Alpha glanced at himself and "Myron" after Valens' comment towards the pair. Raising an eyebrow, he turns back the general and simply states, "Um . . . this is a cape . . ."

That said, he glances about as more and more recruits arrive, then listens carefully as a short briefing is given concerning their 'task' today. Exploration . . . and likely, if adventurers are being involved, a high chance of fighting or other dangerous endeavors. Well, that is fine - better him than a peacekeeping soldier. Glancing over at the wagon as Onogoron pulls up, he is swift to repeat his maneuvers the last time they had used such a cart in this pass - he vaults over its side in a quick motion then turns back, reaching out with his hand to help up anyone else who might be having difficulty.

Maverick simply shrugged at what Valens had to say, although he was sure to return the smile with one of his own signature 'warm-and-friendly' facial gestures. A light chuckle escaped his lips when Alpha responded in his own way. The cloaked mage nodded respectfully to the officer and moved towards the cart.

"Thank-you, Alpha," he murmured as he took hold of the Sheikah's extended arm and heaved himself into the cart. He took a seat on the floor and closed his eyes, succumbing to a state of near meditation. He spoke to his friend without looking at him. "It has been a while since we fought alongside each other," he said monotonously. "While I share the good General's bleak optimism and hope that there will be no confrontation, I am no fool. I expect the worst, I'm afraid."

The scholar waited silently for the others to hop into the cart, leaning his back against the wooden edge and breathing more heavily than normal as a means of keeping himself awake. He hoped that the Goron driver would be taking off soon; despite being a mage of great esteem and courage, Maverick was becoming increasingly anxious.

Kagari walked over to the growing crowd. "I'll help out," He said as he noticed Abel, and many others there. He noticed the murmur Abel let out.

"I actually wouldn't mind for a challange this time around." Abel muttered to himself.

"Hey Abel I agree. I hope there is a challenge this time around," He let out. He walked over to Abel.

Eberron carefully placed his enormous bag onto the wagon, certainly with far more care then he had shown before. Nothing about it would have seemed to have changed to the casual viewer, it was still made of the same material that seemed to somehow clean and maintain itself, the stitching never failing no matter the fall or damage. Eberron still wasn't sure exactly how it managed that... He presumed it was a trick his father had picked up along his travels, though from who he had no idea. He'd have to find out some day. Whistling cheerfully to himself, Eberron pulled himself onto the wooden cart, one arm placed around the bag in an almost caring manner. No, it wasn't the pack itself that had changed, but it's content. Never before had he had anything to actually place in one of it's many side pockets... Even his money had always been placed randomly amongst the many rocks and other objects that took his fancy. But he did now... Reaching into the expanse of the bag and pulling out what was left of the wood that he had first found in the bag, Eberron stared meaningfully at it as memories flooded his mind.

Soon father... Soon I'll be strong enough to face that memory. And strong enough to bury it as well.

Another confusing memory, he thought he'd used far more wood from this log that he had found but, whenever he pulled it out, always the same. If only his money could repeat that trick. Chuckling at the meagre rupees rattling along the bottom of his bag, Eberron decided it had definitely been worth it. And he couldn't let his friend down, not after all the money they had put towards it. Pushing himself back and sighing, Eberron lazily reached forward and undid one of the straps attached to his sacks exterior. Reaching into the pocket he felt around and smiled, reassuring himself that what he had been training with so diligently during his travels was still there. A bow and quiver, carefully wrapped up in the finest material he could find on his travels. Eberron certainly took great pride and love in particularly simple things. His usual mad grin, was replaced by a restrained smile almost akin to those he had borne before he had begun his travels.

"Shall we get going then? I can't wait..."

It had seemed that Rosen would have to hoist himself again to the mountaneous hights the caravan, its steep elevation clawing at the barren sky of the cave-a harrowing scape indeed. Oh how Rosen wished that he didn't have to waste such time hopping aboard and no doubt falling subject to sleeps treacherous weight on the bumpy ride in an already dark cave. In fact, it'd be so much better if he didn't even have to mention or be ordered around. It'd be so much easier if we just escaped the travels that sat between this moment and the moment where he'd have to do something of importance.

In any case, he'd still have to sit down regardless of the lack of time traveling abilities that had inconveniently been placed somewhere outside of the realm of Rosen's lifespan.

"Ugh, we can never meet where we'er supposed to be going, can we! We always have to meet before we even start doing things...for a caravan ride?! Really!?"

Eberron blinked in a confused manner at the Elder Goron's little outburst. He had always been taught by his father that those older then him had seen far more, and new far more. So he presumed there was some hidden meaning to the logic that he couldn't grasp.

"but... of course we have to meet before we do something. If we didn't meet before we started doing it, we'd be already doing it so there'd be no need to meet which would mean we wouldn't really be doing it because why would be doing it if we hadn't met to see that we were going to do it."

Eberron sat back again, slightly confused at what he had said and scratched quizzically at his head.

"I'm sorry, I'm losing track of myself... is it a riddle maybe to solve? I was never good at riddles..."

