Hey y'all!
So guess I'm doing another double release today, courtesy of Hyrule Warriors coming out tomorrow. Heard it's not good on the 2DS… dammit. So check out my other fic, which I will update, The Boy Without a Fairy after reading! Well anyway, here's another chapter out for y'all to enjoy! Haven't left ya guys hanging for too long I hope! Also, a special shout out to all of those who have followed, favorited, reviewed, and stuck with me up to this point. It means a lot to me, y'all! And the reason I'm saying this, is because this is technically the 20th chapter of this fic! Woo! So, enjoy the story, folks!
I do not own, nor ever will own, the rights to the Legend of Zelda or any of the characters, objects, creatures, etc. Nintendo owns all rights to this franchise.
Preliminary Edits: 05/02/2018
Chapter 18: Infiltrating Arbiter's Grounds
The sun rose early the next day, showing how spring had finally taken hold over the land of Hyrule. But in the Gerudo Desert, there was no distinct difference between spring or fall. At the moment, the cool desert air was still whipping up the sandy dunes surrounding King Bulblin's camp. Even though the sun was beginning to rise in the east, promising another dry, hot day, no one in the camp stirred awake. Most everyone slept noisily in their still drunken stupor from the previous night's festivities.
That is, until Constantine heard the hurried crunching of footsteps on desert sand. Not a minute later, he heard the familiar sound of someone emptying their stomach behind his tent. It went on like this for at least another two minutes before he heard the sound of that same person hitting the ground hard. The corporal chuckled to himself as he sat up, stretching and appreciating the fact that he wasn't the ranger with the hangover this time.
He rose from his rickety cot to go check on Krauss. For everyone's sake, Constantine hoped his fellow ranger hadn't passed out in his own vomit. After all, in a desert like this the only place to bathe was in an oasis on the outskirts of camp, and no one wanted Krauss' bodily fluids to pollute the only clean water source for miles.
Opening the flap of his tent, Constantine squinted against the rising sun shining bright in the sky. It was too early in his opinion, while no doubt the captain and Rusl had already woken up and started their morning training. That is, if they hadn't drank too much.
Constantine smirked, amused by the idea of seeing the two leaders of the Ordona Rangers hungover.
He walked around to the back of the tent, happy to see Krauss had fallen onto his back instead of face first into the pool of vomit that was close to the heels of his worn leather boots. As Constantine came up to Krauss, he heard the fallen soldier groan.
Krauss opened his eyes, seeing Constantine's smug face leaning over his, trying to hold back laughter.
"Morning, sleepy head. How you feeling today?" the corporal said, all the while wearing a grin.
"Shut up, Stan. Too early," Krauss responded, feeling his head pulsating the same rate as his heart. He tried to lift his head up, but it weighed as much as a ton of bricks. "What the hell… happened last night?"
"You drank just a little bit too much there, Krauss ol' buddy."
"Dammit, how much?"
"About three kegs of what King Bulblin was drinking. Which I believe was…" Constantine left the sentence hanging with a hint of mirth.
Krauss, however, covered his face with his hands, partly in shame, partly trying to block out the sun. "Goddess damned desert fire-ale!" A dangerous alcoholic blend of Hylian ale and Gerudo firewater.
"Yup, I think that was it," Constantine said "should have stuck with the ale there, Krauss."
"Dammit Constantine, I swear you say one more thing..." Krauss couldn't finish his sentence, as another wave of sickness racked his body. He rolled onto all fours, regurgitating whatever was left from the night before right where he had been laying not a second earlier. Once finished he crawled away from his second pool to find a dry place to lie down. Collapsing on his back again, he said, "Constantine, if ever you considered me your friend… You'd kill me now."
"No can do, buddy," Constantine answered as he walked over to his comrade, causing him to groan in response. "But I can get you some water, sound good?"
Krauss nodded slowly, not able to find words at that moment. He quickly regretted the motion as the calming beating in his head picked up with his heart again.
"Alright, just gotta promise me one thing since I'm sure you'll hear it from Rusl sooner or later."
"Goddess anything! Just bring me some water!" Krauss nearly screamed, covering his mouth as he felt himself almost get sick again.
