Rather than throwing Victor into the sixteenth floor's corridors as he had done the previous day, Zayxin stands outside the door with his arms crossed. As Victor opens the door, he steps back a little so that he is not blocking the bard from exiting his dorm.

Betterrr. You rrreacted much fasterrr this time. So, arrre you rrready to go?

Surprised to still be standing in the doorway, Victor blinked and looked at the Goron. A little embarrassed that he had taken such measures not to be thrown, the Bard attempted a smile and spoke.

"Err... sure, I'm ready. But... where am I going?"

The Goron shakes his head and stifles what would have once sounded similar to a laugh. Although he is not a very gleeful Goron, he must be finding it very easy to poke fun at Victor's constant displacement.

Today is the day that you will rrreturrrn to the surrrface. Brrrace yourrrself, barrrd. The intense rrrays of the deserrrt sun will come as a shock to your eyes. You have seen naught but torrrchlight since you came here.

But beforrre I take you to the entrrrance, you will need to be fed. Do what you need to do and rrreturrrn to the gatherrring hall when you arrre rrready. Maverrrick advises you to continue to wearrr the uniforrrm, so put those boots and gloves on. I will see you on the firrrst floorrr when you have finished prrreparrations.

Smiling just a bit wider, Victor thanked the Goron and turned back to his room. He rummaged through the cabinet drawers, taking out the boots and gloves. Quickly putting them on, the Bard fidgeted uncomfortably as he had done when he first wore the black cloak; the boots were heavy compared to his shoes, and the gloves obstructed his fingers' movement. But, suddenly remembering something, Victor forgot his discomfort and turned back to Zayxin before the Goron could leave.

"Uhh... will there be food in the gathering hall, or do I have to go somewhere else?"

Zayxin turns around in time to see Victor's discomfort in wearing the dark-looking cloak, boots and gloves. He shakes his head with pity and almost bursts out another of his odd suppressed laughs, but instead stays silent and continues to act as if Victor were an ignorant child.

Rrreally now, barrrd, the uniforrrm is not as uncomforrrtable as you make it seem. In a matter of days you may find it to be as nice as any outfit can be. That is, if Wolfeye deems you worrrthy of our tool of shadow...

Oh, and do not worrrrry. Therrrre will be plenty of nourrrishments downstairrrs. That is our prrrimarrry dining hall when it is not in use forrr a gatherrring.

The large Goron turns and marches down the stairs before Victor can say another word.

Nodding silently, Victor entered his room once more and gathered his things, deciding not to shower this time. Instead, he quickly washed his face and hands before descending the stairs as Zayxin had done. When he reached the floor where the gathering hall was, Victor hurried down the hallway and into the room, practically starving from almost two days without much food...

The hall is deserted, save for one familiar face: Thespin the Trinian archer, the man who had prevented Victor's untimely death twice on the day of the bard's arrival. The archer hears Victor's approach and looks up to see him, then nods silently and continues to eat his breakfast.

Spread out on the table is an assortment of emptied platters and dishes. There is everything that Victor will need to feed himself with. The table is almost cluttered with such a massive amount of provision; there is almost every kind of breakfast food ever imaginable set out for the bard to choose from.

OOC: In other words, rather than dictating what Victor can eat, I'll just leave that up to you

OOC: Lazy!

IC: Returning Thespin's nod with a smile, Victor was about to walk over when he saw the table. His mouth agape, the Bard eyed the huge amount of food, placed wave after wave upon the table like an army of edible delights. Forgetting Thespin, Victor walked slowly towards the buffet and looked it over, hardly able to believe that all this food was even possible. Quickly grabbing a plate, he hesitated no longer.

The Bard began by piling a mountain of scrambled eggs onto his plate, salting them slightly before moving on to the toast, where he grabbed two slices and buttered them heavily. Next he reached for the bacon, salivating over the greasy strips and carefully placing three on his plate. Satisfied as far as food went, Victor then looked around for the condiments. Finding them, he poured a generous amount of ketchup on his eggs, along with a bit of pepper. For a drink, the Bard grabbed a glass of Lon Lon Milk.

Excited that he was finally going to eat a good meal, Victor hurried to sit at Thespin's table. He sat across from the archer, but didn't speak; rather, he shoveled down his food as fast as possible, loving every bite...

