Chapter 9: Murder in the Mines; History of Aurelia
Path to Palashia's Premier Arc
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.
Featured Music: "Ranked Amongst The World's Best" - The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass OST. Chapter Briefing.
"Reconciled People" - YS VI: The Ark of Napishtim OST. Scene 1 (First & Second Half) and 2 (First Half).
With the Hero of Time's fast progression through the 'Hylian Hyrax', a martial arts national championship tournament part of the 'World Tour' by a conglomerate by name of 'Prima', he finds many companions; some old and some new.
Barkner, a sociable and happy-go-lucky Goron from Death Mountain and a man Link once met during his adventure for the Spiritual Stones.
Alwyn, a former Zoran soldier with a hardened stoic disposition to match; another companion the boy met during his stint for the Zora's Sapphire.
Malon, a young girl from local 'Lon Lon Ranch', and a close friend from the ruined timeline in which he came; a relationship in which he is still acclimatising to.
Zelda, namesake to the capital of the continent of Aurelia and royal princess of it; another close companion of the charismatic blonde boy and one with no memories of their time together in Hyrule's rebellion.
And, of course, his mentor; last of the Sheikah and the royal princess' attendant herself, Impa. With incredible years of knowledge in martial arts from her own history in training, Impa agrees to travel with the party together, acting as their leader and their advisor.
Now with the Hylian Hyrax complete, and with his place as 'second' secured lost only to his old rival Raynard Van Garrick, Link takes the newly-gained trophy, Rupees and 'championship points'; a currency utilised by the Prima World Tour that inevitably culminates as a qualifying piece for the ending tournament of the season.
The World Championships themselves.
His sights now set on securing the World Championship title as world's greatest martial artist, and to get his name out there as a recognisable one, Link hopes in some effort to find the old companion he once shared his forgotten journey with in the ruined Hyrule he came from. The party looks on to neighbouring 'Palashia'; a classic-like metropolitan with an odd culture and custom that puzzles and near frustrates Link and his friends.
Having arrived in more than ample enough time for the next national championship tournament, the heroes decide to take in the sights of Palashia's main hub, Rocknesse, and the many Aurelians that litter it...
Scene 1
"So this is Palashia...," the frowning-faced Zelda murmured out as the group were at last allowed to pass through the main gate. She turned her blonde-haired head to survey 'round the tall spire-like buildings that surrounded them, amidst the many bustling Aurelians that marched about the city, presumably on business. "It's so much bigger than I read about..."
"This is where most of Aurelia's business is conducted," Impa spoke up as regulator of the group, ever frowning as she affixed her grip on the straps of the rucksack tied to her shoulders. "A lot of people retire here when they have a lot of Rupees."
"You ain't kiddin'," Link chuckled as he followed along the Sheikah behind her, his grin quickly dropping as a couple men and women pushed past him. "Agh! Hey!" He exclaimed out, annoyed; the frowning-faced Alwyn, Barkner, Zelda and Malon all swung their heads 'round in half-surprise before realising their situation had unchanged. "Damn! No manners." The Hylian muttered out, annoyed.
"Stay close...," the Sheikah advised wisely, watching the countless people that passed them gifting them all with angry glances. "It'd be fairly easy to get lost within this amount of people."
"Yeah, for sure," Barkner agreed in his half-worried frown. "Is it... just me or are they all..." He began again, this time in an unsure shake of his head, narrowing his dark-brown shaded eyes.
"Displeased."
The group swung their heads in the similarly-faced Zelda's direction, surprised, before eventually turning their eyes 'round to gauge her words' validity.
Sure enough most people that saw them, especially the adults, shot the children nauseated and repulsed looks.
"Sure are...," Link murmured out in quiet-voiced agreement, brow furrowing in realisation. "I wonder why that...?"
"Not all Hylian history is altruistic," the frowning-faced Alwyn at last spoke up, drawing interested looks from the party. "There are a lot of people here who have faced persecution or, whose relatives have faced persecution, by the Hylians themselves."
