2975/Reviving the Spring of Eldin

Reviving the Spring of Eldin
Date of Scene:	06 September 2015
Location:	The Hylian Mainland <LoZ-5>
Synopsis:	The Spirit of Light, Eldin, is revived. Meanwhile, Noa and Staren investigate Forsaken Fortress and accidentally rise it from under the desert.
Cast of Characters:	Deelel, Staren, 73, 248, Blurr, 513, 788, 789, Haguro, 864
Tinyplot:	Clearing the Twilight

---

Agahnim (864) has posed:
     The battle against Blind the Bandit's forces left everyone fairly winded. There was a close call at the end, the notorious thief Blind almost being allowed to depart. But, with some revelation from Ilia? The group learned that the shapeshifting bandit was not someone they should allow to go, only partially for the fact that he held the Tears of Light within his body.

     Now, the group gathers at the Spring of Eldin. Some very well /might/ have decided to head back to Forsaken Fortress, considering that one of the Multiverse's most ASSHOLE ELVES wants to claim it for himself. But, most will be at the Spring.

     The spring is set against a cliff side, various natural waterfalls flowing into it. The spring is rather shallow, only ankle deep or so. The water that trickles out of the spring does so via a number of small little streams, heading off to the distance. The entire area is woodland, with plenty of vegetation nearby.

     The entire area is /also/ covered in Twilight. Kakariko Village is currently safe. But the spring itself is in the midst of Twilight.

     As such, many will arrive in their animal forms.

Fassad (248) has posed:
     Fassad is already here, waiting for the party. His white horse, Excelsior near him.

     Fassad himself is, of course, a large pink rabbit. He hops around on all four, standing near the spring itself. Waiting for the others to arrive.

Noa Nuquerna (788) has posed:
     Asshole Elf is a tautology.

     But if it wasn't, Noa Nuquerna, self-proclaimed Adversary, would be the best example in the multiverse. He was held up during the actual invasion, something he forever is annoyed about (he really wanted to see some of those supposedly hot thief girls) (he's a teenager, after all, even if he's an Elf), but by...uh...by...

     ...atheism?...

     ...no, wait! By the Mere Theoretical Existence Of A Higher Power, Which It Is His Moral Duty To Oppose, he's not going to let somebody else take HIS startup castle. Sure, it's a startup. Sure, one day he'll pass it to somebody else. But right now it's all he's got.

     More importantly A) it might still have hot thief girls, B) it's far away from his Enemies (read: the people unfortunate enough to have him as friends).

     Noa is currently stalking his way through the halls of the Fortress, looking for A) the aformentioned Hot Thief Girls, B) Treasure People May Have Missed, C) The Throne Room (so he can Officially Sit On It), D) Anything Else Of Interest, in no particular order. He's dressed in exactly what he was last time, which is to say the leather coat, leather pants, bandolier-and-normal belts, and random pieces of armor. On his face he is wearing the Skull Mask, because, who knows, maybe someone'll mistake him for their god or something.

     It could happen!

     "Number One," Noa tells the cucco on his head, "We've got *big things* ahead of us, you know that? You joined the right team. We're going to terrorize people from this fortress for, like, a thousand years of darkness."

     "Or at least until we get sealed away," He admits, "But don't worry, that's probably just, like, sleeping for a really long time."

     Number One, the sinister cucco, now equipped with a cucco-sized Skull Mask, lets out its terrible chicken call, as if in answer to its master's promises.

     "Or at least until we get bored and find a better place," Noa admits after a moment, "I mean we don't wanna, like, franchise. Then we're just being The Man. Maybe we'll loan it out to starter Adversaries, like a, I dunno, a training retreat."

     Number One glares down at him. Noa swears in Elven.

     "I sound just like THE MAN. I gotta stop doing that. Remember, Number One, No Gods, No Masters. No Gods, No Masters."

     "K-KAW"

     "You and me, Number One. You and me."

Haguro has posed:
     Haguro's looking a little on edge today, and for good reason: It's her first mission after returning from that months-long expedition! She's well-prepared for a fight today, having replenished her ammunition and repaired her armor earlier in the day. She's hesitant to actually approach that spring at first, mostly because of that Twilight hanging over the whole thing.

     Still, she can't stand outside of it forever, and she finally makes her way in! The actual transformation is incredibly jarring to the ship girl, but she does eventually come out of it as...

     ... A hippo! A massive one at that. She even leaves giant footprints in the dirt as she approaches the spring proper and nods towards the rabbity prince. "Ah... Hello. Are you here for the mission as well?"

Finna (513) has posed:
    Although Finna might've grabbed a bit of bling - Joy Necklaces, some rupees, and odds and ends from the corners of the Forsaken Fortress, she has little interest in them beyond claimining a trophy or two. With no interest in the fortress itself and every interest in clearing the Twilight, she's come to the Spring of Eldin... taking fox form to do so.

    Out of humility, familiarity, or a desire to toy with others a little more, it's hard to say.

    At least, if you're not looking at her. She's wearing a troubled expression, as if maybe a little lost.

Sarah Parsle (789) has posed:
MEANWHILE...

