Chapter 35
Arthur's eyes slowly opened as he woke up. He let out a yawn and stretched his arms a little. Once he was fully awake and his vision had finished adjusting itself, he looked around his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was Hat Kid sleeping at his side, her head resting on his chest and her arms wrapped around him. Upon seeing the still-asleep girl, the memories of last night all came back to him. Him having a nightmare before being waken up by Hat Kid, telling her about his tragic past, being comforted by the small girl, and watching the rest of the Conductor's movie on TV.
A smile appeared on the boy's face. He felt a lot better than yesterday thanks to Hat Kid. He was really grateful she let him talk to her about his problems. ...Well, made him talk to be more specific, since he refused at first but she stubbornly wouldn't take no for an answer.
Despite that, he was actually glad she made him spill the beans. No matter how hard he tried keeping it all to himself in fear of being judged and hurt again, in the end, he realized that he simply couldn't and needed someone trustworthy enough to talk to about his past and problems. And against all odds, that someone is Hat Kid. Heh... Funny how she started off as an enemy, only to become the very one who understood and comforted him when he needed it.
The sound of a robotic beeping snapped Arthur out of his thoughts. He looked to the side and saw Rumbi looking at him with a happy expression on its LED face, seemingly greeting him.
"Morning to you too, Rumbi," Arthur greeted it with a smile. Rumbi responded by making more happy sounds before it went back to cleaning the room.
The young boy looked back at Hat Kid who was still asleep. As much as he wanted to let her sleep, they needed to get back to their Time Piece hunt as soon as possible. And besides, she was... kinda preventing him from getting up right now. He placed his hand on her shoulder and gently shook her.
"Hat Kid, wake up please."
"Five more minutes..." Hat Kid mumbled tiredly, refusing to move.
Arthur rolled his eyes. "Come on, you lazy head. We gotta go hunt for Time Pieces," he insisted, shaking the girl once more.
"Hmmmhmmm..." Hat Kid whined stubbornly as she tightened her grip around Arthur, earning an unamused look from the latter.
Well damn, this girl can be really clingy sometimes. He needed to find a way to make her get up. Suddenly, Arthur smirked mischievously as he had an idea.
He leaned close to her ear, his hand next to his lips, and whispered, "Hey, Hat Kid. I think Cooking Cat left some cake in the fridge."
Hat Kid's eyes suddenly shot open and a huge excited, goofy grin formed on her face. She got up to her feet and darted off to the kitchen to check the fridge.
'Heh, the cake trick always works,' Arthur thought as he chuckled. In truth, there wasn't any cake inside the fridge; he just made that up.
He got up and picked up his cowboy hat at the side of his bed before putting it back on his head. He then made his way to the kitchen to have some breakfast. Upon entering the room, he found Hat Kid standing in front of the open fridge, staring at him with an annoyed look and her arms crossed as her foot tapped on the floor.
"Yeah, sorry about that," Arthur apologized as he sat at the table. "I had to say something to make you get up, otherwise you'd still be clinging onto me like a koala on a tree until noon." Hat Kid rolled her eyes, before taking the milk out of the fridge and bringing it to the table for breakfast. "Oh and... Hat Kid?" The small girl curiously looked at Arthur as he rubbed his arm shyly. "About last night uhh... Thank you... really. I needed that." Hat Kid smiled and gave him a thumbs up, making the boy smile back at her gratefully.
After eating breakfast, Hat Kid went back to her room to change from her pyjamas to her regular outfit. Then she joined Arthur in front of the large window in the main room to discuss about the next place to go look for Time Pieces.
"Hmm, we checked most places on the planet. Mafia Town is cleared of any Time Piece, the movie directors told us the whole desert area has been picked clean too, and we just came back from Subcon Forest," Arthur pondered, his hand on his chin as he looked at the planet for any unexplored areas. "Which area didn't we explore yet?"
Hat Kid had her hand on her chin, a focused look on her face as she scanned the planet. She then noticed some mountain peaks going above the clouds north of the desert area. She smiled. They hadn't explored those mountains yet, maybe some of the Time Pieces fell down there.
She tapped her finger on Arthur's shoulder to get his attention and pointed at the mountains. Upon seeing them, the twelve-year-old boy grew a bit nervous as he remembered his fear of heights.
"Uhhh yeah, I'm not too sure about this... Maybe there's another place to check?" Arthur suggested nervously as he rubbed the back of his head. Hat Kid gave him a questioning look. "Or we could, I dunno... split up? I can go look somewhere else while you check out them mountains. You know... To cover more ground and... find the Time Pieces faster. I mean, it makes sense, right?" The purple-hatted girl crossed her arms and skeptically raised an eyebrown at him, clearly not buying his lie.
Noticing her disbelief, Arthur clenched his teeth as he grimaced, before sighing in defeat. "Fine. The truth is..." He rubbed his arm and took a deep breath. Well, he might as well just tell her... If he could trust her with his past, then he could trust her with this too. "I'm afraid of heights." A feeling of shame overwhelmed him as Hat Kid looked at him surprised. "I fell from a climbing wall during a sport session once, and unfortunately the safety cable wasn't properly attached to me. Nearly broke my arm. And ever since that day, I'm afraid of heights."
