[IC] A Wild Kingdom

[Eternis]

Hyrule was devastated.
Hyrule was destroyed.
Hyrule had fallen to Ganon and his armed forces, crushed from the inside by devices designed to protect them, then driven to smaller and smaller settlements by monsters that made this land their home.
Hyrule is this no longer.

Hyrule has risen. Hyrule has fought back. Hyrule has reclaimed its castle and the surrounding fields. It has re-forged its armed forces, recreated the postal service, and found its place once again. There are still struggles to face- most of the lands it once called its own are overrun by monsters, territory still held in the grips of Ganon's Horde- but with Queen Zelda and her consort, Link, heading the efforts of the Restoration Taskforce, the lands in the hands of the peoples of Hyrule thrive once more. What's more, brave warriors and adventurers in Her Highness' Reclamation Force has slowly begun taking back land, piece by piece, from the hands of monsters now made mortal again by the defeat of their demonic Lord.

It is in this Royal Reclamation Force that we find our heroes. Hardy adventurers that traveled the lands before Hyrule Castle was retaken, they were instrumental in the re-taking of Goponga Village and its surrounding islands, re-opening the river as a viable way of transporting troops and resources between the domain of the Zora and the Castle. The individual efforts of our champions were great enough that they were granted their own branch office in the eastern quarter of New Castle Town.

Our story begins shortly after dawn with a loud, impolite knock on the door of this mixed living quarters and official place of business.

How does this knock find our heroes, and what is their response?

Spoiler: OOC

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I'm looking to see what your living quarters are like, how your characters awaken and live during downtime, maybe even their reaction to the royal appointment. If there's something more you'd like to see, know, etc., feel free to message me here or in the discord and I'll edit or new-post appropriately.

[Awakeninfinity]

Secylla thumbs through a hefty leather time; bound in iron. Hearing an urgent knock; she places it in her side pack and picks up a band; unceremoniously putting her black hair in a ponytail. That workout must of drained her; she'd already be hunting elk if she was still up north. She made her bed at least; and tidied up; at least what there was to tidy up in her near ascetic room

I wonder what could troubling someone so at this hour?


"I'll be there momentarily. she yells in response over the knocking and stands up; walking briskly towards the door. She opens the thick oaken door; her icy blue eyes staring outward into the person blocking her sight before meeting them with eye contact.

"Hello there; How might I assist you?"

[FēlīxPersōnārum]

Fēlīx’s room is nearly exactly as he found it, at all times. He does not unpack; he often doesn’t even take his pack off. Even in sleep, he moves little and barely disturbs the sheets—and quickly straightening them out is the first thing he does when he awakes. Even the room’s candle goes unused, as he provides his own magical light.

Nonetheless, when not otherwise engaged, he spends a lot of time in that room. If anyone surreptitiously listened at the door or tried to get a look through the keyhole, he spends that time pulling random objects out of his pack, apparently just to admire them and put them back. He murmurs to himself, or possibly to them, as he does it.

The rest of the time, if any of the others engage in an activity in the communal space, he is likely as not to join in. Aside from his usual jerky movements, occasionally off-putting turns of phrase, and smiles that show too many teeth, there is nothing particularly strange about his participation, but nonetheless one gets the impression that participating is almost like an immersive form of observation—he participates for the experience and to learn to do it right, not for apparent enjoyment of the activity itself.

He also spends a good chunk of his time standing before the maps on the wall, staring silently at them. Any conclusions he comes to about what they show, he doesn’t share. If asked, he’ll merely comment on the maps’ quality, the accuracy and the skill of the cartographer in drafting them, the way another might look at the paintings in an art museum.

When the knock comes, he stops what he is doing and looks to the door, though he makes no move to open it or answer the knock.

[Inmate XIII]

Waking with a jolt, Zacht greets the dawn as he always does - with a sneer. He glances around his is somewhat empty room and after ensuring that the curtains in his room are properly drawn to let in none of the suns brutal light, rolls his tall, lanky form out of bed. Crossing to an ornate armoire tripped with black and gold, he briefly considers his armor sitting on its stand for a moment before instead choosing to dress himself in a set of black and violet traveler's clothing that resembles formal Hylian garb.

He stops at his door to take a hooded cloak that matches his clothing off its hook and put it on, then finishes by clipping a dark grey wooden mask, painted with bright blue geometric patterns, to his belt.

He steps out into the common area to see that Secylla has already answered the door and smirks to himself. Then, he heads to the kitchen to check on his brewing equipment. He pops the lid off of a vat labeled "Barley Wine" and takes a deep sniff.

