Chapter 3: The Journey Begins

No bright sun rose on Ordon village the next morning. The sky was darkly overcast, blanketed with heavy clouds that seemed intent on erasing any cheerful hope the villagers had had for the day, even the sunlight.

The transition from night to day was slow and sluggish, and its affect could be seen in everyone as they went about their daily business more gravely than usual; all except one. Link had risen at dawn just as he always did, though there was no rising sun to indicate the time. With determined precision he'd gone through his little house, packing the few things he wanted to take with him. Without Midna to carry the spoils of his previous quests, he'd have to make do without most of it.

In a small sack he packed just enough rations to get him to Hyrule castle, figuring he could restock there if needed. He also carefully slipped in the bottle with the shimmering purple liquid. It was fairly small, and you never knew when you were going to need great fairy's tears; it could come in handy. He also grabbed a thick blanket, realizing he'd probably half to camp outside at least one night on this trip.

Digging in the back of his wardrobe, Link found the green tunic that had been his companion over the past year. Checking to make sure there were no tears or holes, he pulled it on over the light leather armor he had decided to wear for traveling purposes. Chain mail would only weigh him down on a trip like this, and he wasn't planning on running into anything that could hit him hard enough to cut through it; maybe bruise or break something, but he wouldn't be gored to death.

On his desk lay his sword, the one that he had used before acquiring the Master sword. He lifted it and felt its weight in his hand, giving it a few practice swings before sliding it into its sheath over his shoulder. It felt heavier and more awkward than the Master sword would have, but until he talked to Zelda it would have to do. After his sword he strapped his shield into place; hardly even dented it was extraordinarily hardy. For the finishing touch, Link swung his quiver and bow over his opposite shoulder and pulled his green cap down over his head.

Link turned with a deep breath and looked at himself in the mirror. He took a stunned step backward as a powerful wave of nostalgia crashed into him. His battle with Ganondorf had never felt so far away, and quite as recent as it did in that moment. With a look as hard as steel Link turned away from the mirror and climbed the ladder down from his room. Taking one last swift look around his house to ensure he hadn't forgotten anything, Link crossed the room and stepped out into the gloomy morning, closing his door behind him.

He climbed down the last ladder to the ground, not willing to risk dropping anything with a quick jumping descent. He walked over to Epona who was awake and alert already as she always was; she was just as used to getting up at this time as Link was. Link ran his hand over her back and under her belly where the saddle's girth rested to make sure there was nothing there that could irritate the mare. Then, he grabbed his saddle and saddle blanket and slung it over her back, adjusting it until it sat correctly. He reached under her belly and grabbed the girth strap, pulling it through the buckle and tightening it just a little snugger than it felt like it should go.

"You can breathe out now." He said to the mare with a half smirk.

With a puff of air that sounded like a snort of derision, Epona exhaled, shrinking the width of her mid-section sizably. The girth was no longer extremely tight, but safely snug.

"I know you're tricks by now you old nag." Link teased with affection, scratching her between the ears. He reached over and grabbed her bridle off the post and slid it over her nose and ears, fitting the bit in between her teeth. He hadn't wanted to use a bit with her at first, fearing she might have a sensitive mouth, but the stubborn horse had soon proven that without a bit she could and would go just where she pleased if the fancy struck her, so Link had switched from a simple halter to a full bridle.

Link tied his bag of rations and blanket to the back of his saddle, and then with one last check of Epona's tack, he stuck his left foot in the stirrup and swung up into the saddle. He glanced around the clearing, relieved that no one had come to see him off. Dealing with saying goodbye to anyone would only slow him down and make things harder.

With a slight tap of his heels, Epona started forward at a trot and Link left behind his home once again without looking back.

Link let Epona set an easy pace as they passed Ordon spring and crossed the bridge into Faron woods. He pulled the mare to a stop and stared in dismayed awe at the sight that greeted him when he entered where the forest used to stand. As far as he could see the ground was littered with giant trees that had once towered proudly over the landscape below, the forest was gone.