"Oh..." Hat Kid nodded understandingly.
"It's stupid I know... I'm aware we've been jumping from space for like a thousand times, but I got used to it and I know your way of landing is... well... mostly safe. But when I'm on solid ground, standing above the void, that's where my vertigo starts acting out," Arthur explained shamefully. He sighed. "This really sucks... I'm really sorry, Hat Kid, but I can't go with you on that one. I'll just slow you down."
The small girl shook her head, smiling at him. Pulling out her pen and a paper, she wrote something and showed it to the boy. It said, 'Don't worry, I'll stay by your side to help you work on your fear if you need me to,' followed by a smiling face.
Arthur stared at Hat Kid with visible hesitation as he gave it some thoughts. He glanced at the mountains again before sighing. "Alright... let's go."
The young alien smiled and extended her hand out to Arthur, encouraging him to take it. He took a deep breath and grabbed it. Hat Kid then led him to the hatch and placed her hand on the handle, before looking at Arthur, waiting for him to give her the go. After a few seconds of hesitation, the young boy nodded, signaling he was ready. Then, Hat Kid opened the hatch and they both jumped off, aiming for the mountains.
The two children landed safely on a cliff side. The area was misty and a chilly wind was blowing, forcing the duo to rub their arms around themselves to keep themselves warm.
"Oh peck...!" Arthur cursed after he accidentally looked down off the cliff, causing his breath to quicken. His vertigo made him feel very dizzy and he almost lost his balance, forcing Hat Kid to catch him before he could fall backward. "O-okay, this was clearly a mistake!" He had to sit down a moment as he began to hyperventilate. Hat Kid crouched at his side and patted his hand to help him calm down.
'Dammit. Come on... Breathe in... Breathe out...' he thought. Breathe in... Breathe out... Breathe in... Breathe out... Breathe in... Breathe out... "Phoof..." After successfully calming down, he looked at Hat Kid and said, "Alright... I'm good now. I'm good." The purple-hatted girl nodded and helped him up to his feet. "Thanks."
After nodding at him, Hat Kid looked at her surroundings and her eyes widened in awe at the sight before her. "Whoaaaa..."
"Ho-ly hell..." Arthur marvelled as well.
A bit higher on the cliff, standing on two large pillars were giant and imposing stone statues representing what looked like anthropomorphic goats holding a cane in their hands. Red banners were decorating the pillars and the vine-covered rock walls.
"Well, there's a sight for sore eyes," Arthur whistled, impressed by the architecture. "That looks ancient. I wonder who built this..." Hat Kid shrugged, curious as well. Then, she made a motion with her head to say they should go explore. "All right, I just hope we'll actually find your Time Pieces up there. This looks quite the climb."
The two children began climbing up the mountain, following the path illuminated by the torches and decorated with stone totems. They passed between the two pillars, staring at the goat faces engraved on them as they did. After that, they arrived before a wooden bridge, and at the end of it was a closed gate leading up to a tower.
"Guess we gotta cross here..." Arthur remarked, nervously staring at the platform linking the two peaks. He took a step back. "I-I don't know about this, Hat Kid. Is the bridge even sturdy enough to support our weights? I mean, it's seen better days..."
Indeed, the bridge looked old, a bit dilapidated, covered in moss, and a slight creaking sound could be heard, making it seem unsafe. Crossing this bridge in poor condition seemed risky, but it was the only way across. No flying hook or anything else. So bridge it is.
Hat Kid went forward and placed one foot on the first board, applying pressure to see if it could support her weight – which it did. Taking the risk, she took a few steps on the bridge, staying close to the edge in case it breaks. The boards creaked under her footsteps, but the bridge remained intact. So far so good. Now for the most dangerous part of testing... The small girl made small jumps on the bridge to test its sturdiness, making it creak even more.
"Whoa, careful there!" Arthur warned her anxiously as he raised his hands in front of him, ready to pull her back if necessary.
However, the bridge still held on. Despite its poor state, it still seemed fit to cross. Hat Kid smiled at Arthur and motioned for him to come. Though, the young boy hesitated and took a step back. He had a bad feeling about this.
"R-really, Hat Kid, I... I don't think it's a good idea," he stuttered, feeling his anxiety rising.
In hope of convincing him to cross the bridge, Hat Kid offered him to take her hand and hold it until they were across if that made him feel better. Arthur stared at her hand, then at the worn-out bridge with a lot of hesitation. Well, peck...
"I'm so gonna regret this..." he muttered as he slowly and hesitantly stepped forward to join Hat Kid. He stopped right before the first board, then he paused to take a deep breath. 'Now or never I guess.' He grabbed the girl's hand and tightly gripped it.
"Don't look down," Hat Kid advised him.
"Yeah thanks for the advice, Professor Hat Kid," Arthur snarked nervously, shutting his eyes to not be tempted to look down.
