Sojaveña Wilds Rail Bridge Over the Silver

[Jackie Cat]

If trade and travel were the blood of civilisation, and each pathway a capillary, then a rail line was a major artery. And any artery could be severed.

The Blaguarro-Frontier line stretched for a great length, many dozens of miles across the Soja', and had no stops along the way as of yet. Surely in time it would do so, as the region was settled – or so the citizens of the Commonwealth believed. Clanner warriors had other hopes for the future.

One point of the line was especially grand... and especially vulnerable. Where it crossed the widest stretch of the river Silver, an enormous truss of wooden supports held it up in a stark, geometric line, allowing smoke-plumed locomotives and their cars to cross directly from one canyon crest to the other, across mud and rock and pine and water, cutting directly through the sky itself.

The bridge's angle was such that you could see the sun rise and set on each side of it, the truss silhouetted against the burning clouds.

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[Jackie Cat]

The Escarpa were already there, some patrolling the skies above while others worked on deploying their dungeon-sourced explosives to the struts all along one side of the bridge truss. Blast seed powder, packed tightly into wax moulds, strung with thin cords and laced together by some kind of sinuous fuses. It seemed the clan could manufacture a form of dynamite, after a fashion. They had no industrialised production – they must have been working on this for an awfully long time. Presumably the rail had at least some form of elemental proofing to prevent its easy destruction by the warriors' own powers – this, then, was their means of circumventing that.

It looked like they were about halfway done, but even a few blasting charges going off would be enough to damage the bridge severely. One could easily imagine it crashing under the weight of an incognizant driver's train, in spectacular fashion.

The work continued. It wouldn't be long now.

 

[Jackie Cat]

The rest of the party had gone to the Escarpa camp. Good and fine – hopefully they'd handle that okay. There were plenty of them, so at least they had safety in numbers. Probably. And they had cool-headed, reasonable types with them. A few, at least. Howls, hopefully that went well.

Laura, though, had decided on a different plan. Head up the railroad until she found Escarpa warriors, and try reasoning with them herself. It wasn't like she was devoted to rail infrastructure or anything, she could see the clan's side of things, but still. She had an idea or two about how to bring them round, and she liked her chances of talking down footsloggers better than of trying to be heard by the clan's chieftain in a room full of people.

Why?

Because by now you can only function in a crisis. Because you want to be there when it happens. Because you want to be the backstop if the party can't reason with Sierra, and you couldn't ask anyone else to back you up. Not after Bedaurejo Castle.

Probably just because it was good to have a contingency plan. More possibilities for success, in the event of initial catastrophe.

So here she was, waving down an Escarpa Fletchinder, shouting, "H-hey! I need to talk to you!" and hoping she could fucking wing it.

And as he banked around to approach, she heard the familiar sound of Mhynt's teleporting, and of Gladion's mismatched paws and talons pounding the earth.

...What on earth had happened at the camp?

 

[Chibi Pika]

If anyone else wants to catch up with me, be fast, Mhynt had said. Easy for her to say when she could teleport. And Gladion at least had long legs and a big, quadrupedal frame. Jade only had...

Well, she did have one thing.

And so, anyone watching the Wayfarers making their way out to where the railway bridge crossed the river would see a cloud of dust trailing after Gladion.

It was an old, rickety thing that Alejandro had cobbled together from scrap parts in his shop. It didn't have the shocks, or gear shift, or sleek paint job that her bike back home did. But it was Jade's, and it was the best she was gonna get out here in the Soja without needing to save up for an entire year. And right now, pedaling like her life depended on it was her only hope in even remotely managing to keep up with Mhynt and Gladion as they rushed out to where the Escarpa warriors were setting up the explosives.

Time to find out if they were too late...

 

[Namohysip]

"Halt!" Mhynt shouted, appearing in a flash of light along with Gladion just below her. "Escarpa clan," she said, wasting no time, "Sierra sends her regards. I challenge you to a duel to cease this before it does far more harm than good. She says this will be a means... for you to consider another option. We go to the Silver, where we cannot be spotted by the dark organization should there be a conflict here."

She eyed the rail, spotting what they were doing with a flash of muted horror. Sierra hadn't said they were doing this to destroy the rail...

They would have ruined their reputation forever. What fools.

"Remove those devices for now," Mhynt said. "You do not realize the repercussions you would bring about from this. If you are not convinced after our talk, you may put them back." And prove trying to save you pointless.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Finally, Gladion saw what he was looking for. Thank goodness, because as much as his body had originally been designed for endurance with little recovery, it could not be understated how much the giant piece of metal bolted to his head did to undo that. They were, though perhaps cutting it close, there on time. The clan was already there planting explosives, but none had gone off yet. The closest people to him were a Fletchinder and Meowth, looking to be yelling something at each other.

