Arrika flinched at the loud cracking sound and covered her nose at the stench. She rubbed her eyes, saying angrily, "What gives? Sovelis, Sakiko, do you have any idea..?" The Sheikah asked, stepping closer to the Tempest and drawing her dagger. "Whoever the hell did that, I'll have you know I tend to enjoy what litle peaceful mornings I have!"

Sakiko grimaced at the smell, her nose wrinkling. The mage took out her staff, tightening her grip on it, just in case. Her eyes still felt strange from the blinding red light, and she was frustrated, as the green world around her was a dim purple color. She muttered quietly to herself,

"If I am to see my enemy, then I would like to see him in normal colors, not purple.."

"What in the seven hells is going on? Sovelis said, lowering his arm as his vision slowly reverted to normal. "And you two don't need to worry. Between me and Aureliano, you two have nothing to worry about." Sovelis looked at the approaching figure. What the hell was that? A flash bomb?

Sweat dripped down the mercenary's nose as he stretched his leg out to a jutting rock, brushing it with the tip of his shoe in an attempt to grip it. Failing, his foot slipped for the fourth time, the rest of his body jerking downward as he strained to keep himself airborne, his knuckles going white as his tired fingers maintained their slackening hold on the ledge a foot above his head. His brown hair was plastered down around his slightly pale face and long, rounded ears, and a wisp of steam could be seen rising from his head. The tops of his ears and cheeks were visibly sunburned, and he was panting heavily from the exhaustion. Bringing his foot back up to the foothold directly beneath him, he looked around for another possible hold.

Endurance training...How I love endurance training...He thought to himself as he saw another jut in the face of the cliff, a bit higher but closer than the previous. As he lifted his foot, the world around him suddenly lit up red.(Didn't want your eyes to wander, Aurel ) He saw his shadow in front of him on the cliff face become incredibly dfined as the entire crag shone a bright crimson, his eyes becoming slightly irritated at the reflected light. He drew his leg back in hurriedly, pawing at his foothold in a bid to retain his previous position, when a loud crack sounded. He recoiled a bit more, his ears ringing, and his leg pumped harder as his foot continued to claw at his foothold. Shortly after the initial crack, he heard another above him. Looking up, he saw his handhold beginning to split off form the rest of the cliff, and his eyes widened. Apparently, the frequency had shattered the rock, and it crumbled in his hands as he fell backwards, his left foot clinging to the remaining foothold for a precious second before it, too, seperated.

He fell through the air, hair whipping around him until he thudded onto the ground--Ten feet below him. I'm lucky I decided to take it easy today... He thought as he rolled onto his stomach, rubbing his sore back as he gingerly rose, drawing his saber with his right hand and surveying the area. He saw a group of adventurers off in the distance, by the stump, and took off at a sprint. As he ran, he recognized a few of them--Leth and Sovelis were familiar faces. As for the rest of them, he had either never met or only briefly met and didn't remember them distinctly. His tired legs pounded the ground as he rushed towards them, wondering if they had caused the strange phenomena, although surveying their behavior suggested otherwise--They seemed just as confused and afraid as he was. He finally got within fifty feet of them after what seemed like minutes, but really took a scant forty-two seconds, and picked up the last few sentences.

"You've got me on your side as well, miss." He shouted as he slowed to a jog and focused on Sovelis, the only one of the group he recognized who seemed under control. He noticed a rather dark man a bit off, however, who seemed firm. Now he picked up a new sensation--A stench was beginning to overpower his sweat, which had probably negated it's effect on him until now. "Sovelis, would you mind telling me what has happened?" Looking back at the rest of the group, he nodded to Leth and the others, save the dark man. "My name is Sabertache, mercenary of Tantari. I don't know what's happened, but you won't have to worry about being injured as long as I'm breathing." He gazed off in the same direction as Sovelis, wondering whether to start building up the magical energy to cast Fire; If anything, the smoke ought to help with the horrendous smell, and it could be a useful weapon in an ambush.

Aureliano simply nodded at Saber and said, I'm Aureliano"

A few seconds passed without anyone moving. Finally everything cleared up. In the distance, the figure turned out to be a man, and was now walking in the adventurers' direction. His silver hair shines in the sun's rays, forming shining ovals and dissipitating themselves with every step he takes. He is a rugged old man, most likely around his eighties.

The man has tan skin, similar to Aureliano's, and an exuberant look in his young, brown eyes. Despite his young, lively looks and the smile on his face, the old man has an air of suffering, sickness and death. As he got closer to the adventurers, you can notice he has a bulge on his back, maybe a hunchback because of age. He stands only a few feet now, staring at everyone, and begins to say in Common with a slight Spanish accent also similar to Aureliano's, "Hello, my name is Melquiades."

Aureliano by this time is starting to tear, wondering why his best friend is old and hunchbacked. The confused Hylian finally had the heart to ask, "You have been using the revival spell, haven't you?" Aureliano subconsciously knew his friend was on the brink of death, but his conscious being decided to reject the idea. He slumped back onto the stump, and took a bite out of his unfinished apple, glistening in the sun like Melquiades' hair, forming ovals and the ovals dissipitating themselves with every movement. Irritated, upset, and confused, he crushed his apple with his hands and threw its remains at the ground. The young Hylian just sat there, face in hands, elbows on knees.

