Chapter Six

Soon after Link had escaped from the Gerudo guards, a group of horses thundered across Hyrule Field and stopped just before the area that the woman had tackled Link. Several Hylian soldiers and a Gerudo woman dismounted.

"Good luck," one of the soldiers tipped his visor at Lorah.

"Thank you," Lorah subconsciously felt the envelope that she had hidden under her clothes. She walked slowly towards the entrance to the fortress, trying to control the hundreds of butterflies that danced in her stomach. To her complete amazement, there was no-one on duty guarding the gate into the fortress. The guard Link had fought with earlier was still making her way back from Lake Hylia. No sooner had Lorah had time to wonder what was going on, the replacement guard was sent out.

"If it isn't our little man-lover," her mocking voice called from behind the gate. Lorah recognized her as Chalira, one of the girls she had trained with when they were young.

"Hi Chalira," Lorah decided to take a friendly approach, "I'm here to visit my mother."

"You should not come here," Chalira said, "You do not deserve to enter this place anymore. In my eyes you are no Gerudo."

"Look," Lorah said, "I do not plan to stay long. I just wish to see my mother. You can't deny me that."

Chalira opened the gate reluctantly. "I'll be glad to shut this behind you as you leave."

"Thank you," said Lorah. She did not get, nor expect, a reply.

Lorah made her way towards the Gerudo fortress. As the guards on duty recognized her, they began to jeer at her. The sounds of the jeering attracted other Gerudo who came outside to see what the commotion was about, and when they saw Lorah they added their own shouts and insults to the mix. Lorah tried to ignore them and kept her gaze fixed ahead on the doorway that led to her mother's quarters; her own former home. She found her mother preparing dinner.

"Mother," Lorah said, standing in the doorway.

"Lorah!" her mother exclaimed when she saw the identity of her visitor. "It is good to see you. You are very brave to come back here. How are you? How is your life?"

"It is good to see you too, mother," Lorah began.

"Please, stay for dinner. I am cooking soup," Lorah's mother resumed chopping up vegetables. "Your sisters will not be home, they are on duty tonight."

"I just might," Lorah said. "But first, I would like to see Nabooru for a moment. Do you know where I can find her?"

"I believe she is at the spirit temple for a few days. Zanei is acting in her place while she is away. She will not be hard to find."

"I can't speak to her," Lorah said, "She despises me. Nabooru was the only person here who showed me any real support over my marriage."

"Well, you could go to the Spirit Temple and find Nabooru yourself if it is urgent," her mother said, "But I don't think it would be a good idea. It will be dark soon, and you won't be able to see your way across the Haunted Wasteland. Nabooru should be back soon. She has already been gone for a number of days."

Lorah felt as though all of the air had been squeezed out of her. Nabooru was the only person who could help Princess Zelda. Lorah did not want to return to the king as a failure. She decided to go the Spirit Temple and find Nabooru.

"I really must speak to Nabooru," Lorah said. "I will take a lantern."

"Well," her mother sighed. She could not understand why her daughter wanted to see Nabooru so badly, but the one thing she had learned about Lorah was that it was pointless to argue with her once she had made up her mind. "If you insist on going now. I have a jacket I will lend you. You know it gets awfully cold out there at night."

"Thank you," Lorah replied. She put on and buttoned up the thick jacket that was designed to withstand the freezing desert nights. She then took a lantern and made sure its oil supply was full so that it wouldn't burn out. She gave her mother a quick hug and then headed out of the fortress and into the desert.

Link rapped on the door of the Lakeside Laboratory several times without receiving a response. He wondered if the scientist was in or not, and he tried the door. Finding it unlocked, he slowly pushed it open.

"Hello?" he called, "Anybody home?"

Link spotted the scientist huddled over a bench that held beakers, tubes and bottles that contained many different liquids of varying colours. Some of the liquids bubbled, and some had steam rising from the top. The scientist held a measuring cylinder in one hand, and into it he was slowly pouring a dark amber liquid from a beaker. He was mumbling something incomprehensible to himself.

"Uh," Link tapped him on the shoulder, "Excuse me."

