OOC: Wow, I'm feeling very in character right about now. I never even got past the second temple in AoL, and I own it!

IC: Thoroughly subdued by Serin's irritated voice, Victor hung his head and mumbled:

"Yes... I've only really heard about Horsehead, though. Now that I think about it..."

Lifting his head and looking through the castle's stonework and the cave's walls towards the North, the Bard said:

"I think Horsehead was in Parapa Palace when Link fought him..."

Then, looking at Serin and Maverick with a somber look on his face, Victor pleaded his case.

"Look, I'm sorry I don't know much about my homeland, but that's not my place of study. I'm a Vagabond, not a Scholar; a Bard, not a Scribe. My whole family is based around music, so there wasn't ever much time for history. Horsehead is about as far as I got in Link's story before it became too difficult to progress. Life just kinda... got in the way. So, please, can you spare the time to tell me about this Carock?"

OOC: There's quite a lot of truth in that paragraph.

Maverick begins to laugh once more, but while his laughter shows that he is amused, his eyes portray an understanding of Victor's disposition. The scholar nods and smiles, thoroughly impressed by the bard's assertion.

Very well, Victor. Of course, as a vagabond you should not be expected to study the roots and foundations of your country. Yours is a task of travelling the land and providing the material for stories such as this one throughout your adventures. I offer sincere apologies from all of us for misunderstanding you, Victor.

Now, the point we were trying to get across is that Carock appeared on Link's adventure as an enemy, and was thus cast into ruin by the noble intentions of the Hero. But before all of this, before Ganon returned from the world beyond to wreak havoc on this land, Carock was nothing more than a normal man. A Hylian, much like yourself, he studied the three fields of scholarly classes. Clericism, Scribing, and Magic. He was one of the few that had been keeping the legends of Hyrule alive through literature, and knew all about the great King of Evil.

The King of Hyrule entrusted Carock to watch over the Temple on the western side of Maze Island, a separate islet from the second Great Continent. Maze Island was originally used as holding grounds for various scientifically engineered monsters, but Carock used his powerful magic to transform the terrain into a maze-like plateau to keep Link at bay. The Hero managed to find Carock in the bowels of his Temple, and our leader was destroyed.

Some time later, a man appeared at my door in Calatia's Grand Castle. It was none other than Carock, a warlock that many had thought was long dead. He instructed me to gather strong followers and prepare for the ultimate overhaul of Hyrule, meaning that we were to remove the cursed remnants of Ganon's reign. I did just that, fully understanding that the fellow scholar had only been following the King's orders when Link crossed his path.

And here we are today. Carock told me that he would arrive when our task is complete. He is building his power elsewhere, perhaps on the Outer Continent, but we are unsure.

Happy that Maverick understood his predicament, Victor listened intently as Carock's story was unravelled before him. When the story had ended, he straightened in his chair and smiled.

"I guess it was rather ironic that Link fought him then, eh? So... this Carock isn't really a villain after all, but a follower of the King himself. Interesting. Well, I see no reason to be shocked. In a way, I'm kind of glad I didn't know who he was in the first place!"

Settling once more in his seat, the Bard crossed his arms and looked at the counsel of leaders before him.

"Is there anything else I need to know, then?"

Tristan smiles widely and shrugs in Victor's direction. There are two peculiar differences to this Goron: his hair and his voice. While his voice is still slow and drawn out, his R's are not held when he speaks.

There is little left for you to learn, Victor. We've already gone over the motives, and you've probably already picked up a lot of information on our organization here. All that remains are simple explanations of this creep city and the freaks that inhabit it, if you want. That is, the freaks aside from us.

Victor chuckled and answered the Goron.

"Heh, well, I'd definitely like to learn more about the city. It's the freaks that really... well, freak me out, but I think I'd enjoy finding out a bit more about this place. Which reminds me..."

Remembering the Kokiri girl from earlier that day, the Bard's thoughts returned to his rather simple equipment, and he decided to ask the leaders about it:

"What can I get at, lets say, the Shop District of this town? And, as long as we're on topic, I guess I'd like to learn about the rest of the city as well..."

Maverick eyes show fleeting despair as he answers the innocent question about the District.

What can you find at the Shop District? Death. If you want it, there is no fee. It will come swiftly and without pay. That District is forsaken. We let only the most protected of our allies explore that area. There are mostly burned buildings and skeleton piles in that filthy section of this city, and we advise those with short-nerved stomachs to forget all curiosities associated with it. All that we have salvaged from the depths of its armouries are bent and wrecked weapons that are unidentifiable. The largest of our organization's casualty count occurred there, and we do not wish to lose many more to its dark creatures.

Darizan laughs as he interrupts, jokingly pounding his fist on the table and wiping a tear from his eye.

But you weren't expecting to actually find a merchant there, were you?

