Quill: Marcus (25r) and Loft (25r) Fate's End: Jax Thrace (25r) and Sib Thrace (25r) [Ajax, feel free to make stuff up in the dungeon. We're pretty loosely bound to canon, so if you think of something cool, go ahead and do it. I know I will, lol. This is a pretty basic dungeon based off of courage and willpower; a link to a description can be found here. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a PM or just ask in OoC brackets here.] ------- Reaching, grabbing, pulling, biting. Loft hurt, it hurt all over, but he kept pushing forward. The vines scraped against his skin, prickly hands that snatched his hair and tore into his tunic and cut his skin. He whimpered, barely able to see his way in the darkness, and he wished that he could pull out his candle and make some light. But he knew he couldn't; he couldn't because Marcus had told him not to. If he did, the whole forest would go up in smoke, and where would they be then? A thorn cut his cheek, and Loft gasped in surprise. When was this going to end? Loft crashed through a prickly bush and fell into soft, green grass. The dew was gentle and soothing on his burning face. He looked up and saw a giant stone wall before him. Gasping, he twisted around and stared at the thick forest behind him. Even now, the vines seemed to wave menacingly at him, angry that he'd escaped their vicious grasp and wishing that he was back in their nasty clutches. Marcus was already running a hand over himself, healing his various cuts and scrapes, and Loft scrambled forward to receive the same treatment. There was nothing to be done for his tunic, though; he would just have to live with a few more holes. "The Temple of Courage," Marcus said, "we made it."
He could feel the buzzing, thrumming energy in his wife's step, even as she slithered through the trees ahead. Everything in this area seemed to want him very, very dead. And Jax was all the more miffed that his wife didn't seem the least bit bothered by ANY of the foliage. And in fact, she seemed "Excited" about it. Lethal, quiet, outrageously sensual, in his eyes, and now he had to add "Can slither through forests" to the list of things his wife was. Oh, and she was already smirking about how she was going to spend the "loot" from this accursed place. As though she was sure they were going to find something worthwhile. An errant branch snagged his bow, jerking him to a muffled, cursing halt. Earning him the "you idiot" look from his lover, as well. After several seconds of frenetic and utterly useless writhing, Jax whipped out his knife and slashed through the offending branch. Earning a cut on his wrist from another branch he hadn't seen, and now was most positive had been lying in wait for just such a moment. Sweating, bleeding from a half-dozen cuts. And completely, wholly fed up with this idiotic trip, Jax was sure this was one of his wife's worst ideas, ever. But a soft chuckle from her up ahead brought his steely eyes forward. His wife was leaning casually against yet another of the cursed branches, pressing it downward to reveal . . . "I hate you." He muttered as he stalked forward, rearranging his bow. "I know." Came his wife's smirking reply as she led him out into a grassy area, blessedly free of the trees that had plagued him. Up ahead . . .was that which held their prize. The Temple of Courage.
Marcus was about to walk through the entryway when he heard them. Hylian voices- here? Of all places? Marcus turned and looked at the man and woman who'd just entered the clearing, bleeding from the cuts and scrapes of the malicious forest behind them. He frowned and glanced at Loft, then did a double-take when he realized that the thief wasn't on the ground. He had climbed up a nearby pillar and was now sitting on the stone structure, his legs dangling over the air and the ears of his Bunny Hood flopping in the wind. Marcus looked back at the two Hylians, his hand dangling casually by his bag. He didn't think he'd need the Magic Rod lying within, but woodland bandits weren't unheard of, even here. He doubted whether anyone in their right mind would've stayed in this temple's vicinity after the kidnappings, but people were strange. "Hello? Are you lost?"
Behind her, she could feel, rather than see, Jax tense up. A half-gloved hand slipping to the quiver at his hip and fingering an arrow, though not quite readying his bow. For her part, Sib gave an undignified snort. She'd known . . .vaguely, that someone else would be here. But this dark-haired young man? Her dream hadn't been "That" specific. Still, it wasn't a problem. Not yet, at least. A nudge from her husband's elbow interrupted her thoughts, the jab a fair bit harder than necessary. Taking his nudge as the warning it was intended, her eyes caught sight of the second figure atop the pillar. If things turned ugly, two-on-two was better odds than she normally had. But when she'd had her dream. . . . well, the things were incredibly hard to figure out. But she didn't think these people were enemies. And she fervently hoped not. If they were hostile, Jax would never let her live it down that she hadn't seen it coming. She raised a gloved hand in a greeting gesture, leaving her weapons undrawn. "Lost? No. We're travelers." She replied evenly. Waiting to see how the boy reacted.
Loft laughed delightedly, clapping his hands together from atop the pillar. He liked the pillar- it made him feel all gianty. Like he could reach up and grab the clouds, bringing them down to his lips and munchy-munch-munching on their sweet deliciousness. What they would taste like, he wondered.... "Travelers? Us too!" He put a hand over his heart and beamed down at the big people who were now little people because of his giant stature. It was good to be big, it really was. "We're going in there," he said happily, jerking a thumb at the temple behind him, "to stop a big scary monster!" He scrunched up his face and clawed the air with stiff fingers. "Something in there," Marcus said, nodding to the temple, "has been kidnapping kids from the nearby villages. We're here to stop it and see if anyone's still alive. What are you doing here?"
Jax didn't like the smiling one up atop the pillar. Not in the slightest. He'd known a girl who'd smiled that much, years ago. She'd been smiling up until she'd tried to light him on fire. And then she'd started laughing. But Sib didn't seem worried. And for all the grief he gave her, she was right more often than wrong, with her dreams. And she hadn't said a thing about dangers outside the Temple. keeping wary, but relaxing at least a bit, seemed the best course of action, at the moment. He withdrew his hand from his quiver, free of any arrow. Loosening his grip just a bit on his bow as well. "Kidnapping, eh? Is there a reward?" He asked gruffly. A step ahead and to the side, his wife rolled her eyes at his lack of tact. But nodded as well, "We've some experience, with beasties of most shapes and sizes. If there's coin to be had, it might be worth a look."
He'd thought that there'd been something shady about these two. It wasn't the kidnappings that caught their attention; it was the money they were after. That made Marcus a little uncomfortable, but he shrugged and nodded. "There's a reward," he said, scratching his head, "I mean, these villages are getting pretty desperate. They've already lost seven kids and three hunting parties to this, so I'm sure they'd be grateful." Loft hopped down from the pillar and landed silently on the grass, his bunny ears quivering merrily. "Partners!" He did a little dance and punched the air. "I'm Loft," he said, jabbing himself with a thumb, "that's Marcus." He dashed at the boy and gave him a hug, ignoring the healer's muffled protests, then turned and started bouncing up and down with excitement. "What's your name?"
She couldn't help but smile. Well, technically she could have. But something about the boy's sudden awkward look when he realized what they were was utterly hilarious to a part of Sib's mind. A small, thoughtful smile crosses her lips as she looked to Marcus and Loft. Her ever-wary stance didn't so much relax as take it down just a tick, much like her husband. Letting one's guard down was how one lost an ear-tip. She knew that from experience. "Don't look so shocked, Marcus." She said with a bemused tone, knowing that her husband was watching the smiling Loft like a hawk, even as she spoke. "Partners we shall be. If you'll have us. I only need a tad of gold to achieve my goal." Here her eyes twinkled merrily as she glanced back to Jax. His glare had now transferred to her. "My name is Sib. The man with the glare is Jax. Don't mind him, he's just a grouch."