"That's terrible...," the listening Zelda claimed in a disapproving tone to match the soprano she spoke with. "Why isn't it in the history books that I-?"
"You'll find that... history is written by the winners, princess," Impa explained briefly for the Zoran behind her, turning her silver-shaded head to face the girl below her. "In the times of the Sorcerer of the Divine Divide and following it, because Hyrule was originally the main capital of the world itself, your ancestors made slaves of these people and of their descendants."
Link winced on as he listened. "Eesh..."
"You'd think someone would have told us that," Malon spoke up, her fire-haired eyebrows resting down in a pained look. "That's horrible."
"That's the truth sweetheart," Barkner chuckled out in a half-smiling shrug, perhaps as a way to raise the atmosphere's low mood. "Most people never like to face what they've done, especially when it's somethin' horrific like that."
"He ain't wrong...," Link nodded in quiet-voiced agreement, a hardened frown to his tenor. "I know what he means."
Sure enough his memory went back to the numerous people he'd dealt with in Termina, simply unable to deal with the moon crashing down around them.
It was only when the grotesque orb in the sky began to drop down toward them at an alarming rate that they finally decided to leave Clock Town and seek shelter elsewhere.
"Not that it helped 'em..." He thought in a wry grin, thinking with less humility on his own efforts to save the land.
"This place can be dangerous if any of you are left alone, particularly any of you that are Hylian," Impa spoke up again wisely, turning her ruby-red gaze down on the three children behind her. "I don't want any of you travelling alone, even you." She nodded her silver-shaded head down toward the chuckling Link.
She was right, he thought.
Thinking on it, there'd no doubt be nutjobs out there that'd wanna exact revenge for their dead family or long-deceased ancestors.
"Well that's unfortunate," the grinning Link shot back, his oceanic eyes briefly shut as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, drawing a curious raised eyebrow from the Sheikah. "I kinda wanted to go shoppin'."
"You want to go shopping?" Malon grinned back in his direction, eliciting a half-surprised frown from the boy as he double-took toward her. "But you're a boy."
"Well now you're just generalising me!" The Hylian blonde bounced back in a know-it-all smirk of his own, placing his free left hand across his hip. The crimson-haired farm girl rolled her eyes but kept her small grin upon her face, the bantering exchange drawing an appreciative chuckle from the listening Zelda and Barkner.
"What for?" Impa pressed the boy, drawing his surprised frown toward her; he soon regained his sociable smile as he hovered his eyes around to face her again, re-opening his mouth as he did.
"Gotta get another karate gi!" The boy reminded the Sheikah woman with, ever in his knowing grins as he edged his free left thumb toward the white duffel bag that he carried over his shoulder with his right. "Managed to burn the last 'un." He chuckled out in a sheepish wince, rubbing the back of his green-hat head a second time. Impa sighed in low-toned defeat, shutting her eyes as she did.
"All right... but you're not going alone."
Link resisted the urge to groan and shrugged back at her. "Impa-sensei I can take care of mys-"
"I'll go with him."
The group all swung their heads 'round to find the diffident Zelda chuckling in a similarly awkwardly wince as she rose up her hand to match the words she previously spoke. The grinning-faced Barkner issued the frowning Alwyn next to him a friendly nudge, as he turned his look on the slightly-miffed form of Malon next to them.
Alwyn rolled his eyes.
"No," Impa shook her silver-shaded head in disapproval. "You're both Hylian; it'd be extremely dangerous to leave you both out there alone."
"I'll go with 'em," Alwyn at last spoke up, in a light sighing frown as he stepped forward ushering the gasping Zelda to step toward the blinking-faced Link. "Might as well be me; I was wanting to do a little sight-seeing while we're here anyhow." The Zoran soldier shrugged, ever business-like and quick to the point. Impa narrowed a single ruby-red eye at them, suspicious, before at last she sighed a second time in defeat.
The puppy-dog-eye look she received from the princess was enough to sway her usually-iron will.
"All right...," she sighed, outwardly tired from the discussion, shaking her head as she re-opened her fire-coloured eyes. "Just be careful, won't you?"
