"Wagh!" A short, red-haired girl in a stylishly snazzy outfit appears out of the energy burst-

-and promptly overbalances and falls into one of the pools with a splash.

Look, in her defense, sudden teleportation was not on her to-do list. Just a nice quiet jog down the route to get warmed up. A route which, she will remind you, features precisely zero teleportation pads and/or ponds. 

The water: Is chilly!

The splash echoes throughout the chambers, and there is the sound of something shuffling around in the distance.

Mumblegrumble not even the common courtesy to be warm. Hokay, she will splash over to the edge and haul herself out.

"Hello?" she calls. "Is someone there?" On the one hand she hopes yes, because maybe they will have a towel or something. On the other hand this is a little embarrassing so maybe no witnesses is better.

A small pointy, scaly head pokes around a corner.

"Chrrp?"

Her hand twitches towards one of the balls at her waist. "Hey there, little guy. Are you friendly?"

"Chrrrrrrp?"

It turns the corner, clinging near effortlessly to the wall, to reveal a grey-blue draconic-like body with a pair of very small wings, then clambers a bit closer along a wall. It keeps looking around all over the place in sudden jerking motions with a somewhat long and flexible neck.

"Oooookay don't necessarily like that." She grabs Tag's ball and releases the six-foot tall arcanine in a flash of light.

Mrr?

"Guard, Tag." She nods towards the lizardy thingy.

"Kraaa!"

Nope it's running away now, a leap and a brief glide and skittering back the way it came.

Heh heh heh.

Pat pat. "Yeah, yeah. Don't get too full of yourself now, big guy. Hey, give me a hand drying off and then let's figure out where we are, huh?"

Ah, the hairdryer routine. He knows this one!

"Pfft. Thanks, buddy."

Now, is the lizard's path the only way out of here, or does she have options?

There are three non blocked exits to this room! The one the critter used, one to where water is flowing, with a few feet of walkway on either side, and one that goes down a long dark tunnel. Four, if you count the big rectangular hole in the roof allowing a faint hint of daylight in.

Hmmmmmmmmmm let's follow the water maybe? As long as the path holds and it doesn't turn out she'll have to swim it. Too cold for that.

These tunnels are clearly pretty old and maze-like. There's a bunch of side passages. Some sections of the water channel are wide and slow, and a few have a number of things growing with them, plants and small and medium sized fish. Much of the stone down here is more cleanly worked too, a mixture of natural hollows and worked stone and masonry. There are even a few partially intact murals!

'Keep following the water flow' eventually takes them to an intersection that seems like it might be more inhabited. There's writing in an unfamiliar script, fresh white paint on the stone walls, oriented in what look like direction signs. One pointing to the left, one to the right, and one straight ahead- None towards where she is coming from. Warm air wafts from the left in a steady breeze, and if she feels it, the water from that direction is much warmer than the rest, too. Unfortunately, she can't read the signs.

Weeeeeeeeeeird writing. Where actually is she. No zubat ambushes either. Usually a cave system would have to be a lot more well traveled to have flushed them all out like this. As in, she should have seen like two dozen people by now.

But! Warm air sounds like a way out! Let's leave big problems to a Nadya who can bask once more in the sun. She returns Tag and takes the left turn.

The warm air continues in a generally uphill direction! These passages seem to be in better repair, but still old. The side rooms look like they might be baths, places for laundry, and so on.

And then there's a big chamber with a small steamy waterfall coming from above! There are stairs up to a sort of balcony open to blue sky. Oh, and there's another one of the 'chrrrp' things, lounging lazily in a warm pool in a corner. This one is a bit more grey-purple than grey-blue. It looks at her but makes no other move to get up and sets its head down on the pool ledge again. 

Out on the balcony, there is a good view of hills falling away to the ocean, with a low density town dotted around and to the left is another set of stairs and a glimpse of a multi story red-painted structure, or at least the corner of one.

Oooh, pretty! She is going to go down the stairs in a townward direction. Maybe the red building is a Pokecenter, or whatever this place has.

