Wisdom of the Ages
Act 1
Chapter 1
A flicker of red against the blue monochrome of the forest was all it took. The cloaked figure sprinted at the nearest tree, took two steps on it's trunk, then grasped the lowest branch and climbed onto it. He crouched against the trunk and looked around for the torch as he thrust his hand into one of his tunic's pockets.
Another flicker came. The source was coming closer. He fumbled faster in the pocket and found a leather thong. He whipped it out and tied the eye patch onto his face.
A mumbled hubbub of children's voices stood out over the ambient noise. The man adjusted the patch onto his right eye and looked out over the forest for the children.
The mumbling drew nearer and an orange dot flickered between the trees.
"...grrr... Mido, this lady's heavy. Can't ya' spell me off?"
"I'm the only one who knows the place we're supposed to bury her. I must lead.
The orange light disappeared and reappeared one more time as it rounded a tree a dozen fathoms away. It was an oil lamp held by a boy wh looked no older than ten. He turned and spoke to the procession behind him.
"Come along. I want this to be over." The light flickered over six other children carrying a woman on a stretcher.
"Yeah. Tell me about it."
"Wouldn't you know it. The only Hylian I'm ever going to see is a dead one."
They were passing directly under him. The man looked away and covered his mouth. He had known she was dead, but knowing and seeing were totally different matters. It was only several minutes after they entourage had passed that his throat had loosened enough for him to breathe freely.
He took off the eye patch. His fingers noticed a slight moistness to the fabric. However long he sat still, staring into the darkness and caressing the patch with his thumb he neither knew nor cared. Only when a keese cawed at him did his torpor end and he continued on his way.