Alwyn nodded in swift understanding and agreement; like a soldier to its commander.
"Ain't no reason to worry with me at the helm Impa-sensei," the ever overconfident Link brashly shot out with, utilising his free right thumb to edge it toward his chest in a display of his courage. "I'll watch over us!"
The listening Zelda smiled widely, holding back a noticeable giggle in her look as she watched him, even drawing a lightly-amused smile from the similarly listening Alwyn behind them both. Impa rolled her eyes again, a tiny smile of her own dotting her complexion.
"Just... be careful...," she requested again, turning her eyes back to face the trio. "Won't you?"
'Spiros' Significant Sacraments'
Link blinked up at the large hardwood sign blowing lightly in the mild wind that blew comfortably around them before swinging his oceanic-eyed gaze down into the open window before him.
"This place is probably a bad idea...," Alwyn murmured out behind the two Hylian blondes as they inspected the insides of the shop from outside. "It looks a little too expensive for us."
"Pft!" Link blew into the air, his confident grin returned to him as he turned his head back to face the Zoran soldier behind him. "In your dreams Al! I got money!" He edged another of his many thumbs in his chest's direction, reminding the frowning-faced Zoran of his second-place prize money.
Not to mention the large fortune he had managed to save up in Termina's treasury through the numerous cycles of time he travelled through with Tatl.
"I could always...," Zelda began in a low-toned murmur, reaching into her pink-shaded dress, almost as if for the very thing they were talking about. Sure enough the blonde girl procured a small purse and smiled as she re-rose her head to face the boy. "There!"
Link turned his cobalt-blue eyes from hers, half-way embarrassed that she offered her own monetary funds. "Come on Zel; relyin' on a woman's money?" The blonde shot back in a grinning-faced shrug, attempting with great difficulty to drop the subject. The girl's smile fairly quickly turned into an annoyed frown and she furrowed her brow back at him.
"And what's wrong with that?"
"Hey...," Alwyn murmured out, leaning down in the two children's direction, his ocean-teal eyes wandering around them carefully. "Put that away!" He hissed out. Zelda and her close companion swung their similarly-haired heads 'round in surprised blinks only to find them being watched at by almost every passing man and woman, some watching them with thinly-veiled contempt.
The Hylian princess winced and nodded in agreement; having realised her mistake, she replaced her purse back into the confines of her royal-pink dress and returned her small fingers to rest under the straps of her rucksack.
"Come on guys!"
The overly-enthusiastic voice of their younger companion forced the Zoran and the princess to dart their heads 'round and, just as they feared, he marched on into the fancy large oak door to draw a light noise from the bell overhead.
"Link...!" Alwyn hissed out in his direction, annoyed. His frown twitched as he sighed through his nose, nodding his head toward his disappearing blonde boy. "Come on." He urged the frowning and nodding princess behind him.
As they stepped in, one after the other, they cast their heads around the rich décor of the hardwood and fancy-looking paint. Numerous mannequins stood all dressed up in similarly extravagant clothes; some of which looked outright odd to the Zoran soldier and the Hero of Time. Realising the bell to his establishment had rung not once, but twice, the seeming proprietor himself stepped out from behind the back's door to march around the selling desk. He was a rather tall man, slim hands joined together diagonally and softly, dressed similarly to the elegantly-crafted wear lying around the mannequins.
Link smiled up in the tall man's direction, right hand still gripping the string of his white duffel bag. "Yo!" He greeted in a simple-enough greeting, waving with his free left hand. The man rose a curious black-shaded eyebrow below, an unamused frown dotting his older countenance. "You sell clothes here?"
"Ahem...," the nameless man began, eyes briefly shut almost as if he were insulted before he deigned to re-open them. "See the sign outside young sir...?"
"Yeah...?" Link batted back, his earlier sociable grin soon falling in favour of a genuinely curious frown, a straw-blonde eyebrow rising up to match his curiosity. "What about it?"
"Did it have the word 'discount' or 'shelter' in its description?"
