Chapter Two

Hot, humid air rushed past Link's face as Epona thundered across the grassy plains of Hyrule field, her hooves kicking dust on the well worn dirt path heading eastward toward Kakariko Village.

Link eyed the sky with unease. The sun had just risen above the treetops and was a glowing pink ball in the sky. The clouds lay across the sky like a red rumpled blanket, the early morning sun staining them crimson. A saying from his youth floated through his head.

Red sky at morning, Din bades you take warning.

Already, he could feel the heaviness in the air that signaled a storm to come. Link grimaced and urged Epona faster. He hated being in the rain Before the Twilight had come, he had always felt that rain was a blessing, but then, he had a house to hide out in until it passed. Becoming the twilight beast of legend had changed all that. Places to hide from the rain were few and far in between and the smell of wet dog always seemed to follow him even in human form.

The grass that flew by on either sides of Epona was slowly giving way to red patches of desert and dry scrub bushes over the last hour; it wouldn't be long until he entered the desert mountain pass that would wind him towards Kakariko Gorge. If all went well he would be in Kakariko Village this afternoon.

The sky continued to darken, thunder rumbling warnings occasionally. The first drop of water pelted into Link's face was followed quickly by its brothers and sisters. In seconds he was soaked. Link hunkered down low over his saddle and slowed Epona to a trot. There was no point in out running the weather now. Besides that, if Link sprained Epona's ankle he would have Ilia tearing into him. That was almost worse than the rain. Lightning snaked across the sky making shadows jump into being. Out of habit he glanced at his own looking for traces of Midna, only to be reminded again that she was gone. Link clenched his teeth against the memories that pelted against him with every drop of rain. It had been another storm like this. Link turned his gaze determinedly forward and hunched his shoulders in grudging acceptance of the wet menace and the memories it brought with it.

Almost a year ago when a drenched Link and the dying Midna had arrived to ask Princess Zelda for help, they had found her room abandoned save for the glowing light of her spirit shifting in the room. Sensing her spirit in his wolf form Link and Midna had been able to listen to Zelda's explanation of what had happened. With Zant growing more powerful, Zelda had hidden her body away in the castle and warded it magically so as to expend as much power as possible to keep Castle Town and the Triforce of Wisdom from falling into the hands of evil. After Zelda instructed Link to find the Master Sword, Midna had asked a question that sealed not just her fate but the fate of Castle Town.

"Can you tell him where to find the Mirror of Twilight?"

This one sentence had set into motion a decision that Link often wondered the wisdom of. With that one question Midna revealed just who she was to the Princess. And Zelda had risked the whole of Hyrule in an insane bet where she had transferred her spirit into Midna and healed her. Midna had understood before Link the implications and risks of the decision the Princess had made and screamed for him to stop the her. But before anyone could do anything Zelda's spirit had vanished into Midna and with it her power protecting Castle Town.

Almost immediately, a thick twilight descended over structure of Hyrule Castle and the town below it. Hordes of monsters, the likes of which had never been seen before, and shadow beasts had poured out of the castle to set ruin to the town within it. Most of the royal guards had run away at the first sign of monsters, leaving the few loyal soldiers and the residents of Castle Town to defend themselves against an attack no one had expected. It was a massacre. Link, unable to fight the monsters well in his forced wolf state had focused on trying get people to safety. A plan that had quickly devolved into scaring people into safety, as they had seen him and Midna as monsters also.

Men, women, children, animals, it didn't matter, none were spared. The monsters attacked anyone in their way, leaving the wounded for the shadow beasts to turn into more shadow beasts. Those who had escaped thanks to the efforts of Link and the Resistance, had run to the river outside the castle with what few belongings they had managed to grab. There they stood in the flow of the water, their belongings held over of their heads and watched as everything they had known was destroyed. The casualties were immense.

