Hyrule Adventures 2

OOC I'm introducing one of my NPC's

Altair walked out into the open streets. He could smell death coming off this place it was a strong smell making him wish he didn't come to this place. He wore his white cloak you barley make out that he has a case of five o' clock shadow. He walks to the group that assembled at the house seeing one of them put up a ladder he decided to wait for it to be put up from their he could enter the attic. He prayed that this house wasn't a place for an ambush.

His eyes climbed each hold on the ladder, counting to its heights to a disappointing ten feet. It wasn't of any use to him anyhow seeing as his weight was sure to collapse the brittle rungs that held it together, most likely divorcing both sticks to either side of the building.

Rosen followed Dogura's gaze now, edging towards the house beside it with the window that stared blankly at the fortress in front of him. "You don't think we can just try that other house there, do you? He grumbled, unsure if it would be of any aid in their excavation. "Lets try that, eh?"

"I'm not too good with ladders anyway." Rosen began moving towards the house that sat to the west, leaving prints of his feet on the carpet of dust and dirt that decorated the entrance. Fingers digging past the same dust that hung on the handle, Rosen buried his palm and attempted to open the door, hoping dearly that he wouldn't have to do any more snooping and just move as quickly as possible inside this far less ominous abode.

OOC:Sorry if I technically didn't earn the insight of this house. But if Saber's using the ladder that he bought...that's 20 feet too short! And I don't want to waste around on it! I'll just waste it on the door that's probably locked...ugh.

"Don't suppose any of you have Jump, now do you?"

Moving as stealthily as ever - likely without even realizing he was doing it - Alpha had appeared at the entrance to the alley between the two buildings, eyeing the house as well as the opening Saber had discovered. "With Jump," the Sheikah stated calmly, "we could climb up that ladder and then, maybe, be able to leap up the rest of the way." He turned and regarded the house closely for the first time, noticing the details that had already stood out to the other adventurers: its worn out, faded look mixed with the heavy defenses that had been raised to protect it. Doors fiercely barricaded, windows completely blocked off, and with his skill as a Mage the man could sense the magic repulsion field that had been erected around the entire place.

Someone did not want anyone entering . . . at least, not easily. Which meant of course that the Adventurers were going to do everything in their power to get inside. Even if it meant traversing an entire other house, as Rosen was attempting to do.

The Sheikah waited at the entrance to the alley, where he could see everyone - Saber, Dogura, some white-cloaked stranger, and Horren Veldam - good to see him again; it'd been a while - gathered around the ladder, and Rosen trying to open the door to the second house. All the while, he scolded himself for not learning such practical spells as Jump . . . it hardly was ever necessary for battle, but could he say anything different about other spells like Spell or Fa--

. . .

He nearly slapped himself. That might actually work . . . he'd only used the spell once or twice in practice, but in theory it ought to work here! . . . unless that magic repulsion field was actually a magic negation field, in which case the spell would be canceled out the moment he got too close. But he wouldn't know for sure until he tried. Bringing his hands up to his side, a strange form of magic erupted from his palms and shot out all around him, until the Sheikah had disappeared in a cloud of sparkling dust.

When it cleared, one might have thought Alpha had vanished . . . until a tiny black caped speck was spotted flying upwards towards the window. He'd used his Fairy spell, giving up size for flight, which would probably be a pretty good trade in this case.

He hoped.

Horren Veldam dashes over the moment Saber's cry goes up, hand on his blade and eyes swiftly scanning the area just in case the Nomad's call had been a warning of danger. But no - an opening! "Well done, Saber!" the Brigadier praises the man, glancing about for a way to access the normally unreachable window. Unreachable...yes, that was likely the reason why it had been ignored, he decided; whoever had been boarding up this household had probably thought the attic floor too high up to be reached. It wasn't like monsters would care enough to try and break into a house that wasn't easily entered, not with the hundreds of homes gathered in Saria Town.

His confidence wanes slightly as Saber props up the ladder - far too short, he realizes, seeing it only extend ten feet (OOC: I was thinking about giving it to you, but Rosen's right about the height - it's listed in the ladder's store description as only being 10 ft). His hopes again rise as Alpha appears at the alley's entrance, calling out for anyone with a mastery of the Jump spell to step forward. He glances around to Saber, Dogura, and that newcomer in the white robes. "Yeah, Jump would sure be useful right about now," he agrees with a smile and hesitant laugh -

In a flash of magical dust, Alpha's spell interrupts the man. The Sheikah soars upwards, coming close to the window - only to have his fears confirmed as he comes in contact with the barrier and immediately resumes his former size, the fairy wings vanishing just as quickly as they had come. It is indeed a magic negation field that surrounds the structure; no spells or enchanted beings will be able to pass through it. A Jump spell would probably still work, though - after all, the field only stops magic, and the upwards momentum gained from springing up with Jump would not be canceled out.

