A/N: I was in a definite anime phase when I wrote this. I was playing a lot of the Tales games as well, so of course I had to have a hot spring scene. Still, this chapter is the source of a hilarious running joke with my friends that still exists to this day.
Link and Phane stayed behind in the lobby while Nigel and J'on went their separate ways as well. All Link knew was that Nigel had somehow negotiated his way into their kitchen, and wasn't seen since. J'on, on the other hand, probably went to the room, but Link and Phane decided to stay back and talk for a little bit so they could actually plan just what to do since they didn't really have the opportunity to do so before.
"So once we get to Toryn City tomorrow, we have to make sure we get past the guards at the gate. There is only one way into the city, but chances are they probably know about us there right now," Phane said, "If we get in there, I have a contact there that we can go to."
"Do you trust him?" Link asked, "And do you think they might know about us here as well?" Link remembered the person he saw stare at them, and then decided to disappear afterwards. It could have been just a fluke, but he had learned to pay attention to things like that; something was up.
"I don't think they'll find out until we're long gone from here. This is a pretty isolated town after all," Phane said, sitting down at one of the chairs in the lobby. Link shrugged; he really didn't have a good feeling about staying at this place, and it showed.
"Why, what's wrong?" Phane said, detecting some hesitation in Link's demeanor.
"It's just... I saw a guy in the lobby who stared at us, and then ran off into the city once we pulled out the money for the room," Link said, "I really don't think it was a good idea to garner attention like that. He could be working for Essen."
"I know what you mean, but this is a small town; not much happens here," Phane said, "but hey, it does beat freezing out in a cave, right?"
"Guess so," Link said, "So once we're able to get a boat, do you think we'd be able to get to Hyrule by sea?"
"It depends, really. Just because it's the best way out right now doesn't mean it's the best means to get there," Phane said, "speaking of Hyrule, why do you want to go back so badly?"
"It's home," Link said, as if he was stating the obvious, "I've been traveling for almost three years. I just want to go home and see the friends I left behind."
"Yeah? Especially the girl who gave you that horse, right? I heard you mention something to Logan about the ranch earlier," Phane said, grinning slightly.
"I want to see all my friends there," Link said, "Don't you want to see it?"
"I don't really have too much of an attachment to it," Phane said.
"I'd like to know your opinion anyways."
"My opinion is that wherever you go, I go. Fair enough?"
"Fair enough," Link said, "It's been quite an eventful couple of days since we busted out of the city."
"You mean since you blew it up, right?"
"Accidents happen," Link said, grinning a little bit. He wasn't the best at being discreet when he had to improvise.
"Is that what happened when you crossed Essen for the first time?"
"I found myself in a bandit nest," Link said, "Essen was their leader, apparently."
"Bandits? I've heard of some setting up outside of Ninso, but I didn't think Essen would be leading them since he's Justiciar."
"You're right, it doesn't make much sense," Link said, "could it just be for money?"
"I don't think so. Essen has more of a lust for power than for money," Phane said, straightening his beard, "He's raising money for something."
"Hmmm..." Link said, "Speaking of bandits, do you think Bruiser could've been working for Essen?"
"Possibly, I just don't know how deep this little conspiracy goes," Phane said.
"Neither do I," Link agreed, "It would be interesting to find out though."
"Yes, it would be, but for now, we can at least relax for a night," Phane said, "Speaking of relaxing, I'm going to go get a drink. It's been too long. Want anything?"
"I'm good, thanks," Link said, "I'm probably going to go see what J'on's doing."
"Well, have fun with that," Phane said, "And hey, we got the room with the hot spring. You might want to go check that out too before it gets too late."
"I probably will," Link said, "See you around."
Link left Phane, who was walking towards another room that had a tavern in it. He walked past a few other rooms, and then found a small library, with J'on sitting in the chair, still shrouded so no one could see his face, and reading a book.
"Didn't think I'd see you here," Link said, walking in.
"I figured I'd rather find something to do instead of hide out," J'on said, not looking up from the book he was reading, "Besides, it's relaxing."
"Everyone's been having a good time so far," Link said, sitting down in another leather seat.
"It's a definite improvement," J'on replied, flipping the page, "Need to take a break once in a while."
"Not sure if now's the best time though," Link said, "especially when people are still after me and Phane."
"I'm sure you two can avoid them," J'on said.
"You sure you want to be part of this? You're not wanted by Essen, we are," Link asked, shifting a little in his chair.
