<center>Act I.ii</center>
<center>Rescue And Revenge</center>
South Greens. 11:55 PM

<center>~~~</center>

It was a cloudy moonlit night. A swift breeze rustled the infinite blades of grass that made up Hyrule's South Greens. The moon's cast its chilling glare over the kingdom, weaving in and out of the scattered wisps of cloud that littered the nighttime sky. The only sound that one would hear if one were to stand absolutely still and simply listen would be the delicate whisper of the soft summer winds.

Far south, a bolt of lightning could be seen, followed by an almost inaudible boom of thunder. A storm was approaching, it would seem. It would not reach the northern greens for at least three hours. The winds began to increase in intensity, transitioning almost instantly from a soothing evening draft to a cold, monotonous howl.

It was quite late in the evening. In five minutes, clocks around the kingdom would strike midnight. This would be a very significant time of night for a small party of hooded individuals who had taken it upon themselves to haunt the dark countryside on this particular evening.

Solstrem Maverick stood gazing up at the nebulous sky, catching glimpses of stars behind the thinner veils of cloud. He stood with eyes transfixed at the sky, staring drearily at the heavens as though in a trance. It took a hefty slap on the back from one of his smaller accomplices to shake him from his fixation. Alert now, he looked behind him in search of the culprit, finding no one in sight. Looking down, he found himself smiling into the hooded visage of a dear friend.

<center>Eyra...</center>

The woman nodded, and he in turn nodded back. Two others, both of normal height, one of a muscular build, made up the remainder of the quartet of Apostles that evening.

Towering overhead was a a structure that was exactly what it was described as doing. A tower. Maverick knew well the sort of people that had made the elegant building their home. Governmental types who he had never cared for had situated themselves in this remote region of Hyrule. They belonged not to the kingdom of Hyrule, but to another monarchy farther west. Inside the tower were delegates of Maverick's own homeland - the unstable kingdom of Calatia.

From the ground level, the mage counted fourteen floors. To the best of his imagination, he guessed that the ally for whom the Apostles had mobilized to rescue would undoubtedly be found on the topmost level. He cursed that clichéd style of baddie headquarter organization. If he were to hold a prisoner in his own multi-leveled fort, he would certainly be courteous enough to place his hostage at a more desirable tier. Perhaps the seventh floor, in this case. Ah well. Solstrem Maverick had no hostages to hold. Any enemy of his that somehow manged to be taken captive would surely be put to death as a quick reparation.

Maverick calculated the odds of a successful break-in and break-out. Four Apostles, each moderately skilled in combat, against fourteen floors of whatever minions Calatia had placed in their base of operations in Hyrule.

This would not go well.

“This will not go well.” Maverick was stating the obvious. More help would be needed. In only a few minutes, the operation would be set in motion. Maverick looked about uneasily, scanning the horizon for any experienced adventurers who happened to be out and about this evening. Specifically, he was hoping to come across one of his cloaked allies. However, he was certainly open to the contributions of whomever was readily available.

Perhaps you just happened to stroll by at just that moment.

OOC:

Alright, let's storm this tower, shall we. In and out, real quick. Or not. Won't say what's in store here. If you'd like to help out the Apostles, just stop by. Only one character per RPer, please. If you really need to bring a posse or a duo for whatever reason, clear it with me first. I know some people like to have a secondary NPC around for comic relief (we've all certainly had our share of laughs when a certain drunken cleric is out and about). I just don't want a whole whack of NPCs running around contributing nothing to the operation

And yes. I am aware that I'm breaking that rule myself

Victor had spent a soothing day on the shores of the North Castle moat. It may not have been the most popular of relaxation spots, but, every other beach was in a desert or the South, so the Bard had chosen the moat instead. Now it was late, and he was heading back to his room at the Stock Pot Inn, taking a shortcut through the Deku Woods from the fields to get there. He passed the old, familiar tower without so much as a second glance and finally disappeared into the trees for the night.

