Chapter 5: We meet again
"I will now tell you what will happen," Tetra said. She, Link, and Aryll were still on the pirate ship, but this time they were standing at the bow, looking out at Forsaken Fortress.
"We have the entrance blasted, so what you are going to do is: Get in one of our small rowboats, and row over there, into the fortress. Then, persuade the Crowhens to give us back the Golden Talon."
"What about us?" Link asked. "What do we get?"
"Oh, but it won't be just walking in and out," Tetra replied, ignoring Link's question. "There will be much, much more." She had a grin on her face, and the two siblings suspected something was up.
Link and Aryll clambered onto a rowboat that was about to be lowered to the water by ropes.
"Hold on," Tetra said. "Aryll, I would like to give you something. You don't have any long-distance weapons, do you?" she asked. Aryll shook her head.
"I was going to give her my boomerang," Link truthfully said, but was ignored again. Tetra handed an object wrapped in black cloth to Aryll.
"Can I open it now?" Aryll asked. The female pirate nodded. Aryll unfolded the cloth to reveal - a slingshot!
"Wow," she said. "Thank you so much!" Tetra smiled, and the boat was finally lowered to the water.
"Good luck, half-pirates," she said. "Good luck."
Link took a hold of the oars and started to row, as his little sister looked ahead.
"Tetra said that there was going to be much more than just walking in and out," Aryll said. "I wonder what that means?"
"I... pant... have been here... pant... twice," Link said, still rowing. They were almost past the fortress walls. "And Ganon had taken over this place, so everything was in tip-top security. First time, I did a lot of sneaking around in a barrel. Second time, it was fighting a lot of moblins, bokoblins, and miniblins..." he panted, and took a short 10 second break, then continued to row.
"I can't even tell if we are helping the bad guys or the good guys, since the whole thing going on right now is so complicated, the whole story that Tetra told us," Aryll said. "And they can shapechange?"
"Only humans and Rito," Link answered. "Oh, we're in. Don't speak loudly or they will know of our presence immediately."
"Actually, we already know," an unfamiliar voice said. Surprised, Link stopped rowing and he and his sister looked around for the source of the voice. Then, they saw a man with jet black hair, standing on the dock. He was wearing only pants that stopped at the knees, with no shirt, but he had designs painted on his chest and back of his arms. Then, with a puff of smoke, he turned into the very same crow with copper armor they had seen earlier that day. The two in the boat just stared, and didn't notice when the boat bumped against the dock that the crow was standing on.
"Our chieftain wants to see you," it spoke. "How could we not hear the racket you made when you and the pirate crew blasted down the door?" The crow walked (or hopped, he couldn't walk) away toward the main part of the fortress. Scared, Link and his sister followed.
Once inside, they were walking for a while, up staircases and through doorways, until they went out a large door.
Link saw the area where he had fought the evil bird of Ganon's. The scratch marks from the bird's talons were still there, but the arena had been converted into a sort of a ceremonial circle, with markings on the ground. Aryll did not know where the scratches came from, but she assumed there was once a fight there.
Still walking, the three went up a ramp and into the ship that was on top of the summit of the Fortress.
The inside of the once-a-pirate-ship did not look the same as when Ganon inhabited it. The first thing Link noticed that there were no lamps; there was torches instead, but they still produced the same amount of lighting. The wooden floor was not covered in red carpet anymore, and the curtains on the windows were gone, letting the wind come in freely. Other than those, the room was the same as the last time Link saw it. Aryll, on the other hand, had never seen the room before.
A man with white hair was standing at the window, his tannish colored hands behind him. He had a long robe, made of blue, green, gray, and mostly red with a medieval like hem. Hearing the Crowhen with Link and Aryll enter, he turned around... and Link's hand flew up to his mouth in surprise. It was the Chieftain of the Rito tribe!
"...Link?" the Chieftain said in disbelief. "Why are you...?" Link and the Chieftain stared at each other for a moment, and the Crowhen broke the silence.
"Chieftain, the two humans here were found outside the fortress with a pirate crew - the same one that has been after us - and they came in..." But the Chieftain ignored him, and spoke to Link.
"Link," he said gently, "Why have you come here?"
"Well, um... You blamed Tetra for something she didn't do, and set her ship on fire... And so she was so mad that she stole the Golden Talon... but then a Crowhen took it back, and so for revenge, Zelda sent us to talk you into letting her take it."
The Chieftain listened patiently to every word, until Link said Zelda instead of Tetra- probably because he had been used to yelling her name while fighting Ganon.
" 'Zelda' ? Are you saying that the head of the crew is a girl and her name is Princess Zelda?"
"Well, her name is actually Tetra, but she didn't find out she was a princess until a year ago. Now, what are you doing here?" Link replied. The Chieftain looked sadly at Link, and spread his arms/wings.
"I suppose now is the time to tell the truth," he said, and closed his eyes. The feathers on his arms turned black as his hair did, before there was a puff of smoke.
A few seconds later, standing in the Chieftain's place was a large Crowhen, larger than the one at the back of the room that had escorted the siblings to the room they were in. Instead of copper head armor, it had platinum, with elaborate designs carved in it, and a plate of armor going over his chest that fitted to every curve of his body. It had feather designs carved into it, with the symbol of the Triforce in the middle. Wicked sharp claws were on its feet. The bird opened its brown eyes.