"Meow." Sarah says, her voice dripping with sass as she sits near the spring, her tail whipping from one side fo the other. She just KNOWS that Noa is elsewhere probably skulking into that fortress that got cleaned out by the ludicrous superhuman murderboats that she kind of tagged along with earlier.

And she knows she's going to regret this. It's Inevitable.

Either way, there is a job to be done. She reaches out with a paw, leaning over the water to look at herself in the reflection of the spring. A paw slowl reaches out to poke at it in that reaching cat way. "You know, my friend keeps rabbits." Sarah comments to Fassad as she plays with the water.

Of course, that's when a giant damn hippo shows up. The crashing noise causes the cat to fall into the water with a SPLOOSH, resulting in some feline screams and curses as she flails in the water in surprise.

A drenched, bedraggled cat pulls itself out of the spring a moment later, glaring at Haguro. "Of course. It was just a matter of time before we got someone like you." She mutters.

Staren has posed:
    "Won't you get a house you can turn into whatever you want when your Sburb session starts? I mean, have you seen Arthur's totally sweet skull volcano lair? Then again, I suppose it's good to learn the ins and outs of castle ownership beforehand, so you're not having to work it out at the same time as your life is in danger from a death game."
    Staren stalks along behind Noa, taking a look around. He was told it might be a good idea to help the kid, and he's earnestly giving it a shot. He's wearing what looks like leather armor, but is actually high-tech body armor, with a duster and his usual bandana and messenger bag over it.

    "It's good to keep the possibility of failure in mind, but I do hope you'll strive to avoid being sealed away. You never know how that will go. You might end up sealed in a dark realm tortured by your own fears, or not asleep at all but completely awake with noone to talk to, or maybe some other upstart villain will get the bright idea to bring you back by modifying the sealing spell into a /control/ spell, and then you'd have to /take orders/, /ugh/, until you finally cleverly betray him and break free."

    "You have big dreams. It's hard to inflict lasting, far-reaching change without being THE MAN. I'd be a terrible THE MAN, though, so some of my long-term plans are kind of hampered. Perhaps the route you find to success will show me how I can make the Multiverse a better place on a bigger scale than fending off the occasional monster or villain."

    Staren blinks, as he sounds like he's starting to not fit in with the group. He coughs, "Um, because then the clueless sheeple will be able to enjoy better lives when I've finally freed them from being shackled by their upbringing and their own closed-minded preconceptions." Yes, that sounds more like it <_<

Frederica (73) has posed:
    Though Frederica may have shown up simply because hey it's the Twilight, there was a specific request for a healer. And while Frederica is still not the world's best healer, she likes opportunities to apply her power in positive, non-destructive ways.

    Of course she hasn't considered what might be involved with healing as a hedgehog. Arriving at the springs, the pyro girl is indeed now stubby and spiky. She recognizes the cat and the fox, and of course the mighty bunny rabbit. She smiles in greeting, though in this form it's more a wrinkling of her nose. She then eyes the mighty hippo. "Someone new? Welcome to the quest." she says cheerfully.

Agahnim (864) has posed:
     The Forsaken Fortress is fairly empty at this point. It was cleared out, near completely. Not even a single Moblin or Bulbin remains present. And, more dissapointingly, there isn't much for treasure, either. The outer walls of the fortress have a number of crappy pig-iron weapons hidden within them, but mostly the walls are just a number of half-assed barracks. Most of the original furniture of this castle is obviously gone, and there is a sharp contrast between the castle itself and the thief's additions.

     Most notable, though, is the complete lack of a throne room in the center tower. The first floor of which is now completely empty, aside some moblin corpses that no one had real time to clear out.

     But, near the back of this central tower room? There is a doorway. And a staircase, leading downward. Some sand is down the staircase, and at the bottom, there is a veritable pile of sand, blocking the path further down. With some effort, one might be able to dig through, though....

Fassad (248) has posed:
     At the Spring, Fassad gives a pleasant smile to Haguro. Or at least, as pleasasnt a smile as a hippo can give. He nods slightly, to her, "Ah, yes. We spoke on the radio earlier. I am Prince Fassad, from the land of Arcadia! A pleasure to meet you in person, lady Haguro."

     The Prince gives a nod towards Finna as well, happy to see her again. But, confused at why she is in animal form when she can so obviously exploit her own powers. And, a similar nod to Frederica. He thinks back to her flaming hedgehog moment. Truly, she knows how to use her animal form well. But, Fassad makes a small bit of a comment to Frederica, "...Oh. The women who was planning to cook for me didn't show. So... I don't /think/ I am in danger of eating her poisonous food /yet/. Still, thank you for coming."

     And then Sarah falls into the spring. Fassad's reaction is almost immediate. He leaps over to where she was, trying to lift a paw to help pull out. He can't do /too much/, though. He's only a rabbit. But, it at least says /something/ about him that he still leaps blindly to help others. Probably that he's a bit stupid.

     But, there is a flash of light from Sarah. Something is /forcibly/ pulled from her Sylladex. This is, almost certainly, something that almost never happens. The Tear of Light appears, floating above the Spring. And then, the entire area becomes awash with a bright light.

