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Midna THE HIDDEN VILLAGE
NIGHT

Crossing the warpgate in Hyrule Field to the Hidden Village at this time of night is dangerous, but an easy task for a band of adventurers. Monstrous goblin-like bandits attack those passing through, but are easily felled with numbers. Impaz's instructions say 'look for the rockslide'.

Indeed, there was a rockslide blocking the path to the village. Some sort of force has pushed it aside in the past, allowing passage. The Hidden Village itself is wooden buildings, one to two stories, usually the latter with balconies, many of the buildings possessing busted doors or windows, damaged. There's no skeletons or bodies in the street - it seems Impaz or the Bokoblins themselves saw to them - and the old lady herself is behind one of the doors, having decided to communicate solely through radio in case the 'Poes', or ghosts, in the Graveyard decide to come into town proper.

The sign above one of the buildings, presumably once a shop, reads in an ancient script 'OLD KAKARIKO'.

Getting to the graveyard up on the hill takes a bit of walking, but as you head there, you can hear the noises. Vague chattering, footsteps, and heavy objects being moved. Which is strange for a graveyard at night. Could it truly be haunted?

A wooden fence surrounding the graveyard has decayed with age, the sign legible as 'Graveyard'. A large arch allows access, where there's a few immediate sights.

First, several gravestones have been defaced. They've been pushed aside, toppled over, or otherwise moved.

Second, there is not a gaggle of ghosts messing around. In fact, if there's a ghost at all, it's hard to tell from this distance.

Finally, at the far back of the grave, at the most important gravesite, are two individuals. One is pushing the massive gravestone, flanked by two smaller graves, trying to get it open.

The other is sitting on top of the gravestone, barking orders. We'll focus on her for right now, and focus on the defiler in a minute.

"Come on, big guy! If you can't remember which song it is, you've got to push! Put your bones into it! We're burning twilight!"

She is a tall humanoid woman with grey skin possessing an almost blue tint, black accentuating parts of her body. Her long orange hair flows down past her shoulders. A crown-like mask is placed over her face, covering her left eye, a 'horn' extruding from the top at either side of the mask. Her upper body is mostly exposed despite a dark cloak with a light blue underside wrapped around her shoulders, and a long stylized skirt covers her lower half. She is otherwise barefoot, one leg light and one leg dark.

The moon shines directly on her (and her partner), as she stretches her arms back, opening a hand and playing with a couple of gemstones - recognizable by those who've been to a version of Hyrule before as the rupee. "I thought they'd be loaded!" She hasn't noticed you, yet.
Hero's Shade As the pale skinned woman seated on the largest tombstone in the graveyard continues to prattle on, her unfortunate helper in this most wretched and miserable task, lets out a rattling sound that could be mistaken for a sigh. His figure is tall and lean; understandably so, given that that he is naught but bones clad in armor. At one point in time, it was most likely a favorable and prohibitively expense piece of equipment, but it exists now only as a faded memento of its former glory, perhaps much like the one wearing it. It is covered in clovers and other similar foilage that casts its roots deep inside, maybe even to the cadaver himself.

The issue with shoving the mighty, carved boulder aside wasn't necessarily a lack of strength but more so with how soft and wet the ground was, from a recent rain. This left him slipping and sliding as he attempted to push the gargantuan weight ....

     ... no thanks to the person perched on it.

His efforts cease, as he proceeds to straighten his creaking back to peer up at his companion, as she ogles upon the precious red rupees in hand. I do hope that this doesn't cause any hard feelings from the dearly departed, he thinks to himself, the red light serving as his eye squinting into a squiggly and dim lin.

" ... while unlikely, it would perhaps be easier were you not planting yourself on the very object you'd like me to move. As well - I'm sure that I'd remember the correct tune."

... probably ... comes the afterthought.

"But, if you'd truly prefer to continue sitting there - "

He takes a step back, before raising one booted, bony leg up - seeming too caught up in his own exasperation to notice anyone who may have wandered to the graveyard's entrance - and winding up for all of a second or two to give Midna time to clear out.

And whether or not she did so, he kicks out with enough force to crack the air, and send the royal tombstone skidding off the inclined hill it had been situated on.
Gareth After hearing about the possibility of ghosts or skeletons or something likely getting ready to attack a town, Gareth's made a fairly easy decision to stop by and see what's what. She arrives in style, too, clad in heavy armor and mounted atop a horse to really sell that knightly look should anyone in town need reassurance that they'll be saved from whatever might comea fter them.

Sure, it might only be one person that's actually afraid since Gareth's only heard of Impaz around here and nobody else, but she's not about to turn down the old lady's request just because she's the only one that's even around. The rain does

Thus, when the mounted knight finally spots two figures on/near the gravestone, she doesn't put two and two together just yet. Instead, she hails them without so much as attempting to hide her presence, and she's still just a smidge too far and distracted to get a closer look at the pair as she keeps glancing around to keep her eyes peeled for poes or other roaming beasts.

"Good evening! You two should be returning home soon. There's been reports of poes in the area, but don't be afraid!" Gareth pushes the visor of her helmet up to reveal an eager look in her eyes. "We're here to handle them, so you should be able to return to your groundskeeping duties without a worry soon!"

That kick to the tombstone does have her actively looking their way, though. "Is...? Erm. Is that a custom around here?" Gareth sounds baffled, but curious as she watches the tombstone skidding away (with or without one of the pair riding it). Only then does she finally think to sniff around a bit in the more literal sense, trying to pick out any incredibly fresh dead body smells as though that might help her detect the poes instead of the entire graveyard around her.
Forte The gravestone goes skidding by, missing Forte by about an inch. He stops dead in his tracks, eyes (but not head) moving to track it as it goes by, but he otherwise doesn't move.

He'd been coming up the hill. Floating up the hill, really, his feet not touching the ground, making basically no ambient noise as he progresses.

"..." he says, in response to nearly getting crushed by the incoming tombstone, and then goes to continue on - still noiselessly, continuing up the path towards where the disturbance is coming from.

When he reaches them, he pauses, crossing his arms as he observes the pair and what they're doing.

"... Excuse me," he says. "You are disturbing the locals."

"Please grave rob more quietly."
Shotaro Hidari How did Shotaro get here?  

He's a detective, he can be anywhere he needs to be when the moment is right, and not a moment before OR after.  Unless the story calls for him to be late.  Right now, Shotaro, with his hat seems to step out of a shadow and stare at the woman barking orders and her apparent servant.  He walks closer, deciding that the best way to handle this would be direct.

"Excuse me, but what do you think you're doing here?  Disturbing the dead is not the greatest of ideas to have.  The dead are put to rest with as they are for a reason," Shotaro says, easily enough.  Though he seems to be more in a stance than an actual standing position.  He's literally a hand gesture away from pointing at Midna and saying a catchphrase.  

He also regards the 'big guy'.  Just moments before he cracks the air and sends the tombstone rolling.  Well, that was quite aggressive and concerning...and strong.  If things become violent with the grave robbers, things would not be easy, Shotaro considers.  Though the light shines more from his angle, and he realizes that it's not exactly a person.

But a Skeleton.  "Ser Gareth, I think these are not residents, but grave robbers.  Even if the town is mostly abandoned, it seems in poor taste.  Acts like this always upset some spirit."
Staren     Travel through bandit-infested fields at night! Fun.

    Staren arrives in her usual outfit with the battle labcoat and scarf, plus some night-vision goggles. Bulky armor seems unlikely to protect from ghosts that can phase through things, after all... One of her magitech shotguns is slung across her back in a carrying thong; if the goblins are numerous enough she actually uses it to shoot fireballs at them, otherwise keeping her distance and using her laser pistol.

    "...Does keeping the door closed actually help?" Staren wonders. "If they're ghosts, can't they just phase through the wall anyway?"

    She's not the best at comforting people.

    Arriving at the graveyard, she's confronted by... um... what *are* they doing? Oh wait, I can just find out with-- oh, right. Staren pushes that thought down deep. There's no time to dwell on it now. Still, this doesn't seem like grave robbery? Well, maybe. This could be a necromancer and her minion looking for more bodies, couldn't it...?

    Oh wait, Trudy's here. Just as Forte makes that comment, Staren turns to Trudy to ask, "Does this look like a grave robbery-type situation to you?"

    Either way, Staren then looks to the pair to ask, curiously, "What are you doing? ...The old lady in the village thinks you're ghosts here to terrorize her."
Hibiki Tachibana     Hibiki is a monster hunter, not a ghost hunter.

