~ CHAPTER 14 ~
<< The Iron Wings of Poke’mon Become Gods >>
[BEGIN]
Place: City of Laesi, Southern Elbus District, Inside ‘The Iron Wings of Poke’mon Become Gods’ Monument
Region: Upper Arceali Southwestern Highlands, Laesi Regional Area
Day: Nahstempnye
Date: Zshima 51st
Year: 5th Turn, 12
I halted to the voice that echoed around me- and I stared ahead at the woman down at the end of the entry hall.
She looked like a dog with a head of fluff shaped like a artist’s beret that sagged over her right eye. Her tail, shaped like a paintbrush and coated with what looked like green paint, swished behind her.
Miss Zerazani…her shape was a creature seemingly born to paint, and to create. Her manic air was undeniable…
…had she been standing here, waiting for guests, day after day? Had she worked at all? Those monstrous nobles called, yearned for her- and yet she stood, waiting for assistance. Building their ugly desires all the more…
“Yes- your keen perception suits your profession, Miss Zerazani,” I called back to her, a firm smile plastered onto my face. The artistry on display heightened the important atmosphere that the woman carried- I practically waded through that atmosphere just to approach her.
I kept my confidence strong. The woman was already studying us from the moment we entered- espousing expectations of heroism and hope. Whatever chaotic whim had led to her forgery of a request, I would have to be wary of it, even as I played my role.
“My name is Adelaide, and this is my partner, Siranae,” I said, gesturing to the soft Audino just behind me. “We’re Team Coronatus– and we would be happy to tend to the request you left with the Arceali Guild.”
“Ahh…Team Coronatus…” The woman hummed. Zerazani seemed to mull over the words, a glimmer about her as she beheld the both of us.
Siranae swallowed quietly.
“Mmm, I admit…” Zerazani said, folding her hands together. “…I am not much up to date with the current teams of the Arceali Guild; whose noble child from what house has made what teams…but you certainly have the stature of a noble, Ms.Adelaide.”
Her eyes traced over to Siranae. Her wide, seemingly friendly enough smile spread.
“And you, Siranae…why you must just be happy to be here!” Zerazani concluded, making the Audino breath a sigh of relief, the painter-dog taking no notice as she turned her attention back to me. “But, yes, yes, my request. I admit, when I wrote it, I knew well it would take a long time to get a response. But that was the point to how it was written, of course, naturally.”
“Ah… the ‘point’?” I furrowed my brow, posture held firm in the eyes of my superior.
I had heard endless tales of the deranged fancies artists and their patrons took up- money washed down the drain for a simple thrill, art projects designed to bother or infuriate.
I had yet to see a woman in need. He had even delayed that need all the more with the ruse of idiocy.
“Am I to assume that the… clerical errors and… odd penmanship,” I ventured. “They were to deter the other teams from taking your request?”
“Well exactly, no doubt! How surprising you surmised the answer on a single go!” Zerazani clapped her hands together, sauntering towards the both of us casually. “After all, this is not the work for any team. No, a team simply in it for a high pay or just looking to amass connections or whatever other self-serving goal simply will not do.”
Her fingers curled around her hands, brushing her lips in thought as she spoke.
“So, spelling errors, terrible lettering, meandering writing, these are, surely, the telltale signs of a sorry wretch in need. I’m sure anyone else would think ‘what absolute sap and fool would ever bother with this garbage job’! And thus, the filter was set~!”
Zerazani’s sunny smile only widened, which at the very least put Siranae at ease.
“But…” The painter-dog continued at last. “Enough rambling on and on, we’ve a job to get to and a gallery showcase that simply mustn’t be delayed now! So, to the job: guard duty.”
“Oh, yes…!” Siranae said, holding her hands to her chest. “It seemed a simple enough task, and we’re most happy to perform it if it will help you! What do we need to do?”
“Gracious, I do love the energy you put into your work. Very promising~! And, ohhh, it is nothing hard at all, Siranae~!” Zerazani spoke with a warmth to the Audino equal to that with which she spoke to me. At the very least, the dog-painter was not unkind to Siranae. “Simply be familiar with the premises and ensure that no, shall we say….deviants? Renegades? Dissidents? Recusants, even? Are allowed to permeate the world of art. And, in fact, strike them down with vengeance if they do.”
Zerazani smiled, a softly laugh to her voice.
“Yes…that explanation will do, I believe.”
It was as I feared- violent confrontation was the immediate role of our work, not simply guarding this place. I worried that Zerazani’s searingly-sweet demeanor was meant to draw in Siranae somehow…
“Of course, we’ll be happy to aid you that way,” I said with a warm lilt in my voice. “But… I should at least ask questions, to be certain of our duties.”
I glanced back to the small entryway, knowing what wide expanse waited outside it.
“Does the premises include solely this… structure, or all space surrounding it? Where would you wish us to be stationed, if you had a place in mind? And…”
I let off a small and sheepish laugh.
“Is there some way we might differentiate between invasive undesirables, and those on your ‘pre-approved shortlist’ of guests?” I asked. “We had heard word of it on our way over… I would loathe to think we might turn away your company.”
“Oh do not worry, Adelaide, you’ve no need to overthink it so much.” Zerazani waved her hand dismissively, as though trying to soothe my anxieties. “You need only stay in the building. Your station will be…mobile. A bit of walking around the structure should be no trouble.”
“No trouble…!” Siranae replied.
“That’s the spirit!” Zerazani beamed.
Siranae, poor girl, simply seemed eager to please on her first job as a…‘guild member’.
“As for the undesirables, well, you’ll be well-acquainted, no need to fear.” Zerazani assured. “My ‘short list’ includes only a few nobles who will be participating as guests, but you needn’t worry. Everyone is already here.”
Siranae’s ears flicked, her face taking a curious look. Zerazani, meanwhile, swept her arm along, gesturing toward the rest of the gallery.
“Now then…shall we take the grand tour, Adelaide of Coronatus~?” The painter-dog asked with a little respectful bow. “I’d hate to delay any further.”
I nodded hurriedly, giving a curtsy in return- it would look so much more dignified with a dress, rather than nothing…
“Of course, Miss Zerazani.” I spoke with my snout still tilted down. “And we will be honored to meet your guests, if they are on the premises as you said.”
“Goodness, what a kindly Smeargle…!” Siranae whispered excitedly to me as Zerazani turned away. “After all that has happened today I was most worried our first client would be…well…!”
I extended a hand to the Audino beside me, if only to snap her out of the praise-filled excitement and keep her grounded for what was to come. The Audino gave a quiet squeak to having her hand grabbed. I could feel the ever so slight vibration in her palm. The girl was so excited and trying to hard not to let it burst forth.
“I must admit,” I said, looking back to Zerazani, “I’ve heard quite the accolades for your work, ma’am. The greatest in Arcea, among them… but I’m unfamiliar with much of your art pieces. I’ll be happy to see them, if time affords.”
