When the Goose is Hangin' High [Cloud/Genzo/Ink]

Julius was listening to a Royal Guardsman who was, of course, more experienced than he was. "And thus, we've selected you for this mission. You may take whomever you want with you; we trust your judgment. Be wary, though, as there's a beast in there we've dubbed the 'Furnace Leviathan'. It's... quite a thing, really. Its exoskeleton is largely composed of metal, but we've got no idea what kind it is specifically. Realistically speaking, since it's so far into the supposed future, it's a metal that hasn't been found or invented yet. Just as well from Starsend, we expect good things from you, Knight Surgate. Any questions?"

"Yes," he responded, "what is... the major cause of all of this? I get that the general light equates to gravity thing-- so should it be the sun that I am aiming for?"

"You're exactly right. Your mission is to, basically, destroy the sun and emerge victorious. Careful about that, though, because one of those who ventured into it saw... something moving on it. Be careful. Dismissed," the Knight-- almost Royal Guardsman-- gave Julius.

...

So, he was expected to go into another parallel dimension and... hopefully, come back unscathed. It was going to be difficult-- they only got out of the last one because he just happened to be properly equipped for it. Well, I hope I'll be properly equipped for this one as well, he thought. With that, he headed off to the markets-- he was sure to find something good there, he knew it.

And how right he was! Someone was peddling something that would increase your strength tenfold; Julius was stupefied by how much weight the man was able to lift-- and, thus, walked up and inquired about it. "Haha! The first customer, ladies and gentlemen! And a Knight of Hyrule, no less!" He turned to Julius speaking in more hushed tones, "I've got a better version of this, the Power Bracelet, if you'd like to... negotiate further. Come back once the crowd dissipates," the strongman indicated. "It can be yours for just thirty rupees!"

So, the man was putting on a show for the general population. Seemed fair enough, once you considered that life in the markets was an enormous pain in the rear. After buying this 'Power Bracelet,' he left to go peruse some of the other stalls. Once he came upon a decently wealthy merchant's shop, he stopped. This merchant sold very valuable tool. "I know these. They're commshells, yes?"

"Yes they are! How many would you like? Quite inexpensive; only ten rupees a pop!" the merchant exclaimed. Julius held his chin in thought. "Just two, please." And so, Julius left, two commshells in his hands and a two gauntlets on his forearms. When he came back, the apparent strongman didn't seem so strong any more. "Ah, there you are. Come," the strongman led him into a backalley. Julius' hand instantly went to the handle of his blade; was this man seriously going to attempt to mug him?

"Ah, here we are." The man had led him to... kind of a run-down stall, but he was obviously very smart when it came to selling his wares. "These," the merchant showed him, "are the muscle bands. I kind of designed the Power Bracelets to fit over them, which is why they're so loose," the man explained. Hm. Now that he mentioned it, they did seem loose to a fair degree. "You can have two of these for only ninety rupees. They make you easily as strong as a Darknut, if not moreso. They scale off of relative strength, not just general strength. So, if you're an exceptionally strong Hylian, you'd be an exceptionally strong Darknut. Do you understand?" The merchant, and apparent craftsman, asked.

"Uh," Julius thought for a moment. Him? Being as strong as a Darknut? This was too good to be true. "Okay, sure, I'll try them on. But if they don't work as advertised, I'll arrest you for fraud."

And so, Julius tried them on. New strength coursed through him; but had he really grown as strong as a Darknut? Julius tried doing a couple of push-ups. He felt practically weightless!

"Alright," he addressed the man, "here's the ninety rupees. I feel like a refreshed man once again."

And, with that, he headed home, to rest while also relaxing.

A pair of yellowy orbs gleamed out from the bushes.

"I finally found you! You're late mister." came a raspy voice as the short figure burst out into the road.

It was obviously Evelyn again. What now? She was seemingly satisfied with the completion of their latest outing, so much so that she was ready for the next big challenge. Something to that end, in any case. It seemed that additionally there was some major public demand for a resolution to the ongoing conflict involving the "portal." While the prospect of going out there gave her deja vu, Eve was not concerned with the ramifications of that feeling.

