Welcome to Gaia! ::

Keivera hadn't been able to help herself. The thought of exploring intrigued her. The possibility to be able to do this all the time was even better. She had always been curious, so when she got the opportunity to try and get into the Eclipse Guild she jumped at the opportunity. This would be something that would open a multitude of doors for her, and she would be able to learn. Not only that, but she would be learning things from the very best there was. This was a dream come true. All she had to do was retrieve that bow for the guild master. How hard could it be?

The eerie bog was certainly deserving of it's name. The light mist had rolled in just as she had entered this place. The water was so high in places that it came up to her belly. It was spring, currently so her presently pink backside was a stark contrast to the dark murky water, hanging vines, lily pads, moss, and algae. Luckily, it was still rather early. Her hope was that there wouldn't be quite a many pokemon out and about this early, but she'd been wrong before.

As she finished sloshing through part of the bog and reached a position to pull herself back up on dry land, she signed in relief. She shook some of the water out of her fur, but there was still some minor bits of algae clinging to her. Where could that bow be? The bog was big, and there were many places the guild master could have hidden it. Keivera resigned herself to continue her search, but at least she was out of the water for now. However, her satisfaction at coming this far would be short lived. She was being watched. In a nearby tree on the opposite bank behind her there lurked a ghost in the shadows. Slowly, a Misdreavus floated out of the tree and began to follow her as she began to follow the bank.

Keivera's hooves sank easily into the mud along the bank and made a suction sound with each and every step. Even still, things were quiet, too quiet almost. Suddenly there was a flash of light overhead. She closed her eyes to keep from peering at the bright light, but it was too late. She quickly became very unsteady on her feet, and ran awkwardly straight into the trunk of a tree. Why did she feel funny? Why was her vision blurred?

With the surprise confuse ray having been a success, the Misdreavus came into the open and shot a psybeam at her. Keivera saw the psybeam coming, and though she wanted to jump back to unleash her own blinding sand-attack, she couldn't. Instead, she clumsily fell over and splashed back down into the water that she'd just pulled herself out of moments before. The psybeam had missed, but that was just sheer luck. As the Misdreavus came back around for another attack, she tried to get her footing and ended up falling back over. Quickly, Misdreavus his her with astonish hard. For a moment she was stunned. She could do nothing.

Finally, after she quit seeing stars, she was back to her full senses. Her confusion was gone. She wasn't going to let the Misdreavus know that though, so as it came back around to give her another smack, she quickly turned on her front legs and double kicked the Misdreavus in the face. Sure, it wasn't very effective, but it caught her enemy off guard. Using this time to her advantage, Keivera got back up on dry land. Now it was time for payback. Before the Misdreavus could attack her again, she kicked some sediment from the edge of the bank straight into the face of her foe. This should help improve her chances of getting away, but she wanted to be sure; as the Misdreavus continued to try and launch an attack, she kept hitting it with her sand-attack. Her goal wasn't to make her enemy feint, but just blind it enough for the moment so that it could no longer pursue her.

After hitting the Misdreavus several times square in the face with sand, Keivera felt comfortable enough to run. As she fled the scene, she saw the Misdreavus trying to pursue, but without being able to see clearly, it was wandering off at an angle instead of straight at her. She had been successful.

Thankfully, after running for several minutes she lost sight of her foe completely. She let out a sigh of relief as she came to a halt. She needed a moment to catch her breath. She couldn't let this stop her though. The battle may have been tiring, but she couldn't leave till after she had found that ribbon. With her breathing steadied, she began to walk again and headed due north, further into the bog.

Almost two hours passed by without incident. Then, as she was beginning to curse her luck, she spotted it – a viridian bow nestled in the bough of a tree just across the water. How was she going to get up there? What was she thinking? That was silly, she could simply knock it down. Jumping across a few rocks in her way, Keivera stopped at the foot of the tree and looked up to where the bow was perched. Her double kick should shake the tree enough. Without another thought, she turned on her front legs and let out a flurry of double kicks. Sure enough, this was enough to knock it out of the tree.

Happy at the prospect of finding the bow, Keivera lowered her head and picked the bow up in her mouth. Now she could head home and present the Guild Master with the retrieved bow.

Just as she was turning to leave, a Weedle crawled out of the tree, very angry. Apparently it had been napping in the tree. Oops! Without waiting to see what the angry bug would do she ran. She would run all the way back to the guild. Where there was a Weedle, there was sure to be Beedrill and she did not want to mess with those. Poison and bug moves could seriously hurt her, and besides, she had what she came for. She didn't need to stick around any longer.

Keivera beamed. She was delighted to be welcomed into the guild. "Thank you Guild Master Veilmys! I'll do my very best to make you proud, sir!" Taking the viridian ribbon back, she smiled and bowed her head. Then, turned to head out to see who her partner would be. She was extremely excited about this opportunity. She planned to make the best of it.

Barcel

"So it was a Milotic..." He would have never guessed. Upon the team's return to the guild they were met with the colossal frame of the Treasure Hunter's head himself. The Empoleon was frowning intently though it didn't seem to be addressed at Mercy or Peter. Rather, he seemed bothered by the report on the affairs of the Eerie Bog.
"Hn, making the decision of who lives and who dies is not something for mortals to decide. I don't like the sounds of how this court is being handled but it needs to be dealt with." Barcel lifted a shielded arm, a golden claw scratching at the side of his beak and he turned to the Mankey attendant standing at his side and holding a stack of papers.
"We'll send an experience Mercenary team out there to clean up the trash and set order to things. It's not something a Rank One team like you should be concerned over..."
Then in a gruff tone he shrugged his broad shoulders upward and extended gestured to the team, causing the Mankey to offer them a small satchel.
"Inside are your rewards. A Shiny stone and 9ooPD. As a bonus for a job well done there's an additional 15ooPD in there from me. Keep up the good work, kids." A competitive smirk tugged at the corners of his beak.
"Let's give those other groups a run for their money~"


Obtained the following:
2,400 PD total
Shiny Stone (x1)
+2 MP


Later the team would be summoned to the lobby where a group of Pokemon eagerly awaited the chance to join their team. Among them were a Butterfree, a curious Ghastly and a familiar, smiling Milotic.
They could only pick one to join their team though!

