Little Scriven Lumirror Forest

[MintyMimix]

Over a century ago during the first waves of colonization, the pocket of distortion now known as Lumirror Forest had been highly sought after due to an incredible rumor that spread far and side. Its original phrasing was lost to time, but considering just how much the trees' white bark shimmered in the sunlight as though they were mirrors — even to the point of reflecting images — there had to have been something, so many thought. Many even settled on the larger butte nearby hoping to strike it big.

They found naught a vein of gold nor a sign of mystic powder — not even a shiny trinket to take home. The nearby settlement became known as the "Town of Tall Tales", and many left the "Fool's Forest" for good. But those that remained continued searching, and found the answer sitting right in from of them: the bark itself! The paper it made was plentiful, far sturdier than normal, and even had a signature sweet scent that soothed the soul. A true reflection of hidden miracles if one changed their perspective, like glass in the light. And so, Lumirror Forest it became.

But then, just as quickly as the miracles sparkled did they fade as the forest's inner trees clumped together and the dungeon closed. Many believed that perhaps a fairy sold the secret of their paper making and angered the forest's spirit. The technique faded away from collective consciousnesses. Still, the village embraced its reputation and the plentiful paper it had stockpiled, slowly becoming the town of stories known as Little Scriven.

Ever since the Entropic Crisis a couple of decades ago, the dungeon has opened its branches once more. The locals have been ecstatic to try to harvest this mirror-like bark once more, though many find themselves lost in a sea of light as they delve deeper inside. Some even say the forest is opening even more by the day, and soon the town would be engulfed in its glittering glamour. But that can't be true, right?

<><><><>​

 

[MintyMimix]

After a bit of wayward wandering and a rickety crossing, the crew finally made across to the orbital butte as they found themselves in what appeared to be a completely regular forest. Sure, the afternoon sun at their height made it a bit brighter than normal, but it certainly couldn't have been called anything like a mirror.

As they trudged the bundles of bushes and tons of trees, they would hear the occasional rustle as wild Pokémon scurried off and hid away. On a few occasions, they would see tiny growths in the midst of the leaves. The grass patches and dirt beneath them did appear to sprawl in various directions, with some more worn than others. An earthly, slightly sweet scent hung in the air, and it only seemed to strengthened when heading westbound.

Ghaspius, leading the charge, noticed none of these things, and kept heading southbound instead.

"Are we sure this is the right place?" He let out a hum as he looked around. "Wasn't it supposed to be all sparkly? I dunno how these dungeon places work." The Misdreavus turned to face the others. "Y'all know anythin' that might be able to confirm if this is the place, or even where to go?"

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Gladion sighed. “I’m not sure. I expected it to look different, based on that description. Wasn’t there supposed to be… paper or something?”

Hello, Betel, do you read me? Are we in the right place? Also, while we’re taking, you completely one hundred percent certain that this cannot possibly make the riftlet worse? Over.

 

[Jackie Cat]

Hello, Gladion. Hello, everyone.

This is the mystery dungeon known as Lumirror Forest! It is quite an old and stable rift, and its energy is benign. You are unlikely to be attacked by strong and aggressive wild 'mon, or phantasms. It will make a very suitable anchor point, once I have opened a path for you to its heart.

If it is any reassurance, Silver Ravine has remained stable since my anchor to it was established.​

 

[Weazel]

Lumirror Forest, so far at least, hadn’t really lived up to the hype. If that was because the stories of its past glory were distorted over the years, the dungeon had changed over time, or simply because they weren’t yet deep enough, it was hard to say. Silver Ravine had taken some time to properly show them its true face, after all. For a while, Archie kept his mouth shut and his eyes and ears open, not wanting to risk them getting jumped by an irate feral. Every so often, he felt like he kept getting a whiff of some sort of smell, only to lose it just as fast. It was starting to bother him somewhat, but, before he could say anything specific about it, Ghaspius spoke up first!

“Easiest way to tell you’re in a Mystery Dungeon,” he pointed at the sunlight streaming through the trees, “the sun never moves. There’s all sorts of weird stuff like that that’ll tip you off. The shadows aren’t cast right, or the plants are growing in an impossible way. Or maybe a stream flows uphill, or…”

Thankfully, Betel was able to confirm they were in the right place in short order. It was handy, and appreciated, but, still, Archie couldn’t help but feel a little frustrated. Mystery Dungeons were supposed to be his wheelhouse, but, well, that skillset wasn’t as important in these circumstances. It was also good to know that this was a more peaceful dungeon, though that didn’t mean they could let their guard down, a Mystery Dungeon was still a Mystery Dungeon, after all! … There was that smell again. Now that they weren’t moving so much, it was coming through stronger.

