Nabooru and company marched through a twisting network of catacombs. Based only on where Malon thought she heard the noise, they turned into branching-off passageways and forks blindly, only their rope trailing behind them keeping them from being hopelessly lost, which admittedly they were, sort of.
"Malon's nuts," someone remarked under her breath. "Capitan too."
"I might be nuts, but do you have a better plan? Left," Malon said as they passed a tunnel branch.
"We're disobeying orders, you know."
"How?" Nabooru answered. "Were our orders 'Ignore Malon?'"
"No, our orders were to find the Goron city."
"And that's what we're doing. We have a lead now."
"But Malon couldn't have heard anything. No one else heard anything. She's going crazy."
"You will defame Malon's character no more, private."
"But what if she's wrong?"
"So what if she is? We might find the city anyway."
They marched still in silence. In that silence, suddenly, they heard something more. This time everyone did. It was clear and sharp. It sounded like a pick against stone, somewhat like the rock had sounded. The party stopped dead and listened. But it did not come again soon.
"Well?"
"That settles that, we're going to investigate." Nabooru strode confidently down the tunnel from which the sound seemed to originate.
"I guess it makes sense."
"I suppose Malon was right, then. Good job."
Malon smiled with the warmth of the compliments.
THWACK!
Another chip of stone dropped to the floor. The rock here was soft, sandstone I think, and it flaked off easily. Zelda and I were talking softly about this and that, staying on our guard. We talked to begin with at least, but soon we had fell silent and just listened stealthily.
There was a slight breeze from the cavern, and on the wind, every now and then I heard noises. I don't think they were real. They were just nerves. Zelda thought she heard some of them too, but they seemed unreal. They sounded like footsteps, stealthy and furtive, or hushed whispers speaking gibberish. But they were just products of my heated imagination.
Then I heard something that was definitely not in my head, and I stopped and reached out a hand to stop Zelda. There were the sounds of heavy footfalls from beyond a bend in the tunnel. Then an orange light began to grow---torchlight. Presently I heard voices, quiet but distinct, although I couldn't figure out what they were saying. The light flared stronger, and I clutched Zelda by the hand and dived with her into a convenient side passageway and crouched low behind the rocks.
The first thing I saw was a torch moving in front of the opening of the passage, and I shrank back from the rocks, fearing that the light would reveal me. Then an arm. Finally a whole body. It was a body I had seen before, somewhere far away, in another day and age.
Nabooru. It was without a doubt the Sage of Spirit who had been the last one I had awakened in my quest to save Hyrule. She marched confidently past the rocks, torch in hand. She wore a uniform like those of the Gerudo who had attacked us outside of our cell with Darunia, and I shuddered.
Then following her was a line of Gerudo warriors, of different cuts and stripes, not all in fact of the Gerudo race. I saw Hylians, normal people, and I recalled how large the area the Gerudo had conquered was.
Then I saw another face I recognized, but this time it took more effort. It was Malon. The ranch girl who helped me enter Hyrule Castle, and who gave me Epona to keep. She was dressed in the same Gerudo uniform. She was no prisoner. In her hand, which until then I had never seen raised in anger or even holding a weapon, was a Gerudo-made scimitar. I wondered for a moment how she had come to end up as a Gerudo soldier.
The stream of soldiers slowed to a trickle, and finally disappeared. The footsteps receded into the distance. Then, right as I was about to breathe easier, Nabooru shouted "Halt!" and my blood froze.
She continued quieter, and her words filled me with dread. "There is a mark on the wall."
I heard another voice answering, "So what?"
"It isn't natural."
"So someone's been down this way?"
"Obviously. Someone was moving through these tunnels, chipping the rock to mark the way back."
Then I heard Malon's voice in response, and I shuddered again, because it seemed so disembodied and out-of-place. "So that means...if we follow this back, we'll get to wherever the person started out...which could be the Goron city!"
I nearly had a heart attack. They were going to find the secret Goron redoubt.
I started to leap out to attack them, when Zelda restrained me. I understood, it would have been suicide. Then again, I would have given my life to protect the city, but I shouldn't throw my life away.
"Let's keep moving, then." The footsteps began again, and the company receded back the way we had come.
