Hyrule Adventures 2

Raven stays back as the Light burst is unleashed, it wouldn't bode well if he was caught up in it's blast. Before he has a chance to move another Light burst shoots across the room lauched by Pyre. Then a Fire spell is released right next to him and if that wasn't enough a sword is thrown within inches of his presence.

Finally after the initial onslaught there is a lull in fighting. He races forward to join Nogare on the front line of the assault but he is not alone. 'Have a chair.' He says in a action hero style pun, as he hurls a chair he picked up at the Hakiem. He shadows the chair as it flys towards the Hakiem to keep himself unseen as he adavances close enough to attack. When he gets close enough he slashes at the Hakiems chest and quickly jumps back to avoid a possible counter.

Though Nogare was struck by his bane of shadow, he took little to no note of it. He lands on his feet in a front stance, and, now above the Haikem he struck, he pointed the sword downward, and stabbed it toward his foe's neck, with a strong war cry; "Hie!" For by yelling out, that would add strength* to his blow, as he had learned in his past years. There was to be no mercy for this enemy!

OOC: *Not stats. I'm in martial arts, so I'm just saying that because it's a fact. Don't actually give me any bonuses.

Tayro can only feel satisfaction as his Elemental Burst manages to deliver its intended blow on one of the Hakiems, but, as expected from their level, the Sheikah managed to withstand said blow with a certain ease. No matter, with the combined effort of all those present, these high-leveled patrols would surely fall. And thanks to Elenina, I can be a little more 'careless' with my spells, too. Heh! - the boy thought, a grin on his face. However, such distraction would have its own cost, as it rendered him unable to detect the invisible unit surrounding him. "Master Tayro! Watch out!" - Elenina yelled as an alert, the mage apprentice - as a reflex - stepping to the side and making a half-loop with his body as soon as the Sheikah appeared behind him to strike. Hoping to gain some balance, the boy placed his left hand on the ground and bended his knees, gaining him a - rather uncomfortable - position on the ground as a Gilded Sword's blade soars right above him. As soon as danger's over, he applies extra pressure on his feet and hand and jump upwards to regain his standing position.

He mutters a 'thanks Elenina' to the fairy companion besides him before focusing his arcane power to his staff again. A spell he would in normal cases not have enough capability to create after an Elemental Burst, now thanks to Elenina's magical aura he was able to perform it and still retain a little bit of his magical energies. yes, the boy was preparing a rather lethal Elemental Explosion, after considering a few facts he had acknowledged about the Hakiems Tribe. He knew - and had been witness - to the Hakiems' trademark ability - the Avenging Strength, and so knew that if they killed any of them, the others would become stronger. That being rather undesirable, there was only one thing they could do, and that would be to kill them off at the same time, or at least having near-death health. Done wit theorizing, the boy started designing the old, usual circle, and, unlike with Elemental burst, drew a 8-pointed star on its interior. Placing his trusted Deku Staff on the exact middle area of the symbol, he began channeling his energy to the rune via the staff, part of said energy being complemented by Elenina's Spell Abode. It fully charged, the boy moved his staff slightly backwards. "Elemental Explosion!!" - he yelled, as he thrusted his staff forward onto the glyph, forcing it to bend over and form an orb of energy, quickly multiplying into three copies of the original fast forwarded to the L2 Hakiems.

As soon as Tayro placed his spell into motion, Elenina herself prepared another of her tricks. Although her body actions were invisible to the common eye, what she actually did was to cross her arms over her head, and then vove them down on a semi-circular pattern, placing them in front of her. Then, she focused part of the light that enveloped her into a circular ball in front of her palms, glowing in a multitude of colours. "Faera Aurora!" - she yelled, as the energy ball in front of her created a rainbow-coloured beam, although slightly transparent, forwarded towards her master. Soon, the boy would - hopefully - have some of his magical attributes restored to him. Upon the conclusion of her own enchanting, she looked around as she was ready to move in case of a certain clan of Sheikah decided to attack her. [Dodge Check]

Pyre cried out in pain as the gilded blade cut into him. He didn't have anytime to recover, sprinting away from the assailant. It seemed that these Hakiems were indeed skilled. He ate his own words from earlier. At the time, the only thought on his mind was getting away from the dangerous foe, but he relized that wasn't right. Besides that may put other members of the party in danger. He already had too much momentum to stop though, and still get in a good attack, so he had to improvise.

