Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Quenched Torch

Chapter 9: The Guild

"Rye? Beck?"

Groaning as I blinked sleep out of my eyes, I rolled over to find Ms. Audino standing over Rye and I. She authoritatively cleared her throat to Rye, who hadn't seemed to have heard her wake-up call. He slowly sat up, rubbing his head.

"D-Dill?" he groaned. Upon looking around and noticing his surroundings, his expression grew gloomy.

"S-sorry. Just a dream," he stammered. With the two of us now awake, Ms. Audino began speaking again.

"Cinccino's here to show you around the Guild, seeing as you two haven't been available."

Confused, we hobbled out of bed into the sick bay's lobby, where, indeed, Cinccino was waiting for us. Upon seeing us, her usual cheery smile spread across her face.

"Ah, there you are! Come along, now, there's much to see, and I'm due for the office by mid-morning!" she said hurriedly. As she skipped out the door, Rye and I exchanged glances.

"Shaagh," I muttered.

"Whatever you just said, I probably agree."

Even after the storm that had nearly killed us had swept through the area, the village that made up Arcanine's Guild was still as bustling as ever. Along the main road leading up to the Guildmaster's hut, dozens of Pokémon either helped to clean rubble and garbage off or simply walked past, their exploration apparently being more important. Cinccino stopped and pointed towards the road out.

"As you know, Impetus Town is only about a five minutes walk from here. You'll be buying your things from the shops there, and you are free to explore the town during your free time," she said before continuing with the tour.

Struggling to keep up with her, we panted as Cinccino stopped in front of the amphitheater I had seen a few days ago. I noticed that a statue stood at the rim of the structure, depicting Guildmaster Arcanine gazing into the horizon, a determined fire in his eyes.

"This is where announcements, meetings, and any entertainment the other guildmembers might put on is held. Before you ask, no, we do not actually hold ritual sacrifices here, and I will never forgive Arden nor May for starting those rumors," she huffed before straightening up. "We only had this place built a year ago, and while it did cost a good few Poké, it's better than standing in the middle of the street for official announcements, wouldn't you say?" Cinccino said before turning to the statue, bowing her head slightly.

"Now, this wasn't requested when the Guildmaster ordered this place built, but a few of the larger teams decided to get together and surprise him with this. I like to think he still comes here to look it over when no one's watching."

"Sha?" I asked, a bit uncertain as to why Arcanine was so beloved. Sure, he was nice when I met him, but then again, he kept a fucking skeleton in his room. Cinccino looked at me oddly, then suddenly put her hand to her head, laughing.

"My, I forgot! You wouldn't know about Arcanine, would you?" she sighed. "Arcanine might be the most well-traveled Pokémon you'll find this side of Gray Proper. He was one of the greatest explorers in the known world back in the day, and he was one of the founders of Impetus Town here."

"W-wait, he wha...?!" Rye yelped. "Th-that'd make him-"

"Yes, at least two hundred years old. Records say he was exploring as far back as six hundred years back," Cinccino replied, causing Rye's jaw to drop.

"W-whoa... I knew he's been around for a while, but... wow..." he muttered.

"The ancient humans of the east didn't worship his species for nothing," Cinccino replied. "Then again, his unusual genetics might have had something to do with it."