Frozen Wood [Closed]

Dante's eyes darkened for a bit. The man seemed a fool, but was he? The Hylian seemed relatively air-headed, yet it seemed that he'd been surviving in the Northern Hill for quite some time, if only just barely. Dante, too, doubted the man's sanity, for he had never heard of someone isolating themselves completely from society, only for one's "creativity". That just wasn't normal. Still, Dante decided to take charge of the conversation; in all their travels, Dante had always been the more socially adept of the pair, between himself and Guy. Dante usually took care of these sorts of things.

"Unfortunately, good sir, as you may have noticed, there is a raging blizzard outside of your humble abode. Fleeing the cold, we a found a cave, but were quickly waylaid by dozens of keese, and were forced to flee further into the cave. We promptly found your quaint home," Dante waved around him, "but we unable to determine whether or not we were still safe." Dante finished, smiling with his eyes. Looking down at his weapon, realizing it was still drawn, Dante let it slacken slightly, but only just so. "Just a precaution, you must understand." He said as cheerily as he could manage.

Dante hoped the Hylian would take the two scrubs at face value; Dante was not yet ready to divulge why they had ventured into the Northern Hills. He wanted to wait and see, how this Hylian "writer" would behave with the information given. Plus, there was nothing gained from telling everything... yet.

And this was precisely the reason why Dante adventured with Guy. When negotiations failed, Guy was always the first to spring into action, with no delay, and Dante had come to thoroughly rely upon this. Dante felt comforted, knowing that Guy would consistently be there to threaten, intimidate, and more than likely kill anyone who got in his way. Chuckling and shaking his head, Dante pulled the arrow back and aimed it at the Hylian once more, trying to make the scariest face he could manage. This wasn't terribly easy, considering he was a Deku, but he managed to at least look relatively angry.

Under the withering gaze of both Deku, the Hylian's stammer became more prominent. "Y-y-y-yeti? W-w-what do y-you want with my y-yeti?" The Hylian looked between the two Deku, Dante suddenly moving closer, at the Hylian's use of a possessive. Glaring at the spineless writer, Dante wondered what he could mean by "my", but his question was soon answered. "W-w-well, he's not really MY yeti, I just found him. He's my inspiration for my next novel, The Maiden and the Monster." Dante had half a mind to shoot the man in the knee, for such idiocy.

( )

"I can't tell if he's an idiot... or something worse..." Dante muttered under his breath. The accursed man was writing a book about the Yeti, yet he didn't even know where the Yeti was, and had to rely on a compass? Dante shook his head. Oh, the people he and Guy had to deal with. It was some wonder, really, how some people even managed to breath by themselves, much less walk. At Guy's queue, Dante motioned for the Hylian to stand back up. "Show us." He said tersely, pointing his arrow at the Hylian's back as he stood back up. "Just know, if I feel the need to do so, you won't need to imagine how an arrow might feel going into your back." Dante said dryly to the sweaty Hylian.

The Hylian seemed about to say something, opening and closing his mouth like a fish, then finally decided it was wiser to keep it shut. Nodding vigorously to the Deku, he walked towards one particular side of the room, dislodging a rock from the wall. Behind it, stashed inside of a small slot in the cave rock, was what appeared to be a manuscript, various writing tools, and a compass. Watching the man pull out the compass, Dante wondered if perhaps this Hylian was more insane than he had originally surmised. It looked completely ordinary, if not old and beaten. The iron frame was partially rusted, and the glass was covered with grime and scratches. The compass seemed broken, too, the needle spinning every which way. Dante let out a heavy sigh.

Fumbling to catch it, Dante managed to grasp it with his right hand, while his other hand held his bow and an arrow--just barely. Letting out a small chuckle, Dante looked at the compass. So that sad creature was actually good for something; who would have thought? Placing the compass in a pouch for a moment, Dante replaced the arrow in its quiver, quickly unstrung his bow, and replaced it in its case, which still remained open on the ground. Slinging it over his shoulder, now prepared to move on, Dante brought the compass out once more, and looked at the needle. "Another exit, eh?" Dante mused, looking around. Well, there certainly wasn't anything in sight. Closing his eyes, Dante set his mind towards finding a way out of the cave. Assuming that the compass would only work if the user's emotion towards finding something were strong enough, Dante concentrated on the fact that he didn't particularly want to rot away in a cave, as the Hylian had.

