AN: Well my readers, i do apologize for the wait. The rest however should be coming up fairly soon. I have a few chapters that already have sections done so if i buckle down and keep working like i have been, they should be getting done soon. One of the last big unresolved questions about where i wanted to take my story has been answered so all that's left to do is actually type it out. and i apologize for how short it is, but it fits the best for how the next chapter will begin. Reviews are always appreciated and are paying off. To celebrate hitting 100 reviews, i'll be taking requests. Tell me what you guys want to see and i'll do my best to make it for you (Except the scene everyone is waiting for. I won't mess with that.) Anyways, enjoy ~
Kill Three Birds
The sun was just sinking down below the horizon when Dark suddenly realized that the terrain was looking somewhat familiar, as though he'd been here before. Indeed, he had been there before and that narrow gorge off in the distance was the same one where they'd been attacked by animated skeletons all those days ago.
"We're getting close, aren't we?" he asked with a glance at the gorge ahead. Link nodded, remembering back to the same night that Dark was. "Link? How come Ganon has such a weird obsession with skeletons?"
He had a good point, Link had to admit. There were Stalchildren, Stalfos, those flaming skulls and curse bubbles…not to mention the many shadow creatures that were perversions of human flesh. It took him a few minutes to think of an answer. While he didn't actually know himself, it wasn't as though he had anything better to do then to think of an answer to give something more intelligent then 'I don't know.'
"Well…if I had to hazard a guess, I would say that because people are expendable. What they leave behind he sees as nothing more then raw material to use. It seems reasonable to assume that it is easier to create a monster when you have something to work with rather then forming it out of nothing," he speculated, flicking Epona's reins lightly against her back.
Dark frowned, thinking about how that worked for a few minutes. "So what? Does he just kill a bunch of people and drag their bodies back to his evil lair to work magic on?" he asked with a disgusted expression. He'd never actually seen Ganon but from what he knew of the man, it wasn't impossible.
"Actually, yes. Do you remember the skeletons that attacked us last time we passed through this gorge?" Dark nodded. "Those skeletons are probably the bodies of children…"
"Wait a minute, if those were human bones then why didn't you need the Sun Song?" he asked curiously. "Didn't you say that if it was human that your sword couldn't destroy it?"
"No, bones are bones. They are animated and held together by dark magic. They are completely different from monsters that contain an enslaved soul. Those are much more difficult and labor intensive to create. If my blade could not purify a simple Stalchild, we would be in serious trouble indeed."
Grimacing, Dark glanced around as though he expected a repeat attack to happen any minute, "I wonder who they were. Those monsters that attacked us last time weren't very tall."
"They were children killed in the war seventeen years ago," Link answered with a faraway look in his eyes. Though he hadn't been old enough to remember anything from that time, thinking of the war always made him depressed.
Noticing the sudden change in his partner, Dark asked "What was the war about?" He wanted to know because it seemed to be connected to Link and any information could prove useful one day.
It wasn't that he didn't like talking about it, but the facts of the war made Link feel a little guilty. "The birth of the Hero of Time was foretold and the time period it would happen in. I've thought about this a great deal and the only reason I can think of is that Ganon knew even back then that he would claim the Triforce that the Hero of Time would be born and oppose him. If that were the case, it makes sense that he would try to kill me before I could grow into a threat." Link sighed in deep regret, "All those people who died…all for me…"
Dark had never seen Link looking so down. Every other time he'd been feeling sad about something Link had always been there, so he did the only thing he could to return the favor; he leaned forward in the saddle and hugged the depressed blond from behind. "It's not your fault…just look at it this way. If we didn't have you then nobody would survive. That's why you're out on this journey, isn't it?"
Link sighed and leaned back into the embrace. It felt so nice to be held at times like this. If he was on his own the anguish could consume him. At least this way he had something to hold onto and ride out his emotional storm. "It still…feels like my fault. So many people have died for my sake…my own mother included. That is why I have to succeed. If I don't, all those lives will have been in vain."
