Emerald found that her new position as one of the Rito's heroes was of her liking. Specifically, because those same Rito had decided that so long as they stayed in Rito Village, they should be given each their own room, an almost unending amount of food, and all the time in the world to accommodate themselves. She laid idly on her bed, leisurely eating some kind of strawberry the Rito had offered her. She frowned.
The music was really the only downside.
"Emerald, beautiful she, Emerald Sustrai… Strong as ten regular Hylian definitely…" The young Rito was trying his best, she could tell, pity that meant he was not doing well.
"Kid, you have been stuck with only those same two lines done for a whole day. It's starting to get annoying." She said, trying to be polite in her tone, if not in her words. She wasn't really good at it, but in her defense she had been stuck listening to him for hours.
"I-I am sorry miss Sustrai. I just don't know how to continue…"
"Have you thought to write about someone else's exploits? Maybe that will help you." She said, as another berry disappeared in her mouth. Those things were really good.
"No, I want to write a song about you! My father is Kass, the traveling bard, and he has taught me enough! I can do it!" The young Rito said, and Emerald sighed.
'Patience, I can't insult him or just kick him out…' She knew that doing that could make many of the Rito frown upon her behavior. It'd probably make her 'friends' angry as well, since they were so busy trying to come up with ways to help that stupid village, especially now that the other problem had added itself to the Grimm. Their current plan was about teaching the Rito what different kinds of Grimm could do. Emerald had excused herself from most of those lessons, preferring to stay comfortable in her room, away from them. "But why me? Weiss and Pyrrha are the ones that did most of the work."
"But you saved those people with your chains! It was awesome! Everyone can use a lance or a sword, but not many people can fight with those weird weapons you have!" He said with what she supposed was a smile. It was hard to say with a beak.
"Fine, fine, but can you at least leave me alone for a bit? I want to rest."
"I thought you were already resting." The young Rito said, and she sighed.
"Right. I want to rest alone. Can I?"
"Certainly, miss Emerald." He said, leaving. She looked at him leave in silent relief, and looked around. The room she had been given was an open wooden structure on the side of the mountain. She had no idea of what she was supposed to do in the event of a storm, but she guessed the center of the room at least would be safe. As she tried to decide what to do, she heard a sudden creaking of wood. She turned to the side, and looked at the parapet.
Most people would have just dismissed it, but Emerald knew better. As she thought, a moment later there was another creak, this time from the floor. She swiftly took out Thief's Respite and attacked the air.
There was a clang of metal on metal, and she watched as a round, metallic weapon, some sort of one handed spiked blade, appeared, along with the body of a woman clad from head to toe in an adherent body suit with a large eye on the chest. She had a mask over her face, white with the same eye on it. A large, curved bow was on her back.
"Who are you?" She asked, holding her grip on Thief's Respite. She could feel her opponent pushing, a surprising strength behind her arms.
"A friend." She said.
"Never seen you befo…" She started, before remembering her vision. A name came to mind "Yiga?"
"I'm an Yiga, yes. Now can you put that down?" She asked. Emerald felt her opponent's weapon slightly give in. Could have been she was having a hard time holding on, could have been she was just giving her a hint. Emerald slowly pulled her weapon back, and the woman did the same.
"I was told I was supposed to find the Yiga. I guess you found me instead." She said, sitting down.
The Yiga woman did not listen, instead focusing on the fruits that were amassed on the table on the side. At least, that's what Emerald thought she was looking at. That stupid mask didn't even seem to have eye holes, how did she even see? What surprised her, was the woman running toward the table and clutching three bananas, that quickly disappeared in the small leather pack she had on the side. "Sorry." She suddenly said.
"Uhm, are you ok?"
"Yes, just… This is a valuable asset, and I could not help but want it."
"I… see…" 'Is she insane? Those are damn bananas.'
The woman did not say anything else, merely grabbing a chair and sitting in front of Emerald. She wondered again how the mask worked. As much as she tried, the thief could not see any way for her to see.
"I was spying Rito Village, and Master Koga ordered me to keep an eye on you." She suddenly said, interrupting her flow of thoughts. "I chose to approach you because I have questions on your allegiance to our great lord."
Emerald gripped her hands on Thief's Respite's handles. "What kind of questions?"
"Why are the others that came with you still alive?"
Emerald blinked "Are you suggesting I should kill them now? In a city that doesn't even have closed windows, let alone a place where I can be sure to not be seen?"
