Destiny's Awakening: Chapter 3 -- Venturing Out

Recap of Chapter 2

Starting off with a long battle with Poes and Ashlyn becoming "cursed" with the blood of the dead, the group finds itself with only two weeks to get at least two Artifacts before one of their own becomes an unwilling minion of Ganondorf. Before they can go into the graveyard Underworld, Magi goes off in search of the last ingredient to finish the cure; unfortunately there was several set backs to this and without any cure. The group then heads to the Underworld where they defeat many of the undead and where one of their own, Lacrina, had been captured by the child-like creature that guarded the Artifact -- Cymbals of Courage. They managed to get the Cymbals, and several new members to their cause, before they headed out to get the Arrows of Water so they could continue on. However the Arrows were stolen and now are lost and in the hands of someone suspicious.



Legend of Zelda: Destiny's Awakening

Chapter Three: Venturing Out


To put it mildly, Gaidin was more then angry -- he was furious. He hadn't been this angry when he found out Magi's little secret or even when he thought of his father; neither one could come close to what he was feeling now. In fact he was so furious that he had to sit down on the steps to the Skultula house and wait for his body to stop shaking all the while Lizzie went to the houses to see what she could find there, Lacrina went to the watchtower to keep a lookout, Ashlyn had gone to the graveyard to have a look around, and Naris went to the windmill to see if there was anyone there. The rest of the group -- Magi, Thorax, and Etharon -- went to their respected posts to stand guard. Gaidin would start his search as soon as he could stop seeing his hands shake madly.

Rubbing his forehead with his hand and holding onto the Cymbals with the other, he wondered how in all the levels of hell this managed to happen. By keeping the Arrows out of sight, hidden, and under guard he thought they'd be safe from anyone -- including thieves. If they had been brought with them then they would have been in more danger then the group had been in. Oh how wrong he was! Plus this didn't help the fact that they were already short on time and with Ashlyn the way she was.....he didn't know what would happen to her if they didn't find a cure soon. In his mind he damned himself, others that he had worked for, and himself for not taking care of everyone when they needed him the most.

"Damn it all," Gaidin growled to himself. "Get a hold of yourself. This is no time to wallow in regrets!"

There was no time to make sure that his legs wouldn't fall out from under his weight as he stood up, placed his hands by his side, and started to walk towards the rows of houses and shops. He'd tell Lizzie to search every crack of every house if he had to and he'd go behind her to double check; those arrows were more important then anything else and they were a way to defeat Ganondorf. There was more then one person that wanted -- no, needed -- that man to be brought down.

¤ ~~~~~ ¤

The graveyard was strangely calm now that everything had settled down and was quiet as a mouse now. There were a few broken lanturns laying about from the battle with the Poe's and several headstones looked worse then they had twenty years ago; it was just a reminder of one of the battles that they had fought and one that would be added to much more then they knew of. It still sent shivers down her spine and worse when she thought about it.

Ashlyn had one of her daggers out as she moved silently along the middle rows of graves that near the center of the graveyard. The tunic that she had worn while in the Underworld had been taken off at the entrance and she believed she wouldn't need it -- the dead wouldn't come up from their place underneath her, unless the child-like creature was still alive and wanted revenge. Even if it was somehow able to do something after the battle, she wasn't worried about it; without the mask it was nothing now and had no more power over the dead. Or so she told herself.

She was half-heartily looking at the moment, a hand moving over the now scar that was one of the two reminders of what had happened to it. Every second she had cursed Poes and their masters while she was in the Underworld and now she barely thought about those creatures. The Underworld made her sick to her stomach even without this curse upon her; while she was there she swore she could hear the voices of the dead talking to her. Was it a sign that it had already begun to affect her? Or was it something else entirely? Whatever it was she had to fight it even if she succumed to it.

"Don't think about it," Ashlyn told herself, lowering her hand and clutching her dagger. "Focus on the task at hand and we'll get the...."

Ashlyn stopped talking as she turned around, her other dagger finding itself into her other hand. Eyes darting side to side, she turned around several times to see what had made a whispering sound but found nothing there but the silent graves. Although she knew that Magi was right there at the graveyard entrance, it didn't help the fact that she was still alone in it. Twenty seconds after she lowered her daggers to her sides, there was a rustling sound from the middle of the graveyard. Spinning around and throwing the dagger in her right hand to the sound, the weapon found itself into the headstone of one of the graves and nothing more.

"SHOW YOURSELF!" Ashlyn shouted rather irritably. "I KNOW YOU'RE THERE!"





Chapter Guidelines

~ Try and locate the Arrows of Water but, please, do not get them back quite yet. They'll be retrieved later in the storyline, I promise.

~ Once the Arrows have been located and the person involved has come into some form of contact with the group [ or comes with the group, trails behind the group, or whatever is comfortable ], the group will head out of Kakariko in search of the next Artifact.

~ They will head to Lon Lon Ranch and no further but will rest from the battles they have fought already.

~ They will meet with Ingo and, despite having several "high profile customers that are quite suspicious" at the Ranch, he lets the group stay for the night [ or two ] but it's in the barn.

~ During their stay at the Ranch, several of these "suspicious customers" have rumors about weird things going on outside of Hyrule OR around the Hylia. Artifact, perhaps?

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ALERT!

Going along with the usual concept of that the chapter guidelines are only guidelines for the chapter and can be changed/done differently as seen fit, I'd like the characters to expand a bit more. Perhaps get to "know each other" better since they'll be doing much more together now that they are out of the craziness that was the last two chapters. Please? *big eyes*

‘Well, if this isn’t just perfect.’ Locke shifted uncomfortably behind the grave, shivers crawling up his spine like bugs. Like little undead bugs. He looked over where Ashlyn stood, her eyes peering into the night.

‘Did she see me?’

She threw another dagger his way, and he jumped, exposing himself once more. Ashlyn’s feet scurried towards the grave, turning her arm outwards, flinging the dagger at Locke’s chest. He dodged, and came at her with his foot in the hair. His boot collided with Ashlyn’s stomach, and a loud, “oof” was heard coming from her. Locke twisted his foot and threw her to the side.

Locke stumbled, and looked at the grave Ashlyn lay bye. She didn’t move and when the young thief put his hand behind her head, he felt a wamr flowing liquid.

His breath froze. ‘I… I knocked her out?’

Eyes widened, muscles tensed. He slung her body over his, and dragged her over to the grave diggers shack. He busted open the door, and laid her down on the ground. He hid in the closet, and jumped when he heard someone shouting.

“Where’s Ashlyn!” the first voice demanded. “You were supposed to keep an eye on her, Magi!”

“Gaiden!” the young boy stuttered, “I don’t know, she was her a while ago. Do you think the thief got her?”

There was silence. Locke looked over to the left and realized the empty space lying next to him. ‘The arrows!’ He must have left the behind the grave.

Acting without reason, or hesitation, Locke took Ashlyn, and held her up. He pulled his knife out of his jacket, and held it up to her throat. Using one arm to hold her up, and the other to hold the knife, Locke went outside the shack.

The two stood there. Gaidin readied his sword, eyes scowling, as if he was a lion about ready to roar at the top of his lungs. The boy, Magi, readied his staff, and readied his feet into a fighting stance.

Locke’s heartbeat thumped hard inside of him. So heard he could feel all through his face, even all the way to his toes. He held Ashlyn’s head up, revealing her unconscious state.

“Nobody move! Just give me the arrows, and I won’t hurt her!”

The others came, and Gaidin clenched his teeth hard. Locke shook subtly, trying his best to hide his fear, but to no avail.

‘What am I doing?’

Gaidin had first gone to every location he had set up guard posts with the group to make sure that everyone was keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. Everyone, at first, had nothing to report but when he had gone to the graveyard to check up on Magi and Ashlyn, he found the boy with his back turned to the village and holding a staff. He was looking around the graveyard wildly as though looking for something; it was only when Gaidin didn't see Ashlyn among the graves did he realize what was wrong. She was no where to be seen, no where to have gone except perhaps the Underworld but she wouldn't have been stupid enough to do something like that by herself.

