Medical Treetment
Finally they get to the forest. Kings and Sorceresses are plotting too.
Linkle did not relax as she limped further into the depths of the Lost Woods. The grinning, clawed trees were forgotten. Strich was light enough but she did not like how much he was bleeding when leaning on her shoulder. Groose fared the best thanks to chainmail, but he was gritting his teeth as he dragged Ravio along. Groose had some wounds he wasn't telling people about at the moment. Ravio was not moving and looked horribly pale.
"Linkle, do you see any Koroks?"
"No, but we just need to follow the wind, right? Should we stop and rest?"
"I hate to ask but is Ravio even alive?" Strich asked. Groose discovered a faint heartbeat when he pressed an ungloved finger into the frigid neck. Linkle's eyes scanned the trees while Groose was nodding. A movement caught her eyes. Two small Koroks moved into sight from the fog.
"Wait, guys! I see Koroks!" Linkle said with a renewed energy.
"We're here to check on you!" Said an oval-shaped leaf-face. He and the pointy leaf-face ran to the heroes.
"Grandpa sensed a fight and said we needed to come help you! I was worried we wouldn't see you in the fog."
"We brought some healing stuff but we need to get you somewhere to rest, Miss Hero! Is Ravio awake?" The oval and pointy leaf-faces cast a worried glance to Ravio.
"He's unconscious," Linkle said. She didn't want to say he was dying. Groose and Strich took the supplies offered from the spirits they could not see. Ointment covered bandages were hastily applied to wounds before following the Koroks. Linkle explained a bit of what happened and one of the Koroks ran ahead to relay the message to the Great Deku Tree.
"Yeah, Grandpa says Ravio needs to be brought to him right away. This way!"
The drag wasn't much further and the sudden change from muted fog and deadwood took them by surprise. All three newcomers could not help but be a little awed by the vibrant Korok Forest. It was just so bright and green. Hints of autumn laced the foliage while birdsong peppered the air. Linkle kept helping Strich walk past the pedestal with a muttered apology to the sword. Friends came first.
The Koroks were doing their best to help. "You come with me, Mr. Bird Guard can stay in here, Pepp made beds for guests! You look tired too. Tell Mr. Guard to stop here-"
"It is rare to see so many visitors to the forest at one time... I know you are tired young knight but please, could you move Ravio a little further?" The booming gentle voice made them all look up to the massive moving face.
"Yes, sir," Groose said in awe. "Are you the Great Deku Tree!?"
"That is indeed what many have called me over my long lifetime. I can help Ravio now that he is where my power is strongest... If he had not been in the woods, he would have surely died." The tree was speaking far too slowly for everyone's weary patience. There was a hint of worry in the calm tree's voice. "...Even with a little power from the woods and the magic he inherited from his mother, that was reckless."
"He won't die, right? You're helping him?" Linkle asked
"Patience. He'll be stronger than before. If you look, you will find he is breathing more regularly now." The Deku Tree was right, Ravio did look less like a soggy piece of chalk now.
Linkle remembered the bird on her shoulder. "Oh yeah! I'll be right back sir, I have to get Strich inside. I'll be right back to draw the Master Sword!" She limped on into the base of the tree and with a spring in her limping. Strich winced with every jolt but at least the Korok first aid seemed to be helping.
A weary Groose looked up at the Great Deku Tree and said, "King Gustaf said to tell you he said hello. Is it okay if we stay here?"
"You are all welcome guests. For now, rest." Groose smiled despite the burn wounds and kept dragging. Sleep sounded beautiful after the events of the past few days. A proper sleep felt so distant in the past after all the chaos. Linkle was chatting with Koroks and frowned. Linkle told Groose that they were asking her to get that missed night's sleep before drawing the sword. It was a pity he couldn't see the Koroks, he'd have to settle for asking questions from the people he could see. Maybe the magic in the air was starting to have some effect; Strich and Groose could both swear they heard whispering voices around them. Hearty truffles were stewing in a pot and four mattresses assembled of leaves awaited. Bark trays were scattered about with bandages, food, and elixirs for them.
Yes, Groose liked this place now. It was about darn time they got some respect.
There was a very strange sort of family reunion atmosphere going on inside Vah Medoh. Teba hated it. Hateno Village had been rather surprised when a Divine Beast showed up on the village doorstep to pick up the royal family. Gustaf knew it would be difficult for assassins to get to a flying machine. Once they planned for the logistics of living in a freezing bird robot for a week, he'd made arrangements with Teba. Teba still didn't like the plan but somehow here they were, in a circular flight pattern, camping out. Ana got along fine with most of her cousins. The grand-uncle Sahasrahala was absent and had refused to leave the library for this nonsense. He'd sent books along for study time at least to give them more to do. Uncle Rusl's kids were okay company once they stopped begging for drawing and fencing lessons. Rusl was a favorite uncle among the assorted cousins of the Royal Family. Ana decided to enjoy this time before Vah Medoh got boring.