Aria hadn't really been listening to her companions until Rosen boarded and complained about the ride. Eberron's logic came off as confusing, so she spoke up and offered a less baffling reply. "If we met there, one of us could have gotten into trouble and would have been stranded without help. By meeting here, we make sure we have allies we can trust our lives to should we get into a situation we wouldn't want to be in."

Eberron nodded enthusiastically at Aria's suggestion.

"yes... That makes more sense."

Deciding that he had done enough thinking for the day, Eberron sat back and pushed the hat over the top of his eyes. He'd get back to it once they reached their destination. For now, rest was the objective of the moment.

"It has been a while since we fought alongside each other. While I share the good General's bleak optimism and hope that there will be no confrontation, I am no fool. I expect the worst, I'm afraid."

"As do I," Alpha replied to Maverick's words, not allowing his visage to shift in light of the Apostle's admission. Most everyone was in the cart by now, though, so he moved to sit next to the elder mage. "Seems that there is always another battle to be waged, another war to be fought. Don't see why this should be any different." As if to accentuate this point, he brought out his staff, letting it rest on his shoulder, prepared for anything that might come. For all he knew, there were more ambushes awaiting them this day, and he was not about to be caught unawares.

He listened calmly to the words spoken by many of the other adventurers who had gathered, chuckling in some places and raising an eyebrow in others. Occasionally he had no idea how to respond, particularly when the Gerudo women implied that all those gathered here were "allies we can trust our lives to should we get into a situation we wouldn't want to be in". He wasn't sure if she was serious or not; he'd never even spoken to half of the people in this cart, so he certainly wasn't willing to put his life in their care. He'd fought alongside several of them in the South and knew them to be able warriors, but that was all . . . It would take much more before he could agree with such a trusting statement as she had just voiced.

Looking back, he noticed several of their little group had taken to closing their eyes and getting some rest, either meditating or sleeping as they prepared for whatever this little journey might bring. He decided to do the same, though he glanced oddly at the Gerudo once more before shutting his eyes and resting his head against the side of the wagon.

OOC: We're going to imply that Simon hopped onto the cart. It wouldn't be a very action-packed Crusade if we had to wait for every last person to post

IC:

Seeing that everyone had made their way onto the optimistic Goron's wagon, General Valens gave the signal for Onogoron to get the wheels rolling. He looked over the adventurers who had stopped by for the journey into the deep: Darilan, Aria, Abel, 'Myron', Alpha, Simon, Taint (and Lilly), Eberron, and Rosen. To his surprise, a newcomer had arrived when his back was turned. He welcomed Kagari with a nod. The officer hoped this ragged group of would-be heroes had what it would take to survive should disaster strike.

"Alright, Onogoron," Valens said triumphantly. "Let's get this caravan in gear, shall we?" He took a seat with the volunteers in back of the cart and waited for the driver to begin.

"Let's be off, nice horrrsies," came an elongated groan from the delighted caravaneer who had bravely volunteered to take the reigns of this cart. He gave them a quick start and in moments the strong stallion was on its way, pulling ten adventurers, one officer, and one fairy sidekick in tow. As the caravan disappeared into the darkness of the North-South Pass, Valens shouted back at his fellow officer. "Keep this place under control while I'm out, won't you?"

"Hmm," came the muffled reply of Sergeant-Major Camron.

Right off the get-go, the wagon dipped down into a sizeable pothole in the ground, disrupting any and every adventurer who had been hoping for a bit of light rest or meditation for the duration of the travel. This seemed to be a bumpy territory.

The cart bumped and bounced on in the dark for what seemed an eternity, and when it finally came to a halt, a depressing groan could be heard passing the fat lips of the kindly Goron driver. "We seem to have rrreached the second passage," he said nervously. Indeed, the group had arrived at the site of the tremendous Garo Master battle. Valens, of course, was the first to speak.

"Alright then, everybody out. We only have Onogoron up until this far. We'll be continuing on foot down the second passage. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled and your ears tuned for signs of an ambush. There's no telling what dwells in this dark lair." The General waited a moment for the others to dismount their carriage. He then lit a torch and proceeded into the depths of Hyrule's North-South Pass.

Aria had caught Alpha's odd look directed at her. She thought back to what she said, and frowned. It had been rather uncharaceristic of her to say that she could trust everyone gathered; after all, years of burying secrets in the sands have made her distrustful of people. Then again, she did trust the Goron Eberron, as much as she could trust anyone who wasn't Adelaide or Kotori.

To occupy her mind from this point, she took out her bow and strung it. "Just in case," she muttered in Common under her breath. Luckily, the female ranger had completed the task before the ride became far too bumpy to do anything that required precision.

“There’s no telling what dwells in this dark lair.”

The Gerudo jumped down and gracefully landed on the rocky floor. "Says you," she whispered in her language. She bent low to the ground and used the light from the General's torch to look for tracks. [Track L1] However, given that this was stone, she had some doubts about if she would find anything, but the ranger had to try.

HP: 42/42 ********||
SPL: 15/15 ***
Will: 8/8 *|||

"We seem to have rrreached the second passage."

