City in the Sky [U5/BP]

"I think she'll be fine..." Lyra said, stepping back from the door. "We're not getting any closer to them, after all..." she stepped closer to Eysseth. "Step back a little, Eysseth... if he's going to do what I think he's going to do, this will become rather... dangerous."

She left the two alone, finding the Helmasaurus. She didn't get any closer than it than hearing distance, looking up at the massive beast. Someone else would probably have run away, but the beast had lain down and looked at her lazily, possibly recognising her. "What do you want?" she asked, opening one eye.

"We're uh... going to blast a door open. You don't have to worry, it's not going to threaten your babies." The beast nodded, but raised her head.

"Forest Child." She sounded urgent. "It's none of my business if you get hurt, but you've been merciful on my babies and I feel I must warn you. You seem hesitant to use force."

"I am."

"I respect that... but not all inhabitants of Celestia will take kindly to you. Not everyone is as peaceful as I am, either. Many of the creatures you're about to face will not heed your words as I have. Be careful, and rely on the sword and shield of your companion to protect you when words fail."

"I will. Thank you." She bowed before hurrying back to Jacob and Eysseth.

Eysseth nods as Lyra tells her to back up a bit. I know. Jacob and I have done this many times. Thank you for your concern though. Eysseth steps back as Jacob finishes setting up the bombs.

"Alright. All set." Jacob smiles jogging over to retrieve his shield smiling a bit. There seems to be a gap in the bombs set at the bottom of the door, like one bomb is missing. Jacob plants his shield into the ground and crouches behind it. "FIRE IN THA HOLE!!!"

Eysseth peeks up from her wings as Jacob takes a lit bomb from his bag and tosses it right into the gap at the bottom of the door. Eysseth stands well back, but Jacob has his shield planted a little closer to the door.

Jacob hunkers down grabbing a hold of his shield with both hands and pushing into it all he can as the fuse on the lit bomb reaches it's end. With a defining sound and a brilliant light the bombs set off in a chain reaction. Jacob struggles to hold himself up to the force of the blast and is even pushed back a few inches from where he started. Jacob looks over his shield after the blast to see a huge hole in the wall where the door used to be. "We're in." Jacob smiles heaving his shield out of the ground.

"Um. Yes. We... certainly are." Lyra struck her hair back upon seeing that Jacob had blasted the door out of its hinges, opening the way for them. People were so careless with explosives in the north. If she had dared set off even one bomb in Kokiri Forest, the Great Deku Tree would have punished her severely, but Jacob had just set off what had to be a dozen of them. She shook it off, being the first to walk through the door. She heard no monsters talk amongst or to themselves, so she walked on briskly.

Behind the door lay what appeared to be a courtyard of sorts. Not questioning the strange layout, assuming that the outdoors they had just been in had probably once been indoors as well, Lyra stopped near the center of the square room, looking around. The grass was surprisingly lush, if overgrown, with the normal rainfall and sunshine and no one to mow it, and there were a few wild bushes and even one or two overgrown trees in the room.

While Lyra was looking around, turning around her axis slowly, she failed to notice the enormous bud that was now behind her. She bumped into it, provoking its resident, a large Deku Baba who immediately popped out and smacked its lips at the sight of Kokiri flesh. Being a mutated plant, and not technically a monster, Lyra had no means of communicating with it and stood frozen in fear, looking up at the huge mouth above her.

Jacob smiles a bit admiring his work as Eysseth lays his sword in front of him. "Oh. Thank ya Eysseth." Jacob sheaths his sword and scratches Eysseth on the head. "Well I made sure ta get a hole large enough fer ya ta fit through Eysseth. May've been a bit o' overkill, but better safe than sorry right? Let's go girl." Jacob and Eysseth follow Lyra as she walks through the door. Eysseth fits through the opening, but barely.

Jacob scans the area and whistles. The area looked like a courtyard that was over grown with grass and weeds. Certain patches of weeds actually looked familiar to Jacob. "Eysseth. See those patches o' overgrown grass. Don't they look familiar." Jacob points to a tuff of grass with what looks like a nut or bud laying in the center of it. "Eysseth...ya don't think..." Deku Babas! Eysseth barks a bit as Lyra bumps into a Deku Baba bud provoking the carnivorous, mutant plant to attack. "Shit! Deku Babas!" Jacob sprints as fast as he can over to Lyra.