The duo began to move step by step on the worn-out bridge, both anxious as they did. None of them spoke a word as the creaking sound of the old boards filled the air with each step they took. Arthur kept his eyes closed and took deep breaths, letting Hat Kid guide him on the bridge and hoping he wouldn't start hyperventilating on the spot.
A board that Hat Kid stepped on suddenly snapped in half and fell down through the sea of clouds, causing her to gasp in alarm and quickly drive her foot back. Despite that, the rest of the bridge still held on.
"I-I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that," Arthur remarked anxiously, having heard the sound of the board snapping.
The two children walked over the missing plank and continued. So far so good... Hat Kid measured their progress on the bridge. They were almost to the other side. Just a little further...
CRACK!
"What was that?!" Arthur exclaimed as his eyes shot open, alarmed by the noise.
A constant creaking noise filled the air as pieces of boards broke and the plarform loosened. The children's eyes widened. The bridge was collapsing!
"RUN, RUN, RUN!"
The duo ran as fast as they could as more boards fell, jumping over any gaps in the crumbling bridge. As it completely fell apart, Hat Kid jumped and dove forward, tucking and rolling as she landed on the small solid surface before the gate. Arthur, however, wasn't as lucky as he didn't jump far enough.
"AAHHH CRAP!" he yelled, barely managing to grab onto the edge before he could fall to his death. His hat fell off his head, and by reflex he caught it with one hand while holding onto the edge with the other. This action caused him to look down to the cloud-covered void below. "AHH!" He panicked as he shut his eyes, not daring to move or do anything at this point in fear he would let go and fall.
"ARTHUR!"
A pair of hands gripped his arm tightly, causing his eyes to shoot open. He looked up and saw Hat Kid attempting to pull him up. With a grunt of effort, the purple-hatted girl used all of her strength to pull her friend up on the ledge to safety.
Eventually, she managed to pull him up on the surface. In his panic, Arthur crawled away from the edge until his back was against the gate. He breathed heavily, clearly shaken, as Hat Kid knelt down at his side and placed her hand his shoulder.
He tried to breathe in and out to calm himself down, but he found himself struggling to do so. For him, the air seemed to have gotten thinner than before and, while it was still breathable, it was harder to take deeper breaths. He felt like he was suffocating... from the moment his hat fell off his head- Wait... his hat!
"Hat Kid... my hat... hurry..." the young boy gasped, pointing his finger at his cowboy hat resting on the ground behind her. For unknown reasons, his instincts were telling him he needed it at once.
Without questioning, Hat Kid took it and handed it to Arthur, which he proceeded to quickly place back on his head. A feeling of relief went through him as he was able to breathe properly again. He didn't even question how wearing his hat made him breathe better, since he was too busy trying to breathe in and out. Breathe in... Breathe out... Breathe in... Breathe out... There, much better...
"Phoof... Dear lord..." Arthur sighed deeply as he calmed down. "Okay, that... That was something." He looked at Hat Kid and joked, "Well, at least I got my dose of exercise for today! Now I need my chocolate bar," making the small girl laugh. She was glad he was still making jokes despite the near-death experience they went through.
Hat Kid got up to her feet, helping Arthur in the process. The two children looked at the gap they just crossed. Now that the bridge was gone, there was no way back. All they could do was move forward. Their attention turned to the wooden gate blocking their way.
Arthur tried to push the gates open but they remained shut tight.
"Figures," he remarked, taking a step back.
While looking for a way to open it, his attention then drifted to the bell hanging to the side. Everything about it screamed 'not-so-secret gate control system'. Taking his chances, he pulled out his crowbar and used his Hookshot ability on the bell, swinging back and forth. The sound of the bell ringing filled the air, and soon after, the gates slowly opened.
As he dropped back on the ground, Arthur said, "No matter what, the gate systems of this world never fail to amaze me." Hat Kid nodded in agreement.
Then, the two of them went through the gate.
The duo walked up the stairwell leading up to the top of the tower. The wind had picked up during their ascension, forcing them to keep an hand on their hats so they don't fly away. As they went up, the children encountered a few spiders which they gladly proceeded to get rid of.
Eventually, they reached the top. The clouds around them had gotten slightly darker and thunder could be heard in the distance, although it didn't rain. Before them was a large stone statue with yellow horns and a corkscrew base, surrounded by four skull statues standing side by side around the top's base. Some stone totems were even set around as decoration. Other than that, there was nothing here. It was a dead end.
"What? That's it?" Arthur asked in disbelief, as he and Hat Kid glanced around the place. Nothing, not even a Time Piece in sight. "So we came here for nothing then..." He turned to Hat Kid and asked, "Got a spare Time Piece to bring us back to the spaceship?".
The young alien checked her pockets, but unfortunately she forgot to bring a Time Piece with her.
"Uhhh... Whoops?" she chuckled nervously.
"Oh, don't tell me you forgot to take a Time Piece with you!" Arthur hissed, giving her an irritated look. Hat Kid could only nod as she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "So we're stuck here then. Faaaantastic." He walked away in frustration. As he did, his eyes landed on something, causing him to stop. "Hey, hang on a minute. What's this?"
