Session 40, VP2

There was still some time to kill before night would fall, so the group made their way to the Colosseum. At the North end of Streamsford, it was hard to miss the only stone building in town. It sat surprisingly low to the ground.

Entering through the gates revealed that the building was carved into the earth itself, with rings of seats radiating down to the arena floor. Two figures were engaged in a sparring match below. Seeing no one else present, the group decided to go say hello.

The gladiators exchanged friendly greetings, & introduced themselves as Randolph & Selby. They were trying to sharpen their skills before the yearly championship bouts at the end of December. In further conversation, our heroes explained their current quest. The details were hard to believe, but the gladiators wished them success in their hunt.

When the pair introduced their Pokemon, Bronze’s Pokedex astounded them. This led to discussion of Perthro- as all things do- who appeared to be a piece of local folklore. Randolph gushed about childhood stories of a wanderer who would leave gifts to the well-behaved each year. Apparently, he had gotten a love of reading from the books he had believed his parents had gotten him as a child. Finding out this story was true brought him near to tears.

Selby soon redirected the talk back to matters related to the arena. She informed the group that there was a fighting competition planned in Hammerfest in the next month or so. The main event would be a face-off between Skirlic, the Hammerfest Gym Leader, & Ilvri, the Blademill Gym Leader. A rivalry such as theirs rarely appeared, & this one blazed red-hot.

As the sun began to set & the talk died down, Reinhold took down the gladiators’ contact information. One farewell later, the party scrounged up dinner to prepare for the night ahead. They waited until the ghostlights became visible through the gentle mist to head to the lake’s edge.

Some of the townsfolk they had spoken to had left a few canoes set out for their use. Paddling across the still waters, the group still couldn’t see any lighthouse at the lake’s center. Still, the townsfolk had no reason to have lied- they pressed on. The dancing ghostlights increased in number the closer they drew to the center.

To move forward a bit more safely, Bronze activated her enhanced vision. With her guidance, the party came to a stop against a small ring of rock, just below the lake’s surface. Water poured over it into a massive sinkhole. As the group hitched their canoes to pitons staked into the rock, they began to notice a round pillar of sorts within the sinkhole. Odd: they hadn’t seen it at their first glance.

Now, the pillar appeared only 10’ below them. The round, flat stone didn’t quite reach the sides of the hole, allowing the water to continue its fall. Upon its barren surface sat a single, withered tree, overlooked by a run-down shack. Some of the trainers exchanged looks. This was certainly odd, but they had seen considerably worse on their travels.

Bronze took the lead in approaching the hut. Knocking on the door caused it to open slightly. Within sat a withered ole woman, with clouded eyes. Aside from a fireplace & the chair she sat on, the building appeared empty. Once our heroes were inside, Bronze attempted to speak to the woman. She explained that Gunnar Toxaurus-Roar had advised her to seek council regarding Aegir from “a light-house keeper named Kolga”.

At this, the door to the shack closed, & the group noticed the old woman now stood behind them. Up close, she appeared beyond ancient, akin to a draugr. But with a welcoming gesture, she motioned for the group to take seats around a small table that had appeared when they weren’t looking.

They looked at their surroundings as they joined her. Slowly, mostly when their eyes were elsewhere, the shack appeared to be…rebuilding itself. Broken timbers healed, furniture rose from dust, & the ghostlights that lingered here slowly moved within Kolga’s chest.

Bronze spoke up again, reiterating some of the questions she’d had. Was Aegir protecting her, as Gunnar had believed? Kolga chuckled a bit before replying. “There are hands upon your shoulders, yes, but none of mine kin.” She continued, saying that Bronze had been “the last to arrive”.

Our heroes expressed confusion at this. Without another word, Kolga held out her hands. Everyone then linked theirs together to form a circle. Suddenly, they were seeing Vanachrom from a bird’s-eye-view: so high above that the lands looked to be nothing more than swathes of myriad colors. Yet, the waters…in the oceans surrounding Vanachrom lay grim monuments.

