Princess of the Wild

by InfiniteDragon

A trap was laid before the danger was known, and a minor change to the timeline- a miniscule scar- left a Princess unable to access her divine birthright. As a result, her Champion had to step in at the last moment. Breath of the Wild with Zelda as the main character, her memories completely gone but forced to rise to the challenge of saving her Champion, and her Kingdom. Haremish.

15. Chapter 14: Proxima, Pathos

A/N: I do not, in general, write kid stories. My adult ratings are for a reason. My stories feature: violence (often graphic), Sexuality (almost always graphic), and worse. The villains in my stories are typically very villainous. The heroes are not always heroic- even if most of the time they are. Readers should expect a blanket trigger warning on everything I write. Themes of dubious- or non-consenting sex, domination, violence, gore, and character death- including major characters- exist in many of them. I do not condone such activities in real life, but unfortunately they are real in our world, and I don't feel that I could write fiction fairly without including them.

Finally, if you like this story or any of my other stories, please consider supporting me on 'The Pat-r-on Site'. You can find it by going to Pat [r] 3on DOTcom/ KajaWilder (you must have NSFW filter turned off to find my page). I can only continue my current (or faster) pace of updates if I can pay my bills. I'm not there yet, but I'm definitely getting you think about how much enjoyment you get out of a movie- about two hours worth of fun- for $10-20- you are getting far greater value by supporting a writer like myself. If even one in twenty people that read this supported me on Pa Tree On at any but the lowest level, I would be able to easily continue focusing on writing more... and you could read more. I'm going to keep writing anyway. But the pace would be and will be a lot faster if you can spare a few dollars monthly. My lowest tier isn't even a small drink at a theater, any more. Is it worth it? Is it worth it to you? If so, then please support me.
Of course, you can ALSO find more of the same stories there. Most everything here (including FwB, PoW, and TaL) are posted here at least a week after the lowest tier's delayed post on Pa Tree On.

Sorry it's late (again!). Real life is crazy these days. Keeping on the post schedule even with 6+ chapters written ahead is a pain. Hopefully things will calm down in a few weeks. Oh, and FwB's next chapter will still probably be posting tomorrow, on schedule. Might even just post it tonight so I don't forget, if I have any energy left after another busy day.
EDIT: For those confused by the 'new chapter' alert, sorry. This is NOT a new chapter, but one was added (Chapter 3: A Princess' Power) that was missed earlier. I had originally skipped the short chapter because not having the numbers between FFnet's chapters and my chapters (there's a prologue) not in line. But once someone pointed it out to me, I decided to just fix it. So now all the 'chapters' that FFnet names will be one higher than the actual chapters, that's why this appears as Ch. 15 now. Sorry. Next one should still be on time though.

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Ch. 14:

Proxima, Pathos

Zelda's whole body ached as she woke the next day, cold and miserable, barely warmed by the sun streaming into the Bosh Kala Shrine's inset area. The clouds were long gone now, the sky blue and clear with a few distant birds visible, but there was a chill in the air she hadn't expected or wanted after the day of rain, and the long, terrifying night that followed.

The memory of it made her question her sanity for a moment, as Zelda's mind turned first to the horror of the crimson moon and what that strange, familiar voice had told her about the monsters returning. After that, the streak of radiant light from a falling star that had her chasing it across the horizon from here, running like her life had depended on it, careless of all danger.

Her arms were scratched from tree-branches she had narrowly avoided, and one arrow that almost brought her down. She hadn't even seen an archer in that Bokoblin camp she had torn through. Worse than all of that for the princess was the pain in her muscles and joints. She was really not used to, or ready for, that level of activity at all, and especially not for such a prolonged period.

And all for, what, two shining baubles the size of her fist?

With a scowl, Zelda pulled one free of her pouch and looked down at it before she stood up.

Almost at once the frustration and confusion faded. No... this was... alright. It was worth it. These were... powerful. Magical. Strong.

She needed them, both of them. And more, if she could find them.

With a gentle smile, Zelda stowed the star fragment away once more, then groaned as she pushed to her feet. The feeling of needing, wanting, the little light remained, though it started to fade the moment it was out of sight. She had no idea what told her that she needed them, aside from the fragments themselves perhaps, but even without her memories to aid her, the princess knew the spherical crystals carried a depth of magical energy within them she could scarcely comprehend. Nothing compared to the might of the Calamity, perhaps, but more than she imagined a mighty wizard might be able to call upon.

How she knew that, the woman could not say, but she was certain it was correct. Perhaps she'd seen a few, even held one or two, before, in her old life. But call her they had, and she'd been helpless to resist the compulsion to run after them.

"Doesn't matter now," Zelda muttered to herself, "I have them now. I'll either find a use for them, or not. At least I got another Spirit Orb, and a safe place to retreat to if the path ahead gets too dangerous. I'm glad I remembered Travel Gates at the last moment... that... Guardian. I was sure I was going to die."

"Messin' with one o' them usually does kill a body," a firm, masculine voice said from a short distance away.

Zelda started. "Uh- Ah! Um... Hello. Sorry, I didn't see you." She kept a wary hand on the first weapon she touched, which happened to be the farmer's hoe she had gained the afternoon before.

"Ah, my apologies, miss," the man said, his face turning scarlet, "I just happened to notice you there, and was stoppin' to see if you were okay. Been walkin' the bridge all night, but I couldn't see you till the sun broke."

Zelda nodded slowly, eyeing the man warily. It wasn't that she was paranoid, and the man didn't seem dangerous per se, but he was carrying a plain but functional looking spear, and had some kind of handle sticking out from behind his back on the left side, where she would have carried a short blade if she had one still. He was tall, nearly as tall as her father, lanky-looking, with a square jaw and narrow eyes. Brown, like his short-cropped hair, but a few shades lighter. A few scars littered his face, and his clothing was simple but included pads of hardened leather on his shoulders, elbows, and knees, while a full pack likely carried quite a few supplies. "I'm- Z- Zina," she said, unsure why she had given a different name.

He wasn't shy about shooting several appreciative glances at her as she slowly stepped further into the light, and soon an equally cautious but still somehow warm smile stole over him as he got a better look at her. "Oh, where're my manners. I'm Brigo. I keep watch on the bridge, make sure the monsters from the west don't cross t'the east, and keep it intact so trade and travelers can still cross. Best I can, anyway."

"Oh," Zelda replied, surprised. He did carry himself like someone confident in their abilities, now that he mentioned it. The spear was held casually but warily, and still slightly toward her though he made no other outward signs of aggression. "That's... nice of you."

"Not nice, it's mah job," the man chuckled, "as steady a work as you can find these days, anyway. You traveling east? Didn't see you on the road all night."

She nodded, "That's right," but didn't say anything else.

"Right. Well, my employer's the Dueling Peaks Stable. They run an inn for folks like yerself, a waystation of sorts, so if you need a place to stay... it's a good day's travel down the road, so if you're starting now you'll reach it 'round dusk I'd say. Give 'em my name, and they'll set you up right."

Zelda nodded. "Right. Brigo, was it?"

"Sure am. You're Zina. Won't likely forget that soon, don't often see womenfolk like... well, you, 'round here."

Her eyes widened in surprise, "Like me? What do you mean?"

The man's face turned red again, and she heard him mutter something under his breath that might have been, "Idiot," before he coughed into one of his leather-gloved hands, "Well, uh... not to be too blunt about it, but... pretty. Don' get me wrong, there's plenty of decent lookin' folk around, but... you might just be the prettiest woman I ever laid eyes on, that's all. Don't really mean much else by it. And don't worry, I won't try nothin'."

Her eyes had narrowed at first, but he seemed sincere about the last, so Zelda allowed herself to relax a little. "So you're paid by the stables to keep the roads clear?"

Brigo nodded enthusiastically, then turned away for a moment to climb up a short incline that framed the river and blocked some of the view of the bridge from her, "From this end of the bridge here- technically we're outside my area, but I couldn't just leave a traveler that might need help alone, and it's close- all the way across, and to the big tree yonder."

"The big tre- oh, my!"

It wasn't a tree any longer, she thought, but it must have been truly massive. The collapsed, broken ruin of a trunk was hundreds of feet long, and probably two dozen high, if not higher. Entire cottages could have fit inside it, as the log lay on the ground.

"Yeah, that's a reaction I see sometimes," he chuckled as Zelda came a bit closer, "I go beyond there a bit too, but not too often. There used to be a guard that patrolled through the gorge, like me, but... Stella got killed by Lizalfos a few months back, and we ain't got someone to replace her yet. That part of the trek's dangerous. Be careful. Probably the hardest part, and not just 'cause no one patrols it."

"Why's it worse? What are... Lizalfos?"