    That said, she's also mildly curious if she can actually hit ghosts. The bandits on the way through she can very much hit, even while still un-henshined.

    Much more importantly than that, old lady Impaz was specifically asking after the Watch, so it'd be a bit remiss of her to not come when she both knows that and knows she needs help. Well, she's not sure if she'd use 'swashbuckling heroes' to describe the group as a whole, or at least herself, but the point remains that she's expecting some good-doers to lend assistance in her time of need.

    Old Kakariko looks like a mess though, enough so that there's a slight grimace on her face as they move through it. "If only we got called here sooner than this..." It's beyond the point of being able to do something about it though, and if she catches Impaz looking out from a door, she'll give her best attempt at a reassuring nod of the head before pushing on towards the graveyard.

    Which is...wait a minute.

    "What the...?" She came up here all ready to face down a bunch of specters idling around the gravesites. Maybe spend some time walking past tombstones with the distinct feeling of being watched. But there's none of that anywhere, and two individuals who are very much not spectral right ahead, and apparently responsible for the noises. Okay, one of them is kind of spectral. In that he's a goddamn skeleton. Actually, they both look far from normal...

    "Gareth..." Hibiki places her hands on her face briefly, takes a deep breath, then steps forward to raise her voice up. "Oi! Are you two the real reason the old lady called us out here? She thought this place was full of ghosts making all the noise!" Well, it might be, with what they're doing. "The heck are you up here disturbing the dead for!?"
Trudy Grimm     When Trudy enters Old Kakariko, she is clad in her usual; the furry boots the fuzzy-sleeved jacket, the skirt, and the book hanging from her arm like a novelty purse. With all the beads and charms hanging from her limbs as accessories, she might even pass for someone who actually originated in this world. Or some fantasy world, anyway.

    Today she is accompanied by a remarkably tall, gaunt figure in a long black coat that reaches the ground. As it walks, the coat parts just enough to show black boots-- so they do have feet at least. Their hands and arms are fully clad as well, and the face is obscured by a full-head plague doctor's mask with opaque green-tinged lenses over the eyes. All topped off with a worn looking wide-brimmed black hat. Trudy's companion almost seems to be a living shadow, with the only color on them being the gray buttons holding the coat closed, and the brass rivets along the seams of the leather mask.

    It is this ordinary girl and menacing shade that drift through Old Kakariko, taking in the worn and battered sights without actually pausing. She does, after all, have a mission here which soon finds the witch and her companion passing beneath the gate of the graveyard itself. The knightly lady has addressed the strangers up the hill, and so it is Trudy who claps her hands once, "Well, I don't ~see~ any ghosts, so it's time to ask some questions!" She seems to ignore those who have been identified as grave robbers, simply closing her eyes and spreading her hands. Her influence expands, seeping into the grave soil itself. In a friendly tone, eyes still closed, she asks, "Hello, would anyone here like to talk? Are any of you distressed? Are these people tending to you or disturbing you, or do you not mind them? If you want, I'll help you stand up and walk around for a while~."

    The gaunt figure beside her shifts, placing itself between those gathered around the headstone the ancient hero just kicked over and its own mistress.
Darren      Darren's here. On foot. The fit today is decidedly athletic--a blue track jacket over a white tee, with grey sweatpants and sneakers. His usual drawstring backpack saw some action on the way here, as the bokoblin bandits were met not only with his strength, but his team's.

    "Exhibit A," says Darren into his phone, passing by the rockslide. "Rockslide pushed aside by unknown force--subject of minor interest, best guess: came from the inside, owing to the colloquial name of the village. De jure name, according to signage in town: Old Kakariko."

    A short walk through town, and Darren is visibly getting excited. His headband is pulled out and slipped on, pushing his locs up and out of his vibrant green eyes, which twinkle eagerly as more noises are heard. Quietly, flanked by a small ladybug with an EWACS array for a thorax and a leering sarcophagus with four ghostly arms he records another entry with barely-contained anticipation.

    "Exhibit B," he whispers in hushed tones. "Sounds of activity from the graveyard. We might be looking at a genuine haunting! Ghosts aren't an unknown phenomenon, especially in my world--but moving objects as heavy as what we're hearing now--that takes a lot of spectral cohesion. If we're lucky... they might even be able to engage in self-like communication!"

    "...yeah. No. Ramesses, I know. Bruh, I -know.- It's mad ghosts back home, but it's extremely rare for them to maintain self-like anatomy. Because of the microbe. Look--" Darren huffs, as Ramesses protests in sarcophagus noises. "You gonna give us away, bruh! Shht!" The index finger to the mouth comes just as they crest the hill.

    "Exhibit C," says Darren with quiet glee. "Toppled gravestones, some defacing. Spiritual--oh! Hey, y'all dead?"

    The sarcophagus flops on all four ghostly hands with a heavy thud, and horror-monster crawls over to the two of them, taking a particular interest in the one who'd kicked the tombstone so impressively. Its leering face anbd glowing red eyes aren't exactly welcoming.

    "Don't mind him. He's just excited, too."
Lilian Rook     Bokoblins. It's been a while. Lilian thinks back to her dim recollection of last time she'd dealt with those. Sarracenia had tried to slap her with a glove. The mere thought of it causes her to start softly laughing under her breath, and then fail to adequately explain it when prompted. Instead, she suggests "Doesn't 'Hidden Village' sound like a shinobi thing to you?" to her travelling company.

    She has on the same thing as the previous day, though she is sans ominous masked backup this time, apparently deeming it unneeded. The upgraded charcoal and amber combat skin and the partial articulated black armour instead of disposable gunmetal grey inserts are permanent, it seems. Even in the dark, the white-gold hairpin seems to gleam brightly on its own, and her eyes just a little too brightly. The first thing she does upon entering is scanning for residue or signs of magic, expecting that to be the easiest way to locate where ghosts are lurking, though this only ends up examining empty graves, and a pile of other Elites.

    "This is certainly overkill." she says. "Tamamo and I would have been more than enough." And then, audible irritation mixed with unveiled disappointment. "Of course there aren't any ghosts. That would have been simple and plasant to deal with. Instead we're reporting criminals to the criminals." She turns to Tamamo. "Could you do a spot beam?"
Tamamo     It's not as if Tamamo has never been to a Hyrule. In fact, Gerudo silk was an important component in that nice outfit she'd made as a gift. She's not, however, wandered the countryside of either this land, or any remarkably like it.

    Curious as to why Lilian was laughing, Tamamo does nod and say, "Why, yes. Though I wonder... is this really quite hidden? I suppose it is a matter of how well those of this are known to search. Or else, perhaps, it was better hidden, before? Though a village is a difficult thing to hide, I would say, it is the case that we have done so, have we not? Long shall it remain in obscurity, but for those invited, I hope." Though there will be a benefit to letting more people realize what's happening with the Dragon's Garden, eventually.

    As they arrive, Tamamo hanging onto Lilian's arm, the bunrei allows the necromancer to handle the spirits of the dead, letting her focus instead on her knight's request. "Oh, a spotting light? Why, I suppose so."

    It may be twilight, but even if it were night, having a part of Amaterasu present means the light of the Sun is never far away. It's just a matter of revealing it. In this case, that's done by casting her mirror up into the air, where it hangs stock-still, angles as if to catch Tamamo's reflection, and shines a bright beam of True Sunlight onto the grave-molestors.
Midna As the skeleton knight moves to kick, the pale witch moves to lazily rise into the air, levitating enough that she completely avoids the thunderous kick. She touches down on the ground, as it begins rumbling, a passage slowly beginning to open into the depths below where the gravestone once was.

But before she can go poke into it, others arrive. She glances over to them, caring nothing that they're here to theoretically stop her illegal(?) actions.

"Huh? There's still locals?" Is her only response to Forte.

Gareth gets a tilt of the head. "Oh, no thank you. I haven't seen any Poes, but if they start bothering us, we can handle them." The witch chuckles lightly.

And then several people go 'what are you actually doing'. "Oh, we're getting Rupees from underneath the gravestones. We need it to save Hyrule." A double nod of the head, and a completely genuine remark.

"Don't blame me that people put money underneath gravestones in this realm!"

A pause. "Besides, I'm a princess, and this is an abandoned royal tomb. That gives me the legal right to open it." This one's a technical truth!

She doesn't elaborate, instead replying to Staren. "Old lady? ...I guess someone did survive the bokoblin raid. That's great, I guess. You can tell her we're done graverobbing, there's no more graves to loot. But we are moving in! We can find a cozy spot that doesn't bother her, probably."

