Link leaned onto the shaky table and brought the glass to his lips. He took a swallow of the beer - which was fairly good, compared to one's he had tried in the past - and watched the fire as it crackled in the grate.

Beside him, three men sat, playing cards. One was tall and slender, like a snake; he had a full, handsome head of raven hair that did not match the drawn look in his face. His faded brown eyes were slightly bloodshot, his tunic tattered, his mug overflowing with his fifth beer. The man across from him was the complete opposite, short and sturdy, with bright blue eyes and matted, tangled hair that fell across his forehead in brown streaks. His belt was too small and his ego too big, judging by the way he confronted the man on his left.

This one was huge, his shoulders spread far and swelled, his shirt tight enough to show his over-flexed muscles. You could see each vein in his pale neck, and his huge fingers clutched the cards in his hands greedily. His filthy beard was unkept and his empty, dark eyes leered at the other men.

"Where's ole Rurish, Leun?" asked the sinewy man as he put two cards down on the table.

"Ole Rurish, aye?" said the gigantic Leun loudly, leaning over the table. Judging by the number of empty glasses before him, he was fairly drunk. "Ole Rurish cheated at poker, the damn bastard, I had to run 'im through fer it -"

"You wha'?" said the shorter man. "You dono how to run it through a man, idiot. Now I, I can take out two at a time with one punch, not countin' what I can do with a blade -"

"Liar," snarled Leun, his face reddening with pride. "You don't know how to lift a sword, you two-foot, cut-throat liar. I'm the only one outta either a you that knows how you really use a sword -"

"Yeah right, Leun, you couldn't kill a man with a blade if he was standin' still -"

"Could too, damn you. I know all the moves, trained with the best, can do the whole lot - switch-crossing, triple block, round swirlin' -"

Link snorted into his drink, stifling a laugh. Whatever Leun thought switch-crossing or round swirling was, he had never heard of it. He man looked around drunkenly, searching for the source of the noise. He caught Link as he whipped the beer from his lips.

"You laughin' at me, boy?" he hissed. Link continued to drink his first beer. The man stood slowly, his shoulders shaking.

"I said, you laughin' at me, boy?" he said, his voice dripping with increasing fury as he looked at the hero from across the table. Even from a distance, Link could smell the alcoholic stench that hung around him. The man was drunk and angry. Leun's fists clenched dangerously.

"You gonna answer me, boy?"

Link drowned the last of his beer and placed the empty glass on the table. He stared straight into the man's red-tinged eyes.

"No," he said.

The man shook for a moment. With a furious roar, he reached underneath the table and threw it.

Link jumped back as the bench he was sitting on overturned. Several women screamed as glass mugs and empty bottles shattered against the floor. Cards and poker chips flew across the room, soaked in beer and whiskey. The man, still shaking, pulled out a rusted sword. The leather wrapped around the hilt was peeling off, and the metal was dull from neglect. Link tensed. He had left his sword upstairs.

"What's wrong, boy?" yelled Leun wildly, his eyes unfocused as he swayed on unsteady feet. "Ain't got a blade? Well I always liked a fair fight. Give 'em you're sword, Takr!" he shouted sharply to the small, blue-cloaked man at the bar. The little man passed fearfully under the shadow of the furious Leun and handed Link a blunt, unpolished blade.

Link tested it, felt the weight of it in his hand, sized up his opponent. But the man was mad with the drink, unbalanced on his feet and over-confident. He smiled savagely.

"Yeah, there was a price on your head, I remember it," he whispered. Then he roared again and threw his sword headlong at the Hero.

Link ducked and rolled over to the side as the blade slammed into the wall behind him. The side of the Inn trembled from the force of it and Leun, enraged at the miss, charged forward through the crowd, shoving townsfolk aside as he went. Link caught the eye of the bartender and he beckoned frantically towards the door. Link got the message and began to back out onto the porch as the man grabbed the hilt of his blade.

He tore it fiercely from the wall, ripping through the wood as splinters flew about him. He followed Link out the door, his jaw slacked drunkenly as he stepped into the dark. Men and women crowded into the doorway, watching beneath the dim candlelight.

