World Tree MUSH

    It's always the rural places that end up with trouble that the big guys can't seem to take care of. Priorities, right? The village that is the focus of today is not all that small, but it was remote. A 'small' Vine has only recently established itself within easy reach of it, a Vine so small that large vehicles and carts have trouble passing through it. Mostly, it is foot traffic, which has lead to some interesting tourists stopping by and an awakening of the village to the new worlds around them, but it hasn't yet dawned on any of them just HOW big the change is.

    It's a recent addition, possibly a new Blossom, still getting investigated. But the one thing that is known is that the village has complained about bandit raids by piglike creatures lately, and that monsters like this have been 'on the rise' lately.

    But seeing it, the village is pretty lively and friendly. Anyone who has wandered in or decided to investigate the rumors will find the people waving to travellers and calling out a greeting, even if the less humanoid ones may bring a second glance of confusion.

    Though one thing the rumors may have failed to pass on: all the villagers have gently tapered, pointed ears.

  One of the people to come through the Vine looks like they belong here, wearing simple riding clothes that wouldn't look out of place in a mediaeval setting. They're riding a very large black war-horse, which a light touch on the reins sidles around the other foot traffic easily. Although the animal has its ears backed, it doesn't actually try to bite anybody. (Thank goodness.)

  The figure astride the horse wears a black hooded robe over the riding clothes, with the hood swept back. It's a young woman, with long chestnut hair and long, tapered ears like the people here. Her eyes are summer-blue, and her expression is currently twisted into a frown.

  Looks like the Vines dropped her into the wrong destination. Again.

  Sighing, she turns the reins, guiding the horse around the mess of people who are arriving here, both tourists and natives alike. Maybe she can find something she needs, here, or maybe she can seek out another Vine to go back to where she's supposed to be...

     Diantha was an exception, being one of the few heroish types that are more likely to be found in more rural areas. She happened upon the small village in her travels, and after hearing talk about monsters and raids, she decides to stick around and see if she could do anything to help bring an end to such trouble. Currently, she is going through the village trying to find clues as to what sorts of other monsters are involved in these attacks, and what these pig raiders are after. Hearing an approaching horse, she turns to look at the animal and it's rider before slowly making her way closer.

    Weiss doesn't like how hard it has been to get to Atlas, even with the Vines. It's true the Vines resist lockdown, but it can take some time for them to move about and provide an opportunity, so the whole team has been talking about going overland anyway, or trying something different.

    That was then. A wrong turn down a Vine led Weiss to somewhere else, and now she's just drifting off course. She was the next world over when she heard the rumors, and while it isn't REALLY her business, it couldn't hurt to stop by and see if there wasn't something she could do. As a Huntress, she was supposed to help people in need, right?

    So here she ended up, maybe even hitching a 'ride' with some others... even if that ride was actually just walking through the Vine with a couple other people to see what's up. Myrtenaster is at her hip, and the white-haired heiress is surprisingly fine with long walks... and she's been out in the Tree enough that those ears don't shock her. In fact that means she assumes Zelda is a traveller from this world! The equipment places this at less advanced than her world though.

    Diantha is a sort that does get her to think it's an outsider, but she's far from being a piglike creature. So she grabs someone who looks like they are paying attention and asks, "Excuse me, is this the village that's been having monster problems?"

    Bandits? Pig-like bandits, even? Sounds like the work of DEVILS! Which also means that it's time for DANTE to KICK SOME ASS!

    But, unfortunately, since the Dante of her world has gone into the Demon World and has not been heard from again, the Protector of Vie di Marli heads to that place to see about it. She's in her normal, human form, so she shouldn't look too out of place. Hopefully.

    She's a rather tall woman, well-built, with dusky skin and crimson red hair. Said crimson hair is done in a braid over one shoulder, as well as draping over one eye. She's mostly garbed in a gray, midriff-baring bodysuit, but there's a short white mantle over her shoulders that hides the bottom of her face a little. And of course she's visibly armed -- she has a pair of curved swords at her hips.

    Those pointed ears get a moment of pause. But since everyone here seems to have them, it doesn't bother Lucia too much. Though the thought that hese people may be elves or faeries does cross her mind. However, there's bandits to deal with, right? That's more important than everyone's pointed ears.

    And it looks like there are other people who, on some level, don't seem to be native. Though in Lucia's mind that doesn't include the person on the horse, because, well... that person does look like they belong here. She will head towards where people seem to be gathering, to try to see if she can figure out where to get started.

    Of course, she offers a nod to the people gathered. "Greetings," she offers simply. Even the single word has traces of an accent, and her voice is soft.

    Now, people with magical-type senses are bound to get a little confused around Lucia. She is powerful magically, and that's clear. But what's confusing is... she is Light. But she is also demonic.

    Diantha has gotten a small cluster of the local children following her around, but approaching Zelda has caused them to flag back, keeping a respectful distance from that scary-looking horse. Mostly. There's probably whispering going on with the kids daring someone to get closer, but so far it hasn't resulted in anything, and sooner or later an adult will shoo them off. A few hails from the locals, that's all, and one calling out to Diantha, "Welcome traveller! I'm afraid these lands are dangerous, but if you'd like to buy some provisions, we'll gladly help you!"