Veilmys toyed around with the Partner Voucher in his ribbons as he waited for the Absol to return. She really was taking her sweet time getting back--it had been nearly a whole day since he'd sent her on her way, and the moon had already passed its zenith. The Sylveon might have been concerned, but he'd been keeping tabs on the situation enough to know that she should be arriving soon enough.

When Ghost trudged into the main hall, the Guildmaster's eyes widened with surprise to see the shivering mass of muddy fur that had replaced the pure-white Absol from before. "Good heavens my dear, you look dreadful! Wait there just a moment." The Sylveon ducked into his office and emerged shortly after with a thick blanket held securely in his ribbons. Naturally it was a lovely shade of pink, and he hated to get it dirty, but it was for the greater good. With a gentle flick of the ribbons, he tossed the sheet over the Dark Type and smiled happily. "There, that should help warm you up. Now, let's see that ribbon, shall we~?"

He accepted the light blue bow from her mouth, flipping it over to check the lining. After brushing a bit of mud from the sides he spotted it: a strand of white turned brown from the muck it had brushed against. "Splendid work!" he said cheerfully, pulling the thread out with a practiced claw. He returned the bow to her, slipping the paper he'd been holding beneath it. "You are now a Rank One Team of the Guild of Eclipse. The bow is yours to keep, and the paper allows you to receive your partner assignment." He smiled apologetically. "Unfortunately it's after hours right now at the Partner Assignment Office, so you'll have to go there tomorrow morning. At least it'll give you the chance to wash up though." He chuckled, stepping to the side to allow the Absol past. "Team Rooms are just down the hall, I'm sure you'll find them without too much trouble. Oh, and my dear?" The Sylveon smiled gently. "Do take care of yourself. If those chills get any worse there are always Pokemon at the Infirmary who'd be happy to lend a paw."

Part One

“I really cannot thank you enough for the escort out here. It's indeed quite thrilling to have a team aid me in search of treasure! It's almost like we are archaeologists on a mission! Imagine the artifacts and rare antiquities we will find! Oh, I simply cannot wait! This is so exciting. Did you know how rare it is for a quagmire to harbor such items? I assure you, it's quite the uncommon occurrence! But my sources are never wrong, and my research is flawless. There is surely great fortune awaiting us in this bog!”

“That's nice. Now, please, shut up.” Cimm growled in deep irritation as he scowled at the telepathically blabbering Starmie. The purple starfish hadn't shut up since the moment it walked up to the guild's main entrance on two of its fins. It was quite awkward to watch an obviously aquatic creature wobbling around on land, but it seemed to get around fine and Cimm didn't care enough to mock the sight. It was before dawn, they had a long hike ahead of them to the Eerie Bog, and he was no morning person. It seemed he wasn't the only one. Nuna and Kennick were unusually quiet. Both had drooping eyes and their awareness of the situation seemed off to him from their position seated on the cobbled path leading up to the guild. Cimm wanted to join them in their daydreaming, but he had other responsibilities.

He shifted on his feet and moved the weight in his strapped on pouches around to a more comfortable position. He had supplies a-plenty for himself and two others, in case they had to make an overnight trip. Food, money, a first aide kit, and magnets. Well, those were for him, but they were necessary all the same. Nidyhana was also bearing the weight of food and other needed items in her own cheap satchel that she had brought along with her when the Sneasel had come to the guild. He was glad to have the extra hand so that he wouldn't have to be the only one suffering. Finding a backpack for a dragon or ghost wasn't exactly an easy task, and he didn't trust Nuna with anything important by way of wisdom.

“Alright, everyone knows what the plan is?” He gruffly asked, scanning with tired eyes over all of his Team's members. Only Mana nodded, the rest apparently distracted or to tired to answer. He growled and looked at the Starmie that was their client. He couldn't read the facial expression of the Pokemon, as it had no face, but the Luxio could tell that it was beginning to become uneasy by the way it was shuffling its fins around. An understandable reaction considering the long quest they were about to embark on. The cat took a breath through his nose and exhaled in the form of words. “Whoever doesn't answer me doesn't get to eat today.”

That was all it took to get Nuna, Nidhyana, and laughably, Kennick's attention. He hadn't been expecting to have all three sets of eyes staring at him so quickly. He smirked and nodded sharply. He was finding it easier to control his whimsical and rather rowdy group with every passing day. In a few years he could even imagine milking a few drops of respect out of the otherwise blatantly disrespectful bunch.

“Huh? Why? What? Did I miss something?” Nuna blabbered out tiredly, causing the Luxio to roll his eyes at his co-captain. He flashed her his fangs as his annoyance seeped through.

“The plan?” he exasperated, already dreading the day's events. He could deal with them on a day-to-day basis by simply ignoring them. When it came to missions, however, it had proved quite vital to keep a reign on his obnoxious team members. He wasn't sure he could keep his sanity through the night if they had to spend it in the bog.

“Uhm, yeah, that. Go to the clog, find its measure, and come back?” Nuna answered, though her sentence sounded oddly like a question to him. He bit his inner lip and groaned, wanting to bash his skull into the nearest wall repeatedly. He had already briefed all of them on what they would be doing the night before, as well as earlier in the morning. Apparently, Nuna's skull was so thick it couldn't even absorb a simple plan. He was glad he had other teammates to correct the Aron, because otherwise he'd be trying to tear through her metal coating at this point.