The stairs go parallel to an odd piece of stonework, curving circular pools connected one after another in a similar way to the pools in the room she first appeared in. It almost looks like... Stairs for water pokemon? 

She meets a group coming the opposite way! Two humans and two furry and snout-faced Gnolls, wearing rough flax and reed clothes, carrying a number of baskets full of fruit, fish, and a stack of red clay bricks on a wooden platform. They pause in their chatter and call out what is probably a greeting? Sounds friendly enough, at least.

"Uh, hi? I can't understand what you're saying. Can you understand me?" Ah, she shouldn't have passed up that cute little braixen. Telepathy might come in handy right about now. Check out those clothes, though. Some kind of reenactors? Religious somethingorothers?? And another unknown pokemon species? Oh waitwaitwait she should check if her phone has signal- No. Drat. Eh. Might as well snap a pic anyway.

They can't understand her! 

After a brief exchange, they set the cargo litter down partially, and one of them takes a bundle of differently colored rocks with odd symbols on them out of a pouch. They tap a few in sequence, and- something is slightly off- And then-

:Can you understand me now? You should be able to think 'at' me.:

Oh what telepathic rocks that's so cool!

:Yes I can!:

:Oh good! Hello! Do you need anything? We're doing a delivery to the temple right now, but you seem maybe a bit lost.:

:I am rather a bit lost, I'm afraid. I appeared rather suddenly in a cave back there just a while ago and I have no idea where here is.:

:This is the town of Cod Rocks. Nowhere important, far north of Noten. But we like our old tunnels! You just - appeared? That's weird. Maybe the priestesses would know what's up with that.:

Doesn't sound like anywhere she knows.

:Priestesses? Where can I fiind them?:

:There's usually one at the temple just up there. And they walk around town sometimes too, you know, helping people.:

:Guess I'll go to the temple. Is that where you were going? Do you need help carrying the thing?:

:Yep! And it's okay, we got this. There used to be a cable car going up to the temple, but they put it into storage years ago, it only comes out for festival days now. Not enough demand.:

He says something to the others and- Hup, they're carrying the platform again.

She will scoot out of their way and then follow them up to this temple.

The stairs are wide enough that the scooting is not strictly necessary but they appreciate it!

The temple turns out to be a series of buildings made mostly of wood, in a style that's actually quite reminiscent of Ecruteak City's bell tower. Red-painted pagoda style. Surrounding and between the buildings is an elaborate series of pools, with steam wafting out of some of them. There's a torii gate, and a woman sitting on a chair near one of the pools reading a book, wearing differently styled clothes (somewhat nicer ones), almost robe-like ones that show a bit of skin, including a stole with symbols of a crescent moon on it.  A different woman is doing laundry by hand in one of the pools near the back, and a third person - a man - is doing something with what looks like a notice board of some kind. They're both wearing the same general style of clothes.

The book reader stands and approaches them, a serene expression on her face.

:Oh, lucky. That's Priestess Kalin. If anyone would know what's up with weird magic, she would.:

:Does she have one of those magic rocks?:

:Rocks? -Oh, lots of people figure out a weird trick or two, mine are the rocks. Well, not lots, but some. Priestess Kalin does dances, I think?:

The group of four and the priestess exchange some words. Priestess Kalin looks slightly surprised. And indeed, starts doing a little ritual dance with hand signs, slow and steady.

:She said that when she's done she'll want to touch your hand, and then YOU will be telepathic for about a day, is that alright?:

:Sounds like fun.: Nadya is always up for some handholding.

The four platform-carriers go to a side building and set their load down there.

Priestess Kalin continues her ritual dance. It finishes with a fast spin, and then she offers her hand to Nadya. The telepathy this imparts is slightly different in character.

She tilts her head and gestures at the bench where she was reading, previously.

Sure, she can sit. :Hello?: she thinks at the priestess.

:Hello, traveler. You have found yourself, unexpectedly, in the tunnels below? Do you remember anything about the moment of change?:

:There was this sort of bright flash, some kind of energy burst or something?:

There is a faint hint of concern in the connection - not worry, exactly, but something close.

