Chapter 6 – The Grip of Thorns

Ozerograd was an important town in Selenia. While it could hardly compare to some of the fancifully large towns that were present in Dresilia and Miletos, it was a sizable town by Selenian standards, and so by extension, it was regarded as an important centre in Selenian politics. When Mitrofan took over the country and instilled himself as tsar, it was one of the major centres that was captured first, with the help of Hinnerk. After the latter took over the town by deposing the local lord, he created the Thorned Roses to help him exercise his newfound power.

The town itself showed evident signs of planning being put into it, as opposed to the haphazard nature that most cities and towns found themselves in as they expanded. Perhaps Ozerograd’s nature would change in the future if its population grew, but for now, its planned nature served as a surprising newness to the town.

There was a good reason for this. In olden times, Ozerograd was in fact a smaller settlement located closer to the lake nearby it, a decently-sized mere by the name of Lake Lazurny. This was convenient for locals, as it meant water could be obtained more easily. However, the storms that often came in the autumn and early winter resulted in almost annual flooding for the town. The destruction of people’s livelihoods, along with a number of deaths due to drowning and exposure on a yearly basis prompted the lord of the oblast to move his town to higher ground some two hundred years ago so as to mitigate the damage done to his people. And so Ozerograd received a new look in its reconstruction, with inspiration drawn from the architecture of the Eastern countries, renowned for their architectural prowess throughout the years. The old town was left mostly abandoned, but some still chose to live there and lived their lives despite the challenges that came with it.

Elvira was telling all of this to Arian when they first laid eyes on the town. Immediately, the amnesiac human had voiced his curiosity about the town, and so Elvira filled him in, basing her knowledge on stories she’d heard over the years and books she’d read. It was something that Flora couldn’t stifle a remark about.

“You listened to those stories? I’m surprised you were able to. Mr Akulov’s storytelling worked better than any Hypnosis in sending me to sleep.”

“Yeah, I remember that,” Elvira recalled, laughing slightly at what must have been an old memory. “He wasn’t that bad, Flora. He just had a tendency of getting carried away. It is an interesting topic about the town, though, how it moved to higher ground. Stuff like that’s always fascinating to me.”

“Well, whatever floats your boat. Or not, given where our town is now,” Flora replied. “…Oh, here we are.”

The group stood at a fork in the cobbled street. Down one end of the left-hand street, a shop with a colourful shopfront and bouquets of flowers placed outside it could be seen. It didn’t take a detective to deduce the shop to be a florist’s.

“Well, I’ll leave you guys here,” Flora said, beginning to make her way down that street. “Good luck on your little hunt.”

“Goodbye, Flora,” Elvira replied. “I’ll come visit you soon, I promise.”

“You should. Who knows? We might even have a job or a clue for you. Oh, and…be careful. You never know what the likes of them hear.” With that word of warning, the Petilil made her way toward her home.

“And just like that…” Elvira muttered. “Back to remembering where we are.”

“Mmm,” Arian murmured in agreement.

From the moment he walked out of Tamara’s front door, he could sense that all was not well in the town. There was an air of hostility and fear, and almost immediately, he was able to discern the cause of the discord.

There were a number of Pokémon out in the street, all wearing a red band with a thorned rose emblazoned on it on their arm, neck or foreleg. All of them wore sour expressions, and all of them watched the streets like Mandibuzz looking for prey. Any passersby felt their harsh gazes, and they made a point to get on with their business as quickly as possible.

Arian, Elvira and Flora were on the receiving end of their treatment, too. The glares that faced them were piercing, almost as if they were boring holes into their skin. It was a great discomfort that unsettled all of them, and made them watch their backs a bit more, in case they were jumped on.

That hadn’t happened yet. But Arian refused to discount the possibility of an ambush by the Thorned Roses. They did not look to be the sort of people to mess with, lest one wished to escape perfectly intact.

“Still,” Elvira said. “We’ve come this far into town. Let’s start looking. We’ll start in the town square and go from there.”

Elvira and Arian headed in the direction of the town square. On the way there, they caught sight of more Thorned Roses members giving them the evil eye, and tried to ignore them. However, on one occasion, this wasn’t enough.

“Hey! You two!” a voice shouted to them. Looking ahead of them, the duo saw a Machoke with an armband walk up to them menacingly and threateningly. “State your names!”

“Elvira!” answered the Treecko, almost like an army cadet.

“…A-Arian,” replied the Riolu, rather more lamely.

“What’s your business being out and about?” the Machoke interrogated.

Thankfully, Elvira knew what to say, having no doubt been grilled by these rogues on a previous occasion. “Just collecting groceries for my mom,” she informed. “She’s not well at the minute, you see, and I have to do all the shopping for her. Hence why we’re heading to where the merchants gather.”

“…” The Machoke considered what he was told. “…Go on, then. But get out of sight quickly afterward.”

“Don’t worry. We won’t be long,” the Treecko pledged, before moving on, Arian trailing her. “At least…I hope we won’t be long.” she muttered, after they were out of earshot of any Thorned Roses.

“Is it a problem if we take a while?” Arian wondered.

“It might not be. But if we encounter that Machoke again, then we could have a problem on our hands,” Elvira insinuated. “It’s better that we find something quickly. There’s bound to be a clue somewhere…”

They continued down the street. As they walked down it, Arian noticed something else that was off about the town. This time, though, the evidence was present on the walls.

Graffiti adorned a number of them.

The Riolu was rather surprised by what he saw. A range of different types of graffiti adorned the walls, from artwork to messages. And in the fashion of most graffiti, many of the messages were quite blatant.

Long live Hinnerk!

Down with Ruslans!

Down with Tsars!

Death to Tsarists!

They went on. And then there was the art. One of the pictures depicted was the Thorned Roses’ logo that was also present on their bands. Another one that caught his eye was the artwork of an Obstagoon. Below it read the message, ‘Long live the Boss!‘

Hmm…I wonder who that is? pondered Arian. After this art, however, the painted messages returned, and the human found himself reading these as he and Elvira passed them by.

Down with mercs!

All mercs are poofs!

Fuck the Guild!

Mercs can go suck –

Arian turned his head away immediately when he saw the end of the last message.

Okay…some of these are clearly not worth looking at, he mused, trying to forget what he just read. I did not need to see that. That’s properly profane stuff there. This lot looks like a piece of work, alright…

“And here we are,” Elvira said, snapping Arian out of his thoughts. “The main square.”

The square in question was once again another sign of the planned nature of the new town of Ozerograd. It was a beautiful construction, reminiscent of the architectural patterns of various towns in eastern Ardalion. It wasn’t so much a ‘square’ – the streets sprouted out from it in a radial pattern, and the buildings surrounding it gave the plaza a more circular shape. In the centre of it, there lay fountains, as well as what seemed to be a plinth. However, oddly enough, where there should have been a monument or a statue, nothing stood atop it.

Arian’s attention was partially on the square’s eye-catching design. However, he couldn’t focus on it for long. This was because several Thorned Roses were around the square, patrolling the area and using their usual intimidation tactics on anyone else. It proved to be working, given the lack of regular people in the square. And even those that were there stayed promptly away from the fountains and plinth.

“Hmm…I wonder if the noticeboard still has anything on it.” Elvira pointed to one of the streets directly across from them. “It used to be for posting missions for mercenaries to take. I don’t know if people would be brave enough to post a mission that could potentially get them targeted by the Thorned Roses. Let’s check it anyway. You never know.”