The Deku Baba licks it's 'lips' and rears back opening it's mouth wide exposing it's numerous razor sharp teeth. The plant cocks it's head to the side a bit before lunging towards the scared Kokiri. With a quick tug Jacob pulls Lyra close to him and hides her behind his shield. "Sorry if this ain't tha most comfortable, but..." Jacob turns his sword sheath to the side to where he can draw his sword without hitting the Kokiri. "...it's this er be a plant's lunch." With a smooth and practiced motion Jacob draws and swings his sword. Although the blade is rather dull, the force Jacob puts behind the sword breaks the stem of the Deku Baba as it reared up again to attack. "That's one down...shit. Lyra just stay behind ma shield, I got this." The commotion from Jacob's killing the first Deku Baba five more hiss and grow from their buds all around Jacob. The Deku Babas all salivate and lick their lips swaying back and forth a bit ready to lung for their tasty Hylian meal.

Lyra needed a few seconds to regain her composure. She knew what Deku Babas were, of course. Back in Kokiri Forest, she'd had plenty of opportunity to see them around and learn how they moved and attacked. The only reason she hadn't recognised the Deku Buds for what they were, was that she hadn't seen them; they had not caught her eye amongst the grandeur of the courtyard.

The Kokiri knew she was useless in battle. Trying to find her knowledge on Deku Babas in her memory, she knew they were weak to fire and to cutting weapons... but using fire would be disastrous. The entire courtyard was completely overgrown. Even someone who had not grown up in a forest would know that setting one Deku Baba on fire would result in the entire courtyard catching on fire. She hoped Jacob had a good plan...

"Do you have a spare weapon?" She asked, "Sharp?"

"Well I had a sharp sword. Then I had tha blade redone in Goron Iron. That stuff's a bitch ta sharpen. Anyways it can still cleave these weeds." Jacob readies himself as two Deku Babas from opposite sides both lunge towards Jacob. Jacob blocks one of the plants with his shield, but takes a bite in the shoulder from the other one. It's teeth sink into Jacob armor not quite enough to injure Jacob, but more than enough to get it's teeth stuck and be unable to move from Jacob's right shoulder.

Jacob tries to stab at the Baba on his shoulder while blocking more attacks with his shield. Jacob misses a few more that also latch onto him in the same manner as the first one. "Alright this is gettin' annoyin'." Jacob lets go of the handle of his shield, the shield now just kept to Jacob by the strap to secure the arm more, and grabs a hold of Lyra's robes lifting her up a bit. "Sorry 'bout this, but I gotta get these things offa me." Jacob holds his sword out to the side charging up energy for a few seconds. "This may get ya a bit dizzy Lyra."

With a mighty swing Jacob uses his Spin attack. The wave of energy is sharp enough to cut the stems of all the Babas not attached to Jacob while the spinning itself uproots or brakes the stems of the Babas that are attached. Jacob stops his spin and the dead Babas release their grip on Jacob either falling off or being easily pulled off. Jacob lets go of Lyra and grabs his shield's handle again. The Hylian lets Lyra out from between himself and the shield. "Again sorry 'bout doin all that. But yer alive an' I ain't failed yet right?"

She was certainly alive, but once the stability of Jacob's shield disappeared, Lyra fell forward, unable to maintain her balance. The Kokiri wasn't precisely used to being spun around that quickly and that many times in such a short time, and her small body needed time to recover.

While Lyra held on to her head, waiting for the courtyard to stop wobbling, Hector used his inherent advantage of flight to see if there was anything above the heads of the Hylian, Kokiri, and Wyvern. There was in fact a ledge above them, but all it held was a single, decrepit old chest that looked like it would fall apart if Hector so much as touched it.

He flew back down, just in time to see Lyra get up. "I found something," he said to her, "But I need you to go get it. It's up there." He pointed, not that Lyra could see that from this distance, but 'up there' couldn't have that many different meanings in here. "Come here, you can get up from here." He fluttered over to a wall near the ledge, that was covered in vines.

Before Lyra followed, she turned to Jacob. "Sir Jacob... can you look for a way out of here? A door or anything of the sort? I'll go see what Hector found, but we do need to move on..."

"Aye. I can. Again sorry 'bout tha Spin Attack. Eysseth! Recon tha area! We're lookin' fer any alternate exits!" Jacob barks the order as Eysseth perks up and nods. Jacob and Eysseth split up covering the room.

Jacob carefully scans one side of the courtyard area searching for an exit of any type. He finds what looks like it used to be a room. Crumbled walls that are almost completely gone mark the boundaries of the used to be room. Broken pieces of bookshelves and books lay on the overgrown ground next to where a wall would have been. Jacob looks questioningly at the debris, kneeling and sheathing his sword to get a closer inspection. The first book Jacob touches falls apart in his hand the pages long since molded and unreadable. Carefully Jacob picks up another book. This one doesn't fall apart at his touch, but still appears to be not too far away from falling apart. Jacob carefully flips through a few pages that are barely readable. "Huh."

