The fresh Mahogany air fills my nose as the morning begins. I can see the rest of the town starting to wake up and begin the same bustling I've experienced before. Stalls start setting up shop, including the one Margery visited yesterday to purchase her shells she claims is "valuable merchandise" to future profits. I have absolutely no idea what she plans to do with three hundred shells. I know though that if anyone has any idea what Margery is thinking, it's Margery.

"So what's your plan today?" I ask, quickly realizing the futility in the lack of specifics to my question.

"Isn't it obvious?" she exclaims gleefully. "Pro—"

"I mean other than profit," I interject. With a disappointed huff, Margery crosses her arms as we weave through the alleyways and narrow streets towards the main road.

"Well, other than profit?" she asks me. "A great question. That deserves an even better answer."

I glance over at her as we pass crates in the dim alley. "Which is?" I ask.

"I don't usually have a short term goal other than profit. And, even if I did, it'd probably be something that would inevitably lead to profit," she answers, pulling her jacket closer to her body as we squeeze through a narrow passage between buildings and out into the market street. Merchants shouting competing for sales erupts around us, as if it's within the street's confinement itself. It's a whole other level when being there in person. The stall from the day before is a smaller stand near the outskirts of the town further west. Being in the center of it all brings a whole new perspective and discoveries.

"Wow, this is amazing," I say in awe. The incredible harmony of order and chaos is like the clash of two opposing legendary Pokémon that represented polar opposites. A duo like Hoenn's Kyogre and Groudon immediately springs to mind like a Spoink.

"And the best part about it is when I get to take advantage of all the gullible idiots and make money off of them! Isn't it great?" Margery grins, patting her money pouch in her inside pocket from the outside of her jacket. Her sense of merchant pride has no bounds.

"I don't think anyone else would have put it that way Mar—" I start, but immediately realizing that Margery already made her way somewhere else. A quick scan of the immediate surroundings has me Lock-On at the nearest stall to our left, where an older man is raving about whatever in the world he's selling. I walk over and take a closer look at what seems to have caught Margery's interest.

"Yes! There aren't many left! You have to get one before they all go!" the man shouts, displaying his merchandise out in front of the two of us. Margery is in deep thought looking at a large array of...small statues? Lots of them and they all seem to be the same or about the same. They all depict Arceus, with it in an elegant pose for the equine, overlooking whatever you want to aim its gaze at. There are maybe thirty or so of them out on the splintered-wood countertop in front of us. Margery already has one in her hand, feeling it around the smooth base and looking at the minute details I couldn't care less about. She tosses it in her grasp up and down, probably to get a rough estimate of its weight.

"And you say this is...made of what, exactly?" she asks the shopkeeper.

"That, Miss, is two pounds of pure solid silver. You can't go wrong with a statue of the omnipotent protector in a graceful pose that was sold to us and distributed by the local church representatives themselves. They even insisted that a lucky few who deserve it will purchase blessed ones that help ward off evil," the man nods.

"And how much does it cost?" she asks him. The man pauses for a moment, then smiles at Margery.

"For you miss, how about a special discount? Five gold coins!" the man offers. Margery's eyes widen. I know what that means. She must have been offered a deal she can't refuse.

"What you're doing is basically fraud, isn't it? Selling me a statue at such a Coalossal price! You should feel ashamed of yourself!" Margery declares rather loudly. A few passerby onlookers begin to peer into the situation from the outside. I, on the other hand, reside behind Margery as she triumphantly calls out the shopkeeper.

"What?! Miss, you must be mistaken! You do realize I just said I was giving you a special discount..." he insists, nodding and trying to defuse the situation. But I think both Margery and I realize this is out of his grasp.

"Look, I don't know who you are, but trying to con a merchant out of money she attained is something sinful that even Arceus would look down upon. I mean, seriously? Trying to sell me two pounds of pure silver for five gold coins? That's preposterous, especially when the price of silver has dropped significantly to approximately one and a half gold Pokécoins per pound and you're insinuating that it's a special discount for me to pay almost twice as much?" Margery explains, holding the statue. She inspects it once more, turning it over again.

"And even with this embossed seal of the church on the bottom in the center. I can't believe you would try to swindle with the divine," Margery says, shaking her head and looking to me. I see it in her eyes: Just nod and agree Celebi.

I furiously nod in agreement. "Yup! What she said!"

At this point, the crowd grew substantially to the point where a considerable sized mob formed. The last thing I need is the center of attention, or even the near center. The less scrutiny I have as a human is better, according to Margery.

