[center][B]To the Left, to the Left, everything you dread is in the tunnel to the left...[/B][/center]
[I]A collab between Dervish, Baklava, Gecko, and Jason[/I]

"[color=4DE474]Hah, thank you for your offer and your confidence! I'm not actually sure what use I will be without any sort of equipment unless you need something heavy moved.[/color]" If Jaege had some sort of beliefs about the strangeness of the cultural rite of a handshake, he showed none of these things as he accepted the handshake with a firm but not harsh grip. "[color=4DE474]Is the elbowing in the side a greeting of your culture?[/color]' He also said as he attempted to elbow the ghost in the side back.

[color=teal]"Wouldn't say I even have a culture, I just pick up on what Hylians do and repeat it so there's less of an unfamiliar ominous air to me."[/color] Lev explained. [color=teal]"Figured that, y'know, people might trust the spooky specter that's made a few people soil their birtches over the years if he started using their mannerisms... or at least let their guard down enough to talk instead of immediately swinging whatever what was at hand to smite me."[/color] he said, gazing down at Veitaru, his eyes narrowing somewhat. [color=teal]"Gotta say, after getting kicked around by a Gerudo one more than one occasion, I'm not a fan. Being undead just means you don't get to look forward to the sweet embrace of death when someone starts smacking you around."[/color]

"[color=4DE474]I see. I guess I have not met Hylians who enjoy hard pokey bit of the arm into the soft part of the chest. And you, big... Oh, you already left.[/color]" Jaege spotted that Noi had already left before waiting for a response. 

If Jaege had heard Lethe over everyone else's shenanigans, he didn't appear to respond to her, simply staring at one of the torches stroking his chin.

"[color=BE31F7]Are there people you have enjoyed getting kicked around by?[/color]" Veitaru responds to Lev with a suspicious raise of the eye.

Noi was greatly disturbed by the floating rags. Perhaps it was the way it messed with his thermometer. Maybe it was the fact that the thing was completely unlike anything he saw. There wasn't enough data to determine the truth. Though now that the gas bag had interrupted him Noi was leaning more towards a negative view. He stomped off towards the tunnels and selected the left most tunnel. Purely because it was the first one and he wasn't going to deny that logic. It was darker than first analyzed, so he opened the compartment on his left thigh from which he retrieved a medium sized water skin. Inside was a viscous, but slick liquid. Pouring it over his hammer it began to form globs and surround the weapon's head. With a glancing strike against the ground the oil lit. The entire hammer head was consumed in flames that were an off green to the naked eye.

"[color=cyan]Sentinel: Online. Directive: Obtain the Keystone.[/color]" Noi announced before turning his head towards the other beings, "[color=cyan]Do not stall me. I have waited long enough.[/color]" His voice again morphed from its cold monotone to one with hints of actual anger.

Felicia stared after the massive metal guy as he went on his way. She couldn't blame him for not acknowledging her. There wasn't much to acknowledge anyway. The tone of Noi's odd voice was not lost on Felicia. She made a mental note to stay well out of that guy's way.

"[color=6a9375]O-oh. Looks like we have two light sources. That's, uh... that's good,[/color]" she chuckled nervously, scratching her shoulder as she looked between Jaege, Veitaru, and Lev. 

"[color=4DE474]Is less than I would like.[/color]" Jaege responded, before wrapping a strap around the base of torch and attempting to see if he could twist it off its base with proper leverage.

[color=teal]"So, is it bad that that guy makes me seem mundane in comparison?"[/color] Lev asked, staring after Noi with a certain perplexity. [color=teal]"Well, unlike the suit of armour with a bad attitude and the peculiar way of talking, I'll stick around with you guys so you can see where you're going. Because, y'know, teamwork."[/color]

Noi began to make a low rumbling sound. He was becoming agitated. There had been enough waiting, enough watching, enough of everything. It was time for action, but he didn't move. Noi didn't need these other beings. He knew he would be fine alone. Yet he didn't want to leave them. As strangely as they spoke they were the first conversation he had in over a century. They were squishy and small, but intriguing. They certainly weren't smart like the masters, but maybe there was more to them.

