1x1 Pokemon: Jewels of the Aether - On the Run (Tala x 1:22)

Leon's face, even though it was still cool, relaxed upon hearing the current state of Lalusi. Thankful as he was to hear that the Company was still holding out strong against the invaders, and most part due to the fact that Lalusi's waters were still controlled by the SBC, he was equally grateful to hear that the prince and princess were happy to help him just like that.

"Your assistance and welcome are greatly appreciated, milord and milady!" Leon replied with a relieved face. "You see, the Flare Guild - I'm sure you're familiar with them - has set up a stockade around Lalusi and my wish is to bring that stockade down. Unfortunately, two orders of mages - the Magma Order and the Aqua Order - are contesting for control of that stockade now. I worry that at this rate, it's only a matter of time that one order will seize control of it and mount an invasion."

His thoughts briefly went back to Maria. What was she doing now?

"However..." Leon slowly said as he looked at Michelle, "I come with grave news that the Flare Guild is hunting the two of us down as we speak. They seem to perceive me and my companion as a threat from the moment we fled to Kalski. I only ask how we ought to deal with such a menacing and powerful guild..."

(Recap: the Flare Guild is a massive merchant guild of military might who seeks to profit off of the well-being of others without care of their expense. Lalusi is an obstacle to them, but they basically want to control Kalski through controlled trading in their military bases. However, they wouldn't dare try to invade Illumis without risking retaliation from Prince Clemont and Princess Bonnie. Ha, and notice I referred to Maria here...)

 

(No worries, Tala)

@[member="WavePearl"]

Leon grimaced. He had never heard of Michelle's efforts to save her home too. It seemed like she had something in common with him there.

"Right, milord and milady, so my companion here is named Michelle. Anyways, I would expect that ever since the Magma and Aqua Orders rooted them out of Lalusi, they would probably be regrouping as we speak," he said.

Overall, he was very impressed by the information Prince Clemont and Princess Bonnie provided. "Your knowledge and generosity are greatly appreciated, milord and milady. I only wish there was something we can do to stop the Flare Guild right now, or in my case, call down the stockade around my home. But perhaps I would start by asking your spies, though. But I suspect Michelle would want to see her family, eh? But I don't speak for her."

He added absentmindedly, mostly for himself, "Maria must be worried sick by now. Do you carry a mailing service around here?"

 

@[member="WavePearl"]

"Oh!" Leon said, surprised at the sudden appearance of the messenger and the prime minister, and how fancy the paper and quill seemed! "I'm... I'm not sure as to where I am sending my message. I only know of to whom - which is my young cousin, Maria. She is in Lalusi, I expect, since I'm not expecting her to get out of that stockade anyhow..."

All of a sudden, a carrier Pidgey flew into the castle. However, it was hampered by the glass windows of the chateau and couldn't really find a way in. As a result, one of the guards looked to the princess who nodded to let the Pidgey in. Afterwards, the Pidgey flew into the chateau grand hall and landed before Leon. At once, Leon recognised the SBC colours on the Pidgey, including its hat, as he leaned to retrieve the message from its leg.

He unravelled the message to scan it quickly. "It's from Maria..." he said to himself.

Maria's letter read,

Leon,

You may not like what I'm about to write in this letter, but me and Evergreen have left Lalusi for a land called Kanduin to support the efforts of a girl called Lillie. She's not with me and my group now, but we're going on an adventure to awaken... angels, I think, so we can save her mother. Honestly, all this work to save a family member, eh? But still, the name 'Aether' probably rings a bell, but I can't remember. Anyways, you don't need to worry about me. I'm in good company. I've met this cleric called Seline, her Cutiefly called Azelia, this scary mage called Kirito, a minstrel named Brock, and two awesome minstrels called Ash and Serena. You should hear them play! But that's another story. For now, I'm in the SBC's Outpost Azure in Azuria on the way to help Lillie and find a way to save our home. Maybe I can meet you sometime! Please don't be angry with me, okay?

Plus, who is this GIRL you're talking about? That is so unlike you to look at girls!

Maria

Now Leon didn't know what to say. First, there was the shock he got from hearing Maria leaving Lalusi, and the second was that she was on an adventure of her own. Normally, Leon would be the one to watch over her as Maria was usually never left alone, but this was different. At least Leon could count on Maria's Kirlia, Evergreen, to keep track of things. But this was pushing it.

He turned to Michelle, Prince Clemont, and Princess Bonnie next. "It seems that my young cousin has left on an adventure with some group elsewhere near the city of Azuria... Oh gosh! She wasn't supposed to leave home! And now it seems like she's off on some crusade to help a band of minstrels, with a cleric and a mage, whilst trying to save our home too... She's not a fighter! What was she thinking?!"

(Copy and pasted that letter from the main RP, by the way)

 

Leon smiled at Michelle. "Well, at least we know where your people are, but if we wanted to meet my cousin... we would have to get escape this land, and that's not easy with the Flare Guild on our heels. At least, we should probably hold off and weaken them so they could have the will to not pursue us. Plus, we would be doing the prince and princess a favour, eh? But again, are you sure you don't want to meet your people?"

