Chapter 24: A Real Man of the Sea

The Hyrulean Landlords were the most influential people in all of Hyrule save for the Royal Family. They consisted of a chosen representative from each of the regions of the land, as well as a few representatives from parts that technically weren't in Hyrule.

All of these lords had gained an invitation to Vaati's Palace for reasons the Sorcerer Prince hadn't disclosed.

Vaati's servants had readied a very long table in one of the largest and most open rooms in the palace. Several Darknuts were standing in the background with very clear instructions for what to do when the time came.

Most of the lords had already arrived and had taken a seat at the table. As they waited for the rest, they were talking about what was going on.

"Do you seriously believe these rumours?" Lord Pocho of Lake Hylia asked sceptically.

"I do, and you should too." Lord Peadro of Labrynna encouraged.

"You're asking me to believe that Princess Zelda is still alive?"

"Yes, and we should send out our troops to find her so she can ascend to the throne."

"Where would we send anyone? Even if she is still alive, which I highly doubt, we have no idea of where she might be."

"Don't you think we should at least try? We all know that Prince Vaati have been a harsh ruler ever since we put him on the throne, and he agreed that his position would only last until the last heir to the throne would be found."

"Don't forget that it was you who suggested him in the first place. It seemed that Lord Calhoon was the only one who had any sense in him that day. And we all knew what that lead to."

"He was a great Landlord and was loved by his region. And all he ever did was to question Vaati's ability to play god, to which he took the punishment."

"Don't get me wrong, I want nothing more than for Princess Zelda to return to us and save us all from this madness. But I just have a hard time believing that to be true."

What neither of them saw was that they were all being observed by a small creature with one eye and a pair of bat-like wings. Through it, Vaati could magically gaze at the lords while they waited for his grand opening.

Using the sentry allowed him to hear their gossip without them knowing it. He found it amusing that they were always a lot more talkative and questioning when they thought Vaati wasn't overhearing them.

After nearly everyone had arrived, he decided the time was right and made his way to the hallway with Duelia at his side.

The door he used to get into the room was elevated by flight of stairs for dramatic effect.

While threading down the stairs, he greeted "Good that you came, I was almost worried there for a second."

Lord Potho was the first to ask "What is this meeting all about Prince Vaati?"

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he made a small hand gesture that signalled all of the nearby Darknuts to block the exits. Then he answered "I assume you all have heard the rumours by now…can anyone guess which ones I'm referring to? Lord Peadro perhaps?"

The lord in question was a bit surprised that Vaati mentioned him specifically, but he answered to his question just the same "You mean the rumours that Princess Zelda might be alive."

"Precisely, and…I just so happen to know that they are true, and that it is only a matter of time until my army will find her."

Potho spouted "Really, how is that even possible?!" in disbelief.

"Her Sheikah protector Impa saved her from the attack on the castle, and took her to the village of Ordon."

The lord that took Calhoun's place as the representative of the southern regions exclaimed "The last heir to the throne was hiding under my nose the entire time? How could I have never noticed this?"

"Yes, how could you? It would have saved me a lot of trouble."

Peadro demanded "We must find the princess at once!"

"And then what? Are you going to replace me?"

"You agreed that you would only hold the throne until the real royal family presented themselves."

Vaati shocked everyone when he said "I lied!"

Potho questioned "Why would you lie about that!?"

"Because I have no desire to let that stupid monarch sit on my throne, do you think I destroyed Hyrule Castle and wiped out the royal family only to be replaced now?"

That statement made everyone in the room gasp out in disbelief. It took a few moments before Potho broke the silence and spouted "You did what!?"

"Have you all heard of the great Wind Mage who shared my name?" No one answered, to which he took as a sign to continue "Well…he and I share a lot more in common than just the name. As a matter of fact, I am him, the very same sorcerer in the flesh."

Peadro pointed out "But you were told to be the Prince of the Wind Tribe…"

"The Wind Tribe doesn't exist anymore. They lost their way of life when I took their precious Palace of Winds from them. As I took on a form similar to theirs, it proved to be a successful ruse under the circumstances. Then that stupid princess Alenia proved to be easy to manipulate with a dash of charm, and as soon as she married me, Hyrule was in my grasp. All I had to do after that was to dispose of the king and take all the sacred power that princess Zelda held. Well, that was the plan anyways."

"You TRAITOR! You will answer for your crimes against the crown and is no longer allowed to sit on the throne!"

All of the other lords joined in on his complaints, and soon enough the whole room had turned into an angry mob.

