Chapter 17: Disrespecting a Legend
"Ah, good morning sir," the innkeeper said respectfully.
Link nodded to her. "Good morning." Although his feelings were mixed up again. He had woken up alone, which was disappointing. Mostly, he was happy although he had to keep that quiet. He couldn't say why he was.
"One of the night watchmen wanted to pass along a message to you," she said before he could move on. "A messenger from the castle showed up last night looking for you on possible treason charges. We didn't say anything; it's actually good you slept in because another one came in asking about it and passing out notices."
Then it was going wrong. "Thank you, I'll be careful."
As soon as he got outside, he used the Song of Soaring to get to Taven. He didn't want to get Eblan in trouble for covering for him. Taven might get in trouble too, though it depended on how they reacted to him. On arriving, he noticed a light mist in the air. It was unusual because normally such weather would have burned off by this time of morning. While it was odd, it seemed like nothing to worry about.
He left town immediately to head for Trickster's Grotto. Since Zelda knew, it was better for him to get the sword quickly. But he'd have to walk; Balrog was too fast to make it through the woods safely. It gave him some time to think over what was going on.
The Master Sword was said to be the bane of all evil. Evil beings could grow so powerful that they accumulated many layers of defense. As such, normal weapons and even many enchanted ones were no longer any good against them. But certain ones with a divine origin, like the Master Sword and the Light Arrows, could cut through the defenses of evil without a problem. Physical armor could help them, but a sorcerer like Ganon would stick to lighter armor meant to enhance a magic wielder. Most heavy armor would interfere with their magic.
The hero would get the Master Sword to strike down the villain, who was the embodiment of evil in that era. But Ganon survived time and time again; his spirit usually had to be sealed away in order for it to stop causing trouble. And Gale was a part of Ganon now. Ganon wouldn't give Gale the same kind of survival ability. But Gale still had some good in him. He was holding them back, doing what he could to limit the deaths and devastation. Would the Master Sword recognize that? Or would it simply judge their overall evil and attempt to destroy both?
Was it worth it to stop Gale? After all, he had done some evil things himself. He'd originally not cared about Link beyond using him. Perhaps he still didn't care that much. It was possible that last night was just taking advantage of him. Or maybe he was starting to care because of that? But would he become a good person after this? As much as Link wanted to believe that, he could be very wrong. But he wanted to try to save Gale. There was a chance, or at least there seemed to be. How did he figure out what was really going on in Gale or Ganon's mind?
There was a temptation to just not think about all this. He could do whatever it took to stay with Gale, instead of trying to fit expectations. Since Zelda had turned against him, she didn't care about him. He didn't care about her either this time. Gale was actually helping him. Besides, they were close enough now that it would be horrible to fight him. Well, it had been terrible before too. Now it would feel even more traitorous than what Zelda was accusing him of. He could defy the legends by staying with Gale. But it might be Ganon. Don't care about that, just think of how it had been with him…
No, he did have responsibilities and thinking like that too much might trigger his shadow self to appear.
Link had entered Trickster's Grotto before realizing it; only the chime of the magical compass alerted him to that. The fog was thicker, most likely affected by the native magic. Now that he was here, there were new signs along the paths. They attempted to give guidance; there were even a few bell poles that were rigged to ring another bell in town and let people there know that someone was lost here. It had to be the work of Gregio and his students. Link still saw his old carvings, although some of them were fading as the trees grew. Both the signs and carvings led him back into the large meadow in the center.
As he got close, he heard a pan flute from that area. Was that the Skull Kid? The flautist was playing a lively tune that stirred up some of the dream images. It was the song of a forest; it was the song of a friend. Like Zelda's Lullaby, it had some magical qualities but no clear purpose. Once he was in the meadow, the song was clearly being played there. But the fog made it hard to tell where the player was.
Link got out his pan flute and waited for a moment to join in. Saria's song came naturally and he was able to play it without trouble. After a round of it, the other player stopped and small steps scuffled over. Link kept playing so that the Skull Kid could find him. On seeing him, the Kid grinned. "Ah, hello friend!"
