Obstinea Mountains Templefall Caverns Mystery Dungeon

[Chibi Pika]

Ralsen had re-lit his lantern after the group passed by the Golurk without incident. The matches he'd brought with him had fortunately remained dry in his bag despite the earlier stroll through the falling stream. Although, even if that hadn't been the case, the group wasfortunate enough to have a fire-type in their midst.

"I heard that the monks first cultivated this region generations ago, so it wouldn't surprise me if this place was once theirs," Ralsen said, holding his lantern such that the light glimmered off the water's edge. "In those days, there very well may have been Saints walking among them. It's wild to imagine a time like that."

After a minute or two of rounding the perimeter of the underground lake--which seemed to go on so far that the group couldn't see the other side--the light revealed something other than a dark, glassy water surface. A stone bridge, leading across. Had that always been there...?

 

[RJr3:2]

"A civilization of the past," Aige murmured softly, "From what we've seen, sounds like a place I would fit in just fine."

In her head though, she was thinking of the Golurk. Maybe someday that would be her, simply falling over sideways or crumbling into a pile of rocks in the middle of a sentence. It was more curious to her than morbid.

"And I can't even cry about it," she said. "Oh, um, just finishing a thought," the Roggenrola added quickly.

She looked at the bridge with interest. "Huh..."

 

[Jackie Cat]

'It's wild'. That was an odd choice of words. Laura would have to ask Ralsen more about himself when they weren't midway through delving a dungeon's heart...

"I've not read anything about whatever this culture was, at least I think not," said Laura, "but I've noticed some similarities here and there. More differences than similarities, but some of the engraved script is kinda familiar? I think it could be a more ancient form of the same orthography used in the monastery, just... so old nobody knows it anymore..."

She stepped forward and used her walking stick to give the bridge a tap, as if it might be an illusion of the light, a trick to further defend the rift from interlopers.

 

[Cresselia92]

‘Ah. Not unlike any other ancient civilization, then,’ mused Silver, still staring at the various patterns. ‘It sounds very much like a Hisui situation, with their knowledge and culture buried by the sands of time.’

Whatever was the case of the state of those ruins, that was a topic better suited for another day. They still had a heart to find and a dungeon to stabilize!

The now-Sneasel noticed that the others found something: a bridge. He blinked in surprise, wondering if the dungeon itself was really feeling generous that day, and got closer to get a better look.

“So, is it stable enough?” he asked, peering through the dim light to see if there was anything off. However, there was no way to check whether that bridge was safe to traverse through with the gaze alone. That meant taking a slightly riskier approach, but hey! That was how it worked in the various adventure movies, right?

“Hmm… D’you have some spare rope? I’d say someone should tie an extremity around their body and try to get through. If they end up falling because of a fragile step or something, the others can pull them up and back to safety.” Silver let his suggestion sink in, then he shot a quick glance at the others. “Any volunteers? If there aren’t dibs, I can do it!”

 

[Chibi Pika]

The bridge seemed solid enough. At least, enough that Ralsen was willing to chance it.

"Not a bad idea," the Grovyle said with a nod, fishing the rest of the rope out of his bag. It wasn't long enough to cross the entire lake, but it would let Silver get far enough to gain some idea of how reliable the crossing would be.

 

[Cresselia92]

“Alright, then!” exclaimed Silver, reaching out for the rope before anyone raised any objection. He tied the rope around his waist with a tight knot — strong enough that he probably would have needed to slash it later — and faced the bridge. Adrenaline pumped through his system, fueling his muscles and preparing them for the task or for a quick escape.

“I’m going! Wish me good luck, folks, and get ready for anything!”

Silver exhaled deeply to psyche himself up, and with a quick nod and burst of defiant determination, he stepped onto the bridge. It was a slow and gingerly step, followed by a pause to tap his foot and check for any potential weak spot or suspicious noise, and then he kept walking forward…

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Good luck," murmured Laura, gripping her stick.

Silver didn't need luck, it turned out. The bridge, whether it had been there or not before the lantern brought it into view, was solid. Solid enough to take the whole group as they trekked onward, through the vast dark, and the long-undisturbed quiet. Though the lake was still, whenever Laura glanced over the side of the bridge, she was sure she could discern the movement of some great shape beneath the surface...

"Let's move a little quicker," muttered Laura, stepping up her own pace.

As they came to the end of the bridge, another carved stone gateway awaited them, and a circular chamber beyond it. Stepping inside revealed it to be a strange melding-together of the dungeon's component regions – the bare rock of the caverns, the engraved masonry of the temple, and shelves upon shelves of ageing books, woodcuts, and scrolls. A shallow channel around the rim of the circle carried water from small fountains on the far wall out into the lake.