“Not clog; Bog. We're going to the Eerie Bog, finding the treasure, and then coming back.” Nidhyana kindly filled in with a chuckle, clearly way more amused by Nuna's airheadedness than Cimm. He grumbled under his breath complaints about the lack of common sense before letting out a breath.

“We scout out the main area where this guy-”

“Claudius.” The Starmie patiently yet timidly interrupted. Cimm only paused for a moment to look blankly at the purple fish before returning back to his team.

“Where Claudius says he's sure the treasure-”

“Is at the heart of the bog!” The Starmie interrupted. Cimm clenched his teeth and felt a quiver run through his insides as he tried his best to restrain himself from turning around and beating up their client. Apparently anything that had to do with their current mission would set the water type off on a tangent about the subject. But instead of slicing up and frying a nice batch of Starmie fritters like his gut told him to do, he focused on quelling the swirling cloud of annoyance and anger within as Claudius spoke on.

“This treasure is a rarity among rarities. If my research proves correct, and it always does, this is the treasure of the Pirate Agatha. Late into the Era of Pirates, Agatha was one of the few female pirates. One of the best, too. She was hired by the greedy leader of an ancient civilization to pillage his enemies' resources. They had a deal where he would get three fourths of the treasure she found, and she could keep the quarter of it for herself and her crew, as well as any goods that couldn't be sold for high value on the market. So she and her crew basically lived aboard her ship. They kept food and clothing from the other ships they ambushed, as well as any food stuffs they found. Her infamy was grand, yet her charisma drew others to her! Before long she was the commander of her own pirate fleet! Do you know how amazing that is?”

The Starmie paused and looked around at all of them with its giant red crystal. Cimm was bored out of his mind with the whole thing, but a look at the rest of them let him know that at least three of his team members were captivated by the story. Kennick still looked groggy and hadn't said a word yet. Nuna, Nidhyana and Mana were staring wide eyed at the Starmie. Though Cimm had to wonder if his co-captain was taken in by the story or if she was just entranced by the giant, multi-colored, gleaming gem protruding from the center of Claudius' face.

“It's fantastic! Pirates only usually held a career of one or two years due to the dangerous circumstances and substantial pay off. But Agatha held her position as a pirating goddess for five years! Incredible, I know, but that's not even the most fantastic part! After such a long time working for the man, she eventually realized she had more than enough power to overwhelm him. So one day she took her fleet and stormed his home territory! While her other ships swarmed the towns and villages, she led a small group of her closest crew members and stormed the temple of the ruler! In the end she vanquished the greedy ruler and retrieved all of the treasure she had collected for him. But at a great cost.”

Claudius sighed sadly, though it could have been a pause for air after his long winded story. Cimm couldn't tell, nor did he really care to. Unfortunately for him, the Starmie wasn't quite done yet. “While the king had been greedy and had hoarded riches from his ailing people, Agatha had been blinded to her own greed for wealth and power. She did not realize the pain she was causing the poor people that her employer had ruled over, and in her shortsightedness also lost her closest friends in the siege of the treasury. Only when they had all fallen did she realize her mistake. Guilt ridden, she delved out the treasure to the people, only keeping a small portion, perhaps one chest or less, for herself. Instead of using that treasure for herself, however, she decided to sink in the deepest part of the ancient lake that is now the Eerie Bog today.”

“Wow. That's incredible! What kind of Pokemon was she, to be so... Cool?” The newest member of Team Moonlighter asked in awe as Claudius finally drew his story to a close with a tone of finality. The water Pokemon save a shrug like gesture with two of its arms.

“No one knows just what species she was.” The Starmie informed Nidhyana with an inquisitive trill in his voice. “Actually that reminds me of another fascinating fact about Agatha. Did you know that many different claims on her species have been-”

“Ohhhhhkay! That's enough!” Cimm growled loudly as he whipped around to stand directly in front of Claudius. He narrowed his yellow stare quickly and noticed with a bit of satisfaction as the Starmie stepped back a bit. “Let's just go already. I'm sure you could drone on about useless past events forever, but we have a job to do, and I would like to leave before the day is over!”

The Luxio hardly noticed how harsh his tone had been, or how his fangs were baring themselves menacingly at the Starmie, or even how his fur had started to crackle with energy as he nearly shouted his last few words. All he did notice was how effective he had been in getting Claudius to shut up. He nodded once very sharply before pushing past the fish and throwing a ”Let's go.” over his shoulder.

There was only a slight hesitation before the sound of footsteps and unwilling groans filled the air behind him. ”Something obviously crawled into his bed and bit him on the butt last night harder than it usually does.” His co-captain's voice piped up, but he ignored it. If she was finally awake enough to speak, then she could keep that blabbermouth Claudius busy for the long trip to the Eerie Bog.


And busy indeed she did keep him. The sun was high in the sky by the time they reached the fields and dense pinewood forests just before the bog, and Cimm had yet to speak another word to the Starmie.

”So... What your saying is... Your being greedy and selfish, just like that Ugtha pirate lady.” Nuna was skeptically questioning the exasperated Starmie. He let out a sigh of frustration and shook his body in a negating gesture.

”For the thousandth time; I'm not being selfish! This gem is not something I can just take off and hand to you! It's a part of my body.” The starfish groaned psychically in what he didn't know was a vain attempt to reason with the Aron. ”And her name is Agatha, not... Whatever it is that you just called her!”