The Hylian boy blinked back at him strangely. "Uh... well, no, but..."
"Then I suggest you both tarry on whence you came," the nameless man huffed in the boy's direction, the same look of contempt clear as day drawn across his face. "You obviously have no reason to be shopping here."
"Come on...," the frowning Alwyn whispered, leaning down to murmur his words quietly to the frowning Zelda and the slow-grinning Link. "This is a waste of time."
Although the madly-grinning Hero of Time was ready to re-open his mouth and attempt to embarrass the insulted man, the frowning-faced Zelda stepped out from the taller Link's form as if to reveal her own presence to the man before them. He widened his eyes and couldn't help to let out a surprised gasp, legitimately shocked to see her standing there.
"P-Princess... Zelda... of Aurelia's capital...?!"
Link double-took in the girl's direction on his left before rolling his eyes in annoyance.
"Steal my thunder..." He muttered out childishly.
"I-I-I'm v-very sorry, I had no idea that it was-"
"Yeah, yeah you're sorry; whatever," Link rudely cut the man off in another fairly immature light wave of his left hand, frowning on as he did. "Now that we're important enough to be served how about that service?"
The tall man's own frown twitched in response; an obvious repression of his annoyance. "Quite...," he agreed with the blonde-haired boy. "What was sir... looking for?"
The brash-tempered youth grunted in effort as he swung around his white-shaded duffel bag, dropping it down in front of him as he reached into it. Within he produced the similarly-colourless form of his ruined and burnt karate gi and white-shaded belt; sure enough, after the titanic battle in the Hylian Hyrax's grand finals, there was very little left of them. The man looked down at them with an expression resembling mild disgust and puzzlement.
"I been lookin' all around for a place that does somethin' like this," Link pressed the man with as he turned his sociable grin up on him, pushing the torn gi up into the man's face. "Here, look!"
The man winced terribly and took a step back, almost as if the sheer burnt smell from it made him near gag and vomit. Link's grin fairly quickly dropped as he re-lowered the gi, quizzical and unsure, eliciting a half-annoyed sigh from the watching Alwyn.
"Here, I'll do this," Zelda shot over at him, matter-of-factly and all as she yanked the torn gi and belt from his grip, surprising him. "Watch this." The confidently-spoken princess began before she marched forward to stand in front of the newly-recovered nameless shopman before her. Link's frown soon upturned into a single narrowed eye of confusion and curiosity as he watched her quietly negotiate and bargain with the man-of-similar-background.
"You could stand to be a bit more like her, y'know."
The listening Hero of Time furrowed his brow as he swung his blonde-haired head 'round to face the similarly-faced Zoran behind him. "Say wha-?"
Alwyn nodded his sea-shaded head in the smiling princess' direction, re-folding his arms as he always liked to. "She may not be fighters, like us, but she really knows how to negotiate and mediate; girl can really handle herself like this," he complimented her with quietly, frowning on as he did. Link cast his curious blink on the girl behind him, frowning on as he normally did. "I imagine you'd both make a good team... if you'd just let her lead you." The former soldier finished, this time in a noticeably-amused small smirk, drawing the annoyed boy's attention.
"You sayin' I can't lead?" The Hylian shot back in his own light grin, edging another of his many overconfident thumbs to his green-clothed chest. "I led journeys all by myself! Twice!"
Alwyn chuckled on, amused. "There's a noticeable difference on journeying by yourself and with a full party in tow," the Zoran explained briefly, drawing a half-annoyed huff from the boy. "I can see her turning into a fine leader one day," he began again, casting his impressed frown up on the smiling and talking Zelda above them. Link briefly traced his gaze before re-facing the man again. "Whether you want to follow behind her in the end... is up to you." The soldier finished again in a light tilt of his head and concise rise of his eyebrows.
The curious Hylian tilted his own head to the side before re-gaining the thoughtful smirk on his face.
"Yeah...," he began silently, eyes lightly narrowing. "Maybe."
When he heard the girl huff, seemingly in effort as she re-joined the group behind him, he turned 'round again to face her in a new query-filled frown.
