Ancient Flame Hunters of the Dusk - Errand 11

I trust the festivities were to your liking? I'm sure the relaxation time did you well, but I'm afraid there's more work to be done.

Just north of the city, a short ways past the outskirts, you'll find a series of strange monoliths. It won't be too hard to distinguish, even from a distance. Large slabs of rock balanced on top of each other to form what look like massive gateways. Honehenge, it's called. Explorers, travelers, and others who have been lost to the dungeons and returned as Ghost-types tend to find their way here, and I am tasking you with guiding them safely back to the city so that they can be helped and adjusted to their new circumstances. Normally we have a more experienced group handle this, but, as we'll be heading a dungeon expedition soon, I believe first hand experience would serve you well. During the night is when there will be the most activity there, so you may have to stay a while before encountering any fledgling spirits.

They may not remember much, if anything, of their past life and may be frightened and confused. Please be gentle with them, if you can. If they seem distressed, try soothing them in some way. Maybe tell them a story, sing a song, any number of things you think could help. And, upon your return, you'll be awarded 1 Star Coin for your services.

(Moderator's note: Just something ghost themed for you all to enjoy over the Halloween weekend. An Errand is up, but judging is still ongoing and we'll have the results to you a little after it ends.)

The sun was setting.

The silhouette of the great monoliths was easy to see from far. The great stones pilled over each other, forming great arcs and gateways. They seemed great seeing from there, and sure they were huge when from close. Their shapes easily saw against the sunset.

Soon it would be night time, and Blaze knew that it was the time that ghost-types became even more active. The night was their natural hour. Some ghosts could become aggressive, and Blaze was very well aware of it. Normal attacks did no bad to them, and so, the place could be very dangerous.

Sighing, he started walking forward, ready for anything that could come on his way. He marched to the monoliths, a torch on his way as his only light, and fomr close, he could see very well how big the things were.

They should be around half the size of Regigigas. And made great gateways that seemed to invite someone to go to them. Blaze couldn’t help but sense a strange feeling as he went inside that place. It was like that place was cold, but some strange kind of cold. Could this be the ghost-types living in there? Or it was that what attracted the ghosts to there? It was the cause or the effect? The point was, that place seemed somewhat frightening, like it was made for the dead and not for the living…

“This place is scary, ty.”

Laze jumped as he looked back, and was surprised for seeing Tyler standing right behind him, holding his Luke Plushie and with his red scarf around his neck.

“TYLER!” Blaze shouted, his shout echoing through all of the Honehenge, making it seem like a lot of pokemon were screaming at the same time. It lasted for minutes before dying down, and Blaze turned his attention to Tyler, and whispered urgently “What are you doing here!?”

“I came to help you!” Tyler whispered back “You can’t leave me alone, ty! We are partners!”

“You should have stayed in the Rollout!” Blaze said urgently “This place is very dangerous for a child!”

“I can take care of myself!” said Tyler “We have meet other ghost-types before, and I have Lukie with me, ty!” he said, putting his plushie in front of Tyler’s face. Blaze massaged his forehead with his fingers. It was the burglars episode, all over again.

“You really won’t doing what I say to you?”

“Not if you let me out of adventure, ty!” said Tyler.

Blaze could do nothing more than sigh “Fine, but stay very close to me, and if you see anything be ready to attack. And keep your eyes and ears open.”
“Yes… and Blaze?”

“Yes?”

“Why are we whispering?”

“I’d like to know this too.” Said a third whispering voice, and Blaze said “Well, is just-” but he stopped in mid-sentence as his eyes widened, and he turned his head, along with Tyler, to meet a small Charmander with a long scarf that both of them recognized.

“Dracyor!” exclaimed Tyler, hugging the small Charmander tightly, though his small arms. A chuckle called their attention “Good to see you two again.”

Blaze turned around, to meet Slashter, the blue colored nidoran, who also got his yellow scarf, matching with the one of his son.

“Slashter! Good to see a friendly face in here!” he said as he greeted the Nidoran, who smiled  back “Yeah, I really was hoping we could get along with you a bit more. You are good a company.”

“How did you found us, ty?” asked Tyler after letting go of Dracyor, and the small Charmander said “We heard that scream and we came to investigate.”

Blaze blushed as he looked away, and thanks to his red face no one noticed. “So… You think someone else might have heard?”

“You think someone didn’t heard?” said Slashter with certain humor, what was able to make Blaze smile nervously. “I got really surprised when I found out that Tyler had followed me.” He explained “I wanted him to stay home, I thought it was not a good place for him to stay.”

Slashter chuckled “Yeah, I would rather let Dracyor in home too.”

“Dad!” said the Charmander, and Slashter continued “But I know that if I did he would end up following me to here.”

“That’s true!” said Dracyor, and Blaze just couldn’t help but chuckle too. Yeah, it was just amazing how much Dracyor and Tyler seemed to have in common. They seemed to have got along nicely since their first meeting in the Avalodge.

