Chapter 10: Rito Village
"This week's issue is almost finished, Traysi," murmured one of Traysi's sisters, Juanelle from the sound of it. "Thought you might want to come look at it."
"Not much we can say right now, unfortunately," came Traysi's grim response. "Things are still bad, everywhere. If anything, things keep getting worse. 'Hylian man injured after Goron robs him blind on the road…' It's just horrible."
Link huddled next to the hearth within the stable, wrapped head to toe in thick blankets, gripping a half-full mug of steaming tea. His clothes lay spread out around him, slowly drying in the heat from an actual fire this time. He had almost stopped shivering, though the chill deep within him remained. He took another sip of tea.
"The Hero of Hyrule is back, isn't he?" Juanelle pointed out from the back. "We could write an article about that. That's some good news, at least."
"I've already made my decision about that," Traysi said glumly. "We shouldn't post about him. The Yiga Clan has been growing bolder – banditry, mostly; stealing food shipments and stuff like that. I don't want to know what they'd do if they learned the Hero has been found. We can do our part to keep his return under wraps a little longer."
"Yeah, but we posted all those articles with the search posters, too! That's not fair, asking folks to keep an eye out for him and help in the search, and then not letting them know he's been found!"
"I know. I get it. But I still think it's for the best."
Link closed his eyes wearily. The Yiga Clan will find out eventually, he thought glumly, a flicker of anger stirring in his gut. They hadn't caused trouble for years, since Link destroyed their hideout and killed their leader, Kohga. But of course, now that everything else in Hyrule is going to hell, they're back, too. He wondered why Purah or the monster control unit hadn't mentioned them. Maybe they're disappointed I didn't defeat them thoroughly enough? Who knows.
The door swung open, and Galli the former stable manager walked in. He stomped the snow off of his boots, brushed it from his shoulders, and closed the door behind him. His gaze settled on Link huddled on the ground. "Got your horse all settled in," he said. "He certainly don't act like no pony I've seen."
Link resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Because he's not a pony.
Galli walked closer to the fire, grabbing a poker and prodding the coals. "Huh," he muttered, frowning. "I'll just put some more on there. You feeling better?"
"Yeah," Link murmured. "Didn't know where the firewood was, or I'd build it up myself."
Galli sighed, pulling a pinecone out from his pocket. "Well, that's on me – it's one of my jobs to chop wood and gather kindling and stuff. Only, as you can imagine, that's not real high on my 'things I want to do right now' list." He chucked the pinecone into the fire.
At once with a fierce crackling sound the pinecone burst into flame and sent out a massive wave of heat and wind that spewed sparks across the floor and sent a fierce draft up through the chimney, shaking it violently and sending soot cascading down.
"What the hell was that?" Traysi exclaimed, bursting into the room as Link and Galli frantically patted down the sparks across the room and over Link's clothes and blankets before they could catch fire.
"I, uh… sorry about that, ma'am," Galli gulped, his weathered cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "I didn't… think it would do that."
Traysi slapped a hand to her face, groaning frustratedly. "Well, for Goddess' sakes! Do you want to burn this place down?"
"No, ma'am," Galli winced. "I'll just… go get some more wood."
He shuffled back outside, and Traysi watched him, her hands on her hips, an annoyed look on her face. "You alright, Link?" she asked when the door closed. "Sorry about Galli. Sometimes I feel like he's a lot more bitter about our arrangement than he lets on."
Link shrugged. "I'm fine," he said, pulling the blankets closer around him. "Thanks for letting me stay a while."
"Sure thing," she grinned. "Let me know if you need anything. You should try and sleep – you look like you got punched in the face by the wind."
He grunted, and she took that as an answer, returning to the back room. Link stayed awake some time afterwards, staring intently at the burning remains of the pinecone. The rush of flame, the fierce updraft, when it caught fire…
He lifted his head when Galli returned to the stable with an armful of wood. "Got any more pinecones?"