While Jacob walks off in one direction Eysseth walks in the opposite. Grass, plants, more grass. Eysseth is getting tired of all this tall grass. Something sparkling catches her eye though. A large broach of red and green color with a beetle shaped design on it hangs by a golden chain from a limb of a tree that had overgrown along with all the other plants. Her natural Wyvern instincts to horde any and all shiny objects she can claim without upsetting Jacob kicks in as she tugs on the broach and chain lightly with her teeth. Her tugging disturbs a small family of Keese who fly out trying to attack the disruptor of their nap. Eysseth is near unfazed by the Keese simply snapping at the with her teeth catching three. Throwing her head up Eysseth chomps down on the Keese unlucky enough to be caught. With pretty loud snaps and pops Eysseth eats two whole with one getting stuck in her teeth which are covered in Keese blood.

While Jacob and Eysseth searched, Lyra grabbed on to the vines and grimaced. The vines were of the little sticky variety, which was a very unpleasant feeling on the palms of her hands, but that was not the main reason she was unhappy about having to climb them. Most of the Kokiri tribe were very agile, and she was no exception. However, this agility came at a price. While she had the balance of body that was required to not fall off the vines, she wasn't very physically strong, and so the climb would be very taxing on her.

Nonetheless, she followed Hector up the vines, the scent of their sap boring into her nostrils and reminding her of Kokiri Forest. Suddenly, she didn't find her ordeal that much of an ordeal anymore. She should be happy- it was for the first time in years that she had seen this much green around her. Hyrule Castle Town was just not the right- "Eek!" She gave a little scream, jerking to the right, when a duo of Keese flew by her. After regaining her balance, she looked to her left where Eysseth stood around a tree. She assumed the Wyvern had done something to disturb the pesky bats that Hector was now trying to bat away from his partner, but at least that meant there was nothing dangerous left in the courtyard.

She pulled herself up on the ledge, dreading having to travel back down, and walked over to the chest Hector pointed out to her. As the Fairy had expected, the wood was easily pulled apart, so a key to the chest was hardly necessary. Lyra almost laughed at the irony of that thought, as when she pulled away the final board, she saw a large, silver key. Keys fit a lock, and there had to be a reason for the thing to be left here, so she took it and put it into the pouch in which she also carried her herbs, which cushioned it.

Sighing, she started the climb back down. About halfway down the vines, she turned and called out to Eysseth. "Are you okay, Eysseth? What happened with those Keese?"

Eysseth turns to the Kokiri girl the Keese still hanging between her teeth and blood still on her teeth and face from her snack. I am fine. Except for this one Keese in my teeth. There is something shiny in this tree and I was trying to get it, but some little snacks were living in the tree it seems. Eysseth tries to lick the Keese off her teeth to no avail. After a few seconds Eysseth gives up and grabs the broach and chain again and tugs it out of the tree. Eysseth smiles triumphantly before turning her head to where she can lay the broach and chain in her saddle. Eysseth flaps her wings and flies over to Lyra. Need some help down? I mean no offense, but you do not look to be the physical type.

Jacob finishes looking through the book that is completely written in a language he doesn't know. "Well what'd ya expect Jacob? It ta be in Modern Hylian? I swear I'm losin' it." Jacob lets out a breath blowing some vines on the wall. "Huh?" Jacob tears down the vines revealing a door. "Hey! I found a door over 'ere!"

"Oh, I'll be fine. I used to do this in the Forest all the time." Lyra didn't add that in the forest, she wore garments that were more supportive of this clambering and running around. When she finally landed on the ground again, she heard Jacob calling. "Jacob found something," she said to Eysseth, while knowing this wasn't necessary. The Wyvern was more than intelligent enough to understand that, herself. "Let's go see where it takes us."

When they found Jacob, Lyra's eyes became big. A library! A genuine, huge library! Momentarily forgetting the door, Lyra walked over to the reading table. Unlike Jacob, she DID recognise the script in the half decayed books. However, she would need time and reference to translate what was in them. Always grateful for a challenge, Lyra looked at the covers. She would only take one book with her, so she had to make it count. One book she recognized to read a title including the words magic and arts, so she took it and carefully put it into her pack. It looked the most durable of the entire library, too, so hopefully it would be alright.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting," she then said to Jacob, "Does this door open without boom?"

