The rain slowly petered out as Cado and Link made their way through the woods, with Epona still bearing the inert Mei. Steam rose from the sodden woodland floor, while birds began chirping their respective songs as the sun reclaimed what was left of the day.
Bolstered by the stoic Sheikah's arrival, Link followed with a renewed energy. The memory of Zelda still flashed in his mind's eye, but it no longer weighed him down. The present task of reaching the stable - and the Zora's shallow breathing - outweighed whatever bittersweet nostalgia tried to assail him.
Cado stopped just as the trees ahead began to thin. His gaze remained locked in that direction, but he spoke through his balaclava.
"We are close," the Sheikah informed Link as he drew up alongside him. "There are patrolmen ahead. This is where I leave you."
"Why?" Link asked in surprise. "Surely you know whom to seek here better than I?"
The Sheikah shook his head firmly. "The Zora's presence will create enough of a stir as it is. I would not add to it with my own. As you so bluntly pointed out to Lady Impa, it was Sheikah technology that aided the Calamity's victory a century ago. Though many no longer hold us at fault, there are enough who remember our name with curses rather than compliments - and more of the latter the further removed they are from Kakariko. Rest assured, I will be within reach should you need me."
Before Link had a chance to protest, Cado melted back into the forest. He had only just done so when the telltale stamping of hooves announced the presence of newcomers. Link turned to see two mounted patrolmen approach, both with horsebows nocked and drawn. Both of their faces were somewhat obscured by drawn hoods, but Link could see one was a woman, the other a man.
"Who are you?" the woman hotly demanded. "Answer quickly or be slain!"
Link raised his hands to show he meant no harm. "I am Link," he answered loudly. "I am a traveler seeking the Wetlands Stable. My companion is in need of a good healer if one is to be found."
Both patrolmen shifted their attention to the unconscious Zora on Epona's back. The woman's eyes widened, then sharpened with renewed suspicion.
"You would bring a water monster here?" she asked accusingly. "Then both of you will leave without your lives."
Link had coiled to jump out of the way of her shaft when the woman's companion put a restraining hand on her arm, gently forcing her to lower her bow.
"Ah, Leekah, that's no lizardspawn, and can yeh no see he's a Hylian?" the patrolman harshly admonished. "Put yer bow down afore yeh have innocent blood on yer hands!"
Leekah sullenly relented, clearly unconvinced. "There's Hylians as evil as Ganonspawn about, Kazul!" she insisted. "Why is he skulking here in the forest instead of taking the road like decent travelers?"
"Because that is where my companion came by her wounds, which even now could take her life," Link interjected sharply. "You can thank her later for the half-score she helped slay by making sure she doesn't die now."
Leekah's sharp jaw dropped in astonishment, while Kazul gave a slow whistle of amazement.
"Ten lizalfos, yeh say?" he mused while glancing at the unconscious Zora once again. "Were she no already cut to ribbons, I'd say it were no more than a grand boast on yer part, lad. Leekah, didn't Yolero say one o' them Zora stopped by a few days gone?"
"Could be," Leekah muttered stubbornly. "I wasn't there. I was patrolling, making sure thieves and questionable characters weren't taking advantage of good, honest-"
"Belay all that," Kazul interrupted impatiently. "Yer all hot an' bothered 'cause the stable's already filled to burstin'. It do no matter. They're seekin' refuge an' they'll find it here. Common', then, Master Link. Lets get you and yer friend sorted out. The stable is no far from here. Hop on an' well get yeh there all the faster."
"Thank you, Master Kazul," Link replied gratefully while mounting up behind the patrolman on his piebald mare. He kept ahold of Epona's reins. The chestnut did not hesitate in coming up beside them.
Seeing Link and his unusual burden safely situated, the patrolmen booted their mounts quickly back the way they had come. The trees continued to thin, until Link's nose caught the telltale whiff of woodsmoke in the air.
"Do you hail from the Hebra, Kazul?" he asked the patrolman, who glanced back with surprise at the question.
