Malantau Howling Precipice

[Tetra]

“Thes’ll muka fir ina hall if u stiry ef wa muka et iot if et, ah?"[...]
“Yio’ll tall ma ef yio saa unytheng axceteng, reght?” He asked, glancing at the Electrike, “Uh, whi um E keddeng, yio din’t avan kniw whut E’m suyeng.”

Well at least his bizzare new companion wasn't afraid. Dustin seemed as relaxed and nonchalant as if they were taking a stroll through a park, not halfway to freezing to death. The meaning of the words was irritatingly lost, however. Even is experience as trainer didn't feel like it meant much, not when it felt like Dustin was speaking words. Pokemon language was different back home, in a way he couldn't place his paw on. This was... not that.

"I was with a bunch of my teammates before this," he said after a moment. Not like there was much else to do but talk. It kept his mind off the cold, even if it made his voice ache. "We're called the Wayfarers, and we were fighting on a mesa but... something went wrong." He shook himself and pressed closer to Dustin to warmth. It had all gone so wrong. What if he never found the others? What if they landed somewhere worse?

He contained himself, keeping his composure and pressing on. "Anyways we were summoned here to Forlas. I think thats how I was sent out here, and I'm trying to find the rest of my team." Hopefully they had better luck. He supposed if the language problem had one boon, talking to Dustin felt a little like talking to his team back home.

"You'd probably like some of them, they're cool. Silver is a great fighter, and oh! Steven just evolved it was sick! He stopped an entire gunship right in its tracks! And Archie is the best with his blades." And Odette... Best not to dwell on her. Thinking of them made his heart ache.

 

[Inkedust]

The shinx's ears perked at the sound of voices before he found himself slowly turning around. He looked very typical for a shinx, save for his bright, blue eyes and a large patch of white fur on his chest. He bore a confused look on his face as it was clear he did not understand any modicum of language (neither physical nor verbal) from either of the two pokémon before him.

​

His words were punctuated by a small, albeit nervous, chuckle. He glanced down at a paw and pressed it against the white spot on his chest.

​

He took a couple, slow steps forwards.

​

He crouched in a defensive position. Weak electricity crackled in his fur.

​

 

[Weazel]

Archie’s hopes were immediately dashed. The stranger’s words, just like their song, were completely alien to his ears. To make matters worse, they seemed just as lost as the Dewott and Houndour. And, even worse than that, they seemed ready to fight about it!

“Hey, woah, we’re not a threat!” he said, jumping forward to put himself between the Houndour and the Shinx, his empty paws forward in what he hoped would be seen as a placating gesture. He couldn’t be sure the Houndour wouldn’t react violently to the threat, and a fight here was the last thing any of them needed. He glanced back at the canine, a little worried, then forward at the Shinx again.

“Let’s all be peaceful here,” he said, a little lamely. Not that he presently had the strength to enforce any kind of peace if the cat and dog really wanted to go at it...

---

Dustin kept his eyes peeled on the horizon while Koamaru talked. Surely if they kept walking, some kind of shape would have to materialize out of the void, eventually. Right? So far, all they were getting for their effort was numb paws. Maybe they should try digging some kind of shelter? Electrikes were canines, Koamaru could probably be a decent digger as long as the Buizel could get the idea across. They just needed something get them out of the wind so they could warm up a little!

The blue canine pressing himself closer to the Buizel brought Dustin’s attention back to the present. He pulled the Pokemon snug against him again, and tried again to make sense of his babbling. Koamaru mentioned a few things that sounded like they could be names, including one that, well…

“Ha, that’s funny. I knew an Archie once,” he said with a grin, “Real hero type, bleeding heart. You know how it goes with that sort.”

He sniffled, and rubbed his nose with the back of his paw. He wasn’t sad, thinking about Archie didn’t make him sad, his sinuses were just dried out by the cold.

“Don’t write in the papers that I got sad, it won’t go well with my image,” he teased, and ruffled the Electrike’s headfur a bit.

