World Tree MUSH

  The Kingdom of Hyrule isn't really a hot travel destination. Most of its Vines don't lead anywhere particularly useful, although by the same token, they also don't necessarily lead anywhere dangerous, either. Empty wilderness, for the most part. Hyrulean settlements that have been abandoned, like Kakariko Village, high up in Death Mountain's foothills.

  Some of them do lead to dangerous places, areas consumed by the Twilight, a magical curse that has been spreading across the land for some years now. Those are fortunately rare.

  Lately, Vines have cropped up more often in Peak Province, the northernmost region in Hyrule. This lonely place doesn't have any villages or towns, and most of it is remote wilderness. Craggy, impassable peaks make for a dramatic landscape. This far into winter, they're also blanketed in a heavy layer of snow. Blizzards and storms are both common and dangerous. There's one bastion of civilisation, though. High up in the mountains of Peak Province, in the Snowpeak range, there's a soldiers' garrison. Local legend says it's abandoned and haunted.

  It's not. Here dwells a small group of people, mainly offworlders, who have chosen to support a lone young woman native to this world. When the Twilight invaded and the royal family was killed in the coup, she escaped the castle, and to hear her tell it to offworlders she's 'Sheik,' a former handmaiden to Princess Zelda. Clearly some kind of aristocrat herself. Also, probably not telling the whole truth about herself. A little suspicious.

  Anyway, all that to say, Snowpeak Garrison is where today's lucky Vines lead. There is a plowed path that leads up the mountain to where it is, although it isn't plowed very far from the castle. When the snow's piled twelve to fourteen feet high, it has to be a really important road to bother.

  Today finds the morning clear but breathtakingly cold. Weak wintry sun shines down from a bleak sky; last night's blizzard blankets the morning's mountains in a thick mantle of snow. There are still some, though this place looks like it comes pretty close to the treeline. The Hylian woman is out in the courtyard, trying to shovel a path from the front door to the stable. In spite of her delicate appearance, even beneath that hooded black robe, she struggles gamely along, pitching one shovelful of snow after another aside. Her breath fogs in front of her in great clouds.

  From inside the stable comes the sound of a horse snorting; and it sounds like a very big horse.

    Indeed, Hyrule may not be a 'hot' travel destination, as things stand, but it still finds off-worlders coming that way, every now and then, as it turns out.

    "... This does not seem right."

    ...Even if, in some cases, it apparently is not at all their intention to do so.

    Indeed, one (1) Emiya Shirou appears woefully lost. Just dropped out of a vine leading down to near Snowpeak Garrison (a vine he *somehow* lost track of already no less), standing amidst a snowbank that reaches up to halfway his shin, frowning at the silhouette of the garrison up ahead first, and then down at the diagram pulled open on his phone. He could have sworn he read the map and directions provided to him correctly, but this is *definitely* not where he originally came from at all.

    He is quite thankful, at least, for being able to find a jersey to replace the one that got torn to shreds when he was spat out of his world. It served him well in Fuyuki's winters, and it's helping to fight off the cold here, too... though the cold *does* feel harsher here atop the mountain. Probably not a good idea to stay outdoors for too long like this.

    With a sigh of frustration - mostly at himself - the red-haired almost-magus pushes his phone into his pocket, and decides to bravely trudge forward through the snow. Towards the only potential shelter from the cold visible to him. Towards the sound of a horse-- and the sight of a woman shoveling snow.

    "Ahoy!"

    Shirou calls out once close enough he doesn't have to yell too loudly-- though he would certainly have been spotted easily even before he did. Still, he does so with a raised hand, and a smile that somehow manages to be warm in spite of the cold clearly bringing shivers to his body.

    "Sorry to bother you, but--AH?!"

