Rose cursed herself in her mind. She should've seen this coming. Those fake walls should've given it away. But she was too bent on catching them to pay attention to anything else. Had she still been a general in the Tarm Army, she would've been dropped back down to private. Hell, she would've been kicked out of the army.

She saw Alpha and Shada drop their weapons; her stomach sank. Then she looked up and saw what Alpha saw. Maybe an insect could've escaped them, but she wasn't willing to try.

The sound of metal striking stone struck her ear. Rose had let her sword fall. She was giving up without a fight. Rose had never felt so ashamed in her life.

"Oh, hello..." murmured Blank as he stepped in front of the hooded man, who he easily determined was the more competent of the two. Listening to his words, Blank nodded understandingly. He glanced up at the archers, and immediately the sweat of tension began to form. He swallowed hard, and waved to them. Thinking better of the insulting gesture, he braced himself. Seven arrows would leave the others crippled, but the nomad doubted he could survive even four.

"Right. I guess I'll just... drop my weapons. Yes, here you go..." he said, the concern voiced by his hesitant speech. He slowly reached around behind him, and pulled the swords from their sheathes. At this point, had there not been a score and a half of archers - all skilled, probably - watching his every move, he would have lashed out at the shuriken-wielding man, but he thought better of the situation. Attacking now would put the others in danger, so he dropped the wooden weapons to the ground and prodded them away with his left foot.

"Well, damn," Blank whispered to Shada. "I really hope they're not planning on taking us back to the Hakiems' base." Knowing that the assassin, at such proximity, had no doubt heard him, he turned his head away from the Sheikah woman and added, "Because if you are, please, just kill me now." Despite the seriousness of the hold-up, Blank held true to his humorous grin.

Pyre sat atop the dusty ruins of a building. He sighs heavily. This was the third day he had been exploring the Forgotten Square, but he had never found anything, and was about to give up hope, and return to the Town Square.

Three days before, the hylian was working for a small caravan, in a temporary position and was searching for supplies in the town square. There, he had heard an old woman talking about a old part of the town that had been lost in time, somewhere near the current town square. She said that ancient treasures were hidden there, and Pyre, excited, went to talk with his fellow caravneers. He told them the story, and said that he wanted to go explore. His companions said that he could, and that they would meet back in Rauru town, so Pyralin went back to the town square.

Back in the square, he returned to the old woman, and asked if she knew how to enter the square. She mumbled things about false walls, and danger, but provided no other information, so Pyre set out to find it on his own. He ran to the east, optimistic that he'd find it.

Hours later, he had no luck, and his excitement was ebbing away. He walked through town square, and saw that a new stall had been set up. A fortune teller had come into the town from Ruto highlands. His optimism rekindled, Pyre quickly approached and inquired about the location of the lost part of the city. A faint, and knowing smile crossed her face.

"Mabye, for 40 rupees I'll tell you."

The hylian eyes flared angrily, but he managed to refrain himself from the killing the fortune teller then and there, and handed over the rupees. Its probably just a scam, but it might be worth it.

The fortune teller stood, closed her eyes and looked up at the sky for a moment that seem to strech on forever. Eventually, she opened her eyes and looked at Pyre slowly. She raised a finger and pointed to the west. The hylian hurriedly looked in that direction, and saw that nothing crossed it path for a long time, until eventually his eyes fell upon the wall of a building. Pyre narrowed his eyes and snarled a short thanks, and began walking towards the building. Mabye, just mabye...

At the building, he found nothing. He ran his hands over the smooth wall, to no avail, untill he found a small alley leading off to the right. He looked at it strangly, and began running. He was running for a long time, and then started to sprint. After a while, he stopped, and panted it place, until he looked up, and found he was in an unfamiliar part of town. Could this be it?

He had found the forgotten square, but after some more inspection found no way out. Damn, I'm lost! Oh well, I as make the best of my time in the square until I find my way out. Thus he began his search through the ruined square.