Felicia chewed her lip, lost in thought. It was true that having more than one-- or even two-- light sources would be better. Ideally they'd all have their own lanterns, but for some reason Lethe seemed to think they'd be fine without all that. She stared past the others at Noi as he began rumbling. Was it because he was impatient or was that just a sound he made? She took a step towards him, but stopped. Felicia had never been the leader sort. She resigned to wait until one of the others went ahead to join Noi.

Noi's head snapped downwards towards the hylian woman. She was by far the most strange of the lot because she was the least strange. What in the world was a person like that doing here. Noi slowly moved towards the woman careful to keep his flame away from any of the flammable beings.

"[color=cyan]Directive?[/color]" He asked simply.

One step was all it took to attract the mighty Noi's attention, it seemed.

"[color=6a9375]Uh... d-... directive?[/color]" Felicia's eyebrows knit together in confusion.

Noi pointed at the woman and asked again, "[color=cyan]Directive? Why are you here?[/color]"

Lev leaned towards Felicia from the side, blocking his "mouth" with the back of his hand as he whispered conspiratorially toward the young woman.  [color=teal]"I think you have an admirer."[/color]

"[color=cyan]I did not question you Rags. You have interrupted me enough.[/color]" Noi rumbled pointing his flaming hammer at the ghastly being.

The Poe huffed at the indignant mannerisms of... whatever it was Noi was. [color=teal]"Y'mind pointing the burning anvil grinder somewhere else, Rusty? We got plenty of things to worry about in this Temple that's more troubling than you or I or pyromaniac fairies, so how 'bout acting like more of a cooperative fella and less like whatever it is you're doing."[/color] Lev said, gesturing to himself in a decidedly exaggerated manner as he slowed down his speech. [color=teal]"Me [I]friiieeeeend.[/I]. Felicia friend, Jaggy and Veitaru, also friends. Make sense? We all find the keystone or whatever it is and get out of here without getting our souls eaten or whatever. Sound dandy?"[/color]

Noi lowered the hammer, but raised his other hand. Electricity arced between the fingers.

"[color=cyanb]Do not delay me further. My designation is to fight powers greater than yours.[/color]" Noi carefully left out the fact he was not designed to win that fight, "[color=cyan]Time has wasted enough. Hylia demands our service. We all move now.[/color]"

Noi pounded the pommel of his hammer on the ground as if to officiate his order. He marched towards the hallway before looking back expecting the group to follow.

Oh dear... had she said something wrong? Felicia took a deep breath, glancing at Lev with a light shrug. "[color=6a9375]I, uh, guess we [i]should[/i] get going,[/color]" she tried to compromise, "[color=6a9375]L-looks like everyone else has already started.[/color]" She spared a look towards the mouths of the two empty halls-- the voices of her teammates could faintly be heard. That must've meant nobody was dead yet. It was a small comfort. 

"[color=4DE474]I think we let the big guy go forward and he will be happy. No amount of small talk will make him so.[/color]" There was a slight hint of humor in Jaege's voice as he said big guy. Perhaps because he did not get the opportunity to say it often.

Noi began stomping down the hallway his hammer raised high.  If the others were to be of any use they'd be following close behind. If not there was no need for them.

Lev began to follow after the robot, beckoning to the others to follow suit. [color=teal]"I won't argue with voices in my head telling me that time is of the essence as well as the living embodiment of that sentiment. Stay close; I can make my lantern a bit brighter, but I wouldn't fall more than a few meters behind. Just... watch the floor and the walls, and the ceilings. In fact, just don't touch anything."[/color] he said, heading into the tunnel with the group. In his notebook, he wrote, [I]Noi, Goron, result of several consecutive generations of inbreeding and tragically suffered as a result. Extremely powerful simpleton, grunts simple sentences, incapable of reasonable thought or speaking in an indoor voice-[/I]

Felicia, satisfied that someone had finally started to follow Noi, quickly followed suit. She kept her arms crossed in front of her-- determined to do as the poe said and not touch anything-- on accident or otherwise. 

The eerie chill that followed Lev was not lost on Noi. Even the light cast from his lantern felt cold. Noi never actually felt cold, but the thermal readout around the poe and his lantern were frigid. Noi did not turn but he began to speak,

"[color=cyan]While the presence of the small hylian is stranger, I do not know why Hylia would becon one as twisted as you Rags. What even are you? Nothing in my logs come close to you. Well I guess you kind of look like a really messed up peahat.[/color]"

Noi began grumbled gabled words about his hatred for the plants.

