Chapter Eight – The Village Bullies

The Daily Pelipper – Your one reliable source of news

Energy Companies to make major gains in first monthly quarter of the year

Energy companies have provided the means for a sharp ascent in this year's first monthly quarter, and their latest financial reports have justified the budding confidence from investors.

HAPPI made an increase of 40% on sales of emeras to cities, provinces, and nations across the salty sea, from Pokemon Paradise in Nebel to Treasure Town in Argantium. The Kecleon Company lagged behind slightly at a 35% increase, but is projected to match HAPPI by halfway next year.

"It's important more than ever that we provide the energy needs for a growing and prospering population," said HAPPI Director Sylveon Sparkleglimmer, speaking in Los Arcos, North Ophria, known to many as the energy capital of the world. "The market for quick, easy energy is always growing, and we have strong confidence in the winds of trade to carry us all the way."

~\({O})/~

8.

The Village Bullies

~\({O})/~

There were fifteen students in the classroom Espurr sat in, which she assumed made up all the kids in this small town. She didn't know most of them, and they hadn't really talked much to her. There was Deerling, and a few other girls who seemed a tad bit older than the rest of the class who hung around with her. Goomy sat next to a wooper named Booper in the back of the class who smiled very wide but didn't talk, and there was a gaggle of squirrel-like 'mon who hung around in their own clique.

And then there were Pancham and Shelmet. They were the typical, run-of-the-mill village bully-types. Pancham liked to pretend he was a thug, but made it very clear he came from money, and lorded it over the other students every chance he got. Espurr had figured out long ago that the school was too terrified of his father to actually punish him, which made her not want to meet his father very much even though he was out of town until autumn.

Shelmet was Pancham's lackey. He didn't seem to agree with Pancham on everything, or much at all, but he valued not being beaten up into a pulp, so he went along with it. Espurr felt slightly sorry for him, but only slightly. Until he grew a spine and did something about it, he was just going to be stuck like that forever.

(She had later been informed Shelmet didn't have a spine, and felt slightly worse about her earlier thoughts, but only a little.)

"My mum was born a pancham," bragged Pancham loudly at lunch through a stuffed mouth where he knew Espurr could listen. "My dad too. They were all born panchams, ten generations back! That means I'm a purebred pancham. I bet there's no-mon else here who's purebred like me."

Deerling, who had two sawsbuck parents and lived in a fancy pink villa with deer-shaped hedges in the garden, rolled her eyes and scoffed under her breath. "Not everymon brags about it."

Tricky, whose father had been a mismagius, crunched on the stick she was gnawing extra loudly. She gave him a grin full of bark and pulp when he looked over annoyed.

"Hey, isn't he obsessed with wooing you or something?" asked Blitzle, one of the 'mon who regularly hung around with Deerling. Ponyta, whose purple mane sparkled and shimmered, snorted.

"Yeah," sighed Deerling, sitting back with a furrowed pout. "And it's never. Going. To happen."

"And my dad also works for the Kecleon Company…"

Pancham's prattling lasted until the end of lunch. In the small amount of time between that and Watchog carting them off to detention, Espurr pulled aside Goomy, who'd managed to sneak away from Deerling for the time being. Goomy was sure Deerling would come out looking for them sooner or later, so they both decided to leave the School Clinic and camp out in the shade behind it. No-mon came looking there before they looked everywhere else.

"I saw them outside town when I first got here," said Espurr, sitting against the wall. Goomy, munching down on a sandwich he'd made with the remnants of his lunch, nodded as he listened, his antennae bobbing with him. "I don't know what they wanted or why they're here. I don't know what they are. I think they just wanted to hurt me."

Goomy shivered a little.

"D-do you think they're d-dangerous?" he asked.

Espurr nodded, leaning forward. She put her own sandwich in her lap. "Like I said. I think they wanted to hurt me. They destroyed a bush when they shot at me. And back in the woods, when they went after us, I saw the grass turn to stone. And then…"

She stopped there. Would it make sense to tell him about the…

…Oh, she might as well.

"A 'mon disappeared in another town. The school said it was called 'Crossings'. And I saw them wheeling in a statue the day I went there. I think he was turned to stone."

"T-turned to stone?" Goomy was shaken. "I've n-never heard of a pokemon that can do that…"

"Well, it exists," said Espurr. "And if they're here, then we need to do something about it."

