Live Your Own Story in Hyrule

"Surveillance would be best. Need to know what we're up against, after all." Revali folded his wings. "And a rope would be good. We might not have what is needed for a zipline, but using the ropes should be sufficient. And truthfully, we want to save as much energy as we can. You don't want to go off taxing yourself and then find you won't have the energy when the time comes to use it," he notes to Gatu.

"But, as you've pointed out, climbing up might be necessary and in that case, ropes are good for that. None of us have any magic to hold onto anything, so we'll have to use what's at our disposal. Besides, I suspect that if they're the ones used to invading, they may not be looking for anyone coming to them. This could work to our advantage."

Irina nods to Revali, agreeing but also concerned. "How can the rest of us help? Or is somebody else going to go with Red?"

Link is in agreement with Revali's assessment. "Surprise is always good."

He turns to the group and says, "I volunteer to go." He turns to the other Rito. "Red, will you be able to go, too? Can you bring someone else?" He asks plainly, not expecting him to oblige if he isn't up to the challenge.

"As for the rest..." he turns to the Zora woman, "Is there anything my friends can do to help you? We are in your debt, but we would help a friend regardless."

"“Aid… is not something my people have the luxury to rely upon.” Her grip tightens slightly around the trident, its light pulsing faintly with the current.

“Our time is running out. You can feel it, can you not? This realm… does not preserve. It consumes.” She turns her gaze below towards the distant dark waters, “What we are will not endure much longer.”

After a pause, she speaks again, quieter. “If the power you seek can break the chains that bind this place… then perhaps our end need not be absolute.”

Irina stands still, watching the Zora in silence with her usual warmth held in check. There is no pity in her expression, just a steady resolve that gets stronger as the weight of the Zora's words settle in.

She says nothing, but the way she holds herself makes it clear enough. if there is a way to help, they will find it.

Link nods solemnly to the Zora woman. He holds his hand in front of his chest, showing the sharp fins on his arms. "Then we both have nothing further to lose and everything to gain together. Light and darkness must exist together, and we cannot let one overtake the other." He nods to Impa, in a respectful gesture.

"I will remain here, then. I don't think I will be any good in scouting out that far. But, being close to the water here, should anything happen, I will have a source to work with." Mipha began. "I will leave that to you and whoever else decides to go. It is clear that the blade has caused some kind of disturbance here. Enough that we can barely sense its presence or see its light. The darkness here has likely sought to consume it, but it can't. Imbalance of some form has been introduced to this place and it must be stabilized."

She walks along the edge of the river. "Perhaps the ones on the islands are also victim to this circumstance or maybe they never were and are perpetrators. Whatever the case, their tyranny must be disrupted and ended."

"I can go and bring someone else. Whoever wishes to go, I'll take them," Red replied to Link, looking over those in the group waiting for some kind of confirmation. It seems Mipha has elected to stay grounded, so that left a few others. "Besides, the longer we spend here, the more worried I get. So, sooner than later would be better for me. Err, no rush to anyone else, I'm just...keen to get going."

Irina walks to the Rito. “In that case, I can go with Red.” She touches his wing and offers a warm smile that quickly turns into a decided nod. “Let's see what's up there.”

Link walks to the edge and looks down into the abyss. He tries to study the scant details he can make out from the area below them and also calculate the distance that they have to traverse.

“Hey Revali and Red.” He addresses them, “Maybe this is obvious but I think the mist from this waterfall will give us some cover while we make our descent. Wecan leverage it to allow us to move forward at an angle and glide towards the islands without being detected and also so you do not have to support our weight too long. The ascent might be tricky, however.”

He returns to the group and says, “Mipha, Gatu, Impa… we will return as soon as we can. If things get out of hand, please try to return to the Shadow Temple.”

Irina listens to Link while adjusting her bag across her shoulders and the quiver on her side, securing everything so that nothing falls during a possibly rough flight.

Returning Link's nod, Impa reached into her pouch and gives a small pouch to him.