Another lightning strike struck somewhere close enough to jerk Link from his thoughts. The strike had illuminated jagged cliffs of bare red earth that towered ahead. Through the haze of rain, the unmistakable outcroppings of reddish boulders of Kakariko Gorge came into view. "Probably only an hour away from the village now." Link muttered to Epona. Her ears flicked back at his voice in what seemed like acknowledgement. They were almost to the bridge when Epona stopped in her tracks and tossed her head. Up ahead, barely visible through the rain, a figure crouched under one of the great overhangs of the massive red boulders.

Could it be a bokoblin? Easy enough to deal with if I need too. Link gripped the hilt of the master sword and spurred Epona onwards. As they grew closer it became easier to make out that the figure crouched under the overhang was not a bokoblin, but that of a lanky man rifling through the contents of a large bag and removing some of the items out onto a ragged blanket. The man, so immersed in his task, didn't notice Link and Epona until they were practically under the overhang.

Upon noticing them the man let out a startled yelp and positioned himself in a way to cover up what he had been doing.

"Sorry to startle you, I was hoping to share your space for a little while." Link said jumping down from Epona, his boots squishing wetly in the red earth.

"Oh! Um, of course!" The man replied smiling nervously and shifted his eyes quickly to the blanket behind him. "You trying to escape the rain too?" He flapped his hands as if uncertain of what to do with them.

Link, in the midst of wringing out his hat looked up as if to say, 'How did you guess?'

The man continued on abashed, "Well I mean, of course you are, who wouldn't be?"

Link, walking further under the overhang noticed the man kept moving his body to always be in between himself and what he had been placing on the blanket a couple of moments before. Bombs. Catching Link looking behind him, the man smiled hastily. "Oh this? I'm not doing anything suspicious… Really. I had to lay these out or otherwise they'd be ruined. Can't let the fuses get wet. I really must get myself a bomb bag." He laughed sheepishly while scratching at his bald head. "I'm a merchant of sorts you see. I was afraid you were a thief. There have been rumors going around that one is on the loose."

The man flashed another wide smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'm Sakon by the way."

It seemed plausible enough, but the strange man's explanation still did not make Link trust him immediately either. He considered Sakon's out of place smile before extending his arm out for a handshake. "Link."

Sakon's smile stumbled at the introduction, and his eyes darted up to Link's face analyzing it with new interest. "Link? As in Link of Ordonia? The Link who defeated the Twilight?"

Link scratched the back of his head in a silent expression of awkward agreement. Sakon had a way of stating the obvious so badly that it was amusing.

"This is an honor," Sakon said hesitantly. "Imagine my luck, meeting you out of the blue like this! You must draw a crowd wherever you go." Sakon, hesitation forgotten, practically bounced on his toes. "When they said you wore all green they weren't kidding were they?" He craned his head to the side to get a better look of the hat in Link's hand. "And what's with that hat?" He muttered under his breath. "Well, you aren't at the height of style, but give it a year and I'm sure hats like that will be in." Sakon shot a quick self-satisfied grin up at Link."You'll have to forgive me, my mercantile senses are clamoring at me."

Link wasn't sure if this was how Sakon normally conversed of if the other man simply spoke things as they came to his mind. He didn't want to be rude and interrupt Sakon, but he had a feeling the other man might not even notice. Fortunately, for Link that was the case; and as Sakon paused for a breath to continue his sentence Link managed to jump into conversation. "Uh, sorry to interrupt but I've missed breakfast, and need to eat something."

Sakon apologized profusely for talking so much and watched with barely disguised interest as Link went to Epona to pull out a block of cheese and stale loaf of bread from a saddle bag.

"Could that be Ordonian Goat cheese I see?" Link, his mouth full of the cheese in question, nodded. "Would you like some?" he spoke around the food in his mouth.

"Just a pinch or two." Sakon said, his eyes gleaming with prospect. He reached out for the piece that Link handed him and popped it into his mouth. His eyes closed happily in bliss at the taste. "Do you have any more? I could sell this for a good sum." Link shook his head and offered Sakon another piece of cheese this one a bit larger than the last. The other man readily took it and spent a bit more time chewing this one.