The setting sun chose that moment to sink out of view behind the mountains, casting a sudden veil of darkness across the land and adding a chilling weight to Link's words. Indeed, with the sudden bite in the air, they both expected an ambush to spring on them. But nothing moved on the cold dusty trail save the crickets.
This time they didn't stop to rest but rode right through the canyon towards the great divide that spanned over the river. After all, they were well fed, well rested and clean for once. All in all, Dark felt ready to tackle anything while Link just rode along stoically, not feeling much at all. "Here is the plan. I brought us here at night on purpose; it is better for sneaking about. I want to go back into the fortress. You remember how cold it was?" Dark nodded. "That was not natural. With bricks like that, their fortress should be an oven during the day. They must have some kind of enchantment. I want to find it. That is the first order of business. After that, we can bomb the gate and make our escape out into the desert."
Dark tilted his head to the side. "Gate? What gate?" Even though he'd gone the same way as Link, for the most part anyways, Dark still failed to show the necessary powers of observation to notice the colossal gate that held back the desert sands. He also failed to show enough magical prowess to sense that the fortress was even enchanted in the first place.
They dismounted Epona before the split log that served as a bridge to get up the incline over the pool of water and jogged up to the carpenters tent. They of course happy to see their saviors again but something was wrong. "One of my boys never made it out," the head carpenter told them. Link sighed.
"I found two… Dark found one but … I don't know where they could have had the last cell at. Never mind, we will go back and look again." Link stated quietly, striding out of the tent without another word. Dark turned and ran after him, knowing from the tension in his shoulders that his partner was upset.
Reaching out, he grabbed the blond's shoulder and pulled him back into a tight embrace. "It's not your fault y'know…" he murmured as Link slumped against him.
"I failed to save him, Dark. So many people have died because of my action, but so many more have died because of my inaction," Link despaired, turning around to return the hug. At this point he no longer cared about giving the wrong idea or about the carpenters watching their emotional exchange from the tent entryway. He just wanted someone to hold onto.
"Aww. C'mon, cheer up. For all we know, he could still be alive. And even if he isn't, we still got work to do, alright? Pull yourself together and let's get out there and kick some ass!" Dark's infectious enthusiasm broke through once again, making Link smile in spite of himself as he pulled the Water Medallion out of his shirt.
"Thanks Dark. Be right back."
"Wh-hey, wa-"
Dark's voice cut off mid yell as he landed with a grunt in a familiar sand bank. He leaned back against his tree and crossed his arms, grumbling about how Link really needed to give him more warning or ask permission before just sucking him up like this. It really wasn't fair how he just-
With another flash of light, Dark was back out and Link had somehow already gotten inside the fortress. They stood by the first empty cell in the room where the Farore's Wind marker still resided. He turned and gave a hand sign for Dark to follow and they both slipped silently down the hall. Outside the chill of the desert night was very different from the icy breeze that blew through the fortress. Link's eyes slitted, half-shut as he walked, using his magical sense to back trace the location of the enchantment. Up the ramp the walked to the second floor of the fortress and as they walked into the room with the second vacant cell when a sudden tap on the shoulder snapped Link out of his reverie. He opened his eyes to see Dark staring pale faced up at the wall. "I think we found our carpenter…"
Hanging up on the wall was the carpenter. In traditional trophy form of the Gerudo, his body was upside down with his kneecaps broken allowing his legs to be turned sideways. The poor man was obviously already dead for some time judging by the cold grey color of his skin. Horrified at seeing this, Link collapsed against his partner with a quiet whisper of "I failed again…"
Dark caught Link and hauled him to his feet again. "Hey now, this isn't the time. We're in dangerous territory so you can grieve later, right?" he asked, giving his partner a gentle shake. It was odd for him to be the one pushing to get working but at the same time he felt that Link needed to keep focused or he'd stop moving. If that happened, who knew if they'd get moving again in time.
