Chapter 16: The Curse on Kakariko Village
"Kakariko Village? Now? We have this colony of monsters to deal with right now." Uten said.
"I know that. If we make our way to Tarrey Town, we will be getting closer to Kakariko Village, so therefore we can deal with the monsters and go to Kakariko in the same time frame." The Sheikah replied.
"Oh. Well you know what you're doing so I'll follow your lead. I will help you with whatever is happening at Kakariko Village, and after that I will stay in Zora's Domain." Uten said.
"Sounds like a plan." The Sheikah clutched his sides. Poump took out a Bokoblin mask.
"Here, give me the Ocarina. You look like you'd hurt yourself using it too much." Poump said to the Sheikah.
"You're right. You will lead us to Tarrey Town." The Sheikah handed the Ocarina to Poump. Poump put the Bokoblin mask on and walked into the monster colony. The monsters looked at Poump. There were several Bokoblins, Moblins, Lizalfos, and a Lynel. There even appeared to be a bunch of tents set up as well as wooden forts that were built by the monsters. Poump took out the Ocarina and started playing Saria's Song. The monsters followed Poump instantaneously. He led them out of the Leviathan bones and walked them towards the Akkala fields. Uten, the Sheikah, and Tipa kept watch of the monsters within the line. The grassy fields were damp and wet, but thankfully it wasn't raining. The Akkala fields on a clear day looked beautiful. The red and yellow leaves of the trees were a pleasant sight. The squad passed by some travelers who were on horses. The travelers mostly stayed away from the group. The random travelers did not want to toy with the idea of messing with these monsters, even if their parts fetched for such high prices. The fact that there was a Lynel in the pack of monsters also made the idea even worse in their heads.
After trading turns between Tipa, Uten, and Poump, the Squad managed to escort the monsters to Tarrey Town. Hudson and Rhodson were standing in front of the land bridge that leads to Tarrey Town. "Oh my goodness!" Hudson exclaimed. "Those are a lot of monsters!"
"It's a good thing we allocated enough room for them in the nearby forest. We have set up a camp with plenty of food for them to eat from. We will take good care of these monsters, right Hudson?" Rhodson looked at Hudson, who seemed flabbergasted by the idea of keeping monsters so close to Tarrey Town.
"Y-you're right." Hudson replied. "Let's get these things nice and situated."
"Thank you for holding them for us." Poump said.
"You're welcome, Poump!" Hudson replied. "The Monster Squad strikes again!"
"That we have!" Poump said pumping his fist. "Now team, let's head over to Kakariko Village and help them with whatever is happening."
"Let's get our horses." The Sheikah said. Poump played Malon's Melody and their horses ran up to them. "Make haste. I don't know how much more time we have." The squad got on their horses and made haste towards Kakariko Village, which was relatively close to the Akkala Region. They made it past the bridge and through some more main roads and ended up at Kakariko Village. The air seemed to be thinner. The farmers outside looked like they were struggling to even walk. The pumpkin crops were wilted over, and the cuccos in the cucco pen were all sedentary and huddled together. The Sheikah himself started to feel a little more sick, however the other party members didn't seem to fall ill in the same way the whole village had. The Sheikah walked up into Impa's place, feeling like he was about to die. The other party members followed behind, and they all walked inside. Impa was at the other side of the room, and Paya, her assistant, was taking care of her.
"Zhago!" Paya exclaimed. "You're finally here!"
Zhago clutched onto his sides. "What has happened here at the village?"
"A curse." Impa said. "A curse has fallen onto Kakariko Village."
"Do you know what caused it?" Zhago asked.
Impa looked up at Zhago. "The Yiga Clan. They put a curse on…" Impa coughed a little bit. "A curse on the Great Fairy Fountain."
"Where is that?" Zhago asked.
"Somewhere in the forest nearby." Impa replied.
"Very well, I will go there." Zhago said. "You three, stay here and keep an eye on Impa and Paya for me." He walked out of Impa's place and headed towards the forest near the village.
Paya had tears streaming down her face. "Impa, we're going to get through this, right?"
Impa looked at Paya with a solemn look on her face. "No, Paya. You are going to get through this."
"What do you mean?" Uten said to Impa.
"It is too late to save me. But you can save the rest of the village." Impa said. She coughed some more.
"I have an idea." Poump said. "Hey Tatl, bring Impa back to health." Poump looked around and realized Tatl wasn't anywhere nearby. "Tatl?"
