Nat 1 Stealth Check [Eevachu + Doc Genz]

Dungeon: Dark Palace - A Link Between Worlds

Players/Characters:

• Eevachu - 50 Rupee Total - 18 to Eve = 32
  • Rika and Wollo - Adventure Pouch(-30r) + Kinstone Piece(-2r) + 25r(25r Profession)
• Doc Genz - 50 Rupee Total + 18 from Rika = 68 Rupee Total
  • Evelyn N'yargethath Thulhotep(-19r stock) - Muscle Band(-85r) + Kinstone Piece(-2r)

Things could just never go right. Brushing a small handful of twigs to the side, Rika peered through the towering hedges to catch the sight of a Goriya shining his lantern around as he lazily patrolled the courtyard. As the light threatened to illuminate the darkness surrounding Rika's area, his hand quickly pulled back, the bush's twigs turning back into place and keeping his location hidden. With a small huff, Rika stepped back from the bush, still crouched. There was only one guard on that side, an easy disposal. It was a very jarring situation for Rika, however, because despite being a Kokiri, he couldn't get a sense of the area around him whatsoever, leaving him trapped in the maze like a fish out of water. The enemies must have discovered some way to disable mapping abilities, both his own and ones like it. This wasn't how things were supposed to go at all.

The day started off with Rika hearing of a palace of Goriya bandits deep within the Lost Woods, which supposedly had copious amounts of treasure they had looted from a very rich nobleman. This nobleman was not the most pleased by this turn of events, partially due to the loss of a precious family heirloom. He didn't care about the other stolen goods, but he wanted it back at all costs. He had sent many mercenaries to the palace to retrieve his goods, but they all were sent back in failure- or worse, death. Rika, not one to turn down a potential challenge or potential massive loot, was eager to accept the job and retrieve what the man had wanted; A long, purple belt with a diamond encrusted buckler. He didn't really understand why the man was spending so many resources to retrieve such an item; Sure, it was probably valuable, but surely not this valuable, especially compared to some of the other things stolen. Perhaps it was a gift from his late grandmother, or something? It was of no concern to Rika, however.

After all, the man only requested the belt, and although any additional items would be appreciated, they were of no concern. That meant whatever Rika could find, whether they be the man's other possessions, or another's entirely that the bandits had poached, would belong to him, and that was along with the pay the nobleman was offering. It was a pretty good deal, right?

. . . Of course, that was before they entered. Getting into the place was impossibly hard; An extensive labyrinth of a courtyard separated the outside with the palace, and was filled with guards galore. This was initially of no concern to Rika, until he learned that through some means they were able to disable his innate mental mapping of the area around him. Along with this, he got split off from Wollo, who was now lost within the maze. Finding the Octorok would prove to be a great challenge in itself, much less getting to the palace unnoticed. . . If there wasn't any challenge involved, where would the fun be, though?

--

The Goriya sure looked scary. They would most definitely eat Wollo if they saw him. Yep, it would've been the end for him. Luckily, he found this nice lady after getting split off from Rika. Well, she seemed even scarier than the Goriya, but she was a Kokiri, she could speak to him! How mean could she be after all? . . . At least, he's pretty sure she's a Kokiri. She can talk to him, that makes her a Kokiri, right? She seems so different from the Kokiri he's met though, so much scarier. . . But so is Rika, right? So she has to be a friend! . . . A scary friend. Hopefully he and his new friend would be able to find Rika soon.

"Donovan, don't! You fool!" Eve shouted to her comrade. He charged a Goriya with much gusto. The town guard was speared through his chest-mail with a long boomerang. His corpse was tossed amongst about five other unlucky mercenaries. Many of them were Hylian or Goron. It looked like many were up to this task that were in well over their heads.

"Do I have to do everything myself?! Really now." Eve brushed her flowing mane with her hand. She noticed a bit late that an Octorok had poked his head out from among the deceased. His proud mustache flourished and threatened to turn the tide of the battle. He marched out toward Eve, eying her warily for several moments.

"Hey Octorok. Why are you looking at me like that? Could it be that you're the flag I need to pass this part. . ."
Eve scratched her chin.

The Goriya was not amused. He growled in their direction. Eve shook her head. He had noticed right away that she was standing there, as the Golden Armor gave off a faint Glow of Gratitude. Her attentiveness to stealth was at an all-time low. She bent down to level with the Octorok.

"First, who are you? Second, what do I do next at this part? Walk me through it." Eve communed with the creature.

For now, Rika's best option would be to find a way to the palace itself. Once that's been figured out, he should have an accurate idea of the maze, making it easier to traverse and find Wollo without getting lost once more. That was the challenge, though; Actually getting there. Long, yellow ears perked up as he began to move, but they weren't his. They seemed bunny-like in nature, and rest on the top of his hat. No, rather, they seemed to be a part of his hat, as if the material were combined. Strangely, however, they did not seem to be fabric; The fur was soft and the material below very flesh-like, almost as if they were the ears of a real rabbit, plucked off its head and sewn into the top sides of the hat. It was clear there was something unnatural about them, and as Rika moved, this seemed to be the case with him too. His movements, from the bending of his fingers, to the swing of his arm as he turned, to the push of his leg as he accelerated forward, seemed almost unnaturally fast even for someone of his agile demeanor.