"I've seen a concert mister knight man." she began, trailing off again on a tangent.

Her hands were smoldering under a huge set of bandages and miscellaneous materials wrapped around them. It was noteworthy how long she had seemingly tolerated having such malformed, wounded arms. It was poetic, or something. Whether she deserved it or not could come later, something was unnervingly bizarre about how long the portal conflict had drawn out. Hearing something similar to a trumpet in the distance, Eve's attention came back.

"Never mind that sir knight, I need to use your home vanity." she explained. Something was still off about her face.

"I'm not wearing my makeup." she grinned, her golden eyes bare of any irises.

He was approached by Evelyn who, for all her worth in the world, spouted off complete nonsense. "Well, it's probably best if I inform you along the way about my next assignment, then."

And with that, he explained his general situation-- the fact that he could take pretty much anyone with him was what stuck out the most. "So they'll be a regiment of Guardsmen and Knights of Hyrule accompanying us. Probably some Sheikah too, if I'm being honest. They'll never tell you that, though, but it's almost always safe to assume that on an especially high profile mission. They were with us when I went into Starsend, at least." Then, they arrived at his home. "I don't know what you mean by vanity, but I've got a mirror at least."

With that, he dug through his top drawer, finally fishing out a Pictograph. "This was what was controlling, I assume, the Starsend fragment. I couldn't describe what he looked like in spiritual form, other than... horrifying, I guess. But what I did assume is that Ganon still very likely has at least a fragment of the Triforce's power-- these portals are proof of that."

With that, he took a seat, leaning back into his cushioned chair. "I still can't believe that they're sending me out so soon again. I only came back from Starsend... I want to say, a month ago? I've honestly lost track of time since. What with all the forging and exploring I've been doing, it's kind of hard to keep track of it all."

He let out a deep sigh. "I assume you'll want to come along, then, correct Evelyn?"

"Oh there you are." Evelyn whispered to herself. She would have been holding Julius's hand were it not her arms were on fire.

Julius no doubt remembered that he had sent a letter to that Zora multitasker. Evelyn was sweating, not used to being seen without her make-up. She had to convince the both of them to follow her out into the woods. Although the Kokiri loved scheming and plotting, she had been told previously by Deku Oracles to seek something out. It was an abandoned Great Fairy Fountain out in the woods. When she had first found it, it was still empty. She had hoped bringing her acquaintances at a later date would prove more fruitful. Remembering what a certain spooky Gerudo had told her, it was going to be important to take Fortune Telling seriously, however unnecessary.

"Mister Julius! Before we go to your workshop, we have to take a detour." she squeaked.

She looked up at his rigid face, trying to spot any misgivings. They were roughly on the right path to his place anyway. She double-checked the basic map she had borrowed. She almost found it more suspicious where this Hylian had chosen to live. She drudged back through her belongings. The Zora's elegant weapon reminded her of her own designs for the coming challenge. She had personally designed a new weapon to replace her gaudy hammer that had melted in the depths of Dodongo's Cavern.

"Nice to meet you, miss." she titled her head at the woman. She couldn't shake the feeling of having met before.

Evelyn looked at her drawing of a hammer. It was almost too ridiculous for words. She couldn't have possibly invented such a thing with her own crayons, so she had enlisted some help in actually drawing the diagram. However, she also wasn't sure how the strange mixture of stone and metal that was going into this piece would react to being forged together. She was proud of the tiny palm tree she wanted to adorn it, however.

"I'm sorry we have to go out of our way, but we're going to be at your shop in no time." she added nervously.

The girl was far from certain of what was going to happen when they made it to the fountain. She could be sending the trio on a wild goose chase. But Evelyn was at least confident that they would cook the goose in the end. Her arms were on fire in anticipation. Julius was thrown off-guard when she pointed to her little map. It was like a poorly-drawn treasure map, dotted lines and all. The 'X' marking where they were to stop was somewhere in a bunch of scribbled trees.

