Corruption of the Lost Woods Skull Woods Dungeon (LTTP and LBW) - Autumn, the Guardian of the Lost Woods (2/2/5 Hylian) [Blonde Panther] Reward: Straight Shooting, Phantasmal Flame x2, -10 Rupees. - Keera Elodie, Kokiri Healer (2/4/2 Kokiri) [Lightascetic] Reward: Holy Bolt, +10 Rupees. Mandatory Dungeon Music This was why she just shouldn't sleep. When Autumn had woken up that morning, it had been to Wolfos's anxious whining and licking her face. As she had opened her eyes and looked around her, she had immediately realised that the Lost Woods had fundamentally changed while she'd slept. The normally blue-grey skies had become an unnatural grey-green colour, clouds passing and swirling overhead as if created and driven by an evil wind. The woods certainly felt evil, if Autumn's Sense was to be trusted- and it was. It had never been wrong before. The Spirits' Glade, was her first thought. She took up her bow, which had fortunately been untouched by whatever had changed the woods, and nocked an arrow as she took off. Wolfos followed behind her, its paws on the forest floor a reassuring, regular rhythm. Bats flew overhead as she ran, but that was nothing new. Autumn didn't bother looking at them to see their hideously mutated forms, consisting of a single eye between their wings, with which they watched her without blinking. She would shoot them if she felt any threat from them, but as it was, they were the least of her concerns. She leapt over a log, Wolfos following close behind, and skidded to a halt. She knew for a fact she was on her way to the Spirits' Glade, and yet she saw trees that she didn't recognise. She had assumed that the trees themselves looked different, but she hoped the pit in her stomach wasn't a sign of something worse. A complete re-arrangement of the Lost Woods would severely hamper her ability to reverse the change. That was not the reason why she had stopped, however. Rather, Wolfos had stopped as well and growled at the underbrush to their side, prompting Autumn to stop and point an arrow at it. "Who goes there?" she called, her voice authoritative and free of any insecurity she might feel at the sudden hostility of her otherwise safe home.
"This is a very big job... Melda, do you think we can do this alone?" Keera walked steadily along one of the clearest paths she could find in the Lost Woods. She didn't particularly know where she was, but being lost wasn't a concern for her right now, seeing as she'd been tasked with discovering what trouble was brewing here. The Great Deku Tree -connected to nature as he was-, had sensed a disturbance of a sinister nature. With Keera's gifts in healing, he had tasked her with seeing if there was anything that was in need of healing. Despite her concern regarding her suitability to see this task through, and for her own safety, Keera never turned her protector down. "We'll be fine," Melda chimed gently, floating just above her master's head, her green glow seeming a perfect fit for the foliage around them. "The Great Deku said something about a protector, anyway. If we bump into him or her, they'd likely be able to help us." Keera knew that her fairy was softly implying that they needed the help: she was good at investigating, but she wasn't very dependable in a fight. If they ran into someone or something hostile, they'd be running all the way back to the Kokiri Woods. Speaking of her home, Keera noted that the trees here were vastly different. She knew of the changing nature of the Lost Woods, but the trees almost seemed... different. Keera wasn't sure how she knew that, having never laid eyes upon them before, but something definitely seemed off, as the Great Deku Tree had sensed. Suddenly, Keera could hear a rhythmic quad of movement, and it sounded all too familiar. Before Melda had time to enquire as to why her master had stopped dead in her tracks, Keera had flung herself into some nearby bushes. Melda found her way inside, drifting low to the ground by the Kokiri's feet. "What spooked you?" "I think I heard... A Wolfos." Keera muttered, gathering her knees into her chest. Grim memories of fending off a stray Wolfos from Kokiri Woods arose, and she remembered the nasty bite she'd received in attempting to subdue it. "Who goes there?" Seeing as Keera remained perfectly still, Melda sighed. "You owe me one," She muttered, before gently pushing her way through the branches of the bush to emerge out into the open. At first pretending to be as simple as a wondering spirit or woodland fairy, Melda moved slowly through the air, sizing up the owner of the fearless voice. "I think it's her, Keera. The protector." She chimed. "She won't come out if you're aiming at her, you know. Or with that Wolfos bearing its teeth: she's afraid of them." Gingerly, Keera pushed aside some branches, peering at the Hylian woman and her seemingly loyal Wolfos.
A Fairy? The string on Autumn's bow slackened, but she didn't lower it just yet. It could be any number of things. A Forest Spirit who had escaped and found her. A trick of the changed woods to distract her. Or the Guardian Spirit of a Forest Child, she realised when the Fairy spoke to -and about- someone Autumn couldn't see. "Down, Wolfos," she said, the beast immediately laying down on the ground. It still growled faintly, but more as a warning not to try anything with its mistress than as an open threat. Autumn lowered her bow, though in such a way she could quickly bring it back up, aim, and shoot if this did turn out to be a trap. "You are correct, Spirit," she said, nodding. "I am indeed the Guardian of these-" she interrupted herself, swerving around and bringing up her bow. This time, however, the arrow was not meant as a warning shot. She aimed low, burying the arrow in the skull of a hideously mutated Wolfos that had leapt from the tree trunk behind her. That didn't stop the beast though, as it kept running towards her with its tongue lolling out of its mouth and its eyes rolling in its head. That hadn't entirely been the intent behind the shot either, but it did buy Wolfos the time it needed to tackle the other beast and bury its fangs into the neck, dragging it to the ground. Autumn grabbed a new arrow, waiting for Wolfos to drag its enemy to the ground and expose its belly to her as she had taught it. Once she had a clear shot at it, she launched the arrow at the beast's chest, the impact breaking a rib and burying the arrow in its heart. "Secure your quarry, Spirit," she said to the Fairy, not taking her eyes off the path in front of her as she reached for another projectile. She sensed more approaching. "I can only kill so many." She didn't clarify that it was for the sake of the balance in the woods. She would protect any Forest Children at any cost, but the sooner she could make her own escape from the pack, the less she would have to upset the balance.
