[IC] Legend of Zelda: Templar Ascension

[ColonelCaboose]

"One moment and I will be with you!" A voice said from behind the counter and in the back room. Dozens of masks lined the wall and came in every shape and size you could imagine. There were scary masks, happy masks, sad masks, goofy masks, big masks, little masks, then there was a case of special masks. Hanging in a protected case near the front desk were several masks that gave off a weird mystical feeling, as if they were magical in some way. There was a Deku, Zora, Goron, and Giant mask, and the design of the masked screamed as if there was an actual living spirit in them. What a surprise that Demoko's contact would be some freaky magical shop that no doubt had some freaky owner.

"Sorry about the wait how may I help the both of you? I have a wide assortment of masks for purchasing, but I must warn not all that you see are for sale, some... Are quite unique and only for admiring." A man with bright orange hair, and a big grin. The man bore an incredible resemblance to the Happy Mask Salesman that had been a nuisances to Link and his companions for quite some time now, but yet they were not the same person, there were several differences between the two. This man had bright orange hair instead of red, he was shorter in stature, ears not nearly as pointed, and big eyes behind a pair of round glasses. "I sense something different about you two, did a Master Demoko send you here? I have been expecting him, in need of much supplies he tells me. A good man he is, and glad to help my Uncle anytime I am as well. Anything you desire I am happy to give free of charge! Hohohohho!" The man said as he stepped out from behind the counter. His smile turned serious though a he neared Link, "I sense on your person a strange object... Very dark in nature, a frustrated spirit clings to it, a gladiator forged in an arena of death, now trapped in a mask..." He said talking about the Dark Goron mask Link had acquired at the Pirate Fortress.

[Mogtaki]

Link did look up only momentarily when there was a voice elsewhere, but finding more interest in the mask he gave it a quick look again before slowly placing it back on the rack. He didn’t understand such a hobby, if you couldn’t see through the mask then it wasn’t exactly going to be very useful, at least that’s what he thought. He didn’t really understand the nature of masks, but if the shop was still open then it must’ve had some use. Looking through all the strange masks he turned towards the counter, trying to see if the person was there yet. It was still a strange shop to him, but looking up and over the counter his eyes wandered to the strange masks that were being protected from everyone touching them.

Staring deeply into the masks his eyes slowly gazed over them, his head slowly tilting as if trying to remember something at the same time. It was like staring at someone you knew but couldn’t remember where from or how you knew them in the first place. Frowning slightly, he stared at the Deku mask before suddenly jumping at the sound of the owner, his eyes immediately going to the man only to back off a few footsteps in response. Immediately this man was creeping him out and not only was his looks doing it for him but the way he was speaking too. Raising his shoulders a little he clutched onto his chest momentarily before walking forward again, wondering if this was the Salesman or just someone who really looked like him. It wasn’t hard to think it was, he was in a disguise himself.

Approaching the man’s counter he slowly looked around again, frowning at first before freezing when Demoko’s name was mentioned. Looking up at the man again he suddenly felt nervous, staring at the man and flinching when he did that creepy laugh. This guy was related to the other Salesman alright, but as he moved around the counter he frowned and shirked back at the sudden change of expression. Staring at him he frowned at his words, his hands going to his chest momentarily before realising what he meant. There was no way he was getting a hold of that mask if that’s what he was implying, besides it wasn’t as if he knew where it was while he was in this disguise. “You have plenty of masks. What’s wrong with something being dark in nature?” he questioned him, raising his shoulders, “Demoko didn’t care, so why should you?”

[GambolMuse]

What sort of informant wasn't around when his clients showed up? If any of his informants had taken too long when meeting Caelan would have docked their cut of the haul, he wasn't the most patient when it came to things like this. After ringing the bell a handful of times he stepped away from the counter and folded his arms, a finger drumming impatiently on his bicep as they were forced to wait. Thankfully it didn't take too long, and as the peculiar man emerged from the back room he tilted his head a little, trying to figure out what this man was all about. His appearance was about as strange as the shop itself, though he supposed that was to be expected. Who sold masks like these anyways?

As if they were here for purchasing a mask. These were collector's items at best, Caelan could see no other use for them aside from that. It was the sort of junk he'd been paid once or twice to fetch from dungeons; odd items and bits that to him had no value, yet were near invaluable to others. Maybe there were some uses to them that he wasn't aware of, goodness knows the world was filled with unique and otherwordly tools. But at face value they just appeared to be masks, creepy, overpriced masks. While Link chatted with the salesman he walked over to one of the walls and browsed the items for a moment, narrowing his eyes at a particularly off-putting mask. Pale in complexion with red rings around its eyes, it bore long teeth with two curved teeth in the corners of its mouth. It had rosy cheeks and wore a nasty looking grin, the sort of thing you might buy if you wanted to spook someone. Yeah, definitely some dumb novelty store.

