~Pyre didn't know how he ended up in the situation he was in. The ranger remembered trying to climb a cross a section of cliff, leaving the save staircases, to get to an interesting looking cave opening, but he ended up stranded. Pyralin was barely holding on to an outcropping of rock, trying in vain to swing himself over to the cave enterance. It didn't help that below him lay certain demise, and the crashing of the falls made it difficult to hear, and the rock rather slick.

The hylian was in a predicament. He supposed this is what he got for adventuring on his own, and he hoped someone would walk along, exploring the falls soon enough. As long as someone did before one of Gannon's minions showed up, then he'd probably be fine. Barely maintaining his grip, this seemed increasingly unlikely though. Pyre made a brief prayer to the goddesses, asking Din to help him out of this spot of trouble. Who knew if they heard over the crash of tumbling water, but the help needed to come soon if it came at all.~

(((OOC: Epic fail of a post.... I'm sincerely tired, but I'm sorry. Wait, let me try that again....)))

A figure appeared above Pyre. The figure was almost completely covered from head to toe in a black cloak. The cloak ran from the hood that covered his head, down to the boots that covered his or her feet. Long sleeves ran down to the figure's hands, of which the right hand had a black glove encasing it. The figure had a sash that ran across the bottom of his or her face. The eyes however, seemed very masculine. It would be safe to assume from the broad shoulders that the figure was a man.

His right shoulder seemed a bit out of shape from his other shoulder. It seemed almost rounded off, but would be hardly noticable if one weren't to study it closely. The man knelt down, and extended his left arm, and opened his hand to the endangered man. "Pyralin... What have you gotten yourself into this time?" His voice proved he was indeed a man, and from the way his cheek bones were lifted, it would be safe to assume he was smiling.

~Pyralin felt like he couldn't hold on much longer. His fingers were in pain, and slipping on the wet rock and it seemed obvious that reaching the cave over to his left was no longer possible. When a shadow suddenly appeared above him, the ranger feared the worse. The figure robed in black looked like some devil-spawn minion of Gannon, ready to strike him from his perilious hold at any moment. Then however, a familiar voice rang in his ears, and he knew his prayer (at least this time) had been answered.

"Dogura, thank the goddesses."

With a last effort, the hylian pushed himself up with all his might extending his right arm as far as possible, grasping at the hand of the person he assumed to be his friend. Hopefully, he would be out of this mess in no time, but meanwhile, Pyre's life was in the black cloaked man's hands... or hand.~

(((OOC: I'm not sure if it's actually Dogura, but I'm not editting. I'll deal with it IC...)))

The stranger lifted Pyralin up onto solid ground with relative ease. With Pyre back on solid ground, the man took a step back to allow him breathing room. Closing his eyes, the man remained still. "You must be mistaking me for someone else." He paused, and looked up at the blazing sun. "I knew a man named Dogura though." He added. "He was the supposed prince of Shadowclaw, if memory serves... He let his entire kingdom down. He let his mother die alone. He wasn't able to save the life of the person he cared about." He stopped, and turned around. "Yeah... I knew him well. Shadowclaw is only South of here, y'know." He turned his eyes Southward. "In fact, from atop these cliffs, you might be able to see the ruins where the proud nation once stood." He sighed, and turned back to Pyre. "What ever happened to Shadowclaw's prince Dogura?"

OOC: Believe what you want. A lot of people have been speculating that he faked his death or something, or that he's somehow still alive. Personally, I like the rumors. It's cool that people speculate it.

~Pyralin had to stare at the man for a moment before he realized his mistake. Ah. Of course. This couldn't be Dogura. There were those strange rumors. Rumors about the samurai actually having died. Pyre refused to believe, as his friend had been particularly resourceful, and probably had good reason for disappearing mysteriously.

"Yes, sorry about that. I was mistaken. But it appears you know him as well! That tells me a little about your character already."

At this point, the ranger looked back down the cliff, where he had been climbing. It was a particularly treacherous stretch of rock which led all the way down to the water below. If he had fallen, then there was no question: he'd be dead. But he hadn't, and so his mind returned to his original intention.