"No." The woman replied "I'm asking why you helped them during the fight with the Grimm. You could have pretended to and purposefully missed. You didn't. You could have pretended to try and save some Rito, and instead let them fall to their deaths. You didn't. So I am wondering if you have a reason to act like this." The questions were asked in a casual tone, but Emerald could hear the threat underneath. 'If you don't give me a good reason, there will be consequences.'
She smiled "I don't think you understand what targets you are throwing at me. The Invincible Girl alone is strong enough to put up a challenge."
"Yes, I have noticed her prowess. But you are stronger than her, did you forget?"
'So she knows about that too…' She thought, looking at the back of her hand. "I did not. Trust me, there is more to them than what meets the eye. It's not that easy to kill a Huntsman or Huntress when they are on the ready, and they have been constantly for the last few days. If you think I can just sneak on them…"
"I think you can, yes." She said, dropping something on the table. Emerald looked in confusion at Ren's dual weapons, the ones he called StormFlower. "He didn't even notice."
"Which begs the question of why you didn't just slit his throat. Oh, wait, it's because you knew you couldn't, isn't that right?" Now she was getting angry. "If I had to steal from them, I'd have done it already. That's not what Ganon…"
"Lord Ganon, do not be impudent."
Emerald scoffed "That's not what Lord Ganon asked from me. He wants them dead. So, you will let me do it my way. Is that clear? Moreover, his exact orders were to find you first. Even he clearly does not expect me to kill them right away."
The woman stared at her – or that was what Emerald supposed she was doing, she couldn't tell because of that stupid mask – for a long minute. Then she nodded. "Very well. It is not my job to question our lord's wisdom. However, know this. You should get going. Your mission has been given, and we will make sure you don't delay it for too long. The Yiga Clan will always be watching you." She tapped her mask "This symbol isn't just for show. We will keep a close eye on you."
"Do that, sure."
"Now attack me, quick." The woman suddenly said, taking out her weapon. Emerald responded in kind, sickle and circular spiked blade clanging against each other. She noticed a second later hurried step and a couple of Rito, a female with the annoying kid, gasp, before hurriedly running off calling for help against an Yiga attack.
Emerald grimaced. She had not noticed the two, but the Yiga clearly had. "So, what's your name?"
"Gohma. It means 'Guardian's bane'. Good luck to you, Emerald Sustrai. May our lord's blessing lead you to greatness." And saying so she jumped off the window. Turning around, she flawlessly switched from her weapon to the bow, and unleashed two arrows, that hit ground right in front of Emerald. The girl could tell she had missed on purpose, but what really surprised her was seeing her disappear in a puff of smoke, leaving behind only papers that fluttered away in the wind.
-
Weiss run upstairs at a fast pace, followed closely by Pyrrha and Ren, along with two Rito warriors. They rushed in Emerald's room just in time to see her sigh in relief as she put down Thief's Respite and picked up an arrow.
"Emerald, are you ok?" Weiss asked.
"Sure am." She grinned "That one probably doesn't feel the same."
"Magnificent, miss Sustrai!" One of the two Rito guards bellowed "Fending off an Yiga is quite the achievement, if nothing else because of their supernatural abilities."
"Thank you." Emerald replied with a large smile "Now, Ren, I got those." She said, handing him StormFlower. He looked at the weapons in surprise "She stole them from you, and I got them back."
"Thank you." Ren said, bowing.
Weiss studied the room. There were signs of combat, including the arrow, but it must have been a quick fight. It was probably interrupted when the enemy had been sighted. "Any idea on why they came after you?"
"Probably because I was alone." Emerald replied "I assume they don't want to fight outnumbered."
"It would make sense." The other guard said, nodding in agreement "The Yiga are skilled assassins, but that means they don't often fight while outnumbered. Still, a full conflict with them would be extremely bloody."
"We will need to set up a tighter watch." Pyrrha said "If the Yiga come back…"
"Or we should leave." Emerald said, and everyone looked at her.
"What?!" Weiss asked "We can't leave them alone!"
Melia appeared next to Weiss, buzzing incredulously "Sorry to be so blunt, but even if you aren't their Champion, you should at least be worried about the Rito!"
"Weiss, I don't mean it like abandoning them, but while we were fighting, she said they are after us four. It's probably better if we leave."
Weiss stopped, and Melia did the same. The heiress could understand what Emerald was saying. So long as they were there, the Yiga were going to attack the village. But if they left, the village wouldn't have to worry about them any longer. "If it's true, then you are right. I'll go talk with Teba and the chieftain about the defensive plan we discussed. You three should start packing."
