Delving Deeper [CLOSED: Gao, Ekik, Sin, Claria]

[El]

Gao grimaced at Claria's remark, lips twisted into a wry but resigned smile. Ekik had been on his mind too: one of many imagined culprits whenever he caught wind of a strange sound throughout the 'night'. The Depths echoed with a myriad of peculiarities, the stagnant and hollow environment magnifying every rustle of weed, tap of iron or shuffle of loose rock. He'd heard the distant whirring of a Yiga's aerial machine, but no clicks of talons or a flutter of feathers. At least, not while he'd laid awake.

"I don't blame the guy," The Sheikah remarked, chewing on a piece of the offered dried kelp. The taste reminded him of home. "In fact I'd rather his absence be out of choice, not-... any other unfortunate circumstances."

Gao wasn't one to reprimand someone for prioritising their own self-preservation. Unless - or, Hylia-forbid, when - any evidence of foul-play was discovered... or their own safety put at jeopardy as a result. It did leave him with a tinge of regret that such an interesting individual had only been with them so briefly though. An intellectual sort too. Their discussions could've been very enlightening.

"We'll keep a look-out." Though the instant those words left Gao's lips his voice faded, nostrils crinkling. He'd just remembered the mushroom-addling incident from their initial encounter: ...surely the fungi wouldn't STILL be affecting the Rito... right? That was a troubling thought. Many a wagoner had been warned against steering while drunk, but what about FLYING while under an influence...

Gao shook his head free of such concerns.

Clearing his throat and taking one last hearty swig of water, he brushed away some crumbs and began packing away what rations remained of his breakfast. He'd happily have demolished far more than what he had, but who knew how long they could end up down here for.

"Since neither of you feel strongly either way, let us head South then." He decided for the group, standing up with a heave and a ho and a dramatic clap of his thighs as if to punctuate that statement with some authoritative gusto. He was becoming more like his old man by the minute, eh. "Better the evil you know, and all that." Gao threw another lopsided smile at his companions, but it was a smile nonetheless.

In truth, there had been more to the decision than that. Strive valiantly as she did to cater to her own physiological needs when her current means were so meager, the scholar had nonetheless noticed Claria's growing discomfort. Not that the South was expected to hold some vast oasis, but he'd rather not dehydrate her further with another - unnecessary -  taxing climb. (You wouldn't catch him dead speaking that out loud though! He knew well a warrior's pride.)

Sinnie was another story however. One which made a whoooole lot more sense now that some more background had been shared.

Despite carefully observing him, the hulking and unusual specimen of a Zora had shown no signs of deterioration: on the contrary he almost seemed to be thriving in this rugged terrain. Given that he hailed from the Gerudo Desert of all places, the Depths probably felt like a casual stroll. Ha!

Odd, yes, for a Zora to be native to that region of all places. But Gao believed it. In fact, Gao had a LOT more questions to ask and a whole notebook to fill on the subject while he was at it. Given his active occupational interest in studying unique species (broadly referred to as 'monsters'), the Sheikah's curious intellect had been thoroughly piqued by this revelation. Not that Sinnie was a monster.

But... maybe he'd pry another time. It had taken a great deal of effort, time and patience to squeeze out even that information. (Though Gao suspected, from the Zora's choice of language, that there had simply been some sort of communication error - laughably.)

"I hope for your sake, Sinnie, that our expedition unearths some treasure of your own too - assuming you're still willing to tag along the whole way." He rambled on, shuffling then over to his tent. After collecting a handful of items and a much smaller backpack in which to stuff them, he began tying down the doorway. "I suppose that spirit's halberd was the wrong sort of ancient, eh."

Was he after some Zonai arms...? Some hero - or heroine's - lost, loyal companion? A historical relic told in tribal tales? A golden gleaming treasure bejewelled with riches? Or did the Zora just simply not use halberds. Gao chuckled a little to himself at that last one.

Sharp-toothed, he threw a grin back over his shoulder. "That'd explain why you never did actually rob us. I don't think our equipment is quite that spectacular." An accusation? Perhaps. But the bear of a man just laughed it off in good humour as he continued buckling himself down and strapping up. As if it was ridiculous to even seriously entertain that thought. Unlike some situations before, this statement had not been a veiled or testing threat. Funny how actually knowing was far less concerning than not knowing anything. His imagination had run WILD. But a treasure-hunter or tomb-raider? Ha. Sinnie was welcome to it all. This Sheikah's riches were very different in form.

