Session 20, VP1

Weary, but with no time to spare, Bergie & Naivara rushed over to the entrance to Frigga’s Womb. The moon above was sinking towards the horizon, and a chill was in the air, seeming at odds with their previous daytime journeys across the sands. Bergie released Stompy & Rhonda, and the group set out across the desert in haste. Remembering that the nest cave had been beneath the cliff face, the trainers resolved to stay as close to it as possible, so as not to lose their way.

Each stride forward only caused their dread to mount. With the light from the moon fading, Naivara released Flamon, asking him to light their way. Following the fluttering orb his flames created, our heroes soon caught sight of some humanoid figures ahead. They seemed to be moving in an odd, jerky gait.

Seeing through Flamon’s eyes, Naivara had him swoop closer for a better view. Thankfully, the creatures turned out to be a family of Cacturne, & not any possessed townsfolk. The group took care not to disturb the Pokemon, and continued on their way. The sky above them was slowly lightening in hue, though the sun itself had yet to make an appearance.

If their memory served correctly, they were nearly at the entrance to the cave. Suddenly, alarm bells began going off in Naivara’s mind; Flamon had spotted a familiar, monstrous form, seemingly fixed on his position. Realizing that their light had caught Soltinmunnr’s attention, Naivara cried out to let Bergie know, before turning Rhonda around mid-stride.

Sand plumed into the air as Naivara & Rhonda steered back towards Drillsberg. A jagged, crackling set of spines crested a nearby sand dune, & Bergie froze. Soltinmunnr had nearly killed Bergie the last time they had encountered it. Every nerve in his body screamed at him to run, but Bergie’s heart spoke with a louder voice. The cave was just thirty feet ahead, with his injured friends inside.

With a silent prayer, Bergie leaned down, held onto Stompy tight, and urged him to full speed. Soltinmunnr’s yellow eyes gleamed in the fading night. A cold, cruel intelligence observed its two potential targets, weighing each opportunity. With a loud exhale, the Statispine turned to follow the tracks Naivara was leaving behind her.

Bergie felt a small amount of relief as the beast averted its gaze. He could now reach Gunnar & Saffa, but Naivara was now in danger as well. Rhonda slowly realized that her trainer was nowhere to be found, and ground to a halt. Naivara looked over her shoulder, & saw Soltinmunnr trudging in her trail.

Fighting back her panic, Naivara managed to coax Rhonda into continuing in a calm voice, promising they would see Bergie soon. With her flight resumed, Naivara mentally asked Flamon to hover where they had briefly stopped, hoping to lure Soltinmunnr a bit off her own tail. The sun was finally beginning to rise as the exit into the canyons grew ever closer.

Surging into the cave, Bergie & Stompy skidded to a stop. It didn’t take long to spot Gunnar sitting on a rock on the other side of a sea of Trapinch. He looked injured, & seemed barely able to keep his eyes open. Taking care not to trample the wild Pokemon, Bergie led Stompy in a beeline towards his friends.

Gunnar weakly gave a greeting as Bergie immediately started pulling out his medicinal supplies. Before he could begin, Gunnar asked him to see to Saffa first, as he thought she might be dying. Gunnar had laid out a sleeping bag, and bound Saffa’s wound in a spare shirt. Her skin was pale, and, worryingly, she did not appear to be sweating. Bergie checked for a heartbeat, finding a weak tattoo in response. Setting his face in a determined expression, he began to peel back the improvised bandage.

Back in the desert, Naivara felt a twinge of pain in her mind, as she sensed Flamon being knocked unconscious. Thankfully, Soltinmunnr seemed more focused on their escape than stopping for a small snack. The booming thud of the monster’s footfalls increased in pace behind her, as Naivara charged Rhonda into the canyon.

Out of breath, Rhonda wheezed as the pair came to a stop. The gap in the canyon wall was tight enough that Soltinmunnr couldn’t fit through it without effort. Would it be enough to save them? Naivara didn’t know, as the ground began to tremble beneath her. She swallowed, and turned to look out into the desert, finding luminous reptilian eyes meeting her stare.

With the bandage removed, it was easy to see that Saffa’s wound was grievous. Her upper arm had been skewered straight through, and the wound was pulsing with drops of living shadow. The top priority had to be closing the wound to halt the bleeding. Not knowing how much blood Saffa had already lost, Bergie didn’t want to waste time with stitches.

Beckoning Stompy closer, Bergie drew his hammer. After exchanging a quick glance with the Pokemon, Bergie held the metal head of the hammer inside Stompy’s flames. When the metal began to glow, he withdrew it, steeled himself. With a deep breath, Bergie pinned Saffa’s arm in place with one hand, & pressed the gleaming steel onto Saffa’s wound.

Soltinmunnr did not blink as it surveyed its prey. Naivara & Rhonda were both too exhausted to run further into the canyon, so all they could do was wait. The beast’s long, reptilian snout examined the canyon wall, large nostrils sniffing all the while.

Malice danced through Soltinmunnr’s eyes, as it pulled itself up to its full height, looming over the canyon entrance. Staring down at Naivara, it flexed its claws. The only sounds were the beating of Naivara’s heart, and the grinding of Soltinmunnr’s teeth.

When the grinding ceased, Naivara’s heart followed suit, skipping a beat. Her whole body tensed, waiting for the attack……but with a huff, Soltinmunnr took a step backwards. Its tail dragging on the ground, the monster set off to the North, in search of an easier meal.

