GambolMuse

Far From Home

Placeholder! :P

Legend of Zelda: Templar Ascension

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."

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

Convincing Shu to join him on the board had been easy, and within moments they were on their way down the slide. Keeping one arm around Shu to be safe they darted down the hillside, speeding along right up until they hit the pool with a resounding splash. At first the silence that greeted them in the pool worried Takeshi and made him think his brother hadn't enjoyed this as much as he might like. That concern though was quickly dispelled when Shu sprung to his feet and jumped around, looking like a little kid as he rushed out to get ready for another run. "Alright, alright buddy! We'll go again!" the older boy laughed, getting himself out and wiped water from his face before ushering Shu back to the top of the hill. All around them the sound of children laughing and squealing with delight made him grin, finding all of the excitement to be contagious. Definitely a lucky break they found this place no doubt! "Ready? We'll go even faster this time!" Placing himself down and getting Shu situated he grinned, pushing off with both hands this time. They slightly raised up off the slide before bouncing back onto it, darting along the track into the pool within seconds, kicking up a large amount of water on landing. Even Takeshi was laughing now, falling back off the board into the pool and smiling at Shu.

"Oh, uh well that doesn't change our skin really, it's different than that. It uh..." Yumi began before pausing, frowning confused as she scratched at her head, "Actually... I don't know how it works. But being above ground and below ground doesn't change that. But I'll love to see it, I don't mind if its underground." While she was enjoying having these side conversations they had technically come down here to study, they could always continue these later after they did a little more. Smiling amused she nodded once before opening the book open to the same page, skimming it for a couple of sentences that didn't seem terribly complex. "We can make plans after we do this, how's that sound? I'm sure we'll be able to find time to see both of our homes if we want. I haven't ever shown anyone where I live." Vegeta had been there years and years ago but she doubted even he remembered it now; when they were kids growing up she spent more time at Capsule Corporation than her own home, sometimes even she got confused. "Now let's see... Aha! 'The horses were drawn up and let loose to graze while everyone began preparing for a long night. The river would keep them safe, so they hoped, and provided a source of food and water.'" Seriously though when were the faeries going to start popping up? Silly fantasy novels...

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

Shu's excitement was way higher than Takeshi had anticipated, the kid was practically bounding out of his own skin. It had been absolutely ages since he'd seen his brother this eager and it was both reassuring and hilarious to watch. "Yeah, nice and simple buddy. Come on, we're wasting time just standing around here." Grabbing his brother's hand he pulled him along, right to the top of the slide where spare boards were waiting for them. After finding a decently sized one, they weren't all uniform, he set it on the closest slide and waved Shu over to join him. "Sure does, just hold on tight while we go!" Takeshi laughed, placing his arms around Shu's midsection for extra measure. All set? Freeing one hand briefly he pushed off on the ground behind them and sent them forward, slowly approaching the peak of the hill before spilling over it. Rushing down the slide, water kicking up everywhere, they made it to the bottom of the hill in seconds and hit the pool at the bottom with a resounding splash. It was shallow there, barely up to one's shins if they stood up, but it served the purpose plenty well. Just from that one go they were positively soaked yet even Takeshi found himself grinning like an idiot. "Hah! Ready to go again squirt?"

Reading and discussing their language may not be as exhilarating as racing down water slides but it had its own fun. Yumi was enjoying teaching T'charrl what she knew and he in turn was taking it all in, it was nice to see. "You don't have to read it as quickly as I do either. If you get caught on a word then we can sound it out, no problems there!" It was weird, in some ways it was like instructing a little kid. Only this little kid was probably close to Shu's age, spoke perfectly fine and was from another planet. Weird that she could say that now and it be a completely normal thing, just over a year ago training someone from another country seemed strange, never mind off-world. "I'd love to see all that! Your planet was really nice, and so was the castle. I'm sure there's an awful lot to be seen still, we'll definitely have to go back!" Yumi said eagerly, smiling before placing her hand down on the book, "Before we get ahead of ourselves though let's get back to reading, okay? After this maybe we can think about going back, if we have time. I'm sure Vegeta wouldn't mind if we... Borrowed the shuttle."