The hylian rammed his daggers into their sheaths, and jumped into the air, while his hand slipped into his throwing dagger pouch. He grasped one dagger in each hand, and then spun around midair, releasing the daggers, and sending them flying at his hopefully unsuspecting target. [duel wield L1]

When he hit the ground after the attack, he rose, and looked around at the others, surveying what was happening. He quickly concentrated on his target once again though, because who knows when he may suddenly launch a devestating attack. He determined that he could only take two or three more hits before he was dropped by the powerful gilded swords.

Goddesses damn it! Rose thought as the Hakiem sent her sword flying and as she was sent to the ground by his punch. She quickly maneuvered through the fight to get her sword back. Once it was in her hands again, she directed her angry gaze towards the Hakiem that had disarmed her and rushed towards him [Hakiem #1, as I believe you told me, Alpha]. As she came up to him, she slashed at the Hakiem and shoved a newly formed fireball at his face.

Walking down the long stretch of the final hallway, Dogura turned the corner into the next room. This room was large, or at least compared to the hallway. Fang immediately snapped his head to his right. He must have sensed it first hand, because just then, three high ranked Hakiems walked around the corner. "Everyone, arm yourselves!" Dogura called out, unsheathing his sword. It was then that Fang noticed the new color handkerchief tightly wrapped around them. "On your guard, they're stronger than before!" At that second, he realized that it is also possible that they're weaker than before, as he had never stumbled across this color.

Despite Fang's warning, his comrades were still being dealt with skillfully by the Hakiems. "Enough!" Dogura cried, holding his sword towards his selected victim. The samurai drew from beneath his armor, a dagger with a wolf-head hilt on it. "Take this!" Dogura cried moving at break-neck speed straight for his target (Hakiem#3) with both blades headed straight for the monster's stomach! [Dual Wield Lv2] While Dogura was striking down his enemy, Fang's eyes glowed, indicating that he was preparing to attack. This time, however, his clothes and hair fluttered as if a strong wind was blowing from underneath him. The mage lifted both arms, and energy circulated through them. Making waving motions with his hands, he conjured up an element to attack with. [Elemental Explosion]

As the third Hakiem rises to his feet, he sees the dagger of the thief slicing through the air towards him. And yet, even with the awareness of the oncoming attack, no matter what he does, he cannot expect the chair that suddenly smashes into his chest, hurling him backwards. Unable to recover in time, he can only cringe in pain as Raven's dagger slashes through him (18+6[Roll+AGI]), dealing 7 DMG. He staggers back for a few seconds, then draws up his Gilded Sword and charges forward, slashing through the other Sheikah (13+7[Roll+AGI]), not without a twinge of anger in his eyes. A sharp 15 DMG is dealt, bringing Raven almost down to half his health.

So focused is his fury on the Thief that he nearly fails to notice Nogare charging in. But notice he does, and unlike before he can bring up his own blade in time to bat away the Grunt's attack (7+5[Roll+AGI]). In a single, swift motion he disengages with such force that Nogare's weapon is forced back over his head, leaving his body open for the retaliatory strike, which would be a beautiful hit if the sword's bearer was not an evil assassin. Nogare too loses 15 HP.

In the midst of all the confusion, Noval moves over towards the entrance. "How are you doing, my friend?" Sitting crosslegged by the doorway, General Lion's hooded head simply nods once, indicating his answer. His brow is furrowed in some sort of anguish as he mind moves through the entire battle, analyzing every aspect of the ongoing battle. "It will be over soon, Kamas," the Hylian says calmly, laying a hand on the Zora's shoulder.

Off to the side of the room appears a bright light, attracting the attention of all three Hakiems. Tayro's mighty Elemental Explosion warps around in his hands, transforming in between energies even as he prepares it. When he finally releases it, the chosen attribute is clear to all: it has taken on the element of Fire. Not the Hakiems' weakness, but a powerful option nonetheless.

