Tsaimath

WO, Ch. 72 - White River

Slowly, as the night continued on, Claire’s breathing started to ease. It was an utter relief, as I had little idea how I could have helped her if she didn’t get better on her own and for the first time, the actual danger of being a travelling Trainer was truly apparent to me. There were only the two of us out here, the next civilisation we knew about was days away, easily a hundred kilometres with difficult terrain between us. There’s be no help, not unless we managed to help each othe...

WO, Ch 71 - Ghastly Night

Suspended in a suffocating nothingness of darkness, I tried to orient myself, to get a grip on my surroundings, Somewhere, I could hear a sound, maybe a roar, maybe something else. There were scents in the air, tasting of weird colours and unknown purpose, filling me with a sense of dread and anticipation. Far away, I could feel a heavy presence, radiating a sense of gravity and power. An impression pressed into me, a purpose filling me, calling me, “Remember.”

Before I could make h...

Chatper 558

“Greetings, Travellers.” the rider called out, stopping some twenty metres away from Adra. Even at the distance, I could see the halfling on her goat nervously fidgeting. Maybe that was par for the course, given that she was essentially sent out as an avalanche poodle, testing if the ground was safe and if not, she would be the only one dying.

“Hail, Soldiers,” Adra called out in response, looking quite relaxed in comparison.

After a moment of observation, the halfling spu...

WO, Ch 70 - Eterna Forest II

Travelling through Eterna Forest was slow-going and difficult. The underbrush was a tangled mess, making it often difficult to advance and trying to brute-force our way through only left us exhausted. Even if Charm ripped apart some vines, opening the path forward, the next cluster was often only steps ahead, forcing him to keep exerting himself, while Claire and I trailed behind. More often than not, moving around difficult or overgrown spots was easier, though it made for a longer path.

WO, Ch. 69 - Eterna Forest

• AN: If I had more time, I might have tried to push this chapter yesterday (as in, April First), and made it into an 18+-April's Fools Chapter. Alas, there was no time :D

From close up, the Eterna Forest was even more impressive than from afar. Massive trees stretched into the sky, far taller than any building I had seen so far, towering even above the Gym in Sandgem City. High above, a dense canopy filtered out the sunlight, giving the whole forest a cool, dark clim...

WO, Ch 68 - To Eterna Forest

After a brief stop-over at the Valley Windworks, Claire and I were soon back on our path north, towards the Eterna Forest. East of us, the slopes leading up the Coronal Mountains turned steep, cliffs and rugged terrain making the climb a perilous prospect. Only after crossing through a good part of the Eterna Forest, we’d come to a path through the mountains. It was right next to a river flowing out of the mountains, following its bank as it led up to Eterna City.

Compared to the path...

Chapter 557

Once again, Lenore and I were scouting ahead, using our aerial advantage to the fullest. Below us, hidden in the trees, were a few humanoids. They were well camouflaged against detection from the road, but easily visible for a being able to detect the magical emanations of any living being.

“You think those are bandits?” I asked, observing through Lenore’s eyes.

“Are you sure you want to call them that? Wouldn’t volunteers for magical experimentation be much more fitting...

WO, Ch 67 - Valley Windworks

By the time we reached the Valley Windworks, the sun was already setting in the distance, bathing the heathland behind us in orange light. Ahead, the Coronal Mountains reached for the sky, forming a narrow valley between two peaks. In that valley, the wind farm had been built, using the mountains as a funnel to use as much wind as possible. The valley itself looked rather bleak, with little grass or even earth, having managed to withstand the perennial winds, leaving only the bedrock, with sm...

WO, Ch 66 - Jump into Spring

This time, neither Claire nor I felt the need to go out to party one last time before setting off. The last few days had been enough party for Claire and more than enough for me, instead, we invited Ivie and Farrel to dinner. It was a pleasant, relatively simple affair, with interesting conversation about our journeys.

The two of them planned to head into the Eterna Forest soon and there was a brief idea to travel together, if only for a time. After a bit of discussion, that idea died a...

Interlude: Forum - Now, I'm mad

Official Road to Purgatory-Beta Forum

• Jakyl, confirmed Beta-Account

Well, guys, I need some help, as I’ve got no idea what to do.

A week ago, I made that thread about Morgana, with a few videos, all nice and dandy. Things got a little heated, but I didn’t think much of it, it’s the internet, of course, there’s drama. When Morgana went to find me in-game, bitching up a fit and threatening curses and divine retribution, I still did...