Brigo scowled, and scratched one of the scars on his jaw, "Well, lizard-people. Some say they're dumb animals that figured out how to use weapons, but I seen and heard 'em talkin'. Some use Hylian as well as you or me. Some use this strange hiss-and-click language. Stella said she'd been workin' on translating it, but no one ever found her notes if she made any. Said she could half understand 'em sometimes. Cunning beasts. Tricky, fast. Strong. Not as strong as a Moblin, but a lot quicker, and meaner too. Smart enough to lay traps, ambushes, and all that. That's what got Stella."

"I'm sorry to hear about your friend, of course," Zelda said softly, "I've... lost people too. Those Lizalfos sound... bad. How would one... avoid them?"

Brigo shrugged, "Mostly they stay in the river. They like it wet, 'least the ones 'round these parts. If you see them, run. They're quick, but will give up a chase before any Boko or Moblin would. Smart enough to recognize they haven't the endurance, I think. Best just run if one spots you. Last time I came through- bout a week ago, and I've another week before I head back to resupply, or I'd suggest you wait for me- there were a bunch of Bokoblins on the north bank. The road's on the south, and I didn't see any Bokos there. Just a few Chu, and I reckon if you got here you can handle that."

"What's a... Chu?"

This time it was Brigo that looked surprised as he turned his eyes down to the princess, "You never seen a Chu? Blue, slimy, smells bad, burns the grass? Acid? Dopey eyes?"

"Oh," Zelda chuckled, "I've just never heard their name, I suppose. Yes, I've killed a few. Kept their cores, the thicker parts, for alchemy."

The man whistled, "A beauty, and an alchemist? That's settled. You'll make a man right happy one day, miss. If'n you haven't already. Don' mean to presume nothin'."

Zelda waved off his concern now, "No, that's alright. Um... is alchemy all that... uncommon? I don't mean to sound ignorant, I'm not... from around here." Or from around now, anyway, she thought to herself, hiding a faint smile.

He shrugged, "Well, I reckon plenty of folks know a little. Bit of medicine here, a poultice there, home remedies. Monster parts and bugs... it can all be used, and lots of folk know a couple things, the bare basics. Not too many know a lot, though, no. Mostly its the older folks at the Stables and more permanent settlements that know a bit more. Stands to reason, o'course."

"Indeed," she replied easily, "I... I wonder how much my knowledge would stack up. You see, I've lost... a fair bit of my memory. When I got this scar."

He nodded, giving the damage to her face a quick glance, but thankfully not focusing on it at all. "Sad to hear that, of course. Must be hard. Never had nothing like that happen to me, though there's always a risk. And Stella was a better fighter'n me, I just got a quieter post, heh."

"Anyway, I... I think I knew a fair bit, back then, but I can't say I know a lot anymore. I think with a bit of a refresher I could pick it up again quickly, though."

"That's good. Always play to your strengths, I say. I got long arms and some muscle, I'm quick, so I fight with a spear. Stella was a beefy gal, leaned toward a big axe and shield. Too much work for me to lug, but she could hit harder'n a goat, for sure. Anyway, I say stick to the south if you can, at least till you reach the twin rivers on the far side. You could probably see the Stables from there, can't really miss it, even a ways off. Big yurt with a horse-head on it."

Smiling, the Princess nodded, then asked, "Anything else I should be wary of? I'm actually heading to Kakariko in the end."

"Oh, definitely stop at the Stable then," Brigo answered, "it's up that road anyway, but another day and maybe more up in the mountains beyond. You'll want the rest. I've only been once. Remember the view, but it wasn't worth the hike to me. And it was a... weird place. People there kinda gave me the creeps. Nice, polite, but that hair..."

He shuddered. "As for things to know... the woods in the ravine over there, just south of the gorge are mostly safe, but you'll occasionally see Octoroks and Bokoblins there, sometimes a Chu or two. And bears. Be careful of those, but if you leave 'em alone they usually won't bother you. Just don't eat around 'em."

Zelda nodded. She didn't know what an Ocotorok or a bear were, not really, but a huge furry shape with a lot of teeth flashed through her mind as he said the word. "I'll be careful."

"Still, if you've barter, it might be worth a trek off the path. Take a few hours out of your way, you'd get to the Stable after dark for sure, but there's a hermit that lives down there. Sometimes trades for all sorts of things. Knows a bit of alchemy, too, or I'd not have bothered mentioning it."

"Oh, that does sound interesting. Maybe I will... if I can make good time. I've nothing too pressing, I think."

"Right, then. Well, don't try the gorge at night. Not that the Bokos are much worse, but the lizards will come up on you before you can blink in the dark. You'll never even hear 'em coming. Biggest thing, though, is to stay away from that giant orange tower. I've seen a lot of bad omens in my time, and it seems like there's more every day, but that thing coming up outta the ground all of a sudden like that... I damn near wet myself. And it's just... there, every day. Glowin' all creepy. That one you can see over west, you musta noticed it, up on the plateau? It went blue a few days back! See?"

Zelda nodded sagely, doing her best to pretend ignorance. If he didn't know, then it was best to keep it that way. The less people that could spread word of her survival and status among the living once more the better. Even if she now thought Brigo might be quite trustworthy, you never knew who could let something slip. "I'll be careful. I- wait. What's that?"

She pointed, and he looked away from the Sheikah Tower near the peaks to follow her finger. "Oh, a chest? Yeah, sometimes they just come floatin' down the river. Current usually keeps them near the middle and I ain't too proud to admit I can barely swim, so I never did see what was in one. Probably wash up all over Lake Hylia, if they don't break on the rocks flowing down the waterfall."

"You've never wondered where they come from?"

Brigo shrugged, "Wonder all the time, don't do no good though. Clear days like this, you can sometimes see the river-bridge north of here, goes between the Wetlands and Grassland stables- that plume of smoke there on the horizon is the Grasslands one. 'S where I was raised, see, I know it well. Anyway, there's travelers, the occasional trader or even caravan wagon coming by. If monsters have the scent, sometimes they'll drop cargo or whatever to make a faster escape, or as bait. I think at least some o' the boxes are like that. Most folk these days can only make a locker out of wood. Not enough crafts folk to handle the steel or stone kind in any real number. Least, not in the wilds. Maybe in the towns, what's left of 'em."

Zelda nodded sadly, "Yes, I... I heard about the Calamity from- another traveler."

"Yeah. Worst omen I ever saw was lookin' at the old castle when I was a younger lad. Half-climbed the Peaks up on the north side, see? Then one of them Guardians spotted me, and I had to run for it. Barely made it alive, but here I am still."

Zelda scowled, "I just ran into one a- a few days ago, myself. They're horrifying."

Brigo nodded seriously too, "Sure are. There's one there, at the join of the rivers, see? I ain't never seen it move in my five years on the bridge, but ain't a day go by I don't keep a careful eye on it all the same. Last thing I want is to be here if it ever starts walking around. That's why I moved in the first place. Well, that and to find a wife if I can. All my sisters live at the Grasslands, so I couldn't exactly find one there, y'see? We ain't never had a Guardian come close, but they're all over if you just go a few miles north or west from there. Best stay on the road if you ever cross the plains, and not the ones close to the castle, or you'll be dead faster'n you can blink."

The princess let out a low whistle, "Yes, I... really don't want to see one up close. Just from a distance was bad enough." Not again, at any rate.

As they continued talking, the wooden chest Zelda had spotted drifted closer to their position. "Well, I'm, uh... going to refill my canteen before I get going. I'll probably see you again as I cross the bridge. Goodbye, Mr. Brigo."

"Ah, shucks, it's just Brigo, miss. A fine lady like yourself don't need to be polite to a country hick like me."

Zelda grinned at his blush, but he did turn and head back toward the bridge with a wave. She let him go, glad he hadn't questioned her sudden desire to drop the conversation. Mostly, she just didn't want him to think she was anything but what he'd already observed. That, or lead him on any. It wasn't that he was ugly, but even though she knew too little about herself, the young woman was sure he was not her type.

Using Cryonis to enter the river and stay mostly or completely dry would certainly make him suspicious, so she would have to follow the box half a mile to the south around the bend, out of sight before lifting it out using the same rune.

When she did, amazed as always that the literal ice created by the magic of the slate wasn't actually cold, Zelda stared at the little prize inside. A gem, poor of quality perhaps but as large as her fist, cut into a regular shape. Purple of hue, translucent but not quite see-through, she could just make out the shadow of her hand behind it rather than any detail. It was beautiful, but the weight and heft of it told Zelda it wasn't just a stone. In fact, it looked very much like a larger, differently colored version of the small green gems Mils had pocketed a couple days earlier.

Hadn't he also mentioned Rupees...? Is that the money used here? Is this a Rupee? A larger amount, perhaps...?

Unsure, but unwilling to just toss a gemstone someone had taken care to lock away along with the sodden papers and cloth in the waterlogged box, Zelda pocketed the stone but left the rest to resume its trek down the river. Turning back north after splashing her face a few times- she could pretend to have been bathing, and tease Brigo if he asked about the delay, and the thought of the jest and his expression that he might've missed the sight made her grin like a schoolgirl all the same. She was most of the way back when she noticed a peculiar ring of stones in the river. They were tall and thin, and protruded like spires from the floor of the river... much like similar formations she had seen on the Great Plateau. "Another Korok... Here? Hmm... I wonder..."