“Does anyone else smell that?” He asked. First he looked at Ghaspius, but did Misdreavus even have noses? He tried Gladion next, but could he smell much of anything through that mask to begin with? Finally he turned to Andre, the Deerling feeling like his best hope for some kind of back up here, “Kind of a sickly sweat smell? Like overripe fruit?”

He pointed roughly in the direction of the afternoon sun, “Coming from that direction, I think?”

 

[MintyMimix]

While Ghaspius shook his head, he did take a look up towards the sun and stare at it for awhile. While it didn't move, it was unclear whether that was just because spent less than a minute staring, or if it was the dungeon's own influence. Either way, his vision became spotty as he held onto Archie for balance.

As they walked in the direction of the scent, the Misdreavus couldn't help but make small talk. "So I know a lil' bit about Andre, but what's y'alls stories? Human? Pokémon? Some new alien species entirely? Where are y'all from?"

His idle chatter would be quickly interrupted as the dungeon's namesake started to show its face. As they followed the smell and step away from the more beaten paths, the white bark of the trees gradually began to brighten, and the sunlight slowly brightened. Some of the trees began to shimmer and flare as if they were glass, and even some began to reflect images.

The reflective bark became more commonplace as they continued to walk, though their reflections seemed a bit off. Not to mention their trek was an almost endless, winding set of pathways, and after awhile, one had to wonder if they were even making progress.

A light, ambient series of giggles echoed around them. One distant along their path. One a bit off to the left. One almost seemingly next to their ears.

 

[canisaries]

Finally he turned to Andre, the Deerling feeling like his best hope for some kind of back up here, “Kind of a sickly sweat smell? Like overripe fruit?”

He pointed roughly in the direction of the afternoon sun, “Coming from that direction, I think?”

Andre had, indeed, been sniffing the air for a while now. "Yeah, seems to be. Let's head that way."

His idle chatter would be quickly interrupted as the dungeon's namesake started to show its face. As they followed the smell and step away from the more beaten paths, the white bark of the trees gradually began to brighten, and the sunlight slowly brightened. Some of the trees began to shimmer and flare as if they were glass, and even some began to reflect images.

Andre's eyes brightened in tandem with the bark. "Oh, now that's more like it!" he cheered. "It's so pretty..." He tried not to think about the fact that he would forget it when he went home, alongside everything else that happened here.

A light, ambient series of giggles echoed around them. One distant along their path. One a bit off to the left. One almost seemingly next to their ears.

Andre froze, uneasy. "You all hear that?"

 

[Weazel]

Pointing out that the sun didn't move while within a Mystery Dungeon was not intended to be read as an invitation to stare directly at it. Archie could only stare at Ghaspius in obvious concern as the Misdreavus blindly grabbed at the Oshawott. At least as a ghost he didn't have physical eyes to damage... Hopefully.

Thankfully, Andre was, in fact, able to back him up, and before long it felt like they were making some decent progress. The Dungeon started to show off its famous bark. He actually had to pull his hat down to cover his eyes to prevent himself from getting dazzled. Still, going through a new Dungeon always had a way to lift his spirits, and he readily answered Ghaspius's questions.

"I'm an Oshawott back home, too," he said. He figured that was enough, he didn't want to get into the sob story that came attached to his humanity right now. "From a little place called Treasure Town. I'm an Adventurer with the local guild branch there."

The giggles froze him to the spot. Were they being watched? Was this an effect of the Dungeon, or another Pokemon? Plenty of Pokemon had the ability to produce smells, and any Psychic could probably do the same with sounds. The Oshawott grabbed his Scalchop, summoning the blade of his Razor Shell. If this was the work of a Grass Type, he was going to be at a major disadvantage. So he scanned the treeline, watching for where an attack might come from.

 

[MintyMimix]

"Well, glad I'm not alone in Pokémon-ing then," Ghaspius replied with a chuckle as he tried to the blink away the stars from his eyes. It didn't help that he kept looking up at the bright bark. "Treasure Town, huh? Sounds like a groovy place with a name like that. I just drifted from place to place with no real home myself while I sold my goods."