The three nodded, and Weiss left the room to follow the stairs upwards, to where the chieftain was. With a bit of luck, she would also find Teba there. "So, we are going to the Plateau, right?" Melia asked.
"Yes. That's our main concern right now. If we can get to this Plateau, we should be able to get started in solving this situation and hopefully go back home. And if we have assassins stalking us, we need to move even faster now." She said, as they made it up the city and met with the chieftain of Rito Village. As she hoped, Teba, the strongest warrior in the city, was there, discussing something with him.
Weiss had to admit, she did not find the Rito chieftain particularly convincing as an authority figure. Even the other Rito seemed to show only a minimum of respect for the elder creature. Kaneli was large, an owl-like being with various shades of brown for feathers. His feather-beard, as he called it, was kept in a long tail. Weiss had to wonder how that worked. The elder Rito was wise enough, she supposed, but he didn't know much beyond tales and stories about the Age of Calamity, since he was not born yet. At least, however, he did know the Sheikah Slate was necessary to confront Vah Medoh.
'Which is such a mess.' She thought, looking up. Two days before, Vah Medoh had decided to start blasting its laser at any Rito that had the idea of flying around Rito Village. No one knew exactly why that was, but since then the Rito were landlocked like any other person so long as they were anywhere near the village. She wondered what that felt like. Was it like being forced to walk when one could run, or more like being forced to crawl when they could walk?
"We need to scout Vah Medoh! We can do it!" Teba was saying, pacing up and down in front of the elder.
"No you can't." Weiss said, without even bothering to announce herself. Teba threw her a glare, while she noticed an amused glint in Kaneli's eyes.
"Are you humans all such cowards? Yes, it's dangerous, but we need to know what we are up against."
"I'll tell you. You are up against a bird fortress that shoots giant laser beams. Exactly what do you hope to accomplish by diving head first into that?" She replied "Not to mention, even if you were to land, how do you plan to get inside. You heard what the chief said. You need a Slate to get inside."
"With due respect to the chief, he is only retelling stories." Teba noted "I would like to check with my own eyes."
Kaneli coughed "Young Teba, I understand that your role as warrior is important to you. But I must say again that you cannot enter the Divine Beast without a Sheikah Slate. You would only risk to wound or kill anyone that was to come with you and yourself. It's brave, but…"
"It's ridiculous, stupid and shortsighted, that is what it is." Weiss interjected.
"Oh yeah, Ice Queen? I suppose you have a better idea then." The warrior retorted. Weiss swore she would choke Emerald with her own chains for letting that accursed nickname slip.
"Yes, in fact, I was here to inform you we are leaving."
"Things are going badly so you leave?"
"We aren't. We are going to find a Sheikah Slate." She pointed at Melia "She knows where we can find one. I'll find one and then we can actually think of entering the Divine Beast."
Kaneli and Teba looked at each other, and Teba laughed. Laughed! Weiss saw red. "What is so funny?" She asked.
"That the chief trusts you. Just like him to believe to the first stranger that waltz into the village." Teba said.
"I do trust them." Kaneli pointed out "Those 'strangers' helped our village before, Teba, did you forget?"
"And what do you think we have been doing for the last few days, anyway?" Weiss asked.
"I recognize you helped us. I don't believe you will come back. Those are not mutually exclusive. You are a serious woman, Weiss Schnee, but I notice that your desire is to leave this place. To leave this whole country, in fact. I heard you talk with your red friend. So no, I don't believe we will see you come back once you leave. I don't fault you for missing your home, or for wanting to return to it, but don't expect me to bet the safety of the village on a bunch of telltales from the chief and a promise from someone I barely know." He looked at Kaneli "Chief, I can't do it."
"Teba, you are a Rito I would trust with the lives of everyone in the village. Please, reconsider."
"I won't."
"I am officially outlawing any attempt to fly to Vah Medoh."
"I'll take the punishment."
"Even if it's banishment?" The chief asked. Teba was shaken, for the first time since Weiss knew him.
"You can't be serious…" He half asked and half whispered "Banishment from Rito Village is a punishment only reserved for the most severe of crimes, like murder and betrayal."
"And wouldn't you call it betrayal leading so many Rito to their death?" Kaneli asked. The elder owl had a different light in his eyes than what he had shown any time since Weiss had known him. He was serious.
"I…" Teba stopped midsentence "What if I went alone? Would that be punished with banishment?"
"If you did that, it would be the same as attempting suicide!" Weiss shouted "Can't you at least wait a bit before diving to your death?! Why is it you can't trust me?"
