6. Of Fruit, Herbs, and Bombs
Hello followers I apologize for the long wait, real life and lack of muse has been getting to me. Although I have been giving a lot of thought of using certain enemies and fighting styles from outside of Zelda as part of the story, let me know what you think of the idea.
The sudden piercing call of the rooster shocked Link from his slumber making him sit up right and look around taking in the barn that he had slept in the prior night, it was nothing you wouldn't expect; tools, feed, harness, rope and hay. With a quiet groan he slowly climbed to his feet and stretch hearing some pops from within as his body realigned though it resulted and a pleased sigh. Immediately after he brushed off the hay and dirt clinging to his clothes before heading out through the large barn doors to breathe in the cool morning air.
The light peeking over the horizon painted the dark of the night violet while pink skittered along where the sky met the earth. The sight made him Link smile a bit before he heard a rather loud thump, moving rather cautiously he moved around the corner but relaxed as he saw Talio loading the back of his wagon with a few large bags adorned with images of different fruit which pretty much told Link what he was doing without even asking. However the farmer seemed to sense him and turned to wave with a large smile almost as soon as Link had turned the corner. "Hey champ, how'd you sleep? It wasn't too chilly was it?"
"No not at all, thanks for putting me up," Link grinned and rub the back of his head a little embarrassed by the concern but still finding it comforting nonetheless. "Oh, I don't remember if I told you my name yesterday but it's Link."
"Link eh? Sounds good, simple and easy to remember," Talio commented as he went up to check the horses he had already hooked up to the harness of the wagon. "Roma still gonna call ya grasshopper though."
The joke was delivered with a playful grin despite Link's halfhearted glare before he responded with a defeated sigh. "Eh, I suppose that's fine, shes cute enough to get away with it."
Talio couldn't help but laugh to the blonde's response to being his daughter's latest victim as he finished readying his horses. "Haha, well if nothing else you're a good sport."
"Well my big brother is kinda similar, he always teased me and he's a lot worse." Link said as he leaned on the edge of the wagon while Talio checked everything in his wagon. "Where are you headed next?"
"Next up is Kakariko, its on the way to the friend I told you about he lives in Solvale to the north of Kakariko on the Eldin Plateau." Talio answered Link before climbing up onto the wagon before turning around to grab a smaller bag and digging around for it until he found a piece of bread and broke it in half holding half out to Link. "Heres your breakfast its time to head out."
The blonde nodded accepting the piece of bread before hopping up into the back of the wagon sitting with all the sacks which was surprisingly comfortable now that he didn't have a pit in his stomach. "Solvale, I remember hearing about it before, It was built when I was really young."
"Yeah that's right, its a relatively new place but its incredibly lively and it has tons entertainment." The man said as he whipped the reigns and began to steer his horses. They first circled the barn before getting on the worn road this time heading further west toward a valley etched along the edge of the mountains.
"So what does your friend do? Like in regard to how he can help me get in?" Link asked curiously looking up to Talio as he watched the road heading on while the air was still crisp and the sun was still waking.
"Well he has too many connections to count, I met him back when the town was first growing and he had a hand in everything, his commitment to the town is so strong he practically runs the place now." A soft chuckle came from the man's lips as they reached the beginning of the valley and much of the greenery fell away to stone and rock. "He's an adult but not too much older than you, maybe 26 years or so."
Link nodded thinking quietly, if hat was the case then he probably knew enough people to get him inside but he had no clue how. Now the sounds of birds chirping could be heard from above as they ventured out into the daytime. "I really appreciate everything you're doing for me, taking me there and all."
"Oh ho, sorry champ but I'm only going as far as Kakariko with this load, you've gotta make your way to Solvale from there." The man looked back at Link correcting him quietly, he didn't want to sound harsh or anything but he had things to do and he wanted to help Link as much as he could in the process.
"R-Right, my bad, thank you for what you've done already." The hylian bowed his quietly feeling a bit ashamed for assuming the man would just take him to wherever he needed like a servant. Although practically the instant he had finished the thought he felt a cool blob hit him in the side of his face and a wineskin fell into his lap.
"You've said thank you enough Link, drink up, it's rather arid around Kakariko." Talio responded his gaze still on the road ahead while the horses and wagon made their way through the tall rock walls. A faint smile appeared across Link's face as he accepted the man's water never expecting people to be so nice outside of the village. "We're almost there, if you don't mind helping unload I'll write down the directions for you."
