Chapter 11: The Shadow in Castle Town
The party rode up to the gates of Hyrule Castle Town. The gatekeepers stopped them. "What is your business here?" One of the gatekeepers asked.
"We're here to speak to the Chancellor." The Sheikah replied.
"The Chancellor? You would want to speak to Chancellor Aghanim?" The gatekeeper replied.
"We are working with Zelda." The Zora added.
"And we also have this Sheikah Slate." Poump said as he showed the Slate to the gatekeeper.
"All of you bring up very good reasons. Open the gate." The gate lowered. "You may come in." The party left their horses at the stable just outside of the gates and walked into the Castle Town. The Sheikah fireman carried Priscilla.
"Home again, at last." Poump said to himself. They walked through the crowded and busy streets of the town. There were a few buildings that were being rebuilt, and there were considerably more soldiers patrolling the streets. Next to the fountain in the main plaza there was a Gerudo and a Rito playing music, and they had a box in front of them, which people passing by dropped some rupees into.
"Poump?" Someone said from the crowd. "Poump!" a big guy with red hair came running up to Poump and hugged him so hard he squeezed him. "It's so good to see you again! I thought you died!"
"Groose!" Poump replied as Groose put him down. Poump held onto his stomach. "It's been a while man, how are you holding up?"
"I'm doing great! We missed you so much, we thought you were killed!" Groose replied. Some of Poump's other friends walked up from behind Groose.
"You had us worried sick, dude." One of Poump's friends said.
"Well guess what guys, here I am, alive and well! Good to see you again, Netrea, Cawlin, and Stritch." Poump replied feeling really happy to see his friends again.
"Say man, you want to go watch a play with us?" Groose offered. "We need to catch up with each other."
Poump looked at the Zora and the Sheikah. "You should spend some time with your friends, Poump. It will be good for you." The Sheikah said to him.
"Thank you, I'll meet up with you guys later." Poump said to the Zora and the Sheikah. Poump went with Groose and his friends towards the theater to watch a play.
The Sheikah looked at the Zora. "What would you like to do?"
"I'll stay with you. Whatever you're up to." The Zora replied. "What will we do with her?"
"We will take her to the medical wing in the Castle. They will heal her up." The Sheikah weaved his way through the crowd with the Zora and made it to the Castle gates. One of the gatekeepers in front of the Castle noticed the Sheikah with the guardswoman. "Lower the gates for us." The Sheikah said to the gatekeeper.
"Oh yes, a Sheikah Warrior. We'll let you through. Aghanim will speak to you." The gatekeeper lowered the gate and allowed them into the Castle. The Zora followed behind while holding her cucco.
They walked through the courtyard. "Looking for directions to the Medical Wing?" A knight in the courtyard said to the two.
"Yes, we need to bring her to the Medical Wing." The Sheikah replied.
"Here, follow me." The knight led them to the Medical Wing, where they saw plenty of other people sitting on hospital beds being cared for.
"Ohh Priscilla!" One of the medics exclaimed at the sight of her. "What happened?!"
"Long story." The Sheikah replied. "She'll tell you it when you heal her."
"That we will." The medic said as she placed her on the medical bed. "Thank you for bringing her here!"
"You're welcome." The Sheikah said. He walked out of the medical wing with the Zora. They proceeded to walk towards the throne room.
Meanwhile with Poump, he and his friends were in line to get into the theater. "So what is this play we're watching?" Poump asked.
"Oh yeah! This is Super Mario Bros., the stage play!" Groose replied. "They say this is one of the best stunt shows ever performed!"
"Oh, nice." Poump's thoughts drifted to the Hylian Yiga from earlier. He thought about all of the Yiga he saw killed. How many of them were just like him? How would he know if he was surrounded by a bunch of other Yiga assassins?
"Hey man, you look a bit troubled." Groose said as he read his face. "What's the matter?"
"Tell me something only Groose would know." Poump said to Groose.
"Wha?" Groose replied.
"Here, do our special handshake." Poump said. They started the special handshake and managed to perform it flawlessly. "Good, you're Groose."
