Chapter 14

Link covered his ears against the explosion. Even so, in the cramped passages of the cave, the sound was overwhelming. The screams and howls of Moblins filled the air in the aftermath, and they had little time before the survivors regrouped.

Link sprinted down the passage, with Sophia close behind. As he rounded the turn where Boros had gone, he began to unleash a barrage of sword beams at the remaining monsters. Sophia followed suit, spewing magical fire over his shoulder.

The Moblins had no chance. Already confused and reeling, the onslaught broke them further. Some had enough wit to charge the attackers. Most simply died from their own rabid chaos.

Link stopped to examine the scene.

"Hurry," Sophia said. "We're near the exit, just two more turns, I think."

Link knelt and picked up what must have been Boros. The face was unrecognizable, but he was the only human figure among the carnage. Link lifted him over his shoulder and held him tight with his free hand.

"All right, let's go," he said.

The sunlight was blinding, but he squinted and kept running. There was no telling how many Moblins were left, or how soon they would be after them.

"Do you know the secrets of the Lost Hills?" he asked Sophia.

She kept running at a trot he could keep up with. "Well enough to find the vertex. Getting out the other way will be trickier."

"If you mean 'yes', just say 'yes'."

"Yes!"

It was their only hope. Losing themselves in the hills had to be enough to throw the Moblins off. There was no way they were smart enough to navigate it. They didn't stop until they were completely lost, and the landscape was a monotonous sheet of small foothills. They took a moment to rest, and Sophia shared her water with him.

"You can get us out, right?" he asked.

She nodded and unshouldered her pack. "Just give me some time."

While she rummaged through it, he went off a few paces to bury Boros. As good a place as any, if a little rocky. He began to pry up soil with his hands. It was slow work. The earth was dry and hard-packed, and he could only scrape out a small layer at a time before another rock blocked his way.

He stood, drew his sword, and unleashed a barrage of sword beams into the ground. They impacted in rapid, short explosions, spraying up dirt, chunks of rock, and other debris at each impact. Link squinted and shielded his eyes with his other hand. Soon there was a sizable hole in the ground, and Link stopped to rest. He should have asked Boros about the cost of the sword magic when he'd had the chance. It felt unnaturally draining. His body remained fresh, but his soul felt worn, like he wanted to go back to the cave where he'd lived before this all started and wait it out.

He sat down and gathered his thoughts, while Sophia continued her work. If the excavation had bothered her, she showed no sign. The methodical scratching on the paper was the only noise around, and oddly calming.

Link resumed digging with his hands. Now that he'd made a start, it was easier to make progress. He dug an hour alone, then Sophia came to help shift dirt. He was grateful for both the help and the company.

When they finished, he walked over to what was left of Boros's body. He still wore his white sword. Link drew it. There had been memories in that sword. Just whispers at first, when Boros had first restored them. The touch of the hilt brought more. The old man had been proud of the blade. Before Hyrule fell, Link had caught him up late polishing it, or working drills on his own. He'd always refused to say where he got it. He'd always just wink and say "Master using it, and you'll figure it out."

Link ran his hand down the flat of the sword. It felt like regular metal as far as he could tell, but he was no smith. He wiped clean the corner of his eye, then sheathed his new sword. Boros wouldn't mind, at least until he killed Ganon.

He lifted him up to carry him to the grave, then noticed the thin chain draped around his neck. Boros had never been one for jewelry. Curious, Link pulled up on it, lifting it out of his shirt. The end of the chain was fastened around a Triforce shard.

"I guess that makes you a meddler too," Link said. Curious that the Moblins had not found it. Perhaps in all his hidden knowledge, there had been some magic to conceal it. Well, whatever the means, it had worked well enough. The shard began to glow in his hands and then seep through his glove to merge with the others. Two shards of the Triforce remained. One belonged to the Oracles. As for the last, he was sure an opportunity would present itself. Nayru had revealed her hand in the events, after all. The goddesses, or at least one of them, wanted him to win.

Link lowered Boros into the grave.