"Deku nuts. If all goes well, you'll have no need for distraction."

With her tiny assistance given she turns to the Zora guide, "If possible, I'd like to hear the history of your people, in greater detail. Perhaps a solution can be found in the past."

She'd normally offer to join the infiltration but she's still wounded.

Link takes the Deku nuts and bows his head with gratitude to Impa. “Thank you. Even though we haven't been gone too long, it is comforting to have a piece of Hyrule here with us, particularly a weapon that we all know well. I will keep these close.”

The Zora woman turns to the group that is remaining and addresses Impa, “Forgive me for saying this, but I can sense something special about you. Something powerful.”

She walks a few steps and points to a rise nearby, “Just beyond there is a hidden ridge that has a cave with a valley view. We will be able to see the islands better from that position.”

She nods to Impa and says, “Our lore is fragmented and partially lost to time, but I can tell you what I know if you are interested.”

"I don't like this, but... I'll hang back with Mipha, Impa, and the Zora Woman like you asked Link. I hate to say it- but I can't do much with what I currently have. Just make sure you guys come back in one piece, alright? And if you need a quick escape, just signal with a whistle and I'll work with Mipha to make an ice bridge across for you guys to run across back here." _Gatu says, trying to be optimistic. The Zora Woman would also sense something powerful from Gatu being in close proximity to him, but it was... muffled, muted almost- but still detectable._

Aio stares at Naomi blankly. He clearly didn't understand her. He wonders why this girl is threatening the other girl.

As he doesn't quite understand the rules of the game, he does the same and chases after Saria, holding his hands up like a dragon as well. He calls out "Raaawr!" and something unintelligible in his language.

Saria lets out a scream as both come after her and laughs, running. She looks at Aio and points at Naomi without stopping. "Attack HER, not me! We are the good guys! Dragon! Dragon! " She repeats, hoping to teach Aio a new word.

Aio begins chasing after Naomi, too, and calls her by what he thinks is probably her name, "Dragon! Dragon!"

Fallon opens the door and is immediately met with screaming and shouts of a dragon. She hurries outside, checking the sky and surroundings to see if one had suddenly popped up. Thankfully, there was no such creature and further processing allowed her to realize they were just playing out here. Of course, that's what they intended to do in the first place, but flashbacks of moldugas and spiders said otherwise. Briefly, anyway.

So, she heads back towards the walls of the inn and leans against them, watching them play and enjoy life for the time being. A refreshing change of scenery to what she knows lies beyond.

Naomi blinks at the swift derailment of her CAREFULLY CRAFTED FANTASY WORLD. o.O; At least Saria seems to get the idea and is trying to explain it to Aio -- but it looks like he still thinks _he's_ a dragon. Okay, well, maybe he can be a knight AND a dragon! Like some kind of...dragon man!

<https://i.redd.it/xcbi8yj0nhv81.jpg>

"Ummm...OHNOES IT IS THE DRAGONBORN! BUT YOU WILL NEVER DEFEAT ME UNLESS YOU FIND THE, ummm, MAGICAL HELMET OF RAINBOW FLAMES! IT IS IN, ummmmmmmmmm...aaaaaa SECRET PLACE THAT--THAT ONLY THE ROYAL FAMILY KNOWS ABOUT!" Yeah, Naomi is totally engaging in AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION and not dumping her DM responsibilities on Saria. n.n

Those were a lot of words and Aio understood none of them! He continues to chase Dragon and shouts her name. He giggles with excitement as the air and sun and open space combine to create a volatile reaction of fun.

As the screams of the children echo through the field outside of the Wolfos, a tall imposing Gerudo woman cuts the horizon perpendicularly. She holds a spear and walks in a relaxed pace but with a serious expression. The expression softens when she sees the children playing, particularly the boy.

She stops and observes them by the stables outside of the inn.

Saria laughs and nods, pointing at Noemi! "Yes! Catch the dragon!"

