Chapter 12 – Moongrace
Vuto's body floated out into the lake, held afloat by a loose raft. The raft was not intended to support for very long. He drifted away from them, and the morning light shone over mountain peaks on the east shore of the lake, lighting him up like a spirit. Jerra was kneeling in the shallow water crying, beside her Yerra held her trying to comfort her, on the edge of tears herself. Zelda sat by herself, head buried in her hands. Link and Karak sat up on the ledge watching as he floated away. It was too hard to come to terms with, and they just sat wide-eyed, trying to understand, they couldn't help crying a bit, and they didn't try to hide it. Out in the lake, the raft fell apart as it had been intended to, and Vuto's body fell silently into the depths. At this, Jerra burst into even more tears and collapsed in the sand; they had been very close, and he had been taken away so suddenly, it was too hard. It was wrong, it was so wrong.
Zelda stood up and threw a flower into the lake saying, "Goodbye Vuto Valvetta. You were good and true...and I'm sorry we ever doubted you...I'm so sorry..." She fell to her knees and started crying now too, and Karak ran down and put his arm around her, and whispered something into her ear. She rested her chin on his shoulder, and the two stood quietly. Link didn't know what to do with himself, and so just fell down on the grass, staring up at the sky.
They stayed there for a long time, and eventually for Jerra there came a point where she had no more tears, and could cry no more. They were all sitting together on the sand, Karak and Link were throwing rocks across the water, seeing who could throw stones the furthest, but this didn't do much to clear their minds.
Later in the afternoon, as the sun reached full noon, they spotted something in the distance on the lake. White sails were moving towards them from the north. Karak nudged Link and pointed to it. "What do you suppose that is?"
"Fishing ship," replied Link wearily, hurling another rock into the lake. It skimmed over the still water and then disappeared.
"Maybe we can get a lift across to the other side."
"Yeah..." Link didn't seem too bothered. Nobody did really; their hearts were heavy, and filled with denial.
"Look, we need to put him behind us and-" The others glared at harshly. "That's not what I meant. I mean, we have a mission, Vuto said he wouldn't slow us down, and he wouldn't want us to sit here like this. Karak looked at the ship, "Its coming closer."
It was, and very fast. A wind had kicked up from the north, and the ship was moving quickly towards them. They had been deceived of its size as it turned out, it looked like it was very big on the horizon, but it was smaller and nearer really, and in ten minutes, the sails were raised and it drifted nearby them. The name on the side of the ship read 'Moongrace'. A man walked out on deck and called down to them. "Hey ho! What be you doing here on the shore?" He was hard to make out very clearly, but he was bearded with a black tunic.
"Leave us be." Said Link.
"No wait!" Called Karak, "Can you grant us passage across the lake? We are on very important business."
"Oh, I don't know about that." He replied uncertainly, "There be five of you, and we can't be pushing the limits of the boat can we now?"
"Really, you would be helping us no end!" He looked at Zelda, "Tell him you're the Princess, go on." Zelda just looked up at Karak blankly and then returned to her vacant gazing over the lake.
The boat was a little nearer now, and he could make out another man moving out onto the deck. "What's going on Serter?" He asked the first.
"These people want passage over the lake with us." He answered loudly.
"Really?" The other looked down at the five people on the shore, his eyes drawn to the two red haired girls, Gerudos. "Hey there, Miss Gerudo!" He shouted curiously to them.
Jerra looked up and gasped, she shook Yerra's shoulder, and when she saw who was on the boat she let out a shocked yelp. "Syon!"
"Yerra? Jerra? Is that you?"
"Yes! Syon, I can't believe it!" Jerra and Yerra ran out into the water and waded closer to the boat so that they could see him.
Karak leaned over to Link, "Who is this guy?"
"Don't you remember? Yesterday morning they were talking about their family; Syon is their half-brother."
"Oh yeah."
Syon called over to the girls enthusiastically, "Sure, you can board, all of you! The fish aren't biting at all, something has disturbed the water today..."
