At nightfall they split, Roam heading south, Andruin heading east. They traveled swiftly, desperately hoping no allies of Ganon would find them along the way. There was no need for talk, for nothing remained to be said. Roam's men fanned out along the plain, keeping a watchful eye on any who might see them, but fortunately no one seemed to be present. Ganon's men must still be busy fortifying and securing the castle, or perhaps he did not realize the escape. But Roam knew that was a hollow hope. If it was the Triforce the beast was after, he would search for it immediately. They rode faster.
But the Death Mountains slowed them down considerably. The sharp inclines and jagged pathways were not suited for horseback riding, and they proceeded on foot, leading the horses along. They avoided the caves, for the horses could not make their way through. But Roam did not want to voice his true reason – he feared they would already be crawling with the enemy. Better to keep out of site and work their way through the mountains. It was slow moving, and as dawn crept over the horizon Roam called for a rest.
By afternoon he was ready to move on. They needed to make it to the edge of the mountains by nightfall, so that they could reach the docks during the night. He could see the weariness in his knights, but they knew that it was necessary. Rest and comfort were luxuries they simply could not afford. Zelda too looked determined, willing herself to bear more difficulty than she had ever faced before. But it was Impa that surprised Roam the most. She seemed almost impatient, as if she knew what to expect. The old woman was pushing herself much further than Roam would have thought possible, and he wondered how she could do it. Devotion to Zelda? Possibly, but Roam sensed she had as much interest in the fate of the Triforce as anyone, which was puzzling. Did she know something he did not?
Finally, they reached the other side of the mountain range. Roam was starting to feel hope yet again, but a gasp from Zelda made him pause. She fell to the ground, looking as if she were desperately trying to hold back some unseen pain. Annoyance briefly flashed across Roam's face – they had to keep moving – but he could see that there was a problem. "My Lady, are you all right?"
She looked at him, and he saw her face lined in grief. "My brother is dead," she quietly said. "I saw it… with the Triforce. Ganon's men ambushed them outside of Mido. They fought well, nearly made it. But then he appeared. Ganon. Roam, the knights could do nothing against him." Could this beast really have that much power? Zelda closed her eyes, as if in a trance, and continued her story. "He stood over Andruin, and reached out. The Triforce came to him, released from Andruin's grasp. And then he smiled… the most evil smile imaginable. And then he… killed him. As if he was nothing. Andruin's dead."
"My Lady, you cannot be sure of this. Surely this is merely a vision, of your fears or of what might be. You cannot be sure." But Roam knew these words would not help. He saw the pain in her eyes, and knew that such a story could not be fabricated. One half of the group failed. And he would now insure the other half cannot.
Zelda confirmed his fears. "No, it was real. I know it." Suddenly she looked up, as if startled. "Roam, he knows. About us, where we are heading. We are too late; the port has been destroyed, and Ganon is moving towards the town. He knows we are heading this way, and has blocked off all escape. We cannot go back either. The mountains are now filled with his men."
He had to trust her. "Then let us move west, quickly. We can pass through the Goronian range and escape that way. We may still have some time."
But she shook her head. "No Roam, he expects that. And as long as I have the Triforce, he will find us."
Impa spoke up now, to Roam's surprise. "There is one other way," she said to Zelda. "It may be the only way."
Zelda nodded solemnly, as if expecting this. Apparently, she knew what the old woman was talking about, and she seemed to agree with it. "The Triforce must be hidden; we must delay him as long as possible. Roam, do your knights know of the ancient labyrinths in this land?" Roam nodded, as did the others around him. No one knew why they had been formed or for what purpose, but it was well known by the army where they could be found. A general had to know the layout of the land in case he were to ever fight there. Satisfied with his response, Zelda continued. "I will break the Triforce into eight segments, and we shall hide them within the labyrinths. Only then shall we attempt to escape west. Hopefully Ganon will follow us rather than the Triforce shards."
This was madness. Ganon would merely find them, kill them, and then find the Triforce at his leisure. If the Triforce was truly giving Zelda visions, then they should keep it, using it against Ganon. But Roam saw Zelda there, calmly giving orders. She was royalty, and for the first time Roam realized she did know how to rule. It wasn't madness, she had some unseen reason for this. I should trust her on this, he thought. She knows what she is doing.
He quickly gave orders to his men, telling them which labyrinths to take. Impa too would take a piece. Zelda was to ride with one of the knights, as Roam did not feel comfortable of letting her ride alone. Granted, one bodyguard would not be enough if Ganon found them, but he felt safer anyway. They would hide the pieces and then move west, meeting at an agreed upon cave. They were to wait as little as possible, as Roam wanted Zelda out. Any knight left behind could take care of himself.
