Chapter 3

"I am death's sweet kiss, I am your life's bane. My name is Steelwater Raven, though you'll never ever know it. I am the mistress' Ryguard – some think me legion, but I am but one. You have been marked, my friend. Today is a day of honour. Today is when you die by my hand."

Steelwater Raven of Spinster Jardel's Ryguard peered through the thin slit of a window cut into the granite wall of the belfry. Above him, against the backdrop of a glittering blue sky, birds swooped through the air, their wings a dark silhouette against the glare of the sun. Below him, he could see the Sky Inn, one of those newly built eateries where people sat on the roof, open to the elements. He could see the people now, tiny dots that darted here and there, the sun glinting off of the cutlery and covering the whole area with a sparkling haze.

"Do you always do that?"

Steelwater turned to the sound of the voice, blinking, the shadowy darkness of the belfry a sharp contrast to the shiny day outside. His apprentice, a boy of no more than thirteen years, stared back at him with a blank expression. In the background, Steelwater could see the immense shapes of the great bells, silent and still, the metal dull and flaked with rust. "Do what, Rohn lad?" he asked.

Rohn shifted on the ground, clouds of dust puffing up from the movement. "Speak to yourself."

The boy jumped as a bird – or a bat, Steelwater couldn't quite tell – fluttered frantically out of a hiding place, spilling chunks of masonry as it flew, then dived through the open window. Steelwater smiled, lifting his crossbow to his face. Closing his eyes, he cradled it lovingly, letting the cold metal kiss his skin. "An artist always needs his muse, my friend," he purred. "I inspire myself. It pumps the heart, you see, readies me for action." He opened his eyes, pulled an oiled cloth from his belt, then slowly slid it over the weapon, as gentle as a lover's touch.

The murmur of voices from outside rose towards them on a current of warm air awash with the sugary scent of freshly baked bread and roasted meat. "Let's get this over and done with," Rohn said, his nose twitching. "I want to get back to the Fortress."

Steelwater poked the bow through the window, his head tilted to one side, one eye closed as he aimed. "Patience, my friend," he said. "An artist is not rushed. After all, we've been searching for this Shadow Lord for months now, and here he is, like a fool, out in the open atop the Sky Inn."

Rohn let out a breath. "There's too many people, though," he said. "You'll only get one shot."

"Boy, have you not heard of Steelwater Raven?" the assassin said, a trifle annoyed. "One shot is all I need." His finger curled around the trigger. "I never miss."

Zelda, Link and Raenie sat huddled around a table, the whistling wind tugging at their hair, the only other sound the tinkle and scrape of cutlery on plates. Navi hid in the Shadow Lord's sleeve, occasionally daring to peek out, but offering no conversation. Indeed, the Princess mused as she drummed her fingers on the table, it was only young Raenie who was chatting away with any enthusiasm. Link had found a disgruntled worker at Fortress Jardel who was willing to hand over the plans to the building. The worker – he was a repairman – had no idea where the twins' title deed was hidden, but he did know the ins and outs of the Fortress itself. Kerric had taken it upon himself to collect the plans from the man, and this is what they were waiting for right now.

Zelda glanced at the Shadow Lord from the corner of her eye. Link sat, looking thoroughly bored, with his head in his hands, his fingers tapping against his cheeks.

"And so," Raenie was saying, in between taking bites from a roll of bread. "My dog ran out from my hands – Noodle, his name was, did I mention that?"

"You did," Link said, his voice blank.

"He was one scorching poodle." She took another bite, then sipped from her tankard of water. "Anyway, he runs out and I'm so chasing after him, shouting his name and then – boom! – a cart comes out of nowhere and one minute he's there, happy and barking, the next he's gone, completely gone." She paused to take a breath. "Even now whenever I see a cart I just shudder and think of Noodle's sweet little smile."

"Heartbreaking."

Zelda jabbed him in the ribs. Raenie apparently hadn't noticed, as she went on, "And so I told everyone. My friends. My parents – when they were still alive, of course – my brother. I even told my friends' friends and then all their relatives, too. And I told my really distant cousin who I hadn't seen in so long. It was sweet, though. They all brought me presents and I didn't have to do chores for a week. I just sat in my bedchamber while everyone visited me and held my hand."

The Princess could see that Link was making a heroic effort not to roll his eyes. "Always nice to be the centre of attention, innit?" he said through gritted teeth. "Worthless in the long run, but feels awfully nice."

Again the young girl didn't catch the hint. Zelda wondered if she'd been so oblivious to the world when she'd been Raenie's age.

