The Scoundrels of Virtue

[NayruGoddessOfWisdom 8]

((Hey I'm back from Cornwall! Sorry for the lack of replies but trying to get signal down there was virtually impossible. And no, I've heard nothing from him. I'm getting quite concerned about him :/ I've messaged him both here and on fanfiction, but he's been completely inactive...))

 

Endel took off at the head of the group, looking far too enthusiastic for Torianna's liking. She herself wasn't too keen on the idea of breaking into the networks Kakarikan base. Who knows who might be there? Her brother? Her dad? Kazdan himself? She didn't exactly feel up to having a confrontation with the network. She still didn't know what Kazdan wanted from them. She still didn't know what they wanted with her.

Lorcan walked uncomfortably closely beside her. His hand remained on the hilt of his sword the entire time, and his cool blue eyes were constantly surveying their surroundings as they proceeded towards an abandoned looking building. She shot him a confused glance, but he didn't even respond. Whatever he was doing, he was taking it extremely seriously.

As they approached the building, their footsteps gradually got softer and softer. Torianna's skin chilled as they stepped into the elongated shadow.

Endel pressed a finger to his lips, and they all huddled themselves back against the wall of the building, ready to enter.

[Knuckle 484]

((Welcome back, hope you had a good time! Thanks for trying to check up on him, I don't have any of his contact info unfortunately.))

 

The interior of the building was unguarded, but unlike anything Endel could have expected. The walls and roof were merely a cover for what must have been a digging site burrowing in the direction of Death Mountain. The intense heat and blazing glow coming from the tunnel made it clear why the temperature there was so high.

Bokoblins could be seen toiling away in the cavern, mostly clearing rubble. "This looks like an enormous operation, way beyond what I'd think the network could do." Endel whispered. Torianna's silence told him that she agreed. There had to be some of Kazdan's sorcery at work here, given they were able to withstand what should have been fatal heat in the room, not to mention that these bokoblins had been digging away unheard in the middle of a village.

 

It was a good thing Torianna had taught Maia to fight, because she was going to be invaluable in Endel's plan. "We need to coordinate our attacks and kill every one of these bokoblins without making a fuss." he explained. "I don't know how many there are, so we have to team up and split up on the fly."

"I think it would be best if I stayed quite a few paces behind." Skallin remarked, to which the others nodded. "I will be sure to watch our backs, then."

Torianna thought they should take partners in case a small group of enemies necessitated a second pair of hands, and surprisingly insisted that Lorcan be her partner. "I think Maia wants to show you how much she's improved." She said with a wink. causing Endel to lose his composure.

 

"What's that supposed to mean!?" He shot back in as loud a whisper as he could manage. Maia seemed to blush slightly while Torianna grinned earnestly. "Alright, you and Lorcan take the lead, Maia and I will follow." he changed the subject as best he could but failed. "...and me teaming up with her doesn't mean a thing!"

[ButterflyBabyBlue 2]

Lorcan walked alongside Torianna in monotonous, quiet steps. After reaching the end of the first long corridor, they'd gone right while Endel, Maia and Skallin had turned left. Long, sparsely lit hallways were abundant, and there were times when Lorcan felt he'd been walking in circles. Torianna was still grinning over Endel's embarrassment from earlier, appearing incredibly self-satisfied. She noticed Lorcan's questioning look and her smile widened.

"What?" she asked in hushed tones. "There was definitely something fishy going on back there."

Lorcan frowned, thinking back. He supposed Endel had seemed pretty caught off-guard with Torianna's remark. Fighting a smile was difficult.

"Told you," Torianna said quietly with a smile. Lorcan let her enjoy her small victory, before he tapped her on the shoulder with another thought in mind.

She waited, and Lorcan gestured between the two of them in an attempt to make his meaning get across as simply as was possible. Luckily, it wasn't long before she realised what he was referring.

"Gods, no," she hissed, and Lorcan grinned. "Get over yourself, nature boy. I'm teaming up with you because I have to, alright?"

