Forest Temple (Idarian, U5, Higan, Duck)

The trek through the Lost Woods had taken Edric some days. The forest, itself, was fully dense vegetation, with a thick canopy above. Beneath this roof of leaves, the world was dark. This near pitch black was occasionally broken by lances of light shooting through the trees. Over time, his eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, but the world was never better than a barely penetrable brownish-grey. Thankfully, Ghost kept close behind him, and the wolf's keen sense of smell was something Edric could, at the very least, rely on. This was good, as these parts of the woods were patrolled by moblins, he had heard. He had already killed a handful over the past day, but in the dark, moblins would have an advantage over him if he made a point of fighting his way through.

He had more important things to concern himself with. He had been told of a sacred mountain in the forest, where brave adventurers could find the remains of an ancient castle built deep in the woods. The castle was said to have fallen into ruin long ago and been grown over with the vegetation of the forest. It was said that the castle was built with underground passages, and grand, ancient halls. He had also been told that the walls of the castle had been merged with the earth of the mountain, but that the gates could still be found at the top of a grand stair carved into the very rock of the mountain, at the top of which was a sacred grove in the depths of the woods.

Indeed, at the roots of the mountain, Edric found a great, stone staircase which wound up a modest slope in a passage lined with lush trees. At the top of the stairs, there was a clearing, wherein Edric found two trees covered in vines, grown next to a broken staircase rising up to a doorway through a wall of masonry. Carvings around this gate suggested that this was, in fact, the gate to the Forest Temple.

Rather than enter immediately, Edric set up a campfire for the night and elected to enter come dawn. Ghost, as always, took off to be the camp sentry.

Not far off from Edric's camp, Hatshepsut and Rayna were making their way through the woods. Hat was starting to doubt the productiveness of the venture, but it was too late to turn around now.

After having a close call in their last heist, she and Rayna had agreed to lie low with the thieving for a while and go for a lower risk target that... made less noise. Hat had heard tales in town of an old abandoned temple in the heart of the Lost Woods, protected by the winding paths and beasts of the forest and filled with who-knows-what. Of course, to a thief, the story sounded quite a bit different: it sounded like treasure. Plump, delicious treasure, overripe for the taking. And the scary stories surrounding the place? That just meant there would be less competition. It sounded like a nice, easy job.

The reality, of course, was rougher than previously estimated. The twisting trails of the forest were no mere exaggeration, and the beasts, although few and far between in their journey thus far, were formidable. And, as the cherry on top, Hat was starting to suspect the rumor of the castle in the Lost Woods was only that: a rumor. Still, though, there was no way she was going to admit defeat before Rayna did. If she called it quits now, he'd get all smug and start honking about how it's improper to not finish what you've started or chide her for 'getting tired' or something in that vein. While they were in league together, Hat had no intention of spoon feeding Rayna any opportunities for gloating or smugness. He would have to work hard for any victories over her.

"How 'bout some music to lighten the mood?" she chirped in her rough, scratchy voice, whipping her lute out from its sling on her back. She grinned, knowing that this would surely get under Rayna's skin. Without waiting for an answer, she began idly plucking at the strings tunelessly.

"Please, oh sweet sister, that is quite enough with your lyutna. You dishevel the serenity of the forest. How, pray tell, are we to find a temple of the forest when we mock it so?" Despite such best efforts, the twanglings continued. Rayna sighed, saw the face reflected of his sword furrow their eyebrows in disappointment. He sheathed the Sword of Songs, finished touching up his hair.

A castle in the bush, claimed his dear droog, but as of yet, no result. He believed in its existence, undeniably, but he was quite ready to give her quite a rech for her failures thus far.

"But I notice, oh my sister, that it soon grows late. Might the lure of some hard-earned rest not entice you? Winding down at the end of the day, holding back on luting in anticipation of looting? Quietly?"

They came upon a clearing, at the end of which were a certain set of stone stairs. "Ah, perfect! A veritable kemping for the night! We set up camp here, explore tomorrow!" He spoke the last in all excitement, his voice carrying far and true.