"Right then," Gao turned back to his company, standing tall and ready: hands on his hips and one last piece of jerky rolling between his teeth. (He couldn't help it, OK? A snack for the road never hurt anyone!) "Are we all set to depart? I should be able to move quicker - and quieter - now that I've dropped most of my load off."

[LuckyBlackCat]

"If that's what happened... It would have been nice if he'd been honest, but I can't say I hold it against him either." Claria took one more look into the distance, where blackness swallowed up the fronds of the forest and anything else that lay ahead. As worrying as it was to find themselves reduced to a trio, both for the Rito's safety and for each other's, they'd all stumbled into more than they'd expected from the start. His having gotten out while he still could was the best possible scenario.

In any case, all the three could do now was focus on their current task. With a nod towards Gao, she tucked her water flask and leftover rations in her backpack, stood, and set to securing the flap of her tent. As Gao busied himself packing up, his attention shifting between his belongings and Sinnie with whom he chatted, she shuffled to the side of the tent, surreptitiously taking the lotion container from the pack and massaging more of the substance into her chafing hands, rubbed even drier from the ropes. Although still set on hiding her discomfort, if she ignored it only for her fingers to start bleeding during a climb or a fight, that would do nobody any favours.

Sinnie, of course, still showed no sign of any such trouble, his sand-coloured scales as healthy as ever. Which, now that he'd explained his origin, made sense. She'd guessed him to be of Ujua descent, but a Zoran resident of the Gerudo Desert? To say that had thrown her would be to put it mildly. It was a testament to his toughness that he could survive in such an arid and unforgiving area, where few of their kind ventured.

"When you say ancient weapons," she said, donning her backpack as she emerged from behind the tent, "are you referring to Zonai ones?" Her words were less pointed than they had been the previous day - if he'd planned to betray her and Gao, he'd have done so while they'd slept - but she kept her distance nonetheless. The zealous messages inked in scarlet all over his scales, as well as the disparaging remarks he'd made about her kind, still set off her sense of caution. As did his casual comment about using deceased enemies as bait. Yes, some level of ruthlessness was necessary for any warrior, she knew that well, but the way this guy spoke... It seemed like he was spoiling for a fight.

Just what exactly did he want those ancient weapons for?

Claria rolled her eyes. "Let's avoid any such encounters if at all possible." Which was rich of her, the living beacon, to say, but at least now they knew where some of the nearby camps were, they could do their utmost to steer clear of any more Yiga shenanigans. Assuming the ninjas weren't doubling down on their vigilance due to two of their soldiers having gone missing, that was.

Attempting to push thoughts of worst-case scenarios from her mind - with limited success, given yesterday's events - she glanced towards Gao, who kept up his air of cheerful confidence. "I'm good to go." The spots running along her arms and head-tail dimmed in their brightness, as did her tightly-folded fins, casting just enough light to see by. "I'll try not to draw attention."

[Rex Draco]

Had they any valuable weapons it was highly possible that the Zora would have attacked them from the get go, but there was no clear measure as to the man's mode of operation. Did he choose weapons that were free of x? Did it not matter? Were they certain types of weapons he sought or those without masters? Though Gao spoke his words in jest, were they really a quiet accusation to the unknown Zora's suspicious actions? He had no reason to help them, or continue on with the farce if his goal was obtaining valuable weapons, something of which the group lacked.

But as he claimed: he was without light in the Depths. Some hungry Froxes certainly had at his only lamp and he was stuck waiting by the surface until a fortuitous opportunity came by. Claria's question carried to his earholes. He tilted his head.

"I would not limit my range of choices. If a Zonai weapon would present itself, I would not cast it aside, but if you are asking if I specifically am seeking out the relics, their time of creation carries no significance." Old, new, ancient — it didn't matter.