Lorcan shook his head at that, smiling slyly. Well, this was more fun than he'd thought. He could see why Torianna found so much pleasure in it. 

"You're so full of it," she whispered, half to herself. "You've been assigned as my personal guard, you might as well do the work you're supposed to be doing."

Lorcan scoffed, but let it drop, already growing tired of Torianna's ever-changing moods. 

They turned yet another corridor and Lorcan's head whipped around in the direction of voices, grabbing Torianna by the arm and yanking her back to where he'd stopped. He clamped a hand over her mouth as she was about to let out a verbal protest, keeping one hand on her arm for precaution while he placed a finger on his lips. Torianna nodded, though her scowl remained in place. The two waited, listening.

[NayruGoddessOfWisdom 8]

"The injection is prepared. Everything is set to go, we just need a precautionary test first," Kazdan's voice rung out in the cavern. Various chinks could be heard, like the knocking of bottles and testing equipment.

Torianna leaned a little closer, straining her ears to listen. Lorcan's grip on her arm remained firm. She was acutely aware of his presence so close to her - arrogant prick.

"The injection has been customised to work with your DNA. We just need a test subject, to ensure that there are no nasty side effects," Kazdan continued.

"I know that." Torianna knew that harsh voice anywhere. Only her father could snap like that. "You've got to be patient. We're doing our best to lure her and her little friends closer."

Torianna tensed where she stood. Did he mean her?

"Time is of the essence," Kazdan muttered.

"Alright," her father hissed. "Don't forget we're doing you a favour here. You want to resurrect the Demon Lords? You need our help!"

"I don't need you specifically..." Kazdan muttered.

"Except you do," her father spat back. "You need a group of morally ambiguous people. You need them organised into a society that is already tiered in terms of power and skill. You need people with nothing to lose, people who would be willing to let you alter their DNA with your damned injections. You won't find these people anywhere else."

Kazdan didn't say anything for a few moments. You could practically smell his fury. Torianna's father was right, and he knew it. "It doesn't have to be the girl," Kazdan growled. "Your son would fit the bill. We just need someone with DNA close enough to yours. The injection would work on him too."

"I'm not risking Jaydon," her father hissed. "He's important to the network and he'd be useful in your plan. It's Torianna, or kiss goodbye to the whole idea."

It was that moment when Lorcan decided that he'd heard enough. He gripped Torianna's arm tighter and began to drag her back down the narrow mine that they'd just traversed. Torianna didn't bother to fight him this time. She was having a hard enough time trying to clear her head. She had figured out what they meant, but she couldn't seem to process it. Lorcan continued to pull her until they'd marched right from the building. He turned to her, but Torianna couldn't read his expression in the slightest.

"He's turning the network into Demon Lords..." she muttered. Her lips felt numb, but she forced herself to speak. "And they want me... like some sort of lab rat?"

Edited 1 Sep 2014 by NayruGoddessOfWisdom (see edit history)

[Knuckle 484]

The further Endel and Maia went into the cavern, the hotter it became. Both of them were doing a fine job incapacitating all the bokoblins they came across, to the point that not a single one drew the attention of its comrades, but it was getting harder to focus with all this heat. eventually the cave began to widen out drastically and ooze rivers of magma along the path; if not for Kazdan's enchantments on the cave it would be inhospitable.

 

The sounds of a great commotion stopped the pair in their tracks. "Excellent work," a cruel voice said. "This is one of the creatures our master was looking for. Restrain him while I report to Kazdan." There was a rush of footsteps getting closer, putting both Endel and Maia in a panic. They spotted a stray pile of rocks and ducked behind them just in time before another of that vile sorcerer Kazdan's top assistants ran by. Endel only got a glimpse of him, but the man appeared different than the woman in the desert. His skin was deathly pale, and his eyes were a dull maroon. There was something... inhuman about his presence too; although he was no doubt one of those hybrids, the aura of this one was somehow even more sinister.