Then he heard something. Almost like a muffled cracking sound. And then the ground beneath them gave way. Suddenly, he was tumbling through the snow down a pretty sharp incline, until he came to a sudden, sharp, stop. The Buizel pushed himself out of the snow to find himself in… A building? Or, what was left of one. The crumbled remains of four stone walls, the one so reduced it was buried by snow along most its length. No roof to speak of, well, not on the building itself at least. High overhead, a solid roof of ice shielded them from the sky. Well, solid except for the hole they just fallen through, which was visible up the hill he’d just slid down.

“Well, that’s one way to get out of the wind,” he grumbled, standing up and brushing himself up. Now where had that Electrike gone? “Hey, Koamaru? You alright?”

Further down, at the base of the hill, were the remains of even more structures, some of stone, some of timber, in various states of disrepair. All were covered, despite the ice overhead, with a light dusting of snow.

 

[Tetra]

Anubis cocked his head at the feline. Words as nonsensical as the song. Peculiar. Speaking to it muzzle to muzzle made the sensation even stranger. Wrongness? No... Absence. This... these weren't pokemon. Or well, they were but so different than the ones he'd met they felt like something else. The words, languages and mannerisms were missing something. Something he couldn't put his paw on.

Quite abruptly, the Shinx suddenly shifted, sparks dancing, looking ready for a fight. Ranger was there between them in an instant, throwing himself between the two of them. For one brief moment, that flash of blue and the selfless act remind him of another. He shook off the nostalgic pang.

Warily, he nudged Ranger with his muzzle, then stepped up beside him. While he had no desire to fight the Shinx, he wasn't going to let Ranger get hurt. He did not back down from a challenge either. Letting out a soft woof, he lowered his head slightly. 'We're not a threat'.

---

“Hu, thut’s fonny. E knaw un Archie inca,” he said with a grin, “Raul hari typa, blaadeng haurt. Yio kniw hiw et gias weth thut sirt.”

Koa missed a step and almost tripped as Dustin spoke, cocking his head to stare at the Buizel for a second. Had Dustin just said...? Nah, it was probably another Archie. Though Dustin sounded like he cared about his. The universe had plenty of Gladion and Seth and whatever to go around apparently, there was probably just someone else with that name. (Hm. Was there other Archie out there exactly like... No, better not to think about too hard.)

It was fun to imagine though anyway. "Yeah, the one I know is really great. Always trying to save someone but he's too hard on himself."

Dustin said something else that went over Koa's head and then ruffled his head fur. Koa leaned away on reflex, huffing in annoyance, but he couldn't find it in himself to actually be mad. Not when he felt so alone here. Not when Dustin reminded him of a certain white haired trainer he hadn't seen in months. "Hey, don't make a habit of that-"

His canine ears picked up an eerie, hollow cracking noise. His mind made the connection too late. Before he could call out a warning to Dustin, the ground beneath his paws ceased to exist. Snow crashed over him as he tumbled head over paw down a hill before landing unceremoniously into a dense snowdrift.

It took a few seconds to orient himself, then dig away at the snow until he could drag himself free. Cold invaded every part of his body. His bones, his fur, inside his jacket, in his nose and ears. A shiver wracked his body that he turned into a full body shake, casting off a flurry of snow.

"Well I don't feel cold anymore," he muttered drily. Shaking the last of the snow from his head, he glanced around. It was... quiet. Quieter, at least. No more howling wind. A tad warmer, up from 'freezing to death' to 'freezing limbs off'. "...What is this place?" He realized a second later that Dustin obviously knew no more than he did. From what he could tell it was some kind of ruins buried beneath the ice. Eerie.

He glanced up at the hole they fell from and sighed. "I guess we'll just have to keep going forward."

 

[Inkedust]

The shinx tilted his head at the dewott and the resigned bark of the houndour. He sat back down on his haunches and let out a small bark of a laugh.

​

The shinx stood up and began walking deeper into the dungeon. He seemed to stumble and trip over his own paws, like a deerling on ice. Was he that fatigued or was he just not used to them...?

