Into the Mines! (Closed)

Jon set out from the nearby stables early in the day, while the sun was still low in the sky. Baratheon had been packed heavily with supplies and rations for the trek that lay ahead. Luckily, the local parts of Hyrule were not entirely without roads, though Jon knew that roads would not carry him even near the whole length of the trip. In all, his journey would be three days if not more.

Trekking over the hills and grasslands, Jon watched the sun rise and fall three times, through rain and wind. In the afternoon of the fourth day, Baratheon bore his master into the rugged hills and mountains running along the north of Zora's River.

To regain his strength and wait out the night, Jon decided to make camp in the remains of the old mining town that once dominated the surrounding valley. He found a fine spot in the middle of what used to be the town's bazaar and set up a small camp for himself.

As Kara walked into the town it was desolate, the buildings all had cracked windows and were covered in hardened, dead, seaweed. The ground was loamy and kinda hard to get traction on in her heavy armor. Her deductive reasoning skills told her that the town was built too close to the river and a massive tide washed in and flooded the village. The only sign of life was the thing that brought her to the village, a smokey cloud was forming over a building nearby. When she went to find the source she found a man with a grizzly looking beard. He wore the insignia's of the Hyrule Castle Guard and she began to question him. "I am Kara Kyrie from the Hyrule Castle Guard. Are you on assignment here?"

Jon stood to meet this new figure approaching his small camp. Baratheon had been tied to a post near his fire, and Jon had some meats cooking for a small meal with some waybread and hard cheese. He had his shield, hammer, and sword resting up against a nearby wall with his helm, and his hands were busy tending the fires until Kara approached him. He was, truthfully, surprised to encounter another of his own out here, but if local legend were more widespread, then possibly he could have picked a more popular adventure than he realized. Regardless of why the woman had come, he could only assume she would help him, and that was something he could ill refuse.

"No, milady, I have come here of my own accord. I am a man-at-arms under hire of the King's own nobility, and a man of his Majesty's armies. So long as I bend a knee to the throne I ride where I will until the banners call me back to fight."

How dare I? This is no way to behave toward a woman. I have yet to introduce myself! My name is Jon, a son of the House of Augustus, originally of Kakariko. Come, join me for food and drink. I have but little to offer from mine own rations, but I will spare some for you. Sit, and tell me of your circumstances. For what have you come to this ruined place?"

"There is no need to share, I live off bread alone and I keep all I need in my bag," she said as she stared at the man. "I've been working too hard recently and they gave me time off. I'm just adventuring and didn't want to be stuck in the fields after dark. You know how it gets. Kara sat down on the ground as she continued the story the fire was warm in these cold winter nights. "I saw your smoke and thought this was a town.. I guess was is the operative word here."

Kara took out some of her bread and cut off some of it leaving the rest out for Jon if he wished. She hate a bite but before she could take out her canteen a strange noise could be heard echoing through the mountain town. Well the city was more in a valley in the mountain but that was unimportant at the moment. Kara stood and got battle ready before investigating, upon inspection she found a fierce red glow coming from the distance. What she couldn't see at the moment was that if they chose to follow the light they would find themselves at the entrance to an abandoned mine that was probably the only purpose of this old forgotten village.

"I have heard many tales about this town... Many tales indeed. Some say that a horde of demons marched over this town and devoured its inhabitants, destroying everything in their path. Some say it was greed that drove the citizens mad and they all slew one another. I don't know what happened, but something tore this village to the ground.

"To be sure, it has something to do with that red glow up in the mines. I have talked to people from the nearest villages out in the fields who say it was the mines that undid this place. They have told me these people dug great mines beneath the mountains and under Zora's River, and that one day several years ago, they had to abandon the mines. They were trying to run away from something. Some of the men-at-arms in town put a local levy together and marched into the mines and never returned, and over the next few nights the town was slaughtered in its sleep.

"I am not one to know how true that is, but those mines were abandoned some years ago, and I fear it may be something well beyond my experience."

Jon watched as Kara became fully alert at the sound coming from the mountains. She looked to be preparing for battle, but Jon stood and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Please, this is no time for fighting. We have both traveled great distances to get here, I trust, and there is no use going on to investigate when we have no strength left in our arms to give battle. I must advise that we rest here, eat, and sleep. When dawn scatters rosy light over the tops of these peaks, we will prepare ourselves and set out into the mines. That is, of course, supposing you intend to go with me. I come to see what terrors drove this one prosperous town to its knees, and, if such terrors can be bested, I intend to do just that. Of course, it is said riches can be found in the heart of the mountain, if wealth be your wish above honor.