Half an hour later the five were stood at the stern of the boat, watching the southern shore move steadily away from them. The boat moved gracefully through the water, leaving white froth in its wake. White birds flew above them, soaring gracefully and swooping down to the lake surface to catch fish; unfortunately they were not fish in the great schools that the boatmen wanted. A spray of wind and fresh lake water blew over them and made their hair and clothes shake in the wind.
Cold, they retreated below decks and sat near a small metal fire in the wall. Karak sat with his arm around Zelda and she had her head resting on his shoulder, they had each other now for comfort. Yerra and Jerra were trying to take their mind off things by talking to Syon. Syon was tall and strong, with dark hair and a short beard. He was twenty-five as the girls had said he was, and was very friendly and lively; something which he had to tone down when he learned what the they had all just been through. It was curious Link thought, that Syon had some similarities facially with Karak, and therefore himself also he supposed. It was not in a major way, but the shape of his jaw, the shape of his nose; there was similarity no doubt.
With the Grimal sisters talking to Syon though all evening, and Karak and Zelda too miserable and wound up in themselves to say or do anything, Link was left by himself. He went up onto the prow of the boat, they were heading north now as there had been a very quick change of wind, and the captain deemed it sensible to return to port as there was no point searching for fish that were simply not there. It was dark now, night had fallen quickly, days were shorter up here. There were storm clouds ahead, and they reflected the mood of the company completely. They had been told that there was a town at the north of the lake, the most northernmost dwelling of civil Lakelanders in the Northern Reach. After that, they would be facing the wasteland, and then...Link gazed into the distance, and just as he was thinking about them, a bold of lighting burst down from the sky illuminating the Mountains of Darkness on the horizon. Link's spine shivered, and he looked down at the water to get it out of his mind. There could be more death before this was over. He turned and walked away, head bowed silently.
He made his way to the sleeping quarters quietly and slipped into one of the hammocks. He shut his eyes and tried to get to sleep, dreams of storms and blood and death plagued his mind.
Vuto's body floated out into the lake, held afloat by a loose raft. The raft was not intended to support for very long. He drifted away from them, and the morning light shone over mountain peaks on the east shore of the lake, lighting him up like a spirit. Jerra was kneeling in the shallow water crying, beside her Yerra held her trying to comfort her, on the edge of tears herself. Zelda sat by herself, head buried in her hands. Link and Karak sat up on the ledge watching as he floated away. It was too hard to come to terms with, and they just sat wide-eyed, trying to understand, they couldn't help crying a bit, and they didn't try to hide it. Out in the lake, the raft fell apart as it had been intended to, and Vuto's body fell silently into the depths. At this, Jerra burst into even more tears and collapsed in the sand; they had been very close, and he had been taken away so suddenly, it was too hard. It was wrong, it was so wrong.
Zelda stood up and threw a flower into the lake saying, "Goodbye Vuto Valvetta. You were good and true...and I'm sorry we ever doubted you...I'm so sorry..." She fell to her knees and started crying now too, and Karak ran down and put his arm around her, and whispered something into her ear. She rested her chin on his shoulder, and the two stood quietly. Link didn't know what to do with himself, and so just fell down on the grass, staring up at the sky.
They stayed there for a long time, and eventually for Jerra there came a point where she had no more tears, and could cry no more. They were all sitting together on the sand, Karak and Link were throwing rocks across the water, seeing who could throw stones the furthest, but this didn't do much to clear their minds.
Later in the afternoon, as the sun reached full noon, they spotted something in the distance on the lake. White sails were moving towards them from the north. Karak nudged Link and pointed to it. "What do you suppose that is?"
"Fishing ship," replied Link wearily, hurling another rock into the lake. It skimmed over the still water and then disappeared.
"Maybe we can get a lift across to the other side."
"Yeah..." Link didn't seem too bothered. Nobody did really; their hearts were heavy, and filled with denial.