So what did? He was no help, but not on purpose. They just seemed to need to ask the right questions. He did not disagree with the direction "I didn't see any troubles from here. I can hear far..." He tapped his tentacles. He could feel vibration, but any Zora would have such a keen sense. It was a necessary skill when in water to find prey, but since he was more grounded he could feel underfoot distant vibrations. "But whatever is out there could simply be sleeping. We should go and make our way out soon. Supplies will become thin quicker than you think." He warned.

[El]

Gao quirked a wry smile at Sinnie's comment on the fleeting longevity of supplies, but then... he supposed the Zora knew as little about him as the Sheikah knew in return. The scholar hadn't maintained his physique from lack of nutrition in the wilds, though he did silently acknowledge that this was an entirely different biome. Here even time seemed to flow differently. Perhaps food even spoiled quicker in this dank environment riddled with Gloom and fungi spores...?

Nonetheless, his two companions had assented to his choice of direction and were now prepped to go! The Desert-Zora hadn't elaborated any further on the weapon situation, even at Claria's continued questioning, but at this point the excitement of FINALLY getting to work at what Gao had come down here for had quickly shoved all other waning concerns to the wayside. If it wasn't an immediate threat? It wasn't a problem.

His excitement was palpable. Tensed, restless and animated. Even in the low visibility of the de-activated Lightroot, if the glee in his grinning eyes hadn't been visible, the eager agitation in his body language would've said so instead.

Yet with effort Gao attempted to calm his fidgeting as the conversation waned to a close, a clear of his throat dispersing the butterflies in his belly. He almost - ALMOST - clapped his big, gloved hands together in an explosion of expelled gusto to punctuate the start of the expedition true and proper-!! But... he realised that making such a loud and unnecessary noise would be counter-intuitive to their cause. Instead the paws were left to awkwardly knead themselves into a ball. "Off we go then~!" He whispered in sing-song below his breath. A hummed tune threatened to bubble up but he exhaled out that urge.

Wasting no more time, Gao then moved to take point at the forefront of their small but formidable group. As he swallowed down the last of his jerky, his hands manoeuvred to delicately lift the visor on his poe-fuelled lantern. It didn't produce a flood of light at this setting, nor a stark beam, but rather a gentle illumination that was just about bright enough to reflect off any toxic goop en route.

Despite the tickling in his chest, the scholar was careful in his advance. His muffled stride was cautious and creeping, weaving through patterns of spluttering puddles with patient forethought. The group's pace was a sure-and-steady one rather than an eager rush to find conflict - which Sinnie seemed itching to embroil himself in. 

Turns out, it didn't matter either way.

The Zora probably noticed it first, but Gao's keened survival instincts were scarcely a second behind, a sudden jerk of realisation halting his advance without need for prompting. He paused with baited breath. Silently hissed at his heart to beat just a little bit quieter. Ears strained he stood as still as the phantom sentinels which haunted this realm.

...Sure enough, there was something out there.

Something BIG.

The quakes below foot increased in strength and irregularity - becoming erratic, fierce. But it was quickly ascertained that this force was not advancing in THEIR direction. No, it was fixated on a certain point? Stationary, in a manner of speaking.

"A conflict up ahead." The Sheikah hissed.

With tentative steps he resumed their march into the fray, for this was still nonetheless the direction they had decided upon. In the best case scenario they'd be able to use this as a distraction to creep around the Yiga encampment. In the worst... well, wise men knew when to retreat. But to quash his excitement so soon...? Eugh. Gao refused to give up just yet.

As the visibility improved with gained ground, the shaking lights and whirling beams up ahead revealed the situation in its entirety. Aircraft soared in circles around the clifftop-peak headquarters, alarms sounding, the entire structure shuddering, a bustle of feet panicking to keep up with the screeched orders as troops were rallied into action and strategy. Debris and shards of stone avalanched down one side as with a collective cry of Yiga and a chaotic crash, a mighty creature charged face-first into the base of the rocky tower: one of three stone structures upon which roosted the collection of Sheikahn buildings.

A small smile played with Gao's lips, "So it's clever enough to realise it can just knock the camp down." Rather than attempt to scale it, that is. Given its vast girth and the stocky limbs of the creature - a 'Frox' perhaps? With pale silver hide and a blood-red eye - he doubted it was nimble enough to climb all the way up. ...Though the littering of a few shattered wooden structures - former ledges? - strewn around the base, jutting up from great pools of goop, made him wonder if the beast had already attempted - and failed - that idea.