     A giant hawk appears. It's body, entirely made of light. Massive wings spread from its body, and it slowly flaps its wings as it stays above the spring. It just stares to the group, a blank emotionless look on its face. And suddenly, the Twilight fades, starting from near the spring. Fassad and Sarah are likely the first to shift back to their human forms.

Blurr has posed:
    A request for assistance from the Union had gone out for the removal of some kind of ....aura? On a planet called Hyrule. Blurr is guessing that the natives had been relying on these 'Spirits of Light' to keep the stuff out of populated areas--so perhaps they're shield generators of some sort. If that's the case, they shouldn't be too difficult to get back up and running, right?

    ...yeah he probably has no idea what he's getting himself into.

    At any rate, he arrives with the others at the spring in a bright beam of blue light that flashes momentarily as he teleports down from his ship.

Haguro has posed:
     Hearing that splashing from nearby, Haguro glances around quickly before bowing her giant hippo-head to the cat in apology. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to... Mm..." She trails off and shrinks back just a bit, although it probably doesn't come across all that clearly considering her size. Thankfully, nobody else seems to be as irritated by her presence, and she manages another light nod of her head to the hedgehog and Fassad. "Ah.. Hello there. My name is Haguro. It's... It's good to meet you, too."

     Even with all her size, she's still looking a little jumpy. At least she's sounding mildly relieved at the familiar voice! Thankfully, she won't have to endure that awkwardness at being so huge compared to the others for long once the Twilight fades.

     "So this is what we're working to get rid of, right? Where are we starting today?"

Frederica (73) has posed:
    Frederica returns to her true form when the twilight reverts. She spends a few moments just looking down at her arms, not displeased, but sliiiightly more intrigued by what's happening to herself than with what's happening to the land.

    She does eventually look around to take in the landscape without the Twilight. "Beautiful." she says, sincerely. Then she kind of notices the hawk. Rather than repeat herself, she just stares.

    "Oh uh... hello." she says in greeting to the hawk. Which almost has to be this spirit of the spring or something like that. Maybe even the owner of that pathetic voice from the last time she was here. Or maybe not, she's not sure. "Is this your... your spring?" she asks.

Finna (513) has posed:
    Finna was not transformed because of the Twilight, and so her form doesn't change when the wave of light dispells the Twilight.

    Yes. She transforms of her own volition, a moment later, going upright and clapping her hands together! "Well, that takes care of one. Hello, great spirit!" She can TRY to be cheerful about things, right? And well, she's a bit genuinely awed.

    She's seen gods, but they're rarely this... well... actually majestic.

Sarah Parsle (789) has posed:
Sarah was totally going to get it out herself.

HOWEVER, it looks like quest item usage overrides how much of a pain in the ass her Fetch Modus is.

This is actually pretty acceptable to her. What's also acceptable is her transforming from a drenched and bedraggled cat back to a drenched and bedraggled little girl in the middle of the hilarious image of watching a rabbit try to pull a cat out of a spring that isn't really deep enough for her to drown in.

She sits there for a moment on the edge of the spring, and then shakes her hair, probably spattering Fassad. "Thanks, Prince Charmin." She says, as if she didn't just basically intentionally spatter him with water. At least it's water and not mud.

It's after that, that she looks up at the shining hawk. "Oh hey. Hello there, Spirit of Light. Is everything cool now?"

Sarah Parsle (789) has posed:
Also, there's the matter of Haguro.

Sarah watches the hippo turn into an awkward girl with more metal strapped to her than a legion of nerd retainers. She shuffles over towards her, and leans in, squinting.

The silence becomes almost oppressive as she leans to one side, and then the other, oberving Haguro from multiple angles...

"Nothing you could have done about it. It was bound to happen." She says, abruptly, straightening out, turning away and heading back to the edge of the spring.

Blurr has posed:
    Blurr was a little bit confused to see all these odd-looking Earth animals when he arrived, since their energy signatures actually matched those of the Union elites in the database. He might've...glossed over that bit in the report about the animal forms. Or might have just not realized what it meant.

    But then, a big shiny bird appears suddenly, and they all return to what they're -supposed- to look like. Then it dawns on him. Oooh, right. "I'm guess that's the 'Spirit of Light' thing?" he asks, pointing. "Well that was nice, it didn't even need to be repaired or refueled or anything." Sure, talk about the spirit as if it weren't even a living thing. Probably not the best idea. But that was just the impression he'd had from the report.

Haguro has posed:
     Haguro freezes up as Sarah moves in to inpect her, trying not to even move her head while following her movements. She's definitely not the calmest sort, and her arms are even shaking a bit while she stands there like she's being inspected by some sort of drill instructor. It's not until Sarah turns away that the girl finally relaxes, slumping in place a bit.

     It's also at that moment that Haguro finally looks up at the hawk, staring in awe at the majestic creature... Spirit? Whatever it is, it's definitely not something she's seen before. She's got a bit of a dumbfounded stare on her face at first, although she does straighten up again and offer the hawk a bow as well. She just can't figure out the right words to actually say to it just yet.

