The Sacred Instruments {A Legend of Zelda Roleplay}

[BlossomStars]

It was another sunny morning in Oriko Village, a bright village that seemed to be blessed with a quaint peace. It wasn't as though the village was without it's problems but the villagers were all generally quite safe and happy. Of course the village did have guards posted at the four exits, north south east and west, but it was almost as though the ring of trees that circled the Oriko Valley (the area that Oriko Village had been categorized into) kept the village safe from the creatures that wandered about freely in the surrounding forest.

Pushing open the door to her house after rushing round to get ready Tara grinned, hearing the birds chirping about, bidding the world good morning. It was a beautiful day, but a lazy one for most. It was a Sunday, leaving many of the townsfolk free to finish whatever chores they had been neglecting the rest of the week, or even wander freely about the pretty little village. Many people either dedicated their Sunday to chores or just left them open to whatever came up that day, but Tara fell into neither of those categories today. She had a plan this Sunday, and she was fairly determined to go through with it.

"Oi! Link!" Tara called out to her friend once she reached his home - a small bachelors dwelling on the edge of town. Of course, she hadn't told the other party involved of her plans, but the smiling hylian girl was fairly certain that he would be fine with them. She had been dragging Link around since they were both knee-high and she'd never once heard a complaint out of him.

"That boy, I swear..." After knocking a few more times with no response Tara knew the blonde was still sleeping. He was a very capable person and didn't let people down, but he could be so lazy sometimes. Twisting the brass handle to push the wooden door open Tara simply let herself in, knowing it wouldn't be locked - no one bothered locking their doors here.

"Rise and shine Link~!" Tara chirped, -far too cheerfully for it being this early- shaking her friend awake. As she saw his heavy lids begin to open to reveal the blue eyes beneath she stepped back a bit to give him some space, putting her hands on her hips.

"You'd better get up! Come on, we have a big day today!"

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@Artorias

 

[Artorias]

Dreams of doing nothing but fishing and helping out around Oriko Village filled Link's dreams, he couldn't care less about anything else at the moment. The dreams were sporadic and odd, but it finally rested on it being night, a large fire roaring as he cooked fish over the fire and waited for them to cool off before eating them. It seemed so good, that his mouth was actually watering as some drool landing on his feather pillow, that he made himself. Most of the belongings in his home were hand-crafted or given as a gift from the other villagers that he helped out. His dream began to fade away, and he began to chase it mentally to catch up and grab the tasty fish that were fleeting away forever. His eyes cracked open slowly as he closed his mouth, feeling the bit of saliva still on his lips and pillow. Reaching up a hand, he wipes it away and closes one eye, the sunlight pouring in and he wasn't adjusted and ready for it just yet.

He looked up to see that it was his childhood friend, who else would just come barging into his home to wake him up. Tara, always awake and wanting to get more deeds done for the village. He gave it a good minute before opening both eyes and sitting up, the blankets falling around him as he was wearing a green tunic and green pants for pajamas. They were thin, thinner than the normal green clothing he wore. Everyone in the village wore mostly green clothing, it was just their thing to do and it was easy to make.

Clambering out of bed, he stumbled to his eating area, where he had a bowl of fresh fruit, nuts, and berries waiting for him just so he didn't have to gather it this morning. Scooting the chair out from under the table, he sat down and began to eat quickly, but in a timely manner and looked back at Tara. "Do you want any Tara?" he offered his friend some, even bringing his foot under the table and scooting out another stool/chair. He had a total of four in his home, but he normally never had any guests over so they were rarely used.

"You are also up early this morning. What is so big and amazing that has got you all excited?" Link was generally quiet around most people, Tara did most of the talking, but he knew how to talk. It wasn't like he was mute, he would never get anything done then! He waited for her to come help finish his breakfast, and even tell him what she had planned for them today. If he didn't always go along on her ridiculous errands, all he would be doing is fishing, swinging a wooden sword at a tree, and shooting home-made arrows and bow. ​

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[BlossomStars]

Tara nodded, readily accepting Link's offer of food. Sitting down at the chair he'd pushed out for her she took a raspberry from one of the bowls on the wooden table -likely made by the town's local carpenter, Arden, as most people's wooden furnishings were- and popping it into her mouth. Deeming the small, sweet fruit delicious as she bit into it Tara decided to take another of the fruits in the bowl. Going for something a little more substantial this time she picked out an apple, green skin shining lightly in the light that poured into the room. Instead of simply taking a bite, however, Tara found herself playing with the fruit, rolling it around between her hands.
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"You've heard about the forest monsters, right?" Eyes lighting up at just the mention of what had caught her interest Tara's gaze locked with Link's again. If his eyes showed and hesitance at all she ignored it blindly, grinning with a spark in her eye as she recalled the recent talk amongst the townfolk. Lately conversations seemed to drift to the monsters that wandered about in the woods that surrounded the town. Apparently they had been acting strange lately. Not particularly hostile or aggressive, but according to some of the village guards they seemed to be rushing around. They had apparently been seen carrying seemingly random things, and often seemed to be moving together instead of the sporadic patters they usually adopted. It was quite obvious to Tara that they were planning something. She had no idea what, but she was hoping to find out. If they were thus far no more aggressive than they had been -arguably less, as they were focused on something else- Tara saw no reason not to check things out. What was the worst that could happen, really?

