Chapter 15
At midday, Ravi rode Sadee out of the pines into the muddy yard outside Rito Stable—or it used to be a stable. Smoke puffed from the mouth of the horse sculpture above the roof, drifting across a sign nailed over the front door: "Lucky Clover Gazette." An open awning stood along the round side wall, and Aurora rested in the shade, clean and brushed, legs folded under her, eyes half-closed.
Sadee nickered, and Aurora's ears perked up. Ravi slid out of the saddle and led Sadee to the shelter. The two horses sniffed each other's noses, and Sadee sighed in relief, then shook flies from her sweaty neck.
On the ride down the mountain, the adrenaline had cooled from Ravi's blood. He felt he should think about what he had signed up for, what he had agreed to become. But he didn't want to spoil the warmth of the day.
I'll just live one day at a time, he thought as he looped Sadee's reins around a pole, tying them in a messy knot. One thing's for sure: as long as I'm with Link, I won't get bored.
He unsaddled her and brushed her down, then stabled her beside Aurora and filled a small trough with a bucket of cool well water. Fighting, riding, caring for horses. Now his stomach was growling. The work never stopped. He left the horses and entered the newspaper office.
Link sat leaning back in a chair, heels propped up on a cluttered table as he read a piece of paper. A woman with dark hair leaned on the opposite end of the table, watching Link's expression as he read. The afternoon was warming, but she wore an oversized down coat.
As he reached the end of the page, Link fought back a grin. "The Mucktorok wasn't that large."
"The readers want a good story," the woman said. "Maybe I added a few tentacles."
"It didn't have razor-sharp teeth as long as my arm. That was the ice serpent in the Wind Temple."
The woman snatched the paper back. "You live the adventure, I write it." Her bright eyes darted to Ravi. "This is the boy?"
Link swung his legs to the wood floor.
"I brushed Sadee down," Ravi said. "Her saddle needs fixing. Do you have a sewing kit?"
The woman walked around Ravi like she was memorizing him. She stopped and crossed her arms.
Ravi crossed his arms back.
She smiled. "I like him." She extended her hand. "I'm Traysi."
"Ravi." He took her hand, and she squeezed his fingers. It felt strange—good—to say his name.
"Describe your mother." She whipped a notebook from her pocket and poised her pencil over a fresh page.
Wide-eyed, Ravi glanced to Link. "You're putting an advertisement in the paper? The Yiga read the paper. They'll know we're looking for her."
"I'm not going to publish this," Traysi said. "I have connections—I'm going to ask around, quiet-like."
"You can tell her," Link said. "She keeps her word."
Ravi hesitated, then began slowly, eyeing Traysi's pencil as it scratched the page. "My mother was tall. She had dark skin, like me. And green eyes. Her black hair was curly, but mine is straight. I have my father's hair." Ravi fingered the choppy strands that framed his face. "She was always looking for adventure—she didn't like to sit still. She fought with the Yiga sometimes, just to stir things up, and laughed when she lost a fight. Mama stole a crate of bananas once and built a figure of Master Kohga." He smiled to himself.
Traysi nodded as she wrote. "Did she have any friends? People she would have gone to if she was in trouble?"
"I think she used to have friends—other treasure hunters. She talked about group expeditions sometimes."
"That's good." She stabbed a dot at the end of her sentence and snapped the pad closed. "I'll see what I can find."
Link stood. "Thank you."
"Of course." She tapped him playfully on the arm with her notepad. "Anything for my best reporter."
"Penn works hard, too."
"But you get my stories done." She tucked the pad into her pocket. "While you're in the village, you can leave your horses here. Again. You're welcome."
Link smiled shyly and scratched the back of his head. "I can pay you." He reached for his pouch.
"Don't let him pay me, Ravi." She flipped open a curtain and vanished into a back room.
Link's hand fell from his pouch. Looking silently pleased, stepped outside to check on the horses. Under the awning, he ran his hand down Sadee's legs and lifted each hoof, checking her shoes. Munching hay, she ignored him.
"She's unhurt. You're lucky." Link turned to Ravi. "Do you need lunch?"
Ravi shook his head. He pulled his pepper jar from his backpack, full of frozen winterberries. "How do these grow in the snow? I thought berries were a summer fruit."
"They're green in summer," Link said, "but the cold turns them red, like fall leaves." He headed across the yard, making for the road. "They freeze on the bush and keep through the winter. Tabantha is still recovering from Ganon's blizzard. The cold caused the berries to ripen early."
