Chapter 35
Storm clouds could be seen on the horizon, just past the mountains towering high in the sky. The sun could just barely be spotted behind the same mountains, reminding the travelers that they had arrived just in time. Soon, the lightning and thunder would arrive, and anyone caught outside of shelter would regret it. For that very reason, Link, Rusl and their new companions had hurried through the mountain path to reach Craterville.
The town was a bit larger than most of the others he'd seen so far, housing probably around 50 or so inhabitants from the look of it. Saffir confirmed the numbers as well when asked. Like Broadstead, it too was a mining town. The inhabitants would go down into the crater and harvest from the meteor that had landed many, many years before. Though the giant rock was a fraction of its former self, the town was still significant due to its religious appeal.
That last part was a puzzler for Link. Despite wanting to learn more, he was forced to keep his mouth shut while passing into the gates of the settlement. Saffir had suggested that he should again play the role of a mute slave while in town, which he agreed to. To Rusl's displeasure, he was required to play the role of Saffir's husband.
As the front guard halted the wagon, Saffir waved enthusiastically to help alleviate the tension. "Good mornin', sir! Mighty fine evenin' we're havin' ain't it?!"
"Absolutely. You'll have to pardon me miss, but I must check the contents of your wagon." The soldier was quite relaxed, and made his search very brief. As he returned to the front, he began the routine questions. "I take it the foodstuff is for the festivities?"
"Correct, sir." Rusl replied, doing his best to sound casual.
"Very well. We don't mind your buko, but make sure that long-eared slave is on a short leash. I'd better not see him wandering about town unsupervised."
"Oh, we never let him out of our sight, sir." Saffir continued. "Why the one time we did, he done run away. Took near a week befo' havin' him returned to us."
"Just making sure." The guard passed them through without further obstruction. Rusl leaned in towards Saffir with his questions. "A festival with a storm on approach? And who would think this is a fine evening?"
"A town that believes that the storm is a sign of human superiority." She answered.
"Why would they think that?"
"Well, this place was once barren. It was during a massive storm that a meteor struck the ground, and since that meteor has been the source of some of our empire's strongest weapons, most people believe that it was a gift from the goddesses."
"How arrogant." Rusl rolled his eyes.
"Really, Rusl, I just don't understand why everythin' I say just gets more riled up than befo'. I've recognized that I've been wrong to judge your friend. Why can't you do the same with me?" She put a hand on his shoulder and spoke quietly. "I realize that what happened to your family is...absolutely horrible, but I wasn't involved, and I would wager that most folks here ain't either."
The man finally sighed in defeat. "I know. You're right and all but...dammit! I need some closure! I need to find those responsible brought to justice!"
"I know. I know, but please don't lash out at me just because you haven't found them yet."
"I'll try."
Link couldn't help but look surprised at how well Saffir had calmed Rusl. He hadn't expected him to so quickly give into her reasoning. Perhaps gazing into the mirror had made him more understanding, or maybe Saffir was really good at persuading gentlemen. She did have a certain flair to her that made her particularly charming, Link admitted.
They pulled their wagon up to a stable and halted. Rusl stepped down from the wagon while Link hopped off of Epona. They came around and unhitched the horses and led them to the stalls. Saffir had already gotten down herself and was speaking to the attendant about the cost. After giving him several coins, she approached Rusl just as he and Link was leaving the stalls. "The Gallopin' Stallion has room, but they won't allow hylians in them. Our only other option would be to take shelter in the stable or in our wagon."
Rusl put a palm to his forehead, while Link inquired further. "Do we have any idea where the spirit might be?"
"No, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's somewhere in the tower."
"Tower? What tower?" Rusl asked.
"The tower in the crater." Saffir motioned them all over to a spot where they could see it. Sure enough, in the middle of the crater was a tall, dark tower. This peeked Link's curiosity. "What is that tower doing there?"
"Why...as strange as it sounds, it was there befo' the crater. But when the meteor hit, it disappeared. Then, once people started chippin' away, they found it still standin'."
Link wished he had his hawkeye with him, but as he focused on the tower, he began to notice something. "It doesn't look like the tower's base has been completely uncovered."
"That's right." The woman confirmed.
"Then how could we possibly get in?" Rusl pondered aloud. It took Link a moment to think of the possibilities before questioning Saffir again. "When it was first getting uncovered, did anyone try to enter from the top?"
"There's no doo' or window to climb through, if'n that's what you're wonderin'. You might have to wait until the bottom is finally uncovered."
"If the third spirit is in there, we can't wait that long. We're just gonna have to find a way in...and something tells me we can get through the top. Rusl, we're gonna need a lot of rope and maybe s-"
"Ho, there, Saffir!" A man approached them from behind. "It's been so long, girly! How've you been?!"
She responded while turning to face him. "Why, is that Muldoon? Oh, my stars, it has been a long time. How's the wife and kids?"
"Never better. Never better. You seem to have acquired some company over the years it seems too. Why haven't you written about them?"
"You mean him?" She pulled Rusl up to the forefront. "Well, Rusl and I only got married two weeks ago, and the...long-ears was his slave from before our time together. Rusl, I'd like to introduce you to my good friend from when I was a mere child, Muldoon. Muldoon, this is my fantastic husband, Rusl."
