Death Mountain - Dorjan Wants His Souls

*Characters involved:*

* *Dorjan*
* *Itami*
* *John*

**ZORA'S DOMAIN**

DorjanAPP 9:41 PM Man, getting around this land is a drag lately. :P It's cold, it's dark, and there isn't much around to pick on to alleviate the boredom. Except fish, but where's the fun in that? You zap 'em and they die, sure, but that just means they turn belly-up with the same dumb expression they were already wearing. :P

And it's such slow going! I mean, if Dorjan really wanted to, he could teleport every ten meters and the water wouldn't make much of a difference to him. But then he'd be leaving his bodyguards behind. You'd think water resistance wouldn't matter much to skeletal constructs, but no, the stalfos plod along the flooded field as if their bones remember what it was like to wade in water and what passes for a mind in their skulls can't get them to swish along any faster. >.< And redeads? Fuhgeddaboudit. Dorjan pulled the souls out of those skinsacks and left them marinating in the brine long ago.

But finally they've come up on one of the elevated sections of land and scaled its underwater slope. Dorjan emerges from the sea and onto the shore of Zora's Domain. "Arright, stand back and let me do the talking, breathers can be so life-ist." The stalfos remain half-submerged in the surf with seaweed dangling from their arms and ribs while the wizzrobe shouts out to anybody nearby. "Hey, rubes! Get me somebody halfway intelligent to talk to, I got questions!"

ItamiAPP 12:01 AM Well, things got really weird on Death Mountain. A good weird, the kind of weird that Itami is suspicious about, but good. Some overwhelming amount of magic just struck the place and the surrounding area and next thing she knows, sprouting grasses and stems are rising up from the ground next to her. She doesn't know what caused it, but she took that as a sign to just...leave. Maybe she just needed to leave. She didn't have any intention of doing so, but well, when magic does strange things, probably best not to be there when they get stranger.

So, she closed up shop--temporarily--and took to her broom to fly across the...waters. Yeah, land is in short supply, right now. Luckily, some parts were left somewhat unscathed and she found herself over the area of the Domain. "I suppose those water dwellers would be the ones best to fare in this situation. Granted, these ain't the salty kind and the brine is thick in the air in some places," she muttered to herself in passing. Maybe they aren't quite as lucky as first perceived. "That magic can be felt here too. Just what was that?"

DorjanAPP 6:52 PM The Zora who happened to be on the scene are of course quite inclined to regard a wizzrobe and a bunch of stalfos as a threat, but somebody relatively high up in the chain of command was able to prevent an immediate clash. The wizzrobe is talking to them (however rudely) and the stalfos are standing still, so presumably there's some chance of getting them to move on without risking life and limb. After the leader steps forward, cautiously backed by others with spears at the ready, Dorjan lays out his objective. "I'm lookin' for a witch. Not just any witch, one particular one. Red hair bunched up like a buncha snakes, kinda greenish skin, pointy nose, yellow robes last I saw 'er, cute butt. Ringin' any bells, fin-face?"

ItamiAPP 12:44 AM The Zora looked to be puzzled and perhaps even mildly disgusted at the way the witch was described, but his answer was about to be a solid 'no' until a person who fit that description came swooping by. He hesitated and cast his eyes upward, staring at the sky and checking off all the, well, features described. "I believe she is the one you're looking for," he pointed upward at her. With his job done, he stepped back along with his soldiers, cautiously watching Dorjan and his bunch.

Up above, Itami was still trying to make heads or tails of what she felt up on the mountain, but now there were greater concerns like why a bunch of Stalfos were down below and Zora and...what happened here? A fight? The place looks to be a mess. She decides to swoop in closer to get a better visual of the area. "More magic, but not the kind I felt." Hopping off her broom, she goes to check on an ice block nearby. "Now that I'm down here, this whole place has had strange magic touching it."

DorjanAPP 10:28 PM Dorjan snorts. "Oh cummaaaahn, you think I'm gonna fall for the oldest trick in the book? 'Look up there!' 'Huh?' WHAMMO! I can't decide which is a better reason to fry you fishies, the fact you're tryin' to whack me or the insult to my intelligence! I oughta -- " A bony finger taps Dorjan on the shoulder. "What?! Can't you see I'm intimidating plebes here?!" The finger points at an upward angle. Itami is now low enough for Dorjan to spot her without completely looking away from the Zora. "...Huh. Well, lucky for you, I now have bigger priorities." The wizzrobe fades away. The stalfos wade through the shallows toward Itami.

A moment later, Dorjan fades back into existence leaning against the ice block Itami is examining. "Well now, what are the odds? First place I stop by, and here you are. You wouldn't be *followin'* me, wouldja hot stuff?" ;]

ItamiAPP 9:51 PM Itami was engrossed in her investigation and didn't catch sight of Dorjan until she registered that someone was actually speaking to her. She looked him up and down, "I don't know who got here first, but *following* you is a bit of a reach, don't you think?" She questioned, stepping around the ice block. "So, what do you want?" Cutting straight into it. "And why are your guards wet?"

DorjanAPP 10:16 PM Dorjan chuckles. "Let's not play games, doll, you know what I want. It's cute that you pinched something of mine so I'd have to come see you again, but there are easier ways to get my attention, and I do kinda need those souls back. I wasn't able to harvest nearly as many as I wanted, thanks to your little friends, and now each one counts. So how 'bout bein' a good girl and giving me what's mine?" >) The stalfos turn their skulls to look at each other, as though mildly embarassed by Itami's unanswered question about their dampened state. >.>

ItamiAPP 1:17 AM "I took something of yours?" Itami questioned, eyes narrowing at the thought of it. "I don't even remember what I took, but I'd be willing to part with it for something in exchange," she offered. "Souls for spoils," she began. "I am in need of rare medicinal ingredients and I imagine you might be able to help with that. You provide me with some and I can return yours. Sounds like a reasonable deal to me."

DorjanAPP 10:02 AM **CRRRACK!!!** A large fault appears in the ice block, originating where Dorjan's hand rests on it. "I told you not to play games with me," Dorjan says, his voice growing less playful. "You think I'm some sword-toting schmuck you can send on fetch quests? I'm a busy warlock and I don't like delays." Dorjan pulls a glowing crystal orb with whisps floating around it from his cloak. "Only magic would keep those souls from gathering to this orb, and I'm pretty sure none of those other saps that were with you knew squat about magic. So are you gonna give those souls back, or do I gotta get rough?" >/ The stalfos rattle quietly into ready stances.

ItamiAPP 12:17 PM Itami's grip on her broom grew firmer. "You don't need to puff up. I'm not playing games. It's been long enough for me that in between whatever I did before and now is a distant memory. As if all this water and islands haven't shown you as much, it's been a while." She observes the fault in the ice block briefly. So, it is real ice. Well, magical ice, but still impressive. "So, help me to help you. My trade offer is something I need just as much as you need your precious souls. So, we can sit here and fight or we can do business and get this out of the way. For two magic users, it shouldn't be that much of an issue."

DorjanAPP 11:22 PM "Oh what, and you'll MAGICALLY remember what you did with the souls once you have your ingredients!?" >( Dorjan opens his other hand and lightning magic arcs between his fingers. "Last chance, toots. And don't go thinking you can dance with me, that fireball you gave me in the Shadow Temple barely singed my threads." >P

ItamiAPP 12:01 PM "Oh, fine. More work for me," Itami huffed. "You mentioned the Shadow Temple..." She frowned, thinking it over. She had to reach far enough back to remember that time. A very strange time. "...So much damage to that place." She was honestly a little worried those spirits would be upset, but so far, she hasn't had any issues with them. Yet. "I wasn't attacking you at the time, anyway. A fight was never in the cards here. I don't have the souls," she shrugged. "They're elsewhere in the world."

DorjanAPP 7:05 PM "WHERE elsewhere!?" Dorjan snarls. "I toldja, I know ya did something to keep 'em from coming to me! Don't go tellin' me you can't get 'em back, or I won't have any reason not to make ya do an electric jig -- you and all these fishy fools too!"

ItamiAPP 9:22 PM "Well, you got me there. I did do that," Itami shrugged. "I'm not saying I can't get them back, I'd just have to find the one who has them in their possession," she explained. "And I don't know where they are. After that time in the temple, we parted ways and I haven't seen them since. And then all this happened, so it makes it harder. You and I are pretty much in the same boat. If you don't know where that guy and his bird companion are, I don't either and neither do they," she gestured back to the restless Zora. They may not be fond of lightning, but that doesn't mean they won't put up a fight.

"So, let's try not to make more of a mess. I think the goddesses have already proven their point and do you really want to add to what they've already done?" She looked at the ice block. "Except for that. I'm pretty sure they didn't do that," she pointed at the splintered cube. "So, how about playing nice? I don't need potential customers scared away and I don't think you want word of your presence getting around and possibly letting your mark get away."

DorjanAPP 9:58 PM Dorjan's glowing eyes smolder at Itami throughout her explanation. The stalfos remain in their ready stance, although something about their posture suggests they're ready to not only advance, but jump back if need be. >.> When Itami finishes, Dorjan raises his crackling hand...then brings it down!

...To clamp onto Itami's shoulder, with the lightning ceased. "You got moxie, I'll give ya that," Dorjan says, as if through gritted teeth he doesn't have. "Arright, so you unloaded the souls on some patsy and then lost track of him. Better start thinking about how to find 'im again. Anything about what you did to the souls that can be tracked? And what's this about a bird companion?"

ItamiAPP 11:41 PM Itami watches Dorjan's hand closely, bracing herself for one nasty shock. It'd be right up there with taking a shovel to the face. She can still feel that pain just thinking about it. "Not much. I only adjusted the bottle so that it could be just strong enough to pull the following souls back. It was highly reliant on being close enough to them to do that. You just so happened to be distant enough from them for the effect of your token to lose some of its strength."

She gave it some thought. "There's nothing stopping them from escaping the bottle if the pull of yours is stronger. It wasn't a very good bind, just a good patch job I put on it. I suppose if I also had something of relevance to the person, I could find them easily enough," she added. "And the bird is...just a bird. I called it a companion, but I don't know what it is. Pet, annoyance, companion, they all start to blend together at some point."

LeithAPP 5:14 PM Leith leaves the comfort of Crimson Wolfos to explore and possibly find some fish. She slinks into the zoras domain proper, ignoring all the stalfos. Until she comes across a witch and a wizzrobe having an argument.

"How interesting.." she thinks to herself as she finds a comfortable spot to sit and watch.

DorjanAPP 6:21 PM Dorjan shakes his head. "This thing doesn't pull so much as call. The souls are compelled to gather to it by the oaths they took in life. If they could get to it, they would, doesn't matter how far away it is." He shrugs. "But that doesn't matter much. So they're stuck in a bottle? Smash the bottle, simple as that. We just gotta find it. So what's this guy who had it look like? Can't be too many places he could be hiding, what with you breathers' unfortunate dependence on air."

ItamiAPP 8:21 PM "Hmm, good question. What did he look like?" Itami wondered. "Well, I can't recall right off hand, but if you find a talking bird that isn't one of the larger variety, you've probably found him. Some sort of raven, crow, guay, something," she shrugged. "That bird isn't hard to miss. Only one I know like that. So, I'd start looking over people's shoulders. That should narrow your search down."

DorjanAPP 9:17 PM Dorjan would grimace doubtfully if he had a mouth. B/ "For somebody you foisted something valuable on, you sure don't remember much about this guy. How were you planning on getting the souls back if you don't even know his face?" He folds his arms. "Still, a talking bird? That oughta be easy enough to track down. Even peasants would notice something like that. We just gotta roast some toes until they sing." Dorjan's eyes crinkle smirkingly. "Arright, let's start lookin', toots. Looks like that mountain's still high an' dry, my guess is he's there since it's by where the Shadow Temple was. Unless you got any better ideas?" Dorjan starts rising into the air, keeping an expectant gaze on Itami.

