"They look good, thanks Aria." He surveyed the men carefully. They were all in their twenties or thirties, all of them used to working hard, as they had to make a living in the forests or deserts. "Now, what I need you guys to do is take the axes that Emege provides, chop down some wood, and lug it all back here. By the time we get enough, there should be plenty of saws and nails ready to get construction started. Also, is anyone here a contractor? We need someone to lay a plan, or at least let us know how to build a fast, yet secure tower." His instructions given, he turned to the new arrival.

"Well, hello...Seth? I wasn't expecting to see you here." He greeted the psychic, wondering why he hadn't accompanied all of his friends to the war. He cocked an eyebrow at the young man, wondering what had possibly made him so moody. Could he be worrying about his friends? A lot of people could die today...Rauru isn't the safest place to be at the moment. "Well...Anyways...We've got blankets and pillows down in the saferoom, as well as some rations, although we haven't started cooking anything yet. You may as well go and make yourself comfortable, unless you would like to assist with the building of a watchtower." He turned to gaze at the sun. The battle would be starting any time now--The army had been seen marching towards the town, and they wouldn't be far off.

He wondered about his friends who would be participating in the battle--Rose, Alex...Sheila...Even Burlo. He realized he had actually grown to accept the cleric's presence. Enjoy it? No. But he could tolerate it...Then there was Sheila. If she died in this battle...He knew nothing of her alliance in the conflict, but what he did know was that either side was dangerous.

He broke out of his trance and clapped his hands together. "So!" He began, trying to motivate his impromptu party. "We may as well start getting things set up. Somebody needs to keep an eye out for anything suspicious while you guys gather wood and I get the saferoom organized." He spun on his heel in the sand and began to lope towards the both, stopping halfway and turning around. "And guys...Remember why you're here. These people...they need protection that noone in the war can give. We need to give that protection." With that, he finished the trot and went down the ladder sticking out of the trapdoor.

Seth didn't feel inclined to do anything to aid a bunch of people he didn't know. He also didn't feel like going into the safe room much, which was bound to be full of crying children with their mothers. The 13-year-old generally disliked anyone his age or younger. He generally disliked everyone. His glance wandered to the workers who had volunteered; they would probably order him out of the way at some point. His being short and rather skinny didn't impress many.

Without a word to Saber he stood up quickly, taking his sack of food into the safe room, where he grabbed a couple of blankets and a pillow and curled up catlike in a corner. He closed his eyes and to most he seemed asleep, but his mind was still racing faster than even he could follow. The green-haired thief also hoped no one would try to talk to him down there; the last thing he wanted was a motherly housewife worrying over him. He'd had enough of mothers.

"Mrrrrow?" A black cat with tufted ears, a bushy tail, and glowing eyes melded from the shadows, padding over to Seth and licking his cheek. Seth wrapped an arm around the cat and buried his face into his soft fur, wishing he could go home and hide there instead.

"Sauron... I wish you could tell me what to do...." He murmured, stroking his Twili cat.

Aria smiled, and sat down in a relatively soft patch of grass near a bush. She reached into her bag, and brought out some small bottles, and then walked over to Saber. "Here," She said, handing the mercinary six bottles with green potion in them, "I hope we don't have to use them..." She finished, heading back to her bag. At that very moment, a shadow dropped out of a nearby tree, landing directly in front of Aria, who jumped to her feet.

It was a Garo.

The dead ninja bowed to Aria, then walked over to Saber, it handed the mercinary a small slip of paper.

Saber,

This is one of my Garo. I know you desire to stay nuetral in the war, though I know not how long it will last, I honor your descision.

Still, I do not want to simply stand by as you could all be attacked. This Garo is not alone, I sent five more with him, they are going to be used as scouts, and will assist you in any battles.

Best regards,

kasei.

"Thank you for the cooperation," muttered Zack to Saber, Emege, Aria, Albert, and the other six men. One could easily hear the embarrassment in his voice and see it in the way he carried himself. He didn't know it would draw this much attention. In the hecticness of the situation, and odd object slipped out of his pocket. A flower perhaps? It was only just poking out, but he hid it again casually. Useless you had DVR, it would be practically impossible to notice.

Albert grabbed an Emege-made saw, as did Zack. Zack also had an axe with him, but saws were more efficient. His gaze showed contemplation as it fixed on the forest. He wasn't thinking about the forest though. The agency had put men on each side of the war. Would he betray these innocents? Never. He may not know them all yet, but the prospect of defending a small community that would certainly grow on him was irresistible. The agency probably planned it like this. They even had the great Saberteche to lead them. It was like a scene from Twister. Hardships were coming, but so was adventure and bonding. This was only the beginning.

A cute sandy-haired boy with a quiver across his back crouched next to Seth, poking his cheek. "Seth! I knew you'd show up!" He exclaimed happily.

Damn you...

"Ronin wouldn't let me go with him! He kept saying I'd get hurt or something like that. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be fighting with Arrika and that blond mage guy who got mad since we paint balled his house a while ago-"

Without warning Seth's hand shot out like a claw, dragging Thorne downwards and twisting his collar sharply. "Shut. Up. Thorne. I'm trying to think, okay? It doesn't help with you spouting nonsense at me," the psychic thief growled.

