~A hylian stood at the entrance to the cave leading to the windmill. He wore a red tunic and a black cape on his back. The inside of the cape was the same scarlet as the tunic, but of a much higher quality. He had black leather greaves and bracers on, and on his head wore a large, red plumed hat, the end of which covered his eyes.

Pyre tapped his foot impatiently. He planned on meeting a friend and an informant to talk about some sketchy activities in Ruto. It seemed that a group of smugglers had made their base in the city. They had theived and robbed the citzens, while trading illegal goods and poaching in the northern woods. The ranger had decided it was time to put a stop to this, so he had contacted another ranger. Rose.

As the hylian leaned against the stone cliff, he looked up at the sun from under the brim of his hat. It was getting late, and he was starting to wonder if the other ranger was going to show up or not, but decided to give her time. Pyre was sure she'd have some good excuse.

He drew out a dirk from his belt, and began to spin it between his fingers. While he occupied himself, he thought about the information he knew about the rogues. They were based in Ruto, but he had no clue exactly where to find them. He also knew that they had a sort of upper circle that called them selves the Council of Masks. It seemed like the mask was a trade mark of the smugglers. There were even rumors of able spell casters that were part of the group. Maybe they were more sinister than they appeared. It didn't matter. Pyralin was confident that they would be able to handle it.~

Sweat was streaming down the mercenary's face, and his arms were burning with intense pain. His damp, dark brown hair hung down past his face as he looked down. The ground was still quite a ways off....He returned his gaze back to the rock above him, shaking his head to get the hair out of his light brown eyes. He scoured the steep cliff face for handholds, trying to find a way to reach the ledge not twoscore feet away. "Almost.....there...." He uttered between clenched teeth, as he saw a good-looking spot.

He hadn't recieved a mission in quite some time, and was afraid he would get out of shape. So that morning, being the fool he was, he thought that trying to climb from one side of the mountain to the other would be a fun way to stay fit. Nevermind the fact that he didn't have any proper equipment or training, he could just rough it.


Now, hours later, here he was, nearly out of energy and stranded, trying to find a way down. Tensing, he threw himself sideways, his fingers groping for the handhold a foot to his left. They hit the surface, but started to slide off, and he panicked, pushing harder and vainly trying to dig his fingers into the rock. Thankfully, he held on by a fingertip until his feet found a hold, and clung on, breathing heavily. He took another glance to his right; the ledge was closer now, if he got a little bit more over and found a good foothold, he could jump to it...

Then it came to him. Reaching over with his free hand, he drew his saber. He stabbed it into the rock by his foot, chipping away at the rock and widening the platform. He kept at it for a few minutes, until he could get both feet on the same hold. Swinging his other foot over and sheathing his blade, he crouched and built up strength in his tiring legs. He launched forward, bellying out as he approached the ledge. His knees hit first, and he flattened out, embracing the first resting spot he had seen in a while. Rubbing his sore kneecaps, he edged over to look at the rock on the other side of the ledge.

The slope here was surprisingly smooth, almost no crags were sticking out whatsoever. It sloped down onto a path by a windmill...and there was a man at the bottom of it. He leaned forward at the edge of the cliff to get a better look. He hadn't met this man before, although he seemed to be a seasoned warrior...Maybe he could--CRACK!

He suddenly found himsel falling. The edge of the platform he had been kneeling on had crumbled away, and he found himself sliding on his stomach, face-first towards the path. He drew his sword and stabbed it into the rock, trying to slow his progress, although all it succeeded in doing was turn him around and onto his rear end before he lost hold of it and he pulled away from it as he increased speed. He tried to grab hold of anything he could, his wet hair blown straight back by the rushing winds. He braced as he neared the bottom, preparing for the worst.

The slop made about a twenty degree angle with the path, so the change in direction didn't seriously injure him, although it gave his stomach quite a strange feeling. He slid about thirty more feet at quite a fast rate, then finally flipped over and lost some momentum, coming to a stop in front of the man. He rolled onto his back and realized it hurt to sit after the blow his bottom had taken at the end of the ride. rubbing his sore knees with his even sorer arms, he looked up at the stranger. He was about to speak when his lost saber skidded up to him and the hilt slammed into his back.

