Author's note:

There's a heavy "Voyage of the Basset" reference in this one.

Chapter 4: Hazelwood's Terror

Aryll and Link sat together on the deck, in the shade of some wooden barrels. Both of them had their shields on their backs and swords in their scabbards, slung over their shoulders. Link had taken out his delivery bag, and he was opening it to see what he and Aryll put inside.

"Here's the golden feather... maybe I'll run into Quill during his mail duties."

"Here's a Hyoi Pear I put in! The seagulls might be useful."

"The Windwaker is right..." Link reached in and took out a black box. "...here." Aryll's eyes glittered.

"I've never heard you conduct with it before! Are you going to change the direction of the wind?" Aryll asked. Link licked his finger and held it to the air as he looked at his compass.

"The wind is blowing east, but we have to go north-west. Yeah, looks like I'll be conducting the Wind's Requiem." Aryll grinned at his answer. Link opened the box to see the silver of the magic baton, with sapphires set on the handle. He took it out and handled it for a second, first with his right hand, then his left. He settled on his left and held up a finger on his other hand. He took a deep breath.

Tetra, who was walking by, stopped to see the event.

Link concentrated and sparkles seemed to appear out of nowhere, hovering around the tip of the baton. He brought the sparkling Windwaker above his head, slid it down to his left, and swung it to his right- then pointed that way! The ship rocked slightly, and he sat down on his bottom in a sudden motion.

There was silence until Tetra and Aryll clapped several times. Link beamed as he wiped his brow with the back of his hand.

"Whew," he said. "I haven't played that for a while." Aryll took out her telescope and looked through it towards the horizon.

"I think I see Forsaken Fortress," she said, and handed the scope to Link. "Why don't you tell be if I'm right or not." Link peered through it and saw the summit seem to slash through the sky, with half of a pirate ship on top of the fortress.

"That's it, alright."

Ever since Link defeated the evil Ganondorf, the fortress had been abandoned - as far as outsiders could tell. They didn't know if some one else had taken over it, since no one dared to enter it, even after the downfall of Ganon. With the news of the large crow heading toward the fortress, Link had a feeling that the place was now inhabited by the giant birds. Once he had to defeat a large bird like that, but it was the servant of Ganon.

But the fortress must have been taken over, because the pirate ship that used to be on top of the fortress was there again- it had been previously burnt by Valoo, the Sky god. Who would want to put it back up there again, and rebuild it?

It was almost dark when the ship arrived at the walls of the Forsaken Fortress. The gray walls gave the place an eerie feeling of dread. The spotlights weren't being used, except for one that was pointed at the pathway to the top of the fort.

Aryll had fallen asleep on Link's shoulder, and Link had fallen asleep with his head against the barrel behind him. Tetra came up from her cabin and walked across the deck to the siblings. She knelt down beside them.

"Psst. Wake up." she whispered. The two took no notice. Tetra sighed and looked up to Niko's voice.

"The entrance is blocked by a wooden door, ma'am," he stated. Tetra smiled as she stood up.

"I'm trying to wake up these two half-pirates... Go ahead and blow up the door."

"Aye, Tetra." He saluted and ran to the bow of the ship. He called out the orders to the other pirates, and they readied the cannon.

"Fire!"

BOOM.

"AUGH!"

Aryll had woken up with a start, waking Link up and he bumped his head on the barrel. He groaned and put his hand behind his head.

"Ow ow ow..."

"Sorry, big brother."

"Heh heh!" Tetra laughed as she watched them. "We woke you two up and blasted the entrance at the same time!" Link stuck out his tongue at the pirate, as Aryll recovered.

"I forgot to tell you what the Golden Talon is, though," Tetra realized. She sat down cross-legged on the deck next to them, and leaned against the barrels. "I may as well tell you now...

"The Golden Talon is an ancient artifact that has been passed down though a tribe called the Crowhens. The giant bird that stole the Golden Talon is one of them. By the way, the bird that picked me up last year was a modified species created by Ganon, but that tribe doesn't exist anymore.

"Anyway, the Talon is important to the Crowhens because it is the only way they can choose a new chieftain. They choose a new one every five years, but I don't know how they use the Talon in the ceremony. We obtained the Talon 3 years ago, 2 years before I met you, 2 years after their last ceremony."

"What about the Crowhens?" Aryll asked. "What are they like?"

"They are a very independent tribe, but also intelligent, like the Rito tribe. And that tribe is located in Forsaken Fortress. I'm always hearing rumors that they can shapechange - turn into human beings, and also Rito. Humans and Rito are the closest relations to their kind, and also the only creatures they can transform into. But that is only what I've heard."

"So, why are you after them?" Link asked. Tetra was silent for a moment, staring off into space, before answering.

"There... used to be another ship I used to own. This ship I had for a much longer time than the one you're on right now, and it was called the Hazelwood's Terror. It was the first one I have ever had, too, and it was beautiful. Much more beautiful than this one. Many other pirates would offer me everything they had for that ship, but I turned them all down. It was the only one of its kind. It went over the seas like a breeze..." Tetra had a small smile on her face, but realized that she was speaking to someone who was listening, and frowned. She continued:

"And because of those birds, it sank. Sank, with all of the goods I have ever collected with my crew. And there was some pretty priceless and valuable things in there. Maps... treasure of every kind... Have you ever heard of the Ghost Ship?" she asked. Aryll shook her head as Link nodded.

"The ghost ship that haunts the seas whenever the moon looks out... that, my friends, is the ghost of Hazelwood's Terror.

"Anyway, the Crowhens set the ship on fire, and it sunk. They blamed me for taking captive one of their kind. Well, the culprit wasn't me. It was one of Ganondorf's followers, who still believed that someday, the evil Ganon would once rise again."

Aryll shivered and Link put his arm around his sister.

"They haven't been seen ever since Link sealed away Ganon," Tetra explained, "so they have all disappeared. But what I do know is that the Crowhens highly disliked Ganondorf, and they were more than happy when he was gone."

"Miss Tetra, we're here." A pirate said as he passed by.

"Great," she replied. "Now we can stick Link in a barrel and shoot him over the walls of Forsaken Fortress."

A look of horror and slight anger crossed Link's face as Tetra tried to explain it was a joke, that the wooden door was already blasted and there was no reason for her to do it anyway, and Aryll fought to keep control of her laughter.