Smiling, Link put down his flute. "Hello friend. It's really foggy today."
The kid twitched, making his bone decorations rattle. "Yes, yes, strange fog, it showed up last night. This isn't natural. I played the song to cheer the forest up! But nothing happened, except you returned. What've you come back for?"
"A thief stole the Master Sword and I'm looking for his hideout here to find it," Link explained.
"Really?" the Skull Kid asked, his eyes wide. "A thief could not touch that, no way. In the hands of the unworthy, that sword is dull and heavy. It has a soul, so they say. Do you think you can take it?"
He nodded. "I have the three medals that were supposed to lock it away; they've all accepted me."
"Nothing to do but try and see, see?" He took a hopping step away. "I know this place, I think I know the hideout? This way!"
"That's what Zelda told me," Link said, following the Skull Kid to one of the meadow exits. After making sure it had the right signs, he went after the Kid to look for the locking mechanism.
After two more shifts of the forest paths, they found a mossy stone tablet that wasn't like the signs the students had put up. There was a puzzle in some designs that could be turned; Zelda had also given him instructions on how this was supposed to unlock. Given who this hideout belonged to, the solution was obvious. The resulting design looked something like a rat with a dagger. The solved puzzle revealed that a nearby boulder was an illusion, covering up stairs that led into a cave underground.
The first room didn't have a ceiling; it had been carved out to form a perfect circle with stones lining the top. And down here was one of the living tree monsters that grew spindly arms and hurled apples in order to attack. While Link used to avoid them, or bait them out of his path, now he had a boomerang that could set things on fire. That made dealing with the tree monster a lot easier. And fortunately, it going up in flames didn't ignite the trees around it. Maybe it was the fog dampening the air, but setting the Grotto on fire seemed like a disaster in waiting with all the magic that would be released.
The death of the tree allowed him and the Skull Kid to walk deeper into the cave and find Hizza's actual treasure horde. There was a lot stored here: paintings, bags of rupees and old coins, statues, jewelry, glittering baubles that were made of precious materials but only seemed to have use as decorative paperweights, and a few odds and ends that seemed to be worth nothing. The Skull Kid poked at a few things, but didn't seem interested. "So much stuff. But, no instruments? These would break if you made music with them."
Link spotted something in a loose pile that might be of interest to the kid; he picked up the strand of bells that had a hand grip so they could be shaken. It looked more like a child's plaything rather than a treasure like some of the rest. "Not this," he said, handing it over.
"Ooo, how fun!" The Skull Kid jangled it, giggling at the sound it made.
While he kept giggling over the bells, Link walked further into the horde trying to find the sword. It turned out to be in a small room in the corner that had an old cot that looked ready to fall apart, a table with empty wine bottles, and a wooden chair that had sprouted small mushrooms. The Master Sword was in this room, although he only recognized it by the distinctive blue handle. Since Hizza couldn't get the sword properly, he'd tried to chisel it out of the concrete it was in. Little of the blade was visible even though many chunks were scattered on the floor. Nearby, there was a blue and gold sheath that should hold the sword.
"All this hassle and neglect from one man's pride," Link mumbled, then reached for the handle. But was it going to accept him now? He paused at the thought in concern. He really should have thought of this earlier. As it was a holy blade, it would only respond to a worthy holder. Was he worthy of it now? But if he didn't take it now, someone else could and put Gale in danger. Link took it. Maybe it didn't matter if he could use it...
The sword had been disrespected and neglected here. But the moment he touched it, a strong white glow appeared from the hidden blade. He lifted it and it wasn't as heavy as it looked. As the power in the sword reawakened, it shook the concrete fragments off itself. It accepted him as the hero, like in the legends.
