It would appear that Oliver's effort to find a higher vantage point had inspired several imitators. Zunari's attention seemed far more focused on the various ledges, crates, rooftops, alcove, and even weather vanes that excited onlookers were climbing on top of in hopes of getting a better view, even dropping a slight chuckle when a rather portly young child fell right through the cloth awning he'd tried to walk on top of. To be frank, Zunari had never been particularly mystified by the Ikana; as a former (partially retired?) thief, the five year period during which the Ikana patrolled Termina Field was fraught with light wallets and empty stomachs for the caravan owner and his flock. Nevertheless, he was there to support Oliver, and as such made sure to not let the young swordsman see his gaze wander from the parade too long.
Oliver mumbled to himself quietly as he scanned the rows of soldiers, suddenly raising his voice at moments when he thought he spotted Swiftblade's sigil and then uttering a quick "nevermind" as he continued to search in vain. After five very thorough surveys of the parade block, Oliver desperately attempted a sixth, but his hopes were dashed when the procession made a sharp right turn into North Clock Town's park and out of Oliver's line of sight. Appearing defeated, Oliver heaved a rather tired and frustrated sigh, leaning back and fiddling with the knot held his head-wrap bandanna in place, a little habit he'd developed that clearly indicated something was most certainly bothering him. Zunari immediately picked up on this, screwing the cap back on his flask and rising from his seat on the edge of the platform.
"Come on, maybe we can hurry to the east district and try to get a good spot so we can hear the Prince's speech. If the crowd follows the parade through the park we should be able to make it to the Mayor's Residence before all the onlookers catch up. Who knows, maybe Swiftblade will be easier to spot when he's standing still?" suggested Zunari. Oliver, perhaps still a bit in denial, seemed to perk up at such a thought. Even if they couldn't spot Swiftblade, it would still be interesting to be so close to the Prince of Ikana himself. Maybe one of the knights would recognize Swiftblade's cape and say something about it. Somewhat revitalized, Oliver sprang up and breezed past Zunari before the stocky ex-thief could climb down from the ledge, nearly knocking him off of the platform in the process. Before Zunari could respond with a flurry of rather unsavory curses directed at his careless friend, Oliver turned and shouted over the roar of the crowd.
"Let's go, Zuzu! You're the one who said we had to hurry!" he yelled, with a slight smirk as he turned and began to muscle his way through the horde of people trying to follow the parade.
"I swear, the things I do for that shithead. I hope he finds his dad so 'ol Swiftblade can beat some sense into him," muttered Zunari, under his breath. "And if he calls me Zuzu one more time, he's fired."
The parade path through the park was narrower than before, but the Ikana quickly and silently condensed its marching block into a more compact shape, all without skipping a beat or a single misstep. The knights were undoubtedly thoroughly drilled; even with their borders closed and no other kingdom posing any visible threat to them, the Ikana appeared to have continued their rigorous military training over the last few decades. The mayor, known for his forethought in such matters, had made the decision to assign a whole detachment of Clock Soldiers specifically the block the congregation of Business Scrubs from getting close to the procession, and wisely so. Trying their hardest to get the Prince's attention, the scrubs were practically screaming at the Ikana to set up a trade agreement with the Deku Kingdom instead or to honor their previously issued land title deeds authorizing certain merchants to operate within Ikana. Tensions came to a head when a stray Deku Nut was launched at the parade block, but the potential disaster was fortunately averted when the nut sailed clean over the knights and landed in a crowded clump of picnickers.
Finally the procession exited the park and arrived in front of the mayor's office, where a small makeshift stage had been set up. Mayor Dotour, normally bound to a wheelchair in his advanced age, had made the rare and uncharacteristic decision to stand to honor the Prince's arrival, although he was hunched over and leaning rather heavily on a solid wood cane. These days it was rare for Dotour to be seen outside at all, and to be quite honest the old man seemed likely to collapse right there on the stage. His once bright purple hair had now almost entirely grayed, with the few remaining faint purple patches here and there now looking like a soft lavender more than anything else. Captain Viscen, the mayor's trusted associate and personal bodyguard since stepping down as head of the Clock Soldiers, stood directly to his right, watching the mayor carefully with an obvious amount of concern on his face in case Dotour should fall. Eustace Gorman, eldest of the famous Gorman Brothers and current head of the Carnival Committee, stood to his left, with something resembling a mean smirk on his face as he observed Dotour's invalid state; no doubt he was internally estimating just how many days the old man had left before he keeled over and his office was finally open for reelection.
Perhaps this was simply Oliver's interpretation of things, but then again he didn't have much of anything nice to say about Gorman, so it would be best to not take his presumptions at face value. It was equally as possible that Gorman had just remembered a silly joke about crusty jugglers he'd heard the day before, which would have produced the aforementioned smirk. The world may never know. The drummers played a short cadence to signal the end of the march, and all of the knights simultaneously halted and stood at attention, remaining so still Oliver was certain they'd all been transformed into wax figures in the blink of an eye. The Prince, atop his brilliant white stallion, rode up to the steps leading to the stage and swiftly yet gracefully dismounted, handing the reigns of his horse to a nearby bannerman. The crowd gave another round of applause as the Prince came on stage, making his way over to the mayor, who did his best to give a polite bow to the Prince, who humbly returned the mayor's kindness with a bow of his own. After shaking both Viscen and Gorman's hands, the Prince approached the ornate wooden podium at the center of the stage, setting his skeletal helmet down on it as he prepared to give his highly anticipated speech. For the first time since the Ikana had arrived, the crowd grew quiet.