Jacob chuckles a bit to himself as Lyra walks to the books, seemingly forgetting about everything else. Eysseth lands just beside the opening to the Library and ducks her head and walks in a bit. She looks over the Kokiri's shoulder at the books she is looking through. I prefer romance novels myself. Eysseth jokes as Lyra slides a book in her bag.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting. Does this door open without boom?" Jacob laughs pulling an unlit bomb out of his Bomb Bag. "Well near any door can open wit a boom, but..." Jacob puts up the bomb. "..I don't think much'd survive tha blast, so I could either kick tha door in, which may take a bit, or ya could have a key. Honestly I hope ya got a key."

A key... "Oh! I do, actually!" Reaching into her pouch and pulling out the key, she showed it to Jacob. "That's what Hector found just now. I'll see if it fits this lock..." There was a padlock on the door, and unlike the lock on the chest that she had gotten the key from, it was in prime condition. It looked like it would take even Eysseth quite some effort to tear it down, so Lyra hoped her key fit.

It did. The key slid into the lock and turned effortlessly, however with the lock no longer hanging on the chains and Lyra not strong enough to hold it, the padlock fell to the ground and the Kokiri could only just pull her leg out of reach so that it didn't fall on her foot. That would have hurt.

As she stepped through the door, she realized too late that hadn't been the wise thing to do. She didn't know what lay at the other side of the door, so it would have been wiser to send Jacob out first in case a monster was waiting to ambush them. Fortunately, while she did see scaly Kargarocs flying around, they didn't seem to take note of or interest in her. She tilted her heads. These birds didn't look remotely like the fluffy Kargarocs with the long tail feathers that she was used to seeing, and yet they were clearly of the same species. "That's strange," she muttered, but then saw something far more important. "Oh... the bridge is completely out."

It was true. While in front of them lay another floating island, the bridge that connected the two had fallen out from between them.

"Aye it is." Jacob scratches his chin as he inspects the not-bridge. "Well I suppose I might be able ta get Eysseth ta fly us across there, but something tells me that ain't gonna be easy." Jacob turns to Eysseth who has her eyes wide carefully watching around everywhere.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no... Eysseth says repeatedly over what Jacob is saying. She nervously checks everywhere hoping not to see the dragon again. She was scared, deathly scared, but not entirely for her. She was mostly scared for Jacob. Dragons are unbelievably cruel. Especially to Hylians and other races like them. Playing with them like cats before delivering the final blow. She didn't want Jacob to be tortured like that. The worst possible images sweep through Eysseth's mind as she thinks of Argorok capturing Jacob. She lets out a very loud and very sudden yelp.

Jacob leans over the edge carefully trying to see if there were any floating islands that may have caught the bridge when suddenly Eysseth yelps. Jacob jumps up, but loses his footing. "SHIT!!!" He tries to catch himself on the support pillars and manages to grab a hold of it dangling off the edge a foot or two.

Without thinking, or with thinking really since she can't talk, Eysseth shouts, LYRA! USE YOUR PAINTBRUSH TO SAVE HIM! But it was too late as the support pillar breaks loose and Jacob starts to speed towards the ground.

Lyra wanted to tell Eysseth to calm down, but since she didn't know what exactly was bothering the beast, she didn't know what to tell her in order to comfort her. When the Wyvern yelped and Jacob fell from the bridge, having jolted in surprise, Lyra joined Eysseth's scream with one of her own, and pushed her staff forward to channel a spell- only to remember that the only spell she mastered was one the purpose of which was solely to heal injuries. "I can't!" She screamed, "I don't know any magic that can catch him!"

A weak breeze flew past her head as Hector soared past her to follow Jacob down. Lyra fell to her knees as she looked over the edge herself, and it looked like the knight was in luck- she could see ground from here. The fall would indubitably have hurt, but chances were he was still alive...

Her theory was confirmed when Hector came flying back up. "I found him," he said, "He's alive, I can sense his life force, but he's out cold from the fall. I can't tell if he's broken anything or if he's going to walk away with a bruise. It looks like there's another path to get to down there though."

Eysseth didn't want to fly, and Lyra's frame would not be able to handle the drop. The other path her Fairy spoke of would be the only possible way to meet up with Jacob. "Do you think you could stay with him, then?" she asked. "You're the only one currently in a position to join him. Eysseth and I will find the other road and join you as quickly as we can."

Hector nodded. "In that case, I'll go to him and tell him to stay put until you two arrive. Be careful, Lyra." With that, he fluttered back over the edge to wait until Jacob woke.

"You be careful," Lyra said, smiling. "I'm the one with the Wyvern. I think you're less protected." She then turned to Eysseth. "We have to go back. There has to be a path down in that library."