And now they knew where she was, a knife held to her throat as she lay almost limp in the thief's arms, blood trickling down her neck. Gaidin didn't even see the red blood since the now hostage taker had her head twisted in a way that it was hiding it from view. Had this man hurt her any more then making her uncounious? How and why did he do it, other then to save his own skin from them getting the Arrows once again?

"He doesn't have the Arrows on him?" Magi muttered to Gaidin as soon as they heard footsteps coming towards them. It was a mere two minutes for the rest of the group to come trampling in, weapons drawn and eyes darting over to where the stranger and Ashlyn stood.

"I saw you come to the graveyard rather quickly with Magi and gathered the others as quickly as I could," Lacrina panted when the group rallyed behind the two. That explained why they were there instead of seaching and saved Gaidin the breath later to ask why they came.

"Give me the Arrows and she'll go unhurt," The thief threatened, pushing the knife closer to her throat. Naris took two steps forwards, and raised a free hand to show that he meant no harm. "Stay where you are!"

"We aren't going to harm you, just tell us where the Arrows are and leave Ashlyn be," The Zora said quietly. "We don't want any trouble."

The man's eyes darted from the group to the graveyard and back again as soon as his eyes left them. It was as though he knew where the Arrows were and why he needed Ashlyn as bait to let one of them get the Artifact back for him. Gaidin's eyes moved to the graves, a flicker of a smile coming upon his lips for a split second before vanishing; he knew the Arrows had been hidden in the graveyard now and judging by the way the thief's pale face looked, he didn't want the group to get them from him.

"Listen, friend. We have need of those Arrows. A really desperate need for them," Gaidin reasoned, turning his attention to the thief. "Let her go and maybe we can work out a deal with you. That girl isn't worth losing your life over for. What do you say?"

Locke froze, his heart pumping harder and harder. His eyes shimmered with a fear unbeknownst to him. They would kill him. No doubt about it, he was dead. The moment he let go of Ashlyn, Gaidin’s sword would swing down, and break his neck. However, they had already been trying to reason with him. They were trying to avoid having him dead, or Ashlyn hurt. Were they really all that evil? They were trying to reach a peaceful solution. So, they couldn’t be with Ganon, could they?

And what if they weren’t? Then he was trying to hurt them, and aid Ganon. Tali had known about the Arrows, though, and she also knew about the Knights of the Goddesses. How could she of known if she weren’t on the good side?

But what if they were on the Dark Lord’s side? Ganon surely wouldn’t be so merciful as to spare some boy who hampered their plans by attempting to steal his Arrows. This was all a trick, wasn’t it? They were going to kill him right after they made sure Ashlyn and the Arrows were okay.

Locke didn’t know. He could act on one decision, and be wrong about it. Before he could make any real choice of the matter, he had to know. Whose side were they on?

Others joined, Zoras and Hylians and Gorons. All readying their weapons against this new threat. Was there any possible way out of this?

Locke breathed in, and calmed his body. His voice shouted out, loud and convicting.

“No! You guys…. You’re with Ganon!”

Gaidin’s eyes widened. Suddenly, Locke’s feet jumped forward, and he ran at them, closing his eyes.

“Fly!” the young thief commanded, pressing his foot to the ground, and pushing up with all his might. The feeling of the air rushing around his face as his feet left the ground told him that the spell had worked. He readied his feet for impact with the roof, then caught his breath before standing and running off again.

Minutes later, he was up the road to Death Mountain. The uphill battle took a toll on his stamina, his breath becoming short and his feet moving slower than a walking pace.

He took a detour, his eyes catching a route that led downhill, behind Death Mountain and into the woods. The shade of the trees covering his sun beaten head was comforting, as well as the cool air swirling about in the forest. Sweat trickled down his body, and Ashlyn’s body began to feel much heavier.

How long until he had to stop and rest? He couldn’t run forever, could he?

Locke felt a hand on his back, and Ashlyn’s belly squirmed against Locke’s shoulder. The suddenness of it all shocked him, and for a foolish second, he had forgotten that she was there and that he was instead being attacked. He panicked, losing his footing and stumbling along, each step trying to regain balance. His legs failed him, and he and Ashlyn fell into the dirt.

The two groaned, and Ashlyn’s confused eyes opened up to meet Locke’s terrified eyes.

OoC: So, I was thinking, Ashlyn and Locke talk a little, Locke discovers she is on the good side, and then a few posts later, (maybe only two or three) Gaidin and the others find them. This could give a chance for them to interact and for her to prove to him the she is not all that bad.

Ashlyn felt the urge to scream when she locked eyes with him, backing up ever so slowly away as she tried to grasp for her daggers to protect herself from him. When she failed to find them where they should be -- sheathed in their scabbards on her legs -- she started to panic even more so; she couldn't very well defend herself without them. She slithered up into a sitting position, her back feeling as though she had been slammed into rocks rather then dirt; it was only when she looked around her did she realize how far they were from Kakariko.

"Who the hell are you and what do you want with me?" Ashlyn growled at him when she found the words to speak to him. The thief looked more then terrified at her before the terror was mixed with more then anger.

"Someone that you don't want to mess with, friend of Ganondorf!" He snapped back right back her, Ashlyn's eyes going wide with surprise. Then she laughed, clutching the back of her neck when she did so. As she moved her hand forward, she saw that there was several drops of blood on her hand; her eyes looked up at him, a frown creasing her lips.

"Gaidin wouldn't be too happy about this if he finds out that you've hurt me." Her eyes flickered to where she thought the village was, lost as to where she had been taken. The thief stood up, brushed his clothing off, and glared down at her; he still had the air of being totally terrified that he had done something wrong.

"You're in league with...." He began before Ashlyn cut him off.

"We're not in league with that false king!" She told him point blankly, choosing to remain seated where she was. "Why do you think we had the Arrows in the first place? We've got...."

That's when her voice trailed off, her mouth clamping shut and her eyes closed then opened again. How did she know that he wasn't trying to take the Artifacts back to Ganondorf himself? There was suspicion on both sides and it appeared that he wasn't going to believe her when she told him that they weren't even close to even befriending anyone within the Gerudo's minion circle. Of course she would keep quiet about her "curse" for the time being. It wouldn't be right that she told a total stranger this.

"Look, we're trying to find a way to defeat Ganondorf or even defeat him ourselves if we can. If we're in league with him, don't you think we'd stand out more and the villagers would be less then willing to help us?" Ashlyn sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I can't convince you, can I?"

"At the moment, no. You can't." He then backed up towards and sat down on a nearby rock. "You're Ashlyn, right?"

Her head snapped towards him in surprise. "How did you know my name?"

"That man -- Gaidin, right? -- said so. Yea, the one that Gaidin called Magi said your name. Overheard at least those three names when I was about to go retrieve the Arrows." The thief looked uncomfortable at speaking their names as though doing so would incur the wraith of someone or something. Or maybe it was the fact that he had left the Artifact behind or even that had had someone captive.

"Well you've got me at another disadvantage," Ashlyn muttered more to herself then to him, moving her legs into a crossed position. "Tell me what you're name is so that I don't continue to call you 'thief'."


OOC: I'll do something with Gaidin in the next post or something.

OoC: Better late than never, right? >_>

BiC:
It didn’t surprise Lizzie that she was the one stuck searching around Kakariko; after all, she had lived in the town her entire life and knew almost everyone in the town. She knew where everything was and many locations where someone would hide items (having two adventurous brothers helped in that aspect). However, when she had tried to tell Gaidin that none of the townspeople would steal the water arrows and that the thief had probably escaped to Hyrule Field by now, he’d yelled at her so much she had no choice but to run away and snoop around town.