There was a wooden cross handle sticking out of the ground. Hat Kid joined Arthur's side, looking at it curiously.
"Think we can turn it?" Arthur asked her, only getting a shrug from her. "Well, let's find out." He proceeded to turn the handle until it was completely down. A click was heard, followed by the sound of thunder, and then the large horned statue screwed into the ground a little. "Huh, interesting..." The duo spotted two other handles dispatched around the top. "Let's turn them too and see what it does."
The children turned a handle each, causing the statue to screw into the ground completely. Suddenly, the ground rumbled, taking the children by surprise, as more thunders irrupted in the dark clouds. And then, something shot out of the horned statue and pierced through the clouds. It was a long rope decorated with colorful banners. It went on through the stormy clouds for a few seconds before it stopped with a clang. The duo approached it curiously.
"Is this some kind of zipline?" Arthur asked.
Hat Kid pulled on the rope to test its sturdiness. It was perfectly taut and was barely moving. Looking through the clouds, it seemed to be leading somewhere, but it was impossible to tell where exactly.
She pulled out her umbrella, staring at the grapple at the top of it, before looking at the zipline. A smile appeared on her face as an idea crossed her mind. Looking at Arthur, she tapped on the grapple of her umbrella with her finger, then pointed at the zipline, suggesting they use their Hookshot abilities to speed off on it and see where it leads.
"W-Whohoho, now h-hang on a minute! You lost your mind or something?!" Arthur protested, raising his hands as he took a step back. "That old bridge crumbling under our feet almost gave me a heart attack, I'm not about to play suicidal monkey on a damn zipline!"
In response, Hat Kid wrote something on a paper and showed it to him. 'It's okay. If it helps, you can hold onto me during the whole ride.' She accentuated her point by giving him an encouraging smile.
As much as he appreciated the offer, Arthur still hesitated as he glanced at the zipline. In his mind, everything about it screamed 'DANGER! INCREDIBLY HIGH RISK OF FALLING TO YOUR ULTIMATE DOOM! DO NOT TAKE THE ZIPLINE! DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT TAKING IT!'.
"I-I don't know, Hat Kid. I-Is this thing even safe?" he stuttered nervously. Hat Kid could only shrug at that question, honestly not sure herself that it was safe. "Figures..." He remained silent for a second, then asked, "Say... what do you think the odds are that we may successfully make it to the other side – if it actually leads somewhere – without potentially falling to our deaths?".
"20 to 1," Hat Kid said, rubbing the back her head.
"Fair enough," Arthur mumbled.
He then saw his friend offer her hand to him. The look in the girl's eyes asked 'Do you trust me?'. He sighed. Of course, he trusted her. At this point he knew he could trust her with anything... but his fear of heights... God, why does it have to be such a pain in the butt?
'Well... it's either take the zipline, or rot here for eternity, I guess,' he thought. With a lot of hesitation, he looked into Hat Kid's eyes and said, "A-alright, l-let's do it." Smiling, Hat Kid wrapped an arm around Arthur, and the latter tightly held her with both arms. "I hope you got strong bones though. I'd hate to break you in half."
The purple-hatted girl aimed her umbrella at the zipline, as Arthur squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for the incoming intense ride while he continuously repeated, "This sucks, this sucks, this sucks...". She pressed the button, latching her grapple onto the rope. And then, the duo sped off into the horizon.
"PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECK!"
Arthur's scream rang out, nearly deafening Hat Kid, as he kept a bone-crushing grip around her. The strong wind blowing on the children's faces while they went through the clouds at the speed of a bullet. Arthur kept his eyes shut, too scared to open them up.
They kept going on the zipline for a moment. And eventually, they left the sea of dark, stormy clouds, and sunlight illuminated their faces. Out of curiosity, Arthur slightly opened one of his eyes, but he soon found himself opening both widely at the wonderful sight around him.
Gigantic goat statues resting on peaks were holding large logs with large golden bells hanging under them. The bells swayed, producing beautiful ring sounds as they danced in the wind. It was really beautiful...
"Wooow..." Arthur marvelled with his jaw dropped. He completely forgot about his fear of heights on the moment, hypnotized by the astonishing view. Hat Kid too was dazzled by the sight of the giant structures, staring at them with eyes of wonder.
After passing between the peaks, the two children looked before them and their eyes widened. In the distance was the summit of a mountain going above the clouds. And as they got closer, they could see a village built on said summit.
The zipline led them straight to it, and soon they reached the end. After the grapple let go of the zipline, Arthur screamed as Hat Kid purposely placed him underneath her while they fell. "Oof!" He landed face first on a wooden platform while the small girl landed on his back in a sitting position. Hat Kid giggled mischievously, earning an annoyed glare from the boy, then she got up, allowing her friend to do the same.
"Well, that's certainly one hell of a way to cross the sky," Arthur remarked as he patted the dust off himself. "Not sure I'll do it again though."
