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

Leon only blinked as he was now standing behind the bushes. Now noticing the merchants, he nodded at her. "Okay," he whispered back. "Let's see what you can do, but be careful."

If all was well, news of the Romantia fortress hadn't reached the rest of the region. But if it did, then things would be difficult.

 

"We have a report that our friends in Romantia may need our help," one merchant said. "I don't see why we need to go there!"

"Come on, we know that that fortress is well-defended enough," the other said. "No one would be crazy enough to take on us! We have all the resources to take over Kalski! In fact, we would have, if it weren't for those spoiled kids in Illumis."

 

"Who goes there?!" one of the merchants shouted. Immediately, they were on high alert and began searching the area near where Michelle was hiding. Still, even though they didn't find anyone, they had their guard up.

 

"Oh come on..." Leon said. "What is she doing?" The moment he saw the gleaming reflection of Michelle's Heart charm, he shook his head. Maybe Michelle needed a distraction if she was going to make it through safely. He took out one of his arrows and shot a flaming arrow with his bow to get the merchants' attention.

"Okay. This is weird," one merchant said. "You should go back and ask for reinforcements just in case. I'll go check where that arrow came from."

 

The Morse code Michelle was giving to Leon sort of got the message across, and fortunately, Leon could count on his skills as a ranger to quietly join Michelle at the bridge. He managed to slip past the merchants too. "Alright, now it seems like they're going in separate ways. What do you think?" he whispered. "Catch the merchant who's heading forward?"

(Forward being in Flusselles direction)

 

"Well... I suppose I can show you a little something," Leon said to her. Without another word, he disappeared into the trees whilst taking his bow out. Now out of sight, he snuck behind the merchant and lashed out his bow at the merchant's legs causing him to trip.

But rather than pressing the offensive, he simply dragged the merchant away fast enough to hang him off a tree. Leon climbed up the tree, fortunate as the tree was short, and soon the merchant was hanging by his feet only.

"Hello there," Leon said.

 

"Well... we weren't counting on interrogating you, or at least I wasn't. My friend here might be, though," Leon said.

"You... so you're that fire mage everyone's been talking about!" the merchant shouted at Michelle. "If you think you'll be so lucky to take us all on, think again. The guild will have you soon enough, along with your precious Romantia."

Leon went to release the merchant from the tree, and after, he had the merchant tied up. "I'll take him to Romantia and see what Guardian Valerie can do about him. What about you? Want to come, or do you want to go ahead? I can catch up quick."

 

(Oh, that's up to you. I can give some ideas, like if Maxie gave some kind of feedback telling her to do better. Otherwise, just stick with the idea but no need to write)

"Well. Okay, stay safe," Leon said to Michelle, as he turned around to head to Romantia. "Oh, and I think you should take care of that other merchant too. The one that went into the bushes," he added.

He tossed out his Heart charm to summon Belle. "Belle, stick with Michelle for now."

After that, he started walking back to Romantia and trying stay out of sight of other merchant.

 

Leon carefully carried the captured merchant back to Romantia and hoped that Guardian Valerie would be there to help him. If she and the militia were still at the fortress, then that was all the better.

Meanwhile, Belle followed Michelle in search of the other merchant. To help out, she conjured a Sweet Scent to find where he might be. [I think he is over there,] she squeaked. [Near the riverside.]

 

Belle looked at Michelle uncertainly. [I don't know Razor Leaf. Only Magical Leaf,] she squeaked, but fired the Magical Leaves anyway to make up for it. What she did hope was that it would get the job done. Still, the leaves hit the merchant no less, and they soon were in combat.

As for Leon, he had made it back to the fortress where he handed over the merchant on his shoulder to Guardian Valerie. That wasn't before he informed her that the Flare Guild was preparing to advance onto Romantia for a counterattack, so the guardian assured him that the militia would prepare for any attack. As the trade route with Illumis was secure, the city didn't need to worry about losing morale.