”Pshh, whatever, it sounds like a lame excuse if I've ever heard one.” The shiny little Pokemon huffed, a grin suddenly spreading across her face under her mask as she took a quick step towards Claudius. ”Hey, I bet you've just never tried hard enough to pull it off. Why don't I- Huh? Agh! Yuck!” Luckily for Claudius, Nuna stepped in a big patch of mud before she could enact whatever harebrained thoughts she was dreaming up. Cimm looked at her in sadistic amusement as she shook off her now muddy feet and backpedaled to the grassy area she had been in only moment ago. ”What is this witchery?” The girl cried in a tone Cimm hadn't heard since their first mission together.

”It's called the Eerie Bog, you dimwit.” Cimm kept his tone even as the rest of the group, unfazed by the shallow muck they were now standing in, came to an opening that revealed to them a large portion of the mire. Trees instantly became sparse. The ground steadily gave way to water ahead of them, which in turn disappeared under a thick sheet of sphagnum moss that coated the landscape in a dull yellow brown color. From the few sickly looking trees they could see other types off moss growing, hanging from the skinny branches like tattered pieces of dark green cloth. Tall patches of grass grew here and there, and some raised land was visible, though none of it was connecting.

”Looks like we'll be wading most of the time, huh?” Nidhyana laughed, tossing a clawed arm out to gesture towards all of the visible landscape before them. Odd as it was, they couldn't see too far due to the nearly hilly nature of the bog. Claudius apparently noticed this too, as he went into a rant about how this was a special bog with a dome like shape, but Cimm was too fed up with listening to the Starmie to try and pick up on the details of why this was so.

”Well, I am not going in there. Not with all that gross, sticky mud!” Before anyone could try to reason with the Aron, she had backed up a safe distance from where the edge of the grime started. Immediately after is when she charged forward and flung herself through the air. Everyone who could blinked in confusion as they watched the tiny, yet heavy body soar through the air. Her target became obvious only after she had landed. Her landing pad? Kennick's wide and sturdy shell. ”W-woah!” She gasped out as she sprawled out her legs in an attempt to keep her balance on the dragon who had just been spooked.

”What in Arceus' name...!?” The Shelgon shouted as if he had just been woken up by means of cold water being splashed into his little cubby hole. It was pretty close to it, actually. Kennick had been nothing more than a sleep walking zombie the whole way to the swampy area. He tried to spin around in a circle to get a better look at who or what had just pounded into his back. That turned out to be a vain action as he really was impeded from doing so by his shell. Once Nuna's laughter reached his ears, he scoffed and stopped going around in circles. ”What are you doing, you impudent little-”

”I'm hitching a ride, duh!” Nuna interrupted with a laugh. Cimm was a bit surprised at how well rooted she was to the squirming dragon. ”Look, I ain't gonna get into that grime myself. I woke up unusually shiny today, and I'm not about to throw that out the door and into the mud. Just be my floaty raft thingy for today.”

”How about no? Just get off of me! This is so demeaning!” Cimm rolled his eyes at Kennick's whining. How he always seemed to end up with the most ridiculous Pokemon was beyond him. He would have yelled at them both to stop goofing off and focus, but Mana had entered his peripherals at that moment. He shut his mouth and looked to the ghost expectantly. He had noticed more and more lately that he could sense when Mana was trying to get his attention on purpose. The Gastly never showed itself to him unless he was addressing it, or Mana wanted something. He flicked his ears at the quiet spirit in his own subtle way of telling it to speak.

”I can sense other ghosts nearby, Sir. And getting closer.” Mana's worried tone made him squint his eyes. What was that supposed to mean? His eyes flicked over to the group making a ruckus. Kennick was currently trying to buck off Nuna, who was complaining about him splashing mud everywhere, while Nidhyana stood back and laughed heartily at the scene and Claudius obliviously blathered on about the swamp.

”Shut up, all of you! Something's not right here.” All four turned to the cat. Well, Kennick turned towards him and brought Nuna along with him. They fell silent as he flicked his ears rapidly around the area, searching for any out of place sounds that could alert him to an ambush. He didn't need a reminder of the craftiness that ghosts possessed. A breeze passed by that made the whole bog shudder, and Cimm took note of the way Mana's ghostly gases expanded and quickly contracted to make itself smaller. Something was not right with this place.

”Sorry to bother you, Mr. Cimmerian, sir.” Cimm was instantly snapped out of his focus as he turned his head abruptly to Claudius. His eye twitched and seemed to give cause for hesitation in the Starmie's voice. ”I-I, uh, was just wondering if you were thinking it would be safe for us to continue as we are.”

”Call. Me. Cimm.” Were the first words he growled menacingly in response.

”B-but, Miss Nuna said-”

”Just do it!” The Water Pokemon nodded quickly with its upper body. ”And we will be fine, as long as we keep moving. Just standing around here isn't going to do us much good. You. Lead the way to where this treasure is. We'll keep an eye out for any suspicious activity.” He ordered the Starmie whose knowledge he was going to put to the test.

”Wait, you don't really expect me to lug her around the whole time we're here, do you?” Kennick's disbelieving voice met his ears. He looked over the dragon and its hitchhiker with dull eyes.

”That shell of yours looks like it holds quite a bit of air in it. You probably float easily on water, no?”

”What? Yeah, so what?”

”So. Nuna sinks. She is made out of steel and rock, you know. Just suck it up, Princess.” He teased the dragon with a straight face. That elicited a deep grumbling from Kennick that Cimm decided he'd better quell before they got even more off track. ”I thought the Old One would have taught her disciples how to be chivalrous. I guess not. Maybe there is a thing or two you can learn from me.”

”Wh-what? That's ridiculous! Of course the Old One taught me- I mean, what would you know about- Ugh! Fine! Whatever, let's just go already.” Kennick stumbled over his words and speech, but eventually gave up upon seeing he was trapped by the Luxio's well made comeback. He grumbled and pushed past the cat, heading into the water before the Starmie even had a chance to.

