The Great Escape

"East it is." Olias said curtly, facing towards their goal. He listened patiently as Talshin recounted his plan, nodding his head as his fellow Deku explained. "So, you're saying that you would send your bubbles south, and once one of the patrols saw one, they would be under the impression that we were trying to escape over the southern wall." Olias nodded his head again, going over it in his mind. "That sounds good. If we're lucky, that will draw most of the guards that aren't on the wall towards the south, away from us." Olias was still looking east, tracking the movement a few guards who were milling around. They were placed at regular intervals it seemed, and the two Deku were right in the middle of such an interval. Thus far, though, they had not been spotted. Clouds had begun to cover up the bright moon, aiding them in their escapades. Muttering his thanks to Farore, he started walking, gingerly, towards the other side of the rooftop on which they stood.

It was lucky for them that the Hyrule Castle Town architects had built most of the buildings and homes fairly close to each other, so that they would be able to make their way over the rooftops, albeit haphazardly. "Be prepared to defend yourself, should the occasion arrive. I hope that sword of yours isn't just for show." Olias whispered towards Talshin, indicating the guards ahead of them. They would be able to escape detection from most of them, Olias was sure, but probably not all of them. Crouching down, then pushing off of the rooftop, Olias flew over a thin street, landed on the next rooftop. The shingles rattled slightly, but went otherwise undisturbed. Looking over his shoulder, he could see that the closest guard had yet to hear anything. Motioning for Talshin to jump, Olias prepared to catch the other Deku, in the event that he were slip on his landing, or some other unfortunate event were to take place.

Olias was slightly surprised by Talshin's show of magic. Watching as he floated through the air, he remembered the yellow, crackling pages of the volumes he had read. Featherfall. It was a minor cantrip, as he recalled, but showed that this Deku had an aptitude for magic. Perhaps he'll be more useful in our escape, than I had thought! He thought to himself, thoroughly impressed. "Sorry to say it, but you really didn't seem the type to use magic!" He exclaimed, though quietly. Doing an about face, he readied himself for the next jump. The rooftop upon which they stood was slanted upwards, so they would have a harder time getting across. Looking further ahead, Olias spotted something that didn't please him.

Blast it all! There were two guards ahead of them, not just one. They stood upon on rooftop, which had a square tower rising from its center. Olias had seen only one of the guards, the other standing behind the tower when he had last looked. However, it seemed that they were now moving. To make things worse, the tower itself had a lantern on each of its four sides, lighting up the area around them. Looking left, then looking right, Olias tried to find an alternative route. To his left, further down the path, was a spot that looked close enough to jump across, but the path itself contained a guard as well. He saw nothing useful to his right. Motioning in both directions, and ahead of them, Olias tried to see what Talshin thought of the situation. Olias was sure that he alone would have been enough for the two guards ahead of them, much less both of the Dekus. The problem was taking down both at the same time, without alerting any other guards.

Olias nodded at Talshin's suggestions. "It wouldn't be difficult to take out that guard, over there." Olias said, stroking at his "beard". It was true, heading to the left would probably be an easier route. However, it would take longer; they would have to take out the guard, jump onto the next roof, and would most likely need to loop around afterwords, in order to get themselves back onto the proper path. Thinking for a moment, Olias thought he preferred to continue moving forward. If Talshin and Olias were able to time it correctly, and were able to coordinate their attack at the same time, they would be able to effectively silence the two. "Talshin, I think we can keep going forward. If I take out one guard when he rounds the corner, would you be able to take care of the second before he calls out for help?"

Pulling off his belt, which was in actuality a sling, Olias slid his fingers through the finger loop on the retention cord, grabbed the knotted end with the quartz stone with the same hand. Holding tightly onto the release cord, he looked at Talshin once again. "I may not look like it, being a merchant and all, but I'm perfectly capable of defending myself should the need arise. In fact, I'm more than proficient with the sling." Olias indicated the pouch in the sling. As he did so, he grabbed a lead ball bearing from his side-pouch, rolled it around in his hand. Blue magic lit up in his hand, consumed the ball. He slid it into the pouch of the sling, began to twirl it. "Of course, this might just be a terrible idea." Olias shrugged, waiting for Talshin's decision.

". . .but sir, I'm. . . I'm hurt." The gate guard gazed down at the girl sternly. "Orders is orders, miss. Can't letcha through. 'Sides ya could be a demon 'r somethin'." he decided to be ignorant on this occasion, as he was dedicated to his job. Apparently seeing a child in need wasn't even enough for him to compromise his post.

