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Count Kord     Bayern is a very large region. It spans an area that would take months to traverse from one end to the other, and most of it is covered with an impenetrable forest, hills and other difficult terrain that makes it very difficult to expand. And the forest is teeming with life. Pokemon life. Not the kind that hugs people and organizes rescue missions in caverns, no. The kind that will crush someone for stepping into the wrong territory and incinerate the remains. That's why time is of the essence. While it is a rite of passage to capture a first pokemon, usually it's under the supervision of one's parents... and this child is both too young and too delusional to survive in the forest for very long.

    The clearing isn't far from the borders of Kord's lands. The trees are oppressive. Despite being noontime, so little light passes through the canopy that the air is chilled and a strange, almost mystical mist permeated the branches. The underbrush is bare of bushes and contains only pine needles and the occasional broadleaf, crunching lightly underfoot. Any spot where the trees aren't present is covered by an impassible knot of bushes and smaller plants, making it impossible to land there without getting covered in whatever godawful equivilant of poison ivy there is in these parts.

    Wait, no. That's definitely a Tangela in there, it's empty eyes peering patiently out from the bushes for unwary prey. Yeah, not a good idea. No sign of the kid there, it's best to leave it alone.

    Kord has halted and is currently inspecting a little brown cap with a feather in it. He turns it over in his hand, very ginger about it, the cheap cloth hanging limply from the sharp tips of his gauntlet.

    People from the Concord would be here because Kord asked for their help. It's an unusual task for someone as capable as him to ask for help for. Considering the tech level of his world, he could've easily just wrote off the loss as an acceptable consequence. But no. The child was one of /his/ people. And despite being a complete asshole, he valued those he bore a responsibility for.

    The others would be here on a similar mission, but likely out of coincidence. The trail is getting cold. The boy was sighted out this way, that much his parents would tell would-be trackers, but they feared the Pokemon out here too much to search for long. It's one thing to lose a son, it's another for an entire family to lose their parents, no matter how competent they were at fighting.
Bahamut      This sort of thing is one of Bahamut's primary duties on his own world, and when he heard of the situation on this world he immediately departed his temple and made his way here. The large dragon was just looking for a good place to land when he spotted the clearing. As he headed down the Aeon noticed Kord there with that cap in his hand.

     Bahamut lets out a small roar to alert Kord that he is coming down, then proceeds to land. The big dragon has never been good at soft landings, and when he touches down he produces a small shockwave. He lands in a three point stance, then his wings flex and he slowly stands to his full height before crossing his arms over his broad chest. "Greetings. I am Bahamut, King of Spiran Dragons and Aeon of Bevelle. Is that from the missing child?"

     Kord might have to look up a bit, as Bahamut stands nearly 15 feet in height and some four feet across. How is he planning to navigate a dense forest?
Athela Valemore This was hardly the first time Athela has been called to help for such a matter. Though in her case it was usually traders and the occasional arrogant sentryman trying to prove himself getting lost in the Bug Moore, which is an entirely different sort of nasty environment.

Someone likely didn't expect Kord to get personally involved, and is being proven wrong in that regard. And in that he brought allies. Not that we are going to complain, it means more bodies to search with... As long as none of the offworlders wander off and get lost as well.

"Pardon me, Count." Athela steps up next to the dark man, holding up her Vaporeon. "Sprite is trained as a tracking pokemon, allow her to have a sniff." The aquafox gives Kord a wary look despite the young knight's reassurance, and is notibly leaning as far away from him as possible as she can while still getting a whiff of the hat pinched between pointed digits. Then much to her relief gets set back down on the ground to see if she can pick anything up.
Asterios There is an immense presence in the grove.

Well. Sort of. There's an immense presence which has inexplicably managed to sneak up on that tangela hiding in the high grass like some kind of horrifying taurine ninja. What's that you say, minotaurs can't be ninjas? That's only because you've never seen them with your own eyes.

Which is entirely the point, in fact.