These two were not unrelated, either. The unnatural movements of the Kokiri were all thanks to the ears atop his head, the Bunny Hood. He could see the palace in the distance, but that was easier said than done. The hedges were too tall to leap onto and too weak to climb up, ignoring the fact that such an action could give away his location anyway. He'd just have to go the long way. Bending around the corner as he moved, there was still nothing more than the single guard, walking in a circle in a very lax manner. The lantern tied to his side swung to and fro without restriction, with a small boomerang tucked on the other side. His posture was slouched, and he didn't seem to be all that enthused by his job. Perhaps he had been patrolling all day? As he paused and stuck his arms into the air to let out a deep yawn, that was Rika's time to act.

Rushing forward as his eyes were shut, Rika threw out his palm as he rapidly approached the Goriya. Wind channeled out of his palm into a vicious, swirling ball, unleashing and flying straight for his head, almost a point-blank shot. The unaware Goriya didn't stand a chance as the wind orb collided with his head, sending him spinning forward onto his back and a good ten feet away. Approaching the Goriya's body, it was clear the blast had knocked him clean out. Quickly following that, Rika bent down and grabbed the lantern, opening the compartment up to reveal the fragile flame. With a small puff, the flame extinguished, leaving the area around him completely dark. That was one down, at least.

--

Flag? Wollo? What was a flag. . .? Oh, Wollo knew what a flag was! It was one of those things the brave friends waved. Wollo was one of those. . . ? If the brave friends waved Wollo around like that, he'd get so sick! "Uhh. . . Wollo no flag. Get sick." Then, he noticed the Goriya growl at them, his attention now on the two of them. However, his new friend didn't seem to be phased at all by this. Was his new friend strong like Rika? Wait though, she was asking him what to do? Wollo didn't know!!! "Uhh. . . Wollo. Is you Wollo friend? What we do. . . ? Uhh. . ." Wollo stopped to think for a moment. He had to find Rika, didn't he? What did she need to do though? Wollo didn't know that. "Wollo need to find friend. You find friend?" Yeah, maybe she was looking for a friend too. After all, she was friends with Wollo, right? . . . Probably. Then he remembered the scary Goriya guy. Wollo's body shook as he spoke to the scary friend lady. "He no friend? Not friend? Not friend eat Wollo. Wollo no like eat." Hopefully this wouldn't be the end for Wollo. . .

"No. He won't eat Wollo. I, uh, 'friend lady' needs Wollo to pass the maze test. I have to dismember that guy over there to save Wollo." Eve spoke very plainly. She wanted the creature to understand.

"Eve is friend." she reiterated. She positioned herself between Wollo and the Goriya. Eve equipped her battle hammer in a defensive stance. The Goriya howled to the moon for blood. Eve barked in rage back at the creature. He seemed surprised that a human-type would do such a thing. They each roared at each other before charging and clashing weapons. Eve wasn't going to just sneak around this kill-happy bastard. She was going to smash his head in.

The two muscled against each other for the upper hand. Sparks flew and Eve knew that the boomerang must be made of some kind of metal. The monster's ratlike face cringed as the heft of the hammer shoved against him. Eve stamped down on the creature's foot to make him flinch. He was much taller than her so a dirty trick was the one reasonable way to go. She knocked him back against the wall and maintained her stance. In that moment, fear grew in the Goriya's eyes.

"For Wollo!" Eve shouted, becoming cock-eyed as she swung. She swept the battle hammer at his legs, tripping him. She dropped the handle of her weapon and it fell loudly to the floor. The metal noise was probably all it would take for Eve to fail completely at being stealthy. She disregarded this and dropped onto the Goriya with a Flame Choke. A dark, colorful fire squeezed around the monster's neck. Her grip slammed him back onto the floor. The brunt of the slam hit his spine as he crashed to the tiles.

The fire subsided after crunching around the Goriya's neck. His death alone would not pay for the loss of her five mercenary comrades. Eve grew angry, furious even. Her askewed sense of justice made her want to avenge them despite not knowing the men at all. She turned to Wollo and picked up her weapon. They were coming. From every direction the monsters homed in on the loud ruckus. Eve gritted her teeth as she knew they were coming from the sound of their footsteps.

"Let's get out of here Wollo." Eve suggested to the handsome Octorok.

With one guy out of the way, Rika continued through the maze, in the direction he assumed would lead him to the palace. There was no real way to tell if his guess was correct other than to follow it, but that wouldn't be much of a problem. He'd just have to guess until he got it right. For now, there was only one way for him to go, so that's where he would go. Heading down a somewhat narrow hallway of sorts, the hedges blocked out any sort of light that would come from the moon above, leaving it rather dark. Still, though he couldn't see the ground in front of him, Rika could make map out his own pathway due to seeing the hedges above. At least, if it stayed dark.