Casting her eyes about, Zelda quickly found a few stones. It took her a few tries to toss one in, because she was unwilling to drench her only pair of serviceable clothes by jumping in herself. Fortunately, the Korok that nested nearby found the sight amusing enough to reward her with its seed. Better, while she had spoken with the giggling brown spirit, Zelda made out a few metallic shapes lodged in the pebbly beach opposite the flow. Another one? Ah... and if I'm not mistaken, that glint in the bluff nearby is ore! I wonder... it's weather worn. Could a few bombs break those open...? If trade is actually something that happens at least between stables and travelers, having more goods to barter with would not go amiss, and I imagine precious ores will always be useful.

About an hour later, Zelda waved to Brigo as he was coming back from half-way across the bridge. "Oh, miss Zina. I expected you to catch up to me before now. Is everything alright?"

Zelda nodded, her mouth breaking into a smile, "Yes, I just used the privacy to take a quick bath in the river."

Her smile widened, but not as much as Brigo's mouth did. He gaped, his lined face turning bright red. "Y-You did? O-Oh. I can't believe I mis- er... yeah. You should have done it beneath the bridge, it's, uh, safer, you know? From... prying eyes."

Yes, and I bet your eyes wouldn't have pried at all, Zelda thought, giggling sheepishly in her mind. She didn't know why she was enjoying teasing him like this. Perhaps it was because he was the first man she'd seen since waking that had actually told her she was pretty. True, the only other two at all were her father's ghost (which would have been quite different coming from him), or Mils, who would probably have gotten an elbow from his sister at the very least.

It may not have been appropriate for a princess to act that way, but just then Zelda didn't care. She didn't feel like a princess. She felt like a woman in over her head in a very dangerous time and place. And she needed to unwind, let off some steam. If a harmless bit of teasing did the trick, then what was the problem?

"I should get going," she told the still-staring, red-faced man a moment later, "I hope to see you again if I come back this way. Thank you for the directions and advice, Brigo. It was good to meet you!"

Zelda could feel the tall man's eyes on her, continuing to stare (and, no doubt, imagine her in a fashion that would have scandalized everyone she knew in her old life, or him if he knew who she was!), for several more minutes. In fact, she thought she could still make him out as she turned south the moment she left the bridge. She had another Korok to find, and some ore to mine, if that was possible.

She was quite distracted by the thought, and the crunch of smooth river-stones beneath her feet was more than enough to mask the quieter steps of bare-footed Bokoblins as they moved in behind her, all three with weapons ready.

It was almost lucky in a way that the first to strike had done so with an arrow, which caught Zelda in the small of her back on the right side. The sudden, stabbing pain, while not lethal without a significant infection thanks to the extra padding provided by the thick parka (which was rapidly becoming too hot in the warming day), alerted her to the problem just in time to roll with the blow of a blue Bokoblin's spiked club. It still stabbed into her thigh, the shorter creature had swung at shoulder-height, and the bone protrusions sank deep into her flesh, ripping two holes in her doeskin trousers. Zelda hissed from the combined wounds, teeth clenched hard to keep from screaming aloud and making her situation worse by calling something else.

She was backpedaling as fast as she could now, coincidence alone moving her in the same direction down the rocky, narrow beach on the riverside. Ahead of her were not just two, but three of the creatures, two red and one blue. The furthest red had a poor bow of their usual design, the one that had shot her first. The other, in the middle distance of the three and opposite the blue from its fellow was armed with a spear much like the ones she'd just used until recently. I'll take that, her mind supplied angrily.

But not just yet. It was dangerous enough alone, armed with that kind of reach and an archer to back it up. The worst part, though, was the blue's armament. It had the spiked club, from which specks of her own blood still dripped as it snarled, stalking forward rapidly. It also had a shield, wooden instead of plain bark, reinforced with leather and bone, and larger than her own splintering Boko shield. She had one much like it, in fact, and had been saving it for an emergency. But Zelda didn't have time to draw it just then.

The hoe was already in her hands, and without warning she swung it hard, fast, down onto the Blue's shoulder. It raised the shield quickly, catching the tines just over its arm with a faint grunt. Holding it overhead, the clever creature spun, twisting its shoulder and elbow in such a way that it tore the hoe, almost new, from her grip as it came closer. Again, the spiked club caught her, but just the tip. It smashed into her stomach with a thrust which threatened to knock the wind out of her. It didn't, not quite, but Zelda felt dazed by the blow all the same as she came to stop half-reclined against the rocky bluffs. An arrow shattered against the stone next to her on the left, and the spear sparked on her right, as its wielder switched sides in an attempt to surprise her. In desperation, Zelda's hands closed on the handle of her own spiked club, and shrugged her shoulder in that particular way that caused the crude bark shield to slide down her arm. She jerked it in a sweeping motion, pulling it further into place, and closed her hands around the grip just in time. It came up faster than the Blue's had, but her arm and body still quaked with the impact. The spikes had driven clean through the old bark, and as it withdrew its weapon, Zelda was dismayed to see the whole top half of her shield go with it in a spray of old, soft wood. "Shit," she swore, and threw out a desperate blow with that hand.

More on luck and surprise than anything else, it caught the red Bokoblin's nearer arm mid-thrust, deflecting a blow that would've hit her navel or thereabouts to instead just graze her left torso, not even drawing blood she hoped. Better, as that part of the shield broke around it, she heard a loud snap in its arm, too. The red Bokoblin howled and pulled back, switching to an awkward, one-armed grip as it held the other up to its eyes to examine its broken arm.

With a bit of precious time bought, Zelda turned and ran, putting several feet between them on the narrow spit before the blue, faster than its kin, could catch up.

A few seconds later, fumbling for the draw-catch, Zelda released another shield, the first of her human-made wooden ones, carved with the deer onto her arm. It wasn't any stronger, she knew. The wood was old and dry, weathered, but it was a little larger at least, and in better condition than the bark alone. The grip was more comfortable too, and the princess readied it fully just in time, her own club held behind her ready to swing just as the blue Bokoblin came around the bend and into sight.

This time, she caught it by surprise, smashing into one thickly muscled shoulder, the one on its weapon arm, with her own bone spikes. It grunted and lunged forward rather than away, blazing eyes seething with anger. The move surprised the princess, and she took a half-step back, off-balance as their shields clashed together.

Pressing the advantage, the blue kept running at her from point blank range, and an unlucky rock caught her heel. Zelda fell back, yelping in surprise. Thankfully, her knee came up faster still as the Bokoblin leaped onto her, catching it in the groin. She felt flesh burst, and it shrieked louder than any other Bokoblin she'd heard, a high wail of pain that ended only briefly as it landed face-down in the river stones.

She tried to kip to her feet, failed, then rolled and stood as fast as she could. Her own club came down toward its back, but the Bokoblin, still howling in agony and holding its groin with one hand rather than holding the shield up, rolled away, and lumbered to its own stubby, bow-legged feet. "Ooh, Lady, you hurt Lickspit? Ooh, Lickspit gonna hurt you bad!"

Her shield took the first and second swings admirably. While it still jarred her arm mightily, Zelda was only forced back a few inches with each one. Her return shot came as it overextended on the second, and her retaliation sent its club flying, spinning up onto the clifftop. It slid down a moment later a few feet behind the Bokoblin, but that distraction was all she needed to smash it in the face, using its badly-placed shield as an opportunity. A second blow as it howled again through missing, broken tusks silenced it.

Before it could disappear, though, Zelda felt a weight land on her satchel and back, hard. She stumbled, brought to her knees, as hot, fetid breath hit her cheek. "Lady kill Lickspit. Lady strong- but Witnub stronger! Witnub leader now!"

She tried to spin, throw it off, but the Bokoblin that had been wielding the spear, she suspected, had a wiry arm around her throat. Not enough to cut off circulation or air, thankfully, but a firm grip all the same. Its legs were around her waist, too, and she couldn't shake him. Then one hand, gnarled and three-fingered, closed around her right breast.

Zelda screamed, not in pain or fear, but fury. How dare this creature touch her, especially like that! Throwing it off wasn't working, but she was the princess of Hyrule, and she was not defenseless!

The club came perilously close to her own head, but it smashed into the Bokoblin's head viciously, and she felt its grip go slack at once. It slid from her a moment later, already turning to smoke. She whipped around, shield and weapon both raised for more as she suddenly remembered there had been an archer, too.

It was there, on the little strip of beach between the wider section she had been fighting on and where they'd first surprised her. Slowly, the bow raised. Not toward her, but higher. An arrow hit the pebbles. "Bubmin surrender, Lady! Bubmin surrender! No kill!"

