Chapter 3 – One of a few things and not a single of many

“If you can see the sky, is it real?”

There was a hole in the roof of the cave, triangular in shape and angled to one side. Beams of moonlight streamed diagonally downwards, illuminating patches of scrub and a gnarled tree that had managed to grow in the cave. A thin stream ran along the side of the tunnel, flowing to and from darkness. 

Eiri lay on her stomach in the water, her fins spread outwards. “You said earlier that dungeons are impossible to explain or something like that. So is the dungeon just showing us a fake moon?”

Corphish shrugged. “There’s no way to tell unless we climb up to it ourselves. It could be real or fake.” He paused, looking at the rocky walls. “Given the way the dungeon has been so far, I’d guess it’s real.”

“Then is that the exit?” the Tatsugiri asked.

“It could be,” Corphish replied, “Chatot once said that it’s a subjective thing.”

Eiri splashed her fins lazily. “What did he mean by that?” 

“Um, let me try to remember how he put it,” Corphish said. “I think he explained it after that one time…”

~~~~~~~~

“Do you think that if Wigglytuff forgot he ever went there, it wasn’t an exploration worth making?”

“Please don’t undermine our already minimal success,” Karel said, the Mudkip sighing heavily. 

Chatot squawked. “Now now, you two. As you know already, the guildmaster isn’t conventional when it comes to these things. Besides, there is value in confirming discoveries made by other explorers and revisiting dungeons. It’s like a double blind trial, if you will.”

“Sure, but being the first to find something is a lot more exciting,” Zupa muttered. The Charmander rubbed a nasty looking bruise on his head. 

“Well then you’ll just have to get it next time!” Chatot said, putting his wings on his hips. “If you think about it though, dungeons are always changing, so you did find that iteration of the dungeon for the first time.” 

“Presumably,” he added, forcing a smile.

Karel stared at Chatot, his eyes half lidded. “I guess you can presume that this is a little frustrating for us too.”

Chatot’s smile wavered, but he kept it up. “Not every exploration is a success unfortunately! All you can do is keep your chin up and keep up the good work.”

Corphish, who had been listening from the side, interjected. “Hey, hey~ At least you two escaped the dungeon okay! I uh, didn’t mean to rhyme that.”

Zupa looked at Corphish ruefully. “Being blasted out of a geyser is not much of an escape in my book.

“That is still an escape regardless, Zupa,” Chatot said, “You should take this to heart to be more wary of dungeons in the future.”

“We didn’t know it was going to-” Zupa traded a look with Karel. “I mean, how could we have known something like that was coming?”

Chatot reached out and tapped Zupa on his nose with a wing. “Aha, you can’t know. But you can expect it! You can’t just brute force your way through a dungeon.” He frowned. “I would advise not listening to Loudred in that regard- ask Sunflora instead how many times that approach has backfired on them. Otherwise he will be happy to indulge in his confirmation bias.”

Karel shot Corphish a small smirk. Corphish sighed and mouthed the word ‘Sorry’ back at the Mudkip. Zupa meanwhile, was staring directly at Chatot with a smoldering expression that the bird didn’t seem to notice. 

“So when you go into a dungeon, you use the entrance, right?” Chatot paused to let the question sink in. “Seems obvious. But if it’s a deep cave, you come out the same way you went in- thus the entrance becomes the exit. The question then becomes ‘what is the entrance?’” 

Chatot held his wings outwards, waiting for an answer. Zupa continued to stare unblinking while Karel politely smiled at Chatot. 

“Where you go in the dungeon?” Corphish volunteered, feeling stupid.

“So based on Corphish’s answer, think about your exploration,” Chatot said, briefly nodding at Corphish. “You entered through the waterfall. But you exited via a torrent of water. Does it stand to reason that you could follow the trail the water swept you out through to get back to that point?”

“How would we do that?” Zupa muttered, trying to hold his anger in. “It spun us around and nearly knocked us out!” 

Chatot shook his head. “I’m not saying you have to- indeed it would be very difficult, especially for you. Not as much for Karel probably. The point is, it is possible! So the way you were swept out is possibly another way for you to enter the dungeon!”

Karel nodded slowly. “So how does this help us?” the Mudkip asked.

“In short, think about the path forward not as the path that must be taken, but one that can be taken,” Chatot replied, “Not just with entrances and exits, but in general when traveling in a dungeon. You may find an unexpected shortcut or even a treasure!” He looked over Karel and Zupa. “In your case, if you had come into the dungeon through the other way, you might have noticed the rock eroded from water and guessed that water either once flowed through or may soon flow through again. Then you could have taken appropriate measures to avoid it!”