"Hey, we're not here to talk masks remember, we're here for a reason," Caelan reminded Link, glancing back over and frowning, "If you're trying to appraise something then forget it, we're not here to buy and sell things. If you know Demoko sent us then maybe you know why we're here too?" To sneak into the castle of all things, not generally his first idea of a good time. Sure there were potential consequences when it came to looting tombs and dungeons, and there were certainly consequences with this latest battle they saw. But sneaking into the castle, stealing away the Princess no less, he'd end up on the executioners block for that. Rejoining Link at the counter he placed his hands on top of it, waiting for whatever business they were doing to finish so they could move along.

[ColonelCaboose]

"There is nothing wrong with something of a dark nature, only on how one uses it." The man said with a respectful tone. "Demoko does not care, for perhaps he does not know?" He said as he walked with his hands behind his back and over to the protected masks. Caelan interrupted mistaking the man's interest in Link's mask as if he was looking to buy it, stating they were here for a reason other than to look at his collection of masks, something he already knew. "You would do to respect the culture of masks. You seek treasures? Items of great riches? Well how much would your price these masks in the cases for? perhaps 50 rupees, certainly no more than 100?" The man said with a smile that was big, it definitely matched the Happy Mask Salesman in creepiness. "Don't judge a book by its cover my friend, try in the hundreds of thousands for these masks hold great power, to transform the wearer into what they represent, and to give that said wearer the powers of the represented race and more. Many people would pay all the riches they possess for even a single one of these masks." He moved away from the glass case and headed into the back room behind the counter and came back with a tapestry depicting a heart shaped devil mask facing a boy in green with the masks in the glass cases and their counterparts, except on the tapestry there was a fierce tall white looking warrior that stood behind the boy in green.

"Those masks are the one's of legend. However there are others like them in the world, how these masks come to be is a mystery. However you my young friend possess another of these masks, it is that of an Obsidian Goron, unique among their race and respected as a bringer of prosperity. To wear that mask would give you much greater strength than the one behind my glass case, but is too dangerous until you mend the spirit of the one trapped inside. As I said there is nothing wrong something dark in nature, merely how you use it, hmhmhmhm." The man walked behind the counter and brought several small crates. He opened them and revealed the contents of many small potion bottles filled with blue liquid, an assortment of food supplies, new equipment such as canteens, quivers, bomb bags, leather armor, boots, and so on. "Anything you need you are more than welcome to take. If you desire more I can create a Minish spell for you to be able to carry everything easier."

[Mogtaki]

Link stared at the man with cautious curiosity, disliking his general tone on the matter. It was always going to be once the other knew they were talking to someone who used a dark power they tried to make it a positive thing, like if he was a good person they would have nothing to worry about. He knew he would have to regain his spirit to get those powers back, but even then he felt self-conscious about them. Looking around cautiously at the masks again he frowned when Caelan made the suggestion that the man might be aiming to buy his mask. Neither of them had any need for money so that would’ve been a lost cause. Looking back at the masks as the man decided to give Caelan a telling off his eyes glazed over them momentarily before taking notice at the man moving around again, watching him curiously as he wondered what he might be getting now.

Watching as the man disappeared off into a room he made a quick glance to Caelan before back as he returned with what looked like artwork, analysing it momentarily before frowning at the image. It oddly hurt to look at it, but only in his chest where the amulet rested under his clothing. His chest was in a fairly terrible place right now as it continued to burn with a fair ache. Trying hard to not put his hand to his chest he stared at the figure that was obviously one of his past life’s representations before he turned away and coughed, trying to rid himself of it before he might collapse. Trying to take deep breaths to get through it he looked back at the man again, frowning as he spoke about the mask without even needing to see it. Just what did he mean ‘mend the spirit’? He didn’t know how to do that, he didn’t even know how to mend his own and not have it be so destructive to both him and others. “The spirit’s not needing mending if there’s nothing wrong with it…”

He couldn’t help but feel he was contradicting his own words, seeing how he had attempted to mend his own by having part of it removed. He needed to get it back, but he hadn’t really had the chance to try and open it with everyone around. Disliking how much stress he was feeling right now he looked up at the crate that was being represented to them, frowning at the sight of everything before hearing his offer for a spell that would help them carry everything. If the spell was Light affiliated then that would be a no go for him, but hopefully it was Time and Space or something instead. “Umm, okay. I guess we’ll need the spell. It is a lot of stuff we’ll probably need, after all…” he sighed, looking back to the man, "Do you know why we're here completely? I mean...the real reason why we're here?"