Zelda sneered, "I can't trust you to surrender. Drop your bow on the ground! Now!"

To her surprise, it did, and took a scared step back, one foot in the river. Taken aback, Zelda actually paused for a moment to think. The adrenaline still pounded in her veins, making her want to slaughter this creature. Some of the red Bokoblins could talk, she knew that, but most of them were fairly simple. One being smart enough to surrender was unusual. Most seemed to have little idea of their own mortality. Then again, if the Calamity can just bring them back...

Still, that left her confused. "What- what will you do if I let you go? Terrorize someone else, someone weaker?"

'No," the Bokoblin whimpered, "Bubmin not like fight! Bubmin just like eat meat, fuck! Bubmin like quiet life!"

While its vulgar language offended both the young woman and princess in her, Zelda frowned thoughtfully. She had no way of knowing if it was being sincere or honest, not really. And every instinct in her screamed to just kill the monster before it could harm another. After all... "You're the one who shot me."

"Not to kill," it whimpered, shaking its hands to ward her off and stepping back, further into the water, "Bubmin not like fight. Bubmin just like eat and fuck, like Bubmin say!"

"So your plan is to assault me while I'm vulnerable, have your way with me? Is that it?"

"No, no," it whimpered, actually falling to its knees and looking terrified. It was an incongruous expression on the normally brutal, fearsome creature. "Bubmin like... like Boko-matron. Not... Hyli-human."

That confused her even more. "Wait... Matron? There are... female Bokoblins?"

"... Yes...?" It sounded more like a question than an answer, but Zelda still took it as one.

"How come I've never seen one?"

Bubmin shrugged, the earing in its left ear jangling with the motion, "They tough? Many Boko, not many matrons. They fight off many mates to find strongest. Boko do work, do hunt, do find meat. Matron mate, mate, mate, and fight off weak Boko. Lucky Matron."

Despite the danger only a few seconds ago, and the threat this very creature could still pose, Zelda snorted in amusement. Her green eyes rolled slightly, "Yes, that seems like the life indeed... I still don't know if I can trust you."

"Uh... Bubmin... promise? That right Hyli-human word? Bubmin promise not to hurt, or kill, or fight? Bubmin just want to find Matron and eat meat and fuck. Lickspit make Bubmin fight for Chief Death."

Still unsure, Zelda finally sighed. In good conscience, she could not honestly say she would kill a creature that had surrendered, even if it was still dangerous. She didn't want to be that kind of a person, and most certainly not that kind of a leader, even if she felt far from one. "Fine. I'll let you go- on one condition."

Bubmin's eyes widened in shock. He had clearly not been expecting mercy, either. His ears and snout all flopped and flapped as he nodded vigorously, "Bubmin do! Bubmin do anything! What Bubmin do to prove he not lie?"

That posed a whole new problem. What could a Bokoblin possibly do to prove it wasn't a threat to her? She wracked her brain as the creature grew increasingly tense and nervous that she would change her mind over several minutes. Finally, it came to her. A simple enough thing. "I know about the Blood Moon," she told it, "and what it does. I will probably come this way again. I will be doing a lot of traveling again. If I ever see you again, I will know if you've lied. I... have magic. I can tell."

The creature's eyes widened. Zelda was bluffing, obviously, but it seemed to believe her. "My, uh, spell is on you, now. Never hurt another human. Don't listen to any orders from anyone that says you must. Even if you never find a Matron. Don't steal, either. Hunt your own food."

Almost too-eagerly, Bubmin nodded once more. "Bubmin promise! Bubmin promise lots! No hurt Hyli-humans, no steal food! Find Matron if can, not fight! If not find Matron, live alone and not fight! Bubmin do, if Bubmin live!"

Her mind and instincts still screamed at her to just kill the thing, but Zelda found herself sighing. "It's done, then. Go- remember what I said, though. I will know if you have! Go on, get out of here."

Warily, the red-skinned monster climbed to its feet, watching her carefully as it side-stepped toward its hidden camp, away from the bow and arrow it had dropped earlier. Once it was a few steps further, it broke into a run, dashing out of sight around the bend.

"Foolish girl," she told herself softly, "Trusting a servant of the enemy. Of course it'll be right back to raping and pillaging as soon as it's out of sight. Best be careful on the way back to the road, too."

After gathering up the discarded spear, worn club, and shield from the blue Bokoblin and the remains of the slain pair, Zelda continued down the beach, her heels crunching in the rocks for another half-hour before she reached the landmark of the metal cubes she'd spotted from across the river.

"Okay... I know there's a Korok here. No sign of Bubmin anywhere, so he's either very sneaky or he actually ran. Still stupid to let him go, but I suppose what's done is done. Now... where's the one Magnesis will work on..."

Finding it was all too easy, thanks to the iron-based metal lighting up violet under the screen of the Slate while the rune was activated, and lifting it into place on the other side of the formation to make the two match was easier still. Zelda was more concerned after a few seconds when a trio of the blue slime monsters she now knew were named Chu (at least according to Brigo) came at her from all sides. A well-timed bomb took care of two easily enough, and two thrusts with her new spear the third. Still, it was a reminder (not that she needed one, really) to keep her guard up even when distracted by puzzles.

The small gully she had spotted the ore in lead up into the foothills below the Dueling Peaks, and as Zelda had seen in the morning sun, harder now as the day was becoming overcast once more, the sides of the ravine were both covered in little veins of metal and dense stone. Some of them, she could see, were actual gemstones. Rough and uncut, fresh from the earth, but still probably worth a trade if she could just get them free.

Thankfully, the Sheikah Slate was as useful as ever. The bombs, while loud, proved more than up to the task of shattering the weather-worn surface of the gully. It was a few feet wider in several spots as the princess spent a few hours sorting through the debris. Zelda felt she had missed more than she found, but still came away with another piece of amber, two large shards of flint, a few ounces of tasty, if dry, rock salt, and her best find... a ruby the size of her pinky nail. It glinted brightly in the sun that still came through the clouds, and Zelda was certain it would fetch a high price to any fair trader.

"Not worth the fight, perhaps, but still... a worthy way to spend a few hours. A good decision overall, and if a Blood Moon happens before I make my way through here again... well, I can always go around the camp, or check in on Bubmin. Once I find it, anyway. I still don't know where they came from."

Already half-way up the gully by the time she was finished her impromptu blast-mining session, Zelda climbed the rest of the way up to a high, flower-filled meadow that was most of the way up the foothills. The view was nice back the way she came, but nothing new was visible there. The span of the Proxim Bridge might have been more impressive, if she hadn't just walked across it a few hours before. Yet, there was one thing that did catch her eye from the flowery, sloped field. A quarter-mile or so to the northwest, high on a rocky promontory that peaked another hill, a large, orange pinwheel spun.

One that looked a lot like another she had seen on the north side of the outpost ruins. "Koroks are everywhere," she murmured, already planning her route to the top. The seeds had questionable value to her, and they certainly were odiferous, but something about the princess' nature demanded that she collect things. And each Korok had a little puzzle or test of some sort to earn its prize, even if it was as simple as looking under the right rock.

It was that, Zelda supposed, which appealed to her the most. She was clearly very curious, insatiably so, and literally turning over every rock, leaf, and twig to find hidden things very much seemed in her nature.

Those were her musings as the golden-haired beauty hiked higher still, already past the elevation of most of the Great Plateau, though not quite to its upper reaches or even the snowy sections of Mount Hylia.

From the saddle between the hills, she could see a swampy, flooded ruin of an old town, one that filled her with sorrow to see. She could make out monsters swimming or stalking through the water too, but they were too far out to make any details of. Beyond that flooded valley, another of the giant trees much like the one Brigo had pointed out lay to the south, and she was far closer to the first, too. In fact, as she hauled herself up the last, steep granite incline hand over foot, Zelda inhaled sharply as she realized she could see its top, too. The branches were shattered, many had fallen into other saplings, new growth. But its stump was truly huge, some thirty feet or more across, near the top of the ridge that surrounded the flooded valley.

It was far, but she could clearly see the base of the Sheikah Tower near the Dueling Peaks, too. It was surrounded by stones and boulders that had been pushed up with its rise, much like the one on the plateau. It was shorter in comparison though, only a hundred feet or so above the rocky riverside beach. Between she and it, Zelda could see the campfires of at least one Bokoblin camp too, and one of those strange, skull-shaped rocks they had liked to nest in on the plateau. She could not see much of the wood Brigo had mentioned in the valley to the east, but the tops of a few trees just visible past the ridge as it curved, rising and falling, told her he hadn't been lying about its location.

Much higher, too, she could actually make out the far-distant top of what he had said was his old home, the Grassland Stable.

Zelda was surprised at the sight of it. Crude, perhaps, even at this distance, but the thing must have stood three or four stories tall to be viewable at nearly a day's walk away. And it did, very much, resemble a horse with a splayed-out mane. Interesting. I wonder if we had things like that... before.