Scoffing and shaking his head, he replaces the lid, pours himself a dram of brandy, and sets to making breakfast.

[tbergman92]

Up before dawn as usual, Zorin is out stretching his wings in the skies over the city as the sun rises, reveling in the warmth of the sun's rays and the anticipation of thermals later in the day. Rolling and soaring in the early light over New Castle Town, Zorin eventually decides that he should return to tidy up his sparse room in the branch office. As he spins around and falls into a dive, his eyes crinkle at the corners as if he were smiling, despite the limitations of his beak.

"This is the life!" he thinks as he speeds closer and closer to the ground, flaring his wings at the last possible moment to come down in the near-empty street outside the office in a rush of wind. Stretching his wings one last time before folding them he hears the door open behind him and turns around to face the door to the office, seeing a person standing in the now open door. "Oh, hello there. How can I help you?" he spoke quickly, a rush to his words and a strong, strident quality to his voice, as it layered over and around Secylla's similar question.

[Eternis]

Captain Tomon of the Hylian Guard stands in the doorway, a somewhat short, muscular man with a wide, bushy brown mustache. His eyes peer out over his broad nose with a look of (at least) mild annoyance, his plumed helmet not *quite* fitting due to a well-polished dent just above his hairline. His lieutenant, standing by his side, gives you all an embarrassed nod and a quick, sheepish smile behind his superior's back before standing up at attention when Tomon clears his throat.
"Gentlemen, ma'am, I hope you've enjoyed your time of rest, but a few new developments have been brought to our attention, and your help would be..." He pauses, giving his moderately deep voice a rest from the gravelly tone that had crept in to his speech, and takes a moment to mull over his words before continuing. "... greatly appreciated. In the interests of keeping civilians away from potentially dangerous situations, we will discussing the details up at the castle proper. I shall give you some time to get yourselves prepared, but I do hope that we can converse before the afternoon."
He gives you all a brief, terse nod before turning on the spot and marching back off in the direction of the castle, his plume waving in the gentle wind like the banners and flags decorating those grey stone buildings.

His passage is met by mixed reactions from the merchants setting up their wares- some roll their eyes, looking away, but some smile warmly- but now that he's clear of your doorway, the standard morning scene in the street unfolds as it usually does on a spring morning; various merchants chatting as they prepare their wares, young children playing and running about in the street, the odd member of the Town Guard strolling along, keeping the peace with a nod and a grin, maybe the occasional chat but nothing so long as to slow down their patrol.

[FēlīxPersōnārum]

Fēlīx, who already has everything he will need in the pack upon his back, bows deeply—from someone else it would seem almost sarcastic, but for Fēlīx it just seems weird—at Tomon’s retreating back. “Ahh, such excitement. I am prepared.”

[Awakeninfinity]

Secylla nods; "I believe we can be there shortly; Captain Tomon." She bows politely; excusing herself and goes to retrieve her equipment from her room: a well maintained if worn bow and two short blades; honed be to a fine point..

It appears our break time is over; I hope that we are prepared for what ever task we face.

She steps outside of her room. "I am prepared; but is everyone else ready?" she questions aloud toward everyone else.

[tbergman92]

"Let me grab my pack and crossbow, and I'll be ready to go." Zorin jogs to his room, a fairly functional and undecorated space, and grabs the pack and crossbow resting by the door, settling them into place as he returns to the common areas of the office. He made a quick mental check of the contents of his pack, his crossbow, his dagger....good. "Ready to be of service."

[Inmate XIII]

"Must it always be first thing in the morning? Can we not be summoned in the afternoon for once? Or at least take a moment to collect ourselves before scurrying out like sheepdogs?" Zacht grumbles. He glances up at his companions for a few seconds. " No one else? Just me? Fine. Sandwiches for breakfast again; and no complaining this time."

He extends an arm towards his room and snaps his fingers. As he returns to scrambling a few eggs, his traveling gear begins to float around the room as an unseen servant packs everything away, then brings his backpack, weapon, and armor out to the common room.

After serving up three plates of eggs on toast and shoving his own sandwich in his mouth, he walks over to his servant and stands motionless as it straps his half-plate on and affixes his hammer to his belt.

He finishes his ensemble by placing his mask over his face and nods. "Shall we?"

[Awakeninfinity]

Secylla simply nods her ascent and takes a bite of the sandwich ; she swallows as soon as she is able to in order to respond to Zacht."If it wasn't for the secrecy I would be inclined to agree with you. Yet I feel this demands our attention; and I fear we may not see such a long rest again for sometime. So we might as well get used to quick meals on the move while we can."

