Author Note: I've been getting some questions in the reviews about whether or not characters like Skull Kid or the Happy Mask Salesmen will make an appearance in this story. While I can't say exactly who, there will be other characters from Majora's Mask making an appearance in the story. I promise. At any rate, thanks for the reviews and questions. Keep 'em coming. Also, I apologize for the long wait for this update. It took forever for my wrist to get better.

Chapter 4: City Docks

Link had finally made it back to the inn owned by Kent. He ignored all of the stares the pirates were giving him. "They can stare all they want, there's no way they're getting this sword." Link made his way up the stairs and into his room. His eyes went wide as he spotted Meliadoul lying on his bead plundering through his bag of valuables. "Meliadoul! Why are you nosing through my belongings?"

"Just nosin' around, Link." She stood up and approached Link. She held up an exquisite looking magnifying glass and held it up to her eye, causing it to look much bigger. "Say, hotshot, what does this little doohickey do?"

"That's the Lens of Truth," Link said irritably as he made a grab for it. He scowled as she held it behind her back out of his reach. "It allows one to see anything that isn't visible to the naked eye. It also allows you to see through opaque objects, such as chests, boxes, and whatnot."

Mel grinned mischievously. "Allows one to see through objects, eh?" She put the lens back over her eye, and began studying Link up and down.

He blushed deeply and began stuttering from embarrassment.. "W-whoa, k-knock that o-o-o-off!" He quickly snatched the Lens of Truth out of her hand, and shoved it hurriedly back into his travel bag. He saw the mess Meliadoul had made with his items; they were scattered all over his bed, most likely having been tossed out of the bag with little care. "Did you have to make such a mess," he asked. Annoyance was easily detected in his tone of voice.

"Sorry 'bout that, Link. What can I say, I'm a very disorganized person. If you think that's bad, take a look at me own bed. It's even worse." Link glanced at her bed and sighed as he saw make up, clothes, jewelry, and a longsword thrown carelessly all over the place.

"Wait...A longsword!" Link stared in awe at the beauty of the sheathed blade. However, he quickly noticed that it was made of solid silver. "Why do you have a silver sword? Silver isn't very durable at all. One solid hit would shatter the blade."

"I could say the same for your gold sword."

"It's not really made of gold," Link stated as he removed the Gilded Sword from its scabbard and showed it to her. "It's actually a steel longsword reinforced with magical gold dust. It's unbreakable and it never dulls." He smiled lightly as he saw Meliadoul struggle to hold the blade steady. "It's a little on the heavy side, though." He took the blade back and sheathed it in the scabbard, and its metallic ring was heard perfectly.

"Heh. What a puny sword. Mine is better." Link's facial expression made it known that he didn't believe a word of it. "My blade is made of pure mythril, one of the most valuable and durable metals in the world." She slid the blade half way out of its scabbard, and Link instantly recognized the material the blade was made of. His Mirror Shield was made of the same metal. Meliadoul let out a rather loud yawn and quickly began cleaning the mess on her bed. "Geez, I'm tired. Gimme a hand here, would ya?"

"I've still got my own mess to clean up at the moment. A mess that you shamelessly made."

"I honestly don't care. Now get your lazy butt over here and gimme a hand." Link sighed in defeat and began helping her clean up the mess.

Link woke up to the sound of singing birds and the feeling of warm sunlight bathing his face. He raised out of bed slowly and glanced towards the room's only window, and saw Meliadoul setting on the window sill looking outside. "Hey," he stated, his morning voice deep and raspy. "What time is it?"

Meliadoul looked at him with a bored expression on her face. "Around twelve o'clock. 'Bout time you woke up, sleepyhead." Link lazily got out of bed and rubbed the eye gum out of his vision. "So, what's your plans for today?"

"Well," Link stated as he pulled on his tunic, "I plan on going down to the docks in attempt to find a boat that'll ferry me across the lake."

"All you're gonna do is start a big fight. Those pirates will mug you blind."

"A man named Zelious told me that if I went unequipped then they wouldn't bother me because I'd look like the average peasant."

"Zelious, huh?" Meliadoul looked as if she had just heard a name she absolutely hated. "I know that guy. Whether you choose to trust him or not is your decision, but be careful around him. Anyways, you must be crazy if you're going down to the docks unarmed. Those pirates will attack you even if you're unarmed if you piss them off."

"I have some experience in the art of magic," Link replied while forming a small fireball in his hands. "A few pirates can't hold a candle to my power," he said with cockiness.

