I'll Take an Axe to Your Skull [Eevachu + Clooby]

Continued From: Great Deku Tree - Why Do the Forests Cry?
Dungeon: Skull Woods - A Link to the Past

Players/Characters:

• Eevachu - 50 Rupee Total
  • Rika and Wollo - ??
• Clooby - 50 Rupee Total
  • Lucian Avengard - ??

A blur of decaying foliage and leaves zoomed past a rushing duo of characters, almost panickedly heading through the rotted, lifeless forest, as if chasing after- or fleeing from- something. The far less hidden of the two was the small, Hylian-like boy garbed in a bright, deep red, the striking sense of color standing out with the immediate vicinity surrounding him. His thick, sharp green hair nested underneath a feathered red hat would show that he was likely not a Hylian, but rather a Kokiri. His less conspicuously dressed companion was much taller than the Kokiri, almost doubly so. Bits of armor laid across his clothing and body, providing more protection than his companion who seemed to be primarily wearing cloth. His flesh was calloused and rough, a clear sign of a harsher living environment, but he was clearly a Hylian man. Hovering about 15 or so feet in front of them at all times was what seemed to be a glowing, bright light. Closer examination would reveal it to be none other than a hare or some sort, strangely.

The duo had entered the Kokiri Forest earlier that same day from separate directions, finding strange signs of dying trees and miasmic symptoms. After a quick encounter with one another, the two found a glowing rabbit who urged them to save them, before flying off deeper into the forest. With no choice but to follow, they were led deeper in, with the situation growing worse the further they went. Eventually, they came across the decaying corpse of a Great Deku Tree, a very unpleasant site for the Kokiri to see. To make matters worse, it was infested with spiders and even a queen Gohma herself. Managing to slay her and allow the Great Deku Tree to rest in peace, the two found themselves outside once more, but with the immediate area filled to the brim with life. However, they could clearly see beyond that the forest was still not anywhere near healthy. With the sudden reappearance of the hare, it led them deeper and deeper into the forest, presumably to the source of the problem.

However, things were worse than they could have imagined. While things devolved horribly as they went further in, the extent to which it did was far worse than they would have thought. The revolting stench of death and decay lingered heavily in the air, and though they had time to slowly adjust to it as they went in, it still left a disgusting feeling in their stomachs. Along with that, they started coming across signs of creatures once again, but in the opposite direction they wanted. Bony corpses, stripped of all flesh and meat, lay in poisonous, acidic liquids on the ground, very very slowly dissolving into nothing. Though they were not strong enough to hurt the duo so quickly, especially with their thick clothing providing protection, extended lingering would not be recommended.

If things were so bad, though, what could they possibly do so solve such a problem? Perhaps even scarier a thought than that, however, was what would be strong enough to cause such a horrible scene in the first place? It was very serious, and they had little time to mess around. Rika would be sure to punish the culprit behind the current state of the forest, no matter the means.

Lucian rushed into the foliage, the scenery a blur around him. Rika raced alongside him, only about three feet to his left. What were they running so fiercely from? The answer to that, my friend, is simple. As they progressed into this forsaken wood, the dead rose around them, quickly forming a mob of restless souls and accursed fiends. They surrounded them -- almost. There was a slim chance for escape, and they took it.

Another black, almost violet fog rolled in, surrounding much of the mob yet again. One had rolled in earlier, granting the undead semi-physical weapons. Whenever they seemed to strike -- whether ar Rika, Lucian, or one of the many dead trees in the area -- they dispersed, exploding in a burst of acidic vapour. They knew this was an omen -- whatever had corrupted the forest so was obviously conspiring against their efforts of purification. They continued forth, charging headlong around the thick, dead trees. Lucian slipped, for a moment -- a patch of mud hidden under dry brush. He skidded, tilting his head up as he did only to see the mist dissipating as their figures wandered through the dark cloud, at first seeminh as though they were stumbling... but Lucian was none too pleased as to what he laid his eyes upon. He continued sliding forward, befoee coming to a short drop, where his platemail skirt snagged on a few dead roots, causing him to stumble forward onto his feet, headfirst. A dull thud resounded through the area as he slammed his head into the carcass of a tree. He rubbed the top, where he had been hit, as he continued forward, attempting to catch up to his companion who was no doubt faster than he. With a bit of a wimper, he continued, sprinting all the while.

There seemed to be no end to these foes -- it was a mob of spectacular size, seeming to be such that a direct encounter would end only in death. Ahead was what appeared to be a nesting of skulltula -- as evidenced by the thick, heavy webbing that decorated and completely absorbed the trees. A large stone archway marked the entrance to the area, though it was only a dot in size at this point. It beared importance at some point, yet it had fallen into disrepair. Lucian contimued forward, keeping an eye on the abominations that still chased after them, threatening to overwhelm them at nearly any point.

They were being collapsed at from all sides. What could they possibly do except run? Not that running would help any, if the situation didn't change they were doing nothing but delaying their inevitable loss. Rika's eyes frantically scanned the immediate area, looking for anything; A burst of inspiration, something that would give them more of an advantage in this very disadvantageous situation. Even with the Jump spell, the trees were too fragile for them to take the high ground, disabling that advantageous situation. Though they could destroy trees, that would do virtually nothing to help their situation due to the weak make-up of the trees and the vast numbers the enemy held. All they really could do WAS run, but they were living, breathing creatures. Their foes were undead monsters who could pursue endlessly without the fear of exhaustion, and the duo lacked such a luxury.