Her face twisted in a scowl, she stood up on her toes and peered through a window, as if by doing that she could see the Water Arrows. The room inside was dark, and she could barely see anything in there. All she could see were the dark outlines of various objects, and none of them looked to be arrow-shaped. She groaned, knowing her task was hopeless.

What does he want me to do? Break into people’s houses and demand them to tell me all they know about the mysterious artifacts and to hand one over to me if they’ve stumbled upon it? She frowned. I’m not like him. I actually respect people.

Lizzie plopped down on the ground, resting her chin on her knees and staring down at the ground in front of her. A spider, small and black and hairy, scurried in front of her. She watched it crawl around her foot, avoiding any contact with her.

“Lizzie! What are you doing?”

Lizzie’s head shot up in response to the sound and found herself looking at Lacrina. Caught off guard, all she could say was, “Uh…”

Lacrina grabbed Lizzie’s arm and pulled her up. Her voice filled with urgency, she said, “There’s something going on in the graveyard. I’m not sure what’s happening, but I think that everyone should be there. So c’mon!”

Left with no choice but to follow the redhead, Lizzie chased after her. Lacrina led to her to the graveyard, where the other were waiting anxiously. They were all watching something, and as Lizzie followed their gaze, she saw two reasons that could cause the anxiety.

Firstly, Ashlyn was unconscious.

Secondly, an unknown man was holding a knife to her neck.

Lizzie muttered a curse and put her hand to her sword’s hilt, ready to unsheathe it should the need arise. She was afraid to do anything more than that; she wasn’t sure if the man would seriously kill Ashlyn, but the brunette wasn’t willing to bet Ashyln’s life to find out.

“Give me the Arrows and she'll go unhurt,” the man said. He pressed the knife down on the girl’s neck even harder, and Lizzie’s hand clenched around the leathery hilt.

He must be someone working for Ganon, trying to stop us from defeating him! she thought, her gaze locked on him. Either that, or he has to be a crazy man!

Noting some movement out of the corner of her eye, she glanced over to the side and saw Naris approach the captor and captive, hands up to show he meant no harm. The man’s voice shook slightly as he yelled, “Stay where you are!”

Staying calm in the tense situation, the Zora said quietly, “We aren't going to harm you. Just tell us where the Arrows are and leave Ashlyn be. We don't want any trouble.”

Lizzie’s heart pounded, waiting for someone to do something. The man’s eyes glanced about, from the group to the graves, and he kept the knife at Ashlyn’s neck. Gaidin spoke carefully to him, explaining that the group desperately needed the arrows and that Ashlyn didn’t need to be killed. Lizzie sent a prayer to the Goddesses, pleading with them to knock some sense into the man and let him see that he didn’t need to keep Ashlyn as a hostage.

The man’s eyes widened. “No!” he yelled. “You guys…. You’re with Ganon!”

Lizzie’s jaw dropped. He thought they worked for Ganon? Then who was he working for?

Suddenly, the man ran towards the group. Lizzie unsheathed her sword, getting into a fighting stance and ready to fight any attack against her or the group. The man yelled out, “Fly!” and suddenly he was off of the ground and up in the air, high above everyone else. He landed off in the distance, racing off away from the group towards the mountain trail.

Everyone stood there for a moment, shocked at what had happened. Gaidin’s voice, sharp and commanding, pierced through the silence. “Well don’t just stand there! Go after them!”

The teleporting spell dropped Rune hard, right on his back knocking the air right out of him. From the loud grunt he guessed Balthazar landed badly too. "Hmm, little rougher then the last one" Balthazar said. Rune decided not to remind them last time they landed on a tree.
"Did we at least get to the right place this time?" Rune asked
"Well, judging on the large burning mountain in the distance and the large amount of rocks that aren't grave stones,-"
"We're not are we?"
"Well we must be close,"
Rune let his head slump, of all the group members to get stuck with he got the senile old wizard who couldn't get a spell right to save his life. Rune searched around for any sign of life. He felt the minds of two people up the trail, one seemed somewhat familiar.
"Somebody's up the place" Rune mumbled
"Really? Well we should go say hello?" Balthazar proclaimed. Rune signed, first the gods had placed him in the world without sight, next they had placed him with this old fool, what next.
Rune followed Balthazar up the trail. Balthazar had already began to strike up a conversation."Hi you may know of me I'm a wizard of some sort" Thats debatable thought Rune "And the grumpy fellow here is also a mage. And you seem familiar you're uh..Amy...No! Abagale..No wait! Amy Abagale!"
"Ashlyn" said one voice helpfully
"Well I was close"
"You two certainly took you're time getting back"
Rune gave Balthazar a glare. "We had to stop and save a Cat"

Gaidin felt the rush of anger wash over him, his teeth grinding in his mouth as he battled to control his temper. He had sent everyone off -- save for Naris -- to go after them and hopefully they would find her and the thief before anything happened to her. They understood the urgency in his voice and knew that they had to get her back quickly; if the thief kept her alive long enough, he wouldn't have a doubt as to what "loyalty" the group had even if it was a misplaced one.

He had sent the Zora to find the Arrows around the graveyard, where Gaidin still stood. Judging from the thief's reaction and where he was hiding out, the Arrows had to be around there somewhere; where he didn't know but they were close. The graveyard was quiet even with Naris moving about the headstones like he was, pushing away grass and flowers; there had been a yelp of pain when he had accidentally cut his finger on an old shard of glass that had come from a Poe's lantern. Gaidin had flinched for a moment, turning around to go help Naris but the Zora just waved to him, which signaled that he was fine.

That had only been a moment ago and the search continued to go on for the Arrows. They were close, he could feel it; or maybe it was the Cymbals that he held at his side that gave off a warm sensation that the other Artifact was, indeed, there. And that feeling was right when Naris yelped again, this time holding the bundle in which tips of Arrows could be seen sticking out from one side. Gaidin smiled genuinely for what seemed like the first time in days, rushing up to meet Naris at the end of the graves.

"Good, very good," The Hylain muttered when they faced each other and Naris undid the wrapping. They both made a physical and a mental check to make sure that every Arrow was there save for the one Ashlyn carried; when Gaidin was satisfied that they were all there, Naris rolled them up again.

"Here they are," He said with a half smile, offering them to the leader. Gaidin pushed them back with a shake of his head.

"No, hold onto them for now. I have a plan on how we're going to get Ashlyn back and keep the Artifacts as well. I think our 'new friend' has some trust issues." Gaidin had to broden his smile when Naris stared at him with a wondering look; he did everything in his power to keep from laughing out loud at everything. Maybe he was starting to go crazy after all. "Lets go, find Ashlyn and the thief, and get ready to move out. I've had enough of Kakariko for a while."

Naris nodded and followed Gaidin out of the graveyard and into the village. The group was no where to be found when they moved towards the Skulltula house but almost the same exact feeling that Gaidin had with the Arrows returned when they moved closer to their former hideout yet with a slight difference. This time the Cymbals didn't feel hot, they felt rather cold, almost like an icy feeling to them; it felt like he was back at the Domain and holding a chunk of ice.

"Hey, Gaidin," Naris said suddenly as the two of them stopped at the foot of the stairs to the House. "Are the Arrows supposed to feel cold? Not like they were supposed to be cold in the first place but like a chunk of ice almost."

"What?" Gaidin turned to face him rather quickly with a rather surprised look on his face. "The Arrows feel cold too?"

Gaidin took note that Naris looked rather pale even for a Zora and was cradling the Arrows as though he was holding a chunk of ice. So the Cymbals aren't the only ones that have turned from hot to cold, He thought to himself as he frown. It was strange indeed that both of the Artifacts were cold and he didn't know what it meant.

"They felt rather warm when we were in the Graveyard and had walked up to each other and they started to feel like ice when we started to walk out." Naris looked questionably at Gaidin. "Is there a problem with the Artifacts?"