"Okay," Constantine said as he left to procure his fallen comrade his much-needed canteen. Before he fully disappeared from Krauss' view past his tent, Constantine poked his head back and quickly said, "Had to knock you out last night to carry you back to your tent. Sorry! Just promise you won't use me as a practice dummy again!"
With that, the corporal disappeared completely from view. Krauss lifted his head, fury quickly flashing over his face as he screamed Constantine's name before he finally succumbed to his third, and hopefully last, bout of sickness.
"He is going to pay for that…" Krauss mumbled as he again collapsed onto his back, realizing now where part of his headache had come from. Today was starting off horribly for the poor Hylian.
It wasn't until the sun was well past its peak did King Bulblin's camp finally start buzzing with activity. Bulblins all around the camp were sharpening their weapons and fletching arrows. Others began preparing their mounts. Constantine noticed one of the Bulblins was having trouble with his Bullbo to the point where he was bucked off his saddle across into a tent. Many of his comrades began laughing uncontrollably, Constantine letting himself chuckle as well.
While this was happening, the young corporal could hear the faint sound of chanting off in the distance. He had heard it around the camp all day, enough so to ask King Bulblin about it. The king explained it was their shamans practicing the many war rites and marking Bulblins who participated in these practices with 'war blood'. To the rangers it was odd to see the green creatures who they once thought of as beasts having any sort of religion. Even if it did revolve around some sort of blood thirsty goddess of war.
Constantine became interested in the Bulblins' idea of a goddess, mainly the fact that their deity was a female Bulblin. He had never seen a female Bulblin, thinking that Bulblins just sprouted from the ground like plants or a fungus. So, he asked King Bulblin if there even were any.
The king let loose a loud laugh, smacking Constantine on the back as he did so, knocking down the ranger to the ground in the process. Constantine became even more confused, but just laughed uneasily himself as he stood back up. King Bulblin didn't say anything else to him on the matter.
Bulblins were a strange, violent race.
Eventually, Constantine had reached his destination: the Ordona Rangers' camp. The rangers, King Bulblin and whoever else of note were finally meeting at King Bulblin's tent to discuss strategy for the upcoming battle, which was only hours away. Every one of the rangers was present, except Reina. So, Constantine was chosen to go find her and he thought her tent would be the best place to check first.
As he opened the flap to her tent, he called Raina's name, letting her know he was coming in. He didn't even think about waiting for her to respond, everyone was in a hurry and needed to be on their feet. What he saw, however, stopped him in the tent's entrance.
Raina was huddled on her cot, hugging her knees to her chest. Her face buried between her legs, hiding it from Constantine, and her entire body was shaking. She didn't seem to notice Constantine entering her tent or hear him, still keeping her face hidden from view. Even so, it didn't take a genius to understand that something wasn't right with Raina.
Slowly, Constantine walked up to the distraught woman, stopping about a foot away from her before speaking. "Raina?"
She didn't hear Constantine, or if she did she didn't pay any attention.
Constantine kneeled down to her level and placed a hand on one of her folded arms. This time, Raina's head shot up, startling the corporal.
Raina, finally making eye contact with Constantine, looked like she hadn't slept at all the night before. Her face was impassive, almost emotionless, while shadows circled her golden eyes and bags tugged at them, making her appear older than she was. While examining her eyes, Constantine swore she was looking right through him, like she wasn't there in the moment. A subtle frown tugged at her face, marring her youth even more.
"C-Constantine?" she eventually stammered out. "What… what are you doing here?"
"We're meeting with King Bulblin to discuss battle plans. I was supposed to come get you," he responded softly.
Raina shook her head slowly, trying to clear her mind. She stood up from her cot and began searching for her weapons and equipment. "Okay. I'll be ready in a moment," she informed, trying to make her voice sound stronger.
She scurried around, picking up her leather armor from one side of the tent and her bow from the other. Never had she been this disorganized, nor had she ever acted like this as long as Constantine had known her. What was wrong?
"Raina," Constantine said slowly. The Gerudo stopped upon hearing her name, turning to face Constantine and once again making eye contact with him, causing the corporal's words to become stuck in his throat. He coughed in his hand to try to regain his nerve. "What's the matter? I've never seen you act like this."
"I'm fine," she replied stiffly. Obviously, she wasn't, but she didn't want to open herself up to anyone, let alone Constantine.