The road split. One way looped east, doubling back almost the way they came. Link headed for a long rope bridge, suspended over a vast lake. A Rito guard stood posted at the end of the bridge. His feathers fluttered in the wind whipping up from the lake. The most beautiful bow Ravi had ever seen hung on his back.
He saluted sharply. "Welcome back, Link." His angular hawk eyes followed Ravi as the boy stepped onto the bridge, but he said nothing.
Ravi leaned over the bridge, watching as a leaf spun and fluttered down to a vast, sparkling lake. Dark water filled the bottom of a massive crater, and he noticed huts perched on the sheer walls. Dozens of huts clung to the rock face, fluttering with colorful streamers. They extended all around the walls of the crater—some connected by walkways and ladders, but many perched alone. Bird people swooped and fluttered between the huts. Cooking smoke trickled from the pointed roofs, and the sound of distant music floated across the lake.
A gust of wind caught Ravi, pushing him sideways. As the bridge swayed under him, he clung to the rope and pointed to the huts. "Are those nests?"
Link nodded. "They're grouped by clan. They build their nests together: cousins, siblings, grandparents. The Rito are fiercely loyal to their families."
When they reached the safety of the connecting island, Ravi breathed a quiet sigh of relief. The wind whistled in the island's pines, and he trailed his hand along the rough bark as he passed, heading for the next bridge. If the pines survived the wind, he could, too.
In the middle of crossing the third bridge, a high call sounded high above them, like the joyful cry of an eagle. Ravi glanced up as a shape darkened the sun. A figure swooped down. It rushed over his head, just missing his skull, and Ravi ducked. A half-sized Rito looped around the bridge, spiraling them as Link continued walking forward. When he reached the base of the bridge, the Rito landed, casting up a gust of dry wind.
"Link!" The boy rushed in and grabbed Link around the waist.
The swordsman flinched in surprise, then relaxed and rubbed the feathers on the boy's head. "Hi, Tulin."
Releasing him, the boy jumped back. He smoothed his gray feathers into place. A glowing, tear-shaped stone dangled from a strap at his ankle. "My mom's making you something. I smelled honey. You don't have to stay at the inn again—you can stay with us. She made you a hammock. But we only have one." His blue, round eyes darted to Ravi. He fingered the tip of a proud bow, clipped to his back.
Ravi stared at his hands, wondering how they worked. They looked like boneless pinion feathers, but he curled the tips like fingers. Three of his 'fingers' were frayed, worn down by a bowstring.
"I won't be here long," Link said. "Can I speak to your father? But you might know, since you're grown up now. Have you seen a chasm in Rito Village?"
Tulin's eyes widened. He glanced over his shoulder at a pair of colorful children running down the wooden stairs. Then he nodded quickly, a small, subtle movement. "Follow me." He launched into the sky.
Link craned his neck as he watched the figure spiral toward the sun. He sighed and started up the long stairs. "I miss Revali's magic. With his power, I could gust upward into the sky. It was extremely useful. But his blessing faded when his spirit passed on."
"But you have new magic."
Link glanced at his right palm and frowned.
The stairs curved around the wide central column. They passed a small statue of the goddess, wreathed with flowers, tucked into an alcove. Link stopped for a moment. He pulled a sundelion from his pouch and tucked it into the garland around her head, then moved on.
Tulin's shadow flitted above them. Ravi tucked himself behind Link, keeping to the side as Rito passed up and down the village stairs, carrying baskets on their heads. Quivers of arrows swung from their waists. Their talons scratched the steps, scouring patterns into the dry wood. They called to each other with light, cheerful voices, punctuating their Hylian speech with chirps and warbles. Link smiled as he passed an older Rito, chattering in a dialect of bird-like song. The bird man stood at a rail, singing out his soul to the blue sky. Did Link understand it?
Ravi's legs burned. He felt light-headed—maybe he should ask Link for lunch. But the swordsman didn't seem affected by the climb. Despite the elevation, he breathed as easily, as though walking on flat land, and Ravi tried to quiet his panting.
They passed an inn with walls open to the sky and a clothing store. Three Hylians browsing the general shop, dressed in warm snow clothes; besides them, Link and Ravi were the only smooth-skinned creatures in the crater.
"Over here." Tulin swooped around a column of smoke puffing from the edge of the cliff.
