The Kindred
Chapter VII: The Motley
Author's note: Finally, we can get this story underway. After this chapter. That's right, got through that introduction and onto the good stuff. This should be a bit longer than the other ones, I think, but you never know. Also, I switched back to normal time/distance measurements instead of the Ohm ones, since… this isn't in Ohm. Ooh, Lupus is pronounced (LOOP-us).
Almost forgot: Somebody asked me when Link was coming into the story, since after all, it IS a Zelda story. I regret to inform you that Link is merely a legend in the time period this takes place in, and is referred to in the story as The Emerald Warrior. The Kindred is set roughly half a century afterwards, hence the new towns and Hylian Army. I hope that clears it up. Anyway, we rejoin our crew as they make their way across the bridge of the small river, to finish the trek to Hyrule Town.
A trio of dark shapes approached the small wooden bridge, glancing about at the surrounding area for unexpected foes. Finding none, the three companions made their way onto the rickety planks, but stopped when Skim noticed movement beyond the range of the poe's lantern. His right arm had become the vicious blade again, and he crouched down, pulling Kitana with him. The poe quickly covered his light with a conjured bit of shadowy cloth and floated near the two, watching and waiting. An ear-splitting howl erupted from the darkness behind them, and Kitana dove out of the way just as a black, furry, canine figure leapt at the spot where she had just been.
Unfortunately, the cucco farmer went over the side of the bridge and into the frigid water below, calling Skim into action. "Rej, get her out of there! Leave your lantern here, I need to see!"
The ghost was reluctant to leave his life force behind on the unsafe bridge, so he created a small globe of light with a wave of his hand and swooped off to help the flailing girl. The flowsteel had transformed the Kakariko boy's left arm into a thin spike, with smaller ones protruding all over it. He faced the obviously hostile creature in a crouched position, ready to lash out with a significantly-slower-than-lightning attack from one of the blades, but was met with silence. The small light bobbed nearby, and followed him as he cautiously moved off the bridge.
Rej pulled the sopping archer out of the water just as he heard a sharp yelp from the bridge. Thinking a stray dog had attacked them, the pair moved to where Skim was, expecting him to have scared the overly hungry mongrel off with the light or a light slap of his blade. Instead, they found the 'flowsteel bladesman' glancing nervously about, searching for the source of the noise.
"Did you hear that?" He asked.
"Yes, it wasn't you?" Kitana said, searching the edges of the darkness.
"Of course not, I don't make high pitched yelping sounds," Skim sounded annoyed.
"I meant you didn't make whatever that was yelp," the cucco farmer sounded even more annoyed than Skim.
"Oh, no." There was another yelp, and the three dashed off along the length of the river to discover the source. What they saw surprised them beyond the stalchildren in the Underneath or even Skim's acquirement of the flowsteel. A tall woman stood over the corpse of a huge canine creature, pulling a large spear out of the body. It was undoubtedly the same creature that attacked Kitana, but upon closer observation, the three found it was no stray dog. It was a wolfos.
The woman was extremely tan, even in the flickering light of Rej's lantern. She ripped the weapon out of the giant wolf, and then seemed to notice them for the first time. "Who are you? Are you the ones this creature attacked?"
"I suppose," said Skim, daring to get a closer look at the wolfos. It was six feet long and three and a half feet at the shoulder, with luminous red eyes and a perpetual snarl, even in death. Rej floated over to examine the woman.
"A Gerudo," the lantern-ghost observed quietly. "What are you doing in this part of Hyrule, desert warrior?"
"I could ask you the same question, poe."
"I am a P.O.E. unit of the Hylian Army, sent to escort this field scribe and archer to the castle for briefing. Let's hear your story."
The Gerudo snorted, but seemed impressed by Rej's ready answer. Skim allowed himself a small smile at the thought of being a field scribe, and the sopping wet cucco farmer a professional archer. "That was a Canis Malis I just killed, more commonly known as a Wolfos. It's what I do."