... Wait.

A few seconds later, the Bard stumbled back out of the forest. Has... has that tower always been there? And for that matter, were those people who he thought they were?

He crouched, probably unnecessarily, and slowly moved closer to the tower. He wasn't dressed appropriately but, eh, they probably wouldn't mind. Victor squinted; black cloaks, alright. Although, in all fairness, a lot of people around Hyrule wore black cloaks. But, he took a chance anyways.

"HEY! HEY GUYS! IT'S ME, VICTOR!"

The Bard yelled and waved, smile flashing in the moonlight. He never passed up a chance to do his duty as an Apostle.

Dark thoughts clouded the nomad's mind as he walked across the border of the forest. He was absolutely ticked off, but at least he looked well fed. He was picking thorns out of his left arm as he walked. All that work for one lousy cucco... He suddenly stopped, and turned his head upward to the skies above. Smells like rain. He thought, half smiling. He loved the rain, and so it wasn't such a bad idea. He was in his usual clothing. A pair of pants, no shirt, a sword on his back, and a big rusted belt buckle. He was a bit scratched up from something, and he had a small pack on his hip. He glanced down on it, and smiled. He'd finally saved up enough money for a pack. He didn't have any belongings to store in the pack, but he was proud of it. He began walking again, only to stop in his tracks yet again.

A tower stabbed at the sky. A tower he hadn't noticed in this area before. But then again, he wasn't a very observant person. Taint stood staring at it for a moment, partly admiring the massiveness of it all. He was drawn to it like a fly to feces, and he immediately worked into a jog in it's direction. As he drew near, he was able to make out figures near the tower. Somebody had beat him to the tower. Frowning a bit, he walked up behind them. He grabbed one of their shoulders, and whirled them around to face him. "No. NO! I saw it first! I call dibs on this tower! I need it more than you guys do!" He fumed, obviously put off by the fact that he'd have to fight if he wanted a home. The thought then occurred to him that the tower might already be occupied. "Say... That tower doesn't belong to anyone already does it?" He quizzed, eyeing one of the hooded strangers. "I'll fight you for the tower though." He was dead set on no longer being homeless.

OOC: I decided to use Taint
His stats are in my profile, but I'll edit this post to include them if you want.

~Pyre just happened to be strolling down the South Greens. This was a day for adventure! A day for excitement. Considering this was Hyrule, there are sure to be plenty of people out and about needing aid on some quest or another, and the ranger was exactly the aid they were all looking for. His broadsword was safely stored away in its scabbard on his back, and the weapon that he hated most of all, but knew how to use the best: a rapier, clunked along at his side, ready for use. The self proclaimed "Lord" didn't really like to fight, and he was undeniably a coward, but he refused steadfastly to face this fact. He was an adventurer and swordsman, what misfortune could possibly fall upon him.

Knowing the nature of Hyrule the answer is probably, quite a bit.

By the time he finally found adventure, in the form of a strange tower, he had lost quite a bit of his initial drive. It was cold and dark, and the more he thought of it, the more he began to believe this was like something out of a horror story, not a passage from a glorious legend about a brave warrior. The chill was starting to get to him through his fine-spun clothing, and gosh-darnit, he had forgot his cloak. Reduced to moodiness and grumbling, he trudged up towards a gathering of people in black cloaks. They didn't look like particularly cheerful, helpful people, but maybe, just maybe they'd be willing to spare a warm garment for a person richer and better looking than themselves.

"Ahem... you... people! What brings rogues like you out into the bleak night?"~

(((OOC: Character change Blank... if you hadn't figured that part out yet.)))

Kuro was lost.

Or so it seemed. It was night, and therefore, not much was recognizable. For all he knew, he was in another country. That tower wasn't normally around, from what he could tell. Although, Kon had said something about a tower somewhere near the Deku Woods. Could this be it?

