Author's note
Gigantic optimism is a year old today! If you were looking for an excuse to have cake there you go you are celebrating a anniversary. I did not have to go in to work due to snow so I finished this chapter earlier in the week during my unexpected day off . Which was fortunate I really wanted to have something ready for the one year anniversary, Thank you for any and all support. Disclaimer You ever love something without owning it me too that thing is called the Legend of Zelda.
Chapter XXXV New Sights
In a flash of green Reypha had collected her charge and whisked him outside, the Zora/Gerudo Prince continued to wail his cries slowly diminishing in volume, as he drew farther away. Stephano was going to apologize Sidon has beaten him to it. "Seyda must not be used to other little ones he will soon calm down King Stephano." The big Zora seemed haggard to the Hylian monarch, oddly his attire appeared to be a new set of armor. Unbeknownst to Stephano he was wearing the Desert Voe Armor whenever he did not have royal court duties Sidon was in this garb.
Stephano now was sporting a mustache but otherwise he was unchanged in appearance. Little Maurice was keeping him fit and active; the small prince was his father in miniature with large cheeks and the brown eyes from his mother. "You were expected tomorrow but I am glad to see you both and meet your son early." "Making Goron city the first stop on our tour was not the best idea we barely stayed an hour." Sheepishly explained Maurice his while Maurice had been fine, the heat had taken its toil on the older Hylian. "Since you had no official business, I wanted to discuss our dream trip." The fishing cruise eh, we do need to teach our boys how to fish properly is the ship coming along.?" "My builder assures me it is on schedule." The two begin to talk the shared hobby distracting the two men.
Maurice unobserved toddles out of the stable while Vin might have distracted him the big animal was too invisible to the kid behind his stall's wall. In the shadow of the stable Reypha is rocking Seyda the sobbing has finally ceased, none of his needs had been unmet the baby just had not taken to Maurice. Hearing the future ruler of Hyrule stumbling about she stands to monitor the little one. Seyda renews his gesticulations, and lachrymose activities. Such often temper tantrums were unique from the relaxed son of Sidon. Reypha did not know what to make of the perplexing behavior
Later on The two royal families are having dinner together Karlovaa is at ease hosting her guests the long royal decorum lessons with grandpa Dorephan were yielding dividends. Though her son's foul mood was making the task difficult, Reypha was more nanny than guard today. Stephano was keeping the conversation light trying to distract the new parents he knew how tough a day like this could be. Sidon was playing along asking the little one how he liked the Domain, or he was generally curious it could be hard to distinguish between the two.
Maurice put down his fish the mackerel's size taxing the little one, he begins to talk more than eat. "Gorun village was very hot I got to wear a cool suit of armor though, it was tough to look round in the helmet." Not bothering to correct him the Zora plied him with more questions. "They could move so fast, Daddy would not let me try rolling." Crossing his arms dejectedly the infant was beginning to pout. "I wish I could roll around like a Goron too, but we are all different did you see see my big horse today." Nodding Maurice let Sidon finish uninterrupted. "Karlovaa can ride it much better than I can and with a little practice so could you, once you are a little bigger." That's right son you can ride a nice Hylian charger while Goron cannot but, that is how we help each other succeed. We look different and can do various tasks covering weaknesses and bringing out strengths." Maurice begins to study his hosts King Stephano had a point he was beginning to understand, the Goron could roll Sidon could swim, even a two-year-old could see the similarity to fish in the Zora King. Karlovaa was pretty similar to him, and his father Maurice was unsure what she could do that they could not accomplish alone. "Yeah I will get to see Rito soon though daddy, says we cannot visit the Gerud-o " "No but guess what Prince Maurice?" "What what, what, I am from there and can tell you all about it. "Really!?" "Really" Karlovaa responds in kind. She begins to describe that desert land as only a native could with little intricacies and a passion even a little heartache. Soon she would