True to his word, a boat was waiting an hour later. The boat was no more than a canoe really, fashioned out of wood panels and some sort of sticky substance. Leaves littered the bottom, along with several fish scales. The whole thing reeked of fish.
"For zoras, I expected something nicer. They live in water after all," Pala complained.
"We prefer to swim with our own fins. It was difficult enough to find this boat," King Ralis apologized. Throm's wolf grunted.
"It's fine. Thank you," Rose said. She climbed into the canoe, which rocked dangerously, and then settled herself on the carpet of leaves. Throm's wolf hopped in behind her, and Pala floated in the air above them. Throm eased himself into the water behind the boat.
"When we reach the Upper Zora River, you'll want to turn immediately left," Rose explained.
"Upper Zora River?" Throm asked. He had never actually learned the proper name for any locations beside Zora's Domain. After all, he had never actually been there.
"Where you met me," Rose clarified.
"Oh. Right," Throm said.
"Be careful," King Ralis said. Throm grabbed hold of the back of the canoe and swiftly propelled them forward. Zora's Domain soon was out of sight behind them.
They reached Upper Zora River a few moments later, and Throm carefully steered the boat to the left. It wouldn't do to knock his passengers into the water. In front of them he spotted a tunnel carved into the side of the rocky wall. It was dark, with the only light coming from torches positioned along the wall. As they passed into the shadows of the tunnel, the water became cooler. Throm felt a swift current tugging him along, and he allowed it to do most of the work.
A few minutes later, the group left the tunnel and reached daylight. Throm gasped and nearly swallowed a mouthful of water.
The sides of the river were carpeted with neatly carved stone blocks. Up ahead was a stone bridge which granted access from one side of the river to the other. The terrain around them was grassy, with the occasional tree. But none of those things were what held Throm captivated.
Up ahead, beyond the bridge, lay Hyrule Castle. Elegant spires reached for the sky, topped with blue roofing. The white stone of the castle seemed to glitter in the sunlight. A thick stone wall surrounded the castle, but it only made what lay beyond all the more inviting.
"If you take us beyond the bridge, there should be a place on the right where we can pull the boat to shore," Rose suggested, bringing Throm's thoughts back to the matter at hand. He steered the boat to the right and waited until the boat had passed beyond the bridge before pulling them to shore. Rose and Throm's wolf climbed out of the canoe, and Throm exited the water.
"Well, here we are. How are we going to find some horses?" Throm asked.
"I'll just cast a quick summoning charm," Rose explained.
"Are you sure about that? I mean, you just barely healed . . ." Throm said while trailing off. Rose glared at him.
"I know my limits," she snapped. Throm took a step back, startled by her sudden ferocity. She blinked and smiled apologetically.
"Sorry, it's just . . . I hate feeling underestimated," Rose admitted.
"No, I'm sorry. I should have stayed quiet. You know yourself better than I do," Throm said. Rose turned and gazed at the fields around them. Then she closed her eyes and extended a hand.
"Hennam Sarhih," she said. Throm waited expectantly, but nothing happened.
"The horses should be on their way," she explained.
"How are you a sorcerer anyway? I heard that there aren't very many true sorcerers these days," Throm pointed out. Rose looked up at the sky.
"I never knew my family. Queen Zelda always acted like a mother to me. She took me under her wing, and trained me. She taught me how to control my magic and use it for the good of others," she explained.
"I never knew my parents either," Throm admitted.
"Perhaps, when this crisis is over, we can both discover who our families truly are," Rose suggested. At that moment, Throm caught sight of two horses galloping across the field towards them. One was a chestnut bay stallion with white socks, while the other was a black bay mare with white socks. The two horses were conveniently wearing saddles already, and they reached the group quickly. Rose walked up to the mare and rubbed its muzzle.
"These are good horses. They will take us where we need," she said.
"How can you tell?" Throm asked while walking up to the stallion.