"Seems like someone up there got cocky, eh."

Had it been the hideout's luminosity which had attracted the native beast's attention? Or perhaps the Yiga's enterprising activity had stirred up its territorial instincts. Even monsters had levels of patience after all.

Either way, the camp up ahead was quickly falling apart: both literally and metaphorically. The Yiga soldiers had collected their minds well enough to have organised a system of dive-bombing the Frox in turns: swooping in on their gliders to light-beam its one eye and take that opening of blinded bewilderment to drop bombs upon its ore-encrusted spine. Damage was definitely being dealt -  as was evident by the monster's guttural wails and the splintering ore with all its glittering jewels and minerals - but the Frox appeared to be growing wise to their patterns.

Like now, as it dropped wide its broad maw, curled upwards its whole body, and with a howling gale of great force, sucked right up all manner of debris and - most importantly - several screaming Yiga. It appeared to have been timed intentionally: this attempt far more successful than the previous few they'd been privy to witness already. Yet, it savoured its fresh meal for scarcely a few seconds. In no time at all it resumed its increasingly furious charges, chipping away chunk by chunk at the pillar of stonework and its teetering crown of wood and lanterns.

More than just one Yiga fell during the chaos, screams cut shut by a sudden and lethal impact against the floor. Another - this time a pilot - slipped off his aircraft while narrowly veering out of the way of the Frox's charge, slamming his slender frame against one of the gigantic viscous roots of Gloom before he rolled off and dissolved within the puddle directly below. A slower death, no doubt, but deadly nonetheless. Even their zealous allegiance to Ganondorf could not protect them from the toxic quagmires.

There were two other, much more stable, stone columns which the vast majority of the Yiga forces had now retreated to: readying bomb arrows and setting up other ancient Zonai devices for long-range offence. But by the looks of the third one directly taking the brunt of the Frox's assault... if that fell, it'd likely crash into the other two in a hefty scramble for support. Weakened as its base already was, it was only a matter of time before it teetered over - felled like a great oak.

"A wounded beast is the most dangerous sort," Gao continued to whisper to his companions.

He'd halted his advance now and instead settled in a crouch behind the anaemic bark of a massive, alien tree. His lantern was discreetly tucked even further behind it, the visor lowered to almost a close: offering just enough visibility to be mistaken for a straying, lost spirit itself. It was also just enough light for the Sheikah to hastily pull out a notebook and pencil and begin fervently scribbling upon its fresh pages.

[LuckyBlackCat]

For all the stress of the previous day, for all Sin's continued irksome evasiveness, a different kind of tension overtook Claria at the prospect of the journey ahead. She raised her head high, her tail flicking like that of a curious cat, barely-restrained eagerness mirroring Gao's as she nodded. Her comrade's enthusiasm was infectious, everything about his posture radiating it - the kind that only someone who lived for this could exude.

A feeling Claria knew well.

Even as she crept along behind him, her steps as slow and careful as ever, something in her gait had eased since yesterday. She held out a hand, gazing around through her own muted light in awe, half-tempted to pause every now and then to observe trees with fronds like crinoid tendrils, stony spires and roots that brought to mind petrified submerged forests, gargantuan fungus-looking organisms ridged with protrusions resembling table corals. Motes floated through the air like plankton and algae particles drifting into the deepest ocean. Sights like this made her wonder about the full extent of the ecosystem in this long-forgotten land.

"I can tell you," she whispered to Gao, "the Depths are certainly home to some interesting wildlife. Stalhorses, for instance, are much more common here than on the surface. And surprisingly friendly, if you know what you're doing." She'd never gotten close to one, light being a surefire way to make them bolt, but she'd witnessed a few folks with a particular knack for animal handling actually manage to tame the skeletal equines. "Well, to people who don't glow, anywa-"

She fell silent, frozen in place, senses attuned to make sure she'd felt what she'd thought she'd felt. A Zora picked up on vibrations more easily in water than on dry land, but there it was again. A distant tremor coursed through her feet, up her legs, along her spine. A telltale sign of trouble.