This, however, did mean crossing the square filled with Thorned Roses. Arian and Elvira both braced themselves for the piercing glares as they began their stroll across the plaza. They tried to act casual, but that didn’t prevent them from feeling the intimidatory gazes of the gang members they passed by.

Worse still, just when they were about to leave the square for the desired street…

“Stop right there, you two.”

The voice stopped the two in their tracks. While it wasn’t a commanding shout like the Machoke from before, it was a voice that was chilling enough to halt Arian and Elvira, and make them look around to see who the owner’s voice belonged to.

Their question on that front was soon answered, when the sound of a snake’s hiss pierced through the air, and in front of them slithered a Seviper. The scarf around his neck with the same red band indicated him to be a Thorned Rose.

“Well well well,” he uttered, his voice oily, slimy and unpleasant to listen to. “Who do we have here? A Riolu and a Treecko…neither of whom are residents of this town. Whatever are you doing in our domain?”

He proved to be greatly unnerving. His voice was the same kind that could send a shiver down one’s spine. Immediately, Arian and Elvira were alike in the same thought.

Please get me out of this conversation.

“We’re…fetching materials for my mom,” Elvira said, choosing the same excuse as she’d used earlier. However, this time, she wasn’t as confident as before, due to the Seviper’s unnerving presence and the leer he was giving the both of them. As such, the delivery came out a tad feeble.

“Are you now?” The grin he was giving them could only be described as a malicious one; as if he loved the treatment of this kind of intimidation.

“Y-Yes,” the Treecko answered, still perturbed by the snake’s presence. “Really, it’s true! My mom’s not well at the moment, and so I have to do the shopping for her.” It of course wasn’t the reason, but Elvira wasn’t content with telling full-on lies. If she did, no doubt this Seviper would see through them.

“That’s what they all say,” came the viper’s reply. “It’s a brilliant excuse, isn’t it? Just the way to garner sympathy. Hah! That might work on most people, but it doesn’t work in this town!”

“It’s true, though!” pleaded Elvira. “My mom really is – “

“Shut up, wench,” the Seviper hissed. “You’re in the territory of the Thorned Roses now. You should know better than to throw such sentimental crap in our faces. I certainly couldn’t give a damn. After all, you do know who you face, do you not?”

“Um…no?” Arian said. “Are you a bigshot in the Thorned Roses or something?”

“Congratulations. You are correct,” the Seviper replied. “I am Mikhail. The Thorned Roses’ second-in-command, second only to the Boss.” He licked his lips with a grin of superiority. “Did you think you could lie to my face and get away with it?”

“We’re not lying,” Arian insisted. “It’s the truth! Get that into your serpentine brain and let us get on with our business!”

“…Oh? How interesting. We appear to have a backtalker in our midst,” Mikhail observed. “Do you know what happens to those that dare to talk back to me?”

Before Arian could react, the Seviper suddenly launched towards him, and struck his tail across the Riolu’s midsection, eliciting a scream of pain from the amnesiac.

“Arian!” Elvira cried.

“They get poisoned!” Mikhail cackled. “Learn your place and pick fights you’ll actually win, runt. That ought to teach you never to stand up to me again. Perhaps the poison’ll knock some sense into you! Keh hah hah hah!” Laughing evilly, he slithered away, proud of his handiwork.

“Arian! Are you alright?” Elvira asked, checking on her partner.

“Urgh…N-No,” the Riolu answered. “I…I don’t feel so great all of a sudden…” His hand went to his head, and he began panting.

“…Wait a minute.” Elvira took a look at where Mikhail had struck, and his words came back to her when she saw a purplish stain amongst the bleeding wound. Immediately, she knew what it was.

“You’ve been poisoned!” she cried. “Oh no…and I don’t have any Pecha Berries on me! Quick! We have to find a shop that sells them!”

“But…what about…?” The Riolu looked in the direction of where the noticeboard was located. He could see it, in fact, located a little down the street they were about to go down.

“Never mind that! We have to heal your poison right away, before it gets worse!” Elvira frantically informed him. “I know where to go. Do you need me to help you walk?”

“I…think I’ll be alright for now,” Arian responded, his voice coming out in pants. “I could be worse. Really, I can still walk.”

“…Alright,” Elvira permitted, as she turned and headed for another exit of the square, two exits to the right of the street with the noticeboard on it. “But don’t hesitate to ask for help if you need it.”

“R-Right…”

They started down the street. As they left the square, Elvira could hear snickers and bemused laughter from the Thorned Roses at what just occurred. She thought she even heard one remark, “Serves him right.” The viewing of what had happened made Elvira’s lips curl in anger, and she had half a mind to turn around and yell a condemning remark at them.

No, she then thought to herself. That’ll only create more problems than it’ll solve. Arian needs help – that’s the priority right now. Choosing to block out the remarks of the gang members, she continued down into the street, with Arian trailing behind her.

Occasionally, the Riolu would let out a visible wince as the poison gradually worsened. Elvira heard this, and crossed her fingers that he wouldn’t faint on the spot.

Hang in there, Arian. We’ll get through this.

Eventually, the street ended in a T-junction. It was lucky that Elvira knew Ozerograd well, and thus knew where to go. She turned right, and Arian followed.

This street eventually opened out into a wider street, and where they ended up had Arian looking around in slight wonderment, despite his current condition. It looked rather major, as if it was a place of importance. A number of merchants’ stalls were set up along the street, and along with that, a number of prominent buildings were also present in this area.

“This is the merchants’ quarter,” Elvira explained to him. “Hopefully there’s a merchant selling a pecha berry or a heal seed or something to cure the poison…” She walked down the street with her partner, keeping her eyes peeled for a vendor that did sell such items.

Eventually, they found one, being run by a Sandslash and a Midnight Lycanroc.

“Hello there, young’uns,” greeted the latter, a male Lycanroc. “What are you lookin’ for?”

“Do you have any pecha berries or heal seeds?” Elvira immediately asked. “Please, my friend’s been poisoned, and he needs to be healed! We have to heal him before it gets worse!” She looked back at Arian, who was beginning to look worse for wear. He was now unable to hide the pain he was feeling from the poison.

“Yes, we do,” the Lycanroc told her, picking out a pecha berry from the merchandise. “That’ll be 80 Poké, please.”

Then it dawned on Elvira.

“I don’t have any money!” she realised. “But I do have this cheque. I’ll just go to the bank with it. Could you just hold on a minute? It’s just across there, I’ll be back in a jiffy. I promise I’ll have your money. Until then, though – “

“Don’t panic, dear,” the Sandslash suddenly interjected. “You’ll work yourself into a tizzy. Tell you what: take it for free. Your friend is more important than some gold.”

“Are you certain, Caitríona?” the Lycanroc asked. “She’ll have the money…”

“No, Conall, it’s best to help these people out,” Caitríona reasoned. “They’re not Thorned Roses. That’s reason enough to help them. Besides, it’s only a pecha berry they want. We can miss 80P.”

“Alright, then. Take it.” Conall handed Elvira the berry.

“Thank you. Thank you so much,” the Treecko said with gratitude, before handing Arian the berry. The Riolu bit into it, and quickly dug into it.

“Mmm…nice,” Arian said. “I like those.” Guess not all medicine tastes horrible here, huh?

“How do you feel, Arian?” the Treecko asked.

“You know, now that you mention it…yeah, I can already feel that poison going away,” Arian reported, feeling slightly more confident. “I just might need a moment to fully recover.” As he said this, he sat down at the kerb.

