Where am I? Am I... dead?

Phane's eyes cracked open, and he found himself looking at a bedroom that was built into a cave. He was lying down on a bed, which was strangely comfortable, even though it looked quite crude. The bedroom was dimly lit, but he was able to spot someone sitting in the corner.

"I see you're awake," the figure in the corner said, "I'm glad at least one of you have woken up."

The figure then stood up and walked into the light, and Phane's eyes widened.

"You're a..." Phane started, not quite feeling sure if he should feel scared, or shocked, or both.

"Lizalfo? Yeah, I am. My name's J'on, nice to meet you," The lizalfo said, putting out a scaly hand. Phane, not sure what to say, shook J'on's hand.

"You can..."

"Talk? Yes, my whole tribe could, but they're very far from here, I wasn't really one for staying put. I like the adventure."

"Yeah, but you're... red," Phane said, actually finishing a sentence without J'on finishing it for him.

"You noticed that, huh?" J'on said, filling up a glass of water, "I'm a crimson Lizalfo from the island of Kontaro, to the southwest of here. We're a bit more... well-versed and dossile than our feral bretheren."

"I've never met a crimson Lizalfo before," Phane said, trying to sit up a bit.

"And I'll probably be the only one," J'on said, "My kind's doesn't exactly get out often. Anyways, you should get some fluids in your system, help you gather your strength faster. You were in pretty rough shape when I got you here."

"Yeah," Phane said, starting to try to remember just how he ended up in a cave inhabited by a social, versed, and crimson Lizalfo.

"You've been out for a few hours or so; it looked like you'd gotten hit by a couple of arrows, but someone did a fairly good job patching you up," J'on said, handing Phane a glass of water.

"Yeah, he did do a good job," Phane said, and then realized he was forgetting about someone... "What about Link?" Phane asked, remembering what J'on had already said, "he's a kid, has blonde hair; I was with him last I remember."

"He should be fine, but he's still asleep in the den. He was in worse shape than you were since he was soaked and had a pretty nasty crack on his head when I found him," J'on said. Phane sighed in relief now that he knew the person who saved his life had also survived their close brush with death.

"We should probably get you up and moving," J'on said, "Come on, I won't bite, I promise."

"...All right," Phane said as he tried standing up for the first time since he had been shot by the arrows. After almost falling, he managed to prop himself up on the wall until his legs could get used to the weight again.

"You take it easy," J'on warned, "Your body has to get used to being productive again after being out of action."

"Yeah, I think I'll be fine," Phane said as he started to walk slowly to the door. His leg throbbed, but the pain was managable. What he was still concerned about was the wellness of the person who saved his life twice, so he soldiered on and opened the door out to the den. They were in a small house built inside of a small cave, so even though the floors and ceiling were rock or dirt, it was still cozy. Phane looked down at the sofa and saw Link sleeping on his side there, wrapped up in several fur blankets and had a bandage on his head, apparently where he had impacted the ice earlier.

"He's been out for just as long as you have. Of course, he was going into hypothermia quickly, so he was obviously the first recipient of my treatment because all you seemed to need to do was regenerate your strength.," J'on said.

"Yeah, let him rest a bit more, he was exhausted anyways because he had dragged me for so long," Phane said, "I don't suppose you get too many people out this way, do you?"

"Not really, no. Although the past couple of days has been interesting because first I find a horse, then I hear a large explosion coming from the town a couple of miles west of here, and then you two go and pass out at my pond, and then there were soldiers that came through looking for two people," J'on said, "You all have something to do with that?"

"I guess you can say that," Phane confessed, not sure J'on was thinking.

"Yeah, some execution gone wrong, I heard the guards say. Good thing they didn't notice my little humble abode here. Would've hated to see that situation get...heated..." J'on said.

"You don't like the guards?" Phane asked, starting to feel a bit relieved. It did make sense to him, though.