ItamiAPP 3:16 PM "Look, I was there looking for materials then some adventurers decided they wanted to do some grave robbing, so I joined in. The whole party was an assortment of all Hyrule had to offer. I figured if they took all the hits up front, I'd be safe to pick up the pieces. Didn't happen that way," Itami mounted up onto her broom.

"I can't remember because I didn't care about who I was with. I just helped them survive long enough to get what I wanted. Didn't know you'd be there, but isn't that how adventurers go?" Sure rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, that's a good place to start looking, sure. Close enough and has enough people. Try not to cause them trouble. It might be hard for you, but most Hylians will gladly help if you're cordial enough to them. Let's leave the toe roasting for another time." Once in the air, she shoots off in the direction of Death Mountain.

DorjanAPP 7:06 PM Dorjan rolls his eyes. "Yeah yeah, fortunes of war and all thaaaaawaitasec, that don't add up. How'd that one guy know my name, then?" >/a

Then Itami darts away, and we discover something important. While Dorjan may be a more powerful mage in the broad sense, he's not as fast at flying as a witch's broomstick! "Hey! Wait for me, ya saucy spellgrubber!" >o< After levitating a short way after Itami and seeing that she's clearly still shrinking into the distance, Dorjan pauses and glowers down at the stalfos. "Go on, get goin' for the mountain! I'll meet ya there or along the way!" The stalfos trudge back under the water while Dorjan resumes chasing Itami. They're...probably not going to get to Death Mountain in time to be involved in whatever happens next. e.e

*DEATH MOUNTAIN*

JohnAPP 9:17 PM It's another day on Death Mountain. The people of Kakariko who fled here are scraping together a living, whether by hunting birds, fishing, or farming the bread kelp that started proliferating in the shallows shortly after the flood. There's even some trade going on with the other islands of Hyrule thanks to those who've managed to make or find seaworthy vessels.

John is doing his part by climbing around the lower crags of the mountain in search of seagull eggs. And of course, if a gull tries to attack him or just makes itself an easy target, he'll be bringing home some poultry as well. Scruvo flits over from around the curve of the mountain. "Jackpot just ovah theah, Johnny-boy, looks like a fresh roost." John carefully clambers toward the place Scruvo indicated. "Y'know, not to complain, but I'm a little surprised you're so okay with helping me raid other birds' nests." "Why not? No kin o' mine, not t'mention they ain't charmies. Besides, don't your kind eat beasts that're hairy like y'selves too?" "...Good point."

watermelon:
1

ItamiAPP 3:15 AM Itami swoops in onto what remains of the path up Death Mountain. It became a nice little port area to just drop into for witches and traders alike! Now on land, she dismisses her broom with a snap, poofing it out of sight. "I go on one trip and I run into trouble. It's almost like I attract it," she muttered to herself. "Death Mountain just starts sprouting and flourishing and I just had to know. Curiosity almost got the guay killed. Going after the shiny..." She sighed.

"So, now to get started. Need to find someone to pin this on. Toes might be roasted, but it won't be mine..." She looked around trying to find someone who fit the idea of who that guy was. It could be any adventurer, right?

JohnAPP 10:22 PM John makes his way back to the main path up Death Mountain, which has become a strange mix of makeshift dwelling area and marketplace. There he carefully deposits his catch of eggs with a certain business scrub. "Fifty rupees." "Fifty? Surely you jest, good fellow. You sold me half again as many eggs for that amount last week." "Which is because I could find more eggs last week, which means they're getting rarer, which means they're more valuable now. I know you're going to charge folk something around double for them, too. Be grateful I don't demand a bigger share or decide to sell them myself, I'm only doing business with you because an able-bodied guy like me should spend as much time as possible producing food in a situation like this." The scrub hands over the payment with a wry twitch of his leaf-'stache. "Hmm, you're starting to pick up some business acumen."

As John is finishing up his transaction, Scruvo flits over to perch on a stall near Itami. "G'day, miss! Good t'see y'made it through the whole disastah thingy. 'Course, I'm hearin' almost nobody was lost, an' if anybody could make it through that, it'd be a cinch for somebody wi' your talents, aye? Anyway, I know somebody who'll be glad t'see y'pretty face again!" ;) John walks over and raises his eyebrows, then smiles casually. "Oh hey. Itami, wasn't it? I'm John, in case you've forgotten, and that's Scruvo."

ItamiAPP 8:02 PM "Well, I had to somehow. There's still rupees to be made and I'm not letting go of that so easily," Itami replied back, though her attention was still on the passing crowd. She turned to her side to look for the person who spoke with her and found a bird. "Well, shoot." Raising her eyes from Scruvo to John, she nodded. "Yep, that be me," she smirked. "Now that we've gotten reacquainted, I think I have something that might be yours. We'll have to go to my shop to get it. It's just up the way here."

JohnAPP 6:52 PM John blinks, giving himself a quick patdown. "You do? I hadn't noticed I was missing anything..." Coming to a solid bulge under his cloak, John pulls out a glass bottle and verifies that it still contains several vaguely-defined, ethereal glows. "...Hard to say, but I don't think any of those have gotten out," he mutters. John shrugs and puts the bottle away. "Well, only one way to find out. Even if it turns out to be something that isn't mine, I can keep an eye out for whoever might be missing it."

Scruvo perches on John's shoulder as he walks up the path with Itami. "This is y'big chance, Johnny-boy!" Scruvo hisses in John's ear. "She invited y'back to her place! An' it sounds like she made up an excuse just t'get ya theah!" 8> John rolls his eyes. "You have an over-active imagination, Scruvo," he mutters back.

ItamiAPP 1:24 AM Itami looks towards the bottle that John has and lifts her hand to her head. Yeah, that's the thing. Wait, that's the thing. He has it, which means she's in the clear! Sort of. "Maybe I don't have something that's yours. It just hit me," she stopped and searched the skies. No, he didn't fly behind her... "Well, do you need any potions? I make those. Most I can do with you. In fact, let's go do that. We're still heading to my shop," she hastened her walk and walked to a doorway covered in thick tapestries. "In here," she pushed the sheets away and moved inside.

"What do you need? I have all kinds of potions, my special blend. Smaller doses, but stronger. If you have materials, I'll purchase them off you if they serve in potion making. Quick way to earn rupees and also keeps me stocked without all the frustration of finding it myself. Every so often, I hold classes to teach basic alchemy to people and I do offer weapon enhancement services. I have to keep the rupees rolling in somehow."

JohnAPP 7:58 PM John halt-steps in his stride. Maybe Scruvo actually had better behavioral observation than John did for once. o.O Although Itami's excuses for getting John into her shop probably don't have the motivation Scruvo's hoping for. Warily, John ducks past the tapestries after Itami.

Inside the shop, John slowly scans the surroundings. "Well, at the moment, I don't have any way of going after Dorjan," he muses, "so I'm just doing a day's work at a time to keep myself fed and contribute to general livelihood around here. I guess a stamina potion might be helpful, if they're not too expensive. Weapon enhancement sounds pretty interesting, especially if it'll make it more effective against magical beings...although frankly, after that last encounter, I don't like my odds if I have to confront Dorjan directly, no matter how good my weapons are." e.e;

Scruvo ruffles his tailfeathers. "Erm. Johnny-boy?" "Yes, Scruvo?" "Mentionin' that wizzrobe chappie reminded me, I ain't been payin' too much attention lately to where he is..." John shrugs. "That's okay, we can't go after him anyway." "Roight, but um...he feels pretty close roight now." >.>;

Meanwhile, Dorjan arrives at the base of Death Mountain. There's an immediate stir amongst the crowd at the sighting of a wizzrobe, most of them drawing back and a few brave (or unlucky enough to be unable to retreat further into the mob) souls reaching for whatever's at hand to use as a weapon. c.c; "Cut the heroics, a dozen of ya will burn before you get close," Dorjan snarls. "Just tell me what I wanna know and nobody needs to get hurt -- today anyway. I'm looking for a witch who got here a little bit ahead of me. Red hair, greenish skin, yadda yadda, Demise I hate repeating myself. Who saw 'er?!" >:P

ItamiAPP 12:10 AM "You feel him? That's...good to know, but also not good. If you think he's close, he's probably here. I didn't even know you had any intentions of going after him and now hearing it, I think it's incredibly stupid, but..." Itami tsked and sighed to herself. "He likely is here. He found me while I was out and about and remembered who I was and so he tailed me to try and find you two. I flew off trying to create some distance, but it didn't quite work, so, here we are."

She sets out a couple stamina potions on her sales counter. "I could provide you some potions for enhancements and they should be enough to slow him down, but not stop him. I have stronger brews that can withstand that test, but they'd have to be more customized and that takes time." She thought to herself for a few moments while searching over her collection. "He supposedly had stalfos at his command, so that's also a problem. I feel just as stupid for suggesting this, but you two might need to find yourselves a disguise of some kind. Don't know what to do about that traceability thing, but you two have been at this long enough that you've got ideas, I hope."

JohnAPP 10:27 PM Ohhhhhhh keese clippings. @.@ John chances a look outside and sees that there's some sort of disturbance down the path. "You couldn't have told me that in the first place!?" John hisses, ducking back inside. "People are probably gonna DIE here!" >.<; "Easy, Johnny-boy," Scruvo says placatingly. "She's 'elpin' ya now, ain't she? An' we wouldn't 'ave been able t'stop 'im from raisin' 'is doomsday army wi'out her."

John grimaces in uncertainty, then grabs one of the potions and quaffs it. "We've got to get him away from the crowds," he exhales while stuffing the other potion into his pack. "Even if it means I die and fail my vow, I can't hide amongst innocents. It wouldn't work anyway, he'll kill everyone on this mountain if he thinks that's what he has to do to get what he wants."

Down at the mountain base, there are of course enough people who know about Itami's presence that at least one of them is panicked enough to blurt out what they know to try and appease the wizzrobe. "The witch?! She's got a shop set up further up the path!" >.> Dorjan floats upward a little. "Good, show me which one and -- " "Hold it!" barks somebody in the crowd made of sterner stuff. "She might be a witch, but she hasn't done anything to deserve being tossed to the wolfos! What do you want with her anyway, wizzrobe?!" Dorjan eye-twitches and starts forming a fireball in his hand. "Lemme explain how this works. *I* ask the questions, and *you* fleshsacks give me the answers I want or find out just how long you'll stay alive and screaming with your skin on fire!" >{

ItamiAPP 8:54 PM "I don't even know either one of you well enough to just walk up and talk about that sort of thing. But, in hindsight, sure, would have been effective. I'm here now trying to work around the obvious problem that has been created," Itami states, watching the two of them leave out of her shop. Least he tried one of the potions. Now it's time to carefully follow up from behind.

Her arrival has her hidden nearby, but not entirely visible. She had to see what would become of this meeting. "Well, I'll be. They have mixed feelings about me," she chuckled. Though, she did find some time to hunker down for some seriousness. Dorjan's threats were very real and she could only provide some defense for a time.

