Link hadn't expected to see the Bulblins' leader patrolling the bridge. He clenched his fist. A rematch with the monster that kidnapped Colin. That was fine with Link.

Telma sighed. "Our only option for getting further south is to cross the Bridge of Hylia. And I'm certain I don't have to tell you what that means." Link nodded. With that said, the three of them turned and walked to where they'd left the horses. Telma's horse was a draft horse, a dark brown coat with white markings. He seemed to be older than Epona, and was definitely older than the horse Telma had gotten for Link.

The horse she'd gotten for him was also a stallion (Telma had said his name was 'Marlor'), with a dark chestnut coat and green eyes. He was certainly younger than Epona, though how much so Link wasn't sure. Whose horse could this be? Hopefully they wouldn't mind him borrowing their horse for a bit.

Ilia reached a hand out to Link, from the window of the wagon. "Th-Thank you so much for this. Um, if you don't mind me asking, what's your name?" He forced a smile as he gave his name, and Ilia smiled back. "I will never in all my life forget your kindness, Link."

Telma chuckled, at the front of the wagon. "Little lady, I think you'd best save your thanks until we're safe in Kakariko." Link nodded, and both he and Telma spurred their horses forward.

There were no monsters on the path to the Bridge of Hylia, thankfully. It allowed Link some time to get used to this new horse. Hopefully he would do okay enough when it came time to fight the Bulblins' leader. Link was sure to keep pace with Telma's wagon. Hopefully keeping close to the older horse would be reassuring for Marlor.

Finally, they neared the bridge. Link sighed, closing his eyes and forcing his worries away. Right then, he needed only to focus on the battle ahead. He opened his eyes, staring directly at the Bulblins' leader.

Telma brought the wagon to a stop, and Link followed suit. "OK, it's your turn! We're counting on you!" Link nodded, spurring Marlor forward and onto the bridge.

The Bulblins' leader spurred his boar forward. Closer and closer and closer he drew, steering the boar directly at Link and Marlor. Link waited until the last moment to steer Marlor to the side. It was only when he swung his sword at the Bulblins' leader only to have it uselessly clang off of a large metal shield that Link realized the Bulblins' leader had appeared sporting thicker armor than the last time he'd fought it. If his sword wouldn't work, then what would? Think, think, focus.

Arrows. He would have to shoot the Bulblins' leader while on horseback. On a horse that wasn't even his own. He fought back the grimace as he turned the horse around. Not an ideal situation, but that's what it took to protect Telma and Ilia and Prince Ralis. No time to check his quiver for how many arrows were left. Only to ready the bow and prepare to fire at the Bulblins' leader.

The first shot also bounced uselessly off of the large metal shields, and Link bit back the irritation. No time for that. Just do it again, and don't miss this time. Turn the horse around, see the monster on its boar, and spur the horse onward. This time he shifted where he was aiming, and this shot had to be more successful. It had to.

Link let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, when the second arrow struck the Bulblins' leader in the chest. The boar swerved while its rider flailed, allowing Link and the horse to gallop past and turn around. No time to celebrate, he would have to do it again. As he spurred Marlor forward again, the horse snorted. Link frowned. Please, please, just keep it together until the monster was dealt with.

As the boar drew closer and closer, suddenly Marlor panicked and bucked Link off of his back. No! The horse galloped to safety, leaving Link gasping for air as the boar charged towards him. Get up, get up! He only barely was able to scamper out of the way as the boar ran past him. There wouldn't be any time to run for Marlor, who would need to be calmed down once he could. Link's mouth went dry. He would have to shoot the Bulblins' leader while on foot.

Draw the bow out, ready an arrow. And pray to Ordona that he wouldn't miss. The boar charged at him, and with shaking hands Link drew the arrow back and fired.

This time he was acutely aware of the breath he'd been holding, and releasing it was a genuine sigh of relief when the arrow struck the Bulblins' leader in the shoulder. The boar swerved again, until it crashed headfirst into the side of the bridge, sending its rider falling off the edge and into Lake Hylia. Link, panting and shaking, noticed something shining on the dazed boar, and walked closer.

A set of keys. What for? Then he remembered. The gate in front of Kakariko's south entrance. One of these keys must unlock it. He gave a small smile, despite his aching back and shaking legs. Then he staggered back over to Telma and Marlor.

Telma was holding Marlor's reins. She turned to look at Link as he got closer. "Are you alright? I'm sorry, I'd hoped this one wouldn't have panicked like that." Link didn't answer, instead just focusing on getting to Marlor.

He reached up and placed a gentle hand on Marlor's cheek, looking into the still-frightened green eyes. "... I'm sorry. I know that was scary. You were very brave." He gently stroked the horse's face, keeping his voice soft. "You'll have to keep being brave. Do you think you can do that, for me?"

Slowly, the horse calmed down, sighing as Link petted him. The shaking in Link's legs slowly eased, though the aching from his back was very much still there.

"You're really good with horses, Mr. Link!" Ilia was looking out the window of the wagon again, an awed smile lighting up her face. Link gave her a smile and a nod, but couldn't think of what he could say to her. What does one say to their childhood friend, who has lost all memory of their childhood?

