Alpha thinks for a second, unsure as to what Grenada means by this. Shada seems to get it, though. "If you mean when are they going to come after us for killing some of their kind, don't worry," she says. "Master Zaris has killed more Hakiems than anyone ever before. Because of this, they want to capture him first before they go after us. They want to be sure he watches us die." She shrugs. "Kind of morbid, but it's the only thing keeping them from going ahead and killing Alpha and myself."

Alpha nods. "The only reason we're still alive is because they want Master there to watch our torture. If you were to kill one of their kind, they'd have no such reason to hold back from their revenge.

"I suppose I could kill their Ruto man, but that'd be nothing new for them, and it would only make them hasten their search for Master Zaris. I'm leaning towards Julian's idea, unless anyone has a better plan." His eyes search the small crowd that has gathered, looking for other suggestions.

There's a soft thud and out from the trees steps a figure enshrouded in a black cloak, his face covered by a hood, you can make out a small lock of red hair emerging from the top of the hood, but other than that you have no clue to the figure's identity.

'The way I see it is,' the man said in a country drawl. 'that you lead this Zaboorak out of the city by allowing word to get to him that you will be meeting with Master Zaris, near the cave in the Flats of Ruto, for example. The next part hinges on how much this Zaboorak, or more importanly, his men know about your Master. If they know as little as I suspect then, someone could play the role of your Master. With thier face covered they could be anyone, once they report that they have seen who they are looking for, then there is every chance that Zaboorak will come and face his foe first hand.'

Alpha looks up at the newcomer. "You're wrong, unfortunately. Useful as that would be, the Hakiems know Master Zaris quite well, as they have engaged him hundreds of times. And even if that weren't true, Master Zaris is the only one who can stand up to Zaboorak. The whole reason we need to get the Hakiems out of Ruto is so that he'll show up and fight with us without worrying about hurting innocents. If we tried to engage him ourselves we would be slaughtered."

"No, after you bring them to you with the lie, what are YOU going to do? You can't expect Zaris to know the plan, and you might be alone. We can't fight them ourselves and you would be undeniably captured, and made Zaboorak's slave. All of us that accompany you will be killed as your acquaintances, which will happen anyway, before they do anything to you."

"Oh," Shada says sheepishly, embarrased at having misinterpreted Grenada's question. Her cheeks blush, giving them a pretty scarlet color.

Alpha covers for her. "If that's your question...well, I guess we hadn't considered that yet." He thinks for a second. "Well, we need to get Master Zaris to come, so I'll probably have to flee out of town. The good thing is that Zaboorak will probably not be there himself; we can take down one of his pathetic underlings, allowing me to escape. We make our stand somewhere, fight anyone who comes until Zaboorak himself arrives, and then let Master Zaris and him fight. Master is hopefully Zaboorak's equal. If Zaboorak dies, the Hakiems will stand no chance.

"And don't worry about me dying; they won't kill me unless they capture Master Zaris. And if they manage to do that, well..." He pauses for a second, saddened by the thought. "If that happens, I'll flee again. Master and I eluded them for nearly ten years, and I was only a child then."

"The Scrub has a point." he says."'I'm not a master of tactics, but the idea of running out of a city with an entire tribe on your tail, don't sound like the best of plans." he points out. "I don't much like this idea of you and your girlfriend making a stand against the enitire tribe neither. He shakes his head "No, you can't do this on your own."

"As you said this, Zaboorak won't be there to take the message, personal like, so you could lead the Hakiem sent to take the message outside the town. Say something like, you'll lead him to Master Zaris or that you will point out where he is hidin' but the houses a blockin' your view. Then once outside the town you can take him out, and I don't mean for a meal. It's then that you start a-running to your fightin' ground, I suggest using the area where the Ruto flats meet the Steppes. The narrow path means that will have less room to move, and it reduces the risk of findin' yourself surrounded. However, I suggest that bring a little help." He says motioning to those standing around.

"I must admit, your points are quite valid," Alpha says as he nods in agreement. "Though it had never crossed my mind to attempt to do this alone...at least not after meeting with Zaboorak. I realized then that I can't do this myself."

"However, I'm not sure if they'll buy that old 'I'll lead you to him' trick," Shada says. She narrows her dark eyes, giving everyone present a sharp look. "You all need to stop treating these people like fools. The Hakiems tribe has managed to exist in the shadows for thousands of years, and the secret of their existence was known only by a select few. Master once told me that they were around even back in the time of the first Link (OOC: I'm using TDC's timeline when saying this, so that's at least a thousand years). And now that they have Zaboorak commanding them, they're even more powerful and even more intelligent."

