At your question, Saint jumps out of her sheath, and points her blade at the Skarmory.

Brother Kidd's gaze keep moving from the castle's entrance, to the window you used to get on the roof. "She may not know for now, but she will know for certain if her Skarmory returns to her with our rope. One way or another, they probably have people searching for us in the castle. It is only a matter of time before they find us here."

When Saint jumped out of his side and pointed to the Skarmory, he thought he knew what she was trying to say. They had to stop the metallic bird, it was the only way they could get down from here without attracting attention. "Then we're going to have to get that rope back, aren't we? Saint, we're going into battle, you ready?

OOC: He's going to try and get the rope back from Skarmory with Saint, but I'm not sure if that's a battle considering the Skarmory's trainer isn't around?

OOC: Even without a trainer, a pokémon will be able to fight on it's own... though how well depend on it's training.

Saint chases after the bird, but she's spotted before she gets in range. The Skarmory swipes in, using battering your companion with it's wings. Saint tries to fade in the shadows to attack from behind, but her opponent is too fast and tough. And once the bird draws a cloud of dust by striking the wall, you don't think your Honedge could really land a blow.

Atticus watched as Saint lunged forward and tried to attack the bird, but its speed outclassed Saint's own. "Saint, don't be hasty, use that dust to hide in the shadows and then find an opportunity!"

OOC: He's gonna tell her to Autotomize before finding another opportunity to strike.

After narrowly dodging the Skarmory's beak, Saint hides among the cliff's shadow. Alas, Flying pokémon often have extremely keen sight, and the metallic bird soon strikes next to Saint, not harming her, but throwing more dust her way.

OOC: Between her -2 Acc due to Sand Attack, and the scary defense of Skarmory, Saint has no real way to hit it.

I know Sword Dance is supposed to increase Power, but for a trial run, I'll let you use it to increase Saint's Attack instead if you want.

This was proving to be a tricky situation and he knew that his Pokemon were a little undertrained for this. Nonetheless, he yelled out more words of encouragement to Saint so that she could see that he was on her side.

OOC: Alright, then let's do Swords Dance and try attacking again.

Saint continues hiding in the shadows, focusing herself with Sword Dance, waiting the the right moment to strike out. But even with that, she can only barely break through the Skarmory's defenses. She lands a blow, but it has little effect beyond making it drop you rope.

Thankfully, it seems enough to convince the bird to leave. Brother Kidd doesn't wait, quickly tying up the rope, and throwing it off the side. "Now's our chance. Let's hurry before it comes back!"

Atticus was impressed with how tough the Skarmory was. The sound of hard steel clashing against steel echoed around them, and while it originally didn't look like it had any effect, it did just enough to get the bird to leave. When Brother Kidd set up the rope for them, he didn't hesitate to rush over and started to climb down it after making sure Saint was tucked safely on his side.

You slide down... with a bit of difficulty, but safely. Looking up, you don't see Brother Kidd following you, but you assume he's just waiting for you to be low enough for it to be safe.

As you land, you hear shouts above you, though you can't make out what is said. Before you can figure out what you should do, a sudden gust of wind passes over you. "Care to explain what is happening, young man?"

Looking behind you, you see a man in a very fancy military uniform looking down at you from his flying mount.

Before Atticus realized what was going on, his raucous confrontation had come to this. He was face to face with one of the most powerful Dragon types in the world. Complete with its three menacing heads. If the circumstances were different, he would have thought this was the coolest thing ever. But now, not so much. "Everyone keeps interfering with this site... We were just trying to put the spirits to rest!" he stood his ground as he called out to the military man, though he knew his efforts had come to an end here.

A group of soldiers catches up to you... but even though they get in position to cut off your escape, they stand at attention rather than grab you. Now that you look at them, you notice the difference between their uniform and the one worn by the white haired man climbing down from the dragon. Aside from the soldier's being more practical and dark gray, the man wears a maroon suit, accented by a red sash and gold braid, as well as the gold dragon you've seen on the Cadien flag.

One of the soldiers next to you open their mouth to speak, only to be stopped by the man's ember-like glare. He looks back to you. "Tell me more about those spirits, and what is bothering them."