[GambolMuse]

"If that, these look like something you'd buy at a festival," Caelan commented, giving the store owner an uneasy glance at his wide smile. What was this man on? Such a weird guy working a store here, why was this sort of person their contact? This group became stranger by the moment. Turning his gaze back to the masks on display his eyes widened when given the true value of these items, his jaw hanging loose as he gaped at each and every one. That much, for a mask?! Absurd, absolutely no way they were that valuable. Why would something so valuable be simply sitting here? There would be security, some kind of traps, anything! The store owner wasn't imposing in the least, creepy but not imposing, what was preventing them from taking one and going? Heck, just one mask might set him up for life!

He couldn't do that though, as tempting as it might be. Not only was stealing below him, treasure hunting wasn't as lowly as theft, but he wasn't about to ruin things for the others by doing so. It was why he delved into abandoned tombs and dungeons, there wasn't anyone he was harming by going to the middle of nowhere. Sure he wanted the money but not at the expense of others, that wasn't him. Still... Hundreds of thousands of rupees sitting on the walls right before him... Shaking his head Caelan stuffed his hands into the pockets of his pants, watching as the salesman walked around the counter and took out a crate of supplies, evidently all for them. Raising a brow he walked over and peered inside, surprised at just how much was there. And this was all of theirs, just for the taking? How in the world had Demoko arranged this?

[ColonelCaboose]

"Oh all spirits need healing from time to time. We can be the strongest or bravest, act like our skin is made of iron, but some attacks hurt deep down. However I will not lecture you that is not my job." He said as he reached over the counter and pulled out a spell book. There was about four crates and with a few passes of the hand and some ancient hylian hymns a seal surfaced on the floor and shrunk the crates down to the size of marbles. He took Caelan's hand and place the same seal on it. It glowed bright then disappeared. "I have placed the enlarging/shrinking spell in your hand. It will only work a handful of times before it looses its power, so do not go crazy with it." He said before placing the book back behind the counter.

Link felt as though there was a reason other than the supplies for why they came, it would not doubt come as a surprise, but there was no other reason this time around. "Too be honest Demoko didn't send you for any other reason than to gather much needed supplies and probably give you a break away from him. He knows that his personality takes a toll on people. I could offer you wisdom or encourage you in your grand quest, but I know there is nothing you want to hear from me. Of course though if you have any questions feel free to ask, don't get many visitors for obvious reasons." The man was not a fool, he knew that masks weren't very popular outside festivities and carnivals. But you had to do what you enjoyed despite what others might think of you.

The man grabbed the tapestry and returned it to the back room and returned shortly. His overall personality was very mellow to the Happy Mask Salesman who had plagued Link or Demoko's over zealous save the world characteristics. No doubt hard to believe there wasn't some huge list of wisdom and guidance he had to offer the adventurers. Very down to earth in reality.

[Mogtaki]

“Some spirits can’t be healed, but it’s not in my job to lecture you on that either”. Link didn’t think his broken spirit was something that could be mended by some healing, he would probably have to go on a whole journey to try and figure out how to feel content about his future and the horrors he would surely unleash onto the world if he opened the amulet. He knew by this time he needed to open his amulet, he decided he couldn’t keep it closed if he was be of use to anyone even if it meant sacrificing his own possible happiness. He was not able to keep it hidden away forever, not after what happened. He still blamed himself for everything going wrong at the bridge. If he had his shadow powers then everyone would be alright.

Going into deep thought for a moment he soon slowly looked up, staring at Caelan and the man as a spell was cast upon Caelan so he could carry more. These supplies should be fine for what they were planning on doing next, so that was already going to be at least one plus for today. Feeling very uneasy about everything that was happening Link’s eyes wandered to the masks again, looking like he was trying to take his mind off something important that he was holding back on. He didn’t want to have to be around anyone when he did open the amulet, but he did know he would probably need it open before they went to get Zelda out of that castle. He didn’t know how to get around that without everyone seeing.