The Kokiri native was dotted with bruises, scratches, and cuts. Areas covered with clothing were stained with earth, as if they had also been struck. It had taken weeks to get to Castle Town on foot and defenseless against monsters. But of course getting there wasn't enough, at least not for this guy. Her guardian fairy would not dare help convince this man. Such an action would ruin a perfectly good rejection. The fairy hovered by her head malevolently savoring the misfortune.

Lucia was on her last thread of patience with the man. She thrust her boomerang toward the sentry's skull. The wooden tool bounced against his helm, knocked it off, and in turn shocked his head. He fell to the ground, fortunate to get away with a minor injury this time. She swiped from him his keyring, which was in fact a ring of keys. Obeying the law would not have been a wise decision with such injuries. This man would just have to deal with it.

With a disappointed fairy trailing behind, Lucia unlocked the small iron door of the South Gate. These doors allowed guards to freely enter and exit, without drawing up the large gates. Lucia thought maybe they should wise the hell up and dig a moat, then they wouldn't even need so many sentries on duty. "Why don't you pee on his head?" Lith inquired. Lucia's face curdled at her fairy. "I have self-control, that's why. Go back to sleep in my pockets, how about?" she irately droned. This was not the time for getting in arguments with a bug, she figured.

Lucia snuck down several alleys, there didn't seem to be a single opportune spot to recuperate in. "This would be easy if I had escorts." she panted. Even traversing the field would be simple with some talented bodyguards. She began to daydream, possibly due to the sleep-deprivation and blood-loss. Being a several-hundred year old Kokiri and growing up, it's hard and nobody understands.

Lith was feeling especially impatient. Her ADD kicked in and she flew away almost as soon as Lucia stopped. The fairy spiraled through the air and examined everything in view. It wasn't long until she spotted a pretty torchlit tower being circled by guards. Lith dove down to Lucia urgently. "Ooh, I saw more guards Luce, let's mess with them!!" the fairy excitedly shouted. "Tell them you are a homeless Hylian and see if they give you anything. You sure look homeless you little rat bastard."

Lucia overlooked the typical fairy commentary. If there were more guards around, she really could benefit. Directions to a doctor would be great, she wished. Among other things, of course. Since Lucia was already within the city they would undoubtedly mistake her for a citizen. She got to climbing a ladder and was soon on a roof.

Suddenly a light flashed before the girl's eyes. The guards became covered with blue light on the Spectacles of Agony. But the fact that they were now marked as foes wasn't the main concern. Not too far from the pair were more readings. Two nearly completely red dots had come up. Some other monsters were just beyond view. Monsters with really crappy weaknesses, apparently. She crawled to the edge of the roof and examined them more closely. The duo was a couple of stealthy Mad Scrubs, she figured. That would of course explain the glaring weaknesses. One of them was wisely armored, she noted that this was atypical of madness in feral Scrubs. She stood up now, suddenly visible to about everyone. She took out her notebook and began making drawings of the Deku Scrub and Business Scrub.

The guards turned from their post and focused on the girl. "Miss, the roof is dangerous!" one of them shouted. "Get down from there you could get injured!" the other announced. Both rooftop guards were now completely distracted.

"I don't plan on screwing up, as long as you don't." Olias said, teasing Talshin ever so slightly. Then, his ears picked up a strange noise; the tinkling sound of a girl's voice. He looked over, saw a Kokiri girl standing on the rooftop as well. "What the-" Before he could complete his sentence, Olias heard the shout of the guards across from them, their attention grabbed by the girl. Thank Farore! he thought happily. It seemed that the goddesses blessed them this night. Without a moment of hesitation, Olias began his assault.

His sling snapped softly as he yanked back on the cord. The pouch was pulled away from the lead bullet, sending it flying in a line tangent to the circle that Olias had been twirling. Although Olias was by no means the best shot, the proximity of his target, combined with his meager skill, sent the shot flying towards the unsuspecting Hylian guard. The glowing, blue pellet hit the guard in the shoulder, blue light exploding as it crushed through his arm. Magical ice began to compile on his arm, then suddenly his arm and neck were both engorged in frost. The shock of the cold kept the guard from screaming out, silencing any and all cries for help.

As the pellet flew through the air, Olias was already on then move, leaping across the rooftop. He could only hope that Talshin was already moving to take down his target. Landing on the opposite roof with a soft thud, Olias' arm moved in a blur, grasping a Scent Seed from his pouch. His fist glowed with green now, the powers of wind summoned into the seed within his hand. Running up to the Hylian, who was now clutching at his neck, Olias jumped up, pushed the seed in his palm into the Hylian's frozen shoulder. The seed exploded in a flurry of wind, sending Olias sliding backwards, and the Hylian careening over the edge of the roof. He heard the Hylian's body hit the ground with a wet thud.