“What could we possibly have done to avoid that?” Karel said plaintively. 

Chatot smiled. “That’s for you to figure out! We all have our own abilities, strengths and weaknesses!” He turned to Corphish. “I’m sure you understand, Corphish, don’t you?”

Caught off guard, Corphish struggled to find a response. “I think I get it,” he stammered, “I have to go over it again in my head a few more times though.”

“You don’t have to lie,” Loudred said from the other side of the room. “I stopped listening when he started lecturing them.”

“Hmph, and maybe that’s why you’re content with being an apprentice after you failed your exam,” Chatot said, a little snidely. 

“Oh gosh, it’s complicated, but you make a good point!” Sunflora said, waving Loudred off as he stuck his tongue out at Chatot. “It’s all about changing your way of thinking!”

“That is the essence of it, Sunflora,” Chatot said approvingly.

Corphish looked around, pondering Chatot’s words. Karel dragged Zupa off to the apprentice rooms, the Charmander about ready to explode, while Loudred wandered off, seeming to be making a crude imitation of Chatot with his hands and laughing to himself. Sunflora and Chatot were engaged in a conversation about something else, most of it flying over Corphish’s head. 

“Entrances and exits… huh.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So… it’s what we make of it?” Eiri blinked.

Corphish stared at the hole in the ceiling. “Maybe we could have entered from there or we could exit through it right now,” he said, “But I think a more important point than that is that it’s another sign of how unpredictable a dungeon can be.”

“Is it unpredictable, or is it just what it is?” Next to Corphish, Gigue sat up, the bag over most of her body. After a moment of struggling, the Oricorio managed to wiggle herself out. “Does a dungeon having an entrance mean that it’s inviting us in?” She made a face. “What a conversation to wake up to,” she murmured.

Eiri scoffed. “You make it sound like it’s alive. She rolled over to the wall and knocked on it. “Hellooo wall!”

Corphish stifled a small laugh before turning to Gigue. “Are you rested? You’ve barely been asleep for a few hours.” 

Gigue crossed her wings. “Heard the phrase ‘eats like a bird’? Same goes for me when I’m sleeping, I don’t need much of it.” She sat back down. “Anyway, what are we doing here? I’m guessing that this is still the dungeon from what you two were talking about.” The Oricorio waved at Eiri. “Eiri! Didn’t you want to push on? Why are we stopped?”

The Tatsugiri waved her tail at Gigue. “I wanted to stop for a bit. I’m exhausted.”

“That’s because you kept practicing moves back there,” Corphish said, “It takes energy to generate water you know.”

“Practicing?” Gigue frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, you missed it!” Eiri was suddenly animated, bounding over to the bird. “So while you were asleep, Corphish and I were attacked! But he fended them off with this amazing technique. You know, I’ve heard of battling and stuff, but I never thought It was so cool!” 

As Eiri relayed recent events to Gigue, Corphish found himself staring up at the hole again. He thought about how Sunflora summarized Chatot’s impromptu lesson, the words echoing in his head. 

“Changing my way of thinking,” he mused, “I wonder if I’m doing that right now?” He looked over at Gigue and Eiri. The Tatsugiri gestured wildly for the Oricorio to watch before shooting a small stream of water. The attack splashed off the wall, leaving a small, barely noticeable scratch. Nevertheless, Eiri whooped happily, miming punching motions with her fins as Gigue looked at her with the biggest smile he had seen on her face to that point. Corphish found himself smiling along with them.

After a while, the excitement had died down and the three of them sat quietly in the silent moonlight. 

Corphish spoke first. “So, Gigue, we were wondering about something earlier.”

The Oricorio looked over. “Does that something involve me?”

“What makes you say that?” Corphish’s gaze trailed upwards.

“I doubt you’d bring it up otherwise,” Gigue replied, “Plus you’re giving me a look.”

“I- I am?” Corphish scrunched his face up, then tried to maintain a stony neutral expression. “Sorry!”

The Oricorio sighed. “I didn’t say that was a bad thi- just tell me what you were wondering about.”

Eiri jumped into the conversation. “See the hole above us? We were wondering if it was real or not.”

“Does it really matter either way?” Gigue lazily glanced upwards. “I’m guessing you were wondering if we could leave from there or something?”

Corphish hesitated, his mouth slightly open. “Hey, hey, I don’t expect you to be able to carry us or anything. We probably could climb after you.” Looking closely at the ceiling, Corphish grimaced. “Probably,” he repeated.

