Dogura liked gathering facts. Once he memorized a fact, he never forgot it. His mind was scribbling down notes every few seconds.

+ Electricity is forbidden when fighting the imposter
+ Unknown weaknesses
+ Use projectiles, and avoid close combat whenever possible
+ We are dealing with an imposter, or so we think. May not possess true power

The more the samurai thought, the more he wondered. Why would anyone pretend to be Wraith? Was the imposted working, or even training under the real assassin? If Wraith was so powerful, why would he hide? Nothing escaped the Vagabond's senses, and he noticed Alpha's level of discomfort on the subject. He's not telling something... Does he know something that we dont? Dogura had enough respect for the man, and decided not to invade the privacy of his thoughts. He wasnt going to say anything. He decided he would let Alpha tell them whenever so he desired.

Finally, Dogura spoke out. "One more question out of me." Dogura interjected, walking around Gorodo. "Was there anywhere, anything, or anyone that Wraith held dear? Anything he respected, or lived for, that is besides assassination." Dogura had too many thoughts crowding his mind to focus. He closed his eyes, and cleared his mind for a brief moment, only to copy the words that were about to be spoken. For some reason, this question had great meaning to the samurai.

Blank leaned back against the wall, his arms crossed, with a thoughtful expression about him. Whatever he was thinking, it was tugging at his mind and teasing him to no end. When we leave this District... should I go out for seafood or just an alefest... Yes, truly amazing were the thoughts of the nomad, whose ideals were buried beneath his hunger at the moment.

However, he was able to wrestle himself away from his pained stomach for just a moment, to interrupt the others - despite how impressed he was by their interrogating fury. He swallowed hard, pushed himself off of the wall and stepped closer to Gorodo, slightly raising his hand as if to formally invite himself into the conversation. Pyralin, Rose, Raven, Tayro and Dogura were having all of the fun, and it was this Hylian's turn.

"Let's say we are dealing with an impostor. Wouldn't it make sense that the true Wraith would be an asset to our team? I mean, you're suggesting we double, or triple, our force, but if your assassin is so great and powerful, and really did kill 5000 people in a year... then he would be wonderful to have around for the next encounter. I mean... 5000 people in a year? That's over ten people a day, and more."

"When did you last meet with Wraith? On what circumstances did you see him, and what happened to him afterwards? Do you know of any possible aliases he might be going by these days?" asked Blank, his adrenaline rising, so much so that he stepped back and almost collided with Alpha. He turned and smiled feebly at the Sheikah. "Oh, hey Alpha. Sorry, there." He turned back around to face Gorodo, giving him a sheepish and hopeful look. "Anyway, any chance you have a lead on a alternate personality of his? I bet he'd be great to contact. We could hire him to kill our fake!"

OOC: Yes, I am trying to be funny for the most part. Ha Ha Ha and good night (Edit: )

Rose chuckles to herself after hearing Blank's suggestion. "Get the real thing to kill the fake one?" she asked. "Has that ever been done before?" (OOC: Really, has it?) Rose sighed. "The real Wraith may be good, but will he be enough? Perhaps someone can find him and ask him to help us while the rest of us search for trustworthy people to help us take down the fake. Although, there is the slight problem of the fraudulent Wraith knowing quite a bit about us. I hardly go into any town, and I don't make it known that I was once general of the Tarm Army. However, this imposter knew that I was."

"Something valuable to him, you ask . . ." Gorodo says softly as he glances up at the ceiling. "Hmmm . . ." Soon enough, he nods softly. "Well, I suppose that might be it . . ." He looks back to the group. "The only thing he really held dear was information. 'Knowledge is power' was his favorite mantra, and he truly lived his life in that manner. Every little detail he ever took in he locked away into some portion of his mind, and his ability to access that information, while not perfect, never failed when it really mattered. And this turned out to be his main weapon against people - if he saw the schematics to a building, he could navigate through it with no difficulty whatsoever; if he read a spell, he could recite and cast it without trouble; if someone fought him, he could recall their every weakness clearly.

". . . Anything he respected? . . . no, not that I ever knew of. He never spoke of his personality or his past - not a word of the latter, and if you asked you were liable to wish you were an assassination target so you could just leave the pain behind." Gorodo smirks at this statement. "He never really struck me as having anything remotely close to a sense of humor."

He raises an eyebrow at Blank's questions, unable to determine whether he's being a smart aleck or serious - or even if the Hylian is trying to suggest that he knows. Out of the corner of his eyes, though, he spots Alpha's eyes slightly expanding before he can bring the reaction under control just before Blank turns back to face him. "No problem, Blank," he says with a confident smile, then looks back to Gorodo, wearing a flawless mask that asks for the info just as much as his fellows are.