Keera flinched from her cover when the protector fired an arrow, but she ended up being more concerned about what the archer had fired at. "We're on the move. Come on!" Melda chimed, shining in Keera's face to provoke sudden movement. Doing as she was told, the kokiri emerged, brushing twigs and leaves from her hair before looking up. The sight of the slain Wolfos was not a welcome one. Immediately she grabbed for her long, wooden flute. She wasn't much of a fighter, but she could defend herself in a pinch. Keera noticed how the Wolfos looked more maniacal than usual, if that was even possible. When she didn't move any further, Melda chimed in her ears: "We're in danger, Keera! Go, go!" "Right!" Blushing from her apparent lack of awareness, Keera broke into a run, heading down the pathway stretching out before them. It wasn't long before another Wolfos was before them, zig-zagging through the trees, eager to get to the pathway. In an attempt to delay the beast's attack, Keera ducked off the path and weaved between the trees whilst still heading forwards: she was better at evading that confronting her foes. "If you're going to hit it, aim for the face!" Melda called, flitting towards the beast's snout. As the mutated Wolfos advanced through the first line of trees, Keera valiantly swung her flute with both hands, managing to clobber it across the nose which earned a high-pitched yelp. With another strike to the head, the Wolfos sagged slightly, however still shuffling towards Keera. "These are tougher than normal ones!" Keera exclaimed, picking up her feet and moving further forwards, parallel with the path. "Back onto the path! The protector probably can't shoot it from here." Melda said, now flying in front of Keera to help navigate the trees a bit quicker. With a few hops, she re-emerged with the scraping of claws on bark not far behind. Keera doubled back, wielding her flute as the beast bounded out onto the path once more.
As she had heard the Forest Child running off with her Guardian Spirit, Autumn had signalled Wolfos to vanish into the underbrush -where it would follow paths its smaller body could fit into but those of their pursuers couldn't- as she launched herself into the nearest tree. Tree climbing was a skill as natural as breathing to her, and within seconds she was in the middle layer of branches, where they were thick and tough, strong enough to carry her as she ran from tree to tree. She didn't imagine she would lose the beasts this way. Even normal Wolfos could track her through the trees by scent alone, after all. But they couldn't follow her, and as long as there were trees she could jump or glide to, she wouldn't have to put herself into the reach of their maws. Or at least, so she had thought. But it wasn't long before she heard the scream of the Forest Child from before, and she crouched on the branch she had just landed on, pulling her Hawkeye over her head as she zoomed in on the direction the sound had come from. Sure enough, the girl was being pursued by one of the beasts bounding off of a tree and ready to sink its fangs into her. She didn't wait, instead snatching another arrow and drawing the string, taking a second to inhale and breathe life into the arrow. Well, not literally. Her blowing over the arrow was the catalyst for a simple but useful spell, causing winds to swirl around the projectile as she released it and sent it zooming towards the beast. The Wolfos was struck by it and sent flying spectacularly, the sudden gust of wind catching it off-guard and throwing it a good few feet away from the Forest Child. Autumn pulled her Hawkeye back up, put away her bow and instead grabbed her Deku Leaf, leaping off the branch and using the enormous green leaf as a parachute to glide towards where the child was. "Are you alright?" she asked her as she reached her, shaking her head. "This was a bad idea. New plan: stick close to me. The pack leader can't be far off, and if we can kill it, the others will leave."
Keera fell backwards as the magic-laced arrow thudded into the Wolfos, knocking it clean away, leaving her unharmed. With a sigh of relief, she pulled herself to her feet, in time to thank the forest guardian for saving her. "I'm alright, thank you." She said, dusting off her dress, "I agree. I am not very good at fighting, but I can use healing magic." Keera offered, hoping to seem slightly less of a nuisance. "I know this isn't really the time or place, but my name is Keera, and this is Melda." She raised a quick hand to her fairy before snatching her flute up from the ground, clenching it tightly. "Is your companion alright?"
"Call me Autumn," she said, nodding at Keera and Melda. When they asked about her companion, she turned around, looking for it and finding it tearing apart the Wolfos she had knocked away earlier. "I think he'll be fine. Wolfos!" It looked up, wagging its tail as it recognised its mistress and happily romping over to her. "Stop digging your fangs into them," she muttered, "We don't know what made them so mad. I wouldn't want you to catch it, my friend." She bent down ever so slightly to scratch it behind the ears, prompting a happy bark that might have sounded more like a snarl to Keera. If the girl spoke truly and she was a healer, then she might prove useful. Autumn doubted the situation in the woods had been caused by a single sick tree -although it was neither impossible nor unheard of- but if it was something bigger and she and Wolfos were the only ones capable of hurting it directly... she would welcome a healer nearby to help them through such battles. "Once we take down the pack leader," she said, "We'll have to hurry to the Spirits' Glade. If the corruption has touched it, then..." she was unable to finish her train of thought, her words forming a lump in her throat. No. If that had happened, the Lost Woods would be lost. "...but regardless, the Forest Spirits may be able to protect you while I sort out whatever caused this." Her thoughts were interrupted by Wolfos lowering itself and growling in warning. "I suppose we'll find out soon enough. Stand back, Keera." With that, Autumn put her bow over her back and unsheathed her sword, instead. She wasn't a great swordsman and generally speaking, arrows were better for piercing Wolfos hide than blades were... but she needed distance between herself and her opponent to reliably use her bow, and she couldn't put that distance between them for fear of it attacking Keera, instead.
