Chapter 17: There's Always a Bigger Boat…

…

Link listened to Irleen's words like a child listens to a bedtime story, except Link was far too excited to simply doze off. History was his fiction, the best fiction he could ever hope for. Granted, the next two logbooks she read from fell into mundane comments about the ships' crews and the conditions they were forced to sail in, but to Link, who had never even seen a body of water larger than a lake, these were the kinds of mundane forms of excitement which one never found on an airship. To be so close to such a world felt almost too good to be true to him, which left his memory of the experience dotted with small bursts of realization that he was far from the company, in command of an airship, traveling with a member of the royal family, learning of explorers from generations ago, and in desperate need to be punched in the head just to be sure everything was real. If Line was around, the airman would have gladly obliged with such a request.

Irleen, on the other hand, did not seem to have the same appreciation for the texts as Link. Every turn of the page, every new entry, appeared to elicit an exhausted sigh from her. The likes of Captain Namuli and Captain Kolobeli of the sailing vessel Morning Greeting greatly disinterested her, so much so that, when she went to find another logbook, she decided to grab one from an early Sorian airship. This seemed to satisfy both of them, for the logbook of the First Flight, captained by a Sorian named Kualu, detailed the journeys of one of the first Sorian airships.

"'Made landing on Mercay Island and retrofitted a sail to the hull. Set sail back for home at first light.'" After turning a few pages, Irleen closed the book. "I guess that's all," she told Link.

"It would have been nice if they'd logged their journey back," Link remarked.

Irleen shrugged. "Maybe they stopped recording when they returned home," she suggested. "It looks like they were just recording for their flight experiments. It's a good thing they were using a vessel with a ship hull instead of a balloon gondola; with as many times as they hit the water, that's probably the only thing that kept them from sinking."

"I suppose," Link agreed. His stomach grumbled audibly, and he looked down at it in surprise. "Uh…"

"Hungry?" Irleen asked with a grin. Link nodded. "Me, too. I think I've lost track of time."

"Must be noon by now," Link commented, glancing across the room in search of a clock.

"In fact, it is quite into the afternoon, Captain." The deep voice behind Link surprised him out of his seat. With the table so close, Link hit his pelvis hard against the edge. In response, he doubled over and bashed his forehead against the thick cover of one of the logbooks. Slumping back onto the bench, he rested his head on the table while holding his waist in pain.

Someone behind him burst out laughing. Recognizing the voice, Link rolled his head to look over his shoulder. "Shut up, Line," he commanded in a weak voice.

"I-I'm sorry, Link," Line replied, his tone indicating otherwise, "but you've been finding creative ways to injure yourself all yesterday. It just so… ro-rous …" He broke off as he nearly collapsed laughing. "I… I can't breathe!"

"Lieutenant-Captain Link?" the deeper, masculine voice spoke up again. Link puzzled at the combined rank and, forcing himself to stand up, turned to find the person addressing him.

The first sight to meet him was a close-up view of someone's red-clad stomach. Leaning back, he found that he stood before a Sorian about as tall as Captain Alfonzo. He had a beak-like nose and beady, grey eyes. His complexion was tan, and the "hair" on his head was a short mass of strewn, gold feathers. His face looked as if it had been chiseled out of rock, his expression almost cold and distant.

Feeling intimidated, Link responded in a meek voice, "Yeah?"

"Captain Koroul of the Horizon's Eye," he replied, holding out a hand.

"Uh," Link uttered as he took a step back. He took Captain Koroul's hand and found his own nearly crunched in the captain's stiff shake. "Wha-uh… what can I do for you, Captain?" he continued, shaking the pain out of his hand.

"I've come to seek permission to take charge of Princess Zelda and your crew."

Link gave Koroul a blank stare for a moment, not sure of what the Sorian had just told him. "What?"

Koroul's stoicism broke to form a confused look. "The princess, Captain," he repeated.

"Please allow me," Zelda's voice addressed the Sorian from behind. Captain Koroul stepped to one side so that she could speak with Link. "Captain Link, I know that this may be a touch short-notice, but I wanted to inform you that I have found another way back to Castle Island."

Link's head tilted to one side. "Y-you did?"

She nodded. "After I had expressed interest in Sorian airships, Captain Koroul was kind enough to offer me a return voyage in his vessel."

Link's eyes darted between her and Koroul. "H-he did?"

"Yes. I hoped that it would not trouble you too much."

Link put a hand on the back of his neck. "Well… yeah, it's a little sudden…" he trailed off.

"Far be it from proper to presume that your occupation with the library would be of greater importance," she continued, although Link had a hard time following that half of the statement, "but I felt that Captain Koroul, in fair exchange for his offer, would like to see Hyrule as it is now."

"Well, I suppose it's okay," Link replied with an uncertain shrug.

"Since you were attending a library, I felt that to hinder your education would be selfish of me," she further explained. "You must be learning some amazing stuff to have missed lunch."

"Uh… y-yeah."

"And since Captain Koroul would be using your crew, it would be easy to convey a message through them if you need."

At this, Link glanced over at Koroul. "You-you're taking my crew?"

"My current staff has fallen ill," the captain replied. "Airman Line volunteered your crew to help fill in the gaps."

Link then glared at Line, who recoiled in surprise. "You volunteered?" he asked in a heated tone.

"Wa-da-I… uh…" Line stumbled. "Um… yeah, kinda."

Link turned completely in Line's direction. "Kinda? How do you 'kinda' volunteer someone else's crew?"