As he kept walking, suddenly, a light formed in front of him. In a narrow pathway with no exits. The light shined across his body, revealing him in full as a Goriya stood about 10 feet away from him, shocked at his presence. Quickly reaching a hand behind him, he grabbed a massive boomerang from on his back, sending it spinning at the Kokiri. As he did this, the Kokiri's body was enveloped in a faint, almost completely invisible blue aura. Pushing off with his feet, the Kokiri moved forward. His body lost contact with the ground below as he flew into the air, leaping over the large boomerang as it flew by him. Landing as he did, he broke into an extremely fast sprint, drawing his scythe as he lunged toward the Goriya. Wait though, the Goriya was defenseless without a weapon, why would he throw it. . . ? Wait, he's using a boomerang!

"Shit!" Rika cried out as he dropped to the ground, the massive boomerang tearing through the space he once was and narrowly missing, if only due to his height, and preventing what would have otherwise been a completely decimated spine. As the Goriya caught the boomerang, he gripped it with both hands, swinging the massive weapon towards the ground. Rika was far too quick for him. Rolling to the side, Rika flipped upward, avoiding the boomerang and continuing his lunge, piercing the Goriya with the scythe. The Goriya cried loudly as the lethal strike sunk in, collapsing to the ground as his strength faded. As Rika drew his scythe from the creature's body, he heard an unpleasant sound; reinforcements. The Kokiri quickly ran back the way he came, out of sight of the lantern's light. A small number of Goriya appeared, about 4-5. "They struck here too, we'd better hurry. Who knows where'll they'll be if we wait." The squad of Goriya headed back in the direction they came from. Wait, what? There were others?

Well, if they were drawing numbers, it'd be easier to get to the palace. Others trying to enter the palace was peculiar, though. They were probably other mercenaries hired by the nobleman, but maybe Wollo could have wandered among them. Perhaps it was worth seeing if Wollo was there. At the very least, Rika didn't know where he was going, so following the guards couldn't do anything but help. After they got a short distance away, Rika rushed after them, making sure to keep enough distance that they wouldn't spot him, not that they seemed to be paying any attention to that direction.

--

Wollo smiled as much as an Octorok could smile, which is to say, not at all, when Eve said she was a friend and that the Goriya would not in fact eat him. As she fought the Goriya, though, Wollo was even more scared of her. She was really scary. His friend though, right? As the battle finished, Wollo heard the sound of footsteps, lots of them. They weren't his friends. They shouldn't stick around here, not until they find Rika. "Uhh. . . Yes." The devilishly attractive Octorok squeaked, his moustache not flowing in the wind because of the lack of air flow.

Eve jumped down on all fours. She tried to squeeze into a little person-sized hole in the wall. When she got her entire torso in, she suddenly stopped. She wiggled a bit more on the ground before stopping entirely. There was a grunting sound and a loud trampling noise followed. The Goriya mob was already near. Eve grunted a bit more before explaining.

"My hips are stuck in this hole. They're just too wide. I need you to push me through Wollo." but it was already too late. The Goriyas crowded around Wollo and Eve.

"Oh actually I fit-- let's skedaddle." Eve seemingly changed her mind about fitting into the hole and shoved all the way through with some minor scrapes. She didn't want to leave Wollo behind. He was definitely too plump to fit through the opening. Her body squirmed all the way out the other side. She could hear the sounds of commotion coming from the other side. This was it, the only chance to save Wollo.

Eve began to thrash at the opening with her battle hammer. Stone chipped and cracked, along with parts of the hedge flew everywhere. With a little tweaking, the hole was large enough for Wollo to fit. Eve reached an arm into the hole to grab one of his tentacles to pull him through. Eve was sick of the needless deaths and wanted to protect this creature. She wasn't sure why, but he was incredibly charismatic.

As he trailed behind the small squadron of Goriya, careful to keep a sound distance, Rika's mind started to race. Why were there so many Goriya here anyway? I mean, perhaps they lived there, but it seemed a little strange still, to live in a palace such as that. Usually that was something exclusively seen with Hylian, Zora, or even Deku, but definitely not with Goriya. It wasn't the strangest sight Rika had seen before, most definitely, but it still felt off.

Soon, the chase seemed to come to a stop, as the Goriya guards came into contact with a much larger group, about 15 in total. That probably wasn't something even Rika could take on alone, so it'd be in his best interests to stay hidden. As they approached, one of the Goriya in the group Rika had followed spoke. "Where are the intruders?" Another from the group that was already there replied, but with a much more beastly accent. "They a'ht 'way thro'u dis haahl." Looking down, Rika could see a small whole, something he could just fit through if he pushed. Looking around, he saw several bodies bloodied and beaten, presumably dead. They were equipped with weapons and armor, clearly prepared for a fight. "So it was mercenaries. . . Not much else to see here, I'd better back out before they see me. . . " Rika thought to himself, but as he was about to leave, the guard by the hole spoke.

"A'ah, t'hull w'itchit, sh'od juss cuddo'n da wal'n git 'm." Another guard quickly spoke up before he had a chance to act, though. "Do y'wanna die y'fool?! Y'know what he'll do t'ya if ya mess up da hedges, right?!" The other guard's aggressive, ready posterior quickly took a more passive, submissive appearance, lowering his large, bladed boomerang that was ready to slice the hedges up.