Staring at the salesman who retreated momentarily he made a quick glance to Caelan before sighing. “All this to save a Princess. I don’t know how we’ll manage by ourselves”, he spoke, wandering over to the masks again, “Maybe Demoko can blow the castle to pieces by making all these bombs explode at once. The Princess has the power to protect herself, right? I have no idea how to do any of this…” This place was really giving him the creeps otherwise and the pain in his chest just wasn’t going away. If it wasn’t going to go away by the time they had to move on then he was going to speak up about it, but until then he was going to wait until they got back and try to open it in private to release the spirit inside.

[GambolMuse]

What was this philosophical conversation they were having now? Here they were in some weird mask shop picking up supplies from this weird man, and now they were speaking of healing spirits. Caelan figured not in the literal sense, they must be talking about people, right? After all how did you heal a spirit? Was that even a thing? Glancing back up at the masks he wondered just what this man's deal really was, as he clearly wasn't just some run of the mill shop keeper. Never mind the priceless goods he supposedly sold, but how was he mixed in with Demoko? Considering what their group was doing could land them in a world of trouble he wondered what this man had to gain out of it, if anything; life told him no one helped simply to help, everyone did so to get something out of it. So what was he getting?

"H-Hey! At least ask before you do that!" Caelan said as he pulled his hand back, looking at the mark before it faded away. Sure that was a handy spell but what were they meant to use it for? Their supplies? If he managed to keep a use or two from the spell he'd definitely have to use it on his next adventure in a tomb, he could haul so much treasure like this! Now that they had their spells and magic surely they could get out of this place. Then again what exactly were they doing here? Something about rescuing a princess? Caelan couldn't help but snort at the absurdity of it all, he wasn't some knight running off to save a captured princess. He had an adventurous streak to be sure, but saving some trapped girl from a castle wasn't quite the adventure he had in mind.

Still... That had to be worth something, right? Maybe they would be rewarded, or at the very least it was worth some sort of bragging rights. Not that he had much of a say either way, since fighting on the bridge he was heavily invested in this mess regardless of what he got out of it. Sighing to himself he glanced at Link when spoken to, smirking in amusement at his ideas. "Yeah, let's blow up a whole castle and everyone else in it, that'll work," he commented sarcastically, shaking his head then, "Sorry, but that won't work. I know a thing or two about sneaking around though, I'm sure we'd be able to get inside." Walking over towards the masks on the far wall he gazed at them absentmindedly, his brain chugging along as he tried to come up with some semblance of an idea. "I know a lot of old ruins, castles especially... They have secret tunnels, right? Well... If we can find those, we can sneak inside. And if we do that then we avoid most of the guards, right? After that it's just a matter of getting through to wherever this princess is."

[ColonelCaboose]

"I wish you luck on your mission. The Princess will be a valuable ally in your adventures. While she may not be able to rescue herself, she is by no means helpless. With the Triforce of Wisdom, she will offer much to your deck of cards." The Mask Salesman said before walking over to the wall where a pair of masks that resembled the Templar Knights hung. He grabbed four of them, stacked them, then his hand lit up with a bright orange light then disappeared. "I wish I could do more to help you, and maybe perhaps I will in the future when the time is right, but as one last parting gift I give you the four Templar's Mask's that I have in my possession. Imbued with the magic of deceit much like the rings you wear, when worn your appearance will not alter, but to others you will appear as though you are Templar Knights." The Man took one and placed it upon himself and to the eyes of both Caelan and Link he appeared as the very men they had been fighting for so long (longer for some more so than others). Taking it off he appeared as his regular self.

"The power of masks have always held strong powers of illusion to the unsuspecting eye. Demoko perhaps had some spell prepared to do the same, but I assure you these masks will work superbly better. However be worn, a strong mind will be able to see through the tricks of masks. The deadly sharpshooter Fiona has a very trained eye, fooled easily she will not be." He placed the masks into a leather carry bag and gave it to Link to hold.

Regol had been mostly absent during the shop adventure, he had poked in at the beginning for a bit but had mostly hung by the entrance outside. He had no need to be lectured on the power of masks and whatnot. The mask he work allowed his Twili form to be solid in the Realm of Light, to take shape instead of be a mere shadow unable to interact with the world. He came inside and beckoned it was time to go, it was unclear if he had seen trouble coming or that he felt that perhaps they had spent too much time there.

