Sojaveña Wilds Escarpa Clan Camp

[Chibi Pika]

The air felt cold. The chief's words settled onto everyone like stone, solid and unmovable. The Escarpa warriors were already on their mission. This was a foregone conclusion.

And yet... the idea of just accepting that without a word felt like acid. As much as Jade didn't want to tell the Escarpa that they were wrong about their own problems, she didn't think it would look that much more impressive to just roll over without a word. Not to the legends back home, and not here.

Jade's tail swished as she fought to meet Sierra's fierce, dispassionate gaze. "Look, I... I get why you'd want the rail gone. I get that it's not just about the shadows, and that this was probably a long time coming." Always with the conflicts that had been boiling for years, both here and back home.

"And--and I don't want to stand here and tell you that doing nothing is better than making a stand." She'd made that mistake before. "You've got every right to be angry, and that'd just be delaying the inevitable."

This wasn't like what happened to Viridian. It was just a rail, not the town itself. Heck, it wasn't even like this sort of thing was unheard of back home. How many times had someone got the bright idea to try building stuff in the deepwilds and gotten the wild mon up in arms before the rangers stepped in to smooth things over?

Well, she was a ranger now, so...

"We're here because we want to put a stop to the demons too," Jade said, trying to stand as tall as she could while she spoke. "We've... been getting stronger. And we've been trying to find ways to fight them. We're going to help. And, and maybe the rail needs to go, but we should at least try everything we can first."

 

[JFought]

Welp, there goes half the reason we were here. Not that Isidora particularly cared what happened to the rail. Serves them right, honestly. But still, from the start the Escarpa were never actually willing to negotiate, were they? Halcón could've told us that, but he didn't. Her eyes narrowed. On purpose.

She considered everyone's words. We must have something to offer. Then nodded along and in a calm tone provided a little support of her own. "There's gotta be a reason you were interested in giving us an audience, right?"

 

[canisaries]

"All of this, in any case, will not matter either way – the operation is already under way. I sent warriors to destroy the rail bridge over the Silver more than an hour ago."

Andre's heart sank like a rock in a lake.

Well, that was that. War was on its way. People would die. Good people. People that only wanted freedom, to preserve their way of life. And the Wayfarers could do nothing.

Could they do nothing? They could fight, wouldn't they?

No, they'd never agree to it. This 'wasn't their problem'. This 'wasn't what they were here to do'. It would be 'a senseless waste of their lives on Forlas'. He could hear a million excuses. But they weren't excuses. They had a point. They had to solve the Shadow crisis. They couldn't get wrapped up in a native-settler war. They just had to let them be. They had to be cowardly.

But he couldn't dwell on that now. The others were, very sensibly, asking for knowledge that would help them contain the Shadows. He had to keep his ears open and mind sharp. He would do so. That was how he would help this world.

 

[Butterfree]

Dave exhaled through his nose. What the fuck had he expected.

"Okay, well, putting that little tidbit to one side," he said, "we have a few more things to say. First, could you go over real quick exactly what the Escarpa know about the Shadow Pokémon, these 'demons', and what you're planning on doing with with them? We'd like to share information, and we hear you aren't a fan of being told shit you already know."

 

[Jackie Cat]

The Wayfarers reacted, one voice and then the next and the next all in turn, asking for information, offering aid, pressing the next issue at hand. Sierra listened quietly, her intense eyes following the flow of discourse, until her stoic face allowed for the tiniest hint of approval.

"Usually," she growled, "when I commit to a plan in my clan's interests, speakers for the Frontier will levy insults, rage, and spite at my paws. You, though – you rally, hold your tempers, and move on to the next thing that can be done for the common good. This meeting may turn out to be worth having after all."

She smiled thinly at Prim.

"You may stay – I would gladly discuss Shadows with you."

She glanced at Jade.

"Or you may go after my warriors. They won't have reached the demolition site just yet, let alone completed their mission. If you believe so strongly in the need for the rail line, then put your paws in the dirt for it. Go, run, catch them and show them your guts. I expect you might make it if you are swift and tireless."

Had Sierra been testing them? If the meeting had gone badly, or they'd made a poor impression, would she have even mentioned having sent her warriors? Or if they'd reacted badly, would she have prevented the Wayfarers from going after them?

The Luxray turned her golden eyes to Mhynt, and her expression grew sober again.

