A/N - Welcome back folks. Things are just revving up!
To Windfall
The sun was resting on the wooded western horizon as Link trotted out of Castle Town astride his glossy chestnut mare. He had had no trouble on his way out of town; he had kept to the back alleys and had kept his face tucked deep within his cloak's hood. Now as he embarked on the relatively short journey to Windfall up in Eldin Province, Hyrule's main port town, his thoughts remained focused on the face of one man: Captain Zant. He scowled and gritted his teeth as his mind conjured up an image of the dead-white face of the evil pirate for what seemed to be the thousandth time in the last three days.
Link had been in the crow's nest prior to Volvagia's attack. The pirate vessel had appeared as if from out of nowhere, and though he shouted down to the deck hands of its presence as soon as he spotted that foul flag emerging from the fog, the evil galleon had begun firing upon them before they could think to respond.
As far as he knew, Link hadn't even seen most of the battle, but HRNS Loftwing never stood a chance. He had attempted to get to the deck as quickly as he could, but climbing down the shrouds was never fast, especially when the entire vessel was trembling with the reception of cannon fire. When Link was approximately halfway down to the deck, a round of chain shot struck the mast near its base, and he found himself clinging to the shrouds of a mast that was toppling over like a felled tree. Then, to make matters worse, a stray lead ball had caught him in the shoulder, jerking him violently and causing him to lose his grip. The last thing he remembered was having let go of the mast and plummeting toward the deck.
The next thing he remembered was waking up in Rusl's house. Rusl, Uli, and Colin. Wonderful people. Thinking of the Ordonians was almost enough to put a smile on his face, but even still, in his mind's eye, the image of Zant's face staring him down all the way from the pirate's own forecastle pervaded all other thoughts. The yellow eyes… How had Zant even known to look at him? Link had been looking through his spyglass, and still Zant had been staring right into his eye. He shuddered, trying to shake the memory from his head.
He looked about, finally done being absorbed in his thoughts. The road that headed west from Castle Town crossed a short stretch of plain before winding through the Kokiri Forest where a small, childlike folk were said to have lived once upon a time. Around midway through the woods, the road forked, one road heading northwest and one turning southwest. When the northerly road exited the Kokiri Forest, it forged across the vast Western Hyrule Field bearing west-northwest. Finally, the road entered the Goron Range, heading west between the stony crags. Of course, the last time anyone actually saw a goron was two score and three years ago. Once the road was finished weaving through the mountains, it spat out at Windfall, a pleasant town settled on the southern banks of the mouth of the Zora River.
When Link arrived at the fork in the road, the last remnants of deep blue were fading to black in the western sky. Luckily, there was a bright waxing gibbous hanging in the sky off to his left, and it shed enough light for him to get by, so he didn't need to get out his lantern and waste oil. The Woods to his left and right were dark, but he wasn't afraid of them. The most dangerous thing they boasted was a wolf or bear here and there, but neither of those would bother him whilst he rode Epona. Most wolf packs stayed in the more southerly portion of the vast forest, in and around the Faron Province. Up here in the Kokiri Forest, they were few and far between.
As he turned to follow the more northerly road that would lead him up through Western Hyrule Field and through the Goron Range and to Windfall, his ears picked up a faint horse's gait separate from Epona's somewhere behind him. He chose not to make any sudden movements; not to give away that he knew of its presence. For all he knew, it was another traveller, but something told him otherwise. There weren't many people who would ride through the midst of the Kokiri Forest at night. Although he knew it was safe, many others were simply intimidated by the fact that it was deep and dark. For some reason, he had always felt at home in the forest.
With this in mind, his hylian ears perked and listened intently, even as he and Epona both acted as though nothing at all were amiss. The strange gait was soft, and it was evident that the other rider wasn't trying to catch up with Link as fast as possible, if they were indeed in pursuit.
The next moment, however, the sound vanished, as if it had never emanated from behind him at all. Confused, Link waited, still guiding Epona at the same trot he had been holding the entire journey so far. Perhaps the other hoofbeats had just momentarily synchronized with Epona's gait and were muffled behind him. He continued, listening intently for another sound - any sound at all - coming from behind him. After waiting patiently for an easy five minutes, he cautiously turned his head and torso and glanced back. Nothing. He was on a fairly long straightaway, and was able to see nearly fifty meters of road behind him, and in the dim light of the moon, nothing moved.
