Bandits

"I say we try for Rubrum." You suggest, to a round of cheers from Mindy and Prue, and a smile from Tracy. "It sounds like fun, I'm keen to keep exploring and... Uh..."

"We can make a bit of money carrying goods there." Tracy nods. "Camellia, you know what the market is like there, right? Any suggestions?"

"I've got a few." The austere woman nods, giving a small smile. "Oh?" You step up to her and pull her into a hug, squeezing tightly for a brief moment. "What brought this on?"

"You've been wonderful, thought you deserved a hug." You shrug. "I don't know... It's just..."

"You'll miss me?" She teases softly. "Not to worry, I'll be by Pigment Town soon enough. I promise not to leave without dropping in on you as well. I quite enjoyed our last dinner together."

"I'll do an even better job of seducing you next time." You promise her, before turning to Tracy and hugging her as well.

"Eh? But... I'm not going anywhere!" She protests weakly, accepting the hug anyway.

"No, but I... I'm sorry for getting adopted without talking to you first." You sheepishly admit. "It's not really fair to you, though."

"You did say you wanted a big family." Tracy laughs softly. "It's fine, I can't blame you for picking up two cuties like that."

"Hey! We adopted her, you know? Not the other way around." Prue objects. "Don't think we just fell for her charms or something."

"Alright, alright. Let's get packed up and ready to go then. I assume we're leaving today?" Ah, come to think of it, it's getting fairly late. Maybe-

"Yeah! Let's go! We can easily reach the border of the canyon by dark, and then camp overnight! It'll be fun!" Mindy cheers.

"I'm game!" Prue nods.

"Best gets to work then. Come on." Tracy sighs, though she's smiling ear to ear. You... You really chose them well, huh?

"Lead on Tracy!" You offer your wife a thumbs up, letting the tankier girl take point. The only thing she really has to worry about is fliers, which Prue and Mindy can handle. The rest, you can blast from a safe distance.

Your team is already coming together!

Tracy swells with confidence as she does as bidden, marching forward, with you following close behind. Mindy and Prue take the rear, moving through the canyon with practiced ease. It's only at your first real encounter that you realize something amazing.

Mindy and Prue are really dangerous together. Really, really dangerous. The two move like one individual, occupying space so close to one another that anyone else would be tripping over tangled limbs. Yet they flow almost instinctively around each other, Mindy's arms and legs moving to block any attacks coming at Prue as she in turn throws out attacks, bolstered by her contact with her sister.

They're clearly well practiced, but you can see why Mindy or Prue alone would be outmatched easily. Like fighting with one hand tied behind your back. "Alex!" Your musings are cut off as another Sandile bursts from the canyon wall, the girl clad in tell-tale brown and black stripes and a stylish pair of shades.

Tracy's on the far side, dealing with what looks like a pair of Sand shrews, leaving Mindy and Prue to you. Thankfully, this is easily handled! You step forward and line up your shot, throwing a Thunder Wave that washes over your two 'sisters' harmlessly, but sends the Sandile stumbling. This gives Mindy and Prue time to retreat, while you rush in and spam Absorb.

Battles continue that way for the most part, attacks coming in infrequent waves as you progress. Nothing really challenges your group, until you reach the final floor of the Canyon on the way to Rubrum Town. "Beyond these, things will be different. The Caustic Valley has a mix of Water and Fire types, and a few Poison types as well." Prue explains.

"Two of them I'm going to have trouble against." Tracy frowns, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm not saying I'm scared-"

"We'll be alright." You insist, stepping forward and giving her a kiss. "I'll focus down any Poison types that show up, and the rest of you will make short work of whatever water types appear. As for fire... Just blast them with everything we've got."

"Yeah, 'Overwhelming Force' is its own type." Prue laughs. "In any case, we're looking too far ahead. Got to get through this floor of the canyon first."

"Which is going to be tougher than you thought!" A voice calls from above, turning your attention forwards. That's... A Krokorok, if you're not mistaken. She looks a lot like the Sandile's you've been fighting, but with a more ornate dress and more stylish shades. But she's talking, so-

"See, this here's a bit of a toll booth." Huh... You're surrounded. Damn. This doesn't look good. Behind you is a girl with short black hair, and a skull-like mask sitting on the side of her head. Her short dress is mostly black, with bone-like accents and an orange stripe down the middle. A Houndour.

"He-he, yeah! You know what that means? Huh?" Another girl, by the wall... A Scraggy, given the way she's holding her pants up with one hand... And across from her, is that a Vullaby? Mostly bald, cloak of black feathers, bone-like piercings? Probably a Vullaby.

"It means you're a gang of bandits." You call back, unamused. Four dark types, which is a bad match-up for you. You can probably take down Krokodile with Absorb, and all of them are vulnerable to Thunder Wave... "You'd be better off looking for easier marks... But I guess it's our civic duty to take you down."

"Hah! You've got guts saying that to me!" The Krokorok declares, leaping down from her perch. "Tell you what... Hand over your valuables, and we'll just pick one of you to have our fun with? A good deal, right?"

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