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The Ruined Chateau.... Given Sova had been here once already and explored the interior, it now looked smaller from the outside, all except for the massive double-doors. Then again, given the things he'd witnessed inside, it probably WAS somehow smaller on the outside. Still, this wasn't going to deter or scare him. The only thing he was worried for was anyone else aiming to go there. Today, the one who happened to want to go with him was Varda. This was odd, since the two usually only did missions together, but today.... there was no mission here. Actually, the guild had sort of made it a mission to explore the things happening and this seemed like the place to go, so maybe it was a mission. Just, without the rewards.

He looked up to the sky and stared at the gloomy dark clouds for a moment, as if just making sure the sky wasn't changing before he set his attention back on the Chateau. "Remember, Varda, stay close to me in here. This place will literally change with you in it, so if we get separated, we could have a lot of trouble finding each other. There's also a lot of really dangerous and hostile pokemon in here and since most of the rooms aren't exactly huge, I won't be able to go all out with you here," he explained, relaying his past experience in this horrible house to the swablu.

He wanted his ally to be ready for everything in here, after all. Especially since there was a good chance he was going to need some help.... if not with fighting, then with finding his way around. He would have brought some of his other new allies along, but oddly enough.... the little fluff-ball was still the one he trusted most alongside him. At that, Varda was the only one he trusted to manage to capably and safely navigate this place, and more importantly, to LISTEN to him. Sure, Dusk knew the area given she'd come with him before, but she had mostly just been a hindrance in fights and never listened.

Sova nodded as Varda replied, confirming the swablu knew what he was talking about. He dug through his bag for a moment before pulling his own spike out, mostly due to having thought about it due to the conversation topic. He hadn't used it much.... Sure, he had powerful attacks, but around friends, he couldn't easily use Blizzard or Frost breath, and his only way to deal with things that were built to take energy-based attacks wa with Ice Shard. Honestly, using this spike was something he probably should have been doing more, especially considering the size of it. It was big enough to actually impale something fairly deeply.... and it was sharp enough too.

"Yep, those'll work just fine. Besides, having more than one means you don't have to worry too much about losing one," he replied, agreeing that it was alright if the duller-colored spikes didn't look quite as appealing as his.
They'd still do the job well, even if not quite as well. He would have offered for Varda to take his if not for the realization he'd just had of how useful it was to him. He'd probably need it at some point. "We could always go back to the Icy Lands and see if we can find you one of these though, if you want one. That is, assuming you're okay with the cold," he offered, leaving himself out of the comment about the cold since he was an Ice-type and thus was suited for the cold.
Actually, he liked the cold, which made sense considering his body temperature could naturally drop low enough to easily freeze the water in the air around him.

He dropped his spike back into his bag since he didn't need it for now and turned his attention to the doors. There were a few, and of course, in the time they hadn't been paying attention, the one they'd come in through had disappeared. He then noticed a few bushes in the garden that didn't look quite dead, surprisingly even holding some berries! One of the two bushes held red berries that didn't look particularly familiar to him, while the other was bearing Chesto berries. He wasn't particularly interested in the berries, but he wondered if Varda perhaps wanted them.

(Energy - 26)

Lord E V carried out 5 launched of one Ruined Chateau :

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Varda looked as his friend dug for something in his own bag, indeed pulling out the nice shiny spike they had talked about. The bird cooed, liking the way even the smallest light danced on its smooth surface, almost looking like spike rippled and glowed. It was a really nice little thing, but he had his own spikes now. But he wasn't as eager to lose them as Sova made it sound like, he wouldn't want to just separate four good friends that had been together for who knew how long! He couldn't be careless with them, he would really have to think if it was right to lose one. The Swablu looked down, concerned, but with that fire of determination burning in his eyes. It was a big responsibility for a small bird like himself...

The bird snapped out of it as Sova mentioned the Icy Lands and the search for another spike, looking at his friend in surprise at first, but soon his familiar smile was back on his face. He even seemed quite excited.
"Really?" He chirped happily, hopping in place for a few times before tilting his head and looking bashful,
"Well... I'm not sure if I would use one for fighting, but I think it looks really pretty so it would be nice to have just so I can look at it and touch it..."