"Aaaaa," Asterios observes at the little lurking tangela, abruptly shattering the pokemon's serene, almost meditative predation. The little ambulatory mound of vines shoots forward with a surprised little shriek, only for its round feet to trip over its tangles and send the whole thing rolling helplessly out into the clearing.

The bush stands up. Or rather, the thing hiding in the bush stands up, accidentally catches the bush in one of its horns, and ends up wearing it as an accessory amidst his tremendously fluffy mane. "Koooord," Asterios waves as he wanders out of the bushes, a vaguely minotaur-shaped hole left through the forest in his wake. "We are. Looking for boy, yes?" Asterios peers at the hat and leans over to give it a thorough sniffing. "Mmn. Might be able to track. With this."
Staren     Staren follows close to Kord. He's in his armor in case of attack, which means he also doesn't have to worry about scratchy thorns or poison ivy, at least. It's hard for him to focus on looking, though, when he's constantly checking every time his drones pick up a heat signature. The tiny quadrotors buzz through the air above the trees. Staren was concerned they might just get attacked, but it seems the local pokemon can tell they're not food. Good.

    Walking through the forest is a pain, armor or no. Even the thickest underbrush can eventually be disassembled by the matter manipulator, though, barring supernaturally-tough plants.

    Eventually, Staren notices Kord has stopped. "What is it?" He spies the hat. "...do we know if it belongs to this kid, or if it's been here longer? If he dropped his hat and didn't bother to pick it up, that suggests he was being chased."

    OH HEY it's a Dragon and that lady from this world who was in the Union. "Hi Bahamut. And miss Valemore."
Carna     Enark is here. The Blue Scholar might not be anyone's first pick for tracking down a missing child in a dangerous locale, but he's definitely suited to the task. Perhaps that is why, while those who do not know his talents would not have chosen him, Kord did. Enark is going to stick with the group, rather than splitting up like some ill-considered horror movie protagonists/victims. He has had quite enough of that, thank you very much. He takes in the unfamiliar surroundings, glad to have familiar faces seeing them with him.

    "Well, hopefully we can avoid combat. But if anyone is injured, do come to me. I will leave the matters of defeating foes and punching boulders to mighty Asterios and these other noble warriors. Though, I may be able to aid in another fashion." He looks at the abandoned cap briefly, to get an idea of what sort of clothing he should be looking for... Though, 'some kid in the woods' should be sufficient for knowing who doesn't belong here. Then he seats himself and begins to focusing, calming his mind and spreading out his awareness as he chants quietly in a disonnant Murmuring that sends his mind's eye out to bodies of water in the area, looking for some sign of the missing child.
Count Kord     Kord's head lifts when Bahamut approaches him. His eyes look right up at the dragon's face. His odd tail flops and knocks around some of the leaf litter as he adjusts his posture to do this, his head canting to one side in this odd and almost bird-like manner. His strange eyes glow in the holes in his half-helm, betraying none of his mood. "Yes," is the only answer he gives to the dragon's inquiry. The introduction apparently isn't worthy of reciprocation.

    Athela's approach makes his head turn to regard the Vaporeon in her hands. He chuckles at its reaction to him, and holds the hat closer to the strange aquatic beast. Once it has the scent, it is actually possible to pick up a trail with a bit of searching.

    The Tangela Asterios displaced /sprints/ into the forest as fast as its rotund mass allows it to, burbling its terror. It is clearly quite intelligent, but also easily spooked by things far larger than itself that try to sneak up on it. It doesn't resemble the typical Tangela, either. It is adorned with innumerable thorns and its feet are like hardened vines that creak and crackle as it moves.

    Staren won't find much with his quadrotors above the canopy. While he does pick up dozens of heat signatures, all of them are just Pokemon of one flavor or another. Wherever the kid went, he isn't visible using heat sensors... His comment about the kid being chased gets Kord to stand up, pull his scythe out from under his cloak, and stomp off to follow the Vaporeon. He is not a tracker, so he is going to rely on the Pokemon's sense of smell.