"I-I-I don't know," Gaidin stammered, "but I don't like it. The faster we get everyone back together, the sooner we can find out."

If only it was that easy.

OoC: *headdesk for being so late AND for it being a crappy post*

BiC:
“La.. Locke,” he stuttered, “My name is Locke,”

He was still shaky from before, and he certainly wasn’t very sure of himself either. The forest had grown quiet, as had Ashlyn, and it was only then that he realized how sore he was. He didn’t get ANY sleep last night, and he had also jumped from roof to roof, and run up Death Mountain. Hopefully she could let him rest before she tried to talk to him more.

Ashlyn stood up, and shook her head, as if it would rid her of the headache that Locke had inflicted upon her earlier.

“Sorry,” he said. Ashlyn looked at him, not sure of what he meant. “For the bruise on your head. And knocking you out.”

Ashlyn sighed, more relaxing than irritated. “We’ll get this sorted out later. But for now-“

THUMP!

Locke turned around, seeing in front of him a senile old wizard with a long flowy beard. He started speaking, not bothering to tell them why he was there or how he knew them. “Hi, you may know me. I’m a wizard of sorts.” A young man around Locke’s age came out, his face showing much impatience, and yet familiarity, with this old man. The young man scowled at the old wizard, who was still talking. “And the grumpy young fellow here is a mage. And you look familiar… Your name is Amy? No, uh, Abigail. Wait! You’re Amy Abigail!”

Locke and Ashlyn stared, blinked, and sighed. Ashlyn smiled a little, and spoke, “It’s Ashlyn. And you two certainly took your time getting back.”

It was the young mage’s turn to speak. “We had to stop and save a cat.”

Locke’s eyes were still wide. “A what? What the heck are you talking about?”

The old wizard spoke “Well, we was down in the grave getting this young lady a treasure. See, she had lost her bracelet, and they had to go down into the grave and get it. We were trying to help her, but we got lost, and when we tried to teleport, we got to you.”

‘So, they’re with Ashlyn and the others.’

The young mage glared at the wizard, and began to introduce themselves to Locke, “I’m Rune, and this is Balthazar. We’re from up north, beyond Hyrule Castle Town.”

“Right. I see.” Locke was still confused, if that’s what you’d call it. What were they doing here? Were they with Ganon as well? This was all to confusing.

And, as if everything wasn’t bad enough, Gaidin appeared.

OoC: Left it on a non-descriptive note because I know you mentioned Gaidin having a "plan" for getting the Arrows back. And, I had Balthazar say she lost her bracelet because he has amnesia, so it would make sense if he didn't remember.

Ashlyn had stared at Balthazar for a moment before turning her attention to Rune. In a great relief to her, they were still alive after getting out of the Underworld and away from the child-like creature. How had they fared against it and what became of the child? And what were they talking about, trying to save a cat? It didn't make sense to her and she was as confused as Locke looked.

Before she could open her mouth to ask Rune what went on after the rest of the group had left the Underworld did she take note that Locke had frozen where he was. His head was turned in the direction of where the village was and when she turned in that direction, her face broke out into smiles and happiness. Gaidin, followed closely by Naris, was coming up the slope, looking none too pleased of the current situation. She didn't know if he saw them or not but jumping up and running past Rune and Balthazar and waving to them.

"Oi, do you have to do that?" Locke asked as Gaidin paused when he first saw Ashlyn. He pushed something into Naris' hands before running up to the girl and embracing her in a hug.

"What the hell happened?" Was the first thing that came out of his mouth when the hug ended. Pushing Ashlyn out of the way, Gaidin pulled out his sword and pointed it in the direction of Locke. Both Rune and Balthazar moved out of the way, Locke frowning rather hotly at Gaidin. "And what is the meaning behind taking her?"

"Gaidin, stop it." Ashly attempted to pull down his arm so that his weapon wasn't pointing towards anyone. "He thinks we're with Ganondorf."

"That's an absurd idea," Naris grumbled. "Why would we want to be in league with him?"

"You have the Artifacts. You're looking for them," Locke said back fiercely although his hands were slightly trembling. Gaidin took slight notice of this, lowering his sword down so that the tip was touching the ground below. Beckoning the Zora to his side, Gaidin patted the Arrows with a smile. "I see you found them. I need them, give them to me."

When Locke took three steps forwards and raised a hand out to get them back, Gaidin raised his sword again. That was all that was needed to tell Locke to stay where he was and not make any sudden movements. The Wizard was watching this like it was spectator sport and Rune was frowning at something; he couldn't very well see what exactly was going on but he could tell in everyone's voices that this situation ran deeper then it looked.

"I'll give you the Arrows back in exchange for your total compliance with everything I say." Gaidin's eyes flickered over to Ashlyn for a moment. "I honestly don't think that you meant to kidnap her but did it out of confusion and fear."

"I'm not going to..." Locke started before Gaidin walked up to him and pressed the tip of his sword at the man's throat.

"If you don't stop with the 'we're with Ganondorf' crap, I'll kill you here and now. Then you won't know anything," The Hylian barked at him. "Can't you get it through your thick skull that we're not in league with that filthy Gerudo? What in Naryu's name makes you think we're with him?"

"I think it's wise to go along with what Gaidin says. It's the easiest," Naris muttered even when Gaidin threw a glare over his shoulder.

"Okay, fine. You let me have the Arrows in exchange for me following you." Locke straightened himself when Gaidin lowered his sword yet again. "What makes you think I won't run off with them?"

"Because," Gaidin said, leaning forwards with a rather devious smile on his lips, "if you do, we'll make sure that Ashlyn remembers your face very well."

Ashlyn rolled her eyes, as Naris moved forwards and thrust the Arrows into Locke's chest. With a oomph, Locke grabbed the Arrows as the Zora backed up and turned to Gaidin, who put his sword away and took the Cymbals away from him. Turning around, he started back to Kakariko with no intention of telling anyone to follow him.

Once again, Magi Scholars felt inhibited by his miniature size.

The adults had left him behind in the town, something he couldn’t really help but blame himself for. He had wanted to go help Ashlyn, now who knew where she was. Kicking a sign on the road up to the mountain, Magi turned around and walked right back into Kakariko, deciding that the others would have to stop by that way again. He sighed. It was getting darker too, something he wasn’t altogether comfortable with. He thought of the library, even with his haggish employer, seemed more comfortable to him then the probably night he would spend in the street. “I hate being a kid,” he grumbled, and leaned against a nearby fence. No one had come down for a while, and he was beginning to think they had forgotten about him. “Well, at least that’ll make Gaidin happy.”

The clock underneath his clothing was activated again, meaning he could once more become Magus Jon, but he was saving it. He would build up the Time Magic until he was absolutely certain he would require it again, especially since he had run out just before the end of the fight in the graveyard.

“Young lad?” asked a lady in the street. Magi looked up in surprise. Most of the time he was invisible to most folk.

“Yes, ma’am?” he replied, remembering his current age. The woman, a young lady with red hair, smiled.

“What’re you doing out in the middle of the street, little boy?”

“Nothing. Just waiting for some friends.”

“Oh. Well, would you care to come inside? You look like you could use something to eat.” Magi glanced up at the house, which was stationed above a small fenced area with little birds flocking about on the inside, pecking at the ground.

“I could use some eats,” he admitted. Ashlyn and Gaidin would come back soon. They would probably set out the next day anyway, so some eats couldn’t hurt.

After staring in puzzlement for a few moments, Locke started off after the group, following only shortly behind them, right where they could see them, but still separate from him. To be short, Gaidin scared Locke. And yet, he admired his leadership. He made sure that Ashlyn was okay, and even commanded the group to do as he told with merely a glance.

His big robust figure and scowling glare, however, gave a very stand offish impression. Locke would have to make sure not to anger him in the future. At least, no more than he already had. It was nothing short of amazing that Gaidin didn’t kill Locke, and not only that, but handed him the Arrows. However, his last comment had disturbed Locke, and convinced him not to do anything… foolish.

