Link had decided to wait patiently until he had a chance to enter the castle. He didn't have much else really pulling at him, so all was good with him. He WAS bored, however, and wanted something to do while he waited. So, he explored town a bit more extensively. He found many shops, restaurants, homes, and other things, including the Hylia River flowing southward through the western half of town. He also found the cathedral that the women had been talking about across from it. He stopped as he saw it.
It was MASSIVE, and it was both gorgeous and spooky. Enormous stained glass windows looked down at him, the Triforce symbol first and foremost on it. However, it looked quite old and nobody was inside after he cautiously opened the door to look in. In fact, there wasn't a candle alight. He noticed that there appeared to be a film of dust over many things.
"Oh? Are you looking for a church?"
Link jumped and looked around at the sudden voice. A kindly old man in a plain white robe smiled at him. "Sorry, there," he said. "I didn't mean to scare you. But this church..." He frowned worriedly at it. "It's been abandoned for many, many, many years-when I was only a toddling baby, in fact-after horrible rumors sprang up around it. Nobody goes into it anymore. People call it the Forsaken Cathedral, now." He shook his head. "It's a frightening place, but it's beautiful at the same time. Some have said it to be a testament to glass's beauty, what with all of its stained glass windows." He tilted his head as he noticed, "For some reason, even after all this time, the windows haven't gathered a mote of dust." He smiled again. "I can lead you to another church in town, if you so desire."
Link smiled and held his hands up. "I'm fine, but thank you very much," he said.
"Anytime, young man," the old man said before turning and hobbling down the steps.
Link looked back at the giant red doors of the cathedral. "Something feels...off about this church," he muttered. "Something...familiar." He turned and walked down the steps away from the church and went back to exploring the city.
He kept exploring, but he found nothing that he could do. Nobody wanted odd jobs done, and there weren't any places he could get a very temporary job. And, since the shooting gallery was apparantly down, he couldn't think of any way to even win money. He didn't want to waste time hanging around a place unless it was productive, so going to that Wall Racers place was out, sadly. He had nothing to do, but he wasn't going to leave Hyrule Castle Town before he got a look at the ring they had.
Around midday, he sighed in frustration as he sat at the fountain. He had just finished eating lunch at The Broken Rupee, but he had heard no good gossip, even. Boredom and impatience were gnawing at him. 'What could I possibly DO?' he thought. He saw a group of minstrils playing on pipes, drums, lute, violen, and vocals in the shade of a balcony by the castle gates. Some force made him forget the part about him not wanting to waste time unless it was productive as he stood up and walked over to watch and listen.
The minstrils were doing a ballad, one about a young girl who saved her home from being robbed blind through cleverness. When they finished, Link clapped along with the other people in the small audience that had gathered. Some of the people gave them rupees, tossing them into a hat. Link felt a bit obliged, so he donated 15 rupees to them.
"We're sorry, but it's time for us to take a break," said the singer, holding up brightly colored gloved hands. "Thank you for being such a great audience, though, thank you!" The other audience members dispersed, but Link, who had nothing better to do, just hung out, leaning on a pillar. As the musicians sat down to rest, the singer looked up at him. "We're done for a bit, and I don't think you'll want to tire out your legs waiting for us to come up again," he told him in a way that wasn't annoyed or shooing or anything, like some people are.
Link shrugged. "I really can't find anything else to do," he said.
The minstril raised an eyebrow. "Nothing to do, you say?" he asked. He motioned with his hands around town. "This is Hyrule Castle Town! You're BOUND to find SOMEthing to do."
"I've looked," Link said. "I just can't find anything. I'm just passing through, but I'm not leaving until I find an opportunity to see...something," he caught himself.
The minstrils looked at each other, wearing eyebrow-raised smirks, before looking back up at Link. "You're wanting to see that ring that's gotten everyone talking, aren't you?" asked the singer slyly.
Link started. "Eeerrrrrmm..." he said, trying to find a good lie why he wouldn't.
The minstril chuckled. "Don't worry your conical cap about it," he said, shaking his head and batting his hand. "But I've got bad news for you: The chances of anyone getting in during the day are nil. Quite nil, indeed." He shook his head sadly. "I'd fancy a gander, myself, but, alas, I'm simply a minstril. Not the best, either, though I do try, as do we all," he added, motioning to his cohorts.
Link nodded. "You did well from what I heard," he complimented.
The minstril smiled. "We did well, eh? Thank you, kind sir! Truth be told, we're just doing what we love in a way that might make us a rupee or two." He pulled in the hat and raised his eyebrows. "Not a bad haul, so far-we've gotten thirty rupees already."
Link frowned. "That's it? Are performers always this underpaid?" he asked.
The minstrils nodded. "Nobody really pays performers enough money for their services," said the singer, "but we do it anyway, because we just can't stop loving it. Especially true this is for us musicians. We are slaves to the magic that lies within notes and rhythms and, in my case, lyrics."
Link raised an eyebrow. "Magic? That's a way I've never heard it described before," he commented.
The singer grinned, nodding. "Oh, yes, yes, there's quite a bit of magic in music, not just the feeling it gives you," he said. "In quite a few legends, the hero involved has used music to help him in his quest. You'd be surprised what power simple tunes have when played to certain people or at certain places."
This guy was sounding happy, but it sounded like he believed what he was saying. "You're serious, aren't you?" Link asked, a bit curious.
The minstrils nodded vigorously. "Quite," the singer said. "One should never underestimate the power of music."
Link was curious, now. "What could I do with music if I played it on my journey?" he asked, crossing his arms.
The minstril tilted his head. "Music played on a journey? Why, it can do various effects. It could make a goron dance like an idiot or a murder of crows do coreographed moves in the air, or it could do more practical things, such as, if you discover the right melody and play it correctly, unlock a secret passage," he listed. "And, yes, I'm serious about that last one," he chuckled as Link widened his eyes at him. "It's just that you have to put your heart into it," he told him, waggling a finger. "Any fool can learn to play an instrument well. It takes a jester to play it extraordinarilly."
Link wondered at this metaphor for a second (he caught its drift, though). "Hmm...So you have to love music to make its magic work?" he asked.
The minstrils nodded. "Even a little bit helps if you put in some of yourself," the singer said. "Performance IS an art, after all. Think of the greatest swordsmen in Hyrule," he decided to examplify, noticing Link's sword and shield. "Compare them to common guards. Guards usually use swordsmanship just to fight, but true swordsmen put their hearts into it."
Link nodded. "Heck, yeah, they do," he said. "I learned from an excellent swordsman, and he loves every bit of what he does."
"Would you have learned as well had he not loved it?" asked the minstril. Link shook his head. "There you have it: the magic of music and the magic of swordsmanship. Both need the power of the user's heart, and both can commit amazing effects. Swordsmanship's magic can fell the toughest of opponents and defend one against insurmountable odds, and music's magic can do many things-including truly entertain. It's because of the transfer of your soul, your essence, into the world around you. Wonderful...or, conversely, dreadful...things can and will happen when you do that." The minstril smiled at his explaination.
Link thought for a moment. "I wonder if I should have spent some time practicing music when I was back home," he muttered. "I've always liked it...Thinking back now, it doesn't make much sense why I didn't pick it up at some point."
"Then how about now?"
"Huh?" Link looked up at the minstril. "Now? Uuuh...You want me to perform, or learn, or...?" He looked a bit taken by surprise.
The minstril chuckled. "Just try," he answered. He held his hand out to the pipes player, who gave him an ocarina. The singer held the ocarina up to Link. "Here's a simple instrument," he said. "It's been washed recently, don't worry," he told him. "Please! Go ahead and give it a go!"
Link took the ocarina and looked at it. It was shaped like a sweet potato, and it was made of porcilen. It was painted a pleasant, marbled tan and had a crisp Trifoce motif on the mouthpiece. He looked up at the pipe player, who nodded, smiling, before he held it, put his mouth to the piece, and closed his eyes. It almost seemed as if all around him had quieted down already.
"Good, you're holding it right, already!" the singer said. "Now, go ahead and blow." Link did, and an airy sound came from it at an off pitch. "Go ahead and experiment with it. Every time you move a finger or one of your thumbs off or onto a hole, you'll be making some sort of different sound. Try it and see if you like it."
