Mercenay Ambush/An Unexpected Deviation

"I can fly over the wall, when no one is looking." Olais snickered at Talshin's concern over whether or not he would be able to get back into the Castle Town or not. "Besides, I could always cut my head branches. They grow back pretty quickly. I should probably trim them soon, actually." Olias shrugged, passing his hand through the willow branches on the top of his head. But, Olias was rather glad that he was out of the city. It felt good, being out in the open again; it was hard to stay sane, in the hell hole that had become the Castle Town. Olias sighed, then realized that he was being a little too moody. He listened to Talshin, then looked to Lucia.

"Hm, she does look like she could use some help. I'm assuming no broken bones, since we got out here just fine, but she definitely needs some patching up." Olias rummaged through some of his pouches. Slipping a pack off of his back, he started to look for various items; items he was supposed to sell, of course, but that didn't really matter. He'd already made enough to meet his quota for the month, and merely had to send the money into the Business Scrub Association. As long as they received their payments on time, they would suspect nothing. The only problem was maintaining those payments. Olias shook his head, finished throwing items out from his pack.

He had thrown out a small packet of herbs, some bandages, and a bottle of clean water. Not much, but that was the best he had. He shrugged. "Well, this is what I've got. If you would, Lucia, will you let me apply some St. John's Wort to your cuts? It helps to heal open wounds. Aside from that, I can wrap any tender areas with some bandages, and we might be able to fashion some sort of splint and sling if you need it."

"Oh dear, thank you two for considering it. Medical help, that is." she gave a short but weary bow. In no time her fairy interrupted.

"Hold on, who is St. John?"

"Oh hush now, Lith. He was probably some mountain hermit from a far-off country. Silly fairy." Lucia responded. She then approached Olias for treatment. "Now, don't be too shy, you can touch wherever you need." she assured. It continued with her pointing out all of the lacerations and abrasions caused by Ganon's army on her trip through the field. How she made it through the fray with her life all by herself was a genuine miracle.

"I'm a tactician at heart, but I was forced to leave my home. Without the safety of the forest even I could not navigate safely. Like a single pawn opposing a full board of pieces. My knowledge only got me so far unscathed, as you see. I'd like to say I'd be in perfect condition if not for the scale of the kingdom. The night is harsh, especially with Ganon loyalists in every corner. Trying to get even a wink of sleep often ended with being accosted as I shook off the dreams. I'd slip away but often with some form of gash in my wake. Being a nimble Kokiri has its perks, since that's all I got away with. A lot of these bruises came from the sickening abundance of octoroks in the flatlands. Even my speed cannot overcome that many stones being pelted at me all at once, especially without a shield." she continued speaking like this as Olias prepared her wounds. In between were many visible twitches and groans as he applied treatment to raw spots.

Meanwhile Lith had taken a liking to Talshin, hovering quietly around him and examining his every detail. Most likely wondering what sorts of pranks would work on his species. She had already ruled out sticking his hand in water at night, she deduced that would only seem like a courtesy to one of his kind. Though she could already think of dozens that would work.

"Lith shoo away from that boy. He has self-control so don't think you can make him cross." Lucia scolded the fairy. This was actually the best threat she could possibly make to an uncatchable, self-preserving species like a fairy. Not to say she was completely uncatchable, but sealing her in a jar or bottle and then releasing her would only make her more furious. Lucia thought it best to leave her out at all times to prevent further chaos.

(Mask, it's already just about morning. That was from the last few posts in the other thread, when we got out of Castle Town.)

"We all need rest. I myself have been awake since yesterday morn', and I'm sure such is the case with yourself, and perhaps even miss Lucia." Olias said quietly, rubbing his eyes with balled fists. He then looked at the floating fairy. "And miss Lith." He nodded at the fairy. He didn't want to get on the fairy's bad side, as it seemed Talshin had. Olias could only imagine what was going through the small, cackling fairy's mind, as she flitted around Talshin's head. To be quite honest, though, it amused and refreshed Olias. Olias shook his head. Putting together a chaotic fairy, with a straight-faced Deku was a recipe built for disaster. He let out an exhausted chuckle.

"Anyways, we should probably find somewhere safe. We might be able to make camp somewhere on the edge of the field here, where we won't be in danger of monsters, and will be out of sight from the city. If we lay in the grass, since we're all of a fairly short stature, we shouldn't have any trouble staying out of view of anything that comes by." Olias explained, yawning when he finished. Putting his finishing touches on the bandages on Lucia, Olias turned towards the field, started trudging towards it, his feet dragging on the ground.