Harry casually strolled through the Lost Woods whistling a tune he had heard once while Tilana sat on his shoulder cleaning her wings. "Ah. What a wonderful evening for a stroll wouldn't you say Tilana?" The Keese looked up from cleaning her wing into Harry's eyes cocking her head sideways a bit. "You're right. It is getting a bit late. I should find a...well I was going to say place to rest for the night, but this place looks interesting." Harry had come upon a clearing in the woods with a stone stairway at the end of it. Harry had heard tales of a temple within the Lost Woods, but hadn't believed them until now.

Harry walked forward and then noticed his Spectacles of Agony started flashing reds and blues of people in the clearing. From what Harry could tell one was a female and the other one was male both of Hylian like races. As Harry walked closer he started to hear their voices and what very few would call music from some string instrument. "Ah, perfect! A veritable kemping for the night! We set up camp here, explore tomorrow!"

Harry walked closer and loudly said, "Exploring eh? That rather sounds like fun." After getting their attention Harry continued, "I must say that is some very good music you are playing miss. Oh, wait where are my manners. Harry D. Massey of Nabroou at your service." Harry bows, Tilana barely hanging on to him. "I would say that I am lost and quite like the sound of a good adventure. And I won't take no for an answer."

These were new sounds reaching his ears. He turned his nose up and probed at the breeze (what there was of it), finding the by now familiar scents of the forest: trees, water and mud, insects of every type, small rodents, birds... but these were new. There were three new scents. All three smelled human... but different. Three new people were nearby.

His feet moved him fluidly and effortlessly over the forest floor, moving parallel to the rock stream he had climbed with the Master earlier. Down the hill he went, nostrils working all the while, pumping fresh air for its scents, then pumping it out again. He stopped again, one foot raised off the ground in anticipation, ears perked up and sweeping back and forth, listening, like two primitive sonar hydrophones, eyes darting about, scanning like a natural radar.

His ears found the sources of the sound somewhere nearby. Up ahead, it sounded like the humans barking at one another. Judging by the smell of ash and burning wood, they had a fire set up, like Edric had at the top of the rock stream. Paws stepped forward slowly until he was approaching the treeline, within sight of the foreign intruders.

... ... ... ...​

Edric looked up from his new fire. He thought he had caught a glimpse of Ghost rushing off in pursuit of some rabbit or other appealing, furry creature. Now, though, he thought he heard the sounds of voices coming from the forest, farther down the large hill*.

All I need is for that wolf to go where he isn't welcome...

Although he was also wary, as those voices could well be highwaymen and not innocent travelers, he did not want to rush into anything too rashly. He took a branch from a nearby tree, covered one end with a bunch of twigs, dried grass, and leaves, and wrapped it all together in an oil cloth. Lighting the torch, he started down the great stair, following the sounds of the voices, but also hoping to run into Ghost before the wolf could cause any harm, or get into any.

... ... ... ...​

As Ghost approached the treeline, he eyed the intruders warily. The fur stood on his back and shoulders. His lips, if they could be called that, curled back, revealing large, dangerously sharp teeth, and a deep growl bubbled up in the depths of his throat.


* I had imagined the stairs actually constructed to run up the slope of this prominent hill up to the Grove. That is, as opposed to the maze carved into the earth seen in Ocarina of Time, this would be a short mountain in the middle of the forest, with an artificial stair running up its slope to where the castle used to stand near the top. I just wanted to make sure a detailed that sufficiently.

"I s'ppose so," Hat replied, shuffling her lute back over her shoulder. As she opened her mouth to make another quip, she was startled by an abrupt introduction from an unusually well-dressed man she was sure hadn't been there a moment ago. Stifling a yelp of surprise, she paused a beat to think of an adequate reply for the sudden intrusion on their venture. She found none, and instead "what the heck" rolled out of her mouth. The man looked too dressy to be a common thief, and under dressed for an adventurer in Hat's humble opinion---not someone who just happened to get themselves lost forests. Hat decided that she would have to keep an eye on this person.

"Sir, sorry about your lostness but we're not exactly rangers here. I think you'd be better off if you..." she began, but she paused mid sentence as her ears caught the sound of the rumbling growl of the nearby wolf. "Shh," she hushed, "there's somethin' here, folks." Instinctively, she began backing away, ready to sprint at the first sign of real danger. Her legs were tired from the all day trek through the woods, but she still had some metaphorical fight left in her.