[Mogtaki]

Link glanced over at Caelan, sighing heavily before shaking his head. “I didn’t mean it for real! I just don’t know what we’re supposed to do to get in without being horribly injured and possibly killed…” Really if that could be done he would be alright with it. The Castle always stood as a strange seat of power and it was probably full of evil people anyway so there shouldn’t be any harm in destroying the place to get what they wanted. If they were unable to get to the Princess that way then there was definitely a great underestimation of the power the evil beings within held. It was mostly just a case of Link feeling rather fed up at this point too, like everything that would go wrong was probably going to happen because of some minor mistake.

Sneaking inside sounded pretty good compared to what he suggested, but he wasn’t experienced with sneaking so mistakes could easily be made regarding that instead. He was the adopted son of a blacksmith, he was used to being heavy and fumbling all over the place while making a lot of noise. Being silent and not the clumsy idiot he often was might be a little difficult, it certainly continued to remain a wonder as to why people had faith in him when it came to sneaking around. Caelan and Regol could probably do it solo without being spotted.

Feeling a little discouraged about the mission he watched as the salesman moved over to some masks, taking the strange designs off their shelf and showing them briefly. The orange light wasn’t the only thing that startled him, the designs did too as he couldn’t help but feel a little freaked out by them. Listening to him as he talked about their purpose and use he made a glance to Caelan, wondering what he thought about them before gasping when he instead saw a Templar Knight in the salesman’s place. Startled for a second, the moment the mask was removed he opened his mouth briefly, looking like he was going to comment on something before he instead frowned. Well that was oddly disturbing, but he certainly wasn’t going to comment too much about it when they still had a job to do. So long as the masks worked then he was going to have to be content. Taking the bag from him he briefly looked inside before sighing, nodding. “It’s her I’m worried about…yeah. I’ve heard the others won’t be on high alert. I just hope I can pretend I’m a Templar Knight well enough…” Keeping the bag at his side carefully he turned to the door, staring at it at first before he made his way to it. “I guess maybe see you later if we live. We need to get the supplies back to Demoko…”

[GambolMuse]

"Heh... Never would have thought I'd be breaking a princess out of her castle. Far cry from looting chests and boxes..." Could be fun though so long as they weren't killed doing it. Watching the shop keeper fetch a set of masks he examined them curiously, rather skeptical about what they claimed to be. Then again here they were in disguise now, he supposed that sort of magic shouldn't come as such a surprise. At this point after fighting these sorts of people and all the insanity they were undertaking nothing should come as a surprise. Raising an eyebrow as he watched the Salesman transform into a night he nodded once, finding it fascinating at how quickly the spell took effect. How did that kind of magic even work? It was as far removed from his water and healing magic as you could get.

As far as actually reaching the princess their best route had to be sneaking inside of the castle. While he'd never infiltrated anything quite so heavily guarded before Caelan thought himself good at finding hidden passages, it should be no different than the numerous tombs he'd encountered. Once they were inside the castle itself these masks should do the rest, it would be only a matter of finding the princess' room from there. It sounded simple, yet the shopkeep had one more final tidbit of information that suddenly made their task far more daunting. "Oh wonderful, our one trump card and it'll be useless against her, good to know," Caelan lamented as his shoulder slumped, eyeing the bag of masks with reluctance, "Still... If they get us inside we can figure the rest out as we go."

Seeing it as time to move along both he and Link moved to the door, following Regol's suit to the doorway. Link was a ray of sunshine as ever, and Caelan silently rolled his eyes before nudging the other boy in the arm. "Hey, we'll be fine. We fought that general and won didn't we? Plus you've probably been through loads of messes before, I know I have been. It'll take a lot more than this to do us in." They had disguises, and it wasn't as though they couldn't defend themselves. The only thing that even had him remotely uneasy was the woman Fiona, he could do without combat for a few days after the mess from before.

[ColonelCaboose]

"Good luck and be safe..." The man said with a sad face as they left his shop. He went back to his counter and sat waiting for the next group of travelers to come his way. Regol held the door open for the other two. The day was still fairly sunny, only with a cloud here and there. For being a black market it seemed very alive, no doubt a good thing, easier to blend into the crowd. Once they were moving Regol pulled out the map again and saw their location on it and where they needed to go to get to the nearest tunnel. It was for the better they took a different route back than the same one, never knew who was watching and using the same path with prying eyes everywhere was dangerous.

Once they were back in the regular part of town Regol had already found another tunnel that wasn't too much further than the last one they had came from. It was located in the Castle Town Sanctuary, one of Father Thallus' additions to raise his popularity with the people. They would have to cross through Main Square however, or else it would be a very long walk around to the northern part of town. Regol pointed it out to both Link and Caelan looking for their thoughts, for the Main Square had the densest amount of Templar Knights, but it was also heavily populated with people and shops, thousands of people went through it everyday, they should be fine as well if they continued to act normal.