WO, Ch 65 - Blossom Badge

When Claire didn’t answer me for a minute or so, I stepped up, gently shaking her shoulder. She shivered for a moment, before snapping out of whatever trance she had been in, her eyes focusing on me.

“Did you see that?” she asked, a dreamy smile on her face.

“I saw,” I admitted, smiling despite myself. “It really was Shaymin, wasn’t it?” I just had to ask, a small part of me not quite believing the events. Compared to the events right before my first meeting with C...

WO, Ch 64 - A night to remember

The evening’s celebration was remarkably similar to the party a couple of days ago. There was music, there were stalls that sold cheap food and drink, there was a bonfire and there was dancing. The difference was that the music was more upbeat and joyful and that generally, there were more old people, not only people roughly my age jumping around.

It was amusing, to watch some of the old-timers of town dance and realise that they had more spring in their step and grace in their limbs ...

Chapter 556

As a rumbling sound ripped through the air, a satisfied smile appeared on my lips. The latest in a series of experiments conducted by Mal, with support from Gilo and myself, was a success. An explosive success.

“Where did you learn about demolitions?” Mal asked, giving me a side-eye, a frown on her face.

“Here and there.” I paused, before adding, “I only know how to make and use some improvised munitions.” The moment those words were out of my mouth, I realised what I ...

WO, Ch. 63 - Seedling Tournament II

After depositing Vio at the Centre, I needed some time to myself. Finding a quiet place, far from the hustle and bustle of the festival was remarkably easy. It was almost as if the entire town was focused in that relatively small area, leaving the rest abandoned. In an empty park, I found shelter between some blooming hedges, their smell gentle and enjoyable but most importantly, the space was almost entirely hidden.

In my mind, the scene of Vio getting tossed aside by the Mawile played...

WO, Ch 62 - Seedling Tournament

After the initial round, Claire and I walked around aimlessly, while Vio was getting treated at the Centre. When we came across a stand where you could weave your own flower-crowns, Claire dragged me along, happily paying so we could make a wreath each.

Looking at the supposedly easy to understand images, I felt a looming headache, but watching Claire start fiddling with the flowers with a wide smile on her face, I couldn’t help but be infected by her enthusiasm. Following the instruc...

WO, Ch. 61 - Seedling Festival

As it turned out, the worst that could happen was that the only open rooms were delightfully expensive. Expensive enough to make Claire and me share a look, before turning around and leaving with a quick goodbye, trying to keep from blushing from embarrassment. Unless we were willing to blow the entire stipend for a month on a single night, we simply couldn’t afford to stay.

After a brief consideration, we decided that if we could sleep in a tent for weeks while travelling, we could d...

Chapter 555

Waking up was a pleasant experience. There was Sigmir’s familiar scent lingering around me, and while I was a little sore, it was a good soreness, the one that came from pushing yourself just a little further than you had thought possible. Painful, yes, but also so very satisfying.

After stretching and wiggling around between the sleeping-furs, I rose, looking around for a moment. The day was already half-over, the sun on its descent towards the western horizon and not too far away, I...

WO, Ch. 60 - A boy named Su

The look on Claire’s face was priceless when I called my new partner out after breakfast. She had slept through the brief battle and not even noticed that I had caught the Shinx, so when I took out a Pokéball and sent out a Pokémon, she expected Charm or Vio, but when the small, blue lynx appeared, she was speechless. Though, I was rather surprised when I realised that the Shinx I had caught was the same Claire had tried to catch the day before, only to fail. The star-shaped pattern on it...

Chapter 554

There was no fanfare when we set off the next day. Nobody to see us off, merely a polite nod from the gatekeeper of Gaber. We didn’t even use Olivia’s magic to speed up our travels, at least not for now.. That would come, once  we left the mountains and reached the foothills, where we could travel in relative safety.

As promised, Mal and Gilo travelled alongside us, and once again, we discussed Alchemy as we walked. There was only so much we could do actual Alchemy without a la...

WO, Ch. 59 - Patrol

“What do you think we are looking for?” Claire asked, as we were walking up a slope in the area we were supposed to patrol. Once we reached the top, we had quite the view, a few kilometres of heathland stretching out before us like a large, green carpet, dotted with numerous shrubs, flowers and, most likely, a couple Pokémon hiding out. In the distance, there were a few trees, indicating one of the many groves dotting the area, giving some shelter to animals and Pokémon alike. Or, in th...