Zelda closed her eyes and held the Triforce in front of her. Her hands seemed to glow as she concentrated, and soon the Triforce burst. Eight identical pieces now floated in front of Zelda. Each knight grabbed a piece and mounted his horse. Before they all left, Zelda turned to Impa. "Much rests on you. Please, do not fail." Impa nodded and rode off before Roam could ask. Zelda too left, her bodyguard following. And the rest of the knights split.
Roam finished his task automatically, almost without thinking. As he made his way through one of the labyrinths to place his piece, he could not let his mind off of what she said to Impa. What did they mean? Zelda must have some other plan in place, and he would have to ask her when they reached the rendezvous point. But what sort of plan could it be? This whole system made no sense. It seemed Zelda only wanted to delay Ganon, as surely she knew they were leaving the Triforce defenseless. But what good would a delay do? And what did Impa have to do with it? There seemed no answer to these riddles as he rode west.
But when he arrived, he wondered if he would ever find out. One other knight was present, his face pale. "Sir… it was like this when I arrived." And he soon saw what he meant. Two other knights lay dead, surrounded by corpses of Ganon's men. And one of them was the knight who accompanied Zelda. But she, nor her body, was nowhere to be seen.
He fanned out, searching the ground when his worst fears were realized. A necklace lay on the ground, one that Zelda had been wearing. Surely, she threw it down as a sign. If her body was not here, then she must have been captured by Ganon. And once he had her, he had no reason to wait around. Roam had no idea where Zelda would be now, and surely they were too late to track them.
We failed. Andruin is dead, and Zelda is captured. Ganon has the Triforce of Power, and Wisdom is defenseless. How could this be? But Roam knew the odds were against them when he started, and he knew that this was a possibility. He could not allow his grief to overrule him, could not fall into despair. Even with all hope lost, he had to press on.
They waited for the rest of the group to appear, although not all made it. But there was no sign of Impa, and Roam wondered if this was by design or if she too had been caught. But he could not worry about her now. He let the others know of what happened, and then told them of his plans. Zelda was trying to stall Ganon, and Roam decided to do his best to aid that idea. They would head north, and strike in weak spots throughout Ganon's rule. There was no possible way they could overthrow him, so there was no reason to try. Better to remain an annoyance, to keep Ganon's attention focused on them. Roam would have to lead an insurrection, no matter how unsuccessful they might be. He refused to give up, refused to stop fighting. Ganon may have won, but Roam would never accept that. And his men, loyal to him and to Hyrule, agreed. They would follow him even unto their deaths.
And so he headed north, away from the Triforce and away from Impa. Whatever would happen there was beyond his control, and he wanted to strike near the heart of Ganon's rule. But he could not strike Ganon himself, as Roam knew he could never face the beast. Such a course was doomed to failure, and he held no fantastic notions. The fate of the Triforce was no longer in his hands.
But the Death Mountains slowed them down considerably. The sharp inclines and jagged pathways were not suited for horseback riding, and they proceeded on foot, leading the horses along. They avoided the caves, for the horses could not make their way through. But Roam did not want to voice his true reason – he feared they would already be crawling with the enemy. Better to keep out of site and work their way through the mountains. It was slow moving, and as dawn crept over the horizon Roam called for a rest.
By afternoon he was ready to move on. They needed to make it to the edge of the mountains by nightfall, so that they could reach the docks during the night. He could see the weariness in his knights, but they knew that it was necessary. Rest and comfort were luxuries they simply could not afford. Zelda too looked determined, willing herself to bear more difficulty than she had ever faced before. But it was Impa that surprised Roam the most. She seemed almost impatient, as if she knew what to expect. The old woman was pushing herself much further than Roam would have thought possible, and he wondered how she could do it. Devotion to Zelda? Possibly, but Roam sensed she had as much interest in the fate of the Triforce as anyone, which was puzzling. Did she know something he did not?
Finally, they reached the other side of the mountain range. Roam was starting to feel hope yet again, but a gasp from Zelda made him pause. She fell to the ground, looking as if she were desperately trying to hold back some unseen pain. Annoyance briefly flashed across Roam's face – they had to keep moving – but he could see that there was a problem. "My Lady, are you all right?"
She looked at him, and he saw her face lined in grief. "My brother is dead," she quietly said. "I saw it… with the Triforce. Ganon's men ambushed them outside of Mido. They fought well, nearly made it. But then he appeared. Ganon. Roam, the knights could do nothing against him." Could this beast really have that much power? Zelda closed her eyes, as if in a trance, and continued her story. "He stood over Andruin, and reached out. The Triforce came to him, released from Andruin's grasp. And then he smiled… the most evil smile imaginable. And then he… killed him. As if he was nothing. Andruin's dead."
"My Lady, you cannot be sure of this. Surely this is merely a vision, of your fears or of what might be. You cannot be sure." But Roam knew these words would not help. He saw the pain in her eyes, and knew that such a story could not be fabricated. One half of the group failed. And he would now insure the other half cannot.