    Enark would discover some vital information immediately, thanks to the bizarre and specific form of scrying he has. The image ripples in his mind, and then forms, and there the child is. He's alive, and breathing, deep in a cavern. He looks injured and unconscious, but not grievously so. And there's something else there. It's a strange, oblong shape with a W-shaped mouth, and it is standing between a large creature and the boy. It is just... standing there, as if the two were in a stalemate. It's too dark to make out what it's staring down, though, as it's too far from the cavern pond.
Athela Valemore Sprite pads back and forth a few times, rustling through the thick underbrush. Most people would just see the sort of sniffing around a dog does, but a Vaporeon can sense the moisture of the forest too, and how that would be disrupted by someone out of place passing through. Especially if in a hurry being chased as Staren suggests. "Vap vap!" Sprite yips and snaps up sharply, veering from pacing to take a more linear path once she's actually picked up a scent.

"She's found something." Athela starts to follow, though while her pokemon can just duck and water he way through underbrush, she has to hack through some of the thicker growth with her sword. Not being strong enough to just force her way through like certain big bullmen are capable of doing.
Bahamut      Bahamut...isn't sure what to think when Kord answers with only that single sylable. The dragon snorts lightly, then looks down at the water pokemon sniffing of the hat. Bahamut has little in the way of tracking skills, so he merely listens to the others until Staren greets him by name. He looks down at Staren, then smirks lightly. "Hello, little mad scientist." he greets good-naturedly. "Is there more than one of you? It seems I encounter you almost anytime I leave Spira." He then looks up as one of those quadrotors flies by. "Interesting machina. Very compact. I would be honored to see specifications on it. The Al Bhed are ingenious, but we have yet to minaturize much of our technology."

     As the Tangela scampers away, Bahamut turns to regard the large Minotaur. He offers a nod of greeting, then looks curiously to Enark as he starts his scrying. The dragon waits patiently for one of the several trackers to point the way. Once someone leads the way, Bahamut lumbers his way forward. He tries not to break any trees, but with his bulk it is likely that much like Asterios he is going to leave a very obvious path.
Staren     Staren sticks his tongue out at Bahamut at being called a mad scientist, but seems to take the comment good-naturedly. "Just me. It's coincidence. The other one looks all staticky." At the request for specifications for some Argonaut-model quadrotor, Staren just reaches into his bag and offers the dragon a tablet.

    And then the chase is on! Staren runs after the Vaporeon, activating energy wings to fly over the underbrush.
Asterios It's okay, this forest has plenty of trees. A few being knocked over by the thunderous advance of a couple of colossi isn't going to rattle anyone. Heck, it might even be useful as a new path into the woods!

Asterios certainly doesn't seem to be pausing to do much in the way of waiting. The giant smashes through fallen trees and large branches as if they were chaff in the breeze. He's dropped into a bestial gait, loping towards the source of that scent at fastest possible speed. It opens a way forward for Athela, Kord and the others to follow. The whole thing feels disconcertingly like hunting a boar down its territorial run, except with the promise of a life saved rather than a decent meal at the end of it.

The question then... What is waiting for them at their destination?
Carna     Enark gets results pretty quickly. He shifts his 'attention' from pool to pool, and gathers them all together as he goes, forming a sort of mental 'picture-in-picture' display. Like many security cameras sharing the same screen, he analyzes the information gathered until he finds something useful. He doesn't have to do this for very long, however, before he finds the child. He announces such to the others, by word of mouth and by radio, for those who are using them. "I have found the boy. Or at least I can see him. He appears to be alive and breathing, but injured and unconscious. He is somewhere dark, perhaps a cave. And there is some... Strange creature standing between him and something else. I do not recognize either, and it is too dark and too far away to make anything else out."

    Still, that is confirmation he's alive! That's good! But how long will this strange protector stay there? In Lumiere, probably such a protector would only be shielding the child long enough to eat him itself. Can that strange W-shaped pokemon be trusted to stand watch until help arrives? Even if it can, is it truly able to stand up to whatever threatens...?
Count Kord     Kord tromps off with the rest of the party, his footsteps taking him alongside the smell-guided path. He takes a swerving path around a tree, and then there is a loud CRUNCH with one of his footsteps. There's a strange scent on the air, and then the loud thrum of beating wings, an angry insect And Kord just says one word before the chaos begins. "Damnation--!"