Link sighed and nodded slowly, shutting his eyes and taking a deep breath to focus back in on the flow of magic pulsing through the fortress. It lead out onto the balcony and Dark kept watch as Link crawled to the edge of the balcony and looked over the edge. It wasn't that big of a drop to the desert sand, a doorway and the white-clad Gerudo guarding it.
Link crept back from the edge, flashing one finger and gesturing over the edge to symbolize one guard. Dark nodded, gliding like a shadow up to the edge to take a look. The guard was waiting below, dutifully watching the other direction. Suddenly, a thick leather glove clamped down over her mouth and a rough pull dragged her off her feet and into the darkness of the fortress without ever a sound being uttered.
He dragged her into the fortress and smacked her head against the closest wall, dropping her unconscious body like a sack of rocks right as Link walked in. "Was that really necessary?" the blond asked as Dark casually dusted his hands off. "Probably not, but it sure is fun. I owe the ladies as many extra punches as I can squeeze in."
Sighing, Link shook his head. "All that for your petty sense of vengeance?"
"It is not vengeance! This is so much more then that, this is my divine retribution! I'm meting out punishment to the group that tried to hurt you and I'm not killing anyone so I'm totally justified!" Dark cried indignantly.
"I think that makes you sound rather full of yourself. Quit messing around," Link muttered with a flat stare before turning to examine the room.
Here, it was even colder then the rest of the fortress and infinitely more majestic. Stylized pillars ringed the room in a half circular arch, making a kind of approach to three great stone lion heads, each of which had a door in its mouth. Unlike the res of the fortress, the floors here were not paved, covered in nothing but sand.
"The fortress isn't all that big. Let's split up?" Dark suggested, leaning towards the head on the left and Link nodded, heading for the middle door.
Back outside, one of the sentries noticed that the watcher in white was gone and gathered a group of Gerudo guards to storm in and kill the intruders when a cool voice sounded from the back of the group. "Wait. They've started the trials. Stand down," the acting Leader called from the back. Though they all obeyed, not one of the Gerudo warriors wasn't itching to repay the humiliation they'd suffered at the red-eyed warrior's hands, but the leader was right. Gerudo law stated that once a person entered the trials, they could not be interfered with until the trial was complete or forfeited. That was the law and it would be followed to the letter.
Of course, all the guards knew what the plan was. The purpose of the trials was to determine if someone was worthy to become the next Spirit Walker; the title for the leader of the Gerudo clan. By law, only one male would be born to them every thousand years. That was Ganondorf, who had been named King of the Gerudo. Underneath him was the Spirit Walker and to qualify for the title, one had to pass all the trials. If a Spirit Walker was already in office, passing the trials would permit the Spirit Walker to be challenged for her authority.
The test itself wasn't hard at all; simply get to and open the large treasure box in the ruins to bring back its contents as proof of success. Once that box was opened, the trials were over and the guards could flood in and attack. Furthermore, allowing Link and Dark to undertake the trials was a very low risk course of action since politically, only a woman could become the Spirit Walker. So, if on the off chance they did manage to complete the trials and knew the laws of the Gerudo, it wouldn't make the slightest bit of difference. That being the case, everyone was content to sit back and wait.
In Dark's room was a small sandy arena with a few large boulders in the middle and very simply, a group of Lizafos; humanoid lizard warriors with needle like short swords. With only a high screeching battle cry they lunged forward. While fast and very agile, the reptilian's weapons were more designed for stabbing rather then slashing, so for a master like Dark, it was the easiest thing in the world to side step a thrust and hack off the offending arm.