Lucia hobbled along with her new-found crew. At this point she ignored the fact that Lith was swarming around Talshin like that one mosquito that doesn't quit. Any mention of the sprite resulted in "Oh, she can't really do anything." Though not entirely true, Lith really couldn't do much to a person while in plain sight. For now Talshin would have to enjoy the indigo lantern that the presence provided.

Lucia was more than weary at this point, but she knew it was best to continue. The further from Castle Town they went, the safer they'd be from the forces of good. Ironically it would be in the dangerous domain of evil they would find their shelter. Lucia puzzled to herself about this predicament she invested herself into. Puzzling was often her best way of coping with pain. The best way, she figured, to stay hidden would be to stuff Lith in a pocket somewhere. She shuddered to think of the most effective nooks and crannies on her person where the fairy would be unable to escape. "Ugggh no way." she spoke aloud. The other two wouldn't know why of course. They wouldn't. Thoughts stay in minds usually.

Unclasping his mantle from around his neck, Olias gingerly removed his rupee brooch, and stored it into a pocket in his pants. Hunkering over to the tree that Talshin had pointed out, the scrub rummaged through the bushes, tried to find a suitable place to take his rest. Then, thinking better of himself, he looked back and Lucia. "What are you going to do, Lucia...?" Olias asked quietly. It was odd, that the scrub who was usually so chaotic, so bitter about his past, would be so polite towards the Kokiri girl. However, it was because he felt a strange sense of kinship with her; he'd always pitied children who were outcasts. So, combining her cherubim looks, with her circumstances, Olias too felt pity for her, despite the fact that she was most likely far older than he.

Olias patted the ground, laid his mantle chain side down into the dirt, so that the cloth portion was facing up. Without turning back to the Kokiri, Olias stood up. "Here..." He coughed into a balled fist, as he began walking towards the tree. Undoing the sash on his forehead, he let the branches that grew on his head fall all around him. Leaning up against the tree, Olias sat down, closed his eyes. Under the cover of his own "hair", he looked like nothing more than a yellow bush, growing at the base of the tree.

"Not bad, sir. If you don't mind I may get good cover behind that majestic shrubbery you have there." she wheezed. The day had worn her out more than some of the previous ones. Clubbing an armored man out of his consciousness was actually more difficult than it looked.

"Don't you think I've forgotten." she turned to her fairy "You may not stay out tonight. Getting people killed may seem like a fun prank to your arrogant mind but I'm not allowing such a thing this time."

Lucia motioned for the fairy to hide in a hollow in the tree. "Well if that's how you're gonna be! No supper for you young lady!" the fairy snapped at the girl. "@%# moron." Lucia whispered to Olias. She soon fell asleep without much effort.

The fairy sulked in the hollow, unable to dim her glow in fury. Lith eyed Talshin some more, he wasn't going to sleep right away. Her chance to prank him while he was awake was slim. Sadly for her, not a bucket was in sight. Buckets were so fun to drop on people, she thought. Soon she became tired as well, and drifted off with fond visions of pails.

Olias' eyes were closed. He was dreaming of sweet, endless rupees, and powerful magics that were his, and his alone. It was then, that his dreams were interrupted, by the feeling of his hair shifting, as if blown by a slight gust of wind. His eyes opened slowly, their light blocked by his hair-stems. Brushing against the ground, the intruder's footsteps had caused the branches on Olias' head to vibrate, thus waking him. His hand moved quietly to his side, slipped into his pouch of iron dust. Clenching his hands, he grasped a handful of the filings, readying to strike at a moment's notice. It seemed that the Deku merchant had been singled out by the assassin. Olias' fist began to glow, within his pouch, his Fire Enchantment pouring into the dust.

However, before the assassin could make his, or her, move, a Deku Nut struck. Cracking against the rogue's head, the intruder hit the ground with a thud. "That settles that, then..." Olias whispered, standing up. Removing his hand from his pouch, he re-tied his hair into its normal position, tying the sash that held his hair with a tight knot. Looking at Talshin, who hadn't yet stood up, Olias nodded his thanks. Walking over to the other Deku, he crouched down, began to whisper. "It seems we've been found." He started off rather lamely, looking at the unconscious body. "We should move. They will be after us, once this guy," he prodded the fallen body with his foot slightly, "doesn't return to their main group. We should head further into the tall grass, where they'll have a difficult time tracking us." Olias suggested, hoping that Lucia was already awake, and had heard what he had just said. Nevermind what the rest of the group did, though, as Olias began to walk, while crouching low, deeper into the grass.

Lucia was fast asleep on the grass. Her response to Olias' remark was a grunting snore.

Lith jolted from her spot in the tree, now with an idea. She zipped with blinding speed to a branch above Lucia's head and held her hand to her mouth. Much like Peter Pan, she mimicked Lucia's voice and spoke up.