Fassad (248) has posed:
     Fassad is splashed with the water. It takes everything he can to not smack Sarah. But, he stands up, shaking out some of the water that got on him. And, despite the insult, he still puts a hand forward, offering to help. He isn't trying to help her with this. Nor is he trying to impress her. Instead, it is simply the way he is.

     The large light spirit shaped like a hawk looks over the group. It looks towards Frederica. Its voice remains a blank. It doesn't even move its mouth. And yet, it still speaks. The words are in an ancient language, though one that seems to translate well via translation effect. Specifically, it is the language known as Ancient Hylian.

     "Yes. This is my Spring. I am the Spirit of Light known as Eldin. Though I was slain, I still had some awareness of the land. And, I still had some awareness of your deeds. All of you, even those just joining today? You are working so hard to aid Hyrule. I, and this entire land, are in your debt."

     "...But. I still have more to ask of you all. The three other spirits... You already seek them, but I still ask you to find them as quickly as possible. You likely already know, but... They are in the Ordona Region, the Lost Woods, and in the Zora Headwaters."

     "...Ordona?"

     That quiet question comes from a girl. The girl who was rescued last time. Ilia. She was supposed to be back at Kakariko village. But, apparently, she followed. Ilia looks towards the group, considering. "I... Know where Ordona Spring is. I met the spirit, Ordona. And I helped care for his Spring. He vanished years ago... Around the same time I lost one of my friends. And when this Twilight appeared."

     Ilia looks at the group, considering. She looks like the type of girl who is normally very cheerful, but she looks somber right now. She pauses, considering them all. All of these people have been working to help Hyrule. She can trust them.

     "...I can help guide you to my village. For some reason, I'm not affected by the Twilight, so it should be a simple matter to help you all get there."

Haguro has posed:
     Haguro swallows again as the light spirit begins to speak, first identifying itself as Eldin before mentioning the three other spirits they need to find. The names of those locations don't ring a bell to her, but she does mutter them silently to herself before looking over at Ilia. Haguro listens intently as she speaks, a look of sympathy on her face before finally speaking up once the girl finishes.

     "Th... That's very brave of you." Takinga deep breath, Haguro gives her a determined nod. "Your help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you." There's even a fire in Haguro's eyes as she says that. A new, rekindled spirit to at least keep up with someone so tiny and unarmed!

Blurr has posed:
    Oh, well slag, the thing -talks-! Blurr is somewhat shocked when the bird starts talking to them, though it does kind of sound like a recording or maybe a drone. And then it references places he has no idea where they are, and was wondering if it could spit out some coordinates instead when Ilia offers to lead them to at least one of them.

    "Great, you can tell us where it is right? What's your name, by the way?"

Finna (513) has posed:
    Finna can sympathize with how Ilia feels. Somewhat.

    in so far as wanting to be cheerful but being haunted by something that's keeping her down. So she strolls over to Ilia and claps a comforting on her shoulder. "And we'll keep you safe the whole way!"

    Still, her gaze turns up towards Eldin again. "If only most of the Gods of my world were as benevolent as you seem to be. Most are jerks. But not my patron Goddess... Luna. Upon the Silver Lady's name I swear myself to this cause."

Frederica (73) has posed:
    "Of course." Frederica says soothingly to the hawk-spirit. She likes animals, and this world resonates with her on several levels. Besides, despite occasional petty cruelty and a streak of mockery a mile wide, she's got a heroic and gentle soul. She's happy to assist in any way possible.

    The former hedgehog turns her attention to Ilia, curious and somewhat suspicious at someone apparently immune to the Twilight. Ilia's a girl however, and so Frederica's suspicion doesn't bloom into burning flame. "That's odd." is what she says on the matter. "Any idea why you aren't affected when everyone else is? You can tell us along the way!" she suggests cheerfully.

    She turns and bows to the hawk-spirit. "You ... remind me of Phoenix." she says, and there's a hint of reverence there. She totally agrees with Finna's judgment of the spirit. "I'll do everything in my power to help." she promises.

Deelel has posed:
The ship spirit might soon find she's not alone. The program had bene a bit behind things. Still she's been listening and catching up on things She looks to the spirit gets a faint smile from her as she listens intently to tthe information about where they might go.

"Humm I know the term Zora but I'm afraid I don't know any of the others."

She wonders about that mask she got a few days ago maybe it's connected to that place given it's name.

"Thank you, still it's quite useful to know where we're looking for. We might have to hit that map maker up again."

Sarah Parsle (789) has posed:
If Sarah feels any guilt over spraying Fassad with water, she doesn't show it. She did, however, allow him to help her out so he gets to have helpful hero feels there if he wants. At this point, she has taken off her shoes and is dangling her bare feet in the edge of the spring, enjoying the clean and refreshing water. At least, as much as Sarah seems to enjoy anything. Without looking up, she simply adds, "Okay, this is pretty straightforward. So Ilia can help us get to Ordona. Anyone think this friend might have something to do with the Tear of Light that we'll need to find out there? Either way, we're going to need to get there and start at square one. We put a dent in the problem but it's not going to be fixed until we've finished levering all this where it needs to be. That's just how this stuff seems to work."