He didn't let up, though, so he pressed onward, raising his voice. "No, you're not. Raina, your entire body was shaking not a minute ago. Don't say nothing's wrong, 'cause something is obviously bothering you."
"Constantine, please…" she half-pleaded, half-demanded. Her face fell to where her hood and a few strands of her velvet hair covered her face.
"Raina, the rangers are a team. You need to be able to trust us and realize we can help you, whatever it is. You look like you're not even paying attention to me. Like you're only half yourself."
"And what would you know about me, Constantine?!" she snapped "You've only known me for about half a year! All I've shown you, that's all you know. Who I was, what I'm feeling. None of you need to know more than what is on the surface. Everything else is for my eyes only. Don't bother…"
Raina went back to preparing for the battle ahead, not paying any attention to Constantine. He stood there, shell shocked, hoping to find something to say to convince Raina otherwise. But nothing came to mind. So instead, he marched up to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Constantine, please leave, I have nothing left to say to you." Her voice ever so slightly cracked mid-sentence before she fully regained control.
"Well, you did just say something to me," he replied smugly, earning a humorless half-chuckle from Raina. "And I'll leave, but two things: one, if there's ever something you need help with, we're here. I'm here. Two," Constantine spun Raina around, taking her hand and opening it while reaching around his neck. He unfastened his pendant, placing it in the palm of Raina's hand. Constantine closed her fingers around it. "I know she isn't your Lady Din, but Nayru has helped me through some tough spots from time to time."
After that, Constantine let go of Raina's hand and made to leave the silent ranger's tent. Opening the tent flap, he said "I want that back someday, alright? Once whatever is bugging you has passed. I'll see you at King Bulblin's tent."
With that, he left Raina alone in her silence. She opened her hand to look at the silver pendent Constantine had left her. It was the emblem of Nayru's spiritual stone, an ancient treasure said to be possessed by the Zora. Three sapphires were connected by the cool silver. It looked too valuable of a trinket for Constantine to have, which made Raina wonder how he had gotten his hands on it. But she didn't think on it too long as she fastened the chain around her neck, feeling the small weight of the cool metal meet her skin.
She let out a deep breath before glancing up from the pendent towards the tent flap. "Constantine… You idiot," she said with the hint of a smile before returning to preparing for the dreaded battle ahead.
"…so while we do battle with the dissenters and monsters, you sneak in over the walls of Arbiter's Grounds, get back the important councilor and join us to rid these invaders from our land!"
King Bulblin had finished recounting his plan, summing up the short strategy in a handful of words.
Link and Rusl looked over the map lain out on the table in the center of King Bulblin's tent. The rest of the rangers were scattered about, listening in on the plan, making note of their jobs. Constantine questioned the plan first.
"It just seems too simple," he commented. "Cap, am I only one that thinks that having the Bulblins simply charge the fortified enemy could be oh, I don't know… Downright idiotic!"
"'Idiotic'? 'Idiotic'?! This is how we have always fought tribal battles! It is how we fought against King Grask and won, it is how we will reclaim Arbiter's Grounds!" King Bulblin smashed his fist on a figure in the center of the drawn-out Arbiter's Grounds. It shattered into several clay pieces. "Do you understand, city dweller?"
"No wonder you haven't been able to conquer Hyrule," Constantine scoffed.
"Silence, you!"
"Enough," Link raised his hands to calm them. "We're allies, not enemies. Let's act like it." King Bulblin calmed down, but not before growling in Constantine's direction. Faint beads of sweat could be seen trailing down the corporal's face, no one could tell whether that was due to his nervousness at having offended the Bulblin king, or from the desert heat.
"With that being said," Link spoke, spreading his hands out on the table "this isn't exactly the best plan I've seen, King."
King Bulblin made a noise of disagreement in response, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Think about it," Rusl cut in "you want to charge what is basically a fortress with only your men and no siege equipment. Like Link said, this plan is a little rough around the edges."
"Well, how I see it, you need a distraction to infiltrate Arbiter's Grounds, right?" The rangers nodded in response to King Bulblin's question. "Then let my people serve as that distraction. We Bulblin are bred for war, forged through war. Let us do what we do best and crush our enemy! Besides, the mindless creatures behind those walls may follow a leader, but they won't cower in Arbiter's Grounds. They will fight."
"Right, and who would this leader be, exactly?" Krauss questioned from his laying position, eyes closed trying to calm the remnants of his hangover.
