Chapter 53: The Inquiry

~~~Once again, Viscen found himself in the Private Meeting Chamber. This would mark their third official meeting since the Tribe of Ranul and the Kingdom of Hyrule began their diplomatic relations. As far as diplomacy went, however, they were far from allies; they were both on the brink of an all-out war. He hoped deeply that both parties would come to an understanding and that no further blood shed would happen.

Viscen sat at the table with the General, the Chief of Sheikah, the King, and the last advisor. On the opposite side sat the Supreme Patriarch and his nine Patriarchs, along with his nine guards who stood behind them. The clouds caused a gray light to shine through the windows into the room, setting a dire tone for what was about to take place.

"This is our third meeting now through these five days we've known each other, is it not?" began the King, initiating the meeting.

"Yes, Your Majesty, it has been that long," answered the Supreme Patriarch in his emotionless voice.

"I'm sure that you are aware by now of the death of two of my advisors, aren't you?" the King said, testing the Patriarch's knowledge.

"Yes, I have heard. There seems to be some sort of controversy about their deaths," he said.

The General rested his arms at the edge of the table. "There is some controversy about these happenings. One of the advisors who died assaulted one of my Knights and me. He was clothed in one of the outfits your guards wear."

One of the other Patriarchs leaned forward and said, "Do you mean to suspect us of such treachery?" he said with a flicker of outrage in his voice.

The General's eyes focused on the Patriarch. "Yes, I do mean to --!"

"That is enough, Sir General," the King interrupted, standing to his feet. "We are not accusing anyone of anything. This meeting is meant to settle a dire matter in the most peaceful way," he said, and then took his seat once again.

"Your Majesty, you say that one of your advisors wore the outfit of one of our men?" asked the Supreme Patriarch.

"That is what I have come to understand. I did not witness it for myself," said the King.

"The outfit disappeared from his body immediately after his death," added Viscen.

"How can you say he was one of ours when you have no evidence to support your claims?" countered one of the Patriarchs.

Viscen lowered his head slightly, realizing that they had no real claim that it was one of their men.

"And there was the death of my latest advisor. He was going on a rampage throughout the Castle. Did any of you happen to run into him?" asked the King.

"No, we did not see him. What happened?" said the Supreme Patriarch.

"His psyche apparently broke and he went on a killing spree, killing six people last night. We ended up having to take him down," answered the Chief of Sheikah.

"That's unfortunate," the Supreme Patriarch said.

The King put his elbows on the table and held up his head with his hands. "Is there anything at all that you know about any of these events? Now is the time to tell me,"

The Supreme Patriarch was silent for a moment before he said, "No, Your Majesty. We have no part in these events,"

The King stood to his feet. "Tomorrow at this time, we will have the last of our meetings in the Throne room, where I will officially dissolve your tribe into Hyrule. Is that well with you?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," the Supreme Patriarch answered.

"My Twelve Knights of Hyrule, escort the Supreme Patriarch's party to the Northern Tower," the King concluded as he opened the door and walked out of it.

Everyone in the room was still for a moment before Viscen finally stood from his chair and formed around the Patriarchs. The other eleven Knights followed his example and they all left the room.

They walked through the Castle to the Northern Tower. The Knights and the Patriarchs were all silent as they moved. The feeling of instability was thick in their midst. Viscen felt as if he was suffocating just by being near the Patriarchs. It reminded him of the first time he came here.

"Knight," he heard a voice call to him.

Viscen looked around to see who said that.

"Yes, you there," The voice came from the person that Viscen feared talking to: the Supreme Patriarch.

Viscen moved near him upon his beckoning. "Yes, Supreme Patriarch?"

"I am very surprised that you were able to defend yourself against that madman last night. Commendable," he ominously commented.

Viscen felt bullets of sweat form all over him. Just as he thought, the Supreme Patriarch knew very well about what had taken place that night.

"Heh heh, you really thought that I was going to forget about you? He was really meant to kill you, but I see that I greatly underestimated your ability,"

'Continue to impede me, Viscen, and you will suffer a fate worse than the advisors have.'

