[Open] Clearing the Air [Event]

[Emily]

As Reverie charged ahead, parrying an incoming sword-strike and pushing the construct backward, she attempted to quickly take in her surroundings. This was the first moment she found herself faltering. While Reverie normally had very good nightvision, she was struggling to see due to the glow of her sword and shield. The nearly-unbreakable hard light structures, built to her specifications, were a fantastic upgrade in terms of combat strength; the edge was razor-sharp, and couldn't be blunted. The downside of the structure, however, was that hard light was, perhaps obviously, light. By illuminating the immediate surroundings, the weaponry also made the darkness outside of that small refuge impenetrable. She would have to rely even more than normal on her other senses and knowledge of construct tactics to pre-empt incoming attacks.

After all, though there were dozens of other warriors, ranged fighters, and mages there, this small group was intended to shock the system, charge in as a vanguard and secure an entry point, a base of operations for the remaining mission. It was necessary to go all out right now, and then take the necessary recovery time once this room was theirs. As Alyson's boomerang arced around her to strike the off-balance construct in the eye, Reverie grinned. Now this was more like it. She followed up with a lunge, a growl of exertion pushing her swordtip forward with even more force, piercing through the construct's eye and dismantling it entirely.

Two things happened then, in the same moment. A crackling explosion of lightning behind her, allowing her to temporarily see the room around them- quite a large chamber, with hardwood trees and grass, along with garden boxes of various plants, and most importantly three more constructs- and an arrow colliding with the back of her armour, knocking her off balance. It didn't pierce the armour or hurt her, but Reverie found herself instantly angry. Her eyes, now full of a manic sort of excitement, looked wildly around. The smile only grew, now sharper, all teeth. She only half-heard Lucius's comments as he cleaned up his kill.

She seemed to nearly teleport herself, running as quickly as she could toward another construct on the far side of the room attempting to fix a beaded laser on her. Her blade swung down in a diagonal, top left to bottom right, fully bisecting the construct before it could react. Her movements had become reckless, all strength and speed with none of the caution she had previously shown. Alyson would have seen this only once before, at the lab.

It only hit her at that moment. "Dame Hami Reneaux would've smiled to see you wielding such a blade, my lady. Fine work, well done." That name. A half-remembered story. Her grandmother, white hair hanging wildly as she sat in her chair, pink eyes telling the young Reverie about her mother and grandmother, and the storied history of their family as guardians of the royal family. Her own eyes, with only slightly more blue mixed in, swung across the room, gaze fixing on this strange man. Dame Hami Reneaux, Knight-Commander for King Rhoam Bosphoramus's father Daphnes Nohansen, who saw the transfer of power to the young heir. Dame Hami, mother to Dame Galia, mother to Dame Cana, mother to Winter, mother to Reverie. "Where did you hear that name?" her voice was breathless, strained, now attempting the impossible task of catching enough air. There were two more enemies, quickly dispatched by the others in attendance.

[The remaining kills are for you guys to describe.]

Moments later, the technicians and reserve forces had entered, the Lead Researcher among them. The chamber had been cleared, and it was found that there were large, thick doors on two sides leading deeper into the lab. As the Survey Team and the assembled engineers who had come along disarmed the traps and set up their camp in this entry room, they were able to find a series of controls that lifted the light level inside to match daylight. Reverie was sitting against one of the odd interior trees, a mage increasing the oxygen in her blood and having her drink water. She was still staring at Lucius, confused how he could have known anything about a distant relative who hadn't been involved in service for at least 150 years, another 20-50 to cover her peak.

The others who had come in with the vanguard were equally interesting. Reverie hadn't seen a Zora before arriving at Hyrule Castle Town, and even then hadn't met one like the curmudgeon who had chastised her for rushing ahead and lighting the way. She had understood his concerns, of course- she normally preferred using her own vision and adjusting to the inside of caves or structures over using a light source. But there was simply nothing that could be done about it. The other was a Rito, a race she was much more accustomed to seeing, but she had never met this one before. He would certainly have been memorable, with how tall and mysterious he was. The floating spears, which she had only caught sight of for a moment, promised a very interesting combat style.

"Alright, good work so far," Lady Purah said, gathering the group around her. "As you can see, this room is locked down," she gestured to the secured emplacements near each door, small cannons prepared to defend the foothold chamber, backup batteries at the ready, "and you should all be back to 100% effectiveness. What have we learned so far? Good question. Annoying question, but a good question. Not a lot. The soil and plant life in this room is pretty standard fare on the ground. Some older variations of plants, according to one of our botanical experts, but nothing you'd be surprised to find on the ground here, or around Castle Town. We haven't found any friendly automatons yet, but we've been assured that there are some further in. Apparently the little guys can sense each other at a certain distance, which is helpful to us. Bad news, they don't know what's beyond the doors. I'd suggest opening one and clearing that room before worrying about the other. We'll call out if there's an attempted entry, and I suggest someone stays back just in case.

"Also, bring back any construct parts you find out there. Especially weapons. We could always make some field improvements to these defences."

[LuckyBlackCat]

As the boomerang sailed back into Alyson's grip, its flight aided by another curving wind stream, she watched Reverie dispatch the stunned automaton - only for a sudden burst of lightning from the blond mage to reveal several more constructs closing in. Her heart leapt to her throat. While Reverie and several of the others had to be used to dealing with swarms of enemies, Alyson was no soldier or merc herself, merely a civilian who knew self-defense. She gasped in what little air she could at the sight of the arrow darting through the room and striking Reverie.

However, she needn't have worried. Not only did it bounce off of the warrior's armour, it bolstered her fighting spirit, sending her into a flurry of rage Alyson had already witnessed before. With a burst of speed to rival the lightning user, Reverie raised her glowing weapon and sliced one of the constructs clean in half before it could react.

Two more left. In the soft light said lightning mage cast through the chamber, a nocked arrow glinted. Snapping back into action, Alyson swept her free hand in an arc just in time, a gust of wind sending the arrow veering off-course and thudding into the ground. Another strike with the boomerang set it flailing. It shook its head, buying Alyson enough time to reach into her belt pouch containing the shock fruits and fling one as hard as she could. Sparks danced up and down the construct's spasming form until it collapsed into a heap of mechanical parts.