"One of Grask's higher-ups who betrayed us when those other Bulblin showed up. Not much of a thinker, but he can fight."
King Bulblin left out the fact that Shade was there, only Rusl and Link knew about the hero's shadow in the king's report. If the other rangers learned about the shadow, it would only instill fear in them. Push came to shove, and Shade was not commanding the Bulblins, choosing to stop the rangers, Link would fight the shadow off so the other rangers could escape with Yven. There were a lot more variables than King Bulblin would admit or address, but his simple plan would try to deal with all of those issues through bloodshed.
Yet, it was the only plan they had. Link nor Rusl were trained for desert warfare, and what little strategy they did know involved heavily forested areas. What else could they do? Link asked himself this question over and over again as King Bulblin went over his strategy, but he didn't have an answer.
"And even if this plan should fail, there'll be you lot behind enemy lines causing chaos. I've seen what the bastard-hero can do against my army, I'd like to see him do it to this one." King Bulblin had a toothy grin as he looked at Link. The hero nodded uneasily in response.
"If you say so," he said.
"And what if we need to get out of there faster than you think?" Rusl questioned Link, not exactly thrilled that his former apprentice was starting to agree with King Bulblin's plan. "How will we alert the main army? Not to mention, where would Yven be? Could we get to him swiftly? A full-frontal assault can only buy us so much time."
"Fire arrows. I'll have Raina shoot them off into the sky." Link pointed towards the Gerudo. She nodded her head in affirmation. "If we continue our attack on the fortress after rescuing Yven, I'll have her shoot one…"
"And if we retreat, she'll shoot two in succession. That could work," Rusl finished, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"As for Yven, I've been in the prison, I know where they'll be keeping him. Trust me, Rusl."
Rusl sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, defeated by his own former pupil. "I do, my boy. I do. Even if I didn't, I'm sure you would go along with this strategy anyway, stubborn as you are."
"Then it's settled, we'll go along with your plan, king. While you lead the main attack, we'll sneak into Arbiter's Grounds, find Yven, and cause some panic behind enemy lines," Link relayed.
"Good," King Bulblin growled out happily. "I look forward to the battle. We leave once the sun sets, and then after, we will give you a real welcome to our home." The king laughed heartily, earning a chuckle from most of the rangers.
"Alright, rangers, you heard him. Let's get ready, we have job to do!" Rusl ordered, all of the rangers stood to salute their leaders and replied with a resounding "Yes, sir!" They started filing out to finish whatever preparations for battle they had left.
As Link and Rusl started following after them, King Bulblin called out to them.
"You know, old timer, you keep saying 'we' when you talk about the lot going after Yven."
"Of course, I'm a ranger too," Rusl defended, crossing his arms.
"Then you haven't told him?" King Bulblin turned to Link.
The hero rubbed the back of his neck uneasily as both the king and Rusl stared at him.
"I am coming with you, right?" Rusl questioned, glaring at Link.
"Well, about that, Rusl…"
"I still don't like being left behind like this," Rusl pouted for nearly the hundredth time since being stuck with King Bulblin and his army. Frankly, it was starting to get on the king's nerves. "How could he just leave me to help you?"
"He left you to help me lead the army, or that's what the smart answer would be. Truthfully, I think the bastard-hero thought you'd just get in the way," King Bulblin chuckled lowly, trying to shut the man up with some sort of answer. "Now stop whining like a child, my army is almost in position."
The two 'comrades' – and King Bulblin would use the term loosely – sat on their mounts atop a sand dune that overlooked the flat expansion of desert stretching out in front of Arbiter's Grounds that would serve as tonight's battlefield. Personally, the king hated having to direct and organize his troops instead of joining the fight, but it had to be done. His plan was an aggressive one. Many things could go wrong.
For that reason, him and Rusl were to direct the flow of battle. To do this, they used a system the Bulblins had developed using their war horns. One blow would signal a charge, while one short blow would signal a halt to the army. There were other signals that the king had used beforehand, but he had a feeling he wouldn't need them. When it was revealed that the battle was just that, and not some sort of trap, then he could join the other Bulblins on the field.
With any luck that'll be when the green-hatted bastard-hero's shadow will take the field, as well, King Bulblin thought with a content growl.