”Eh? A-are we really taking off now? Oh, alright! Wait for me, Master Kennick!” Cimm rolled his eyes as Claudius took after the duo wading into the muck and water. Where had he gotten these nicknames from? Shaking his head he began taking the first steps into the thick water ahead of him. He hadn't taken much note before, but the way the mud squeezed through his toes sent shivers up his spine. His mind couldn't help but to think back to the similar feeling he had when trudging through the goop back at the Toxic Swamps. Though he much preferred this place over that one, he could do without the slimy sensation.

He ignored the sensation as best as he could, considering the fact that he knew he was going to be covered in filth one way or another after trudging through the bog. He slipped into the waters that ended up being nearly chin high to him, and Nidhyana was close at his heels. He was glad that he'd opted to pay extra money for a water proof and sealed bag when he'd bought his harness. He didn't have to worry about carrying it over his head the whole time like his newest team member did hers.

”Nice coercing back there, Chief.” The Sneasel snickered as they both held their chins high and followed after the group. Cimm ignored Nidhyana for the moment and let his eyes rove about for any signs of Mana. He could feel the ghost's presence nearby, but couldn't see it. As long as the spirit stayed close in case of an emergency, he didn't care if it was invisible or not. ”So what's with the 'Old One' stuff? Is that a secret code or something? Or someone's grandparent?”

”What? No, it's a long story is what it is. Just don't worry about it.” Cimm absently answered as his mind tried to shift to what they could be expecting ahead of them. He was worried that they may not be the only ones who know about the treasure. Even if they were the only ones, they still had to worry about feral Pokemon and random attackers. What if they got separated, or one of them got injured, or died, or-

”Oh, come on, just tell me! We're going to be in this bog for a while, you know. I don't wanna be left out of-” Nidhyana's voice interrupted his frantic thoughts and he swiveled his head slightly to glare at her, effectively shutting her up. The Sneasel gulped and her bright blue eyes flickered between his electric yellow ones.

”If you don't shut up and just focus on the mission, I'll make sure you don't leave the bog.” He stated in monotone, though his threatening expression remained. The Sneasel only looked stunned for a second more before she let a scowl overcome her features.

”I don't know if this is what your like all the time, but this attitude sucks. You told Kennick to suck it up, yet you can't even have a simple conversation.” Nidhyana grumbled, sloshing forwards ahead of him as he scoffed and rolled his eyes. ”I honestly hope what that letter said was true, still.”

Cimm kept a growl from coming out of his throat as he watched the blue feathered Sneasel go ahead of him. He just shook off her words and put them out of his mind for now, already trying to put any memories of that note they had received out of his memories. If he had to deal with another Pokemon in need of an attitude adjustment, he didn't know how much longer he could stay sane. He tried to push out his other thoughts as well, focusing on his role now as guard of the group's rear. Claudius soon overtook Kennick's slow paddling with him being a water type, and the five team mates followed the Starmie to where the treasure hopefully was. The dense layer of moss and cranberry bushes floating atop the water was no problem for the starfish. Claudius sent a jet of water ahead of him every so often to clear a path for them to wade freely through. It was a slow process, but it got the job done. In fact, things went this way for a couple hours without any hinderance.

They swam and waded, sometimes coming up to a patch of higher ground where they could rest their legs. Eventually Nidhyana had joined up with Kennick and Nuna and was engaged in a rather lively bout of conversation with the Aron perched on Kennick's back about the glittery objects they may or may not find. Kennick was ignoring them and Mana was still nowhere to be seen by the naked eye. That left Cimmerian with the motormouth Claudius who was spouting off random facts about bogs, pirates, and artifacts.

”Fens are actually alkaline bogs. And I'd have to say that this swamp is very nearly at that classification! Look at how malnourished the trees are around here. Obviously this is a sign of...” Cimm tuned the Starmie out as he thought about how odd this trip was turning out to be. Besides the company he had, there was something just not right with their surroundings. As the sun began to set lower over the slightly curved horizon that the bog provided, Cimm couldn't help but feel that something was watching him from the fog that was settling over the waters. Eerie was certainly a word that fit the bog's description. The twilight that was quickly covering the scenery also added on to the creepy feeling he was getting. But that wasn't what had him on edge.

They had seen no other Pokemon this entire time. Now that he thought about it, he figured he would have noticed the absence of sound in the quagmire a lot sooner had his group actually been silent.

”How much longer?” Cimm suddenly snapped at Claudius halfway through the Starmie's rambling explanation of the PH scale. All eyes turned to him, since he had be so silent for the past hours since they'd entered the bog.

”I-I'd say maybe forty five minute, an hour at most. The map I read said it should be just up ahead. The landscape should change, too, since-”

”We'll find a dry place for the night, then. Mana?” He called out, fully expecting the sudden materialization of the ghost beside him as it heeded his call. The others seemed a bit startled by this and Cimm had to wonder if they were all getting creepy vibes from this bog as well and were on edge. Or maybe it was because he and Mana had never pulled this trick in front of anyone yet. Either way, he didn't dwell on it too much and went on. ”Have you noticed any good places to settle down?”

”I noticed a raised spot about ten minutes back.” The ghost simply stated, and Cimm nodded, grateful in part for the Gastly's useful observant nature. He looked to the four other beings standing around him and huffed.

”Will there be any complaints about stopping?” He gruffly asked, eyeing each of the Pokemon before him. Kennick scoffed and drew his attention.

”Are you kidding? It would be stupid to keep going through he in the night.” The dragon mentioned, and Nidhyana gave hearty nod of agreement.