The Smeargle turned to face us, walking backwards into the gallery proper with Siranae and I in tow, her hands clasped at her front.
“Ah, the accolades? I’ve heard my own accolades as well, of course.” Zerazani…scoffed? “But, of course, they all only talk of this nonsense.”
The woman gave a dismissive wave to the paintings that festooned the walls, each one under a spotlight to let them be seen in their full glory, with placards showing their titles and dates of completion.
The art on the walls consisted of landscapes and portraits of various beasts in robes, most likely nobles, and they were…
…they were…
…incredible.
Zerazani led us along. Siranae looked at the paintings in befuddled wonder.
One painting was of a windswept field. It was immaculate. The shadows…were perfect. The lighting was as though the sun shone into the building itself. Every individual blade of grass could be counted, with the wildflowers and bramble. Each individual leaf on a tree.
Looking closer diminished nothing, it only looked more impressive.
And, in fact, it was not painted on a normal canvas but was looked to be a custom-crafted canvas made to give a slight illusion of depth. It was as though I were merely peering through a window.
The next painting was the same. Some bear-like beast with rings upon his head and stomach, painted to such a detail that his fur looked soft to the touch despite being nothing but paint.
The painting of a starry night, the stars practically twinkled on the canvas.
It seemed impossible, but, it was right in front of me.
Each one was credited to ‘Miss Zerazani’.
I stared out across the paintings, almost… intimidated by their quality. I had seen beams of light erupt from a housewife- I had seen newspapers pulled by ‘psychic energy’. Was I so wrong to be afraid of portraits, for fear that they, too, might be concealing some magic?
And the Smeargle that guided us…simply huffed at the amazing works that surrounded us.
“Landscapes, portraits, portraits and landscapes. All very pleasing to the eye, all with tradesmon and nobles slobbering to either snap them up or pay me a fortune to have it be their face on canvas instead of Conveytion So-and-so.” Zerazani tsked with a roll of her eyes. “Just as every career painter slopping acrylic to canvas.”
“Oh my goodness…” Siranae let out a breath. “It’s so…beautiful.”
“And hence my fame and good name.” Zerazani continued. “Hence why I’m often asked to functions and events. Hence why nobles always ask first for Zerazani when the question of art comes up. For they know the quality to expect.”
Zerazani’s voice snapped me out of my worries of magic paintings. The sheer talent was visible upon each canvas- it was only natural that I’d be lost in its strength on my first sighting of it. If the monument had not proven it, this banished every shadow of a doubt- Zerazani was frighteningly skilled.
“…but… I am to assume your passions do not lie with those portraits and landscapes?” I tilted my head- she had stated it obviously, but it was only good manners to ask it, rather than assume. “In fact, it seems quite trivial to you. Your passions would be…”
I rose an arm toward the ceiling- but it was clear what else I was truly gesturing at.
“Things like, the monument to ‘Poke’mon Become Gods’. I could only hope so- I do not know what else may lie in an artist’s heart, beyond a piece of artwork that becomes the horizon.”
Zerazani made…
…quite a rude sound.
“Thbbbb, hardly. I’d never put my name to this enormous eyesore.” Zerazani laughed. “This ‘monument’ is nothing more than a big display of wealth. Conveytion Prista’s testament to how much obscene amounts of money she can sling around to get every architect, artist and constructor to roll over and play dead to her heart’s content. I’m sure that’s what she meant by it’s title.”
She lifted her fingers in exaggerated air-quotes.
“The ‘Iron Wings of Poke’mon Become Gods’. Hah! What a joke. To imply that by absurd amounts money from something as mundane as business one surpasses Arceus, or any deity.” Zerazani scoffed with a wave of her hand.
Her hands returned to her front…and she turned her head to glance at me.
“My true artistic passions are, of course…perhaps less savory to nobles who much prefer my realism pieces…or who simply want to have their visage displayed in their estate.” Zerazani’s eyes returned to in front of her. “Of course, those pieces are more of…mmmm…just products, I must say.”
“Ah… pardon my error.” I offered the words meekly- what else did she yearn to create, when the brush had been mastered? There was only so much paint could do upon the canvas…
She seemed to avoid my question for the most part, only continuing on as Siranae and I continued to pass one beautifully rendered painting after another, all of different landscapes, from mountains to forests to cities to crowds to rural pastures, each one as beautiful as the last, as nothing could be more beautiful than perfect imitation of life.
The painter-dog paused as we all approached an archway.
“Yes…but, unfortunately, these products still hold their value in coin, and coin holds its value in food.” Zerazani huffed.
“If I may be so bold… I feel some relief, perhaps mutual understanding- I was a mite intimidated upon approaching this place,” I said, restraining my full disdain for the monument. Zerazani had spoken it well enough- I did not need to overshoot, and risk catching her ire. “But… your words are a comfort, in that respect.”
I kept pace with the woman, even as I mused what else was kept from me.
She did not enjoy realism… did her ‘true’ art depict fantasy? I still wondered what more fantasy there could be than Arcea itself. But Zerazani had held her tongue- I knew better than to pry.
“I imagine we are to guard the ‘products’ all the same,” I said. To reduce these masterpieces to such a word… it was so unnatural. “But you mentioned that you could not contact the guards for this work- why was that, Miss Zerazani?”
“Well, guards are brutish, simple-minded cretins that do nothing and then, when presented with the slightest danger, go into a self-preserving frenzy where they leave what they’re meant to ‘guard’ to die and burn.” Zerazani explained quite quickly. “They have no soul to their work, nor anything on their mind but a payout for the least amount of work they can possibly put in. If they were characters in a book it’d be a book most rancid when not simply dull.“
She turned, a finger whipping up into the air to punctuate her next statement.
“But the Arceali guild? The Arceali Guild of old was not so!” Zerazani said. The Audino next to me looked more and more excited. “There we find a romantic plethora of Poke’mon that had…more to them. They were representatives of justice. Young of heart and body, they applied the simplicity of a child to the harshness of a cruel world to do everything in their power to make things right! And though many of the guild have lost their way, I still sought a team like the heroes of old, and now…”
She paused a moment.
Slowly, Zerazani turned toward us both.
“You both…are heroic dreamers with an insufferable innocence and boundless optimism, sparkly-eyed and ready to save the day…yes?”
Siranae’s eyes indeed sparkled, but she looked to me first.
I kept my composed, almost tranquil stare- even if her questioning inspired worry. But… at least one of us met that mark quite nicely.
“I cannot attest to having the sheer joy and wanderlust as my partner has,” I said, gesturing to the Audino beside me, “…but Dear Siranae- her good nature is infectious. I find myself a little more ‘heroic’ by the day.”
Perhaps part deceit- perhaps part relief- but I shifted my noble tranquility into a flourish with an arm, and a stronger smile. I only imagined this is what a hero might do, without the gross grandeur of one such as Zerro.
