His fingers followed the shadow of Alpha's outline as it disappeared into the heavens. His body would sway depending on the foot attached to the anorexic walls that lost its breath as he pushed off its flesh, following the light and the visceral grunts of the warriors as they pulled him farther up.

"Just throw the rope to the second floor already!" He bellowed, he'd figure that he'd be a lot more prepared to carry the weight of the many light persons that graced the floor above him. "I'll return the favor once I'm up there, featherweights!" It wouldn't be too difficult, after all, while gorons were notorious for their weight it was equally known that it was simply in pounds of muscle piled and tethered to bone and ligaments that gave them such structure.

"Just throw the rope to the second floor already!"

Aria took a quick glance at her fellow companions. The rope certainly seemed long enough, and the Goron seemed to have confidence in his rope-climbing ability. But there was still that nagging feeling that something might go wrong; then again, growing up in the harsh desert, that feeling was an usual occurance.

The Gerudo grabbed the end of the rope, pardoning herself to whoever held it, and tied it off into a lasso. She took a moment to find the spot Alpha found earlier, the one that looked as if it would be a good spot to lasso a rope around and pull themselves up to the second floor.

Aria knew how to tie knots; it was one of the things every Gerudo learned. However, lassoing anything, moving or stationary, was something that she wasn't taught. But the ranger thought that it couldn't be that hard. She gave the rope some momentum, and once she was sure of her aim the desert woman sent the lasso flying towards that piece of metal.

Yes, yes, the meat. The meat was definitely a possibility. Still, there were too many variables involved. Where would he go? He wasn't even entirely sure where he was at the moment. He could be heading out of the room into a much larger threat. Not to mention the fact that surrendering his guaranteed vitality boost was not strategically appealing. There was just too much left to the roll of the dice--so to speak.

Therefore, those variables would need to be eliminated, however much longer it took for the mercenary to run each tidbit through his mind. He immediately began to focus on his environs; what the ground beneath him felt like, what he could recall being dragged through and over, and generally whatever else he could deduce about the room without using his sight. [Awareness Check] [Nomadic Awareness]

HP: .1/44
SPL: 14/14
Will: 9/9

The glimmer of steel that courted the rope distinguished itself above the goron. With some amount of struggle he began climbing but with no wall to scaffold the distance between himself and the second floor what perspired before the group was a large huddled mass that squirmed slowly into the air, hugging the rope with legs and arms.

The rope swayed with his squirming and he found himself likened to a pendulum as he eyed the ledge above him, a dizzying feat for anyone so accustom to living in close proximity to the earth. With a lashing, he through one of his fists and should the callouses and wrinkled complexion catch the edge, he would be one step closer to absolving himself of all this sleuthing in this rickety house.

With Alpha at his side, he bent over to catch his breath as it fell to the floor below. "I guess it's time to get the others up, eh?" He said with brief pants between syllables.

OOC: And when I said I was going to post something yesterday...I meant today.

Rosen's posture as he scales the rope can only be called one thing:

Innnnnnteresting...

Horren stands there silently for a moment, staring at the Goron as he slowly shuffles up the strands, the Brigadier's face twitching slightly every few seconds - he can't decide whether he should help the man or just give up on appearances and burst out laughing. How the rope is managing to hold the weight of the Goron is another matter altogether...

Yet sure enough, with the rope securely fastened around the metal piece by Aria's superior throw (19+2 vs. 15 Pass), Rosen is able to shimmy up it with ea - well, with relative ease. And if it was able to hold the Goron, then by Din, it should have no trouble with anyone else!

* * *

Saber's Awareness Check succeeds (11+4+3 [Roll+INT+Nomadic Awareness L2] vs. 15 Pass), allowing him to pick up a few good details about where he's being held. The floor beneath him is definitely wooden - a house then, probably one still in Saria. He'd have needed to be out for several days before they could have reached another settlement. Also, since Octoroks aren't likely the best of climbers, it's safe to assume he's on the ground floor. There is a slight breeze blowing through the room, one which only lightly touches him - he could assume that meant there are windows or doors open in the house, but he's probably been pushed close to a wall or something, out of the range of the wind's reach.

But even if he is by the wall, his tingling legs pick up another sensation: warmth. Something is warming them, and the most likely thing is sunlight. He's somewhere close to a window or door, then; maybe not close enough to feel the full effects of the breeze, but close enough that it can still let light fall on him. The details aren't terribly useful...or are they?

Seeing the Hefty Goron ascend the rope with relative ease, Leth concluded that it would surely be sturdy enough to support his own weight. He quickly grabbed at the rope, and began pulling himself up. He was used to this kind of ascension; it was part of his Ranger Training. Rope climbing was considered an important skill to posses. He therefore was relatively reassured that he would be able to climb the rope with no problems. (4 Will)

A house?