More soldiers came out to accompany what he assumed was their commanding officer. He was the one in charge so Atticus felt that if he could get through to him, maybe they could see what they were doing was harming the environment around them. "The spirits are the rebels who fought against the nation long ago. They've been buried away, unacknowledged. And now, their resting grounds are being disturbed so they're upset."He stopped to contemplate his next words because he wanted the treasure to remain safe and not be put to bad use. "I caught one of the spirits who became a Pokemon and I have them with me now. I think the best way to move forward is befriending these spirits. First by not destroying their burial places and second by giving them the attention they deserve for their efforts. That's what soldiers do, right?"Atticus was determined to have his work here recognized, no matter what it took. It's what the ghosts behind him would have wanted and entrusted him to do.

You hear more soldiers draw near, shouting for information, only to grow silent as soon as they spot the man you are talking to. After a moment of thinking, the man turns to the soldier right next to you. "I believe your funding increase was to redecorate the castle. Would you care to explain what paint you have used to anger the dead, leftenant?"

Looking at her, you can tell she's sweating bullets. "W-we renovated the walls of the lower floors and... we... we found a hidden passage."

The man shows no reaction, but the Hydreigon growls, giving you the impression he's displeased. "And why am I hearing of this now?"

"We wanted to make sure..."

"For two weeks." She flinches as he cut her off. "Judging by the reports of poltergeist activities you have been plagued with. Activities your commanding officer have not felt the need to report. Would you care to explain? Or should I question Colonel Chaney?"

The lieutenant glances at you, hesitating. You know she's afraid of the man, but she seems worried about you as well.

"She really was being secretive of the entire situation, sir. I don't think the lieutenant herself is the only person to blame in this. She just didn't want anyone to make things worse or to get hurt, I think." It was a shot in the dark but Atticus saw that the woman was worried about him. In her defense, he was just a kid and he would have been interfering in a dangerous situation. But something had to be done and that's why he told the truth to the man on the Hydreigon - the spirits wouldn't rest if they continued to be pestered by the military's work.

"Oh, I have no doubt the blame lies with the Colonel. I'll have a word with her now." He nods to the lieutenant. "Show this young man to the guest room, while I sort out this... incident."

The soldiers salute, before splitting up. The lieutenant and another soldier lead you into the castle, a few others run inside to warn them, while the rest make an honor guard for the Hydreigon rider.

You worry briefly that 'guest room' may be a euphemism, but no, you're lead to a comfortable hotel room, with television and small fridge with food and drinks. As you set in and look around, the door opens again, and Brother Kidd enters.

He breathes a sigh of relief as he sees you. "Are you alright? What happened? The got me right after you went down."

The events over the last couple of hours had left Atticus hungry so he did not hesitate to go for the food once he had some time to himself. He also let out his Pokemon so he could feed them too, though he knew his ghostly companion Saint probably did not need any of this sustenance. With a bottle of water in hand, Atticus was startled by Brother Kidd when he came into the room but he smiled at the older gentleman when he realized he was safe too. "I'm fine. I was stopped by a man with white hair riding a Hydregion. I think he's in charge, the other soldiers were scared of him. I told him what the cause of the spirits disturbances were and he seemed surprised. He didn't know any of that was going on."

"A man with... wait, did he wear a maroon and gold uniform?" When you nod, his eyes grow wide. "Oh... oh... That's... you just met King Danial Sharpe, the ruler of dragons, and champion of Cadien."

He sits on the bed, thinking out loud. "He must have decided to investigate the rumors of haunting that were in the news. If Colonel Chaney wanted to keep the treasure secret, she wouldn't have any explanation for the stories in her report. But now that the king is here in person, she won't dare hide it from him. That... that should be a good thing."

When he notices you looking at him, he explains. "Even though the ghost here were rebels, the king went to great lengths to maintain their fortress and their history. The tale was slanted a bit in the monarchi's favor, but they didn't overly demonise the rebels. So there's a decent chance he'll seek to put the ghost to rest in a peaceful manner."

When Brother Kidd explained who the man on the dragon was, Atticus' eyes went wide. He knew it was someone important but he did not expect to run into the Champion himself! No wonder the encounter had been so intimidating and the members of the  military listened to him without hesitation. He crossed his arms and listened to the older man talk out loud, but when he mentioned the rebels, he perked up. That had been his primary concern, after all.

"If that's the case, that means we might have done some good after all, right? That's what the spirits wanted and we got the destruction to stop." He contemplated everything that had happened and remembered something even more important. If he continued on his path, he would likely run into the King again and he would no doubt remember who Atticus was. He had to continue training - his fight against the Trainer-less Skarmory showed him that. "I'm glad I was able to help the spirits, but I have to get stronger. That Skarmory didn't even have commands and it almost took me and my Pokemon out. And King Sharpe is on a whole different level..."