"Sure thing it's no problem." The blonde answered happy to return the help after everything Talio had done. In the distance he could start to see the tops of buildings peeking over the edge of the valley walls and a sign hanging between the walls with 'KAKARIKO' printed in bold lettering as it swayed in the breeze.
As the wagon pulled through the narrow opening the morning sun saturated the men warming them after the shadowed journey, however Link's jaw dropped as soon as he had finished blinking so his eyes could adjust to the light. Before him was a large stone building which seemed to be designed to weather the winds, small trees surrounded the outside along with a well beside the door. To the south was massive pool of water with a raised level even further back filled with stone pillars, if he didn't know any better it looked like Ordona's spring. Along the edge was a few shops one of which Talio was beginning to pull up to.
As the wagon came to a stop and link hopped out he turned and was frozen in his tracks by what he saw, this was hardly a village it was practically the size of Castle Town. The walls of the cliffs had been dug out leaving a huge hollow for the village to thrive straight to the north of him was a busy street covered in shops on the West side while the East side were rows after rows of houses until they reached the cliff face surrounding the village, and far in the distance the giant peak of Death Mountain loomed in the sky. Link had been told long ago that the land masses continued to shift in this area and once the volcano had stood as the only mountain against the sky but now parts of the land had pressed back together making Death Mountain part of a large mountain range which spanned the Eastern border of Hyrule.
"The Gorons come from there, it's been their home for as long as anyone can remember," Link jumped suddenly from Talio's voice as he turned to see him holding a sack on his shoulder which he transferred to link with a heave. "They used to run a mine for a long time but they found somewhere with better ore."
"Got it, may get a chance to go there someday." Link breathed as he balanced the sack before grabbing another sack taking one more look at the glowing volcano before carrying the large sacks of fruit into the shop beside them. The small store was filled with crates that had what he assumed were other fruits though he hadn't seen them before, in one crate was a cluster of long, curved, yellow fruits connected by a stem at the tips, while another had red apple-like fruit but they had a dark almost fuzzy stem. Before he could look at more of them however he heard a cough from the back where a woman stood with sandy skin and bleach blonde hair.
"You just gonna stand around or you gonna work?" Her voice was deep for a woman but her demeanor commanded respect though Link supposed you had to have some kind of presence to run a business. He nodded and moved up to her glancing at her clothes on his way to her, she wore a somewhat dirty white shirt with a length of leather holding the neck and front together showing her tan skin while her lower body was clad in what looked like over-alls but she had tied the straps like a belt to keep them on and her feet were clad in brown leather boots. When his eyes met hers they wear an earthy green and freckles spread across her cheeks while a length of hay he hadn't noticed before hung from her lips.
"Well you don't look like much but there's more to a person than looks, set those behind the counter." The woman commented before walking past him and outside, Link assumed she was going out to talk to Talio but he was wrong, she came back in carrying twice as many sacks as he had. Damn... So that's what she meant, before he could be in her way he quickly moved aside for her before heading back out to the wagon to grab the last of the produce and while Talio was back on the wagon, he wore a huge grin while scribbling on a piece of paper. This must be hilarious for him.
As Link set down the last three sacks the woman patted his back with a grin before grabbing a bag form behind the counter and heading back outside, Link followed behind her seeing her counting out loud while setting rupees into Talio's hand. "And 200, thanks again Tal, no one grows apples like you do."
"Its nothing Cindey, you know we love doing business with you." Talio offered her a smile before putting the rupees away. "Sides we've known each other since we were kids."
"Heh true that, though I look so much younger." Cindy smirked teasing him before letting out a laugh.
"We can't all eat healthy, exercise, and drink spirit water every day you know?" Talio commented now wearing the same unamused look that Link had worn earlier which made him smile a bit seeing the exchange leave the man somewhat flustered.
"Oh I know, also you string bean," Cindy commented before looking at Link and and taking out a couple of red rupees and handing them to him despite Link now wearing the same look Talio was. "This is for helping unload, thanks sugar."
"N-No problem." Link quietly answered as his annoyance melted away at the way her voice changed like it was dripping with honey.
"Come on Cindey you can't do that to the poor kid without any warning," Talio called to the woman as she grinned and headed back into her shop to set up the apples they had brought her. "Girl is a trouble-maker, anyhow, Link come here."
"Huh? Yeah I'm here," The blonde male responded still shaking off the woman's charm moving up beside Talio to see if there was anything he needed.
"Careful Link, she's broken more than her fair share of hearts, here," The warning seemed fair enough as he handed Link a small rolled up piece of parchment, however, it made him look up at Talio confused, "These are the instructions to find my friend in Solvale, his name is Magus."