Shaking his head to break the ominous spell, Link eased Epona forward at a walk, guiding her around the long trunks of trees that now lay in their way.

As they meandered through the remains of the forest Link was surprised at the amount of wildlife that he was able to see. Without the trees to shelter them, deer huddled together out in the open and birds hopped over the ground and through the fallen branches, bewildered by the new position of their favorite perches. There seemed to be no end to the number of squirrels Link saw, scurrying across fallen trunks and branches and chattering noisily to one another. The noise was a blessing in that it kept eerie silence at bay, but after about an hour it had become so irritating that Link swore that when he got back, the first thing he was going to do was go squirrel hunting.

Link was minutes away from declaring a full on vendetta against the furry little creatures when he reached the clearing where Coro lived. As he stepped into the clearing, the cacophony of chattering died away, and Link breathed a sigh of relief as he could hear himself think again.

Deciding to take an early lunch so he could ride longer through Hyrule field, Link dismounted and led Epona over to where Coro usually sat by the fire. Surprisingly as Link glanced around the clearing, the young man was nowhere to be found. Figuring he must be in the house, Link tied Epona to a nearby post and knocked on Coro's door. A few minutes past with no answer so Link knocked again, more forcefully.

"Coro come on I know you're in there." He said

"Who…who is it?" came a tremulous voice from inside

"It's Link, don't you remember me?" Link replied impatiently. He heard timid footsteps and the door creaked open slowly.

"Of course I remember you!" Coro exclaimed, stepping outside "You got rid of all those forest monsters, made things a lot easier around here for me…well till now." He added as an afterthought.

"You're talking about the trees aren't you?" Link asked with a frown

"You mean the fact that the whole forest just went and tore itself up! Yes, yes I'm talking about the trees" Coro exclaimed fearfully "What happened?" he asked, looking at Link as if he must have the answer.

"I don't know yet." Link said grimly "But I'm going to find out and fix it, don't worry." he said reassuringly, though he had no idea how he was going to manage that.

"Oh…oh well that's good." Coro sighed looking around. "Is there anything you need?" he asked

"Not really, I was just about to eat lunch and I thought you might not mind some company." Link shrugged

"I wouldn't mind, I just put some soup on the fire earlier, it should be done. You want some?" Coro offered.

"I think I'll pass thanks." Link said, remembering the last time he'd tasted the stuff. It was more tar than soup.

Link grabbed his bag of supplies and selected a few pieces of jerky and a hard biscuit for his lunch, then walked over and sat down next to Coro.

"So where are you headed?" Coro asked, poring himself a bowl of the thick black soup.

"Castle Town, I want to see if Princess Zelda has any idea about why all this is happening." Link replied, tearing into a piece of jerky. It was good, but he knew he was going to get tired of it very quickly.

"If anyone would know what's going on, I guess it would be her. I don't know much about this kind of stuff." Coro shrugged

"You're not the only one." Link muttered, finishing his jerky and starting on his biscuit.

"Did anything like the forest happen in town?" Coro asked, somehow stomaching his awful soup.

"A bunch of chasms opened up where the fields were." Link replied, realizing that the biscuit was so hard he could chip a tooth if he wasn't careful.

"That sounds scary, anybody get hurt?" Coro asked with wide eyes.

"Two of the new farm hands, Liam and Jason, were still missing the last I heard. It looked like they weren't going to be found." Link said grimly, really thinking about it for the first time. He hadn't known the two men for very long, they were twin brothers who had just moved to Ordon to help out in the fields. This thing, whatever it was, had most likely killed them; and the more Link thought about it, the angrier it made him. He had to find out what was going t=on, and put a stop to it.

"That's bad, I'm sorry." Coro said sadly, looking down at his soup.

Silence fell for several minutes as both fell to their lunches. Finally, Link gave up on the biscuit and broke the silence.