“Okay. I’ll wait for you,” Elvira said to him. “When you’re ready, we’ll go to the Klefki Bank and deposit this cheque. It’s over there.” She pointed to a building on the opposite side of the street to them further down.

“Excuse me,” the Sandslash from before said, drawing the duo’s attention. “We didn’t get your names.”

“Oh, of course. I’m Elvira, and this is Arian,” introduced the Treecko.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Caitríona, and this is my husband, Conall,” the Sandslash returned.

“Are you two from around here?” wondered the Lycanroc.

“Yes. I live just outside of town, and Arian’s living with me at the minute,” Elvira informed, simplifying the matter of her partner, whose situation would only provoke more questions that she didn’t necessarily know the answers to. “We’re in town today to…um…”

She hesitated briefly here. She knew that she should keep the truth of her and Arian’s status as unofficial mercenaries on the down low, lest they be harassed by the Thorned Roses. However, she realised that these two merchants were hardly in league with the infamous gang. And a brief look around this street showed that very few Thorned Roses were in the vicinity of this street.

Elvira decided, therefore, to tell the truth.

“We’re investigating the Thorned Roses,” she said, in a hushed tone. “Specifically, it’s about the disappearances of certain people around Ozerograd. Those that the Thorned Roses don’t take kindly to. Do you two know anything about that?”

“…As a matter of fact, we do,” Caitríona replied, unable to hide her surprise at the question. “Should I tell them, Conall?”

“Well…” The Lycanroc considered. “…How about this? As it so happens, there’s something we need to retrieve for a certain someone. But if you do it for us, then you can get that info you want. Maybe even with a little bit of cash. Just like a merc would, eh? Whaddaya say?”

“…We accept,” Elvira said, surprised at the mention of mercenaries from the wolf.

“Good on you.” Conall flashed a grin at them. “The item’s a Sandy Torc. It should be located in Blossoming Meadow, that Mystery Dungeon just outside the old town. It was on…what floor did she say again, Ríona?”

“It was in the grove, I think,” Caitríona recalled. “That’s where Lillian thinks she lost it, anyway.”

“There ya go, then. Find the Sandy Torc in the grove of Blossoming Meadow,” Conall said to them. “Good luck to you, kiddos.”

“We’ll bring it back to you,” Arian replied. “But you’d better give us information in return.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, kid. We don’t break promises,” the Lycanroc returned.

“Good. Come on, Elvira, let’s go,” Arian said to his partner.

“Not yet,” Elvira responded. “We need to get money and prepare to go out there. It’s not too dangerous a place by Mystery Dungeon standards, but it never hurts to be prepared.”

“Gotcha. You said this in Verdant Woods. At least we have a bag this time…” Arian’s voice drifted away from the stand as he and his partner walked towards the Klefki Bank to withdraw funds from.

“So…they’re tryin’ to figure that mystery too, eh?” Conall’s paw went to his chin.

“Yes. Just like our own folks,” Caitríona murmured. “What a coincidence.”

“It’s gotta be fate,” the Lycanroc said. “…Ya think we should tell ’em? About the whole…y’know…”

“No.” The Sandslash shook her head. “Not here, anyway.”

“But Ríona…you know he‘s looking out for more folks.” Conall sounded dismayed. “They might only be young’uns, but they might well have potential. And you know he‘s all about the potential of his recruits.”

“If we do tell them, it’ll have to be in a secret sort of way. I’m not letting Lillian, Ishmael and Axel’s cover be blown over this.”

“Alright, Ríona, I getcha.” The wolf was deep in thought. “Hmm…I’ll think of a way to tell ’em when they come back. We can tell ’em with what we know about them vanishings.

“Because they deserve to know…just what’s being planned.”

---

“Blossoming Meadow’s out to the north of town,” Elvira explained to Arian, as they left the merchants’ quarter. They turned in the cheque at the Klefki Bank, an enterprise run by the aforementioned Key Ring Pokémon, and spent a portion of the money on items for the delve into the Mystery Dungeon at Caitríona and Conall’s stand. “It’s not too far away, thankfully, and it’s not that deep a Dungeon. With any luck, we can get it over with quickly.”

“So it should be fairly easy?” Arian guessed.

“Famous last words, Arian. Remember, we’re still very new at this,” Elvira reminded. “Please don’t overestimate your capabilities.”

“Right,” Arian acknowledged.

“How’s your injury?”

“It’s still a bit sore.” Although the poison from Mikhail’s Poison Tail attack had been healed up, he still felt sore where the Seviper had struck. If there were any others in the Thorned Roses as sadistic as that, then I’d much rather spend as little time in this town as possible. “But how do we get out to the north? Where’s that exit?”

“Well, from here…” Elvira considered the route in her head. “…I know a way. Follow me.”

“Okay,” Arian agreed. “You clearly know this town better than I do, so…follow the leader, I guess.”

“It’s not ‘follow the leader,'” Elvira corrected. “We’re equal partners in this relationship, Arian. …But I do know Ozerograd well. I used to spend hours playing on these streets when I was a kid. I know them like the back of my hand..”

“…Alright then, partner. Guide me.”

Together, they walked through Ozerograd’s streets. The path would’ve normally been a straightforward one to the northern exit of town. But Elvira chose to go a back route there, in the hope that they would encounter less Thorned Roses as a result.

The route in question took them through a number of back alleys and residential houses. Most of which, to Arian’s shock, looked dilapidated and boarded up.

“What is all this…?” He looked around him. “What happened here?”

“Evictions,” Elvira told him. “You’ve heard about the rents from Tam. This street was already a poor part of town. It appears the Thorned Roses really didn’t take kindly to them.” She gazed at all of the houses, a bitter look on her face.

“…Weird,” Arian mentioned. “It looks abandoned. But…it’s like I’m being watched.” He suddenly went on edge. “Is it the Thorned Roses?”

“I don’t think so,” Elvira replied. “People still live in these houses. Some have boarded up their houses to reinforce against a Thorned Rose eviction, or to give the impression it’s been abandoned already. Like that house there.” The Treecko pointed to a house with bricks on the window, and boards over the door. It did look like an abandoned house, alright.

“That’s awful…” Arian happened to look looked at the windows of one of the houses, and caught sight of a Blipbug. But once they did, the Bug-type immediately jumped and disappeared from view. “I can feel that fear. It seems to linger in this place…”

His sorrow turned to anger. “Geez, how horrible do you have to be to think it’s fun to kick people out of their own home and cart them off to who knows where?”

“Very horrible, indeed,” agreed Elvira. “But ranting about it within the town’s walls won’t do anything to help us. We need to keep going.”

They kept going. But not long after having this conversation, they came across a scene.

On one of the doorsteps of the houses, Arian and Elvira spotted a Florges with red leaves. She looked middle-aged, and to the duo’s concern, was weeping.

“No…No, please. What mother am I to leave her little girl behind?”

Daughter? That caught Arian’s attention. Curious, he went to ask. “Excuse me, ma’am,” he said to her. “Are you alright?”

The Florges sniffled for some time before looking up with tearful eyes at the Riolu and answering his question.

“No…My daughter’s gone missing,” she confessed. “My little girl…Her name’s Iona. We were visiting the Blossoming Meadow, but we were chased by a wild Pokémon. I made it to the stairs in time, but I was separated from Iona. And now she’s all alone in that place…”

“Oh no,” Elvira murmured. “Is she young?”