    There's a loud CLANG of a weapon clashing with something chitinous, and Kord is launched through the trees at high speed. Then a blur of red whips through the trees pursues Kord. It's a Scizor! The way it's trying to hit him doesn't look immediately lethal to the man, but his weapon is clearly not doing as much harm to it as it should. He might be a bit distracted and-- "Keep going! Just a brief diversion!" he calls to the others.

    O-okay then.
Athela Valemore Boot heels crunch on dead leaves as Athela breaks stride at the sound of clashing and turns to look back just to see a blurr of red speeding through the trees. She doesn't need to see clearly to know what it was, there's very few pokemon that color and that resiliant to harm that can move that fast. Is Kord volunteering to keep it occupied?

She hates to leave anyone, even the dark count, to fend alone... But he's probably able to handle it. A yip from her Vaporeon reminds her there's a more important object at hand, too. Right. Finding the kid is more important in the end, his time is arguably shorter.

"Cripple its wings if you can!" she shouts helpfully to the dark lord, before turning and sprinting off once more after Sprite. "Let's keep moving people!" ... Though if one person stays back to keep an eye on Kord she's not going to complain. Her focus is back of the missing kid.
Staren     Staren finds himself mostly just flying right behind Asterios as the minotaur makes the shortest path. When Kord is attacked by a pokemon, he looks back, and briefly considers helping... but Kord wants them to press on, and the child /is/ in more danger.
Bahamut      Bahamut too slows when Kord is suddenly ambushed by a red blur, but when the count says to continue on Bahamut does so. "What was that?" he asks the others as they continue along. With Asterios leading the way, Bahamut is content to be rear guard. "Should we be concerned about Kord?" he adds, trying to peer through the dense forest for glimpses of the dark figure and the brilliant red assailant.
Count Kord     With Kord preoccupied, the others are able to proceed toward the scent's source. What they find is a craggy hill that requires a bit of a circuitous route to get around, and there is a cavern on one end. When they get around to it, there's a low growl from the inside of the cavern. This would be the type of cavern that Enark had seen, but the occupants are not immediately visible from the outside. The growl builds, and then the creature emerges to meet the sound of more challengers. It's a good thing they showed up, because what they find is unlike any Pokemon anyone here would be familiar with.

    The creature is brightly colored and shaped like an ancient raptor. It is also /easily/ twelve feet tall, and when it trundles out of the cavern entrance, it stands up to its full height. The creature is covered head to toe with brilliant red feathers, with a collar of white feathers that go out behind it like royal dress. Its eyes fit into the pits in its hidden hide, a pair of slitted reptile eyes that balefully glow. It resembles a T-Rex, if the T-Rex were a magical creature that hated you and your whole family for insulting its glorious feathered mane. This prehistoric beast breeeeeathes in a great big lungful...

    And roars. It roars so loud that it'd bust the eardrums of anyone standing too close to it.

    The world erupts underneath everyone. Great spires of stone jut out following the shockwave, trees blasted out of the ground and sent falling in heavy SLAMS, plant life thrown out of the ground, spiderwebbing cracks extending forward from its continuous roaring. An incredible wash of magical power follows the roar, carrying an aura of Stone that is just as oppressive as the damage it causes.

    A Wild Tyrantrum (Bayern Form) appeared!!!
Carna     Enark opens his eyes to find people moving on. Startled, he leaps up and moves to go after them, cursing his lack of foresight in not wearing some more modern clothes suitable for trekking through forests. He has the money and the outfits. He could easily have attired himself properly! Such thoughts fly from his mind, however, when they are suddenly under attack! Or at least Count Kord is! He ducks and nearly stumbles to the ground, looking the direction the attacker came from, and then the way Kord went through the trees, threatening to give himself whiplash.

