Obstinea Mountains Westward Trails

[Jackie Cat]

"Uhh... Hi?"

“God fucking dammit.”

Silver mustered all the adrenaline he got in his body and held his claws forward as a defensive display, glaring defiantly as he did so.

"If we decide to attack though, let's make it quick. If we're lucky, we can scare them away."

"Tch, great, just what we needed right now."

"Alright, there's no need for a fight here. We're just as confused about what's going on as you are and want to get off your mountain as soon as we can."

Aggron looked between the tiny creatures in his way. One of them was making a threat display. He spread his stance and reared up, tail sweeping from side to side, to show how big he was. The king of the mountainside! Don't mess with him!

The small 'mon were making sounds of speech and wearing made-things. That kind of small 'mon. So annoying! They didn't understand anything, even simple things like get out of my space!

Aggron bellowed deeply once more and thrust into the air with his horns. See how good at fighting he was! Better not fight him! They weren't going to take any of his territory, that was for sure...

For the Wayfarers, the bellowing didn't translate into words as such, but something about Betel's network made the meaning barely comprehensible, even for those unfamiliar with the behaviour.

This is my place! You can't have it! Go away!

 

[Butterfree]

"Cool. Conveniently, we don't even want your place. Just passing through. See you around."

Dave gave everyone a pointed, meaningful glance before backing away from the mountainside, tilting to the direction they'd been traveling. This should not have to become a fight, for the love of God. They might have been Pokémon - an instinct in the back of his head wanted to stand up to the creature - but fighting this Aggron was not necessary.

 

[Sinderella]

Odette’s expression flattened into something more deadpan, and she raised her hands as if surrendering. No; fuck this. They needed to get to the fucking Abbey and get this trek over with. Battling a territorial aggron was not in the cards for this.

“Betel, can you tell this guy nobody here is in the market for dusty desert trail real estate, please?”

 

[Virgil134]

Rodion stared stone faced at the Aggron for a moment, not flinching from the deep bellow. He hesitated briefly, before looking back at his teammates.

"… Let's head back the way we came from," the Buizel said. "If the distortion has shifted things around, we might find another path forward."

He turned around and began walking away, but not without keeping the Aggron in the corner of his vision… just in case the ‘mon would try something after all.

 

[Cresselia92]

Silver stood squarely, barely fazed by the Aggron’s display of power. Only his twitching ear showed a vague sign of discomfort, but that was simply because of the bothersome ringing noise.

A side of him wished to show to that wild ‘mon that they weren’t afraid, and that they could take it down without breaking a sweat. However… that wasn’t the right way to approach that problem, no.

The Aggron wasn’t doing anything wrong; it was only defending its rightful place and home, and it wasn’t its fault if some distortion dumped a bunch of invaders into its turf. What would they gain by engaging a startled ‘mon in a totally avoidable fight?

So, Silver took a deep breath to calm down his battle-hungry instincts and withdrew his claws, then let his arms droop to his sides. His glare softened significantly, too, showing no more signs of aggression.

“…Okay, pal. We’ve got the hint, and we’ll get outta your tail. Sorry ‘bout barging into your territory.” He nodded at the other teammates and followed them back to the road they left behind. “Hey, Betel. Is there another path leading to the abbey? Maybe something without angry fellas?”

 

[Jackie Cat]

The small speech-voicing, thing-making pokémon were backing off. Good! They respected Aggron's claim. All was well.

And with that, the group became dramatically less interesting. The mountain had rumbled like an unfed belly, and changed, and Aggron could no longer assume what he knew of it was accurate. He would have to map it out again. Show the locals he was still king of this slope. Make sure he had some good spots for food and shelter memorised.

He huffed, and turned to ascend the mountain by climbing its face directly. This, too, was proof of his strength and good health. It would impress any other local pokémon who saw him pull it off. Good! It would be a good day if there was a sunny spot to claim further up...

---

Actually, I believe if you wait a moment, you will find that the wild aggron has already departed the path up the mountainside. It seems he was satisfied with your choice to back down from a fight!
​

Laura was happy to wait a moment. It would give her a chance to brace herself against a rock on the ground and just cope. That entire time, her mind had spun with battle strategies for a team that weren't here; her paws had clutched for capsules she didn't have. Fuck! She'd just been scared and stopped thinking. For all she knew, the party could've easily taken that aggron in a fight.

