Trying not to ruin the Ruins

After a little time spent searching in the meadow like area held within the dark Shadowhue Forest, Brian and Ares had finally found the ruins that they were looking for. As he did with all other new areas, Brian began to look around and analyze his surrounding. He could see strange inscriptions of the walls of the ruins, written in some weird language that he couldn't make out, though they still looked cool and added some flare to the fairly normal looking walls of the ruins. While there wasn't really much else to look at, Brian was still becoming very interested in these ruins. They seemed to give off a mysterious vibe about them for some reason. Maybe it was the inscriptions on the walls of the seeming emptiness of the ruins, who knows.

"Hmm, this place definitely looks mysterious. Wonder what else is inside here." Brian said, interested to see what lied with the ruins.

Truly this was an ancient, age-withered location. The walls, which seemed to sag in their centers even though they consisted of individual bricks, were covered with a lost, hieroglyphic like text and primitive illustrations depicting scenes of beliefs, rituals, and mythology. Moss grew abundantly around the location surrounding the waterfall entrance, and ferns sprouted forth from the cracks between stone bricks. The floor was somewhat slick, but Ares anticipated that it would lose this attribute the further they proceeded. This would be his first official training mission with his newly acquired apprentice, and he was quite eager to use it to his advantage. It would be only reasonable to confide some of the necessary details about what they were to obtain.

"The goal for this exercise," he would begin, taking a step forward into the unending darkness of the tunnel before them, "is to utilize one's natural abilities; consider it an evaluation to determine your natural talents. Legends from the nearby area describe gorgeous gems that lay in the center of the ruins, and I would feel quite disappointed if we were not able to obtain them." He had set his parameters: survive, obtain the riches, vacate the area.

"Oh, gems and riches are in here? Oh yes, this is great." Brian said, his eyes beginning to sparkle at the mention of gems. While he wasn't one to have his mind delve into the realms of riches too much, Brian couldn't escape the allure of shining gems, mostly for that shining. He loved when his parents brought back precious gems after an exploration, absolutely adoring the sparking colors they gave off while basking in the sunlight.

"Alright, let's get ruins searching. Operation Gem Chaser is a go!" Brian said as he started dashing off into the ruins, deciding that he was going to give a quirky name to every operation he went on. Brian gave himself a little chuckle after making his wacky names to these "operations" so he might as well make it his thing. Might lead to funny moments in the future, who knows.

There was something Ares quite enjoyed about how adamant and excitable Brian could be. Though at times it could irritate and irk, it often simply wound up being a personality quirk that began to complement his usually serious and dour disposition. The name "Gem Chaser" - as was so eloquently dubbed by the Chimchar as he rushed out into the ruins - seemed to fit the situation quite nicely: they were chasing gems in the deepest, darkest, dankest location that one might imagine. Ares had seen ruins before, hence his fascination with their secrets and how they hid, because they dotted the landscape of his war-torn homeland and contained fragments of a more peaceful, civilized nation. Looking for relics was simply an added perk, just as determining his apprentice's natural abilities.

Cyrus would be so proud of his cunning plot!

Forward the Chimchar charged, and soon the Charmander found himself chasing fervently after him. He was able to catch up thanks to his hyperextending his legs for the time being, but the throb was quite prevalent. Undoubtedly, Brian would become quite a sprinter! The duo would progress deeper and deeper along that entry tunnel until they came to a room with an empty pedestal in its center. On each of the four walls was a cubic entrance to another hallway, including the one they had just come from. Ares knew what this was.

"A puzzle..."

As Brian kept dashing forward into the mysterious ruins with Ares right behind him, his anticipation for what was up ahead was increasing with every step. He couldn't wait to see what awaited him and Ares within these ruins. that they had searched for. With the promise of shining gems and the chance of becoming stronger, Brian kept running ahead while making sure he kept an eye on his surroundings so that he didn't miss anything. That was until the two stumbled across a room with with four different pathways to choose from.

