~As soon as Rose and Hyneria entered the portal, blinding bright light, and impenatrable shadow surrounded them, coexisting, and not their at all. Soon the everything dropped away, and they were hurling through the unreal space. Slowly the shadows started to take precident and eventually there was no light at all, only falling falling falling.

Then it all stopped. The two women were thrown to the ground, disoriented. The oppressive blackness was gone, to be replaced by a different dark. The night. They had been deposited near the windmill in the Ruto Highlands. It was not far from Ruto Town, but it was obvious that they were seperated from Saber and Pyre.

Soon, another burst of sound from the portal heralded the arrival of the mage. She swept past them. "Get up, and follow me." None of the guards had followed her, and it looked like she was vurnerable for attack, but one couldn't be sure about a mage. Who knew what enchantments protected her, and what the consequences for such an assault might be.

In the meantime, she strode towards the windmill, not turning around. The two could either follow, attack or remain, but no matter what they did, their chances didn't seem good.~

(((OOC: Sorry its short. Things will start to get interesting soon though, so don't despair. )))

Rose and Hyneria helped each other to their feet. "God of the Shadows, let's not do that again," the Sheikah muttered. Both women realized that they were in front of the windmill.

"We have other things to worry about," the ranger said, seeing the mage appearing from the portal.

As they began to follow the mage, Hyneria grabbed her companion's shoulder, forcing her to bend down. The thief whispered into Rose's ear, "Turn into something and kill her so we can go back and help the other two."

Rose shook her head. "I thought about that," the ranger replied. "But she's probably expecting it. We're in enough trouble already. It's best we don't add to it."

Hyneria sighed. "You're right."

OOC: Sorry for just an OOC post, but it Hi no Seijin posted before I. Should I just post Xokorn's "magical" plot entrance here as is?

EDIT: Okay, super-special awesome, magical Xokorn entrance sequence, go!

Oh, and I might need a rundown on everything that's happened so I'm not left in the dark.

IC: From the reaches of alternate dimensions, strange forces aligned with each other, thereby allowing every one to help the others. Not much was known about it, but only that when they went to work, no one would ever know about it. It was debatable as to whether they existed or not; however, depending on one's rank of thought, he or she could either dismiss them or not go any further about finding out about them.

All in all, it would matter not to the strange energies, for who were they to worry about wandering minds trying to discover them in the first place? So, they focused their power (or rather, themselves) on the area, and time and space seemed to...shift somehow. This also wasn't a big deal to the energies, for they knew that not all would be as it was when their work was completed. Right now, their main focus was...getting Xokorn the scholar to partake in yet another part of his quest. While they have guided them all of his life, it was a little different this time: visions that weren't his poured into his mind like molten steel, and the memories of where he had been mere moments before were vaporized. Before he knew it, he was in front of the windmill as if nothing ever really did happen.

The energies then left the area, ready to continue to guide Xokorn to his fate. When exactly that fate would be, they weren't entirely sure. But they knew it wouldn't be long. After all, they had an eternity to wait patiently anyway.

OOC: Okay, Pabru, this is my "explanation" as to how Xokorn suddenly popped up in the time stream. Shall we begin?

(((OOC: Your explanation isn't exactly what I wanted you to do.... Your taking Rose's place. Xokorn came through the portal and everything and was caught by the mage and stuff. He didn't.... randomly appear. Oh well. It was a nice post to read, so I'll leave it there and carry on, pretending that you posted like I wanted you to. Oh, and go read the rest of Rogue Rendezvous up to the opening of the portal where Rose (or Xokorn now ) That'll explain EVERYthing and its not very long.)))

~The mage still did not spare a glance at the scholar behind her. She thought it best to exude supreme confidence, and so she simply assumed that he'd follow her. Otherwise she would have to punish him and then continue with what she was planning on doing. In fact, this part of plan was rather delicate. It wouldn't do to have anyone knowing that she and some prisoners had visited the windmill. She would have to cover their tracks carefully.

First thing first, she snapped her fingers, activating the power of one of the rings on her left hand. Instantly, she dissapeared, invisible to all observers, including Xokorn. The mage wasn't particularly worried he would try to flee because she had disspeared. He didn't look that stupid, but she had been surprised before.