    Many things go through his head then. 'Wait, was not Kord the King of the Forest or something?' 'Do these beasts not respect his authority?' 'Am I thinking of a lion?' 'Where is a lion when you need one?' All culminating in the seeming non-sequitur that Enark yells in Kord's direction. "WHY AREN'T YOU A LION!?"

    Then he runs with his hands covering his head as though this would protect him, after those heading for the child's location, through the path of destruction carved by the more powerful and skilled among them. He runs towards the cavern entrance only to find some kind of nuclear godzilla emerging from it. He gets the earth shaken out from under him by a roar, barely missed by stone spikes and falling trees as a result by landing in a narrow space between them.

    "WHY." he yells as he covers his ears.
Staren     Staren's also concerned that missed shots with energy weapons might start a forest fire. So hopefully Kord can handle it on his own!

    They find their own trouble soon enough.

    Staren shines a light into the cave. But what's inside comes out into the light. It's... a dinosaur pokemon? Not one he recognizes, but then, his knowledge of pokemon is pretty scattered -- mostly Kanto pokemon and Mort's team, really. He wonders, briefly, if it might realize that a dragon and a minotaur its size and a guy in armor aren't food, and run away...

    No such luck. A spire of stone sends him flying, cracking and denting his armor at the point of impact, and the followup wave accompanying its roar slams into his forcefield and knocks him into a tree, cracks appearing all around his forcefield before it fades -- Not that damaged, so far.

    At least he doesn't have to deal with the deafening roar. He can feel it in his bones, but it's somewhat muffled by his armor, enough to just be obnoxiously loud instead of painful.

    The catboy gets to his feet at the base of the tree he hit with a grunt. And starts circle-strafing the monster, firing his beam cannons at it, intent on wearing it down. Rather than bothering to set up a shot with a more powerful weapon that might catch allies in the blast, he watches for it to telegraph another roar, ready to take to the sky and dodge at least part of the effect.
Athela Valemore It's a good thing they're following a scent or they might not of known to have to circle around the crags to find the cave. Though as the entrance of the rocky cavern starts to come into view Sprite scrabbles her paws to stop herself, the ridge down her spine stiffening like a cat's bristled hackles. "What is it?", Athela asks as she stops behind the pokemon. "Pray tell you did not lose the tra--"

Heavy footfalls interrupt her, yanking her attention up to the cavern as they echo from within, until the source itself emerges. Which gets a wide stare from the young knight. "By Cobalion's beard! What manner of beast is that?!"

A very angry one, apparently. That with one violent roar can send the whole place into upheaval around them. Athela kippups back from the cracking ground, only for a tree to topple over atop her pokemon! A yowl from the creature is heard... and then silence.

... And then a puddle can be seen rippling out from under the falling trunk, Sprite having used her ability to turn into elemental water to lessen the harm done. It will take her a few moments to recover and reform herself.

"Silence yourself, beast!" A rippling ball of water forms in one hand, which she flings at the roaring monster's face with her aquamancy.

Elsewhere a Gogoat is merely graising on some splintered bark where she was left for the others to proceed on foot while tracking. But the entire forest is shaken by that deafening roar, grabbing her attention. The bark is ripped free and hooves tear into the ground as the grassy ungulate starts running in the direction of the craggy hill the ruckus has come from.
Bahamut      Bahamut comes to a stop as they reach the cavern and start hearing that growl. The creature that steps forth is worthy of the deep dungeons of Spira, and Bahamut growls back as it approaches. The roar causes the Spiran dragon's metallic feathers to rattle before he is struck by one of the massive rock spires and catapulted into the air. The colorful dragon spreads his wings to steady himself, then sails back down and lands with another powerful thud and a minor shockwave before he roars right back at the great beast.

     Steel talons spread wide on his hands before Bahamut charges the dinosaur. Despite his regal nature and many spells, Bahamut has never quite shaken the thrill of rending a foe with his metal claws. "Perhaps I can distract this beast while those smaller and more fleet of foot get inside!" he growls out to his allies as he practically wrestles with the dino that is as large if not larger than himself.
Asterios Eh, Kord will be fine. There's no way some kind of weird metal bug can take out Ultrabird, right!?