"No reason to, they aren't really nice to my kind. Guess they have good reason to not like lizalfos in general, but at least they could listen to one if they're trying to be peaceful. If you don't mind me asking, what did you do to get the headsman's axe anyways?"

"Being in someone's ambition's way, really. The 'Justiciar' there wanted the title I was going to get, so he framed me for murdering my team, and got me sentenced to death for fragicide."

"And then?"

"Then, while I was waiting to be taken to the block, a few guards dumped Link in there, who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and Justiciar Essen threw him in there to shut him up about some bandit operation he was helping run. Greedy bastard, that one," Phane said, "Next thing I know, the priestess there is reading me my last rites, and then a wall explodes, Link knocks the headsman out, and he drags me through the new hole in the wall. We did good for a while, and then I got hit by a couple of arrows. He patched me up and dragged my ass all the way out here. Remarkable, that's for sure."

"Sounds like you owe him your life," J'on said, "I have to admit, I find it hard to believe that a small kid like that is capable of what you're saying he did, but you're here, and the evidence supports it really."

"Yeah, I do. Kind of gave me a new chance somewhere else too," Phane said, "but I'll follow him wherever he wants to go, I owe him that much."

"Yes, how about we wake him up? I'm sure you two are pretty hungry," J'on said.

"Yeah, I'll get him up," Phane said, walking over to the sofa where Link was sleeping. Phane shook Link gently, and saw his eyes crack open.

"Hey, kid, you okay?" Phane said, helping Link sit up a bit.

Link blinked a few times, and scratched his head, where he noticed the presence of the bandage.

"I'm okay, my head hurts pretty bad though," Link said, trying to fight some dizziness. Whatever he hit his head on, he hit it hard.

"Yeah, you hit the ice pretty hard," Phane said, "I was just able to pull you out of the water, but then our friend J'on here came and got us and patched you up."

Link turned his gaze over to J'on, blinked, and then his eyes widened.

"Y-You're a lizalfo!" Link said, realizing who was actually standing across from him.

"Yes, I am," J'on said, crossing his arms as he talked.

"You can talk?" Link asked, now obviously surprised. He had never met a talking lizalfo before. In fact, he never even met a lizalfo that didn't immediately try to kill him unceremoniously.

"Yes, I can."

"You're... red..." Link said, he was out of questions already.

"You noticed that, huh?" J'on said, making Phane grin.

Link fell silent, and bundled himself into his blankets again, feeling cold even though he was near the fireplace.

"When I found you two, you were soaked, and I had to get you warmed up first, so I bundled you into a few blankets and stuck you next to the fireplace and started drying your clothes, they should be done soon, for the meantime I put you in some I found earlier," J'on said.

"Both of us were out for a few hours," Phane said, picking up where J'on left off, "The guards have apparently already been through this area, but J'on here doesn't really want to have anything to do with them."

"So that means we've lost them?" Link asked, sitting up again, and just rearranging the blankets to keep him warm.

"Yeah, we lost them," Phane said, "Which means you can rest easy for a little bit, if you want."

"Okay, I'll do that," Link said, laying back down, "I'm just glad it's mostly over with though. We've got to get out of here soon though, make our way out of the country."

"You're right about that," Phane said, "Closest town's about 30 or so miles away. It's a nice city called Clearwater. Might be able to get some cash there, and then head over to Toryn City to get a ship."

"That's an idea," Link said, "but at least we can wait until our strength is back. I hate to impose on you more, J'on, but..."

"Don't mention it," J'on said, raising a scaly hand in the air, "You two are the first people who haven't attacked me on sight, so please, stay as long as you like. Besides, if you all are heading off to the coast, I might want to tag along, I'm in the mood for a little bit of adventure anyways." Link and Phane looked at each other, and nodded, basically telling J'on that he was welcome to tag along with them.

"All right, you should get up, I think J'on's getting some food ready," Phane said as he helped Link up out of the bed, keeping him wrapped in the blankets. It was obvious that he hadn't quite warmed up from his previous ordeal, so he hadn't quite gotten over the shivering fits yet.

