OOC: HNS's points are all well and good . . . though I think you're being a bit hard on Sovelis there. I did practically invite anyone with telepathic powers to speak up about them . . .

IC:
Horren hangs his head in silence as Sovelis replies to his thoughts. 'Great . . . we really DO have a telepath . . .' He groans for a moment, then shakes his head a few times. This is not the time to be wondering what the heck he's gotten himself into, it's time to race after Nogare up these stairs so that they can protect the Triforce from these Sheikah menaces.

With that, he continues charging up the staircase after the others, slowing down only once so that he can turn and listen to Rose's words. "Yeah, I know all that well enough," the knight finally replies with a sheepish grin. "Sorry if I seemed a little . . . 'freaked out', I guess is the term . . . back there, but it's not every day that you see somebody sprouting dragon wings. Every Hylian has the potential to use Favor of the Goddesses . . . but I doubt that many Humans can do what you just did," he adds with an amused wink of his eyes. Then he takes off again after the Hakiem.

The stairs once again take on the feeling of never ending, but this is now a welcomed feeling, for it means that nothing is happening. Karsis does not reappear at all as they run up several more floors, not taking time like before to gaze out the windows of the tower, or look at the beautiful architecture of the room. All energy is spent solely on running, until . . . the top.

The stairs end with little warning; in fact, if one had not been looking out at the open expanse around which the stairs run, they might not have noticed the ceiling that they were coming ever closer too. A small alcove sits at the stairs' end, only about thirty feet long and just as wide as the staircase. A painting of the Triforce hangs on the far wall, a window on the group's right, and a massive doorway on their left. While most doors the group have encountered on their excursion in the castle have been covered with carvings and decorations, this one has only a simple engraving of the shape of the triple triangles of legend. "This is it," Horren says reverently. "The Door to the Triforce Chamber."

OOC: Still, I'd appreciate it if Sovelis didn't respond to any of Rose's thoughts. I have her think things for a reason, and eavesdropping telepaths kind of ruin that reason.

IC:
"No, it isn't everyday, is it," Rose muttered as the colonel dashed off. She started to jog herself, using her dragon wings every now and then so as not to tire her legs.

The top of the tower does surprise her. She barely registered what Veldam said before shaking off her awe; she had never seen a door that was so huge before. As far as she knew, no door in Tarm Castle came close to the size of the Door to the Triforce Chamber. "Well, we probably shouldn't waste time standing out here," she commented as she walked over to the large door, her wings gone and her sword on the ready. Once at the door, she tried opening it as slowly as she could while still trying to be aware of her surroundings and what might happen once she got the door open (providing that she could get it open) [Awareness Check].

OOC: Man, it's been a while since I did an Awareness Check.

OOC: Slow-going, I think this topic is. But that doesn't matter really, because I've been quite busy anyway. So...

IC: Though Nogare was extremely eager to throw that door open and kill the foe inside, he was still no fool. He made a quick movement to see through the small crack under the door, before giving away that they was there, even when it was obvious [Awareness Check].

OOC: Though the author has made him seem the contrary.

IC: It was not that he wanted to kill; he wanted that foe to just go away rather than just get in their way and be killed, but he had no other alternative, especially if Hyrule depended on the protection of the Triforce.

OOC: I'm off! Later!

Rose finds quite quickly that the door opens up almost as easily as if she was moving air itself, despite its massive size and the fact that most doorways such as this one would normally put incredible strain on the hinges to the right. Whether this area is exceedingly well kept up or if this is an effect the Triforce of Wisdom has had on the area cannot be determined at this time.

Regardless, Rose and Nogare's Awareness Checks both fail (Rose: 7+3[Roll+INT], Nogare: 4+4[Roll+INT]), and neither one notice anything out of the ordinary as the doorway slides open. Beyond them lies a rotund room, magnificent to behold. The architecture is absolutely gorgeous, with columns rising up around the room, each one transforming into a sculpture embedded in the walls of different mythological creatures. Large arches span the three compass point directions that they face, with crimson curtains hanging on their sides. Beyond these arches can be seen a balcony gazing out over North Castle, and a great deal of the rest of Hyrule beyond North Lake as well, providing a gorgeous view of the moonlit nation.

And in the center of the room stands a large pedestal, rising up about four feet. The symbol of the Triforce lies engraved at its base. And at the top of it sits . . . nothing. Veldam grits his teeth - the Triforce of Wisdom isn't here.