"You aren't going to get away with it, whatever you hope to do with all of this," Viscen said, not facing the Supreme Patriarch in order to avoid attracting attention.

"You haven't a fathom what I intend to do, so how do you even know how to stop me?"

"Trust me, I will find a way."

"And I will make sure you die before I accomplish my goal," he said in a manner of finality.

Viscen distanced himself from the Patriarch upon the finishing of his sentence. He definitely knew that he needed to stay on his guard at all times with this increased declaration of war between the two of them.

The General sped down the hallway in an effort to catch up to the King, who had left the meeting room earlier than everyone else. Though nothing was happening yet, there was a quiet disturbance that seemed to pollute the Castle. It would be only a matter of time before the tension snapped; and when that happens, tranquility won't be secured until a mighty price is exacted. This idea was one that every soldier in the Castle knew, but no one discussed it, out of fear of speaking it into existence. As the General continued down the hallway, he caught sight of the King and he quickened his pace.

"Your Majesty."

The King stopped and looked back. "Oh, General, what do you have to say?"

The General stopped in front of him and said, "What decision did you make?"

The King looked at the General and then sighed, closing his eyes. He held this look for a few seconds before he looked up to a window across the hall. "We must rally the tribes of Hyrule. There is no doubt that a conflict is coming."

The General gasped slightly. "You mean, we're going –."

"To war," the King finished his sentence in the grimmest manner, making firm eye contact with the General. "Yes, Sir General, we are going to war. Whatever it takes, we must ensure the safety of both the people and the Triforce. The Hero is doing what he can right now. We must also do our part."

"Do you think that the Supreme Patriarch really did orchestrate the murders of the advisors now?" the General asked.

"I do. When Viscen noted the fact that the robe on the body of one of the advisors disappearing, the Supreme Patriarch refuted saying that we had no evidence that they were involved. Those sound like the words of the guilty," the King explained as he began to continue down the hallway.

"What should we do with them then, Your Majesty?" the General asked, following the King.

"We continue to be as peaceable as we can with them for now. But," He paused for a moment. "Increase the security throughout the Castle and warn every soldier, guard, and Knight that they must be cautious of everything that is suspicious. We can't let another incident like what happened last night take place again. Also, make sure that nothing comes of our last advisor," the King said in a concluding manner.

"Yes, Your Majesty," the General answered. "And I will personally see to the advisor's safety," he added as he parted ways from the King.

Link and the rest traveled down a mountain path, heading back to Zora's Domain. They couldn't go through the tunnel, because it was only a one way conduit, sealed on both ends once passed through. The ice and snow that encased the mountain was still as present as ever, but much of it was melting away. Water ran down the mountainside in streams, and in other places, it made the ground very muddy, making the trail more perilous than it was before. The clouds continued to block the sun, keeping the frozen land from melting too fast for its own good. After they retrieved the Zora Sapphire, the way to the Master Sword would be completely open for them.

'You will not live to touch the Master Sword. Understand that well,'

Those words from Uryan stayed in Link's conscience. The threat of death was much more present than ever before, now that the underlying evil that moved within Hyrule's shadows had been revealed. Link jumped as he felt a hand touch his shoulder. He looked behind him to see the Sheikah watchman.

"It's over for now, Link," he said to him.

"What do you mean?" Link asked.

"If you dwell on things too much, you'll end up making yourself less than you actually are. Move forward with strong decision. Looking back too much will make you blind to what is ahead of you," the Sheikah answered.

Link stared at him for a second in wonder. "H-how did you --?"

"One thing I've noticed about you since you began your adventure is that you wear your emotions as clear as your clothes; it's not hard to tell what you're thinking," he said. "But, like I said, don't worry. We will have all three of the Spiritual Stones and then we can get to the Master Sword."

Link gave a reassuring smirk to the Sheikah.

As they continued their descent, the flowing waters of Zora River came into view, followed by the sight of the Zora's Domain. Once they reached the Domain, a group of Zora guards met them and led them to the Zora King's throne room. Once there, they ascended the platform in the middle of the room to speak with the King.

