Chapter 37: The Shield of the King
Among the overwhelming abundance of things in the Arbiter's enormous home, such as large, dusty tomes, obscure pieces of engineering or glowing magical artifacts, there were also mundane utilities, like a huge pile of firewood in a basement room, consisting of rectangular pieces of wood stacked up to the room's ceiling. There was a small hand axe lying on the floor nearby which presumably had been used to do the cutting, although Koume could not imagine their old host using it himself. Then again, his recent frailty had been due to his injury at the hand of the Stalfos and his devastating experience in Hyrule; he had been a lot more spry before that, and would hopefully become so again. Which did not explain where the wood was coming from, given that they were in the desert, but with so many things involving the Arbiter, the most probable answer was 'magic'.
At any rate, the pieces of firewood provided excellent practice objects for Koume and Kotake, who had moved on from manipulating mere water after a day spent with the reservoir and another day resting, since they had predictably completely exhausted themselves in the process.
For some reason, manipulating solid matter was harder to do than water, but after a few hours, their initial failures had turned into successes, with Kotake first being able to coat the wood with a thick layer of ice, and Kotake finding out how to melt it with her flames soon after. Always keen on outdoing the other, the sisters tried to increase the speed at which they cast their spells, and were now going through the firewood at an alarming rate – not that it mattered to them. Even so, they had asked the Arbiter for permission before beginning during one of his short waking moments, just in case the seemingly ordinary firewood was actually a collection of priceless, though plain-looking artifacts, or the souls of demons were sealed within – it was unlikely, but with a man who kept a dragon as a pet, you could never be sure enough.
"If we keep this up, we're going to spend another day unable to lift a finger," Koume said, her breath already slightly faster than usually, while she threw a piece of wood into the air and set it on fire in mid-air.
"Fine with me," Kotake replied and froze the burning piece of wood before it touched the ground again. "If the Arbiter is anything to go by, sleeping a lot is normal for wizards. I mean, how often has he been up since our little trip to Hyrule?"
"Three times in two days, and never longer than an hour," Koume replied, allowing concern to colour her voice. "On top of sleeping two days in a row before that. I'm worried about him."
"Worried that he'll die before teaching us everything he knows, eh?" Kotake teased her, freezing a piece of wood of her own in mid-air. Incensed by her remark, Koume failed to melt it before it hit the floor and it shattered into tiny pieces.
"I don't think like that," she protested. "I actually like him. Perhaps you're thinking about yourself instead?"
"He's decent enough for a Hylian, I suppose. As long as he's useful, we can keep him around."
"Yeah, right," Koume said and rolled her eyes at her sister. If anything, he is keeping us around.
"Ah, you're still down here? Good evening to you."
Kotake cringed when she heard the Arbiter's voice coming from the door, visibly concerned about how much the old wizard had overheard. But there was no sign of dismay in the Arbiter's face, so Koume decided that he had not caught her sister's rude remark.
We're lucky he didn't. Seriously, her snarky mouth is going to cost us one of these days.
"Uh... hello," Kotake said cautiously. "Good to see you up."
"How are you feeling?" Koume asked.
"Quite fine, thank you," the old man said and made a short leap into the air as if to prove his words. "I think I only slept as long as I did because I was tired from sleeping so much." He scowled at Koume. "Don't look at me like I'm about to collapse. My recent frailty was the product of special circumstances and coincidences that hopefully won't repeat themselves anytime soon. I could probably beat the two of you in a hundred-yard-dash," he added, and signalled with a smirk that he was not being wholly serious. Nonetheless, Koume was relieved to see him not only physically healthy, but also in an upbeat mood.
"I'm about to return to Hyrule and track down the survivors from Keeptown, to inquire about the whereabouts of the Triforce," the Arbiter announced. "I will rest easier if our theory about one of the sages securing it can be confirmed."
"I agree," Koume said. Although she had been otherwise occupied during the last two days, thinking about Darion still made her anxious, since he was only hypothetically dead.
"Do you need us to come with you?" Kotake asked in a tone that betrayed a severe lack of enthusiasm. The Arbiter noticed it, too, and laughed.
"No, you don't have to act as my crutches anymore. I'm telling you I'm fine, and I mean it."
"Uh, good," Kotake said. "To be honest, I don't really like Hylians. I mean, most of them. We don't exactly have many good experiences with them."
"I see," the Arbiter said. "Well, I hope that you'll judge me on my own merits, then."
"Of course," Kotake hastened to say. "You are... uhm..."
Yes, what? The sight of her sister squirming was rare indeed, and Koume found that she enjoyed it.
"...very generous," Kotake finished.
Boo! She could at least have said 'nice'.
"Indeed I am," the Arbiter said and chuckled. "Look at what you're doing to my firewood supplies! How am I going to warm myself during cold desert nights if you use it all up?"
"You gave us permission!" Kotake protested.
"'Can we use some of your firewood for training?' – those were your exact words. Emphasis on some."
"Sorry," Koume apologized. "We got kind of carried away."
"It's all right," the Arbiter sighed. "I can't exactly claim to be robbed of the fruits of my labour here. This entire room was filled with wood when I moved in here."
"The whole room? You must have used a lot of it," Koume said. Then she remembered having seen a fireplace in the library, which probably accounted for most of the firewood.