When the final echoes of the footsteps were faded, I began to breathe easier, but didn't move.
"Who were those people?" Zelda asked.
"Gerudo."
"Obviously. But there were two people you saw who made you kind of shudder. The second one I don't know, but the first was sort of...oh Goddesses!" The light of recognition dawned on her face. "That was Nabooru!" I nodded.
"The other one was Malon. She lives at Lon Lon Ranch."
"Oh, her! Her father delivered milk to the Palace...I only saw her once or twice, though..."
"Hmm...how are we going to awaken Nabooru?"
"That's not important! They're following our trail back! They're going to find the Goron city!"
"I know. We have to stop them."
"There's too many of them."
I stepped cautiously out into the empty cavern. They had left no trail, except for a rope trailing behind them. Every now and then it quivered. It was clearly being trailed behind the Gerudo so they could find their way back.
"There's a lifeline here," I told Zelda.
"Then our job is pretty easy!" Zelda motioned to my Master Sword, and I drew it. "Chop the rope there."
"So they won't be able to find their way back?"
"Yeah."
I was about to do it when something struck me.
"Wait! We can't!"
"Why?"
"Nabooru and Malon are in that group! If we cut this, then they'd get lost."
"Yes..."
"What would happen if Nabooru starved to death?"
"Good point."
"We have to attack them."
"One, you'd die. Two, even if you killed them all Nabooru would still die," Zelda remarked in her typically insightful way.
"But they're going to find the city."
"Well, if they do...there weren't nearly enough people to defeat all the Gorons."
"That's true."
"Do you think that was an army, and Verletz just underestimated?"
"I doubt it. Verletz didn't conquer half the world by underestimating."
"Right..."
"Maybe the rest of the army got lost? Like the Lost Woods?"
"Would Verletz make that mistake twice? Why would he send a huge army into a complicated maze in search of a hidden city? The last time he tried that..."
"You're right. That party must have been a scout party. Reconnaissance."
"A group sent just to explore?"
"Explore...or find the Goron city. That's why they would follow our trail back."
"That has to be it. The group was small enough to stay organized and be quiet, but big enough to take out anyone who spotted them."
"So what are we going to do? We can't kill them."
"If we go back the way we came, we'd run into them as they come back. There's no way for us to keep them from finding the Goron city."
"Then we have to keep them from getting back to report where it is."
"Without killing them? How?"
"I guess we can't. We need to slow them down somehow, to give us enough time to warn the Gorons so they can defend themselves."
"Is there no other option? The Gorons would have to fight the full force of the Gerudo head on."
"Well, if Verletz thinks the Gorons wouldn't know they were coming, then he'd probably not divert many troops to attack. He'd probably go for a sneak attack and wipe them out."
"Right. He'd follow the path of least resistance, he'd kill them in their beds and burn the city to the ground."
"So what can we do?"
"I think we should just try to slow them down. The Gorons can defend themselves well."
"Well, how should we slow them down?"
"We have to cut the rope. If we follow it back a ways, and cut it farther back, they'll still have a way to get out, it'd just take them a long time."
"Why can't we cut it here?"
"They'd follow the chips in the wall back."
"Ah."
"So we have to cut it a little ways back that way. Then they might try going the wrong way and waste some time."
"Okay."
"Wait here."
"No way. Not with them around."
Zelda and I trotted off down the passageway. After about five minutes of this, we stopped, panting, and chopped the rope.
"Now we need to chop it back where our trail stopped. Then there'll be a gap in the rope trail."
We walked back, tired, and chopped the rope there. I coiled the loose rope and wrapped it tight around my arm for safekeeping.
"Well, that's done. We have to now get back to the city to tell the Gorons that the Gerudo know where they are."
"How can we get back? The Gerudo are coming this way, and we'd be going that way..."
"Right. We need to get around them somehow, but without getting lost."
"Lets just wait here where we hid the first time."
"But here is right where the rope ends. What if they come down this path?"
"Yeah. We need to hide where the rope is still there."
"There was a little hole in the wall about a hundred yards down the path, I think it leads to a cave."
"Okay." Zelda yawned. "I shouldn't be sleepy, but..."
"It's all right. Let's go."