~Pyre looks over at the man, surprised. He felt a little sorry for his misfortune, but he wasn't here to help travellers through their mishaps. In the end, the hylian approached him anyways and extended a hand taking his hat off with the other.

"Greetings friend. May I.... inquire as to what brought about this predicament?"

The ranger wasn't quite sure he wanted to know, but it was a welcome break to the monotomy of waiting for the others. Maybe a story would help pass the time. Who knows, maybe this newcomer could even help them out.~

((Waiting for HNS...))

The mercenary took the hand and stood, rubbing his sore back with the other. Disgusted, he picked up his blade and sheathed it, then turned back to the stranger, just about every part of his body screaming in pain.

"What brought it about? Nothing but my own foolishness and recklessness. I'm lucky to be alive. Thinking I could climb all the way across the mountain without equipment....I ought to be ashamed of myself. Thank Din the cliff face was smooth where I fell. By the by, I'm Saber, of Tantari Mercenary services. Who would you be?" He finished, rubbing a particularly nasty bruise on his left forearm.

Rose saw Pyralin in the distance, and she mentally smirked, thinking it almost odd that he was out in the open. She remembered the night they met near Tantari Desert. She had a fire going near a small group of trees when she heard a snap above her. After a bit of searching, she found the young Hylian and invited him down to the fire. She shared what little food she had with him and told him about her life.

As she circled for her landing, she saw a man slide down the mountain face. If hawks could wince, she would’ve done so. It can’t have been pleasant. He certainly looked young enough to learn from his mistake, but then again, she knew a few young adults back in Tarm that certainly didn’t learn from their mistakes.

She lands a short distance away and immediately transforms back into a human. Pyre helped his fellow Hylian up as she approached, and she heard the latter introduced himself as Saber. “I certainly hope you don’t make the same mistake again,” she said. “His name is Pyralin, or Pyre for short. And I’m Rose Hillmound, the fellow ranger he was waiting for.” She turned to Pyre. “Sorry to keep you waiting. A flock of birds decided to attack me on my way over here.”

OOC: Again, sorry to keep you guys waiting. ^^;

Anywho, consider this your official introduction to Rose outside of DG, Saber. Once you jump into my story, I'm afraid you're going to have to reintroduce him to her.

~Pyre smiled. Attacked by birds indeed. "Took you long enough Rose," he said, nodding to his fellow ranger. He then turned to Saber, and summed him up quickly. "Its time for buisness." He looked Rose in the eyes, silently asking if they should allow Saber into their mission. Extra help could be very useful. Besides, they still had some time, seeing as the informant hadn't showed up yet.

He shoved his hat back on his head and looked back at Saber. "We're heading to Ruto on buisness... would you like to come along, we could use another head in our party. Besides, this buisness won't be pleasant..."

The hylian quickly highlighted the information that they knew about the rogues in Ruto, but also explained that they didn't know that much. However, the theif that was coming to meet them here would have the extra information they needed. It seemed there was little left to do but wait for the informant.~

Hyneria made her way away towards the meeting spot, pulling her bright, purple hair into a ponytail. Had this Council of Masks been smart, they would've hired her. And they would step on the wrong side of the law to help those who were helpless against the actions of the aristocrats. Aristocrats like her parents. She scowled at the thought of them. They were the reason the poor were burden with a heavier tax load while the rich got it easy. Unfortunately, the king wasn't smart enough to spot their lie. And now she was wanted for trying to fix this wrong. Thank the God of Shadows I never look like this when I take on a job, she thought.

Up ahead, the oddly dressed Sheikah spied the two people she was supposed to meet, as well as one other. At the same time, Rose spotted the green and brown cladded woman. She had to hold in a chuckle at the mismatching boots and gloves. The informant was wearing a green tunic with a brown vest over it. The tan trousers clashed against the purple boots she was wearing. "Are you Hyneria Ikana?" Rose asked, amusement apparent in her voice.

"I am," the Sheikah replied, craning her neck to look Rose in the face. "Rose Hillmound, I take it. I thought you would be shorter."

"And I thought a thief wouldn't dress so vibrantly."

Hyneria laughed. "Trust me, when I perform a job, I'm not myself. Rather, I am Igos Dotour, the Clumsy Thief. Helps keep the Knights of Hyrule off my back. Now after you tell me who these two men are, one whom I didn't expect, I'll tell you what you want to know about the Council of Masks."

