Session 32, VP2

The Pokémon Ranger before them immediately accosted the group, assuming they were deliberately taking advantage of a Pokémon in distress. Lauren attempted to diffuse the tension, but their lack of sleep was catching up to them. It was clear the woman didn’t believe that the group was intending to release the Steelix, and she insisted on accompanying them to do so. 

As the group walked back up the tunnel, the Ranger stayed behind them, one hand clutching something behind her back. Upon reaching the exit, Bronze tossed the Steelix out of its Pokéball. The act of fully releasing the Pokémon broke the Pokéball, but not beyond repair. For its part, the Steelix seemed quite surprised that our heroes had held true to their word. It took in the surrounding area, before bowing its head to the group. Before it tunneled away, Bronze managed to stick one of her business cards into the Pokémon’s metallic segments. 

Seeing this act seemed to go a long way towards cooling the Ranger’s suspicions. With a softer expression on her face, she set to cleaning up some of the group’s Pokémon that were exhausted from all of their help digging. Apologizing for her initial suspicions, the woman introduced herself as Reidun Jorthborg. In her duties as a Ranger, she had run into many people who poached, smuggled, or otherwise mistreated Pokémon: she’d begun to grow a bit jaded, and that colored her impression of the party. 

The group agreed that it was a reasonable assumption to make, given the circumstances, and accepted her apology. All of them were fairly fatigued from the day’s efforts so far, so they decided to take a brief rest to eat inside the tunnel. Reidun led them back to where the group had found her. Oddly, there was only a small amount of room on the other side of where the Steelix had been- no visible entrance or exit to explain how the Ranger had gotten there in the first place. 

Conversation while they rested hit varied topics, but continually circled back to how Reidun had found and reached the Steelix. Clearly nervous at the questioning, she repeatedly fell back on her skills as a Ranger for explanation. It didn’t take the psychics in the group to tell she was lying, and badly. Browbeating her didn’t seem to be making any headway, so the group changed tack. 

Instead, they explained what they were doing in the area: how they had been attempting to find the source of the growing poison mist, to hopefully stop it. Still fighting through mental fog, Lauren attempted to explain how they believed that some Legendary Pokémon were involved, and how they had played a part in awakening one of them. The muddled explanation did little to convince Reidun to divulge her secrets. 

It seemed the group was primed to take their leave, when Sylvie asked if the Ranger had any partner Pokémon of her own. With a smile, she released a Donphan, a Marowak, and a Marshstomp. There was a moment of bonding over everyone’s respective Pokémon, which clearly caused the Ranger to open up a bit more. 

So it was, that when the group made to head out, she hesitantly called out for them to stop. Rubbing the back of her neck, she explained that she could likely help the group reach the cave systems beneath the Bed and Kiln. When asked how, she got quite shy, asking if the group could turn around while she attempted to find any nearby caves. Though they were about to humor her request, Bronze interjected, asking if Reidun was about to do magic. 

The woman stood with her jaw agape, completely gobsmacked. In a meek voice, she asked how the group had known. Bronze continued onwards, explaining the groups various brushes with the extranormal. This was the last bit of convincing Reidun required, and she reached once more behind her back. Bringing her closed fist in front of her, she opened it quickly. In the space of a few seconds, soil and earth coalesced from the tunnel walls, forming a spear in her grip. The weapon stood at least a head taller than the Ranger and appeared to be made entirely of dirt- save for the head. The lethal point of the spear was made of an odd, multihued metal. Energy emanating from it struck a chord in Reinhold’s chest: this had to be another one of the Swordthane relics. 

Reidun explained how she had come across the odd spear in Frigga’s Womb some months ago. From her story, it was clear she didn’t know anything about the origins of the weapon or its significance. As she put it, it was simply another tool for her to use to help wild Pokémon. The spear was closely tied to the Ground type and allowed her a limited amount of control over the element. When traveling across Sol’s Bed a few days prior, she had picked up the seismic waves of the Steelix’s distress. After that, she had used the weapon’s magic to work on freeing the Pokémon. 

Reinhold told the Ranger that they would need to have a deeper conversation about the spear at a safer time but made sure to give her a brief warning about Aegson. With Reidun’s aid now added to their quest, our heroes made their way back up to the caldera atop Sol’s Bed. Earlier, Ariela had found evidence indicating that the feline Legendary may have entered the volcano through the caldera. 

Not knowing any better places to begin searching, the group asked Reidun to see what she could sense. Having learned from Bronze that Sylvie was psychic, she asked if the Empath could help her reach out into the aether. Sylvie closed her eyes, breathing slowly and deeply. 

As the duo began to channel their energies into the haft of the spear, Lauren suddenly collapsed behind them. This disrupted the pair’s concentration, as the group rushed to make sure their friend was okay. Luckily, it seemed that Lauren had simply fallen asleep on their feet, their restless night taking its toll. Realizing that it might be better for everyone if the group recharged a bit, Herleif helped them set up camp. He cooked the group a hearty stew to help boost their health, and their spirits. 

Feeling ashamed that she had failed at searching with the spear, Reidun volunteered that she and her Pokémon would take watch through the night. In the morning, it was clear that Lauren echoed those feelings to some degree, though it seemed muted somehow. Once everyone had completed their morning routines, the party’s two psychics stood on either side of Reidun at the “shore” of the ashen lake. 

The three minds bent to the task at hand, as psychic waves of sonar emanated from where the spear met the earth. After only a moment, Reidun opened her eyes in surprise. She had managed to discover that there was a chute somewhere close to the center of the caldera, leading down into the cave systems. Now, they only had to come up with a way to reach it. 

