Chapter 14

Link was squatting in front of a strange flower, inspecting its weird, bulbous shape through the eye slits of his Keaton mask. He'd never seen anything like it. It was bluish in color, round, and large as a bowling ball. A quartet of leaves was draped at its bottom, and at its crown four red flower petals. Link reached out a hand to touch the thing…

"I wouldn't do that," said Scarlett, sternly. Link looked up at the pirate, his Keaton mask staring expressionless at her.

"It's a bomb flower," said Scarlett, "They grow wild all over these mountains. Highly volatile and explosive. You need special tools to pick them safely. They've killed more than one unwary traveler in these hills."

Scarlett clicked her tongue and her horse went treading on. Link watched her go, off put by the sudden moment of contact with the pirate. Scarlett had not spoken to him in days. Not since the morning after the Temple of the Mind. She had approached him before the sun had risen, taken him up to the wheelhouse, and grilled him on the details of his strange command of the world of dreams.

"I know ye've got something, whelp, that allows ye to slip in and out of that sleeping curse whenever you feel like," the pirate had said, her voice tinged with a kind of manic urgency, "Now it could save the lot of us, me and my crew, a whole load of trouble and time wasted if you were to just give it up now. I'll remind ye that I am quite serious, and I do not put myself above runnin' ya through if it suits my purposes."

"Okay, fine," said Link, "I've got something, but it won't do you any good."

"What do you mean?"

"I have a stone," said Link, "It lets me go back and forth, between our world and the Dreamworld, but it doesn't work for everyone. Just me."

"Liar!" cried Scarlett, "Let me see the thing, ye little beast."

Link reached into his pocket and pulled out the little orb of the Sleepstone. He held it up to the light, and Scarlett watched with wide eye as the little arcs of eldritch lightning danced back and forth inside the crystal.

"Give it here, lad," she said, holding out her hand.

Link reluctantly placed the stone in Scarlett's palm. She clutched the thing gently, being very careful not to drop it as she held it up to peer through it with her one red eye.

"How does it work?"

"Well, you just say 'slumber' and it takes you into the Dreamworld," said Link, "But I'm telling you, it won't work for you."

"Why not?"

"The person who gave it to me just said so, ok?" said Link, "I don't know any more about it than that."

"Who gave you this stone?"

"I…" Link thought of Impa, and his promise to not tell the pirates about the stone. He'd already failed to make good on that, but for some reason he felt that he shouldn't use the old woman's name. "I don't know," said Link, feeling stupid about it.

"You lying little brat," said Scarlett, smiling, "I knew you were hiding something. With this stone I won't need you anymore. We can just drop you off at the next tall hill and forget about you. You're a little thief, you probably stole it. Didn't you? Probably didn't even know what it was."

"I didn't steal it!" shouted Link, "I only ever stole food and clothes and…"

He thought about his little collection of wind-up toys, and the guilt left him in miserable silence. Scarlett held the orb up in front of her and laughed. "Well, boy, I have to thank you. Ye've saved me yet again! Sadly, I won't be returning the favor. There's urgent business to deal with now. Slumber!"

Scarlett waited a moment, staring into the orb. Nothing happened.

"Slumber," said Scarlett again, a pleading tone in her voice now.

"SLUMBER!" screamed the pirate. The world remained, unchanged. Link stared up at her blankly. He softly shook his head.

"Hya!" screamed Scarlett, throwing the Sleepstone at the ground. It landed with a hard thud, and Link winced as he thought it would shatter, but the sparkling gem proved more durable than it appeared.

Scarlett grabbed him by the collar, lifted him up in one fluid motion, and slammed his back into the wall. It hurt badly. The pirate pulled her dagger from her belt and pressed it to Link's throat, her maddening red eye only inches from his face. Tears slid down the boy's cheek, but he remained silent.

"Why isn't it working? What didn't you tell me?" screamed Scarlett, "I swear I'll leave yer guts all over the floor if ye lie to me again!"