Feeling slightly uneasy, he swiveled back around to face forward; his ears still straining to hear something other than Epona's hoofbeats. For a long time, there was nothing, and he finally began to relax, thinking that he had possibly imagined it in the first place.
After about an hour and a half, the trees stopped abruptly, and the road stretched out across Western Hyrule Field before him, curving slightly to his right to head in a more northerly direction. Beneath him, Epona trotted out onto the grassland, her hooves loyally thumping out a two-beat rhythm.
Behind him, there was still nothing but silence to be heard.
He sat astride Epona, gazing across the vast field he was crossing, his eyes resting upon the distant Goron Range. Finally, his mind eased and drifted from dark thoughts to the face of a pretty young woman.
"Tetra," he whispered to himself, rolling the name over his tongue. Her expression when she noticed the slit in his bicep came to his mind, and he smiled grimly. If I ever see her again, he thought, I'll be grateful.
Just then, scuffling off to his right caught his attention. He looked that way. Stalhounds. Was he worried? Nonsense. He had grown up destroying these. The beasts looked far scarier than they truly were. Two skeletal wolves finished digging themselves out of the ground and stalked forward silently. Epona turned to face them and reared up on her hind legs, whinnying. Link urged her forward, and she leapt to a gallop, easily trampling the frail monsters into pieces.
The sailor then directed his steed northwest and continued the gallop, Epona trampling any Stalhounds that decided to appear in her tracks.
Shortly, he was passing Lon Lon Ranch which was situated in the middle of the grand western plain.
In his haste to cross Western Hyrule Field, Link never once glanced behind him to see if anyone was following him.
When he was nearing the end of the roughly thirty mile trek across the plain via the road, Epona was finally beginning to show signs of tiring. It had only taken them about an hour to reach the edge of Western Hyrule Field and the border to Eldin Province, but she had been galloping the entire time, not to mention that she had been trotting for a few hours before that. When he reached the foot of the Goron Range's crags, Link dismounted and led Epona into the mountains, one hand on her reins, and one on the pommel of his hanger style sword.
He strode down the road between steep mountain sides and rocky cliffs, his mind once again straying to the girl from the marketplace. Her striking blue eyes had looked distant when she had first turned and saw his face in the square. He wondered what she could have been thinking about. He remembered the look on her face when he had answered her question about HRNS Divine Beast's gun count.
"How will we defeat Zant?" he asked himself quietly. He sighed, his spirits sinking. He didn't have to do this. He wasn't a part of Captain Auru's crew. He could stay on shore and it wouldn't change a thing. But then he remembered why he had to go. The filthy pirate had acquired the map. That's why he had attacked them in the first place after all, wasn't it? He hadn't actually seen Volvagia's crew loot the chest from HRNS Loftwing since he had been unconscious, but the brig had been destroyed, and Zant wouldn't have let the map sink to the bottom of Ordon Bay aboard the Loftwing. He knew he had to take the chest back. He didn't fully believe the map's revelation to be true, but if the old man named Rauru was right, then he couldn't let it fall into the wrong hands, and if Zant was actually looking for it, then he was most definitely the wrong hands.
Suddenly, his mind snapped back to the present as he realized that he could hear another set of hoofbeats somewhere behind him again, and again, they were almost the same as Epona's, just a tiny bit off. Of course, this time Epona was only walking, but still, the foreign set of hoofbeats was nearly identical all the same. From his position on the ground, Link tried to think of a way to look behind him without it being obvious, but nothing came to mind as his grip subconsciously tightened on the handle of his sword. If it was truly an enemy, however, why would they have waited this long? Link had been alone for his entire trip. After a moment, he decided that if it as an enemy, he might as well turn and face it, and if it was not, then finding out could do no harm.