The two children took a look at the village. The houses were made of wood with leaves making up the roofs. Colorful banners, engravings, vines, and leafed branches decorated the small cliff faces. Water flowed from stone goat faces built on the sides of the cliffs, creating waterfalls going down through the clouds. Haystacks and piles of wood rested on the side of the wooden platform the duo were standing on. A stone well supplied water for the village. Wooden springboards gave access to higher grounds. And finally, at the very top of the summit rested a large horned stone statue similar to the one they saw earlier, with banners attached to it.
The villagers were as tall as the duo, and they wore Egyptian clothings, mainly consisting of cloaks, scarfs and hoods of different colors, giving them an appearance of desert nomads. Their clothings hid their faces, only letting their yellow eyes visible. Some of them chatted together, while others were either working, wandering around or just chilling in the village.
Arthur whistled in wonder and said, "Well I gotta say, these guys are well-settled." Hat Kid nodded in agreement.
"Hello, travellers! Welcome to Alpine Skyline!"
The two children saw a nomad approach them. He was wearing a tan and light brown cloak, scarf and striped sphinx-like hood.
"Oh, hello," Arthur greeted him, a bit shyly.
"Hi!" Hat Kid greeted him too, waving her hand.
"We don't get many visitors around. It's always good to see new faces once in a while," the nomad said with a smile hidden behind his scarf. "I'm Makhir, the chief of Goat Village. That's the one you're seeing before your eyes." He motioned his hand to the village. "You may call me by my name if you wish."
Well, he definitely seemed friendlier and more welcoming than the Mafia, the Conductor, or the Snatcher. It's a big change from their previous encounters with most people.
"Alright well, thanks for the welcome, Makhir," Arthur nodded. "I'm Arthur, and this is Hat Kid."
"A pleasure to meet you both!" Makhir said enthusiastically. He put his hand on his chin as he took a better look at the children. "Hmm, not to sound rude or anything, but... aren't you a little young to be out here on your own? You got parents or tutors with you?"
The two children looked at each other uncomfortably.
"Uhh... nah, we're on our own," Arthur admitted, rubbing the back of his head.
Makhir remained silent for a moment. "...And you both managed to climb your way up here all by yourselves?" he asked, blinking in surprise.
"We got our own ways," Arthur simply said with a shrug. Hat Kid nodded.
"Huh... if you say so," the village chief nodded. "Anyway, what brings you two to Alpine Skyline?"
"We're looking for some shiny, glowy hourglasses that fell from the sky," Arthur explained. "You seen any of those recently?"
"Shiny hourglasses, you say?" Makhir raised an eyebrow, putting his hand on his chin in thought. "Hmm... Well, now that you mention it, we did see some hourglasses fall from the sky a few weeks ago; four, more precisely. They belong to you?"
"Yeah, they do. So where are they?"
"They landed on four different peaks around Goat Village. The Birdhouse, the Windmill, the Twilight Bell, and the Lava Cake..."
"Lava Cake?" Arthur asked as he and Hat Kid gave the nomad confused looks.
"Basically, it's a succession of gigantic thick surfaces literally made of lava superimposed on each others," Makhir explained as he rubbed the back of his head. "We call it the Lava Cake because... well... it looks like a giant wedding cake entirely made of lava."
"Well, that sounds safe..." Arthur muttered sarcastically, exchanging a nervous look with Hat Kid.
"If you want to find those hourglasses, you gotta follow the flashing lights," Makhir pointed at one of the far-away peaks where a giant birdhouse stood on it. A flashing light could be seen in the distance. "That's the Birdhouse; a lot of crows live there, including a big one. Be careful if you're headed there, though. The crows love shiny things and they're very territorial. They won't take so kindly to you if you try to steal something from their territory."
"Yeah, we already came across them before. Nasty creatures," Arthur said, recalling their encounter with a few crows in Mafia Town. Those crows were very aggressive and attacked the duo on sight. So they could only imagine what it would be like to be inside a birdhouse filled with them.
The village chief nodded and continued, "In the opposite direction, there's the Windmill. However, it's not exactly your everyday-sized windmill. It's actually a very, VERY tall windmill. And when I say 'tall', it's TALL." He emphasized by raising his arm high above his head to give the children an example on how huge this windmill is. "We had to abandon it a few years ago after crows and giant spiders swarmed the whole place. It hasn't been maintained ever since, so chances are the stairs are destroyed by now..."
"So we're gonna have to find another way to get to the top then," Arthur said to Hat Kid who nodded.
"For the Lava Cake, well... the danger is pretty obvious I should say," Makhir grimaced, rubbing the back of his head.
"Yup, the risk of getting cooked like a piece of bacon on a Sunday barbecue."
"Heh... that's one way to put it," Makhir chuckled nervously. "Well, there should be some platforms there for you to stand on, but they're pretty unstable. So be careful when you do get on them."
"We'll keep that in mind."
"As for the Twilight Bell, it's umm... actually quite a mystery to be honest..."
"What do you mean?"
"Well... there's something off about it, but I can't really tell what," Makhir explained. "I never got close enough to it, but some nomads who did said you could see a void filled with stars inside it."