    One of the older men with a dark moustache seems to know what he's doing. Weiss grabs him and he hmms? He looks at her ears, and nods, "Oh... yes, it's a local problem. The moblins have been getting restless lately. We've set up some guards to see if they can't help... I'm sure there's another raid any day now." He sighs, for a moment looking quite weary. "They camp not far from here... if you were interested." He noticed her weapon.

    Lucia does get some eyes looking her way. A few curious ones, some hushed discussion... but then the realization that she's not a Gerudo far from home, but an outworlder. One of them is brave enough to approach, "Are you seeking something, traveller?"

    Such resignation to the raids! It's very much like... home, actually. The rural areas in need of Huntsmen and Huntresses. "I'd like to take a look, yes," she replies. "I'll go talk to the guards then." Just jump right in with helping the locals, and be rude about it, Weiss!

    There are other offworld people causing attention though. Might as well swing by and see what they are here for. Before she heads for the guards, Weiss will move over toward Diantha and Lucia, and taking another look at Zelda because of the horse. Zelda does look like a traveller too.

  The horse is kind of scary-looking, although it's still a quality animal, well-trained, heeding its mistress' hands on the reins. It swivels its ears back but behaves itself. The rider, meanwhile, shakes her head as the village children back away from her noble steed.

  The damned thing's named 'Lynel' for a reason. It's not friendly.

  Mistaking the merchant calling out to her, she shakes her head. "No supplies, thank you. I'll only be passing through, here, today." She may look like she belongs, here, but Zelda is still a stranger. More than that, she's a stranger with a very abnormally high sense of magic. Regarding her with supernatural senses is like staring at the sun. Nothing about her appearance seems odd, though. The gloves on her hands cover anything unusual. She's not even wearing earrings.

  Wait a sec. Moblins? She knows that word, and she knows those disgusting creatures, unfortunately. A deft twitch of her wrist sends the horse into a subtle sidelong step, edging a little closer to where Weiss' villager is talking about the local monster infestation.

  Zelda's mouth tightens. How had they gotten so far out of Hyrule? Then again... this looks like it could also be Hyrule. Apparently she's found an alternate instance of her own world.

  Catching Weiss' eye, she inclines her head, but her attention is clearly elsewhere; looking to the village itself, taking note of its defensive measures or lack thereof. These people are going to get ground into the dust if they come.

  "You're expecting a raid?" She turns her horse again, dust stirred up by the broad, flat hooves; fixing those summer-blue but laser-intense eyes on the villager that had been talking to Weiss. "What kind of defenses do you have in place? Be quick, man, if they are so ready. I will help your people defend yourselves." There's something approaching command in her voice, although it isn't quite there yet. She can't help it. When there's a problem, it's her job to fix it. And these might not be her people, exactly, but they're still her people in spirit. She couldn't just leave.

     Diantha had noticed the children following her around, and it amused her. She does certainly notice when they fall away as she approaches the woman on horseback. She overhears the villager speaking to Weiss and her gaze follows to look upon them both for a moment. 

     When Weiss comes closer, she moves close enough to speak without raising her voice much. "I'd am more than willing to go with you as you 'have a look' if you don't mind." She offers warmly. Though looking back at Zelda, it seems the woman is ready to command the defenders into defending an imminent attack. 

     She, of course, is also armed with her staff, though it probably doesn't look like much to any without magical senses. Speaking of sensing, she does pick up on the light yet demonic aura coming from Lucia as well and eyes her carefully, wondering if she is some sort of being of the light who has been tainted by demonic corruption.

    Lucia turns to the approaching villager and nods. "Ah, yes. Thank you. My name is Lucia. I heard that there was trouble, and I came to see if I could help," she replies. The accent is definitely there now, very much on display. Almost sounds French, actually.

    Weiss gets a look as she approaches, and a nod of greeting. "Hello," Lucia offers. And since Weiss doesn't really look like she completely belongs, she asks, "Are you here about the bandits too?" Indirectly indicating that the bandits are also why she's here as well.

    But then Zelda speaks up, and Lucia turns in her direction. And immediately Lucia wants to hide, for some reason! She does flinch a little from her presence, but it's not in a hugely telling manner. It could come off just as a little confused at the mild sting in the woman's voice.

    Now that she's got a moment to get a closer look at Diantha, Lucia is... nonplussed. She LOOKS unnatural... but FEELS as though she isn't. She's most likely not a resident of this place, but it still feels... completely natural that the deer-woman is the way the is. Very strange. But then noticing that said deer-woman is looking at her, Lucia offers a nod of greeting to her as well. She's not quite sure what to say, but her manner is open and welcoming, so there's that.

    The man is startled when Zelda joins in, but Diantha has already been asking around, so a young woman steps up beside him and answers, "I think these wanderers are curious about our problems." Diantha hadn't gotten a straight answer before now, but with more than one asking about it, some of her questions are now answered. The lady speaks, "The moblins are often just alone, in up to a dozen, but once there were a few bokoblins with them, using bows while the moblins use spears. They dash in and raid our food stores. So far, it hasn't taken too much, but there are more each time..." Which means it could get crippling.

    The man recovers his wits, seeing that more are clustering around when Lucia speaks to Weiss. "We have some makeshift watchtowers facing the forest, and two of our youths with bows manning them. It won't stop them but maybe if they see resistance they'll retreat until the kingdom can send reinforcements. If they ever do. The monsters have been getting worse lately, and the kingdom-"

    He's elbowed suddenly, and clears his throat. "The soldiers are too busy to help us out here."

