Farrow leaned out to peer around the crumbling stone wall. The path beyond seemed empty, but Farrow knew better. The crumbling structure on the right of the path likely had bokoblins lurking inside. Further along, in the ruins of an old tower, a lookout bokoblin would peer out every few minutes. It bulbous eyes would blink against the sunlight as it sniffed the air and then it would disappear behind the wall again.
The lookout bokoblin had to be the first to go. It would have a horn to alert the others, along with a bow, and they couldn't risk all the bokoblins mobbing them at once.
Farrow ducked back behind the wall. Link, still on Kazim's back, raised an eyebrow.
"They have a lookout in the tower about two hundred yards away. You won't be able to get a clear shot at it, so I'll sneak ahead and take it out. While I do, shot any bokoblins that come into view, but don't let the lookout see you. Also, we can't stop until we reach the bridge and we only have about five hours of sunlight left, so we have to keep moving."
Link shaded his eyes to look up at the sun and nodded.
Farrow pulled the sword Link had given her from her belt. Rust flaked off the edges of it, but it would work. "Remember, don't advance until I come back."
Link waved away her words with an exaggerated nod, then gave her a smile and flashed her a thumbs up.
Farrow returned the gesture. "Be back soon." She ran past Link and away from the path until she reached the other end of the wall. Her plan was to weave through the ruins paralleling the path and come up behind the lookout.
She crept forward along the wall. At one point, the wall had crumbled nearly to the ground. Farrow crouched down below the top of the wall and continued on. She didn't know if any monsters were in the building, but she didn't risk looking.
Farrow reached the end of the wall and leaned forward. A bokoblin sat in the grass, its back to her. It watched the road, shifting its hold on the wooden club in its hands and sniffing the air.
Farrow glanced at the ground, making sure the grass beneath her reached the monster and stepped forward. As she neared it, she could hear the snuffling of its breath.
Its ear twitched and Farrow froze. But it reminded facing the road.
Farrow was mere feet from it now. A few more steps and she'd be within striking distance.
One step, two, three. She raised the sword above her head, just a step away from it. She took a silent breath and brought the sword down on the monster's skull, dropping her weight into the blow.
The blade, dulled by time, cleaved through the monster with a crack, and in the same instant the bokoblin burst into a cloud of malice. Farrow danced back, holding her breath, as the wind blew the black and red roiling smoke away into wisps.
Farrow knelt by the building and listened. In the distance a bird twittered and leaves rustled. It seemed nothing else had heard the crack.
Farrow rose and continued to weave through the ancient building. A pack of three monster had made camp between two buildings, blocking her way. So she hopped through the hollowed window frame of one of the building and exited through the door on the opposite side. She emerged near the base of the lookout.
A stairway curved around the building in three flights to the exposed top floor. From this angle she couldn't see the bokoblin that lurked there.
Farrow glanced back at the camp of monsters she'd evaded. They sat around their fire, snorting and screeching at each other. They seemed focused and the blackened piece of meat cooking over the fire. Farrow grimaced, adjusted her grip on the sword and crept toward the lookout.
She would have to be fast, but quiet. The first flight of steps, the one the bokoblins would be able to see, was shaded from the sun, which would help some.
Farrow started up the stairs, taking them as quickly as she dared and glancing back the whole time. The bokoblins continued their raucous meeting, never glancing up. Farrow darted around the corner.
She stayed hunched and scanned the ruins below. Farrow spotted two bokoblins patrolling the ruins, but they were a few buildings away and unlikely to look up.
Setting her gaze on the top of the stairs, Farrow climbed the last two flights. When she neared the end of the stairs, she slowed.
Farrow couldn't see the bokoblin, but the moment she did, there was the chance it would be facing straight towards her. She had to be quick, and no matter what, she couldn't let it blow its horn. The sound of scuffs against stone and a snorting noise told her it was on the left half of the building, maybe halfway across.
She gripped the sword and climbed the last steps, her eyes locked on the spot the stone edge of the building met blue sky.
The bokoblin, facing out towards the ruins in profile to her, startled as soon as she'd set foot on the landing.
Farrow charged, sword raised as the monster screeched and reached for its horn.
The bokoblin raised the horn to its lips as Farrow neared it. The horn let out a weak squeak just before Farrow brought the blade down. A thud, a wuff of smoke, and the clang of the sword on stone was the only other sound of battle.