[Mogtaki]

Link was a little nervous over this whole mission, he knew a lot could go wrong very quickly if they weren’t careful. He knew he had to make sure he wasn’t going to get in the way of the other two so he would have to hang back and hope that everyone was going to lead the way. There was no way someone like him could lead the way when he had never done infiltration to this level, the most he did was sneak around bullies trying to catch him out. These soldiers were in no way the same as bullies, they were in a completely different league and would most definitely kill you on sight. He knew they would probably just kill him, that would be the most efficient way to get rid of him when he had very little power in the first place. He needed to be careful and leave this to the pros.

Link didn’t really hold much confidence in the current plan, if they were going to be useless against this woman then there really was absolutely zero point. The only way it would work with that woman was if she was secretly against her master and just let them stroll on by. Letting out a sigh he looked to the walkway before to Caelan when he bumped him, sighing lightly, “We won because the bridge collapsed. There’s no bridges to collapse here and I have no idea how to do this”, he spoke, looking up to Caelan, “Don’t supposed you know how to find the Princess in the castle? You’re a treasure hunter so you would’ve been in castles before, right?” They would have to find somewhere to put the masks on without it looking too suspicious, but he didn’t really know where they could do that too. Glancing to Regol he frowned before looking in the direction they were heading in. “So what, we just duck down in the crowd and pop up as Templar Knights? Someone’s going to notice. Isn’t there at least an alleyway somewhere?” he asked up before groaning, shaking his head, “Would be so much easier if you could talk…”

[GambolMuse]

So that was likely the easy part of this whole escapade wasn't it? Now that they had acquired their disguises the real challenge began, and they somehow needed to sneak into the heavily guarded Hyrule Castle. Easy, if they were invisible or had infinite power. With this ragtag trio of theirs getting even to the gates was going to be imposing, never mind all the way to the Princess. Before they could even plan the actual approach to Zelda they had go get within the castle grounds, no doubt using some manner of secret tunnel or entrance. Fighting was out of the question, especially with their numbers so low; Caelan had his water magic, Link his sword, and Regol? Truthfully he knew little if nothing about the man, nor could he even recall from the battle how he fought. Whatever the case was numbers were not on their side, a fight was absolutely unacceptable.

To make their approach they could either blend with the crowd, or use their Templar disguises and pray to the Goddesses that they worked. Neither was foolproof and both had plenty of risk, it was a matter of deciding which risks they wanted to take. Caelan was doing his best to remain optimistic about this foray yet Link was borderline having a breakdown over it, and they hadn't even decided on a plan yet. "Okay so we won't have a collapsing bridge to save us, but something will happen. I've gotten out of dozens of sticky situations, this won't be any different." Except for an all-powerful woman who saw through magic might be after their heads, that was a slight change. Giving Link a funny look when asked about the Princess he very nearly replied with a sarcastic remark, biting his tongue before shrugging instead.

"I mean... A lot of the time the ruler's quarters are either in the center of the castle, or towards the rear. That's how I've noticed them in the ruins anyways," Caelan explained, itching at his cheek as his brow furrowed slightly then in thought, "I'll have to see more of the castle before I can make any guesses, but I'd imagine it will be towards the back. Especially if the Princess is being held against her will, it'd make sense to put her as far from the entrance as possible." Or she might be underground, if there was an underground to the Castle. All the more reason for them to use a tunnel if they could, perhaps look for cells before anything else. Hearing Link yet again voice his concerns the water mage rolled his eyes, looking around the bustling plaza before pointing towards an alley between two large buildings. "We go there, change then come out the other side, double around so no one sees us. And we should check the map again for a tunnel into the castle, there's got to be at least one," Caelan mused, grabbing Link by the sleeve of his shirt and urging him along, "An escape tunnel used by the royal family, anything will work. Anything on that map, old man?"

[ColonelCaboose]

Regol nodded and ushered the group to the alleyway Caelan had pointed out. Once they were there Regol looked around at the back of it and pressed a few breaks in at the same time revealing a tunnel in the ground. Once everyone was in it closed and Regol took off his ring turning back into his black robes and plague mask. He held the map for Caelan to see in the light of a small beam coming down through a crack above them. It showed a tunnel leading into the Castle Gardens at the back of the Castle. They were not far from it, but Regol pointed to the other icon on the map which was Demoko back at the headquarters as if questioning whether they should go ahead and save the princess by themselves or go and drop off the supplies like the original plan was.