”And I'm hungry!” Nuna exclaimed in addition, reminding them all of the amount of time that had passed since they ate lunch in the plains before the bog. Nidhyana gave another agreeing nod. Cimm puffed a short breath out through his nose, glad to have all of his team in agreement for once.

”Lead the way, Mana.” He instructed the ghost, who nodded and turned to float in the direction it had spotted the hopefully dry area. They began trekking back through the boggy land. About ten minutes later, just as Mana had said, they had derailed from the main path they had taken back and felt the ground start to incline upwards. Soon they were completely out of the water and standing on top of what seemed to be a large moss covered rock. It was pretty massive, big enough for all of them to lay down on comfortably and still light a fire in the middle. Cimm extended his claws so as not to slip on the slick moss as he climbed to the far side of the relatively dry area. ”I'd prefer some cover, but this will do.” He mentioned, noticing how out in the open they were. If it rained, they'd have a problem, but the sky was clear of any clouds so he didn't think it would be an issue. He turned to look at Nidhyana, who had sat her satchel down and was rubbing her arms that were probably sore from carrying her bag above the water the entire time. ”Get out the fire starter supplies you brought.” He blandly ordered.

Nidhyana gave him a look that told him she was still slightly irritated with him, but did as he said anyways. As the Sneasel rifled through her bag, Kennick carefully climbed the slippery rock. Without any way to grip onto the ground with his blunt paws, this was quite the task. But the dragon proved to have a better sense of balance than Cimm realized and Kennick eventually made it to the flat part of the boulder without so much as a single wobble. As soon as he was still Nuna took the opportunity to jump off of his back.

”Ick. It's still wet.” She complained as her feet tested out the damp, mossy area. The Aron looked over to Claudius, who was just getting out of the water himself, and then to Nidhyana, who was currently pulling out a metallic object and setting it in the middle of the rock. ”What's that, huh? A... Can?” Nuna's voice filled with confusion at the sight of the tin can filled with holes that the Sneasel had placed on the ground and was shoving what looked to be paper wads into. The weasel Pokemon smiled at Nuna and nodded.

”Yup. I have quite a few of these fire starters in here.” The Sneasel mentioned, taking out a wad with one hand and twisting it around to show the different angles. ”Wax, lint, and parchment wrapped in alcohol based paper. I just stick it in here, like so, and light it.” Her explanation was perky and excited, apparently glad to be showing others her craftiness.

”Hate to burst your bubble, Captain Camper, but where are the matches?” Kennick noted pessimistically. The addressed Pokemon quirked a brow and gave him a cocky smirk. The Sneasel closed her eyes and breathed in deeply through her nose, holding her breath for a second before slowly opening her crystal blue orbs again and parting her lips just a bit. The next thing anyone saw was a small yet very straight stream of bright orange fire shooting from the Sneasel's mouth, odd circlets surrounding the beam of fire as it shot into the can. As the fire starter took to the heat and gave off its own warm energy Kennick huffed and rolled his eyes. ”Showoff.”

”You bet!” Nidhyana laughed in reply, placing the back of her two clawed hands on her hips, ”And because of the 'special' properties of my fire, that little bit will burn for twice as long as it normally would! I've learned a bit about magic from my father when I was young.”

Kennick grumbled something under his breath that Cimm suspected were curses and Nuna roared her bewilderment and excitement at seeing the trick. Cimm himself only curled up on the ground, tucking his paws underneath him and wrapping his tail neatly against his legs. He kept his head up and looked over the bog to the North from where they came. He blotted out the sounds of his rambunctious team as he tried to discern any forms of malignant beings in the quickly darkening shadows of the night. Perhaps he was becoming more aware of ghostly presences with the help of Mana's nearly constant lingering position at his side. He certainly thought so, as he was getting similar vibes from the bog as he did the Gastly that accompanied him.

”Hey.” Nidhyana's voice didn't startle him, but drew him out of his vigil as she pulled away from the group now huddled around the fire. He looked at her blankly as she knelt down beside him. ”Nuna ate the rest of the food in my bag, do you have enough for me and Kennick?” She was already reaching for the pouch on his left side and he quickly send a very small current of electricity through his body, to the magnets sewn into the flap of the storage compartment. He expertly twisted the effect of the magnets so that they would become polar opposites and repel rather than attract each other. The result was the sudden opening of the pouch before Nidhyana could even reach it. She gasped and drew back her claw quickly.

”Go ahead.” Cimm simply mentioned without giving much thought to her reaction. ”I thought this might happen, so I packed extra.” The Sneasel hesitated before nodding and reaching into the pouch to gather a few food items from it.

”Sheesh, you packed a ton!” Nidhyana mused with a whistle, to which the Luxio only grunted and turned back to watching the bog with suspicion. He heard the ice Pokemon sigh, ”I haven't known you for that long, I get it, but why are you so stressed?” Cimm cringed as he was addressed. He seriously hated how nosy this girl was being.

”My stress levels don't concern you.” He huffed tiredly as he sent a reversing pulse of electricity to quickly snap shut his pouch. Nidhyana grunted and stood back on her feet as if to leave, but lingered just a moment more.

”Aren't you gonna eat?” She asked curiously upon seeing that the electric lion hadn't taken out anything for himself.

”Later.” He simply answered, still not looking over his shoulder to the Sneasel. A snort that revealed a smirk to Cimm without him having to look at the other Pokemon left her.

”I see. You're not hungry because of the stress, right?”

”Why do you keep saying I'm stressed? I am not stressed!” Cimmerian exasperated rather loudly, though not enough to gather attention from the rest of the group. His bright yellow stare found its way at last to the crystal blue orbs belonging to his pestering underling. Her arms were full of berries, bread, and whatever other things he had stuffed into his bag, and her glare was sharp.