While Varda thought of the pretty spike, he noticed that the Glaceon's gaze had started to wander, eventually stopping on a certain bush. Unlike many of the others, it actually had leaves that weren't all withered and dried, though it didn't look like the healthiest plant there was... Or maybe it was supposed to look like that, its leaves slightly darkened? What was the most interesting thing, of course, was that these bushes actually had berries growing on them!
"Ooh!" The Swablu cooed, hopping closer,
"Look! Chesto berries! And–" He had to stop, both his words and his movements. The Chesto berries weren't very rare and he had seen them before, but... The other bush looked odd. Actually, at first he thought that the strange, red berries were flowers thanks to their shape, but no, they looked like berries up close. He just had no idea what they were!
"...And what are these things?"

Bird carried out 1 launched of one Ruined Chateau :

"Sure," Sova replied in response to Varda's clear joy at the idea of getting a silver spike.
He had to admit, his was pretty, so he couldn't blame the swablu for wanting one too. Though not using it for fighting seemed like a bit of a waste, especially with how difficult it would likely be to break. He then moved towards the bushes, just as Varda seemed to notice them as well. He didn't quite know the name of the red berries, but he vaguely remembered that they were around this house. Maybe they all came from this garden.

"I'm not sure what they're called, but I've seen them in this place before. I mean, the chateau, not this room. I've.... never seen this "room." Anyways, if you want some, they're yours," he replied, offering up the berries to his friend.
It wasn't like he needed them after all and who knew, maybe Varda would like the red berries, or Chesto berries. Though the Chesto berries also had a known use, so perhaps those were best used for something other than snacks....

He hoped that whatever they decided to do with the berries, they'd do it fast. They didn't exactly have free time to just sit around doing nothing, after all. Plus, he wanted to hurry up and get a free moment to talk to Varda about the possible dangers of this exploration.

Varda cooed in deep amazement as Sova ended up unable to actually name the strange berries, his eyes going back to the berries on the bush after they momentarily looked at the Glaceon. His friend was a very knowledgeable Pokémon, so if he didn't know... Then these berries had to be very rare and amazing! The Pokémon growing berries in Grassveil Town might really like to see one of these! Even the bird was getting really excited at this discovery, taking a few steps closer as he looked at the small, fleshy red buds. It felt like a historical moment when something that wasn't common knowledge would be introduced to others – and he was one of the earliest ones that learned about it!

The Swablu turned around to look at Sova as the berries were suddenly offered to him, causing the bird to tilt his head and glance from the berries to the Glaceon. Of course he wanted to taste these berries, but Sova had been the one who found them and he couldn't just take them like that!
"There's two of both of the berries," Varda chirped with a smile, nodding towards the bushes very happy that he had made that realization,
"And there's two of us, so we could both have one of each!"

Sova considered Varda's offer for a moment before replying. Honestly, he didn't care too much about the berries, but he hadn't actually tried one of these red berries before.... so he had to admit he was a bit interested. Although he got the feeling it probably wasn't going to be something sweet, since.... it certainly didn't look like what he would expect from a sweet berry. Still, whatever its flavor was, he was at least curious. "Sure, that works," he agreed as he plucked one of the red berries from its bush, leaving the other for Varda.

Honestly, the berry looked almost like a flower. Maybe it was like that to trick things into not eating it? Because honestly, who eats flowers? He decided to just eat the berry whole, since it wasn't too big, but he then began to regret that decision almost immediately. Spicy! Very, VERY spicy! Worse yet, they had no water with them! Still, he wasn't going to just spit it out or act like a baby just because the berry had a little kick, so he chewed it up and swallowed, despite it burning his throat. Actually, other than the burning, it didn't taste bad.... It may have even been pretty good if he hadn't eaten it all at once and had brought something to drink.

"Hot....," he muttered, giving a slightly upset look to his friend.
He quickly realized speaking was just making the feeling worse, so he hoped Varda would understand to eat at his own risk without having it spelled out.