Wiping sweat from her forehead with the back of one hand, Alyson relaxed her grasp on the wing-shaped tip of her boomerang with the other. In hindsight, she probably should have saved that shock fruit for one of the stronger soldier constructs up ahead - her comrades took out the last one in this chamber with little effort. They'd done it, though. They'd made it past the first hurdle.

"Whew... Good going everyone! I knew it'd be no proble-" Advancing, Alyson skittered back from the pressure plate she'd nearly stepped on. The resulting wave of dizziness nearly made her lose her balance. They weren't out of the metaphorical or literal woods just yet. "Heh... Of course, we've still gotta watch our step." Through the spots dancing in her vision, she took note of the last few pressure plates before glancing over her comrades. "All of you..." She coughed from the acrid smoke wafting from the remains of fried constructs, which didn't help her lightheadedness any. She pulled her goggles back down over her stinging eyes. "All of you ok? Nobody's hurt?"

None of the vanguard members seemed badly injured, thank Hylia, merely breathless. As medics tended to the few who'd sustained minor wounds, Alyson joined the other engineers in disarming concealed cannons and beam emitters in between the stones of the walls. It helped that they quickly found the controls for the lights, revealing the entirety of their newly claimed base in all its verdancy.

With a quick check over to make sure she hadn't missed anything, Alyson stood from her crouch - urgh, too fast - and headed over to Reverie, seating herself on a hardwood root beside her, stretching her legs into the patch of grass. One of the nearby mages handed Alyson a flask of water and set about restoring the oxygen levels in her blood, the weight of fatigue lifting. It seemed she wouldn't need a stamina elixir just yet.

"You two know each other?" She glanced from Reverie to the armoured blond, recalling the exchange she'd only briefly overheard during the battle. They hadn't spoken with each other or given any hint of recognition up until then, but... he appeared to recognise her as at least connected to someone he knew in some way?

As Purah spoke, Alyson rose to her feet, this time with much more ease, taking in the mission briefing and mentally preparing herself for what lay ahead. The literal killing machines further inside the lab would certainly be forces to reckon with.

"Also, bring back any construct parts you find out there. Especially weapons. We could always make some field improvements to these defences."

Alyson nodded, patting a pocket of her toolbelt. "Will do! And I'm more than happy to help with those improvements!"

[El]

Lucius

Ha! Not bad. Not bad at all.

Lucius's illuminations had flushed the rest of the rats out of the shadows, rushing them into a pathetic shamble of a confrontation. Swiftly, they were dispatched. Eliminated by the group of adventurers with a pleasing efficiency - and variety - primed as they were by the first wave.

The withdrawn and sombre (and appreciatingly sensible) Zora used patience and intellect to dispatch his threats. The engineer applied her quick wit to an even quicker, deft hand that displayed skill over both wind-magic and effective resourcefulness. While the Reneaux... Her feral bloodrage did not go unnoticed. Though whether through fortune or practice she knew when to stop drinking so deep of its power.

"Where did you hear that name?"

Another shambling corpse of smoking scrap fell to Lucius's hand. Or, well, in this scenario, his boot: a reflexive roundhouse kick had swiftly beheaded the last of the constructs. The idea did - very briefly - flit through his mind to leave it for the mysterious Rito and his drifting spears, just so he could more accurately gauge that fellow's abilities too... But well, such conduct went against his code. The thought was deleted as abruptly as it had arisen.

"If it pleases you," Lucius turned back to the cooling soldier, who still stared at him breathless and seeking. Eyes of lavender. He smiled. "I would be honoured to share stories of her achievements. We moved in very similar spheres of society, and it was my humble privilege to train many of the fine knights who came to work below her."

"But let us leave such tales for a finer time more befitting of them." His attention drifted then to Lady Purah. Her entourage of scientists and mages poured into the newly secured area, swiftly getting to work in stabilising both its security and its resting conquerors.

"You two know each other?" The engineer lady from before inquired, settling in next to her friend. It pleased him to see an ally so comfortably sat beside the young Reneaux. He was glad to see that even now her family line naturally attracted earnest companions.

"A friend of the family, perhaps." Lucius clarified, though his own smile slanted with discomfort at such a bold statement. Was that overstepping? With the Knight-Commander herself no longer walking this realm, the calculations required to run an accurate assessment on that front were lacking. Hmn. "Or a colleague, at the very least." He humbly corrected.

Nonetheless, more permanently illuminated as the room now was, the makeshift lantern in Lucius's grasp lost its lustre and dimmed back to its original, hollow rest. Its hardware and inbuilt laser may prove useful though, so at Purah's behest he handed the head off to a nearby robe who fumbled with the thing as if shocked by the gesture.

Ah.

It took Lucius a second too long to compute that it was literally too hot to handle: the structure still burning with dissipating energy! "Good Goddesses!!!" The knight exclaimed, aghast, WRENCHING it out of his stubborn mittens just as abruptly as he'd put it there. He threw the scrap aside, grabbed the scholar's wrists, and quickly set about blowing the fiercest of breaths upon the seared leathers of his palms. "My humblest apologies, Sir! Does the pain ail you greatly?!"

No. Oh no! This was no good! As Lucius looked up at him through his long, long, incredibly long and glittering eyelashes, he saw how brightly the stranger's face burned red! A fever too?! This did not bode well!

"QUICKLY!" Lucius barked to the side, summoning a mage in due haste. "Assistance here, please!"

Suffice to say it took the medic more than just a few words of assurance that the scholar was actually doing quite well. In fact, there were not even any burns below his gloves - Lucius carefully inspected the bared skin himself! And the suspected fever?

"J-just-.. Er.. well it's the... altitude. Yeah." The man himself cleared his throat, awkwardly averting his eyes under the knight's scrutinisingly beautiful stare. He did indeed appear to have trouble stringing his words together. A lack of breath? Hmn. That was another symptom then, yes.

"Very well then," He finally acquiesced. "But ensure you take good care of those fine hands so they may continue their fine work." Aiming to instill comfort in the struggling man, he gave the slender shoulder a firm squeeze. No wonder he was struggling at this altitude: the poor fellow's diet was clearly lacking in adequate levels of protein!

"...Right." The scholar squeaked.