"Of course I am, old chap!" Groose replied. "What brought this up?"
"Oh Goddess. It's a long story." Poump said.
"Don't worry man, this is a long line. Tell us everything."
"Alright." Poump started telling him about everything that happened after they last saw each other.
As for the Sheikah and the Zora, they arrived at the front of the throne room. There were some guards at the front. "The Chancellor has been waiting for you, Warrior. We will allow you to come through, however your Zora companion won't be allowed in here."
"Why is that so?" The Sheikah asked.
"The Chancellor wants you and you alone to speak about his business."
"It's alright, we'll wait out here." The Zora said as she was petting the cucco.
"Alright then." The Sheikah said. The guard opened the door for the Warrior and allowed him in. The Sheikah walked through the large throne room and saw a few people speaking to the figure in red robes that he recognized from earlier. The figure in red robes motioned for the other people to go out of the room, and so they did.
"The fabled Sheikah Warrior." The figure in red robes said. "We've met before, but not as formal."
The Warrior kneeled down. "My name is Zh-"
"No need to tell me your name. I want only your skill. Oh and by the way, no need to be kneeling." The Sheikah stopped kneeling. "As you know by now, my name is Aghanim. I take it Zelda has told you about how I assisted her?"
"Yes, that's right. She told me everything." The Sheikah replied.
"Very good. Here, come walk with me." Aghanim motioned for the Sheikah to follow him. They walked behind the throne and he opened up a backdoor that led out to an area that overlooked Castle Town. "You're a very experienced fighter, correct?"
"That is how I became a Warrior, yes."
"We have a problem in Castle Town right now. There is a rat in the night time that loves to create problems for the citizens of Castle Town. Many soldiers have come close to catching this criminal, however they seem to always escape. A man of your talents should be able to find this wretch. Bring me their head, and I will reward you greatly."
"Are they associated with the Yiga?" The Sheikah asked.
"Very likely." Aghanim responded.
"What is this reward you're promising me?"
"I will give you 20,000 rupees if you can bring them to me dead. Bring them to me alive, and I will give you 25,000 rupees."
The Sheikah thought about this.
"You can also work with your companions on this mission." Aghanim added. "All of you will be rewarded for completing this."
"Is there a catch to this?" The Sheikah asked.
"I won't allow any of you to go out of the walls of Castle Town until you find this criminal for me."
The Sheikah thought for a bit to himself. "I'll do it."
"Very good." Aghanim replied. He quickly remembered another question he wanted to ask. "I also heard that you brought back an injured soldier from a checkpoint that was close to the Tabantha Region. What happened there?"
"A Yiga attack happened at that place. They seeded themselves into the bridge and attacked with strategy. They killed all of the guards there."
"That is awful." Aghanim replied. "If I could kill every single member of the Yiga clan in a snap I would do it without hesitation."
The Sheikah agreed with him. "You would like what I found then." He pulled out the map of Hyrule he found in the tower. "These are battle plans that two Yiga were talking to each other about."
Aghanim's eyes widened at the sight of this. "Well done! This will be very useful for us! Follow me." Aghanim walked back into the throne room and through the door to the small library with the table. He placed the map onto the table.
"It looks like they will be attacking the Gerudo Region first." The Sheikah said to Aghanim.
"The Gerudo Tribe are very good fighters. They will need help from our forces here at Hyrule Castle. I will send a platoon of soldiers to the Gerudo Region in order to assist with the Yiga attack. I will also add extra garrisons to the other fortresses that will be attacked."
"I agree with this." The Sheikah said instinctively. He thought to himself in a few seconds that the more troops are out in the field, the greater the chances that a lot of them could die. He didn't want to object to Aghanim's ideas in order to stay on his good side.
"Very well." Aghanim replied. "Thank you for this map. Now you may go. Do whatever you must to find the wretch in Castle Town. They say they appear during night time the most. That would be the best time to go after them."
"I will do this with ease, Aghanim." The Sheikah said.
"I trust you will." Aghanim replied. The Sheikah walked out of the library and then out of the throne room.