She also pointed to a small sack on her belt. "I picked up those materials you told me about. The nulling rocks sound like a good touch to me, so I spent whatever I could." she added.

Evelyn stomped in the dirt, some childish way of making them know she was leading the way. The winding path through the trees was probably enough to ward off anyone who wasn't sure this character was going to somewhere important. Having been with her in the Deku Town, she knew Julius would believe her somehow. Her skeletal fingers were crossed in prayer that Julius wouldn't just give up and turn around.

A trek of a hike and some exhaustion later, the group came upon a clearing. The stone construction was familiar. An outcropping of marble and a circle of pillars made it clear they were at the fountain. A warm light came out of the watery scene, Tiny Fairies skittering here and there. Evelyn hunched over, focusing on an orange light in the center.

And so they picked up Yuku, but not before stopping and chatting for a bit. "So. They've assigned me to the last portal, I guess. What they know is that it's hot, but I'm assuming that songs can be cast inside it, which is why I thought of you. But, the amount of gravity exerted on your body is dependent on how much light's actually present, so they're preparing a set of enchanted orbs that should darken our surroundings somewhat. Prepare for tropical weather, in other words."

"Now, Evelyn, you may continue leading us to your destination." As they moved on and progressed, they were in a rather distinct, aged part of the town. "Oh, Hylia. No one's used this place in years," he commented, before realizing just where they were headed.

They were in a Great Fairy's fountain; that much was obvious to him, considering his prior curses and experience. When they came to what was essentially a rundown city fountain, Julius looked at Evelyn questioningly; she had brought them here for a reason, he knew that much.

"Alright Evelyn, so what do--" That's when the alleged 'owner' of the resident fountain appeared, water splashing onto Julius.

He wondered how it must have felt for someone so powerful to be reduced to this. "Uh," then the question came. "Well, if you really must know--" He took a look sideways at both Yuku and Eve, "Two warriors and a musician."

Then he looked towards Evelyn, expecting some kind of response. "We're here specifically because Evelyn," he bothered to point at her, "brought us here. Now, Evelyn...?"

"Oh that. . . ha ha right." Evelyn laughed nervously. It was duly noted that if anyone were in trouble right now it was her.

She turned to the other two, blank eyes supposedly directed at where they were.

"I didn't know this would happen! I feel like I'm about to get attacked." she explained to the others.

The Deku soothsayers had pointed her in this direction but had direly failed to give her any sort of instructions. All she remembered was some sort of minty-green opaque goo. She looked back at the bubbling water, then toward Yuku's musical display. That was it! She must have attended one of her concerts before, although she wouldn't have stood out in the crowd, being so small. Though Evelyn didn't make to venture as far as Zora's Domain very often anymore, seeing as her old friends were long gone. She went off on a mental tangent, suddenly remembering the weird balloon-headed fellow she met in one of the Zora territories.

"I came to seek your guidance." she elaborated to the powerful being. She was kneeling suddenly, not intending on being fried alive in the stroke of a heartbeat.

"I hold only fire now, flames." she nervously fumbled, lifting her smoldering arms up for all to see.

While the radical and exciting hot tub continued to rumble and bubble, Eve shut her eyes fast closed. She tried to remember what the Twister had told her. His non-face flashing before her memory. She remembered for certain that he did or didn't have a hat. Maybe a desk, she thought he had a desk. A tie would be nice. That's when it dawned on her, she couldn't actually remember the encounter at all, or at least not correctly. It must have had something to do with fire, she thought. The result was what stood out, smoke swirling from her skeletal arms.

"If you burn me, it's alright. Looks like I'm burning already." she shuddered.

The question came rather fast, but it sent Evelyn's imagination soaring. She had to remember all of the things that brought her here. Although there were holes in her memory, her life flashed brightly in front of her. She recalled the many months she was training with the Guard and taking down unseemly creatures at a distance. There was the times she offended the Twister and the ensuing rage of Meryem as her plans fell to shambles. She remembered following Julius to serve a Zora with a bulbous head. She had some encouraging flashbacks of a moonlit night underneath a smooth glass ceiling, a relaxing cup of tea and a Deku Scrub with a picture book. The warmth of the last image reminded her of the brief stay with the Deku Oracle and the minty-green ooze.