As the massive, thick Skulltula webbing came into view, Rika very audibly cursed. Things had to get worse, didn't they? He'd rather just turn around and fight the Stalfos at that point. Then, Rika noticed the archway. It was very ancient looking, and somewhat hard to make out due to the moss, vines, and Skulltula webbing covering it. It seemed like a pathway to something, though. That was strange to Rika, however. If there was one area he knew more than any, it was the Kokiri Forest, yet something holding relevance like that was an enigma to him. Could there be something beyond it? They didn't have any other options, it was worth the gamble.

"Lucian, follow me! Keep an eye out for Skulltula!" Rika echoed to his ally as he ran forward, running in the direction of the archway. Quickly drawing his scythe, Rika sliced the thin, yet strong webbing covering the entrance in half, bursting forward to the other side. Though the cut was small due to the Kokiri's size, Lucian shouldn't have much trouble getting through. If anything, it may delay the Stalfos somewhat. As Rika burst through, his eyes were met by broken pillars. Once a tall and welcoming beacon for whatever once laid here, they were now completely destroyed.

Further ahead appeared to be a small building. It was stone and appeared to have once been a grand, magnificent shrine of some sort, now seemingly reduced to nothing more than a distraction for passing travelers. Why was a temple out here, though? Was it something Rika didn't know about? The thought of it would have made him excited if it weren't for the more immediate thought of impending doom from Stalfos and Skulltula. It seemed to have a wide mouth for an opening, with two large, open stone doors for openings, about a foot taller than Lucian. Beyond the doors lied a staircase which descended down into the darkness below. It didn't look particularly appetizing, but it was likely better than continuing running. "Lucian, the temple!" Rika shouted back to the closely pursuing Hylian, before firing off towards it.

Lucian raced behind his far faster and more agile companion. The shambling -- not shambling, but full-on sprinting skeletal warriors were on their tails. It was a murder lying in wait -- but suddenly, there was a beacon of hope! Metaphorically cutting through the misty, Skulltula-ridden forests, a small shrine up ahead shined like a lighthouse.

Rika shouted something about it. Lucian was too distracted -- arrows bit at his heels, grazing his legs as they approached the rundown, decrepit spiritual relic. The fog lessened, becoming clear as to where it went, the nearer they got -- it went down. How far down? It was anyone's guess. That wasn't important now, though -- what was important was that it was a safe-haven from the threat of Stalfos and Skulltula alike. They approached the cumbersome stone doors -- it seemed to Lucian that they both very nearly weighed a literal ton each, as thick as they were. It almost seemed like the old sealing doors they'd put in their temples in Ruto -- they didn't serve a use, usually, but if push ever came to shove, they held back all but the most malignant and evil forces from breaching.

These were cracked. Whether from the extreme power of an individual, or natural decay and erosion, Lucian simply couldn't be sure. As the pair approached the door, heading into its unknown depths, Lucian threw himself down the stairs. Specifically, he performed a variation of Helm Splitter. He threw himself into the air, his arc short yet elongated, throwing his feet over his head at an approximate midpoint. He landed -- as safely as he could, given his bogus use of the maneuver -- and looked back as Rika cleared the staircase just behind him. There seemed to be almost 30 steps as Rika climbed down the last one, bolting into a faint light up ahead. Lucian followed right behind him, as the clattering of bare mandibles became obvious.

As they continued their sprint into the dilapidated crypt -- that's what it resembled to Lucian, at least -- they passed a weakened section of the tunnel. The Stalfos were not long behind them, but neither were they long for this world still. Thinking quickly, Lucian shuffled into a small rucksack that hung from his hip, constructed from an aged Dodongo stomach. He pulled a black, metal-shelled orb, with a small fuse extending about an inch into the air. It was already lit. He hurled it back, behind the pair, and onto what he identified as a structural weakness -- hopefully, he was right.

A loud CRASH! echoed throughout the remnants of the tunnel. It started collapsing around both them, and the Stalfos; thankfully, they had been blessed with the lead. They managed to escape the falling debris just in time as it completely sealed off the entrance they had entered from, along with the Stalfos and Skulltula . . . but now, they were here. Trapped in an unknown remnant of some obscure religious group -- trapped, as far as they knew, from any escape.

But things had seemed to have had a way of working out for this group so far. A light glowed up ahead -- just far enough that they could barely see their surroundings. In the distance, it almost seemed like a pinhead. Falling onto the floor, completely exhausted, his plate mail skirt -- clearly abused and nicked by more than simply a few arrows -- rattled and clanged as it struck rock and dirt. Lucian swept his wet, dark blond hair out of his face as he struggled for breath. Sweat poured down his forehead as he pulled his knees up close to him, attempting to stabilize his pulse.

"Whew. I haven't had a workout like that in," he stopped, obviously thinking for a moment. Whether it was for comedic effect or actual effort to recall a more taxing situation wasn't apparent as he began to speak again. "I don't know long," he wheezed out, still exhausted frmo their trek through the ghoul-infested forest.