"A hunter," Skim whispered with quiet respect, but the Gerudo's keen ears picked up his speech anyway.
"That's right. I won't charge you this time for saving your butts, but next time it'll cost you."
"Really?" Rej said, waggling a glove's finger at the hunter. "And just why would we pay you for killing wolfos? And why are there wolfos here, of all places? And how did you just happen to show up at exactly the right moment, hmm?" The barrage of questions caught the Gerudo off guard, so she answered slowly, considering each one.
"Because it was a joke, they make excellent scouts for the Lizafos, and because I could smell this huge monster from ten miles away."
Rej nodded, absorbing this. "I see. Who do we have the pleasure of having our butts saved by, might I ask?"
Bowing low to the ground, the Gerudo gave her spear an expert flourish before rising again. "I am Lupus, Hunter of Wolves and Savior of the Helpless."
"For no less than fifty rupees."
"I usually charge at least seventy-five, but innocent children get a five percent discount."
"You are too kind," Rej mocked, his eyes becoming a bright turquoise, the equivalent of a grin. Skim tilted his head as Kit rolled her eyes, and all of them appraised each other in silence for a few moments.
"Where are you all headed," the hunter asked.
"The castle, as I said, and from there to examine something around Death Mountain."
"Ah, yes. You had mentioned that already. Silly me. I myself am heading to Hyrule Town, as there have been reports of increases in Wolfos numbers. I suppose the lizafos are realizing their potential."
"Indeed. I'm sure you'll find work there, but why not accompany us the rest of the way? We won't be spending tomorrow night in the castle, that's for sure, as we'll get there just after midnight, I'd say. We can drop by the Snoozing Peahat for a drink and a nights rest, and in return for paying for your room, you have to guard us the rest of the way there. Our bladesman was injured by a rather large stalchild a few hours ago, and I don't think he's fit to do any more fighting for a while."
Lupus snorted. Apparently, she didn't consider the small skeletons much of a challenge, but Skim didn't exactly have the years of combat experience she did. "Your bladesman?"
"The scribe."
"He's both?"
"I'm a jack of all trades, one might say," Skim grinned.
"Very well, poe. Your names?"
Rej introduced himself and the other two, giving a bit of background about their mission before blasting Kit with a heat wave to dry her off, leaving her auburn locks flying every which-way. Lupus nodded to each member in turn, gave a bit of information about herself, then grabbed her pack nearby. She tossed her light silvery hair back and shook it, letting it fall to her chin, then adjusted her short chain mail vest and khaki pants and stood, waiting for the others to adjust themselves.
The following day passed relatively uneventfully except for a huge peahat chasing Skim four or five hundred yards off their course, for trying to pick fruit from a tree near its nest. The apprentice scribe ended up with a back full of pointy spines, which Lupus removed and sucked the venom from, spitting it into one of the empty bottles for later 'use'. Rej apparently enjoyed the spectacle of a helpless human tearing across an open field with a giant plant sporting helicopter-style blades chasing him at high speeds, because the lantern-ghost had made no move to help the poor assistant.
They crossed under the huge iron portcullis just as the guards were about to close the drawbridge, and Rej directed them to a small inn at the corner of the plaza. Creaking softly as it blew in the light breeze, a small wooden sign hung by iron chains depicted a comical artist's rendition of one of the huge, sentient plants, a trail of "z"s leading away from the sleeping vegetable. The inn was quaint and small, but had a charming atmosphere to it, with a dozen small tables and as many rooms. It was well priced and inexpensive, which was offset by the fact that the rooms leaked when it rained (it did) and the stew was too salty.