As if suddenly remembering he pulled out a crumbled poster out of his pocket that was a drawing of him standing by Father Thallus side along with Fiona, Onyx and the rest of the Inner Brotherhood. It was a morale poster, with some writing at the bottom about joining the Templar cause to bring peace and prosperity to Hyrule and the world. He must have picked it up while they were wandering through the Black Market. Regol pointed to himself frantically on the poster, if these posters were still being posted and hung on walls throughout town then it must be obvious that the Templars had not heard of him fighting on the other side at the bridge. He took a piece of charcoal from his pocket and flipped the poster over and wrote "bridge collapse, no survivors?" If this was true then they had a man on the inside still, and while Link knew from past encounters, Caelan should judging from the poster now know that Regol had once been apart of the highest ranking Templars in the land, falling short of only Father Thallus himself.

This was their way in. The masks, Regol, they had the disguises and the man who no one would question and could go anywhere in the castle. The only danger still was Fiona, and her skills were deadly and even more so to Regol since her powers were Light magic. She failed to kill Regol once, but that didn't mean round two wouldn't end differently. Regol flipped the poster over again and circled the drawing of Fiona and put in big letters "Fiona, deadly."

[Mogtaki]

Link hoped he still had his sword skills if he had to fight at all, but then again he had learned all that fighting stuff by himself; however, there was always the possibility that he only managed to learn all that stuff because of his spirit. This was all so confusing for him, he almost felt ashamed for taking up the offer even if the luck had been against him when trying to live like a normal person. If they weren’t fighting so much he’d get to know what it was like to be a normal person with this amulet keeping everything sealed away. So much for that plan. There was only two ways this could go now; terribly or end in him confessing and it ending terribly. “You know, you’ve not really said what kind of stuff you do other than taking things that aren’t yours from places only crazy people go”.

Link didn’t know how they were going to get to the Princess if she was going to be in the far end of the castle. It seemed like an awfully long way to go if there was no shortcut around, but luckily that Fiona woman was just one even if she had proven to be terrifying before. Letting out a groan he rubbed his arms quickly, feeling particularly nervous but was soon forced along by Caelan. Link was far from alright with this, but he could only hope he wasn’t going to end up screwing everything up. Looking to Regol who appeared to be fiddling with some sort of poster he tilted his head slightly before sighing at the words that were written. “I don’t know if they lived through that, but at least we did. I don’t know what happened, really…”

The whole event was a little fuzzy, but they were alive so they obviously won that battle. If the enemy survived then that was going to be a whole load of trouble for them since they would most likely be back at the castle. Despite having the masks they weren’t going to be very stealthy if they ran into Fiona fairly quickly, then maybe the bombs would come in handy for blowing the walls up. He couldn’t think through the possibility of violence on their mission rather than stealth, it seemed. Looking back to Regol he frowned when he stated the fairly obvious. “I already know that. I’m not an idiot…” he sighed, shaking his head, “What if Caelan leads and you’re at the back keeping an eye out for her? I’ll act as support or something like that. I’m still fast so I can still cover both of you if I’m given enough warning, okay?”

[GambolMuse]

Ducking into a nearby alleyway they managed to locate a hidden passage, and once inside they could finally breath a sigh of relief. He was used to sneaking past small regiments of guards around ruins, but never around a city that they might constantly be attacked in. These disguises too were only as good so long as those being fooled had no grasp on magic; Fiona would look right through them as he'd been told, that was reassuring. Smiling exasperatedly he rubbed at his neck once the door closed behind them, removing his own ring for the time being and pocketing it.

Before they got too ahead of themselves they should get their bearings with the map. Looking to it as Regol showed it he nodded at the gestures, not completely sure himself what they should do. "If you're asking me... Demoko can wait. We might need some of those supplies, probably best we hold onto them for now," he mumbled, inspecting the map thoroughly for their passage inside. Looking then to the poster he furrowed his brow curiously, then raising it when he saw Regol stood among others. A propaganda poster for the Templars, so this man was one of them then? Or a traitor at any rate, now he could understand why Link was so wary around him. If someone defected once they could do it again, though from what he'd seen so far there was no reason to think Regol would. Best to be a little safe though.