JohnAPP 10:42 PM John looks around for inspiration while trudging toward the crowd. "I'm about to be a huge target, better get some distance," he mutters. "Scruvo, if the worst happens, you need to go back to Loranis and tell them the situation, got it?" "Oh right, I'll be like, 'G'day y'Dukefulness, remembah that soldiah chappie y'banished, he got killed by th'wizzrobe wot stole y'son's soul an' by th'way I've got a lil' slivah of it meself.' Only I probably won't get two words out before they put an arrow through me 'cos I'm a blinkin' guay." :P "Getting words out before people can stop you has never been a problem for you before." e.e "Well excuse me if I still don't feel like bein' a martyr! That's y'problem, Johnny-boy, y'got this lonesome burden mentality! Couldn't ya shove that sense of guilt for EVERYTHING that wizzrobe does undah a rock for once!?" >:P

John pauses and blinks. "Of course...at least it would mean he wouldn't be able to fly much, and I'd know my way around better than him..." Scruvo is forced to flutter off from John's shoulder as John suddenly waves his arms broadly and shouts down the mountainside. "HEY, DORJAN! IT'S ME YOU WANT, RIGHT!? COME AND GET ME!" With that, John ducks into one of the mountain's deeper caverns. "That's not wot I meant an' you know it!" Scruvo squawks. >o<;

Dorjan looks up and past the crowd to see John disappearing into the mountain. "Huh. That turned out easier than expected." Dorjan floats over the crowd, carelessly dropping his fireball toward the midst of it. D8

ItamiAPP 7:08 PM "The bird's got a point. I mean, sometimes it helps being guiltless. Sometimes," Itami muttered to herself from hiding. "That return fire, on the other hand..." She snickered. Didn't see that coming. Impressive.

"Flaming bubbles..."

Leaping out from hiding, she takes her broom and swats that fireball away from the people. It sails through the air and explodes, leaving only the heat and wind to carry over the crowd with a few cinders with how powerful it was. "What is it with this confounding--" Hot. Hot, something is hot, darn it! Her sleeve!

Patting it frantically to get rid of the fire, she realizes that the sleeve isn't the only problem, her broom bristles are getting nice and cozy with some flames also. A quick beating on the ground solves that problem. "Ugh, this is why I can't be bothered with heroics, I'm not cut from that sail cloth," she grumbled. "Well, what're you all standin' around for? Get going and find shelter!"

No need to be told twice. That brush with wizrobe and fire was close enough. The people scramble, finding any source of place they can hide away while other brave souls attempt to alert the local Gorons of the danger, heading up the path.

JohnAPP 11:41 PM John pats his way along the cave wall as quickly as he dares, refraining from using a light (which he must have some form of available, considering he's spent time exploring this place before, right?). Stealth is his best friend right now, and any light bouncing off the cave walls would draw Dorjan straight to him. Now let's see, a right turn here, slight ledge, and -- aha! Here's that little alcove he almost fell into when he first came through here. John lowers himself into the hole and hopes Dorjan will pass by without seeing him, so he can...well, not die at least. c.c; Not sure what else he can accomplish if it works.

Outside, Scruvo perches above the cavern entrance and does his best to look like an ordinary, unobtrusive guay as Dorjan approaches. >.>; Apparently Dorjan either doesn't notice the bird's presence at all or doesn't connect him with what Itami mentioned about a crow companion, because he ducks inside without an upward glance. "You must think I'm some sorta chump," he calls out into the darkness. "I see what you're doin' here. Finangle me into your own turf, stack the deck in your favor. Maybe you've even got a trap set for me. What kinda numskull knows all that and *still* walks right in, huh?" Dorjan holds up a hand with lightning arcing between his fingers to light his way as he stalks down the cavern. "The kind who can take anything a flesh-sack like you can dish out and still feed you your own teeth, that's what." >| (edited)

ItamiAPP 6:51 PM "No! Don't, actually, never mind. Mind yourself on the path, don't get in each other's way and you should be fine. I'll be the eyes in the sky, I suppose," Itami grumbled. Always paired up with dead weight, it seems.

Falling rocks still happened further up the path, here. This is Death Mountain, after all. Birds, lizards and butterflies dotted the way, but so did chus and keese. These are the dangers she was talking about. "INCOMING!"

And octoroks. The other kind of falling rock is one that flies at you.

"We're almost to the city. Keep at it," she tried to encourage, using her abilities sparingly. She isn't here to be a shield.

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DicebotAPP 10:59 PM @aubrey rolled 2 Dice 1d8 Rolls 2

aubrey:musical\_note: 11:00 PM /roll 1d5

DicebotAPP 11:00 PM @aubrey rolled 2 Dice 1d5 Rolls 2

aubrey:musical\_note: 11:01 PM /roll 1d16

DicebotAPP 11:01 PM @aubrey rolled 14 Dice 1d16 Rolls 14

aubrey:musical\_note: 11:05 PM (OOC: Mostly for my log, that was John doing stealth (2 + 2 = 4), Dorjan rolling just his base to discover John (9), then attacking with an elemental blast (6 + 2 = 8), and John spending 2 awesome-sauce points to dodge it (2 + 14 = 16). I got the base rolls wrong there, they should've been 5 higher in range on each one, but oh well.)

JohnAPP 11:57 PM (OOC: May have written myself into a bit of a corner here. I hate to make the scene about just my own characters and leave Itami out of the action.)

John tries to will his heart into beating slower and inhales quietly, then holds his breath. O~O; The stark brightness of the lightning throws sharp but jittering shadows from rock formations onto the walls outside John's hiding place as Dorjan rounds the corner. The wizzrobe walks brashly, but stumblingly, having difficulty with the uneven ground. "Demise, I hate places without enough room to levitate. When I catch that Hylian I'm gonna AAARGH!!!" Both Dorjan and John have a moment of shock as the wizzrobe's foot plunges into the hole John is hiding in. \*.\*; But it stops an inch short of touching John's face, and after a moment it lifts back out again. "Arright, nuts to all this hiking!" Dorjan fades from view, and the shadows suddenly are being cast from the next corner of the cavern. Then the light leaves entirely, and John is left in the darkness.

John knows this cave doesn't go on for too much longer, so Dorjan will be doubling back and searching more carefully soon. After resuming normal breathing with as little gasping as he can manage, he starts pulling himself up out of the hole. If he's really, *really* lucky, maybe he can stage an ambush as Dorjan comes back around the corner and –

**KRICK!**

The snapping of a spur of rock that got caught on John's boot echoes through the cave. The baleful glare returns just as John gets to his feet. "So *there* you are, turkey!" >D John's soldier training flares through his synapses, and he throws himself sideways in time to avoid a discharge of lightning. #.#;

Meanwhile, some of the Gorons on guard outside Goron City have noticed the sudden surge of people rushing toward them. They're aware of the mostly-Hylian encampment on the slopes of their mountain and are on friendly terms with them, but having the whole crowd galloping toward them is a little disconcerting. o.o; Still, it's not too hard to tell they're in distress, not mounting a charge. The sergeant in charge rolls down the path to meet them and uncurls in front of them. "Easy now! What are you all running from!?"

ItamiAPP 6:05 PM "Wizzrobe!" The a few people cry, each jockeying for attention. Itami comes rushing in soon afterward, clearing a path through the crowd. "Pipe down, will you! Only one person needs to answer and that person will be me." She isn't much for elemental magic, but a small ball of fire ought to do the trick to shut them up even quicker. When the group backs off and caps their voices, she continues.

"There's a wizzrobe on this mountain shaking up the place. Causing a disturbance, has a nice following of undead that have come with him too. The people need help getting rid of him. There's already one person facing him and I doubt he can hold out for much longer."

aubrey:musical\_note: 6:42 PM (OOC: Base roll for John...) 6:43 /roll 1d10

DicebotAPP 6:43 PM @aubrey rolled 5 Dice 1d10 Rolls 5

aubrey:musical\_note: 6:46 PM (OOC: Rank 2 Swordplay attack...) 6:46 /roll 1d8

DicebotAPP 6:46 PM @aubrey rolled 4 Dice 1d8 Rolls 4

aubrey:musical\_note: 6:46 PM (OOC: Base roll for Dorjan...) 6:46 /roll 1d14

DicebotAPP 6:46 PM @aubrey rolled 2 Dice 1d14 Rolls 2

aubrey:musical\_note: 6:48 PM (Rank 2 Teleportation dodge...) 6:48 /roll 1d16

DicebotAPP 6:48 PM @aubrey rolled 5 Dice 1d16 Rolls 5

aubrey:musical\_note: 6:50 PM (OOC: Whoo, John actually hits. n.n Base roll for Dorjan...) 6:50 /roll 1d14

DicebotAPP 6:50 PM @aubrey rolled 4 Dice 1d14 Rolls 4

aubrey:musical\_note: 6:52 PM (OOC: Rank 3 Elemental Blast attack...) 6:52 /roll 1d14

DicebotAPP 6:52 PM @aubrey rolled 5 Dice 1d14 Rolls 5

aubrey:musical\_note: 6:52 PM (OOC: Base roll for John...) 6:53 /roll 1d10

DicebotAPP 6:53 PM @aubrey rolled 8 Dice 1d10 Rolls 8

aubrey:musical\_note: 6:53 PM (OOC: Rank 0 Swordplay dodge...) 6:53 /roll 1d4

DicebotAPP 6:53 PM @aubrey rolled 1 Dice 1d4 Rolls 1

aubrey:musical\_note: 6:54 PM (OOC: Good thing I couldn't possibly fail that last one. X) )

JohnAPP 11:17 PM The Goron sergeant grimaces. "Wizzrobe, huh? Blasted magic-users. Oh, er, present company excepted, of course." He turns and waves up the path. "Come on, brothers, we've got trouble down the mountain!" Several Gorons roll down to join the sergeant in heading down the trail. A few Hylians also double back, most likely including whoever spoke up to question Dorjan earlier.

After Dorjan discharges his lightning in a blinding flash, the cave goes suddenly dark again, unsurprisingly. Dorjan starts charging up some more to see the results of his attack, only to realize he's hearing altogether too many footsteps for a zapped Hylian and they're coming toward him. The renewed light illuminates John lunging in with sword drawn. >\_< Dorjan teleports away, but not before John's longsword scores a solid stroke on the wizzrobe's side. DX<

John stumbles to retain footing after the weird sensation of having his target dematerialize mid-cleave. o.o; Still, he *felt* that! He actually got a good hit in! Maybe he really has a chance to -- a quickly-intensifying glare from behind John warns him to move, and he ducks around the corner just in time to avoid Dorjan's next ball of lightning. C.C; Reality check, he's still at quite a disadvantage here. And now Dorjan is between John and the cave exit.

Meanwhile...

The troop of stalfos plod along the underwater landscape, heading mulishly toward Death Mountain following the furrow in the ground that used to be a river. The stairs leading up toward Kakariko Village are visible on their right, but they keep moving northward, toward the bridge. Why? Because stal-kind can't pass through a river, everybody knows *that*. :P

Fallon:fireball: 2:34 AM (OOC: Oh my grief, that call back to OOT was legendary. XD Images flashed in my mind of watching them fall into the river. Hahahaha.)

ItamiAPP 2:43 AM "No offense taken," Itami shrugged it off. She has used her magic for...well, reasons before, but she might be trying to fix that, maybe. "Seems we've got our help. Time to go save the lad."

Alright, with that taken care of, she can head down the way along with the section. Flying off after them, she hops off her broom and unsummons it as she heads into the cave with the rest of them. While doing so, she starts working up some shielding to cover the squad just in case some wayward or intentional magic comes their way. Besides, she felt that lightning discharge. Both of them, really. Not the kind of thing you want to be hit with, after all.