Link said nothing. His icy blue eyes met Scarlett's one eye and he stared at her and didn't break his gaze. The pirate gritted her teeth and pressed the knife in hard enough to cause a little trickle of blood to run down Link's neck. Just a bit more pressure and she would end the boy forever.

Scarlett's grip relaxed. She let boy and dagger fall to the floor with a thud and a clatter. Then she turned away and buried her head in her hands, resting on the Stalfos' steering wheel, and sobbing loudly. "Why does nothing work?" wailed the pirate, and to Link she sounded less like Scarlett and more like a frightened child.

"Scarlett, I…"

"Just go!" screamed the captain, "Just take yer filthy rock and leave me be, ye little bastard!"

Link stared in wonder for a moment longer at the pirate who had seemed so mighty and terrible mere days ago, watching as her sobs grew uncontrollable and full of the sound of gross sniffles. He forced himself to scoop up the Sleepstone and left the room at a dash. He didn't tell a soul what he had seen in the wheelhouse, and when Zelda enquired to the cut on his neck he told her the stupid lie that he had been practicing shaving.

Now Scarlett was herself again, or at least the person he had been used to Scarlett being. He had to wonder if it hadn't been closer to the real Scarlett that morning in the wheelhouse though. What could be so important to the pirate that it would drive her to tears? Clearly it had something to do with the Dreamworld, but Link dared not ask for fear of sending the pirate into another violent rage.

What was Scarlett? Was she really a pirate? Link felt as though he had known the sound of her sobs. Alone in the forest, he sometimes sobbed like that and thought about the mother and father he had never known and what his life may have been like if things were different. Could Scarlett be afraid and alone too? There was no way of knowing.

Zig scooped Link up by the back of his tunic, setting him down astride the horse and bringing the beast to a tromping gallop. They had acquired the horses from a caravan of traders out on the foreign plains to the East of the mountains. The traders had been garbed in strange robes, and had high foreheads and great hoops pierced through their ears. Link had never seen their kind before, and watched with interest as Gwendolin had bargained with them in an unfamiliar tongue. In the end they paid fifteen rupees per horse, which wasn't an altogether bad deal.

Zig's clockwork arm had been repaired and was looking sturdier than ever. The pirate had spent the previous evening showing off the extra flares of ingenuity he had added to the latest version of his prosthetic.

"I added a hookshot directly into the forearm," Zig had said, "It makes it a bit bulkier, but in the end I think it was worth the extra weight. Not like I couldn't use the exercise. Also, I was thinking about how difficult things have been without being able to communicate directly with the Stalfos while we're away. Thankfully, young Zelda has helped me with a solution."

"You can't really see it, but I believe Zig has placed the gemstone in the wrist. Is that correct?" The pirate nodded slyly at Zelda. The Princess smiled, "I have charged the stone with a stored spell. Usually this spell is a means of teleportation to a designated location set up by the caster manually. It's normally only good for one use, but since I've modified the effect of the spell to allow for only the transfer of sound rather than a physical body it should hold its charge significantly longer. Essentially it will allow Zig to communicate with the wheelhouse from anywhere within a range of about ten miles as long as there is not any kind of magical interference."

"So it's like a cup on a string?" said Gwen.

"Um," said Zelda, "Essentially, I suppose, yes… although I feel that somewhat detracts from the considerable amount of engineering that went into the device on mine and Mr. Zig's part."

The group of them had been getting along well, except for Scarlett who mostly kept to herself. Link found himself thinking of Kef and Gwen more like older siblings than kidnappers or murderous pirates. Zig had taken on a sort of fatherly quality for Zelda and him. He was clearly the oldest of the pirates, far older than Scarlett who couldn't have been more than thirty.

Once Zelda had brought this up in a casual manner, asking why it was Scarlett and not the elder Zig who lead the Shiekah. The answer was concise: only women could lead the Shiekah. A male, regardless of age or experience, was simply not cut out for the title of matriarch.