@[member="WavePearl"]

He turned to Prince Clemont and Princess Bonnie once more. "Milord and milady, I was just wondering... would you have any information as to how to call down the stockade surrounding my home? As well... is there anything we can do to weaken the Flare Guild? It might be the way to stop them from hunting us."

"On the other hand," Leon said to Princess Bonnie specifically. "I will definitely take you up on your offer of sending a letter. But the problem is that I don't know where my cousin is headed too! All I know is that she's following a group of minstrels, and unless we know where they are... that's probably how my letter would reach her."

(The guild's military bases are slightly what I have in mind... Any other ideas?)

 

@[member="WavePearl"]

Leon was entirely grateful for all the resources and knowledge Prince Clemont and Princess Bonnie were providing, but he grimaced. "Alright, so we'll have to rule that out, then. However, I suppose it would do all of Kalski a favour if those bases are gone for good. However, I should inform milord that the Flare Guild has probably been rooted out of Lalusi, and it's the Magma and Aqua Orders that fight for that stockade that concern me. I only wish there was a way to take both of them down. But I suppose cutting off the stockade's supply line is a great start. You know, now that you mention it, perhaps the Aqua and Magma Orders have been stealing these supplies ever since."

"May I also ask milord as to where these fortresses are located in Kalski? Perhaps eliminating them would give a better chance for Michelle and I to escape to... wherever my cousin may be," Leon added. "That and saving our home at the same time."

 

@[member="WavePearl"]

"Thank you, milady!" Leon said, still amazed at the princess's generosity. "We will take you up on your offer, but first..."

He looked at Michelle first, saying, "I'm going to write a letter to my cousin first. Just excuse me for a bit..." and then Leon took the quill, ink, and paper offered by the prime minister and started writing.

Dear Maria,

I'm glad to hear you're safe and doing well. But come on, now. You know that I'm very worried for you already. You hardly leave Lalusi on your own - albeit I can count on Evergreen to watch over you - but it's normally me who cares for you, eh? Aside from your parents and mine, that is. I can trust your group is looking after you, too. For my part, I'm writing this letter from the grand city of Illumis courtesy of Prince Clemont and Princess Bonnie. They may be about your age, I think, but they are very smart and generous, I admit!

Michelle and I are about to begin a campaign of our own. You know, she and I have a thing in common that we're both trying to save our own homes. The thing is in this campaign, we're attempting to take on a guild that was responsible for setting up that stockade around Lalusi - and they're based here in Kalski. We intend to fight that guild so that we can save our home, but also that they won't be hunting us down. That's right, Maria. Michelle and I are on the run. Nothing we can do about that. At least the royal siblings are offering us shelter.

Now, who is Michelle? Well if I told you, you would probably freak out. She... kissed me, and I'm not getting over that,

I just wish we can see each other again already,
Leon

He almost blushed upon writing his last line as he looked at Michelle for a second. The next minute, he rolled up his paper and presented it to Princess Bonnie.
"Milady," he said. "Would you happen to know who to send this message to my cousin? Or perhaps to her minstrel companions Ash, Brock, or Serena?"

 

@[member="WavePearl"]

Leon's eyebrows shot up with interest at the mention of Prince Clemont having an indirect contact with Maria. While Leon wasn't surprised that Prince Clemont, being royalty, would have powerful contacts; he did not count on having one of them was connected to Maria already.

"I'm more surprised that... you would know about my cousin's ventures. Why, I know of a huge trading post the Company has set up over in Arania. But overall, I will take you up on your offer, milord and milady. I just hope there will be an opportunity when this business with the Flare Guild is over. Send my regards to Captain Hikaru, by the way, and Captain Umi especially."

He passed the letter to Princess Bonnie and at the same time gazed at the Fletchling on the window. Who these captains were, Leon did not know, but he knew he could trust them just like the prince and princess before him. Leon did take a minute to look at Michelle to see how she was doing too.

 

"Thank you very much, milord and milady," Leon said and bowed his head, of which the prince and princess politely bowed back as Leon retreated to join Michelle. He hoped that the Fletchling would have his message delivered to Maria - in some place called Arania - in no time.

"I would love to head out right now," he said to Michelle, "but we have to know where we're going first. There's no sense in wandering aimlessly when the guild could be watching our every move. Le'ts check out the library as Prince Clemont and Princess Bonnie offered."

The two of them eventually made it to the castle library which wasn't that far from the entrance - a good thing for Michelle too. They were greeted by a vast collection of books of all sorts that only so many could dream to discover. For Leon, he would have checked out their trades and commerce books if he had the time, but now definitely wasn't the time. Instead, he and Michelle went over to a side area where positioned on the wall was a huge map of all of Kalski. Wow, so it seemed that Kalski was a lot bigger than he had imagined.

@[member="WavePearl"]

Also standing near that map was what appeared to be a very intelligent-looking man. Was this the 'chief scholar' or was this one of the 'spies'? Leon approached him while removing his hat. "Good day, sir," he said. "I believe Princess Bonnie may have informed you that my friend and I were arriving..."