Darren gets a peer at the sarcophagus from the witch. "Ooh! Fascinating creature. I like him! I'm alive, he's dead." A thumbs to the skeleton knight, as she smiles cheekily.

Trudy gets a raise of a few ghosts. They grumble about being raised, but then glance at the skeleton and Midna. They whisper to Trudy that there's something nostalgic about all of this pushing and fighting so they don't hate it, but they'd really wish the gravestones were put back up afterwards. They don't really care about the Hylian Royal Family grave except for the weird creatures down there - there's some ambivalence about the Royal Family in this graveyard. Then they start floating around, trying to poke people in the face with cold hands if not corraled.

Lilian spots magic - both in the graves (ghosts do come out!) and in the two individuals, who are a Ghost Skeleton and an Actual Foreign Witch. They, for all intents and purposes, appear to be extremely villainous archetypes. They are not addressed, so Midna just eyes her and then continues nodding to a song she invented in her head.

And then Tamamo shines her True Sunlight beam. Midna's skin crackles in the light, clearly burning her - not like a vampire, but clearly like an Enemy Of The Sun, and so she immediately dashes sideways and dives down the tomb. "Big guy, come on, they're trying to kill us for looting! You didn't tell me they had sun beams!"

The group has a few moments before they should follow them, but any with keen or magical senses detect Extra Presences down there. Probably just zombies. No big deal.
Hero's Shade With a quiet creak, the skeleton turns in Shotaro's direction, appraising him briefly before he shifts the rest of his body to face the growing crowd of gravegoers. His face is, thankfully, covered by an un-natural shadow that hides away his skull's visage. "Good evening," he nods to Gareth with another creak of his neck. The tinny quality of his voice coul be attributed to a lack of vocal chords.

" ... Well, it was, once. It was called the 'Heart-stopping, Grave-digging tour' .. but I understand that it's a tradition that died off with the last gravetender." he supplies, helpfully.

    "As for your accusations of graverobbing - . . . ."

" . . . wel, I can't really deny it, with a certain someone's sticky fingers . . . ."

The phantom seems only mildly perturbed by Darren's excitable companion, unfriendly as its exterior may seemed, it also wasn't truthfully that different from a Wall Master or a Poe; which is to say that while horrifying, he'd rather not be the proverbial pot in a certain saying.

"I see," is all he says in Darren's direction at first, before cocking his head to the side - as if to silently wonder if the answer to his question weren't apparent.

He moves on quickly, " 'tis unfortunate that our activities have caused a disturbance; in all fairness, battling poes and whatnot is a loud business. Speaking of which, I would ask you not to - "

" - ...raise the Poes," he trails off with a withering rattle, as he realized Trudy was already in the process of doing so.

Naturally, they hadn't /just/ come to fight the Poes. The Poes only really came out because of what they'd actually been doing in the area every night, and cleaing up after themselves was a matter of course.

That sorcerous woman over there. I get an eerie feeling from her manservant; so perhaps she could put the Poes back to rest, once she finishes speaking to them? he dares to hope, optimistically.

In fact, staring at the thickly cloaked guardian, he couldn't help but feel the slightest tingle of camraderie. If he had a rupee for every time he met someone else in his situation, he'd have ... well, a rupee.

But it's still weird to see it happen to someone else, he thinks.

"Her statement not withstanding, " he indicates to Midna, "I was granted access to the royal tomb long ago."

Several more moments of silence pass, as Lilian and Tamamo make their way in, before he speaks quieter in an embarassed hush. " - .. it's just .. that I forgot the particular song whose notes open the way normally, so we had to .. improvise, is all .. "

Visibly, he seems to be taking an effort to not push his forefingers together in a twiddle.

He's saved from his shame moments later, by the rays of sunlight pouring down upon him like a glaring laser blast. " - eh? . . . - Euuuuuuuuuaaaaaaaagh!!!!"

The phantom releases a pained, inhuman wail of surprise as his whole body combusts into bright blue flames, no time being wasted in his motion to leap right after Midna into the hole in the ground that acted as a chute that led directly to the royal tomb.
Forte "Very vocal locals, who think you're an entire crowd of ghosts..." Forte starts to explain. "I do not particularly care what you are doing to the remains of the dead, but-"

And then sunlight. Bright, burning holy sunlight. Not aimed squarely at him, maybe, but he's close enough to it.

Unlike the undead (and undead-adjacent) present, Forte doesn't react immediately, but he does react. The viral parts of his internal data anatomy sizzle in the sunlight, and then act out - in much the same way that someone's body will make them feel worse in the process of fighting off infection, Forte's infection makes the rest of his body feel worse as it attempts to aimlessly fight off the sunlight.

"Hrk-"

His gaze goes over to Tamamo, eyes narrowing - the scarf hiding his facial expression not at all, as the frown reaches across his whole face.

A moment later, he himself flees into the tomb, figuring that to be the quickest escape from the area the sunlight might be able to hit. He trusts not at all that it won't be turned on him next.
Trudy Grimm     Trudy raises her hands as Poes rise up around her, that big shark-toothed grin on her face as she listens to the spirits' commentary and feels their presence. It's all a bit of a spectacle she's very intentionally putting on for two different figures here. The noble lady who was disappointed that there weren't any ghosts, and the detective who was surprised when she said she could talk to them.

    She promptly drops one hand to her hip, the other resting on her chin in thought, "Not too upset about the activity, you just want it fixed when they're done, huh..." She drops that hand, bopping a closed fist into the other palm, "Alright, I got it! Once we catch them, it's community service to clean up the mess they made!"

    When the poes begin to scatter, she raises her hands, "Excuse me, guys! Please leave my companions be and go back to sleep. We'll get your resting place fixed up real soon. You've been very helpful!"

    Her masked companion briefly locks eyes with the skeletal Hero, though there's no...frustration with it. Even masked, the figure seems happy enough. Maybe working for the white-haired sorceress isn't all that bad. He does raise a hand over his face when the sunlight sears down, lowering it just enough to spot both figures dive into the protective shadows of the crypt.

    Once Trudy wraps up with the Poes, the Doctor scoops her up in one arm. His stide is obscene, reaching the crest of the hill in just a few steps now that he's put his mind to it. Without hesitation, the witch and her gaunt companion descend after their quarry, with him simply jumping down.
Shotaro Hidari Shotaro sighs, the man...or rather dead man seems to agree with the situation.  He looks towards the 'queen' sitting back and seemingly probably the problem to have caused all of this.  Shotaro, being a noir detective knows trouble when he sees it.  Every warning signal in his head indicates that he's surrounded by trouble.  However, the detective holds up a finger.

"That isn't even remotely right.  It's not a matter of royalty or authority, because nobody that walks the earth has the right to disturb those who have come before," Though he can understand that sometimes in desperate times people do.  A shiver crosses his spine, the idea that people would rob his grave when he dies is a thought.  He's about to continue but then...

Then sunlight.

This causes several reactions, but to him, it's just a sunny light?  At first, he thought it was directed, but the conversation on the radio seems to dispel that.  The two, plus Forte run underground...and this causes the investigator to think.  To which his partner warns him against getting involved in the fighting.  

He asks Trudy a question, to which an easy enough answer and the consensus is reached.  He considers Tamamo, "I do not think they are hostile or dangerous...suspicious as though their aversion to the sun might be."  He considers his words, "Though I dislike their disturbing of these graves, Ms. Grimm's solution is a good one, and at best may also give us some knowledge on the land than we have right now."

He also looks to Lilian, remembering her from the city of songs.  "Knowledge is power in this situation, wouldn't you agree?  Avoiding an unneeded fight with the ghosts and one with those who should work to fix what they caused is better all around, right?"
Gareth "You can? Perfect! That should make the cleanup easier so you can... Oh."

Maybe Gareth's being a little too optimistic about this. On closer inspection, the behavior of the pair is rather suspect, and the floating woman practically confirms the accusations of grave robbing when she outright admits to doing it. She deflates visibly as some of that bravado leaves her body, but she perks right back up when there's a logical explanation to all of it! Sort of.

"So it really was a tradition... I see! Although if it's one that stopped, then perhaps it stopped for a reason?" Gareth chuckles awkwardly at the skeleton's explanation, but the witch's is a little harder for her to really work with. "If these belong to your family, then I guess there's... Not too much of a problem, then? Erhm." She sighs, not managing to convince herself any further than that.