"Him? Must be their boss, he must be one strong dude if they're that afraid of him. . . I hope I get to fight him. . . " Rika backed away with his thoughts, heading back down the path he came. He'd just have to try another path and see where it took him. On the plus side, this brought him a little closer to the palace.

--

As the scary friend tried to climb through the tunnel, she seemed to get stuck. The guards were closing in on the two of them quickly and their options were limited. This really was the end for Wollo now, no playing, wasn't it? Luckily, it seemed like Wollo's friend was able to get through. If she could barely get through, how would he, though. . . ? This really was the end for good old Wollo, but at least his friend would get away. His sacrifice wouldn't be in vain. Suddenly, he saw a massive hammer appear in front of him, that was smashing stone chunk after stone chunk out, widening the hole slightly. Then, he saw Eve's hand shoot out through the hole, to grab him. She really was his friend! He could just cry if he wasn't about to be eaten by a bunch of scary rats.

Reaching out one of his tentacle-like legs as much as he possibly could, Eve grabbed onto it and pulled him through, the Octorok sliding through without getting stuck, as he would have if not for the hammering. "Uhh. . . Wollo happy, Eve is really friend! Wollo cry!" Wollo happily squeaked, a wide smile not forming on his face because he was an Octorok. Why, he could just cry, if it weren't for the fact that he was almost eaten by a bunch of scary mice. "Scary mouse almost eat Wollo, but scary friend is scarier!" Speaking of friends, Wollo still had to find Rika! Where could he be in this maze? Wollo didn't even know where the palace was!

Eve led Wollo around, hoping to solve the maze. The cold air was a harsh herald of the troubles yet to come. The Octorok got a little pat on the head. Eve's face twisted up as if to say we're not gonna stop now. Then she grabbed a tentacle to tug Wollo along. It was time for them to run. They jogged far into the maze. Unintentionally, Eve had gone the wrong way and trapped herself and Wollo deep in the labyrinth.

There was a stomp before them. A large foot covered in calluses and bright red slammed the tile. The blackness lit up when Fire Goriya exhaled a bright orange flame out the sides of his mouth. Knowing it was time to fight, Eve began her transformation dance. She twirled on her heel and slid her arm down through the air. She twisted and waved her arms and then stopped on her foot. Her outfit glowed bright yellow and then- nothing happened. Fire Goriya waited a second to watch the dance. Finally two light, bologna-colored moth wings shot out of Eve's back.

Eve raised her battle hammer.
"It's nice to MEAT you!" she cried at him as if she was saying something meaningful.

The monster hissed loudly and spat a fireball at her. The orb of flame swished past her and hit the hedge behind her. The hedge caught fire, though nobody noticed. Eve leveraged a small rock up from the floor and tossed it. The rock flew past the beast to no effect. Fire Goriya charged up another ball and flung it. The spitball of fire flew past Eve and ricocheted off the floor. There was a crash as the next rock smashed into the tile floor. Neither opponent could help but miss. An entire minute passed and neither of them had managed to strike true.

Eve knew what time it was. It was time to rip out the meat tenderizer and go to town. The flames behind her rose higher. The brush fire grew around them and threatened to sear everyone. Eve twirled her hammer and made a practice swing at the tile. Dust and fragments scattered in the air. Soon her meat pun would make sense.

Rika found his way to the palace in short time, memorizing a good portion of the maze along the way. At this point it should be little issue for him to get from one point to the other, now that he'd located the correct pathway to an available exit and the palace. As he approached the inner courtyard, he was quick to slide to a nearby, darkened corner as the presence in front of him scurried around. The loud sloshing of water, back and forth, splashing to and fro, was combined with the frantic stomps of several large creatures as they rushed into the maze. Several Goriya carrying large buckets filled with water held very panicked demeanors as they spilled water without a care. "Hurry, before the fire burns it all down!" Another Goriya shouted as a few Goriya rushed towards a hastily compiled pile of large buckets, grabbing one for their own before scanning for the nearest water source.

There was a fire now? Sure, it would be hard to see smoke or flames due to the darkness and pure height of the hedges, but wouldn't he smell smoke? Perhaps it was just started, then. Still, who would be dumb enough to start a fire in that? Nonetheless, this was the perfect distraction for Rika. He could easily sneak in and snatch up whatever treasure he wanted while they dealt with the situation here, and get out just as quickly. Sadly, he had to go back in and find Wollo first. The Kokiri almost entertained the thought of snagging the treasure now then going back in for Wollo afterwards, but the Octorok might be found with the Goriya running through the maze trying to deal with a fire, so he couldn't really afford to do that. It was a shame. . .

As the last of the Goriya ran past carrying water, Rika set off, trailing slowly behind them. It'd be too risky to just follow them completely, as there would probably be Goriya heading back for more water, but this was the only way back for now. All this sneaking and following the set path was getting boring for the Kokiri. . .

--

Wollo and his new friend walked around the maze hopelessly, probably just getting more lost than they already were. Wollo wouldn't be eaten though, not with his scary new friend! . . . Probably. As they continued along, soon they found another scary mouse. Wollo felt a small chill run down his non-existent spine, but the feeling quickly went away when he remembered that his friend was super strong. Maybe even as strong as the scary Deku lady! Which one was scarier, anyway. . . ? Well, they were both pretty scary, but they were both Wollo's friends, right? Boy, with Rika too, Wollo was so lucky to have such scary friends!