"And so my friend, Miri," Raenie went on, "she stuck by me through thick and thin. She is so scorchin and she's so going to be my friend till the end of time." Raenie sipped on her water. "So, Miri, right, she was in love with a tailor once and so she learnt how to sew and whatnot, but then that didn't work out, so she then fell in love with the blacksmith and she'd go to the foundry everyday after she read a scroll on forging horseshoes, but that didn't turn out well, either, and then there was the Melancholy Poets and there was this really scorchin looking one, so she would follow them about looking sad and thoughtful like they did."

Link spun his mug on the table, water sloshing over the rim. Serving girls weaved in and out of the tables, their forms blocking out the sunlight momentarily, deftly picking up dirty plates and empty tankards with a practiced grace. "It would appear," the Shadow Lord said, "that your friend isn't entirely sure who she is. It's a bit of an empty soul - if I may say so myself, no offence intended, like - that needs to constantly change itself just to be adored."

"Link," Zelda warned. No matter the Shadow Lord's opinions on Miri's idiosyncrasies, the Princess felt confident that Raenie and her friend would work them out on their own as they grew, without having Link criticise them for it.

"And so," Raenie went on without missing a beat, "she's now in love with you."

The Shadow Lord blinked as the Princess desperately tried to stifle a grin. "With me?"

"Yes, isn't that so scorching?" Raenie's eyes were wide, as though she were relating the most profound of truths. "We heard stories that you'd broken into the Treasury and whatnot, but Miri didn't believe a word - she said that there was no scorching way you would do that."

Link's lip twitched. "And how exactly would the said bonny lass know what I may or may not do?"

"Because she knows you!"

"She does?"

Raenie rolled her eyes. "Of course she does! She's in love with you, so she knows you." A triumphant grin sat on her face.

Zelda watched as Link seemed to struggle with his words. His jaws were working, but nothing was coming out. Finally, he said, "Shouldn't that work the other way around? Shouldn't she know someone first, and then love them?"

Raenie stared at him. "You are so silly sometimes."

Sighing, Link glanced at Zelda as the young girl chatted on. "I'm silly."

The Princess tried to hide her smile once again. "You're silly."

"Remind me never to have children, love."

Zelda, a glint in her eye, placed her chin on her palm. "Shouldn't your wife be consulted before you make that decision?"

Link was about to reply when something flickered over his face. The Princess frowned. "What is it?"

"There's something on the floor."

"There is?" Raenie and Zelda said in unison. The three of them bent down to search –

- an arrow flew through the air, tearing straight through the point where Link's head had just been, then cracked into the floor, its tail feathers trembling –

- and they all sat up, Zelda and Raenie looking confused.

"Sorry," the Shadow Lord said with a smile. "My mistake."

Zelda blinked. "Did you just feel something?"

"You missed!"

Steelwater staggered back, his mouth agape. "Impossible!" His eyes darted from the window to Rohn to the window again. "I never miss!"

Rohn cocked an eyebrow. "Well, I say you missed."

Steelwater struggled to put his churning emotions into words. Finally, with a shrug, he composed himself, taking in a deep breath. "Clearly he was brought up amongst the Wind People of Koholint and he knew instantly the shifting patterns of the air – especially when an arrow is travelling through it – with his magical powers of wind."

Rohn's eyes thinned. "Magical. Powers. Of wind."

"Yes," Steelwater said quickly, locking another arrow into place. He gazed out over at the Shadow Lord. "Well-played, my windy friend, well-played indeed."

Kerric cleared the table with a swipe of his arm as he joined his friends, then placed the scroll flat on the surface. "It's here!" the young man beamed. "We got it."

"Is this wise?" the Princess asked, her eyes glancing this way and that. "We're out in the open. People may see."

The Shadow Lord ran a hand through his hair. "Not to worry, love," he said. "See - no-one will suspect that we're plotting the overthrow of the city's ruler, since no-one will believe that anyone would be stupid enough to discuss such a matter in public. Thus, people will not have the slightest bit of interest in what we're doing as they'll just assume we're on some mundane lunch thing just like they are. Now, if we were to meet in the hush-hush, that's when people would get suspicious and they'd start sniffing around."

Zelda frowned. "I suppose."

"We're not going to overthrow her," Kerric said quietly. The edges of the scroll fluttered in the breeze, and he pressed his palm down flat on the parchment to keep it in place. "We just want justice."

Link shrugged. "Just want to go home, mate."

