OOC:...Why does noone post...Okay, Alpha, do you have any problems with leaving Victor's body in the alley for the wild dogs to feed on? Also, I'm going to have to do a LOT of godmoding if everyone doesn't start posting, otherwise everyone will burn up in the fire...You don't want that now, do you?

IC: As Alpha peers about the area, his Awareness Check succeeds (21) and he sees a small, sleek box on the ground, black in color and laying beside Victor's beaten form. There is a small crease running from corner to corner around one edge of the box.

_______________________

Simon succeeds in pushing open the door with only the most minor of burns. In the room were two beds. One was empty, while the other had a boy about seven years of age sleeping peacefully, blissfully unaware of the total chaos surrounding him. He was a very heavy sleeper...

OOC:...There's really not much I can post if noone posts themselves.

As Kasei looked around, he saw that Simon had Prostate cancer, I mean, Simon found a door. The Rebel Flame headed over to the exitway, turning around one last time to see if there was anyone there, and left the flamming area through the door, if it let him. As soon as he got to the other side, he turned around.

"Well....i'm not gonna explain this"

OOC: Yes, that was a joke on my part.

OOC:

Saber wrote:Alpha, do you have any problems with leaving Victor's body in the alley for the wild dogs to feed on?

While Alpha might possibly feel a twinge of remorse, rest assured that Wraith is not subject to such trivial emotions as guilt.

IC:
Wraith's eyes slowly survey the area surrounding the earthquakes epicenter, moving with deliberate slowness so as to prolong the amount of time he can focus on his handiwork rather than whatever Yassen had been carrying. It doesn't give him too much additional time, unfortunately, but the few seconds do continue to boost his pride.

Still, the process must inevitably end, and so it does - his crimson pupils fall upon the sleek black box lying mere inches from Victor's form. He strides over to where his fallen associate lies and raises a hand. The shadows beneath the box shoot upwards from the ground, bringing it up to his hands' height, with which he grasps the container and gives it a quick examination as he sets Brenyuu into another pillar of shadows that rises up to meet him.

A small crease running from corner to corner around one edge of the box quickly attracts his attention, but not before a sudden thought hits him. Looking at the bard, he realizes that he must take into account the possibility of Victor awakening and seeing him like this. It wouldn't take too much to finish off the Hylian, true . . . but he'd probably end up regretting that sooner or later. His mind thinks for a few nanoseconds before coming to a different conclusion.

He waves his hand off to the side, and deeper inside the alley where Victor lies the shadows once again stir. It takes him a few additional seconds this time to complete his new formation, primarily because he wants it to retain its form even if he leaves the area and is no longer actively supplying it with magic, but in time the image of Alpha, lying face down on the ground with his cape and hood covering his form entirely can be seen. An illusion is all it is, and should anyone touch it, it will dissolve away in a matter of moments. But should anyone stumble upon his form, he can simply meld into the shadows and replace the dummy with himself before they can reach it. Almost foolproof, though he does remember an old saying that "Should someone make something idiot-proof, we'll just make better idiots."

Well, here's hoping that doesn't happen.

To complete the ensemble, he reaches into his cape and, through it, into the Void, where he finds another item he has stashed there. Though he had planned to never withdraw it from its hiding place, he once again draws out the mask he had worn throughout his time as Wraith, holding it loosely to his face with a strap formed of shadows.

Then he looks back to the box and begins feeling all over it, trying to open it with his hands, rather than the unnecessary amount of force that he'd rather enjoy employing. [Innate Check]

Worru tried to focus on his surroundings, once more having fallen unconcious from his blood loss, and exhaustion. He could now tell there was fire, and this fire was now in the Inn, and was now very close to turning him into a charred mess, being held up by daggers in the wall. With the little strength he had left, he went to the ground, and began to crawl out, both his legs not strong enough to let him stand, let alone walk or run.

Wraith finds (Much to the delight of everyone who NEEDS this piece of evidence ) That not much force is necessary, as two interlocking bumps bridging the crease in the box release easily, letting the two halves open up before the assassin's eyes. On the face of one side is an interesting shape--An elongated, bent ellipse with three small dots just off the broad end. The shape is extruding from the base, and the whole surface is a hard black material with a glassy sheen. The ellipse has a slightly reddish tint to it in some places, but other than that it is jet black. On the other half is a similar surface, and it is what anyone would expect--An indent in the exact shape of the other side's extrusion. However, the indent is fitted with a spongy cloth, and is stained dark red.