Then the giggle of a hidden, invisible Korok reminded the princess why she had climbed up to the promontory in the first place.

Looking around, its test of skill was easy to identify. Where there had been nothing, now three balloons floated high in the air, moving swiftly along... yes, predetermined paths, it looked like. Each was painted with a simple target, blue surrounding the base white of the canvas or whatever they were made from, and red as a bulls-eye. They were held aloft not just by whatever gas was in them, but the leaf-bladed propellers the Koroks seemed to like flying with, too. "I'm to shoot them, then? I've done a puzzle like this before."

The Korok's only answer was another giggle, higher and happier-sounding than the last. Zelda grinned, "Well, I don't mind. I'm a fair shot. I just hope these seeds you keep wanting me to send to Hestu are worth a few arrows."

This time, there wasn't a response at all until both balloons exploded, and her arrows vanished into the distance. At least she hadn't wasted a shot, each of the arrows she had loosed had found their mark easily, and two on the bulls-eye. "Haven't lost my touch," she announced to the Korok as she un-strung her bow.

"No, that was really good," the Korok giggled, "I don't think anyone back home could have done it so well! Bye, Lady!"

With another seed in her pouch, Zelda took another look around to see if she'd missed any important details. It turned out she had.

If Zelda had actually been paying attention, there was no way she could have missed the camp where Bubmin and Lickspit had been. It was barely concealed by a hillock and some brush, and their fire, while low, still smoldered. "Maybe you are stupid," she murmured to herself, rolling her eyes. "You keep saying keep your guard up... yet you miss little details. Learn your own lesson, princess."

When she had reached it a half-hour's almost-fun slide down the grassy slope later, Zelda found it ransacked. Three crude bedrolls were torn apart, and a spot where a third had been until recently lay bare. There was no food, no weapons, and a wooden chest had been opened, too. Not a scrap of food remained, but as Zelda stood up from her examination, a bit of white caught her eye in the stones. "Oh... it looks like Bubmin dropped something in his haste to loot it all. Another opal, and a pretty one at that. His loss..." Zelda smiled as she pocketed the gem, glanced around one last time, then headed back for the road.

The wandering princess had two hours of actual peace and quiet as she followed the road east. It did good for her heart and mind both, and gave her sore, aching muscles a bit of a break too. Eating a good lunch half-way down the hill had helped too, but the bandages and poultices she'd put on her thigh and back had helped more. Every step still twinged, but she was making decent time, she thought.

Her mind had not been idle, but without pressing danger crowding in around her from what felt like all sides, beneath a clear, open blue sky (and while a bit chilly, her parka was still too warm, so it was left open for a cool breeze on her front), and distance falling away beneath her steps felt... natural, right. As if the world was more or less as it should be, rather than the shattered wreck the Calamity had left in its wake.

It had turned mostly to philosophical questions. She simply didn't know enough about what was around her, where she should go or what she should do after visiting the mysterious elder of Kakariko Village to form a plan. And while she didn't like it, the princess had to allow that it was alright. Not that there was really anything she could do about it anyway. Setting goals was one thing, but there was simply no tactic or strategem that she knew or could devise to plan out a task as complex as 'gain power, destroy the Calamity, save Hyrule'. Surely, it was boiled down to just a few words, but that was not a plan.

Instead, she mused over what she might have been like before losing so much of herself to a devastating, probably lethal brain injury. The ghost of her father (and her heart told her there was no reason to doubt its words in that respect, if nothing else) had seemed... proud. Of her, of who she was, either before, or after. Both, if she really thought about it. A mighty, wise king (for all he seemed to have made some mistakes and miscalculations of his own), and he was proud of her. It was... humbling. Yes, that was the best word for it.

She was just one person. Weak, fallible, and in terrible danger, yes. But she wasn't alone, not really. Even if the ghost of her father was beyond reach now, she still had at least a few friends. Mils and Mina, and maybe Brigo. Hylia, she thought to herself with a frustrated giggle, I might've even made a friend out of Bubmin! Surely not, but still...

The Slate was a huge boon too, far more than she had thought it would be when it had opened the doors of the Shrine of Resurrection for her. A weapon, a shield, mobility, and information, knowledge, all at once. And useful in so many situations! The bombs may not do the sheer damage to flesh that a sword might, even in her untoned arms, but they were harmful enough, and a single blast at close range could slay a Bokoblin or three at once. And her archery was as good as ever. With a real bow meant for war rather than hunting in her hands, like the one hidden in the Cathedral? She could be devastating. Zelda knew it... it was just a matter of using it. She didn't dare, not without true need. Not without better, anyway.

The growth in her arsenal had been slow thus far, but it had grown, from simple sticks picked up off the ground to crude clubs, then better ones, long branches to stab and thrust, greenwood bows, and now ones used for hunting at least deer and boar. She even had some magic at her disposal for a fight, in the form of her Fire, Ice, and Bomb arrows. I suppose I could be formidable if I must, she thought, continuing to place one foot in front of the other as the sun moved lower once more. Still, I prefer to remove my enemies before they can strike back. Maybe it would be better to use my more scarce resources... or I could save up, continue to build strength.

Ah, I suppose it's best to take each situation as it comes. I'll save where I can, and spend when I need to. I have to survive to succeed, after all. So I won't be shy about using the things I need to. But I won't be wasteful, either. That seems best.

It was the smell of roasting venison that brought her from her roadway reverie. It was the sound of chuckling, guffawing Bokoblins that made her stop and duck into the cover of a few bushes nearby.

Following the sound and smell both, Zelda snagged a lizard sunning itself on a rock on her way, stunning the creature with a quick blow to the head before adding it to her pouch's supply. A few mushrooms on the way too, before she spotted the first one.

A red, on a watchtower. Of course, he was actually being watchful, too.

She peeked around the cover of a tree carefully, trying to get a little closer when the watcher wasn't facing her direction. One, two trees closer, carefully, so carefully... quietly, now...

Yes! He'd looked up and sniffed in her direction once, but the wind was in Zelda's favor this time, and must have carried her scent along the river nearby. She was a few hundred, perhaps six, away from the road now and closer to the flow that came through the gorge of the Dueling Peaks. Ducking behind that larger, closer tree with a hand on her spear, Zelda carefully scanned the camp.

It was large. Five, six, seven Bokoblins, plus the watcher. At least there was only one of those, because there was at least one blue too. An array of weapons were either held nearby, or laying against a long log near the fire. A pile of bones and refuse, including a skull that from a dozen feet away Zelda identified as a human's, lay picked clean of meat. Three barricades of crates circled the camp too, forming partial walls to cut off the view and break up a large charge. They were small, and wide enough Zelda could easily slip through alone, but doing so with the watcher so cautious would be difficult. Beyond them, close to the river, was another tower that held one of the skull-faced, magically locked chests, and a few barrels provided evidence that they had stored food too, not just people to eat.

But they have been eating people, I'm sure of it. These ones must go, even if it's a lot. They're too close to the road anyway. Travelers would be at risk.

Her spear was set in the grass carefully, and her bow strung. It was hard doing it while sitting without putting her elbows or arms out past the tree, but Zelda managed it in a few moments, then carefully rose and turned onto a knee. An arrow was knocked next, and she moved slowly, just dipping one eye out between this tree and one smaller one a bit nearer the tower. Yes... it was close, well within range, and facing to her right... it hadn't spotted her, but could turn at any moment. Her flaxen hair would be too easy to see in the afternoon sun, since it was at her back.

Twhip.

Success! The Bokoblin crumpled without a sound she could hear, and the laughing Bokoblins in the camp didn't seem to notice. Zelda let herself smile, then looked around again the other way.

Yes... those she could see most easily were still gathered around a fire, pointing and jeering at a prone form. One of them jumped forward and kicked it, making Zelda's blood run cold.

It was a human. A woman, her clothes torn to shreds.

The arm moved as the others laughed louder still. She was still alive.

Without knowing it, the princess' face twisted into an enraged rictus. She dare not use her magical arrows here, any damage to the woman would likely ensure her death. But she could definitely distract them from torturing her further while she closed, and plant a few arrows in them, too.

Decision made, Zelda did not hesitate. She stood with the bow in one hand and spear in the other, stowed the second and loosened the strap on her smaller, simpler two-handed sword, and started walking in as she drew and knocked another arrow.

The blade was heavy for her, yes, but she was getting better as the circumstances forced her to use heavy weapons more often. It would do better now anyway, in a full-on assault. She didn't see any shields, and if they had some, the blade might just shatter them. If not, it would drop most of them in a single hard blow. That might strain her, but it would be worth it if she could save the woman's life.