[color=teal]"I, uh... what? Do I [I]look[/I] like a plant?"[/color] Lev demanded, bewildered. [color=teal]"I'm a Poe. Y'know, a ghost, haunts grave yards, torments the living? Something jerks in green underwear stuff into jars for kicks? Did you live under a rock?"[/color]

"[color=cyan]I have lived in the depths of Lanyru for centuries. All of my kin are machines. We do not leave ghosts, so I had no clue they were so ugly. But yes you do in fact look like someone threw a bunch of rags on on blue peahat.[/color]"

Lanyru... centuries? Something wasn't adding up, Lanyru was an ancient region, the term predated Hyrule, and Noi was claiming to be a machine that lived back then? The whole statement momentarily made Lev forget the ordeal he was in, until he thought he heard something that sounded like flapping coming from further down the passage. [color=teal]"I'm glad that the strange appliance apparently has a concept of what ugly is. Whoever made you certainly had the right priorities."[/color] he retorted sarcastically, lifting his lantern to try and see what's up ahead. 

"[color=cyan]Silence,[/color]" Noi demanded.

He leaned forward turning so his audio receptors were aimed towards the dark tunnel before them. all over Noi's body very tiny intricate lines began to light up.

"[color=cyan]Combat Protocol: Online. Prime Directive: Defend the Lanayru facility.[/color]" His voice was empty and cold as death.

 With that Noi charged into the darkness all other thoughts overridden by his protocol. Of the twenty keese that descended upon them, a good six flocked to Noi while the remaining fourteen went on ahead. The swooped low, aiming for faces and throats. 
 
 It was not the terrible threat Lev had been expecting. Some kind of ghoul,  or a Wallmaster, perhaps, but keese? Sure, the bat-like creatures were a reasonable threat in swarms such as  this, Lev understood, but it was almost disappointing in how... mundane it was. It was not unlike a rancher having built up the mental expectations of her cows being abducted by visitors from another world, only to find out it was a disgruntled ranch hand making off in the darkness, one animal at a time.
 
 With the situation at hand, Lev had rather decided he didn't much fancy the idea of them deciding a Poe was something worth chewing on, and for all he knew, whatever lurked in the Shadow Temple was personified evil, so he made ready to defend himself. His lantern roared to life, flames jutting out the sides like a blowtorch and he began to twirl the lantern around on his chain, creating a ring of fire and steel that would have absolutely incinerated any keese caught in the way. [color=teal]"Watch my back, yeah?"[/color] he called to the others. [color=teal]"I've got this side."[/color] he said, punctuating  the point with one of the keese getting struck by the lantern, forcing it to the floor, body burning and bones broken. A second didn't veer off in time and had its wing engulfed in flame, causing it to crash, shrieking in agony. The remainder, however, managed to avoid the worst of the flames in the somewhat narrow corridor without harm, but their momentum was certainly interrupted. 
 
 Jaege stood his ground, and whacked Keese as best he could with the torch he had pried loose. If he hit, the force would shatter the Keese like a bird against a window, but hitting was another thing. Meanwhile, Veitaru was significantly below the face level of the majority of the party, and had difficulty reaching with only a dagger. Three of the keese fell victim to Jaege's mighty torch. They crumpled to the ground with pitiful shrieks. One impending keese managed to dodge Jaege's attack and deliver a painful bite to his arm before kicking off of his flesh with it's tiny claws-- returning to the air. 
 
 Felicia forgot all about the existence of the sword at her hip as the four keese descended upon her. She held one arm up over her face and shouted out in alarm as she uselessly waved her other hand over her head. If she hit, the force would merely push the keese a bit to the side. As the first keese sank it's tiny teeth into her forearm, she screamed and tried to rip the creatures off of her as they bit and scratched. 
 
 Of the five remaining keese, three remaining in front of Lev-- flapping and screeching in annoyance as they tried to find an angle to attack without ending up like their two unfortunate friends. The other three were instantly drawn towards the loud wreck of a woman standing between Jaege and Lev. They beelined for her with gleeful chittering at the prospect of an easy meal.
 