"Oh, got it, North of here right?" Link asked one more time for confirmation although he could have probably asked anyone in the village.
"That's right, and make sure you be careful, a lot of strange things have been happening lately," Talio answered Link while nodding. "Well, I need to get back, hope you make it to where you need to go."
"I will, and thanks again even if you don't want to hear it." Link said with a grin before grabbing his sword and shield from the wagon and clasping them to his body once more. Talio couldn't help but smile and shake his head before reaching over to ruffle Link's hair and displace his hat. "Hey!"
"Keep that mouth in check too, it seems just as liable to get you in trouble." The man said before whipping the reigns and start the horse's stride while he turned around in the open area before heading back through the way they had came. The hylian couldn't help but wear a smile as he watched him leave, it seemed like it was really good to meet people, although his thoughts were interrupted by a loud whistle from the shop behind him causing him to turn and look back to Cindy who was now wearing a cowboy hat atop her blonde hair.
"You best not spend that all in one place hun." The honey covered words, again, she punctuated with a playful wink and while both of them knew she was doing it to get a rise out of him he couldn't help but blush before turning around and heading into town leaving the woman giggling as she returned to her wares.
Using the opportunity to calm his hormones, Link looked through the shops along the West side of the town, first thing he came across seemed to be an all-purpose store stocked with wooden shields, arrows, seeds, and bombs, however they wouldn't sell him the bombs since they required a special type of pouch to carry them. The info left Link wanting as he thought about the cool things he could do with bombs, like attach them to his arrows.
While slightly annoyed, his blush had faded while Link went to the next building far larger and louder as it seemed to be an inn and a bar in one. He had began to step up to the doors when a man came flying from one of the windows skittering across the window and the blonde hylain could hear someone within, shockingly a woman, yelling about the man's tab. With the resulting drama Link promptly turned away from the doors to continue his way down the street however someone ran into him causing him to fall back into the dirty road and while it wasn't wood or stone it still left him slightly dazed as his head made contact.
"Ow... That hurt..." Link muttered quietly sitting up to rub the back of his head as he heard a high-pitched voice gasp followed by hands touching his shoulders and head.
"Are you okay?! I'm so sorry I was in a hurry and I couldn't see where I was going!" The voice, which he could identify as feminine, spoke so swiftly that Link was surprised he caught every word. As his vision slowly came back into focus he could see the girl who was kneeling in front of him looking over his head for signs of injury, she wore a long dress in rows of colored patterns kind of like the paint along the buildings in the village. As his gaze rose further he could see she had olive toned skin and dark hair, her eyes almond-shaped and a brilliant shade of brown. Her features were soft and innocent in contrast to the blonde's striking demeanor, though she was much younger, maybe a year or two younger than Link himself.
"Y-Yeah I'm okay, and its fine don't worry I wasn't looking either." Link offered her a smile and she quickly relaxed with a large sigh which made him smile a bit bigger finding it cute that she worried so much. "My name is Link, nice to meet you."
"Oh, I'm Rodana, it's nice to meet you as well." She answered with a smile while brushing her hair back. So this is the kind of girl his mother had meant when she talked about the type of woman he and his brother should look for. The thought made him blush faint seeing her beauty despite it being tame and subtle, however those thoughts were cut short as he saw a wagon being pulled through the streets and it was headed straight toward them.
Reacting on a dime, Link pushed his body forward in order to grab hold of Rodana's waist before turning and diving away from the street just in time to dodge the wagon while the dust swirled around them. Link's eyes were still focused on the wagon as it rolled away while he held the girl to his chest and that fact slowly set in making him look to her and her face was painted red with her blush and again unknown to Link a golden triangle glimmered on the back of his left hand.
"S-Sorry..." Link moved slowly helping her stand up before letting go and rubbing the back of his head, his own face red from the actions he had taken. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah... that's two I owe you." Rodana replied smiling small while looking up at him her brown eyes seeming bigger as Link glanced away finding her cute beauty getting to him.
"Is there anything you need or I can do for you? I make potions and other things to help keep up energy, or maybe I could give you a tour around Kakariko?" While her face was still pink, her voice came out easier than when they had began to speak. The herbs could be a great help but he felt it wasn't fair to accept her wares for just a few coincidences, if it had been some job she had sent him on sure but that wasn't the case. However it did seem like an excellent idea to have a local show him around the huge village.
"Yeah a tour sounds nice, it will be good to know where everything is." After Link answered the girl she smiled big and reached out taking his left hand, which had stopped glowing, and began to lead him along the store fronts.
