https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOQPH30tdwk

There are many legends of which the people speak…

Before time began, before spirits and life existed…
Three golden goddesses descended upon the chaos that was Hyrule…
Din, the goddess of power… Nayru, the goddess of wisdom… Farore, the goddess of courage…
Din… With her strong flaming arms, she cultivated the land and created the red earth…
Nayru… Poured her wisdom onto the eath and gave the spirit of law to the world…
Farore… With her rich soul, produced all life forms who would uphold the law…
The three great goddesses, their labors completed, departed for the heavens.
And golden sacred triangles remained at the point where the goddesses left the world.
Since then, the sacred triangles have become the basis of our world’s providence.
And the resting place of the triangles has become the Sacred Realm.

Time passed, and the world grew restless. Those who would use the sacred triangles for their own ends became jealous, suspicious, and malicious. Blood was drawn and the people fell into madness and war. The goddesses commanded their servants to intervene-and intervene they did. The tribes were separated and sent across the corners of the world. The Sacred Realm was sealed.

Ages passed again, and history was forgotten. Those who would use the power of the gods arose again. The goddesses, not wishing to destroy the world again, set out to solve this crisis in a gentler manner; and so the Hero Cycle was born. A single mortal hero would arise each time to protect the sacred triangles and save the people, each time drawing on the strength and legacy of all his predecessors to defeat the darkness. Each one a link in the timeless chain of the sacred trinity of villain, innocent and hero…

This is not one of those legends.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_cAAL7S6ZI

Ding... The pendulum reaches the apex of its swing; the bell rings.

The pale figure drifts lightly through the dark city night, observing people move through the streets and squares quietly as it weaves unnoticed between colorful stalls, plastered and stone walls with so much fine ornamentation with the occasional glow of enchanted lights.

Dong... and the pendulum rounds again to the other edge, sending its reverberations rippling outward.

The middle-aged man paced back and forth through the small study. His fingers scraped at the skin underneath his hair as he clenched his head, brow knit and deeply creased while stinging wetness kissed the edges of his panicked eyes. Upon another turn, he stared at the desk at the far side of the room, to the parchment, quill, candle and seal-cast stamp and released his tense breath as a relenting sigh. The finely-clad lord stepped to the desk and drew out the chair, sat down and began to write.

"Damn me by every word for a fool..."

Ding.

Lavender scent mixed well with that of the chamomile tea, the old man mused while gazing vaguely out the kitchen window to the scene of a colorful garden and ornamented city street beyond. Then came the curt, direct, though just shy of sharp or loud, knock upon his solid wooden door. With an exhale, he set down the small utensil of white china enameled with colorful Gerudo art and stepped briskly over to the door. Upon opening it, he blinked twice into the night for his seemingly empty doorway-then glanced downward as a mildly high-pitched, "Ah-hem," beckoned from below. The tall, elderly man's lips creased into a grin and his eyes twinkled behind his half-rimmed spectacles.

"Hello, Efa," he bid as softly as the warm glow of the candled lamp adjoined to his house wall.

The small, blonde Hyrulian girl grinned up at him with all of the warmth and brightness of a full summer day with the slight exhaustion of the afternoon with her childish blue eyes. She leaped forward to wrap her arms around his legs as high as she could reach. "Hello, Radomir. It's been a while."

"That it has!" the man chuckled as he put his hands behind her shoulders. "Come in, come in," he said while opening the door and stepping to the side for the girl to enter. "What brings you here?" he asked upon closing it after her.

"Business," she said. The seemingly usual girl, although dressed in boyish clothes for rough play, glanced around the room, her eyes taking to a harsh and piercing look unnervingly at odds with her apparent age. "... is it safe to talk about it here? And now?"

Radomir sighed. "It is. My children are asleep. Now, what is it?"

Efa sighed in turn and lifted up a pocket-for an orb fairy to come fluttering dizzily out, coughing lightly as it shook off the lint and dust. "Resistance work," the Kokiri girl said as she looked up to meet her friend's eyes with a face full of grim dread.

Dong.

"On to the next matter..." one of the assembled lords mumbled aloud as he shuffled through the stack of papers on the table before him. The others eyed him, waiting silently for the next matter of the meeting to be laid forth for discussion. "The riots at the eastern territories have quieted noticeably since the last meeting. It seems they are finally beginning to comply with the authorities there and the terrorist attacks are dropping in frequency and severity. The strict regulations and punishments seem to be having the desired effect."

"Good," one across the table said as he drew his hand down from stroking his long, curled beard. "Let's keep it that way the-"

"Increase them, then," a deep and unyielding voice interrupted. "Increase them until they stop completely and issue a public verdict stating so. The crackdowns will increase until there is complete order."

"... are you certain, sire? Much more and they might rebel openl-"

"Yes," the enormous man said, glaring at him from on high. Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule XVIII was a giant of a man, bear-like in shape and stature and garbed in royal red velvet robes trimmed with white fur, gold filigree and jewelry all over. Even if height of his status was not enough to impose upon the gathered nobles and merchant-kings, the glare of his sharp blue eyes on that wide, sharply-featured face was enough to set most of them close to pissing themselves. All of them knew it-and even worse, he knew that they knew it, a lion among the thieves and liars. "Complete order. Now, what of the western front?"

The lord under question swallowed and tugged at his ruffled collar while staring at a paper. "... we are still at a stalemate. We have thus far not managed to get around the problem of the Gerudo Desert; we simply cannot send enough resources to take the desert fortresses as it is right now. And the rebels still hold waterway crags north of it and have stopped every attempt by that route."

The King chuckled with a savage grin. "Then that shouldn't be a problem much longer."

Ding.

The lord sighed and heaved back in his chair, hand to his forehead as several letters now lay scattered about his desk, completed and wax seals dried. He glanced around the room before sighing again and standing up.

A minute later, the last of the birds flew from the man's study window, a letter bound to each of their legs. Birds were rarely used to convey messages anymore-Rito and transportation magic had largely rendered that tradition obsolete. For that reason, this was likely his only means of sending out this vital information, nevermind the relic he had stolen and hidden away, past those watching him. However, he knew this would reveal him. And he knew what it would cost.

Finally, his work finished, the man sat down in his chair, hung his head upon his hand and wept.

Dong The slow-moving pendulum completes its third tone, completing.

With a soft thud, the young man set the book down on the table by his bedside to stare up at the ceiling, brow furrowed, his lips pensive lips pursed as though biting back his thoughts from escaping into the air of their own volition. After a long moment, he sighed and closed his eyes. He lifted one hand and snapped his fingers; a moment later, the lamp dimmed and the boy rolled to his side, his blonde bangs dangling in front of his staring blue eyes.

All of this unrest was unsettling-yet no major events were occurring. Not that he could be involved in them, anyways. The boy sighed again and pulled the sheets over himself as he finally closed his eyes, once again cursing what he knew most would consider a blessing. He was completely provided for, his future entirely secure-so long as he did not exist. So long as no one knew that he existed. So long as no one knew that next Hero of the Cycle, the Hero of Darkness, was already alive and in the capital, working as a journalist reporter. For all that he could interact with it, the world was oppressively boring and empty, Link lamented.

Ding. A fourth ring.

The white-clad pale figure looked down over the city. He looked to be a young Hyrulian to the eye-human, pale skin, fair features with faintly blue-tinted grey eyes and soft white hair, hair parted in the center with long bangs to either side textured like feathery wings. With a faint exhale, he sat down, tunic and trousers pressing against the tiled roof of the city's great clocktower. Airships floated slowly through the night sky over the dazzling lights below; men and women drank in the taverns, gamblers yelled and whores and wives moaned in the night. In the nobles district to the north, wealthy men plotted; in the slums to the far south, beggars pulled their scraps tight and gangs slurred and fought. The guards shifted posts and yet, this was among the quietest nights the city had known in months, at least for the sound.

Slowly, a faint smile spread over the young man's lips, gentle and subtle as he glanced down to the fountain at the center of the plaza that marked the exact center of the city. The same statue of a proud bird holding the sacred Triforce aloft stood at the center, the symbol of the Royal Family the center of the kingdom since time immemorial. The white figure released a soft breath to the gentle night wind, carrying with it all of the resigned nostalgia and melancholy of the past and knowing that the future would not be peaceful again like this present for a long time to come-yet dwarfed by the more-subtle still eagerness, the excitement sharp as Death's razor and deep as the bottomless hole of hell. At last, the day had come.

The bell struck at the sounding of the hour, midnight, the mark of a new day. The white stranger smiled.

Dong.

A figure in ragged straw clothing looked down at a dusty old map, which looked old and worn from age, then back to the gate he was crossing with a look of confusion. He didn't see any real resemblance to the Castle Town indicated on the map. With a shrug, he just strode over the drawbridge, figuring the location fit and that they just...renovated it a bit...a lot. As he crossed, he moved to walk past the guards that were stationed there.

One of the guards to the side-a middle-aged man, stubble lightly dusting his face, squinted and studied the diminuative figure crossing the massive entryway into the city. "You... you're a Skull Kid?" he called over with the mildly stern frown of a disaproving father. "What're you doing here, travelling alone?"

The Skull Kid would pause as the guard spoke to him, his mind working to think up a decent lie, though he had to admit that, considering how infamous the legend of Skull Kids being little demonic imps was back home, he was surprised he wasn't being arrested on the spot. "I-I'm not a Skull Kid. Skull Kids can't leave Lost Woods, silly. I'm...uh...a Deku Scrub obviously." he says, trying to play that off as the truth.

The guard was unamused. "Kid, we get enough of your kind through here to know a Skull Kid when I see one. Not many, but enough. And it's a crime to lie to a guard," he retorted. "Now what business do you have in the city?"

Recco's first reaction probably should've been to ask how the heck he wasn't the first Skull Kid the guard had ever seen, but he was too scared of the guard in general. "Geez I don't remember guards being so scary..." he muttered to himself before looking up and swallowing his fear. "I'm looking for my family from before I ended up like...this." he replied, gesturing to his current appearance. "Our town used to be near the forest, but I didn't find them there..."

"Uh-uh," the guard said, metal chinking as the maille hauberk under his blue tabard shifted as he crossed his arms. "Well, there's no guarantee that you'll find them here. Still, it's cause enough. Come over here and let me check you for anything contraband and then I'll fetch another guard to bring you to the census to see if they can help you find them. Alright?" the man sighed.

"Uh sure. No problem! Thanks!" he replied, smiling hopefully. "And I thought I'd have to walk in and find them myself. You guys really improved the place quickly..." he finished.

"Define 'quickly'," he muttered as he set his spear against the wall and stepped over, kneeling down to frisk the forest child, searching through his filthy and ragged garments for weapons and other contraband. He scowled over the slingshot, although, upon standing, left it for him to recover, apparently deeming it as little more than a child's toy. "When were you last here?"

"Never in my life! It's a lot bigger than my father told me it was!" he answered gleefully, secretly glad that the man didn't know the flute doubled as a blowgun and that the books weren't normal books. "When did you guys add the giant walls and bridges?"

"... several hundred years ago, kid."

"Oh...geez this map must be older than I thought! My parents must've took really good care of it before leaving," he said, thinking that the most reasonable possibility out of any of them. "Well is there anything else, mister?"

"Not right now, no," he said while looking inward toward the city. He waved overhead as another guard approached.

"Kid's looking for his family from before he turned into a Skull Kid. Bring him to the tax collector to look into the records, see if you can find him. Make sure he doesn't cause any trouble before you turn him loose."

"Right..." the younger, clean-shaven man sighed before looking to Recco. "Come on, then," he called as he turned on his heel, heading over the second bridge towards the inner gate.

"Are we going to go to the senseless the other guard mentioned?" he asked, following close behind as the crossed the drawbridge, his hands casually behind his head, he himself seeming in no big hurry.

A groan came back in response. "Census," he corrected. "It's a record of people living within the country. Unless your parents were hiding fugitives, there should be tax records showing where they went. And yes," the tall young man muttered as they neared the ornate inner gate, its ornate trims, colorful banners hanging from the walls and complex carved stone walls hinting at the splendor of the city within. Even now, the loud bustle of the city could be heard, the occasional wafts of foods, spice and the dust of cramped living wafting in the air. It was a lively day, it seemed.

Recco couldn't help but appreciate the smell of food, having eaten nothing, but whatever he could forage and steal in the Lost Woods, but the door's intricacy was lost on him. "Why'd they bother making the front door so pretty looking. Seems like real good way to dump Rupees if ya ask me..." he said, not grasping the concept of making stone look nice.

"A long list of reasons that you likely won't understand. It's a statement-and it's not like they spent it all on just that," he said as he gestured around them with a broad wave of his free arm. And indeed, the buildings to the sides of the massive cobbled road where exact, colored and complementary to each other. Many along the edge were made of stone, at least for the first level; others wood and colored plaster, with crossed supports and many with a larger second story and even third story than base and topped by steep roofs made of tiles the deep blue of a stark, azure sky. Most had at least one chimney, wafts of smoke rising high into the air streets and alleys crossed between them below, branches from the tree of the main road interlacing the city like a complex web of roots. Small gardens accompanied a house here and there, fenced with thin and ornate metal grates or walled off with high cobbled walls dashed with vines. Intermittently, a park could be seen between the buildings, or a small square with wooden stalls, wells and ponds as people moved about, talking, arguing, children playing and many attentive to odd machinations, many exhibiting a glow and sounds indicative of magic. And in the distance, near a large plaza, the buildings grew to immense proportions, some of them towers of width and height that they looked preposterously impossible, the people at their bases nearly invisible next to them.