"Trying to run, are ya?" called Leun, heedless of who heard. Link backed further into the shadows "Better learn not to mess with me -"

He stopped as Link appeared before him, cold and calm, the sword drawn. The two blades clashed, but the man was too drunk to recover as quickly as Link. The Hero rolled beneath the man's flailing sword and slipped the edge of his own across Leun's leg. As the man cried out, Link flipped the sword over and thrust it up across the edge of his palm, sending the sword flying. He lunged towards the falling sword, but slipped his ankle under the other man's as he went; Leun fell flat onto his back and felt the cold metal of his own blade touch his throat.

"Better learn how to hold your drink," snarled Link. He dropped the sword onto the drunk's body and began to walk back to the Inn. People were staring from the doorways and windows, but they could not see past the light of the porch. Link reached back to put up his hood.

There was a sudden, sharp pain on the back of his hand. He winced suddenly and pulled down his cloak sleeve.

The Triforce of Courage burned deeply into his skin.

"Hurts, don' it, boy?" yelled the man suddenly. Link turned to him, bewildered, but froze at the sight. Link had done no more to the man than leave a scratch on his leg, and perhaps, a few bruises on his back. But Leun was propped up on his knees, blood running down from the corners of his mouth, his eyes white and rolled to the back of his head. The insane smile on his bloody lips was terrifying.

"He told me this would happen, boy," he said. He started to laugh, high-pitched and wild, coughing up dark blood. "He's back, back...told me I would pay a price, didn't he? Ha ha..."

His laughter echoed madly through the streets, his eyes empty and unseeing. Link watched him carefully, motionless, as his hand throbbed from pain.

"It's in the desert, boy," he said. His hacking , choking cough became unbearable. Link could see his midriff convulsing terribly and knew something was wrong inside. Gagging, his head tipped to the side and he glared at Link with one crazed eye. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. "You bett'a be quick, boy...they've been waiting for the King to come back...ha back..."

"What are you talking about?" shouted Link, leaping forward and pulling the man up by his collar. His body was limp and cold. Link shook him desperately.

"What are you -"

Link let go of the man and leapt back as he vomited blood. His sadistic smile froze, and he slowly collapsed forward onto the ground. Link stepped towards him, praying that he wasn't dead - but as he reached the carcass, he saw, with his own eyes, something that made the Hyalin crypts seem friendly.

His clothes deteriorated and all his hair fell out, including his beard. Blood seeped from his mouth, his eyes, his ears, his nose, and Link stumbled back his flesh rotted away, leaving a terrible smell in th air. The pile of dirty bones that remained lay ominously in a patch of brown grass. The empty-eyed skull stared tauntingly up at Link.

Link stared back, ignoring the pain on his hand, his whole body frozen. Both swords dropped from his hands.

Beneath his shirt, the cold metal of the silver moon dangled against his chest.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Link strapped the last saddlebag to Epona as the darkness deepened around them. He had refused to speak to anyone at the Inn, even when they found the ple of bones that lay ten feet away from the inn's door. The bartender assured everyone that the bones did not belong to Leun, and that Leun had simply given up and stumbled home - but from the looks Link got as he took his bags down from his room, he knew none of them believed this.

The mare looked at him despairingly as he strapped on the last satchel, her dark eyes sagging with exhaustion. Link felt guilt rise inside him.

"Sorry girl, but we've got to go. Back to the Gerudo."

A pouch behind the saddle suddenly wiggled violently, startling the mare. As she shifted her weight to her back hooves, Link stroked her mane comfortingly and used his free hand to undo the clasp.

Navi, bristling and furious, in her fluttering pink light, burst out of the bag.

"FIVE MINUTES!" she yelled at the top of her fairy voice, "You'll be in there for FIVE MINUTES! Have you ever been cooped up inside a dark pouch for almost three hours? I wouldn't be surprised if I lost some of my shine..."

Link laughed nervously at the fairy's reaction. It took him a moment to realize that someone else was also laughing.

He spun, the Master Sword clenched in his hand. But the intruder spread his palms out towards the blond. It was the innkeeper.

"Sorry, lad, didn't mean to startle you..." he tried. Link's wrapped fingers tightened on the hilt.

"I'm leaving, I left you twenty extra on the counter. What do you want?" The innkeeper lowered his hands.

"Look, I ain't gonna tell no one. I knew who ya was the moment I saw ya, lad. The fairy proves it. I just want to warn you - them Gerudo aren't so nice." Link tensed.

