~The Legend of Zelda - The Imprisoning War~

[blazinvire]

Sjade was initially pretending to act like she didn't even know the group, and simply kept and ear out for what they said as a means of keeping track of them. But when the Deku started a rather outrageous scam Sjade just had to throw a glance. At least she was pretty sure this was a scam as she'd been subject to their previous discussion involving creating this whole mercenary thing.
Part of her was rather impressed the Deku thought of such a potentially lucrative plan, but as the recruitment soldier readily proved, it was a very fragile scam.

She gained a rather unimpressed look at the proceedings, rather appalled yet far from surprised that Hylians would talk to each other so. But when this 'Captain Keeta' intervened and stated his intentions, Sjade found herself in an awkward position.
She'd just signed up to the Resistance and this lot was already shipping the group off to try and thwart them? Well this was going to require some careful handling... it did make her wonder whether she'd be better off disassociating herself from the group.
But... she highly doubted any other group she was thrown into would be even half as interesting, and they'd probably be twice or thrice as hostile.

So when the group went to meet their agent Sjade simply glided along after them like a ghost, the sheer level of casualness with which she did so was probably the main thing that'd keep her hidden, as she seemed very much like she was a part of this group. Hiding in plain sight, as it were.

[Chanda]

King gave a callous smirk as the Poes approached. He didn't have enough strength regained to counter all three at the same time, so he'd have to do his best. Taking a step forward, he let fly an efficient diagonal slash at the first ghost, barely circumventing its lantern to land a direct hit. As with most Poes, the ghostly apparition was knocked back a bit before instinctively phasing out of visibility -- a common defense mechanism.

He had no time to dwell on his well executed attack, however, as the second's Poe's lantern slammed directly into King's back. The phantom cackled eerily, but was caught off guard when King whirled around and wrapped a scaled hand around the Poe's lantern, wrenching it from the ghost's grasp. The lantern was the vessel in which a Poe's soul rested, and removing it from their grasp would caused their ethereal to dissipate. The Poe screeched in pain as its wordly form burned away in purple flames, leaving only its soul trapped inside the lantern in King's grasp.

The third Poe's lantern slammed painfully into King's left shoulder; his reflexes were still quite dull, it would appear. Luckily it had missed his sword arm; otherwise he'd have to take a day off, and that's never a good thing in the world of hired muscle. Before the Poe could turn invisible and skitter away, King wheeled around and clubbed the third ghost with the second's lantern, stunning it. With measured efficiency, he pivoted around and stabbed his longsword right through the third Poe, killing it. It too burst into purple flames, although its soul lantern merely crashed helplessly to the ground, shattering on impact. A spiritual flame still burned within the shards, but it wasn't long for this world.

"Care to reconsider? It won't be long before your soul ends up in one of these," he taunted, shaking the soul lantern about. He kept a wary eye on the first Poe, whose lantern still floated a few yards away, its form still invisible.

[Feldrain]

Dampé forced a straight face, despite the growing desperation of his situation. One Poe was defeated, another was immobilized, and the last one had taken a bad hit and was surly near death. The masked man had offered him another chance to walk away despite the fact that he had attacked him. The thought struck him as to why he was fighting the man in the first place. Sure he had done nothing but insult him since he arrived here, but Dampé had never really held a grudge for such a thing. In truth, it was his morbid curiosity at the Redead. Dampé had so much he wanted to ask him, and he could not vary well talk without a head.

Dampé's mind returned to the task at hand. Sending his Poe after the Masked man again would be a terrible idea considering he dispatched the other two so easily,but what else could he do? Damn it all, if only he had a little more magic he could- Suddenly a thought struck him. Dampé felt like hitting himself.Repeatedly. The green potion in his home! He had meant to bring it with him on yesterdays trip to Castle Town, but ended up forgetting it. Not easy remembering something you don't normally have need for.

Okay, so now he knew he had another option, but how to reach it? The man probably wouldn't allow him to just shamble on into his home and grab something that would help him kill the man. The floating lantern of his surviving Poe caught his eye. He could use the Poe to grab it. Everything coming together, He held his hand out toward the invisible being "OK then, come on back over to me now." his voice sounded confident and playful, as if he was not bothered with what happened. The Poe obeyed.