"Hmm, this is getting complicated. Now there are four different ways to go. Hmm, which way to go? Which way?" Brian said as he put his right hand on his chin as he thought about which way to go. While he was usually eager to see so many different areas to explore, he felt slightly cautious now. The one thing that Brian knew about ruins was that they could potentially become mazes if you went in the wrong directions. This caused him to become more cautious now as he tried to figure out which path to go on.

Ares would allow his hand to support his chin as he examined the room, his fingers cradling the process with delicate care: a single digit would be lifted about the round bump that protruded from his mandible while the rest would rest beneath it. He was studious, meticulous, and thoughtful as he attempted to analyze the scene before him. With so many different and possibly viable options, he wouldn't put it past the ruins's ancient architects to make it appear that the answer was simple or too difficult to achieve. That was undoubtedly why they had chosen to hide their heritage and legacy behind a cascading falls: those who could see the truth behind the most impossible of feats were truly worthy of retrieving this location's treasures.

"I should think that three of these four paths lead back to this room while the other one leads to another location," he would say as he walked towards the pedestal and analyzed, "This fixture has a single scratch in it, so this might be the first room. The path we walked down was probably one of the three that lead back here, or it was the latter path that leads to a new room; this room we're in now would be the new one." There was a small button looking jut that protruded from the pedestal. Perhaps out of foolish curiosity, he would push it. It clicked, and something appeared in the corner of the room.

ares carried out 1 launched of one Monochrome Ruins :

"Well, okay then. Whatever works I suppose. Let's get going." Brian said, responding to Ares's words and moving in the direction that he was proceeding to move in. After spending more time with Ares, Brian developed more and more respect for him. Living on his own like Ares did couldn't be so easy, but he made it seem like that. Ares also seemed to be a very good leader from how he was handling the situation at hand, which made Brian give him even more respect as a result. He then saw Ares push a button before noticing something in the corner of his eye.

"Oh look, a Reviver Seed. That's a really useful item. Man, we're getting lucky here." Brian said with a gleeful look on his face, happy at their find. It wasn't a gem or anything but it was still a useful item that would help the duo in the future in case things get difficult.

Though the Charmander had expected something harmful to promptly appear, he was greatly relieved to find that it was a simple seed. Ares, having come from a region in which life consisted of flesh and bone and not leaf and bark, had no knowledge of the plant embryo's identity or its uses. As far as he was concerned, it was simply something that, if planted, would sprout into a tree, bush, or flower. When Brian thankfully enlightened him that the object was called a "Reviver Seed" and that it had great utility, Ares felt as if he had struck a gold mine. He swiftly fetched the seed with great diligence and promptly smothered it in the folds of the scarf wrapped tightly about his throat. He was a hoarder, and sadly it would take great tragedy to part with the item so easily.

Once he had retrieved his prize, he would glance about, and begin to head through the northernmost passage. Certainly something good had to be lurking down that path, right?

(Energy: 33 - 15 - 1 = 17)

"Just in case you don't know, a Reviver Seed can help if you get into a tough spot in battle, so it's a good thing to keep around. If you get knocked out, the Reviver seed, as it's name implies, will be able to revive you and give you a chance to counterattack or escape if you need to. From what I've heard, that seed is a life saver in some situations, especially in really dangerous areas. So us finding one here is really lucky. Hopefully it means that more good things are on the way." Brian said, seeing Ares grab the Reviver seed before he started moving toward the path to the north, with Brian soon following behind. He was feeling very impressed with himself due to his knowledge about the item. Being the child of two veteran explorers, Brian always heard things about different items like the Reviver Seed or other things. He hoped that Ares was impressed with him and his knowledge as he kept walking.

That was, indeed, quite useful. To be knocked down, defeated, bloodied, and then simply rising up with the seed's mysterious powers was quite incredible. As he felt the small bump that was the plant embryo nestle deeply into the folds of the fabric fastened about his neck, he couldn't help but envy and hate such power. How many warriors would have lived to see another day in his homeland if these things had been native to that region? Some with fatal and life-threatening injuries might have been able to stand once more with the assistance of the plant, and maybe then they might have been able to return to their spouses and offspring with stories of battles and near certain defeat. If he could harvest this seed's plant and cause it to reproduce in his homeland and nurture it with delicate love and cultivate it with care, such medicine might make him rich in fame and wealth.