Link did, blowning and fingering a few random positions. He heard a jumble of sounds, which made him want to laugh a bit, but he kept trying, seeing what happened when he moved his fingers with more thought. He liked the sound of the instrument and how easy he could make different sounds.
"So, you like it?" asked the singer. Link opened his eyes and nodded. "Alright! How about playing it for real..." He explained a few fingerings to Link, who promptly played them after learning them. "Okay, then play this tune..." The singer sang a simple, short, two-measure tune using the notes he taught Link on an "Ah" sound.
Link played them in perfect rhythm. He smiled at this. "That wasn't hard!" he said.
"You're not bad, for a beginner," said the singer. He thought for a moment before whispering with the piper. A moment later, he smiled up at Link. "You like that ocarina?" he asked. Link nodded. With a chuckle, the minstril said, "Then it's yours."
Link raised his eyebrows high. "You mean it?" he asked. The minstrils nodded. He smiled broadly and bowed. "Thank you," he said honestly.
"No problem!" said the singer. The piper handed him a sheet of parchment, which the singer handed to Link. "Here: It's a chart explaining the fingerings. Go ahead and find a place to practice, and have fun! We've got to get to performing again, now." He waved. "It was great fun meeting you, though! Come stop by our little shop, Sound of MuZach, once in a while!"
Link smiled and said goodbye and thank you again before moving off. He made his way to the other balcony, which was clear of people, sat down, and started practicing his new instrument. It took him a half hour to memorize all of the fingerings. He soon was able to play a chromatic scale in two octaves up and down after another half hour of practice. He grinned after he played the scales and looked at the instrument. "I've got a bit of a knack for this," he said happily. "I wonder what kinds of melodies I could learn...?"
Across the square, the singer smiled at him.
...
That late afternoon, the lizalfos got within a good range of the town that they could get there pretty quickly in one night and still have time to do things there. They hid in the bushes before their armor revealed them due to shininess. "Alright," the chief said after they had gotten to safety. "The plan is this: After a spy of ours has gone in and caused a distraction to divert the guards' attention, we'll get inside by climing up the back. Well, at least, a special squad of us will; there are too many of us to all go. Five of us will go, not including Samba."
Samba perked up his head at the mention of his name. "Me?" he asked.
"Yes, you're quite important in this plan," the chief told him, smirking, "so listen up. Now, Samba has to go inside the castle until he reaches the room to find what we need. They've been guarding it jealously for a while now, and it's not difficult to find the place with the highest level of security in that place. I have faith in you, Samba, that you can handle it. Besides," he added, scoffing, "most of the hylians in that town are dead scared of us. Unless they have ranged weapons, they'll be no problem for your skills. The rest of you are going to provide backup. Samba needs to get to the item, take it, and escape as soon as possible. Know that if you take too long, Samba, we won't wait for you," he warned him. "I'll just have to find another warrior who can pull off as remarkable a feat as you have."
Samba knew that that wasn't really going to be possible. He gulped and nodded. "I understand, sir," he said with acted confidence.
"You'd better. Who is up for this task of infiltrating Hyrule Castle?" asked the chief. "...No, Drejsk, you'll break the rope we're using to get up with your weight alone...Alright, then, you, you, you, you, and you." He pointed to each in turn. One of the men he picked was Thyu, who still looked a little bored. He ALWAYS looked bored, actually. "We'll remain here. Samba, escape the way you came or, if that's become blocked, any way you can. Take care of-"
"I've known that since yesterday morning, chief," Samba interrupted. "I will take care of anyone who gets in my way."
The chief humphed at the interruption, but paid it no heed. "Good. Now, let us all rest. We've a long night ahead."
They all settled down to rest. Samba wondered if they would be discovered, but the cover they used was tall and shielded them from sight, even from the highest parapet of the castle. Samba wondered what it was he should find, too. The golden Ring of Dualty! That was it! 'Ko said that one of the rings of the main ring was in Hyrule Castle,' he recalled. 'I have the silver one, and, from the sounds of it, that other guy's got the bronze one. I wonder...' He paused a moment before he continued his thought. '...should I try and give the hylians my ring? That might be wise, since whatever those rings can do might not be good if the side of us monsters get them all. For all I know, if someone wears the rings and becomes some mega-Leviathan, whoever is allied to them has the power to control them! The castle'd make sure NOBODY would try that, so I might want to give mine to them.' He looked like he was sure and was about to fall asleep before something else came to his mind.
'...But...the chief would see through any explaination I'd give for why I don't have either their ring or mine, and he'd just send more of us to get them, not to mention he'll kill Vardi, for sure, for my foiling of his plan...but...' He clenched a fist, biting his lip a bit. 'Ko, you told me to think for myself...' He switched sides while lying on his bag as a pillow again. '...but one of the reasons I don't is because I'm never sure about what I think of doing...'
...
Night fell. Link was in the village square again, waiting for something to happen. He was the only one there, apart from the guards by the gates. 'If only they could leave their posts for just a second,' he thought. 'Then I could go in and hide before they got back.' He hid in the shadow of the balcony he had been playing his new ocarina under earlier that afternoon. He then noticed a cloaked figure walking through the plaza. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at it in curiousity. 'Who's that?' he wondered.
The figure looked around cautiously as it went. It stopped in the center of the part of the plaza in front of the gates and between the balconies. It paused for a second, raising its body and lowering it again as if breathing in and out deeply. Then, it took its ha-wait. Were those hands? That didn't look like the right number of fingers...Regardless, it brought out a bow and an arrow with something like a small bedroll wrapped around it. It snapped its fingers over a string sticking from the something attatched to the arrow before quickly nocking it, aiming up over to the castle, and firing.
The guards weren't stupid. They had seen all of this and were calling its attention. "Oi! OI! What are you doing with that? Hey!" one called. They moved away from the gate, going towards it. Then, after it had fired, they ran towards it. "What are you doing?" demanded the guard.
As soon as the figure had fired, however, it turned and ran as fast as it could. It appeared to be hopping off as it ran out of the plaza.
The guards started to chase, but they were already too far from their posts. So, wearing worried expressions as they mumbled something about how they might lose their jobs, they turned around and walked back...
...just as a loud, bright display of fireworks erupted in the air above the castle. Every guard turned and ran to investigate, except the ones at the gate, who simply stopped to watch from a distance.
"Oooooh, nevermind," said one. "I doubt that we'll get fired for letting someone launch some fireworks over the castle."
"I dunno what the occasion is," the other guard said, "but does anyone really care when they're setting off fireworks, these days?"
"...Though, this IS disturbing the peace," mumbled the first after a moment's thought.
"You think we'll get fired, then?" the other asked.
The first thought for a couple of seconds before shaking his head. "Nah," he decided. "They'll at most scold us, I think."
"Oh, well," said the second, shrugging. He leaned on his spear. "At least they're pretty good," he commented.
"Yeah, for a small case of them that we saw that guy have," added the first, doing the same.
"Must be magic, then," the second deduced.
"OOO-oooooh, goodie! That means this is gonna take a while!" the first laughed, rubbing his guantleted hands together.
Right before the guards had turned around to return to their posts, though, Link pressed up against the wall at the opposite end of the gate, heart pounding. 'I'm crazy,' he thought before sneaking around the wall and quickly entering the other gates at the end of the little courtyard after making sure the guards didn't see him.
...
"That's the signal! Go!" the chief said, motioning to Samba and his "bodyguards" to get going. They had been innocently traipsing around, moderately separate, among the other monsters around the field at night, blending in just about perfectly. They stayed a good distance from the castle, but they had their shield arms ready to rise at a moment's notice. When the fireworks began, the guards at the walls had turned and ran to see what the hell was going on. As soon as they had, the lizalfos moved in.
Six of them, one of them Samba (the only one without anything tied to his tail), ran to the wall carrying grappling hooks. A moat separated them from the wall, but they had strong arms and long ropes. They threw their hooks up and caught the top of the wall. After tugging to make sure their holds were strong, they jumped up to grab a good spot on the rope and swung down to the wall. They barely cleared the water, but they began rapelling as soon as they could, gathering rope with them as they went.
When they reached the top of the wall, they dashed to the point where the rear entrance was and put their hooks down again. They slid down the ropes and jumped off as soon as it was safe before running into the building, abandoning their hooks for sake of speed.
...