With this in mind, he stopped Epona, and gently pet her nose once. "I don't like it when people follow me quietly in the middle of the night," he said easily loud enough for anyone on the mountain road to hear, then he turned around, and faced his potential pursuer. This time, however, there was indeed a figure sitting astride a horse some twenty meters behind him. Just like Link, he was draped in a cloak with a deep hood concealing his face (not that Link could have made it out at this distance in this lighting anyhow).
"That's perfectly understandable," a gravelly voice carried to Link from the man east of him on the mountain road, "but I'm glad you waited this long to confront me about it. You see, I have a couple more pals coming from Windfall to help me complete my job, so had you discovered me sooner, I would have been forced to dispatch you all by my lonesome."
Link's hanger flew into his left hand, brandished in the cool night air.
"Ah. So eager to meet your end, are you? Well I must apologize, but I myself am not quite ready. You see, my friends should be along any minute now, and it sure would be a shame to kill you without their participation."
"I don't know who you are," Link called out, "or why you want to kill me, but I'll tell you this: If you attack me, I'll be forced to defend myself."
"Well yes, that is to be expected," said a deep, clear voice from west of Link.
"Yeah, it would simply be no fun for us if you just laid down and let us kill you," came another voice from the west.
"Ah, Groose and Sakon, how kind of you to join us," said the first man and initial pursuer as he dismounted from his horse. "Link, my name is Igos. My… associates and I have been hired to dispose of you."
"Well, since you're going to kill me, it doesn't matter if I know the name of who it is that wants me dead, does it?" Link quipped.
"I suppose not," Igos said, letting a pause hang in the air for a moment as though he was about to reveal a name to Link. "But I very much like to keep secrets, especially when I can see that it aggravates someone in the way it will aggravate you not knowing who wanted you dead when you know you're about to die. Gents? Let's earn our wages, shall we?"
The two men west of Link moved in on him quickly, one drawing a rapier and the other brandishing a thicker cutlass. The man wielding the cutlass took the lead and advanced on Link, going on the offensive with a flurry of strikes. They were slow, however, and Link had no problem parrying the advancement. After letting the bigger man have his way for a few moments, the young sailor stopped retreating and stood his ground, still easily catching the mercenary's blade on his over and over. Then suddenly he was on the offense, and the bigger man - was it Groose that Igos had called him? - nearly stumbled back. Shortly, Link found an opening in Groose's defense and exploited it, gouging a deep hole in the brute's left shoulder. The man shrieked, dropping his blade to the dirt and stumbling backward, clutching at his quickly blood-soaked shoulder.
Immediately the second man, Sakon, was upon him. Sakon's form was nice at first, but it was clear that his bark was far worse than his bite. Link's slightly heavier sword easily overpowered the little man's rapier, and Link was quicker than him, and the sailor overpowered him very quickly. In a flash, Link disarmed the man and delivered a strong forward kick square in his sternum, sending him sprawling. Behind Sakon, Groose was rolling around on the ground, still crying about his shoulder.
Link turned to face Igos. "Perhaps it would have been better for your cohorts if you would have just taken me yourself."
"Perhaps…" came the man's voice, disdain evident in it. Then Link heard quick footsteps behind him.
He whirled around just in time to react and swayed to the side of a lunge, holding his blade out in front of him. Sakon plowed right into Link's sword, impaling himself down to the hilt. He cried out pitifully as Link wrenched his hanger out of the man's gut, blood pouring out with it. Sakon staggered backward, his hands clutching the wound just beneath his diaphragm and agony written on his face. He stopped stepping back and stood uneasily for a moment. Then, he plummeted forward, falling flat on his face. After that, he was motionless.
Grimly, Link turned to face Igos once more. "Well? Come earn your wages, then." After a moment of hesitation, Igos strode forward, drawing a sword strikingly similar to Link's own.