As they neared the smoke, Link grasped the stair rail and swung himself over. He dropped lightly to the rock shelf below and Ravi followed him, landing heavily, jarring his knees. He didn't trust himself to evaporate right now—the bright sun was getting to his eyes. A headache brewed in his temples.
Tulin landed beside a campfire at the edge of the cliff and gestured Link in. "My dad said not to spread it around," he murmured, "but the adults know. Dad doesn't want the kids to get scared or start exploring." He narrowed his eyes at Ravi. "Is he going down there with you?"
A gust of cold swept through Ravi. He backed up from the cliff edge.
Link glanced at him. "Show me the chasm," he said to Tulin.
Tulin pointed over the edge of the cliff, and Link peered down. Ravi joined him at the edge. His stomach dropped at the long, sheer fall to the lake below. About twenty feet below the edge, he found a shadow: the opening of a cave.
"That's wide enough for Yiga," Ravi said.
The swordsman touched his belt. A coil of sturdy rope appeared in his hand. He tied the rope to the trunk of a tree, then worked the opposite end, tying two medium-sized loops. He held them up for Ravi. "Fit this around your waist, one for each leg. Follow me down."
Link stepped to the edge of the cliff. He flipped out his glider and jumped. Tulin leaped off the edge with him. He flew behind the swordsman as Link arced back toward the cliff, then the Rito boy surged a gust of wind with his wings and pushed Link into the cave.
Toes on the edge, Ravi stared at the drop. His mouth dried. "'Follow me down,'" he muttered. Hands shaking, he stepped into the loops and drew them up his hips, over his waist. "Just 'follow me down.' No problem."
He searched for a handhold, something at the top of the cliff to hold on to, and found a lip of rock that seemed like a grip. He crouched at the edge and froze. His heart hammered in his chest. It was so high. The lake, so far below, seemed hard as stone.
I said I was ready for this.
He imagined himself fearless, like Link, and turned around. Putting his face to the cliff, and began feeling his way down. If he had come up the cliff, like he'd climbed up the cliff earlier in the morning, with the bokoblin horn at his side, he might have known what he was doing. Where to go, where to place his hands and feet. But he was climbing down the cliff blind, on a route unseen, trusting a lip to be there when he needed it. The rock was warm from the sun, and rough on his fingers. His nail cracked. A trickle of blood ran down his finger. The rope was slack as it hung above him—it was only there to catch him if he fell. He climbed down the cliff on his own strength, and it was giving out faster than he thought it would.
It was this crazy day. Fighting a bokoblin. Chasing down a horse. Becoming a squire. Riding after Link. All on one tomato, a rice ball, and a handful of winterberries.
His foot slipped.
A cry caught in his throat. He grasped at the rope. It burned as it slid through his fingers. The harness dug into his waist, catching him, and he spun and bumped into the rock face, clinging to the rope. His legs dangled in free space, and a whimper broke from his throat. Help me.
Link wasn't coming to help him. He didn't need to. Ravi forced open his eyes. He found a ridge of rock just in front of his face and released one hand from the rope. He grasped the ledge, found a foothold. Stretched down his leg and found the next one.
He worked his way around the opening of the cave until he edged into the opening. He glanced down, ensuring the floor of the cave was indeed below him, and dropped.
His legs buckled as he landed and he fell onto his seat. Link and Tulin stood waiting for him, just inside the cave entrance. Ravi pushed himself up, stepped out of the harness, and dusted his grazed hands. "Well?"
The cave opened up like a bulb, with a narrow entrance and a wide inner chamber. The stench of malice struck Ravi's nose. He slapped his hand over his mouth, but it was too late. His body clenched with fear. His legs locked, rooting him where he stood, and his breath fluttered cold and fast against his fingers. He heard Karta's voice close to his ear.
I need a volunteer. Someone to keep Master company.
Link walked toward the chasm, rolling his right arm as though it ached. Crimson gloom puddled around the edges of the hole, pulsing with dark magic. Link walked as close to the edge as he could, without stepping on the plasma, and peered down into the hole.
No. Ravi reached out to pull Link back to safety, but he run after him. He couldn't break himself from his spot in the sunlight.
"No one has gone down there yet," Tulin said. "We were waiting for you."
Link nodded. He tightened the straps of his hauberk across his chest. He rolled his neck.
"You're… going to the Depths now?" Ravi's voice cracked.
Link's eyes sparked with excitement. "Want to come?"
The blood drained from Ravi's face. He couldn't speak or shake his head. He stared at Link, rigid.
The man's face dropped in disappointment. He turned from the edge. "You're right."