"Prepare yourselves. He is no one to take lightly," she muttered audibly enough for the group to hear.

aubrey:musical\_note: 1:45 PM (OOC: Wow, and here I was worried it would come off as pretentious trivia-mongering. X) Glad you enjoyed it.) (Base roll for John...) /roll 1d10

DicebotAPP 1:45 PM @aubrey rolled 9 Dice 1d10 Rolls 9

aubrey:musical\_note: 1:48 PM (OOC: Rank 1 Archery attack...) /roll 1d4

DicebotAPP 1:48 PM @aubrey rolled 1 Dice 1d4 Rolls 1

aubrey:musical\_note: 1:48 PM (OOC: Base roll for Dorjan...) /roll 1d14

DicebotAPP 1:48 PM @aubrey rolled 12 Dice 1d14 Rolls 12

aubrey:musical\_note: 1:49 PM (OOC: He's using teleportation to dodge as usual, but no need to roll it, the base roll was enough to protect him on its own. Another base roll for his attack...) /roll 1d14

DicebotAPP 1:49 PM @aubrey rolled 7 Dice 1d14 Rolls 7

aubrey:musical\_note: 1:52 PM (OOC: Rank 2 Elemental Blast combined with Rank 0 Teleportation for extra advantage...) /roll 1d12

DicebotAPP 1:52 PM @aubrey rolled 11 Dice 1d12 Rolls 11

aubrey:musical\_note: 1:52 PM /roll 1d4

DicebotAPP 1:52 PM @aubrey rolled 4 Dice 1d4 Rolls 4

aubrey:musical\_note: 1:53 PM (OOC: Hooboy. X) Base roll for John's defense...) /roll 1d10

DicebotAPP 1:53 PM @aubrey rolled 4 Dice 1d10 Rolls 4

aubrey:musical\_note: 1:54 PM (OOC: Okay, no possible way John can get out of that.)

JohnAPP 2:40 PM John breathes heavily as the cave goes dark again. Okay, there's too much distance between them now to cover between blasts -- better go for a ranged attack. John leans his sword against the wall and unshoulders his bow. After nocking an arrow to string, he sucks in a quick gulp of air and turns around the corner, pointing and waiting for the light.

...The light doesn't come. Instead, John feels a gathering cold behind him. C.C; He starts to shift, but a frozen blast suddenly knocks him against the wall. X~X; Having teleported to the corner of the bend before John took aim, Dorjan summons a quick flame to see the results of his attack. "Heh. Thought I heard ya move." >}

Speaking of hearing things move, though, there are approaching footsteps becoming apparent and even a hint of flickering torchlight on the walls back at the last turning. Dorjan scowls, then grows the flame into a fireball. "Out wid it. Where's my souls!? The witch said you had 'em!" Ah, that's what this is about...John wishes he'd hidden the jar in the crevasse before coming back out. =.=;

aubrey:musical\_note: 2:42 PM (OOC: Feel free to arrive at the scene of the confrontation and take whatever actions you wish in the next pose.)

Fallon:fireball: 6:36 PM (OOC: Should I use the system to do the rolls or just assume actions? Lol.)

aubrey:musical\_note: 8:00 PM (OOC: Up to you. I use the system to amuse myself because I invented it and it helps me generate interesting outcomes without feeling like I'm favoring my protagonist too much, but it's unrealistic to expect others to play by it in this asynchronous environment, unless they like it enough to learn how it works themselves. Can't be waiting poses on me to explain your options and tell you what you'd roll based on your decisions.)

Fallon:fireball: 12:32 AM (OOC: Fair enough. :smile: )

ItamiAPP 12:56 AM Itami already had the shielding up. It's the best she could do at the moment. Keep them protected long enough to prepare in this fight. Compromising as that is, she'll need to concentrate on that and leave the others to take care of the rest. When they arrive, the Gorons begin the charge first, knowing these tunnels, they tuck and roll, building up their momentum as they team up with one another to launch a pincer attack against Dorjan. "I've got you covered. Get the man!" She called to the others. Their orders in mind, they move in, hoping the assault can distract the wizzrobe long enough for them to extract John and help him make his escape.

aubrey:musical\_note: 8:28 PM (OOC: Base roll for Dorjan...) /roll 1d14

DicebotAPP 8:28 PM @aubrey rolled 2 Dice 1d14 Rolls 2

aubrey:musical\_note: 8:29 PM (OOC: Rank 2 Teleportation dodge...) /roll 1d16

DicebotAPP 8:29 PM @aubrey rolled 14 Dice 1d16 Rolls 14

aubrey:musical\_note: 8:29 PM (OOC: Base roll for Gorons...) /roll 1d10

DicebotAPP 8:30 PM @aubrey rolled 5 Dice 1d10 Rolls 5

aubrey:musical\_note: 8:34 PM (OOC: They can't catch Dorjan with that, even with maximum effort and a team bonus. Base roll for Dorjan's attack...) /roll 1d14

DicebotAPP 8:35 PM @aubrey rolled 2 Dice 1d14 Rolls 2

aubrey:musical\_note: 8:37 PM (OOC: Rank 2 Elemental blast...) /roll 1d12

DicebotAPP 8:37 PM @aubrey rolled 10 Dice 1d12 Rolls 10

aubrey:musical\_note: 8:38 PM (OOC: -1d2 for each extra target, namely three Gorons on top of John...) /roll -3d2

DicebotAPP 8:39 PM @aubrey rolled 4 Dice 3d2 Rolls 1 1 2

aubrey:musical\_note: 8:45 PM (OOC: Oh wait, that's supposed to be 1d3. X) ) /roll -3d3

DicebotAPP 8:45 PM @aubrey rolled 6 Dice 3d3 Rolls 2 1 3

aubrey:musical\_note: 8:50 PM (OOC: Gorons' base roll...) /roll 1d10

DicebotAPP 8:50 PM @aubrey rolled 8 Dice 1d10 Rolls 8

aubrey:musical\_note: 8:59 PM (OOC: They have -1d3 for protecting John too, but even if they roll 3 on that and 1 on their skill roll, they'd succeed. John won't take an action this round.)

JohnAPP 10:24 PM Dorjan raises his fireball. "No stalling! Tell me or -- " Help for John arrives faster than either he or Dorjan anticipated, as a trio of Gorons come rolling speedily through the cavern. One of them even veers along the wall as they converge on Dorjan. o.O; Dorjan fades away before the Gorons can crash into him, reappearing back at the earlier bend of the tunnel. As much because he has it ready as anything else, Dorjan hurls his fireball at the group. >\_<; The Gorons simply stand hunched with their backs turned, protecting themselves and John with their rocky exterior. After getting flash-frozen, the ambient heat kind of feels good for John. =.= He shakes himself to clear his head, gets to his feet, and grabs his sword.

Meanwhile, Dorjan glances aside at the others in the troop of reinforcements, recognizing Itami amongst them. "You too, toots?" he grumbles. "I get that you'd rather keep the souls for yourself, but now it just feels like you're sticking you neck out for this schlub like some kinda *hero*." >P

ItamiAPP 11:36 PM "Hero??? You sting me with that word," Itami wasn't a hero! Well, she didn't feel like one, at least. Still on the fence about it. What's the benefit? Just /helping/ people? No, that wasn't rewarding at all. There's rupees that need to be made. This is just a service, yeah. An exchange, of sorts. Yep, that was enough convincing... "This is just business. Nothing more, nothing less." Hero, feh.

She knew this was going to be tricky to pull off, what with the magic and the heat and the ice and the everything else going on in here. It was getting a little cramped, but... "Grab on and hold tight." She instructed John while whipping out her broom and mounting it towards the front. "I'm going to try and get us some distance. We might not get to the entrance, but we'll at least get far."

aubrey:musical\_note: 6:41 PM (OOC: Base roll for villagers...) /roll 1d8

DicebotAPP 6:41 PM @aubrey rolled 3 Dice 1d8 Rolls 3

aubrey:musical\_note: 6:42 PM (OOC: Rank 0 attack with improvised weaponry...) /roll 1d2

DicebotAPP 6:43 PM @aubrey rolled 2 Dice 1d2 Rolls 2

aubrey:musical\_note: 6:43 PM (OOC: Base roll for Dorjan...) /roll 1d14

DicebotAPP 6:43 PM @aubrey rolled 6 Dice 1d14 Rolls 6

aubrey:musical\_note: 6:44 PM (OOC: Successful defense. Base roll for Gorons...) /roll 1d10

DicebotAPP 6:44 PM @aubrey rolled 3 Dice 1d10 Rolls 3

aubrey:musical\_note: 6:53 PM (OOC: Rank 1 attack...) /roll 1d6

DicebotAPP 6:53 PM @aubrey rolled 2 Dice 1d6 Rolls 2

aubrey:musical\_note: 6:54 PM (OOC: Base roll for Dorjan...) /roll 1d14

DicebotAPP 6:54 PM @aubrey rolled 3 Dice 1d14 Rolls 3

aubrey:musical\_note: 6:56 PM (OOC: Rank 2 Teleportation dodge, with a 2d3 penalty because there's three of them attacking at once...) /roll 1d16

DicebotAPP 6:57 PM @aubrey rolled 14 Dice 1d16 Rolls 14

aubrey:musical\_note: 6:57 PM /roll 2d3

DicebotAPP 6:57 PM @aubrey rolled 2 Dice 2d3 Rolls 1 1

aubrey:musical\_note: 6:57 PM (OOC: Successful defense. Base roll for John...) /roll 1d10

DicebotAPP 6:58 PM @aubrey rolled 8 Dice 1d10 Rolls 8

aubrey:musical\_note: 6:59 PM (OOC: Rank 2 Swordplay attack, with a 1d2 bonus from riding with Itami...) /roll 1d8

DicebotAPP 7:00 PM @aubrey rolled 5 Dice 1d8 Rolls 5

aubrey:musical\_note: 7:00 PM (OOC: Base roll for Dorjan...) /roll 1d14

DicebotAPP 7:00 PM @aubrey rolled 11 Dice 1d14 Rolls 11

aubrey:musical\_note: 7:00 PM (OOC: Rank 0 Teleportation dodge...) /roll 1d4

DicebotAPP 7:00 PM @aubrey rolled 2 Dice 1d4 Rolls 2

aubrey:musical\_note: 7:02 PM (OOC: Successful defense, just barely. Base roll for Dorjan's attack...) /roll 1d14

DicebotAPP 7:02 PM @aubrey rolled 7 Dice 1d14 Rolls 7

aubrey:musical\_note: 7:07 PM (OOC: Rank 1 lightning blast attack...) /roll 1d10

DicebotAPP 7:08 PM @aubrey rolled 7 Dice 1d10 Rolls 7

aubrey:musical\_note: 7:09 PM (OOC: Oh, and I forgot to do that bonus from Itami, so John's attack would hit Dorjan. Anyway, base roll for Itami defending...) /roll 1d11

DicebotAPP 7:09 PM @aubrey rolled 6 Dice 1d11 Rolls 6

aubrey:musical\_note: 7:12 PM (OOC: Rank 2 Witchcraft defense...) /roll 1d24

DicebotAPP 7:12 PM @aubrey rolled 15 Dice 1d24 Rolls 15

aubrey:musical\_note: 7:15 PM (OOC: 1d3 penalty since she's defending John as well, but it couldn't result in failure at this point anyway. I'm assuming Itami doesn't mind me twinking her a bit since her last pose made it fairly clear what her intended next move is. ;) Also, she can decide in her pose how her defending against the lightning blast plays out.)

JohnAPP 8:15 PM "Well good, I was starting to worry we weren't *compatible*," Dorjan chuckles. "Business I can understand. But still, our apparent cross-objectives could make our relationship *dicey*." >}

"Get 'im!" barks the impromptu leader of the Kakariko volunteers. The brave but undisciplined souls charge in shouting, armed with pitchforks, pot lids, butcher knives, and the like. >XO The Gorons, being the guards of their city, make a much more organized assault, trudging in from Dorjan's other side with flinty fists held ready. >[ Dorjan, of course, simply fades from view again before any attacks can reach him.

Meanwhile, John finds Itami offering him a ride. He hesitates for a split-second, but decides this is no time for arguing, especially since he's holding the thing Dorjan is after in the first place. "I sure hope you've got more in mind than leaving them to fight him on their own," John mutters as he steps over the broom and wraps an arm around Itami's waist.

After they take off and maneuver past the knot of confused Hylians and Gorons robbed of their target, John grips his sword tightly and peers intently over Itami's shoulder. Sure enough, Drojan rematerializes in the tunnel ahead of them. "Moblin muck, too many peons in here to focus on -- GAAAAHHHHH!" DX< John's sword scores along the wizzrobe's arm and back in passing. "I'M GOING TO BRING YOUR SORRY CARCASS BACK TO LIFE FOR TARGET PRACTICE, MEATSACK!!!" Dorjan yells while flinging a lightning ball after the flying broom's occupants.