"-Well yeah anyway shouldn't you be off helping Hyrule since you're psychic and all-" Thorne continued regardless, his voice carrying more than he had intended it too.

Seth jerked him roughly, cutting off his words. "-Shut up, stupid! Just keep quiet, alright? You do know Arrika and Sovelis are trying to destroy Hyrule, right?"

"Oh. Really? Well... that doesn't sound too good. Well anyway Ronin dumped me off here but I'm planning to escape! You wanna come with me?" Thorne said brightly.

"What's so hard about just walking out of here and off to Rauru Town?"

"Well every time I try to get up some of those women over there get all annoyed and worried and stuff. See, they're even staring at us now," the archer replied, pointing unnecessarily.

The overprotective housewives could definitely pose as a problem for someone who couldn't, say, phase through walls.

Sauron meowed and pawed at one of the walls Seth was leaning against, his black paw melting through effortlessly.

OOC: Great Sabertache? Hardly. He hasn't done anything...

IC: Did I see...? Nevermind, must have imagined it...we're in the desert, after all, hallucinations aren't rare...Oh, how well I know that... The mercenary reflected on the time he tried to bust a cuccoo fight with the Royal Guards--It turns out, the illegal arena he had found existed only in his mind. After that, he made sure to pack water with him before traveling long distances over the sands. He looked at the bottles quizically, wondering where he could store the green potion--Or why he even needed it, he didn't use magic much...Although others might, he supposed. "I guess I can put them in the saferoom..." He thought aloud, turning to walk to the booth and leave everyone to their job, when he heard a shriek. Startled, he spun around. He dropped the bottles into the sand and drew his saber as he dashed towards Aria, ready to protect her from another of Ganon's minions.

The Garo also moved towards him, and he braced himself for impact, crossing his blade in front of him for protection as the ninja drew a--Letter? Saber halted his blade in midair as he stared blankly at the piece of paper. Leaving one hand on his sword and maintaining his stance, he fumbled with the paper, scanning it very slowly. When he finally finished, he started laughing. "Well, that was...exhilirating..." he said, sheathing his weapon. "Well...I suppose...Could you set up a perimeter around the booth, as far as you think you can go safely and not miss anything? Warn us if anyone comes...? Thanks." He was still shaking slightly as he picked the bottles back up--Thankfully, sand was soft, and the glass containers were unharmed. "Well, I suppose I should get to work on setting up the saferoom..." He announced before heading to the ladder.

Dropping down to the temporary haven, he glanced around the place. It wasn't anything extravagant--The walls were pure earth, the ceiling and floor all natural as well. He had done nothing but dig for a few days to clear out this large area, using what little skill with magic he had to glaze the walls and ceiling with fire, hardening them into a slightly glassy substance that wouldn't fall like sand normally would. The floor underneath, however, was still sandy, and made it a lot more comfortable for laying on the ground, since it was able to form into a comfortable shape better than the softest mattress. (OOC: You can jump up and down all you want, but the wine glass won't spill! ) There was a large pile of blankets and pillows in the corner that he had asked to borrow, or had been given by charitable individuals. He had built a small cabinet to stand in the other corner, and it's rickety shelves were half-full with cans of various rations and bottles of water and milk. A few feet from the cabinet was the firepit, and that was the basic layout of the 300 square foot room. It was indeed small--The thirty or so people there were already filling the space, kids buzzing about and playing and infants either sleeping or eating, with a few wives sitting along the walls, anxious as to the outcome of their soldier husbands. There were very few men--Many were off at war. Of those that were there, most were chopping wood, but one or two were passing the time idly, whittling at wood blocks or resting.

Saber looked around the packed room and sighed heavily, scratching the back of his head. How am I going to manage this...?

The Garo nodded, and moved away, his freinds comeing out of the trees to help him.

Aria, on the other hand, followed Saber down to the safehouse. She looked around when she finally got to the floor, taking in everything, including the sand floor. That would not do. Also, she noticed the lack of a bath, or any other rooms. Aria turned to Saber. "Need help here?" She asked, pulling out her own scythe. She found a particlularly soft piece of wall. "This place needs an extra room or two, for a bathroom and a ladies room." She stated, and took a huge hack at the glass. If it broke, she simply would use her control over wind to keep the sand from pouring out, and keep the room itself intact.

Seth stiffened as Aria and Saber appeared, but didn't think they would try to stop him leaving. If they noticed at all... "Thorne," he said, "I want you to stay here, alright?"

"What? No way! I'm comin' with you!" The young archer replied cheerfully, and he obviously didn't understand or have the guts for war.

Seth gritted his teeth, knowing it would be impossibly to change his mind. "Have you ever seen someone die, Thorne?"

"No."

The response was odd; you'd think that with a notorious assassin for a brother, the little kid would have seen everything by now.

"Are you sure you want to come?"

"Of course!"

The green-haired thief sighed. "Okay, hold on." Seth put one hand on Sauron's back and Thorne clutched his scarf, excited to finally get away from the stuffy room. Shadows crept up their arms and covered them completely, and as Sauron calmly padded forward they were jerked along with him. In seconds they opened their eyes to find themselves on the sands outside, the harsh sun beating down on them again. They snuck past the volunteers busy with construction and towards the border between Hyrule Field and the Tantari. Seth still had time to decide whether his allegiance lay. Besides, he didn't intend to do anything until the walls of Rauru fell.