For some reason, the town seemed considerably empty today. Perhaps it was the storm clouds billowing in the west, or the dark gray skies overhead. Even so, people were still out and about, selling this, and buying that. Signs everywhere advertising products and food. However, one sign stood out from the rest. One sign was plain white, and held in place by not a fixture, but a person! A Goron held the sign high over his head, keeping it carefully in place to prevent the constant gusts of wind from carrying it out of his hands. The sign was plain white, and had big black bold letters on it.

DOGURA SHADOWCLAW

"So how do you figure he's here in North Castle?" Keerink asked, as he took another bite of his burger. "Even if he isn't here, I'm hoping someone who knows him will see the sign, and head this way". Shigure looked around at the people in the streets, a few of them reading the sign, and moving on. Shigure sighed, and closed his eyes. "Maybe if anyone knows him, they can point me in the right direction." His arms were growing sore from holding the sign for so long, and the gusting winds that battered his face didn't help his morale. He looked around hopefully, and put one arm down, still holding it with the other hand. It was getting late, and he'd have to start heading home soon if he wanted to sleep tonight.

OOC: Beginning of the main story! Its short, astounding, and you can read more about it here
EDIT: I've already got the positions filled, and joining this is now blocked. You may join if you were invited.

The Courtyard's traffic, though certainly sparse, still contained a few busy citizens. A few were browsing the wares in the courtyard, while others were disappearing into the other areas of Castle Town. Anyone who might have been people-watching that day (despite the poor conditions for this generally dull sport) may have noticed a handful of travelers disappearing around one particular bend... and one particular head poking back into the Courtyard, to gawk at one particular sign.

"WHAT?!"

The burst pierced the day's dull roar, startling a few nearby citizens. One stand's owner lost control of a few oranges, shook an angry fist at the source of the disturbance. A child had to be consoled by his mother. The head blushed, and then shamefully moved closer to the sign.

"DOGU-"

The voice was just as loud; a group of townspeople glared. A hint was taken.

"Dogura? The Dogura? The one I knew?"

Wow, how helpful. A bit of clearing up:

"The... the one with blue hair? Why, I haven't seen him in... a while, at least! Do you guys... know him, then?"

A hesitance. Friends, or foes? Eh, take a chance.

"I'm Victor, a friend of Dogura's. In the past, anyhow..."

Saber edged through the oddly less-than-bustling crowd, eye twitching ever so slightly. It was obvious the mercenary wasn't in the best of moods. He loathed milling about the town in the middle of the day, but he couldn't avoid it. He had just gotten back from hunting down a lost dog and recieved enough payment to put up in the inn for the night and escape the booth--unfortunately, as he was readying himself to leave the desert this morning, he was approached by another man and entrusted with the task of finding a lost ring somewhere in the Deku Woods. Despite the unlikelyhood of the mercenary ever finding the ring, a job was a job. He had then spent the better half of the day crawling on his hands and knees through the damp grass, moving twigs and fallen leaves in his search for the trinket.

By a stroke of luck, he had found it. By a stroke of misfortune, it had wound up wedged beneath his kneecap. He spent the next few minutes prying the heavily ornamented, jagged treasure from his leg, patching up the tiny holes through which blood was oozing with strips of cloth and mud, and generally exploring the filthier regions of his mind's vocabulary.

Now the day had aged a little more, and he was searching for his contact's address with the ring tucked in his left shoe, when he saw an odd site--a wavering billboard, it seemed. Giving it another glance, he realized it was a goron holding some sort of sign--unfortunately, the message was lost to him--he knew not these words sprawled across the surface. He grumbled darkly as a cold breeze swept in and chilled his wet body, furthering his bad mood. His eyes, set beneath a furrowed brow, roamed along the walls of the Courtyard, looking for the address he had been given by his client, when his rounded ears perked suddenly. He had heard something...interesting.

Turning around, he caught the end of the sentence and recognized it's speaker--Victor, a Bard he was somewhat acquainted with, was saying to the Goron, "--the one I knew?" Stepping towards the Bard, awed, Saber listened to the Vagabond describe the person in question, and the mercenary's expression changed from one of irritation to one of wonder. Could he really have said what I thought he said, then?