And standing in its place is the Hakiem they all had met on the way up. "About time you guys got here," Karsis says with a weary shrug as he rises up from the seat he's taken on the floor by the pedestal that was meant to bear the Triforce. A Gilded Sword appears in his hands and a smile on his lips. "Time to actually get this show on the road."

The Suggester: Karsis
STR – 3; DEF – 15; AGI – 7; INT – 3; SPI – 8; SPL – 75; HP – 100
Known Abilities – Shadowmeld, Avenging Strength L4, Elemental Burst L3, Disarm L3, Unarmed Combat L4, Shield L2, Jump L2

Rose was surprised with how easy the door opened, but that surprise turned to awe as she looked inside the room. She had never seen such a grand room. She eyed the sculptures of the mythical beasts and made a special note of them. She would have to try transforming into them later (OOC: Hey, Alpha, guess what I'm asking you the next time we talk).

Then her awe is replaced by caution as she saw Karsis instead of the Triforce of Wisdom. Why did he wait? she thought. Oh, yeah. He's a man. Men like to fight.

The human's thoughts quickly turned to how to best take the Hakiem down. A quick fight would not give him a chance to use Shadowmeld or whatever other abilities he may have. A really damaging attack would help the fight end as soon as possible, and Rose could think of one beast that could dish out heavy damage.

She stepped forward and, most likely to the shock of the others, sheathed her sword. Then she concentrated on the form she was about to take. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she was looking through the eyes of a beast feared by many. Nearing six feet at the shoulder (with another six feet for the neck and head), her wingspan stretches close to twenty feet, and her body is just as long. Her body seems skinny for her size, but it is obvious that she is muscular. Her whole body is colored a dark, dull yellow. If any dared to get close enough to her, they could make out hardened scales.

Regal Beast-Brass Dragon
STR: 9
DEF: 14
AGI: 6
INT: 3
SPI: 1
HP: 61
SPL: 5
SPL cost: 12
Claw deals 15 damage (base 6 plus STR).
Breath Weapon: Line of fire five feet wides goes out sixty feet and deals 25 damage. Never misses. Any in the area of the breath weapon may attempt a Reflex Save (d20 plus AGI) with DC 16 to take 12 damage instead.

Rose flexed her wings and prepared for her attack.

Rounds remaining in dragon form: 3.

OOC: Yes, I did get permission from RG to use alternate forms for Rose in stat battles. Made some slight changes to a few of the forms, but I think they'll work out just fine.

EDIT: Alpha was asking what Rose's brass dragon form looked like, so I added in a description before the stats. Loosely modeled after the brass dragon picture in the D&D Monster Manual.

OoC: Erm...I am so sorry. I didn't relive that that stuff was THOUGHTS not WORDS, although Sovelis is kinda telipathic....sorry i haven't posted for a while!

IC: Sovelis had been folowing queitly as they reached the chamber. He saw the Harikem and he instinctivly threw a fire spell at him with his good hand. "I'm not going to let your kind take the Triforce! It is to powerfull for anyone to have!" he said.

OOC: No worries, Sovelis, just keep in mind that whenever I write something in italics and enclosed by single quotes, it's most likely something being thought rather than spoken. But please do remember to put a good deal of effort into your posts here; that's pretty much my only request for participants in my topics.

IC:
Karsis widens his eyes, taking an involuntary step backwards as Rose transforms into a dragon of massive proportions. 'Didn't know she could do that . . .' he thinks with the cock of his eyebrow. Well, at least this would make things a bit more interesting . . . but then again, wasn't he the one who'd been planning for this little skirmish for several weeks now and trying to figure out how to make it more interesting? Yes, he was. Though his tactics were meant to provide an advantage for himself rather than for his opponents . . .

Well, might as well go ahead and implement one of those tactics right away, right? Of course. Taking a step forward and eyeing his competition, he draws upon one of the tactics that had earned him the title of 'The Suggester': Hallucination Storm.

Hallucination Storm - A passive ability that is always activated at the beginning of each of Karsis' turns. When activated, each opponent has a 50% chance of becoming confused for the next three turns. (I'll be doing this by rolling a d20. You get an even number and you're confused.)