"Oh?" Arthur asked as he and Hat Kid gave the nomad a curious look.
"Yeah. Weird, right? What was even weirder is when the hourglass hit the bell, it sort of... disappeared. Just like that," Makhir snapped his fingers at the last word.
"Huh..." Arthur got close to Hat Kid's ear and asked in a whisper, "Think this one broke?". The young alien simply shrugged. It was a possibility, but Makhir did say that there was something off about the bell, so... who knows? Arthur turned his attention back to the village chief and asked, "You guys ever tried ringing it?".
"We can't. The clapper is too high for us to reach," Makhir shrugged.
The two children exchanged a knowing look. They could probably reach the bell's clapper with their Hookshot abilities. They weren't sure what it will do other than just ring, but who knows? This planet is full of surprises. Subcon Forest was one of them.
"Okay. So how do you get to the peaks?" Arthur inquired.
"We use ziplines to move between islands, but they're all retracted for now," the village chief informed. "To summon them, you have to blow in the horns. It's a little system that was set in place by the goats."
"Goats? What goats?"
Right after Arthur asked the question, large and loud footsteps were heard, causing the children to flinch in surprise. And just then, a very large, anthropomorphic, large-horned, brown-furred goat with white glowing eyes, wearing a red and yellow stitched tunic, a blue scarf and a brown belt with bells attached to it, walked past right behind Makhir; although the latter didn't turn around or react at all as if he had expected it. The giant beast stopped for a second to shake itself a little, without paying attention to the children or the village chief, before continuing on its way.
Arthur and Hat Kid stared at the goat with eyes and mouths wide open.
"These goats," Makhir deadpanned.
"Whatta...?" Arthur blurted out, completely dumbfounded.
"Yeah, they always look a bit... intimidating when you see 'em for the first time," the nomad chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head.
"You don't say."
"But I can assure you, they're harmless," Makhir reassured them. "Just make sure not to get in their way, they tend to be a bit pushy if you do that. Well, not like 'pushy' but... they give you a little shove."
"Okay, we'll... keep that in mind," Arthur nodded.
"Also, the goats are the only ones who can blow in the horns, because up this high the air is too thin for us nomads to do it. I mean, it's still breathable but not enough to take deep enough breaths; so we can't blow the horns ourselves." Makhir paused. "You both don't seem to be affected, though..."
"Hmm..." Arthur put his hand on his chin, curious as well. It's true. Despite being at such an high altitude, he and Hat Kid are actually able to breathe properly. He looked at Hat Kid questionally. "That's true. How come we're able to breathe up here?"
To answer his question, the purple-hatted girl wrote something on a paper and showed it to him. It said, 'My species simply requires a low amount of air to breathe, so it's no problem for me. As for you... I don't really know...', followed by a hatted emoji with a confused expression.
Arthur scratched his head. Then a thought came to him... Earlier after crossing the bridge, he had a panic attack from the near-death experience and struggled to breathe. However, the moment he put his hat back on his head, he was able to take deep enough breaths again.
But his hat alone can't normally help him do that, right? Perhaps it was tied to one of the badges he wore on it? It could be a theory but he wasn't sure about it yet, so he simply shrugged. He will have to ask the Badge Seller about it if he comes across them again.
"In any case, we got an horn at the top of the village that controls the ziplines leading to the four peaks," Makhir informed. "Normally, they're on all the time, but the goats recently retracted them and they only do that to protect Goat Village when they feel something bad is about to happen."
"Really? What incoming danger did they feel?" Arthur asked curiously as he put his hands on his hips.
"We don't know. They don't speak, so there's no way for us to tell what danger they felt."
Arthur and Hat Kid looked at each other worriedly. If the goats felt something bad coming and had to close off the ziplines leading back to Goat Village, it must be quite serious... But they needed to get the Time Pieces that fell on the four peaks, and they couldn't really afford to wait; Mustache Girl was probably looking for them too.
"Look, uhh... If that's okay with you, can we summon the ziplines again?" the young boy asked. "We don't doubt your goats drew them back in out of possible safety... but them hourglasses, we really need 'em back. We'll try to be quick, and then you can close the ziplines again."
"Pleeeaaase?" Hat Kid begged, clasping her hands together and doing her puppy eyes to the nomad.
Makhir stared at the two children, his hand on his chin, pondering if he should allow them to temporarily reactivate the ziplines. While he did, the same goat from earlier passed right behind him again, going in the opposite direction from before. The sound of its large heavy hooves filled the air. Though, the village chief remained unfazed by that.
"Very well, you have my permission," he announced after some thinking (and some convincing from Hat Kid's irresistible, pleading eyes). "I'll take you both to the horn at the top of our village, if you'd like to follow me." He motioned for them to follow him as he began walking.
"Thanks, Makhir," Arthur smiled gratefully. Then, he and Hat Kid began to follow the village chief.
