Eastmarch, Broken Limb Camp
In the giants' camp of Broken Limb Camp, Pietro dashes about left and right, striking at various non-existent foes.
"As if the Queen being an unreasonable She-Ultron wasn't bad enough, now she apparently has some kind of ancient godly weapon... You just had to go and stab them in the back, didn't you, Cyber?"
Edited by IchigoMontoya on Jul 12th 2020 at 3:05:47 AM
One of the human guards replies. "H-hey! You can't go around making excuses, and we haven't heard anything from Lord Narktus!"
Suddenly, from a wall in between two cells, Narktus' hologram appears again. "It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing, men. Stand down."
Instantly, the whole mood shifts. The soldiers and Predators salute, and the MagnaGuards stand at attention. There is a sense of great respect for Narktus.
"You have my word that they're visitors. Now, show them the way to the central room."
"O-oh," replies the guard who spoke, flipping his laser rifle upwards to hold it by the stock. "Right, then. Follow me."
He turns and walks out of the cellblock.
"Thank you very much for your assistance."
Well that sure was a suspicious thing to say.
Ganondorf hands over the sword, takes the gold and walks back to his horse, then hops on and lashes the reins, causing it to rear up and whinny as thunder crashes in the distance, and it promptly goes galloping off.
—
A few minutes later, someone who perfectly matches the description of one of the two people Ganondorf warned against selling that sword to
◊ comes riding in on a white horse with bright yellow hair.
... Well, he never said Anna couldn't sell other things besides the sword to them, did he?
Edited by KiriK on Jul 12th 2020 at 3:04:15 AM
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."As soon as Pietro wraps up up training for the day, he catches sight of the approaching newcomer. Noticing that the stranger seemed rather wary of his surroundings, he greets him with a wave.
"Hey, man! Don't think I've ever seen you around these parts before."
Edited by IchigoMontoya on Jul 12th 2020 at 3:21:06 AM
"Well well, talk about an effective leader." , Mara says, chuckling. She then follows the guard.
Cyber follows behind the both of them, silent, observing.
As Ganondorf rides away, Anna raises an eyebrow.
"This blade was definitely stolen. I can recognize a thief from a mile away.", she says as she begins to stash it.
"So of course I won't feel bad scamming one. 500.000 gold for a blade like this? That's a steal."
She has stashed it away with her other wares safely by the time the woman is approaching the store. She notices her.
"Boy, I'm getting a lot of people over the floor, and on the day I'm moving locations too.", she says to herself. Then, once she gets there, Anna greets her with her smile.
"Good day, miss. How may I help you?~"
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.The guard seems mildly embarrassed by Mara's comment.
The group wanders through prison cells for a bit until they take a sharp left turn and come into a hallway that clearly goes in a circle - but a very large circle.
"The simulation room is usually where Lord Narktus greets his guests. Take a right here, then follow the path straight until the third door on the left."
"My name is Zelda. Have you seen a man and a horse with equally dark skin, red hair, and imposing stature?"
Well that's direct.
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.""Okay, stoic and straight to the point. Anyone wanna tell Ain that we found her little brother? And who punched him in the face hard enough to leave that mark?"
"It's a really strange place called the Arena. Don't worry, you didn't wind up in some 24/7 warzone where everyone's forced to play gladiator or die," Pietro replies. "Got a name?"
He extends a hand towards Shoto.
Edited by IchigoMontoya on Jul 12th 2020 at 3:30:16 AM
Mara notices his embarrassment and shows that certain kind of smile that, without even saying the words, just screams 'how adorable'.
When they reach the circular hallway Mara even gives him a slight pat on his head, if he lets her.
"Why, thank you." , she says, smirking, after which she goes right. Cyber simply nods to the guard before following.
"I have. He passed through this street not that long ago.", Anna says. "Why, did he do something?"
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.Huh. That's... new. He actually take the time to look around. He doesn't seems to mind the cold but it's not like he really likes what he sees either.
... I'm Shoto. He eventually say, looking a bit surprised at the hand-shaking before realizing that this is just how they greet each other in the West.
Nautolan picture belongs to Bonesmarinated on twitter"H-hey!" The guard is too slow to react to stop Mara from giving him a headpat.
He pulls his helmet over his eyes with embarrassment and runs back to his post in the cellblock.
"That man is the sworn enemy of my bloodline. We reincarnate every time he appears, and even across realities, to bring his end! If you have any compliance in his actions, you must stop at once."
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."While Mara just looks ahead as she keeps walking, Cyber glances to the left and right occasionally, wanting to take in as much as possible.
"I'm not committing any crimes, if that's what you mean. I'm a honest merchant who works for her money alongside my fiancee.", Anna says. "Who, at the moment, isn't here."
She then shrugs.
"All he did was sell me something. I think he may have been short on gold."
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.Cyber will be able to catch a glimpse of the throne room and computer room on the left side along the way. To the right, there's not much besides consoles for controlling surface-level defense turrets. Based on that alone, wherever they are must be deep underground... Oh, wait, there's a window to outer fucking space.
