First of all, thanks for all the feedback for the prologue! Second, I wanted to address a couple things - the world this takes place in is a combination of many different games, as such a brief explanation is needed (I intend to post a more in depth look but a brief overview will serve for now). There are fourteen provinces that make up Hyrule's Domain (I will interchange that term with Empire often). A brief list is - Province of Hyrule, The Plateau (sometimes called the Old Province), Eldin (which is the largest), Akkala, Lanayru, Great Bay, the Zora Principality, Wood Fall, East Necluda, West Necluda, Termina, Faron, Ordona, Hebra and the island province of Koholint.
Most of these are governed by a Grand Lord, typically Hylian but some Humans, with the exception of Lanayru, Great Bay and Zora Principality which are governed by Zora Princes. All of which answer to the Royal Family of Hyrule. A more proper list with detailed location of the provinces will likely come later as it's a great deal of information to sort through.
Finally, I'd like to note that all main characters that the story surrounds are NOT original, each one is a character from a game, although some may have slightly different names (usually a reference off an aspect of a character) they're all characters from the games. The story will primarily four characters, three featured in this chapter and the other in the next.
Anyway, many thanks for any continued support and enjoy the first chapter.
The Princess
Five Years Later
Utter silence filled the north wing of the Temple of Time, the oldest section of the temple and considered to be one of the holiest areas in the Kingdom. It was said, after all, to be the location where the triforce was left after the three goddesses departed from their world. It was not a place often frequented due to its holy nature, except of course for the Princess Zelda, a woman considered to be a reincarnate of the Goddess Hylia – the protector of Hyrule.
Zelda raised her head, looking around the old interior of the room; light leaked through the seven stain glass window that depicted seven sages (ancient guardians of the realm), covering the old stone room in an array of colors that gave the room an almost calming feeling. There was a great stone statue with an alter, showing the Goddess Hylia holding the Trifroce in her hands and gazing down at a pedestal where once the ancient Master Sword had stood. Every time Zelda's gaze passed the place the old sword was supposed to be she felt a rage and sadness build within her, it had been five years since her husband was killed on the edge of the realm and still nobody could find the ancient sword – much less actually find the body of her lost love. This temple had been home to the blade on the 'gap years' in which there was no declared chosen for hundreds of years, yet now it was just an empty room full of old relics.
Zelda stood from the alter and turned around, her legs felt weak and she almost tumbled down the stone steps like a drunk fool. 'How long was I praying for?' Zelda asked herself as she felt her legs regain strength. She prayed for what she prayed for everyday, a return of Link's body, blade and the death to all the Bulblin.
"Princess?" The soft voice of her servant called out to her. The servant was a lady from House Lon-Lon, the House was a modest one that served the royal family very well and produced some of the finest stallions in the region (perhaps, only rivaled by humans of House Romani) and their loyal service had earned them service with the royal family. She had wide eyes, red hair and bore all the Hylian features of porcelain skin and sharp ears.
"Lady Lon-Lon," Zelda addressed as the girl bowed her head.
"I did not mean to interrupt."
"You did no such thing," the Princess assured the young lady.
"Thank you, Princess, I have come to inform you of a visitor."
"Here?" Most would have waited for her back at the castle, which certainly perked her interest.
"Prince Gustaf has returned from the Eldin Province and wishes to see you," Prince Gustaf was her uncle, younger brother to the King and probably one of the brightest men Zelda knew. He has served her father loyally for as long as she could remember, and for the last decade he served as the chief diplomat of Hyrule.
"I won't keep him waiting any longer," Zelda replied before Lady Lon-Lon quickly cleared the way for the Princess to walk. This part of the Temple of Time kept the common visitor far away, only attendants of the temple and her own personal Sheikah guard were wondering the halls today. The Sheikah guard escorted the Princess to the temple gardens, where the bright skies and chirping birds were a welcome change from the dingy, cold halls of the temple.
Her uncle was seated on a stone bench by the pond, his old eyes gazing lazily down onto the water. The man, was by any definition, magnificent – his blonde, peppered gray hair was pulled back in a tight bun while his beard was kept perfectly trimmed, his form (despite his age) was well kept and sitting in his woolen purple cloak and deep brown tunic, he was fashionable by Hyrulean standards.
"Princess!" Her uncle exclaimed as he finally caught sight of his niece, he stood from the bench and walked over, giving a proper bow that Zelda returned kindly.
"Uncle," she replied with a warm smile, "I have not seen you for months."
"Ah, yes, diplomacy amongst the Goron people is a time consuming event by absolutely any standard." He chuckled softly. "I will say that I have never been happier to return to the capital. I have longed for civilization."
"Well I know the people are most thankful for your service." The Goron were troubling people, broken off into several different large tribes it was always hard for Hyrule to get any sort of unified agreement from all of them. Zelda had been kept at the capital for many reasons and had not really seen the realm her family ruled, so she was always curious to learn more "Tell me about your travels."
The two of them took seat by the pond, "Well the Eldin Province is the single largest province within our realm, hundreds of mountains that rise entirely too high. The most difficult thing about it, is how hard it can be to breath at first."
"Breath?" Zelda asked almost astonished.
"Yes, it takes time for your lungs to adjust to the altitude. It was a dreadful time." Her Uncle nodded, "Yet the talks went well. I believe we have settled trade conflicts and we have been assured that the iron and other minerals will continue to flow down the mountains."
"Father will be pleased. Perhaps someday I will see Eldin, would the Goron like that?"
"No doubt, there is a special place in the hearts of the Goron people for the royal family." Gustaf said with a knowing nod. His face then grew rather concerned, "How does the King fair?"
The concern was mirrored on Zelda's own face, but for only a moment before she pushed it away, "His muscles ache daily and he complains of the food."
"Complains?"
"That is bothers his stomach," She explained, "But everyday he sees to his duties despite the doctor's wishes. He is headstrong and will not be stopped."
"As always," Gustaf chuckled, "That is good. It makes what I will request of him easier." He spoke the last of his sentence so softly that Zelda initially wondered if she had not heard it properly.
"What request?"