We walked quietly to the hole and investigated. There was a small, dry alcove there, that probably could fit Zelda and I comfortably enough. I climbed in the hole and helped Zelda through, then sat against the far wall, ready to collapse. The space was only about five feet square with a three-foot roof, so I couldn't stand, even if I wanted to.
Zelda yawned again and crawled over next to me, shivering. "It's cold..."
"Here." I took off the outer parts of my outfit and wrapped them around her, and she smiled.
"Don't do this. You'll freeze."
"I'm fine. Your body is warm enough." At that she smiled again, and rested her head on my shoulder. Feeling her there made me sleepy as well. "Navi...wake us up as soon as the Gerudo patrol gets here."
"All right," the fairy replied.
I wanted to say something to Zelda, but she was already asleep, and I was well on my way too.
The Goron city was in chaos. Later we would learn it was highly organized chaos, for a distinct purpose, but at the time it looked to us like pure, unmitigated chaos.
Navi had awoken us shortly after the Gerudo patrol had passed, without incident. We returned without incident, either, but as it turned out the incident had already happened. As we reentered the Goron city, there was what looked like thousands of Gorons, and a few humans and elves, milling about. I had to yell in order to be heard above the din of people's footsteps and shouts.
"WHAT'S HAPPENING?"
A youngish Goron passing by shouted, "SCRAMBLE!"
I looked at Zelda, and we ran after him, shouting, "WHAT?"
"SCRAMBLE, IDIOTS! DID YOU HEAR THE ORDER?" He was out of sight before I could say anything else.
"Scramble?"
"Let's talk to Darunia, or Little Link," Zelda decided. "Whatever's going on seems important, and we don't know what's going on."
"Yeah...unless he's too busy to see us."
"We have to try."
We pushed our way about in the crowd as best we could for a few moments, totally lost as to where to go and even why. Finally, I felt a Goron hand on my shoulder. I couldn't turn around to see who it was, I was practically jerked off my feet.
"YOU TWO! THIS WAY!" It was Darunia. He looked angrier than usual, but I couldn't really tell if his anger was directed towards us or just at something else.
"Darunia? What's going on?" Zelda asked as soon as we were in a quiet hallway.
"Where the hell have you two been?" he answered.
"We've been out. It is none of your business," Zelda snapped, before I could answer.
"You are under MY jurisdiction and your welfare is MY responsibility."
"But what is going on? Why are we 'scrambled'?" I finally got a chance to ask.
"A Gerudo patrol was spotted sneaking around here. Most of them were killed but a few escaped."
For a moment I was filled with dread, both at the prospect of the Gerudo having found the city, and that Nabooru and Malon might have both been killed.
"What did the survivors look like?"
"How should I know? I was out on patrol when it happened. Anyway, Link gave the order to scramble."
"Why?"
"The Gerudo patrol didn't show up by coincidence. Pretty soon now the remnants of the patrol will be reaching their base camp and reporting the location of this city. Then the whole goddamn Gerudo army will be here."
"I guess so."
"Damn right you guess so. But fortunately, they don't know how fast we can be combat-ready, and how many of us there are."
"There are a lot of us, then? And we can be ready fast?" Zelda asked hopefully.
"No and no," said Darunia, "but like I said, they don't know that."
"What is 'scramble'?" I wanted to know.
"Listen, idiots, the Sylvain Liberator fashions aren't all that attractive anyway, and it's very confusing when incompetent civs wear them," Darunia muttered.
"Sorry," Zelda mumbled.
"When we 'scramble', it means we recall all troops on mission and wake everyone else. We abort every other non-essential operation and muster everyone on the commons. They need to be armored, equipped, and ready, and they need to do it as fast as humanly possible."
"Sounds hard."
"You have no idea. Link gave the order and we're about halfway ready. But you two…we need every single living thing that can swing a sword fighting, and I don't know about you two."
"We can do it," Zelda said before I could even respond.
"What? Zelda, you can't be serious! You..."
"I'm dead serious. You just try and stop me."
"We wouldn't let you not fight anyway. That's 'scramble.'"
"I guess..."