Right.

And so Asterios advances with the others, only to find... Something approximately as large as he is, and infinitely more thoroughly engineered for the slaughter.

There are few things in this world quite as terrifying as 'gigantic super-raptor.' Counted on that list, however, is 'gigantic super-raptor with earth powers.'

Spikes of rock shatter against the minotaur's tremendous charge. The dinosaur's roar is met with another, equally deafening shout. While Bahamut may be interested in soaking his claws in dinosaur's flesh, Asterios has another plan in mind. Blood gushes from gashes carved across the giant's arms and legs as it advances through the stoney field. Earthen power reverberates against his eardrums, pounding paradoxically at his bones from inside the hollow of his chest. And yet, Asterios advances.

It seems there's another thing near the top of that list present in the clearing now.

'Angry minotaur protecting a child.'

"HRAAAAAAAAH!" Asterios bellows in that gutteral, furious voice. He doesn't bother unlimbering his axes; his hands and feet will do. His arms shoot forward, seizing the dinosaur around its midsection in a painful, crushing embrace. This leaves his back open for the beast's claws-- or worse, its maw-- to ravage-- but he can take the pain.

Asterios' plan can accept... pain.

What plan is that, you might ask? Well...

EARLIER

Asterios stares at something in a magazine. His eyes are bright and glittering at the images on the pages. This... This is a good thing. This is a cool thing. This is something he must learn...!

"Master!" Asterios shouts, thundering down the barracks corridors, "Master! Tell me...!"

"What is... 'pankration...!?'

NOW

Asterios is attempting to suplex a dinosaur.

'Nuff said.
Count Kord     The Tyrantrum is not prepared for things of equal or greater strength. When it's hit with beam spam, it sears off several of its feathers, and causes it to turn its wrath toward Staren for a moment. Then a ball of water strikes it in its jaw, and it gets knocked aside from its trajectory. Then Bahamut is right up in its grill, trying to wrassle it with metallic claws that actually do a number on its hide and sends dribbles and sprays of blood down into the stone and dirt below them. It can't get past him long enough to avoid Asterios, who manages to get purchase, but finds that grabbing something with this many claws is very hazardous, and it kicks and thrashes in his grasp.

    SLAM!!! Dust flies up into the air when it's brought to the ground. Then it slams its tail on the ground and FORCES itself up, and does something ... well, reminiscent of Asterios. An incredible weight of arcane energy surges, dust dances around it, and its body glows with an immense power... then it tries to SLAM into Asterios with a rising headbutt to the center of his mass so hard that it blows branches off of trees for half a mile ahead of it, blasting air outward in a rough cone. The rock-aligned elemental magic sends cracks and fissures outward, forever altering the landscape with the sheer power behind it. And as soon as it's done, it just... kinda...

    Passes out.

    Yeah, it's still mostly just an animal, and it isn't built to endure a suplex.
Athela Valemore Not many Pokemon grow as big as this beast is... and it's even rarer to see multiple beings of such size go at it. Between dragon, minotaur and dinosaur (that might also be a dragon in some form) it's the dinosaur that... headbutts itself into submission in the end, after a brutal pummeling.

Athela keeps her sword in hand, just in case though as she starts towards the cave once more, this time a lot more warily just in case there is -more- of those things somehow hiding within.

The puddle of water finally pulls itself up and congeals back into the form of a Vaporeon. But that was a wallop even if she could minimalize the trauma. She's just going to sit here and wait for the goat to catch up.
Staren     Soon, a dragon, a dinosaur, and a minotaur are wrestling, like the introduction to a mythological joke. Staren's eyes widen in surprise when it throws around enough force to denude trees far into the distance. Good thing he was trying to keep a clear shot at the beast and so wasn't behind Asterios!