ItamiAPP 11:52 AM Caves are great! So great, in fact, they offer limited space and hazards to navigate through! In other words, they're awful for flying in. "More in mind? Not really, everything that's happened so far has been in the moment." Speaking of in the moment, Itami flies directly towards and past Dorjan only to find her broom struck by the fringes of that lightning attack. Now she's got a burning stick of wood in her hands.

"Brace!" She calls out letting the broom fly off to smack against a nearby stone. She isn't much for the elemental magic. Never quite got the hang of it, but even somewhat skilled works in a pinch. She fires off a burst of wind to cushion their fall. It won't be graceful, but at least they won't feel the worst of what the ground has to offer.

"Nnnngh. Does he ever run out of energy?" She muttered to herself, rolling her head back to see the cave exit. They're very close. "...Hope you can run fast," she gathered to her feet. Time to get the others out of here. Somehow...

The fighting force of the Gorons and volunteers are once again back to chasing the target instead of holding him off. The Gorons, well accustomed to this area all curl up ad roll off in synch, taking the ground and walls to cover all sides while the volunteers rush forward from the rear. Some take to getting creative by picking up stones and slinging them towards Dorjan once he's in sight as others move in with their spears to thrust at him.

"This ought to do it," she manifests a barrier between herself and John. "Head to the City! It's your best bet, right now!"

aubrey:musical\_note: 1:31 PM (OOC: Base roll for villagers...) /roll 1d8

DicebotAPP 1:32 PM @aubrey rolled 1 Dice 1d8 Rolls 1

aubrey:musical\_note: 1:33 PM (OOC: Rank 1 Improvised weaponry attack...) /roll 1d4

DicebotAPP 1:33 PM @aubrey rolled 2 Dice 1d4 Rolls 2

aubrey:musical\_note: 1:33 PM (OOC: Base roll for Gorons...) /roll 1d10

DicebotAPP 1:33 PM @aubrey rolled 9 Dice 1d10 Rolls 9

aubrey:musical\_note: 1:35 PM (OOC: Rank 2 Goron sumo attack...) /roll 1d8

DicebotAPP 1:35 PM @aubrey rolled 3 Dice 1d8 Rolls 3

aubrey:musical\_note: 1:35 PM (OOC: Base roll for Dorjan...) /roll 1d14

DicebotAPP 1:36 PM @aubrey rolled 3 Dice 1d14 Rolls 3

aubrey:musical\_note: 1:38 PM (OOC: Dorjan uses that one to evade villagers' attack, no need for ability roll. Another base roll for defending against Gorons...) /roll 1d14

DicebotAPP 1:38 PM @aubrey rolled 14 Dice 1d14 Rolls 14

aubrey:musical\_note: 1:39 PM (OOC: Automatic success there too.)

JohnAPP 2:24 PM John drops his sword just before bailing from the broomstick to minimize the chance that he or Itami will have unfortunate contact with it during the tumble. X/ He comes to a stop after a surprisingly soft impact on the stones -- not pain-free, but without significant damage. Handy stuff, magic. c.c Except when it's your enemy that has it, of course.

Dorjan turns his attention back to the noisy mob momentarily. He deflects the rocks thrown at him with a careless telekinetic push, then vanishes once more as the Gorons crash in on his position. Meanwhile, John picks himself up and hears Itami's directive. "Wha? Hey, what's this?" John pushes on the barrier. He felt bad about leaving a bunch of strangers to fight Dorjan and resented Itami for pushing him into it, but somehow her facing the danger with them, with John being the only one excluded from harm, makes it worse. !o!

...And then, seeing the villagers and Gorons casting about for their disappeared target, John realizes the situation is actually the exact opposite. :cold\_sweat: He turns around and sees Dorjan at the cave entrance, eyes blazing malevolently. +.+ He must have teleported before the barrier went up...and as luck would have it, John's sword is on the *other* side of the barrier. x~x Drawing a deep though shaky breath, John prepares to dodge for his life.

But Dorjan doesn't attack. Instead, he levitates off the ground and floats away down the mountain.

ItamiAPP 6:04 PM Itami stared at the sword, then to John, then the sword again, then back to John. She had expectations and well, they fell flat. Terribly; and now with the target on the other side of the barrier, she has to drop the entire thing! She rushed to dispel the barrier, but it seems the effort wasn't entirely needed. Dorjan has disappeared and she has a sinking feeling on what's to happen next.

The fighters all begin to gather 'round along with the Gorons. "You don't suspect he's...goin' to the settlement?" One of the ragtag band inquired. "Hmm. We've seen that settlement. Didn't think too much of it. Darunia felt it best to let you all be, but if you've got problems like that, it means we've got problems like that. Death Mountain has had its share of problems since this water came out of nowhere, but it looks like we might need to get more involved here. Didn't think this water was going to do this much. At the very least, the caverns are still good. still can get rock sirloin and feed ourselves, but, well, with the rest of Hyrule in this state doesn't bode well for us either way," the leader of the Goron squad remarks.

"We'll provide an escort down, just in case. Then we'll report to Darunia about what we experienced here."

Itami sighs with mild relief. "Might be for the best. Fighting that wizrobe is frustrating and not ideal. Last I saw there were also stalfos with him and some other undead. I've no idea if they have made it to shore yet, but it may be we'll need to check." She gives a passive glance down to the area of the settlement. She doesn't see any smoke yet, but that doesn't mean much.

JohnAPP 10:03 PM John picks up his sword once the barrier's down and stumbles out of the cave, feeling like he's in a dream. o.o; It's a little hard to believe he isn't dead right now. And he's chasing after the thing that he'd expected to make him dead. =.=

Once he's back out in the sunlight, he hears a fluttering of wings and a familiar weight on his shoulder. "Oi, Johnny-boy! Y'ain't roasted! Me heart stopped when that wizzrobe chappie came out, figgahed only one of ya would!" 8O John squints, still adjusting to the brightness after the little adventure in the dark. "That's what I would have thought too. Where'd he go?" Scruvo points a wing. "All th'way down the mountain, into th'watah."

Meanwhile, Dorjan runs into his stalfos at the submerged base of the mountain trail. "Change of plans, boys. Come on." The wizzrobe leads his retinue back down to the watery town, through to the graveyard...and into the Shadow Temple.

**ZORA'S DOMAIN**

DorjanAPP 9:41 PM Man, getting around this land is a drag lately. :P It's cold, it's dark, and there isn't much around to pick on to alleviate the boredom. Except fish, but where's the fun in that? You zap 'em and they die, sure, but that just means they turn belly-up with the same dumb expression they were already wearing. :P

And it's such slow going! I mean, if Dorjan really wanted to, he could teleport every ten meters and the water wouldn't make much of a difference to him. But then he'd be leaving his bodyguards behind. You'd think water resistance wouldn't matter much to skeletal constructs, but no, the stalfos plod along the flooded field as if their bones remember what it was like to wade in water and what passes for a mind in their skulls can't get them to swish along any faster. >.< And redeads? Fuhgeddaboudit. Dorjan pulled the souls out of those skinsacks and left them marinating in the brine long ago.

But finally they've come up on one of the elevated sections of land and scaled its underwater slope. Dorjan emerges from the sea and onto the shore of Zora's Domain. "Arright, stand back and let me do the talking, breathers can be so life-ist." The stalfos remain half-submerged in the surf with seaweed dangling from their arms and ribs while the wizzrobe shouts out to anybody nearby. "Hey, rubes! Get me somebody halfway intelligent to talk to, I got questions!"

ItamiAPP 12:01 AM Well, things got really weird on Death Mountain. A good weird, the kind of weird that Itami is suspicious about, but good. Some overwhelming amount of magic just struck the place and the surrounding area and next thing she knows, sprouting grasses and stems are rising up from the ground next to her. She doesn't know what caused it, but she took that as a sign to just...leave. Maybe she just needed to leave. She didn't have any intention of doing so, but well, when magic does strange things, probably best not to be there when they get stranger.

So, she closed up shop--temporarily--and took to her broom to fly across the...waters. Yeah, land is in short supply, right now. Luckily, some parts were left somewhat unscathed and she found herself over the area of the Domain. "I suppose those water dwellers would be the ones best to fare in this situation. Granted, these ain't the salty kind and the brine is thick in the air in some places," she muttered to herself in passing. Maybe they aren't quite as lucky as first perceived. "That magic can be felt here too. Just what was that?"

DorjanAPP 6:52 PM The Zora who happened to be on the scene are of course quite inclined to regard a wizzrobe and a bunch of stalfos as a threat, but somebody relatively high up in the chain of command was able to prevent an immediate clash. The wizzrobe is talking to them (however rudely) and the stalfos are standing still, so presumably there's some chance of getting them to move on without risking life and limb. After the leader steps forward, cautiously backed by others with spears at the ready, Dorjan lays out his objective. "I'm lookin' for a witch. Not just any witch, one particular one. Red hair bunched up like a buncha snakes, kinda greenish skin, pointy nose, yellow robes last I saw 'er, cute butt. Ringin' any bells, fin-face?"

ItamiAPP 12:44 AM The Zora looked to be puzzled and perhaps even mildly disgusted at the way the witch was described, but his answer was about to be a solid 'no' until a person who fit that description came swooping by. He hesitated and cast his eyes upward, staring at the sky and checking off all the, well, features described. "I believe she is the one you're looking for," he pointed upward at her. With his job done, he stepped back along with his soldiers, cautiously watching Dorjan and his bunch.

Up above, Itami was still trying to make heads or tails of what she felt up on the mountain, but now there were greater concerns like why a bunch of Stalfos were down below and Zora and...what happened here? A fight? The place looks to be a mess. She decides to swoop in closer to get a better visual of the area. "More magic, but not the kind I felt." Hopping off her broom, she goes to check on an ice block nearby. "Now that I'm down here, this whole place has had strange magic touching it."

DorjanAPP 10:28 PM Dorjan snorts. "Oh cummaaaahn, you think I'm gonna fall for the oldest trick in the book? 'Look up there!' 'Huh?' WHAMMO! I can't decide which is a better reason to fry you fishies, the fact you're tryin' to whack me or the insult to my intelligence! I oughta -- " A bony finger taps Dorjan on the shoulder. "What?! Can't you see I'm intimidating plebes here?!" The finger points at an upward angle. Itami is now low enough for Dorjan to spot her without completely looking away from the Zora. "...Huh. Well, lucky for you, I now have bigger priorities." The wizzrobe fades away. The stalfos wade through the shallows toward Itami.

A moment later, Dorjan fades back into existence leaning against the ice block Itami is examining. "Well now, what are the odds? First place I stop by, and here you are. You wouldn't be *followin'* me, wouldja hot stuff?" ;]

ItamiAPP 9:51 PM Itami was engrossed in her investigation and didn't catch sight of Dorjan until she registered that someone was actually speaking to her. She looked him up and down, "I don't know who got here first, but *following* you is a bit of a reach, don't you think?" She questioned, stepping around the ice block. "So, what do you want?" Cutting straight into it. "And why are your guards wet?"

DorjanAPP 10:16 PM Dorjan chuckles. "Let's not play games, doll, you know what I want. It's cute that you pinched something of mine so I'd have to come see you again, but there are easier ways to get my attention, and I do kinda need those souls back. I wasn't able to harvest nearly as many as I wanted, thanks to your little friends, and now each one counts. So how 'bout bein' a good girl and giving me what's mine?" >) The stalfos turn their skulls to look at each other, as though mildly embarassed by Itami's unanswered question about their dampened state. >.>

ItamiAPP 1:17 AM "I took something of yours?" Itami questioned, eyes narrowing at the thought of it. "I don't even remember what I took, but I'd be willing to part with it for something in exchange," she offered. "Souls for spoils," she began. "I am in need of rare medicinal ingredients and I imagine you might be able to help with that. You provide me with some and I can return yours. Sounds like a reasonable deal to me."