No. Who was he kidding? He would likely have seen the building before. Besides, Kon always did this kind of thing at night when Kuro was most gullible. This tower though, seemed pretty real. Maybe he could clarify the realness of it if he could just touch it.

He broke out in full sprint towards the building, not noticing the people since he was on the other side of the tower. He nearly tripped over his long brown cloak a few times, but that didn't matter to the dazed nomad; he was almost to the tower. He reached out with a gloved hand.

"It's real!" he shouted, unaware that secrecy was likely needed by people on the other side. Then a thought hit him: what if it isn't? What if it's a dream? Well, it was a darn good one then! The dreams he usually had involved huge spiders or gigantic pigeons. This one was weird of course, but not near as weird as his others.

He walked around it, surveying the architecture, when something hit him. More accurately, he hit something; an apostle. To be even more specific, the one that Taint had picked a fight with. "Who the heck are you?! What's with the tower!?" he screamed as he fell on his back. He didn't bother getting up though. He was more concerned with answers.

Maverick's eyes darted towards the source of the noise. The voice was a familiar one, booming with a quirky innocence that a parent might find amusing and even cute in a child. However, on this particular night it was nothing of that sort, but rather an irritation and a horrendously underdeveloped idea on the bard's part. Maverick was not impressed, to say the very least.

The muscular man to his left looked to his superior, his hooded face showing no signs of communication. The scholar knew better, though, and nodded. Beneath the dark veil of shadow that the hood cast over his eyes, the grunt was smiling. There was nothing more fun than roughing up a troublemaker at such a late hour of the night. He wondered if it would be a good idea to go easy on the fool waving to the group from a distance.

“Go easy on him, will you?”

<center>Aw, shucks.</center>

The large man kicked at a stone in disappointment; here he had been hoping to at least teach Victor a lesson in stealth, however now there would be nothing learned. A bump on the noggin might at least serve to appease the Apostle's burning terror that had been sparked by the clueless young adventurer.

In an instant, he appeared in front of the bard, who would be helpless to dodge the incoming gloved hand as it clasped onto the scruff of his shirt and heaved him up off of the ground. The grunt's hood fell back in the quick movement that was not particularly expected of someone his size. The moonlit sky gave off just enough light to show Victor who he was being assaulted by. Deagan Roth stared into the bard's eyes and tore through his soul with an angry stare that not many Apostles were capable of pulling off.

“Victor Vir, you will be silent now,” came the unexpectedly calm warning. Everything seemed to be fine for Victor. Yep, no need to worry about the muscular brute going on the offensive. It looked like a slight tap on the wrist was all the heroic and infinitely handsome bard would be receiving for his lack of concern this time.

He would be in for a surprise. Roth threw his charge effortlessly towards the remaining Apostles, smiling like a small boy as the bard hit the soft grass - but rock hard earth - face first. Maverick hauled the young man up off of the ground and brushed him off, whispering for him to be quiet. If there was anything Victor should have learned through his experiences with the Apostles, it was that one should never attract attention to themselves when surrounded in darkness.

As though from nowhere, a Zora appeared next to the group. Maverick turned towards him, catching only a random invitation to fight, aimed at the only remaining Apostle. The scholar raised an eyebrow in confusion and shock. This boy was delusional! The challenged Apostle had already charged an offensive spell to rid the group of the newcomer, but Maverick quickly stepped in stopped the carnage.

“If this tower belonged to us, friend, then we would be inside getting warm, not standing around like fools outside. We're about to do some breaking and entering, however. You're more than welcome to come along and speak with the tower's actual master about making this awful place your own abode.”

Maverick turned back to the rest of the group, shaking his head in bewilderment. A strange sort of person, that Zora. He himself did not prefer the nomadic lifestyle and was also the kind of person who needed a home to settle in permanently.

These thoughts were lost as a third person appeared on the site. Unlike Victor and Taint, Pyraline had at least some grasp on formal approaches and the advantages of manners over barbarianism. The Apostle still did not appreciate being classified as a rogue, however, and was sure to let the newcomer know it.

