R.D. let fly with his attack, sending the maelstrom of wind in his hand far into the forest. "Super Cyclone!"

It exploded outwards, sending zephyrs of wind out in random, spiraling directions. The wind began to pick up and increase in speed, picking up dirt and dust and leaves as it condensed into a large tornado. It quickly began drawing the purple mist into as it grew larger, sucking it up from the ground and giving it an eerie violet color.

Matt casually aimed his armored hand at the violet cyclone. "Tornado Buster." The ball of wind in his palm erupted into a shot of spiralling force, which smacked into the existing cyclone and magnified its suction.

The cyclone spun about rapidly until it had absorbed all of the poisonous vapors, and then a quick manipulation by R.D. had the winds expel it harmlessly up into the air, well out of the reach of humans. The cyclone spun for a few more minutes before its intensity began to die out, and once it dissipated entirely, R.D. let go of Lumiya's energy, leaving him panting for breath.

"Let's get going in case it comes back," he said, standing up straighter after a moment.

"We can follow that broken bridge," Alasea said, pointing off to the right. "That should take us to the other side, at least."

"Sounds good," Matt said. He wondered if the tornado attracted anything unsavory. Well, if it did, he'd just have to serve them a three-course meal comprised of his fist.

They trailed along the broken down wooden bridge for a short while before coming to another hill above where the mist was. What they found at the cliff wall was another tunnel. Upon entering, they found that this one would not be as short as the last one--it seemed to grow darker within, as the tunnel slanted upwards.

"Great. Let's hope we don't run into a bear in here," R.D. said.

"I don't think so. I hear squeaking up ahead," she said, listening into the tunnel. Sure enough, there came faint, squeaking noises. "Either rats or bats. Probably both."

"We could throw a fireball in there," Matt said, with a chuckle in his words. "You wanna do that, Helena?"

"No," Helena said. "They don't need to die if they end up leaving us alone. You don't have to be so battle-crazy."

"Hey, I like punching things before asking questions. Makes things more interesting."

"Yeah, and you make an ass of yourself and get us in trouble," Hugo said. "Don't do it."

Shortly after entering the tunnel, the ground gave way to wooden paneling, which opened up into a small chamber with a torch. In the corner, two rats were seen chewing away at something, while in other places of the room, old pots were suspended in the air by long spider-webs.

"Well, if there's a torch here, that means humans use this place regularly," R.D. said as they came in. Both rats turned and attacked them, but a single slash from his weapon scared them off, and they ran down a side tunnel to safety. "That's a good sign, at least."

"That tunnel looks like a dead-end," Alasea commented, concerning the tunnel the rats fled through. "Guess we keep going."

They turned down the tunnel, which was darker thanks to a lack of torch light. Ileyna lit it up using her powers, casting everything in a blue glow. Including the strange plant that suddenly burst up from the ground, snapping with a strange, bulbous and drooling head.

"Aaaahhh!" she shrieked, jumping back as it made a lunge at her.

Helena snapped to Ileyna's side and flung a swath of flame at the plant monster.

The plant was quickly torched, and it shrank into the ground as it died, burning out completely.

Ileyna clung to Helena's side until the creature died, and R.D. sighed as he stepped past.

"Great," he muttered. "Carnivorous plants. The bats we keep hearing will probably attack us, too."

And attack they did--turning around the bend in the tunnel, where they saw torchlight once more, a pair of bats--if they could be called such, with their large, wild-looking eyes and their long, hooked tails--dove at them with talons and fangs outstretched. R.D.'s sword cleaved them in twain with two quick swipes.

"There's the exit," Ileyna declared after both bats were killed. She pointed down the tunnel, which was going downhill again.

"Good, let's get out of this place," Alasea said, moving forward.

"Starting to hate this place now!" Matt complained, glancing about for more of the creatures.

"Don't like bats?" Helena asked.

"Well, after they try to kill me, of course not."

