It took Link and Zelda almost an entire day to reach where Kubo was taking them. The moblin had led the two Hylians through the open expanses of the Calatian grasslands and into the sheltered darkness of the eastern forests. The former slave had quickly found a narrow path winding its way through the dense underbrush of the forests and was wasting no time in leading them along it. "Kubo, please stop for a bit!" whined Zelda. "I'm too tired to continue. I need to rest!" The moblin stopped and shook his head at the princess. "Nononono. We cannot stop. Not here. No. Must keep going." Zelda sat down on a small rock and looked at the small creature. "Going? Going where? You still haven't told us!" Looking wildly around him, the moblin said quickly, "Shhhhh! Stay quiet, princess girl. Quiet. Not good to yell here. No. Not good. Up! Must keep going to get to safe place. Up!" "Zelda." Link said quietly, "I think we should do as Kubo says. I'm getting a bad feeling about this forest." He rested his hand on the hilt of the Master Sword and looked warily around. "Yesss. Listen to Linken. Up now. Up. Forest not safe." "What's not safe about it, Link." Zelda said from the rock, "I don't feel anything wrong. It has everything forests have, doesn't it? It has trees and bushes and dirt and birds and...." she trailed off, unease growing in her. Link nodded slowly. "No birds." Zelda got up slowly and wrapped her arms around herself. "But forests always have birds." The Hylians looked up into the trees for any signs of avian life, but could see none. They brought their attention back to the ground as they heard Kubo's sharp intake of breath. They saw him staring at the rock Zelda had just been sitting on. Link bent closer to the rock for a better look at it, but could see nothing wrong with it. Turning to Kubo, he said, "What? It's just a rock." The moblin shook his head. "Cut it with your sword." Link shrugged and did so. The Master Sword cut silently through the rock, leaving the two halves to fall on either side of it. The rock was hollow and filled with some sort of yellow, sticky fluid. Lying inside the fluid were hundreds of little translucent balls. "Ewww!" squealed the princess in disgust. "What are they?" Link picked one up on the edge of his blade and peered at it. "It's a spider." "Spiders? How did they get into the rock?" The three looked at each other. It wasn't a rock; it was an egg. Zelda moved to Link's side and grabbed his arm, looking into his face. "What kind of spider lays eggs that size?" Link shook his head. "I don't know, but I don't want to meet it. Let's get out of here. Lead the way Kubo." With the moblin in the lead again, the three quickly made their way along the path. None of them could shake an overwhelming sense of fear. This sense was only heightened when Kubo vanished before the Hylian's eyes. "Kubo!" Link shouted, holding his sword ready and looking around for any sign of the creature. Zelda had drawn her dagger and looked up at the trees when the leaves began to violently shake. Suddenly giant green and black spiders surrounded the two Hylians, all hanging from the trees by thick strands of web extending from their abdomens. The biggest spider hung directly in front of Link. The only difference between this one and the others was that this one had orange stripes on it. "Travelersss put away weaponsss or little moblin diesss!" It hissed. Zelda quickly dropped her weapon, but Link didn't move a muscle. "Link!" Zelda whispered, "Put down your sword or they'll kill Kubo!" "If I put down my sword, there's nothing to stop them killing us." The surrounding spiders all hissed loudly. The lead spider said, "Ahh. You arrre a warrriorrr! The tassste of victory is much betterrr than the blood. You shall fight usss to the death, yes?" "You can't take on all of them by yourself, Link! You'll be slaughtered!" Link ignored the princess, "You like the taste of victory?" he said to the lead spider. It clacked its mouth pincers together a few times before responding. "Yesss." "Then what about just you and me fighting?" "You wisssh to wagerrr?" it hissed. "If I win, you release my friend and allow the three of us to pass through the forest." "And if I win?" "If you win, we will give up without a fight." "What?!" Zelda cried out in shock, but Link held up his hand to silence her. The spider spat before Link. "No fight, no good! Fight to the death!" "Fine." Link said. "But only if none of your friends interfere with our battle. Just you and me." The spider clacked its pincers again. "Fine." And with that, Zelda was swiftly pulled up into the trees and the spider attacked. Link dodged the attack and struck out with his sword, missing the spider. The spider jumped up into the overhanging trees and left Link staring up at the branches. "Come down!" Link shouted. He turned just in time to raise his sword in defence of the attack. The spider had spun it's web and was hanging down from the strands. Link tried to retaliate, but the spider had already pulled itself back into the branches. Again and again the spider came down and attacked, and each time Link defended but had no time to strike back. Then, the spider swung down and Link rolled under it, came up quickly, and lashed out with his sword, cutting the web. The spider crashed to the ground, landing on it's back. Link approached the creature as it struggled to right itself. The trees above rustled as the other spiders hissed their disapproval. Link placed his blade just under the mouth of the great spider and said, "Do you give up?" In response, the spider spat on Link's boot, the acid burning through the leather. Impassively, Link drove the sword through the creature's throat. Before he had drawn the blade out, Zelda and Kubo were dropped behind him. The spiders above hissed even louder. Kubo jumped to his feet and called out to the other two, "Hurry, run! They will attack us soon! Run!" Link and Zelda didn't need to be told twice. Several seconds after they began running, they heard the sounds of the spiders overtaking them in the branches above. "Faster!" Link shouted. Just as the spiders seemed like they would drop down, the forest ended suddenly; several spiders falling out of the branches. The trio just kept running, leaving the hissing creatures and the forest, behind them.