Don't hate the player, hate the Death Game... And the fact that Sburb uses a pretty archetypal RPG model.

Fassad (248) has posed:
     Ilia turns to Blurr, smiling. Despite the completely strange robot lifeform behind her, she remains calm. "Yes. I can take you there. And, my name is Ilia Ordon, daughter of the village's leader." Illia then glances to Frederica, shrugging, "I... don't know? I'm just not affected. My family was, though, so.. It's not that. Maybe it's because I was friends with Ordona?"

     And then she looks towards Sarah, shaking her head, "...No. He doesn't know of Ordona, that I'm aware. I visited Ordona the day the Twilight arrived, and I was talking about him. I might as well ask, though. If you are clearing the Twilight?"

     "Please. Keep an eye out for my friend, Link."

     Hearing that name? Fassad's face just goes absolutely /blank/.

     Eldin just remains flying in the air, looking at the group. Finna's promise makes him glad, as does Frederica's promise He speaks again, "Your promise is noted. Thank you, for helping, and promising on your God's name. But. I should make one thing clear."

     "Not all Gods of this land are benevolent. But, those old Gods have been sealed away, long ago. There are various beings who could be considered as Gods. The Wind Mage Immortal Demon. The Masked Evil. And, The worst God-like being, the King of Evil, was long ago sealed away by the Seven Sages. Seven chosen ones, picked to give their entire existance to keeping the Seal on the Dark One. But, he is banished forever. And nothing can possibly bring him back."

     "But. We must focus on the task at hand. The Dark Interlopers. Currently, lead by their Dark Queen. But, by saving my brethern? The Twilight will be sealed away once again, and their Queen will be gone."

     Eldin looks towards Sarah. At first, it might seem as if he is mad at her soaking her fet in the spring. But, instead, "And, as this girl does? Should you ever feel the need to rest, or recover? Feel free to relax in my spring. It is welcome."

     And with that, Eldin vanishes.

Blurr has posed:
    "Nice to meet you, Illia Ordon. I'm Blurr." The Autobot replies, similing politely. He would shake her hand but holomatter things require extra energy and effort that he doesn't feeling expending right now. "Well what are we waiting for, let's get this race down the tracks. You got coordinates, or at least a direction or something?"

Sarah Parsle (789) has posed:
"We'll watch for him, but no promises. If he's alive, we'll help how we can. If not... Well, there's not much that can be done." Even with that heartfelt request, Sarah just seems to handle things directly and without optimism.

After Eldin vanishes, however, Sarah flops back on her back, looking up into the clear sky. "Isn't it great when the shiny important NPC guy tells you that there is absolutely no way that the seal holding a great evil can ever be broken?" She observes. "Everyone always underestimates how bad people can be, or maybe someone will try to break it from the outside or whatever. If Noa were here he'd give a big speech on it, I'm sure."

It's at this point, she dries off her feet and gets her shoes on, standing up again. "Still, there's some useful info there of what to watch out for, at least. When everyone's ready, let's get moving to Ordona. We have a lot of work to do."

Finna (513) has posed:
    Finna has a SPECIAL SENSE for that kind of turbulence. The strange expression Fassad shows has her ears perking up, but she keeps mum for now. Most of her attention's on the being of light during the explanation. Once Eldin's gone though...

    Finna scratches behind one of her ears with her free hand, looking troubled. "Ohhhhhh not again."

    She remembers the last time anyone said something about 'awful old spirits, sealed away.'

    Last time anyone said that, ODIN broke loose.

Haguro has posed:
     Evil gods, demons, a missing Link, and a force of darkness trying to turn everything into animals... This definitely isn't the sort of thing Haguro's used to facing. Still, she can't back down now, especially with so much at stake and after giving her word that she would help.

     "NPC...?" Blinking at Sarah in confusion and glancing back at Deelel as she catches up with the rest of the group, the Fleet Daughter takes another moment to consider what they had all just heard before speaking up (albeit rather quietly).

     "Right. I don't know how useful I'll be, but... I can fight at long range and close range, so I can cover our retreat if it ever gets too dangerous. Although I've never really.. Um. Dealt with anything magical like this before."

Deelel has posed:
Deelel says "I shall do so if we are lucky to find this."

She looks at the mention of old gods. She listens for a moment amd flags this memory index what is being said today? Will likely be needed later.

"The Twilight can be sealed? Humm I may be able to help if we can find the source."

She watche as the spirit leaves and then she turns to the rest of the party.

"A gaming term for non player character."

Fassad (248) has posed:
     Ilia looks around the group, smiling. She is completely not taken aback by how... eclectic they are. Instead, she just smiles at the lot, looking at them.

     "...Well. You all seem to know what to do next, at least. So... How about this? Let's head back to the village, and rest for the night. It'll be good if we get ready for the trip. It'll be a long, hard one. Through a lot of Twilight."

     And Ilia starts walking back to the village.

     Fassad follows, silent. He looks distant.

Noa Nuquerna (788) has posed:
     "I will of course get a house eventually but while I'm waiting I might as well have somewhere to live that isn't next to my Enemies," Noa points out with his usual mix of practicality and madness, "It's a Secret Base."