Out of sight, she strode up to the entrance to the windmill, and knocked on the wooden door. It took only a few moments for a man to open it and look out curiously, only seeing a shiekah standing some ways away. He had just opened his mouth to ask him what he was doing when the mage snapped again, and he dropped down dead. With a dismissive wave of her hand, she came back into view, and looked down at the dead body with a slight smirk on her face. Time to practice her art.

The purple robed mage held her bejeweled hand out in the air above the body, and a lance of violet light shot from it and into the man's cold heart. The corpse began to tremble, and then suddenly rose to its feet, its eyes still completely devoid of life. With the twisted smile from before still on her face, the mage gestured behind her towards the sheikah. The freshly animated redead immediately started walking towards the scholar, and forcibly escorted him through the door after the mage.

Still not looking at her captive, she gestured around at the now empty main room of the windmill. A circular wooden aparatus that rose up into the ceiling filled most of the room (think OoT). This apparatus had wooden spoke sticking out of its center which slowly rotated between three raised stone balconies. From the ground level it was impossible to see what was on these balconies (although you should know from my previous hint.) Then, she pointed towards another wooden door leading off into a side room. Probably the dead doorkeeper's lodgings. The redead lead its captive into its own room, and very slowly the human mage followed.

The room was a wooden study. It was humbly furnished with a single bookshelf next to a small desk and bed. The room had many personal touches of its previous owner, including pictures and possesions, but the doorkeeper simply continued to look blankly ahead remember nothing from his former life, exisiting only in grotesque redeath.

The mage sat down at the dest, and finally looked straight at Xokorn's face for a moment before speaking.

"You must be wondering why your here."

She let the words hang in the air in a moment, still looking at the sheikah's face. It was made clear by her tone of voice that he was not to interupt her in anyway until she had told him everything that she wanted to him to know, be it truth or fact.

"Usually, you simply meet the same fate as this man, and join my... personal guard lets say. However, I need your assistance. Let it be clear that this is not a request. You will help me, and I will know if you continue with your task, or flee as soon as you are out of my sight. In that case, I could simply kill you, make you into a faithful servant, and have you preform the task anyways, but this is so much easier. Besides, we have captured the friend that you were working with to take down our operations in Ruto. If you want Saber to live for any longer, than you will comply with everything we say.

In most cases, I wouldn't tell you anything more than what you need to know, but in this time I might tell you a little more along with the mission basics, so listen to what I say carefully, for not only your life depends on it, but so does that of your companion. I am looking for a certain item that would help me and my... associates. First though, I must tell you a little about the geography of Hyrule. Being a knowledgeable man, you must know some of its topography yourself, but this, one of the better kept secrets of Hyrule.

Deep beneath the earth is a series of catacombs and tunnels that have lain there undisturbed for ages. Although we don't know its exact location, we know that the object of our interest lays there. We also know that only a few certain chosen people can bring this artifact back out of the catacombs. Our intelligence tells us you fit the description of one of these "chosen ones," for lack of a better term.

If these catacombs are located beneath the earth, it usually wouldn't be possible to get to them from the surface by nessecary means, but we know that these tunnels are connected to many of the other crypts and tunnels closer to the surface that were build, or used, by the people of Hyrule. A rather large crypt lays under this windmill. It was the old royal graveyard where kings and queens of old were buried, and people of the sheikan race."

She let this comment hang in the air for a while. The mage knew that it would have some effect on the scholar, seeing as he was sheikah himself. It really had two meanings. Either she was sending himself to be buried along with his anscestors or that he may well find family members many times removed down below the earth.

"These crypts have an entrance to the tunnels, and from there you can begin your search for the item. It may seem a daunting task, but you have little choice, and must go quickly before I either loose my patience, or it's too late to use the item to its.... full effect. However, there is one complication. The crypts were sealed off, and knowledge of how to enter them have long been lost to all but the most accomplished graverobber. Myself and my fellow mages have been searching for an entrance for sometime, and believe we've found one on the upper levels of the windmill, just above the room we were just in. We have found an entrance, but it had some type of lock that can probably only be opened by one of the "chosen ones." That's how you will start, by opening this door."

