Thursday, June 8th, 1978, 1700

After hearing the anticipatory edge to Ellie's voice, I hurried over to my best guess to where it had come from. It didn't take long to find them; they stood roughly a hundred meters from where we had initially stopped after making it through the dense forest. They were just around a sharp bend that I hadn't been able to see for my position.

I could immediately see what had caught Ellie's attention; after the harsh turn, the forest opened up into a large valley. It was a picturesque scene, with verdant grasslands that continued up into the nearby mountains northwest of our location.

The path here was in slightly better condition than inside the forest itself, but what really stood out was the junction where Ellie stood. There was the main path we had been slogging through for hours, covered with mud and hardly managed at all. And then abruptly, veering off in a 'Y' junction, was a path that looked like it belonged in a carefully curated garden. The juxtaposition was startling. Moreover, the new path didn't seem to have experienced even the slightest wear and tear from the last few hours of storming.

It looked good as new, and was paved with finely cut, hexagonal stones; the surface looked perfectly flat without any edges to trip on. There was a spattering of several different types of greyish stone from what I could tell with a casual glance.

The pristine road was surrounded on both sides by a large, beautifully made fence. It stood nearly two meters high and appeared to be carved from some variety of dark, glossy wood.

The sight was bizarre, frankly, and it set my nerves on edge. There was something odd about it.

Not that I could complain, at the moment. After watching Ellie and Anabelle fall repeatedly for the last few hours, I was certain they were more than happy for the change of scenery. If we chose to take it, anyway. I took the opportunity to pull out the map Sula had given me of the area; we appeared to be roughly in the same area as the golden star indicated. I sighed, mulling over the pros and cons as I made my way over to Ellie, who was staring off into the distance.

Ellie looked at me expectantly as I approached. "Do you see it, Mare?"

"See what?" I asked, snorting at her vague question. "That path? This masterwork fence?" I deadpanned, uncertain of what she could possibly be referring to besides the suspiciously paved path in the middle of nowhere. I felt apprehensive about the whole thing. The too-good-to-be-true path emanated a subtle feeling of dread to my trained senses.

Ellie rolled her eyes, chuckling as she directed my gaze off into the distance with a gesture. "The building! Look over here, silly."

Sure enough, tucked away into a copse of trees was what looked like a traditional inn. The building itself seemed to be made of a variety of different woods and was stylized with subdued, earthy colors. The building was only visible because the path appeared to gently ascend to a plateau deeper in the valley.

Honestly, it reminded me a lot of home. The architecture was quite similar to many of the buildings in Fuchsia City. Which made sense, considering we realistically weren't that far from home. From what I could see, the building was three stories high and looked like it was built to house a large number of people.

I couldn't help but think it was an odd location for an inn of that size. I found it hard to believe that enough people passed through this pathetic route to justify such a large investment, but if Sula had starred the location there was clearly more to it than met the eye.

"Nice eye, Ellie," I complimented as I moved into position beside her. I felt bad for my sarcastic tone a moment earlier. "It really blends in with the forest."

"Anabelle saw it! Praise her instead," Ellie said proudly as she and Anabelle gave each other a businesslike high-five.

"Chansey," Anabelle tittered cheerily, happy with the attention she was receiving.

"Nice eye, Anabelle," I corrected myself, holding my hand up for a high five. After a brief instant of hesitation, the healing pokémon reciprocated with her tiny hand, and we managed to eke out a decent celebration.

"Anywayyys," said Ellie. "Who would build an awesome inn like that in such an isolated location, and then also have the audacity to paint it so that nobody notices it." She shook her head disapprovingly. "It's almost as if the owner doesn't want to be found. I only noticed it because Anabelle pointed it out."

"Maybe they don't," I said consideringly. "Now that you mention it, it really does seem weird. Maybe we should just keep going."

"Not a fucking chance," protested Ellie. "Where's Dani? We should go check it out and stay there for a night! This has to be an inn! Mare, can we stay? Pretty please? I'm cold and dirty and don't want to camp out again! I'll stop making fun of how you talk! I promise!"

"Dani's right here," interjected the person in question as she limped over to us "Did I hear inn? As in actual stay in a building, not sleeping on soggy ground, Arceus blessed, inn?"

Dani's hand was clutched tightly in Nana's fur, and she was leaning on him heavily as if she might collapse at any moment. She had stopped shivering and was much drier, but I could tell she still was not having a good day by any means.

I was surprised at the almost pleading tone of her voice. From my experiences with her so far, she seemed incredibly resistant to anything that might even be remotely perceived as deferential treatment. Or maybe she was just taking the cold harder than I thought, which was more than reasonable.

