Royal Elite Remnant? Whatever that was, it would explain the RER Rose saw earlier. But the fact that this man was a Hylian Knight and a Hakiem confused her. "So what are you?" she demanded. "A traitor to the Hakiems, or a traitor to the Knights and this Royal Elite Remnant, whatever the hell that is?" She thought that perhaps she should have been politer, but she went through shame to fear to suspicion to suspicion and confusion in far too short a time period. She could care less about this man's feelings; she only cared about getting the others out of here and getting her sword back.

Noval instantly inclines his head to Rose in apology. "You will have to forgive our rudeness, Lady Rose Hillmound. As a fellow general, I am sure you more than any of the others here will realize that sometimes . . . things cannot be done in a nice manner."

He motions to the blood on the ground, the only remaining part of the dead Sheikah assassin in the room. "The fact of the matter is that this is not the only Hakiem I've killed today. At the time of our attack, you were under observation by seven Hakiems on rooftops, as well as an additional twelve dispersed throughout the crowds near the Temple of Nayru. And it has been similar to this situation ever since you returned from Parapa Desert with the Golden Gerudo. We wished to contact you, but needed some sort of diversion that would both lead you to a secluded spot as well as allow us to take out your observers." He fingers another shuriken in his hand. "I am indeed sorry the manner in which we had to do so was by faking an assassination, but . . . just so you do not doubt our intentions . . ." He stands. "Miax!"

The man who had been awaiting Raven's entrance into the building earlier reenters the room, and his dress shows him to be the second member of the team that had ambushed Shada and friends earlier. "Top left corner." Fingering three shuriken of his own in his hand, in one crisp motion he slings them into the air, over the heads of the group. Each of the three lands in the top left corner of one of the letters of RER on the shield above the fireplace.

Noval nods approvingly. "Had we wished to kill you, you would be dead by now. But we needed to remove your weapons from your person so that you wouldn't try anything that would prove . . . disasterous." He casually tosses his own shuriken over his shoulder, only to have it intercepted by another shuriken cast by Miax. Both slam into and imbed themselves in the top left corner of the shield itself. The general glances back to Miax, amusement at his ally's arrogance on his face. "Anyhow, we've managed to capture most of the Hakiems. Of the original nineteen, the number left to be captured is five."

"Three sir!"

"Three." The general's head jerks around. "You caught two more? I certainly hope you haven't killed them yet; their blood is to be on my hands alone!"

Miax shakes his head. "They await the sting of your sword in the prison room."

Noval sighs, relieved. "Very well. Go and retrieve these people's weapons, will you Miax?" As the man leaves, the general returns his attention to Rose's earlier questions. "As for what we, the Royal Elite Remnant, are . . . surely you have heard of the Royal Elite Forces. They were once the most powerful group of fighters in the land of Hyrule . . . until the Treaty of 1979 commanded that it be disbanded." Noval sits back. "The King did so, and then immediately formed our group in secret. He was not nearly so foolish as to think the Exiles could be trusted - and right he was, it seems." His head inclines, for he knows that they are aware of the upcoming war with the Exiles.

"You are now some of the few in the world who are aware of our existance. Most of us are also members of the Hylian Knights, so no additional attention is attracted to our number. And yet our forces are spread throughout many channels - nothing at all happens without the RER being aware of its occurance." He touches his temple with one finger. "There are things in this mind that even the legendary Library of Calatia is unaware of.

"And that is how we know that, recently, you faced not one, but two of the few enigmas remaining in this world - well, most of you." He glances to Pyralin in particular. "I am sorry to have drawn you into this, but the Hakiems Tribe will be after you merely because you know one or two of their targets. It was deemed necessary to drag you into this ourselves before they decided to.

"The rest of you have all faced off against the Hakiems Tribe. We can discern their operatives, but have never managed to get inside their base - no one knows where that is. We need any and all information you can offer us." He turns around to face the blazing fire, head growing heavy. "And the other mystery . . . that one is more of a, shall we say, personal matter to myself.

"I am the world's expert on the greatest assassin that has ever lived, even though he worked for only a single year. And yet recently, his name has once again returned to my ears . . . and even more astounding, the news that you have survived combat with him.

"What do you know of Wraith?"

Rose just stared at Noval in disbelief. Now not only did this Wraith now all about her, but so did this general. She finally pulled out a chair and sat down in it. The human placed her head into her hands as she tried to digest all of this information.

Rose finally lifted her head back up to face Noval. "I'm sorry for my rudeness," Rose said. "You're right; I do realize that at times things must be done ruthlessly. But while I was general, I always tried to find a way to solve problems without getting a lot of innocents hurt.