Rika pushed himself forward as he ran, not even caring where he stepped. He didn't glance back to see how far away the Stalfos were, or to see if there were stray vines or webbing at his feet he could trip on. He couldn't afford that luxury, he had to just keep running. Pushing himself through the large, cracked doors, Rika ran- no, leaped- down the stairway. He didn't care if he tripped or not, it would just get him to the bottom faster anyway. He had to get down the stairs, though. As a faint light showed in the distance, thoughts of relief and worry rushed into Rika's mind.

Why was there a light back there? Stalfos didn't need light, but was there something else down here? Something that. . . needed light? He didn't have time to worry about it now, however, as there was no going back. Thinking quick, Lucian tossed a couple bombs in their steps. The surrounding ceiling and walls starting collapsing onto themselves, just behind the two. Luckily for them, it was also in front of the Stalfos. As the dust and noise settled, Rika looked back to see the damage dealt. A colossal pile of rubble rest where they once stood moments ago, likely over a few feet thick. There was absolutely no way the Stalfos were getting through that; However, it also meant there was no way they were either.

Panting heavily, Rika collapsed to the ground with his back against the wall, grabbing his hat and sliding it down his drenched, oily face and onto his lap. Taking a moment to let his body realize he wasn't running anymore, Rika slowly started undoing his shirt. They had been running for god knows how long, and the Kokiri was drenched in sweat. Furthermore, his clothes were quite thick, and he was burning up. Especially in such a small place like this, he would probably collapse. "Yeah, let's. . . let's take a break. We should be fine here, for now." The Kokiri slowly started taking off the upper, thicker, red layers of his clothing, leaving only the leather armor underneath and the thin cloth separating his flesh and the armor. He would take the armor off, too, but not yet, he would rest another moment.

As his breathing started to stabilize slightly, Rika wiped the sweat on his face off with the least drenched part of his shirt he could find. It was better than nothing, at least. As his eyes wandered across the immediate area, his head turned to the side. Directly next to his face, on the walls, he could see engravings. It was hard to make out exactly what they were due to the extremely dim lighting, but they appeared to be some type of drawings or words. His interest piqued, Rika pushed himself away from the wall, turning to examine them. They seemed to extend back the way they came, through the rubble they had caused. Along with this, he could see them heading towards the light, though they were still too far away to tell just what exactly they were.

. . . Well, they could only go that way anyway, so he would look at them once they were ready. For now, he would just rest until his energy and breath returned. Just what could those markings be, however? What exactly was this place?

"So," Lucian wheezed, still catching his breath. "What do you think this place is?" He gasped for air, swallowing the saliva in his mouth. He was so thirsty now. And no one had any water... Lucian had survived worse, at least. He followed his previous question up almost immediately.

"Considering the seals on those doors, I don't think we're meant to be down here. I don't even think this place is supposed to be open. But, dealing with some sort of super dangerous crazy-dark monstrosity should be a problem for the two of us, right? Ahaha," he finished, chuckling a bit. To him, Rika was already a friend. He turned to Rika, who was also sitting, but had seemed to notice... something? going all along the walls of the tunnel. Lucian tried getting a better look, but it was too dark. "You don't have something to light this stuff up with, do you? I can barely see it, but . . . it looks like Ancient Hylian. What's it say... great . . . something? That rune looks kinda like what you'd use if you were writing "abyss" or something . . ." He trailed off as he stood, following the lettering throughout the tunnel. Pictures sometimes accompanied the script, though it was a little faded. The stonework was still of a great quality, but it was strange: it had a distinctive blend of styles, yet there were no records of Hylian settlement this far out, nor as early as any of this stonework seemed. "Huh. This looks kinda like Hylian stonework, but as far as I know, there haven't been any Hylian settlements out here this long ago . . . this stuff does look kinda old, right?" He squinted, still trying to interpret them in the dark.

"I dunno, this shit's already creeping me out." He finished, still gleaning over Ancient Hylian verse and picture alike. Their grammar seemed to be poetic in intent, but what did it mean . . ?

Rika chuckled back at Lucian's comment as he finished. "Yeah. I don't know about you, but it's just the daily grind for me, haha." While it was true it would certainly be no problem for him, it would help if they had some sort of idea what was going on with the forest or what- or who- exactly was causing this. As he turned his attention away from Lucian to the runes in front of him, he couldn't help but feel excitement and wonder even in the poor conditions they were in. Brushing his gloveless hand across the rough, worn stone wall, Rika felt the engravings carved into the surface of the area, using this to make out what was carved despite the dim light. At least, it was enough to get the idea.

"Yeah. I don't know why it's here, but this is definitely Ancient Hylian. I can make out a little of this, but some of it is foreign to me. . . Of course, it's not because I can't learn it," Rika quickly affirmed to Lucian that it was to no fault of his own before continuing, "it's just incredibly difficult to find books and passages related to the Ancient Hylian language. They are not at all common, and most notable collections are collected by high ranking scholars or royalty, and sadly they would never allow me to read them." Rika slowly traced his fingers along the wall, and although he couldn't make out every word, he was able to make out a few. Evils. . . . Site. . . Heal. . .