DorjanAPP 10:02 AM **CRRRACK!!!** A large fault appears in the ice block, originating where Dorjan's hand rests on it. "I told you not to play games with me," Dorjan says, his voice growing less playful. "You think I'm some sword-toting schmuck you can send on fetch quests? I'm a busy warlock and I don't like delays." Dorjan pulls a glowing crystal orb with whisps floating around it from his cloak. "Only magic would keep those souls from gathering to this orb, and I'm pretty sure none of those other saps that were with you knew squat about magic. So are you gonna give those souls back, or do I gotta get rough?" >/ The stalfos rattle quietly into ready stances.

ItamiAPP 12:17 PM Itami's grip on her broom grew firmer. "You don't need to puff up. I'm not playing games. It's been long enough for me that in between whatever I did before and now is a distant memory. As if all this water and islands haven't shown you as much, it's been a while." She observes the fault in the ice block briefly. So, it is real ice. Well, magical ice, but still impressive. "So, help me to help you. My trade offer is something I need just as much as you need your precious souls. So, we can sit here and fight or we can do business and get this out of the way. For two magic users, it shouldn't be that much of an issue."

DorjanAPP 11:22 PM "Oh what, and you'll MAGICALLY remember what you did with the souls once you have your ingredients!?" >( Dorjan opens his other hand and lightning magic arcs between his fingers. "Last chance, toots. And don't go thinking you can dance with me, that fireball you gave me in the Shadow Temple barely singed my threads." >P

ItamiAPP 12:01 PM "Oh, fine. More work for me," Itami huffed. "You mentioned the Shadow Temple..." She frowned, thinking it over. She had to reach far enough back to remember that time. A very strange time. "...So much damage to that place." She was honestly a little worried those spirits would be upset, but so far, she hasn't had any issues with them. Yet. "I wasn't attacking you at the time, anyway. A fight was never in the cards here. I don't have the souls," she shrugged. "They're elsewhere in the world."

DorjanAPP 7:05 PM "WHERE elsewhere!?" Dorjan snarls. "I toldja, I know ya did something to keep 'em from coming to me! Don't go tellin' me you can't get 'em back, or I won't have any reason not to make ya do an electric jig -- you and all these fishy fools too!"

ItamiAPP 9:22 PM "Well, you got me there. I did do that," Itami shrugged. "I'm not saying I can't get them back, I'd just have to find the one who has them in their possession," she explained. "And I don't know where they are. After that time in the temple, we parted ways and I haven't seen them since. And then all this happened, so it makes it harder. You and I are pretty much in the same boat. If you don't know where that guy and his bird companion are, I don't either and neither do they," she gestured back to the restless Zora. They may not be fond of lightning, but that doesn't mean they won't put up a fight.

"So, let's try not to make more of a mess. I think the goddesses have already proven their point and do you really want to add to what they've already done?" She looked at the ice block. "Except for that. I'm pretty sure they didn't do that," she pointed at the splintered cube. "So, how about playing nice? I don't need potential customers scared away and I don't think you want word of your presence getting around and possibly letting your mark get away."

DorjanAPP 9:58 PM Dorjan's glowing eyes smolder at Itami throughout her explanation. The stalfos remain in their ready stance, although something about their posture suggests they're ready to not only advance, but jump back if need be. >.> When Itami finishes, Dorjan raises his crackling hand...then brings it down!

...To clamp onto Itami's shoulder, with the lightning ceased. "You got moxie, I'll give ya that," Dorjan says, as if through gritted teeth he doesn't have. "Arright, so you unloaded the souls on some patsy and then lost track of him. Better start thinking about how to find 'im again. Anything about what you did to the souls that can be tracked? And what's this about a bird companion?"

ItamiAPP 11:41 PM Itami watches Dorjan's hand closely, bracing herself for one nasty shock. It'd be right up there with taking a shovel to the face. She can still feel that pain just thinking about it. "Not much. I only adjusted the bottle so that it could be just strong enough to pull the following souls back. It was highly reliant on being close enough to them to do that. You just so happened to be distant enough from them for the effect of your token to lose some of its strength."

She gave it some thought. "There's nothing stopping them from escaping the bottle if the pull of yours is stronger. It wasn't a very good bind, just a good patch job I put on it. I suppose if I also had something of relevance to the person, I could find them easily enough," she added. "And the bird is...just a bird. I called it a companion, but I don't know what it is. Pet, annoyance, companion, they all start to blend together at some point."

LeithAPP 5:14 PM Leith leaves the comfort of Crimson Wolfos to explore and possibly find some fish. She slinks into the zoras domain proper, ignoring all the stalfos. Until she comes across a witch and a wizzrobe having an argument.

"How interesting.." she thinks to herself as she finds a comfortable spot to sit and watch.

DorjanAPP 6:21 PM Dorjan shakes his head. "This thing doesn't pull so much as call. The souls are compelled to gather to it by the oaths they took in life. If they could get to it, they would, doesn't matter how far away it is." He shrugs. "But that doesn't matter much. So they're stuck in a bottle? Smash the bottle, simple as that. We just gotta find it. So what's this guy who had it look like? Can't be too many places he could be hiding, what with you breathers' unfortunate dependence on air."

ItamiAPP 8:21 PM "Hmm, good question. What did he look like?" Itami wondered. "Well, I can't recall right off hand, but if you find a talking bird that isn't one of the larger variety, you've probably found him. Some sort of raven, crow, guay, something," she shrugged. "That bird isn't hard to miss. Only one I know like that. So, I'd start looking over people's shoulders. That should narrow your search down."

DorjanAPP 9:17 PM Dorjan would grimace doubtfully if he had a mouth. B/ "For somebody you foisted something valuable on, you sure don't remember much about this guy. How were you planning on getting the souls back if you don't even know his face?" He folds his arms. "Still, a talking bird? That oughta be easy enough to track down. Even peasants would notice something like that. We just gotta roast some toes until they sing." Dorjan's eyes crinkle smirkingly. "Arright, let's start lookin', toots. Looks like that mountain's still high an' dry, my guess is he's there since it's by where the Shadow Temple was. Unless you got any better ideas?" Dorjan starts rising into the air, keeping an expectant gaze on Itami.

ItamiAPP 3:16 PM "Look, I was there looking for materials then some adventurers decided they wanted to do some grave robbing, so I joined in. The whole party was an assortment of all Hyrule had to offer. I figured if they took all the hits up front, I'd be safe to pick up the pieces. Didn't happen that way," Itami mounted up onto her broom.

"I can't remember because I didn't care about who I was with. I just helped them survive long enough to get what I wanted. Didn't know you'd be there, but isn't that how adventurers go?" Sure rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, that's a good place to start looking, sure. Close enough and has enough people. Try not to cause them trouble. It might be hard for you, but most Hylians will gladly help if you're cordial enough to them. Let's leave the toe roasting for another time." Once in the air, she shoots off in the direction of Death Mountain.

DorjanAPP 7:06 PM Dorjan rolls his eyes. "Yeah yeah, fortunes of war and all thaaaaawaitasec, that don't add up. How'd that one guy know my name, then?" >/a

Then Itami darts away, and we discover something important. While Dorjan may be a more powerful mage in the broad sense, he's not as fast at flying as a witch's broomstick! "Hey! Wait for me, ya saucy spellgrubber!" >o< After levitating a short way after Itami and seeing that she's clearly still shrinking into the distance, Dorjan pauses and glowers down at the stalfos. "Go on, get goin' for the mountain! I'll meet ya there or along the way!" The stalfos trudge back under the water while Dorjan resumes chasing Itami. They're...probably not going to get to Death Mountain in time to be involved in whatever happens next. e.e

*DEATH MOUNTAIN*

JohnAPP 9:17 PM It's another day on Death Mountain. The people of Kakariko who fled here are scraping together a living, whether by hunting birds, fishing, or farming the bread kelp that started proliferating in the shallows shortly after the flood. There's even some trade going on with the other islands of Hyrule thanks to those who've managed to make or find seaworthy vessels.

John is doing his part by climbing around the lower crags of the mountain in search of seagull eggs. And of course, if a gull tries to attack him or just makes itself an easy target, he'll be bringing home some poultry as well. Scruvo flits over from around the curve of the mountain. "Jackpot just ovah theah, Johnny-boy, looks like a fresh roost." John carefully clambers toward the place Scruvo indicated. "Y'know, not to complain, but I'm a little surprised you're so okay with helping me raid other birds' nests." "Why not? No kin o' mine, not t'mention they ain't charmies. Besides, don't your kind eat beasts that're hairy like y'selves too?" "...Good point."

watermelon:
1

ItamiAPP 3:15 AM Itami swoops in onto what remains of the path up Death Mountain. It became a nice little port area to just drop into for witches and traders alike! Now on land, she dismisses her broom with a snap, poofing it out of sight. "I go on one trip and I run into trouble. It's almost like I attract it," she muttered to herself. "Death Mountain just starts sprouting and flourishing and I just had to know. Curiosity almost got the guay killed. Going after the shiny..." She sighed.

"So, now to get started. Need to find someone to pin this on. Toes might be roasted, but it won't be mine..." She looked around trying to find someone who fit the idea of who that guy was. It could be any adventurer, right?

JohnAPP 10:22 PM John makes his way back to the main path up Death Mountain, which has become a strange mix of makeshift dwelling area and marketplace. There he carefully deposits his catch of eggs with a certain business scrub. "Fifty rupees." "Fifty? Surely you jest, good fellow. You sold me half again as many eggs for that amount last week." "Which is because I could find more eggs last week, which means they're getting rarer, which means they're more valuable now. I know you're going to charge folk something around double for them, too. Be grateful I don't demand a bigger share or decide to sell them myself, I'm only doing business with you because an able-bodied guy like me should spend as much time as possible producing food in a situation like this." The scrub hands over the payment with a wry twitch of his leaf-'stache. "Hmm, you're starting to pick up some business acumen."

As John is finishing up his transaction, Scruvo flits over to perch on a stall near Itami. "G'day, miss! Good t'see y'made it through the whole disastah thingy. 'Course, I'm hearin' almost nobody was lost, an' if anybody could make it through that, it'd be a cinch for somebody wi' your talents, aye? Anyway, I know somebody who'll be glad t'see y'pretty face again!" ;) John walks over and raises his eyebrows, then smiles casually. "Oh hey. Itami, wasn't it? I'm John, in case you've forgotten, and that's Scruvo."

ItamiAPP 8:02 PM "Well, I had to somehow. There's still rupees to be made and I'm not letting go of that so easily," Itami replied back, though her attention was still on the passing crowd. She turned to her side to look for the person who spoke with her and found a bird. "Well, shoot." Raising her eyes from Scruvo to John, she nodded. "Yep, that be me," she smirked. "Now that we've gotten reacquainted, I think I have something that might be yours. We'll have to go to my shop to get it. It's just up the way here."

JohnAPP 6:52 PM John blinks, giving himself a quick patdown. "You do? I hadn't noticed I was missing anything..." Coming to a solid bulge under his cloak, John pulls out a glass bottle and verifies that it still contains several vaguely-defined, ethereal glows. "...Hard to say, but I don't think any of those have gotten out," he mutters. John shrugs and puts the bottle away. "Well, only one way to find out. Even if it turns out to be something that isn't mine, I can keep an eye out for whoever might be missing it."

Scruvo perches on John's shoulder as he walks up the path with Itami. "This is y'big chance, Johnny-boy!" Scruvo hisses in John's ear. "She invited y'back to her place! An' it sounds like she made up an excuse just t'get ya theah!" 8> John rolls his eyes. "You have an over-active imagination, Scruvo," he mutters back.