"You think your plan will go off without a hitch, King?" Rusl questioned, his arms crossed and still in a huff about being left with King Bulblin.
"No plan goes perfectly, old timer. You should know that well. But we will beat them with numbers, I'm sure of it. The dissenters were fewer than anticipated and many of the monsters who look like us have been dealt with already," King Bulblin answered as he rose his spyglass to his eye to look over the battlefield. "But no, I doubt anything will go wrong." The king chuckled again.
Rusl smirked. "We'll see, King. My bet is they have reserves in the Grounds; when we break through they'll attack us."
"Bet, huh?" King Bulblin parroted, intrigued as he lowered his spyglass. With his signature toothy grin, he rose his hand to Rusl. "And if everything goes according to plan, I say the bastard-hero will have taken care of them already and my plan will have been flawless. Fifty rupees says I'm right."
"Fifty says I am right, King," Rusl laughed softly as he rose his hand to shake King Bulblin's meaty green one, sealing the bet.
"You'll be in debt to me soon enough, old timer."
"Just be on the lookout. Never been one to say 'I told you so', but…" Rusl left his sentence hanging in the air, as he was peering through his own spyglass at Arbiter's Grounds. He had noticed that the massive gates had opened and green figures were starting to spew forth.
"Looks like it's starting. Let's see if the enemy is as mindless as you say they are."
King Bulblin chuckled lowly as he rose his war horn to his lips. He blew one long, guttural note through the simple instrument that signaled his army to engage. The note was echoed throughout the desert by the horn bearers on the battlefield. As one, the horde of Bulblins surged forward on their Bullbos, as if they were of a single, collective mind.
They closed the distance between them and their enemy quickly, slamming right into the front line of enhanced Bulblins. Some of King Bulblin's army had broken through, his mounted units causing chaos in the back lines of the enemy force. Others were knocked off or crushed by their mounts as the enhanced Bulblin timed their blows with massive clubs perfectly.
Most of the battle was nothing more than skirmishes and Bulblins fighting amongst each other as King Bulblin's horde tried pushing into Arbiter's Grounds. But the force of enhanced Bulblins and dissenters would not give in, pushing back the waves of invaders as quickly as they were being overran. At one moment, the left flank had broken through, only for the opposing Bulblins to bolster it. Then the right flank was broken through, then fixed, and so the pattern continued.
Since this was mostly a strategical distraction for Link and the rangers to sneak into Arbiter's Grounds, the battle would stay in this equilibrium for a while. In Rusl's mind, they didn't even need to take back the Bulblins' home, they just had to keep the bulk of the enemy preoccupied until they saw the flaming arrow – or arrows – come from the direction of the massive fortress. Then, they would either retreat or Rusl and King Bulblin would join the battle.
In King Bulblin's mind, however, the rangers' objective was secondary and his was the main focus. Whether there was only one signal arrow, or two, it almost didn't matter to the king. As long as pure might was the determinant of this battle, King Bulblin would join the fight and reclaim his people's land.
Turning his spyglass from the battle, King Bulblin glanced at one of the many wooden watchtowers reaching up to the sky from behind the walls of Arbiter's Grounds. What he saw made his blood boil.
Standing atop the tower, nearly blending in with the darkness around him and watching over the field with unamused, red eyes was the bastard-hero's shadow, Shade. It seemed he was watching and waiting to join the battle, just as King Bulblin was.
"Well, old timer, look who I found," King Bulblin growled, pointing towards Shade.
Rusl looked through his spyglass in the direction King Bulblin pointed towards. What he saw chilled his blood.
"Shade," he muttered.
"Maybe this battle won't be boring after all," King Bulblin said with a feral grin.
By the time King Bulblin had blown his horn, Link and the rangers following him were already over the wall and within Arbiter's Grounds. They drew their weapons as soon as they entered enemy territory. Silently, the rangers rushed through camp, hiding from sight and staying in the shadows. Even the bulkier, less sneaky rangers – Hilde and Krauss – were able to use the darkness to their advantage.
What made it even easier was that the group had not ran into any enemy Bulblins. Not a single one. To Link's relief, there wasn't any sign of Shade either. Yet this relief was eventually replaced with doubt, which turned into caution as the rangers approached the entrance to the prison located within Arbiter's Grounds.