“Yes. She’s only five. She’s the only family I have left, now that my husband was stolen away by those monsters. I couldn’t bear to lose her too…”

“That’s not good at all…” The mention of the Florges’ husband reminded the two of why they were in town in the first place. “We have to find her, Arian.”

“Lucky we’re headed there, anyway,” the Riolu said. “Don’t worry, ma’am! We’ll have your kid back safe and sound!”

“Oh…Oh thank you so much…Please find her!”

“We will. Come on, Elvira. Let’s go!” Arian saw no point in hanging around, and made his way through the winding streets.

Eventually, the narrow street ended as a side street to a wider road. Looking to their left, Arian could see an exit to the town, marked with an arch and a portcullis.

“Is that the exit to the north?” he asked her.

“Yes, it is,” came Elvira’s confirmation.

“But…there’s Thorned Roses there,” Arian pointed out. This was true; two Pokémon guarded the entrance.

“There’s no way around it,” Elvira sighed. “I don’t want to interact with them either. But there’s no other path out of town.”

“If you say so.” The disappointment was clear in the Riolu’s voice.

They walked towards the arch. When they approached it, the two Thorned Roses that were there immediately called out to them. They were a Krokorok and a Gligar, and both did not look the kind of Pokémon one would want to mess with.

“Hey!” the Gligar called out. “You gotta pay if you want to leave town!”

“Them’s the breaks! Now hand over the moolah!” the Krokorok, who had an intriguing accent, demanded.

“I have the money. Don’t worry,” Elvira replied, her tone slightly snappy. She reached into her bag and dug out 100P. “There. Take it.”

“Good,” muttered the Krokorok, after counting the coins. “Now go. Scram!”

They didn’t need to be told twice. If it meant getting away from the Thorned Roses, then Arian and Elvira were all in favour of getting away from town. They briskly made their way out of Ozerograd, and into the open countryside.

Once the town was a comfortable distance away, the human-turned Pokémon took in a breath of fresh air.

“Ahh…” he breathed. “Thank God. No more Thorned Roses to worry about out here.”

“I wouldn’t say that too soon,” advised Elvira. “Remember yesterday? They’re not just present in Ozerograd, but in the surrounding vicinity, too. Just because we’re out of town doesn’t mean we should drop our guard. We might even find some in Blossoming Meadow.”

“Hopefully we don’t,” Arian wished. “Especially not Pokémon as devious as that Mikhail fellow.” He shuddered at the memory of the wicked viper.

“Here’s hoping. Who knows what they might do if they found an innocent little girl out here alone in the meadow?” Elvira brought up. “We should move quickly.”

“Agreed.”

They walked along the path for the next while. During this time, Arian took the time to look at his surroundings. And once again, they were as alluring as always. Not only was the greenery of the trees and grasses ever present, but the view also included the lake that Ozerograd had previously been built near.

“What’s the name of that lake?” he asked Elvira.

“Lake Lazurny,” the Treecko answered. “It’s the lake that regularly flooded the old town of Ozerograd. It’s also where the town still gets its water from. They have an ingenious system of channels that get water to public taps in the town, so the people can still get water as easily as they once did. It’s a good thing they did that as even now, when the Thorned Roses have put tolls up to those entering and leaving town, people can still get water.”

But despite her words being slightly optimistic, Arian could sense worry in her emotions. He wondered to himself if it was to do with the Thorned Roses, but…something about the way her expression made him think it was something else.

Hang on, I remember. She felt that same worry when we were crawling through the undergrowth earlier this morning. Is there a connection? Should I ask her?

“There’s still people living down there in the old town,” Elvira continued. “But it’s a shell of what it once was. You couldn’t call it a town anymore. Especially when you compare it to the new town. Ozerograd was made a lot bigger when it moved to where it is now. Few would say that was a bad thing for the place. It used to be a backwater place, but now it’s more prosperous in the eyes of the tsar. …Well, it used to be, anyway. Before all this happened…”

“…A shame…Hopefully, prosperity will return,” Arian said, with some hope in his voice. However, he knew in his head such a thing would falter before reality.

“…Yeah…hopefully.” Elvira, at least, carried that hope in her heart, that one day Ozerograd would live to see a day without the Thorned Roses. “…But that’s for another time. For now…let’s focus on the present. Let’s rescue this child of the Florges.”

They walked a bit further down the road. Arian looked around him in curiosity.

“So…where is this Blossoming Meadow?” he wondered.

“It’s slightly off the beaten track, like Verdant Woods,” Elvira informed. “But you can’t miss the path for it. There’s clear signage for it when we get to it. It’s just before that wooded area.” She pointed to a treescape ahead of them.

“Gotcha,” Arian understood.

They continued on for a bit longer. Arian looked to the left, where from the road they were on, a vantage point of the lake could be seen. Curiously, though, he noted the sight of what appeared to be a small settlement down near the water’s edge, and from it, a road appeared to lead away from it and towards the same wood that Blossoming Meadow was located in. Based on what he’d been told earlier, the Riolu believed he knew the answer.

“Is that the old town down there that you were talking about earlier?” he asked.

“Hm?” Elvira looked over to where the Riolu was pointing. “Yes, it is. But that area tended to flood a lot when the autumn storms came in, so they moved the town to higher ground. It doesn’t quite stand up to the new Ozerograd, in my opinion. But don’t say that too loud. Some of the people that live down there don’t take too kindly to their settlement being compared to the new town.”

“…Noted,” Arian said.

Silence reigned for another while, until the duo eventually reached a small crossroads. A sign was there prior to it to tell them what was in each direction.

↑ Iria

← Ozerograd Quay, Lake Lazurny

→ Blossoming Meadow

“Ah, there we go!” Arian pointed out, noting the third line of the sign. “Blossoming Meadow, to the right.”

“Yes. It’s down this way,” Elvira confirmed. She headed to the right, with Arian following closely behind. “It’ll be another short walk to the Mystery Dungeon.”

“Have you been here before?” Arian wondered.

“A few times. I’d visit it with Dad a few times when I was younger to hone my skills by battling the Pokémon that live in the meadow. I’d also visit it with Flora and Tamara to gather flowers for the florist’s that Flora’s parents run.”

“I see…Well, it is called Blossoming Meadow. I’d be a tad disappointed if I didn’t see any flowers.”

“You won’t be. This place is full of them. …Speaking of which, there it is.” Elvira pointed to a point straight ahead of them. “The Mystery Dungeon entrance.”

Once again, Arian caught sight of the same unusual phenomenon he’d seen at the entrance to Verdant Woods. There was a point in the path ahead of them where it seemed to be obfuscated and unclear, even as they got close.

That is bizarre, alright. …But it’s how this world works. No choice but to get used to the workings of it.

“You ready to head in, Arian?” Elvira asked.

“…Yes, I am.”

And so the two walked into the Mystery Dungeon.

---

Blossoming Meadow

1F

Once again, Arian found himself in the strange reality of another Mystery Dungeon. He and Elvira found themselves in a room with a number of different exits, just like in Verdant Woods.

However, this area wasn’t quite as densely forested as Verdant Woods was. It was still full of trees and vegetation, but more commonly seen now were hedgerows and bushes. More than that, however, there was something abundant in the meadow…

“Flowers,” remarked Arian, staring at the scenes before him in slight bewilderment. “There’s flowers everywhere…in all sorts of colours…”

“Yes. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Elvira said. “I always like coming here. The sight of colourful flowers never fails to lift my spirits. …Maybe that’s why I’ve been so down for the last while. It’s been some time since I was last here.”