Varda nodded, his friend had accepted his terms. It always felt much better to share – and Sova didn't waste any time plucking the berry from the bush, leaving just one of the berries behind. The bird already started to waddle closer and stood on the very tip of his toes as he tried to reach his berry, not wanting to make his friend wait if they were already going to leave! But instead... The Glaceon threw the berry in his mouth, deciding to taste it right away apparently. The Swablu forgot all about his own berry as he watched, not sure if the odd mansion garden was the best place to eat berries, but maybe...

But Sova didn't look too good when he bit down on the berry, his face becoming... Well, not looking like he really enjoyed it! The bird Pokémon just got a bit worried, taking a few short steps closer as he looked at Sova with concerned eyes.
"Is it poisonous?" Varda chirped carefully, tilting his head slightly. Well, maybe one wouldn't know if it was poisonous based on taste alone, could one even taste if they had been poisoned?
"Does it... Taste poisonous?" He added, making his question much better and more easily understood.

But it was just hot, or so Sova said. The Swablu didn't know if that was better or worse, honestly.
"Oh... I don't like spicy things," he cooed, not really daring to taste the berry now that it had caused someone like Sova so much discomfort. Maybe someone else would like the berry more, though! Flapping his wings, the bird lifted himself higher to start picking his berries.

Sova managed to recover from his encounter with a spicy berry fairly quickly, though the burning sensation lingered. Varda's comments at least made him thankful it wasn't poisonous, because then he would have had to use one of his Lum berries. Those didn't taste very good either, but they could cure nearly anything, so he kept them around in case one was needed. He picked his of the two chesto berries, dropped it in his bag and began moving, looking in Varda's direction to make sure the swablu would keep up.

"It wasn't too bad. Actually, it might have been okay with something something else. Just.... spicy stuff doesn't taste very good on its own. Not to me, at least," he replied, figuring that maybe it would have tasted good if it was with something sweet, like an Oran berry.
"Besides, it's probably got some kind of use other than burning your tongue. Most berries do," he added on, figuring it was probably still a good idea for Varda to keep his berry around in case either of them figured out what it was useful for and needed it.

He looked around between the options they had for doors before deciding to go with the one to the right of where they'd come in. Why? Because it was on the right. It'd worked decently so far, as they'd almost completely avoided areas with too many threats, so why not continue with it? If it isn't broke, don't fix it.

Varda put his berries in his bag, not really wanting to taste the new strange berry now after seeing his friend's reaction to it. If Sova couldn't handle it, he definitely couldn't! Closing his bag securely, he turned to look at the Glaceon, now over his initial shock of the spicy berry. He didn't say that it was good still, just that it wasn't too bad. And that it might have been better if not just eaten on its own like that. There was one thing the two Pokémon agreed on, though.
"I know!" He chirped happily as Sova mentioned how spicy things don't really taste good on their own. Honestly, they didn't really taste good at all, if you asked the bird...
"I hate how it hurts your tongue for a long time after eating it," he continued with a coo and a happy smile.

Sova was right about one thing, and that was about berries being useful. Usually, at least, no matter how bad they tasted – and the best medicine tasted very bad, right? Unfortunately neither of them knew what this berry would do, and looking at the Glaceon... Well, nothing had happened, so they couldn't say if it would do something!
"I still have my own, so... Maybe I should bring it to Grassveil Town and have some experts look at it! Maybe they can figure out what it can be used for..."

The garden was small and soon it seemed that the two of them had gotten everything there was to get. They hadn't been attacked, so it was a nice little breather. They still had a long way to go – probably – so they had to keep going. By now Varda was expecting that they would go the right way, happily waddling along as they got to the door. This door was certainly heavier and built for surviving the outdoor elements, looking closer to the doors they had first taken to enter the mansion in the first place... Though not as fancy and big, honestly. It seemed to be another one of those doors that had to be pulled rather than pushed, so the bird flew up and grabbed the small handle, trying to pull it with all his might.

A soft glow of candlelight started to pour in through the tiny opening, an almost blinding beacon of light considering how dim it was everywhere around them. As the Swablu peeked in, it was clear that this house didn't seem to care much for normal rules of a house. They had climbed up, somehow ended up on what he assumed was the ground floor considering that that was where gardens usually were, and now... The room on the other side was pitch black with no ceiling, walls or floor anywhere to be seen, almost as if they were very high up. An odd staircase without a railing snaked through the darkness going ever so slightly downwards, not even looking like it was supported by anything, yet it still didn't fall. Countless of candles had been placed on the steps randomly, lighting up their path and making it quite obvious to see where the stairs were going in the darkness... Even if the destination was still hidden by the shadows.