"Look, we need to put him behind us and-" The others glared at harshly. "That's not what I meant. I mean, we have a mission, Vuto said he wouldn't slow us down, and he wouldn't want us to sit here like this. Karak looked at the ship, "Its coming closer."
It was, and very fast. A wind had kicked up from the north, and the ship was moving quickly towards them. They had been deceived of its size as it turned out, it looked like it was very big on the horizon, but it was smaller and nearer really, and in ten minutes, the sails were raised and it drifted nearby them. The name on the side of the ship read 'Moongrace'. A man walked out on deck and called down to them. "Hey ho! What be you doing here on the shore?" He was hard to make out very clearly, but he was bearded with a black tunic.
"Leave us be." Said Link.
"No wait!" Called Karak, "Can you grant us passage across the lake? We are on very important business."
"Oh, I don't know about that." He replied uncertainly, "There be five of you, and we can't be pushing the limits of the boat can we now?"
"Really, you would be helping us no end!" He looked at Zelda, "Tell him you're the Princess, go on." Zelda just looked up at Karak blankly and then returned to her vacant gazing over the lake.
The boat was a little nearer now, and he could make out another man moving out onto the deck. "What's going on Serter?" He asked the first.
"These people want passage over the lake with us." He answered loudly.
"Really?" The other looked down at the five people on the shore, his eyes drawn to the two red haired girls, Gerudos. "Hey there, Miss Gerudo!" He shouted curiously to them.
Jerra looked up and gasped, she shook Yerra's shoulder, and when she saw who was on the boat she let out a shocked yelp. "Syon!"
"Yerra? Jerra? Is that you?"
"Yes! Syon, I can't believe it!" Jerra and Yerra ran out into the water and waded closer to the boat so that they could see him.
Karak leaned over to Link, "Who is this guy?"
"Don't you remember? Yesterday morning they were talking about their family; Syon is their half-brother."
"Oh yeah."
Syon called over to the girls enthusiastically, "Sure, you can board, all of you! The fish aren't biting at all, something has disturbed the water today..."
Half an hour later the five were stood at the stern of the boat, watching the southern shore move steadily away from them. The boat moved gracefully through the water, leaving white froth in its wake. White birds flew above them, soaring gracefully and swooping down to the lake surface to catch fish; unfortunately they were not fish in the great schools that the boatmen wanted. A spray of wind and fresh lake water blew over them and made their hair and clothes shake in the wind.
Cold, they retreated below decks and sat near a small metal fire in the wall. Karak sat with his arm around Zelda and she had her head resting on his shoulder, they had each other now for comfort. Yerra and Jerra were trying to take their mind off things by talking to Syon. Syon was tall and strong, with dark hair and a short beard. He was twenty-five as the girls had said he was, and was very friendly and lively; something which he had to tone down when he learned what the they had all just been through. It was curious Link thought, that Syon had some similarities facially with Karak, and therefore himself also he supposed. It was not in a major way, but the shape of his jaw, the shape of his nose; there was similarity no doubt.
With the Grimal sisters talking to Syon though all evening, and Karak and Zelda too miserable and wound up in themselves to say or do anything, Link was left by himself. He went up onto the prow of the boat, they were heading north now as there had been a very quick change of wind, and the captain deemed it sensible to return to port as there was no point searching for fish that were simply not there. It was dark now, night had fallen quickly, days were shorter up here. There were storm clouds ahead, and they reflected the mood of the company completely. They had been told that there was a town at the north of the lake, the most northernmost dwelling of civil Lakelanders in the Northern Reach. After that, they would be facing the wasteland, and then...Link gazed into the distance, and just as he was thinking about them, a bold of lighting burst down from the sky illuminating the Mountains of Darkness on the horizon. Link's spine shivered, and he looked down at the water to get it out of his mind. There could be more death before this was over. He turned and walked away, head bowed silently.
He made his way to the sleeping quarters quietly and slipped into one of the hammocks. He shut his eyes and tried to get to sleep, dreams of storms and blood and death plagued his mind.