 

Endel didn't have any more time to dwell on it though, as Maia was trying to draw his attention to the 'creature' they'd heard about. Among a group of bokoblins was a single, hooded figure with its back to their position. "We're going to save him, aren't we?" Maia asked, and Endel gave her a smile.

"Definitely. Follow my lead, we'll have that little guy freed in no time."

[Franne 2]

"What's the plan?" Maia whispered. She and Endel were crouched, following the path and hiding behind rocks when they heard footsteps. 

"I don't know yet," Endel replied. 

"What? We can't do that!" Maia whispered, a little bit louder. 

"Shh..." he told her. "If they see us, we're dead, literally." 

That didn't exactly help to keep Maia calm. "But-"

"Shh. Please..." 

Maia sighed, but knew that he was right. 

They decided to watch the guard bokoblins to figure out a plan.

Maia was very nervous, but hoped that she could trust Endel's plan, whether it exited or not... 

[NayruGoddessOfWisdom 8]

Torianna felt top heavy, rather like a metal ball balanced on a stick. She felt precarious, and clung to the wall of the building for support; it was either that or Lorcan's arm, and she wasn't up for letting him think she needed his help. Her head felt heavy, saturated with confusion. She let it fall back against the wall behind her. Her breath rattled in her chest.

She'd known for a very long time that her father wasn't exactly fond of her. He'd always wanted a son, some idiotic idea about a boy to carry on his legacy. It didn't matter to him that Torianna was a better thief than Jaydon, that she knew how to think for herself rather than just follow rules. All that mattered to him was his son, the spitting image of himself. His daughter was of no consequence.

But she never thought he'd do this.

She cursed aloud. Lorcan raised his eyebrows from where he stood, less than a foot away, watching Torianna with a confused frown. She continued to curse. She cursed herself for spending all those years bitterly fighting to prove her worth to her father. He was never going to listen anyway.

Well now he needed her.

And she wasn't playing his game any more.

So she dropped to the ground, her back pressed against the wall. She pushed her fingers together and laid them between her knees. She chanced a glance upward, and found Lorcan watching. He nervously flicked his gaze between her and the door, his tall figure looming high over where she sat.

She rolled her eyes. "Sit down you mute idiot," she sighed.

[ButterflyBabyBlue 2]

Lorcan had done as Torianna asked, and was sitting about half a foot away with his knees tucked up to his chest and his arms folded.

It didn't feel right, just sitting around, but Torianna didn't seem like she was willing to budge, despite Lorcan's attempts to pull her up onto her feet again. And so he was forced to content himself with tapping his armour rhythmically while Torianna appeared to be lost in her own thoughts.

After a while, Lorcan found he couldn't stand her silence, and tapped her on the shoulder. She frowned at him, waiting, and he looked about the cave for some loose dirt.

After a moment he had used his finger to write in the ground, dusty letters forming one simple question: "How are you?"

"I'm just dandy," Torianna said with a scowl. Lorcan glared, pointing firmly to his question for emphasis. After a tense moment, Torianna sighed.

"I just... I knew my father wasn't entirely fond of me but..

but this is just horrible. I didn't think he was this sick, this cruel."

Lorcan nodded carefully, sensing her anguish at how this whole situation had played out.

"And now he's willing to put my life at risk for his plans with Kazdan. It's just... disgusting."

Lorcan frowned, and for once it wasn't out of annoyance with her. It was just sympathy, a sympathy he couldn't explain even to himself, though he'd always been so certain of his own emotions.

Unsure of how to comfort her, Lorcan opted to pat her lightly on the shoulder, setting his hand on her shoulder gently. She glared sharply at first, but after a moment, she surprised him by shifting closer and making it easier for Lorcan to keep his light grip on her.

"I was right," she muttered. "You are a big mute idiot."

[Knuckle 484]

"... okay, I think I've got it." Endel whispered. "Help me push one of these barrels, we're aiming for that slope."

