Alpha stared at the pendulum for several seconds, noting several interesting tidbits about the circle in particular. Twelve different sets of marks, three of which were composed of two marks while the other nine were only one . . . He blinked. It was kind of like a . . .

"I think that circle might be a clock," he muttered to Rosen, then turned and glanced at Dogura as the samurai returned upstairs. "Either of you two seen a clock anywhere around here? Maybe something about it will tell us what needs to be done with this combination."

He didn't disregard Dogura's questions, but . . . he really didn't have much of an answer for the man. He hadn't paid the Nomad any mind after watching his futile attempt with Aria to forge a highly unstable ladder of doubled length. Besides, the man was resilient; he'd learned as much in the Grand Tournament. Dogura was right in thinking that Saber could handle anything that came his way. Unless it was multiple monsters all ganging up on him, but what was the chances of that happening in this abandoned city?

With Dogura leaving the basement, disinterested in the hole she had found, Aria figured she didn't have much to care about here either. The food was bad, and she didn't dare try to remove those bars.

But it was still with reluctance that the ranger left the water-logged basement. Oh well, she'd just have to take some time later to play in the river.

Peering into the study, she observed Rosen, Alpha, and Dogura investigating the safe. But it did not hold much interest for her; the Gerudo did not want to take anything from this house unless it was necessary, even if the family who once lived here was long gone.

However, the question of where Sabertache was poked at her conscience. "I'll go look for him and tell him to give up on trying to get in from the outside," she volunteered. And with that, Aria left the men to their probing of the safe.

But she didn't see Saber outside. "Saber!" she shouted. "Where did you get to?" She peered down to the ground to see if the Hylian had left behind any tracks. [Track L1]

HP: 42/42
SPL: 17/17
Will: 9/9

Nausea didn't paint the portrait on Rosen's face when he heard Alpha's insights; no, it was something more lucid and irksome that frowned on his pallet.

"Yeah...where'd you think I found this pendelum." The sarcasm lightly veiled his bitterness as to not spending a few more seconds with that wretched clock, a veil that skirted should a breeze pass by and reveal his bottled anger. "It's in the room just to the left of here. First one on your right."

The goron had no intention of leaving his post; no intention of finding himself face to face to that thing that had bested him, especially if it would only be to discover the last of a combination painted in its frozen grin, half past three or whatever time it stopped on.

"Any of you, just head there quickly and give us a holler. Don't want to spend too much time headin back and forth between these rooms and all." His eyes didn't move from the dial on the safe. "Plus, I doubt my eyes are going to help any of you find the last bit of this safe."

OOC: REALLY!?? Honestly!? You couldn't just give me the combination to the safe on a silver platter....erg...what's the last number RG!? WHAT'S THE LAST NUMBER?! Is it the time on the clock!? RAAAAAWWWWRR

The Sheikah glanced off in the direction Rosen indicated, either ignorant or just ignoring the Goron's tone of voice as he referenced the clock. It made sense for the pendulums to come from a clock, but he hadn't wanted to jump to conclusions, so he simply nodded his understanding and moved to head in that direction. "Anything interesting or unique about the clock?" he called back before leaving. "Was it stuck on some specific hour, or did you notice?"

He didn't wait for an answer; the Goron's voice would carry far enough for him to hear it even in the next room. He entered the Family Room and quickly scanned the area, finding the clock pretty easily. He also noticed the cabinet with board games at the bottom; he smirked as he recalled the scheduling book's reference to such things. He'd never played Time Dungeons himself; maybe once this little mystery was resolved he'd take a few moments to get out the game and look it over.

For now, though, he studied the clock as carefully as he could, hoping to gather some sort of insight from his analysis. [Insight Check]

OOC: Now, now, WinterSink... We can't have all our puzzles be so easy as 'oh, I just so happened to find the combination written somewhere'. No way! That's too simplistic. Besides, you've already been given all the details you need to solve this little puzzle - all you have to do is think about it a little bit.

In fact, you've been given enough to at least find the clues that will lead you to the second floor and beyond - you just have to start looking in the right places.