He was hesitant to answer at first, "I wish to resign from my post on the council..." He let that hang between the two at first, Zelda made no motion to say anything and Gustaf was quick to follow it up with an explanation, "It has been ages since I've seen my lands, I am constantly sent letters of its failing infrastructure and the dire need for me to come down. My son, my only son will marry soon and frankly, Princess, I have not seen my own wife for years." He signed deeply, "I have fought for my King, and served as his voice for many years. I hope that he will allow me to retire off in peace and I hope you may add your voice in support of my request. The King for his great intelligence is very stubborn and I know he will value your input."
Zelda was rather shocked, she had not known that her uncle was yearning for retirement so deeply. She had always been told that rest was for the commoners, that the royal family must work tirelessly to achieve peace for the realm. No doubt the King would not be pleased by such a request, yet Zelda was reminded of all that he had done for the realm and sympathized with his position. She recalled how badly she wanted Link to stop fighting, this constant duty to the realm would only consume your life and she immediately could see the same was happening to her uncle.
"Our work is unforgiving," Zelda began, "And if any of us deserve a time of break, it is you, Uncle. I will lend my voice."
"Thank you, princess," His expression was of great relief, "The King's and I younger brother was far better at diplomacy than I, in many ways he reminds me of your own brother. Had he lived a full life, I know he would happily serve his entire life traveling from province to province in the name of the King."
Zelda hadn't known that uncle very much, just vague memories as a child she briefly drifted back to. He passed after a period of illness and she remembered the mourning that her family went through because of it.
"Daphnes? He is a child."
"And heir to the realm, he will do wise to see it before he rules it. A couple of years in diplomatic service will do well, he can work with my son even. If your father allows it I will make a proper diplomat out of him and he'll forgo the blade, unlike his brother R-"
"Don't mention his name," Zelda silenced quickly, feeling some deep rage build at the mention of his name. There was a brief silence as she quickly regretted her outburst, "Apologies, I didn't mean to sound so aggressive."
"I heard no such thing, Princess." Gustaf assured coolly before turning the subject to something less controversial, "And how is your mother and Princess Tetra?"
"They fair well, Tetra can't be tamed and mother tires dealing with father." In many ways, Tetra had a very similar attitude to HIM. A thought she pushed out of her mind quickly. "Your son is to be married soon? Did he return to the capital as well?"
"No, no, he rides to meet his soon-to-be bride. They will be representing the King in Clock Town for their festival of time."
"How exciting, I have not seen Clock Town yet." The two stood up from the chair and began to walk towards the exit of the garden.
"It's a wonderful, rich city. The humans of your realm have a particularly different way of dealing with things."
"Oh no doubt, the humans I have met have been most unusual."
"Indeed, Princess. Will you ride with me back to the castle? I must report to your father about the mission."
"I would be glad to accompany you." With that agreement the two of them moved away from the gardens and returned to their guards. It wasn't long until the royal family departed the temple and towards the great Hyrule castle...
The Mouse
Hyrule's domain stretched as far as the eye could see, ruling over many regions filled with diverse cultures that had their own way of life and rule. At the core, Hyrule's first class citizens were the Hylians who occupied nearly every position of power while within their domain were also Humans, Deku, Zora and even the powerful Goron.
The Humans – while not dominate in terms of political power – represented the majority of the population within Hyrule and most of the provinces in the empire were human populated – Faron, Ordona and the entire Termina region were human populated.
Termina was the center of commerce for the entire empire, goods from all over Hyrule's domain flowed through it. None more so than Clock Town, which was in fact not a town at all but a massive city that was the envy of the world -lesser only to the capital itself. Commerce, services and craftsmen filled the city streets in a sort of capitalism only Termina seemed to have. Of course, while it was a great life for the elite of Clock Town and even the large middle class, the slums were anything but great. People were packed too close, and when the summer sun bore down upon the slums the stank of human waste and sweat perfumed the air with its intoxication that made life there utterly unbearable.
Who were the poor souls? They were the old who either didn't have children or the children abandoned them, they were the maimed, disfigured individuals who couldn't work, the ill, the orphans and the Deku who swarmed into the city for work but were pushed down into these streets by pro-human/Hylian housing restrictions.
What were these souls to do? The disfigured and old would make their way up the street to try and beg for coin from the more well off, the sick suffered and waited for care (only care they received were from those Goddess worshipers who took vows of poverty and spent their days tending to the sick), the Deku went to work in factories and the orphans? Well many of them found jobs alongside the Deku, but for others not wanting to work all day for a couple green rupees they found other work alongside the most vile of society.
"There it is..." One of those orphans muttered with a crooked smile, showing a mostly full set of crooked yellow teeth. He peeked out from behind the corner and watched with wide eyes as a small caravan rolled down the street, guarded by massive rock-like creatures known as the Goron. "Come on now, Mouse, mark it down!"
The orphan peered back over his shoulder and glanced at a younger orphan – twelve, maybe thirteen years old – with short dark (almost red) hair, soft sand dusted skin and green eyes. Wide eyed, the orphan scrambled up the nearby ladder and onto one of the building's roof, giving a huff of exhaustion she scrambled up further to the top of a even larger building that gave her perfect view of the clock tower in the town center. Even in the night she could clearly see the time and quickly she dug into her pack to pull out a piece of paper.
"Okay, okay..." She muttered to herself as she firmly held down the paper as to not let the gust of wind blow it away. Glancing at the clock tower she made note of the time along several others. "Done!" She said mostly to herself.
"Did you mark the time down?" The other orphan asked as he climbed after her.
"Oh yes!" Mouse said with a happy nod, "Right on time as always! See?" She held up the piece of paper to read, which the boy simply shrugged away.
"You know I can't count beyond ten, Mouse. It's pretty amazing you can, really." That she could, it really wasn't THAT hard and she was sure he actually could but refused to actually try. That being said she felt pretty good for knowing how to do it though...
"Well thanks, Rat." She said with an awkward shrug, "You can read some words though. I can't do that so we work well together."
"Ugh..." he sighed, "It's DEATH, okay. Not Rat."
"It's Rat. Everyone calls you Rat, no one calls you Death." She sighed with a roll of her eyes. "Besides, Rat and Mouse sounds way better don't you think?"
"Whatever," Rat said with a pout. "So we're done now right?"
"Yup, same day for the last four weeks we were told to mark when they came in and this was the fourth time. They come in twice every week with shipments, tonight and tomorrow, never changing their schedule."
"Boss will be happy..." Rat said sitting down besides Mouse and looking off into the distance. "We'll give it to him first thing in the morning, alright?"