“My fellow rogues and I are about to make a daring rescue. An important life is at stake here, so it's going to take a lot of energy and effort to pull this one off.”

He was not one to take help from a complete stranger. If anything, the many years of secrecy and authority evasion had rendered him unable to trust anyone. It was even becoming difficult to place trust in some of his own cohorts. A true friend's life was on the line this time, however, and so he knew that any ruffian available would be a needed asset in the mission.

“We've never met, but it might be helpful if you accompanied us on this excursion. It would certainly be worth your while, if you know what I mean.”

Maverick really had no idea what he meant. Pyraline could come out the deal empty-handed. The scholar hoped that there was an unlocked chest inside that the man could steal from if he chose to aid the Apostles in their plight.

It seemed that another loud individual had appeared, and like Taint had chosen to pick a fight with the Apostles. The cloaked man grabbed at the Hylian's throat, but was unsuccessful in his attempt as the stranger fell backwards and landed on the ground. Before Maverick could step in, the man did some recruiting of his own.

“That is none of your business. We're here to rescue someone of great worth. You just happened to drop by at the wrong time. But it's going to be the right time for us. I suggest you get up, regain some composure and some dignity, and join us in our efforts. Because if you don't, I might just punish your rudeness by scattering whatever's left of you on the doorsteps over there when I'm through with you. Are we clear, kid?”

The other three winced at their comrade's intimidating brutality. They knew very well that he was a man of his violent word. Eyra, the cloaked halfling, followed up the angry threat with her own brand of recruitment.

“Please and thank you?”

Aiden was having a jolly good time, she had gotten off work only a few hours early. Often, because of her job, she found herself to be a rather nocturnal person. In any case, she was normally absurdly peppy and chipper. With her tips from the evening she had purchased her newest path finding devices! Being overly excited to try it out she had set out at once to go for a walk, even if it was getting fairly late. Now, what were the devices? The ones she was so excited over? Well on was a simple paint brush, a medium sized one, the other was a pail of bright red paint. I’m sure you can see how this might work, but just in case…

Aiden was bent over, her nose pointing to the cold earth, the paint brush in her right hand. In her left hand was the now three quarter filled pail of red paint. She was walking backwards at a somewhat slow pace, for she had already rammed her backside into a tree and tripped over a rock. In fact, she had red paint slopped down her front and in her shoulder length hair from the fall. The incident had not deterred her in the least, after laughing it off and checking for any damages she had set off in reverse once more. Her steps were much like an odd shuffle, her rear sticking into the air acting as a counter balance to her leaning form. The brush she held in front of her touched the ground and left a vibrant trail wherever she had been. Every five paces she had to stop and dunk the brush into the pail before returning it to mark the ground.

The bolt of lightning was startling and she let out a frightened squeak. She had been so focused on her task she hadn’t seen the storm coming! Alas, she had not only squeaked but she must have jumped too, for red now splattered her pants and boots! Crinkling her nose she pouted for a moment. Dunking her brush with force she continued on her way, refocusing on her task. She was half way passed the group and the tower before she noticed it and them. Straightening up she winced, how long had she been bent over?!

Her wide eyes watched the group, they were going to break into the tower? They needed help? Surely someone had noticed her by now, the bard certainly stood out from the normal. Carrying the pail and brush with her she wandered to the group, would anyone comment on her appearance or her doings? If they knew her, probably not, she was certainly strange. Her curly hair flounced and bounced as she walked a little stiffly to the others, all but the lock on her left side that hade dried stiff with paint.

“I’ll help, as long as it really is a rescue and not a kidnapping,” Her voice was soft, somewhat unsure, but eager all the same. While she spoke she moved more to Kuro, the only one she really knew even somewhat.

"Victor Vir, you will be silent now."