The spheres fly directly to their targets. Try as they might, in no way can they dodge any of the attacks (7+6[Roll+SPI], 12+6[Roll+SPI], 9+6[Roll+SPI]), and as three power-fueled eruptions rip into their skin, they all take 11 DMG. As the other two struggle to rise, growing weak, the third Hakiem charges in with his shining golden blade flashing all around. It digs straight into the young mage's side, causing a good dent in his health.

Elenina's Faera Aurora ability activates without difficulty, sending the multicolored beam straight to her companion Tayro. The powerful technique consumes 9 of her own SPL, but in exchange gives Tayro a recharge of magical energy as well, a full fourth of his total SPL. Her Dodge Check, on the other hand, isn't pulled off nearly so well. It fails (3+7+4[Roll+INT+AGI]), which is not exactly a good thing - for one of the Hakiems saw her little light show. The second Hakiem charges forward, not knowing what it is that she's done but doubting the possibility of it being good. Yet no matter how many swings he takes, the fairy manages to fly away from the blade each time (2+7[Roll+AGI]).

Mere moments after retrieving her dagger, the first Hakiem decides to make the first move (sorry HNS, but retrieving one's weapon counts as a turn). Darting forward, his Gilded Sword's flash of light manages to catch Rose's eye, giving her the opportunity to dodge away (11+7[Roll+AGI]). As she launches her own strike, the blade slashes through the Hakiem (18+4[Roll+AGI]), but leaves her open for a retaliatory strike that hits home (14+7[Roll+AGI]).

From such a close range, it is not difficult for the fireball to hit home instantly (10+6[Roll+SPI]), killing the man just as fast. And yet, one could wonder whether that was the best choice that could be made, for the fourth level of the Avenging Strength empowers the remaining two Hakiems with the same level of speed. Each and every one of their stats are boosted by 3, including HP and SPL.

Dogura's two daggers fly forward along with him, but he shall be the first to see the difficulty of engaging an empowered L2 Hakiem. The Sheikah deftly dodges both blades (4+6[Roll+AGI]), and wastes no time in delivering a counter (17+10[Roll+AGI*]) that deals out a brutal 18 DMG.

And that is not the only benefit of the Avenging Strength. As Fang forms his own Elemental Explosion, it takes on the form of Water. A flood erupts from the mage's hands, sweeping outward to engulf the two remaining Hakiems. The second is able to draw forth a much greater amount of spiritual energy as a result of his companion's demise and shield himself fully from the blast (18+9[Roll+SPI*]). The third, still completing his attack on Dogura, does not have such luck, and takes the full 14 DMG as the wave crashes into his side (1+9[Roll+SPI]), leaving him barely alive.

Unlike the other two high ranking Hylian Knights, Colonel Veldam is hardly one to stand by in the middle of a fight and let the others duke it out. His pilfered Iron Sword raised high, he charges forward and lunges for the third Hakiem, but to no avail (6+2[Roll+AGI]). He cannot get past the other's defenses - but he has planned for this more likely possibility, and is already rolling away from the return strike before it can reach him (2+10[Roll+AGI*]).

Hakiem L2 #1: eliminated
Hakiem L2 #2: 1 HP, 43 SPL
Hakiem L2 #3: 32 HP, 37 SPL

Alpha: 46 HP, 33 SPL
Shada: 20 HP, 19 SPL
Koura: 20 HP
Fang: 41 HP, 0 SPL
Dogura: 23 HP, 17 SPL
Rose: 26 HP, 9 SPL
Noval: 71 HP, 15 SPL
Tayro: 18 HP, 1 SPL
Elenina: 30 HP, 45 SPL
Nogare: 35 HP, 10 SPL
Pyralin: 26 HP, 8 SPL
Raven: 16 HP, 11 SPL

The samurai was so sure that his attack would hit home, that when the Hakiem dodged, it was in slow motion. Time seemed to slow as he watched the hakiem move. The two locked eyes just before a wave of pain crashed over Dogura. Dogura cringed in pain, and hit the water with full force. Water!? Dogura thought after surfacing. Fang was floating above the other adventurers, grinning confidently. "I wont lose out to you Fang!" Dogura called out, preparing his next attack.