“A bit of a shame we have a mission here,” Arian lamented. “I was thinking that if we weren’t in a rush, we could stop and smell the roses…quite literally.”

“Well, we do. So no time to waste. Onward we go, down that way.”

The human followed Elvira down the chosen path. He was silently grateful that the paths the Mystery Dungeon had for them didn’t involve running through the flower meadows. I wouldn’t want to trample flowers as beautiful as these, he thought to himself. Blue, yellow, red, orange…it’s so pretty! Like a kaleidoscope of colours…

“Arian! Focus!”

“Hm?” The Riolu looked over and saw Elvira battling a Cottonee. “Oh! Sorry!” Quickly, he snapped back to attention, and dashed forward with a Quick Attack at the Pokémon. The Grass-type succumbed to it quickly, and fainted.

“Thanks, Arian,” Elvira said.

“Sorry!” apologised Arian. “I was too focused on the flowers, and I didn’t see what was ahead…”

“Arian, it’s okay. We all lose focus at some points,” soothed Elvira. “It could’ve been worse. I would’ve been able to handle that Cottonee anyway.

“I’ll keep my focus,” promised the Riolu. “I won’t get distracted by any more flowers here.”

“Distracted by flowers…” murmured Elvira. “…I can already hear Flora’s snarky remarks.”

“That was quite embarrassing,” Arian said, feeling his face burn red with humiliation. “Please forget that happened.”

“You can relax. I won’t say anything.”

The two continued down the narrow pathways. While they were strolling, something suddenly occurred to Arian.

“Who exactly should we be looking out for?” he asked.

“Well, since it was a Florges…it’s likely the child could be a Flabébé,” Elvira said. But as she said this, her gaze happened upon another row of flowers, and then she suddenly stopped, as if in realisation of something. Unfortunately, Arian didn’t register this, and accidentally walked right into the back of Elvira.

“Oof! S-Sorry,” he apologised. “…Um, Elvira? Why did you stop?”

“…It literally just occurred to me,” the Treecko said with horrified realisation. “Finding a Flabébé in here will be like finding a needle in a haystack.” She turned to Arian. “A Flabébé is a little fairy that’s always clinging to a flower. It’s quite a small Pokémon, and so are the flowers it carries. …So do you see the problem?” Elvira gestured to the multitude of flowers.

“Oh…” Arian uttered, realising what Elvira was getting at. “That is a problem, alright…”

“Well, there’s no use complaining,” Elvira said. “That won’t help us find this lost child. We just have to keep looking. Besides, there’s also a possibility the child isn’t a Flabébé. She could be someone else, depending on who the father is. But we don’t have enough facts to determine that. …Let’s just keep looking.”

The duo kept on down the path they were on. Eventually, it opened to a wider room, in which there was a Silcoon and a Cutiefly. Immediately, both Pokémon turned their attention to the new arrivals.

“One each?” Arian said to Elvira.

“That’s fine. I’ll take the Cutiefly, you take the Silcoon,” Elvira directed.

“Got it.” Arian focused his attention on the cocoon. Immediately, the first thing it did was stiffen as it used Harden. The human was not fazed, and slashed the Bug-type with a Metal Claw. Curiously, he noted that all it seemed to be doing was use Harden over and over.

Well, it is a cocoon. It’s not like it’ll be capable of much. Arian found himself a bit more relaxed as he attacked again with Quick Attack. But still, the Silcoon would not yield. Arian attacked again, this time with Force Palm. However, this didn’t appear to do much either.

“This thing is stubborn, alright,” the Riolu remarked, taking a deep breath. “…Just gotta get through it.” He readied another Metal Claw, and struck the cocoon.

Right after that, the Silcoon was also attacked with a Quick Attack. Looking over, Arian saw Elvira return from where she’d attacked. The sight of a downed Cutiefly explained everything.

“Silcoon are known to be quite defensive,” Elvira told him. “Attacking, however, is beyond them. We just need to keep at it with our attacks. You appear to have done most of the work, at least.”

“Got it. …Wanna see who can do the quicker Quick Attack?” Arian challenged.

“Oh, you’re on,” Elvira accepted. Next moment, both Pokémon used Quick Attack, and struck the Silcoon. Both attacks finally managed to cause the Bug-type to fall, and it collapsed onto its side.

“That goes to me,” Elvira said. “I attacked the Silcoon first.”

“…Yeah…I think that does go to you,” Arian agreed. “I did feel you strike slightly before me, to be honest.”

“…Hm. You’re too kind, Arian.” A smile of slight bemusement crossed the Treecko’s face. “It’s not often the other side is willing to concede defeat like that.”

“It’s not like it’s high stakes,” Arian reasoned. “What would arguing about it accomplish?”

“Good point,” Elvira said in agreement with the Riolu’s last statement. “I’d rather not get into arguments over something as petty as that. We’re barely off the ground; I wouldn’t want our team to collapse before it got going.”

“Nor would I. …Let’s not dwell on that thought,” Arian decided. “Better to focus our minds on this mission.”

“You’re right. Let’s continue looking for this Flabébé.”

But unfortunately, a thorough search of the first floor yielded no sign of a small sprite carrying a flower. Once they were sure she was not on the floor, Arian and Elvira found themselves looking at the stairs leading to the next floor.

“How many floors are in this place?” Arian wondered.

“Four,” Elvira answered. “There’s a small grove at the end, just like in Verdant Woods. It’s possible the child might be there, too. But let’s search all the floors before we get to that.”

“Well, she doesn’t appear to be on this floor. Should we go up?” Arian proposed.

“Yes,” Elvira agreed.

And so the two climbed the steps.

---

Blossoming Meadow

2F

Another new floor of hedgerows and flowers greeted them. This time, the room they started in was a narrower one with three exits to the south, west and east, with no exit to the north.

There was, however, something on the floor that caught Arian’s attention.

“…Money?” he said, upon seeing some gold. “That’s a coin. This is money.” He picked up the coin, and examined it.

“Oh, yes, I forgot to tell you. Sometimes money can show up on the ground in Mystery Dungeons,” Elvira explained. “No one knows why, or how. But no one minds.” She walked over and looked at the coin her partner lifted. “…50P. Not much, but it’s something. I heard other dungeons can have lots of money in them, and some are said to strike it rich by delving in and out of those Dungeons scouring the floors for coins.”

“Shame this doesn’t look to be one like that,” Arian lamented, though with only slight disappointment. “But we’ll pick it up regardless.” He slipped it to Elvira, who filed it away in the coin pouch.

“Now then…” Arian returned his attention to the room. “Hmm…We should go this way.” He pointed to the west path. “If the child’s not here, we’ll end up exploring the whole floor anyway.”

“Quite right,” Elvira said. “We won’t stop until we’ve investigated every nook and cranny of this place.”

Arian and Elvira walked down the corridor, looking all around the flowery hedgerows for a lost child, presumably a Flabébé. All the while, the former, who was in the lead, kept a lookout for any enemy Pokémon.

Soon, one such Pokémon came into view. As he was walking down the hallway, Arian suddenly caught sight of a black and white blur moving in front of him.

“What is that?” he murmured, squinting to see. But as it got closer, it occurred to him that it was a Pokémon. A black and white-furred raccoon with a long pink tongue, to be specific.

“A Zigzagoon,” Elvira pointed out. “A few of these do live here.”