:Did the light linger for long? Would you be able to show me the place you arrived?:

:It was gone pretty quick, but I think I remember which cave it was.:

:I'm sorry to rush to things, but I think I should go with you there. There are some things it could be that it might be time sensitive I see the place.:

:No problem. Not like I really had other plans right now.: She will get up and start leading the way back to the first cave. :I'm Nadya, by the way.:

:I'm Kalin. Welcome to Cod Rocks.:

She starts following!

:There are many mysterious things in the world, and I have made sure to study some of them. You might have come through a Dream-Passage, or as some call them, a Spirit-Passage. The Spirit World is not entirely safe, and tangled and mysterious in many ways. They say the rare Kitsunes can navigate it as second nature. To most people, who are not escorted by one, it is often described as dream-like, and some lose their memories of the place. There are also old magics in some of these deep places. The tunnels are not necessarily entirely safe, be warned. And it could be a Rift, where the natural energy of the land builds up to a destructive peak and discharges. Long ago, these caused destruction and ruin, or even curdled into harmful cursed energy, but the nine [legendaries]* or some ancient being wove new rules into the world so that such energies act in slightly more predictable and less disastrous ways.:

They pass the lounging creature again, in that great room of pools just below the shrine. It gets out of its pool and starts slowly walking towards them, staring at Kalin.

*'gods', not 'legendaries', technically, but the nature of the psychic translation tries fairly hard to find understandable idioms for unfamiliar concepts

:I don't remember going through any Spirit World. But maybe I wouldn't, I guess? But I think I was in the same, like, position before and after?:

Nadya will let Kalin take point on handling the creature. Since she's from here, maybe she knows it?

She pets it, aggressively rubbing behind one of the layers of spikes, and says something friendly-ish.

:Lilac here is harmless, she just wants me to give her a fish. Slidrakes like her have probably been here longer than people have, anyway. And the other ones are mostly scared of people, not aggressive, as long as you don't bother them too much.:

:Good to know. Never seen one of these before. I scared one off in the tunnels when I got here.:

:I think they only really live around this region, specifically in coastal caves and cliffs. They're quite good at climbing.:

The critter makes a sad noise when Kalin turns away, but onward they go.

Bye Lilac!

:Are they water-typed? I haven't seen any other pokemon* since I got here and usually you expect like at least zubats or something in a cave.:

*lit. "magical creature", as opposed to a non-magic animal, plant, or mineral.

:There are water typed ones and fire typed ones, as far as slidrakes go. Magical creatures are fairly rare. The four classic types are water, earth*, fire, and air**. Rarer types are things like grass, darkness, or lightning.:

*Kind of conflating ground and rock?

**flying?

:Fire/water dual typing? Or different forms? Wait, no, this is weirder than that. Where I'm from, we've got uhhhhhhh eighteen different types. And pokemon are everywhere.:

:Usually just one type per creature? I wouldn't know if there are exactly eighteen kinds, I'd need to go find a recent version of the traveler's almanac. Magical creatures can be found in most biomes, but not as the most common set? They've always been fairly rare, whatever makes an ordinary creature magical also makes it difficult for them to breed. According to Archives of Iskantir volume 3, anyway.:

They are down to the first junction now, where hot water from above joins the cold water stream she followed.

:Lots of pokemon have dual typing. Three out of four on my team, even. I don't know any other fire/water off the top my head, though. Oh, this is the stream, I showed up from that direction.: She points.

Upstream they go.

:If my suspicions are correct and you have fallen through a Rift, you may be what we call 'otherworlder'. It is a known phenomenon- Occasionally lost beings from worlds that are not Tirra arrive here. They say that the Sailor Otherworlder eventually re-opened the rift they arrived from and returned home. If this is the case, the magical creatures of Tirra and the magical creatures of your world may be quite different.:

:A new world, huh... Exciting!:

:I'm glad it's exciting instead of depressing! Some of the historical otherworlders were quite depressed about it.:

:I think it's better to be happy than sad. I like seeing new places and making new friends.:

:I think you would like Ragni.:

There's a sense that Ragni is something-like-a-legendary-pokemon-but-not-really.

