Chapter 17

The River Guard and the Bridge

Just to be sure the patrol lost me, I stayed behind the crates for a while longer. The wounds on my arms and legs burned, and since I was here anyway, I took the time to bind the ones that bled the most. When I was convinced it was safe out there, I stood and began looking for my companion. Surely, he would have stayed in the alleys. He wouldn't continue for the river guard, would he?

"Your Highness?" I asked in a whisper. But no one answered. I walked down passage after passage, but quickly I was growing more worried by the second. Did they capture him again? "Your Majesty, are you here?" I was nearing the end of the tight alleyways when I finally saw him again. He was fine, he wasn't surrounded by monsters, and it didn't look like he had any new injuries. He stood with his back turned to me hugging the corner of a house and staring out onto the street. When I called him a third time, he spun around, reaching for his sword.

"Link!" He cried. "You scared me." He exhaled and turned around back to the street again. "I'm glad to see you're safe though, I was just about to go looking for you."

"The monsters didn't find either one of us. I feel like they gave up too easily."

"Oh, no." The prince replied. "They didn't give up. I saw them split up into groups to search the town. They've only lost us for the moment, but they're determined. And if we don't move to the bridge now, I know we won't be lost for long."

"Yes," I agreed. "But, by now, I think it will be safer to take it on the open streets for now. The monsters are looking for a place we will hide, they'll not be expecting us to just walk out there."

"Still sounds like a bad idea." He retorted. "But we're so close to the river now, so might as well." Without waiting for my response, he glanced out on the street and when it was clear, he beckoned me to follow and broke into a low, but quick, pace.

The river guard was indeed on duty and he had taken away the bridge. The town's bridge was quite a wonder. By use of a crank that operated with chains, the guard can pull the stone, flat bridge into the ground under the stone street. At first, I thought that the beasts did it when they took over, but as we came nearer, I recognized the guard.

"It's all right, I know him." I assured the prince when he reached for his sword.

The guard looked like he felt a mix of surprise and disappointment as we came closer to the disappeared bridge. "Link, this is the last place in the world you need to be right now." He sighed before he glanced over our wounds with widened eyes. "Are you all right?"

My own blood was now old and crusted, but it had stained my clothes in many places. It still throbbed underneath the bindings, but we had little time to chat. "We can't talk right now, can you let us through?"

But the guard stood straight and shook his head. "I'm really sorry. I know it's dangerous here, but I still can't allow anyone through. Those are my orders."

"What? Why?" The prince asked, speaking my exact thoughts. "There are countless monsters here in the form of citizens! Surely it's safer over by the mountain, seeing as how it is now."

But again, he was shaking his head before the prince even finished. "Death Mountain is where these blasted fiends came from! I took the bridge down to stop anymore from showing up here, that's the least I can do."

It was my chance to speak up. "Can't you fight them and defend the town?"

"Well..." He chuckled weakly. "I would, but honestly, they haven't bothered us. We all know they are looking for you, Link. Besides, there are too many of them and too few of us. In fact, if they wanted to take over the town, then they could probably do it pretty easily. Instead of attacking them and having them fight back, the real people of Saria hid in their houses and and are allowing the beasts to patrol the grounds."

"That's idiotic!" The prince exclaimed, growing angry fast. "You mustn't allow this! You must do what you can for the safety of this town."

"Believe it or not, we sent a messenger to the castle for reinforcements. Maybe then the prince of Hyrule can send us some warriors and then we can fight them. Until then, I'm not going to release the bridge."

"We know it's dangerous back there." I spoke up. "But this is highly important. Please let us go through, and let us risk our own safety for our choice."

"I don't want to hurt you, so don't force me!" He replied. "Again, I'm sorry, but I'm holding fast to my orders. I'll get in trouble if I don't."

But we must go through! I cried silently, there's no other way to reach Mido. Must we wait for someone to remove the roadblock? That would take too long. Already, we were going a long and dangerous way as it was. But then, as I was standing quietly before the river guard, I remembered something that the bot said. He said the guard by the river owed something to Bagu.