"Is that any way to thank me for cushining your fall?" Fang shot back playfully, as he too prepared to attack. His eyes glowed brighter than ever, his arms surging. Damnit Fang, dont use your magic so recklessly! Dogura thought, returning his dagger back to its original place. It was at that moment that he noticed that the receeding water was not its normal refreshing blue, but rather a red pool of the product of battle. Fang looked around the room for the weakest warrior. After a minute or two of searching, he caught site of Raven. Flying through the air, narrowly avoiding the weapons, he landed next to Raven.

"Listen to me, I dont know you, and you dont know me. But you're needed on the battlefield. Please, allow me to surture your wounds." Fang closed his eyes, and his hands began to glow, as he placed his hands on Raven's wounds. [Life] Fang concentrated on healing the warrior. This will surely drain the remainder of my power pool. I'll have to resort to weaker spells after this. Dogura watched the Mage from across the room, in amazement. Fang... you're helping somebody other than yourself... and at the cost of your own spell power... "Alright, I'll follow suit!" Dogura said under his breath, as he searched for a warrior to heal.

He found many injured soldiers in the room, but amoung them, Tayro stood out. By the looks of those cuts, he was surely in a great deal of pain. Dogura slid into a shadow and reapeared to the left of the soldier. "Tayro! Stay put, and let me heal you. [Favor of the Godesses] Dogura prayed, and awaited the power of healing to be bestowed upon Tayro. In all the commotion, Dogura couldnt help but remember how easily he was dodged. "They will not make a mockery of me Tayro. Mark my words." With that said, and his prayers complete, he drew his sword, and searched for a new target.

OOC: I just realized that I hate Hakiems guys

As he lept back he felt the blade so easily cutting through his defence, in that moment of realisation and pain he landed on his heels and toppled backwards crashing down to the floor. He looked down at his chest to see a crimson line cut diagonally through his body seeping into the black fabric of his shirt. He propped himself up on his elbow and was reading to rejoin the battle when Fang appeared beside him.

'Don't bother, it's only a scratch.' He said in an act of bravado. Although he had lived through worst, he had never had half his life taken in a single hit and before he could stop him Fang was trying to heal his wound.

OOC: Wow ZV, I'm surprised it took you so long to come to such a realization. But you're really going to hate this . . .

IC:
Unfortunately, the moment Fang attempts his Life spell on Raven, he comes to a dreadful conclusion: he's completely out of SPL. He has no more magic power left. He had used every ounce of it on that last Elemental Explosion . . . In the meantime, Dogura's Favor of the Goddesses actually stands a chance of success. And succeed it does (11+7[Roll+INT]), soon enough granting the young mage Tayro a refreshing amount of health, which returns him to full HP.

But the Hakiems aren't willing to let that go unpunished. Charging straight at him, the second Hakiem picks up his blade and drives it straight towards Dogura, once again embedding it within his body for several seconds (18+10[Roll+AGI*]), dealing a harsh 18 DMG to the Hylian and making him the closest to death of any of those gathered.

Leaping back, the two Hakiems regroup near to the entrance by which they had come from. Both realize that their chances are growing somewhat slim; it is normally the Hakiems' strategy to overwhelm targets with numbers, so they recognize the strength of the sheer mass of people they face. But they still have no idea exactly how far gone they are.

Alpha, Shada, and Koura all nod to each other, seemingly communicating without words. Abruptly the two Sheikah vanish from sight, engulfed by the Shadowmeld. The Hakiems, distracted by this, fail to see Calla and Koura utilizing their Hawk Team ability once again. Skye lands screeching on the third one's face, clawing at the man without hesitation, and dealing 10 DMG. Finally, he manages to get a hand on the bird, and throws it to the ground before leaping over it to slice into Koura's arms. She is barely able to get her dagger up in time to deflect the attack away (8+10[Roll+AGI*]).