Rushing wind is all Jacob hears as he falls. Quietly he recites a prayer to the Goddesses and pulls the Pictograph of his family out of his armor. Tears form in his eyes as he whispers to himself. "I'll be wit ya soon Lily...ma love." Jacob closes his eyes and tightly grips the Pictograph as he readies for death. Suddenly 'WHAM! SNAP! CRACK!' Jacob hits something multiple bones shattering. Before Jacob can make a thought he passes out from the pain.

Eysseth looks over the edge sadly whimpering. "I found him," the fairy says, "He's alive, I can sense his life force, but he's out cold from the fall. I can't tell if he's broken anything or if he's going to walk away with a bruise. It looks like there's another path to get to down there though." Eysseth perks up after hearing this. Jacob? Jacob! I'm coming Jacob! Without waiting Eysseth picks up Lyra in her teeth and run as fast as she can to where Jacob landed. Jacob. Jacob hold on Jacob. Tears start welling up in the Wyvern's blue eyes as the thoughts of losing Jacob were unbearable in her head.

"Eep!" Lyra was caught completely off guard when Eysseth grabbed her in her teeth and took off carrying her like a cub or something. Suddenly, she doubted the words that she had spoken to Hector just moments before- maybe the Wyvern DIDN'T mean she was safer than her Fairy was.

She finally managed to struggle free from the beast when they reached the library, and she looked around. There had to be a trap door here somewhere... if she had designed a library, where would she put the trap door?

That was when she spotted the carpet, and started rolling it back. "As I thought," she muttered, seeing the clear, square outline in the ground and reaching for the clasps that held it closed. Sadly, they were rusted over completely, and the Kokiri's weak physical strength was helpless to undo them.

"Urgh!" she said, hitting the trap door in desperation. "Come on! Open!"

Eysseth lets go of the Kokiri after the little creature struggles to get out of Eysseth's grip. The Wyvern watches as Lyra uncovers a trapdoor. Is Jacob down there?! Eysseth gets no answer as Lyra tries and fails to lift the large trapdoor. Taking too long! Move Lyra.

The Wyvern moves Lyra a good ways away from the trapdoor before sending her tail crashing into it. OPEN! Hardly leaving a dent in it Eysseth continues hitting her tail against the door. OPEN STUPID! MUST GET JACOB!! Eysseth savagely claws and bites at the trapdoor attacking the door as a feral Wyvern would attack another feral Wyvern. MUST GET JACOB! OPEN NOW! In desperation Eysseth flies up as high as she can and slams into the door using her whole body.

The force from Eysseth's dive bomb knocks the trapdoor clear off it's hinges sending it tumbling down a long shaft along with quite a bit of the floor that was around the trapdoor. Bloody spots cover the Wyvern from slashes and other damage Eysseth had caused herself, but she doesn't seem to notice as she jumped down the newly formed hole she made. Jacob! I'm coming Jacob!

"Eysseth!" Lyra screamed the Wyvern's name when she crashed clear through the trapdoor. The beast had completely lost it when she had realized it stood between her and Jacob, and it frightened Lyra immensely. She was starting to feel the bond between Eysseth and her master was similar to that between a Fairy and its ward, save for the fact that Eysseth was a good deal stronger than a Fairy would ever be.

Lyra jumped down after the Wyvern, hoping to use her to ascertain a safe landing. Eysseth, having had a head start, landed well before her, and Lyra fell on top of her. Not a very soft landing, but Lyra knew it was better than what she would have had if she had landed on the hard, stone floor from that height. Jumping off the beast's back, she wrapped her arms around her neck and screamed: "Eysseth, calm down! Please! Jacob will be fine!"

They were in no position to see it, but the room they were in was pretty unusual... below it lay the endless skies, meaning that if they fell here, they would meet certain death on the ground. On occasion, powerful gusts of wind whupped past the narrow paths that lead to a door outside. The paths themselves were broken in several places, making it even more dangerous to traverse.

Eysseth was in near blood rage barely noticing anything that the little Kokiri was saying or doing. All the Wyvern cared about now was getting Jacob back. Jerking her head around the room Eysseth notices the door to the outside and the paths leading to it. With a slight roar the Wyvern charges forward towards the door as fast as she can.

Jacob stirs a bit groaning. He barely manages to open an eye to see the blue sky above him along with fuzzy objects he can not quite make out. He tries to move, but is wracked by pain and instantly stops. "Ugh...guh..." Suddenly a shimmering ball comes into Jacob's vision. What is that? Wait...fairy... Jacob tries to speak as loudly and clearly as he can much to his own pain. "F-fairy...Hector? W-where...what?"