Opening his eyes once more, Dante was delighted to see the the needle of the compass had stopped moving, and was now pointing directly ahead, into the other room from which the Hylian had burst. "Well, seems as good a way as any." Dante said to himself monotonously. Walking into the next room, Dante saw that it was about as large as the previous room, yet distinctly different. The rock here was porous, it seemed, water having bored many tiny holes in the walls over the ages. More than that, there were several fairly large holes, that were large enough for a moderately sized Hylian to crawl through, but more importantly, large enough for the two Deku to walk through. Pulling away the chicken wire the blocked the small tunnel the compass was pointing to, Dante wondered where it might lead them. Dante had asked for an exit, but an exit to where? A cuckoo clucked angrily as Dante shooed it away. Shrugging, Dante looked to Guy. "After you."

(:3c)

Dante shook his head from side to side. "I never much liked fire magic. I was always scared that it'd backfire, and that I'd catch on fire..." He said rather lamely. Still, Dante remembered his younger days, when he'd once held the three elemental enchantments. Of the three, only one had remained, the power of wind embedded deeply within him, the element closest to his heart. The other two, Ice and Fire, had fled when the magic had left the once powerful artifacts of his collection. Putting one hand up to the the temple of his forehead, Dante seemed deep in thought as he spoke to Guy. "You may want to stand back. I'm going to try something... and it might not end well." the Deku grimaced. Still, there was no better alternative.

True, the magic of past days had left him. However, he maintained that which had made him a magic user in the first place; his sharp wit and adaptability. Strictly speaking, Dante wasn't even sure his plan would work, but it didn't seem like Guy would be any more likely than Dante to be able to create fire from virtually nothing. If things went wrong, they'd just die a fiery death, rather than a cold one. Pulling several shafts from his quiver, Dante set these on the ground, and began his work. Grasping the handle of his wood carving knife, Dante made quick work of the shafts, first removing the sharpened tips from them, then cutting them in half. Once this was complete, he was left with six short sticks, which he then proceeded to hollow. Placing the wood shavings in one pile, and the hollowed out tubes in another, Dante took a moment's rest. The next steps would require all the concentration he could muster.

He quickly began to spit Deku Nuts into his palms, three per tube, eighteen in total. After these were placed in their on pile, Dante unsheathed his blade, and used the hilt of his Kukri to grind the wood shavings into a relatively fine dust. Lastly, removing his spare bowstring from his bow case and slicing it into six separate parts, Dante was ready, his materials laid before him. Now grasping a new wood carving knife, one meant to bore small holes into wood, Dante grasped a Deku Nut a pierced its shell carefully, the tip of his tool making only the smallest incision. Upending the contents of the Deku Nut, a dark powder, into the tube, Dante then placed a layer of the sawdust over it, repeating this twice over, placing a portion of the string inside the tube at the second layer. Laying his blade across his palm, Dante winced as he quickly ran it along his hand. Thick sap welled up along the cut, which he used to seal the top of the tube, the sawdust congealing and acting as a plug. He repeated this five more times, laying each tube on the ground carefully to let the sap harden.

"If we can't walk through the snow, maybe we can burn our way through it." Dante explained to Guy, eye twitching as he tied a strip of cloth across his hand. "I'm not entirely sure if this will work, so don't blame me if you lose an arm." Dante chuckled, rather lamely. It was entirely possible that they could lose an arm, if the contents of the Deku Nut burned too violently. "Either way, I recommend that you don't hold onto one for too long, after lighting it..."

(Based on Potassium Chlorate flares And it's entirely up to you, if this works )

(Your post in fine.)

The beast loosed a roar that tore through the snowbanks, sending blasts of ice and sleet scattering about it. Assaulted by the great gust of wind, Dante braced himself, clinging to the wall for dear life. He shivered as he heard the enraged Yeti; never could he have imagined that it would be so immense, that their task would seem so impossible. He felt fear for his own life, a feeling he had long since forgotten. What could two small deku, nay, even an army of lesser beings, do against such steeped odds? He felt its red eyes pierce down into his heart like a dagger, as if it sensed his fear and was devouring it by the second. Dante closed his eyes, his chest aching from the beat of his heart.