The following day, Link pulled on his freshly dry, fire-warmed clothes. He walked out with Galli, who was holding a torch, to the stalls outside, offering Ember a treat and a fond pat on the nose before arranging his supplies – food and fire-starting materials, mostly – so that he could carry them on his back, as much as possible. Last of all he made sure that Kass' accordion was securely fastened to his belt, hidden inside of a shabby leather bag he'd gotten from Galli.
"Don't spoil him," he said to Galli as they left the stable behind, walking the short distance to the wooden archway on the edge of the cliff that once held the bridge leading to Rito Village. "I don't know when I'll be back, but I will be back for him."
"Got it," Galli said grimly, and handed Link a bulging satchel. "Don't blow yourself up, kid."
"Fingers crossed," Link muttered with a wry grin, slinging the satchel across his shoulders and reaching inside. He pulled out a bundle of three pinecones tied together by an oil-soaked cord and set it on the ground. He snapped out the paraglider, stumbling slightly as it caught the wind and tried to drag him to the side. His stomach lurched. Maybe… maybe this wasn't a good idea. Too late now.
"Ready?" Galli asked, and at Link's nod he lowered his torch to the bundle of pinecones. With a flash and a smattering of sparks it caught fire. Link waited, holding the paraglider above his head, his heart hammering violently. Goddesses, let the winds blow true, he prayed anxiously.
A roar and a ring of flame rushed outwards, and a fierce updraft kicked up from the pinecones now heartily burning. Link dashed towards the fire and leapt at the last second, his stomach jolting as the updraft caught hold of his paraglider and lifted him rapidly into the sky, leaving Galli and the stable far behind.
He let the winds carry him blindly into the storm ahead, hopefully in the direction of Rito Village, but it was impossible to truly know. The dark crowns of pine trees appeared suddenly before him, close enough that they brushed up against his toes, and Link snapped the paraglider closed, dropping at once into the top of one of the trees with a grunt. And then he kept falling, branches snapping beneath him even as he flung out his hands to try and catch hold of one of them –
His foot caught between two branches and his fall abruptly halted, his head smacking painfully against the tree trunk. Link yelped, blood rushing to his head as he swung upside down, suspended by his ankle in the tree. Grunting, he tightened his core muscles and reached upwards, to try and free his foot; it slipped free before he could reach it and he fell the last several feet into a snowdrift, the breath driven from his lungs in a pained rush of air.
He lay still for a moment, grimacing, his heart pounding rapidly. Well… that was certainly… something.
After it no longer felt like the ground was spinning underneath him he pushed himself into a sitting position, stretching out his arms and legs and cautiously pushing at his ribs through his armor. Nothing broken. Good. He was bruised; he could feel it in his ankle and throughout his back and arms, and in the back of his head. But it wasn't anything serious.
And he'd been seriously injured plenty enough times to know.
He got to his feet and looked around. There were two small lanterns close to the ground nearby, partially buried by snow. Link walked closer to them, and a brief change in the wind revealed one of the bridges to Rito Village – this one still intact, but covered in snow. He could just see, through the white haze of the blizzard, two more lanterns glowing on the other side of the bridge.
It's… not far. Goddesses willing, the bridge will survive if I walk across.
Link shuddered, realizing that someone attempting to cross the first bridge while it was covered in snow could have been what caused it to break. And that would certainly explain why only the first bridge was broken – they hadn't made it to the other bridges.
He walked out onto the bridge, hearing the timbers groan and creak in protest beneath him. He listened, his heart in his throat, for any sign that the wood was beginning to split or otherwise give way. But he made it to the other side without incident and moved on to the next bridge, and then to the final bridge after that. From there he could see more warm, glowing lights drawing closer, higher up in the sky, revealing the general shape of the Rito's great stone eyrie. He exhaled softly when he set foot in the deep snow on the other side of the last bridge, gazing up at the dim flickering lights.
Well… for better or for worse, here I am.
The rocky pillars around the village kept the worst of the wind at bay, allowing the snow to settle instead of blowing about in front of him. He could see the dark woodwork of the bridges and stairways spiraling up around the central pillar, the little lanterns placed periodically to sufficiently light the way and brighten the little circular alcoves along the path forming the Rito's houses and shops. Link swallowed, his blood cold as he took in the eerie silence but for the light drifting of wind. He walked forward, his chest tight with worry about what he would find.