One arrow killed a red, and two killed the next, in its shoulder and sternum. The blue she had spotted came charging at her first, a heavy club held overhead in one hand. Zelda moved fast, the bow discarded for the moment, and blade swinging up, sweeping through the grass in an arc to deflect the club. It was launched back over the Bokoblin's shoulder, but the stronger monster kept its grip somehow. Still, that cut with the long blade slashed across the bottom of its torso and up, leaving a long, red line. She used the momentum to bring the blade overhead in a circle, spinning it down again from the same side while the monster was trying to recover. Before it could get a swing in, her fury had cut it twice, forming an X in huge, crimson lines on its chest. The second blow, harder as she stepped in, cut deeper too, and the weight of the blade combined with the force of Zelda's swing sent it flying sideways, collapsing into the grass.

This time, it dropped the club too, allowing her to score a downward hack that removed a huge chunk from its left thigh as it struggled to stand.

Then the reds were on her. One club was knocked aside by the return swing upward, and she lashed out with a quick kick to its knee. She didn't hit hard, but the creature still jumped back, hissing in pain, as a second lunged. This time she was more ready, and Zelda jumped, spinning gracefully in the air (not that she had time to consider the motion just then) to land on the other side of the blue Bokoblin a moment before the tip of her blade cut straight through the third monster's larynx. The red-orange skinned beast burbled through the thin but wide line across its throat, a spray of red covering the blue Bokoblin on the ground between them too, before the red fell backward into smoke, already dead.

The blue grabbed her leg as the red vanished, and hurled itself in with that leverage to bite into her tender calf, straight through the deer-leather pants. Zelda hissed too, already feeling the burning of some kind of infection, but that gave her time to twist the blade in her hands and angle it down. She thrust deep, straight between two ribs, laterally across and through the Bokoblin's torso. This one too, vanished almost at once as she tore its heart in two and punched holes in both ribs with one blow.

One of the further Bokoblins had picked up a bow from the stash of weapons on the log, and it howled as the first shot was released, but it went wide, nowhere near Zelda as the ammunition curved off.

Thinking that one had terrible skill with a bow, Zelda put it from her mind, and used another heavy swing to remove one arm of the nearer red, the last of the first vanguard, at the elbow, and cut into its torso too. A second swing nearly severed the same leg as she repeated the overhead circle maneuver. With all nearby enemies dispatched, she charged forward, lunging occasionally to the left or right to throw off the aim of the now two bow-armed monsters. One more, slower, was now coming at her carefully with a crude shield and a rock-tipped stick that formed a crude hammer or mace. At its rate, it would take a few seconds to reach her, so Zelda shifted the sword to her right hand alone, letting it drag in the grass for a moment, and summoned up a round bomb. She threw it as hard as she could with her left hand, and it sailed high overhead from the red. The woman, thankfully, was outside the blast radius. One of the archers, the better shot, was not. It flew, screaming without either leg, into one of the stacks of crates, and died in a sickening crunch of bone and flesh against the reinforced wood.

As she had predicted, Zelda's claymore crashed through the bark-crafted shield in a single strike, nearly cutting off the Bokoblin's arm in the process. Now hampered by the damaged shield, its mace was too slow to bring up, and her two-handed thrust went straight through its stomach and out the other side by a solid foot as she stepped into it to add more force. Just as its dead weight was starting to drag the sword from her grasp, it vanished into smoke, and Zelda turned her now steely green eyes toward the last Bokoblin.

"Bubmin right, should have surrendered," the Bokoblin whispered plaintively.

"You should have never eaten people, or tortured this one," Zelda corrected, and swung.

The last Bokoblin's bow was cut in two as its head went spinning into the air. It didn't land, already smoke, though two teeth and a horn did.

Zelda couldn't care right then. She looked around quickly for threats, and from a few feet away somehow she felt the unwinding of the magic that held the lock shut.

That was not her concern either.

The woman, as Zelda dove to her knees beside her, was in terrible shape. It was hard to judge her age, or if she had been pretty, for bruises covered her face and made it swell in an ugly, discolored way. Bruises, cuts, and bite-marks covered her nearly everywhere, in fact, and a rancid smell along with blood pulled her attention to the spot between the woman's legs.

Dried and semi-viscous yellow-white fluid leaked from two places there, which were puffy and inflamed. Her cheek too, had a line in one spot. "Don't worry," Zelda said softly, "I'm here to help you... what's your name, miss? I'm Zina."

Again, it was the first name that popped into her head. Slowly, the woman turned bleary, blood-shot eyes to her, though one was swollen completely shut. "D-Dreaming... angel... Hylia..."

"No, it's not a dream,." Zelda apologized, "and I'm sorry, I am no angel. Just- just a woman. The Bokoblins are dead."

"A good dream, then," the woman croaked, and rolled onto her back with a hiss of pain.

"No, really, you aren't dreaming. I killed them." Somehow.

"Doesn't matter," she croaked, "I'm... done for. Bleeding... lungs. Not long now... few... minutes..."

"No... no, that can't be- there has to be something!"

The woman coughed, and Zelda could suddenly see fresh blots of red around her lips and nostrils. "Nothing... left. Tell.. Brigo... he's an idiot for... not noticing... years... ago."

"Brigo? The man at the bridge?"

The woman's bloody teeth showed as she forced on a shaky grin, "That idiot... loved him for years, he... never.. noticed. Paranoid... too late...now."

"I'll tell him," Zelda whimpered, "but please, tell me, there must be something. I... I have some magic! Maybe I..."

The woman's grip was strangely strong as she grabbed hold of the princess' desperately-seeking wrist. "No... no. Stop. If there was something... I'd... say no. Three days of... this? No. Better... dying. Forget it all. No... pain. No... monster child."

Zelda hiccupped in disbelief as the woman sobbed and gasped, both prompting a full-on fit of coughing. "Don't talk, then, it'll only shorten-"

"Want to die... faster," the woman gasped, and coughed up a full bubble of blood this time, staining Zelda's hand an arm as she tried to comfort her as best she could. "A mercy if you just... ended... me..."

"I can't," Zelda whimpered, "I have to save..."

Without further warning, the woman went limp, her body still, and one last, burbling bubble of bloody air left her lungs.

"I didn't even get your name..."

Of course, a corpse cannot answer.

Zelda did not know how long she wept.

The sky was dark, and studded with diamond stars, though, and more clouds were blowing in slowly from the south, carrying the scent of rain once more, when the urge to relieve her self, to stand up, brought her back to herself. Before any of that, though, Zelda cast about for one of the Bokoblin's crude blankets, and used that to cover the body of the unknown woman who had loved the bridge-guard for years. Last, she closed the woman's vacant, staring eyes, then forced herself to follow her champion's advice, her own, and the Slate's.

If you do not know what to do... just act. Any action is better than inaction.

So she moved. First, to the barrels and crates, sorting through what she could in the light of a nearly full moon and stars, tossing the dross, of which there was a lot and a wide variety, into the fire. It grew quickly, as much by her bad aim through tears and anger as the simple addition of fuel.

In about twenty minutes, she'd gone through about half of the crates, and the flames were licking at the poor woman's covering.

After another thirty, she was finished, and the smell of burning, cooking human was starting to make Zelda feel nauseous. She forced herself to keep working, though, even after she vomited bile and worse humours. Not only the smell, but the images her mind had been conjuring of what must have befallen the woman since she was captured were getting to her, and badly. But Zelda could not stop. She wasn't able to help, but she had at least gotten her revenge while the woman lived. "I pray you're in a better place now. I don't know if I can keep my promise to tell Brigo... it might break his heart. But I will try."

When all was said and done, and the fat of the woman's body was gone, leaving only the bone to continue burning in the roaring bonfire, Zelda had gained quite a lot, even if she felt like she'd lost a piece of her very humanity.

While gathering, she had even paused for a moment to take a couple of fireflies, drawn by the orange glow, and add them to a small jar she'd found. But there was also roasted fish, bass she thought, and a large haunch of heavily salted venison, some form of crab roasted in the shell, a stash of mixed walnuts, acorns, and pecans, a few more fresh apples along with a slop of what might be better called applesauce, a few bundles of arrows, several smaller stones cut much like her purple one, in red, blue, and the same green Mils had found, which convinced Zelda that these were indeed various denominations of what passed as the defunct nation's currency. All-told there had been one red, two blue, and four green ones. The greater prize, in the chest itself, a large uncut opal, the largest she had seen yet, as thick and long as both her thumbs pressed together. It was brilliant in the moonlight, but as the clouds covered it, Zelda stowed the thing away at last, and turned her eyes toward the woman's body, reduced now to near skeletal in the heat, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I wasn't here sooner... that I couldn't do more. I'll... I promise to do the best I can for... everyone left. I promise. I'm..."

The rest of the princess' words choked in her throat, and she turned away, watery-eyed once more.

Lost in mourning for an unknown person, Zelda once again barely noticed the presence of enemies as she started walking into the night. Not far to the east, but more than two thousand yards to the south of the great bonfire she had made, two skeletal Bokoblins rose from the dirt.

