Dragon Roost Cavern (Blonde Panther and Tsubori)

Jayden had swept his sword, killing one of the kargoroks as it charged him, though when the other one swept, all he did was parry it away with his offhand, giving him some time to react to Ann being captured. A massive moblin had picked her up, and was focusing all it’s attention on her. Thus, Jayden started to shuffle his Pegasus boots, enabling him to run extremely quickly, landing a kick into the jaw of the beast. It dropped Ann, trying to grab for Jayden. The small man was too quick though, as he blocked every attack thrown at him. Jayden then drew korteclauw, slashing twice into the gut of the moblin, who only winced in pain.

He jumped backwards, picking up his massive spear. Jayden knew he hated fighting lancers… He strafed sideways, looking for an opportunity to strike, and whem the moblin stabbed and missed, that was it. He dashed forward, slashing at head level, decapitating his unfortunate enemy. Turning around with a sigh, Jayden wasn’t even mad she’d run off. He extended a hand, helping her up and smiling. “Now, we keep our eyes open for those guys next time.” He said jokingly.

In rapid succession, Ann fell and was picked up again, this time by Jayden. That was sweet of him, but she could stand on her own two feet. As soon as Jayden put her back on the ground, she hurried over to where the key was on the ground. The Moblin was taken care of, but the Rito knew he hadn't been the only one here. Ahead was, after all, the round arena where she normally fought two.

It just so happened that this time, one of them had been inquisitive and had acted before its lair had been breached by the Rito and the Hylian. Ann took a small strap of leather hanging from her belt and ran it through the hoop on top of the key so she could attach it to her clothing. "We will need this later," she clarified to Jayden, "But for now, let's keep moving. There's another Moblin up ahead though, so please be careful..."

Looking up towards the location of the second moblin, Jayden nodded. "Right... Well, we've already taken down one, another shouldn't be too bad right?" He said that, but he was indeed nervous about the fight. Those moblins were strong, and he'd gotten the jump on the last one. He took out his bow and notched an arrow, starting slowly up the stairs. 

When he reached the top, he saw the moblin, and it saw him. It started to run towards the knight, but not before he managed to fire three arrows into it. One in the gut, one in the shoulder, and one in the head. Jayden was shocked that the headshot didn't kill it, and it rushed into him, spear at the ready. Spinning sideways, Jayden dodged the spear, but not the three hundred pound beast that launched him backwards into a wall.

Rolling to his feet, the swordsman pulled out korteklauw, taking a defensive stance. He ducked under a powerful swing from the moblin, dashing forward for a few slashes. It lashed out with its arm, grabbing Jayden by the sword arm and lifting him up. The Moblin laughed evilly and brought his spear up to stab his enemy; however, Jayden reached back for an arrow, lodging it into the moblin's eye. It jumped back in recoil, dropping Jayden, but it dropped him onto the outstretched spear, jabbing his shoulder. Blood fell down the spear a bit and the knight quickly took it out of himself while the moblin thrashed a few meters away in agony.

Putting his hand over his wound, he picked up the spear with his other hand. Now using both hands, he lined up the stab and thrust the spear into his partially blind enemy. It screamed in pain, falling, so Jayden stabbed again, this time in the throat, leaving it there. He looked over at Ann, and fought the urge to move his shoulder, as it was bloody and hurt. He actually ensured she couldn't even see it. "See? Another one down..." He said, cracking a smile.

Jayden ran into some trouble with the other Moblin, and all Ann could do was watch. When she looked to a side to avoid having to look at the bloodbath ahead of her, she saw that the already felled Moblin had an item on it she had not expected to see on a Moblin. She reached over, picking it up and cleaning it off blood with her dress. It seemed to be a slingshot, and one in good state, too. She took an Ember seed and prepared to shoot it, but when she lifted the slingshot, she saw she was aiming right it Jayden's nose.

He was already done. "I... sorry!" She put the Ember Seed away, although she held on to the slingshot. "I just thought I'd help, and... I had no idea you were already done!" Her face turned red, so she just started walking past the body of the now fallen Moblin. On the other side of the arena was a door with a heavy lock on it, a lock Ann knew the key she held to fit into.