“If you will have me… I will do good by the Arceali Guild’s former name. Siranae has told me so deeply of the past exploits, the saviors of Arcea in every element. I would be honored if we could bring such dedication and goodwill to your gallery, Miss Zerazani. We will be your heroic dreamers.”
…childish, very much so. But… less harmful of an innocence and ignorance than how the Arceali Guild acted in this era. And… a weak smile crept on my face after my speech ended.
It was more pleasant to be the bright-eyed fool than the rugged realist, or the disaffected outsider.
Zerazani grinned politely.
“Great~“
With that short-winded reply to my long-winded answer, the woman turned once again, continuing down the ivory halls. I blinked, confused that the woman was not still talking on some manner of heroes and art.
Siranae let out a wistful sigh, squeezing my hand and smiling at me.
“Oh Adelaide, that was most beautiful…” The Audino said warmly. “Spoken so much like a true hero, as though you’d stepped from the pages of an adventurous book.”
Her tone became hushed as she leaned in closer.
“And just like the old guild…” Siranae mused with a little smile. “No job is too big or small…~! I promise I’ll do my best, too, right by your side, Friend Adelaide.”
When I looked to Siranae, a blush hung on my cheeks from embarrassment.
“Well- thank you, Dear Siranae. But I learned much of that gusto from you,” I said, squeezing her hand softly in turn. “If nothing else… I hope we might meet Zerazani’s desires and perform the job well. She deserves that much.”
I yipped, looking ahead and realizing our host was marching onward. With a spring in my step, I pulled Siranae up with me to follow in Zerazani’s footsteps.
Hurried along, we both rejoined the Smeargle at the end of a hall, by a drawn curtain. Zerazani had stopped, seeming to…consider the curtain.
All around the hall, we three were surrounded by yet more of her awe-inspiring works. The ocean that showed the very foam on the waves and the individual grains of sand on the beach. A rainy street where the reflections were so lifelike one might have thought water would flow from the canvas. On and on, more and more of impossibly immaculate renderings of the world.
And Zerazani turned her head…looking at them all with disdain.
“Did you know, Adelaide of Coronatus…that once I was told that I captured the world as perfectly as Arceus had created it? That I was, because of these paintings, a deity in my own right?”
Siranae tilted her head, her brow furrowing a little.
“That is…an odd thing to say…” Siranae said quietly. Zerazani turned to us both.
“Indeed. How can these paintings make me a god? They’re copies.” Zerazani said, her own brow knitted. “No matter how perfect the scene is captured, they are always working off another’s work. In any painting where I only copy what exists then Arceus is master…and I can only be apprentice.”
“I had figured that same absurdity from the monument,” I said, its name not even meriting a mention. “Becoming a god by mere usage of a god’s gifts… it defies all meaning. It degrades the Lord to which the title belongs…”
I shook my head, preventing my own frustration from bleeding over into the words. I could not see the disdain that Zerazani saw in her own artwork- but I could feel the grossness that others had attached to it.
“Indeed.” Zerazani said with a sigh. “These noble fools think one must possess all this money and resources and respect and power to become a god. This is silly, for even a toddler can surpass god.”
The painter dog’s smile turned to a small smirk as she turned her attention back to the curtain.
“In truth, in all my years recreating the world Arceus has built I’ve found his style…lacking. Everything is so haphazard yet so rigid. It follows so many constant rules as to be repetitive whilst at the same time simply vomiting up mountains without any cohesion and trees to hide the ugly seams.”
She waved a hand, as though dismissing god.
“A rainy day in the mountains always looks the same, as does a sunny day at the beach. Arceus himself is a dullard. A one trick ponyta whose greatest work is more akin to an engineer’s machine than anything I’d call art.”
Zerazani pulled a string, drawing the curtains and revealing…
…a blank, white canvas.
“Shall I prove it? Tell me, Adelaide, on how many occasions have you seen bright blue grass under a bright green sky lined with garish purple mountains?”
I stared on at the blinding whiteness of the empty canvas. More from Zerazani’s crude dismissal, than from my own confusion. I looked to the woman again, disbelieving with her shift in attitude. Perhaps all she meant from disdaining realism was… desiring a lack of it. I could scarcely imagine the scene she envisioned- nor how it could surpass godhood.
“I… cannot attest to ever seeing such a thing, ma’am.” I said with waning certainty. “Would you be willing to show me it, ma’am?”
“Yes, and all in but three brushstrokes.”
Zerazani’s tail whipped once. Then twice. Then thrice.
And upon the canvas…
A blue line below a green line and a purple wavy line plastered on top.
Zerazani stepped back, looking up and down the ‘work’ she’d just created.
“There…three brushstrokes. A crude work. And still I’ve done what Arceus cannot.” Zerazani smirked wickedly. “I have surpassed god so easily. Anyone could. He’s hardly the standard I aspire to.”
She chuckled to herself, looking out toward another hall as it continued down, taking her first steps toward it.
“Anyone can capture what they see with enough practice. I’ve peaked and none other has been able to surpass me, and thus realism is worthless. No…it’s these paintings just ahead…these are my true masterwork…”
I paused, simply stared at the ‘painting’ Zerazani had made as she walked down the hall away from us.
‘…what a waste of a perfectly good canvas.’
I held back the heat building in my chest- even if Zerazani did not make art as a profession seem so immature, her crude and godless behavior was wearing at my endurance. But the day was young- I had enough strength to not make a scene so readily.
At last, I began following Zerazani once more, beckoning Siranae after me.
“I must admit… your confidence interests me more than all else,” I said, my smile more amused than delighted. “Do you paint… similar landscapes, but with their colors inverted? Red seas under a thrashing blue sky…?”
“Hah! Why aim so low as to simply iterate on Arceus’s quaint little project?” Zerazani laughed with a snap of her fingers. “I’ve already gone beyond that. And it all started here.”
The Smeargle lifted a finger, pointing to another painting…but this one was extremely different from all the other works. It looked nothing like them.
The painting was…shapes.
Just shapes.
A circle. A square. A squiggly line. Different colors that clashed and offended the eye. It had no composition, it had no color balance, it…didn’t look like anything. It was hard to believe it was even from the same artist, save for the placard underneath.
Zerazani
This…was strange to see.
I could not see it as any kind of art, no- it was a depiction. It was a thought put to ink, at best… but maybe that was all Zerazani needed, with how her manic smile curled upward in satisfaction.
The Smeargle held her hands to her mouth, a wicked smile on her face.
“At once just an experiment…in one night this became…my master work, all thanks to…that…” Zerazani lifted a finger, pointing at the edge of the canvas. “…that right there…”
Looking closer at the bottom left corner of the painting I saw a strange discoloration. It was a red stain, like something had been spilled…or splashed on it.