Skim had been to Hyrule town many times before, and had stayed at this particular inn for several overnight trips, studying a native plant or animal. As he sat at the small wooden table that had been reserved for their meal, he removed his quill, ink, charcoal and parchment and began to sketch a picture of the creature that had attacked him that afternoon. Kitana watched him in silent fascination while the poe spoke to Lupus about his duties at the castle, and she recounted tales of fighting all manners of creatures. She produced a small necklace from beneath her cotton undershirt and showed it to Rej, pointing out the individual trophies from the more impressive monsters she had killed. The necklace contained a myriad of items, the most interesting including a wolfos tooth, a baby peahat's spine, a dodongo's scale, a dinofos' armor shard, and a bomb-chu fuse. When the ghost asked her about the last item, she told him about how fortunate she had been when a lizafos tossed one at her, only for the unfortunate creature to realize (too late) that it was a dud, and how she had kept the fuse as a token to remember.
Skim finished the penciling and began to ink the monstrous plant, and now Rej started to glance over periodically to check on his progress. It was a skillful picture, with the peahat tilted at an angle, its blades nicking pieces of grass under it. It looked almost like a huge onion with a spinning set of swords under it, but everybody took the giant things seriously. Skim included footnotes about the creature's only obvious weak spot, a secret which few knew and was apparently undiscovered until the Emerald Warrior found it with his trusty slingshot.
The apprentice pushed away the mostly-eaten bowl of soup to curl up into a better position for inking, resting the hard wooden backing of the parchment against the edge of the table, blocking Kitana's view. She followed suite, pushing her soup bowl away, and attempted futilely to get into a comfortable position. Giving up, the cucco farmer rested her head on Skim's lap, who seemed not to notice until she sneezed, almost making him drag the quill across the paper. Repeating an apology repeatedly until the apprentice was docile again, she watched him finished the piece of artwork and take a small ceramic pot and brush from his pack.
Dipping the brush into the pot coated it with a thin layer of clear, gummy fluid, which, when Kitana inquired, the scribe's assistant informed her was octopod saliva. It was used to hold together pebbles the octopod swallowed, which it could then spit out in concentrated projectiles at predators or potential prey. He smeared it onto a peahat's spine and stuck the pointy weapon to the stiff parchment, completing his report.
"Maybe being attacked by random creatures isn't such a bad thing after all," he smiled, and Kitana laughed quietly. Rej's eyes turned turquoise again, and Lupus smiled as she sipped the salty stew. This piece was especially good, possibly his best yet, and would earn him at least thirty rupees. It normally took much longer than tonight to create reports of creatures, but surrounded by friends in the cozy Snoozing Peahat made him feel more confident, especially Kitana, her head on his lap, watching him intently and faithfully. She is the one person who truly believes in me, Skim thought, and just having her near made him feel stronger.
They headed up to their rooms, Rej and Skim to one, Lupus and Kitana to another. The apprentice threw his cotton shirt onto the bedpost with one hand, and was about to crawl under the woolen covers when the cucco farmer quietly entered the room. She approached him silently, and smiled appraisingly at him. Skim wasn't especially tall, tan, or muscular, but he had an inexplicable vigor and charisma that drew her to him.
"Um, Skim, I jus wanted to say," she trailed off, averting her gaze. The assistant tilted his head for a moment, and then the archer grinned and wrapped her friend in a tight embrace. "Thanks for taking me with you."
The apprentice scribe turned a pleasant brick red at the cheeks and smiled back, holding her with one hand. "You're very welcome, Kitana. But be careful with my shoulder please, it's not healed yet."
She blushed as well and picked up her nightgown around her heels, exiting as silently as she had entered.
"Whoo-hoo," Rej said quietly, his pupil-less eyes turning a laughing blue.
"Oh, shut up," Skim said, and crawled under his thin blankets.
"No, I'm serious, she seems like a really nice girl. I'm glad we have her along."