"I've always had a special connection with horses. To be honest, it's like I can read their thoughts, or like I can speak to them," Rose explained.
"Really. And what are they saying?" Throm asked, only half-believing her.
"The stallion is saying that he can't believe that he has to take you," Rose translated. Throm glanced at the stallion.
"Well. I'm not sure if I should be offended by that or not," Throm said.
"Let's get going. We need to go to the gorons," Pala piped up. Rose nodded and climbed on the mare. Throm did the same on the stallion. As soon as he seated himself on the stallion, it took a few steps back. Throm reached desperately for the reins, but there were none. Instead, he clung to the saddle. The mare neighed at the stallion, and he snorted in response.
"Where are the reins?" Throm asked. Rose laughed.
"They can lead themselves. You don't have to worry. They'll take us where we wish to go," Rose said. She then turned to the mare.
"Will you please take us through the gorge and to Kakariko Village? And please be sure not to leave Pala the fairy or Throm's wolf behind," she said. The mare shook its mane, and then did something rather odd. It turned and stared eye to eye with Throm's wolf. After a moment, the two stopped and the group began traveling to the gorge. Throm hung on to the saddle. He had never seen a horse before, much less ridden on one. And now that he had seen a horse, he wasn't sure he liked them much. They seemed too intelligent. It made him nervous.
They rode into a gorge with towering cliff walls. The horses' trotting echoed in the narrow stone quarters, and the area seemed quiet. Almost too quiet. The air felt wrong.
"Something doesn't feel right," Throm said softly. Rose nodded.
"I can sense it too. Oztaz is watching our progress," she replied.
"Should we pick up the pace?" Throm asked.
"No. It won't make a difference. Oztaz used an extensive amount of magic in a short period of time. If I sensed his magical abilities correctly, we have until dawn tomorrow to warn the gorons," Rose replied.
"So he just needs the goron, the human, the royal vessel, and this Link guy or one of his descendants," Throm clarified. Rose nodded.
"The full moon is tomorrow. Oztaz will have to regain all the magic he can tonight if he wants to be able to complete the ritual. I'm sure he is going to want the goron tribe chief's son, Gor Tarrin. If I was him, I would also take a human from Kakariko Village, preferably one that is young. I would do something to delay you and me, and then teleport to the castle and take what I needed from there. Then I would go to the location of Ganondorf's death. Only Queen Zelda and Link know where that was, but I'm sure Oztaz will find a way to discover it. And I'm sure Oztaz also has a plan for finding Link," Rose said.
At this point the group exited the canyon. In front of them was a large stone bridge spanning a wide canyon. Throm noticed that the sun was beginning to sink lower in the sky. They only had perhaps two hours of daylight left.
"We should probably hurry," Rose said, more to the horses than anyone else. The horses broke into a brisk trot across the bridge, with Pala and Throm's wolf easily keeping pace. In no time they were in West Hyrule Field, galloping across the vast plain. The sun continued to sink lower in the sky, and Throm started to grow worried.
"Here we are! Didn't I tell you that these horses were reliable?" Rose said happily as they reached the edge of the plain. A crevice surrounded West Hyrule Field. The only way across was a red stone pillar which had fallen in and now acted as a bridge. The land beyond was another gorge, but this one was made of orange and red stone. No grass grew there.
The horses galloped across the stone and into the gorge. They passed an iron gate, and a small village came into view. Nestled here in the dust, it look to be a hundred years old. The buildings were all worn down and yellowed, and the ground was dusty and barren. On the opposite side of the village lay a spring of clear water. No people were wandering the single street of the village.
"I present to you, Kakariko Village!" Rose said grandly, as if showing off some beautiful gemstone or fine castle. Throm snorted. Zora's Domain was much nicer than this. Rose scowled at him.
"Show a bit of respect. This place has been around for ages," she said.
"I don't doubt it," Throm replied. Rose rolled her eyes as the horses continued forward.
"Let's just fine the gorons."