Probably for the best that they hadn't, though...

"Let's wait until he's further out of earshot and then head back up at a brisk pace," she suggested, trying to mask how breathless she'd become.

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Lyle stared as the Aggron lumbered along up the mountainside. He wasn't fully sure what on earth just happened, especially since Betel seemed to pass along coherent thoughts from a 'mon that he thought wasn't supposed to be capable of doing that.

"… Let's head back the way we came from," the Buizel said. "If the distortion has shifted things around, we might find another path forward."

Lyle looked back to check what the surroundings behind them looked like. Did the path that they came from even still look the same right now? Or did it lead somewhere else...?

 

[RJr3:2]

For a moment, Aige thought about trailing the Aggron to see if it would lead to the way forward. It would definitely work, they were just a wild pokemon, right?

Just stick with everyone else, she mentally chided herself. You can make up for it later.

"At least we're not in a big rush," she said lightly, "Let's take a moment to let any excitement die down, we could run into them again if we're still going up."

 

[Jackie Cat]

That much was true. Maybe they should just proceed quietly. Lingering outright, though... What if the dungeon shifted again?

"I'm just gonna keep walking, then," said Laura, meekly taking up her pack and stick and heading further on.

Lyle looked back to check what the surroundings behind them looked like. Did the path that they came from even still look the same right now? Or did it lead somewhere else...?

If the Wayfarers had previously looked down at the path they'd taken – and who doesn't like to look at the progress they've made on a long trip? Especially one so picturesque – they would now notice that the exact route had changed somewhat. Those lanterns hadn't been clustered like that, and their hue had turned a strange sort of magenta. That pathway had trifurcated into a winding tangle. And the small mountain bushes hadn't been bearing plump clusters of sitrus berries before...

 

[Cresselia92]

As the group resumed walking at a slower pace, Silver glanced longingly at the many cliffs around them. Somehow, the simple thought of climbing the steep wall with his bare claws made him twitch in excitement — was it because of mountain Sneasel instincts mixed with some little impatience, perhaps?

However, he knew well that it would have been tough for his teammates to follow him up there, and an untimely dungeon shift while climbing could have disastrous consequences…

grooowr

…and his insanely speedy metabolism decided that was the best moment to demand some sustenance. Groaning softly in embarrassment, Silver rummaged into his shoulder bag and produced a fistful of dark red strips — dried seafood jerky.

“Hey. Anyone want a little protein snack? I’ve got plenty of Inkay Jerky and Dried Basculin with me.” He crunched on a strip of squid jerky, enjoying its mild spicy flavor, and offered the rest of them with his other paw. “I kinda over-packed, so I don’t mind sharing.”

 

[Butterfree]

Dave let out the breath he was holding as the Aggron disappeared over the mountainside. Jesus.

Silver was offering snacks. "Uh, sure, thanks," he said, taking a strip of dried Basculin and munching on it as they walked on.

"I guess this is what Powehi was talking about," he said. "Rifts expanding just because we're there. Hey, Betel, should we be, like, avoiding areas with dungeons around? Is it dangerous if they expand? To us or others?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

I do not know whether to believe that your presence is the cause... I do not want to believe it.

It is certainly true that dungeons expanding can be somewhat disruptive to local ecosystems and sapient communities alike. However, you experienced no such issues visiting – for instance – Silver Ravine and Bedaurejo Castle...​

 

[RJr3:2]

"How can we even prove that?" Aige mused, casting a lingering sidelong glance at Silver's offerings.

No mouth. Not yet. I feel like I finally know the phrase 'won't miss it until it's gone', she thought.

"I mean, I'm not a statistician or anything, but there's nothing we can really compare it against. What if Powehi just has confirmation bias?" The Roggenrola let out a sound like a sigh. "Either way, we'll probably find out at some point, no need to worry about it now in my opinion."

She hesitated, another thought coming to her mind. "And well, granted dungeons can be a minus in the short term, does that mean they're all that bad?"