I really didn't want Zelda fighting. I don't know how I would live with myself if she was hurt. But secretly, in the back of my mind, I knew that I wanted her to fight as much as she did. I wanted her to do it for a different reason, though. She wanted to prove that she could be helpful, or maybe for some other reason, I'm not really sure. I wanted her to fight because I knew it would be horrible. Atrocious, violent, horrible. I wanted her to see first-hand how horrific war and fighting was so that she would realize how easy it is to lose one's life. Maybe then she'd get some sense.
We presently arrived at Little Link's chamber.
"Are you sure he has time to see us?"
"He's been waiting to see you for hours."
"Why?"
"If you recall correctly, I rescued you from Gerudo protection. You two are very important people in the eyes of the Gerudo. We can't afford to have you unaccounted for. Link is going to personally see to it that you either die in battle or stay where he can see you. Maybe both."
I wasn't sure he was joking.
Little Link was seated at a table regarding a map. "Ah, you. Come in. Sit."
"You look calm," Zelda remarked.
"If I couldn't be calm in this situation, I wouldn't be commanding the army."
"What do you need of us?" I asked politely.
"You and…Zelda? Yes. You and Zelda are our top priorities, besides protecting our city and defeating the Gerudo, of course. You are clearly important. I won't make you go into battle, we can't risk it."
"We're going to fight."
"Hmm?"
"The Gerudo are our enemies. I'd sooner die a hundred deaths by their hands than wait while you fight them." Zelda's rhetoric was firey, but I could see, easily, she was scared. But I didn't doubt she'd go into battle for a second. It reminded me of myself; I never will be able to get over the fear before a battle, but I'd never back out of one either.
"You cannot fight. You are not Stone Fists, nor are you members of any other liberator guild who have been commissioned to help us," Darunia said icily.
"What guild they belong to is of no concern to me," Little Link answered. "What is my concern is that they are more valuable alive than dead."
"I see."
"Do you," Little Link addressed us, "wish to fight?"
"Yes," I said. "But Zelda should..."
"I also will fight." Zelda looked at me, holding a silent conversation with me, and the gist of what she said was "I'm staying here over my dead body." I nodded. This was her choice, and whatever part she was to play in the quest that lay before me, fighting alongside me had to be part of it.
"Very well. Raise your right arms."
"Sir, with all due respect..." Darunia began.
"Lieutenant, are you familiar with the concept of chain of command?"
"Yes, sir," Darunia said not bitterly but guardedly.
"Right then. Raise your right arms and repeat." We did.
"I, being under my own free will and not under coercion, persuasion, or any form of compulsion, magical or otherwise..."
"I, being under my own free will and not under coercion, persuasion, or any form of compulsion, magical or otherwise..." Zelda and I echoed.
"...do hereby enlist in the service of the anti-Gerudo liberation organization Stone Fists..."
"...and swear fealty to those officers as directed hereafter by the authority administering this oath..."
"...and will serve without question or fail for a period lasting as long as is required by my commanding officers..."
"...and will be released by my superiors upon satisfactory completion of those objectives assigned to me."
This seemed a little vague to me, and I wondered how long our period of service could be extended. Indefinitely, probably.
"Congratulations, you are now temporarily commissioned soldiers required in the defense of our headquarters in an emergency. You will be returned to your positions as members of any other cell that you are members of, with no loss of rank or demerit, when your required period of service is expired or you are rendered unable to continue your duties," Little Link droned mechanically. "You are to be placed under the command of Lieutenant Darunia."
"WHAT? Sir, I..." Darunia began, exasperated.
"You will be placed under Lieutenant Darunia until such time as he has the free time to file a formal request for your transferal," Little Link said flatly. "You are now under his jurisdiction. I trust you will use your best judgment regarding decisions affecting our most important soldiers?"
"I am honored that you have chosen me to safeguard them," Darunia said, not bitterly. I think his mood had changed somewhat and he was genuinely proud. I suspected it was just that the emotions of battle were beginning to take hold of him.
"Prepare these two for battle. Assess their abilities and assign them roles based on their skills. Oh, and save a mount for them."
"Yes sir." Darunia's facial expression suggested that he'd sooner give mounts to boulders than us, but he had his orders.