It wasn't long before they had to stop and catch their breath. Zelda lay stretched out on the ground, Kubo lay curled up in a ball, and Link was sitting with his head between his knees. None of them would move for over an hour and by that time the sun was setting. "I guess we make camp here tonight." Link said. "Sounds good to me!" Zelda sighed. The three of them lay silently watching the stars come out in the fading light It was after dark when Zelda spoke up. "Link," she said, "what do you think the stars are?" "They're stars. What could they be made of?" "I don't know. I just thought-" "The gods made them. That's all I need to know." "Oh." The three were silent for some time before Kubo spoke up. "Blood." Link and Zelda turned to look at the moblin. "What?" Zelda asked. Not shifting his gaze from the heavens, Kubo explained. "Before Goddesses came down and created the world, there was Great Nothingness. All that was in Nothingness was black sky. One day, the god Chaos, in his castle in the sky, cut himself with a blade. He gathered all blood in a cup until his veins were dry. Then, with last strength, he flung the cup, spilling the blood across Nothingness. The blood became stars and the cup became moon. That is why, on some nights, the moon looks golden, and on others it looks blood red." "Amazing." Link said. "Where did you hear that, Kubo?" "Mother told it when I was young." "She must have been very wise." Zelda said. Kubo nodded. "She was. Taught me many things." With that, the moblin began to sing softly. The words were unfamiliar to the Hylians, but they knew beautiful music when they heard it. Silently, Zelda moved next to Link and said, "He's so much happier now that he's not a slave." Link nodded. They both listened in silence to the moblin's song until it ended and Kubo fell asleep. Link looked down at Zelda, who had fallen asleep on his chest. He turned his eyes to the stars and just stared until he too fell asleep.