 [color=teal]"Surprise!"[/color] Lev shouted, his arm angling forward and directing the lantern towards the keese, which then began to eject flame in an intense torrent towards the three flying annoyances in front of him. The sudden change in attack and the narrow confines of the corridor all but assured that escape would not be possible for the keese, who were quickly engulfed in a flesh-rending blaze. When the fire died down, three charred lumps were left smoldering on the floor. [color=teal]"Well, that's... oh."[/color] he began to say cheerfully before realizing the predicament Felicia was finding herself in. Already covered in bites, Lev swooped in to try and shield her with his own body, swinging his lantern at anything that was physically away from the young woman. 
 
 In the distance all that could be seen of Noi was a vague silhouette. His effectiveness wasn't clear, but his rage was. He swung his hammer in every direction seeking only to destroy the monsters. Every now and then the hammer would be driven into the wall making the entire tunnel shake. With a furious roar Noi dropped the hammer and began to glow blue. Electricity arced off of him zapping all the keese left in the air around him. When the light faded Noi toppled sideways into the wall, six dead keese convulsing on the floor around him. 
 
"[color=cyan]Energy levels: Uhhhhhhh...[/color]" His voice transitioned back to its more human tone as he spoke.
 
Meanwhile, Lev managed to swat all but one of the keese off of Felicia, who had since fallen to the ground, quite thoroughly covered in bites and scratches. With two hands, she gripped the furry body of the last keese, which had locked it's tiny fangs onto her cheek. She pulled, grimacing painfully as the creature tore through the skin before losing it's grip. She pushed it away and held her cheek, suddenly realizing why her assault had ended.

"[color=6a9375]L-Lev![/color]" she shouted with her new-found cognizance.

The four keese flapped angrily above Lev and his lantern-- some of them managing to scratch at the poe's already-tattered hood.

[color=teal]"Hang on, Fel-[I]OW, GAH![/I]"[/color] Lev shouted, suddenly aware of the flying rodents clawing away at his head. For an entity without nerve endings, it turned out the afterlife still let you feel a considerable amount of pain and discomfort. He swatted at them with his free hand, not wishing to bash himself with the lantern or set himself ablaze by accident. [color=teal]"Stop! Geez, I have no nutritional value, you little-"[/color]

And success! Managing to grasp one of the keese by its wing, Lev pulled it away and began to swat at the other creatures with their friend. Whether it was effective or not remained to be seen, but it felt [I]good.[/I]

Veitaru managed to finally make herself useful by stabbing one Keese while it tried to get a lower angle at Jaege away from flamey hitty thing. It was a kinda weak stab, but fortunately a keese is kinda weak too being built like a bird.  Jaege finally managed to swat the last of the Keese attacking him, but not before it got in a nasty bite that someone should probably clean out. Keese bites probably got infected like none other.

Felicia winced as she watched the keese attack Lev. He'd stepped in to help her and now he was in trouble! Surely there was something she could do....

Reaching around her waist she grabbed hold of the small metal tackle box dangling from her hip, unfastening the buckles. With as much strength as she could muster towards another living being, she swung the box towards the keese attacking Lev. It was so preoccupied with dodging it's captive comrade that it failed to get out of the way. Unfortunately, Felicia's heart, in spite of her desire to help the poe that had graciously saved her, wasn't in it enough for her to do anything more than knock the keese onto the ground. 

The creature quickly began to recover, but before it could raise up from the ground, it found itself consumed in a torrent of flame. The remaining Keese didn't fare better; now they were separated from Felicia and dislodged from Lev, the flying rodents were easily dispatched with another quick burst of flame. Soon, the tunnel fell silent, save for the cackling of flames and the arcing of electricity. Lev pushed a finger through a newly formed hole in his hood,  tisking at his misfortune. 

[color=teal]"For our first time out, I'd say that went pretty well. Pretty well, indeed. Hey, Jaege, can you go check up on ol' Rusty up ahead? He seems like he's overexcited himself."[/color] He called to the man. Instead of watching to see if Jaege or even Veitaru reacted, Lev floated over to Felicia, looking over at her wounds. [color=teal]"Y'know, if someone told me that you could fight off a bunch of blood sucking monsters with a tacklebox before today, I'd call them a liar. Thanks for showing me something new. C'mon, our adventure's still ahead. Hard to look heroic when you're sitting down in the dust."[/color] he said cheerfully, offering a hand for Felicia to pull herself up, hoping she understood that she'd have to do most of the work. Symbolic gestures counted for something, right?