​

 

[Weazel]

Alright, they weren’t fighting. That was a plus. Only, now the Shinx was wandering off. And it could barely keep all four paws underneath itself!

“H-hey, wait, we should stick together!” Archie called after the feline, “We don’t know what could be out there in the snow!”

If there was anything out there, at least. Still, the Shinx didn’t seem interested in stopping, which meant that their only hope for sticking together would be to follow it. Archie shot the Houndour an apologetic look, but gestured for him to follow, and set out after the strange blue feline.

---

Oh, there was Koamaru! Dustin sighed in relief, happy that he hadn’t lost his one and only traveling companion in what was shaping up to be the weirdest traveling experience in his life. And that was saying something! Seriously, if he didn’t have someone on standby to confirm they’d totally gone through all this, no one would ever believe him. He strode over the Electrike, and pat him on the back once or twice.

“Don’t scare me like that, eh?” He said with a grin.

Looking around again, this place was brighter than one would expect. Light shone dimly through the ice overhead, giving the ruin the color of a gloomy overcast day. It was cold, but not bone chilling now that they were out of the wind, and the air was somewhat stale, permeated with the light scent of decay.

Speaking of light, something was glittering on the snow nearby: a coin. It looked golden, but the design on the face wasn’t like any Poke the Buizel had ever seen before, a bunch of circle and half-circles. It looked almost like a face, in the way lots of things that weren’t faces ended up resembling faces. Dustin reached for it, only for the coin to move! It pushed up and aside, and, climbing out of the snow underneath it was the strangest little figure he’d ever seen. Almost flat, gray with black bands around its middle, a tail, antennae, and bright golden eyes.

The little figure took one look at the Buizel, made a startled sort of sound, grabbed the coin, and ran off down the hill! Dustin’s eyes followed it until it disappeared into the settlement, and then the whole place seemed to come alive. Yamask, with their tails imprisoned in etched rocks, floated out and around the ruins. Ghostly purple flames wandered the streets, both those of Litwik, and also a strange, shaggy furred canine Pokemon that seemed to have a candle growing out of its head. Was this… An occupied settlement? No, it almost seemed different somehow, wrong, in some way.

“Arceus, this whole place is a Mystery Dungeon, isn’t it?” Dustin groaned.

 

[Tetra]

A faint rumbling growl slithered up through Anubis' throat. Foolish. Why was every pokemon he met so ready to run off? They should at least take some time to try and understand the situation. Sighing, he trotted after Ranger. There was no other ideal option save to follow Ranger and this bizarre Shinx. Keep them warm, and try to figure out how to find Alpha. For now, they were his responsibility.

Breaking into a trot, he caught up to the two. This Shinx was no cub, and yet it had less coordination than one. His father had showed him how to step lightly as a pup, and they'd played many a game of Stalk the Prey. Not that such movement was natural to him as it was his father but still. Had this Shinx had none to teach him. 'You are supposed to place your hindpaws into the steps of your forepaws,' he barked, before remembering this Shinx could not understand him.

Leaning down, he tried to give the Shinx an educational nudge to shift his gait.

---

Chase! Somewhere in the back of Koa's mind, the little canine instinct surfaced for a half-second and he felt his paw twitch. Still weird. The coin-carrying pokemon was unfamiliar to him, which was weird. Maybe it was some strange mon like that so called Professor on the mesa. Thinking about her made Koa's blood boil. Stupid fake lizard professor. Ruined everything.

Shaking aside the thought, he fought a shiver as the dungeon began to move, coming alive as more mon made themselves known. Pale candlelight shone from the empty window of a crumbling structure. A mournful bark sounded from a gray-furred hound that was picked up by another, unseen. Further off, it was answered by a howl that made Koa's skin crawl.

The entire place was infested with ghosts. "We have to be careful. Maybe if we're quiet they won't attack," he said to Dustin in a low voice. Hopefully Dustin would get the message. He awkwardly pantomimed a paw to his muzzle.