Two trotting feet slowed to a stop as two elongated ears picked up those words. Two lips parted, and two breaths passed between them--one a large intake of air, the other an even larger exhale. Victor. Several times the nomad had been around the less-than-heroic Bard lately, and every time the harper seemed to either be in some horrific situation or promptly got himself into one. As the Nomad exited the cover of the trees--he had spent the first half of the evening trying his hand at the Shooting Gallery again--he caught sight of the Bard being thrown roughly to the ground. Quickening his steps, he slid his saber out of his sheath with but the slightest screech of metal-on-metal.

As he approached the growing crowd, it seemed more and more like some kind of skirmish was breaking out--doubtless one that Victor had found himself on the wrong side of and most likely in severe danger. His pace quickened once again to a slight run, his blade held before him in case of an unexpected assault. He headed for the nearest robed character--weren't the bad guys always in robes? Especially black ones--and cocked his saber back to strike, when he felt an odd twinge in his gut, and his eyesight drifted just a bit, falling on someone he hadn't noticed until just now--Aiden. He heard her soft-spoken words and lowered his blade a little.

"I...don't suppose there's a fight going on here, then?" He looked over at Victor, who seemed to be perfectly alive and fully limbed. "Victor? You're not being killed?" His eyes roved amongst the group again, and settled on Aiden. He cleared his throat, blushing a little, and sheathed his saber slowly. "So...so what are we all doing then?"

Victor watched happily as his fellow adventurers arrived around him, and then he was all up in Deagan's face. Not by choice, though. As his fellow Apostle delivered his... ultimatum, Victor opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. He... wasn't sure what to do now, really. Oh look, flying again.

He probably should have left his mouth shut, because the Bard was soon eating grass and hard, hard dirt. The kind of dirt that doesn't taste good. Grass is OK. He lay there for whatever amount of time, contemplating the logic behind his current position and the one he'd held only moments before, and also trying to ignore the mound of earth in his mouth. But when Saber spoke, he looked up.

A friend was a friend, after all, and he wouldn't just ignore him. So Victor stood, brushed himself off, spat out most of the dirt in his mouth off to his left, tried to lick the sleeve of his cloak to get the taste out, and began to speak. But...

<center>"Victor Vir, you will be silent now."</center>

The Bard was quick to snap his mouth shut upon remembering the Apostle's warning. There would be no speaking tonight, it seemed. So instead, he shook his head vigorously, as if to say,

"No, I'm not being killed, just being thrown around like a ragdoll. Business as usual, I suppose. I should be happy it wasn't off a cliff, ha! Anyways, these guys are friendly, so don't worry too much... at least, I hope they'll be friendly to you guys. They're friendly to me at least, so don't worry about me... at least."

But he didn't actually say it, he just shook his head, and continued expelling small amounts of dirt from his mouth as he listened for instructions from Maverick.

Kuro found himself laying on the soft grass and hard dirt with an arm over his face in self defense. After seeing what had happened to Victor, he was ready for the same. As ready as he could be at least. He sighed in relief upon finding he had merely been threatened with his life instead of getting beat up in the same manner as Victor.

He thanked the goddesses silently as he stood up in a feeble attempt to do as he was told. Unfortunately, he had got up much to quickly, hurling himself into dizziness. He stretched an arm outward as far as he could, reaching the tower with outstretched fingertips. Regaining balance, he brushed off his cloak as best as he possibly could, but had to learn to ignore the few stains of grass dotting the cloak.

After all this, he thought about the situation at hand: break into a strange tower he had never seen before, rescuing someone he didn't know, and very likely getting himself into quite a bit of hot water at the same time. Strangely enough, it didn't seem very unusual at all in Hyrule. He continued weighing the options before inadvertently speaking: "I guess I'll help."

His eyes grew wide. Did he just agree to this? Did he truly want to fight his way through a huge tower? Whatever. He had already agreed to it anyway there was no choice for him now.