"well if you made it this far, you've seen the general store and the inn, maybe the food shops by the spirit spring." Her voice chirped softly while her gaze moved between Link's blue eyes and the shops a head of them. "Many of our stores are craft shops since a lot of people from all over like our style, although we do have some practical and specialty shops, including a rare goods store and the jewel of Kakariko! The Bo-"
A large explosion from a large building seeming to be made of steel cut of Rodana while smoke started to pour out of multiple windows all over the building. Link's instinct push him to run in however Rodana held onto his hand stopping his sprint and walking towards it calmly while shaking her head with a smile on her face. "The jewel of Kakariko, the Bomb Emporium."
As Link followed Rodana inside the building was shrouded in black smoke and from somewhere inside he could hear someone coughing. With each step they made there was a cling to follow it which drew Link's eyes to the floor where plates of steel were bolted down just like the outside which left the blonde to assume the entire building was metal. Although it made sense if there were explosions like that all the time and from the way Rodana reacted to the blast that seemed to be the case.
"Baris! I've got a guest for you to meet!" The girl's voice called reverberating through the metal building.
"Yeah yeah, I'll be right down," Another feminine voice called down though much deeper and older sounding. The response was followed by more clangs and curses as the girl moved overhead before slowly making her way down a staircase that lead to the open shop area they stood in. The girl was Link's height while wearing what looked like thick leather overalls and a thin shirt underneath to let her skin breath despite the heat of the shop both her hands and feet clad in thick black leather gloves and boots. Her skin was almost fire tanned and covered in black patches of soot while her black frizzy hair was pulled back into a puffy pony tail and seemed to be ever so slightly singed. Around her green eyes there were similar black marks but there was a border left from the protective goggles that now hung from her neck, however neither took away from her hard gaze. "...What do you want?"
"Baris don't be like that, he's a traveler," Rodana chastised her quietly while puffing up like her friend had embarrassed her. "He asked for a tour and I told him the emporium is the best store in the village."
"Oh... So you like him, you don't give out tours," As the girl's green eyes moved to Rodana her look changed to a wide smirk teasing her friend as she came the rest of the way over and ruffled her dark hair. Though that same hard look returned to Link as she turned aroudn to go back upstairs. "Well you know your review means the world to me but unless he's into bombs there's nothing to talk about."
"Wait, I am interested, the General Store said I needed a Bomb-" Link called out to Baris but as he explained the girl seemed to move in a flash standing directly before him as she held Link's other hand. "-Bag..."
"In that case I have a great assortment of things that I can show you, including a Bomb Bag to store them." Baris chimed in a voice that threw him for a loop, it was gentle. While Link could see a large amount of bombs behind the counter, Baris pulled him up the stairs to what he could only assume was her workshop by the look of things. Along one wall was a number of tools with a large dispensary filled with black powder, another wall had a bench with a black blast mark on it from where he assumed the last explosion had come from. Just at the edge of the work bench were a number of drawers each labeled with numbers. The girl moved over to the drawers peeking into a few before pulling out two bombs connected by a length of wire.
"This is my Bola-Bomb, you just throw em and after they wrap around their target they explode!" Baris explained while twirling the set of bombs in mid air however her grin was quickly replaced with a look of shock as she heard a click and threw the bombs out the window before an explosion rang out. Baris grinned a bit as she looked to Link. "I haven't quite figured out a good way to trip the pin yet..."
"Hang on there's this too!" She quickly went back to her drawers while Link and Rodana watched her, after a short while she pulled out a handful of what looked like marbles. "These are mar-bombs, designed for small controlled explosions!"
Although right after she said it they handful of bombs went off creating a poof of black smoke between them. "Though they don't pack much punch really... I'm guessing you'd like normal bombs?"
"Yeah that would be fine, I'm planning to attach them to my arrows." Link responded with a smile, the ideas weren't bad but they weren't fully realized yet. Baris nodded her head quietly heading downstairs to fill a Bomb Bag for him leaving the two in her workshop for a few moments. Out of curiosity Link took the time to look at the drawers to see what else she had dreamed up and while some were like a ball on a chain which looked like it worked by whipping the ball at them. Others however he couldn't imagine how they would work, though one drawer caught his interest as he saw a red glow. Slowly opening the drawer he saw a glowing red bomb slowly pulsating with light.
"DON'T TOUCH THAT!" The sudden yell from Baris made Link jump away looking back to her as she sighed in relief. "I haven't been able to test that one yet, I don't know what it'll do since I made it with smoke from the monsters that have been appearing lately. Anyway come on down and I'll ring you up."