Then there was Zelda… Link didn't know exactly how to describe his feelings for Zelda. She was the warmest, most comforting person he'd ever met in his life. He found himself sometimes tripping up over his own words when talking to her, and wasn't sure why his heart rate seemed to increase whenever the girl was near to him. She'd more than once caught him staring at her dumbly, his jaw slackened and his eyes bright, which had inevitable caused him to turn away blushing. The Princess, however, would only smile at the boy and sometimes coyly offer him a wink. There was not a person in the world who had ever meant more to Link than Zelda did.

Even wrapped up in the form fitting Shiekah garb, her face covered by scarf and turban, and her wonderful golden curls entrapped in the white wrapping of a length of cloth, he could not help but steal affectionate glances at the girl as he watched her riding ahead of him, her arms wrapped around Gwen's waist to keep herself on the horse.

Zig saw Link staring, and rather than saying anything to the boy the pirate gave himself a wry smile as he snapped the reigns and made his steed come trotting up alongside Gwendolin and Zelda.

"Hey, Link!" said Zelda, glancing over at the boy. Her scarf was pulled down so that he could see her face, and she beamed at him with eyes of vibrant blue.

"Hey, Zelda," said Link, pulling the Keaton mask away from his face, "How are you liking the mountains?"

"They're beautiful," replied the girl, "I've never seen this part of Hyrule before. I've spent most of my life in the castle. It's hard to believe that this kind of wilderness still exists in the world, after having spent so much time in stone towers and landscaped courtyards. It's refreshing. How about you? Don't you think it's pretty?"

"Of course I think you're pretty," said Link, and then he immediately began to stutter, "I mean, I meant the mountains, the mountains are pretty, not you. I mean, you are pretty! Just that's not what I meant to say…"

Zelda was laughing. Link felt like he was going to vomit.

"Well, thank you, Link," said Zelda, warmly, "I'll take it as a compliment that you could confuse me with a place so wonderful."

"Uh…" Link felt his cheeks burning, "Yeah."

He and Zelda shared a moment of silent and comfortable eye contact.

"Okay, kids," boomed Scarlett from the front of the pack, "Costumes on. Kakariko village is just over the next ridge."

Zelda pulled the scarf up over her face so that only her blue eyes were visible. Link replaced the Keaton mask over his face, glad for a place to hide his blushing cheeks.

Over the ridge a sight of strange wonder awaited them. Kakariko was absolutely nothing like the crowded pollution of castle town. It was a whole different animal.

People were everywhere, moving this way and that, working and toiling away in the glorious mountain sun. There were carts drawn by horses or oxen, and a powerful steam locomotive blasted its whistle to the sky nearby. Here was a city which still lived and breathed, unlike cramped castle town and its claustrophobic alleyways. A single long road was its dominating feature, at the center heavily populated by buildings of myriad color and design. At the extremities of the central highway, there were the skeletons of buildings still being erected, in a constant, living procession of rising door frames, and pouring cement foundations. Many smaller roads diverged off the main, ending sometimes in alleyways or in some cases looping back around to join the main road once more at a different point. At the extremities of some of these side roads existed tiny miniature ghettos of pitched tents and unhitched carriages where transient laborers made their modest camps whilst doing whatever jobs there were to be done. There were no guards patrolling in the streets, and there were no walls of stone or stacks of belching smoke. The only smoke at all seemed to be coming in one consistent column of charcoal black from somewhere over the farthest ridge and up the slope of the tall mountain which Kakariko was nestled at the foot of, as if a fire was raging somewhere farther off.

"Okay, little bugs," said Gwendolin, "Keep to your selves, and don't say anything to anyone. We're gonna stop in at the tavern and water the horses and find out what the state of things has been at the Goron mines since Nyarlath has seized control of Hyrule Castle. If all goes well, then we should be headed to the quarry within a couple of hours."

Closer to the town, Link could hear the clamor of voices, and smell the pleasant smell of cooking meat mixing with the earthy smell of freshly turned soil and the curious and sour aromas of animal excrement and burning sulfur. Winds whipped clouds of dust and pollen through the air, and somewhere a bell was clanging at the departure of a train.

