A Shocking Treasure!

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Kyraen
Energy: 20 - 5 (dungeon) = 15
Items:
***Thunderstone*** (Needs to be found in-character)

Kyraen bounced happily along the path that led into the Pecha Forest. He was so excited! Today he was going on a treasure hunt!!! He had been begging and begging his family to let him go on adventures on his own, but his parents and siblings had been really hesitant to give him permission. But he had kept on begging, and eventually his dad gave him a map and told him that if he could find the treasure located in Pecha Forest, that he could go out on his own!

Kyraen was determined to find this treasure! His dad hadn't told him what the treasure was, nor did the map give any clues. He was so curious, he thought he would burst from curiosity!!! He pulled said map from his bag. He set it on the ground and rolled it out with his paws.

It was a crude map of the forest, with a list of cryptic directions beside the map. The first set of directions read: "To start on your journey to find the treasure of Pecha Forest, one must first find the entrance to the Walkway of Silence. Tread carefully, lest ye disturb the Defenders of Quiet."

Kyraen sat back on his haunches, contemplating the cryptic words. He didn't really understand what the 'Walkway of Silence' was. But it sounded like if he wasn't quiet enough, something -or someone- would attack him!

Kyraen
Energy: 9
Items:
***Thunderstone*** (Needs to be found in-character)

Kyraen tipped his head to the side at his friend's concern. "Nah, we've got nothing to worry about, Boris," he dismissed. "I mean, we only have to be honest, right? As long as neither of us says any lies, we'll be fine!"

He rolled up the map and placed it in his bag once more. "Heh, if you've drank enough water, I'd say let's continue onwards!" He said cheerfully, looking at his small friend.

"Okay then! Let's goooo!", Boris said, cheerfulness creeping back into his voice. "Hey Kyraen? I got a few questions for ya. First one, what do you have in your bag? Second one...I forgot, sorry. I'll tell you if I remember.", Boris tried to snatch at the question that had just left his head.

A good while minutes later, Boris exclaimed, "I remember now! I was gonna ask you if you know what the treasure was!", Boris said, relieved to have finally asked the question that had slipped his memory earlier. Boris wondered what that grim place was going to look like. Probably really spooky. He shuddered softy, but gave no other signs of apprehension.

Kyraen
Energy: 9
Items:
***Thunderstone*** (Needs to be found in-character)

Kyraen began walking as his friend followed him. His ear twitched as Boris asked him a question. "Huh? My bag? Uh, just my map, actually. I haven't really found anything that would be useful in a dungeon yet."

After a long time of walking along the stream, Boris spoke up again. "Heh, no... I haven't a clue as to what the treasure could possibly be. My dad refused to tell me, and the map doesn't reveal each clue until we get to the next location. Pretty cool spellwork, huh? Dad said it was made by a ghost with psychic powers."

Boris tilted his head. "Woah, that's really cool! I really want to know how it works!" That was an understatement. He had become hyperfocused on the map. In his little brain, he was imagining countless possibilities on how the map worked. Maybe it was a curse! Maybe it was Arceus ! Hah, like that'd ever happen. He chuckled inwardly. "I'm super excited to see the treasure, how bout' you? I wonder what's so important that it needs a fancy magical map to guide the treasure hunters!"

Kyraen
Energy: 9 + 1 (new page) = 10
Items:
***Thunderstone*** (Needs to be found in-character)

Kryaen chuckled and nodded his head. "Yeah, it is pretty cool, huh? I'm pretty sure it works the same way as Wonder Maps do; you know, how they update themselves when the explorers go to new places?"

He continued following the stream. Surely they'd get to this Grave Grotto soon? He tilted his head as Boris went on. "Yeah, I can't wait to see what the treasure is... I'll bet it's something really rare and special!" Kyraen said.

He noticed a dark hole in the ground up ahead. He padded toward it, and as they got closer, the hole was revealed to be ringed by a dark purple stone. There were crudely-carved steps leading into darkness. "This must be the Grave Grotto. Are you ready, Boris?"

Energy:0+1(New Page!)= 1

Boris took a deep breath. Who knows what would happen when they stepped into the darkness? Only one way to find out. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be! Let's do this!" Boris tried to peer into the shadows, but to no avail. Hopefully there'd be light. If not, oh well. This place seemed a lot more imposing than he had imagined. The apprehension was back...Boris started to shake. "K-kyraen? You're not af-fraid, right-t?"

Kyraen
Energy: 9 + 1 (new page) = 10
Items:
***Thunderstone*** (Needs to be found in-character)

"Huh?" Kyraen was confused by the joltik's sudden shaking. "What's there to be afraid of, Boris?" Kyraen asked innocently. He stepped down onto the stairs and proceeded into the darkness.

After a few moments, Kyraen began to feel uncomfortable. He thought there would be some light down here, but there wasn't. He... he was afraid of the dark. "U-um... B-boris?" he said in a small voice. "I... I c-changed my m-mind... I am scared. It's so... dark..."

He peered through the gloom, desperately hoping to see some source of light. "U-um... D-do you have an attack that makes light?" He asked, hoping the joltik did.

"It's just that...the dark is really scary....Welp, here we go.", Boris mumbled as the darkness enveloped them.

Boris's eyes had adjusted to the darkness. He couldn't make heads nor tails of his surroundings, though. He could just feel the soft fur under him, and that was it. "We just have to keep going....", He said. Boris's quivering had stopped. "Oh, good idea!", Boris mentally berated himself for being so dense. His body started to give off a faint glow from the static he had passively collected. Boris released a disk of electricity that glowed softly. It slowly hovered forward. "Is...is, uh that enough?"