Just a little ways to the right (facing the water below) was a small outcropping, and a cave opening. Laruto Falls was largely unexplored, and so all of the little openings and holes were probably still filled with monsters, traps, and most importantly: treasure. These places always had some sort of reward for fighting through the dangers, and that was always Pyralin's primary concern.

"If you wish, you could join me on my..... wait a second. If you're not Dogura, how do you know my name."

It was a good question, but Pyre was not altogether expecting a malevolent answer. For example, the hylian himself had heard of the powerful Alpha before he had met him. The same applied to other incredible figures, like Victor, Darilan and others. The problem was, Pyre didn't seem himself as being worthy of legendary name to strangers. He thought that typically only his friends and aquaintances would know who he was, but apparently this was not the case...~

(((OOC: Tayro is also supposed to join but.... Well, you know Tayro.)))

Pabru wrote: "Yes, sorry about that. I was mistaken. But it appears you know him as well! That tells me a little about your character already."

"Does it now?" The man turned away, and stared down the cliffs. "You ventured up here alone, for Din knows why, and then nearly got yourself killed. In your final moments, you entrusted your life to a complete stranger." He stopped, and looked back at the man. "That tells me a little about yours."

Pabru wrote: "If you wish, you could join me on my..... wait a second. If you're not Dogura, how do you know my name."

"I thought I knew you from somewhere. It appears I was right, although, I can't recall the time, nor the place." Admiring the clouds, the man sighed. "Y'know, I can't entirely blame you for being out here alone. I used to do things on my own all the time. It strengthens a man. Puts hair on your chest, and builds character. So I humbly apologize for the snappy remark I made earlier." He turned, and showed Pyre his left eye. "You see this?" He opened the eye to reveal a hollow area. "Lost that eye doing something stupid." He turned, and began to walk away. "Be careful about traveling alone- and be even more careful when you're traveling with someone else." He called out. "Never trust anyone you don't know- That includes me. But when you're in a fix, sometimes... It's all you can do to survive." As he moved further away, he called out one last thing. "Life is about risks. If you don't take risks- you're not living." With that, the man rounded a corner, and disappeared from sight.

Sasha narrowed her eyes. Not in a dangerous way, as was common for the sceptic. But in the way that one narrows their eyes when they find out they don't know as much as they think they do. Pyralin...? Dougra...? How was it that the nomad could think that she knew so much but in fact know very little. Perhaps the nomad wasn't as well-connected as she once percieved herself as.

Sasha listened to the two men's talk from her spot in the shadows. Although she was concealed in the cranny near the cave's entrance (the cave that she was pretty sure was the man named Pyralin's original destination), she could hear them fairly well from the cliff-top above. Yet she waited until the second man left before she stepped out of the shadows. Before exposing herself, Sasha prepared. Taking out her dagger from its sheath, she flicked the tip of the blade. A knife in the dark.

Coming out from the cave entrance and from the safety of darkness, the young nomad let herself be seen.
“What’s your business?” Sasha didn’t bother raising her voice, even though Pyralin was on the clif-top above her. “Another treasure hunter, I suppose?” Sasha tried to keep the disgust out of her voice, but failed miserably. Whereas the man probably was just doing it for the glory and added comfort, Sasha was doing it for survival, as were so many other people. This man was probably one who only thought of himself. Well…perhaps Sasha and him did have something in common then. What was the point in caring for other people when you had your own skin to look after.

“I think you should just leave now…I’ve claimed this cave for my own for the moment. When I find what I’ve come here for, you can look for your heart’s desires. But until then, I advise you leave.” She stroked the glinting dagger in her hand.

~The ranger wasn't one to pick a fight. But does that mean he would give in to the ridiculous demands of strangers? That question doesn't really need answering. Pyralin first stared in shock for a moment. Who wouldnt' be surprised. A fourteen year old had just popped out of the very cave he had been attempting to enter. It appeared
she had been a bit more successful, and to add insult to injury, she was a girl. She wasn't a particularly polite girl either.