That was how he got to where he is now, and still has not found the way out. Am I going to die here! Where is the exit! He jumps off the building , and looks down at the ground. There he saw a footprint in the dust. His eyes widened. Whats this? I haven't checked this part of the square yet. He started to follow the footprints. He became more and more exited, and started to run. Suddenly, he found himself passing through a wall, and fell to the ground. What the! He slowly rose to his feet. An illusion! This must be the way out! He started to move again, and found himself looking at another wall. Am I there? He passed through the wall, and found a strange seen. A group of people were standing, there weapons on the ground with arrows trained on them. He shifted into the shadows. What should I do? Should I help them?... No its better to stay here, and not get caught than to act rashly. I'll wait here...

He crouched and waited, a mix of excitement, anxeity and fear on his face. Whats going to happen to me...

OOC: Sorry for the absence, My computer has been infected with a big virus, and I'll be on less, if at all anymore, until it gets fixed. Please dont hesitate to continue without me any longer. Also, in case of a battle, i give Alpha controll of Dogura after this Post. Also, I had a big long post written up once a while ago, but my retard of a PC had shut itself down.

IC: Dogura hadnt realized what he had done. He had walked right into a trap that he would have thought about, and most likely avoided, had he been thinking clearly. However, he had taken quite a lot in since his first encounter with Wraith. There was something about him that made him think about thoughts he had never thought before. However, there was a more pressing matter at hand.

Dogura had half mind to slice that man where he stood, before realizing why the others had hesitated to attack. Every muscle in his body tensed, and his pulse quickened in pace. He watched the others dropping their weapons, and hesitated to drop his own. He sighed, and his weapon hit the ground with a 'clang'. He would have smiled, had he not been so closely monitered. He had a hand resting on the hilt of his dagger that was hidden away inside of his robe, had the man tried anything funny.

He didnt with to put his comrades in danger, and he had no doubt in his mind that they would all be killed if one person stepped out of line. An image of Kasei swept through his mind, and he sighed in relief that the rebel flame had not been with them, for he would have surely said something to trigger a wrong nerve. His mind raced with a possible escape route. He tried to connect telepathy strings to bond the adventurers, but couldn't focus with all the arrows upon them. He thought it over, and remembered that some of them werent very skilled at speaking via telepathy strings.

He glanced nervously at Alpha, and then Rose. He looked up around the stories only to see the cloaked archers. It send shivers up his spine. He thought about the different possibilities and outcomes, as he always did in a sticky situation. He dared not whisper to anyone, nor did he make any quick movements. He tried to catch a glimps of the man's eyes, howevr his hood was too low, and he decided to wait for someone elseto make a move.

OOC: I had asked Tayro to post here as well; I merely wanted to have everyone RP their defeat. However, I haven't seen Tayro on recently (either on HA2 or AIM), and so I can only conclude that he's been too busy in these last few days. So, we'll continue just like always - Tayro is still with the group, and is assumed to be participating in all this. That way he doesn't need to post some lengthy 'catch-up' post. Those get annoying.

IC:
Even as the group's weapons crash to the ground, another cloaked man runs up from an entrance hidden from sight behind some of the crates to the leader. He speaks softly, but not so much that his words cannot be overheard. "Sir, we've spotted another man watching all that is occurring nearby. Intelligence indicates that he's known to a few of this group - Pyralin's his name."

The man nods before muttering back, "I've heard of Pyre - by knowing these people he's unwittingly made himself a target as well. Bring him in." The man salutes sharply - a salute that most of the group can probably recognize right off the bat - before ducking back through the opening from whence he came.

The man lifts up his right hand and makes a quick, crisp motion with his fingers. From within the shadows can be heard the lowering and loosening of arrows from their bows, and another horde of archers emerge from the darkness, previously unseen behind the crates that litter the entire room. There were far more than a mere seven arrows trained upon you . . . more like twenty. A few of them walk forward and take the weapons from the floor, glancing constantly up to the upper floor to remind the group of what should happen if they try something.

Those who now hold the group's weapons move forward past the leader, into another hidden path. The rest of the archers on the main floor nock their arrows again, aiming them at each person's head. "Follow me," the leader says kindly, as if he is actually requesting their cooperation rather than demanding it. He turns and follows the team with the weapons down to the hidden doorway, entering through with no hesitation.

Alpha and Shada glance at each other, worried looks on their faces, before following his lead.