    An older lady has wandered close now, but instead of the offworlders, she's staring at Zelda. Staring hard. But then she shakes her head and turns away, as if deciding she weren't seeing what she thought she was.

    But it's right about that moment that a bell begins to ring, chiming through the entire town. Immediately the townsfolk begin gathering their things and starting to shutter up the houses, and the man says, "That sounds like a raid is happening now! You can take cover in my cellar if you want to!" He doesn't know if they expected to scout out the camp first. Though that would leave the watchtowers and their bowmen exposed alone if they didn't drive off the raid.

    Weiss is listening! She is also listening to Lucia, Zelda, and Diantha! "My team isn't here, so I guess a little help would be nice. Huntresses aren't supposed to operate alone." The Grimm Reaper did, but that's not normal. "If you think you can keep up, we could-"

    A little egotistical isn't she? But any correction or further clarification has to wait when the alarm rings. "Or we could just take care of it now. I don't know what bokoblins are, but we'll figure it out, right?" Her sword is out in a flash, the rapier gleaming and the odd cylinder at the base spinning around to click into a white glow. "Weiss Schnee. Call me Weiss. Try to keep up." She is off toward the watchtowers, running swiftly but not unnaturally fast.

  Jabbing an elbow back to flip the robe out of the way, the traveller produces an ornate-looking bow and sets it across her lap. The ornamentation would look familiar to anybody here. Its limbs are carved and engraved with symbols of the winged Hyrulean crest, symbols of the Royal Family, the Triforce. Though subtle, the embroidery on her robe bears even the Weeping Eye of the lost Sheikah tribe.

  This isn't some normal traveller. Somebody observant and familiar with Hyrulean custom would come to grasp that pretty soon.

  The traveller glances to one side, toward Diantha. The others can go investigate, but these villagers need somebody to lead the defensive efforts. They look like they might be lost without a clue, and she'd rather not see the place run over roughshod by something disgusting like those pig-faced monsters.

  Lucia is given a long, hard look by the woman on horseback. Her eyes narrow, and something tightens in her jaw, but she doesn't seem inclined to make trouble. Not yet, anyway. Her unblinking regard suggests she's very definitely Keeping An Eye On Lucia, though. Something about that woman... but there's no time to dwell on it.

  She looks away, back to the villagers offering actual information. Zelda thins her lips at the sound of the situation, calculating in her head the weaponry and the numbers against the probably-defenseless village. If there's anybody here who can pick up a sword, it's probably an oldster far past his prime.

  Sensing perhaps that there are eyes on her, Zelda turns in the saddle, staring down at the older lady staring at her in turn. It's a little dangerous, maybe, but she manages a bright smile for the old woman staring at her. It doesn't quite reach her eyes, but it's hope for the people, here, maybe.

  Bell ringing. She picks her head up, one quick move plucking an arrow from the quiver at her hip and laying it across the string. "Go," she tells the other offworlders, turning her horse and spurring it towards the main gate. "I'll prepare the defenses... what little there are."

  Zelda stands in the stirrups, and this time, her voice is definitely a tone of unmistakable command. "Archers! String your bows! Notch arrows -- but do not fire! Spearmen, swordsmen! Assemble at the front gate!" She gestures with her bow, the bright metal on it flashing in the sunlight. "If we hurry, we may have enough time to drive them off! All you can spare -- all haste; all haste...!"

  'Course, she hasn't even given a name, yet. And probably looks kinda spooky in that robe. But at the same time... she's definitely connected to Hyrule, somehow. Intimately, no less. The irony of the situation would be amusing if she had time to think about it.

  "Bring timbers!" The bow is whipped around again to indicate where, arrow pinched in her off-hand. "Plant them at the front gate, sharp ends out! If you can form a barricade, place your archers behind it; keep your men-at-arms by them. Sages, if you have any, support your men-at-arms! Now hurry...!" To Weiss, she manages to throw: "Small, annoying creatures that are nonetheless dangerous in number. Clumsy and dim-witted, but dangerous. They're bullies; they'll have no luck against the likes of you."

     Hearing the bell ringing, and it being made clear what it means, Diantha springs into action with the others, bounding off with Weiss and the woman on horseback with what she had to admit was a very nice looking bow, and she's seen a few in her time. She laughs a little at Weiss questioning her ability to keep up. "I don't think that will be a problem, but I don't suppose we could just nicely ask these pig people to leave the village alone?" She asks even though she is pretty sure she knows the answer. "I'm guessing not... I'll do my best to help against them, and if anyone becomes injured, I can fall back and help with that instead if needed."

    Lucia is listening around to the various responses from the villagepeople to the offworlders' questions, and a picture is starting to form of what all is going on. And it's not something that she's really keen on leaving as-is. These people need help, and Lucia's of the kind that will want to render aid.

    Weiss's words about 'keeping up' gets a bit of a smile. "I can only try," she notes. She pauses a moment, fiddling with an amulet around her neck. There are three slots in the small amulet, a round slot, a crescent-shaped slot, and a... half yin-tang symbol slot. There's a blue-white round stone, a red one in the half yin-yang slot, and a dusty pink one in the crescent slot. It's this last one, the crescent slot, that she swaps out, removing the small pinkish stone and putting a teal-colored one in it.