"Once, a god fell from heaven, stilling the Hebra winds…"
Link looked around, squinting, surprised by the sound of Rito singing. He inhaled sharply, catching sight of three of the fledglings huddled together on the lowest flight deck, singing quietly together.
"A line of ships soaring, built as a passage skyward…"
He hurried up the stairs, slowing down when he felt his feet slide on hidden patches of ice, and walked out onto the flight deck, raising his hand in front of his face as the buffeting winds returned in full force out in the open.
"The god ascended to heaven, leaving behind an ark. Its winds brought us new life, thanks to its great, divine spark…"
The Rito youths stopped singing. "Okay, good work today!" one of them said happily, and Link's heart clenched as he recognized Notts, one of Kass' twins. Her sister Genli was there, too, next to Harth the bowmaker's daughter, Molli.
"You think so?" Molli asked anxiously. She scraped the snow with a talon. "Is it good enough that the god will listen this time?"
"He's gotta be hearing it somewhere," Notts said optimistically. "We just hafta keep singing until he does something."
"Maybe the winds are blowing away our voices so he doesn't hear," Genli pointed out glumly.
Link winced, walking closer. "Hey, kids," he called out, drawing their attention.
"Link!" Notts exclaimed, rushing towards him, Genli and Molli following quickly behind, and the three of them hugged him tightly even though they only came up to his knees.
"You came to visit us," Genli said, fear betrayed in her voice as her eyes watered. "No one else has come in so long!"
"Did you hear our song?" Notts asked excitedly. "See, I told you guys the god heard us!"
"I did hear your song," Link answered, trying to keep his voice light for their sake. "What's it about?"
"A long, long time ago, there was this ark that saved Rito Village," Molli explained, not letting go of his knee. "It had a cool name – the Stormwind Ark!"
"Something bad happened then, just like it's happening now," Genli said worriedly, tucking herself under Link's arm and shuddering. He patted her head reassuringly.
"So we're singing the song of the ark now, so that maybe it'll help us again!" Notts chirped, holding onto his free hand.
Link swallowed thickly, looking at them all. It didn't escape his notice that as soon as an adult they knew came up to them they were all over him. On his past visits to Rito Village they had not been quite so keen on cuddling – in fact, they were most eager to show him how much they had grown up. He wondered painfully how frightened they truly were.
"Do you think the Stormwind Ark is real?" Molli asked him longingly, looking up at him with wide eyes.
"It definitely is," Notts said before he could respond. "Papa told me it's always watching over us, high in the sky!"
Link pressed his lips firmly together, his stomach sinking to his toes. Kass… of course. He probably taught them the song in the first place.
"I'd like it if it did more than just watch us," Genli mumbled.
"Are there any adults around?" Link asked gently. "I… I'd like to try and see if I can help." That's probably why Zelda came here in the first place.
"There's no one," Molli answered sadly, and his heart clenched. "They're not around anymore because of the weather."
"And with no adults, and no ark, it's up to us kids to take care of the village!" Notts said firmly. "Come on, Link – we'll show you what we're doing! Practice is over for today anyway. Genli, you're in charge of food. Molli, we'll need you to keep making arrows. We've all got jobs to do, so let's do 'em!"
Genli hurried away, followed closely by Molli. Notts took Link's hand and started leading him up through the village.
"Why… do you need arrows?" he asked uncertainly. Surely these kids aren't actually going out hunting!
"Tulin," Notts answered simply. "He has some really cool ways to fly that help him get around the wind when it's being bad and scary. That means he can get out to the adults."
"Are any of the adults here?" Link asked.
"No, they're in caves mostly, Tulin says," Notts explained. "There's food in there. They gather it up, and Tulin brings back enough for us kids. He uses his bow to fight the monsters on the way."
Link nodded approvingly, but his insides felt tight as he considered the weight placed on these children – Tulin in particular, it seemed.
"Kotts is over here – oh, no!" Notts rushed into the inn, where her twin lay sleeping on one of the beds. Notts shook her urgently. "Kotts, wake up! Look who's here!"