* * *

Outside, Pyralin is approached from behind by a silent stalker. When he's close enough, he clears his throat - the first sound he's made throughout his approach. "You have fifteen arrows trained on or near your body at this moment in time. Should you attempt to move in a manner by which to attack or flee, you will be fired upon, and you will be hit. I can promise you that.

"What I cannot promise you is that you will recover from the injuries that will be inflicted upon you. However, if you drop your weapons and come quietly with us, we won't be forced to do anything nearly so . . . drastic."

Rose didn't hear that these people had found another person hiding away somewhere. She was more focused on the other archers that had appeared from various hiding places. Forget being kicked out of the army had she still been a general; if she had survived she would have been banished.

The human watched with a pained look in her eyes as her sword is taken up. "Leave him alone," she whispered, barely audible; one would've either had to have the hearing of a dog or right next to her mouth to hear her.

A feeling welled up in her that she only felt once before: fear for the lives of herself and those she cared for. She began to follow the man without hesitation.

Rose began to pray, but not to the goddesses. Baris, Jill, please help me, she says in her mind, tears forming in her eyes.

OOC: I, for one, think it's a mark of how damn good I am as a writer when I teared up for a bit writing the beginning of that last sentence.

As soon as the hylian heard the man clearing his throat, his hand sprang to the hilt of his dirk. He was already on edge from seeing the others being threatened with arrows, but it seemed that he had now been dragged into this. That made it even worse. As the man spoke on, his grip on the hilt didn't budge. The first thing he thought was 'its a bluff'. Of course, all he had to do was look forward and see the fear written on the other's faces to tell that it was no bluff. He brought his hand away from his blade, making no swift movements, and unbelting the sheath and dropping it to the ground. It made a soft noise, but the sound was mostly muffled by the leather. Then he drew his dagger pouch from his cloak, and let that fall to the ground, taking out the concealed blade in his boot, and the other one in a hidden sheath on his back. He added those to the small stack of weaponry.

With his weapons, and small degree of skill with him, he would seem like a descent fighter. Even though he seemed a short one, it would be hard to dismiss him as no threat. Without his weapons though, he seemed less like a ranger, and more like a frighented child, and being only 15 that was what he really was. No help to the group of adventurers, and probably no use to the ambushers. That was bad. Those that were no longer useful were disposed of. Pyre knew this, but fear constricted him. It was hard to act significant when you are paralyzed by the anticipation of you death.

He inclined his head to the man, silently saying 'lead on'. He would follow, to whereever the man would take him, and make the best of the situation. Mabye he could help the others escape, or more likely vise versa. That's all he really could do, hope for the best, and trust in the goddesses. They would do with him what they needed to be done, and if it meant his death, the world might be better for it. Of course, being an intelligent being, this was hard to accept. Deep down in all people, survival is foremost. The self is the most important thing, by our nature. He had pondered this many times, and liked to think of himself as an exception to this rule, but knew that it wasn't true. He had to trust his instincts, and thats what he did. Right now, his instincts were telling him to surrender and wait for an oppurtunity.

More importantly than an oppurtunity, though was a current matter. His fear. Pyre knew that he had to rid himself of it to accomplish anything. He closed his eyes, and concentrated on the magic inside of his body, and around him. He pulled it into himself, forming it into a warm center. He focused on this centerpoint, using it to lose himself in the calming effect of the pulsing magic. He often implied this trick when he was in danger, and needed to think. It seemed that he could process the current situation without much time passing using this technique. The magic surved another purpose as well. If he needed to use it in a desperate last minute attept to escape, he could always form it into a spell. Also, by praying, he could heal people by releasing very small amounts, and letting it be used by the goddesses. This was barely perceptable even to those watching for it, but before he tried anything, he would wait and see what happened next.

OOC: So I don't get the call up just becasue I've God-modded your characters 2 or 3 times. Just typical, well I'm here now and your not getting rid of me. Unless you have me killed by the archers, but you wouldn't do that; would you?