"Speaking of interesting creatures," she murmured under her breath, in her usual deadpan tone, "seems like there's quite the specimen up ahead." Not that either of the other two had needed alerting. Gao paused, staring forth, as the ground shook with ever-increasing intensity. Yet the source of the thrumming didn't advance, seemingly focused on one spot. A sobering realisation crept up on her. "Or specimens, plural."

A territorial conflict between Depths denizens? It wasn't outside the realm of possibility. She recalled a struggle she'd witnessed years ago during an ocean expedition, great sea serpents churning the water with their bloody battle, she and her team slipping from their sight along with scattering shoals of fish before either enraged and wounded beast could notice them. Did a similar scene await ahead, involving... Stalnoxes? Taluses? A species of that size, judging by the quakes.

Gao, undeterred, pressed on. Despite the imminent danger, Claria found herself agreeing with his course of action, in no small part due to another all too likely scenario. "That or someone could be in trouble." If that were the case, they couldn't stand by. She gripped the hilt of her sword as she advanced, the fins at the sides of her head raising a fraction as she listened out for a commotion.

And a commotion there was. Alarms blared and rockfalls rumbled as the chaos came into view, beams and horribly familiar yellow lanterns revealing the monster responsible, which launched itself repeatedly with its squat, sturdy legs at a stone column - upon which sat a Yiga hideout. Well, "hideout" may have been the wrong word, given its self-defeating brightness and elevation.

"Those Froxes we were talking about yesterday," Claria hissed, eyeing the creature's tough blue-white skin, the wicked fangs jutting from its maw. "That's how big they grow."

Not even an entire army of Yiga was enough to drive it away. Bomb-tipped arrows rained down, as did explosives from aircrafts whirling above, to little avail. The Frox simply opened its gaping cavern of a mouth and inhaled, sucking up a battalion of pilots, before charging anew and sending several more soldiers plummeting to their deaths.

"And you know what happens to the cocky," she replied to Gao's quip. "They're falling from their pedestal in more ways than one." Even as she resorted to dark humour, her jaw tightened at the sight - and screams - of a fallen pilot flailing in the Gloom, which spread across his skin, eating away his flesh like acid until not even bones remained of him. She'd witnessed some rather less than pleasant scenes before, to say the least, but that outranked even Ekik's fire spell in terms of brutality.

Her muscles bunched. She almost wished they could do something. It didn't sit right with her to just leave people, Yiga or not, at the mercy of a monster attack - and what if the camp on the verge of toppling held innocent hostages? On more than one occasion, she'd helped rescue captive scientists forced to work on Zonai machinery. Yet knowing what the Yiga were were capable of was a stark reminder that, even if they were able to help in some way, they couldn't risk trusting a cult of known kidnappers, backstabbers, murderers. And they certainly couldn't risk dragging Gao into another fraught situation with them. A long, barely-audible sigh escaped her clenched teeth as she crouched beside him, behind the mushroom-like tree, its trunk concealing her luminescence.

"A wounded beast is the most dangerous sort," Gao whispered, before scrawling notes.

"That it is," Claria agreed, continuing to survey the pandemonium. "On both sides." Either the Frox and the Yiga would keep each other distracted, allowing the group to continue onwards - or one side would win, potentially spot them, and see an outlet for their fury.

[Rex Draco]

Sleep in utter darkness was something unnatural to the Zora. He had already spent the better half of a week in the total darkness, surviving on the inklings of light of the miles distant lanterns of Bokoblin camps and Yiga nests. His feet had grown used to the soil underfoot so the silty, ash-like paths did little to irritate his soles anymore while the musty winds had become stale to his senses. Eventually his eyes adjusted to the lower light conditions that often cropped up in the Depths, but nothing could forefend his senses from the onslaught of pitch darkness.

When there was nothing to see his hearing focused on every gust of wind, each brush against the sands and every last sound to fall upon the late, stone shelves. The vibrations made by every movement, every breath, was like a roar of thunder pounding against goose-skin drums thrust upon by wet reeds. It made his scales tighten and his body tingle from the inside out. He had been told by his grandfather that his people were born from the darkness and that in it their senses were unparalleled, that not even the most skilled of Hylian soldiers could compare. But whenever he found himself in the darkness it was as if someone had pulled a curtain over his eyes and sandals on his feet. The pinpricks running over his arms, legs and torso were about as helpful as fire ants.