"It is true that us Crowhens can shapechange," he said, in a voice deeper than that of the Chieftain's. "And as a Rito, I am known as the former Chieftain of the Rito tribe; Prince Komali has taken my place. As for the form I am in now, I am known as the Chieftain of the Crowhens; Chieftain Wollf." He unfolded a wing and stuck it out in front of him, and bowed, then stood straight.
"I am quite pleased that you have come here, Link. I know that you are in confusion of what has happened right now, and is ready to ask many questions..." Link nodded in agreement.
"...and you happen to be seeking the Golden Talon. Well, these days, it is our only way of testing one's courage to see if he can take the position of being the Chieftain of the Crowhens. No human or Rito has ever seen the ceremony, since we tend to keep these things private. As for the Talon, I have noticed that the pirates took better care of it than we do. So, I have been thinking that, when we are finished with the ceremony, you may take the Talon for the next five years and bring it back for the ceremony, then take it again.
"However, we will do this on one condition. A member of the Rito tribe has been missing. He disappeared a couple of months after you sealed away Ganon... His name is Quill." Link and Aryll gasped.
"Yes, the same old mysterious Quill," Wollf said, amused at the sibling's reactions. "You will need to find him. But just why is he so important...? Well, it is..." The chieftain leaned down and beckoned, with a feather, for Link and Aryll to come closer, and he whispered:
"...that he is-"
"SSEEEEEAAAAAAANNNNN!"
"Oh no." Link and Aryll turned around to see a young Rito (about Link's age) with clothes similar to Quill's, and with wings, bound into the room, and attempt to hug the huge crow. He groaned and his feathers briefly turned white, and then with a puff of smoke turned back into the Rito Chieftain.
"Uncle Sean! How was your day?" the Rito cooed. "I bet it was fun!"
"My niece," the Chieftain said, embarrassed. Aryll giggled.
"Oh, what do we have here?" the Rito girl said as she turned around to face the siblings. "Bro and sis?" Aryll nodded. Link raised an eyebrow and looked confused. The Rito laughed.
"I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Natasha." she said, and curtsied. "I'm the Chieftain's niece."
"Nice to meet you, Natasha," Link replied, and he and his sister bowed in response. "I'm Link, and this is my little sister Aryll."
"I know already," she said playfully. "I heard from Dad, all the way back from home."
"You're a Crowhen?" Aryll asked. Natasha didn't say anything, though. She was fondly playing with her brown hair, where the ends were white. "I have Valoo's scale already. I don't live on Dragon Roost Island anymore, but I don't mind. Now, I think I should show you around the place." She turned to face the Chieftain.
"Shouldn't I, Uncle Sean?" she asked. The Chieftain sighed.
"I suppose I will have to tell you later, Link," he said. "Are you going to stay the night?" Link shrugged.
"The pirates are still waiting for me," he replied. "I'll have to check with them first."
"You don't have to do that," a voice said from nowhere. Everyone except Link was looking around the room, puzzled. Link burst out laughing, and quickly stopped.
"Sorry," he apologized as he brought out a glowing blue stone on a string. It was his Gossip stone, with Tetra on the other side.
"Hah hah hah!" Tetra was laughing. "I never knew people could have such reaction to a stone!" Aryll, noticing the source of the voice was the stone, stood next to Link so she could see.
"I kinda overheard everything," Tetra said. "And I wanted to save you the trouble. Well, while we were waiting, the King of Red Lions stopped by for a visit. Turns out he has been pining for you-" Tetra, Link, and Aryll started to laugh again. "-and that he could take it from here. He knows the whole story already, partly because I'm in a rowboat right next to him, and he is watching too."
"Oh," Link said.
"Hello Link, and Aryll," a deep voice said from the Gossip stone. "This is the King of Red Lions. Yes Link, that is true, I kinda have been missing you..." Link had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. "And Tetra and I have been watching everything through your Gossip stone. I believe that finding Quill could take a while, and the Pirates have many other things to do- such as steal bombs, for instance. I have decided that I could take over so that I may help you cross the Great Sea in search of Quill."
"Wow, that sounds cool!" Aryll exclaimed.
"I suppose we can do that," Link replied. "Are you okay with that, sis?"
"Yes!" his sister replied. "I can't wait!"
"I have also overheard arrangements for you to stay there the night," the King spoke. "I do not have a sail anymore, so I would not be able to go anywhere anyway. You may stay the night, and one of the Crowhens should escort you to the dock where I will be waiting in the morning. However, I do not have permission to enter the premises..." Overhearing this, the Chieftain walked over to where Link and Aryll were standing.
"I have given them permission to stay," he said to the Gossip Stone, "and I will also give orders to my men to let you come in."
"Thank you, Sean," the King replied.
"Please, call me Chief," the Chieftain said. "Sean is just my nickname. Along with Wollf as my surname..."
"No, Sean's your real name!" Natasha said from the window. The chieftain's cheeks turned a slight shade of pink.
"Well, anyway, we should probably leave you alone now," Tetra said. "The King of Red Lions will be at the dock tomorrow morning. We will be on our way to Dragon Roost to tell Pri- Chieftain Komali about how you're going to find Quill and everything."
"Alright then," Link said.
"That's all, I think. Good night." At this answer, the stone stopped glowing, and it fell onto Link's hand. He put it back in his pocket, and looked at Aryll. Her face was beaming.
"Wow, we're going to see the King of Red Lions!" she said. Then, she stopped smiling.
"Who's he?"
"I think you'll have to see for yourself." Link said, and laughed mentally. He couldn't wait to see the look on Aryll's face when she sees a talking boat!