Good heavens, he was getting redder by the moment! It was almost as if the deeper Lucius frowned the more his symptoms escalated! "And perhaps get some fresh air." He urged. "Rest assured, you have my oath no harm shall come to you." It appeared the assisting mage was of the same mind, as with an oddly amused glint to her eyes she hurriedly shepherded the poor man away. 

...Why was this situation amusing?

Lucius stared after the departing duo in puzzled contemplation. It was only after a few long moments of failed conclusions that he finally tore his attention away, noting - with a mildly surprised quirk of the brow - that the reticent Rito from earlier had been staring at him. For how long? Lucius did not know. Though it hardly mattered really.

There was work to be done!

With a polite bow of his head and a gracious smile, the knight turned away from all of his present company to instead patrol the perimeter. While all the traps in this room had been disarmed, who knew what threats lurked nearby? Eventually he stopped at the door to the left chamber. His every movement hushed into complete silence. Even his breathing animation was halted. Gently, he pressed an ear against the smooth door, a glaze of light settling across the entirety of his eyes. It remained as he listened.

A low hum.

The occasional crackle - of electricity?

Circuity, was Lucius' hypothesis. Of traps or puzzles? ...Or perhaps both. From his collected knowledge, Zonai ruins rarely did one or the other.

"How valuable is this structure, Lady Purah?" Leaning away from the door he rapped a gloved knuckle against the surface, sending a visible, rippling shockwave of his own magic through the entirety of its form. It was thick. Not insurmountably so, but substantial nonetheless. "Is reasonable destruction permitted?"

The Sheikah shrugged, adjusting her glasses against a forming frown. "As long as you don't blow the whole place up, you can do what you like really. But... please don't be stupid about it, yes? If you insist on strongarming your way through, do so in moderation: One. Room. At a time. ...Alright?"

Lucius nodded. "Affirmative."

With a sweeping glance he observed the rest of the room, ensuring all of his new companions had successfully recovered their strength and gathered their bearings. "To the sides then if you please, ladies and gentleman." Boomed the polite order, as the knight strode the entire length of the chamber - all the way to the opposite end. "...And brace yourselves for impact. There is a chance these doors are thick enough to have muffled our presence, but even so, I do not believe stealth will be a successful strategy in this instance."

His eyes narrowed, keening to fine blades of draconic chroma as they locked onto the target before him. "Let us continue the ambush."

He did not allow further input. There was no time for it. The decision had been made and already its commands were in motion, whipping a fierce gale about his form that tore at his blonde locks and swirled his cape in dramatic arcs. Crackle. Fizzle. POP and spark. As a sheen - synthetic and jewelled - washed across his entirety, the air electrified.

One second he was there.

The next, he was gone.

A beam of fierce lightning - that the quick of eye would note as Farosh in likeness - sliced the air asunder, heat and light blasting across the chamber before striking the door with an exploding, resounding, rattling BOOM. For just a second the structure resisted, whining and burning bright against the great two-handed blade which had impaled it. But it was no match for The Knight's Star. In no time at all his thunder cracked and shattered the door asunder, a cobwebbed shower of fragments left in his wake as the sentient sword soared on through - leading the charge until it struck true.

[Rex Draco]

The old wizard stood with his staff resting on his shoulder. He seemed to lean forward, putting all of his weight on the staff. He watched as the others took on their various constructs and soundly defeated them. He had a spell or two up his sleeve, but it would have been bothersome to use them in such close range and so early in the day. The thin air made him a little achy around his old joints, so he didn't feel the need to push himself with so many youths around.

He watched as Reverie fought like she was possessed by the spirit of an old warrior still tangled in the throws of war. Alyson fought with inexperience. Her blade had met the contrast and cut through, but it was clear she had hesitated and if not for the soldiers guarding her flank: she would have folded. Luscius' actions were tempered. A swift kick to its head had sent his construct to pieces. Arcade's technique seemed to border on the magical, but he wasn't here to gather intel on the adventurers. Far from it. His goal was to get information about Princess Zelda and there seemed only one person here with close association to her.... His eyes remained focused on Purah, though with the woman's movements it could have easily been surmised he was watching as everyone proceeded at pace into the now cleared room.

A base camp, huh?

While the others recouped, Nex took the chance to look around. He straightened his back and wrapped his webbed hands around his staff. Every step was preceded by the tap of his staff against the ground, the rapting drums muted by the grass and soils below. At first the room looked like a highly advanced greenhouse. His cerulean eyes traced the room, now flanked on all sides by Purah's allies and their machines. Once everything was in place, he listened as the woman lectured them on the intricacies of the enclosed environ. Though she did not make the comparison, the Zora couldn't help but compare it to the arboretums that he had seen in castles or nestled away in ancient groves deep beneath the ground.

These days he had heard the world beneath the surface had become corrupt with no signs of lifting, but that wasn't a matter for today.

The trees crew to the ceiling and the grasses rooted deep beneath the ground. One could debate for years as to how the Zonai had managed to grow plants high off the ground, but for an experienced traveler like Nex: it took little to no encouragement for plants to grow. They'll grow on rocks, deep beneath the sea in pitch black darkness, and even high in the sky where the sun was an ever present companion.

The Zora approached the foreign flora. His webbed hands gently cupped their leaves, letting them rest in his palms, the branches shifting against the slight movements. Nex didn't invite himself as someone emotionally available towards outsiders, but deep inside he was compelled to wander deep into his memories from the times before, where he could still, somewhat, recall his friends' faces. They used to travel all across the land, to places they had never been. They had never learned the names of the plants or the habits of the local animals, but he remembered the way the leaves rustled in the wind.

There was no wind here.

There were also the times he traveled on his own and made his way deep into the caves and tunnels that lead into the belly of the world. Though unlike the Depths of today, the underground places he once visited had hidden groves of trees and lost paradises of open sea far from the coast. In a way, it was indeed ad Purah said. The soilage here was nothing special. Some of it was old, some young, but none if transcended time and could easily be found on the surface, but wasn't that, in and of itself, amazing... but perhaps that was just the feelings of an old man.

His eyes drifted to the side when Lucius called for others to hold strong for an incoming impact. Insolent really. What was the rush to get on through? Did they not have time to simply appreciate what they had here? He moved to lean his staff on his shoulder once again. He was still pretty moist so was doing well. Though the air was thin his lungs had been given a chance to fill thanks to the rich air that filled the room. With both breathing functions in optimal condition, he narrowed his eyes, the expression hidden by his ossien mask.