Glancing up from his now finished plate, the archer grins at the massive breakfast that Victor has served himself. Of course, he is not entirely surprised. The bard has gone days without real sustenance and has been attacked several times by the barbaric creatures, enough to make any person even slightly hungry.

A healthy appetite. That's all well and good, Victor. You just enjoy that meal, alright? You'll be outside for a good while today, and Mizer might give you a hard time. It's not often that anyone has to keep guard twice in two days, but somehow that guy got screwed over, again.

The Thespin stands up and claps his hands, shaking any crumbs from his gloves. He pushes his chair in and nods once more at Victor, then turns and leaves.

Better hurry up, Victor. Zayxin can have a mean temper if he's kept waiting too long.

The Trinian's laugh dies out as the door of the Gathering Hall closes, and Victor is left to finish his meal.

Looking up to watch Thespin leave, Victor gulped down some more of his food. He certainly didn't want to invoke the wrath of a Goron like Zayxin. Scarfing down what remained of his food and milk, the Bard hurried out the door after Thespin. About a minute later, he returned to the gathering hall with a severe case of the hiccups. Holding his breath and downing another glass of milk as a cure, Victor ran out of the hall once more and out into the castle's lobby. There he stopped to look around for Zayxin...

The wide Goron is not hard to miss. He sees Victor has finished his meal and walks over to him. His movements portray his usual serious mood.

Good. Now, we arrre rrready to go. Follow me, barrrd.

Zayxin hurries his pace and exits the lobby into the courtyard, expecting Victor to follow him.

Happy that the Goron was not any angrier than usual, Victor followed in Zayxin's wake out into the courtyard. Taking this as his opportunity to ask some questions, the Bard spoke up.

"Will we be joined by some kind of team, or are we on our own?"

OOC: Sorry it took me so long. Today was hectic. I actually read your post in school, so... yeah. Sorry!

Zayxin seems to ponder the question as he and Victor exit the courtyard through the gate and step out onto the colossal connecting bridge. The thick fog that Victor encountered on his second day in the dark, underground city seeps out of the four Districts and onto the raised walkway, but there are no signs of the Cursed Ones in its wake. As the two cloaked men reach the halfway point of the bridge, Zayxin finally answers.

No. It will be only you and Mizerrr, a Somarrrian. You have alrrready met his sibling, Helena. Only one perrrson is put on guarrrd duty at a time. Today is a rarrre exception.

The Hylian and the Goron arrive at the immense boulder that barricades the only exit and entrance to the city that Victor has been shown. Perhaps there are more entry points, but that is of no concern. Zayxin grabs the rock in his large Goron hands and rolls it to the side with ease, a feat that most would find unimaginable. He then gives Victor a rough shove into the blazing heat of Parapa Desert, sealing the exit shortly afterwards.

Hood up, barrrd.

OOC: I figure if Byrna is a country, Somaria may as well be one, too. If you know what I mean

Having been shoved into the light, Victor looked back to see the cave entrance closed. He lifted his hood over his head as Zayxin said to do, but pondered why he had to wear a full cloak, a hood, boots, and gloves out in the hot desert sun. Still, the hood shielded him from the suns rays at least, which had pierced his eyes when he first looked out into the daylight. Shrugging his shoulders, the Bard looked around for this 'Mizer', trying not to think about the heat...

OOC: Ugh, this month has been the month from hell. But, heh, yeah, Somaria and Byrna. Makes sense.

OOC: Summer's almost here, though, so there's something to look forward to
IC:

As Victor scans the area for signs of his guard duty partner, the blinding sun beats down on his black clothes. The temperature out here is unimaginably hot, and the bard will be breaking a sweat in a matter of seconds. Suddenly, a voice speaks to him from behind. It is a calm voice, one that seems to be monotone but has a varying personality to it. Mizer the Somarian's hood is down, revealing his dark hair, unscathed face and brown eyes. His hair appears to be black, but is actually a very dark shade of violet, and odd hair color indeed. He grins sympathetically as he speaks.

Well, well. Vagabond Victor has come to help keep watch on our fortress. Right on time.

Mizer speaks and moves as if the sun's blazing rays do not bother him, even through the conductive black cloak that he wears.