An eye on a decorated wall blinked as it watched them.

 

[Inkedust]

The shinx grumbled beneath his breath as the houndour nudged him but it seemed to mildly straighten out his walk. Not understanding the following shouts or exclamations to stick together, he continued down the dungeon. Based on the glances he gave them, it seemed that he half-expected them to be illusions that would evaporate once he moved past a certain point in the dungeon. With his constant glances upwards, it seemed that he was most interested in trying to find some high ground to see if he could spot a way out that way.

He seemed to hum another tune to himself but it was slower, sadder than what he was singing before.

 

[Weazel]

Well, at least the Houndour and Shinx seemed to be getting along. At least, as well as one could hope in this bizarre situation where they were all stuck in some frozen wasteland unable to properly communicate. It was almost kind of cute, the way the Houndour seemed to be coaching the Shinx how to walk. It reminded him of the way Sealeo and Dewgong would sometimes bring fish to humans studying them, seemingly worried that the strange creature in their midst would be unable to feed itself.

… Was this Shinx a human? It obviously wasn’t wild. It carried itself like it was unfamiliar with its body, like it wasn’t used to walking on four paws. And, there was a ‘freshness’ to its appearance, like their body hadn’t been worn by time and experience. Like how they looked when they first arrived in Forlas. Actually, the Houndour, despite carrying itself like it had always had a body like this, looked that way, too. Were they both, possibly, offworlders? But they weren’t Wayfarers, he would know. Just what was going on here?

Arceus, if only he could think of a way to communicate that they’d both understand. It didn’t help that the Shinx kept looking at him like he was some kind of ghost that the feline was hoping would go away sometime soon… But then Archie realized, as the cold started seeping in again, that he was starting to fall behind. The Dewott picked up the pace, not wanting to get left behind. Right now, he could only focus on putting one paw in front of the other. Hopefully Betel would be back soon...

---

A ruined town populated by ghosts, located in the middle of a desert – though a cold one in this instance – and the whole thing happened to be a Mystery Dungeon. He even had a canine traveling companion! This was definitely Shimmer Desert all over again, now all they needed was some bizarre jellyfish monster to show up and get bodied by whatever was the top phantom of this particular dungeon to complete the picture.

Koamaru seemed worried, he spoke low, and pantomimed shushing himself to further get the point across. Dustin put his paws on his hips, and struck a pose – chest forward, shoulders back – that he thought looked decently heroic.

“Not to worry, I’m something of a hero myself. You’ve got nothing to fear from any facsimiles as long as I’m around!” He said, very confidently. His keen nose and fur weren’t the only things he’d inherited from his father. He had a strong jaw and had mastered both the standard Bite and the more powerful Crunch! Only… He suddenly found that he was struggling calling either move to mind. That was… Bizarre. He could bite something, but he didn’t know if he could Bite something!

Come to think of it, he couldn’t pull up any of his Water moves either! He reached further, trying to grab any move he could, but only one came to paw. THE one, the one that marked his true nature, regardless of the body he found himself once again inhabiting. The one that would probably bring the ice ceiling down on their heads if he tried to use it. The Buizel slumped forward a bit, defeated, and mimed back the shushing gesture, one digit up to his muzzle.

It really was just like Shimmer Desert again. They were going to have to move carefully and avoid being seen as much as possible if they had any hope of getting through this Dungeon. And through was the only option here, there was no way they were going back topside to freeze some more! Dustin dropped to all fours, and crept forward. There was a bit of wall here – maybe the remains of an old fence? - that ran along the edge of the settlement a ways, before crumbling away into nothing. The Buizel pushed himself against it and followed along its short length, then peered over the rubble down a narrow street.

He didn’t see any Ghosts, not yet at least. He’d been so focused elsewhere – on Koamaru, himself, the settlement – that he hadn’t even noticed the way the eye of the eerie drawing on the wall followed as he moved.

 

[Tetra]

'Better,' he said as he observed the Shinx. Still oddly ungainly for a mon. He spoke in the town of grown mon but had a kits body... Ranger looked more hardened, and yet perhaps sounded not as old...? Anubis frowned. None of it made sense.