"I'm awake, just give me a few minutes. Don't bother trying to wake me up I'll move soon." Lith called from the branch, amazingly making it sound like Lucia was the one talking.

As he entered the grass, Olias looked behind him to see Talshin shaking Lucia, Lith floating nearby, seemingly trying to help wake Lucia up. He smiled to himself. It seemed the two were finally getting along. That was good. Looking back ahead of him, Olias began to creep further into the field of tall grass. The grass brushed against his legs, whispering as he surged forth. "Quietly, now..." He begged the grass, hoping that their slight tinkling would not give his position away. Against a large group of mercenaries, their only hope was to make it into the field, and hope that they could make a stealthy escape. If retreat became impossible, the field would be to their advantage, both Dekus and the Kokiri girl short enough to be concealed in the field. They would be able to use their short statue to their advantage, then, making use of guerrilla tactics.

At least, it was sound in theory. The application would be far harder. He knew Talshin was capable of using his sword with fair skill, but would he be able to move through the field, and make every blow count, with his wooden sword? Would Lucia, a sharp girl, and seeming to possess unnatural luck and fortitude as shown by her journey to Northern Hyrule, be able to hold her own against trained mercenaries? And last, but not least, himself. Could a merchant, skilled only in magic and in cowardice, stand against what could only be his approaching doom? Olias didn't know the answer to any of those questions, but knew that, without a doubt, at least one of them would be answered before night's end.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of moving armor. He froze, his body seizing up. Through his experience with the Hylian's Guard, he knew the unmistakable sound of shifting chainmail. With that small, bell-like tinkling, he knew that the mercenaries were close, were already searching for himself and his allies. He heard the sound come from behind him, and to his right; they were creeping through the field, looking for their ally. They were far enough away to not see Lith's glow, but that could change in the next few moments. Looking back behind him, his eyes begged that Lucia and Talshin hurry into the grass, where they would not be seen. Come on! He tried to move them into the grass with sheer will alone.

Lucia jolted awake as the commotion became impossible to ignore. They're close, I have to help. She pondered for a moment. As fast as possible she swatted Lith out of the air and jammed her up her skirt. The fairy let out a faint squeak before being muffled. Lucia shivered all over as the fairy wriggled around.

With injuries still fairly fresh, and movement impaired by this sudden discomfort, in a confrontation she would have to stick to support tactics. She flopped down and began to crawl toward Olias. He seemed to have a plan, but she wasn't sure what it was. "Let's follow him." she half-mouthed, half whispered to Talshin. She knew in her head the most effective strategy would be to move in a straight line, away from the spotters. This would keep their speed at the highest and least visible pace. But was this what Olias and Talshin wanted? A confrontation could be almost like suicide, if the hunters were more skilled than them, especially in their greater numbers.

Lucia highly considered abandoning them if there was a struggle. A skirmish involving this much risk, with the possibility of her being caught and put in the hands of city officials was all too much for Lucia to want to be involved in right now. If only it were bokoblins or something. That would be much more manageable, Lucia fantasized. But there was no going back now, it was either escape or attack. Advance or abscond, advance or abscond! Lucia fought with herself as if planning a tricky chess move.

Their cover would be eliminated if they crawled until the sun came up. A running start at any time would have to happen soon. The bandages tugged at the skin on her leg. A fool would probably detest aloud in discomfort. She continued along while biting her lip.

​

(S' all good.)

Olias froze in his tracks, the moment he heard the mercenaries going through the area in which they had camped. Shit! He cursed silently to himself. Now that their camp had been found, it would only be a matter of time before they saw Talshin and Lucia, trying to make there way towards himself. Moving as quietly as possible, cringing as his clothes crinkled and crackled, he slipped a hand into his pouch with Scent Seeds. Cradling the tiny, orange pellet in both of his hands, Olias closed his eyes, concentrated, felt the magic well up within him. He felt the threads of power surge out from his hands, lighting the seed in ethereal blue light. Covering the light with his hands, just the slightest slivers of light escaping from between his fingers. Olias' ears were closed off to the world, so rapt he was in his magic. His enchantments usually took little time; however, in this case, he was strengthening the spell, wrapping the seed in a shell of power. He watched as the slivers turned into lances of light, piercing the darkness--he was brought back to the real world by the sound of Talshin's voice, shaking his head and looking at the mercenaries who were now looking towards Lucia and Talshin, and preparing to attack.

