Getting tired of standing around (not to metion cold) Raven decides its time to move. He doesn't like to use the same trick twice but he feels that he has few options left. So he charges at the so-called assassin for about five steps before disappearing from sight. Moving beyond the speed of sight he plunges through the flames Wraith has set up around him leaving only a flicker in the rotating flames as he passes through without any ill effects. If anything, the flames warm him up in the new enviroment the room has acquired. As he rushes through he slashes at Wraith's arms hoping to take them out of commission which will come in handy for what he has planned.

After directing attacks at his arms he decides to go for the big one, the finishing blow, he appears directly in front of Wraith. Staring right into the slits on his mask, he thrusts the dagger towards his chest, towards his heart. 'See you in Hell, Wraith.' Neither of them has much room to move leaving just a simply question; Who will survive?

OOC: I only have two words to say, followed by a brief exclamation.

SPRING. BREAK. HECK YEAH.

IC:
Pyralin's quick thinking works exactly as he has hoped. The fiery magic goes around his form for nearly a foot in each direction, though the very heat is enough to singe the hairs off any parts of his body exposed to it. Wraith looks on with a sudden air of nonchalance, as if the fight suddenly no longer holds the thrill that it had seconds before. Indeed, he has been injured, thus taking away a bit of the fun, but it shouldn't necessarily be this profound a change.

But Wraith is not so indifferent that he is willing to allow something so stupid as death to come upon him. Raven's first two slashes are accurate, to be sure, but wrapped in flame as they are it is impossible to tell if any damage has occurred. As Raven suddenly darts through the fire for a final attack, a newfound burst of energy bubbles forth from the ground beneath the assassin. "You fool, I already live in Hell." The words are calm, but the attack is anything but. A pool of magma appears at his feet, and suddenly the molten rock flies upward, skyrocketing to the ceiling.

While the thief may indeed be in danger of being burned to a crisp upon touching the substance, for some reason Wraith only keeps the blockade up momentarily. A mere second after it rises up the lava pours back down into the pool, which instantly vanishes away as well.

And just as quickly, Wraith has disappeared as well.

Pyre felt the extreme heat pouring over him, and cried out in pain. He fell down to his knees, but heard Raven proclaim an attack at the same time. He let a small smile come to his face. Maybe something good would come of this situation in the end. He looked up, staring into the cone of fire, and watched the assault on Raven. The hylian had no way of knowing that it was only an escape plan for the assasin.

When Wraith dissapeared, the first thing that Pyre thought was that he was going to launch another attack, but it almost seemed as if he was.... running away? The momentum of the battle had been suddenly halted. It was like hitting a brick wall. The hylian was surprised and suspicious. He had hoped that they would defeat Wraith, but now it seemed that that goal would be harder than ever. Not only that but the assasin might be planning a second strike, and to let down ones gaurd would end in death.

He kept his dirk up and ready, and looked around at the others. He didn't say anything, but the unasked question hung in the air. Where'd he go?

OOC: I was hoping for another reply before continuing . . . what happened to Raven, Dogura, Kasei, and Tayro?

Well, whatever, thanks for being patient, Pabru. Shame on the rest of you.

IC:
Alpha blinks his eyes, then slowly glances around the room in its entirety. Odd . . . he can't even find a trace of the impostor's presence in the room. There is no fire anywhere except for a few smoldering sections left in the room . . . he just disappeared. It's as simple as that, which in the end really isn't that simple to understand, of course. But the Sheikah chooses to just accept it as such, and move along.

Falling to his knees, Alpha grips his back where Wraith had managed to hit him a little while ago. A quick bit of massaging, though, and the soreness begins to dissipate. It is then that he looks up, quickly taking stock of who all is injured, and his eyes fall upon Pyralin in the corner. "Are you alright, Pyre?" he calls out, curious as to how well the boy was able to withstand that vicious attack. "Is everyone okay?" he follows his first question up with. "I can cast the Life Spell if it's needed."