In and out he darted, unable to resist the opportunity to play with his food. One of the lizards screamed, a high shrill sound of frustration; even three against one, they couldn't manage to land a single hit on the black swordsman for every time they tried, he'd be just out of reach. Dark flashed a taunting grin, slipping past one of the Lizalfos' guards to pull it into a rough killing embrace with his sword protruding out its back. A quick kick knocked its lifeless body off his blade as, once again, he came within inches of being stabbed. As the cold steel blade slipped just under his right arm, Dark spun the other direction and with his arm held straight out, his spin neatly decapitating the thing, leaving only one left.
The lizalfos, unlike most monsters, had at least a vestige of intelligence. The final monster knew it was outmatched as it searched frantically for an exit, but the doors stayed barred, indiscriminate of who needed to escape. Slowly Dark approached, a sadistic smirk spreading across his face as he strolled towards the panicking reptile with a gently swaying gait. He was relaxed. He was confident. He was a predator.
Just ten seconds later, Dark was calmly wiping blood from his sword to kill time as he waited for the bars to raise off the door. They did, and instead of a chest appearing, a small key dropped out of the ceiling to land with a quiet clanking noise at Dark's feet. He picked it up curiously, turning it over in his fingers. The door ere wasn't locked so he dropped the prize into a pocket and left the room.
The door opened and immediately the difference in temperature was noticeable. The chilling aura of the previous room was suddenly gone, replaced by a steamy humidity that had the boy's hackles up. A short hall with close together walls with a passage to the side could hide an ambush. Though the passage seemed to be short, Dark actually noticed a moment later that it simply hit a wall and continued some twenty feet above. Looking up, he eyed the rise suspiciously before taking the right passage.
It was like it was taunting him. This room was probably a massive labyrinth that he'd be lost in for days without ever finding an exit and Link would have to come and save him. As usual, he thought dismally, wondering how he'd manage to find his way out. Especially with what had to be the exit so close and yet so frustratingly far. Well, no point in sitting around worrying about it, so he took the passage on the right. He didn't get very far as a sudden wall of flames burst from the ground. The sudden blast of heat had Dark staggering back with a startled cry. "Well, guess that ways not gonna work," he muttered, going back to take the opposite turn off.
This time, there was no fire but a giant round boulder was rolling right past him. He tentatively poked his head around the corner and sure enough, another was coming and another after that. Somehow a row of boulders was set to keep rolling down and make the passage more or less impassable without sustaining some kind of injury. He did see enough, however, to determine that the rocks were rolling down a pretty steep hill that could connect back to the central path, which would make his giant labyrinth theory completely off base. Growling under his breath, Dark walked back to the door he entered from, turned around and took a running dash at the wall, using his momentum to actually run up it, but not quite far enough. Quickly, almost on reflex he whipped his sword out and stabbed it into the wall, climbing up to stand on the flat of the blade and that put him close enough to step up to solid ground. Smirking, he bent over the drop to wrench his sword free with a kind of smug satisfaction. Stupid fortress, trying to get the best of him…
Over on the other side of the training grounds, Link's trials were a bit more straightforward. A short set of stairs led him down onto a small ledge in a room with several stone pillars sticking up out of a pool of lava. "This again?" Link rolled his eyes and took a running jump over the lava. Off to the right was a door, or he could take the door straight ahead. This next jump was too far for the Hero to make on his own but he wasn't all that concerned. He'd learned long ago to have faith in his tools and so a quick tap of his heels together and his body was suddenly weightless, hovering over the pits of boiling magma to the other side. All in all, he wasn't too impressed as he tapped his boots again to return them to normal. This place was like a wannabe temple. It had possibility but compared to where he'd already been it was nothing special.
Link came out into a circular room with a large stone statue with four faces of one eyed ogres surrounded by a moat of lava. He frowned, wondering what to do when the floor beneath him started to spin, giving him a view of each face and he rolled his eyes.
"Is this honestly the best the Gerudo could come up with? The mediocrity is starting to get boring," he grumbled to himself, sending an arrow flying into each of the statues eyes. Such things were not the least bit difficult for a master marksman like Link.
