Chapter 18
Bagu, Master of Bots and Guards
I was still soaked and dripping with water from the rain. But now that we were in a somewhat dryer place underneath the natural canopy in the woods, I figured it was safe enough to bring out the new scroll the wise man of Saria gave me. Above the chant to cast the spell was the elder's handwriting in ink. "Spell of Life. When casted, it heals most wounds." Wow, now this is a spell I needed on this journey. Even better, the wounds that I took with me from town were still agonizing and wet from the rain.
My companion, the prince, edged closer to see the spell in my hands. "Does that look useful?" He asked, but before I could answer, I remembered the elder telling me how it would be more difficult to cast. He said it wasn't simple, and if I couldn't use it, I should sell and use the money for something else.
"Very," I finally answered, but still feeling a little disappointed. "But I don't think I can cast it."
"Why not?" He continued, still standing next to me.
"I'm not a magic-user, I'm a swordsman, and this isn't a simple spell."
"You don't know until you try." He returned without a moment's thought. Funny, I remembered he was the one telling me that I couldn't cast spells a while ago, now he's encouraging me. "Try to cast it."
I didn't want to cast a new spell in front of him because of the way he teased me, but now seeing that change, I decided to give it a try. "All right, just don't distract me." I replied. He backed away and I turned my attention to the spell. I studied the words hard and then closed my eyes. I allowed myself to first whisper the words a couple of times just to be sure I was saying them right. Once I had confidence that I had the chant right, I tried to feel the power of the spell and focused on the sounds of the words once I spoke up. I felt like with every try, I was more drawn in to the spell than the last, but still I felt no different. "I don't think I can cast this one." I said, opening my eyes to look at my companion.
He shrugged. "Honestly, I thought you were getting better at that. Just keep going."
Might as well, I thought. I settled back with the scroll and exhaled slowly, relaxing the tension that I felt from town. Before even speaking, I placed myself into the deepest trance I could muster in that moment, and started the spell again. Time passed, but I hardly knew it. The sound of the rain disappeared, and so with my knowledge of the fresh forest air and my companion standing only a few feet away. The last try before I gave up was my strongest attempt. I could feel the flow of the words from beginning to end.
But then everything came back to me, and I sighed, opening my eyes yet again to see the prince was still standing there. "I don't think that worked."
But he exclaimed and stared wide-eyed. I looked down and noticed that the scrapes and bound cuts were closing on their own, like they were never there to begin with. The little amount of blood that wasn't washed away from the rain simply vanished.
"You did it." The prince said, still staring. "You casted the spell! You're becoming a better magic-user."
I could merely chuckle from feeling partly flattered and embarrassed at the same time. But that gave me a thought. "I wish this spell could heal you too."
But he wove me off. "Maybe, but I'll be fine. Unlike my sister, I haven't practiced even the simplest magic, and I know I can't start with that one. Besides, you were in worse condition anyway." He glanced at the forest around us like it was the first time he thought about it in a while. "We should continue."
I agreed and took my place next to him, still thinking about the life spell. The walk to find Bagu was easier now that I didn't have searing pain in my arm and thigh. The rain, even though the trees kept out most of it, soaked the soil and filled up with the clean scent of the washed ground. Besides the sound of the downfall, the rest of the woods were quiet, and it occurred to me that the monsters, deelers, moblins, and the like, were probably busy seeking shelter that they might not have known I was here, walking about the woods.
We searched the place for several hours, but still every turn and direction felt the same. The bot only told us that Bagu lived in the northern part of the woods, but other than that, every place we looked here was a guess. I couldn't stop my frustration from showing, I didn't stop from growling impatiently. "We'll never find Bagu's cabin this way."
"We have no choice." The prince simply stated. "We can't go past the roadblock for now, nor can we convince the river guard to lower the bridge on our own. This is the only option we have."
I was about to say that the roadblock was probably taken care of by now, but I held my tongue. He was right, this was our last option unless we wanted to take any more time to group up some workers to break that boulder if it was still there. I knew for sure that this was the right forest! This is where the bot told us Bagu lived. But I was growing tired of searching, and I felt like we were not moving forward in our quest. The longer we try to find a way, the longer Zelda waits for us. But there was nothing more for us to do about it.