As his mind-confusing wave shoots outward, he barely even has time to spot Sovelis' Fire spell already flying towards him. Well, at least that one attack will be made without the worry of confusion affecting it. Karsis struggles in an attempt to resist it, but it is all in vain (10+8[Roll+SPI]) and the waves of flame torch their target quite satisfyingly to deal 20 DMG. But with blade already drawn he manages to race forward, darting around so as to avoid the massive dragon creature in his path before bringing his sword down on the Last Tempest's real shoulder (11+7[Roll+AGI]) and dealing 14 DMG of his own to the Human.

As the Storm's effects finally take hold, several members of the group - actually, the majority of them - find themselves wandering around in a confused state: Veldam, Rose, Fang, Leth, Polari, and Sovelis all included. Nogare, Shada, and Karuna, in fact, are the only ones able to escape its effects - and what's more, since this attack is invisible, they can't have realized yet that anything has happened.

Nogare - 91 HP, 12 SPL
Veldam - 51 HP, 19 SPL Confused
Shada - 41 HP, 25 SPL
Rose - 61 HP, 3 SPL Confused
Fang - 53 HP, 30 SPL Confused
Leth - 31 HP, 11 SPL Confused
Karuna - 41 HP, 6 SPL
Polari - 23 HP, 21 SPL Confused
Sovelis - 19 HP, 40 SPL Confused

Karsis - 80 HP, 75 SPL

OOC: Oh, and just in case anyone's forgotten what confusion does:

". . . if an enemy is confused, it is considered stunned, but has a 25% chance of doing nothing, 25% chance of attacking itself, 25% chance of attacking normally or 25% chance of attacking its allies."

Rose inhaled to let out a line of fire upon Karsis, but his Hallucination Storm took effect first. Wondering what it was she was about to do, she let out a roar of frustration instead. She glanced around at the battlefield and saw nine figures around her, but she couldn't remember who it was she had to attack. Damn it! she thought. One of these people...or was it two? Three? Argh! One of these people have to be dangerous to me! She let out another roar of frustration and lashed out with her claws at one of the figures; at least that was what her brain was thinking. In her confused state, she was unsure if her hand even moved.

Rounds remaining in dragon form: 2.

OOC: Thanks to Alpha for giving me tips on showing how Rose is confused.

Fang passed through the door, eager to see the power that he yurned for. Instead, he found himself marveling at the beautiful room in which he stood. As if it had been created by Angels, the room was elegant and comforting. Remembering his piece of the Tri-Force, Fang turned his attention to the pedastle... where it should have been... Fang felt his stomach churn, as he stared upon what stood in it's place. How the hell... Presistant pest I see... He won't be shaken off so easily. Fang prepared for battle by conjuring some of his energy, and storing it in one of his arms. He knew it would come in handy later. Now, his leg was beginning to hurt again. It had taken quite a beating, and the stairs hadn't helped his condition. He knew that being grounded would be better for this fight than leviation, but he knew it would be knew it would be tough to get around on his leg.

Rising into the air once again, Fang began a verse of a very long chant. He closed his eyes, and spoke loud enough for those within a few feet of him to hear, unless of course his heart drowned out his words. He couldn't help but fear what could have happened to what belonged to him. The Tri-Force of wisdom was well protected. What force could have so swiftly taken it from him? He continued the chant, his body beginning to glow. What would result from this? One could only guess.

Veldam suddenly staggers forward as the wave rams into his brain, jumbling everything up inside it. His balance is suddenly all out of whack, his memory of the events of the past few hours mixed up like a giant fruit salad made with spoiled grapes - a great tragedy with a sour taste - and his comprehension of the current fight suddenly out of his mental grasp. 'What's going on? . . . who are these people? . . . why is General Noval riding on that dragon's back?' Obviously his thought processes are completely messed up as well, as he sees things and people that aren't really there and thinks things that are utter nonsense, such as 'Why is that cucco coughing up a rhinoceros on the upside-down partrich fence?'

Like I said, utter nonsense.

Rose's dragonic form, on the other hand, is apparently able to remember that the battle is still going on, as well as to choose a target and attack. Not only that, but she manages to pick out the correct target and launch her attack successfully (Confusion Roll: 3 [Attack Normally]). Either this dragon form of hers has a stronger defense mentally . . . or she's just getting lucky.