He stoked his inner flame more realizing to his frustration that while it was hot it did not have any of his former power. Whatever force had brought him here had not brought his power, unfortunately. That Golden Voice. Perhaps the great white hound, wielder of the golden wheel. It had to be a very powerful being, that was certain.

'Let me forge the way,' he called. Loping ahead of Shinx, he took the lead and made use of his larger bulk to break up the snow and make a path. High ground was a good objective to start, and he angled toward a slight incline, steeling himself against the wind. This kit did love his songs, didn't he? After a few moments, Anubis joined the Shinx's song, first with a hum, then a soft howl backing it.

---

Koa groaned under his breath. This Buizel's body looked... well it looked like he was as fresh as a kid. or as they had been upon first arriving... Not a fighter, even if he acted like one. Was Dustin a.. what was that word? A faller? That certainly made more sense than him having been at the mesa or something.

Watching the Buizel go from confident to struggling and then resigned almost would have been amusing, if not for the seriousness of their situation. He gave him a sympathetic look, then an awkward pat on the back. It felt like so long ago now, but he remembered how strange everything had been when he first arrived. And others had lost their powers, so perhaps Dustin had lost his if he were a faller.

He slipping into a crouch and followed after him, sniffing the air for any danger. Unlike above, the air here was rife with scents. Wax and stone and smoke, other canine pokemon and Dustin himself. Another lonely howl went up, from far ahead. And another. And another. Wind whistled through the too still ruins, blending with the mournful cries, before all faded.

In the foundations of a decripit house, a dusty teacup rattled. Eerie purple liquid swirled within, sloshing as the teacup began to float. Eyes painted on the porcelain stared at the intruders warily. Or perhaps, temptingly? Was it beckoning them?

A mural on a wall shifted noiselessly and curled into a grin.​

 

[Weazel]

Alright, Dustin wasn’t too proud to admit that the sound of the rattling teacup didn’t make his fur stand on end, the little sound magnified by the silence between howls and barks. The cup that stared back at him when his head snapped in its direction was an ornate little thing, full of an unidentifiable substance. The Buizel had never seen something like it before. Was it some other form of – what were they called? – Ultra Beast? Those creatures certainly came in all sorts of forms and sizes.

Well, that was a question he could ask the first person he found who spoke a language other than incomprehensible babbling. In the meantime, he turned, and cut across a street to hide in the shadow of a narrow alley, gesturing for Koamaru to follow along after him. Though the alley to the next street, which was lit by a purple flame glowing from within a solitary black lamp, hanging from a rotting wooden lamppost. The street looked empty, but the Buizel couldn’t shake the feeling they were being watched.

“There’s gotta be a center to this whole thing somewhere,” he muttered to himself.

Down that street awhile, the feeling of eyes never left until he’d cut through another broken building and exited into a small, walled in yard. A gap in that wall lead them into another yard, then through the ruins of that house onto another street. Ahead, the shape of a building began to take shape in the gloom. It looked almost like the shape of an overturned boat, and seemed to likewise be made of wood, though it was taller and much longer than any other building they’d seen so far. Unlike the rest of the buildings, it also looked to be more or less intact.

“Our destination,” the Buizel said, grinning back at Koamaru as he pointed out the building with a sweeping gesture.

A deep, reverberating howl from the next street over made the Buizel dive back into the cover of the ruin he’d just led them out of. Getting the rest of the way didn’t seem like it would be easy.

Down the road, a mural silently laughed at their predicament.

 

[Tetra]

Swallowing a growl, Koa forced his hackles to lie flat at the sight of a teacup watching them. Disturbing the local ferals by provoking it to attack wasn't a good idea, not in his half-frozen exhausted state. It floated toward them for a moment, making a strange sort of hollow noise, almost cooing, beckoning. No thank you.

Koa hurried after Dustin, not taking his eyes off the ghostly mon until he'd followed Dustin around a corner of the crumbling ruins. The strange teacup never took its eyes off Koa either.

