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Description
A typical caravan was snaking its way through the last bit of Twilight Crossing. Dust was continually spun in the wake of the iron tires. The sound of said wheels corresponded with the clickity-clack of equine-esque Blitzle, Ponyta, the occasional Scolipede and the only dog strong enough to pull one of the enormous covered wagons.
  That odd sight was at the front of the pack. There was an irregular skip in his step and though he was pulling quite a load, he didn't seem to be hindered by the excessive weight.
  Sweat mingled along his fiery fur--it bore a few stripes that made him recognizable, even amongst his peers--so that meant he had been at it for a while. Considering the caravan had been travelling since dawn, by order of Kacey, there was no exaggeration in the notion he had been at it since then.
  His demeanour obviously said he hadn't become downtrodden. In fact, his role had been completely voluntary, as could have been expected from one of the more hardy, heartfelt caravaners.
  He was actually humming a little tune, likely to keep his spirits up. It wasn't that bad sounding, either, and it kept his single passenger, amidst whatever was being toted in the wagon, entertained to some degree.
  She was the aforementioned Kacey, and she was leering at the walls of Twilight Crossing. It was choc-ful of jaded diamonds that glittered all manner of colour in the floodlights and lanterns of the caravan. The diamonds, while pretty, hid a few nasty ferals that had taken to dwelling in the cavern--mostly Carbink and Roggenrola, which were easy enough to handle, but the Sableye population had proven to be difficult on more than one occasion.
  Kacey was glad her Growlithe partner was so engrossed with his musical droning. Her nerves would have been frayed without it; Twilight Crossing always made her instincts fire up, especially with the reputation the last stretch of the dungeon had been garnering as of late.
  Raids of all manner had been taking place in the once-peaceful area. Some were surmounted right outside the exit, more often than not. Better place for an ambush.
  Her mauve eyes roved the walls a last time, searching for any outline of one of the ghoulish gem-eaters that inhabited the cave, but there was none to be had. She glanced up ahead, adjusted her position in the jockey box, and opened her mouth to address her partner.
  "Hey Dante, let's have the caravan come to a stop when we reach the outside," she stated.
  The Growlithe, Dante, perked an ear back. His humming came to an end as he stole a glimpse over his shoulder at the Lopunny.
  In the sunlight from the exit but a few several yards ahead, her dark-brown-and-pink fur donned a slight sheen, what had given her brand of rare genetics the nickname of "Shiny".
  "You got it boss!" Dante chimed before giving his gait a little haste to his speed.
  The wagons behind groaned with the effort of stepping up their own speed. They did not halt until they all came pouring out of the dungeon to a wide clearing.
  Kacey held her hand along her forehead, visoring her eyes from the suddenly intense sun. She adjusted to the light quickly, giving a once-over of familial landscape. A forest lied ahead, but one that would seem alien to the new recruits they were bringing with them. None of the new recruits had ridden in her wagon, but they did tail behind in the third and fourth ones alongside the other Guilds, but any with her were labeled as ordinary citizens.
  As for the forest, it sported all manner of fungi. Molds and mushrooms, but no trees or bushes or flowers.

  It was almost like stepping into another world entirely, but this forest was not an immediate thing. As said, they now drove their caravan into a clearing that sat between the mountain range, Sunglow, that harboured Twilight Crossing and the last plot of land between them and their destination.
  Dante led the caravan down a straight path that had been forged over time by the caravans over the last six months or so. Where grasses had once been were replaced with the tracks of wheels from many journeys back and forth.
  "Here's good!" Kacey called.
  "Mmkay!" And with that, the Growlithe's heels dug into the dirt to grind the wagon to a standstill, the rest of the wagons following suit as the last one cleared Twilight.

  As the last wagon cleared the cave mouth, a massive shadow swept across the caravan. Kacey dipped her head back as the shadow rose up. She recognized the body eclipsed by the sun instantly: Ezekial.

  High above, the green-and-red dragon glided aloft a thermal, peering down at the group, searching for anyone missing or any damage to the wagons. After a minute of scrutinizing the caravan, he deemed all parties present.

  Tucking one wing in, Ezekial dove to meet the front of the group. A flare of his wings let him neatly down beside Kacey.
  "It appears we haven't lost any on the way this time, thank goodness," The Adventurers Leader grumbled, towering over the Lopunny. "If I can find that pesky partner of mine, that is."

  Before letting Kacey have the chance to respond, he took to his duties post-haste.
  "Adventurers!" Ezekial turned about, tucking in his wings so as to not hit anyone or anything. His voice carried across the entire caravan. His authority was not something one wanted to question, to say the least. "Scout ahead! Get a feel for the terrain, and report back to Canopus upon seeing anything suspicious!"