She unlocked the door, leaving the key in, and held it open for Jayden. They were back inside the mountain, though a lot closer to Lord Valoo and the monster. About midway through this lava-filled room, there was a large door with a large, elaborate lock on it. At the very end of the room, Ann knew to be a chest that was equally decorated. "We have to cross this room and get the key there before we can proceed," she said to Jayden, "but once we have it we should be fine."

There were weight-sensitive switches in the room... and Magtails. A lot of Magtails. Ann assumed the switches would raise platforms they could then use to cross the lava. It had always been such. "Please don't be malfunctioning," she said as she walked over to the first switch and stepped on it. It sank and the first platform came up, so Jayden could walk over it to solid ground.

"Jayden! Step on that switch over there," she said, pointing at the switch on said solid ground, "Otherwise I won't be able to get there!"

Jayden winced back a step as he almost prepared to eat ember seed, but she didn't fire. When he opened his eyes, she was apologizing and lowering the slingshot. Jayden shook his head. "Nah, it's fine. I'm glad you've got something to defend yourself with now." And with that, he followed her to the next room, ignoring the throbbing pain from his side.

In this new room, was a ton of something Jayden had never seen before. They looked like a rock or something with pincers, but with a long body of flames behind them. Jayden figured they'd be best avoided and went to where Ann directed him stepping in the button, though not without alerting one of the magtails. 

It started coming towards him, though it was certainly not doing do quickly. Drawing Heko Pegasa, the knight took aim at the creature and let loose and arrow, right between the pincers. It immediately curled up, becoming just a big rock, which Jayden wasted no time in kicking away from him. He let out a sigh, seeing all the other ones, but none had much interest right now. "Ann, we've got to face like... A hundred more of these don't we?"

"Not a hundred," Ann said, "I think there's only seven in this room." She followed Jayden and pointed his attention to the next lava-filled gap. Two switches. Two platforms. And no switches on the other end. "Did you see that Magtail roll up?" They'll stay rolled up for a little while, and they're heavy enough to press down the switches.

She picked up a small rock and took aim at the eye of one of the creatures. "All it takes is a little... swiftness..." She shot, hitting the thing just above the eye. "Ack! Not good!" The Magtail came towards her, and she shot a second rock that hit home.

She them used her full weight to move the rolled-up creature onto one of the switches. She saw that in the meantime, Jayden had done the same. Two platforms came up and the Rito used them to get to the chest, which was engulfed in flames. "One of these switches," she said, gesturing at the four pressure-sensitive blocks in front of them, "Will put out the flames. But which one it is changes every single time... and all others..." she shook her head. "Are trapped."

Jayden used an arrow to stun a magtail, placing it on the switch the same way as Ann had. Upon crossing over, he heard Ann say the switches were trapped. "Well, nothing to it but to try. Ann, stay back. If anything happens, better one person then two." 

He stepped up to one of the panels and stepped on it. He cringed for a moment as he heard whirring in the mechanisms. A few seconds passed, so he thought everything was okay. But then he heard a noise above him, diving out of the way, but not in time. The lava from the ceiling grazed his leg, and though Jayden was fine, he laid there for a moment. "Why am I not surprised." 

Standing up, he pressed the next pressure plate, expecting the worst. Luckily, he heard the lock from the chest open, thus he walked up, opening the chest. Reaching inside the massive box, he pulled out the small key and a small pouch of rupees, counting 25 of them. He looked at the chest in comparison to the key. "Well... That doesn't seem like a waste of material at all." 

Turning around, Jayden noticed that the magtails had moved off of the switches, thus stranding them on this side. He knew he could make that jump with his Pegasus boots, so he motioned for Ann to come over to him. "Here, get on my back." When she had done so, the knight shuffled his feet, his boots then making him take off in a sprint. He jumped the gap, but fell a tad short. His shins hit the side of the edge, making him trip. Ann had made it with no injury, if not making his impact harder, and when she got off, Jayden sighed, sitting up. "When I wake up, I'm getting a drink." He then smiled and held up the key. "And that may be soon."

"Don't try to apply logic to this place," Ann advised when Jayden remarked at the size of the chest relatively to the key it contained. She smiled when she saw it- that was the key leading to the monster's lair. She'd recognize it anywhere.

Jayden carried her over the lava, which was extremely considerate considering she couldn't fly anymore, and held up the key, smiling and saying he'd be drinking soon. It sent a shock through Ann. Right... she'd have to tell him. She took the key from his hands and walked towards the enormous door ahead of them. She was surprised that he had not yet figured it out from the ominous design of the doors.