”Because you are stressed, idiot!” She shot back. Cimm reeled at the insult. He'd been called a lot of things before, but an idiot was never one of them. ”Like I said, I haven't known ya for long, but you definitely aren't acting the same as when I first met you. Ever since that... Letter.... Ah-ha! I knew it!”

Now Cimm was really lost, as well as irritated. His tail had unfolded itself from its fixed position and was now lashing wildly about like an electrified Ekans. ”Knew what?” He ground out through clenched and nearly bared teeth. The Sneasel looked triumphantly down at him.

”It's what was in that letter, isn't it?You're seriously worrying about what was written in it, aren't you?” He knew instantly that she was referring to the letter his team had received from Serrin. Her comment made him lose his words. Normally Cimm would be able to make a snappy 'no' as his comeback, but something in Nidhyana's tone made him think things would only get worse if he tried denying it.

”That is none of your business.” He decided on voicing. So what if he had been a bit irritated by that stupid letter after that stupid mission in which he did absolutely nothing? It was none of her concern! ”Why don't you go eat already like you said you would and leave me alone?”

”Sheesh, so sensitive!” The only reason Cimm could tell that she was using mock irritation was by the smile on Nidhyana's face as she replied to him. ”Don't worry about it, you overgrown kitten. I'm not gonna rub it in your face or run around telling everyone that you got your feelings hurt.”

Cimm didn't know what to say. Actually, he knew what he wanted to say, but he knew he shouldn't say it. Anything that came out of his mouth at this point would just backfire and seem to prove the Sneasel's point. So instead of saying anything at all the Luxio merely narrowed his eyes and abruptly turned his head away again. Nidhyana snickered behind him and turned around to head back for the fire that was still burning brightly. Just like that, he was left alone again to keep watch over the Eerie Bog as the clear skies allowed the moonlight to shine into the fog. He preferred it that way and hoped that his newest recruit would mind her distance and business. Her 'conversation' with him had already made him lose what little peace he had managed to hold onto during this tiresome trip. Now instead of just being able to ignore them all, he had the reminder of that dreadful letter floating around in his head.

It wasn't that Serrin's letter was rude. It was quite the factual letter that was to the point and let Cimm and his team clearly know how Serrin had felt they did during that awful trip into the Mystifying Jungle. No, it wasn't the writer who bothered him. It was the fact that really the only thing pertaining to the leader of the team in the letter was the mention of his mistake in splitting up the team. Because really, what else had he done?

”Stupid mission, stupid letter.” Cimm growled lightly under his breath, trying to focus on discerning whether his eyes were playing tricks on him, or if there were really shadows moving in the fog. ”Stupid Nidhyana.”

Being the expert in ignoring his own problems he was, Cimm eventually managed to shut off the fretting and irritated part of his brain and merely focus on the task of taking up station guard. A few minutes turned into a few hours and eventually the rest of his group settled down from their meal and all curled in on themselves to go to sleep for the night. Claudius slipped into the water for his slumber, Nuna used Kennick's shell as a mattress, and Nidhyana used it as a pillow. Soft snores were soon the only thing that could be heard aside from the lapping of the water against the rock they were on. Though he was nocturnal by nature, Cimm too soon began to feel the wear on his muscles from the day's hike and found himself struggling not to yawn or let his eyelids droop. He stood and shook out his fur a couple of times in an attempt to keep alert before a familiar presence came into his awareness.

”Yes, Mana?” He asked in a sluggish manner as he turned his face to his left. The spherical ghost became tangible quickly and offered him a small smile that he was unprepared for. He actually wondered if this was the first time he'd seen the spirit smile. Though he couldn't remember if it had or not, he wasn't usually one to care about such things anyways and blamed his random thoughts on fatigue.

”You know, I don't really need to sleep. I can keep watch for you until morning.” The Gastly's echoing voice whispered kindly. Cimm blinked his yellow eyes that gleamed in the moonlight and shook his head.

”Even if I did, I doubt I'd get any rest.” He grumbled in irritation as he plopped his rump down and scanned the area once more. Fog had gathered so thickly across the bog now that it had creeped up the side of the boulder they were on and blanketed most everything in sight. He wondered if he could actually scoop some of it out, it was so thick. A shudder ran down the cat's spine as his ears flicked in many directions. The sensation that he had when first entering the quagmire had steadily increased the deeper into the night they got. It was as if eyes were watching him from every direction. ”Don't you feel it?”

”It's like the bog itself lives.” Mana's already ominous sounding voice greatly amplified the creepiness of the comment it made. Cimm frowned and opened his mouth to tell the Gastly that it should never tell a horror story when his on-alert hearing picked up something.

Curiously (or perhaps not), once again Team Moonlighter would be greeted not by their own sector leader, but by the Aurorus who was the head of exploration--or so it first appeared because of his massive size; further examination would reveal an interested-looking Barcel standing there as well, in the shadow of his larger coworker, a light in his eyes that was rather dissimilar to his usual irritated expression. "So... Did you find it?" the Empoleon said, stepping forward when they arrived. His eyes passed over them swiftly, locking onto the chest they had brought with them almost immediately and looking as though he might pounce on it at any second.

Claudius chuckled, nudging Barcel back with a gentle nudge of the leg. "Give them room to breathe Barcel," he said lightly, ignoring the irritated grumbling he got for his trouble. Looking back to the Team and their client he dipped his head to them in greeting. "Don't mind my presence. When I heard whose treasure you were seeking I simply had to be here for the results. Agatha has been a great mystery to historians, and if you chanced upon success I didn't intend to miss the findings for my own records." The Aurorus was clearly excited, though far less vocally than their client who shared his name, but his eyes also strayed to the chest that they'd been carrying.