ItamiAPP 1:24 AM Itami looks towards the bottle that John has and lifts her hand to her head. Yeah, that's the thing. Wait, that's the thing. He has it, which means she's in the clear! Sort of. "Maybe I don't have something that's yours. It just hit me," she stopped and searched the skies. No, he didn't fly behind her... "Well, do you need any potions? I make those. Most I can do with you. In fact, let's go do that. We're still heading to my shop," she hastened her walk and walked to a doorway covered in thick tapestries. "In here," she pushed the sheets away and moved inside.

"What do you need? I have all kinds of potions, my special blend. Smaller doses, but stronger. If you have materials, I'll purchase them off you if they serve in potion making. Quick way to earn rupees and also keeps me stocked without all the frustration of finding it myself. Every so often, I hold classes to teach basic alchemy to people and I do offer weapon enhancement services. I have to keep the rupees rolling in somehow."

JohnAPP 7:58 PM John halt-steps in his stride. Maybe Scruvo actually had better behavioral observation than John did for once. o.O Although Itami's excuses for getting John into her shop probably don't have the motivation Scruvo's hoping for. Warily, John ducks past the tapestries after Itami.

Inside the shop, John slowly scans the surroundings. "Well, at the moment, I don't have any way of going after Dorjan," he muses, "so I'm just doing a day's work at a time to keep myself fed and contribute to general livelihood around here. I guess a stamina potion might be helpful, if they're not too expensive. Weapon enhancement sounds pretty interesting, especially if it'll make it more effective against magical beings...although frankly, after that last encounter, I don't like my odds if I have to confront Dorjan directly, no matter how good my weapons are." e.e;

Scruvo ruffles his tailfeathers. "Erm. Johnny-boy?" "Yes, Scruvo?" "Mentionin' that wizzrobe chappie reminded me, I ain't been payin' too much attention lately to where he is..." John shrugs. "That's okay, we can't go after him anyway." "Roight, but um...he feels pretty close roight now." >.>;

Meanwhile, Dorjan arrives at the base of Death Mountain. There's an immediate stir amongst the crowd at the sighting of a wizzrobe, most of them drawing back and a few brave (or unlucky enough to be unable to retreat further into the mob) souls reaching for whatever's at hand to use as a weapon. c.c; "Cut the heroics, a dozen of ya will burn before you get close," Dorjan snarls. "Just tell me what I wanna know and nobody needs to get hurt -- today anyway. I'm looking for a witch who got here a little bit ahead of me. Red hair, greenish skin, yadda yadda, Demise I hate repeating myself. Who saw 'er?!" >:P

ItamiAPP 12:10 AM "You feel him? That's...good to know, but also not good. If you think he's close, he's probably here. I didn't even know you had any intentions of going after him and now hearing it, I think it's incredibly stupid, but..." Itami tsked and sighed to herself. "He likely is here. He found me while I was out and about and remembered who I was and so he tailed me to try and find you two. I flew off trying to create some distance, but it didn't quite work, so, here we are."

She sets out a couple stamina potions on her sales counter. "I could provide you some potions for enhancements and they should be enough to slow him down, but not stop him. I have stronger brews that can withstand that test, but they'd have to be more customized and that takes time." She thought to herself for a few moments while searching over her collection. "He supposedly had stalfos at his command, so that's also a problem. I feel just as stupid for suggesting this, but you two might need to find yourselves a disguise of some kind. Don't know what to do about that traceability thing, but you two have been at this long enough that you've got ideas, I hope."

JohnAPP 10:27 PM Ohhhhhhh keese clippings. @.@ John chances a look outside and sees that there's some sort of disturbance down the path. "You couldn't have told me that in the first place!?" John hisses, ducking back inside. "People are probably gonna DIE here!" >.<; "Easy, Johnny-boy," Scruvo says placatingly. "She's 'elpin' ya now, ain't she? An' we wouldn't 'ave been able t'stop 'im from raisin' 'is doomsday army wi'out her."

John grimaces in uncertainty, then grabs one of the potions and quaffs it. "We've got to get him away from the crowds," he exhales while stuffing the other potion into his pack. "Even if it means I die and fail my vow, I can't hide amongst innocents. It wouldn't work anyway, he'll kill everyone on this mountain if he thinks that's what he has to do to get what he wants."

Down at the mountain base, there are of course enough people who know about Itami's presence that at least one of them is panicked enough to blurt out what they know to try and appease the wizzrobe. "The witch?! She's got a shop set up further up the path!" >.> Dorjan floats upward a little. "Good, show me which one and -- " "Hold it!" barks somebody in the crowd made of sterner stuff. "She might be a witch, but she hasn't done anything to deserve being tossed to the wolfos! What do you want with her anyway, wizzrobe?!" Dorjan eye-twitches and starts forming a fireball in his hand. "Lemme explain how this works. *I* ask the questions, and *you* fleshsacks give me the answers I want or find out just how long you'll stay alive and screaming with your skin on fire!" >{

ItamiAPP 8:54 PM "I don't even know either one of you well enough to just walk up and talk about that sort of thing. But, in hindsight, sure, would have been effective. I'm here now trying to work around the obvious problem that has been created," Itami states, watching the two of them leave out of her shop. Least he tried one of the potions. Now it's time to carefully follow up from behind.

Her arrival has her hidden nearby, but not entirely visible. She had to see what would become of this meeting. "Well, I'll be. They have mixed feelings about me," she chuckled. Though, she did find some time to hunker down for some seriousness. Dorjan's threats were very real and she could only provide some defense for a time.

JohnAPP 10:42 PM John looks around for inspiration while trudging toward the crowd. "I'm about to be a huge target, better get some distance," he mutters. "Scruvo, if the worst happens, you need to go back to Loranis and tell them the situation, got it?" "Oh right, I'll be like, 'G'day y'Dukefulness, remembah that soldiah chappie y'banished, he got killed by th'wizzrobe wot stole y'son's soul an' by th'way I've got a lil' slivah of it meself.' Only I probably won't get two words out before they put an arrow through me 'cos I'm a blinkin' guay." :P "Getting words out before people can stop you has never been a problem for you before." e.e "Well excuse me if I still don't feel like bein' a martyr! That's y'problem, Johnny-boy, y'got this lonesome burden mentality! Couldn't ya shove that sense of guilt for EVERYTHING that wizzrobe does undah a rock for once!?" >:P

John pauses and blinks. "Of course...at least it would mean he wouldn't be able to fly much, and I'd know my way around better than him..." Scruvo is forced to flutter off from John's shoulder as John suddenly waves his arms broadly and shouts down the mountainside. "HEY, DORJAN! IT'S ME YOU WANT, RIGHT!? COME AND GET ME!" With that, John ducks into one of the mountain's deeper caverns. "That's not wot I meant an' you know it!" Scruvo squawks. >o<;

Dorjan looks up and past the crowd to see John disappearing into the mountain. "Huh. That turned out easier than expected." Dorjan floats over the crowd, carelessly dropping his fireball toward the midst of it. D8

ItamiAPP 7:08 PM "The bird's got a point. I mean, sometimes it helps being guiltless. Sometimes," Itami muttered to herself from hiding. "That return fire, on the other hand..." She snickered. Didn't see that coming. Impressive.

"Flaming bubbles..."

Leaping out from hiding, she takes her broom and swats that fireball away from the people. It sails through the air and explodes, leaving only the heat and wind to carry over the crowd with a few cinders with how powerful it was. "What is it with this confounding--" Hot. Hot, something is hot, darn it! Her sleeve!

Patting it frantically to get rid of the fire, she realizes that the sleeve isn't the only problem, her broom bristles are getting nice and cozy with some flames also. A quick beating on the ground solves that problem. "Ugh, this is why I can't be bothered with heroics, I'm not cut from that sail cloth," she grumbled. "Well, what're you all standin' around for? Get going and find shelter!"

No need to be told twice. That brush with wizrobe and fire was close enough. The people scramble, finding any source of place they can hide away while other brave souls attempt to alert the local Gorons of the danger, heading up the path.

JohnAPP 11:41 PM John pats his way along the cave wall as quickly as he dares, refraining from using a light (which he must have some form of available, considering he's spent time exploring this place before, right?). Stealth is his best friend right now, and any light bouncing off the cave walls would draw Dorjan straight to him. Now let's see, a right turn here, slight ledge, and -- aha! Here's that little alcove he almost fell into when he first came through here. John lowers himself into the hole and hopes Dorjan will pass by without seeing him, so he can...well, not die at least. c.c; Not sure what else he can accomplish if it works.

Outside, Scruvo perches above the cavern entrance and does his best to look like an ordinary, unobtrusive guay as Dorjan approaches. >.>; Apparently Dorjan either doesn't notice the bird's presence at all or doesn't connect him with what Itami mentioned about a crow companion, because he ducks inside without an upward glance. "You must think I'm some sorta chump," he calls out into the darkness. "I see what you're doin' here. Finangle me into your own turf, stack the deck in your favor. Maybe you've even got a trap set for me. What kinda numskull knows all that and *still* walks right in, huh?" Dorjan holds up a hand with lightning arcing between his fingers to light his way as he stalks down the cavern. "The kind who can take anything a flesh-sack like you can dish out and still feed you your own teeth, that's what." >| (edited)

ItamiAPP 6:51 PM "No! Don't, actually, never mind. Mind yourself on the path, don't get in each other's way and you should be fine. I'll be the eyes in the sky, I suppose," Itami grumbled. Always paired up with dead weight, it seems.

Falling rocks still happened further up the path, here. This is Death Mountain, after all. Birds, lizards and butterflies dotted the way, but so did chus and keese. These are the dangers she was talking about. "INCOMING!"

And octoroks. The other kind of falling rock is one that flies at you.

"We're almost to the city. Keep at it," she tried to encourage, using her abilities sparingly. She isn't here to be a shield.

John tries to will his heart into beating slower and inhales quietly, then holds his breath. O~O; The stark brightness of the lightning throws sharp but jittering shadows from rock formations onto the walls outside John's hiding place as Dorjan rounds the corner. The wizzrobe walks brashly, but stumblingly, having difficulty with the uneven ground. "Demise, I hate places without enough room to levitate. When I catch that Hylian I'm gonna AAARGH!!!" Both Dorjan and John have a moment of shock as the wizzrobe's foot plunges into the hole John is hiding in. \*.\*; But it stops an inch short of touching John's face, and after a moment it lifts back out again. "Arright, nuts to all this hiking!" Dorjan fades from view, and the shadows suddenly are being cast from the next corner of the cavern. Then the light leaves entirely, and John is left in the darkness.

John knows this cave doesn't go on for too much longer, so Dorjan will be doubling back and searching more carefully soon. After resuming normal breathing with as little gasping as he can manage, he starts pulling himself up out of the hole. If he's really, *really* lucky, maybe he can stage an ambush as Dorjan comes back around the corner and –

**KRICK!**

The snapping of a spur of rock that got caught on John's boot echoes through the cave. The baleful glare returns just as John gets to his feet. "So *there* you are, turkey!" >D John's soldier training flares through his synapses, and he throws himself sideways in time to avoid a discharge of lightning. #.#;

Meanwhile, some of the Gorons on guard outside Goron City have noticed the sudden surge of people rushing toward them. They're aware of the mostly-Hylian encampment on the slopes of their mountain and are on friendly terms with them, but having the whole crowd galloping toward them is a little disconcerting. o.o; Still, it's not too hard to tell they're in distress, not mounting a charge. The sergeant in charge rolls down the path to meet them and uncurls in front of them. "Easy now! What are you all running from!?"

ItamiAPP 6:05 PM "Wizzrobe!" The a few people cry, each jockeying for attention. Itami comes rushing in soon afterward, clearing a path through the crowd. "Pipe down, will you! Only one person needs to answer and that person will be me." She isn't much for elemental magic, but a small ball of fire ought to do the trick to shut them up even quicker. When the group backs off and caps their voices, she continues.