be there and trying to explain the Domain to her own son rather than the desert. Soon Maurice is guided off to bed, his little eyelids straining to stay open. "I will come tuck you in shortly son!" Assured the tyke allows a zora guard to take him off to his quarters. "I thank you for entertaining us despite Seyda's bad day, I have yet to congratulate you on his arrival, a male Gerudo I did not know such a thing was possible. Never dreamed of it back home, that is why I took this tour so soon Rice needs to see the kingdom himself." Truthfully Stephano, had wanted the little ones to get along he knew a good relationship with the Gerudo King and Maurice was important for the future of Hyrule. "We knew it was possible, but it was not likely, much like your son's birth." Sidon offered it was strange both had been male what were the odds. Taking his leave Stephano went to tuck in his boy they would be leaving in the afternoon of the following day Stephano needed to oversee the Hylian sword tournament and Tabantha had two stops it gave him a few weeks at most. Karlovaa quickly went to look for her son while Sidon needed to check with Dorado there would be a change of plans. That night Dorado is commissioned to accompany the Hylian royals part of the way, to Tabantha safety in numbers and all. Dorado was not pleased it meant he was leaving early at least he would get an extra day to scout the forgotten temple before Jarak arrived the thought consoled him as he packed he slipped his mother's old pictograph into his pack.
Sidon lies awake in the royal bedchambers Karlovaa was discreetly breastfeeding a now pacified Seyda now that Maurice was elsewhere, he was calm, that fact is niggling his memory reminding him of something it had to do with Link's letter. Casting his mind back Sidon recalled a line "The male king is a reincarnation of a great evill, destined to harm the royal family and Hylia's chosen hero." Seyda had been fussy and flailed excessively when he saw Prince Maurice, at this very moment he is nibbling on Karlovaa's finger, surely something else explained his mood. "Vishka I know I keep asking about the developmental stages," "No worries love I would be pestering you with obvious questions if he was a zora. Ask away" she interrupted calmly. "Seyda was awfully fussy today is he teething by chance?" "We can check I am unsure, honestly." With their combined efforts they prop his mouth open just enough to see a few coming in. "Good idea Sidon that explains his mood today he has just begun teething."
The next day…..
Dorado has separated from the Hylians he and Vin had enough daylight left to reach the Forgotten Temple in time to scout the location but how to go about it? He would waste a lot of time climbing a tree, not knowing the range on the lasers made walking in impossible, Grante had been very clear about how fatal a blast from the lasers were, it made sense to the young hero he had grown up next to a guardian battleground. Perhaps he could trot in with Vin and bolt for it? A picture of a fiery explosion decimating the large horse while he set atop it nixed that plan. Risking the animal was a bad idea for several reasons walking home the least among them.
Maybe there would be a slope it was really his best option to survey the area, unfortunately Dorado did not posses a glider. Climbing up a mossy knoll gave him the first view of the site, a stone complex that dwarfed everything around it, parts of the structure had caved in or been overgrown. Plainly the jungle would eventually conquer the man-made holy place he could scarcely fathom how long the battle had been raging.
A tall Hylia statue towered over the scene he had no idea how such a massive icon had been carved in the first place. The doors were still intact scanning for guardians outside his best bet was to peer through some small hole in the ruin. Vin was left on the hill to graze as Dorado crept down towards an indeterminate number of killer robots. He was extremely thrilled this was a tough mission.
Sidling up to the cool stone he felt for indentations or cavities silently praying that the rock would refrain from caving in completely under his weight. He prodded in the excessive heat for longer than he had surveyed the temple earlier. At the very bottom of the doors the rock had given way where it met the ground vines had slowly deteriorated the ancient stone doorjamb. Tearing aside dense foliage Dorado dropped to the ground a single eye pressed under the entryway, gazing into a dimly lit space sunlight filtering in through choles perforating the ceiling.