     "Just, you know. Not secret. Because they know about it. But since they know about it they'll never expect me to actually live in a place like this. I mean, look at it!" Noa kicks at the sand. "This place is a shithole."

     "BKAWK!"

     "Right, right. It's a fixer-upper. I mean, hell, worst comes to worst I'll just flip it and make a ton of Evil Start-Up Money," Noa polishes his fingernails thoughtfully, staring at the sand. He considers this for a moment.

     "Okay, this sand is pissing me off. We're gonna see what's under it. Maybe it'll be the Seal of an Ancient Evil a Thousand Years Old who'l be willing to give me some pointers in exchange for freedom, IDK." Yes, he actually says IDK. Yes, he's That Guy. Yes, Noa is *that* obnoxious.

     "And, speaking of, sealing isn't really failure. If you get sealed for a thousand years it means you'll be back eventually. You'll always be back eventually. There's no such thing as a perfect seal if you're good enough at what you do. Hell, there's no such thing as a perfect seal because THAT implies there's not somebody dumb enough to wake your ass up from your thousand-year nap and expect gratitude." Noa starts tapping his foot impatiently. "You know what'll happen to the first dumb motherfucker who wakes ME up from my thousand year nap and expects to control and-or be-rewarded-by me? I'm gonna fucking torch the guy."

     "Anybody stupid enough to hit the button that says RELEASE ANCIENT EVIL doesn't deserve a reward, he deserves Darwinism in action. And before you point out the irony let me remind you that I expect neither reward nor service, just some start-up tips if he's in the mood and otherwise hey that's cool, whatever, one Adversary to another, Professional Code. Evil Guild or something."

     After a moment, a Devil appears. It's small, floating over Noa's shoulder. It's carrying...a pamphlet. Noa takes the pamphlet and snaps his fingers. "Give me the rest of these," he tells the Imp.

     Then he passes the first pamphlet to Staren. "OK, so, while you're waiting you should read this, but in like ten minutes we're gonna be buried in pamphlets. If you've got something that spins fast and like some clips or some shit, get it ready, 'cause we're gonna blow this shit away."

     "With /literature/."

     Noa pauses.

     "Literally."

     "K-KAW!"

     The pamphlet helpfully reads WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU'RE A MINDLESS TOOL: A BRIEF GUIDE TO FREEING YOUR MIND AND ESCAPING THE TYRANNY OF SOCIETY'S CHAINS

     After a moment, a very large number of imps appear around him. They start dropping pamphlets at Staren's feet. Noa whistles.

     "Didn't even have to get the Angry Belt off," he observes.

     "They must fear Number One's all-consuming wrath."

Staren has posed:
    Staren nods as Noa explains taking the castle and that he's not worried about being sealed.

    Staren blinks at the pamphlet. "Oh. So these are the famous pamphlets. Have many people actually read them?" Pamphlets start piling up. "...Something that spins? Maybe, but I don't suppose you can just captchalogue 'pile of sand' by any chance?"

    He holds a hand to his chin and considers for a bit. "I'm not sure paper will make a very strong fan. And this is in a confined space at the bottom of the stairs, there isn't really anywhere to blow it /to/. Maybe we could turn it to glass and remove the glass? Uhh... hmm."

Noa Nuquerna (788) has posed:
     "Dude you overthink too much," Noa tells him, gesturing at the sand, "This is a sand puzzle. We need something to blow the sand backwards. Make a fan and let's roll with it. Have you *never* played a video game like *ever*?"

Staren has posed:
    Staren blinks. "That... that..." He looks at the sand. "Thet would only work in a videogame, and we're not /in/ sburb. The tunnel here is probably full of sand.The amount of energy needed to push /all/ of the sand at once is tremendous!" He throws his hands up, then winces and rubs his right elbow. "Nngh. ...Can you just try captchaloguing 'pile of sand' and see if it works?"

Noa Nuquerna (788) has posed:
     "You think way too fucking much," Noa rolls his eyes, "OK, I will try and have my imps pick up a giant pile of sand."

     One of the imps appears. Noa unbuckles the bandolier-style belt. It reads ANGRY on the buckle. "Okay, you little bastard. This is what we're gonna do. You're gonna add that PILE OF SAND to the Captchalogue. Do you understand?"

     The Devil glances at the belt. "Make m-"

     WHIP-CRACK.

     "YESSIR," the Devil replies, then floats over to the pile of sand and...

     and....

     ...and adds the pile of sand to the Captchalogue. GET: PILE OF SAND...?

Deelel has posed:
Deelel Think it's a good idea to get back to the villiage, she'd use a light craft, but the patches of Twilight would have that end in diaster so on foot it is. She's moving along but she pauses at Fassad for a moment he doesn't look well and she wonders. She'll leave the castle to it's new master. She's got a lot of thinking to do.

Agahnim (864) has posed:
     The sand is captchalogued. The stairway is revealed, and the door further on is ready to be opened.

     Once the door is opened? A large pile of sand will fall on whoever opened it. Thank /god/ that there isn't just a wall of sand behind it, at least. Sure, throughout this entire next room, there are lots of traces of sand. But, it's not as bad as it could be, considering the large number of windows within this room.