After walking quietly for a while longer with still no monsters to bother us, suddenly a group of megmats were found hopping together like large fleas. Despite looking like a rat, the megmat had the ability to jump more than five times their size. Their continuous leaps could injure a traveler who would get too close, and while they weren't that strong, it was hard to predict where they would fall. That was how they defended themselves, and once they saw we were here, they all started to leap towards us. They were quick, and after leaping on top of one of us, they tried to use their sharpened teeth to bite.
As we stood there, defended ourselves from the pests, I caught a short glimpse of something my made me hold my breath. I didn't see it as first, but a little while ahead, blending in with the woods was a wooden wall of a cabin. Was that Bagu's house? In that split second I became distracted, I allowed many of the megmats to reach me, and all at once, they sank their teeth into my skin. The sudden pain caused me to yell out before swinging and stabbing to free them. "Watch out!" I heard my companion cry.
But I was too late.
I didn't notice it at the time, but there were more megmats behind me, and they all leaped up on my shoulders and back, and locked their teeth where they were. I was overcome by maybe a dozen of the beasts! I couldn't hold up from both the weight and the pain. I stumbled backward and fell over, but as I crushed the ones on my back, I thought I heard them shriek and felt claws raking at my tunic when they tried to free themselves.
My instincts told me to roll over, to free the megmats underneath me, but every second, I was being torn open, and I could only feel the sting. I couldn't move in time before I saw His Majesty running up to me. "Hold still!" He commanded of me and he brought up his rapier to kill the pests one by one. When their grip lessened, I was able to roll over enough for the two on my back to crawl out and flee far and fast into the woods.
"What's going on out here!?" A deep voice growled. I could barely see the speaker from the corner of my eye, but he was running over to us wielding a wood axe over his shoulder.
"We were attacked by a group of megmats is all." The prince replied. "Are you the man known as Bagu?"
He sighed, and relaxed the weapon he carried before answering. "That I be."
"That's great. We've been looking for you."
"You have? Now I'm curious. You may come inside, it looks like your friend is hurt." He looked down at me, as I was still lying on the forest floor.
"I'm fine." I spoke, but still feeling every bite. "I just need someone to help me up." I reached for His Majesty's outstretched hand, and allowed him to pull me back to my feet. That was when I noticed for the first time how bad those bites were. Burning blood spilled down from every wound, especially from the ones near my collarbone.
"Are you sure about that? Those are pretty bad." Bagu returned. "I can treat them once we move inside." He then beckoned the prince to follow and help me along before he turned and made his way for the cabin in front of us. But there was no need to have the wounds treated, I thought, if I could cast "life" again. I ignored the stinging, and tried to focus like I did last time when I casted it. The first couple times I tried, nothing happened. It was harder to focus on the more you were injured, I suppose. This was a spell that I would have to practice with. But after a few more tries, I was able to cast it. The bleeding stopped, and the bites closed on their own, as well with the claw rakes on my back. I then followed my companion to the cabin.
It was a small, one man built home. The area around the doorsteps had a clearing where Bagu had cut down the trees surrounding the house. Tools leaned up against the stumps that were left behind. The rain was calmer now, but still continued to fall down, and here, where the stumps were all that were left from the mighty trees, there was no shelter from it.
Bagu opened the door and allowed us inside. The inside of the cabin was just as simple and humble as it was on the outside. A workbench sat opposite of an empty fireplace, and had metal tools strewn around an unfinished object. I could see within some of the rooms that had the doors open, and saw some still needed some extra work. "I can't offer much, but please make yourselves at home." He gestured towards a couch of leather. We sat down, and for the first time we met him, I was able to see him clearly. Bagu was tall and heavyweight despite his strength, and he had little hair. But for a bot's master, I never would have imagined him to look so kind and simple. His eyes glared down at me in confusion.
It took me a short moment to remember his offer to clean the wounds I had only a few minutes ago. "I may not look it, but I have a few useful spells up my sleeve." I explained. "Thanks anyway."
He nodded. "As long as you're feeling better."
"Did you build this place on your own?" The prince beside me asked, still marveling at the handiwork.
"As a matter of fact, I did." He answered. "I moved here for the peace and quiet. It's something I always wanted to do. Now, do you want to tell me what this is all about?"
I couldn't figure out how to answer his question. Why would he oblige his favor to strangers? But we came so far now, and I would let Zelda suffer any longer than she has to. I looked over at His Highness, silently hoping he would speak first, but I could tell he was hoping the same, because our eyes met for just a second before I chose to go ahead and speak. "This might sound greedy, but please hear us out. We know the river guard in Saria owes you something, and we need you to ask him to let us through him so we can reach Death Mountain."