"Sounds good to me." Mouse agreed, eager to find somewhere to sleep. With a motion towards the ladder they began to make their climb back down off the roof. "You think Anju will let us stay at the Stock Pot Inn again?"
"I dunno Mouse, with the festival of time approaching I doubt she has many spare beds for us." Rat said with a shrug, "Couldn't hurt to try. Beats sleeping on the streets."
"You could say that again," with the festival of time rolling in the city became even more crammed than normal. Farmers and traveling artisans from nearby would come in to try and sell their goods to the flocks of people that swarmed from nearby towns. It wasn't just lower folk either, Mayors from surrounding towns and even some lords from their minor holdings would make their way down here. It wasn't at all uncommon for some Grand Lord to make the travel here to see the festivity take place, once – and this was a long time ago – when Mouse was very young the King of Hyrule even came to see it. Which was rather odd considering the festival of time honored a different religion than the Royal Family followed.
In all truthfulness they should be busy robbing the dumb folk that wondered into their part of town tonight. But Boss made himself VERY clear what they wanted them to do tonight and none of them were very keen on making the Boss of the Bombers angry.
"Money... please..." one of the poor disfigured begged to the two orphans who passed by him without so much of a glance in his direction. They were all poor and hungry people, no sympathy would be found there.
The two quickened their pace knowing how late it was and that if they even stood a chance of getting into the doors of the Stock Pot Inn they would have to get there quickly. At this point the patrons would have been making their way from the various bars, their minds and vision blurred by the milk liquor that Clock Town so loved, and if they had enough energy they might even manage to find the right bed they rented. Perhaps, if the two orphans were lucky, there would be a bed left for them to sneak into.
As predicted the eastern district bars were just letting out, spilling wobbling patrons out into the streets. Mouse licked her lips, with so many drunk people it would be so easy to pickpocket!
"Later!" Rat insisted tugging Mouse's shoulder. "I'm too tired. I swear I could sleep anywhere right now."
"Well hold on now." She made a gesture to the Stock Pot Inn. They pushed the entrance open and slipped into the building, the Inn had its own kitchen that served plenty of drinks and it was incredibly filled. As they feared the festival of time had brought in plenty of people all needing beds, they didn't think there would be much chance for them. Even Anju wouldn't turn down some paying customers for a couple of flea infested orphans.
They spotted Anju in the back – which wasn't very hard – the woman was like a porcelain doll, with a sharp nose and ears, upright and thin with soft red hair that fell evenly to her shoulders. The woman stood looking upon the crowd of people as they cleared the bar area and stumbled up to her room.
"Let me do the talking, she doesn't like you, Rat." Mouse said pushing ahead.
"What- why would you say that?"
"You smell!" Mouse said with a grin while covering her own nose.
"Ugh, yeah right. You don't smell that much better." Nevertheless he hung back a bit, Mouse always had a way with people Rat didn't.
"Anju, looking good as always. How's it going?" Mouse said, leaning against the wall next to Anju and flashing her a smile. Anju gave a glance down to Mouse and shook her head.
"There are no beds, Mouse." Maybe Mouse didn't have a way with people after all. She bit her tongue and cursed it all, it was just as they feared.
"Are you sure?" Mouse looked up, prepared to beg! There was no shame in begging if it led to a comfy bed.
"I'm sure. I'm sorry." She knew Anju was sorry too, the woman had a bleeding heart. A true patron for the needy really.
"We can pay you now, we really can." They actually could, they still had plenty of rupees from pickpocketing earlier in the day.
"There are no beds to pay for, Mouse..."
"Ah..." She huffed, prepared to give up and turn to the streets.
"Well..." Anju began, giving the orphan a moment of hope. "Perhaps we can set up a couple of cots in the kitchen. Would that be fine?"
Anything was better than the streets. "Yes, ma'am. Yes that would be fine!"
"You'll be helping with the dishes though, is that clear?"
"Oh sure! No problem there at all." That wasn't so bad and usually they could eat the scraps off of people's plates! So really it was actually kinda a gift.
Anju led them back to the kitchen which was actually mostly empty now (dinner was served earlier only drinks were being served this late). A large beefy man was cleaning the kitchen and barely paid the three any mind as they walked in.
"The vermin sneak their way in again, huh?" He grumbled before motioning over to a pile of dishes. "You can start there."
The cleaning went quick and they didn't even have to eat any scraps, they were given left over potato soup after they finished and have some fairly comfortable cots laid out for them as well. "What's got Anju so down?" Mouse asked as they settled into their cots.
The large man leaned against the counter and looked over at the two orphans, "You hadn't heard? Her fiancee hasn't been seen anywhere. I can't honestly believe she's even functioning properly right now."
Mouse laid her head down on the pillow, it felt good and she was so tired she could easily fall asleep right there. "Really? Oh... I mean I'm sure he's fine." Mouse only ever caught glimpses of the man and like many men he probably just got incredibly drunk and was sleeping off the day in some other woman's bed.
"It ain't like him..." The bigger man shrugged, "I know Anju would be out looking for him but this place would fall apart if she wasn't here. It's too bad..."
"He'll probably turn up in the morning! The entire week leading up to the festival is just one giant party." Rat shrugged.
"He's been missing for over a week."
"Oh shit..." Mouse muttered to herself. That was a bit weirder to be sure – either he got cold feet or something happened to him. Probably robbed and bled out in some alleyway somewhere. "Poor Anju..."
"Yeah, so if you kids hear anything out on the streets tomorrow, let Anju know. It's the least you two could do for her." The man blew out the candles then walked off towards his own room. Mouse could trace his heavy footsteps across the inn until he made it to his room.
In the dark of the kitchen room Rat and Mouse both fell asleep after a few minutes of being left alone. Their bodies were worn and the sleep would help them prepare for the challenges of tomorrow...
Anju's lost fiancee or the less-than comfortable floors barely weighed on Mouse's mind as she fell into such a deep sleep that she barely stirred throughout the night. She dreamed though, she dreamed that she was flying high away the city like the birds did. Sailing around the great clock tower and looking down upon the people below like they were small ants.