The Normal and Dark-type got closer to them, with Arian readying to use a Force Palm. However, before he could unleash it, it rammed straight into him.

“Argh! Hey!” cried out Arian. However, he saw the Zigzagoon make some sort of taunting snicker, as if to goad him into a fight.

“Fine! You want a fight? Then I’ll give you one!” He charged a Force Palm and struck the Zigzagoon…which caused the Pokémon to faint immediately after being hit.

“Er…wow,” a bewildered Arian remarked, slightly stunned at his curb-stomp victory. “I didn’t expect that.”

“A Zigzagoon’s biggest weakness is Fighting-type moves,” Elvira explained, “Normal and Dark-types don’t do so well against Fighting-types, and Zigzagoon happens to be both. Your Force Palm was clearly enough to knock it out.”

“Maybe I don’t know my own strength,” he joked.

“…Perhaps. But remember what I said: don’t overestimate yourself,” Elvira advised. “Pride comes before a fall, and as your partner, it’s my duty to make sure that doesn’t happen to you.”

“…Thanks for reminding me. Good to know I have someone like you at my back,” Arian said.

“That’s what partners are for,” reminded the Treecko. “Now let’s keep moving.”

“Actually, there’s something I’m curious about,” Arian wondered, as they moved on. “That Zigzagoon…It reminds me a bit like that graffiti I saw back in town.”

“Graffiti?” Elvira queried, before a thought came to her. “Oh…I think I see what you mean…”

“There was a bit of artwork depicting a Pokémon like that Zigzagoon,” the Riolu went on. “It had the same black and white colours as it, and I remember that below it, there was a message saying, ‘Long live the boss!’ …Is that Pokémon…the leader of the Thorned Roses?”

“He is. That’s Hinnerk, the Thorned Roses’ leader. You might have heard his name a few times now,” Elvira informed. “He’s an Obstagoon, who are fully evolved from Zigzagoon.”

“I see…” Arian mentally noted the evolution.

“He’s selfish and cruel,” Elvira went on. “When Mitrofan took over Selenia, Hinnerk came down to Ozerograd and personally killed the lord who ran the oblast around the town. He declared himself the leader of Ozerograd, and to reinforce his power, he set up the Thorned Roses and used them to intimidate all of us. It’s worked well for him. Five years later, he still rules over us with an iron fist.” She looked sadly off to the side. “…We really have had the power to rise up stripped from us. When will this cycle end?”

“When someone stands up to him,” Arian said. “Someone has to.”

“That’s easier said than done,” Elvira replied. “Hinnerk is powerful. He isn’t the leader of a gang and retainer of his power for nothing. Any form of resistance that manages to crop up in our town has its earth salted before it can sprout. …If only we could manage a breakthrough…”

“…One day.” The Riolu was still insisting on optimism. However, he realised brooding over Hinnerk wouldn’t do any good. “This isn’t relevant. Let’s keep looking for Iona. And the torc, too.”

“You’re right. Let’s find them.”

The two kept looking high and low for the child of the Florges. They looked thoroughly throughout the floor, searching in all the flower beds for the sight of a little sprite holding a flower. They fought any wild Pokémon that came their way, all in search of the lost child.

However, they found themselves at the stairs once again, their search having borne no fruit.

“…Well, up we go, I guess,” said Arian, beginning to start up the steps.

“She has to be somewhere,” Elvira murmured. “We still have more floors to search. Let’s go.”

---

Blossoming Meadow

4F

Arian and Elvira scoured the third floor as thoroughly as the first two for the missing child. They battled the various wild Pokémon of the Dungeon, of which there were Cottonee, Cutiefly, Zigzagoon, Pom-Pom Oricorio, Weedle, Kakuna, Silcoon and Beautifly. All the while, they kept a lookout for the child of the Florges, presumed to be a Flabébé.

But the third floor yielded no sign of the lost Pokémon.

“One more floor to check,” Arian said. “I hope Iona’s here. Otherwise, we may have a problem on our hands…

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Elvira said. “Let’s get to looking.”

Arian led the way down the southeast exit, Elvira following behind. Once again, a multitude of flowers in a plethora of different colours greeted them on the hedgerows. Both Pokémon searched the hedgerows for a potential Flabébé, but no luck greeted them.

Before they were out of the corridor, a Pom-Pom Oricorio confronted them, dancing on its feet as it flew at Arian, striking him with a Pound.

“…You like to dance, huh?” Arian said, looking at the Dancing Pokémon. “Then let’s dance.” His claws turned a metallic sheen. “Let’s dance with our moves!”

He lunged forward, slashing the Oricorio with Metal Claw. The bird staggered back a bit from the attack, before moving in with a Peck. The speed was quick, and unfortunately, Arian couldn’t dodge out of the way in time. He was hit in the right shoulder, eliciting a cry of pain from the Riolu.

“Arian!” Elvira cried, worried for her teammate. “Hold on, I’ll help you!” She dashed forward with a Quick Attack.

“Thanks, Elvira!” Arian returned, before unleashing another Metal Claw upon the Oricorio. This strike was enough, and the Dancing Pokémon fainted.

“Are you alright, Arian?” Elvira asked.

“…A bit sore. But I’ll be fine,” assured the Riolu. “Do you have an oran berry?”

“I do.” The Treecko handed him one. “Look out for Flying-type moves like that one. …You don’t look too bad, at least. We can keep moving.”

They eventually reached the end of the corridor, which opened out into a huge room with a number of different exits. A number of flower patches were present in the room, meaning more places to look for the Flabébé, if the child was indeed one.

“Well, let’s start looking here,” Arian said. “…Hello? Anyone here? Anyone?”

His voice echoed around the room. But no response returned to him.

“…They’re not here,” Elvira mournfully noted.

“Let’s not jump to conclusions so quickly,” Arian replied. “Let’s look around. It could be possible they’re trying to keep quiet in order to let the wild Pokémon not detect them.”

And so they did this, scouring every flower patch for the child. But by the time they were nearing the other side of the room, there was no sign of a Flabébé or any Pokémon like that. The two were also sidetracked by combating against a Beautifly and a Cottonee that had wandered into the room, and so the focus was for a time taken off the search.

But soon they returned to it, and Arian was investigating a flowerbed over by one of the room’s exits. Elvira was over by one of the other flower patches, across from him.

Hmm…no sign of any Pokémon here, he thought to himself. I wonder…does Elvira have any clues?

Then he heard it.

“…*sniffle**sniffle*…”

Hm? What’s that noise? Arian’s attention was grasped by what he’d heard. Where’s it coming from?

“I couldn’t find anything, Arian,” Elvira called from across. “Should we move on to – “

“Shh,” Arian interrupted. “…Hold on a minute, Elvira.”

“What is it, Arian?” she wondered. “Do you hear something?”

“I think.” The Riolu closed his eyes, and listened to the sounds of the meadow. The chirping of distant Oricorio, the rustling of leaves, the gentle blow of the breeze…

“*sniffle**sniffle*”

“There it is again,” murmured Arian.

“There’s what again?” Elvira wondered. “I don’t hear anything.”

“I’m definitely hearing something. It’s faint, but it almost sounds like…someone crying? I think that’s what it is.”

“Someone crying? The crying of a lost child, perhaps?” Elvira presumed. “Which way, Arian?”

“That way.” Arian pointed to the path he was next to, the southwest path. “It’s down this path.” He began his walk down the corridor, with Elvira following close behind.