Alpha glanced up from beneath his hood; he hadn't gotten much rest on the trip here, but at least his eyes had been allowed to rest in the darkness of the caverns. As Valens directed everyone to get out and prepare themselves for what was likely inevitable, Alpha rose and hopped over the side of the wagon just as easily as he had entered the cart earlier.

His staff still in hand, his crimson eyes darted back and forth in the passage, his senses attuned and searching as best they could for any oncoming assaults or ambushes. He still believed with near certainty that the day would not end without a battle or two, and did not want to be caught unawares. Unfortunately, in the narrow passage he could only use his senses to a limited degree; the bends in the dark cavern assured that his eyes could not see far, and his ears were also being filled by the sound of other adventurers departing from the wagon and preparing to enter the passage.

In the end, all he could do was stand there and wait for the others to be ready, hoping all the while that if an attack came, there would be a warning to precede it.

54/54 HP
45/45 SPL

Lilly awoke when the cart abruptly rose and dropped from one of the larger bumps. She flew up into the air, and buzzed about. "Are we there yet?" Taint had a slightly surprised look on his face. "Actually... Yeah!"

Valens wrote:"Alright then, everybody out. We only have Onogoron up until this far. We'll be continuing on foot down the second passage. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled and your ears tuned for signs of an ambush. There's no telling what dwells in this dark lair."

"OoOoOoOoOoOo so exciting!!" Lilly cried, taking a seat on Taint's shoulder. She hadn't forgotten her promise, and the Zora was pleased to realize this. "Yeah... A real hoot." Taint sighed as he exited the wagon, and followed Valens down the passage. Looking around into the darkness, Taint remembered a time when he would cower in the face of darkness. But quite seriously, he'd grown accustomed to fighting in it. "When you're face to face with what you can't see in the murky depths of the abyss that stares you in the face... You learn to stick with the group." Taint explained to his fairy companion. "When what you can't see at all can see you clearly, you have to be prepared at all times." He turned his eyes in Alpha's direction. He'd not known that Sheikah could see clearly in darkness until he'd met up with Chisalu in the desert. She'd taught him a great deal about Sheikah.

"Oye. We'll be counting on your vigilance." He noted to Alpha, as he turned his eyes back towards the fairy. "That's a man of the Sheikah race. They can see clearly into the darkness as if it were lit." Lilly nodded. "That's amazing. I wish I could do cool things like that. Still, he's kind of a scary man." The Zora shifted his eyes in Alpha's direction, and turned back towards Lilly, whispering into her hearing range. "Between you and I... I'm not exactly sure if it's a man, a woman, or a straight up monster. I've never seen anything but its face, and I've never taken a good look. To make things even more unclear, it wears that cloak, and nobody seems to get too close to him, but... Whatever it is, I can tell it's a Sheikah from the vive I get from getting anywhere near it." Lilly peeked over Taint's shoulder at Alpha, and Taint quickly grabbed her. "Don't look at it!!" He whispered loudly, as if yelling.

"It sees: e v e r y t h i n g."


HP: 74/74 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
SPL:15/15 IIIIIIIIIIIIIII
WILL: 9/9 IIIIIIIII

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Strength- 3(base+Goron StrengthLv3[=6])=................................................. 6
Defense- 3(base[3]+human defense Lv2[=5]+L1 Jerkin[=18]+Deku Shield[2])=....... 20
Agility- 2(base+Deku Agility Lv2[=4])=....................................................... 4
Intelligence- 1(base)=........................................................................... 1
Spirit-1(base+Racial bonus[=2]+Zora Spirit Lv3[=3])=..................................... 5
Spell- 10(base+Spirit[5]=...................................................................... 15
Will Power- 9...................................................................................... 9
Health Points- 40(base+Spirit[44]+Exceptional Health Lv2[74])=....................... 74

Physical attack: (STR[6] + Weapon Base[12]) 18 dmg
Magical attack: (Level + base class + INT) 12 dmg


Abilities
Find Sustenance Lv1
Shield Lv3
Disarm Lv1
Elemental Burst Lv1

Eberron hopped off the caravan grumbling. Here he had been hoping for a peaceful rest as well. Lowering himself down, he let out a goron moan and pulled his precious bag onto his back. Reaching over his shoulder and somehow managing to pull a small rock out of the mammoth sack, Eberron crunched away happily in the dark and waited for some sign that they were ready to move out. It was dark, but he was used to the dark. And he wasn't alone anymore anyway. Smiling at the adventurers around him, Eberron let out another deep sigh of satisfaction. It was good to be travelling with such a group of people. Taking a few tentative steps forward, Eberron ran his hands along the floor, remembering the battle that had taken place here before. Finishing with his trip through memory, he sat back and waited patiently for everyone to move out.

Kagari didn't fell to greeted because of the nod. He was hoping for a " hello," or atleast a "Welcome," or something. Kagari sat over by the caravan and sat down and waited for a sign to leave. He looked over to Eberron, the goron that was running his hand's on the ground. Kagari wanted to have a small talk with someone and picked him. "Hello, Goron I'm Kagari, who are you?," He said as he studied the dark.

HP: 40