"Guess you're a bit more spent than I am, huh?" Phane said, helping Link walk over to the table behind the sofa.

"I ought to be after how far I dragged you," Link retorted as he sat down in one of the chairs at the table.

"Still haven't lost your wit though," J'on said, grabbing a pot from its rack on the fireplace, "I hope you all like leek soup, it's all that's growing right now around here."

"I'm fine with that," Link said, "I'm not necessarily picky when it comes to anything with vegetables in it anyways."

"What don't you like?" Phane asked, trying to at least get to know something about his new friend.

"Fish; I can't stand it," Link said, "I've been around it so much I don't want it anymore."

"Fair enough, I guess," J'on said starting to spoon some soup into a few wooden bowls and handing them to Link and Phane before sitting down, "Of course, it's usually what I eat around here, unless the pond's frozen like it is. Of course, I could go and hunt, and bring back a lot since I found that horse, but I don't want to push that horse more than I should."

Link dropped his spoon into his bowl, realizing that J'on had a horse.

"When did you find that horse?" Link asked, trying to put a time table to his own, "And what color is it?"

"It's brown with a white mane, and I found it last night. Still a young one too," J'on said, resuming eating his soup.

"Did you find an Ocarina on me when you found me?" Link asked, hopeful that his two prized possessions were still intact.

"Yeah, it's on top of the mantelpiece. You should eat first before you try doing some other things," J'on said, pointing to the still full bowl in front of Link.

Link sighed; J'on was right, he needed his strength back, he could barely walk already, and even though he was unconscious for a few hours, he was still exhausted from his earlier ordeal. He took a few bites of his soup, and was surprised at how good it was.

Hey, this Lizalfo can cook! Link thought as he started to eat a bit more of it, Learn something new every day.

"Good news is that once you two are strong enough to set out, we'll be able to travel a lot easier because of the horse. I guess we'll let you ride it if you want, Link," J'on said, refilling his bowl.

"Yeah, might as well catch a little bit of a break, I need to keep putting weight on this leg anyways to get its strength back, so feel free," Phane said, also refilling his bowl of soup. Link grinned a little and looked towards the exit of the cave. It was night time, which meant that if they were to get a good night's rest, they would probably be able to set out the next morning.

They all finished dinner, and J'on took the bowls from them. Phane stood up and walked over to Link, and held out his hand.

"Here, let's get you off to bed before we head out of here in the morning, you'll need all your strength back," Phane said as he helped Link back to his feet and walked him back to the sofa and laid him down.

"Yeah, I'm not dragging you anywhere anymore," Link said as he got himself comfortable.

"Yeah, I've got that chair over there," Phane said as he grabbed another blanket from a shelf near the fireplace.

"Well, I'll see you two in the morning," J'on said, heading off to his room, "Night..."

"Night," Link and Phane said as J'on closed his door. The room fell silent for a little bit, and then Phane piped up.

"Can't believe just a few hours ago I was about to be executed," Phane said, as he shifted in the chair a little, "I don't know what to think about what's happened, but for what it's worth, thanks for saving my head... literally."

Phane looked over and saw that Link was already asleep and totally didn't hear what he had said.

Well, at least that's rehearsed for later...

Link was the first one to wake up the next morning, partially out of excitement to finally go on a new adventure with some friends, and also to see if J'on really had his horse. After grabbing his now dried jacket from the line near the fireplace, he got dressed, put his boots on, and headed outside, and sure enough, behind a small gate, there was Epona.

"Epona!" Link exclaimed as he ran over to her, "I'm glad you're okay, I was worried." Link pet Epona and headed back to the cave to see if anyone was awake.

I was certain I lost her for good this time, Link thought as he headed back into the cave. Sure enough, J'on was awake and seemed to be packing some food into a bag. Phane was also awake, helping pack up some other supplies as well.

"I see you're awake and moving around better," Phane said, stuffing some blankets into a bag, "Grab anything you want to take with you, we're leaving soon."