"Blaguarro will survive an embargo. No community is so dependent on trains that it will starve without them. As for our strategy – it will not be a siege, but an encirclement followed by battle. The people of Black Water will be told to remain in their homes while we do battle, save for those who would fight alongside us."

She eyed a few others – Gladion, Dave, Bellatrix.

"We have battle tactics, strength in numbers and in teamwork, skilled warriors, and local knowledge. We hope to have the aid of civilians capable of fighting, and of the Ranger Union. Possibly your help, also."

She acknowledged Isidora, with a knowing look.

"You are... 'wild cards'. Nobody knows what to make of you. You have no history, no people, almost nothing is known about you. Frontier Town's citizens accept you because you have made good impressions, gained favour, and caused few problems. I warn you, however – public opinion is fickle in town. Civilised 'mon are capricious in their favour."

She let the words settle a moment, blinking slowly.

"You have potential. I wish to see that potential. You will prove it to me."

 

[Namohysip]

Mhynt kept her frown, but she did nod. "I believe I should go to catch up. I can Teleport. If I ride atop the back of one of our faster members, I can more than double their travel speed with the right rhythm, so we can get word in early while our muscle catches up. Stall. But for that to work..." Mhynt sighed.

"What intelligence do you have of the enemy?" she said. "What intelligence does the team you sent out have regarding where you will do battle? Because I must warn you... strength is not what makes one immune to this darkness. My mate was one of the strongest Pokemon I know, one who could rival and had your equivalent of 'saints' as his peers. He even had within him the blessings of light. And yet, here, he was captured and turned into a mindless beast all the same, one of the demons that roam the sands. ...If any of your warriors hold malice, anger, pain... That darkness can seize it. You may not see 'them' again.

"That is also why I am very keen to find your daughter. I do not doubt that she is powerful. That... is why she is a priority of ours."

Mhynt allowed Sierra to connect the dots.

"With our information, perhaps we can get through to your squad, depending on how prepared they truly are for a force this insidious."

 

[Shadow Serenity]

Kimiko had gone silent while Jade explained what she knew. For some reason, she had been almost expecting the chieftain to respond with some form of 'she's always in trouble'. And while she hadn't quite said that, she did seem notably unperturbed by the news. Curious, but calm.

Her part done, she stepped back to allow the others to voice their concerns. A brief flare of panic shot through her when Sierra mentioned she'd already sent the party to attack the railway - so Pyrrin had lied (or simply had incorrect information...?) when he'd told them the chieftain would be leading the attack herself. An intentional deception, most likely. Frustrating, but... did that matter anymore, then? Would anything short of Sierra's direct orders halt her clan's assault? A few of them seemed to think so...

Kimiko hardly recognized the petilil in the party, but she seemed to have a good handle on the Escarpa's line of thinking. She found herself nodding along. It made sense, looking at it from their perspective, even if she disagreed with the decision to ultimately go through with it... which she wasn't really sure she could say anymore. Halcón's story had painted a pretty grim picture. It seemed they were being given a choice now. Prove themselves to Sierra somehow, or go and try to stop her warriors. It was an easy enough choice for her.

She remained silent, but stood up a little taller, crossing her tiny leaf hands with a grin. She'd told Halcón she was willing to prove herself. Time to own up to it.

 

[Butterfree]

Frustratingly vague answer to his question, but at least Sierra seemed pleased with their approach. Enough so to offer an out to stop the rail sabotage anyway.

Mhynt was right on it, set to teleport right over there. And... okay, yeah, if that worked. Personally he wasn't keen to go to all this trouble to talk to Sierra only to be sent running off somewhere else after barely saying a word. People had seemed generally on board with his suggestions earlier; probably they could handle the talk.

"Yeah, the thing about the Shadows," he said, glancing at Mhynt, "is at least some of them are people. People who've gotten abducted from Blaguarro or other places. Ignatius Voclain was carting prisoners no one would miss up there to be experimented on. Maybe some of them are Escarpa, and maybe you already know this. Have you got any means of, I don't know, purging the Shadows out of them? Do we have a way of helping these people?"

 

[Shiny Phantump]

A burning hope lit in Gladion’s eyes, different not only from the moment of dismay before, but even from when they had arrived. When he spoke, his voice carried the same change.

“We have to stop them, then. That’s the only way this goes smoothly for anyone… When we arrived here, it was a rough arrival, and the tracks were damaged. I can say pretty certainly it’s more than just wood and metal to Blag— Black Water. They’ve got a dried-up mining town, and that railroad is there chance at continuing to matter. They won’t forgive you for destroying it. But that importance can work for us, too.”

