Simon shifted his cloak in his hands. He was already careful to not let the evil crystal touch him. Now he force his cloak to form a second layer of bundled cloth protection. This revelation did alter his perception of the situation however.

The scribe recognized Goncorgoro, if not from fighting alongside him, then perhaps from descriptions of those who had. He felt in the Goron a kindred adventuring spirit and his was inclined to put his full faith in the might-be stranger before him. The Grendel boy trusted Goncorgoro explicitly.

With the question of whether or not to trust the newcomer answered, Simon turned his mind to more pressing matters. He searched through his memories. When he recalled the name Shar-Guthal earlier, had the historical figure been a Goron? Who was this poor unconscious fellow before them who had been influenced by this spirit? Did he choose to get possessed, if so was he misguided? Or was the crystal forced upon him? Where did he find the crystal or who had given it to him? Why did Goncorgoro know so much about the predicament? This only raised more questions.

Still awaiting Shem to speak, he looked at the knight questioning – asking with his eyes if he or the captain should talk first. At least, he spoke. “I’m inclined to believe you, but tell me why you seem so familiar to me. I feel as though we’ve met before – but I cannot quite place it. And, furthermore, what can you tell us about the Goron who lies defeated before us?"

Captain Shem, who had begun to approach the unconscious goron before them, narrowed his eyes and levelled his spear at the neck of Shar-Guthal - or, more accurately, the Goron they had previously assumed to be Shar-Guthal.

From behind them, the sound of galloping hooves grew louder as Lieutenant Drommlin approached. He quickly dismounted as he got close, and approached the group, standing near Simon, looking back and forth between his Captain and the Goron newcomer, waiting for his commander to speak. Shem nodded at Drom as he made his way towards the group, and then turned his attention to Goncor and said:

"Explain yourself. This Goron commanded an assault on our city, and against the good people of Hyrule. By law, he is subject to punishment by death. You had best speak quickly - many good men died out here tonight and my patience is wearing thin. How do you know this Goron? And if he is truly innocent, as you say, what would lead him to attack us?"

With a stern look, Goncorgoro steps forward towards the unconscious form of the goron and spear-wielding man. "Please, friend. Dangori is a brother of learning." He continues to approach, holding his hands out to signal calm. "We were mining together to the northeast, goro. He was looking for relics."

The tall goron looks over at the bundled cloak surrounding the foul crystal, his face narrowing in a glare. "He uncovered that! Goro! With but a touch, he was no longer Dangori. The rest of us fled before his power..." Goncorgoro closes his eyes with a furrowed brow. "Friend, most by accident, I came to the Deku Tree. He revealed the history of that dark presence. We must not allow it to escape that prison."

Opening his eyes, Goncorgoro looks directly at the man standing over the fallen goron. "And please, friend. It was not his fault. Do not take our brother. "

Simon listened as the captain and the newcomer Goron traded stiff dialogue. It was obvious Goncorgoro was concerned for his friend Dangori. Who’s to say what action this intimidatingly tall boulder of an adventurer would take if Shem decided to kill the unconscious former combatant before them. And the man who had carried them through the fight was definitely ready to shed blood if it meant getting vengeance for the lives of the soldiers lost. Simon almost felt at risk just by holding the crystalline formation that held the essence of Shar-Guthal in his cloak – not from the dark presence, but from what Shem may do to reach catharsis. It was, however, nice to be informed about what exactly happened to Dangori though.

Trying to address both of the others conversing, the scribe tried to interject. “Captain, you must see reason. If, for some reason, this Goron – who I’m naturally inclined to trust – is lying about his story or has been misled himself, we could instantly rally the troops and overpower Dangori should he reassume consciousness and take up the role of combatant again. Might I add, I think this possibility is extremely unlikely. Despite how little we know each other, captain, I don’t believe that you’d find it right to kill a potentially innocent person who was already knocked out and completely defenseless. What do you say, Shem?

