Finding a Direction

"Nothing over here!" Jewel called out as she brushed some rocks off of herself.

"Same here." Rumble grunted from another location in the cave.

Nox sighed. "Just keep looking guys. This place is only so big. It has to be here somewhere." With two quick confirmations Nox went back to looking himself. This little job was starting to look like it was going to be harder than he thought. When a numel had approached them and asked Team Fate to look for a lost item Nox had been happy to offer help. The team had been sticking around the same area for a while now despite Nox's want to explore further. Though he could also recognize that they all needed some more experience working together, so here they were. Plus the numel had lost the item in some cave they hadn't explored yet, so it was a win win. Wildfire had opted to remain behind, noting something along the lines of her not being too much use in an enclosed area like a cave. While Aqua had stayed behind to keep Wildfire company and because with her size it would make exploring the smaller cave difficult.

Despite Nox's earlier enthusiasm though he was starting to get rather bored. There was nothing interesting here and he felt like between the three of them they'd scoured every inch of the cave by now. There was no item in sight, yet the numel had been adamant it was here. Nox felt less inclined to stick a job like this out since no one was in danger, but he still hated the idea of giving up. As he shifted around some rocks he noticed something he hadn't before. He frowned as he ran his paw over what felt like an indent in the otherwise smooth, rock floor. A very unnatural indent. "Hey guys?" Nox called out while still trying to explore the extent of the indent with his paw. "I found... something."

"What is it? It better be that stupid item..." Rumble grumbled as he walked over, before glancing down at what Nox's eyes were still glued to. "What is that? Some sort of divot in the rock?"

"It doesn't look natural though." Jewel hummed as she walked over and looked over Nox's shoulder. "What do you suppose it is?"

"Only one way to find out right?" Nox smirked before hooking his paw underneath a wider lip and lifting. It took a bit of effort but eventually a somewhat thin stone panel was pushed off a now exposed hole. Inside the hole there was a box with some sort of carvings on it. Nox wondered how long it'd been there considering the good condition of it.

"Not possible..." Rumble muttered quietly from beside him. 

Now that piqued Nox's interest. "You know what that is?"

Carefully Rumble reached for the box and turned it over in his hands. He gently traced the carvings with his finger, his eyes glued to the box. "I have a good guess." He opened the box. Inside was a rolled up piece of paper held closed with a neatly tied red ribbon. "This is... a map." He took out the paper. "A map that might just lead to the location of the four creation stones..."

Jewel sucked in a sharp breath next to Nox. He had no idea what those were. Must be some sort of Halour legend. "What are the creation stones?"

Rumble frowned at him before realization crossed his face. "Right. You're not from here." He placed the map back in the box before closing it and pointing at the carvings. Now that Nox could see them closer he could start to recognize them as pokemon. "The creation stones are said to be gifts from the very pokemon that created the universe. Dialga, palkia, giratina, and most importantly arceus." Rumble pointed to a distinct carving with every name. "As it goes a long time ago the stones were used for evil, so the creation pokemon sealed their powers and tasked those they trusted most to hide them. Even though no one could use the stone's powers any more they were still worried that someone might find a way. Hence why they wanted them hidden. Storries about people searching for them and finding nothing are common. I never thought it was even possible to find them but..." He looked down at the box with awe in his eyes. Nox was sort of taken aback by how Rumble was acting, but at the same time he was glad to see something that clearly made his partner happy.

Though that wasn't the only reason Nox was happy. No he was practically shaking with excitement. The prospect of finding some long lost set of powerful rocks? Count him in! That sounded like the adventure of a lifetime. "Well I guess you're glad we took that numel's request huh?" Nox smirked.

Rumble actually chuckled. "I guess so."

"Speaking of... should we try one last time to see if we can find it before we get too deep into all of this?" Jewel asked, though Nox was pretty sure she'd much rather pour over the map like the rest of them.

"Yeah let's give it one more once over." Nox sighed before replacing the slab that covered the hole. Honestly it was a minor miracle that no one had found the thing before them. Maybe no one else had bothered to look so closely at some random cave. The three fell back into their silent work, but there was an electricity in the air now. All three were far more excited to get back to the others and share what they'd found then look for some lost item. Though the shift in mood proved productive as Jewel managed to come across what they were looking for. 

After returning it to a grateful numel the three went to reunite with Aqua and Wildfire. Nox felt a drive like he never had before. He had a direction to put his energy towards, and he was so excited to see where it led.