“On a most dull night at a most dreary art showcase, all the artists of Laesi lined up their artworks to…prostrate themselves to the Arcean nobility.” Zerazani said, her eyes staring deep into the painting. “What other reason does a painter attend than to sell their examples and earn a few patrons. Up and down the rows did the nobles walk, staring at portraits, landscapes, landscapes and portraits as one shops for food or perhaps for wood nails from a craft shop…”
The painter-dog…wrapped her arms around herself, her smile spreading.
“And all asked ‘where is Mistress Zerazani’s work? Hers is the best in all the land!’ There I stood, two landscapes, the usual fare…and this. Something new, something expressive and raw…”
Her smile widened…more and more.
“And they…hated it.” She said in a cooing, loving voice. “A Conveytion from the Banking & Finance guild splashed Eksai on it, telling me that ‘now with expensive drink staining the surface it may be worth something’!“
“Oh…that’s…sad?” Siranae tested.
“Not sad! Good! Amazing!” Zerazani continued. “Oh if you could have been there! He looked at my painting and he HATED it! He FELT something! I affected his mood with nothing but brushstrokes of oil paint on a white canvas! Tell me, what more power can one possibly wield?? It was…”
“Electrifying.”
“Then… the art was not in what you made- it was in how the nobles saw it?” I pondered aloud, strained to see things from her ecstatic point of view. “But, if there is power in what they feel- is that power only from… hatred, of what you create??”
I looked down at my paws, as though they could produce the tools to explain my sheer confusion.
“I could imagine there is joy to have… power over.” I mused. “Do your master works seek to make joy as well as hate…?”
“Frankly, dear Adelaide, if my works produce anything other than the dreamlike stupor the nobles of Laesi seem trapped in…” Zerazani smiled to herself, putting her hands back behind her back. “Well, it’s a start. A start to greater things. This is living. This can evolve and have a future…”
Zerazani chuckled to herself…though I caught sight of her hands tightly gripping one another as she spoke again.
“But what it seems it cannot do in this sickening world is make money, and flawed creation of Arceus that I am, I require food to even persist. Ever more does his design flaws prove to make this worthless sack of flesh my greatest hindrance.” Zerazani’s footsteps echoed along the silent hall as she walked. “All that is made is measured in its worth in coins and nothing more. Never anything more.”
Zerazani quietly continued on, and we followed. However, this time Siranae looked ahead…and then over her shoulder…then her other shoulder.
“Um…Adelaide…” Siranae whispered quietly. “I do hate to impose, but…”
I slowed my steps, hand still pressing on Siranae’s, while I whispered in return.
“Go ahead, dear.”
“Um…where is everyone?”
She looked over her should again.
Indeed…the only noises were Zerazani’s footsteps as they echoed through the hall. All that accompanied us were the many, many strange paintings that now surrounded us. Shapes and lines and circles…
But nobody else.
The thudding footfalls were like clanging steel… like the echoes of a prison in the dead of night. Zerazani had attested to ‘guests’- but we remained alone, in the depths of her exhibit.
It stirred a wretched fear inside me. The last time Siranae and I had allowed ourselves to be lured into such emptiness…
I did not wish to think of it. I stepped forward, just a hair faster than before.
“Miss Zerazani…” I called, not hiding my apprehension. “Are we headed to see the rest of your visitors? I’ve… scarcely seen places so fit for guests, and yet so devoid of them.”
My tails quivered anxiously.
“I almost worry we may get lost in the depths of your artistry, aha.”
Zerazani looked back at my inquiry.
She smiled warmly.
“Oh not to worry, the interior of the statue is not terribly complex.” The Smeargle promised. “The other noble guests will be further up ahead. They all, as you may expect, ghosted through this same tour with glazed-over eyes…it is nice to see you paying attention. It’s certainly a step above the others…”
Zerazani clapped her hands together.
“My, I just know this is going to go excellently. You and Siranae both are clearly the best for this job…”
Siranae’s apprehension melted at the compliment, her ears fluttering at the Smeargle’s reassurance. I gripped Siranae’s hand tighter- some desperate gesture for her to retain her composure. Even if she was strong, she couldn’t allow her guard to drop so carelessly…
Siranae perked at the grasp of my hand and only squeezed tighter in concern…but looked no less giddy, swishing and swaying with each step. She looked, for all intents and purposes, exactly like the kind of guild member Zerazani had asked for.
With another sunny smile, Zerazani turned.
“Tell me, Adelaide, do you like trees? Perhaps sculptures of them?”
“Well… I have not seen many sculptures of trees. Only one or the other, tree or sculpture…” I ventured. “But then again- I had not seen these un-realism paintings of yours until mere minutes ago. Today is a day of firsts, is it not…?”
The painter dog smiled at me.
“Excellent~! They’re just up ahead…”
Zerazani led us both into a larger room from the hall, and at once we could see it: A tree towered above. The leaves rustled and the branches swayed…
…but looking closer, I could tell the tree wasn’t real. It was simply a papery material with clay and other strange materials, painted with the same immaculate detail as Zerazani’s paintings, giving it a strikingly realistic appearance, right down to the occasional brown leaves.
The painter dog stood beside it, presenting it to us.
“Here we are. My first tree, a small oak.” She said, looking up at the impressive sculpture. “Were you to set it in a forest you’d never be able to tell.”
“Goodness gracious…” Siranae huffed in awe, looking up.
Staring further into the room, I could see there was another tree. And another.
Several trees. And bushes too. All made of the same material. Zerazani looked over towards it.
“It’s practically a sculpted botanical garden, is it not~?”
My eyes widened, as I marveled at the faux forestry decorating the scene. I had expected a pole with a green flag at its top… this was stunning.
“It is… all your work?” I started to turn, spinning around slowly and taking in yet more angles of what the woman had produced. “I don’t know what to say- it’s more alive than any kind of artwork I’ve seen…”
I looked to Zerazani again, letting a meek smile onto my face.
“I am thoroughly impressed, ma’am. How do you make such things…?”
“How…hmhm, how indeed.” Zerazani mused, her eyes tracing over the canopy of trees. “I am driven by a strong will in this. Normally I would, again, find the emulation of life rather dull, as I do with all other things of so many rules with nature…but…”
The Smeargle went quiet a moment in her explanation, continuing forward. Siranae and I quickly followed after. For a moment, Zerazani only walked forward, seeming to admire the work of the trees.
There were certainly many. It would have been impressive to make one detailed tree, but to make so many would have taken countless tireless hours of toil.
As she brushed aside the fake leaves of a bush, she finally gave me an answer.
“In truth, the difference in circumstances is that these trees are not the end product.” Zerazani concluded. “They’re simply a part of something bigger.”
Dozens and dozens of these facsimiles, hidden in the depths of an art gallery… and yet still, there was more?
I pushed away some of the threads of plant un-life, careful not to damage even a leaf, as I followed behind Zerazani. What was this odd… presence she was exuding?
I could only ponder the obvious.
“What are these ‘part of’, Miss Zerazani…? Does a paint-filled lake go well with the sculpted forest?”