Zelda confirmed his fears. "No, it was real. I know it." Suddenly she looked up, as if startled. "Roam, he knows. About us, where we are heading. We are too late; the port has been destroyed, and Ganon is moving towards the town. He knows we are heading this way, and has blocked off all escape. We cannot go back either. The mountains are now filled with his men."
He had to trust her. "Then let us move west, quickly. We can pass through the Goronian range and escape that way. We may still have some time."
But she shook her head. "No Roam, he expects that. And as long as I have the Triforce, he will find us."
Impa spoke up now, to Roam's surprise. "There is one other way," she said to Zelda. "It may be the only way."
Zelda nodded solemnly, as if expecting this. Apparently, she knew what the old woman was talking about, and she seemed to agree with it. "The Triforce must be hidden; we must delay him as long as possible. Roam, do your knights know of the ancient labyrinths in this land?" Roam nodded, as did the others around him. No one knew why they had been formed or for what purpose, but it was well known by the army where they could be found. A general had to know the layout of the land in case he were to ever fight there. Satisfied with his response, Zelda continued. "I will break the Triforce into eight segments, and we shall hide them within the labyrinths. Only then shall we attempt to escape west. Hopefully Ganon will follow us rather than the Triforce shards."
This was madness. Ganon would merely find them, kill them, and then find the Triforce at his leisure. If the Triforce was truly giving Zelda visions, then they should keep it, using it against Ganon. But Roam saw Zelda there, calmly giving orders. She was royalty, and for the first time Roam realized she did know how to rule. It wasn't madness, she had some unseen reason for this. I should trust her on this, he thought. She knows what she is doing.
He quickly gave orders to his men, telling them which labyrinths to take. Impa too would take a piece. Zelda was to ride with one of the knights, as Roam did not feel comfortable of letting her ride alone. Granted, one bodyguard would not be enough if Ganon found them, but he felt safer anyway. They would hide the pieces and then move west, meeting at an agreed upon cave. They were to wait as little as possible, as Roam wanted Zelda out. Any knight left behind could take care of himself.
Zelda closed her eyes and held the Triforce in front of her. Her hands seemed to glow as she concentrated, and soon the Triforce burst. Eight identical pieces now floated in front of Zelda. Each knight grabbed a piece and mounted his horse. Before they all left, Zelda turned to Impa. "Much rests on you. Please, do not fail." Impa nodded and rode off before Roam could ask. Zelda too left, her bodyguard following. And the rest of the knights split.
Roam finished his task automatically, almost without thinking. As he made his way through one of the labyrinths to place his piece, he could not let his mind off of what she said to Impa. What did they mean? Zelda must have some other plan in place, and he would have to ask her when they reached the rendezvous point. But what sort of plan could it be? This whole system made no sense. It seemed Zelda only wanted to delay Ganon, as surely she knew they were leaving the Triforce defenseless. But what good would a delay do? And what did Impa have to do with it? There seemed no answer to these riddles as he rode west.
But when he arrived, he wondered if he would ever find out. One other knight was present, his face pale. "Sir… it was like this when I arrived." And he soon saw what he meant. Two other knights lay dead, surrounded by corpses of Ganon's men. And one of them was the knight who accompanied Zelda. But she, nor her body, was nowhere to be seen.
He fanned out, searching the ground when his worst fears were realized. A necklace lay on the ground, one that Zelda had been wearing. Surely, she threw it down as a sign. If her body was not here, then she must have been captured by Ganon. And once he had her, he had no reason to wait around. Roam had no idea where Zelda would be now, and surely they were too late to track them.
We failed. Andruin is dead, and Zelda is captured. Ganon has the Triforce of Power, and Wisdom is defenseless. How could this be? But Roam knew the odds were against them when he started, and he knew that this was a possibility. He could not allow his grief to overrule him, could not fall into despair. Even with all hope lost, he had to press on.
They waited for the rest of the group to appear, although not all made it. But there was no sign of Impa, and Roam wondered if this was by design or if she too had been caught. But he could not worry about her now. He let the others know of what happened, and then told them of his plans. Zelda was trying to stall Ganon, and Roam decided to do his best to aid that idea. They would head north, and strike in weak spots throughout Ganon's rule. There was no possible way they could overthrow him, so there was no reason to try. Better to remain an annoyance, to keep Ganon's attention focused on them. Roam would have to lead an insurrection, no matter how unsuccessful they might be. He refused to give up, refused to stop fighting. Ganon may have won, but Roam would never accept that. And his men, loyal to him and to Hyrule, agreed. They would follow him even unto their deaths.
And so he headed north, away from the Triforce and away from Impa. Whatever would happen there was beyond his control, and he wanted to strike near the heart of Ganon's rule. But he could not strike Ganon himself, as Roam knew he could never face the beast. Such a course was doomed to failure, and he held no fantastic notions. The fate of the Triforce was no longer in his hands.