Vaati glanced over to Duelia and said "You were right, there is no point in keeping these idiots alive. Maybe I should listen to you more often?"

He began by using his magic to unleash a shockwave that sent everyone that stood within ten metres of him (excluding Duelia) flying into the air and then crash into the wall on the other side of the room.

"Hahahahahahahahahah! I answer to no one, least of all you!"

Then he opened his palm which created a blue sphere of energy to from in his hand that was steadily growing bigger. At the sight of it, many of the lords tried to flee through the exits, but the Darknut guards stood their ground and didn't let anyone pass through them.

His voice became distorted and inhuman as he shouted out the words "To Stone with you all!" and he unleashed the massive sphere upon the crowd, turning everyone in front of him, including his own Darknut guards, into statues.

Duelia looked at the spectacle in front of her and asked "Did you really have to petrify the guards as well?"

Vaati shrugged and answered "They were within blast radius. Besides, there are a lot more where they came from."

"So where are you going to put all these statues?"

"In my trophy room like the rest, do you want to see it?"

"Why haven't you mentioned such a room before?"

"I suppose I wanted to keep it…private. But as a reward for giving me some good advice, I might let you get a peek at my collection. Please, this way."

Near the coast to the Lanayru Sea, a small tavern called the Mighty Crab was built next to a port where many ships were docked.

Zelda was riding her horse towards the small tavern. She figured that if Linebeck was still at shore, he would be in there. And so she got off the horse and went inside.

The tavern seemed to be far bigger on the inside than on the outside, and it was far from empty. The place was decorated with different tools used by sea farers as well as paintings of various wonders of the seas. The place was lit up by several torches that hanged from the ceiling rather than open windows.

There were unusually many patrons for a small tavern in here. Zelda speculated that most were sailors, while some might have possibly been pirates.

She spent the first minute of her visit listening to the gossip from the patrons.

"I am telling ya, I saw the great beasty herself. Her tentacles ripped those pirates' ship to shreds, and then she gobbled those suckers up and returned to the depths. I was lucky just to survive."

"Do you believe those rumours that the princess is still alive? Sounds like a load of nonsense to me."

"I like pancakes…"

"What is the matter with that Linebeck fellow? Doesn't he know that no one has ever returned alive from the Isle of Secrets?"

"I thought it was a mermaid, but it turned out to be a girl dressed as a mermaid. You should have seen the look on my face."

"I hear the prince put a huge bounty on some girl's head, what do you think he wants her for anyways?"

"Digdongers hate certain forms of sound."

"Is it just me, or is the moon getting bigger every day?"

"What can I get you honey?"

It took Zelda a few seconds to realise the last line was directed to her. So she turned to the direction of the voice and saw a woman with shoulder-length blonde hair standing on the other side of the bar bench.

"Oh, I am looking for a sailor by the name Linebeck, do you know if he's still here?"

"Yeah, I remember him. He said he was looking for a map that would lead him to the Isle of Secrets, but apparently he had no such luck and bought a few bottles of beverage as a replacement."

"Where can I find him?"

Her answer came as a tall man in a blue sailor's jacket came out of the crowds, put his hands on his hips and said "Looking for me? The name's Linebeck, I'm a real man of the sea! How was that for an introduction? I bet I blew you away with my entrance."

Zelda took in his appearance. He looked like he was in his mid-30s and had dark-brown hair. He also had a stylised beard and a red scarf. However, he also had rings around his eyes that could have been caused by sleep deprivation and he smelled sea salt as well as alcohol.

Zelda prompted "I heard you were seeking the Isle of Secrets, but that you lack a good map to guide you there."

"Yeah, I've been searching everywhere for a decent sea chart. But it doesn't appear to even exist."

Zelda teased "I beg to differ.", took out her map and placed it on the bar table.

Linebeck's eyes lit up with excitement as he practically shoved her out of the way to examine the map. "This is perfect! With this I will easily find the forgotten island, and then all the TREASURE will be mine!"

Zelda tried to downplay the sailor's demeanour when she explained "I am also on a quest to find that island, so could you help me get there?"

"Hey, I have searched for this treasure for years, why should I share it with some random stranger?"

"Firstly, my name is Zelda. Secondly, it's my map."

"But…"

"And I also want only one object, the Zora Sapphire."

"Hmmm…never heard of that treasure, but it sounds valuable."

"Then let's make a deal, I take the Sapphire and you get the rest of all the valuable treasure that might be there."

"Fine, it's a deal."

"Do you have a ship nearby?"

"Do you have any idea who I am? Of course I have a ship nearby, where would I go without it?"