“Hm…like Lake Laesi? No, I think not…~” Zerazani said, not even answering me, simply pushing aside another bush.
There was a rustle behind me as Siranae tumbled through the underbrush. The Audino huffed in slight distress, shaking away a few of the false leaves as she wormed her large body between bushes that were placed rather close together.
“Huff…Adelaide, I must confess I don’t believe this wing of art was built with someone of my stature in mind…” Siranae whined softly, holding her hands up to her chest as she looked about. “It’s rather hard to figure out where you’re supposed to go…”
Her eyes meandered around the faux plants as she followed me.
“Gracious…I could never do anything like this…” The Audino whispered, amazed, though with a tinge of annoyance as she brushed against another bush.
“Oh dear…” I helped to dust some painted leaves off of the Audino’s body as she rejoined me. “Stay close to me, if you can… I’ll try to navigate us through wider paths.”
Even I had to be cautious with the greenery that enclosed us, my tails errantly smacking at the foliage wherever I turned too quickly. I would have to quicken my pace just to stay close to Zerazani.
“The art is impressive, no doubt, but… not very accessible. I’ve never had to deal with a painting that would prevent me from walking…” I murmured to Siranae. “Did the nobles traverse through this as well…?”
“I should think so…I didn’t see any other way to get here, so I must assume everyone came through here…” Siranae whispered as she and I tried stepped over a bush, which I had to help Siranae a little over. “Still, I suppose I must still give my compliments to Zerazani that this certainly mimics a forest…”
Siranae gave a soft laugh.
“Why, the only time I have been in a forest it was much like this. Tumbling over bushes under a thick canopy.” The Audino giggled. “Though I confess, it is much more enjoyable with a friend than lost by myself.”
I could not hold back a giggle with her enduring enthusiasm, even as I grew more worried in the sprawling ‘ecosystem’ around us.
“Let us stay the course- I do enjoy exploring new locales with you, but I should hope we won’t get lost on our first mission.”
I looked onward, paw clutching Siranae’s hand tighter, turning my head this way and that to keep my focus on Zerazani.
“Pardon our delay, Miss Zerazani-!” I called. “We’re still getting the lay of the land, so to speak…”
Silence was my reply.
Siranae stopped, tugging my hand back. A clenched fist lifted to her chest as her ears flicked.
“Um…”
There was a pause…
…there was no more rustling.
Only…
…crickets. Chirping.
“…Miss Zerazani?”
I stopped. Even though I didn’t look at her, my paw gripped Siranae without relent.
My tails flicked.
“Miss Zerazani,” I called out harshly, as if to drown out the chirping around us. “We need some help navigating the…”
I shivered.
“The forest, here.”
…nothing.
The crickets chirped. The leaves lightly rustled in…wind? Were we not indoors?
I felt Siranae’s hand grip mine tighter as she stepped closer to my body. The trees now crowded around us both, the underbrush thick with no clear path forward.
A distant howl. Siranae jumped, pressing into me.
“A-Adelaide…?” The Audino stammered, her eyes flicking around. “This has perhaps begun to remind me a little too much of my experience in the forest…”
I was frozen on the spot. I hadn’t seen a forest attached to the art gallery, but… I had no idea where the woman had taken us.
“Siranae- can you hear the woman anywhere?” I asked, more panicked than I wished to sound. “Or- anything of note. The gallery shouldn’t…”
Shouldn’t what? I had no good answer- it shouldn’t do this to us, was all I could think of.
We were alone again. Like that night in Arceliaze. Like the frigid air before a body drops.
I held Siranae tight, starting to reverse course- if we had somehow exited Zerazani’s exhibit, all we had to do was find the entryway again. The hall of shapes and spirals. There would be walls that we could cling to, and they would show us our freedom.
Siranae carefully turned her head, her ears swiveling frantically as she tried to locate Zerazani. Her face was twisted into a look of confusion as she turned away from where Zerazani had gone…or had she? Were we both already so turned around?
“There’s…a lot of noise everywhere…it-” Siranae swallowed.
A faint, distant moan I could barely hear made the Audino shudder and cling to me.
“I confess Adelaide, I am unsure how close I wish to listen.”
The Audino held my hand tight as we began going backwards the way we came. Obviously we’d be able to make our way out and back into the exhibit. Zerazani might have been a little annoyed that we had lost her but…
…but, no, this didn’t look right. Were we going the right way? None of this looked familiar. Had…
…trees simply sprung up behind us? Was this even the same room? The foliage seemed to only get thicker as we proceeded deeper and deeper into the forest.
Siranae let out a silent whine, looking up at the canopy as she held my hand tight.
“Th-th-this is certainly an…um…impressive installation but…I think I am ready t-to leave it behind.” Siranae said, her voice quavering more and more with every step taken.
I took a breath- and held Siranae tight, body locking in place once more.
Zerazani had… misdirected us. Turned our path, so that heading backwards would only leave us more lost in the thicket. The room was not this large, and a cross-breeze mimicked the wind, whistling at the canopy above us…
I winced. Heat gnashed at the center of my chest.
This wasn’t a mission at all, was it? Just an attempt to lure Arceali Guild members into the woods and mock them for their ineptitude. And we were paying the price meant for someone like Caylii.
My tails struck at a bush, cleaving off one of the branches. I wanted to scream that infernal artist’s name… but now, I feared something else might meet our call.
I trembled, as I reached down and behind me- taking up the fallen branch.
“I confess, Dear Siranae… I am not… well-versed, in wilderness survival,” I said, voice weaker. “But I know that the forest is a place where weaker minds scramble in circles.”
I bent the stick slowly- the satisfying snap was kept to a minimum. I placed one nub of the stick on the forest floor, and started to walk where it pointed. My stick rested on…soil. When did the tile become soil and leaves? If this was still all a recreation…it certainly held up Zerazani’s standard.
“We must… make a record of our path- so that we do not circle the exhibit for an hour. Do you understand?”
“Oh…of course, but…” Siranae hummed, watching me close. “Should…we so brazenly destroy Ms.Zerazani’s work? Wouldn’t it be rude to-“
Another distant sound made the Audino’s ears flick and her body press into me.
“Oh, well…erm…I suppose you do know best, Friend Adelaide…” The Audino said quietly, her shaking head turning toward the sound deep within the faux forest.
The Audino reached up, taking a stick to begin marking the path as well, nodding for me to lead on.
But…as I trembled…Siranae squeezed my hand, silently promising to be there with me as we continued on into the dark forest.
For it was dark. A faint light just barely lit the forest but the further along we walked the more it seemed to grow dark, the leaves above thickening more and more.
A swipe of a bush. Branches got in my way.
Yet still there seemed to be no end in sight…even as it seemed as though we walked in one direction for so long it seemed to never end.
Siranae perked up, her ears flicking.
“Adelaide…” The Audino whispered, stepping close. “Ahead…I hear…wind howling…and…water. Like a little stream…?”