With the Poe now floating next to him he turned to King and began to spoke"Alright then, I feel like I have humored you enough, brute.". Turning back to the Poe, he began speaking to it with a light hearted tone. "I want you to go into my house and grab something for me. It's a bottle, should be on my desk next to a jar of water. Bring it here, and be quick about it." The still invisible Poe began to fly toward the shack as fast as it was capable of. Now for the bluff. "Sorry for wasting your time." He began, "But I have simply been toying with you. You see that Redead you seem to hate so much?" he pointed toward Shigai. "I put him into that little stupor,and it seems my spell had effected you as well. The only reason your not on the ground struggling to get up is because you were so much farther away from me when I used it.".

In truth, Dampé had no idea why Shigai went down and King did not, But king didn't know that. "If you come any closer to me,or the Redead..." He threatened, holding his arm up toward King."I will have to put you down as well, and unlike him, you won't be getting up." Dampé grinned deviously as the Poe entered his home.

[Chanda]

King was done talking, especially with that Poe on the loose. He had to act now, while he still had the upper hand. Without warning, he deftly hurled the lantern at Shigai's limp body, knowing it would very hard, if not impossible to dodge given his current position and condition in the fight. Hopefully, the glass lantern would shatter upon impact and engulf the ReDead in whatever mystic flame it held, something that would be quite debilitating -- in theory, of course. King knew little about matters of the undead, but glass is glass and flames are flames; or so he thought.

I think you're forgetting that my win condition is different from yours, Quasimodo...

The lantern was more of a distraction, however, as King was dashing closer right behind it. As long as he could kill the ReDead, he didn't have to worry about the gravekeeper; he could just walk out of here after that. As he approached the downed Shigai, he raised his blade up and reversed his grip, preparing to stab down through the ReDead and kill it once and for all.

[Bad Wolf]

Glass was glass, but a Poe's flame was certainly not a normal flame. Even if it had been a normal flame, only Shigai's clothes would have really been affected by it. As it was, the dark energy from that flaming soul had been beneficial to Shigai's current state. It absorbed into him and gave him just enough energy to roll out of King's immediate path as he filled his dead lungs with air. Then he fixed his gaze on the lunging man and unleashed that unearthly scream for which his kind was quite justly feared with as much force as he could safely muster. That would potentially paralyze that man for a handful of seconds, or so Shigai hoped, and the Redead rolled again for momentum to get up to his feet as quickly and easily as possible. Just climbing up to his feet would have probably taken more effort. He felt unsteady, but he was at least capable of fighting now. And what better time than when his foe was--hopefully--stunned?

He drew his rapier and was about to aim a stab at the man's face when he instead lowered the blade to a more defensive stance. Not dropping his guard, but instead making it clear that he wasn't going on the offensive. Paralyzed foe or not. Attacking someone who was--hopefully--defenseless wasn't right. It was downright cheap. The kind of tactics Ganon would use, in fact, and Shigai was certainly not Ganon. He wanted no further association with that pig. He had another course of action in mind, and he was ready to parry and dodge potential incoming attacks if necessary while he spoke.

"I could probably kill you, but I would prefer to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. If this Resistance you prize so highly truly wishes to save Hyrule, then let me help you. Have you heard the phrase 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'? The Evil King Ganon is my foe, and I am trying to find a way to stop him and his army. We have the same goal, you and I. So let us not fight each other and instead focus on disputes that actually matter."

By the Goddesses, he hoped this man would listen to him. But just in case, he added one last little piece in an attempt to convince him. If all of this failed, then the only option he could see was running and hiding. Taking refuge in the Shadow Temple sounded like a pretty amazing idea right now.

"Once this war is over, I will have no further reason to exist. Kill me then if we both survive to see the end of Ganon. I will not stop you. But it would be wise of you to let my talents not go to waste. Unlike your kind, I can safely enter Ganon's realm without being turned into some manner of monster." He already was one. "I am a weapon that Ganon might not expect. Take that under consideration."