    ...But as he readies for its next attack, it just sort of... dies. Or at least passes out, anyway. "...Huh. I guess we wore it down." he starts walking towards the cave. "So what now, do we kill and eat it, or do you have some way to capture and train it, or do we just leave? After we rescue the kid, of course." He's really not sure what the post-monster protocol is on medieval pokemon world.
Asterios Yes. Truly, nothing can completely withstand the full might of a Minotaur-driven suplex...! It helps that Tyrantrum's weight quite a bit, too. Puts a lot of weight on the head--

Wait

It's still moving!?

"Mmn!?" Asterios grunts in surprise as the dinosaur rouses. He's too nearby to evade what comes next. Raw tellurian force smashes into his torso- the minotaur has barely a moment to murmur surprise before he goes flying back into the forest...

Or, rather, back THROUGH the forest.

There are ruined trees and shattered stones in the path of Asterios' sudden flight. The minotaur himself is buried head-first in a trench apparently dug into the earth by his face.

He's... breathing, at least.

But he's going to be out for a bit.
Bahamut      Bahamut...has to admit he is impressed when Asterios suplexes the big dino. Bahamut backs off as Asterios displays his strength, but before he can move back in the creature headbutts Asterios with enough force that just the shockwave is enough to send Bahamut stumbling back. He has to angle his wings so that the powerful burst of wind doesn't sweep him away, and ducks down quickly to grip the earth with all four limbs. Those thick metal claws dig deeply into the ground to give the dragon purchase.

     And during all of that, Bahamut gets a front row seat to Asterios learning how to make a drainage ditch with his face. Fortunately, before the feathered dino can dish out another attack...it collapses. Bahamut stands to his full height again slowly, then snorts lightly before he looks to Enark. "I believe those healing services you offered might be in order now." he says. Trusting that the strange cleric can take care of Asterios, the big dragon heads inside the cave with the others.
Carna     W-well, then! That fight was... Thankfully short? If incredible violent and terrifying and also kind of awesome? Someone should really go help Count Kord now. However, there's an injured child that needs tending to, so with the main threat down, Enark gets unsteadily to his feet and tries to navigate a forest of displaced forest to head towards the cave and the boy within. "Yes. Quite so." he agrees with Bahamut, giving the dragon a wide berth. He would be more concerned for Asterios if it was someone other than Asterios. Hopefully there's nothing else terrible in there. He really is not in the mood to fight disembodied alphabet soup or whatever that was that was shielding the kid before now.

    "I am coming in to help! I am a healer!" he announces, just on the off-chance the thing speaks English (technically Greek, but who keeps track these days?).

    If he can manage to locate the rescue target and persuade any guardians to maybe scootch over a bit, he can get to work with the magic water.

    "Staren, can you bring in some lights or something to see by? Someone might want to go check on Count Kord. I will attend to the rest of your injuries after taking care of the child." he calls back over his shoulder.
Count Kord     Entering the cavern is a straightforward manner, now that the great big primal monster isn't impeding their path. It isn't dead, and it can be safely ignored. Which is what Kord does when he catches up with the group, flying in between the trees to land and stumble a bit because the ground shifts beneath him. He looks at the devastation wrought by this creature, and decides to just enter the cavern instead of provide it a second thought. His priorities are clear here.

    The creature that they find guarding the boy stands there before them like a blue sentinel. It's a Wobbuffet. It squints up at them, its vague limbs held up to its forehead at strange angles. It makes a soft 'wwwwwoooooo' noise at them, and glows with an ominous energy. But it doesn't attack. It just starts guard.

    When Kord sees it, he approaches, places his hand to its face, and very gingerly lifts it by the face and places it aside. Its glow vanishes when he does this, and protests loudly. In spoken word.

    "Back away from the boy, foul spawn of the destroyer!"

    Kord is startled and infuriated, but mostly confused, by the cartoonish and grating tone that the creature has, spat out with a venomous disdain that only Kord's enemies would have. Kord straightens his posture and glares at the Wobbuffet. It glares back at him. They glare at each other.

    Jiiiiiii.