He didn't seem perturbed by the giggling, but then again, was the airhead really all that perturbed by much? "Definitely heard that. But I don't see nobody." Nor would anyone else, for that matter. In fact, it was almost as though they weren't even there. No sign of body heat, no vision, nothing.

So he scanned the treeline, watching for where an attack might come from.

However, upon closer inspection of the treeline, Archie might have noticed how strange some of these reflections were. Some of them were views of the forest from angles that shouldn't be possible: a mirror up high showing their legs, a mirror off to the side showing the dungeon entrance, one that was even trained right on them with a Floette in the midst of their group. But no one was physically there.

The views that caught his eyes the most, however, were ones of Little Scriven itself. Amidst these little glimpses, several Floette had been floating about in the town.

A blue flower Floette stood in front of the Nonfiction section of the library. An orange flower one had been staring at a book with Oricorio as an author. A red flower eyed one of the Repair manuals that a local had on their desk. A white flower one had been reading a Top 10 list on a post-it board. And finally, a yellow flower one reading the Herald newspaper.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

"So I know a lil' bit about Andre, but what's y'alls stories? Human? Pokémon? Some new alien species entirely? Where are y'all from?"

"I'm a..."

He paused, strongly considering getting pithy and calling himself an alien. But he decided not to push it. Especially because he gave it 50-50 odds Ghaspius would buy it.

“…a human.”

Once Gladion noticed the reflections, he froze. He’d been in and around dungeons before, but he’d never seen anything quite this confusing before. What was this even supposed to be.

“Does things getting messed-up this badly mean we’re at the core? We… did bring someone who saw the last one, right?”

 

[MintyMimix]

“…a human.”

Ghaspius let out a bit of laugh at that. "We really do have lots of humans on our team, huh? Sis would be goin' nuts over this," he said with a grin. "Hopin' the new body isn't too uncomfortable. What species should I call ya, if you don't mind me askin'? It seems a spooky, but neat!"

“Does things getting messed-up this badly mean we’re at the core? We… did bring someone who saw the last one, right?”

"That'd be him!" Ghaspius replied, turning to Archie. "But I don't think it's fair to call someone an expert when he's only encountered one, right?"

He tried to tap the space where the Floette would be, but there was nothing there. The Misdreavus let out a hum.

"Maybe the guys in the mirrors are tryin' to point somethin' out to us, first!"

At that remark, the reflections appeared to zoom in the titles of each the reading materials. Perhaps a direction could be discerned from them?

 

[Jackie Cat]

Oh, how fascinating... I had no idea that Lumirror Forest was an Enigma Dungeon!

An Enigma Dungeon is a rift that protects its interior from intruders by means of puzzles, rather than environmental hazards and hostile phantasms. Solving their puzzles can grant access to rare uncanny items, interior locations with strange properties, or other bizarre encounters. These are the type of rift most often thought of as having a mind of their own.

I cannot solve the puzzle for you, Wayfarers. However, when you have done so yourself, I suspect that will enable me to open a route to the heart. Good luck, heroic spirits!​

 

[canisaries]

"Oh, neat, like an escape room," Andre said. "I've been to some before."

He studied the reflections - could they be called reflections with how they weren't actually reflecting light but rather depicting something completely different? Either way, he didn't miss the zoom onto the titles.

"It feels like the titles are important," he said. "We've got Repair, Top 10, Nonfiction, Oricorio, Herald. Maybe their initials are important. So... R, T, N, O, H. Don't know what order they should be in. You can make a 'not' out of it, at least. 'Not HR'? 'Not RH'?" He shook his head. "Those don't make sense. What else can we make from those letters...?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

Oh! Oh, I think I get it!

Oh no, but I should probably not say... It is your puzzle to solve. Aah! It is so frustrating!
​

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Gladion narrowed his eyes. “Wait, does “Oricorio” really count as a title? That’s the author! I mean, it would spell North but if that’s the solution I’m gonna be annoyed…”

He grumbled. “Fine, that probably is the answer but it doesn’t make sense!”

 

[MintyMimix]

A gentle light shimmered north after Gladion saying it aloud, though the Floette 'near the group' in the reflection huffed and looked away. Evidently, it had been proud of its little game setup. It shooed the Wayfarers north.