     ...Windows?

     Yes. Windows. Glass windows are throughout, mostly stained. A number are broken, and piles of sand are the only thing keeping this room from being completely covered. There are a lot more oddities as well. A large amount of actual ancient furniture is around. Some of it is lost to time, broken apart. Others are intact. A few nonhuman skeletons stick out of the sand, half buried on the ground. Bookshelves line much of the room as well, though the vast majority of them are completely lost to time.

     There seem to be a stairway going down. As well as a label near it. Labelling this floor.

     LIBRARY - FLOOR 10

     ...This castle is much larger than it first seemed.

Staren has posed:
    "Thinking too much is what we do. It's why we don't just do whatever THE MAN tells us, right? You're not out helping restore the shards of light because you thought of an opportunity for yourself."

    When the imps... captchalogue the sand, which Staren /doesn't/ think about how it works because he's learned not to analyze Sburb too hard despite Noa's complaints, Staren holds his hands up in front of his chest, palms-up. "See? That was way faster than building a giant paper fan, anyway."

    When they open the door... sand! "Oh COME ON!" Staren gets clear, then sighs in relief when he sees that the whole room wasn't /full/ of sand. "This is weird. How'd this sand get here in exactly these positions...?" Thinking again.

    He quirks an eyebrow as he sees the skeletons, and... bookshelves? And a stairway going down... Staren gasps. Oh gosh this is a MAGIC EXTRADIMENSIONAL CASTLE!

    Wait no. Staren gasps. Oh gosh this is a GIANT BURIED CASTLE! "This is a giant buried castle! But... what the hell could have happened that would have covered it all in THIS much sand?!"

Noa Nuquerna (788) has posed:
     Noa looks smug for a moment. "You know if this wasn't a video game *that shouldn't've worked at fucking all*," He points out as he strolls downstairs. More sand totally doesn't bother him. He just kinda steps around it. "I overthink when I need to but if you overthink everything you paralyze yourself. You gotta learn when to just go with the flow."

     Noa pauses, browsing to see if any of the books are still up. "This is great. It's like ten floors down and full of dead people. If I ever learn how to make skeletons I've got a pre-built army, man."

     "Let's keep going down. There's probably better shit down below."

     He pauses and gives Staren a weird look. "You know we're in a desert, right? There are probably cracks."

Staren has posed:
    Staren nods a little at Noa's comment about game logic getting them out of that jam. He nods, "Point." He follows, giving Noa a surprised look. "This is floor 10! That means they didn't dig into the sand and build a basement... this castle was built when the sand was /much lower/. Maybe this wasn't even a desert at all..."

Noa Nuquerna (788) has posed:
     "It was probably lush as fuck before the EVIL VILLAIN WHO LIVED HERE corrupted the land and turned it into a shithole," Noa agrees, "You remember that part, right? That this is an *evil fortress*?"

Staren has posed:
    "Maybe." Staren shrugs. "But Agahnim sounds like a pretty powerful guy, or at least he has powerful friends. Which might be the same thing. You really think he trashed his own sweet fortress? Who would do that? Even if he used magic, making a castle /this/ big was probably a lot of work. He's not gonna ruin it. Would /you/?"

Noa Nuquerna (788) has posed:
     "Yes," Noa replies immediately, "If I got beat I'd make sure shit collapsed around me so nobody else could use the place. Fuck those guys. They put no work into it. They wanna get an Evil Fortress, they're gonna put the work into fixing it up like we're doing *right now*."

Agahnim (864) has posed:
     The path downward leads to various other floors. The vast majority of them seem to have numerous purposes. The ninth floor is mostly rooming, for the higher class residents of the castle. Below that, floors that look like they are meant to host servants, guests, things like that. In fact, most of the floors from nine to five seem mostly residential, including a vast number of barracks. Floor three seems to be a place of work, for the various resident servants. Kitchens, dining areas, but also some eccentric things such as ancient blacksmiths. Armories. Floor two appears to be a vast ballroom, or something similar. Of course, much of this is almost /completely/ unusable due to age, and the massive buildup of sand. It's lucky that it is even this free. And, getting to the first floor, they'll find why the sand has drained out. There is a crack in the floor, and the sand is flowing into massive caverns below.

     But, on the first floor?

     There is the grand throne room.

     A giant room, with a throne on a pedestal. The throne is a dark golden color, with bits of brighter gold covering it. It is covered in spiles menacing outwards, and is outright /massive/. Plush red cushions are still upon it. In fact, the throne room itself is completely /untouched/ by age.

     It looks as if it has been waiting for its master.

Noa Nuquerna (788) has posed:
     Noa loves *everything about this*. There's a look on his Elven face that's almost *gleeful* as he wanders through the halls. He takes in the armory, the ballroom, the sand...it's amazing. He just strolls through the halls with a look on his face like ABSOLUTELY YES.

     And then they hit the throne room, and Noa's eyes widen with delight. "DIBS."

     And then he runs over and sits down on the Throne, without second thought. The chicken on his head attempts to look suitably regal as Noa adjusts the Skull Mask on his face.