IC: Now, what are they doing here? Thinks to himself as Blank, Dougra, Rose, and Shada ran past him followed by a man on the rooftops. It looked more interesting than what he was doing at any rate.
'Count yourself lucky.' He said as he knocked the man to the floor, 'I don't have the time to end your life today but cross my path again and I will be the last sight you see.' As the man cowered away Raven followed after them making sure to keep his distance so not to be seen and not to get embroiled in any fights that the get into that he did not want to himself. He lost sight of them once down what at first glance appeared to be a dead end, but he quickly saw through the illusion. In his village it was sad that those with red eyes could see the truth, maybe it was true or maybe it was the stray dog walked through the apparant wall that ended the alley. Who can say?

After losing them a second time, he had enough of running thorugh the alleys and thorugh a combnation of skill and luck he wall-jumped his way to the top of one of the dilapidated houses the area specialised in. He traversed the weak and hole-ridden rooftop and jumped down the other side just in time to see a new face he had not seen before being led into a building. It did not appear that he went willingly - more like sullenly - across the street. Once the door closed behind them he slid slilently across to the house and peered in thougth the dust covered windows.

Although he view was obstructed by the dust, he felt that by wiping it away it would bring attention to his postion. A sudden shaft of light appearing through otherwise dust coated windows, followed by a face pressed against would look nothing less than suspicious. Still, by peering though the window he managed to get some idea of what was going on within. He saw that were many archers, how many was difficult to tell, but he could see no sign of where the rest of the group was taken. Not even the boy he saw earlier. It seemed that he had no choice...

The door swung open and slammed against the wall as Raven walked in nonchantly, as if he was walking into his own home. He walked straight into the centre of the room, he looked up at the balcony full of archers then he looked down to his feet and saw scratches and dents in the floor. 'So you made them lose their weapons or become pinchusions. You know what - I think even if you were the worst archers in Hyrule that you could hit me from this distance. So...' He drew his dagger from his belt, holding it in the tips of his thumb and forefinger and extend his arm. What he did next took them by surprise. He flicked the dagger over in his hand so he caught it by the tip of its blade and then threw it into one of the crates that littered the room.

'Take me to them.'

OOC: Actually, Red, nobody got the call to come to this one. I let them all find it on their own. As for killing you, I might.

IC:
The man behind Pyralin smiles, nodding at the boy's compliance. "A wise choice, young Pyre. However, first things first." His fingers sudden clasp together to mimic the shape similar to an arrow, then shoot forward. Poking in precise positions on the Hylian's body in the space of a mere second, his grin widens. "You'll find that I have just shut down your spell abilities - magic pressure points and all that. Whatever spell you were preparing, you'll find it impossible to cast for the next hour or so."

With that, the archers emerge from the shadows, all fifteen arrows trained on the boy as the leader of this squad grabs the weaponry he's dropped. "Walk," he says, escorting Pyre towards the building Raven has just appeared in front of. 'About time,' the man thinks.

As Raven enters the room that the others have just left, a man sitting on the railing of the second floor grins at him. Following his pronouncement, demand, and removal of weapon, he replies nonchalantly, "So the great thief Raven finally deems us worthy of his presence. It certainly took you long enough; I almost thought we'd have to actually shoot you. You've been in our sights ever since you entered the Forgotten Square." As if to prove his point, three black robed archers appear in the doorway. Their bows are no longer drawn, primarily because the thirty or so archers that had remained in the room have taken over the task.

"Very well then," he says, dropping to the first floor without difficulty. Without turning he reaches back and removes the dagger from its resting place. "You wish to see the others? These men will take you to them." He motions to the three snipers, who move to escort him just as Pyre's group enters the room.

Raven and Pyre are moved to the hall that the others have just traveled down . . .

* * *

The rest of the group - Alpha, Shada, Tayro, Rose, Dogura, and Blank - are led into through a dark, musty hallway with many doors. The hall seems to stretch on forever, and even the Sheikah can't see through the darkness to spot the end of it. However, what can be noticed is a slight dropping of the floor as they walk on - they're being taken underground.

At last, the group is guided into a door in the side of the now-earthen walls. A long table lies in the rectangular room, which stretches out in front of them. At the far end is a fireplace, above which has a mantle with three letters engraved on a shield in bright red: RER.