"And above all, don't let them get taken alive. I don't know why the Gerudo want them alive, but whatever the Gerudo want, we have to give them the opposite. Bring them back alive or dead or wounded, but bring them back." He turned to address us. "You must understand that if you are captured, you must make every possible effort to escape, and failing that, you must make sure that whatever you have that they want, they will never get, ever. By any and all means available to you..." Zelda and I nodded.
"Time is of the essence, sir," Darunia broke the silence.
"Indeed it is. Report to the armory and then get your squad to the commons. I'll speak with you there."
"Yes sir."
"Dismissed."
Darunia made the Stone Fist salute gesture and turned to leave with us in tow. We set off down another inscrutable tangle of passageways, our destination known only to Darunia.
"Where are we going to be fighting?"
"You will speak when spoken to, soldiers, and address your commanding officer as 'Sir,'" Darunia said calmly.
"Sorry, sir."
"The Gerudo now know where we are. But they don't know we're about to turn out in force. Our plan is to strike fast, strike hard, and do as much damage as possible, then if things look bad we retreat back here and wait for them."
"How do you know where they are, sir?" Zelda asked.
"We know where they are, because they've been there for months. They've camped there and they're not going anywhere fast."
"So we're going to strike them and do as much damage as we can, sir?"
"Yes. I don't think we can destroy them completely, but we can probably throw them a bit. They'll take quite a while for them to regroup if we hit them hard enough, and they'll think twice about throwing their troops against OUR stone walls!" Darunia rose his voice passionately.
"Yes sir!" I responded enthusiastically.
"Here we are." Darunia opened a door and led us into an armory.
"Do we need anything, sir?" Zelda asked.
"You go into battle like that, and...well, at least we won't have to worry about you getting captured alive..."
"I have never needed armor before, sir," I said politely.
"When did you fight last?"
I was tempted to say that I fought an evil alter-ego of Verletz in a different timeline that would be happening as we spoke.
"Err, not recently."
"War has changed, son. Before Verletz came to power, we did it your way, with light armor and mobility being key. There was a lot of swordplay, and your blade parrying a strike was what saved you, not the fact that a direct hit would give you a ringing in your ears at worst. Now...now if you're not encased in steel, or have skin like a boulder, you'll be crushed, stabbed, or worse."
"How did this change come about, sir?"
"Verletz invented plate armor and introduced it to the world, we believe. Nothing could stop it, except more plate armor. So, sorry to say, we copied it wholesale. Now the only people who aren't in half-plate, at least, are archers or cavalry, who need the mobility of light armor. So if you haven't been in armor before, you'd better learn fast."
"Yes sir."
We had then arrived at the armory, a hot, dim room that smelled of men at war. There was, on the walls, a staggering array of weapons and armor, the likes of which I had never seen. Most were spears, like the one Darunia had wielded. There were swords from the size of daggers to those that looked about as tall as I was. Armors ranged from simple leather straps and hides to suits of chain mail, to scale mail, to breastplate, and up to full plate, that looked similar to the armor of the Iron Knuckles. It was bewildering, and more than a little scary.
"What else will you be equipping us with, sir?"
"Let's get armor settled first. You," he pointed at me, "will probably want field plate. You swing a sword, right?"
"Yes sir. I have one, too."
"So I see. But just a sword isn't gonna cut it. You'll need something to deal with plate armor."
"Sir?"
"Plate armor is designed to resist slashing blows from swords. Your sword would make superficial slashes but not do any real damage. You need to use a light, flexible, piercing weapon, like a rapier, that can pierce armor or at least find gaps in it to puncture. But I take it you're not the type to fence with a steel-encased juggernaut, exchanging witty banter, eh?" I smiled, totally out of respect. I don't really consider myself to be clumsy, and I fence pretty well, considering I did without full plate for my first adventure pretty well. But I didn't really want to make trouble, and besides, Darunia was probably right. Everything else seemed to have changed dramatically in this strange new future, and I wouldn't doubt him if he had said we resolved our differences with ritual checkers.
"So your other option is something heavy and concussive, like a mace, which won't cut anyone, but it can break bones and cause major tissue damage even through armor."
"Yes sir."
"Hmm. I have an idea. Piercing, and bashing...here you are!" Darunia grabbed a large steel rod to which was attached a sphere of metal about the size of a grapefruit. The sphere was covered with sharp metal spikes. A length of leather cord was wrapped around the handle and ended in a loop to attach the weapon to one's belt. He tossed it to me and I grabbed it gingerly.