"Look at me! I'm great now, and you're small!" She called out, laughing like a mad man. She could feel the wind blow through her hair and she bent her head upwards, she would fly out of the city and see the world beyond! Perhaps fly into Hyrule Castle and kick that fat King right off his throne. Maybe SHE would be King (or Queen? No she'd rather be King, people seemed to treat Queens different).
Yet when she looked beyond the horizon she saw only the moon with a furiously angry face staring back at her. The beautiful sky fell dark and in the deep distance she could see four giants approaching with a single, glowing figure leading them...
"Hurry, the moon, it's falling again!" she cried for the giants to hurry, yet the moon fell faster and faster right towards her. She closed her eyes and screamed.
A sudden thud in the side of her chest jolted her awake.
"Jeez, Mouse... always the unwanted alarm..." Rat stood above her, rubbing his eyes of sleep. "Oh well, probably a good time to get up now..."
The large cook was already in the kitchen preparing the breakfast for those who would be rousing from sleep soon. He stared at the two, "She do that a lot?" He asked in his normal gruff tone.
"Every couple of nights it seems... she's been doing good lately though..." Rat sighed. Mouse wiped the sweat off her forehead and controlled her breathing, "Did you dream of your parents again?"
That was the normal dream – at least she thought it was her parents. In a vague dream it would start with her being held, a sweet motherly smell accompanying her dream always, then suddenly it would change to a dark, damp area and in the small distance she could see her mother run away from her. She would call after her and beg her to come back but a force would keep her still. At least she thought it was her mother... truth was she didn't know.
But that wasn't the dream she had, that was one was... more unique. She blamed it on the fact she and Rat would bunk out in the temple's upper attics and would occasionally overhear one of the priests speak about the giants and the creation of the world and the moon falling. All silly old tales really.
"No, I mean not really... and don't call them that. I don't have parents." She finally said, Rat simply shrugged.
"You and me both, Mouse. That's why we are ORPHANS." He prodded her shoulder, to which she quickly swiped away his had. "Alright, be grumpy in the morning whatever. Got any food for us, big guy?"
"Carrots and chicken scraps." He said gesturing over to two bowls of food. Mouse was shaken and annoyed but that didn't stop her from quickly scrambling over to the table to eat what was given. She dug into the food, shoving it into her face as fast as she could.
"Relax, relax and take it easy. No one is going to take it from you," the cook said as he brought to cups of milk. MILK. The two shot the cook unusual glances, nobody was this nice to them without a cost.
"Don't you think this is a regular thing, but you are kids... your bones need it." The two made glances at each other before shrugging it off and taking the cup of milk. Mouse loved it – thick liquid full of fat the seemed to fill up her belly faster than the food did. She cleaned out every bit of food and milk there was and by the end of it her belly felt so full she could barely move.
"Ugh," she leaned back, "I could sleep again I really could..."
"Same." Rat stated patting his belly, "We can't though. We have PLACES to be, remember?"
It suddenly occurred to Mouse what their mission was and she quickly patted down her pocket to feel for the note full of times they had collected. She felt it within her pocket and felt relieved at that.
"Oh yeah..."
"What places would that be?" The cook asked, giving them a suspicious glance.
"Places that orphans go." Rat countered and the cook just rolled his eyes.
"Well get a move on then and stay out of Anju's way. She doesn't need anymore problems right now."
"Yes, sir!" Mouse slid off her chair before they walked towards the exit, "Thanks a bunch, big guy, we'll be back!"
"Maybe not so fast!" He protested as they slid out of the exit and down the hall.
Not many were awake just yet, at this point only the traveling merchants coming into town to trade and sell had gotten up. The drunks, scholars, poets and other guests who rolled into the city for the festivals were still passed out in their bunks at this hour. Yet out of all the tired looking merchants was a man who sat in the far back corner, his face naturally concealed by the shadow in the corner, Mouse could only slightly make out the outline of a dark beard that was given visibility by the pipe he puffed. What bothered her was the fact he kept a stern eye on the two as they moved through and it gave Mouse shivers. There was something not right about him and she was ready to get out into the streets.
As they were approaching the exit they caught Anju's eye, who might normally try and ignore their presence around paying customers (orphans weren't good for business), yet this time she motioned for them to come closer.
"Oh boy, she's going to tell us not to come back," Mouse bit her lip in nervousness.
"Yeah probably cause you screamed." Rat signed and for a brief moment Mouse felt a tinge of guilt for it.
"Sleep well?" Anju asked, folding her hands over each other. She looked more tired and nervous than usual.
"Very good, ma'am." Rat replied respectfully hoping they wouldn't be banned from the inn... again.
"Were you told..." She began meekly, "About my fiancee?"
The two gave each other nervous glances before nodding.
"You two will keep an eye out for him, won't you?"
"Of course." Honestly they weren't sure what they should be looking for. A dead body in an alleyway perhaps?
"Thank you... come tell me anything you find please." With a nod of agreement they moved to the door. Only Mouse stopped briefly, tugged on Anju and made a motion to the man in the corner.
"Who's the creep?"
Anju tried not to make any sight of the man, "Not so loud please..." She hissed, "That man... he's a Faron Ranger."
All Mouse knew about Faron Rangers was that they hunted monsters and that they themselves were part monster. Some of the greatest warriors alive and pure killers at that. She even heard they ate the flesh of children! That might be a rumor but they were not human. What was the most shocking was that she had never seen a Ranger this far north before, usually monsters weren't really a problem here... mostly they came from the wild lands on the border of Faron and Ordona.
"Keep him away from children, Anju. They eat them."
"What?" Anju gasped at Mouse's remark.
"Nothing, anyway I'm off. I'll keep an eye out for your man." Mouse quickly made her way outside of the inn and back to Rat.
"We can't keep Boss waiting, Mouse, let's move." He tugged her shoulder and the two were off down the alleyway. The sun had barely been up long and already the city was starting to get unbearably hot. The summer days were brutal and the sweltering heat made Mouse sweat so uncomfortably.
"Can we go to the springs today? I haven't had a bath in like... weeks." She certainly couldn't remember the last time.
"Yeah I suppose. Gotta be quick though the guards get really unhappy with orphans bathing in the springs, especially during festival time."
"I know! I'm fast though, never been caught by a guard before."
"Yeah, I have though..." Mouse gave a glance back to her taller friend, she could see some of the scars from the lashings the guards gave him through the tattered white shirt he wore.
"We'll be quick... after our meeting!"