:Ragni? Who's that?:

:Ragni is the god of the sun; He grants warmth, light, good health and good harvests to those who pray and need it. He likes people to be happy in the moment, hates ghosts and undead, and teaches that joy is found in appreciating every small moment of life.:

:Yeah, that does pretty cool. One of my pokemon is called the sun pokemon, too!:

:How does that work? Can you summon them? Does it require a ritual?:

:Nope, I've got her right here!: Nadya grabs one of the pokeballs at her belt and with a flick of the hand and a flash of red light-

-a Nadya-sized moth creature appears, hovering in midair with gentle flaps of its six orange-red wings. Each sheds glimmering sparks with every motion, and the air in the immediate surroundings begins to get noticeably warmer.

:This is Fluffy, my volcarona!: She gives the pokemon a quick hug around its fuzzy midsection, ignoring the drifting embers.

:Amazing! What lovely embers! It's nice to meet her.: (The priestess has just assumed a feminine gender, for some reason, and this comes across in telepathic context.) :I gave the telepathy to you so I can't say so directly.:

:She probably wouldn't really understand if you talked to her directly anyway. She's fire/bug, not psychic.: But Nadya can pass the message on with extra pets and cooing admiration. The volcarona shivers pleasedly, adding an extra shimmer to the shining fall. :Oh, I didn't mean to hold us up, though, you said the thing was time-sensitive. We can keep walking.:

So she keeps walking.

:A very interesting technique.: She can tell the Volcarona is friendly to her, so she doesn't express concerns about the containment-ball. :I'm not sure what else to explain right away. Do you have any questions for me?:

:What's the food here like? Seems pretty important to know if I'm gonna be staying a while.:

:A lot of what we eat here is fish and other animals from the sea. Not magic beasts, lower animals. There's also vegetables, bread, rice, and spices. One of my favorite dishes is a bean, fish, and spice curry on rice, with garlic, tomato, and onion sautee. We don't get a lot of fresh fruit up here, people export a lot of seafood and have to import other kinds.:

:Ooh, that sound soooo good. I can't wait to try some!:

:I'll make sure to get you some when we are done here, then!:

They're at another junction now, but she can pretty clearly remember which way was correct.

:Up that way. I think we're getting close.:

And soon enough, they are in the room Nadya arrived in.

Priestess Kalin goes right up to the pool she splashed in without prompting.

:This is definitely the site of a Rift! I'm going to meditate on the energies here and note down everything I can, it may help later.:

:Cool, okay. I'll, uh, be here when you're done, I guess.:

She will hang out with her Fluffy in the meantime.

She moves with focus and intent when she has a goal.

It will be about ten minutes.

And then she lets out a deep breath and writes down about half a page of notes on a little notebook brought out of a robe pocket.

:Alright, I'm done. Sorry about that.:

:No worries. You're pretty much doing me a favor, right?:

:I suppose so! Though that does raise the question of what you want your time on Tirra to be like. As an otherworlder, many will want to learn from you.:

:Learn from me? What do you mean?:

:In the past, visiting otherworlders have historically usually taught us at least one really valuable thing- Steel making, new kinds of mathematics, ocean navigation, medical knowledge, new cooking traditions, even civil engineering and some details of city planning in one case.:

:Oh. Gosh. I don't feel like I've got anything that valuable...:

:Time will tell. There's no pressure... Or there wouldn't be in an ideal world. The Lonesome Otherworlder didn't have anything to teach.:

They can go back down the tunnels now. 

Back to the surface, the realm of sunlight. Nadya is in favor.