___________________________________

The small boy opened his eyes, staring straight at Simon sleepily. "Hi. Whaddyo wan'...?"

OOC:...I REALLY need people to post...

The Sheikah turns the box over a few times in his hands, slowly and carefully managing to suppress his natural inclination and open it up with intellect rather than brute force. A . . . stamp of some kind, is it? Wraith looks at it for a moment, wondering what it could mean - a long crescent moon, with three dots sitting below it. It's obviously some kind of symbol, possibly for the assassins' group - darn, he'd been hoping this box would contain a vial of that potion Yassen had consumed during the fight. Still, he doesn't recognize the mark, unless . . . He twists it over until he's looking at it upside-down, or rather right-side-up, and lets loose a whistle.

'Oh.'

He stares at it for several seconds. 'So that idiot is one of them? Either they've lowered their standards or he just got unlucky on this assignment . . .' Well, truth be told, either way that last one is true, as could be said for anyone who ever encountered Wraith. He rubs the portion of his mask covering the jaw, trying to dig up any information he can remember about the group other than their general existence and mark. Nothing comes to mind, unfortunately, so he quickly caps the lid back onto the stamp.

But then he just stands there, several yards in front of the now burning building where Saber and friends had disappeared into, trying to decide on how he should make use of this new information . . .

(((OOC: Oh, by the way Aurel, I trump you in coolness. Not because I'm actually cooler, but because my avatar is an X. The day is mine.)))

~Fighting fighting fighting. Since they got into the inn, things had gone from bad to worse. First an assassin had dropped in out of nowhere. This would have actually been fun if the fool hadn't been so hard to kill. No matter how many times the party members had tried to defeat him he just kept on going... that is until after a huge combo, he was finally felled by Aurel's blade. Then they had to turn and face the Recons. One would think that by finishing off the big bad assassin, the battle would be done, but instead it just dragged on and on. However then everything hit rock bottom on the "why does this happen to me" scale.

Before moving on, it is neccesary to make a brief exploration as to the very nature of stupidity. First there are those people that are just plain stupid. Saber for instance ( ). These helpless bottom feeders are hardly worthy of being alive, and although they cannot be blamed for being incurable unintelligent, they do tend to lower the general quality of life. This stupid however is only side of stupidity in its entirety. The other half of stupid, possibly the worse half is that which covers unintentional acts of the utmost horrific sheer idiocy. Why on earth would something like this happen though? Why would anyone ever create an earthquake outside of a building where it is known allies are? Why would anyone ever allow it to get to their big head that they are the only one that matters? Why, why, why do silly people, particularly Shiekah assassins always have to mess everything up?

The answer is simple. Pride. Some people simply think that no matter what they do, nothing bad will happen to those that matter because nothing negative is effecting them themselves. Either that or a certain person may be so powerful and have such a terrible history of cereal ( ) killing that they reach the point of mental unstability, go beserk and unleash DOOM upon others. As general advice, if any of the previous two things applies, seek immediate professional assistance. There might well be innocent red-haired rangers nearby that your actions effect. These rangers are bound to seek revenge, and then things don't get pretty.

After that brief interlude, lets move on to the action. After an act of unintentional stupidity was commited, the situation went from worse to.... worser. Indeed, since this act of stupidity coincided with Saber summoning a ball of fire, things rapidly proceed from worser to worserer, and once a situation can be described as worserer, bad things are bound to be happening. Indeed, this seemingly endless list of bad things included a blast of fire shooting through the area, everyone getting knocked down by an earthquake, the inn setting on fire, people in the inn having a chance of getting set on fire and the neccesity of saving these people in possible danger before they can be combusted back to their most basic carbon form.