"What did the Chancellor want from you?" The Zora asked.
"He wants us to catch a criminal in the Town. He says that this criminal appears most often at night." The Sheikah replied. "We can even be rewarded greatly for doing this job successfully.
"How much?" The Zora asked.
"20,000 rupees. 25,000 if we do it better."
Meanwhile with Poump, he finished speaking to Groose about his adventures.
"Oh damn, man. That sounds really rough. I'm glad you're okay though." Groose said.
"We're all glad you're okay." Netrea added, and the other two friends nodded.
"Seeing as Zelda probably wants you to do this quest for her, we won't expect you to come around here very often. Let's spend as much time as we can, eh big boy?" Groose said to Poump.
"Yeah, let's enjoy ourselves." Poump replied. At this moment, the whole line poured into the theater. The next show was starting.
Meanwhile with The Sheikah and the Zora, they walked around Castle Town asking questions to the citizens. The Sheikah and the Zora split their efforts and spoke to multiple citizens.
The Sheikah managed to get the attention of a rich woman. "Hello there mistress. I'm very sorry to bother you, but have you ever seen any criminal activity during the night time?"
The rich woman had an impatient aura to herself but she didn't want to come across as rude. "I don't ever go on night walks. Normally I'd be indoors by night time. Under the night sky, it's much easier to be assassinated by a Yiga, so I never even toy with the idea of going out in the night time."
"Understandable. Have a good day." The Sheikah replied.
The Zora walked up to the Gerudo and the Rito playing music next to the fountain in the Main Plaza. Between one of their performances, the Zora asked them about any criminal activity.
"I wouldn't know anything about criminal activity. Although during night time occasionally we see this large dark figure fly by our window." The Rito said.
"A few nights ago I heard some screaming in one of the alleyways and then it was silenced." The Gerudo added. "I went outside to check on it, and there was no blood or body or anything in the area."
"Interesting. Thank you." The Zora replied.
As for Poump and his friends, they watched the stunt show. It was absolutely fabulous. The stunts were amazing, as the actors on stage were jumping around, doing death defying stunts. They even had a section in which one of the actors held their breath for 2 minutes to swim underwater. It was a very advanced stage, as it was able to shift itself with modern Sheikah technology in order to create different settings. In the final act, the main actor fell over.
"Mario!" The other actor on stage screamed. "I need someone in the audience to help me bring Mario back!" The actor looked around the audience. "You!" He said as he pointed at Poump. A spotlight shined down on him. "Come up here and help me revive Mario!" Poump shuffled his way through the seats and made it on stage. "What is your name?"
"Poump."
"Alright Poump, stuff this mushroom into Mario's mouth!" The actor handed Poump a green mushroom prop. Poump looked at the mushroom and then stuffed it into the actor's mouth. The actor disappeared right in front of him and then reappeared right before him in a second.
"Luigi! I'm back!" The Mario actor said to the other actor. "Thank you so much, Poump! We can finish what we started because of you!" The crowd applauded and then the Mario and Luigi actors did an amazing attack on the large Bowser actor, knocking him down. Then an actress wearing a pink dress appeared on stage.
"Thank you very much! Let's have a cake together!" And then the curtains closed and the audience started clapping.
Poump and his friends walked out of the theater. "That was great, Poump!" Groose exclaimed. "You wanna go to Telma's and have some drinks with us?"
"Yes, I'd like to." Poump replied. At this exact moment, the Sheikah and the Zora managed to find Poump.
"Hey Poump, we're going to need your help." The Zora said.
"Right now?" Poump said, feeling a bit distressed. He wanted to spend some more time with his friends.
"It's alright buddy, you can do whatever you need to do." Groose said.
"Oh no, it's alright. We actually can wait for the night to fall right now." The Zora added.
"Oh, great!" Poump said with relief. "Then we can all share some drinks at Telma's!" The party and Poump's friends went to Telma's Tavern and had a good time with each other. They shared stories across the table. The party's hefty rupee income allowed them to buy a lot of food and drinks for themselves.