"Yeeeargh!" the scientist jumped in fright. The cylinder slipped out of his hand and shattered into a thousand pieces, splattering the amber liquid everywhere. The scientist looked at Link. "Oh, it's you, boy. You startled me, yes you did!"

"Sorry," Link apologized. "Do you want me to clean this up?"

"No, leave it! This is a highly toxic substance."

Link subconsciously took a step away from the spillage.

"Now, what can I do for you? Would you like some more of my special, healthy medicine?"

"NO!" Link insisted, a little too loudly, "Thank you. Actually, I am here..."

The scientist cut him off. "Oh. I suppose you are here to collect your belongings. Did you have any luck finding your friend?"

"I found her," Link said, "But she is being held as a prisoner. Actually, that is why I came to see you. I was hoping that you could help me rescue her."

"M- me?" the scientist stammered, "Rescue?"

"Yes," Link answered. "I need you to help me create a distraction so I can sneak in and rescue her. Do you have any chemicals that could create some kind of explosion? I don't want to do any damage, but I would like lots of smoke and noise."

"Of course," the scientist replied, "I am a master in all things science! I have many chemicals that just love to explode, sometimes even doing so when I don't want them to. Now, tell me, where do you want this explosion?"

"It will have to be as close as possible to the entrance to the Gerudo's Fortress."

The scientist turned pale. "The Gerudo's Fortress? You mean your friend is being held by the Gerudo? Well boy, you have no hope of getting inside there. That place is more heavily guarded than Hyrule Castle itself."

"I already got in once," Link said calmly, "And now they will be on the lookout for me, and this is why I need a distraction. I know exactly where Zelda is being held. If I can distract most of the guards with the explosion, I should be able to fight my way past the rest of them."

"Zelda? Hmm, that name sounds somewhat familiar to me."

Link wondered if he should tell the man who Zelda was. He decided that he would, as it might give the old man an extra incentive to help him rescue her. "I am talking about Princess Zelda, daughter of King Harkinian of Hyrule."

"Oh yes!" the scientist's face lit up with recognition. "Goodness me. Why would the Gerudo have the princess?"

"I have no idea," Link said, "I heard them say something about the king and I'm scared they may be holding her for some sort of ransom. But I am scared for her safety"

"Oh dear, this is not good, no."

It was well after dark when Link and the scientist left the Lakeside Laboratory and headed for Gerudo Valley. Link had collected his shield and a long length of rope, and the scientist was carrying a couple of sealed containers made out of a plastic-like substance. Instead of travelling via Hyrule Field, the scientist led Link on a shortcut that took them parallel to the river and up quite a steep hill.

"Ok," Link said when they arrived, "The guard at the bridge will not consider you a threat. If you pretend that you want to be let in, you can distract her long enough for me to swing across to the other side."

"Yes," said the scientist, recalling what they had planned earlier, "Then when I turn to leave, I will place one of these behind the closest rock and set it on fire. In several minutes, the container will burn away. Inside it are some highly volatile chemicals that will react with the oxygen in the air. They will combust, and one chemical will give you the loud noises, while another will produce a lot of smoke. I will set another one off further away to provide an extra distraction for you."

"Thank you," Link said. "Now, are you ready to do this?"

"One more thing," the scientist said, "I know you are planning to fight your way in, but I have heard that the Gerudo are skilled warriors, yes they are. If you find yourself in trouble, throw this powder into their eyes," he pulled out a small pouch from his pocket and passed it to Link. "It is not a harmful substance, but it will burn and cause them much discomfort. It should be enough to disable them temporarily."

"Thanks," Link said, putting the pouch in his tunic pocket.

"Just be sure you check which way the wind is blowing before you throw it," the scientist warned.

"Ok. Now let's get going. I don't want Zelda in there a minute longer."

Link gave the scientist a head start. When he saw him talking to the bridge guard, he crept to the edge of the ravine that was as far from the bridge as possible. On the opposite side was a cluster of rocks. Link tied his rope into a lasso, and after several attempts he managed to latch it firmly around one of the smaller ones. "Here goes," he said, taking a deep breath and then swinging across.

"My pet bird escaped and flew in here," said the scientist to the Gerudo guard on duty at the bridge, Chalira.

"Silly old fool," Chalira replied. "You don't seem to understand. No-one passes through here. Especially a man."