“And thank you, friend of Dangori. You answered the very important question of just who this fallen warrior is before us and how it was that he was subjected to the spirit of Shar-Guthal. While you may not have answered why you seem so familiar to me, you still do seem to possess that familiarity. And everything you’ve said thus far is within the realm of possibility, confirming my trust. I will do everything in my very limited power to stay Captain Shem’s hand and spare Dangori’s life. I, as you do, believe that he was likely the pawn of in the scheme of an ancient spirit.�

He took a step back from both of them, drawing the fabric of his cloak tighter together and putting it a position where he could shield the artifact with his hand. “And both of you should know that Dangori, if allowed to live, might be able to reveal us some of the details from the mind of Shar-Guthal. Such as how the crystal came to be lost where it was, or who sabotaged the drawbridge. And even if we can get such answers from Dangori, there may be information that only Shar-Guthal is privy to. We need to keep this crystal intact if we hope to question the necromaster at a later point in time – should we find a way to safely do so. I will not surrender this old artifact to your machinations to be destroyed. My apologies if you disagree.� Simon manifested the best I-am-sorry-but-I-must-not-waver face he could muster and glanced between Shem and Goncorgoro, back and forth, hoping that they’d see reason.

Shem looked over at Simon.
"I appreciate your input, and I am especially grateful for your assistance in taking down this fiend. However, as a captain of the guard, there is a protocol I am expected to follow and law that must be upheld. You may trust this newcomer-" He said, gesturing to Goncor, "And personally, I am inclined to believe him as well, but I cannot allow myself to drop my guard. If what he says is true, then this Goron is innocent and I will not harm him, but we will have to take him in for questioning to find out as much about this attack and this... 'Shar-Guthal' as we can. Surely you can understand that. And furthermore," He said, pointing to the gemstone Simon had delicately wrapped, "That gemstone is extremely dangerous, as you say. If you are worried I will destroy it in some fit of passion, rest assured, I have more self-control and awareness of this delicate situation than that." He said, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"We cannot risk it's destruction or risk it falling into the wrong hands. There is only one thing to do with it, and that is to lock it up in the deepest, darkest, most secure vault we have and never let it see the light of day. Perhaps our magicians can find some way of strengthening it's magical seals - I don't know. But I cannot allow you to keep it, Simon." He finished.

Drom gently put a hand on the Scribe's shoulder. "He's right; this thing is too powerful to let out of our sight. We have to take it with us; there are those in the castle who will know how best to deal with it. The King certainly deserves to know about it." And with that, he unattached a small satchel from his horse's saddle, opened it up, and held it out to Simon for him to set the gemstone in.


Captain Shem then spoke to Dangori.
"You say you were looking for Relics. He is an archaeologist, then? I do seem to recall hearing something about a historical dig happening near the Parapa Passage... I will have to bring our court scribes into this as well. Perhaps they will know something about all of this." He mused, running a hand over his stubbly beard as he thinks. "You'd better come with us, too, so you can give a full debriefing at the castle." He finished, looking at Goncorgoro.

Goncorgoro lets out a large sigh, then opens his eyes with a warm smile. "That is all very well. Thank you, friends!" He happily stomps over towards the unconscious form of Dangori, reaching down to lift his arms. "I will help you take him, goro!"

As he begins to drag the smaller goron towards the castle, he turns to the men beside him, saying "With that urgency past, I am looking forward to some time among the Hylians!"

Looking at Simon, he adds, "The last time I was not among my Brothers, I helped a great company in the battle against the queen of Ghomas. It may be we were together then! Those were certainly exciting times. For now, though, we must focus on today. Please lead on, Friend Soldier!" he finishes, looking back to the Captain.