"Is there a problem here?" a voice interrupts. A chill shoots down my spine, as if someone shot me with an Ice Beam. The whole crowd parts as a familiar face makes his way through. With confidence for once, I recognize him as the shopkeeper of the Just a Souvenir Shop shop. He still wears his black shades and Church of Arcella necklace that I recall from the previous day.

"Yes, this man is committing fraud with these statues," Margery answers quickly, motioning towards the statues on display. The shopkeeper smiles in pain as Margery paints a target on him. The Just-a-Souvenir-Shop shopkeeper steps forward closer to the display, a hand to his chin as if deep in thought. I'm not really sure what exactly there is to think about. After all, Margery just exposed the man for overpricing his product.

"Well, I'm not sure if I'd go so far as to call overpricing in this form a fraud. But, rest assured, I actually have a solution that will probably help both parties in this scenario," he says, adjusting his shades. He pats his stomach and slips his hand underneath the brown jacket that's similar to Margery's jacket. Out from within he produces a sheet of paper in official-looking parchment. A gold ribbon hangs from it as he unfurls it in front of him.

"The Church of Arcella, under the orders of the current residing Alpharch, has requested the current religious representative to stockpile the previously distributed silver Arceus icons. The Church will provide reasonable compensation for the sudden aggregation of religious artifacts blessed by Arcellan runechanters. Any resistance will be accepted as resistance to the Church of Arcella itself," the shopkeeper reads aloud. He finishes with a smile, where he brings out a bag from somewhere on him. He tosses a small leather pouch at the overpricing shopkeeper.

"And with that, I, as an Arcellan Priest, shall officially gather these statues in question under the decree of the Arcellan Alpharch," the man says, who is apparently an Arcellan representative. The rest of the crowd takes a few steps back as he begins to carefully place the statues on display into a burlap sack he has. I guess his necklace he has isn't a novelty item.

Suddenly, the Arcellan Priest turns to the crowd. "I should also mention, if anyone else has any of these statues in question, please return them to Just a Souvenir Shop located near the center of town. You, of course, will also be compensated accordingly."

As I watch the man fill the last few statues into his bag, I feel a hand grab my arm. I look and see Margery grasping my wrist with the same pained smile on her face that the shopkeeper had after she exposed his swindle. She suddenly tugs on me, pulling my whole body over and out of the crowd. Some of the onlookers begin to dissipate, and Margery takes no time in doing the same. She somehow pulls me into another alley along the main street, where the business around us resumes as usual. I turn to her to find her staring directly at me.

"Renault. This is exactly what I was told yesterday," she says to me. I'm not sure what's going on through her mind, but I have an inkling of an Inkay of a feeling that she's insinuating something. Perhaps something like a Houndoom using Foul Play, something just isn't quite right.

"Which is probably why it happened," I reason. "If they did it yesterday, they have no reason not to do it today."

"My intuition says otherwise," she retorts. That's when I feel it. I look down and see that, in my hand, is one of the Arceus statues that the man was selling.

"What in the world? Margery, did you steal this?" I ask her. She hushes me, as if any louder would wake a sleeping Snorlax and cause a riot. She exhales a deep breath as she pulls me in closer, away from any possible eavesdropper from the main street. She tugs the corner of the cloth over her head as she explains.

"Obviously not. I paid what I thought it was worth in my eyes. That, being nothing. After all, despite what I say, I feel this whole church charade is bogus. Seriously, I just keep up with it for profits."

Her words play through my mind a few times. "So you took it and didn't pay for it."

"I paid nothing for it," she emphasizes.
"That's a little different than not paying for it."

"Whatever technicality you want to pull out, it doesn't matter. That Arcellan Priest is rounding up these statues. Having one isn't going to help me fly under the radar," I tell her, bringing up the point of our effort to keep my existence low and anonymous.

"And once he rounds them all up, the value of it will soar like a Fearow using Fly. Supply and demand is a basic concept for merchants, Renault. You still have much to learn," Margery lectures as she takes the statue back and slips it under her jacket. It appears like an unnatural bulge in her chest area, but I figure she plans to get it to her cart as soon as possible. With a shrug, I take a step back towards the bustling street.

"Wait!" Margery snaps, snagging my arm for the second time and giving me a tug back into the alley. She steps in front of me and peers outside into the street. Turning her head left and right, I can see the concern in her expression. She pulls a few strands of hair behind her ear as she turns back to me.

With a nod, she finally speaks. "Coast is clear."

"What was that about, exactly?" I ask her, confused with her reaction. She sighs with a shake of her head, a look of disappointment now on her face. Her hands find a way to her hips as I realize her intentions of that pose.