"Not to interr— Well, yeah, to interrupt you. We were talking to Sierr—"

"Sierra sends her regards. I challenge you to a duel to cease this before it does far more harm than good. She says this will be a means... for you to consider another option. We go to the Silver, where we cannot be spotted by the dark organization should there be a conflict here."

Gladion scoffed. "I'm not sure we had to immediately escalate there, but alright."

 

[Namohysip]

"The Escarpa appreciate straightforward statements," Mhynt said to Gladion. "That's what they told us. So, putting everything upfront is best."

 

[Jackie Cat]

The Fletchinder descended, to alight on a stray branch low to the ground. He adjusted his grip and gave a little display with his wings before folding them.

"A duel, is it? My word, you are direct. Are you a clanner I haven't met yet? I am Fletchinder Sol, clan scout."

"Meowth Laura," shot the nearby cat, staring at Mhynt. "And this is Treecko Mhynt, Meowth Jade, RK– uh, Graydian Gladion." So, the party had been told to fight the warriors here...?

"Fair skies, Laura!" replied Sol, affably enough. "Before we fight, or I ask my squadmates to undo all our hard work, though... Mhynt, right? Mhynt, what are these ramifications we should worry about?"

"She issued a challenge, Sol," called another voice. "One of us must accept, or it makes us cowards. Isn't that how it works for townies?"

There was a wet slapping of a thick tail on firm ground, as a Vaporeon drew the group's attention from where she'd crested the incline from below and clambered onto the pathside where the others stood.

"Sure," replied Sol, preening. "But I'm not a townie, Ria."

The Vaporeon let this pass without comment. "Ria," she said, by way of introduction. "Clan warrior. I will fight you, if there's cause for it."

 

[Namohysip]

Mhynt nodded. "The ramifications are simple. I am not of this world. I'm from a world that attempted to quash a similar dark threat by isolating it. It failed miserably. The same steps are being made here, and your leader was convinced enough to give us the directions and knowledge to stop you quickly. We would not have caught you within the hour otherwise."

She found this to be self-evident enough, as absurd as it was. But her entrance with Gladion would also provide some backing to being otherworldly.

"Also, unity between several forces will likely be needed for... what we face. This will achieve the opposite."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Laura? "Laura, did you come up here on your own? Did you expect to...?"

He sighed. "Whatever, another time. More importantly, Sierra's expressed a strategic interest in having the people of Black Water willing to deal with the clan against the shadows. This rail line's more than the sum of its parts to them, it's their town's chance to keep existing as its resources dry up. Destroy it, and you won't just be facing off against whoever's responsible for your demons.It would probably get... messy. We've got a railroad shutdown until the situation is resolved elicited instead, which gives Black Water more reason to cooperate instead of less."

Gladion was a bit surprised to hear that the town was the one to claim it was cowardly not to accept a fight. Though perhaps it fit in as a mangled piece of trainer culture. "If there's some townie code of honour about challenges, I don't know about it and doubt many of us would really subscribe to it. We were of the impression we should expect you to want one. If you do, we'll oblige. Really, that's the only 'cause' at hand, so it's up to you."

 

[Jackie Cat]

Laura waved sheepishly to Gladion, then nodded.

"The best way forward is one where Blaguarro's people fight with you, and if they blame the Escarpa for cutting them off from the rest of the world, you'll be resisted at every turn. We'll fight with you too, and the rangers, and then there'll be no need for this."

Sol, the Fletchinder, listened to all this. Then he laughed. One wing against his chest, like he found it hilarious.

"You three are really something," he said, at last. "This is a new one for me, my friends! Do you have proof Blaguarro will comply with a rail shutdown? I'll believe that when I see it."

Laura bit her lip. She was treading water here, and she didn't know how deep. "Frontier Town has influence over Blaguarro – Lucien says he can stop trains departing."

Sol gave her a skeptical look. "He doesn't have that kind of authority! A naive fool is better than a despot, I suppose, but it doesn't help the Escarpa. Winds take this, it doesn't matter anyway. Civilians are not warriors, any who can fight would be mad to fight us rather than join us in battle against the demons, and we must cut off all routes of escape else we find ourselves fighting demons across the whole desert. And what of after the fight? The Commonwealth will make war with us and use the rail to transport troops and supplies. Even if they don't, the rail will accelerate settlement of Sohavenia until the clans are squeezed out. We must act."

Laura tried desperately to come up with something to say about long-term security for the Escarpa. All her ideas from the trek over vanished like notepad scraps in the wind.

"Enough of this," barked Ria, a growl rising in her throat. "We accept the challenge. Fight us if you must. Only spare my ears from more condescension about our resistance being doomed."

Laura looked around, and over the ridge at the rest of the clan warriors planting charges. There were a few Luxio, a Rapidash, another figure or two she couldn't make out... She shot a look over her shoulder at a noise from behind her.