After all that hallabaloo: if there was anything left to ambush he would be keenly surprised. He was glad he narrowed his eyes and adjusted his mask. It made it easy to withstand the obnoxious display of fireworks from the boy. Once everything quieted he moved to straighten his back and prepare to move again.

"Not even a break for lunch..." He murmured under his breath. 

[Chaosome]

More often that not, Arcade was not one to show overt interest in most peoples, outside of his test subjects and their progress. He found that on average, people were just that. Average. Your standard mix of goods and bads, highs and lows. Not particularly worth his time. There were always exceptions to any rule though. The obvious ones of course often came to mind. The Queen, her little pet Knight, these 'Sages' from the different regions, some of the Sheikah. They all had something that Arcade could potentially glean or piqued his curiosity as to how they would react to certain stimuli... And now some of these 'adventurers' were adding themselves to the list.

Once he was certain that the coast was clear, Arcade snapped his digits, his spears returning to their resting place upon his back. The less he had to interfere in the experiments the better, but should the opportunity arise to initiate some manner of stress test for the subject without also interfering with his study of the facility, he would. For the moment however, he simply reached a hand into the breast of his coat and withdrew a notepad and pen and walked about what was their new base camp, scribbling down notes regarding the flora and few bits of equipment that seemed like they were for regulating and watering and the like.

On another page he began drawing a segmented map of sorts, indicating spots for door ways, what the rooms were, etc. It would serve well to keep track of where they had been and where they were. While seeing how each of the subjects reacted upon getting split up would prove to be an interesting, he could not as of yet be in multiple places at the same time. Placing that notepad back away, Arcade leaned idly against a wall while the combatants took their time catching their breath. The birds eyes trailed over each of the members of the forward party. The Zora appeared lost in thought, ruminating on some old memory or another, Knight and Engineer seemed to be conversing with one another regarding Lucius' knowledge of some ancestor or another, while the man himself was... doing whatever he was doing with the mage that arrived with the reserves. Whatever it was had accelerated the mage's heartbeat, he could tell simply by the shift in the throbbing of the vein in their neck. Irrelivant though.

Another notebook was withdraw from his coat, a larger one this time with a simple cover. Were one to look, they would see various notes alongside detailed, almost clincal, drawings of places and of people as he flipped through the pages. They were like scientific diagrams, with notes regarding the physicality or mentality of a particular subject. Some were lightly crossed out, while others seemed to have been jotted down more recently. There were entries on the Queen and her Knight of course, and a few other faces, a handful of Rito included.

Turning to a blank page, Arcade quickly began sketching. Not the flora or another map, no. This time it was the traveling party. For the moment it was simply headshots of each of them and brief details he had observed about each of them, leaving plenty of room to add more information as time went on. When he finished Lucius' sketch, however, he turned another page and began a more detailed sketch of the man's physicality, as well as a rendition of his combat earlier, writing down observations and hypothesies.

For a time he was only partly listening to the conversations going on, they had nothing to do with him, but when the question came up regarding the value of this structure, his head slowly raised and locked on to Lucius again. Just what was he planning?

The question wouldn't linger for long however, as the keening of magic began to rush around the blonde's form. Now Arcade considered himself quiet proficient with keeping up with targets moving at high speed, as many Rito did, but even he struggled to see in every detail what had happened before a blade struck into the door, causing it to screech under the strain of the impact.

Arcade wasn't one particularly prone to extreme emotions, and while this was still the case, if one observed the man's gaze, the intensity was clear. Feverishly he began sketching again, wanting to get down every detail he could while he had the chance. Before the blade inevitably-

And then a second crack of thunder, the door shattering in its wake as the sword careened down the hall before slamming into a while at an intersection.

Snapping his notebook closed now that his subject had escaped observation for the time being, Arcade pushed off the wall and with swift steady steps moved forward. "Fascinating... the Rito hissed to himself as he passed through the threshold, only to come to a stop when something moved in his peripheral.

Canting his head down and aside he stared at a figure shaking in the corner by the door that had just exploded. For a moment he thought it to be a construct, given the the Zonai structure beneath it, a pair of wheels and a sturdy base. But upon closer inspection that wasn't quite the case. The base appeared similar to a construct in its design, however it was what sat on, or rather in, the base that was peculiar. "And just what are you..."

It was a rhetorical question mostly to himself, a plant creature of some kind, clearly. A passive one, or a coward at the least. He didn't expect an answer of any sort. But when it was addressed, the shaking slowed to a stop and the creature looked up at the Rito. For a given definition of 'look'. The rounded, bulb like head of the creature had no eyes that one could observe, and while it had a wide mouth it didn't appear like it was capable of speech either. Once it was certain that it wasn't about to be beaten, eaten, or exploded, it extended its 'neck', standing for a lack of a better term, and tapped at the front of his pot with its pair of leaf like appendages. There a little plaque sat, and while it was in an older form of Hylian, it was easy enough for even those unfamiliar to translate what it read.

'Birchram'

"That... answers little, but hello."

A wave to the bird was its response.

[Emily]

The mages had helped to rejuvenate Reverie and the others who were flagging after the first room. She had seen Alyson stumble, and several of the others. But not all of them, which implied either a familiarity with the thin air of the sky islands or a separation in physical attribute. A Rito accustomed to the adjusted reality of this altitude was understandable, but a Zora... she didn't fully understand that. And of course, there was the strange Hylian who had known an ancestor whose remains had been returned to the earth over a century before Reverie had drawn her first breath. Probably not a Hylian then, unless he, like the Queen and her knight, had been preserved.

"You two know each other?" Alyson's question was, as always, born of genuine and sweet curiosity. Reverie's eyes flicked to Lucius. "If it pleases you," he had said with a smile, "I would be honoured to share stories of her achievements. We moved in very similar spheres of society, and it was my humble privilege to train many of the fine knights who came to work below her. But let us leave such tales for a finer time more befitting of them." She had been coming down from it at that point, her mind clearing, her eyes regaining that calm focus they usually had. It had made sense in the moment, and she had given a nod. She had wondered if this would be the appointed time.