Link was glad for the silence that followed however short it was. Already, he could see the other man's eyes fixing on the next object of interest.

"Is that- could that really be?" he pointed to the sword sheathed on Link's back.

"The Master Sword," Sakon breathed in awe. "Evil's Bane. That sword hasn't been seen in hundreds of years." He seemed shaken, and his smile wilted at the edges a little.

"Then it really is true. You really are the chosen hero. At first, I admit, I doubted. A farm boy from Ordonia?" He scoffed. "Nothing good comes out of Ordonia except for pumpkins and goat cheese." He held up the remaining chunk of cheese in his hand and popped it into his mouth. "No offence, no offence!" Sakon raised his hands in submission at Link's raised eyebrow. "Honestly though, can you blame me for questioning you? Ordon isn't even really a part of Hyrule proper! You'd think the Chosen Hero would actually be from Hyrule and not some small backwater province. But if you have the master sword, there's no refuting it." Sakon's eyes narrowed as he processed his next thought and he gave an unfriendly smile. "Unless you stole it from the real hero?"

"Do you honestly think that the master sword could be stolen from the Goddess's Chosen Hero?" Link's voice was relaxed and soft as he asked his question, but underneath it held the strength of steel and his eyes flashed in challenge.

"Sorry, Sorry," Sakon was quick to resume his strangely happy demeanor and held his hands up in friendly surrender. "One can't be too careful these days, you never know who is lying." He leaned forward and lowered his voice even though there was no one to overhear except for Epona. "Especially with the unrest about the Princess."

Link's eyebrows rose at Sakon's last statement and wanted to ask what Sakon meant, but the other man went on as if he hadn't said anything strange. "Well anyway, let us toast to your victory against the Twilight, Hero Link!" Sakon clapped his hands in anticipation and rose to go rummage in his sack. Link heard the sound of clinking and Sakon's muttered "Now where is it?" His bald head whipped up and out of the sack in victory."Ah-ha!" In his hand was a bottle containing a light pink liquid. "Special reserve Goron Quartz Wine! A strong drink for a strong man!"

Links eyebrows drew together as he studied the bottle. He had never heard of the Gorons making wine.

Noticing his hesitation Sakon gave the bottle a little shake. "This is a once and a lifetime opportunity my friend! The Goron's don't just give this wine out to anyone you know." He smiled slyly, "I'm going to make a killing selling it in Castle Town."

The sound of the rain slackening off caught Link's attention, and he glanced up at the sky from under the red stone outcropping. The steely gray clouds rumbled off in the distance heading westward towards Hyrule Field. "Thanks, but maybe next time," he stood and dusted the crumbs clinging to his damp clothes. "I'm actually headed to go see the Goron chief myself, so maybe I'll have a chance to taste some then. Besides, I might not be able to stay in the saddle if it's as strong as you say."

"Yes, that would be a shame." Sakon gave Link a disappointed smile and turned to place the bottle back into his big sack. Link had a gut feeling that Sakon was disappointed for another reason entirely.

"They might be a little indisposed when you find them. The smiling man scratched behind his head sheepishly. "There's no party quite like a Goron party as I'm sure you know. They've been shaking the ground for days what with all the rolling down Death Mountain they've been doing."

"I'll keep that in mind." Link said as he pulled himself up onto Epona's saddle. Giving a nod of farewell to the strange smiling merchant he rode off into the drizzle of rain towards Kakariko Village.

…::.::...

A/N : The Legend of Zelda does not belong to me.

This chapter is dedicated to Chameleon Eyes who reminded me to get back on it. ;3

I'm sorry this update has been so long in coming. I've moved 3 times within the past 6 months so things have been very crazy for me.

If this chapter seems rougher than the others that's because it is lol. All my beta readers had life happen so it has not been beta'd.

I apologize if it seemed lacking. However, I knew I could spend forever editing on it, so when it came down to it, I'd rather post something roughly polished than spend forever polishing and never post.

Thank you for reading, and an extra special thank you if you read through my authors note.