"Agreed!" Dark called from a ledge at the top of the room. He slipped himself off the edge to land on the rotating stone slab with a grin. "Nice shootin' Rex," he complimented, glancing at the arrows sticking our from dead center of the four ogre eyes. "Not that this place stands any chance against us. Nothin' special."
As much as Link agreed, he didn't want to encourage that kind of thinking. "Don't get cocky," was the best he could come up with, and even that was lacking in conviction. Not that the attempt made the slightest bit of difference. Dark's eyes still sparkled mischievously as he jogged back over to the door to kick open the small chest waiting for him there. Indeed, as they traversed the training grounds, nothing came up that was too terribly difficult. They passed the rooms quickly and amassed a small collection of keys in a short amount of time.
There was next to no trouble until they arrived in a room with a giant silver block bearing the Gerudo crescent moon on its surface blocking them from proceeding. Doing a quick calculation, Link determined that the face he could see was the size of sixteen of the blocks he was used to dealing with. Therefore, if it was a square, then it was probably the rough equivalent of sixty four of the stone blocks he was used to pushing around; far too heavy to move. Aside from that, the only other noticeable feature of the room was a door, but when Link tried to open it, to door wobbled around and tried to smash him.
It was only quick reflexes that kept the blond from getting knocked flat on his back; that and the fact that he'd seen these fake doors before in the Fire Temple. Muttering angrily under his breath, he placed a bomb by the door, lit it and stomped away. Seconds later the bomb exploded and the resulting shockwave blasted the door to pieces, leaving the irate Hero to go to where the door was and slide down the wall, sighing. He'd been ready to launch into a tirade about how this place wasn't giving him a good vibe and how this room seemed to be a dead end when he felt it; a weak pulse of magic flowing through the wall. It was different from the trail he'd been following, more like the illusions in the Shadow Temple.
Dark watched his partners actions curiously. Link was being abnormally restless, almost bipolar. First he was pacing around, then slumped against the wall and a second after that he jumped up and started digging through his shirt for something. Stepping back next to his partner, Link glanced through the eye of truth for less then two seconds before putting it back. "Well Dark, someone seems to think they are clever. It is just like the Shadow Temple. Would you do the honors?" he asked, going back to kneel by the wall right under the spot where the illusion was centered. Dark nodded and took a run at his partner. Link locked his fingers together, making his hands into a step and as Dark stepped into his hand he pushed up, catapulting the boy into the air.
"Alright, I'm up. Be back in a sec," Dark said, sticking his head out. Link gasped, paling visibly from the unexpected sight of seeing his partner's seemingly severed head mounted on the wall before vanishing again a second later. Link sat back in the sand, staring up at the sandstone block illusion that concealed where Dark was. Hopefully it was only a small side area as they normally were. Otherwise, not only could Link be kept waiting out there for quite some time but his partner might well run off on his own to do something foolish.
"I hope you don't do anything too stupid up there. If it is too large then come back and get some assistance. I do not wish to spend an hour waiting," Link grumbled to himself, immediately jumping to the worst case scenario as he normally did. In response to his complaint, the cold metal of a small key flew out of the wall and smacked the blond in the forehead.
Dark dropped out of the illusion looking slightly put out. "There's a huge giant monster up there and traps all over the place but behold! A miraculous vision came and made me turn around! Are the Goddesses finally giving me common sense? Let's hope so," Dark said with a flat stare, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Anyways, nothing much else there. So, that way then?" he asked, gesturing to the giant stone block.
"I do not think so. That looks far to heavy to push out of the way. Perhaps we missed something back in a previous room. I have not been on the lookout for illusions as I worked so it is possible…" Link's voice trailed off into nothing as Dark pushed past him, tugging his gloves off by the fingers to lay his palms against the smooth stone.
"Too heavy huh? Watch and learn, oh ye of little faith." he snorted, unbuckling his belt and pulling black tunic over his head to set on the ground as he set his shoulder to the block and pushed. Dark grit his teeth, forcing more of his body when the block refused to move. It really was way too heavy for Link to have ever managed but Dark was determined not to lose out. If he couldn't move the block, he'd look like a complete idiot especially after that macho display of confidence.