Recco could hardly take it all in, glued to the spot at the sight of it, the sprawling city so very different from the forest he'd spent years in or his hometown before that. He suddenly failed to remember the guard was taking him somewhere, his brain trying to register it all.

They continued onward towards the central plaza, more people passing them by now-along with horse, mule, donkey and ox-driven carts of varying size and purpose. Some were simple wooden wagons loaded with a farmer's goods; others were large caravans with soldiers in toe, filled with supplies. Rarely, a noble's carriage drove in and out, dark and richly colored with wheels ornate even to the spokes and tiny glass windows as men and women dressed in fine livery glanced out, largely hidden from the public view. Shouts, meanwhile, occasionally called out from the higher levels of the city where bridges, stairways and stairwells became corridors between buildings and large structures with decorated shop signs were held alot entire stories above the ground by narrow supports and atop other buildings in increasing size, scale and complexity the deeper into the heart they delved, save for the fifty-foot wide road.

"Almost there, kid," the man said nonchallantly with the voice and gaze of one maddened with dull boredom. "It's just a block from the other side of the central plaza."

"Gee you sound thrilled to be doing this. What's the matter? Nothing to do?" Recco asked with a eye roll, finding this guard to be a total buzzkill in comparison to the last one. At least the last one was scary. This one was just dull.

"I am doing something. Escorting a child," he replied "Which is not my idea of fun."

"Well sorry to burst your bubble. It's not like it'll take long and you apparently didn't have anything better to do." he said with a bit of snark. "Geez I'm hungry. Is there anywhere to eat before we get there? Cause this walk is taking forever."

The man loosed another groaning sigh with an upward look, then glanced around. "Yeah, sure..." he muttered as he glanced down a wide alley lined with street vendors doing business, a long, narrow bazaar between the buildings. "This way-but you're paying for your own!" he called back sharply, albeit with a hint more lively tone to his voice as he waved overhead for him to follow.

((Nevis collaborated with me on this post in TitanPad. He directly typed up location description and the guard's dialogue just so that you're all aware.))

As the bell struck to signal the second hour of the morning, a war raged in the streets of Hyrule City. After the brutal execution of the personable and well liked Zora under-boss Ruta (Strung up from a lamp post via her wrists with meat hooks and chains before being hacked apart by meat cleavers) of the Bladed Fins by a pack of bulbin's of the Butcher's Guild, two of the biggest gangs of the city had gone to war.

With so much of their attention focused on destroying the other, smaller gangs formed and grew in the shadows of the giants, stealing manpower and profit from them in areas where they couldn't enforce their control anymore. Alliances were formed, betrayals were carried out, heroes and villains started to raise as myths and legends were born and spread through word of mouth, growing larger with each retelling.

In a poorly light street of the city, Boss Ironhead of the Burna Bozs paced back in froth in a fearful fashion, muttering to himself under his breath as he occasionally glanced at the bulbins that he still had after their goron neighbors, the Miner Pick Clan attempted to increase their turf. They had pushed them back for now, but the cost was high. "Them Zora bastards we was fighting before waz easy, but these rock boyz... they too tough for us. They smash us good less we make peace."

"You scared. You are coward. They're only rocks!"

"I've got more brains then you! I say we beg them for our lives before they kill us all!"

"And I say you shut the hell up!" This was the last thing that Boss Ironhead heard before a claymore passed through his neck like a hot knife through butter, the head of the bokoblin bouncing on the road before coming to a stop some distance away from the body that hit the floor.

Standing over the corpse of their former boss stood one of the largest moblins that the bulbins had ever seen, dressed in what appeared to be chain mail armor and wielding a very large claymore that kind of drew the eye in the way that all dangerous weapons did; Needless to say, the sight was somewhat awe-inspiring to them.

The grin on Ze's face was not a friendly one. "Right. I'm the boss of this city now. Questions? Good. Now grab your shit and follow me, we're going to enlighten the other goblin gangs of who's in charge now. Then we'll go and have a word with those rocky bastards." He watched the faces of the bulbins he was addressing carefully, confident in stance and harsh in glare. At first there was some level of uncertainty in the mob, but that quickly disappeared as a mixture of awe, fear and the feeling of becoming apart of something bigger swept over the mob like a tidal wave.

Internally, Ze grinned. The mob he was looking at wasn't much but it was the first step of the plan that he and Mr Nailbrain had been working on for quite a while. It had taken months to scout out the city, learning who was who, where they could normally be found and what order he was going to have to kill them in. The various goblin gangs would be rather easy to bring under his banner, he just needed to prove that he was the strongest and smartest person they could follow by killing everyone who disagreed with him being in charge. Not as many as some people would think; The leaders of the gangs, whatever loyalists they might have that would try to avenge them and the few idiots that would no doubt try to challenge him after he dealt with the first two to try and take over while he was 'weakened'. Once they were gone everyone else would no doubt fall into line.

The fact that Mr Nailbrain had gone off on his own to quietly deal with some of the more likely idiots before they became a problem would just speed the whole process up rather nicely. Once the goblin gangs were under his banner, he would have the manpower to quickly take over the other minor gangs and bring them into the fold... then the two big ones. Speed was vital to his plan in order to prevent any of the powers that be from figuring out what he was attempting to do and organizing a proper means of stopping him.

If all went as planned, the gang element of Hyrule City would be under his thrall sometime between noon and dusk.

Leading the way down an alleyway that lead towards the next goblin gang he wanted to 'enlighten', Ze grinned to himself as the mob was quick to follow him.

---

The sprawling fields surrounding Castle Town glistened as dew soaked blades of grass were hit by the light of the morning sun. Despite the massive growth of Castle Town, it managed to maintain a massive stretch of field land between it and the Lost forest to the south east. Most of these lands were used extensively by the massive enterprise that was the Lon Lon Ranch. A once small family owned ranch, it had since grown to be more than just a mom-and-pop run ranch, a now large and powerful company, exclusively responsible for providing the prestigious Hyrluian Knights. Ranchers could be spotted leading small groups of animals here and there, while travelers, traders and caravans alike plodded along the paved cobble road.

One such caravan was a small one, some 5 carts long, some large wooden carts with sheets of canvas pulled over it to form spacious canopies, others just wide square carts laden with wrapped packages. Each cart sported the image of a red feathery wing on it, and was pulled by some combination of mules, horses, or ordon goats. Surrounding the caravan were a small contingent of men and women of different races. Some of them, proudly bore the red wings of the Red Pinions, others bore no insignia and were mercenaries, each carried a spear or a sword, or some other form of armament, and formed a small force of guards for this particular caravan. Numbering around a dozen guards, this was fairly normal; while violence was uncommon this close to the heart-lands, the stretch of land between Castle Town and the port cities along the southern coast had its fair number of brigands and bandits hiding out in the small woods and forests off the road, waiting for an unfortunate enough group without enough swords to defend themselves.

Lounging on top of one of the Caravan carts was the white haired form of Quill- just one of the dozens of Rito under the employ of the Red Pinions, though only one of four in this caravan. The other rito for this caravan consisted of the Eld, the caravan leader, Sett, a journeyman-courier like himself, and Syd and Lyd, a pair of twin junior-couriers that had only recently joined the company a few weeks ago. Stretching in the early morning light, Quill sprawled out on the top of the caravan cart, looking over to the side at a small group of ranchers herding a group of horses. He stuck his finger out and pointed up a thumb, simulating the pulling of a bow with his other hand. Using his finger to lead one of the riders, he let go of his imaginary bowstring and watched an imaginary arrow sail into his target, making a clicking sound with his mouth as he did.

"Hey, Quill!" grumbled the deep, gravelly voice belonging to Eld, their aging caravan leader, "If you have so much time to lounge around, why don't you go do some more scouting, huh?" This elicited some chuckles from the caravan guards walking around on foot.

"Sett already took Lyd out to do some scouting," Quill replied casually, "Besides, there's not much to scout- you can see for miles across this field, even with the hills, you could easily spot any group large enough to threaten us from up here."

"Urk, well then how about you head into Castle Town first?" Eld replied, as a package flew up in the air and landed with a heavy thud on Quill's stomach, causing him to recoil as the weight knocked the wind out of his gut- eliciting a round of chuckles from the caravan guards all around. "That package is going to some puffed up aristocrat in Castle Town. They offered a bonus if we managed to get it there early. As per usual, don't open the package, if by any chance it is opened, don't read or examine the contents, you know how the whole shpeel works."

"I guess that means I can take the rest of the day off too?" Quill replied as he placed the parcel in his messenger bag. The package was heavier than he thought it would be, especially given its size. Standing up on top of the caravan cart for a moment, he rolled his shoulders and took a quick stretch.

Leaping off the edge of the caravan cart, his arms quickly formed into wings, and his feet sprouted talons as he took off towards Castle Town with a few mighty beats of his wings. Easily gliding over the rolling Hyrule Fields, Quill spot a pair of flying dots in the distance, what he assumed were Sett and Lyd, due to their proximity to each other and size. They were likely heading back to the caravan as he was heading towards city. From his literal bird's eye view, he could see the inhabitants of the city already going about their business, the tiny figures crowding around plazas and bazars, the glitter of the guard armor as they patrolled the streets, and the illicit dealings of gangers in the alleys.

As Quill flew over the front gate, he noticed the guards look up, but make no effort to stop him- they rarely did. While they were certainly supposed to stop everyone who tried to enter the city, they had long since given up on trying to stop Rito from entering the city. Almost all of the rito in Castle Town were under the employ of one of the courier services anyway, and Rito were generally calm enough that conflict rarely if ever broke out with them.

Landing in a clearing in the central plaza- a roof of one of the market buildings in one of the busiest parts of town, Quil climbed down and consulted a town map. The package he was given was addressed to a building in the marketplace, he just had to find it first.

The trip from Death Mountain to Castle City was a rather long and typically boring trip for the Gorons especially Dorcon. At least going to the town was mostly downhill and rolling helped speed the trip up and it made it more entertaining. He wasn't typically in a hurry, but he didn't feel now was the time to stop and smell the roses. Not many roses grew in the red mountain in fact there was almost no green anywhere in the rocky land. His rolling skills were among the best of the Gorons, so rolling down the mountian at top speeds was easy for him. The amount of times he had climbed and rolled the mountain in strength and speed training was innumerable. Today he wasn't rolling for fun or training though. He had a mission who's urgency could be increasing every moment. The lower level was currently sealed off and held strange dangers that were growing at an unknown speed. The seals could break any moment and time was of the essence. Of course most of the Gorons were sure the seals wouldn't break for a hundred years, but their pride had caused them problems in the past. Dorcon was their humble call for help.

The sceneries change was a slow one and there were very few people to entertain him along the way. A few farmer's houses located deep in their acreages of farmland began to show themselves as the earth began to change from red to green. The land became flat as well and rolling was hardly an option anymore. The farmers were typically nice and social, which was good as they were the only people to talk to in between the trip. He didn't feel like visiting them much this trip though. Even though he didn't fear a break in the seal anytime soon, the lingering thought in the back of his head ruined his normal outgoing personality. After a week of travel, he could finally see the gate in sight.

The road began to widen as he got closer to Castle City itself. It also began to become more crowded. Caravans and travelers from all over were collecting to the gates of the city, but that was nothing compared to inside the city walls. The mid-morning bustle was very real. The latest of the early morning shoppers were still scouring stalls for ripe fruit. The lazier of the merchants were finishing last minute details before opening their eccentric stalls. Guards were busily dealing with newcomers and the minor tussles that annoyingly called their attention everyday. Streetrats lurked in the alleyways, waiting for an opportunity to take advantage of the many illegal profits the city provided. Dorcon was fortunately wise to these opportunities and when a kid brushed by him, he quickly grabbed him by the arm and lifted him in the air. He held out his hand until the kid dropped a wallet into his hand where he then let him run off again.

Dorcon knew he should have technically been able to get help from the parliament, but recently they only cared about whether everyone was registered and paying their taxes, which unfortunately mysterious beasts were neither. Unless the Gorons revolted they probably would see little action in Death Mountain and then the actions would be against them. Finding heros on the street was was more profitable most of the time anyways. Mercenaries came at their own price and were typically cheaper than the running government rate and they had a lot of less red tape involved in their work. Nonetheless, he would probably make an appeal to the government for help, it was the right thing to do, but that could wait until tomorrow. He had a few friends he wanted to see in the main city first.

He began to make his way to the shadier part of the city where the gangs tended to run things. His first stop was at a warehouse guarded by two Gorons, one was heavily tatted and the other had heavily adorned himsef with spikes. Upon recognition of who he was and a quick search through his things, they opened the door and let him into the warehouse. The sight of machines and lines running back and forth with the occasional Goron stationed as security over the inside and the machines themselves became apparent as he stepped through the doorway. Farther back it could be seen that counterfeit ruppees were being created at a slow rate. Dorcon turned off towards an office that sat in the top right corner of the warehouse, overlooking the operation that ensued below. He walked passed another guard wrapped in chians, presumably his weapon of choice, as he entered the office.