Link made it to the front entrance with little difficulty, since the fireworks were distracting everyone. 'So far, so good,' he thought. 'Thank you, Mysterious Cloaked Figure!' He walked inside cautiously.
...
Before each party was the same view: A few grand doors at the end of a vast hall. Two red-carpeted staircases, one on each side, went to an upper floor. Only the guards on the left had remained posted.
And both parties were seen.
...
"GO!" ordered Samba as everyone drew their swords and raced out to attack. As the chief had said, the sissy-ass guards were scared stiff of them, and most ran away from the crowd. The few that stayed to fight or cower were easily taken care of. Nobody even bothered to take a life.
Link didn't have it so easy. "Hey!" shouted a guard at the foot of the staircase, pointing at Link. "What are you doing in here? HOW'D you get in here? Leave now!"
Link had come too far. He narrowed his eyes. "Not until I see that ring." he said. "I mean no harm. Just let me see it, and I won't have to see it by force." His patience had worn thin at this point and he was now ready to fight his way through.
"Well, then, you'll have to try that other option," said the guard, drawing his sword. Link drew his and the two faced each other. Link was lucky that his opponent wore armor, otherwise he'd feel very wrong right now in attacking a man who's only doing his job. He actually didn't have to work very hard. He dodged one attack, launched a four-slash combo on the chainmail-wearing guard, and found himself looking at a guard who lay on the ground, holding up a hand and saying, "Spare me!" cowardly.
Link rolled his eyes. 'Oh, BROTHER...' He faced the other one, however, and fought him. He had to fight differently, since his opponent had a spear, this time. He took two steps up the staircase before dealing with two more of them at once. After all four had gone down, he ran to the normal-style door, turned the knob, and opened it, going inside and finding...
A hallway stretched in front of Samba and his group past the door. They found the doorway with the (literally) heaviest guard and ran forward. They knocked out the other cowards that populated the hallway and engaged in battle with the two burlier, braver guards in front of the door they needed to go through. Samba had to avoid their hits before executing a good combo on one of them. They took them quite well with their armor on and everything, but blunt force from a strong tail and a pair of big, powerful blue feet was another thing. Samba made sure his strongest blows of his combo, the third and forth hits, were unarmed combat moves, often jumping and kicking in the head (as much as it hurt his feet to slam into metal). After they had been defeated, his group opened the doors and went through to find...
Link, after a hard battle with the guards in the hallway, opened the more-ornate doors into what looked like a D-shaped room-him facing the straight part-with a spiral staircase going up and left around the wall. A wall separated him from the other party. He found that a guard had been positioned up the stairs every twenty steps. Groaning, he went and avoided them as much as he could, launching a single combo on each one he couldn't run from. He ended up having to deal with all of the ones that came after him from the stairs whenever he had to pause and fight, so he decided to just run up, dodge, and combo the standard-issue, spear- or sword-wielding guards. 'Remind me never to sign up for these positions so that I wouldn't have to deal with my co-workers being cowards...' He then mused, 'I think I see what that minstril was talking about, before.'
Samba and his posse were able to just plow through as normal, roaring a warcry as they went. "This is too easy!" Samba said. (By the way, he had been, indeed, muttering an apology in Hylian before knocking out every guard he dealt with personally.) He spoke too soon, though, as more guards, braver ones, began coming down. He gritted his teeth and had to deal with them first. After a time, he was getting annoyed since they were blocking him from his goal and they weren't all that fun.
"Samba! Go on! We'll handle these guys!" called Thyu, bringing the rest of the group up. Thyu was actually an excellent warrior, and he loved combat as much as Samba and Drejsk. He was also a pretty fast lizalfos, too, which balanced out the duo of him and Drejsk fairly well. He wore a basic warrior's garb, so he risked himself a lot for the sake of speed. The guards had yet to land a blow on him, though.
Samba grunted and blocked a blow. "Hang on," he said, and waited until he was getting slashed vertically at. With a precise movement, he ducked to the side, avoiding it just barely. In fact, it cut the strings holding his extra armor onto him. Now without that annoying weight on him, he was at full speed and jumping ability again. He utilized this and jump-kicked the guard ("Thanks and sorry!") before running on, shouting back, "THANK YOU!" He was able to escape the group of guards and made his way to the top.
"No problem!" Thyu called back. He readied his sword and buckler. "Alright, then, boys, let's get going!" he rallied his comrades, and the battle continued.
Link had to fight his way through, too, and was getting a bit testy. "I have to get through while this chaos is still going, otherwise the other guards are going to come back and I'm completely outnumbered!" he muttered after he was clear of guards on the stairs. A thought struck him, suddenly. 'Wait...what if the guys who made that distraction are here and they're trying to steal the ring?' Cursing, he ran to the top. The steps ended and a new room opened up around him. It curved around to the right around the wall in a corridor. From the accoustics, it didn't sound like a simple corridor, though, and neither did it look it; the wall to his right was different from the one on his left. It was like the left was the edge of the maze while the right was a wall in the maze. He ran down this corridor and met a wall about halfway around, opening to a sharp right turn. The "inside" wall, now on his left, continued on, having a break in the center (which contained a pair of guards standing still and looking panicked at the two fierce swordsmen appearing at the same time), to the opposite wall. In front of him, he saw a set of stairs dead-ahead...and a line of guards.
Both impatient warriors bared their teeth and charged. The wall hid each from view of the other. "Get out-" Samba growled in Hylian, raising his sword, flattening the blade out to be parallel to the floor.
"-of my-" Link continued, winding up his sword behind his back and jumping forwards.
"-WAY!" both roared as they suddenly skidded onto one foot(paw) and spun around in a quick, five-rotation Hurricane Spin Attack across the hall. As they came to the center, the guards there ducked while their blades clashed, making some sparks fly while the swords met like the teeth of two interlocking gears. As the spin stopped, both warriors shook their heads to clear them (Link clearing it first because he was more used to spin attacks) and raced upstairs after muttering, "Sorry," over their shoulder. When they were both gone, the guards looked at their buddies on the ground, knocked unconscious by the two, and then at each other.
"It was like..." one began.
"...they were in sync," the other finished.
Both looked to a staircase in amazement.
Link raced up the second set of the switchback stairs and finally reached the final doors. "Let this be it...!" he hoped before roaring, "OUTTA MY WAY! I'M IN A FOUL MOOD!" to the guards. They looked at each other nervously before stepping apart, letting him through. Link blinked in surprise. "Uh...Thanks," he said as he plowed past them and opened the doors. He gasped and smiled in delight as he saw what was in front of him. He walked towards it.
"MOVE, please!" shouted Samba as he went up the final set of stairs. He used Hylian instead of his native tongue.
The guards started at this, looked at each other, shrugged, and gladly stepped aside, as well.
Samba, too, blinked in surprise. "Reh?...Erm, thanks...?" he muttered as he finally got through the doors. He gaped as he saw what came in front of him.
He saw a light blue, circular room lit by candles. White pillars bordered the chamber. A stained glass window on the left, southern side faced out and had the image of the Triforce above the symbol of the hylians: the Hyrule Eagle that adorns the Hylian Shield and many other things hylian-related. A single doorway apart from the one across from him was to the lizalfos's right. A tall, broad, white stone pedestal stood in the center underneath a small roof with a gilt pillow atop it. It was like a shrine of sorts. On this pillow sat a plain-looking golden ring with a triangular sapphire in it.
'That's GOT to be it!' "The Ring of Dualty!"
Link got there before Samba did, and he had already approached it, pretty much hidden behind the pedestal, when Samba busted in. He heard the same words he'd just spoken escape his lips in Hylian and gasped quietly. 'Someone IS trying to steal it!' he concluded. He narrowed his eyes and waited for a second, catching his breath, before he got ready.
Samba gaped. 'No way...No WAY...like my dreams...' He shook his head, closing his mouth, and hoped that what he had dreamed wouldn't come true. He took two steps. 'I've GOT to take a good look at this before I decide what I'm going to do...' He had taken one more step when a shadowy figure stepped out from behind the pedestal. Samba stopped short, dropping his jaw a little again, and muttered. "...You're kidding..." in his native tounge. 'JUST LIKE MY DREAM!'