Guess I wasn't the only one thinking about that, because the prince broke into another uproar. "You're making a mistake. Bagu sent us here, and he wants you to lower the bridge for us." He lied.

"Bagu?" The guard gasped. "You met Bagu? How did you know I owed- ...Wait." His expression of shock disappeared into a knowing smile. "The bot told you that, right? That thing, no matters how Bagu cares for it, is still mischievous and untrustworthy like its nature. If Bagu sent you, and you're not lying to me, I need to see proof."

Now the prince raised his voice and pointed his finger at the guard. "How dare you speak like that! I am the royal pr-" By that last word, I was able to react quickly enough to grasp and pull his shoulder roughly to keep him silent.

"Forget it." I said, mostly to my companion. "We'll go."

"All right, thank you." The guard replied. "Since town is so dangerous, I'll recommend you cut through the houses on your left. Then, you can leave town in a safe exit and circle back to the road."

I only replied with a nod and then beckoned the prince to go ahead. As soon as we were out of earshot, the prince snapped. "What was that!? We could have taken him and either force him to crank back the bridge or do it ourselves!"

"No," I countered. "That will only have us captured and thrown in a prison cell. He may be the only one on watch right now, but I'm certain there are more who will come to his aid if he needed it."

"So now what?" He continued, still mad. "We can't go to Mido, and who knows how long it will be until we can reach the Island Palace?"

"I do know one thing. Our friend there owes Bagu a favor, and if we convince him to, Bagu may have the bridge restored."

"Why would he do that?" His Highness returned.

"I don't know," I admitted. "But it's the best we have to go on now."

The rain was falling harder now, and clumping footsteps made me nervous. I turned without saying any more and led our way through the last alley.

Or, at least, I thought it would be our last.

"There he is!" A group of four "citizens" yelled from behind us. Not again! We were too weak for another army of attacks! As we broke into a charge down the alleyway, we were nearing the end when more disguised beasts blocked us off, forcing us to turn down another road. My leg began to burn again, and I was fighting hard to keep up the pace.

Soon, we were chased back out on the street where there were more starting to surround us. My shield spell wore off a while ago, and I wasn't sure if I had the energy or focus to cast it again. The rain felt like it was pouring streams now instead of drops, and neither one of us could soak any more water. It filled my hair and made it heavy so that it was falling in front of my eyes.

The rain muffled the sound of the beasts when they all at once started to morph into their true forms. "What's the plan?" The prince asked nervously beside me. "How do we get out of this?"

We were in a lot of trouble, but as I looked around us, I saw there was no way out. There was nothing left to do. "We can't. We just have to hold on for as long as we can before an escape finds us."

"No, if we fight, you know as well as I do that we will lose." He stubbornly pointed out.

"If you can find a way out of this, then I'll want to know!" I yelled back, unsheathing my sword and grabbing my shield.

But as it turned out, we didn't have to hold on for very long for something to happen. Before the monsters could close in fast enough to flash their weapons forward, a quick form raced by and yelled before grasping my shoulder. "I am not your enemy! Quickly, come with me!"

He took us to one of the nearest houses and was able to push us both inside fast enough to slam the door shut on our pursuers faces. Now that we were inside, the monsters started to beat on the door and tear it apart. The man who rescued us was the town's elder. Like the others, he wore the same robes that showed his rank, but he was younger than the one from Ruto and had a shorter, grey beard.

"We don't have much time." He stated as he barred the door tightly shut. "But there is another door in the back. Take it and leave town at once!"

"Thank you!" The prince yelled, and he turned to the door, but I wasn't done here yet.

"Wait, before we do, were you looking for this?" I asked, taking out the hand mirror.

The elder stared at it with wide eyes and took it from me. "Why, yes! I've been looking for this stupid thing. I thought I lost it for good!"

"We found it on the floor in a house with a mischievous bot. May I ask why was this? Did you, the wise man of Saria, have a purpose with this monster?"

He stuttered with the answer before just telling me. "I- yes. I suppose I did."