"Dorcon!!!" A deep voice bellowed as he showed his smiling face to the office.

"Granad!!!" He replied excitedly, finally seeing his brother after several years. He wasn't really his brother, but their families were close and they might as well have been. "I see your still running your business around here. When are you ever going to make an honest living? This technology is pretty cutting edge and could be used some real ways."

"Meh, that's not my style. There's to many hurdles to jump for that stuff and my legs are nothing like yours. It's a nice business anyways. Most of the guards are too busy during the day, dealing with the townsfolk and the gates and such and then I get to party all night. Anyways, How is the fastest Goron alive? I heard the mountain is having some trouble." The two settled into seats as they began catching up.

"Yeah, some strange thing were happening in the lower sections of the mountain. The elders sealed it off and of course anything made by the Gorons lasts at least a hundred years, guaranteed. Something was strange about these things though. I heard rumors that the creatures could overpower the strongest Goron, but had no real body to speak of, like moving shadows rising from fire. Whatever it could have been, it must have been weird. How have you been anyways? You still call yourselves the Miner Picks?"

"Yeah, that definitely sounds f***ed up, and don't diss the name, it get's respect around here. It's not all roses here either, the Zorans and the Bulbins got into a big fight and now gangs are popping up everywhere. Granted were making some profit from this as well, but there's no respect anymore. These new guys think everythings done with a weapon. The old gangs ruled with fear and dignity and only hurt the disrespectful. They were the best parents this city had. Now stupid punks are everywhere."

"Oh yeah, how is Ruta by the way. I'm definitely excited to stop by her club tonight. She's still the best bartender I've ever met. I'll have to convince her to come serve us. Your not that charming."

Granad's face became more solemn as Dorcon mentioned Ruta."I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon. The club's still open, but Ruta died a while back. The Butcher's Guild got her and it wasn't pretty. F***in bulbins. We're gonna make them pay, we're already pushin their territory. Ironhead's gonna get it."

Dorcon had sank in his seat a little deeper at the sound of the news. It wasn't his first friend lost, many of the other races lived shorter lifespans, but having a friend murdered was different. "Just be careful Granad. I know you do well around here, but that's where this life leads. I don't know, I'm not gonna lecture, you're smart, just stay ok. By the way, know of any good heroes around right now? I am actually here to look for some mercenaries to help. Preferably magic in nature, as it seems strength doesn't seem work much."

"Not right now, but I'll keep a look out for you. If you need a place to stay, my place is always open. It's good to see you brother."

Dorcon had gotten up and begun to take his leave. "I'll probably take you up on that offer. I'll see you again. I'm going to be around for a few days or longer probably. See ya Brother."

With that he took back off into the city. He merely wanted to get more acquinted with the changes that had happened since the last time he was there. As usual he met new people and made new friends. He found a few leads that might help him with his quest too.

Seated among the thick bushes that she had chosen as a makeshift campsite the night before, Soli absently picked at her meager breakfast of nuts and berries as she stifled another yawn. In addition to sleeping rather poorly the night before, the journey from the Lost Woods, though relatively easy, had been rather tiring for someone who wasn’t used to walking so much. The necessity of avoiding the major settlements and roads along the way, so as not to attract undue attention, had only made the journey that much longer.

Her exhaustion, however, was no match for the excitement that continued to build at the thought of finishing the journey and entering the city below. Of course, there was more to her mission than just reaching Castle City, but she pushed that to the back of her mind to be dealt with later. In the meantime, she could focus on actually getting into the city itself and enjoying the fact that she was almost done with her journey.

Unfortunately, there was one obstacle in her way: the City Guard. From her vantage point atop the hill outside the city, she could see the seemingly endless procession of people starting and stopping as they crossed the drawbridge that led to the gates of the city, which was clear evidence of the guards checking everyone and everything that entered the city. While this wouldn’t be a problem for most people, even if they were Resistance spies, it was a bit problematic for Soli due to her childlike appearance. A man or woman wouldn’t draw more than a passing glance trying to enter the city alone, but a child was another story, and Soli couldn’t afford to have people paying a lot of attention to her.

So, Soli had decided that the easiest way to enter the city unseen would be to make it so that they couldn’t see her at all. Figuring that she had waited around long enough, Soli scarfed down the rest of her breakfast, lest her fairy scold her later for not eating it all, and focused on summoning her magic. Inwardly, she reached out to grasp at the threads of energy that surrounded her so that she could reshape them as she saw fit. The threads, however, were not so easy to grab onto. They stretched and shifted in a chaotic rhythm that made it hard to predict where they would be from moment to moment.

Eventually, she managed to grab ahold of a few threads and began weaving them into the form that would render her invisible. Once the magic was in place, she crawled out of the bushes and stood, stretching for a moment to alleviate the stiffness that had settled in her limbs from sitting still for too long. As Soli began making her way towards the drawbridge below, her fairy slipped into a small pocket on the inside of her raggedy blue tunic, slightly tickling her Kokiri charge in the process.

Before too much longer, she began making her way across the drawbridge, being careful to avoid bumping into the people around her as she walked. Though her spell didn’t inherently mask any sound that she made, the general murmur that always accompanied crowds like this easily drowned out the faint sounds of her passage. All in all, Soli was feeling fairly confident that she would make it across without incident, blended as she was by her magic and the crowd around her.

At least, she was until a stern-faced guard called out, “Hey! Hold up a second!” and began making his way over towards her. Immediately, she began sprinting to the gate, completely ignorant of the fact that the guard never reacted to her running away. A little ways after she passed through the gate, she turned down a narrow alleyway and kept running. Every so often, she would take another turn down a different little alleyway, working her way deeper into the city a little at a time as she tried to escape her imaginary pursuers.

Her flight, however, was cut short when she turned around the eleventh corner and slammed into another person, one who happened to be a fair bit larger than her. As she bounced off the other individual and landed on her back, she lost control of her invisibility spell and popped back into sight, the threads of energy slipping from her grasp and slowly beginning to untangle themselves. ”Hey! What’s the bi-” the other person said, trailing off as they watched Soli seemingly appear out of thin air.

”S-sorry,” Soli mumbled as she forced herself to sit up, still a little dazed from the collisions. When her vision came back into focus, she saw the stranger looking at her with open curiosity. Soli could see now that the stranger was a young male, probably a teenager, with a lanky build and a mess of dark hair on his head. His clothing, consisting primarily of dark colors and styled in the typical Hyrulean fashion, was fairly dirty and ragged, which marked him as a member of the lower class to those familiar with life in the capital city of the empire.

”You new ‘round these parts?” he said suddenly, breaking the relative silence in the alleway. After a moment of hesitation, Soli nodded, feeling that it wouldn’t hurt to reveal such a little detail. Satisfied with her answer, the boy continued, a small smile slipping onto his face. ”Well then, how about I take you under my wing, so to speak? Y’know, show you around and what not? Maybe introduce you to some of my friends?”

”O-okay,” Soli responded, speaking only marginally louder than before, still a little overwhelmed by all that had happened thus far. While she was concerned about the possibility of blowing her cover or revealing too much, she had to admit that it would be nice to have someone show her the ropes. And being associated with the boy would probably help her blend in, an aspect of espionage whose importance had been stressed time and again during her preparation for the mission.

”Glad to hear it!” the boy exclaimed, reaching out a hand and hauling the small girl to her feet when she took it. Once she was steady on her feet, he began leading the way towards the end of the alleyway, introducing himself as Jair as he walked. In response, Soli mumbled her own name, earning a simple nod from the boy as they reached the end of the alleyway, which opened out into a large marketplace that was packed with people and stalls, the shrill call of hawkers peddling their wares rising above the general murmur every so often. And thus, the tour began.

The opulence of the Imperial Office of Intelligence was completely lost on Faiza Ahlam. Such things were for impressing and intimidating the common folk unlucky enough to be dragged in for interrogation (the screaming of tortured souls down the hall also helped), but the Sheikah operative was not one of the common folk. Though her skin was dark and her hair the bright red of the Gerudo, the dispassionate red eyes peering out from behind a traditional Sheikah uniform mask belied her mixed heritage, as did the identifying sigils etched into her back.

Finally, the grand doors in front of her swung open and a richly-dressed page bowed her in. The boy was clearly as soulless as Faiza herself, his blue Hylian eyes dead, bereft of every emotion. Faiza did not so much as glance at him as she breezed past; after all, servants were only furniture. All her attention was on the person sitting at the carved mahogany desk: the Sheikah Spymaster, her handler. His gloved hands steepled pensively over the mound of paperwork on the desk as he watched her, calculating, searching for any signs of weakness.

“Operative Twelve. My apologies for the wait.” The words were a formality: there was no apology in the man’s red eyes, as blank and soulless as Faiza’s own with only a hint of the psychopathic cruelty hidden under the stone-like exterior. Such people went far in the Sheikah ranks, as they took an especial delight and care in executing their duties. Faiza could only hope she would someday become as heartless and cunning as her boss.

“No apologies necessary,” the half-Gerudo replied with a respectful bow, then got straight to the point. “The operations in the Gerudo province are proceeding as expected. With the additional crackdown on lawbreakers, those who would cause harm to Our Glorious Empire are becoming more apparent and easier to eliminate. The additional chaos ordered by His Majesty has been quite successful in preventing any sort of organized rebellion.”

“Excellent. But… it looks here that you have exceeded your quota… there are several eliminations which the Hall of Intelligence did not order…” The Spymaster trailed off, waiting for an explanation. Exceeding the quota was not considered bad, and was generally encouraged… but only if it contributed toward the Empire’s stability and power.

“I took initiative, as you suggested. There were several members of the local community who were becoming too influential among their peers. Matron Haamida Zaher, as you know, was attempting to found a community center and orphanage to prevent the local youth from joining a life of crime. I do not need to mention that such places where many people may congregate and complain about their lot in life become hotbeds of rebellion. Naturally, I could have simply eliminated her alone, but someone would have stepped up to take her place. And in light of Our Glorious Empire’s new policy of racial purity, I felt it much more appropriate to eliminate the lot, both Zaher and the poisonous mushrooms under her wing. The community had no time to mourn the tragic fire, as the local mine suffered an explosive gas problem the very same day. The rest is more of the same, as I believe you have already inferred, Master.”

“I have. I simply wanted to hear it in your own words. Excellent work, Operative Twelve, His Majesty is impressed. One day, no-one will ever know that such cattle as the Gerudo ever existed, but for now our work must continue. With someone else, I’m afraid, you’re being reassigned.” The Spymaster shuffled his papers.

“…Reassigned, sir?” It had taken Faiza years to build her cover out in the provinces. A sudden reassignment rarely boded well. Generally, it was a euphemism for forced retirement.

“There’s no need to get worked up, Operative. It’s by personal request of His Majesty. We need eyes and ears in the growing Other population down in the city slums, someone with skills and a good demonstration of their ability to prevent a rebellion through surgical strikes. Someone like you. Congratulations on your promotion, Operative Twelve.”

For a moment Faiza was speechless. An assignment directly from the Emperor himself? It was a tremendous honor, signs that she was moving up in the Sheikah underworld. She bowed low, still processing the change of circumstances. “It would be my honor to serve His Majesty and Our Glorious Empire in this way,” she replied politely.

“I knew you would say that. We’re still working on your new cover and the details of the assignment. For now, I suggest you take a trip down to your new home and start scouting. Do not make contact; simply observe and get to know the area. Return tomorrow at midnight for your supplies. And one more thing, Operative."

"Yes, Master?"

"There is going to be a cleansing tonight at midnight, which is why we cannot get your supplies to you so soon. I do hope you will demonstrate your loyalty to Our Glorious Empire with your assistance in this matter. Dismissed!”

Faiza bowed again and backed out of the room. The large doors thudded closed before her face, leaving her to contemplate her sudden windfall as she applied a glamour to hide her red eyes and markings. Then she made her way to the slums in traditional Gerudo dress, looking every bit a wide-eyed new immigrant seeing a large city for the first time, observing and waiting for the night's event.

Recco groaned at the man's comment. He'd managed to scrape up a few Rupees from the abandoned houses, which he assumed were accidentally left behind, but it hadn't been that much and he didn't know how much he'd have left if he ate now. After a bit of consideration, he just shrugged, knowing his parents wouldn't let him starve or anything. "Alrighty just wait up! I don't want to get trampled before we reach the senseless!" he shouted, following behind.

"Census," he called back. "And you're not going to be trampled. There are rules about using the roads."

"Is there anything you guys aren't uptight about?" he asks, wondering exactly where they were going. "And will it take long to find my parents if they are in the city?"

"Can't really say. And being serious is generally part of the job, kid. Anyways, is there something in particular you want to eat, or just anything?"

"I'll eat anything! Well...almost anything..." he said, looking around for anything that might catch his eyes.

"Almost?"

"Yeah almost. Everyone has a food they don't like. I for one don't really like carrots all that much. Don't tell me I'm not allowed to dislike certain foods too." he says, though is mostly joking.

"Telling you what to eat is not my job," he shrugged. "Alright. Let's get something here, then," the man said while stepping up to a lively kitchen street vendor with several colorful dishes of cooked vegetables and meat pies on display beneath the bright ribbons and banners dangling from the fabric roof. He stopped at the edge of the stall, several small gems chinking as he set and slid them across the stall table."One of your herb-pork pies, please."