. . . Wollo's train of thought was broken as he realized the leaves next to him had burst into flames and said flames were too close to him than he'd like. The Octorok jumped and rolled back, slamming into the hedge across from the flames. They were starting to spread quickly, due to the dryness of the hedges. Things would get out of control if not dealt with soon.

Eve stood her ground, rose her hammer into the air, and then slammed it down again. The Fire Goriya took caution and kept his distance like planned. The floor broke into more shards that shook angrily out of the shock wave. The enemy hissed out another flame, threatening and rash. Eve wasn't about to let this hot-head scare her. She stamped the ground and rushed the Goriya. He mirrored her movements and rushed at her as well.

The Fire Goriya's claws stung Eve's arms. Her hammer had crunched into his ribs. Just a little more, and he would back off. Eve stepped back and the Goriya did as well. She knew it, he was mimicking her. All she needed to do was keep his flaming snout pointed away and get him within her weapon's longest reach. Eve veered left and grabbed the end of her weapon with both hands to make a wide swing. There was a crunch as it connected with his jaw. The enemy twirled around and slumped over onto the ground.

"I guess we're all responsible for a fire or two." Eve proclaimed smugly. But she spoke too soon.

Above the growing chatter of Goriyas Eve could hear some footsteps running to her position. The fire was spreading behind her as the water splashed over the other side of the hedgerow. She spotted Rika rounding the bend of the hedge maze.

"Oh crap I better tone down my voice so he thinks I'm a hokey little Kokiri brat." She muttered to herself.

"Well howdy there mister!" she greeted Rika. She stepped a bit back so that Wollo was in front of her.

The girl quickly smashed in the Fire Goriya's head with a large stone.

The Goriya disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Happy. . . happy item day. . . or something." she said, giving the Goriya a completely useless item.

After trailing behind the Goriya squadron for about a minute, Rika broke off from them, branching off into a side path they were passing by. Judging by the bends they had taken leading up to that point, Rika had an idea of where they were heading. Along with that, the strong odor of smoke hung in the air, getting stronger the closer he got. It would be easy to pinpoint the location of the fire due to that and with his previous knowledge of the maze. Slowly backing down the small hedgeway he had broken off to so as to not draw attention from any of the panicked Goriya, Rika drew his scythe. This would be much more fun.

Reaching back with a wide arc, he swung forward, slicing through the dry branches and leaves easily. Turning the scythe, he did it again in a different location, until the leaves quickly dropped, creating a gaping hole in the side of the hedge. Now he could get through without getting sandwiched between oncoming Goriya. Continuing through, Rika made his way through the maze to where he believed the fire to be, creating his own entrances as needed. His way was sort of roundabout, but it was needed to make sure he didn't come across the Goriya, not that he would have to worry about that. The fire had likely spread from the origin point, so they would probably deal with that first, so the actual numbers would not be as high as the Goriya would have led you to expect.

As he curved a corner, he was met with the source of the fire. "Damn it. . . " Was all Rika muttered under his breath as he approached. Why did it have to be another Kokiri? She brutally dispatched the Goriya, but Rika didn't care much about her. What he did care about was the Octorok. Upon seeing him, Wollo rushed forward, at least as fast as he could, his body squishing against Rika's legs as tears didn't well up in his eyes. "Wollo, I'm glad to see you're safe. I figured out a way to the palace, we should hurry while they're distracted, come on." Rika smiled at the Octorok before turning around to head back in the path he had taken to arrive there, completely ignoring the Kokiri girl. Wollo was about to follow when he glanced back at Eve. "Uhh. . . Wollo friend." Rika paused dead in his tracks. Her? . . . Did he make friends with her? Shit. He was just going to leave her. I mean, she was in this maze, she probably wasn't helpless, plus she just beat that Goriya.

". . . Friend, you say?" Rika tried to force a smile as he turned around. "Well, I'm. . . glad. . . you're making friends Wollo, but this isn't the time for a casual chat. Maybe we can have an extensive discussion in the future, but for now, let's go." The Octorok seemed hesitant to leave his friend, but after a few moments started waddling away, glancing back at Eve every so often.

"Thank the gods he didn't notice me." Eve mumbled to herself. She was self-conscious that her recent appearance would arouse suspicion in a fellow Kokiri. Eve watched as Wollo reluctantly gazed at her while retreating away with the magician. There was no way she was going to let that boy ravage the keep before her.

"Wait. My party was vanquished. Why don't we break into this palace togeth. . . toge. . . simultaneously?" she inquired hesitantly.

Eve turned around and pulled out a crayon. She drew two purple circles on each of her eyeballs to act as surrogate irises. The irises turned out lopsided and created her trademark lazy eyes once again. She was very proud of her work. The crackle of flame behind her reminded her that it was time to leg it out of there. Eve cranked up her pace and jogged after the mystery boy.