IC: Dogura's "Awareness Check (because I can and will)" may be a ridiculous name for a check, but it ends up being successful so that hardly matters (16+9 vs. 15 Pass). While Rosen grumbles about the clock and the apparent mystery surrounding the thing, the samurai glances around the Study's windows, searching for Saber for several seconds before realizing that the Nomad is nowhere nearby. Maybe he got bored and decided to go walk off somewhere else; or maybe he went to check something else out. Either way, he's not to be found around here anymore.

Hey, I said it was successful, not that it was useful.

This idea is compounded further by Aria's failure to spot any tracks left by the Tantari Mercenary (4+3 vs. 15 Fail). There don't even appear to be footprints, although with all the puddles scattered about that isn't too much of a surprise.

Meanwhile, Alpha stares at the clock of the Family Room, finding his eyes drawn to the hands of the clock in particular (12+5 vs. 15 Pass). He really has no way of knowing that it was working until Rosen removed the pendulums, as the Goron had never mentioned that tidbit, but it does seem a rather odd coincidence that the time is off by almost exactly three hours. To be very specific, it's off by two hours and fifty-seven minutes...those three minutes being about as much time has passed since Rosen's tampering drew it to a halt.

* * *

Several blocks away, Saber's bomb goes off just after he rounds the corner...but he might be disappointed to hear it exploding much closer than he'd expected - apparently the Octorok had spit out the explosive before it could detonate. As the creatures give chase, however, it appears that a pair of them did get caught in the blast (-10 HP Octorok #2, #4).

Running into an alleyway, however, probably wasn't the best of ideas for the Nomad - it gives him very little room to dodge any attacks, and the Octoroks seem quite fond of attacking. Each one fires their Rock Cannon at Saber, pelting him with every last stone; he can't get away from a single hit. In the end, the force of this one wave of attacks is enough to bring the boy to his knees (-56 HP Saber).

But he doesn't appear to be dead yet; he's still breathing. The creatures take note of this, studying him for a few seconds, then one of the beasts slowly meanders forward, grabs the man by his shirt, and begins dragging his un-/semi-conscious form across the ground towards wherever they had been heading in the first place.

OOC: Well dang... I mean, gosh, that's some really tough luck there, Saber. The Octoroks got a 19, 20, 20, and 17 respectfully... Apparently someone up there really does hate you. >>

"Wow, I never thought I'd be angry to see water," the Gerudo said to herself. "Well, Saber's tough, he can take care of himself."

Aria strode back into the house and found Rosen in the study. She peered at the pendulum in the Goron's hand. That last bit, "26+O." Alpha had said something about a clock. She looked for the Sheikah mage and found him in the Family Room studying the Grandfather Clock. There weren't many clocks in Parapa Desert, especially among the nomadic tribes, but Aria had seen a clock once, and she have seen them plenty of times since leaving her desert home. The ranger had, of course, long since learned how to tell the time on these devices.

"It's three hours ahead," she stated simply. "Twenty-six plus clock....Twenty-six plus how far ahead the clock is? So....That last number might be a twenty-nine instead."

Miss Sinwater walked back over to the study and looked at the pendulum again, temporarily memorizing the combination. As much as she didn't want to steal anything, this safe seemed to be the best way of moving forward, and she was growing tired of doing nothing in this house.

"Thirty-six, then left to thirty-nine," she muttered to herself, reaching past Rosen to twiddle with the dial. "Excuse me. Right to fourteen, and finally left to twenty-nine." The Gerudic ranger listened carefully to see if her solution to the problem had been the correct one.

*Scrape*
*Scrape*
*Scrape*
...
*Scrape*
*Click!*

Aria's combination seems to have done the trick - the moment she inputs the 29 the safe door comes ajar, affording anyone who wishes to have a peek inside with the opportunity to do so.

OOC: Gosh, I'm thick...well...I'm a goron technically so at least it'll make sense that I didn't figure this out.

Great job Kokiri Wolf/Aria by the way! You saved me from so much anxiety.

IC: His eyes fell on the gerudo, reflected off her desert skin in shades of astonishment and glee as both tapered into grins beneath his brow and wrinkled face. Hands groping at the handle he allowed all the light that stood as audience to enter the chamber which held his curiosity for such a while. "Wonderful job." He said, eyes still plastered on the safe but nothing but kindness traversing the space between himself and the Gerudo.

