The sun was beginning to set behind the active volcano as the duo trotted into Kakariko village. Link and Malon dismounted Epona, Link keeping hold of her reins. They found the inn and agreed it was best to rest and start fresh in the morning. Link patted his steeds snout and released her reins.
"Go on girl, I'll call for you in the morning." With that the horse galloped off back towards Hyrule field. He checked his person to be sure he still had all his things before walking into the inn with Malon following behind him. Inside the building it was very dim, the entire first floor was just a bar and already almost full of patrons drinking, shouting, and laughing. To Link this sight was nothing new, he had seen more than his fair share of drunkards when he had to stay at an inn. Malon, however, was a different story. The smell in the air was stale and made her stomach turn. Was this what alcohol smelled like? She covered her nose and squinted her eyes to see clearly through the dim haze.
"I cant see a thing." She whispered to Link.
"Here just follow me." He said grabbing hold of her wrist and leading her to the front desk next to the stairs. The woman behind the counter was a short old woman with a thin mess of gray hair like straw and beady eyes behind large round bifocals. "Pardon me."
"Yes can I help you two?" She said on the verge of a raspy coughing fit, though she managed a welcoming smile.
"Yes, do you have any rooms available for the night?"
"Why yes." She smiled slightly. "We have one room left. It's one bed but I'm sure you two young lovebirds don't mind at all." She laughed lightly to herself. At that point they both knew what she was insinuating, Malon turned a deep crimson red while Link's eyes widened in shock.
"No, no! Its nothing like that at all." He retorted holding his hands up in defense. The blond then quickly reached in his wallet and pulled out a red rupee to put it on the counter.
The old woman giggled again before handing him over the key. "Your room is the last one on the right dears." Link took the key and headed up the stars, Malon followed. When she passed the old woman she whispered to the red head. "Hes a handsome one, don't let him get away dear." This caused her to blush again as she dashed up the stairs after her friend.
There were only six rooms on the second floor, Link made his way for theirs at the end of the hall. When he entered the room he looked around, not much. It was a fairly small room, it had one bed, a small desk adjacent from the bed, and an iron heater with plenty of firewood in the corner. He unloaded his equipment onto the desk, everything in his bag at least, he kept on his sword and shield. Malon soon entered the room and smiled at him, still a little embarrassed from the old inn keepers words.
"Stay here, I'm going to go ask around." Link said passing her and heading out the door again.
"Already? We just got here." She said as she plopped down on the bed.
The Hero of Time stopped and turned to her. "I don't have time to relax. You should rest though cause as soon as I get some info we are heading out." With that he left out the door leaving the farm girl to the room by herself. Malon let out a heavy sigh resting her hands behind her head, her eyes scanned the ceiling.
"So far, this adventure is boring."
Link was down in the bar on the first floor, he just sat down on the middle stool. "You seem a little young to be drinking pal." The bartender told him.
"I am, but I'm not here to drink. I want information." The barman gave him an inquisitive look before resting his forearm on the bar top. "I want to know if you have heard anything regarding the sudden cloud cover over Hyrule around noon today."
His face became even more serious. "Take my advice kid. Take your little girlfriend upstairs and go back home. I've heard shit about where that came from and from what I heard I wouldn't send my worst enemy to die in that place."
"So you know exactly where they came from?"
"I don't, but there was a girl from the desert here earlier talking about it."
"Its a start." He said getting up from his seat. "Thanks."
"Wait, are you actually planning on going out there?"
"You said a girl from the desert right? Well I have been to the Gerudo Fortress and I'll take my chances to find out whats going on here." Link the quickly walked back up the stairs to his room with the awaiting Malon. When he opened the door a short blade flew by his head and stuck in the side of the door frame. "What the hell!" He exclaimed looking at Malon who looked nearly as shocked standing across the small room.
"I'm so sorry!" She said hurrying over to him. "I got bored so I was practicing knife throwing with the blade. I thought you were going to be gone longer." She took the small sword out of the wall and put it away.
Link shut the door and looked at the backside. There were multiple small gashes in the wood, most of them surprisingly accurate. "Not bad." He grinned a bit. Maybe she wouldn't be dead weight on his journey after all. He looked back at her. "We are leaving sooner than I said, I found a lead sooner than I expected."
The farm girl wined. "Oh come on, we just got here. Can we please just stay the night and get a fresh start tomorrow? Its late."
Link shut his eyes, he could feel a vein throb on his forehead. "If it will stop your complaining then we will stay the night, but we are heading out first thing in the morning."
"Great!" She exclaimed as she hopped into the bed. "See you in the morning." Malon covered herself with the covers and turned away from Link. He shrugged and sat down next to the bed after removing his sword and shield. He took off his green cap letting his blond hair go free and lied back with his hands behind the back of his head.
"Good night Malon."