"We're still waiting on a few people, so we won't be beginning yet. Please, make yourselves comfortable," the leader says, as he moves to take his place at the head of the table.

Rose stared blankly at the man. What the hell is going on? she thought, confused. First he has arrows trained on us, and now he wants us to get comfortable? She took a look around the room [Awareness check]. She then looks toward the man. "How do we know we can trust you?" she asked, her voice naturally full of suspicion.

The man looks right back at Rose, whose Awareness Check fails, mainly because there's nothing else to see in the room. Even though his eyes are still in the shadows, it's obvious that they hold a very confident spark. He probably finds the situation the adventurers are in to be quite humorous.

"Quite frankly, my dear, you don't."

As the magical light within him faded, the familiar feeling of fear was not left over. Instead, Pyre was angry. What had been taken away from his was not the ambusher's right to take away. His weapons, his freedom and now his magic?! Seeing no other choice, he walked with the escort into the hall, looking around at his surroundings, taking in what he saw. He didn't want to forget this for later, he might need the knowledge, but then turned his attention back to the ambushers. What do these people want with me. They won't get away with this... Even as he thought that, he could not help also thinking more morbid thoughts If I ever get away....

As he walked down the hall, he opened mouth to speak. To inquire, to complain, to make some noise, to wake him up, and tell him this was just a dream, but he decided it was wise to just shut his mouth, and let the mixture of anger and fear semper inside of him. All he could do was watch and wait.

A Labyrinth. That would probably be the best way to describe the Forgotten Square. Although the base of Town Square, this place didn't seem anything like it, as its intricate streets just seemed to connect in a confusing and strange manner, and from an architectural point of view, this place seemed simply bizarre. Tayro relentlessly tried remembering Town Square, hoping he would find his way through this maze, but his memory did not aid him in this cause. For all he knew, the streets in North Castle's most busy district were quite different from here. It seemed like the architects designed Town Square to be an improved version of the Forgotten Square, one that fortunately was quite less confusing. Acquiring no knowledge to help him in this matter, the mage apprentice continued his run, returning his focus into more important matters at the time - namely catching the shuriken-throwing assassins.

Following his companions, it wasn't too long until he encountered a familiar sight. The clumsy person walked right towards a bricked wall, a sight that didn't seem very abnormal in this area. Although for a slight moment the Hylian thought that the man was simply being a klutz, and would simply bump his head against the barrier, which, even if the assassin was clumsy, the case would turn from clumsy to completely crazy. Yet the truth quickly came to him, a word speaking in the contents of his mind, and the teenager accompanied that thought with a deep sigh, leaning his head slightly downwards, yet never stopping his movement. It's an illusion.

His beliefs turned out to be true as the man vanished, his body simply melting away as he passed through the supposed wall. Shada and Rose seem to follow suit, and Tayro, not wanting to be left behind, tries his best to keep up with them, although they all demonstrated a quite more agility than him. If only I didn't have my cloak... - he thought, though quickly forgetting about it. Fashion and clothing were quite not part of this equation - in which the unknown value was why the man wanted them killed. This matter, though it could seem trivial to some, it was surely not applied to the Hylian. Passing many obstacles that surely would make one just let it pass and leave, he wanted to know the truth... and maybe more. Thinking of possible reasons, he passed through the magical barrier, the tingling sensation overruning him again. Although it didn't hurt one bit, the feeling was quite annoying. The good part was that it was over preety soon, yet what awaited the boy on the other side was not very pleasing.

A... dead end?
That thought would probably be true, if the lad didn't know any better. With all that he had experienced previously, he immediatly acknowledged the presence of yet another illusion... or maybe because the man was out of sight once again. Whatever the reason, he knew that they all had to act fast, or they would all lose track of their 'prey'. Tayro looked back as his friends quickly catched up with them. However, he did not pay much attention at Blank's attempts to trigger the secret passage... as he was concentrated on something else. His Hylian hearing was quite accurate, as his ears twitched and turned in another direction. Footsteps.

