[Blade Unlimited]

Feeling quite satisfied with the results of zapping away the Twili, the Shadow Insect turned away attempting to fly off through a hole in the beams... until it was quite rudely interrupted by Midna's retaliation. "RHCEEEE-" The pulsating creature of twilight glowed with a dangerous light as it tried to maneuver out of the way of the Twili Magic, unfortunately though its efforts were futile as its form burst into a hundred pieces upon contact.

When Zelda had recovered and attempted to peck at the bug, she would find herself simply prodding a strange light floating in the air where the unfortunate insect had exploded.

At her incessant pokes, the ball of light simply floated lazily away as if blown by a soft wind. If Midna could recognize it, this was one of the very same Tears of Light that they needed to collect! ...but now it was floating away!

(MIDNA AND ZELDA! The Tear of Light is floating away! Roll a 12 in DEX to catch it, otherwise it will float out of the building and force you to pursue!)

[heirtothemonado]

Midna smirked as the Twilight Bug exploded against the force of her magic. In it's place, a bright orb of light shone, bathing them both in blue light.

"That's it!" Midna cried "That's a Tear of Light!" She quickly floated over to it, trying to touch it and transport it to the Vessel.

P7hPs83Lp_1d20-1(Midna's attempt at catching things)

The orb wasn't going to surrender itself so easily, and floated just out of Midna's reach, and due to the bug's attacks, Midna wasn't exactly the quickest on her feet.

"Quick Zelda! Grab it or it might get away!" Midna exclaimed, motioning to the slowly escaping light orb

---

Midna
Damage: 16%
Status: Paralyzed (5 turns)

1d20-1

[Mari]

Grab it with what?! She didn't have hands! A frantic cluck and a flurry of lost feathers marked Zelda's pursuit, dashing along the ground with great speed for someone so unfamiliar with her form. You may have been able to dodge Midna, slowly floating ball of light, but can you evade a chicken?!

Fs|h5op2p_1d20+3 (Zelda's Pursuit!)

....The answer is no. Zelda managed to catch up to the tear of light, at which point she promptly jumped at it and caught it in her beak, fluttering her wings as she dropped back down, diligently pruning her ruffled feathers for a moment before turning about heading back to return to Midna. She would then offer to release the tear of light for the other to collect. ...I wonder what it tasted like! The cucco princess then looked up to Midna almost expectantly.1d20+3

[Blade Unlimited]

Though Midna missed the Tear of Light just barely on her first attempt to grasp the lazily retreating orb, Zelda's own attempt ended in triumph as she was perfectly capable of snatching the necessary tool of light out of the air in her beak... AND SHE DOESN'T EVEN HAVE HANDS! (Step up you're A-Game, Midna. You're getting outdone by a chicken) With the Tear of Life safely secured now and not under any further risk of escape, the light orb's unearthly glow began intensifying for a few short seconds before altogether fading into nothingness as it approached Midna.

If the Twili Imp were to check the Vessel of Light still in her possession, she would notice the bottom fruit of the magic vine being filled to the brim now with the same ethereal light that the Tear had displayed only moments ago!

(CONGRATULATIONS! 1 TEAR DOWN, 3 TO GO!)

As if triggered by some sort of invisible cue, the swinging chandelier that the Twilight Bug had previously been hanging from snapped from its rusted hinges. The exquisite structure dramatically dropped for it seemed like seconds but was really just a moment before shattering into thousands of pieces that chipped away at the rotting wooden floor. The filth and mold ridden wood cracked and crumbled away underneath where the spectacular crash had occurred... revealing some sort of secret passageway that had previously been hidden under the trick boards!

Now a 4th of the way towards their final goal, Midna and the Cucco-turned Princess Zelda were struck with another choice of paths to take. On the one hand, they could still retreat back to their original location and explore the castle market, an area where disturbing and guttural creature howls were emanating from in excess but no doubt could hold one or maybe more of the tears of light; and on the other hand, the two could instead make their way further down the decrepit structure and explore the new secret passageway that had been revealed. The choice was theirs, but they didn't have much time to waste deciding~

[heirtothemonado]

Midna watched a Zelda caught the Tear of Light in her beak. "Good catch Zelda" Midna congratulated her. Almost as soon as the ball of light disappeared from Zelda's grasp into the Vessel, Midna heard a loud creaking. Suddenly the chandelier that was hanging from the ceiling fell to the ground with a great crash!

Midna shielded her eyes from flying debris, and when the air had cleared, she looked at the wreckage. Almost immediately, she spotted what looked like a hidden passageway under the floorboards. Without hesitating for a second, she jumped back on to Zelda's back and directed her toward the passage.