"If I could only go in for just a second and get her out," the scientist persisted. "I brought a container to put her in."

Chalira laughed, "I will personally keep a lookout for your bird. If I see her, I'll be sure to tell her to fly away home."

Out of the corner of his eye, the scientist saw a flash of green swing across the ravine. The green figure clambered up the rope, and disappeared behind a group of boulders.

"Ok," said the scientist. "I will go and wait for her at home. Please tell her to eat lots of good grubs first in preparation for her flight home." He turned and walked away. Chalira watched him leave, an amused grin on her face. A few feet after he left the bridge, the old man tripped over and crashed into a rock, dropping the things he was holding. Chalira doubled over in laughter. Bridge duty was usually so boring. Most of Hyrule had long since figured out to stay away from the Gerudo, but there was the occasional loony like this one. She laughed heartily for several minutes, until an enormous BANG caused her to almost jump out of her skin. The opposite side of the bridge became covered in smoke, and there were several smaller bangs. She ran forward to see what had happened, but the smoke was thick and caused her to choke. She went back to the gate.

"Chalira, what is going on?" asked a guard, who had rushed over from the fortress to see what was the cause of all the noise. Several more followed her.

Link watched in delight as many guards filed out to the bridge to investigate the explosion. They stood watching the smoke clear for a moment, when a second explosion came from a little further away. With the Gerudo fixated on it, Link saw this as his chance to sneak in. He sprinted from his hiding place behind some boulders and towards the fortress. Knowing that most of the guards would be at the bridge, he took the stairs up that led towards the buildings. To his surprise, there were no guards at all patrolling this area. There were, however, two guards standing outside of the doorway that led down into Zelda's room. They would not leave their post, but they were just as curious as to the source of the loud noises. Their heads were turned in the general direction of the noise, and they looked directly at Link as he climbed up the stairs. He headed right for them, and they braced, ready for a fight.

"You really don't know when to give up, do you?" one of the guards said to him.

"That's because I won't give up," said Link through gritted teeth. He had his sword at the ready as one of the guards charged at Link with her spear. She attacked him several times, each of which Link held off with his sword or shield. Link started attacking her back, and with a hard blow from his sword he managed to knock the spear out of her hand. The second it hit the ground, the other guard rushed at Link. While he fought her, the first guard retrieved her spear.

The guards fought hard and viciously, and Link was having a hard time keeping them both at bay. He suddenly remembered the powder given to him by the scientist. He sheathed his sword, warding off the Gerudo blows with his shield. He slipped his hand into his pocked and fiddled with the little pouch until it was open. He gathered a handful of the powder and waited until both women were in front of him. As fast as lightning, he threw about half into the face of one guard, and half into the face of the other, quickly turning away in case any of it blew back into his own.

Both guards let out sharp cries as the powder burned their eyes, nose and throats. They dropped their spears and clutched at their eyes. One fell to her knees and then rolled over into a foetal position. Link noticed a thin leather belt around her waist. Clipped to the belt was a large, circular key ring. Link leant over her and lifted the keys from her. He headed inside and down towards Zelda's room, calling, "Zelda!"

"Link!" Zelda exclaimed. She had been waiting anxiously for hours, hoping that he would return.

"I found some keys," Link said, holding them up to show her. While he went to work, trying each in the lock, Zelda spoke to him.

"Did you hear those loud bangs? I was so scared. But then I thought that maybe Daddy had sent his soldiers to blast me out of here. I'm so glad you're here, Link. I was scared they were going to kill you."

Link had tried every key on the key ring with no success. Frustrated, he began to try them all again.

"Hurry, Link," Zelda said, doing nothing to alleviate Link's growing tension. His hands began to sweat and the key ring slipped from his grasp. Link bent down and picked it off the ground. Now he had lost track of the keys he had tried. He began angrily jamming keys into the lock at random. One, then another, then another. Link could not believe it when he felt the lock click. He pulled at the door and it swung open. Zelda stepped out and fell into his arms. Feeling a huge sense of relief, his legs buckled and he nearly lost his balance. He hugged Zelda for a moment.

"It's not over yet," Link said. "We still have to get out of here." He wondered how he was going to be able to get past all of the guards on their way out.