Link didn't feel good about that. The sword might help with the dragons, yes, but could it really help with Gale's situation? Or would it just make things worse? It felt so strange to question that of a revered artifact of the goddesses, like it was strange to find it in this collection of forgotten things. Link gave it a few practice swings and found that it felt just as natural in his hands as his master's old sword did. Although as he held the blade up to give it a visual inspection, he noticed some scratches and remaining concrete fragments from its mistreatment. It could use sharpening under the hands of an excellent blacksmith. Link knew just who to ask in Taven, although possibly the man in Navin who'd made his shield could handle the job as well.
It was a little funny, though, that it was still accepting him just like the Triforce of Courage. What did anyone else know about the private side of the heroes anyhow? Their parts in the legends were all about their actions, not about their words or what thoughts might motivate them. He was still fighting to bring peace to Hyrule and its neighbors, to end this time of darkness and suffering. So who would care that he was doing this out of a love that others might call crazy? They didn't need to know why he did what he did. He was still a hero out to save someone.
"I just need to be firm about this, no more wavering," he said quietly to himself. That was right. No matter what others thought, he was going ahead with his wishes. Now he just had to figure out the details of how to pull this off. Since the Master Sword was longer, he strapped its sheath to his back and kept his regular sword at his side. It might not compare to the holy blade, but it could still have some use.
When he got back into the other room, the Skull Kid was glancing over the other things. But only the hand bells interested him. "I do not need things, the bells are all I want." The Kid looked over at him and jangled the bells. "Thank you friend! And you found your sword, good good. You do what you want with the rest of this junk; it's lost and you found it."
"Sure," Link said, although he had no clue what to do with the rest of it either. But he had thought of something to ask the Skull Kid while he was here. "Actually, you know a lot of songs, don't you?"
He nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, yes, know many instruments too! You want to learn more songs? I can teach you many!"
"I'm looking for a song that can encourage someone to keep hope and strive for better things," he said. The Ballad of the Wind Fish still needed to be tried, but more options would be good. "There's someone I love, but he's resigned himself to a terrible fate. I'm still not that good with words, so if there's a song that could help him, I'd love to know it so I can play it for him."
"Mmm…" the Skull Kid titled his head one way, scratched it, then tilted it the other way. "Hard problem. Hard to find song to give anyone hope. Some songs might give one person hope, but not another. But, maybe find a good song from where he's from? Where's he from?"
"Sudai," Link said. When the Kid gave him a blank look, he pointed towards the east. "It's far down the River Hylia past the mountain range with Death Mountain, a low lying land with the river delta."
"Oh, the big marshland over that way?" the Kid asked. "I visited there sometimes, yes. I learned a great song over there: the song of the Marsh Queen."
"Marsh Queen?" As far as he knew, Sudai had been a kingdom like Hyrule.
"Maybe it help, maybe not," he said. "But if you go into the marsh, the flowers of the Marsh Queen will react to this song. It's great fun! Here." The song itself had a charming feel to it, like it would lure monsters closer. Link wasn't sure if this particular song would help either, but he practiced the song of the Marsh Queen with the Skull Kid until he felt like he could remember it well.
After that, the Skull Kid went back into the woods to return to whatever he did here. Link glanced around the treasure horde, then picked out a silver hand mirror that would look nice if polished up. He didn't have much use for these things. However, he knew how much it cost to keep the orphanage running from listening in on budgeting meetings and other official business. It would be a better use of these things to offer to the orphanage to sell and make sure they had a good amount of funds. When he left the horde, the illusion reappeared and the locking puzzle reset itself.
In the central opening, Link felt his skin tingle near the Master Sword. Someone was nearby, someone who could be a danger. The fog was dense now, making it hard to see even the trees. Stopping in place, he listened carefully. There were footsteps coming towards him. Not sure who or what that was, he moved quietly towards the path that led out of the Grotto.
He got another warning from the sword; it gave him a split second to step aside before a violet dagger cleaved into the ground and buried itself several inches deep. It vanished into smoke a moment later; Link noted the angle it was at. That was not the same person he heard walking. As they already knew where he was, he called out, "Who's out there?"
"Who are you?" a woman replied. She was the one he'd heard.
