Adventures Beyond!

Chapter 34: Departure in Progress

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Forest Grotto, Sinnoh

Oliver, Jacob, and Sophie all sat at a bench in the middle of the town area of Forest Grotto, looking at Oliver's map. They had been discussing their current route so far on their journey, and where to head next.

"We went from Kanet to Casteel," Oliver traced his paw along the map as he spoke, "Then we went east to Forest Grotto. We should keep moving east to... Sapphire Town."

"Sapphire Town?" Jacob repeated inquisitively, looking up at Oliver, "Why there?"

"Well, me and Sophie did mention that we wanted to head to the Cursed Lands, or the Cursed Archipelago as the map says it's called," Oliver explained, "And the only way to get there is by boat."

"Right, but what does Sapphire Town have to do with that?" Jacob asked.

Oliver let out an amused sigh, "I'm getting to that, Sapphire Town also functions as a harbor since it's so close to the eastern coast, meaning that we can buy a boat there, and head for the Archipelago."

Jacob nodded, "Seems like a pretty decent plan."

The Oshawott rolled up the map and put it in his holster, "It's also pretty warm here in south Sinnoh, meaning we don't have to worry about keeping cool at night."

The three decided to sit back and relax on the bench they had been planning their next stop on. They all let out a long sigh, finally letting themselves get a bit more untensed after weeks of constantly being on edge.

After a while of this, Jacob's eyes suddenly shot open wide, "Oh crap!"

Both Oliver and Sophie flinched, startled.

"What is it?" Oliver asked, regaining his composure.

"We completely forgot about the first thing we had to do when we got here!" Jacob exclaimed, "We said we'd go get some items to supply for more travelling."

"Oh you're right!" The Oshawott jumped up from his seat, "We should probably get to that now."

Sophie looked between the two boys, "Now that we're heroes of the Grotto, we could probably get everything at a discount."

"Sophie..." Oliver sighed, looking around, "Maybe you shouldn't be saying that type of stuff out loud..."

The Snivy nodded silently, "Seriously, we need to gather some provisions before we head out of here."

The Oshawott turned to Jacob, "Jacob, you go and find some supplies for travelling. Maybe a new canteen for you, since you didn't bring yours..."

The Pikachu chuckled nervously at that statement.

"Also, maybe grab some waterproof sheets to protect our tents on rainy days, because we don't know if the ones we have are waterproof or not," Oliver added, "If the tents are waterproof, then we'll use the sheets as a bigger area to move around in when it does rain."

"Oliver and I will go to the same shop we went to back when this all began to get those berries and food..." Sophie gestured behind her, in the direction of the shop in question.

"Sounds like a plan!" Jacob smiled brightly, "Meet back at the center and leave tomorrow?"

Oliver nodded, "Yeah."

Sophie gave a silent nod in response.

Jacob and Oliver gave the other a paw bump before heading off in their own directions.

—

Jacob walked through the grassy floor of Forest Grotto's walkway. He wore a soft smile as he looked around at the sights, and noticed the shutter doors in front of the shops and houses being slowly removed one by one.