 

Together they rolled one of the containers quietly as they could in the direction of a slope halfway between them and the guards. Eventually it gained its own momentum and rolled on its own past them and down into another part of the cave. Not able to discern the barrel in the relative darkness, all of the Bokoblins guarding  the captive brainlessly stumbled after they mysterious object. The plan had worked surprisingly well, to Maia's visible delight.

 

Approaching the captive, both Scoundrels were shocked to find it was not a human the Bokoblins had been guarding. The creature had a hidden face under its green cloak, but two enormous eyes glowed brightly from underneath. "Hey, you guys are really bad at hospitality. Sheesh!" It said in a rather uncouth manner, further surprising the both of them. 

"Er... sorry about that," Endel said awkwardly, not bothering to explain that they'd just saved him. "What are you anyway?

 

"I'm cold and ticked off is what I am," he continued with attitude, "but you can call me a Subrosian. One of your buddies called me a 'distant relative of the demons' or something, but I told him that I'm no Zuna, you know?" the little man scoffed. 

"Oh... but we don't know what that is." Maia said.

"No surprise there. We Subrosians just know that Demons are a pain, and boy are we glad they're gone from Subrosia!" Endel wanted to ask what exactly Subrosia was, but the small creature continued. "But those Zuna, they got kicked out of our place with their demon buddies a long time ago. Some folks say they live in the desert, but what do I care?"

 

Just then something snapped in Endel's mind; that woman in the desert wasn't there to buy those Bullbo, she was looking for information. Kazdan was here looking for the Subrosians, and he sent his underlings to the desert to find the Zuna. What he was planning to do with these creatures, Endel could only guess at. Not that he was given time to, as the stout creature had shuffled with incredible speed over to one of the magma pools and hopped right into its molten surface.

 

Both Endel and Maia were horrified, and left utterly dumbstruck when the Subrosian emerged unscathed. "Just what I needed!" He said, quite enjoying his submersion in the magma. "No more time to chat today, I've got dance lessons and work. You guys aren't all bad though, take this for your troubles!" The creature seemed to procure something from its cloak, then lobbed it from beneath the magma right to Endel's feet. It was a rugged chunk of metallic rock. "I guess you could call it my last 'tip,' haha!" the creature seemed to joke, but Endel was baffled. With a quick goodbye, the Subrosian submerged under the molten surface and didn't appear again.

[NayruGoddessOfWisdom 8]

It was clear to Torianna that Lorcan was beginning to grow agitated. To his credit, he had been incredibly patient with her up to this point. Ordinarily, she wasn't one for sitting around doing nothing, but there was no way she was going back in there while her father was still waiting on her arrival. Remembering his bitter words was enough to make Torianna clench her fists.

Lorcan turned to look at her. He wore that unfamiliar expression again. Torianna hated it. She knew when he was angry with her, she knew when he was playing irritated, she knew when he was feeling guilty - but he was wearing an expression that she just couldn't place. She didn't like it one bit.

"Stop looking at me like that!" she snapped.

He frowned in confusion. She rolled her eyes, unsure of quite how to explain it.

Luckily, she was saved from explaining when Endel, Maia, and Skallin emerged from the building to join them. Torianna scuffed her foot over the message Lorcan wrote on the ground, smudging it into an incomprehensible blur as she stood up. She didn't want them to see it. Lorcan rarely spoke to anyone, so to have this written communication with him seemed... personal. She loved to joke with the others about Lorcan's tantrums and grumpy expressions, but this was different.

Endel seemed too distracted to notice. He gestured back to the building. "You'll never guess what just happened!"

So Torianna listened carefully as the trio recounted what had happened to them while exploring the mines. Their story was absolutely absurd, and had it been anyone else talking, she wouldn't have believed them.

"So," Endel said. "That woman in the dessert wasn't looking for cavalry. She was bargaining for information!"