Needless to say, Gorodo decides to play it safe. "Well, I'm not sure if he'd even be willing to help you, buddy. Calling Wraith an asset is the understatement of the millennium, but he wasn't exactly the joining type. Like I said, he disappeared years ago, and he made any tracks left behind nonexistent - he'd be impossible to find now, unless he found you first.

"Anyway, to answer your question, I haven't met with Wraith in over six years, just before he departed, and I've got no idea what's happened to him since, or even what his aliases would be. He always came up with names on the spot when he needed to, so there's no point in giving you a list of his alternate titles." He shrugs again, leaning against a wall. After Rose comments, he looks to Noval. "What's the Tarm Army? I know Tarm was once a place in Labrynna, but . . ." He stops as Noval curtly shakes his head.

OOC: HNS, I imagine it really has been done before, but in no circumstance that I can think of at this point in time.

And goodnight, :rolleyes: to you as well, Blank.

Pyralin listened to the questions, and mentally marked some of the responces. Of all he heard about Wraith he wasn't to worried about the imposter. Not use lightning attacks? He didn't use them anyways. He did however want to know more about what happened to the real Wraith. It seemed that he was extemely intelligent, and wouldn't just give up all he had achieved for nothing.

"Why did Wraith dissapear? What caused him to leave? If he was worried about being hunted down...well he wasn't an assasin for nothing, and from what I've heard he is more than able to protect himeself."

As he asked this question about Wraith's present, he began to wonder about Wraith's origin. Why did he become an assasin? Just because he was made for it? What were his motives for becoming a killing instument for those with enough money to utilize him?

Gorodo lets loose a short whistle at Pyralin's questions. 'I wonder if he'll mind me saying this . . .' he thinks silently to himself, but though his first inclination is to look at Alpha he steadfastly avoids doing anything that might draw attention to the Sheikah. That would get some people suspicious . . . so far, Alpha's acting has been more than adequate, only cracking once or twice, and even then recovered so swiftly that he might as well have maintained his act of pure and simple interest flawlessly. As such, Gorodo doesn't want to be the one that makes him a target of scrutiny, in fear that they might figure out he's Wraith . . . and then, Wraith would have a new target.

Fortunately, Gorodo is also a good actor, and the only ones who notice any change in him are those who have known and conversed with him multiple times, namely Alpha and Noval. And Noval capitalizes on the situation. "Come now, Gorodo, answer the man's questions. I too am interested in Wraith's departure . . . you've never spoken to me about it before."

"Right, right . . ." Gorodo slowly concedes. "It deals with . . . Him . . . so I'm not going to go into much detail, alright? And I'm only gonna say this once, so listen and listen good.

"Wraith, as I've said, was a man with morals - he didn't kill unless he felt someone deserved it, and as Noval's said, the majority of the time they did deserve it. Well, the master ordered me to have him kill some people he didn't think deserved death. He refused, and as a result he was forced to go before Him for the first time ever - before, Wraith had never realized that I was working for someone.

"I remember that day quite clearly: we brought him before the master, and the guy was prepared to kill Wraith. But then Wraith threw himself at His feet, acting like such a pitiful fool that even a Moblin would feel superior. He made such a fool of himself that He spared him. It was the best acting job I've seen in all my years, and it was probably the most humiliating thing I've ever seen as well.

"A month later, Wraith was given a similar task. Before he left on the mission, he left me his staff . . . and then he simply disappeared. The master sent out some of his minions to capture and/or kill the guy, but he managed to avoid every patrol that ever came close to him - and I'm not talking about a handful of men or something, this was a literal army. I'd reckon half a million men at least ended up being sent on that futile chase over the years, and Wraith undoubtedly racked up a good many more kills in the process. Eventually the master was killed, and his minions abandoned that little chase for a different goal."

OOC: I'm about ready to move on to Part 8 personally, but if you guys are wanting to continue asking questions of our Informant, please continue. But you may want to get any last inquires out there soon . . .

Information eh... Dogura thought slyly. Perhaps baiting him with knoledge would draw him to us... Dogura couldnt help but feel that there was something Gorodo knew that he wouldnt tell them. He shook the notion, and listened carefully to the next piece of the story. Dogura wanted nothing more than to clash steel with this legendary assassin. Dogura knew what it was like to yearn for power, for he too longed to face off against the imposter. "I will hold his heart in my hand..." A voice erupted from within Dogura. The samurai himself looked surprised. He tried to play it off, making it look as if he hadnt said it. he turned, and looked at the jewels, concentrating on anything to rid the heat of eyes upon him.