They woke early the next morning and set off again with Kubo in the lead. Although the two Hylians had no idea where they were headed, they were confident in the small moblin. Throughout the day, the trio passed through many of the small forests in the region. The going was tough and the weather became suddenly hot and blistering and, of course, Zelda was always whining. "Why can't we use our horses?" she would ask over and over again. "Because if we called them, they could lead the Calatians right to us. Wait until we reach Hyrule." Link would answer her each time. "How much further?" "Not far." Kubo would reply. By dusk, Link and Kubo were sick of hearing the princess' voice. Eventually they came to the edge of another forest and Kubo told them to stop. "Stay quiet from now on. Speak not." Silently, swiftly looking cautiously from side to side, the moblin proceeded to lead them into the dark forest. Before long, the trio came upon a small ravine with a tiny stream trickling through the bottom. "Link," Zelda whispered, "I have a bad feeling about this." Link kept his eyes darting around him, looking for anything suspicious and whispered back, "I know, just keep your eyes open." They descended into the ravine and halted before a large tree stump beside the stream. "We wait." Kubo said, and promptly sat down heavily on the stump. The princess crouched beside the water and dipped her hands in the cool liquid. Link remained standing at alert, still uneasy about the situation. They stayed like this for many minutes in silence before they were met by the inhabitants of the forest. Zelda heard a rustling in the bushes on the other side of the stream and looked up in time to see an arrow pierced the air and hit the dirt inches from her leg. She fell with a startled scream into the water and the three were immediately surrounded by moblins. They were all heavily armed. The lead moblin stepped forward. "Throw down weapons and give up." Link and Kubo ignored the soaking princess' yells from behind them and concentrated on the lead moblin. Kubo said quickly, "Meum Kubo. Meum used to be slave in Palace. These friends help meum run. Meum help them get home." As if on queue, Link slowly drew his sword and laid it on the ground before the moblin leader. "My friend and I mean you no harm. We wish only to return to Hyrule." The lead moblin snorted. "That youm say, Man. But what youm mean?" "I mean what I say. And I'm no Man, I am a Hylian." Saying that, Link pulled off his cap, revealing his long, pointed ears; the telltale mark of a true Hylian. The surrounding moblins began to whisper excitedly to each other at the sight of Link's ears. Link leaned toward Kubo and whispered, "Why are they talking like that?" Kubo whispered back, "A prophesy about two Hylians. Very old." The lead moblin interrupted the short conversation. "Hylians hunt moblins. Why should usums trust youm?" "Because we are only a day ahead of the entire Calatian army and if we don't leave the country soon, we'll be killed. Along with those who are found with us." Again the moblin chattered, this time in fear. The leader seemed to make up his mind. "Come. Youms rest in hideahole, then leave. Come." Several moblins helped Zelda out of the water while others retraced the Hylian's trail, hiding and destroying it, to throw off pursuit. Then, in a line, twisting through the dense forest, they all set off for the 'hideahole.' As they walked, Zelda began to whine. Again. "That's right, just ignore the princess. Who fell. Into water. Just ignore me. Everyone else does. Don't mind me, I'm just a princess" She spread her arms wide, "I mean, look at me! I'm of royal blood and I'm soaking wet! And I'm being made to walk for days on end with no stopping. It's not fair!" A far away look came to her face. "I just want to lay down next to a big fire, wrapped inside a big, furry blanket, with servants waiting on me, hand and foot. That's all. Is that too much to ask?" After several more minutes, the moblin leader had had enough. He stopped the group and strode to where the princess was leaning against a tree, pouting. "Girl, come here." he said beckoning her to bend down so that he could look her in the eye. She did so and, before she could move away, the moblin had slapped her roughly on the cheek. "Quiet, girl! No more talkin' for youm!" The princess fell back with a gasp, hand at her cheek, in shock. The other moblins chuckled at her reaction. "You hit me!" she growled. "You moblin scum!" Suddenly the princess was surrounded by armed moblins who were, needless to say, pissed. A blade was pressed against Zelda's throat by the lead moblin. "Never say that again, girl! Next time, you die." The moblin withdrew his blade and they continued walking. Zelda quickly got up and rushed to Link's side, tightly holding his arm and crying in fear. "They nearly killed me, Link!" she said as they followed the moblins. "Why didn't you do anything to help me? You're supposed to be protecting me!" Link shook his head. "Frankly, you deserved it, Zelda. You insulted them." "I though you were on my side, Link. I thought you were my friend. Now you're siding with these foreign moblins." She crossed her arms and began to pout. They continued in silence until the princess again spoke up. "But they hit me, Link! It hurt!" Link looked at the girl's red cheek. "You'll get over it." Zelda stopped and pushed Link into a tree. "I'm a princess, no one hits princesses!" Link brushed the tree moss off of his tunic and glared at the girl. "Princess of what?" "Don't be daft. Hyrule, of course." "And where are we?" Unease began to creep into her voice. "Calatia." "Right," Link said as he began walking again. "So here you're nothing more than a peasant to these people. Not royalty. You need to learn that well if you're to be queen." Zelda quickly caught up with him and said, "But I'm not going to be queen. Mira's queen." Link didn't reply. He had a bad feeling that things will have changed when they returned to Hyrule.

