Notes: Like the Rito, the Gerudo, and how they are portrayed in this oneshot, are from The Legend of Zelda series.
The next few days were spent continuing training, as well as their investigations. Having placed their suspicions on the satyrs, Daphne had sent word to the Rito sailors to keep on the alert for them as they continued their training. The others were once again perfecting Protect on the beach, while Vincent was now teaching Daphne how to cast the Reflect Barrier by tossing small spheres of what seemed to be clouds for her to reflect back. Out of the corner of her eye, Daphne could see a large, orange fish watching her from the water with interest, and she had a pretty good feeling that it was the same fish she had saved on her first day in Fa'Diel.
She turned her attention back to her Reflect Barrier; she was getting the hang of it fairly quickly (the both of them were relieved that her inability to cast Sleep didn't seem to be affecting anything else), which allowed them to talk about the satyr matter as Daphne continued to practice.
Vincent had suspected that the satyrs would lay low for a few days, until they were sure that no one had figured out that they were brewing a love potion.
"They can't possibly be afraid of me," Daphne pointed out, as she parried another cloud. "They know that I'm not experienced."
"They are afraid of you—because you're my heiress," Vincent reminded her. "And they're afraid of me because of my power—that's what I'm known for."
Daphne blinked, but was distracted as she heard Hasn the Rito calling to them from the sky.
Vincent and the gang greeted him as he landed.
"Good day to you, Great Mage," Hasn said, with a bow. "And to your apprentice, as well."
"Good day to you, too," Vincent replied. "I take it you bring news?"
"I do," the bird said. "I arrive ahead of Captain Navya of the local Gerudo settlement here in Fa'Diel. The Gerudo hail from the same homeland as us Rito—as such, we have strong ties with each other. When you asked us to look into the drought, they were the next ones we told about it—and we did so again, when you cautioned us that the satyrs might be behind it. The Gerudo have been trying to investigate the seaside cavern for proof of the satyrs' activities there, but…" He trailed off.
"What seems to be the trouble?" Vincent asked.
"It would appear that investigation of the cavern requires skills beyond those of the Gerudo," Hasn replied. "Captain Navya was wondering if… Ah, here is the captain now; you'll hear it directly!"
Daphne and the others turned to see a woman, dressed in armor and with a scimitar at her side, approach them.
"The captain's a girl?" Flim-Flam blurted out.
"Why is that so surprising?" Daphne asked, arching an eyebrow at him.
"Uhhhh… like you Americans say, I'm gonna take the Fifth," the boy decided, after a moment.
"Wise choice," Vincent mused.
"Sav'aaq, Great Mage," the captain said, raising a hand to salute Vincent in greeting.
"Sav'aaq, Captain," Vincent returned. "Hasn was just telling us of your investigations of the seaside cavern."
"That is true, Great Mage," the captain nodded. "However, our attempts at investigating seem to be thwarted at every attempt."
"…The satyrs?" Vincent asked, with a frown.
"We have no proof," the captain said, ruefully. "Indeed, we wonder how they could possibly behind the bizarre malady that has overtaken our people—we have not seen the satyrs, and we know they cannot cast spells. And yet, every time we attempt to investigate the seaside cavern that houses their potion mushroom harvest, members of the investigation party fall inexplicably ill—they are conscious, but are listless and unresponsive, no matter how we try to bring them to awareness."
"It's true, satyrs can't cast spells, unless they have a wand or staff," Vincent agreed. "Daphne, did you see any—?"
"I didn't see any wands or staves while I was in their little shop," she insisted. "Unless they had them well-hidden, there weren't any. All they had were those panpipes—they all seemed to be musicians."
"Satyrs are gifted with the power of music, yes," Vincent nodded. "Still, they wouldn't be able to cast actual spells with those panpipes—they could play bewitching tunes, or use hidden wands or staves to cast spells, but, in that case, the incantations of the spells would have been audible."
"Exactly," the captain replied. "We heard no music nor any incantations—nothing that would suggest that the satyrs were doing anything. And then… the sickness began to hit us at home."
"It's spread?" Vincent asked, concerned.
"I don't see how," the captain said, shaking her head. "We quarantined the patients, and yet, in the last couple of days, those of our number on guard duty outside our village gates have been stricken—again, with no sign of the satyrs in sight."
"Like, you have guards outside your village?" Shaggy gulped. "Just what is out there that you gotta guard against?"
"Aside from satyrs?" the captain asked. "We live in the desert, so there are numerous monsters to be wary of—dragons, giant subterranean land fish, Cyclopes, Chimeras, stone giants—"
"I'm sorry I asked…"
"Rhi'm sorry rhou asked, too," Scooby shuddered.