"Princess, sir, please don't keep doing this. It's unbecoming for people of your stature! Although if you have permission, then..." She glances over at Hibiki and Shotaro, still trying to look confident despite their misgivings. Eventually, she shrugs once before starting to turn her horse away. "Although I can't condone what you're doing, I won't be the one to impose my authority against local authority. But please, do be care-"

And then they get blasted with Tamamo's sunlight and retreat into the tombs along with Forte. Only then does Gareth start making some connections in her head, snapping her fingers after a moment. "Ah! They must be vampires!"

They're not the right ones, but they're something. "They didn't seem hostile, though, so perhaps we should help them. Or keep an eye on them. If they aren't the ones responsible for this poe matter, then we might be able to find them further down!" Gareth proclaims, hopping off her horse and heading into the tomb as well, all while completely failing to realize that Trudy already raised several poes until after she's already went down. Her lance and shield are brought in with her as well, prepared to stab and smash any aggressive undead that come her way.
Hibiki Tachibana     "Okay, first of all--" Hibiki raises up a single finger. "People getting buried with some of their worldly possessions is normal, at least where I'm from, and that doesn't make it right to take it!"

    Another finger. "Second, I wouldn't want my descendants graverobbing my tomb either, princess or royal or whatever or not!" And another. "And third, if you're trying to save Hyrule...what the heck is a little bit you steal from some graves gonna do!? Aren't there like, people you could ask for help instead!?"

    And then, to the skeletal shade hanging by the dual-colored woman, "...Wait, you were? And you...forgot the way to get in normally? By 'long ago' do you mean when you were...uh..."

    The poes being risen up get a bit of a frown out of her, but she'll let Trudy manage them as the one responsible for it--and because she's way more focused on the blast of raw sunlight bearing down, enough that she's actually startled by the violent reaction both of them have to it. "Hey--wait!" Obviously, she doesn't expect them to wait if the fire is actually burning them, but still.

    But they can't exactly leave it at that. There's a lot of questions that need answering, and also a bunch of unsettled gravestones that a certain pair has a responsibility to put back. "Alright, only one thing to do." She takes in a breath. Despite everything she said, "They didn't strike me as all /that/ bad, even if graverobbing is still wrong and they look a little...uh. Anyway...!"

    The gets a running start and hops down the chute after both Forte and Trudy feetfirst, with a marked look of concern for the former as she does so. Depending on what she finds down there, she just might have to transform and throw hands.
Lilian Rook     The graveyard *now* swarms with ghosts. They are, in fact, jostling all about, trying to nose in on the living.

    Weirdly, Lilian's entire posture settles down by half an inch with a few suspiciously relaxed breaths.

<J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook says, "There's always someone saving this goddamned place it seems. I'm more concerned with 'Old' Kakariko, and a 'Hidden Village' that nobody lives in, to say nothing of these untended graves."

    "Well that's good." she says to Trudy. "If the dead can scarcely be bothered then I suppose this is all rather small potatoes isn't it?" she concludes, as if how the ghosts feel about things is ninety percent of how important this situation is and how immoral its actors are, by some warped accounting. When the pair of them burst into an explosive solar light show for having been hit with a dramatic fugitive alert sunbeam though, Lilian ramps back up a small portion of her initial suspicion. She waits just long enough to ask some of the ghosts herself, "Why precisely is a royal family buried on a sad little nowhere hill like this? I don't even see a mausoleum. Oh, and how long were you buried? If you're not certain, just the year is fine; I'll check with the old woman to run the difference."

    Then she stops to make Tamamo an offer: If she wants to stay up here, she'll leave her with a suspicious black crow. If she wants to go down to chase the other two, Lilian will save her a ride down a probably pretty dirty chute the usual way.

    Aside to Shotaro. "Power is power. Are you scared or something? I mean, that's fine; ghosts aren't a logical sort of fear. But this doesn't seem to be a 'proceed cautiously with a ten foot pole' sort of situation to me. And if they are evil then I already know the only thing I need to." It's actually kind of difficult to get a read on how serious she's being.

    Moments later, when Lilian simply appears in the alleged tomb space below (specifically just in time to thoughtlessly jump scare Hibiki), she snaps her fingers a couple of times and conjures her own soft and eerie will-o'-the-wisp lights to follow her around and illuminate the area with cold, blue-green, definitely not sun-light. Raising her voice, she calls, "Okay, you can come out now. That was a mistake. Granted, I expect a full explanation now. I know you're telling the truth about the song at least, though God almighty knows why a tomb would be locked with one. This is your opportunity to calmly and rationally account for who and what you both are, without getting hurt."
Tamamo     When three figures all react violently to the presence of light, Tamamo is startled, raising a hand to cover her open mouth. This doesn't do anything to move the True Sunlight beam, which remains centered on the now-open grave. No, that only moves when Tamamo does, which she does only to keep close to Lilian. With the light centered, it's entirely possible that those inside are now trapped. But, in her experience, enemies of the Sun are never good company, anyway, so maybe that's not such a loss. She's yet to meet a vampire she liked.

    But then there's the curious matter of the spirits and their animosity, as communicated by Trudy. Putting aside everything else going on, that attracts her attention. "Oh, Lilian, might it have been a rebellion? A grand betrayal? And yet, they were buried alongside one another." The idea that it was a perfectly mundane dislike for a royal family doesn't occur to her.

    "Shall we go and find some answers, within?" As if she wasn't concerned with the ones fleeing inside at all.

    "Oh, but before that, here, allow me. If we face creatures of Darkness, you should be well-equipped." Tamamo retrieves bundles of talismans in twine from within her long sleeves, and places them in Lilian's hand. Once those hands are full, she places hers on either side of Lilian's head, stands up on tip-toe on her (already fantastically) tall footwear, and plants a kiss on her forehead. "Ah, there. Now, you are all set, as it were."

    With that, they can be off to investigate this place's further mysteries. The mirror will cease its spotlight-shining and float back down to Tamamo's back once they're in close quarters.

    That happens, from both her and other perspectives, rather more quickly than would have been otherwise anticipated. As Tamamo also appears in front of Hibiki, the fox affords the magical girl a sunny smile, that doesn't at all gel with all that previous talk of 'intruders' that had so upset her. But then, she had mentioned forgiving her for that, too. "Oh, hello. Ah, I did notice you earlier, but you had run ahead, so I had not thought to give greetings. Hm, but I wonder where we are, now? Lilian, just how far did we travel?"
Darren      "Oh, -he- dead as hell," Darren agrees with Midna, getting a better look at the phantom, unconcerned when he catches on fire from the ray of sunlight. "And you... not dead, but severe photoallergy. Damn. You got a salve for that or--"

    Ramesses hops up and down in agreement. The sarcophagus pokes the Poes back, and seems excited by their presence, the way its teeth chatter.

    "Ay, you gonna have to kick it with them later, blood," advises Darren. "That royal tomb--I'm tryna get at it." There could be all sorts of secrets hidden in there--think of what might be learned!

    Saucer beep-boops his agreement. In an instant, all three--UFO ladybug, ghost sarcophagus, and football crank--are simply on solid ground, below in the tomb.

    He doesn't interrupt Lilian. But he does add something after the fact. "And if you could gimme the 411 on why a royal family's tomb is hidden out here in Pauperville, I'd owe y'all one."
Lilian Rook <J-IC-Scene> Hibiki Tachibana lets out a mic-straining screeching sound the exact moment Lilian poofs in front of her.
<J-IC-Scene> Shotaro Hidari says, "I have not either, so I can't...wait where did you..?"
<J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook says, "Hm. I didn't take you for a screamer."
<J-IC-Scene> Hibiki Tachibana after some coughing and sputtering, "I'm already on edge coming down here, that's all! Say something before you do that."
<J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook says, "Huh? No."
<J-IC-Scene> Gareth says, "Hibiki! Are you alright?"
<J-IC-Scene> Shotaro Hidari says, "I think I'll stay up here."
<J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook thinks about this for a moment, "Actually, okay I will~"

    "Tachibanaaaa~" Lilian calls out sweetly from the dark recesses of the tomb. "I'm going to be in your personal space for a little while, okay~? Okay~" Only a heartbeat goes by. "Okay, I'm done~" Nothing has changed. That's worse than a jump scare.

    (Lilian absolutely did not actually use her powers at all, but that's for her to know and Hibiki to stress about.)