The group made it to Kakariko shortly after, the sun already high enough in the sky for the pinkish dawn to have disappeared and the blue ocean to cover the sky. Hyrule was sure a beautiful place, wasn’t it?

Gaidin didn’t even give Locke a second glance after he gave the thief the Arrows. Ashlyn, however, had stayed behind. Whether it was to ease his growing fear of Gaidin or to make sure he didn’t run off with the Arrows was anyone’s guess. Tali, the Zora girl that had asked him to steal the Arrows of Water, was nowhere to be found. Where was she? Why didn’t she try and help him whenever they caught him? Locke was beginning to have less and less faith in this mysterious Zora girl.

Gaidin stood atop of a wooden crate, gathering everyone’s attention. After clearing his throat, he began to speak. “Alright, now that we have both the Arrows and the Cymbals back, we will be heading off to Lon Lon Ranch to rest and get some food. Ashlyn and I will begin forming a plan to start looking for the next Artifact. While we’re there, you all may gorge yourself on food and milk. Make sure however,” he held his tongue, making sure to emphasize this part, “that you don’t talk about the Artifacts with anyone. At least, don’t tell us that we are looking for them, that Ashlyn is a Knight of the Goddess, or that we have two Artifacts.” Gaidin’s voice lowered, “Ganon’s eyes and ears can be anywhere. He will stop at nothing to extend his power, and to silence those who oppose him. Your closest friend can become your worst enemy, the one whom you that would be trying to protect you may actually be trying to kill you. His servants wear masks that many cant see through, their lies and deceit a powerful tool. Remember, the tongue is much deadlier than the sword. One whisper about our mission could put us in jeopardy and maybe even get someone killed.”

He too another deep breath, and Locke side stepped over to Ashlyn, “I hear Lon Lon has the best milk in all of Hyrule.” Ashlyn put her finger over her mouth and shushed him quietly, signifying that this was not the right time to say those things, given the serious air around the group.

Gaidin straightened his back more, and spoke again, “We will set off in half an hour, Hyrulian Standard Time. Gather your supplies, eat some food, and meet Ashlyn and I in front of the village at the entrance to Hyrule Field.” He nodded, and stepped down. Everyone scampered about. Locke turned to face Ashlyn, but she had already disappeared. Locke hung his head in disappointment. He wanted to talk to her a little, try to explain himself. He wanted to make a good impression on her, not have her hate him.

Locke shook his head. Now was the not the time to start crushing on girls. Even though she WAS pretty. She was feisty, deadly, and had a very nice pair of… eyes. Yes, eyes. That’s what he was thinking of.

The young thief pondered over what Gaidin had said. “His servants wear masks that many cant see through, their lies and deceit a powerful tool.” Was Tali one of those servants? Was she using Locke as a puppet? Or maybe, it was Gaidin that was, and he was just saying that to hush any suspicion that he was with Ganon. This was all too confusing, and with the drama from earlier this morning, Locke was not in the mood to over analyze every detail of the past 24 hours. He was unsure of what side he was supposed to be on, or what do next. He looked down at the Arrows entrusted unto him.

‘I guess only time will tell.’

Ashlyn had walked with Locke the entire trip back to Kakariko for the same reason that Naris had that perplexed expression: she was confused. Normally if anything happened with her, he would have pounced much faster and done more damage then to let someone follow them, especially with the Artifacts. Allowing Locke to join them was a dangerous feat in itself but letting him join and holding him responsible for the Arrows was the next worst thing. She didn't know what Gaidin was thinking.

After Gaidin's speech, Ashlyn had quietly left the group and headed towards and into the Skulltula house to gather what belongings she had. It had been a while since she had taken leave of any place that she had called "home" for a long period of time and it felt strange to be leaving in such short notice. The rest of the group most likely had less possessions with them other then the things they had brought with them and rightfully so. They didn't know what they had gotten themselves into and neither did she.

Absently rubbing the scar on her forehead, she packed the few important items into a leather bag and began to look around the house one last time. Any traces of the break-in were gone save for a few splinters of glass and wood from where Locke had broken into it. Why he had done so and who he was working for was a mystery and he'd eventually tell them, if Gaidin didn't force it out himself. The Skulltula family watched her with saddened eyes, taking mental notes that neither Gaidin nor Ashlyn had gathered the damnable bugs for them. What was done was done and they didn't have the time to be taking any sidequests at the moment.

"Everything ready?" A voice said from behind her. Grabbing the bag, Ashlyn turned around to see Gaidin holding a rather large bag himself which could only indicate that the Cymbals were inside of it.

"Yea, I'm ready." She frowned at him rather deeply. "Why are we leaving so suddenly?"

"Because of the events of this morning, we don't have the time to be resting about. You can thank that boy for that." Gaidin spat those words as though he was talking about something foul. "Have you seen Magi anywhere? He hasn't been seen since I told everyone to go search."

"Magi is still in the village, I can tell. He wouldn't run away like that, not after what we've been through," Ashlyn told him. Gaidin stared at her, shifting his bag from one shoulder to the other while watching her closely.

"I'm not going to be waiting for everyone to be there. I'll give them a grace period of ten minutes after we've all gathered." Gaidin turned to the doorway and started heading out, all the while talking over his shoulder. "If they aren't there, we'll head out without them."

"Why?" Ashlyn demanded rather sourly as she followed him out of the house and down towards the entrance of Kakariko. "Why shouldn't we wait for them?"

It was then that Gaidin turned around and gave her the worst look that he had ever gave somebody. His eyes told her that it was a decision that he didn't want to have to make but there was no choice in the matter while his expression turned into almost a sneer, like the girl was just a clump of mud. Ashlyn had the impression that he really didn't want to answer her.

"It's because of me, isn't it?" Ashlyn said in a low voice, glancing around to make sure that Locke wasn't listening to this conversation. He was the last person she wanted to know about this little curse. "I'm not being sullen about it, I just asked."

"No matter what we do or how many Artifacts we get, we'll always be hampered by that. With the way everything has been so far, I give it another week and a half, maybe shorter." Gaidin shifted his weight and his expression faltered a bit. "We're leaving now because I want to get away from this place. I've had enough being cooped up in a place that has nothing else to offer for me. I'm a wandering soul, Ashlyn, and there's nothing like a good trip across the Field. Lets go."

After being properly fed, Magi actually felt very good. His Time Magic had been fully charged, which led Magi to believe that perhaps his abilities were linked to much more then simply waiting for the clock to wind up. Based on what his internal signals were suggesting, he had at least forty-eight hours with a ten year increase. He leaned against the fence and watched the chickens flutter about the ground in search of feed. He chuckled, and wondered how simple their lives were, and whether they had worries such as he did. “Must be nice,” he murmured, and lowered his head, “to have a definite idea what you are.” If it were naught for the fact that he was forced back into his child’s body, he would have been certain that he could be nothing but an adult. Certainly he was smarter then most were, but that wasn’t normal. If he were an adult, he could be normal.

“Magi?” asked a voice behind him. The boy turned around and saw the slightly taller Ashlyn standing patiently, looking at him. “Where have you been?”

He shrugged. “You all forgot about me,” he muttered in his rough Ordon accent. The round-ears looked to the elf, and sighed. “If I weren’t so small, you wouldn’t have left me behind in the village.” He wasn’t sure quite why he was unburdening himself to Ashlyn, but he had read that keeping pent up depression or anger inside oneself wasn’t healthy. “Are we leaving soon? I bet Gaidin wants to go for the next Artifact as soon as possible.”

“Yes, we were looking for you so we could go,” she explained. “Come on, Magi. Gaidin said we wouldn’t be waiting for much longer.”

“Alright,” said Magi.

“Hey, wait.” Ashlyn stopped, and turned to the Ordonian. “Should we find Jon? He might come in handy for where we’re going.”

