"It's a pleasure to meet you," Lady Rose said. "I'm a Ranger myself."

OOC: AHHH!!! Blank asked us to not go too far while he was at work...this all happened while I was on the way home from work! You people...you actually expect me to be able to reply to all of this stuff!?!

Huh. I'm honored that you feel I'm that good. You're wrong, but I'm still honored.

IC:
You glance over at Blank as he unceremoniously falls into the meeting area. At the nomad's question about the Hakiems' generals' identities, both Alpha and Shada glance at each other and shrug, indicating that they have no idea. "We don't know," Alpha confirms verbally.

Lady Rose's appearance causes you a bit of surprise, as she is relatively new to the area. Most of your companions have never met her before, including the two Sheikah in charge. Alpha nods to her in greeting while Shada jumps up and runs over to her. Grabbing her hands, she shakes it merrily. "Hi! I'm Shada, and that's Keyru...er, Alpha."

Victor and Cloud's appearance are expected. Both had been instrumental in solving the many riddles Master Zaris had left scattered throughout Hyrule. If that hadn't been enough, Victor was another member of the group that had fought the Hakiems before. The Hakiems would certainly be after him; if not now, then soon enough.

As all of you guys begin conversing amongst yourselves, you notice Alpha turning to reply to Arco's words. "You make an excellent point, Arco. But I have no idea who they'd want first. The fact of the matter is that I personally don't know the majority of the Golden Ones. Other than Master...Sheera..." This name he spoke sadly, "and Zaboorak, I only briefly met with the Golden Gerudo many years ago. She was very old then, and I would not be surprised if she has since passed on." You see the Sheikah shake his head. "The Golden Ones are very reclusive. I just don't know anything about the others to be able to figure out who'd they'd go after first."

OOC: And I'll edit this when I get back from helping my dad. Til then!

Edit: It's been edited.

Lady Rose smiled. "So I won't be the only woman on board," she said. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Shada. Do you know anyone else here besides Alpha?"

"Well of course I do," Shada responds in her normal, joyful manner. "Blank I met a while ago on a little quest we were on. Victor, Arco, and Grenada," she points to each of the people as she indicates them, just in case you didn't know them already, "were all a big help to us when we fought against the Hakiems last time...oh!" She giggles as if she's embarrassed, though it sounds to you more like a beautiful melody from a bard. "I'm sorry, you probably have no idea what this is all about, do you?

"Keyru! Explanations are in order!" If you looked closely enough, you could see Alpha rolling his eyes, as if to say 'Why don't you do it yourself?' Shada, of course, either doesn't notice or ignores it...though with her Sheikah senses, it'd be a safe bet to assume the latter.

So, Alpha stands above the fire and tells the story of the ancient Hakiems Tribe, the equally ancient Might of Gold, and the more recent struggle between Zaboorak and the Golden Ones, primarily Master Zaris. At this point, he looks you and the rest of your companions straight in the eye as he asks, "So...are you sure you wish to be a part of this?"

OOC: I just love the fact that I don't have to actually type out an explanation...

Lady Rose nodded grimly. "If he must be stopped, he must be stopped," she says. "Perhaps this is why I was sent to this Hyrule."

Arco thinks about what Alpha said before eventually drawing out a sheet of parchment, like one on which a Bard might compose music. He flips it over onto its back, withdraws a bent wooden writing utensil, and slowly scratches out in messy handwriting the part of Zaris' riddle that he'd memorized earlier:

'But if you must seek the Goldforce Powers,
Head for those five, who in darkest hours
Shall aid us all in the fight against he
Who betrayed our kind, from whom we still flee.’

‘Heeding my warning, I know that you should.
But expect it? I can't, as ignore it I would.
Now my last riddle: Seek you where I lie?
Look where you're closest to beyond the eye!’

Arco slips the pencil away as he sets the parchment on his knees and stares at it quietly. Occasionally, he taps his fingertips together, as if jogging his mind. It doesn't seem to have any effect. After a while, he gingerly picks up his dagger again and resumes trimming the grass around him.

"Well, if they're any good at hiding," he says, haltingly, "Then we probably won't be able to find them." Another pause, another blade of grass slain.