With his ears pricked, he caught the sound more clearly. It did indeed sound like crying, and specifically, it sounded akin to the sobs of a young girl. In other words…just who they were looking for.

“It’s here,” Arian said, stopping in front of a flower patch. “The crying’s coming from around here. Hello? Is anyone there?”

He scanned the patch of flowers. A plethora of colours greeted him back. Red, yellow, blue, white, violet…

Wait a minute. Arian looked closer at an area where a number of yellow flowers were located. Oddly enough, though, amidst the yellow, there was one red flower that looked decidedly out of place. Not to mention, it was moving, but not with the breeze.

It was as if someone very small was holding it. Someone…like a Flabébé.

Arian and Elvira looked at each other.

Bingo. We’ve found her.

“Um, excuse me? Flabébé?” Elvira chose to say.

“Eek!” a small voice squealed, and the flower, along with the little fairy that held it, jumped into the air. “Please don’t eat me! I taste terrible!”

“We’re not here to eat you,” Arian placated. “We’re here to get you out of here and back to your home.” He spoke a bit more tenderly, knowing he was talking to a child.

“…R-Really?” the Flabébé sniffled. Now that the two could see her clearly, it was evident from her face that the sprite had been crying. “Wh-Who are you guys?”

“I’m Elvira, and this is Arian,” the former introduced. “You’re Iona, right?”

“H-How do you know?”

“Your mom told us. She’s worried sick about you.”

“My mommy? Oh no…” Tears pricked in the Flabébé’s eyes. “I don’t want to make Mommy sad.”

“She’ll be happy when she sees you again,” Arian replied, his voice still having that same softness to it. “She’ll be relieved that her child’s safe and sound.”

“Don’t worry, Iona. We’ll get you out of this Dungeon,” promised Elvira. “We just have to find the exit first. Stay with us, and we’ll get you there. And don’t worry; we’re not Thorned Roses. You don’t have to be scared of us.”

“…Th-Thank you,” Iona said, still tearful. “Mommy said I should never talk to strangers. But you guys seem alright.”

“We are. Not all strangers are bad people,” Arian said to her. “Some…aren’t so nice, but there are people out there who will help you. Like now.”

“Speaking of which, we should probably get out of here. A feral could attack at any time,” Elvira warned.

“Good point,” Arian accepted. “Stay by our side at all times, Iona. There’s still dangerous Pokémon out there.”

“…They nearly got me…” Iona recalled, shaking slightly. “That’s why I hid. But…I’ve been stuck here for hours, and I don’t know how to get out of here. Please, please help me…”

“Of course we will. Don’t worry,” reassured Elvira. “We’ll protect you from any wild Pokémon that try to attack us.”

And so it was arranged that Iona would travel between Arian and Elvira, in order to keep her safe from any attacking Pokémon. It was lucky for them that the only foe they encountered on the way to the exit was a Zigzagoon, which Arian dispatched quickly with a Force Palm.

The corridor after this, the trio spotted the stairs.

“There they are,” Arian gestured, pointing to them. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Yes. The sooner we reunite Iona with her mother, the better,” Elvira said.

And so the three went up the steps.

---

Blossoming Meadow

Grove

Once they reached the top of the steps, they could immediately see surroundings of a more normal nature, implying they were out of Blossoming Meadow’s Mystery Dungeon.

“Finally,” Arian said, breathing a sigh of relief. “Back to normal surroundings. Boy, Mystery Dungeons are weird places…”

“Yeah, you’re right! They’re so weird!” chirped Iona in concurrence.

“Don’t look at me,” Elvira said, once the gazes of the other two fell on her. “I didn’t make them. And I didn’t choose to put one here. …Though, that said, once you get through the Mystery Dungeon, this is a lovely place to visit.” She turned to look away from the exit, and towards the grove.

Arian blinked, in bewilderment. Just like in the Mystery Dungeon, flowers of all different colours greeted his gaze. However, because there were no narrow corridors or walls, it was a perfect field of flowers, unconstrained by the labyrinthine Mystery Dungeon.

“Wow…” the Riolu remarked, enchanted by the sight. “It’s beautiful…”

“Mommy and I wanted to see this place,” Iona informed. “To get away from those meanies. Because Dad’s not here anymore…and Mommy didn’t want me to disappear too…”

“That’s so cruel,” Arian replied. “How they tore apart a family like this…” He remembered their mission. “We’ll find out what happened to him, Iona. Don’t worry.”

“You will? …Please,” Iona begged. “I want Daddy back…I love him so much. Why did they take him away…?”

“We don’t know. But we’ll find out.” Just the sight of the little fairy on the verge of tears made Elvira determined to get to the bottom of this mystery.

“Thank you…” The Flabébé then looked around the grove. “Um…can we pick flowers? I wanna make Mommy happy, because she’s been so sad since Daddy was taken away…”

“Sure,” Arian permitted. “In fact, there’s something we need to find here too. It’s the other reason we came here in the first place.”

“How about I pick flowers with Iona, and you look for the torc?” suggested Elvira.

“Sounds like a plan.”

And so it was arranged, with Elvira picking a small bundle of roses to carry back to town. Arian, meanwhile, hunted down the item.

A torc…That’s like a neck ring in a crescent moon shape, isn’t it? He peered around the grove. Just like Iona, this’ll be easier said than done. So many flowers that it could be hiding under…

He needn’t have worried, though. As it turned out, the Sandy Torc Conall and Caitríona were looking for was in a patch of grass where there were no flowers.

“Got it!” Arian called to the other two, holding the item up.

“Good job, Arian,” Elvira commended. “Now that we have both Iona and the torc, let’s head back to town.”

With that, the three of them walked out of the meadow and back to the main road.

---

“And so we managed to beat those two Thorned Roses and save Elvira’s friend,” Arian was saying to Flora, relaying the events of the day before.

“Cool! You won against them?” Iona was in awe. “Go, Arian and Elvira!”

“Thanks, Iona. But then it was for a friend, and you’d do anything for friends. Wouldn’t you, Elvira?”

“You would,” agreed the Treecko. Her attention then directed to the road ahead of them. “…Oh. There’s the edge of town. Hang on a minute.” She dug into the bag of coins, searching for 100P for the toll.

“Oh, the toll,” guessed Iona.

“Yeah,” Elvira said, with a tone of slight annoyance.

“You paid them before when going out to the meadow, did you, Iona?” Arian wondered.

“No,” Iona denied. “Me and Mommy snuck past when they weren’t looking.”

“Really?” The amnesiac was surprised to hear this. “Wasn’t that dangerous?

“No. There was no one at the gate when me and Mommy came through,” insisted Iona. “I’m telling the truth! There really was no one there!”

“Hmm…” Arian’s paw went to his chin. “What could this mean?”

“…It could’ve just been a change of guard duty,” Elvira reasoned. “It could’ve happened that they were in the middle of it when you came up, Iona.”

“…Maybe,” Arian said, thoughtfully. “But let’s wonder about that later. Let’s get Iona back to her home.”

They walked up to the gate. Based on what the Flabébé had told them, the Riolu was hopeful that perhaps there’d be no one on the other side of the gate this time as well. Hopefully they’re in the middle of a duty change. …Please, if there is a god up there…

“Halt!”

Damn it.

The Krokorok from earlier had his claw held out. “Ya wanna come in ‘ere, ya hand over the goods! ” He then looked at the two again. “…Oi, ain’t ya the two from before?”

“They are,” the Gligar from before confirmed. “It’s the same two from before. …Along with a Flabébé.”