"Yeah," the scribe's assistant stared up at the cracked plaster ceiling, finding shapes in the dents and valleys. He found a group of cracks that looked suspiciously like a peahat chasing someone across a field, but the person only had one leg and the peahat was a bit too squarish. Then again, plaster has never been known for it's artistic talent. "I just hope nothing happens to her if this gets dangerous, you know? What if we get assigned to study skultulas or something? The last thing I want is for Kit to get hurt. You and I can protect ourselves, and I know she's handy with a bow, but she's not built for combat. Not even I'm built for combat, I mean look at me, I got my ass kicked by a stalchild."
"It was a big stalchild," Rej said, uncharacteristically supportive of the apprentice. "You did your best. Personally, I thought you were quite brave out there."
"You think so?"
"I do."
After a short pause, Skim turned in his bed to look at where the poe floated nearby, who was toying with his lantern, as he always did when nothing was happening. "You will come with me back to Death Mountain, won't you?"
"I should think so. I don't have a wraith anymore, so they'll probably make me stick with you and Kit until they get rid of the lizafos."
"Think the lizards will be a problem?"
"Not a big one, I heard Razor is in town."
"Razor Lizardbane? The big warrior, from the faraway place? Shouldn't have too many problems then, I think."
"Perhaps not. I just hope it's over soon."
Skim rolled back to stare at the peahat chase scene on the ceiling again, and Rej wrapped the black cloth around his lantern, allowing the apprentice to get some sleep.
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"Why'd you decide to become a hunter, Lupus?" Kit was curled up into an upright ball on her bed, painting her toenails with a small jar of red glaze-like dye she had bought at the bazaar a few weeks back. Skim had tried to duplicate the effect with a mixture of strange, homemade ingredients and failed completely. Luckily, his test subject was a cucco, and the poor bird merely had to suffer with red feet for a month, until the goop washed out.
"Because wolfos slaughtered my entire family while they were camping near the entrance to Termina, but I didn't want to go because I was studying magic at home," the Gerudo said bluntly.
"Oh, I'm sorry…" she set down the brush and screwed the lid back on the jar, having finished her delicate work.
"Don't worry about it, it's behind me now. I've gotten over it, and I think it made me a lot stronger. You know what they say," the hunter glanced at the cucco farmer, waiting for her to finish the saying.
"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger?" Kitana's response was more question than answer.
"You got it. I guess you're not a ditzy little girl after all," the Gerudo smirked quietly at Kit's baffled glance.
"A what?! You thought I was a ditz?!"
Holding up her hands to calm the Kakariko archer, Lupus smiled and put an arm around her. "I thought that at first, because I thought only a foolish, desperate girl could be traveling with a wimpy scribe like that. But I saw him work his magic in the common room, and I've seen how he looks at you. That kid is more than he seems, I assure you."
"I am not in love with Skim," Kitana assured the hunter. "We are just good friends, nothing more. I admit, you're right, however. He really is special, and I couldn't believe he let me come with him on one of his adventures. This is the first time he ever did."
Lupus raised an eyebrow in silent inquiry, and the archer reiterated. "Being a scribe, he would always leave on big trips, sometimes being gone for a week or more, and would always come back with drawings of wondrous creatures and faraway places. Meanwhile I was stuck at home, tending to the cuccos. I love the cuccos, mind you; they're such sweet birds. Yet, I always found my mind wandering elsewhere when I gave them their morning feed, pretending I was off with Skim on one of his adventures. Tonight was the first time I ever saw him draw, you know."
"Ever? How long have you known this scribe?"
"Almost ten years, half my life. Isn't it strange, that he's never let me see him draw until now? And the picture tonight was so much more realistic and incredible than all the others of his I've seen."
"It was very good, I'll grant him that. Has he been a scribe all along?"
Kitana paused, thinking silently. "He's not a scribe," she said.
"What?"
"He's an assistant. Oh, please don't tell him I told you. He's very proud of even being Mantilulas's assistant, and he doesn't take insults well. Skim gets hurt if I even mention his father."
"What's wrong with his father?"