As part of the basic precautions besides wearing Snowquill gear, everyone had a paraglider or sailcloth of some kind. Teba and his son were around with a couple of other Rito but they couldn't be everywhere at once in case of a fall. Hazel had been quiet when not trying to teach younger kids how to hold sharp objects. Hazel liked weapons more than teaching people under 5 feet tall about weapons. No one blamed her for not letting them play with the elemental stuff. Trying to convince them drawing or knitting lessons were fun didn't work when dangerous things were present. Gustaf had set aside time every night to focus more on the Sealing Power with the cousins old enough to try to use it. That group mostly consisted of Hazel, Ana, cousin Osfala, and the twin cousins Lana and Cia. It was late by the time the sisters went to bed on the hammocks.
Ana became aware of being shaken awake by Daltus the next morning. She pushed the brother away and muttered a threat to tell mom. Dal persisted and hissed. "Come on! There's something on the Gossip Stone network you'll want to see." Ana opened her eyes enough to glare at him in the early morning light.
"Can't it wait until breakfast?"
"No, not really. It's those guys from Tarrey. There's a bounty on them!" Dal said with wide eyes. Ana followed him to the flat glowing device in the control room to see for herself. King Gustaf and Hazelda were already there and having a serious discussion about something. Ana made out the words 'Triforce' and 'those idiots' when she approached. King Gustaf was sitting on the floor and holding a small brush. He was mixing paint in a bowl but there was no canvas which Ana could see.
"Ana! Excellent. Before you read the news, I did not see this coming. Just for the record." Gustaf gestured for Ana to sit down. "Can you help with this? The Triforce mark is on my dominant hand, you see."
"Huh?" Ana's confusion over what her grandfather wanted mixed with her desire to grab the slate and see about the Tarrey town knights. "What are you-"
"Be as faithful as possible to the Triforce mark, Zeldana. Also, I'm trading slates with you two." Gustaf frowned at the back of his hand as Ana read the Gossip Stone network news. Woodland Guard Station was definitely in a shambles. Like-likes got into the storerooms and no shields remained after events from sometime in the wee hours of the AM. Pictures showed burned forests and flocks of Like-Likes combined with bunches of chickens. Groose, Strich, and some girl named Aryll (Going by Linkle) all had warrants to be taken alive. Some other kid was there too in the pictures. That was the guy from the fortune teller tent if Ana remembered Groose's story correctly. He was right to say the guy was fishy at Tarrey. He was a Yiga spy and the son of an infamous sorceress.
The combined arrest bounty was 10,000 rupees and generously supplied by the Prince Sidon Fan Club.
Ana decided she didn't want to read the list of charges and glared at her grandpa. The grandpa was unfazed. "I was so certain of my vision... Anyway, the Hero's Slate has most of the runes locked until the hero gets access to it, but the map, camera, and transport functions are going to be usable for you. You two should definitely stick together."
"This has to be a misunderstanding. Either that or Groose was framed by an impersonator! No way would he say these things about anyone!" Ana said.
"Yeah, no one is suicidal enough. I'm pretty sure people only hate the Prince when they've never actually met him." Hazel said as she took back the slate from Ana. "It wouldn't surprise me if some Yiga are secret Prince Sidon fans."
"Ana, would you please finish copying the mark so I can give the Triforce to Hazelda? I've got some appointments in Castletown today. Maybe I'll meet this Hero. Make sure you girls dye your hair and don some form of disguise before heading out. Lady Paya gave permission for you to dress as a Sheikah if necessary but it's up to you."
"I, Okay? Why both of us?"
"You two will watch each other's backs quite well. Remember the transport rune is NOT to be used more than twice in a 24 hour period. Purah will be all too happy to tell you about the side effects if you ask." Leave it to King Gustaf to work out that sort of detail but not everything else. Hazel went over a list of travel supplies as Ana carefully traced. The paint looked just like the inactive Triforce mark. She'd forgotten Daltus was there until he spoke up.
"The Koroks didn't say anything about the Hero coming. It just doesn't feel right."
Gustaf grinned at Daltus. "That was my thought too."
Meanwhile, at the Yiga Clan hideout, a dangerous atmosphere filled the air. Veran had appeared in the antechamber with a look of disbelief and a lack of hat. Silence had descended as she stormed through the crowd, Malthus stood to attention when Veran spoke. She did not yell. She did not hiss. She used a conversational tone of voice.
"Malthus?"
"Yes, Mistress?"
"Get me Malice. In a solid or liquid form." Malthus bowed as the sorceress stalked away to her private chambers. He heard the whispers fill the air after the exit and no one believed what happened until Veran had made an official statement. Malthus did not point out a loophole that Veran had made when rewriting the leadership challenge bylaws. Had anyone else noticed, they opted to stay quiet too. On account of his tendency to take out emotions on other people, Kishgal had been insufferable until he'd left to return to his impersonation mission.
Malthus soon finished the extraction process. Malthus took six Like-Likes to get this tiny amount of Malice. He would not spill it now. He intended to keep his title as the oldest Yiga for a few more years at least. The bottle was sealed with various talismans and carefully carried like the sacred, volatile substance it was.
He was about to knock on the door when Veran threw it open and snatched the bottle. Wordlessly she poured it into a bowl with another brew of hers.
Veran chugged the potion, chucked the bowl behind her, and strolled towards the meeting room. "Go call the council." Malthus stared in shock for a moment longer before doing as told.