"R-Right sorry," Link apologized quietly while Rodana followed him down quietly not having much knowledge of her friend's wares besides that they were explosive. As Link and Rodana reached the bottom of the stairs he leaned over the counter while getting the two red rupees form his pouch. "This is all I got how much will get me?"
"Hm... Exactly one full Bomb Bag, with twenty booming beauties ready for use, also take this too," Baris commented sliding him the bag and a small metallic item that looks like a crab claw while one side of it had a clip. "It's an igniter, I figure if you're running around all over the place chances are you don't have the time to light a match and set up the bomb in time to use it, it can clip onto your belt."
"Thanks that sounds great." Link offered her the red rupees and a grin as he accepted the bag and igniter clipping it to his belt as recommended.
"I'm glad you two came to an agreement." Rodana's soft voice perked up as she smiled looking over them both though Baris rolled her eyes and flicked some of her soot off at the younger girl.
"You worry too much you know, I'm just busy, now you two get out of here before I get a cavity shoo shoo." The green-eyed girl ushered moving out from behind the corner and escorting them out. It seemed strange to Link but she was probably messing with Rodana again while Rodana herself was blushing again and struggling to find her words before the two were outside the shop. "Don't have too much fun or else your pop will get mad."
With that Baris closed the door while wearing a big grin though it left Rodana fuming as she stared at the door obviously taking the teasing harshly even though it was obvious no harm was meant. After a few moments Rodana let out a huff before looking back to Link and smiling small. "I'm sorry for that she she has a habit of getting me riled up..."
"It's not a problem, I know the type," Link responded smiling as he took her hand again."So what else is on the tour?"
Rodana smiled big holding his hand before continuing a bit further to the other end of the strip where there was a large valley leading towards Death Mountain that was adorned with minerals and stones. "This is the entrance to Death Mountain, as I'm sure you've seen a number of Gorons through the streets they have their own settlement along the mountain and an amazing hotspring."
After that she turned and head back along the east side of the strip which had the houses filling it. Children were running around and playing while some adults worked helping each other move things. "This is the residential part of Kakariko, pretty self explanatory I suppose, and that's all of Kakariko!"
Rodana's high spirits couldn't hep but make Link smile as he watched her walk along side him looking around the village before looking back to Link. "It's amazing, it's huge compared to Kokiri."
"Oh Kokiri? That's deep in the forest right?" Her question made Link rub the back of his head realizing he just admitted to being a hillbilly but nodded anyway. "Mmm it must be nice out there, so peaceful."
"Yeah usually but it has its momen-" "HEEEEELP PLEASE SOMEONE HEEEEELP!" The tender moment was shattered as a voice rang out silencing Link and they both looked to the East of the large stone building where a path ran through another valley like the one he had came through. A young man in farm clothes was heaving between yells and string seemed to be attached to him. Many of the villagers and Gorons stopped and looked toward him confused while Link ran over to him.
"Hey whats going?" The hylian questioned the male, roughly his age but as he reached out to touch his shoulder he found that it was string all over him at all it was spider silk. The young man looked around shaking as his breath heaved, his eyes darted around like he was manic or on drugs but as Link touched him he grabbed a hold of his arm.
"S-S-Spiders... everywhere, they climbed out of the gorge along the fields and started attacking us they took everyone who were in the fields... They're gonna be eaten... WE SHOULDN'T HAVE TRIED TO SEARCH THE GORGE!" The boy finally creamed out before running into the village leaving Link confused as he looked to Rodana hoping she could elaborate on what the young man had meant but she was gone. He couldn't begin to make out where she went as the other villagers had no started to run to their homes to take safe haven.
As Link watched them all panic he couldn't help but feel like he was the only one around who was going to do anything about the problem regardless that it wasn't his problem or even his village. With a low sigh he headed towards the small valley walking only a few minutes before it opened to a wide area that was filled with crop patches and irrigation trenches. However not a soul was around and the crops bowed and waved with spider silk blowing in the breeze.
Reaching into his pouch he grabbed his bow and draw an arrow staying on his guard while looking through the fields making sure he couldn't be ambushed. Slowly he made his way across the area to the edge of the gorge noticing a path seemed to span down the side of the cliff face. Before he checked that way though the young man said they came up from the gorge so he peered over the edge looking down but all he could see was rolling fog. With a shrug Link moved down the path that would lead him into the depths of the gorge.
Although what Link did not know was that the rolling fog was, in fact, a massive spider web.