[Feldrain]

By the goddess this man was stubborn!. Ignoring Dampé's threat entirely, he tossed the lantern of the defeated Poe onto the downed Redead. Before it could even reach it's destination,he was rushing after the Redead with intent to kill. The soul of hi former servant hovered ominously over the Redeads body for a split second before sinking into his body. He absorbed it! That did not change anything, the man was still charging and nearly upon the Redead. Gods he hated this guy!

In his frustration, he seriously considered throwing his shovel at the man. adjusting himself into an awkward throwing position, he moved his shovel behind him for the toss. Then he heard a cackle. Looking to his left there was his remaining Poe,in its hand, a bottle full a bright green liquid. "What took you so long?" He demanded, snatching the bottle from its hand and wasting no time uncorking it and chugging down the potion. Wiping his mouth with his shirt sleeve, he felt refreshed in both body and spirit.

While he was distracted with his potion. The Redead had somehow gotten up just in time to avoid an impending attack by the mystery thug. They seemed to talking of..something. It no longer mattered. The thug was distracted. Calling up all the magic he could, Dampe lifted his shovel into the air and brought it back down has hard as he could,leaving a large gash in the ground. A loud hum emanated from the shovel and it had a green-ish glow.

Materializing above him was a much larger Poe,one had never seen before. It held a far more regal looking lantern, with strange embroilments on the glass. It had a skull and crossbones on its front. It was...enromous,easily dwarfing Dampé. "Well what have we here?..." He asked staring up at the being. Who cares? he thought. He pointed at the masked man."Little Poe. I want you to jump in front of the one with the razor sword. Distract him." He whispered the command to the smaller Poe,still hovering next to him. "Big Poe. I want you to rush him from behind. Tackle him and pin him against a wall if you can". He had no idea what this new Poe was capable of, best come in with a plan. "Go." He commanded, hoping King would not hear him.

The small Poe moved first and began flying toward King. The Bigger on then rocketed toward him as well passing the smaller one and rushing toward Kings back. "Its faster too?" Dampé asked amazed.The Poe had already cleared the distance and ws only a few feet away from Kings back.

[Chanda]

King had no time to listen to Shigai's words, as the Poes were in motion and the ReDead didn't seem to be much of a threat -- at least, at the moment. He began by pulling his sword from the ground, finding himself oddly not paralyzed. Perhaps those stories of the ReDeads being able to stop men in their tracks were just myths. He kept his eyes on the little Poe as it drew closer, but he knew something was afoot when the larger Poe darted out of his narrow field of view, likely approaching from his flank or his back. The muffled sound of the Poe's ghostly flight growing louder from behind confirmed his belief.

Through several encounters with those who fought dirty, King came to expect attacks from his rear due to his lack of peripheral vision. There was also the fact that Poes tended to emit a rather loud wooshing sound whenever they meandered about, only exacerbated by the faster movement and larger stature of this bigger Poe. He would just have to time it correctly and hope that his rather limited knowledge of poes would be enough to save his ass.

He let the Poe close in on him, waiting until it was only a few feet behind his back before wheeling around suddenly, putting his back to the small Poe. He figured suffering a hit from the little one to be an acceptable loss. Now facing the larger Poe, he thrust his sword forward, hoping to impale the ghostly figure on his blade before it could change direction. If what he had surmised about Poes was correct, if they sustained a direct hit, they could immediately go invisible. This was all assumptive, of course, but it was enough to hope for. Otherwise he was about to get slammed into by something he didn't quite understand.

[amberillusions]

Airyn shook the Deku’s hand, smiling inwardly to herself at his friendliness, but kept cool, confident demeanor as she replied to his query, “Well Teruk, the pleasure is all mine. I must admit, I do not know the Inquisitor personally. He has only been here for the recruiting today.”

Airyn turned as the scarred young woman addressed her, immediately disliking the tone of voice Ms. Mallow used. She raised an eyebrow at the “my agent” part of her obnoxiously haughty introduction, her disdain growing by the second. Well, she supposed she couldn’t just let this presumptuous child talk to her like this, disregarding the fact that they appeared to be very close in age.