Rika spoke the words aloud as he traced, speaking a few more before stopping. None of this made any sense though. . . As he thought about them in conjunction with what Lucian had read, he came up with a theory. "Perhaps. . . Heal the evils at the site of the great abyss? Is this place telling us to cleanse the forest too? That's really strange, though, because this place wasn't like this until recently, and this place is clearly far older than that. . . Hmm. . ." Rika seemed to ponder on it more as he stood back up. His clothing had started to dry, and although still slightly damp, it was good enough. "You're right, this place looks older than me, and I was alive for the first Hylian settlements. That's peculiar. . . " Rika scratched his head as he put his clothes back on. "Well, we have time to think about it, I'm sure there'll be more if we go further in. I mean, no point in making a shrine, or temple, or whatever this place is, and putting everything at the front, right?"

The duo continued in the only direction they could, towards the light. The markings trailed closely beside them, though they didn't investigate too closely. From what they say there didn't seem to be much they could distinguish, as the characters were either beyond their knowledge or too worn to discern from aged damage. Soon, the duo came upon a massive room. Two colossal stone walls towered high into the air, the ceiling opening up dramatically. Two massive, bright torches rest towards the two ends of the room by the stone walls, painting the room in a dim, but visible light. However, for the two walls they were next to, they illuminated them in all their glory. A massive mural was thrown across the two walls, intricate in detail despite its size. It was something no normal man could make, and even a very skilled man would have to spend many hours of diligent work to craft such a masterpiece.

"Well, that's not what I expected." Rika grinned as he excitedly rushed over to the eastern mural. It seemed to depict a grand battle between man and monster. A massive army of humanoid looking creatures stood facing this monstrosity, a great, four legged beast resembling a bear. The men were barren and seemed to wield poorly made spears or clubs of wood and stone, some even just holding stone. A couple even seemed to have access dangerous looking arcane magic, but the beast seemed to shrug it off. However, it seemed rather off from what the two of them might expect. The main difference from what you would expect is the monster was the one winning. Rather than many men fighting off such a beast, countless sliced and shredded corpses lay in his wake, seemingly many more about to come. A large, sphere-like bulb also seemed to be sticking out of this creature's back, but it was not clearly in view, as the monster was facing the viewer. The land around him seemed to be draining with life; the trees were wilting and broken, the land quite barren. Ash fell from the sky, possibly the sign of an erupting volcano.

"Well, I'm still not sure what it's trying to tell us, but whoever built this place and made these had impeccable skill. I'm so glad I found this place now, I just wish I did it under better circumstances, right?" Rika called out to Lucian without turning to face him, chuckling again slightly. As Lucian approached the mural however, presumably on the side further from Rika to spread out, something looked somewhat off about what he was looking at. It wasn't anything about the painting specifically, it just looked. . . bulky. Perhaps Lucian pondered or noticed, perhaps he didn't, but as he looked it over, he would find out soon enough. A tall, ghoul-like blob burst out from the mural, its texture and color almost completely matching that of the wall it had attached itself to. Its long, sickly arms reached out for Lucian as he was close, the creature attempting to wrap its arms around Lucian and then wrap its entire body around him by putting him within the gaping hole in its stomach, essentially grappling him and pulling him towards the wall violently.

Lucian continued examining the wall and its intricate murals. However, as he took another step, he could feel eminent danger – immediately grabbing one of his axes in hand and slashing down the appendage of a beast. It let out a frightful cry – Lucian had just barely seen it before it camouflaged itself back into its surroundings. Whatever this thing was, it was a master of disguise – not even the most dedicated rogues or assassins had any resemblance to its skill at hiding.

Tuning his finer senses to his environment, he quickly found it . . . as well as where three or four others hid as well. Snatching towards the wall, he sliced directly through the creature. In an ear gouging display of pain, it shrieked and shrieked. For an instant, Lucian thought his ears might begin to bleed.

And then two more came. Lucian knew there was still at least one more in hiding – but he couldn’t quite tell where. He shouted out to Rika, “Keep your eyes open!” Resuming the hunt, his body suddenly filled with adrenaline as another arm grasped towards him. But Lucian was already prepared, whipping around with a Spin Attack, slicing directly through the creature. Their bodies were constituted of something like jelly; his axe cut through it as though it were putty. As the last two floated around the room, Lucian kept his senses alert, both axes drawn.

As the ear piercing screech filled the air, Rika clenched his ears in shock, lowering his guard. The screaming quickly faded, causing the Kokiri to return to a defensive position, his eyes scanning the room. He saw Lucian swinging at something, but it was too dark for him to tell. Turning and moving in an attempt to not be jumped, Rika was unaware of the creature about to assault him. From the wall sprung a rugged blob looking like the wall, its oozing arms reaching out and grabbing Rika, squeezing tightly on his body. "Shit, let go of me!" Rika shouted, though his scythe was too large to slice it while being held. As he struggled, the Kokiri bunted the goo monster with his scythe, causing it to screech and loosen his grip slightly. This was the perfect opportunity to break free for Rika.