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

"

If the Wayfarers had previously looked down at the path they'd taken – and who doesn't like to look at the progress they've made on a long trip? Especially one so picturesque – they would now notice that the exact route had changed somewhat. Those lanterns hadn't been clustered like that, and their hue had turned a strange sort of magenta. That pathway had trifurcated into a winding tangle. And the small mountain bushes hadn't been bearing plump clusters of sitrus berries before...

Great, so the Mystery Dungeon did shift on them and the path they came from looked different than it used to. Lyle had to remind himself that Mystery Dungeons could have parts of them abruptly change like that in this world and that the entire floor wouldn't change all at once like back home.

I do not know whether to believe that your presence is the cause... I do not want to believe it.

It is certainly true that dungeons expanding can be somewhat disruptive to local ecosystems and sapient communities alike. However, you experienced no such issues visiting – for instance – Silver Ravine and Bedaurejo Castle...​

Lyle hadn't considered the possibility that their presence could possibly causing problems in Forlas, but now that Betel mentioned it... could it be related? They had been brought here unnaturally to begin with, so was it really that impossible there'd be side effects?

He supposed there would be a time to worry about that later, but for now...

"So, how far up were we going to go up this Aggron trail again? While I'm pretty sure we can't just backtrack out of this Mystery Dungeon and go around it, I'm not really sure what we're looking for to get out of here."

 

[Jackie Cat]

Laura turned back, tail twitching in anxious irritation.

"We're only in the 'shallows' of the dungeon. We should be able to proceed up the intended path, it's probably just gonna be weirder than it was before, same as the path we just came up."

She glanced skyward, in the same mannerism than many Wayfarers had adopted when 'speaking' to Betel.

"We don't know enough yet to assume that just coming near a dungeon is what makes it expand. They've expanded and contracted before without en masse offworlders being involved, and they've not expanded when we've come near, before. We should worry if we get enough datapoints to form a trend. Or if we find a causative explanation. I didn't get the impression Powehi was saying we have some kind of alien dungeon-inflaming aura, just that entering and remaining in Forlas stressed the fabric of reality in general. Well, we're not the only ones doing that. Cipher have a straight up portal to their reality, right? Or something like it."

 

[Sinderella]

Odette nodded. “Yeah, if the fuckers who are literally hopping and out of here through portals aren’t getting eaten alive by these dungeon things, I can’t imagine we’ll be any worse off,” she scoffed.

Still, she wasn’t all that keen to stick around and find out just how many more stupid wild aggron they could piss off or how long they could stand twiddling their thumbs before the dungeon shifted again. “Any chance we’re getting close to this Abbey?”

 

[Cresselia92]

Silver narrowed his eyes and hummed in contemplation. “Yeah… For all we know, those Cipher punks might be the ones who destabilized this world in the first place. I mean, haven’t they been messing around this place for… what? Years or something?”

He shrugged casually, then munched on another piece of jerky. “Who knows what kinda damage they must’ve done in all that time! Sure, there’s a chance we might’ve jeopardized things with world balance or whatever and that would be bad, but there’s no tangible evidence that proves we are the cause.”

 

[Jackie Cat]

"It's a multi-day trip for anyone who's not a bird," sighed Laura.

Nothing for it but to press on.

The party hiked further up the path, as they'd planned – although the way was now distorted somewhat, they made steady progress without finding any unpleasant dead-ends. An occasional rest stop presented itself, with picnic tables and picturesque views to ease the journey. More lamps lit the way when evening dark began to set in, and from time to time one of them would spy a wild 'mon in the distance, prowling the peaks or patrolling the skies around them.

It was a long journey, but strangely, the shallows of the local rift seemed to either speed them on their way, or slow the onset of dusk, such that they made far more progress in the daylight available than they might have expected...

"Look."

Laura raised her walking stick and pointed across a wide gulf to a cluster of buildings lying across from them, on the far slope. The Abbey...?

"I think I see... cable cars? There must be a way across. Further along around this peak..."

 

[AdamArtDraws]

"Best we start looking then," Felin remarked at her.

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