"Why don't w-we report it to the school?" asked Goomy.

"Because the school doesn't know I was eavesdropping," said Espurr. "And because Watchog and the principal are useless. Watchog will just think I'm making it up."

Even Goomy had to admit that was true.

"What about that Ampharos character?" Espurr continued. "He just showed up a day or two ago, right? And he came from Crossings."

Goomy nodded. "I t-think so."

"What if he's somehow connected to it? He was looking at me funny a few days ago."

"H-how could we prove it?" asked Goomy.

"We can't." Espurr took a decisive chomp of her own sandwich. "Not without a good opportunity. We'll just have to follow him and make sure the Coneheads can't get to anymon else until we have some kind of evidence."

~\({O})/~

The next few days passed without much event. Espurr would get up in the morning, attend school, try not to fail too much in Nuzleaf's class as she waited for the days he was available to practise on, and then served detention with Watchog. In their short blocks of free-time, Espurr and Goomy did their best to search for clues regarding Ampharos and find anything that might link him to the Coneheads.

There'd been no sighting of the Coneheads ever since their encounter in the forest, which Espurr took as a half blessing – no activity meant no-mon else they knew of was being attacked. But no activity also meant they had no leads, or anything fishy to follow. So instead, that left them watching Ampharos the whole evening as he chatted up the bartender at the Café Connection, until Goomy had to leave for home and Espurr had to go back to the school.

"W-what if he just d-does it while we're in class?" Goomy asked. They were currently staking out in the town square, pretending to play a game with pebbles as they watched Ampharos through the window of the café. This had been their play for the last three days, and it had gotten them nothing.

Espurr, who had been adamant about sticking to the plan, hadn't considered that.

"Well then, there's not much we can do about that…" she trailed off disappointedly, folding her arms. "If only there was a way we coul—"

"I can do it!"

The sudden voice nearly made Espurr jump out of her fur. She and Goomy looked behind themselves to see an eager Fennekin Tricky standing behind them. She looked dirty and in dire need of a fur-brushing, covered in dirt and leaves like she'd been jumping through someone else's garden without permission.

"W-what… we-were you doing?" Goomy asked, looking at the mess.

"Jumping through someone else's garden without permission," said Tricky gleefully. She trotted over, shaking off the leaves and dirt. "It's Hipopottas'. She said mean things to me yesterday so I ate her tulips."

Tricky belched loudly, and a few singed petals fluttered out of her mouth. Espurr shuddered.

"This is a closed meeting," she said primly. "Sorry, but we don't need your help."

Tricky's ears flopped down. She looked like she wanted to scowl. "But I got Pops to pull me out of school for a few days," she said. "Sooo-o-o-o-o-o…"

She made delicate waving with her front paw. "If you needed somemon to spy for you when you're in class…"

She left the ending hanging right open. Espurr knew exactly what she was getting at, and it did not make her pleased.

She was even less pleased that she couldn't refute Tricky was right: there was no good reason not to take her help. And Goomy would very quickly point that out. Even now he looked much more open to having Tricky on the team than she did.

Not that she was going to fold to Tricky's elementary manipulation tactics.

"You can join," she said, keeping her arms folded and her face stern. "But we're still not friends."

If Tricky had been using that as leverage to get back into her good graces, and Espurr suspected she had, that dream was shattered immediately. Espurr could see her drooping a bit even though she tried to hide it. But regardless, she cheered herself up with a manufactured smile and raised her ears and tail again.

"Great! I'll totally follow him around all day tomorrow. You all can count on me!"

Espurr and Goomy, looking at each other, just shrugged.

~\({O})/~

With Tricky on the case for following Ampharos, at least over the next few days, that cleared Espurr up to do some more studying. Thursday, which she had been eagerly awaiting – the first day Nuzleaf could practise with her – approached with due swiftness, and sooner rather than later she was up at the very crack of dawn, before even the birds had begun to sing.

Just like Nuzleaf had instructed her.

She found him stretching on the benches of the classroom. He'd just clearly walked all the way here, and he had his big dusty book open in front of him.

"What's that?"

Nuzleaf spun around, clearly startled by her. Espurr withered just a little. She seemed to have a habit of causing that around him.

"Ah…" he said. "You're up."

He looked down at his book.