With these words, she continued to stare at Xokorn a while longer, before rising to her feet, not inviting a response or acceptance. The way she saw it, he had no choice but to comply, and by all appearances this seemed to be true. She walked into the main room, gesturing, once again, for the redead to escort the scholar. Once inside, she pointed up at the stone balcony opposite of where they stood. It was still impossible to tell what was on top. For an accomplished magus however, height wasn't a problem. She simply snapped her fingers, like she did before to become invisible, activating one of her many rings, and both her, her new servant and Xokorn rose into the air, leviating over to the balcony and landing lightly on it. Now settled on this small platform, the mage pointed at the wall in front of them.

This section of wall was different than all the others around them. On the stone, a clear indentation marked the outline of a door frame. As if in responce to Xokorn merely being near it, the outline started to glow purple, and slowly purple writing appeared in the middle of the door. The writing was in a language that no one in Hyrule could read, but for some unexplained reason, the words were completlely clear to Xokorn:

"Blood red eye sees blood red eye,
My name will open crypts 'neath earth and sky.
Protected by hands that hate the rain,
I lead the hero to the power of winter's bane."

The mage wasn't surpised to see the words appear. Xokorn was the "chosen one" after all. Good she wouldn't have to take the time to dispose of him and find another. She was however, taken aback by her lack of reckonition of the language. She prided herself in her widespread liguisitc skills, but the meaning of the riddle was beyond her. The mage would be of no help to Xokorn in opening the way onward.~

(((OOC: Have fun, and no hints! Its incredibly easy as it is. Oh and be careful about guessing. Who knows what happens if you wrong .)))

OOC: Thanks, Pabru. Now you have me worried. XD

And sorry for my four-day delay.

IC: Xokorn looked at the inscription and interpreted it as quickly as if it were Ancient Hylian. The riddle that opened itself to him was taunting his mind, but some other force in the back of it was making him hesitate: the existence of the woman who was coercing him into solving it. Sure, he loved solving riddles as much as a historian, but he always disliked doing things while his arm was being twisted. He didn't like her, and she was sure to know it eventually, but...they needed Saber. Therefore, she was right: he had no choice but to do as she commanded.

He looked at the inscription some more and pondered its meaning. "Blood red eye sees blood red eye"... You don't suppose it speaks of the "eye of truth," do you...? he thought to himself, sighing in hopes that it would all make perfect sense to him. It was too early for him to worry about that at that time, so he moved on: "My name will open crypts 'neath earth and sky"... Obviously, someone's name must be a password or something...

"Protected by hands that hate the rain"... At that, Xokorn remembered an ancient song that he had heard numerous times in his childhood. Whenever his village was in the middle of a drought, one from his tribe would play the song to summon a storm that would relieve the drought on the earth. Perhaps that song is a kind of protection that lifts some kind of seal that protects the object in this riddle...

"I lead the hero to the power of winter's bane." Perhaps that's the item that woman needs. Perhaps it deals with seasons...? Or maybe fire? Either way, there was no way that he wanted something like that to fall into the hands of someone cruel. He grunted again at the fact that he had no choice in the matter whatsoever, so lying about it would do nothing beneficial.

"Right..." he spoke reluctantly, his back turned to the mage. "It looks like we'll need something to see the truth in order to get what it is that you need. To do that...I think we'll need the Song of Storms." As he finished giving his input, he kept his back turned to her. He didn't want to look at her; there was something about her that seemed...untrustworthy.

OOC: I'm going to have to use my Ocarina of Time knowledge to solve this riddle, aren't I?

((((OOC: ooooo yes. YES! WRONG! And now for fun time. Also.... of course you can't trust her and don't like her. She took you prisoner after surrounding you with crossbowmen, and is the head of a theives guild.... did you read the rest of RR?))))