Link watched from the side as Dark's entire body broke into a sweat, his muscles cording out from the strain. Amazingly, the block shifted. Inch by inch Dark forced it back, the stone scrapping along the walls of the tunnel he pushed it down. Exhaustion was running up at him and only adrenaline and the desire to impress his partner kept it from overwhelming him. Just when he thought he couldn't push it any farther, the block dropped into a hole sized to fit the block perfectly, making it into a section of the floor, leaving the tunnel ahead free of obstruction.
"See? Told ya I could do it," Dark choked out in between pants. Again Link was struck by the boy's iron resolve. He'd already proven himself right and as far as Link was concerned, he'd earned some rest from an ordeal like that but he refused to give into his weakness. Dark refused to rest in spite of how his breath came in labored gasps and his body trembled from the strain. He just walked, albeit a little unsteadily back over to pick up his shirt and belt before turning and trudging back down the tunnel he'd just opened.
Several times Link offered to stop so they, which really just meant Dark, could rest but he'd hear nothing of it, stubbornly marching down deeper into the fortress. Walking along behind, Link was left with a clear view of the sheen of sweat glistening of the bare skin of his partner's back and he found himself wishing he had a body like that. Sure, Link was strong on his own, but he'd just witnessed something amazing. Not to mention that constantly fighting had left the Hero with a deep respect for strength of any kind whether it be physical, mental, emotional or any other type. He had to admit once again to being slightly envious.
Sadly, he didn't have any more time then that to think as the hall made a hairpin turn to go back parallel to how they'd just come and the door put the room right next to the previous one. "I think this is what we are looking for," Link stated. He was staring through several layers of wire cage walls to a large treasure chest in the center of the room. The only path went to the left and slowly spiraled inward on the box and that path was blocked by a number of locked doors. Luckily, they still had their collection of keys. "Dark, you really should sit down before you pass out," Link suggested again, but Dark just shook his head as the lock dropped to the floor with a metallic clank and the door slid open.
"Nah, I'm alright, really. In fact, I feel great," he replied. Link didn't believe it for a minute, opening the second door.
"Well you certainly seem exhausted and it is not as though I would look down on you for pausing to catch your breath, particularly not after a stunt like that."
Dark chuckled and ran ahead to the third door and jamming his key into the lock. "Nah. I'm not tired at all, see? You're just basking in my amazingness. I could have done this whole damn thing by myself if I wanted to," he declared confidently.
Link just shook his head indulgently. "I'm sure you could. What with your Herculean abilities, I almost feel left out. I don't really have anything important to do that you could not, oh fearless leader." Dark turned around to watch and in a rare act of childishness, Link stuck his tongue out in passing to the fourth door.
As soon as it was open, Dark was racing out ahead again. "It's only natural that you're jealous of my natural talent, but don't worry Link, you're as a invaluable partner and believe it or not there is still a way that you can make yourself useful," he suggested, kicking the next door open and running ahead to the next.
Link's eyebrows raised, partly in respect and partly in curiosity. How on earth did he have so much energy left? And of course, there was still their little contest going on and he was curious about that too. "Oh? A job for me? How thoughtful of you. What exactly might I be doing to help out the cause?" He asked, taking yet another key from his pocket as he approached Dark and the door.
Dark grinned, snatching the key out of his partners hand and draping his tunic and belt over Link's outstretched arm, putting the key in the lock himself. "Hold my shirt of course," he teased, running ahead again to avoid getting an elbow in the ribs. They continued back and forth like that as the spiraled inwards towards the box and as they got to the last door, they found that no keys were left. Link was busy digging through his pockets and Dark was looking around curiously.