"Near enough laddie, an' yeh must be well traveled to guess that close," Kazul chuckled. "I'm from the Tabantha Tundra, just east o' the Hebra. Yeh been that way, 'ave yeh?"
Link shook his head. "I knew a friend from there with an accent very similar to your own, and a patrolman as well. Brigo, formerly of Dueling Peaks stable."
Kazul's barking laugh answered him.
"Brigo, that walkin' sheep's stomach!" he bellowed heartily. "A good man, 'e is. But yeh say he was your friend?"
"He died just three days ago," Link admitted sadly. "He and another friend, both to save my life."
"Yeh must be a ruddy good lad for Brigo to give up his life an' good looks for yeh," Kazul grunted somberly. "I'm keen to hear more about it. Nearly there, now. We'll see if we ken 'elp yer friend."
Link craned to look ahead, where the Wetlands Stable rose into view. It was similar in nearly every way to Dueling Peaks. A series of wooden stalls extended from an enormous, multi-sided tent held fast by tree-sized poles and beams. Extending outward from the tent's center pole were four wooden platforms, each bearing an enormous crossbow able to be swiveled and aimed in any direction. A low, craggy mountain reared to the north, with the Hylia River skirting to its left. It was a soothing scene - or at least, it would have been, were it not for the biggest difference between this refuge and that at Dueling Peaks.
People. Scores of them milled agitatedly around the stable like ants upset from their mound. Despite the rain, the tent flaps were thrown wide open to allow as much room as possible to the teeming masses. Those who could not fit inside - and Link could see that was easily the majority of those present - had pitched their own small camps or sought shelter underneath the nearest treeline.
"Why have so many come here?" Link asked, his gaze noting various levels of despondence and despair among the refugees.
"You come from the Far East?" Leekah asked in a loudly suspicious tone from just ahead. "They've been pouring in the last couple weeks now, about the same time that cursed tower sprouted like a saffina in the summertime. Word is it's Sheikah-made. If that isn't a bad omen, I don't what is."
"Stow that kinda talk, lass," Kazul admonished. "If I've told yeh once, I've told yeh a dozen times, the Sheikah are more ally than enemy. Yeh can bet they've a hand in this stable still standin' despite all the lizardspawn in the wetlands yonder."
Recalling Cado's words, Link kept silent. As it was, Mei needed help more than the Sheikah's reputation. The Zora's green skin was paling due to loss of blood.
"You said we might find a healer?" Link asked proddingly.
Kazul nodded. "Aye, but we'll have a time getting into that lot to find 'im. Git yerself down and gimme a tick."
Link dismounted as he had been told while Kazul intently scanned the crowd. Most of the nearby Hylians were now glancing askance at Epona and her odd cargo, some beginning to point and whisper to their neighbors. Link ignored them, not wanting to add more fuel to a this powder keg of fear and uncertainty.
"Oi! Rik!" Kazul called out gruffly from his saddle. "Fetch Yolero and Spoone, sharp now! Don't ask me barmy questions, just get to it, lad!"
An armed patrolman acknowledged him with a wave and plunged roughly into the overflowing stable. Kazul booted his mount back toward Link, while Leekah remained somewhat apart but close enough to make it clear she did still did not trust the newcomers. Kazul noticed.
"Get on wi' yeh, lass!" he barked. "I've got an eye on 'im. Aye, an' so do some ten score others! Get on wi' yer patrol!"
Leekah glared at the elder patrolman, but his fiercely bearded face brooked no argument. A handful of refugees scattered as she angrily wheeled her horse about and rode north. Kazul relaxed and shook his head.
"She's got a way wi' a horse an' spear, but that temper o' hers'll get her in hotter water than mine before long," the patrolman sighed.
"Sometimes hot water has a way of cooling the hot-headed," Link remarked without thinking, causing Kazul to looked at him appraisingly.
"Yer mighty young to be spoutin' such wisdom," the patrolman observed. "Between that an' the lizardspawn yeh say yeh slew, 'tis easy to see why Brigo took a shine to yeh, lad."