    On the bright side, Lucia's willingness to help might be something that makes Zelda not think so badly of her. Perhaps to give her a little more leeway, who knows? She is willing to help, though, given her responses to the questions around her. And she does seem to be the mild-mannered sort. She almost seems... shy around the villagers, even.

    The ringing of the bell gets her attention. Take cover? Nope, not Lucia. She only stops to ask the man, "Which direction?" He needs to get to safety, and doesn't need to be held up with questions. She'll assume 'towards the forest' if he's already gone by the time she turns to him. It seems fortunate -- almost -- that the raid is coming to them rather than them having to go to the raid. The bandit camp can wait; first they need to drive back the attackers here at the village.

    Some of what Zelda is shouting has already been done. Apparently while they lack able-bodied youths who can fight, a few knew the basics of defense, and while they hadn't gotten time to build a proper gate they had a few earthen mounds and stakes out.

    The man answers Lucia with his finger, which isn't a surprise because she guessed right. The two young men in the towers are definitely green, so it's good that they now have some support. They shakily draw their bows but Zelda's commanding presence keeps them from firing right away... even though it also got the old lady to narrow her eyes at the bow, before her son shoos her into the house.

    It's easy to see how the alarm was effective. The piglike, bipedal moblins and the three smaller goblinlike creatures with them are all lacking a real leader, so they just sort of... pour out of the forest with no real organization, expecting to just bulldoze through the village and take what they want. The only strange thing is that there's so many of them, a little over a dozen.

    At least they are mostly using spears, and only the smaller ones have bows, and are just now stopping their charge to take aim at the defenders. The three bowmen draw a bead, one on Zelda(she is loud and yelling) and one each on the village bowmen.

  The traveller must have some experience in combat. Zelda seems to know when one of the creatures takes aim at her. She whirls in the saddle, turning fully around to sit backwards and raise her bow.

  She doesn't even flinch when the moblin releases an arrow. Yet it isn't the moblin aiming at her that she bothers to lock onto. Slapping an arrow to the string, she draws it back to her pointed ear and releases in one smooth motion. Her own is by far less wobbly, hissing through the air with an expert marksman's care -- not towards the moblin aiming her way, but one of the moblins aiming at the village bowmen.

  "Hold!" Zelda roars, with impressive volume. It's less because they need to hear it than to keep the greenest recruits from scattering. Show some authority and maybe they'll shore up instead of splinter. "Hold the line! Show some resistance and they'll break! Bokoblins and moblins are nothing but weak-willed cowards!"

  That she's placing herself right into the sights of at least one or two moblins doesn't seem to matter to her. As long as she can keep the big uglies from shooting at the nigh-on-useless bowmen, that's all she seems to care about.

    Diantha can run to keep up just fine, that isn't surprising. "I don't know," Weiss answers. "Grimm in my world won't stop until killed usually... but maybe we can just scare these off by showing it's tougher than it's worth, right? If they're just bullies then making a big show should be enough."

    What Zelda is shouting seems to sound like it's the same as what she's thinking. "Cover me!" Weiss shouts to the others, stopping just behind the watchtower. She spins her sword around and drives it toward the ground, where a shining white glyph appears. Another appears up high on the watchtower, a translucent armored figure rising from it to take the arrow from the bokoblin that Zelda didn't shoot, to protect the villager.

     Since Zelda and Weiss seem to have the bokoblins handled, Diantha decides to try and slow down the goblins before they can rush the village. Both her hands and her staff begin to glow with a bright green aura with what look like leafy patterns swirling through. 

     After a few moments, the aura suddenly lashes out toward the moblins, striking the ground beneath them. At first, it appears to have done nothing, but then roots from nearby trees break through the ground and rapidly grow around the moblins to ensnare them where they stand. 

     "That should slow them down a bit." She says in a serious tone, immediately starting to work up a different spell, which causes her staff to glow with a golden yellow aura that burns like the sun before striking at the moblins. She aims not to kill them, but the burn from this magic will likely make them think twice about continuing the raid or coming back another time, or so she hopes anyway.

    A dozen or so piglike monsters come piling into the village... and Lucia is almost homesick, in a rather wry and sarcastic way. Demons are known to dogpile their targets, and rarely fight fair. If they can summon fifty allies against a single warrior, so much the better for them. And their ugliness isn't really convincing Lucia that these things AREN'T devils.

    So, Lucia draws her curved swords, held in reverse-grip, and makes for the group of monsters. She's about to make a spectacle of herself, since instantly she's leaping in and slicing at the Moblins with those swords, kicking them into the air when she can. She's not bothering with trying to talk them out of doing this, sorry Weiss! Nope, she's just diving in.

    Her fighting is smooth and fast, relying on avoidance and agility. But her strikes are surprisingly strong for a woman of her supposed build. She's not overly skinny or weak-looking, but she doesn't look like she should be able to swing her swords hard enough to cut that deeply; her kicks don't seem like they should hurt that much...

    The bokoblin shooting at the villager that Zelda targeted goes down with a weird noise, arrow flung wide, while the other bowman flinches before a *SPANG* bounces the arrow off Weiss's summoned armor. It isn't going to be strong enough to dismiss the summon, but Weiss had better not do that a lot more. Not like it matters with what comes next.