:That's a sad name.:

:He didn't like being famous for being an otherworlder. He vanished one day. Some say he went into the forest to survive or not alone. Some say he disguised himself and took up a normal life. Some say he went home.:

:I hope he made it home.:

:As do I. This was about a century ago. We may never know- Or perhaps someone does and is keeping quiet.:

:Sounds like he'd want it that way.: Anyway let's talk about something less depressing maybe. :So if otherworlders are kind of random, there's not like any official process? People are just gonna show up and ask me stuff?:

:Perhaps. The last known Otherworlder, who entered it fifty-one years ago and perished six years ago, announced herself to the Grand Assembly of the Northern Federation and entertained bids for patronage. She lived in luxury for many years after using noble backing, novelty, and her world's knowledge to open a series of luxurious shows, inns, and casinos. She, Akemi Matsuburo, became known as the Casino Otherworlder. Before that there was the Second Mathematics Otherworlder, who wandered Noten for some years, talking with many people who would fund his travels in exchange for speaking to them about his world, and then became a wizard and discovered some things about wizard mathematics that I do not really understand.:

:Maybe I'll be the Pokemon Otherworlder! I bet everyone'd love to meet my team.:

:That sounds quite true; A great many people probably would. I personally like a very predictable life and have been called boring, and I still enjoyed it:

:I'll show you the others when we get out!:

:Back towards the temple, or towards the town proper?:

:The town, if it's not too much trouble? Figure I'll have to start getting introduced at some point.:

They take the tunnel that lets out in the town proper- The channel opens up to a bucolic wide shopping street split by the canal and with periodic artful stone bridges over it, only slightly besieged by snow. A dozen small stores and craft shops are here, along with a couple of enterprising food stalls. There are a few fish-people swimming in the canal! A few of the bigger official-looking buildings have a water entrance! There's a water-bistro that seems more designed to serve swimmers than land-dwellers. There's a lot of wood-carving art and detailing on the building facades, scale patterns, swirly patterns, cross-hatched patterns... One person is roasting chestnuts over a small fire that turns out to actually be some sort of scaled critter - not quite the same as the ones in the tunnels, a lot smaller for one thing, and no wings. A little Torkoal-ish, maybe. Another person is selling coral baubles and woven seaweed objects dyed in bright colors. And the stores themselves have a variety - food, tools, clothes, all the small-town necessities.

Pretty! It's a good thing there's no other pokemon here, she bets the gym here'd be water-type and she always has trouble with those. She wants to meet a fish-person, and admire the bridges from closer up, and try the food stalls, and explore the shops... Ah. She should check-

:Do you use money here?:

:We do. I don't think I have a lot to spare- Well, I can let you borrow some from the temple offerings people give to show their appreciation and help keep it maintained, as long as you pay it back at some point. I'm sure you won't have much trouble earning money.:

:I usually make pocket change by battling, so I guess here that'd just be showing off. Do you know a good place to do that? Or, um, do I need to get a permit for street performances or anything like that?: Oh oh and also how does your money, uh, count? Like how much is a meal or a place to stay for a night or a new pair of shoes, that sort of thing.

:A cheap meal is one or two copper pieces. There are also copper bits, they vary from place to place - here we use eighths. Twelve copper pieces makes one silver ecu. That's enough for two nights at a cheap inn or one night at a fancier one, with meals. Or, say, a simple shirt or skirt. Twenty silver ecu makes one gold sol. That's enough money to buy a cart or a month at a nice apartment in a bigger town than this, or magic scrolls, or things like that... And eight gold sols makes a D'Or- But you rarely handle those day to day unless you're a merchant. I think a pair of sandals would be maybe six copper pieces, but good hiking boots would go for four or six ecu... Books tends to cost some number of ecu, too. It depends on where you live too, lots of things are more expensive in big cities but you can also earn more money there. A cheap meal... Oatmeal and fish at Namar's place is a copper piece and three bits. A hearty meal, a spiced stew with juice or ale and bread and a side dish, will generally be four or five copper pieces.:

:Actual metal, wow. So mostly I'll be carrying about the copper and silver it sounds like.:

:Sounds about right!:

She digs in a small pouch and holds out the resulting coins.