The Oricorio frowned, crossing her wings. “I wouldn’t go anywhere regardless- I don’t want to leave Eiri here, even if you are here to watch her, Corphish.”

“He never asked you to leave,” Eiri said. The Tatsugiri slapped her fins together. “Just check if it’s real or not, that’s what I want to know!”

“It might be a good frame of reference too,” Corphish said hopefully. “Not direction-wise, but maybe as an estimate of how much of the dungeon is left?”

Gigue looked up again before sighing. “Fine. Do you promise that the dungeon won’t warp or anything as soon as I fly out of there? *If* I fly out of there, that is.”

Corphish shook his head. “I can’t promise that. I can only promise you that if we get separated, I will protect Eiri as best I can.”

“Bleeeh, I don’t need you to worry about me, Gigue!” Eiri made an ‘X’ with her fins. “Just stick half your head out if you’re worried! The dungeon wouldn’t cut your head off, right?”

Gigue paled, turning to Corphish for reassurance. 

Corphish was silent. Slowly he shrugged, averting his eyes from the Oricorio’s.

“Th-there’s a big difference between just checking something out and risking my life,” Gigue stammered, “Can that really happen?”

“I’ve never heard of anything like that,” Corphish said, clasping his claws together. “But there’s nothing to suggest it… couldn’t happen.”

The Oricorio covered her face with her wings. “The uncertainty isn’t helping. Can’t we just throw a rock at it or something?”

Eiri slid over to the two. “That wouldn’t prove it!” she said. “What if it is a hole, but it just leads to another room with a ceiling that looks like the sky?”

“Seriously?” Gigue gaped at the Tatsugiri. “Why is that something that can happen? Who is painting the ceiling in a dungeon?!”

“The dungeon,” Eiri replied without missing a beat. Her expression changed. “But- if something like that could happen. Maybe you shouldn’t do it.”

“Thank you, Eiri,” Gigue said, deflating. She turned to Corphish, putting her wings on her hips. “So why would you suggest something like that if that could happen?”

“Honestly, decapitation has never crossed my mind,” Corphish admitted, “I’d- I’d guess that the chances of it are infinitesimally low, but now that we’re talking about it, I’m getting nervous too.”

The three of them stared upwards silently, not quite sure what to say. 

Eventually, Corphish spoke up. “There are some things we’re not meant to know,” he said solemnly.

“Do the things you don’t know build up over time?” Eiri asked, trying to hide a look of disappointment. “This’ll bother me- what if the next thing I don’t know adds to it?”

“We’ll worry about that when it happens,” Gigue said, picking the Tatsugiri up. “I’ll carry you since you’re worn out. Is that fine with you?”

Eiri nodded. “Sure. The faster we get out of here, the quicker I can stop thinking about this.”

Corphish sighed in relief, happy to defer the matter. “Let’s get going then.” He glanced up one last time. “If that really is the sky, then we have some time left before the sun rises. By that point, I’ll really start to lose steam.”

“I thought you said you’ve stayed up for days,” Eiri said, wriggling slightly as Gigue put her back in her bag. “Actually, we cut you off before you told us what your record was.” The Tatsugiri narrowed her eyes at Corphish. “Were you just trying to show off?”

“No! I-” Corphish raised his claws, then let them fall limply. “It’s four days. But I need to prepare for it first.” He looked away. “Plus there are seeds that help,” he added quietly.

“Hup!” Gigue put her pack back on. “You can tell her about the secrets to staying awake once we’re at our destination,” the Oricorio said. “Also, I neglected to mention it earlier, but I want to go as fast as possible- now that I’m awake and rested! I set up a few things in advance, and the longer we take, the more worried I get.”

Corphish was taken aback. “In advance? Wow, you’re a lot more prepared than I am. Why don’t you want to be the guildmaster again?” 

“Because,” she answered simply, “Now let’s go.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the dungeon was unusually quiet, something Corphish was thankful for. After some time, the three reached the tunnel exit. The fresh air was cool and the sky had turned a deep blue heralding the sunrise. 

As Corphish walked out, he looked back. Gigue was standing at the edge of the cave, staring at the boundary of the entrance. From the Oricorio’s backpack, Eiri was watching her expectantly, the Tatsugiri resolutely silent. Slowly, Gigue backed up, then with a running start, leapt outside across the mouth of the tunnel. 

Corphish let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding when the Oricorio landed on the ground, looking relieved. 

 “Is exploring always this dangerous?” Eiri asked, “Or are we just overthinking it?”

Corphish opened his mouth slightly, then stopped. “I don’t want to say you’re wrong,” he said after a moment. “And exploring is- well, it can be dangerous. But I’ve never seen a dungeon kill someone.”