Maverick gives the Gerudo an icy glare and returns to his explanation.

As for this city, well, there is little we know. That is why you were sent on your reconnaissance mission today. We have yet to learn the secrets behind this city. We have discovered the four major districts: Hospitality, Training, Shop and Leisure. They are all dangerous areas now. There is this castle, as well, which was refurbished to suit a greater purpose. There may be more, but we have yet to uncover it.

Finally, Lara the bard interrupts. Her voice presents a tone of fatigue; the hour is more than likely very late.

Victor, I trust you have learned quite a bit today. You have met some of your new allies, as well as most of the leaders here. You have discovered the true identity of the figurehead behind the entire operation, and have been warned of the dangers of the city. Tomorrow you may meet Myst Wolfeye, the Sheikah who collaborated with Solstrem, Serin, Tristan, Darizan and I in creating this organization. But the hour is late; we are ready to retire to our separate chambers. Zayxin will wake you as he did today, and give you a new task. Perhaps we will meet again soon, my fellow bard.

The Trinian woman stands and bows slightly, then exits the room. Maverick agrees with her statement and salutes to Victor, dismissing him.

Yes, be prepared for another rude awakening. Goodnight, Victor.

OOC: Oops. I forgot it was my turn...

IC: Waving goodbye to Lara and then the rest of the group, Victor too retired to the hallway. But he still had some energy left, and so the Bard decided to do a little more exploring as he had done the first night... Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. It had only been two days since he first joined this organization, but it seemed like it had been an eternity. As he walked up the stairs to the castle's lobby, Victor wondered what the organization would hold in store for him in the future...

Reaching the lobby, the Bard looked up at the rest of the stairs to see if the barrier had been removed yet...

OOC: I may have skipped ahead a little there, but I just wanted to try and save some time... Sorry again for taking so long with this reply...

Every floor leading upwards to the main level of the castle is barricaded as they had been earlier, making it imposible for Victor to explore these levels. The flight of stairs leading into the lower levels, however, is mysteriously open. A dim flicker of torchlight can be seen, quite possibly two or three floors down. An odd smell drifts up from the deeper areas of the basement.

The bard has been presented with three options: Retire to his dormitory as the leaders have done, try to find open floors on the upper levels of the castle, or explore further into the dark basement.

Looking down at the basement levels below him, Victor shivered as he thought about traversing those dark corridors. He quickly decided against going down any further; besides, it smelled bad down there. So, turning on his heels, the Bard marched back up the stairs to try and find some open levels up above. If anything, he would just retire to his quarters like everyone else...

All of the levels above are accessible, but the absence of sound indicates that there is no one awake at this late hour. The usually well-lit corridors are now far from navigable. As such, it would be futile to attempt a late-night meeting with any of this organization's personnel. As Victor reaches the sixteenth floor, his dormitory comes into sight, although it is somewhat difficult to locate the room in the covering darkness of the castle. The odd windows on these floors would have been useful at this point.

The castle is dead silent.

Trembling slightly at the eerie silence of the castle, Victor was glad that he didn't choose to explore the basement further. Quietly opening the door to his dormitory, the Bard stepped in and gratefully eyed his bed. This time, though, he took the time to look around his room, remembering that last night he had pretty much collapsed into bed right away...

In the corner of the room is the bed, it appears to be quite comfortable, as it had been the previous night. To it's right is a short, wooden table of intricate design. A drawer is partly opened, and inside are the musical books that Victor had seen earlier, as well as a few novels for some leisure reading. A lantern sits on top of the table, it's burning wick still long. The flame gives off enough light to make the room's atmosphere more comfortable.

On the wall is the sliding door that leads to the bizarre shower contraption. On the wall adjacent to the shower is a long cabinet. Inside the drawers are Victor's original clothing, as well as a separate drawer for his organization uniform. Inside this drawer is a pair of black gloves and decent black boots.

There is little else in the room. A rug on the floor and an empty closet make up the rest of the bard's dormitory.

Finding nothing of interest in his dormitory, Victor walked over to the lantern and blew it out. Then, finding the way to his bed in the darkness, the Bard flopped down on to the soft matress once again and fell fast asleep...

The very next day, the thunderous pounding of Zayxin's fist against the dormitory door echoes throughout Victor's room. The familiar voice calls out to the bard in the demanding tone that had been used the previous morning.

Bard! Get up, now!

As had been the case before, the Goron will not stop until Victor is awake.

Startled once more from his sleep, Victor squirmed violently under the covers, but was careful not to fall off. Looking at the door painfully, Zayxin's incessant knocking forced the Bard out of bed and to the door. Grabbing hold of the door knob, he was about to open it before he remembered the morning before. Stepping back a few steps, Victor opened the door from afar, watching out for the Goron's hand...