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

Perhaps a night time approach would have been a good idea. There was no telling if the bandits would still be here come sunset, but nothing could go as poorly as this was. Having stirred the hornet's nest they now stood on Aube Doré's decks surrounded by bandits. Far from an ideal situation and the only way out of this now was to fight. Given the odds, two against however many criminals were here, Ethan had no choice but to call Cecil up to help. Even just having one more person here gave them a better chance and he knew the Machina could handle himself in a fight. Parrying a sword strike Ethan stepped in and stomped his foot down on top of a bandit's toes, driving his head up then into the man's chin and knocking him over. Wincing as his scalp ached from the blow he rubbed at it briefly, cringing when Cecil shouted at him.

"Sorry, sorry! We just need the help okay?" Ethan called back, smacking away another sword as it narrowly caught his side. Persistent lot, the only advantage they had was there were so many, and the quarters so tight, teaming up on them was next to impossible. Still meant that they would keep coming, but at least they weren't fighting three or four men at once. Striking a man on his thigh with the flat of his sword he then reached down and caught the man on the foot, pulling it and tipping him off balance, giving his stomach a good kick to knock him over and bowling onto one of his friends. Just as he'd done so another bandit came after him with a very unusual set of weapons, a pair of knuckles with spikes on the end. Unable to really block much Ethan caught a punch across his cheek, a few cuts forming as the tips dug through his skin. Gritting his teeth and biting back the pain he threw a hand out as the bandit readied another attack, releasing a blast of wind to knock him back and into a pile of crates on the deck.

"You're in it now Cecil, complaining does little to help!" Nymira shouted back as she ducked beneath a sword, swinging her body to the side to avoid the crushing of a hammer. Placing one foot on the hammer's head she jumped up and grabbed the man's head, using her momentum to flip him over and onto his back with a heavy thud. Grabbing hold then of the hammer she used her entire body to swing it and smash it into another bandit's stomach, winding him before using the handle of her dagger to bash his jaw, probably breaking it but knocking him out in the process. She really wasn't good at this whole non-lethal fighting, it flew in the face of everything she knew. "Damn pacifists... This is nonsense," Nymira grumbled as she stepped over the fallen men, heading towards the cabin of the ship to try and find whoever was in charge. Every group had a leader, if they could beat him then they'd be victorious.

Just as she had gotten a hand on the door a thunderous crash made her dart back, just in time to avoid a massive blade sticking itself through the door. Watching then as it was kicked off its hinges a massive man walked out from the cabin, wielding a hefty cutlass in one hand and a wild grin on his face. Hastily grabbing her daggers from their sheaths Nymira rushed in to try and debilitate him somehow, figuring he was nothing more than a lumbering fool. Darting side to side she sprang forward and tried to cut his calf to bring him down, eyes widening in surprise when he deftly avoided her swing. Turning her body she used both of her daggers to stop the sword from cleaving her in two, only to find a hand grabbing at her throat and lifting her off of her feet. Gasping for breath under the man's oppressive strength she tried to kick at his chest to break free, finding herself unable to muster the strength for it.

"A Dimuran girl huh? Now that's interesting, what's your kind doing all the way out here," the bandit leader laughed, increasing his grip on Nymira's neck. By now she was clawing at his hand to try and get free, her face paling slightly as she even dropped her daggers. "Adorable, she's trying to fight back! Haha, what a sorry sight you are!" All he had to do was close his hand and her neck would snap, over and done with. Smiling maliciously he began to tighten his grasp even further, but stopped short of the killing blow when her hand extended itself into his face. It was much too close to properly react, and when the flames spit forth his face was caught right in the path. Howling in pain the bandit promptly dropped Nymira and stumbled back, losing his sword in the process. "Y-You bitch! I'll gut you for that!"

Slowly but surely they looked to be dwindling down the bandits number in large part thanks to Cecil and Zander. With the two of them now involved in the fray there was much more room to maneuver, and splitting up their opponent's focus meant they were making mistakes. Nearly 8 bandits lay on the deck either unconscious or beaten, and while more still remained they were making leeway. All was going well, and Ethan was optimistic they could finish this without any serious injury. That outlook however was quickly tarnished when he heard the bandit leader shouting a ways off, looking over to see him gripping his face, blood on his hands and dripping down his chin. Nymira sat on the ground with her palms facing him, looking prepared to fire another spell. Cursing her persistence he darted over to try and halt her casting, intending to knock her out of the way and spare the bandit. Before he ever reached her however the sound of rattling chains stole his attention, and his head swiveled in time to see a large ball coming at his head connected to a rusted chain and weight. Raising his sword just in time Ethan groaned in pain as he was knocked off his feet, tumbling through the air and into the open cabin, going as far to fall down the stairs to the hull below. The entire room felt like it was spinning for a moment, and as he tried to get to his feet he stumbled slightly, trying to get his bearings back.