Bagu was too stunned to speak for many moments. His mouth hung open and he stumbled over what to reply. I waited patiently for him to calm down and eventually speak up. "How did you know I knew the river guard? He wouldn't have told you that."
It was the prince's turn to explain. "Honestly, we met with a purple bot in that town who told us. He said you were his master, and the guard at the river also serves you."
"Ah, of course he would have said that!" Bagu exclaimed. "The nerve! He will tell anyone all of my deepest secrets just for the fun of it! I should have known when I spared his life decades ago, he would still carry his kin's mischievous nature, even to this day!" He sighed. "But I don't know why you're asking me, a stranger, to use his favor. Not only is that rude, but you're poking your nose into my business."
"Please," I begged. "This is very important to us, and it can't wait much longer."
Surprisingly, it was my companion who answered. "No, he's right."
My attention suddenly drawn to him, I felt a rising urge to shake him by the collar, after all, this was his sister we were trying to save. "What do you mean? We're in this together!"
"Sorry, Link, I should have trusted my instincts. Bagu's right, we're asking a stranger to help us through to Death Mountain. To force him would be wrong, and I won't stand by that."
"But," I argued. "What do we do now? We've been running all over the kingdom, and if we keep going like this, we'll never go anywhere with this quest!"
"We'll come up with something. I say let's go back to the roadblock. If it's still there, we'll look to assemble a group to help us destroy it, if not, then we've been wasting our time as it is." He turned at Bagu who has been standing there silently. "My sincere apologies, we shouldn't have bothered you in the first place." Judging this as finished, His Highness moved for the door.
I stood up from the sofa, but I wasn't done yet. "Bagu, I know how rude this seems, but I never explained to you why we're trying to cross Death Mountain." His Highness spun around, worry on his face, but I ignored him. "A dear, dear friend of mine is in danger, placed under a powerful curse. And the only way to save her is to go on a dangerous journey. Since a roadblock fell on the path to the Harbor Town of Mido, which is our next stop, we knew the only other way to reach it was to take an even longer, and even more treacherous, path through Death Mountain.
"But, because of a few circumstances, the river guard has pulled apart the bridge and won't let anyone pass. Right now, you are the only one who can help us, the only one who can help her."
Bagu remained quiet for a while longer, but he was listening.
"She means everything to me, and I want to save her as soon as possible."
Then Bagu finally spoke. "I can see you're telling the truth. This is very serious." But then he paused to breathe and think it over. I waited for his response, and even the prince held still by the door, looking back at us. "I would be doing the same for the bot, even though he's stubborn and we seem to argue all the time." He mumbled. "You two are young, but you look like seasoned warriors, you might be able to defend yourselves from the danger in the mountain." He sighed, shook his head, and moved to the table.
He went through a drawer, chose some paper, a quill, and ink, and began writing. The feather on the quill swished in the air, and the sharp end meeting with the paper created a sharp scratching sound. I was rather confused, but stayed put. My companion next to the door first looked to Bagu, then me, and I couldn't tell if he was unsure as well, or if he was angry with something.
Bagu suddenly placed down the quill and ink, folded the note, and handed it to me. "Show this to the guard and he should let you past, but please take extreme care."
I was so grateful that I took the note with a genuine smile and felt the worries of going back to the roadblock melting away. "We will. Thank you, so much!"
"Yes," His Highness replied. "Now we owe you a favor, but it is one that I would be glad to pay."
Bagu returned the smile and the prince opened the door. I followed him back outside to the forest. "Good luck." Bagu called. "And I pray you can save your friend."
"Me too." I returned. Bagu gave us one more smile and closed the door behind him.
The rain was still trickling down, and it was hard to tell what time it was, but the clouds carried its color of grey swirled with orange. I figured the sun was setting. "I guess we can go back to the river guard now." I stated, folding the note smaller so it would be better protected in a pouch.
The prince nodded. "But let's keep our eyes open for any more megmats."
"Agreed." I answered. They were quite a problem to fight despite them being large pests.
But I didn't know if it was related to these parts of the woods or the weather, but the things were everywhere! And since we had a long day, we had to wait to leave this area behind before we can find shelter tonight.
Author's Note: Wow, this is going to be a long story, huh? There's plenty more to come! I sincerely want to thank everyone who made it this far! You are the best!