"Got it," Link said as he grabbed his ocarina from the mantelpiece, unbuttoned his jacket, and placed the Ocarina of Time into the internal pocket of his jacket.

"How're you doing now, Phane?" Link asked, as he picked up one of the already packed bags and put it over his shoulder.

"A bit achy, but you did a great job fixing me up, I'll be fine," Phane said, "I can take a bit of pain."

"No problem," Link said, "Are you all ready to go? We need to get to Clearwater as soon as we can."

"Let's not waste any time then," J'on said, "Come on, let's get going." J'on put a hood on to kind of disguise himself a bit, and walked out in front of Link and Phane. Link and Phane followed J'on out, and Link unhooked Epona from the post she was tied to.

"Looks like we're heading off to Clearwater now," Link said to his horse as he packed her up. Even though the bag of things he had on her when he last saw here was gone, he was glad to at least have the Ocarina with him. Of course, that meant they had no money, and he had no spare supplies of his own.

"Looks like we're going to have to make some money when we get to Clearwater," Link said as he mounted his horse.

"Yeah, we will," Phane said as he walked along side and watched Link guide Epona out of the little pen she was in, "That horse seems to like you already."

"That's because this is actually... my horse," Link said, "I cut her free when I was attacked by bandits before I got arrested. Didn't want her to get hurt or stolen."

"So you mean that I found your horse all the way out here? Talk about lucky," J'on said as he walked along Epona as well, "Does she have a name?"

"Yeah. Epona," Link said, "She's actually owned by the daughter of the Lon Lon Ranch's Owner back in Hyrule. She kind of... bequeathed her to me when I left there three years ago."

"Lon Lon Ranch... I remember when they were actually just starting off before I left with my father," Phane said, "Might be interesting to see if they've grown."

"They were pretty big when I was there," Link said, "they had a good thing going there. I'd like to see them again."

"I'm pretty sure you want to see his daughter, don't you?" Phane snidely commented.

"Well, yeah, that too. She's a good friend," Link said, seemingly ignoring what Phane was insinuating, "I'm sure Epona would want to see her too."

"Guess so, yeah," Phane said, as they kept walking on for hours...

HOURS LATER:

Link, Phane, and J'on were approaching the city of Clearwater. It was a fairly large city, with lots of activity on its streets with shops lining the main road through the city. A thin layer of snow coated the cobblestone streets. And several dark blue banners decorated the buildings.

"Mind if you watch Epona for us, J'on? We're going to see if we can find ourselves a ship. I'd try to stay out of the way though," Link said as he dismounted his horse as they walked into the city.

"Don't worry about me, I know how to blend in," J'on said, "It's not that hard in a busy city like this."

"We'll be a little bit, make sure you get comfortable," Phane said as he and Link got ready to make their way through the city.

"Got it, I'll find you all, I've got your scents," J'on said, sitting down in the corner of an alley.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," Phane said, a bit creeped out that he was starting to feel like prey, "Anyways, you ready to go?"

"Yeah, I'm ready," Link said, giving J'on the rest of the bags. They made their way out to the main street, where there were busy shops and people conversing.

"I kind of like it here, it seems busy," Link said, "It's a lot more alive than a lot of the cities I've been to."

"Yeah, but we need to get some money, and quickly," Phane said, "We need to rent a boat the moment we hit Toryn City, so we need to be prepared."

"I think we're going to be here for a few days," Link said, "We might as well check at the inn to see if there is some work there, might be a bounty or something we can collect on."

"Yeah, like mine and yours."

"Point taken, but what choice do we have? I don't think word has reached here anyways," Link said, "They definitely didn't chase us to Clearwater, or else we wouldn'tve made it into the city."

Phane stood for a moment, thinking heavily, not sure whether to risk bounties, or to play it safe. "I think we should check the inn," Phane finally said, "come on, it's this way."

Right when they were almost to the inn, there was a shout and then a door broke down and a child around Link's age rolled off of the broken door, attempting to get to his feet, trying to defend himself.