"As for your question about Wraith, I know nothing. But let me ask you a question. How do you know that I was once a general?" Rose's voice was a mixture of curiosity and anger; how could all of these people possibly know so much about her? She had once felt safe, but that feeling was quickly disappearing.

Raven sat down at the table with his head down and his fingers interlaced in front of him. He listened intently as he heard about an apparant attempt on the group he had seen running through the Forgotten Square. That's a sure fire way of getting any fighters attention. He thought. He looked up at the figure called Miax as he proved with determined skill how accurate he could be. He guessed he had missed in the ''assassination'' attempt earlier and was proving that his poor accuracy was intentional. Although he felt the last flourish was unnecessary.

Wraith? That strange masked man in the desert; that's what this was all about. Raven raged in his mind. If they are going to go to such lengths could they not do so for more interesting reasons. He wondered about Roses dissmissing any knowledge about Wraith, she was there, fighting with the rest of them. So why doesn't she speak up. Then looking at the unease on her face it came to him. Maybe, it's because her past seems to be common knowledge. However, he didn't have such reservations.

'Wraith is a man who speaks softly and carries a big stick.' He said in the same calm and cool manner he had adopted. 'He's a strong and capable fighter, more of a warrior than an assassin, who seems to enjoy fighting. He wore a strange mask that covered his face and metal gloves to cover his hands, dressed in black and wearing a hooded cape. The staff he held had a name, he called it out when it became electrified. What was is? I think it started with a B... Brynu or something?' He looked around at the others at the table for help in this matter.

OOC: All that from memory.

Pyre sat listening to the others speak. There wasn't much he could say, but lots that he could learn. He looked especially at the other adventurer's faces, trying to read their expression. Some were blank, and the hylian wasn't surprised, but he could see overall less fear than before. Mabye that was a good thing.

Pyralin wasn't surprised about how much the RER knew about the captured group. They must have worked hard, and collected much data before trying anything, or simply been watching for a long time. As the general spoke, it became clear that the latter was true.

The hylian knew nothing of Wraith. He listened intently to what Raven had said, and gleaned some information about him, but not much besides his appearance. And who were these 'Hakiems'. Pyre understood what the general meant by him being a target, but just for knowing one of these people by accidently being in the square? They must be a powerful organization indeed. He closed his eyes for a moment, and then opened them once more, reading to learn as much as he could from the conversation.

Noval grins at Rose's comments. "And you'll notice, Lady Rose, that none of the people here are hurt at all; nor were any innocent passersby. Well, there is the exception of Mr. Pyralin's magical abilities, but that is easily fixed." Walking forward to where Pyre stands, his hand shoots out like an arrow, jabbing the skin just above his heart. Instantly, the earlier attacks of his captor are negated, and the boy's magic returns to him in full force.

"How do I know you were a general . . . well, the answer to that is twofold. For one, you've told various people that fact. You've said it, and therefore I know it. Also . . ." he turns to face Rose, looking her straight in the eye, "I have been to the Tarm from which you originate from. There are many alternate realities out there in the cosmos of reality, and portals open up every now and then. Communication has been established with various intelligence powers in all the worlds, and Tarm is no exception. We trade info whenever a gateway between worlds opens up, and word of your disappearance from Tarm reached our ears in our most recent encounter. A simple matter of putting two and two together."

He then turns to Raven, listening to the thief's words. "I see . . ." he says at last. "The appearance of Wraith - that information could be most useful. Wraith truly is as his name suggests: a ghost. Even with contacts spread throughout the criminal network, there is almost no knowledge about the man available . . ."

But Rose's words, coupled with the many blank faces of the rest of the group, lead his shoulders to sag and his eyelids to close. With a heavy sigh, the general returns to his seat. "I am sure you all don't know much beyond what Raven has spoken. In return for sharing what you know, I will tell you what I am aware of. Please, be seated."

Shada hurriedly sits, wanting to soak up anything and everything about the assassin. Alpha follows, but at a much slower rate of movement. 'What all does he know about me . . . and why does he wish to know more . . . ?'

OOC: Library of Calatia! Woo!

IC:

Blank was speechless. As Noval indulged the group with the current scenario, and informed them that the assassination was a staged operation to lure them to the secret RER base of operations, Blank felt more at ease. However, the thought of nineteen Hakiems watching him on this day made his stomach turn.

Catching sight of Raven, Blank was pleased to see that others previously involved in the search for Zaris were arriving. Pyralin, however, was a face that he could not put a name to. This was hardly the time for formal introductions (and Blank was normally sub-par with those, anyway), but he knew that one good thing would come from this ordeal: a new ally.