OoC: Let's post so we can get some fighting in

The earth was trembling slightly as the wrecking ball continued its path through the woods. The boulder heard some strange sounds, and smelled the distinct smell of the mines. A MINE? That means ROCKS! the tumbling mass thought. This momentary distraction took its toll, and the figure crashed headlong into a tree, recoiling back about 7 feet, unfolding itself in the process.

The dazed goron laid there, moaning slightly while rubbing his head. He sat up and looked around, seeing the tree that was now bent at a very odd angle. The giant walked over to it and tried to bend it back in place, but the only thing he succeeded in doing was snapping the trees trunk. He looked sadly at it, then dropped it upon the ground. He turned to look around, and was surprised to see that before him were several different figures all around a stump. He felt slightly out of place and spoke up.

"Ummm, I'm sorry to interrupt. Uh... you haven't seen any mines, have you, goro?" the figure asked feeling very strange due to his mild concussion.

"Eh, Aurel, you know the old guy?" Arrika hissed. "What'd he do to get you so down? Come on, get that look off your face. I'll even get Sakiko to hug you if that'll make you feel better," she said, feeling stupid as she tried to lighten his mood but knowing she failed. "Hey, Melquiades. I guess you set off... whatever that was?"

"My eyes still burn from that. I can't see strait still." Sovelis said, looking at the man who had introduced himself as Melquiades. A Spanish accent? In Hyrule? What has this world come too? he thought as he turned away and looked at the massive goron that had just broken a tree. "Well, my large friend, The only mine in North Hyrule is just north of use, several miles north actually. Just keep going until you reach the North Forest, and the mine is deeper within the woods. You can't miss it."

Sovelis smiled at the goron and turned back to the problem at hand. Their was quiet the paradox befalling them.Everything in Sovelis's vision was still tinted with yellow and red, but he could see...kinda. "Arrika, Sakiko...stay behind me until we figure out who he is..." the Tempest whispered to the girls, positioning himself between Melquiades and the two young ladies. "Aure...is this man someone you know?"

The colossal figure, though still dizzy, could tell that something strange was going on. Surely these people wouldn't be uneasy because of this tree... would they, goro? All the figures around looked extremely tense, some even had weapons drawn. Several were directing questions toward a human in the middle of the group who was sitting upon a small, aged stump. He looked very distressed, and the goron felt sorry for him... as well as slightly sick to his stomach, again a curse from the late tree.

The goron walked firmly forward toward the man upon the stump, saying, "Friend, what is the matter? Has something happened, goro?" He looked with care upon the saddened figure. As he did so, things started to refocus, duplicates merging into single objects. With his new found clarity, he noticed that most of the people around him were focussed intently on something to the goron's back. The goron turned his head around to glimpse at the thing that so feverishly held the attention of the others. All the goron saw was another small human... perhaps there was something behind him?

OOC: Thanks Sovelis, but I don't actually want to go to the mines! See, there is the smell of sulfur. Sulfur can be found in mines, mines usually contain rocks, and rocks mean FOOD... for gorons. Food seems to be the main resource I use to introduce my character into threads...

Sakiko gritted her teeth, feeling disgusted at the sickly aura clinging to the old man. The mage felt slightly guilty of her feelings for this stranger, but there was something so...anomalous about this man. The Hylian blinked several times, and peered at the face of the new intruder, beyond Sovelis's shoulder. She muttered to Arrika,

"I don't think any embracing will help Aureliano right now."

Turning to the Hylian sitting on the stump, she questioned what everyone else seemed to be asking,

"So, who is he?"

"I wouldn't hold him anyway if I were you, little ladies. He has a small 'problem' with that." the old man in the dark robes says with a smile. The smile shows he had scurvy once, and is now wearing some type of primitive dentures. "I didn't set off anything, by the way. I am more adept in offensive and medical magic, so transporting here was a bit.....violent." He coughs a horrible cough that sounds like a cough but is more like the blast of a raspy sounding instrument.

He then turns to the Tempest who seems protective of Arrika and Sakiko. "And you must be Sovelis am I correct? I saw you on a wanted poster, since no one acknowledges that you are wanted." The old gypsy says, his eyes shining with a youthful glint. "Anyway, Aureliano, I have important matters to discuss with you." He coughed again, only this time he had to take out a cloth to wipe the blood from his mouth.

"He's my best friend from Macondo." Aureliano replies to everyone who asked him countless of times. "I am Aureliano, Mr. Goron." the Hylian says to the Goron "I would appreciate it if you kept my business out of your mouth, Melquiades." the Hylian told the gypsy sternly. He didn't want to sound like a jerk, but the fact that Melquiades had mentioned his "problem" filled Aureliano with indignation. Aureliano got up, sword in hand, and stood taut. "What do you want to talk about Melqi? About how you used the revival spell even after you promised not to. Which bastard did you revive? And how many times did you use the spell? When you used it on me, you only aged three years. What the hell, Melqi?"