"What is that, sir?" Zelda asked, a little frightened by the magnitude of the killing devices on hand, but mostly, genuinely curious about it.
"'Scalled a morningstar. Heavy mace head with spikes. The spikes can do some damage if they pierce the armor, and the mace head is heavy enough to put the spikes through a half-inch of steel if you swing it right."
I swung it around. The unbalanced weapon was a little hard to get used to, but it was a lot like a normal sword. Probably easier to use, since all I had to do was to put the heavy, pokey part on whatever I wanted to die.
"You're a natural, boy. Keep that on hand. If you get a chance to use that sword of yours, go for it, but when in doubt, bashing will work best. And keep that shield of yours up."
"Understood, sir."
"Good. Now as for the lady, what does she do?"
"Well..." Zelda began.
"She's the best archer I've ever met," I offered.
"Don't flatter me," Zelda whispered to me.
"Archer, eh? We need plenty of those. As long as you have armor-piercing arrows, you'll provide some cover fire, at least." Darunia trotted off and grabbed a quiver and tossed it to Zelda. "These'll work fine. The tip comes to a sharp point, and if you've got a strong enough arm and a nice heavy bow, you'll puncture armor nicely."
"Yes, sir." Zelda examined the arrows gingerly.
"Let me see the bow you're using," Darunia said. Without waiting for an answer he took the Fairy Bow from her back and looked it over. "Not bad, although it looks like it belongs in a museum."
"It's a family heirloom, sir, but it still works fine," I lied.
"Good. Hmm, composite body, nice heavy pull…yeah, it'll work. Just put some force behind those arrows or they'll shatter when they hit."
"Yes sir," Zelda answered.
"For armor, girl, you'll want chain mail. Not too heavy, and gives you the mobility you need to shoot straight while stopping blows pretty well. Just for emergencies, though, you'll want to avoid melee as best you can."
"All right, sir, let me try some on."
"I'm getting to it, I'm getting to it." Darunia grabbed a suit of small metal rings which were interlocked to form a shirt with a hood. Zelda slipped it on and moved her arms and legs around a bit. "Not bad, sir."
"Good, not that we'd have changed it if it wasn't. If you need some padding you can ask for some, if you don't have any padding it'll move around and chafe. Now you, boy, get over here."
I followed Darunia a few steps. A young Goron handed him a large piece of steel. Where it would go on my body I had no idea. He continued to feed Darunia more and more chunks of steel, until Darunia had acquired a healthy pile of them. Then he handed me a leather outfit and ordered me to put it on.
I did, and it was fairly comfortable, at least without the metal on it. Before I knew it, another Goron had slipped a suit of chain mail over my torso. Then Darunia and a few helpers began attaching the plates to the leather. It was a lengthy process, and I was drenched in sweat after a few minutes. Every part of my body that didn't need mobility (like my elbow joints) had a plate attached to it. First shin guards were attached to my legs, then large steel knee guards attached. Thigh plates were attached to my leather belt, followed by bracers and bicep plates. Shoulder and chest plates, each about the size of a chair, were attached to my shoulders and tied up. Finally, steel greaves and long gauntlets were slipped over my hands and feet and strapped on with leather straps.
"You all right?"
"I'm okay," I lied again.
"Try moving around a bit."
I did, and it was surprisingly easy. Not nearly as clunky and slow as I had imagined, but nonetheless definitely not nimble.
"Draw your sword." I instinctively reached for where I kept my Master Sword, on my back, and didn't find it.
"Your scabbard is at your left hip."
"Sorry, sir." I drew the Master Sword, swung it a few times. The extra weight on my arms actually made my strikes seem heavier, less controlled, but much more deadly and forceful. Different from my usual fighting style, of course, but not necessarily worse. It would definitely work better with a mace, or morningstar or what have you.
"See? It's hard to use a sword accurately. Try the morningstar, it's at your right hip." I unbuckled the strap that held the morningstar to my belt as I put away my Master Sword. Darunia was right, the mace was easier to swing. "Where is my shield, sir?"