"Uh I'll take one too! How much is it?" he asked, seeing as he didn't know what else was for sale. Not to mention that the pork pie sounded absolutely delicious after Din knows how long he spent in the Lost Woods.

The black haired, mustachiod man quicked his head to the side at Recco, his heavy brows lifting in surprise. "A Skull Child? Not too many of you 'round here," he chuckled with an accent much thicker than his thin, pale frame would seem to indicate. "Ten rupees for a small, fifteen for a large. A small is likely a full meal for someone your size."

"Got change for a Red Rupee?" he asked, pulling out a red gem from the dusty ragged bag, though as he held it up a pensive look appeared on his face, his head tilting his head as if thinking hard about something.

"That I do~" the man said with a wide, smile, eyes hidden in among the crinkles in his face. A moment later, a yellow gem an inch long lay on the table before him-next to a steaming pie wafting with the scent of soft, cooked pulled pig meat with undertones of sage and rosemary. "There you go, child."

Recco gratefully takes the Yellow Rupee and pie. "Uh thanks...hey can I ask you two something?" he says, looking up a them with a questioning expression.

"Go ahead~" the merchant coos, propping his chin upon his arm, elbow to the table while the guard glanced at him in wait, silent besides the sounds of his mouth rolling side to side as he chewed.

"Well...all my life I was told that if you went into the Lost Woods and you were a kid, you became a Skull Kid. And when I...became one, I was told that if I left, I'd die. How is it that I'm the not first Skull Kid to escape?" he asks, simply not getting it at all.

"Well, the fairies and Great Deku Tree apparently used to tell the Kokiri Children the same thing," the merchant said with a long stroke of his curled facial hair. "Gave 'em the impression it was a curse and that they'd die as soon as they took a step out. 'pparently, it was actually just that monsters in the plains tended to gobble 'em up-or they'd starve in town wi'out the forest supporting 'em. After the Hero of Time left the forest and some of the Kokiri did during the celebration upon his defeat of the Evil King... well, some found out otherwise. And not too many Skull Kids do leave. It's bound to happen every once in a while, though, what with how rebellious 'ou lot tend to be."

"Yeah well...I bet none of them are as tough as me! I killed a ghost thingy that tried to stop me!" he said, puffing his scrawny chest out, filled with childish pride at the act and, to be fair, it was sort of a personal accomplishment considering how young he thought he was and acted and how terrified of the thing he'd been.

"A... poe? Ooh, that may not be too much in your favor... those things can hold nasty grudges. Not that the usual ones are very strong-as monsters go, at least. Still," the merchant chuckled as he stood back up and raises his arms, stretching out his back and shoulders. "I suppose it is a feat for a child."

"Enough of one," the guard agreed as he finished his pie with a lick of his fingers. "Alright, kid. Ready to go?"

Recco would be finishing off his own pie as the guard did. "Uh huh. Off to the senseless?" he asked, this time in a teasing tone, knowing full well how to pronounce it at this point.

The man merely sighed and started the walk back towards the main road.

Recco excitedly followed behind, wanting to get there as soon as possible so he could go home and get on with his life.

With a wave from the merchant, the two continued on through the last few blocks to the central plaza of the town-and with every building, the vibrancy of the atmosphere grew. Large stone pillars decorated the edges of walkways and buildings that towered enormously high while carriages and people walked at their heels, so small against the decorated backdrop. The road opened up to an even more massive clear circle, the floor a mosiac of colored tiles in an intricate pattern some several hundred feet wide. In the center lay an intricately carved and detailed fountain with a short wall surrounding it, clear water rippling gently through it as it burbled forth from the fountain rising up from the center. A great bird with upturned wings, holding up and receiving the Triforce, the greatest gift of the three Golden Goddesses, the crest of the Royal Family and symbol of Hyrule's divine destiny and all their blessings.

Hundreds of people and vehicles thronged about the place, moving from one place to the next. Children splashed and played at the fountain's edge while pilgrim's stood in quiet reverence as they offered prayers while the royal castle watched from the north, the one direction clear of the networked buildings that pierced they sky. The entire scene was as richly decorated as the world's greatest empire might be imagined to be, with different sections of the city visible along the major roads that all coallesced here; the common residential districts to the south, moving into the merchant district north of it and the arts to the east and west; the guards and guilds to the northwest, and then the nobles' estates to either side of the royal castle halfway across the city due north, balanced aesthetically by the city's lone, tall and narrow clocktower due south that cut the south, southeast and southwest roads in three with its six-legged base and second only to the royal palace in height in the whole of the city, right at the edge of the circle. It was, true to its reputation, undisputedly the center of the world.

The guard sighed with a look upwards and around, then back down to Recco, this time obviously expecting a reaction, even with nary a hint of judgement for this time. "Welcome to the capital of the world, kid."

Recco would not be behind the guard, instead running straight towards the fountain, the only thoughts going through his head being, "I'm gonna explore every single inch of this city! I mean I heard this place was big, but this is freaking ridiculous! I bet if I climbed that clock tower I could see for MILES!,"

He made his way quickly past the people, wanting to see, well, everything, and forgetting about his guard escort in his excitement.

"Well-hey! Wait, get back here!" he exclaimed, hefting his polearm over his shoulder and taking off in a dash after Recco. "Kid! You can explore after I get you to the records hall! This is on my time right now!"

Recco seemed to pay him no mind and kept going, leaping onto the fountain edge as soon as he reached it and, with learned and somewhat supernatural agility, he leaped and jumped around the fountain, unable to contain his energy and seeming to zone out everything else, even reaching into his bag and pulling out his flute.

A minute later, the guard stumbled up, panting heavily before near collapsing onto the fountainside, hands at the edge as he gasped for breath. "Kid," he wheezed, "I'm in armor. I can't... run like that. And I still have... a job to do." He exhaled and turned around, sitting down on the pure white marble of the fountain.

Recco looked to his armored friend with a mischievous laugh. "Alright, alright! Just relax for a sec and catch your breath. I promise I won't run off again, deal?" he ask before testing a couple of notes on his flute.

"Deal..." he said with another great exhale, closing his eyes for a moment to catch himself.

Recco would let out an affirmative nod before taking a seat a few feet away and playing a simple song he taught himself in the Lost Woods, the notes being energetic and upbeat with a frantic tune of sorts, kicking his feet playfully as he does so with a happy expression, rocking back and forth sideways.

The guard chuckled. "You're pretty good with that."

Recco turns, pausing his little impromptu performance. "I had a ton of practice time in the woods. I made up a few songs myself too and my friends taught me even more! I could play all day and never get bored!" he says and proceeds to resume where he left off, continuing to play energetically, putting his heart into it.

"Right. Except I have other work to do and I've caught my breath now. Come on, we're almost there; the census is kept in the tax center at the northwestern edge of the plaza." The guard stood, took a deep breath, and exhaled loudly. "Ready?"

Recco would give him a nod, though continues to play his flute, utterly enjoying this little adventure as he leaps to his feet, not pausing his song at all, being used to being mobile while performing.

The guard released a sighing chuckle, although made no comment as he headed off to the northwest, towards the tall, blockish building at the edge. The two weaved through the passing and intersecting throngs of people, large sections of clear space between one, two or twenty people at a time where the highest of nobles and common citizens of the city passed each other by towards the stone-railed, more reserved entrance-aside from the owl statues to either side of the large entryway.

After several minutes, they reached the entrance, the guards nodding to the two while Recco's escort returned it. Upon stepping inside was wide room with multiple desks minded by well-dressed clerks, shuffling papers and records and conversing with others walking about the room amid a sea of spectacles, desks, books and scrolls. After a moment glancing about, Recco's escort takes a right to a desk towards the back.

Recco would look around, but finds the sight of it all to be overall boring compared the huge city. "Are you sure it's not called a senseless? As in senselessly boring?" he asked.

The guard sighed as he stopped in front of the clerk's desk. "Excuse me. This child here is looking for his parents-back from when he was human, at least. We are wondering if you might have tax records of them?"

The slightly young, nearing on middle-aged man with short-cropped hair glanced back from his searching through the shelves of books behind him. "If they payed their legal dues, then likely. What are their names and where are they from?"

"Oh that's easy their names are Reeve and Alote and we're from Padstow." he answered confidently.

"Padstow... what province is that in?"

"A provi-what? Can you say that in Hyrulean maybe?" he asked, scratching the back of his head in confusion.

The man smiled lightly down to Recco, nodding. "Which section of the country are they from? Ordonia, Kakaria, Eldin?"

"Ordonia. It was really close to Lost Woods! Obviously..." he says, seeming a bit embarassed, the fact that he was a Skull Kid kind of painted him as an idiot in his own mind.

"Alright. Now let me look through these records..." the man said as he pulled out a large, leather-bound tome and set it down on the desk. He scanned slowly over the table of contents, tracing his finger underneath lines of text. "Padstow..." he mumbled. "... hm. It's not in here. Are you certain that that was the name of it? Or that there might be some other name it is known by?"

"I am absolutely positive! It was only known as Padstow or home by the people who lived there. I mean, I know I was gone a few months, but I'm not that forgetful," he said, seeming a tad bit offended by the suggestion that he'd forget, but biting back his anger, knowing the man was trying to help him. Didn't make him any less mad, but he didn't have to show it. Yet...

"That is not what I was implying," he responded with a good-natured chuckle. "Well, there's no record of anywhere named Padstow in here. Here, let me check this book," he said before turning to retreive another text from one of the shelves leading into a hallway behind him. "... hm..."

A moment later, he set the text down; Towns and Villages of Hyrulia Proper. "This contains a list of virtually every known settlement in Hyrule's history since we began documenting such things-and all of those we could track and record from before then as well. Now let me check the contents..." the man licked his fingertip, then took to leafing through the beginning pages, muttering names as he counted his way through the alphebetized categories until he game to the proper section of the Ordon Province. "Padstow..." he muttered as he placed a finger to the page number, then began to leaf through the book to its section.

After several moments, the man's smile faltered-then took on a twinge of... pity. With a slight, sad smile, he looked to Recco. "Child... what year is it? What year were you born in?"

"That's another easy question. It's 5797. I was born 5785. Why...?" he asked, a look of confusion on his face. "I mean you're supposed to keep track of all this stuff right? Why're you asking me what year it is?"

The man sighed softly and slowly, a look of piteous compassion in his face. "Child... it is 5999. Padstow collapsed and has been uinhabited for over a hundred years. If your parents were Hyrulian, well... we don't live that long."

The Skull Kid seemed to wait for the man to say more before casually placing his hands behind his head, an annoyed look on his face. "That's not how you tell a joke, mister. They're supposed to be funny. Your's just sounds crazy." he said, tapping his foot. "Now seriously I don't have anything against you, but I'd like the real answer now."

The man's face remained unchanged. "It's not a joke, child. Today is in the spring of 5999, HDS." The man lifted the book aloft, holding his finger underneath a line.

Padstow was finally abandoned in 5834 after a bad run of monster raids and harsh weather damaged the crops and left most of the village dead. Most of the residents turned into refugees, fleeing to the village of Ordon or Hyrule Castle City.

Instead of reading, Recco slams a fist on the desk angrily, a visible dark wisp coming off his hand as he does so. "Listen it's not funny anymore. It can't be 5999 cause I'd be dead if it was! So tell me the truth right now before you really tick me off..." he says, a scowl on his face.

The man sighed and set down the volume, closing it. "Child... Skull Children no longer suffer the years. They do not age nor die from the passing of ages. Skull Children have been known to live for centuries on end. I'm sorry, but... this is simply the truth. You've been in the forest far longer than you realized."

"No...that's not true! I-I would've known if it was that long! How do you explain that, huh!? Something would have happened in the forest! I mean I could understand losing a few months, but centuries!? C'mon who do you think you're fooling here?!" he asked, though he seemed more in denial than anything else, not wanting to believe that he'd let centuries slip by him. He felt completely unchanged from when he first became a Skull Kid. He should've felt something...right?

The man sighed and closed his eyes; even the guard, now, bit his lower lip with a furrowed brow and worry in his eyes. "Those are questions I cannot answer. We know precious little of the ways and nature of the Lost Woods and their denizens. All I can tell you is that your family has long since been laid to rest."

"No...that's...no..." was all Recco could muster from himself, the mere thought of it all causing him to sway from all the emotions and thought swirling in his head. He managed a staggered step backwards before falling to his knees and holding his head.

The clerk sighed-yet it was the guard who stepped forward, knelt and put a reassuing hand to Recco's shoulder. No words passed from him-just empathic eyes and a grim line from his lips, the face of one familiar with the harsh, unyielding painful reality of loss.

((Once again a collaboration from Nevis. This one was a HECK of a lot longer though it seems. Thanks for the help, Nev!))

It was just shy of noon whence the Kokiri girl departed from the old man's doorstep, sending a bitter smile backwards to the close entryway. Radomir was already gone out for the day with his children in tow to allow her time to rest and then leave unnoticed. The less they knew, the better.

With an exhale, the girl stepped off from the short path and onto the street back towards the more lively section of town; she had much work yet to attend to before the impending event. She took off, weaving through the alleys and paths as her walking staff clicked and clacked against the cobbled ground.