They took the main road all the way to the center of town, and no one paid them any heed. The pirates had dressed themselves in plain Shiekah jumpsuits, devoid of any symbol, their hands and boots wrapped in white cloth, and their hats and bandanas left behind on the Stalfos. Even Scarlett had traded her crimson Shiekah eye patch for a plain black one.

Scarlett led them to a two-story building with a big balcony on the upper level. The sign out front simply read 'tavern', which was a far cry from the hoity-toity names similar establishments in Castle Town assigned to themselves like 'Save the King' or 'the Deku Barrel'.

They hitched the horses up, and Scarlett and Zig went inside the tavern to see what they could find out. Gwendolin remained outside with Link and Zelda, where they all lounged over the railing of the tavern's porch, watching the horses lap dirty trough water into their drooling mouths.

"What do you suppose the Goron mines are like?" said Zelda.

"I don't know," replied Link, "I guess they must be pretty dirty. And loud. And they probably have lots of lava and fire too."

"My father was always really proud of the mines," said Zelda, "He said they were the cornerstone of Hyrule's economic future. He and Gorbu, the Goron patriarch, are sworn brothers. I always wanted him to show me the mines, but he said they were too dangerous for kids."

"And he was right," said Gwendolin, "The mines can be quite treacherous. I've only been to them once, a long time ago with my mother. I tripped over a bombflower and nearly blew the entire tunnel up! Luckily, Gorons are tough as nails, and the one my mother was bartering with just curled up on top of the flower and sort of hugged the explosion out. It didn't even scratch him."

"Wow," said Link, trying to picture a Goron hugging an explosion.

"Yes, Gorons are nearly completely immune to fire as I understand it," said Zelda, "They can even work inside the craters of active volcanoes where its much too hot for Hylians to go."

"Unless you have a Goron tunic," replied Gwendolin, "With those magical garments even regular folk like us can survive at incredible temperatures. Just one of the many unique items manufactured by Goron hands. That's part of why the Gorons are so rich these days. A lot of money to be made in mining."

"I'd love to learn to be a miner!" said Link, "Why, I'd have my own Goron tunic, and I'd get the special tools to pick the bombflowers!"

The boy climbed up on the railing of the porch, standing in a heroic pose and trying to flex his scrawny arms. It might have been convincing, if not for the Keaton mask.

"And I'd be big and strong, and I'd dig until I found the biggest diamond in the tunnels. Then I'd bring it to you, Zelda," said Link.

"Link, don't be so silly. You look like a fool up there," said Zelda, with a giggle.

"I don't care!" said the boy, "I'm serious, I'd love to live a life like that. Working hard and making swords and armor and digging in tunnels all day. Beats stealing bread from the market, that's for sure."

"Okay, Mr. Junior Goron," said Gwendolin, "Get down from there, you're liable to fall and hurt yourself."

"I'm not gonna fall, I'm…" he promptly fell.

"Ouch!" cried the boy. He had landed on his butt in the dirt on the other side of the railing, but something soft and oddly textured had broken his fall. He looked around, trying his best to see the details of the object he was sitting on through the slits in the Keaton mask. It felt like some kind of plant.

"Hrrrm!" someone behind Link was clearing their throat in indignation, "I'd quite like to know what it is you're doing sitting on my house!"

"Huh?"

Link looked up to see a tall figure standing behind him on stilt-like legs of pliant wood. Its body was a pear shape, and it had long, skinny arms. Its eyes were staring orbs of glowing red, like the dying embers of a forest fire. Its head was a capped off cone, crowned with a natural hat of wide, frond-like leaves. Link knew this sort of creature well: it was a Business Scrub, a kind of Deku Scrub which Link had avoided like a foul smell during his time as a thief in the woods, in no small part due to their severe and unpleasant nature.

"Your house?" said Link, and then he realized that the plant-creature meant the shrub he had just squashed with his butt, "Oh. Sorry!"