His brain absorbed the new information and continued to run scenarios through his head, trying to find the best solution. It was still a sticky situation.

Let's see...so this is what I have established:

• There are five enemies in this room with me
  I am near an open window
  It is still daytime
  I am at a low elevation
  I have a meat shank for either distraction or healing
  I have Favor of the Goddesses and haven't used any magic recently

So...there are still a number of options...I suppose it's time to pick one...

But first, there was still one more crucial piece of information to be gathered. The layout of the room and the other creatures in it. There was no real way to gather this information without taking a risk...it was time to take that chance. Slowly, he opened his eyes just a tad, letting them adjust to the brightness and take in as many details of the room as possible. [Awareness Check][Nomadic Awareness]

HP: .1/44
SPL: 14/14
Will: 9/9

He allowed his eyes to adjust beneath the altitude that he scaled, a mountain of rubble with only a rope to his aid. A sense of pride precipitated from his brow and his staunch back as he stretched in relaxation. Needless to say, an odor and an inappropriate amount of sweat also courted that pride and laced his beard as well as his body with an armor that no man or fragrance could possibly penetrate with steel and sword alone.

He would not waste for his companions as he already found Leth's movements to grow nearer and nearer and so Rosen moved forward in exploration leaving only his scent in the wake of his footsteps.

[Awareness Check]

Alpha watched as Rosen scaled the rope, a bit awestruck at how firm and strong the coil really was. It was able to allow a Goron to scale it for a good many meters, which meant it was of much higher quality than any rope or cloth the Sheikah had used. Maybe he should try to take that rope with him after this ordeal was all said and done . . .

For now, though, it hardly mattered what would become of the rope. At this point in time, all that he needed worry about was whether or not he could climb up to the second story of the building. Waiting for Leth to finish his attempt, Alpha then leapt on the rope as well, hoisting himself up to where Rosen was already scouting about. Hopefully the Goron would locate something by the time he arrived.

While Leth and Alpha successfully scale the rope (19+2+3, 17+1+5 [Roll+STR+INT] vs. 12 Pass), Rosen's gaze scans the hallway in which resides at the top of the former staircase. While he doesn't detect anything particularly noteworthy (12+1 vs. 15 Fail), there are a few standard details that a passive eye can pick out with ease. This area, unlike the first story, looks more or less untouched - apparently the devastation of the ground level was enough to satiate the destructive lusts of the monsters. While there are faint traces of water damage on the wooden floor boards, it doesn't even appear that the water level has ever flooded this high up.

For now, though, more pressing matters: the area the Goron currently stands in is little more than a hallway, lying perpendicular to the where the staircase stood. Each end of the hallway has two doors leading to two other rooms, and a fifth door lies on the right end of the hall.

__| |___________________| |__
|---------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------_
|_| |___________________| |_|
--------------\STAIRWAY/-------------
----------------\----------/--------------

* * *

Saber's assessment of his situation seems accurate - good to know that his brain is working well enough to organize the details he's gathered into a nice little list. Whether or not his eyes work as well, though, is questionable. But it seems to be a chance that must be taken.

As Saber's eyes inch open, steadily growing used taking in light once more, his eyes fall immediately on his captors. As he'd suspected four Octoroks and a Zola stand in the chamber, the Zola barking out what must be orders - though the language of choice now appears to be Infernal, making it a good bit harder to understand what is being said. The good news is that none of them notice the abrupt lifting of eyelashes (3+1 [Roll+Detection Rating] vs. 20 ==> Stealth Check Pass), allowing him to try taking in many more details about the room (17+4 vs. 15 Pass).

First of all, he can confirm his numerous hypotheses - he is in the back of a room with several doors and windows, all of which are open and letting a breeze blow gently through. He is close to one of the windows, and the position of the sun and other buildings shows that it is daytime, and he is almost certainly still on ground level. As for new details, something that should catch his attention almost at once is the large couch in this chamber. Though it is worn down after months without care, it is still a large and hefty hiding place he might be able to employ. As luck would have it, he's already halfway hidden by it - his legs are completely out of sight of the beasts. If he could get the rest of himself hidden, he could work a bit more efficiently...until they noticed his movement, of course.

A hiding place?

A brief smile flickered across Sabertache's face.

No...no, more than that. You can do more with an obstruction of vision than hide...

Slowly, his legs began to drag his still-limp torso behind the sofa. As soon as his hands were hidden, they started to fiddle with the satchel at his waist. Untying it from his belt, the cord was then loosened to open the neck.