Running towards his allies, as quickly as his small legs would carry him, he ran straight past them, towards the mercenaries. Skidding to a halt, he lobbed his Scent Seed like a grenade, straight at the main group. Mustering his remaining strength, the elegant Ice Enchantment draining a good deal of energy, he let the seed fly. It streaked through the air, a falling star coated in blue far. The brittle, magic shell cracked as it hit the ground and finally exploded. Striking the ground near the front of the group, which was charging towards the two Dekus and Kokiri girl, a blue flash blinded Olias, though his hand was in front of his face, shielding him from the light. "Come on!" Without looking at the effects of his seed, he turned around, began to run towards the field again. He heard the groan and coughs of a few men, knew that they would be occupied if only for a moment. When the seed had broken, it had released its spores, chill and frozen, almost like snow. Colder than cold, the front ranks of the mercenaries had been hit by the wave of spores, blinded and choking on them. Then, as their bodies readjusted to a normal temperature, they were hit by the resulting effects of chilblains, caused by going from a moderately warm temperature to an extreme cold, then back, causing extreme strain upon the blood vessels in their hands. The resulting effect, stabbing pain within the hands, caused several men to drop their weapons.

Olias pushed into the grass, not waiting for Talshin or Lucia to respond; he was sure that they would be right behind him. Thinking on the fly, he began to formulate a plan, one that would hopefully get them out of this mess alive. Olias wasn't happy, knowing full well that creating a fire in the field, a dangerous and destructive thing to do, was probably his best option. Still, if worst came to worst...

Knowing full well it was time to flee, Lucia wrenched Lith out of her clothes. The fairy fluttered about in angry spirals as a sign of frustration. Lucia was now due for a brutal pranking in the coming days. She turned to see Olias holding off the mercs. As much as she'd have loved to help, her bandages tugging at her wounds as she fled reminded her why not.

Her boomerang was held close to her, it would be needed if the ambush advanced. The horizon met her eyes once more, and what she had feared was now imminent. A gleam of light poked out from the distance like a lock of hair from under a hood. Daylight would surely ruin their escape unless something halted the mercenaries soon.

Lucia grimaced and hoped Olias had a better plan than tossing fresh snow in their faces.

"Uhm." Olias grunted his acknowledgment of Talshin's signal, looking towards the burrow himself. Would entering the burrow truly be their best option? It was inconspicuous, but not below notice, as Talshin had noticed. The mercenaries likely did not see the Scrub's finger pointing to the hole, but Olias was sure that the professionals would have no trouble finding the small shelter; after all, if the group of three simply disappeared, the mercenaries would be looking especially for things like small burrows or areas under bushes. And if they found them, it was likely it would be all over, then. Then they would have nowhere to flee, meeting only the sharp ends of spears. The small Business Scrub shivered, thinking of the pointy metal piercing his bark, drawing his sap with each brutal stab. No, he'd rather take his chances elsewhere. Watching as Talshin made his way into the hidy-hole with the Kokiri girl, whom he'd dragged in, Olias, instead of running towards the hole, began to veer off to the left. Dropping Scent Seeds at his feet, and throwing them every which way, puffs of gold spores floated around through the tall grass. "Stay in there." Olias said quietly, as he ran past the other Scrub.

His plan was simple; he would try and distract the mercenaries, and would lead them further into the field. Meanwhile, Talshin and Lucia would take cover in the hole, and would hopefully be safe from the mercenaries. At the very least, if Olias was able to pull them out into the fields, Lucia and Talshin could exit the burrow and make a stealthy escape. Getting the attention wasn't the problem; after all, Olias was showman. The hard part was not making it obvious that he was trying to distract them. At the same time, Olias had to make it seem as if Lucia and Talshin had never left. Pulling the sash on his forehead lower, he allowed his hair-branches to lower to the height of his head, and brush against the tall grass. he winced at the discomfort, but knew that, from above the tall grass, it would seem as if a small group were headed through the tall grass, and not simply just one Scrub. He continued throwing Scent Seeds, their pollen trailing after him in a large cloud of smoke. The mercenaries would not be able to see Olias himself, from within the large cloud, but they would know the general direction in which the smokescreen seemed to be heading. Olias hoped that they would not pause to think why such a large cloud cover was being put up, hoped that they would assume that Olias was trying some feeble attempt to escape.

Olias was glad to hear the shouting of men behind him, though he couldn't turn around to see if all had followed him. If only a few had stayed behind, then Lucia and Talshin might have a chance of escaping, though it would be far harder. Still, Olias supposed it was better than nothing. He whipped through the forest of grass, his small legs working hard. Although he was short of breath, and his legs were beginning to ache, he knew that he could not stop running until he was far enough away from the burrow. If worst came to worst, he could take out his Deku Leaf, and make an escape by air.