Eve punched a passing Goriya in the snout as she jogged by unwaveringly. Her moth wings dissipated back into her clothes with a poof of dust. It was pretty weird having a fairy stuck inside your clothes. That is to say, it had an uncomfortable tickle about it. Without getting too much into it, a previous quest had left her guardian fairy fused with her armor. Eve had not yet sought a way to remove her, nor did she care much as the fairy annoyed her.

Another Goriya walked by. Eve kicked it in the shin while jogging by. Upon reaching the top of the stairway leading to the entrance of the Dark Palace, Eve pulled her hammer out of her Adventure Pouch. She attempted to strike up an introduction with the boy before entering the dungeon.

"Um, like, hi. My name is Evelyn. You look really red, guy. I'm going to call you Red. How about I watch your back while I hustle every last rupee out of this place?"

The girl's voice chimed in as Rika started walking away, with an offer to work together, sort of. ". . .No thanks, I'll go on my own!" Rika echoed back as he kept walking, not even stopping to respond. As he continued, however, he noticed that the girl was following him. After a few moments of walking, he spoke again. Maybe she didn't hear him? "Uhh. . . .No thanks, I'll go on my own." She would probably go away then, right? He continued on for a few more moments, getting fairly close to the palace, but she was still following him. What's worse, she was -speaking- to him.

Her name was Evelyn? Well, at least she wasn't making fun of his red clothes. Someone else going after the loot would be inconvenient to his goals of getting the loot, but it is true that her and her band of thieves or whoever caused the Goriya to be on edge. It would be much harder for him to sneak in alone now, due to the added alert, and there would be more obstacles. Wait, this girl just made things harder, why should he work with her? . . . Well, she was with Wollo, so she was probably protecting him. Letting out a sigh, Rika spoke without facing her, his voice clearly with distaste. ". . .Fine, but I'm taking first pick of the treasure. Try not to draw too much attention to us either, it'll be too hard to move around. I'm Rika, and you already know Wollo." As he finished speaking, their conversation was rudely interrupted.

"Oi, I hear 'em over here, go tell the boss!" Wait, they heard them? Rika sighed and stood upright, there was no point in sneaking around now. "On second thought, forget about the sneaking around, it's boring. Go break whatever Goriya are in the courtyard." With that, Rika stepped forward into the light, drawing his scythe as he moved forward. The inner courtyard was more illuminated than the maze, as a small number of torches were spread across the near vicinity. However, there were still numerous darker spots a smaller creature could hide in.

Spread out in the courtyard were a number of small, neatly trimmed bushes, stone pillars, and a few Goriya. Far ahead of the two were a set of large, stone doors, clearly the entrance to the palace itself. Were there any alternative entrances, though? They probably didn't have time to scout for any, they'd just have to go in and disappear somewhere in the palace.

"Now this is more like it." Eve said aloud in response to the new objective. It was precisely the type of thing Eve liked to do: break creatures to bits.

"On second thought Red, you go on ahead. Let me take these guys." she retorted. The playing field was level now that they were in the courtyard. The hairy chin of a Goriya peeked out from around the short hedge. His nose was curled in search of the new scent that just appeared. His eyes rolled around and spotted a yellow glow. It looked like. . . a human perhaps? Eve's crayon eyes gleamed back at the creature. No, he thought. This human was a little bit different.

The Goriya shot out of the darkness and rushed into Eve's shadow. He raked at her back with his claws. Eve stumbled forward and howled in pain. She spun around and shoved the beast back with her weapon's heft. A black creature ran by with the word "Sen" taped to its back.

"Who is Sen?"

But it was too soon to question what or who Sen was. The distraction proved good enough for the enemy to get another attack in. The Goriya claw-raked another two times. Eve was now bleeding through her armor. She had to figure out a way to get back the upper hand. She ran over and cane-hooked Sen with her hammer. She picked up Sen and threw him at the Goriya. Caught off-guard, the Goriya squeaked and stumbled.

Eve lunged at him, then threw a Deku Nut at him. The Goriya was stunned into submission. He wasn't even capable of walking as he tripped over his own feet. Eve decided to just walk away from this one while he was stunned.

"Maybe I should have done that first." Eve growled through her teeth while holding her wound.

She threw her hammer over her shoulder and it clattered into the Goriya. Eve ran for cover behind the hedge. It looked like the rest of the Goriya party had regrouped at the stairs. They all grabbed a lantern and held their lights aloft. Eve peeked out from the bush to see what was happening. The Goriyas all went to Sen to ask to find the intruders. It seemed like Sen stood for Sensei, he was the Goriyas' master. The black shape pointed a hand in Eve's direction. It was her, she was the one who attacked.

"Shit!" Eve shouted into her hand. She ran over to grab her weapon and retreat.

"I CHANGED MY MIND RED I DON'T WANT TO FIGHT THEM!!"

"Pathetic." Rika hissed, a tint of disappointment lingering within his voice. Though he enjoyed fighting, he was keen to letting Eve handle the Goriya here while he looked ahead. After all, there would be more interesting enemies for him to fight, and this would give them an advantage. However, he didn't expect her to start complaining in the short time he was gone. Maybe he was having second thoughts about letting her tag with him. . . It was too late for that though. Pointing his palm forward in the direction of the stairway, a golden, glowing circle appeared under the feet of a Goriya, at the tip of the stairway. It and the surrounding Goriya looked down, confused. Moments later, a tall Spire erupted from the earth, impaling and instantly killing the Goriya directly under it. A handful of other Goriya were injured as it erupted, sending them falling down the stairs and knocking the climbing Goriya down with him and creating a mess at the foot of the stairway.