"Guy..." Dante whispered hoarsely. Can we do this? he seemed to ask, though no words passed between the two. Never before had they encountered an enemy of this magnitude. They had fought many foes in the past, all terrifying in their own right. But Dante had never felt a twinge of doubt, of fear that they might not live through the ordeal. The quarry which they hunted had become the hunter, and seemed a monstrosity to which there was almost no compare. But, there was still hope. The Deku pair had never met an enemy they could not overcome, be it through strength of will, wit, or skill alone. And so, Dante, in the darkness of the mouth of the tunnel, sought comfort from his comrade, always the more fearless of the two. Always the stronger. If Guy stood against it, so too would Dante.

Opening his eyes, Dante nodded to his counterpart. They would be victorious. They must be victorious. Steeling himself for the oncoming battle, Dante took a step back further into the cave, quickly restringing his bow once again. Stepping forth into the cold, as the beast's arm bore down upon them, Dante strode forth towards death, towards battle, towards glory. Using the nimbleness that both he and Guy were particularly fond of, Dante dove to his right, bow held firmly in the grasp of his left hand. Somersaulting in the snow was difficult, but not impossible for one as light and agile as a deku, which Dante fortunately was. The leaf on the top of his head brushed the snow on the ground as his body flipped over itself, throwing up small particulates of ice into the air.

Effortlessly, Dante planted his two feet solidly in the snow, his hand shooting to his quiver the instant it left the ground. Within a breadth of a moment, three arrows had been knocked to the bow and loosed, whistling through the air in a line. Shooting through the snow screen the Yeti had created of its own accord, the arrows sped towards their mark with unerring accuracy. They hit the Yeti almost simultaneously with a soft thud... Then promptly fell to the snow. Dante was astonished as he watched both sharpened wood and honed steel bounce from the Yeti's hide, leaving no more evidence of their passing than a snowflake.

Already the clockwork of his mind was turning, examining the situation from each side, though another twinge of fear was felt somewhere deep. They had no time for fear; the beast was both strong and fast, and seemingly invulnerable to conventional attacks. But that would not stop Dante nor Guy. They had stood before so-called invincible enemies before, and had triumphed. No matter how strong its armor, there would be always be a weak point that could not be protected. “Eyes!” Dante gasped out to Guy, knowing the he would understand. The Yeti turned to face Dante, alerted by his short, if not high-pitched, cry.

Dante would be the distraction, and Guy the knife in the back, as they had always been. Ever the flashier of the two, Dante would make his presence impossible to ignore for the beast, of that he was sure. Even with the winds blowing about them, Dante's arrows would strike with unerring accuracy, guided by magic. Breathing deeply, waiting for his chance, Dante watched as the Yeti came at him once again, and knew that it was time. Keeping the image of the land around him embedded firmly in his mind, Dante drew an arrow, its tip glowing green.

Swiping at the small Deku with one of its powerful arms, the Yeti attempted to catch the Deku in its grasp, as simply crushing them had already proved difficult. Releasing the bowstring, the arrow was fired with a Twang!, a loud boom echoing as the arrow hit the ground just in front of Dante. The explosion of wind sent a wall of snow flying into the air between Deku and Yeti, while also sending Dante sliding backwards in the snow. As the screen reached its peak, two more arrows pierced it, one aimed in Guy's direction, one directly at the Yeti's chest, both glowing with green arcana.

The first arrow to hit was the one that flew towards the Yeti. Though the arrow could not pierce its hide, the blast of wind was enough to send it staggering backward in the treacherous snow, though it did little else. The second arrow was aimed towards Guy's feet, to give him enough propulsion into the air to take advantage of the Yeti's momentary vulnerability.

(Guy has given me permission to finish this thread myself, though I assume we'll both still receive our reward as usual. As such, I'll be taking momentary control of Guy Denzrita.)