Pyre listened carefully to what Gorodo said, before speaking. "So every thing goes back to Him in the end." He nodded, and lowered his head, until he heard Dogura speak out. His head shot up to look at the samurai curiosly. It wasn't as much what he said that scared him, but the tome of Dogura's voice. He then lowered his eyes once again. What am I dealing with? Who are these people?

The hylian's fingers played along the hilt of his dirk. The conversation had given him much to think over. It seemed that he hadn't been left much choice however. He would have to go after the imposter. One thing that had been bothering him however was how the Hakiems were related to the real Wraith or the imposter. He held back his thought however. He would probably find out when the party confronted the imposter. If the Hakiems were helping out the fake assasin, then things would become much more complicated.

Rose listened to Gorodo, and then she sank into her own thoughts. She didn't notice Dogura's outburst, and if she had, she wouldn't have cared very much. She finally said, "Well, if that's all, I'd like to leave." She stood up and stretched, waiting to see if anyone else was going to follow suit.

As Gorodo looks at him directly, the red of his iris appears to flicker as if a flame had started to burn behind his eye. 'You don't have to worry, I don't use electicity based attecks.' He said coldly.

If futher proof was needed, this cemented the fact that the one the had fought was not the true Wraith. He seemed overjoyed when the staff activated, he didn't activate it on his own.

At this point he was ready to leave, even the knowledge of Wraith's departure from being an assassin didn't interest him. Nor, wanting to question the identity of the 'he' mentioned. He knew that any truely revealing information wasn't going to come willingly and knew that he was in no postion to try and force an answer out of him. At this point alll he wanted was a little time alone with the jewelry on the desser. So at least the trip wouldn't have been a total waste of time. Dougra' s outburst caused his to break the statue like demeanour he had obtained as he turned his head rapidly towards him before resuming his normal pose. Interesting. Rose's suggestion of leaving way interfere with his plans but Raven just waited to see how things played out.

Pyre watched Rose rise, preparing to leave, and decided to follow suit. He had learned much, but there were more things that he would like to know that he wouldn't find out here. There was a web of secrets hanging over Wraith. Like who was "him", and what happened to him? What was the story behind Wraith's past? It seemed that the only way to find out the answers would be to find the assasin himself, which wouldn't be prudent, but mabye the imposter knows something. If he was pretending to be the killer, then he must know something about him.

The hylians eyes flicked around the room. It seemed probable that others had reached the same conclusion that he did. It was about time to go.

Tayro awaited the man's response. Sincerely, although it was important information, and would help how to deal with their opponent, the assassin's weapon was what least interested him. By what he had heard from Rose's lips, he could already speculate most of the information the Human had to give... for the parts that he didn't know, well... now he knew as well. A staff that stores electrical energies, huh? I hope that I can make one so neat as that in the future...« - he mentally commented, a little stray of wild thoughts coming out of his mind. As Gorodo looked towards the boy, it ceased, as to get ready to mentally note every single detail down. Information was undoubtly their best friend in this situation, as the man's prowess could easily match any of the people present in the room... that is, to his knowledge.

And so, came the so awaited answer. The boy's first note was that Wraith did not like being around in people. Immediatly the boy began to think of possibilities to that, and two were the ones who prevailed. One, was that the assassin was a loner, one of those people with big egos and think they can take on the world. The other, was that the assassin has had a troublesome past like most (if not all) of the people in this room. If so, his personality would fit into a certain inferiority complex and he would stray from people for not being able to be happy like them. This was another good chance, and possibly the best of the two, but one cannot exclude any of the possibilities. Then, came the second remark - the lust for knowledge. How Gorodo narrated this part reminded the young teenager of himself, and the times at night in which he'd sneak out of the Orphanage room to go read some books on the library... his favourite place. That bit and the following of the assassin's elemental abilities pointed towards him being a Scholar... though it really wasn't a certain fact. The last part, the man's weakness, was, as Tayro suspected, unknown.

