Tayro quickly crouched and tried using his staff as a protection from the shower of stars - metallic and pointy, besides sharp and deadly - although unnecessarily, as he was about to find out. He closes his eyes for an impact with those weapons, yet it naver came. Opening his eyes, the boy notices that all of the shurikens had but failed all of their targets, and lied calmly on the floor, as waiting for someone to pick them up. The hylian doesn't do that though. Instead, he gets up, and tries to determine the source of the attack. Wraith?

It didn't take long to undesrtand its source, as two men were fighting at the corner about having failed the targets. Not wasting anytime with questions, he just readies his staff in hand, and gathers his magical energies if they tried to strike. They doing the exact opposite stuns the mage apprentice a little bit. According to Coby, professional assassins had to train that if they failed to eliminate their target silently, they had to beat them the old way. Them fleeing only revealed one fact about them. They're just second-hand assassins. - he thinks. However, he doesn't wish to ignore them because of that - they HAD tried to kill him!

Seeing his allies giving chase to the assassins, Tayro doesn't waste time in following them, although a bit slower. His cloak was long, and if he wasn't careful he could easily trip on it, only slowing him further down. He thought about taking off his mantle but decided against it - taking that off would only take even further time, and he didn't want to lose their trace. He strangely notices that the alleyway that he had entered was longer than expected, and seemed gloomier as he coninued onwards. Soon enough, he started spotting the usually shining walls of the town starting to lose their colour, showing now a browner tone, filled with dirt and garbage. Where are we going to? He silently laughs at Shada's rather hysterical remarks, as at least it gave some humour to the situation. However, it also makes him a little oblivious to his surroundings, thus not noticing they were being watched. "Shada, you're not helping!" -he said, trying to restrain himself not to burst into laughter. However silly it made the situation, Tayro knew ir was still a serious matter, as he continued running towards the Forgotten Square.

OOC: Actually HNS, no, I wasn't expecting y'all to do that this time around. Oh well, keep surprising me.

Oh, and ZV, your posts are perfectly fine. No need to waste time improving things of such high quality.

IC:
Rose's Awareness Check fails (7+3[Roll+INT]). Nothing jumps out at her except for the disgusting state of the passage that they are currently traveling through, and how the two men seem more than happy to push further into the Forgotten Square.

Charging forward with all their might - probably because of Shada and Dogura's threats - the two men take an abrupt turn into a side alley on the left. Turning after them mere seconds afterwards, the group can see that the path takes a 90 degree turn back to the right.

Turning around that corner, Shada is shocked to see that one of the two men has vanished. There are no pathways which he could have turned into, and he didn't seem to move like a Sheikah - no, he's certainly Hylian. Without Shadowmeld, there seems to be no possible explanation for his vanishing act. The female Sheikah shakes her head in bewilderment, but she quickly chooses to turn her focus back on the lone remaining man fleeing before them.

Charging even faster than before, the leader of the duo emerges into the Forgotten Square. It seems to be an exact replica of the Town Square...only, the fact is that the Town Square is more likely a replica of this place. However, this Square is covered in mud, unevaporated puddles, and rubble from the collapsing buildings that cover the area. The area seems to be the very definition of 'deserted.'

The man disappears down another alley, but his choice one doesn't seem to go very far before reaching a dead end...

Rose follows the man into the alley. "Now then," she said, slightly out of breath from all of the running, "why did you try to kill us?" She prayed to the goddesses Blank and Shada would let her take care of the man this time.

OOC: I wan't going to post, but I just couldn't resist.

Blank charged at the assassin, preparing to go about his own interrogation method - a good strike to the face. His feet literally skidded to a halt, though, as Rose spoke. Even Blank could take a hint; the ex-General wanted to go about her diplomacy and etiquette. Not wanting to invoke any unnecessary feuding, the nomad steadied his fists and folded his arms, raising his eyebrow once more as he waited for the hooded man to respond.

"You're welcome," he muttered to himself, hoping that Rose hadn't heard.

OOC: I could have Rose beat the hell out of Blank, as I did to him over PM, but I just can't resist this either. XD

IC:
Rose turned her head to the side and growled, "I heard that." She then turned back to the man and waited for his answer.

Shada sighs, annoyed at the attempt at diplomacy, but realizes that such a thing is most likely necessary if they hope to discover who hired these men.

But the man doesn't even glance back at Rose's inquiry, instead simply running straight forward...and going straight through the wall. Shada sharply inhales at the sight. "An illusion," she mutters with more than a hint of annoyance and confusion. For such amateurs, they must have some high connections if they could have a false wall prepared. That is most likely the explanation for the other man's disappearance as well, she realizes as she charges forward, busting through the illusion as well and into another alley.

