Notes: [11/04/21] - This chapter has been edited to shift a scene from the next chapter backwards, and to fix a minor plot hole.
Link's rented sand seal barks its displeasure at being asked to move, and he suspects the amount of sand it's flicking all over him with its flippers is entirely deliberate. He decides to nickname it Talon, after the Citadel stable master who'd sported a similarly bushy moustache and bad attitude. They travel through the night, following the well-trodden sweep of the road through the dunes. By mid-morning, the heat is intolerable even with a liberal coating of cooling salve on every visible inch of skin, and Link brings them to a stop at one of the permanent camps set up along the route to the city. He'll nap through the hottest hours of the day in the shade provided by the shelters. And with any luck, Talon will still be there when he wakes up, because it's going to be a long hot walk otherwise.
Paya has sent an update, and he can see her carefully tapping out the words in his minds eye, just as she did every day before he left - hunched around it on her lap, with a wisp of hair falling down around her face where it had escaped from her bun.
[We have arrived at the Desert Gateway, finally! Dorian is replenishing our water supplies at the caravanserai. Unfortunately we can't take rooms without breaking cover - very annoying! I long for a proper bed and clean sheets, and miss the rain in Kakariko already. Dorian promises to bring back a cool drink at least. He and Granté send their regards, and hope that you haven't run into any more problems.]
He taps out a response. [Halfway to GC, no action since KKB. Going to request audience with chief re Naboris. Maybe we can get this one under control before it starts causing havoc!]
After a minute there's a ping as Paya replies. [That would be a nice change! We make for the mountains in the morning - Hylia willing we should be there within the week.]
Thankfully the seal doesn't abandon him during his snooze, and they take the second half of the journey at a slightly more measured pace, with frequent stops to drink and reapply salve. By the time he arrives at the stable outside the city, dusk is falling and the gate is lit by the warm orange of torchlight. Link hands Talon back into the care of the stables with a pat on the head. The seal snaps angrily at him, and he pulls his hand back quickly before it can bite any fingers off. The guards at the gate stand up marginally straighter as he approaches, shifting their grip on their spears to battle readiness. He greets them cordially, though neither guard responds.
"The city is barred to voe," one tells him curtly in Hylian.
"It seems like it's barred to everyone, right now," he points out. "Has something happened?"
"It is no concern of outsiders why we choose to close our gates," the same guard replies. "If you have no business here, I must ask you to leave."
"I'd like to request an audience with the Chief," he tells her. "It's very important that I speak to her." He's not actually sure who the current chief is, but hopefully he can convince whoever it is of his credentials.
The guard eyeballs him. "Absolutely not. Entry is forbidden by the laws of the city."
Link sighs. "I know, but I was hoping she'd meet with me anyway. It doesn't need to be within the city walls."
"The Chief has many demands on her time, and does not answer to the whims of strange Hylians," the guard tells him. "It will not be possible to meet with her."
Rebuffed, Link heads towards the tents nearby to sit while he thinks up a plan. Kara-Kara might be the main hub for male traders in the area, but there has always been a small and semi-permanent encampment crowded up against the walls of the City itself. It's host to a steady trickle of men determined to trade directly with the city's inhabitants (among other things). Link himself spent several fractious days here, a lifetime ago, kicking around aimlessly and having to trust in other people to keep Zelda safe in his stead. His anxiety hadn't really been justified - Urbosa had considered Zelda practically her own daughter, and would have brought the righteous anger of Din herself down on anyone trying to harm her. But it had chafed, regardless.
The area looks to have changed little since then, and he ducks under the canvas doorway of the closest tavern to a familiar sight. It's busy - a group of Hylians are seated around the largest table, clearly here on business and deep in discussion amongst themselves. A guy in glasses is sitting on his own in the corner; his eyes are firmly glued to the curves of the young Gerudo woman tending the bar, who is ignoring him with the ease of long practice. There are a few non-Gerudo women scattered about the place too, looking annoyed to be held up by the lockdown. Link orders a drink, than leans against the bar next to a scarlet-feathered Rito woman as he waits. He gives her a nod of acknowledgement, which she returns.
"Annoying about the city being closed, huh?" he says.
"Very," she agrees, in the honey-smooth tones of Faron. "I've been stuck here three days now, and the guards won't tell us when the gates might open again."
"Do you know what the issue is?"
"No idea," she says, shrugging theatrically as only someone with wings can. "Maybe I will just head home, and try again next year. This hasn't been much of a holiday."
She walks away, and her place at the bar is taken by the bespectacled man, asking for a refill.