"I like it warm;" the Arbiter shrugged. "Well, I'll think about replacing it when the time comes. Just don't use it all, that'll be enough."
"It's not like we don't have anything to show for it," Kotake said and demonstrated her abilities by freezing three pieces at once. Unwilling to be outdone, Koume focused hard on matching her, and succeeded in melting all of them at the same time. Pleased with themselves, the sisters looked at the Arbiter, probably looking like children expecting praise, Koume thought in a moment of self-consciousness. Fortunately, their host indulged them.
"Splendid," he said and clapped. "I see you have no intention of slowing down your rapid rate of progress." A smile grazed his lips, as if he had just remembered a good joke. "How about you switch spells now? You do the freezing, Lady Koume."
"Yes, that. Ahem. Actually..." Koume coughed, recalling her repeated failure to so much as cool water, let alone freeze it. She peered at Kotake, but her sister did not use the opportunity to mock her, if only because she, in turn, had consistently failed to heat or ignite things. The Arbiter seemed to have expected their reaction and nodded, visibly pleased with himself.
"Don't be embarrassed. One-sided elemental fixation is a frequent occurrence, and many of even the skilled mages can't for their life master spells of opposite affinity. It shouldn't bother you."
"It's weird, though," Koume said, "because we're twins."
"Pshaw! Don't pretend we're anything alike!" Kotake wrinkled her nose.
"Absolutely not," the Arbiter agreed in a tone that made it difficult to tell whether he was joking or not. "If anything, you're polar opposites. Regardless, you're making progress far faster than the average student... and faster than I did, that's for certain."
"So, uh, I have a question," Koume said.
"What is it?"
"Yes, that is... I don't want you to misunderstand me, but... will this spell work on people, too?"
"See? She's a homicidal maniac," Kotake said with a straight face. "Unlike me, of course. Polar opposites, as you said."
"Shut up," Koume growled. Kotake's joke stung – she had killed two people during the last weeks, and was still not entirely comfortable with that knowledge – which was probably the reason she tried not to remember that fact too much. To her relief, the Arbiter dismissed Kotake's word as a jest and shook his head.
"It won't work on people," he said. "Generally speaking, spontaneous effects like igniting or freezing only work on targets up to a certain size – about as big as a large melon. For anything bigger, you need to create an actual missile – a fireball or a frostbolt, in your case – and hit your target with it."
"I see." Koume was careful not to sound too enthusiastic, but the ability to throw fireballs at an enemy was just too tempting – many of their recent life-and-death situations would have been far less dangerous this way. "So when do we learn how to do that?"
"That'll take a while, I'm sure, even for the two of you. I believe I told you before, but conjuring up something out of thin air is a lot more demanding than just manipulating something. Even the Sheikah battle mages only get to that stage after a year or two – and throwing fireballs around is kind of their bread and butter, if you know what I mean. So don't go expecting too much progress too fast. You're still young, after all."
"Yes, of course," Koume said. "Just asking."
"If there's nothing more you want to ask right now, I should be on my way," the Arbiter said. "I'll see you la-" He paused in mid-sentence, and a scowl appeared on his brow.
"What is it?" Kotake asked.
"I seem to have another visitor," the Arbiter replied. "The ward at the front door just triggered."
"Another monster?" Koume remembered the crazy Moblin and his Stalfos slave – she did not want to see these two ever again.
"That is something the ward cannot tell," the Arbiter said. "I'll have to go and see for myself."
"We're coming with you!"
"That won't be necessary, Lady Koume. As I told you, I'm fine. I won't go collapsing again."
"It's not that!" Koume protested, although it was at least partially false. "We're just... curious. Right, Kotake?"
"Yeah. Absolutely."
"But what will the visitor think about your virtue, if he sees you in the company of an old man?"
"We're not really in tune with the whole 'virtuous' thing," Kotake shrugged.
"As you wish," the Arbiter said with a smirk. "I'll take us there." As soon as Koume realized that he was talking about teleportation, the three of them had already left the basement room and appeared just outside of the Arbiter's home, in front of the door that the Moblin and his slave had broken down when forcing their way into the building.
A single figure, tall and broad-shouldered, was standing beneath the door frame, its back turned to the Arbiter and the twins. It was a man with dark, sun-burnt skin and red hair – a Gerudo like them, no doubt. He wore a leather tunic common to Gerudo warriors, and a long sword, perfectly straight instead of the sisters' curved daggers, in a simple scabbard attached to his belt. However, the one thing that gave away his identity was the hexagonal, red-rimmed shield that he carried on his back, its silvery surface like a perfectly polished mirror.
The Shield of the King? Here? What for?
"Ahem." The Arbiter cleared his throat, and the warrior turned around, swift enough to face a possible attacker, but not so fast as to appear panicking. His hand reached to the hilt of his sword, but did not draw it yet. If not for the lack of a moustache and his sharper, slightly more aged features, Koume might have mistaken him for Garanth, had the shield not given him away.
"You, here?" Kotake exclaimed. "How come?"
The Gerudo warrior glanced at Kotake, then at her sister, then dismissed them both and looked at the Arbiter. The two men eyed each other for a few seconds, then bowed almost at the same time.
"Lord Astalor," the Arbiter said. "It's been a long time."