Everything seemed better with a little bit of light so with a camp full of sight-using travelers who hadn't gotten their lanterns absconded by beasts, he was willing to make use of the difficult situation. As it was he had gotten a look at their weapons and though they were no good for his personal use: they still had value. Surface-ways he would be able to sell them in order to continue his journey. He was only a few days in and he was already finding it difficult to deal with innkeeps who only accepted rupee as trade. He ended up taking this job on the boards in hopes of earning a few and getting a room for the night. He was now three ways into debt for securing a lantern, camping kit, and a ride back up when the time was up.

When everyone finally settled down, Nex had set up his space for sleeping, which had just been his cloak, belongings, and blade. He had a tarp, but lacked the sticks required to pitch it. He had tried using the sticks as weapons and ended up breaking them. He had plenty of fire starter, but none of the tinder to light one up. Having only just started out on his pilgrimage, he had never really camped out before so wasn't aware of the keener points, but watching the two set up and settle down gave him a better idea of what roughing it meant. Beyond keeping track of where they traveled to, they also had to be mindful to remember where they had come from in the case they had to backtrack to a camp for emergencies. Having a shelter was one of the most important measures of surviving outdoors to experienced travelers, but what was most horrifying was their packs, or lack thereof. They had to scrounge around for food! It just further showed how inns were so much better. Not only did they never move, but they always had warm bed, warmer water, and the hottest plates he could find this side of the monastery.  Who wanted to go back to living outdoors? What were they? Nomads?

No he had already decided he wanted to be like his ancestor, a man who had lived from inn to in and journeying across Hyrule, to the edge of the world, was the kind of person he wanted to be like. Who cared if roughing it built character. It built blisters and lacked waffles. Still he needed to find that weapon. He would hold onto the recently obtained Yiga blade only as long as he needed, but it wasn't enough to increase his prowess and strength.

Come the morning they were ahead on their way. He didn't have anything to pack so picked up his cloak and tossed it over his shoulders. His scabbards had been used to perch his hood enough that his head was shielded from any possible moisture to fall throughout the night. He didn't know much about the Depth's ecology, but he knew it was the desert and sometimes it rained with next to no notice. He was expecting them to walk for miles, days longer, but it didn't take long at all for them to observe their next goal, one so full of chaos that he would had almost thought the dawn if light had cast over the Depths, summoning all sorts of wild beasts into the fray.

"It seems their light was much too delicious to be ignored." He wondered how, all this while, the Yiga could swing around their light and not lure in any Froxes. In fact the case downright infuriated him, at least until he saw the deluge of chaos accented by the screams of the damned. "I see a beast equivalent to its prey." From what Sin could observe: the bigger the light the bigger the Frox. And such did seem the reason, but what was really behind the Giant Frox raiding the ninjas? Had their shenanigans disturbed its peace or did their own hunt for food leave them with more than they could chew on? Whatever the case: it only left them with advantage. "Should we pass them or get the jump on them?" The sword he had gotten was quite nice and there could have been more.

But the Yiga were fleas. There were far too many of them to crush in one fell swoop and with a frox that big there was no telling how much light it needed to quench its thirst. He didn't want to become prey too. But the thought of testing the blade out in its belly was a tempting prospect. Sin adjusted his scabbard. He had spent the better half of a week here in the darkness so didn't have too much trouble spotting the ledge. They could sneak past them, but only if they didn't draw any attention to themselves from the Yiga or the Frox.

Light had a way of making you quite well known to the things that go bump in the dark.

[El]

A wise man knew when to retreat. Which battles to avoid. Where best to set aside all else for the most important thing of all: survival.

...Yet for a long, horrifically-loud moment Gao did not respond to his companions. The manic scribbling of his pencil had stilled, but now the utensil was raised to his lips, jaw grinding as he mulled over Claria's latest bit of intel. So it was a Frox. Intriguing. Was this an extreme case of sexual dimorphism? Or did they all truly grow to this size? How? On what? What in Hylia's name could encourage and sustain such an enormous physique - not just mere Brightblooms... surely...? From what he could tell at this distance, the creature was not infected with any Gloom either: no empowering malice which so often held the ability to transform and mutate its hosts -  albeit at the sacrifice of its lucidity.