I shivered at the thought of it. We had gone beyond the point of recreation, beyond any sensibility of ‘art’…
Zerazani had… manufactured this place, whether proverbial or literal. For torment of the mortal mind. For more of that perverse joy that she felt, upon seeing her art damaged in a fit of rage.
For our hatred.
I shut my eyes tightly, for only a moment. Without releasing her hand, I looked back to Siranae.
“Please… guide us there. I will be your eyes, if you will be my ears.”
Even in the darkness of the newfound forest- I stared in each direction, scoping what may leap at us from the depths. We would not succumb to this place, nor to its designer.
Siranae nodded softly, gripping my hand tight and leading me forward towards the sound. For a moment, all I could hear was the rustling of the bushes as we both pushed past, swiping away at the underbrush.
…but soon…even I could hear it: A dull, bassy wind thrumming over the trees…and the distant trickle of water…
“Adelaide…look…” Siranae’s voice came next.
For deep in the dark of the forest there was a faint light, a ghostly pale blue light betwixt the leaves.
We shuffled forward, crunching upon fallen sticks and forest floor, approaching the light until we finally reached it, swiping away the brush to reveal…
…a castle.
Deep in this forest, in a wide clearing, a massive imposing stone castle stood before us. The sky…the sky above us was pitch black. Torches of dim blue light lined the outside, barely lighting the imposing, blackened silhouette of this…building within this building.
And there…the portcullis was open, allowing entry into the dark interior of the structure, silent but for the deep wind.
I stared up at the castle, and then the empty sky beyond it… all I could do was try to claim this as some kind of solace.
It was not the dead of night, no matter how many minutes Zerazani had lured us into the tacky halls and fake gardens. This was still some place indoors, despite all signs to the contrary.
And still… I feared what this castle could hold, ‘fake’ or otherwise.
“We… we should make a base within the sculpted castle,” I whispered. “If you can reach one of those torches, please take it for us… I do not want to wander in the dark for any longer than we must.”
Would the woman be waiting for us within? Was there a paper-mâché king seated on his clay throne…? Whatever it was- I would tear through it to see the sunlight again, as I trekked forward.
“I am…” Siranae’s breath caught as she took one of the blue torches, its light not helping much as we entered into the dark castle. “…what sort of job is this…? I…did not anticipate being so confused. This…”
She paused, sweeping the torch around. Hardly anything inside the castle could be seen except surrounding darkness. The stone floor was dusty and covered in grime, coupled with a rotting, frayed rug running from the entrance. This place looked as much like an ancient castle as it possibly could.
Siranae walked very close to me, as though worried she’d lose me as she did Zerazani.
The castle continued on and on, leading deeper into the dark as we moved from the entrance. Now I could hear the rushing water more clearly. It faintly sparkled in the dim candle light: little rivulets of water ran in small gutters on either side of the walkway we traversed, cascading down the steps we now approached.
I glanced at the water, glimmering under the pale light Siranae cast… this place did not end. Forestry into castles into steps for yet more terrain… even the solace of walls around us made no difference.
“…this isn’t helping people…” Siranae sighed, now sounding more…disappointed. “…there’s no saving anyone…I only wished to help.”
The girl’s failing voice caused another crackle of heat in my chest. Zerazani spoke endearingly of Siranae’s good nature- now she was dampening the light of Siranae’s soul. It would not stand.
“I’m… sorry, Siranae,” I spoke back to her, slowing my steps so that I could meet her pitiable gaze. “I thought our work could start small, I thought we would be helping someone… but this deceit- this is not what a girl like you deserves.”
I started to ascend the steps before us, pulling Siranae with me, for fear that she would be lost to the dark otherwise. The horrid crunch of a decaying carpet made my fur shiver.
“When we escape this wretched exhibit…I will march back to the guild, and find a job you can live your fantasy in.” I puffed, pushing onward. “There was a job to fight monsters at a far-off place called Mist Island, a place in need of saving- and we will go there. I promise you this.”
The Audino’s smile returned, saved from free-fall by my words as she gave me a small nod.
“Yes…I should love that very much, Adelaide.” Siranae said with a happier voice. “I am only sorry our first has been so…this.”
She looked about the dark castle, her thumb tracing over my hand. The stairs we walked up were draining, but the Audino made no complaints.
At last, we came to the top of the stairs, finding what seemed to be a long hall with multiple archways on either side…multiple rooms. Just as Siranae let out an exasperated sigh–
Her head perked. She whipped her head to the side, ears swiveling.
“Adelaide…do you hear…”
Her words tapered off…replaced only by an echoing sound deep in the dark hall. Deep in the rooms, bouncing off the walls…coming from every direction…
…a soft, trilling giggle.
…was it…Zerazani?
I froze. The sound wasn’t relieving in the slightest… the possibility of meeting that woman sent shivers through my body. And if it was… someone else-
I banished those thoughts from my mind. Without a sound, I pointed at one of Siranae’s ears, and then to the vague direction where she had first looked.
A wordless command, for fear of being found. Lead us to her… silently.
Siranae swallowed. It was the sole sound she made.
She started walking towards one of the doors on the left side of the dark hall, the room on the other end of the stone archway pitch black…
…but then she stopped. Her head turned as the giggle came from elsewhere.
Then again her head swiveled as it came from somewhere else again. Her grip on my hand tightened. I could feel her thrumming heartbeat through her palm.
At last her ears seemed to lock on…something. Her head turned and she began moving again, entering into one of the rooms.
It was devoid of anything. No torches, no furniture. Just a stone room full of grime…and seemingly empty…
Siranae’s head turned and she lifted the torch. The dim light bounced on the stone, casting a deep shadow on a small passageway on the far corner, like a narrow hall. Her ears were locked onto there.
Her hand was trembling.
But she was brave for me, stepping forward, paws crunching on the old stones of the castle.
The passage was just wide enough for the both of us it seemed, and as Siranae approached it, I could see it extended on…and on…twisting…forking.
Siranae’s breath was getting shakier. She seemed to be silently containing a whine.
Endless. This place was endless… through some trick of the mind, some distortion of the brush- we wandered on.
I felt my stomach turn, as Siranae weakened. On reflex, my paw squeezed into her hand- then pulled her arm against my body, to be held. Fire and water gnashed inside my chest.
Somewhere, at the end of this fictional castle… there would be an exit. Or there would be a woman, who would make us an exit. I’d pry her wretched tail from her body if it meant I could do so.
Where the path forked, we took a left- where the darkness came, I helped Siranae hold that failing light high. Silent, desperate.
My eyes would not shut. I was… ready.
The passage way went on…and on. Forking, twisting. Up and down. Criss-crossing.
The howling of the wind beat on the old stones. The laughter echoing through the darkness seemed to compound on itself.
Siranae held close to me as I grasped her arm. Her breathing was getting heavier. Every so often her ears would swivel and lose what she was tracking before she locked on it again.