Guards rushed about through the large plaza and nearby squares at the city's center. shouts conveying messages and barking orders at each other. The troops of men clad in gambesons, breastplates, the occasional hauberk and tabards with the stylized characterstic sallet of the City Guard flashed and chinked as an uncharacteristically high number moved about. Even the snide and arrogant Guard Captain Mathias himself was about, involving himself in questions, investigations and arrests personally. Rumors of local gangs erupting into open warfare spread via whispers in the streets. Violence and unrest was in the air, setting a sense of foreboding mixed with excitement to the lively, bright day of late spring.

What I would give to be part of it all, one young man sourly mused from a balcony high above, mouth buried in his arms crossed atop the rail.

"Now, then, regarding your-Link, are you even listening?" the grey-bearded man called back upon noticing the youth's attentions were no longer in the room.

"Yes, I am," he sighed as he turned around, still leaning heavily on the barrier with his arms outstretched to either side. "Regarding my what? My last piece?"

"Yes," the man said with a mild glare over his spectacles. "Quite unlike your current manners, it was well done and got a fair amount of attention, buried five pages in as it was."

Link sighed and nodded with a glance off to the side again. "Sorry. Just... I'm really getting tired of this. Of always only being able to watch and never really do anything. It's like being in a cage when everything in you is screaming at you to run."

The man blinked-then exhaled long, slow and heavy as he lifted his hands up to remove his glasses, lay them on the table and wipe them down his face.

"I know. I know it's eating at you. The mandate is absolute, though. The public cannot know that you exist. It will either drastically damage the temple mandate that there are to be no more Heroes of the Cycle until the end... or that the end is upon us. Either way, the damage that will do to the state will be immeasurable. This is the most free position any of us could think of. And at least you have an excuse to go and watch it all as a reporter."

"I know that! And I am grateful, Nicolas. Just..." his fingers drew themselves tight, clenching down on the rail. "... it's not enough anymore. I feel like I'm going crazy."

Nicolas sighed yet again and leaned back into the seat of his chair, chuckling somberly. "Only twenty-one and you're already shaping up to be one of the best reporters in one of the greatest empire the world has ever known's major news establishments and you're like a starving pup. Your ambition is as ravenous as your talent, you know that? Hell, none of the legends ever mentioned the Hero being a prodigy at writing as well." He looked back up to meet Link's lost, ferocious blue gaze. He kept it for a long pause, then sighed. "Alright. I've something different you can try out, then."

Link lifted a single brow; eager hope shined in his eyes through his poor make of stoicism.

"There is a major event going on tonight in the central plaza at midnight. I've a few reporters already attending. I want you to there, taking pictographs and notes on the spot. I am not going to tell you what this is about; this is to test how well you can react to live situations under stress. Alright?"

Words were hardly necessary to express his answer given the surge of breath through his chest and shoulders, nevermind his beaming smile. "Aye! I'm on it!"

"Good," he smiled tiredly before dipping a hand down to pull out a small box and a key from his person. With a click, it opened to reveal a hoard of small, brightly-colored gems of an elongated hexagonal shape-rupees. He withdrew a handful of reds and placed them on the far edge of his desk. "Your payment for your last article and a show of appreciation for your cooperation. Go find some other things to investigate in town today until the event at midnight. Enjoy yourself-just don't stand out too much, alright, kid?"

Much as an overexcited child, Link grinned and grabbed up the crystals with bellowing laughter before racing towards the door, calling out friendly exclamations to people as he made his way down the building and out into the central plaza below.

The older man exhaled, knowing full and well what awaited the bighearted boy still edging on adulthood later that night. It was a horrid thing-however, it was also high time he saw. He had to see it for himself and come to terms with how the world was. There was an order to it and he was part of it.

”So, this is the marketplace, as I’m sure you’ve guessed by now,” Jair said, gesturing widely at the mass of people before them. ”It’s pretty much the center of the city, which makes it a nice landmark if you end up getting turned around in the alleys or something.” Soli nodded periodically to indicate to her guide that she was listening, trying hard to ignore the sense of awe that filled her at seeing so many people in one place.

”The front gate, are that way, but that’s about it. So we’re not going to waste our time heading there,” Jair continued, pointing to their right as they stood in the entrance of the alleyway they had been in. He gave Soli a few more moments to take in the sights and sounds of the bustling marketplace before he began leading the way towards their left, making sure to keep to the perimeter of the plaza. After walking a bit, the buildings that formed the perimeter parted to reveal a broad roadway that was somewhat less crowded than the plaza behind them.

Without hesitating, Jair began walking down the road. ”Up this way is the richer part of the city. It’s where the King’s palace and the houses of the rich people are located, he said as they walked, dodging the occasional passersby. ”Obviously, the people who live in this part of the city won’t tolerate people like us hanging around for very long, but we might be able to see the palace before we have to leave.”

”Like us?” Soli asked, redirecting her attention to her guide and frowning slightly in confusion.

”Yeah, y’know, street rats, urchins, or whatever else you want to call us. Kids on their own with no one to rely on but each other,” he replied with a shrug, not entirely surprised that Soli hadn’t known what he had meant. Though he didn’t know her story, and knew better than to ask, it was likely that she hadn’t been an urchin for very long. And even if she had been, the city had a tendency to treat the members of the lower class a bit differently than in the other towns in the empire.

”Oh, okay. I get it now,” Soli responded, keeping close to Jair as he started weaving through the crowd of people. After a few moments of dodging people who seemed either didn’t see her or couldn’t be bothered to look where they were going, Soli emerged from the crowd into a space that was pretty clear of people, stepping over to stand next to Jair. The road continued on through a gate that was being monitored by stern-faced guards that didn’t seem to be too happy with their presence. Following Jair’s finger as he pointed, Soli could make out the palace in the distance beyond the gate, the beautiful structure gleaming brightly in the sun.

After Soli had taken in the view for a few moments, Jair grabbed her arm gently and began leading her away, saying ”We should probably get out of here soon. Those guards aren’t going to let us stick around for much longer. And trust me, you do not want to deal with the guards. They aren’t afraid to be a little… rough.” Nodding, Soli allowed him to lead her down a side street that connected with the main roadway.

”There’s not really all that much more to show you that’s all that interesting. It’s mostly just shops and homes,” Jair explained as they walked out of the upper-class section of the city, the buildings becoming noticeably less ornate and fanciful. ”But, I figured that I’d introduce you to my friends and show you where we crash.”

Soli nodded to show that she understood, feeling that it couldn’t hurt to meet some other people. Heck, it could even help her remain in cover by giving helping her blend into the city. She wouldn’t just be a new face anymore, but a street urchin. While it wasn’t really an upgrade in terms of lifestyle, with the way that the people of the city looked down upon those of the lower class, of which she was now a part, it was unlikely that anyone would be investigating her closely enough to determine that something about her story didn’t quite add up.

The rest of the walk passed by relatively quickly, though Jair still made sure to point out the shops that he thought were cool as they passed them. Their destination, as it turned out, was a small building that looked virtually identical to the others in the area, apart from the fact that it was clearly abandoned and in need of repair. After pausing for a moment to let Soli take it in, Jair lead the way up the narrow, cracked set of stairs to the entrance of the building. Procuring a key from somewhere, he opened the door and slipped inside, gently pulling Soli along. Once they were both inside, he closed the door and locked it again.

It was clear almost immediately that the building had been a shop at one point, with counters and shelves that were used to display products taking up the majority of the space in the room that they had entered. The shelves and counters themselves were empty apart from a few odds and ends that more than likely belonged to Jair and his friends, leaving no hint as to what had been stocked in the store before it had been abandoned. All in all, however, the interior was in significantly better shape than the exterior, with only the fading and chipping of the paint on the wall to indicate that the fact that the building was in disrepair.

”Hey, Jair,” a blonde-haired girl said as she stepped into the room from one of the doors towards the back, another boy following shortly. Both of them stopped in their tracks when they noticed Soli’s presence, directing a questioning glance towards her guide. ”Who’s this? You know that the gangs won’t like it if it looks like we’re ‘recruiting.’” the girl continued, folding her arms across her chest. The boy that had had followed her into the room nodded along with what the girl was saying, though he didn’t speak up himself.

”I know, Yulia, I know,” Jair replied defensively, raising his hands as he stepped forward. ”But you couldn’t expect me to leave her all alone out there. Especially not when she appeared out of thin air right in front of me after she nearly knocked me over.” The girl known as Yulia rolled her eyes, clearly not believing that Jair was telling the truth about their encounter.

”Is he telling the truth, kid?” the boy said suddenly, cutting of Yulia. After a moment’s hesitation, Soli nodded. ”Can you show us then?”

”I’ll try,” she replied with a shrug. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and focused, attempting to grasp the threads of natural energy that surrounded them all. Still somewhat attuned to the hum of the energy around her from earlier that day, it didn’t take quite as long for Soli to grab ahold of enough strands to weave into the invisibility spell and make herself vanish from view.

”How the…! Yulia exclaimed with a gasp as Soli shimmered and disappeared. A short poke in the leg startled her and caused her to jump a little while Soli reappeared a little to the left of where she had been standing, giggling a bit. ”You little-” Yulia started to say before she was cut off by the other boy.

”Well, I’m convinced,” he said, nodding once. ”I say she can stay. What about you, Yulia?”

After a few moments, Yulia nodded. ”I guess I’ll show you around since you’ll be sleeping with me,” she said, motioning Soli to follow as she went through the doorway by which she had entered the room in the first place. Obediently, Soli followed after.

Quill pushed his way through the crowd, keeping a hand on his bag at all time, in case any scrappy thief decided to try to pick his bag while he wasn't aware. It was tough going, the majority of the townsfolk were Hyrulian, and as a result, towered over him. Even most of the non-Hyrulians seemed to be taller than him. The bustle of the crowd filled his eardrums with noise, and people shot dirty looks at him when he pushed past them too brusquely.

The Rito eventually found his way to an auction house, a tall, wood-and-stone structure that seemed to scream opulence from its exterior alone. The front porch of the building was cleanly paved, and sealed off from the rest of the market with a stone fence with metal bars sticking upwards. The one break in the fence was guarded by a pair of stern faced men in chainmail and helmets, bearing the colors of Hyrule. The two men had small shields on their arms, one of which was resting on the hilt of a sword at his hip. Both men held spears, and scanned the crowd with squinty eyes.

One of them managed to spot the short Rito standing in front of him. The guard puffed up his chest and stared the bird-man down the bridge of his nose.

"What is it, bird?"

Quill scrunched his face, but didn't reply. He was long used to Hyrulian racism and had figured it out a long time ago that trying to lash back out at the guards more often than not resulted in bodily injury and a short stint in the prison holding cells. He took a deep breath and let it go, instead, squaring his shoulders back and tapping at the satchel at his side.

"Red Pinions, delivery service, I have a high priority package for a Mr. Kamen?" Quill announced.

Sir Alexander Kamen, also known throughout some circles as the Happy Mask Salesman, was a powerful aristocrat, if not completely "clean" in his business dealings. No one ever had any more proof than rumors, but rumors offered dozens of explanations for how Sir Kamen was able to rise from his simple mask shop, to an economic juggernaut. From acquirer of masks to acquirer of antiques- masks included, the Happy Mask Salesman was now known as the owner of the foremost- and only- auction house in Castle City. Masterpieces of all manner, weapons, art, and the obscure alike were brought through this auction house and sold at huge profit.

"Fine, go ahead in. Mr. Kamen is upstairs in his office. Be quick about it." The guard said roughly as he moved his spear aside to allow the Rito to quickly enter the premises.

Entering the house, it was every bit as opulent as Quill had expected and more. The interiors were fine hardwood from deep within the Lost Woods and inlaid with gold etching. Various display cabinets, pedestals, and stands displayed masks, trinkets, and oddities of what could only be described as tremendous value, with small descriptions written on parchment.

One of the masks sitting on a glass enclosed pedestal claimed to be the one and only Fierce Diety's Mask used by the Hero of Time in times of great peril. Quill suppressed a scoff as he regarded the mask. Some man in the bazaar had offered to sell him the 'one and only Fierce Diety's Mask' several weeks prior. Counterfeits of legendary artifacts were everywhere, and Quill highly doubted that this mask was the real one.

Regardless, Quill continued upstairs, his feet gingerly stepping on the wood and gold steps, as though he were afraid that he would accidentally damage some of the fine wood in this house and be subsequently forced to pay a fine that he could not afford. Finally arriving upstairs, Quill knocked on the door that appeared to be the office of Mr. Kamen.

"Mr. Kamen? Red Pinions, delivery for you!"

"Yes, yes, one minute!" a high-pitched voice called back, muffled through the door. Noises of objects being shuffled echoed underneath the seam; then silence until the door pulled inward, opening up to a thin, tall man in dark garb, ginger hair and... closed eyes, moving as though he could see even through closed lids.

"Welcome, welcome!" he chuckled with a curt, though dramatically low bow, one arm behind his back and the other sweeping in gesture and giving a brief glimpse of a room of rich orange alder wood, ebony furniture and an assortment of desks, books and varieties of bright magical baubles, novelties, relics and artifacts. "What is it that you are delivering? Just to be certain that the order is correct and such." Mouth spread in a cheshire grin, the man began flipping through the pages of a thin ledger, eyes still closed... were not his hands empty a moment ago?