The nomad shook his head as Raven spoke of the battle against the fearsome masked assassin, Wraith. He recalled failing multiple times to inflict any damage to the swift and powerful murderer-for-hire.

He found it intriguing that the Royal Elite Remnant had eluded the eyes of the scribes; for their existence to have not been recorded in Calatia's Library, as mentioned by Noval, seemed absurd. The Hylian, having been raised in Calatia, a country which he had no desire to return to, beamed with pride at the notion of his true nation's organization having evaded documentation by the scholars of the western world. Noval spoke of things that were known by the RER and yet not Calatia. For this, Blank knew that admiration was due. But what could these pieces of information be?

Although he was no psychic, and telepathy was not one of his talents (of which he had few), he was wondering almost the exact thought as the Sheikah mage Alpha. "Any chance you could tell us what you know about Wraith, now? I think it'd be in our best interests to know about someone who's hunting us, right?" A sheepish expression formed on his face; had his request for insight come about as rude? Remembering that a man such as Noval commanded great respect (fourteen Hakiems killed in one day was a feat worth noting), Blank added a friendly "Please?" to his remark.

OOC: Put that in just for you, Blank.

IC:
"That is my full intention, Mr. Fireside. As shameful as it is to admit it, information on Wraith’s history is all I can offer you; his present is a mystery to all except for himself and his employers, whoever they might be. And it is as difficult to obtain data on the Hakiems as it is to survive a plunge into molten lava. Simply put, it cannot be done." Noval spreads his arms wide. "So I’m afraid you will have to settle for what I can tell you . . . and afterwards, I have an offer for you to consider.

"But first things first: Wraith." He settles back in his chair, reliving old memories . . . old, painful memories.

"Wraith first appeared on the scene seven years ago. Discovered as a teenager, he already possessed speed and agility that allowed him to slip through the grasp of any and every stronghold’s guards which he entered. His first job was to infiltrate a wealthy Opelonin politician’s large – and heavily-guarded – estate, and assassinate him. Nothing to special . . . except that seasoned veterans had turned down the task no matter what sum was offered them, due to the fact that it was, as they said, impossible. Wraith was in and out in five minutes flat, leaving no trace of his presence except for the deceased form of the man he’d killed.

"He continued on that path, as an assassin for hire, and soon made a name for himself as the best of the best. No one was able to match his skills at stealth; magical ability is impossible to rule out, especially when you consider his weapon of choice." He quickly reaches inside his cloak and withdraws a long, slender needle, a shiny metallic form that stretches out to be four inches long, shining even in the dim light. "These needles were the instruments of death that he carried, and he left one in each of his victims to prove his involvement. They are hollowed out on the inside and filled with different types of poison, the main one of which is known as Lycresia poison, named for the country it originates from. The poison is normally relatively mild and easy to counteract provided you have enough time. However, Wraith imbued these needles with a magic that causes the poison to infect every cell of the person that the needle comes into contact with, transforming Lycresia poison into an instant killer." He returns the needle to within his cloak.

"Within six months, Wraith was responsible for over 2500 deaths worldwide." Noval pauses, allowing the number to sink in. Twenty-five hundred deaths in little more than one hundred and eighty days . . . "And so, nations from every country in existence secretly sent representatives to a council in Opelon, the site of Wraith’s first killing, to compare notes and figure out what in the world to do about him. I was in charge of the investigations here in Hyrule, and as a result I attended the Council of Wraith personally. The long and short of the council . . . was that we all realized how powerless we were against him. Many of our number feared for their lives." He pauses, and subtly shakes his head – there is something that he has chosen not to mention.

"By the end of the year since his first job, over 5000 people had been murdered by the ghost – and that is not counting the guards that fell to his hand. Not once had anyone ever seen him and lived to tell the tale, so until today we have lacked any description at all about his appearance." Another pause. Another skipped thought. "And then, little more than a year after he began his work, he disappeared.

"For six years, I have been coordinating efforts all over the world in an attempt to track him down . . . but even his employers, criminal overlords, that we have managed to capture as time has passed, have been unable to tell us. They truly do not know; Wraith covered his tracks totally and completely, leaving as he always did: without a trace. Until you two ladies began asking around about him," he motions to Rose and Shada, "I hadn’t even heard of him since that time . . . I truly believed he was gone.

"And then . . . two days ago . . . we retrieved this from an assassinated man." He once again reaches into his cloak and draws forth the needle. That was why it had still gleamed – it was still new. "This, coupled with your accounts, prove his return. And that is not a good thing.