Besides these, and set into the wall, were a pair of alcoves containing statuettes... Ancient marble depictions of legendary dragons – one white; one black. Shrines to the Saints.

 

[RJr3:2]

As Aige walked with the group, she stared at the amalgamation of pieces fit together like a painting.

"If dungeons take bits and pieces of what they consume, I wonder if you could use it to your advantage," she wondered aloud. "Or if you changed the entire terrain surrounding the dungeon, would it change too or stay the same?"

The Roggenrola huffed. "Though from what I've heard so far, any of those things might be possible depending on the dungeon. What a pain."

As the statues came into view, she stopped, staring awkwardly at the black one. "Ugh, it even looks like him. Looks like my world is the odd one out in comparison," she muttered to herself.

 

[Chibi Pika]

Ralsen's eyes lit up, and he almost immediately set about retrieving the box camera from his bag and photographing the various shrine details, from the masonry to the shelves to the statues.

"It's able to take 100 photos," Ralsen explained as he turned the key on the top of the box to advance the film. "Of course, I've taken quite a few on my travels. Once it runs out, I'll need to bring it back to the university to develop it."

The circular chamber was nearly silent aside from the gentle trickle of water from the fountains. Ralsen glanced around thoughtfully. "I wonder if we've neared this dungeon heart that you've been seeking?"

 

[Cresselia92]

Once they reached the other side of the bridge, Silver cut the knot with a clean slash, letting the rope fall near noiselessly to the floor. After quickly patting his flattened fur, he walked toward the two shrines to pay his respects to the deities with a slow bow, then began studying the shapes of the statuettes. A black dragon and a white dragon, huh…

When Ralsen inquired about the heart, Silver replied with a casual shrug. “Ah, beats me. This would be my first time joining some heart-linking mission or whatever, so I’m not sure what step follows.” Glancing at the roof, Silver cleared his mind and attempted a telepathic connection with their ally from the Astral Planes. ‘Hey, Betel! Can you sense the heart around here or something?’

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

As they came to the end of the bridge, another carved stone gateway awaited them, and a circular chamber beyond it. Stepping inside revealed it to be a strange melding-together of the dungeon's component regions – the bare rock of the caverns, the engraved masonry of the temple, and shelves upon shelves of ageing books, woodcuts, and scrolls. A shallow channel around the rim of the circle carried water from small fountains on the far wall out into the lake.

Besides these, and set into the wall, were a pair of alcoves containing statuettes... Ancient marble depictions of legendary dragons – one white; one black. Shrines to the Saints.

"Didn't think that I'd run into these here..."

Lyle stopped and stared at ancient statuettes. It was just so weird seeing Reshiram and Zekrom depicted together like this. He supposed he'd heard that had been done once before when he was home, but that was for a short season, which came crashing down in a hail of lightning and fire.

But these statues looked like they'd seen a long life, one far outlasting their creators. And it couldn't help but make Lyle wonder...

"... Wait, so does anyone know who on earth even built these ruins anyways?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

Hello, heroic spirits. You are nearly at the heart, actually!

Many Mystery Dungeons have well-protected hearts. It is not enough to approach them – you may also need to solve some puzzle or overcome some challenge in order to access them. In this case, it appears that there is some task you must fulfil in order to unlock the heart of Templefall Caverns.

...You may not have an unlimited stay in which to accomplish this, nor unlimited attempts. There are many dormant souls not far from your location which I believe are most likely golurk drones.
​

Laura swallowed, her mouth drying up again.

"From what I've read, there are other dungeons containing ancient ruins in Luctemar, and plenty on other continents, too. Didn't really get to the bottom of it, though – the closest thing to a reasonable sounding scholarly consensus is that it's just that ruins swallowed by dungeons are better-preserved than other ruins, which... that tracks, fine. But it doesn't seem like Commonwealth archeologists really know what culture built this place, or places like it, to begin with. Maybe some predecessor culture to the monastery?"

She set her walking stick and pack aside, and moved towards the dragon statues, one paw on her chin, the other supporting her elbow. They had their paws held as if welcoming or inviting something, and there were shallow receptacles beneath them – for offerings, perhaps. But would just anything do? There weren't any instructions to hand that they could understand...

 

[Chibi Pika]

Ralsen inspected the statues from all angles, eyes running from the intricate carvings surrounding them to the outstretched claws.

He put a claw to his chin. "Well, from what I've read about these two, they're meant to represent equal and opposite attributes. Some might even say, complementary. Perhaps the offering ought to reflect that."