"Sir Jayden... I... I must confess that I have hidden something from you..." She reached up and stuck the key in the lock. "It is true that behind this door lies the key to us waking up. However..." She turned the key and it disappeared, so she stepped back while the enormous lock went through a long and arduous process of unlocking itself. "I have not been entirely truthful."

Passing through the open doors, she entered a circular room with boarding near the ceiling. Lord Valoo's tail hung from that ceiling and in the center of the room, there was a pool of lava. "...I'd like you to meet Gohma."

As if she had summoned it, the enormous, armored centipede leapt up from its hiding place in the pool of lava. "We will only wake if we manage to defeat it. If not..." she didn't have to finish that sentence.

Staring in shock at the massive insect-like creature before him, the knight swallowed his fear, realizing the giant monster was actually making him afraid. Gohma reared a giant claw, about to smash down on him, but he dove to the side, evading the smash. He took Korteklauw, slashing into the stuck claw, but even that wasn’t enough to penetrate the thick shell. “How the hell are we supposed to kill this thing?!” He had to yell over the claw to Ann, and he was freaking out a little bit. How had she defeated this thing in the past? His thoughts were interrupted by him noticing the creature’s eye. He remembered Denolle’s lessons on giant monsters. “We’ve gotta hit the eye, don’t we?” He called over.

As expected, Gohma didn't give Jayden much time to recover from the shock, nor did Ann get any time to explain the situation- the beast attacked right away. Jayden could dodge the claw coming down at him, and Ann instinctively leapt out of the way as well, knowing that if that thing hit her she'd go down.

Apparently Jayden's sword had no effect on the beast's claw whatsoever, but that was to be expected. Whether it were magic, or swords or bows, nothing could penetrate Gohma's armor. Fortunately the knight caught on. "Yes!" Ann shouted, "That's its weak point! But it's not as simple as it seems!" Just as she said that, Gohma seemed to pull part of its exoskull over its eye. "It'll keep doing that--" Ann said, "--lord Valoo will have to tear off the skull lid!"

She pointed up. "I'll distract Gohma- put an arrow into lord Valoo's tail!"

Jayden looked up at the tail that was indeed dangling from the ceiling of the massive stadium. At first, the creature seemed more focused on the knight, making a quick jab that he managed to dodge. Pulling out Heko Pesaga while charging his Pegasus boots. He dashed along the outer ring of the arena, evading the flaming breath that the creature conjured. When it swiped shortly with it’s claw, Jayden dove up over the swing, landing in a combat roll and getting back up into a run. It then seemed as if Ann had pulled off her distraction as the massive insect-like monster turned away from him.

Raising the bow with a notched arrow, Jayden fired at Valoo’s tail. He had serious hesitance in firing his weapon at the god of the Rito, but he realized it was only a dream. With a second to prepare, Jayden fired an arrow true to the tail, then watched as the appendage swung around, latching onto Gohma’s exoskeleton’s head, pulling the beast up a bit.

When lord Valoo latched out with his tail, the hook got caught behind the bone lid and Gohma pulled its head forward, tugging on the hook and eventually snapping off half of the bone covering its eye.

Ann didn't have a lot of time to watch as this happened, though, for Gohma's massive claw came down at her again. Now that Jayden laid back a little and focused fire at lord Valoo, not Gohma, the monster had redirected its attention towards the smaller intruder that it could see more clearly.

Ann ducked, and heard Valoo roar as Jayden had managed to lodge another arrow in his tail. She felt bad about using her protective deity like this, but it was her only hope. This time, the other half of the bone lid came off of Gohma's eye, leaving its weak spot glaringly open to attack. Ann took her slingshot to hand, pulling an Ember Seed out of her pocket. It wouldn't be as effective as, say, a Chill Seed, and her slingshot had neither as much power nor the range Jayden's bow did, but she could at least do SOMETHING.

When Gohma lowered its head, apparently trying to estimate distance to its target better, Ann fired. The Ember Seed set its eyeball on fire for a short while, and Gohma let out a blood-curdling cry that echoed through the room, before latching out with its claw. Ann screamed as it came towards her and connected with the ground, throwing up a huge cloud of dust in the process.