"As you wish," the man muttered, accelerating and closing the distance between them very quickly. Link met him with a strong defense, but the attacker's tenacity drove him backward. After a minute or so, however, Link had grown accustomed to Igos' style. He quit retreating and held his ground, like he had done against Groose. Speaking of Groose, the man lay whimpering a few meters off. Igos, unlike Groose, did not give ground so easily and thus the two reached a stalemate, the ringing of their blades echoing off the crags. After what seemed like five minutes of fighting, Link began to edge into an offensive style. Igos took one step back, then another. Finally Link had him on a full retreat, desperately parrying the sailor's lightning fast blade. Getting Igos where he wanted him, Link went through a series of moves to setup his disarming move. The way Link's blade moved, Igos had no choice but to put his sword just where Link wanted it to be. The young sailor began his mental countdown. He was four more strokes away. Three more. One more. His sword grated against Igos' smoothly and he wrenched the weapon from his opponent's grip, flinging it aside. In another two strides, he had Igos on his back, and he pressed his razor sharp blade against the man's throat.
"Tell me who wants me dead," Link commanded, his heart pounding in his ears. In the moonlight, Link saw the man's eyes flick down to the sword and then back to his face.
"You couldn't kill me, boy. You don't have it in you."
"You're willing to stake your life on that?" Link asked, his voice dark. Igos hesitated.
"Of course. I have it from a reliable source that you're a gutless coward."
"A reliable source, you say?"
The bounty hunter nodded. "Yup. My employer."
"Well you'd better spit out his name or I'll prove him wrong."
"Not a chance."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, you heard me."
Link narrowed his eyes, his blade still resting on Igos' throat. "Pick up your sword."
"What?"
"I said pick up your sword!" Link shouted, suddenly kicking the man toward his hanger. The man-hunter stumbled to his feet and picked up his sword.
"You're foolish, boy; giving me another chance. You're a dead man now," Igos sneered, moving forward. But Link was exceptionally angry, and attacked the older man viciously. He drove Igos back toward the wall of a low cliff off the northern side of the road.
"If you won't tell me who hired you," Link growled through gritted teeth, "then you're of no use to me!" He maneuvered to a step where he could get inside Igos' defenses, then found his opportunity and plunged his blade into the man's chest, running him through and shoving him up against the wall of the bluff. "What do you say now, you old fool? I told you that I would defend myself," Link reminded him. The bounty hunter simply groaned loudly and collapsed to the side, Link's blade sliding out of his chest.
The young sailor took a deep breath, and hung his arms down limply. Igos coughed one last sputtering cough, and died.
Link then turned to the wounded Groose. The big man was still blubbering about his shoulder.
"Groose," Link said, striding toward him menacingly. The pathetic man looked up at the sailor. Link stopped in front of him. "Who s —"
"It was the king!" Groose whimpered, practically begging Link not to hurt him more.
"The king? How does he even know who I am?"
"He didn't tell us. He only told Igos that he needed you dead and gave us the money," the bounty hunter explained pathetically.
"He already gave you the money?"
"Yes, it's in Igos' saddlebags."
"That idiot... Alright Groose, here's what you're going to do. You're going to go back to Ghirahim —"
"I can't go back there! If I go back as a failure then he'll kill me!"
"Yeah? Well, I'll kill you here and now if you don't," Link said, a distinct edge in his voice. "Besides, you're going to go to him and tell him that you succeeded and that I am dead. Who knows? I might actually be dead by the end of tomorrow."
"Why would that be?"
"Old Ghirahim couldn't know this, but I'm going with the galleon he is sending to confront Captain Zant. It's basically a suicide mission, but I'm going anyway."
Groose's brow furrowed. "Why would you ever do that?"
"You would never understand," Link said frankly. "But that doesn't matter right now. If you go to Ghirahim and tell him that you alone survived the confrontation with me and that you killed me, perhaps he'll reward you more, or perhaps he won't. But you won't get a single green rupee for your troubles until you go and tell Ghirahim that you've disposed of me. Once you've done that, you can come back to Windfall to get your 'wages'. I'll leave them with the innkeeper there."
When Groose reluctantly agreed to Link's terms, the sailor simply left him and took the sack of rupees from Igos' saddlebag. Moving back to where his horse was standing calmly, he mounted Epona again. His hanger in its scabbard once more, he nudged the chestnut mare's sides and she was off at a trot again…
/\
/\/\
He must have fallen asleep on Epona's back, because he jerked awake suddenly and it was light out. His back ached slightly from the awkward bent over position of his inadvertent nap. He found himself on the main street of Windfall, some forty meters from the docks. The familiar smell of salt air penetrated his nostrils and in a second or two he was wide awake. The air was brisk but not cold. It was very early, but a handful of residents went about their morning routines.