“…Whatever,” the Krokorok dismissed. “Pay up.”

“…Here’s the money,” Elvira said, presenting the sand crocodile with 100P. “Now can we go in?”

“Go. Scram!”

“With pleasure,” Arian scathingly returned, before walking into the city, with Elvira and Iona following him.

“I wouldn’t say things like that, Arian,” Elvira warned. “We don’t want to get to get too much on their bad side. Otherwise…”

“Right.” The human saw her point. “Sorry.”

“Now then, Iona,” Elvira asked. “Do you know where you live?”

“Hmm…” The Flabébé examined the streets, before her eyes lit up in recognition. “It’s down that way.” She pointed to the street on their right, which happened to be the way they came to the front of town.

“All right. Lead the way, Iona.”

And so the two went down the back alley, with Iona leading the way. They went past the same miserable, boarded up houses that they’d gone by earlier, and once again, Arian got the same feeling from earlier of that ever-lingering fear. It was unsettling, and the human silently wished to himself that the search for Iona’s house wouldn’t take much longer.

Thankfully for him, it didn’t. The Flabébé floated to one of the houses with boards on the outside.

“This is my house,” she told Arian and Elvira. “Now, to let Mommy know…” She floated up to one of the timber boards, before, to the surprise of the other two, she was able to pull one slightly outwards and knock with it. And not just any knock – it was five slow knocks, carried out in such a way as if it was meant to be different to a normal knock.

There was a brief silence. But then, the door opened, and a Florges came into view.

“Hi, Mommy!” Iona greeted.

“Iona?!” cried the Florges. “Oh, thank goodness you’re here! I thought you might never come home…” She embraced her daughter with relieved joy.

“Me too. I thought I’d be stuck in there,” the Flabébé replied. “But these nice people saved me.”

“You saved her.” The Florges’s attention turned to the other two Pokémon standing outside the door. “Thank you so much. Iona means the world to me. If I lost her forever, I don’t know what I would do…”

“Here you go, Mommy!” Iona presented the roses to her. “I got these for you! You’ve been so sad since Daddy’s gone, so I wanted to cheer you up!”

“Roses?” The Florges took them. “Thank you so much, Iona. I really haven’t been looking after the flowers since your father was taken away. I’ll cherish these.”

She then turned to Arian and Elvira.

“How can I ever repay you back? I’m afraid we don’t have much in the way of money, but…I can think of a gift to give you two as thanks for saving Iona. Hold on for a minute, I’ll go get it.”

The Florges returned into the house. A minute later, she returned with something wrapped in cloth.

“Here you go. It’s nanab bread,” she said, handing it to Arian. “I made it yesterday. I hope it satisfies you.”

“Oh, I like nanab bread,” Elvira replied, a smile crossing her face. “Of course it does. You don’t have to worry about any more repayment.”

“…Good. Anyway, it’s getting late.” Iona’s mother looked up at the sky, where the evening was setting in. “It’s nearing your bedtime, Iona.”

“Okay, Mommy,” Iona obliged.

“And that goes for you two as well,” the Florges added, looking at Arian and Elvira. “Take care. The Thorned Roses don’t take kindly to those out past curfew.”

“Understood. Thanks for that advice,” Elvira thanked. “…We should get going, Arian, and give the torc back to the merchants.”

“Right. Thanks very much!” Arian said to Iona’s mother.

“I bid you a safe journey,” the Florges returned. “May Lunala’s light guide your path.”

The door closed in front of them.

“That’s one thing done,” the Riolu said. “Now, to return the torc…”

---

“Ah, you found it! Good! I knew you kids had it in ya.”

Conall and Caitríona were closing down their stall for the day when Arian and Elvira approached them and gave them the Sandy Torc. Conall gazed with delight at the item, and Caitríona was looking similarly pleased.

“Thank you very much for finding this,” the Sandslash said gratefully.

“Well, as promised, here’s your reward.” Conall reached for some funds, and gave 150P to the duo.

“Thank you.” Elvira filed the money. “But don’t forget that you promised us something else.”

“Ah yes, of course. What we know about the disappearances.” The Lycanroc considered his words. “Hate to tell ya that we don’t know much either.”

“What? But you said you had information!” Arian protested.

“We don’t know much,” Conall clarified. “Just a snippet. What apparently happens to the folks who are taken away is that they’re all rounded up and taken somewhere. But where they’re taken is kept strictly under wraps. The only ones that seem to know are Hinnerk and Mikhail, that Seviper right hand of his.”

“Mikhail?” That name alone made Arian shiver, still remembering him from earlier in the day.

“Yup. It really is tight-lipped. Oh, and while we’re at it, here’s some more info,” Conall added. “There aren’t actually as many folks in the Thorned Roses as you’d think.”

“Really?” Neither of the duo were expecting that.

“Yeah, we’ve noticed that, haven’t we, Ríona?” Conall said to her. “It’s the same people all the time doing the patrols and watching us like Braviary. And it’s also what our lot have figured out too.”

“So…they don’t have much macho behind that intimidation, huh?” Arian was taking this into consideration.

“That doesn’t mean they’re not dangerous, Arian,” Elvira warned. “They’ve kept a hold on this town for five years, and have made people disappear. We can’t underestimate them even slightly.”

“You have that right. We’re taking a massive risk even saying these things right now,” Caitríona said. “Conall, I think that’s enough.”

“But I’m not done yet,” whined the Lycanroc. “Just one more thing, you two. Where do you live?”

“Where we live?” Elvira was somewhat sceptical. “Why do you want to know?”

“To keep in touch. In case we have any more info to give. We want to find out that mystery you two are after too.”

“…Not far outside the south of town, towards Lukomoria,” the Treecko revealed, after some consideration.

“Great. Thanks a bunch.”

“You two should be on your way,” Caitríona advised. “Curfew will be soon, and I daren’t imagine what will happen if the Thorned Roses find you out past it.”

“We’ll be on our way, then,” Elvira said. “Thanks a lot for the info, you two.”

“Anytime. Hope to see you around,” Conall returned.

“Bye!” Arian waved to them as they left.

The two headed off to Tamara’s house, to go through the tunnel that lead to the south end of town.

“So…all in all, I’d say that day was a success,” Arian summarised.

“It was. I enjoyed working with you, Arian,” Elvira said, with a smile on her face.

“I did too.” The Riolu found her smile infectious, and he had a grin on his face in seconds. “Let’s go back to your place and tell Zenobia all about today. Today may not have been a wholly smooth ride, but it was an adventure all right.”

“It was. And I did find out a few more things about you,” Elvira added. “Who knew you were good with kids?”

“Yeah. I’m surprising even myself with that,” Arian mused. “More stuff will come out in future, no doubt. Anyway…shall we get home?”

“Yes. Let’s head.”

They ended up treading the same paths they’d walked earlier that day. As they made their way back to Tamara’s house, where the tunnel to the outside lay, Elvira reflected on what they’d achieved.

We have a connection now, with Caitríona and Conall. I don’t know what they’ll provide, but they mean well. We’re still nowhere close to figuring out the mystery of those disappearances, though, other than only Hinnerk and Mikhail really know what the truth is. I guess we’ll just have to dig for more clues tomorrow. Everything’s going well so far. Please let this good streak last a while longer…

She looked up at the evening sky.

Are you up there, Dad? I don’t know if you are or not, but if you are up there…watch over me, will you?

And if you aren’t up there…then I’ll find you, wherever you are.