"Get on with it already!" Barcel commanded from the side, rolling his eyes at Claudius. "There's no point in wasting everyone's time." All eyes turned to the client as the Empoleon gestured for the Starmie to open up the chest, and the smaller Claudius seemed to be slightly nervous as he used his Psychic to maneuver through the inner workings of the lock, holding his breath when he heard the soft click of the lock yielding to his energy. With some trepidation, the Starmie leaned over and pulled on the lid with two of his arms and it came open easily, revealing the contents inside.

Eyes widened and a few gasps were heard, one coming from the client himself, as they stared at the wealth that lay within the chest. A mixture of ancient coins and gems of many colors sparkled before their eyes, with the ends of a few significant artifacts peeking out through the top and almost certainly more to be found once the smaller currencies were sifted through. Barcel's eyes were wide and his face wore an expression of triumph as he laughed out loud, clearly pleased. "The treasure of Agatha, the Queen of Pirates! This is one for the books!"

Claudius nodded, the exploration leader's eyes drawn to a thin stack of papers that had been tucked down the side, and there was a hunger for knowledge in them that didn't fade. "Quite right," the Aurorus murmured, itching to look at the less shiny contents of the chest. "Well done Team Moonlighter."

"Was there more?" Barcel's question was abrupt, but it needed to be answered. When he learned that this was all there was the Empoleon frowned a bit, but maintained a greater semblance of contentment than he would have in most other situations. "Well, this is likely worth a fortune as is, considering its origins. Good work you lot." It was probably one of the highest expressions of praise the Empoleon had given to a Team yet.

The members of Team Moonlighter were dismissed shortly after, absent their rewards since the client had apparently been relying on the treasure to help him finance their reward, a thought which Claudius the Aurorus shut down almost immediately. When the group left, they would hear the exploration leader having an intense discussion with the Starmie about the value of this find and the necessity that it be properly analyzed and preserved, with Barcel standing silently to the side and allowing his coworker to handle it. The pair worked out an agreement that the Starmie would surrender the treasure provided he was compensated fairly for the work he'd done and the value of his find, so each Claudius left the affair happy and with considerably valuable treasures in his possession.

Later that evening, Claudius the Starmie would return with a delightfully heavy sack of rewards for Team Moonlighter. "Once again you should know that you have my deepest gratitude," he said fervently. "I would never have been able to pull off such a feat of my own accord, and I only hope that this is good enough compensation for all that's you've done. If, however, you would indulge me in one final request, I would be much obliged. You see, this work that we have done together has made me quite passionate about the things that you do, and I believe we have developed a pleasant rapport with one another. Therefore, I wish to humbly request that you consider making me an addition to your Team."

"I'm going to stop you right there." A familiar voice echoed in the air and a Banette wearing a blue ring on her head tassel phased into existence with an eerie smile. Claudius flinched back from the ghost of Agatha, and she turned to the Team with an amused shake of the head. "You see, now that I'm free of that wretched place, I intend to see as much of the world as I can manage. I still don't know what you 'Guild Treasure Hunters' are, but if your job took you to the bog then I imagine you go all sorts of places since I haven't seen you around before." The Banette beamed at them in a way that seemed somewhat more friendly than menacing for a change. "You're the ones who freed me, so I figure I owe you one if you want me. That's why I'm asking you first instead of going off on my own."

"The same is true for me." A third voice came from behind the pair of familiar faces and a third recognizable figure stepped into view. A delicate Kricketune the color of delicate gold, deliberately keeping her eyes off of one of the ghosts who had tricked she and her companions. "I cannot remain in that place any longer, not after what has been done to my friends and me, and I am looking for a place to begin again."

All three had compelling reasons and arguments, but the rules dictated that only one of them could be chosen: who that was, if anyone, was left to the members of Team Moonlighter to decide.

Rewards:
-2 MP
-1200 PD
-Payday TM
-Aqua Gem
-Starmie, Banette, or Kricketune Recruit

Treasure Hunter Bonus:

-The chest that the Team returned with contained many marvelous treasures within despite its deceptive size. Claudius, true to his word, offered them a healthy portion of the value of the treasure that had been paid to him, which led to Team Moonlighter receiving another 1000 PD in addition to their other rewards.

((Excellently well done Rae! It may have been a long mission but it was well worth the payoff. Although it had several points that were low in action, the suspense that permeated the piece made it interesting even when there wasn't much going on physically. I liked the exploration of how the Team functions together as a unit now that some time has passed as well as with the addition of Nidhyana, your setting was interesting and you took a turn with things that was effective and not necessarily what would be expected. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it as always! My one critique is that the ending was, as Cimm was very aware of, rather too convenient. I'm assuming that you have plans for that in the future, or else were worn down by the end and just wanted to meet the deadline, both of which are acceptable. I just wanted to be sure that you knew that it was somewhat unrealistic for it to be that easy, and that is a noticeable fact, though the rest of the story mostly makes up for it. My only other comment is that, while I appreciated the length and I don't think it hurt your story in the slightest, you really don't have to write something this long. xD People like you and I can get a little carried away with our stories, and then other people who have a harder time digesting such large works can be frustrated because they want to see the new developments but can't do it easily. We can work on keeping things a bit more manageable together~ Regardless though, this was great throughout and I felt that there wasn't any excess and it easily held my interest, so please don't think that I'm telling you the length was bad in a craft sense--more in a target audience sense. Again, great job and I'm excited to see what develops in the future! Also, side note, I know I gave you a bigger bonus last mission but that's not an indicator that it was worse, we just adjusted the TH rewards so that the cap is 1000PD: maybe that gives you some idea of what I thought of it!))