    Apparently, there's some ice hidden underneath that heavy layer of snow. This much Shirou has discovered from his foot suddenly slipping after sinking through the powdery white -- slipping to the point that his weight completely tips over, and--

    *FHWUMP*

    ...Well. At least the snow cushioned the boy when he flopped face-down there. He isn't actually hurt in any way, but the entire front of his body - face included - getting submerged into the snow surely is unpleasant in it's own way. And he stays there, arms and legs spread out, for a few seconds, as if his entire body needs a reset after such an embarrassing stumble.

    "...Bwah!"

    It's not long before his head does pop with bits of dusty white scattering around him, his entire face coated in the thicker snow for a moment before he shakes his head to send it off.

    "...And here I was hoping for a better first impression," Shirou mutters, while trying to find purchase for his hand on the groudn through the snow that wouldn't just send him slipping up all over again, and let him push up to standing instead. "Uh... hi. I'm lost. And even colder than a few seconds ago..."

  There is cold, and there is cold. This northerly climate is savage. It rivals arctic wastes, and it's clear why Peak Province is so sparsely populated. One wonders, then, why the garrison is even there... but Hyrule is a land of mysteries.

  Thick stone walls surround the garrison courtyard, but there's so much snow on the ground that it's hard to see them. Fortunately, the gates stand open, so entry into the courtyard is pretty easy.

  The woman shovelling snow looks up sharply at the sound of a voice, hood turning towards Shirou. Although the only part of her face visible is her nose and mouth, her lips press into a thin line. In the shadows of her hood, her eyes narrow. She stares at him through the entirety of his approach; frozen, like a deer prepared to spring.

  Zelda cringes a little as he faceplants into the snow, still clutching her shovel as Shirou resurfaces. Her shoulders drop a little as he shakes like a dog, sending snow flying.

  The young monarch sighs. Hefting the shovel, she drives the point of it into the snow, resting both gloved hands on its handle. 

  "First impression?" Her voice is clear and well-bred despite the fact that she's out here shovelling snow. The hood tilts slightly as she cocks her head curiously. "I remember you. Did I not see you at the village of Glenmouth? I'm sorry; I do not remember your name." Her head shakes. Jerking the shovel up and out of the snow, she beckons for him to follow, striding towards the garrison's front door.

    "Huh?"

    THe questioning tone that she brings with the repeat of his own words draws confusion to the surface on Shirou's face, and the image comes to it's completion with a subtle sideward tip of his head. He looks back at her with the same curiousity she holds - albeit more visibly - only for his face to light up a few seconds after the mention of Glenmouth.

    "--Oh. Oh! You're-- uh. Uh? That woman!" Oh, apparently he either didn't get her name either or just outright forgot it. Still, he springs up the rest of the way from the snow, bumping the bottom of his right fist against the open palm of his left hand once he's properly on his feet. "The lady with the glowing bow! Right, I remember! Uh..."

    The faux-magus' hand goes up to brush over the top of his head. His fingers find themselves feeling out some strands of hair that... have been somewhat unevenly cut now. Come to think of it, didn't one of those arrows almost hit him?

    He decides not to bring that up.

    She beckons him, and he duly follows-- albeit slowly at first, while he's still in the region of the unshoveled ground. Glad for the opportunity to hopefully get away from the cold soon. "My name is Emiya Shirou. You don't have to apologize for not remembering it, I don't think we had much of an opportunity for introductions back then..."

  The young woman blinks owlishly as the other fails to identify her. Sighing, she shakes her head, reaching up to sweep the hood back from her face, studying Shirou as she slogs through snow towards the front door. "My name is Sheik."

  Without breaking stride she shoulders one of the doors open, and it swings inward silently on oiled hinges. Though it seems quite empty, it's clean and quite liveable. In fact, some of the masonry and timber looks new.

  She'll wait for him when he slows, although she doesn't look inclined to help dig him out of the snow. He seems to have it well in hand. "No. We did not." Shouldering a door open, Zelda holds it for him, and beckons him to follow. Across the foyer, beneath the winding stairways to the second floor, and through a passage into the kitchen. It's very spacious, obviously equipped to feed, well, a garrison. It's also empty... but it's warm, at least by virtue of being out of the snow. Pretty cold in here, just not actively Winter.

