Chapter IV
While Link was paying his respects to Darmani and Mikau, the Sages had gone about hiring an army. The Clock Town soldiers had refused to help, saying that their duty in Termina came first, and the Zora did as well. The Gorons had too; but they had offered advice.
It seemed there was another dimensional gate in Termina. It was located in Snowhead, near the Goron Racetrack. There was a concealed trapdoor next to the entrance. This lead to a place called Gyrdia, a land with a large amount of warriors. Very, very skilled warriors. Gyrdia also held highly skilled sorcerers, ones that could fight, or assist those fighting. Many Gyrdians would offer their services—for a price. A very high one, if you wanted a decent-sized fighting force. The Gorons had hired ten of them three years ago—it cost them five hundred thousand rupees. And those had been warriors—sorcerers were more expensive.
But it was a solution. An expensive one—but Hyrule was worth two million rupees to them.
The thing was, no one had that kind of money.
When Link heard the price, he swore. "How can we get that kind of money?!"
"I managed to convince the Mayor to lend us five thousand rupees. So we have ten thousand, minus living expenses. The Gorons, Deku, and Zora refused to lend us anything. We'll need jobs, of course."
"How can eight people with cheap jobs raise a million and nine-hundred ninety thousand rupees? It would take about a hundred years!"
At this, Zelda just shook her head and said, "I know."
Link walked from the bomb shop, where they refused to hire him, to the lottery, where he got the same. The Curiosity Shop had Rauru, and Darunia was already working at the Trading Post.
There were no jobs in south or north Clock Town, and every job in east had been taken: Zelda was now Mayor D'Tour's assistant, Saria was in the inn, and Naburoo worked in the archery range. Impa was a soldier, and Ruto worked for the fisherman in Great Bay.
Link ended up going to Romani Ranch, asking for a job.
"Are you—you're the fairy boy! Grasshopper!"
"Uh, yeah, I am." Link felt kind of weird talking to her…
"So, did you want something?"
Link tried to shrug it off. "Yeah, I kind of need a job."
Romani giggled. "Sure, I could use a hand around here. You know, with Cremia leaving and all."
"Cremia left?"
"Yeah, about three months ago. She just disappeared, her and all her stuff."
"Did you tell the police?"
"Yeah, but they couldn't find her." She shrugged. "Well, it's okay. But it's a lot of work."
"Okay. How much would you pay me?" Link asked.
They worked out the deal. To save a little money, so the Sages would have one less room to book (Saria got the employee's room), Link got the spare room in Romani Ranch. They were on their way.
It took them a full year to get a million rupees. A full year of working cheap jobs, living in either a room in the inn or in a ranch, and eating only the most basic meals (partly to save money, and partly because Romani was a horrible cook). A full year of nightmares about Hyrule; a full year of the worries that by the time they got back with force enough to drive out the Odentians, they would be too late.
After the year was up, they decided they should go to Gyrdia. There would be better jobs there—if there weren't, they could always come back to Termina.
The eight gathered around the trapdoor. They had found it after a minute of searching. Epona was with Romani—Link had come here the day before and decided it was too small for her.
Slowly, Link lowered himself into the hole. He fell.
Once he hit, he ran to the side. He didn't particularly want Zelda to fall on his head.
She landed softly on the bouncy moss, and stepped to the side. One by one, the Sages fell. Link wasn't watching, though. He looked around.
They seemed to be in a forest, but he could hear the noises of a large town nearby. The trees were normal, and so were the birds, and everything else he could see. Except for the fact that the trees were much taller, he might as well have been in the Lost Woods.
As Darunia fell, the last to come, they walked by unspoken agreement towards the noises of town. As they cleared the forest, Link saw that this was no town—it was a city. It stretched in every direction but backwards for a long way, and the buildings were tall, maybe five stories average.
They stopped a passing man, and asked him where they were. He stared for a second, but answered with, "Aidas."
"Which is…" Zelda prompted.
The man stared more, but said, "The capital of Gyrdia."
Ruto exclaimed, "Good! Do you know where we can hire a team of soldiers and sorcerers?"
The man stared even more, then turned.
"That's not the kind of thing you shout about like that!" Naburoo hissed.
Impa noticed that Ruto and Darunia seemed to be getting a lot of stares. Apparently there were no Gorons or Zora here, though there were some other races that no one seemed to recognize. There were tall, sleek aquatic people similar to the Zora, but were silverish and gleamed in the light. There were also a race of scaled people with wings—they were tall and sleek as well, but obviously designed for the air and not for water.
The group found an affordable hotel, checked in, and left. Everyone went there separate ways, to meet back at the hotel by nightfall.
Link set out immediately for the back alleys and dark pubs, to find out where he could hire a group of warriors. Naburoo took the same path.
