Something in the Water (Open)

Filon lay motionless on a pile of straw, his forehead still throbbing from the injuries he sustained from the Goriya. He still wasn't healed enough to head back to Castle-Town, and he had been stuck in Lon Lon Ranch for several days. He had a slight fever and he felt a little lightheaded so he hadn't really seen much of the farming community.

The farmer who had let him sleep in his barn walked in, carrying a loaf of bread and some milk in a jar. As Filon started chewing on the bread he took a book out from his Bag of Holding. He kept his head down, engrossed in the fable. It was about a greedy Hylian who was constantly tricked by a mischevious Picori. He started feeling uncomfortable as the farmer stood their looking at him. Sighing in reservation he placed down the novel and looked at the middle-aged Hylian.

The farmer spoke first. "So...you're pretty smart, right? Always reading them books and stuff." Filon nodded, wondering where this question was leading. The farmer continued. "Well, we'd like you to have a look at somethin' we're having trouble with." The farmer motioned out of the barn. Filon stood and followed the older man.

"So, what is the trouble? I'm not really sure how much help I can be." Filon gestured at his twiglike arms. "I'm not exactly the strongest guy around." The farmer nodded his agreement. He pointed to the fields. "Take a look at the fields."

Filon strained his eyes at the rolling fields. The crops were drooping down and the stems of the plants were yellowing. Filon was taken back. "They look...dead. What's going on?" he said. The farmer walked over to a well nearby. A bucket of water lay next to the well, and the farmer held it below Filon's nose. Filon gagged as a foul smell reached his nostrils. The water was murky and smelled like rotting eggs. He pushed it away, trying to get the smell out of his nose. "So...it's the water." he gasped. The farmer nodded. "The water from most of the wells is like this. The crops are dying and lots of the children are getting ill. We thought that maybe you could find out what's going on here."

Filon nodded. "Um...well, whatever it is is probably wherever this water is coming from." he said. "I'll try to get some other people to help out." After saying this he started walking towards the gate. If he was going to get anyone to help, the entrance to the Ranch was probably the best place to start.

Leia drank the last bit of water from her bottle, holding it upside down over her palm to confirm that it was, in fact, empty. "Drat. Well, good thing I'm on grounds populated by people now..." Not too far away from herself, she could see Lon Lon Ranch, a place famous not only for its milk, but also for its hospitable owners, who would surely give her some water if she asked and maybe paid for it. And maybe if she asked nicely and didn't make a scene, she could sleep in the hay, with the horses and/or the cows.

"Yes!" Uttering a cheerful cry, she ramped up the pace and hurried towards the gates. Fresh water, a place to rest herself, maybe even a meal and an improvised bed for the night, it was all around the corner!

Leia had accompanied a young woman up until a small village near the ranch and had thought to visit the no doubt lively place. Heck, she had plenty of rupees in her pocket, especially after that last job; Maybe the ranch had horses up for sale and she could get one. That would make travelling Hyrule a lot easier, so she had endured the trip here. Which had been longer than the Hylian swordswoman had expected.

She then spotted a man standing around the gates of the ranch. "Oh?" He didn't look like a rancher. Too clean. "Hello there!" She shouted, smiling and waving, "I assume you're a traveller, too? How's the milk today?"

Filon jumped a little when he heard Leia's voice. He was kind of in a daze and hadn't really been paying attention to anything. Hastily adjusting his glasses he turned towards the speaker. "Well, the milks pretty good. I guess." he said. "Did you know that the cows here are fed four times a day, with a very specific wheat that makes the mil..."

Embarressed, he stopped talking. He'd started quoting the information pamphlet for Lon Lon Milk. This always happened when he tried to talk to someone he'd just met. Trying to salvage the conversation, he coughed into his hand. "Yeah. Pretty good. I'd steer clear of the water, though."

Sapientia was so caught up reading the pamphlet he'd found for the ranch that he nearly walked into the two Hylians talking to each other "Sorry!" He said embarrased "I didn't see you there." He explained. Then he took some time to study the two Hylians, one of them was few inches taller than him, but, then again, most people were. The man also was wearing glasses, and had bright green eyes. But his eyes looked... Different.

The other Person was a woman. She was the same height as the man, with shoulder length blond hair. Her eyes were a murky color, hard to distinguish, but if he had to, Sapientia would say they were green. "So..." He said trying to make some conversation. "I heard the milk here is pretty good."

Leia laughed when the man interrupted himself. "Really? I didn't know that. Lucky cows!" What he said about something being off with the water did bother her a bit, though. She as here precisely because she -needed- water! "The water, huh..." She sighed, her face suddenly glooming slightly. "Man... I really don't want to waste that potion because I need water."

She then turned to the robed man who almost bumped into her and the other traveller. He apologized for not paying attention, which Leia smiled at. "Ah, that's okay. We shouldn't be standing around right in the walkway anyway." She stepped out of said walkway, extending her hand towards the man with the glasses. "Where are my manners? I'm Leia!"

...the water thing was gnawing at her. "And actually, I'm here because I need to stock up on water. I'm fresh out. So if there's something wrong with it, well... that messes up my plans."

something was beggining began to bother Sapientia.What did Leia mean about the water? Sapientia scrunched up his eyebrows completely puzzled by the statement "Messes up your plans?" Sapientia asked confused. "What are you talking about? I'm just passing through so I don't know of any news around here." Sapientia added putting away his lon lon milk pamphlet he had been reading previously. "By the way my names Sapientia" Sapientia added hastily, putting his hand up to shake hands with the strangers.

Filon wasn't exactly sure who to respond to first. He decided to answer Leia's question. "There's something wrong with most of the water here. I'm actually trying to find people to help me clean it out." Remembering why he came to the gate in the first place, he looked at the two strangers. They both looked ready for something like this...at least, more than he was. "In fact, I would like to ask you both for your assistance."

"Well, like I said," Leia said to Sapienta, shaking his hand as well. "I'm here to stock up on water so I can go back to Hyrule Castle Town. I don't have any left and I can't go home unprepared. If there's no drinkable water around here, well, that means I'm stuck here until I find some. I could go with milk, but I'll never get the stains out of the bottle..."

She stopped rambling when the other man asked for their help. She grinned. "Sure thing. If it involves anything that can be solved with a sword, a little elbow grease and a bit of guts, Leia Marana here's your woman. For anything else, well, I suppose you guys will have to do."

Sapientia was surprised to be thrust into such a position so soon. He quickly thought over the mans question. He admittedly had no shortage of water, but he couldn't leave so many thirsty, waiting to die. "You can count me in!" Sapientia told the two of them. "I may not be a physical fighter, but believe me, when it comes to ice magic, You won't want anyone else." Sapientia explained.

Then turning to the stranger in the glasses Sapientia realized, he had heard Leia's name, but he had not introduced himself. "by the way, what is your name?" Sapientia asked him.