"Indeed it has," the king's brother replied. "I'm glad to see you well. When I saw the door broken down, I feared for your safety."
"The work of two unexpected and regrettably hostile guests," the Arbiter said and smiled. "But it turned out that I am rather hard to kill."
"Why are you here?" Kotake asked again and waved her hands in front of Astalor's face. "Hello? Are you going to acknowledge our humble presence?"
"Koume and Kotake," Astalor said and nodded. "Courtesy required to greet the Arbiter first." He contorted his face as though he was eating something disgusting, and produced a smile. "Garanth told me that you saved his life. You have my thanks."
"You hear that?" Koume asked her sister. "First the king, now his brother! Soon enough, we'll be respected members of society."
"I'm not sure I want that," Kotake replied.
"Perhaps your noble deed has heralded a change in your lifestyle," Astalor continued. "It would please me and my brother greatly if you returned to the path of honesty and decency."
"Don't get your hopes up," Kotake told him off, and Koume gave him a non-committal smile.
"I see you still carry my gift," the Arbiter interjected, his comment directed at Astalor. "I hope you found it useful over the years."
"Oh, yes," Astalor said and turned around again, presenting his back and the red-and-silver shield on it. "It is as you promised," he said without turning back. "No matter how often the surface is hit, there is never even the slightest scratch."
It had never bothered Koume before, but looking at Astalor's shield now and seeing her own reflection in it, she was filled with a strange sense of foreboding, although she could not for life of her say why. She peered at Kotake, and curiously enough, her sister bore a disquieted expression as well.
Bah! Stupid! she told herself and shook her head rapidly. Only little children are afraid of seeing their reflection in the mirror!
"It seems like it was only yesterday that I gave you this shield as a gift," the Arbiter said after Astalor had turned around again. "I tasked you to always support your brother, and protect him against all foes. Ah... how did I put it again?"
"You shall be 'The Shield of the King'," Astalor quoted with an embarrassed smile. "People still call me that, even after almost twenty years!"
"Then you kept your oath." The Arbiter satisfaction. "It's good to see that I was right to believe in you – I have always considered myself a good judge of character, if I may say so myself."
So that is where Astalor got that name from! I used to wonder...
"I trust that you never got to utilize its special properties, though? Not too many rogue wizards running around in the desert, are there?"
"Funny you should say that." Astalor's expression turned grim, his brow furrowed – not funny at all, Koume thought. "I am here because our people are in dire straits, and we would request your aid." He peered at the twins. "That concerns you, too, of course."
"What happened?" the Arbiter asked. A sudden gust of wind rustled his robe and blew Koume's hair into her eyes. "Let's go inside first," he suggested.
"I do not wish to push you," Astalor replied, "but the matter is urgent."
"I'll take us inside, if you agree."
"Ah, of course. I forgot."
"Teleporting someone other than yourself only works when the person in question agrees to it," the Arbiter explained, and with a swift movement of his hand, all four of them appeared in the library, where the old wizard quickly claimed the only available chair.
"I'm listening."
"A strange wizard arrived at our oasis today, about an hour before noon," Astalor related. "He was accompanied by an army of Moblins, as well as several unholy creatures from beyond the veil of death." The Arbiter raised an eyebrow at the mention of 'unholy creatures', and Koume was immediately reminded of the Stalfos, but no one interrupted.
"They threatened us with force and drove us out of our home. It seems that the wizard seeks some kind of magical knowledge that is supposedly hidden in the Spirit Temple. But he could be lying, of course."
"Why didn't you fight back?" Koume demanded.
"Because Garanth told us not to. He has a plan."
"Nice plan, if it involves running away before the first blade is crossed," Kotake jeered.
"Not all of us can fight," Astalor reminded her, his expression strained. "If we had lost, the monsters would have killed the women and children, too, not just the warriors. Garanth is responsible for the welfare of the whole tribe, and he made the right choice."
"Of course you would say that;" Koume said, but her mockery was an automatic reaction. In truth, she had to admit that Astalor had a point. In turn, the king's brother shrugged and turned his attention back to the Arbiter.
"What could that wizard be looking for?" the old man asked. "When I visited you back then, you told me that none of your people knew anything about magic."
"I don't know," Astalor said. "Garanth spoke to him for a while, but he only told me little before he sent me here."
"Hm. Well, then the person of the wizard becomes important," the Arbiter said. "We are a small, but tightly-knit community, consisting only of a small number of Hylians and Sheikah." He rubbed his chin in contemplation. "Of course I have been out of the loop for twenty years, but a wizard powerful enough to raise the dead and command Moblins doesn't just appear out of nowhere. What was his name, if I may ask?"
"His name..." Astalor hesitated. "I think Garanth mentioned it, but... no, it's..." He shook his head. "I am sorry, I don't remember."
"Weak," Kotake mocked.
"We had to evacuate every single person from the oasis in fifteen minutes," the king's brother defended himself, "and I had to keep out an eye on the Moblins while we did it, just in case. Which is to say, I was distracted."
"You said you saw the wizard," the Arbiter insisted. "Can you at least describe him? Was he a Sheikah or a Hylian?"
"He was a Hylian, I'm sure of it," the king's brother said. "His clothing, his skin, his ears... everything about him looked like a Hylian."
"Hm, very well. Anything else?"