After a short while, there's a knock at the door. Brother Kidd opens it, and immediately bows as he sees the king outside. "You must be brother Kidd. I will need your assistance to have a word with the spirits. But first..." He steps inside to stand in front of you. "I understand you lack the badges needed to challenge the gym?"

Once you nod, he adds "well, that may be for the best. I'm afraid the Chairluire gym will be closed for some times longer, as we... reorganize the chain of command." A chill runs down your spine at the way he said that. "Still, seeing how you have assisted in dealing with this situation, I believe you deserve a reward."

He hands you a pokeball who's color matches that of his uniform, and hands it to you. "She can be somewhat of a prankster at time, but I think you will get along well enough, judging what happened tonight." The ball opens, revealing...

I expect you to take good care of her."


Level up time!

You get to increase one stat of your choice.
Bulbby increases her SpA to High
Shelby increases his SpA to Average
Shadow increases his HP to Above Average
Saint increases her HP to Average, and learns Aerial Ace:
Aerial Ace   Flying   P   Average   0   Will hit on anything but an ExNo, long range

I'll send Axew's stats shortly.

Atticus was still star-struck by the man's presence when he came into the room to talk to him. He had never expected to run into royalty on his adventure but here he was talking to the head of the entire region. When the man offered him a reward and then revealed a small dragon-type Pokemon, Atticus' eyes widened and he scanned her with his Pokedex to confirm his suspicions. "Thank you, your majesty, sir! A trickster, huh? I think I'll name her Trixie then. I'll take the most care of her!" he said as he reached down to pat Trixie reassuringly before putting her away back in her uniquely-colored ball. He then turned his attention back to the king to figure out the best way to make his next move. "How do I get to Vinmur from here? I have five Pokemon so I think I'm ready to start earning badges while looking for another addition."

"Vinmur? Are you trying to go the long way around?" The king says, a bit amused. "I've aranged a transport for brother Kidd. If you want, you can ride with him back to Levallac. From there, you can take route 103 and 205 to reach Vinmur. You should be able to find a few good pokemon along the road to help you."

With that, the king gives both of you a bow, before leaving.

Brother Kidd breathes a sigh of relief as he leaves. "Wow... that's not how I expected this trip to go. But, the spirits have been calmed, and my job is pretty much done here. Going with me will probably take as long as walking, but it will be more comfortable, at least. If you want to, of course."

Atticus already felt like he had been given enough charity by the king but he nodded in agreement when he suggested he ride back with Brother Kidd. He bowed respectfully as the king made his exit. He then turned to Brother Kidd and nodded - this whole endeavor definitely did not go as planned. "I'm fine with going with you to Levallac. It'll be quicker and I can get right back to my journey. I'm glad we helped bring some peace to this area. I even have one of them with me," he said with a grin as he talked about Saint.

The trip to Levallac is long, but by supper time you finally see the town ahead of you. In the north, the skyline is marked by a collection of skyscapers, many with marks of various companies. In the south, various factories bellow smoke toward the mountains. But to the west of the town, where you arrive, seems to be a separate town, with small and cheap houses and apartment buildings.

The military car drives to a large old building, stopping near a large double door. As you step out, an ambulance with blaring sirens arrives, the EMT inside it quickly jumping out with a wounded man on a stretcher.


OOC: Sorry for the delay, I didn't notice your message. I must have clicked 'mark all read' before seeing your post.

Atticus was getting bored and sleepy on the journey to Levallac though seeing the skyline and various buildings did wake him up a bit. It was interesting that all of the cities had their own unique styles, especially someone like him who was accustomed to little villages and not much else unless he was heading into the city. The separate town that he appeared in reminded him of back home, though without the mighty presence of the sea. But before he could appreciate the scenery further, he heard the sirens and frowned. Something must have been going on. Atticus looked worriedly at the scene and wondered out loud what was going on in case anyone nearby was listening.

"Hard to tell..." Brother Kidd says. "Our church doubles as a charity hospital. A necessity, in this poorer part of the city."

He lead you inside, and you find the place is a rather small church. Kidd takes a moment for a silent prayer, before leading you to a side door. "I have to give a report to my superior, but I'm sure I'll be able to arrange for a room for you. In the meantime, the mess hall down the corridor offers free meal, if you're hungry."

You leave Kidd to his duties, and head down the corridor. But before you reach the hall, you hear what sounds like a series of distant explosions, down a side corridor near you. No one else is around, as you wonder what could have done that...