They huddled over the scroll, leaning in close. "Now," Kerric continued, licking his lips. "The Fortress is very well defended. There's an entrance here," he pointed, "here," he pointed again, "and another secret one here," he pointed once more. "There's a tunnel that leads from the river to beneath the Fortress – our man in the know said that this is Spinster Jardel's escape route should she ever need one. This is our best choice, I believe. The other entrances are heavily defended - even the secret one."

They all leaned in to get a closer look. "What about the tunnel?" Zelda asked, her brow furrowed in concentration. "Anything we ought to know about that?"

Kerric glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone was paying them undue attention, then turned back, giving the Princess a short nod. "Traps," he said. "It's littered with traps."

"Like stingers?" Raenie asked, her voice hushed.

Kerric's lips pursed into a thin line. "I'm afraid so."

"And what, pray may I ask," said the Shadow Lord, "are stingers?"

Twitching, Kerric explained, "Spinster Jardel is unspeakably cruel. Her torture chambers are legend amongst those who know, and her interrogation methods the stuff of nightmare itself." He cleared his throat, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "She's also under the impression that the only people stupid enough to attack her Fortress are men. So…she…ah…"

Link glanced at Raenie who was wearing an extremely forced grin. "She…takes like…the appropriate measures," the young girl said.

"See," Kerric added. "Stingers are small dart like devices, bathed in magic, whose projectiles unerringly find their intended target."

The Shadow Lord raised an eyebrow. "Which is?"

"Well…" Raenie said, before trailing off.

"Well?"

Kerric took in a deep breath. "They go straight for the jugular."

"The neck?"

"No." Kerric took another breath, licked his lips, then took a swig from Raenie's mug. "They're castration devices…they can go slice through the most heavily fortified, magically enchanted, steel bolted armour straight into a-"

"Alright!" Link said, flinching.

Raenie flicked at the table. "Remember Castrated Caelin?"

Kerric closed his eyes. "How could I forget Castrated Caelin?"

Zelda gazed at the two of them. "What happened to Castrated Caelin?"

"Poor fellow thought he could take on Spinster Jardel all on his lonesome," Raenie replied, shaking her head.

"Surely not?" the Princess said. "Not with all those castrating stingers?"

Raenie's face was blank. "He didn't even get within a mile of the Fortress."

Link looked somewhat aghast.

"No!" Zelda said, her hand in her mouth. "He was…?"

Kerric piped in. "Castrated to within an inch of his life."

Link winced.

"Castrated isn't even the word," Raenie went on. "More like…

"Minced?" the Princess helpfully added.

Raenie nodded. "Minced."

Link bit his lower lip.

"No matter what you call it," Kerric said. "It's still castration. It's like the Elders always say: Castration is castration. It's an art in some foreign countries. It even sounds menacing: Castration."

"Castration," Raenie said, looking thoughtful.

"Castration," the Princess added, chewing on the inside of her cheek.

Link's face was a picture of sympathetic agony.

"Castration," the trio said together.

The Shadow Lord smacked his hand down on the table. "Stop bleedin saying that bleedin word!"

Raenie and Kerric looked away. "Sorry," they mumbled in union.

"It's bad enough –" the Shadow Lord stopped short, another frown on his face.

"What is it?" Zelda asked.

With a sudden lurch, Link moved to the left, colliding with a passing serving girl, and sending her platter of food flying. "I'm terribly sorry, I do apologise!" he said as the girl scowled. "Not to worry, little missy, my friends and I will help clean up."

Sighing, Zelda rolled her eyes, then walked over to the mess, the twins and Shadow Lord in tow –

- another arrow spun through the air, splintering into the floor next to the first –

- and Zelda glanced up, blinking again. "Did anyone just hear something?"

"You missed again!" Rohn looked positively shocked.

Steelwater began biting his fingernails. "Not possible…just not possible," he whimpered.

Rohn's face darkened. "Have you actually ever killed anyone?"

Scowling, Steelwater fumed. "Of course I have! I am the premier assassin in Hyrule. Warriors, wizards and kings have all fallen at my touch. No one has ever escaped me yet."

"Then why can't you bleedin well kill this one?" the apprentice shrieked, his voice echoing in the tiny chamber.

"This is quite galling, actually," the assassin replied. Once again, he took in a deep breath, squared his shoulders and regained his composure. "Clearly the Shadow Lord's mother mated with one of the Trees of Sentience, and so her offspring has an affinity with the wood from which he was born. This explains how he knows whenever an arrow is heading towards him – the arrows warn him in advance."

Rohn's face was blank. "Mated. With. A tree."