With all the chaos happening on and around Aube Doré no one had noticed a new party arriving on the scene. Four men dressed in finely tailored suits, each carrying with them some kind of weapon fashioned of the highest quality materials, each boasting a Demacite core for added effect. They were here for one particular reason, a specific crate on board of that vessel. Stolen parts, parts which had no business being out on the market and belonged to a particularly important individual. If they wanted their paychecks, and to keep their heads, they had to retrieve them. From their place on the road they could see the frenzy happening on the deck and landing, bodies going every which way and bandits fighting with a ragtag group. Who knows what exactly was going on here, not that it mattered. If these two parties killed one another then all the better, it made it easier for them to do their job.

"Come on, it has to be on the ship somewhere. Get on board and fan out, we'll find it," one of the men said, pulling a rod from his coat and pressing a button on the grip. The tool itself extended and two prongs emerged from the end, electricity crackling between the points as it powered up. Approaching the landing first he ignored Zander dueling with the men, trying to go immediately for the gangplank but finding himself stopped by a man carrying an axe. Scowling the man in the suit continued forward, and when swung at he reached out and caught the bandit's wrist, wrenching it around to make him drop his weapon before shoving the prod at his chest, electrocuting him and dropping him into a heap on the ground.

The man to the rear of the group had been approaching the landing when he heard the rustling of bushes nearby, pausing in his step and looking around the area. Was someone else there? Furrowing his brow he took his arm from his jacket, having had it tucked away inside with the sleeve hanging loosely at his side. Strapped to his hand was a gauntlet with several pads both on the fingertips and the palm, and on the back of a hand a thin case filled with Demacite powder. There was only one set of bushes nearby, fairly simple to guess where the sound had come from. Extending his hand outward he used his other to press a switch on his wrist, and with it the pads on the gauntlet lit up, magic forming at his palm before ice fired off from it in the form of shards, threatening to tear through the leaves and whatever might be inside.

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

Just to cover my butt from legal charges, Mogtaki said it was okay if I had Cecil do that thing with the thing :P DON'T SUE ME! ;A;

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

The plan of attack might not be apparent just yet, but a few things were. For starters it was best Cecil didn't go on,board the ship, not like he'd go on regardless unless forced. With all that water about it was probably very daunting for him, no reason to put him into a stressful situation. Secondly Zander was no fighter, having him come along was out of the question, as was Amuné. Thirdly and most important was they had no clue how many bandits there were. At best they had three people to fight however many bandits there were, with Cecil only being able to fight on land. So that left him and Nymira to fight then, two on probably a dozen if not more. They did have magic on their side, yet for differing reasons both himself and the princess had no desire to use it to fight. So where did that leave them? With one heck of a mountainous task before them, and no real answer as how best to approach it.

"No, I think Wyth should stay here with you Amuné, he can help keep you safe," Ethan answered, "And yeah, burning the ship isn't going to work. I mean Lazlo probably wants his stuff back too right? And we can't carry all that, which means we need to find a way to make the bandits leave..." But how? They had the number advantage big time, and as experienced as Nymira might be she wasn't going to fend off a whole dozen or two of armed men. He could fight, but what were his chances against that many people at once? Without magic probably not great, and he really had no desire to use magic here. Furrowing his brow in thought he stared at the ship as Zander spoke, wondering if knocking some of them out would make it easier. Ideally if they could knock them all out and avoid a fight that would be amazing, but then that was asking for a miracle. So what then?

"It's going to be way harder to get the ship, but we need that to get the goods back, and the mead. So we have to beat all of those guys and kick them off," Ethan mumbled as he stood up, being mindful to use the tree above them to keep himself mostly hidden. "I hate to say it but we can't really avoid a fight here I don't think. If we fight them one or two at a time though we'll be okay, and we just have to knock them out," he added as he looked to Nymira, "So hit them on the head, or punch them in the gut, do something to put them under, but no killing, please?" Even Bandits didn't need to be killed like common farm animals, no matter what they had done. Should they be punished? Maybe, but that was what jail was for, not the blade. What worried him was how disdainful Nymira seemed to be towards criminals, and what she might do to these men if she was pushed.