     "Holy shit this is awesome. It is probably also super-evil. This is some serious mojo. Look at this thing. Somebody *badass* sat here."

Staren has posed:
    Staren's thoughts go in the same direction right after he says it, so he nods to Noa. "Good point. But still, it's easier to wreck the place than to /summon a desert/, or whatever he did. ...Maybe it sank, though." He pouts slightly. "Damn, I was hoping we were gonna discover there was some kind of ancient buried land of mystery down there."

    When they finally get down to the exposed cavern, though, he brightens up. "Wow! A mysterious giant cavern! Okay, that's pretty good too."

    And then they come to the throne room. He smiles at Noa's enthusiasm. It's infectious. Noa has dibs, "Of course." He watches Noa run to the throne and do his best to look like an evil overlord, pulling a tablet from his pocket and taking some pictures. "So, this place looks /untouched/. Like you say, somebody /badass/ sat here. Do you think maybe he left some of his toys behind? This room looks protected... like he intended to come back someday."

Agahnim (864) has posed:
     As Noa sits upon the throne, there is a sudden shift in the room. A magical effect, due to detecting him on it. Nothing hurts him. Instead, the castle acts as if the Master has returned home. Various banners unfurl from the walls. Upon them, the silloutte of some great, massive boar. Organ music can be heard throughout the castle. It fades soon, though. But, the various tapesteries and banners remain where they weren't before.

     At the least, this place seems uninhabitted still.

Noa Nuquerna (788) has posed:
     "Fine, if he comes back, he can have it," Noa replies magnanimously as he settles on the chair, "I mean it's his place, I'm just borrowing it. And if he doesn't come back and I make it Big as the Adversary then I'm willing to do business. Being an Adversary requires a network and not just minions."

     "/Holy shit it played organ music/," Noa claps, "Did you *hear* that?"

Staren has posed:
    Staren steps back in surprise as the castle WELCOMES NOA. "Pssh! Holy cow..." he laughs a little. "Do you think that's just for looks, or maybe it means the castle has magic powers and just crowned you its new master?"

Noa Nuquerna (788) has posed:
     Noa shrugs. "Maybe the dude just imparted part of his self into me and I'm now carrying around some of his Evil Spirit, or maybe the throne's corruptive and treats anyone who sits on it as its master until it turns them into him. That's what I'd do if I was making an Evil Castle, is make sure anybody sitting on it turned into me eventually."

     "It's cool though, I'm sure it'll be fine."

     "Maybe it'll come with Evil Superpowers."

Agahnim (864) has posed:
     There is a sudden shaking. The entire castle is moving. And, the entire castle is /rising/. Slowly, it shakes. Moves. There is the sound of a massive amount of shifting stone and sand.

     After several minutes, the castle has risen entirely out of the sand. Forsaken Fortress has, in fact, risen from the desert sands once again.

Staren has posed:
    Staren hadn't thought of that, but it sounds more concerning than Noa's treating it. But Staren won't argue that point right now. "Well... if you've got evil superpowers now, shouldn't you figure them out? You oughtta at least get a sweet ride out of them before you get taken over, rather than just being all 'Oh shoot, I'm turning into Agahnim' one da--"

    THE CASTLE SHAKES.

    "See this is what I mean! That right there, what are you doing?!"

    Staren notices some odd readings on his tablet's accelerometer. "You're... /raising the castle/? Wow, are you doing this on purpose?"

Noa Nuquerna (788) has posed:
     "I haven't done shit on purpose," Noa tells him, "But if this thing has a manual I'm gonna figure out where it is and how to use it, because I wanna know what else it can do."

     "Maybe it plays MP3s or some shit. How tight would that be? Upload some fucking MP3s so when I sat on the throne it'd just bust out some rhythm."

     Noa is a teenager.

Agahnim (864) has posed:
     With the castle risen from the sand, almost all of the sand inside is, eventually, going to fall out. Of course, some will need to be cleaned up manually. Searching will not find much in the way of spellbooks, written history, or /anything/ firmly placing down what the hell this castle even is. There is no instruction manual.

     But, if Noa /focuses/, while on the throne? He will be able to request the castle play /any song/ he want, in ominous organ music.

     /Any/. /Song/.

Noa Nuquerna (788) has posed:
     Noa's delight intensifies when he discovers this. He immediately experiments with obnoxious Anarchy themes, various supervillain themes from games he's played or heard of, annoying Pesterchum meme music, and random configurations of notes that sound vaguely menacing.

     "/My house can write me a theme song/," He tells Staren eagerly, "You have to help me figure out how this shit works dude, I want this in *all* my houses."

Staren has posed:
    Noa turns on the music. He's obviously controlling it as he switches through various songs. "...Did you just find Agahnim's mp3 player." he says, in 'wat' intonation. Then he crosses his arms, smirking. Staren actually /is/ curious about how that works. "Oh sure, /now/ you want me to think--"

    "...Oh my god that is the most ominous 'The Itsy Bitsy Spider' has ever sounded!" He laughs, then, "Oh wait, can you make it play it in a minor key and slower?"