The man smiled at that, "A friend of the family, perhaps. Or a colleague, at the very least." And then disappeared.

Apparently, it was not the appointed time. She gave a small, wry shrug and took a drink of water. "He knew one of my ancestors. I've never met him before, but family friend seems an apt description." And then she stood to stretch. The thinner air had made her extremities tingly, her fingertips were beginning to numb as if it were cold. Restoring oxygenated bloodflow would be the best possible thing for her right now, along with drinking water and re-centring herself. Best to use any available time to prepare for more action; you never knew when you might be surprised.

She didn't realise how accurate that was going to be.

Lucius was speaking with Purah. She watched him for a moment, even as she spoke to Alyson. "I wish Lucke were here," she said with a sigh. Her partner in crime always knew what to say in situations like this, or at the very least would have had some thought about Lucius that would have made them both laugh. "I haven't fought by myself since I was ten. Not- I'm not alone, of course, but..." she shrugged again. She didn't know how to properly say what she was feeling. Lucke always understood. "It's nice to know... somebody here. I'm glad that you're here." She looked away.

"To the sides then if you please, ladies and gentlemen." The strange warrior had approached one of the two closed doors leading out of the room. "...And brace yourselves for impact."

"What..."

"Let us continue the ambush."

A massive explosion crackled outward from the door. Reverie had shielded her eyes from the light, trying her best to keep her sight adjusted to the relatively normal light level that had come to this place, and didn't see what happened specifically. She felt a rush of air – damp and thick, and warmer than the air of this room- rustle her hair as it rushed past. Within seconds, the doors exiting the dungeon snapped closed and emitted a very mechanistic clicking sound. Locked, most likely. But her breath seemed to steady her for the first time since arriving on this island, and Reverie felt herself grin. Whatever was beyond that door had normalised the air pressure for both rooms.

Eyes sparkling, she looked over at Alyson. The lack of confidence from earlier seemed to have disappeared, even as the hard-light sword and shield flickered into being once more in her hands. Now she could really let loose. How exciting!

She sprinted for the door, following Lucius into the room, even if she hadn't seen him in a moment. She was so interested in what was to come and how best she would be able to combat it, that she didn't even notice the strange otherworldly plant creature Arcade had found, this Birchram. Even though she would have been very interested in the little guy if she had.

The next room had a misty, almost dark, feeling to it, despite being well-lit. Later, Reverie would notice that it was accomplished through a weightless mist that hung at the ceiling, with lighting beneath it. The mist seemed to swirl and roil like stormclouds, leaving a damp and cool environment for the plants of this area. And it was an incredibly interesting area, one that she had only heard about from some of the more far-ranging scouts of her community. Uneven, rocky terrain characterised the area, with tough tufts of grass all around. Butterflies and lizards skittered or flittered around, hiding here and there. Most impressively, massive rocky-looking trees split the room into sections like pillars. They reached upward like toadstools, opening near the top seemingly to absorb the collecting mist there.

But she wasn't looking at the environment. Reverie had instead zeroed in on the two squads of constructs. One had three soldiers and a captain, the other two and a captain. She rushed the smaller group, kicking off a rock breaching from the ground, then off the side of one of the rocky trees- finding out it wasn't actually stone at all, but a bit spongy- and smashing her sword and shield together. As the blade and shield met, they intertwined, their housing ports that doubled as hilts joining together and increasing the total energy output.

The blade of the sword grew by an extra metre as the shield shrank and became a guard. With her centre of gravity changing in the air as sword and shield became greatsword, Reverie altered her path slightly. She pulled it downward over her head as she descended, smashing one of the small constructs into debris as the blade passed through it and bounced off the ground. It was only at this point that she noticed this had, in fact, been another full squad. It seemed the group had quickly prepared either during the explosion or the initial encounter, and one of the constructs had hidden itself behind the tree. Its laser was already fixed upon her, even as its compatriots drew in.

Her grin, which hadn't left her face since the door exploded, only widened. "Oops."

[LuckyBlackCat]

"Huh." Alyson's eyebrows rose in a mix of surprise and fascination. "So formidable battle prowess runs in the family?" Going by what she'd overheard of the conversation, Reverie's ancestors weren't just warriors, but knights? And yet... Confusion shadowed her face as she glanced at the blond soldier, who conversed with Purah. If he'd worked with one of them, wouldn't that put him at over a hundred years old, despite his youthful appearance? Of course, such a thing wasn't impossible, as Purah herself was living proof. Alyson just couldn't say she'd expected it.

However, it was clear neither Reverie nor the mysterious warrior wished to elaborate. Letting the matter drop, Alyson sipped from a waterskin, her back straightening as the mage's spellwork lifted her fatigue. Her entire body practically buzzed at the thought of venturing forward. The sooner they were all ready to do so, the better.

Reverie didn't share her enthusiasm, voicing her loneliness from Lucke's absence with a sigh, before admitting it was nice to at least know someone here. "Is... everything ok with Lucke? If you don't mind saying." Alyson lowered her voice, her face drawing into a slight concerned frown. She'd wondered at that, the two having seemed inseparable back in Akkala, and Reverie having mentioned they'd both escaped a bad situation. "Glad you're here too though!"

Before the conversation could continue, an announcement boomed through the chamber like a thunderclap.

"Let us continue the ambush."

Alyson raised her arm over her eyes against the sudden burst of light that sped past, the air crackling in its wake. Blinking colourful spots out of her vision, she stared open-mouthed as the door exploded in a flurry of sparks and smoking fragments. Had the knight just turned into a sword?! A giant, electrically charged broadsword? Now that was something you didn't see every day.

Returning Reverie's sudden look of manic excitement with a grin, she jumped up and stretched, a much easier task now a blast of thicker air had filled the room, bringing with it the scent of flowers and damp earth. Flexing the warmth back into her fingers, she pushed up her goggles, which had fogged over from the condensation. "Alright, let's get going!"

She dashed after Reverie. As bad as she felt for the grumbling Zora, who'd just wanted to enjoy the scenery, surely the rest of the lab would hold even more in the way of long-lost wonders.