Maverick was certainly surprised by the turnout of adventurers at such a late hour of the night in such an insignificant setting. It was as though they all shared some sort of bond that made it impossible to avoid one another. It seemed that adventurers in Hyrule could not go a day without running back into each other. This was fortunate for the hooded quartet. The chances of a successful rescue were now much higher. The mage looked to Victor from the corner of his eye. He could see the enormous potential in the bard, but he was having doubts that Victor would be able to handle what lay ahead in the tower. The boy had crumpled in fear when facing the creatures of the dark below the surface of Hyrule. That had been expected. However, the challenges inside would far outweigh the trials of the past. Maverick could only hope for the best.

He smiled inwardly when Aiden, the other bard, voiced her concerns about the motives of the growing group of warriors standing in the field. It was to be expected, of course, for newcomers to feel uneasy about assisting in the affairs of strangers, especially given the shady appearances of said enigmatic people. The cloaked Calatian addressed the girl calmly and tried his best to reassure her that this time, the hooded people were the “good guys.”

“Oh, you don't have to worry about anything, friend. I swear to you that this endeavor is shaped on nobler intentions than kidnapping...”

With a smirk, he thought of the delegates and other important figures inside the colossal, demeaning structure.

“Unless it's absolutely necessary that we take a hostage or two... Erm, you have absolutely nothing to worry about...”

Turning to Sabertache, whom he knew to be the famed Tantari Mercenary Extraordinaire - and an acquaintance of several of the Apostles - he gave a quick salute and jumped into describing the current event. Time was running out; the group needed to get the job done quickly, before they could be spotted by sentries above.

Too late.

“Oi! Who's down thurr? Don't think I can't see you'se lurkin' round, yeh wee buggers. Go on, git lost 'fore I call secur'ty, ya hear me?”

Maverick jumped and looked up. Staring down at the group from the tenth floor of the tower was a large armored man. His metallic green breastplate glimmered in the dull moonlight, and he could be seen waving his mace and shield angrily from where he stood.

The violent man of the four Apostles made a low growl and stepped towards the tower's base. He raised his right hand in the air and stood still for a moment. Maverick knew what was going on and was quick to step in.

“No, wait!” he warned uneasily. “If you do that, we'll just be causing even more noise and we'll be caught for sure! You can't blast away at whomever you feel right now!”

The hooded man turned his head slightly in Maverick's direction. He shrugged his shoulders as if to say “Oh, well.” A fist-sized ball of dark magic materialized at his palm. The man was no mage, but his magic was potent enough to be worried about. He let the ball fly, and it shot upwards at its target - the unsuspecting sentry. Maverick was stunned and angry, but above all else he was horrified.

“You idiot!” he cried. “You're going to ruin everything!”

The burst rocketed towards the armored giant far above, but as it neared its destination, it suddenly veered off and shot east, being lost from sight instantly. Only a moment later, it reappeared directly behind the sentry, who could feel its presence and turned to protect himself. All too slow, he was caught completely off guard. The magical burst, identified now as being of the earth element, took the form of a large chunk of stone. Without a moment's delay, it shot into the surprised guard's open mouth and filled the opening, sparing no space for a scream to leave the body. This was not the extent of the spell's effect. The shock of the magic caused the sentry to lose his footing, and the earth-based burst was still pushing its way in the direction it had flown. Helplessly, the loud man was flung from his position and plummeted from the tenth story. With a dull thump he hit the ground, and the outcome of the Apostle's attack was obvious. The sentry lay slain on the cold autumn grass.

Maverick observed the scene with horror in his eyes. The insubordinate Apostle turned to face him, and there was silence.

Roth was the first to speak. “It appears he had things under control, Maverick. We'd best get moving. The hour of midnight has passed.

Maverick, still stunned by what had just happened, simply nodded and turned back to Saber and the others. He pointed at the tower and spoke quickly.