* * *

Behind a doorway, on the opposite wall of the door the group had entered from, Wraith glances out from the shadows. Seeing them all starting to recovery from his attacks, he dips back into the darkness and leans against the wall, crossing his arms. 'This is getting us nowhere, you know.'

'Your lack of enthusiasm is not to be desired,' comes the reply. 'You have managed to confront Wraith, have you not?'

A grimace appears on his face. 'No, I haven't! Were I to confront Wraith, this castle would be annihilated, these pests done away with, and I'd finally be able to fight the way I want to fight! Instead, all I have confronted is 'Yuenbri'. I have to hold back because of your orders and -'

'That is enough.' Wraith shuts his mental mouth immediately, though a sigh does come forth. 'I can comprehend your desires,' the voice continues after a moment. 'There must be some way that you could get alone with him.'

Wraith rolls his eyes. 'That isn't exactly going to be good enough . . .' he eyes a feature in the room he's found himself in. '. . . but I'll try something out anyway.'

OOC: To be honest I could think of anything to say. Aside from a one sentance post along the lines of 'Where's he gone?'

IC: He waited and looked around the room; he had manged to escape due to the flames kicked up in front of him, but he had to be around somewhere. He wouldn't leave the fight half finished as he did the last time - would he? It seemed to be an annoyiing pattern with Wraith he would declare how great he was a show a great amount of power and then just as Raven got into his stride Wraith would vanish.

'AAAAGGGHHH!' Raven clenched his left hand into a tight fist he raised his arm up and drove it down again towards the floor and the fireball that had chased him before bolted out of his sleeve and into the castle floor. 'You won't escape again Wraith! You better hope that we don't meet again because there is going to be only one left standing and by the way you keep running it won't be you.!' After his outburst he could feel hands aching from his fingers digging into his palms and shaking at the adrenaline that coursed through him. No matter what you say, I've made you my opponent.

A crisp silence falls over the room, as all at once the world seemed to stop spinning. When the samurai had time to concentrate, he found Wraith missing, and Pyralin at his knees. While the battle had clearly been lost, somehow Dogura had no regrets. He had thought up a strategy, and it didn't work. End of story. As he stood over Pyralin, he kept his eyes out for any sort of trickery the assassin might be planning... [Awareness Check]

Pyre slowly rose it was painful, but he wasn't going to let that get in the way. He knew that in most battles, mental toughness was extremely important, and refused to give in to his body's pleading. Though unconsiousness was tempting, it might very well be fatal.

He barely heard what was going on around him, his concentration was spent between staying alive, and watching for any sneak attacks by Wraith. This thought passed through his mind, and the hylian knew he would have to do something about, so he did the one thing that was natural for a hylian to do in a such a situation: pray.

He let his eyelids close, and called out to Din with his mind, begging for assistance. Pyralin did not for an instance believe he was worthy of such aid, but he intrusted his faith to the goddesses he served.

That trust, and Pyre's praying did not go in vain. Slowly, he could feel warmth spread through his limbs, Din's fire coursed through him. The hylian knew there would be a price for such healing, and braced himself. The warmth grew hotter and hotter, until it reached an extreme forte. Every particle in his being screamed for mercy, his very blood burning within him.

And then it was over. Pyre's eyes shot open, and he looked around the room slowly, the disorientation passing. The burns that had covered his skin were mostly healed, and it seemed that he had survived the beginning of the party's ordeal with Wraith.

He saw that the others were just as alert for signs of Wraith as he had been before, and the hylian once again began his surveilance. He looked around quickly for anything that might indicate the assasin's pressence, but could find nothing. He didn't let his gaurd down, but new thoughts were already forming in his mind, and he hesitantly voiced them aloud.

"If Wraith isn't going to come to else, then I think the previous roles have been switched. Maybe it's our turn to do some hunting."

'And what exactly are you thinking?'

Wraith, grinning from the shadows in the room beyond the dome where the adventurers lay, resting, merely shook his head. 'Just trust me on this. One of those seven happens to be a telepath; he might be able to pick up on this little conversation of ours.'