"Well, it's pretty easy when that someone else's crew is only four men," Line replied with a grin. For a moment, they stared at him. The only one to make any sound was Irleen, who had to stifle her laughter in order to not break the serious atmosphere. When Line finally understood that his joke had touched a few nerves, his grin faded. "Oh, boy."

"Line!" Link whined.

"She talked me into it!" Line quickly defended, pointing at Zelda.

"Line!" Zelda whined at him.

"What? It's a sink-or-swim venture," Line told her.

"Line!" Link snapped.

Line held up his hands in defeat. "Okay, I admit it," he said. "It wasn't the best of ideas right now. I just thought we'd give you some downtime, Link. You've been so tense lately, I figured you could use some shore leave yourself. Besides, with us, the Horizon's Eye might make it back in no time at all."

Link raised an incredulous eyebrow at him. "Really?"

Line grinned and jerked a thumb into his swelled chest. "I got us into the storm, didn't I?"

"Although Rireen assisted by opening a hole with the Wind Waker," Zelda remarked.

Line gave her an irritated side-glance. "Okay, but who piloted the ship into that hole? Hmm? Me."

"It was the same size as the Sky Line," Link pointed out. "A blind man could do it."

"Tell you what, then," Line replied. "When we leave on the Island Sonata, I'll do it with my eyes closed."

"Captain," Koroul said. "I had hoped to leave as soon as possible."

Link sighed. "Okay, okay," he conceded. "Line's right; I need a break."

"Eeh… actually, Link…" Line said, "this was just… more of a notice. Flower, Albert, and Leonard are already onboard helping with preparations." Link slapped a hand over his face.

"Line, would you please escort the princess to the vessel?" Koroul asked. "There is something that I wish to discuss with Captain Link. I will be along in a moment."

"With pleasure, Captain," Line replied with a salute. Koroul gave him a confused look for a moment before returning the salute. He had saluted with the wrong hand, but Line did not bother to correct him as he gestured for Zelda to lead the way. Then, as he started to follow her, he looked over his shoulder and told Link, "Don't get too cozy, Lieutenant. I'd hate to knock you out and drag you away from all this."

"Would you just go!" Link shouted at him.

Zelda turned and told him, "Good luck, Link. I hope that you will share the information you gather here with me some time."

"Uh… y-yeah, sure," Link answered, feeling his face grow warm. Zelda gave a small wave before walking away.

"Captain," Koroul said as Link returned the wave. "I had hoped to discuss personal matters concerning your crew before we left."

"What did you want to discuss?"

"Well, understandably, I am not certain how to handle Hylian airmen," Koroul admitted. "I wondered if you had any advice."

"Ooh!" Irleen suddenly cried out, reminding the captains of her presence with a start. "I've got just the thing!" Without further word, she stood up and ran in the opposite direction from Line and Zelda.

Koroul and Link stared after her for a moment. "Who was that?" Koroul finally asked.

"A librarian… I think."

Koroul sighed and continued, "I had heard about the antics of your crew this morning. Apparently, after becoming intoxicated last night, one of them shoved Airman Line into a large pot and started competing over who could wrap him up in a rug and roll him along the ground the longest. Another one fell asleep in a bird cage naked."

Link sighed. "I thought I was going to get away without knowing that."

"I have never had to order Hylians around before."

Link gave him a helpless look. "I don't think you have anything to worry about. If they were particularly disobedient, they would have probably stuffed me into my hammock and hung me from a stay."

"I'm not sure if I should be relieved by that sentiment or not," Koroul replied as Irleen came into Link's view again.

She dropped what sounded like a sack full of rupees on the table. It was not what made him concerned, though. When she started sorting through the bag, revealing it to be filled with gemstones, she had to set down a silver-headed mallet with a polished wooden handle. The metal of the handle gleamed as if to show its eagerness to be used.

"Wha-what are you doing?" Link asked.

"Just… just give me a sec," Irleen replied. She continued looking through the gems, dropping the unneeded ones on the table. Selecting a red, oval-shaped gem, she picked up the mallet and stepped up to Link. "Think about your crewmen."

Link blinked at her for a moment. "Why?"

"I'm going to make an impression of your mind."

"Wha?"

"Don't make me explain it," she said as she pressed the gem to Link's forehead. "Just think about your crew." Link gave her a worried look. "If it helps, just close your eyes."

"What are you going to do with that mallet?"

"Just ignore the mallet. Think about your crew."

After failing to cast his worry in Captain Koroul's direction, Link took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. Although he could still feel the gemstone pressed against his forehead, he managed to force it aside so that he could concentrate. Although he did not know much about Flower, Albert, and Leonard, he tried to keep them in mind as he thought about Line. It felt awkward because he was not sure what was happening.

WHUMPH! Link felt a momentary daze, and then he realized in the next moment that he had fallen to the floor. He picked himself up and dusted his clothes off. Despite having just fallen to the floor, however, he did not feel different.

"Wha… what just happened?" he asked.

Irleen gave him an equally perplexed look before turning to Captain Koroul. "Here, hold this in your hand," she told him, offering the gem.

Koroul, sharing the confusion, took the stone into his hand. Then his eyes widened for a moment. "Wow," he commented. "It feels as if I know them a little more than when I had first met them. Fascinating."

"As long as you hold that stone," Irleen told him, "you'll know everything that Captain Link knows about them."

"I see," Koroul said. He pocketed the stone. "Thank you for your assistance. Captain Link, I look forward to seeing you again before you depart."

"Won't be too hard," Link remarked. "You have my crew."