They made their way down to the river that flowed through the town, which Mouse would have been happy to jump in aside from the fact the river was basically sewage. Most of the desperate people would bath in the river... and also shit and piss in the river too.
"Alright here we are..." there was a passage way leading deep into the old underground sewage center (that you guessed it, flowed into the river). It was a deeply confusing maze of pathways and they had gotten lost several times, yet they knew their way through the passages well enough now and they were quick in going through it.
The Bombers left clues all over the elaborate sewer to help guide those who were paying attention. A blue mark on the wall meant that they should take the next right, two blue marks meant take the next left and that would lead them to the main area of operations. Red marks should be avoided as it would lead potentially very dangerous situations.
As they got closer to the area of operation they ran into another member of the Bombers who checked their card before allowing them past. They walked through a hole in the wall and climbed down the ladder into the main area that was full of some of the higher up Bombers, 'the number guys' was what the Rat called them and they were sectioned off into their own offices and areas that ran divisions of the Bombers all across the city.
"Rat, Mouse!" The voice calling out to them belonged to a kid younger than the both of them, he was a runner for the Bombers and would relay messages between grunts and highers up. They called him Red because his cheeks were always bright red from running all day, today was no different.
"It's Death." Rat tried to correct.
"Since when?" Red asked with a puzzled look.
"Since never." Mouse added to the annoyance of Rat.
"Yeah... So you guys been doing good out there?"
"Nah... I mean okay, we've just been busy doing what the Boss asked of us." Rat shrugged.
"Which sucks cause we could be making a killing..." Mouse remembered last year they stole so much they ate like kings for weeks!
"Oh well, usually the Boss awards lots of good stuff for these kinds of missions..." It was true and Mouse only hoped they would be given plenty of wonderful gifts.
"You going to see Boss? I'm heading there too actually. I'll walk with you." Red said motioning for them to follow him up the winding stairs to where the 'west district' was located.
"What does Boss have you doing this time?" Mouse asked as they tried to keep up with Red who was always on a pace above them.
"Running a lot of information between people watching the city council and mayor actually..." That perked their interest, after all it wasn't exactly normal for people of the west district to be keeping tabs on those powerful people. That's what the east district did, usually.
"That's weird." Rat echoed her thought's.
"Yeah for sure, means I've been running extra fast these days." Red chuckled as they made it to the Boss's door, after a moment's wait they were motioned through. Boss's office was pretty cool, had piles of papers on several desks that Boss's personal workers were going through and a huge map of the city on the back wall. Boss, who was not an orphan – a twenty some year old man with shoulder length blonde hair and dark tattoos down his arm (which Mouse thought was pretty cool given that usually only Gorons had tattoos).
"Hey Boss..." Rat started to say rather meekly, none of them wanted to interrupt him.
The Boss gave a glance up at them, placing his pen down he looked over the orphans. First motioning for Red to come over and hand him the report he had prepared.
"You two are...?" Boss asked glancing over Rat and Mouse.
"I'm Rat, this is Mouse..." Rat introduced themselves again, upon hearing the names Boss seemed to remember them.
"Oh good, you have the report I assume?"
"Yes, uh, Mouse give it to him..." Rat pushed her forward. Mouse dug it out of her pocket and presented it to the man.
"There it is, the times for the past week when those Goron fellas would come walking into the city. Always pretty close time, transporting something very big too! Lot of them were guarding it."
"Perfect..." this sparked a light in Boss's eyes, he seemed rather excited about this. "This was the final report I needed for this. You two did good, very good..."
Mouse smiled, the rewards would come in, she just knew it! Boss was happy and so was she.
Bombers were pretty typically just information dealers, they would turn information over to the highest bidder and then they did whatever with that. For the west, it was normally times of arrival of goods and other, more rough bandits would buy that information. The north brought in all the good information that they frequently sold to politicians of the city. Mouse thought that this would be no different.
"Red, I want you to call on everyone available to come immediately for a meeting tomorrow at noon. I'll have the next step in the plan laid out by then," Red responded with a 'yes sir' before running off. "You two did very well... but here is when things get interesting..."
"How interesting... sir?" Rat peered over to the paper Boss was writing on, like Rat could actually read any of it.
"Very interesting..." The Boss licked his lips, as if whatever idea he had in his mind was making him hungry and eager to act, "we're going to commit one of the single greatest heists in Bomber history. We're going to steal from the Grand Goron Armory."
That was very interesting indeed, and somehow Mouse got the idea that they weren't going to be able to return to the usual pickpocketing. No, things were getting interesting, and with that, very dangerous...
The Banished
Boom, was the rheumatic sound that made its way deep into the underground halls.
"One... two...three..." Boom came the sound again, "One...two... three..."
The darkened halls were mostly empty, people were all pushed up watching the games above. But a young man of twenty six years old sat in the darkened hall, eyes closed and diligently listening to the noise above. Sweat dripped down from his gold blonde hair and collected around the well trimmed beard, the leather gear he wore did little to cool him down from the heat and the sweat on his bear arms shined in the light.
"One... two... three..." and another loud boom echoed, this time the roars came even louder and the man knew it was all over now. Sure enough no more than a couple of minutes later two guards – garnished in leather armor that hid their dark skin – came walking down the hall towards him.
"Slave!" One of the guards exclaimed, "On your feet. It's your turn."
The man closed his eyes and bowed his head, for a moment the guards thought the man was being defiant. "Alright then... let's do this..." He stood from the bench and picked up his choice of weaponry – a short serrated sword and a round steel shield.
The guards walked behind him as he ascended a stairs to where a blinding light indicated the outside. The cheers became louder and the smell of dirt and blood became apparent.
"Forward, slave." The guards had halted but indicated that they wanted him to move forward.
He shot them one last look before facing the light outside, "My name is Rhoam..." He hissed before stepping forward into the light. Blinding, at first the day light hurt his eyes, but after a quick adjustment he was able to take in the surrounding area – it was a fighting pit, not a particularly big one but sizable with a few hundred people seated and cheering from the stands. On the upper level, above the peasants were the ruling class, who sat in the shade and drank wine and dined while they watched their games. This was a Gorudo fighting pit where slaves and outlaws fought to the brutal end at the appeasement of the people.