"I'm Victor, a friend of--" Victor began to speak, and Saber's partially opened mouth mimicked the Bards as he said that unmistakable name. "Dogura." He whispered, and his eyes widened even more, his mouth turning up at the corners ever so slightly. He looked up at the sign once again. Yes; it was feasible the sign said 'Dogura'. He sounded it out, experimenting with the long and short vowels until he got the desired result from the sign's message. His heart began pounding in his chest, a powerful laugh erupting from his chest as he rushed forth, coming up behind Victor at his fastest dash, the ring and all his troubles forgotten. "I'm a friend of his as well, Saber. Where is he?" The mercenary looked around excitedly--he didn't see the unique hairstyle anywhere. Still, he did not let this disappoint him--the samurai, one of the only people Saber had bothered spending any amount of time with, was still alive somewhere. He must be.

OOC: That ended up being longer than I had planned...

Shigure's heart skipped a beat when a voice reached his Goronic ears.

The... the one with blue hair? Why, I haven't seen him in... a while, at least! Do you guys... know him, then?"

"I'm Victor, a friend of Dogura's. In the past, anyhow...

Smiling, the Goron did a small unrecognizable dance, and handed the sign to Keerink to hold in his place. Clearing his throat, the Goron began.

"Ermmm... I don't exactly know Dogura... But I recognize the trait you mentioned. The blue hair? Rendd was recognized for his unique blue hair as well, so there's no mistaking you know him, Victor." Shigure removed a picture from his satchel. "Did he look anything like this man?" He showed Victor a picture of Rendd, and nodded. Before he could go on any further, another voice piped up from behind Victor.

"I'm a friend of his as well, Saber. Where is he?"

Shigure eyed the man. "You too? Rendd's son is quite the popular guy. I should have expected as much from him." The Goron, getting back on track, shrugged his shoulders. "My name is Shigure, and I hail from the south, much like your friend Dogura. I fought alongside Dogura's father, Rendd. Rendd, sadly, passed away however." The giant nomad paused for a moment, saying something under his breath. "In any case, I recently caught wind of the fact that he had a son! Could you imagine my surprise? Anyways, I've been looking around for him, but can't seem to find him anywhere! I thought maybe if I found some people that know him, they can tell me where to find him." He stopped, and looked at the two with hopeful eyes. "Do either of you know where I can find him? What were the names of some of his friends? Any favorite hangouts?"

Victor's eyes grew wide as Shigure presented Rendd's picture. He was nearly the splitting image of the Dogura he knew and remembered. He studied the picture as the Goron was busied with Saber, who... wait, Saber?

He swiveled.

"Hey there, Saber! I guess you saw the sign too, eh? Well, good to see you again!"

Done with the niceties for now, the Bard turned back to Shigure and blurted,

"Wow, I didn't know Dogura had a father!"

... Hold on.

"Uh, well, I mean... yeah, I knew he had a father. I mean... he has to have had a father. I meant, I didn't know that... well, you see, what I was really saying was... Oh, I don't know what I didn't know. The point is, you've surprised me. He really does look a lot like Dogura..."

At this thought, Victor frowned. He was afraid that he couldn't really help the Goron, as he hadn't seen Dogura in quite some time.

"I'm afraid I can't really help you, Shigure, as I haven't seen Dogura in quite some time."

Duh.

"But, ah... hmm... well, I suppose Saber knew Dogura better than I did. What do you say, then, Saber?"

Saber felt a pang in his chest as Shigure revealed just how little he knew of the Sheikan samurai, and his face showed it. His eyelids and mouth dropped as one, and his brows edged closer together. I thought we may have actually found him at last...well, I suppose someone's actually looking now. That's a good thing.

"Dogura..." Saber began, eyes closing as he breathed deeply to try and remember everything he could about his lost friend. "Well, he was friends with Alpha, Tayro...Pyralin...Blank...Rose...although several of those people haven't been seen around for a long time, and the ones that are around seem to enjoy avoiding company." Saber admitted with his mind on a certain Mage.

"Dogura, however...well, he did a lot of things. A lot. Not only was he one of the more renowned warriors in Hyrule from what I could tell, but he did a lot of...projects? I remember all the strange things he had at his house. He could make light out of nothing but glass and wire, for instance. I'm sure someone who's done that much for the country would have something to immortalize their story." He bit his lip, trying to follow his rambling up with a good suggestion as to what this something may be. "I suppose...he may actually have a book written about him. You know, a biography of sorts. So...I suppose if we checked the libraries around here, we would find something." He smiled, a little bit of hope back in his heart. At least, it stands the test of logic.