"Aaaaallllpppphhhaaaaa," He hollered, beckoning the company of cloaked figures as he revealed whatever treasures lied before him. "Nevvveeerr miiind! GEEEET OVVEERR HEERE!"

There really wasn't a need for such baritone clamor but the excitement that collapsed from the barrel of his lungs shot adrenaline through his veins and assumed that yelling would surely release it.

Aria was still next to Rosen when he began to shout. Taking a few steps back, the ranger said, "Thank you."

Once she was sure that the Goron had stopped yelling, the Gerudo stepped back over to the safe and looked inside. She thought about grabbing the item in there, but thought that perhaps it would be safer to check for traps first. [Awareness Check] Perhaps the owner of the safe thought it too easy to figure out the combination if burglars ever broke in.

OOC:

RG wrote:In fact, you've been given enough to at least find the clues that will lead you to the second floor and beyond - you just have to start looking in the right places.

Have we now? Well, if you say so . . . here goes something!

IC:
"It's three hours ahead. Twenty-six plus clock....Twenty-six plus how far ahead the clock is? So....That last number might be a twenty-nine instead."

"Makes sense," Alpha conceded calmly, letting the Gerudo go off to test out her little combination. He took another few seconds to glance over the clock, but when nothing else in particular jumped out at him the Sheikah moved over to where the chest sat with the bottom doors opened and the board games exposed. 'Time Dungeons' . . . it sounded interesting, he supposed. He had a few seconds to kill before they'd know whether or not the combination had worked -

"Aaaaallllpppphhhaaaaa, nevvveeerr miiind! GEEEET OVVEERR HEERE!"

Apparently those few seconds were up, and from the sound of Rosen's voice he assumed that the Gerudo woman had been correct in her thinking. Still, they had no idea what it might hold inside it, meaning he had a few more seconds until it would be worth his time to head that way -

He stopped, waiting for them to start screaming about treasure or something - or something that might help them reach floor #2 . . . but no sounds came just yet. He sighed; no sign of anything that could help them just yet, though maybe they were taking their time with the safe. Well, they'd let him know if anything important was found, so instead of joining them like the Goron had requested he chose to satisfy his curiosity and pulled off the top of the board game, searching inside for the instructions - at least reading that would give him something interesting to do while he waited for whatever breakthrough came next.

Dogura's ears perked at the sound of the click, and he turned shocked towards the people gathered. "You opened it?" His curiosity would again get the better of him, as he leaned in close to peer inside.

<EMBED SRC="http://www.zreomusic.com/music/5-oot/07 ... eChest.mp3" AUTOSTART=FALSE HEIGHT=60 WIDTH=144 STARTTIME="1:30">

OOC: I don't have much else to say

Aria's quick thinking turns out to be unnecessary; as she carefully examines the safe she finds nothing indicating that it might be booby-trapped (16+3 vs. 15 Pass). The three Adventurers' massive curiosities turns out to be without cost this time around, and they are treated to having the door swing open without any special side effects - though all three could likely have sworn they heard a faint and oddly fitting melody going through the air as they at last get a look inside...

Within, a quick sparkling of light catches their eyes, dim but still telltale of something metallic. As they peer into the cavernous confines, they will find waiting for them a large stack of papers that looks to be business documents - pretty dull stuff, probably not worth spending time with compared to the other two things that can be swiftly noticed. One is a set of keys attached to a chain, likely the source of the sparkles. Closer inspection of them will reveal that one key especially is larger than the rest and also has an "A" engraved into its metal handle.

The second object of note appears to be...a diary...


"What're you up to in here, Alpha?"

Back in the other room, Horren walks in from the Entrance, having heard the excited clamoring of those gathered about the safe but deciding, like the Sheikah, that they'll probably tell him if it holds anything worthwhile. Instead he comes in just after the man has pulled off the box top and started investigating the game's contents - but something other than the instructions catches his crimson eyes.