The little Rito child yawned blearily, sleepily trying to shrug her sister away. Then she sat up quickly, her eyes wide. "I didn't – I wasn't – I was just testing them out!" she protested quickly. Her eyes landed on Link and she rushed forward to give him a firm hug, just as the others had done. "Link! We missed you! Are you gonna save us again?"
"I'll try," he promised, cringing internally at the hope that suddenly blossomed bright in her gaze. Goddesses only know what I can do about a blizzard. I… shouldn't get their hopes up for nothing.
"Well, then I'll make the beds extra comfy, so you can get good rest," Kotts promised determinedly. "And – and this time I won't accidentally fall asleep!"
Notts led him onward. "Here's Cree at the store, because she's the best at counting," she explained. "Not that anyone's come to buy from us, but… we gotta make sure someone's there, just in case, right?
"And Kheel's at the clothing shop, because –" Notts lowered her voice – "her grown-up feathers are coming in, so she's losing all the fluffy down feathers. We save those and use them in the beds and clothing and stuff, because it's the most cozy and warm! But she's super self-conscious about it, so don't say anything!"
Link chuckled softly, remembering well when Tulin went through his fledging phase. He hadn't wanted to go out shooting for a month or more. "I won't say a word," he promised.
Kheel was the oldest of Kass' daughters, almost as tall as Link by now – although that wasn't saying much. She smiled widely when she saw Link walking in with Notts and rushed up to give them both a hug. Her gaze darted down to his side. "Rough trip over here, huh?"
Link followed her gaze to the bag at his belt, and his stomach clenched. The worn bag he'd gotten from Galli, to hide Kass' accordion, was torn through one of the corners. A few pine needles poked out of the leather, betraying the culprit of the damage – his fall on the way into the village. The side of the accordion, with a few of its shiny golden buttons, was visible through the hole.
Link saw the exact moment when she recognized what was hidden in the bag, saw the flash of despair in her eyes. "Kheel, I…"
"Notts," she said slowly, a quiet quaver in her voice. "Will you go help Molli with the arrows? She gets frustrated sometimes with the fletching glue."
"Yeah!" Notts hurried off, eager to be of assistance, and Kheel looked at Link anxiously, her eyes wide.
"So," she swallowed. "Where… where did you get Papa's accordion?"
Link exhaled deeply, running a hand uneasily through his hair. How did one tell a child that her father was dead? His own father had been killed in battle when he was a similar age, over a century ago, but he had already been up to his neck in the life of a soldier by that point. The prevailing message to him had been, This is what happens, kid. It sucks, but learn to deal with it.
That was… not at all what he wanted to say to the daughter of a good friend.
He put a hand reassuringly on her shoulder, carefully chewing on what to say. There was nothing he could say that would help, he feared.
"He's… he's dead, isn't he," she said quietly before he could speak, and her beak wobbled a bit before she burst into tears, pressing her face against his chest. Helplessly Link hugged her gently, hoping it was some small comfort to the poor girl. "I – I figured it's what happened – w-weeks ago – when he didn't – when he didn't c-come back, and – everyone else did…"
She explained tearfully that for a while in the beginning, the adults had been going out frequently to scavenge for food, and although it took some of them a long time to return, they all made it back eventually. Then Kass hadn't returned for a week, and then longer. It was at that point that they determined Tulin, with his peculiar flight techniques, was the only one capable of flying back and forth. The adults stayed in the caves they had found, and Tulin made rounds between them so that they all had food. Kass never did return.
Kheel sniffed, wiping her beak and eyes on her wing. "May I…?" she asked tentatively, gesturing to the accordion.
Link nodded, unfastening it from her belt and holding it out for her to take. "Kheel, I'm so sorry," he murmured, resting a hand on her shoulder.
Kheel laughed shakily, more tears spilling from her eyes. "There's – there's nothing that can be done now," she said miserably, gazing longingly at the accordion resting in her wings. "I… I had my worries, but I could – I could try and ignore them, for a long time." She swallowed. "Now I have proof. There's no – no denying it, anymore. And it's just – it's awful, and horrible, but I also – I also knew it's what happened. I guess I can… come to terms with it now. It's not like denying it does any good."