Rayna sensed the strange man before he spoke up, so his reaction was much more sostoit than hers. Of course, he was always the calmer of the two, so he was not at all surprised. "You say you won't take no for an answer. With that in mind, we'll just have to charge you appropriately. For, ah, services rendered. If not..." He sensed what Hat heard, but kept on. "Well. Your safety will be no delo of ours."

While Hat tried to find the wolf, Rayna turned briskly around and pointed at where it was. It was oh so easy to detect, angry as it was. He propped up an arrow in his bow, pulling the string back, his hand rubbing the side of his face.

"Well being lost doesn't bother me. Being bored does however. I merely wish to accompany you two fine chaps on an adventure. Charges hm? Yes, yes quite right. I will gladly pay for a good adventure. A good one. Well..." Harry pushes his glasses higher on his nose with his left index and middle fingers. Looking in the direction the man points Harry sees a large wolf bearing it's teeth and growling. "...I see you are not a dog person. We probably are getting to close to it's den or owner or something. No need for arrows." Harry slowly walks closer to the wolf. "My you sure are a pretty one aren't you. I am Harry Massey." Harry squats down extending his hand, palm up, to the wolf. "Come on. I'm not going to hurt you." With his other hand Harry lays his cane on the ground slowly. "Come here lil wolf."

Rayna released the tension on his bow when Harry got in his way. Should he need to fire it again -- in case the wolf bit what seemed to be a very generous chelovek, for instance, he could draw it in a moment. He didn't sense anything besides the wolf, though, and it could just be someone's odd idea of a pet.

"Rayna Reinhardt. I believe we're going to have a very special day, eer," he said, giving something of a half-bow.

Edric heard voices even louder now. There seemed to be some commotion downhill. No doubt Ghost had gotten himself mixed up in something, but there was little way to know for sure...

Torch still in hand, Edric descended several more stairs into a clearing along the way. He saw three people standing therein, looking quite frightened as Ghost emerged from the treeline, large as he was. One of the trio had a bow in hand, with an arrow knocked and ready to loose. Flexing his fingers, Edric reached for Longclaw's leather-wrapped hilt and drew the bastard sword from its scabbard, testing the weapon's balance as he adjust his one-handed grip.

His eyes bore into the one holding the bow, angry that his dear pet wolf was being threatened in any way, however threatened these three might have seemed.

"Stay your hand! The wolf is mine! If you harm him, you will bring harm to yourselves, as he is bound to me, and I to him."

Outnumbered, Snow... Is this how your father taught you to fight? You act rashly, not wisely.

Even so, he gripped Longclaw tightly. He would suffer no slight to his beast this night.

Hatshepsut raised an eyebrow as the strange man crouched down and started talking to the large wolf. She had seen quite a few strange things in her short lifetime, but seeing some wealthy stiff in a suit talking all sweetlike to a beast was a new one for the scrapbook. Before the three could see whether or not this worked on the wolf, a man came running from out of the forest shouting with weapon in hand.

"Well excu-use me, princess!" Hat exclaimed incredulously. "I doubt you would act much different if a wild thing in a forest came up to you all fangs and teeth. If you don't want your pup to come under threat, keep it on a leash!"

"Oh. You are this little guy's owner eh? There is no need for weapons here friends." Harry looked around at everyone as he said 'friends'. "I was just admiring this lovely beast. My friend here, Rayna was it? Seems to not like wolves very much. I on the other hand do. I was planning to bring no harm to your companion." Harry stood up and backed away from the wolf slowly grabbing his cane along the way. "As an offering of good will and to hopefully make talking easier...I'll just...use up my spells for a bit..." Harry shot a ball of fire and a ball of ice strait up in the air winch collided in the air neutralizing each other out. "...Now then. I have thirty seconds until I am able to use those again, and I have no...weapons on my person. I am no longer a threat. Ask me what you want and I will answer to the best of my abilities." Harry bowed and gave a warm smile to the newcomer. He stood back up and pushed his glasses back up on his face.

"Were it you with the vorchat and snarling, I'd have knocked an arrow all the same, friend!" Rayna called up. "And beyond that, you're a tad pozdno; As you can see I've already, disengaged!"

He put arrow back in quiver and slung the bow around his arm, letting it sit upon his shoulder. He looked upon the spiraling staircase, the path that would lead him up to Hylian. "I take it you seek the krahm. We'll be about as well, so it seems fitting to group up, correct?"