"Yes," Steelwater replied. "But I have the remedy – a silver arrow from a silver oak." He slid the said arrow into his bow, then looked out the window with narrowed eyes. "Well-played, my spawn of forbidden wood lust, well-played indeed."

"So," Link was saying as the sun began its descent, the sky blistering scarlet in response. "We enter through the tunnel by the river."

"Keeping away from the stingers," Kerric said.

The Shadow Lord nodded. "Keeping well away from the stingers. We can use Navi as a light –"

"Hey!"

"- and then once we're in, we go…?"

The wind ruffled the scroll once more, the waxy yellow surface crackling. Chairs scraped as people began to leave, and cooking smoke curled up into the air. Zelda stared at the document, her lips pursed, her eyes scanning, until finally she pressed her finger against once particular room. "Library, it says," she explained. "That should be the first place we look for the title deed."

"Right," Kerric replied, rubbing his chin. "Over here," he pointed, "is where your portal is. I still need to teach you how to use it properly."

Link looked up, his face cloaked in shadow. "That you do, mate," he said. "And I think I need to teach you two twins the art of fighting. Or else there's no point us going in."

Raenie's eyes brightened. "That will be so scorchin!" she cooed. "Wait till I tell Miri."

Link turned his attention to the young girl. "You won't be telling anyone, young miss," he said. "Not unless you want to get us all killed."

"Or worse," the Princess added ominously. She gazed at her three friends in turn.

"What are the guards like?" the Shadow Lord asked. He leaned back, slouching casually over the back of his chair. His eyes made furtive glances all around them. Zelda knew that he was keep a surreptitious watch.

Kerric sucked on his teeth as he pondered. "Standard. Usually hired from the local youth – you know, the people who can't get employed anywhere else. Big, burly-"

"Stupid," Zelda finished. "Excellent."

"Weapons?" Link asked, sniffing.

Zelda watched as Kerric leaned back, knitting his fingers. "Just swords." Scarlet light danced on his face. "The Ryguards are the better fighters. They'll have crossbows, too, or so I've heard. They'll probably be placed closer to the Spinster."

"So you've heard," the Shadow Lord repeated, leaning over the table. "Tell me, boy, has anyone actually ever seen one of these Ryguards?"

"No," Kerric replied. One of the patrons walked by and Kerric fell silent, gazing at the floor as he waited for the man to pass. "But there's terrible stories told about them. Terrible."

"That's right!" Raenie added. Strands of her purple hair fell across her face, her almond shaped eyes wide. "It's said that no one's ever gone against them and lived. Said they can kill without their victims even seeing them."

"Is that so?" Link replied. "Best we avoid them, I suppose."

The Princess, her gaze on her husband, noticed that his eyes darted to the belfry towering above them, just for a fraction of a second. "Do we know," she asked, flicking the observation from her mind, "exactly where this tunnel is?"

Kerric shrugged, and scratched the back of his hand. "I have a general idea. We'll just have to poke about a bit." He looked up. "So…when is the word given?"

Link let his eyes wander around the open room, his expression thoughtful, before he turned back to reply. "A few days, maybe a week," he said. "Let's get you and your bonny sister toughened up a bit. We'll need to find some weapons, too."

"A week," Kerric repeated, his voice soft.

"Anymore than that, mate," the Shadow Lord replied, tapping his finger against the scroll, "and the Spinster might notice that this has gone missing."

Kerric sighed. "So close."

Link smiled. "Don't start any gabbing about destiny now-" He froze. The other three turned to him, their eyes questioning. Then, with a sudden blur of movement, Link slammed his fists down on the table. The other end shot up, sending the scroll flying, and an arrow cracked into the polished oak, spraying shattered woodchips into the air.

People screamed, scattering. Zelda, on her feet in a heartbeat, gaped at the arrow. "Where did that…?" Her eyes shifted, finding the other two arrows buried deep in the floor beside them. "What's going on…?"

The innkeeper, fury contorting his face, strode up to their table. Link stood, smiling, then patted him on the shoulder. "Think you have a bug problem, mate."

Just before the innkeeper exploded in a cloud of rage-fuelled protests, the Princess caught Link gazing at the belfry one more time, a twinkle in his eye.

"Well?"

"Clearly the Shadow Lord is a secret member of the Order of the Table Tamers, and has instructed all tables to protect him at the cost of their own lives."

"Order. Of. The Table Tamers."

"Well-played, my wind obsessed, wood begotten, table lust fuelled friend, well-played indeed."

"That's it. I'm going home."

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