"He was a young man," Astalor said. "Perhaps their age," he added and pointed at the twins standing next to him. "He wore white clothing and had brown hair, I think. Oh, and he carried a sword – I thought that was strange for a wizard." Astalor closed his eyes in reminiscence. "Oh, and a strange thing followed him – it floated above the ground and never strayed far behind him."
"What kind of thing?" Koume blurted out, seized by a sudden chill that the description had invoked. Kotake, too, was visibly worried, biting her lower lips and staring at Astalor with frightful anticipation.
"When I saw it... I thought it looked kind of... familiar..." Astalor said with frustrating slowness, dancing around the dreaded revelation. "Then I remembered. It was the symbol from the Hylian crest... three golden triangles that floated in mid-air."
"Oh, shit," Koume whispered and buried her face in her palms.
"He's alive," Kotake simply said.
"He's describing the Triforce," the Arbiter said rather redundantly. "But that means..."
"It's Darion," Koume said. "He's alive, and he's here. Damn it!" Fury seized her – not directed at Darion, but at herself. "And I thought giving up the Triforce piece wouldn't come back to haunt us! I'm an idiot!"
"I'm glad you did it," Kotake pointed out, "or otherwise I would be dead." Koume almost wanted to scream at her. How could she miss the point like this? Darion was here, and he had the Triforce with him – the power that had destroyed the capital of Hyrule and left nothing but ashes!
"Then my theory was wrong," the Arbiter said as he rose from his chair and fastened the belt on his green robe. "The destroyer of Keeptown is still alive." His voice carried a dangerous edge, and the fingers of his right hand moved, as if he was already casting a spell that would constrict Darion's throat or ignite his flesh.
"The destroyer of Keeptown?" Astalor asked. "What are you talking about?"
"I'll explain the details at a more opportune time," the Arbiter said. "Suffice it to say that this man is a lunatic murderer of thousands, and that he is our common enemy. Therefore, I shall aid you as best as I am able."
"Thank you, Arbiter." Garanth bowed again, this time more deeply. "The Gerudo are in your debt twice over."
"Hold it!" Kotake shouted. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
"On the contrary," the Arbiter replied, and his voice was as ice. "I am remembering something... something that I tried to forget over the past few days."
"Darion has the Triforce!" Koume said what was on her sister's mind. "All he has to do is say 'die' and then you drop dead, and all the magic in the world can't save you!"
"Do you suggest I stand back and do nothing?" the Arbiter asked sharply.
"No, but-"
"I don't have to attack him head-on," the wizard continued. "I teleport to the oasis, approach him from behind and-"
"You don't even know where exactly he is," Kotake pointed out. "Somewhere in the Desert Colossus, most likely, if his story is true. And he has an army of Moblins – you told us how fragile wizards are – you demonstrated it by almost dying! Don't do anything stupid now because you want revenge!"
The Arbiter shot a furious glance at Kotake, but Kotake did not flinch and answered his gaze. They stared at each other for a minute, while Koume wrestled with the idea that Darion was still alive, and Astalor looked at the three as though they had suddenly gone crazy. Then the Arbiter put his hands to his temples, drew in a deep breath and sat down on his chair again.
"You're right, Lady Kotake," he said. "At my age, you're supposed to think before you act."
"You're welcome."
"Will somebody please explain to me what is going on?" Astalor pleaded to no one in particular.
"It doesn't make any sense," Koume said, finally realizing that something about Astalor's story was... off.
"Yes, that's why I'm asking for an explanation."
"Not that! The Triforce!"
"Yes, you're right," the Arbiter nodded. "Why didn't I see it before?"
"Because you had a stereotypical fit of vengefulness," Kotake suggested. "Also, what are you talking about?"
"Don't you see it?" Right now, Koume did not even have the spirit for mocking her sister for her slowness. "Why would Darion threaten the people at the oasis? Why would he need an army? Why would he-"
"I get it, I get it. He could just use the Triforce, right?"
"But he didn't," the Arbiter said. "And it's certainly not because he has a deep-seated respect for the sanctity of life."
"Nor for the Gerudo in particular," Koume added, recalling Darion's hateful remarks about 'desert rats'. "So why wouldn't he use it if it's right next to him?"
"Perhaps there are certain restrictions in place for the Triforce user," the Arbiter speculated. "Perhaps the thing even has a conscience and refused to obey Darion any longer."
"Then why does it still follow him around?" Kotake asked.
"That I do not know."
"Maybe that's why he's in the Spirit Temple," Koume said. "Maybe the Trifoce told him to go there... or he's taking it there for another reason."
"Perhaps it's broken and he's trying to fix it," Kotake suggested, and the Arbiter burst out into laughter.
"The power of the gods... defective? Now there's a thought."
"Don't make fun of me," Kotake griped.
"I'm not making fun of you," the Arbiter assured Kotake, though she appeared unconvinced. "On the contrary, your words made me realize how little we know about the workings of the Triforce, and how pointless our speculations are. Therefore, I suggest we stick to the facts." He cleared his throat. "The prince did not use the Triforce when he could have, and by all rights, should have – from his perspective, I mean. Thus, we should assume that he cannot currently use its power."
"That's a pretty big assumption," Kotake grumbled
"Indeed it is." The Arbiter cleared his throat. "Lord Astalor?"
