Fifty chapters and still going! Thank you so much for supporting my fanfic up till now and I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am!

Chapter 50: Crystal Cove

By the time Link reached the Zora District, it was around noon but there was no way to tell as the sky was constantly dark and the moon's closeness didn't help either. Like before, the beach was deserted but this time there were monsters located along the beach. Particularly, slimy creatures with teeth called Jeevers and tube-shaped things known as Like Likes. Avoiding them, Link eventually came to the famous Crystal Cove which was composed of literal crystals that seemed to glow despite the lack of light. Here, he came across several Zoras that were scouring the beach.

"Excuse me," Link asked. "What's going on?"

"Our leader has gone missing," said one of the Zora. "We think he might've gone here. Raoole is his name."

"Raoole? You mean the heir?"

"He was the heir," answered a third Zora who was female but wore the same armor that the male Zoras wore. "But then Leader Reza retired from the throne, and so now Raoole is leader of the Zoras. Why do you wish to know, stranger?"

"Because I used to know him," Link answered.

The female Zora scuffed. "Raoole doesn't have any Hylian friends as far as I know, and I'm his sister Rubi."

"Well, we weren't exactly friends. I helped him rescue his father when he wandered into the Ralis Temple where a Fused Shadow fragment was located and—

"Fused Shadow?" Rubi picked up a trident and pointed it at Link's throat. "Are you a spy for Zelda?"

"No, not at all," Link said shaking his head. "I'm looking for a fragment of the Medley of Winds and I've heard that it might be here."

"So have we."

Above the Zoras appeared a group of black birds that circled overhead carrying two men that looked just like Fahlcon except that their eyes glowed purple and dark-blue from the eye-sockets of their bird helmets. The only difference between them was that the purple-eyed one was tall and skinny while the other was short and pudgy. Rubi and the Zoras immediately fled back into the ocean, leaving Link all alone to deal with the Watchmen as they leaped off the birds and onto the sandy ground.

Seeing the Zoras swimming away, the short one laughed in a high-pitched tone. "Look at them go, Shikrah!"

"Indeed, Cestral," said the tall one who folded his arms. "That's the shortest time anyone's ever run away from us."

"Yeah," replied Cestral, and turned towards Link who had his sword out. "But this guy's either too stupid to run—

"Or he wants to pick a fight with us," responded Shikrah, holding one hand in the air where a disk of wind was forming. "I bet I could take him out in one blow!"

"Then do it now," said Cestral impatiently. "We need to find the Medley Fragment and the Sage of the East Wind for the Mistress and find out why Fahlcon never reported back to us."

"Fahlcon's not coming back, guys!" Link said, getting the Watchmen's attention. "I know this because I defeated him in battle."

"What? No way!" said Cestral skeptically.

"How could a mere kid like you defeat one of us?" Shikrah added. "We're the Watchmen, the most feared beings in this entire city!"

"Leave the boy alone!" shouted a male Zora who stood on top of Crystal Cove whose armor was more gold-colored than the other Zoras.

"Oh, hi, Leader Raoole," said Cestral who seemed unimpressed by Raoole's statement. "Why aren't you with your palace guards who just fled?"

"Maybe he wants to die faster," suggested Shikrah. "Or perhaps he's looking for the same thing we are."

"Great," Cestral sighed. "So much for an easy job! Guess we'll have to do this the hard way if we're to get anything done!"

"Agreed," nodded Shikrah who released the blade of wind which turned into a spiraling tornado.

While Link stood his ground, Raoole was tossed into the air. An oboe made from black wood with metallic keys that shimmered like water fell onto the ground catching Shikrah and Cestral off-guard. But when Cestral tried to pick it up, he cried out in pain and let go of the oboe.

"This must be the famous Oboe of the East," said Cestral, who looked at his burning hand.

"Then that would make Raoole the Sage of the East Wind," Shikrah said as he trapped Raoole in a rotating wheel of wind. "So then the Medley Fragment has to be inside Crystal Cove. Is that true?"

Raoole didn't say anything, so Shikrah made the wheel of wind move faster till Raoole started chocking. Link tried to intervene by charging at Shikrah with his sword thrust out, but he was blocked by a wall of birds created by Cestral. By the time Link fought through the birds, the Watchmen were gone along with Raoole. The only thing that remained was the Oboe of the East which Link picked up with ease. But as soon as he did, the Oboe started vibrating and pointed toward Crystal Cove. Taking it as a hint, Link walked up to the face of Crystal Cove and found a small opening.

Inside, there were crystal walls that he saw reflections of himself in. But a little ways off, he noticed a reflection of Cestral and Shikrah carrying Raoole who seemed to have passed out. Link tried to follow them, but was blocked by an invisible crystal wall. He followed along it till he found an opening, but then a few minutes later he came to another dead-end.

"Its like a maze in here," Link said irritably. "I'll never reach them at this rate!"

"Wait a minute," Proxi said, flying around the Oboe. "The Oboe seems to be pointing us in Raoole's direction. Maybe we can use it to navigate through the maze."

"Good idea," Link said, and allowed the vibrations of the Oboe to guide him.

To be continued…