    Of course she makes sure to get a resupply (and smile smugly at getting a kiss) from Tamamo before going in. "Ah, you're already done! I wouldn't have minded if you took it a little slower~"
Midna THE ROYAL TOMB
STILL NIGHT

As the group ventures downwards, they find themselves in a dark room, lit only by everburning torches. The phantom and the witch have better pace, so are further ahead, and there's sounds of moaning creatures within. As they pass through the first of the three chambers within, they find corpses laid to rest, poisonous water leaking into the tomb that burns the flesh to touch, vampiric bats that bite on contact, and brown masked zombies, standing still or crouched over, all in their path. The bats attack on sight, while if you get too close to the zombies, they try to stare straight into you with a paralyzing gaze, jump on your back, and start devouring your life energy. They are actually mean creatures, too, and not trivially taken out like bokoblins.

From deeper within, the witch calls out. "I hear footsteps! We're the good guys, promise~! No need to fight us, we just needed some rupees!" A low-pitched mumble, heard by keen senses, of 'if they attack again, prepare formation ABC- yes I know I just invented that on the spot!', followed by another shout. "Also, mind the ReDeads!"

Once the group has passed the ReDeads, they reach the final chamber. A single grave is there, being sat on top of by the witch who is catching her breath. Below it is inscribed a song, mostly faded. It'd jog the Hero's Shade's memory of how to play that song, but he also has no reason to ever play it again, being the Sun's Song.

At Lilian's demand as she spontaneously blinks inside, the witch princess stands up (she does not seem too fussed by apparent teleportation, though it momentarily shocks her), dusts herself off, and tips her head, doing an elaborate but incredibly foreign series of royal hand gestures. "I am Midna, Princess of the Twilight Realm. This is my companion, who can introduce himself." Twirling a finger lazily through her hair, she continues.

"We have come to this isolated village in search of lodgings and money. Finding no residents in our initial search, we set up shop after clearing the rockslide. Our mission is to stop the Usurper King Zant, who has spread our twilight and monstrous beasts to this realm, stolen my throne, and generally just been a monster. To do so, we are collecting several relics for my usage..." A tap to her mask. "And money to buy resources, such as food for myself. To answer an earlier question, we have no allies...yet!"

It seems she's putting on professional airs only because they're outnumbered and unprepared. She'd probably be extremely more flippant than she already is otherwise.

"This tomb is centuries old, belonging to the kings and some other guys, who those in the exterior graves guarded." She adds to Darren. "I hear that once, this was a bustling city, situated near the castle town. But things change with the times and new cities become old villages. Well, they change besides me."

"I'm timelessly beautiful." Midna brushes her hair aside.
Tamamo     Stilll remaining with Lilian (which makes her teleporting act that much easier), Tamamo gives a quiet remark, "Oh, but it would be distracting, is that not so? Ah, not that this place is all quite that dangerous."

    As if to give immediate lie to that remark, Tamamo spooks, vulpine ears straightened in alert and hair raised, at every one of the tomb's dangers, fully relying on others to handle them. Her only contribution is afterward, to toss out several blessed talismans of purification, setting up a field in one of the chambers to help wash it of whatever might be cursing it. That definitely won't cause a problem for anyone leaving who can't find another exit.
Hero's Shade >A low-pitched mumble, heard by keen senses, of 'if they attack again, prepare formation ABC- yes I know I just invented that on the spot!'

If he had eyes to roll, he certainly would have. As it was, he contined on his way and offered a silent prayer for their luck against the ReDeads. Even lifetimes later, when he himself was no longer among the living, the fiendish zombies still unsettled him greatly.

By the time the group clears through the ReDeads - either bypassing them through a 'teleporting' trick like Lilian had, or with a more conventional beatdown - the skeletal warrior was stooped down on one knee, observing the notes inscribed on the headstone. " ... oh, was that it? The song to open the way was the Song of The Sun! Right - . . . ."

     " . . Hm . . . "

" - No, that's not right at all. What was it . . ."

The headstone itself was unfortunately worn so much that the script was largely illegible. At least the notes were, for the most part, preserved enough for him to make out.

After thinking on it for another moment, his time-rotted memory jogs enough for him to recall that the song could alter the time of day, at least for a time.

Lilian's will-o' wisps cause a familiar, aching tinge in his empty chest. Although somber and polite in most of his interactions so far, or exasperation with his companion, there's something particularly stoic about his silence now.

Eventually, he realizes that things will probably not de-escalate if he doesn't speak, as well.

"She speaks truly. I am The Hero's Shade. My name was lost to time, such that even I do not recall it."

He pauses to let that digest, before "Kakariko was once a village inhabited by the Royal Family's secret guard," he says, supplying a response to the questions regarding why the tomb was located here, in such a desolate place. "It was opened long ago to the common folk and from there, it rose, and fell."

Hibiki's awkward trail off earlier is brought back to the forefront; when the phantom says 'long ago', it was probably a fair assumption to believe he meant whenever it was that he happened to have been alive.
Trudy Grimm     Head of the pack on the heels of Forte, Midna, and the Shade-- it's Trudy and her ghastly companion. The innaturally tall, gaunt Doctor who carries her seated in the crook of one arm. Bats and acidic poisons are one thing, but paralyzing zombies are quite another. One such ReDead actually gets the jump on the sorceress and her comrade, shocking him into stopping his ceaseless march while Trudy covers her ears. When the creature leaps onto the Doctor's back, though, he immediately reacts rather than be properly paralyzed, displaying unnatural flexibility when he reaches back with his free arm to dislodge his assailant. The entire arm twists around as he wrenches the beast up, over, and down into the floor.

    His other hand extends, placing Trudy on the floor. Once his mistress is dropped, he whirls, arms outstretched to either side to confront the other zombies in the room. Trudy herself produces a gemstone, glowing vibrantly green with some inner light. The glow brightens until the gem cracks and shatters, the light vanishing into the Doctor's black-clad form, "Go get 'em!" His right hand answers by extending a thumbs-up, the green shine behind the lenses of his mask growing brighter as he dives into a melee with the screaming undead.

    This leaves Trudy and presumably everyone following her hopefully the ability to get past this more annoying trap without much trouble, though the Doctor is but one (nine foot) man, he certainly cannot contain the entire mass of ReDeads on his own; the risk of one or two wandering away (or surviving being thrown) is certainly there.

    One room over from the mercifully muffled thrashing, the Sorceress folds her arms behind her back. There are people here who are much better at talking, so she will let them take the lead while her minion helps keep the exit...less irritating to go back through.
Shotaro Hidari Shotaro sighs, as things seem to take a turn for more adventurers than detectives.  Though there is a lot going ahead, and perhaps he can stay back until needed.  Either this, or his body will never heal, and he'll never hear the end of it.  

He walks behind the group, and the moment the redeads rise, Shotaro, is suddenly active.  His hand grabs one, while his other one smashes it across the face.  Despite his injury, Shotaro knows how to handle himself in a fight, and hand-to-hand combat seems to be a skill of his, even in his injured state.  

Another is kicked, being sent flying wildly before the rest are dispatched. He continues on to see a preparing Shade and Princess.  To which he sighs, and shakes his head.  Thankfully, nobody else seems to be really in the mood to fight.  

"There are probably better ways to fund yourself.  However, if you are looking for something.." he says, taking a step forward towards both the Shade and Midna.  He offers each a business card, for his detective agency.  "I am Shotaro Hidari, detective.  I help those who are in need of it."
Forte Forte hasn't gone very far inside - just enough to make absolutely certain there can't be any suspiciously burning solar rays this far down.

"Could you... not?" he asks Tamamo, again, in person after asking her via the radio.

When she starts deploying talismans he conspicuously floats further away.

And when he ends up floating right into the path of a re-dead that jumps on him, he overreacts, shaking it off violently and then slicing through it with a sword that leaves a gouge through the floor.

And then he's still for a moment, and then derezzes his sword and attempts to regain his composure.

"... A worthy cause, then," says Forte, after continuing on and hearing Midna's explanation. "And - specifically a worthier cause than letting the dead keep their riches."

"If anyone here is going to protest that, they can discuss that with me."
Gareth While Lilian bullies Hibiki with the power of mind games, Gareth's attention is on making sure the group is safe from harm when it comes to strange buried creatures! Bats are a little harder to deal with what with them being such small targets, but the paralyzing zombies (after the first encounter) are relatively easier to handle by virtue of their size. Once Gareth realizes what their gimmick is, meanwhile, she adjusts her strategy to use her shield and just barrel right through them or smash them into walls. Even with her armor on, she's able to maneuver and sprint through the catacombs with ease, never mind acting not unlike one of Darren's sportsball teammates and even calling out targets in hiding.

