Eros, Xerxes and Surge were sow suited in what could be summarized as the pinnacle of medieval luxury; Silk adorned a lavish turquoise cot, while vines of all sorts crawled about a room that would easily fit three Snorlax. Aside from the malicious engravings of Articuno across the trimmings of the walls, the room was comforting by all standards.
After inspecting the room and every luxurious detail twice over, Xerxes walked over to Eros and whispered at his side, "I think I know that guy in the black robes."
"Really? Who is he?" Eros was standing aside the bed, deciding whether or not to plop down in it and enjoy whatever sanctuary was granted by this prince. Eventually, his love for comfort won and he fell on the mattress, which was much stiffer than he anticipated.
Xerxes, who jumped on the bed and was now looking down upon Eros, continued, "He's a Mage called the Marquis de Magus. He's pretty powerful and all. He disintegrated one of the humanity stones with some kind of spell, and I think he can teleport, too. He's also got a damn pretty staff that looks like it'd be worth taking, if you had that in mind."
"Language, Xerxes!"
"Point is, he's dangerous and wants us dead. We shouldn't stay here longer than we have to."
"I don't think you're wrong, but there's a lot going on here. I can feel it." Eros ran his eyes across the room, then up and down Xerxes. "Something ain't right."
Surge, who was rubbing himself into a shag carpet, spoke up and said, "Damn straight. And do they have some sort of Articuno fetish or something? I though they hated Pokemon."
"Surge! Language!"
"I mean, that just doesn't make sense. You think that they have some kind of history with Articuno?"
"Hm. Hmmm. Maybe. I'm more concerned about why that guy just gave us this room and stuff. This is all pretty weird."
The three, having unintentionally prepared themselves for the awkward silence, lounged about the room for what seemed to be an hour. The smell of salt-ridden food and various bitter wines flooded the hall and crept into the suite, which was less than tempting for the trio who had just swallowed more salt water than they'd prefer.
Then, with deeper intent than to break the ice, Surge leapt onto the bed and whispered to Eros, "I have a kind of stupid question."
Eros raised one eyebrow in questions, responding, "What it it?"
"Well... Hank is going to be a Druid soon, right?"
"Well, there's a bit more to it than that, but yeah."
"Will it be, like, weird between us? Because, like, you're a Druid and stuff..."
"Oh, if you're asking about between me and Sicily, we're cool. I mean, we have some pretty odd adventures and stuff, but it's not weird. I think. I mean, it isn't like Hank is going to be any crazier than you've ever seen him. I guess."
"What do ya mean?"
"Like, when Hank does drugs and stuff. ... He does drugs, right?"
"HANK DOES DRUGS?"
"Wait, does he only sell them?"
"AND HE SELLS DRUGS?!"
Eros rolled his eyes, falling even deeper into the firm mattress. This did not stop Surge from interrogating him, though.
"So... Will I ever go crazy and attack Hank or something ever?"
"I dunno. I'm not a fortune teller."
"I mean, why did Sicily go crazy? I won't go crazy like her, right?"
"Nah. Zekrom just got in her head and all. And anyways," as Eros made a few threatening sparkles near Surge, "If you DO go crazy, I'ma kick your butt. Okay?"
Surge simply smiled and fell asleep for a few moments, but not a full minute of rest was to be had as a familiar voice belonging to the prince rung out, "The meal is prepared, our faithful guests!"
Eros, Xerxes and Surge gathered themselves hastily and left the room, finding an empty hallway with no indication as to where to go; However, this wasn't drastically problematic, as they simply had to follow the scent of caramelized sugars, slightly burnt yet overlapped by the aroma of quaint spices and seasonings. The trail was thick, and but a few minutes later the three stumbled upon the room; It was shaped like a corridor, yet expanded massively in every dimension to the point where two or three Gyrados, from head to tail, could line up and barely reach the other side.