Pleased to see that the Captain Shem was entirely reasonable about the handling of this possessive relic, Simon Grendel gave a nod to the words of Shem and Drom. “You’ll have to forgive me,� he started, as he began to unwrap the dark object, “I didn’t know what your intentions were, captain.� He was extremely careful to not let the gem touch his bare flesh as he brought it to the mouth of the satchel. Making sure it didn’t fall anywhere outside of the satchel, the young scribe handled it more carefully than the explosive extract of bomb flowers. Finally, he directed it out of his cloak. If it would land successfully in the satchel was up to gravity and fate now (I didn’t want to overstep my bounds and simply say it landed in the satchel successful – I know not your intent, Leth). Seeing the work was done, Simon continued to speak. “I could understand – given my recent actions – that you may not allow my next request, but may I please come with you to the castle, if only to help carry Dangori.�

“Perhaps I can help provide the investigation with another eyewitness account. And there is still the question of the drawbridge. I wouldn’t insist upon seeing the King personally, but I want to do all I can to help!� Simon looked over to see Goncorgoro carrying Dangori’s unconscious form – rather, dragging it. He walked up and tried to help by lifting Dangori from the feet. He had never helped carry a Goron before, and he imagined Dangori might be heavy, but he thought he’d at least try. As he attempted this task, he looked at Goncorgoro and answered the Goron’s comment to him. “Ah, my teacher Orpheous was present in the fight with Gohma. I believe he must have mentioned you at some point. I know there was a Goron or two present for that trying fight. What did you say your name was again? I am Simon Grendel, of the Galfin Village.�

OOC: I feel like this post is missing something. But I'm not sure what. Anyway, here's a brief reply. Wasn't sure what else - if anything - to add.

Goncor, you got anything you want to add, or should I fast forward to the epilogue?

((Sorry about the delay!))

With a hearty laugh, the goron responds, "Well met, Simon Grendel! I am called Goncorgoro!" Still smiling warmly, he continues along with the men about him.

((Yeah, do that epilogue!))

<center>~Epilogue~</center>

Shem rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a few moments as Dangori - for that was the name of the Goron previously possessed by the spirit of Shar-Guthal - finished speaking. It had taken a while for Dangori to wake up; the effects of the thrall put upon him were strong indeed. Some of the royal clerics weren't completely certain he would recover - fortunately that proved to not be the case. He had been fully cooperative in explaining everything; remarkably, he had retained most of his memories of the attack, as though he were a spectator trapped in his own body.

Shem had called up the court historians to verify the claims that had been laid out. As it turned out, everything Simon had recalled about Shar-Guthal was true - he was a powerful necromancer and personal servant to Ganondorf, in charge of supplying the demon king's horde of monsters with undead creatures. During the sealing war, many different factions had all vied for access to the Sacred Realm - now the Dark Realm - and the power of the triforce held within it, not to mention the hordes of Ganon pouring out from the Dark Realm and invading the realm of Light. As a result, there was a huge influx of casualties from all sides - which only served to further boost Shar-Guthal's power. The self-proclaimed necromaster had been lying in wait, slowly gathering an army, and waited for the perfect opportunity to reveal himself. Once the Seven Sages successfully sealed away the Dark Realm, and the Knights of Hyrule were all but completely destroyed, Shar-Guthal launched his assault. The odds were overwhelmingly in his favor, given the massive undead army at his beck and call, and the meager remains of the Knights of Hyrule. The Seven Sages could not risk re-opening the Dark Realm to seal Shar-guthal there as well, doing so would once again give Ganon's hordes access to the realm of Light, even if briefly. They eventually devised a plan to seal him away within a physical object, much like the legendary wind mage Vaati, even though they knew such a thing could be found later and the seal broken. After a mission that involved sneaking the seven sages past the undead hordes and into Shar-Guthal's personal chambers, they had managed to remove Shar-guthal's soul from his body and seal it away within a specially enchanted gemstone, also effectively de-activating his entire army. In order to keep power-seekers from looking for this stone like they had sought out the Dark Realm, the official public story was that Shar-Guthal had been killed, and the stone was buried in a remote tomb, far from anywhere that one would assume they would keep such a powerful and dangerous object. Not only that, but all record of Shar-Guthal was removed from the public history books, leaving this knowledge to be preserved only by the most trusted historians of the royal family. Oral tradition, of course, kept the memory of Shar-Guthal from being completely wiped from the public, but those who knew of the Necromaster's existence and history are very few and far between. So the stone sat in an ancient crypt for hundreds of years, gathering dust, never to see the light of day again - or so was the plan, at least.