((Got one Chesto berry and one Roseli berry.))

Sova honestly agreed that the burning sensation from spicy things was unpleasant, though he didn't want to admit it.  Agreeing that he wasn't indifferent towards with such an insignificant pain made him feel.... weak.  He could take it, there was no reason to complain.  Still, though, it definitely didn't taste good.  But "bad" and "too painful" were two different things, totally different!  Honestly, he'd taken Hyper Beams and gotten back up - multiple times - so the thought of something as simple as a spicy berry feeling unpleasant to him seemed.... pathetic.

"Sounds good," he replied to the suggestion of bringing the berry to town.
Why not?  It seemed reasonable enough, maybe someone there knew about them.  It was fairly clear neither of them knew what these berries were, at least, so it wasn't like asking around could hurt.  Maybe it'd result in them getting incorrect information and using the berries wrong, but using them wrong woudln't really be worse than not using them at all, so that didn't seem like something to be too worried about.

Figuring Varda was probably going to have trouble opening the door all the way up alone, Sova placed a paw between the door and the wall just as enough space was opened to fit it in.  He then pushed against the door to help in opening it, which wasn't too difficult with Varda already pulling on it.  He got a good look inside as the room was revealed and immediately felt disappointed.  "Déjà vu," he commented as he peered into the room that seemed oddly reminiscent of one they'd been to already.

"I can see this place makes about as much sense as usual," he continued, referring to the fact that they seemed to be on a ground-floor area, yet this next room clearly had a downward-spiraling staircase.
Honestly, it seemed like the house was being especially difficult today.  Maybe it was because it knew why they were here and didn't want them to complete their mission.  Either way, he wasn't going to waste time dwelling on that possibility, so he just got a move on into the room and began the likely boring journey down the staircase. Or maybe this room would be about as much "fun" as the similar room they'd been in earlier.

Varda let out a coo as he saw the room behind the door. Hadn't they been here before? It was almost identical to the first room, but... Slightly different. The other staircase didn't connect to the garden, right? And considering where they were, were they about to go under the ground now? The ground level was where they were standing and the stairs seemed to go much further down, but how big was this house exactly?
"Are we going to the basement?" The bird chirped as he flapped his wings to land nicely next to Sova, glancing at his friend to see if he maybe knew something. Was going down a good thing in this strange place?

The Swablu started to waddle through the door, testing out the stairs. The candles made it easier to see where one was walking compared to the last one where he had to actually carry the light source with them, but the lack of railings looked rather dangerous... Well, at least to a Pokémon who couldn't fly, and that would be Sova in this case. He didn't even know how it would feel, walking so close to the edge with nothing to catch you or help you if you did end up slipping and falling! At least the stairway seemed to be wide enough to give some room for movements...

"I can't see the floor," Varda cooed as he looked over the edge, only seeing the darkness. He didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing. How deep would they end up going if they went down...?

"Who knows where we're going. This house makes no sense, if you haven't noticed," Sova replied to the swablu's question as he looked down.
One thing he'd learned about this place was that it really liked throwing him into areas he had a clear disadvantage in. Dark areas, high up areas.... things his allies could handle with ease, but that he struggled with. Did the chateau just want him in specific to die? Regardless, he wasn't going to wuss out of this room just because it was a clear hazard to him.

He began his descent down the stairs, keeping at his own pace since he didn't need Varda to stay with him and light the way.... and since Varda could just fly down. As he moved, he once more began to think about telling Varda why he was here. Finally, he decided on doing it, because he cared for this swablu's safety. "Hey, I wanna talk to you about why I'm here.... and why I didn't want anyone to come with me," he started, wanting to make sure Varda was interested in talking before continuing.

As he walked down the stairs, he made sure to be very careful not to step too close to any of the candles. He was an Ice-type, after all, so fire didn't feel particularly good. He also made sure to be careful to stay away from the edges of the stairs, not wanting to accidentally fall.