And it's enough for what they had been planning. Even as the third Hakiem drops back to regroup with his partner, Alpha and Shada each appear behind them. Sensing their presences, the Hakiems turn around and charge. As one, the Sheikah leap over their sword swings, cartwheeling through the air before bringing their attacks down at point blank range of their heads. "Elemental Burst! Light!" With no range to use for dodging, and still too busy completing their attempted attacks to bring up any sort of resistance, all they can do is accept their joint death (3+9[Roll+SPI*], 4+9[Roll+SPI*]) . . . with cries of pain as they finally collapse to the ground, no longer a part of this world.

Hakiem L2 #1: eliminated
Hakiem L2 #2: eliminated
Hakiem L2 #3: eliminated

Alpha: 46 HP, 33 SPL
Shada: 20 HP, 19 SPL
Koura: 20 HP
Fang: 41 HP, 0 SPL
Dogura: 5 HP, 17 SPL
Rose: 26 HP, 9 SPL
Noval: 71 HP, 15 SPL
Tayro: 33 HP, 1 SPL
Elenina: 30 HP, 45 SPL
Nogare: 35 HP, 10 SPL
Pyralin: 26 HP, 8 SPL
Raven: 16 HP, 11 SPL

From behind the group, Noval nods in satisfaction. "Well done, everyone," he says calmly. Beside him, General Lion slowly rises from his sitting position, a level of grief evident in his feature - at least those features visible from beneath his hood. "Let's use this opportunity to heal up, both physically as well as magically." He gestures to Elenina. "I noticed you replenished a bit of Tayro's power earlier; think you could do that for us all?" he asks passively, as if not wanting to put too much hope in the possibility.

Kamas Lion moves to the center of the room. Veldam smiles. "I take it you'll be taking care of that physical aspect, eh General?" General Lion at last offers up a slight grin in the direction of his subordinate, then raises his hands to place them together at chest height. He speaks a mere two words, but since he hasn't spoken at all up to this point, it's quite shocking. His voice seems to flow like a river, a strong yet kind phrase coming forth from him.

"Farore Venruuth." A brilliant magic circle appears at his feet, spinning counterclockwise as its radius increases with each second. After stretching out for five seconds, the seal locks into place. Intricate markings blaze out in a beautiful emerald as beams of energy matching the seal's color shoot outward, enveloping all present in the green light.

Farore Venruuth – heals all allies to full health. Can only be used if SPL is full, and uses all SPL.

(OOC: and for those of you who are curious, Lion's SPL is 64)

Alpha: 53 HP, 33 SPL
Shada: 41 HP, 19 SPL
Koura: 31 HP
Fang: 53 HP, 0 SPL
Dogura: 41 HP, 17 SPL
Rose: 41 HP, 9 SPL
Noval: 71 HP, 15 SPL
Lion: 74 HP, 0 SPL
Tayro: 33 HP, 1 SPL
Elenina: 30 HP, 45 SPL
Nogare: 71 HP, 10 SPL
Pyralin: 41 HP, 8 SPL
Raven: 31 HP, 11 SPL

OOC: GEEZ! ANOTHER BATTLE STARTS AND FINISHES WITHOUT A POST FROM ME!! I am serious, this topic moves waaaaay to quickly... I'm off for a few days and a whole new page and then some has been posted. wow...

IC: Leth was furious that none of his attacks had hit. "See, I told you you should get a real weapon. Not that wimpy dagger." Said Drom. Leth glared at him. "Well, now what? He asks Nogare.

Dogura was blind-sided, and he was again sent hurling backwards. "H-how?..." He muttered, as he slammed into the wall. Not only his bones, but his Sheikah spirit and pride were crushed, as he bounced off the wall and hit the floor. As he stared at the ceiling, he thought back. So far back. Back to when he would watch his father take out many enemies at a time. Pulling himself up, using his sword as a leg, he climbed to his feet. As he held his sword up with a shaking arm, he fell back to the ground. "All that time... All my training... All of it... Wasted..." Dogura said as loud as possible, which only ammounted to a weak whisper.

