Chapter 44: Inkwell & Blotters
Early the next morning, Link took the earliest Skyloft rail-cart out of the Gerudo District into the Hylian District. There, he asked people about Inkwell & Blotters which was apparently the company that published the Commander Clamp series. He was eventually led to a small building on a side-street with the company's name painted on a big sign with several issues placed in the windowsill on display. Inside, Link approached a desk where a woman wearing a plain blue dress was seated behind. Next to her was a glass door with several people inside talking on phones, writing, drawing, or working a pair of large machines in the back.
"Welcome to Inkwell & Blotters," said the woman looking up from a book she was reading. She had her hair tied up in a bun and horn-rimmed glasses. "How may I help you?"
"Um, I'm looking for the author of this series," Link said and showed the woman the magazine. "Do you know where I can find him?"
The woman adjusted her glasses while looking at the magazine and then she said, "I'm not sure. You'll have to ask Mister Blotter about that."
"Where is he?"
"Back there, on the door to your right," the woman said, pointing to the glass door. "You can't miss it."
"Thanks, Miss…
"Featherweight," the woman said adjusting her name-tag. "But you can call me Penny."
As Penny Featherweight went back to reading her book, Link opened the glass door and walked down a narrow hallway until he reached the door. Here, the whirr of the machines in the back was very loud and the people near the desks were constantly yelling at each other or into the phones they held. Opening the door, Link entered a small office where a large man with dark brown hair wearing a green vest, a white shirt, and khaki pants was yelling into a phone.
"I don't what your game is, Inkwell, but you're not getting this company back and that's final!" shouted the large man as he hung up. He then noticed Link and shouted, "What do you want? I'm a very busy man, so speak fast!"
"I was wondering if you could tell me where the author of this series is, Mister Blotter," Link said showing the magazine once more. "The lady at the front said you might know."
"And why are you interested in finding him?" Mister Blotter asked.
"To have him autograph this copy," Link answered. "It's for a friend of mine."
"Well, you're not the first fan who's come by the office asking for the whereabouts of Mister Grasshopper," Mister Blotter sighed. "I've never met the guy in person, but he always sends drafts through the mail."
"Is there a particular address he sends them from?"
"It's always changing, so I can't say if any one of them is actually where he lives." Mister Blotter opened his desk-drawer and pulled out several opened envelopes with stamps on them. "Here's the envelopes he usually mails his drafts in."
Link took the envelopes and examined them. Like Mister Blotter said, none of the addresses were the same place but each of the stamps had a golden insect design. It was then that an idea came to Link's head and he left Mister Blotter's office immediately.
###
After navigating through some streets, he found Agnes' shop. He noticed a sign on the window that said, 'closed' and assumed Agnes was still asleep. So Link waited outside for a couple of hours, but the 'closed' sign stayed.
A middle-aged woman wearing a red dress and a matching bonnet passed by Link and said, "She's already gone, kid. Trust me, I'm her neighbor."
"Do you know where she went?" Link asked.
"In the direction of the Hylian University, I believe."
"Where's that?"
"Head west down Main Street, north of the Hylian Park, and the Hylian University will be there. It's a pretty big building, so you'll see it pretty easily."
"Okay," Link said and walked toward Main Street. "Thanks, ma'am."
He followed the woman's directions and found the Hylian University beyond Farore Hill in the Hylian Park. There were three buildings shaped like triangles clustered around a triangular courtyard that was accessible through an iron gate. Located between two of the buildings, Link attempted to approach the iron gate but there was a cluster of Clockwork Policemen standing around. So he wandered around the side of one building, which had white pillars and blue stone tiles, until he found an open window. Climbing through it, Link found himself in an empty classroom and a young woman wearing a white blouse and long blue skirt sitting nearby with a textbook open. She didn't appear to hear Link come in as a small device next to her blared loud music from it. But when Link opened the creaking door to leave the classroom, the girl looked up from the textbook with a surprised look on her face. Her brunette hair was tied into a braid that wrapped around her head and her eyes were hazel-brown.
"How did you get in here?" The young woman asked.
"Through the window," Link said, pointing to the open window.
Irritated, the young woman walked over to the window and shut it. "Don't you know the school is on lockdown, mister?"
"Lockdown?"
"You know, locked up until further notice."
"Why?"
"I'm not sure. A bunch of Clockwork Policemen showed up this morning led by one of the Watchmen, who claimed someone dangerous was hiding in the school and is currently trying to apprehend that person."
"Well, I'm here looking for a girl called Agnes. She runs a shop in town, likes bugs."
"Oh, I know her," the young woman exclaimed. "She always visits Professor Scarab, who didn't show up for class today. I bet she's in his office."
Remembering the drunken man at the Cave Mural, Link said, "And where is that?"
"Third floor on the left side," the woman answered. "I'll take you to it."
So Link followed the young woman out the door and into a dark hallway.
"If you know Agnes, then you must be friends with her," the young woman said as she and Link ascended the stairs.
"You could say that," Link replied.
"That's good to hear," the young woman replied. She halted at the top of the stairs and held out her hand. "I'm Wittia Sharp."
"Link," said Link as he took the young woman's hand.
"No last name?" Wittia asked as she led Link to a door on the left side of the hall.
Inside there was a large office with display cases of bugs along the walls, a couple of bookshelves, and a mahogany desk but no one was in it. While Link examined the walls, Wittia searched the desk and picked something up. She showed it to Link, who recognized it as a Golden Bug.
"Agnes was here," Link said.
"I bet the Watchman took her away," Wittia guessed. "But why? She never committed any crimes as far as I know."
"Then she's being wrongfully accused."
The Golden Bug, which was a grasshopper suddenly started making chirping noises. Proxi flew up to it and listened. Her body bobbed up and down a few times before she seemed satisfied.
"Did the bug say something?"
"It did," Proxi said. "Turns out the Watchman didn't just come for Agnes but also for something else called the Bolero of the Western Gale."
"The Wind Sages," Wittia muttered. "Of course!"
"What do you mean?"
"I read about them in my history textbook," Wittia said excitedly. "They had the ability to control the winds using the four Wind Instruments when the original occupants of Skyloft were alive. They're said to be the only ones that can protect Skyloft from complete destruction, and have reincarnated over the centuries into the present day while the Wind Instruments have been passed down for generations."
"But what does that have to do with Agnes and this Bolero thing?"
"Well, according to the texts written by Skyloft's original occupants, they believed there would come a day when the sky would literally fall on Skyloft. When that happens, the four Wind Sages must come together and play the Medley of Winds to stop the sky from falling. Now the Medley of Winds itself is composed of four pieces, and one of them is the Bolero of the Western Gale. So that means Agnes is one of the Wind Sages reincarnated and Zelda knows this."
"Either she's planning to make the prophecy happen to prevent Skyloft from being crushed by the moon or trying to eliminate the Sages so Skyloft is completely destroyed," Link said thoughtfully. "I hope it's the latter, but I'm highly doubtful. Do you know where the Medley Fragment might be hidden, Wittia?"
"I think so," Wittia said adjusting her glasses. "Professor Scarab once mentioned that his old friend Phosile once found the Medley Fragment while searching around the Hylian University's Library. Perhaps the Watchman took Agnes there."
"Let's hope so," Link said, and left the office with Wittia leading the way.
To be continued…