But until someone with Jump shows up, it seems Rosen is on the right track...though what he finds is likely not what he had expected. The moment the Goron places his fingers on the handle, the entire door collapses inwards, its hinges rusted to the point that a mere touch was enough to break them apart. Looking inside, the man would see that the entire building has been completely ransacked...probably more than once. Scorch marks are everywhere, evidencing the possibility of fires having been started in here; at the same time, there are puddles littering the floor with chilly-looking water, citing possible flooding in the town's recent past.

But as he continues to look around, it becomes obvious that the floods did not take out the fires quite soon enough for this building - for in front of him lies what remains of a stairwell to the second story. The stairs lie charred and blackened on the floor, flames having damaged it to the point that the steps had collapsed completely. Now nothing stands there to bridge the fifteen foot gap.

There are four other doorways in this room - one on each of the walls to the right and left of the entrance, and one on each side of the remains of the stairwell. Other than them, there is nothing really of note save the remains of the stairwell, collapsed on the ground in front of him.

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OOC: Not sure how long I'll be able to draw out these rooms, but I'm gonna try for as long as I can! 8D

Dogura's hopes were dashed, as the ladder was indeed too short. He decided that the best thing to do would be to accompany Rosen into the next house. He spotted Alpha out of his peripheral vision, and wasn't at all surprised. Whenever there was a mystery to be solved, a fight to be fought, or a group in need of some sort of assistance- the Sheikah somehow always appeared. "Good to have you along." He noted to the mage, as he passed him. "If you're not up to speed on what we've got going here, ask Veldam." He followed the Goron into the house, and looked around. Honestly, it's what he would expect from the deserted town like this one. "How long do you suppose has this place been under Ganon's rule?" He asked Rosen, as he stepped over rubble and broken glass.

"Do you suppose there's even a chance that there's people here?" He fired off the second question, not waiting for the answer to the first. "With as easily as that door crumbled away, I don't think it would be a bad idea to watch where we tread here. This place gives me the vibe that it could fall apart on top of us at any moment." He paused, noting the destroyed staircase. "The stairs aren't any good." Dogura's eyes wandered the scorched room. He noticed the water as well, as he made his way to Rosen's position. "So floods, and burning buildings... or a storm of attacking Wizzrobes?" He seriously pondered on that idea for a moment before making his way to the North Western door. Gently, he gripped the knob, and turned it before pushing against it.

OOC: Dammit RG DX
Are you actually gonna make me go purchase L1 Jump? GAH!!
RG Edit: You are not required to purchase any abilities in order to complete this topic, ZV. However, we've designed it so that having some of the more random ones may make things go a good bit faster.

Altair walked into the room taking carful notice not to disturb anything in the room. He observed everything he saw Dogura headed towards a door so he went straight left and began to turn the handdle making as little noise as possible incase someone was on the other side.

Saber stood in front of his ladder, brooding. So, the ladder was about halfway there. Well, that didn't mean everything was all said and done, did it? No, surely not. There must be a way around it. The conundrum seemed impossible, but that's what excited the mercenary. He sat against the wall, acknowledging the other adventurers' arrival and departure with nary a shrug.

I am...around six feet. With my arms in the air and on my tiptoes, around eight feet, I'd imagine. At least. That gives me...eighteen feet? If I jumped, I could probably get another two feet...so I just need a way to get roughly five more feet into the air.

After a few minutes of thought, he got it. His hairline receded, his ears raised, and his eyebrows shot into the air as he gasped. Jumping to his feet, he stood against the adjacent wall, facing the ladder.

Propping a foot onto the wall behind him, Saber took three deep breaths, relaxing and preparing himself. Then, pushing off, he ran as hard as he could, trying to make use of every inch of ground he could get in order to gain the maximum speed. Now came the hard part. His steps left the ground, furiously attempting to use the rungs of the ladder as substantial footholds to keep the momentum going. Next would be the wall, where he would scrabble and fight for as many feet as he could before gravity caught up to him, and hopefully catch the edge of the window with his outstretched fingers...