"All right...," she began, sighing out lightly as she handed the youth back his torn battle-wear. "He's agreed to go make you the replacement karate uniform; I had to explain exactly what it was first," the princess grinned toward the end of her speech, drawing a listening chuckle from him. "Just like you asked he'll replace the belt into the upgrade Impa wants for you; a yellow belt."
"Awesome!" He grinned back exuberantly.
"Oh... and his name's Spiros," the girl began her sentence in a reminiscent open-mouthed frown before soon re-gaining her usual smile. "Call him that."
"Thanks Zel," the blonde boy chuckled, a sheepish kind of smile on his face as he rested his hands behind the back of his head. "I guess I owe ya after all."
She shook her similarly-haired head and smiled back at him. "Buy me a sweet or something and we'll call it even."
Link rolled his sky-blue eyes in response, the ghost of an amused smirk still strong on his countenance. "Yes mistress."
Zelda couldn't help but giggle, drawing a tired sigh from the listening Alwyn.
–
2
"Excuse me!"
Barkner grunted in for what felt like the umpteenth time as another passer-by bumped into him; surprised, he turned his rocky-bodied head 'round in swift search for the young woman that apologised over her shoulder, eliciting a tired sigh from the Goron.
"This place is busier than I heard, like damn," the man cursed out in a deft shake of his head, frowning on in surprise as he did. "Everyone's packed in all together like barrelled food!"
"Just stay close to us and you'll be fine," the frowning-faced Impa ordered the Goron, ever in her business-like contralto. "The last thing we need is someone separating from us..."
"What is it we're looking for again Impa?" The similarly-expressed Malon questioned the Sheikah next to her in a curious-toned frown of her own, hands gripping the straps of her rucksack.
"One of the many lodges or inns hereabout; we're going to be staying in this city more than a single night, after all," she explained briefly, swinging her ruby-red gaze 'round in swift search. Her eyes double-took to her top-right and she at last let a satisfied smile grace her complexion as she caught sight of what she was seemingly looking for. "There it is."
Barkner and Malon traced the woman's gaze only to find one of the many business hardwood signs hanging out by chains, marked only by a couple of words in Aurelian text.
'The Sorcerer's Superstation'
Barkner exchanged an unsure shrug with the similarly doubtful Malon but the two nevertheless followed their dutiful leader as she marched toward the oak door ahead of them. Just as with many of the other buildings and merchant shops, a small bell rang out as the three heroes stepped through; something they noted quietly to themselves as they walked into the warm and jolly atmosphere. They stepped between two large pillars that carried two similarly tall tapestries, lavish and all; although the ever-frowning Impa walked on by as if she had seen them before, the surprised Malon and Barkner both examined them briefly as they walked with her.
They appeared to depict an old silver-haired man with a likewise silver-shaded beard; he held his two hands upward, both on opposite sides of one another, each hand's index and forefinger both raised up. The rest of his digits, however, appeared to be pulled within. The nameless man's appearance was drawn with what appeared to be an angelic-like background; something that resembled religious etchings and drawings.
Music from what sounded like a flute played off in the far-right corner of the room; as the three turned their heads in search of it, they clocked what appeared to be an entertainer standing on stage playing through a rather jaunty tune on his flute, dressed in appropriately showy clothes. People littered the hardwood seats and tables below the stage, directing their applause toward the bowing young man.
"I feel like I've been in here before...," Barkner murmured out doubtfully, eyes narrowing at the stage ahead before eventually turning again to survey the rest of the inn on his immediate left. A single table decorated with a rug underneath and four chairs 'round it sat a few yards away, close-by to a dark-green shaded door. "Even the name of it sounds familiar."
"That's probably because you have," Impa answered in a confidently-spoken smirk of her own as she turned briefly to face the Goron. "The Sorcerer's Superstation is a chain of inns all around Aurelia; their main one is in Hyrule Castletown and have been going since ancient times."
"That's correct!"