Pyralin leapt up off the floor, and rushed to the nearest exit, the final item of the above list completely flying past his mind which was set on survival. At the exit, he slid to a halt, had a quick moral debate with himself before reluctantly turning around, and rushing back into the inn towards where people were bound to be sleeping, or hopefully by now awake. As he ran, he saw a man that seemed to be named Simon ahead of him, opening the doors to one of the rooms. It seemed that he had also been conquered by his moral obligation, and had moved to help others before himself. A third category of stupidity might indeed be required in order to include all such people, but for now, the ranger wasn't worried about that. He ran towards the open doorway, and as he ran in, he came upon a most annoying scene.

"Hi. Whaddyo wan'...?"

Upon hearing this phrase, an artery must have burst within Pyre's temple, and for a moment he just stood there shocked. Most people would be running out of the inn, trying to assist their rescuer by escaping to safety... not sit around in bed and wonder what's happening. Most people would be given a hint by the smoke and fire around them. If that failed, then maybe the heat would tip them off. Only a person who fell under the first category of stupid: sheer stupid, would ever utter what this worhtless being just did. Indeed, Pyralin was tempted to just throw a knife and end this human's pitiful exisitance, but once again his conscious held him back... He made a mental note to do something about his conscious in the future, but in the meantime, he rushed forward scooped up the boy, hoping that he wasn't that heavy, and hoping that Simon would lend him a hand so he could get the heck out of this burning building before flaming timbers started falling from above.~

The Tantari mercenary appeared in the doorway behind Simon, coughing violently due to the smoke filling his lungs. He saw the redhead ranger (OOC: I like the sound of that ) lifting one of the smaller (and very light and accomodating, by the way) customers and nodded in appreciation. "Guys...The place is coming down...I think...we've done all that we can..." Saber gasped, his sentences coming in parts due to his smoke-filled lungs and the hefty lady he had over his shoulder. She was struggling against him, yelling all sorts of obscenities as she pounded his back with sausagy arms, seemingly unaware that he was her savior. "Pyre...Simon...let's go...Now!" He led the way, turning abruptly and smashing the lady's head against the doorway, thankfully knocking her unconcious as he staggered towards the doorway, a blazing piece of the ceiling (Or second story floor; whatever suits your fancy) fell nearby him, grazing his arm and spurring him on faster, his blade out in front to try and deflect other parts of falling debris until he finally emerged through the doorway, collapsing in a heap ten feet from the entrance and letting his weighty charge roll off to the side. His gaze rose to the inn as he began hacking again on the cobblestone ground.

Though the outside of the inn was made of stone, the insides were wooden and fancifully furbished, and the smoke billowing out through the windows showed it. The flames rose into the night, the moon about three-quarters of the way through the sky by now. There would be a few hours before everyone would wake...Unless, that is, somebody noticed the fire, which was likely at this point. I should alert the Royal Guards...The mercenary suddenly thought, his eyes widening as he weakly rose to his feet. I'm sure someone will be on patrol--wait...The chance before him...Lerick hadn't taken off too long ago, and he was badly injured...He didn't look fast in the first place...I should be able to overtake him... The mercenary was still debating, all thoughts of the inn, his allies inside, and the still-unconcious woman beside him were forgotten as his anxious soul battled with his moral upbringing.

"FIRE! FIRE!"

Shouts from the gate...The Royal Guards had finally opened their eyes...They must have been dozing...He gave a small chuckle as he felt energy filling his spent body, some force urging his beaten form forward, despite the injuries. They'll take care of the fire easily enough... His mind was made up. He took off towards the stairway leading to the castle wall, determined to prevent this glimmer of hope from going out. He saw a handful of guards rushing towards the blaze. He saw their mouths move, their weapons raise, yet he heard not what they had to say, and pushed past the group, his eyes set on one location only. He felt the cold wind rush past him, particularly on his left calf, as he took a leap up the staircase, taking them four steps at a time as he drove ever onward, reaching the top and seeing the expansive plains from his vantage point, fringed by the forest...He hadn't expected to see Lerick there. However, it was too late to stop.