"What? Oh, don't mind me, I'm just part of the decoration." The king's brother shook his head. "Sorry, but I haven't been able to follow you for a while. I understand that the golden thing is this 'Triforce' you are talking about, but other than that..."
"Please bear with us for a while longer. This... wizard, you say... did he actually do any magic? And if so, did or did it not involve touching or talking to the Triforce – the golden thing?"
"No, nothing," Astalor replied. "Except for the skeletal monsters that were with him – they are surely the product of dark magic." He leaned against one of the shelves, contemplating. "Even with that, I wouldn't even have thought of him as a wizard – he didn't look like one, after all. But Garanth called him that." He shrugged. "Again, I'm sorry, but I didn't listen to their conversation. I don't know any of the details."
"Speaking of Garanth, you said before that he had a plan," the Arbiter said. "Certainly more of a plan than we, who are acting like confused cuccoos, speculating about things we cannot currently know. So let's put the conjecture on hold for now and hear about his plan."
"My brother has no intention of surrendering our home to these monsters without a fight," Astalor said. "The Gerudo are a proud people, and we warriors are proudest of them all. But not all of us are warriors. Those who cannot fight must be brought to a safe place – that is Garanth's first duty as king. He is currently leading everybody due east, to our fortress in Gerudo Valley, at the entrance to the desert. The warriors will take ample water supplies from the river that runs through the valley and prepare to return to the oasis, and fight the battle that they could not fight before. I will leave this place to join them as soon as we are finished here, and lead them to retake our home."
"And that is where I come in, correct?"
"Yes. Even though the wizard may not be a wizard after all, our warriors outnumber the monsters only by a narrow margin, and though we are hardy people, we lack combat experience. I know of your abilities – the way you can summon fire and lightning and make the earth tremble beneath one's feet!" Astalor's awed words and expression suggested that he had seen the Arbiter in action before. "If you added your might to our own, our chances at success would increase drastically. All you would have to do is stand in the back of our army and hurl death at the monsters that unhomed us. And though we lack any coin other than gratitude to pay you, we would ask that you join us in our fight. We know that it is not right to drag you into our battles, but-"
"That's enough," the Arbiter said. "I will only accept to fight at your side if you stop telling me how undeserving you are of my help, because it is already getting annoying." He smirked. "After all, helping each others is what neighbours do, right?"
"Neighbours..." Astalor frowned as if he was deep in thought. "Yes, I suppose that's what we are."
"Then it's settled." The Arbiter rose from his chair again and extended his hand to Astalor. "Together, we shall drive out those who would bring war to our desert."
Astalor seized the wizard's hand and shook it. "Thank you."
"How touching," Kotake mocked.
"Nobody asked for your opinion," Astalor said. "I assume the two of you will be staying here?"
"Of course," Kotake said. "But I guess we can wish you good luck."
"Thank you," Astalor said stiffly.
"Hey, wait a minute!" Koume protested. "Don't go speaking for both of us here!"
"What?" Kotake stared at Koume as if she had just declared her undying love for Darion. "It was you who said we're not trying to save the world anymore! That we should stay out of fights that don't concern us!"
"But this fight does concern us! Darion has taken over the oasis! That's the place where we were born and raised, in case you forgot!"
"It's also the place where people shun us because we don't share their peace-and-honesty-obsession," Kotake snapped back. "Your point?"
"It's quite all right," Astalor interjected, "you two can stay here. Women shouldn't be fighting, anyway."
"Shut up!" Kotake snarled. "Yes, you're not helping," Koume added.
"But it's the truth," Astalor continued, smiling. "Why do you think we have no female warriors? Because women are weaker. It's not an insult or anything, just a basic fact of nature."
"Oh no," Kotake said slowly. "This is not going to work!"
"What isn't going to work?" Astalor asked.
"I'm not going to fall for it! I'm not going to say 'I'm coming with you just to show you how much of a fighter a woman can be!', because that's exactly what you want!"
Is that what he wants? Koume wondered. He sounds like he means it.
"For the last time, this is not a trick!" Astalor sounded almost desperate. "Women don't belong on the battlefield! They should stay at home, raise children and-"
"That does it, you worthless male!" Kotake barked. "I'm going to go out there and carve up twice as many Moblins as you just to show you how much..." She paused with her mouth open. "Oh, damn it!"
"Now that was a weird exchange," the Arbiter commented.
"Her pride is her weak point," Koume explained.
"Will somebody please save me from myself?" Kotake begged.
"I'm happy that you're coming along," Koume said cheerfully. "You would just get bored sitting here all alone, anyway."
"I swear to you, if I get killed, I'll come back to haunt you! All of you!"
"I don't understand you two," Astalor said. "But I guess I can't stop you if you insist."
Kotake mumbled something incomprehensible, slumped behind the Arbiter and and let herself drop into the empty chair.
"Now that this is settled, there's just the matter of communication," the Arbiter said. "Ah, yes! That'll do nicely. Please excuse me for a second." The old wizard slipped out of the library and could be heard rummaging through a cupboard or a shelf in his bedroom next door. After a muffled cry of "there you are!", his footsteps could be heard in the corridor, and the Arbiter returned, bearing a golden necklace with a small inset sapphire that emitted a bright glow. "Please wear this," he told Astalor.