"Because the last Rito warrior that trusted a woman like you was Revali, Ice Queen, and he died for it. Rito Village is everything to me. There is nothing more important, and I already failed it once. So don't ask me to trust a vain hope. I will find a solution. And I will do it myself."
He stormed off, leaving Weiss and Kaneli alone.
"Do you think he will be fine?" She asked.
The owl Rito shook his head "I think he will do what he thinks is right, no matter what I tell him. The best I can do is ensure that he doesn't drag too many people with him." He sighed "I'm getting old, too old to rein in the next generation. But, I can give you time. Go recover the Slate, and come back to us. I'm sure you will find a way to help us all."
Weiss nodded "I will, Kaneli."
The old owl seemed to smile. For once, Weiss could tell by his eyes.
-
Pyrrha Nikos looked back at Rito Village as it disappeared in the distance. "Well, we have a map at least…" She said, trying to sound cheerful. She realized that her tone sounded more concerned than anything, but she was concerned after all. They had supplies for a while, a bag containing four change of clothes made by the Rito themselves, and a map, but that was about it. According to the Rito, aside from the stables, there were no settlements on their way to the Plateau. Essentially, they were going to travel alone through an unknown and completely uninhabited land. Except for the Monsters and possibly the Grimm of course.
"It was very kind of them." Ren commented. Pyrrha looked at him, trying to understand if he was being sincere or just trying to act confidently. She couldn't really tell. Ren in the last few days had seemed a bit distant with everyone, even with her. He was worried, of course, and she could tell for who in particular. Still, Ren had never complained about the situation, and Pyrrha did not wish to upset him. Especially because everyone in the group was worried about their friends.
"Anyway, let's see…" Weiss looked at the map "We are supposed to go back the way we came and continue south… pass a bridge over Tanagar Canyon… Follow the road around the Seres Scablands… South to Nima Plains and over Scabula Hill, cross the Regencia River, reach the Outskirt Stable, and from there we should reach the Plateau."
"Oh yeah, that sounds easy and quick." Emerald replied in a sarcastic tone.
The fairy said something, and Weiss gritted her teeth in annoyance before turning to them. "Melia estimates a two weeks journey, if we hurry and don't run into any problem."
"That just invites problem." Emerald sighed "Anything else?"
"They wrote a few notes. Mostly normal advice. Watch out for the Yiga Clan, do not cross the Scablands directly, try to find horses… Nothing really useful."
"Having horses would be nice, yes." Pyrrha said "I feel like it would give us a great advantage since it seems we will have to travel far and wide. I think we should make that a priority."
"True." Weiss nodded in agreement.
"Well, uhm…" Emerald started "I don't know how to ride a horse though."
Pyrrha looked at her in surprise "Oh, I didn't expect that. Well, I will gladly teach you. I took riding lessons back in Sanctum. It was an extra class." 'It also gave me something to do alone.' She thought with a bit of regret, thinking back at her time in her past combat school. She didn't really have friends or anything, so she needed hobbies to fill her time: that was the price she paid for being put on a pedestal as the Invincible Girl. Frankly, she would have given it up gladly. "Anyone else doesn't know how to ride a horse?"
"I might use some refreshers." Weiss admitted "Atlas is not exactly horse-friendly, so I couldn't practice much."
"I can do it fine." Ren calmly replied.
"Good. Then the plan is set: while we travel, we will need to search some horses."
"Yes, I…" Weiss stopped as Melia had suddenly started to jump up and down. "Wait, Melia… No, don't apologize, just… Oh, I see… Are you sure? Fine, I'll ask them." She turned to them "Melia says she just remembered the Great Fairy Fountain should also be on our way. She says that if we can just wake up the Great Fairy, she will help us in our journey."
"How, teleporting us there?" Emerald asked. Pyrrha wondered how well Emerald was doing too. The first day, they had found her crying alone, which didn't really bode well. Since then though she hadn't really noticed any similar event repeating again.
Melia shook her head, then said something else. Weiss nodded "She only says the Great Fairy can help us. She is..." Weiss groaned "She is sorry that she can't tell us more, but the Great Fairies have been asleep for a long time."
"Well, I'm sure we can help anyway." Pyrrha said with an attempt at a large smile. Melia seemed to like it, judging by her bouncing. The Invincible Girl had to admit she looked really cute.
"If it's not too out of the way." Emerald added. This got a decidedly less happy reaction from Melia, who started doing a movement that looked like a bow. Judging by Weiss expression, she was apologizing again. Despite everything, she could not help but find it funny.