“A-Adelaide…” Siranae whispered, her voice frail as the walls seemed to close in more and more, a maddening labyrinth of an artist I knew was enjoying every moment of our suffering. “…Adelaide I…I feel so…”
A loud huff drowned out the echoed giggling.
“I’m so scared, Adelaide. I am…I am sorry I am not holding composure I am so sorry I…” Her voice broke and vanished all at once, the hallway seemingly never ending.
“No, no-” I whispered, breaking my silence. I turned from the forward path… and pressed myself into Siranae. My arms sealed her in a hug, whether to calm her nerves or protect her from the endless dark.
“I am so, so… so tremendously sorry- that I have brought you here. I have failed you, and not even one mission into our work…”
I pressed my chin against her shoulder, and closed my eyes once more.
“You have nothing to apologize for… I swear this to you. We are going to set right what has been wronged…”
My weary eyes looked up at her.
“This place is just… some manifestation of her deranged glee- but be it building or field, it will end somewhere. And I will be with you, standing on the other side of this nightmare.”
A tighter hold. An affirmation to her as I spoke.
“I promise you, Siranae…”
Siranae…
…sniffed softly, squeezing me tight, arms wrapped around me in a hug both needing and protective. I was now her one saving grace in these twisting, narrow corridors, which even now seemed to crowd around us.
“And…I am sorry…my eagerness to do this work has brought misfortune to you…” Siranae said…to meet an apology with an apology…
…how very like her.
She squeezed again, trying to recompose herself.
“Whatever it is…I must maintain…I will protect you, if nothing else…” Siranae said quietly. “Even…if I’ve very frightened.”
The giggling beckoned. Siranae’s ears swiveled again and though it was clear she did not want to leave the comfort of my embrace…
…she slowly let go, turning back towards the corridor.
The stones went on yet still. The blue torch was slowly running out of its fuel to burn and if it were to ever burn out we would surely be left alone in the maddening darkness.
But just as the flames began to slowly lose their power, Siranae saw something.
Faint…a light.
Peeking through the cracks of an old wood door, thin and rotting. The dusty air showed the light beams that bled through the cracks of the door as we approached. We now had to sidle forward with backs and stomachs scraping against the narrowing hallway.
Siranae grunted with a final great effort, gripping my hand and SHOVING the door open, letting the both of us spill into the light!!
EVERYTHING hit us at once.
We splashed into ankle-high water, flower petals floating in its crystal surface. The light blinded the both of us.
And…
…and…?!
Siranae WHIPPED her head up, water dripping from her face in a panic.
A golden room glimmering with sunny ivory surrounded us now. Water cascaded from the ceiling upon a high stone altar, the water running down a beautiful rainbow of rushing streams down to the pool we waded in.
And before we could comprehend our surroundings, a voice PIERCED the room!
“What mortals have come to this place, hark, from the golden hills far yonder?”
For there, at the top of the great altar, lounging upon a massive seat, framed by the stain-glass depiction of a rising sun was…
Zerazani? Draped in robes of white and light brown, with a crown of flowers adorned on her head as she lie on a golden seat, staring down at us contemptuously. Her fur glimmered in the soft light that filled the room.
“Who enters the home of the EMPRESS QUEEN PRINCESS GODDESS OF ALL CREATIVITY: Zerazani~?”
I stared up from the dreary depths, into the golden gleam of… an artist’s well-crafted room. The gentle misted air of the waterfalls would have refreshed my weary soul, were it not for the burning, flaring anger that clouded my expression-
“This-“
I muttered weak nothings at the sight, looking around with astonishment.
“Why would you-“
Another glance around. The cords inside my skull were snapping, one after another. She had lured us through a hellish wasteland of her own devising, so that she might… pose and lounge in a holy image??
Siranae’s turmoil was for this alone??
I wanted to let loose my hissing tongue… on my client. My temporary employer. After all of that terror… she was unfazed. And she would be expecting hatred, would she not? To fuel the perverse satisfaction for which she crafted the art.
I could not let the fire roar out onto her. Not right now. I needed to keep some semblance of decency, for the sake of myself, for Siranae- for the coin at hand, and the defiance of her pleasure.
I rose a hand, trembling in concealed rage, while I offered the Smeargle a confused smile.
“We were… just getting through the exhibit, Miss Zerazani,” I said at last. “Your painting work is im… pressive. And we were wondering… if we could discuss guarding the artworks, that you had set up here.”
A booming laugh echoed over the beautiful stonework as the Smeargle threw her head back, guffawing with a volume befitting a goddess. The water rippled under me. Siranae shrank back, her eyes widened.
“Oh my sweet Adelaide, your innocence is amusing but unbecoming of a noble such as yourself.” Zerazani laughed, waving dismissively. “Whenever did I say you were to guard art? No no, that is not your role. In fact…your role is quiet the opposite.”
Siranae looked confused, lifting herself up to her feet.
“I…I don’t understand. Then…” Siranae hesitated, as though it’d be rude to speak. “T-then…”
“Siranae, you must speak up.” Zerazani commanded. “If you could, project a bit less meekness and a little more unabashed bravery in the face of impossible odds. There’s a good girl.”
Siranae sucked in a breath, looking even more confused…but, as expected of the poor girl, she complied.
“What!! Are!! We!! Here!! For????” Siranae belted out every word, her voice cracking at each word.
Zerazani’s smirk widened to a near manic look and she looked as though she was swallowing a giggle.
“You’re here to destroy art, as is befitting your guild.” Zerazani said. “Have you never heard of the legend of the Empress Queen Princess Goddess of Creativity? The beautiful, smart, loving, kind, innocent spirit of the artist that lived deep in the woods of Illaminamo whose ideals inspired a world of expression…?”
“No, I can’t say I ever have-“
“Of course you haven’t heard such a brilliant tale. It’s an original of my own, and a legend you shall experience…first hand~!” Zerazani took an enormous golden goblet in hand, swirling whatever was inside. “‘Tis rare I bestow such boons to just any sort that comes to me…I needed just the right kind of guild team. The sort that has no mind for others, no thought in their head but for their adventures, the sort akin to…children gleefully playing with matches for all the power they wield.”
Another laugh rippled the water.
“Yes…I’ve decided you two shall do nicely for this, my magnum opus.”
My arms quaked- if not from the overwhelming bellow of a laugh that she uttered, then from my disoriented fury. This maddening space was crafted- and in it, we were abandoned- to make a legend of her?
“Then-” My voice chirped, before I raised it to a more powerful shout as per Zerazani’s instruction. “Then what is our job, Miss? Are we to take the torch to those blasted woods and the festering castle- light it ablaze as if it never existed?”
I gestured to the ivory pillars and echoing rivers, the scowl growing on my face. I certainly had the anger with which to begin defiling and ruining such works of creativity, but I had not yet the drive. “Why cannot you simply ruin this place yourself?”
Another realization dawned on me, as I brought my glare to the self-proclaimed deity once more.