“I’m sure he’ll turn up somewhere,” Magi lied.

Rune didn't trust the thief for a minute. He didn't trust the rest of them either, put he distrusted the thief with extra intesity. He decided he might break the rules and probe his mind to see if he had any ulteror motives. He normally avoided this in part because it was a violation of a person's privacy, but more importantly because it gave him a glimpse of sight which was a bitter reminder of his handicap.
Rune subtley infiltraed the thief's mind. No sooner had he began to access the thief's memory when he heard a voice in his own head
Isn't that against the rules?
Rune recognized Balthazar's voice, I could ask you the same thing couldn't I
Maybe, I just like to keep an open mind
Rune felt like hitting the old man
I just want to know if we can trust him
We can Balthazar responded
What you already checked?
Yes. What don't you judge me!
Now Rune was going to hit him.
"Are you going to introduce us to your new friend?"
Rune jumped he recognized Lizzie's voice. Rune bit back a nasty remark about startling people. "This is Balthazar" he said plainly
"What! Where?" The old man said startled
"You are," Rune responded calmly, this had happened before trying to get out of the underground. Balthazar would forget his name, where they were going, what spell he was trying to use. Rune had gotten used to it quickly.
"Really? That's my name? Hmm...I must be a very important person to have such a lofty name." He said happily. Rune shook his head
"Whatever you do,"he said to Lizze,"Do not trust him to get you somewhere, his teleporting spell is...Inconsistent."

Ashlyn blinked at Magi for a moment, unsure of what to make of his last statement. It was as though he was hiding something but she shrugged at it and smiled innocently enough at the boy. If he's hiding something, so are you, she thought to herself. So is the rest of the group even if they don't really know it yet. Everyone holds a secret.

"You aren't a burden to me, Magi." Ashlyn ruffled his hair despite him being just slightly shorter then she was. "Come on, lets go. We've got more Artifacts to find."

Magi pushed her hand away but smiled back at her as they started to walk towards the entrance of Kakariko. They took note that everyone was doing the same and Gaidin, who she had left standing by the entrance to make sure everyone was willing to finish, was pacing there. Although he didn't have his arms crossed over his chest -- a sure sign that he had grown more then impatient and his temper was about to be directed towards someone -- he didn't look any more pleased to be waiting much longer.

"Is that really all of you...er, us I mean?" Locke asked nervously from behind Ashlyn. She jumped slightly, half expecting him to kidnap her again. Instead he walked on the other side of her with the Arrows underneath one arm and the other hand outstretched to her. In his palm was both of her daggers and both looking cleaner then they had been in a month and a half. "Least I could do after, ah, what happened."

"Thanks," Ashlyn said as she took her daggers and placed them back into their sheaths. "And, yes, that's all of us. Surprise."

"May not look like a lot to you but...." Magi started to say but clamped his mouth shut when Ashlyn gave him a look. Locke didn't say anything other then give a passing look between the two of them as the group convened at the entrance.

The two sets of stairs, the one behind Gaidin and the other that had twisted itself around to let passerby's and villagers come and go as they pleases, had seen their fair of events gone by. Now they would see the beginning of a new chapter in their journey, one that was more then slightly dangerous and held a small candle to what they were really up against. Gaidin, too, looked like he had seen many things and many people go through his life as he turned towards the group, Ashlyn coming to his left side.

"I'm glad that you all decided to continue on with this journey. You will have one last chance to leave all of this behind before the group leaves Lon Lon Ranch but that will be the only time you have." Gaidin emphasized on those words, his eyes flickering between each group member in turn. "If you decide to leave I strongly advise you to remain quiet about the things you've heard, the people you know, and the Artifacts we've collected. The last thing we need is for someone on Ganondorf's side to know what we're doing."

Those in the group that knew better then to question Gaidin's last sentence remained quiet, their eyes flickering over to Ashlyn as slowly as they could and without trying to take notice that they weren't focused on their leader. Ashlyn herself shuffled her weight uneasily, knowing that she was the most likely candidate to be the one who told Ganondorf everything -- even so unwillingly.

"Why are you giving us the option to leave?" Lacrina asked from the left side of the group, Etharon standing on her right. Gaidin's eyes flickered over to her and he did not appear as though frustrated with the question.

"Because up to this point we've been going through it quite easy. Because this might be the only chance you have at leading a life that's longer then what this journey will allow you. Because we don't know anything." Gaidin smiled faintly. "And because you won't have a chance later to back out. That may change but right now we've got more important things to do."

With that Gaidin and Ashlyn turned around and started to descend the stairs that lead right out of the village. The rest of the group remained where they were for a moment, looking at each other before they followed behind the two of them. Now they were going about the rest of the journey and it appeared to be a long one.

The moment Gaidin finished his reply to her and turned to go, Lacrina lowered her gaze to her feet, deep in thought. The conclusion they had arrived at a few days earlier before that fireplace, that this was just another job, turned out to be wrong. This was something bigger - and arguably much more important - than just another job.

This quest had almost nothing for them to gain, and so much for them to lose. It was a life decision, with very serious consequences. They'd be placing both their lives in extreme danger if they agreed to continue with this... quest. Gaidin was right, if they agreed to this both their futures would be veiled in uncertainty. But this was so much more than just a quest.

For perhaps the first time in their lives they had the chance to do something about all the things that they hated about their world. Their parents had died for their belief in a unified Hyrule with freedom for all its races - and now that man, Ganondorf, had taken it all away.

All these things considered, they couldn't back away, pretend all was well with the world and continue living in blissful naivety. As much as it could cost them, they had to fight, for everything they held dear about this land, about its people, and even for each other. Lacrina knew that joining Gaidin would put Etharon in harm's way, and that tore her apart.

When she turned to look at him, however, he saw the same determination in his eyes that she had in her heart, and in that moment she knew. This was it. There was another way they could go about this, there was no room for doubts or compromises.

Mortals like to believe they control their own destiny, and whether this was the case or if the fates of the Goddesses had let them to this place, they knew what they had to do. A silent nod between them was all it took to affirm this, and with common stride they headed off after Gaidin with the rest of the group.

Etharon cast another furtive glance at Ashlyn's back as she walked on ahead of them. That boy was walking beside her again, the same one who had earlier threatened Ashlyn with a knife. Something inside Etharon didn't want him next to - or even near - her. Why Gaidin would let him join the group after that fiasco was beyond him.

It was almost as if he preferred to be the one next her instead of him. The sudden realisation that part of him exhibited this... jealousy - if it could indeed be called that - startled him. He shook his head slightly in an attempt to dispel such thoughts and lowered his gaze.

Lacrina immediately turned to look at him, frowning slightly at his reaction. Catching her gaze and not wanting to worry her, he met her eyes with an expression that said everything was okay. His sister shrugged in response and looked away once more. Etharon sighed inwardly and turned his gaze straight ahead, making a note to avoid looking at Ashlyn and the person who walked beside her.

Kal sat at the inn, watching the group leave the village, while finishing his milk. It could be the group he was looking for, but he didn’t want to take any chances, and if it was the group he knew they where they were heading for. And they were talking about some artifacts. Were they just treasure hunters, or were the artifacts a way of defeating Ganondorf? He thought about it for a while, staring blankly at a patch of grass outside of the window. To concentrate on things that were unimportant seemed to help him think better.

It was unusual that such a group of Zoras, Gorons and Hylians should be together, and Kal couldn’t help but think of how stupid the group must be if they thought they would not be noticed by anyone. But then again, if they were just a bunch of treasure hunters, they wouldn’t care about such things. He stood up from his table at the window and went over to the waitress to pay for his meal.
“Many treasure hunters nowadays?” He asked the waitress in a casual voice while finding the correct amount of rupees.
“More like tomb robbers. I heard a fight at the graveyard last night, and when I looked out of the window I saw so many Poes flying over the graveyard that I don’t know what to believe.”
“Yeah, people do anything these days. Good day to you, and thanks for the meal,” he replied as he paid the lady and walked out of the inn.