As Rika was released from its grasp, the creature completely vanished into the stone. Setting his scythe onto the ground, Rika drew one of his daggers, keeping a close eye around him. He wouldn't be able to see it coming, so he'd just have to react fast enough to kill them. Suddenly, movement. The creature burst out of the wall to grab Rika, and in that moment he lunged. As the creature wrapped its arms around the Kokiri, his dagger pierced its jelly-like exterior, causing it to let out a horrid scream. With a swing of its arms, they slammed into Rika, sending him off of his feet and falling to the side. The scream quickly subsided and it seemed to have perished.

Before Rika could come to his feet, another one of the Camo Goblins jumped on the Kokiri and attempted to hold him down. They were surprisingly strong and it was hard for Rika to breathe with it squeezing him. Opening his mouth, a vicious ball of wind launched forward directly at the creature. There was no screaming this time, and the room was silent. A gaping hole rest where the creature's mouth once was, the Wind spell tearing through its flimsy gelatin body and out the other side. The creature's grip loosened as Rika gasped for air, pushing its body off of his.

That proved one thing, at least, that they weren't alone in this place.

"Are you alright?" Lucian jogged through the tunnel, torch in hand. Seeing that there was no clearly visible damage to Rika, Lucian offered him a hand up. As Rika prepared himself for the rest of the tomb, Lucian went ahead, more wary than before of the lurking dangers. They weren't alone, that much was true.

Continuing through the tunnels that ran beneath the crypt, they came upon a door. The inscriptions upon the walls began to repeat themselves, but still they continued throughout the dungeon. Opening it with a nudge, the pair came into what could really be described as a room. There was a hole in the cieling above, which had turned into dirt. You could see several of the Stalfos from earlier milling about above, though still keenly alert and aware of their surrounding. As Lucian scanned the room, he became aware that they were not the only ones in the room... The only truly sentient creatures, perhaps, yes. But, crouched in the far corner of the roughly rectangular room was a Gibdo, wrapped in their usual mummy wrappings. As Lucian raised the torch to get a better look at it, it stood, moaning and groaning. Its noise filled the room -- and caused the Stalfos above to easily locate the passage... as well as their prey.

Swinging the torch at the Gibdo, its wrapping caught flame with remarkable speed. A ReDead was underneath, and soon its typical screeching would fill the room. Thinking in that small interim of time, Lucian pulled a bomb from his bag. The fuse was lit. The clock was ticking. He threw it in front of the ReDead as it continued its march to the pair.

It opened its mouth, the shrill siund began to creep out, like a broken melody box. It was a melody that wouldn't last, Lucian thought, as he heard the familiar sound of explosives blasting the ReDead to bits. Recovering from the temporary paralysis, he met the rusted cutlass of a Stalfos with his own axe. Watching the other two that fell into the room, he executed an actual Helm Splitter -- splitting its skull as it landed in the area of the two others. Disabling them for a moment with a quick Spin Attack, he pulled out another bomb. He knew these things didn't stay dead for long. He threw it near the remains of the one he had just disabled. Hopefully his aim was good enough to get it close enough.

He locked blades with another Stalfos.

As Rika's breathless gasps for air started to fade and his breathing returned to normal, the two of them continued onward. Rika's eyes traced the dimly lit markings as they continued on, though they seemed to repeat in a certain pattern after a short time. Soon, they came across as weathered, stone door, of much worse condition than the walls they had seen. After a short tug, the door came cracking open, revealing a wide, open spaced room. Unlike the long trail they had followed before, the ceiling appeared to be made out of dirt. Perhaps this was once an open area, hence the lack of a roof? Toward the upper right from where Rika and Lucian had entered, a wide hole about four feet in diameter pulled the ceiling apart. Large skeletal bodies could be seen passing alongside and by it, indicating the patrol of Stalfos from up above, though they seemed unconcerned with the hole itself, as if they hadn't even noticed it.

That was when a loud moaning echoed from the upper western corner of the room, a lanky, sloth-like Gibdo slowly bringing itself to a stand, its arms draped at its side like curtains as it wailed, crawling toward the duo. As Lucian set the Gibdo aflame, it let out a blood curdling screech, freezing the two of them too the bone. To make matters worse, the wailing and moaning of the Gibdo had alerted some Stalfos to the presence of the hole, causing a few to drop down to investigate their prey. They had to act quick, or things would be over before they could even move.

While Lucian dealt with the Gibdo, Rika extended his arm as soon as his movement returned, thrusting his palm in the direction of the hole. A glowing circle started to form and a couple moments later, a massive dirt spire shot out of the side of the hole and almost completely blocked the entryway, though not completely as it was angled upwards. Rika wasn't sure how effective it would actually be at keeping anything out, but it would hopefully serve as something to sidetrack the Stalfos at least. Lucian had managed to take care of the Gibdo, as far as he could tell, and even take care of a Stalfos, then locking blades with a second Stalfos.

