Chapter 75: Can We Be Serious Here?

…

The next morning brought Zelda, Janni, and Irleen to the doorway into Link's borrowed room. That was as far as they walked before they realized who was in the room with him. Irleen had been the first, and she immediately grabbed Janni and Zelda a few minutes later before they themselves could stumble into the room. Zelda and Irleen occupied one side of the doorway while Janni stood alone on the opposite side.

"What are we looking at here?" Janni whispered to the other two.

"I don't know," Irleen quietly admitted from her hunched position, "but I'm sure we should be dead by now."

Zelda, standing above Irleen, dared a glance inside. "You do not suppose…" she uttered before the heat rising to her face signaled her to abort her thoughts.

"I know what you're thinking," Irleen told her, "but I don't think they did it. They're both still dressed."

"Besides, Link's a coward like that," Janni added. This caused Zelda and Irleen to aim bewildered looks at her. She rolled her eyes at them and said, "He had to work up his nerve to just try touching her in his sleep. He's not gonna spontaneously have sex with her."

Irleen quickly twisted to slap a hand over Zelda's mouth, muffling her raised voice for the brief moment she tried to ask a question. Instead, Irleen asked, "When did he do that?"

Janni pointed to her right eye, closing the left, and asked, "Didn't you ever wonder what caused his other eye to bleed?"

"Wai—…" Irleen cut herself off as she tried to process the information. Zelda gently removed her hand so she could breathe again. "You mean he tried to touch her in one of the Dreamweaver's dreams?" Janni, mad grin on her face, nodded. "And she stabbed him for it?"

"She stabbed him before he could do it," Janni corrected. She noticed how red Zelda's face was becoming and asked, "Does that surprise you, Princess?"

"Ah—… we-well…" Zelda tried rubbing her eyes as if to dismiss her blushing as sleep-induced. "I-I am quite certain that it is a healthy expression of his hormones."

"Uh huh…" Janni replied with a smug look on her face.

"Should we wake him?" Irleen asked.

"Why?" Zelda asked. "This visit is supposed to be one of relaxation."

Janni's grin became wider. "Not for Link, though."

"Wha—" Zelda began to ask.

"Hey, is everything okay here?" Irleen and Zelda jolted in response to Line talking to them as he stepped past them. Not only was his speaking at a normal volume jarring, but they had a second to realize that he was about to barge in on his captain.

"Line, Line, Li—" Irleen pleaded with one hand reaching out to grab him. However, his stride was fast enough that he was already in the doorway before she could snag his trouser leg.

His casual smile fell to a stunned gape. He could instantly tell that the mass on the bed was not just Link. He recognized the black bodysuit laden with pockets as the same one Layna was always wearing. That on its own really did not surprise him. What caught his attention was that Link was lying on his side with Layna pressed against his back, her arms wrapped around his chest under his arms. The bed appeared to approve of this position, having trapped both of them in a large divot.

Line's voice rose to a shout with his next words. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"

Layna snapped awake. In the next second, Line had been tackled into the hallway with one of her throwing blades pressed to his neck. His own expression had switched to fear at her crimson-faced fury. "LAYNA, NO!" Zelda and Irleen instantly screamed. Janni, by contrast, fell against the wall laughing uncontrollably.

"What's going on?" Link called from the bed. He sat up to see Layna on top of Line (whom he could not readily identify) just outside the door. "Layna, get off. Who's that laughing out there?" Layna slowly pulled the blade away from Line's throat.

"Would you at leas—guh—hkkkkh!" Line tried asking before Layna swiftly jabbed his throat with a finger, causing him to choke and wheeze.

"Layna!" Link snapped as he moved to the edge of the bed. This caused Layna to jump out of sight. Zelda and Irleen attempted to find her only to realize that she had disappeared somewhere in the hallway behind them. "Who else is out there?" Link asked, still wondering where the laughter was coming from.

Irleen and Zelda looked at each other. "Run," Irleen said. Zelda did not really understand how she had let herself get caught up in Irleen's panic, but she immediately turned and ran down the hallway with Irleen close on her heels.

Link heard the running and jumped off the bed to chase them. However, upon reaching the doorway, he realized that they had ducked out of sight before he could even see who it was. Instead, he turned around to see Janni seated against the wall, her arms wrapped around her ribs as she continued to cackle. Then he looked down at Line, who was gasping for air as he rolled around on the floor. "There is something seriously wrong with you guys…" he commented aloud.

…

~~10/28

~~I forgot to report yesterday; we found the Sorians. They made a tree the size of a mountain! We must have missed it when we tried going through this area two years ago. Captain Koroul is here with his crew, and Irleen is back with her family. I suppose now would be a good time to unload a couple of things. Elder Ukhool asked if we wouldn't mind leaving the Mystics' items here. I think we can live without them. And I've been holding onto something for a while for Captain Koroul.

…

Link met with Captain Koroul and Elder Ukhool at the base of Anlah Takeen around noon. He had brought a small box to carry items, something which was easy for him to walk with back down from the Island Symphony. The two Sorians were waiting for him outside the tree, and he walked across the terrace so that he could set the box down on an empty bench.

The first item he removed was a small book with a grey cover frayed by storage. He offered this to Captain Koroul. "When we found your ship, your crew had already been buried by the locals," he explained as Koroul took the book with a confused expression. "We left their identity tags to mark the graves, but a student from Library Town copied the tags into this book."