Dogura turned his head to find Fang, who was still standing tall. Fang caught Dogura's eyes, and grinned triumphantly. "You see? Power Dogura. Power welcomes you. You need only to search for it!" Fang's body glowed, and he removed a purple stone from his pocket. "You see this?" Dogura's eyes widened, as the Mage landed next to him. "That stone! Where did you aquire it!?" Again, the samurai's voice was only a whimper. "Stone Temple. Yes, I conquered it. This grants the power I desire. I here the other stones are located somewhere in the desert." Dogura closed his eyes, and a tear slipped out.

"I've been wrong all along Fang..." Dogura whimpered, just before a healing wind swept over him. He felt as good as new, and was sure the fight was over. That theory was soon supported, as he saw the three Hakiem bodies laying in the middle of the room. Dogura stood up, and brushed himself off. He hung his head, his spirit demolished along with the Hakiems. Suddenly a low toned song hit him like a tone of bricks.

You come limping to me
you'll all be limping to me
yes, you're another dead man limping to me
you're all limping to me
you desire my power
yeesss...

Dogura clutched his head, and quickly played it off, stumbling over to Noval. "Where are we off to now? The sooner this is over, the better. I must return home soon to... take care of some lose ends."

Tayro just stood there, marveled at the proportions his spell had taken. This was only the third time he had sucessfully performed it, perhaps due to the extensive cost of magical power necessary to accomplish it. On the two previous times he had cast it, he had fallen exhausted and unable to cast another spell. Now this time - albeit with Elenina's help - he had been able to cast not only an Elemental Explosion but also an Elemental Burst, one after another, only distanced by a minimum interval. And he was also glad that said attack was able to hit (and scorch) all of his intended targets for quite some damage. All in all, even if he was caring for Elenina's safety, I'm glad she's here. The fairy seemed to comprehend what the boy was thinking, but did not utter a word. This was battle, and there was no time for idle chat, like two certain fellows were doing. She glared at their nonchalant attitude, and proceeded to look back at what she was doing...

...to be surprised by an Hakiem assaulting Tayro. "Master Tayro! Look out!" - she yelled, yet it was too late for the young man to make his move, specially with these highly trained assassins. All seemed to go slow as a great injury was dealt to the boy, the L2 officer's blade piercing the teenager's cloth robe and his L1 Tunic beneath (which Tayro did never like, but he had to use it for protection), ultimately reaching his skin, dealing a not-very-nice type of cut extending for quite a bit. The boy's instant reaction was to place his hand over his wound to ease the pain, yet obviously not working. Elenina was already mid-spell, though, and could not change it back to a life-restoring one, so she just continued with it. Besides, it wasn't hurting as much as that time in which a vine had entered his leg. But, past thoughts aside, the boy felt an energy hit his back, feeling a sensation similar to one in the beggining of their raid. He felt his magical energies tingle inside him and multiply, as Elenina used her Faera Aurora spell to hasten the energy multiplication process to certain extent. Although hurt, the boy could still preserve his cheerful demeanor, and grinned at his friend. "Thanks, Elenina!"

A few moments earlier, the boy felt himself isolated by the others, and time seemed to stop. At first, he was unaware of what was occuring, until he started hearing three distinct voice. "Young one, boy injured in battle..." "Do not worry further." "We shall guide you in the way you desire." It took him no time at all as to recognize those voices as pertaining to the Goddesses themselves. "Let us heal your wounds." - the holy beings said in unison, their voices sounding like a melodious choir. "Thank you." - was the boy's only reply as he felt his wounds recovering and his life being replenished. A few moments later, he was back into battle. Looking around him, he noticed Dogura - he had been the one praying for his sake. He also heard him talking about mockery, and promptly gave him his reply. "Thank you, Dogura. Don't worry, we'll teach them a lesson!"