She sighed, her head and shoulders drooping. "I still… I think I'll wait a while, before telling the others," she said quietly, wiping her eyes again. "I just… I don't know how I'd even begin to tell them."
Link nodded, biting his lip – he understood that perfectly well.
"Thank you for – for bringing this back for us," Kheel said, bending down to carefully tuck the accordion behind the store manager's counter, out of sight. "It – it means a lot to us, Link. Really."
"I… I'm going to try and do something about the blizzard," he told her quietly. "I don't know what, exactly, but… I'll do something."
Kheel smiled at that, some of the dull pain of grief leaving her eyes. "We'll help you if we can, Link. We… we all want to see our families again." The raw pain in her voice tugged at his heart.
"Hey, Kheel!" a familiar young voice called from the door, and Link turned to see Tulin himself standing in the doorway. "Notts told me you – ohmyfeathers! Is that – ? It is! Link!"
Tulin spread his wings wide as if to come in for a hug, then cleared his throat and straightened with a chuckle, shuffling his feet self-consciously. He drew himself up to his full height – shorter than Kheel – and bowed. "Welcome to Rito Village," he said grimly. "We're, uh… in a bit of a bind right now, but we'll still offer you our hospitality."
Link squinted at the young Rito. "Good to see you, Tulin," he said slowly, confused by his odd behavior. "I think we have a lot to talk about."
"Right this way, then," Tulin said. "See you later, Kheel."
"See you, Tulin," Kheel sighed, slumping over the edge of her counter. Link bit his lip, glancing between her and Tulin uncertainly. Tulin's acting… weird.
He followed the young Rito up to the highest building, where Elder Kaneli usually perched. Link frowned deeply. "Is Kaneli out with the other adults?" he asked, surprised that the old bird could fly at all.
Tulin winced, sitting down in the middle of the room. "He… he went to investigate the stormcloud early on," he answered. "He decided that the wind would have a harder time blowing him around than anyone else, because he's so much bigger. But he… didn't come back. After that the village chose my dad as the new elder." He swallowed. "So with Dad gone now, it's up to me to take care of the village."
"Ah," Link said, nodding slowly. And you're trying to be just like him, because you don't know what else to do. "That's… a lot of pressure."
"Yeah," Tulin said sadly, slumping a little. Quickly he straightened, his eyes wide. "But – but it's okay; I can handle it! We're doing fine so far. I don't need any help or anything – is that why you've come? 'Cause I'm doing fine on my own."
Link kept his face expressionless, although inwardly he was recoiling. One kid, taking on the weight of everyone's survival? No, you're not okay! "The folks at the stable mentioned you saw Princess Zelda," he said, answering Tulin's question.
"Yeah – at least, I think so," Tulin nodded. He squinted, remembering. "She was right under the big stormcloud, at the top of Hebra Summit. The reason I'm not sure is because – well, it's weird, seeing her out in those conditions – seeing any Hylian out like that! And she was also wearing a dress that did not look warm at all…"
Link's heart leapt. "Was it white?" he asked urgently. "And it didn't cover her arms?"
Tulin nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, that's it! That's why it was weird; I thought she must be super cold out in the storm like that."
Link exhaled heavily, nodding at Tulin's observation. Here was proof that it really was Zelda – he was right, and Impa and her geoglyphs were wrong. She was wearing the same clothes he'd seen her wear first at the Temple of Time, then later at Hyrule Castle. And Tulin was right – those clothes were not at all suited to travel in Hebra during a blizzard. Goddesses above… I have to find her. Please let her be alright!
"I'll check again on my next trip out there," Tulin offered. "I have to leave for that soon, actually. I'm glad I caught you before I left!"
"Hold up, Tulin – I don't want you taking any unnecessary risks for that," Link said, holding his hand up. "You've got enough on your shoulders as it is right now. I'd rather you make sure you keep yourself safe."