The third Stalfos charged at him, only for Rika to intercept him. His scythe clashed against the Stalfos's dull, rusted cutlass, the two of their guards being knocked back as they attempted to retaliate. Unfortunately for Rika, a scythe wasn't the best weapon for defeating a creature without any sort of vital points, especially one made entirely of bone. Regardless, the Stalfos didn't seem especially proficient in combat. He wore little armor and he would likely be better off using a stick found above grounds as a weapon than his cutlass. His moves weren't incredibly swift, and one-on-one he would be no match for Rika; certainly nothing compared to the Stalfos they had faced within the Remains of the Great Deku Tree. However, even with its weak strength, enough of him would still be an unstoppable wall for the Kokiri, which is what they had created; plus, there was no guarantee that this applied to all of the Stalfos chasing after them.

As the Stalfos swung at the Kokiri sluggishly and haphazardly a few times, the Kokiri quickly backstepped to create more distance between the two of them, before forming an aqueous orb in his palm and tossing it at the Stalfos. Crashing against its bony body, it released a shocking blast of water, crushing and dismantling the Stalfos. His spire likely wouldn't delay the Stalfos for long, if at all, so it would be wise of them to find an exit before more flooded in. If only it wasn't so dark in the room. . .

As his axe fended off another blade from one of the many skeletons, he brought the unlit end of his torch to the creature's skull. They were... competent, at the least; Rika's, however, was especially less comoetent than many of the Stalfos in the chamber. It parried slowly, and had hardly any strength or speed behind its blows.

The end of the torch pierced its skull. The dull wood, which was perhaps ageless, easily withstood the blow. Why were there so many torches in these places..? Regardless, he quickly decapitated the creature as it lowered its blade, beginning to sink to the floor. He stood a few feet back, and drew another bomb -- just as Rika closed the cieling. He threw the bomb to the remains of the one he had just beheaded, and scanned the room through the dim light.

There was an entrance near where the Gibdo had been crouching... or standing, or whatever. Lucian really had no idea how these things behaved; hell, it was good and near one of the first of those he'd ever fought. The entrance was a tiny hole; he knew Rika could fit through. Grabbing Rika by the arm, he pushed him towards the hole. "Go first. It's in the corner, where the Gibdo was."

He drew a bomb as another 3-4 Stalfos closed in. He threw it between the two closest together, and drew an axe to aid him in fending off the others. One of them hefted what looked like a mace; though, as usual, it was rusted and in poor condition. He chose to block the blow with his torch; there wasn't enough force to do much, regardless. He cleaved the creature's arm in half, its bone splintering under the force of his hacking and slashing. The creature dropped the mace as another blunt object bore into his arm.

He turned to face another ancient corpse, as the Spire Rika had summoned began to collapse. Shit! He executed another Helm Splitter, cleaving its skull in twain. He drew more bombs. He was going to need a lot for this.

He laid one at the base of the Stalfos, again. And then, he began to crawl through, feet first. He laid a bomb at the mouth of the tunnel, and then another. He moved through another few feet, and then placed another. And so on, until he was sure the Stalfos wouldn't be following them any time soon.

Though it was too dark to see, Rika sneered as Lucian grabbed his arm and told him to go. However, this was not particularly the time to fight, so Rika had no choice but to follow and go in the tunnel. The tunnel seemed to go on for a short distance, and Rika had no option in his direction except forward; there were no branching paths, turns, or anything of that nature. The cavern was rather tiny, even for him, though Lucian could still likely uncomfortably fit in. The only sound that reached his ears was the sound of explosions in the background. "He really like his bombs, doesn't he. . .?" Rika mused to himself as he continued on. Soon enough, he came to an end, though it was hard to tell until he reached it due to the darkness. The Kokiri awkwardly fell out of the hole and luckily onto solid ground. "Damn it! Why is it so. . ." He shouted as he clenched his head, bringing himself to his feet. That's when he noticed something interesting; this room was pitch black, meaning there weren't any torches.

Slowly taking a few steps forward, Rika had to catch himself to prevent what could be a quick death, as his foot reached an edge and he stumbled back, the sound of dust and dirt falling as his feet slid back in a haste. It was an edge, and he couldn't see how far it went, how deep it went, or if there was anything else in the room. He would just have to wait for Lucian and his torch to progress. At least, that was what he thought, until he saw several small lights flicker on in the distance, gently hovering midair. Looking more closely at them, they would appear to be small moths. What were moths doing here, anyway?

The sound of explosion continued to ring throughout the tunnel as Lucian slid down the final few feet, his torch still alight. "Alright, I..." he began, taking in the view of the room. There was more subterranean bullshit going on, as indicated by the winding path going through some kind of chasm. What, exactly, was going on here, anyways?

He thought back the inscription they found at the beginning of this mess. What exactly was here, and what was it doing in the forest? He could only hope that they'd find their answer -- and soon. He held his torch out further, looking over the winding path, before eyeing... What were those? Whatever they were, they were flocking towards the two of them -- and quick.

He swung his torch towards the bugs with little hesitation, but that only drew the insects in quicker. They began to bite and sting and all kinds of painful arthropod-related action, but Lucian didn't particularly mind. He idly swatted them away, before remarking, "This fucking forest." He was honestly just about tired of it all. Already, he had been hit in the face with shrapnel, nearly killed by some kind of . . . spider-thing, and now regular-ass bugs were feasting upon his flesh. All in all, still better than the Eastern Caves. "I swear upon Din and on Nayru that this place is going to be the end of me," he continued with sarcasm in his voice.