:Here is six ecu.:

Nadya will take the coins and put them in a pocket. :Thanks, I'll try to pay you back soon.:

:Oh, you asked about a space to put on a show or similar. The plots set out for carts and stalls are first come first serve, no need to register except during the busy season. You can just find a spot, see the white lines? Take two even.:

:Oh neat, that's handy. Um, can I talk to more than one person at once with this telepathy? Might be kind of hard to get a crowd...:

:I think you can't... Hmm. In the long term you'll want to learn Notal, but for now perhaps a visual show - or I could write a sign for you?:

:Can't learn a language in a day, sad to say. A sign would work for now, I think!:

:What should it say?:

The priestess diverts slightly to talk to one of the stall-holders.

:Ambrose here will lend you his spare menu board and chalk for a day. And wants you to know that there's a special on savory pepper and cumin buns.:

:Let's see... how about "Nadya the Pokemon Otherworlder! Meet her and her team, but one at a time because she can't speak the language yet. Tips appreciated." And then if there's room at the bottom we can put their names, Tag, Sparky, Sunny, and Fluffy, and maybe I can do a little doodle of them.:

And also while the priestess is doing that she wants to buy one of those spicy buns from kindly Ambrose.

They're just one copper! Now she has five silver ecu and eleven copper coins. It's delicious; Kind of seafoody, but it works with the savory bread.

Priestess Kalin writes it out and indicates which spots have which name.

:Telepathy will wear off some time in the next... Eight to ten hours, I think? I'll be happy to apply it again up by the temple, and translation of various types is fairly common as one of the knacks that people can pick up - we call that 'witchcraft'. So there are probably several more people who can help you communicate in a pinch.:

Physical money is kind of neat compared to doing everything digital. All clickyclacky and shiny!

:Okay! So I'll come see you again tonight or maybe tomorrow morning, I guess.: Nadya takes the chalk and doodles a dog, a bird, a monkey, and a moth in the appropriate places. Then she will set it up next to her spot and let, hmmmm. Probably start with Tag. Let Tag out of his ball.

owo what's this

Cheek fluffles for best boy! (Nadya has to stretch upwards to reach.)

"Sit and be nice, Tag, we're being an entertainment for now."

Soft woof. The arcanine plops his rump down on the ground.

Sniff sniff sniffsniffsniffsniff mmm smells like food. Hope he's getting some of that sometime.

Noseboop! "Food later! Be nice."

Oh wow an otherworlder? Her first visitor is a guy who looks like he spends a lot of time at a dojo. He even bows, looking impressed at Tag's size.

The arcanine dips his head in response.

:Hello! I'm Nadya, and this is Tag.:

:Hello! It's not every day you meet an otherworlder. I'm Kastan. I teach martial arts. Please forgive me if I am being terribly presumptuous, but Tag has the demeanor of a fighter...:

:He is one! Championship-level, even, all my team are.:

:I want to fight him! Respectfully. I am a qi fighter, no mere ordinary human. If he is a champion, and simply due to the size and magic I can feel, I'm sure I will lose... But I am asking nonetheless.:

There's a gleam in his eye.

:A good trainer never turns down a challenge. We'd love to spar with you. Though this space isn't exactly a regulation field, so it'll have to be a bit restrained.:

:Perhaps just a few demonstrative exchanges of single moves? There is a flat stone field a bit down the coast near my dojo if you wish for something more, later:

:Works for me. We'll definitely come visit you sometime. I'll get Tag ready and then you can go first, how about?:

:Very well.:

Bow, and he shouts something and backs off a bit. A few other people start watching from a healthy distance. Some merfolk heads pop up by the canal.

"Ready to show off, bud? It'll be you and this guy, one hit at a time, got it? One at a time."

Boof.

"And try to match how hard he hits, don't want to cause any trouble, okay? I'll call it out, so wait for my signal. All right, get set." She'll back out of the way of the fighters as Tag stands up and stretches, then gives Kastan a nod.

Kastan centers himself, winds up, and-

Whirls into motion with sudden force, into a roundhouse kick that sends a diamond-shape of pale blue energy forward with a pang!