Eventually Shem gathered his thoughts with a sigh and stood up.

"Alright, let me just make sure I have all the facts straight here." He said, turning to Dangori. "Yourself and Goncor over here were overseeing an archaeological dig happening in Parapa, having no clue you were so close to the burial site of the Shar-Guthal Jewel. You bust into the crypt, and natural curiosity gets the better of you, so you reached out to touch the gemstone. Making physical contact with the stone allowed Shar-Guthal to extend enough of his power to ensnare your mind and inhabit your body. Shar-Guthal, using you as his puppet, wreaks havoc on the dig site and kills most of the others working there, except for you" - He said, nodding at Goncor - "Who just managed to make it out alive. Meanwhile, Shar-Guthal was hell-bent on getting revenge for being buried away for so long, and begins to re-amass his undead army, planning a full-scale assault on Hyrule Castle. Goncor, searching for his friend as well as for answers, turned to the nearest source of knowledge: the Deku Tree, who of course knows all about Shar-Guthal's history with Hyrule, and set him on the path to finding you as you - or rather, Shar-Guthal, began the assault on the castle. Which basically brings us to the present. Do I have all of that correct?"

Dangori nodded. "It is as you have said, brother. I must reiterate: I had no control over my own body that entire time. Watching my own hands crush my colleagues without hesitation, while I was helpless to stop it..." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "That was the worst experience of my life. If I could have stopped myself - er, Shar-Guthal - if it was anywhere within my capabilities to prevent my colleagues' deaths, as well as the attack on the castle... believe me, I would have done so."

Shem placed a hand on the Goron's shoulder understandingly. "I know. No one blames you for what happened here tonight and that night at the dig site. There was no way you could have known about the dangerous power we had hidden away there so long ago."

He paused for a moment, and then looked Dangori directly in the eyes.

"There is one thing still unaccounted for, however. As far as you have told us, you never came anywhere near the castle gate yourself - a protective enchantment placed upon the gemstone when Shar-guthal was sealed away, the same enchantment that prevented Shar-guthal from simply using your own possessed body to shatter the stone and release himself fully. Is this correct?"

Once again, Dangori nodded. "Yes, part of the magic seal that held him inside the stone prevented him from both shattering the stone of his own volition and passing through the castle gates. I... I think Shar-Guthal himself wasn't sure how to circumvent this, but he speculated there was still some relic within the castle upholding that portion of the spell, and if his minions could work their way into the castle and destroy this relic, he could enter the city and attain his true form. Or worst case scenario, he would be defeated at the hands of the guard, who would also shatter the stone, thinking it would destroy him, only to fully release him."

"Which, I must add, very nearly came to pass." Shem chimed in. "If it hadn't been for the timely information provided by our friend Goncor here, and the level head of Simon, we may very well have had a much worse situation on our hands tonight. And for that, you have my undying gratitude, both of you." He said to Simon and Goncor with a slight bow.

"Still..." He said, returning his attention to Dangori. "I ask this because something about this whole situation isn't adding up. If you never came close to the castle gates, how did you manage to sabotage the drawbridge?"

Dangori looked puzzled. "The drawbridge? What do you mean?"

At this response, Shem shared the Goron's puzzled expression. "What do I... I'm sorry, are you saying you - I mean, Shar-Guthal - wasn't responsible for the cut chain links in the drawbridge?"

"...No, not that I can recall. His plan seemed to be to simply overwhelm the front gate with sheer numbers, and either break through the gate, or get over the wall, one way or another. When the drawbridge failed to raise, he took it as a divine sign from the demon king that this his actions were true and this was his appointed night to gain the victory he had long desired. I didn't know anything about a sabotaged chain link."

At this, Shem looked visibly worried, staring past the Goron at seemingly nothing, lost in his own thoughts. "Hmmm... This does not bode well... This does not bode well at all."

He sat there, mulling over this new information for several moments, before shaking his head and speaking up once more.