Evelyn remembered all of the good deeds she performed with Julius and all the mischief she was involved with the Red-clad boy. Not all of her sins should be forgiven, though she thought maybe she deserved a second chance of sorts. Maybe everyone was trying to tell her this the entire time. Except Meryem, who in all her vast knowledge never bothered to tell her anything. Where was that odd Gerudo anyway?

"Ah, please forgive my hesitation. A very wise Deku told me you had something 'cold' that could take the pain away from my arms. I was learning to live with it but it's been several moons at this point. . ." she stammered, hoping to be understandable. She wanted to mention she liked the tropical re-imagining of the fountain, but that was slightly discourteous. "That is, if it doesn't inconvenience you of course."

The beauty and majesty of a real Great Fairy was making her nervous, or at least intimidated. From the looks on her companions' faces it seemed like they were affected as well. The Kokiri had seen Great Fairies at sea in her time as a wayfarer, but had limited interactions with them. Her memory wasn't serving to make it easier either.

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In light of the events of the past four years, I intend to say something about it in regards to this thread. It is known that this was created as a crucial pre-thread to our Sunwell dungeon thread. That fact remains true even to this day. In respect to Cloud, and with our current knowledge of what actually happened, we have decided not to intrude on his character's actions or portray Julius in ways he may not have wanted. Thinking he had vanished one day with no word, staff promised I could make a weapon the Cloud himself had entrusted me upon designing this thread. However, because of his passing I do not want to use his character in this way. I will instead be taking an intermission during this thread to send Eve to Gustav's Goods and have it created there. Cloud had great intentions with this site, always wanted to gain splendor and fame in our special interpretation of Hyrule. In reverence to him, and what he taught me in life, I will be using this thread to give Evelyn the Weaponsmith ability instead of what I had previously been taking. To preserve my feelings, as well as everyone involved with him and this site, I will be having Eve write a letter to Julius to end this thread. I hope that despite our struggles with what happened, we will leave a positive message on this site, and treat everything the way that Clooby would have intended. To be respectful to Julius as a character, I plan to have him run off on an urgent mission. He will be off to do something important to the sake of Hyrule, and respectfully I will not explain what it is. This thread is also open to whoever is running Sunwell with us, presuming anything is needed to be prepared in advance.

Eve lost focus for several minutes. The encounter with a real Great Fairy had been a more shocking one if there had ever been one. But after a brief reply, Julius took off in an instant. He didn't look sick or hurt, and his bearing was certain. Eve knew he was off to do something of dire importance to the realm. Remembering his previous instructions, the Kokiri knew where to go and what to do in the meantime. He had been an invaluable teacher to her, and whatever he was doing took precedence over her own experience.

Eve sought out Yuku, who was still nearby. The girl was with good reason concerned, and likely the helpful Zora was as well. In an unrelated circumstance, the Great Fairy took her words and slowly vanished as well. Many Tiny Fairies spread across the temperate fountain. The sudden silence was a little uneasy. Eve made to exit the area, but not before addressing the badass mother in the room. As she did so, a small spark of flame flitted off her forearm, unnoticed by anyone.

"If we need to shop more before the dangerous thing we're about to do. . . that appears to be what the Captain wants. We need to gather back at his workshop later. I can't say I'd make you go with me, it's unclear what I will do there with him busy somewhere else." Eve elaborated, contemplative.

There was a short silence as she took another step forward. She was absolutely, unwaveringly determined to finish what they had started. If for no other reason, to save all of Hyrule if nobody else would step up to the task.

"I couldn't begin to explain how it falls on me, but I have a tremendous amount of work to do. Seems like everyone needs my help these days. It's taking all of my energy." Eve elaborated. "I- we'll have to see if we can get anyone else to join us. I have a feeling that's most important."