Zelda's eyes narrow.
"... What did he sell you?"
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."Cyber actually pauses when he realizes they're in outer space right now, and, feeling a little scared for the safety of his host, decides to keep his visor in front of him now.
"Narktus must have many enemies.", he thinks to himself. "So I REALLY hope none of them decide to attack this place while we're here. If I end up in space, my host would die almost immediately."
"A very pricey blade, miss.", Anna says. "I just finished packing it in with the rest of my wares. I'm moving locations, you see."
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.Something descends from the ceiling as they pass the computer room.
"You're as readable as a book. You needn't worry, the Space Fortress has an artificial atmosphere around the exterior. Of course, if we wanted to kill you, we wouldn't throw you out the airlock - we'd just flood the halls with deadly neurotoxin and fire extremely powerful lasers at whatever's left. So you know, no pressure."
Zelda puts a knuckle to her chin, deep in thought.
"Let me know where you're moving and I can meet you there, okay?"
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.""If you're looking for somewhere to stay, well... take your pick. You've got your cities, towns, houses, ruins and caves if you really need somewhere to lay low," Pietro replies, figuring that housing might be high on Shoto's list. "Hell, one city actually has a modern day hotel near the castle. Yeah, I have no goddamn clue how it got there either."
Edited by IchigoMontoya on Jul 12th 2020 at 3:59:50 AM
Cyber is caught off guard by the voice. Mara turns around upon hearing it and just laughs.
"Eyes on the path, boss. We're guests here."
"I know that.", Cyber says, sounding unamused as he now passes Mara by with an agitated walk. Mara can't help but grin as she now follows him.
They eventually reach the door they have to go in, though Cyber knocks on it first.
"Oh, but I don't mind showing the blade to you if you want to see it.", she says, opening the ballista up and digging through the upper bag.
After a few seconds, she brings out the Sword of Sages. Regardless of what she'll do afterwards, she figures that Zelda's probably looking for this, so at the very least Anna isn't going to toy around with her by showing her a different weapon. She's not that kind of person after all.
"It cost me a good bit of gold, but just look at the details and craftsmanship. You won't find a blade like this everyday."
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.When Cyber knocks, the door slides open, revealing Narktus in a seat in a simulated... well, 'hell-house interior' sounds about right. There's bones and blood everywhere.
"What do you think? I thought this might amuse you."
After giving a few seconds to let them take it in, the simulation changes to a simple living room with a fireplace, and Narktus' throne of skulls is replaced by a simple wooden chair. He doesn't budge an inch.
"That sword was made to kill him. It can't, but it's one of the few reliable ways of weakening him. And he meant to pawn it off so we would never find it."
Zelda's eyes go wide. "Hand it over!"
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."Cyber looks around.
"This is... definitely not what I expected one of your rooms to look like.", he says. Mara lets out a low whistle.
"Oh, it does, though it's not how I'd decorate my own room. Skulls aren't very comfortable to sit on, speaking from experience."
When everything turns to normal, Cyber looks at Narktus.
"Wait, is this the room you and Mara are going to spar in? It doesn't strike me much as a combat room."
Anna puts the tip of the blade in the ground to make it stand, leaning on the top of the hilt with her elbow.
"Now hold on, I get that this blade is of great importance, and that it was probably stolen. But I paid a hefty sum for it, and I don't like making a net loss."
She makes the money gesture with one of her hands.
"You'll have to pay up for it."
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.Narktus chuckles. "Hunter and Huntress would've figured it out by now. Hell, I bet Hub would have realized it before he even stepped in."
He stands up, and the entire simulation is washed away, revealing a huge room made entirely of neat, tiled white panels.
"The entire room is simulated. For the spar, I planned to recreate a warzone with a suitable perch for Cyber to watch from."
Zelda makes an adorably grumpy pouty-face.
"I can't pay in gold, but I think Rupees are worth about the same. I can also trade in precious gems."
Edited by KiriK on Jul 12th 2020 at 4:35:06 AM
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."

Cyber appears to be a bit uncertain as he's being scanned, though Mara isn't worried. And before they know it, they're warped to Space Fortress Gravitas.
Once there, both of them look around.
"Cells all around us, guards to the front and back, and we're in a different dimension... do you think we've been had?" , Mara asks, not sounding all that worried about it.
"If we were, I don't think we'd be dropped off on the outside of one.", Cyber notes, though then notices the girl and her string. His shoulders scrunch up a little bit, not too comfortable with the idea of playing with your own flesh. Mara, when she notices, predictably doesn't mind it.
To distract himself, Cyber turns back to the guards.
"Narktus himself brought us here. He wants to spar with the woman next to me.", he says, gesturing to Mara.
"In that case~", Anna says, grabbing a few bags of gold and handing them to Ganondorf in exchange for the blade.
"500.000 to the coin. You're free to count if you're unsure, but I assure you that I don't cheat my customers."
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.