Link stepped out, sword drawn, and was admittedly surprised when he saw a single lizalfos in front of him. He was a bit more surprised when he saw that it was blue. 'Are they normally blue like this?' he wondered. 'I'd thought they were green...Well, lizards can be practically any color they want, so...' He held his sword down, ready to get into stance. "So, you're the one making all the chaos," he said.
Samba gasped a bit, stepping back as the figure revealed itself, before growling. "And you're the one I've been wanting to fight..." he muttered in his language, lowering his head and looking up at Link. Crouching for combat, he said, "Partly," in Hylian, surprising Link as the green-clad swordsman's assumption was revealed as true. "I'm only here to see the ring; nothing more." He twirled his sword, tail twitching to and fro.
Link twirled his. "Really," he said, crouching for combat as well. "I'm sorry, but I don't believe you. I'M the one who's just here to see it. You're here to steal it, aren't you?"
"Yes, I'm SUPPOSED to, but you're thinking of doing that, yourself, aren't you?" Samba replied, raising an eyeridge.
The two faced each other for a second. The guards who had let them in peeked through the open doors and squeaked in fright before shutting them. They opened them a bit again, though, to poke their heads through and watch, lifting their visors.
Meanwhile, downstairs, the lizalfos quintet had cleared the turning staircase and were racing to catch up to Samba, Thyu grabbing his armor as he passed by it. They were surprised when they found only two cowering guards were left standing in the next room. Thyu, the new leader of the group and therefore first, blinked in surprise at this before giving a questioning glance to the two standing at their posts, shaking in fear. He tilted his head curiously and opened his mouth, about to ask something, when the guards pointed down the way of the stairs Samba had gone up. The lizalfos trotted off, taking advantage of the fact that they had no opposition left. When they reached the top of the next stairs, they found two guards looking through the doors.
Thyu tilted his head, even more puzzled, as they met this sight. One of the guards heard them coming and turned his head. He raised his eyebrows at them. "Woah! More of them!" he whispered to his partner, who turned to look and raised his eyebrows as well.
In a hoarse whisper, the second guard told them, "One of your guys came through here and it looks like he's gonna fight this blonde guy in green over that ring we've all been guarding. We let him through not just because he asked, but if anyone can get through all the other guards, what's the point? Anyway, they're still busy with the dramatic calm-before-the-storm staredown. Could you please let us watch it before you try to kill us?" he asked nicely.
Thyu raised his eyeridges at this information. Believe it or not, he knew a fair bit of Hylian, himself; he learned it indirectly by sneaking over and eavesdropping on Samba and Ko during lessons sometimes when he was bored. (He thought Ko was a coot, but he was secretly thankful of that.) "Uh...I guess," he said back in Hylian uncertainly before turning to the other four. "Guys, Samba's at the thing the chief wants and is about to have a huge fight over it!" he told them in his first language. Everyone, interested to see why their chief liked Samba so much, raised their eyeridges and looked intrigued. Thyu turned back to the humans and tilted his head curiously. The guards looked at them, then each other, then them again.
Within moments, the door Samba had passed through was full of seven faces looking in-two human guards looking from the bottom and a stack of lizalfos going up from them. Thyu sat on the shoulders of one and formed the top. He felt a little silly with the whole scene (but knew they couldn't sate their curiousity otherwise), so he was relieved when he saw that some of the guards from below had come to and were doing the exact same thing on the other side.
The two in the room, ignoring this all, continued to wait for the first strike from the other. Then, without warning, the two sprang out at each other at the same time. Link, the hylian lefty with amazing swordsmanship and good overall athletic abilities, not to mention a couple useful items, on one side. Samba, the lizalfos righty with great swordsmanship and excellent lower body-centered abilities, not to mention a nice spell and one heck of an arm, on the the other. They met in a clash, and the battle began.
They pushed against each other for a while, one trying to overpower the other, before Samba eventually won. He swung, but he missed. Link had sidejumped. Samba turned to slash him again, but Link dived into a roll that went all the way around him in a circle before rising in a spinning slash across his back. Samba roared at the pain and turned around, slapping Link back with his tail. 'I'm going to skip that part in my dream where I did everything but my own style,' the monster decided before charging.
Link skidded back and clashed his sword against his. He threw his arm to the side and managed a couple slashes before Samba blocked with his buckler. Samba countered by parrying his fourth sword slash and launching a couple slashes himself. Link blocked the third slash, too, but before he could parry a sword slash, as well, the hylian was surprised by a mighty jumping kick to his face with large feet. He was blown backwards onto his back. He rolled to the side and rose in a horizontal slash, striking.
Samba was hit by it in the side, and he grunted in pain as he raised his buckler to block the sword swings. He took a quick stab after making Link's sword bounce back. He missed and was met by a spin attack. He was blown back, too, and he winced as he got up. The two panted at each other for a second before, with a yell, running to each other and meeting in a difficult, fast, amazing swordfight, sparks flying as metal met metal.
Both fighters had a bit of a disadvantage because the other was a mirror image in the way they held their weapons. They were able to get a good clashing party going on, though, full of slashes, strikes, parries, and blocks. Samba's secret weapon, his kicking, never had a good chance to be used. Likewise, Link never found a chance to back off and stun Samba with his boomerang or deku nuts. Neither let the other alone long enough to use their projectiles. On both sides of the room, their audience watched in wonder and awe at the battle.
The two clashed and slashed, getting in a hit now and then. Then, after a full minute, Link was able to get in a full combo, vertical, horizontal, stab, spin attack. Samba flew away, getting up slowly and in great pain. Then, with a roar, he charged, waled his sword, two-pawed, into Link's to knock it away for a moment so that he could get in a combo as well-vertical, stab, horizontal, reverse hook kick to the jaw. Link flew away as well, getting up slowly and in great pain as well.
The two met in one more clash, another, and then both slashed a mighty horizontal at each other simultaneously, knocking them both back. They paused to catch their breath for a moment. Bloody, wheezing, and barely able to grip their swords, they realized that they were both on their last heart. No pots, grass, or rocks in sight, either. Link had forgotten about the fairy still in his bottle (I wonder how those things can survive in there for more than even a few minutes without air...). They looked at each other for a moment, looking into the eyes of their adversary.
Link stared into the slitted pupils of a monster.
Samba stared into the round pupils of a hylian.
And both stared into the fierce pupils of a warrior. They thought, 'This is the best fight I've ever had in my life,' despite their pain and anger towards the other for getting in their way of the ring.
With a few more pants, Link raised his sword again, starting to circle. Samba did as well. They paced and waited, each ready to counterattack the other's charge. A full ten seconds passed before they gave up and charged at each other at the same time.
Link raised his sword and swung, a mighty yell coming from his throat, blonde hair and green cap fluttering behind him as he raced.
Samba raised his sword and swung, a great roar coming from his maw, metal armor and buckler flashing the light of the candles while he moved in.
Every lizalfos and guard watching gasped and held their breath, the outcome of the battle about to be decided.
"STOOOP!"
The two swords stopped a hair away from each other. Fighter and spectator alike turned their heads to the sound of the voice and gasped at the same time.
From around the pedestal to the swordsmen and around a pillar at the wall by the door for the audience, they all saw her with her half-bicep-length-gloved hand outstretched, palm out. Princess Zelda, dressed in her full formal outfit, was standing by the third door mentioned before, looking as if she had just run in. She looked about sixteen. "I will NOT have any more blood needlessly shed upon the floor of this castle," she said, breathing a bit heavily. She slowly lowered her arm. "Enough is enough. It is apparant, besides," she added, a wry smile flitting on her face, "that you two are, though different in style, equals in combat. The only way this could end would have likely been a draw with neither surviving. And that, I must stress, canNOT occur." She began walking over to them. "Step away from each other and come around the pedestal," she ordered, though it was a bit more gentle than most orders. Her voice was still firm, however.
Link and Samba looked at each other for a moment, blinking in surprise while they panted, before, slowly, standing up straight and backing away. They looked at each other for a moment.
"Sheathe your blades. There shall be no more fighting tonight." She stopped a few feet from the pedestal.
The two looked at their blades, then at each other once more. They then saluted each other by sheathing their swords in their fancy ways. The ring of both blades returning to their sheathes at the exact same time echoed off of the walls.
The guards and lizalfos dropped their jaws without opening their mouths, making their faces long (or longer) and their lips squeezed, for a moment. "They ARE in sync," muttered one of the two guards who had come from below.