"And lose out on the adventure? Not a chance," J'on said, "Being wanted just makes things more interesting."
"I can't say I'm a fan of that," Link said, "I prefer to avoid conflict most of the time."
"As do I, but I'm bored of settling down in some obscure cave," J'on said, "Being out in the wild, and watching you two do your thing has been quite refreshing."
"I'm glad," Link said, standing up, "I'm debating on whether or not I should visit Nigel, but I doubt he'll be in the mood to talk since he managed to negotiate himself into their kitchen earlier. They just let him right in; I know he's a chef and all, but this is one heck of an inn. It's odd that they would let some random weird person in to cook for them."
"Perhaps he's secretly famous," J'on said, "Although I have no idea how. Then again, I'm not really in the chef's social circle."
"Nothing with that man makes sense," Link said, "But you all seem to be relaxing just fine with whatever it is you all do."
"And I take it you aren't," J'on said, finally making some eye contact.
"Just a little bit nervous, that's it," Link said, "I don't like drawing attention like this."
"Nice to be cautious," J'on said, "But that shouldn't stop you from taking a break. Gods know you've been in an interesting predicament these past few days."
"You can say that again," Link said, getting back up, "I'm going to go see what's going on with Nigel. Hopefully he hasn't burned down the place yet."
"Feel free, I'll be here if something happens," J'on said, flipping another page.
"Right, see you later," Link said, leaving the room and heading off for the tavern, where Link caught the scent of yeast. Whatever was being made in the kitchen, it smelled really good. Link walked down and saw Phane drinking at the bar, and then saw the kitchen in the back, and saw Nigel place out a pie to cool.
"Hey, laddie!" Nigel said, catching Link's attention. He was wearing a chef's hat and coat, but still looked out of place. Link still didn't get how he managed to start cooking for them.
"Hey, Nigel," Link said, walking up, still smelling the food being cooked, "Been busy?"
"Aye, we have. They do appreciate having me as their own pastry chef though," Nigel said, "They threw me in here to bake for 'em, and bake I did."
"Smells great, Nigel," Link said, "So what have you been making?"
"Pie, bread, cake," Nigel said, listing off the things he cooked, "y'know, I'm a baker."
"Looks like it," Link replied, seeing multiple pies and cakes on the cooling rack outside of the kitchen. They all looked amazing; Nigel didn't look like a chef, but he was obviously talented.
"Aye, I've baked one for my rescuer as well," Nigel said, pointing at the pie he had just finished, and was letting cool down, "Just out of appreciation y'know."
Link looked at the pie, but couldn't quite guess what kind of pie it was, "Cool, what flavor is it?"
"Now, now, that's a secret, laddie," Nigel said, "I'd like it to be a surprise."
"I'll try it later," Link said, flashing a half-grin, "I'm still exploring."
"Aye, have fun with that," Nigel said, "Ol' Nigel's gonna get back to bakin'. Pie needs coolin' off anyways."
"Thanks, Nigel," Link said, walking off and letting Nigel do his own thing. After walking around the Inn a little bit more, Link decided to head back to the room and relax before going to sleep. He wasn't used to staying in expensive places before, so even though he had traveled extensively, it was different now.
He made his way back to the room, and unlocked it with his own key. He saw that their bags had been separated for each of them, and there were four queen-sized beds in two separate bedrooms, a common room, and the exit to the hot springs.
"Hmm," Link said, walking into his own room and sat on the bed. He lit a candle, and sat there for a little while, before taking his boots and jacket off. It was getting late, but he still didn't feel tired. Snow was starting to fall outside again, but steam radiated off of the hot springs like it didn't even matter.
"Better late than never," Link said, standing up, and walking out to the hot springs. It was definitely cool outside, but the heat radiating from the water left him with an interesting sensation.
Link walked back inside, and back to his room, where he changed into a pair of shorts he had, and grabbed a towel.
He walked back out to the hot springs, and stepped in, and sighed when the hot water immediately comforted him against the cold weather, and he waded in. Soon, he was chest height in the water, so he waded over to a place where he could sit. After sitting down, he stared at the sky, which was dimly lit because the moon was obscured by the clouds, and torches circled the whole hot spring.
"I can get used to this," Link said, "Definitely."
All of the Chesgrove bandits were readying themselves for their raid of the Inn, something that they were really looking forward to. The inn always had a good influx of money, and they were scouting it for the best time to strike, and since Link and company showed up with several thousand rupees, it was worth it to strike now.