“Nice to meet you” she shook her hand, letting slip a small sarcastic smile "But last I checked,” Airyn countered, returning the shorter woman’s glare with equal malevolence “you were assigned to be under me. I don’t want trouble, but I also do not want confusion with who is in charge here. Am. I. clear?”

Airyn was thrown off a little by Ms. Mallow’s defiance of authority. Such disregard would usually be severely punished. Airyn contemplated having them all give her pushups until they dropped, just as her old drill sergeants would have, but she decided to cut the minutes-old company some slack, mostly because she somehow felt that that may not have done anything to fix Ms. Mallow.

Which brought her to another point. There was no way Airyn was going to address the arrogant girl as "Ms. Mallow".

Airyn reminded herself of her agenda: to (hopefully) quickly accomplish the task at hand with her company and then, upon completion, hopefully get promoted to a higher mission. This would keep repeating until she was finally somewhere truly useful, such as the front lines, where glory was to be had!

She just had to finish with this company first.

[Bad Wolf]

Shigai's speech went unheeded. The man had more important things to focus on than a Redead trying to be the voice of reason. And speaking of voices, it became immediately clear to Shigai that his scream had not worked. It had sounded right. He had put the necessary effort into it. And yet there that man was, still moving about freely. Didn't even freeze for a moment. Not. One. Single. Moment.

Something was wrong. Something was horribly, horribly wrong. Shigai's rapier dropped from his hand, which seemed to have lost its strength due to the horror that was spreading through Shigai. His legs ceased to support his weight, and he dropped down to his knees. This was wrong. This felt wrong. This felt horribly wrong. What in the Goddessess' names had happened?

He refocused on that man's back and in his desperation let out another of those Redead shrieks, but to no avail. There was something missing in his scream. Something that he'd had before, when he'd been in the tomb almost three decades ago, but it was gone now. He could still make the sound, but that was it. It was only a sound, not the petrifying force that it used to be. Its power was gone. If Shigai had actually used his scream in the past handful of years, perhaps he might have known that already. As it was, he was just finding that out now, and it was a terrible feeling to know that he was...broken.

"Why...?" he breathed, looking down at his gloved hands. They were visibly trembling, but he could hardly feel them. He felt numb from shock. "What is wrong with me...?" Why was his scream not working? Granted he had despised using it the few times that he did, but it had always been an option. That had been a comforting thought to him, but now that safety net was no longer below the tightrope he tread upon. And it was quickly sending him in the direction of a panic attack. At least, as much of a panic attack as a Redead could have.

His hand came up to grasp at his throat, still shaking like a leaf. His throat felt normal, so that wasn't the issue. Something else was the cause, but he had no idea what. That was scaring him more than anything else. Could it be that his body was simply beginning to fail him? How old could Redeads "live" to be, anyway? He was one, obviously, but he had no idea. He'd never thought to ask. Did Redeads have an expiration date when their bodies would just cease to function properly?

[FMAlchemist]

Marshy was thrown off a little by Airyn's assertion of authority- or, at least, her attempt to do so. She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips for the briefest moment before renewing her fox-like smile. "Of course," Marshy said simply with a casual shrug and deceivingly well-played sincerity. "I look forward to working under you, Airyn," she said. She was still much too preoccupied with her previous victory over the officer back at the counter to feel any sort of uneasiness. For the moment, she was still on top of the world. Ha, this poor girl barely knew Captain Keeta. Marshy and him may as well have been best friends at this point. She swished the thought of her and the Captain clinking glasses over a mass of under nourished slaves about in her mind as if tasting a priceless wine. Yes, she definitely favored that idea above all else. Certainly above going all the way out to some Din-forsaken forest to save a bunch of shrubs, but there was still much to be decided. Climbing through the ranks could very well be an easy thing to do, if she played her cards right....

"My company will need to pick up a few quick supplies before heading out," she went on to explain after a moment, "Is that perfectly well with you, ma'am?"