"Maybe we'll go down and then find out that we are on a balcony that is actually very high up!" Varda chirped happily as his friend didn't seem to enjoy the house's tricks all that much, mentioning how nothing really made sense. It certainly seemed like it was true, this wasn't how houses were supposed to work. It almost made sense if going down would bring them up, seeing how going up had seemingly brought them down. In a way, it would be kind of funny to see that. It would be worth a laugh because of how absurd it was!

The bird took to the air once more, his wings flapping as he started to fly down the stairs, following Sova. He didn't feel like he should be taking any space from his friend or potentially accidentally bump into the Glaceon, it would be easier if he just flew. He had the gift, so why not use it, right? He had to keep his eyes where he was going, but when Sova spoke up, his eyes glanced in the Pokémon's direction for a moment.
"Of course," the Swablu nodded, always willing to talk when someone else was,
"Trying to do something about the bad things that are happenings...? Aren't we here doing what that strange Pokémon told us to do?"

Sova hesitated to respond to Varda. Technically, it was true, but.... he got the feeling the swablu didn't know why. "Yeah, but.... Xatu lied. I'm pretty sure he sent us here to wake something up.... on its command. Whatever's causing the "bad things," to be specific. I think this whole situation is a trap, but my hope is that I can overpower it. That's why I didn't want anyone coming with me," he replied, finally giving his view on the situation.
There was always the chance he was wrong, but this was his guess on what was happening.

As he spoke, he continued down the staircase. The lights illuminating the stairs were beginning to reveal the floor as they got lower, just barely. He could at least see that the staircase didn't lead into an abyss, which was good. Though he wondered what had placed all of these candles here in the first place. On top of that, what kept all of the candles lit and prevented them from melting or burning out? Did someone change the candles in every room periodically? Or maybe it was one of the many mysteries of this house. That wouldn't exactly be surprising to him, considering how little sense the Ruined Chateau generally made.

Varda's eyes grew larger as he listened, unsure if he could even believe his ears. To hear that they might have been lied to... No, to hear that everyone might have been lied to and led astray to do horrible things was a difficult thing to swallow – not because it was hard to believe, but because the fact just felt like it was so thorny that it wanted to get stuck in one's throat. He could feel his limbs getting colder. It was possible that Sova was wrong, but what if...

The little bird ended up landing on the stairs behind the Glaceon, not having said a word until his friend stopped speaking. And even then, for a moment he just stood there in silence, his thoughts jumbled and difficult to understand.
"But... Then we shouldn't do this!" Varda finally chirped out, looking at Sova,
"If it's bad, then we should turn around and warn others! Or... Go where the place is and warn others there so no one does it while we're gone? I'm pretty sure there are others doing this somewhere, Sova! Many Pokémon heard it and this place is so big you can easily miss others!" He continued, now quite worried about this mission of theirs. Should they even continue, if they didn't know for sure that it would help? Bad things were happening outside, but they couldn't risk making it worse! Surely there was another way. Should they just rush and try to stop everyone else...?

Sova sighed and stopped on the stairs, having figured Varda would react badly.  Still, he couldn't in good conscience not be honest about his view on the situation.  In all honesty, Varda's reply was the reason he wanted to be the one to do this.... alone, so that no one else risked getting hurt or messed it up.  He was hoping if he could incapacitate whatever was doing this, he could end it.... and he was fairly certain telling others wasn't going to help.  Who was going to believe him over Xatu, other than maybe his friends?  Xatu had always been reliable in the past, so there was really no prior reason to not trust the bird.

"What happens if we tell others?  They won't believe us and they'll keep naively trying to do what Xatu said, or they will believe us and it'll put them in danger instead.  That's why I wanted to do this, because if anyone can fight what's doing this.... why not me?," he responded, glancing back at the swablu.
"If you wanna go, you can.  I honestly didn't want you to come, considering how dangerous this is gonna be if I'm right.... But I'm staying, because if no one does this, then everyone will keep going insane for sure and we don't exactly have time to try and rally everyone up.  Besides, I'm sure you can see it wouldn't work," he continued as he got moving again on the stairs, figuring his carefully worded reasoning would be enough to change Varda's mind.