66th Entry: Deception

While Rosso was carried back to Goron City, Daruk insisted that Link and Zelda should follow him. Not wanting to question the Goron Chief, the two agreed. On the way, Link explained what happened to him to Daruk who listened with interest. This surprised Zelda, since Link seldom spoke after his uncle was killed by Agahnim.

I wonder if Agahnim was somehow connected to that purple-robed guy, Zelda wondered. Maybe if Link hadn't killed him, we could have answered that question….

Suddenly, Paya's Sheikah Slate vibrated. Zelda looked down and saw it was coming from Riju. With the blue cloth still covering the lower-half of her face, Zelda answered and saw Riju standing between the other champions Mipha, Yunobo, and Revali. Behind them was the Arbiter's Grounds, which Zelda recognized from the illustrations in the Hyrule Historia, but from a higher vantage point leading Zelda to conclude the Champions were standing on top of one of the Divine Beasts.

"Are you Sheik?" Riju asked.

Zelda cleared her throat to prep for her masculine voice. "I am. Who is asking?"

"Riju, granddaughter of the Gerudo Province Leader Lady Urbosa," Riju stated. "Were you part of the Sheikah squadron that was sent to look for the Yiga Clan's hideout?"

"Yes."

"Was there a Sheikah girl named Paya with you?"

"No, I took her place."

"So why do you have her Sheikah Slate?"

"She gave it to me, before I left."

"Are you a close friend of hers?"

"Yes…."

"How come she's never mentioned you before?" Revali asked, butting into the conversation.

"She didn't feel like talking about me to anyone else, least of all you," Zelda replied.

Revali's feathers stiffened. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Can you tell us what happened to Paya?" Yunobo asked, sounding distressed. "Is she okay?"

"I think so," Zelda claimed. "She decided to stay at Hyrule Castle to keep an eye on Zelda, and had me join the squadron in her place."

"But how can you be sure of that?" Riju questioned. "In case you haven't noticed, most of Hyrule was covered in Twilight yesterday. And while the Champions and I have managed to clear up most of it, the only areas that are still covered in Twilight are Hyrule Castle, the surrounding fields, and the mountains where Kakariko and Hateno are located. So how are you able to communicate with us without having turned into a Spirit or a Beast the other day?"

"Because I have the Triforce of Wisdom, which kept me from turning into those."

"That can't be," Mipha interrupted. "Only descendants of the Goddess Hylia have been blessed with the Triforce of Wisdom. That's why Zelda had it the last two times Hyrule was threatened. So it seems strange that the Triforce would pick someone else to carry the Wisdom piece. And where is Link?"

"He's with me." Zelda waved Link over and he came into the frame of her screen, causing the Champions on the other end to sigh with relief. "I rescued him from the Yiga Clan's hideout, along with the children who were taken from Lurelin Village. Did Renado successfully make it to Gerudo Town?"

"Yes, he did," Riju answered. "But where have you been this whole time, Link?"

From there, Link pantomimed his transformation into a wolf and being returned to normal after putting the Master Sword briefly back into its resting place. Zelda also mentioned discovering the cursed Sages Gulley and Rosso, along with their accounts of what happened in the Arbiter's Grounds in relation to the Fused Shadow fragments and Twilight Mirror shards.

"So you're saying that Zant is actually being helped by someone, who placed fragments of the Fused Shadow artifact and shards from the Mirror of Twilight into the Seven Sages and scattered them across Hyrule to prevent them from being put together," Revali summarized after Zelda finished explaining. "And you and Link are currently looking for these Sages right now?"

"That's right," Zelda nodded. "But what are you guys doing in front of the Arbiter's Grounds?"

"If you must know, we plan to destroy the Arbiter's Grounds with the power of the Divine Beasts," Riju stated. "But if Gulley and Rosso's accounts are to be believed, then perhaps we should wait to do that."

"I agree," Zelda said. "We must save the Sages first, and see if we can use the Fused Shadow and the Mirror of Twilight against Zant and his mysterious benefactor before we resort to destroying an entire monument."

"But why should we trust you, Sheik?" Revali asked, giving Zelda a scrutinizing look. "You literally show up out of the blue, claiming to be Paya's friend, and expect us to take everything you say as true. How do we know you're not secretly working for this purple-robed guy, or the Yiga Clan for that matter?"

Link's brow furrowed, but Zelda held up her free hand. Once Daruk and the other Gorons were a good distance away, she used her free hand to lower the cloth from her face. "Because as your friend and commander, I order you to wait until we've saved the Sages before destroying the Arbiter's Grounds."

The Champions eyes' widened, though especially Mipha's.

"It's just like the story where the Princess disguised herself as a Sheikah in order to avoid being captured by Ganondorf," Mipha realized.

"Yes, in a way," Zelda admitted. "I switched places with Paya and left her in Hyrule Castle, because I wanted to do something to help. But I learned a lot more today than I had expected, such as the Province Leaders keeping your guys' difficulty in piloting the Divine Beasts a secret from me."

"That wasn't our idea, though," Yunobo said. "I still don't get why you had to pretend to be someone else."

"Isn't it obvious? Because if the Yiga Clan knew who she was, it might lead Zant and his mysterious benefactor to her which could be problematic," Riju said.

"Exactly, but I'm still sorry for deceiving you all," Zelda apologized. "So I understand if you don't want to help me and Link find the other Sages."

Suddenly, Mipha was distracted by her Sheikah Slate and looked at it. Her face looked increasingly distressed.

"What is it?" Zelda asked.

"Sidon sent a report to me a few hours ago, which didn't get through the Hyrule Network until just now, describing a disturbance at the Lanayru Great Spring caused by a bloated creature resembling…my stepmother Queen Oren."

To be continued…