After a few seconds of silence, Alpha speaks up again in a decidedly brighter tone than Shada's had been. "And, by the way, she isn't really my girlfriend. The last time we saw each other I was seven years old, and I wasn't interested in girls," he says, seemingly not embarrassed in the least bit. "We were just best friends back then."

Well then, lets hope your friendship doesn't interfere when the battle against the Hakiem comes. While were planning I would like to know if you have fought them before? I mean, if we get an idea of their fighting strategies then it's one more advantage we get," Julian says as he attempts to remain on the subject.

"Well, ummm..." Alpha thinks for a moment, then shrugs his shoulders sheepishly. "I haven't fought them since Master and I separated nearly seven years ago. Shada?"

Shada scratches her head for a second, thinking of the best way to word the Hakiems' battle strategies. "Well, their favored tactic is definitely to surround their prey while in Shadowmeld, then appear and capture them instantly. Um, when the prey is too smart for that or the space too enclosed, they go one-on-one and wear him down with their sheer numbers." She thinks for another second. "And when fighting, they always try to go for fancy, complicated attacks from above. It's the kind of attack that can be blocked with ease, but the repetitiveness eventually causes you to tire, and then they have you."

Alpha suddenly remembers something. "Oh, and also, most of the Hakiems are Grunts, so they all use swords. Along with all the other Grunt weapons and abilities." Trying to get back to the original subject, he adds, "I agree with Shada; they won't fall for a simple trick like 'I'll take you to him, just follow me.' We need something a bit less obvious."

"From what you have said, Ithink that our best place to fight them would be at the winged path heading towards New Peaktop. If I'm correct, "shadowmeld" literaly means to fuse with the shadows. At that altitude there shouldn't be anything to throw a shadow. Plus, the path is thin, therefore their numbers would be unable to surround us. You also said that they go for attacks from above: the winds on the path are too powerful for anyone jump into the air and hope to stay on the path. You can't do anything about them wielding swords, but all in all I suggest we face Zaboorak there. We'll just have to run fast enough so that Zaboorak won't find us until we reach the path," Julian explains with a tense tone. He turns to the mountains and stares at the highlands as he awaits an answer. The wind howls through the trees as a sudden silence falls over him.

"I like it," Shada says after a moment's pause. "It would definately give us an advantage, and take away some of theirs."

"Never fight an opponent unless you have chosen the battlegrounds," Alpha says, apparently quoting. "That's one of Master Zaris' main lessons, and one that I've come to appreciate greatly. I agree with Shada; Julian, that's a great plan." He thinks for a few more seconds. "Now we need to figure out how to lead them there. Ideas, anyone?"

Trying to be silent, a twig snaps, underneath the foot of a familiar sheikah. "Hey guys." It's Malciore. "Sorry I'm late, i was literally tied up.

(Flashback) At the bar, a bottle shatters over malciore's head and he finds himself tied up on the ground. "That's the last time I forget topay the bill."

(Reality) "Well, I've heard that you've talked about this guy, Zaboorak was it?" Malciore says. Malciore then notices Shada, and his right eye starts to twitch.
"Xoo Malciore, nxo aj oeih ooo ucc knaksxo?" Hurrak says. then he notices Shada. "Ex! Rik A kxadb jxo'j Alpha's."
Malciore shook his head and went back to normal. "Huh? Oh sorry."

Alpha sighs, once again wishing Malciore would teach him how to speak Ancient Noerian. He has no idea what Hurrak is saying, and that really bugs him. "Don't worry about it, Malciore. This is Shada," he adds, seeing Malciore's reaction to her.

Shada nods to the newcomer. "Yes, we have been talking about Zaboorak and the rest of the Hakiems. We need some way to get them to come from Ruto Town to the mountains above the city. There we can have a greater advantage against them." She smiles sweetly at her fellow Sheikah. "Any ideas?"

"I have one," Julian says in order to break the silence. "Why don't we just let them find us. I mean , are we really in a hurry to fight the Hakiem tribe. Lets just meet at the path and wait for them to come to us," Julian explains to Alpha and then lets out a wide yawn. "What ever the plan is let us hope that we are allowed maybe a days rest as part of the preparations."

As Julian speaks, Arco comes into the forest opening. Hands in front of him, the Sheikah moves slowly, stiffly pushing aside the underbrush as he watches the path. As the shrubbery thins, he looks up, taking in the scene with his usual poker-faced stare. Then, with all the discreet politeness he can muster, he inches out of the spotlight for a better--more discreet-listening point.

Two blinks. Eyes on the speaker, Arco's mind turns slowly, until one ancient memory brings a slight curve to the corner of his mouth...

Warfare is the ground of death and of life... and must be examined.

And then, in the back of the group, the Bard bites his tongue, restraining the subconcious urge to start talking. Not yet. Listen, Arco...