'Hmph,' came the reply, a noise somewhere in between humor and offended. 'He would need to be truly skilled to pick up on our thoughts, and be at a level of power rivaling my own to be able to understand what we're saying.' A pause. 'You honestly think they might be able to do something like that, don't you?'

'Rival your power? Hardly.' He gave the group a long look. 'But they are not without surprises and strength. As I am, they have a chance of winning.'

* * *

Alpha glances around, senses tuned to whatever tricks Wraith might attempt to pull on them. But while his reflexes focus on the here and now, his mind is far away, contemplating the short battle they have just waged against the Assassin. The way he had effortlessly manipulated the flames strikes a chord in the Sheikah's mind . . . there is something familiar about his reckless infernal powers. The name . . . what had been the name of that man . . . ? He still cannot remember it, but it seems so close . . . as if whenever he is about to grasp it, someone else maneuvers it away from him mental hand.

Dogura's Awareness Check succeeds (11+7[Roll+INT]), and while no traps present themselves, just as Wraith had predicted his telepathic abilities manage to pick up a trace of the conversation being held in the other room. Though he might not be able to recognize who it is that is speaking, and certainly would fail if he attempted to eavesdrop on the dialogue, it should at least peek his interest.

~Pyre stood, watching Alpha and the others, and watching for any minute trace of Wraith's presence. Now that there seemed to be a lull in the action, he had sometime to think, and sometime to take things at his own pace instead of the frantic speed of battle.

The first thing he did was go back over the situation. How had the battle started? So many questions came with the mere touching on this subject. Was Wraith following them the entire time? Did Alpha know that Wraith would be here, or was the assasin waiting until he seperated from the others? If so, how would he know that Wraith was here?

Then his thoughts turned to what happened during the battle, and questions that went along with it. Why was Wraith so profiecent at manipulating fire when lightening was supposed to be his element? What was he doing here, is he working for the Hakiems? What - oh what - does Yuenbri, or what ever the word the assasin kept saying, mean? What language was it in anyways?

Then what seemed to be the most pressing question for the moment: Where was Wraith now? It didn't seem like he was about to get any answers, and it would be a little awkward to go up to Alpha and ask, "So did you know Wraith was here?". No, that didn't seem wise, if Alpha wanted them to know then he would tell them, but until then it was better not to bring it up.

Most of Pyre's throwing daggers had been burned in the intense heat of the assasin's attacks, but his sheath had protected his two dirks, his melee weapons, so he drew them out and held them at the ready. He wasn't impatient to rush ahead and fight Wraith, even though it may appear that way, but he didn't want to get caught unprepared. It would be prudent to make the best of the break while he could, but carelessness was out of the question.~

Dogura picked up thoughts, and voices, like that of a static radio. The samurai held up a hand to silence the group, as he concentrated his thoughts on the source, picking up every tidbit of information he could... [Awareness Check]

OOC: I don't know what to do

At last, Alpha stands himself up and begins glancing around himself, alert for anything Wraith might be planning to employ. 'What was his name?!' he thinks to himself, trying desperately to figure it out. But at last, he sighs. It's just not coming to him, and he has more important and more urgent matters to take care of. Such as actually finding Wraith again and beating him up. Once the mask is off, there's no doubt he'll be able to match an identity to the face.

Once again, Dogura's Awareness Check succeeds with no problems (15+7[Roll+INT]). His mind suddenly begins to make sense of whatever conversation he has managed to tap into:

'My my, he truly is impressive.'

'I told you so.' This voice is quite distinctive . . . Wraith's, without a doubt. 'So then, what do you say about giving me a bit more slack?'

'No,' comes the curt reply. 'That is the end of this foolishness. That is not necessary, and you know it quite well. Dogura, you needn't worry any longer. Your defeat is soon in coming. I'm sure that my Wraith can deal with you all if he would stop whining all the time. Until we meet in person, young Shadowclaw.'

'I'll show you whining, you -'

And then the connection is gone, the mental link broken between Wraith and . . . whoever that was. But what Dogura has heard should have lasted long enough. Undoubtedly, he has sensed the presence and the location of the place where one member of that conversation of the minds still resides: immediately through the doorway to the left of where Dogura stands now . . .