​

Lucia's jaw dropped as the pair of Scrubs not only incapacitated the guards, but completely murdered them. This was the first time she ever saw people murdered with such an overwhelming intent to kill. Though her friends dying wasn't entirely an accident, either.

"Oh my Tree are they really dead?! What did you do?!" she shouted at the pair of Scrubs. The guard below was now alerted to the presence of all three. Lucia covered her mouth with her cupped hands. Whoops. She walked closer to the roof of the two. Her fairy simply stayed back and giggled obnoxiously. She looked down on the Scrubs in a sort of sympathetic pity. They were only forest dwellers trying to make their way in the world. Perhaps they needed to kill them?

"Sirs, come with me before they see you! We must flee!" She began waving her hand unintentionally. "Ow." she cringed. One of her scabs tore a bit when she waved. This was one of several bad decisions she would inevitably make soon. She motioned for them to cross the roof. She skipped over close enough to talk to them more quietly. "The South Gate is actually open now. . . I have the key." She waggled the cast iron key so they could see it.

Olias cocked his head to the side. What a strange Kokiri girl. Olias was stroking his chin again. "Little miss, you realize that if you help us, you'd be committing a felony, don't you?" Olias nodded, walking over to the small brunette. It seemed that the guard below was now running off, most likely to alert the rest of the guards at the East Gate. "Well, there's no helping it, I guess..." He muttered to himself, chuckles playing at his voice. Jumping over to where the girl was, Olias got a better look at the girl clad in green. It seemed she had a fairy as well, who was laughing, though at Farore knows what. Shrugging, Olias looked over at Talshin, wondering why his friend seemed to assume that the girl was coming with them. Though the other scrub wasn't entirely wrong, it felt awfully like they were trying to kidnap her for nefarious purposes. "Eh."

"Well, this is certainly an interesting turn of events. I certainly didn't expect to see anyone else prowling on these rooftops this night, aside from the Hylian Guards. Much less a Kokiri Girl." Olias shrugged once again. It was nice to see another child of the forest, though. It made him feel more confident about their chances of being able to escape from the Castle Town. "I'll keep the questions short, since it doesn't seem we have much time." Olias said suddenly, hearing the clamor of guards heading towards them. "You have the key to the Southern Gates, which I'm assuming you either stole from a guard, or simply looted the body of a dead guard. In which case, you're probably just was wanted as either of us. The Eastern Gate is no longer an option, as they now know of our presence here. It is likely that they will lock all the gates; however, you have a key. Will you help us escape from here? Despite your personal danger in this, I can make it worth your while." Olias asked, barely pausing for a breath.

"Make your decision quickly, for we must soon make haste from this place." Olias said, looking down into the streets, watching as the flames of torches was getting ever closer. His legs tensed up, readying themselves to make flight. He wrapped his sling about his waist again, looking the quartz stone end of the release cord through the finger loop of the retention cord. His hands naturally fell to his side, his right fingers seeking the comfort of his Deku Leaf. Should the need arise, he would take to the air, even if it meant abandoning Talshin, as well as the Kokiri girl. He had no personal vendetta against either of them, and in fact, he rather liked them. But his personal safety had to come first, before everything.

"A-are you threatening me?" Lucia nervously quivered. Never before had she met such an evil man. "Why yes, he is threatening you! If you aren't careful he will take you to his dungeon and defile you! Kyahahaha!" Lith exploded in answer to a rhetorical question. A shrill cackle followed. "No Lith! I'm sure he didn't mean it like that." Lucia quickly spat back. She couldn't cover for herself with this fairy around. "Oh you think so? These guys are running from the royal hylian town guard! They must have done something messed up! Did you see what he did to that guy's neck?! He won't spare authority don't think he'll spare you. That's right go ahead and play into his hand, I will love seeing you bled out like a pig and skinned."

Lucia turned beet red, she had forgotten how to stop the fairy from provoking people. But this time was different, she herself wasn't sure how much of it could be true. She went to grab Lith by the wing to suppress her in a pocket or something. This was nearly the millionth time the action didn't work. Like a dragonfly, Lith avoided the hand with a nearly invisible swiftness.

Lucia turned to Olias, hoping the more clean-cut looking Scrub might bail her out of this mess. But there was no need, four guards thrust open a gate to a stairwell. They scrambled on the opposite roof and spotted the Scrubs. For Olias to gather so many accomplices in a single night, it was truly a spectacle. Lucia swatted the fairy out of the way. "Run!!" shouted the illegal immigrant to the swindler and the man-slayer. The prospect of wood holding back all four was slim. This was essentially the final chance to cheese it out of the gate. If only the fugitives hadn't stopped for such a daunting chat.