"I know, at least, that I would greatly appreciate an extra sword at my side."

Kara soaked in the man's words tightening a grip on her lance as it was hard for her not to run into battle after such a fright. Though she did not drop the lance like the other man had said to rest. She wasn't very tired but she doesn't know how he may be feeling. "You are right sir. There is no need rushing in and losing our lives if we can help it." The glow intensified before diminishing to almost nothingness as Ms. Kyrie continued. "But I do not feel comfortable sleeping after hearing your story. How about we take turns with watching so we can both be secure while we sleep?"

The man seemed fairly tired, not debilitating or anything but it definitely seemed like he had been on quite the journey to get here. "I insist that you take the first nap while I stand guard." Kara was very stubborn about this fact and eventually got her way due to not taking no for an answer.

With her lance in hand she was sitting atop some crates that seemed decrepit and could barely hold her weight. She had her eyes fixated on the mine that every so often had the red glow. She was whipped back into the present with a crashing noise that she couldn't quite coordinate the direction of. All she knew is it happened past the light that her torches would show. This wasn't any normal city darkness this was almost pitch black. "I don't know if that crash woke you but you better get up something is happe-"

Without notice a Lizalfos launched from the darkness and pounced on Kara, the beast began to call for it's comrades with a strange reptilian yelp. The Lizalfos had a scimitar in it's hand and an axe blade tied to it's tale which was very visible to Kara as it flung the blade next to her face while snarling.

The southron jumped to his feet at the sound of the lizalfos descending upon them. he was not dressed in his full armor, and was taken by surprise, but could only take up arms and fight to the end. From what he could see, this war band was a mere five lizalfos. He had always boasted years ago of fending off seven of Ganon's reptilian minions as a young man on the ramparts of Kakariko. Indeed, that story used to change. Some days, he had killed eight, some days ten, and one day, he had boasted of fighting off 20 of the things by himself, a young man of fifteen, before soldiers came to fight alongside him and throw the aggressors back. Jon had killed seven, or at least four of the seven, but he never told the story to include the three other young men who fought and did not survive beside him.

At least now, it seemed five hew scaly heads would be long to him. Even now preferring to fight rather than yield, Jon grasped the shaft of his war hammer tightly. He charged to Kara's side and brought the steel point of his hammer to bear in a mighty upward swing, catching the lizalfos under the chin. The heavy steel head drove upward, crushing the monster's jaw nearly into dust and shattering its skull. Blood and bits of flesh and bone sprayed out in all directions, covering Jon's bare shins with a speckling of deep crimson droplets, similarly decorating the head of his own hammer and presumably Kara's face and chest.

The blow tore the lizalfos off of the woman and threw its corpse upon its back. Jon reached down and lifted Kara by her shoulder, yanking her to her feet.

"Rise! We have not known defeat just yet!"

Grabbing her spear, Kara quickly rose from the ground prepared to fight. The four remaining Lizalfos snarled at the duo of warriors who just killed their brethren. The smell of blood has hit the air and despite it being from a fellow Lizalfos it brought a ferocious spirit to the remaining monsters.

Kara was having problems seeing the Lizalfos as they circled, stalking their prey. She could only see what the light of the fire of her torches could expel. The torches made a perimeter around the campground. It was past midnight, and the clouds had all but blocked off the moon and the many stars. Kara was honestly pretty exhausted after not sleeping. She however would not let the fatigue shake her, she charged one of the Lizalfos full speed before it dodged and collided it's tail axe with a piece of Kara's platemail, knocking the breathe out of the Hyrulean Guard. Kara pulled her spear from the ground as she spun it around her, unintentionally knocking the wrong Lizalfos down, injuring him slightly by the blunt part of the metal spear.

The correct Lizalfos jumped over the Spear but his tailaxe got caught on the spear and tripped him up. The Lizalfos was a sitting duck as Kara dug the sharp edge of the spear into his chest, then removing it to see the beasts last breath. "For the crown of Hyrule and the memory of the former residence of this ghost town I shall not let you foul beasts live to see the morning light!" Now with three remaining the Lizalfos seemed more focused and ready to use their numbers to get the advantage.