"You heard what I said! We only take cash, no promises! Now get your ass out of here before I really make you regret it!" A voice said from where door used to be.

A large man stepped out of the doorway and cracked his knuckles, "It's your old man's fault he's put you all into this position. Apparently he thought his kid could convince us, but how about you send him a message?"

The large man then made a fist, and clocked the kid straight in the face, sending him tumbling back into more rubble. The man then pulled a knife out, getting ready to do some real damage to the kid that was now trying to get to his feet.

"I think we can make this work, actually... Every day your father doesn't pay up, I take a limb, how does that arrangement sound?" the man said, menacingly.

"Go to hell," the boy said, wiping the blood from his mouth, "Do your worst."

"I like your courage, kid, but it won't save you!" The man said as he swung his knife down.

The knife never hit its target, however, because Link was able to tackle the boy to the ground, saving him from the knife attack. They slid on the icy ground for a few feet, and then Link got to his feet, drawing his dagger, and turning around.

"If you want a fight, it's with me now," Link said, glaring at his new opponent. The cut on his head opened again, and blood was starting to flow down his head. He also had a slight cut on his back, where he apparently took a cut from the knife that was meant for the other child.

"What is it with you kids, these days? Don't you know how to stay out of each others business? I guess I can play for a bi-" the man's sentence was cut off by a foot to the face courtesy of Phane, who also joined in on the action.

"And that's the end of that," Phane said, now looking at the unconscious perpetrator, "guy was too full of himself to notice me getting ready to kick him in the face."

Link blinked, he was expecting a fight, but was at least glad Phane chose the best time to react after Link made his decision to help. It reinforced his thoughts of Phane being considerate enough to help someone in need, especially a young person. Nothing angered Link more than someone beating up on someone who wasn't able to defend his or her self well. Link grinned a bit at Phane, who returned it, and then tended to the child.

"Hey, are you okay?" Link said, as he turned the child onto his back. The boy looked a lot like Link, actually. They both had short, yet thick blonde hair, and were roughly the same size. Link shook the other boy on the shoulder, and watched the boy open his eyes. Unlike Link, the other boy's eyes were brown.

"W-what happened?" The boy said as he tried to sit up a bit, with Link's help.

"Some guy was about to cut into you, but we got there in time to get you out of the way," Phane said, as he took a seat on the back of the unconscious man, "And then we took care of him."

"You two did?" the boy asked, still clearly dazed from the punch to the face and then the impact to the ground.

"Yeah, but don't worry about that. What's your name?" Link asked, "And why did that guy attack you?"

"My name's Logan," the boy said, "and he attacked me because my parents owe them a lot of money because of a bet my father lost to them, and they've taken almost everything we have."

"And you thought you can somehow reach a settlement with them? Odd thing for someone your age to do when your father's the one who they should talk to," Phane said, dragging his hand through his beard.

"You don't understand," Logan snapped, "they beat my father up worse than this. He's bedridden because they broke so many of his bones."

"So now you're trying to minimize the damage," Phane said, "What kind of bet was it?"

"It was to see who could win in a fist fight. My father used to be a soldier a few years ago, until he was able to retire, and spend time with me and my mother. About a month ago, these creeps moved into the city, and started to bother my mother who worked at the school her and my father had opened. Then some guy hit my mother, and my father stepped into action, and ended up beating up a few of them before their leader came in. He was a big beast of a man, and told my father that he would leave us alone if he beat him in a fist fight. Needless to say, my father lost badly, and now they're taking everything my parents have worked so hard for..."

Link looked at Phane, who was digesting Logan's story. Whatever Logan said truly bothered Phane more so than Link expected.

"Do you know their leader's name?" Phane said, again scratching his beard.

Logan nodded, "They called him Bruiser."

"Bruiser?" Link asked, registering the name in his memory.

"Yeah, they say he has never lost a fight," Logan said, looking down at the ground, "I'm glad you all helped me, but I just don't think it helped in the long run. They'll just come back and take the rest of our things now."