Farrow paced back, tunic pulled over her mouth. She'd never inhaled the malice the monsters left behind, but she'd heard stories of travelers who did. Some said they slowly went mad, others claimed that they victims would transform into monsters, or even that you'd drop dead on the spot. She never intended to find out which, if any, were true.
Once Farrow was satisfied no monsters were coming, she leaned out the crumbling pillars of the south wall.
She found the wall she'd left Link behind and watched it. A minute later a head of blond hair peered over the stones. She waved. Link raised a thumbs up.
Farrow rolled her eyes as she turned away. She was going to have to learn some of his hand signals. The thumbs up was starting to grate on her. On her way to the stairs, she scooped up the bow and arrows the bokoblin head dropped. They weren't very good quality, but they would work. She crept back down the building and through the ruins to Link's position.
"How were things?" Farrow asked once she'd reached him.
Link shrugged, made a motion and if he was drawing a bow, then held up two fingers.
"Shot two bokoblins, huh? Well that's good. It looks like there are only five more in the ruins, and we can take them out with these." She waved her new bow. "Ready to go?"
Link eyed the ruins and nodded.
"Right." Farrow took Kazim's reins and led them down the path toward the building near the bokoblin camp. They paused behind it.
"There are three bokoblins there," she nodded in the direction of the camp. "We'll round the corner, and you'll shoot the one on the left while I get the one on the right. The last one goes to whoever is fastest."
Link grinned and pointed to himself.
Farrow snorted. "We'll see. Ready?"
He nodded and drew the bow.
Farrow held the reins in one hand, and the bow ready in the other. With a quick side step, she tugged Kazim around the corner, dropped the reins, and drew her bow.
In the same instant, two arrows whistled through the air and thudded into their target's before they had the chance to look up. The remaining bokoblin looked up with a startled squawk, just as Farrow's second shot hit it. Link's arrow whistled through the cloud of malice left behind, smoke trailing behind it.
Link huffed. Farrow smirked and tapped a finger against her bow. "Guess I'm fastest."
Link scowled and made some hand gestures.
"None of those better have been rude," Farrow said, taking Kazim's reins again. "There are two more a little further down. You'll have your chance to shoot them." She smirked. "If you're fast enough."
Link grumbled as she led them forward.
After a minute of slowly crossing the ruins, a red blur ran out from behind one of the collapsing walls with a snarl.
A twang, and an arrow whizzed over Farrow's head and thudded into the forehead of the monster. She lowered her raised bow and glanced at Link.
He grinned down at her, chest puffed out and gave his bow a twirl.
"How impressive," she said, sarcasm dripping from her tone.
Link deflated and gestured to the monster, then himself with an exasperated expression.
Farrow laughed softly and continued forward. Kazim's hooves clopped against the cobblestone as Farrow listened for the last bokoblin.
Eventually, they were nearing the end of the ruins and had gone far past the point where she'd seen the bokoblin. They must have passed it unnoticed, or it had run off.
"I think that's it," Farrow said. She shielded her eyes and gazed towards the last two buildings of the ruins. Beyond them, she could make out the start of the bridge. "Just a little farther now." Which was good, because the sun was sinking towards the horizon.
Three steps later, a blare of a monster's horn echoed across the road.
Farrow spun to find the source of the sound was the last bokoblin, hunched within the crumbling tower on their right. She had a brief moment of confusion, wondering why it would call for its fallen allies, when three moblins emerged from the tower down the road. They bellowed and charged toward them, clubs raised.
Panic froze Farrow's blood. They stood at least eight feet tall, with spiked clubs as big as her. One hit and she'd be dead.
Farrow cursed and raised her bow. One of Link's arrows was already flying for the face of the nearest one. The arrow hit true, it's shaft sticking from the monster's forehead, but the moblin shook it free with a roar. Malice plumed from the wound, but the beast kept coming.
Farrow ran for Kazim, shouldering her bow. The monsters were almost on them as Farrow swung herself up into the saddle in front of Link and kicked Kazim's side. "Hang on!"
Kazim shrieked and sprang forward. The moblin's moved to block them in, clubs raised. "Aim for their hands, you take left!" Farrow yelled to Link. She had no time to make sure he'd heard. She reached for her bow.