Nymira gave Ethan a cross look before rising to her feet as well, pulling her hood up to partially obscure her face. "You say that like I'm a cold blooded killer. Relax, these men are thieves and they shall be dealt with like thieves." Maybe they would lose a finger or two, or have their tongues cut out, as was customary. Though that didn't seem to be a regular punishment here, she couldn't recall any of the low-lives from the other towns missing anything of the sorts. How bothersome that she'd have to simply knock them out, it was harder than it sounded when using daggers. Doable, but annoying. "Hmph... Take the lead Ethan, Cecil and I will be right behind you."

"Right... Uh... Stay low and keep quiet, we need to get as close as we can before we attack," Ethan whispered, putting a finger to his lips for emphasis. It sure would be nice if this were later in the day too, but of course it was right in the afternoon. Their one saving grace was the ship was beached at such an angle the shore was obscured from the landing site, meaning so long as they kept out of the line of sight they wouldn't be spotted. Waving his friends along Ethan snuck out from the bushes, slid down the slight embankment and began to creep along the shore. The wet sand beneath their feet gave little sound as they went, all they needed to do was be mindful of the sticks along the way.

Slowly but surely they made their advance on the ship, stopping in mid-stride every so often as the top of a bandit's head moved over the horizon, threatening to spot them out. Now that they were closer to the boat they found no way really to scale the sides, no ladders even windows to speak of. All that there was on the sides was a large wheel, one on both the left and right side of the ships. Ethan hadn't a clue what those might be for, though considering there were no sails on this ship it must be how it moved. Weird, he'd never really seen a boat like this before. With no alternatives the trio moved around the ship to where the plank was set, hiding in its shadow as bandits moved along it overhead. They had to somehow get on board and fend off the bandits there, but how was that going to work?

"Hey Cecil... I got an idea," Ethan whispered, grinning as he pointed to the spot where the board met the ground, "As soon as those guys get back down, give Nymira and me a toss. We'll surprise them!"

Sat in silence and waiting for their moment, as soon as the bandits set down their crate Ethan sharply whispered "Now!" Using his immense strength Cecil threw both Ethan and Nymira through the air, right towards their targets at the bottom of the ramp. Not expecting it in the slightest Ethan hit the first bandit, knocking him over and promptly punching him in the jaw and knocking him out. Nymira was a bit more graceful, kicking the man in mid-air, causing him to flip and land out cold as well. With that done Ethan waved their friend up to join them, though no sooner had he done so did the alarm sound.

"Intruders! We've got intruders!" a bandit shouted from the deck, cupping his hands around his mouth as he turned back, "We got intruders boss, two of em!"

Nymira gritted her teeth and grabbed one of her daggers, darting up the gangplank at a swift speed. Launching herself then off of her back foot she jumped up and twisted her body around, kicking the man in the head and knocking him over the side into the water below. What a mistake that turned out to be, as soon she realized there were easily a dozen men up on deck, perhaps even more beneath, all armed. With Ethan running up behind her she ran right at the nearest man, deflecting his sword with her dagger and kicking him unceremoniously right between the legs, using the hilt of her dagger then to smack him in the back of the head and knock him out as well. She sincerely hoped he had more of a plan at this point, they were very outnumbered here.

"Nice one Nymira, that's how to do it!" Ethan cheered as he reached the deck, grinning despite the several sets of eyes glaring down on him and his friend. Smiling at the men gathered he took his sword out from its sheath and held it, blade pointed at the group. "This isn't your ship, stop what you're doing right now and return everything to its owner."

Kind of should have been expected that wouldn't go well, but Ethan didn't expect everyone to start laughing at him like that.

"Yeah right, like hells we're doing that!" one of the bandits roared, "You and what army kid?"

"Ey, I got a better idea! Let's kill these two, I'm getting bored doing all this lugging!" another shouted.

"Kill the boy, the girl's cute! We can keep her for later!"