“And in such wreckage-” I began, suspiciously. “…what saves us from liability at the hands of the law?
“Liability?” Zerazani questioned. “That’s a ridiculous question coming from a member of the Arceali Guild, you silly girl. You know well the Arceali Guild is the law. Were you to kill me right now it would simply be a field sentence and field execution! Everyone knows that.”
Siranae looked horrified. Zerazani lifted a finger, however, with a smirk.
“But all in good time, sweet Adelaide.” The Smeargle said. “I’ve assembled quite a script for you, one you can perform to the letter by simply being the good little guild members I know you are…”
Zerazani leaned back, crossing her legs and lounging into the chair she sat upon.
“Of course, if you wish…you can always simply opt to leave. Though gravely disappointing to me I should think nobody would be quite as disappointed as our audience…”
Zerazani lifted a hand upwards, gesturing to something up above, near the rafters.
I looked up to where the Smeargle gestured and what I saw shocked me. It was now I saw that the ‘throne room’ of the madwoman was more akin to a coliseum, a circular arena.
And far above, surrounding us in the stand, watching us intently, were spectators.
Well-dressed and haggard, no less than thirty Poke’mon sat, limbs bound, gags tightly wrapped around their mouths to muffled them.
Some of them squirmed, watching our every move very closely.
Siranae gasped, taking a step towards me in horror.
“…Z-Zerazani’s…short list…of guests…” The Audno huffed in fear as she looked up.
Zerazani gleefully smiled as the reality dawned upon us.
“So, if you prefer…you can run. I will show you the door…” Zerazani said. “…and you can watch this statue go up in flames in a grand fireball from a safe distance!”
Another laugh ROCKED the floor underneath us.
“Of course, any lesser guild team would happily take that way out.” Zerazani smirked knowingly. “But it matters not to me. Either way, a legend shall be made tonight.”
For all the warmth that this room carried… a wretched chill wracked my body.
This was not the destruction of a lunatic’s own work… this was the guillotine of foolish nobles, roped into Zerazani’s allure, made her participants.
Staring up at the hostages that surrounded us, squirming and looking down at us pleadingly, the gravity truly dawned on me.
Lives teetered upon the balance of our choice… and, no matter what she purported, there was no chance of the Arceali Guild forgiving two members to walk away from the possible deaths of high-ranking Arceans- let alone two gormless strangers like us.
Our escape would be our demise at the hands of the Arceali Guild. These hostage nobles were our responsibility.
My gaze fell back onto Zerazani- the vigor had left my body, and the raucous laughter now made my bones quake.
We had been lured into the trap, just as her hostages. And now, we had our part to play.
I took up Siranae’s hand, squeezing it without relent.
“We understand…” I said at last, breath huffing feebly. I raised my voice once more. “And, in performing that script… the audience-“
I looked up to the squirming souls in the rafters.
“Are they to remain unharmed?”
“Oh well absolutely.” Zerazani promised. “A performance may include its audience but hardly seeks to harm them, only…”
The Smeargle twirled an ear innocently, as though she had not already laid out her intentions.
“Unfortunate things occur when things do not go according to plan.” She finished with a malicious smile. Siranae’s hand gripped mine even tighter.
With a swing of her legs, Zerazani stood before us at the top of the stairs.
“The story is a simple one.” Zerazani began. “Two guild members come to the castle, sent by villainous Poke’mon of the golden hills seeking one thing: to destroy and enslave the creative spirit. Art is to be on a leash, confined to buildings to augment their value, to be used for the meaningless clout of a noble, and expression must be stamped out at once lest Poke’mon break their own bonds.”
Zerazani lifted a finger to Siranae and I.
“You two shall return to the Golden Hills, tell your masters that the goddess will not acquiesce her domain to them…and then you shall begin your assault upon my castle, my home where I diligently protect the creative spirit…”
Her smile widened. Her arms outstreched as her gaze lifted up.
“…and though I fight my hardest…”
Her hands leapt to her chest.
“My life will be lost. You shall kill me and my blood shall flow and drown the world into its self-destruction!”
The robed Smeargle’s gaze return to us. The light shined behind Zerazani, her shadow swallowing our forms.
“So…shall we let our show begin, dearest Adelaide of Coronatus~?”
I nodded, listening to each accursed word with rapt interest. Even to the end, where she spoke of her own demise in glorious detail- I stifled the terror growing within me, and nodded once more.
“If… if that is all you request, Miss-“
I winced, trying to continue the ruse for the sake of our audience.
“…Queen Empress of Creation, Zerazani-” I said, despising every syllable.
Zerazani’s smile seemed to only grow wider and wider as I agreed to my part in her mad play. Her hands came together as she became more and more giddy.
I lifted Siranae’s hand, worried for what our story’s ending might mean for her. Though my heart raced, I kept my form steady. The images already began to fill my mind. The paint chipped off of burnt trees, and a castle falling to rubble… and the swath of manic nobles attached to that destruction.
Even the death of Zerazani did not inspire any joy in my heart.
“Where… are the Golden Hills?” I asked. “And… how shall we begin this assault, that the audience will not be lost as part of it?”
Behind us, the massive doors creaked open. A gust of hot air billowed at our backs from the dark room beyond. Siranae glanced back in fear.
“Oh no need to worry yourselves. I’ll be happy to show you.” The Smeargle said, her face alight in glee.
Zerazani outstretched her arms, palms facing us, fingers splayed as though she were casting a spell.
“ARCEALI GUILD.” The Smeargle’s voice BELLOWED. A wave of the water underneath our feet POUNDED our ankles. “You are UNWELCOME in MY DOMAIN. And thus shall you be CAST OUT back to your accursed golden hills where art whithers and dies and leave me to my castle which shall now become a fortress against you and ALL OTHER invading forces that dare try and cut me down!!”
A powerful BURST of wind WHIPPED in the air, billowing against us, forcing our feet to slide backwards. Siranae covered her face, gritting her teeth.
“B E G O N E!!”
The gust increased A THOUSAND FOLD, sweeping us off our feet! Siranae screamed as we were plunged backwards into the dark!
I felt like I was falling, wind ROARING in my ears as the sight of the throne room FLEW AWAY from us. Bricks and stone sailed past! Trees rocketed by! My body flipped and twisted in freefall backwards out of the woods!
A harsh sun blared on us and at last we SLAMMED into cushioning sand. Siranae flew into the ground, rolling and bouncing, kicking up dust.
The Audino coughed, her body quivvering as we…suddenly found ourselves somewhere completely new. Siranae lifted her head as she tried to push herself to her knees…and looked about in horror.
“A…Adelaide…?” Her voice came, terrified and weak as all around we saw…
The impossible.
A desert of golden sands that seemed to…twist up? Plumes of dust rolled over the hills. A blinding sun lit the land overhead.
Where…
Where could this have even been?
~ CHAPTER 14 ~
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