"That was AWESOME!!" she called after the knight. "I've never seen anyone DO that! You're gonna smash this in more ways than one! ... Oh?" Glimpsing something rustle in the corner of her vision, she turned. In front of the Rito mage, a plant with two jaw-like petals or modified leaves for a head trembled, its long stem arched in on itself.

"Hey there!" She didn't know if the creature could see or hear, but gave it a friendly smile nonetheless. It clearly registered her and the Rito in some way, stretching its stem, pointing a leaf at a name plaque on its wheeled Zonaite pot once its shaking ceased. Alyson squinted at the old eroded text. "Birchram, is it? I'm Alyson, and it's alright, we're not gonna hurt you. We're just here to investigate, and help out anyone stuck with those soldier constructs... Nobody's been giving you any trouble in here, have they?"

A laser locked on to her shoulder. She whirled round, stomach twisting into a knot as an entire squad of constructs zeroed in on her and the Rito, weaving around funnel-shaped trees, led by a three-eyed captain no less. In a flash, she threw one of the remaining shock fruits, speeding up its course on a gust - only to miss the captain in her haste. The fruit burst against one of the soldier constructs instead, electricity streaking all over its form as it convulsed and crumbled apart.

Well, that was one down at least... And only a single shock fruit left.

[El]

Lucius

Lucius's connection was short-lived: his impaled roost within the distant wall merely the opening note of a dramatic symphony which swiftly followed. No pauses. No unnecessary movement. His calculations were rapid and his response near automatic. Assault prestissimo. This newly exposed room was a hive of adversaries: enemies which required immediate elimination.

Sparking, crackling, upwards the great claymore screeched, tearing open a crumbling fissure in the ancient wall as in one wide - immense - arc it travelled all the way up to the ceiling, above, across, further still, until the sweeping arc cleaved free of the shuddering architecture and soared DOWN.

Just as Reverie's fused blade connected with the moss-slick earth, so too did Lucius.

It was as if she had inspired an echo - summoned a rippling quake from her battlelust's fury - as directly overheard a grand arc of blinding lightning swept and crashed before her. Just as the warrior had cleaved her foe, down went the one directly behind it in exactly the same manner: guillotined clean in half. The laser upon her chest blinked out of existence.

Target No.1: ELIMINATED

Yet the fight was far from over.

Where the tip of the dragon's claymore struck, a boot then appeared, gleaming as if forged from the molten lightning. A heel lead to a calf. A calf to a greaved thigh. A thigh to a sculpted torso already tensed in mid-action. Where the blade once was, there was now a knight, but now the knight too was gone. The rapidly twisting form kicked straight off the splintered earth to lunge forwards in the same fluid motion of ricocheting gravity which had brought him soaring down.

The captain's processing power was quicker than the rest of his squad. It registered Lucius's switched crosshair immediately and opened up a rapid fire of lasers. One after another they rained, blasting the environment with a relentless assault of constant attacks. Left. Right. Slightly upwards. Just a bit down. Adjusting to an angle. Straightening upright. Twitching to the right again. Snapping hard left. And yet one, after another, they all missed. Its construction was vastly inferior. Through billowing clouds of debris and sparkling mists of static-charged moisture, the streaking mane of electric blonde continued his advance, dodging with such instantaneous speed he almost seem to flash between locations. In no time at all the distance was closed. Downwards the knight swooped to spring up a charged fist and-

Ha.

It was a feint.

The captain took the knight at his unspoken word and reacted accordingly: as a result it flinched backwards, directly into the grasp of the volatile fiend of chivalry now poised at the ready behind it. The spin of a heel had brought him there, now the snatch of a gauntlet seized the construct's head. Yet he did not tear it free from its host. No. He had better plans: BIGGER plans. Something more impactful.

In those brief, fleeting split moments of connection, the captain's body began to burn bright and hot. It illuminated, shuddering, screeching, a vessel about to pop as beams of supercharged electricity punctured and prickled the elaborate goldwork, sizzling its fried circuity and seeking a desperate release.

A release it soon had.

Lucius flipped the construct overhead and sent it soaring at the last soldier of its squad. It connected - then exploded. An erupted grenade of volatile magic which struck its target dead centre.

Targets No.2, No.3: ELIMINATED

Draconic eyes flashed upwards, quickly securing fresh fiends for the slaughter: another captain on the far side of the room, accompanied by two more soldiers. Lucius lunged back into action, spearing through the distance on the assumption his support would be needed. Better safe than sorry, as the programmed adage commanded.

[Rex Draco]

Battle maniacs, all of them.

The old wizard watched as the more prominent members of the research team crossed blades with the constructs. At a glance one could already tell the difference between the trained warriors and more casual adventurers. Those armed had simple blades, rusted axes, and the odd shepherd's hook could be applauded for their courage. Zonai ruins were dangerous and allowing a mad-eyed researcher to launch you through a pressurized pneumatic cannon required courage enough, but these fellows were prepared against deadly foes and seemed to arrive already seeking conflict. They were eager to fight, like working dogs eager to please, circling a herd of rowdy cows.

That's all the constructs were: ornery bulls that had lost their way without a master telling them where they needed to graze. It was a simple matter determining their movements. They had no greater desires. They did not seek to impress nor win: their only function was to protect and in order to do that they had to attack their enemies. The sudden onslaught of adventurers stirred the sleeping machines. The first set was wiped out before he could blink and before he could rest his knees from the travel: the youths flew into the next room in order to pursue an 'ambush' that didn't matter.

So long as the door remained closed the constructs would retain their positions, vaguely aware that something intruded upon their territory. The warrior's desire to bamboozle the bots was as functional as a fish trying to seize bait without biting into the hook. The constructs already knew they were there. Who didn't? They made enough noise to rattle a snowman from hibernation. They had set upon the constructs before they were even out of the room, but their lasers were already targeting them in order to steady their aim.

