Ever notice how the player character almost always starts off in their bedroom? Proof positive that the whole "introduction to the Pokemon world" thing is really a nightmare.

Return to Lynwood, Chapter 15

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7
Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - Chapter 11 - Chapter 12 - Chapter 13 - Chapter 14
Chapter 15

Suhel hated getting sick. But this was a sickness like nothing she had ever before experienced. It not only lingered, but got steadily worse, until she felt like a mere husk of the mighty Werelupe she once had been. It frustrated and scared her to no end, especially because they still had a journey ahead of them.

The trip to Lynwood would take four days, accounting for the circuitous route Isengrim led his party on to try to avoid Vakhtang’s territory as much as possible. While the rust-furred Werelupe claimed he was king of the entire Haunted Woods, he seemed to – for the time being – concentrate mostly on the northern, more populated regions.

Lynwood was really only a day or so away from Barrowmere, less for a Werelupe travelling at a brisk pace, but Suhel knew Isengrim wanted to find the staff first, and she and Lexora didn’t think their condition would worsen all that quickly. But it seemed as though ever since they started heading toward Lynwood, their health had gone even more downhill. It hurt to breathe now. Every morning Suhel struggled to open her eyes and force herself to get up. She had to conserve her words, because nearly every time she spoke she would end up coughing. By the end of the first day, she had already resorted to having to ride on Gwyneth.

Lexora was worse along. The Kougra was so weak that she did not even have the energy to stay propped up on Gwyneth, and Suhel was glad to ride so she could keep hold of her friend. Lexora’s breathing was labored and she spent much of the time sleeping—except when her coughing woke her up.

No one said anything anymore about this being a fun adventure. The others tried to keep Suhel’s and Lexora’s spirits up, but for the most part the hours were long and silent as they trudged through the forest, their thoughts concentrated on the curse and how to break it. The lozenges were gone, and the tea was running low. The chilling fear began to sneak into Suhel’s thoughts that they might not make it to Lynwood at this rate.

 

 Maybe in the games, when Oak's intro sprite starts fading into white, it's actually because you're just trying to get away from him as fast as possible.

 Okay, time for Oak to take a sabbatical.

Return to Lynwood, Chapter 14

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7
Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - Chapter 11 - Chapter 12 - Chapter 13 - Chapter 14
Chapter 15

As Isengrim set Terra down, Pharazon spread out his arms to ward the others away, before stepping toward the staff. “Everybody stay back,” he said. “I don’t know what this thing’s capable of.”

Suhel’s ears were flat against her skull. “Pharazon, are you sure you know what you’re doing?” she asked. She hovered near the edge of the group, but a squeeze of her paw from Lexora seemed to keep the Werelupe from bolting.

“Either I take it,” Pharazon said, “or someone else does. I know what risk I like better.” He crouched down, stretched out a hand to the staff, took in a deep breath, and grabbed it.

 

 There are some questions science shouldn't try to answer.

 Life's been kind of crazy and stressful and weird, and I haven't had many opportunities to do more sketching at the Idaho Museum of Natural History, but today I managed to get over there to see my buddies from Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument who were paying the museum a visit. They brought some fascinating Pliocene-era fossil casts, and I decided to try giving mammals another go because I don't feel good at drawing them.

Today the Borophagus skull stood out to me, so I decided to try a reconstruction. Borophagines, also known as bone-crushing dogs, are usually portrayed as pretty nasty critters, but their skulls were actually really cute. They had slightly upturned snouts that would have given them shorter-looking muzzles than most modern canids, almost like something trying to be a bulldog. It was fun to portray one looking not ferocious for once.