"Thanks, beautiful," he says to the bartender as she slides it over. She rolls her eyes and goes back to cleaning.
"I think I'm in with a chance there," the guy stage whispers to Link, leaning into his space. His breath smells of hydromelon. "Did you see that hint of a smile?"
"Your eyes must be keener than mine," Link replies, taking a drink of his juice. It's made from cactus, the menu claims, and tastes bitter and citrusy but also somehow refreshing.
The guy bristles. "Oh yeah? I bet you're jealous. You think you can swoop in and grab her out from under my nose."
"You know she's only being polite because it's her job, right?" Link says.
"She's playing hard to get, but I play to win! No woman can resist Bozai for long!"
Link shakes his head and finishes his drink, then he slides the empty glass back across the bar and ducks back outside into the cool night air.
He walks around the walls a way, hoping the security on the other gates might be lower, but no luck. The smaller side entrances are just as closely guarded as the main gates. He mulls over his options. He could just give up on the idea and head for the mountains, but he has the itching feeling that whatever business has the guards on edge is important. And he's sure the Chief will talk to him, if he can just get to her. Urbosa had been a very no-nonsense sort of ruler, and any descendant of hers seems likely to be a sensible sort.
Decided, he backtracks to a quiet spot where the buildings clustered up against the walls look sturdy enough to climb. With a last glance around to check no one is watching, he pulls himself up onto the roof and from there up the rough whitewashed surface. At the top he peeks to make sure the coast is clear then drops lightly down into the alley. This area of the city looks residential, with shuttered houses lining the empty street. To Link's left, the shape of the palace rises up above the rooftops in the distance, and he makes his way toward it through the quiet back alleys.
He's almost at the main thoroughfare from the gate to the noble quarter when he hears a shout behind him. There's a guard framed at the end of the alley, hand going to her falchion. Link flees, doubling back into the backstreets as the guard gives pursuit. He skids round a corner, where there are barrels stacked up against the back wall of a tavern. He shimmies up, swinging himself up onto the roof tiles and shuffling backwards out of sight just as the guard comes into view. The jingling of her armour passes below his hiding place, and fades away into the distance.
Link rolls onto his back, and looks up at the expanse of sky stretching out above him as he waits. After what he judges to be a suitable amount of time he lowers himself off the roof and sets back off towards the palace, rounding the corner - right into the path of two guards, who bring their spear tips up to point at his neck.
"Hands where we can see them," the first says.
The second comes to take his bow and unbuckle his sword belt. "Walk," she orders him, and he does.
They take him to the palace jail, dug into the rock beneath the towering walls. He's patted down for any more weapons, and then tossed into a bare stone cell with straw on the floor and a single wooden bench chained to the wall. A bucket sits in the opposite corner, and Link wrinkles his nose. Hopefully he won't be here long enough for that to be necessary.
"Look, this is all a misunderstanding," he tries to explain to the guards. "If you'll just let me speak to your commander I can explain - "
"Be quiet. Captain Teake will speak to you when she is ready, and not before."
Then he's left alone in the cool quiet, with only the flickering torches and the scurrying mice for company.
In the Hylian army, there had been a commonly-repeated mantra: never run when you can walk, never walk when you can stand, never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can be lying down. Link can't exactly do anything productive, so he lies flat on the bench. His aching shoulder muscles begin to unclench, where they've been seized up from long hours holding the reins of the sled. It's a significant time later when the clinking of boots and the jangling of keys on the gaoler's hip alerts him to incoming company. He rolls to a sit as three Gerudo come through the doorway.
"Who are you? What was your purpose in coming here, in contravention of our most sacred laws?" the woman who's clearly in charge says. This must be Captain Teake - she's imposingly tall and well-built, with sun-browned skin and eyes like flint. The guards who arrested him stand to attention a few paces behind.
"This is just a misunderstanding," he begins.
"A misunderstanding?" she repeats, cutting him off. "It is known that the Sacred City is forbidden to voe. Even if you had somehow remained ignorant of this fact, the guards would have informed you when they barred you from entering. Explain to me, then, how disregarding very clear instructions and breaking into a city from which you know yourself to be banned, is a misunderstanding?"
"All I wanted is to speak to the Chief," he says. "I intended to offer my services - "
"Lady Riju has no need of your services, outsider," Teake interrupts him again. "Nor do I believe you. Why would you sneak about like a thief for this? It is not credible."
"It's the truth," Link insists.