Zelda and Impa tried to get the government's help. After telling their story, the government wanted proof—namely, the rest of their group. They were forced to wait for nightfall.
Darunia and Ruto went back to the hotel almost immediately, disgusted at the fact that they were unable to hold a conversation—everyone just stared at them.
Saria went looking for a job, but no one would hire her—they didn't believe she was older that twelve.
Rauru also set out for a job, and found one as a salesperson in a variety store.
The next morning, the group went back to the government. After being paid fifty thousand rupees, they decided to asses the threat in Hyrule with two of their best. One was an outstanding swordsman decent with magic and the bow named Blade. The other was one of the best sorcerers known to this or any world (as they said) named Phoenix. They said that in Gyrdia, people were named after their skills. His name was Phoenix because he was actually able to become one at will—an extremely rare and useful gift.
Blade and Phoenix met the group half an hour later. Blade had a golden scabbard on his back, and a golden quiver next to that, but crossing it—so he would need to use his left hand to draw his sword, his right to get an arrow. Noticing him looking, Blade said he was ambidextrous. On top of the sword and quiver was a golden shield that looked like it could reflect light. Blade seemed about Link's age. He had blond hair and amber eyes, and was wearing a gold tunic.
Phoenix, on the other hand, had flaming red hair, red eyes, and wore a red tunic. He was probably in his mid-twenties. He had some kind of thing, Link didn't know what it was called (though it was like a scabbard) for a quarterstaff on his back.
Link and the Sages filled Blade and Phoenix in on what had happened to Hyrule a year ago. Blade shook his head and Phoenix whistled.
"Odentians? Hey, General, we'll need Lightning and Snipe, even for scouting!" Blade called across the large room. The general sighed and called in Lightning and Snipe.
Lightning turned out to be one of the bird-people, black as Phoenix was red and Blade gold, and Snipe a silver fish-person. Link and the Sages found out that Lightning was "as fast as lightning," in addition to being able, on occasion, to actually control lightning. Snipe had "incredible accuracy" with a bow, as well as being excellent in martial arts.
The group filled Lightning and Snipe in on what had happened and their job, and agreed to meet, with all their gear, at the portal to Termina at dawn the next day.
Link spent the rest of the day looking around Aidas for ammo. He found a nice little weapons shop where he got bombs, bombchu, a bigger quiver and arrows to fill it, and—the thing he had been looking for so long but never found—a hookshot!
Link slept uneasily that night. He was having the nightmare again.
It was the one where Link was fighting the Odentians, and he had killed them all but one.
That one suddenly became Ruto. She rushed towards him, knocking his weapons out of his hands. She kissed him.
Then, suddenly, Ruto disappeared. Link found himself in a tank, as a Zora. He wasn't Mikau—some other Zora.
Link turned around and saw Ruto, sitting on a bunch of eggs. She got up and they hatched.
Out came seven little Zora babies. They swam towards him, but suddenly turned into Odentians, full-sized.
Link started swimming away, but found he couldn't. He wasn't a Zora anymore, he was a Kokiri. Saria.
The Odentians swam closer. Link, in Saria's body, couldn't swim nearly as fast as them. They caught up with him…
Link was suddenly in Darunia's body, fine somehow underwater. He watched the Odentians kill Saria, then come for him…
The scene repeated, him inhabiting each Sage's body in the order he had awakened them, with the exception of Rauru. When Link had gotten to Naburoo's body, he saw Rauru's floating nearby…
Link made it to Zelda's body. He couldn't swim away, couldn't do anything…
They came for Zelda.
Link woke up sweating. It was still dark out, but Link saw Darunia up, so he got up too.
"Bad dream?" Darunia asked quietly when Link neared him. Link just nodded.
Soon everyone was up. Link got all his weapons together, and led the way back to the portal.
By dawn, the group had reached the portal. Blade and the others were already there.
Link took out his hookshot, and shot it all the way to the top of the wall. This one had a long chain.
When he reached the top, Link used his momentum to force the trapdoor open and climbed up the edge. Then he used the unfolding ladder they had kept here to let the others up.
Once everyone was up, the eleven set off for Clock Town, with Link going a little further and leading back eleven horses.
Lightning looked insulted that he should be expected to ride something. Phoenix did, also. Snipe said he appreciated the offer, but he wouldn't be able to ride it, as he was too big. Ruto said the same. Darunia told Link he'd probably crush the poor thing. Blade admitted that every time he tried to ride a horse, he fell flat on his face.
"Does anyone actually want the horse?"
No one said yes.
Blade told Link that Odentians loved to fight enemies on horseback because they were so much easier to kill.
Feeling rather stupid, Link walked back the horses. He then led the way back to Hyrule.