, who has been holding onto your arm whenever a strange sound echoes around you. Her grip tightens when the soft whistling melody suddenly becomes a loud boom.

There is— a man. In the distance, holding what looks like a rather large staff. Ray recognizes it even from this far.

"That's the high priest's staff," she says, sounding offended at the thought of a non-believer holding onto it. The man slams it into the ground, creating another loud boom and lightning crackling all over the place. "That bastard!"

You hold onto her collar before Gumi takes her forward to him, forcing the girl off the Jolteon. The Pokemon under her looks almost grateful to you, its size makes it an okay mount for someone like Ray, but she does not seem to have that much stamina.

"Careful, we can sneak up on him," Sophia says. You give her a nod, and Ray calms down for just a moment before joining your slower approach. Step after step, after step, after step— the cracks became louder, the lightning more fierce. Above the man's attempts to bash the staff into the ground, you can see something. It's so massive, yet hidden in the shadows of the cave.

It's at the halfway point to him where the staff-work stops. You stop as well, holding your hand up. Ray and Sophia join you, and the man turns around, no doubt aware of your presence.

He is wearing a mask, but his spindly form and strange taste in clothes is unmistakable.He tilts his head, and though you can't see his face you just know the exact smile that must be dancing on his lips.

"Wilhelm," you say. You sound incredulous, and Sophia's own low growl is the only thing that makes you realize just how real the sight in front of you is. Though some time has passed since your rough treatment of the man, there's no way he'd be up and about.

There's no way he's here and somehow got over the border!

"Ah, my reputation precedes me," he says, giving an exaggerated bow. "Indeed, it is me! Wilhelm the Fool, at your service, Miss!"

You don't know what kind of expression is on your face, but it makes him hesitate. He cups his chin with two fingers, bending forward as if that makes all the difference in recognizing you. Even this far away, in this dark of a cave, you can see his eyes through the mask. There is no recognition in them.

"Ah, you know me, but should I know you?" he asks. "I apologize, I don't believe we've met before."

You take your sword out, the Skarmory steel glowing blue in the cave as the fungi reflect off it, sending rays of the same color into every direction. Despite that clear indicator, he still does not seem to understand who you are.

Which leaves two possibilities: you left him with enough brain damage to completely erase his memory of your encounter, or he's not actually Wilhelm.

The twin blades that he used against you on his hip also look like they have a different grip. An impostor? An ally of his?

He raises the staff, and you find yourself reacting before he can even attempt anything. Inana is summoned from her Pokeball, and blocks the way behind you ask you run forward.

A Tauros appears, as if from thin air, dashing through the darkness only to be met with Inana's claws. Sophia and Ray begin moving as well, joining you as Spring, now released as well, and Gumi, help against Tauros.

"Ah, sorry," Wilhelm says, raising the staff far above his head. "I'm afraid the stage is not ready yet, ladies. Please, let me show you to your seats."

He slams the staff onto the ground again, and the lightning blinds you for a moment. Sophia reels back with you, leaving only Ray to continue, undaunted by the bright lights. Unfortunately his goal was not to hit you, it seems.

The ground under your feet begins to rumble again, like with Rhyhorn earlier, and what seems like solid rock becomes soft and brittle for a moment.

"Wilhelm!" you shout. The man spins the staff like a toy, slamming it into the ground again. "Wilhelm you bastard, I don't care if you forgot, I will make you remember!"

"I'll look forward to it, Miss," he says. Sophia stumbles, and you turn, reaching out with your hand before your own knees give out under you. Ray reaches him, holding onto a bright blue crystal that she slams down on his face. It explodes with a bright light, and you can hear the mask shatter under the weight of the water released by the gem.

The face under the mask is the same. It is Wilhelm. Though the hit was direct, he does not let that stop him. He slams the staff into her, and the electricity explodes between them, sending Ray flying backwards.

You catch her, fortunately in the right spot even as you cannot move forward. In an instant, everything turns dark.

The ground below you opens up and swallows you whole.

Seven red eyes stare down at you as, once again, you find yourself falling.

###

The Fool's weapon is powerful, and this place is not something he is unfamiliar with. What began as a descent has become an ascent, Inana and Spring are still floors above, unable to help you right now. Fortunately, you've found yourself with Perun, who is very happy at getting his chance to shine.

Sophia is sleeping next to you as you try to plan your approach for Wilhelm. Though he lost against you the last time, you cannot use brute force again. This is not the same Wilhelm, after all.

Perhaps it's how Leif described it, a strange group of people who all seem related. You hear the girl next to you stir, turning your head. You see a Pokemon that seems to be interested in your friend.

Sophia is woken by…

[ ] … a Cubone, poking her with its club.

[ ] … a Baltoy, dancing and spinning on top of her.

[ ] …a Phanpy, blowing some sand on her.