Chapter 3: Bremen Mask
Zak ate the meal that Romani's sister, Cremia, had prepared with complete silence. The two sisters stared at him, unsure of what to say to break the rapidly growing awkward silence. Cremia looked over at her sister, giving her a look that suggested that she start up a conversation. Romani blushed and looked down at her bowl.
"So," Cremia said, glaring at her sister, "Romani tells me that you're here to kill a bunch of monsters, huh. Sounds fun."
He coughed, "This stew is great. You can really taste the milk." Zak looked up at Cremia, "That's right. My old mentor told me to come here and clean up his mess."
Cremia looked him up and down, "You can't be much older than my little sister. Should you really be running around with such dangerous weapons? You could get hurt."
Zak smiled, "Romani and I are roughly the same age, yes."
Cremia frowned, frustrated, "Well, if you're looking for mysterious rumors, I heard something in town that might be interesting to you. The guys in Clock Town told me that there are feathers that keep appearing in the laundry pool. No one can figure out where they are coming from. Could be fun to check out, right?"
Zak narrowed his eyes infinitesimally, "Thanks for the meal. I'll head out now."
Romani looked between him and her sister, "B-but, you just got here. Can he stay the night, sis? Please? He got rid of the rabbit for us."
Cremia sighed, "I suppose we can clear out the spare room for him. What do you say, Zak?"
He stood up and took his bowl into the kitchen, "That won't be necessary. I can't sleep on a bed. I'll take a room in your barn outside, if that's alright." Cremia had no reason to object, despite Romani's desperate looks, and agreed. After Zak helped them clean up, he headed outside to the barn as the sun set in the horizon. After she got Romani to sleep, Cremia crept out and slipped into the barn. Much to her surprise, she found Zak sitting on an empty jug of milk inspecting his spear.
"Hey," she said, "Can I ask you for a favor?" He looked up from his work, but said nothing. "I'm not stupid. I have heard and seen several of these creatures running amok and destroying everything in sight. The thing is, I don't want Romani to get involved. She gave me a huge scare a few years ago with some crazy alien nonsense. Thought that aliens were abducting the cows or something. Could you leave before she gets up?"
Zak nodded, "That's why I chose to stay out here. I don't want her to get hurt, either." Cremia turned and grabbed the doorknob. "One more thing," he added, "Just so you know, I could've gotten badly injured if it wasn't for your sister. I'm not saying that she should be out slaying monsters, but she's not as fragile as you think she is."
The next morning, Zak headed out from the ranch and made his way to Clock Town. Aside from a bizarre blue-headed bird following him, Zak didn't run into any trouble. He headed through the South gate and into West Clock Town. Zak walked up the slope to the banker, and immediately ducked behind some pots. Romani looked around the place above him. Please don't let her see me. Please don't let her see me, he thought to himself.
"Hey, Zak! You forgot me!" she scampered over to him. He cursed under his breath. "What are you doing near those pots?"
He dusted himself off, "Just, uh, checking them for spare rupees. What are you doing here, Romani?"
She smiled, "Why, I'm here to help you, of course. You're here to fight against the bird thing, right?"
He sighed, "Yeah, that's right. I should've known that you'd come and meet me here. Your sister can't know that you're here."
She punched him playfully on the shoulder, "I understand. You act like I haven't done something like this, before."
"Fine, fair enough. Here's the deal, though," he walked up to the banker, "If you're going to travel with me, you'll have to pull your weight. I can't protect you and fight at the same time."
The banker pantomimed looking at an invisible stamp on Zak's head, "Ah, yes, Link. You have 5,499 rupees saved up. What would you like to do?"
"Give me two hundred," Zak said with a smile. The banker handed him four purple rupees, as per Zak's instruction, which Zak put in his wallet.
"Alright, Link, you now have 5,299 rupees saved up. Have a nice day," the banker said cheerfully to Zak as he walked off.
"Link?" Romani asked.
He smiled, "It's a long story. Here, I may need some of these." Zak stepped into the bomb shop. The owner greeted him with a nod. He walked up and pointed to the bomb bag.
The owner looked him up and down, "Two-hundred."
Zak slapped a purple rupee on the counter, "Fifty." The owner nodded and sold him the bomb bag. After Zak looked through it to make sure it was filled with bombs, he sighed, "You know, it would be great if I could use these underwater. I'll see you around." He left the shop with Romani in tow. As they headed to South Clock Town, he handed her the bomb bag.
"Why do you want me to carry this?" she asked, bewildered.
"It's called pulling your own weight," he replied. The two walked in silence until they made it to East Clock Town, where Zak walked up the stairs towards the mayor's office. He headed for a unassuming hole in the wall, but stopped short. "There's supposed to be a lookout for the Bomber's here," he thought out loud. Cautiously, Zak drew his spear and headed into the hole. Romani pulled out her bow and followed him.
Once inside the secret tunnel, Romani gasped when it opened up to a larger room with water. Zak pushed the cuccos sleeping on the ground out of his way with his foot. He headed to the water's edge and dipped his toe in. He swirled the water around with his foot. Satisfied, he climbs down into it.
"Keep watch," he whispered to Romani, "I have a good idea about what it is we're up against. When I wake it up, the cuccos are going to retaliate. Drop a bomb and run if they swarm you." She nodded nervously while Zak treaded through the water towards the far end of the tunnel. In front of him he could make out a large feathered ball wedged in the water. As he inched closer, it moved. The monster let out a startled cry, and the cuccos immediately sprang up. Romani struggled to get a bomb, but they flew right past her to Zak. He dove all the way in the water as they flew overhead. He resurfaced to the cuccos flying at his face. With a swear he dove underwater once more, this time swimming towards the monster. It shrank away from him, shrieking for anything that could hear it. Zak stabbed with his spear a few times before resurfacing. The cuccos swarmed him. He swatted at them with his hands. An arrow flew past him and hit the monster in the face. It thrashed around. While swatting away the birds, Zak stabbed at the bird monster again. Upon making impact, Zak realized that it was stuck, too big for the walls around it. Knowing this fact, Zak shoved his spear through it and finished it off.
The bird monster fell limp, and its body twitched lightly. Zak pulled out the blade of grass and blew, but it was too wet to make the sounds he needed it to. Desperately he swatted at the cuccos. A voice sang out the notes he had played for the rabbit, and the bird monster's body dissolved into a mask with feathers and a beak. Zak grabbed it out of the water and pinned it against the wall with his spear. The mask fell in half and a white ball of light drifted from it and dissipated. The cuccos became docile and scurried off towards the entrance in search of light.
"Are you alright?" Romani yelled down the tunnel, "I didn't hear you play the song, so I sang it. Did we get it?"
"Yeah, we got it," he called out, "And I'm fine. A few cucco scratches and pecks, though."
Romani giggled, "I have just the thing for that back home. Let's go." Zak trudged through the water and pulled himself out. The two of them headed out towards the ranch.