“Another treasure hunter, I suppose?”

There may well be some truth behind that statement. He lived his life without taking risks into account: if there was something he wanted, or something interesting to do, he'd do it. In fact, this kind of lifestyle was probably only possible in Hyrule, by its more rogue-ish sorts.

"I prefer the term 'ranger' thanks."

Asking a simple question was quite reasonable, even if it was a bit disdainful. However, this little nomad was a little more sassy then necessary. Actually she was a good step out of line. Pyralin knew just how to deal with the situation though. Nothing was going to stop the hylian from scouring the depths of the
falls. He whipped his spear off his back, and took a quick step forward, not even
bothering to respond to Sasha's comment.

Once again, the ranger's action was rather foolish: a small mistake would have gotten him killed. He leapt out over the edge of the cliff, but lashed out with his spear, slowing his descent, and pulling him in towards the cave. With his momentum, he went flying into the entrance, right over Sasha's head, letting out a sharp laugh as he went. Where exactly he would go, and how he would deal with the 14 year old, knife-wielding psychopath, he didn't know. He'd figure out the details later, like he always did.

The cave entrance itself led to a small dark passage which descended into the cliffside, into pitch blackness. Nothing could be seen more than ten feet down, and it was more than likely that some unsavory creature awaited at the bottom. That was a risk the two of them would have to take however, and of course there was no guarentee of an actual reward at the end. It was this kind of recklessness that made adventuring so enjoyable.~

The "ranger" obviously didn't know whom he was dealing with. Granted, Sasha was on the short side, was unusually slim -even for a girl- and muscles were probably a third the size of most. Yet he wasn't taking into consideration that she was probably swifter and more clever than him. And in this case, she would use both to overcome the man's added advantage of strength. He would never see what was coming until it was too late.

Plastering a scowl on her face, Sasha scampered over to the "ranger", immitating her best "helpless" face. The face she used on the streets the moment before the glory of stealing from an over-wealthy merchant. And now, she would cheat this man out of his treasures.

"Ranger. I feel that I have underestimated you." She smiled as if uncertain, "Perhaps we could...find our treasures together and split what we find. I've been looking in these caves for a fortnight, and have eliminated the passages that I've already completely scoured. With your ranging abilities and my eyes, we could find more treasure than you have seen in your whole life." She needed to convince him that he needed her. "Besides, I can fit more easily into crannies and crawl into tight spots where some of the best and most valuable treasures are hidden." There was no deception on Sasha's face or voice. Only sincerity and naivity.

Twirling her daggers between her nimble fingers, Sasha smirked and ran towards the darkness, not looking back.

"So what do you say, Ranger?"

~Pyralin fell for the ruse hook, line and sinker. He believed the girl was a naive little child before she even tried to convince him she was. However, her plan didn't go exactly smoothly, not by any fault on her part, but because of an integral part of Pyre's personality.

"You may not have been in the adventuring business for very long, but the way I see it there's only one rule. If you get there first, it's yours. And it'll be mine by the end of the day, have no doubt. But if you want to try me, then sure, we can work together."

Depite the ranger's words, he wasn't thinking this through the way Sasha was. He had no intention of betrayal, nor did he mean to harm the nomad. Instead, he was simply hell-bent on the taking the treasure and then leaving. He gave it no more thought than that. If he had to scare her off with a little attack, then so be it. Perhaps this lack of foresight would come to haunt him later, but he had no way of actually knowing that.

As soon as the girl set forward, going carelessly down the tunnel, Pyre once again interjected.

"Whoa there, don't get ahead of yourself. You never know what's waiting in the dark. It might just be a boe or two, but you could find yourself faced with something far beyond you. Do it like this."

The hylian took a scroll from a small pouch on his tunic, and wrapped it around the shaft of his spear. A tongue of fire burst from the lance-tip, lighting the tunnel at least a bit further. Pyralin took a few steps further, illuminating even more space. It was clear that the tunnel got progressively narrower, and then broadened out suddenly, but it was impossible to see into the cavern beyond from this distance, they'd have to move farther in.