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Muldoon presented his hand in good faith. Rusl hesitated slightly, but took it with his own and shook it heartily. "The feeling is mutual. I don't think Saffir has had the opportunity to tell me about you."
"I find that surprising. Oh, not because our experiences together were anything profound, but because...well you know how much she loves to talk and gossip."
"Oh, Muldoon, you're terrible!" She gave him a playful shove. Muldoon continued. "So you've found yourself one of those...hylians.That's what they're called, right?"
"That's right." Rusl nodded. "Found him 'round the northern border while traveling to the Diamond."
The man examined Link closely, who did his best to feign discomfort. "Huh. I always thought they'd look a lot more different than us. Not sure why. Do they speak our language?"
"We're not sure." Rusl defended. "This one's a mute."
"Heh. Would be funny if they all were like that." He turned back to Rusl and Saffir. "So, you planning on having any kids. I know you've been rather adamant before about trying to keep your figure, Saffir, but I've got three of them and believe me, there's nothing li-"
"Muldoon," Saffir interrupted him. "I know you'd love to catch up all at once right now, but my husband and I were hopin' to prepare for the festivities tomorrow. We can catch up all you want then."
"You know I'm easy to reason with. Tomorrow it is, and I'll have the family with me so we can all learn about how you two met."
"Oh, I'm sure it'll bring a tear to your eye. Ta-ta, Mulddy."
"And bye to you, Saf." He waved as he went off to look for his wife. Saffir turned back to her companions. "Where were we?"
"The spirit." Rusl reminded. "We're looking for one of the spirit's of Silidan."
"Is there any other possible place where the spirit might be hidden?" Link inquired. "They're usually found inside springs of water."
"There are no springs around here. I can't think of any other place."
"But there's no way into the tower..." Rusl pondered.
"There must have been some history behind it before the meteor. Do you know why it was built?"
"Oh, my! It's been so long since that time, I haven't the foggiest!"
Link rubbed his brow, unsure what to think. The spirit in the Crystal Faults told him to come here, so the spirit in Craterville was definitely in trouble. The wizzrobes had to have found it, and if the spirit's in the tower, that must mean they'd found a way inside. And if they'd found a way inside...
"Saffir, we need to get into the tower. Any information we can gather about it might help us get inside."
"Then we better get lookin' for somebody who's got it." She waved Rusl to come up next to her so she could wrap her arm around his. "Come darlin', I bet there's at least one person out here that can help us. Oh, and Buri, do please keep an eye on Link. We're goin' to be a little while."
Saffir led Rusl through the streets, stopping at nearly every person they met. The hylian stayed with the horses, sitting down on the unhitched wagon. The buko finished unloading the goods before joining him. Seeing Buri up close, Link thought that he'd notice some signs of exhaustion, but to his surprise, she was quite healthy and full of energy. Still, she didn't mind taking a break from her duties to work on her personal project. As if from nowhere, she pulled out a small wooden instrument and began to play it softly.
The song she played, though a slow-sounding tune, seemed as if one were supposed to dance to it. It made him wonder more about buko culture. He recalled asking a couple of questions to Forne back when he was in the Diamond, but it was mostly rudimentary knowledge of the buko themselves.
After Buri had finished her song, Link struck up the conversation. "That was a really nice song. What's it called?"
"What's it called? Doesn't have a name yet."
"You mean you made it up?"
"It's a work-in-progress, but yes. I plan to be a composer eventually."
"And how's that?" Link asked, curious about her optimism.
"I'm only signed up for servanthood. Saffir's mother was kind enough to purchase my services as such. I only have two more years of service before I'll be set free."
"That was nice of her." He replied with a smile, but he couldn't help but let it slip away within seconds. He was still irked with the idea of slavery. Even though servanthood seemed leagues better than slavery, he wished that it wasn't a necessity in the first place. If poverty were to strike Hyrule in such a way, would they incorporate a similar system? He still didn't like it as it was.
"I know what you're thinking." Buri interrupted his train of thought. "And under normal circumstances, I'd agree with you. I never thought I'd have to sign my life over to someone else, but it's actually worked out for the better."
"What was your life like before?" The hylian asked.
"Terrible. The famine in my land had become so bad, I had no choice but to become a servant. My only other options was to just...fade into the desert wind."
"I understand how terrible it must be, and I realize that it's not as bad as I've maybe imagined, but I can't help but think that things could've been different." He took a deep breath to give him time to gather his thoughts. "If Hyrule was next to your land instead of Silidan, and you'd come to Queen Zelda, I can't imagine she'd have even required the buko to sell your services. Sure, they'd extend some jobs, have you help the farmers, but you'd be equals, not servants."
"A beautiful ideal...but things didn't turn out that way. We make do with what we have, and what I have at least is good."
"But not everyone has that, and once Silidan has a change of leadership, we need to put an end to it. It shouldn't cost you anything for us to help a friend."
"Then your friends had better hurry up." Buri commented, referring to the forces attacking the various lords. She then held out her instrument to Link. "Would you like to play a tune?"
He smiled, but shook his head. "Sorry. I don't know how to play."
"Nothing at all?"
"Well, I have this horse call, but that's just about all I know."
"Then it shouldn't be too difficult to learn to play. Here, I'll teach you."
By the time they went to sleep, Link became an expert with the flute.