"It's Link," a man responded to her, likely the one who threw the magic dagger at him.
"We were told to capture you," the woman said. "Give yourself up or we will take you in forcefully. I'm General Kimbera and Velken is nearby as you've heard."
He wouldn't want to challenge any one of those three in single combat. They were certainly skilled (and Velken was likely the worst to run into in a fog like this). But that was a lesser reason not to fight. "I'll do neither," Link said, moving quietly towards the exit. "You both work to protect the people, so I won't seek to harm you."
"Because of that, we can't leave you alone," Kimbera said, moving towards him.
"Wait, have you picked up the Master Sword?" Velken asked, now in a different position than earlier.
"Did you?"
"Yes," he replied. "I got it to stop the Septdraco dragons."
Velken ordered, "Draw it; I want to see it in your hands."
That might help. Link brought it out, causing the fog to shrink away from the blade's light. Seeing that, he knew it couldn't be a natural fog. Perhaps it was one of the dragons nearby? He wanted to get the blade restored first as it might not be good in battle like this.
With the cleared area around him, he could see Kimbera fully. She was equipped similarly to him, with chainmail armor, a longsword at her side, and a quiver and bow on her back. She was staring a the sword in his hands in shock. "You… it accepted you?"
"I'm not going to fight you with it," he said, though he would keep it out for the better visibility. "Or at all, no matter what you say." He heard a crunching of grass nearby. Velken had dropped out of the trees, but kept to the edge of the cleared fog.
She still had trouble accepting it. "But you're consorting with Ganon… he has become evil." That did hurt her, it was clear in her voice. And she wasn't too sure about him. "You've even turned your back on your princess. Why would it accept you like that?"
"So even you've given up on him," Link said, shaking his head. "I won't. I'll find a way to free him from the role forced upon him."
"That's not going to happen," Kimbera said. Her hand was on the handle of her sword, but she was hesitant on drawing it.
"You're putting yourself at great risk," Velken said, stern and calm from where he couldn't be seen. "Not only in being ostracized as you will soon find yourself to be, but also in being hurt emotionally."
For a moment, he could hear Ganon's mocking words again. Link tried to keep from shivering and replied, "I already have been. Even so, this is what I've decided. I'll stop him, but in my own way."
Kimbera sighed. "Even if the sword has accepted you, I'm not sure I can. The way you've chosen seems too reckless. You could fail to the point where that sword will no longer shine for you."
Could she wield the Master Sword if things got much worse? Link glanced down at it. Even if he didn't like her, Zelda had been accepted by Wisdom and she must have sent them to intercede for a reason. "If that happens, I hope this sword guides you well," he said. "Until then, please let me try. I must get back to town to repair it as this fog is unnatural."
"No, we can't let you," Kimbera said, gripping her sword.
Before she could start a battle, Velken appeared by her side and clasped her arm. "This fog is from an evil creature keeping to a nearby spring," he said. "It's more important that it be taken care of properly to keep the local people safe."
"But he," she started to say.
"Zelda didn't think he could properly claim the sword," Velken said. "Things are not as simple as they seem; she should be informed of the different circumstances. And even if he is putting himself in a vulnerable position, Link has not harmed any innocent as far as we know."
"Very well," she said, letting go of her sword. "I think you're foolish and we will be watching you closely in case you are a true traitor. But if there is some way," she thought for a moment, "a way you could restore our former king to who he once was, we would be grateful."
"I'm doing all I can," Link said, then left them in the grotto. Relieved, he offered a silent prayer of thanks that the encounter had gone as well as it had. Perhaps Zelda might even overturn her declaration against him.
Back in Taven, Link found that things were strangely quiet. At this time of day, normally there'd be people talking outside and working with the windows open. The fog had become more dense here. Since Velken had let him in on where the dragon or other evil spirit was, he could go to the spring to take care of it. But he wanted the Master Sword in good shape. With limited visibility, the Light Arrows would not be as useful as they had been against the Sulfur Dragon.