"Well, ready to go?"~

Again, the young girl’s scowl marred her other-wise angelic face. This man –this ranging, roving, treasure-hunting, impossible man! Telling her that first come, first serve was the way treasure hunting worked! Indeed, Sasha kept her thoughts to herself, but it was quite a task for her. Unlike this…arrogant man’s mind probably was, Sasha’s mind was no serene pool of reflection. It was a boiling chamber while her face showed only tranquility and composure.

Sasha had never been a person who openly showed her feelings.

But right then, Pyralin was sure testing that long-standing trait. The nomad stifled a sharp breath of frustration, and gritted her teeth in almost a painful way. Worse than a man who underestimated a young girl was a man who didn't even think enough of her to listen when she spoke.

"Perhaps you didn't hear me when I said I'd been in these caves for several days now." Only a trickle of her quick temper registered in her voice. "If we are indeed to work together, I suggest you remember that even a small girl like me could give you a run for your rupees, Mr. Ranger." She continued forward in a perhaps bit more cautious stance, trying not to show how impressed she was by the bright fire that now licked its way in a stream through the tunnel. “Believe it or not, I don’t need a lecture from you.” Now Sasha knew she was just throwing a child’s fit, and she chided herself quietly, but it was hard when you were constantly belittled and forgotten because of your size.

Once again Sasha blended in easily with the shadows, bringing herself closer to the edge of the tunnel and letting her eyes do the rest of the work. It was no hard task however, the shadows were her life, just as the treasure was.

“Indeed, I am ready.”

(OOC: Sorry, I felt I couldn’t end the one-liner dialogue endings)

~Pyralin barely even heard Sasha's rant. He let it slide in one ear and smoothly out the other, without even registering. Something about how she was proficient in something, and could run for ruppees. Who knew with the younger ones these days.

"Okay, little girl, that's good. Just be cautious in the darker places of Hyrule. That's a good adventuring tip."

Now he turned his attention back to the tunnel, and made his way towards the entrance. As he moved closer to the main cave, he began to hear the sound of falling water from within, as well as from outside. This seemed a bit suspicious, and worried him a little. Water meant nasty creatures of some sort, if his experience in Hyrule had taught him anything at all. Naturally, this didn't stop him from continuing onwards, but he kept mental note to expect enemies. But where there are enemies, there is usually treasure, so why really complain.

---


The cave within was much larger than Pyre expected. The little tunnel opened out into a vast space, and the source of the falling water was immediately evident. A curtain of waterfalls lined the back wall of the cave, which could be seen, even in the dim light of his speartip. The falls formed pools which ran throughout the room, leaving a single path up the middle, and one that went out to the right.

The paths were made up of a crude stone, but they were also evidently not natural. The water looked treacherous, with a violent current, several patches of very sharp rocks, and nasty whirlpools. Definitely not safe to cross. The path ahead lead to another room, while the path to the right seem to end at a staircase leading down.

"Well, I don't know which way you want to go, but I'll leave the choice to you, oh-so-experienced one. Prove your usefulness."

As they entered the cavern, the large space seemed like a familiar stranger. Though it was still the same as it had been for the past several days, it was also transformed by the warm light Pyralin's fire was emitting. Grudgingly, Sasha admitted to herself that was glad for the ranger's presence, no matter how impossible he was to have in her company.

Taking a tentative step forward, her footsteps fell in silent succession, one after another until she could see the full beauty of the natural room. It almost…glowed with the new illumination.

"Well, I don't know which way you want to go, but I'll leave the choice to you, oh-so-experienced one. Prove your usefulness."

“Oh, so you do listen to others on occasion!” Sasha’s eye brows arched slightly. She didn’t think this man capable of taking other’s advice. “I suggest that we go forward.” Her eyes shifted uneasily, “Upon instinct.” In fact, Sasha had no real…reason to take the straight path, it just seemed like a good place to start. After all, there were only two ways to go, who was to say that one way was better than the other?