"Well, Poump. Looks like you cleaned yourself up." Telma said as she served the party.
"I sure did!" Poump replied, as he downed a drink.
"So I heard that you got a job from the Queen herself?" Telma asked.
"Yep, we did. And we're being paid well for it." Poump replied.
"Nice! So glad to see you putting your skills to good use." Telma said. She started serving some other people.
"So what's this new thing we need to work together on?" Poump asked the other two.
"The Chancellor, Aghanim trusts us with finding a criminal who hides in the darkness during the night time." The Sheikah said.
"Hey would you look at that Poump, you're going on a Bounty Hunting job!" Groose said as he patted Poump on the back. The other friends kept on eating their food but were also really glad to see that Poump was going places.
"And the reward is great. If we get this job done, we might not even need to work on the rest of the monst-" The Zora was quickly silenced by the Sheikah putting his hand on her shoulder.
"Were you going to say monster?" One of Poump's friends said to the Zora. The table went quiet for a little bit.
"Yes, I was going to say that we should not be working on monster part salvaging." The Zora said. "It's a very dangerous job that involves exploring some of the deadliest areas in Hyrule."
"Oh, alright then." Poump's friend said and they started digging back into their food.
"Good one." The Sheikah said to the Zora. "We'll talk later." The party continued eating and eventually the night time fell.
"Alright guys, see you later." Poump said to Groose, Cawlin, Stritch, and Netrea.
"See you later little buddy!" Groose said to Poump. "Do a good job and be careful!" Poump waved goodbye to his friends and they waved back at him. The party walked through the alleyways of Castle Town and made it out to the Main Plaza, which was the most illuminated because of the moonlight.
"You did some good improvising back in the tavern." The Sheikah said to the Zora. "However you don't intend to stop working on Zelda's job once we get this one over with, right?"
"Why would we need to? She'd pay us 10,000 rupees for each monster colony we dealt with. The lowest income for this job is 20,000 rupees, so we'll be rich and won't need to finish the job. This job will pay us as much as Zelda will pay us for two more jobs, plus more if we do it right." The Zora said. "Do we really need to be risking our necks for this? We had to go through a snowy mountain and an enchanted forest in order to get just one of these colonies done. Zelda mentioned that one of them is in the Gerudo Desert, and you know how well we Zoras deal with extreme heat and dehydration."
"Well the other one is in the Akkala Region, which is relatively close to your home, Zora's Domain. Once we're done with that monster colony, you can settle down at Zora's Domain and you won't need to go through the dry desert. Plus, you'll get even more rupees since you'll have dealt with a second monster colony." The Sheikah replied.
"You have a good point." The Zora said. "Plus, that means I can adventure with this cucco for a little bit longer." She said as she patted the cucco's head.
Poump was looking at the buildings for any sign of something criminal. He noticed some movement at the top of the buildings. "Hey guys, did you notice that?" Poump said to the others.
"Yes, I saw that." The Sheikah replied. "I'll chase after it." The Sheikah teleported onto the rooftop and noticed someone running on the rooftops. They had a black cloak of some kind. They jumped down into an alleyway. The Sheikah swiftly followed. Poump took out his Clawshot.
"You can try to catch this person when they're on the ground." He said to the Zora. Poump used the Clawshot to go onto the rooftops and attempt the chase above.
The Sheikah chased the strange black figure down into the alleyway and looked around. He saw the black figure running around the corner and pursued it. As he turned the corner, he heard the sound of breaking glass and noticed that there was a window that was broken. He went through the broken window and found two people on the floor, knocked out. They still had a pulse apparently. The Sheikah looked around but couldn't see any hint of this strange figure anywhere.
As for Poump, he walked across the rooftops observing all angles. He liked it up there. It allowed him to see very clearly, especially with the moonlight. He could practically see half of the town while on the rooftops. He noticed something pop up a few buildings away from him. He chased after this thing. It appeared to be the dark figure. He pulled out his Clawshot and aimed at the dark figure. The Clawshot's chain almost reached the dark figure but then it suddenly turned around and raised its arm. Poump noticed it had a single illuminated eye at where its head should be. It wrapped the chains around its arm and pulled so that way Poump fell over. It quickly unwrapped the chains and kept on running. Poump looked up but the figure was gone.