"Romani Ranch?"

"That was just a small detour!"

What neither of them noticed was that someone was observing them, at a small table near the corner, two green goblin-looking creatures called Bulblins were sitting. One of them had a bandanna and wore simple shirt and breeches, while the other had a pirate's coat, an eye-patch and a black pirate hat.

The one with the bandanna asked "Ain't that the girl from the wanted poster?"

The other answered "Aye, and that guy she is talking to is the famous Captain Linebeck. Both have huge bounties on their heads."

"We should take them, and then we could live like kings."

"Not here, too many people. But as soon as they leave port, then that's a very different story."

"Hehehehehe, I can almost smell the riches already…"

"If you're so eager, then go make yourself useful and tell the captain we have a really big bounty in our grasp. Then keep a close eye on those two."

"Aye aye, first mate."

But they were not the only ones who were spying on them. At another table in the tavern, a few people were playing some kind of card game. And the one who constantly won was the strange man in the black coat and hat with that bizarre mask on his face. While he was playing, he kept a constant eye on Zelda and Linebeck.

One of the other players became suspicious at the fact that he was always winning and asked "So how are you doing it?"

The man answered "People don't call me the Trickster for nothing."

"So you admit that you are cheating?"

"Of course not, I'm just tricking you into picking up the wrong cards. What's the big deal? It's not like you will have time to use any of those rupees."

"And why is that?"

"If you have a telescope, then use it to look at the moon at the nearest opportunity. Then go to the library and read a book about Termina's history and then you might figure it out. I prefer to use Zeldapedia, but that's too high-tech for any of you to understand."

"What in Farore's name is that supposed to mean?"

"That during the time I spent talking about things that are way above your heads, I managed to pickpocket all of your rupees."

All of the other players immediately looked away to check their wallets. To their relief, nothing was stolen, but when they looked back at the Trickster, he had vanished into thin air.

Back to the conversation between Linebeck and Zelda.

"How soon can you set sail?" Zelda asked.

Linebeck rebuffed her question with the statement "Who uses sails anymore? My ship, the S.S. Linebeck, is steam-powered."

"Then how soon can you 'steam-power it up'?"

"Well…right now actually"

"Then what are we waiting for?"

At Vaati's palace, the wind mage was walking towards a door with Duelia following.

As he gripped the handle, he said "Behold…" then he opened it "…my trophy room!"

Duelia's jaw dropped as she saw the room in front of her. It was huge, but nowhere near spacey as it was filled with what looked like almost one-hundred statues. She had seen him petrify many people during the years she stood beside him, but she had no idea they were so many.

"Feel free to look for yourself." Vaati offered.

The woman stepped into the room and observed the various petrified people that were put out on display. Most of them were Hyrulean soldiers, while others were actually monsters. She wondered if they were caught in the blast-radius like the Darknuts before, or if they were punished for disobedience or something like that.

Her eyes then focused on a man wearing farming clothes while holding a sword and a shield. His shield was held up in a defensive position as if to protect against Vaati's spell.

As the sorcerer noticed her curiosity in that statue, he explained "That is a fool I met during my trip to Ordon a few weeks ago. His name is Rusl, and the only swordsman in the entire village. While I actually admire his reckless bravery, it didn't help him in the long run."

"Why did you transform him?"

"He challenged me when I went to collect his supposed daughter."

"Was that the same girl you were seeking for so long? What was her name, Zelda?"

"Yes…she has escaped under my watch three times already, and I would not be particularly happy if she does it again."

Duelia then took interest in a very different statue. It was of a strange person who she could hardly tell if it was a man or a woman, but the person had long sleeves, braided hair and a weird staff in hand.

"Who is that? I have never seen anyone that looks like that before."

Vaati sighed as he saw what statue she was referring to, then he answered "Oh, yes, him."

"So it is a man?"

He chuckled slightly at her remark and continued "He appeared out of nowhere about a year ago and started to blabber about all kinds of nonsense."

"Like what?"

"I believe he said something about Hyrule being far too…'ugly' for his taste and that he expected the 'lovely Princess Zelda' rather than a…what did he call me?...'purple-obsessed blood-eyed royal impostor'. Then he said something about hanging me on a wall, and the next thing I know he tries to attack me with some magic spell. Of course he missed and I attacked him instead. It started as a cat and mouse game as he tried to evade me by somehow merge into the walls. But eventually, he was no match for me, no matter how much he made himself out to be."

"It would have been fun to watch, shame that I missed it."