"Thanks for the company Coro, but I should probably get going, I have a lot more ground to cover today." Link said as he finishing up.

"Hey no problem. Say, you wouldn't happen to need any lantern oil would you?" Coro asked hopefully. Business had been pretty slow through the woods lately.

"Not where I'm headed sorry. Maybe on my way back." Link offered, cleaning up and unhitching Epona from the post.

"Be careful out there." Coro said as Link mounted and nudged Epona to a trot.

"Will do." Link called over his shoulder as Epona left the clearing and started down the path toward Hyrule field.

Across Hyrule, two soldiers entered the sparse thrown room of Hyrule castle and stopped at the door when they noticed the empty high backed wooden chair ahead.

"I thought you said she'd be in here." the man on the left muttered to the other, his voice still carrying slightly through the open room.

"Gentlemen do come in, I'll be with you in a moment." came an authoritative voice from the far right corner.

The two men turned, chagrined, to see Princess Zelda standing with her back to them at a table with a member of the Lords' Council. Slowly they approached the makeshift throne, able to catch snippets of the hushed conversation taking place ahead.

"We've seen worse natural disasters than this Your Highness, the damage from this earthquake should be easily repairable."

"But that's the point I think you're missing Lord Ramsey. I don't believe this was a natural earthquake. It didn't seem like it had enough power to do some of the damage that I've seen. Things just fell apart." Zelda replied, forcing herself to remain patient. They'd been having the same conversation for thirty minutes now and he still refused to listen to her.

"Princess, perhaps we should revisit this topic at a later time, I believe your men would like to speak with you." Lord Ramsey said, neatly ending the conversation and making it clear that he had long dismissed her idea as pure paranoia.

"Of course. Good afternoon Lord Ramsey." Zelda said, forcibly remaining pleasant under his patronizing manner.

Turning away from the table she walked over and settled down into her wooden throne, giving the waiting soldiers her full attention.

"We've come to give you the preliminary damage report Your Highness." The soldier on the right stated

"Alright, how bad is it?" Zelda asked, bracing herself for the answer

"In town the damage was surprisingly minor. There was a lot of small pieces of rubble from houses lying about in the streets, and it appeared that one or two houses completely collapsed but no one was seriously injured." the soldier reported crisply.

"Well that's good news, why do you look so grim?" Zelda asked

"There's more ma'am. The south road, it's been completely blocked by rockslides, worse than I've ever seen it. Even with help from the few Gorons that were in town selling their goods, it's going to take days, if not weeks to get it cleared away." the second soldier responded unhappily.

Zelda sighed wearily "Well, anyone trying to get to Castle town in the near future may have to take a detour. How are the other entrances?"

"We haven't had any reports of any other collapses Your Highness, we sent a man out to ensure the Great Bridge of Hylia was still intact earlier. He should be back shortly." he informed her

"Good, have him come see me as soon as he gets back." Zelda said "Is there anything else."

"No ma'am that is all." The soldier on the left stated.

"Thank you gentlemen, you are dismissed." Zelda said, waving her hand to indicate they could leave. With quick bows both men turned and exited the room.

"If this so called earthquake spread as far across Hyrule as I suspect…" Zelda mused, standing and returning to the wooden table she'd been standing at earlier. She looked down at the map that was spread across the table, displaying all of Hyrule for her to see. "Then Link could very well be on his way here right now, knowing him." she finished her thought, then smiled and chuckled at herself "Well, one can hope anyway. He'd certainly put Ramsey and the rest of them in their place." Zelda shook her head and looked back down at the map, studying the damage to see if there were any patterns, but the longer she looked, the more scattered the points seem to be.

"None of this makes any sense." she muttered to herself, frustrated.

It was just past noon when Link reached the bridge stretching over southern Hyrule field's gorge. Checking Epona's pace a bit, he eased her over the wooden bridge into the main part of the field.