* * *

Not too far away from the center of the Forgotten Square, the dark robed man reappears on a crumbling rooftop. The area he kneels upon seems sturdy enough, but the fact of the matter is that five feet away on three sides lies a three story fall.

The man he has been watching, the second member of the team, walks slowly up to a door in the center of a deserted streetway. Turning the handle, he disappears inside without so much as a sound, leaving the man alone with his thoughts. 'So, this is their hideout? Interesting location; I suppose now all I have to do is wait for the second man to show up. And with him come the others.'

"Damn it," Rose muttered. "It's a simple question." She began to run again, passing through the illusion. She thought she felt something as she passed through, but she left it as soon as she entered it, so the feeling didn't last for long. Maybe it felt like someone blowing across her skin. She didn't care very much. She cared about catching that man that was in front of her.

"What in the world?!"
Tayro stopped giving chase to the man as he arrived in the Forgotten Square. He couldn't take his eyes off the Town Square's replica, or the place Town Square was the replica of. Muck and dirt were everywhere, the buildings had cracked windows... a lost district that everyone just seemed to have forgotten about. I can't believe this... we're actually in the Forgotten Square! The boy had only heard tales of this place as spooky bed-time stories the Orphanage maids had told them, that it was the old location of the Town Square, but due to certain events that they didn't tell him, it was abandoned and everyone moved to the current Town Square... and this old place was now the place where brave assassins and thieves lived... why brave? Because the place was also inhabited by zombies! The boy shivered at that thought. Meeting up with an undead was quite not very welcoming. Well, sure there were ReDeads and Ghinis, but... an invicible zombie?! Come on Tayro, that part was surely only ficticional! There's no such thing as zombies... - he thought, although not quite sure of that.

He stopped thinking about the undeads and started worrying more with the target at hand - the assassin that was getting away. Having missed a bit of the action, he starts running towards him and his group once again, managing to catch up to them only because they had finally stopped. Tayro was glad for that - being alone in a place filled with thieves, assassins, zombies... No. Not zombies. He waited in his spot behind the group as Rose proceeded with the interrogation. Looking at the group, his eyes stopped on Shada, and he had to breathe deeply to avoid laughing. Her display of diplomacy back there did prove quite convincing... for the assassins to run faster. She had even manage to lose one of them, but this time the mage apprentice agreed with her. Without Shadowmeld, to where could he have ran to? Somehow, the boy believed that sooner or later, they would find him, even if he could disappear like that.

However, he did not expect for this man to vanish as well, this time to inside the wall. The Hylian looks in astonishment, although quickly understanding what had happened. An illusion... neat trick. That was probably how the other man disappeared as well... A mystery solved, one mystery to go - why did they want to kill them? Wanting an answer, the boy took a deep breath, and walked towards the wall. Passing through that illusion was quite bizarre... his body seemed dormant like a million ants were climbing him and his vision became all blurred and unclear. That effect soon ended, because with another step, the boy was now on the other side of the illusion. Spotting Rose, Shada, and the assassin up ahead, he starts running towards them, continuing the chase.

The man sprints forward, somehow managing to outrun even Shada, a well trained Sheikah, with no apparent difficulty. Shada plows ahead right behind him, though, never losing sight of him no matter how many turns he makes within the intricate labyrinth of the Forgotten Square's alleyways.

Running as fast as he can, it is almost shocking when he leaps directly to the right. There doesn't appear to be an opening there, but the fact that his body passes through the wall proves that this is merely another illusion barrier. Shada leaps through it as well, right on his heels -

- and on the other side is no sign of him. A lone stretch of alleyway travels for some distance, but it is easy enough to see that there is no other entrances or exits to this path; at least, none that are visible. The man obviously traveled through a second illusion, but as to where that could possibly be there is no way to know, other than by feeling around the walls in their entirety, a process that could take several minutes. With each passing second, the man gets farther away from them.

If the exit isn't found quickly, then there's no way the group will catch up with him.

Rose came up behind Shada, quickly realizing what had happened. "Oh, come on, give us a break," she said, panting. She walks up to a wall and places her hand on the wall. She glides her hand along it, hoping to find a hole and reveal the illusion. As she goes over the stone, she feels both smooth and rough patches.

Oh, for the love of... Blank abruptly pounced through the false wall. "Hmm... they can't kill for their lives, yet they can run faster than lightning, it seems. Looks as though we're dealing with the very epitome of cowardice here." He watched Rose place her hand on the walls. Eloqency and diplomacy always seemed to be her idiom. But that was hardly Blank's style.

Choosing a different wall, Blank pressed the tip of his sword against the muddy stone and took off at a run. The point would, hopefully, push right through at the seam of the false wall, if there existed one on his route. As he ran, he watched for anything that would give away the placement of such an illusion. It would be most unfortunate, though, if he were to take a tumble. To that end he wished he could be more like Rose.