Zelda barely noticed as she hacked them apart, then stabbed each skull into dust with her greatsword.

It may be nicked and damaged, but so far was still holding up relatively well. That was the most thought she could give the blade. All her mind could spare.

She had work to do.

Thick, brown, hard-capped mushrooms added to her collection next, urged by her subconscious as Zelda started climbing the intermittent hollow left by the great, fallen forest giant. Soon after, a small handful of the green Stamella mushrooms she had first seen on the Plateau, as the emotionally numb princess followed a vanishing, teleporting flower up the loam path.

Throwing herself out of the way of a rolling boulder was a brief distraction, and the cackle of a Bokoblin (too deep to be Bubmin's, she thought) as it scampered away brought a moment of clarity, but for the most part Zelda felt only lost, in a fugue state, as she wandered up and up. There were even a few handfuls of blue nightshade, which had been rare on the plateau, that entered her collection of herbs with barely a thought at all.

Of course, the Korok's winding path had taken her to the center of the great stump itself, yet another reminder of loss... though Zelda hoped that she might see a little new growth from the old. If nothing else, the decay of the giant had left the soil around fertile indeed, for sprouts, saplings, and even a few decades-old trees littered the area around it richly.

Yet, high up and east again, there were still small signs of hope.

In the woods, as Brigo had mentioned, a cook-fire burned in the pre-dawn light, sending a flavorful pillar of smoke twisting past her nostrils. Zelda was not hungry, she had no appetite at all after the scent of burning flesh and knowledge of what the Bokoblins had done to the woman, but she knew she had to keep her limited strength up. She was already flagging.

Already, as if she had not been awake and walking for nearly twenty-four hours, and fighting for her life twice in that span, too.

She was closer to the gorge now, and from her vantage point high atop the stump, Zelda could see another of the stone watchtowers in the distance, just off the line between her and the cookfire's smoke. On the opposite side of the swift river, half as wide as the one the Proxim covered by still quite far to swim, the tower rose. She wanted to reach both this day, but knew sleep might be needed first.

What had been promised as a one, maybe one and a half day journey was already two, but Zelda could not make herself care if it turned into four, or five. Every day, every step, improved her endurance. Every felled foe weakened her enemy (if only temporarily), and increased her experience and strength.

It would take as long as it had to, she had decided in her musings before finding the camp of Bokoblins torturing the woman.

That had not changed now. She would take longer, if anything, to do as much good for her people- her people, even if she dared not admit it to any of them- as she could on the way. Relieve their burdens, give them hope. A reason to believe in a better future.

Because even if she could not quite believe it for herself, she had to believe it for them. It was what would keep her going. It had so far.

That's the only option she had, anyway.

Following the ridge she was already on, Zelda paused only briefly, still emotionally exhausted but not quite numb, to pick a few apples from a trio of trees. Purely by coincidence, another Korok appeared with a laugh, "Oh, you spotted that fast! Did someone else show you how this one works? You're smart, lady!"

Zelda, surprised, nearly lost her grip on the branch supporting her as the spirit floated in front of her face. "I... what? Oh- Oh. I... um, yes. That's it."

Lying off the cuff was not easy, she decided.

"Awesome. Well, since you made them match, you can have my seed to take to Hestu! Here you go, lady! Thanks for playing our game!"

After throwing the seed at her, uncaring that she was literally hanging from a branch with an apple in the other hand, Zelda let herself drop, rather hard, onto the hilltop below. It took her a few minutes to find the little seed in the tall grass, but finally she did, annoyed that this one, while friendly enough, was so careless. "Could've at least put it in a pocket, or waited a moment."

Even though she was sick of apples, her pouch now held a huge pile of them, enough to fill a regular, unenchanted barrel she thought. More than fifty, she was sure. Maybe not a hundred, but somewhere between them for certain. Her mind settled on 'about seventy-five', and decided that was quite enough quibbling over the huge volume of apples fit into a very small space. "And my father said his skill at enchanting was 'basic'. Hah..."

She still didn't know if the skill was that common or hard to do, but it seemed amazing to her all the same.

Now, closer to the tower and camp, her decision about which route to take was simple. Climb the stone pillar, hoping for another supply drop to trade (she did have rather a lot of apples, after all, and some would be bruised from the weight of the rest alone if the satchel weren't magical) before hopefully finding the hermit of the woods in a mood to trade, and fairly.

She understood barter and economics on some level, of course, but she had no idea of the current fair prices of things, or what her rupees were actually worth. But no one, least of all a princess in some form of violent exile, liked to be cheated.

A short while later, and two crested hills behind her, Zelda stared in shock and awe both. The tower on the Plateau had been high. This one was nearly twice that, and far too much for her to climb. "Then again," she whispered thoughtfully aloud, "I am not on the ground level... I'm over a hundred feet up if an inch, and near a very sheer drop... and I can almost fly. I wonder, I wonder... it would certainly shorten the drop. I just have to... not miss. And if I do, I would- or should- be able to kick away and catch myself with the glider again. I think... I think I can do it."

The problem was, Zelda did not like heights. She could handle them, had proven it several times, but she didn't like the idea at all.

As long as solid ground was beneath her, that was fine. She did enjoy a spectacular view.

But falling to her death was not something she wanted to do. Then again, as I just told myself, I do have a glider, you silly girl.

The princess shook her head, rubbed her hands together to work up her courage, and pulled the glider free. "This is stupid, I'm going to die!" she cried, a moment before she jumped.

With a snap, the wind already roaring in her ears, Zelda's paraglider opened at once, and she soared. Sort of, anyway.

Her feet hit first, slowing her momentum as she'd almost planned, but mostly done on instinct in the last moment, then slid down, three, four feet until the left caught in the ledge between two stones. Her right arm caught her weight in the next crack up, while the left let the glider swing fee for a moment. Carefully, her right fingers sliding out agonizingly slowly and aching the whole while, Zelda took her time to get both feet stable, so at least four toes on each foot held her weight before shifting for a better grip with her hand. Then, one-armed, she hefted the glider over and over until she snagged both long side-poles. "Whew. That's done... now, I just have to climb one and a half-handed."

It wasn't actually all that difficult. Her glider's hand-holds fit easily in a hand enough that she could slide it between her thumb and palm, and it simply rested there, light enough that it only added a bit of weight to her weaker arm. The worst part was the length of it swinging awkwardly in the intermittent highland breeze, but even that was manageable.

It still took far too long, and once again her fingers, arms, calves, and toes all burned with pain when she hauled herself, panting for breath, over the lip at the top. After catching her breath, which thankfully took a little less time than the first two towers she had climbed, Zelda found another note wrapped around a heavy, large rupee. At least it seemed to be, though this one shone with a brilliant metallic sheen like silver. My supplies are gone, so this is all I have left. If you can make it a few hours further east, there's a place to trade and resupply for it there, the horse-rider's way-inn. I have two more of these, and will resupply there myself for now. -K

Zelda let out a low whistle as she read the note, and hefted the metallic, or possibly metal-covered, coinage. This note she simply wrote on the back of, now thankfully using a bit of charcoal she'd scavenged from the fire. It stained her fingers black, but that was better than staining them with blood. I've been following you since the Outpost Ruins, K. I've resupplied where I could, mostly with fresh fruits but a few bits of meat or fish. It's all I've had. I feel I need to take this too- I've a desperate need I wish I could explain- but I will leave the chest full in return. I'm sorry it's all going to be the same, and I've no idea of the actual value in trade here. Sorry again. -Z

P.S. Who are you? Who built these towers? Why are they so hard to reach? I can climb them, but I admit I sort of cheated to get up this one.

Not knowing if she would ever get an answer, for Zelda wasn't sure she dared make that risky a jump again if the mysterious "K" ever replied, she took the much easier glide back to the hilltop she had just jumped from, and then started half-climbing and half-sliding down the steep slope to the forest floor below. She was even, thankfully, within a few hundred feet of the hermit's cooking fire.

A hermit far younger than she had expected. Zelda thought, for some reason, the person would at least be in the same apparent age-group as her father's ghost, white of hair and long of beard if they were a man.

Instead, the person she found was chubby to the point of being nearly obese, found-faced with no chin to speak of, with plain blonde hair and dull, watery eyes. The young man was probably in his mid-twenties at the most, and dressed fairly well, if dirty, for a person who lived alone, but the scattering of tools and hand-made alterations to the camp made it clear the man was here more often than not. He even had a cooking pot on his stove, one of the large, steel ones like her father had at his cabin.

Still, it was the hermit's words rather than his appearance that shocked Zelda the most. "You are an idiot. A crazy, lucky idiot."

"I- I'm sorry? Excuse me?"

The large man snorted, "I've seen some crazy things in my day- and now I sound like my father! Ugh. Anyway, I've seen crazy things. Me moving out here chief among them, as good as it's been in its own way. But someone jumping onto that cliff onto a sheer stone tower, grabbing on, climbing to the top, and then jumping off a few minutes later? Lunacy. Madness. I want none of it."