"Anyways, let's get going down that path. The sooner we're out of this forsaken place, the better." And with that, Lucian started down the winding, twisting path that led through the chasm. Maybe the bugs would decide to try and bite Rika -- maybe.

As a separate cluster of moths fluttered closer towards the two of them, they seemed to converge on Lucian, though the Hylian seemed to disregard them as nothing more than a mild annoyance. Looking over at the other, glowing set of moths, they didn't seem to mimic these moths. Why was that? They did appear to be different. For one, the moth group that approached Lucian didn't appear to glow, or at least they weren't at that moment; furthermore, something about them seemed off, like they radiated their own vile aura of malevolence, something about them was off-putting. Letting them bite Lucian was a poor idea though, as it was possible they were poisonous.

Strangely enough, they seemed to ignore Rika's presence, as if he wasn't even in the room. As Rika pondered these peculiar actions, his eyes crossed something disturbing. Another cluster of the vile moths seemed to close in on the glowing moths, and in an instant, they were at war, biting at one another viciously, though the vile moths seemed to be far more effective. That was when it sprung on Rika; the light. That was what they were attracted to. They were moths, it made sense, why hadn't he thought of it until then? Yet, why were they attacking the glowing moths? And furthermore, why weren't the glowing moths attacking Lucian? He wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but Rika felt as though it'd be in their best interest to stop the glowing moths from dying. He could find out more later.

"The torch, Lucian! Throw it far away! I think we need to save the glowing moths!" Rika shouted, meanwhile snapping his fingers forward. A raging ball of fire soared harmlessly past the glowing moths. He couldn't do anything to damage them immediately without also hurting the glowing moths, so hopefully he could dissuade the vile moths from continuing their assault with the Fireball and possibly Lucian's torch.

"What the--" Rika wanted him to throw the torch, their only source of light, to get rid of some moths. Okay, that was fair-- they were attracted to light, being moths and all. But even still, he had a better idea. See, he had what had, so far, been nearly the solution to all of their problems so far. Of course, he was talking about his personal supply of explosives -- the wondrous items known as Bombs all throughout the land.

In retrospect, it was rather fortunate that he had picked up that nondescript satchel so long ago, because now they were serving him far better than they were serving that rinky-dink old outpost.

Without any further delay, Lucian plucked one of the explosives from the beast's stomach. Its lit fuse instantly attracted the swarm of insects which had been causing him slight discomfort for about a minute, now. "The glowing ones, huh?" He said, as he chucked the iron-shelled orb as far away as he could. It sailed through the air, the fuse visibly becoming shorter, and shorter, and shorter, before finally exploding into a violent cloud of shrapnel, the heat and force of the explosion nearly instantly demolishing the cloud of bug around it.

But he had waited too long to throw it. It hadn't landed as close as it could have, but its explosion nonetheless drew the swarm away from the glowing moths and into the path of yet another projectile. "Bingo," Lucian whispered, as the second swarm was blasted away. "What's so important about those glowing ones anyways?" Lucian asked, torch still in hand. Their numbers had been thinned, but not by a whole lot. Just what did Rika see in those glow-bugs?

The foundation shook as the bombs exploded, grains of dirt raining downward to coat the chasm's floor. That was quick thinking on Lucian's part to use the bombs to draw their attention, and it proved to be effective at both pulling them in and destroying them. As Lucian asked his questions though, Rika hesitated to give an answer. "I'm. . . not entirely sure. Aside from the glowing, though, their behavior, it seems completely different from the other moths. It's strange. Plus. . ." He paused, focusing his glare intently onto the moths. "I can't feel anything from them. No emotions or thoughts, or anything at all. It's like they're not even insects." As for why they were important, Rika really had no idea. It was more of a hunch than anything. Plus, though he couldn't quite place it, the moths reminded him of. . . something.

As he thought it over, the glowing moths began to move, slowly fluttering to the right to illuminate a pathway in the middle of the chasm. As Rika saw this, he noticed from Lucian's torch that there was the start of a pathway leading further into the darkness. It was rather slim; though both Rika and Lucian were able to stand on it without having to balance themselves, it would be difficult to stand side-by-side. That seemed to be their only path forward though, so Rika took a step onto it, stepping forward in front of Lucian. As he did so, another group of moths came out from underneath the darkness, attempting to make their way towards the glowing moths. Forming an orb of water in his hands, Rika tossed it forward, the Aqua Grenade exploding and demolishing the small cluster of moths completely. Lucian was right, bombs were fairly useful.

With that out of the way, Rika began making his way down the path towards the moths. As he proceeded, the glowing moths winded backwards, illuminating more of the path further ahead. A light coat of dust sprinkled off their bodies as they flew, glowing dimly in the darkness. Though it wasn't bright enough to illuminate the surrounding area, it was still visible even in the darkness, providing a make-shift view of the somewhat winding path.

"Hey," Lucian said, grabbing onto Rika's shoulder. "Slow down. We have no idea of what the hell's up ahead -- and I think I'm built better for taking point than some kid, anyways, regardless of whether or not you have those spells of yours."