As they walked through Goat Village, the children caught the other nomads staring at them. Not in an hostile or skeptical way, but more out of curiosity. Makhir did say that visitors were a rare occurence in Alpine Skyline, so it made sense that their presence here would spark curiosity among the villagers. But despite that, they were rather friendly and welcoming, since they responded with either a nod or a wave whenever Hat Kid waved at them. They were like the exact opposite of the Mafia.
"You guys seem to accept strangers around despite not getting a lot of them," Arthur remarked.
"Oh, hospitality towards outsiders has always been one of our customs," Makhir explained. "What would be a world without kindness anyway?"
'A world just like mine...' the twelve-year-old boy thought sadly and bitterly. Hat Kid gave him a sad look, knowing what he was thinking as she remembered his story. Not wanting to think about it, he decided to change the subject. "Your people always been living in these mountains?"
Makhir shook his head. "Nah, only for a few years," he said, before jumping on a springboard to get to higher ground. He continued talking when the two children joined him. "We used to live in the desert before, in a village called Sand n' Sails."
Well, that certainly explained their desert-themed clothings.
"Why did you move up here?" Arthur asked curiously.
"We had a long river that supplied our former village with water. But one day, it all dried off; life there became impossible because of it. So it was either move or die of thirst," Makhir explained sadly.
"Sounds rough..."
"Yeah... We had no other choice, but it was our home so... it kinda leaves a hole within you."
While Arthur and Makhir were busy talking, Hat Kid spotted something sticking out of a haystack on her left. Curious, she dug her hand in the hay and found a yarn in it, rolling it in her hands as she examined it. It was green and black, and a certain power coming from time itself could be sensed at the touch.
A gasp escaped her lips as her eyes widened, then a grin of excitement showed up on her face. If she was not mistaken, this type of yarn would allow her to make the most powerful hat created by her species: the Time Stop Hat. This hat allows the wearer to considerably slow down time, and therefore everything around but the wearer.
Only the most experienced and qualified of her species are allowed to wear this hat. But honestly, after all the adventures, missions and dangers she went through over the years? Eh, it's fair to say she's worthy enough to use it. Sadly, she needs 32 yarns to make a Time Stop Hat, and she only got 29 with the one she just found. She would have to keep her eyes open for more yarns.
She put the newfound yarn in her pocket and caught up with Arthur and Makhir who were already a bit further ahead in the conversation.
"...So the goats helped us build the village after we moved up here. We've been living together ever since, and they protect us from various threats," Makhir said.
"Yeah, I can tell you've feeling pretty sa- Wow!" The trio stepped out of the way as a goat passed between them, going in the opposite direction. "As I was saying... you guys must be feeling pretty safe with them around," Arthur stated, staring nervously at the goat.
"I know, right? Thanks to them, Goat Village is safe from the crows and the Lazy Paw Gang."
"The Lazy Paw Gang? What's that?"
"It's a gang of orange-furred cats wearing red headscarves that has been causing trouble around Alpine Skyline for a while. They're thieves who steal and sometimes attack people unfortunate enough to cross their path. Their leader is Askar, the tallest, strongest and most ruthless cat of the gang. Those who crossed his path are no longer with us today."
"Well damn... And folks wonder why I like dogs better," Arthur grimaced nervously.
"They live in Purrloined Village. It's located on a small peak near the Birdhouse; that's where Askar is holed up. Thankfully, you can avoid it on your way there," Makhir explained. "Though, if you're going to the old Windmill, there's another village that serves as a secondary base for them on Curly Tail Peak. They've got an horn at the top that you'll need to blow to access the Windmill, so be careful when you get there."
"All right, got it. Thanks for the information, Makhir," Arthur thanked him.
The village chief nodded, then he jumped on a springboard to get higher. Arthur and Hat Kid followed his action.
"Alright, here's the horn." Makhir stood near a large horn at the edge of the cliff. It was made of wood, and the end was red with engravings on it. "Just blow in it and it'll open up the routes to the four peaks."
"Simple enough," Arthur shrugged. He looked at Hat Kid and said, "You do the honors."
The small girl took position behind the horn. She took a deep breath and blew in it, her feet lifting off the ground during the action. It let out a low-pitched horn sound that echoed through Goat Village.
As her feet rested back on the ground, Hat Kid caught her breath. Then she, Arthur and Makhir watched as different colorful ziplines appeared and spread out to the various regions. A blue one to the Windmill, a yellow-orange one to the Birdhouse, a green one to the Twilight Bell, a red burnt-looking one to the Lava Cake, and a multi-colored one that leads to an unknown land.
"Quite ingenious," Arthur admitted, impressed by the mechanism. He turned to Makhir. "Thank you for your help."
"No problem!" Makhir smiled behind his scarf. "Oh, and if you need to spend the night here, the inn is right over there." He pointed at the building down on their right. "They also serve food if you're interested."
Arthur and Hat Kid nodded, grateful for the offer. Then, the two of them headed back down to figure out where to go first. After a short discussion, they decided the best way would be to split up to save time and retrieve the Time Pieces faster.