It's meant to, in addition to a physical impact, seep into the target's meridians and temporarily cloud them, making the natural flows of physical energy sluggish, turning orderly advance into swirling stillness.

Or in other words, ATK down.

All right, cool, he does got some moves. Looks like maybe a status effect, or, hm, probably a debilitation going by the way Tag shakes his head. "Start with a bite!" she calls.

Tag bounds forward to chomp down on an upper arm, releasing it after a brief moment.

Anyone in the audience with the ability to see magic may note traces of dark energy gathered around the arcanine's muzzle just before and as he bit down.

He takes the hit and grimaces. Yeah, that's fast enough and strong enough that he wouldn't have much of a shot going all out, even burning through all his qi at once.

But he can do another attack; This one is a palm strike that sends hostile qi through the target. Mostly pure damage, but bypassing most physical defenses.

Tag yelps but stands his ground. At Nadya's call, he backs up a step and whips his tail to pull fire out into existence, arcing over and forward and then leaping into it as it descends turning the motion into a roll that becomes a blur of flame that rapidly revolves forward to crash into the man and then bounce off. He's pulling the hit; most of the energy in the fire stays in the fire and doesn't get transferred to the target.

Fire! He expected that, but still. 

The power here is intense, especially since neither of them are really trying to dodge. Part of his skin is burned, and so is part of his outfit.

Kastan bows and declares, :I yield! I have no other powerful moves worthy of being shown. Thank you for the demonstration!:

Aw, over already?

It's 'cause you're just too big and strong, tough guy! Good job. Pet pet pet. Oh, go ahead and put that fire away.

:Thank you for the fight. That was really impressive!:

He woofs softly and lets his burning halo dissipate upwards.

There is modest applause!

:I would enjoy it a lot if you visited the dojo later. Qi fighting is not easy to advance, perhaps greater challenges will help me break through.:

And he will drop two coppers as a tip, given the sign asking for tips.

:I'll be sure to!:

Hmmm what next. Maybe she'll give someone else a chance to stretch their legs. She returns Tag to his ball and calls out Sunny.

The monkey-like infernape appears in a flash of light, fiery headcrest burning sleekly.

Nadya gives him the traditional high-five (he opts to receive it this time by doing a handstand and slapping her hand with his foot) and says "Hey, remember that juggling routine we were working on? Want to give that another go?" She mimes tossing invisible balls.

Ohhhhh yes. Good dexterity practice. And it was flashy. Remaining in his handstand, Sunny will conjure three small balls of fire and start passing them back and forth between his feet.

That gets some applause!

A furred-over person asks, :Are all of your 'pokemon' fire sorcerers?:

:Kind of! They're all fire-typed, though everyone but Tag has a secondary. This world's magic doesn't work exactly like mine, so I dunno how good the comparison is. Even Tag can use non-fire moves, like that first Bite, that was dark-type.:

:Sorcerers are locked into their element, yes, you'll never see a water sorcerer start throwing lightning. It just seems rude to call them 'magic beasts' when they seem more alert and present... Even the smarter magic beasts are still dumb animals.:

:Pokemon are usually smarter than a similar untyped animal. Not all the way to people-level, but still.:

:Maybe they should be just Pokemon then. No comparisons to anything here.:

:That sounds pretty reasonable to me! Maybe eventually I'll figure out a good way to explain it.:

:Do you think they could make heated baths? We have the hot spring here and a lot of homes and businesses have hot water faucets linked to it, but going from that to cold water when travelling is a shock!:

:I know from experience that they can, actually. Takes a bit of fiddling if you don't have a tub handy, but soooo worth it.:

:I can imagine!:

This person seems to be done talking now. They also leave a copper and point at someone else to step forward.

The someone else asks, :Are those blobs of fire physical, as in having weight and solidity? If someone had fireproof gloves could they hold one?:

:Uh, kind of yes but also no? They're made out of aura Sunny is focusing on. He's basically- faking the behavior to have them act like balls. You could maybe hold one, but it would go out pretty quick unless you could manipulate aura yourself or something caught on normal fire. I can do that a little bit-:

"Hey, Sunny, pass!" 