"I am familiar with various rites, if you need it," Sophia offered.

"I'd rather not spend the time," Link said. "He was never one for formalities anyway." He began to backfill the hole, then paused. "He would have wanted a weapon, I think," he said. Link picked up his old wooden sword and closed his mentor's hand around the hilt. "Not much of a sword, but deadly in skilled hands all the same," Link said.

Sophia had already finished her calculations, so as soon as they finished the burial, they were off, back to the abbey. He wasn't lost this time, or tracking enemies, or alone. He was able to see a little of the beauty of the landscape, the unnaturally regular rows of hills dotting out into the horizon.

"I guess this is a bit late, but thanks for coming after me," Link said.

Sophia stopped. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing at all." Link frowned. "Should there be?"

"It's odd for you to express gratitude. Some people go make amends and patch up relationships before they die. Is there anything I need to know?"

"I'm not about to die!" Link said. "Well, I'm not planning on it. You just… came a long way is all. I might have died if you hadn't, and I appreciate your efforts."

She took a moment to look him up and down. "You're welcome, then."

They kept walking.

"You never told me why you left the abbey in the first place," Link said.

"That's right. I evaded the question."

"Will you?"

"No."

When they made camp, it was the most relaxed Link had been since the abbey came under attack. While they were still wary, they had destroyed the immediate threats, and Link thought it safe enough for a fire. Link was able to kill a pair of squirrels that were not entirely made of bone, and though Sophia would not eat meat, the squirrels did lead to a cache of acorns she was able to roast.

They ate in silence. Neither of them cared for chatter, it seemed, and the immediate goal was clear enough. When they were finished, Sophia knelt in prayer, while Link idly whittled holes into a large stick.

"Can you think of any reason Nayru would want to personally hurt me?" he said, breaking the silence.

Sophia stirred. "Several."

"You might have at least pretended to think about it," Link grumbled.

"Life's grown more complicated since you came around. Of course, the Ganon Band could never allow a peaceful bastion of knowledge and culture to remain forever, so it would be silly to blame you." She shrugged. "But that's what people do, it seems. Why do you ask?"

"Other Nayru," Link said. "Goddess, not oracle."

Sophia took a deep breath and bit at her lower lip before responding. "Your premise is misinformed and a little insulting. The attributes ascribed to the goddess are more of an allegorical-"

"She mentioned wanting to gut me with her spear."

"She…" Sophia cleared her throat. "I need more context."

Link told her about the divine apparition. As he recounted the events, she straightened, and by the end was pacing by the fire with violent energy. She frowned as she walked, muttering to herself.

"So, she's obviously backing me, I guess the Triforce of Wisdom has something to do with it, but she also seems to want to hurt me. I can't just stab her if she tries anything… can I?"

Sophia shook her head. "If this wasn't some trick by the Wizzrobe-and a Wizzrobe trick would not cause you to start saying 'thank you'-then I suppose you are more an authority on this matter than I. Perhaps more than the oracles. You wish my advice? Ask her the next time you see her. Perhaps she will answer your prayers."

Sophia stood up. Link had long since fallen asleep, but she could not seem to manage it. Summer was ending, and the night air was getting chilly. Her blanket helped some, but the one she had brought was quite thin. Packing something thicker would only take up more space, and she had left enough behind as it was.

But that wasn't the real problem. She could endure discomfort. It was the outrage at the unfairness of it that kept her awake, and her shame at the outrage. Fairness was an idea for children. There was nothing fair about Moblins pillaging a village, and burning the food stores, and leaving the survivors to starve. There was nothing fair about one's spirit breaking just because one dared to fight for the abbey's survival.

And so, when Nayru decided to appear to Link, the brutish, irreverent renegade who stumbled his way into several pieces of a sacred relic, instead of to Sophia, or any of the other sisters who had devoted their lives to her service, there was really little point in complaining about how unfair it was.

And now here she was crying about it, like a little girl who didn't get the right flavor of candy.