Using her enhanced vision, Bronze peered throughout the depths of the lake. She was able to discern three shapes of Pokémon that might be helpful in navigating the soot safely. Reinhold prepared his fishing rod, with Bronze giving him directions on where to aim. Nearly as soon as his hook disappeared beneath the “waves”, there was a sharp tug on the line. Whatever Pokémon was on the other end was fairly strong and threatened to break loose. 

Quickly, everyone in the group formed a line, adding their strength to Reinhold’s as he reeled in his catch. It was a Delphox that eventually breached the surface, enraged at the fishing hook stuck in its ear. Sylvie excitedly pointed out that its psychic powers could help them move through the ash safely. While Reinhold and the rest kept the Delphox distracted, Reidun began spinning her arm as if wielding a lasso. Small runic tattoos on her wrist began to glow and circle through the space around her. When the runic circle had grown large enough, it encircled the Delphox. The band shrunk quickly; when the band made contact with the Delphox’s fur, the Pokémon calmed instantly. 

Through her new bond with the Pokémon, Reidun was able to confirm that the Delphox would be able to make a psychic “bubble” for the group to travel in. Moments later, the party found themselves walking slowly along the bottom of the “lake”. Shadows moved past periodically, but their travel was thankfully undisturbed. 

Sure enough, they shortly came across a chute leading into the volcano. Bronze was the first to zip down the slide, followed by Reinhold. The rest of the group went next in single file, as Reidun stayed till the end. With everyone safely inside, she asked the Delphox to maintain the bubble around the entrance for a few moments more, before releasing it from her bond. The ride downwards was longer than expected, and unnervingly fast. The smoothness of the chute meant they were clearly not the only beings to have traveled this way recently. 

Our heroes came to a stop in a pitch-black cave. Once every was together, the group turned on flashlights and made torches. There was a gap at the end of this small room, sloping further down into the chthonic dark. The further along this path the group went, the hotter the air became. Ariela released Jelly Bean, asking her to help keep the trainers cool as best she could. 

It didn’t take long before a flickering light could be seen from the end of this tunnel. An impossible scene greeted them in the next part of the cave system: dense, coiling flames covered large parts of the ground, swaying like tall grass in the wind. Though there was no visible source of light aside from the flames, the trainers were able to feel the warmth of the Sun’s rays on their face somehow. Additionally, they were no longer alone. 

Small Berry bushes dotted the length of this cave, and small hordes of Pokémon were eagerly eating from them. The Pokédex registered these Pokémon as Gulpin and Swalot, a voraciously hungry species. It also noted that they were known for having toxic sweat. As they watched, the hungry blobs would pluck fruit off of the bushes, only for the fruit to almost immediately grow back. 

Curious, Ariela sneakily managed to take one of the Berries herself. Sylvie was able to identify it as a Cheri Berry, known for being quite Spicy. During her explanation, Ariela took a bite out of the fruit. The look on her face showed just how much she regretted doing so: clearly these were particularly potent Berries. 

While their friend guzzled water, the party could hear odd, squelching noises coming from another exit from the cavern. Across the room, two large, red masses slowly made their way past. The Pokédex registered these as more of the same Pokémon, but they were somehow changed. Their skin had changed to a bright red, speckled with green, and they stood at least twice as big as the “regular” Pokémon. 

The party discussed what they had found thus far. Could the feline Legendary be responsible for the odd environment they were standing in? Something had warped this space, and given how they had fallen into a distortion when they heard it roar, it was a reasonable guess. Gulpin and Swalot had toxic sweat, so it was likely that eating extremely spicy food for an extended period of time was responsible for the poison mist above ground. They had already learned that the carbonized trees in the Kiln acted as vents of a sort. 

These answers galvanized the group to make their way deeper. The feasting Pokémon paid them no heed as the trainers entered the tunnel where they’d spotted the oddly-colored creatures. Finding themselves in a T-junction, they decided to head in the direction the Pokémon had come from, rather than follow them. 

A few dozen feet later, the tunnel came to an end. A small, roughly-hewn hole was the only way forward. From the room it led to, a blazing light could be seen ebbing and flowing. Could this be what Ariela had been tracking? With gleeful curiosity, she poked her head through the entrance. When she gave the all-clear, the party made their way inside. 

The room they now stood in was fairly large. Its walls were unnaturally smoothed and rounded, forming a sphere. At the dead center of this strange space was a rocky dais, playing host to the source of the gently strobing light. Intense light made it difficult to get a good look at the creature sleeping before them, but the group was able to time their looks when its glow was dimmest. Its shape was quadrupedal, and oddly-shaped. Both body and limbs appeared to be made of a slowly shifting, nearly-liquid mass. The Pokémon’s dense, metal head lay upon the ground, eyes rusted shut. 

Their Pokédex registered this as Heatran. Clearly not the feline Pokémon they had seen signs of, this must be its rival for ownership of Sol’s Bed. The air in this room was hot, but in a different way than the previous caverns: this was more akin to the feel of standing near a furnace, as opposed to raw sunlight. 

Ariela took a moment to draw the Legendary in her notebook. As she was finishing, the hair on everyone’s necks began to stand on end. A dull, rumbling growl echoed not just through the air, but inside the groups’ chests. Like a bolt, a massive, white paw crashed through another small exit from the room. The light Heatran gave off limned the metallic fur of the intruder as it thrashed around violently. In vain, the new Pokémon tried to reach Heatran. The tantrum lasted for several terrifying minutes. Until finally, the beast withdrew its arm, its rage spent. A familiar bellowing roar trailed behind, as the monster withdrew, for now......