"He disappeared a few years ago. Just when Skim was almost a full field scribe, like his father, Manen disappeared. The only way poor Skim could have become a full scribe was if Manen had recommended him, but with his father's absence, he didn't have a chance. He wants so much to be like the field scribe his father was, and he's just now getting over the loss. So please don't say anything about this to him."
"My lips are sealed."
The cucco farmer sighed and leaned back on the pillow, letting her toes dry off before she got into bed. The light patter of rain on the roof reminded her of Manen's finger drumming, which he used to do when he drew. Kit and Skim would lean on their tiptoes to see the tall man's artwork, until he set them each on one knee so they could watch. There was more than once incident where the young girl or boy sneezed or coughed, sending the scribe's pen spiraling across the paper, rendering the drawing worthless. He never got mad about it, of course, and he laughed as he told them it was all right, that it was a bad piece anyway. Nevertheless, Kitana could always see a glint of sadness in Manen's eyes whenever he threw a drawing away. Gods, she missed that old man.
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Pike groaned and sat up in his small cot, supporting himself with his elbows. Glancing around the room, he saw nothing, but something must have woken him. None of the guards in Hyrule Castle woke without a good reason. The small room appeared empty, however, and Pike was about to dismiss it as a bug when another sound caught his ear.
There was a long, over-dramatic scream that grew in both intensity and volume, eventually leading up to a thundering splash outside Pike's moat-side room, ending the terrified crescendo. Several drops of cold water stabbed the guard in the face as he peeked his head out the single square window that overlooked the ring of water. There was another enormous, aquatic explosion and Pike caught sight of a trio of reptilian bodies before they drifted away to get caught in the iron grate at the end of the moat. The janitor's going to have a lot on his plate with those ones Pike thought as he walked back to the bed, shaking his head.
He dressed in his standard clothes with armor plates scattered about his body, normal leather boots, and staggered out into the hallway in a weary haze to find a half dozen guards clustered, talking in hushed, tired voices. They smiled their greeting as Pike approached and one of them, a young fighter about Pike's age named Anik, waved to catch the guard's attention.
"Ho, Pike! Come look at this!"
The still more-than-half-asleep guard slouched through the group of warriors to stare blearily up at the board. It had lots of papers on it, this much he could discern. If he looked more closely, Pike might have noticed there were letters on the papers as well, but a complicated move like that was about as simple as climbing an erupting Death Mountain naked. So, Anik read the notice to him: "Breakfast will not be served in the castle today, as the cook isn't feeling well and Draeb is away on business."
Pike unleashed a cry of infinite anguish and suffering, raising his hands to the sky and cursing the three gods. Draeb was the assistant cook, a poe that had obtained a small amount of infamy simply for having a scruffy beard and getting the hairs in the soup. It became customary for him to pluck one hair out and put it in the soup, and wear a net over it the rest of the time. Whosoever got the hair in his soup received a piece of leftover birthday cake (there was always plenty left over from the commander's parties, since he hated chocolate, which was the only kind of cake Draeb could make).
His mourning completed, the guard returned to his normal, dreary state, trudging towards the huge, iron gate that led out of the castle. A surge of pride hit him as he exited the castle gates onto the brown dirt path that lead into the stone structure itself, due to the fact he had walked into a mere four walls on his way out, a new record for before noon. The tired guard eventually found himself in the Snoozing Peahat, ordering a strong whiskey to wake himself up.
He took two quick shots and found himself more awake than he had been in the past week, and Pike glanced alertly about, scanning the inn. There were no truly unusual characters about, save for a man with spiky, black hair, who appeared to be a few years younger than himself. There was a girl wearing a tan skirt and shirt with a large bow slung over her shoulder, a taller woman dressed in leather and steel armor, a spear that apparently belonged to her resting against the wall nearby. A poe floated nearby, his lantern sitting on the table. The lantern was intricately carved, a black steel design of twisting ivy and thorned branches curving around a tall glass hexagon with a metal base. A small fireball floated in the middle, apparently unsupported by anything but magic.