WO, Ch. 58 - Off to work

When I came to, my head was feeling as if it had been stuffed with cotton and there was a weird taste in my mouth. In addition, something warm and heavy was weighing my chest down, making me feel stuffy.

Shaking my head to get rid of the fog in my mind, I pushed myself up, my face scrunching into a frown. Why was there an unfamiliar woman lying in bed with me? Dusky skin, black, curly hair, it was definitely not Claire. She had her arm draped across my chest and her breath, escaping a p...

WO, Ch 57 - Party

Claire and I had received our task and while I would have been happy to just head back to our room and to bed, Claire insisted on going to the party and dragging me along. On the way there, Ivie approached me, curiosity visible on her face.

““So, what’s going on?” she asked, speaking softly so the nearby people couldn’t hear her.

“We’ve got our task.” I replied, speaking normally. When she simply nodded, gesturing for me to continue, I slowed down, so a bit of dist...

Chapter 553

When we got down into the inn’s common room, it turned out there wasn’t just Malachite there. In addition to the somewhat expected Gilo, the other three of her group had followed after them as well, with Jakyl glaring at me, as if I had already done him the mischief I was planning to.

“Malachite, Gilo, so good to see you.” I gave her a smile, utterly ignoring the three uninvited people.

“There will be no problem if you want  to join us on our journey to the west, at...

WO, Ch 56 - Floaroma City II

Too much, of even the best things, could become an eyesore. Such was the case with the flowers used to decorate Floaroma City in preparation for their Seedling Festival. They were everywhere, filling the air with their scent but the sheer amount turned it from a comforting, alluring smell into an olfactory club that drubbed you over the head and left you reeling.

In addition, even though the festival hadn’t officially started, the flower-motive was inescapable, with flower-pancakes, f...

WO, Chapter 55 - Floaroma City

Even from a distance, Floaroma City had its own, distinct charme..Compared the compact, crowded impression of Jubilife City, Floaroma seemed to be much more spread out, with wider paths and an incredible amount of greenery between the buildings. Similarly, the fields around town were almost the same size as those around Jubilife, but the town itself was much smaller. Instead, it looked like the people of Floaroma were planting a wide range of berries in their fields and as we approached, we c...

WO, Ch 54 - Spring is in the Air

Finding Floaroma City turned out to be fairly easy. During the night, the light was widely visible, a shining beacon in the distance. In addition, the area was covered in low grass and shrubs, with few trees to block visibility. In turn, that meant there was little for Pokémon to hide, giving swift and enduring hunters like Poochyena, or concealed predators like Budew and even Seedot an advantage.

When we saw the first Poochyena, maybe a day of travel away from Floaroma City, I stepped...

WO, Ch 52 - Meadow

The next two days after our encounter with the Zubat, I continued to stumble after Claire, my body sore and my throat incredibly painful whenever I got even slightly out of breath. Luckily, we didn’t encounter any serious trouble, merely more Geodudes most of which were quickly dispatched by Twiggy, while Claire even had Nuts take care of the weakest of them. The little Seedot was still incredibly wary of me, but maybe my weakened state allowed it to calm to the point that it even took a bi...

Chapter 552

Lenore and I took a flight around town, simply watching the people move about, riding the winds coming from the mountains. It was simple, relaxing and uncomplicated, Lenore was in charge and I had to do nothing but lean back and enjoy the feeling of freedom. It was wonderful, the feeling of wild freedom only second to the comfortable security of Sigmir’s embrace. One made me wish for the world to stop, so the moment would last forever, the other made me yearn for an eternity, so I could enj...

WO, Ch 52 - Fainted

The first thing in my mind was pain. Nothing else, only a stinging pain, as if someone was driving an ice-pick through my eyes, deep into my skull. A moan escaped me, as I curled up, trying to get away from the pain. A cool soothing hand was placed on my forehead, the sensation allowing me to think past the blinding pain, if only for a moment.

“What...?” I tried to ask what was going on, but my voice came out as a hoarse croak, not a sound a human should make. Pain shot through my t...

WO, Ch. 51 - On Ravaged Paths

After we completed our task, there was little reason to stay on the official Route. The Pokémon we had been facing on it were simply too weak to hold either of our interests and while Nuts needed to get some training, that could be left for later.

And so, instead of returning to the Route and following it north, we remained off the beaten path, navigating by compass and landmarks. Initially, after leaving the spring, the area we were travelling through was not that much more interestin...