And so they did. By the combined efforts of (almost) all those present, the three Hakiems soon fell. For the first time, too, the Hylian noticed one of the King's Generals - Lion - actually speak, if only to create a healing spell on those present, not that it had much effect on the boy. It was then that both he and the fairy besides him actually heard the question by Noval, even if the man had asked previously. The gray Faera looked towards his master, who also spoke. "Could you please do it?" - he asked. She just shrugged. "I see no reason not to do it. Sure." Quickly, she began hovering above those present, shooting her rainbow coloured beam to every member of the party more than one time, frequently making small intervals to replenish her own magical energies, then she was off again. It wasn't long until everyone had their magical attributes back at maximum. After hearing Dogura out, Tayro too broke the silence. "Shall we continue?"

As Kamas Lion's emerald seal heals all the injured, banishing even sleep from their eyes at the late hours, and Elenina's light goes around, rejuvenating their magical prowess, Alpha silently looks the group over. There had been a couple of close calls - especially for Dogura; if he, Shada, and Koura hadn't been so busy ending the battle, he would have been over there in an instant. Unlike Fang, his magical powers had only been used twice throughout the course of the fight, and were still formidable.

Noval waits until the lights from both Kamas and Elenina have died down for the last time before replying to the many requests for direction. 'Good; now everyone should be in peak condition - something we'll be needing to continue battling the Hakiems.' Hopefully now some of the newcomers to the war against Zaboorak's assassins fully understand what it is they're up against. If they'd thought it'd be easy . . . well, at least they have the chance to stand corrected, unlike most of the Hakiems' victims.

"Alright," he calls out, raising a hand to motion everyone to follow behind him. "It's just a bit further before we'll come to the waiting room, and past that lies the throne room. We're just a short distance from the place now." He walks through the door that the Hakiems had emerged from with extreme caution, glancing around to ensure against ambush. But when Kamas joins him, the Zora merely shakes his head and walks to the left with confidence - there are no enemies nearby.

Beyond the room is another hallway, yet this one is markedly different from those they had traversed thus far. The architecture and decoration of the walkway remains the same, but mounted on every three columns is a candle holder with a dimly lit flame lighting the way before them. Every five spaces between columns, paintings are replaced by double doorframes leading to other rooms and hallways in the labyrinth-like home of the Hylian royalty.

In the middle of the group, Shada abruptly realizes that Alpha is trailing in the back. His eyes move every which way, as if searching for something unnoticed by the others. She immediately moves to the side of the hall, slowing until he catches up. "Is something wrong, Keyru?"

The caped Sheikah simply continues his apprehensive gazing over the hall. "I'm not sure . . ." he mutters. Something is wrong . . . something seems out of place - though he probably shouldn't be the judge of such a thing, since he doesn't recall the layout of the castle terribly well. "It's nothing," Alpha says at last. "Keep moving; we've got places to go, Hakiems to kill."

Shada nods warily before moving forward at only a slightly faster pace. Alpha tries to exude confidence, but it just doesn't seem right. Only three Hakiems for such a long hallway . . . even a lit hallway, where no intruders could hide, would have had more guards than that. Especially with such close proximity to the throne room. And why is this place lit up, anyway . . . ?

His gaze flickers to the right as he passes by another set of doors. Something inside catches his eye this time, however: a blazing fire set in the rooms fireplace. Noting that everyone else is ahead of him, he quickly decides that a side trip is in order. Entering the room, he finds it to be a simple - well, simple for the castle, fancy for anywhere else - sitting room. A couch, a few chairs, a coffee table, all arrayed around the fireplace on the left wall from the entrance, and bookshelves adorning the walls. He's already passed by several such rooms at this point, but none with the fireplace lit . . .

. . . he takes out his staff, letting it hang at his side . . . something is wrong here . . .

Fangs attempt to heal his wound fails.Looks like my luck still holds out. It's hard to fight against destiny. He pushes forward with his elbow and down with his hand as he takes to his feet. As he does so the final two Hakiems are slain and he along with everyone else is covered in a green glow.

It's a strange feeling; the feel of pain ebbing away as skin stiches itself back together again, leaving little or no sign of injury at all. Although his shirt still hung ragged where the blade had passed through it. Once again the Hakiems where beaten but unlike the others who strolled on he stayed behind and searched the bodies that lay in the room. 'If you are carrying a gilded sword what else are you carrying?' He asks softly of those before him as he searches each one of them.