Stone Tower Temple (Idarian+Blonde Panther)

The only sounds reaching Jon's ears were the howl of the wind, the light jingling of his heavy, mail coat, his tired, heavy breathing, and the constant clap of Baratheon's shoes in the dry earth. Days of travel had only taken Jon deeper into lands that grew increasingly barren. Two days ago was the last time he saw another Hylian.

Ikana Canyon, he had heard, was once the center of a great kingdom in days long passed. Kings reigned in these valleys, dealing with the Hylians of Termina and Hyrule from their lavish courts in the cities of the canyon.

Jon did not know anything of this ancient kingdom, nor did he much want to know. He had spent that past night camped near the ruined castle of the king of Ikana, hoping to find shelter within its broken outskirts. He did find shelter, but not security. All night, by the side of his fire and horse, the sounds of the sorrowful dead echoed faintly all around him, somewhere in the distance, hidden safely in the black of the night. Upon the canyon walls, he saw cloaked shapes moving swiftly and fluidly.

That day, he kept vigilant watch on his surroundings, riding with his great war-hammer in hand at all times.

Finally, he saw at the edge of the canyon stretching out before him a great structure of brown stone and mudbrick. The tower rose high above the canyon walls, scraping at the very belly of heaven, it seemed.

At the foot of the tower was a lay of ancient structures, torn down by the ages. A large walkway of golden stone marked the path to the entrance of the tower. The entrance to the inside of this structure was the gaping mouth of a massive, demented face. As Jon approached, Baratheon grew restless. The horse began to whinny and go side to side, unwilling to move closer. Patting his steed's neck, Jon dismounted, leaving his horse next broken pillar nearby the entrance.

"Stay there, my friend. Should you flee, you know the way home."

With that, Jon fixed his barbute helm to his head and took his shield from his back. His deep blue cloak flowing behind him, he stepped forward into the haunting bowels of the Stone Tower.

Only one daunting climb lay between Jon and the gates that would lead him down the throat of the monster and into its ancient belly.

Ikana kingdom. Or rather, Ikana Valley. Triton did not imagine the kingdom existed anymore, considering the castle was just as deserted as the rest of the valley. His curiosity had led him here, but the longer he stayed, the more strongly he considered to turn around and return home. You didn't have to be a genius, sorcerer or hardened adventurer to know that this place was haunted. The Zora continuously heard the whisperings of the wind, which he knew wasn't the wind. He never bothered looking behind him. It would just make him paranoid.

As long as he did not disturb the spirits, they would not bother him. Or at least, so he hoped.

All this time, he had slowly but surely seen the Stone Tower grow. As he stood in front of the gate now, he could hardly fathom how man had built something this humongous. Near a broken pillar was a horse. The first living creature he had seen in the past week. Triton carefully approached it and pet its neck, before heading towards the tower.

A horse usually had a rider. Triton assumed said rider had headed into the Stone Tower. And sure enough, not too long after he had entered the gaping mouth, he saw an armored man examining the climb ahead of him. The sorcerer closed the distance, not particularly looking forward to it himself.

"...greetings."

Jon looked up the high reaches of the Stone Tower, with its jagged, narrow passes and platforms. The climb would be catastrophically difficult, if not impossible altogether. All the while, the silence and haunting feel made his insides churn with anticipation. He was not, however, frightened, rather, on edge, and there was certainly no way for him to remain calm in such a place.

A ways behind him, he heard Baratheon snort and whinny. He preferred not to look back. He stared for several more moments up the tower, trying to locate a starting point for his ascent.

The sound of light foot falls on sandy stone interrupted his thinking. Automatically, he gripped his war-hammer tightly and raised his shield. He spun around, roaring, with his hammer on high. Only did he stop preparing to charge when he saw that his "assailant" was no more than a zora with a satchel and a hooked staff.

Jon relaxed, lowering his guard. He sighed, dropped his hammer to the floor, and removed his helmet for a moment to wipe his sweaty brow with the back of a chainmail-coated hand.

"Forgive me... My journey has been a long one. My name is Jon, son of Cassius of the House of Augustus. May I ask for your name, my lord?"

When the man twisted around, ready to attack Triton, the Zora bent his knees and stretched his arms, raising his electric aura to protect himself from the attack or at least counter. Fortunately for both man and fishman, the warrior did not follow through with his attack and even took off his helmet in order to politely introduce himself as Jon.

"It is I who must apologize," Triton said after lowering his aura again. "I did not mean to startle you. I fear the atmosphere of this haunted place affects us both, for I was clearly not careful enough." Standing straight, he brought his free hand to his chest. "I am no lord. Rather, I am Triton of Zora's Domain."

"I came here in hopes of discovering more about the ancient kingdom of Ikana. And possibly find the treasure said to be sleeping in the heart of Stone Tower..." It was supposed to be of great power, but that was of little interest to Triton. He wanted to study it. All clues to why the mighty armies and royal family of Ikana had disappeared were jsut that- clues. And he could use clues.

