((There is exactly one reason they survived their forray into Kaelus, and it is filthy, stinking luck. Also, yes, there is a language barrier the size of a sun here: Those lines are bits from the conversation between the Bandits and the Cloudview Cliff leaders, while the bandits are demanding the wand from Pheobe. As for what they would sound like to you...Imagine Japanese. Yep.))

Hyperion/Pheobe/Oceanus
Fullmoon Highway
Cloudview Cliff Safehaven

High above, a Pidgeot flew, but not too high, not daring to inch near those menacing red clouds. The horrid streaks of ship-corpses and blood in the oceans around this region was a bad omen enough; the red menace above was likely just as dangerous, and this Pidgeot was not an idiot. He had finished scouting out the immediate area for a safe zone. He hadn't really done anything like this before but it was NOT his choice: Either this or just attempt to camp by the oceans that held that insane Wailord. If it WAS a Wailord, certainly didn't look like it. His eyes managed to catch no signs of real, unmolested civilization for several miles, but definitely did see the magnificent highway-two streaks of gray unlike anything else. Most worrisome was the commotion up ahead-signs of life. Sapient life, not those unfortunate meals of Krabby before.

"...Ve Styfe ul ve kig? Ti was a bii hecana, hul ichink. Veln locket? Strata nah."

"Hul Ortahat eheth inc fur ti. Hu cana ihcinaink."

"Und I Ortahat ehteh inc ort to take ti. Inu bratah ti."

Completely foreign. Communication would be nigh impossible. It took him very long to learn language properly, he wouldn't be learning a brand new one in a day. That being said, the gist could be conveyed just by the scene of it all The two menacing looking brutes were demanding something else of the other two, and given the position of the dead-looking Linoone it appeared they were bartering life and limb for it. It wasn't looking to go well.

Of course, that was their business and the plan was obviously going to be not to be involved. The real issue, however, were that they were blocking the north path, and rather they go on the path than in the wilds-meaning the alternative path to the east was the best fitted for their purposes.

It would just be evasion of what appeared to be an imminent scruff, yes. That was the plan. He couldn't help, Pheobe couldn't help, and Oceanus...Eh, that was 50/50 but he would prefer the massive brute stayed around as preventative measures in case they came their way.

Thus, Hyperion relocated the border between the beach and the road, and thus landed, fairly assured that he had saw no other beings. "There's some standoff going on up to the north. The Southern road curves to the east but I haven't scouted that far, but that's clear of anything. I suggest that way." Hyperion said.

"A standoff? How far away?" Pheobe asked.

"How many?" Oceanus asked almost immediatley thereafter.

Hyperion merely sighed. "Neither matters, we're not going that way. They don't even speak our language, we would only create a worse matter for ourselves."

"We don't have to speak, she can use telepathy." Oceanus stated, like it was the most important fact in the world-it was true, of course, and Hyperion hadn't considered that, but that wasn't the real consideration.

"Of the three of us that can do much of anything, I'm admittently a pathetic fighter and the girl is underage-you'd risk two able bodies capable of hunting for fighting in a standoff that you barely understand the situation of?" Hyperion asked, getting mildly annoyed. "We don't know who they are-standoff between rival bandits, just some barter that went heated a bit, and who knows what they'll think of us? And that presumes we can even chat before they start killing us!"

"That is a good point, but we could learn quickly, and better we get allies than just keep being in the dark about those red clouds, and any way of escape..." Pheobe asked. "We don't want to take shelter in a cave that turns out to be a Mystery Dungeon..."

"...Mystery Dungeon?" Oceanus inquired. Hyperion and Pheobe jointly sighed, rather tired of explaining what was, to them, a rather well-understood fact, while Oceanus stumbled in the dark.

"Hoi!" A voice called, from within the nearby treeline. All three heads turned and oh gorillas noooo. Hyperion mentally cursed his luck-it appeared he had been tailed by some watchful eyes from the ground.

The voice in question appeared to be another pair of bandits: One a rather savage-looking Ampibomb with a bow drawn via tails and a blood-red bandanna covering his mouth, while the other was, heavens no, a massive Machamp, with two hands and the poorly-stiched together pelts of some unfortunate ferals draped across his chest, looking to unloose the iron-made belt that kept the beast's uncontrollable strength in check. A threat indeed. "Ve Wyndus! Hambahrahnati ur die!" The Machamp said, with the authority of the pirate at swordpoint, pointing one hand at the unfortunate Braxien.

The Ampibomb muttered something else, using his (completely free) hands to point at the Braxien, saying quite a bit in a fast moment. the Machamp's eyes visibly glittered with greed and bloodlust, and added some equally indesciperable passage, again pointing at the Braxien. Her posture faltered a little as understanding shot across her face.