"How rude," said the Business Scrub, ushering Link aside, "What are you supposed to be, anyway? A bunny rabbit?"

"Oh, no, I'm a Keaton," said Link, "It's like a fox I guess."

"Link, come on," said Zelda, "You know we aren't supposed to be talking to any strangers."

"Oh, right," said Link, "Sorry! I have to go!"

"Not so fast!" said the Business Scrub, seizing Link by the arm. The tree-creature was surprisingly powerful. "I believe some sort of compensation is in order."

"What?"

"I want some rupees for the damages you've caused to my home," said the scrub, "I think ten should suffice."

"But I don't have any money," said Link.

"Sir," said Gwendolin, "Forgive me, but the child is with me. If you'd just wait a moment for my associate to return we can pay you whatever you like, okay?"

"You ought to be keeping a better eye on the little ruffian," said the Business Scrub. He looked down at Link, his blank looking, fiery gaze appraising the boy with an air of disgust. Suddenly, the fronds on the scrubs head perked up as if to convey alarm. "What's this?"

The Business Scrub pulled Link's hand up to his face, just about ripping the boy's arm out of its socket. Link felt his heart sink. There, on the back of his hand, was the little triangle shaped scar he had been branded with three long years ago.

"Thief!" cried the Business Scrub, "This one is a thief! Someone, help! There are thieves here!"

"Unhand him!" shouted Zelda, climbing under the railing. She ran to the Business Scrub and clutched at his arm, but the tree-creature swatted the girl away with one powerful hand. Zelda fell to the ground, and her turban and scarf came loose.

"I know you!" cried the scrub, "You're Princess Zelda! You're wanted for high treason! Someone, help! I'm being accosted by a thief and the traitor Princess Zelda!"

"That's enough out of you!" cried Gwen, leaping over the rail and pummeling the scrub on the nose. It staggered back a couple of feet, pulling Link to the ground. The Keaton mask went tumbling into the dirt.

A small crowd of onlookers had stopped to see what the commotion was. Gwen was helping Zelda to her feet, and the Princess was trying desperately to cover her face once more with the scarf, but the damage had already been done. People were murmuring suspiciously, and one voice cried out, "Look there, it's her! Princess Zelda!"

"We've got to move, now," said Gwen, urgently. Link scrambled to pick up the Keaton mask.

"What's going on out here?"

Scarlett was emerging from the doorway to the tavern, Zig close on her heels. The pirates quickly realized what was happening, and Zig came bounding over the railing to unhitch the horses.

"For the love of the Goddess, what have you let these two idiots get us into!" shouted Scarlett. Gwen gave no reply; she only picked up Zelda by the waist and dashed over to her horse to mount up. Already a great commotion was going on in the street, and it had become apparent that in moments the entire town would know that Zelda was among them.

Scarlett mounted her horse, and came galloping by, leaning low to sweep Link up into the saddle. The Business Scrub was screaming, "Stop! Thieves! Traitor!" but to no avail. The trio of horses was already galloping away at breakneck speed as people in the crowd leapt aside to make room for the charging stallions.

"What the hell happened back there?" demanded Scarlett.

"I don't know!" exclaimed Link, "It all went by so fast. He saw the mark on the back of my hand, and everything just went crazy."

"Damned foolish boy!" shouted Scarlett, "You may well have killed us all."

The horses thundered up the street in the direction of the mountain slope. People were yelling and screaming at them as they went, and Link could feel a sick feeling rising in the pit of his chest. They were a good distance from the edge of the town, and it would be a mad dash the rest of the way. Gwendolin's horse came galloping up along side them, and the first mate shouted to her captain.

"Captain, they're rousing some kind of guard. I saw them mounting horses, but I do not think that they were Hylian soldiers," said the pirate.

"Then what the hell are they?" shouted Scarlett.

"Look, behind us!" said Zig.