Dante's voice rang through the falling snow, his cry seeking his comrade. It found its target, his fellow Deku nodding his head in ascent. The two had reached the same conclusion; no matter the training one underwent, there would always be areas that were soft and vulnerable. Guy would exploit them mercilessly. Grasping two more throwing knives, one in each hand, he sped forth as quickly as his tiny legs would carry him, dancing across the snow swiftly. Lightning fast, his mind analyzed the situation, and found their plan lacking. The Yeti was far too tall; he could not get a clear shot for its eyes from the ground. Yet, their foe was far from anything he could use to close the height gap. How? He asked himself. His answer came swiftly, a shining green arrow against the sea of whiteness. Good. He approved in his mind, glad that Dante was here, glad that Dante knew him well.

Another arrows flew out, just as the first, but this was aimed at the Yeti, penetrating a now falling wall of white. It was the first to hit, taking the furred beast in the chest. A loud clap and a rush of air, the magic exploding forcefully. The arrow did not penetrate, nor did the explosion come close to breaking a rib. But the Yeti staggered back under the blow, falling back slightly. The momentary pause in motion was enough; the second arrow collided with the ground, just as Guy reached it. Jumping into the air, using the propulsion of the air blast to fly high, Guy somersaulted up and over the Yeti's head. As he arced through the air and began his descent, he turned, whipping his arms at their foe. Silver reflected in the white light of the snow, and against the white fur of the Yeti. Suddenly, red painted the landscape; both had found their mark, the great howls of the Yeti the only proof needed. Guy landed skillfully next to Dante, skidding to a halt. He looked, wondered what else his magical friend hand in mind. "Now what?" Clearing his throat, speaking loud enough to be heard over the Yeti, who was stumbling around. While it was true that their enemy had been blinded, it had other senses, and once it was over its pain, it would be after them all the same. And they still could not penetrate the beast's hide.

Dante put a hand on his chin, thinking deeply. "Give me time, for now. I'll try and think of something, but you'll have to distract it while I work." Dante shook his head, as Guy's skeptical look. "I can't tell you much more than that, because I don't know what to do, yet." Both of them grimaced. Guy chuckled, then, laughing that the two had been through much worse. How bad could it be? Glad to see his friend had faith in him, Dante began to brainstorm, while Guy once again ran towards the Yeti, calling to it. As long as Guy could still move, he'd be able to avoid the Yeti, hopefully keeping it busy by taunting and prodding it. Meanwhile, Dante had work to do.

He closed his eyes. He still felt the powerful magic, that lay dormant here. But the Yeti was not the source of this magic; while the Yeti, and the storm itself emanated great auras of power, there was something else here, something familiar. He opened his eyes to look around, sighing heavily. Steam broke from his mouth, forming a cloud in front of him. If only he had as much faith in himself as Guy had in him. He walked wearily towards a tree, placing his hand upon. He needed to think, to find something that would help the two, and stop this monstrosity. His shoulders slunk, his head lolling against the tree, his eyes closing, and his mind drifting off...

When next he opened his eyes, he was surrounded by trees. The sun beat down upon him, its warmth melting the chill in his heart. Golden slivers peaked through the boughs of the trees, leaves rustling quietly in a slight breeze. Where am I? Dante thought to himself, looking around at the grove. He began to walk, listening to the song of the life around him. Feet crunching dried leaves on the ground, he took a refreshing breath of air, relished in its purity. This was a place of peace, but it was something more. As he pushed his way through a curtain of branches and leaves, he emerged into a small clearing. Covering his eyes against the brightness of the sun, he was nonetheless blinded by its light. When he could see again, a slight gasp escaped from his lips as he stepped onto mossy stones.

This was no mere grove of trees; it was a shrine to Farore. Tranquility seemed to emanate from the boulder onto which her sign was carved. Walking slowly, awed by the holy presence, he neared the edifice. It was an old place, perhaps one of the oldest; the rock was weathered and old, yet it seemed as if it had never been touched, as if only nature had walked here and not mortal beings. As he came closer, he realized that her symbol had not been worked from the stone, or into it; it was a part of it, beads of emerald glistening in the light. He reached out his hand, as if to touch it, then withdrew it. He was not worthy, and perhaps none in this world were. He looked away, feeling heat flush in his face at his shame. How long since his last prayer? How long since he had put his trust in the goddesses? Had he not cursed their names, when his son had died? No, he was not worthy to touch her sigil, much less stand in the clearing.