“I guess it’s the same as being crushed in a landslide, or swept away by a wave,” Gigue said, sighing, “It’s just something that happens, you either just accept it as a possibility or never leave your bed.”

“I suppose so,” Corphish said weakly, “We just have to hope it doesn’t happen.”

Gigue shook her head. “You already said it was very unlikely to happen. So I choose to have faith in your words. It’s just a little scary confronting it, you know?”

Corphish nodded. “Ah- okay.” In the back of his head, he couldn’t help but wonder if Gigue really had a point. Would a dungeon really set out to hurt someone?

—

Navigating through some scrublands bordered by a series of rocky plateaus, they came up along a river as the sun was starting to rise. Picking their way upstream through a thicket of trees and tangled weeds, the river began to shrink as the vegetation thinned out a little. 

Just as Corphish was starting to struggle to stay awake, the waterway suddenly widened into a small lake ringed by trees. 

“We made it!” Gigue exclaimed, falling to her knees. “I feel surprisingly accomplished.”

Hopping out of the backpack, Eiri looked at a few pouches she held in her arms. “Time to get planting,” she said, leaning down to stare at the dirt.

Corphish looked at the packets. “Seeds? I’m surprised they’re intact- since you both used that bag to sleep in.”

“Eiri’s light,” Gigue said. The Oricorio tapped her head. “And I have a light skull.” She paused. “Um, I’m not implying that I’m stupid or anything, cause I know that can be taken to mean that I don’t have a brain or whatever. But I do, it’s just light- my species bones don’t weigh much you know!”

“She has light bones,” Eiri chimed in helpfully. 

Corphish tilted his head. “You have light bones? How do you measure that?”

“I don’t,” the Oricorio replied, “I just know.”

“Oh…” Corphish nodded, then turned to survey the land around the lake. He glanced over at Eiri who was already digging a hole in the dirt with her fins. “I suppose we’ll have to build our own guild now. I have dabbled in construction some in the past.” He looked at Gigue. “Do you have any preferences for design?”

Gigue shook her head. “None at all. Sorry for not telling you earlier that there wouldn’t be anything here.” 

“I kind of expected it,” Corphish said, “I’m not upset, I actually got a little excited thinking about what I could make on the way. Setting up a guild is a lot harder than I thought though.” He snapped his claws together. “I already thought it would be pretty rough, but it’s even more than I expected.”

“Are you gonna back out on us?” the Oricorio asked, her face neutral. 

Corphish shook his head, smiling. “Hey, hey, not when I’m already this deep in!” He sighed, his claws falling limp. “I am pretty tired though, so it’ll have to wait until I can rest. Will you two be okay while I’m asleep?”

“It’s not like we came out here expecting you to be awake all the time,” Eiri said from nearby. She spat a small stream of water onto a seed she had buried before turning to look at Corphish and Gigue. “Shouldn’t we be more worried about you if anything? Are you just going to sleep on the ground or something?” She went back to planting her seeds after making a face at them.

“Actually, I was just going to jump in the water here,” Corphish said, pointing a claw at the lake. “Before I do though, Gigue, you mentioned that you set some things up earlier?”

Gigue blinked. “Ah, right. The main thing was just a change of address for my mail.”

“Just you?” Corphish glanced over at Eiri. 

“If I ever get mail, I’ll eat it,” the Tatsugiri said without looking up. “I don’t have time for that kind of stuff, just come and tell me personally.”

Corphish opened his mouth for a moment, but said nothing, instead closing it again and nodding.

“The second thing was that I reached out to a few friends in town to see if they could send any requests our way,” Gigue continued, unfazed by Eiri’s words. “A note of caution in advance, I let them know we’d take on pretty much anything- we have to build our credibility somehow, no?”

“That’s fine by me,” Corphish said approvingly, “Though I hope they understand that the three of us can’t exactly do a whole lot of work in a short time.”

Gigue shrugged. “We’ll prove ourselves with our actions. It should be easy!” 

“I can only hope,” Corphish murmured. He stepped into the shallows of the lake, sighing. “That’s enough out of me for now. I’m going to sleep for a little while, hopefully I won’t mess up my sleep schedule with this too much.”

The Oricorio nodded. “Good…” She stopped. “Have a good rest.”

“Good night morning, Corphish,” Eiri called from a ways away. “Have a good whatever.”

“Thanks guys,” Corphish said, “I think this whole thing still hasn’t hit me yet, we’ll see when I wake up.” 