Seriously. Fate owed him one by now. [Sprint] [Will +5]

Aria arrived at the scene of investigation just as Saber began his attempt to run up a ladder and jump from the top of it. The Gerudic ranger just had to stop and marvel at the silliness of it. She was no scientist, an occupation that very few, if any, Gerudo pursued, but she knew that the forward momentum the Hylian was gathering would be wasted as soon as he began climbing a vertical ladder.

She took her own ladder out of her bag and extended it to its ten foot reach. "I have my own ladder, if you want to try combining the two instead," she called out to Saber, intending to distract him from his foolish attempt.

She looked at the top of her ladder as she supported it between her two hands; it towered above her, being just under twice her size. "I always thought rope would be a bit more practical, you know," Aria said to no one in particular. "But I'm glad I bought this, now."

As much as he'd love to see two ladders sewn together as it was often told that the embroidery of wood and lasso was an event that parred even with some of the most brutal of gladiator events in his home territory. Oh yes, the tender knots that dove like pelicans beneath the shadows of the rungs only to reappear over and under once more...quite a sight. Of course this was all sarcasm from an enigmatic narrator that had bored himself silly listening to such banter of ladders that would most likely never be of any use in this castle of heights.

In any case, there were four rooms that were built into this crevice of dust and forlorn age and Rosen found it hard to believe that they could neglect at least rummaging through the history books that characterized whoever had lived here. Who knows, perhaps something enchanted and valuable was lying pleasantly on a night stand...oh how a goron could only dream.

A somber and dark stroll carried him to the room parallel to where Dogura found himself studying, or at least the shadows that pealed at the walls might paint as the plaster left shadows clawing at the floor boards.

He hoped that this door too would fall to the great strength hidden beneath his arthritis and that his cataracts might reveal a room of easily presented clues and nick knacks.

Awareness Check

Will-4 if it does anything.

Saber's strong attempt is...pretty futile, actually. Not only does he have a fifteen foot gap to contend with, he also is trying to battle against the laws of physics, and trying to transfer forward momentum into upward speed is not handled well. He somehow manages to get to the top of the rungs, but that seems to be all that Fate is willing to give him, for after that only manages to get up another two or three feet before falling back to the ground [1 + 3*2(Sprint) + 5(Will) vs. 25 Fail].

Then comes along Aria, attempting to tie together two ladders to boost their height from ten feet to twenty. This proves to be an almost impossible task, though - again, the laws of physics are against them. Even if they were tied together, the pair would have a very fragile setup, the top one's feet falling off the bottom's at a moment's notice. And from that high up, the chances of being killed from the fall that would result from such fragility.

This idea doesn't seem like it's getting anywhere fast...

* * *

But enough of those silly antics; let's shift back to the second house being explored by the majority of the Adventurers.

Dogura proceeds through the northwest doorway, entering a room that is just as ransacked as the entryway. The remains of a large dining room table - that's probably what this was, the Dining Room - lie on the ground, hacked and torn apart by whatever had raided the house. The table's feet sit scattered about amidst the wooden fragments of the table, making everywhere one walks look like a trap for getting splinters in one's feet.

Off along the back wall is a large window with what looks like are the remnants of a once-golden set of curtains, flanked by once-potted plants - they've been ripped out of their pots and the leaves and dirt litter the ground around them. On the westernmost side of the room is a large chest of drawers with a broken mirror atop it; the chest itself has been hacked apart by what is probably an axe, though its overall structure remains intact.

There is a doorway on his right, as well as a large passageway along the wall of the door he'd entered from, where, if he looks, he can see Altair walking inside.

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Altair's chosen door, the leftmost of the group, leads him into what was obviously the kitchen area. A large counter wraps around most of the are, cutting the room rather distinctly into two halves. It's been burned up pretty severely, though; not much of it remains. The same goes for the drawers and cabinets that line the west and south walls, some on the ground and some hung from the ceiling. All have been charred at the least, several having collapsed completely. But just as many have been left somewhat intact.

Right next to the door Altair has walked through, along a small portion of the southern wall, is another doorway. Probably a pantry. Other than that, there is the large passageway northward to Dogura and the Dining Room.

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Rosen's room is entered via the top-right doorway, and is only connected by a door in the northwest corner to the Dining Room. This looks to be more of a Family Room, though, based on the couch and chairs whose scorched carcasses are seen in several spots on the floor. The frames are mostly left intact, fortunately...though that really only means that the ashes of the cushions and cloth are contained in a small area.