Hup! He chucks one of the fire balls over to Nadya.

She catches it and tosses it between her hands like a hot potato for a couple seconds before dropping it. It distends into a goopy soup and fades into a shower of embers before it has a chance to hit the ground.

:Like that.: She shakes her hands out to cool them down. 

:That's really cool. I bet a fire sorcerer would be able to do something with it. I'm going to ask if anyone knows where Morn is?:

They turn and ask...

:Apparently he's turned into a bit of a hermit and has a house in the mountains and doesn't want to be bothered. And Morn is the only fire-sorcerer I know in this town. We get ships sometimes and they might have one, though usually ships have water and air sorcerers. To go faster.:

:Too bad. It'd be cool to meet a fire-sorcerer. I don't have any water types, but Sparky is fire/flying, which might be sorta like air.:

:If you go travelling you're bound to meet one sooner or later, and probably sooner.:

:Something to look forward to! I love it.:

How's the crowd doing with Sunny? Still entertaining or is it time to switch out?

They still seem interested! Entertainment tends to be a little thin on the ground here. The nearest canal edge is attracting a line of water-people resting their heads and arms on the edge to look.

Cool cool. Perhaps this bodes poorly for her own future entertainment prospects, but that can be a Later Nadya problem!

If no one else has any questions right now, she will start noodling away with Sunny at some other aspects of the mostly-hypothetical contest routine they've been working on that takes advantage of the infernape's tendency towards acrobatics and hyperactivity. Lots of flips and twists and rings of fire and so forth.

Ooh! Aah! Clapping!

:Do you mind if I give a bit of accompaniment to the show?: Someone asks after a bit. :I can do illusions - I'm thinking firey birds to highlight the tricks, maybe...:

:That sounds amazing! Let's see what you've got. Maybe I can let Sparky out to play too.:

This person (with Vulpix-like ears on her head) spreads her arms and a bunch of stunningly photorealistic glowing firebirds seem to emerge from her loose sleeves, all a-tweeting and a-flapping. They chase and spiral around the balls being juggled, leaving comet-like trails of sparkles behind them. Yellow, orange, red, blue, white.

Wow!! That's so cool! Nadya applauds the show.

She grins smugly, and the birds bloom into flowers, falling to the ground as a pile of petals swirled by the wind.

All right, time to do a little showing off herself! Go, Sparky!

The talonflame emerges midair with a loud caw, doing an entirely unnecessary midair backflip before circling the air above the crowd twice and landing next to Nadya.

"Good girl!" Pet pet.

Oooooh, a bird.

Someone from the back - who has wings, actually, and a bird-like head - caws in challenge and takes to the air, causing a big stir in the gathering crowd.

There are so many different types of people here! You love to see it!

"Sounds like a challenge, Sparky."

Fight? Play? Race? Sparky takes off again with a hop and powerful wingbeat to investigate the other flier.

He powers into the air on strong wing strokes. The humanoid form is clearly a compromise and not ideal for flying, but he's managing anyway. He seems to have some sort of control over the wind, and is using it to gain altitude and speed! He doesn't have the same nimbleness, but his mass and strength at least gives him speed.

A race, then. Let them see whose mastery of air proves the superior.

A race indeed!

Sparky is going to have much better fine maneuverability than Ikar, here, though he may well be faster in straightaways.

They haven't communicated a course to race on, though.

:Hi!: Nadya says to the flyer. :How about over to that roof, circle around, first to cross the river?:

:Whatever you want, I just needed an excuse to fly! It's exhausting, but fun!:

:All right!: Nadya communicates the course to Sparky by means of whistle and gesture. :Three, two, one, go!:

The challenger angles into a dive to pick up speed, boosting himself further with air sorcery. If some of the chaotic winds just so happen to buffet his opponent a bit in the process of sending him careening forward, well that's not an attack, is it?