Kyraen
Energy: 10
Items:
***Thunderstone*** (Needs to be found in-character)

Kyraen sighed in relief as Boris began glowing, and a small ball of light appeared in front of him. It lit up the small tunnel for a few feet. The whole cave seemed to be made of the same purple stone. It almost seemed gem-like, though, with the way that it shined and was very smooth.

Kyraen padded forward, more confident now with the light to guide his way. He would be able to see if the boogeymon was sneaking up on him now. He continued through the tunnel until he reached a large circular room.

The ball of light lit up the room, and he could see himself reflected in each of the five walls. The walls were perfectly vertical and came together at sharp angles, and each of them was so smooth and polished, they acted like mirrors. In the center of the room was a pedestal, and a small yellow tablet lay on the pedestal.

Kyraen approached the pedestal when the room suddenly shook and the tablet rose into the air. On the surface of the tablet, strange blue runes glowed. They spun around on the tablet before rearranging themselves into a language Kyraen could read.

"Come closer, seeker of treasure." it read.

Kyraen blinked. "Uh... is it just me, or is that tablet, like... talking to us?"

Boris exhaled a breath that he didn't know he was holding. The soft, reassuring light really helped. It seemed like it helped Kyraen as well. He smiled inwardly after feeling the spring that had reappeared in the Evee's step. Boris couldn't help but become enraptured with the shiny, reflective prettiness of everything. Then Boris saw the tablet. Tablets shouldn't be able to intelligently rearrange their letters! Well, lot's of things shouldn't be able to happen, like Kyraen's fancy map. THAT shouldn't happen. Boris kind of just sat there, his mouth open. "Uh...I think...that shouldn't be-no, that CAN'T be possible! We need to get in closer to examine it! Let's go Kyraen! Do what it says!" Boris was practically bouncing up and down where he stood on Ky's shoulder.

Kyraen
Energy: 10
Items:
***Thunderstone*** (Needs to be found in-character)

Kyraen nodded his head. He could be wrong. Maybe he was just imagining the tablet's letters. He approached the center of the room, staring up at the tablet floating above the pedestal. The tablet's runes spun again, creating a blue blur across the surface of the tablet, before settling back down into readable runes once more.

"If thou seeks the treasure, look into thyself through the mirror and speak the truth. Speak not lies, lest ye meet a horrible demise," the tablet now read.

"Huh? It changed again! Boris, you are seeing this, right?" Kyraen cried out.

"Yeah...yeah, I am! This is so cool!", Boris was shaking, but not out of fear. It was excitement. He was sure nobody had ever done anything like this before! "Alright Ky, we gotta do what this thing says...", Boris could barely contain his excitement. "We gotta look into the mirror...and say the truth...or something.", He said, after squinting at the tablet to read it. Boris turned to a mirror, and then back to the tablet. "Is there a specific truth...or..."

Kyraen
Energy: 10
Items:
***Thunderstone*** (Needs to be found in-character)

"Um... maybe we're just supposed to say what we see in the mirror?" Kyraen suggested. He wandered over to one of the mirrors and peered in. He could see himself, with Boris on his shoulder.

After a moment, he hummed. "Um... I see myself, and Boris..." The mirror then made a ripple effect, and suddenly Kyraen was seeing himself with his parents.

His mother, a kindly jolteon, was licking his fur calmingly as he seemingly had a panic attack. His father, a flareon, was pacing in the background. He seemed agitated for some reason. He said something, but Kyraen couldn't hear anything but his own breathing.

Then an aura of pink surrounded his father and threw him against the wall. Kyraen let out a wail as he saw his father pinned to the wall by psychic energy before a shadowed figure walked up to him and slice his belly open.

Kyraen screamed, turning away from the mirror, unable to wrench the sight of his father's innards spilling onto the floor out of his mind. His legs collapsed beneath him as he began sobbing.

((Boris would see something different, but equally shocking/disturbing))

"Yeah, that's probably what we do!", Boris turned to the mirror and stared. "Um...nothing's happe-", He was cut short, as the mirror rippled like liquid. The scene had changed, and he saw him, his mother,a Drapion, father, a Galvantula and brother, a Skorupi! It'd been so long since he had seen them! He smiled. They were out in the forest as a family, picking berries, laughing and having a great experience. This vision made him feel terribly homesick. He felt tears welling up. The scene suddenly shifted. The forest that was just green, and welcoming, and lush, was burning. He saw 3 bodies burned beyond recognition. Were those....No. No, they couldn't be! As Kyraen threw himself to the ground, Boris stared forward, eyes vacant, mouth agape, and tears streaming down his face.

Kyraen
Energy: 10
Items:
***Thunderstone*** (Needs to be found in-character)

Kyraen sobbed. "It... it can't be true..." he cried out. Tears streamed down his face, wetting his fur. He buried his head in his paws. "My father's not dead!" He cried out. "This isn't true! This.. this is all... it's all... it's all just a LIE!"

A flash of white light illuminated the room. The tablet fell from the air onto the pedestal with a clank. The pedestal began to sink into the floor, and the walls began to close in on the pair of crying pokemon.

Kyraen gasped, realizing what was happening. He ran over to Boris and grabbed him in his teeth again before running over to where the entrance had been. But the tunnel was gone! They were trapped in an ever-shrinking room!

Kyraen dropped Boris to let out a cry of dismay. "What do we do, Boris?" he shouted. He pushed at the wall that was coming towards them, to no avail. It just kept moving, pushing him back with it.