The mercenary's spread-eagled form entered the water none too smoothly, causing a large splash as he broke the surface, emerging but a second later and trudging forward through the moat. He clambered onto the bank and took off towards the forest, his limping body faltering constantly, yet keeping an even speed as he attempted to overtake his foe. Sabertache disappeared into the forest minutes later.
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Five Royal Guards were now standing outside the inn, muttering amongst themselves as the building continued to burn internally--it was too far along to be stopped, they could do naught but watch until the inevitable happened. And happen the inevitable did--with a loud groan, the entire stone framework of the inn collapsed into a pile of rubble, its wooden supports eaten away.

______________________________

From out of the night came a whistling sound. Although most would have wondered what was causing this noise had they heard it, the noisemaker was soon revealed--in the form of Victor Vir's prized boomerang, coming back to Hyrule after its phenomenal flight, and landing ever so ungently on the Bard's chest.

OOC: I believe this will be my last post in this topic, although I'm not sure. Saber has moved on to the next part of the storyline, and I will put up the next topic for you guys sometime soon. PM me if you want to know where it is/will be--I honestly want to know how many people are still actively reading this, as I've been getting so little posts.

Wraith's momentarily quietness is interrupted as the shouts of the Royal Guards converging on the location begin to emerge in the midst of the night. 'Well, it is about time they got here, I suppose.' Well, regardless, with their approach comes his signal to vacate the area - even if he were to loose the mask and force his appearance back to its normal, nicer visage, the guards would undoubtedly recognize him as leader of the Twilight Guardians, an illegal group. And while he has nothing against killing a few more tonight, it really isn't worth the trouble that would ensue afterwards.

Even as his false Alpha shadow dissipates back into the darkness from which it had been born, a hacking noise rises up from behind Wraith. He turns around, movements as silent as a ghost's, and spots Saber there, rising from the ground and suddenly darting forward and towards the walls surrounding the island on which the city sits. 'Interesting,' the Sheikah thinks as his gaze shifts down to the stamp he still holds in his hands. 'Could the mercenary have some idea of where to find these people?' He would certainly like to go and infiltrate their base so as to grab a few of those potions that idiot Yassen had used. That liquid had been enough to allow him to survive an encounter with Wraith, after all; the scholar within him yearns for a chance to study it, and the assassin within him craves for an opportunity to use such knowledge to wipe out a few choice individuals.

By the time he spots a few guards approaching the building, his mind is made up. Before they are close enough to understand that they are seeing anything more than a mirage, his form becomes entirely black and drops down to join its fellow shadows.

And when Saber enters the forest, the shaded form of Wraith follows him without a single sound.

My legs...my arms...my...oh, my ribs hurt too...but that was from crawling, I guess., the boy thought, his body now propped up on a wall of a house, taking notes of his injuries. But, with only a small green flash from his bandage, the cuts began to heal themselves up, and in seconds, only a few pale scars were seen. "What the...", Worru mumbled, but ignored it soon after.

Looking around, he saw Sabertache run into the forest, and soon enough, th hybrid boy was hot on the trail, merely following the mercenary who had started the entire adventure, which the boy hoped wouldn't end soon.

This was too much fun.

OOC: I guess I should post here, so that I have an excuse to stay in the story. . .

IC: Kasei was amazed. everyone had completely forgotten about him in the burning building. No worries, though; he simply walked to the exit, the fires moving out of his way. He wasn't the Rebel Flame for nothing, now.

As he got out of the building, he spotted the royal guard approaching and, not one to get blamed, vanished to the rooftops, where Kairos was waiting. "Let's go, the seven stars will want to hear about this." Kasei said, and Kairos nodded. The two then vanished into the night.

OOC: CONGRATULATIONS, SABER! You win one of three prizes. Will it be:

A) Death on a stick

B) The seven stars mercilessly hunting your bad guys

Or C) Have Kasei show up at Saber's house wearing a mini-skirt and offering to serve (possibly poisoned) cake.

After Simon muttered his thanks to the red-headed ranger (sorry, Saber, I too enjoy the sound of it), he escaped from the fire, and met with Matt and the recovering Orpheous in the street (I hope you don't mind that Orpheous is coming out of his unconsciousness) the three appeared to be a little beat up and distorted, but, other than that, completely fine. Matt noticed Worru following Saber, and the three were on the move again, also heading over the wall, out of the moat, and into the forest.

OOC: Sorry, Saber, I was going through internet withdraw.