As they continued down the hallway, the Charmander would begin to notice how short it was. Certainly the first passage had not been this short, and thus it confused him; however, the answers would reveal themselves. When he crossed the threshold of the room that the path led to, he would find himself in a similar setting: an empty room decorated solely with a pedestal with a single scratch in it. Alarmed, he would exclaim, "I knew it! I knew it would lead us back this way!"

"Hmm, yeah it does. So now what do we do Ares?" Brian said as he saw that the were right back where they started, as Ares had somewhat predicted. This had confirmed Brian's thoughts beforehand that the ruins were going to end up having some sort of maze like structure. This would make searching the ruins for gems much more complicated than he had first expected. Brian became both excited and annoyed at the same time by this revelation. On the one hand, it could make exploring the ruins much more interesting. On the other hand, coming back to the same place over and over again with no real progress could become boring after a while. All Brian could do was wait for Ares to respond and tell him where they were going.

Ares had once more lifted a hand to his chin as he puzzled through this peculiar labyrinth within his skull. If his hypothesis was correct - and it was looking more correct with each passing moment after that loop around back to the first room - then they would have a one-in-three chance of choosing the correct passage. They could simply run through all of the halls randomly and do so with little care, but that might take them to places that were not as friendly as this environment. Understandably, it was a lot to think about, and the Charmander was not keen upon losing his acolyte on a preliminary assessment.

He would look to all of the ways they had passed through and evaluate them. They were all uniform in structure, and the only difference that would be detectable would be the final destination. Even then, only one would be entirely unique. That was when he realized that, perhaps, the answer might be the most peculiar. As they had rerouted back to the room, their backs would be facing towards southernmost passage: the one that had initially brought them here. Ares would pivot on the balls of his feet, and simply proceed down this passageway.

"Follow me."

Hopefully this would be the right one.

"Um, okay then. Will do Ares. Initiating Brian follows Ares procedure." Brian said as he walked towards the same passageway Ares was going down, chuckling at his robotic like response. He couldn't help but keep making random jokes as they went own. It would make their confusing situation all the more bearable and enjoyable. In the end, enjoyment is what Brian really wanted from this exploration, so he was going to do his best so that the search for gems in the confusing ruins would give him as much enjoyment as possible. Brian kept thinking these thoughts as he moved through the passageway with Ares, wondering where this path would lead them.

He tread lightly down the dark hallway, the fire from his tail illuminating the ancient stones and rocks that acted to construct and shape the area. It was certainly longer than the one they had previously entered down, and soon the rough, coarse textures of faded stone would melt into a seamless sheet of earth. Ares would pause momentarily to examine the sudden transition, his eyes narrowing in the permeating darkness to distinguish why this had occurred. They would widen quite suddenly, and he would fetch his tail and lift it up slightly so that he might expose the entirety of the wall: frescoes and reliefs. Before him was a scene of some sort of importance, for two giant beasts occupied the majority of the art.

One, a Goliath of a creature, seemed to stand firmly planted upon what could be inferred to be a beach of some sort; the other, equal in size and girth, had its body above a series of upside-down chevrons which Ares believed to be the ocean. The former was a hunched over creature with spines and spikes that protruded from its body, while the latter seemed to be bound to the sea in which it had sprung from. He could not determine the importance of having this scene displayed, but undoubtedly someone he knew could.

"Brian," he would say after some time, "what do you think?"

As the duo walked down this new dark pathway, Brian could see how much larger this one was from the previous path they took. Everything seemed to widen instantly at one point, making the whole area appear to have a much larger scale than originally expected. This got Brian more excited for all of the different possibilities of what these ruins held within them. Eventually, the duo stumbled upon a wall that showed two gargantuan beasts, one on a beach and the other at the bottom of the sea. Brian stared at this scene in awe, amazed by how large the creatures seemed to be and how cool they looked to him.

"Wow, this is amazing. This creatures must be some kind of legendary pokemon something cause they look so cool and are so big. Man, I could stare at this all day." Brian said as he kept staring at the scene on the wall, each second he spent staring increasing his anticipation for what lied ahead that could top this amazing scene.