The trio swung their heads, Malon and Barkner surprised as they exchanged their frowns with the sociable smile on what appeared to be the innkeeper across from them; he stood behind a long and sturdy hardwood desk littered with fruit and vegetables, all seemingly fresh, as he re-opened his mouth to continue.
"The Sorcerer's Superstation is one of our grand continent's most successful and longest-running series of inns," the nameless man smiled on. "First established in year one ACD by the Sorcerer himself, we have carried on his old tradition of helping our fellow Aurelians and Hylians on the road." The man explained briefly, smiling on sociably as he did.
Barkner blinked back. "ACD?" He parroted, unsure.
The man chuckled well-naturedly, scratching the side of his head awkwardly. "'After the Continental Divide'," he explained concisely. "It's a point in time we use in our official Aurelian calendars."
"Just like in the original stories we were told huh..." Malon murmured out as she hovered her sky-blue eyes 'round in search of the tavern they stood in.
"Ah but they are not mere stories young lady!" The inn's manager smiled back at her as he joined his hands diagonally together in a soft-sounding clap. "They actually happened! After all... the Sorcerer of the Divine Divide is the only reason we even exist!"
Malon resisted the urge to roll her eyes in impatience but nodded her fire-haired head in silent and polite reply.
"Wondered why I recognised the name of this place...," Barkner murmured out, drawing his light-blue eyed gaze 'round the large fireplace to his far-left and the two chairs that sat 'round it. Propped above the roaring fire was another depiction of the silver-haired Sorcerer from the story books in the same posture as depicted within the tapestries. "I must have been in the big one in Hyrule Castletown."
"Yes our main branch is located there!" The man smiled on. "We're all friendly to Hylians here."
Realising that was precisely why Impa picked this particular inn, Malon swung her surprised look on the rarely-grinning form of their leader, genuinely impressed with her wealth of knowledge.
She really thought of everything, the little farm girl thought to herself.
"It would be... miss Impa of the royal family, yes?" The man began again, clapping his hands softly in re-greeting. The Sheikah woman nodded gratefully, her smirk soon lowered into a sociable smile she saved for situations such as these.
"Yes...," she answered. "We're missing three of our party including our princess; rounding us up to six."
"Ahhh... gone sight-seeing I take it?" The man chuckled, drawing a smirking chortle from the Sheikah as she re-opened her mouth to respond.
"Something like that."
"In any case... my name is Symond and we here at the Sorcerer's Superstation officially bid you all a warm welcome," the sociable man smiled on in a third softened clap of his hands, drawing similar smiles from the half-way exchanging Barkner and Malon. "As you can see most of us here, regardless of race, carry no anti-Hylian sentiment here," the newly-introduced Symond chuckled on well-naturedly. "Have no fear."
"We're grateful for that," Impa nodded in her own smile. "I was worried we'd inevitably come into some of it with so many Hylians travelling with us."
"Yes it's never been safe for them in these parts, even today as shameful as that is to admit," the man frowned out this time in regret-laced baritone. "At any rate... thank you as ever for contacting ahead and paying in advance... here are your room keys...," he began again, regaining his smile as he reached behind him to pluck the said keys from an oak rack lying on the wall. "I believe some of you are sharing, yes?" Symond smiled on as he turned back 'round to face the group.
Malon's auburn-haired eyebrows shot up in realisation and surprise before her aqua-shaded eyes wandered away in sin-driven rumination.
Maybe I can share my room with Link, she thought.
"That's correct; thank you," the Sheikah leader smiled back, nodding as she gratefully accepted the beautiful-brass keys. "It's been a long day so I imagine the rest of our party will be glad to hit the hay as soon as possible."
"I understand," Symond chortled on, amused as he stood back to attention, hands softly joined together. "I know it can be particularly trying to travel, especially if one isn't used to the effort," he smiled. "In any case... I'll leave you all to enjoy the rest of the night shall I? Please don't hesitate to join in on the entertainment!" He spoke out passionately, gesturing toward the flute-playing performance to the group's right.
Impa laughed awkwardly, nodding on in response. "Thanks... we appreciate it."