Koroul opened the book and had to turn a couple pages before he found a smear of charcoal on one page. He had to squint to see that Sorian letters had been copied through rubbing on the page. "Wokeen…" he uttered. He turned the page. "Actin…" He turned the page again and kept doing so as he read each name. "Cotahn… Pirak… Hatick… Laneet… Towan… Palk… Otap… Heetan… Kal… Ilna…" He closed the book after the last name and closed his eyes for a moment. Ukhool gave him a curious look and was on the verge of asking him what was wrong before the captain opened his eyes again and addressed Link. "The twelve names in this book are the same as those that never returned two years ago. I knew only some of them might have been killed when the Smiling Gunner attacked the Horizon's Eye. Now I know that those twelve airmen are not only deceased, but have been laid to rest with my vessel. Thank yo—" Ukhool broke off for a moment as his voice cracked. He used one hand to press on his eyes. Although he seemed to defeat the notion that he was going to cry, Link could still see the glossiness in his eyes. "Thank you, Captain. Thank you for bringing them home."

Link did not see why Koroul was trying to be so stoic; just listening to his words had already dropped two tears down Link's cheeks. Link nodded and said, "I'm… sorry we couldn't do more."

"Just knowing that these twelve are at rest somewhere in this world is enough," Koroul said. He took in a deep breath. "I will have the—… I will inform their families right away. Their days of hoping are over; I should take care of it myself." He nodded to Ukhool before turning to walk away.

As he left, Link saw another elderly Sorian approaching from the same direction. Ukhook held out a hand and said, "Captain, this is Elder Lauhat," he said. "He is one of the Mystics among our town."

Link looked up at a tall, dark-skinned Sorian with an intense gaze. Both his head and arm plumage was royal blue, and he wore a sleeveless robe of a slightly lighter shade of blue. Link could see a discoloration on the robe's left breast and, upon focusing on it, saw that it was an outline of the Mystics' symbol embroidered in blue thread as if to hide it. "Lauhat, this is Captain Link o—"

"Captain Link of the Island Symphony," Lauhat finished in a deep voice. "The Boy-Captain who slayed Cunimincus and visited the Lost Library. A Hylian lucky to survive horrors that have killed Sorians for centuries." Link, about to offer out his hand, paused the motion as he stared bewildered at Lauhat. "I ask that you not be so put off, Captain; knowing things is our way."

"Yes, but could you make it less awkward?" Ukhool asked. Link bit down on one lip in attempt to not laugh at Ukhool's irritated tone.

"That is a convenience," Lauhat told him. "Conveniences hide the Truth." He turned his bright, amber eyes back to Link. "You are here to pass along objects made by the Mystics of the Lost Library. I would like to hear about them."

"Oh—sure," Link said, shaking his head. He reached for the box and pulled out the only item protruding from the top. He laid the sword across both hands and offered it out. "I found this first. This sword's blade can cut things in the dream, and that cut would appear in reality." Once Lauhat took the sword into a long, bony hand, Link patted the thin bandage on his left side. "I got this wound from it."

"Transposition of fantastic events…" Lauhat said, his steely gaze broken by a new form of awe as he looked at the sword. "A deeper understanding of magic than we ever knew existed… How interesting."

"You actually have terminology for this?" Ukhool asked.

"No," Lauhat told him, still admiring the sword. "The terminology does not exist. The language does not exist."

Link cast Lauhat a confused look and showed it to Ukhool. Ukhool heaved an irritated sigh. "All Mystics say that," he told Link.

Link just shrugged and pulled out the goggles next. "These gogg—" Lauhat held up one hand and shushed him. Link paused. After Lauhat completed his appreciation of the sword, he slung it onto one shoulder and gave Link a nod. Link started over, "These goggles let you see things from the dream. When I was awake, they let me see the Dreamweaver watching over all of my crew. When I was in the dream, it let me see things that the Dreamweaver was hiding from sight."

"I see," Lauhat said as he accepted the goggles. "Sight to find fantasy within both a fantasy and reality. The creation of fantasy within fantasy is a difficult work of mental acuity to begin with. To nullify such would require so much more. And yet, to see the fantasy within reality itself…"

Link decided to wait as Lauhat turned and looked over the goggles with the same fascination as the sword. Ukhool let a minute pass before asking Link, "How many more objects do you have for him?"

"Just two more," Link told him. Ukhool sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

When Lauhat tucked the goggles into a pocket, Link already had the lantern in one hand. "This… doesn't really do much," Link admitted. "It only lights up in a dream. If you look at it, it shows you everything around you. It even colors different things so you can tell what they are." As Lauhat took the lantern, Link awkwardly added, "Uh… I… kinda broke the glass out of one side. Sorry."

"The gift of intuitive sight within a simple item," Lauhat said as he studied the lantern. "Intelligence in light. A superb example of our search for the Truth." Ukhool grunted in response, and Link caught Ukhool irately poking his own forehead. "How was it broken?" Lauhat asked.

"Oh. I dropped it."

Lauhat's appraisal stopped to give Link a stupefied look. "You… dropped it?" he asked. Link nodded. Lauhat gave the lantern a curious look. Then he asked, "You have one more item?"

"Yeah," Link said, quickly reaching into the box. "Uh… the last item, I kinda… kinda dropped over the side. But I have a scroll from the Mystics' meeting hall. From what Irleen said, it was the last scroll written by the Mystics before the Dreamweaver killed them. We… thought you might be interested."

Lauhat took the scroll and stared at it. Whereas Link had been expecting similar appraisal for something written from fellows of another place and time, Lauhat just gave it a frustrated look. Then, Lauhat flipped the scroll over his shoulder. "Hey!" snapped a passing Sorian who had nearly taken the scroll to his head.

"Thank you for your contributions, Captain Link," Lauhat told him, inclining his head. Then he turned and began walking away with the three items while the unnamed Sorian glared at him.

Link shrugged his shoulders, mildly offended that Lauhat would so easily throw the scroll away. He turned to ask Ukhool about it only to realize that the elder was about as annoyed as him. With one hand pinching the bridge of his nose, Ukhool heaved a sigh. "I hate these guys…" he grumbled to himself.