"Okay, boys," the boss said, "The group we're raiding is a small bunch of adventurers. Three men and a boy, precisely. We go in, take what we can, and also kidnap the boy for ransom. Clean and simple."
The bandits readied their weapons and headed out with their boss, to the hotel. The didn't have very far to go, since their base was down the street, and started their attack. There were only about fifteen of them, but they were heavily armed and had the element of surprise.
At the bar...
Phane was enjoying the first beer he had had in months. He figured he would at least celebrate his freedom finally with one, so he made it a goal to at least get one while they were still relaxing at the hotel. Link had since left for the room after talking to Nigel, so he was by himself. He sipped his beer, and then looked to his right, where he saw two women who appeared in their early to mid 20's sitting at the bar as well. He raised his glass to them, and then started sipping on his beer again. He finished his beer, and saw that the women that had just sat down were replaced by two men.
Phane double checked his beer, and then blinked. He looked back at the men, and noticed that they definitely were scraggy looking, and rough.
"Lady, you just got a hell of a lot uglier," Phane said, noticing that they were armed. They weren't at the bar for the drinks. The bandits pulled out their swords, and Phane reacted by throwing the beer mug at one of them, hitting the bandit in the head. Several more bandits came in behind Phane, and they circled around Phane, while some ran into the kitchen.
"Just can't catch a damn break, can I?" Phane said to himself as a group of 5 circled around him, "All right, what do you all want?"
"We're here for the goods, boy," One of the bandits said, "Pay up, or we'll take the kid."
"Who says I'm traveling with anyone?" Phane said, trying to bluff his way out of a situation so he could get his friends out of a dangerous situation. These bandits reminded him of the ones working for Bruiser back in Clearwater.
"Oh, come on," One of the bandits said. The bandit's clothes were different than the other's, but he didn't appear to be the head honcho, maybe a number two. "We know you showed up with three others, including a boy."
"And you think you'll be able to get to him?" Phane said, internally laughing at their ignorance. Sure, Link was taken by Bruiser, but he did manage to take out a whole bandit syndicate back in Ninso, and whooped up on the other bandits after him.
"Just a harmless boy? Nah, we won't have trouble. You will, though," The bandit said, pointing his sword at Phane, who got himself into a guard too. These bandits definitely seemed to be aching for a fight.
"I know that kid," Phane said, "I can describe him with several different words, but harmless isn't one of them."
"We'll see about that," the bandit said, and gave the signal to charge Phane...
Nigel had finished cooking another pie, but then several bandits stormed the kitchen, and pushed several of the other cooks out of there, who ran off screaming. Nigel turned around, and saw several bandits pointing swords at him.
"Oh, look who it is!" One of the bandits said, "I thought we locked your ass in a chest!"
"Aye," Nigel said, backing up to one of the wood ovens, and grabbing the towel off of the oven, holding a pie in his other hand, "What do you want?"
"We're after that fortune you and your new friends seemed to hit," the bandit said, "and we were ordered to take the kid."
"I can't let you do that, now," Nigel said. I've got to warn him... Nigel thought, knowing that Link was in danger. Nigel spotted the back door out of the kitchen that led behind the hot springs. There was a staircase, where several lanterns were hooked up on a rope that surrounded the hot springs.
"What're you going to do about it, chef?" The bandit taunted, "Going to pie me to death?"
"Nah, I let it cool too much," Nigel said, and then rolled up the towel, and slapped the sword out of one of the bandit's hands. The other bandits stabbed at him, but Nigel started throwing several pots and pans at them, before settling on hitting a bandit in the head with a flour bag, knocking the bandit out and distracting the other bandits where were lost in the makeshift smokescreen. Nigel grabbed the pie he finished baking, and got ready to throw it at them, but they were still lost in the flour cloud, so he grabbed a knife in his other hand, and ran out the back door, and up the stairs. He then cut the rope, and realized he had enough clearance to swing over to where Link was. He spotted Link in the hot springs, and swung with one hand over, apparently forgetting that he had a pie in his hand.
He landed straight in the hot springs, causing Link to jump back in surprise when he saw Nigel come out from the water with a knife around his belt and a pie in his hand.
"Nigel..." Link said, catching his breath, pointing at Nigel angrily, "What the hell are you doing?" "I had tell you that we've got some visitors," Nigel replied, shaking water out of his hair. "... What are you holding?"