Listening to the boy's words, Shigure's hope grew brighter and brighter- until books were mentioned. His Goron groan caught the attention of a few people, but they kept walking as the noise echoed off the stores and shops in the town. "Well... I don't much care for books... but if its to find Rendd's boy, then by Goddess, I'll do it." The Goron turned and took the sign from Keerink, and held it high over his head looking into the crowd. "Saber. And Victor, yes?" He asked, as the hobo beneath him took a seat on the curb, and proceeded to lay down on his side. "I know of a library in Rauru. Its how I found the Inn there, where I spent my first few nights here in the North." He looked into the crowd, hoping to attract a few more people before it was time to head for home. "I'll send a ride for the two of you at the drawbridge. The cart will be here at 3:00PM. Two of my friends, will be here to pick you up, and take you to Rauru." Shigure paused, looked down at the two, and smiled warmly. "I'll see you two tomorrow."

OOC: Just waiting for one more person.
Hurry up mysteriously obvious hooded stranger of whom I do not know.

so, why haven't you killed her yet? to be honest . . . i'm really not sure. hm . . . are you lacking in motivation?

The moment's reprieve was shattered as instantaneously as it began, as the Sheikah's face popped right back up in front of his scowl. "Keyru, what do you think of these?" Shada's bright and cheery smile only grew as she waved bracelets and necklaces, littered with jewels of all the colors of the rainbow and beyond, each of which would have gone with a number of the dresses that she had looked at earlier, back before Alpha had strolled into town and the two had run into each other. Now she seemed absolutely enthralled by the man's presence, checking everything she considered buying with him before moving onto the next store, all the while wearing an adorably cute smile that would have been the highlight of many a man's day/week/month/year.

no, i definitely have all the reason i would ever need to end her. now shut up, you. fine.

Alpha's eyes shut as his annoyance threatens to once again lead him down a path that he knows he'll regret - but oh, how good would it feel . . . His eyebrow begins to twitch as he hears her constant questions ramming into his eardrums - "Keyru, how do you think this dress would look on me?" - questions that he doesn't even care about - "Do you think these earrings look nice?" - and driving him half-insane in all of - "Hm, do you think I need a haircut?" - the ten minutes that - "Hey, does that sign say Dogura on it?" - he's been hounded by her. He's just about ready to -

Wait, Dogura?

His eyebrows shoot open, allowing his crimson gaze to dart across the area, following Shada's shining fingernails as they point directly to the pair's right to where a giant member of the Goron race stands with the sign in hand. Yes, there in nice bold letters sits the distinctly familiar name of Dogura Shadowclaw, perhaps one of Alpha's most prized companions and allies in the past few years. Not only a superb warrior in his own right, Dogura had been a member of the Twilight Guardians - in fact, the samurai had been his partner in the conspiring that had led to the guild's creation. Since Alpha had taken the head, it was only right to give the Hylian/Sheikah hybrid the title of his right hand man in the guild.

"Guess that Goron knows Dogura," he says bluntly before turning to stride off.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Shada grabs him by the arm, yanking the caped Sheikah off his trail and over towards the signholder. "We haven't heard anything at all about Dogura in over a year! Don't you at least want to ask if he's okay and stuff?!"

"No, I really don't!" Alpha yells at her as he breaks her grip without hesitation, sending her stumbling forward a few steps and nearly running Victor over in the process. The Sheikah's vision narrows in annoyance - he had spotted Victor and Saber from the start, and that is the main reason he had wanted to avoid an intervention: so that he wouldn't need to put up with talking some pointless conversation about how everyone is so glad Dogura was still alive and kicking (assuming he is) and how they should go see him and start more time-wasting conversations about what he's been doing in the past however-long-it's-been. It may seem cruel, but he finds that it's ironic that Dogura is probably one of the few who would understand and at least somewhat agree with that kind of thought.

Shada shakes herself off and gives Alpha an annoyed stare before realizing who she's recovered next to. "Oh, hey Victor! Been a while, hasn't it!"

It's too late to avoid them anymore, so Alpha wipes all traces of frustration from his face and gives the small group his normal impassive look. "Hello there, everyone." He nods to the sign in the Goron's hand. "You know Dogura, I presume?"

sure you shouldn't go ahead and kill her? this certainly gives me more motivat - didn't i tell you to shut up?! - Silence. Finally, somewhere there is silence.

The man walked through the castle gates and stared at what he saw. That name. He knew it well. Better than anyone in Hyrule, he knew that name. It was the name of a friend. From the early days to the later days, Dogura had almost always been consistently present. From freeing slaves to exploring dungeons to opposing the Hakiems and straight back to evading the law enforcers of Hyrule, the pair had been through thick and thin for as long as they could remember during each's stay in Northern Hyrule.