Zhago walked up towards the pathway that lead to the forest nearby. All of a sudden, a Yiga footsoldier appeared and shot two arrows at Zhago. Zhago dodged out of the way of the arrows and shot an arrow back at the Yiga, killing the Yiga instantly. Three more Yiga jumped from above the cliff. Zhago placed a bomb and then teleported out of the way. The three Yiga were blown up by the bomb while Zhago continued walking into the forest. The grass and the trees seemed to be dead and grey. Zhago decided to sneak around some of the tall grass. He pulled out his sword and then stabbed behind himself. "AUGH!" A dead Yiga fell to the ground behind Zhago. He continued sneaking through the dead grass some more and then realized that in the trees above him, the masks of about 15 different Yiga were looking down on him. Sword in hand, he prepared to fight them.
"Warrior!" A commanding voice said somewhere on Zhago's level. "We meet again, Sheikah." The person speaking was the Yiga that Zhago was fighting back at the checkpoint the other day. The one that had the armor, except this time, the Yiga was wearing a Blademaster's outfit. The Yiga commanded the other Yiga to come down from the trees and circle around. A black portal appeared in the sky and coming from it were a bunch of black pillars that circled around the Sheikah and his opponent. They created a magic barrier that the other Yiga footsoldiers couldn't walk through.
"Do I know you?" Zhago said.
"Of course you do. We battled each other at the checkpoint. I said that we would meet again, and it looks like my plan worked. I put a curse on the Great Fairy Fountain that resides in these woods. That fountain grants health to the people of Kakariko Village. I knew that you came from this village, so I knew you'd come around once you've gained word that this village was under a curse." The Blademaster and Zhago started circling each other, swords in hand. "Heh, that puny assistant, Paya, was so easy to manipulate. Here's the wager, in the unlikely situation in which you defeat me, Kakariko Village's curse will be lifted. In the opposite situation in which I defeat you, Kakariko Village will become a stronghold for the Yiga Clan, and the people of the village will have to either submit or die."
"That second option won't happen." Zhago stated, making sure he kept his focus.
"I like your confidence." The blademaster spun his sword around. "Weapons only, no items or assists from either side. A fair trial for both of our swordsman ships. Now… fight!"
As for Poump, Uten, and Tipa, they were keeping a watch on Impa and Paya. However Poump really wanted to know where Tatl went. "I need to find Tatl!" Poump said. He walked out of the doors of Impa's place and looked around. He heard some footsteps on the rooftop and saw a Yiga footsoldier about to ambush him. Poump decided to use his Clawshot on the roof and swung out his sword against the Yiga. The Yiga dodged the attack but Poump gained his footing and used his sword and shield against the Yiga. He struggled to get a hit onto the Yiga with the sword, but eventually thrust his shield forward and managed to stagger the Yiga enough to knock them off the roof. Poump plunged his sword straight down just as he remembered Link doing back in the forest clearing. The sword landed square onto the Yiga's body and killed him. Poump kept on looking around to see if he could find Tatl anymore but then 4 more Yiga footsoldiers appeared. Tipa and Uten ran outside of Impa's place and joined Poump. They fought against the Yiga together.
Meanwhile with Zhago, he and the Blademaster stopped circling each other and then ran straight for each other. Their blades clashed over and over, as both of them were really skilled and understood how to dodge and parry each attack they blew out. Eventually Zhago teleported behind the Blademaster, however the Blademaster anticipated it and almost cut Zhago, but Zhago saw the blade coming at him. Zhago jumped back a bit. The Blademaster swiped at the air and then a beam of wind came from the air and knocked Zhago off balance. The Blademaster ran up to Zhago and sliced at him, however Zhago managed to dodge the attack yet again by the skin of his teeth. Zhago slashed his blade towards the Blademaster and managed to get a cut in. The Blademaster jumped back and planted his sword into the ground. A pillar of air started travelling towards Zhago. Zhago tried to dodge it but then the pillar reached him. A rock came out from the ground and thrusted Zhago into the air. The Blademaster pulled his sword back and then threw it at Zhago falling back down. The sword managed to cut Zhago as he was falling. He hit the ground. The Blademaster teleported back to his blade to pick it back up and then approached Zhago. Zhago teleported out of the Blademaster's sight.