The Zora and the cucco were walking through the streets of the town. A horse carriage was riding by so she stepped off to the side. She averted her attention away from the carriage until she noticed something move on it. The dark figure was on top of the carriage. The dark figure threw something at the person driving, which knocked them off of. The horse started making noises but the dark figure went right up to the horse and fed it a carrot. The dark figure grabbed the person who fell off of the carriage. The Zora threw her spear at the dark figure but it pulled out something similar to Poump's clawshot and propelled itself back onto the rooftops.
The Sheikah walked out of the house he was in and noticed the carriage that was stopped and ran right up to it. He saw the Zora was nearby. "What happened to the carriage driver?"
"Something in a dark outfit showed up and snatched the driver clean and then it went back to the rooftops. I threw my spear when I thought the moment was right but I missed."
Poump got up and then he saw the dark figure running across the rooftops with someone in its arms. Poump continued chasing this person. Since they were weighed down by carrying the person, it was easier for Poump to catch up to this thing. Poump leaped right at the figure but then it somehow created a rope with its arm and swung down into an alleyway. Poump carefully climbed down the side of the building and went deeper into the alleyway. There seemed to be an entrance to the sewers that was open. Poump ran right up to it and then the dark arm quickly reached out to the manhole cover and put it in place.
The Sheikah ran back up to the rooftops, but the Zora and the cucco stayed back down. The Zora noticed a manhole cover open up and the dark figure climbed out of it. The Zora waved her spear and some of the water running along the side of the road formed into a wet ball and she threw it at the dark figure. The dark figure swiftly took cover behind the carriage without a driver. He opened up the door to the carriage.
"Hey! Who are you and why is this carriage stopped in the middle of the street?!" The person in the carriage said. The dark figure punched this person square in the face and knocked them out. They dragged the person back into the sewer and closed the manhole.
"Dang it, he's too fast!" The Zora said. The Zora opened up the manhole cover and the cucco pursued her into the sewers. She walked off to the side of the sewage. She saw the dark figure with the body and it opened up an area in the wall. She ran right up to the wall and slipped right through it before it could close. It seemed to be a secret passageway of some sort. She traversed through the passageway and found herself on a small catwalk just outside of the Castle Town walls. She followed the catwalk with the cucco following along and it eventually led to an area underneath Hyrule Castle itself. The catwalk started descending into the moat under Hyrule Castle. She quickly thought to herself and then fell down with the cucco and caused a body of water to carry herself into the open tunnel that lead underneath Hyrule Castle. She kept walking and eventually passed through a door. She discovered she was in the prison cell area of the Castle, and the driver and the person in the carriage were tied up next to the cell. The dark figure emerged from the wall next to the Zora and ran hurriedly back out of the prison. The Zora kept on running after the dark figure and managed to use the water underneath to propel herself even closer to the dark figure. The water enveloped her and she made it to the dark figure. She swiped her spear at the dark figure's legs and it fell over. She got out of the water and pointed her spear at the grounded figure. "Enough."
The dark figure spoke back with a monstrous voice. "Not quite." The dark figure said as it knocked the spear off to the side and it sweeped at the Zora's legs knocking her over as well. "You need to work on your stance." The dark figure said as it receded back into the Castle Town sewers.
Poump looked around and just when he thought he couldn't see the dark figure anywhere, it emerged from one of the sewer grates and made a beeline towards the building right across from it. Poump followed behind and the Sheikah also noticed the dark figure being chased by Poump. The Zora emerged from a manhole cover and managed to be just behind the dark figure. All of the party members trailed right behind the figure. It leapt right through a wall as if it were nothing, leaving the party confused.
"Did that thing just jump right through the wall?" Poump said.
"It apparently did." The Zora replied. The cucco walked forward into the wall as if it were nothing. "Let's follow the cucco, we have nowhere else to go." The Zora said.