Meliadoul had an amused grin on her face. "Magic? Not everyday you meet a magician." She equipped her sword and then opened the window, preparing to jump out. "By the way, Link. I never told you before, but I'm a treasure hunter. You ever need a rare artifact of some sort tracked down, give me a call. Scattered around this country are the Indigo Travel Agencies. Famous inns, all owned by a man named Alistair Lombear; an accomplice of mine. Just leave a note with your request on it at one of those places and I'll get to ya sooner or later. See ya again, maybe." Before Link could speak she jumped out of the window and disappeared into the streets below.

"There she goes," he said quietly. "I wonder what she meant when she said to be careful around Zelious?" Link made his way downstairs and sat down at an unoccupied table. Once again Romani laid out the menu and then quickly went over to serve another customer. Link began analyzing the menu, trying to decide what to order.

Romani eventually came back over to get Link's order, only to find that he was still staring at the menu. "Are the meals really that odd? How about I just fix you the same plate I made yesterday?"

"Alright. It has to be better than...this other stuff." While eating his meal, Link kept thinking about Meliadoul's warning regarding Zelious. Link was the kind of person who took all warnings seriously. He had noticed the angry expression that Meliadoul had when he mentioned Zelious. "He seems like a trustworthy man, but it'd probably be best to keep a close eye on him if I meet with him again."

Twenty minutes later and Link was out of the inn and heading down towards the docks. The docks were far less civil than the other parts of town. Large sailors were loading cargo placed in heavy wooden boxes while cussing up storms, pirates were standing guard near their ships, and a group of children were playing with a rusty tin can out on a lone dock. "Kick the Can. Last time I played that game was before I left Hyrule." Link noticed how most of the houses were old and rundown, with broken windows or leaning porches. The smell of beer and smoke filled Link's nostrils. The place seemed more like a crime infested slum rather than a town dock.

Link began looking at all of the boats docked in hopes of finding one that would ferry him across the lake. Unfortunately, most were either fishing vessels or pirate ships. "Since this town is near the ocean the fishermen probably go out there to catch fish rather than go out on the lake. And the pirates...Well, they're definitely not an option." Eventually, though, his eyes rested on a small galleon. Judging by the cargo that was being loaded onto it, Link assumed that it was a trading vessel. The ship was painted a deep blue, and painted on the side of it in large, cursive gold letters was the name Shark Tooth. Link made his way up towards the ship, taking great care to stay out of the giant sailors' paths.

Link approached a man wearing a blue captain's brim cap who looked to be in his late twenties. "Excuse me, sir, but are you the captain of this ship?" The man stopped shouting orders at his crew and turned around to face Link. The man was a head taller than Link and he was a little skinny, but well muscled. His skin was tan, and his face was cleanly shaved and had a long scar going down the right cheek. His garb was a blue sailor uniform with his ship's insignia on the back of the shirt. Strapped to his back was a finely polished oaken crossbow.

"Indeed I am." The man took a long drag from his cigar, and then blew the smoke onto Link's face, causing him to cough. "Do you need something or are you just here to get in the way of my workers? Damned kids these days."

Link did his best to ignore the man's rude attitude and said, "I'm in need of passage across Derter Lake and I was hoping that you would take me on as a passenger."

The captain let out an agitated sigh. "Kid, I don't take passengers. You want on my boat, you have to work with the crew. I'll take you across the lake, but you're gonna have to work your butt off the entire way. You start slacking or crying, I throw you off and you can swim the rest of the way." The man once again blew smoke into Link's face. "So, do you accept my terms or not?" Link nodded while gagging from the smoke at the same time. "Good. We leave tomarrow morning. You don't show, you don't go." The man took one last drag on his cigar before throwing it over the ship and into the water below. "Name's Sophos, by the way. Sophos Turler. You are?"

"Link Bewolve." Sophos's questioning gaze never vanished. "My occupation is...uh..." He remembered his conversation with Meliadoul earlier that morning. "I'm a treasure hunter," he lied. Link had no job, and he figured this man wouldn't believe him if he told him that he was journeying to the great mountain. If the land's strongest and most experienced warriors wouldn't journey there, why would somebody believe that a boy would travel there?

Sophos's eyes lit up like fire. "A treasure hunter, you say?" He began rubbing his chin, as if pondering something. "Y'know, if you want to make a little money once we cross the lake, speak with me. I've need of a good treasure hunter."