"We have both had a long and tiring journey." As to prove to Jon that he had no ill intent, Triton produced a crystal glass from his bag. With a snap of his fingers, it filled about two thirds with a clear fluid, resembling sparkling water. It was actually Triton's mana, transferred into a moisture that would reinvigorate Jon. "May I offer you my Rejuvenation fluid as an apology?"

Jon smiled.

"I appreciate the gesture, and I would refuse, were it not so very kind an offer."

He reached out and took the crystal glass, draining it with a long pull. Swallowing the oddly sweet liquid, he handed the glass back to Triton.

"So... Triton of the Zora, are you? You bear naught but a satchel and a staff that is entirely strange to my eyes. You wear no steel upon your waist, that I can see... You are a wizard, or some other man of magic?"

He smiled again.

"Your magic water did the trick, my friend. I pray your ability does not end there. I may need you, and you I, in scaling this abominable structure.

"Triton, son of the Zora tribe, I do pledge my sword to you on this day, if you would pledge me your staff and your magic."

Jon smiled respectfully, reaching out his hand to shake Triton's, should the Zora accept.

Relief washed over the Zora when Jon accepted his apology. As he put the glass away again, he smiled when Jon came to the correct conclusion based on naught but his staff and his satchel. Again putting his hand to his chest, he now bowed.

"That would be a very correct assumption, sir. I am indeed a practitioner of the Arcane Arts. While my ability to heal wounds is sorely limited, you will see that my other skills are varied in use and potency." He straightened himself again, lowering his arm and looking at Jon expectantly.

"My staff and abilities are as much at your service as your sword is at mine, my good sir." Shaking hands, he looked back at the Stone Tower. A daunting climb indeed. If not for the wealth of knowledge he knew would wait for him at the top, he would not have thought twice about climbing it. However, he knew he had to reach the top to finish his research, and he had an ally.

What could possibly go wrong?

Jon looked back to the great heights of the Stone Tower. This structure seemed to dwarf even Death Mountain itself.

Height aside, the uncertain ledges and stones in the inner surfaces of the wall yielded, at best, a truly dangerous climbing path. This was made even more true by Jon's armor, of which there would have been about 30 pounds, plus half again as much gear, likely more. The essence of it was, Jon would find the climb treacherous and exhausting.

"My good sir, have you any charms for a task so daunting as this? Would that I could fly to the top of this tower..."

"Were that I could," Triton sadly said, "I have no spells that can lend a man capability of flight. In fact, I fear that none of my spells nor possessions are made to make scaling this wall any easier." He wasn't incredibly heavy, nor was his equipment, but he knew better than to take any risks. Not to mention that leaving behind a companion, no matter how shortly they had known each other, was not in his nature.

"There might be another entrance," he said. "A cave, a secret passage in the mountain, leading upwards, perhaps... if the Stone Tower itself is still this well intact, then the passages the Ancient Ones used to enter it must still be there, as well."

Jon scanned the massive mudbrick and cobblestone yard around him.

"Perhaps... Though, I think I can see where the old paths run to the heights of this colossus. This is indeed a massive tower, but look there. Do you not see what may have once been stairs, and we may be able to leap from those fallen pillars there..."

Jon scanned up and down, pointing out segments of old, crumbling stairs, ledges, protruding stones, and other means of scaling this monstrosity.

"Do look there. Do you see those thick vines growing on the walls of the tower? You and I may climb those when we reach those ledges there. That skeleton hanging from it is clad in a jacket of steel mail, and it must have gotten tangled before it was reduced only to dry bone.

"That must mean those vines can hold my weight, and if so, certainly yours as well."

Of course, this logic was only partially sound. Jon's armor was heavier than a simple chainmail haubergeon over wool and boiled leather, yet Jon figured he could not let himself fail due to simple speculation regarding the strength of vines. If they might be able to hold him, he'd have to try at some point.

Even so, the duo would have to start by mounting a pile of rubble to reach a piece of crumbling, ancient stairs, or would have to search for an alternate pass as Triton had suggested.

"Make no mistakes, sir Jon." Triton's expression was beyond serious now. "That skeleton need not have been alive when it was pinned up there. Do not forget where we are. This is Ikana Valley- Undead are a rupee a dozen here. I have faced at least three Poes and Two Stalfoses on my way here, and I lost count of the Redead after the eleventh one."

The Zora looked up at the vines and raised his cane in thought. "I do not find it inconceivable that that skeleton is in fact a Stalfos that sensed our presence and climbed up there to trap us into falling to our death. Or maybe to attack us while we are vulnerable- with our hands occupied climbing, I am fairly sure you cannot use your sword any more than I can direct my spells."

"Even if it is not a Stalfos, it could be a trick from a Poe... I could try something to check which it is, a skeleton or a stalfos, but it could be risky. I don't know how flammable these vines are, after all." With his cane back on the ground, Triton snapped his finger and suddenly a small fireball shot straight up.

"I don't want to possibly ruin our only chance of getting up there."