Eve continued out of the fairy fountain, keeping pace with the mindful woman. Eve was saying a lot of heavy stuff, but she had a lot to learn from someone with experience in humanity like Yuku had. She could only put on a face as if she was acting intelligently. She had always treated herself as some sort of magical, infallible girl no matter how many lumps she took or mistakes she made. Her long life, if she had even been truthful about how old she was, even had little to show for what she had learned. In truth, she had wished someone wise and skillful like Rika was in her place. This would be no easy feat among many adventures that were dire in their own right. It would be a challenge like none that had come before. Looking over her shoulder one more time to see any hint of Kaaldira, the girl's feet took her out the exit.

Having previously visited Julius's home, Eve led the poor confused Yuku all the way back to that place. A familiar workshop appeared behind the shadow of the house. Eve ran the ramblings of the man back through her own head. He had been talking about something called a "Starsend Fragment" for so long. Observing the unnatural heat around herself, Eve knew this was the result of one of these fragments he had described. The captain had previously promised to smith her own Desenium pieces into something, a usable weapon perhaps.

"That's it!" Eve gleefully remembered. "I got him to draw this picture for me. We were both designing a special weapon."

Eve rummaged through her Adventure pouch and revealed her crayon diary. She hastily flipped open a page and showed it to Yuku. The design was flawlessly childish.



"This is uh, 'shooting star tentative title.' I think desenium is very mysterious and magical so I incorporated that concept into my design. Julie made his own version of it in his workshop. If we can't make it, I'll find someone in town who can. Jules always told me, you can't combine two metals easily. But this is gonna be made of mostly just one, so I think even an amateur smith who is nowhere near as masterful and brilliant like Mr. Sparkle could even do it. Before I talk your ear off, yeah I might have to improve it one day. No helping that." Eve rambled, working her way into the workshop.

There was a number of master smith's tools like a pedal-powered grinder, and a bicycle-style repeating hammer. The hand tools were all made of the most ritzy materials imaginable. Eve scrounged around the busy captain's work desk for his blueprints. Among the large sheets of parchment was a familiar sight.



The hammer was. . . expectedly still too ridiculous for words even after Julius had cleaned the image up. Maybe this was also a trial form before adding on other materials. More pressingly, whose face was that on the hammer head? There were some notes on the manuscript implying that the imposing face was an homage to someone Julius had a lot of respect for. There was a quietness as Eve examined the document, rolled it up, and brought it with her.

"Sorry Ma'am. According to the documents I can't build it by myself, I wouldn't make you sit through me making this thing anyway." she admitted, suddenly searching herself for more to say to the tough motherly figure. "That heat outside is tied to a dark fragment. If we don't put together a team to stop it and arm ourselves. . . Hyrule is done for. Maybe the whole world. Please be patient with me ma'am. I won't be so silly until we get this done. I can't afford that anymore."

With swiftness in spite of the dry heat, they worked their way to Castle Town. The busy city was only a few hours of travel from the captain's abode. With no other option, Eve reluctantly put in her order at a remarkably acclaimed business. The collective of Deku Scrubs sold everything from armor to weapons, even potions were on sale. There was a comforting pause in the action as Eve established her commission. She came out not long after, indicating they had started considering her order for manufacture.

"Not to keep dictating everything we're doing, but we need to make sure there are enough of us. Just the two of us can't conquer a dark fragment. I've heard of Kokiri who died trying to do such a thing." she stated, dire seriousness overtaking her usually loopy demeanor. "All it will take is a submission to the quest board. The Hyrulean army is going bananas trying to hold the portal. I think we just need a small group who can infiltrate the portal. Some people have tried already, but nobody has come back from inside. I think we need someone brave and tough to answer our call."

Eve scrambled through her crayons, looking for something. After some headache looking through her drawing tools, she managed to find it. An inkwell pen! The girl used the wall to stabilize herself and started writing a mad script. The words created a formidable wall on the paper. Certain words were bold, standing out. The biggest of these was a single spine-chilling phrase: "SUNWELL."