Ellie beamed. "You did hear inn! As in the one right over there that we're definitely going to stay in, right, Mare?" She shot a pouting look my way. "Look at poor, darling Dani; she needs a hot meal and a good soak and she'll be right as rain."

"I'm fine," Dani muttered, clearly annoyed at the comment. "I'll be fine regardless of what we choose." She hesitated, looking away for a long second. "But... I wouldn't hate it if we found somewhere to stay for the night."

I frowned at losing my only expected ally. "It's not that simple. From what I can tell, this is one of the spots that Sula indicated on the map—"

"Perfect!" Ellie interjected. "We should definitely stay there, then."

"Can you let me finish, please?" I shot back with annoyance. "That's exactly the problem; there's a fifty-fifty chance that anything Sula suggests on the map is actually a trap. This could be the best inn in all of Kanto, or it could be dangerous. It's not as easy as you're making it out to be."

"You think she would seriously do that?" asked Dani with wide eyes. "That seems like quite the prank to play on someone wandering through poorly maintained wilderness."

"I do. I definitely do. Definitely," I emphasized with a shudder. "The gold star is the perfect bait. You have no idea what she's capable of."

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"I'm pretty sure you're just paranoid, Mare. I know your sister is the enemy, but she can't be all bad like you make her out to be. What's the worst that could happen," countered Ellie, her voice taking on an exasperated edge. "And furthermore, why would she even give you this map if she didn't plan for it to be helpful?"

"It's a dangerous facility that houses poachers. It could be a Seiichi vacation home filled with annoying relatives. It could be filled with psychic pokémon just waiting to torment us," I elaborated, listing off the options with my fingers. "And that's just off the top of my head. If you just give me a few minutes, I can think of others."

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Get over yourself, Mare. I know you're a worrywart and all, but none of those things are even remotely realistic. Let's put it to a vote! All in favor say yay!"

"Nay," I said decisively. "We should just keep moving and start up a fire further along the main path. There's no need for unnecessary risks."

"Yay!" shouted Ellie exuberantly. "Even the hope of a hot bath trumps any risks you might offer."

"Chans!" agreed Anabelle, but she looked away contritely after I shot her a withering glare.

"Arceus, it had to come down to me, didn't it?" complained Dani with a tired grin. "If only to mess with you, Mare, I say yes. What's the worst that could happen?"

Before I could respond, Ellie slammed her fist into a palm, sending a loud slapping noise into the valley. "It's decided, then! Democracy has prevailed, and the evil tyrant Mare has been deposed."

I shook my head as Ellie practically skipped off onto the suspicious path. I guess we're doing this, I concluded, doing my best to accept the reality that I was traveling with at least one highly impulsive teenager. Everything will be fine.

----------------------------------------

Much to my annoyance, our trek towards the inn proceeded more smoothly than I wanted or expected. All my instincts were crying out danger, but nothing even remotely threatening was popping out. Not even a damn pokemon. I was hoping Eon and Nana would have something to take their anxiety out on, but no luck. My pokemon often echoed my own emotional state, and the experienced pair was taut with exposed nerves.

I forced out a long breath. That storm clearly affected me a lot more than I thought. Just relax, Mare. Everything will be fine.

Ellie and Dani released a few of their pokémon, and I went ahead and decided to continue carrying Larvitar for the exercise even though he could easily walk on the path by this point. My arms and shoulders were burning from the long hours carrying him, but I felt newly motivated for the exercise now that the end was in sight.

He cooed as he played with my chin and shirt, using his fin-like hands to poke and prod as if I were the most entertaining thing in the world.

"That's too cute, Mare. You're definitely living up to the mom vibes that Ellie accused you of earlier," observed Dani with a playful smile. "He clearly loves you already. There must be something to being the first person to meet a pokemon out of their egg."

"I'd like to remind you that you were also included in that grouping," I shot back, feeling a bit insecure about my earlier joke. "If anything, you're way mommier than I am!"

Dani looked exasperated. "It's not an insult! You really need to learn how to take a compliment. I think it's nice that you take the time to carry him like that. There's nothing wrong with being affectionate with your pokemon."

"I know that," I replied, already feeling myself blushing at the unexpected approval. "Thank you. I'm still getting used to you both being nice to me without any hidden meaning or back-handed compliments. It's foreign, honestly."

"Get used to it, dummy!" Ellie grinned. "My good spirits will defeat any lingering resistance to actual kindness!"

Ellie was walking next to me with Petal and River in tow, and Willow was wrapped around her neck comfortably. Anabelle trailed behind us looking oddly happy despite how muddy her coat was. She seemed to be meshing with Ellie's team fairly easily, which was a relief.