"Hurry up and follow Wollo." Rika spat at Eve with a sigh, glancing at the girl before turning back to the Goriya. They growled at him menacingly, but as they stepped forward, Sen held a black hand out, as if to stop them. "Y-Yeah, Sen will deal with you, you asked for it!" The Goriya started roaring and cheering over their master, causing a look of confusion to twist over Rika's face. "Wait. . . Who is Sen?" As these words left his mouth, Rika's eyes widened as he saw glowing, swirling green energy erupt from the black creature's fingertips. The Kokiri barely had time to move as he tried to dodge, the magical force tearing through the air like a bullet. Though Rika had avoided a direct hit, the mere force of the attack pushed him away and off his feet, skidding and rolling several feet away. The blast continued and collided with a tall pillar, which exploded with unnecessary flair.

As the Kokiri slowly lifted himself up, he took a second to get a grasp of what was going on. His vision was blurred and his hearing shot. As his eyes started to refocus, they moved towards his arm. Red. Yet, it wasn't his clothes, but blood. It didn't seem to hurt to hold himself up. He could still move, he would have to. As his hearing returned, he heard the Goriya laugh and cheer triumphantly. Insults towards the Kokiri, praise of Sen's incredible strength, they ran their mouths as if they had already won. It wasn't just insulting, it angered Rika. Yet, in this case, he knew they were right. There was no way they could beat them all in this situation, they were vastly outnumbered, and they had someone with such powerful abilities on their side. More than anger though, he felt excitement. This was the powerful enemy he was looking forward to.

As his senses returned completely, Rika had to get in the palace. Hopefully Eve listened to him. With one quick motion, Rika pushed himself off his feet, breaking into an agile sprint thanks to the Bunny Hood. His goal was to run in the palace where Eve and Wollo were, where it was safer. Their numbers seemed to be mostly spread throughout the outside for now, so it wouldn't be a problem for them to take shelter and hide inside for now. As his feet moved, his voice shouted to Eve, if with a bit of panic. "Shut the door when I run in!" Who could believe it? His entire plan relied on this Kokiri he had never met listening to him. The situation was certainly drastic if he was willing to trust someone like that.

Eve shut the door as he ran in.

"Wow that was great my name's Eve those guys almost killed me those guys almost killed you it's safer in here but I think they can open the door also it's all totally my fault there's no way I can hold them all off but I can try hey can you use that pointy rock spell to nail the door shut." she ejaculated. Eve gasped and took a deep breath.

"Let's not find out what Sen is and just say that we did. I'm going further into this place. I think it will be safe." Eve conjectured. She walked right, along a small corridor and out a dark doorway. She walked a little further and then stopped.

"This doesn't go anywhere does it, it must be a dead end." Eve looked around the gangplank floor she walked out onto. There was one thing of interest. A little chest stood there. Eve kicked the latch open to reveal. . . a blue rupee! Yay!

"There's nothing over here Red, don't know what to tell you."

Rika's body tensed up as he heard the door shut behind him. Turning to look at the door, there was a wide, stone beam to the side of the door, seemingly on a hinge, with thick stone hand-like protrusions sticking out from the door, big enough to hold it. As quick as he could, the Kokiri moved over and pushed it hard. Though he didn't have the strength to move it on his own, gravity would be his ally here. The beam crashed down against the stone, Rika wincing as it did. Luckily, they didn't break, and the lock was set. Now was the most important part. Rika's body froze stiff as he waited, hoping he was right, hoping a colossal, stone door wouldn't come collapsing on his head. Eve went on about something, but Rika wasn't really paying attention, there was something more important at hand.

After a few moments, the Kokiri let out a deep sigh of relief; They were safe for now. His gambit ended up paying off. Because of how serious they were about not even damaging the hedges in the maze, Rika was betting on the fact that they wouldn't simply blow the door down. He had seen the lock when he took a peek inside while Eve was dealing with the Goriya, and it ended up saving their lives. Eve went off to do some stuff, but Rika didn't really care. For now, he would give them some extra security. Stepping back and holding his palm forward, a massive stone spire launched out of the ground below. After waiting a few seconds, he did this a couple more times, eventually creating three spires in front of the door. Should they get the locks off, they would act as doorstops that would hopefully delay them more.

. . . Come to think of it, why was it so dark everywhere? I mean, Goriya were known to have better vision than normal, but it was still dark even for them. There were a couple small torches fastened to the walls, but for the most part it was dark. Strangely enough, there weren't any windows either. . . Did they really live here? Well, worrying about it wouldn't change anything for now, he had to find where the treasure was.