Just as she did, a strange chime sounded behind her and a blue glow sailed over her shoulder. She had time to see a shining blue orb land on the cobblestones between the moblins before it exploded.
The moblins flew back from the force of the blast, their clubs spinning from their grasps. Kazim reared up with a scream and Link's arms wrapped around Farrow's waist as she struggled to calm her horse.
Kazim's hooves dropped back to earth, and Farrow tugged his reigns to face the bridge and nudged his sides. "Go!"
Kazim bolted past the recovering moblins and thundered down the stone path. His footfalls clattered against the ground and an arrow whizzed past them. She glanced back. Link had turned to look back too, and they watched the monsters fall behind. The bokoblin stared down it's bow at them, but they were out of range now.
Farrow faced forward. "What was that!?" she yelled. It had acted like a bomb. But she'd only every seen them used in mines, and they didn't glow.
Link tapped her shoulder.
Farrow shook her head. "Never mind. You'll tell me when we stop."
A pause. A thumbs up appeared in her peripheral and she groaned.
Minutes later, they reached the bridge. Farrow pulled Kazim to a stop next to the shrine nearby. The shrine glowed orange now, but Farrow didn't linger on it long. Kazim's breaths came fast and harsh. Dropping from his saddle, Farrow ran a hand down his side.
"I'm sorry. You did real good though." She circled him, checking him for injuries, but found none to her relief.
Link watched her with a worried gaze and pointed down toward Kazim and raising an eyebrow.
"He's okay. Just needs to rest for a while." She gave Kazim a final pat and crossed her arms. "How did you do that?" The bomb had obviously come from Link, but she hadn't seen him carrying any similar weapons.
Link stared at her with a neutral expression. Then he sighed and reach for his hip. He pulled a small box off his hip and showed it to her.
The little black box was small enough to fit in his hand, with a slim side. One face of it was blank, but the other had an eye and teardrop symbol in glowing blue and orange. She recognized it as the Sheikah emblem. She frowned at it. She couldn't see what purpose it would serve, besides maybe a very small cutting board. And she didn't understand how this explained the bomb.
Link placed a finger on the blank side, and the entire face of it lit with a blue glow. A few more taps and Link held out a hand. Glowing threads of blue light weaved from the air and coalesced into his palm. They formed a glowing blue sphere.
Farrow stared. It had come from nowhere. Was it magic? Was Link magic? If so, why hadn't he healed his leg?
Link threw the sphere a far distance and tapped a button on the box. It detonated, spraying dirt and pebbles across the road and making Farrow jump. "Okay! Got it!" Farrow took breath. "How does it do that? Are you a magic?"
Link glanced at the box and shrugged before shaking his head.
Farrow squinted at him. "Did you steal it?"
Link glared at her and shook his head. He made an exaggerated motion with both of his hands, moving both toward her and facing palm up.
"It was a gift?" Farrow asked.
Link nodded, still glaring.
Farrow sighed. "Sorry. That was rude. It's just," she waved toward the box, "it's a bit strange, you know?"
Link's glared faded and he nodded in agreement, gazing at the box in his hands. His returned it to his hip and pointed to the shrine.
Farrow glanced from it to him. "What about it?"
He pointed to himself, then the shrine, and moved to climb down from Kazim's back.
"Wait, you—!" Farrow paused as he stood on both legs. He defiantly favored his injured side, but he was standing.
He hobbled a step towards the shrine.
"Ugh!" Farrow ran and pulled his arm over her shoulder, taking some of his weight. "Seriously? How are you even walking?"
Link's shoulders jerked in a shrug.
They hobbled together to the shine. Once there, Link removed the box from his hip and set it against the glowing orange podium next to the entrance of the shrine. There was a click of metal on metal, and the box's light flared blue. The veins swirling across the base of the shrine burned from orange light to the same blue, and a Sheikah rune flashed to life at the pinnacle.
Farrow nearly dropped Link in surprise as the face of the shrine broke into panels that swung back to reveal a small chamber. Dust plumed from the doorway. In the center was another glowing disc lit with the Sheikah symbol.
She blinked. Then slowly turned to look at Link. He was already staring at her, awaiting her reaction with a sheepish smile.
Her eyes narrowed. "What are you?"