The tunnel gave way to a pair of crude, wooden gates, and a short pathway filled with tall grass that went up to their wastes. Luckily, the gates were open, allowing them to step through. A wide tunnel stretched out past the grass, and to their left was another clearing with a large, sloppily-built wooden shack alongside the cliff wall.

"Well, we got two options," Alasea said, stepping past the gates and into the grass. "We can keep heading down that giant tunnel, or we can... go into this clearing."

"Let's go check out that shack," R.D. said. "I'm already tired of tunnels filled with man-eating plants."

"Look at this," Ileyna said, standing in front of a sign resting against the wall. It had text on it, in sharp, angular runes. "Can any of you read this?"

Hugo stood up on the tips of his feet, scanning the sign. Probably literally and figuratively, Matt reasoned. "I don't recognize these," the Mettaur said. "Not surprising."

Helena crossed past Alasea and looked out towards the shanty. "I'm not sure if anyone who can help us read it lives in that shack, but we can try."

"Hold up a sec," Alasea said, waving to them. "Let me try something."

"What are you doing?" R.D. asked, as Alasea ran a finger beneath the script on the sign. "Can you read it?"

"Nope," she said. "However... I can translate it."

She suddenly spun about, pointing at each person with her finger, like a gun. Each time she pointed at someone, a beam of blue light snapped out of her finger and nailed each of them in the chest (or in the G-Stone, in Hugo's case). As a warmth spread through their chest, a peculiar feeling went through their minds, and the script on the sign seemed to shift.

"... okay, that's a neat trick," R.D. said as he found that he could read the sign.

"Its useful but it'll only last about a day," Alasea said. "So, what's it say?"

"'Forest Temple Path'," R.D. read aloud, using his finger to point out the text. "'It's pitch-dark ahead! Parties interested in going forward must first go this way! - Coro.'"

He looked at the arrow beside "Way!" on the sign, and it pointed off in the direction of the shack, which was likely owned by this Coro person. "So, if we were headed to the Forest Temple back the way we came, we'd have to go here first?"

"Should we even be going to the Forest Temple?" Matt asked.

"We might as well start looking for the Essence there," Helena said. "We got dropped close to it for a reason."

"Well, let's go talk to Coro then," R.D. said. "Wait... will we be able to understand him?"

"We should," Alasea said. "They'll think we're speaking their language, while we'll just hear English."

"Works for me. Let's go."

They filed out into the clearing, taking in more details this time. Near the shack was a man sitting on a stump carved into a chair. He was talking to another man dressed in green, who immediately noticed them as they stepped into the clearing.



Regardless of the blue-purple sword and shield on his back, R.D. could tell right away that this man was a warrior, and a good one at that. There was a look in the man's blue eyes that gave it right away. The man was giving them a suspicious look, too--probably because of the clothing they were wearing. Or maybe it was because of Helena's appearance.

Of course, people looking as strange as they do were going to get that kind of suspicious look. Plus, Helena wasn't helping matters. Might as well break the ice. "Hi there!" Matt called out, with a short wave. "We're trying to get our way to the Forest Temple. Care to point us in the right direction?"

Hearing Matt's call about the Forest Temple, the other person, a shorter man with slightly sun-darkened skin and a big afro, waved them over, grinning. The group headed over at the invitation, while the man in green stepped back, still looking suspicious at their appearance.

Alasea had to stifle a giggle at the sitting man's appearance. There was a nest in the top of his afro, and as they approached, a bird landed in it for a brief moment--the person did not seem to notice, nor did he seem to mind.

"Hey, guys!" the man said. "If you're looking to go to the Forest Temple, you'll need lanterns to light your way. Gets pretty dark in the tunnels and in the Temple!"

"Um... we don't need lanterns," R.D. said. "We've already got a way to light our way."

"Oh... you don't?" now the man, Coro they assumed, looked a bit dejected. "Well, that's a shame. If you had lanterns, I could've sold you oil for refills."

"Sorry, sir," Alasea said with an apologetic smile. "We just came over because your sign said we should."