Eros, followed by the other two, sat in the nearest seat they could find. This turned out to be rather appropriate, as all the other seats were filled. Near the entrance which they entered, the Marquis de Magus sat, a bottle of wine mostly empty aside his plate. Aside him were two other robed figures, clad in the black Kevlar-like cloth yet lacking any mask and staff, replaced only by a secondary cowl that completely hid the face. Rather than wine bottles, however, the containers resembled that of whiskey or some other potent liquor.
Aside from these three mages, various noblemen adorned in gold-embroidery and supple velvet or silk cloths. A sense of arrogance and pretentiousness was present about them, clearly distinguishing them from the humble man. Aside the nobles at the table, a few iron-clad men sat as well, similar to the men who stood guard about the room, except their armor was much more intricate and decorated than that of the common solider, most likely as a representation of their status as general or captain.
Along this table sat various kinds of food (although that is to say the least of what is by all means a feast). From gelatins made from Pecha berries to cakes topped with mounds of icing to even exotic meats which would make anyone ashamed to speak of, the table was more than suited to the exotic person's tongue. And yet, none of the food seemed to appeal to Eros; Nor Xerxes and Surge, for that matter. Even the Marquis seems to have trouble enjoying the simple bread and fruit preserve in front of him, taking only small bites and consuming alcohol by the swig.
Eros was about to try but a single berry when the king, seated at the opposite end of the table, stood up and spoke. "Men, I do believe that a few words are in order here today. First of all, I'd like to thank everybody for attending, as our greatest of kingdoms served only the highest quality of flesh and fruits. And let us not forget the valiant efforts of our militia and military..."
Although Eros could barely pay focus to this monologue, Xerxes and Surge seemed pretty absorbed by it. Out of lack of interest, Eros leaned over to Xerxes and giggled, "Hey... Guess what..."
Xerxes, little more than annoyed by this, responded, "Can't you see he's speaking?"
Ignoring this, Eros resumed, "Is... Is the king guy a set that contains all sets?"
"..."
"Be...Because he's full of himself..." Eros broke down in an immature fit of giggles, drawing the evil eye from one or two people sitting by, including Surge.
Xerxes just stared at Eros, giving a look of utter disdain. However, this was not held for long, as something infinitely for drastic took place.
"And so, as King of Utopia, I bring to you- ahem, I bring to-" the king then suddenly broke into a fit of coughing, keeling over himself and expelling air like a madman. At first, none of the soldiers seemed to pay any attention; However, about fifteen seconds in, armored men surrounded him and started begging for him to stop. But, alas, Eros noticed (and, to his Pokemon, pointed out) that an odd thick green powder was upon his lips, one very familiar to Eros. While this may appear as normal seasoning to the untrained eye, nobody who dare cook with it would maintain a job for long; Hence, the king was poisoned intentionally.
After a few more hysterical fits of coughs, the king plopped onto the table and fell to the grips of death; Then, as if hurt in the deepest sense yet unfazed by the sudden incident, the prince stood up and pointed at Eros, shouting, "It was the boy and his Pokemon!"
"W-what?! W-we d-didn't-"
One of the heavily-decorated captains stood up, levitating a finger as to direct it at Eros. "He brought Pokemon in here! And he's not like the other mages!"
The prince, almost speaking in a rehearsing tone, shouted, "Lock them in the prison! You, my vicious, transgressing traitor! For the act of high treason and murder of those in the royal blood line, I sentence you to execution tomorrow morn!"
"B-but..." Yet Eros was already bound with arms behind his back, unable to do anything to escape the grasps of the dozens of guards leading him through even more of the decked corridors. Even Surge and Xerxes were trying to resist and shout out, yet for naught. Soon, after being pushed through what must've been half a mile of walkways, the three were shoved into what appeared to be a prison of sorts. A room only lit by exterior torches and protected by one iron bar aligned right after another. In the room sat not a toilet, nor a bed; Simply a few etchings in the wall, all pertaining to messages of death.