'Distance'...

RIGHT!!! His telescope! He could get a better look!

Gao had doubted the usefulness of it at all, given how infamously, impenetrably dark the Depths were, but with the situation before them so thoroughly illuminated as it was that'd prove no issue here. And so he fumbled, distracted, pencil held between his teeth, notebook falling from his lap, as spared hands twisted backwards to grope around inside his backpack. It would've been easier to just take the luggage off and dig through it that way, but clearly the man's mind was too distracted to waste thought on mundane solutions. And then he succeeded in his needlessly hard-won mission likely before either Sin or Claria could comment.

With a rickety, half-stuck, clickety clack, the Sheikah unfolded the old antique of a telescope and raised it to his left eye. The gadget had clearly seen much better days, and many of them, a single seagull in mid flight etched into the wood right near the base. Meanwhile more chaos ensued, a fresh wave of enraged screams swallowed into an abrupt silence only for the crashing and rumbling and exploding to resume.

"It's not infected..." Gao muttered below his breath, verifying his earlier suspicion. On the contrary, his generalist knowledge of monsters led him to believe that the Frox was thriving and healthy - in peak condition. Though given the countless ore deposits stemming from its tough hide... did Frox' consume minerals too, much like the Gorons?

A distraction then occurred. A flicker of something in his peripheral. A twitching tickle of his instincts. Ignoring the swarming Yiga as their numbers rapidly dwindled into a pathetic few, Gao's attention swooped upwards towards the hideout only to abruptly halt.

A tiny, rounded creature was scampering down the rocky pillar.

From where? The building up above? The scholar followed its assumed trail to peer in scrutinising detail at the shoddy craftsmanship of a failing structure, the beams cracking and creaking while lanterns threatened to fall and set the entire abode ablaze.

"Cages." A single word, hissed through gritted teeth.

Swallowing back a feral snarl, Gao regained enough cognizance to elaborate to his Zora company in a voice just a notch louder, "Cages of-... Frox? Much smaller ones. A dozen of them at least." He watched as he saw panic and desperation rattle their tiny forms, gnawing at the bars, bodyslamming their prisons, mouths agape but the screams rendered mute by the cacophony that surrounded them.

"THAT is why the bigger Frox is so angry - and driven. The Yiga must've captured their kin."

Now what?

Well, Gao most certainly wasn't going to just up and leave after witnessing that. A mother - father - parental figure, fighting to reclaim their children from the clutches of foreign invaders tugged at every single one of his heartstrings. Who knew what the Yiga had subjected these poor creatures to..? Goddesses forbid, perhaps many of them had already died in the process. He would help. He HAD to help. It was just a matter of time before a nasty fire shattered free and consumed them all. Burning to death was one of the worst ways to go.

Passing the telescope onto Claria, Gao instead turned to Sin, a razor-sharp grin and a primal fire to his eyes as he issued his challenge, "Fancy taking down some Yiga after all? Though there's one important condition: kill them all. If any of them escape we're all in big shit."

Seething out a sigh, the Sheikah turned back to the teetering tower and its crumbling sisters. Making an enemy of the Yiga had been the very last thing Gao had wanted, but it was exactly for situations like this that he'd avoided developing any deep bonds and kept at bay the few bloodties he still had. Being estranged and alone had its benefits - less to blackmail with. "We can feed the corpses to the Frox afterwards to cover our tracks," He went on to explain, mind already scouring the environment to formulate the best plans of success. "-but if reports are made on our involvement here we won't hear the end of it until we're dead ourselves."

The scholar tilted his chin towards a nearby tree, where a cluster of rotund blooms sat in unassuming ripeness. "Those must be the explosive fruit I've heard of - bombflowers? That could be useful. Plus-" his gaze drifted towards the base of the pillars, then even further to its left. "A fair few of these glider contraptions seem to be sat on standby after so abruptly losing their pilots - if you know how to drive one. I should have one or two Dazzlefruit in one of these pockets somewhere too..." He actually unbuckled his backpack this time, investing some patience into acquiring the two incredibly expensive purchases he'd kept tucked away and safe for Hylia knows how long at this point.