Link glanced over his shoulder as best he could without compromising his grip on Scarlett's back. They were being pursued by several figures on horses, but they were not Hylian. The creatures were tall, with the normal bipedal shape of a man, save for their whippy tails and reptilian heads. They were wearing armor, and evil-looking curved swords of obsidian black hung at their waists.

"Lizalfos," said Scarlett, "Vicious, and fast, but dumb as cuccoos. Maybe we can throw them off. Follow my lead!"

Scarlett jerked the reigns and the horse slanted its gallop as far to the right as it could at the speed it was going. They were suddenly galloping down one of the narrow side roads which led off from the Kakariko highway. Beggars and barflies alike threw themselves up against the wooden and stone walls to avoid being trampled. Gwendolin and Zelda were right behind them, with Zig close on their heels, and some distance behind him the Lizalfos were maintaining their pursuit.

They rounded another corner, bursting forth into a suburban avenue. The horse had to jump to try and miss a cuccoo coop, but its hooves grazed the thing. Thankfully, the dilapidated little structure was not sturdy, and the horse glided through it as if it weren't even there. The brittle and sun-dried wood exploded, and feathers came bursting into the air as cuccoos scattered in every direction.

Gwen and Zig's horses cleared the debris without any problem, but one of the Lizalfos was not so lucky. As he rounded the corner, his horse tried to jump over the scattered debris too soon and ended up landing out of step, snapping its ankle with a brutal crack. The animal tumbled over itself, and horse and rider went right through the window of a nearby residence.

There was a whistling sound as something flew by Link's head at high speed. He glanced back again, and saw that the Lizalfos were shooting at them with bows as they gave chase!

"Scarlett," said Link, "They are shooting at us!"

"I'm on it!" Scarlett yanked the reigns again, and the horse took another offshoot into a small back alley. Zig and Gwendolin's horses continued on the same path they had been taking and the pursuing Lizalfos elected to follow the horse that carried Princess Zelda.

In the back alley, completely unaware of the oncoming stampede, a street merchant was trying to scam some children out of a few rupees. He had a table set up, and some deku seeds and a slingshot, and he had painted swirled red targets on some bits of deku bark for kids to shoot at for a prize. The only trick was, no matter how many times you hit the bull's-eye the bit in the middle would never fall out. It appeared to be cutout from the front, but in actuality it had been glued back in on the back. A clever ruse to part some foolish children with some cash they didn't really need.

"Go on, why don't you try it again?" coaxed the merchant.

"Uh, no thanks mister," said the child, his eyes focused on something over the man's shoulder, "I gotta go."

"Hey where are you… ?"

The sentence was left unfinished, the final words traded for a startled scream as the charging horse knocked the man aside onto the cobbles. Scarlett leaned down low as the horse charged past, snatching one of the bits of deku bark.

"Thanks!" cried the pirate. The street merchant was left in the dirt, shaking his fist.

"Here," said Scarlett, "Use this."

"A piece of wood?" said Link, "What for?"

"You'll see!" said Scarlett.

She tugged on the reigns and led the horse around another corner. Up ahead, the road rejoined the path of Zig and Gwen, and they emerged just in time to take their place behind the other two. Link looked back at the Lizalfos, who were now only feet behind him and Scarlett. The nearest of the lizard-men drew his bow and let fly a heavy-shafted arrow.

"Ahh!" screamed Link. Chunk! –went the arrow into the bit of deku bark. "Ohhh," said the boy, understanding dawning.

The edge of the city was growing nearer. The group of horses barreled through every obstacle, leaping over low fences, shrubs and passing cuccoos, and miraculously avoiding trampling any pedestrian. Soon, the end of the highway was in sight, and they were approaching a narrow road which went winding its way up the side of the tall mountain. Saw horses had been set across the road, acting as an implied barrier to any people seeking to head up the mountain. A single, portly looking man with a bushy mustache and pointed ears sticking out from the tufts of brown hair on his head was standing guard. He stood up as he saw the oncoming charge, throwing his hands up in a halting gesture.

"Stop, you can't go this way! The Mines are off limits right now!"