Link shifted uncomfortably under the praise. "He was a good friend," was all he could think to say. That earned another thoughtful look, but it was cut short by a extremely loud and irritated voice bawling out over the general hubbub.
"Out of the way, out of the way! For Hylia's sake, if you have business at the stable, speak with Master Lawden, otherwise get back and let others pass! "
The crowd reluctantly to allowed the speaker through, though not unsolicited. Several tried to stop the short, frazzled-looking man with questions or requests. He simply repeated his mandate while adjusting his hat, which was shaped exactly like the many-sided tent making up the majority of the stable.
He finally emerged into the small clearing Link and Kazul's horses had carved out at the edge of the crowd. The stable equerry's eyes were bloodshot and framed by dark circles betraying recent lack of sleep. An unintentional attempt at a beard emphasized his exhausted appearance, as did his very wrinkled clothes.
"Kazul!" the equerry exclaimed. "What's wrong? You know that if it's serious to tell me away from all these… guests."
With a snort that reminded Link very much of Brigo, the patrolman pointed impatiently to the still-unconscious Zora laying over Epona.
"That un's wounded makin' sure nothin' serious has happened yet, Yolero!" Kazul gruffly returned. "Where's Spoone? She needs his attention yesterday!"
To Link's surprise, Yolero's eyes widened in anger.
"I told those Zora to stay by the river!" the equerry protested. "Why did you bring one here for gawking and gossiping?"
Indeed, with Yolero's presence drawing even more attention to the newcomers, Mei's wounded form was fast becoming the object of everyone's eyes and mouths. Surprised by the equerry's attitude and desperate to resolve the situation quickly, Link decided to take matters into his own hands.
"Please, Master Yolero, where is Spoone, or anyone who can tend this creature?" he interrupted. "She cannot survive these wounds much longer, wounds she did indeed earn protecting the path that leads to your stable."
Yolero gave the ailing Zora no more than a glance before answering.
"As luck would have it, Spoone is tending the rest of her kind at the river right now," the equerry answered briskly. "It seems they also ran afoul of the beasts. Now please, take this one there so these people don't begin to wonder why she's been ripped to ribbons!"
"Yer a ruddy charmer, yeh are," Kazul muttered as he began maneuvering his mount west toward the river. "Common, then, Master Link, let's get yer friend straightened out. The riverbank ain't far."
Link immediately swung up onto the patrolman's mount, still leading gripping Epona's reins to lead both steed and cargo.
"I feel no satisfaction in saying so," Link admitted quietly as they set off under curious observation from the tightly packed onlookers, "but I am surprised at your equerry's behavior. He seems more annoyed than engaged with the needs that lay before him."
"As well you might," Kazul replied casually, "if yeh'd only been at the task fer a half-moon. Yolero's the newest and youngest equerry in Hyrule, least that we know of. Contact with the other stables has lessened of late, mind yeh. Our old equerry was slain two weeks ago. Young Yolero got the job just as everythin' went to hell."
"I misspoke, then," Link admitted sincerely they approached a rise in the ground. "Even had he been here a decade, I would not envy the task he has now. Perhaps you can enlighten me on something else. I was under the impression Zora's Domain lay relatively near here. Is it so rare for these people to see a Zora?"
"Fish keep to the water, don't they?" Kazul replied over his shoulder. "Even before everythin' went barmy, the wetlands still had its fair share o' Ganonspawn. Hylians don't go near 'em if they don't have to, and the Zora allus travel by water afore land. The Woodland Stable used to see their fair o' Zora, though."
"Used to?" Link inquired.
"Aye," Kazul nodded sadly. "Afore it was sacked last week. Not a stick left that wasn't burnt or broken. Why do yeh think we got all these refugees, lad? Most of 'em farmed within the Woodland's patrols. They don't dare stay home without that, 'specially not now."
Link's stomach lurched. He had learned from Brigo that Ganonspawn would not attack stables or settlements unless gathered in great numbers and goaded by some driving force. He had seen firsthand how well a stable could turn back even a considerable assault. What was out there wreaking the kind of chaos patrolman had described?