"Come on, Zelda, let's go! I'll bet you anything that there's another Tear down this way!" she said

---

Midna
Damage: 16%
Status: Paralyzed (4 turns)

[Mari]

Mother Hen Zelda's eyes twinkled with satisfaction at the praise she had received. Not bad for a first time being in this body! ...Thankfully, she was expecting the other to mount back up and held still for Midna, tucking the other's legs underneath her wings once she was situated. How cozy! Emitting a little cluck of acknowledgement, she proceeded to move forward at a jogging pace. ...She was oddly considerate of her rider for someone who (probably?) hadn't done this before. Must be that ancient wisdom or some such. Hopping down into the secret passage, she made a point to keep her head up and alert, both because she suspected they would not be alone down here and because she wanted to protect Midna from another surprise attack by giving her something to hide behind.

((While riding Zelda, Midna can use Zelda's dexterity modifier (+3) instead of her own and she takes 5% less damage from all non-mental attacks.))

[Blade Unlimited]

As the two made their way into the secret passage, all was silent for the longest of times. The damp and dark passage seemed to have some sort of luminescence about the stones that formed it as they were able to somewhat still retain their vision, but barely. The farther they traveled down the wider the passageway seemed to become until it was practically large enough to house a Malo mart in width! Finally though after a few rough patches, the passageway deposited the duo into what looked to be some sort of sewer tunnel, entering through a collapsed wall.

By the looks of things, the only way to go foreward was a small arch, blocked by metal bars with only the water capable of passing through. Bones littered the sides and creepy insects flitted back and forth under the dimly lit cobblestone.

((You can make a roll in WIS to attempt and discern more about the room, depending on the level of your roll, or take your chances trying to simply break through the metal bars. To get through them, you'll need to roll a 16+STR))

[heirtothemonado]

Sitting on Zelda's back, Midna looked around at the passage walls. What a creepy place. She didn't talk at all, too busy taking in the eerie atmosphere. Therefore it didn't seem long when they made it to the end of the passage, and in to what looked like a sewer.


Looking around, Midna saw an arch with metal bars, and not much else. The bars were to close together for her to slip through, but it seemed to be the only other way out of the room. Perhaps there was a way to move the bars?


c7VQZfLfp_1d20+2 (Midna's room analysis)

---

Midna
Damage: 16%
Status: Paralyzed (3 turns)
Riding Cucco Zelda

1d20+2

[Mari]

Zelda decidedly couldn't see much, figuring that Midna would probably have a better vantage point than her for most purposes. Instead, she shifts forward and awkwardly pecked the bars once or twice to see if they're rotten enough to simply come apart with a bit of force!

NgEDAkujp_1d20+1 (Zelda's Peck)

...And to her surprise, it gave a bit under her beak! Yet, her beak alone wasn't nearly strong enough to finish the job. Hm. Surely there must be a better way to break through bars... A better way than using her... mouth... Wait, no--Hold on. Zelda would emit a couple of stifled clucks to draw Midna's attention, taking a few steps backwards and making a point to hunker down lower to the ground as if she were about to begin charging forward into the bars. Her body tensed a bit underneath the other with anticipation. This was mostly for show, of course. She didn't want to unnecessarily scare Midna. Hopefully her body language would communicate at least that she was preparing to break through the bars somehow, even if it didn't accurately communicate how... A couple of moments and a deep breath later, Zelda lifted her head again and abruptly stepped forward, only to stop in her tracks and emit a mighty cucco cluck! It would somehow sound very distant to Midna, as if being projected from several meters in front of them. It was perhaps for the best, as the cluck itself was very loud and ferocious. About as ferocious as a chicken could manage, anyway.

p_1d20+5 (Zelda's Dovahcluck; Does 30% Damage and has a 50% chance of inflicting mind-melted)

In this case, the answer is: Very. Zelda's voice explosively projected itself towards the bars. One could not see it, but the bars certainly felt it, abruptly shattering into many pieces and clattering to the floor. As the deadly pressure wave continued onward, it would likely crush most of the insect life crawling around back there, much like a bomb going off right next to them but without the actual explosion. Taking a moment to regain her composure, the princess began to cautiously lead Midna deeper inside, past the broken bars.

Power Word: Cluck1d20+1·1d20+5

[Blade Unlimited]

Apparently, Midna's room analysis was for naught as the sturdy metal bars impeding their progress was dispatched of by a chicken cluck...

A. Chicken. Cluck. *throws papers* Why do I even try. 

Also, congrats, there happened to be another Twilight Bug that was behind the bars, but Zelda's obscenely strong Cucco cluck seriously wth completely destroyed it. As the dust settled, a bright light would be found floating in the air of what appeared to be some sort of drainage canal for the castle town.

The Tear of Light began floating down the center of the canal above a sea of questionable liquids, traveling farther away from the party!

(MIDNA AND ZELDA! The Tear of Light is floating away... AGAIN! Roll a 17 in DEX to catch it. If you fail the roll though, you will plunge into the murky and harmful depths underneath; being dealt 20% DMG and inflicted with Sickness! gross right?)

[heirtothemonado]

Midna shielded her face as debris came flying toward her. Zelda's cluck had completely destroyed the grate, and by the sounds of things, the Twilight Bug that had fled behind it. Midna wasn't even going to question how Zelda was able to do that, and instead focused on the Tear of Light, which had floated off over the river of sewage.

