OOC: No prob, ZV. And Nogare . . . yeah, yeah, thanks a lot. They really should've put in a grammar checker in Firefox 2 as well.

IC:
Rose's blade slices forward, intercepting the Hakiem even as he attempts to dodge out of the way (18+4[Roll+AGI]) and dealing 7 DMG to the man. Instantly he turns back to face her, slashing away with his own Deku Sword, but his strike only makes a hollow impact against her armored body (8+9[Roll+AGI*]).

This should leave him completely open to Pyralin's attack, but the Hylian's swords are unable to find their target as he deftly leaps over his head (6+5[Roll+AGI]). A wild swing is all that he can afford to fire at the boy, but this has the same success rate as Pyre had had (7+9[Roll+AGI*]). Both back away unharmed.

The other, weaker L5 Hakiem never even sees Dogura's attack coming. The blade slices through the distracted assassin's neck (13+6[Roll+AGI]), ending his life instantly and with much pain that should help satisfy the man's recent bloodlust. Fang's attack is just as fatal for his target. Even as the final Hakiem is once again empowered by his Avenging Strength, the Water Elemental Burst smashes into him (seriously, I rolled the 6-sided die and it came up with Water), crushing him beneath its mighty force (7+3[Roll+SPI]) and slaying him as well. This battle is over.

Hakiem L5 #1: eliminated
Hakiem L5 #2: eliminated
Hakiem L5 #3: eliminated
Hakiem L5 #4: eliminated
Hakiem L4 #1: eliminated
Hakiem L4 #2: eliminated
Hakiem L3: eliminated

Fang: 41 HP, 10 SPL
Alpha: 46 HP, 33 SPL
Shada: 35 HP, 19 SPL
Rose: 41 HP, 13 SPL
Koura: 20 HP
Noval: 71 HP, 15 SPL

As the final Hakiem falls, Noval sighs and moves his gaze over the now blood-stained kitchen, ending his look at the place where Raven and the hostages lie. The kitchen staff, thankfully, seems unharmed as of yet. Then his ears catch wind of the Hylian answering the Thief's questions. "Yeah, I'd be willing to bet that there are more of us somewhere around here. But it'd probably take time for us to find them. As for why we're here . . . this is just where we ended up in the fighting!"

"I assume you didn't kill any of them, did you, Colonel Veldam?" Noval calls out as he makes his way to them as the Colonel instantly salutes . . . with somewhat of an exaggerated motion. Colonel Horren Veldam never has been fond of formality, no matter what the situation, Noval thinks with an mental grin. About 5'10", the Hylian's muscular form is hidden beneath his shining chainmail armor and the crimson shirt that lies beneath. The empty sheathe for his Iron Sword lies at the belt around his black pants. All this makes him seem very neat, but the blond hair atop his head is sloppily combed, matching his tone and grin, which are much more casual than the majority of Hylian Knights.

Midway through his return gesture Noval catches sight of the Zora beside him. He lets out a long sigh of relief. "General Lion! I see you're alright as well!" The Zora's dark blue eyes move to gaze at Noval, the only sign that he has heard his fellow general's words. Noval reaches forward and stretches out his hand. General Kamas Lion robe parts briefly, allowing the Zora to reach out and give him a congratulatory handshake. "Good to see you my friend," Noval continues. Then, taking up his sword again, he quickly moves to begin freeing more of the prisoners.

Dogura landed, blood caking his sword. He stood up, and recomposed himself, turning just as Fang finished off the other Hakiem. "You havent lost your touch Fang." Dogura smiled. "How about a hose down over here?" Fang commanded the water, as it washed the blood off of Dogura's sword, and armor. With that, he directed his attention to the released captives. After hearing them exchange familiar words, he caught on. "So you know eachother then..." The samurai questioned, stepping over the bodies and limbs that littered the floor.

Fang bent the pipes further more, washing the blood off of the kitchen floor, and the walls which closed the room. The mage then proceeded to help untie kitchen staff, all the while paying attention to the introductions being made. Dogura assisted Fang and Noval in freeing the prisoners. Fang winced, as the wound to his leg was beginning to take effect. He began searching for anything to ease the pain. [Awareness Check]

Pyre let out a calming breath, cleaning his daggers with his hands. He sheathed the two blades, and looked around at the others. It didn't seem like anyone had sustained any serious injuries. He watched the exchange between Noval and the captives. The hylian thought it likely that these people knew where others were, and approached the group. He was pretty sure that Noval would be thinking along the same lines, and didn't speak up, and settled on watching.

