"What do you mean the apocalypse?" Link asked incredulously. "
What else could it be?" the woman asked matter of factly.
"So you dont know exactly what is happening." Zelda stated.
The woman flushed. "Theres not much to go on..."
"Kakiriko Stop, ten minutes." the bus driver said over the intercom.
"C'mon, lets get our stuff together." Zelda said, though there wasnt much to worry about; they simply maneuvered their packs over their shoulders. Link dug through his pockets and managed to pull out a few green rupees. The young woman's eyes narrowed. "Am I going to pay for the entire cab trip?" she asked scathingly.
"Sorry! We're kind of broke college kids, so..." Link shrugged.
"Did you even plan for this trip at all? What are two college kids doing going out of time mid semester?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, um, we just kind of-" Zelda began, cut off by the bus lurching to a stop. The group hastily departed; the sun was just barely rising and the surrounding area was still dark with shadows. Near the bus stop, a few cabs waited, their drivers sleeping in the drivers seat. As they grew closer, Link noticed each driver had some manner of weapon. The young woman knocked on the glass of the closest cab. "Could you take us to Kakiriko?" she asked after he rolled down his window.
"Yeah, sure, that'll be a red rupee." the elderly man said gruffly.
"A red rupee?! I dont believe this, is not even five in the 'burbs."
"Yeah, well, most of the 'burbs dont have monsters crawling all over the place. Its a one hour drive through extremely dangerous territory. You are more than welcome to walk if you'd like." The young woman gazed out at the dark, deserted landscape around them. It was bare except for small patches of grass, boulders and dead trees. "Very well." she said, passing him a red rupee. "In, in." she said to Link and Zelda, motioning them into the back. She moved around the car and sat in the front. "Off we go then!" the driver said cheerily, driving out of the parking space onto a dusty road.
"Oh, we never did introduce ourselves." the woman said turning in her seat to look at Link and Zelda. "My name is Saria."
"I'm Zelda, and this is Link. We're friends and roommates." Zelda said.
"Nice to meet you both. So what business do two college kids, who seem to still be under graduates, have in Kakiriko?"
"Um...its...kind of a secret...I guess?" Link answered, unsure. He looked to Zelda who shrugged.
"You probably wouldnt believe us if we told you..." Zelda said, tugging at the hem of her shirt.
Saria raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Fine." she sighed after a long moment. "You dont have to tell me. But I dont have to answer any of your inquiries, either." She turned abruptly to face the front. The remainder of the ride passed in uneventful silence. Near the beginning, a few shadowy figures could be seen moving on the horizon, but as the sun continued to rise and illuminate the land, the shadows disappeared and only a few ominous large birds circled the sky.
"Well, lucky for you lot, that was uneventful." the driver said as tall gates grew closer. A sign hanging above the gates read out "KAKIRIKO VILLAGE". As the cab grew close, the gates were opened by two men on the other side. Each had a different melee weapon. They quickly closed the gates behind the cab, locking it up tight. The driver came to a stop next to a large and beautiful spring. "This is where you get out." he said. "Shaman lives there, theres an inn a little ways down with a bar and a few shops." He pointed to each in turn. "Have a nice day." He pulled a three point turn and departed, leaving the group standing with their belongings in the dusty road.
Kakiriko looked like something out of a movie. Many roofs had rusting tin or planks of wood. Some had fallen in. Buildings stacked on top of each other, lining the small, narrow valley. Rickety support beams clung to the rock walls. "Thank Hylia!" a man said from their left. They turned to see a man emerging from the Shaman's house, his arms extended as if to embrace them all. "The heroes have come to our aid!"