"Y'know, I've been thinking for a while that this room looks sort of familiar. Take out the Lens of Truth and take a look at the ceiling," Dark suggested, sticking a foot through the holes in the wire fence to see if it would hold his weight. Shrugging, Link followed the instructions and sure enough there was an invisible opening in the ceiling two doors back. "Don't worry, nothing up there but a box. I got it!" Dark called, running back out towards the illusionary ceiling.
That room was most likely the entire reason the walls were made out of metal wire and Dark, always eager to impress, jumped at the wall to climb it. Of course it was pride that prompted him to volunteer in the first place in spite of how his arms screamed at him. He barely had it left in him to hold himself up, but his boots fit into the holes also so he made it to the top, claimed his reward and a moment later was unlocking the final door and only then did Dark allow himself to sit and rest for a moment while Link claimed the Gerudo Treasure.
As soon as he opened the box and took out the arrow that waited inside, the guards who'd been waiting all snapped to attention as their commander shouted.
"Guards! The trial is over. Kill all intruders."
Immediately they all lowered spears and rushed in, splitting off into three groups to search every room. Since Link and Dark had already been through all the rooms, most of the traps were inactive, allowing the guards to run through without any resistance. They all converged on the final room, running through the wire cage and posting a sentry at every door as a kind of honor guard for the commander who marched around the spiraling path to her second in command who waited at the center. "Status!" she barked, making her subordinate wince.
"Yes ma'am. We have guards posted in all the rooms and there is evidence the intruders were there…however we cannot find them."
The Gerudo commander was a stern woman, not the type to suffer fools lightly. To her, it seemed the entire guard corps was simply incompetent and she screamed her rage at everyone in the room, cursing them for their inability to find the two boys who sat silently in the hidden chamber just above them. Not silently, as Dark was holding back snickers. Link pulled the blue Medallion out from the string where it hung around his neck and held up two fingers indicating two minutes and Dark nodded, vanishing.
Farore's Wind really was a convenient spell. Since he'd cast it the first time, as long as he was in range Link could warp back to the initial place he'd cast it as many times as he wanted as long as he didn't set a new warp point somewhere else. That was the drawback of the spell, it could only be active in one place at a time. Link reappeared in the dark chamber several floors above his previous position right next to an empty prison cell. As soon as he was there, he released Dark from the Medallion and the two jogged down the hall to the outside.
The stone fortress no longer held the eerie chill it once held. That arrow from the box was the center of an enchantment that kept the fortress imbued with a cold that defied even the heated glare of the noon day sun. It was still cold in the fortress and as they ran outside it was colder still. The full moon sat high in the sky, casting its cool light across the desert landscape. From their ledge, Link and Dark looked out onto a deserted plain before dropping to the sand.
"It looks as though my distraction worked. All the guards are down below, searching for us. I do not know how long they will stay occupied, so we should hurry. We also now have this arrow and if it works the way i believe it does, it should prove useful."
Dark nodded and ran along behind his partner, enjoying the cool breeze blowing across his bare chest. It was nice to finally have some fresh air again. Moreover, he was impressed that Link thought to use the Gerudo treasure as a decoy. It made him wonder what else was running through the boy's mind and if it was as genius as this; Killing two birds with one arrow...
Dark's curiosity was soon sated as Link ran up to the gate that divided the Gerudo Fortress from the desert and laid a trail of bombs along the bottom of the wall. He watched with a kind of odd fascination as Link stepped back and drew a single arrow, drawing it back until it started to glow red. It was the enchantment he'd learned from the fire arrow at the lake to make his own fire arrows. Once the arrow released it immediately burst into flames, setting off the row of bombs. The chain of explosions released a shockwave that knocked them off their feet and sending shards of wood and bits of sand flying through the air…and this time, it was Link who protected Dark from the rain of debris.
Once the smoke cleared Link helped his partner to his feet and pulled him towards the gate where the bottom two feet of wood was gone. "Hurry. Someone will have heard that," Link warned. Together they ran off into the desert.