The group of Hakiems hadn't been to tough. He was surprised, but was expecting more dangerous encounters ahead. He looked to Alpha for his answer. "Besides these grunts, what are we up against. They wouldn't have gotten this far if that was the extent of their strength." Pyralin was curious. He had so much about these powerful Hakiems, and the mysterious Wraith, but so far hadn't seen anything too special.... except from capturing North Castle.

Rose cleaned off her blade and sheathed it. Once Noval is done talking to Veldem and Lion, she asked, "So, where do we go from here? Off to a storage room to look for your weapons, or to the throne room to see if the king is being held captive there? If you're any good with a bow, I could let you borrow mine. I have sixty arrows left, so if we don't run into too many Hakiems and you have good aim, that may be enough."

OOC: Just thought I'd let you all know I rolled a percentile and a d10 to see how many arrows Rose had. I think my dice like Rose. So how about I roll my own attack and defense rolls, Alpha. XD

Raven looked around him as Noval spoke to Col. Veldam and then Gen. Lion and saw that the fight was indeed over. I should have kept a better eye on the fight. He looked around and was that many of the hostages were still tied fortunately some of those were unconcious so they wouldn't know any different.

As Noval takes up his sword to free those that remain, he walks over to Pyre. 'Thanks for getting rid of that Hakiem. Would never have got to the hostages otherwise.' He turns to face Shada's direction. 'Thanks for having my back, Shada.' He yells unceremoniously across the room. He then walks towards Calla. 'I guess you can hold your own after all, with a little help from Skye here.' He runs his finger down the back of her head, which leads to attempted peck which he manages to deftly avoid. 'I used to be good with birds.' He said slyly. It seems the only female I haven't annoyed is GG. However if she heard me call her that that would soon cause problems. What's her name again... K... Koura; that's it. Thank the Goddesses for that.

Soon enough, the entire staff is untied and moving about freely once again. Upon the final captive's release, Noval stands before them. "You had all best get to a safe place," he says. "Those people undoubtedly have many more members hidden throughout hte castle, and they won't hesitate to capture you again." As they file their way out into the next room, the room that the first two hostages Raven had freed had gone, which a casual glance would make out to be a secluded dining area, perhaps for the kitchen staff themselves to eat in, Noval nods to the others. "It is better that those not involved never learn of the Hakiems Tribe; such knowledge will only bring trouble to them in the end."

Fang's Awareness Check succeeds (17+3[Roll+INT]). In one of the cabinets above a stove, the man is able to locate several bandages and a bottle of some medicinal herbs. This probably won't return any of his health to him, but he should be able to use it to mend his injuries and numb the pain in his leg as it heals.

Alpha nods in Pyre's direction as the boy's questions reach his ears. "Undoubtedly not, Pyralin. We faced off against four of their weakest members, two of their next higher class, and one of the next highest level. We haven't seen any of the highest level, Hakiems L2, as of yet, but doubtless there will be some here. You can tell them apart by the handkerchiefs they wear; from weakest to strongest levels, they wear red, green, blue, and black."

Veldam laughs away Rose's kind offer. "No need for that, but I sure appreciate the offer! I'm sure we'll find our stuff eventually; in the meantime . . ." He casually walks over to the fallen form of the Hakiem L3. "Nothing like using an enemy's own weapons against them!" he calls out cheerfully as he plucks the Iron Sword from the ground and slides it into his belt - not his sheathe, you notice. "And yeah, everybody in the Hylian Knights knows General Noval!" he replies to Dogura. "The General's one of the top advisers to King Harkinian himself, for crying out loud, and -"

"That's enough, Colonel," Noval interrupts calmly, but with a disapproving look on his face. With a shrug, Veldam shuts his mouth.