The body of the last fighter hadn't even been cleaned out yet, the victim was thinner and far more starved looking than Rhoam was, and with his face smashed in and blood and brains skewed about Rhoam would have reckoned he stood little chance against the opponent. And who could blame the poor man? His opponent was a beast, standing well over six feet and wide like a tank, built strongly and wielding a war hammer that he swung around with one hand. No doubt a slave owned by one of the seated aristocrats watching.
"Oh what have you gotten yourself into..." Rhoam muttered to himself. The man had no armor, but getting close to him was an entirely different story. Not to mention the way he used that war hammer meant Rhoam's own armor was essentially useless.
"Kill, kill, kill!" The crowd chanted as Rhoam moved out into the field, the bets were already being made and he somehow expected he was not the heavyweight here.
"Our day isn't over yet!" An announcer called from above the ring, "The Great Sand Goddess desires ONE more sacrifice."
The large man turned towards Rhoam, his blood thirsty eyes glancing up and down him as he measured Rhoam up. "They send another one to die. A human?"
"Hylian, actually..." Rhoam responded back in the native language.
"An expensive waste." His opponent didn't waste another moment, he stepped towards Rhoam and raised his hammer up high before arcing it down towards him. Rhoam saw the swing coming and rolled out of the way quickly, the hammer slamming against the ground and creating the 'boom' sound Rhoam had been tracking before.
The crowd cheered, the lust of blood once again over taking the crowd as they seemingly became convinced of Rhoam's soon to be demise. Rhoam hadn't resigned himself to that fate just yet, he kept positioned himself as the smallest target he could and waited for the strike to come again.
It came quickly, the man used the hammer with such grace it was almost an art form really. Rhoam would admire it if it weren't for the fact that it was trying to cave his skull in.
He side stepped out of the way and flashed a mocking smile, seeking to enrage and wear the man out.
One... two... three... Rhoam tracked how long it took between swings, consistently dodging the man's strike with ease. The crowd was starting to get a little tired of Rhoam's games now, crying out for him to stop running and fight. The crowd's annoyance only served to enrage Rhoam's opponent further...
Yet he was starting to strike slower and slower, there were now two more seconds between each strike – which meant it was time for Rhoam to make his move.
The strike came down and instead of stepping back Rhoam stepped forward, taking the opportunity to rush the man. He stepped inside the radius of the hammer, knowing that the man would be unable to properly swing at him now, Rhoam could almost taste the victory that would be his in seconds.
Yet what he wasn't expecting was how powerful his punch was, that attacker used his left hand and slammed it against Rhoam's shield with such strength it actually made him stumble back a little, and that was all the time he needed to strike Rhoam harder – he reached out and grabbed him by the throat, picking up the Hylian with astonishing ease.
"Shit!" Rhoam hissed, hearing the crowd roar in delight. Quickly Rhoam acted, taking his blade and slashing down on the arm that held him. He cut him deep, blood poured from the wound and Rhoam was let go to strike again. "This is it now!" Rhoam roared, thrusting his sword into the man's exposed ribs.
He stabbed deep, deep enough that Rhoam thought it would immobilize him. The shriek the man made was enough to silence the crowd, if not just briefly – the stab to the ribs was enough to make him let go of his hammer, however, with his free right arm he bashed Rhoam away, smacking him across the head and stumbling him onto the ground.
How is he still going!? Rhoam asked himself, now without a blade and a little dazed from the strike. Rhoam stumbled to his feet as the man slowly approached him – his side covered in blood and he was panting hard, yet the lust for blood was still in his eyes.
"I... will... not... be... killed!" He grabbed as Rhoam who tried to bash his hands away with the shield, instead he grabbed the shield and yanked it hard from Rhoam, using it to instead bash Rhoam with such strength that Rhoam ended up on the ground with a mouse full of sand. On the ground now, the man was on him, grabbing at his throat in attempt to crush his windpipe. It was working, Rhoam couldn't breath and he could feel the strength pushing down on him. In a last ditch effort he kicked at his side, hitting the sword that was still lodged in his side and ripped it downward with a bloody sound that was a mixture of skin and bone being cut by the serrated blade.
Rhoam scrambled, grabbing the sword from the man's side and pulling it from him. He took a step away from the bloodied slave now, wondering if he had any more strength left to keep fighting. He didn't, how could he? He hugged his side, attempting with a feeble chance to stop the bleeding.
"Sorry friend, you're dead..." Rhoam said, "Even if you killed me there is no healing that wound..."
The crowd have fell silent, nobody could entirely believe what was happening and most of them saw their money they bet gone. Rhoam looked through the crowd, a smug grin growing on his face as he looked at all the people who wanted him dead.
He raised his weapon and looked down to his fallen opponent, "Send my best regards to my sister, will you?" His positioned the edge of his blade over the man's upper throat before pushing down on it, putting his opponent out of his misery.
Perhaps the initial shock was over from the fight and the crowd started to cheer, applauding the unlikely victory. All except the female aristocrats who were fuming at the loss of their prized slave. Truthfully, Rhoam felt a little bad for the man he just murdered – after all he had fought two other men before Rhoam came up, had Rhoam been the first to fight this beast of a man he might have been the one who was laying dead in the sand.
He took his exit of the arena back underground where he was given water, some food and promptly chained back up by the guards who would keep him safe until his master came to fetch him. No doubt, she was collecting the bounty of his victory now and then she'd come get him, which was fine with Rhoam after all he badly needed to cool down and relax and these dark, cool halls were the perfect place to do so.
Rhoam, Prince of Hyrule and the rightful heir of Men, Hylians, Deku, Zoras and all the rest of them. At least at one point that was true, however that was no longer so. He was just Rhoam, banished prince and slave, fighting for coin and glory. And honestly? He didn't exactly mind it; Hyrule was a place of political intrigue and backstabbing while here at least you were well aware that everyone wanted you dead – that simplified things.
He sat with his head against the cool floor when the sound footsteps caught his ear, he glanced over to see the two guards approach once again but with another close behind. The following woman was a tall, gorgeous woman with dark skin and long black hair that was weaved together. "You may leave us now." She said towards the guards that promptly left the two. The stern look of a slave lord stood for only a moment before it melted away into a smile.
"I can't believe you did it!"
