Night fell upon Hyrule, and Relinquos stood up against the cliff, just like he told Nogare and Saber he would. He had his hood pulled up, for even the faintest light shining on his face or hair would make him stick out like a sore thumb. His eyes pierced the shadows that his hood cast on his face like two glowing embers. He looked exactly like he wanted to: visible but not glaringly obvious.

After he departed from the Castle Courtyard he realized what a fool he had been. Why did he believe the nonsense Wyndisis told him about the Royal Family waging a secret war on the Sheikah? The Zora was an enemy of Hyrule, and Relinquos had tried to convince his companions that Hyrule was the enemy and Wyndisis was one of its soldiers. It was the Black Fire. It made him feel such blinding hatred that he could be convinced that anyone was his enemy. As empowering as it was, he knew he was getting too much of a good thing. It had made him lose sight of what he was fighting for. He had sworn to defend Hyrule, and even though most of its people still foolishly worshiped goddesses who only answered prays part of the time (not to mention they only allowed Hylians to pray for healing, that was just wrong) he was still glad he made that promise. It was imperative that he master that Black Fire, not the other way around. He needed to be rational and know who his enemy was, then use it to fill him with the resolve and power to bring and end to the threat. And right now that threat was Wyndisis.

Nogare had had a fair number of unknown missions in the North Forest, as well as most other parts of West Hyrule, especially since Gohma was slain (really no thanks to him... he had been.... occupied)...

So ultimately, he knew where he was going. Where to avoid Exile camps and other obstacles to his goal, to avoid shifts with the Goro-Goro and New Peaktop Cartels, to come alone, unless he's being followed by one of the others who had spoken with that Reliquous fellow only days ago.

And most of all, he was careful not to be followed.

The meeting earlier in the courtyard had been far too public. Especially no thanks to 'General' Kasei, who gave the encounter far too much attention. But he came prepared. Anyone who served this Wyndisis Zola would be in for a surprise... Well, at any rate, he was prepared in case he, she, or they had a surprise in store for them already...

Nogare was half Hylian, but his mother's blood wasn't so thin in him that he couldn't make out the aura of the pure Sheikah deeper in the near-dead woods, which would be within sight of the Goron Mines themselves if the trees weren't such a veil.

Reliquous was abroad, and Nogare approach, aware that the pure Sheikah had seen his approach long before he had seen him through the maze of trees. "I'm here. I'm assuming after all these days you have a plan of action now, Reliquous. We'll be aware if anyone approaches... You will at the very least. Perhaps the others will be arriving shortly, but... We can't wait forever. The sooner Wyndisis is dead, the sooner we can work on the rest of the Exiles who stand before Hyrule..."

"Nogare," Relinquos said, recalling the name Kasei had called him during their previous meeting. "Thank you for coming." Nogare was right. They needed to get to work.

"Killing Wyndisis is going to require great care. It's hard to say how his followers are going to react to his death." Relinquos's first thought was that they would all try to avenge their fallen leader, but now he wasn't so sure. Wyndisis had an uncanny ability to get people to submit to his will, but could he really do that in death? Probably not, but counting on Wyndisis's followers to all go their separate ways when Wyndisis died could end up being a big mistake. "We might need to find someone to cast the blame upon. It helps that Wyndisis has a lot of enemies. Perhaps we could convince them that Ganon's minions killed him. If it worked, the two groups would destroy one another." Making it worked was the key. It was an attractive option; kill one enemy of Hyrule and cause the deaths of many more.

Nogare looked around carefully, hoping that none were listening, especially Exiles. "So Wyndisis is not in league with the Exiles. That simplifies things. Now, if you have a plan for taking out a significant Exile who would be plausible to frame for the murder of Wyndisis, we'd need some intelligence on what's going on within the councils of the Exiles, or perhaps within the council of Wyndisis' followers. The more we know, the more sure we can be of how we'll play this out... Assuming there isn't an alternate path we can follow... and I can't think of a better one now...

"But they have a common enemy, which further complicates thinks, Requilous; Hyrule, and moreover us, as Sheikah. We were intended to be extinct over a thousand years ago back before the age of the Hero of Time, and somehow we've managed to endure throughout, while hiding in the shadows. If they become aware of our plot, it will be the end of our race, and any further shield Hyrule may have against them... Unless you would turn to the other races... The adventurers share our ways enough, but I would not depend on the old military of the Hylian Knights as I once foolishly did. They can't leave the castle, and will never learn what is really out here..." again, Nogare scanned the trees behind him, praying that there was nothing behind him... unfortunately, to the very goddesses who cursed their kind to the Shadow Temple back in the same age he had mentioned earlier.

"Wenlln,n Requilous? This is specifically your endeavour, for you specifically seem to be scared of what this Zora may be capable of. Your call. I will go with you to whatever fate meets me..." I'm protected by more than my goddesses, at any rate he reminded himself. Far more... unfortunately...

Relinquos looked up at the stars, as if seeking some divine answer to his problem, then turned back to Nogare, "I suppose we could start a rumor among the ranks of the Exiles, one that speaks of a plan to destroy the leader of the Dark Acolytes. How we'd go about doing that, I don't know. I doubt it would be as simple as writing 'This week's agenda: Kill Wyndisis' in the Exiles' weekly newsletter. Or maybe such a plot already exists. If we can force them to reveal it, we could make it look like they killed Wyndisis in haste in an attempt to prevent him from seeking vengeance."


OOC: Man, I am terrible at this.

OOC: No you're not, don't worry about it . I'm still trying to bring my writing skillz up too, and so is everyone else. The fact that you have an active quest is something in itself Don't sweat it.

IC: Nogare stared up at the stares, searching for a divine answer of his own, though not specifically for Da...r..... Reliquous' plans against this Zora of his. He had always sought answers of his own through meditated inspiration, if they didn't come to him immediately...

"When I first came back to Hyrule, after having been gone for nearly ten years, I wanted to come back and be the next Link. Even in my training, the destiny of the Hero of Legend returning always to vanquish evil was always motivation. The Hero always made it. No matter the odds, no matter what was thrown at him, destiny served him. The Blades in ancient times aided one of the Heroes of old in his own quest, and in their scrolls they claimed to have learned a few things from him themselves. We Blades have been the protectors of the peace in the stead of the Hero, and while I may not be a Hero myself as I was so naive so long ago to believe I was, I still must carry out a similar role in Hyrule's salvation. So, I ask myself in times like this... What the Hero of Hyrule would do...? Would he start rumours and plot revenge? Perhaps not. I imagine he would have the ability to walk right in, slay your Zora's protectors and guardians, and fight it himself. But we are not him. But if he was weak like us, what would he plan? For what he would plan, destiny plans. And shaping our destiny is what the salvation of this kingdom will require..."

He looked down from the sky, and faced his companion. "A direct assault would be suicide. At least... not while in the light of the eyes of our enemies... We will plot a siege nonetheless. Where the lair of your nemesis? If you don't know, our first plan of action should be finding it. Let's start with that, and move from there."