    Neither of them stop Enark from tending to the boy, who needs the help for sure. Healing helps deal with some of the wounds the boy has, removing bruising, scrapes and a couple cuts.
Staren     It's a... pokemon. Staren doesn't recognize the species, but it's clearly standing guard over the boy. While Staren's deciding what to do, Kord moves up... and it /talks/. Staren thought pokemon didn't talk on this world! "We're here to help the boy." Staren explains. Enark is allowed to go do so? Huh. "How come you can speak? Why do you think Kord would hurt the boy? ...You know what, I'm not sure it matters, as long as we CAN help him and take him safely back to his family. How's that going, Enark?"
Athela Valemore At the call for light Athela produces a torch from her travel pack and strikes it against a side of the cave to get some sparks to ignite it. Which she holds up to turn back towards the others to provide some light for Enark.

Only for the first thing for her to see partially illuminated is that >www< face. "Gah!" She jerks back, then realizes it's only a Wobbuffet. "... That explains why that beast couldn't get the kid." Thankfully.

It 'speaking' is less weird. It is a Psychic type, after all.

Which is probably also why it's giving hateful stares in Kord's direction. As much as a >www< face can, at least.

"You.. might want to keep your distance, Count. Just to be safe." Being a Dark type would not protect him from what a Wobbuffet can do.

Outside the cave hooves can be heard scuffing the ground, and a grumpy "Go-o-o-o-goat" bleated out. Athela just shakes her head a little, and turns back to Enark. "Heal him, sir, and we can get him home."
Asterios MEANWHILE OUTSIDE

Asterios is still definitely knocked out.

He had his moment. Now he has his nap.
Bahamut      Despite all that's happened, somehow Bahamut...really didn't take much in the way of damage. There's a large dent and discoloration on his chest from where the stone pillar caught him, but other than that he is unharmed thanks in large part to Asterios's herculean efforts outside. "It seems we have been successful. I have heard it is too late for such children more often than not." he says, then looks at the Wobbuffet. "Thank you, friend, for protecting this boy. His family will be most grateful." The thing talking isn't that weird to Bahamut. There are several different kinds of talking creatures on his world. "I should be able to carry any out who wish a quick return to civilzation." he offers.
Count Kord     The Wobbuffet is distracted by glaring at Kord for a little there. It's hard to grab its attention for any reason. But then it's drawn out of this by people asking questions to it and generally talking in its direction.

    "I've always been able to talk!" it barks back at Staren, as if it's offensive to even ask. But that doesn't answer the question and probably isn't even true. "'Kord' is the spawn of Yveltal, the destroyer! He burned down my home and forced the people of Archengart out!" That's... a really good reason not to trust Kord.

    Kord's long suffering sigh after that might be telling, though. He chooses not to engage in an argument about it, as he won't win an argument with something as obtuse as a Wobbuffet.

    Retrieving the boy and bringing him home is a trivial matter now. Kord will get home under his own power, and the boy is light enough that even Enark could carry him all the way back, if needed.
Staren     Staren turns to Kord. "Did you do that?" If he answers in the affirmative, he follows up with: "Why did you do that?"

    Not with the outrage of someone learning a trusted ally is a monster or anything like that. He figures Kord had his reasons and the wobuffet's description is an oversimplification of things. But he might be naive and hopeful enough to think that hearing those reasons would persuade the wobuffet.

    Some might say he's foolish for even stopping to care. They could just leave, now.
Athela Valemore Archengart. That explains much of the Wobbuffet's displeasure with Kord's presence, and knowing that Athela can't really say she can blame it. Even knowing -why- Kord raised that city after their visit to the remains of the city she can't quite say she agrees with it, and no one is going to believe the true intentions when told. Not when it's just the word of the man they already hate, and the one lone knight of an almost forgotten god-paladin.

"That is a topic to be brought up later in less public venues, Staren." You can't argue with a Wobbuffet, much like you can't beat one with brute power. "Let us worry about getting this child home to his worried family." If the boy doesn't want to be carried by a dragon like Bahamut is offering, she'll take him home on her Gogoat. Either way will get him there. But every child dreams of riding a dragon so he may actually take the great drake's offer.