"I'm not wearing a necklace!" the king's brother protested. "What's it good for anyway?"
"I encased a certain signal spell into this gemstone – like a spellsphere, except based on totally different mechanics. Mechanics I invented, if I may be so boastful."
"What's a spellsphere?" Astalor asked suspiciously.
"He has no clue," Koume sighed. "Just give it to me." The Arbiter nodded, handed the necklace over to her, and she put it around her neck. "What kind of spell is it?"
"A signal spell, as I said. If you touch the gem for a few seconds, it will send a powerful beacon to me no matter where I am. Well, actually, it does have a maximum range, but that won't concern you as long as you stay within the desert."
"And what does this beacon do?" Koume asked.
"It allows me to teleport to your location, even if I have never been there and don't know what it looks like," the Arbiter replied. "That way, I can stay here, make some preparations and practice my spells – my fireballs are a probably a bit rusty," he smiled apologetically. "Use it when your army approaches the oasis, and I will arrive in no time at all." He grinned. "The beacon will even wake me up if I'm fast asleep, so please, have no worries."
"Got it," Koume said and nodded.
"Hey, Arbiter," Kotake called out from her chair. "I have an idea."
"Oh yes? What is it?"
"Why don't we use Ixis? He could just swoop down on the Moblins and-"
"Oh no." The Arbiter shook his head and put his hands against his sides. "Categorically, absolutely, no. My Ixis is an innocent, near helpless animal that should not be dragged into our conflicts!"
Near helpless? Are we talking about the same dragon?
"Don't get all worked up," Kotake said, leaning back in the chair with her eyes closed. "It was just an idea. I didn't know you were so protective of him."
"Owning a pet confers a great responsibility to the owner," the Arbiter lectured her. "And I am not a man who would shirk from his responsibilities."
"What kind of pet is he talking about?" Astalor whispered in Koume's ear.
"Oh, just a dragon," she whispered back.
"Ah, I see. Well, we wouldn't want him to – wait, what?"
"Don't think about it," Koume recommended.
"Uh... certainly."
"All right then," Kotake said and rose from the armchair, drawing her one remaining sabre. "I'm ready to go. We have no time to waste, right?"
"Right," Astalor said. Koume, too, made sure that her remaining sabre was in its sheath and nodded. "Ready." She looked at the Arbiter.
"All right, you know the drill – just imagine the place!"
"Garanth will be surprised when he sees that I arrived before him." A somber expression came over Astalor's face. "I must warn you," he told the twins, "the monsters probably killed many of our people in the fortress. Perhaps even all of them. Prepare yourselves for a horrid sight."
"Just because we're women doesn't mean we'll throw up at the sight of a few dead bodies," Kotake said. Koume was not so sure, but kept her mouth shut.
"Probably more than a few," Astalor said bitterly. "But we will exact payment for their deaths." He nodded at the Arbiter. "Do it."
"Until then," the old man said, and the library vanished, to be replaced by the sight of Gerudo Valley, coloured blood red in the late afternoon sun. The three of them were standing on the roof of one of the fortress's many rectangular buildings, the large gate leading to the desert on their right side, cliff faces on their left, and the path to Hyrule Field up ahead.
"This is an amazing power," Astalor said. "I must admit, I was afraid the first time."
"You get used to it," Koume said. I wonder when we'll be able to learn this. But it's probably among the most difficult spells of them all...
"Let's get inside," Kotake suggested. "To see if anybody is alive in there."
"Yes," Astalor said gravely. "Let's go."
The three Gerudo dropped off of the low building to the valley ground. There was no entrance here, so they walked over to the closest door that led into a five-story-building. The first room was empty, although there were several large pools of dried blood on the floor. The sight and the smell put Koume's nerves on edge.
"Are you sure no Moblins staid behind?" she asked Astalor.
"I have no idea," the king's brother replied. "But Moblins aren't exactly small, so we needn't expect a surprise attack."
"Right." Koume remembered the Moblin who had voluntarily fought against Ixis back when they had lost the Triforce piece to the Stalfos. She hoped that most of his kind were not quite so battle-crazy.
It's too late to turn back now, she thought. But I'll see this through to the end. Kotake will never let me hear the end of it if I don't.
The three passed through an empty corridor to a flight of stairs and reached the first story, where the found another empty room. There was a prison cell adjacent to it; also empty, its door wide open. A table had been toppled, but there was no blood, nor any sign of life.
"Hello?" Astalor suddenly shouted. "Is anybody here? Can anyone hear us?"
His cries echoed through the empty room and into the corridor's beyond. No answer.
This is creepy, Koume thought. There should at least be corpses! Or did the Moblins eat – ugh, no, I mustn't think about that.
"Hm. Let's check the second floor," Astalor said and led the way.
"I hear something," Kotake said while they were climbing the next flight of stairs. "Sounds like... feet? Scuffing?" Her eyes lit up. "Somebody's definitely moving!"
"But it's not coming from up here," Astalor said. They entered the third room of the building, and it was just as empty as the other two. No blood or any signs of struggle here, either. There was a door leading outside to one of the fortress's many terraces, and another stair leading up at the far end, but there was nobody there, either.
And yet, they could clearly hear the sounds of scuffing feet.