"This?" he said. "It's nothin'. Just a little souvenir from the library. I like to pick up some nonfiction in my spare time."

"I like nonfiction too," said Espurr. She took a seat on the bench right next to him.

"What's it about?" she asked.

Nuzleaf looked a little hesitant to answer.

"Ahh…" he began. "Just a little textbook on move techniques, that kinda thing. Gotta know what ya teach an' all."

He closed the book with a snap, expelling a fair amount of dust from its pages. Espurr edged further away from that, trying not to breathe in any book dust. Whatever book that was, it must have been in the back of the library for a while before he'd taken it. Probably in the darkest, musty corner of it.

"Anyways," he said, rising up from his seat and stretching. He put the book in his bag, which he then dropped on his desk. "I reckon it's high time we get started, eh?"

Espurr nodded eagerly.

The sun crested over the blackboard, slowly, waking the birds up as they practisedpracticed.

"I thought a bit about what you were doin' wrong," said Nuzleaf as he got into position, then motioned for Espurr to do the same. She copied him, but couldn't help wobbling a bit.

"See there?" said Nuzleaf, dropping his stance. He motioned for Espurr to keep holding it. She did, but the wobbling wasn't stopping anytime soon. She didn't know how much longer she'd be able to remain upright.

Nuzleaf pointed something out on her back.

"Your tail," he said. "It ain't pointing the right way. You know ya need it to balance properly, right?"

Now that Espurr thought about it, her tail wasn't really looking right, was it? It was all crooked and pointing downwards, which she supposed could be what was putting her off. It wasn't like she knew how to use it well, though.

"Now, if you just adjust it a little…" Nuzleaf motioned for her to raise it, more, more, a little more—

Suddenly, Espurr's wobbling turned into a shifting of the earth, and in just seconds her entire world turned sideways and she hit the ground. Painfully.

"Ughh," she groaned into a face full of grass, trying her best to catch her bearings. The world spun around her in a peculiar way, and she could feel the pain bouncing around through her head, wavering flashes of red.

Nuzleaf helped her up.

"Not ta worry," he said, dusting himself off. "It'll just take some practice, that's all. Why don't we spend the rest of the hour doin' that?"

By the end of the hour, Espurr was happy to say she could balance a little better than she could before. It wasn't perfect, but she wasn't wobbling like a ballet dancer with water in her ears anymore. Once she was done, and it was nearing the time for school to start, Nuzleaf sat her down on one of the classroom benches next to her and gave her a piece of fruit to eat. She didn't recognize it, but it tasted like citrus with the flesh of an apple. Fruits in this world were strange.

"So what's the story behind your tail, anyway?" remarked Nuzleaf as she ate. "Most cat 'mon I know of use 'em from birth.

Espurr looked up at him, the hair on her tail raising ever-so-slightly.

"Y'know," he said. "As your teacher 'n all, might help a tad if I know what I'm workin' with."

Espurr hadn't been expecting him to pry. She didn't have an excuse for that. What was she going to say?

She had to think of something on the spot.

"It's a problem I've always had," she said, trying to make it sound like she wasn't talking out of her ass. "I've just… never used it properly."

"Ah," said Nuzleaf. "Well, I reckon we can get that sorted out. Though how you've been balancin' all this time, I'll never guess."

The practise continued until schooltime arrived, and all the other students started filing in.

~\({O})/~

As it turned out, Tricky was a lot less useful than they thought.

"Well…" she began, her tail swishing behind her and pawing the ground. "I followed him around all I could, but he wasn't doing anything interesting… He just did a bunch of weird stuff in the afternoon like picking flowers."

"Nothing at all?" Espurr asked. "Where did he go after that?"

"I kind of lost track after a bit," said Tricky, staring hard into the dust. "But it was all over town."

"That was a bust," said Espurr as she walked away with Goomy. Behind them, Tricky padded off silently, crouching and ears low.

"I-I think she just wanted to hang out," Goomy said.

"Well, we're not on speaking terms," said Espurr coldly. "I'm not interested."

Lunch was another one of those times when it paid well for one to keep their distance from the rest of the class. Not that Espurr had too much to worry about there. The only pokemon who would talk to her, Goomy, was being hassled over by Deerling, while Tricky practically was bowling head over heels to talk to her but Espurr had set the boundaries long ago. The fennekin now just trotted around her corner of the school clinic like she was pouting.