"We're making pretty good time, at this pace we'll be nearly out of the field before we have to stop for the night." Link said, looking up at the sun to guess the time.

Though the forest had been virtually cleansed of monsters, they still ran rampant in the fields, often causing trouble for travelers on the road. He hadn't run into any Bokoblins yet, and he was hoping to continue avoiding them. The only trace of monsters as far as he could see were a couple of Kargarocs soaring in the distance. He'd be able to deal with the great birds later if need be.

Despite his wishes to avoid the beasts at all costs, Link began to be worried as over an hour past on the road and he still hadn't seen a single Bokoblin. Usually at this point he would've at least seen several out in the distance even if none attacked him.

He was just deciding to tread a little more warily when Epona passed through two clumps of trees, and the world burst into action. Angry screeches crashed into Link from both sides as Bokoblins rushed out of the trees, swarming horse and rider. The impact from the large horde knocked Epona off of her feet and sent Link tumbling over the ground. He felt a sharp sting on his right arm where one of the creatures nicked him as he fell and a warm trickle of blood seeped down his arm. Epona rose to her feet quickly, and did her best to keep the Bokoblins off of her, but there were too many to keep track of.

As the creatures started to climb onto the mare, Link got to his feet and charged back into the horde, his sword hastily drawn. The monsters' angry cries soon turned to squeals of pain as Link cut through them one by one. The Bokoblins were strong and carried large weapons, but they were too slow and clumsy to evade Link's quick slices and stabs.

Link quickly fought his way to Epona, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. When he finally reached his horse only two were left, one clinging to her legs and one on her back. With a quick downward jab to the throat Link finished the one on Epona's legs, then with a precise momentum change, he swung upward and decapitated the Bokoblin on her back, dispatching with the last of them.

Breathing harder than he would've liked, Link surveyed the seen around him. The Bokoblins had obviously set an ambush for a passing traveler; he doubted it had explicitly been set for him. All in all there had been about fifteen of them, and Link realized this probably explained their strange absence throughout the rest of the field.

He looked down at the cut on his arm and saw that it wasn't very deep; it had already almost stopped bleeding. Relieved that he really didn't need to bandage it, he calmed Epona down. The mare was prancing, snorting and violently tossing her large head, as if to tell Link how unhappy she was that they'd waltzed right into a trap.

"You're the one with the great sense of smell, you should've warned me." Link scolded affectionately, stroking her forehead until she settled down.

He checked to make sure the monsters hadn't hurt her, and then double checked his saddle and supplies to ensure everything was still tightly tied. After he was satisfied it was safe to carry on, Link mounted Epona and left the carnage behind.

To make up time and also to avoid similar ambushes, Link left the main road and set a course through the heart of the field. He let Epona slide into a smooth cantor, and watched the landscape as it rolled by.

They managed to avoid any more major creature encounters and by the time the sun had nearly set, they had reached the beginning of the pass leading to Castle town.

"Good, we'll be able to use the rock walls for a bit of shelter." Link said, deciding to ride a bit further into the pass before stopping for the night.

After only about ten minutes however, Link found his way blocked by a giant mountain of rocks, all collapsed in from the walls on both sides. He surveyed the blockage for a few minutes, and realized he was never going to get through this way.

"Well Epona, looks like we're making camp here for the night." he said to the mare, who nickered in response. Link dismounted and untied his bedroll and supplies, setting them down on a smooth, level patch of ground. He reached under Epona and undid the saddle's girth strap, lifting it and placing it on a large rock next to his other supplies. He ran his hands over and around where the saddle had been, and satisfied that Epona wasn't developing any sores, he plopped down on his thick blanket.

"Sorry girl the bridle has to stay, just in case. Don't wander off tonight." Link said and Epona responded with a snort. She leaned her head down and began to snuffle around the ground, tearing up small patches of grass that she found.