The party walked right through the wall. It appeared to be a small room with absolutely nothing in it except for the dark figure standing at the end of it. It looked at them with its one eye. Almost like a Guardian's eye. "Hello there." The dark figure said, still in it's monstrous voice. It seemed to be formal.
"Uh, hi?" Poump said. "Who are you?"
"To all of you, I'm a target, a hit. I know who sent you. It was Aghanim who sent all of you."
"How do you know that?" The Sheikah asked.
"He's been wanting me dead for some years now. Of course he would hire someone to catch me. And it looks like he hired three people to catch me." The dark figure said. It seemed to be completely calm, despite being cornered.
"Oh yeah, what's stopping us from walking over there and beating you up?" Poump said.
"Try it." The dark figure said, still not moving.
The whole party walked forward and then a cage fell down from above them and captured all of them. "Bah, I should have known." Poump said to himself.
"Now that I have you hostage I'll-"
The Zora interrupted. "You'll what, kill us? Imprison us? What are you even planning to do with us?"
"I never kill. That's never a good way to deal with human lives. I have you in this cage right now because I want to reason with you, and I can't trust you if you're able to hit me." The dark figure walked around the cage and then went back to the wall at the furthest side of the room. It hit a hidden button in the wall and the whole room started moving as if it were an elevator.
"Where are you taking us?" The Sheikah said to the dark figure. "Do you work for the Yiga?"
"I'm taking you to a place where we can speak to each other more freely, and no, I do NOT work for the Yiga. They are killers, and I am not." The dark figure walked to the other side of the room and then the room opened up and revealed a large underground cave with keese flying around. It was well lit. It had Sheikah technology around the area. The cage was on a track and it landed onto a platform and opened up, allowing the party to walk around.
"Who are you?" Poump asked again.
"Some people call me the Guardian because of my one eye and armor. However," the dark figure paused for a moment. "I prefer to be named Keeseman."
"You named yourself after a flying rodent?" The Zora said.
"A flying rodent that strikes fear in people. This outfit I made for myself was made to be practical and efficient at scaring people away. Looks like you guys weren't too scared, and that must mean you were coming after me for a large sum. The only person that I know of in all of Hyrule that would want me dead this badly, with that kind of reward money would be Aghanim." Keeseman turned around and went to an area with a bunch of large screens.
"Why would Aghanim want you dead?" The Sheikah asked.
"He wants me dead because I ruin his diabolical plans."
"Diabolical?" The Sheikah said. "He wants what's best for Hyrule. He wants the Yiga to be killed off. He even works with the Royal Family and is a close accomplice of Queen Zelda."
"That's exactly what he wants people to see. Before you ask, I believe that Zelda has her heart in the right place. Under her rule, Hyrule would be thriving. Chancellor Aghanim however weaved his way into the Royal Family by taking advantage of the Calamity's fall. He knew exactly what the community wanted to see from him. However, to get himself to that power, he's done too many evil deeds." Keeseman brought up some pictures on the large screen. They displayed pictures of people being executed in the Castle's dungeon. "The people you see in these pictures were completely innocent. They died because of Aghanim's paranoid ideal that they were Yiga spies. Among that, he also wants to rule Hyrule with an iron fist, with total control over everyone's lives."
"Zelda would never want this." The Zora said, feeling sick to her stomach.
"Exactly. He planted himself into a place of power and gained the trust of others in order to rule a country that was never his to begin with." Keeseman walked up to the party. "I take it you can trust me now?"
The Sheikah didn't want to believe it, but he knew this Keeseman was right. "I can trust you. What do you want us to do then?"