    The moblin charge stumbles and crumples to the ground, at least some of them. Others manage to go around and leap over, but that sends them right into the knives of Lucia, with yelping cries of shock as they actually go down pretty quickly. These aren't the tougher Moblins of some timelines and generations.

    So one bokoblin does send an arrow after Zelda, and readies another... but an arrow whistles in from the side and throws off its aim, burying in its side and making it howl in pain! The youth far off to the side, coming in at an angle, riding on a large stag, has let loose with an arrow and made things even worse for the group.

    Half their number cut down, the other half tangled up and burning, with their archers threatened, the 'raid' is brought to a sudden halt. Tugging back from the tangling the group is fighting, Zelda's words prove true. Between unexpected resistance and now being flanked by a newcomer, even moblins aren't dumb enough to stay put and fight, and are scrambling for the forest.

  No sooner does Weiss demand cover than Zelda is slapping another arrow to her string, raising the bow and holding it, steady, to keep aim near the watchtower. She's more powerful than she looks -- she can draw and hold an arrow for an impressive amount of time before she has to ease up on the bowstring.

  The traveller snaps off an arrow, and then another, when a bokoblin threatents to get too close to where Weiss has taken up near the watchtower.

  Lucia and her graceful swordsmanship is eyed for a moment, eyes narrowing suspiciously, even as she holds another shot ready for Weiss. The bokoblins wrench her attenion away from the demon, though, and back to the encroaching raiders.

  She scans the defenders, briefly. They're capitulating, again...

  "Hold!" the princess roars, even more fiercely than the last time. How can such an almost fragile-looking young lady have such a forceful, commanding presence; enough that even a grizzled veteran would listen to her? She's definitely no mere traveller. And that bow, or that robe... they're both far too well-made to compare to the rest of her attire.

  She's quick to whirl as a stranger appears astride a great stag. The arrow she pulls back to her ear is trained, very briefly, on the youth astride the stag -- friend or foe? -- before it snaps off a parting shot at the retreating moblins. A second, and then a third, are aimed to harry the beasts' heels.

  Only when she's sure they're all gone does the woman lower her bow, summer-blue eyes narrowing just slightly in suspicion. Where had this person been when the attack had begun? Marksmanship like that could have turned the tide of the battle that much sooner.

  Her gaze flickers over to the youth. While openly suspicious, Zelda's regard isn't actually hostile. She hasn't put away her bow, though. It isn't immediately ready to fire, but the arrow she has out is laid across the string in clear, silent warning.

  She's pretty sure this is a friend and not a foe, but you just never know when the World Tree comes into play. It has a way of complicating everything it touches.

  The faint smile Zelda allows to flicker across her face doesn't reach her eyes.

  "Greetings, traveller." She's not even blinking in her study of the figure. "May I ask who you are, and what your business here may be?"

    The summoned armor leaps down from the watchtower, helping to mop up the moblins Lucia is cutting down. Weiss doesn't really mind killing monsters at all, but she'd prefer if they just left people alone, after all. But once it's clear the town is no longer in danger, the armor vanishes into particles of light. Weiss lets out a long breath, showing that this took a bit out of her, and sheaths her sword while the glyph fades.

    The scar-eyed fencer asks, "Is everyone okay?" She didn't even get all their names before the fight started, but her bad attitude aside, this is her job. Defend the helpless and all. "Looks like one of the natives came to help, too." She waves to the stag-rider. "Maybe we won't have to take care of the whole problem."

     Before long the entangling roots will give up their grip, allowing the remaining moblins to retreat into the woods as a newcomer arrives riding a stag and gives them a few more reasons to think twice about coming back for another raid. Diantha eyes the young man curiously a moment, nodding along with Zelda's greeting. 

     "Hello. I'm grateful that it didn't end up just me going after those fiends, though I'm not sure if I'd have even learned anything since the villagers didn't seem to keen on offering information till we were a whole group seeming ready to help them." 

     She also does look around when Weiss asks if everyone is ok if there were injured she was happy to tend to them.

    Lucia isn't about to give chase. Not this time. So as the Moblins break off the attack and start to retreat, she sheathes her swords at her sides. She hasn't come away completely unscathed, but though there are a handful of cuts to her bodysuit -- mainly on the sides of her arms and legs -- there's no injuries underneath. Only fading pinkish lines that would probably be completely gone by the end of the day.

    Lucia's pretty sure this isn't a problem that will just go away. No, those Moblins will no doubt come back, better-armed and with even LESS care about what they destroy or who they hurt. Now that she's thrown her lot in a little, she'll have to make sure the problem is dealt with more permanently. Not that she had any intentions of doing otherwise, mind you...

    For now though, she looks in the directions of her allies quickly, to take in their conditions, before looking in the direction of the newcomer. She doesn't know this person either, but their help was certainly useful in getting these beasties to flee. Weiss's question gets a nod. "I'm all right," she offers. "Almost healed already." That's definitely not normal for a normal human being. Then again, there are some who probably know very well that she isn't.

    Diantha's observation prompts her to answer, "They may not have been willing to send any one of us into danger. Or they might have been embarrassed that they couldn't handle the problems alone." They may also have not wanted to have to pay anyone, so there's that. Of course, that Lucia doesn't mention...