"That won't happen," Link said, "I promise."

"Yeah, we'll sort it out for you all," Phane said, standing up, "Can you take us to your parents? I'd like to talk to them."

"...yeah, sure," Logan said as he tried to get to his feet. Suddenly, he hissed in pain and doubled over, grasping his ribs. Link went to Logan's side and quickly noticed Logan grasping his ribs.

They might be broken, Link thought as he got in position to pick his new friend up onto his back.

"I'll help you, but you just need to tell us where to go," Link said, lifting Logan onto his back, "I'll patch you up when we get there, okay?"

"All right..." Logan said, obviously through a pained gasp.

"I'm Link, by the way," Link said, introducing himself, and then he pointed at Phane, "And that's Phane. We're travelers."

"I thought you all were foreign, you all talk weird," Logan said, "Anyways, you need to take a right back onto the main road, and then keep heading down that way until you reach the end, and that's where I live with my parents."

"Got it," Link said, "Phane, since we're going that way, we should pick up J'on as well, he can help us with this."

"Yeah, we should do that," Phane agreed, "Well, Logan, you get to meet our Lizalfo friend..." Phane looked back and saw that Logan had passed out, and was completely oblivious to Phane.

"Well, I guess he'll just have to deal with the surprise, right?" Phane said as he grinned to Link, "I really hope we can do something though. With as much as these guys are getting away with, we might be able to collect a bounty or something once we get Logan's parents' things back."

"Yeah, I was thinking that as well," Link said, "I bet we could find their hideout if we interrogate one of them, maybe one will drop by the school and we can persuade him."

"Aren't you a smart guy," Phane said, "I think you're right. If not, at least we can send a message that we're not to be trifled with."

"But Logan said that their boss has never lost a fight," Link reminded Phane, "I don't think they're exactly easy people to take out."

"Yeah, I know, but if it's a fist fight, I'll be ready. I was the most skilled martial artist in the Taean army, you know," Phane said, "I can handle myself."

"You're a martial artist? I saw a few moves, but I figured that you were taught those in training or something," Link said.

"Yeah, I'm quite confident I can beat him somehow," Phane said, "maybe we can do the same thing Logan's parents did. I think it's a bet we can win, and maybe even win some more money so we can buy the ship once we get to Toryn City."

"Let's hope that's the case, I'm not really a good fist fighter, I've always been better at using a sword or a bow. Never really learned how to fist fight," Link said.

"I could teach you a few things, besides, if we are going to bet on a fight with that Bruiser guy, I'll need a sparring partner to sharpen my skills a bit," Phane said, looking deviously at Link, who didn't notice.

Link and Phane made it to J'on, who was making himself comfortable in a back alley, until Link and Phane filled him in about what was going to happen.

"So we're going to a school? I hope they like Lizalfos," J'on said, making sure the hood he was wearing concealed him well.

"We kind of just saved their son, I think they'll make an exception," Phane said, pointing at Logan who was still out cold.

"Guess you're right, let's not waste any time then," J'on said as he grabbed the reigns to Epona and walked out of the alley with them, and towards the school.

Meanwhile...

"So you're saying one guy did this to you?"

"Yes, Boss Bruiser, it was some guy with black hair, and a kid was with him too," the man who Phane had knocked out earlier said.

"And you were trying to send a message to that family?" Bruiser said as he stood up. He was a very large and muscular man, standing at 6'5'' and weighing 295 pounds of pure muscle. While he was bulky, he still maintained a slender enough form to be agile as well, he looked truly dangerous.

"Yes," the man said as he looked toward the ground.

All of a sudden, Bruiser punched the man in the face as hard as he could, with devastating results. After a sickening crack, the man collapsed to the ground. Bruiser had punched him so hard he had snapped the man's neck, killing him instantly.

"Dump the body somewhere," Bruiser said, "I think it's time we get to know this black haired guy and his little friend."