At this point, Link called a halt and voiced his concerns.
"Something's not right," he began "we haven't seen a single Bulblin while we've been in here. No reserves, no back up."
"Maybe they were cocky and sent everyone out to battle King Bulblin?" Krauss offered, clearly not sensing that something was wrong in the air like Link had.
"No. Link's right. We would have run into a few support units at least. But none," Raina spoke. The hand which gripped loosely on her bow was shaking, but only enough so for Constantine to notice. The Gerudo caught his eye and used her other hand to stop her trembling. She nodded in reassurance towards Constantine, who slowly nodded back in turn.
"This better not be a trap," Hilde growled, having spoken to the rest of the rangers for the first time in what seemed days.
She sounded dangerous. Angry, for some reason that she wouldn't speak of to anyone else. "That bastard, Yven, better still be alive. And if he is…"
"Understood Hilde," Link cut off. "Let's just proceed carefully. From my experience here, I'd say they probably have Yven in the center of the prison. We get in, get out and help the rest of the army in whatever way we can. Remember to keep an eye out and as much as I hate to say it, protect Yven at all costs."
They all nodded their heads in confirmation, while Hilde added an angered, disagreeing grunt under her breath.
Link slowly opened the door, peeking his head in to see if there was anyone or anything waiting for them on the other side. The corridor was empty.
The rangers carefully walked in to the – what seemed to be – empty prison. Upon entering the first room, Link noticed nothing different about it. Sand, along with a pit of sinking sand in the middle, covered the entirety of the room making it near impassable. However, the platforms Link had once jumped across and over to traverse the dungeon were now connected by simple wooden plank bridges anchored from platform to platform by rope.
"Careful of the sand," Link warned as the rangers crossed the first of the rickety bridges, swaying softly from side to side with each step.
As if on cue, a few of the burrowing monsters that called the sand home jumped up to try and snap at the rangers, just out of reach.
"Nothing friendly lives there, trust me." Link smiled self-deprecatingly, being transported back to his nightmarish journey for a moment. Memories of his adventure haunted him as he came to the realization that this was in the last place he saw Midna before she returned to the Twilight Realm and shattered the mirror connecting it to Hyrule.
Hopefully nothing else haunts these halls, the hero hoped internally, shoving any thoughts of his past into the back of his mind.
After crossing the bridge, the group came to the corridor connecting them to the next room; unlocked and the symbol of the Royal Family above crossed out by deep gouges in the stonework. It was a warning, if Link had ever seen one.
The group continued forward, passing through a small room with a corridor on either side leading to other areas of the prison. Upon Link and Krauss sliding the solid door open – the hero happy he didn't have to open it himself this time – the rangers came into a near dark room filled with sand, only illuminated by the two torches near the door on the opposite side.
Again, they passed through without incident. This worried Link all the more. No enemies, no traps, nothing. In his experience with places like this, that meant something was probably waiting for them deeper in the prison. The hero hoped he was wrong.
Finally, they came to a room that gave Link shivers every time he entered it. The room, much larger than the previous ones, was shrouded in darkness that was only pierced by four eerie blue flames alongside stairs leading up to another corridor that ended in an abyss. Armless statues dotted the room, adding to the haunting atmosphere. Sand-falls fell down from the walls, creating small pools of the gritty, invading sediment. Everything in this room came together to create an unwelcoming presence, one that should never be disturbed by intruders.
"This place gives me the creeps," Constantine said. This time, his complaints were shared by all.
"I'm with you there, Constantine. You should have seen it the first time I came here, though. There were ghosts to top it all off," Link said without a hint of amusement, walking towards the stairs.
"G-ghosts?" Constantine stuttered as the other rangers walked by. "Oh, hah, hah, you're kidding. Right, Cap? Uh, Cap…? Hey, wait for me!"
The corporal noticed that the rest of the group had followed their captain. They ascended the stairs slowly, matching Link's pace. His caution was well-founded, as the last time he came here, spirits had attacked him and snuffed out the blue flames, their only sources of light. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, this time. The hero didn't know whether to sigh in relief or stay on his guard even more.
As they passed through the darkness, they came into a fully lit, yet ruined room littered with skulls of unknown creatures. Again, the path which Link had opened during his journey was still open. It was good news, as he did not want to go through anything he had to do to access the center of Arbiter's Grounds ever again.