"Of course the road had to be blocked. Nothing's ever easy." Link muttered, frustrated. He rolled over, placing his hands behind his head and looked up at the vast night sky.

"Going west would probably prove faster than going east at this point. It'll take me almost half a day to get to the Great Bridge of Hylia and almost a whole day to get to Kakariko Village…but if the bridge is damaged at all that puts me even further behind. It would probably be better to get to Kakariko, stay the night, and then carry on into east Hyrule Field. I can get to Castle town in under a day if I just follow the gorge." Link mused out loud to himself. After debating for a few more minutes, he settled on east.

Link checked to make sure Epona wasn't wandering too far, and then with a last look at his surroundings he rolled over and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Link woke suddenly when he felt something soft tickling his face. He sat bolt upright quickly, and collided head first into Epona's forehead. The horse shied away quickly and Link cursed in pain and rubbed his forehead. If horses' could laugh, Epona would've been, and Link simply glared at her.

"Of course it didn't hurt you, you hard headed nag." Link grumbled "I'm going to have a headache for the rest of the day now." he groaned, picking himself up off of his blanket and rolling it up. He packed up the rest of his supplies and secured his saddle on Epona's back, going through the same tightening ritual as yesterday.

When he had everything tied back on the saddle, Link mounted and kicked Epona into a healthy canter; they had to travel a little faster today.

Link made it all the way through Hyrule field and into Kakariko Gorge without incident and in good time. As the sun began its long descent from high noon position, Link crossed the bridge that spanned the large ravine and made his way into the northern half of the gorge.

As twilight fell over the land once more, Link arrived at the gates of Kakariko Village. He dismounted Epona and led her into the village, letting her cool off. He'd pushed her much harder today, and she was covered in sweat and breathing heavily. He'd have to wash her down in the spring before he went to bed tonight.

In the distance he heard his name being called and looked up to see Luda, the shaman's daughter, running toward him and waving. He waved back with a smile, and waited for her to approach.

"Link! I didn't know you were coming to visit! Did you tell father?" Luda asked

Link chuckled at her enthusiasm "No, this is sort of an impromptu trip. I'm on my way to see Princess Zelda and the main road was blocked so I thought I'd pass through here."

"Are you going to see her about the earthquakes?" Luda asked

"Yes, anything bad happen around here?" Link asked, not surprised at this point that the so called earthquakes had spread this far.

"Death Mountain erupted worse than I've ever seen it. Dad said it was pretty bad, but not the worse he's seen, and nobody got hurt." Luda stated

"Huh, would Renado happen to be anywhere around here?" Link asked, looking down the street.

"He's at home, I'll go with you." Luda declared, leading Link over to the shaman's house.

Luda opened the door "Dad, guess what! Link's here!" she yelled into the house as she let Link in, then closed the door behind them.

Renado appeared from another room quickly with his quite smile.

"Link, so good to see you again. What brings you to Kakariko?" Renado asked, beckoning Link to sit with him on a bench by the window.

"Nothing good." Link replied grimly, sitting down next to the shaman.

"Ah, Luda, go check on Seline and her little girl to make sure they've settled in all right would you?" Renado asked in a tone of voice that indicated it was not merely a suggestion.

"Okay, I'll take care of them, don't worry." Luda smiled as she exited the house, closing the door behind her.

"Now we can talk. Does the strange earthquake have anything to do with your visit?" Renado asked seriously.

"It's the whole reason I left. Faron forest tore itself out of the ground, and where the fields used to be; now there are just a bunch of fissures. Two of our men went missing, and the odds of finding them alive weren't good." Link answered, growing agitated as he spoke.

"The forest is no more? The extent of this 'earthquake' is very troubling" Renado frowned deeply.

"Did you hear how it got really quiet beforehand, and then a low rumbling in the distance?" Link asked

"Yes that's exactly how it went here. It seems this phenomenon spread across the entire kingdom." Renado pointed out "And I do not believe it to be a normal earthquake as most here are shrugging it off to be. It was too…unnatural." Renado mused, looking out the window at the dusty streets.