“My colleagues and I have lost a dear friend and an important ally to the people inside that tower. He is being held somewhere inside, and we are going to sneak our way to the upper levels to free him from their grasp. The plan is simple. In, up, down, out. No questions asked, no extra time spent searching for treasure. And above all else,” he spoke louder, glancing distastefully towards the Apostle who had acted out of line. “Above all else, no taking things into your own hands and causing a scene. This needs to be taken care of quietly and efficiently, as a team.

He turned to the others. “The time for actions has come. Follow me.”

The four Apostles turned to the tower and walked silently to the front doors. The doors were elevated above ground level, with a stone staircase leading up to them. It was a simple design, and a blindingly obvious entrance. There was no alternative route. For this break-in excursion, going in the front was the only way. Of course, the doors were locked. It was midnight, after all. Maverick stepped up to the entrance. He looked to the others. He knew their names, but now was not the time to worry about how they would react to his knowing this.

“Kuro, Taint, Saber, Pyraline, and Aiden. Quickly. Grab onto the shoulders of myself, Victor, or one of these three others. We're not going to bother with breaking in the old-fashioned way. This is the best way of going about our entry. Do not be alarmed, and just hold on tight.

Aiden felt perfectly level headed even with a bit of fireworks going on. Well she felt fine until another male joined the group. Her bright gaze glued to Saber and her pink lips parted slightly in sudden shock. She had not seen him since… well since she had fled. Would he turn from the group because she was here? Should she? When their gaze locked even briefly her stomach flopped and her heart fluttered. Her cheeks flushed under his gaze, had he been planning to attack? The thought led to several others that made her stomach swarm with delight. She was drawn abruptly from her thoughts when another man’s voice rose out into the night.

Her gaze left Saber willingly to look at the man she had hardly studied. Looking at him she felt slightly at ease, she was fairly good at reading people. His voice was pleasant and his vocabulary enticing; he had called her friend. Her soft mood was broken by a cry from above. Instinctively she shot her arm up to somewhat defend herself from an oncoming attack. When nothing followed she peered up at the man. Looking to the group leaders she was about to shrug it off, the man was only doing his job.

In horror she watched the scene unfold and was speechless until the body hit the earth. Her bright gaze narrowed on the killer and she seethed. Instantly her heart rate jumped into a thundering angered level. Closing her eyes she listened to the soft reprimand, but it didn’t seem quite enough. Without thinking she moved to the crumpled man and knelt by his side. Maverick still spoke as she surveyed the damage. Dead bodies did not frighten her so she carefully reached to shut the poor man’s eyes. With a soft grunt she also situated him into a more natural posture. Straightening up she looked to Maverick, he seemed just at least and he would be the one she followed.

Moving she swallowed hard, still struck by the sudden and uncalled for death. If they had just acted as if they were leaving or something this need not have happened and they might have been better off. Still, what was done could not be undone. Slowly she reached out to hold tightly onto Maverick, silent.

Until one of the tower's guards had spoken, Kuro hadn't been paying much attention. Instead, he was staring in awe at the top level of the tower and thinking about how high up it was, and how bad it would be to stare down from there, or even fall. But, hopefully that wouldn't happen. Maybe the person they were going to rescue wasn't that high up. How stupid of Kuro to think that. Why wouldn't this person be at the highest level? It was definitely clichéd, but it was effective nonetheless.

Go on, git lost 'fore I call secur'ty, ya hear me?

Kuro looked up at the guard who had spoken from near the top of the tower who had threatened to call security. The only thing that seemed to surprise Kuro was that this man wasn't security, and hadn't already called security at the sight of several people gathering at the doorway.

He watched silently as one of the cloaked people shot the guard and he fell from the very tall tower with a mouthful of stone.

This was getting weird.

After Maverick spoke, Kuro walked to Roth without any hesitation. Kuro grabbed onto his shoulders as he wondered how they were going to get in. Surely they could shoot another stone at the door... or not. If someone had took the time to build a tower to keep someone in, they would surely safeguard the doors somehow.