The Hylians were led through the dense woods by the moblins until they came to a large tree stump in a small clearing. "What now?" asked Zelda, looking around. "I don't see any 'hideahole'." Link smiled. He could remember a similar hideout in Hyrule's Lost Forest. The moblins approached the stump and pawed at it. "What are they doing?" Zelda asked. "Just watch." Link said, nodding to the stump. To the princess' surprise, the small creatures pulled away some moss from the old tree, revealing a small hole just big enough for a person to fit through. The lead moblin gestured for the Hylians and Kubo to enter. Cautiously, they entered the dark hole. "How are we all supposed to fit in here?" Zelda muttered as she crawled through first. Her words were closely followed by a scream as her hands abruptly found no ground to crawl on. Link and Kubo chose to climb down the ladder. "Are you all right?" Link asked Zelda, helping her up from the ground. "I'm fine, I guess. Just bruised." she said. "Wow!" Link and Zelda turned to Kubo to find him staring into a doorway across from the ladder. They stood beside him and felt their jaws drop in awe. Before the trio was a giant room, lit brilliantly with hundreds of small candles. The floors and walls were built with stones and stalactites hung from the ceiling, some almost reaching the floor. All throughout the cavern, moblins were working busily. "I've- I've never seen so many moblins in one place! It's amazing!" exclaimed Zelda. "What are they doing?" Link asked, more to himself than to anyone else. "Building." said a voice behind them. The three turned to find the lead moblin standing before his fellow scouts who had just come down the ladder. "Building what?" the princess asked, as they all began to walk through the cavern. "A city." came the reply. "A city?" the Hylians asked. "Weum moblins make home for usums. Deep under ground. Hideahole." As the group passed moblins, all working industriously, many stopped working and stared at the Hylians. Some shouted in surprise and soon moblins were lining the streets of the small city, all silently watching. Amid the crowds, the Hylians caught sight of a Man standing among the workers. The Man walked over to greet them. Link eyed the man carefully as he approached. He was a small old man with kind features; he seemed almost a grandfatherly figure. His small brown eyes were almost hidden behind the folds of skin surrounding his eyes and the thick spectacles perched on his nose. His long white hair fell down past his arched back almost to his knees. His great beard touched the floor when he walked, with which he needed the help of a cane. He stopped before the group. Well, well, what have we here?" he said in a small voice, adjusting his glasses. "Looks like two Hylians and a stray moblin. Interesting." he turned to the moblin captain. "Are they dangerous?" The moblin shook his head. "No, sir. Only boy carry weapon." "If you were human," the old man said, turning to Link and Zelda, "I could say that you are Calatians taking a walk with your slave. But you're not humans, are you? You're Hylians and that should make your reasons more intriguing. Captain," he said, turning again to the moblin leader, "take them all to my hut and keep them there until I come for them, please." The moblin saluted as the man turned and left the group. "Come on!" the captain barked to Link, Zelda, and Kubo as he herded them toward a small group of cottages off to one side of the cavern. The three captives were roughly shoved inside a small hut and guarded until the old man came. He sat himself in an old rocking chair and stared at the three for some time before speaking. "Well! Make yourselves comfortable! Sit down and have something to eat and drink." Link looked around the small one room dwelling but saw nothing to sit on or anything to eat. "Sit, sir?" he asked. "Where?" The old man smiled and pointed behind them. "Right there, young man." They turned and to their surprise saw two chairs and a stool standing where a moment ago there had been nothing. Beside the chairs was a small table with food on it and three glasses of wine. "How-?" Zelda began, but stopped as if her voice had suddenly been ripped from her throat. The old man smiled even more. "I shall ask the questions, young lady. Please, sit." Obediently the three sat on the chairs. "Now then," said the old man, settling back into his chair, "what is your reason for being in this part of Calatia? You may speak now." "We were running from the king and his men." Link said. "Really? And why was that?" "We made him angry." Zelda said in a small voice. "Angry? That doesn't surprise me. Eridanus is always angry with someone. But why-? No. You'd better start at the beginning. Tell me everything." For some reason, the three travellers felt compelled to say everything about their reasons in Calatia to the old man. It was almost as if they were being forced with his kind words. They talked for hours on end, not once stopping, and the old man listened silently, sometimes nodding slightly or shaking his head in wonder and disgust. When they had finished their tale, the three suddenly felt so exhausted that they dropped to sleep almost immediately. After a while, the old man got up and stood over the travellers. "Get your rest while you can, children." he said, "I fear that you may need it in the future."