A flurry of possibilities raced through his trained mind, and he approached the table, putting the palm of his hand on his sword's pommel. The group was apparently having breakfast, but the archer girl had fallen asleep again, her head resting on the man's shoulder. The dark-haired Hylian was apparently unarmed, which only served to reinforce Pike's guess.
"You're the scribe, I assume?" He inquired, balling his other hand into a fist and resting its knuckles on the hard wood of the table.
"Assume starts with 'ass' and ends with 'u' and 'me', who's asking?" The poe said, its eyes flashing a curious and laughing azure.
"Be quiet, Rej," the man with spiked hair said, unsuccessfully concealing a smile. "I am indeed a field scribe. Or, hope to be. I assume you're a Hyrule Castle guard, from your dress."
"Assume starts with me and ends with ass and… wait." Pike stared at his fingers, apparently counting. The party of adventurers exchanged worried glances at the effectiveness of the only people protecting Hyrule, but turned their attention back to the guard as he spoke again. "Your name is Skim Anarith?"
"The one and only," the scribe's assistant said, spreading his hands wide. He had apparently forgotten about Kit's head being on his shoulder, as it slowly slid off and landed with a sharp bang on the wooden table.
"SON OF A BITCH!" She yelled, sitting up and holding her forehead with both hands, immediately attracting the attention of everyone in the inn. She blushed a quiet red and held up a hand with drooping fingers, than hid her face in the folds of Skim's sleeve. There was worried mumbling and one pair of patrons paid and left, casting fearful glances at the party the entire time.
"Ah, sorry about that Kit," Skim tried to hide another smile as he checked the archer's forehead for damage. "Yes, I am," he said, returning his gaze to Pike as he put a gentle arm around his friend's shoulders and patted her repeatedly. "What can I do for you?"
"Right, you are to come with me to be briefed. As soon as I share your breakfast, that is. Is she going to eat the rest of hers?" he inquired, pointing to Kitana's plate. His only answer was a string of grumbled swear word from the archer, and Skim shrugged, pushing the cucco farmer's plate over to the eager guard.
"How nice, an escort," the tall hunter sneered. "I seek an audience with the King, is it possible today? Or would you not know?"
Pike glanced up from his plate of unfinished, cold cucco eggs and spoke around a mouthful of food. "Well," he said before swallowing, "I'm afraid you can't see the King today, he's quite busy. But I could get you an audience with the commander, if you give me a meeting type and time."
"My reasons are my own, and as soon as possible."
"Wolfos hunting, eh? I could fit you in around noon, I suppose."
"What are you, his personal secretary?"
"Yes."
The hunter looked baffled for a moment, then shrugged, turning to Skim. "Well, thanks for the room and board, I suppose this is where we go our separate ways."
The scribe's assistant nodded quietly and smiled at the Gerudo, "I guess so. See you around, perhaps."
"Perhaps," she gave a brief smirk and stood, gathered her pack and spear, and stalked silently out of the Snoozing Peahat.
There was only the sound of Kit's anguished moans as she rubbed her forehead and the clink of Pike's silverware for a few minutes, until the guard finished his meal. "Right, shall we go?"
Rej glanced up from his lantern and shook it a few times, then closed the hatch. "We shall. Get Little Miss Potty Mouth and we'll leave."
"Your mother's a potty mouth," the archer grumbled aggressively as she leaned against Skim and stood up. Rej cackled and swooped out of the inn, Kitana hot on her heels. The apprentice sighed exasperatedly and stood up, dashing out of the inn yelling at them not to get lost in the morning crowd.
Fog: Did that move too fast? No? Yes? Thoughts, ideas, comments, insults? I hope you liked it, cause we're gonna (pardon the cliché) get this show on the road! Onward, HO! Please remember my reviewing policy: FIND SOMETHING WRONG WITH THIS CHAPTER (besides in the A/Ns, I know there's tons of stuff wrong with these.)