The Graveyard. It was dark and eerie, and Kal noted that the ground was rough like after a fight. There were also broken lanterns around the graves, a certain sign that there had been Poes nearby. He dismounted Killian and bent down to examine some tracks that lead to a hut at the outskirts of the graveyard. Somebody was dragged roughly away from the battle, presumably unconscious as the person didn’t resist the rough treatment. Something else than the battle must have been happening, but what… Kal couldn’t put his finger on the events. It must have been someone light, like the child, or the young girl. Probably the young girl, as the child seemed too young for a battle. He couldn’t have been there.

He closed his eyes, thinking hard about the facts. Why would robbers bother with a little child? Actually, it was two children there… And the group did not appear to have obtained anything valuable, except for two artifacts. An arrow of water and some cymbals. He had heard of fire arrows and ice arrows, but not water arrows. What good is that? Besides, this graveyard was not a place to rob, unless you were looking for the notes of the composers. Kal knew the Royal Family story, and they didn’t tend to bury their members along with valuables. Something was not right, and the more he thought about it, he become more and more certain that he should pay the group a visit. Not reveal his identity and purpose, but just to get some information. The group had talked loud enough for him to know their destination, and as he mounted Killian, he threw off his disguise, stuffing it in the pack behind the saddle.

OOC: Ok, I'm new here, and expect to participate a great deal.
But first, who are in the group atm?

OOC: I am so sorry about the length of this post! I started to write and it just came out like this. O.O


The Field was a lot bigger then she remembered it to be and was a lot more brighter then it had been a few days before but Ashlyn also welcomed the change. The stormy clouds above the former Hyrule Castle-Town served as a reminder of what they were up against and what they were trying to save, a grim outlook of what Ashlyn would be facing in less then a week and a half. She would fight this thing to the very end, the damn dark magic-created curse. She swore up and down to the Goddesses that she would find a way to kill Ganondorf when she got the chance to.

They had begun to walk in the direction of Lon Lon Ranch and were a half an hour into their journey. The solitary circle of carved rocks -- or had once been a small mountain, according to the old order of Knights -- in the middle of the Field was known to even those who were outside of Hyrule. Lon Lon Ranch sat there and had made itself home for many years now; according to everyone that she had met, the milk was good and the horses were the best for riding long distances.

Ashlyn shuddered at something and turned her head from side to side. Magi walked on her right side quiet and deep in thought; what he said to her before the group gathered at Kakariko's entrance worried her. Why did he think that the group wanted to leave him behind? Gaidin probably had that thought earlier but he seemed to have changed his mind with that for some reason or another. Perhaps there was another reason he wanted Magi close by.

Locke walked on her left side, Arrows still held underneath his arm. The rest of the group was glaring at him through small glances his way every couple of steps. Ashlyn didn't blame them for not only wanting to beat him up but why in Farore's name Gaidin would let him come with them. And carry the Arrows as well! That was something she would have to ask Gaidin before they came to the ranch.

Rune and Balthazar were talking quietly to themselves although it seemed like Balthazar was doing most of the talking and Rune was doing the listening. Naris and Lizzie were walking next to them, also in their own conversations and were quietly glancing back at Locke every so often to see if the newcomer was still there and hadn't put any knives up to anyone else's throats. Lacrina and Etharon were walking behind Ashlyn, Magi, and Locke and hadn't said a word to anyone since the group had left Kakariko. Well, Etharon couldn't say anything if Ashlyn remembered correctly and she would have to get to know the brother-sister duo better when they reached the Ranch.

Turning her head over her shoulder, her eyes fell onto Lacrina for a moment, the two women's eyes meeting. They grinned at each other before Ashlyn turned her gaze to Etharon. He looked like he was sulking at something and didn't meet her gaze when she stared at him for about twenty seconds. Shrugging, Ashlyn turned her gaze forwards to Gaidin's back and frown at him. He was at the front of the group and stood at least two paces away from where Lizzie and Naris were walking.

"I've got to talk to Gaidin about something," Ashlyn muttered to Magi and Locke, who both just nodded that they heard her. Walking faster, she would have to go past Rune and Balthazar and if she could, she'd ask them what happened with the child-like creature before they reached the Ranch. That was the best thing to do so that they wouldn't openly talk about the Artifacts and what they were actually doing. She wasn't really comfortable around them quite yet but they were a part of the group now.

"Hey Rune, can I ask you something?" She asked in a low voice as she stepped around a rock. She had situated herself behind Balthazar and Rune but in the middle of the two of them; the old wizard didn't seem to regard her in any sense and appeared to be in his own world.

"What is it?" Rune asked rather gruffly, not even looking at her. Of course he wouldn't be able to see her since he was blind but at least he could have turned his head towards her voice so that it appeared that he regarded her presence there.

"What happened down there after we left? What happened to the child-like creature?" She asked him. Balthazar turned his head towards her with a half-smile and looked like he would answer but instead he remained silent and his expression remained rather distant.

"We'll explain it to everyone later, maybe." That was all he said to her as he slowed down enough to indicate that he didn't want to talk about it with just her. Balthazar took note that his traveling companion wasn't next to him any longer and turned around several times before finding where Rune was and going to walk next to him. Ashlyn shook her head at that and shrugged; as long as they didn't talk about it at the Ranch then they'd know later.

"Ashlyn," Lizzie called to her when Ashlyn started to walk towards Gaidin. Ashlyn walked over to her with a half smile on her lips, disappointed that she couldn't make a straight beeline for Gaidin just yet after her rather short conversation with Rune. "We've been talking about recent events."

"How recent?" Ashlyn asked with a frown. Lizzie looked behind her at Locke then returned her gaze to the other woman with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, that recent. What about him?"

"What was Gaidin THINKING when he told him to come with us?!" Naris hissed at him. Ashlyn put a finger to her lips to indicate to the Zora to be more quiet about it, giving the thief a quick look to make sure that he wasn't listening. "He's a thief!"

"So am I but that doesn't mean anything, does it?" She asked him rather point blankly. Lizzie looked a bit surprised at that revelation but didn't comment on it.

"But you didn't put a knife to someone's throat and kidnap them, did you?" He demanded in a much lower voice. "And didn't steal the Arrows either."

"What makes you think that I didn't steal them first from the Knights?" Ashlyn pointed out. Naris and Lizzie looked at each other then at her, with 'Point Taken'-type of looks on their faces. "I don't know why he did it. Gaidin is rather protective of me, even more so after the Poe battle. I was just about to ask him why he would allow someone like Locke to join our group."

"Oh, so that's his name," Lizzie said, nodding. "Okay, whatever you can get out of him let us know. We'd like to know ourselves."

Ashlyn nodded and continued to walk to Gaidin's side, hardly looking forwards to asking him the basic questions as to why he let Locke into the group without even a letter stating that he had been invited to help gather the Artifacts. After all no one in the group knew if they were in any more danger now because of their new "friend" and if they were going to be the next one to be taken somewhere and done something horrible to.

Gaidin seemed to have taken notice that someone else had caught up with his pace but didn't heed that person's presence behind him. The way that he was walking indicated that he wasn't in the mood to really talk to anyone and was sulking about something, or someone in particular. It reminded her of what Etharon's expression looked like and she thought it would be best to walk behind for ten minutes before actually confronting Gaidin not only about Locke but about Magi as well. If the boy thought he was a burden to the group, she couldn't imagine where he first got it from.

"What is it?" Gaidin asked rather blandly when Ashlyn came up next to him and started to walk beside him. "It had better not be about our destination. Magi already....."

"I want to talk to you not only about Magi but about Locke as well," Ashlyn cut in before Gaidin could finish.

"Who the hell is Locke?" Gaidin asked with a raised eyebrow. "Is that the thief's name? Good thinking on telling me sooner, Ashlyn."