Halcón and Pyrrin arriving, having followed Mhynt and Gladion.

Surely they couldn't fight this many Escarpa? It was a joke. Impossible.

 

[Inkedust]

"Again and again, all you do is prove that you do not understand our position," Pyrrin huffed. He shot Halcón a look that screamed 'told you so'. "Let this battle determine our next course of action," he added, embers beginning to spark from his maw, "and end your puppy whines over pieces of wood and metal."

 

[Namohysip]

"It isn't condescension. It's fact. You Escarpa want straightforward statements, yes? I have no plans to sugarcoat your folly. But fine." Mhynt raised her hand, forming the first echoes of a strange power in her fingers. "We'll show you the other way as Sierra predicted."

She Teleported back onto Gladion and murmured something to him, "...I will give you orders now and then to attack in a certain direction. A direction nobody is. But I want you to do so anyway, and with full effort. Will you trust me on this?"

 

[Shiny Phantump]

"No point in repeating everything we said to Sierra. If this works better for you, it sounds less frustrating to me.”

"...I will give you orders now and then to attack in a certain direction. A direction nobody is. But I want you to do so anyway, and with full effort. Will you trust me on this?"

Gladion stretched his talons. “Got it.”

In the meantime, his attention would be on Pyrrin. A weakness to fighting was the obvious reason, but he also wanted to see if it might be possible to keep himself between the Pyrrin and the fuses. He seemed incensed enough that Gladion worried the fire-type might not be above a ‘stray’ ember.

In truth part of the reason that idea occurred so naturally to Gladion as a possible risk was because, were their roles reversed, it was something he would have considered himself.

 

[Jackie Cat]

Halcón sighed, then yawned. "I'll referee it, I suppose. Unless you'd rather, Sol?"

The Fletchinder ruffled his feathers. "No, sir. I am ready to fight."

With that, the bird took wing and made a tight roll, to glide down towards the river itself. Ria followed, then Pyrrin. Meanwhile, Halcón eyed the Wayfarers with a sanguine smile, his eyes half-lidded as they often were.

"You folks still don't get it," he purred. "That's fine – the rains wash all things in time. Good luck in the fight, though!"

And then he darted down, too, moving at a speed that was surprising after his usual unhurried lope.

 

[Namohysip]

"...Wait," Mhynt said, frowning. "Shouldn't you be removing the charges so nothing accidentally goes off? A partial destruction won't be enough and will only hamper your cause in the long run no matter what you want to do," she pointed out.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Gladion sighed. “Don’t count on it. We’ll just have to get this done as quickly as possible.”

 

[AdamArtDraws]

"You sure you can handle em?" Felin whispered beside Mhynt, casting a subtle glance at Sol and sizing him up. "He's got the type advantage and fire also."

She'd arrived with boots coated with silt and had caught up just on time to get the gist of events.

"You can handle it," Felin concluded encouragingly. "Victini's flames be with you."

 

[Jackie Cat]

On one side of the river were Houndoom Pyrrin, Fletchinder Sol, and Vaporeon Ria. On the other were Gladion, Mhynt, Felin, and Jade. Halcón and Laura stood apart, refereeing.

"So, human-Meowth. Did you ever battle in your world?" asked Halcón, casually.

Laura chuckled nervously. "For fun, and in sporting tournaments. And, uh, as a trainer. A 'commander', I guess. I had a team of pokémon who I trained to fight."

Halcón nodded with reserved interest. "Huh. This will be familiar to you, then!"

It was. In a sort of Twilight Zone, Distortion World kind of way.

"I guess. The stakes feel much higher than anything I fought for back home, though."

On the Escarpa side of the river, Sol took to the air, climbing rapidly and positioning himself with the sun behind him – to blind anyone targeting him. Ria dived into the river, melting into the water. Pyrrin stood his ground for the moment, flames brimming in his mouth.

"You think so? It's just wood and metal," replied Halcón. "Meanwhile, for us... This is about our way of life, our future livelihoods, our independence, our chances of winning the inevitable wars to come. If we must pull our strike on the rail tracks, then so be it – but we expect you to earn it, at least."

Laura swallowed, her eyes on the battlefield. "We'll show you how well we can fight, at least."

"Please do!"

The Wayfarers were the strongest they'd been, but the Escarpa were a clan of warriors, and they lived to battle.

 

[Namohysip]

Mhynt only glared, dutiful. She kept her comments to herself and wondered just how careless these people were. Maybe her feelings would translate to her strikes, feeble as they were in her current state. "Be ready," Mhynt said to Gladion.

Then, she vanished, leaving Gladion to fight as he wanted for now. Instead, she brought her hand back and thrust forward, aiming to enervate one for right off the bat with Toxic energy.