"Wait wait..." Torianna said. "Maybe I'm missing something because I'm the newbie to the Scoundrels... but where the hell is Subrosia? And what's a Zuna?"

"That's just it, we don't know!" Endel says. "But it's got to be something important, right?" Lorcan nodded his agreement, and Torianna even managed to dredge up a smile. "Speaking of which, what did you guys find out?"

Edited 9 Sep 2014 by NayruGoddessOfWisdom (see edit history)

[Knuckle 484]

Suddenly a deep gasping filled the cave walls, as if someone were filling up a balloon. Before she could get out a word, Torianna leaped forward and tackled Endel to the ground just as a gout of flames belched from a pocket of darkness in the cave. From the blackness another of Kazdan's hybrids walked forward. This one mostly resembled a dodongo, with scales and claws to match its reptilian body that stood on two feet. Even so, it had the same paler-than-usual complexion and strange eye color of that man Endel had seen in the caves earlier, suggesting that even transformed this beast had some unique modifications.

 

"It seems you discovered our trap, but lack the skill to do anything about it." The humanoid beast hissed, "Even so, I don't intend to underestimate you."

 

The dodongo-hybrid emitted a screech that caused even Skallin to stagger, then leapt for Torianna with inhuman speed. Endel's surprise turned to hatred when he realized their predicament; their enemy had grabbed his friend and alerted everyone in the caves to their location, effectively giving them only a minute to squirm out of this mess. Torianna was pinned by the beast in a firm armlock, making it hard to retaliate without risking harm to her. 

 

They needed to find a way out of this, fast.

[ButterflyBabyBlue 2]

Lorcan drew his sword quickly, his eyes on Torianna before being forced to leap back as balls of fire were hurled in the group's direction. Lorcan dived to the side again as the first ball hit the cave floor only to be followed near-immediately with a second. He was knocked into the right wall of the cave, grunting in pain as he came into contact with the wall. 

The rest of the group had dived to the other side, and it seemed Endel was keen on rescuing Torianna without getting any of the group hurt. But even if they retrieved Torianna, they'd still have to find an exit, surrounded on all sides by these dodongo-hybrids.

Lorcan's thoughts were interrupted as he ducked to avoid a whooshing fireball that landed just behind him, smoldering along with the others that had been fired. The space they had to move around in, already limited enough as it was, was shrinking rapidly. 

Torianna was struggling, attempting to reach one of her knives only to be gripped even tighter by their foe. Torianna winced in pain, and Lorcan felt a pang of sympathy. The footsteps of the other creatures on their trail grew increasingly louder. Time was short - very short.

Rolling to avoid a wave of fire, Lorcan grunted as his back was pressed against something -a rock, it felt like- before he recovered. Glancing down, his eyebrows shot upwards in surprise. A trap door!

[NayruGoddessOfWisdom 8]

Torianna watched in surprise as Lorcan pulled open a concealed trap door, before leaping forward to fend of the advancing hybrids. Maia and Skallin were first to clamber down. Endel made an attempt to strike at the dodongo-hybrid confining her, but it hissed and forced him away with a blast of fire - Torianna just ducked in time to avoid her hair being singed, though it sent a jarring pain through her shoulder.

"Go!" she yelled above the ruckus. He shook his head, but she repeated. "Go! I can handle this..."

Endel looked uncertain, but begrudgingly backed off and down through the trap door. That left just Lorcan, fending off the advances of the hybrids towards the trap door. He locked eyes with her, looking determined. Damn him! Why did he have to be so infuriatingly insistent?

"I told you to leave!" she said through gritted teeth.

He shook his head fiercely, dodging another fireball. She sighed. "Trust me, I can do this alone. I need you to leave!"

He stood for a few moments more, defending the position. But when he realised she was serious, he conceded with a sharp nod. He stepped back, took hold of the trap door handle. Then, in one swift motion, he plunged feet first through the hole, and slammed the trap door shut behind him.

Immediately, three hybrids took off after the Scoundrels, leaving Torianna alone with the one holding her in an arm lock. This was what she needed, she could handle him herself.