Choosing to remain quiet, the boy's hand quickly grabs the staff, and starts to focus a spell. An Elemental Burst of Water would probably be the key here, his eyes eyeing the rooftops, sighting a cloaked person up there. It takes no time at all for Tayro to recognize the man and nullify his spellcasting. He smiles at Alpha, wating to greet him and ask him the reason of he... being here. However, proper greeting would have to be left for later if they wanted to cacth the perpetrator, so, heeding to the Sheikah's advice, the teenager ran towards the wall he indicated, passing right through it as expected. The sligh vibrations resumed, and suddenly stopping as well. Another obstacle passed. Not wanting to lead the chase, he waited for the others to pass, and simply follow.

Reaching the assassins' hideout, the boy let out a sigh, and promptly waited for the results of this little inquiree. However, what awaited him inside was quite not what he had in mind. A trap! - he thought, as he examined the reat amount of archers, their bows and arrows aimed at them. The boy should have known better. After all the books he had read, he should have understood that there was more than it met the eye... but past is past. No worth crying over spilt Lon Lon Milk. It seemed like the hunter was now the hunted. Tayro, not showing any sign of fright, yet fearing for their safety inside, gently dropped his staff to the ground, it falling with a loud *clamp* as the wood came in contact with the floor.. Only thing that remained with him was the stone, and that wouldn't do any harm, would it? He chose to simply listen, and not uttering a word. These creeps were not worth it. Angered, he simply followd them into a passage. Going underground, the boy believed they would be headed into some kind of prison, yet the result seemed otherwise. Entering the supposed 'Meeting Room', Tayro stood still, and heard Rose's question. I have a better question than that... His previous question of why they had tried to kill them now seemed apparent - they had no intention to. So, consequently, a new question was formed, one needing answer. Wanting a reply, the Hylian raised his head just slightly, and, eyeing the man, asked him coldly: "What do you want with us?"

Before the leader can respond to Tayro's inquiry, the sound of footsteps approach the room again, and in walk Pyralin and Raven, along with their 'escorts'. The leader stands again and nods. "Very good; we're all here. Now we can begin with the business at hand." He looks to two of the snipers that had led the newest two members of the meeting and nods. In a swift and fluid motion, they both bring up their bows, already noched, and shoot them straight into the legs of the third sniper.

Crashing to the ground, a snarl can be heard as he attempts to use his now inoperable legs. The leader walks calmly forward, producing a jeweled sword from within his cloak. The injured man looks up. "You'll not get away with this - they'll kill you for this!"

"No, I suspect that they'll be killing me for many other reasons." He sword comes up. "The death of yet another Hakiem by my hands will not matter much, not anymore." With a quick and simple slash, the Hakiem's head is sliced clean through with seemingly no effort on the behalf of the leader. Turning back to the adventurers, he reaches up and removes the hood that covers up his face. Hazel eyes glancing them all over, he nods to his associates, who immediately exit the room and bar the door shut.

Alpha instantly recognizes the face, but it takes him a few moments to place it. "I know you," he says at last. "You're that general who gave the first clue to that wild goose chase!"

"Indeed," the leader responds simply. To the rest, who had not been present when he had slipped that note to the Sheikah, he nods as his body once again begins moving. He walks again to his position at the head of the table, then turns back to face them. "I am Noval, general of the Hylian Knights, and leader of the Royal Elite Remnant. Welcome to our base."

Pyre looked at the man for a moment, at a loss for words. After a moment, his fear trickled away, and was replaced with relief. He knew that he shouldn't get comfortable. This man called himself a hylian knight, but Pyralin didn't actually know him. He could be lying. This could all be a trap like the ambush. Why was force, and the archers neccesary. He stares for a moment longer, his relief gone, replaced with suspicion, but his fear was much less. As for his anger though, he couldn't help feel a bit of rage. He opened his mouth to speak.

"I'll be blunt, and skip the pleasantries. Why are we here?"

He waited for a responce impatiently. After what happened, he wasn't thinking about forgiving the man, and definitly wasn't going to give him what he wanted without a fight. Unless of course he proved himself to be good, and no threat. The problem with this situation was the unknowns. Pyralin didn't know the other captured adventurers, he didn't know the man or his ambushers, and didn't have any idea what he was doing here. Pyre wanted an answer to some of these unknowns, and didn't want to wait for it.