Dustin was muttering to himself again, and while the words were still nonsense Koa finally felt he got a gist that the Buizel was looking for something. Brilliant deduction, he thought, chuckling inwardly. Well, might as well let Dustin lead then. Unease dogged Koa's steps as they passed through ruins upon ruins. He was beginning to wonder if they'd somehow ended up wandering in a circle before they finally happened upon some strange long house.

As Dustin gestured to the house grandly, as if it were some amazing discovery. Could that be the heart-

Koa scrambled back into cover, instinctively pushing Dustin back, positioning himself between Dustin and the sound of the howling as he crouched behind a crumbling wall. Even if he wasn't back to fighting strength he felt he could muster more than him.

Whatever was out there... he fought a shiver. Did he have the strength to face it? Maybe he could try to lead them away. If only he was bigger. Evolved.

 

[Weazel]

Dustin shot Koamaru a dubious look as the Electrike pushed him further and further back into their hiding spot. It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate the gesture, he did! But the effect was lessened somewhat by Koamaru’s present, half-dead state. Well, might as well let the blue canine play hero, they just needed to wait a while for the heat to die down, then they’d make a break for the building…

And then the Buizel heard a snuffling sound, coming from the yard behind them. He turned his head just in time to spot the shaggy furred gray canine coming into view, purple head candle burning brightly. It looked back at him, tongue lolling lazily out of its jagged mouth, tail wagging merrily behind it. Dustin held a paw up to his muzzle, repeating the shushing gesture from earlier. The dog howled anyway.

The booming response from the monster they were originally hiding from was immediate. As were the chorus of smaller howls that joined in. Time to go. Dustin leap into action, half scrambling over Koamaru in his dash to get out before they were surrounded. He grabbed the Electrike by the coat collar and yanked to get him to follow, just in case he decided to make good on his sudden desire to be a martyr. Then scrambled back onto the street, in time to spot the next complication: a whole pack of the dogs now running towards them, behind which was the largest and shaggiest of them all, with an entire tombstone growing out of its head.

Seeing as none of this was conductive to their immediate goal of not dying horribly, the Buizel elected to turn in the other direction, and immediately book it towards the house. He really, REALLY, hoped that Koamaru would follow.

 

[Tetra]

Koa swore under his breath, try to stamp out his panic as first one gray-furred mutt howled, then a terrible booming howl joined it. So much for canine solidarity. Howling filled the ruined city, echoing through the empty stone and reverberating until it filled the air. Too many to fight-

A firm yank on his collar carried him onto his feet, and his mind snapped back into action. His paws came under him and he broke into a sprint, only to skid to a halt at the sight of more of the grave-hound things. Spinning, he turned and took off alongside Dustin, beelining towards the house, paws and heart pounding.

One of the smaller ones barreled ahead, and Koa fired a spark at it. The electricity fizzled against its fur, only slowing it slightly and Koa cursed his weakened state. More baying and howling filled the air, turning from excitement to something bordering on bloodlust. In the snowy patches all around, earth began to shift of waver. Candlelights flickered into existence. More hounds emerged from the drifts around them, joining the chase as he hounds on either side began to close in. Behind, the largest tombstone headed one began to gain on them.

"Th-they're corralling us!" he shouted to Dustin. Get a grip! Do something!

And then the snow in front of Dustin moved. It fell away, revealing a tombstone. A tombstone attached to a massive canine head. With a chilling cry it leapt upon Dustin, jaws spread wide to clamp down on him.

 

[Weazel]

“Shit, shit, shit, shit,” Dustin muttered between pants, paws numbed from the cold blooming into pain from the exertion. Behind him, Koamaru was yelling something, his voice a mix of alarm and dismay. The Buizel didn’t need to know the words to get the picture. Surrounded on three sides, with more of the gray canines appearing by the second. The ghost dogs were yapping and howling, but after one was dissuaded from coming too closely by a jolt from the Electrike, they seemed content to keep their distance and run them ragged. But they had a clear shot to the house, they just had to get there before they dropped from exhaustion.