Shada and Calla both grin in response to Raven's praise, and the Rito only laughs as Skye attempts to peck at him - in play, the Hawk tells her. It seems the thief hasn't made nearly as many enemies as he believes, but with a mischievous thought, Calla decides not to inform him of Skye's true motives.

There are two more doorways that the group could travel through, and no telling what lies behind either one. So, which one to choose?

At least we're saving citizens of the city. considered Nogare, looking at the bright side of not being able to assist Harkinian and Zelda. If we had gone elsewhere, these prisoners would have definitely died soon. He made a silent chuckled, that which no one heard. And they have the elder son of Greatblade with them... there's hope then. Though vague, it's still some hope.

Also, Nogare had considered Zelda's skill with the bow. She could fight off many, and with Impa's magic, and the Triforce... Nogare shook the thought off. Yes, they're fine.

He, too, went to free the prisoners. He said to a few of them, "Farore has been with you all."

"Thank Din." Fang muttered, pulling the medical supplies from the cupboard. The mage sat down, and leaning against a counter, he winced as he rubbed the herbs into the wound. After the herbs were placed on the wound, he wrapped the bandages around the source of his pain. Standing up, he leaned on the cupboard, and Dogura appeared next to him. "You can't really be in that much pain Fang, its only a small wound." Fang smiled confidently. "I'm not used to getting injured in any way. In fact, this may be the first time I've been wounded since we left the academy."

Dogura's eyes narrowed. Is he hiding his true strength? This has to be some sort of bluff. He did expertly command those elements... And the hakiem he attacked was crushed under the water pressure... Dogura half smiled. "Well get used to it! These Hakiems are nothing to toy around with. My prior knowledge on the little bastards tells me that we havent seen the strongest of them yet. Judging by the handkerchiefs they wear, I would say the strongest have yet to appear." With these words, Fang turned his head, and closed his eyes. "Pfft... I could take them all on..."
As the mage uttered these words, a memory took his mind by surprise.

And he appears directly behind Fang, lashing out with his Iron Sword. His blade pierces into the man without difficulty (7+6[Roll+AGI]), dealing an intense 12 DMG to its target. Satisfied, the L3 Hakiem leaps away to prepare against any more attacks coming his way.

Fang frowned, and thought the issue over. As soon as i get my hands on that sacred stone... Then we'll see whos running... The way Dogura's head snapped in Fang's direction immediately let the Mage know that his inner thoughts were being monitered. Fang and Dogura locked eyes. "Think what you want to think about me Shadowclaw... But be polite, and stay the hell out of my mind. Are we clear?" Dogura began to sweat, wondering which Sacred Stone Fang may be after, and what intends to do with it. "We're clear Gengai." The samurai muttered, now filled with questions. Dogura noticed that Veldam was speaking with him just after dealing with Fang.

"everybody in the Hylian Knights knows General Noval! The General's one of the top advisers to King Harkinian himself, for crying out loud, and -" "That's enough, Colonel," Noval interrupts calmly, but with a disapproving look on his face.

Dogura tilted his head in question of the secrecy obviously desired by Noval. Dogura lost a little bit of respect for the General. King Harkanian's advisor? He serves the King yes, but... Could he have anything to do with the King's disgusting actions? Dogura was tempted to peer into the General thoughts, but respected his privacy and trusted him to an extent.

There are two more doorways that the group could travel through, and no telling what lies behind either one. So, which one to choose?

Dogura thought his choises over, and decided on pure instinct that that they should take the left pathway. Just as Dogura points a finger towards the West most doorway, his arm crosses Fang's, as they both call out in unision: "This way." Dogura eyes Fang, and Fang stared down the samurai. "Left. Out of all of my quests, I find the left path always more rewarding." Fang combated the Hylian's reasoning. "The right path is the right path. Have you no intelect?" Dogura grew impatiant with the man. I'll check the left door, and you check the right then! "No!" Fang called out. "I'm through with being all cautious! We can take on whatever lies behind either door." They both turn to Noval. In unision, they shout: "Tell this man I'm correct!!"

OOC: I love this. It's like a brother sister fight that I experience OH too much. I dont know how I came up with so much to type, but who's complaining?

OOC: WAIT A MINUTE! I MISS THE WHOLE FIGHT!?! WHY?