The rude little whippersnapper to lead the charge had shortened his time to rest by almost half. Annoyed: the wizzrobe guised ghoul groused and grumbled, gradually gaining pace behind the youths as he glided across the floor and into the next chamber. He watched as the warriors took advantage of their speed and ripped apart their opponents with varying degrees of techniques that ranged from ancient martial skills to the clever use of resources. Nex couldn't help the yawn that exhaled from the end of his skull, the ossien decor glimmering with its decorative baubles. He held the staff to his shoulder, tapping the crook in a rhythmic fashion. He watched as the machines danced this way and that, trying to find a vantage point that would help them quickly oppose the intruders. In truth they were the invaders so whatever the machines did to them would be understandable and a result of foolhardiness. Turning his gaze up through the eyeholes of the mask the old mage watched as one of the constructs wheeled overhead, across an unsteady catwalk. Following the foundation of the architecture Nex noticed it was a victim of its own environment. The nature abound in the arboretum could hardly be contained and had already made its way up any vertical surface it could grasp. This had included the pillars leading up to the walkways. He watched as the contract took their position behind Lucius. He had been so focused with impaling three other constructions, taking up more responsibility than he seemed willing to share with his fellows, that he had noticed the constructs going around to the other side of the room.

Nex walked beneath the path and turned his gaze up. There he noticed where the vines had eroded the stone, the hemp ropes choking the surface. He put as much strength as he felt was needed, which wasn't a lot, and struck upward up that point with the head of its staff. The vines completed subsuming the pillar and it cracked. The ground beneath the construct soldier collapsed. Machine and stone avalanched to the ground, the heavy debris crushing the automaton before it was able to make its shot. The Zora sighed and looked out towards the group of young warriors.

"Honestly..."   

[Chaosome]

The creature was, at the very least, intelligent enough to understand speech. That was fortunate. How far this intellect went however was of course the question. Birchram's head bobbled as it turned to look up at Alyson, tilting this way and that as it listened. At the woman's question it shook its head before beginning to point and pantomime. It initially to itself, then pointed off towards one the captain constructs, but that one was presently in the process of permanent decommission, so Birchram pointed to another before it started to wheel baaaack and forth, wiggling its leaves robotically. It then pointed at Alyson and Arcade, before pointing to yet another mid-eradication construct and mimicked the little alerted spin that constructs often did then mocked firing arrows.

'Oh delightful... charades.' Arcade thought to himself sardonically. 'I suppose I should be grateful that it has even rudimentary communication skills. More than can be said for some back on land.' Clearing his throat, Arcade would incline his head to Alyson in acknowledgement. "I believe, if I'm translating their gesticulations correctly, it means to imply that until our arrival, the constructs were in patrol mode and simply left it alone. It's likely that... Birchram here... is a long term denizen of the facility and as such is omitted from any combat protocols the guards are set to." Birchram bobbled its head up and down emphatically.

The Rito adjusted the collar of his vest as he glanced sidelong at the ongoing fracas. Was it their modus operandi to make sure that every engagement would alert the next force that they would be faced with? In another environment perhaps he would be passingly thankful for the opportunity to ascertain the skill level of the more interesting individuals. But as it stood they seemed just as likely to bring down the building around them as they were to discover aught of import.

...

And speak of the devil. With a gait and a gaze that bespoke his annoyance, the zora had plodded his way forward and did just that. Collapsing part of the building down atop one of the remaining constructs. Crude yet effective, however such crude methods were better suited demolition or desperation, of which this particular venture required neither at this current juncture. Especially seeing as how all that remained as a simple Captain. With a put-upon sigh, Arcade withdrew one of his spears from his back, the weapon tipped with a deep black crystal that thrummed with an inner shadow. In his grasp, wind began to whorl about the haft on the spear, and then with a lazy flick of his wrist, it was off.

Alyson would feel the gust of wind as the spear took off, but Reverie and Lucius would feel it far more keenly as the weapon swiftly wizzed past them with surgical precision and slammed dead center of the Captain's head. For a moment the construct didn't seem to register it had been struck, but as the spear began to crackle with a dark violet energy, it began to dash in a panicked circle right before its head erupted in a spray of gears and wires, crumpling to the ground in a heap. The windswept spear dipped a couple of inches as its target fell, hovering for a moment it soon zipped just as quickly back over to Arcade's grasp where he placed it once more onto his back.

"If we are at the moment finished alerting the whole of the facility to our whereabouts, it may please you to know that we have a resident who is not currently in the process of seeking our eradication." Arcade gestured downwards towards the plant creature who wheeled itself out from behind him and Alyson to give the rest of the group a little wave. "Its name appears to be 'Birchram'."

[Emily]

"Oops-" Reverie began. Even in the intoxicating throes of the bloodfury, her instincts were sharp. She had planned out the next several seconds at any given time. She had planned to crash down and take out one construct, then use the bounce's upward momentum to bring the sword in a full overhead arc to the next construct, and then a wide horizontal sweep to hit the captain. She truly preferred to approach fights in a strategic manner- her parents and her grandmother had tried so hard to train the rage out of her. Lucke had encouraged the frenzy, however. Their fights were frenetic, high-energy, fraught with danger, and so exciting. And hadn't Reverie already made a choice on that front?

Within a heartbeat, however, all enemies save one were destroyed. Most immediately, another greatsword, so very unlike hers, crashed down in front of her, taking out the immediate threat. She faltered, unsure of how to react to one of the most beautiful swords she had ever seen. It was ornamented in the most decadent fashion she had ever seen, all of the glamour hiding a deadly edge. Lucius emerged from the blade and made short work of both the captain and remaining construct in this battle group. And then leapt off toward the other group, one of which was already sparking from Alyson's attack.

Despite finding herself feeling oddly awestruck, almost... fluttery in a way she didn't fully understand at seeing him emerge from a sword, Reverie brought herself to sprint alongside Lucius, her own augmented speed not quite keeping pace with him as they raced toward crumbling architecture that crushed even more automatons. By the time they arrived, there was only one left, the final captain. Reverie was no longer grinning, determination setting upon her face as she had decided she would not leave this room with only one kill. She hoisted the greatsword and... a spear rushed between the two of them, impaling the captain and creating the second brutal captain death of the day.

"If we are at the moment finished alerting the whole of the facility to our whereabouts, it may please you to know that we have a resident who is not currently in the process of seeking our eradication." The chiding came, for once, not from Lady Purah, but instead from the mysterious Rito.

"Honestly..." came the exasperated sigh of the elderly Zora mage.

Reverie had wondered how the Rito's floating spears would work. It was a satisfying experience to see one in action. And he seemed to have befriended a plant of some sort. This was going to be completely beyond her; they had very few plants where she came from, and while she had never heard of sentient plants before this moment, Reverie had no way of knowing if this was a unique situation or not. "Its name appears to be 'Birchram'."