Olias slapped the palm of his hand to his forehead. Great. Just great. He thought to himself. Olias just happened to be paired with an extremely suspicious scrub, and an even more suspicious girl. And from what the girl was saying, it seemed that she, and her fairy, both thought that Talshin was some kind of rapist. Olias was loath to wonder what the fairy thought he was. After all, though his beard may have been well trimmed, his hair orderly and well kept, Olias was sure he looked infinitely more unruly than Talshin. Still, he had more important things to worry about.

Turning around to face the guards, Olias looked over at the Kokiri girl quite quickly. "Olias Storm, professional swindler, and pleased to make your acquaintance. I'll let my companion speak for himself." Grabbed a Scent Seed, Olias used his Ice Enchantment once again. He poured more energy into the spell, this time the blue growing even brighter, like an azure flame. Tossing the small, yellow seed forward to meet the Castle Guards, Olias turned around, jumped to the next rooftop. When the seed hit the ground, two things happened; frozen seed spores were thrown into the air, blinding and suffocating the guards. The second effect was that the floor beneath the guards was made slick with ice. The skidded on the ice, some falling to the ground, others barely managing to stay upright, much less move.

"I don't think that'll stop them for long, so, if you would please lead the way." He looked at Lucias expectantly.

Lucia turned as she approached the end of the roof. The Scrubs reached the ledge, and she readily grabbed their hands. With a small tug she had them slide down a rather convenient trash-heap. They were now on the street, though a bit dirty. Lucia led them hurriedly back to the Southern Gate.

Once again she unlocked the thick iron doors, outside there was no sign of the previous guard on post. She wondered if he came to and fled, he wasn't in sight. She then wisely shut and locked the guard door. "There, they won't be catching you two now." she confidently assured. She tossed the key to the ground, it wasn't needed any longer.

She turned back to the Scrubs. "I didn't introduce myself. My name is Lucia, I'm usually a better strategist than to give away our position like that! Never seen anything like that before, but I can tell it must be exciting. In the Kokiri Forest my people are raised by these fairies instead of parents, this is Lith." She motioned to the flying nuisance aside her. "No, she never had any manners. It's actually why I came to this city. My people no longer trust to have me around. Treat me as a child if you wish, but I've been alive and dealing with this since before either of you were born."

The fairy hovered silently, as if not hearing a thing. Lucia kept a very straight face through the entirety of her tale. Though, niceties aside, she didn't feel any obligation to apologize for her intrusion. Helping them escape so safely, she felt, made it even.

"Well, then, I suppose I owe you an apology, madame." Olias replied to Lucias, flourishing the giving a bow. Standing straight once again, Olias laughed slightly. "Whenever I encounter a Kokiri, it always seems that they are younger than you. Maybe its the height." He shrugged, chuckling into a balled fist. He was rudely interrupted by the sound of banging on the door behind him. It seemed that the guard were trying to get through. Unfortunately for them, it seemed that Lucia had been in possession of the only key. They would have to wait for the locksmith, giving the scrubs and the Kokiri ample time to escape. Still, Olias didn't want to push it. As such, he started walking forward, heading south at a slow pace.

He paused, turned around to address Talshin and Lucia. "We were originally headed East, as I said before. But, since we're already here, I'm going to continue going south." Olias looked over at Talshin, wondering where the other Scrub would be going with him, or in a different direction. Olias supposed it didn't really matter. He had found a friend in Talshin, but Olias wasn't the type to get attached to anyone, anywhere, or anything. "In any case, I believe I owe you some rupees Talshin, for helping me escape." Olias dug around his pockets, found an extra pouch, threw a handful of rupees into it. There wasn't enough for him to keep for himself, it seemed, though he still had enough to pay his monthly fees to the Business Scrub Association. He tossed it over to Talshin. "Fifty, I think, is ample enough of a reward. With that, my debts are paid."

Turning back around, Olias was happy to see that the sky's color was beginning to change in the distance, ever so slightly. It seemed that dawn was almost upon them. Has it really been so long? Olias asked himself. It felt as if the night had simply sped past, without a glance back. He shrugged to himself. He laughed at himself, wondering if this shrugging business was starting to become a habit. "I don't really mind, I guess." He chuckled to himself softly. "Well, I'm going to head south, since I don't have anything better to do. You're free to accompany me, if you want. Or not." He said without turning around, his back still facing Talshin and Lucia. He began to walk forward, marching towards the rising sun.

(Mask, go ahead and add 50 rupees for Talshin; our quest was graded. http://forums.hyrulecastle.org/viewtopi ... p=603#p603 )