    The youth on the stag trots closer, and finally leaps down with a tiny "Hup!" Shortish, they look in their teens, but their bowmanship was not amateur, and the sword across the back is incredibly fine in make, if old. Though... Zelda at least will recognize how very familiar the sword design is.

    Now the youth speaks, "Thanks for helping the town, I got here as soon as I could." Eyes scan toward the trees. "I'll have to take a look for their camp to make sure this stops, but that can wait, they won't be back for a while."

    There are questions to answer! "They call me Hawk," is the answer given, if not quite the one asked. "And the villagers aren't sure if outsiders can handle these problems alone. I've seen it before. Hylians are essentially kind folk, they don't like to see visitors injured, but they may not have trusted you either."

    Maybe Hawk was going to say more, but the bow Zelda holds gives pause. It takes a few seconds to shake that off. "... it's good that you were all here, it looks like the villagers weren't hurt."

  "I am unhurt, thank you." Zelda's response is muted.

  Even as she speaks, her eyes never leave the stag-rider; and she hasn't put up her bow, yet. Her very stillness betrays her alertness. What few movements she does make bear a predator's liquid grace. It isn't normal to see somebody riding a stag, and it's even less normal to see somebody willing to run into trouble for the sake of strangers.

  The princess takes a moment to study their benefactor when the figure leaps down from the stag. She takes in the details with an analyst's eye -- teenaged, passable bowmanship, sword; someone well-accustomed to conflict -- before they snap back again to the sword in a silent double-take.

  Sword. Yes. What about it?

  Not just any sword.

  The Master Sword.

  Before she can hide her reaction, Zelda sucks in a breath through her teeth, audibly. She makes a point of letting it out evenly and silently, as though to ignore that giveaway. Her eyes fall on the figure again, this time studying the face; then flicking to the figure's hands.

  "Is that so?" Zelda murmurs, tilting her head skeptically. 'They call me,' and not 'my name is?' "A curious way of describing oneself, young master." Her smile widens a little; the expression of a private joke. "And yet there is also the Author of Law's own wisdom in it."

  She actually laughs, the sound both cynical and pleasant. She's still holding her bow, too, although the arrow is unthreateningly loose on its string. It is absolutely not a commoner's bow. The quality of the bossing, engraving, carving, and overall craftsmanship is wildly beyond the aspirations of even the middle class. It just oozes purpose. Even the richest merchants wouldn't be able to afford something that performed as well as it looked.

  That is an item of royalty, even if one ignored the symbology present on it.

  "I suppose I can't blame a bit of skepticism." Still in evident good humour after whatever revelation gave her such amusement, Zelda shakes her head. "I am 'Sheik.' Are you indeed a native of this place, 'Hawk?'"

    "Good," Weiss says, when people are... mostly unhurt. She looks back and forth between Hawk and Zelda, and has the distinct feeling that she's missing something very important that she doesn't have the information to understand. Which means... let's check on the others!

    Lucia's wounds are healing fast, and somehow this doesn't surprise her too much. Diantha isn't human but is obviously kind, so she's written her off as a danger. "We'd better clean up a little bit. Grimm bodies dissolve when they die but I guess these don't. It's a good thing we were all here then... I don't think they'd have let me run off by myself. I should get back to my team so we can come out in pairs again, it's safer that way."

     It appears that no one will need healing at the moment, so Diantha instead focuses on this stag rider. Her gaze is also drawn to the sword, as although she doesn't recognize it's design, she can sense it's magical power. She doesn't linger on it long though, her gaze drifting back up toward the boy's face as introductions are going out. 

     "I am Diantha, pleased to meet you all." She offers before giving Weiss a nod and joining her in helping to clean up the bodies of the dead moblins.

    Lucia nods to Hawk's thanks. "Of course." When he mentions going to search for them, she offers, "I would be willing to help you if you'd like. I won't ask for payment, or anything of that kind." She nods, though, when Hawk explains about the 'Hylians' -- the village folk, she realizes. "I thought as much. We -are- mostly foreigners here. It makes sense that they would be initially a bit distrustful." She talks like she's completely accustomed to not being trusted, too.

    If there's any symbology present in Hawk's sword, or indeed, in the bow carried by 'Sheik', Lucia's ignorant of it. She is not of this place, despite possible resemblance to a certain race of possibly mostly-female desert dwellers that may or may not live in this world.

    Weiss's words get a nod. "I'll help," she offers. Burying any dead Moblins, kicking any not-dead ones off a cliff -- uh. Yeah. Though she also offers to Hawk, "I am Lucia. It's good to meet you."

    Zelda's stare isn't missed at all. "Shiek. I see." The youth is very serious suddenly, but also, equally suddenly, focuses on the others. "Diantha. Lucia. And a white-haired swordswoman. Thank you all for your help. I wasn't sure what to expect when I saw the fight... I thought a Gerudo had wandered in, but I see you are from another world or far away, Lucia. And Diantha is obvious." Hawk nods.

    "They are trying to protect you," the young warrior explains while patting the stag. "Creatures from other worlds have wandered in here before and become dangerous, hostile. There are tales that this would happen to the people, as well. They're frightened of the evil spreading about. It's growing more daring, and hunting for the missing princess. Looking for any clues to Princess Zelda's location."