Reverie took a breath, let out a sigh. They were right, of course, and she herself would have preferred a little more rest before continuing. But once the door had been shattered and the air could sustain her movements, she was taken. She deactivated her hard-light greatsword, separated the hilts, and reattached them to her belt. "We were instructed to retrieve and protect assets within the laboratory. We should return Birchram to Lady Purah and update her on the situation."

The plant seemed to have other things in mind, however. It quickly shook its head and manoeuvred itself toward one of the far walls, where it gestured at a panel. Much like the strange devices Lady Purah and Queen Zelda used, these panels showed different graphs and charts. The information was beyond Reverie's understanding, though she could grasp that it likely had something to do with maintaining the climate of the room. The plant life and air quality here was different than that present in the previous room. The first room resembled a lot of what she had seen around the region where she and Lucke had participated in rebuilding the capital city. The terrain here was much more humid, spongy well-saturated ground, various mushrooms and moss growing on the strange, up-turned trees. It felt more like how the cave interiors could get during the winters when they would have to cover the entrances to keep from freezing. All of that had to require some intensive machinery and refined scientific knowledge.

The thoughts inevitably brought her back to her home. They always did. She could see these self-contained units created so long ago that they might as well be invented from a storybook. And yet being able to grow food and maintain a particular climate despite the elements outside your walls? That would have been incredibly useful during the Upheaval, when they weren't able to leave the cave due to the constant blizzard conditions, the drifts that could swallow a talus and show no trace. Not for the first time, Reverie found herself frustrated by her training. She was satisfied with her combat ability, but having no ability to understand how to take what she could see here and apply it to another place that could use it... and the people who had made all of this had been dead for millennia.

There was nothing to be done for it. Then again, there was also no reason for them to remain in hiding. Her family could easily leave the frozen wastes and create a settlement within the more temperate regions of Hyrule. But the thought remained. It would have been an incredible experience to grow up in a seed vault like this structure. Would she have been more like Alyson? Like Lady Purah? Would she have still been friends with Lucke?

"Easy-peasy, check it out." Lady Purah and some of her researchers had already entered the room while Reverie was lost in thought. The Lead Researcher was tapping on the glass display, chatting at Birchram as she did so. "I'll be relying on you to lead our combat crew here to any friends of yours and any important landmarks. And they won't blow the hell out of everything."

"Aha!" she exclaimed. The light levels, which were already on, became a bit brighter and the far doors, which had been outlined in red lighting, became green. "I've accessed some sort of map of the facility's layout," she said, tapping away. "There was a similar workspace in the other room, but it seems exposure to the elements and overgrowth had hurt whatever connection it had to the central database. This terminal, however, is nearly pristine.

"Impressive stuff," she said, then looked at the group smugly, "even if I could do better. Anyway, I've got a working theory on what's going on here, but I'd like you to clear at least one more room before I can move forward with it. If I'm correct, that door-" she pointed to the far door Reverie had taken notice of earlier, "- will lead to somewhere a bit colder, while that one-" she pointed to another door along the opposite wall, "will lead to somewhere warmer. Take your pick."

For her part, Reverie looked at Birchram, who itself was looking toward the warmer door. She then looked at Lucius, studying him. If he looked at her, she would immediately avert her eyes to Alyson or one of the more magically-inclined people.


Choice Time: Do you all want to go to a room with an arid heat, filled with sand, dragonflies, cactuses and the like, or some rocky tundra with evergreen trees, berries, and hardy bushes?

[LuckyBlackCat]

It all happened almost too fast for Alyson to process. The clash of steel and the rumble of collapsing debris rang through the chamber. She gripped her boomerang in desperation, but before she could call on her magic, the feathers on her coat rustled as the Rito whipped up a wind spell of his own to fire forth a spear. With a crunch and a crackle, it struck the head of the captain - which kept advancing as if nothing had happened. Alyson's stomach dropped. A second later, however, the automaton frantically spun and exploded in a burst of Zonaite fragments and deep violet sparks.

The tumult of battle died down, calm settling over the chamber. Alyson let out a shaky breath. "Huh, that precision's quite something!" She watched in awe as the Rito flicked the spear back into his grasp. "Good thing there's plenty of air in here! I mean, obviously it also helps that we can all, y'know, run around and fight without having to catch our breath every few moments. But having more of our element to work with is certainly useful!" As the adrenaline ebbed, the babbling poured forth.

She put her own magic to use, wafting fumes from fried constructs away from the group. Something about the smoking heap of mechanical parts that had once been the captain, despite the relief of the victory, made her lips pinch together. The way it had rushed around right before the end, as if panicked... Alyson had faced soldier constructs before during sky island expeditions, but she'd never seen one react like that. They do not seem to have free will, she recalled Purah saying, yet even so... Had its behaviour been due to a simple damage-induced malfunction, or was there more to the constructs than everyone thought?

Images came to her unbidden. Ruined homes. Scant numbers of survivors fleeing invaders. Her nails dug into her fingerless gloves, her enthusiasm souring. Was this group really doing the right thing? She looked away from the shattered door and the rubble of a pillar, the sight of which didn't help matters.

Purah's announcement drew her attention back to the present. She studied the screen on the wall, her underlying doubts starting to ease as reason set in. Even if constructs really were more than they seemed, that made it all the more important to get the stewards to safety, and rediscover the ancient knowledge they'd worked to preserve for thousands of years. She craned her neck, curiosity reigniting, at the scientist's mention of a theory there was only one way to confirm.

Well, two ways. Two artificial biomes to choose between, a cold one and a warm one, both equally intriguing prospects. Would the cooler room be reminiscent of Hebra's landscape, with wildberries, peppers, and pine trees? Would the hotter one house a miniature tropical jungle, or a desert environment dotted with cacti and hydromelons?

Alyson glanced from one green-limned door to the other. "Well, we're dressed for the cold... But technically, Birchram here is our leader." She noted the tilt of the plant's bulbous head towards the door leading to the warmer room. "And their choice is pretty clear. Besides, if it gets stuffy, between the two of us, it's nothing some nice cooling breezes can't help with." She gave the Rito beside her a playful nudge.