"That's why with some o' them Zora hurt fresh, Yolero does no want them near the stable," Kazul continued. "Got nothin' against the fish. 'E's just tryin' to avoid a panic, in case the refugees think that army o' Ganonspawn is on its way. Most of 'em think it already, but Yolero does no want them to have a reason to think it. 'E's a bit fussy, but 'is heart's in the right place. Hush now, we're about there."
Mentally storing away these alarming developments, Link looked up to see they had arrived at the edge of a rise preceding the riverbank. The slope down was steep, but the bank itself wide enough for a small encampment - which is what he beheld.
Along the water's edge and loosely surrounding one lone fire were gathered a dozen Zora. Their rubbery skin ranged in color from shiny black to creamy white and nearly every shade between. Nearly half were females who, like Mei, bore gentle curves covered in gracefully crafted breastplates. The males were broad and muscular through the shoulders, which were covered by pauldrons of silvery metal. All of them looked nearly human save for fins and the fish-like crowns from which one long dorsal fin hung in place of hair.
The four Zora actively keeping watch wielded variations of beautifully curved spears. The others appeared to be resting, eating or nursing wounds of their own. One of the guards, an ebony-skinned male with blue-and-gold fins, caught sight of Kazul and Link - and Mei.
"Mei?!" he shrieked. Once his yellow eyes and vertical pupils confirmed his suspicions, the Zora raced forward, spear upraised. "What have you done to her?! I'll kill you, Hylian dogs!"
Half of the Zora shouted after their enraged companion, while the other half gathered their weapons and appeared on the verge of joining him. Alarmed, Kazul reached for the sword sheathed at his hip.
Thinking quickly, Link dismounted, whipped out his Sheikah slate and pressed the stasis rune. In a flash of yellow light, the charging Zora was frozen in mid-stride.
"We mean no harm!" Link bellowed sharply. "Mei was wounded fighting Ganonspawn! She needs help. Is there a Hylian healer here?"
The combination of the slate's power, combined with Link's declaration, completely severed the nearly catastrophic commotion. The resulting silence was deafening until a clipped voice rang from the riverbank.
"Well done, that! I was afraid you chaps were going to make a right mess."
A lone Hylian strode quickly from behind the now stunned Zoras. His wavy blonde hair was immaculately combed over to one side and matched by an equally blonde and curved mustache. A merry twinkle gleamed in his bright blue eyes. An overly large brown satchel, which bulged in several different places, hung over his right shoulder.
"Ah!" he exclaimed happily. "Another marvelous Zora in need of my assistance! I shall be happy to render my services, but perhaps you lot should make quite sure your friend there is quite restrained before he - wakes up? Forgive me, but I honestly haven't the foggiest idea as to what you did to him."
Indeed, the yellow light surrounding the frontrunning Zora was blinking faster by the second. Picking up on the odd man's suggestion, a male and female wrapped their arms around their companion just before the stasis spell dissipated. The black-skinned Zora surged forward as though his momentum had not been stopped at all, but he was quickly brought to the ground.
"They are friends Fronk!" the blue-skinned male holding him down gasped. "It was Ganonspawn that harmed your mate, not them!"
Heaving from emotion and exertion alike, Fronk stayed down until he had calmed himself to his friends' satisfaction. The Zora got to his fins slowly, his companions carefully watching him on the off-chance he was merely masking his anger. He was not.
"I am sorry, friends, and to you, good sirs," Fronk said finally before turning his gaze to Mei, who was being gently lowered by a pair of Zora to the ground for the odd Hylian to examine. "I was mad with worry over my Mei. She is the current in which my heart swims, and I would drown without her. Will she… will she live, Master Spoone?"
The Hylian did not answer the Zora's plea immediately, as he was already in the midst of digging out various flasks, herbs and bandages from his satchel. He uncorked one large bottle and began depositing several drops over each wound before replying.