He shot Sierra a wily look. “The acting mayor’s willing to shut it down legally until the problem is resolved. That probably lets us take steps to prevent departures after a quick seizure with measures that’ll take in the realm of a day to reverse instead of destroying the most complicated piece of infrastructure involved so nobody will be able to use it for ages even if they try… But more importantly, it changes who the one freezing their chance at a future is. The demons— or Witching Beasts, as they call them—are keeping it from them as long as the mayoral paperwork says that’s why the rail is suspended.

“You want the people of Black Water to help you? That’s how you get them on-side. That reframing means their Witching Beast problem isn’t another proxy battle in the tension between clambers and townies. They get to be a threat so terrible that we outworlders, the townies, and the Escarpa all set aside their differences to focus on.”

The tone of his voice settled back down, though markedly more relaxed than it was before. “Not gonna tell you the battle’s gonna end with the Escarpa and town holding hands and singing songs, but it’ll be a lot better than what would follow you destroying that railroad.”

 

[MintyMimix]

Ghaspius raised a brow at Sierra's odd reaction, and, for once, decided to listen in what the others had to say before speaking his own word. A smile pursed his lips. This truly was a heroic group, in their own ways.

"Mhynt, Gladion," he said, remembering their names from the group meeting, "Y'all go set things right over there. Follow your heart's conviction. I'll prep up some medicines for your victorious return."

The Misdreavus turned to Sierra as he raised his head. "Was there an arena ya had in mind, then?" The song of battle was a tune that his sister knew far more than he, but he at least knew how to play in chorus.

 

[Jackie Cat]

"There are more ways than battle to show what you're capable of," mused Sierra, though her voice lilted on the mention of battle, as if in truth she really would prefer it.

She considered the others who had spoken, and rearranged herself to lie, sphinx-like, with one paw folded over the other. She looked to Gladion first with an appreciative nod.

"Unity against a common foe is a narrative that exists in Escarpa folktales and civilised myths alike. We shall see if it plays out that way in practice, but we are... open to it. We can compromise our strategem somewhat in hopes of achieving this, even if it's barely within hope that it may pay off. You have provided no long-term assurances of restoring justice to the Soja', but... we can always destroy the rail at a future time. This is called a 'bargaining chip', I believe."

The Luxray regarded Dave, more coolly.

"We do not know of any certain way of restoring a Shadow pokémon to health. If we do not discover such a thing, and cannot practically restrain the Shadows, then we must slay them, and grieve their passing."

Sierra caught Mhynt's eyes, her own more serious than ever.

"Escarpa warriors have good constitutions, of the mind and spirit as well as the body... but they are not without pain, anger, or malice. The opposite is true. My people are filled with these feelings. Is this Shadow-sickness truly something that infects others through wounds of the heart? Speak no lie to me, Treecko."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

"Mhynt, Gladion," he said, remembering their names from the group meeting, "Y'all go set things right over there. Follow your heart's conviction. I'll prep up some medicines for your victorious return."

"Me? Really?" He mused over it for a moment. "Guess I could make it on time with help, even if I'd be too slow alone... Sure, I'll make it work, it's not like we have much time to deliberate."

He looked to Sierra. "Mind sending someone after me? Halcón, maybe, if he's still listening in? Wouldn't be surprised if we're met with some skepticism if people they don't know try telling them not to do what they came for. Once we're close enough for me to run the rest of the way without asphyxiating, Mhynt could rendezvous with them and get the situation resolved faster."

Steeling himself for this day to get even longer, he addressed Mhynt. "I'm sure you'll have no trouble catching up to me, if you've got more information to share. But if I really am going, I should leave now. I could probably use whatever time I can get."

 

[MintyMimix]

"I got no doubt in my mind you would trounce in a battle, but that ain't the point, now ain't it?" Ghaspius remarked a meager attempt at a reassuring smile. "A-and to be fair, we don't know the exact way they get to someone like that yet, I think." He nervously glanced at Mhynt for further explanation. "And if I recall, there is a power to combat it, too."

 

[Namohysip]

Mhynt nodded at Gladion. "I will catch up to you," she said. She was decent on her feet, but even faster with Teleporting in mind. She would make it work and Gladion was the perfect mount when they united.