Secylla shuffles her nearly empty pack onto her back after making sure her sheathes were secured. She continues to eat as she waits for others to start heading out

[Eternis]

The castle is a bustle of activity as you arrive, mostly palace servants traipsing back and forth, carrying documents and work orders between the various buildings. You see a few familiar faces- warriors that fought with you to re-take Goponga village, some still with the dents in their armour from the battle. A few wave at you as you pass, smiling and laughing- one guard hoists a little girl onto his shoulders who grins at you with missing front teeth, waving and squealing excitedly. There are a few guards not as happy to see you- mostly officers and support personnel, but a few grizzled front-liners give you the occasional chilly glare.

Tomon turns from his position in front of the map spread across one of the large tables in the centre of the Royal Library. Repairs to the internal stonework have yet to be completed, with priority given to Castle Town and the exterior, the gaping holes in the staircases and walkways bridged by scaffolding of wood.
"Glad you could join us. As you're no doubt aware, the odd movements of monsters in the Akkala and Hebra regions have engaged the attentions of the Royal family and their Guard, leaving the Hylian Guard to protect the reclaimed territories. You might not be aware of the minor offensive we are mounting on a surprisingly well-fortified monstrous outpost we recently discovered on the ridge between the Lanayru Wetlands¹ and the castle. You shouldn't be aware of the discovery made last night by some proactive residents of Kakariko village along the walls of the Tanagar Canyon², an odd opening to a location we believe to be magical in nature due to, and I quote the words of the scouting party I sent this morning, 'Weird floaty stuff and wrong-coloured fire in the torches'." Tomon lets out a sigh, shaking his head slightly and staring off into the distance before returning his focus to you and your briefing. "As you are our second-most experts in these matters behind the Royal Consort, I'd ask that either you go down there and explore it yourselves, or you assist us in our siege, freeing up some men I could use to guard the entrance to the damnable thing. Thoughts?"

Spoiler: Geography!

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1: Lanayru Wetlands are to the South-East of the castle.
2: Tanagar Canyon stretches from some distance due-west of the center of Hyrule Field, to almost-adjacent to the north-west edge of the Forest³...
3: ...which is north of the castle.

[Awakeninfinity]

Secylla thinks for a moment and then nods; remembering some information she had accumulated in the last several years.

"I believe that might be a spell gone awry; or lost spirits perhaps- there was an archeological effort in that canyon over a century ago; perhaps something slumbered that awoke recently there. Either way; I believe It may prove best for everyone if it was investigated."

[FēlīxPersōnārum]

“I am, eheh, as ever, most interested in matters of a magical variety. I am no expert in siege warfare, per se, but, eheh, I believe I can claim some expertise in the realms of magic. I would feel, eh, best used, in that capacity.” Fēlīx’s manner is almost giddy, though his movements are little. His smile is, as usual, far too wide.

[Inmate XIII]

"Hold now, I notice you said that if we helped with the siege, you'd be sending soldiers to guard the 'damnable thing', not investigate it. Meaning that they will merely stand there until either the Reclamation Force or the Consort is able to investigate it. Seeing as the Consort has more important matters, that heaves only us." Zacht states rather plainly, crossing his arms in front of him. "What I am getting at is that we will end up in Tanagar Canyon whether we aid your siege or not, yes?"

[tbergman92]

"I agree that the discovery in Tanagar Canyon seems the more suited task for us at this point--such a discovery could mean danger and warrants investigation by those experienced with such things, as opposed to unprepared guards, simply standing there waiting to be killed should a problem arise. However, I understand if you'd prefer us to help with the siege--warfare as such is better left to you and yours, as your skill and numbers prove necessary in such conflicts, but we may be able to serve in regards to breaching the stronghold and opening the way for you to enter. As such, I bow to your wisdom and the opinions of my colleagues in what task we should embark on first." Zorin's words, as usual, rushed out of him in a quick staccato, his compliment for the guard's specialty in warfare spoken with equal measure to his rather offensive comment regarding putting guards on the tomb. He seemed unaware of both the compliment and the insult, simply speaking the truth as he saw it.

[Eternis]

Tomon raised one bushy eyebrow, a smirking chuckle directed at Zacht's question. "While certainly the Royal Couple is currently engaged, the slaughter a horde of Hinox is unlikely to take the Champion of Hyrule and a flock of aerial archers longer than it takes for us to siege a fortified position of collected monsters, and I mean you no disrespect when I say this, but I'd rather Link explore that kind of dungeon than you lot."
He takes in a breath, sighing slightly, and for a moment you can see a weight on his shoulders, a split second of exhaustion quickly washed away by a hearty cough, moustache bristles flaring.
"So yes, this decision is yours, and frankly it doesn't matter much to me. Either I have more men to spare from the siege to guard the dungeon with you lot doing... whatever it is you do, or I can leave just a skeleton guard watching over the dungeon. So, final decision- Siege or canyon?"