"There's a wizzrobe on this mountain shaking up the place. Causing a disturbance, has a nice following of undead that have come with him too. The people need help getting rid of him. There's already one person facing him and I doubt he can hold out for much longer."

JohnAPP 11:17 PM The Goron sergeant grimaces. "Wizzrobe, huh? Blasted magic-users. Oh, er, present company excepted, of course." He turns and waves up the path. "Come on, brothers, we've got trouble down the mountain!" Several Gorons roll down to join the sergeant in heading down the trail. A few Hylians also double back, most likely including whoever spoke up to question Dorjan earlier.

After Dorjan discharges his lightning in a blinding flash, the cave goes suddenly dark again, unsurprisingly. Dorjan starts charging up some more to see the results of his attack, only to realize he's hearing altogether too many footsteps for a zapped Hylian and they're coming toward him. The renewed light illuminates John lunging in with sword drawn. >\_< Dorjan teleports away, but not before John's longsword scores a solid stroke on the wizzrobe's side. DX<

John stumbles to retain footing after the weird sensation of having his target dematerialize mid-cleave. o.o; Still, he *felt* that! He actually got a good hit in! Maybe he really has a chance to -- a quickly-intensifying glare from behind John warns him to move, and he ducks around the corner just in time to avoid Dorjan's next ball of lightning. C.C; Reality check, he's still at quite a disadvantage here. And now Dorjan is between John and the cave exit.

Meanwhile...

The troop of stalfos plod along the underwater landscape, heading mulishly toward Death Mountain following the furrow in the ground that used to be a river. The stairs leading up toward Kakariko Village are visible on their right, but they keep moving northward, toward the bridge. Why? Because stal-kind can't pass through a river, everybody knows *that*. :P

ItamiAPP 2:43 AM "No offense taken," Itami shrugged it off. She has used her magic for...well, reasons before, but she might be trying to fix that, maybe. "Seems we've got our help. Time to go save the lad."

Alright, with that taken care of, she can head down the way along with the section. Flying off after them, she hops off her broom and unsummons it as she heads into the cave with the rest of them. While doing so, she starts working up some shielding to cover the squad just in case some wayward or intentional magic comes their way. Besides, she felt that lightning discharge. Both of them, really. Not the kind of thing you want to be hit with, after all.

"Prepare yourselves. He is no one to take lightly," she muttered audibly enough for the group to hear.

JohnAPP 2:40 PM John breathes heavily as the cave goes dark again. Okay, there's too much distance between them now to cover between blasts -- better go for a ranged attack. John leans his sword against the wall and unshoulders his bow. After nocking an arrow to string, he sucks in a quick gulp of air and turns around the corner, pointing and waiting for the light.

...The light doesn't come. Instead, John feels a gathering cold behind him. C.C; He starts to shift, but a frozen blast suddenly knocks him against the wall. X~X; Having teleported to the corner of the bend before John took aim, Dorjan summons a quick flame to see the results of his attack. "Heh. Thought I heard ya move." >}

Speaking of hearing things move, though, there are approaching footsteps becoming apparent and even a hint of flickering torchlight on the walls back at the last turning. Dorjan scowls, then grows the flame into a fireball. "Out wid it. Where's my souls!? The witch said you had 'em!" Ah, that's what this is about...John wishes he'd hidden the jar in the crevasse before coming back out. =.=;

ItamiAPP 12:56 AM Itami already had the shielding up. It's the best she could do at the moment. Keep them protected long enough to prepare in this fight. Compromising as that is, she'll need to concentrate on that and leave the others to take care of the rest. When they arrive, the Gorons begin the charge first, knowing these tunnels, they tuck and roll, building up their momentum as they team up with one another to launch a pincer attack against Dorjan. "I've got you covered. Get the man!" She called to the others. Their orders in mind, they move in, hoping the assault can distract the wizzrobe long enough for them to extract John and help him make his escape.

JohnAPP 10:24 PM Dorjan raises his fireball. "No stalling! Tell me or -- " Help for John arrives faster than either he or Dorjan anticipated, as a trio of Gorons come rolling speedily through the cavern. One of them even veers along the wall as they converge on Dorjan. o.O; Dorjan fades away before the Gorons can crash into him, reappearing back at the earlier bend of the tunnel. As much because he has it ready as anything else, Dorjan hurls his fireball at the group. >\_<; The Gorons simply stand hunched with their backs turned, protecting themselves and John with their rocky exterior. After getting flash-frozen, the ambient heat kind of feels good for John. =.= He shakes himself to clear his head, gets to his feet, and grabs his sword.

Meanwhile, Dorjan glances aside at the others in the troop of reinforcements, recognizing Itami amongst them. "You too, toots?" he grumbles. "I get that you'd rather keep the souls for yourself, but now it just feels like you're sticking you neck out for this schlub like some kinda *hero*." >P

ItamiAPP 11:36 PM "Hero??? You sting me with that word," Itami wasn't a hero! Well, she didn't feel like one, at least. Still on the fence about it. What's the benefit? Just /helping/ people? No, that wasn't rewarding at all. There's rupees that need to be made. This is just a service, yeah. An exchange, of sorts. Yep, that was enough convincing... "This is just business. Nothing more, nothing less." Hero, feh.

She knew this was going to be tricky to pull off, what with the magic and the heat and the ice and the everything else going on in here. It was getting a little cramped, but... "Grab on and hold tight." She instructed John while whipping out her broom and mounting it towards the front. "I'm going to try and get us some distance. We might not get to the entrance, but we'll at least get far."

JohnAPP 8:15 PM "Well good, I was starting to worry we weren't *compatible*," Dorjan chuckles. "Business I can understand. But still, our apparent cross-objectives could make our relationship *dicey*." >}

"Get 'im!" barks the impromptu leader of the Kakariko volunteers. The brave but undisciplined souls charge in shouting, armed with pitchforks, pot lids, butcher knives, and the like. >XO The Gorons, being the guards of their city, make a much more organized assault, trudging in from Dorjan's other side with flinty fists held ready. >[ Dorjan, of course, simply fades from view again before any attacks can reach him.

Meanwhile, John finds Itami offering him a ride. He hesitates for a split-second, but decides this is no time for arguing, especially since he's holding the thing Dorjan is after in the first place. "I sure hope you've got more in mind than leaving them to fight him on their own," John mutters as he steps over the broom and wraps an arm around Itami's waist.

After they take off and maneuver past the knot of confused Hylians and Gorons robbed of their target, John grips his sword tightly and peers intently over Itami's shoulder. Sure enough, Drojan rematerializes in the tunnel ahead of them. "Moblin muck, too many peons in here to focus on -- GAAAAHHHHH!" DX< John's sword scores along the wizzrobe's arm and back in passing. "I'M GOING TO BRING YOUR SORRY CARCASS BACK TO LIFE FOR TARGET PRACTICE, MEATSACK!!!" Dorjan yells while flinging a lightning ball after the flying broom's occupants.

ItamiAPP 11:52 AM Caves are great! So great, in fact, they offer limited space and hazards to navigate through! In other words, they're awful for flying in. "More in mind? Not really, everything that's happened so far has been in the moment." Speaking of in the moment, Itami flies directly towards and past Dorjan only to find her broom struck by the fringes of that lightning attack. Now she's got a burning stick of wood in her hands.

"Brace!" She calls out letting the broom fly off to smack against a nearby stone. She isn't much for the elemental magic. Never quite got the hang of it, but even somewhat skilled works in a pinch. She fires off a burst of wind to cushion their fall. It won't be graceful, but at least they won't feel the worst of what the ground has to offer.

"Nnnngh. Does he ever run out of energy?" She muttered to herself, rolling her head back to see the cave exit. They're very close. "...Hope you can run fast," she gathered to her feet. Time to get the others out of here. Somehow...

The fighting force of the Gorons and volunteers are once again back to chasing the target instead of holding him off. The Gorons, well accustomed to this area all curl up ad roll off in synch, taking the ground and walls to cover all sides while the volunteers rush forward from the rear. Some take to getting creative by picking up stones and slinging them towards Dorjan once he's in sight as others move in with their spears to thrust at him.

"This ought to do it," she manifests a barrier between herself and John. "Head to the City! It's your best bet, right now!"

JohnAPP 2:24 PM John drops his sword just before bailing from the broomstick to minimize the chance that he or Itami will have unfortunate contact with it during the tumble. X/ He comes to a stop after a surprisingly soft impact on the stones -- not pain-free, but without significant damage. Handy stuff, magic. c.c Except when it's your enemy that has it, of course.

Dorjan turns his attention back to the noisy mob momentarily. He deflects the rocks thrown at him with a careless telekinetic push, then vanishes once more as the Gorons crash in on his position. Meanwhile, John picks himself up and hears Itami's directive. "Wha? Hey, what's this?" John pushes on the barrier. He felt bad about leaving a bunch of strangers to fight Dorjan and resented Itami for pushing him into it, but somehow her facing the danger with them, with John being the only one excluded from harm, makes it worse. !o!

...And then, seeing the villagers and Gorons casting about for their disappeared target, John realizes the situation is actually the exact opposite. :cold\_sweat: He turns around and sees Dorjan at the cave entrance, eyes blazing malevolently. +.+ He must have teleported before the barrier went up...and as luck would have it, John's sword is on the *other* side of the barrier. x~x Drawing a deep though shaky breath, John prepares to dodge for his life.

But Dorjan doesn't attack. Instead, he levitates off the ground and floats away down the mountain.

ItamiAPP 6:04 PM Itami stared at the sword, then to John, then the sword again, then back to John. She had expectations and well, they fell flat. Terribly; and now with the target on the other side of the barrier, she has to drop the entire thing! She rushed to dispel the barrier, but it seems the effort wasn't entirely needed. Dorjan has disappeared and she has a sinking feeling on what's to happen next.

The fighters all begin to gather 'round along with the Gorons. "You don't suspect he's...goin' to the settlement?" One of the ragtag band inquired. "Hmm. We've seen that settlement. Didn't think too much of it. Darunia felt it best to let you all be, but if you've got problems like that, it means we've got problems like that. Death Mountain has had its share of problems since this water came out of nowhere, but it looks like we might need to get more involved here. Didn't think this water was going to do this much. At the very least, the caverns are still good. still can get rock sirloin and feed ourselves, but, well, with the rest of Hyrule in this state doesn't bode well for us either way," the leader of the Goron squad remarks.

"We'll provide an escort down, just in case. Then we'll report to Darunia about what we experienced here."

Itami sighs with mild relief. "Might be for the best. Fighting that wizrobe is frustrating and not ideal. Last I saw there were also stalfos with him and some other undead. I've no idea if they have made it to shore yet, but it may be we'll need to check." She gives a passive glance down to the area of the settlement. She doesn't see any smoke yet, but that doesn't mean much.

JohnAPP 10:03 PM John picks up his sword once the barrier's down and stumbles out of the cave, feeling like he's in a dream. o.o; It's a little hard to believe he isn't dead right now. And he's chasing after the thing that he'd expected to make him dead. =.=

Once he's back out in the sunlight, he hears a fluttering of wings and a familiar weight on his shoulder. "Oi, Johnny-boy! Y'ain't roasted! Me heart stopped when that wizzrobe chappie came out, figgahed only one of ya would!" 8O John squints, still adjusting to the brightness after the little adventure in the dark. "That's what I would have thought too. Where'd he go?" Scruvo points a wing. "All th'way down the mountain, into th'watah."

Meanwhile, Dorjan runs into his stalfos at the submerged base of the mountain trail. "Change of plans, boys. Come on." The wizzrobe leads his retinue back down to the watery town, through to the graveyard...and into the Shadow Temple.