Even if he was a hundred years old, even if he'd spent the better half of a century fighting, exploring, or whatever else-- even if he was a Kokiri -- there was no way that someone who was built essentially as though they were a ten year old child would take any kind of hit than Lucian knew he could take. Not that he had exactly taken many himself, but... Well, damn it, it's not like your survived battles by taking hits anyways.

Well, he at least wouldn't die, or immediately go into shock if he took one, at least. There was some bad, suspicious mojo at work here. "Either way, I'm going first. Plus, I have the torch." He neglected to explain the differences in physique, and... well, how he would simply feel responsible, were something to happen to the lad. Either way, they had a trail to follow, which was...

Well, it lead deeper into a widening set of what seemed -- to Lucian -- to be catacombs. There were Stalfos... Well, almost everywhere already. He didn't even know how he wound up in this particular mess, but he couldn't just leave right now.

Oh, how he wished he could.

Not only was he dealing with someone whom seemed like a spoiled brat, albeit a dangerous one, it was also such that he had no idea as to if there was a way out of this place at all. They had potentially doomed themselves by coming into this ancient ruin -- a fate that Lucian wasn't able to accept yet.

As they neared the dilapidated walls of the catacomb, being dug into and made of stone despite the dirt above, below, and beside it, Lucian squinted into the dim light of the torch. It was close to going out. That meant that they would need to get lucky again soon, and find one. Whether or not that could be accomplished remained to be seen, but... Lucian thought he spotted a sort of structural weakness in the wall -- or maybe a cave-in. He couldn't tell, but... It was better than being stuck in some kind of burial ground with who knows how many corpses all around them. "I think I see a spot where it might lead deeper," he suggested, gesturing to what he had seen.

He was just about sick of all these fucking undead.

The fire represented his anger. Rika had half a mind to tell Lucian off. It wasn't that he was incorrect- in fact, what he was saying actually made sense. Rika didn't think of it like that, though. To him, all he cared about was the fact that he was clearly just insulted. His eyes narrowed at Lucian, but he let the Hylian pass without a word; a quarrel between them here would spell their doom, as their source of light was fading and they still had no idea where they were going or even what they were doing. Though, while Rika somewhat uncharacteristically let such a slight pass, it would not fade from his thoughts quite so easily.

Approaching the decrepit, crumbling walls, Lucian motioned to a weak point he had noticed in the wall. The moths they had been trailing behind had come to a stop, glimmering yellow dust drifting lazily from their wings as they hovered in place. Were they not sure where to go either? Perhaps it was up to the duo to determine their next path, then. There was what appeared to be a large crack splitting open the wall ahead of them, zigzagging from top to bottom. Beyond it was the feeling of pitch darkness they had grown accustomed to. Rika really had to find another source of light, dealing with darkness so often was frustrating.

Regardless of what lied beyond it, there seemed to be little alternative for a pathway onward. There was no other visible opening to pass through, as far as Rika could tell, and the cracks provided them an easy way to make their own. With their destination set, they just had to make the cracks spread. Forming an Aqua Grenade in his palm, Rika tossed it at the wall. The rubble was shattered, revealing to the duo what they had previously thought; a way forwa. . .ahea. . . to somewhere.

As the dust began to settle, the moths glided ahead towards the opening, revealing that the pathway was actually at a slant and leading upwards. "We're going back up?" Rika questioned to himself aloud, as he made his way towards the pathway. Hopefully they wouldn't be swarmed by a small army of Stalfos like the last time they were on the surface.

"It's better than being stuck down there," he said, ignoring his companion's complaints. All he wanted right now was... His thoughts drifted back towards what they had seen as they ran towards whatever shrine they had hopefully just departed from. It was all Skulltula webbing and what seemed to be some very old trees. He stopped on the incline as they began to notice the first inklings of light beaming down at them.

"Shit. The forest above us is probably crawling with Skulltula and shit." He started moving again. If they were going to make it out of here, it would probably necessitate some kind of encounter with them. Even if he did hate Skulltula. And boy, did he. But that was niether here nor there, as he valued living far beyond avoiding an encounter with the arachnid menace.

They continued upon the incline for about another minute, before coming upon the realization that they... were in the bottom of a well. Thankfully, the bottom lip wasn't far above them-- it was probably designed as an exit, or maybe an entrance, given how conveniently it was placed. Lucian threw the torch over the stones that composed the well, and jumped. His fingers found purchase upon the rough stone, and with a heave and a lift, he was over and out of the well.

He looked around, through the thick fog that seemed to converge upon them. There was a house nearby-- probably for whatever clergy member or gravekeeper was supposed to have looked over the place, but... Well, in wake of Ganon's siege of Hyrule, there probably wasn't anyone to keep watch any more. There probably wasn't much in the way of usefulness within the house itself, either.

But what did catch his eye were the four-- five? --figures heading through the fog, clearly looking for something... or someone. He looked around for Rika. "Seven o'clock, by the house," he whispered to the mage. "Looks like some Stalfos and... maybe something else with them." This was mostly precautionary. He knew full-well that he already possessed what may as well have been the final solution for any Stalfos unlucky enough to cross his path. "Here we go," he said, drawing a Bomb from its pouch. With a lob, he sent it flying towards a group of skeletal warriors.