~Pyre looked at the theif carefully. The rangers and theives were not always on the best terms, but they trusted one another more than the government and the knights. He nodded to her, and answered her query. "I am Pyralin, or Pyre, a ranger, and aquaitance of Rose."

He looked over at Saber. Unlike the other ranger who had introduced another, he wanted the man to get a chance to say his own name, but first things first, he extended a hand to the theif. "Well met."

The hylian's mind was already racing ahead. How could they infiltrate the rogues with only a few people. He guessed they would have to pretend to join, but that could be dangerous. In the end, Pyralin decided to wait until things progressed that far. Who knew how things would turn out.~

Saber held back groans of pain as he was ran through the details of the mission. Sounds interesting......I suppose there's nothing to be lost, it's not like I'm doing this alone like usual....

He was taken aback when the thief approached them. He had never seen anyone dress like that, especially someone in such a line of work as this lady had. He urged his aching arm forward, wincing as he offered his hand. "I am Sabertache, Saber for short, of the Tantari Mercenary Services. I will be coming along, although I haven't met anyone until now. Well met indeed."

"Well met?" Hyneria replied, smirking. "I have high standards for 'well met.' This did not meet those standards. However, it is a pleasure to meet you two. As for who I am, if you do not already know my name, I am Hyneria Ikana. Now what do you guys need to know?"

"We know what they do," Rose replied, "and we know they're in Ruto Town, but we don't know where exactly."

"Of course, they won't be out in the open. They have a warehouse on the outskirts of Ruto. They have an office building near that. Grunts keep a good job of making the place look uninviting. Ruto citizens think the place is huanted. Anything else?"

~Pyre took it the information in a hurry. From the sounds of things the group could be quite big. He immediately inquired as to its size. "Manpower? How strong are they? Magic, weapons? What are we up against?"

The hylian thought that these were the most basic things the party would need to know. With just a few people every droplet of information is vital. From a pouch on his belt, he pulled out a rolled up piece of paper.

He knelt down, and unrolled a map of Ruto town. He looked around at the others, while waiting for his answer. They would need a plan. Not right here of course, but it was easier to get an idea of the situation as the thief would hopefully outline with a map in front of him. A stradegy meeting could take place in a more comfortable setting.~

Hyneria smirked. "You're up against thieves," she replied to Pyre's last question. She then pointed to a location on the map just beyond the Goron District. "That's roughly were the warehouse and office is. As for manpower, grunts have average to decent strength. They either use daggers or bows. Not anything I would steal, but good enough to threaten us with. I'm not sure about there numbers, but there's plenty to give us hell. As for the leaders, there are five of them, and four of them are mages. Adept mages, at that. They could be trouble if we fight them all at once. Melee attacks should work well against them. Their fifth leader is their head scout. He's armed with a crossbow and a shortsword. The head scout before him didn't teach him magic, so we don't have to worry about that when we fight him, and in theory magic will be strong against him. Of course, that's in theory."

~The hylian nodded and rolled the map back up, putting it back in his pouch. That was all needed to know. They were up against a rather large group. With magic at that. He was interested about the former head scout, but didn't say anything. It wasn't important.

Pyre stood up and stretched he had been just waiting around for quite sometime. "Come, lets head towards Ruto. We can find an inn and plan things out for real." He slid his dirk back into its sheath and looked up towards the end of Ruto Highlands. It was a bit of walk, but not too bad. Plenty of time to think of an outline of a plan.

(((Saber, we're going on. When you come, just pretend you've been through everything if you miss anything.)))

"I suggest the Black Thorn Tavern," Hyneria said. "Always a good place to plan in secrecy, and the beer is better than what they have in the Ornery Cucco Tavern down in North Castle. Shall we split up and meet there around midnight?"

"Sounds good to me," Rose said. "See you all there." She then turned into a hawk again and flew off. Having known Pabru for a while, he should not be surprised, but Saber will probably be shocked, and the sudden event certainly gives Hyneria a surprised look. Though it is soon replaced with a grin. I knew there was something special about that woman, she thought as she began to walk back towards Ruto. Her thoughts then turned to robbing her parents again and giving the money to the Temple of Nayru.