It had been some time since he'd seen the samurai. Stories that he'd heard while traveling around Hyrule and its surrounding kingdoms pointed to a far-fetched rumor in which the samurai had gone south and just hadn't come back. The hooded man hadn't heard from Dogura directly in over a year. Normally he would not get involved in matters like these. In fact, he had only returned to Hyrule for nostalgia purposes. He began to feel uneasy when he saw such familiar faces as Victor the bard, Sabertache the mercenary, and Alpha the mage (as well as his childhood friend Shada). Forgetting instincts, responsibility, and even common sense, he stepped towards them.

He stepped up behind the Goron and tapped him casually on the back, hoping to take the massive character's attention away from the others. He pointed to the sign, and then at the pictograph of Rendd, and then to himself, all the while nodding vigorously, as if to give some sort of clue that he was making a connection. As if to say “I know him.”

He then shrugged a very exaggerated kind of shrug, one that seemed to say “What in blazes happened to him?” or “What about him?”

If the adventurers gathered hadn't noticed by now, the hooded man was indeed what many refer to as a mute. Not a word came from his mouth; his form of communication was either script-based or a series of pointing, gesturing, and odd physical and literary connections between ideas and objects.

It was a hard life being unable to speak. The man knew very well that it was even more difficult to interpret what someone of his handicap was trying to say.

The voice of a woman nearby caught the Goron's attention. He hadn't even seen her sneak up. He ignored her for the time being, however, because she only seemed interested in meeting a friend. She seemed to know nothing of Dogura, and in that respect, the Goron didn't care. As if sent from the heavens, yet another voice reaches Shigure's ears concerning the missing samurai.

"Hello there, everyone. You know Dogura, I presume?"

Putting the sign in care of the sleepy hobo on the curb, he again began to speak. "Yes... and no." He paused, raising a hand while he swallowed. "I don't know him personally. But I fought alongside his father in the Great War. His father, Rendd Shadowclaw, was my comrade, my rival, my mentor, and my friend. I had no idea he had a son, but as soon as I caught word, I decided to look for him." The Goron closed his right eye, and looked to the sky. A droplet of rain had found it's way to his pupil, and the sky began to drop bits of water here and there. "In any case, I've heard that he'd been missing for quite a while. I've gotten word that he's an accomplished warrior, an inventor, and more. This being said, a few men and I are going to be heading to Rauru Town's library tomorrow!" He closed his eyes, and shuddered. "I do hate books... but its something I'm willing to do to find Rendd's boy." scratching his elbow, he took the sign back from his friend, and folded it up.

Suddenly, he felt a tap on his rock-hard back, and turned around. Looking down, he spotted a hooded humanoid figure, who's gestures implied that he knew something about Dogura. "Speak up boy, I can hardly hear you!" He held a hand to his ear, and squinted. "Oh... You can't speak?" He asked, clearly noticing the man's frustration. "My apologies. Well, listen up." He paused, and turned so that everyone could hear him speak. "For those of you who've just arrived, I'll be sending a caravan cart to the drawbridge tomorrow at 3:00PM sharp, or in military terms, 1500 hours." He picked up the water bottle that was placed by his feet, and screwed on the lid. "If you'd like to join us, we'll be glad to have you in our quest for the samurai." He waved goodbye to the group, and Keerink, before making his way out of town. He tossed the sign into a nearby garbage can, tucked in, and rolled out of the town, across the drawbridge, and towards the forest.




<center>~2:59:PM The next day~</center>
<center>--The Drawbridge--</center>


The grounds of North Castle Town were soaked, and still that didn't stop the hustle and bustle of the town. In fact, more people were out now than the night before. People carried umbrellas, and kiosks had tarps set up above their stands, and the splish-splosh of people walking in the puddled streets could be heard everywhere. The sky wasn't as dark as the night before, but it was definitely raining harder. Not to say it was raining hard, but rather enough to soak one's clothes. The sounds of the town seemed to be amplified by the rain, and the clouds hung in the sky, relieving themselves of water upon Hyrule's landscape. In the distance, a wagon came into view, pulled by two black horses. They trotted merrily in the rain, and their 'whinneying' could be heard from the distance. As the caravan grew closer, a man could be seen piloting the cart from the seat in the front of it. It sheltered him from the rain, but he still didn't look too happy. The cart pulled up to the drawbridge, and stopped abruptly. He had a hood on, but his blue-tinted hair could be seen matting his face. He wiped his hair from his face, and sat patiently, looking around for the people who were to be boarding the cart at the time. His eyes lit up, as if he'd just remembered something he'd long forgotten, and he pulled out a sign that read:

<center>

Rauru Town: Private Caravan

</center>

Climb in?