"'Escape room'? You gotta tell me about what those are later!" Ghaspius replied with a tilt of the head. "Well, that wasn't so bad, right? I mean we—"

He let out a grunt as the forest northbound opened up to absolute searing light. The outlines of the trees were apparent as was the gentle shadow of the canopy above, but the glass-like bark had become blinding with its glare. At least there was a path!

...And then the trees began to shift and bend around as the clear path quickly reshaped into a forest maze — one that only became brighter the deeper it went.

"Guess we gotta find our way through this... uh, anyone know how to see with their eyes closed?"

How would they try to navigate through?

 

[Weazel]

The reflections showing impossible angles in of itself wasn't particularly alarming. Just another example of Mystery Dungeons not subscribing to the laws of reality. Knowing that didn't make the sight of a Floette in their midst in one of the mirrors any less surprising. He jumped, and spun around to where the interloper should be, but, there was nothing there. Not even the slightest hint.

The Oshawott glanced back at the mirror, and, sure enough, there was the Floette. But that wasn't even the strangest thing. Several other mirrors appeared to be scrying Floettes around Little Scriven. Just what was going on here? Before he could ponder it long, the others' voices broke him from his thoughts.

"Huh?" He blinked, looking around the group. They'd been asking something about the Silver Ravine expedition, he thought? "Oh! Yeah, I was part of that group. Silver Ravine didn't reveal its heart willingly. Betel had to force the way open once we'd gotten close enough. This is just normal Dungeon behavior... I think."

Enigma Dungeons, as Betel explained them, were not something he was familiar with back home. Still, the concept seemed sensible enough? They just had to solve a few puzzles and they'd progress through the forest. Between the two of them Andre and Gladion were able to solve the scrying mirror riddle in short order, and they were able to make progress again.

... Until said progress was blocked again, as the glare off the trees became blinding. Archie tugged his hat down over his eyes again. The brim protected him from the worst of the glare, but did nothing to help navigate through what quickly became a twisting maze of iridescent tree trunks.

"Maybe if we could block the sun?" The Oshawott asked, "If anyone knew Rain Dance, or Smokescreen or anything like that?"

Once upon a time, he'd used Water Sport on a Cyndaquil's back flame, which had shot up a pretty spectacular amount of steam. But, they didn't have a Fire Type handy, and, to be honest, it hadn't seemed like the most comfortable experience for the Cyndaquil to begin with.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

the Floette 'near the group' in the reflection huffed and looked away. Evidently, it had been proud of its little game setup.

(Had that Floette been the one designing the puzzle? It seemed more likely than the idea of dungeons as alive being more than just a poetic metaphor.)

“I can only halfway see for shit in the first place, I’ll be fine.” Gladion laughed before allowing himself to take the problem more seriously.

“If we’re supposed to get through the maze, it’s easy as long as the dungeon doesn’t move the walls on us… which is possible but also kinda cheating. We just stick to the left wall. If we’re looking for a core hidden inside the maze, then… Betel, if we went in a circle around the core, would you have a good enough sense of where we are in the dungeon to notice?”

 

[Jackie Cat]

Possibly, yes. The dungeon may shift somewhat as you travel through the maze, but if it truly is a contiguous locus, I ought to be able to tell if you should make a complete circuit around it and return to where to began. Perhaps this approach will be more successful than that, though!​

 

[MintyMimix]

And indeed, through a combination of feeling out the "walls" and a few spritzes of Aromatic Mist from Ghaspius providing brief glimpses of shadow, their approach had been successful! The trees slowly opened as the light sighing of the spiritual Floette slowly returned to its usual giggles. It seemed like it had made the maze to mess with Gladion, but was pleased to see he wasn't just being a smarty-pants.

As they arrived to the center of the maze, the light dimmed to a less blinding state, but everything around them had appeared to be a pale. The sky was completely gone — replaced entirely by white void — and the trees slowly disappeared around them until finally there was pure nothingness.

The blank horizon thankfully did not last long. Before them laid a hill entirely made of mirror-like leaves that properly reflected the visage of the Wayfarers and colorful company they now had with them: multicolored paper cranes that gently floated around in circles in the air. At the very top of the hill sat a giant origami flower bud sealing off whatever may have been inside. The heart, most likely.

One crane, a green and red one, slowly descended towards the Wayfarers and unfolded itself, revealing words written in a strange scribble that only vaguely resembled the Commonwealth language of today:

"If you have it, you don't share it. If you share it, you don't have it. What is it?
Could you please share one with each other right now?"

It appeared a spoken answer was required.