 

[Cresselia92]

Silver crossed his arms and stared intently at the two stony dragons, wracking his mind to figure out what kind of puzzle they needed to solve. As he focused completely on the white statuette, faint memories of something he saw on the news resurfaced: a white dragon circling the overtaken Unova League and breathing out a stream of blue fire. An intensely bright blue flame.

“…Light and darkness, perhaps?” he wondered out loud, tilting his head and tapping his chin with a claw. “It’s just… they’re opposing forces with similar attributes, and you literally can’t have one without the other. You might dim a light or brighten a shadow, but neither will truly be gone.”

He glanced at the Cyndaquil. “Lyle could light some fuel or something flammable with his fire — that could provide our, well, light.”

Then he glanced at his claws. “As for the darkness, well…”

Silver took a deep breath, then grunted as soon as he latched onto some of his least pleasant memories: his failures.

He never defeated that dragon-obsessed Champion. He never defeated Hibiki. He never destroyed Team Rocket.

Silver Focused his Shadow.

Sheer spite swirled into Silver’s mind like a ravaging storm, pumping just enough power without making him lose control, and black venom began dripping from his claws. “We know where we could get some…”

 

[Jackie Cat]

Laura looked sidelong at Silver, her whole body tensing up and her tail thrashing.

"...I wouldn't be so sure of that," she warned. "Fire and Shadow aren't exactly equal and complementary opposites..."

That, and she wasn't too sure that whoever built this temple gave offerings of Shadow to Zekrom, assuming the black dragon was indeed Zekrom. If the receptacles could take energy, then maybe they'd need Electric-type energy...? Or maybe—

"You'd need Radiance," said a familiar voice, from behind them. A tailflame cast a long Charmeleon-shaped shadow across the room.

Laura looked back over her shoulder. "...Shira? You followed us. You're pretty stealthy for someone with a lit flame on them at all times."

Shira shrugged. "I can put it out for a minute or so at a time. It's like holding my breath." Her eyes narrowed. "You didn't tell me you were Shadow pokémon."

"We're not," said Laura, with a sinking feeling. "We just... picked it up from fighting so many of them."

More or less true. Even if the thing that has cinched it was rather more sinister. And embarrassing.

 

[RJr3:2]

"So then which one gets which?" Aige asked, still staring at the statue of Zekrom. "Assuming it's something like shadow and radiance," she added.

"I can't say I'm interested in playing this place's game any longer than necessary," she said a little bitterly. "If you wanted a literal shadow, then just take a picture of one." The Roggenrola glanced over at Ralsen. "If that camera has a flash anyway."

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Lyle stared at the statues puzzledly. There didn't seem to be any sort of mechanism to them at all to put in physical objects. Were they enchanted or something? Since it was hard to see how putting any sort of physical object was supposed to accomplish anything in those little trays.

Though then again, this was already a world with these mystical shadow and light powers. Who was to say that there wasn't some sort of mystical effect to how the statues worked?

... Maybe it was reaching, but he figured that it was worth at least floating the idea.

"Could the statues be meant to react to something related to the two?" he asked. "Back in my world, we had statues like these... or at least of Reshiram. Back there, she'd sometimes be called 'Reality'..."

Lyle blinked and trailed off. He could've sworn he'd said Wirklichkeit there, but it didn't come out that way. He supposed she was still called 'Reality' sometimes even if it didn't carry quite the same meaning.

"Anyhow, in my world she was a goddess of truth and the way that things actually are and being able to find it and show it to others. While Zekrom was supposed to be a god sometimes called 'Wish'. A god of ideals and the things that one wished and desired to bring into being."

He pawed at the side of his head and trailed off a bit.

"I know that this is going to sound kinda stupid, but... in my world, it was tradition to leave messages with some sort of truth you normally wouldn't share with others to ask Reshiram for aid," he explained. "Maybe the statue's looking for something like that? If so, then the Zekrom one might be looking for sharing something we want that-"

Silver crossed his arms and stared intently at the two stony dragons, wracking his mind to figure out what kind of puzzle they needed to solve. As he focused completely on the white statuette, faint memories of something he saw on the news resurfaced: a white dragon circling the overtaken Unova League and breathing out a stream of blue fire. An intensely bright blue flame.

“…Light and darkness, perhaps?” he wondered out loud, tilting his head and tapping his chin with a claw. “It’s just… they’re opposing forces with similar attributes, and you literally can’t have one without the other. You might dim a light or brighten a shadow, but neither will truly be gone.”

He glanced at the Cyndaquil. “Lyle could light some fuel or something flammable with his fire — that could provide our, well, light.”

Then he glanced at his claws. “As for the darkness, well…”

Silver took a deep breath, then grunted as soon as he latched onto some of his least pleasant memories: his failures.