Nymira's eyes flashed with a venomous gaze at the latter comment, pulling her other dagger free and charging immediately for the man responsible. Weaving to the side as he swung his sword at her she quickly moved her body back in, slicing at his calf with her dagger and bringing him to his knees immediately. Turning her body once more she tried to drive her dagger down into his neck, but instead was stopped when Ethan's sword intercepted her blow. Snarling angrily she wanted to snap at him yet instead let out an almost pitiful yelp as he pulled her away, another sword narrowly missing where her head had been.

"No killing! We went over this!" Ethan complained as he stepped away, letting out a sigh before shaking his head. Now they definitely weren't going to do this peacefully! No time to lament that fact though, they were being set upon by every man on the deck. Eyes darting around to try and spot the nearest opponent he stepped forward and caught a sword with his own, having to push it back and jump away as another missed his side by inches. Slapping away another with his weapon he found three men now converging on him, with another set going after Nymira. "Uh... Cecil? You sure you don't want to come up?" Ethan laughed nervously, deflecting another blow and then slapping a man's wrist with the dull side of his sword to knock away his weapon, "There's a lot of people up here that want to kill us, we could use a hand!"

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

"It's a figure of speech buddy, I didn't really mean it," Takeshi said with a smirk, watching as Shu bound around him hyper-actively. Never thought he'd miss that part of his brother but it really had been a long time since he'd been this wound up. Laughing at the enthusiasm he reeled it back a little, looking around for anything for them to do. For a moment it seemed like there wasn't a single fun activity, but then he spotted the slides up on a nearby hill. What luck that there was actually something out here to do! If they hadn't come across anything soon then Takeshi was going to have to fess up, and doing so meant disappointing Shu and getting him upset. This... Whatever it was looked like serious fun though, perfectly innocent fun at that. If it had Shu this riled up just watching it then he'd be all giddy once they actually started.

"Not bath time buddy, not everything with water is bath time," Takeshi teased as he ruffled Shu's hair, "And they're called slides... I think. You ride on them and go down the hill, on those... Board... Things." There was a word for them but he couldn't for the life of him think of it. Well whatever, that wasn't the important part here. If Shu was happy to do it then damn they were going to do it, for however long it took to make the little guy happy. Grabbing Shu by the hand he tugged him along up the hill, going to the top where a stack of the boards sat unused, just waiting for them to take. Seeing some parents go down with their kids in their lap he figured that's how they would do it, even if Shu might be a little large for that. Finding an open chute Takeshi set the board down, kicking his shoes off and leaving them there before climbing on and patting the spot before himself. "Sit right here and hang on buddy, unless you wanna go down by yourself?"

Finding a book that wasn't above both of their heads proved to be tricky, goes to show what finding reading material in a home full of scientists was like. Having found maybe the one book that they could even grasp it seemed like T'charrl needed a little bit of help with his reading; considering that he and Vegeta had only done a few lessons it wasn't really a bad thing T'charrl was struggling, it was kind of expected really. "You'll get it with practice, don't beat yourself up over it," Yumi encouraged, pausing in her reading as her friend spoke again. "Well I can keep reading if you'd like, and maybe now and again you can pick it up? We'll take turns." Might not be a bad way to teach him actually, then he'd have some idea of how words sounded by listening to her. There was nothing to this teaching thing! "Oh that sounds amazing, I never saw that part of your house..." Yumi muttered before blinking once, a sheepish smile passing her lips, "Come to think of it... I never saw anything except the entrance and the throne room," she added before turning to T'charrl, "When we go back I want you to give me a tour of your house! I want to see where you grew up, I bet there's a lot there we never got to see."

Legend of Zelda: Templar Ascension

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?"

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

How did a trip to recover a stolen ship involve a discussion on alcohol? Ethan supposed it was because of the cargo involved, and he was learning just how very different their viewpoints were. Nymira saw it as a weakness while he saw it as a way to relax, even if he himself never partook in it. Just another thing I and the princess don't see eye to eye on the Muran mused to himself, smiling and giving his head a defeated shake. Couldn't expect everyone to view things the same, the world would be awfully boring if that were the case. And by that stretch it only made sense that everyone had their own opinions on things, even if he didn't agree with those. Way of the world or something like that.