It's a sheet of plain paper, folded and wrinkled but not too terribly damaged - the chest had done a very good job of protecting its contents from the floods, it seems. Horren leans down and grabs the page first, casually opening it up and holding it where the Sheikah can almost see it...finding it hard to read himself while also letting Alpha see it, he opts to read it aloud.

"CHORES," he begins reciting, chuckling at the emphasis placed on the page's fully capitalized header. "Megan: clean and dust entryway and dining room. Wash windows on first floor. Cleaning supplies are in the kitchen cabinets, with spares in the cellar. Peter: clean rooms and put away all toys. Wash upper story windows with Dad -" he pauses, sighting something that seems to confuse him.

"Rope is in the basement if you need it, on the shelf behind the trampoline."

He blinks; he'd been down to the basement, and seen all the cellar had to offer. Not only was there not a trampoline to be found there, but as the Brigadier thinks about it...there really isn't enough space in there to even hold a trampoline. Aria's finding of the hole had hinted at it, but this note confirms it: there's more to that basement.

And a good rope might be exactly what they need to reach the second story.

* * *

Saber's grogginess is all that keeps him alive.

As he begins to regain control of himself, body still incredibly weak after the massive pummeling inflicted on him by the Octoroks, his ears would begin to hear a dark, raspy voice speaking. "Live human?" It's voice cracks as the words leave it, obviously not too accustomed to needing speech. It approaches the Nomad, staring over his form for a second; in the dim lighting between houses, it appears to be a Zola.

The Octoroks' squeaks fill his ears, annoying little bits and pieces of Infernal that he couldn't possibly hope to translate, on his own, though their intent is obvious: they want to know what to do with Saber. Their options can't be very many: leave him in this wounded state, take him prisoner, or kill him right then and there.

As stated before, the grogginess saves him. "Don't look like a threat..." the Zola mutters before turning away to the Octoroks. "Take to the Warlord. Let Master decide fate."

Well, it saves him from an immediate death, but... an eventual one? That's still up in the air.

Satisfied that there were no traps, Aria reached into the safe and scooped up the keys and grabbed, though she didn't know quite way, the diary. Perhaps it contained something important. "Let's get over to Alpha," the ranger said.

She walked back over to the living room and stopped when she saw Horren; she had somehow forgotten that the Hylian was still there. "I found some keys," she informed them, holding them up. Striding over to them, she held the keys out. "Here, hold them for me, please."

Once they had been accepted, she opened the diary and began scanning the pages for anything that might be useful. Every now and then, she had to stop and actively try to remember what one of the lesser used characters stood for. Lorade might have taught her daughter how to fluently speak Common, but Aria still mostly used Gerudic for reading and writing. [Scan Diary Check]

OOC: We all know you love our nonsensical checks, RG.

Horren's reappearance - where had he been the past few minutes anyway? - led to the Sheikah sitting back as the man read over the list of chores. Alpha had to chuckle at the sound of them being read off so casually; he could imagine the kids having hidden the list in the board game so that they could feign ignorance about their workload. Or perhaps it had been put in there in the aftermath of the family's 'Game Night', being gathered up along with all the pieces of the game and simply shoved inside -

Wait, rope?

The Sheikah stood up at once, brushing past Aria without so much as a second glance as he headed back into the Entrance hall. His eyes became riveted on the remains of the stairwell, quickly glancing it over and looking for a sturdy place where they might attempt to lasso a rope around. [Awareness Check]

Alpha stared silently for several seconds, until his inquisitive mind had been satisfied concerning this subject, before finally looking back to the Gerudo and the others. The woman was reading through what looked to be a diary; she'd also brought some keys with her that had been handed off to Horren. Apparently some excellent finds in the safe, then - the diary might provide them with the clues they'd been searching for, and the keys . . . well, they were bound to be useful somehow.

OOC: Sorry for being so behind guys, but I've been really loaded down with homework lately... i haven't even turned on a gaming system in three weeks. I'm pretty sure thats like, a sign of the apocalypse or something.

IC: Leth had been simply standing in the room upstairs, ((don't remember which room... and i'm short on time so i don't feel like going back to look)) thinking to himself. Consumed in his own thoughts, he didn't noitice all the commotion going on. He ran downstairs. "What's going on?" he asked of anyone who felt like answering him.