"I'm confident enough in my climbing abilities, but I'll need the back-up to cover me while I get up there to free the-..." A twang of an altogether different nature halted the next words that bubbled up in his throat. His breath caught. Jaw clenching, fists forming, he bit back a whining groan of reluctance. The last, last, LAST thing he could do with was losing these few allies, but... "If either of you don't want to get involved, leave now." Gao sighed in resigned defeat, unable to meet their eyes. He had to say these words: his conscience would eat him alive otherwise, if not now, then most certainly in years to come if anything horrific occurred. "I won't hold it against you.

"But if you stay, the loot from the entire hideout and any on their corpses are all yours. The parental Frox is already winning, we just need to keep out of their way and assist while not catching any stray attacks ourselves. By my estimations, if I set off now I should be able to scale one of the sister pillars before the collision and collapse occurs." And how exactly would he get down...? That was a problem for future Gao to solve.

[LuckyBlackCat]

It struck Claria as somewhat unsettling, Gao's eager fixation on the scene straight out of a nightmare, to the point that he fumbled for the telescope without even removing his backpack. Then again, her own fascination with the Depths in general had a tendency to freak some people out. And, really, even from their concealed position, it was smartest for none of them to take their eyes off of the colossal beast - or the Yiga, for that matter, as decimated as their forces were.

In an instant, Gao's demeanour changed, his shoulders visibly tensing as he growled one word.

"Cages."

Cages of Frox, he elaborated. Baby Frox. Those Yiga had indeed gotten cocky, the crumbling pillar the very image of hubris. No wonder the larger creature, despite its injuries, kept up its assault with the fury of the Zoran hero from the famed legend, so determined to save his clutch of eggs from pirates that his spirit had persisted in the quest even after his untimely death.

An infectious fury if the sudden feral gleam in Gao's eyes was anything to go by as he handed her his telescope, turning to Sin, announcing the task ahead with a disturbing grin. A confrontation with the Yiga would be inevitable after all.

Claria's fist clenched around the device. This wouldn't be the first time she'd spill Yiga blood, such often proving unavoidable during rescue missions, and she understood the brutal necessity of making sure none got away. The Yiga were known for pursuing their targets to the ends of the earth, and they wouldn't forget the distinctive appearances of any of the three. Still, she'd hoped to avoid a conflict if possible. And venturing anywhere near Frox, especially the enraged parent, would require utmost caution.

"Well, you've got that fight you wanted," she murmured to Sin. Raising the telescope to her own eye, she surveyed what remained of the Yiga army, the few archers gathered around the hideout, the fanplanes that circled the teetering pillar and fired beams at the giant Frox.

"That pillar though..." She passed the telescope back to Gao, giving him a grim look at his mention of climbing. Even if not for the Frox's juddering blows that could shake a climber clean off, there was so, so much that could go wrong. "Gao, please tell me you know what in the Demon Realm you're doing. It looks ready to turn into a landslide any moment. And I reiterate, even tiny Frox are no joke." As she hissed the warning, she ran her thumb along a curved scar on the underside of her left forearm. As fragile as the creatures were individually, she had no doubt that a large enough swarm could devour a person alive if they let their guard down.

The set of his jaw, the fervour blazing in his eyes, said it all. There was no turning him away from this, no matter how far he'd gone to avoid such a scenario the previous day. Nor, however, was there any turning her away from sticking beside him and Sin, even as he made it clear he wouldn't blame them if they left. She shook her head. She'd signed up to assist him, and she'd damn well follow through. "Like fuck am I going back on my word," she replied, with a resolute stare even as he averted his gaze.

She glanced at the abandoned gliders. Balloons, she knew her way around, despite the heat being less than easy on her scales. The more finicky vehicles such as these fanplanes, not so much. Did Sin? She could only hope so. She thought to ask Gao if he even had a plan to get down, but the words died on her tongue. Every second spent on discussion was a second closer to the pillar's collapse. And if that happened during Gao's ascent because she'd kept him talking too long... It didn't bear thinking about.

"If we're going to do this... Might as well get to it."