Over at Lanayru Sea's coast, Linebeck and Zelda just left the tavern to get on their way.

Zelda observed the multitude of ships docked here, some she might have considered to be quite beautiful, others, not so much. Her eyes then locked on a very large ship built out of very dark wood (no pun intended). The ship's most obvious feature was the front, which had been designed to resemble a boar's head that looked hideous to Zelda's eyes. She also noticed that the ship had many cannon openings, which was not a good sign.

'Something about that ship is…not right, I don't know what it is, but this isn't good.'

Her thoughts were interrupted when Linebeck shouted "Here she is, behold the S.S. Linebeck!"

She examined the ship Linebeck was standing next to. It was a lot smaller than the ship she saw before, but not too small either. It was coloured predominantly white, red and slightly blue and had two waterwheels on both sides of the vessel. But there was no sail at all, so she assumed the wheels were what drove it forward.

"Impressive…but how fast can it go?" She mused in interest.

"Uhm…I forgot, I think I had it written somewhere…"

"You mean you don't know?"

"No, that's not what I…well, that's exactly what I mean actually."

"Let's just hope that it isn't too slow…"

Linebeck then unlocked the door and stepped in. But before he entered, he prompted "Are you coming?"

The girl rolled her eyes and entered the steamboat.

The moment she entered, the bulblin at the tavern with the bandanna revealed himself to have been spying on them from behind a bunch of wooden barrels. Then he ran away to the huge black ship with the boar face on it that Zelda took notice of. The bulblin quickly climbed up on the ropes that tied it to shore.

When he reached the deck, he ran up to the eye-patched 'First Mate' he was talking to earlier and reported "First Mate, the bounties are just about to set off."

First Mate walked over to the railing and observed the S.S. Linebeck with a telescope he took out from his belt.

Seeing the ship taking off, First Mate removed the telescope and said "Good work, soon we will all be rich of royal rupees. By the way, what did the captain say about this plan?"

The bulblin with the bandanna stammered "Uh…he…uhm…"

Fist Mate then gave him an angry look as he gasped out "You didn't tell him?!"

"You…said I should spy on Linebeck and the girl, sir."

"I said you should do that after informing the captain, seaweed brain! I will just go and tell him myself."

He pushed Bandanna out of the way and slammed open the door to the top entrance. Once inside, he proceeded inside to the captain's personal quarters. The closer he got to the captain, the less confident he became in his own status as he was beyond terrified of him.

When he finally reached his quarters, the captain sat at his desk with his big pirate hat obscuring his face. Though from what could be seen, he was much bigger than his crew and two long horns went through his hat, but his right horn was broken off.

He spoke in an incredibly deep voice when he asked "Why do you bother me at this hour?"

First Mate was utterly terrified when he explained "At the tavern, we saw both Linebeck and the girl Zelda, and I thought we could score big if we turned them in for the bounty."

"A reasonable reward indeed, but don't you think we have too many prisoners already?"

"But we only have one girl in the brig right now, captain."

"She is not just 'one girl', first mate. And concerning your little idea, I say that there is no reason to even ask me of this as I would never let an opportunity like this slip."

"Aye aye, captain!"

Author Notes

And off to sea it is! This got to be one of the longest chapters I've written so far, but it might make up for the time I was away on camp without my computer to continue writing on.

The next chapter is actually something I have been waiting for a long time to finally get to write, so I can't express how exited I am that I'm finally finished with this one.

Can anyone guess who the petrified person in Vaati's trophy room was?

The members of the pirate crew will I simply call: Bandanna, First Mate and Captain, do they really need names?

Speaking of names, my brain really froze up when I attempted to come up with a name for the tavern, but that was until the name Mighty Crab just popped into my head from out of nowhere.

And also...

Trickster: I think I will take it from here!

Flufux: These are called Author Notes, not Trickster Notes, you know!?

Trickster: Yeah, but it's not like you actually use them for anything special. You just end up clarifying things and beg for reviews, the least you could do is put up a massive disclaimer.

Flufux: Disclaimers are rubbish, it's not like anyone actually believes Fanfiction writers to own the universes they are writing about.

Trickster: But it's so charming, ahem! Disclaimer: I own the entire Legend of Zelda franchise and all of the characters belong to me.

Flufux: You wish! heheheh If you really did own it, wouldn't you have appeared in any of the games?

Trickster:…

Flufux: Thought so!

Anyways, what more had I to put down here? Oh, I have uploaded a few more pictures on my DeviantArt account, the link to my page is in my profile description.

And the person who said he liked pancakes was ME! XD