He was intimately familiar with Windfall, as he had spent much time here since he had joined the navy. The medium sized town had one main street that the road from Castle Town turned into. Off of it, little alleys and smaller streets branched off leading to various places such as Mrs. Marie's little schoolhouse, Mila's father's massive house, and Zunari's shop.
When the main street hit the sea, it turned into an immense, long pier where great warships were moored. At the waterline though, the street also branched off perpendicularly into one street running along the waterline. On the inland side of the street, shops were lined up, and the street ran north about one hundred meters to a smaller north dock and south about one hundred meters to a medium-sized south dock.
Link dismounted Epona and led her to the town's stable which was owned and operated by Malon, an attractive young woman with flowing auburn locks. Since her father passed away ten years prior, she had assumed ownership of it and she ran it well. When Link arrived at the front door to the stable's office which also happened to be Malon's house, the door was not open yet, so he raised a fist to knock on the door but hesitated. He and Malon had a... complicated history. Regardless, he couldn't take Epona with him on the Divine Beast, so he rapped solidly on the door three times. He took a few steps back and waited. He heard some shuffling inside and a tired voice attempting energy emanated from within. "Be there in just a moment!" Then as he heard a bolt slide free of its lock and the door begin to swing open, she was speaking again. "Sorry, we aren't technically open just yet —" Her voice cut off the moment she saw Link's face. "Link?" she breathed. He began to formulate a response when she flung herself onto him with a tight embrace. "Oh, Link! When I heard about the Loftwing I feared the worst!" She pulled back from him and looked him in the eyes, her watery gaze shifting from one of his to the other. "We heard there were no survivors!"
"Malon," the sailor said quietly, breaking contact with her. "Please. I just need you to take care of Epona for me."
"What? Where are you going now?"
Link's eyes were locked on a groove in a cobblestone between them. He couldn't bring himself to answer her.
"Link?"
"I..." he started.
"The Divine Beast. You're going with them," she said in understanding, her eyes widening. The young man's eyes flicked back up to hers, a slight cringe on his face. "No! How dare you come back here and show me that you're alive and just to leave me again on a suicide mission! You can't do this!"
"Malon, please," Link said, looking around them. Her voice was so loud compared to the otherwise serene coastal morning. He was sure other people would hear her. "I'm sorry. Honestly. But you are the only person I trust with Epona. After all, you know her best..." They were both quiet for some time. Link's jaw clenched with the slight awkwardness, his eyes once again inspecting that crease in the cobblestone.
"I'll take care of Epona," Malon finally said. Link released a breath.
"If I don't return or if you hear about the Div —"
"Shut up." She put a hand on his shoulder. "You have to promise me that you'll come back. For me," she added.
"Malon," Link said, wincing slightly. "We aren't... you know..."
The girl sighed. "I know," she said.
" I can't promise; I'm sorry," Link whispered. He stuffed Epona's reins in her hand and turned to the horse. "Epona..." He stroked her muzzle and put his forehead gently against her cheek. He stroked her neck and turned his head back toward Malon. "I'm sorry," he repeated, taking steps backward. Then he turned and walked away.
He was midway through town when he heard small footsteps scamper up from behind him.
"Link?"
The sailor turned around at the voice. "Ivan!" It was the little leader of the Killer Bees gang.
"Link! You're alive! Did anyone else from the Loftwing make it?"
"No," Link replied softly, his eyes downcast.
"Oh," the boy's excitement dwindled. "Y'know," he began again, "I heard Malon raising her voice earlier, so I snuck out of my bedroom window and went to go check on her. When I saw you, at first I wasn't sure that it was you, and then when I was sure, is still didn't believe it was you. But wait," the boy went on, "I didn't think you and Malon were... you know..."
"We aren't." Link said awkwardly. "We're still friends though."
"Oh, gotcha, so where're ya going now?"