"Hopefully the princess will have some insight into this, or know where to get some." Link said, following Renado's gaze outside.

"Princess Zelda is a ruler wise beyond her years. I'm sure she'll find some way to help you." Renado replied standing; Link followed suit.

"Would you happen to have an extra bed at the inn tonight? I'd like to avoid the ground if I can help it." Link asked with a half grin.

"It's a lot fuller than you'll remember, but there's always a bed for you here Link." Renado smiled down at him. "I'll go over there and make sure they know you're coming so you won't have to worry about it. You should go see to your horse." Renado said, walking out into the streets.

"Thank you, I'll see you later." Link waved, fetching Epona and leading her to the spring.

Renado was right about the village being different than he remembered. All of the boarded up houses had been repaired, and people of all ages moved along the main street, talking to one another and laughing. Link felt slightly out of place among so many new faces, the last time he'd been here it had been Renado, Luda, the village kids and Barnes. Now the town flourished with life.

Link led Epona over to the spring and removed her saddle and bridle. He stripped off his boots and rolled up his pants and sleeves, then led Epona into the water. He rubbed down her legs with the healing water, and then moved on to the rest of her. By the time he was done, they were both sopping wet and it was dark outside.

He brought Epona, his tack, and clothes over to the side of the inn. He placed his saddle and bridle on a post and looked at his horse.

"Sleep here girl." he said, rubbing her nose briefly before retrieving his clothes and walking inside.

"First door up the stairs to your right." The woman running the inn informed him as he walked in. With an appreciative wave he mounted the stairs and found the indicated room. He placed his sword, shield and quiver on the table next to his bed, and his boots under it. Since he was sleeping inside he stripped off his tunic and leather armor, placing them next to his other gear.

Finally relieved of his equipment, Link collapsed into bed and was out in minutes.

Link set off early the next morning, before most of the town was awake. Renado came to see him off, giving him a few fresh pieces of bread for lunch so he wouldn't have to put up with the hard tack.

When Link finally stopped to eat the bread, he was just over half way there. The sun was high in the sky as he dismounted Epona and sat down next to the edge of the giant canyon that lined east Hyrule Field. He finished the delicious bread quickly and resumed riding, using the gorge as a guide.

When the sun set, Link cautiously kept riding, knowing he was finally close to his destination. The wooden bridge crossing into Castle town jumped out at Link in the darkness and with relief he led Epona over it and down the dirt path that led into the city

Just outside each entrance to the city, a small stable area had recently been built, and Link ensured Epona was comfortable before proceeding into the city.

Unsure as to where he should spend the night, Link wandered down the familiar path to Telma's bar. Despite her flourishing business, Telma had not made many noticeable modifications to the bar; it looked much the same as it always had.

Telma looked up as she somehow heard the door open and close amid the rabble of the customers, and a wide smile spread over her face when she saw Link cross the threshold.

"Link honey, so good to see you." Telma said, leaving her position behind the counter and wrapping Link in a stifling hug.

"It's about time I saw your face again. What brings you to my bar tonight?" Telma asked, looking him up and down.

"Well, honestly I needed a place to stay and I wasn't sure where else to go." Link replied a little sheepishly.

"Say no more, there's a little loft area where the attic used to be. You just climb up there and get some rest; I can tell that you're dog tired. Tomorrow we can talk about why you really came to Castle town hmm?" Telma finished with a saucy wink

Link chuckled and shook his head "That sounds good to me Telma, I'll see you in the morning." he said, spotting the ladder in the corner and climbing to the new loft space.

He took off his gear and tested the bed, pleasantly surprised by how comfortable it was. He flopped down under the sheets with a happy groan. Tonight he would get some rest, and tomorrow he would talk to Princess Zelda and figure out this whole mess.