Steering Zelda toward the Tear, Midna leapt off of Zelda's back to try to grab the light before it floated away

|h3hS7UAp_1d20-1 (Midna's attempt to grab the Tear)

"Ewww!" Midna exclaimed as she fell into the river of slime. She didn't have the time to right herself before she hit the surface of the grungy water. Today really wasn't her day was it?

---

Midna
Damage: 36% 
Status: Paralysis (2 turns)
Sickness 

1d20-1

[Mari]

wNo6aA5jp_1d20+3 (Zelda's Critical Bug Chasing)

Zelda fluttered her wings, easily able to prevent herself from doing that falling thing now that Midna was off her back. --Hold on, where had Midna gone? Zelda was filled with concern almost immediately but allowed herself to hyper focus in on that shadow bug for a moment. Long enough to snatch it out of the air with her beak! The cucco princess fluttered safely back to the ground, quite proud of herself for having accomplished something so difficult. She usually didn't get to play like this, being all dignified and royal and stuff. The sound of Midna's squeal of disgust, however, drew her right out of her moment. Looking about, she quickly noticed something that made her stomach churn. O-Oh... Oops.

Hopping back over to where Midna was, Zelda quietly swallowed the tattered remains of her dignity--being transformed into a cucco and all--and fluttered out to grab Midna from the waters with her talons, careful not to dig into the other's skin. She then quickly dragged Midna out of the filthy water. After setting the other down, she then plucked a triforce print cloth from... under her wing with her beak and held it out to Midna, beginning to clean the other's face off with gentle brushing motions around and away from the eyes, making a strong point to avoid brushing anything into them. That would hurt. Midna could, of course, take the cloth for herself and Zelda would relinquish it readily, but iff she didn't the cucco princess would simply continue cleaning the other off to the best of her ability. Turning into a mother hen had really brought out her maternal instincts--or perhaps she'd just always been that way, and her twilight form being a mother hen was simply a reflection of who she was? Either way, once Midna was done and the cloth was likely too filthy to provide any further user, Zelda would take a moment to use her powerful wings to direct a good few gusts at the other--just to help her dry off.1d20+3

[Blade Unlimited]

Once more, it seemed that Zelda had come in for the CLUCK-TCH! I'll see myself out. With the orb of unearthly light safely secured in Zelda's beak for even the briefest of moments, the Tear's glow once more intensified to an awesome and blinding degree before fading out entirely. If the Twili weren't too preoccupied being cleaned up by the OP mother hen herself, Midna would be able to see that the 2nd fruit on the Vessel of Light was now bursting with a full and blue color! Looks like they were already halfway done!

(CONGRATULATIONS! 2 TEAR DOWN, 2 TO GO!)

Still though... It might be too soon to celebrate. While the two were taking their afforded rest, they would find that the cobblestone flooring upon which they stood began to glow a dull and ominous red hue between the cracks of each rock.

THUMP THUMP THUMP

Vibrations pulsed through the flooring as seemingly from nowhere, pillars of stone resembling that of giant chisels stabbed into the ground in various spaces around the group. Within moments, a translucent and red barrier would connect the large masses, encircling Zelda and Midna completely in what looked to be some sort of a trap...

This did not bode well... but neither of them seemed to be in any immediate danger? At least, not yet~

[heirtothemonado]

Midna felt Zelda's talons grip gently onto her shoulders as the Cucco princess lifted her out of the disgusting river. The smell alone was enough to make her extremely sick, but getting covered in the sludge was almost too much to bear.
    
Luckily Zelda was there to help her clean off. Where she got the cloth from, Midna had no idea, but she soon found herself being wiped off from head to toe by a chicken. While she was being cleaned, Midna saw that another bead on the Vessel of Light was shining brightly. Well, at least Zelda managed to grab the tear. It's more then she was able to do, that's for sure.

Before Midna could feel to badly about herself, a gust of wind interrupted her thoughts. Zelda fanned her with her wings so she could dry off.  Midna still felt sick, but at least she wasn't soaked in the stuff anymore.

As Midna got ready to get back on Zelda and be on there way, multiple pillars slammed into the ground around them and a transparent read barrier formed between them. "Oh no" Midna whispered. She recognized those pillars, and they foreshadowed nothing good.....

---

Midna
Damage: 36%
Status: Paralysis (1 turn)
Sickness (? turns)

[Mari]

Zelda backed toward Midna. She had been around Zant long enough to recognize the symbology around them. They were under attack! Summoning a powerful tailwind with her newfound cucco magic, Zelda hunkered down and scooped Midna back up onto her back. She then took a combative stance, which just looked silly coming from a chicken. Regardless, mother hen had come to roost and she wasn't allowing anything to touch Midna.

Their souls were briefly one, you know. They've got history!

((Zelda has activated her tailwind! Midna and Zelda's dex mods are both boosted to +5))