[ti]closed[/ti][Instance][C/Alicia] LEVEL-3: Moonlit Grotto

Upon seeing a ragged-looking Alicia, Josh clicked open Raiden's Poké Ball, the saddled Zebstrika appearing next to her. "You've already run yourself ragged, and we're not even to the instance yet," he remarked, worried that she would wear herself out before they could get far. "Saddle up and save your energy. Raiden's reliable enough. And it's not storming." If Alicia knew Josh well enough, as much as he loved going fast, he was also respectful about pacing. Raiden wouldn't run any faster than Granmarg could gallop.

Regardless of travel arrangements, once they had formally partied with one another, a destination marker would appear on their maps. "I read your message. That's a mood. I've barely had time to log in myself; we've got unlimited email OT where I'm at. Planting season will do that." There was light at the end of the tunnel; once the hot summer months came, orders would die down, and they would be able to catch up. "Not mandatory OT yet, but I think it's coming."

The musical tone made Josh skeptical that Alicia truly was alright, and he would get that confirmation when she climbed onto Raiden's back. She may have been able to feel a pang of static course through her body upon grabbing the electric horse's reins. The Gardener would be free to keep Raiden at whatever speed she felt comfortable with, Josh keeping Granmarg at that same speed. "At least I get to listen to music during my shift. I'm just afraid they'll put me on the phone. I would rather work at my own pace, as long as I'm meeting quality and productivity numbers. Ugh, that word." It was a work buzzword the young man couldn't stand. It was an excuse to make people work more for no benefit.

With the two swift horses ferrying Josh, Alicia, and any small Pokémon that may have been out of their Poké Balls, they reached the red zone line marking the entrance to the Moonlit Grotto. Unable to slow his horse down in time, he went crashing into the markers, his momentum suddenly stopping and causing him to lurch forward from the recoil. The sudden stop was accompanied by a UI message:

Information> You must dismount your Pokémon to proceed any farther.

Josh whined at the seemingly arbitrary restriction. "What do you mean, I can't ride my Pokémon?" Sliding down from his horse, he recalled the rest of his team, other than Raiden, which he would do once Alicia stepped off. "This is a little disappointing. Anyway, you ready? There's a lot of tantalizing treasure and XP in there!"

The reason for not being able to upgrade became very apparent: within the mushroom labyrinth, quarters were too close to saddle up a Pokémon. The boundaries of each "room" of the Moonlit Grotto seemed to be composed of giant, bioluminescent mushroom stalks. It was brighter here than it would have been in broad daylight. "This place is gorgeous," Josh remarked as he walked toward the entry hall's left side. "How fascinating that this place would be full of night life. No wonder we had to come out here after dark."

Investigating the west side, Josh located a peculiar sight: an array of smaller mushrooms blocking their way. He pulled on one of the stalks, but simply lacked the strength for it to budge. "Ugh!" he cried as he shoved it the opposite direction. When he did so, the stalk poked out of the ground more, displaced from its initial position by roughly the mushroom cap's own width. The new position did them little good. "Probably a shortcut back," the scout speculated as he led the way north, the only other way they could so.

As if on cue, three mushrooms flash-sprouted from the ground, blocking all exits to a room filled with venomous snake Pokémon of multiple species! With loud hisses, they lunged toward Raiden and Sylvene!

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Sylvene had the advantage of flying out of range of the foes' attacks. Raiden did not, and with EVASION not being a stat at UNOVR, there was no avoiding their sharp fangs. The Zebstrika whinnied before loosing a DISCHARGE upon the room, which may have struck Sylvene if the Pidgeotto was in range. It was more than strong enough to be a room-clearer after the bird's WING ATTACK softened them up. A "puzzle solved" jingle would play, tailored to each player's settings, as the Pokémon's models faded away and the three shutters opened. "Heh, they even have the Legend of Zelda sound to go with it," Josh chuckled. "Makes sense, since they're both developed by the same studio."

Behind the shutter was a second door, this one with chains and a lock covering it. In the center of the lock was a large keyhole. As Josh approached it, a message would appear on both their HUDs:

Information> You need a KEY to open a door that is locked and chained.

"It really is a Zelda-like dungeon, isn't it..." Josh trailed off as he led the way east. Two Shieldon patrolled the chamber, their AI causing them to move in the adventurers' general direction without appearing immediately hostile. What grabbed Josh's attention more was a giant mushroom stalk that, for some reason, was targetable like a Pokémon. Misclicking, he gave the order for the electric horse to ram into it. The yellow and white inferno of his FLAME CHARGE raced up the stalk, the entire mushroom disintegrating into a pile of ash. As black soot rained down upon Josh and Alicia if she was nearby, a loud bang assaulting their ears, another message would appear on their HUDs:

Information> There was a loud sound far off, like something being knocked loose!

Josh looked around in the direction he thought the noise came from, but couldn't find anything. "What do you think that was?" he asked as he led the way across a mushroom bridge with an out-of-place looking mechanical turnstile, its counterclockwise arrow blinking.

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Josh smiled back; he knew exactly what jingle Alicia must have heard. He wasn't surprised Sylvene was upset; being caught in the Discharge would have dealt a lot of damage. It was a strong and super-effective attack. As useful as area attacks were, they had their downsides when traveling with a party. It seemed Ronda was similarly upset, presumably from the tight quarters. "Wow, sounds like you got the short end of the stick with your Pokémon," Josh remarked. "Mine are obedient, if a little rash."

As Alicia suggested that it was a support structure, Josh tilted his head upward. Surely enough, there was something large-looking above and to the north of them! "You're right, though. I think we should look for more of these and knock 'em out!"

The stronger of the two trainers led the way, Josh helping out some as the duo pushed the turnstile counterclockwise. It locked after bring rotated 90 degrees, the bioluminescent indicator light changing from blue to orange and pointing in a clockwise direction. "Aha, that's it," Josh said as he walked east up a short slope. "If we can access it from three sides, we should be able to go anywhere we want."

Before them was a dense field of tall mushrooms, including a giant one that went all the way up to the area's upper bounds. Without immediate direct access to this one, it seemed there was a puzzle to solve. "I can target the discolored mushrooms. You have any ranged attacks that could split those stalks? I can get to the back with Raiden if you can clear the way."

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"But are you glad you ended up with Sylvene now?" Josh tried to reassure Alicia. The Pidgeotto was a valuable ally. What was taking his so long to evolve? Pazuzu was still a Pidgey, and hers was evolved despite them both getting theirs at the same time. Did she really spend that much time grinding encounters?

The Veluza that Alicia sent out made Josh jealous. "I just dipped into Swimmer, too. What a slick ride you've got there... at least for the seas." Not that Ulysses was disappointing, but that fish could swim fast. He watched Alicia and her Pokémon dance around the room, painstakingly opening the path for Raiden to charge. "On it now!"

With another FLAME CHARGE, the odd-colored mushroom disintegrated into a pile of ash, the UI giving another confirmation that felt like Progress:

Information> There was a loud sound far off, like something being knocked loose!

The impact also knocked a SMALL KEY loose, the sound of a metallic clink that was way louder than it should have been attracting Josh's attention. Falling nearer to him, he picked it up and held it high above his head.

Information> You obtained a SMALL KEY! It can be used to open any one locked door or block in this dungeon.

"Jackpot," Josh nodded, passing the key off to Alicia, who seemed more excited to open up the third channel she had mentioned. "Be careful if any of those snake Pokémon respawn. But it looks like the turnstile shouldn't be a problem anymore. At least in theory. I didn't see a locked door on the left side, anyway..."

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