As Link and Samba turned to face Zelda, the princess looked at the faces peeking through on either side and shook her head. "Guards. Lizalfos." Both parties tensed at their addressal. "Return from whence you came, or, at least, close the doors," she ordered. "I am glad that you have decided to stop fighting if only to watch, but I need to speak to these two alone. This is very important. When you go, I request that you please tell nobody of this fight and fight with each other no more, for now."
Everyone jumbled, many falling down on top of each other, as they raced to close the doors as ordered by the princess. Then, when the doors had been shut again, they all looked at each other, blinking, before they pressed their ears to the doors. All they could hear were mumbles from through the heavy wood, so they decided to, reluctantly (since this would still have been some serious gossip, even if it was between only themselves), leave. Indeed, the two door guards agreed to accompany Thyu and his group while they left the castle peacefully.
"You know, you guys aren't that bad," complemented one of the guards as the group walked down the stairs.
Thyu shrugged. "Yes, being descended from a tribe that settled into a well-organized village community ages ago can do that to a race," he said. "Just don't expect us to be goody-two-footpaws. I mean, hey, we're still monsters, after all." He grinned as he said this part.
The guard shrugged. "I know, I know," he said. "I was just expecting you guys to be less open to peace, that's all."
Thyu scoffed. "Hey, one of the advantages of getting smarter is recognizing different ways to survive," he said. "Sure, we're probably not gonna get what our chief wanted us to get, but Samba's gotta handle that and we were told to come back if he didn't in time and ditch him, anyway, so it's no scales of OUR backs." He frowned as he looked over his shoulder back at the closed doors. 'Just...don't make us leave you for long, blue boy,' he thought.
When they were finally alone, Link, Samba, and Zelda stood and faced each other. Zelda took a deep breath and exhaled it before she began. "First, tell me who you are." She pointed to Link.
"Link," he introduced himself.
"Link," Zelda repeated, and she moved her hand to point at Samba, "and...?"
Samba looked away nervously. He wanted out. He was stuck with no way to get back to the chief. 'What do I do?' he wondered. 'If I don't return with the ring...But...I can't do anything...What? What should I do?' He then rembered something Ko said: "Whatever you do, don't take anything said to you directly from Princess Zelda for granted. Listen to her. She is descended from a line of princesses who have borne the Triforce of Wisdom. If she asks you a favor, I'd do it." Samba clenched his fist and nodded. 'At this point, it's all I can do,' he reasoned, and, after looking back again, he said, in Hylian, "My name is Samba."
Zelda didn't appear surprised at the intelligence. "Link and Samba," she said, tasting the names as she lowered her arm. "Now, tell me...why are you here? Link, you first." She looked seriously at him.
Link gulped at this. 'I'm getting busted by the princess of Hyrule!' he thought. He nodded, though, resolute. "I came here because I wanted to see the ring here," he said truthfully. "I was getting a bit impatient, so I started to sneak in. The chaos began, though, and I had to fight my way up here. I was fighting Samba because I didn't want it to steal the ring, which I think would be a bad thing."
Zelda nodded. "And Samba?" she asked.
Samba gave a glare to Link first. "I am male, thank you very much," he spat. Then, to Zelda he began, "I-" but he hesitated.
"The truth," Zelda ordered firmly. "It's always best to tell the truth."
Samba was astounded at the power in her gaze and voice. 'She could put the chief to shame,' he thought. 'But, then, of course; she's the princess of all Hyrule.' He started again, "I am here to retrieve something for my chief. He didn't tell me what, but I've known for a long time that the Ring of Dualty is what he seeks." He hesitated before he continued on, "Truth be told, however...while I was sent to steal the ring, I have seriously been having second thoughts. Before deciding anything, I wanted to see if this is the ring I thought it was."
Zelda nodded. "So you both know what that is, then?" she asked, looking at the ring on the pillow. They nodded. "The golden Ring of Dualty, also known as Nayru's Ring of Dualty." She paused for a moment before asking, "You know what happens if you put on the ring, don't you?" They nodded slowly. "How? Did someone tell you...or is it from personal experience?" Zelda added that second part in a quieter voice.
Both swordsmen were visibly surprised at the obviously-educated guess, but they closed their open mouthes and stood straight before nodding seriously.
Zelda bowed her head. "I see." She raised her head after a moment and asked, "Then you two have seen the other rings, haven't you?"
Samba simply nodded, but Link looked unsure. Then, after a moment, they watched as he dug in his pocket. Eyebrows and eyeridges raised as he brought out the bronze Ring of Dualty. Samba looked at this for a moment before he nodded resolutely. He dug in his pebble bag and brought out the silver Ring of Dualty. Both held their rings in their dominant palms out to Zelda.
She looked a little surprised at this before giving a small giggle. "No, I'm wrong," she said. "You HAVE the other rings." She shook her head and looked at them in the eyes. "From what you've answered, am I right in assuming that you had to face a challenge with a Leviathan of Material to get your respective rings?" The two nodded. "Really. I'd like to know how, if you don't mind," Zelda said, crossing her arms as the two lowered their arms, still holding their rings in their hand/paw.
Link nodded and recounted his story: "I braved the Forest of Peril in order to stop a thief who had made off with the entire till from our shop that my grandfather and I run, Bardin's Bargins, in my home village of Kochyrae. I had to endure its puzzles and battles before I found the key to the door I saw the thief enter-the same one that led to the Leviathan of Wood, Ruedekul. After Ruedekul betrayed the thief, who, sadly, turned out to be a friend of mine, it tried to kill us both. While my friend was incapacitated with a broken swordarm, I went and fought Ruedekul myself. I had no clue about what it had, fighting only to save myself and my friend, but, after a tough battle that carried on through to the early morning, I finally defeated it using my sword, shield, and the magical item I found within the depths of the Leviathan's lair-ironically using the very same material that it claimed to be the master of in all three cases." He chuckled a bit and looked at his sword as Samba and Zelda widened their eyes at the implication that he won by using a WOODEN sword. "Trust me, I still have trouble believing it," he said, holding up his right hand and shaking his head. "But it wasn't easy, let me tell you. I'm certain that if my friend had given me his metal sword, which I carry now, instead of that wooden sword for training usage, things would have gone a lot faster. Regardless, I took the Ring of Dualty and, after talking with my friend and my grandfather, decided that I should leave my home to protect it."
"From what-the effect of the ring when you put it on, or from the rumors of monsters banding together to find it?" Zelda asked. Samba looked at her with an impressed look on his face. 'She's the descendent of the holders of the Triforce of Wisdom, indeed!'
Link was surprised, too. 'I swear, she can read minds!' "The latter," he replied. "My friend says he has a lizalfos friend named Ko, who he talked to and lear-"
"WHAT?" Samba interrupted, turning to face Link. "A lizalfos named Ko?"
Link had that uneasy look that you might get when someone does that to you and you weren't expecting it. "Uuuuhhh...yeah," he said. He then caught on. "Wait, you're a lizalfos, too! Do you mean you know him?" he asked.
Samba nodded. "Of COURSE!" he replied. "He's the only teacher of Hylian in our village-he taught me and my sister, and he told me one day that a human friend he sometimes talked to said that one of the Rings of Dualty was taken by a friend of his. He was talking about YOU!" He pointed in amazement at Link. "I'll be grachin' damned!...Lizalfos curse," he explained after a pair of blank looks.
Link couldn't help but chuckle a little. "I guess it's a smaller world than I thought," he commented. "But anyway, yeah, your friend Ko warned Betta, my friend, about the monster uprising. From the fact that you're here, I see it's true," he added with a bit of grim humor in his voice.
Samba sighed, nodding. Zelda nodded at them. "Thank you, Link," she said. "Now, what about you, Samba?" she asked.