"ReDeads? Not und...? Hm. It must be another local thing, I assume!" The knight calls out to the witch and the skeleton while helping to clear a path on the way to the final chamber. "Don't worry, Princess! You two seem like a hon... Trustworthy enough pair!"

It's less of a lie than the other thing, at least.

Once everyone's in the final chamber, Gareth finally gets to take a breather with the ends of her shield and lance balanced on the ground while she looks over the grave from a distance. None of it's familiar to her, but there's still a look of reverence on her face from at least being able to tell that it's the Important Spot.

"Princess Midna and the Hero's Shade. So that's what you're here for. If what you say is true, then..." Gareth closes her eyes for a moment, then nods firmly before letting the lance fade and approaching them with an open hand.

"Then let me be your first!" Gareth proclaims with a fire in her eyes and a broad smile on her face. "I am Gareth, seventh seat of the Knights of the Round who served under King Arthur! I understand that allies are hard to come by, but those who seek to protect the weak from monsters and... Twilight?" She sounds a little uncertain there, but shrugs. "Protectors of the weak will always be friends of mine, and heroes from the past should stick together, anyway!"

"Besides, it wouldn't be the first time I've encountered a usurper of a...!" Gareth trails off after that, her smile fading shortly afterwards. She managed to make herself sad.
Darren "Yo, what's up, Timelessly Beautiful? I'm Darren." Dad joke done, "Y'know, you don't gotta justify what you're doing. Not to me, at least. Y'all dealing with the material reality of being a witch and a... I'mma guess revenant. It's not a lot of hustles y'all can pull that wouldn't be demeaning, shady or dangerous. I get it."

    He doesn't really blame them for running, either. Darren wasn't disappointed by the fact that there were no ghosts, and he wasn't disappointed by the fact that there's no conspiracy at work here. His chipper, casual attitude remains in full force, as he passes a piece of charcoal and paper to Ramesses. The latter bounces excitedly, arms waving, thud-thud-thudding on the tomb floor.

    "That's right! Your favorite." Ramesses trundle-crawls around the tomb, taking rubbings of points of interest. Darren narrates on his phone. "Exhibit D. Final chamber of a 'royal tomb' beneath Old Kakariko. Princess Midna, and the Hero's Shade--" A gracious nod towards the Shade is thrown in here.

    "...provided some additional context. Rubbings were chosen over traditional photography to reduce the chance of damaging the decor, which according to the Princess is quite old." Ramesses clatters its teeth at Darren, who grins. "Rubbings courtesy of Ramesses."

    "I'mma have to back-track and get some of the previous chambers." As the others catch up, "Thanks for clearin' 'em out!"

    While Ramesses occupies itself with taking rubbings, Darren continues his line of questioning. "He must've taken everything if y'all out here shaking the stiffs down. Any idea what he wants, besides the usual c-words? You know, conquest, colonialism. Control."
Hibiki Tachibana     A loud scream shook the recesses of the royal tomb's depths after Hibiki had descended.

    Ten seconds later, she's getting herself back together and hiding any embarrassment over the fact, avoiding eye contact and adjusting her clothes - except with a glance back towards Tamamo, whom she really didn't expect to give her such a radiant smile back. It makes her de-tense a bit from the tension since dropping down here. "Ah--sorry. Though I guess it's not the best time to talk still, anyway..." Though a great amount of it returns instantly on hearing Lilian's voice.

    Nothing happened, but she's still looking around way too quickly and even checking the dusty ground around her for any sign of footsteps, the same way Candy's tricks end up disturbing things. "Ugh..." She takes a deep breath and shakes it off, steeling herself again to start moving forward into the chambers, following the sounds.

    Somewhere in the transition between rooms, she actually does transform solely to help take some of the burden off the others on the path forward - bats and ReDeads aren't something she has to hold back on, and she promptly engages in kicking and bashing them out of the path with impunity. That paralyzing gaze nearly gets her all of once before she grabs the zombie in mid-air and judo throws it across the room.

    The final chamber is what they're really here for, leading to the magical girl stopping shortly inside to listen.

    Actually, that's a lot. "So your throne was taken, and this Zant guy has caused trouble...that's what you meant by saving Hyrule." Her gaze drifts to the shade. Understanding creeps onto her face. "...and you...I guess if you're the shade of a hero, it's no wonder you're helping her." She actually looks thoughtful for a moment, probably due to thinking back to exactly what he must have been like in life to get that sort of name. Or rather, title.

    She had entered on guard, but now she stands up a bit more normally, tugging a bit at the scarf covering the lower half of her face. "...Hibiki Tachibana, since you guys already went and introduced yourself. That explains a lot. But if you two need help..." She stops, glancing around between everyone assembled and then back. "...you could have always asked for it in the first place. Maybe it wouldn't hold true if your world was still on its own, but now I think you'll find potential allies all over the place."
Lilian Rook     At seeing the mob encounters in the way, Lilian instinctively detaches the new model handgun --the one piece of her ensemble that really looks distinctly un-knightly-- and takes aim through a long stance just enough for the holo-assist to blip in, and then glances quickly about the size and condition of the chambers around her, eyes definitely a little too brightly green under these lighting conditions.

    §No way am I firing a gun in here. That's just going to be absolute hell on Tamamo's ears.§

    She reluctantly switches it off and puts it back again. Her demeanour in producing her sword instead is, for once, almost something like common sense. The reality is backwards of course; rather than reluctantly resorting to a melee weapon when firearms seem like a no-go, she's reluctantly bringing out her primary weapon because the appropriately scaled one is inappropriate; but it looks similar.

    The screeching zombies are something Lilian sees do their thing to someone once, and then decides--

    §No, you don't get to move. It's my turn.§

    --Rather than fucking with that nasty business, making them everyone else's problem (excluding Tamamo whom she knows full well can blast them with sunlight rather trivially), but she takes the rest with rather much the spirit of 'well if those two managed to get so far ahead, it's probably not important'.

    Once she's actually there, Lilian plants the nearly five foot reflective-black blade point down in a flagstone (ominously sinking in a couple of inches by itself), folds her fingers over the pommel, and leans her chin on the back of her hands, half-crossing one leg while she listens.

    "Ahah. It absolutely was a shinobi village." says Lilian, both satisfied in settling the question, and somewhat informatively for the radio. The very last thing Midna says, Lilian squints, raises an eyebrow, tilts her head subtly, and then holds out her hand and wobbles it horizontally a little bit.

    "That's a lot to claim all at once." she then says. "A princess wanting to settle down in this dump? Buying things with pocket money? If I were a lesser creature, I'd demand to ask how I could possibly know you aren't lying." She doesn't elaborate on why she's sure she isn't. "Though, I'll hold my own opinion about King Zant; all former royalty believes they're the deposed and the current chair is the usurper after all, regardless of the circumstances."

    Again just for Shotaro. "How's she going to pay for it if she's down here robbing shiny rocks out of grave dirt?" There is a silent, implic 'genius' at the end.

    "Well if nothing else, it seems that generation of this country's royalty is far beyond irrelevant if even their servant clan is a dusty old shadow of a historical tourist attraction. I presume the zombies --sorry, re-deads-- are the King's fault too?"

    Finally, attention spared for the undead man. Weirdly, though Lilian had seemed perfectly composed and critical with Midna, clearly absorbing every little facet of every reaction to each poke and prod, she looks on him with something like queerly misplaced sympathy. "Did she dig you out of the ground and force you into this?" She asks. "And come to think of it, from this country, or hers?"


    She holds out her hand to him. The fact that her sword doesn't topple, or even lean, is weird and conspicuous, but it's a genuine gesture. "Dame Commander Lilian Rook. An old lady squatting in a cabin up top seems to have cried wolf, but was really on to something more interesting. If all you need is to complete unfinished business, you don't have to trudge around buying this woman her bread you know."
Midna As Lilian talks, Midna is fishing out radios from a small portal. She hurls one telekinetically to the Hero's Shade, before putting on her own - they're clearly secondhand.

"Well! Can't be friends with everyone. But this isn't a dump - if you know what you're looking for." A cheeky grin, as she turns to Gareth and the other Watchmen backing her up. "Well-met! I think we'll get along nicely."

And then she glares as Lilian tries to steal her skeleton knight. Two fingers go up to her eyes, and go to Lilian, in that universal 'I'm watching you' gesture.
Shotaro Hidari Shotaro looks back towards Lilian, his had reached out to tilt the hat slightly. "If I wanted to be rich, I wouldn't have become an investigator. The jobs aren't always well paid, but there is something else they do pay in," he looks forward again. "No offense, but it's probably in things like this we'd differ in outlook."
Hero's Shade To say he was shocked to have suddenly gone from having no allies to at least a handful in no time flat, was perhaps an understatement.