"Psst."

She almost jumped. But she was made of stronger stuff than that. Or at least, that was what she told herself as she turned around.

The face of Pancham met her. Great. He was really who she'd wanted to see standing behind her. He was grinning, so he must have either been trying to scare her, or he was up to something. Espurr assumed it was the latter.

"Do you need something?' she asked bluntly.

"Yeesh," said Pancham, throwing up his hands. "Have some mercy on your poor classmate."

"You don't strike me as the mercy-seeking type," said Espurr.

Pancham raised an eyebrow.

"Cold shoulder," he remarked. "Alright. I can do that. Anyways, I just wanted to congratulate you for saving Goomy back there in the Foreboding Forest. Much bravery, you're his hero forever. But…"

He put his arms behind his head, and jumped on his back into a straw bed that was sitting near them. "Wanna know how you can be my hero?"

His… hero? Did he hear himself?

"Why would I want to be your hero?" she asked him frankly.

"Because being my hero comes with benefits," said Pancham. "Don't you want to not be eating on your own in this little corner of the lunchroom anymore?"

"I think I like it here," Espurr said.

"Well, I'm gonna offer you anyway," said Pancham. "See, the Foreboding Forest is what you do if you wanna give Watch-dog a heart attack. But to really get in with the cool kids around here, Like them—" he pointed to Deerling and the other girls she was surrounded by "—then you'll have to do something a lot more spectacular."

"Which is?" prompted Espurr. As much as she wasn't into it, he did do a good job of sizing up peoples' interests, and he definitely knew it.

"Well," said Pancham mischievously. "I didn't think somemon who wasn't interested would want to know more. Unless you changed your mind?"

"Tell me more and I might consider it," said Espurr.

Pancham's smirk became wider.

"I peeked at the detention cards," he said, his voice dripping with suaveness, "and for your final detention, you three will be going to the luxury location of the abandoned Drilbur Mines."

"Actually, they're not abandoned," Tricky spoke up loudly from her corner of the lunchroom. She'd had her muzzle in a peach, and the juice had made her snout soggy. "The drilbur are still there! I know because I've seen them—"

"Shut it," Pancham cut her off rudely. "Duh, they're still there, it's an active mine. This doesn't involve you."

"But I'm in detention too!" whined Tricky, loudly enough that Espurr worried they were going to get caught. Luckily, Audino was too busy packing something on the other side of the room, where the white cabinet of medicines was.

"So what?" said Pancham. "What I said goes around here, and I say you don't get a say. So shut up and go back to your stupid peach."

Tricky grumbled and gave him a glare, but she did stick her nose back in her lunch.

"So anyways," said Pancham, turning back to Espurr, "There's a section of the mines that's completely off-limits. It's all boarded up, and even the drilbur don't go down there. But I've been there. And you know what's there is?"

He paused, like he expected Espurr to ask him 'what'. No, he definitely expected that.

"What?"

"Gemstones," said Pancham with as much mystique as he could muster. "And all you have to do is bring back two of them for me. Sounds easy, right?"

Nothing that sounded easy came without strings. Espurr saw through him immediately.

"What's the catch?" she asked.

Pancham looked like he wasn't expecting her to ask that.

"It's because it's a mystery dungeon!" Tricky blurted out irritably. Espurr picked up the grating tone. Tricky had looked up from her peach again, glaring in their direction at Pancham. "You should at least say it if you're going to be a grimer."

Pancham sighed, with both Espurr and Tricky's eyes on him.

"Fine," he said, putting his hands in front of him. "Yeah, you got me. It's a mystery dungeon. Was gonna reveal that on my own due time, but ruin it for me I guess. Spoilsport."

That last word was pointed in Tricky's direction. She blew a raspberry at him and pretended to eat again. Espurr could tell by the way her ears pricked up that she was still listening.

She knew what Pancham was onto. He just wanted a way to get back at her for getting them in trouble at the Foreboding Forest all those days ago, and even though she couldn't read it off of him, she could tell that was what he wanted. Besides, the whole thing was stupid and dangerous, and there was no way she would ever willingly let herself get hitched into it.

"Sorry, I'm not interested," said Espurr politely.

"Did I hear some talkin' about the mines?"