  The Adventurers recruits, on cue, began to pile out of the wagons in an excited frenzy. A bunch of them were nothing more than whippersnappers and greenhorns a little too excited (for Kacey's tastes, at least) for the prospect of adventuring. They knew not what they were getting their heads into, but c'est la vie. They weren't her Guildmates.

  Kacey took into account what he said in regards to said "pesky partner". The flea-sized 'mon was very easy to miss if one didn't have the eyes trained to spot such a tiny little thing.
  While it was an amusing notion, humour seemed to be absent from the Lopunny's expression as she stepped out of the jockey box.
  She gave a nod to Dante, the cue for him to get himself unstrapped for a bit of downtime. As Ezekial announced for the Adventurers to get to scouting, this was taken as a time for the wagon pullers to detach themselves and get much needed rest.
  The breaks were generally short, so they gladly took whatever time they had to recuperate their working muscles, Dante being no exception to the rules.
  "Where'd you lose him this time?" she chimed in once Ezekial was done with his announcement.

  "Dunno. He's probably among the recruits, getting into mischief. He's got to learn when is and when isn't appropriate to forget his duties..." Ezekial slumped, kicking at mushrooms. He sniffed, scrunched his nose, and shot a quick burst of Dragonbreath at a patch of mushrooms, failing to ignite them. "I don't like it here. Too moist."

  Ezekial's complaints were lost on the Lopunny femme. She acknowledged his disdain for the moist atmosphere, lifting her eyes to the fungal forest dungeon sprawling in all directions before them.

  It was a daunting place, no doubt, but they had made several successful voyages through the place. It was familiar territory.

  She stole another glance to the larger Flygon before nodding in regards to Canopus' prescribed location and then hopped off towards the heart of the caravan.

  She gave a glance to the two Merchants whose wagon had been right behind hers. Looked like Quin had finally gotten up from his catnap, and Mani was filling him in. She caught the Squirtle answering his inquiry in regards to where they were as she passed.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

<< previous || next >>

CAMEOS:
PMDOrigins | Team Sparkle Fist (Visual App)
Libra ~ PMDO
House of Ylisse

Description
A typical caravan was snaking its way through the last bit of Twilight Crossing. Dust was continually spun in the wake of the iron tires. The sound of said wheels corresponded with the clickity-clack of equine-esque Blitzle, Ponyta, the occasional Scolipede and the only dog strong enough to pull one of the enormous covered wagons.
  That odd sight was at the front of the pack. There was an irregular skip in his step and though he was pulling quite a load, he didn't seem to be hindered by the excessive weight.
  Sweat mingled along his fiery fur--it bore a few stripes that made him recognizable, even amongst his peers--so that meant he had been at it for a while. Considering the caravan had been travelling since dawn, by order of Kacey, there was no exaggeration in the notion he had been at it since then.
  His demeanour obviously said he hadn't become downtrodden. In fact, his role had been completely voluntary, as could have been expected from one of the more hardy, heartfelt caravaners.
  He was actually humming a little tune, likely to keep his spirits up. It wasn't that bad sounding, either, and it kept his single passenger, amidst whatever was being toted in the wagon, entertained to some degree.
  She was the aforementioned Kacey, and she was leering at the walls of Twilight Crossing. It was choc-ful of jaded diamonds that glittered all manner of colour in the floodlights and lanterns of the caravan. The diamonds, while pretty, hid a few nasty ferals that had taken to dwelling in the cavern--mostly Carbink and Roggenrola, which were easy enough to handle, but the Sableye population had proven to be difficult on more than one occasion.
  Kacey was glad her Growlithe partner was so engrossed with his musical droning. Her nerves would have been frayed without it; Twilight Crossing always made her instincts fire up, especially with the reputation the last stretch of the dungeon had been garnering as of late.
  Raids of all manner had been taking place in the once-peaceful area. Some were surmounted right outside the exit, more often than not. Better place for an ambush.
  Her mauve eyes roved the walls a last time, searching for any outline of one of the ghoulish gem-eaters that inhabited the cave, but there was none to be had. She glanced up ahead, adjusted her position in the jockey box, and opened her mouth to address her partner.
  "Hey Dante, let's have the caravan come to a stop when we reach the outside," she stated.
  The Growlithe, Dante, perked an ear back. His humming came to an end as he stole a glimpse over his shoulder at the Lopunny.
  In the sunlight from the exit but a few several yards ahead, her dark-brown-and-pink fur donned a slight sheen, what had given her brand of rare genetics the nickname of "Shiny".
  "You got it boss!" Dante chimed before giving his gait a little haste to his speed.
  The wagons behind groaned with the effort of stepping up their own speed. They did not halt until they all came pouring out of the dungeon to a wide clearing.
  Kacey held her hand along her forehead, visoring her eyes from the suddenly intense sun. She adjusted to the light quickly, giving a once-over of familial landscape. A forest lied ahead, but one that would seem alien to the new recruits they were bringing with them. None of the new recruits had ridden in her wagon, but they did tail behind in the third and fourth ones alongside the other Guilds, but any with her were labeled as ordinary citizens.
  As for the forest, it sported all manner of fungi. Molds and mushrooms, but no trees or bushes or flowers.