Quill was somewhat taken aback by the thin, spindly man that was the Happy Mask Salesman. He was neither as dominating or intimidating as Quill had expected, but something about his demeanor, and how his eyes always appeared closed was... unnerving. Quill stood there for several moments just processing what was happening before he realized that he was standing there and staring. With a slight splutter, Quill quickly patted his hands at his sides, searching for his bag, and pulled out a package. It was weighty, but small, and covered in brown canvas and securely tied up.

"I'm sorry Mr. Kamen, but I wouldn't know, I was specifically told not to open or inspect the contents of this package, I just have the sender and receiver information." Quill explained as he offered up the package.

"Ah... very well," he replied, taking the package and lifting it up near to his face as though to peer into it. He shook it softly and tilted his head, putting his ear close. A moment's pause and he smiled softly, an inward chuckle shaking his chest.

"Yes, indeed, very well," he muttered-whether to himself of to Quill, though, was uncertain.

With an alarming change of pace and speed, Mr. Kamen bolted upright, 'staring' the courier directly in the eyes. "Alright! Indeed, I have been awaiting this delivery eagerly. Do you want any sort of refreshment-water, tea, an ale-before you depart? Ah, and how much do I owe you for the delivery?"he said, turning his head askew to withdraw a decorated leather wallet.

"Ah- uhm." Quill managed to stutter, thoroughly surprised by the sudden change in speed. He was forced a step back as Mr. Kamen suddenly began staring at him, though one could argue that stare was not the correct term of phrase.

"Uh, service charge for high priority packages falls under a flat rate of 40 Rupees," Quill said, recalling the prices for delivery he had ingrained in his memory. Still, for some reason he felt uneasy demanding money from such a powerful man, even though it was his job.

The man nodded thrice rapidly, beaming as he offered over a couple of small red crystals-two in total, each of them the value of twenty a piece. "Here you are. And your refreshment? Ye or nay? I shan't take offense at refusal; 'tis only goodhearted gratitude."

Pocketing the crystals, Quill hesitated when the Happy Mask Salesman offered him refreshments. Sure, the man said he wouldn't be offended at refusal, but at the same time, something about the Happy Mask Salesman- maybe his wealth, or reputation, told the back of Quill's mind that refusing Mr. Kamen wasn't in his best interests.

"Sure, I could go for some water," Quill replied uneasily, as the man welcomed him into his office.

With a nod, Mr. Kamen spun on his heel and stepped briskly over to a desk against a wall where a small metal pot sat atop a rim of metal, a faintly glowing gem visible beneath the coils. With a mumbled keyword and a flick of a finger, the energies in the crystal sprang to life and setting the metal coil glowing with heat as it brought the water to a boil. "A delightful novelty, this contraption. The man who invented it really should have made a fortune by it. Alas, it was too easily reproducible by others and, while he was well off for it, hardly reaped what it really deserved," he mused as he lifted the pot and angled it, letting hot water pour out into a cup." Then he offered held it out, waving in gesture for Quill to enter the room. "'tis Death Mountain hot spring water. 'tis much better hot."

"Ah, thank you." Quill replied as he accepted the hot cup, taking a seat in front of the Happy Mask Salesman's desk. Taking a sip, Quill really didn't notice the difference between this and normal water. Perhaps it was a rich person thing. Nevertheless, Quill sipped at the cup, not really sure what to say to the mysterious man.

Musing some hummed tune, said mystery went behind his desk and set the package down on a shelf next to other odd objects-lockets, bones, letters and so on. Whatever it was really was anyone's guess. "You're quite welcome. So, have you any other business in town, or are just to return to Dragon Roost after this?"

"I haven't been back to Dragon Roost in years," Quill replied with a small chuckle, "But I'm here ahead of the rest of my caravan, so I have at least the next few days in town." Quill said as he peered about the room, examining the oddities and trinkets scattered throughout the shelves in the office.

"Oh? Why is that?"

"No particular reason," Quill replied with a shrug, "Just trying to make my own way in the world."

"Ah. Always at work, then?" he said musingly, taking a seat in the dark wooden chair behind the desk and folding his arms across it.

"Something like that," Quill replied, "keeps me fed, and my family back home too. Also keeps me up on my feet."

"And wing, I imagine," he chuckled with a tilt of his head, peering... for an unnerving, silent length before speaking again. "Well, if you're free and like to stay on your feet... I have a delivery to be made to someone in town, if you're interested."

It'd be wrong to say that Quill wasn't somewhat suspicious. The Happy Mask Salesman was rumored to be involved in some shady business. Of course, that might just be rumors. Of course, Quill was not one to condemn people for stepping into the shadier side of the law. While not doing it on a regular basis, Quill had occasionally stepped into the other side of the law.

"What exactly did you have in mind, Mr. Kamen?"

"Moving this," the merchant said as he stood up and stepped over to a shelf and picked up a sealed letter, offering it over. "There's a bit of a ruckus going on today in the... less savory parts of town. I want this delivered to the leader of a certain rogue element within the city-however, I am uncertain as to where they are at the moment. Are you up for a bit of a search?" Kamen slid the parcel across the desk to lay in front of Quill, a silvery hexagonal crystal atop it.

Quill's eyes widened, while not an unheard of sum of money, a silver rupee was a large amount for little more than a transport fee. Furthermore, the job, while not exactly the cleanest of jobs, wasn't nearly as unsavory as Quill had expected. It was just a plain delivery job. Granted, it was a delivery to a seedy criminal-type, but nothing too out of the ordinary.

Reaching out and grabbing both the crystal and the letter, Quill nodded. "Alright then, where am I taking this?"

Kamen chuckled and folded his hands behind his back. "As I said, 'twill be a search. Follow the commotion; you are looking for a nest of goblin ilk. They are all coalesced into one faction at the moment, to my understanding, so no worry of happening across the wrong one and taking none too kindly."

Recco kneeled there for awhile before suddenly standing, turning to walk towards the door, though he let the guard's hand slide off instead of shrugging it off, still viewing the man as a friend as moved to exit.

"H-hey, kid! Wait!" the guard called after, concern washing over his previously sarcastic demeanor. He hoistered his halberd and followed after, calling after him. "Kid, wait!"

Recco looked over his shoulder at the guard and seemed to pause for a second, seriously considering waiting, before shaking his head and breaking into a run, leaving that room and heading for the exit, maneuvering past anyone who may have been between him and the door, weaving and sliding past them.

The guard called out after and took off in pursuit. To no avail, though; armor and lines of people make for slow moving for large, metal-clad grown men. Soon the sound of the genuine worry in his voice was lost as Recco put too much distance between them, his voice lost in the din of the city.