"Link! Come on!" The prince had to yell above the pounding on the door. But I ignored him and waited for the elder to explain. This wouldn't be so important to me, but this was the town's elder, I knew him, and I was really confused on why he would be in the bot's house, talking with the monster. It just seemed curious to me.

"The monsters that have been launching in on attacks across Hyrule made their purpose clear indeed. They were searching to revive their master, the evil Ganon, and so they were seeking the one who killed him in the first place, Link. When the monsters began to settle and take over this town, I seeked the bot's advice. He would know the most of the plans from his kin, and yet, he wouldn't care to keep it to himself."

He chuckled. "It's ridiculous to think that I, the wise elder, would seek his advice, but I didn't know how I would be able to help you in this mess." He held up a finger like he forgot something. "Which makes me think..."

He moved quickly to the bookshelf opposite from the barred door and tossed a scroll to me. "This is a valuable spell, but not a simple one. If you can't cast it, feel free to sell it and use the money for something else that will keep you alive. I now have done everything in my power to help you. Stay safe, Link! If the monsters' whispered rumors are true, then if you fall, Hyrule will be doomed with the return of Ganon."

I didn't know how to reply to that. I stood silently, holding the spell he gave me, and feeling the world on my shoulders like I once did so many years ago. I thought by now, after such a long time protecting myself and being a hero, that was a feeling I would never feel again.

"Go, lads." The wise man beckoned. He turned to watch the door that was already becoming weak from the monsters' pounding and attacks. I didn't resist his demand this time. Still feeling suddenly overwhelmed by my quest, I turned to the back door that my companion already stood past, waiting for me.

But then, when the elder wasn't following but rather staying where he was, I turned back yet again. "What about you?" I asked.

He said nothing, but gave me a sly smile and nodded. As I watched him, he slowly grew transparent until he disappeared entirely. The pounding on the barred entrance continued, and I finally joined the prince at the back door.

"I can't tell you how relieved I am that we're out of that place." His Majesty said as we walked down the road past the bridge with the bago-bagos. Like last time, the bridge was quiet until we crossed it, then we had to fight the skeletal fish yet again, and now we were heading for the forest north of the road. The rain hasn't slowed down in the slightest, it still fell like a pouring waterfall. But there would be no shelter from it until we can reach the trees. The clouds were still so thick, it was almost impossible to tell what time it really was, although I imagined the sunset would be falling into darkness about now. "Even if we have to go back there, at least we know what to expect." He continued.

But only part of me was listening, the other half was enveloped by responsibility of the entire kingdom. What if I fail? What was even holding me up this whole time? When Zelda was in danger again, I merely assumed that because I did this before, that meant I can easily do it again, but what if it wasn't that simple? Ganon might have a chance to come back with my death, what if there's nothing I can do to stop it? Zelda will never wake up if that happens...

"Link? You look pale. Are you feeling all right?"

My attention snapped and I drew my focus when I looked at him. "Uh, yes, I'm fine. I just wish we weren't standing in this rain."

But his expression stayed the same. "You've changed since you rescued me from those moblins. Did something happen?"

"I changed? How do you mean?" I asked.

"Well," He replied, taking a moment's thought. "Before you left me in that cave, you seemed to hold a hero's pride. You were confident, maybe too much, that you could rescue my sister all on your own. But now, you seem more timid and afraid. Why?"

My first reaction was to attack him with words like I used to, but I suppressed it. "I'm not afraid." I said instead. His Majesty never tore his gaze from me, and he opened his mouth several times to speak, but said nothing in the end. I never knew why I felt like I did before, but now I was beginning to hate the thought that he was right. Still, I refused to admit it to myself, but whenever Ganon appeared in my mind, I felt like a small boy again. Perhaps I argue with the prince because of how observant he was. Like he knew me better than I did myself.

By now, we were entering the woods, where the green canopy offered us shelter for the rain. In here, we will find the bot's master, Bagu. I only hoped that he would be easy to convince to use his favor, so we may cross into Death Mountain.