"Renault," she lectures. "I had to check the street in case of a special division of the Church of Arcella that exists beyond the clergymen. What the Church itself calls the Cathars, holy warriors of different ranks and duties exist within its influence. At this time in particular, I was scouting for what are called Moor Chaplains. They wield both blessed weaponry and Pokémon with equal skill, and are sometimes around on mounts, scouting for whatever the Church needs them to do."

As Margery finishes, I try to wrap my head around the concept she described like a Tangela hiding its center. The Church of Arcella has people that use both physical armaments and Pokémon as weapons? In my time travels, there certainly have been those that have Pokémon duel in structured contests called battles. But to use Pokémon as weapons for some form of leverage over others in an uncivil matter is something I've never witnessed before. Pokémon, at the very least, have been partners for humans that coexist with each other. Roscoe and Margery are a good example of that relationship.

But what Margery detailed unnerves me. Fellow Pokémon being pit against me while I have no power to try to time travel away or fight back due to my human form? The Church and its ideals already frighten me, but this takes it to a whole other level.

"So that's your heads up. Once we actually see one, I'll point them out in the most inconspicuous manner I can. That way you'll know more of the might that the Church of Arcella has in this region. It's both scary and phenomenal what they have done," Margery finishes, stepping into the street in front of us. I look down as I take a step forward, seeing my foot make no print on the hard dirt surface below me. For some reason, this section of the road isn't cobblestone paved like the rest of the town. Why that is, I don't know.

In that moment, I realize just how little I know about this time and everything in this time. From a church to a merchant to cities, towns, stalls, and body structure, this is all a huge learning experience. Hopefully I have the same Adaptability some Eevee possess.

"Let's go, Renault," Margery says, getting my attention after I lost myself in my thoughts. I follow her in whatever direction she goes in, just like the beginning of this trek back to the place I feel I can find some sort of answer to my predicament.

"Where to?" I ask. I figure I might as well not speculate where she wants to go. It seems whenever I try to guess Margery's actions, I get almost nothing correct.

"That would be the stall from yesterday. I have a feeling that more information is necessary for the sudden statue roundup. And if anyone has any information, it's Ms. Maltesta," Margery explains, bounding down the street. She weaves her way through the crowd, passing moving merchants, customers, and mounted carts. I keep a careful eye on her in an effort to now lose her in the commotion. It takes all my effort just to keep up as I spin through whatever she seems to deftly slip past. Last thing I need is to get lost in an unfamiliar place and time without my guide.

With only a few whirls through the main street, Margery slows down to the point where I can catch up to her. She stands in front of the stall from yesterday, looking into the product selection. This time though, the old lady that was behind the counter is nowhere in sight. Today the younger girl is behind the counter, beaming with pride. I guess today she gets to be in the front where all the business is.

"You wouldn't happen to know where Ms. Maltesta is do you, Serafina?" Margery asks, peering around the stall. Serafina crosses her arms with a grin on her face, nodding.

"Yes," she answers. "She's out doing business. She said she'll be back any minute."

Margery nods at the answer and turns in my direction. Tapping her foot, she beckons me over impatiently. Well sheesh, I'm sorry for not being able to keep pace with someone who is an expert on the surroundings and making her way through crowds. Sometimes, I feel like she doesn't cut me enough slack.

"I see you're back," a voice says. I whirl around and find myself in the unmistakable presence of the woman from yesterday Margery calls Ms. Maltesta. Margery steps in front of me and stands over the old woman, where I realize the difference between the two now that they're next to each other. Sure, behind a counter the woman seemed short. Now though, the sheer difference is evident by Margery having to look down almost at shoulder height just to get to the top of the woman's head.

Ms. Maltesta sniffles as she puts her hands together, her sleeved arms in a burnt brown set of commoner's clothes similar to Margery's set she gave me. A faded pearl-white apron hangs over her torso with a few stains dotting spots on the cloth. Her gray hair is tied back similar to Margery's hairstyle. Being in her direct presence now gives off the same feeling of confidence that Margery seems to always have. It seems that Margery respects Maltesta's style to emulate it so much. I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

"Ms. Maltesta, I'd like some information," Margery says. "Specifically, a follow-up of what you threw in for free yesterday."

Ms. Maltesta nods slowly as she takes steps towards the back of her stall. I peer around the covered back and see there's actually a table set up behind there. I assume its purpose for business transactions or even something simple as a flat surface for whatever is necessary.

"Then, let's chat. We'll discuss the fee afterwards," she smiles, standing on one side of the table. Her chin barely rises past the table's surface. Margery quickly assumes the opposite end. I step in-between the two, ready to witness something I've never seen before in all my time travels. Master and pupil in their realm of expertise at the same time. My blood flows in excitement as I feel the shoots on my head stand in excitement.

"Of course," Margery smiles. She pulls out the statue from her personage and the talks begin.