And then the trap was sprung. What he’d taken for just an impressively large snowdrift erupted into another one of the larger dogs. One that was presently lunging right for him. The Buizel made an undignified, high pitched squeaking nose and dove out of the way. He landed on his belly and slid forward in the snow as the dog’s jaws snapped shut and shaved a few strands of fur off the end of one of his tails. He twisted, rolled onto his side to face his attacker, and blind fired.

Dustin used Aeroblast!

The world around them erupted into white as a blast of compressed air slammed into the ground at the tombstone headed dog’s feet, kicking up a confusing maelstrom of snow, ice, and dust. Where was Koamaru? The Buizel couldn’t see him. The massive gray canine howled again, sounding more angry and hurt. He’d overestimated how much power he could call. At least he’d been wrong about bringing the ceiling down. Dustin squirmed, thrashed, grabbing pawfuls of snow as he got his limbs back underneath him, then took off running again.

“Run!” he shouted. No point in more complex instructions than that. He’d just have to hope the Electrike would follow the sound of his voice. “This way!”

 

[Tetra]

Koa's cry of desperation was cut off by a deafening blast of wind that erupted from Dustin, sending snow and ice flying and whiting out Koa's vision. What was that?! It didn't look like any move he'd ever seen, at least not from a Buizel. Sick.

“Run!”

For once, he completely understood Dustin. Blindly, Koa took off in the direction of Dustin's voice. The flurry of ice and snow began to settle, but not before he missed the flash of gray in the corner of his vision. A body collided with him, knocking the breath out of him. He rolled with the motion and kicked off the canine, then scrambled to his feet and kept running.

Just head, he saw the orange of Dustin's fur flashing through the snowdrifts. One shadow ball whizzed over Koa's head, and then another grazed his flank, sending a chill through his spirit. Drawing in a sharp breath, he forced electricty into his limbs to run faster, firing as much weak shocks as he dared to muster at their pursuers.

Just a little further!

Two more shadow balls shot at Dustin from the tombstone headed hound, in a desperate attempt to slow him, even as they drew near the building.

 

[Weazel]

The house was merely feet away, build slightly up on a hill, the door elevated just a few short stone steps. They were going to make it! The Buizel glanced back to see if he could spot Koamaru. Instead, he saw a pair of attacks flying right for him. The Buizel dove again, slid forward, felt the first ball trail over his back, leaving an icy pain in its wake. The second hit him in the thigh.

Dustin was sent spinning, into a roll, only stopping when he impacted the first step leading up to the house. His whole body sang out in pain, his body protesting like it had never known injury before. He grit his teeth, pushed himself up on his side, and then opened his maw and fired another Aeroblast, the attack flying past Koamaru to cause another eruption of snow and ice. Anything to cover their retreat the last few steps.

Behind him, he head the door creak open, invitingly, ominously, perhaps even mockingly. He had no way to prove that what was in there was any better than what was out here. But he didn’t have any way to prove it was worse, either. He rolled back onto all fours, only for his injured leg to give out and refuse to bear any weight. On three paws, then, the Buizel hauled himself up the stairs and over the threshold, into the inky blackness of the house.

 

[Tetra]

"Dustin!" he howled. Too week, too slow.Koa spun and fired at two advancing dogs before they could get too close, but he could feel his elecricity getting weaker. A moment later, Dustin was up again. Koa dove forward as the Buizel did that crazy wind attack again, skidding forward as the attack struck home, shielding them from the tombstone beast.

For good measure, Koa fired a final shock wave to stun the thing, pouring his reserves into the attack. Then he turned back around. Stumbling, he helped nudged Dustin up the stairs, throwing himself after the Buizel and through the shadowy doorway.

He kicked the door shut behind them, plunging them into darkness. His heart hammered as terrifying howls rang all around. For a dreadful moment Koa feared they'd find a way inside. But finally, after a few seconds lasting an eternity, the howling faded and began to move away. Koa breathed, then reached out and felt around until his paw met fur and he was sure Dustin was there.