~As soon as he spoke the final words "Song of Storms" something happened. No the door didn't open and nothing that would suggest that he had guessed correctly occured. Instead the tiniest sound came from behind the two. In fact, it was so quiet that one would have to actually be actively listen for it to come for one to reckonize it, and unless Xokorn was incredibly paranoid he would expect nothing.

The sound was the noise of someone landing behind them. A lethal assassin that was well known in his own time, although not in Hyrule. He used to go by the name of "Garo" and his luminous yellow eyes, and large brown hood were the characteristics that identified him when he was alive; that and his prodigous skill as a ninja and killer.

Garo didn't waste anytime after he had been summoned to the balcony behind the sheikah and mage. The ninja leapt forward, weapon drawn. It was a rather unique weapon. It was made of two curved blades that bent opposite of one another, and one straight blade the shot up between them. (Think the French symbol of immortality.... the flour de... whatever or something like that, except with the side parts curved into complete loops).

The assassin drove the weapon forward into a powerful stab, aimed right at Xokorn's back, mid jump, combining the momentum of the thrust and the leap. The human mage was caught by surprise. She had no idea that the riddle even existed, and thus had no chance to tell the sheikah to speak his answer cautiously, and so when Garo shot past her, she had no time to respond and stop him from the sheikah who hadn't even turned around. It would be up to him to save himself, and even as this thought crossed her mind while she stood shocked and out of reach of the ninja, she also thought bitterly that he better not die, or she'd bring him back to life and torture him for the rest of his existance.~

(((OOC: Riddle Analysis portion! Alright. Not a bad guess and pretty damn close. However, lines 1, 3 and 4 are the clues. 2 basically says that by guessing correctly you get to move on. How is the song of storms winter's bane? How is it in anyway of a blood red eye seeing a blood red eye? Think harder and then answer again after the fight.)))

OOC: Regarding whether or not I read RR, I...think I did. Although I'm thinking I missed a topic because I don't really remember reading her taking us into custody. I think I remember Saber walking out of the bar willingly, but that would probably mean that he wasn't captured at the time. You know, I'm starting to think I missed one of the RRs. But what could be between RRII and RRIII!?

Ah, whatever. And regarding of me stating the obvious in the last paragraph, I guess I was trying to word that if Xokorn were to help the mage get whatever it is she's looking for, then he'd have to get it away from her somehow. You know, because she's obviously going to abuse it when she gets it. Eh, I guess that in itself is stating the obvious as well.

IC: As the Garo made itself (OOC: Or himself; pick one.) known to the travellers, Xokorn indeed had little time to react to its attack. Unfortunately for him, though, he knew that it would take too much time to attempt to strike and incapacitate a nimble Garo, so he attempted to use Shadowmeld. Maybe if it succeeded, it would allow him to come up with a proper plan as to how to properly execute any attack.

Just like everything else in the world of Hyrule, however, he never knew for sure how things would turn out. Either the Shadowmeld attempt would work, and they would be on their way with trying to solve the riddle, which he had forgotten as soon as the ambush started; or it would fail, leaving him completely at the Garo's mercy.

(((OOC: Right. RR3. Ruto town. Yay. Now to continue, sorry for the wait.)))

~The sheikah had no chance of parring the attack. He had no time to cast a spell. He was caught completely be surprise. The only way to escape was to fall back on instinct and use one's racial abilities. Shadowmeld was the perfect solution.

Garo however, was not a regular person. Most people would have been thrown off my the complete dissapearance of their prey, but this ninja was already dead, and acted on command. That doesn't mean that he wasn't fooled and changed the course of his attack, but he didn't stop for a moment, or open any medium of counter-attack.

His new target was the only one left visible: the mage. Many in Xokorn's poisition might rejoice. Maybe his captor would be killed by Garo, and the sheikah would be able to escape and go to Saber's aid. This was not the case. It was actually the worst thing that Garo could have done.

When his unique, but effective, weapon struck the mage's robe, the robe simply seemed to flutter as if in a breeze, and the blade bounced back. In the exact place that the blade had struck the fabric though, a bloody rent had appeared in the assasin's tunic. Without a sound, Garo gave a slight bow of his head, as if in respect for his opponent's defenses, and then dissapeared as quickly as he had come.