Seeing Risa arrive, Saria hmms, touching her chin with a finger. She approaches Risa and Fallon and brings her hands to her back. "Excuse me, I have a question."

"As you know, Aio is living in the Kokiri Forest now. Do you know of any grown-ups that may help us build a treehouse for him?"

Risa crouches down to become eye-level with the forest child. She rests her elbow on her knee and says, "A treehouse?" She thinks, and says, "Sweetie, I am from the desert. I don't know much about trees. But I will find someone who can help."

Fallon laughed to herself. Of all the things Naomi could've been, a dragon...born was not one she expected. Yet, she could appreciate her imagination. Those bedtime stories must've sounded far more spectacular to her than she'd thought.

Spotting movement in the distance, she looked towards it and found it was a friendly face upon closer inspection. She smiled as Risa approached, acknowledging her presence with a nod.

With Saria now approaching, she then pondered her question, "You need help with one, hm? Well, I'm not much of a builder, but I can assist in whatever way I can. I'll have to ask my husband if he has any suggestions or ideas. All else fails, I could just read about trees and houses and then attempt to replicate it."

Saria grins, her hands on her back while she listens to them. "You are big and strong women, so I knew you could help! Thank you." With this, she goes back to playing with her friends.

GUUUHHHH!!! &gt;_&lt;; Being a DM is so FRUSTRATING! You put in all this work to give the players an intricate world to interact with, and they just want to be MURDER HOBOS that solve every problem by charging at it swords waving! "Okay, fine! TAG, YOU'RE IT!" Naomi shouts to Aio. Then she turns and dashes away.

Aio didn't quite understand but he understood perfectly what she meant and what his job was now. He gives chase to Naomi and also Saria.

Saria laughs and runs away from Aio, happy to see him enjoying himself. There were some things they needed to figure out but this was probably what he needs for now.

Jabu's whiskers, that was quite the incident! Mipha certainly wasn't expecting that activity up here, but she's honestly glad it's over. Not that she needed to, but her desire to keep a low profile continues as she creeps her way through towards the graveyward. "My word, I honestly didn't think a moblin would make an appearance here. They ususaly don't find much reason to come this far..."

Wolf Link continues on to the <#C9UT1C3BQ>

_With the villagers' nerves settled, and some of them expressing they're glad he was okay, they left to go back inside and turn off their lights. However, looking over at the inn and starting to walk over there, he finds that it was closed for reservations- meaning there was no place for him to stay the night. Walking over and picking up the Moblin Spear, the young warrior breaks a section of it off so it was more his size and making it balanced so it wasn't unwieldy._
_Checking on their friend in their hat, they seemed to have gotten knocked out from the force of colliding with that tree along with them. Hopefully in time they'll wake up... Using what magic he has access to, they heal themself up a bit so it would be easier to breath. Doing so however making his Life Gauge 'glitch' through different styles until it settled on a different one; causing him a moment of pain._

_With the moment passed, the young warrior adjusts their bunny hood on top of their head after putting his hat back on and fixing their hair. Since loitering wasn't allowed in town, he'd have to go to the graveyard to rest there. Hopefully Dampé was going to be alright with it. They have in the past the few times he came and there wasn't any available rooms in the inn._

_Gatu proceeds, unknowingly, towards the <#C9UT1C3BQ>_

(See <#C5FAAGN80>)

Suddenly, a black crystal slams into the ground at high speeds, with a sudden flash of light in the form of a beam slamming into it, setting it off. Once the dust settles, one can see a Fog begin to form.

Another day, another round of looking for odd jobs to keep body and soul together. -.- It's better now than when John first started at least, he's gotten used to approaching folks at random to ask for work and they've gotten used to the idea that there's this guy around who can save them some trouble in exchange for a few rupees. Still, it's wearisome having to _hunt_ for employment all the time.

"I'm tellin' ya Johnny-boy, ya oughta just sign up wi' the castle guard," Scruvo remarks, guessing John's thoughts. "Gals love a chap in armor."