[Awakeninfinity]

"I believe that having us explore dungeon keeps the men under your command out of the most danger. So we should go." She states; confident in her assessment of the situation.

[tbergman92]

"That makes sense to me. Let's take the canyon." Zorin agreed readily. "No need to endanger your men more than needed."

[FēlīxPersōnārum]

Fēlīx merely nods with a wide grin.

[Inmate XIII]

"I suppose we must," Zacht grunts with a shrug.

[Eternis]

Tomon nods brusquely, then waves a hand in the general direction of one of the adjoining corridors. "See yourself to the quartermaster's office, he'll get you any gear and rations you need- Lieutenant Darren here will take you, if you don't know the way- then head off as soon as you are ready. No sense dilly-dallying, as I've got men I could use tied up there." He tosses a gold-embossed wooden medallion onto the table in front of him, giving it a wave before turning his back and striding away. "Show that to the men when you get to the site, and tell them that all but three are to join us for the siege."

Darren, the soldier who was with Tomon when he greeted you this morning, gives a cheerier wave than before and nods toward a different direction than Tomon's earlier gesture. "Quartermaster's just this way, we'll get you kitted out in no time."

[Eternis]

The Quartermaster hands you the gear you've requested- all within budget- but offers you an extra day's worth of rations that are a little higher quality than standard, including some upper-class ingredients, in return for getting a small bottle of fortified wine to one of the guards at the site.

Secylla asks for a general description of the Guard as well as his name.

Colin, the guard in question, has light brown hair, brown eyes, and a squashed nose- but the quartermaster tells you that the most distinguishing feature of Colin will be his armor- which will be the most heavily polished (aside from the lieutenant's), but also the oldest and most dented armor there. Or at least, that's what the quartermaster's guessing, given the letters he's gotten from Colin.

[Awakeninfinity]

Secylla listens quietly and nods affirmatively; "He sounds like an easy enough man to find; consider it done." She places the fortified bottle into a secure spot in her pack.

[Eternis]

The Quartermaster grins heartily as he hands the group some fruit from a recent shipment from one of the stables in Faron, along with various vegetables, meats, and a small pouch of Goron spice- and with that, you are fully equipped (as far you have requested) for your journey into the odd canyon opening.

[Awakeninfinity]

Secylla makes sure her gear is in order before casting Mage Armor at the the town gates. She starts walking (unless we have horses) towards the canyons with everyone else.

[Eternis]

The trip goes mostly uneventfully- your resident cook gathers some extra ingredients along the way, and the closest the group comes to combat is a small force of silver and black bokoblins traveling north that flee as soon as your vanguard comes into sight.

You arrive mid-morning to find a well-laid-out, albeit clearly temporary military base, surrounding and guarding a set of wooden scaffolding jutting out and down over the canyon's edge. The guard posting is clearly pretty negligible- you see a couple of guards looking distracted and inattentive in watchtowers to the north and south, and the guard in the watchtower looking along the trail on which you're approaching from the east is asleep and snoring. Apart from the crisp and impeccable organization of the base, the only sign of the diligence you've come to expect from Hyrule's armed forces comes from the sounds of wood on wood, firm and in an irregular rhythm that enough of you can easily recognise to be sparring. You admittedly can't see anything like that going on, but there is a line of tarpaulin-roofed buildings blocking your vision to most of the camp.

[Awakeninfinity]

Secylla slips up the tower as quietly as she can; and wakes up the guard.
"Wake up; tired one- you have duties to tend to...

She confirms whether or not this guard fits Colin's description Before slipping back downstairs as he wakes up.

[FēlīxPersōnārum]

[Somewhat retroactive]

At the first camp on the trip to the canyon, Fēlīx had handed out a magic pouch to each member of the party, demonstrating their use: all of the pouches are connected to the same pouch-sized extradimensional space, so anything placed in one is available through all of the others.

[Present]

Fēlīx is looking around as if this was a grand vista or something rather than a hasty encampment. He sports a broad grin, but says nothing. If he had a camera, he’d probably be taking photos.

[Eternis]

Secylla:
Getting close to the guard in the watchtower, you can see the man's blonde hair slipping out from the helmet barely staying on the man's head- clearly not Colin. Slipping away, you just barely make it away from the guard as he splutters awake- you get the feeling that had you lingered half a second more, he would have seen you.