"Oh don't give me that," She snapped back at him then shrunk back when she was given his infamous glare. "Sorry."

"What do you want to talk to me about them? And make it quick, we'll be there shortly." His tone gave her the impression that he wasn't really looking forwards to going to the Ranch and was looking about the Field as though Ganondorf himself would pop up at any given time.

"Magi thinks he's a burden to the group," Ashlyn blurted out almost instantly. "Well, that's not what he said actually but he thinks that's why everyone left him in the village when they went after me."

"We didn't leave him in the village. He was told to go looking for you like everyone else in the group was." If Gaidin was displeased before, he showed it more now then he had before. "He isn't a burden....well, maybe he is. Stop looking at me like that." He added that last part when he took note of the younger Hylian's expression.

"And I wonder who was the first to give him that bright idea," She muttered absently with a smile.

"Alright, fine. I'll talk to him later about it. Besides I want to talk to him about something else anyways," Gaidin said with a wave of his hand. Ashlyn's face lit up for a moment as though she remembered something.

"Oh, before I ask about Locke," She said. "What about Jon? I asked Magi about it and he said that he'll turn up somewhere. What does he mean by that?"

Gaidin was taken for a surprise when he was asked that, nearly stopping and facing her completely out of that same surprise. Instead he just paled at something and kept his line of sight forward at the structure that was Lon Lon Ranch. The expression on his face was everything that she needed to know and even more so, that Gaidin knew the same thing as Magi did but probably even more so.

"He'll turn up somewhere, at some point. That much I can tell you." Gaidin turned his head towards her. "Don't worry about it and please don't bother asking again. Jon will show up when he does, often at the right time. So what did you want to ask about Locke?"

"I'll take your word for it," Ashlyn mummered with a frown. Something fishy is going on here, was her only thought about that for the time being as she straightened her frown into a smile. "Why did you let him have the Arrows? And why is he in the group with us? If you haven't taken notice, everyone else doesn't seem to really like him."

"No one besides you likes me and yet they still are following. What's your point on that?" He asked rather roughly. That answer didn't suit Ashlyn rather well and it showed on her face. "Look, the reason why he has the Arrows is because it'll give him something to do while he's here and it'll shut him up about us being in league with Ganondorf. So long as he has the Arrows, he won't leave. I've seen to that."

"What makes you think he won't run off with them?" Ashlyn asked.

"Because he won't get far, even if he unwillingly hands the Artifact over to the enemy." Gaidin's eyes scanned the Field. Other then a roaming Peahat in the far distance, there was nothing else there to disturb them. "I think that Ganondorf may not know what we're doing quite yet but I wouldn't put it past him to have something on these Artifacts."

What do you mean?" She asked, eying the bag in which the Cymbals were in.

"When Naris found the Arrows in their hiding spot, the Cymbals felt warm. According to Naris, the Arrows felt warm as well and when we left the graveyard both Artifacts went cold, like they had been in the Domain for a long period of time." Even with Ashlyn's confused expression, he waved it off as a story he or Naris would tell later. "Point is, the Artifacts must react to one another and they would become warm when they get close to another one. Can't really be sure unless we go after another Artifact."

"Do you think that Ganondorf put that on them?" That explanation Gaidin gave her didn't make sense even if she thought about it five times over.

"Most likely did, if it wasn't on them already." Gaidin shrugged. "I've been thinking about them since we left Kakariko. If our wonderful King still has one and the Artifact gets warm every time a new one joins others then he's got to be thinking somethings wrong somewhere. If not then it means nothing to us and we'll continue on as if nothing happens."

"Oh, so that's why you have Locke with the Arrows. Because you don't want him to go rattling on Ganondorf on us and you'll know right off hand if he leaves." Ashlyn eyed him with a rather cool look. "What makes you think he's working for Ganondorf?"

"Ashlyn, I never said he was." It was his turn to give her a rather dirty look. "If he isn't, he isn't. If he's working for someone -- namely my last old boss who, unfortunately for us, we have to go find once we get the next Artifact -- that at least has the same ideas as Ganondorf but lacks the will to do it, then that's a problem. We don't need to lose any more Artifacts. Tell Lizzie and Naris that, I heard them talking about our new friend, and I'm sure that Locke overhead Naris."

Gaidin had to smile at her broadly as Ashlyn rolled her eyes and went to tell Lizzie and Naris what was going on inside a small part of Gaidin's head. It would be an interesting stay at the Lon Lon Ranch.

OOC #2: At the moment we have one Ordonian [ Magi ], one Zora [ Naris ], and the rest, I believe, are Hylains [ Lizzie, Lacrina, Etharon, Rune, Balthazar, Locke, Ashlyn, and Gaidin ]. Currently MIA are Thorax and Baldr [ both Hylains ] and anyone else that hasn't posted since early Chapter 1.

The ranch came into view after roughly an hour of walking. Briefly, Magi wondered if the elf-ears around him would require any rest, considering Hylians seemed to rely more on their magic to do things then their own bodies. Ordonians like him were made of tougher stuff, even kids his age. But he decided not to ask, as doing so would undoubtedly damage someone’s pride, like the shuffling mass ahead of him that was commonly referred to as Gaidin. The giant had been talking to Ashlyn, who had just left to talk to Naris and Lizzie, so the lug started slowing down so Magi’s child-feet could catch up with him. Deciding that Gaidin could annoy him here or later, Magi quickened his pace until he was side by side with the behemoth. Ahead of them, Lon Lon Ranch was getting bigger. They would be there within an hour’s time.

“Hello, Gaidin,” said the boy, and looked up uncomfortably at Gaidin.

“Magi,” acknowledged Gaidin, and kept his face forward. “We need to talk about something.” The giant glanced around, just to be sure that no one would overhear them. All the other members of the party seemed absorbed in whatever they were currently discussing, so Gaidin must have felt he could speak freely. “It is about Jon.”

Magi’s heart skipped a beat. “What about him?” Magi asked casually, and glanced around with even more suspicion then Gaidin had shown.

“How long to you intend to keep up the charade? It will only be a matter of time before someone else finds out without my knowledge, and then the secret will be out of your hands. Have you considered the repercussions of this act you are fooling everyone with?”

The Ordonian took a deep breath, then replied, “I’ve thought about it.” He looked up again, for no apparent reason as Gaidin did not return his eye contact. “I’m from Ordon. We’re not even supposed to be able to do magic, and my Time Magic is something that is completely against the laws of the world. If you had the power to alter reality in ratio to yourself, would you really want everyone to know?” He glanced at his clock, and sighed. “I’m a freak, but I’m a freak that can put his power to good use.”

“How far is the power developed?”

“What?”

Gaidin grumbled, as he hated repeating himself. “How much can you age yourself?”

Magi tilted his head, judging his current abilities. “Seven years for forty-eight hours, and counting,” he replied. “It will max out at seventy-two hours right now, but the time will shorten depending on whether I increase my age further then seven years.”

“Wait,” Gaidin said. “You can go further then seventeen?”

“Yes. I don’t like to though, because I lose time.”

“Can you age others?”

Magi shrugged. “Never tried it,” he explained, then grinned. “Why, Gaidin? You want to connect with your inner child?” Gaidin scoffed at the accusation.

“I was thinking of a different plan altogether,” he replied. “If you could de-age Ashlyn to…never mind.” He wasn’t quite certain if Magi could comprehend what Ashlyn was dealing with. “It might be therapeutic. It might also reveal your powers, so forget I mentioned it.” Magi nodded. “But there is another matter. Ashlyn said you felt like a burden, right?” Again, Magi nodded. “Because you’re a child?” A grunt of confirmation. “Well, don’t.”

Magi gazed in wonder. Had Gaidin just, in his own subtle way, apologized? Decided it would be better not to ask, the Ordonian discontinued the conversation, instead wrapping his head around the potential for his powers that Gaidin had given him to think about.