"Any chance they'll come find us?"

kasei turns towards the speaker, still half- asleep. nah, why would they? after all, we have the fearless cloud to save us all. kasei nods in clouds direction. but seriously, we can handle anything, so stop worrying...

Arco flicks a bit of seedy flora over his shoulder.

"I was talking about the Five," he says, with a bit of an offended lilt. The Bard pauses in a breath-held sort of hiatus that seems to make time freeze in its tracks.

"Besides, it takes more than a fearless adolescent and his new socks to do any amount of saving..."

A shadow move across Shada's vision. She heard the words 'Guess who' whispered gently into her ear. Then in one fluid movement she grabbed hold of her assaliant's arm and threw him over her shoulder.

Landing on his back, only a dagger's distance from the fire, Raven looked up at Shada from his prone position. 'I hoped to be the one to throw you over my shoulder.' With this Shada gave his hand - which she still held along with the rest of his arm - a twist and then threw it down.

Raven got up and rubbed the wrist of his hurt hand in his other. He then dusted himself off and turned to face Shada. 'Always a pleasure.' he bowed deeply and walked away confidently. Although in truth his back was still aching from the less than graceful landing.

He then sits - a good distance from Shada - around the fire. Flicking his dagger end over end to catch it by it's tip each time. 'Anyone got any idea what the riddle means? I think we've got a better chance of finding him than we do those Golden Ones.' He says matter of factly, only looking at his dagger as it rises and falls.

OOC: Sorry, Alpha. I always seem to end a high-jacking on of your charaters. Hope you don't mind.

Yup, and if the "Fearless Cloud" cant save us then zombie boy over here will!

Cloud pointed to Kasei and smiled.

You listen on as the discussions continue. Kasei and Cloud display reckless enthusiasm, contrasting sharply with Arco's concerned examination of the situation. Alpha seems to ponder Arco's latest question before answering. "That would probably be our best bet, actually. Although I've never been too pleased with just trusting Fate to guide me into or away from an encounter." He shrugs. "Hopefully Fate won't plan us a meeting with the Hakiems as well..."

You turn around as you hear a thump on the ground. Raven lies on his back, mumbling something to Shada. Shada gives him a superior look, one that she has apparently earned to right to wear while you weren't looking. In the corner of your eye, you also notice that Alpha is attempting to restrain himself from just laughing out loud, instead settling for a chuckle.

"Well, Raven," Alpha says upon regaining his composure, "That's something we were planning on waiting to talk about; we'll probably need all the help we can get. But if you guys want to go ahead and start in on it, I see no reason to prolong our wait." If you are any judge of body mannerisms at all, you notice that Alpha drops deep into thought, obviously pondering the last two lines of Zaris' poem:

'Now my last riddle: Seek you where I lie?
Look where you're closest to beyond the eye!’

OOC: As long as you're willing to have my characters beat you up, I'm fine with it. Just...don't make the god-modding into a casual occurance, okay Red?

OOC: Sorry bout the delay, was at cedar point yesterday.

IC:
Denning quietly moves into the group, he sees Alpha and goes up to him. As he walks he sees the others doing what ever it is they like to do, he notices only two are sleeping, and enemies at that. As he nears Alpha, he begins to speak.

"Greetings, Alpha, its been a while. Sorry I couldn't help you before, I wasn't around these parts. But I'm here now. And I can help you. If you wish it, that is. Note that my powers have grown in the time passed, and I can be a very powerful friend."

Psst! Guys come over here!

Cloud signalled everyone to be quiet. He took out a bottle of Lon Lon Creme and poured some in Kasei's hand. He took out a cuckoo feather and stroked Kasei's face with it.

Alpha's soft chuckling reaches your ears even before the cleric has finished speaking. "My friend," you hear him say quietly, "I have known you to be a powerful ally since even before our little sparring match. It's a pleasure to see you again, Denning." He reaches out to shake his fellow Scholar's hand.

Shada, you notice, watches Cloud's antics with the sleepers, stifling a laugh and trying to remain composed as the practical joke is played out.

OOC: You went to Cedar Point, Denning? I'm not a big fan of roller coasters myself, but I've got a friend who would die to go there - even if he has visited the place seven or eight times before...

kasei slaps himself in the face, cream everywhere...