Chapter Eighteen: The Abandoned Village

After two weeks, Link found himself in the middle of the vast desert that lay between Hyrule and the Forest of Gormoth. He had already passed the canyon where he had been captured by Astralose and was now riding hard in the direction of the forest. The maze of twisted canyons and sandstone cliffs eventually translated into massive sand dunes, shaped by the harsh winds of the land into jagged curves. Here Link decided to dismount from Epona and help her through the treacherous sand. He took a swig from his canteen, which was steadily depleting, and grabbed a hold of Epona's reins. He began to lead her up the face of the first sand dune.

As they continued onward, the ridges of sand progressively increased in height, so that after only a few miles' trekking, Link found it nearly impossible to climb one of the dunes without having to let Epona take a lengthy break afterwards. Fortunately, the dunes ended not long after they began to reach two hundred feet in height. Link was surprised to see, when he scaled the highest mound yet, that there were no more sand dunes ahead of them. Instead, wide salt flats lay all the way up to the fringes of the horizon. And in the distance, as far as Link's Hylian eyes could see, was a large lake. "Aha!" he said. "There's the lake where the river from the forest ends Navi. Now we know we'll be out of this desert soon."

Navi bobbed up in down in mid-flight to show that she agreed. In a hurry to get out of the oppressive heat that blanketed the desert, the Hero of Time mounted his steed and pushed her forward. She traipsed down the windward—and steeper—side of the sand dune, but when she reached the flatlands that opened up at its base, she increased her speed to a full gallop. Three hours later, they were alongside of the lake, resting peacefully.

Link refilled his flask and took an enthusiastic gulp. "It's almost nightfall. I think we should rest here. With Epona, we should be able to make it to Astralose's village tomorrow." He lay down on the dirty ground, watched Epona start to move around in search of her evening meal, and felt Navi nestle herself in his wavy blonde hair. He then fell asleep.

The next morning they awoke nearly simultaneously. The sun had thus far barely managed to lift itself over the horizon to the east. Link stood up, approached Epona—who had curled up in the only patch of grass she could find in the area—and gently prodded her. She whinnied softly and stood up. She nibbled the grass that had been her bed for the night while Link refilled his water container. He munched on some dehydrated fruit that he purchased from the Zoras for the journey and reflected on how relieved he was that Princess Ruto had been asleep when he had passed through Zora's Domain. It had nothing to do with disliking her; he was very fond of the Zora Princess. He just could not stand having to hear her proclaim their engagement again. He had already been embarrassed enough by that silly notion.

Epona neighed abruptly, bringing Link out of his brief fit of daydreams. He turned to his mount and saw that she had finished her meal and was ready to continue their journey. Link returned his bag of food to the hidden pocket that lay behind his shield and stood up. He climbed up his steed, waited for Navi to flutter onto his shoulder, and then spurred Epona energetically. She quickly hurried alongside the shoreline of the lake. Eventually, the lake transitioned into a wide and mighty river, the very same river that would lead them almost directly to Astralose's fortress.

Many miles upstream, stunted trees began to appear. The farther they traveled, the taller and greener these trees became until twenty miles from the lake, it was clear that they had returned to the Forest of Gormoth. Not long after this, they climbed up a high cliff alongside of a waterfall using a steep switchback path. At the top of the cliff lay the Lost Temple, where Navi had briefly been imprisoned by its charms. Link saw the fairy look towards the dilapidated Temple hungrily. "Faster Epona!" he shouted with a couple extra kicks to her side. Luckily, Epona was able to carry them away from the Temple's crumbling walls before Navi could express her deep desire to visit them.

The trees began to thicken even further, causing Epona to slow down considerably. A few hours later, they came to a familiar bend in the river. Link knew that if they went straight into the forest—leaving the side of the watercourse—they would come to Astralose's stronghold after only five minutes. Link pulled on Epona's reins to slow her down; he wanted to sneak into the village. A few minutes later, they found themselves in the wide clearing that held the small town. Link was surprised to see that there was no visible sign of anyone inhabiting the village.

They checked all of the huts that were spread about the clearing, but found nobody within them. "Navi. Can you search Astralose's fortress? I am going to search the labyrinth to make sure that they aren't hiding in there."

"Where is it?"

"It's through the trees in that direction." Link pointed in the right direction and Navi nodded.

"All right Link. You be careful now."

"I will. I always am. Now, you'll probably be done searching first, so wait for me at the entrance to the maze, which is right there on the side of that hill." Navi nodded and departed for their enemy's citadel. Link approached the gate that rested in the side of the knoll, which was the only change in elevation in the entire village, and was surprised to see that it was already open. He dismounted Epona and entered the putrid, dark tunnel within.

Navi returned from her exploration of the enemy's fortress only a half-hour later. She had found nothing even remotely suspicious. She glided onto Epona's back and awaited Link's return. Three hours had passed and Navi was starting to get worried that Link had walked into a trap. She heard the thud of boots approaching and looked into the pitch-black entrance of the labyrinth. She could see nothing coming.

"There's no sign of anyone in there," said someone from the opposite direction.

Navi wheeled about and saw Link standing behind her. "Where did you come from?"

"I came out through an exit from the other side. I searched every passageway I came across. There's not a soul living anywhere in there."

"So what do we do now?"

"I don't know. I felt certain that Ganondorf would come here to rebuild his forces. I guess I was wrong though." He paused and it was clear that he was thinking. "It's almost nightfall," he said slowly. "I think we should spend the night here and then decide what new direction we'll take tomorrow."

"All right. Where do you want to sleep?"

"Well, there are many huts to choose from. How's that one?" he asked, pointing at the nearest thatched hut.

"All right." Navi flew up to the door of the small structure and waited for Link to open it for her. He did, and they entered the small room within. During the night, they would have to decide their next course of action. This decision rested completely on just one question. Where in the whole wide world, could Ganondorf and Astralose be?