"I forgot I had this..." Nigel said, then looking at the now soaked pie in his hand, "...Would you like some soggy pie?"
Link heard Nigel say that, and immediately found himself underwater as he fell over in shock from what he heard. He then felt himself being grabbed out of the water by his leg, and hoisted up out of the water.
"Laddie, we don't have time for swimming," Nigel said, holding Link upside down by his leg out of the water, "we've got bandits."
"Bandits?" Link said, blinking, "Is that what you were trying to tell me?"
"Aye, my head was just spinning after I landed," Nigel said, "They're after you."
"M-me?" Link said, looking up at Nigel. Nigel then dropped Link back in the water, and Link came back up himself and stood up.
"Must be because of that guy I saw earlier when Phane shelled out all those rupees," Link said, "Okay, Nigel, thanks for the warning." Link walked into the room, and put a shirt on, and then the door crashed open, causing Link to get into a defensive stance. Four bandits came in, with their leader holding a spear right at Link.
"Well, kid," the leader said, "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way." Then bandits were all way bigger than Link was, and were armed with longswords and wearing light armor. However, Link had the advantage because of his speed and agility.
"Do you all seriously think that you all can intimidate me?" Link said, reaching behind his back where his sword usually was. It wasn't there.
"Looking for something?" One of the bandits said, holding up Link's sword that was next to the door.
"Heh, I don't need it," Link said, trying to keep his cool. Like he had told Phane, he wasn't good at much more than his sword and a bow, so he had to escape from them somehow instead of fight them off, "4 versus 2 isn't the worst odds I've seen, right Nigel?" Link turned around, where he thought Nigel was, but he was nowhere to be seen.
"Nigel..." Link angrily said to himself, "Dammit, Nigel..." He then saw a trail of footprints ending at the privacy fence of the hot spring, where it was obvious Nigel climbed over.
Link looked back at the bandits, who had burst out laughing at Link's predicament.
"You were saying?" the bandit leader said, pointing his spear at Link again.
"Great..." Link said, grinning gingerly. This wasn't going to be easy. The bandits all scrambled after him, but Link managed to avoid being grabbed as he made a dash for the same fence that Nigel climbed over...
In the library...
J'on never heard any of the bedlam coming from outside. The doors and walls were thick in the library, so not much sound made its way into the room. He was through his third book when two bandits knocked the doors down. J'on looked up and saw two bandits in front of him, staring him down. They didn't see that he was a Lizalfo, so that was an advantage already.
"Can I... help you?" J'on said, closing his book.
"Shut it, monk, we ask the questions," one of the bandits said, pointing his sword at J'on. J'on stood up, and took off his hood, making the bandits confident gaze turn into a look of sheer terror.
"Well then, ask away," J'on growled, taking off his gloves as well...
Link had made it over the fence, and regrouped with Nigel, who was waiting for Link.
"Why'd you leave me, Nigel?!" Link shouted at Nigel, who was running alongside him out into the main hallway.
"I figured I'd help find a means of escape since you didn't have your weapon, laddie," Nigel said, explaining his thought process.
"Just... stay with me," Link said, "I can't take these guys on without a sword."
"Aye, right behind you," Nigel said. They opened the door to the hallway, and found it empty, but shouts were still being heard where J'on was.
Link and Nigel nodded to each other, and ran towards the library, where they found J'on uncovered, and sitting back in the chair. Link and Nigel walked in and saw two bandits knocked out and piled on top of each other with several books on them from where they were thrown into a book shelf.
"Are you okay, J'on?" Link asked, surveying the scene. Whatever happened, it wasn't pretty. "Never been better," J'on said, standing up again, "Who are these... unfortunate people?" "Bandits," Link said, "They're after me, apparently."
"I doubt it's just you," J'on said, "I'll deal with anyone that follows you; you two go regroup with Phane; I think he needs some help."
"Right," Link said. He had all the confidence in the world with J'on's abilities. He didn't know just what abilities they were, but he didn't want to know. He picked up a sword and beckoned Nigel to follow him.
Link and Nigel headed off to the bar area, where they had last seen Phane, and saw him fighting off the last of the mob that had attacked him. One bandit stabbed at Phane's back, but Phane dodged it, and backed up out of the bar to Link and Nigel.
"I see those bandits got a surprise," Phane said, still in his guard. He had fought them off just fine, but hadn't knocked anyone out yet.
"Not really," Link said, "I had to run away. No sword."