They passed through the room to the central staircase that led to the highest point of the prison. The ruined staircase itself did not necessarily lead to where Link suspected Yven was being held hostage. Instead, a spiraling structure circled around a pillar surrounded by sand in the middle of the room. It stretched up to the ceiling, leading to what Link knew was the door that connected Arbiter's Grounds to its central prison.
Upon entering the prison, Link had been worried as to how the rangers would access the central area. After all, he was the only one with a spinner, meaning he was the only one who could gain access to where they needed to go. However, it seemed King Bulblin had been renovating the entire grounds to be somewhat habitable. Thick wooden beams stuck out from the notches of the spiral structure, creating a makeshift staircase that appeared sturdy enough to walk on.
Without hesitation, the group crossed the small section of sand that led to the wooden stairs. They climbed it quickly. After crossing another rickety rope bridge, the rangers finally stood in front of their destination.
"Alright, if what King Bulblin said is true, and Yven is being held hostage, this is the only place they would keep him," Link said, facing the rangers. "Be careful and ready yourselves, I don't know what we'll find in there, but I want everyone to be on the lookout for anything suspicious."
"Yes, sir," the rangers replied, drawing their weapons as Link did the same.
"Now, let's get Yven and win this battle so we can properly celebrate with King Bulblin."
The rangers cheered, except for Krauss who groaned upon hearing they would be participating in another Bulblin feast. He quickly collected himself and helped Link in moving the massive stone door that led to the central area of the prison.
They walked through the door into a circular, spacious room. In the middle was a pillar surrounded by a pit with sand at the bottom of it. A bridge connected the circling room to the pillar. On top of said pillar was none other than Councilor Yven, chained to the floor by a single shackle at his ankle.
"There he is," Link pointed to the imprisoned man. "Let's go."
The rangers quickly crossed the bridge connecting the rest of the room to the center platform. It wasn't until they reached Yven that the councilor noticed their presence. His cheeks were sullen, even more so then before, and looked older than he had. He furrowed his brow and scowled.
"It's about time someone showed up. I've been here far too long," the councilor spoke agitatedly as the rangers came to Yven. They surrounded the councilor as Constantine sheathed his weapons and went to work picking the lock on the shackle.
"Sorry, sir. We've been busy," Link spoke, annoyed by the fact that Yven didn't seem the least bit grateful. It was like he was expecting to be rescued.
"Hmph. Well, I hope whatever you peasants were doing was worth the time. I've been wasting away here treated like scum by these vile creatures."
Link didn't miss the growl coming from Hilde or the glare Raina was giving Yven. The hero wasn't happy with the way they were being treated by the ungrateful councilor either, but they needed to free him from his prison quickly. The best way to do this was not fighting with him and letting him say his piece. No matter how irksome it may have been.
Not a moment later, there came a satisfying click from the shackle around Yven's ankle. It dropped to the floor, freeing the councilor. He stood shakily on his feet, nodding his head to Constantine in what looked like thanks. Even if he was being a crotchety old man about the whole rescue, he understood when gratitude was needed.
"Good thing you brought a street rat with you," Yven commented as he went back to being the same old, hated councilor.
"Well, sir, as a street rat, you learn other skills besides lock picking, such as knowing when to keep your mouth shut when someone is helping you break out of prison," Constantine replied smoothly. The councilor harrumphed at the snide remark.
"We're ready to go, Cap," Constantine said, joining the rangers.
Link nodded his head and turned to lead the group out of the prison.
As they turned around, however, they immediately stopped dead in their tracks. Standing in front of them was the familiar form of the Sheikah that had attacked Link in the Kokiri Swamps. The rangers raised their weapons and put themselves between the assassin and Yven.
"Hello again, Hero of Twilight." His voice was muffled by the cloth covering most of his head. "I see you're still upholding the title well, rescuing the councilor and all."
"I try my best," Link growled, readying himself for a fight.
"Ready to die that quickly? Very well. After all, I can't let you leave. You have something that I need." He drew his weapons from seemingly out of nowhere, a wakizashi in each hand.
"We won't let you take Yven," Link challenged.
"You misunderstand, I don't need Yven, he was just bait. No, what I need," the Sheikah charged at the group straight for Link, locking his blades with the hero's sword "is your life."
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