The blacksmith was inside working on horseshoes while his wife was burning decorative designs into leather. As usual, she noticed him first. "Oh, hello Link, nice to see you again!"
"Hello," he said. "It seems very quiet in town today."
"Right, but this fog would make anyone nervous," she said. "I hope the children are holding up okay. Did you need something?"
"Yes, I need some work done on a sword."
"Of course, let me get his attention." The smith often got lost in his work, losing track of how many horseshoes he was making or how late the day was getting to be. Because of this, travelers often said that they made sure to come by Taven when they needed horseshoes replaced because they were cheap and of the high quality. It was safer to get his wife to get his attention since he might snap at someone else distracting him. This time, it took her a full minute to get him to stop.
"Oh, howdy there Link," the blacksmith said, nodding to him. "Need some work on your sword, I hear."
"Yes, but not my usual sword," he said, taking the Master Sword out of its sheath. "This one."
Both of them stared in awe of the shining blade he now had. "Mercy, is that the real Master Sword?" the blacksmith's wife asked.
"It can only be that," the blacksmith said, taking the sword reverently. But once he got a good look at the blade, he frowned as its glow faded. "What's with this? All the grit and scratches, and there's dust embedded in here..."
"It was stolen by the thief Hizza Rat and hidden in Trickster's Grotto," Link explained. "He carved the pedestal right out of the shrine, then tried to chip away all the concrete to make it usable. The larger chunks fell right off when I took hold of it."
"Unforgivable," the blacksmith muttered. "Hmph. I can clean it up and make sure the edge is sharp, no problem. But, word among blacksmiths is that a divine weapon like this, it's best to work on it if the sword's master stays nearby. It changes qualities if you get too far off."
"All right." He still backed off to give the blacksmith space to work with. It took three hours to get the blade restored, with the blacksmith giving it several inspections to make sure it was good. Then he had Link take it outside where there was a testing pole to check on the strength and sharpness of weapons. While Link struck the thick log with a basic strike, it cut right through the log like butter. Even when it wasn't being used against evil, this was an exceptional sword in the right hands.
"That kind of sword can't be imitated by moral hands," the blacksmith said, touching the edge of the cleanly chopped wood. "Has to be, it was originally made to destroy the otherworldly evil Demise."
"Demise..." the name caused chills down Link's spine.
"That's one of the oldest legends out there," the blacksmith said. "Though I wouldn't want to waste your time telling it now. Still, I've been fascinated by that particular one since I was a boy. It's what inspired me to be a smith. Heh, and now I've been able to work on the legendary blade itself. Be respectful of it, Link, and it won't let you down."
"Right, I know," he said. Although it might let him down if he couldn't find a way to do what he really wanted.
"Are you two still here?" the blacksmith's wife called in worry, coming out of the fog. "Oh, thank goodness."
"What's going on?" Link asked, concerned from her appearance.
"I was going to pick up some lunch at the tavern, but there was no one there," she said. "I checked the general store, but no one was there either. Even the orphanage seems to be empty. Everyone's going missing!"
"This fog might be from one of the dragons of the Septdraco," Link said.
"Fog from a dragon, huh?" the blacksmith said, rubbing his chin. "I remember something my grandfather used to talk about. You wouldn't happen to have a mirror you can take around with you, would you?"
"Actually, I do," he said, taking it out of his bag. "It's dusty too."
"One of the dragons of the Septdraco is called the Prism Dragon," the blacksmith explained. "It was captured in northern Hyrule, where my granddad was from. It would hide in a thick white fog and people did get lost in it. But if you had a clean mirror, the dragon and anyone it had captured would appear as long as you showed them their reflection. They'd look like a rainbow or something in the mirror first, then pop right out after a moment."
"We've got some silver polish inside, that should work just fine to clean that," his wife said. "I hope you can find everybody before the dragon eats them or makes them gone forever."
"I'll save them," Link said. He went inside to get the hand mirror polished up, then headed out to explore the town and see if he could find anybody. The blacksmith and his wife stayed inside after making sure the windows were shut so the fog couldn't get into their home, although he was muttering about looking for a handheld mirror as well.