But the surprise was a welcome one, even if he did not have a face to express himself with, the way the red light - hovering where his left eye should have been - squiggles manages to convey what he's feeling. At least, to those who'd pay attention to that sort of thing.

Though - its also an alien feeling, giving credence to the idea that there were others who could carry some of the weight burdening him, even if only a little bit.

Shotaro's card, after being accepted, finds its way into a ratty looking sack hanging off of the shade's waist.

"Thank you, er - detective." he stumbles, before working out that it was probably both a profession, and a title. Like a knighthood, or something like that. Gareth, of the bunch, was truthfully the most relatable to him in that she seemed very much like the gallant knights he was indeed familiar with, not that he'd seen any in recent times.

Her endless pep also made it harder to be so down in the dumps.

Turning to Lilian, the Hero's Shade recognizes her gesture for what it was, and reaches an icy cold gauntlet out to shake her hand with, in formal introduction.

"Dame-Commander," he acknowledges, before actually addressing what she'd said, "An old woman huddled up in the village, hm. ... I see. It's good that there was a survivor, though it would seem she has lonely days ahead of her."

Pulling his hand back, his bones creak as he gives a light shake of his head. "Indeed, she did - drag me forth, impromptu. But the business which keeps me from passing on shall never be finished ... besides which; I could not in good conscious leave Hyrule to its fate. I believe Midna's words to be the truth, but even if it were not so, it is plain that Zant has nothing well planned for this land."

" ... furthermore, in Hyrule exist certain things that must never ever be disturbed, at the risk of disaster."
Lilian Rook     The way Lilian shakes the Hero's hand is a little odd. Like she'd reacted to the cold before his tangibility. Carefully synchronized to match exact pace, rather than trusting his solidity to do it for her. Her own hand armour is merely lukewarm. "The days of the shiekah must certainly be far, far behind this village, if it was really raided to the last by those creatures outside." she laments.

    "I'm being entirely serious however. There are a great number of things to take seriously about necromancy, and dragging back a dead hero's soul and forcing him into menial labour is rather egregious. Are you so frightened of King Zant that you'll work under her for 'any help is good help'?"
Trudy Grimm     Standing where she is, Trudy leans back to peek into the other chamber where the Doctor continues to go ham on ReDeads. He is, at a glance, doing alright with them, and so she returns her attention to the conversation at hand. Rocking on her heels, the witch speaks up, "Trudy Grimm, at your service! A simple witch of little reknown."

    When Lilian brings up the seriousness of necromancy and raising dead heroes, however, the sorceress crosses the room with quick steps and leans into Lilian's field of view. Faintly glowing green eyes maintain eye contact for a moment before she straightens her posture and fixes her eyes on the Hero himself, "The real difference is if he gave permission or not. Always ask permission, it's just rude not to."
Tamamo     "We do have some other matters to which to attend," Tamamo agrees with Hibiki on 'not the best time.' Lilian's bullying passes without comment, nor does it disrupt her smile, being taken by Tamamo as sufficiently good-humored. No, surely nothing mean is happening here, Lilian being the good and kind young woman she is.

    Without having to deal with the re-dead herself, and being satisfied with setting down her purification field (which isn't Sunlight, and therefore couldn't be at odds with Forte's request to 'please not'), Tamamo is able to instead focus on the others in the final chamber. There's Gareth, whom she recalls last from Gilgamesh's request. Shotaro looks slightly familiar, but she can't place it. Darren, not at all, and his pokemon get a few curious looks, though Tamamo reads with the mood that, despite their strange and monstrous appearance, wholly unlike any natural beast, they must not be of any particular, great concern.

    Raising her eyes, she introduces herself. "Well, hello, Midna of the Twilight Realm. I am Tamamo no Mae, bunrei of Amaterasu-omikami, She of the White-Gold Face, Goddess of the Sun." That should clear that up, and explain why she does not, habitually, bow when giving her name.

    Seizing on one point in particular, she asks, "If it is your twilight that has spread, do you intend to withdraw it, should you come to seize control of your realm, again, from this other?"
Midna Midna butts in on radio about the coffin, but otherwise silently watches the Hero's Shade. She'll be upset if he leaves her, but she can't command him.

Instead, she responds to Tamamo. "While the twilight is quite beautiful, and many of you fear it strangely, it has its place in this realm, and that is not 'constantly intruding'. Banishing the twilight back to its place is one of my goals, of course.~"
Hero's Shade     "Of Zant? Perhaps, but not necessarily ..."

Hyrule .. the mire that has slathered it is familiar. It's the same as it was at that time, during a seven year reign of evil. Of course, I cannot say as such, can I? For that time does not exist any longer. Yet I can't shake this terrible feeling ..

His silence is long, and awkward. The phantom's red eye stares unflinchingly into Lilian's own set of far fleshier oculars, ...it's like that dream I had as a boy.

" - and besides that, while she may not be perfect, Midna is not so terrible a companion."

Pointedly, he does not confirm or deny whether or not she'd asked his permission when Trudy brings it up. Which, is probably telling in and of itself.
Darren <J-IC-Scene> Midna to Darren, "Honestly, I have no idea what's going on through his mind, besides probably feeling like he wasn't good enough due to not getting the throne."
<J-IC-Scene> Midna says, "The Twili rank based off of magical power - he was an inferior mage, and I the superior, so they granted it to me."
<J-IC-Scene> Darren says, "And now he's gonna make that y'all's problem. Go off disturbing that best-undisturbed."
<J-IC-Scene> Trudy Grimm says, "Hmm, I see, I see!"
<J-IC-Scene> Hero's Shade says, "It would seem so."
<J-IC-Scene> Hero's Shade coyly, "Hyrule is a very spiritual land - you'll find mystique anywhere, if you look hard enough. .. But if you refer to the ReDead, then it shouldn't be very common to run in to them."
<J-IC-Scene> Darren says, "Shoot. That's all you had to say."

    Darren grins broadly, offering the Shade a business card. 'Darren Spears, enlightened scientist and seeker of truths.' It's got his radio contact information plus a link to his blog, though he hardly expects either of them to really visit the latter.

    "You could say I got an interest in mystique, in the spiritual." His eyes gleam. "In the Truth that's Out There--in old and forgotten things. In places of power, in the Other, in things that wear the mantle of shadows." This is some heavy shit for a guy in sweat pants and a track jacket to be dropping, but he's one hundred percent sincere.

<J-IC-Scene> Midna says, "Nobody else in this world is up to the challenge."

    "So check it out. It's two things I love: challenge and discovery. Hero here keeps me updated on the shadowed parts of Hyrule, on the weird, the mysterious--and I'll roll up on Zant with y'all--"

    Ramesses floats over to him with arms full of completed rubbings, dumping them out in the air and chattering its teeth, glowing red eyes betraying mischievous amusement.

    "Bruh." Though his tone is annoyed, Darren's face is more 'oh you' than anything.

    The papers organize themselves and file neatly into his drawstring backpack.

    Saucer, the little ladybug, tugs on his sleeve, pointing from the Shade to Ramesses. "Nah," says Darren. "He probably got his coffin just the way he likes it after all this time. It'd be like breaking in a new couch, feel me?"

     Ramesses, meanwhile, is walking on two hands, extending the other two for handshakes from anyone who will take them. The general vibe is that it's walking and acting like people do for a laugh. It seems particularly interested in Lilian--likely in that way that cats and dogs seem able to tell who's a cat or dog person.
Forte "I find the twilight rather comforting, actually," says Forte, which may or may not be true, in line with how he may or may not be a bit on edge still from Tamamo 'well why are you flinching away from my sunshine do you have something to hide hmm hmmmmm' No Mae's question earlier.

"... In any case. As far as... operational funds, and day to day resources. You might want to look into joining the Watch. It's..."

Forte trails off, and floats in silence for a moment.

"... A lot easier than trying to go it alone. Or as a duo, in your case. You'll have to pitch in to help with the problems of people outside of your world, and the problems of other worlds in general, but in return you get your low points smoothed out a little bit."

"By, say, being able to spend your time dealing with Zant directly instead of scrounging around in graves for food money."
Gareth "Even if they're not being completely forthright, we can at least trust that these two's task is true enough. I can feel it!" Gareth vouches for the pair as she looks between Lilian and Tamamo, looking and sounding confident despite having no evidence and nothing to provide beyond her words. Hearing the Shade's concern for the old woman even has her grinning a bit wider than before, and it's not long before Gareth joins Darren in handing the pair her own card. Rather...