"I really need to teach you hand to hand fighting, kid," Phane said, "But at least you've got one now."
"Yeah," Link agreed, readying his sword. The bandits readied their weapons, and Nigel picked up a curtain rod to use as a weapon.
The bandits backed up slightly, and then heard a horn sound loudly from outside.
"What the hell is that?" Phane said, and then saw all the bandits run off, and commotion was heard from the front door. Phane, Link, and Nigel ran out the front door and found the bandit leader with some of his lackeys running off with the rupee bags and some other belongings from their room. The bandits mounted horses, and Link and Phane ran out and saw that they had escaped into the night. Link looked to his right and noticed that Epona was no longer there.
"We need that money back," Phane said, "Let's find Epona."
"Right," Link said, "That won't be too hard. All I have to do is call her with my oca..." Link searched his pockets for his Ocarina that was noticeably missing, and went pale when he couldn't find it. "Rina..."
Link looked up at Phane, wide eyed, and then bolted for the room, leaving Phane behind.
"What the..." Phane said, chasing Link back into the hotel. He got to the room, and saw Link was nervously ransacking the room after the bandits had their way with it.
"Link, are you... okay?" Phane asked. He had never seen Link this frantic before. "I can't find my ocarina!" Link bellowed from their room, "I have to find it!"
"Why are you worrying about this right now?" Phane asked, genuinely not knowing just what Link had. Link came out of the room with an annoyed expression on his face.
"That ocarina was from the Princess of Hyrule," Link said, "And now those damn bandits have taken it along with all of our money because YOU decided to draw attention."
"Hey, I wanted to give us a relaxing night after our whole ordeal back in Clearwater. And since when are you in the company of the PRINCESS of Hyrule?"
"Since I was ten. And now I have lost a Royal Heirloom to a bunch of bandits thanks to you," Link growled. He was really angry that this was happening, and Phane was the best target for his anger at the moment.
Nigel walked in and saw Link and Phane bickering loudly, and Link was holding an empty bag to prove a point. Their bickering got even worse, and Nigel felt like he had to step in.
"Laddies, I don't think this is the best time for arguing..." Nigel said.
"SHUT UP NIGEL!" Link and Phane yelled at the same time. Link and Phane stopped, and glared at each other, and then sighed.
"We need our stuff back, but with the snow as heavy as it is, I don't think we're going to be able to track them," Phane said, "Dammit..."
"I know," Link said, kicking one of the empty bags into the air, with Nigel catching the bag in the background, "What the hell can we do then?"
"There are the two men J'on introduced himself to earlier you could talk to..." Nigel chimed in.
Link looked back at Nigel, and nodded.
"He's right, we do have the two bandits J'on took care of earlier," Link said, "They could probably be convinced to tell us where they're based."
"I have a feeling that it won't be that hard to... 'convince' them..." Phane said, cracking a small devious grin, "After all, I'm sure J'on made a good impression on them."
"Let's go, we don't have much time," Link said, running off to the library. Phane followed him to the library, and saw J'on reading.
"Hey, J'on, those bandits made off with a lot of our belongings, including Link's Ocarina; we need to figure out where they're based," Phane said. J'on looked up, and then back down at the bandits.
"Well, that should be interesting..." J'on said, and flashed a toothy, devious grin...
15 MINUTES LATER...
"BY THE GODS, DON'T KILL ME!" pleaded a terrified bandit. Link and Phane looked in from the hallway with horrified looks on their faces.
"Don't tempt me, I haven't eaten all day," J'on said, lighting a torch with his breath.
"J'on is really scary when he wants to be," Link said, watching J'on interrogate the bandits. All he had done was simply speak to the bandits, who were tied up in chairs; no physical harm had been dealt to them yet.
"You noticed that, huh," Phane said, quoting their scaled friend as he stared in amazement on how fast he 6 had gotten through to these people. Granted it was probably quite easy because seeing a toothy, talking red lizalfo was probably not an experience people trained for.
"WHERE ARE YOUR FRIENDS?!" J'on roared, causing Link to wince a little bit.
"Okay! They're to the Northeast, three miles!" The other bandit exclaimed, causing J'on to look back at Link and Phane.
"Let's not waste any time, eh?" J'on said, leaving the bandits tied up in the middle of the library.
"Do you think they're going to be an issue for anyone?" Phane said, looking at the bandits who were quite shaken languishing in their chairs.
"No, I scarred them for life," J'on said, "Now, let's get our things back."