When Jayden shot once more at the Rito god's tail, he let out a shout of joy. The fight was only halfway done, but they were doing it alright. He then dashed around the arena again to get closer to Ann to protect her. 

He made it just in time to see her narrowly avoid a claw smash from the giant creature. Notching an arrow onto Heko Pesaga, he drew back as hard as he could, loosing it and making it fly directly into Gohma's pupil. Again, it let loose a gigantic roar, it's head falling to the ground, but not before grabbing Jayden in it's massive claw. Drawing his blade, he lobbed it downwards, landing a few feet from Ann. Then before he could do anything else, he was lobbed across the lava pool, slamming him into a rocky wall hard. 

Gohma was still laying on the ground in pain, but when trying to stand, Jayden realized the impact may have sprained his ankle.

It was a miracle. It had to be. When the claw had hit the ground, Gohma's pincers had been open. And the opening between the pincer had been covering Ann. Right above her was the hard shell of the claw, but she was unhurt. Gohma had not even touched her.

"Jayden!" Gohma would have attacked her again had the knight not interrupted, shooting the monster in the eye and letting himself be caught and thrown into the nearby wall. Ann was worried for him, but she didn't get any time to see if he was alright, for Gohma lowered its ugly head, apparently to estimate the distance between the two better this time around.

Ann used this opportunity to get a small rock from her feet, put it in her slingshot and fire it straight at the monster's eye. The impact sent it reeling, slamming its head against the ceiling and falling back down onto the ground, groaning in what had to be immense pain. Ann took this cue to remove her dagger from its sheath, and slamming it into the unprotected, rolling eye, putting all her weight behind it. The dagger went in base-deep, causing another roar and reel from Gohma. This time, it was its death cry, though.

The monster exploded into a cloud of purple smoke, dropping Ann's dagger on the ground. The Rito picked it up, feeling her feathers return to her. Flying over the pit to where Jayden was, she helped him get up. "It's over. If we leave through that door there, we will find Lord Valoo."

Jayden sighed in relief when he saw Ann kill Gohma and come over to help him. With a pretty heavy limp after he got up and walked over to Korteklauw, drawing it out of the ground and resheathing it. "Okay. I'm glad that's over..." He leaned against the wall, looking towards the door. "So we just walk out there and then we wake up?" He put a bit of pressure on his ankle and winced. Yup. Definitely a sprain.

"Yes, it's always gone like that." Ann let Jayden lean on her. "I'm sorry about your ankle. You're going to be feeling that for a while, I'm afraid... Maybe you could tell me where you live? I'm a postwoman, I could deliver you something to treat it."

Once stepping outside, Ann opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling of her bedroom. She sat up, stretching, and trying her wings. They were fine, as usual. As she got out of bed, a little stiff, the slingshot she had found clattered on the ground. It was strange, but not the first time she'd kept something other than injuries from her dream in the Cavern.

Suddenly, a roll of knuckles on her window drew her attention. "Ann!" a male voice said, "Payday! And we got a new assignment fr you- a package destined for Zora's Domain! Priority mail!"

"I'm coming!" Ann shouted, springing to action and wondering if Jayden would be alright.

Jayden smirked at her preposition. "I live in Hyrule Castle Town, but don't worry about it. They'll have something for it at the home base. Goodbye Ann."

As he woke up, Jayden saw the reassuring face of Captain Denolle in front of him. "So. You were dreaming?"

Jayden sat up, taking note of the fact that he still had the rupees found in that chest. His ankle was still pretty hurt, though oddly it was already wrapped.  "Y-yeah. Pretty crazy one."

"A redreamer then?" 

"...Huh?" Jayden was surprised that Denolle knew of such things. The captain was smart, but exactly how much did he know?

"Your ankle. A minute ago I heard it crack like a twig. Hence the wrapping. But that means you met a redreamer." Denolle didn't seem to be his usual joking self, but much more serious. It was very strange...

"Yeah, I did, but why are you here?" Jayden was slightly freaked out, but it wasn't as if he didn't trust his captain.

"Sayomi came by after you weren't there for morning training, she said she tried a ton of things to wake you up, but nothing worked... I wouldn't trust that right now either." He said with a smirk. "But then she told me you wouldn't wake up and I started forming my own suspicions. Thank you for proving them true. Now, tell me what happened," 

Jayden shrugged his shoulders, feeling the burn act up as well. "It's a long story."

"We've got time."