Link headed towards the orphanage first, checking the mirror regularly. As the building's form appeared, he found a colorful shimmer reflected in the mirror. Once he got the shimmer to fully appear on the mirror's surface, one of the older town guards materialized out of the fog. "Huh, Link? Where'd you come from?"
"You were lost in this magical fog," he said, then explained about the disappearances and mirrors.
"I thought I was sleepwalking, not able to find my way in all this white," the guard said. "I know my wife has a mirror like that, I'll go fetch it to help out. Be careful."
"You too," he said, then headed inside.
The fog had filled the orphanage, much to his horror. However, he knew where the furnace controls were and how to activate ventilation fans that should pull the fog right out. When he checked around, the halls were mostly empty. There were only a few kids who had tried to sneak into the pantry late at night only to find the building full of fog. Link sent them off to shut the windows, then checked in the bedrooms. Unlike the troublemakers, most of the children had been asleep in their beds. They woke up shortly after he drew them out; the younger ones were crying from nightmares.
"You'll be safe," Link said to reassure some of the girls. "Stay inside for now and don't open up the windows until the fog is gone from outside too."
"Where'd this evil fog come from?" one of them asked.
"I think it's a dragon. I'll be taking care of it once we get as many as we can out of the fog."
"Are you really gonna kill the dragon for us?"
Link nodded. "Of course. I've got the Master Sword now and the dragon can't hide from me."
That cheered the girls up, so he left the older girls to look after the younger ones until he got the teachers free as well. But when the headmistress called for all the children to be checked on, there was one still missing, an eleven-year-old boy named Marley. One of the teachers was sure he'd been asleep in one of the boys' dorms and the ones who'd been sneaking around said they hadn't invited him along. The guard came into the orphanage then, reporting that they'd managed to account for everyone else in town. Only Marley couldn't be found. The guards agreed to keep checking outside with the mirrors they had while Link went to see about tracking down the dragon itself.
As Velken had mentioned the spring, Link went there first. The fog was very thick there, to the point where even the Master Sword wasn't clearing up much. Link had to rely on his memory to navigate the area, running his hands across familiar trees and finding stones in the right places. As the trees opened up, he brought up the mirror and began scanning around for signs of color. This was where they often brought the children out to play and listen to stories. If a group had been out here when the dragon arrived, it could have turned out much worse.
There was a strong area of shifting colors over the pond itself. The mirror got bright as he got it more in the reflection, but it wasn't until he stepped into the pool that the dragon emerged from the fog. It was a bizarre one, surrounded by a bubble that reflected many colors. Inside the bubble, he could make out a small two foot long dragon that had mirrored scales and wings. A crystal horn on its head and a similar orb curled up in the end of its thin tail scattered light all about, making dots of color appear on the surface of the spring. The seal marking it had was at the base of its tail.
As Link tried to do a quick draw with the Master Sword on it, he saw the yellow ring on the Septdraco shimmer. "Let's choke out this slippery little eel; it'll be a hard time trying to hit it with anything else."
The quick draw went right through the bubble, but it didn't break. The Prism Dragon itself swirled around the path of his blade to avoid getting hit. Shaking his head, Link tried stabbing the dragon through the bubble. It avoided that too. Sulfur's power would probably work to weaken Prism but it could hurt the boy as well. Unsure of where Marley was, he didn't want to put him at further risk.
The Prism Dragon then shrieked, a tone so high-pitched that it felt like it could pierce right through his skull and pulverize his brain. His lungs and heart seemed to stop for a moment, making him gasp once the sound passed. However, that popped its bubble; the Prism Dragon to spread out its wings in order to resummon it. Link tried to stab it then, but the little dragon swung its tail and pushed itself out of reach and out of sight. He did see the shimmer that accompanied the return of its bubble shield.