"It's coming from below," Kotake whispered. "They followed us inside."
"W-who are they, exactly?" Koume asked, trying desperately not to show her fear – not because she was embarrassed, but because she knew that fear could be contagious.
"Who are you?" Astalor shouted toward the stairs. "I warn you! Don't try to creep up on us!" When the only answer was a low, drawn-out moan, he drew his sword and shield and nodded at the sisters, and each of them unsheathed their sabre, readying themselves for combat.
When the first of their pursuers came shuffling up the stairs, she was happy to recognize him as a male Gerudo. He was badly injured – his foot was dragging, he had a horrible wound near his stomach, and his skin was deadly pale, but he was still alive and moving toward them, albeit very slowly.
"You shouldn't be moving," Koume said. "Your going to kill yourself like this!" Yet for some reason, she made not a single step toward him. Something about the man seemed wrong. "Stop walking!" she said again, but the man did not listen. His head was lowered, so she could not see his face, could not see whether he had even heard her words.
"What's wrong with him?" Kotake asked. Astalor merely stared at the man, saying nothing. His expression was unreadable.
A deep moaning sound announced the arrival ot two more Gerudo via the stairs, then three more, all of them pale and suffering from similar injuries as the first. One of them even had a deep cut in his neck that made his head bob up and down, revealing flesh and bone.
"This is wrong," Kotake whispered. "This can't be!"
"Nobody could be alive with such a wound," Astalor agreed. Koume could hear him gulp without looking. "But that means..."
The first Gerudo to enter the room had come within three feet of them now, and Koume saw that he was moving toward her in particular. Instinct made her take a step backwards, then another.
What's wrong with him? What is all this? What-
The pale man raised his head, and Koume could see his pale face and lifeless eyes. But before she could register what she was seeing, he opened his mouth and a terrible scream rent the air, a scream whose like Koume had never heard before, shrill and high-pitched; a sound that should not have come from the throat of any living being. The scream did not merely frighten her or chill her, it literally paralyzed her, sending her into a state of abject fear where the only movement of her body was her trembling.
The hobbling man advanced toward her, and Koume finally realized that, although there were now about a dozen Gerudo in the room, none of them were alive.
"ReDead!"
Koume's mind shouted at her to run away, but she could not move an inch. Not even her eyes moved, though she saw out of the corner of her eyes that Astalor and Kotake had been similarly paralyzed, just like her, terror written all over their faces.
Move move move move move!
She could not move.
The ReDead was upon her, grabbing her neck and shoulders with its cold arms, baring its teeth. Kotake made an inaudible sound, but Koume could not answer. The ReDead's teeth snapped closed, but missed her skin by an inch. Its hands moved along her neck, pressing against her throat, and there was the sound of something falling on the floor. The ReDead's mouth opened again, and this time, its teeth would not miss their mark-
Something moved to Koume's right, and she felt a strong shoulder thrust against hers. She lost her balance and fell to the left, but for some reasons, her muscles obeyed her again as she fell, and she landed on her arms and feet, almost cutting her wrists with her own sabre.
The ReDead's teeth clicked somewhere above her, biting the air.
"Run!" Astalor's voice exploded to Koume's right. "RUN!"
I can move. I can move. Move. Move!
Koume struggled to her feet and followed Astalor toward the door leading to the terrace. Kotake, too, moved, falling in line behind her sister. The shuffling of feet continued behind them as the ReDeads gave their slow, slow chase. There were no more screams.
"This... this..." Koume struggled for something to say as she ran, but had no words ready. This was not a situation she had ever been able to imagine.
"Jump off the roof and run," Astalor yelled. Koume nodded. There was no thought about fighting – how did one fight these things when they could paralyze you as soon as they got close?
And why aren't they screaming now? Not that I want them to, but...
Then she realized what the dead eyes meant: The ReDead were blind, and could only find their targets when they made noises, or they were close enough to feel their body heat.
Why couldn't Astalor have staid silent...
"Damn it!" Astalor shouted before her. "We should have taken the stairs!" He had left the building first and was now standing on the square terrace which was also the roof of the neighbouring building. In front of them was the reddish-brown cliff face of Gerudo Valley, and on all other sides, the walls of directly adjacent buildings loomed, four or five stories high each. The terrace was a death trap.
"What now?" Kotake asked, her breathing heavy. "What now?"
"There!" Koume shouted. There was an opening at the far end of the terrace; a square hole leading downwards, perhaps to safety. She dashed toward the hole and looked down, and her heart almost burst when she realized that it was merely one of the fortress's prison holes, leading twenty feet down, with no exit or corridor leading to freedom.
"Damn it!" she cursed. That, at least, was something she still could do. "Damn it damn it damn it! What do we do?"
"There must be a way!" Kotake cried. "There must be!"
"There they are!" Astalor shouted, his voice hoarse. Pouring out of the building they had just left came the ReDead – five, eight, twelve of them, slowly shuffling toward their prey.
"We wait until they come close, then run around them!" Koume shouted.
"That won't work! There are too many!"
Koume looked to the door and saw the truth in her sister's words. A never-ending stream of ReDeads was flowing onto the terrace, forcing them toward either the hole or one of the walls. There was no gap in their numbers. Forward and forward they moved, threatening to envelop Garanth and the twins.