The sickening smell of flesh bubbling rose from where Bergie’s hammer burned white-hot on Saffa’s arm. Though unconscious, her brow furrowed, and her face contorted in pain. When the hammer’s glow began to dim, Bergie quickly pulled it back, examining the crude cauterization.

It would not win any awards, but one side of the injury was sealed. That was all they needed for the moment. Heating the hammer once more in Stompy’s fire, Bergie gently rolled Saffa to her side, exposing the exit wound.

Stompy grimaced, & watched in mute fear as Bergie once more set to burning Saffa’s flesh. Her body weakly spasmed beneath the touch of the burning metal. Bergie swallowed back bile as he noticed Saffa fall limp mere seconds after applying the hammer the second time. Too afraid to stop, Bergie remained stock still, until the hammer’s warmth began to fade once more.

In a flash, he tossed the hammer aside, and held his fingers to Saffa’s neck, searching for a pulse. Gunnar leaned in, fighting to stay conscious. Nothing, Bergie could feel nothing. No pulse, no breathing, no movement. As the trainers waited for a response, Stompy gently leaned his head down towards Saffa. Tears falling from his eyes, he rested his chin on her forehead.

There was a moment where everything in the world seemed to stand still, before Bergie felt the barest of tremors. A pulse as weak as the flap of a butterfly’s wings, fighting to stay aloft. At the sight of Bergie’s nervous grin, Gunnar let himself slump backwards in relief. With careful movements, Bergie poured some medicine into Saffa’s mouth, and re-wrapped her injury as best he could.

Once Saffa was as stable as possible, Bergie next spent some time bandaging up Gunnar. As they were finishing up, dawn had come round; the Trapinch & Vibrava began their morning ritual. The cacophonous buzzing almost felt like physical blows at this close a range. The morning call ended, & the desert migration began in earnest.

As the last of the Trapinch waddled out of the cave, Naivara & Rhonda trundled in. Bergie immediately ran across the cave & swept the smaller trainer up into a hug. Naivara took a second to catch her breath after the surprise hug, before catching her friends up on what happened topside.

With the group reunited, Gunnar stressed that they needed to get Saffa back to town as soon as possible. Although he had done the best possible job given the circumstances, Bergie agreed that more advanced medical help would be needed.

Working together, the party used Gunnar's tarp & ropes to create a rough sling. Tying one end to Mary, and the other to Stompy, they were able to carry Saffa in relative comfort. In the desert sun, Naivara pointed out that there was no telling when or where Soltinmunnr could appear again. Trekking straight across the sands, carrying a wounded person, could very well be fatal for all involved.

Though he still felt weak from his recent ordeal, Gunnar craned his neck to take in the cliff wall surrounding Frigga's Womb. It was tall, but not insurmountable. Releasing Skeldr, Gunnar once again asked him to use Rock Blast to create rough handholds.

Every boulder let out a resounding crack upon hitting the wall, causing our heroes to wince. If this took too long, the sound might very well draw in the attention they'd been hoping to avoid. For safety's sake, Naivara & Bergie kept their eyes on the horizon while Skeldr worked. The dust settled as Skeldr took a brief rest.

His flurry had hewn out a few small ledges & platforms, grips to aid an ascent. Gunnar recalled Skeldr, and equipped his climbing gear. His muscles ached worse than they ever had before, & and the sweat on his hands threatened to make him fall. Still, he rose.

With a heaving sigh, Gunnar managed to at last pull himself on top of the cliff ridge. After a brief moment of respite, he uncoiled the remaining length of rope, tossing it down to his friends. Bergie & Naivara quickly tied Saffa to the rope in her sling, while Gunnar released Skeldr & Mary to help him pull.

Moving slowly to avoid bumping Saffa into the cliff wall, Gunnar & his Pokemon managed to haul her safely to the top. Getting Naivara & Bergie up was a much easier endeavor in comparison. Reunited, the group re-attached Saffa's sling to Stompy & Mary. Once she was secured, they set out as fast as they dared.

Sounds of life could be heard in the nearby tall grass, but the party stayed close to the cliff edge, hoping to avoid any confrontations that could slow them down. A few hours later, they found themselves passing close by the Colosseum. Thankfully, it didn't look any worse than the last time they had seen it. Given that, & Saffa's pressing need for medical attention, they pressed on.

Their eyelids hung heavy as their steps began to falter. At this point, all of them had gone without sleep for well over a day, and the toll was being felt. It was all they could o not to fall over while riding the platform elevator down to Drillsberg. Our heroes stumbled the last leg of their trek, finally reaching the Pokemon Center.

Oddly, there was a huge amount of footprints in the dust surrounding the building, but no time could be spent investigating. The group lurched through the door, and hailed down the first nurse they could find. Although the nurse was clearly exhausted & overworked, she swept the group into the guest rooms, currently housing the most heavily injured townsfolk. Saffa was not in the clear yet, but, for the moment, the group had succeeded in saving her life.

Naivara voiced curiosity about what had been happening in town during their absence, but struggled to stifle her own yawns. Gunnar settled heavily into a chair next to Saffa's bed as Naivara spoke.

All three of our heroes had been through taxing ordeals, and they were sure yet more lay ahead. With his eyelids closing, Gunnar told his friends that they could investigate & explore if they wanted, but he wanted - no, needed - sleep. Bergie & Naivara exchanged a look. There was no point pushing themselves unnecessarily.

For now, they would sleep & recover. And when they woke, they would see what the day brought with it.