Melquiades kept quiet after Aureliano's questions. He then answers, "I aged three years with you because you were older. The older the person, the less it ages you, and vice versa." He takes off his dark coat and you can see that the bulge that was assumed to be a hunchback is in fact a very different kind of bulge.

The bulge began to move. Melquiades unties a leather knot on his chest, and grabs the baby. Its eyes are open and perceptive, investigating its surroundings; they seem almost clairvoyant. Despite its young stage, you can tell this young male is going to grow strong, tall, and ambitious. He looks at every adventurer in the eyes boldly and without fear. Aureliano is left speechless.

Melquiades walks up to Aureliano and hands the baby to him. Aureliano hesitates, but eventually accepts the boy. "What the heck, Melqi?" he asks again.

"He's your cousin." Melquiades replies. "Remember the last line of the parchment? 'The first line is tied to a tree and the the last line is eaten by ants'? This is the last line. I found his corpse yesterday and I revived him. Then I had to do some major reconstruction. That is why I am in this state." Melquiades suddenly falls back on the ground and starts coughing up blood. "Aureliano, I really hate to sound cliche, but I don't have much time. Everyone gather round. You guys might need to know this just in case Aureliano forgets or decides to give up."

Aureliano walks beside his old friend with the baby ih his hands.

Saber gazed oddly at the old man He didn't seem...old. Physically, he was, but the air he carried, how he acted...seemed considerably younger. He listened to the story in amazement, wondering what brand of magic he had used to cause such change to his form. When the child was revealed, Saber's eyes opened wide--He had a fondness for children, and wanted badly to examine the baby. However, there seemed to be more pressing matters, and he walked over to the aged man, wondering what the 'lines' that he spoke of were.

OOC: Sorry I'm late, it's hell week in the play and I'm spending basically my whole life in the Theater right now. For example, yesterday I was there from 8 in the morning until 11 at night.

Sakiko frowned, and muttered to Melquiades, a little offended,

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't call me a little lady."

However, she stepped closer to the old man anyways, curious of what he had in mind. The mage stared at the bold baby quietly, not blinking. Her silver orbs gazed at the small person, not truly able to believe that it had once been dead.

"Not many know I'm wanted because I burned most of the posters." Sovelis said as he walked closer to Melquiades. "If you need someone to heal you, I can use some of my power to ease your pain, since you look like your about to kill-over any second." the ever-youthful Tempest crotched next to the man and put his real hand on Melquiades's shoulder. "It'll at least give you enough time to say what you need to, and I'll make sure that Aure doesn't forget his friend's dieing words."

A green glow seemed to emanate from Sovelis as he used the standard healing spell he had learned; Life. The magical glow swirled off of the mage and wrapped around the sick friend of Aureliano, in a futile attempt to give the man a little more time.

"Thank you Sovelis..." Melquiades tells the Tempest, coughing a ground shaking, heart rattling cough. "I have discovered many secrets through my search for knowledge. How do I explain this.....I have seen what you alchemists call 'The Gate,' or something refered to as the subconscious. Whatever you want to call it, I have discovered all the secrets of mankind." Another cough. "Men were never meant to know this knowledge, so I was cursed by Nayru, Farore, and Din. It is a fair curse mind you. They had sent countless warnings urging for me to stop. I guess I just got cocky. Anyway, Aureliano, I can see the hurt in your eyes, but please don't be mad. Just take care of the boy. He is my last defiance to fate before I die. The last line of the Buendia does live on." Melquiades lets out another cough, but this time blood manages to come out with it. Melquiades wipes his face with his sleeve, leaving red smears across his face. The old venerable man continues "What you are looking for, it is inside the trunk, Aureliano. Get in it, and find what you are searching for. Aureliano, you were always like my brother, even though you were dimwitted." With his last word being said, he takes in a deep breath of air and grows limp, his eyes staring into Aureliano's eyes with such voracity that it feels as if Melquiades' soul abadoned its own body for Aureliano's, and the empty corpse wants it back.

A red mist starts arising from Melquiades' mouth, followed by a blue one, then a green one, forming together to form a golden mist like substance in shape of Melquiades. "They are taking me with them, to prevent any monkey business like me becoming a ghost. I guess they really do not want those secrets out. Before I leave, look through my things, Aureliano." The old gypsy's soul continues to float away into the heavens above, until he is no longer in sight.

Aureliano's eyes do not water or glaze over like he expected. Instead they take a cold, heartless look that reminds someone of the ice that replaced Ganondorf's heart.
He walks over to Saber and puts the baby in his arms, seeing his early reaction to the infant. He walks over to the stump and is suddenly filled with knowledge. He takes out a small knife, and slices this arm, letting plenty of his crimson, Buendia blood drip on the stump. The stump's top part suddenly opens, revealing a small hole the adventurers can go through. "Who's ready to go?" The young Hylian asks coldly. "I'll check Melquiades stuff in a second."