  Zelda busies herself with lighting the hearth, over which hangs a large iron tea kettle. It must be full; on a day like this, tea must go around pretty often.

  "Then, it is a pleasure, Emiya Shirou." She bobs her head, but there's something aristocratic about the motion. No commoner, this. "No, we did not. Will you have tea? Coffee? Hot cocoa, perhaps? We do not have much of it, but I can always acquire more. Hm, I must remember to speak to Yumi Tachibana and request more..." The last is under her breath, spoken to herself. She blinks and snaps back to reality, waiting alertly for Shirou's answer.

    It's an effort, but Shirou eventually makes it. He's not a stranger to snow or anything, but this is still much more than he's usually had to deal with during the winters in Fuyuki. And by the time he makes it through the door - with a grateful nod to Zelda for having held it open - he's probably brought some inside with him, and he still has to swipe his hands over the legs of his pants to wipe more off.

    "Sheik..." He repeats the name given -- the name probably a bit difficult to pronounce for a japanese speaker, but he tries to be respectful enough about it, at least.

    After ridding his legs of the leftover snow, he straightens up fully and lets his gaze wander. Considering the spacious foyer first, and the hallways she leads him through, and finally the kitchen. The design of the architecture might remind him of some of the buildings he saw in the world he met Anna in. But still, it makes him wonder, especially with how empty the place is...

    "What is this place, exactly?" He asks eventually, after wandering towards one end of the kitchen -- perhaps to study whatever might be on hand there. "It looks like some kind of military outpost, maybe...? Huh?" The question came right on the heel of the question on his preference of beverage, so his answer comes a little delayed, only really snapping his attention back to her after his own curious murmurings. "Oh-- Tea is good. Thank you."

  "This is Snowpeak Garrison." Zelda indicates the building with a flick of one slim hand, rubbing one with the other. They're bloodless, as though she'd been out there for a while. There must have been a blizzard overnight to drop so much snow. "It was originally built in my grandmother's time as a soldiers' garrison, but the man who built it was a noble. It was built to better standards than the typical soldiers' garrison, as you can see." She clutches her robe a little tighter.

  Tea is good. She nods briskly, fetching and preparing two simple stoneware cups. They're simple; not even mugs, with no handle and a slightly tapered design. Hot water is poured into each. Cream, sugar, and spices are added according to preference (her own gets cream, sugar, and a dash of various warm spices).

  Zelda wraps her fingers around her own cup. "For the moment, this place is hidden from the eyes of the usurper-king. We can make our plans without drawing notice, and when we move, we can do so on our own terms."

    "I don't know if I really have much of a frame of reference for any kind of garrisons, honestly..." Shirou admits, eyes still wandering through the kitchen out of pure curiousity.

    Well, at least up until the tea comes. He takes it without additives, largely -- though perhaps with a curious experiment of some spice he's unused to that he might spot there on offer. He's not picky or demanding, no. He's perfectly happy just for getting something like this offered to him in the first place.

    And he's quick to sip at the warm drink, too -- a welcome thing after the outing in the nearly-overwhelming cold of the outside.

    "Usurper-king?" He repeats with obvious surprise when that particular term comes up, his head perking up away from the mug and eyes momentarily widened. "Ah-- I'm sorry. I'm still not really... entirely used to the entire concept of... 'multiple worlds', I guess is the best way to call it. So I'm not really... Up to date on the local news either. I'm still not really entirely sure *where* I am, either."

    Oh, he really is completely and *utterly* lost, isn't he?

  "Yes. The usurper." Zelda sips at her tea, and something cold creeps into her tone. "Some years ago now Hyrule Castle was taken over by invaders from the Twilight Realm. At their head is Zant, the self-styled 'Twilight King,' the usurper. He and his beasts slaughtered the royal family, and a great number of the servants and soldiers left behind in Hyrule Castle."