In a turn of events that could only be described as serendipitous, Eve had one more fateful idea that day. She kept her eyes across the street at Gustav's Goods. . . it was only a matter of time they would complete what the girl considered her masterpiece. It was, of course, not at all something that would help her as the form of a giant hammer continued to swirl in her weird and addled head. She was somehow genius in this idea, though. Because a double helping of Desenium could make a weapon lower and even raise at will. This factor made it almost one of the singular ways for someone of her size to reliably use this type of weapon.

Her great, genius idea of the day was not that, however. It was her interest in paying one more visit to the Market District. A familiar face dwelt there and her day had only just started in a sense. Placing a lot of faith in those strange but somehow familiar Deku Scrubs would do her very well for all of her trouble. Yuku had been quite patient to accommodate her shenanigans as well. As she had not insisted to replace the weird crayon call, they may have struck a dead end in that regard. But unbeknownst to them, they would have a full party by the end of all this. Before her wild urge to keep exploring, Eve acknowledged the helpful Zora with some responses.

"While I did say we don't have much time, I think there's ample space in our schedule for you to keep practicing with water magic." she responded, dipping her eyes in the direction of that crafters' union.

"I did want to give one last look at the market space nearby. The shops tend to have very useful things for adventures like this one, and at random and limited intervals too. We'll want something to do while they try to forge that hammer I designed anyway." Eve added, a bit nervous that she had taken up so much of her ally's time with a weapon forging of all things.

Eve reluctantly led the motherly fighter into the shopping district. The crowds had subsided in the face of the uncomfortable heat in the midst of this crisis. However, the ample food stalls were all open. They were stressed to sell out as much of their surplus stock as possible with less buyers and the onset of the produce going bad. For meat and fish sellers, it was even worse. With no more ice to keep their wares fresh and the new climate resisting their ice magic, such food was no longer fit for consumption. What was left of the meat had to be cooked, causing those vendors an unbearable amount of heat to work with.

However, a familiar sight had caught Eve's eye. There was a cabbage vendor she recognized having a comical interaction with a certain acquaintance of hers.

Eve thought for a moment. It was true they would be exploring somewhere associated with the grueling heat, whatever was in that portal. She would be putting herself in an unnecessary amount of extra danger if she went with everyone who was wearing heat protection while she was the only one who wasn't. She also thought about what the typical red outfit combined with her golden dress would look like combined. This floated around in her mind, alongside what it would feel like for her to wear earrings. Her hair was always over her pointy ears, so she never in a hundred years thought about showing off earrings. Thinking about it more, she had ultimately decided she would figure this out later.

"You're right. I should probably bring something to protect against the heat. Maybe I can keep shopping around." she replied to the Zora frankly.

Just then, she witnessed her somewhat newer friend performing in front of the cabbage stall. Clapping, she felt some familiarity with the show he was putting on. Something about his performance had convinced her what had happened was exactly what he was singing and dancing about.

"That's it!" she informed Yuku. "That's how he thwarted the Thieve's Town! He's such a talented adventurer, we should bring him with us. I'm sure the board posting hasn't even been seen yet anyway."

She approached the cabbage's vendor. The makeshift stage containing the performing Rito stood high above her head. The cabbage salesman looked beside himself, possibly having been in tears for hours. The sheepish vendor turned around in shame, looking upon the cabbages. Eve then tried to attain the attention of the bombastic Ruairi. Perhaps if he didn't remember her, he would at least remember the branch.

"Hey Chicky! Remember the branch! You were just singing about it! I was there too remember? Wanna come with us to stop the next bad guy?! We're going to stop the heat from ruining more cabbages." Eve called up to the canopy.

She witnessed someone in a nearby stall selling a "sun stone" with the power to "cool off the sun." What interesting depths people would fall to in order to keep their hope. It sounded like roughly something they would find if they went in that portal though. It was even more unlikely that this ragtag group would succeed either, but nobody who had entered that portal had come out yet. Eve ran the numbers through her head, thinking about whether to buy earrings or an outfit. She would probably fare better if she just bit the bullet and bought some.