Tulin followed Link as he returned to the cave entrance.
"We've had a long journey," Link said to the Rito boy. "If Ravi's right, it will be a tough battle. I need to prepare."
Ravi's chin dropped to his chest. He gazed down at his boots in relief.
Link laid his hand on the boy's shoulder. "I won't make you go back." He raised his right hand to the ceiling. His arm glowed with blue magic, then he jumped. The stone swallowed him like liquid, and Link's feet kicked as though swimming, until his toes disappeared. Ravi's jaw dropped open.
Tulin sighed. "It's not fair. He gets all the magic." His eyes twinkled. "See you on top."
Ravi glanced down at his bleeding hands. He groaned, then stepped back into the rope harness.
I made the wrong choice.
Legs heavy, Ravi followed Link and Tulin up more stairs, endless stairs. They chatted together about archery and shield surfing, leaving Ravi to follow in hot silence.
He warned you it would be hard, Ravi's mother whispered, as he sucked on his bleeding nail. He rolled the taste of copper around his tongue and glared at the swordsman's back. And he lifted his leg another step. I'll show you.
The sun hovered low and orange in the sky, gilding the clouds. He chanced a peek without his goggles and the bright light pierced his eye, but the pain didn't feel as sharp as before. As the goggles tinted the world again, he remembered the vivid colors, the blues and orange and green. He wanted to see them again.
The stairs ended. A home jutted out from the rock like a nest, walls open to the sky. Rooms stuck out from a central living area. A tall Rito man sat at a workbench, sanding a bow, while a pink Rito woman cooked over a clay stove.
"Teba, Chief of the Rito," Link murmured to Ravi, "and Saki."
The coupled looked up at the sound of Link's voice.
"He's back!" Tulin called. He flipped his bow from his back and hung it on a peg over the door.
"Welcome, Link. And who's this?" Saki dried her feather-hands on a towel. Her large hoop earrings swung from invisible ears.
"This is Ravi." Link paused. "My squire."
"Your what?" Tulin cried.
Ravi stood awkwardly in the doorway. He shoved his hands in his pockets.
Tulin spun to Link. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"I thought you heard everything I said," Link replied.
"I didn't say you could have a squire." The Rito boy marched up to Ravi. His eyes flashed, and he squared his shoulders, bracing his chest.
"Tulin." Teba set down his bow and stood.
Link scratched the back of his head. "It's new to me, as well. We're figuring it out."
Tulin glared at Ravi. The feathers on his neck bristled.
"Well, now," Saki said gently. "Why don't we talk about it over dinner? I made fish pie."
"You did?" Link's eyes lit up.
"Two of them. And dessert." She smiled. "I know how my boys eat. But maybe I should have made three."
"It'll be enough." Teba gestured toward a round table. "We're happy to have you, Ravi. Do you want to wash your hands?"
With an eye on Tulin, Ravi washed his hands in a basin, turning the water brown and pink. He sat stiffly at the table, settling on a low cushion beside Link, as Tulin helped his mother carry pies to the table. The Rito boy set a pie decisively in front of Link. His tail feathers flicked Ravi's face as he turned. Ravi tensed to jump up, but exhaled slowly and stared at his plate.
Saki set a pitcher of red berry juice on the table and winked. "It seems you've found a squire as quiet as you are, Link."
"I can talk," Ravi said.
"Yes, he can," Link muttered.
Tulin set a large plate on the table, piled with two dozen smaller versions of the fish pie. The pastries were the size of buns, with fish gravy oozing from slits. Tulin sat and popped a pastry in his beak, swallowing it whole. The Rito didn't seem to have teeth. The only place settings on the table lay in front of Link and Ravi.
Tulin swallowed another pastry and leaned toward Ravi. "Where do you come from? Why is Link training you?"
Ravi crossed his arms. "He's taking me to find my mother. I'm helping him, in exchange."
"Has he taken the oath?" Teba said.
Ravi spun to Link. "What oath?"
Link cut a large slice of pie and scooped it onto his plate. He lifted his spoon to his mouth, then set it down under Ravi's glare. "I'm giving it a trial period: a couple of weeks to see if it works out."
"That's not what you said this morning." The aroma of the pie drifted into Ravi's nose, buttery and salty, but he didn't feel like picking up his spoon.
The swordsman frowned. "Then I'll say it now. It's a free arrangement, both ways. In a few weeks, if you decide my training is too difficult, you don't need to continue. And if I decide I can't keep you, I'll find someone else to take you in."