Another voice cut through the midst of the lunchroom, causing all three heads to look over. Nuzleaf was standing near them, carrying a tray of his own. Had he been listening in the whole time?

Pancham looked just as surprised as she did.

"T-teach!" he exclaimed, nearly falling out of his seat. "W-what are you doing here?"

"Well, ah heard y'all's interestin' conversation and thought I'd listen in," said Nuzleaf. "Seems to me y'all were talking about that mine the drilbur over at the Rockery boarded up."

Pancham suddenly looked a lot less confident. He looked to Espurr for help, but she just gave him an 'it's your mess' glance.

"Y-yeah," he said, assuming his confident posture again and waving the notion off. "We were just telling ghost stories about it. Y'know, the one with the treasure, and the monster…"

He looked at Espurr. "Weren't we?"

Espurr just nodded.

"Yeah!" Tricky affirmed from her corner.

"Stop butting in," grumbled Pancham.

"Well, that's good," said Nuzleaf. "Because I'd stay far away from there if I were you. 'Specially since the others tell me that shady newcomer's been spotted in the area. The one with the long yellow neck. Gonna be on heavy surveillance for a few days, police say there's been a break-in an' all. Can you believe it?"

And then he moved on with his day, like he had absolutely no idea of the bombshell he'd just dropped. Espurr was left almost speechless. Was this their lead?

"So," said Pancham once Nuzleaf had gone. "Intrigue. Wanna go?"

~\({O})/~

"Not on his terms," Espurr said firmly as she marched down the pathway from the School Clinic. It was a cloudy day today, and the wind was stronger than usual, blowing several leaves along with it. Goomy hurriedly followed along with her, his antennae battered back by the gusts a bit. "But we have to investigate!"

"I-I don't think I sh-should go," Goomy said, quivering slightly. "I'm n-not cut out for mystery dungeons."

Espurr could see his jelly-like flesh shivering. She remembered the foreboding forest. He was right: he really wasn't cut out for them.

"You don't have to," she said. "I'll do it on my own. Just, try to keep Tricky busy for me, please? I don't need her following me in."

"B-but I don't – I don't think e-either of us should g-go in," said Goomy. He was definitely trembling now.

"But why not?" asked Espurr. "This could be our lead. Ampharos hasn't done anything suspicious in almost a week, and now he's poking around in the Drilbur Mines? He has to be up to something there."

"B-but it could be…" Goomy stammered, then trailed off. "D-dangerous?"

"Well, we've both been in dungeons before, haven't we?" asked Espurr frankly. How bad could it be?

"Let me sh-show you something," said Goomy, pulling her along in the direction of the library.

The library was a long, imposing, narrow building with a rickety wooden roof made of stones and cement. It looked like it was centuries old, and belonged next to a shack in the countryside. The tall double doors were made of wooden planks and crooked, and though the building was only one storey it was still tall enough to be two. Or maybe that was just Espurr's new height talking.

Inside was no less imposing than outside. The inside of the library looked almost gothic, shelves twenty times her height lining the inside of the building in orderly, neat rows. There was almost no light, which Espurr didn't have trouble with – her new eyes adjusted very well to the dark – but considered counterproductive to the point of a library, and all the books must have been almost half as big as she was.

They used a ladder to get down the book Goomy had read. It was on the very top shelf near the back, something they both figured Watchog had done so Tricky wouldn't be able to get it. According to Goomy, the book was right up Tricky's alley.

And it wasn't hard for Espurr to see why.

"An Atlas of Mystery Dungeons," the cover read. It was brown and leather-bound, and the edges looked tattered and frayed from presumably years of overuse. Whatever this book was, it certainly wasn't part of the normal curriculum.

"Isn't this outdated?" asked Espurr, grimacing at the dust that came off the book on her paw. Gross… "It doesn't look written this century."

"W-watchog used it until l-last year," said Goomy, opening the book with his paws. "W-watchog's n-not careful with b-books." The book sent a cloud of dust into their face, sending them both coughing.

They turned to page seventy: Anomaly – Drilbur Mines

Goomy pointed out a part of the page to Espurr, and she started reading.

"It says here that a famous outlaw went missing in the mines almost 20 years ago," Espurr read aloud. Below the words, on the page, was a picture of a wanted poster, with a fierce, draconlike creature that resembled a land-borne shark a bit. The poster labelled the 'mon: OUTLAW GABITE.