"I can assure you I'm not insane," Zelda said, laughing softly now, "Nor mad, nor even an idiot... I think. I mostly knew what I was doing, and would have been fine if I missed my grip. The glider I have is enchanted, you see."

"Still, that doesn't... bah, whatever. No one listens to me anyway. What do I know? I'm just a fool who abandoned his wealthy family to live out in the woods, alone."

"I... I'm sorry? Your family is... no, that's not my business. I'm sorry," the princess backtracked.

"Damned right it's not. And yeah, I left it all behind to live a simple life. I like nature more than people anyway."

Zelda found herself smiling even as his scowl deepened. "That I can understand, though I like them both so far. I'm Zelda."

The name slipped out before she could catch herself, but the man didn't react at all, except to scowl further, which made his round face seem strangely funny. "Gah, introductions... I have to be polite. Damn it... alright, fine. I'm Giro."

Zelda smiled further, prompting the deepest frown from the man she'd seen yet, "I heard from Brigo you're a trader of sorts, too? In addition to living alone? And... you know a bit of alchemy?"

Giro snorted now, looking away and back to his fire, which he poked with a stick to stir the coals. "A bit... it's what I do, I suppose. I came out here to these wood because there's a lot of stuff around that's really useful. I like to experiment, y'see. Learned- or at least rediscovered- a bunch of stuff even the elders in my village don't know. But no one wants to hear it. "Good enough for mah Pah and mah Ma, so it's good enough for me! Fools."

"Well, I'm all for scientific and alchemical advancement," Zelda said cheerfully, taking an uninvited seat next to him. "Let's trade knowledge! I've lost a lot due to a brain injury I had... a few years back, but some is coming back to me."

The pair, to Zelda's happiness and Giro's complete shock, spent more than three hours trading tips. She learned several new recipes, and he seemed surprised that she'd found a way to make the strength-boosting elixir she had concocted on the plateau. "I've been working on one of those for four years," he groused, but he couldn't argue with the results after having a taste. "That's most impressive."

Finally, as the sun hit its zenith, he reached into the pot and pulled out a ladle of soup. He passed the bowl to Zelda first, "Eat up. I've only the one bowl, and I won't make a nice girl like yourself go after me. And take as much as you want. Cooking for myself has... well, it's got its downsides," he finished, chuckling as he patted his belly. "I gained all this cooking out here, you know? I was skinny when I left home."

"You are a good cook," she told him seriously after taking a few spoons full, "this is delicious!"

"Helps with alchemy," he admitted shyly, rubbing the back of his head, "That's why I learned. A- Anyway. I could use some supplies without spending time gathering them myself... have anything you want to trade? I've got some money to spare at the moment. At least, some. Don't have to pay rent, and my last trader was Brigo. He only pays in cash, so..."

"I do, as a matter of fact," she grinned once more. "How do you feel about apples...?"

Between losing twenty-five apples, a dozen each of two kinds of mushrooms, some of her peppers, and a smaller chunk of amber to the chest high above them, her supply was diminished. Still, Zelda felt she had plenty to work with. First, though... "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm not from around here, I... don't actually know the currency very well. These are Rupees, right?"

She held out the gems, all of them, and the man's eyes boggled. He covered hers with his own much larger, flabby hands at once, and glanced around warily, "Geez, lady... don't go flashing coin like that willy nilly! Yeah, it's- those are Rupees alright, but that's a lot. Enough to get someone stabbed in the night! Be more careful, would you? I'd hate a budding alchemical talent like yours to go that way."

"S- Sorry... I'll be more careful, I promise."

Slowly, his hands moved away, and hers closed around them once more.

"You... sure you aren't from here? With a name like Zelda?"

She blinked. "Um... no? My, uh, grandmother was... from somewhere east of here. I'm trying to find the place."

"Ah, that explains it. It's a very common name in these parts, for girls. Seems like there's at least one in every town or village you can find. For boys, it's Link. Never really did know why, but I think it's cause of the stories. From how Hyrule used to be, you know. Probably before even your grandmothers' time, or thereabouts. They say a hundred years back it was a lot different."

Zelda nodded, trying to cut him off, "Yes, I've- heard that from a few people. You're the first person I've had to trade with since getting some of the local currency though. It's really a lot?"

"Quite a bit, yeah, More than enough to rob someone for, anyway. Look- a few rupees will buy you a decent meal near anywhere. Ten to twenty, depending on the place, will get you room and a comfortable bed, plus meals before and after to sleep for a night. So you've got context."

Zelda nodded, "I see."

Then he tapped her hand, and she opened one as he explained, "The green ones, the smallest, are quite common, and a single Rupee. The blue are next, a bit bigger, still all over. That's five. Two pays for a meal and bed most places, and more exotic or better inns maybe four. With me?"

"Of course. It's all very interesting, though."

Giro smiled again, glad to have someone to talk to who could actually follow him for a change. It sucked being the only smart person in your family, even if they were wealthy. "The reds are twenty, so four blue as well. The purple there, those are hard to find. Not many around, it's just a rarer amount. It's worth fifty total, and the silver... I've only seen a few at any one time in any place. That's a full hundred."

Zelda whistled, "I see what you mean. If a desperate person can get a decent bed for ten, that's a week and half of comfort on its own."

Giro nodded seriously, "and you've got three weeks and change right there. And I'll probably be adding to it. Fortunately, they're easily concealed, that's why Hyrule used to use them instead of coin. Doesn't jangle, or weigh as much, and each gem- even if they're easier to lose- has the value of several lower denomination values in the other countries around here. At least, they used to. No one really knows anymore. Roads are too dangerous to go far, I guess."

Zelda frowned, "I... see. Well, alright. Thank you for the lesson again, then, and the advice. And thank you for being fair and honest. So... shall we trade?"

After selling off a great deal of the contents of her pouch, everything from several chunks of amber (useful as a base for several elixirs), to a half-dozen fireflies (they make potions glow in the dark, that's just fun!), to toads, beetle heads, lizard tails, the blue cores of nearly all her defeated Chu, and the vast majority of her monster parts in general along with a selection of, yes, applies (for he loved them dearly, Giro claimed, and nearly squealed when he saw how many Zelda produced from her bag), she left his company in almost good cheer again, and more than a thousand Rupees richer.

"You weren't kidding about being wealthy," Zelda murmured as she counted up the coin he had traded to her.

Giro chuckled, "I left with five Rupees. That's all earned on my own. Brigo tells way too many people about me. I don't mind you, being good company and a smart young lady, but lots of people just bring me money, money, money, for this or that elixir or remedy. As if I've a use for it, when the woods feed me so amply, heh."

"That would be annoying," Zelda admitted, though privately she thought he might be trying to flirt in his own way. "Anyway, I should, um, get going. I'm trying to reach the Stables before nightfall... or at least, before it gets too late."

"Oh... well.. if you're ever in the area...? I don't mind all company..."

"I'll keep that in mind," Zelda promised, actually meaning it. She wasn't interested romantically, for she had no time to even think about it. Physically, well... she was no great athlete, but he had clearly let himself go a bit too much. And as much as she did enjoy nature, she didn't want to live as a hermit forever.

That was, if she even had that option. More than likely I'll be dead tomorrow. No use even worrying about it now.

"Oh, wait, I forgot," Giro called when she was a few feet away, "I actually do have some stuff to sell, too. Some truffles you don't find often around here- really hearty, good for general health. Carrots, Stamella Shrooms- I know you just sold me some of those, so never mind- and salt. I even have some arrows, since I see you carry a couple of bows."

That actually made Zelda turn completely around instead of look over her shoulder. "Arrows? Never have enough, can you? I am a good shot, but... hmm... alright. As long as you don't mind me paying in Rupees. I'd like to keep the supplies I have for now, at least until I'm carrying a lot again."

"Of course, of course. What can I interest you in...?"

After pulling the wares out of his tent and a nearby barrel, Zelda perused them swiftly, "Well, if you can spare them, I'll take all three of the truffles. I vaguely remember they were delicious from before my, um, injury. The carrots too, eyesight is always worth helping... I'll pass on the Stamella... but I suppose the salt and all your arrows. If you can spare them, I don't want to put you out."

"Eh, I'm trying to cut back on meat, and I'm a decent fletcher even with these fat fingers," Giro shrugged, "so I can make more before I run out. Sure, I can sell all that. Uh... let's see... about two hundred twenty Rupees?"

Zelda considered it for a moment, then counted out the requested amount in mostly red and a few blue just for his convenience, then added the stores to their respective compartments in her satchel and quiver. "Thanks again, Giro. Hope you stay safe!"

"You too, beauti- uh... pretty smart lady!"

She giggled, but didn't want to encourage him with a verbal response. Instead, probably as red-faced as he was at the slip, Zelda hurried to the north, skirting the edge of the forest as she hoped to avoid any bears.