"Maybe you can tell us what to expect," Matt said, folding his arms. "Any legends we should know about the place, or anything like that?"

"Nothing worth mentioning anymore," the man in green spoke up. "There were a couple treasures, but I've already been to the Forest Temple once. There's nothing left of note there."

R.D. turned to face the man fully, but he was already speaking again before he could say anything. "Who are you people?" he questioned. "You wear clothing I've never seen before. And I know you're not locals. You didn't come from this way, and the other way leads to Ordon Village, and I live there. You had to have come from the Forest Temple's direction."

Alasea felt her heart sink. Well, they certainly didn't expect to get busted this early. She looked to Matt for ideas.

Sometimes Matt didn't even know why they bothered hiding the truth anymore. He was starting to run out of excuses besides telling half-truths. And really, when crap hit the fan, people found out sooner or later. "We're just a couple of travellers from out of town, walking on a path no mere men can travel," Matt said, in what he hoped sounded like a cool and profound statement.

The man regarded Matt for a second, thinking god knows what. "What are your names?" he asked finally.

"I'm R.D.," R.D. said, and pointed to each of his friends in turn. "This Matt, Hugo, Helena, Alasea, and Ileyna."

"I'm Link," the man responded. "What business do you have at the Forest Temple?"

"We're trying to find a powerful artifact," Matt said. If they couldn't hide their origins, hopefully the Chronomancer would be satisfied with just hiding the truth about the Omega Essence. Hell, he'd have to settle with that. "It can increase someone's existing power or give them powers if they didn't have any to begin with. Know about anything like that?"

Link frowned a bit, thinking. "That doesn't sound quite like the Fused Shadows," he said.

"What's that?" R.D. asked. Link merely shook his head.

"Don't worry about it," Link said, waving him off. "That's not something you can get to anyway. If you're not looking for that, you're looking for something else that I don't know about. You'd be better off asking at Telma's bar in Castle Town."

Edited by RisingDragon on February 4, 2010 at 23:25:02.

The Fused Shadows, eh? Well, at least Matt's guess was right about this being a fantasy world. Oh, sure, he hadn't SEEN the Fused Shadows, but that wasn't a label you gave to a car. "Which way is Castle Town?"

"Its north of here," Link said. "You'll have to leave the forest and get through all of the Bokoblins and Kargarocs to get there. Its not the easiest trip to make on foot."

"Maybe you can show us the way there," Alasea spoke up, causing Link to look at her. "We'll need directions to Telma's bar once we're there."

Link considered this for a moment, then nodded. "Very well. I needed to stop by Castle Town anyway."

"Sounds good," Matt said. If they were using the Firebird, they could probably plow right through those Boko-things and Kanga-whatevers. But if Link was spooked by how they looked now, a mean-ass car popping out of Matt's pocket would definitely not be a good idea.

"Let's get going then," Link said, turning to leave. "It'll be dark soon, and nothing good is out then."

"Thanks for stopping by!" Coro called out to Link as they began to leave. "Just come back if you need another refill!"

"I will, Coro," Link called back. "Take care."

Link felt kinda serious, like Samus. Not too much, though. She bordered into hardass territory at times. Then again, time would tell how Link turned out. Matt followed Link's lead, and the rest followed.

Link led them past Coro's shack, and as they traveled, the trees became more and more sparse as they spread out. Soon, as they turned the corner, the forest gave way to a vast field, spreading out before them. A dusty path stretched forward, going between a pair of small, tree-covered plateaus. East, in the distance, a fiery volcano spewing white smoke could be seen. But what caught their attention was directly ahead, well beyond the beaten path--a magnificent castle stood, with various spires rising up around a central tower. The entire structure was incased in a gigantic golden pyramid, black around its edges.

"Whoa," R.D. breathed as he took in the sight of the encased castle. Link merely frowned upon seeing it, clearly troubled by its appearance.

Edited by RisingDragon on February 5, 2010 at 16:21:43.

"What in the world is going on THERE?" Helena asked, pointing at the castle.