Now Xokorn has another chance to answer the riddle.~

(((OOC: I did a roll to see if you would escape or not, and you just barely made it. Next time I hope your not as lucky. Well, next time I hope you guess correctly, but either way...)))

OOC: And here's my answer: I do not know. I cannot think of the answer other than the Lens of Truth, the Mask of Truth, fire, and/or the Song of Storms. But then again...

IC: Xokorn came out of Shadowmeld soon after the Garo dissipated without leaving any traces of a body. He could feel being eyed in a threatening way. It angered him, but in a way, it made him glad: glad that she'd be a good opponent should she (most likely) turn on him.

He turned to the riddle again, all the while trying to ignore her penetrating gaze. It was like turning his back on the desert sun. Back to the riddle, obviously, the Song of Storms wasn't the right answer. However, when he thought about it, "Blood red eye sees blood red eye" and "I lead the hero to the power of winter's bane" sounded a lot like fire and the season spring.

Xokorn was apprehensive about choosing his answer, though; he didn't want to get into another skirmish, even though it would've pleased him to no end to subdue the mage like a rat in a trap. He was reassured when he remembered how much she needed him, and she wouldn't kill him for getting a wrong answer without running the risk of failing her quest entirely. Thus, he gave his second answer with more confidence: "The sun. It hates the rain, melts the winter frost, and its twilight is blood red."

(((OOC: It was one of the answers in your OOC, but I'm sorry, the sun is wrong. How does the sun see another bloodred eye, even at twilight. Think of those things you listed, and think which one looks like a red eye, and lets you see a particular boss's red eye (I think I just gave it away....) )))

~As soon as these words once passed his lips, the faint sound of padded foot landing behind them once again broke the silence in which the sheikah and the mage awaited the door's answer. It seemed that once again Xokorn had guessed wrongly, and once again the dead assassin was back to punish them for it.

Garo darted forward at almost indecent speeds for a typical living creature, its strange blade held forward, ready to slice into the flesh of the offenders trying to enter the crypts without the correct password.

Of course, this time, the mage was ready. She had been caught by surprise at first, but this time, she had prepared a spell in case Garo showed up again, and now it was time to use it.

The mage snapped her fingers, and then hurled a small ball of black energy at their attacker, and when it hit him, a burst of dark magic consumed the ninja, leaving nothing behind. Once again the threat had been defeated, and once more, Xokorn had a chance to move on.~

(((OOC: Right, I want to get moving. The riddle was good, but I don't want you to have too much trouble.)))

OOC: Yes...yes, I think you did give it away.

IC: This time, Xokorn didn't waste any time looking back at the duo's resurrected attacker. Of course, it wasn't like he could; the Garo was just about "dead" as soon as it "relived." He rather not use absolute modifiers like such to describe the undead; if he did, it would just put his head in a knot as he thought about whether or not those words were properly used or not. Heck, he could scarcely tell if they even existed or not. They just seemed to pop up and out as they pleased. That was a part of the reason why he hated the undead.

"Thanks," he said dryly. He didn't want to show any respect toward the woman that was close to breathing down his neck. Even though he put as much disdain into his "thank you" as he could, he still thought that it was too polite. At least he didn't notice any telltale sign of a response. Ergo, he could go back to figuring out the riddle.

Maybe I was being too specific... he thought. Or maybe it was wrong entirely... Or MAYBE I just need to look back at my previous hunches. Indeed, as soon as he thought that, he felt a spark of epiphany jump into his head like lightning. "Blood-red eye sees blood-red eye"! That's it!

When he was a child, his village fell victim to a small--but scary, no less--attack by a spirit monster that resided inside its well. The elder referred to it as "the thunder demon," although everyone else just referred to it as Bongo-Bongo because of the rhythmic claps of "thunder" that sounded before the attack. While the demon was ravaging the village, the elder took out a strange eyepiece and looked into it, momentarily aiming arrows at the severed hands and the invisible center, which he described after the banishment as a "large red eye." It all made sense.

"It's the Lens of Truth," was Xokorn's answer, hopefully the final, correct answer to the riddle.