"Pheobe, what is it?" Hyperion asked.

"I think they are planning on skinning me...S-skinning me!" Pheobe said, trying to compose herself.

"Grrrrr..." Oceanus breathed. Hyperion was quite aghast himself-skinning Ferals was one thing, but skinning a Sapient was another. The two others, still at the ready and growing impatient even now, were muttering to themselves more.

Joyous, a powder keg! Just what he wanted to avoid. Hyperion had gotten out of worse than this-if only because it was three-on-two as opposed to one-on-two. There had to be some plan, as neither party seemed to really understand each other's language at all.

A moment.

The Ampibomb reached for the ground, careful not to let his eyesight nor his bow falter away from the group, and picked up a stick. He proceeded to make exaggerated gestures. "Ve. Wyndus." He said, slowly, as if trying to hammer in understanding into the Braxien who already understood exactly what was going on.

"...Just give them the wand, Pheobe, it isn't worth life. They'll be placated by it...It was quite valuable-looking..." Hyperion said, calmly.

"They want the wand AND my Pelt." Pheobe responded. Hyperion decided that, since that was basically unacceptable right now, that they'd try to pull a simple runner job.

"...Draw it, as if to give it to them, and I'll use a Sand Attack on them. It'll distract them, and then we bolt to the south road. North road and we'll be cornered." Hyperion said.

"The Machamp knows about another group on the south road, they'll catch us if we go that way, and their base is directly east...They don't know about the Northroad. Unrelated." Pheobe said.

"Ve! Wyndus!" The Ampibomb demanded, pulling the string back ever so harder, but not letting loose.

"OK, OK, but we'll still be running towards them and hoping the commotion-"

IN all of this, the Bandits were far too fixated upon their prize to be, and Hyperion and Pheobe upon they, that almost no-one paid attention to the burly Oceanus looking more and more murderous by the second. Until the Ampibomb was suddenly just gone in a flash of light-blue and chill, a Blizzard, sending him into the trees. All remaining heads turned around fast-Oceanus was panting but it was clear his target's back was stuck to the ground by ice. The Arrow had flew by, wide of all targets. The Ampibomb was mouthing up a storm of what could be said to be cussing or calling for help.

Hyperion took this as his cue. Fast thinking was good thinking, as was Hyperion's cloud of hastily-kicked up dust. The Machamp shielded his eyes at the ocular assault, but it was enough, as Hyperion was flapping backwards, Pheobe was running away, and Oceanus-oh.

Oceanus got on his hind legs, pulled a Seamitar, and simply shoved it straight into the Machamp's neck while he was blinded. The head was not so cut loose, but nevertheless the fatal mark had been laid.

"FLY YOU FOOL! WAIT YOU CAN'T AUGH JUST GO!" Hyperion shouted, franticly, catching things-figures-out of the corner of his eye as he turned, approaching the woodside. Oceanus appeared to listen, back on all fours and running, full-speed, towards the Northroad, along with Pheobe, away from Hyperion and the east-augh!

Hyperion swerved, and thankful he did for an arrow flew by, wide again but still all-too-close. His eye caught his assailant-a larger Machamp, looking red in the face, almost a twin of the other, and flanked by a pair of Chatot on their shoulders. They were all yelling something, but there was no time to register it, he was flying now, to the Northroad, to them.

Pheobe reached the scene first, both wands in hand, while Oceanus was charging behind, wild-eyed and looking everywhere for more sudden bandits. Pheobe, desperate for help, ANY help, just sent a Telepathic message to the Azumarill, the most likely to be receptive of it (Ghost types had an on-off relationship with Psionics and using telepathy on weak-typed Pokemon was seen as rather rude and the basis for more malicious works). Telepathic messages really didn't WORK with language-they were ideas and thoughts compressed into images and sounds, feelings really, related to them, thus the message went something like this to the reciever in practice (: <"Bandits Trying Killing Skinning Me Help Stop Them">

In a few minutes, Hyperion would describe what happened next as the second-luckiest break in his life, as the first was reserved for narrowly dodging the monstrosity's gaping maw from before. Moving to land nearby the duo of survivors and about to reprimand them for involving themselves so readily in a situation that was doubtless souring more by the second, another arrow from the Machamp (now running towards the whole scene with murder on their face) swerved over his head, and towards the direction of the Blaziken-what happened next he didn't register, as he turned to face the oncoming Machamp. "Augh, no no no no, not cornered!" He said, as he could see, in the distance, the sure signs of a Charmeleon and the Ampibomb from before, while the Machamp was closing in, pulling out a sword and looking dead-unwilling to negotiate.

If the bandits from the south and the two louts here were any bit related this would probably be sucking a lot harder than it already did, and really being surrounded on two sides is already a bad situation.