"I have dealt with the Gerudo before," he whispered. The innkeeper waved his hands, showing his unwillingness to offend Hyrule's hero.

"I ain't sayin' you haven't, cause I know you have. But they're different lately, I tried to deliver some horses to them the other day and - well, just tellin' you to be careful, lad. Hyrule can't risk losing a hero." Link relaxed slowly and re-sheathed his sword. For a moment, he stood and studied the man.

"Thank you," he said. The innkeeper nodded as Link mounted his horse, Navi fluttering into his pocket. Without even a kick or a sound, Epona rode off in a full gallop away from Kakariko. The small pink fairy peeked out from his pocket, bemused.

"What happened at the Inn, Link? Why are we going to the Gerudo?"

Link shifted his grip on the reins so that his sleeve was covering the Triforce piece.

"Nothing, Navi...nothing."

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Link traveled for the better part of the night. Epona spurred on at full gallop without any indication from the teenage hero, the plains of Hyrule flying beneath her breezing hooves, the gentle stars of Nayru glittering above. The red hills of the desert passage rose high in the west.

Link slowed Epona as they neared the passage. The Gerudo were forever watchful over the pass, though it was still a slight gallop to get to the bridge. The bandit women had the uncanny skill to disappear in any environment, and the towering red cliffs that lined the passage were there strong point. Link did not want to risk the journey in the dark. Even after earning their wavering trust, he knew that outsiders were never welcome.

He dismounted Epona and Navi flew from his pocket.

"Link?" she asked quietly. Link had not spoken to Navi since she had asked him about the Inn, even though she had questioned him slightly towards the end of the night's ride. Link undid Epona's saddle and let her roam towards the grass on the plains. Navi fluttered anxiously.

"Link, what happened at the Inn? Come ON, Link -"

"It's nothing, Navi -"

"Oh, do NOT give me that, you," she said hotly, "I am your guardian spirit, I at least deserve to know why we're going into the Fortress again -"

"It's nothing for you to worry about -"

"Oh, come on!" she shouted, nipping him on the head.

"Hey!" said link, putting his hand to the wound. Navi gasped suddenly as his sleeve slid down to his wrist.

"Link! Your Triforce Piece! Why is it glowing?"

Link lowered his hand quickly, but knew he couldn't get out of it. Besides, hadn't she been there through it all? Hadn't she helped him through darkness and dungeons and temples? Hadn't she helped him defeat demons and monsters? Hadn't she, of all the people he'd met, been the one who stuck by? Sure, she was his fairy...but she was his friend too. So as he rolled out his bed mat and unstrapped his sword, he told her what had happened.

"Link..." whispered Navi as he finished the story. Link could hear the faint note of fear in her voice . "Do you know what this means? Ganon...he's back -"

"No. It doesn't mean that," said Link firmly. Navi fluttered about, her pink light flickering nervously.

"But Link, he said the King was coming back, and the desert, and the Gerudo - Link, we need to tell someone, this could be very dangerous, we should go see Alea, or - or -" Link heard her hesitate. "...we should write to Zelda, Link -"

"No," said Link instantly. Navi heard the tone of defense in his voice as he struggled not to lose it. "She's got other things to worry about. She's the Princess of Ter'zai now. I need some sleep. Goodnight, Navi."

Link rolled over and faced the red wall. Navi lingered a moment, worried about her friend, but soon drifted off to go find Epona. Link waited until he was sure she was gone before rolling over onto his back. Exhausted, he ran his fingers through his hair, struggling to get Zelda from his mind. The side of his hand brushed the edge of the silver chain around his throat.

Slowly, carefully, he took the pendant from beneath his shirt. It glittered faintly in the starlight, twirling slightly as he held it above him.

For what seemed the millionth time, he struggled to remember where he had gotten it.

That was the downside about time travel, he thought. If it was done too often, it muddled your memory. He slid his thumb over the cool, polished surface and watched it glitter slightly in the dark. Something calming came from the presence of this pendant, something he couldn't quite describe in words. But he shook off his feeling as he saw Navi returning in the distance and rolled over, pretending to be asleep.

From an outcrop high above the Hylain hero, a yellow-eyed gerudo woman sped down the path towards the Fortress.