He needed something to stun it. He reached into his bag and got hold of the trirang first. Watching the shine in the fog, he activated all three elements before throwing it at the dragon. The explosion managed to disperse some of the fog; it was followed by a splash and noisy thrashing of water. Link hurried over and found the Prism Dragon fighting to get above water. Although the bubble was still there, it was now full of water. Link took advantage of the moment and stabbed it through the tail. It squealed into a sputter and turned to smoke.
After a moment, the smoke gathered into a small orb, then resummoned the Prism Dragon. It made a high-pitched giggle that was more disturbing than the Skull Kid's. "So, you're now the one that holds our little prison?" the Prism Dragon asked. "Your heart is so full of light, blech, but there's so much fog in your mind. How delightful!" It made Link feel ashamed, but then the dragon went on to add, "And it's all because of a beautiful man, hmm hmm? Oh, why don't you just give up on the idea of good and evil? It's all in one's perspective, you know. The ones who want so much order can be good and evil too. The only thing that should matter is that he's beautiful and you'll follow your heart through whatever fog and dark it leads you into. It will be worth it when you release all restraint."
This dragon was only going to confuse things more; Link wasn't sure how to respond to this.
The dragon whirled around in its bubble. "Well well, the important thing is that you're going to destroy an ugly order that doesn't care how beautiful things are. That's true, huh? You're gonna fight Demise?"
"So Demise is active?" Link asked.
Swinging its tail like a pendulum, the dragon said, "Hmm, you don't know the truth? All well, but you'll have to ask someone else. I prefer fogging things up, not clearing them up. I want to help you in your quest to save your beautiful man." It swirled around until it turned back into the glowing silver orb, then turned one of the Septdraco's rings iridescent silver.
"I hope you didn't kill Marley," Link said, looking around the spring. The fog was visibly lifting, but he still couldn't see far here.
"Oh no, he was such a cute boy!" the dragon said, seemingly from just behind his ears. "A few more years and he'll be a lovely fellow. I like to turn the good looking ones into my disciples to make the world more wondrous than before. The uglies can just fade away. But, I didn't have the time to do that here, bummer. He's over by the shore on dry land, don't worry."
There was a colorful area to the fog, Link noticed. Heading over there, he found a familiar boy lying on the ground and just waking up. Relieved at that, he crouched down and put his left hand on the child's face to check on him. There was no sign he was cursed; he was still breathing and his skin was warm, moist from the fog. As he was slow to wake up, Link nudged him. "Marley, it's time to get up," Link said gently.
"Mmm," the boy grabbed at his hand and opened his eyes. On seeing him there, he blinked. "Link? You look like the Picori hero."
Link smiled at him. "I'm a different hero. Come on, let's get you back home."
Marley nodded and accepted his hand to get to his feet. The fog cleared out as they walked back to town. While Marley wasn't sure how he'd got captured, he didn't seem that worried or harmed. The teachers were relieved to see him and a few of the younger children greeted him happily like a friend. Everyone in town was accounted for by the town guard; he'd arrived at a good time.
Once the fog was gone and the sun was shining over town, Link agreed to go with the kids out to the town square and tell them about some of the adventures he'd gone on. The older ones teased him a bit, but it was clearly because they were surprised to hear from him when they'd mostly seen him as the quiet but nice guy who took care of horses. They were in awe as he told them about things like how he defeated the Phantom Ganon in order to gain control over his horse. Link even called out Balrog briefly to prove to them that it did happen. But even with him there, he didn't think it was safe to try putting one of them up on the horse's saddle.
Eventually, he excused himself by saying that he had to find the other dragons. Link did take a few minutes to hand the silver mirror over to the school's headmistress and inform her about the rest of the treasures in the thief's den. She was reluctant to take ownership over the whole hoard, but thanked him for the offer to support the orphanage.
Marley found him as he was coming out of the headmistress's office. "I wanted to give you something since you saved me," he said, offering a folded ash gray piece of clothing. "I know it's not the right color, but these were my dad's tunic and hat, and he said they were special. Take care of them, okay?"
A different color… it might be useful just for that. "Thank you, I will."