Recco quickly looked around for something to climb, hoping to set himself away from the general public, his mind completely focused on just getting away from it all the best he could.

~~~

Peering around the edge of the crate behind which she and Yulia were hidden, Soli vainly attempted to slow down her beating heart, sure that the merchant standing not twenty feet away would surely hear it and call for the city guard to come arrest them.

"Do you remember the plan?" Yulia whispered suddenly, rolling her eyes when Soli flinched. The smaller girl nodded twice in response. In all honesty, it was a rather simple plan that had a low chance of failure if Soli could maintain her invisibility spell. It was just that Soli hadn't really expected to have to steal her food, or anything else for that mater, if she wanted to eat.

"Good. Go ahead and... do whatever it is you do to disappear so that we can get this over with," Yulia continued, her blue eyes scanning the crowd so that she could confirm that Jair and the other boy, whom Soli had learned was named Perrin, were in position.

In the meantime, Soli focused and attempted to draw on the power that surrounded her. Unfortunately, the threads of energy were proving more difficult to manage than they had been earlier, and it took her more than a few minutes to grab hold of enough threads to turn her invisible. Wiping the sweat from her brow, Soli stood and tapped Yulia on the shoulder to let her know that she was ready to go.

As soon as she felt the pressure of the unseen hand on her shoulder, Yulia let out a shrill whistle that was remarkably similar to the cry of a bird common in the area. Upon hearing the signal, Jair and Perrin started slinking towards the merchant's stall as if attempting to approach unseen. As they did so, Soli stepped out from her hiding spot and made her way behind the stall where the merchant was standing, his attention directed at the two boys as they approached.

Yulia had explained on the way to the marketplace that what Jair and Perrin were doing now was a fairly common tactic among street urchins. Essentially, one of the pair would approach in a fairly obvious manner while the other approached more subtly. If all went according to plan, the merchant would be distracted by the obvious approach and fail to notice when the subtle urchin swiped some of his wares from the stall.

This merchant, however, seemed to have been burned a few too many times in the past, as he kept his eye on both of the boys while trying to appear as though he was oblivious to their approach. When Perrin was a few feet away from the stall, he made as if to grab something from behind another person. At the same time, the merchant sprang into action, pulling a long whip from his belt and making as if to chase Perrin. Once Perrin began running away, he stopped and turned towards Jair, the whip lashing through the air. Having seen merchant turn, Jair jumped back out of the whip's reach, but didn't make as if he was going to run away, which forced the merchant to step further away from the stall if he wanted to scare Jair off.

While Jair was leading the merchant on, helped out by Perrin occasionally approaching again, Soli began grabbing whatever she could from back edge of the merchant's stall. Once she had a decent amount of food bundled in her arms, mostly bread, cheese, and fruit, she began running back towards the crates where Yulia was still hiding. Upon reaching her destination and slipping into cover, she kicked Yulia lightly to let her know that she was there. After mumbling a bit about being kicked, Yulia whistled again and stood, slipping back towards the edge of the marketplace and motioning for Soli to follow.

A few moments later, the two girls arrived at the rendevous point, a tiny alleyway sat a little ways away from the marketplace. With a breath of relief, Soli dropped her invisibility spell as Yulia grabbed a few sacks that they would use to carry the food back to the "house" without drawing too much attention to themselves.

"I gotta say kid, you did a pretty good job out there," Yulia said as she finished dividing their haul up among the bags. Soli beamed a little at the compliment, still breathing a little heavily from the strain of maintaining the spell for the third time that day in addition to carrying a fair amount of food. Around ten or so minutes later, Jair and Perrin showed up, the former holding his arm and wincing every so often. After another round of congratulations on a job well done, they divied up the sacks, leaving the lightest for Soli, and began making their way home.

"Yeah, the old man got me towards the end there," Jair explained sheepishly when Yulia asked why he had been holding his arm, interrupting his boasting regarding his part in the plan. Seeing Yulia's smirk, he continued hurriedly. "It didn't really count though. I was distracted because I thought I saw Soli walking towards where you were hiding."

"S-sorry," Soli mumbled as Jair finished speaking, a faint quiver in her voice. Shifting her bag, she rubbed at her eyes vigorously in order to keep the tears she felt building up from falling. Consciously, she knew that it wasn't really that big of a deal, and that Jair's injury was probably little more than a scratch. But, that didn't make it any easier to control the surge of guilt she felt at being responsible for his injury.

"Hey, it's alright," Jair said with a smile. [color=lightsalmon][b]"You warned us that you couldn't promise your trick would work. 'Sides, I should have been paying more attention to the angry fat guy that was attacking me with a whip."{/b][/color] Despite herself, Soli couldn't help but giggle a bit at the mental image Jair's words conjured up, the guilt that had weighed so heavily on her just a moment ago gone as if it had never been.

"But let me tell you about what this lug did. It was the most impressive thing I think I've ever seen! He..." Jair continued as they entered the district to which their home belonged.

Unbeknownst to them, Recco observed the group from behind a stack of musty old crates, taking care not to be seen while taking note of the sacks they were carrying, a mischievous grin slowly appearing on his face as he noted that Soli's might be the lightest one. With practiced ease, he scaled the stack of crates until he reached the top before looking back down at the group, reaching out his hands and muttering a quick incantation, attempting to take Soli's sack with a spell.

Jair was finishing up his story concerning Perrin's amazing feats back in the marketplace, when the sack in Soli's arms began leaning to the side and behind her, almost as if something was pulling on it. "G-guys!" Soli stammered as she tightened her grip in an attempt to keep a hold of the sack.

As the others turned to inquire as to what was the matter, the force on the bag intensified, spinning Soli around where she stood so that she was more or less facing the direction from which they had come. Unfortunately, Soli was rather lacking the strength department, even for a Kokiri, and a moment later the sack slipped from her grasp, causing her to fall forward as it did so.

Immediately, the group sprang into action, somehow deciding without words that Perrin would stay behind to guard the remaining sacks as Yulia and Jair chased down the sack that was currently zipping through the air towards a stack of crates, unaware of the strange childlike silhouette standing on top of them.

Recco grinned at his success, but that grin quickly faded when he realized just how fast the sack was being pulled to him and barely was able to brace himself in time as it slammed into his chest, Recco barely able to steady himself as he nearly toppled off the crates.

"Ow...for Din's sake I should have saw that coming..." he groaned to himself, but his smile quickly returned when he looked at his prize. It quickly turned into one of mischief as he saw the two kids running up to the crates and hefted it over his shoulder, leaving one hand free as he waved with a high pitched giggle.

As the bag zipped through the air ahead of them, it gradually gained altitude and naturally drew Yulia and Jair's attention to the silhouette standing on top of the crates ahead. Once the figure had a hold of the sack, it waved mockingly, giggling as it did so. Yulia, a bit more cautious than Jair, started to slow down when she realized that something wasn't quite right with the figure.

"Jair, wait a mi-" she started, cutting herself short as Jair threw himself into the stack of crates, coming out the other side and rolling to his feet before jogging back towards the carnage to look for the perpetrator. Yulia sighed but jogged to join him anyway, feeling fairly certain that the stranger would be dazed from the fall.

Recco, seeing the boy charge the crates, quickly leaped off the stack, though as he landed, he stumbled back on his rear thanks to not taking in the bag's weight. Noticing the boy walk up to the crates, he quickly dusted himself off and rubbed his head a bit before letting out a shrill whistle, more glad they hadn't seen him fall than anything else, but not through with his game.

"Hey genius!" he called mockingly, a wide smirk on his face as he tried to get their attention again.

Hearing the mocking call, Jair and Yulia looked over to to see the figure standing off to the side as though nothing had happened, indicating that Jair's plan had clearly failed. "Ugh! Where'd this kid even come from anyway?" Jair said, clearly frustrated with the series of events that were transpiring.

"I don't know, but maybe we could be a bit smarter about this?" Yulia responded coolly, stepping over the ruined remains of a crate to stand next to him. Jair sighed, but nodded. Clearly, the figure was more agile than he was, which would make brute force rather ineffective. "Good then. Follow my lead; I think I have a plan," Yulia continued, motioning with a tilt of her head for Jair to circle left as she started to circle right.

Meanwhile, Soli had pushed herself into a sitting position, albeit with a little help from Perrin. Almost as soon as she recovered from the daze that usually accompanied a collision with the cobbled stone that made up the majority of the walkway, she lashed out, grabbed a hold of several threads, and began weaving them, too angry to give what she was doing much conscious thought beyond getting the stolen bag back.

Once she was finished, she sent the woven threads into the earth, the energy directed at the plants that managed to somehow survive along the cracks of the cobblestone roadway under the stranger, feeding them and causing them to grow rather rapidly. While she fed them the energy, she reached out with her mind and ordered them to rise to the surface and ensnare the figure. Shortly, the cobblestone began to crack a little as the plants forced their way to the surface and began lashing at the individual holding the sack and restrain him.

Recco stood ready and moved to leap before falling over, seeing plants had wrapped around his feet out of nowhere and, for a moment, looked fairly awestruck by the trick before looking back to the two older kids, grasping just how much trouble he was in. "That's, uh...a pretty clever trick you guys have. But a step closer and you'll regret it." he said, hoping that alone might make them back down as he tried to think of a way to free himself, his mind wandering once again to wonder how they did that before he shook his head again, focusing solely on the group as he tugged his feet against the plants.

Yulia and Jair had both jumped backwards as the plants burst through the road way, jaws gaping as they tried to figure out was was happening. A quick glance over at Soli revealed that she was probably responsible, her tiny form slumping against Perrin in apparent exhaustion. Scoffing at the stranger's bluff, and satisfied that the plants were pretty harmless, Jair stepped forward, pausing as the plants shifted out of his way. "C'mon, kid," Jair said, holding out his hand expectantly. "Give it up. We caught you fair and sq-... well, we caught you anyway."

Recco seemed to be considering something and, in truth, he was half tempted to leave a burn mark on this boy's foot before conceding defeat, but decided against it, tossing him the sack. "That was fun while it lasted! But is the magic girl okay?" he asked, looking past him as he tossed the sack, tugging at the plants again to try and dislodge his feet.

Jair looked at the boy in bewilderment as he caught the sack before eventually just shaking his head and passing it off to Yulia, who was already heading back to the others, clearly convinced that Jair could handle things on his own. "I think so. ," he responded, looking over at Soli and Perrin as the latter picked up the small girl and slung her over his shoulder. "She just seems tired, which I guess makes sense seeing as how she summoned a bunch of plants to catch you. "

Seeing the boy struggling with the plants that still ensnared his feet and realizing that Soli wasn't going to be able to make them let go in her condition (i.e. sleeping), Jair knelt down, pulled out a small knife, and began to help. "What's your name anyway?" Jair asked to break the silence, the sheer number of leafy tendrils that coiled around the boy's legs rendering the task of freeing him slow going, even with the knife. "And how did you manage to steal the sack in the first place?"

"Let me answer that question with another one. Need a hand?" he asked before muttering an incantation, a small purplish black bolt firing from his hand, searing away the one opposite of the one the boy was cutting, not wanting to hurt him in the process, though he had to hide a cringe as he'd knicked himself in the process, not exactly being in the best position to aim nor being renowned for his accuracy for such a small, close target, but moved his leg, pretending to just show he was free, but in reality, trying to shake off the pain.

Seeing the sudden purple bolt shoot out of the boy's hand, Jair jumped back, holding the knife at the ready before he realized that the boy was just freeing himself. With a sigh, he slipped the knife back into its sheath. Clearly, the boy could free himself, and it'd probably be faster to boot. "So, you've got magic like Soli then?" Jair asked, apparently thinking about something. "Y'know, now that I think about it, what's a Skull Kid like you doin' in Castle City anyway? Can't say that I've seen too many of you're kind around here."

"Soli...is that the magic girl?" he asked before shaking his head and focusing on the second question. "Would you rather live in an almost neverending forest where your friends tell you that you can't leave or you die and there's monsters that want to kill you...or here?" he asked in return, thinking the answer was pretty obvious when the two places were compared. "I mean I don't want to sound rude, but this place is a heck of a lot nicer. In Lost Woods, we couldn't even play with the other kind of forest kids. I...forget what they called them? Whatever, anyways, the point is that my old home was not as nice as here." he said, getting over his rambling.

"Yeah, Soli's the 'magic girl,' I guess," Jair said with a nod, putting his hands up defensively when the boy began to get a little heated in his explanation as to what he was doing in the city. "Hey now, I didn't mean anything. I was just curious. I've never really been outside of the city myself, so I wouldn't really know. But yeah, it does sound a lot nicer here given that description," he responded, opting to ignore the boy's mentioning of the Kokiri so that he wouldn't have to explain that they were reportedly wiped out by the army.

"I suppose Yulia's going to kill me for this," Jair mumbled to himself before clearing his throat and speaking to the boy again. "If you're looking for a home, I guess you could come stay with us. Yulia might take some convincing, but I'm sure Perrin wouldn't mind. After all, it'd be better than you living on the street and getting sucked into one of the gangs or something."

"I definitely could use a place to stay! I'm liking my decision not to blast you in the foot more and more! You guys are actually kind of cool!" he said in a cheerful tone. "What's in the sack anyways? It wasn't exactly that heavy? And it was kind of soft." he asked quizzically, though gesturing as if they should walk and talk and head back to Jair's friends before casusally placing his hands behind his head, a childish grin plastered on his face.

"Great! And thanks, I guess. I'm Jair by the way." Jair replied, smiling as they started walking towards the others. Now to just convince Yulia that it was okay for the boy to tag along. "It's food. Soli's bag mostly just held some loaves of bread."

As they neared the others, Yulia began shaking her head. "Why do you keep inviting people to live with us?" she said once they were within a reasonable range.

"C'mon, Yulia," Jair replied, shrugging. "You know the gangs won't care if it looks like we're 'recruiting' with their stupid war going on. They'll be way too busy fighting each other. And besides, it wouldn't really be good for anyone if the gangs got a hold of him. He can use magic like Soli."

Yulia started to shake her head again and opened her mouth to speak, but Jair stepped closer and continued in a whisper before she could. "Besides, you know that we wouldn't be living there if it wasn't for Zur inviting us when we were living out on our own." Yulia seemed to consider that for a few moments before finally nodding, displaying more exasperation than she really felt.

"He can carry Soli's bag then," Yulia said as she shouldered her bag and began walking the rest of the way to the house, Perrin following fairly closely with a sleeping Soli slung over his shoulder and his bag hanging from his other hand at his side. "And no funny business!" With a reassuring smile directed at the boy, Jair slung his own bag over his shoulder and made to follow, though he made sure to wait for the boy to catch up.

Recco grinned, shouldering Soli's bag and quickly running to catch up, more than happy to have made more friends such as these four and, while he wasn't quite sure what they meant by the gangs and their war, he just took it in stride, forseeing a lot of adventures in the future.

Satisfied, the faint hints of a smile spread the edges of the young man's lips. With an exhale, he stood, rolling his joints softly to liven them again after the sitting-then stepped down, the tips of his boots making a soft tap as he landed on the ground just three paces ahead of Yulia. With the soft, warm smile and twinkling eyes of a wizened old man, the white and black-clad young man raised an open hand to signal for them to stop. "A moment, if it please you, children." While, by his tone and demeanor, it was wholly a request, a strange compulsion settled into the children, an urge to acquiesce.

The young man-in his early to mid-twenties by the look of him-slowly moved his gaze over each of them. It was... strange, as though he was looking past them-or moreso into them, his silvery eyes looking upon them as though intimately familiar and seeing them, their very souls naked and bare. It was unnerving, or at least unsettling, though offset for the sheer lack of any malice in his expression, any contempt-just acknowledgement. Slowly, his gaze drifted back to Soli, face partly obscured under long bangs for a man-pure white and feather, parted at the center in a shape and demeanor reminiscent of swan wings.

"I have business with your sleeping friend," he said, voice simple. "And you, child of the Lost," he said, upturning his hand in gesture to Recco. "Just a words and a proposition... and a gift for what is to come." By appearances, the man looked harmless-even angelic, almost, with that white hair, eyes, plain white tunic and black pants. Simple, yet... the vague sense of something... else in those eyes, in how he carried himself, belied... what, exactly?

((A collaboration between me, TaliPaendrag, and Nevis. I think it went pretty well, honestly!)

Time was not a friend to Ze and he knew it.

Every minute that passed, the powers that be would become more and more alert to his presence and once properly awakened, they would no doubt respond in the only way that the Empire seemed to know how; with overwhelming, indiscriminate force. His plan had to be finished before that happened or all would be lost.

Thankfully things had been progressing relatively to plan. The goblin gangs had been brought under his thrall with a relatively small amount of bloodshed; The strongest and smartest rose to power as was proper, but few of them had ever inspired any real loyalty in their subordinates... At least not enough to make them throw their lives away going up against someone like Ze.