As the others continued to ask other questions - one of which the boy took special attention, namely, Dogura's - the Hylian continued to ponder on what little informaton he had acquired, and from there, via the only path possible - assumptions. So, he started with the basic knowledge he had - the fake Wraith had the intention of killing them. Seeing he's a hired assassin, presumably he must've been hired by someone who wanted them all dead. No mastter where to look, the answer was simple and clear, and it wasn't that hard to figure out. The Hakiems Tribe. So then, it was a matter of joining the different pieces of the puzzle. It was quite possible that in the past, the real Wraith had once worked for the Hakiems, or even the master could have been one of them. If so, when the real Wraith got away, they managed to train yet another one with similar characteristics, and sent him after the group. Plausible, and perfectly possible. Still, a sllight confirmation would be good. He spots the others starting to leave, and so, accordingly, the mage apprentice gets up as well, and faces Gorodo. "If you don't mind, I still have a question to make." - he spoke naturally - "Could you tell me if Wraith ever spoke to you about a certain Hakiems Tribe or a Zora named Zaboorak?"

"Hakiems, huh?" Gorodo replies to Tayro's question. "Well kid, you don't get high up in the underground without learning something about the Hakiems Tribe. I don't know much myself, but I recall hearing a bit of news a long while before Wraith arrived saying that they'd been hired for a tough task by some Zora, that Zaboorak you mentioned."

Then he actually decides to answer the question. "Wraith knew about them, I'm sure, but he never asked about them at all - probably because he knew that nobody knows too much." A shrug. "What can I say? They're one of the most secretive societies ever to exist."

Seeing most of the others getting up and ready to go, Shada also stands up while Alpha moves towards the doorway. Noval nods. "Anything else you'd like to tell us, Gorodo?" he asks inquisitively. The Human rolls his eyes. "Not especially, but feel free to ask away . . ."

Dogura turned the info he had recieved around in his head, thinking, and trying to piece things together. Normally, the Sheikah was easily able to think things through, and draw conclusions within minutes. However, this seemed almost impossible to solve this mystery without fighting Imposter Wraith again. Dogura clutched a fist in rememberance of the battle...

Alpha wrote: "Dogura..." Anger fills his tone of hatred at the very thought of the Vagabond attempting to break into his body. He reaches beneath his cape and withdraws a metal object, which he quickly snaps onto his left gauntlet. Aiming it at Dogura, he fires out a long chain that reaches out and wraps around his body. A sudden electric current flows straight through it and into the Vagabond's body before he has time to react.

The Assassin rubs his forehead as he determines that none of the secrets in his mind had been picked away. His mental defenses had held off Dogura's mental strike well enough. He had heard that the Vagabond's mental probes were strong, but experiencing it gave him a whole new depth of understanding. It had been most unexpected.

Dogura glared at the floor, remembering how easily he was tossed aside... in that state of being...

Alpha wrote:Even as it passes beneath him, he turns his head in the direction of Dogura, now having entered his Primal Form. The possibility of him becoming a beast had not been expected, but it had been taken into account. He brings his staff around to intercept the beast, striking Dogura yet again with an electrified weapon - this time, the staff Brenyuu.

Dogura felt rage bubbling up inside of him. "I will not have my clan be mocked..." The samurai said in shaky voice, filled with mental anguish. "Friend or foe... Nobody makes a mockery of what is special to me..." With those words, Dogura pulled something shiny and gold out of his armor, and gazed at it. "I wont let you down..." Dogura turned around, and a mighty wind seemed to blow from the man. A wind of a longing for power to carry out his dreams. A bad vibe was crawling about the samurai's glare. "Alpha. When will we depart for our next destination?"

OOC: The storyline is once again in motion. Both yours and mine. yes, I've decided to go through with it.

OOC: Alright, final post from me here. Sorry for the small amounts of god-modding I do. FoG 8 will be up in a little while; you're all invited to join it.

IC:
Alpha gives Dogura a look before shrugging his shoulders. "Our next destination? I haven't a clue as to where that is, so I can't exactly say when we'll be departing for it." He makes sure to look over the man several times - Dogura has been acting quite odd in the past few minutes - then draws his cape around him as he notices peripherally that Noval is also rising to leave.

The General steps forward, nodding to the informant. "Very well then, Gorodo, I suppose we'll leave you to your business . . . whatever that might be." He acknowledges the Human's return nod, which has more than a touch of annoyance within it, turns to the doorway, and begins strolling towards it, leading the way out of the room.

BANG!

In the room below them, the main entrance to the shop swings open with such force that even with the floor in the way the clear sound of antiques shattering and crates banging together can be heard. Noval's sword is already in his hands by the time the voice reaches their ears, managing to be heard over Gorodo's sudden, angry exclamations about his antiques being priceless. "General!" The intended recipient of the yell darts out of the room and descends the stairs so quickly it's almost as if he's flying. Alpha and Shada exchange a glance before they quickly follow.

