Chapter One: The Rito, the Witch, and the Hatch
It had been months since Link's adventure in the lost Kingdom of Hyrule. Since then, he'd been traveling the seas with the Pirate Tetra (aka, Princess Zelda). His adventures were far from over and he had seen many things in the lands far to the north. Now he was back in the familiar seas that he had sailed before as the Hero of Winds. The Chieftain of the Rito tribe had summoned him from his travels with a plea for help.
"Prince Komali has disappeared," the Chief told him when he arrived at the Rito Aerie on Dragon Roost Island. "He had been investigating a series of attacks and disappearances among the Koroks at the Forest Haven. The work of some sorceress riding atop a black dragon."
"A sorceress?" asked Link with concern.
"Do you know anything of this witch, Link?"
"I've heard rumors, but all from far to the east beyond even Bird's Peak Rock."
"Whatever the case may be, Komali hasn't been seen in weeks… Last I heard, he was investigating the remains of the Forsaken Fortress."
With that Link set out to the west as fast as his small boat would carry him. Within hours, he was in the shadow of the Forsaken Fortress. The place was even worse off then he remembered. Ganondorf's monsters weren't around anymore, but the Fortress had seen better days. The wooden boards were all rotted away and many of the rooms were now unstable. "Why on earth would Komali be poking around here?" Link thought to himself.
After nearly an hour of searching the fortress, he gave up. If Komali had been here, he was long gone by now. He headed back to his boat and thought about where he should search next. He thought that the Forest Haven was a good place to start. Then again, Windfall Island wasn't far and he could get some information there. While he was thinking about all these things, he failed to notice a loose stone under his foot. He tripped on it and hit the ground elbow first with a cry. He quickly jumped up and kicked at the loose stone, which revealed a lock stuck in the ground underneath it.
Link quickly dusted it off an realized that there was a door or a hatch that had been made to look like the ground. He picked up a rock and started to smash at the lock, but it wouldn't break. He decided that this called for drastic measures. He pulled out his Skull Hammer and gave it a mighty swing down towards the lock. It still didn't budge. Finally he pulled out his bomb bag. He placed a bomb on the hatch and ran for cover. BOOM! Link ran back over to find the stone floor was cracked and blackened, but the hatch itself was intact. Link looked at it in shock. What was this thing made of?! He paced beside it and grumbled to himself about what else he could do. Nothing came to mind. He stomped his foot on the ground in frustration! Suddenly he heard a loud crack and the hatch fell through the floor down a deep dark hole in the ground.
All Prince Komali heard was a loud blast and then silence again. "Hello!" he shouted from the cell deep underneath the Forsaken Fortress. All he could see was the hallway that lead to the ladder, which was the only way out of their little hole in the ground.
"Would you give a guy a warning before you shout like that?" said a voice from the far corner of the cell. Komali had been thrown into this cell with several Koroks, a couple of Skullkids, and a young man who he found very fascinating at first, if not a little somber. The young man was sitting in a corner with his back to Komali staring at the floor.
"Don't you want to find a way out of here?" Komali asked his new acquaintance.
"Of course I do, but Kurai, no doubt, has other plans for us," he replied knowingly.
"You know anything about them?"
"Let's just say, I've run into her before and I know her usual agenda."
Before Komali could say anything more, there was a loud crack and the hatch from above came crashing down the hole onto the floor beside the ladder. A moment later, Link came sliding down the ladder grabbing hold of his sword as he reached the bottom. "Link!" shouted Komali to his old friend. The Koroks in the cell jumped at the name and ran to the cell door to look. "Link! The swordsman has returned!" they shouted happily. Link caught site of them and came running down the hall. "Komali! Oakin! Hollo! Linder!" he said with relief as he went to examine the lock on the cell door. Since it was an ordinary lock like you would find anywhere around, Link was able to break it with a few hits from the hilt of his sword. As soon as the lock was broken, the Skullkids rushed out of the cell nearly knocking Link over. The Koroks thanked Link and then flew towards the surface with their Deku Leaves.
"Its good to see you, Link…but I'm afraid that there's trouble on the seas again," Komali said gravely. "We were locked up by a Sorceress named Kurai. She's looking for someone, but she won't say who."
"Let me guess," started Link sternly. "She caught you snooping around for her."
"Yes, but something had to be done! She's dangerous!"
"That's exactly why I need you to get back to your father. He's been worried sick about you!"
Komali turned away from Link, then turned back to him as if he was going to say something, and then he started for the ladder. He stopped at its edge and looked back at Link with a slightly mischievous smile. "There's someone you ought to meet in the back of that cell," he said and then flew up and out of the dungeon.
Link turned and realized that someone was still in the back of the open cell sitting quietly in the corner with his back to him. He walked over to him, but he didn't budge. "Um…hello?" he asked at last. The young man slowly turned his head towards Link as if he didn't really want to. This boy did look familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place-Link gasped! He felt that he was looking into a mirror. The stranger looked exactly like him! Same long blond hair, same dark green eyes, same face, and even a similar tunic, but his was blue. Before Link could say anything, his look-alike looked him up and down and breathed, "Oh no, not you!"