"I need to go give this sack of rupees to Emma over at Happy Hearth Inn, but I also really need to be getting to the HRNS Divine Beast. Ivan, do you think you could take this to Emma for me?"
"Definitely! But wait, why do you need to get to the Divine Beast? Are you going with them to defeat the pirates?!" Link almost chuckled in spite of himself. The boy's optimistic outlook was heart-warming if nothing else.
"Yes, and they will be setting sail soon."
"Yeah I'll take the rupees over to Emma for you, you go kick that Zant's backside for me!"
"I will," Link said with a warm smile and handed the sack over to the boy. "Thanks, Ivan! Tell her to hold on to the rupees for a beefy guy with big red hair, ok?"
"Not for you?"
"They're for a friend of mine," Link lied.
"Oh, gotcha! Ok, big red hair, you got it Link; it's nice to know you're alive!"
As the boy turned and ran in the direction of Emma's inn, Link turned and once again began to make his way toward the docks. Ivan was a good kid with a well-meaning heart. He and his little Killer Bees gang were once somewhat of a menace in the streets of Windfall, but after Link had gotten a hold of them, they had straightened out. That was years ago now. They had come a long way.
/\
/\/\
As always, Admiral Eagus' Ship-of-the-Line, HRNS Din, along with a couple of larger high-end galleons were anchored nearby in the mouth of the Zora River. HRNS Divine Beast was moored at the south pier next to another galleon and a brig. At the dock located one hundred or so meters north of the main dock, two frigates, HRNS Darunia and HRNS Fierce Deity were moored. Even as he urged Epona on to the southerly wharf where HRNS Divine Beast was moored, a brig nearly identical to HRNS Loftwing glided smoothly into the port. Link's stomach turned slightly as he remembered his old vessel. But this ship was not the ship which he so loyally served on for 5 years. This ship was HRNS Zeffa, whose captain Link had gotten to know fairly well over his time in the navy.
Captain Smith was an older man who always had a long and full white beard. In his prime, the man had been a renowned swordsman, but his old age made him a seasoned strategist. He was a close friend to Admiral Eagus and had befriended Link in a heartbeat. Link hadn't seen any of his fellow navy men since HRNS Loftwing's run-in with Captain Zant, so none of them knew that he was alive.
Soon he was approaching the south pier, and he made his way to where HRNS Divine Beast was moored.
Though it was fully light, the sun hadn't quite breached the eastern horizon, and it was still quite early. He reached the galleon and looked up at its hull from the jetty. Just beneath the bowsprit, a figurehead of a wolf snarled out at anyone who would look at it. The vessel's sails were furled still, and there was little to be heard coming from the deck. He stepped onto the gangway and began to ascend to the deck. He knew the crew was on deck, and he knew exactly what they were doing. A moment later, he stepped up onto the gunwale and balanced himself with a nearby rope.
All-around on the deck and evidently below deck were men sitting, legs crossed, with their hands resting on their knees and their eyes closed. They were praying, Link knew. Before every abnormally dangerous voyage, any hylian crew would get to their ship early and pray to the goddesses for protection and strength in the up and coming voyage.
Link cast his eyes about the men on the deck, looking for Captain Auru. Not seeing him on the main deck, Link figured the man was most likely up on the quarterdeck, so he made his way to the steep stairs that would lead him there. He was right. The grey-haired captain sat cross-legged on the quarterdeck near the helm. Link could see his lips moving slightly, but no audible sound came out. As the captain heard footsteps approach, he opened his eyes. They widened, his bushy grey eyebrows arcing high.
"Link?!" he swept off his three-cornered hat and stood quickly, stretching out a hand to the other sailor.
"Good morning," Link responded, taking Auru's hand firmly in his own.
"You're alive!" Auru commented, a few seamen around them noticing him now.
"Indeed," Link said carefully, "and I would like to join you on your voyage. I know what your mission is." The captain's face grew solemn.
He was clearly hesitant and grimaced, but said, "I won't question your decision. It will be good to have a swordsman of your caliber on deck. Welcome to HRNS Divine Beast; goddesses protect us."
\-][- /...to be continued...\ -][-/
A/N - Here we go! Will HRNS Divine Beast survive the battle with Volvagia?