Kuro waited in silence for the apostles to open the door somehow.

Saber leapt away from the crashing body out of reflex, his saber instantly flying into a defense position in his trembling hand. Yes, it may have compromised their position to let the bodyguard live, but...well, it was done. And he supposed they still had a mission to complete. Breathing in deeply to try and calm his nerves, he grabbed the shoulder of one of the unclaimed Apostles--the one who didn't seem to have a burning desire to murder.

Without warning, Maverick and the other shadily garbed strangers began to dissipate, their entire beings becoming lost in a hazy green and black mist. Aiden, Sabertache, and Kuro were directly exposed to this frightful mist, and if they were to look at themselves as the haze took over their bodies, they would notice that their physical entities were beginning to fade and become transparent. The mist cleared, and when its presence had vanished from the cold night air there were no cloaked men. The three who had been quick enough to act had also disappeared from sight, leaving Pyraline, Victor, and Taint alone in the dark with the fallen sentry. There was not a sound in the still midnight setting. The three who stood there in the moonlight had been abandoned.

The seven who had fallen into the oddly-colored mist reappeared inside the tower, directly behind the large double doors that sealed the others outside. A length of chain kept the door in place, latched firmly by an oversized lock that showed no signs of wear. The owners of this facility had been careful to keep their security up to code. Through the thick glass door could be seen the three stragglers, but keyless as the group inside was, there would be no reunion.

From out of the surrounding darkness inside the tower came a muffled whisper.

“Over here! Good to see you, Solstrem and company.”

A fifth cloaked figure stepped out of the veil of shadow and into the moonlit entryway. His hood still raised, he gave a salute to Maverick, who appeared to be the leading mastermind of the operation. Looking over the group, and then spotting the three outside, the newest stranger scratched his head and pointed at the locked glass door.

“… You left a few outside, you guys…”

Maverick shook his head and explained why three adventurers, one of which was an ally Apostle, had been left behind. He walked to the glass door and looked out at the three, who were likely all left in a daze as a result of what had happened. Yes, even Victor. Naturally. The cloaked leader gestured to the corpse that lay still on the cold grass.

“His relief will come soon, I fear. If he sees his fellow has fallen, he will assume it was a slip-and-fall kind of death. That sort of thing is common in uneducated guards hired only for their keen eyes and thick builds. However, if we are seen standing around said fellow, it will be an assumed murder, even to the slowest of minds. I could not risk members of our order being spotted by another sentry, and those three were too slow to act.”

Eyra, the cloaked woman who stood several feet shorter than the rest of the present burglars, added in her own thoughts, reflecting on the reasons for the others being seemingly abandoned.

“For some reason they were taking their sweet time in following Maverick’s instructions. They can’t really be blamed, though. I know that most adventurers would be hesitant to trust complete strangers - especially after witnessing a murder at the hands of one of said strangers.”

She shot the fourth cloaked man a critical glare, although it went unseen under her hood. The inside man of the operation understood very well what his superiors were talking about. There was a time when he, too, had been untrusting of the black cloak. Without another word on the subject, he immediately got down to the meat of the mission.

“Well, at least we’re all in now, hm? Very well. Our target is located somewhere in this facility. Now as I’ve been hiding away in the basement all day long, I’ve not had the opportunity to scout out exactly where they’re keeping him. But I’d wager he’s at the very top! There’s an easy access to the fourteenth floor on the sixth floor. All magical and fancy and the like. So that’s where we’re headed!”

Or at least, that’s where they would have been headed, had the Apostle’s voice not been raised with every passing second of his miniature briefing. He had apparently become too loud for his own good, as in an instant the eight trespassers were surrounded by five guards, each towering at least a foot or two over the adventurers, even surpassing Roth in terms of build and height. They wielded large two-handed swords, and appeared to be sporting impenetrable iron armor. The guards lacked helms, leaving their heads open to attack – that is, if the fighter could manage to reach that high while still maintaining accuracy.