Tulin frowned indignantly. "I'm fine – I can handle it," he insisted. "I want to check out the big stormcloud anyway. The lightning makes it look like there's something inside of it – maybe it's what's causing the blizzard."
Link's eyes went wide. "Lightning?" he repeated incredulously. "In a snowstorm?"
"It's really rare usually, but this big cloud is different," Tulin answered with a shrug. "There's a lot of lightning in it."
"Then you really shouldn't be going close to it," Link pointed out worriedly, his gut clenching as he thought of Kass, and Traysi's description of what flying in these conditions was like.
"It'll be fine," Tulin huffed, rolling his eyes. "You sound just like my dad! I can handle it, okay? It'll be fine!"
You sound like you're just reassuring yourself! "Can you at least find one of the adults to come with you?" he tried again.
Tulin shook his head. "They can't fly in the storm," he said glumly. "Only I can. So I'll go by myself, like I always do, and it'll be okay, seriously!"
"Tulin, you could die out there!" Link exclaimed, and Tulin jumped, eyes wide, entirely unaccustomed to hearing Link raise his voice. "And then what would happen to the village? You're telling me you're the only one capable of flying through the storm – so if something happens to you, everyone goes down! Do you understand?"
For a moment Tulin only looked hurt, and Link fought a twinge of guilt. Then the young Rito's gaze hardened. "So you don't think I'm up for it, either," he grumbled. "Even though I'm fully-fledged, and I can fly in these winds, and I can outshoot my dad! You'll change your tune when I find the Princess and bring her back!" He hopped to his feet and pushed past Link, spreading his wings in the doorway.
"Tulin, wait!" Link shouted in alarm, rushing after him. The young Rito took flight, soaring out into the blizzard, towards a pair of distant orange lights in the distance. Soon the snow swallowed him whole. Link stared after him, wide-eyed, his insides tightly clenched with worry. Oh, Goddesses – he's going to do something stupid – I can't let him; I have to go after him –
"Yep, that's Tulin these days," Kheel said from behind, her voice worn. Link turned to find her wiping her eyes with a wingtip. "So overly confident that we all know he's just as scared as we are, deep down. And he lashes out at any hint of doubt."
Link sighed deeply, scratching the back of his head. "I shouldn't have yelled at him," he murmured. Zelda wouldn't have. She's so good with kids… she would've known how to talk about Kass, too. "I'll go after him, though. I'll… try to keep him from doing anything stupid."
Kheel laughed sadly, the sound tugging at his heart. He missed how lively and spirited these kids had been before. This has… forever changed them, already.
"You won't survive the cold if you go as you are now," Kheel warned quietly. "But I've got this, from the shop." She held out a leather cord with a ruby set in silver, and two small turquoise beads on either side. "If you keep it close, around your skin, it'll keep you warm."
"Like… a charm?" Link asked.
Kheel sighed, her gaze falling to the floorboards. "I'd believe in this charm a lot more than I believe the folk tale about the Stormwind Ark coming to save us," she admitted glumly. "Besides, it was made by the Gerudo, and they're pretty good at making magic happen out of gems." She held it out more insistently, and Link closed his fingers around it but didn't take it.
"I can't pay you for it," he said. Gerudo amulets and other jewelry were extraordinarily expensive. Link hadn't brought much money with him – affording souvenirs had been the last thing on his mind.
"Then take it as a gift," Kheel said with a small smile. "'Cause friends can give each other gifts sometimes. Nekk will understand when he gets back."
Link accepted it wordlessly, reaching beneath his scarf to fasten the cord around his neck. Instead of being cold, as he expected, the ruby was warm against his skin – an unnatural warmth that he could feel slowly spreading from his sternum outwards. I'll return it once I no longer need it. Hopefully that'll be soon. "Thanks, Kheel," he said, heading towards the main flight deck.
"Be safe," the little Rito girl called after him.
You as well – all of you, Link thought worriedly, whipping the paraglider out and snapping it open. He scanned through the blizzard, spotted the twin lights Tulin had flow off towards, and leapt off the edge. The wind caught the paraglider and carried him swiftly away from the village, into the swirling snow.