Chapter 6

"How much farther could it be?" Link groaned under the burning sun, slowly dragging his feet along the plain of packed dirt.

"I can't be far now," Tael replied, resting on top of Link's hair. His nesting place was hot, but it was better than nothing. He looked back north. The forest was no longer in sight. Turning around, he thought he saw something. "Link! Look...just ahead!"

Link lifted his aching head and held up his right hand to block the sun. "I...don't see...anything..." he wheezed between breaths.

"You're looking right at it! The castle is there! I can see it!"

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Myrennia Castle (South Castle), year 132

King Karles jumped as he heard the wooden door of his bedroom creak open, then relaxed. It was just Gerald, his attendant. The tall, slender man gingerly crossed the blue, gold and white rug - Myrennia's official colors - and stopped in front of the king, bowing.

"Sire, the Garo tribe is waiting for your command," he said. "When shall they leave?"

Karles stroked his graying beard. "We need them to leave as soon as possible. I've been having dreams about this Ikana from the west. I think they are planning something, and if we don't attack them, they will attack us. But we need information on their stronghold before going to war."

The king stood. "I will address them myself," he said. He winced as one of his legs collapsed beneath him, and he barely grabbed the edge of the table before hitting the floor.

"Let me help you," Gerald quickly moved around the table and put a hand on the king's arm.

Karles shook him off. "No, I'm fine." He pulled himself upright and grasped the sapphire-studded handle of his cane. Gerald gave him a concerned look. "Well?" Karles said as he jerked his head toward the exit. Gerald bit at the inside of his cheek, the corners of his eyebrows turned down, and then he hurried back through the hallway, the king slowly hobbling after him.

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A distant pile of rubble was beginning to take shape, atop a large chunk of land that had risen about forty feet above the ground. Link stopped and took a sip from his bottle of water, then looked back in that direction. Hopefully it wasn't a mirage. If both he and Tael had seen it, maybe their chances were better that it was real.

"All right," he said, with a little more strength. "Let's go check it out."

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Ikana Castle, year 132

Igos Du Ikana tapped his fingers on the armrests of his throne. Sunlight filtered in through two high windows on his left, leaving squares of light on the stone floor of the hall. Six young men and women danced in the center of the room, dressed in bright purple motley, jumping and spinning across the stones. Tambourines, flutes and harps played an upbeat song, composed by none other than the royal family's personal composers, Sharp and Flat.

He glanced over at his wife, the queen, clapping along, smiling, and everyone else enjoying themselves. But something else was on his mind. A Garo ninja from the east had been spotted overlooking the village. The enemy was investigating. Something had to be done, or Ikana was toast. The castle was very vulnerable from behind; having been built right against the hillside.

After the dancers had left, he sent word to Keeta, his army's captain. He was a giant, about thirty feet tall. If anything was to be done about the spies, he was the one to get it done. He looked up at the window closest him. The Garo would not be returning east, if he could help it.

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Link looked up at the huge chunk of earth in front of him. The crumbling wall of dirt became a crumbling wall of stone blocks about three fourths of the way up. He could see an opening in the stone blocks. It would be best to shoot for that spot. He backed up a bit, and then jumped for a horizontal crack in the side of the cliff. His right hand barely grasped it, and his feet kicked at the dirt for a few seconds before he found a rock jutting out next to his knees.

He grunted and swung one foot up to stand on the rock. As soon as he put his weight on it, it broke off from the dirt wall and he fell with it to the ground, pieces of dirt raining down on him. He blinked and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to get rid of the dust. Tael's voice came from around the corner.

"Link! There are some stairs over here!"

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Ikana Castle, year 132

"Sire! The stone tower...!" King Igos' attendant rushed into the throne room, panting for breath.

"What is it?" Igos asked, feeling a rush of fear flow through him.

"Someone opened the doors to the stone tower!"

"WHAT!" the king yelled as he stood to his feet, his expression a mix of fear and anger. The ancient stone tower was to be closed at all times. Legends said it held a deadly curse, which could be unleashed upon the canyon if it were ever opened. Nobody knew if it was true, but they were about to find out if those doors weren't shut!

Igos strode down the steps to his throne and quickly made his way out of the castle, his attendant following him reluctantly. When they left the castle walls, the village looked the same as usual, except for one thing. The stream normally running through the center of the village and cascading off the edge of the mountain was not there. The bed was bone dry.

The king ran up the hill to his right. The door was open, all right. There was a circle of dead grass around the entrance. But where was the door? The gaping hole in the stone was left wide open, with no way of closing it.

Suddenly he gagged as his throat tightened. He bent over and noticed that the area of dead grass had expanded past his feet. Looking over at his attendant, he almost doubled over. The man looked fifty years older than he had but a second ago. From the look on his face, the same thing was happening to Igos.

He turned around in horror to look back at the village, and then he saw a dark shape in the rocks overlooking the kingdom. It was a Garo. The hooded cloak made it too dark to see its face. But Igos was quite sure that it was smiling.

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"All right," Tael said as Link stumbled through the rocks strewn about the ruins, "what are we looking for again?"

"We're looking for a basement. The map should be there." He looked hesitantly up at a crumbling archway, then winced and rushed under it, half expecting it to come crashing down on him.

"Ok. So...what if it's covered with these rocks?"

"We'd better hope it isn't," Link said, jumping through a hole in the wall into an enclosed courtyard. "And let's hope we get really lucky. I'm not too confident in finding that secret map Garod was talking about."

"Are you saying you don't trust him?" Tael asked blandly.

"No, I trust him. But I don't think it'll be a walk in the park to find something that was secret in the first place, then got covered up by a bunch of rocks." The pair rounded a corner and Link spotted a small opening in a pile of rocks the size of his head. Through the hole, he could see a tunnel. "Well, what do we have here? Let's get these rocks moved and then see if this goes anywhere."

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