The pirates ignored the man entirely, urging their horses forward with a snap of the reigns. The stallions leapt over the barrier magnificently, the portly guard flinging himself down to the dirt to avoid being run over. The Lizalfos were quick to follow, the hooves of their horses thundering the ground all around the crouching man, and kicking up a whirl of stirring dust.

Up the mountain path they went, leaping rocks and bounding around corners, arrows flying dangerously from the bows of their pursuers. Link's shield of deku bark looked like a pin cushion now, bristling with the feather-tails of seven of the Lizalfos' heavy arrows. The boy's arms were growing tired from the awkward way he had to hold the thing, but he was able to cling to the saddle just enough to ensure he stayed atop the galloping steed.

"This wasn't the plan," said Scarlett, "There was some kind of accident in the mines last night, and the whole operation is in emergency shutdown. The whole thing reeks of Nyarlath's treachery. I had wanted to investigate further before we flung ourselves headlong into things, but you two drooling toddlers have ruined that chance, so it's all uphill from here."

"How are we going to get away from them?"

"I'm working on it," shouted the pirate, "Just keep those arrows off my back."

Around the next corner, the mountain road curled into a small valley between two steep slopes. On their right, the rocky wall of the mountain rose to incredible heights over their heads, and to their left the sheer face of the cliff dropped down to depths sickening and vertigo-inducing.

"Twelve o'clock!" cried Zig.

Up ahead of them, set on an outcropping a few feet further up the cliff, a group of Lizalfos was waiting, gibbering at each other in draconic hisses and squeaks. They were loading up some round objects into a trebuchet, and turning the wooden platform the thing was set on to take aim at the group of galloping horses.

Chink –whoosh! BOOM!

The bombs went flying, peppering the rock wall to the right of them and bursting into tremendous and fiery explosions. Boulders and dirt came sliding down the hill with an earsplitting rumble. The ground beneath the horse's hooves cracked and shifted. Luckily, their horses were of a powerful and hard-nerved stock, bounding gracefully through the tumult of falling debris like trained acrobats. The stallions whinnied, leapt and dodged, tromped on iron-shod hooves, and came stampeding through the smoke and wreckage at top speed.

Some of the Lizalfos were caught up in the landslide, the rocks sweeping the horses legs out from under them and sending them tumbling to their deaths off the high ledge of the cliff. Their pursuers were down to four now, but the trebuchet on the far ridge was already winding up to release another volley.

"Hang on, kid, I've got a plan that oughta cool them off a bit," said Scarlett, and she pulled the reigns of the horse hard, making it leap up the rough incline which lead towards the outcropping the trebuchet was perched upon.

Chink –whoosh! BOOM!

Another volley fired. The road around them exploded, and Gwendolin and Zelda's horse stumbled a bit but kept its footing. More rocks came sliding down, and part of the path they were on tumbled away, but the Lizalfos were once again only successful in taking out one of their own riders. The trebuchet team began winding up their turret once more, but now Scarlett and Link were only yards away. The stallion came thundering up to the trebuchet just as it was about to fire. The eyes of the Lizalfos burned with red fury, and Link could see their awful forked tongues hissing from their gaping, reptilian mouths. One of the creatures swung low and hamstringed Scarlett's horse, sending Link and Scarlett tumbling down towards the road. Link put the piece of deku bark out like a sled, the bristle of arrows snapping as he rode the sturdy piece of wood down the rock wall towards the main road below.

Scarlett was in mid fall when she pulled her pistol, and before her back hit the hard stone wall of the mountain she leveled the barrel and fired one expert shot into the trebuchet's cache of bombs.

BABOOM!

The entire wall of the mountain exploded into a twenty foot fireball. Rocks and debris flew everywhere. The road below the trebuchet slid away, and the remaining Lizalfos were swept cleanly off the side of the mountain just as the remaining two horses galloped out of harm's way. Link came to a sliding stop near the edge of the cliff, just barely still on the road.