"See! That's more familiar," I joked. "Using insults to indicate affection. I can understand that one. It's the genuine displays of affection that throw me off."

Dani, who was walking ahead of us, stopped abruptly, holding up a hand. "We're getting close. Do you think we should send Nana and Eon scouting? I haven't seen or heard anything in a while."

We were nearly to the entrance of the building at this point, and I had already noticed that it was eerily silent. We hadn't seen any pokémon for the last hour, which only made sense. The species that actually enjoyed storms like that were few and far between.

But this was different. The silence was deafening, and our conversation echoed hauntingly through the area without any competition.

"We already voted on it; let's just go for it," I offered, having already accepted my fate. "Besides, Nana and Eon would have alerted us if they noticed anything dangerous. I think it's safe to say there aren't any actual threats as far as I can tell."

I gave a whistle, and we only had to wait a few moments before Eon and Nana trotted up from opposite directions. Nana had been checking out the area closer to the inn, and Eon had been in the brush to the south, watching our backs.

"Thanks, guys," I said appreciatively. "Spot anything?"

The two pokémon glanced at each other, clearly communicating something without words.

"Vee, Eevee, vee," clarified Eon helpfully, and Nana nodded in agreement. The foxlike pokémon shrugged and settled back on her haunches to await further commands.

"Oh, so there was nothing, but it was weird," concluded Ellie confidently.

"Eevee," confirmed Eon with a curt nod, although she cocked her head with intrigue at Ellie's immediate comprehension.

I crossed my arms skeptically. "How did you know what she meant? I've spent years with Eon and could barely glean that from her response."

Ellie shrugged. "I dunno, but it just seemed like what she meant, you know? It's like a vibe check or something. I don't know how to explain it. Anyway, are we just going to wait here, or can we go and check it out?"

Before I could interrogate her further, Dani started heading up the path towards the inn. "I'm cold and tired. Let's just get this over with. If Eon says it's fine, then I trust that it's fine."

Ellie and I followed wordlessly behind, with Eon puffing her chest up with pride at the confidence Dani had in her. I kept my eyes peeled for anything unusual, but for all intents and purposes, it appeared to be a beautiful, yet still mundane, inn.

I feel like I'm being watched, I noted, finally realizing what the odd feeling was. The sense of subtle dread only escalated as we closed in on the entrance.

It was a lot bigger than I had expected. There were three levels, and the foundation appeared to be nearly fifty meters wide at the base, although each level was slightly smaller than the preceding one, giving it a tiered appearance that was pleasing to the eye.

The entrance to the building was a large double door of nearly black wood, polished to a beautiful sheen. The wood panels had been carved in a pattern I didn't recognize. It was composed of intricate swirls that appeared to layer upon themselves endlessly, looping back and forth in an entrancing pattern.

I stared in fascination at the door, feeling myself getting sucked into the seemingly infinite complexity in the wood, yet helpless to resist it.

I must have stood there for a few seconds aimlessly but abruptly came back to myself when Larvitar sprayed my nose with a gentle spout of water.

"Larvi?" He inquired with concern, reaching up to pat my chin supportively. His rough scales chafed my skin, but I didn't mind.

I patted his head appreciatively, and he gave a soft mewl in response. Larvitar couldn't quite purr like Eon could, but this was as close as he could get.

Up ahead of me, just a few feet from the door, the others stood motionless. They appeared enraptured with the entrance in much the same way that I had been. Their eyes were glazed over, and their pokémon were frozen in place.

Even Eon and Nana, who had trained extensively, were staring blankly at the door ahead of us.

I fucking knew it! This place is sketchy, I concluded with a sense of perverse satisfaction.

Before moving to snap them out of it, I took a moment to take stock of the surroundings again. Now that I was directly in front of the building, I heard sounds of crashing water, and there was a cloud of circulating mist visibly swirling around the upper edges of the building.

I made my way up to where Dani and Ellie were standing. In their excitement, they had made it partially up the stairs leading into the building. They were standing adjacent to each other, so it was an easy matter to pinch them both simultaneously.

"Ow! Like, why would you do that," complained Ellie as she massaged the back of her left arm where I pinched her.

Dani just glared at me before turning back to the doors in alarm, which had just creaked ominously open.

We all froze in surprise as a diminutive woman poked her head out. She had pitch-black hair and could've been anywhere from sixteen to fifty. The innkeeper's skin was the palest I had ever seen, looking completely bloodless. Inky black orbs stared back at us, devoid of the usual spark of life most people were born with.

The mysterious woman's lips drew back in a gruesome caricature of a smile. "Oh my! What do we have here? A few intrepid adventurers have somehow found their way to my humble abode. Whatever shall I do with them?"