Goomy nodded, his antennae bobbing.

"But wouldn't he be dead by now?" Espurr asked.

"N—" Goomy stuttered. "N-not h-him. The-the dungeon."

"The dungeon what?" Espurr tilted her head, looking at him.

"I-if you're a powerful 'mon and you die or g-go missing in a dungeon, t-then sometimes… a gh-ghost of you sticks around," said Goomy. "T-they say that's where all the hostile 'mon in d-dungeons c-come from."

Monster… hadn't Tricky said something about a monster?

"Well, I doubt we're going to find anything like that," said Espurr, arms folded. She needed to convince them. And herself. "If Pancham had actually been in there and seen a monster, then he wouldn't have shut up about it."

"H-how do you know he went in?" pointed out Goomy.

The question made Espurr go silent. She… hadn't considered that.

"Well, if he didn't, he could be making everything up," said Espurr hopefully. "And maybe we won't even have to go in. No-mon said Ampharos went into the dungeon, right?"

Goomy nodded, but unsurely.

~\({O})/~

"Alright, troublemakers," grumbled Watchog at the gates of the village, as he lugged the pack over his shoulder. "let's get going."

Espurr, Goomy, and Tricky were heading down the path away from the Village and towards the farms again, this time taking a sharp turn right as they headed down towards much more craggy rock formations. Watchog walked in front of them this time, having apparently loosened up enough that he wasn't bothered with not seeing them anymore.

"Hey, are you guys doing the dare?"

Tricky whispered it at about as loud a volume as whispers got, wedging herself in between them cheerfully.

"We're investigating," said Espurr. "Outside."

"But you know you guys need a guide, right?"

Espurr tried to ignore Tricky's whispers, focusing on the ground in front of her very intently as they walked. She wasn't going to drag Tricky into this. She wasn't going to drag Tricky into this. She wasn't going to—

"I know the way!" said Tricky. "And if you want to get past the drilbur, then I'm the only one who knows how. You need me if you're going to do anything, even investigating."

"And here we are," announced Watchog loudly, shattering their conversation as they entered the drilbur mineyard. He let his bag fall to the ground with a loud clatter, stopping Espurr, Goomy, and Tricky in their tracks. "Who around here do I talk to?"

For a second, the mineyard was quiet. Then, over the tops of the rocks, Espurr spotted little heads pop up, one after the other. They scrambled forward and were soon gathered in the middle of the yard.

The poor drilbur carrying what was marked in big, messy letters as "the social interaction rock" scurried forwards, looking incredibly spineless. He raised a large claw and opened his mouth, a sheepish expression on his face, but no sound came out.

He wasn't even as tall as Espurr.

Espurr couldn't wipe the baffled expression off her face. These were the mighty drilbur she needed help getting past?

But Tricky didn't look fazed.

The drilbur, who seemed almost frozen where he stood, finally found it in him to talk.

"W-what brings y-you to our fair mineyards?'' he managed to stammer out, sounding positively terrified to be speaking.

"These three children," said Watchog loudly, gesturing sweepingly to the three of them standing there, "are participating in a segment of mandated community service for the greater good. Would you be interested in taking a few new workers for the day?"

"S-s-see," said the drilbur, practically trembling. "W-we weren't e-expecting that for a w-w-while…"

Espurr looked around the courtyard, which was full of dust, large boulders, and mining equipment from some old carts to pickaxes and crates. Her eyes fixated on a large boulder near the left side of the yard. The rock was somewhat pointy, and from the top blew a clearly visible scrap of cloth: emerald green.

Just like Ampharos' cloak!

"Look," said Espurr quietly, nudging Goomy so he'd see. He was slimy. Eww. "That cloth!"

Tricky looked in the same direction Espurr was pointing.

"Oh, the dungeon's that way," she said matter-of-factly.

"H-how do you k-know that?" asked Goomy.

"Well duuuh," said Tricky. "I've been there. Not— not in the dungeon! But I know where it is!"

Of course she did.

"A-alright," whimpered the drilbur, finally breaking under Watchog's haggling. "We-we might have a spot f-for them cleaning up over there." He pointed with a claw to the other side of the large mineyard, where there was a large avalanche of rocks atop what used to be a minecart. Some drilbur were already around the pile, lugging rocks onto large sleds, which were being tugged away once full.