As Symond walked off, presumably to attend to some other kind of business, the frowning Malon and smiling Barkner waited on for their leader to turn and face them.
"All right... I know exactly what you're both thinking and no," the Sheikah began, even as she swung her authoritative form 'round to frown back at them both. "We're staying in pairings that I approve of."
Malon rolled her eyes and inwardly sighed, merely eliciting an amused smirking chuckle from the ever-jolly Barkner.
"Barkner, you're with Link," Impa continued on as she handed the nodding Goron his brass-shaded key. "Malon, I'm pairing you with Zelda."
"Oh joy." The farm girl sarcastically droned out, her eyes rolling up as she accepted the key. Impa watched her for a second, as if suspicious before regaining her old business-like frown.
"Alwyn and I can bunk up together." She finished outwith, frowning as always. Barkner rose a curious eyebrow, his grin rarely gone from his face and he exchanged a look with the half-annoyed frown on Malon's face however, expecting a response.
"Hey!" The young Hylian called out, brow furrowing as she placed her slim hands to rest on her hips as if insulted. "You've intentionally paired the rest of us together with the same genders and clearly ignored yourself!" The indignant little girl called out, clearly annoyed. "What do you have to say about that, huh?"
Impa exchanged a quick smirk with the grinning-faced Barkner before she re-faced the heavily-frowning Malon below her. "I'd say Alwyn and I are fairly miserable enough in our older age to keep our hands to ourselves... that's what I have to say about that." The Sheikah shot back.
Malon huffed in her irritated frown, shooting her fire-haired head away from her leader's, slim arms folded as she briefly stomped the ground in childish indignation. The act, and subsequently the conversation itself, managed to draw a burst-out laugh from the listening Barkner; something that called a few eyes from the entertainment side of the room.
"Y-You there! Travellers!"
The group, surprised, swung their heads 'round only to find a gasping man rushing toward them. Unlike most of the boarders in the lodge, this man was dressed rather shabbily and stained to match; dust and smoke covered the worker overalls he wore so casually.
"Y-You look like you can fight, c-can't you?!" The man exclaimed, his gasps erratic and his demeanour flustered.
"Calm down," the frowning-faced Impa responded firmly, brow furrowing down at the chubby man. "You won't solve anything by throwing yourself into a panic," she informed the man, as if she were speaking to a soldier. She folded her arms as the man began to settle his nerves and take in a few deep breaths. "Now... what's the problem?" She pressed him curiously, drawing a surprised look from the similarly-faced Malon and Barkner.
"It's terrible; the mayor, he's-!"
DRING...
The group swung their heads 'round, their attention gained by the door's small bell, only to find the blinking-faced Link staring back at them, the frowning Alwyn and Zelda towing along behind him.
"Hey guys, what's...?" The blonde began curiously, eyebrow rising up as he took a few steps into the lodge, exchanging looks between his other three companions as well as the new presence standing before him. "Goin' on...?"
"T-That sword...!" The nameless chubby man hissed out, eyes widened as he leaned down to the boy's level. "Are you an adventurer boy?!"
"U-Uh... y-yeah... I guess I am...," Link chuckled back nervously, stepping back from his overly-enthusiastic form, drawing a light smirk from the watching Zelda behind him. "Why, what's wrong?"
"We had an accident down in the Greymont Mines; someone ambushed us!" The man exclaimed out hurriedly, tears near stinging at his eyes. "The mayor of the city himself was visiting us at the time and I'm the only one that even got out!" He called out, ending his sentence in a blubbering mess. The watching Link couldn't help but wince as he pulled back his form lightly from the nameless man; he exchanged his cringing shrug with the listening Zelda and she shook her head in response.
"What about the city guard?" Impa pressed forward, arms still ever folded. "Surely they have soldiers going in for him?"
"Y-Yes!" The chubby man exclaimed out, pulling his head out of his hands for a brief moment as he re-faced the Sheikah on his right, eyes widened. "They sent in a few units to bring any survivors out... but that was hours ago! And no-one's seen hide nor hair of anyone that's gone in since I got out!"