Noval emerges into the main room, behind the counter. "Captain Leron?!" he exclaims as he spots the man's face through the grating over the counter. The man looks up and through the metal, clutching a black cape around his body as he smiles fatiguingly at the general. But Noval is doing anything but smiling. "What are you thinking, man!?! How dare you come here! Do you realize what you might have done? - Gorodo's life could be at great risk!" He charges through the the doorway and into the main room . . .

. . . and stops short as Leron collapses onto the floor. His cape falls open, revealing the jagged line of blood covering his body - and still pouring out of the cut, which extends from his left shoulder down to the right side of his waist. "Glad I . . . managed to catch you, General," he says softly.

Alpha quickly rushes to the man's side, attempting to place his hands on the man and perform a Life Spell. But the Captain reaches up and stops him. "Don't bother, buddy. I've lost so much blood, all the magic in the world couldn't bring me back." The Sheikah cringes, but complies while Noval moves on to interrogate the man. "What happened to you?"

A cough bloodies up Leron's fist, and his grin transforms into a serious glare. "They came . . . outta nowhere, General. Entered the castle without anyone seeing them . . . chopped up a bunch of Knights . . . got me good, eh? Last I saw of 'em, they were heading up to the Throne Room . . . going after the royalty, I heard one say . . ."

"Who, Leron?! Who did this?"

He fixes an emerald eye on the general. "The Hakiems Tribe."



Minutes later, Captain Leron's breathing is no more. Gorodo has taken the body into the back room where he'd originally intended to meet Noval, and still resides there as he tries to stop the blood from ruining any more of his stuff. Shada is on the ground, attempting to use a concentrated Elemental Burst of Water to wash the blood away. An air of solemnity pervades the entire shop and all within it.

Noval gazes out the window at where North Castle lies, with Alpha standing beside him. "I've no choice," the general finally says. "I have sworn an oath to defend the king and Hyrule, and now those cursed Hakiems have decided to come here and attack both of those things."

"I don't get it, though," Alpha replies calmly. "The Hakiems Tribe is under Zaboorak's command . . . and while I don't doubt that he's malevolent enough to try and kill a peaceful monarch or two, he's too focused on obtaining the Goldforce Powers. What is his motive for attacking the castle?"

Noval simply shakes his head. "I haven't the time to worry about such things. Whatever his motive, the fact is that he has attacked. I have my duty to go and fight." He glances back at the other members of the group. "And while I can't order you all to help like I can my own men, I would greatly appreciate any help that I can get in this regard. If you wish to help, then please meet in me just outside the Castle Courtyard as soon as you can." With that, the shop's door opens once more, and the General rushes outward.

Gorodo chooses this moment to come in from the back room. "Hey everybody, I'd love to be a bit more . . . hospitable . . . after that little event, but I've got a bit of work to do right now. Gotta clean up after the mess that Captain made, arrange for his body to be taken away, etc. So I'm gonna have to ask y'all to leave as well."

As the people shuffle outside the room, Gorodo eyes Alpha for a brief moment. Once the others are out of earshot, the Sheikah calmly whispers, "You have done well, Gorodo." Then he too steps outside, leaving the Human to collapse in relief. Apparently Wraith won't be after him just yet.

Once outside, Alpha takes one long look at North Castle. There aren't any fires, or screams, or anything that would indicate that a battle is being fought. And yet, due to Leron's words, and Noval's obviously sincere trust in the now dead Captain, he knows that that is exactly what has happened. A swift, silent, and deadly attack - just the way the Hakiems would have done it, he realizes.

"But why?" the Sheikah murmurs. His mind works on overdrive, sifting through the possibilities. They had been after King Harkinian II, but there was no point in doing so . . .

. . . unless . . . !!!

Alpha freezes with the door partly open still. His eyes widen in disbelief, and yet it is the most logical reason that they would have gone after the King! Shada, just rising from her cleaning efforts, notices Alpha's strangeness. "What's wrong, Keyru?" she asks quietly.

He turns to face her. "I think I know why the Hakiems are there," he says, shock riding freely in his voice. "They're led by Zaboorak . . . Zaboorak is obsessed with the Goldforce Powers . . . they're after the King . . ." Shada's eyes widen as she too gets the picture.

"What if King Harkinian is . . . the Golden Hylian?!"

In an instant, both Sheikah are dashing away - Shada rushes after Noval, while Alpha sprints off in a different direction, towards the edge of town. "I'll catch up!" he shouts back. "I need to go get some help! You all head to the Castle!"

There's no question what must be done now: head to the castle after Shada, rendezvous with Noval, and help him cleanse North Castle of the Hakiems' presence. Regardless of what the others choose to do, one thing is for certain:

This takes the war for the Goldforce to a whole new level.