Poump, Tipa and Uten managed to defeat the 4 Yiga by combining their efforts. The three of them were trying to find Tatl. They walked up the cliff and into the forest nearby. Uten saw the Sheikah in combat with the Blademaster, so she ran up to the magic barrier which the other Yiga footsoldiers were outside of. They didn't choose to hurt Uten since the match they were watching was more important than trying to kill some random Zora nearby. Poump and Tipa continued walking through the forest and eventually came upon a large flower bud. "Tatl!" Poump shouted. "Tatl!" He kept walking around the place and then saw a single fairy respond to him.
"Y-you're talking about my sister, Tatl, right?" The fairy said, sounding weak.
"Yes! Do you know where she is?" Poump asked.
"I don't know." The fairy responded.
Meanwhile in the arena, Zhago kept on teleporting around the Blademaster. The Blademaster kept on looking at the teleportation pattern. The Blademaster closed his eyes and then raised his sword to his left and stabbed Zhago mid-teleport. "AUGH!" Zhago said with blood coming out of his mouth.
"This is what happens when you tell me to stand down." The Blademaster said. "It is fitting that you would be the first one to fall by my hand. First you, then the village. And finally…" The Blademaster licked his lips. "That girl Paya."
"You're missing one part of that death list." Zhago said.
"Huh?" The Blademaster looked at Zhago and noticed that he smothered some bombs onto himself and they were lit on fire.
"You."
"Nooooo!" The Blademaster and Zhago were both claimed in the blast of the bombs. Zhago started to see darkness take over. And then he saw Her.
"Not now. Not here." She said, "Keep fighting, for the sake of our people." Then the light came back into his eyes. He saw Tatl twirling above him, breathing life back into him. Zhago looked at the Blademaster on the ground, burning on fire. Somehow, the Blademaster was still alive, barely alive, as he was crawling forward towards his sword. Zhago kicked his sword back and leapt towards the Blademaster's burning body and sliced his head off. The corpse of the Blademaster turned into black particles and the particles flew up into the black portal in the sky. At the same time, the black pillars that caused the magic barrier also flew back into the black portal. The Yiga footsoldiers looked in shock at Zhago.
"You're too dangerous for us. We will leave Kakariko Village alone now! You won that fight fair and square." The Yiga footsoldiers all teleported away. Zhago felt better, and then the forest around him started to turn alive and green again. A small strange blue creature leaped from out of some nearby bushes and passed Uten. Zhago and Uten followed the blue creature towards Poump and Tipa next to the large flower bud. The bud opened up revealing a sparkly and flowery water fountain. A large woman erupted from the water in the fountain.
"Thank youuuuu!" She sang. "Thanks to you, I can lend my magic and energy to the forest and Kakariko Village again! I am the Great Fairy!" She looked down at the party. "Tatl?! Is that you?"
"Yes mother, it is me." Tatl said. The fairy that was speaking to Poump earlier flew up to Tatl and hugged her.
"I missed you so much, sister!" The other fairy said.
"It's okay Tael, I'm right here." Tatl replied, patting her brother on the head.
"Thanks to you, Brave Warrior, the people of Kakariko Village are safe again." The Great Fairy said. "And it is also good to see that you took good care of Tatl for me."
"Anything to help Tatl out, Great Fairy." Poump replied.
Eventually one of the villagers ran up to the party. "Zhago! Come quick! It's Impa…"
Zhago and the party made haste for Impa's place. The crops of the village were plump again and the cuccos in the cucco pen were walking around full with life. A crowd of villagers were pouring inside of Impa's place. The crowd made space for Zhago as he ran up to Impa, who was now lying on her bed. Paya was sitting to the side, crying her eyes out.
"Impa." Zhago said to Impa, as she looked like she was losing it.
"Zhago…" Impa said with her dying breath. "You have done a great deed in taking care of the curse. While you were able to save the rest of the village, the curse had already decided my fate." Impa started to close her eyes. "You've done well… You've done well, Hero." Impa's life force left her body. Paya couldn't hold back any tears, she was crying and sobbing loudly. Zhago, despite his demeanor, also started crying as well. All of the villagers in the room started kneeling in respect, and Poump, Uten, and Tipa also kneeled down.
12 hours later, the village lined themselves up in a pathway that lead to a tree that overlooked Hyrule Field. In the middle of the pathway, Impa's coffin was being carried next to where the tree was. There was a hole in the ground for Impa's coffin, at a reasonable distance away from the tree. The coffin was lowered into the ground. Zelda, Link, and Hilda were there, as well as Prince Sidon. Everyone was sad, but Paya was the saddest out of everyone.