"I don't know if there's a way to counter Shadows in this world. In mine, it required the power of divine light. We called it Radiance. Other times, a Shadow wielder could free someone of its worst effects, too. So far, though, we haven't run into friendly, skilled Shadow users."

And finally, she addressed Sierra's question directly. "I'm confident it does, or that is at least one venue it can use. It is how these powers take root from seemingly nowhere. The foundation is already present in the hearts of troubled Pokemon. It can be twisted against them no matter how strong the victim is.

"Even the gods."

 

[Chibi Pika]

"Or you may go after my warriors. They won't have reached the demolition site just yet, let alone completed their mission. If you believe so strongly in the need for the rail line, then put your paws in the dirt for it. Go, run, catch them and show them your guts. I expect you might make it if you are swift and tireless."

A confused flurry of relief and stress flickered through Jade's head. So Sierra had been trying to see how they'd all react? And she was welcoming the kind of drive it took to actually put words into action and stop her plans? But then Gladion voiced the obvious problem that they couldn't expect the warriors to just listen to a bunch of randos showing up and telling them to go against their chief's orders. Stopping them by force wouldn't exactly look better (if they could even pull that off).

But still, they had to try. This wasn't the time or place for empty words without proving that they meant something. That was one thing the clan here had in common with the Pokémon back home.

"Alright then, I'm coming with you," she told Gladion and Mhynt.

 

[Jackie Cat]

Sierra's mouth curved slightly in a faint smile.

"If you believe in what you struggle for, then go – quickly! Fight my warriors if you must. Halcón will follow, if he cares to."

The Escarpa had an interesting approach to military heirarchy. Perhaps they really did value action over words that much. Perhaps it mattered deeply to them that the Wayfarers would run full-pelt across many miles to stop the demolition.

She turned back to Ghaspius and Mhynt, a knowing look on her muzzle.

"Some Forlasan 'mon also call it Radiance," she affirmed, resting her chin on the back of one paw. "The Wandering Light is a wielder of it – and if she should appear in this time of need, we may have the Light with us in battle."

 

[MintyMimix]

"I believe in y'all," Ghaspius cheered on the others, nodding as Jade vowed to join in. "We're already livin' folktales, ain't we? Might as well go the full mile." He passed a wink to them before turning to the Sierra.

A look of intrigued passed his features as he turned upside down. "The Wandering Light... your patron Saint," he recalled from the group meeting. "Can't help but be a touch curious by your phrasin'. She didn't teach you or Jesse Stranger how to wield it?"

 

[AdamArtDraws]

"The Wandering Light is a wielder of it – and if she should appear in this time of need, we may have the Light with us in battle."

Felin had buckled her belt ready to follow those in pursuit, but her ears stood upright at Sierra's words and she stopped sharply, her boot leaving an arced trail on the ground.

"The Wandering Light hmm? I was in Obstine Abbey just recently," Felin said, fixing her gaze on the lioness. "Don't know how quickly or often word spreads out here, but word on the wind is that the Wandering Light was last seen there."

She scraped a strand of fur sticking to her leaf color and tossed it aside. "I've never heard of Radiance," she said with a shrug. "'ve no clue how much it'd help but if it dispels the shadows creeping in the dark then why don't we seek out the Wandering Light for a bit of help?"

 

[Namohysip]

Mhynt nodded. "Then perhaps there is hope against Shadows yet," she said. "...But I ask for one more thing before I follow my companion to intercept your forces. Is there anything I can bring or say to call them off without needless attention or conflict? Fighting is an answer, but it may also draw the attention of our enemy's dark forces if it happens right along the railway."

 

[Jackie Cat]

Sierra gave a muted sigh, not allowing herself to express too much of what she was feeling under the surface.

"The Wandering Light... I have met her only once. She is reclusive, in recent decades. Still..."

That wasn't a clear answer. Had this Saint taught anyone the use of Radiance before, or not...?

The chieftain eyed Felin with interest.

"We have heard that she is on the move in these parts of late. This 'Shadow crisis' is the kind of trouble that would draw her out."

To Mhynt's question, Sierra's thin smile returned somewhat.

"That is a practical reason, at least. It's true that a warrior should remain concealed where possible – we mustn't lose any advantage in intelligence against the Shadow-makers. Very well..."

A spark of humour played at Sierra's lips.

"If you challenge them to a duel, you may name your battleground of choice. The demolition site is a high bridge over the Silver – descending to the river's passage beneath it should be concealment enough from any eyes watching the tracks themselves."