Blue lights begin to turn on he counts them there were over thirty! He could not even see fully into the main hall his vison blocked by the door there could be more, lurking just out of view. Opening the door would be suicide could Daruk's protection stop thirty beams at once? Such a heavily guarded location had to have something important even if it failed to lead to more information about the sword. Scouting from the roof seemed like a better plan or the roof could give away and he could land in the middle of them while breaking his back. Wincing Dorado egressed collecting Vin and making camp for the night. Jark arrived in the morning he favored the roof scheme as any other involved him cowering behind Daruk's protection helplessly. "I can make us a ramp it is going to take a while rolling up there is the safest option, I have enough rope to hall you up after." So, Dorado would scout and take pictures while Jarak slowly built a ramp by building dirt from underneath up atop the knoll and packing it down by rolling on it. They carried on so for a week, of humid dreary days. Occasionally Jarak would grumble about the weather or the insanity of the plan it became normal Dorado the goron had a proclivity for complaining.
The night he finished the ramp they worked out a plan. "There are at least fifty of them in there we use my knowledge of the place and your architectural knowledge to make more spyholes in the roof following where aiming for the center of the building." "Humph it is the safest course but we could be here another week maybe two doing that," "One week I'm afraid Jarak you could stay longer scavenging the roof for pebbles to eat but I only have so much supplies. Scavenging has not been fruitful; it is pretty barren here." Not pleased with the idea of staying by himself the Goron lazily projected force fields attempting to make different shapes. Dorado did not give in to his curiosity and ask why the Goron had this strange habit. "You are a lot different from Sidon he would be swimming up the wall at this plan's time frame he would never have come up with it." They left it there for the night and caught some winks.
Jarak flew up the ramp his body bouncing unevenly he straightened out just before he ran out of real-estate and catapulted onto the roof uncurling seconds before impact his belly flop spread out his weight deadening the impact. The roof did not collapse Dorado scaling the structure with rope was a tedious task with slick walls and little slack in the rope he made gradual progress. When he did reach the top a pear-shaped rock was snoring gently, on the roof. Jarak would plot a course they made a small hole and peered into it. The temple was spacious but small in one room there was a deciduous tree stump next to that were stairs? The kudzu was thick enough it was his best guess to the original purpose of the amorphous object. That was when they heard whirring and Jarak yanked him back, a red light shot right through the hole before fading away. They snapped a picture and moved on. "Dorado did you see the back room there were three guardians outside it that is where we need to go." The rock over that room was much thicker they had to bash it in with their weapons, Dorado nearly dropped his trident when he met no resistance. Weighing his net overtop the gap with rocks Jarak stepped not the depression.
"You see anything?" Whispers Dorado barely audible over the straining of his net to hold the Goron there is a pedestal hand me the picto-whatever." Their was some hylian written on the rock. Snap, then they felt a breeze run! A guardian flew towards the Goron its eye socket glowing. Jarak used his barrier to block the beam then they were off. Jarak dragging the zora along they had not marked the path back to the rope luckily they had left it tied. The death machine had just broken through the decrepit rock and was after them. Dancing over the treacherous terrain they fleetly skirted the fragile spots until Jarak dropped the camera he stumbled as he grabbed it off the floor. Crack, crumble, small debris scattered, and Dorado only held on by jamming his trident into some moss. They hung there Jarak suspended by one arm while the guardian hovered over them few feet from the precariously perched duo. "Make a shield around your fist on three jagged if you can. One two three!" Swinging the Goron behind him in an amazing feat of timing, Dorado whirled Jarak into the hovercraft his fist striking just as the beam came out of the monster. Striking the barrier it rebounded directly into the sensitive ray gun apparatus. Kaboom between that force and striking the rock the mechanical menace exploded sending our heroes careening off the temple's roof. Dorado spread his arms slowing his descent enough for Jarak's diving form to catch up to him. Deploying Daruk's protection seconds before impact they land safely. "Did the pictograph make it?" Called the Zora Jarak grunts affirmative his mouth firmly sequestered between the brown one's shoulder blades.
Author's note 2 Next time villain stuff and a certain sword tournament. See you all then!
Sincerely, 4Coyote