“What creatures do you suppose we will encounter here? I haven’t seen much yet…the occasional keese but they mostly kept their distance. Except for one, but that was easy enough to kill.” She looked around, “But it seems likely there are more sinister things.” Sasha couldn’t keep from twirling her blade between her nervous fingers. Bad habbit.

~Pyralin should have been more alert. After some thought, it was actually quite obvious what was going to happen. They were in a dungeon after all, why would the room be completely empty, beckoning the pair to the door ahead. It just didn't make sense. Or rather it did, but it wouldn't be that easy. No, far from it. Pyralin held his torch-lance aloft, and strode torwards the entrance way that Sasha had pointed out.

"Your guess is as good as mine. This way looks just as good as down the stairs. I'm surprised that it's not under heavier guar-"

As he came to the end of the sentence, he was just a step away from the opening, when something did finally happen. A stone slab slid over the exit, sealing it shut, and a second identical one over the way they had first come in. The two were trapped, and the only way to progress was down the stairs. However, there was still no sign of enemies or danger, and that down right frightened Pyralin.

"I have a bad feeling about this, be on your guar-"

The word might as well have been cursed. Just before he finished the last syllable, an arrow flew from the stair case, landing just a foot away from Pyre. He cursed and sprang back, lance raised and at the ready. From the passage came a small troop of Stalfos. The two in the front bore swords and shields and were closing in for close combat, while the one in the back held a bow, and was fitting another arrow on his string.

"We have to finish this fast, I can't fight and keep up the light for very long, and we don't want to be struck in the dark."

With that said, Pyre didn't bother barking any further orders. He just bunkered down into a defensive position, and waited for the foes to come a bit closer, and for Sasha to make the first move.

Stalfos 1: Str: 5 Def: 10 Agi: 5 Int: 1 Spi: 5
HP: 30/30
Stalfos 2: Str: 5 Def: 10 Agi: 5 Int: 1 Spi: 5
HP: 30/30
Stalfos Archer: Str: 5 Def: 5 Agi: 7 Int: 1 Spi: 5
HP: 25/25

(((OOC: Edit, post your stats for my reference, and keep track of your HP and SPL.)))

With a cringe hidden behind a veil of darkness and the screeching sounds of a gate being hoisted up beyond the realm of gravity's domain, a head popped beneath the slab that siphoned off the entrance to the dungeon. One could only tell that the body that remained hidden behind the shadows of the entrance must be quite large when considering the radius of the skull that ran the distance of the floor and the stone slab that was still hinging on collapsing and crashing whatever stranger decided to exercise his strength that afternoon. The balding areas were haloed with tufts of white hair and the cranium was a glittering red against the backdrop of shadows and blackened earth.

He moved again, shuffling for a better grip as he lifted the slab further up, this time allowing his siloehette to trace along his figure, an astonishing build with odd lines that ran around what one could guess to be a beard and a rather large belly beneath the cascading grays that hung from his face.

With the sweat that gleamed from his eyes and ran down the length of his wrinkles and the channels of his face to the beard that hung far enough to root itself into the ground, he allowed his fingers to dance around the side of the cavern and groped at a large stone to jam the entrance from closing once more.

He moved slowly, eying the strangers and the battlefield which they characterized and unsheashed his sword, a pathetic deku sword that had about as many callouses as the ones that broke along his palms.

"Name's Rosen. We can talk later."

He said as he shuffled off towards the stalfos, the banter of his footsteps running nimbly like the elders that chased around food in the barracks. His eyes shining brilliantly beneath the lights that trembled off the waterfalls and the oasis that shuddered behind him in a symphony of gurgles and maelstroms...one could also admit that the sweat also played a part in the glowing effervescence that emitted from his aura as he swung his blade in an arc, mimicing the rainbows that danced around the light that left the sweat of his brow.

OOC: Pabru! No one can join your topic if you close the entrance! I opened it up....god modding and all...I doubt that you're going to HEAD back anyway.

oh...and Dragonsbane ftw