"Let's get moving before they find a way in, Wollo. . ." There was a bit of hesitancy in his voice as Rika finished his sentence, but he had to. She did help him out and listen to what he told her, plus she would probably just keep following him anyway. ". . . and Eve." He started down the path opposite the one Eve had took, as she said it was a dead end. Wollo slowly waddled behind, keeping himself between Rika and Eve. "By the way, it's dark in here, so make sure you don't step in anything that'll murder us." Yeah, like a spaghetti monster. That'd be ridiculous though.

Just then, spaghetti attacked. Three Popos circled Rika, and by extension Eve. She was coming up behind him after turning around at the dead end. There was clearly before them two things in the shade. One was a large square platform, the next was a globe switch on a high ledge to the immediate left. Eve started by smashing a Popo into the floor with her hammer.

"I can't reach that switch, guy." Eve complained as she waggled her weapon in the air.

She used a Gilt Glower to freeze one of the Popos in a disarming mood. Willing to fight back, the Popo quickly shrugged off the daze. Having a Dark Affinity cause it to take a small amount of damage. She ran up and kicked it down into the chasm the square platform was floating over. Eve stuffed her hammer into her adventure pouch to ease the obstacle portion of the dungeon.

"Okay get the switch I am ready." Eve said after a pause. She was seemingly prepared to cross. It looked like a long drop so she opted not to try to jump it.

As they walked forward, Rika saw the brightly colored spaghetti tentacles rise up. . . This wasn't quite the sneak attack he was worried about, though. Eve quickly smashed one of the Popo into one piece, while another kind of flailed harmlessly in front of Rika. It almost wasn't worth it to kill them; They didn't seem to really do anything or have any real sentience, the only issue they held was that you would get tangled up within them if you somehow stepped or tripped into them. A minor inconvenience, but without the threat of a more demanding enemy, it was nothing dangerous at all. Quickly gripping his scythe, with a single, light swipe, Rika cleaved the tentacles in half, the spaghetti-like monster falling to the ground and disappearing in a poof of smoke.

"Get ready to get onto it Wollo." Forming a small, aqueous orb in his palm, Rika tossed it in the general direction of the switch. With an explosive noise and splash of water, the switch turned a bright red. Some sort of mechanical mischief was heard as the platform slowly started moving towards the edge towards them. Like, really slowly. Well, that was where they had to go it seemed. Stepping onto the large platform as it neared, it seemed decently large in size, enough to comfortably hold them all. However, combat would not prove to be easy while on it, especially with Rika and Eve's choice of weapons.

As everyone got on it, the platform stopped, then starting moving again; but in reverse, towards the direction it had rest at previously, in the darkness. There was an occasional torch on the wall, but if anything it served to do nothing more than to enhance the darkness as a whole. They really had no idea where they were going. Speaking of, it had been so dark Rika never really got a chance to see Eve. He could tell she was a small, humanoid girl not unlike a Kokiri, but he couldn't really tell anything else. Perhaps she was cute at least, that'd make this situation better. They had to be pretty close by due to the size of the platform, so he could get a better look at Eve's face.

It was like something out of a horror movie. A high pitched scream of shock left Rika's mouth as the platform shook violently, the Kokiri leaping back out of pure surprise. Was she a girl?! This wasn't the end of his problems though, as when he leaped back, his balance lost, causing him to fall back and off of the platform. "Shit!" The Kokiri yelled, aggressively grabbing forward in an attempt to grab anything that'll help him catch himself.

"Do you believe, Kokiri boy? What do you believe in?" She let him fall.

He had seen her golden eyes before, but that was back long before the invasion. Eve's eyes, her scars, and everything else was all plain to see now. She meant to ask him if he believed in witchcraft, because she didn't know what made herself survive for so long on her own. Everything scary about her was the work of witch doctors. Magicians, medical professionals who liked to play god: they were all her enemies. She hoped the boy would fall so she could plunder the palace's treasures all for herself. However, he was meant to survive and hold on. Eve refused to turn her back on him, she was convinced this was no ordinary boy.

"Are you a WITCH, Red? Do you have the GUTS to hold on?! Do you believe in witches?!" She screamed down to him.
Something had stirred up Eve's rage.
"I saw you once before, didn't I? You set fire to my house with your witchcraft! Join me or die!"

Eve reached her arm down to pull Rika up. From below her, Rika was holding onto the machinery that kept the raised platform up and moving. She hoped she didn't scare him too much. Eve's memories flooded back. This boy was important, interesting even. She knew now that he was too important to let fall- even if he was disgusted by her battle scars. This boy owed her a debt, she was homeless because of his capricious adventuring. It was certainly true that his magic would come in handy.

"Don't be shocked, Red. I've had these scars all this time. My eyes were replaced when I was very young, even I don't know how they work. If I believed in witchcraft I would have stayed home with the Deku Tree and stayed safe all my life. Everything I do these days is destructive because I don't know anything else." Eve got strangely emotional in that moment. She knew there would be no explaining herself to this guy.

"Get up now, we're going." Eve interrupted. She stepped off of the platform and into the next room.

It was darker than usual, and a snarling beast lied in wait for them in the pitch black. The Helmasaur wasn't going to crawl up like the spaghetti monsters. He charged at Eve immediately. She was thrust back by his hard helmet.
"OW" she screamed. The helmet was more than just for show. It was painfully thick.