Captain, one of the guards pipes up behind her. We found these items in his pack. She holds up the Yiga costume and mask that Claree made for him. Link winces; he'd completely forgotten about those, and they really don't paint a good picture.
"Yiga," Teake spits, nostrils flaring. She rounds on him, snarling, "Were your group of worthless traitors not satisfied with stealing heirlooms? You thought to come try assassinate Lady Riju, perhaps? You will have to try a lot harder than - this," she finishes dismissively, waving at Link.
"I'm not Yiga," Link hurries to explain. "I have that costume because I came here to infiltrate the Yiga, to destroy them. My name is Link, I know this sounds crazy but I'm the Hylian Champion, and I can prove it if you just let me speak to Lady Riju. Please."
"You expect me to believe this nonsense?" the Captain scoffs. "We will see if you feel more like telling the truth after another night down here. If that does not do it - well, rest assured that we will make you talk eventually, one way or another."
She strides away, and the guards follow. He can hear low conversation from the corridor as they leave.
Any news of Barta yet?
Nothing. All our patrols have found no trace.
And the helm?
The same. Buliara was down here a few hours ago, pressing for answers on it. I think if there's been no progress by tomorrow they're going to leave without it.
Poor Barta. If we'd just looked for her harder when we got split up by that Yiga ambush...
Link watches the ceiling once more with a sense of frustration settling in his gut. If they would just let him speak to the Chief, he knows he can convince her. The Sheikah slate, his tunic, Zelda's diary - these are all tangible proof of who he is. And he has memories of Urbosa which her descendant should be able to verify. But that's all completely useless if the guards keep him rotting away in here alone.
Time is hard to judge down here, with no window to see the sky, but he thinks it must be dawn by now. Link's been pushing himself since leaving Dorian and the others. It's starting to catch up with him; he's tired, and the final line of that army saying had been "and never miss an opportunity to sleep", so he rests his head on his arms and lets the darkness claim him.
In his dreams he shuffles through the endless sands beneath a crimson moon, the gritty wind snatching at his clothes. He knows that if he fails the moon will fall; that he's running out of time -
He stands atop a great fortress in the desert, beneath a gigantic mirror. Zelda is there, hands clasped together in a long-sleeved brocade dress. At her side is his shadow, black-clad with red eyes burning into him. They watch impassively as he's sucked into the abyss.
He's jerked back to wakefulness by the banging of metal on metal. There's a new guard, pushing a cup of water and a bowl of creamed wheat through the bars.
"Thank you," he says as he takes them.
The guard nods nervously at him. She's young, probably only just out of training.
"What's your name?" he asks her as he eats the bland food.
"I don't think I should be talking to you," she says, and firmly shuts her mouth.
That's about the response he expected, but he had to try. When he's finished eating, he passes the bowl and cup back through the bars, and she takes them warily.
When she comes back with his evening meal, hours later, he tries a new tack.
Your comrade was taken hostage? he asks. How long ago was this?
She startles slightly, then scowls. You should know, Yiga.
I swear on Din herself, I am no Yiga. I'm here to help, Link says, trying to infuse as much sincerity into his words as he can while speaking a foreign language.
She shakes her head. Whatever you're trying to do, I won't fall for it.
There is no deception, he says, switching back to Hylian when his Gerudo vocabulary fails him. "I can prove I am who I say I am. In my pack, there is a diary written by Princess Zelda. Tucked into its pages is an image of me with her and Chieftain Urbosa."
She eyes him warily, but digs in his pack to find the diary. She gasps when she finds the image. How is this possible, she murmurs to herself.
Will you speak to your Captain? he prompts her.
I - yes, I will go now.
Teake turns up some time later, and looks irritated. Perhaps she'd been asleep. Her expression changes to shock when she's handed the image, and she holds it up to compare his face against it.
"This image certainly matches the portraits of Lady Urbosa. How did you come to be here? The tales say the Hylian Champion was killed, in the fields of Necluda."
The tales weren't inaccurate, but that's not a useful thing to say, so he keeps his reply light on detail. "Sheikah technology."
"And what do you want from us?"
"I came here because I heard talk of there being problems, and I was concerned it might be about Vah Naboris."
"No one has heard from Naboris in a century," Teake says. "Our problems are with the Yiga. They have stolen a precious heirloom from the Chief, killed some of our soldiers and taken one hostage."
"I'm in the area to deal with the Yiga," Link says. "If you release me I can help. Any leads you have would be useful."