When Zelda awoke, she found Link and Kubo still asleep. Getting up quickly, she looked at the small hut as memories of the previous night flooded back to her. She cautiously opened the door and looked out. Already, the moblins were at work building. She walked out of the hut to get a better view of the work, but was quickly stopped by a moblin guard, who sent his partner off, presumably to find the old man. Within a few minutes the old man was again standing before the girl.

"Ah, princess! I see you are awake. Good. Come and walk with me." With that, the old man turned and shuffled off. A moment later, at the 'insistence' of the guards, Zelda caught up with him. "What is it these moblins are doing?" Zelda asked. "They are working to make a place that will be safe for their children. As all parents do." "Why underground?" The man shrugged. "In many ways it is safer than the surface. For instance, there are no slave drivers down here. Here the moblins can live in peace and security from those like the Calatians. Here in their 'under- world'." Zelda noticed a group of moblins stop working and stare at her in awe. A few waved happily. "Why is it the moblins seem so excited about Link and I?" "Hmmm?" Gregory said, glancing at the moblins. "Oh. They are anxious about what you two could mean." Zelda shook her head. "I don't know what you mean."







The old man smiled. "No. I don't suppose you do. Let me explain. You see, there is an ancient prophesy passed down from moblins to their children. This prophesy foretells the height of the moblin race. It goes like this:

To every riddle there is an answer To every door there is a room To every hero there is a hand that beckons him to doom.

To every king there is a fate To every queen there is a groom To every heir there is a throne sitting in a vaulted room.

To every sun there is a moon To every night there is a day To every light there is a shadow where brightness holds no sway.

To every slave there is a master To every land a Lord must be To every Precious a greatness awaits the Chosen to set free."

Gregory looked to the princess. "Those last lines hint that the Chosen, or the Hylians, will set free the greatness that awaits all Precious, or moblins." "Why are they called 'Precious'?" "That is what they called themselves ages ago. Just as you call yourself the Chosen." The pair walked on without another word for a few minutes, watching the moblins scurry among the cavern when Zelda suddenly chuckled to herself. "What is it, girl, that you find so humorous?" "I just find it funny that I'm listening to a strange old man in a strange land tell me that I could free the moblins, and I don't even know your name." "Strange, am I? Well, yes, I suppose I am a bit. As for my name, I am called Gregory." "Gregory." Zelda repeated to herself. "That name sounds familiar." Then she had it. "Not the Gregory who stopped the Sunian invasion of Arkhas!" "The same." Gregory said proudly. "But that was ages ago! You should be dead!" Gregory laughed loudly. "It wasn't that long ago, girl! Why, I fought alongside King Eridanus and your father, and they are still living well!" Zelda looked down. "My father is no longer living." The old man stopped laughing and stared at her. "Gerrik? Dead? When did this happen?" "Several months ago. He was killed." Gregory seemed to deflate. To Zelda it was as if he had aged twenty years in a second. "I am... sorry to hear that. We were great friends. We always used to talk of the old times, when we were young." The man sighed deeply. "It was a better time, then. Back when your father and mother were alive. Gerrik was always the strong arm of the Lands with Ambrosia his supporting arm. Before he executed his wife, Eridanus and June were always heavy supporters of Hyrule, always there to help out in some way." He sighed again. "But times change and the good never lasts forever." A sudden commotion near an entrance turned their attention away from the bad memories. A moblin ran up to Gregory. "Sir! Vincent has come back!" Zelda looked at the old man questioningly. "Who is Vincent?" Gregory seemed to regain some of his youth. "He is my son!" he proclaimed proudly.