"You okay?" he asked, steadying his voice. As he spoke, he tugged on a little Radiance his heart slowed, his fear faded, it felt better. and electricity, and cast out a faint glow.

---

Whether it was Radiance, their arrival, or some other force, braziers suddenly flickered to life all around. Real, warm orange fire, not the eerie lavender ones of ghosts. In a moment, the entire room was lit. Koa dropped the glow and gasped.

What lay before them was no ruins of shambling building. It was huge. It looked like a massive kingly hall. Far bigger than the building they'd seen from the outside should have been able to contain. Grand windows stretched up from floor to ceiling, casting a faint azure and indigo glow across a sprawling banquet table that reached almost from one end to another. Smooth stone formed the walls, many carved with elegant designs and archaic texts of long forgotten kingdoms, while stonework statues framed a massive central hearth. Tapestries of battles and conquests and triumphs adorned the walls.

While the rest of the village outside had been in ruins, this hall seemed untouched by the hand of time... or perhaps, lost in it. Frozen. No dust lingered on the finely crafted gold and wilver platters still spread across the table. Everything gleamed and shone, and looked polished and fit for a ruler.

Something in the very air itself felt... ancient. Spiritual. And finally, warm.

High up on the wall behind them, a bloody red mural of a dragon moved, twisting and curling into unsettling shapes.
It opened a single slitted purple eye, the dark pupil staring down at the new guests...​

 

[Weazel]

Safety, for now at least. Koamaru kicked the door closed and plunged them into complete darkness, the only illumination the glow of electricity from the Electrike. The Buizel shuffled around into a seated position, scooted backwards to rest his back against the wall, and massaged his injured leg with both paws.

“Augh, sweet fuck that hurts,” he hissed through gritted teeth. He didn’t need to be able to understand Koamaru to clock the obvious concern in the Electrike’s voice. Gingerly, he tested his extremities: his ankle pivoted at his command, and he still had full control over his toes. There was some soreness to either motion, more pain when he tried to bend his knee and stretch his back. The majority, however, only hit him when he tried to move his hip, where the hit had been centralized.

“Take it you don’t have an Oran Berry handy?” the Buizel grumbled, looking over at the Electrike. Probably not, Koamaru didn’t seem the type to withhold something like that if he had one. And, of course, Dustin himself was naked as could be, so he had no pockets to carry a berry even if he did have one.

Before he had any more time to lament their situation, the whole building lit up. The space they found themselves in was, well, impossible. Far too big to be contained within the building they’d entered, with towering stained glass windows that glowed daylight. A banquet table in the center of it all set for a feast on platters made of the finest precious metals. Oh yes, this place screamed that it was the center of the Dungeon.

Not a single thing moved, no banners ruffled, the light from the windows never changed. The whole place was still, frozen… Except one thing: The grinning mural on the wall, staring down at them as it undulated.

“Eyes up, we have company,” he growled, gesturing at the thing. Things were going to get harder before they got easier.

 

[Tetra]

Dustin was hurt, and Koa couldn't do a thing. Annoyance ran through Koa. Curse whatever nonsense caused his bag to be lost when he'd gotten tossed here. Stupid lizard. Stupid Convenant. Scum. If they hadn't kept interfering, none of this would have gone so wrong. Swallowing, he forced down his annoyance to focus on Dustin. Maybe there was something around here to help him?

He was about to go check the table when Dustin murmured something that sound like a warning, and gestured. Turning, Koa gazed in the direction he indicated. Chills ran down his spine and he tensed. What in the name of the lakes was that? Somewhere in the back of Koa's brain, he thought he might have seen it in a book, but he couldn't remember the name right now. Not that a name mattered. It didn't look friendly. That painted grin looked... predatory. Or like it had found a new toy.

Koa stepped close to Dustin. If they'd only gone from the frying pan into the fire, then he'd fight the fire if he had to.

​