"So... we're doing this: I'm going to the Birdhouse and Twilight Bell, and you go to the Windmill and the Lava Cake. And then we meet back up here in Goat Village," Arthur suggested. "That okay with you?" Hat Kid nodded. "Good, and be careful when you get to Curly Tail Peak. From what Makhir said, these Lazy Paw Cats sound like they mean business." She gave him a thumbs up, saying she will be careful.
The young boy looked in the direction of the zipline leading to the Birdhouse and began to feel anxious. "Well... Guess it's back to Crazy-Ride Town on the zipline..." he muttered.
He felt Hat Kid's hand rest on his shoulder. When he looked back at her, she was giving him a smile as well as a thumbs up to encourage him. Arthur didn't say anything but simply smiled at her, appreciating her support. He sighed and pulled out his crowbar, staring at it for a moment before looking at Hat Kid with concern.
"Be careful out there, alright?"
Hat Kid nodded. "You too," she returned the concern, before making her way to the Windmill's zipline.
As he was about to walk away, Arthur caught a glimpse of someone – a boy, to be more specific – standing on top of Goat Village, watching him. He squinted his eyes, but the person vanished in some sort of dark purple portal before he could get a better look. The only detail he had been able to make out before the boy disappeared was the tie on his shirt.
"The hell?" he whispered, confused. Who was that? And what was that weird portal he had just vanished into? Arthur shook his head. He had no time to ponder on that, the Time Pieces were his primary focus right now.
Putting aside the mysterious boy he just saw from his mind, he made his way to the Birdhouse's zipline.
A/N: Hey everyone! First chapter into Alpine Skyline's ark! I hope you all liked it! A lot of talk in this one, but it was necessary to start the act. ^^;
Now, for this chapter, I decided to make the wooden bridge before the gate risky to cross. Normally in game, you can cross the bridge without trouble but I wanted to add some action, so I came up with this. Also guys, meet Makhir the nomad chief of Goat Village. I figured I'd make one of the nomads a supporting character for this story, so here he is. ^_^ I also made sure to add a leader for the Lazy Paw Gang. He's only mentioned in this chapter, but you'll all get to see him soon.
Also, I made a little reference to OPFan37's OC, Tie Brat – the protagonist of his own AHiT story 'A Hat and a Tie in Time' – at the end of the chapter. He made a reference to Arthur in his last chapter (Chapter 26), so I decided to do the same to thank him. I recommend reading his story if you haven't; it's really, REALLY good! ^_^
Now to answer the recent reviews!
To IcyStream: Yeah, I feel you. ^^;
To HexoSpykeZ: Thank you very much! Heartbreaking and warming were the effects I was looking for, so I'm glad I managed to do that. I'm also very flattered you want to turn this moment into a drawing. Do as you wish regarding it and take your time, as long as you're having fun with it. ;) And I agree with you; sometimes, people just need someone to talk to and willing to listen and comfort them.
To Purple1984: I can't see the link. Fanfiction tend to remove half of external links to prevent spams and scams. If you wanna show it, make sure to put one or two spaces in your link to avoid this problem. ^^;
To Mr. Mega1423: Thank you so much! It means a lot. ^^
To pokemonsora01: Yeah, he went through a lot sadly. But like you said, Hat Kid and the others are here for him. As for the others, they will eventually find out. Not in this story though, but if I end up making a sequel, I'll mention it.
To OddCombo: Hmm... well, you're right on the facts that the story has a lot of similarities with the game's story and some other stories. However, sticking to the game's story was intended because I wanted to remain true to the details and the game itself.
Now, maybe I could have changed the game's dialogues to have something more unique, but once again I wanted to stick to the game's details. Maybe that wasn't the best plan, but I still wanted to go on like this, and the way I imagined the story included the game's dialogues too.
And honestly, with similar stories around, it's not so easy to stand out and be original. But I'm still trying my best to make it a little different while remaining within what I imagined.
No development? In which way? If you talk about character's development, I still think I managed to make at least some of the characters act differently from the beginning while trying my best to remain true to their personalities. I'm gonna take Arthur for example, he definitely acts differently compared to the beginning of the story.
And you say Arthur is extremely similar to Julia? Maybe they both went through rough events in their pasts, have a fear of heights, anxiety, and maybe I did use the same insult for the Mafia Boss ("jar-stache") because I figured it would also fit Arthur's personality. But I still think their personalities are different.
I'm gonna keep in mind what you said, but I'm gonna continue with how I imagined the story. That's okay if you don't like it. I understand that my story has flaws; it's clearly not perfect, and perhaps I'll make a few changes based on what you said if I feel like it's needed. In any case, thank you for your honesty and your feedback.
To Nentendo Girl106734: Thank you very much! It means a lot! It's true that they act like siblings, which is exactly what I planned. ;)
To Rub37: Yeah, I agree. Thank you very much! :)
To Hhhhhfishdo: Hello again! Ah yes, Snatcher has some good lines for this one. Classic Snatcher, by the way. XD
Anyway, that's all for today, folks! I hope you're all doing alright despite the Coronavirus situation that is hitting the whole world at the moment. Remember to wash your hands and stay safe, people. See you all in the next chapter!