  It was almost like stepping into another world entirely, but this forest was not an immediate thing. As said, they now drove their caravan into a clearing that sat between the mountain range, Sunglow, that harboured Twilight Crossing and the last plot of land between them and their destination.
  Dante led the caravan down a straight path that had been forged over time by the caravans over the last six months or so. Where grasses had once been were replaced with the tracks of wheels from many journeys back and forth.
  "Here's good!" Kacey called.
  "Mmkay!" And with that, the Growlithe's heels dug into the dirt to grind the wagon to a standstill, the rest of the wagons following suit as the last one cleared Twilight.

  As the last wagon cleared the cave mouth, a massive shadow swept across the caravan. Kacey dipped her head back as the shadow rose up. She recognized the body eclipsed by the sun instantly: Ezekial.

  High above, the green-and-red dragon glided aloft a thermal, peering down at the group, searching for anyone missing or any damage to the wagons. After a minute of scrutinizing the caravan, he deemed all parties present.

  Tucking one wing in, Ezekial dove to meet the front of the group. A flare of his wings let him neatly down beside Kacey.
  "It appears we haven't lost any on the way this time, thank goodness," The Adventurers Leader grumbled, towering over the Lopunny. "If I can find that pesky partner of mine, that is."

  Before letting Kacey have the chance to respond, he took to his duties post-haste.
  "Adventurers!" Ezekial turned about, tucking in his wings so as to not hit anyone or anything. His voice carried across the entire caravan. His authority was not something one wanted to question, to say the least. "Scout ahead! Get a feel for the terrain, and report back to Canopus upon seeing anything suspicious!"

  The Adventurers recruits, on cue, began to pile out of the wagons in an excited frenzy. A bunch of them were nothing more than whippersnappers and greenhorns a little too excited (for Kacey's tastes, at least) for the prospect of adventuring. They knew not what they were getting their heads into, but c'est la vie. They weren't her Guildmates.

  Kacey took into account what he said in regards to said "pesky partner". The flea-sized 'mon was very easy to miss if one didn't have the eyes trained to spot such a tiny little thing.
  While it was an amusing notion, humour seemed to be absent from the Lopunny's expression as she stepped out of the jockey box.
  She gave a nod to Dante, the cue for him to get himself unstrapped for a bit of downtime. As Ezekial announced for the Adventurers to get to scouting, this was taken as a time for the wagon pullers to detach themselves and get much needed rest.
  The breaks were generally short, so they gladly took whatever time they had to recuperate their working muscles, Dante being no exception to the rules.
  "Where'd you lose him this time?" she chimed in once Ezekial was done with his announcement.

  "Dunno. He's probably among the recruits, getting into mischief. He's got to learn when is and when isn't appropriate to forget his duties..." Ezekial slumped, kicking at mushrooms. He sniffed, scrunched his nose, and shot a quick burst of Dragonbreath at a patch of mushrooms, failing to ignite them. "I don't like it here. Too moist."

  Ezekial's complaints were lost on the Lopunny femme. She acknowledged his disdain for the moist atmosphere, lifting her eyes to the fungal forest dungeon sprawling in all directions before them.

  It was a daunting place, no doubt, but they had made several successful voyages through the place. It was familiar territory.

  She stole another glance to the larger Flygon before nodding in regards to Canopus' prescribed location and then hopped off towards the heart of the caravan.

  She gave a glance to the two Merchants whose wagon had been right behind hers. Looked like Quin had finally gotten up from his catnap, and Mani was filling him in. She caught the Squirtle answering his inquiry in regards to where they were as she passed.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

<< previous || next >>

CAMEOS:
PMDOrigins | Team Sparkle Fist (Visual App)
Libra ~ PMDO
House of Ylisse