As the guards locked the door behind the three, one of them had said, "Tomorrow, you will die, transgressors. Make your final moments count." With that, all but one of the guards left from sight, opening up the view to another prison much alike that of Eros', save that instead of having any other prisoners, a lone Croconaw sat in silence, hanging his head and staring into the ground.
Eros, desperate for somebody to help him in his situation, started to talk to the Croconaw. "H-h... H-h... H-hey! Y-you!" Eros wasn't aware that he had a stutter this hindering before, but attempted to calm himself and continue talking.
The Croconow, seemingly ashamed or afraid of something, slowly rose his head with eyes of dismay, replying only with, "You can't understand me, can you?"
"B-but I can!" As this was going on, the guard seemed to pay no attention, having no context for what Eros was saying because he couldn't understand the Croconaw. As such, he started a patrol up and down the hall, looking into some of the other cells now and then. "Y-you wouldn't happen to know about an E-e-Eevee named Alice, w-would-"
"Huh? Who are you? Tell me who you are." The Croconaw was still appealingly depressed, yet he had some newfound content and will in his voice.
"I-I'm Eros! D-don't you remember?"
"Huh? The Sandshrew? But how..."
"I n-need- no, I m-mean, I could tell you, b-but I'm afraid s-somebody may b-be watching..." Although there was no particular reason to suspect anybody was listening in on him, he wanted to play it safe. "P-point is, we need to get out."
Ever morose, yet not without the slightest bounce, Croconaw replied, "You seem a bit different... Like something has scarred you on the inside..."
"D-do you know a w-way out?"
"No. I don't. I'm sorry." With this, Croconaw returned his head to the ground, staring endlessly at a moist spot in the ground. Eros was about to retract and do the same, except that Croconaw looked up at the last moment and said, "If it helps any, I saw Keldeo talking to that black robed man back near Treasure Town. No idea why, though. It's not like him, from what I've heard."
Eros smiled and nodded, recollecting himself for a few moments. After a few minutes in the cell, it became apparent that nothing was going to save them anytime soon, so he might as well stir up some more conversation. "Hey... How d'ya get in here?"
Croconaw seemed to let a tear run down his nose and into the puddle on the ground, growing it in the slightest bit. Eros, assuming he offended him, continued, "Never mind, it-"
"I'll tell you." With this, Croconaw made eye contact for a short second; However, as if repelled by some exterior force, he looked back down at the puddle. "I... I was with Alice one day. She and I... I knew she was human, but we were friends anyways. Scary thing, if you think about it. One day, she starts talking 'bout you like she knew you forever. Odd, it was. Talking about how she could one day come back and meet you. She seemed insane at the time, so... Well, I didn't know what came over me...
"But I took her into a dungeon one day. She said she wanted to be human again, and started looking for stuff to go back. Grasping at straws, it seemed. That's why I took her badge and ran. She was crazy. I can't believe I let someone like that be my friend... At the time. It was a terrible, horrible mistake, and now, she's dead for all I know."
"B-but Croconaw! She's alive!"
"Really? But... It doesn't matter. I couldn't stand what I did. Thought so could handle doing dungeons on my own. Went okay the first few times, but one day, I just ended up here... And they locked me away. Said they would kill me too, but it's only been a day." Croconaw stared at the ground for a few more moments before saying, "How's Alice?"
"Oh, uh..." Eros just looked around a bit, averting his eyes while saying, "I was kinda a jerk to her and she ran off... I really overreacted over something..."
"Heh. Kehehehe. That makes two of us, eh?" Croconaw gave a sort of sadistic grin. "I deserve to die here. But you don't. I'm sorry for you."
Xerxes appeared from behind Eros, spinning something shiny on her claw. "Well, you don't have to. I got one of the guards' keys."
"What? How?" Eros was looking back, staring in amazement (along with Surge) at this lifesaving find.
"Well, you take a girl with good claws and give her a reason to use 'em... I took it off a guard."
Eros looked up and down the halls before returning his gaze to Xerxes. "It doesn't seem like anybody's coming this way. You ready to make a break for it?"