Teake nods to one of the guards, who unlocks the gate. He makes his way over to his belongings, strapping on his belts and re-packing his bags. He checks the slate, but there are no new messages from Paya. He sends an update of his own, omitting any of the specifics: [Wasn't able to meet the chief, heading your way instead. Hope your travel through the desert has been uneventful so far.]
The captain is waiting for him. "Come, I will take you to my quarters and show you the intel we have gathered from our patrols. Leena, you come too, you can repeat your report for the Champion."
"Will it be possible to speak to Lady Riju?" he asks as he follows them out of the cell block.
Teake shoots him a sideways glance, looking abashed. "I'm afraid not. The Chief had been holding off a scheduled tour of the outlying settlements, given this Yiga situation. But with no progress on reclaiming the helm, she left this morning. She won't be back for about a month."
Link resists the urge to shout at her. If they'd just listened to him to begin with... But there's no point crying about it now. There's been no sign of Naboris, but there are Yiga to deal with.
He listens to Leena's recounting of the ambush, and copies into the slate the various pins on the map spread over the table. It's not much to go on, all told. A slight narrowing of possible location from "the entire mountain range" to "the area near this specific village, probably." Birida perches on a plateau; it overlooks both the Karusa valley and - of particular interest to Link - the beacon which flashes blue in the sea of black covering the Gerudo Highlands on the slate's map. Being able to swing by the tower will make exploring the area a lot easier.
"I have people attempting to infiltrate the hideout," he tells Teake. "Hopefully they'll be able to lead me right to the door, with a bit more time."
"I can have soldiers ready to attack as soon as we have a location," she says. "The Yiga have become an increasing nuisance of late, it's time they were stamped out once and for all. And Leena and Liana are champing at the bit for a chance to rescue Barta."
"From what Dorian tells me, the fortress is well hidden and very defensible. I'm not sure a frontal assault would be possible without losing a lot of people, mostly likely including my moles. My original plan was for them to help me sneak in and take out the leadership."
"A snake will die if you cut off the head, but I am not sure the same is true of a cult," Teake muses. "But we'll let you try your way first. Shall I tell Leena's unit to expect your presence on the journey?"
Link taps his fingers against the slate hanging from his hip, thinking. There's still been no response from Paya. That might mean nothing; they may simply be travelling, and not have noticed the buzz. They may be busy. Or, they may have run into real trouble. He should never have agreed to split up.
"No," he says eventually, "I'm going to double back a bit, see if I can pick up my friends' trail first. I'll meet your people in Birida."
"Very well." Teake gives him one last glance-over, her gaze still skeptical. "And I'll increase rotations to the surrounding area. If your plan does not succeed, I think you will be glad of the backup, yes?"
Link's sense of unease solidifies when he warps back to collect Epona to find her stabled next to three very familiar horses, with the cart sitting empty nearby. He pulls the stablehand over.
"These horses, and the cart - the group who arrived on them, are they still here?"
The boy shakes his head. "Think they had a falling-out, the younger ones left with some new fellas. The older guy was pretty beat up from the fight though, he's still here. And someone still needs to pay for his room and board, and the stabling fees."
He shows Link to a small room off the courtyard, where Dorian is sleeping fitfully, sweat-drenched with one bicep bandaged. He squints blearily at them.
"Master Link? What - " he coughs, and Link passes him a cup from the bedside.
"Drink. What happened?"
"Two Yiga recognised me, when we stopped to resupply. I fought, but I believe one of them must have had some kind of poison on his weapon. I was already feverish when the stable staff found me and brought me here. I can only assume they took Granté and Paya." He clenches his jaw and looks away. "I have failed you, and them."
Link sits back heavily in his chair. Days, the Yiga have had Paya. "It's my fault as much as anyone's," he says. "I should never have agreed to split up in the first place. What matters now is finding them."
"We can only hope Paya was correct that the Yiga would consider her valuable enough to keep alive," Dorian says grimly.
Link resists the urge to drop his head into his hands. "And that Granté doesn't cause enough trouble for them to decide he's disposable."
Dorian's in no shape to travel yet, however much he tries to claim otherwise. He eventually agrees to staying behind for now, with a promise from Link to warp back and collect him later. With his pack gone and Link's own coin purse is almost depleted, funds are tight; with some regret Link sells the horses from the Kakariko stable to cover their debts. He takes Granté's gelding, Storm, with him. When they find the others - he refuses to consider that it might be 'if' - they'll just have to share.
Notes: What's a visit to the Gerudo hometown without a trip to jail, for old times's sake? I'd love to know what you think, now we're out in slightly more uncharted territory!