Karsis, knowing the strength of his own mental powers, assumes it to be luck as her dragon claw tears through the air with impressive speed, roaring towards him as he leaps away from Sovelis and readies his defenses. Rose's claw impacts against the Hakiem in midair, however, hurling him over to the far wall and nearly outside and over one of the balconies (19+6[Roll+AGI]). Missing another 15 of his HP, he clutches his stomach before glancing behind him. 'Yeah, I'll have to start being careful about that . . .' he thinks as his gaze drops down to the garden hundreds of feet below.

Without warning the Suggester launches himself forward, Gilded Sword appearing in his hands in a flash. Just as quickly he closes the distance between himself and the dragon, slashing directly through Rose's chest (14+7[Roll+AGI]) and dealing 14 DMG of his own in retaliation. Glancing around the room, he spots that Fang character doing . . . something . . . and chooses to leap back to the opposite side of the room from the group before the Mage does something devastating over there.

Veldam, still staggering around the room, finally comes to the realization that he has a sword in his hand. 'Hey! Swords are fun! You can cut people with them!' he thinks, reliving his old childhood attitude towards sharp pointy objects. He begins swinging the weapon around every which way possible, not realizing until too late that his grip has been overextended. As one of his motions completes itself the blade slides out of his hand, coming straight down and biting directly into his own shoulder (Confusion Roll: 2 [Attack Self]). The sword hits quite beautifully, dealing 8 DMG to its unfortunately confused owner.

'Dodongos have fluffy eyeballs when they're eating tornadoes . . .'

Nogare - 91 HP, 12 SPL
Veldam - 43 HP, 19 SPL Confused (3)
Shada - 41 HP, 25 SPL
Rose - 47 HP, 3 SPL Confused (3)
Fang - 53 HP, 30 SPL Confused (3)
Leth - 31 HP, 11 SPL Confused (3)
Karuna - 41 HP, 6 SPL
Polari - 23 HP, 21 SPL Confused (3)
Sovelis - 19 HP, 40 SPL Confused (3)

Karsis - 65 HP, 75 SPL

"Ow....my head is hurting like no tomorow...." Sovelis mumbled as he tried to get to his feet and follow his foe. Sovelis tried to cast Heal on himself to fix his slashed shoulder up before continuing after the enemy."I REALY hope this works..." he said outloud as he atempted to concentrate his energies into a healing spell that would knit the cellular structure of his cut muscles,skin,nerves,and blood vessels back before he lost too much blood and passed out. "At least I fried that guy before he got me...An rose is a dragon...I'm starting to think that theirs more to hyrule that it seems..." he said as he tried to cast his spell after clearing his thoughts...

Suddenly, Keaton appears in front of Leth and Karuna. "I just wanted to tell you all that Drommlin is alright. Their party has their key, and are waiting for you guys at the door, so maybe you should speed things up a little bit." He says as a suggestion to the whole group. Then, with a flick of his tails, he was gone. "Uh... thanks?" Says Leth to open space. Meanwhile, the tiny Minish, Polari, bows his head and concentrates. Suddenly, a pair of golden wings sprouts from his shoulder blades. He leaps off of Leth's shoulder, and draws a tiny dagger, which is now no longer a tiny dagger. It is a large sword with a tiny hilt. It glows golden with super human power, and Polari flies towards the suggester at inhuman speeds, yelling in his small voice, "For the Guardians!" His sword is raised for the blow. Leth looks over at the suggester, his eyes crossed. "Hey! How come there are TWO of you?" He asks, crazed. Karuna shakes his head. "Oh well. ELEMENTAL ACTIVATION! EARTH CONTROL!" Suddenly, a huge gaping rift opened up underneath the Suggester.

In his confusion, Sovelis can only dimly become aware of his own altered mental state. So confused is he that he believes he is casting some kind of healing spell on himself, when in fact he's just turned to one of his allies and opened up with an Elemental Burst (Confusion Roll: 4 [Attack Allies]). The unlucky random target of this Burst is none other than Colonel Veldam, who is thrown backwards as the Earth element slams into him, his own confusion preventing him from doing anything at all to prevent taking full damage from the powerful Tempest (3+1[Roll+SPI]). Tumbling head of heels, he ends up hanging partially off one of the balconies, having taken a devastating 20 DMG.

'Hey! Look! I told all those circus clowns that winged Moblins were the ones who cursed our fair land with a layer of chocolate cake and poodles!' Obviously still confused, or else he would have killed himself for thinking of chocolate cake as a curse . . . though even he wonders why he added poodles in there.