Only Scarlett hadn't made it a safe distance from the blast. She was essentially unharmed, but plummeting fast off the side of the cliff. The pirate watched in stark terror as the sharp rocks below came rushing at her.

Kachink!

Something seized the pirate by the belt, and she felt whiplashed as she suddenly reversed direction. She could hear the sound of the chain reeling back into its socket, and Zig caught Scarlett as best he could when the hookshot had fully contracted. The force was still enough to knock him and Scarlett off his horse, and they landed roughly in the dirt.

Gwen came galloping around, and reared her horse up to a stop nearby the rest of the group. No one was chasing them up the mountain road now, passage from Kakariko was impossible with the cliff blown out the way it was. Zelda and Gwen dismounted and went running to check on Link, Scarlett and Zig.

"Captain, are you okay?" said Gwen.

"Been better," replied Scarlett, trying to push herself up. She clutched one elbow painfully, rubbing a spot where her jumpsuit had been shredded to bloody tatters as she slid down the mountain. Zig sat up, bruised but still breathing.

"Link, oh my Goddess, are you okay?" said Zelda, rushing to the boy's side.

"Yeah," said Link, lifting himself up. His knees were both scraped badly, blood and dirt caking his shins, and his clothes and mask were covered in dirt and black soot from the explosion. The shield of deku bark was singed and cracked, but still in mostly one piece. Somehow, the Keaton mask had stayed on through the whole ordeal.

"Zelda, I'm so sorry!" said Link, "It was so stupid and careless of me to act like that back there. This is all my fault."

"Just shut up, don't talk like that," said Zelda, "There was no way you could have known what would happen. What matters is that we're all still alive."

The last bits of rock and dust were sliding their way down the Cliffside as the rockslide the explosion had caused was beginning to settle. Looking back toward Kakariko, they could see that the mountain passage was completely impassible. They wouldn't be going back that way, but neither would they be followed by anyone on foot or horseback.

"That was way too close for my tastes," said Scarlett, sitting up in the dirt. She was wincing in pain at the wounds on her arms and legs, and drew a flask from her belt which she took a big swig from before pouring liberally over the afflicted areas. She hissed at the sting of the alcohol as it soaked into her wounds.

"They won't be coming after us any time soon," said Gwen.

"Not that way," said Zelda, approaching the pirates, "But now Nyarlath will be sure to know we are here. He won't be far behind."

A sound caught Link's ears, and he looked up the side of the cliff to see a round object tumbling down from rock to rock from the place where the trebuchet had been moments ago. He squinted to try and make out the details of the thing, but he didn't realize what it was until it came to rest near Zelda's feet. The princess had her back to the bomb, and the fuse was smoking down to its very last bit.

"Zelda!" screamed Link, charging forward. He put the little wedge of deku bark between him and the explosive, hugging it tightly to protect the princess from the impending blast.

BOOM!

The sound was deafening and the explosion powerful. The deku shield disintegrated into a million tiny pieces, sending shards of wood and shrapnel deep into Link's chest. The boy lost consciousness as the force of the explosion sent him flying up into the air and sailing over the ledge and down towards the jagged rocks below.

"Link!" the Princess had been knocked to the ground by the force of the blast, but she was on her feet immediately. She ran to the ledge and peered over for any sign of him, but all that remained of the boy was the Keaton mask, its face blackened by dust and soot, and its ear chipped and cracked.

"Link! Link!" screamed Zelda. Zig was suddenly at her side, pulling her away from the ledge by her shoulder.

"Zelda," said Zig.

"Link! No!" screamed Zelda, her eyes welling up with tears, "No! Link! We have to get him! He's hurt! Link!"

"Zelda!" said Zig.

"Let me go! Let me go, I have to help him!"

"Zelda, he's gone," said Zig, gravely.

The princess began to sob pitifully, pressing her head to Zig's chest and shaking it back and forth in a feverish daze. The pirates remained there for a while in stunned silence, listening to the princess' pained cries and gazing down into the jagged mess of rocks below in disbelief.