In their conversation of liquor Ethan had forgotten how they were meant to distinguish their ship from the rest. Certain markings? A name? A style of ship? Surely Lazlo had mentioned something before and yet now he couldn't bring it to mind. Furrowing his brow in thought it was Amuné who would give him the answer, feeling rather silly that she could remember it just fine. "Right, Aube Doré... I doubt they'll bring it into town," he mentioned in agreement to Zander, "Or they could be going there to sell them, I guess either way. We won't know until we spot them will we?" Provided of course they hadn't already passed the ship without realizing it. There was also a very real chance of it continuing up river, which if that were the case then they didn't have much chance of catching it. No, if they were going up river then it was against the currents, it would be traveling slowly regardless. They would find it one way or another, had to keep confident.

"We'll find the ship, we had better. I'm not on this errand to chase ghosts," Nymira commented testily as she looked towards the water, as though expecting the boat to materialize on command. "From what little I've seen so far your bandits are fools and arrogant, they're probably parading about somewhere dressed in absurd clothes like that merchant. All we need to do then is look for a band of roving buffoons and we'll have our men." Seemed straightforward enough to her really, just look for something that screamed ridiculous like Lazlo's outfit and they'd be on their way.

It didn't take long from there to locate the ship surprisingly, and what's more it would be easily accessible. Perhaps easily wasn't the right word, there was nothing easy about the five armed men at the bottom of the plank organizing crates. Nor was there anything easy about the several bandits still onboard Aube Doré itself, a headcount which they couldn't get from here. Sat in the crook of the river and braced up against a riverbank the ship was being unloaded one by one, its contents poured through and no doubt the more valuable items set aside. As if these morons would know what was valuable or not, Nymira reflected cynically. To them it was all cloth and nothing more no doubt; she hadn't any idea of the materials worth either, but at least she had the excuse of being from another land. Just a bunch of muscle-bound idiots looting what didn't belong to them, disgusting. Had they earned it in battle perhaps she could turn a blind eye, but they had stolen from a hapless, if eccentric merchant.

"So... How in the heck are we going about this?" Ethan asked curiously, furrowing his brow as he peered over the bushes in which they hid. It was roughly 200 meters from where they stood to the boat he'd guess, a lot of space for anyone to cover without being seen. No matter how you cut it a fight was probably inevitable, though he really wanted to avoid one if they could. "Is there any way we can sneak aboard? Maybe go up the shore or something..."

"Why should we sneak? We have to be rid of the bandits, its best to just launch a head-on assault!" Nymira retorted impatiently, one hand already on her dagger, "I can handle those five if we get a surprise attack, then we move up the board there and onto the ship. Between you, Cecil and I we can take them. I've yet to meet a bandit I couldn't defeat easily." And she'd had her fair share of troubles since arriving here from her own clan's land, more instances than she could count. One man had given her a bit of trouble yet she still came out on top, and since then everyone else had been a minor nuisance. Standing upright she tried to step through the bushes and simply charge for the ship, growling when Ethan grabbed her arm to hold her back. "What now? We're wasting time sitting like this!"

"We don't know how many there are, we can't just go charging in," Ethan whispered as he pulled Nymira back down, "Come on, that boat's huge! There might be twenty, thirty even. We need to be safer about this." They had to think not only about Amuné's safety but Zander's as well. Not to mention Cecil was probably not thrilled with getting on a boat, being surrounded by water and all. It might be easier to somehow lure everyone off the boat, though then they could end up surrounded. Think Ethan, think... There's got to be a way to do this... Their only way to sneak on board was probably to move down the shore, even through the water if they had to. Being wet again really didn't sound pleasant but if that was their only chance...

Up on the deck of the ship the bandit leader stood at the edge of the deck, watching as his men unloaded crate by crate to the ground below. "Faster you louts, we need to get this done before the guard show up!" he shouted in a gruff voice, waving his hand impatiently, "You drop any of that in the water and it's your head, you hear me? Now get moving!" Scowling as a pair of men fumbled a box but managed to save it he rolled his eyes, turning and storming back into the cabin. Eyeing the woman sat upon the bed he stopped right before her, a smirk on his lips as he reached down to pull her to her feet. "And you, it's time for you to earn your paycheck, Naga. If any guards show up you deal with 'em, hear me? If I have any spare men I'll send one or two down, but that's it. Don't go dying on us, I'd hate to not pay you."