Ravi clutched his spoon, blood rushing to his cheeks.
"But," Link said, "If you stay, and I agree to keep you, you can take the oath of service. You'll be stuck with me until you become a knight."
Ravi stood up. He ached to hurl his spoon across the table and storm from the house. But he set it down, precisely, by his plate. "Is there anything else I need to know? About my future?"
Link thought for a moment, pie cooling on his plate. "The oath cannot be broken, except by a breach of trust. Is there anything I need to know?"
The Zora knife burned like ice, bound against Ravi's lower back.
Saki fussed with her napkin. Teba's solemn eyes shifted from Link to Ravi. Tulin cocked his head.
Ravi crossed his arms. "No. There's nothing."
Link picked up his spoon.
Slowly, Ravi returned to his seat. He scooped a helping of pie from the dish. The golden crust fell apart in his mouth, and the flakes of fish melted in the buttery gravy. He tasted the winterberry juice—it was sweet, and spiced with something like cinnamon. The three Rito ate, popping mini-pies in their beaks one after the other. Link scraped his plate clean and took another serving.
"It's good." Ravi lifted his eyes to Saki. "Thank you."
She smiled, and some of the tension lifted from the table. "How did you two meet?"
Link coughed. He set down his spoon, then raised his face to Teba. "I came tonight to ask you a favor. This is sudden—I apologize, but I have errands to run before I dive into the Depths. Would you look after Ravi for a couple days?"
Ravi glared at his plate. I should have run from the table when I had the chance. His heart twisted. Why did he think Link would be different? Everyone always leaves me.
Teba glanced at Saki, and she nodded. "We'd be happy to have him stay," he said.
"Where are you going?" Ravi muttered.
"To the sky," Link said. "To get more fairies." With a small grin, he tried to catch Ravi's eyes.
Scowling, Ravi picked at a splinter in the table.
"It will go by fast," Link said to him. "Maybe you can learn a few things while I'm gone. Tulin can show you the flight range." He turned to the Rito boy. "Ravi has some skill with the bow."
"Really?" Tulin sat up tall.
Ravi shrugged, but his chest warmed.
Link stood. He reached for his empty plate.
"I can take it," Ravi said.
The swordsman nodded and pulled out the Purah Pad. "Thank you for the meal," he said to Saki. "And for looking after him." He stepped back from the table.
Saki stood up quickly. "Take this. The sky islands are cold." She handed Link the last fish pie.
His face brightened like the sun rising. He cradled the dish to his chest, inhaled the aroma, then tapped it carefully to his pouch, tucking it away. He tried to speak, but gave her a quick nod. Then he touched the screen on his pad and vanished.
Tulin sighed. "He does that." He swallowed another pie.
Ravi stared into the air where the swordsman had disappeared. "Did he go to the sky?"
The Rito boy closed his eyes. A green glow shone from the stone at his ankle. "He's in Gerudo Town. He's gliding. Now he landed. It's harder to hear him when he's not flying, but… I think he entered a shop." Tulin paused. "He just bought a spa package." The boy's eyes flew open. "What did you do to him?"
"I thought you couldn't hear him," Ravi said.
"I can, when I pay attention. But I can't listen all day."
"How do you hear him?"
Tulin lifted his ankle, displaying the stone. "I'm the Sage of Wind."
"What's a sage?"
The boy blinked. He looked at his father, unbelieving.
"A sage is a warrior gifted with a very special power to fight Ganon," Teba said.
Ravi raised his eyebrow at the boy. "You're a warrior?"
Tulin crossed his arms. "A better one than you, I bet."
Ravi jumped to his feet and Tulin shot up with him.
"Boys." Saki pointed to the table. "Sit down. Finish your dinner. Then you can fight it out, fairly, at the range."
Ravi dropped into his seat. He shoveled pie into his mouth. Across the table, Tulin raced him. He ate two more mini-pies, finishing the family plate, chugged his juice, and slammed the empty cup on the table. They snatched up their dishes, and Ravi grabbed Link's dirty plate. They bumped elbows as they dropped the dishes in the washbasin.
"You don't even have a bow," Tulin said.
Ravi pointed out the open window. "Show me a moblin camp, and I'll steal one."
"Not now." Teba glanced at Ravi's grazed hands. "It's late in the day. You should rest, both of you, and start for the range in the morning."
Tulin swung his bow across his back. "You can sleep. I'm going to practice." He took off in a rush of wind.