    Here Hawk's eyes glance at the bow, after offering some strangely specific information. "I'm glad to see that there are others willing to help. I can't be everywhere at once, and the soldiers are spread too thin already."

  Zelda holds Hawk's stare evenly, and she stares well after Hawk to the others. Eventually she turns her attention away, skimming over the villagers, and then eyeing the village's ramshackle defenses at its gates.

  There is mention of a missing princess, and a significant look cast to her bow. Zelda gives nothing away, expression stony once more. An interesting story, and one to keep in mind, for later. Interesting, too, is the fact that Hawk never answered her question; whether through forgetfulness or deliberate avoidance, though, she can't say. Nonetheless, it's an interesting tidbit to file away for later.

  "I see." Her eyes fall to the sword Hawk carries, studying; narrowing in faint suspicion. At the same time she's thinking furiously of her old histories -- whether a bearer of Wisdom had ever been forced to take up the sacred blade, for whatever reason. Nothing comes to mind. It's a very inconvenient time to not be able to remember something.

  "Some will help," she agrees. "I pray that none with ill intent come here. They would be ill-suited to defending themselves." She shakes her head. "They should train a militia, at the very least. Then they would not be at the behest of the soldiers." Her mouth thins. "What of the king, here, stranger? Or the queen? How fare they?"

    Though she introduced herself to the others, Hawk wasn't there for it. Weiss looks up from where she's trying not to get sick with the bodies. "Grlg... um... Weiss Schnee. I'm a Huntress from Remnant, we try to protect people from monsters in my world. I kind of felt I had to do the same here. I'm supposed to charge for it but we were a little busy, and lives are more important right?"

    She dusts off her dress. "I'm with Sheik here, they should train a militia. The bows are a good start, but a few spears will keep the riffraff away. It sounds like we're all kind of protectors though. That's good." She can't sense anything about Lucia, so Lucia is like, her best bud right now.

    Diantha is a creature she's never seen, but Weiss has been out on the Tree for a while. "I'm still getting used to magic, we don't have it in my world." Says the girl who just summoned armor.

     For a moment while she works on helping to bury the dead, Diantha's gaze drifts from Hawk to the stag he rides. Even in her world, it was unusual to find a stag calm enough to allow one to ride it. She soon moves her attention to the subject of why the village folk wasn't terribly forthcoming on accepting their help. 

     "Well, I have no need for compensation, I stayed to help because I wished to, not because I hoped to get something out of it." She offers her position before smiling at Weiss' comment about not being used to magic. "I can imagine. I'm still getting used to all this modern technology and civilization I keep running into everywhere. By comparison, this place is actually comfortably similar to what I'm used to."

    Lucia nods at the mention of her name from Hawk. Though his words of a 'Gerudo' get a blink. "A what? No, I'm..." She pauses. Yeah, she's not about to say 'I'm an artificial demon'. But really, what could she use to explain her existence? So she just concludes, rather lamely, "...I'm not, don't worry." Since it seemed to be a fairly bad thing about the whole 'Gerudo' deal.

    Unaware of the delicate interplay between Hawk and 'Sheik', Lucia nods to Zelda's words of a militia. "It could be useful," she agrees. "Even if they aren't as strong as soldiers would be, it could at least discourage rabble like those from causing trouble." She means the Moblins, of course.

    Not to worry, Weiss; Lucia's there to help! She's accustomed to scraping some kind of nasty ichor of one kind or another off of her body pretty often. So dead Moblins aren't likely to make her all that sick. Though the mention of there being no magic gets a blink. "Truly? How did you summon that armored creature?" Lucia has to ask.

    No magic? Hawk looks at Weiss in disbelief, but doesn't press that issue because Lucia's already asking. Hawk shakes head at Lucia, "Oh... it isn't a problem, they're just very rare to see in this part of the world. I lived with the Gerudo for a while myself. One of them taught me how to fight. He's the one who told me how to find my sword." A hand touches the pommel there before moving back to other thoughts.

    "This is normal for here," Hawk tells Diantha. "There are some places in the city more advanced, but most people use little magic spells. I haven't seen many of the technological marvels, but my old master did say they likely had them out in this Tree."

    Zelda, or 'Sheik' has her own questions. "The King is... worried. He has trouble because of the court right now, and he hasn't been the same since... the Queen died. The Princess isn't quite old enough to take his place yet, and since she went missing he's probably even more worried, but at least it keeps the enemy searching instead of attacking in force. As long as nobody knows where she is, there's still time. I'm still figuring out how much time. I was born in Hyrule," to answer the question, "but I've been with the Gerudo until recently."

    Weiss makes a weird face. "That isn't... I guess that's sort of magic? It's not magic like we think of it. It's a Semblance, it runs in the family. We use our aura to form a replica of creatures we've defeated in battle. Everyone has a Semblance, but not everyone discovers theirs. My partners can move super fast, or make duplicates of themselves, but it's all based on aura and dust. It's kind of like our technology? Real magic in my world would be things like changing into a bird."

    Ew, royal family affairs though? "It sounds like you need to find out who's behind it and take them down," Weiss says to Hawk.

    As for Diantha, "I don't do this for the money anyway, Hunters just charge people because they have to make a living too. Most of the cost is paid through taxes though, and we can't just let people /die/, we just charge to solve problems."