"Citizens of Clock Town," he began, rather predictably, because sometimes it can be hard to write the beginnings of speeches. The Prince's voice was not at all prissy or flowery, like one would expect a stereotypical royal to sound. Rather, it was deep and commanding, yet at the same time articulate. Prince Davos Du Ikana sounded like the kind of man you would want riding out ahead of you, leading the charge into a grand, glorious battle. "For twenty five years, my father's kingdom has remained closed to the outside world. Ikana, once the sword and shield of Termina, retreated into solitude suddenly and without warning. This change likely came as a shock to many of you. I'm aware that some may have been cut off from friends and family during the border closing, and for that, my father would like to extend his deepest, most profound apologies."
"For twenty five years we have turned away all travelers from Ikana, by force if necessary. But why, you may wonder? Why isolate ourselves from Termina, who committed no trespass against us and has been our ally for centuries? And, further, why keep the reason for our exile a secret? Why hold our silence for nearly three decades? The answer is shameful, I admit, and even attempting to articulate it now is painful for me. 25 years ago, the seal that Dampe, the Oathkeeper of the Canyon, placed upon the Stone Tower was weakened by some manner of dark magic, and once again the curse that brought our kingdom to ruin all those years ago seemed likely to ravage us again, just after we'd managed to return the great nation of Ikana back to normal," explained the Prince. Murmurs swept through the crowd quickly, but they were quickly silenced when the Prince continued speaking.
"The seal broke not soon after, and we were beset on all sides by legions of the undead. We closed our gates not to keep Termina out, but to prevent these skeleton warriors from escaping into the field that we'd work so hard to protect. It was our burden to bear, not yours, but at the same time we had to be wary and cautious of outsiders. The magic used to sabotage Dampe's seal was not any we recognized as our own. That is why we closed our borders and protected our gates, even after we managed to vanquish the brunt of our undead foes. My father, Igos Du Ikana, laid siege to the Stone Tower with all that remained of Ikana's military might at his back, and managed to reseal the curse of the Stone Tower, although not without great cost. Less than a hundred Ikana Knights remained in all," he continued, rather gravely.
"However, it was there, atop the Stone Tower, that my father heard the voice of a Goddess calling down to him from the heavens, but it was just a faint whisper. It commanded him to build the Stone Tower even higher so as to better heard the word of the heavens. Despite a lack of resources and men, my father decided to follow the commands of this Goddess from the sky, and so construction began and the Stone Tower. No doubt you have noticed that it now stands far taller than it ever has before," he added, motioning to aforementioned tower that loomed far in the distance, which was in fact so tall that it seemed to disappear into the clouds. Some stray shouts came from the crowd, demanding answers to the questions this sudden strange revelation had raised. What was this talk of a sky Goddess? The giants were generally considered to be the sole protectors of Termina. The Prince raised both of his hands once he realized there was dissent brewing within the crowd; apparently his presence was commanding enough to silence the chattering at will.
"My father's conquest of the Stone Tower was achieved roughly seven months after our gates first closed. For the last twenty five years we have been working tirelessly to not only continue construction of the tower, but also to return Ikana to its former military might. Much had been lost during the second coming of the undead, and we needed time to recover. But no longer, Termina! My father has heard the word of the Goddess in the sky once again, and she has commanded us to open our gates and reach out to you, the people of Termina. I wish I could say that our sudden alliance came from more pleasant circumstances, but alas, in these dark times such things are rarely true. Our sky Goddess believes a great tragedy is about to befall Termina, and that we Ikana alone cannot prevent it," explained Davos, with the utmost sincerity. Murmurs once again rippled through the crowd, but Davos seemed to be wrapping up anyway.
"Tonight I will begin negotiations with Mayor Dotour to work out some of the details of the reopening of Ikana's borders, but we will also discuss this ill-fated prophecy as well and try to determine the right course of action to take from there. Please be patient with these negotiations, and do not attempt to interfere. Thank you for your time, and may the Goddess of Time watch over you," he finished, with a respectful bow. Instead of ecstatic applause, the crowd only responded with confusion and anxiety at this news. Dotour, Viscen, and Gorman all appeared equally shocked; apparently they hadn't been informed that the Prince's news would be so... dramatic. Nevertheless, the Prince personally escorted Dotour through the door to the mayor's residence, after which three of the elite knights from the Prince's escort moved to guard the entrance, making the Clock Soldiers look puny by comparison.
Viscen, trying to put some kind of closure on the rather worrying end to the speech, approached the podium.
"Uhhh... Thanks for showing the Ikana your respect today, um, everyone. Please disperse in an orderly fashion, and remember that anyone caught attempting to interfere with the mayor's negotiations will be severely punished for it. Have a nice day," he choked out, obviously rather unprepared for such an announcement. Slowly but surely, the crowd seemed to be thinning out, but East Clock Town was certainly abuzz with a great deal of worry and confusion after that strange revelation. Who was this sky Goddess, and what could her ill-fated prophecy entail?
Baklava