Together, Gregory and Zelda walked toward the entrance and found there a mass of moblins jumping about excitedly. Among them stood Link and Kubo. In the centre of the mass of moblins stood a tall young man in dull tattered armour wearing equally tattered rags around the armour. In a scabbard by his side hung a long broadsword. Around his neck was draped a long red scarf. To this young man Gregory approached, arms spread wide. "Vincent!" said the old man, hugging the knight, "You've returned! It is good to see you again, boy." The knight returned the hug and said, "I have come back to you father, and with me I have brought more of the oppressed moblins." Vincent turned and gestures toward the entrance, and through it walked several dozen sickly moblins accompanied by a few of the healthy Underworld moblins. A shadow seemed to cross Gregory's face. "You didn't steal them, did you?" Vincent dismissed the question with a wave of his hand. "How can something be stolen when there is no one to own it?" The old man quickly turned on his heel and strode away from his son, back to his hut. Shortly after, Vincent followed. The moblins dispersed, leaving Link, Zelda, and Kubo standing alone. "What was all that about?" Link asked. "I don't know." said the princess. "Who is old man?" asked the moblin. "His name is Gregory." answered Zelda. Link looked at her sharply, "Not the Gregory who-" "The same." "Wow. I though he was dead." The three watched the hut for a few minutes in silence before they headed off to meet this Vincent. As they approached the hut they heard shouting. "You killed the owners, didn't you?" "They tried to stop me! I did what I had to do to free the slaves!" "But you don't kill the owners! That's murder!" "It's no different than what you did in the War!" "What I did, I did with a just cause!" "I would call freeing slaves to give them a future a just cause!" "But to kill innocent people is wrong!" "Keeping slaves is wrong!" Suddenly the shouting stopped and the door flew open. Vincent was framed in the doorway. "What do you want?" he shouted to the three companions. "That is no way to talk to our guests, Vincent." said Gregory as he lightly pushed the boy out of the doorway to allow the Hylians in. "Please come inside." They entered and sat down in the chairs that appeared before them. "What are you doing here?" Vincent asked of them. "Vincent that is enough!" scolded the old man. Zelda held up a hand and said, "That's all right, sir." She turned to Vincent. "We were on our way to Hyrule when we were ambushed by a troop of moblins who brought us here." "With your little slave too?" the knight asked pointing to Kubo. "Meum no slave!" shouted the little creature angrily. "These two free meum! Help meum get to Hyrule and be free forever." "You would do better to stay here." "Meum go with Linken." Vincent glared at the three of them and then stalked out of the dwelling, slamming the door as he went. When he was gone, Gregory sighed. "He has become very reckless. His heart is in the right place, but he refuses to believe moblins can be free without bloodshed." "Sometimes spilling blood is the only way." Link said. "Not if it can be avoided." Gregory said through clenched teeth.

The hut fell to silence for a few minutes until the old man seemed to snap out of his downcast mood. "Well!" said he, "We can't have you all hanging around here! You have a home to go to. Come with me and I'll have someone guide you back to Hyrule." Thanking him graciously, the three followed him out into the cavern. Gregory went to a small group of moblins and picked two of them out, showing them to the travellers. "These two know every tunnel in the Underworld. If any can lead you to Hyrule, these two can. Meet Mido and Guido." The moblins heartily greeted the companions. "Every tunnel?" asked Link, "I thought we were going above ground." The old man shook his head. "No, no! The tunnels are the safest way for all of you." Still having doubts about a journey underground, the travellers all got into a small wagon, with Mido and Guido sitting in front, that was pulled by a small pony. "Comaway! Comaway!" shouted the two guides happily as the cart began to move down a side tunnel. Gregory waved to the group as they departed When they had moved some distance away from the main chamber, the cart rocked slightly as Vincent jumped on. Before any of them could object, the young man said, "I am coming with you to Hyrule to protect the moblin from any harm you may try on him." "But we-" started Zelda. "You should have nothing to fear if you are as kind as you say you are." Vincent said, cutting the princess off. "Fine," said Link, "but you will find yourself with no cause in Hyrule. There is no slavery there." "We will see." With that, the four settled down for the long trek back to Hyrule.