Samba nodded. "Well, as Link said, Ko knew about the little 'uprising' our chief is a part of," he began. "He's actually a very good person, Ko, even better than most of us other lizalfos. Only my sister and mother can match him in that, at least that I know." He left out any comment about himself, hoping that they percieved it as modesty. "He told me and Vardi, my little sister, about the Rings of Dualty, which he referred to as shards of a single, powerful item, and how one of them was quite close to our village, Jgk'hry. It was inside of a place that is feared by many of our village, a cave known as the Empty Cavern. I bet our chief wanted to get it at some point soon, so, when the date of many of the adult males' departure to here-I was fairly sure I was included, but recent events completely ensured it-was only a couple days away, he exiled Rargon, the father of Vardi's best friend, Rakeh, to the cave. The next night, Vardi secretly joined Rakeh and her mother on a quest to bring Rargon some food and water. I woke up in the middle of the night after having a dream-which I want to get to later-and, after following my instincts to check on the person my mother entrusted me to protect and discovering she wasn't there, I grabbed my stuff, a bit of bread, and raced to save her before she got killed. All in all, all I had to defend myself with were my tail, feet, buckler, bag of pebbles for throwing, and a practice sword that was really just a longish, thin piece of metal that has a flattened part to simulate a sword blade."
Link raised his eyebrows. "You went in with a fake weapon, too?" he asked in disbelief. 'This is getting scary...'
Samba nodded and continued. "So, like Link, I wasn't in the Empty Cavern to find the Ring of Dualty, but I was there to do something important to me; in my case, it was rescuing my sister from certain death. After I got midway through the Empty Cavern-which isn't empty at all, what with all the things in there that HAD to have been put there by people, like chain-hung platforms, weird doors, and COMPLETELY MARBLE ROOMS-I fought and saved a posessed Rargon. Together, he and I-though I did most to all of the work-worked our way through the rest of the cavern, braving the enemies and puzzles put there before we, too, found the key to the Leviathan's chamber." He paused, then shrugged and tilted his head to the sides while adding, "Well, alright, first I found the key, but then I had to go and finish this one major puzzle I'd put down because I was intimidated by the looks of the last room it involved on my map, but I had to solve it then and found a gear that I needed for the door to work." He continued normally, "After that, we went to the chamber of the Leviathan of Stone, Krungratrg. That guy was nuts, I tell you. We had to go there because that's where we smelled our family members had gone. I had to figure out a way to kill him after Rargon, who had been possessed by Krungratrg before, got knocked out just about right away..." He groaned. "Sorry, but I'm still annoyed that I had to go through getting the key and gear in the first place, since Rargon is over eight feet tall, all muscle, and could have probably taken down the door with a good punch, but NOOOOOO, he had to let his fear overcome his desire to save his family..." He shook his head. "Regardless, I now bet I couldn't've avoided a fight, so I fought Krungratrg and defeated him, cheating death in the process through a fairy I bottled outside the entrance to his lair. I used a spell I found in the same room as the one I fought the possessed Rargon in. The spell's called Fire Pebble, and it will make any pebble I throw-something that's already been compared to an arrow, not to brag-cause a large spark on impact. I used that spell as well as my sword and buckler, hence the dents, to defeat him. I saved my sister, Rargon's family was reunited with him after he woke up, and I found the Ring of Dualty." He held it out again.
"But that's not all: After I got out of the Empty Cavern, I was confronted by my chief, who took everyone I at least helped save from the dungeon captive and said that if I didn't follow his orders, he'd order Vardi to be killed, and I suspect he'll do something to Rargon's family. Not just that, he's going to use poor Rargon as a test subject for increasing one's size using excess amounts of our main and most important export: lizaflorenized blue potion, which is normal blue potion enhanced with the same kind of medicinal herbs that saved my ancestors' lives when they founded Jgk'hry, lizafloren. Not only does it work like normal blue potion, it even heals wounds recieved after you drink it for a few minutes! It also enhances growth if excessively drank, and I guess some may think Rargon, who has the chance to secretly drink it a lot since he works at the place in our village where it's made, is getting what he deserves. I don't, though. And I don't think our chief is being a good chief by holding loved ones hostage in order for his people to do his bidding." He clenched a fist. "My mother ordered me to look after Vardi, and I'm not doing a good job. I'm worried that if I don't follow my chief's orders, he's going to kill Vardi. If there's one person I don't ever want to fail, it's my mother, let alone the fact that I don't want my sister to die. But..." He looked at his ring. "If I give the chief the Rings of Dualty, I know something horrible will happen, won't it?"
"Yes, something horrible WILL happen," Zelda said. Before she continued, she gave a wry smile and commented, "For a lizalfos who learned Hylian as a second language, I've got to admit-not only is it very good, but you're quite talkative, too."
Samba blushed and squeaked. "W-Well, it's just...well, I've been through a lot, and I guess I just wanted to let it all out," he flustered. "Sorry if I ended up boring you! I'm usually not such a waggletounge!" He put a paw behind his head.
Zelda smiled. "That's alright," she said. "Besides, you had to talk a lot more than Link because it seems your reason was more complex. You told me what I wanted, though, and I thank you for that. I'm certain, now, that both of you are telling the truth and that you got those rings yourselves," she said, face turning serious again. They both held up their rings. "Samba, you're right in thinking that something horrible will occur if all three are collected and put in the wrong hands...or paws, in your case. What will happen is, eventually, Hyrule will be doomed to fall to evil. And I'm not saying it will fall to whoever has it-I'm just saying it will, and it just might include that recieving party."
The two swordsmen looked at each other for a moment before they looked at the rings. "So these will cause the downfall of Hyrule?" Link asked.
Zelda shook her head. "No, not them directly," she said. "You see, the godesses created those rings as a way to allow Hyrule to be saved should an evil so powerful, one person alone cannot defeat it. Thus, if that evil comes and the rings are in the wrong hands, nobody will be able to stop it."
"What about an army?" Link asked.
Zelda shook her head again. "No army could defeat this evil," she said. "This sort of evil is the same type that has threatened Hyrule time and again..." She looked up to the stained glass window. "The same kind of evil that has been struck down by the Legendary Hero." She looked at Link and Samba. "This hero has often weilded one eternal weapon that only he has the power to hold." She looked like she was waiting to see if they knew.
Samba was the first to come up with the name. "The Blade of Evil's Bane," he said. "Otherwise known as the Master Sword. The same weapon that has slain countless people of my race. I admit," he said, holding up a paw, "I hold a sort of grudge to that."
"Recall that you are intelligent and calmer, whereas, no offence, the others of your kind are more...well, monstrous," Zelda reminded him. "Your village is full of those who bear enough wisdom to perhaps, someday, form a good relationship with the rest of Hyrule, whereas the others of your kind try to kill practically anything they see. Your grudge comes out of a belief that your kind is unfairly oppressed, but your kind, specifically, is a small group that, frankly, not many people even know about, and the rest are, frankly, deserving of death if death is all they wish."
Samba blinked at this as it sank in. "Well, I'll be," he muttered. "You've got one heck of a point, there." (She DOES have one, right...?)
Zelda nodded. "Thank you. Anyway, as I have said, the Master Sword has had but one wielder throughout time: The Legendary Hero or one of his descendents. But when a time comes that one is not enough to overcome the evil..." She trailed off, again seeing if they could piece together the answer.
Link and Samba thought for a second before, this time, Link came up with it. He had the look on his face, the distant, slowly tilting up look that comes when something major dawns on you. He looked at his ring, at Samba's, and at the one on the pillow. "When one weilder of the Master Sword isn't enough," he muttered while turning back to Zelda slowly, "the Rings of Dualty allow it to be shared by others!"
Zelda nodded. "Correct, but it's actually only one other," she said. "True, there are three rings, but that's how it can work." She held one hand up. "Each person wears at least one ring and the one with the second ring, as well, is the one who is allowed to hold the Master Sword at that time." She held the other hand up. "The other holds a normal sword and can either work alongside the weilder of the Master Sword or hide within their ring and let their partner wear it, where they have the chance to see whatever their partner sees, hear whatever their partner hears, and go wherever their partner goes while their partner can do things that might be easier without the other." She closed one hand. "At any time, the weilder of the Master Sword can switch their weapon to allow the other to weild it, the third ring appearing around the other's finger and the swords becoming normal or the Master Sword, respectively," she said, switching which hand is closed. She closed her hands together, lacing her fingers. "Working together, the wielders of the Master Sword can accomplish tasks that one alone could never do, even if he was the Legendary Hero himself. While the blade can only go to one at a time, both swordsmen hold at least a little of the power to repel evil in their blades as long as they wear a ring."
Link and Samba looked at their rings. "That's...a bit complicated," Link said, "but I guess it's pretty good if you can't split the Master Sword into two swords."