"Only just, Master Fronk, only just," Spoone informed him matter-of-factly. "Had Master Kazul and his friend arrived any later, she could very well be gone. Luckily for her - and for you, of course - she will survive these frightful scratches. Yes, indeed she will."
Fronk sunk to his knees in overwhelming relief, where the two Zora who had initially restrained him now patted him consolingly. Satisfied that Mei was in good hands, Link approached her mate.
"As your friends said, lizardspawn set upon Mei," Link said quietly. "She had already done you and your people proud before I lent what aid I could."
Fronk looked up at this. Now that he was very close to a conscious Zora, Link was reminded of the vast differences between his people and theirs. Even on his knees, Fronk was still the taller of the two. Judging by his companions, such size was normal among the Zora; they could easily match a Moblin inch-for-inch and pound-for-pound. His yellow eyes watered with unshed tears.
"Not only do you bring my Mei back to me, but you are the reason she is alive to being with?" Fronk exclaimed. "Truly I am in your debt, good sir!"
To Link's utter embarrassment, the Zora took to one knee and bowed his head before him.
"By fin, fish and freshwater, I pledge my life and energies to repay the gift you have given me this day Sir…" Fronk looked up in momentary confusion. "Forgive me, but I do not yet know the name of my wife's rescuer!"
"Link," he muttered awkwardly.
"Link!" Fronk resumed earnestly. "By my honor as a Zora, I pledge that this debt will be repaid!"
"Your name is Link?"
The question came from another ebony-skinned Zora male nearer the bank. He was even larger than Fronk, and he carried a long spear tipped with a crescent-shaped head. The Zora's question carried a sharpness, and the expression accompanying it was none too friendly.
"It is," Link answered carefully before deflecting the conversation back to the kneeling Zora before him. "I assure you such a pledge is unnecessary, Fronk. Anyone of able body and means would have done the same."
"Bravery and humility to match!" Fronk cried. "You are a breath of fresh water compared to these woebegone stablemen! No offense, good sir, I did not mean you, necessarily…"
Kazul waved off the Zora's faltering apology. "Yer not wrong about us bein' woebegone, lad," the patrolman admitted good-naturedly. "Bear in mind, I think we've earned it o'er the last fortnight. Speakin' o' which, it's time fer me to be gettin' back. Link, t'was a pleasure meetin' yeh. I 'ope twon't be the last time."
Link shook grasped the Kazul's forearm warmly in reply. "I hope so too, Kazul. You do well by your countrymen. They are blessed to have you among them."
Stroking his beard with embarrassed pleasure at the compliment, Kazul turned his mount back toward the stable.
"I ken see why Brigo liked yeh!" he shouted over his shoulder. "He probably ate up yer bonnie words as fast and often as a good meal!"
The comment made Link smile in fond memory of his friend. His brief nostalgia was cut short, however, by Fronk's exuberant voice carrying from group of Zora clustered around the fire.
"Mei, you're awake!" Fronk rejoiced as he knelt next to his mate. "How are you, my dear?"
The others gave way as Link approached to see the wounded Zora reunited with Fronk. Wrappings and bandages swathed several patches of her rubbery skin, including a sizeable one on her fish-like crown. She was smiled, however, at her enthusiastically relieved mate.
"I am well, current of my heart," Mei replied fondly. "Though I would not be were it not for the Hylian who saved me. Is he still here?"
"I am here, Mei, walker of waters and fisher of the deep currents," Link offered with a small smile.
"Oh dear!" the Zora moaned while covering her face with an uninjured hand. "I am afraid my water debt runs deep with you… Link, was it? After you fend off half a score of lizardscum, I had the temerity to give in to pride instead of accepting your help! Please forgive me!"
"There is nothing to forgive," Link returned with a raised hand to forestall her apology. "I know little of your people, and could very well have offended you without knowing."
"Ten lizalfos!" Fronk exclaimed as he looked excitedly from his wife to Link. "Why, even Prince Sidon himself would be hard-pressed to fight off so many! My dear, even in your pride, you may have found the one to save our people!"