"Can't believe – wait are you implying that you knowingly sent me into harms way thinking I'd LOSE?" His protest were cut short when the woman embraced him in a passionate kiss, he only pulled away due to the fact his entire face was in a great deal of pain from the previous fight. "Gently, gently, love. I just slayed a giant."
"And stole his gold, as well." She added, holding up a heavy bag of coins (Gerudo traded in many fashions, gold coins minted by the Gerudo Principality down south was a popular one). "Well, the gold of all the rich ladies that had stake in him. They're pretty pissed, no doubt."
Rhoam pulled himself up from the ground and glanced over the woman once more. She was beauty among thieves and her ambitious mind had gotten them into plenty of trouble in the past. Her name was Urbosa, named after some great Gerudo warrior, she was the furthest thing from the rich slave owning aristocrats they just pissed off. She was a poor girl, the lowest of all Gerudo and considered by most to be no better than dirt, but she never let that stop her from doing what she wanted and Rhoam admired that about her a lot.
Now their arrangement, in all 'legal' terms of Gerudo law, he was her slave. However it was much more of a partnership, he was a skilled fighter that wanted to thrive in this highly matriarch society and she was a gutter rat looking to rise up in the world. Rhoam met her many years ago after a brief time serving in the Desert Warriors mercenary group where he fought about a dozen or so trade wars between the great cities down south. That was boring and didn't really pay well, however with the arrangement Urbosa and he had, they had just earned more gold than he ever did ransacking trade posts.
"We should get going before they hire someone to take back their gold or something," Urbosa locked Rhoam's hands back up in the shackles, they had to play the part around here and a Hylian like him was rarely seen this deep in the Gerudo realm.
"Yes I couldn't agree more."
"It's fine bedding and wonderful food from now on, my sweet slave." Her teasing earned him a chuckle, he might have argued in his entire body wasn't aching from the fight.
The two moved through the city streets, it was a fairly average sized city for the Gerudo people and acted as a trading post between the more wild northern areas and civilized southern portions of the Gerudo people. That being said it wasn't a huge slave port and the sight of a Hylian slave was rather unusual, so Rhoam had been garbed to hide his most distinctive Hylian features.
"I need MANY drinks, Urbosa, ideally until I can no longer feel my face."
"I thought your face was already numb?"
"Unfortunately I wasn't hit that hard, I am painfully aware of the swelling in my body." Rhoam's body was aching.
They found bedding in a nearby inn, single story stone building. The entrance had blankets thrown about with people sleeping right there in the open, it was for the very poor that simply could afford a roof over their head. But they had enough coin to purchase the privacy they could not.
"Shall we move your slave into the barn?" Barn was a kind term, the barns horses had were in nicer shape than what they were given.
"This isn't some lowly servant-slave, this is a prize winner and I shall keep a close eye on him," Urbosa said with a matter-of-fact tone of voice. That wasn't untypical, a good fighter was worth enough to lead people to try and kidnap or competitors to kill in their sleep.
"That's him? The Hylian? Everyone is talking about him..." The inn owner said with a jealous eye, "He was a wise investment."
The room they got was very good for Gerudo standards – large bed in the corner with sheets of 'sand fur' for comfort, a large mural of the Sand Goddess adorned the wall in the direction to where the great shrine was and there was a table with plates full of fine fruit to be eaten. Urbosa left to bath in the public bath and returned with a large vase of water that Rhoam used to wash off the sand and blood from his body (slaves weren't allowed in the baths). Afterwords, they shared the bed together in a heated, passionate time.
The day seemed to pass quickly from there, night quickly came and the temperature seemed to drop with the sun, leaving it cold and dangerous out at night.
"This is a lot of gold." Rhoam admitted having gone through their winnings, glancing over the gold coins with more lust in his eyes than when he looked at a naked woman. Urbosa could see that lust for gold and she gave him a hard kick in the shoulder to break his attention of the coin.
"We can't keep all of it," Urbosa told a rather confused Rhoam.
"And why not?"
"I intend to offer some of it to the Sand Goddess, she has looked after us thus far so I'll hear no protest." Rhoam chuckled at Urbosa's words – she was devout in her beliefs, and he wondered what she would do if she knew that Rhoam's sister was essentially a rival-goddess incarnate.
"Right, right, well that can come from your earnings. Seeing that I care little for a sand goddess, or any goddess for that matter, I'll keep mine."
That earned a stern look from his partner which he paid no mind to. Instead he decided to sit by the small fireplace and clean his sword. This sword was one of the few mementos from his homeland and was befitting of the prince he was – its hilt was a sapphire blue with a strong steel guard, the blade itself was smooth and where the fuller dipped in the blade was gilded in gold. The blade had been a point of conflict between Urbosa and him, on numerous occasions had she suggested pawning it off or melting it down and each time a enraged Rhoam would shout her down. Truth was without this blade he was just some Hylian claiming to be the rightful heir of Hyrule, but the blade was undeniably the famed White blade that previous Kings of Hyrule had brandished before, it was the proof he needed to his birthright if he ever was allowed to return.
Urbosa sat up from the bed and draped the sand seal blanket over her to protect from the cold, sitting crossed legged by Rhoam as he gently polished the blade. "Tell me about your family?"
Rhoam hated this topic, at first he found no issue lying to her when they first met about his origin but he was growing rather fond of her and didn't enjoy repeating the same half truth. He thought about telling her the full truth many times, yet he didn't entirely believe she wouldn't sell the Prince of Hyrule to the highest bidder and make herself one of the richest women in the Gerudo region.
"I come from a modest family in the highlands of Hyrule, I was the third child and frankly I would have been lucky to be left with a small hut after my father passes. My sister was to marry a... powerful warrior from a great house, he claimed to be someone he's not and I saw through his lie. I called him out on his lie in a very public fashion and my father did not enjoy that.. so he banished me."
"Are all families in Hyrule that wealthy?" she motioned to the blade that was no doubt worth a fair bit.
"There are many old families that have much wealth." That was true enough, Hyrule was an old empire and the families that ruled the lands had done so for many centuries. It was easy to amass wealth over that period of time..
"And what did your family do again?"
He paused, trying to remember what he had told her all that time ago. "We were the lord of a couple small farming villages. So I suppose we made our wealth from moo-moo milk." He chuckled slightly and he felt his stomach growl, there was nothing like moo-moo milk here in this part of the world.