Keeseman turned the images off on the computer. "I'd like you to hear my story, where I came from and how I began my case against Aghanim. It all started with my family on Windfall Island, which is an island off the coast of Hyrule. I come from a family of great wealth. They had an estate on the island. My family also had a bad history with Aghanim's family. Once the Great Calamity was finished, the people from Windfall Island, including my family and I, moved to Hyrule. About 9 years ago, when Castle Town was still in construction, the theater was opened for citizens to watch plays at. I went there with my two parents and my friends to watch it, and as my parents left the theater, they were killed in an alleyway by one of Aghanim's lackeys. I discovered that they were killed and it drove me into depression, but I came back from it by finding answers. Slowly but surely, I found out that Aghanim had ordered my parent's death. I used my wealth to help fund the rebuilding of Castle Town, so that way I could fully understand the geography of the Town, and that's also how I was able to install so many secret passages throughout the place. This large cave happened to be a part of the extensive tunnel system that Link and Zelda made in order to find the old decrepit body of Calamity Ganon. The family estate happened to be built directly above this very cave we're standing in right now."
"Wait a moment." Poump interjected. "You mean to tell me that the fancy mansion just outside of Castle Town is yours?"
Keeseman looked at Poump. "Wait a moment, I know you."
"You do?" Poump replied.
"Yes. Do all of you promise to keep this a secret?" Keeseman asked all of them.
"Yes." The party said in unison.
"My real identity is" Keeseman took his helmet off. "Bruce Payne."
"You were at the auction in Lon Lon Ranch!" Poump said.
"Yes." Bruce put his helmet on a stand. "Since you all are probably tired, I will welcome you to my mansion, where you can stay for the night. Follow me." Bruce walked up to a Sheikah lift that was big enough for all of them to stand on. The lift ascended and then Bruce pushed on the wall revealing an elaborate living room behind it. "Welcome to Payne Manor."
An old man walked up to Bruce and the party. "Master Bruce, who are these people?"
"They are guests, Alphie." Bruce said to the old man.
"The last time you brought guests in from this way, you either began teaching them your ways, or you decided to-"
"Alphie, not in front of the kid." Bruce said in reference to Poump. "Prepare the guest rooms please. These folks are tired."
"Alright then, Master Bruce. I will prepare the guest rooms." Alphie walked upstairs.
"Have some food in the dining room. There's plenty to go around." Bruce said as he walked them through the manor. "Help yourselves, I'll be right back." Bruce left the dining room.
Poump looked at the team. "Today has been one wild ride."
"That it has. We deserve a solid break like this." The Zora said.
"This type of hospitality is something we shouldn't take for granted. Let's eat up." The Sheikah sat down at the table which already had some food prepared. He looked around the house's ceiling and saw a small guardian head rotating in the corner of the ceiling, observing the dining room. The team ate up and then Bruce came back into the dining room with a more formal outfit.
"I'm pretty sure all of you know this by now, but I will be willing to pay you if you manage to help me defeat Agahnim. He has possession of extremely powerful magical abilities, making fighting him dangerous. That is why I never faced him head on. You will need all the help you can get to defeat Agahnim."
"What if we have to kill him?" Poump asked.
"If it ever comes down to that, I won't be the one to do that. If it is absolutely necessary to kill him, then do it." Bruce grabbed a pie off of the table and ate it. "And as for the reward, I will pay you 30,000 rupees for bringing him down."
"That's a deal." The Sheikah said without hesitation.
After the meal, the party went upstairs to their guest rooms. On the way, they saw a young boy using a staff on a training dummy. Poump also took notice of a Hylian Shield on a wall, displayed with a bunch of other shiny shields. Each of the party members got into each of their own guest rooms and they all fell asleep, except for Poump, who was awoken by the sound of the Sheikah Slate turning on. It was Zelda who was giving him a call.
"Hello there Poump, I know it's late but I feel like it's important that I should tell you this. You remember how I mentioned my daughter, Hilda, right?" Zelda said with a look of concern on her face.
"Hilda? Oh yes, I do remember you telling me about her on the boat." Poump replied.
"Well, I want you to check on her. She's very young and she lives in the Castle. I trust that Aghanim can take care of her well, but I also trust you. There are a few guards in the castle that know about her presence. Ask for Roldi. She's the guard that I trust the most with keeping a watch on Hilda. Good bye, and take care Poump." Zelda hung up. Through crusty eyes, Poump looked outside and saw a hot air balloon with purple lights, but he decided to fall to sleep as he was extremely exhausted from the day.