"Your daddy awaits," he said, his voice monotonous as he led her from the corner and down towards one of the mines. His grip shifted from the confining arm lock to a somewhat easier position, one hand on her shoulder, the other holding her elbow. This allowed her to slowly, and very very carefully, pull her dagger from her waistband. She waited until his attention shifted just the tiniest bit, then unleashed a swift slash to his scaled thighs. She was working with her weaker arm, and it wasn't the most advantageous angle, but it did the trick. He howled with pain and loosened his grip just enough for Torianna to make a break for it.

She raced back up the corridors towards the front of the disguise-building. Already she could hear the footsteps of hybrids in pursuit. She didn't pause to open the door, but instead barged her shoulder into the wood. It gave way this time, and she broke into the open air. She glanced around desperately, searching for a quick get away.

A few horses were tied to the front of one of the houses. She knew that Ashei wanted the Scoundrels to stop thieving... but desperate times call for desperate measures.

She slashed the rope that bound one, a jet black stallion, and leapt up onto his back. With a quick jab of her heels and a tug on the reigns, he took off towards the gates of Hyrule Field.

She wasn't sure where the other Scoundrels were. She had no idea where that trap door even led to. But she had confidence in them to find their own way out of there, just as she had. With the wind in her hair and the sun on her back, she set off for Hyrule Castle.

[Knuckle 484]

Endel heard another howl from below them and hoped it was a sign Torianna escaped. They, on the other hand, still had enemies to deal with and were in an unfamiliar part of the caves. None of them had the energy left to run much farther, and Skallin in particular was lagging behind, but Endel had a plan when he saw a pile of high explosives nearby. Scooping one up and pulling out his flint and string, he finally reached for the only sharp, throw-able object on his person; his short sword.

 

Tying the dynamite to the hilt of his blade, he lit the fuse and quickly tossed it at one of the dodongo-hybrids. Expecting a rock or something heavy, the foremost one was surprised when the blade whizzed right at him and embedded in his chest before exploding violently. All three had been taken out by the blast, but his relief turned to horror when a large portion of the wall was torn out and began violently pumping out magma. Thankfully it began flowing back down the hill they'd ran up, but the incredible heat was quickly overwhelming them, and they used the last of their energy running up the hill and back into the light of day.

 

This cave entrance put them dangerously close to Death Mountain and was an uncovered mouth well off the path used by travelers. They could actually see the proper trail from their position on one of the taller sloped crags, but everyone was so exhausted they couldn't even work up the energy to vent their anger and confusion regarding Torianna, so they made a small camp and fell asleep as the sun crept below the hills.

 

Endel had full confidence at least that the tunnels they'd explored were now submerged in molten rock (and they'd killed three of those seemingly mass-produced hybrids while assuming Torianna killed the last, meaning there was no concern about them), so he slept without fear of being ambushed. Nonetheless, his slumber was disturbed by a strange feeling that permeated his dreams. He couldn't explain it, but somehow he could feel a presence entreating him to return to Hyrule Castle. The urge to go there persisted as he slept and into the morning, but even when giving informing his group the next day of their return to Castle Town he didn't mention it to anyone.

 

"We can talk about everything when we get home," he said finally over breakfast. "For now, we need to pack up and find the trail home. It's going to be a lengthy trip."

[Franne 2]

It felt like they had been walking for days, but looking at the sun, it had only been a few hours...

"Are we even going the right way?" Maia asked Endel. 

He nodded. 

"Well how do you know?" she asked. 

"Just trust me, okay?" he insisted.

"Okay... Will it take much longer?" 

"I'm not sure..." Endel sighed. 

"We'll get there," she said, walking next to him. "And if you worry about Torianna, I'm certain she's okay. She's strong, she'll manage to get out. I bet she's on her way to the castle now too."

"Probably, thanks, Maia," he said, giving her a warm smile. 

"That's okay," she smiled.