Telma sighed. "If your horse is doing better, we'd best get going. We don't want to be out here after night falls." Link nodded. He gave the horse a few last pets, then stepped up into the saddle. Just for good measure, he gave the horse some more pats on his shoulder, once he was securely in the saddle.

They crossed the bridge in a silence that was broken only by the horses' hooves on the stone of the bridge and the wagon's wheels creaking. The boar hadn't moved from where it had crashed into the side of the bridge, though Link could tell it was still breathing. He found himself glancing everywhere for other potential threats. It was a relief when they made it across the bridge safely.

On the other side of the bridge was an archway of stone, or perhaps an ancient petrified tree. It stretched across the passage. Link couldn't shake the unnerving feeling that something was going to drop down onto him or onto the wagon, but nothing happened.

It was when they reached a wooden bridge that things took another turn. Arrows flew through the air from above, from the rocky cliffs. Link spurred Marlor in front of the wagon, hoping the monsters would fire at him instead of the wagon. Thankfully, the arrows were only coming from one side of the cliffs, allowing Link to put himself between the wagon and the attackers. The sword and the shield sent arrows flying harmlessly away from the wagon, though a couple still slipped past him and buried themselves in its wooden frame.

Eventually, they reached a place along the path where arrows no longer flew, and Link let out a sigh of relief. The wagon slowed to a stop, and Link soon saw why. A gate, much like the one at Kakariko, stood in the way.

He gently tugged at Marlor's reins, patting the horse's neck once he stopped. "You've been a brave boy so far, you're doing a great job. Do you think you can be brave for a little bit longer?" Then he slipped out of the saddle and approached the large metal gate, pulling the set of keys out of one of his pockets.

It took a couple tries to find the right key, but eventually one fit into the gate's lock. With a satisfying click, the lock fell to the ground at Link's feet. He kicked it away before pushing against the doors of the gate. It was a heavy gate, though not nearly as heavy as the iron boots or as heavy as a Goron. Finally the gate swung open.

Telma waited for Link to climb back up onto Marlor before spurring her horse forward. He quickly caught up and took the lead. There was no telling what other monsters roamed the field.

That turned out to have been a wise decision. As Link turned to one side to look for any threats, he noticed a group of archers - Bulblins, right - charging forward on their boars. And these Bulblin archers had arrows that gleamed with orange light. Fire. His mouth went dry again. Normal arrows were a minor annoyance. But if a stray flaming arrow struck the wagon, it'd be up in flames in the blink of an eye. What could he do?!

"That boomerang. It should be able to put out any fires." It was like Midna read his mind. But she was right. Or, at least, he hoped she was. What other options did he have?

One boar neared the wagon, and Link spurred Marlor forward to meet the boar and its riders. If he could deal with the riders before they had the chance to shoot the wagon, he wouldn't have to worry about taming any fires. He swung the sword in wide arcs, striking one Bulblin and then the other, sending them flying off of the boar and into the dirt.

Before he could react, two of the boars charged at the wagon. No! They were supposed to attack him first! He spun Marlor around into a gallop after the two boars. The first boar's riders soon joined their brethren in the dirt, but the second was too fast. His heart sank to his stomach as a flaming arrow arced its way through the air and struck the wagon.

In one instant, the wagon went up in flames. He could hear Ilia shriek in horror. The sound startled Telma's horse into its own panic, which sent it galloping down the wrong direction, dragging the wagon behind it in a blaze. In the next instant, Link spurred Marlor forward into a gallop. The Bulblins and their boars would wait. He had to save Ilia and Prince Ralis and Telma.

The boomerang found its way into his hands, and it flew after the wagon in the blink of an eye. To his relief, the wind of the boomerang snuffed out the flames. To his horror, the fabric covering of the wagon was almost completely burned away. Now, any stray arrow could - and likely would - find its way inside and burn Ilia and Prince Ralis alive before Link could save them-

No. He wouldn't let that happen. If that meant taking a flaming arrow himself, then so be it. Again he spurred Marlor forward, catching up to the wagon. Telma's horse, by some miracle, was calm enough that she could steer it in the right direction again. Link steered Marlor into position behind the wagon. Any arrows that would come, they would hit Link first.

It didn't take long before the first arrow bounced off of the shield on his back. He didn't have time to breathe a sigh of relief before another, and then another, also bounced off of the shield. Just a little longer. Just until they could slip into one of the paths through the cliffs, where the Bulblin archers couldn't reach them in time to fire off another arrow.

The wagon had already reached safety when a sharp pain struck Link's shoulder. Despite himself, he let out a yelp, startling Marlor. The poor horse thankfully didn't buck him off like last time, allowing Link to concentrate on the searing pain in his shoulder.

He was only dimly aware of riding through the pass, of crossing the bridge, of nearing Kakariko. The pain had narrowed his vision, until all he could see was the wagon. He didn't have the energy to be confused when the wagon slowed again to a stop.

Telma's voice called out to him again. "Hey! You've got to open the gate!" Her voice sounded so far away.

"Hey! What's the matter with you?!" Even Midna's voice sounded far away. How weird. Link's eyelids started to feel heavy. Had it been so long since he last slept? Maybe a quick nap would be enough. Then he could get up and... do whatever it was he was supposed to be doing.

The last thing he remembered was the feeling of air rushing past his face as he fell, fell, fell, and landed in the dirt.