"And that is what I know. It is sparse on details, yes, but I doubt you would want me to go into depth concerning the deaths he brought upon the world."

Pyralin stared at the general for a moment. The numbers were indeed staggering, and hard to take in. He knew very little about this Wraith, but it seemed he was fearsome indeed. If he had come back, it would be very bad, and if this group was to be one of his targets... well that wasn't good. Pyre closed his eyes once more. He understood why he was here now, and really didn't have much of choice. By meeting this group, he had become a target, and there wasn't anything he could do about it.

The hylian was still not quite sure what he was supposed to do. Help fight the assasin? He didn't think he was much help. He drew the magical energies back into a central point, settling into its radiance. He looked at each other person. They seemed to be capable, and had apparently already faced Wraith. Mabye they did stand a chance, and if so, he should go with them. But would they really want an outsider following them. Especially one so young that might only be a burden. He would try his best, but didn't know what he could accomplish against the unknown killer.

It was obvious that there was more to the story than he thought. The general seemed to have a complex history along with the RER. Wraith was a story to himself, and the other adventurers seemed to have something pressing them on. They were probably working towards some goal. All of the stories seemed to overlap somehow. That was why they were all here, but how did Pyre fit in? He settled back in his chair, feeling his anger fading away, and the calming magic within him. He decided to what he had done the entire time: watch and wait.

Rose stared in shock as Noval told them about Wraith. 5,000 deaths in one year by one man? And they had survived him?

The human frowned. Wraith certainly hadn't fought them with needles. "Why didn't he fight us with these needles?" she asked. She then let out a nervous chuckle. "I should be glad, I suppose, but I can't help but feel scared out of my wits because he could've so easily had killed us." Rose groaned and let her head fall to the table with a soft thud.

Noval's eyes narrow at Rose's words. His left hand reaches up and begins to stroke his beard as he goes into deep thought. "Interesting . . . he neglected to use the needles against you? That's quite odd. The only reason he would do that is if he had no intention of killing you . . . but that's what his job is . . ."

Abruptly, he stands straight up, knocking over his own chair in the process. "That settles it. I had planned to invite you to join me in interviewing my main informant on Wraith already, but now I must make it into a request. I have a feeling he can shed some light on the situation." He looks right into each of their eyes. "What say you? Care to give me a hand here? I could certainly use someone who actually battled against Wraith to describe what happened to my contact."

A frown creased Pyre's brow. Now things were getting slightly confusing. It seemed that the seperate stories were more complex than he thought, and thus there was going to be a lot of intrigue. This was hard to keep up with for some one who knew so little about what was going on.

It would be nice to meet this informant. Mabye he could clear some things up. Or mabye all Pyralin had to do was ask for information, and someone would tell him. It was probably unnessicary. Things seemed to be unfolding, and soon Pyre thought that he know what he was supposed to do. He gave a short prayer for guidence to the goddesses, releasing some magic energy as a sort of offering. He would have to trust that he would know what to do when the time for action came.

Blank immediately jolted from his relaxed position against the wall of the old building. Despite his quick movements, however, his face showed no signs of interest. Blank would never admit it, but inside himself he was truly concerned. Concerned that this would be his last adventure, concerned that there was more to this entire situation than just Zaboorak, Zaris and a mighty force, and concerned that something might happen to his allies. Something regrettable. To say the least, Blank was feeling frightened.

"Yeah... I'd have no problem with that... Just take us to him..."

Rose sighed and got to her feet. "If it'll get his nightmare over," she said, her voice as heavy as her sigh was. But what Rose really wanted was to get som sleep. Too much had happened to her in too short a time period, and the mental stress was starting to take a toll on her body.

Noval shrugs his shoulders at Rose. "I seriously doubt that it will end your nightmare, Lady Rose. It will merely help to shed some light onto the situation. Wraith is after you for unknown reasons, remember, and he doesn't seem to be attempting to kill you. The Hakiems Tribe I can't really help you with, and they are the ones that you all, including you Pyralin, need to beware of. Those Sheikah take revenge to an entirely new level.

"The meeting was scheduled several weeks back, long before Wraith's reappearance. It will take place tonight, at approximately midnight. As it's just past noon now, feel free to take some time to rest up. We can bring in some food and drink if you like, and you may feel free to get some rest in the meantime."

Hearing a knock at the door, Noval calls out, "Enter." Miax does so with two other members of the RER, carrying with them the group's weaponry. Walking around to each member, they quickly and respectfully return each to their owner. Alpha twirls his staff above his head a few times before returning it to its resting place behind his back, a smile back on his face.

Yet in his mind, doubts remain. 'Who is this informant? . . . And will they recognize me?'