"I say we check it out. I think we should go right to the source of things to figure out what they're planning." Tara's grin widened for a moment as she entertained the idea of what they might find. Really, the possibilities were endless. Suddenly though Tara's dreamy grin and unfocused stare turned to a more contemplative expression, lips pushing to the side and stare shifting to the grain of the table she sat at.

"I don't really know too much about it though. Maybe we should talk to some of the townsfolk first, see what we can find out..." Tara was known for her hard-headed impulsiveness but her curiosity always came first. She hadn't any fear of getting lost in the forest and the thought really hadn't even occurred to her at all, but she didn't want to have to wait too long to find things out. She absolutely didn't want to risk missing something either, perhaps going the wrong way and being unable to explore something big die to their ignorance.

"Come on, let's go." Finishing her apple and throwing the remains into the trash Tara stood from her chair, prepared to impatiently drag her blonde friend from his chair along with his breakfast if he hadn't finished by now. She was ready to start bouncing on the balls of her feet from her excitement a the possibility of a new discovery, and while she managed to withhold that urge she didn't want to have to wait around for much longer.

"I think the guards would know the most about the monsters - we might want to stop by and talk to them first. Oh! If you need anything else though we can stop by Leia's shop first." Tara turned to Link once they were outside, more musing aloud than making conversation.

 

[Artorias]

He had heard about all the recent activity, but he didn't know what he should be doing about that. Of course nothing was ever easy or necessarily fun when it involved Tara. He wasn't upset though, he always tagged along with her mainly so she didn't get in trouble or get into something over her head. Almost like a guardian people could call him, but he was just looking out for her. She was a rash headed girl that didn't seem to think and take precautions, but nothing major has ever happened. He was grabbed by Tara and began to follow her, grabbing a few pieces of fruit before exiting his home and going farther into town, heading towards one of the exits. He didn't have any real weapon on him, except for home-made arrows and a bow that didn't really work or would be dangerous against them.

They arrived at the west exit and Link glanced around, looking at the entrance to the village and the guards posted at them. They were armed, not heavily, but armed well enough to take care of whatever would be in the forest to attack. The monsters never attacked in large droves, only separate stupid attacks that were probably out of hunger. He let Tara do the talking, mainly because everyone knew of Tara and Link, but they didn't know Link personally like everyone else.

"Well, well! Tara and Link, are you two planning on leaving the town? You know it is getting dangerous out there and you could get hurt." The guard re-adjusted himself and held the spear in his hands up straighter. A sword was on his belt and he withdrew the sword and scabbard and handed it to Link. He knew the kid had been practicing with a wooden sword, and the weapon was better than nothing, so he was certain that Link could protect them. "Here. Take this, it really is dangerous outside." He smiled and Link took the sword without question.

Link turned to look at Tara, he waited for her to begin moving. In truth, he wanted to stay and fish but he didn't. He would just follow along and do whatever she wanted him to do, life was actually simpler that way. ​

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[BlossomStars]

"Really dangerous, huh? What's going on?" Tara was attempting to seem tactful, knowing that she may be refused an answer if she flat out told the guard where her interest lay. Everyone knew of Tara's overactive curiosity, something she'd managed to make herself infamous for in her younger years. With that in mind many tried to avoid telling her anything that may spark up her interest or spirit of exploration. Really they were just protecting her, but Tara hated it anyway. She also still seemed to be able to get all the information she need or wanted one way or another.

"The monsters have been much more active as of late. Just stay away from the northeastern area of the forest, okay? It's bound to be way too dangerous up there." Tara nodded. That must have been where all the monsters were going, heading in clustered together. She had heard and fully understood the guard's warning, but ignored it nonetheless. If that's where the monsters were all heading that was exactly where Tara wanted to be.

"Okay, thanks!" Bidding the armor-clad guard a bright smile and wave in parting Tara turned to Link once more, insuring that he was ready. Grinning as she assessed that he was Tara began walking out into the forest with Link following behind her. Things were pretty mild at the outskirts of the village, sun still flitting through the lively green foliage. As they got deeper into the forest, though, things got darker. The leafy trees overhead blocked the sun, leaving some of the ground plants shriveled and dead, sending up silence-shattering crunches as either of the teen's feet fell upon them.

"Alright, so if we're headed northeast then..." Tara mumbled outloud occasionally, sounding her thoughts as she sometimes did, "Isn't this exciting? I mean, who knows what we'll find, right?" Switching from contemplative to excited in an instant Tara looked over at Link, meeting his gaze. She knew he wasn't as enthusiastic as she was about this kind of thing but she was glad he came along anyways. It was nice to have company, and though Tara didn't realize it herself he kept her out of trouble much of the time. She was a little milder when he was around. He balanced her out.

"What was that?" Stopping suddenly Tara began to look around. She had sworn she heard something. A few seconds passed before she heard it again: the crunching of footsteps, accompanied by a strange sound. It was almost indescribable, a deep, guttural sound. It almost sounded like a mix between a phlegmy growl and a snore. Whatever it was it cetainly wasn't human.

"Do you hear that?" Speaking more quietly now, almost whispering, Tara found herself tucking her head in a little, looking around cautiously for the source of the noise. As interesting as the noise was Tara was quite certain that it was nothing good.