Those leaders that refused his challenge for leadership of their gang via one on one combat (either because they were intelligent enough to know they had no chance or were simply to cowardly) were quickly dragged out of their holes and dealt with, often by their former supporters. A leader that refused to deal with a challenge of their leadership when they were challenged by another goblin was to weak to be worth following after all.

The silence that followed Ze's ascension as leader of all but one of the goblin gangs when it came to challengers to his new position further cemented his dominance in the eyes of his new subordinates. The appearance of Mr Nailbrain by his side once more was more then enough to tell Ze that he had been successful.

Part one of the plan was finished. Now they had to start part two; Capture the smuggler routes.

There were several gangs along the wall to the outside world that had taken advantage of their positioning to create methods to get in and out of the City without having to pass such horrible things as customs; Those tunnels were vital to his plans and in order to be able to use them fully he would need the smugglers themselves to be mostly alive and co-operative to his new regime.

With Mr Nailbrain by his side, Ze marched towards the first of these smuggler gangs, four additional moblins by his side and a mixed swarm of bokoblins and bulbins following in his wake. This was a blatant show of force on his part; His first and preferred method of getting what he wanted here was going to have to be diplomatic; torturing and confirming the information that he desired out of them would take time that he didn't wish to waste. Any tactic that made them more ready to just surrender to him without a fight was going to have to be employed.

Meanwhile, true to form, the city guards scrambled around almost equally as much like rats-save in ordered rank and file, rather than braying assemblies. Several team units were occupied searching empty buildings and interrogating stragglers and 'helping' the wounded while prying for answers. The air of the local streets pulsed with tensed breaths carried on warm winds awash with the slums' stink of rot, sweat, blood and litany of other unclean things.

The tension only brewed, though, as no serious armed conflicts had yet broken out between the gangs and the guard. Where were the violent crackdowns, the arrests? Which were the streets filled with emblazoned tabards and stock halberds clashing with rugged iron and ruddy crests, blood oil-painting the cobble-brick and curses and shouts and screams lacerating the spice-laced air? Only the last in line of moving bandit and thief hordes saw the brief glimpse of a troop passing through the next lane over, missing them by a single street, although too close to pass by a certain route and forcing them down another to their destination...

Ze grunted to himself in annoyance as word was passed up the line how close the guard were to their position. He felt that he had three options; Continue on and engage the patrol, ambush the patrol and deal with it or go a different route to the same location. The choice sadly made itself; While killing the Hyrulian bastards would have been deeply satisfying, doing so now would simply draw attention to himself before he was ready to take it. Granted killing them wouldn't be too difficult, the best of the best don't end up patroling a slum in the middle of an Empire with wars on several fronts after all.

With a grunt and a commanding hand sign, Ze took his mob down an alternative route.

Ze continued, harried by near-missed frequently for a time... although, oddly, they began to taper off in frequency as they went on. The shouts were quieter, the troops smaller. After a time they were naught save indiscernible noise in the distance, much as they might have been in any other part of the city. Perhaps because this territory had not been lit up with violence yet, just rumors?

In order to raise up in the underworld, one had to process a number of skills and traits not only to raise up to a new position but also to survive once you got there. Ze could feel the hairs on the back of his neck raising up, his somewhat paranoid mind aiding him in seeing that something was wrong... that a noose was trying to close in around his neck.

He had been banking on Hyrulian indifference to provide him with more time due to them not caring about goblin on goblin volience, but it would seem that they were acting much faster then they should have been... Something was up and it meant he was going to have to cut out a few steps in his plan in order to speed things up a lot.

Turning to look at Mr Nailbrain, Ze rather softly said "Mr Nailbrain, I need ya to take some of the boys to the turf of one of the neighbouring gangs... We need to give the guard something to chew on to get them off our backs. Ya got some of those flashy bangers with ya?"

Mr Nailbrain turned his goggled gaze up to his boss and friend, nodding his head as he answered "Yeah, I gotz me a few of them all nice and ready. I think I might go and throw the Rocks into the meatgrinder... Mind if I borrow some of the big guys?"

Ze nodded his head. "Once you're done setting up that little playdate, I want ya to get the rest of the boys to start packing up. We're going to have to cut our losses with the other gangs... Make sure they're ready to move by nightfall and I'll make sure we have somewhere to go."

There was a brief stop as Ze quickly assigned two of his moblins and a mixed squad of the rest to Mr Nailbrain before sending him off; Ze himself would continue towards the meeting place for the first of the smugglers while Mr Nailbrain started to lead his own mob towards Goron turf...

(Collab between myself and Nevis))

Yulia, who had been at the head of the small group of urchins, stopped upon seeing the young man seemingly appear out of nowhere and request a moment of their time, Jair stepping up beside her. Dressed entirely in black and white as he was, he would have stuck out like a sore thumb no matter where he was in the city, which made it all the more surprising that he had managed to remain hidden until they had almost been upon him. As his gaze swept over them, briefly lingering on Soli and Recco, their sense that something was off about this man intensified, though the thought of fleeing never crossed their minds.

After a few more moments, the man spoke again, breaking the silence that had filled the air by mentioning that he had a proposition of sorts with Soli and Recco. "I suppose that you won't let us just tell her about your offer later," Jair said with a sigh, feeling that this was certainly not a man that they would want to mess with.

After a moment or two of hesitation, he turned to Perrin and said "See if you can wake her up, I guess." The bigger boy nodded and carefully lowered the sleeping girl to the ground before he began gently shaking her in an attempt to wake her up. As it turned out, Soli wasn't in as deep as sleep as it seemed, and it was just a few moments later that she was sitting up, rubbing her eyes groggily and asking what had happened.

Once she had been filled in, Jair, Yulia, and Perrin walked a little ways away to give the others a semblance of privacy while the man made his offer. By the time they were far enough away to more or less ensure that they wouldn't be eavesdropping, Soli had stood up and approached the man, curious to hear what he had to say.

Recco himself wasn't so easily persuaded, and eyed the man with suspicion. To him, the man's admittably admirable stealth seemed comparative something unnatural and it raised warning signs in his head as he remembered what he'd been told often in the woods about how leaving would have him hunted down. With this in mind, he spoke up. "Why in the goddesses' names should we trust you? You just pop out of nowhere and think that a smile and and your fancy tone will just win us over like that?" he said, staying where he was as he placed Soli's bag on the ground, folding his arms. While he did feel tempted to walk up because his friends seemed to trust the man, he wasn't about to walk into what he felt might be a trap. Even if this man had nothing to do with the forest, he was still a stranger and that alone made him wary of him.

The man chuckled inwardly, bemused. "Not in the Three Golden Goddesses' names, no," he replied quietly while gazing down before lifting his eyes back up to meet them. "I am not asking for your trust yet, young one-only of your ears and if thine find it suits thee, thine cooperation." He steps up in front of Soli and inclined his knees, squatting down to nearly meet her eye level.

"I wish for thee and your wily friend just yonder to be present in the central plaza come this middlenight hour," he said, sobering and face taking a more serious tone. "You must see what transpires-however, not intervene. Do not attack as your allies would have you do. Stay back and observe. I will have a guide arranged for you to head to a place important; there is a dire task ahead that you, should you be willing, are part of."

The elfin man reached into a pocket at the side of his pants-a moment later withdrawing a stone of a size akin to a rupee, slab grey though weathered smooth with a loop at the top through which it hung from a cord of simple black leather-a pendant necklace, judging the size of it. He held out his free hand upturned, seeming to ask for her to place her own in his.

Soli was honestly a bit confused by Recco's reaction to the man, but she didn't let it bother her too much. The man seemed benign enough to encourage her to at least hear what he had to say, though the fact that, as far as she knew, Jair and the others were okay with him helped soothe any residual concerns she may have had. Still, when he suddenly stepped forward and lowered himself until he was eye level with her, Soli instinctively took a half-step back.

As he explained what he wanted her to do, Soli nodded along to show that she was listening, his somber tone indicating the importance of the request. When he mentioned her allies, however, she felt a surge of panic that her cover had been blown. But before she could say anything, he was giving her more instructions concerning what would be waiting there for her and Recco after the thing he wanted them to see, causing her to forget her fear.

Once the man had finished telliing her what he wanted them to do, he pulled a strange stone necklace out of his pocket and offered his other hand. After a moment of hesitation, Soli placed her tiny hand on the man's palm. As she did so, she eyed the strange stone necklace in his other hand with curiosity, though she wasn't sure if she should ask him what exactly it was.

Recco remained suspicious, but as the man spoke, he found himself curious as to what event the man could be speaking of, his interest becoming piqued the moment the stranger pulled out the stone, his curiosity causing him to approach cautiously, though still keeping an eye on the man himself. "What exactly is that thing? And I don't suppose you could tell us what's going on at midnight, could you? Or maybe what this "dire task" is supposed to be? I mean that sounds a bit...cryptic if you ask me." he said, though with a tone that poorly hid his obvious curiosity.

The man seemed to pay Recco no mind for the moment, his gaze focused solely on Soli. Once her hand was in his, he lowered the stone down into it, cupping her hand within her own. The span of a moment passed with little change other than the feel of the warm stone-then it began.

A surge of liveliness bubbled up from within the girl like a rising spring, mana whirling up from her in a degree she previously had not known herself capable of. A faint glow shone through their closed hands, the energy flowing towards it and pooling there... amid the storm of energy, she could feel the nature of the stone altering, the shape changing against her hand...

The feeling slowly abates and the glow dulls and dissapates, leaving the girl winded and breathless, yet alert as though invigorated. He removed his upper hand, revealing the stone morphed into a design akin to a Chess knight, a horse... except for a pointed knob on the forehead-a spiral horn.

The man gazes down at it for a moment, then lifts his eyes to look into Soli's. "... the pure unicorn thou art, child. Dance, frolic through these forest glades..." he lifted his hand and placed it atop of her head, ruffling her hair with a light, faint smile. "... blessed of the Fairies, return innocence to these shades." Then he rose back up and looked to Recco, eyes beckoning him as he responded.

"In time, young one. Each of thee know enough-for now. At this moment, the mystery shall serve thine well. some answers, only you can answer," he said, glancing down to the pendant in Soli's hand.

Soli turned her head to look at Recco as he approached and voiced the same question that Soli had concerning the stone, having momentarily forgotten that he was still there due to the way the man's words had held her attention. Instead of answering the question, however, the man lowered the stone into Soli's palm, causing her to turn back to him questioningly as he closed his hand around her own.

A moment later, Soli felt the threads of energy that surrounded them flock towards her, rushing through her body and into the strange stone she was holding. While she was intimately familiar with the sensation of the threads filling her, as it was the same everytime she used her magic, the intensity of the energy in those experiences paled in comparison to the flood she was experiencing now.

After what felt like an eternity had passed, the surge of energy flowing through her diminished, eventually disappearing entirely as the threads returned to their natural positions. Wide-eyed, Soli took several deep breaths as the man recited what sounded like a blessing of some sort and placed his hand on her head, ruffling her coppery hair a bit.

Still breathless from the experience of channeling that much energy, Soli said nothing as the man stood and turned to Recco, evading his questions with responses that were no less cryptic than the instructions he had given them. "T-Thank you," Soli said once she was able, her voice breathy even so. "W-will we see you again?"

Recco looked at the transformed stone, having not experienced the sensation Soli had felt and having seen only the faint light barely for himself. Looking up at the man, he spoke up, not even bothering to hide his curiosity, though it was mixed with a hint of frustration this time."What exactly did you just do? I swear that stone didn't look like that. And what kind of answer was that anyway?"[b/] he asked before looking to Soli. "Bet you any amount of Rupees this guy practices his cryptic lines daily." he joked with a grin, pointing a thumb at the stranger as he did so.

"You are welcome. And several times each," he replies simply. He then puts his hand into his pocket, withdrawing another corded stone pendant. "As for you... stay by her. You are an important part of this as well." He steps away from Soli and bends his knees again, holding out his hand towards Recco still paces away.

Reluctantly, Recco walked up to the man, more curious than anything, his head filled with even more questions to the point to where he was actually getting a bit of a headache. "I'm tempted to ask what you're talking about, but I have a feeling that you'll say something like 'you'll see in due time' or some other cryptic phrase old people say when they're telling stories and stuff..." he joked, which helped him ease up a little more. He finally stood before the man, though his nerves were creeping up on him again.

"That depends on the question," he answers, still holding out his hand for Recco's-smiling gently. ""In your journey you will find your niche, should you take up this task. Though be ye warned now, while it will bring you reason and companions, it will be an often lonely, bitter path that traverses the dark." He dangles the pendant over his hand, indicating the gift, should he 'accept'.

Recco paused, taking in his words with more thought than he usually did and considering what he meant. After a few minutes of contemplation, he shrugged with a small shake of his head. "Hey I think I know how to make the 'dark' path more fun than you think. I used to live in Lost Woods, y'know." he said, extending a hand to accept the pendant, a grin on his face showing his confidence in his decision.

Rather than respond by word, the man lowers the stone into the imp's hand, his hand following a moment after and cuppint his between his two. The spell of a moment passed with little different; then energies began to stir in Recco, whorling inside of him and outward. Life surged and mana sprung forth like lightning coursing through him, his perception of the world warping as though light and time danced and spun without order. It was an eternity and an instant: then it was over, the faint glow subsiding before he removed his upper hand to reveal the new warps in the stone. similar in design, this piece had a pointed face, ears and a long, bushy tail. A fox, unmistakably. The pale man looked up to meet Recco's eyes, speaking softly as the small being caught his senses and breath.

"The fox art thy, child of the forest dark. Guile and wit, allure them all; beckon now, those darkling fey, return them now to those lines of ley." He then reaches up and brushes his cheek with a tender touch before withdrawing and standing.

Recco was completely caught off guard by this sensation, having never really expanded past his basic three spells and never tapping into the threads as grandly as what Soli did to him earlier, and almost fell backwards entirely as he swooned a bit, holding his head as the sensation faded. This was quickly replaced with excitement. "That felt amazing! How did you do that?! I felt like if I was spinning really fast and my vision got all blurry then it just...stopped! It happened so fast I feel I almost imagined it. What even was that?!" he said quickly, his voice filled with childish excitement.

Soli watched as the man performed the same ritual with the Skull Kid, absently running her hands over the strange stone she held in her hand. The whole thing lasted for just a few moments, though Soli was pretty sure that it would have felt like much longer to Recco, the Skull Kid swooning as the light in his hands died out.

Unable to help herself, Soli stepped closer in order to get a closer look as the man removed his hand to reveal that the stone had changed into the shape of a fox. Before Recco fully recovered from the rush, the man gave him a blessing that was similar to the one he had given Soli, though tailored to the fox shape that the stone had taken. Of course, nothing seemed to phase Recco for long, and the man had barely finished speaking before Recco began asking questions about the ritual excitedly.

The man smiled, a faint warmth taking his mouth and cheeks. "A fox, indeed," he mutters. "I did little, only acted as the catalyst. You will learn of what on your own." He points to the stone in your hand. "That is your totem. Remember it." With that he sent a final, tender glance towards Soli.

"Should you walk this the most harrowing of journeys, then yes, you will. However, at the moment this, many an unspoken voice doth cry out and I must heed their beckoning to be prepared for this great design." He sighs, sending a vague, nostalgic glance downward for a moment. "The crack in the wheel doth spread... and with that, I leave you." suddenly and quickly, he spun on his heel, walked for and rounding the corner into an alleyway.

Soli nodded as the man continued, somewhat relieved to know that they would encounter the kindly stranger again. If the journey they were going to be on would be as bad as he made it sound, it was certainly comforting to think that they might have his help, even if it was cryptic and hard to understand.

Before they could ask any more questions of the stranger, he turned and left, heading down an alleyway a few feet ahead of them. Upon seeing the stranger leave, Yulia, Jair, and Perrin dashed over, inadvertently blocking any attempt Recco or Soli might have made to head after the mysterious man. "What did he want?" Jair asked, looking over the two of them to make sure that they hadn't been injured in any way.

"We'll tell you on the way back to the house," Soli replied, slipping the leather cord over her head and around her neck so that the horse-shaped stone rested against her sternum. With that, the group collected their spoils from the market and made their way back to the store they called home, Soli and Recco explaining what the man had wanted from them and the strange ritual that he had performed with them as they walked along.

---

(Collab between Nevis, Riolux, and myself)