A large cabinet lies off to the side, this one surprisingly untouched by the fire. It appears to be made of a much more durable type of wood, but it does seem to have been heavily affected by flooding. There's also a mostly burnt coffee table that had apparently had a glass covering on top - it's fallen into the ruins and cracked apart into several pieces. A large grandfather clock sits on the south wall, and opposite it is a window with similar curtain remains to those found by Dogura.

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One would have to wonder if anything here can be found to aid them in reaching the second story.

The room was just as destroyed as the previous room. Nothing of interest to note, but the room Altair had decided to explore was connected to this room. Dogura's eye scanned the room, picking up nothing of immediate interest. "Looks like the dining room." Dogura called out to Altair, his voice echoing off the walls of the hollowed out house. "Looks like there was an attack here after all... I can't help but wonder about the safety of the people here." He traced the floors of the house, looking for anything of interest, when he decided he might as well share his final verdicts of the room and the house in general. "One of the interesting things I've noticed in this house thus far is that there aren't any blood-stains. Not a single drop of blood anywhere... Perhaps the people were successful in escaping after all."

He stepped over the splintered wood, carefully making his way to Altair's room. "Another thing we might want to take into account," He noted to Altair, as he finally stepped into the room. "Is that it's popular, especially over here, to have secret passages in one's home, whether it be to have a private area, or a safe area in case of attack." He leaned against the wall, and sighed. "The chances we have of stumbling upon a secret passage are minimal. However, if we split up and look for a part of the house that isn't covered, we might have a more successful chance at finding a secret area. It's also known that secret passages usually extend to the other floors of the house, each with their own entrances." He paused, and looked around the room. "That's my best guess as to any possible means of reaching the second floor. Opinions and thoughts are a must here. If you have an idea, spill it."

[Awareness Check]

OOC: Um, I was only suggesting that the ladders be combined, but....Whatever. At least we're not wasting time with it now.

IC:
Aria shook her head as Saber failed in his attempt. However, the ranger was not at all successful in combining the two ladders. "Damn," she muttered under her breath as she collapsed her own ladder and stuffed it back into her bag, a gift from Coryn.

"Might as well join the others in that house." The Gerudo walked over to it and entered, just managing to hear Dogura mention something about secret passageways. She shrugged; the stairway to the second floor was unusuable, and she had no other....Wait. The floor of the second story couldn't be that high up.

But before she said anything that made her look like a fool, Aria decided to examine the remains of the stairs, trying to sight just how far up the second floor is. [Insight Check]

"I'm sorry but really all I can think of is to survey every room and make sure that their isn't any enemies hiding in the house." Altair looked around using his eyes which are like an eagles. Awarness check

OOC: its kinda hard trying to follow these room descriptions... but i think i've got it.

IC: "This is a pickle, and no mistake." Leth said, seeming to come out of nowhere. He was a Sheikah, and it was fairly common for members of that race to appear and disappear at will. (or maybe the author was just too lazy to come up with an explanation for Leth's apperance. But we'll never know, will we?) He was standing in the main room, with the broken stairwell. He followed the others through the house so the first three rooms had been explored, which left one room left. But Leth did not try to explore it, he instead began searching for a way up to the second floor, or anything that might help them.

Awareness check

OOC: sorry, my original post was wierd. I only read the first page before i posted, i guess i didn't notice the fact that there was a second page... so i have caught up with the rest of the story now.

Alpha shakes his head as Aria appears in the alley and walks up to try and help Saber . . . somehow. It really isn't all that clear what a second ladder is going to do to aid them in reaching that window, as trying to put two ladders together is a pretty unstable thing. But instead of trying to warn them, the Sheikah simply shrugs his shoulders and walks off to the second house, content to utilize a less-than-direct route. Especially since that route actually seems possible.

Once inside, though, he realizes that things might not be so easy in here. Adventurers are disappearing into different rooms, but he spends a few seconds studying what they have already seen - a stairwell completely burned to rubble, the wood all about charred and the floor showing signs of flooding - and it seems likely that the floods are the only thing that have spared the entire house from following in the fate of its stairwell.

Nothing really catches his eye in this chamber, though, so he looks about to try and decide on a room for himself to enter and search. The white-robed man, Dogura, and Rosen have already disappeared into three separate doorways, so the Sheikah chooses to go through the fourth, the rightmost of the group. Ever wary, he stops right in the doorway, quickly taking a look around to ensure that he isn't walking into some sort of trap or danger. [Awareness Check]