"I see that you all have completed your task of returning the land to its former state. The harsh ice and snow is melting, giving my people back the lives they once had." King Zora said. "Of course, it will take a while for the climate to truly regain its former condition," As King Zora looked around at their group; he caught sight of Rakam and the Sheikah watchman. "There are two more people with you than the last time I saw you…and it appears that some others are missing as well," he said in surprise.

Mikau stepped forward. "These two who are with us did not at first come with the rest of us, staying back at our caravans. And as for the missing ones," Mikau stopped his sentence.

"They went back to the caravans to prepare for our departure," answered the Sheikah watchman.

Mikau looked at the Sheikah half confused.

"Oh, I see then. I had forgotten how short on time you must be with your journey," King Zora said as he stood from his throne. He took of his crown made from a strange fish skull and took off a bright blue jewel, and then he put the crown on again. "This is the Zora Sapphire," he said. An air of reverence filled the room as he held out the radiant gem. The Zora King's eyes focused on Link. "Hero, take this Stone and go forth to save Hyrule."

Link nodded and went to the King took the Sapphire from him. "Thank you Hero, for returning our land to normal. You have the support of my tribe, should you ever need my help," he quietly said to him. He looked to one of the nearby guards and nodded. The guard then walked to the platform, along with a few other guards. "My men will escort you all to the exit. May the Goddesses clear the way for you," he said in parting. Link and the rest followed the guards out of the throne room.

"Mikau," the King's voice echoed through. Mikau looked back to his father.

"Be careful, my son."

Mikau nodded with a soft smile and then continued out the throne room.

The troop of Zora guards disappeared behind the waterfall after they finished their escorting task. Link and the rest of the group descended from the cliff. As he walked down, he noticed the Bulblin camp that was at the edge of the river. He wondered if Uryan and the rest had passed through there as they left, or if they were still somewhere around. After a while, they made it to the camp. Hundreds of Bulblins prowled the base camp. It brought to Link's mind the memories of the night he raided the Bulblin camp at the foot of Death Mountain.

"Hey, why aren't the Bulblins attacking you all?" Rakam asked, looking around at the Bulblins who walked past them in an indifferent manner.

"Oh, you didn't know?" Link began, "They chose to follow us after we defeated them on the way here."

Rakam's eyes widened. "You defeated them? But they outnumbered you all greatly."

"I had a duel their leader and defeated him. Then he recognized us as strong and chose our side to fight for."

Rakam frowned slightly. "So they betrayed us that easily. I guess it explains why they turned against Uryan so willingly."

As they walked through the camp, they saw the new King Bulblin walking toward them. "Have you defeated those three?" he asked as he came to a stop in front of Link.

"Yes, we did, but it came with a great price," Link answered.

"A great price?" he asked.

"The three cloaked men in our group betrayed us," Link said, with slight anger in his voice.

"They betrayed you? I knew that they were no good –Hey!" the Bulblin King exclaimed, "Why is he here?" he said angrily, pointing at Rakam.

Link noticed who he was pointing at and said, "He sided with us, there's nothing to worry about."

King Bulblin glowered at Rakam briefly and then turned back to Link. "Are you prepared to leave?" he asked.

"Yes we are. When will your camp be ready to ride?"

"We will be ready now, if needed."

"Good. Get them prepared to leave then," Link said.

"It will be done," King Bulblin answered and then walked away, shouting commands at passing Bulblin.

"Hey, you," Mikau said, trying to get the Sheikah watchman's attention. The Sheikah turned to him. "Yes Mikau?"

"Why did you lie about Uryan, Nid, and Eroraf to my father?" he said, glaring at him.

"There was no need to tell him about it. It would only worry him more if he knew the truth of the matter," he answered.

Mikau relaxed his expression slightly. "Oh, I see what you mean."

As they walked, they made it to the caravans. But there was something that they found that alarmed them: Uryan, Nid, and Eroraf's caravan was gone.