“So, since we are all here, why don’t we work together in this case?” suggested Blaze, and this one was nicely accepted by everyone. Tyler cheered at him, as he was very happy for spending more time with Dracyor. He liked the young Charmander.

Soon after it died down, Tyler turned his head, a strange look in his face “Ty?”

“So, is good living there in the Rollout?” asked Slashter, and Blaze answered “Very! The bed is very comfortable and the other residents are very nice.”

“Ha, ha. I know, the people here are very nice.”

“Yeah, but, why when I arrived in there they were talking about you as ‘maiden’?” asked Blaze, and Slashter smiled imediatelly died down and he looked to the side “I really don’t want to talk about this.”

“When we got in there and dad offered as housekeeper they thought he was a girl for his color. So they gave him the wrong clothing.” Said Dracyor, and his father could do nothing more than blush as he walked to the ground.

Blaze laughed at this “Hey, Tyler, did you heard… Tyler?” for the first time, they realized that Tyler was not in there anymore. “Tyler!” Blaze called as he looked around, and so did Dracyor and Slashter.

“In there!” pointed Dracyor, as they looked and saw the small tyrunt walking forward. They ran to him and Blaze said “Tyler! You should not simply walk away like that while I’m talking with someone! You may get lost!”

“Can you hear it, ty?” said the small Tyrunt to him, making him look at him puzzled, and Dracyor and Slashter shared a look.

“Hear what?” asked Blaze, and Tyler turned his look away and stayed silent for a few moments, looking forward, and said “This, ty!”

Blaze remained silent for a while, and Slashter said “I hear it too!”, and so, after a few moments, Blaze could hear it also. It was a sound, a voice. It seemed to be distant, and now was a little more than a whisper, but he was completely sure it was a voice. It was a voice that seemed to be from a child. And it seemed to be crying.

“There is someone in there?” called Blaze, but the faintly weeping only continued, seeming not to hear his call. Tyler walked forward, going in the direction of the voice. Blaze followed, and Dracyor and Slashter went soon after.

They walked along the place. Making a few curves now and them, always following that voice. Until they finally saw something.

A small shape could be seem into the middle of two great rock formations. It’s weep was clearly audible form there now, and it seemed to be curled over itself and completely unaware of their presence.

Tyler was approaching, seeming not to be worried. Blaze walked by his side, ready to defend his brother against a possible threat. Slashter and Dracyor stood a little behind, the Nidoran having sure to keep his son behind him.

Tyler approached the pokemon, which now could be seen clearly. It seemed like a pinkish pumpkin with two holes for eyes carved into it, with a strange luminosity coming from inside. But the real face was above, in the brown colored part, and the small face now was turned down, and was crying in a heartbreaking way.

Tyler stepped forward “Hello? What is wrong, ty?”

The Pumpkaboo stopped crying to look at them, tears on its eyes, before it yelped and turned away, trying to ran away, but tripping and landing face in the ground. Tyler ran to it “Are you alright, ty?”

The small Pumpkaboo looked at him, fear on it ‘s eyes, and said “Please, don’t hurt me…” It said, closing it’s eyes, and looking away.

“Why would I hurt you, ty?” asked Tyler approaching very slowly. The pumpkin pokemon looked at him, and saw him smile softly. It seemed to lose part of it’s fear, but it was still scared. Dracyor and Slashter came closer also, and the Charmander asked “What happened?”

The pumpkin pokemon looked at him, and tears appeared on it’s eyes again “I don’t know…” it said innocently “I was here when I woke… I’m lost… I miss my mommy…”

Soon the realization fell over Slashter and Blaze as they shared a look. It should be the spirit of an infant. It died and now was lost and confused, and away from its parents. It only made the situation even more complicated and more delicate.

Tyler simply neared the Pumpkaboo and said “Who is your mommy?”. The small pokemon stops crying for a moment to look at him, and then it says “She is the beautiful Bellossom. We wer playing when there was that huge noise. And I woke in here… But…” it looks down at it’s own body “This is not me… I evolved..? Shouldn’t I be a Gloom?”

Blaze could not help but look pityfully at the ghost-type Poor kid He thought It must be so confused now. No wonder it was crying like that. Any other would do the same on it’s place.

Tyler looked at it “I’m not sure. Maybe we can find your mother and she will know what to do, ty!” the small dinosaur happily suggested. The pumpkin pokemon looked at him, it seemed yet not very willing to simply trust into a pokemon it had just met. But Tyler’s smile, as well as the expressions of the other three pokemon made it calm down enough, and it agreed with a single nod.

“Lets go them, ty.” Said Tyler getting by the size of the Pumpkaboo, and ready to scout it “I’m Tyler. What is your name, ty?”

The pokemon looked at him for a few moments, and said shyly “Hortence.”

