Session 46, VP2

  A peaceful & productive time followed our heroes’ return to Forgerun. The townsfolk graciously accepted the aid in repairing what had been damaged, & refused to take any money for room & board from the trainers.

Gunnar & Bergie spent most of their downtime building a small garden near the town’s temple: though the townsfolk had clearly decided to seek guidance from Ho-Oh instead, the pair felt Baldur still deserved a home in what had been his place of worship. The space they created was small & intimate, flowers & stone benches surrounding a communal firepit.

Bronze & Reinhold studied under Brunick as he recovered. Both were interested in learning about the practice of blacksmithing, & the Capture Specialist still had an itch to master Capture Runes. In-between study sessions, Bronze plied her wares to the townsfolk. Reinhold seemed to be weighing things in his mind. His muscles were beginning to miss the weight of a sword…

Sylvie & Lauren had some business to attend to outside the town. They knew that Donner had returned to Vanachrom, but had no idea where he was. Their combined psychic powers saw them set out South-East for several days. When they returned, it was with the soldier in tow.

With less & less to take care of in Forgerun, both groups began to consider the next steps on their journeys. It was eventually decided that the trainers all spend one last day relaxing together, taking a trip to the nearby lake of Bergelmir’s Hold.

The skies were clear on the morning they set out for their “beach” episode. As they neared their destination, they began to hear the sounds of a fight occurring nearby. Bronze scouted out the area. She found a crippled Fearow being carried by a Gogoat, facing off against a pair of teenaged Nidos. Strangely, all four Pokemon appeared weakened.

The parties rushed to break up the fight. It looked like the sides were facing off over “ownership” of a small puddle. The injured Fearow looked particularly parched, but the Nidos were unwilling to share.

Gunnar had Skaelmvaer dig a trench & fill it with water. When the Nidos went to claim *that* as well, Bronze Intimidated them into making room for the other Pokemon. With the fight calmed, the group began to get curious. There was a lake not 15 minutes from here: why did these Pokemon look so dehydrated?

Sylvie tapped into a power she had felt bloom recently, speaking to the Fearow in its own tongue. From it, she was able to learn that a large, territorial Pokemon now laid claim to the lake. It not only barred other Pokemon from using the waters, it viciously attacked any who dared to intrude. The Fearow’s missing wing had been lost this way only a few days prior.

While the group had a small lunch & talked, Bergie took a look at the bird’s wounds. He spent some time cleaning the injuries & bandaging them with healing salves. Gunnar recounted Party 1’s previous encounter at Bergelmir’s Hold. A particularly brash Wartortle had attempted to eat Naivara’s Wingull, & had to be fought to submission. Maybe the creature still called the waters home…

The lake’s surface appeared calm when the group approached. The only thing that seemed out of the ordinary was the silence encompassing the area. At least, that was true until a strange pall of shadow enveloped the trainers.

“Stop, thieves! You will never escape the long reach of justice!”, a young man called out amidst the darkness. Much to Party 1’s confusion, Party 2 let out a collective groan. In their travels, they had met a young “hero” named Sixten, who wielded an axe imbued with the dark. His heart tended to move faster than his mind, much to Party 2’s annoyance.

The trainers explained to Sixten who they were, which took longer than expected. Sixten eventually recalled the supernatural shadows with an apology: according to him, he had a poor memory for voices, & instead recognized people “by their fists…& faces.”

Along with Sixten was a small boy of about 10. He seemed nervous, & shyly hid behind the hero. Sixten explained that he had found the boy, Burr, a bit aways from the lake, upset. Whatever bully hid beneath the water had stolen his most cherished toy. Unable to abandon a child in need, Sixten had vowed to see the thief punished.

Bergie did his best to cheer up Burr, & got the boy to describe both the toy & what had stolen it. His toy seemed to be a length of ribbon, adorned with a bell. With a stick, he drew what looked like a giant turtle in the dirt- this seemingly confirmed the group’s earlier suspicions.

Though Sixten doubtlessly required no help, our heroes decided to offer theirs anyway. The first step was to draw out their foe. Reinhold cast out his fishing rod, hoping to lure something to the surface. Meanwhile, Gunnar remembered that the Wartortle had been drawn to splashing on their last visit. He & Saffa decided to swim around a bit as bait. (Though Saffa seemed unaware of the reason.)

It didn’t take long for both methods to bear fruit. Reinhold felt a pull on his line so strong, it nearly dragged him into the lake. Thankfully, Sixten was able to help by reaching around the Martial Artist’s waist to grab hold of Reinhold’s rod. Gunnar became aware that something was swimming slightly left & behind him. He dove under the water to identify the creature.

Moments passed, & Gunnar did not resurface. Just as Bergie was about to dive in after his friend, Gunnar came trudging out of the surf, dragging an unconscious Wartortle behind him. The day was saved! Only…

Reinhold’s fishing pole could take no more. There was a snap as the line went slack. The lake began to churn as several shapes began to float to the surface. Multiple Wartortles & Squirtles popped out, itching for a fight. Behind them, a massive dome breached.

A hulking Blastoise roared as it pointed at our heroes. Somehow, it had acquired dapper beach attire: a dashing combination of vest & hat. Around its neck, Burr’s ribbon was looped like a bolo tie. One of its cannons appeared to be clogged with an oversized Squirtle shell. The other took aim, as the battle commenced.

Oh, what a fight it was! A duel for the ages if ever there has been one. Legend says that Sixten saved all of their lives ten times over, as the onslaught of tortoises came for their blood. When’er one of his followers fell, Sixten got them back to their feet, aided by his powerful Twilight & Midnight!

His mighty axe smashed the shell stuck in the thief’s cannon, revealing a strange Capture Specialist within. As his warriors protected the small man & his Joltik, Sixten continued unabated. He struck down beast after beast, he retrieved Burr’s toy, & he single-handedly forced a Pokeball down the Boss Blastoise’s cannon to seal it away for good. The full details are too grim to be recounted, lest they petrify your soul; so it is said.

When the dust had settled, the lake belonged to the land once more. The bullies had all been captured or defeated, & scared wild Pokemon were seen to be overjoyed as they approached it for the first time in weeks.

The man who had been within the shell was Takav Beras, a friend Party 1 had not seen since before Drillsberg. He had heard rumors of a large Blastoise in the area, & designed a Squirtle Sub to investigate. He’d gotten himself jammed in one of the cannons for several days now, & was relieved to be freed.

Burr was given back his toy: the child’s eyes lit up as he rolled around on his back, kicking the ribbon into the air.

The trainers were finally able to relax & enjoy the scenery. Some of them swam, while others wandered the grass looking for Pokemon. Reinhold attempted to teach Sixten the merits of fishing, but the younger man seemed out of his depth.

A short while later, Burr’s father, Fathir, arrived to pick him up. The boy waved cheerfully at his heroes, before he & his parent crawled into the brush on all fours. The corner of Lauren’s mouth twitched in a smile at this, as they had suspected something was off about Burr. It seems talking Pokemon weren’t quite as rare as expected.

The sun was setting when the group began to hike back to town. Their time together had been brief, & now the winds would carry them to disparate paths. When they would meet again, none of them could say.

Still.

It was comforting to know that they did not stand alone against the dark tides the future was bearing down on them. And if they should all be dragged under, at least they would do so together.