"But why tell us all of this?" asked Samba, looking at Zelda. "There's no way that Link and I are the ones destined to weild Evil's Bane!"
Zelda gave them a long, serious look. "I have not introduced myself, have I?" she finally asked. "I am Princess Zelda...and, like the others in my line, I sometimes have prophetic dreams. In one I had a few nights ago, I saw darkness covering Hyrule. However, two beams of light shone out from opposite corners of the land." She looked at Link. "One came from the lush forest in the southeast." She looked at Samba. "One came from the giant mountain in the northwest." She looked at both of them. "At the bases of the rays of light, I saw two shadows, beastlike in form, rise and fall. Standing in their places were figures, holding their palms up to catch a ring falling into them. The figures vanished as the lights then traveled to the location of the castle, making a wake in the darkness for a moment before it swallowed the clear ground behind them up again. When the lights converged here, however, they became a single, enormous, growing wave of light that washed away the darkness." She looked at the two of them in turn-Link, then Samba. They looked back with curious and wondering faces. "I now believe that the figures I saw were the two of you," she stated quietly.
Link and Samba jerked back, widened eyes.
"HUH?"
"REH?"
"US?" They looked at each other.
"But I just got lucky," Link insisted. "I didn't TRY to be heroic and get this ring!"
"And I'm a monster!" reasoned Samba. "There's no way a MONSTER can weild the thing that kills it on contact!"
Zelda shook her head, chuckling a little. "But I have to argue two points," she said. "Link, no hero TRIES to be heroic-they just do what is right. Besides, while luck may have helped, it was mostly your skill that earned you the ring...and I have a feeling that you know that. That's a sign of the Legendary Hero, by the way; humbleness."
Link blushed at this. "But...I'm not...I'm just..." he muttered.
Zelda smiled at him a little before looking at Samba. "As for you, Samba," she said, "I would like you to know that a gerudo prophecy was made some time ago. It said that a monster, of all things, would someday weild the power to repel evil through the use of a ring that made all but those destined to wear it into monsters that are even worse than the one that would gain the power. Not only that," she added wryly, "but it's called the Blade of EVIL'S Bane, not MONSTERS' Bane."
Samba gaped at this. "But...I'm still...I'm a..." he muttered.
Zelda sighed and pointed at the rings. "There's only one way for you two to see if I'm telling the truth or not, I see," she said. "Go. Put on the rings. You will not change immediately if you are not destined, but you will definitely feel it quite quickly if you are one of the chosen. Please, trust me. I am obliged to strongly refrain from lying to my people-which includes anyone or anything that resides within Hyrule." She lowered her arms and rested them in front of her, clasped together.
Link and Samba looked at her, at each other, and finally at the rings. Samba gulped. "Well, Ko advised me to listen to Princess Zelda and do any favor she asks me to do," he pointed out. "Here goes my sanity..." He picked up the ring and looked at it for a moment before blinking. "Errr...I forgot," he muttered. He turned to Zelda and held his second-to-last claw out (by curling his last and pointing his pointer and middle straight up while pressed together) and then held the ring in two of his other digits in his other paw. The ring was a fair bit smaller than the claw. "My claws are a bit too big for this ring! I suppose that the godesses will have to get it resized for me, oh, well!" He chuckled nervously. (His paws were just a bit big. He had five digits-a rarity, but not a unique one to him like his blue scales are-despite his gloves having only three holes for them. He didn't mind having two fingers in one hole, however.)
"Nice try," Zelda said flatly, giving an unfazed expression. "The rings are magical-it's not that hard for them to expand and contract to fit their wearer. Put it on."
Link, who had found his ring a tiny bit big and was hoping that he could evade it, too, sighed in defeat along with Samba. Both turned to each other, held up their rings to look, gulped and slowly put them on their dominant hand/paw. As Link put his on, point of the triangle facing his fingernail, it shrank to fit the finger. Conversely, as Samba put his on, point facing his arm, it expanded around his thicker knuckles. They finished sliding them to the final knuckle and released them with their other hand/paw, tensing up as they did.
As soon as they were on, a flash of light emitted from the stones, emerald from Link's and ruby from Samba's. The light blinded Samba a little, who shielded his eyes, and disturbed Link, who tilted his hand away a bit while squinting. The light filled their bodies, however, and shone from their eyes, which widened as they felt some inexplicable power flow through them. A second later, the light faded and all was normal.
Zelda was watching, mouth open a little. Now, though, she closed it into a smile. "I can't believe it," she whispered, looking down a bit and putting a hand on her sternum. "It WAS a prophetic dream. It really was." She closed her eyes for a moment before looking up at them again. They were currently looking at themselves and at the rings. "I see that I was right," she said. "If you were to become monsters, they wouldn't have lit up as they did after you let them go; nor would you have felt the power to repel evil flow through you as it seemed you did."
Link and Samba gaped at her. "You mean..." Link began.
"We can..." Samba continued.
Zelda nodded. "Yes," she confirmed. "You can wield the Master Sword. Not only that," she added, "but you must share the blade between yourselves as you seek both the identity of and a way to destroy the evil that is, I can feel, starting to threaten Hyrule."
Link and Samba slowly looked at each other. They blinked for a second before looking at her, pointing at the other and asking, "I've got to work with HIM?"
Zelda raised an eyebrow playfully. "You sound angry," she noticed. "I think you two would actually make a great team. Your abilities balance each other quite nicely-while Link is better at swordplay, from what I've seen, and can travel freely throughout human settlements, Samba has the advantage of increased mobility thanks to his powerful legs and knows things about other monsters...?"
Samba nodded. "A fair bit, naturally," he admitted. He narrowed his eyeridges and stamped his large foot. "But he tried to KILL me!"
"And I'm a human while he's a monster!" added Link.
Zelda held her hands up. "Please, you're both sounding like a couple of children whining about who started it," she informed them. "It's immature. This is what Destiny has given you, so I ask that you two settle the racial differences between you and work together."
Samba stood up reluctantly. "Well, if you put it that way," he muttered.
Link stood up, too. "I guess that was a little childish," he admitted.
Both looked at each other for a second before Link smiled and held his hand out. Samba nodded, smiling a small bit, and took it. The two shook hands/paws, and Zelda smiled at them.
"Thank you," she said. She walked over and took the third ring. "Now, which sister shall Nayru's Ring join first?" she asked, looking at them. "Will it be Farore's or Din's? Should it go to the descendent of the Hero, or to the first person aside from the Hero or his descendents to hold the Master Sword?"
The two blinked for a moment at this before looking at their hand/paw after parting. They looked up again. "Thumb war?" Link asked.
"No, you've got your dominant hand while I've got my weak one or the other way around; it'd be unfair," Samba said. "Flip a coin?"
"All I have are rupees," Link said.
"Then that only leaves one thing I think you two can use," Zelda said, stepping back.
The two swordsmen nodded and put a foot back as they looked at each other with a competitor's glare. Then, raising their fists and shaking them, they began...
"Rock, parchment, SHEARS!"
They thrust their hands (screw it, I'm gonna say that 'hands' instead of 'hand(s)/paw(s)' is okay) out to the middle. Samba slapped his palm to his muzzle and let out a "Raaaaaaaaugh!" while Link just pumped his fist into the air.
"Parchment covers rock," said Zelda, chuckling as Link's hand breifly closed around Samba's closed fist. "So Nayru's Ring joins Farore's Ring." She gave the ring to Link. "Place it on the same finger as the other." Link did so and found that it slid perfectly down to the side of his triangle when worn most comfortably.
Zelda then explained how to teleport the rings between each other. By willing it, the one holding Nayru's Ring can teleport it to the one without it. If the one without it wills it, they will teleport their ring to the other one, instantly becoming a being of light within their ring (and completing the Triforce on the finger holding all three rings). The one with the extra, third ring is the only one who can let them back out again, though, by physically removing it and tossing it to an empty space beside them or a little away from them. They couldn't use this very strategically, however, since the range before the other...er...person with the ring reappears is only five feet, and it cannot be thrown over an edge or wall. Also, when one is a being of light, they can appear from their ring as a globe of colored light, colored according to the ring they hide within, and speak to their partner. They can then also fly from their ring, like a then-mythical Kokiri's fairy, for a distance of up to thirty feet away. By using these abilities, they will be able to use the power of the Master Sword together with much greater ease.