"Wow, we haven't seen any of those yet!" Scrappy exclaimed.
"I imagine the Great Mage is very good at keeping you away from all of that—a lot of these monsters are far from most populated areas, but our desert village isn't as secure," she replied. "However… I must ask the Great Mage if he could possibly spare us some aid at our village with this illness going around."
"…You mean, us, go to your village?" Shaggy asked, his eyes wide. "In the middle of the desert with the dragons and the giant land fish and… all that!?"
"Actually, you will not be able to enter their village," Hasn informed Shaggy. "I have never been there myself—no man is allowed to set foot in the Gerudo's village, much like the original Gerudo settlement in our homeland."
"Wait, what?" Flim-Flam asked.
"We Gerudo are all women," the captain confirmed, with a nod. "There hasn't been a male born to our kind in thousands of years; those seeking to start families leave our village and wed outsiders, but their daughters are always welcome to join us—and the mothers are always permitted to visit. We also welcome back widows and divorcees. And we also welcome women of all races seeking shelter, or those just passing through. We have two settlements at a nearby oasis—one for men passing through, and the other that is for both men and women. But we ask that, for our village itself, that we be given our space."
"I believe that presents us with a conundrum," Vincent pointed out. "How am I supposed to help if I can't enter the village?"
"I believe our mayor can be persuaded to grant you special permission to enter, given who you are," the captain said. "However, I don't deny that it would be extremely awkward. To that end, we were hoping…" She trailed off, glancing at Daphne, who stared back at her with wide eyes.
"Waaaaaait a minute," Daphne said. "You want me to look at the patients? I'm not a doctor!"
"The best medical practitioners have been unable to get any change in the patients' conditions," the captain said. "I believe a healing spell is the only thing that will help at this point."
"Sounds like a simple casting of Esuna," Vincent said, with a nod. "Daphne, I think you can handle it."
"On my own!?" she blurted out.
"…I have faith in you," Vincent assured her. "I'll be right outside the village gates—you can keep the link to my crystal active if you want."
"…I don't know about this," she admitted. "And we still don't know what caused it, if it's a magical source."
"Take time to discuss the matter," the captain said. "Hasn and I will be at the inn in the nearest town; you can meet us there with your answer—and whatever terms you demand. I can say without hesitation that any aid you can spare us will be most appreciated."
She inclined her head into a polite bow as she took her leave of Vincent; Hasn also bowed, following with her, leaving Daphne to scratch her head in confusion.
"What just happened…?" she asked.
"It would appear that you received your first legitimate request as a mage," Vincent informed her. "The first, of course, being that of the satyrs, but you were too smart for that, thank goodness…"
"Rheah, rhank goodness," Scooby echoed.
"…I guess…" Daphne said. "Are we…? Are we going to help them?"
"The request was, initially, for you," Vincent reminded her. "Therefore, the decision is yours. It is well within your rights to refuse."
"But if I refuse, then what happens?" she asked.
"We hope that I am granted permission by the mayor to temporarily bypass the women-only rule of the village, and that it isn't too awkward," he replied, honestly.
"…Oh…" As a woman, Daphne could sympathize with the Gerudo villagers; goodness knows that, as a reporter, she'd had to deal with plenty of men who had decided to come on strong, and she suspected they must have, as well, for them to have instated that rule. "And what was that 'whatever terms you demand' bit, too?"
"That is something else you'll have to get used to as a mage; your power will be both revered and feared—especially since you are my heiress," Vincent warned her. "You recall that, before Hasn knew my name, he merely addressed me as 'Wizard?'"
"That's right," Shaggy remembered. "And after you told him your name, it was 'Great Mage.'"
"Yeah, and that lady captain called you that, too," Flim-Flam added.
"And so did the satyrs—and they were terrified of you, too," Daphne mused.
"My name is as well-known here as it is in our world among the magical society," Vincent nodded. "It evokes respect and fear." He glanced at Daphne. "Are you ready for that to happen to you, too?"
"Well, like I said, I don't care what anyone else thinks of me," she insisted. "But if I can be known as a kind and helpful mage, I'd like to try for that. And this may be a good place to start."
"And so…?" Vincent asked.
"I'll try it—try and heal those Gerudo who fell ill," she finished, with a nod. "And I'll try it alone."
Vincent's expression softened.
"As I said, you are more than welcome to keep the communication line to the crystal open. Consider this your first open-book exam."
"Rhood luck," Scooby encouraged.
"Yeah, you can do it!" Scrappy added.
"Let's hope so," she sighed.
Hopefully, she wouldn't let anyone down.