I spent most of the rest of the day training. Various craftspeople in the ranch were notified of my supply request. Immediately, a small hand pick was sent to the room I had slept in. A courier rode to the town near the castle to order a hundred feet of good, strong rope. A blacksmith working at the ranch began to fashion the spike.
Meanwhile, there was not a moment of stillness in my day. I cannot begin to say how many laps around the foot of the ranch's hill I ran, nor how many laps atop the wooden palisade. I spent hours practicing my sword-work, and Nabooru, the sword-bearing Sage, drilled alongside me, mostly to show me the techniques her people used in combat, so I could learn how to defend against them. After the sun went down and everyone else had ceased weapons training, I did push-ups, sit-ups, and lunges almost non-stop late into the night.
I may have been already quite fit from biking to classes and hiking a great deal, but even this training routine burned me out. Almost as soon as my back hit the bed, I had dropped off.
…
The next day, the blacksmith finished the spike. It was long – about two feet in length – and made of thick iron, with a strong, sharp point at one end and a large, flattened butt end. When it was shown to me, I nodded approvingly. It would more than serve the purpose I intended for it.
That day was mostly the same as the one before – mostly occupied with physical and combat training. In addition to swordsmanship, I practiced handling a spear, unarmed combat, and archery. It was the unarmed fighting that I took to most quickly, and I advanced rapidly to the point where I was winning wrestling or boxing matches against some of Hyrule's finest knights.
My sword training was also progressing well. I had mastered the basics – or at least, I was proficient enough to hold my own in a sparring match – and was beginning to learn some finer techniques. Under the combined tutelage of Impa, Nabooru, various knights, and the powerful hulk of a Sage – whose name, I learned, was Darunia – I was turning into a competent fighter. Certainly not a warrior of Link's legendary skill, but I at least could defend myself if need be.
The rope was sent later that day, as I was running laps around the ranch. I was met by Malon as I got back into the gate, when she informed me of this. I immediately went to test its strength. After I'd gotten Saria, the young, green-clad Sage, to climb up and tie one end of the rope to the wooden bean over the ranch's main gate, I repeatedly climbed up and down the rope using just my arms. The rope did not break, neither did it strain. It would definitely stand up to the task I was planning for it.
At the end of the day, I had determined when the rescue mission would begin. We would set out the day after the next. I would spend most of that day preparing mentally, rather than physically, for the mission. Part of it was to give my muscles some rest and ensure I would be in peak condition. The other part of it was so I could share my plan with the other Sages.
I bedded down for the night, optimistic for the first time since my arrival in Hyrule.
…
The next afternoon, I stood at a large wooden table with Zelda and the other Sages. A model of the valley and the enemy fortress had been made in sand, by Nabooru (who knew the area around her home better than anyone in the ranch), upon the table. I was explaining my plan to the gathering.
"What I'm hoping to do here," I explained, "is to get myself and maybe two others up to the top of plateau on the northern side of the valley. We will skirt around the end of the river canyon, and approach the fortress from its eastern side. The top structure is built into the cliffs, near the top of the plateau. Getting to that structure should therefore be easy. I've been informed that the fortress is tiered in twenty-two-foot increments, so some climbing will be necessary. The inside of the fortress is a network of passageways, with holding cells placed randomly throughout. We will try to navigate this network until we find Link's cell. Once there, we will quietly overpower any guards, take their keys, and use them to break Link out of wherever he is held. From there, I hope we will be able to retrace our steps and come back the way we got in."
The others leaned over the model terrain as I spoke. As soon as I'd finished, Nabooru asked, "What about adding a diversion at the gates with some of our soldiers. It will draw their attention."
I shook my head. "I don't even want the enemy to think we're doing anything. Besides, if we send a force out there to engage, they may send someone to where Link is held and finish him off. Or they might pull inside their fortress, meaning we'll be more likely to get caught. Or they'll know it's a diversion, and immediately start looking for us. This operation…" I almost smiled at that word. "…needs to be as stealthy as possible."
There was silence for a few moments. Then Ruto, the amphibian, spoke up. "Who exactly are you planning to take with you?" she asked.
I paused. That was the single thing I had not yet thought about. But I did see a couple people at that table who would be ideal. "I was thinking maybe Impa and Nabooru."
Nabooru was already shaking her head. "I realize you think I might blend in well," she said. "But most of my people will recognize me. Ganon has declared me to be a traitor, so they will be looking for me. I would only make you easier to catch."
"Then I can go," came a younger voice. We all turned to face it. The voice was Zelda's. She bore a hardened look, like a warrior, that I'd never seen before. "Impa has trained me well. I can handle myself if need be. Besides, I've been around that fortress too. I know it well enough to guide you and Impa through it."
From the look in her eyes, I could tell that neither I nor anyone else was going to be able to dissuade her. "It's settled, then," I said. "Tomorrow, we're going to get Link out of there."
They all nodded, and we exited the room we were in. As we were leaving, I lightly tapped Zelda's shoulder. As she turned to me, a questioning look in her eye, I asked, "Is there any way I could get one of those fancy red-eye suits?"
Zelda grinned and nodded.