She looked down and found herself holding her bow. She hadn't remembered grabbing it. "Why not?" she muttered. If she was going to be awake, she may as well get some practice in. The moon was almost bright enough to see by.

She found a sturdy tree and paced off thirty steps. When she drew the bow, she found her eyes still clouded, so she stood still and waited for them to clear. When she was ready, she released, and suddenly her thoughts were as straight as the arrow's flight.

"How will you find the next shard?" Sophia asked the next day. It was cloudy, and the night chill had not entirely left. Link wished for a thicker tunic, then decided it was more helpful to simply ignore the cold.

"Dunno. I'm gonna eat a good meal, convince the oracles to part with their shard, and go from there. Maybe we can find something if we study a map. Maybe whatever monstrosity that has it will attack and solve the problem for us."

Link couldn't figure out if he wanted her to go away, or keep accompanying him forever. It was certainly annoying having to explain his thoughts out loud, but she pulled her weight and kept a clear head in battle, which was more than could be said for most soldiers. And for whatever it was worth, her conversation did make the time pass more quickly. If either of them could figure out that inane chatter people did, the walk might even be downright pleasant.

They entered the forest surrounding the abbey that evening, but it wasn't for a couple more hours that Link understood what felt off. He stopped as soon as he realized.

"The Ganon Band's been through since we left," he said. Sophia's eyes widened, and she looked around. "See the extra tracks?" he said.

She nodded and began to run toward the abbey, but Link caught her by the arm.

"Hang on," he said. "Whatever happened, happened, and two people aren't going to do much about it."

"But-"

"We have to think we're in enemy territory now. We can't help anyone if we're dead. Right now, we need to get off the path. The obvious way is always trapped, always, and I don't want to go too much farther in bad light."

It took a second, but Sophia stopped pulling away and nodded. "Yes. Let's stay alive," she whispered.

They cut a wide arc away from the makeshift path the Moblins had stomped out on their various trips through the forest. Being off the path at all was already a step up in safety, the spiderwebs and tall grass and undisturbed foliage gave him confidence no one else had come that way.

It began to drizzle before they stopped, and they found what shelter they could under the branches of a pine tree. They set a watch again-they had grown complacent in sleeping unguarded in the Lost Hills-and Sophia demanded the first shift. There was little room under the pine. Even with Link's feet extended outside the branches' protection, and Sophia sitting with her knees pulled tight to her chest for the watch, there was barely enough room for both of them.

It wasn't his worst sleep, in the end. He roused Sophia early and they set off without breakfast. Though their pace was fast, their circuitous route inflated the distance. It wasn't until evening that they finally emerged into the clearing, facing the back wall of the abbey.

"I don't like this smell," Sophia whispered.

"Nor do I."

Link drew a rope from his pack and in a few tosses loop one end around a parapet. "Can you climb?" he asked.

"I think I can figure it out."

Link demonstrated how she could hook her legs around the rope to support some of her weight. She scaled the wall quickly enough, and he followed closely behind.

The grounds seemed deserted. No one drilling in the fields, no one tending the berry bushes, just a silent emptiness.

"They should be at supper around now," Sophia said.

Link did not think they would find anyone in the dining hall, but he said nothing and followed her. It was empty and unlit. Days-old food rotted on the tables.

Sophia stood as though petrified, fingers whitening around her bow. Link turned and kept watch at the door, waiting for her to recover. He knew she would, this time anyway. How well she fared once the whole conflict was over was anyone's guess. He wasn't too sure about himself, at that.

"Who's that?" growled a rough voice from outside. "I tell you, if you're here to steal our food, well you've got something coming!"

Link looked back at Sophia. She had turned, and taken a few steps toward the door. "Fauchelevant?" she said.

The old gardener hobbled in through the door and stopped. He leaned heavily on his crutch, his face carefully neutral. "So. You're not dead. You haven't eaten anything, have you?"

Link and Sophia exchanged a glance. Sophia shook her head. "No. Why?"

"Let's go to my hut," Fauchelevant said. "We have a lot to talk about."