So they started walking off, going in the direction of the exit. But it was a far walk ahead, and Hortence seemed to want to be glued on Tyler, since it wanted to be more afraid of the place than any other of the living pokemon.

Tyler noticed this, and then an idea popped into his mind. “Blaze, remember the songs mommy used to sing to us, ty?”

“Huh?” Blaze said, turning his gaze to Tyler, Slashter and Dracyor also looked at him, and so did Hortence. And before anyone could answer, Tyler started humming a music, like it was a happy tone. Soon Blaze recognized it. It was one of the happy songs their mother used to sing to them when they felt scared or sad, and it always made them feel good. And that song in particular Tyler was humming was one of their favorites. And Blaze was still remembering the lyrics.

He started singing “Come and be welcome, oh wandering minstrel, spreading your music from city to town.” All the eyes turned to him, and Tyler smiled wider as his big bro got the spirit of things. “Be you harper or piper, your duty is noble, you carry the tunes that will never die down.”

Then Blaze and Tyler both sing together “Come from the forest and sit ‘round the fire. Come form the fields and enter our hall.” The other three pokemon only looked at them as they sang “Come drink form the guest-cup, come join in our circle. Come and be welcome yeh bards one and all.”

Dracyor was starting to like this music, and as Blaze and Tyler hummed, he started humming with them. Dracyor noticed, and smiled, soon he too was humming, and Hortence looked at the pokemon as they did.

Blaze started out again “Come and be welcome, oh noble court poet. The treasure of knowledge is keep in your words. So unlock the riches of rhyme and of rhythm and let all the wealth of your wisdom be heard.” Dracyor and Slashter now were into the mood too, and they sang with Blaze and Tyler “Come from the forest and sit ‘round the fire. Come form the fields and enter our hall.” Hortence looked at them as they sang, and she was starting to smile as they did. “Come drink from the guest cup, come join in our circle. Come and be welcome yeh bards one and all.”

Their music was happy, and as they hummed the next part, Hortence now was humming with them. As they passed, other ears and eyes catch their humming. Passing by some stones, they got the attention of a Treecko and a Mudkip, wearing respectively blue and red jackets. With them were two Misdreavus, and they all started to follow them.

And it wasn’t only them, other ghost pokemon were starting to come out of their hiding spots and following the humming group. Once again, Blaze started singing “Come and be welcome, oh fair voiced singer, weaving the magic of music along.”

All the pokemon shared the happiness and the spirit of the song, and they all started smiling at the song. Blaze continued “You can thunder the heavens to raise up an army, or simply bring laughter and peace with a song.”

So they all started singing the chorus “Come from the forest and sit ‘round the fire. Come form the fields and enter our hall.” When they saw just how much now were singing, Blaze and Tyler were surprised, but they took it as a good surprise They kept singing together “Come drink from the guest cup, come join in our circle. Come and be welcome yeh bards one and all.”

And so, once again, they all put themselves to hum the music. Passin they got the attention of other pokemon: a Mudikip that was using a oversized armband as headband. Next to him were two honedges. One of them got to shine, and turned into a ditto. They shared a look and started following. A couple of more ghost-types followed the group. And once again, Blaze started singing.

“Come and be welcome, oh rare tale teller, with stories of wonder you wisely recall.” He sang, with happiness and spirit that were catching “Now, tell of the heroes who dwell in our history, for tales that are true are the best of them all.”

The pokemon who joined them were getting catch into the joy of the singing. Ans so, the pokemon that were already there sang in chorus “Come form the forest, and sit ‘round the fire. Come from the fields and enter our hall.” The music was quickly catching up with the ones that had joined now “Come drink from the guest-cup, come join in our circle. Come and be welcome yeh bards one and all.”

And so, once again they hummed. And soon, all the pokemon into the scourt were humming. The happiness they were cheering now was well visible for everyone. Now they were a group, happy and letting the world know about it. Outstansding into the dark ambient of the Honehenge. The troubles seeming now far away memories as they were all there, happy to be together and to be singing. The song was almost on the end, though, and Blaze started singing the last lines.

“Come and be welcome, wherever you hail from, share all the secrets and joys of your art, for every new voice that joins in the chorus will uplift the spirit and cheer the heart.”

And with that sang, they all into the scout, living and ghosts started singing “Come from the forest, and sit ‘round the fire. Come from the fields and enter our hall. Come drink form the guest-cup, come join in our circle. Come and be welcome yeh bards one and all.”

“Come from the forest and sit ‘round the fire. Come from the fields and enter our hall. Come drink form the guest-cup, come join in our circle, come and be welcome yeh bards one and all.”

“Come and be welcome yeh bards one and all.”

Come and be welcome yeh baaaaards One and aaaaaaaaall.”

When the last line ended, all the pokemon into the scout cheered and applauded. Blaze and Tyler shared a look. Many lost ghost types now were with them, and Hortence was no longer sad and scared. They shared a look and a smile. They proceeded to take the ghost pokemon back to Andaluss.