"So he is a wizard after all," Koume heard Astalor say, and was amazed that he could form a coherent thought. "He did this... to our brothers and sisters..." He sounded as if he was about to cry.
"The necklace!" Kotake suddenly shouted. "Use it! Call the Arbiter! He'll save us!"
Yes, of course! Koume thought and brought her free hand to her neck.
The necklace was gone.
"It's gone!" she cried. "It's gone!" She repeated the words, hoping that Kotake or Astalor would contradict them. "It's gone!"
That was the falling sound, she realized. It's lying on the floor inside, useless.
The ReDead were covering two-thirds of the roof-terrace now, and the three Gerudo were close to the wall. Soon they would have to make the choice whether they would rather jump into the hole and die in there, or here on the roof.
I'd rather die up here where I can see the sun.
Koume looked up, her eyes searching for the sun in the blue, cloudless sky. What she saw instead was a skeleton leaping over the heads of the ReDead, a large sword raised over its skull, the light of the sun reflected on its golden helmet.
What? He? Here?
All Koume could do before the Stalfos landed was to raise her sabre, or she would have been cut in two. But though she parried the attack, the tremendous momentum of the Stalfos' leaping strike was enough to send her reeling backwards and screaming into the prison hole. The world turned upside down as she fell, with the sky appearing beneath her feet, and then she dove into the thick hay filling the the bottom of the hole. She heard the Stalfos' roar above, and a second later, Kotake came tumbling down into the hole, and Koume could barely move away to avoid being impaled by her sabre.
That's it. We're done for.
Within seconds, the ReDead would come pouring down this hole and devour them, and there was nothing either of them could do. Strangely, Koume's fear did not turn into abject panic as it should have. Perhaps it was the tiny shred of hope keeping panic at bay; the knowledge that Astalor was still up there and fighting.
Maybe he can beat them, she hoped against all reason, although she could not even see him, could not see anything but the blue square ceiling of the sky above. Maybe he can save us.
Nonsense. Nobody can-
"Begone!" a someone shouted. It was the Stalfos, his voice still as full of despair and self-loathing as it had always been. "Begone, I say!" The scuffling of feet above them changed, became more and more distant, until it vanished completely.
"What are you doing?" she heard Astalor shout. "Who are you?"
"I am your enemy," the Stalfos said. "Don't talk to him!" Kotake shouted next to her sister. "Kill him!"
"Koume, is that you? What about Kotake? Are you still alive?"
"Don't be distracted!" Kotake kept shouting. "Kill him!"
"Why did you call your minions back, abomination?" Astalor asked. "Do you have a death wish?"
"YES!" the crazy Stalfos shouted, "I do! Kill me!" Koume heard the sound of sword clashing against sword. "Kill me! Somebody has to!"
"He's still completely nuts," Koume said and chuckled. Her chuckle soon turned into a near-hysterical laughing fit.
I'm laughing. I'm sitll alive. I'm laughing because I'm still alive. Oh gods above and below, this is too much for one woman.
"Kill me!" the Stalfos kept screaming above even when Koume's laughter died down and she gasped for breath. "Kill me!" Every time the sound of sword against sword or sword against shield reached the twins in their hole, he screamed again. "Kill me!"
"He's worse than ever," Koume told Kotake, who was alternating between giving her concerned looks and peering upwards to perhaps catch a glimpse of the fight going on there.
"No, really, he is." She grinned. "He's totally losing it."
"I understand now," Astalor's voice reached them from above. "You, too, are one of the wizard's victims, every bit as tortured and unwilling as my brothers and sisters here. I shall put you out of your misery."
"Don't talk about it!" the Stalfos screamed, and Koume found that she agreed with him. "Do it! Kill me!"
"Your strength matches my own," Astalor gasped. "You are-"
"I cannot fight an ounce below my strength!" the Stalfos screamed. "You must kill me on your own power! You must! You – damn you!"
The Stalfos' curse coincided with the sound of a sword breaking. Astalor grunted in surprise and suddenly appeared in Koume's field of view, at the very edge of the hole's blue ceiling. He was holding his shield with both hands, absorbing the blows dealt out by the Stalfos.
"Damn you, damn you, damn you!" the skeleton shouted, and pounded Astalor's shield with his sword with each curse. "You couldn't defeat me, either! Get out of my sight!"
Sword clashed against shield again, and this time, Astalor toppled backward, finally having lost his balance, down into the little world that was their hole. He landed head-first, but the hay was deep enough to cushion his blow. He looked like one of the large walking birds that lived in the desert and buried their heads in the sand when danger was near, and while Kotake did the reasonable thing by helping him out, Koume had a second fit of laughter.
I think I'm going crazy. And would that be a bad thing?
"You failed!" The Stalfos appeared at the edge of the hole above them. "Faaaailed!"
"Help me out here, and I'll give it another try!" Astalor growled.
"You stay in here!" the Stalfos shouted. "My orders are that no Gerudo must leave the valley! And I must obey!"
"Damn you!" Astalor shouted. "We're going to die in here, and you know that!"
"I have no sympathy to spare!" the Stalfos shouted. "You failed me! Everyone failed me!" He threw back his skull and railed at the heavens. "Isn't there anybody out there who can kill me?"
"I'd like to have his problems," Koume said and giggled. Then she passed out.