  Her mouth twists. "No fault of yours, at any rate. We did not have time to exchange tales on the road, as it were." She lifts a brow. "Hm. You took the wrong Vine, didn't you?" It's phrased like a question, but pitched low, like a statement. "You are in Snowpeak Garrison, in Snowpeak Province, of the Kingdom of Hyrule. We are some weeks' travel north from the heartland, where the ruins of the capital stand. Don't feel too bad about it... we are occasionally at the mercy of the Vines, it seems."

    The tone behind Zelda's voice is telling even to Shirou. He winces subtly, even, over the way she speaks of this 'Zant'... and the atrocities he has clearly committed. "O-oh." He seems a bit regretful for not having known of that already -- and making her speak of it instead.

    The guess she makes about his situation... well, judging from the way he coughs right after she's presented that question-slash-statement, and the look to the side he sends while purposefully delaying his own response with a prolonged sip of tea... yeah, she's definitely right on the mark with that one.

    "Hyrule... I think Anna mentioned the name once," he murmurs, more to himself, really. Though realizing he is, still, in company, he offers in clarification, "...The girl I was travelling with back in Glenmouth. She's read a lot about other worlds, apparently. Turns out her world draws a lot of... off-world visitors, I guess is the word?"

    At the mercy of the Vines, she says. That seems to ring particularly true for him now-- not just because of his most recent stumble. "Yeah, well... I still don't really fully understand how it all works, but... That does seem to be the case. I didn't exactly leave Fuy-... er... 'My world'--" He is *never' going to get used to saying that. "--out of my own choice. Apparently I can't even go back."

  "Did she, now? I've become acquainted with her travelling companion. Valerian Railton. He's something of an entrepreneur, and I've some potential business for him." Zelda turns, setting her stoneware cup down and stirring the embers beneath the kettle. "Perhaps travellers from here found their way to there. More power to them, if so. Mayhap it's safer there than here right now."

  She tips a shoulder in regard to the vines. "I do not, either. Ah, so you hail from a Bud. Unfortunate." Zelda shakes her head. "I have heard of such worlds. I hope you find your way back, Emiya Shirou, for whatever that may be worth."

    "I understand she, uh... was in a position to have access to plenty of texts much more easily than most in her world," Shirou suggests, trying his best not to let too much of Anna's particular situation be elaborated on. She did ask him.

    He dips his head slightly, then-- just enough to set his eyes on the tea within the mug cradled within both of his hands. "It's... I'm not sure if I even have a world to find my way back to. But still, I appreciate the sentiment, Sheik."

    After letting out a quiet sigh, he tips the mug up to drain the last remnants of the tea. At least the warmth of the drink has some comfort to it, there. "Thank you for the tea and shelter. Uh... Are you able to show me back to the nearest Vine, so I can... well, at least try to be on my way? Though maybe after letting me warm up a bit more first..." The cold outside isn't exactly welcoming, afterall.

  "I already know her provenance." Zelda turns toward the kettle, banking the embers with an iron poker. "You needn't tip-toe around her identity. I have already told Valerian Railton that I am willing to help him and Miss Primrose so long as I am able, even if only to offer them a safe port of call in Snowpeak Garrison." She tips a shoulder, shaking her head. "I bear them no ill will."

  To his appreciation of her sentiment, she only inclines her head. Even that tiny movement is graceful; regal. Definitely some kind of aristocrat.

  "Certainly. This time we will take Lynel." The big demon horse in the stable. Okay, not really a demon horse, but he sure is enormous, and enormously bad-tempered. "You can ride with me, and he will plow us a path back to the Vine. Take your time here. Stay as long as you wish." 'Sheik' bobs her head. "I have time, today, but we must leave before midafternoon, or it will not be safe to travel."