A hand settled on his shoulder, startling him. He looked up, yet there was no one there... But the warmth of the hand remained, a comforting touch, like that of a mother to a child. He remembered then, looking up at the trees, realizing where he was. This was a vision of the past, as this place had once been, before the snows had come, before it had been defiled. The hand squeezed his shoulder, feeling his pain, feeling his rage. He now knew why he had been brought here; he had been called to see how this place once was, to see how it should be. It must be restored...

Shaking his head, feeling dizzy, Dante once again felt the bitter bite of the cold, its fangs sinking deep into his limbs. Yet, there was a new warmth, a renewed strength within him. This was a place of power, perhaps where the goddesses had once walked in the land. Magic pulsed from the very tree he touched, and those around him. He had been so ensconced within their power that he had not noticed that it was the trees that had drawn him here, the ones with the greatest power of all the magics here. Grasping the bark of the tree, Dante spoke quietly. "I am that which would free you, the one who brings death to your enemies. This place must be purged of the evil that lies here, so grant me your power!" his entire body shook, as if the words he spoke had drawn his strength from him.

The tree began to hum, and the familiar buzz of magic began to vibrate around him. Though no words ever entered his head, nor was he spoken to, he knew what he must do. Drawing his Whirlwind from its holster, he touched its head against the tree, pressing it to the bark. The wood seemed to shape itself around the gun, and his arm, engulfing the two as if it were clay. He felt the wood shift around his arm and hand slowly, felt strength tingling in him. When he pulled his arm from the wood, which seemed as unchanged as if nothing had ever happened, he beheld a great weapon before him. The Whirlwind had been transformed into something powerful; Dante marveled at what lay in his hand. It was a wooden weapon, not unlike a crossbow, yet far more dangerous. It looked as if it focused the winds of his Whirlwind, granting whatever projectile it shot a greater speed.

Instinctively knowing what he must do, Dante grasped his bow, attaching it to the weapon as if he were its creator. Pulling back on the string and locking it in place, he then drew an arrow shaft and placed it in its holster. "May Farore's Wrath be swift." Dante read, an inscription upon the side of the weapon. A fitting name for it, Farore's Wrath. Turning towards the sounds of battle, Dante made haste, bringing a swift death to their enemy.

Guy was beginning to tire. Though he was infinitely faster than the Yeti, it seemed to expend little energy chasing him around, while the cold sapped away his strength. Not yet! his mind yelled at his body, forcing it to carry on. A second wind brought his body back to life at the sight of Dante. He saw what his fellow deku held, and for a moment he was left in confusion. How...? But he had no time to wonder where Dante had procured such a weapon. Sliding beneath the Yeti's legs, he let out a hoarse shout, began taking their enemy ever closer to its final rest.

Climbing up into a tall tree, one that must have been very tall for as deep as the snow was, Dante deftly swung onto one of its top most branches. He felt it sway, but paid it no mind. there was no time; he saw that Guy's movements seemed tired, as if his friend were moving through tar. "Still faster than the Yeti..." Dante grumbled. Setting the stock of Farore's Wrath against his shoulder, he began to slow his breathing. He watched as the sight of the weapon moved rythmatically up and down with his breathing. Up, down. Up... Down. Up...

Dante squeezed hard upon the trigger, he heard the familiar whirring of the Whirlwind's leaves, felt the gun shake with its contained rotations. The trigger released the string of the bow with a twang, while a focused blast of wind propelled the shaft even faster. The arrow left the wooden machine, the stock pressing hard against Dante's shoulder, the other end of the weapon shooting up into the air. The arrow screamed as it tore through the air, Dante's eyes unable to even keep track of it; and in a moment, it was finished. The shaft pierced the forehead of the Yeti, and a blink later it had emerged from the back of its head, spraying the snow with blood and bits of shattered bone.

"So it's done..." Dante sighed, closing his eyes and drifting off into sleep once again. He dreamed of pleasant weather, shining sunlight, and a beautiful shrine. When he woke, that's what he would find, the snows already almost melted...