John rolls his eyes, trying to remember how many times they've had this conversation already. "And what do you think will happen when they ask about past experience and references? 'I was part of the army in the Dukedom of Loranis until I was banished for insubordination.'" e.e

"Cor blimey, an' you think _I_ take liberties in recountin' stories! At least I add stuff IN instead of leavin' all th'good parts out! Tell y'wot, why don't I tell 'em wot happened an' then you can just shoot down the embellishments, that'll get th'full story across AND show 'em you're humble ab--CRIKEY, INCOMIN'!!!"

John dives for the nearest cover, the corner of a building. He hears a dirt-spraying impact followed by an explosion, accompanied by a brief flash brightening the surroundings. After a moment, he straightens up against the wall and takes a peek around the corner, assessing the situation and looking for casualties and at-risk civilians. &gt;.&gt; Maybe nobody's _paying_ him to be a soldier, but the trained response doesn't stop to think about things like that.

In the distance, between the mountaintops, glides a yellow object. It takes note of the strange object that just flew into the town. The young messenger Rito swoops down on the town to take a closer look.

Not too far from the town, a royal guard sees the fog and hurries to ensure everybody is safe. Upon seeing the fog, Kagetora stops before he reaches it. He is aware of what will happen if he touches it... and frowns.

"Everybody, step back! Do not touch the fog!" He warns lifting his arms, stopping any villagers that attempt to approach the area.

The young yellow bird was near the fog but perched slightly above it on a stone chimney. He hops down to the roof and asks the soldier, “What is happening?”

Kagetora looks up to see the Rito while he tries to block people from entering the town. “This fog contains dark magic and is similar to that in Castle Market Town. Those who touch it will be cursed and turned into poes. Please warn everyone to stay away!”

The young Rito squawks in affirmation to the warrior's command, and then hops a few times before taking flight over the town. He begins to call out, "Beware! Beware! Everyone abandon the village! Avoid the fog!"

Ohhhhhjoy. &gt;~&lt; John pushes off from the wall and runs over to the building's door, yanking it open. "ANYBODY IN HERE, GET OUT FAST!!! THERE'S A POISON FOG FILLING THE TOWN!!!" John of course actually doesn't know if the fog _is_ poisonous, but it's a decent assumption based on the bird-man telling people to avoid it and it gets across the desired action quick and easy. A few confused townsfolk come tumbling out, including an old man with more wisdom than speed. U~U; John grabs his arm and throws it over his shoulders, trying to hasten his hobble toward the edge of town.

Meanwhile, the resident sky-watcher who's always hanging out on that roof is still rubbing his eyes from witnessing that sudden bright beam come down from Death Mountain. :dizzy_face: By the time his vision clears, the building he's on top of is already surrounded by fog, and it's starting to creep up the shingles toward him. He waves his arms up at Kanali. "HELP! I CAN'T GET DOWN!"

Over near Kagetora, a dog darts forward to bark and growl at the encroaching phenomenon. &gt;O A small girl runs after it, wrapping her arms around its neck and tugging fruitlessly. "No no Duke, get back!" &gt;n&lt;

Kanali pauses, catching a glimpse of the curious man that is standing on the roof. He looks around, watching the fog rise. He sees a woman holding a cucco and both are transformed immediately into orbs of light as the fog touches him.

"Oh no... this is terrible." the bird mutters under his breath.

"Hold on!! Stay away from the fog!" he shouts at the man on the roof as he hops up and takes flight, being careful to put some height between himself and the encroaching haze. He swoops down and grabs onto the man, already struggling to keep aloft, but says, "I got you! Hold on to me!"

At that, he kicks down on the roof to give himself a boost, breaking several roof tiles in the effort and sending them tumbling into the fog. Kanali takes flight with the man and attempts to carry him to safety, although his piloting skills are rough with the added weight.

Kanali crashes off to the side with the man, away from the fog. "Quick! Run away from the fog!" He dusts himself off, then picks himself up and flies back to the rooftops to see if he can spot anybody else.