Link and Samba both practiced these skills a bit at Zelda's request. Then, when they were finished, she took a step back to the door. "You are doing very well," Zelda said. "Will you please use the Rings of Dualty and the Master Sword, once you find it, to save Hyrule?" she asked, placing her hands together.
Link and Samba looked at each other, then at their rings (Link had Nayru's right now). They looked at Zelda and both nodded. "If it's my destiny, I guess I have no choice," Link reasoned.
"Not only would keeping Hyrule safe ultimately keep my family and home safe, but I have been advised to take on any favor you request," Samba reasoned.
Zelda bowed to them, making them start a little. "Thank you very much, Link and Samba," she said. As she rose, she brought out a harp from behind her back somewhere. "I have one last thing to tell you, since I have to leave for my duties," she said. "The Master Sword is currently being looked after by the zoras of Zora's Domain-specifically, King Zora. He knows that if the time comes, he shall allow the Knights of Dualty-you two-to enter the ruins of the fabled Temple of Time, where the Master Sword remains on its pedestal."
Samba scoffed. "Me? A knight?" he asked. He shook his head, laughing, "No way! The Master Sword I can barely grasp-no pun intended-but being a knight?"
"Are you not loyal to someone and bound to protect?" asked Zelda, raising an eyebrow.
Again, Samba widened his eyes at her point. "You...You're right..." He looked down. "I...never thought of it like that..."
Zelda smiled. "Samba, you are unique among lizalfos," she said. "Your heart is far more noble than you think. Just don't let that get to your head, though, or it will be ruined," she added, chuckling.
Samba blushed a little. "Th-Thank you, Princess," he mumbled. "I'll...keep that in mind..."
Zelda nodded and looked serious again. "Do either of you have an instrument or know how to sing?" she asked.
Link raised his eyebrows and brought out his ocarina. "Well, I'll be damned," he muttered, bringing it out. "I think I'm about to learn something NOW!" He nodded and held it up, saying louder, "I have an ocarina that a kind minstril gave to me just earlier today. I have practiced it all day while waiting for a chance to enter the castle, so I'm confident in using it."
Samba brought out the voucher, looking left out. "All I've got is a freebie for a stringed instrument at a place called Sound of MuZach," he grumbled, blushing again.
Link raised his eyebrow as he looked at it. "That's the place that the minstrils asked me to visit. Where'd you get that?" he asked.
"Ko gave it to me as a going-away present," Samba answered plainly.
Zelda chuckled. "I see that luck is on our side for the moment," she said. "Samba, just do your best to remember this melody, while Link, I ask that you memorize this right now." She held her hand up by her harp, ready to pluck. "Listen closely. This is a song that is both a mark of royal connections and the lullaby for my ancestor." She played three simple notes twice, paused, and played them again.
Link knew what to do as he listened. After he had the music in his ears, he raised his ocarina and played the 6/8 tune. (Every two oo's makes up one full beat.) Doooooo-doo-doooo...Doooooo-doo-doooooo...Then, he suddenly felt knowledge dawn on him. He repeated the melody, playing with passion. Doooooo-doo-doooo...Doooooo-doo-doooo...Doooo-doo-doooo-doo-doooo...Zelda was starting to play this last part when Link played it all out, so she stopped after the first two notes of the second part and looked in surprise at Link. When he was done and opened his eyes, Zelda had her eyebrows raised high. "How did you know what to play?" she asked. "Only royalty knows that song..."
Link shrugged. "It just...came to me," he said. "I don't know how..." He looked at his ocarina in wonder. "It's almost as if it were magic..." he mumbled. 'That singer was RIGHT! Holy #!+!' He nodded as he put the ocarina away. "I also now know the song like the back of my hand," he described. "It IS pretty simple, though, so that might not be entirely magic."
Zelda smiled and nodded. She put her harp away and looked at Samba. "What instrument shall you get?" she asked.
Samba shrugged. "I don't know quite yet," he said. "I might want the mandolin or a lute. I've always liked those kinds of instruments."
Zelda nodded. "I see. You will have to turn in that voucher as soon as you can, at least before it expires. Instruments are expensive. You are very lucky, indeed, to have the chance to get one for free." She smiled wryly at this before she sighed and had a straight face again. "I must leave, now. Thank you both very much. And don't worry about the trouble you've caused. Samba, I would hide with Link until you are out of town or until you have a chance to come out," she advised him. "I doubt that, even if you claimed that you were with Link, you would make a good impression. You are, well...not quite what people are used to," she decided.
Samba sighed, giving a "What can ya do?" smile and shrug. "I get it. I'll hide with Link." He raised his ring and willed it to Link, the ring and himself disappearing in a short burst of red light. The ring reappeared on top of Nayru's, the red triangle forming the top of the Triforce. He then floated out in a ball of red light. "Thank you very much, Princess," he said, voice echoing a little. "I promise to do my best, as I always try when carrying out orders."
Zelda nodded. "Good. And Link," she said. "Head to Zora's Domain. It's north of here-just go along Hylia River. Meet the king and play that song I just taught you, often called 'Zelda's Lullaby', in front of him. He should let you through to the Temple of Time Ruins. But, first, I advise you get Samba his instrument. Find a place to rest for the night and start in the morning. And Samba, I am sorry if this troubles you, with the situation you are in involving your sister," she added, looking sincere, "but this is important."
"Isn't there anything I could do, though?" asked Samba. "I won't be returning with all of the Rings of Dualty the way that the chief wants them..."
Zelda smirked. "You'll think of something." She turned. "I bid you farewell for now, leaving this all to you. If you find any important information that you feel would be good for me to know, such as the identity of the mastermind behind the evil, feel free to come back to me. Simply play Zelda's Lullaby in front of the guards at the gate. You will find it quite useful. Farewell, and good luck." She left through the door she had come through.
Link and Samba blinked at her (you couldn't see Samba blink, though) before they both asked, "Do we just mosey on out of here, then?"
"!" Zelda came rushing back, blushing. She bowed deeply. "I'm sorry, I forgot! Yes! The guards should let you through. If they give you trouble, just play that song for them," she said quickly. "I am very sorry I forgot about that!" she apologized again.
Link chuckled. "Hey, you're only mortal," he said. "Everyone makes mistakes."
Zelda smiled up at him and nodded. "Yes, that is very true," she said. She turned again. "Now, for real, this time...farewell, good luck...and thank you again." She walked off again.
This time, Link and Samba looked at each other. Link held his hand up and looked at his rings, holding his fingers out straightish while making a 180-turned (and mirrored) "L" with his hand and the fingers and tilting the hand so that he could see the rings' stones. Specifically, though, he looked at the red orb floating above it. "So," Link said, "I guess we're stuck together for a bit."
"I guess we are," Samba said, bobbing up and down in a shrug. "This has been quite the night for me. I just hope that I can get back to my sister in time...Let's get going, though, Link," he said.
Link nodded, and Samba returned to his ring, shrinking down into it and breifly making the stone glow. He lowered his hand and went to the door Samba went through, just to see how much damage he did.
Samba, meanwhile, watched from his view in the ring. He could actually see all of Link's body from the ring, zoomed out like a camera facing behind Link. He was jerked around to face behind Link whenever he had to focus on what was in front of him, but he didn't mind. He was actually more concerned with Vardi. 'What CAN I do?' he wondered. 'I can't just go back to the chief, bringing the Master Sword! He'd take that as an insu-' But he stopped. In his little space of the ring, he felt like he was raising his head slowly, a thought dawning on him.
'I CAN bring him the Master Sword!' he realized. 'If I give him the Master Sword, as long as he never touches it, I could explain that, since he has it, there's no way that the Hero can get it, now!' He grinned, narrowing his eyes as he chuckled to himself. 'I think I finally came up with my own plan, Ko...and I'm confident I can handle it...' He looked at the rings on Link's hand. 'I think these rings have become a very great tool for me...Vardi, just you wait! I'm coming! I swear it, I'm coming!'
And so, the REAL game is about to begin...Sorry about how friggin' long this chapter is! It's 27 pages, according to my program...yikes X.X Here's hoping I can half-ass my way through this whole thing and actually get an idea of what to do someday! XD;