"Well, gentlemen, I must thank you for your cooperation. I believe we have all learned some new information here tonight - primarily that we should not get in the habit of throwing away and losing dangerous artifacts. This stone will be placed under the most diligent guard we have, in the deepest bowels of our vault, and hopefully we will never have to hear the name 'Shar-Guthal' again."

He turned to the rest of the adventurers who were gathered there. "Once again, I must commend your actions tonight. Your quick reaction to danger may have very well saved the lives of many within our walls - a gesture of good will that will not soon be forgotten." He says, his eyes lingering a little longer on Katsuro. "Be that as it may, in light of all that has happened, I have much to discuss with the other Royal Guards and His majesty himself, so I must ask that you allow me to relieve myself of your company. Perhaps this will be a sufficient thank you?" He asked, handing each of them a small pouch containing several hundred rupees. "I shall be in touch. Hyrule may yet have need of your services." He says, ushering them out of the room and shaking their hands as they leave.

Once Shem was alone in the room with Drommlin and the other few guard captains he had gathered, he turned to them, a grave look on his face.

"This is troubling news indeed. I had assumed the sabotage was done by the invading force, but if that is not the case... there is more going on here. Something deeper and darker than a necromancer's simple thirst for revenge. We shall have to inform His Majesty, of course.... and until we know more, double the guard. We cannot take any risks."

Drom placed his fist over his chest and bowed to the captain. "As you command, sir." And turned to leave, taking the other guards with him, and leaving Shem alone in the room, concern written plainly on his face as he considered what their next action should be.



<center>~Timecrash: Chapter 1~</center>
<center>~Complete~</center>


OoC: Continuing to sow seeds for Timecrash... even though at this point I'm almost certain I'll never get anywhere close to completing this particular arc. I think this is the first topic I've run that I've ever seen through to completion? And it had, what... four (two, at the end) active participants, and took almost two years to complete? Hope for future topics ain't lookin so great... but that's sure as heck not gonna stop me from trying!

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this topic, I know I did! Even though I'm incredibly sad that what I think was my favorite post in this entire topic - the first round of combat with Shar-Guthal - was lost in the website change Ah well, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

((I like that I got a small amount of RP in to an otherwise busy year! And you just have to go for it sometimes. The fact that there was any activity at all was the reason I got back on here. Just try and keep it going!))

Hey man, sorry I've been out for so long. A lot's happened in this last year, but I just wanted to say you've done a great job with this. I hope to see more epic ideas from you!

Thanks to you guys for participating! It was fun! I do have some ideas for future topics, as well as an over-arching storyline, but I'm not sure how much of that I'll actually get to. I've been much more busy of late than usual and haven't had much time to check back in here (So sorry Orph! I'll get my replies up to our topics eventually, I promise!)

Anyway, whenever I get around to the next topic, I'll post something about it here or in one of the announcement threads, so keep your ears to the ground!

OOC: Sorry this followup took so long.

As Simon Grendel shuffled from the briefing room, he was too drained from their exhaustive night of combat to deny being given the pouch brimming with rupees. He hadn’t allowed himself to truly relax until after the briefing had been resolved. He needed to know Dangori’s story just as much as he feared the Goron’s possible tragic fate from his, albeit involuntary, involvement with the attack. But, as Shem explained that no blame would be placed on Dangori for his actions, Simon’s mind afforded his body some modicum of relaxation. The scribe’s muscles relaxed, and his stance shifted to a less readied position. His troubles were not fully at ease though, there was still the issue of the drawbridge. As Dangori denied Shar-Guthal’s ability to enter the castle to have sabotaged the mechanism, Simon felt his conscious mind slipping to a state of panic. And, while Shar-Guthal’s thoughts about the King of Evil might have been his own delusions, the sheer prospect of the idea of Ganon working beyond the grave to aid in this masterful attack sunk the young man’s spirits to the core. Even if it had not been Ganon’s will that the bridge hadn’t raised, there the sickening fear that there was no current explanation for the problem. Simon felt his stomach twisting in knots. But, as the briefing continued to its conclusion, it was the captain’s resolve in the face of all this madness that allowed Simon to rest at peace once again. The military would handle this issue, and they would go about their work swiftly and diligently. As Shem shook his hand and told the young scribe he would be in touch, Simon simply replied, “Please do, I am always ready to answer the call for aid. Best of luck in your investigations, Captain Shem.�

Perhaps it was his words that distracted him too, he didn’t realize he had a pouch of rupees in his spare hand until he had already passed from the meeting room and had gone down a ways down the corridor. He peeked inside and quickly estimated the worth of the wealth. A few hundred rupees easy, reds and purples peaking up past hues of blue. No, pondered the scribe. ‘Twould be better for this money to find its way into the treasury to pay for the damage caused by the necromancer’s forces this evening. Naturally, it could also be used to help pay the medical expenses for the soldier’s wounded or perhaps their pay that they’d be missing for being off active duty. Then there are the families of the soldiers who met their end at the cruel hands of the dead tonight. Burial were not cheap and even more so, many of those families might have only had their dutiful soldier relative as their only source of income, there would need to be money given to these families as well to tide them over long enough to get them back on their feet to provide their own income again. So concerns in dealing with the repercussions of this wretched night. Let the money towards alleviating the misery Shar-Guthal caused. I may not possess many riches in this world, but I have enough to not be left wanting. And the possession I prize the most is a sense of duty and honor . Simon tore a strip of parchment off of one of his blank scrolls and scrawled on it a simple note that read:

Use these funds in whatever way you see fit to end some of the woes and miseries brought about by tonight’s calamity. Gracious thanks! Simon Grendle.

He tied the neatly torn strip into a ribbon which he wrapped around the opening of the pouch, tying it shut. He cautiously set the bag of rupees in front of the entrance to the briefing room door, aware that at least Shem was still inside. Seeing that he finished this task undetected, he signed again in relief and exited the castle just has humbly as he had entered it. Feeling the cool night washing his face in fresh air, he made quick passage to his living quarters. Yet, he couldn’t shake the feeling that far more dangerous machinations were afoot, and, whether imagined or not, he couldn’t stop catching wafts of the rancid stench of the rotting flesh of the undead on the night air. And the screams of those, now dispatched, redeads would echo in his mind for many nights yet to come. This wasn’t truly over, in fact, it had yet to truly begin. As he collapsed, exhausted on his bed, having no strength to change out of his battle-ready gear, he allowed himself to be overtaken by sleep. But his dreams remained plagued by fear, not only of what of the unknown yet to pass, but the known terrors that had already occurred. Of the night of the living dead, of the dreaded necromancer Shar-Guthal, and of the Streets of the Redead.

A silent zephyr blew gently across the battlefield.
Silent though it was, it was deafening to those that remained standing.
It was the sound of victory.
The sound of death.
The echo of war.

Warriors both new and ancient knew the sound well.
It carried with it triumph, grief, relief and reflection.
It was a moment where everyone stood still- time itself pausing briefly.

It was a sound that Katsuro knew well. He sighed heavily, his shoulders dropping as he closed his eyes. They burned. His magic had been almost completely depleted and his muscles ached like they hadn't in a very long time. The battle felt as if it had drawn on for years, though it had only been a night.

The man turned and walked away slowly, a faint smile on the corner of his mouth. His work here was done. Would his legacy here remain? Would he be a footnote in the history of what happened here? He couldn't be bothered to care. He'd learned a valuable lesson from growing up in Hyrule. Life is about the journey rather than the destination. He'd never forget what he did here. He hoped that others would find the the same lesson learned within their hearts.

Katsuro disappeared into North Forest, a wake of darkness surrounding him as the sounds of the insects and animals picked up where they had left off, drowning out his footsteps and closing the book on this chapter of his legacy.

His heart would always be connected to those in this land. The friends he had made, the journeys he'd been on, and the warriors he had fought alongside. No experience could have come close to the one he'd had here, and he felt blessed for having had the privilege.

When the zephyr had passed, Katsuro was nowhere to be found.