An untold number of ships, from various lands, all broken under the waves. The remnants of their jagged masts seemed almost like teeth limning the country. Thankfully, this vision proved brief. Shaken, Bronze thought for a second, before asking where she should be. Kolga whispered two words into her ears, & the Capture Specialist nodded her head. The woman then turned her gaze to the rest of the group. Her bearing indicated she was opening the floor to other inquiries.

Reinhold asked if the group were on the right path to resolve the issue with Solgaleo. Kolga nodded, & held out her closed hand. When Reinhold matched her motion, she let a small orb of metal drop into his palm. Whatever it was made of, it was strangely light & cool. A crescent moon was engraved onto it, & the slightest touch brought forth a beautiful, echoing chime. Kolga explained that echoes could prove powerful, to those willing to listen to them.

Next, Sylvie hesitantly spoke up. She mentioned Reidun & Donner, & how worried she was for them. Was there a way to help them, or see where they were? Kolga took up one of her hands, & Sylvie was swept away in another vision.

Below here, Reidun could be seen riding along on her Donphan. The land felt like Vanachrom, but someplace distant. Regardless, the ranger appeared to be in good health, laughing & smiling at her Pokemon. A wind kicked dust into a swirling screen.

The dry, brown hue of the dust quickly paled to white. Snow- familiar snow, at this point wasn’t it?- made it nearly impossible to see. She could just barely discern a campfire beneath a nearby rocky overhang. Around it, she saw two familiar figures, & two unknown to her.

Donner stared deep into the flames, his gaze distant. Before the vision faded, Sylvie could feel that the soldier seemed to have found a focus, of sorts, to help fight his inner demons. Even as it disappeared, there was a …closeness lingering behind. As if, despite their distance, their paths may cross soon in the future.

Finally, it was Lauren’s turn. The researcher sat dazed & mute. Trying to find the right words, they opened their mouth in silence. When the words wouldn’t come, Kolga laid her hand on Lauren’s arm, & nodded.

By this time, the house seemed nearly re-complete. Even Kolga herself seemed rejuvenated: she looked younger than she had upon greeting her, & her eyes were now a clear blue. The air teemed with ghostlights, bits of her essence, returning to their home in her heart. She smiled, & everything disappeared in a flash.

When their eyes cleared, the trainers found themselves standing once more upon the pillar. Their only company was a hunched, withered tree. In companionable quiet, our heroes climbed back up to their canoes, & made for the shore across the lake. No more ghostlights lingered, but the moon now shone bright overhead.

One last look behind showed no sinkhole, no ring of rocks, no pitons for tying off boats. Just still, sleeping waters. Sleep found them all shortly thereafter, & what dreams came were faint, but pleasant.

In the morning, belongings were packed & Pokemon were healed. Ariela was still spending some time with her parents; given the pressing nature of their quest, the group sent her a message to indicate the path they planned to take to Hammerfest. Hours later, they neared the Northern edge of Brynhilde’s Copse.

A familiar hooting noise came from nearby, sounding distressed. Could it be? Already? Our heroes rushed to the source of the noise. A few wild Pokemon had surrounded an Elecstrix in her tree. The owl was protecting a baby Adaptstrix, &, for some reason, a Dedenne. Leaping into the fray, the party helped defend the distraught Pokemon.

Even when a wild Ursaring felled the tree, the group managed to keep the fallen Pokemon safe from harm. With the dust clearing, & a few new Pokemon added to their teams, they waved goodbye to the wilds they had rescued.

Leaving the cover of the forest’s pine trees allowed the grey sky overhead to pour down on them. Thankfully, this was no driving spring rain- though it was still not quite comfortable to hike through. Hoods up & heads down, they trekked due North-East as fast as possible. A few days of such travel saw them arriving to Hammerfest.

Every building in the town was made of squat, white stone, adorned with rust-orange roof tiles. Many of the buildings lining the main street were dojos of various kinds; sounds of training could be heard faintly from all around the city. It didn’t take long for them to find the Pokemon Center & secure rooms.

From here, it should only be two or so days travel to reach Mani’s Bed. They still didn’t quite have a plan on what to do once they arrived, but the strange bell chimed faintly from within Reinhold’s pack. Hopefully it would render them some aid in their search. The trainers dispersed to their rooms to change into dry clothes. They would need to come up with something soon, but, for now, they had a moment to rest.