He never defeated that dragon-obsessed Champion. He never defeated Hibiki. He never destroyed Team Rocket.

Silver Focused his Shadow.

Sheer spite swirled into Silver’s mind like a ravaging storm, pumping just enough power without making him lose control, and black venom began dripping from his claws. “We know where we could get some…”

Laura looked sidelong at Silver, her whole body tensing up and her tail thrashing.

"...I wouldn't be so sure of that," she warned. "Fire and Shadow aren't exactly equal and complementary opposites..."

That, and she wasn't too sure that whoever built this temple gave offerings of Shadow to Zekrom, assuming the black dragon was indeed Zekrom. If the receptacles could take energy, then maybe they'd need Electric-type energy...? Or maybe—

"You'd need Radiance," said a familiar voice, from behind them. A tailflame cast a long Charmeleon-shaped shadow across the room.

Laura looked back over her shoulder. "...Shira? You followed us. You're pretty stealthy for someone with a lit flame on them at all times."

Shira shrugged. "I can put it out for a minute or so at a time. It's like holding my breath." Her eyes narrowed. "You didn't tell me you were Shadow pokémon."

"We're not," said Laura, with a sinking feeling. "We just... picked it up from fighting so many of them."

More or less true. Even if the thing that has cinched it was rather more sinister. And embarrassing.

Lyle... hadn't considered the possibility of Radiance and Shadow being options at all, and honestly felt a little stupid considering how the entire Abbey they visited was all about that Radiance power.

But first things first, he had a crabby Charmeleon to settle down.

"Easy. None of us are doing anything crazy here," he said. "We're just using the means we have to try and get by in this world. It's just how things are sometimes, since we can't always do things the way we find them ideal."

Except from Laura's comment, it didn't sound like Radiance and Shadow were the things the statues were looking for either. He supposed it was worth at least trying the fire angle since both Laura and Silver considered it, and he made his way over towards Reshiram's tray and let the fire from his vents out, just in case...

Maybe it was best to get things straight from the source here.

"Though since you're here, what do Reshiram and Zekrom stand for here in this world? Since just from the way these statues are set out, I'm not sure if they're the same as they were in mine," he said, looking at Shira. "Are there any particular symbols or things associated with them here in Forlas?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

Shira's tensed shoulders didn't fully relax, but she didn't attack or anything, and she seemed to accept the Wayfarers' answers for now.

"We call them the Saint of Verity and the Saint of Virtue," she said. "Or just... Verity and Virtue, if we're not being formal. We have this way of understanding the world that basically involves thinking about things in terms of whether they're true and whether they're ideal, how things really are and how they should be, and so on."

She stepped forward, then stopped to give a little bow, as if only just now remembering to be polite.

"You're supposed to have one person say something they think is true, and another person say what's ideal. Sort of. It's more complicated than that the way the masters do it, but even I'm always thinking to myself, 'what's best? what's real?', uh, kinda like that."

She looked at the Wayfarers, and sort of hugged herself. Cold, or self-conscious...?

"The Wayfarers are here to help Forlas; the Wayfarers are dangerous to Forlas. You can even do it on your own."

She eyed the statues with child-like admiration. "Or you can whisper it like a secret. Or write it down and hide it, or burn the paper."

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Lyle... wasn't expecting that one to actually work. These statues could somehow sense whatever answers they'd have to offer them? At first he thought that Shira was pulling their legs, but no, she seemed to genuinely mean it. Even if he wasn't sure what that flash of apparent self-consciousness was about.

Though Verity and Virtue? Verity he understood, but Virtue... he wasn't so sure. It just seemed so... strange. He supposed he understood the notion of the two standing for the way things were and how they should be was familiar. But a being that folktales back home spoke of in dread as an 'Endbringer' who had brought untold misery through the ages... really would just accept hearing how Pokémon thought things ought to be from anyone? Didn't he have enemies? Was this not the Dragon of Deep Black who saw fit to raze kingdoms if he deemed their Pokémon to have lost what he considered the 'righteousness' of their hearts?

He supposed that that was a sign that Forlas' Zekrom wasn't mad or an enemy to whoever made these statues. Even if he wasn't sure how eager Reshiram would be to hear from a thief. Though between all the Pokémon present, it made him wonder...

"So wait, are we all supposed to give answers to both of these statues?" he asked. "Or are we supposed to pick one Pokémon to do one of each?"

 

[Chibi Pika]

Ralsen tilted his head. "You ask as if one of us might already know the answer," he said with just the slight trace of a grin. "If there is one, it's been lost to time. We won't know unless we try."

"I favor the idea of writing it down and burning it, myself," the Grovyle said with a shrug, retrieving a notebook from his bag and offering the paper to anyone who wished to try.