It has a frequency written on it. Her handwriting is exceptional. "Keep in touch, and we'll be able to help you get accustomed to life outside of here as well! Probably. It's really all quite convenient, so you'll have to be careful not to get too used to it and become lazy." She speaks in a warning tone briefly, then strokes her chin in consideration of that question regarding the twilight.

"What... Is this twilight you've mentioned, anyway? Is it just the normal meaning of the word, or does it carry some special weight with you and that Zant person?"
Hibiki Tachibana     "That must never ever be disturbed...?" Hibiki repeats after the shade, tilting her head slightly. She doesn't know what that might entail, but after a bit of back and forth and some thought, she can begin wrapping her head around some possibilities. All vague, and nothing good.

    She folds her arms up, thinking on everything they've heard. "Well, I don't think most people here want to let something happen to Hyrule that might be prevented. Which we can probably talk about a ton when we're not all, uh..." She looks around the tomb. "...down here." She stops and pauses briefly, looking back to Midna specifically.

    After that mention of 'if you know what you're looking for'. "So, uh. Remind me if you mentioned this before. But are you /just/ robbing this place to loot it of all the rupees and anything else in it? I mean, I don't doubt they'd bury a bunch of expensive stuff here with royalty, but..." She glances around. "...is there something in particular you're looking for? Actually, how the heck do rupees help you save the place from twilight or whatever? You're gonna need a /lot/ more than just being able to pay for places to stay, right?"
Staren     A whole bunch of people hate sunlight! Staren no creature of darkness, but she's surprised to see it happen to three apparently very different beings at once. It's been...months since she had to fight vampires...

    Staren pulls a blanket out of her bag so as not to dirty her coat while she slides down the chute, but soon has to summon her sciencey body armor to deal with keese, poison, and AWFUL AWFUL PARALYZING ZOMBIES WHY. She *would* shriek in terror if not paralyzed. The moment she can move again remaining redead are blasted by particle weapons summoned onto her arms, beams that strip away undead flesh and bone or comet-shaped firey projectiles that set the monsters alight.

    Eventually she makes it into the chamber with the others, overhearing the explanations. Hyrule. Zant. Royalty. World beseiged by Twilight (more than just a time of day, evidently) and monsters. Staren glances between the pair.

    "Staren Wiremu. I hate to see a once-thriving land reduced to this. Assuming all that's said is true, Zant of course must be stopped." She looks upwards, towards the surface. "...Are there any humans... err, hylians, left, besides the royal family and the lady in the village...?"

    After Gareth's question she nods and looks at Midna, also curious about that.
Lilian Rook     Lilian looks weirdly deeply into the Hero's glowing red eye point. An uneasy expression plays out over her face for a moment, before she decides to risk bringing up a slightly wild shot from a little over a year ago. "Does the name 'Ganondorf' mean anything to you?" she asks, hesitantly.

    Then Trudy gets in the way and is rather distracting. "Yes, I didn't forget you." Lilian sighs in mild exasperation. "I've yet to see you even treat your puppets so crassly. Come on now. If I'd meant a jab I'd have aimed the knife squarely at your front." It's rather ruined the mood.

    "Well, nameless hero, I know your next stop is a royal tomb --presumably the one recently in use-- but why exactly go there either?"
Tamamo     "Ah, I see," Tamamo nods to Midna's statement. "I see no great reason to oppose your aims, in that case. To speak of 'spreading twilight,' in particular, from one with an aversion to the Sun as yourself, does suggest some ill fortune for those whose land has been afflicted. Though I have not visited this land, it would be some comfort to know that they were aided, and that their days and nights were of proper lengths, and free of hour-related, monstrous incursions." Whether their fears of the Twilight are well-founded or not, Tamamo's inclined to believe the people would be better off not having to deal with so much of it.

    "Oh, yes, hello," Tamamo stops what she's doing to shake one of Ramesses's hands, with something of the air of someone calmly humoring an energetically curious dog who is probably too big to be doing what it's gotten up to.

    "If you are both quite fine with it, I suppose there is nothing I should say of your arrangements." Tamamo smooths over the question of raising undead help. "Oh, but what of the spirits of this tomb? Surely they are not those rather strange beings in the previous chamber? I had nearly forgotten."

    And with that, Tamamo, not really noticing the intensity of Lilian's talk with the Hero, goes about trying to find the most important object in the room, the reason this tomb exists at all, the point of central importance around which all the lines of Fate draw through in tying this place to its surroundings. It might not be a coffin, at all, though in most tombs, it would be.
Hero's Shade     G a n o n d o r f D r a g m i r e

The particular sound of metal grooves and scale grinding together tightly combines with the cracking of aged, worn leather pushed to its limit - the source being rather immediately evident in the shade's fists clenched at his sides.

Just speaking the name dredges that awful, horrid man's face from his addled, hole-full memory as clearly as the last time he'd laid his own eyes upon his visage.

    The resentment sizzles so palpably, that it's like the air itself becomes heavier, dense with a kind of pressure.

As quickly as it comes, it goes, as the Hero's Shade relaxes his hands.

" . . 'tis peculiar that you would be familiar with such a wretched name. Indeed, there is such a man that I know of. He was once the King of the Gerudo. To my knowledge, he was executed for the treasonous crime of conspiring against the Royal Family."

It went without saying that the story there was not nearly so cut and dry; especially with how he'd reacted, but for the moment that was his story, and he fully intended to stick to it.His whole body creaks as he pivots briefly to accept Darren's card, and stow it away with Shotaro's, with a stiff nod. "A .. historian of sorts, then. Yes. I'll let you know if we come across anything that would pique your interests."

In a manner of speaking, he already knew of several such locations. But since he had no idea how many of them still existed, or what state they were in, he figured it'd be better to wait on relaying that information until he could reconfirm it.
Trudy Grimm     "I didn't say anything," Trudy comments when acknowledged, "But I do appreciate the acknowledgement. You see, the situations are a ~little~ similar. Though naturally still different." Raising a hand, she places it to her breastbone, "I am after all a master at this sort of thing. Though it's hardly the sort of power that grants wishes or answers prayers, I suppose." Hands shifting, she claps them together while shifting her attention to the Hero's Shade and Midna herself, "Ah, that does remind me, though. Your activities topside haven't particularly bothered the poes, but they are upset that their resting place is left in such disarray."

    One hand props on her hip, the other raising a finger, "As the people who have caused the damage, you must repair it! Cleaning up your own messes is the responsible thing to do, after all."

    That upraised hand is repurposed to shake Ramesses' offered...hand? as well, something that Trudy herself has no concern about. It is, after all, another sort of ghost. She's quite comfortable around such things, "Hello, nice to meet you!"
Lilian Rook     Lilian only remains fixed in place before the Hero's shade because she has long internalized the importance of remaining outwardly unfazed at people's 'moments' being far greater than the comfort of reeling away.

    §I see. Well now. That's interesting.§

    "Oh, that's very good." Lilian says, completely unreadable despite her deceptively lax air. She plucks the slender greatsword free of the flagstone with two fingers, a little twist causing it to spin as it rises, and catches it reversed by the hilt. "That means we have something in common." A short laugh. "Albeit, that leaves me with very little to do."

    This all seeming rather penny ante for the firepower called in, Lilian says as she walks off, "I suppose this really was just a job for the Watch after all." Already looking pretty ready to go, she hovers around Tamamo with exactly as much patience as necessary to allow her to tap into the weave of fate without unwelcome interruption, until she can rather boldly lean on her from behind, chin on her shoulder, and one arm around her waist. "Whenever you're ready~" she says. "We can let them have this one, right?" This is then followed by an equally bold kiss on the cheek.

    Though, perhaps it might not be surprising, given everything that'd happened recently. While waiting for the go-ahead, she glances sideways, to watch the other conversations playing out, and then gives Hibiki, who she is definitely not bullying, a bone-chillingly smug, eyes-narrowed grin.
Midna A portal is opened out in a dark corner to a dark corner of the graveyard, by Midna's magic. After people are dumped out, Midna grabs the Hero's Shade, and the two vanish away.

If Impaz is asked about what happened, she genuinely is a resident of the town - and is Sheikah, too. Mind reading determines she feigns weakness as the only survivor, due to her advanced age. She doesn't mind the pair hanging around, oddly enough

If investigated the next night, the gravestones are mysteriously repaired. Wonder who did that...