IC: Kasei watched the battle rage on, and when it ended, he only saw that dogura and fang were fighting, which annoyed him to no end...just like he annoyed the others... "Will you two shut up! Its like I'm looking at two toddlers fighting over who gets a toy sword! Noval, tell them that their acting horrible! Worse than me!" kasei says, then fumes. He had missed the whole fight; he wasn't going to miss the next one....

Dogura and Fang glared at Kasei. Fang's eyes began to glow. "Fang... Controll your temper." Fang took a step towards the rebel flame. "Not something I'm good at." He muttered. Dogura pinched his neck, and Fang's eyes returned to normal. "Ouch!! What the hell was that for?" Fang muttered, eyeing Kasei. Dogura smiled. "You learn to live with it."

"Oh, c'mon fang, bring it! I can take you on any day..." kasei says...then pulls out his sword, ready for a fight. He was already angered about losing out on the battle; he didn't need an upstart PUNK ruining his day... "Heheheh, I can easily take you and dogura!" he says, but doesn't do anything to back up his words...

Dogura turned to kasei. "Kasei, we've been through this before. I can understand Fang, but there is no way in your hell that you're any stronger than I am now." Fang squinted his eyes. "Whats that supposed to mean Dogura?" Dogura was about to speak, when he raised a hand to silence the two of them. "I've had enough. We will do battle later kasei, but for now we have our hands full with a mission. If we cannot learn to cooperate, the mission will surely fail." Fang sighed, and shuffled his feet. "Although I dont like to admit it, you're right. We're acting like children." With that, the duo turned and prepared to follow orders.

As Pyre watched the exchange, he couldn't help but laugh. He quickly stiffled it, but he found the bickering between the veterans older than he was to be quite humerous. Soon after, he looked up at Noval, ready to do what the general said. He obviously had thought ahead, and was sure to have a plan.

In the mean time, he was beginning to grow impatient. It probably wasn't good that they were staying so long in one place. More chance for others to find us. He decided to voice his fears. "We should probably get moving soon. Just waiting isn't going to get anything done."

His hands rested on the hilt of his daggers. This wasn't the castle that he knew so well, but an enemy held stronghold. Who knew what could happen in here, it was like an entirely knew place, with dangerous assasins hiding behind every corner.

Noval crosses his arms as his face twitches with annoyance. Dogura vs. Fang vs. Kasei . . . this probably won't turn out well. But rather than simply interfering, the general just turns back to his fellow Hylian Knights. "General Lion," he says softly, although he is obviously assuming the Zora can hear him over the din of fighting behind him. "Which path do you believe we should take?"

The Zora's eyes flicker over to glance at Noval, then quickly close shut. He seems to go into a trance for several long moments.

Then the leader of the RER shoots his own gaze to Pyre. "Do not have such confidence in my abilities, young Pyralin. I may know all the routes from this point to the throne room, but I have no 'plan'. With the Hakiems already having control over the castle, we would be forced to alter any plan made so often that we may as well not have any, other than this: we survive, and they fall."

Koura looks over to where Noval stands. She hasn't heard Pyre say anything about a plan or something - what is the general talking about? For those who realize that he had read the boy's mind, this might be the first glimpse they get into the incredible mental powers that the Hylian general holds. Dogura should probably start wondering whether or not his mental abilities even could have gotten past Noval's defenses.

Alpha leans against one of the walls, wondering what the next move will be. They've managed to kill all Hakiems that know they're in the castle, so their presence should still be undetected. As soon as this squad is missed, however, things could get messy.

The Zora General's eyelids flash open. His hand shoots forward, aiming straight to the door to the left of the kitchen storage room (the one Dogura had been pointing towards). Noval nods. "So be it. We'll be heading in that direction."

Rose smiled slightly as Veldem laughed and took a sword from the dead L3 Hakiem. Once Dogura, Fang, and Kasei started to fight, she tuned out their bickering, listening to Pyre's question instead. When the Zora points out the left door as the way to go, Rose walked over to it, and cautiously opened it, just in case Hakiems were already coming down to see if something was wrong in the kitchen.[Awareness Check].

OOC: Look's like I beat you to the Awareness Check, ZV. See, you're not the only one who learned how to use them.