Espurr's heart sank. She'd meant to wait until Watchog abandoned them, but now that she thought of it… why would the Drilbur let them anywhere near a crime scene?

And there'd be no chance to sneak away. Not in an open area like that.

"Great," said Watchog snappily. "I want to watch them. Anywhere for a teacher to sit?"

"Hey," said Tricky quietly, nudging Espurr with her snout. "If you wanna investigate… maybe we should go take a look?"

Espurr looked back at Watchog, who was now fervently debating just how close to them he could sit while they worked. Their chance was slipping away. It would only take them a second, and Watchog couldn't fault them that much for slipping away to look at something. Right?

"Alright," she whispered back to Tricky. "Let's go."

Goomy went with them as they slipped away from Watchog without a sound.

As the three of them reached the boulder and crept around it, they saw a mineshaft that looked like it had been boarded up. And just before that, a few drilbur who were looking over what seemed like a disturbance right near it. Bingo!

But Espurr looked closer. The boards around the mineshaft were broken, and the break was recent. Very recent. So recent there were still pieces of wood all around the floor. That meant… whoever had broken in went in.

"We need to go in…" she trailed off in realisation, looking back at Goomy. And Tricky. Tricky, who looked positively excited about the idea. She so didn't want to give Tricky what she wanted…

Tricky's paw immediately shot into the air, her ears and tail brimming with excitement.

"I can help you get in!" she blurted out loudly.

Espurr really didn't want to humour it. But she looked at the Drilbur, who were small but many. And then at Watchog, who somehow hadn't noticed them.

"Fine," she said curtly. "Just get us in before Watchog sees."

And they'd deal with Watchog later. She'd say sorry, but it would be a lie – some more detention was worth not getting petrified at a later date by coneheaded things.

"On it!" said Tricky with a grin like it was her birthday. She then pranced out from behind the boulder, boldly announcing their presence to the entire collection of drilbur with a paw-wave.

"Hi again, guys!"

"U-uh-oh…" the drilbur all stared at Tricky collectively in shock and horror.

"I-it's the T-t-troublemaker…" one stammered out.

"A-and she brought f-friends!" another finished, pointing straight at Espurr and Goomy. They came out from behind the boulder too, joining Tricky in front of it.

Tricky sent a prompt 'I-told-you-so' smirk Espurr's way, before trotting forwards.

"Y-you're not here again for our g-gold, are you?" one timidly asked.

"Nope!" Tricky trotted towards the mine shaft. "That was last month. Today we're going exploring."

"B-but you can't!" said a drilbur in horror.

"It's a c-crime scene!"

"P-please think about this!"

"Now where did those three troublemakers get to?"

A voice in the distance. Espurr's ears twitched, and she stole a quick peek around the boulder to see what was going on. Watchog was glancing around the mine-yard angrily, the heavy bag and his green cape still swinging from his shoulders.

"Tricky." Espurr hissed quietly. "Watchog's onto us!"

Tricky looked back for a second, before focusing on the Drilbur with a wide grin.

"Soooo… we'll just be going now," she said, stepping forward. The drilbur moved closer, preparing to stop her.

"We-we're not going to l-let you pass!"

"Fiiine…" Tricky drooped her ears and tails disappointedly, turning away and walking back to where Espurr and Goomy were. The two of them watched her in surprise. It wasn't like Tricky to give up…

"Psyche!"

Tricky suddenly bolted back, launched off the boulder, and rolled into a ball, and smacked into the drilbur, sending them fleeing for cover or rolling out of the way.

"C'mon!" Tricky yelled to Espurr and Goomy, charging for the dungeon. "They're gonna get up!"

"Hey! You three shouldn't be over there!"

Watchog's bark sent Espurr's heart racing. She and Goomy followed Tricky quickly, just as Watchog suddenly peeked over the rock.

"Get back here, you louts!" he snarled loudly, his face crazed as he stumbled for them.

"No can do, Watchog! Run for it!" Tricky screeched, running further towards the mineshaft. Espurr and Goomy followed him, and the three of them suddenly tripped in just as Watchog reached the shaft, stopping there.

"Find them!" was the last thing Espurr heard before they fully fell into the shaft, before darkness enclosed around them and all of the sudden they weren't in the real world anymore.

~\({O})/~

Music of the Week!

Mine Escape – John Powell