Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Quenched Torch

Chapter 18: A Peaceful Powwow

The sun hung low in the sky over the desert as a dry wind blew through the adventurers' stop at the Arid Riverbed's entrance. The sole occupant of the modest little hut paid it no heed, though, as he exhaled and dramatically spun around for what must have been the twentieth time, beaming to the wall.

"Ahoy, lass, glad tah see ya back! Tried tah warn ye 'bout that river, eh? She's moighty rough these times of day! ...d-day? Oi meant year... agh, cock."

Cap'n Brine stomped on the dusty floor, sighing to himself from deep within his massive bill. Taking a moment to hop over to the watering hole outside the hut, the Pelipper took a quick glance up the road. Team Reach had ventured into the dungeon sometime after noon, but the sun had now dipped so that it was just barely grazing the craggy rock formations of Arid Riverbed.

"If they don't come back by nightfall, come back and tell me."

Brine blinked as he mentally repeated Officer Feraligatr's words. Surely they shouldn't be taking this long? What if they'd gotten hurt? He wasn't about to be responsible for a team getting killed in action, was he?

"No, no, they're perfectly capable, oi say. They should know wot they're doin," he muttered to himself. "Oi hope, at least."

Taking a long sip from the shallow watering hole, Brine glanced back towards the dungeon once more before shuffling back into the hut. He couldn't do much if Team Reach didn't come back, so he figured he might as well work on other important matters while he had the free time. With a quick shake of his head, Cap'n Brine took a breath and began his memorized conversation once more.

"Ahoy, lassie, good tah see ya ba-"

A sudden pop and loud rush of wind sounded from outside, prompting a startled squawk from the captain. His face hot with embarrassment, he peeked out the window. In front of the notice, a visibly wounded but still standing Team Reach stood surrounded by unfamiliar Pokémon, their badges in hand. Brine narrowed his eyes, noting a Shroomish looking around bewildered, a Sandshrew jumping up and down gesturing excitedly at the badge in Rye's hand, and two larger Pokémon lying on the ground, only moving slightly on occasion.

"Huh. Well, the lads are breathin', at least," Brine said to himself, a small smile on his bill.

---

"How'd you do that? I want one!" Sandshrew piped as he jumped in place, waving his arms around wildly. I could have sworn I saw stars in his eyes as he kept his eyes locked on our team badges. Rye shifted in place, unsure of what to make of this.

"Uh, th-they were given to us by the Guild. Ms. May says badges that can teleport are rare, only Guilds who have good Psychic-types can make these kinds. W-we have an Alakazam in town," he tried to explain.

"Can he make us some?" Sandshrew asked.

"Sorry, but they're expensive," Rye said, tucking the badge into our bag. Tuning out Sandshrew's disappointed groaning, Shroomish laughed a bit to herself.

"Here we've been walking back to the entrance whenever we finish a mission... you Guildies have it so easy, I swear," she muttered.

As Rye rolled his eyes at this comment, a pained moan sounded from behind me as Vigoroth shifted in place, aggravating his broken legs.

"P-please..." he moaned, reaching out for us. As the others went about their post-dungeon routines, I took a long look at him and Poliwrath in their pitiful state. As I stared, a shudder ran through my spine as the image of the Xatu who had done the deed flashed through my mind. The ease and nonchalance with which he had broken the thieves' legs with just his mind was terrifying on its own, but something about the way he was staring at us with his cold, calculating eyes... urgh.