"Hmm, well we shall make far more wealth than your farmer family ever made at this rate." Urbosa added with a confident smile. Her smile gave him warmth, yet he wasn't exactly sure what he wanted in the end. He had enjoyed the years of fighting, which he considered almost cathodic, but there was a yearning feeling to return to his homeland that he would never have the pleasure of doing. He had thought that after Link was killed he would be called back and welcomed by his family, yet he had heard no such news... so perhaps, he and Urbosa would earn enough gold to live a more quiet life off somewhere else... that didn't sit well with him though.
"I will be back," Urbosa said, snapping Rhoam out of his thoughts, "I need something to warm my blood. I won't be long."
Urbosa vanished for probably twenty minutes, when she returned she came with a large bottle filled with Gerudo liquor. "Would you like some?" She asked with a glowing smile. Rhoam never cared for it, it was strong, sweet smelling but burned like pure fire.
"No thanks," Rhoam chuckled as Urbosa started to down the liquor. He had drank his fair share from the food and wine she brought earlier, "Did that cost us our winnings?"
"Not at all, the owner of the inn gave it to me. She wanted to thank us today for such a great show, she said she had seen nothing like it." Rhoam shook his head but paid her little mind as she drank away. Not much time had passed as she became drunk on the strong liquor, head rested against the wall as she slowly fell asleep while looking out the window.
Rhoam had laid his head down on a pillow and stretched out by the fire, he never enjoyed sharing a bed with someone. "Can you make it to bed?" He asked with a glance towards her. She stumbled and finally found her way back to the comfy bedding they had bought. He chuckled as she snored very loudly, he often wondered what his father would think, him sharing a room with a Gerudo woman. He didn't pay that much thought as he doubted his father gave him much of any warm thoughts anymore.
"I believe you will wake the entire city, Urbosa," Rhoam said to the passed out woman. He kept his eyes trained on the fire that crackled lightly, it wasn't long until he began to feel his body wear down and sleep pull him away...
Rhoam dreams were very unusual – he was standing in a field with a city he vaguely recognized in the distance. It soon occurred to him that he was surrounded by creatures he could only describe as great giants that were approaching that city.
"What...?" He muttered to himself, "What an unusual dream..." Rhoam was fully aware that he was dreaming, he always did have that ability to know, and he knew he could quickly change it to whatever he wanted. Yet no matter how many times he said to himself 'give me a dozen beautiful women' nothing ever came... instead a giant moon was a rather angry face on it stared down at him.
Nothing else happened, as the light noise of the door opening startled him away. He thought that perhaps it was morning and Urbosa had already awoken, yet as he opened his eyes he noticed that fire he had fallen to sleep next to still had no fully died out yet. His body froze and he listened intently as the floor lightly creaked as several individuals made their way INTO the room.
His hand tightened around the hilt of his blade, and quickly he rolled up from the ground and to his feet. There were three people in the room, their faces shrouded in hoods but their wide eyes visible as they did not seem to expect his fast movement.
"Who are you?!" Rhoam shouted but the knives in their hands were enough to let Rhoam know they meant business. He didn't waste any time, he rushed at one with his blade trying to cut one down right away. The first person dodged Rhoam's sword easily, shouting something towards his ally in a language Rhoam did not understand.
The other tried to rush Rhoam, perhaps trying to save his friend from Rhoam's aggressive approach, but instead it was just a wasteful sacrifice – Rhoam saw the approach, easily deflected the knife and plunged White deep into the man, the razor sharp blade cut through the man easier than the blade in the fighting pit. He quickly pulled the blade from the man and delivered a fast slash to the other man who fell back, wounded from the slash and looking to flee towards the door with his friend.
Rhoam might have run after them, instead he hung back, making a glance at Urbosa who did not move an inch. He rushed to her side, feeling around in the dark, expecting that the assassins had already killed her and he was too late – instead he found she was untouched and snoring as loudly as before.
"What!? Wake up you silly woman," Rhoam urged yet she did not respond, he was confused yet the glance to the bottle told him all he needed to know, that this had been some trap, "Dammit, I should have known... alright, alright, up we go."
He threw her over his shoulder, grabbed the back of coins and turned towards the hallway. They needed to get as far from the city as possible now, he wasn't sure who wanted them dead but he was sure it had something to do with his earlier victory. If people knew they were staying there they knew they had a large amount of gold, any number of thieves would have hatched this plan easily.
Rhoam stepped out into the hall, the moonlight shown through the windows and illuminated with enough light that Rhoam could see the hall was clear for them to go down. He started towards the stairs when the sudden sound of foot steps halted his movement. They sounded heavy and in large numbers, and the whispers of words he gathered sounded like someone was saying 'up there, I heard it'.
"Guards?" Someone must have heard the struggle and alerted nearby town guards. That would have been a good thing, although he was holding an unconscious Urbosa with a bloody sword – which he imagined would look like a slave going on rampage and seizing his master. They would kill him before Urbosa could wake up to convince them otherwise.
"Shit, shit!" Rhoam cursed to himself, looking around the area quickly until he spotted the window overlooking the stables. He moved over to it and looked down, seeing the roof of the stable wasn't that far to the ground. "Please live through this..." Rhoam said as he took a step off from the window and fell towards the roof.
First thing he lost was his sword, which tumbled off the roof of the stable and onto the ground. Second was Urbosa, who's body began to roll towards the edge of the roof. Rhoam grabbed onto her once again and hugged her tightly and as they both slid off the roof of the stable he turned his own body to the ground to take the blow. Thankfully, the ground below was softened by hay and they slid right into an itchy pile of it. Which made the landing softer but by no means kept it from hurting tremendously.
First thing he did was locate White, next thing he did was seize one of the horses, throw Urbosa over it and ride it straight out of the stable and towards the nearest exit. Behind him he could hear the guards begin to scramble as they found the dead body within their room, but he knew that they had not seen him leave and the escape would be easy.
He knew naught of who wanted them dead or if a hefty price now stood over his head, all Rhoam knew was that this city was no longer safe and that they would be best to get as far away as possible. If it was a scorned aristocrat as he reckoned then the city guards would be in their pockets. As they rode off, a half smile crept across Rhoam's lips, it was moments like this that you truly felt alive. This type of thrill was something he'd never have as Prince of Hyrule. He pushed aside any thoughts of one day returning, a life without these thrills was no life worth leading...