  Zelda flicks a glance back to Weiss at the agreement, and the Huntress might just have earned herself a few respect points. She's quick to look back to the others, though, listening in silence to Diantha's explanation and Lucia's agreement.

  Her gaze seems to linger on Lucia for a very long time, and looking back at her is a bit like staring into the sun. There is a very real weight behind that stare. It's a long moment before she forcibly pulls her attention away from Lucia and back to Hawk. Weiss' purported lack of magic earns an arched brow, but she doesn't quite look away from Hawk.

  The sudden confluence of so very many interesting people has her on edge, a little.

  "And even the Armies of Darkness do not know where she is. Most interesting." Zelda is staring at Hawk again, studying every tiny detail. Who is this mysterious youth; who carries the Master Sword, and was trained by a male Gerudo?

  "That tale isn't surprising," the archer sighs. "You must have had a most fascinating teacher, Master Hawk." Whether she's calling him out on whatever significant coincidences surround his training, or whether she's simply assuming whoever trained him is interesting, it's hard to say. This woman is an actress of no small skill. "You paint a figure of intrigue, Master Hawk; a veritable mystery, wrapped within an enigma, yes? I should like to learn more of you, some time."

  Innocent, or oblivious? It could go so much in either direction.

  Zelda glances back to Weiss, almost as though relieved for the distraction. "I must agree with her." Weiss earns a jerk of her chin to indicate her. "The wiser option would be to end the problem at its source; not treat its symptoms."

  Weiss is regarded obliquely, and studied very quietly and thoughtfully. A force like that might be of no small use in Hyrule, if monster populations continue to rise. "Interesting," she comments, to Weiss' explanation.

    "Oh, I see," Lucia notes, in response to Hawk's mention of the Gerudo. She does relax a little bit then -- that had been a concern for her, that she'd give people reason to fear her before she even took her darker form! She's glad to note that's not the case. Particularly with Hawk's mention of one having taken care of him until recently. That's one less worry.

    Right up until she actually changes into demon in front of one of these poor people, that is...

    The mention of the princess being missing gets a frown. "I'm very sorry to hear that... I hope she can be found safely, very soon," she replies quietly. Everything seems to be getting worse for this place, in so many ways. That's never a good sign. It was just like that before Arius released Argosax! "...Someone... may be trying to do something terrible, behind the scenes," she ventures. "A similar thing happened in my world, just before a great evil that had been sealed for centuries was released."

    Weiss's explanation of what she's doing gets a confused look. "Interesting... I guess that is a problem of outside perspectives. It seems the same to me. But I suppose just about anything could be called 'magic', if it's mysterious." She's not being dismissive, either. What Weiss just did, that's 'magic' to Lucia. Mainly because she has no idea how it works!

    Lucia does glance back to Zelda, though yes, it's only for a few moments. Because it really does almost hurt to look at her. Some part of Lucia's existence just feels like she has no -right- to look upon 'Sheik'. And so she turns away fairly quickly. This, too, is not a dismissive air. It's almost reverent.

     Diantha smiles at Weiss. "If it came off like I was trying to say that no one should seek payment for such heroics, that was not what I intended. I realize most have much more expenses to get through life than I do. Life among the wilds isn't for everyone." She then nods in agreement with Zelda about taking care of this problem for good. 

     "I'm not usually one to run toward fighting, but if these moblins are just going to attack again despite the show of force today, perhaps culling them is the best option." She also agrees that the missing princess is a distressing prospect, but isn't sure what she can offer to help on that front.

    Hawk nods, "I agree we need to find the cause of the problem, but even my master didn't know. That's why I'm wandering, so I can find clues. I'll look for some when I take care of that camp... I don't want to pursue them right now because we could run into a whole band, and I've been travelling all day. It can wait a little while until we know more. There's something else going on here."

    Hawk hesitates for just a second before sharing what is somewhat sensitive information. "Monsters are appearring more but I don't know why... and my master says that something has tipped the scales of balance. Something is messing with the way the world works. I'm looking for that. Maybe, once I find some clues, I can find allies." Hawk doesn't explicitly say THESE allies, but helping defend the village was a start. "I'm going to get Acheron unpacked. I'll see if I can find you a place to stay. I think Mister Error has a spare room, if you need one."

  As Lucia talks about finding the missing princess, and the things that had happened in her own world, Zelda lets out a silent breath, nostrils flaring. Great evil sealed for centuries, indeed. That always seems to be the way... and all signs in her own homeland are pointing to the very same--

  She's staring hard at Lucia, and only consciusly does she remember to soften her gaze and stop looking like she wants to slit the other woman's throat.

  Zelda clears her throat, very softly and demurely, affecting an expression of thoughtful concern. Eventually she shakes her head. None of the various conundrums before her will be solved on an immediate basis.

  "I understand." To Hawk's explanation, Zelda seems as though she really does understand. "There is something similar happening in my own world, although only in a most general of senses." She eyes him levelly, arching a brow at the names. "It would be appreciated. The road back is too unsafe to ride through the night, and that particular band of bokoblins and moblins will now be looking for an easy target, the better to vent their frustration on."

  She finally looks away from the others, and the faraway look in her eyes suggests she's thinking furiously on all of this information, and what precisely to do with it. An instant of annoyance flickers across her expression, but it's gone almost as quickly as it came.

  Too many mysteries -- and Zelda, bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom, does not like being on the wrong end of a mystery.