"Crazy people...? Yeah, my parents called me that when I told them what I wanted to do too," Caelan laughed, smirking as he glanced at Link, "That's coming from a kid waging a war against the Templars though, want to talk about crazy? As for what I do... I don't know really. I love hunting treasure, its exciting. I love seeing the old ruins and exploring them, finding what mysteries they have for me to uncover. Aside from that though? I guess I'm interested in expanding my magic, and learning more about magic in general." A lot of people his age were getting into some kind of trade, enlisting in the guard or, now that he knew more of it, probably joining the Templars. That was all fine and well but it wasn't what he wanted, he wanted to explore and learn about what he wanted to learn about, not what some instructor or craftsman told him to.

Nothing reassured you like some veteran like Regol saying Fiona was deadly. Just how bad was this woman? Both Demoko and Regol seemed to be extremely wary of her, and their fighting force was a mere fraction of what it had been before. Getting into any kind of fight then was out of the question unless they had a death wish. "We'll find out I'm sure, no use in getting caught up on it now. Best to keep our minds on what's going on, right?" And that meant rescuing the Princess, something he still thought was completely absurd. Seriously, how were the three of them going to ever make it out of the castle if it did come to a fight?

"You want me to lead? Oh sure, let me be the canary. If I die or hit a trap then you'll know where not to go," the water mage remarked sarcastically, sighing before looking ahead down the tunnel. It actually made sense for him to lead, he should be able to recognize if there were traps hidden anywhere. "Uh... Regol right? Can you give Link the map? I want someone who can... You know, talk, to tell me which way to go. I need to keep an eye out for traps, I can't be staring at a map the whole time."

[ColonelCaboose]

Regol handed Link the map and pointed to the secret entrance in the Castle Gardens so Link knew what path to take on the map. Regol pulled off his ring and it gave way to his black doctor robes, plague mask, and tricorn hat. Regol did wonder if there was any traps to be had in this ancient labyrinth of secret passage ways. He made a duplicate of himself from the shadows of the dark tunnel and ordered it to run down the tunnel. The duplicate made it a ways, almost out of sight from the groups eyes when it suddenly stepped on a pressure plate and spikes stabbed it from both side walls, the duplicate turned into a cloud of black mist. Regol stepped behind Caelan and gave him a pat on the back. The man was a treasure hunter and a veteran of diving into old abandoned ruins, booby traps and all those things were right up his alley.

I mean the path to the Castle Garden was a short trip on the map, how many traps could there be between where they were at and their destination? All they had to do was make it to the castle and he would be able to get them to the Princess, out of the Castle would be a different story.

[Mogtaki]

Link had no idea what he was going to do about this castle or if he was going to have any sort of combat skills if it came down to using them so his only real hope right now was Caelan and his knowledge of castles and buildings leading away and keeping them out of trouble. Caelan going to places where there was treasure and castles had treasure so that surely didn’t matter too much in the long term what difference it might make. Frowning when he called him crazy in return for his own exploits he folded his arms lightly, raising his shoulders. “It’s not like I wanted to be hunted down like an animal. It happened suddenly, I didn’t even provoke them”, he spoke before looking back, “You’re lucky when it comes to magic, you know. Yours is pretty gentle and can heal and all that so I can see why you would want to learn more about it.

Link wasn’t terribly good at making plans, he usually made them up as he went along and if a puzzling situation came his way he was typically going to end up trying to solve it. It would probably had been best if he worked alone for something like this if Regol was going to be afraid of this woman and Caelan was not sounding terribly confident in him or wanting to be around him for that matter. Maybe Caelan could go alone if that was the case, he would be perfectly fine with hanging back if he was just going to be disliked that much. Maybe that was all just assumptions, he wasn’t terribly used to people liking him and he didn’t particularly like his own company. Sighing lightly as he thought about the plan some more he did wonder if he was going to gain the confidence of Caelan at all. He didn’t mean to imply that he could walk into all the traps, just that he might be able to help them if they ever came across any.

Looking over to Regol he frowned when he was given the map, staring down at it and the apparent secret entrance. So they just had to get around the back and into the gardens, shouldn’t be too hard with the direction they were going on. Looking up from the map he gasped at the duplicate, not expecting that to be the first thing he saw when he took his attention off the map before flinching when the sound of a trap going off destroyed it, his eyes slowly retreating behind the map again. Even if that was a duplicate that sounded rather painful, his eyes soon moving to Caelan in hope that he might be able to get rid of such a thing. If he had his shadow abilities he might had been able to hold the spikes back with a shield of some sort while they ran through, but that was his own selfish mistake. “Just how many have been pierced by those…I don’t know if I want to think about it…”