The frowning-faced Impa exchanged her half-suspicious frown with the similarly nodding and folded-armed Alwyn before eventually she re-faced the man.
"What's your name sir?"
Her question, so abrupt and surprising, managed to take him off guard; he blinked for just a second before answering.
"I-It's Paul!"
"All right Paul, give us a minute will you?" The Sheikah asked, frowning on as she normally did. "I'd rather we discuss this first before taking any possible course of action as a response."
"O-Of course; f-forgive me!"
As the man scampered off presumably to sit by the fire on their left, the group all reconvened together, frowning as before.
"What do we think?" Impa pressed them, folded-armed as always. "I want to hear from everyone here."
"I feel sorry for him," Malon spoke up first, casting her blue-eyed gaze over at the sad-eyed man facing the fire ahead of them. "And honestly sorry for anyone else stuck in that place."
"Wouldn't it be morally wrong to just leave those people?" Zelda began, ever the voice of reason. "I mean if what sir Paul says is true, then even the soldiers are getting outclassed down there."
"Which inevitably means they're dealing with an infestation of some kind; a goddess-damned monster or something or worse; an invasion," Alwyn agreed on with the young girl in a hardened frown, arms similarly folded to their leader. He shook his sea-shaded head in disapproval. "I'm opposed to this; we have no idea what's in those mines."
"Come on Al you don't mean that," Barkner spoke up, gently nudging the hardy Zoran next to him. "What if it was us trapped down there?"
"There's no way we'd-"
"Ever be stupid enough to even be in that position!" The grinning-faced Link finished for his soldier companion, arms folded and his tenor voice deepened comically to match the taller man's. He cast his grin up to face the man, eyebrow rising up as he did. "Right?" He batted back, drawing a half-smirk from the listening Zoran.
"All I'm saying... is we'd be risking a lot going down there," he claimed, turning his head back up to face their Sheikah leader. "What about the next Deadly Frenzy series? The Palashia Premier; doesn't that start tomorrow?"
Impa shook her head in response. "No," she answered. "We're here a few days early; we have time on our side."
"That settles it!"
All eyes drew down to their exuberant blonde-haired companion; he dropped his white duffel bag and placed his hands on his hips demandingly.
"We go down to those mines and help those scrubs!" The former Hero of Time grinned back at the group. Alwyn frowned on disapprovingly as everyone else reacted in their own way; Barkner's folded-armed chuckle drew a similar giggle from the listening Zelda, marked only by the smirking-faced rolling-eyed groan on Malon.
"That's four to two I'm afraid," Impa at last conceded in a light sigh as she tilted her silver-shaded head in disappointment. "All right everyone; we'll drop off our extra gear in our rooms and head on out as soon as possible. Time is of the essence; come on." The Sheikah urged on as she turned toward the large green-shaded oak door behind them at the top-left end of the lobby; presumably the entrance to the rooms above.
As the group all followed, bringing their rucksacks and other equipment with them, only the grinning Link stopped mid-march, his attention suddenly grabbed by one of the many tapestries hanging on the pillar ahead. The art depicted before him showed him the shadow within time did not; a long silver-haired man stood back staring at him in the familiar pose he recognised. His two hands rose up, index and forefinger only, on opposite sides of one another, his body dressed in what appeared to be sage-like robes.
His oceanic eyes widened in a mixture of shock and recognition, his mind and memories going back to his journey through Termina.
"Let's talk... Link Firbrand."
"Link, what are you doing?!"
The sound of Malon's annoyed soprano dragged him aggressively out of his reminiscing and he held back a gasp as he felt her grasp at his right wrist to pull him alongside her.
"We're gonna be late!" She exclaimed over her shoulder as she rushed to keep up with the fast-disappearing group.
Link turned his head backward as he ran alongside her, his mind still fixated on the hardened frown the Sorcerer's form stared back at him with and the last words he remembered him speaking.
"I and the Sainted Three... will always be watching you... my son."