With a wave of his claws, Corphish submerged himself underwater. Gigue stared at where he had been for a moment before turning to Eiri. 

“How are you doing?” she asked, seeming a little uncertain. 

“Fine,” the Tatsugiri replied, “I’ve been thinking about the moves Corphish was using and his attacks. I almost want to fight someone right now.” Eiri was visibly excited at the prospect.

“Um, have you thought about cooking?” Gigue had an unreadable expression on her face, and she was touching her wingtips together. 

Eiri stopped what she was doing. “I haven’t actually, why exactly are you asking? You can make something yourself, no? I have to wait for the seeds to start growing.”

“No reason.” Gigue looked away. “Forget about that, let’s see if my mail is here.”

Gigue wandered around the edge of the lake, occasionally stealing glances at Eiri. Finding nothing, she scanned the nearby shrubs before looking up and spotting a few pieces of paper nestled high in a tree branch. Nodding to herself, she backed up, then with a little hop, flew into the air, landing next to the papers. Flipping through them, she stopped at a letter with a wax seal on it. 

“Oh…” she murmured. Breaking the seal, she read the letter quickly, clenching her beak. Taking a deep breath, she folded it up again, trying to compose herself. 

Standing on the branch, the Oricorio gently knocked her head against the trunk of the tree, groaning in frustration. “Ok, just forget it,” she muttered to herself, forcing herself to look again at the other letters. Flipping through, she stopped at one filled with hasty scrawls. 

Below, Eiri was finishing her planting. “Didn’t bring enough,” she said to herself, shaking her head. The Tatsugiri looked over as Gigue fluttered down to her. The Oricorio looked excited, clutching a piece of parchment in her beak. 

“Luhk ut thhh,” she said, her eyes wide. Gigue paused for a moment, and took the sheet out of her mouth. “Look at this!” she said again, holding it in front of her. 

Eiri stared blankly. “You got spit on it,” she said.

Gigue’s expression fell slightly. “What it says, not what it looks like,” she said with a pained tone.

Eiri giggled. “I know, just playing.” She cleared her throat. “Hello! I need help. I am trapped in the dungeon downriver from the town. Please help me, or I’ll probably be hurt. Also, bring something good to eat. Thank you.” She paused. “From, Aacou. PS, I am a Quilava, I hope you know what that looks like!” 

“I don’t,” Gigue admitted, “But I’ll manage.”

Eiri looked annoyed. “I do, but where exactly is the dungeon? Does this guy think we’re his neighbors or something?”

Gigue sighed, patting her beak with a wing. “When I had my mail sent here, I had one of my acquaintances promise to get the word out that we’d be starting a guild here. There is a town nearby- more of a village really. It’s a little southwest from here, on the other side of the river, it’s called Haars if I remember correctly.”

“Haars, huh?” Eiri started to nod along, but stopped, her eyes narrowing. “That’s just an anagram of Sahra.”

“I didn’t notice that,” Gigue said in surprise. “More power to them I guess.”

“They should let me rename it,” Eiri murmured, peering across the lake at the river’s mouth. “So this Aacou is probably a local from Haars. Unless there are more towns around here.” She shot the Oricorio a pointed look. 

Gigue shook her head, ignoring the Tatsugiri’s expression. “Not that I know of, so we should be able to ask around and go from there. It should only take an hour or so to get there from here.”

“Not going to wait for Corphish?” Eiri sidled up to Gigue. “Not what I expected, but I like it.”

“A few reasons,” Gigue replied, smiling at Eiri. “One, this is an informal request so it’s unlikely to be anything actually difficult. I’ve heard there are tons of dungeons that are barely more than three or four rooms that change shape and size- plus it doesn’t even have an official name. Second…” she sighed. “If we’re going to start a guild with Corphish, we should learn how to fight on our own so we don’t have to rely on him all the time. You started learning from him, so maybe you can teach me!”

“Oh, of course,” Eiri said confidently, puffing herself up. “Corphish said I had amazing potential, you know.”

Gigue glanced at where Corphish had disappeared underwater. “Did he? Makes sense that he’d have an eye for that kind of thing. Even if he would never admit it.”

“So are we going now?” Eiri was bobbing in excitement. “Our first mission ever!”

For a few seconds Gigue hesitated. 

I hope I’m making the right choice.

“Come on, Gigue, are we going or not?” 

Gigue blinked and looked at Eiri. The Tatsugiri was beaming at her.

I’ll make it the right choice.

The Oricorio grinned, all her doubts gone. “Yeah! Let’s get going. When Corphish wakes up, he’ll be in for a surprise!”