"Here." Darunia handed me my Hylian Shield and strapped it to my arm. He had made a few changes to it, mostly more straps and whatnot, and it was attached so tight to my arm I felt I could never get it off again. It seemed like removing it would be as hard, and as unnatural, as removing my whole forearm.
"Looking good. Here's your helm." A Goron placed on my head a large helm. All of polished metal, large, bucket-shaped, and ugly, but that wasn't my concern. Without my permission, a Goron attached a mouth guard, which was basically a curved, v-shaped crosspiece that went across my face from my nose to the base of my neck, with silts for breathing and talking. Then Darunia flipped down my visor, which was similar to the mouth guard but had a larger opening to see out of. "Not bad. You might stand half a chance."
"You look great, Link," Zelda said earnestly.
"I feel less than great, but at least I'll be safe," I opined.
"Right, and we'd rather have you safe and uncomfortable than dead in luxury," Darunia remarked. "Girl…Zelda…what other weapons do you have?"
"Err, none, sir," Zelda answered.
"Just the bow? All right, you need some close range weapons, so if, Goddesses forbid, someone gets into melee with you, you can at least flee safely."
"Sir?"
"Trying to draw an arrow, nock it, and take aim while someone two feet away from you is swinging a fifty-pound blade is less than ideal. Take something light, easy to use, easy to draw if you need to. Are you ambidextrous?"
"I'm not sure, sir."
"Do you know what ambidextrous MEANS, girl?"
"Yes, sir, but I haven't tried to find out."
"Take these." Darunia handed Zelda a pair of matching scabbards with sword handles emerging from them. They looked oddly foreign in design. "Strap 'em on and try out those blades. Put the smaller one in your off hand and the larger one in you primary."
"If I'm ambidextrous, sir, I wouldn't have a primary or off-hand, would I, sir?"
"I guess you're right, actually. Then just take the swords and find which one feels right in which hand."
"All right, sir." Zelda had already attached the scabbards to her belt and drew the two curved short swords. They were very keen and glimmered in the light. They were about two-and-a-half feet long, although one was about four inches shorter than the other.
"Beautiful," I said from within my metal bucket hat.
"They are. Get a feel for them and wait here, I'll be back in a moment. HEY! PRIVATE! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING WITH THAT?" Darunia stormed off in the direction of a soldier fooling around with a large halberd. As an afterthought he yelled at me, "Open that visor and pull down your mouth guard, son, at least for now. You sound like you're talking from the bottom of a well."
"Hmm, I think I just might be ambidextrous," Zelda said to me, tossing the swords from hand to hand.
"I hope you are," I said to her as she rolled her wrists and swung the blades about, almost rhythmically, "or you'll be minus one hand in a minute."
"Are you all right in that hunk of metal?"
"I'm fine. It's nice and cool here on top of a mountain, at least. Can you shoot all right with that armor on and those swords at your side?"
"Sure," Zelda answered, replacing the swords in their sheaths and taking the Fairy Bow from her back. She drew back the string and took aim with an imaginary arrow. "No trouble at all."
"Great. Do what you do best. Shoot some Gerudo." I smiled, and she smiled back.
"Time to earn my stripes."
"You don't need any, to be honest. I've been killing for a living so long, I've got enough stripes to turn a horse into a zebra, and where has it gotten me?"
"An underground city?"
"More great chances to kill some more."
Behind our casual talk, I think we were worried sick. No, scratch that, I know we were. I had been in fights before, of course, but not on a mass scale. And Zelda...before a few days ago, she'd never have shot at anything not painted with a bullseye. I didn't want to get her scarred for life, physically or mentally. But it had to be done. Besides, to back out now would be to desert the Goron army in its time of need. A court-martial would be the least they would do.
But she was willing, and I had learned by now that nothing could dissuade her besides letting her do whatever it was and hoping it turned out to be so wretched she'd never do it again. I was hoping that fighting would be one of those times. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure I sound like a hypocrite. But if I could solve all the world's problems without raising a sword, I would. But I can't. Fighting and killing each other seems to be so engrained in our brains that we're compelled to do it whether we like it or not. For better or for worse, we were going to go into combat. Ideally it would be short and uneventful.
It turned out to be neither.