This has to be timed well. Very well.

Once his head was hidden, he sat, then squatted, taking a few seconds to let the blood begin flowing normally. He had been laying down for so long, he nearly lost his balance, and falling at this point in time was definitely not an option.

Okay...the window...one swift motion...

Placing his hand in one corner of the window frame, he surged upward with his legs, laying flat at windowsill level and rolling just over in under a second, as quietly as possible. [Will=9]

Now, move!

His hand edged over the window once more, casting a [Fire] spell onto the bag of bombs beneath the window, lighting a fuse or two. As soon as the spell was cast, the nomad pressed his face up as close to the window as he could without being visible. "Achoo! Gah, damn dusty couch..." The words came out as a harsh whisper, as though he were still in hiding.

Get out of here...get out of here...

It wasn't until he started running away that he realized just how much of a beating he had taken. Immediately there was a stitch in his side; it was all he could do to keep going at an above walking pace.

Goddesses, please help me get through this...I've almost made it, don't let me fail now, please...

[Favor of the Goddesses]

HP: .1/44
SPL: 9/14
Will: 0/9

Leth swung himself up over the edge of the floor and scanned his surroundings. A hallway with five doors... looks like they still had a ways to go. He glanced at Alpha and Rosen and said, "I'll check the south eastern door first, and work my way clockwise. I have a feeling the far eastern door may lead somewhere important, but I wanna check out the other places first."

So saying, he proceeded to the eastern door by the staircase and put his hand to the knob in hopes of opening it.

OOC: Leth! You are awesome, dude -- about time this topic got up and moving again! Spread the word: the Crusade is back in business ( well, for this topic, anyway )!

IC: The door opens quickly at Leth's touch; it doesn't seem it was even closed all the way.

_| |_______
|--------------|
|--------------|
|--------------|
|--------------|
|--------------|
_--------------|
|_________|

Beyond appears to be little more than a large closet or storage room; maybe a play room for the kids. There's certainly enough toys to warrant such an idea. A couple of toy chests lie open, with their contents strewn about the floor -- it would not be a stretch to imagine that the kids had rushed up here to grab their favorite toys before the evacuation spoken of in the diary, and never gotten around to cleaning up the mess again.

There is little else of note to this room, save for the window on the far wall, overlooking the street -- and next to it, in the southwestern corner, another door.

* * *

Despite Saber's best efforts, his motions to get himself behind the sofa are not without a slight bit of scuffling. Fortunately for him, the soft sounds go unnoticed by those guarding him (4+5 [Roll+Detection Rating] vs. 20 ==> Stealth Check Pass), and he is soon hidden. More noises come when he sits up, but now that he is out of view of his captors it is easy for them to miss his movement (9+3 vs. 20 Pass). Once his hands are unbound, the Tantari Mercenary leaps through the open window, so focused on his task that he is somehow able to perform the dangerously visible maneuver without attracting attention once again (17+10-9 [Roll+DR-WILL] vs. 20 Pass).

With that, he suddenly finds himself free and in the clear. Kinda odd that he decides to cast a spell -- one would think that would only serve to attract attention. And indeed, the sound of flame and sensation of magic pulsating through the room catches the Zola's ears (18+7 vs. 20 Fail). Even as Saber is struggling to move away, the Zola slowly walks back to where he'd heard the noise and felt the spellcasting --

It's eyes fall on the Bomb Bag just as the fuses run out of wire.

KA-BOOOOM!!!

As if to add insult to the injury of these beasts, Saber at last feels the healing wave of the goddesses' energy descending upon him. His life force is restored at long last (+22 HP Saber); hopefully he can use this new strength to reach safety before any more attacks come his--

"The prisoner's escaped!"

The cries come from inside the building he was just in. Might be a good idea to move. NOW.

Leth surveyed the room before him. The toys strewn over the floor surprised him, and he steeled himself as a wave of grief came over him- what had happened to this family? Did they make it out okay? What about all the other families in this town? Were they treated as brutally? Leth closed his eyes and tried not to think about it, instead concentrating on the problem at hand. The room didn't look like it held any important information... but it would be better to check now than to have to come back to it later, should they discover they need more clues. Leth scanned the room intently, looking for anything that might give them a clue as to what had happened here.

Dogura moved to the rope, and after watching everyone scale upward, he was sure his weight wouldn't be difficult to support. He gripped the dangling rope firmly, and hoisted himself up, hand after hand. This was far more difficult with a fake arm than a normal one, and he was often unsure of putting his faith in the wooden arm.

OOC: I just don't have much else to say. Awesome escape though, Saber.