Raven stamps around the room still frustrated at Wraith's disappearence. Another thing has also begun to bother him. 'Why are we still hear?' He appears to be questioning the very room itself. 'Wraith has gone like he always does when he's about to lose. So what's keeping us here?'

Yet dispite his protests he doesn't make a move to leave himself. Waiting for someone else to be the first to lead the exodus.

Dogura's eyes widened to a sense of complete and utter astonishment. He slowly turned to his comrades. "Men... I think we're dealing with more than we first thought..." Dogura's hands hung by his sides, showing that he felt rather helpess.


Dogura explained everything he had heard to the group. Pausing to breath now and again, the samurai explained what was going on and why.

Dogura had heard more than he could bare to take. They know I'm a Shadowclaw... But perhaps they don't know that I'm of royal descent... And so they know nothing of my Father's spirit inside of me, and the spirit of evil that cloaks my soul... If they know nothing of ShadowClaw, then that is to be Trump Card from here on out... Dogura looked to the floor, closing his eyes. He knew very well the cost of purposly handing himself to ShadowClaw, even for a brief twenty minutes...

Alpha listens carefully to Dogura's words, trying to understand exactly what is going on here. Suddenly there's some other force behind this impostor Wraith - though that's no surprise, since assassins are almost never acting on their own; rather they always do others bidding, for a substantial fee of course. The truly interesting thing about the ordeal is that whoever is calling the shoots seems to be quite proficient in telepathy, or maybe even in magic in general, and he quickly says as much to his companions.

The moment Dogura's little explanation is done, however, things suddenly turn sour again. Bursting out of the doorway from which the Hylian would have identified as where Wraith was coming is launched a pillar of fire, heading straight for the group. Alpha dives out of the way and the fire passes - he looks back immediately, hoping the others' reflexes were good enough to save them from the molten strike. The pillar continues spiraling throughout the room, but now does so sporadically, as if not even intended to hit anyone. But it comes close enough to Alpha and the others often enough that they need to be constantly focusing on it, lest they get burned badly.

Then it suddenly goes on a path on the outside of the room, spinning around and around as the attack makes its way up towards the ceiling of the dome room. Upon finally reaching this destination, the fire forms into a circle on the roof, and out of it drop three rather . . . interesting creatures. They appear to be something like Sting Rays, but with spikes sticking out of their backs and the ability to fly. Oh, and one more thing makes them interesting: they are composed entirely of flames.

"Meet my Creeper Infernas," comes Wraith voice from the doorway. "Sorry for disappearing like that, but I needed to take care of some business with Noval and friends." Turning around, he slowly walks into the shadows of the next room, calling back, "When you're done with them, do try and catch up!"

Alpha goes ahead and tries to catch up, but one of these 'Creeper Infernas' drops right in front of him, intent on not letting him by.

Creeper Infernas x 3
Element: Fire
Stats: STR – 4; DEF – 8; AGI – 5; INT – 1; SPI – 4; SPL – 20; HP – 25

OOC: I should probably note that just because Alpha can't get by them doesn't mean that it's impossible . . .

Pyre leapt off to the side, and could feel the heat from the pillar of fire blasting past him. He went into a roll, and landed on his feet, daggers in each hand. The hylian frowned as the familiar voice returned. Oh boy...

He hadn't had much time to put together the scarce information that Dogura had gathered, and didn't give much thought to it. It was time to concentrate on the present, here and now. Currently that would mean taking down the Infernas.

More fire, just what we needed. Pyre decided to use a different stradegy this time around. The creatures were made of fire, so he didn't want to risk getting close enough to be burned. He decided to take the chance of accidently casting a fire spell, and use an elemental burst (I trust my fate to the dice roller).

The hylian gathered up a ball of invisible magical energy in his hands, and started to shape it. He had enough control to get it to burst, and to take on a elemental property, but he couldn't control which element he got. All he could do was make a brief prayer ot the goddesses, and release the energy in the direction of the flaming creatures. [elemental burst l1]