Laughing as hard as his lungs will allow, Karsis can barely contain himself as Sovelis nearly sends the Hylian Knight to his own DOOM. Manipulation of the mind is such a satisfying profession, and has allowed him many good laughs over the years. However, a new round has just begun, which means that he doesn't have time to be laughing . . . alright, that's a lie. A brand new chorus of chuckles burst forth from his lips as he once again unleashes the Hallucination Storm! When the mental wave ends, only Nogare, the son of Greyblade, is still able to hold onto his sanity. Shada and Karuna both succumb to the crazed affliction that is sweeping over the warriors.

Then he hefts his own sword high into the air, charging forward to attack the warrior who may very well continue to cause him the most trouble: Nogare himself, the one with the highest amount of health. His blade is sharp, but his accuracy is not, and the Knight manages to deftly dodge to the side and avoid all damage. (9+7[Roll+AGI]) But, considering how many warriors now stand before him confused, Karsis can't help but think that this turn has been nothing but successful.

Polari abruptly launches himself forward from Leth's shoulder, his sword, incredibly large for one of his size, trailing behind as the Minish leaps towards his foe. The blade comes down with incredible force, and for a moment Polari must be immensely proud of himself . . . until the realization that the sword had not encountered any resistance as it had been swung hits him. Karsis blinks a few times before cracking up again, realizing that the Minish has fallen victim to confusion as well and attacked where it only thought the Hakiem had been standing. In reality, Polari had done nothing worthwhile (Confusion Roll: 1 [Do Nothing]).

And then the Goron's bellowing cry reaches the Sheikah's ears as he launches his own attack. Karuna's Earth Control spell causes a huge chunk of the tower beneath the group to open up . . . directly beneath his friend Polari (Confusion Roll: 4 [Attack Allies]). The Minish finds himself being banged up by the portions of the ground that suddenly engulf him, but is able to leap around enough to avoid most of the damage Karuna's attack would have caused (19+1[Roll+SPI]), and is able to avoid falling through the gap below its feet and down the many stories in the tower beneath them. Still, he does take 4 DMG from the attack.

Nogare - 91 HP, 12 SPL
Veldam - 23 HP, 19 SPL Confused (2)
Shada - 41 HP, 25 SPL Confused (3)
Rose - 47 HP, 3 SPL Confused (2)
Fang - 53 HP, 30 SPL Confused (2)
Leth - 31 HP, 11 SPL Confused (2)
Karuna - 41 HP, 6 SPL Confused (3)
Polari - 19 HP, 21 SPL Confused (2)
Sovelis - 19 HP, 40 SPL Confused (2)

Karsis - 65 HP, 75 SPL

OOC: Leth, wasn't sure how to do damage on Karuna's attack, so I just treated it like a spell. Let me know if that's not exactly accurate and I'll change it.

Rose saw the blood spill from an injury she had caused. Satisfaction filled her...for a short while. Did I kill the people who wanted to hurt me? she thought. Did I hurt a friend? Are any of these people my friends? What if that was my own blood? Did I attack myself, or did someone attack me? I wouldn't attack myself, so someone must have tried to kill me! But damn it, who?

A roar of frustration once again filled the air. The human turned dragon swept her eyes over the battlefield, looking for her attacker. But as the sound of laughter reached her ears, everyone seemed to be laughing at her. "Stop laughing!" she shouted. Or she would've shouted if dragons could speak. Instead, she had let out another roar. Growling, she once again lashed out at the closest figure to her.

Rounds remaining in dragon form: 1.

Sovelis laughed. "HA! I've got you now! I told you that I'd pay you back for cutting me!" he said as he looked around. "Who the-" he saw Rose in her Dragonic form. "What in the...who let the cat in?" he said as his mind swirled in what I can only discribe as, the most wonderful assortment of blue shapes floating in the air and around everyone. "Oh...were am I?" he said as the confusion set in deeper and the Tempest began to loose his grip on reality. He tried to force himself to sit down and wait out the wave of sickness he was feeling in his head, but his body started to move on its own, and he thought he saw something hit something, but he could have been seeing things that weren't even there. (Like he isn't already triping.) "It'll be fun to hit those big blue things though....I'll try!" he said as he swung around and tried to hit one of those blue shapes.