[Awareness Check?]

The man had slowed to a casual gait as he too approached the door that his associate had passed through mere minutes before him. Another quick opening of the entrance, and a similarly fast closing upon the wooden frame were watched by the dark robed man, who merely nodded, as if he had expected such behavior. Which, of course, he had.

His ears pricked up as he heard the sound of metal scraping against the stone the buildings were made of. Taking a few moments to memorize the layout of this portion of the street, he began meandering across the roofs towards that location.

* * *

Blank's Awareness Check fails (4+4[Roll+INT]). His sword glides along the stone faced wall, but he never discerns any false walls or hidden passages from his efforts.

"You might want to try the other side, Blank," comes a voice from above. The dark robed man kneels on the rooftop near the center of the side which Rose has been examining, a mischievous look on his face. Alpha casually passing his hand through a section of the wall that is raised up to his position, his motions proving that this is the portion of the alley that is an illusion.

"Keyru! What are you doing up there?" Shada yells up to him.

In response he merely shrugs. "I had been passing through North Castle on my way to get a new lead on the Hakiems when I saw you all gathered. Then I saw those two men throwing the shuriken - with absolutely horrendous accuracy, I should add - and decided to follow them both from above."

He hops off his perch, landing several seconds later upon the cold, forgotten dirt walkway. "I managed to track the man that you all lost back to a particular house, and about a minute ago the second one joined him there, so I came to get you guys. Shall we?" He gestures towards the false wall and moves to pass through it, doing so without hindrance.

Beyond this passage is a much wider area of street, larger in size and undoubtedly better traveled...back in the years it was in use. Now the street is as barren as any other part of the Forgotten Square, lacking any and all trace of its former job as the central point of the city.

Rose doesn't know whether she should be amused or annoyed (OOC: And neither do I. ). She followed the Sheikah mage. "What do you think of these two men?" she asked him. "Should I sheath my sword, or do you think we should keep our weapons out just in case they attack?"

OOC: Alpha was my first guess, but then I started to think he was an accomplice of the assassins blokes XD

IC:

Staring at the cloaked man, Blank felt compelled to bark out a typical "Who are you?" type question, which he had found himself wondering on several occasions lately. Another Hakiem? Probably not. Wraith? The mask-less face said no - but, of course, the answer was technically yes. But Blank would have never known. One conclusion came to mind.

"Alpha," he interrupted, blushing as he realized. The voice should have been a dead giveaway. It showed how little the nomad knew the shadowy man, despite having known the mage for quite some time now. He straightened up and sheathed the wooden swords - which were beginning to splinter (apparently stone will do that to wood) - behind his back and approached the illusionary passageway.

Beyond it, he is amazed at the empty section of the Forgotten Square. How it had ever been the original Town Square perplexed him, and he wondered what this square's Ornery Cuccoo Tavern - or the equivalent of the time - would have been like. "So, Alpha, where's their hideout?" Blank asked, readying himself for combat should another volley of the poorly aimed shuriken be launched.

"Just up ahead, Blank," Alpha responds. "And I'd keep your blades out for now, Rose. I only saw them both entering through the same door; I have no idea what their true intentions in attacking you all were."

The Sheikah leads them about a block along the street, then stops at a single doorway along the side of the building they've been walking past for the last minute. "This is it," he says calmly, withdrawing his staff from beneath his cape. "Here's hoping they didn't just leave through some back entrance . . ." He opens the door, and Shada immediately jumps inside, followed by the others -

- and they come face to face with one of the two men. His hood is still raised, so all that is not hidden by shadows is the man's grin. His voice identifies him as the leader of the duo that had attacked the others. "I would suggest you all put down your weapons immediately. There are at least seven arrows trained on each one of you from all sides - one wrong step and, while you won't die, it is doubtful that you will be able to walk or hold a weapon ever again."

Alpha's eyes widen as he realizes the trap they have walked into. He quickly flicks his eyes back and forth, taking in the entire room. A two story building, above them is a balcony on three sides, from which at least thirty archers stand, arrows noched and ready to fire. Just glancing at where they're aimed tells him that not only could they hit him if he stands still, but they have every possible way he could dodge covered as well. The same is undoubtedly true of the others in the group.

As for the first story, only the hooded man stands there. The windows have been covered with dust due to lack of use for such a long period of time, and so very little light makes it inside. Shadows cover the entire place. The walls are littered with large boxes and crates, as if this was once a storage area. A distinct possibility, Alpha thinks.

He allows his staff to fall to the ground, and moments later hears both of Shada's daggers follow suit.