They had set out from Gerudo Valley over a week ago, and were running low on supplies. Ganondorf had really underestimated the distance the group could travel on foot: his first error as King.
Castle Town was finally in sight though, and a relatively large ranch lay to their left along the path. Hoping for a chance to replenish supplies, Lon Lon Ranch promised fresh milk and a chance to sit down. They had brought their famous Gerudo jewelry to exchange, although there were three pieces reserved for the powerbrokers of the three non-Hylian races he planned to do political business with.
"What marvelous beasts these are, these cows!" the High Guard exclaimed. She had trained for the longest, and was the longest serving member of the King's Guard. She also had a keen eye about her. "Might we buy some to bring back to the valley?! Imagine the amount of milk and cheese we could have for our starving people. My King, you must have learned of these with all of your time buried in a book in the temple library."
Ganondorf quickly tempered her expectations. "My worthy protector, it has been tried before. This was even before the drought. As you have heard from the stories of our legend, Gerudo Valley used to be a land teeming with all sorts of plants and animals. According to the legends, we were a greedy people and ate what was not ours and drank without satiety from the waters of the river in the Valley. We did not value what we had, but harvested and ate without regard for the future."
She calmed down at this, and looked at him somberly. "But do you really believe those legends? They can't have anything to do with us now, it's not applicable to our time."
He was always impressed by her ability to question what needed to be questioned. He responded earnestly. "I agree with you, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't applicable in the past. There was a time when the climate of Gerudo Valley had much more water. Rains were plentiful throughout Hyrule, and what we took for granted is that it would always be that way. It wasn't for us to know the future. But when the rains became less plentiful, we continued extracting what the land could not bear for our descendants. The desertification is only from the past two kings' reigns, but it grows in size each year. We will have to be very intentional about what we bring back to stem the tide of sand eating away at our productive lands. The dry desert conditions do not suit these animals. But that doesn't mean our trip will be in vain. Eventually we will reach the Kokiri forest, and you will see plants that could indeed survive in our Gerudo Valley, if cared for correctly."
She touched her brow, clearly searching for an answer. She was surprisingly invested in the cows, or maybe the cheese made with the milk they produced. "Well, I see that water is much more plentiful here. We have but a small river in the bottom of our valley that we use for our plants. We have some goats, but they have struggled so much with the drought. I think the thing we are missing is the water source. Fix the water, and we would have our cows. Milk would be plentiful, and the wandering Gerudo would return back home to a land flowing with milk and honey. Maybe we can speak with the Zora about the rights of the water flowing from their Domain?"
"Ha!" laughed the ranch owner. "I've heard that before somewhere. Land flowing with milk and honey. Wouldn't that be the life!"
The Gerudo Guard could barely contain her jealousy. "It literally is your life, you fat oaf! Look at how much milk you all produce, with so few ranch hands! Our entire tribal workforce is synchronized to the seasons, treading carefully over every square inch of sandy soil we plant with our desert natives. They are slow growing, and any insect attack could wipe out the entire harvest. You sit here drinking milk every day, so full that you let it sit in containers and create cheese out of the surplus that you sell to Castle Town! And the fields, how abundantly they grow. Do you understand how many Gerudo would fit carefully in this space? Yet you have a single family living here!" She was letting the rage get to her, the veins bulging at her neck and forearms. Gerudo warriors were truly a startling sight when they became agitated.
He tried to backtrack. "I'm sorry for upsetting you. I don't think its fair of you to call us lazy is all. Look at all of the bottles we produce? We aren't just making milk for ourselves, you know. We supply half of the milk for Kakariko village and one third of what Castle Town uses. While we aren't the only ranch, we are by far the largest and most necessary of them. While we make a nice profit, we do not squander it on excessive celebration. We are modest in our ways, much like you Gerudo. That is why I respect you people."
Ganondorf nodded at this. "Yes, it is impressive that so much milk can come from such a small piece of land. You must understand that while you enclose this land from your neighbors in Kakariko Village and sell the bottles for a profit, we Gerudo approach business differently. If this were a Gerudo enterprise, most milk would be aggregated at the temple for distribution at the discretion of the Council of Elders, relying mainly on the Matriarchs' wisdom to guide the decision. Only the remainder could be sold for a modest profit, what little that would be. The desert is a land of little to no profit. Every piece of energy is accounted for, and an environment like that necessitates the careful stewarding and sharing of resources. Not so in this part of Hyrule, where the water flows freely from the Zora spring and the volcanic ashes from Death Mountain have left the soil rich and fertile."
"Well, that's why my ancestors bought land here in Hyrule in the productive area, instead of in the Valley!" the ranch owner scoffed. "I've always wondered why you Gerudo stay in the valley if it's so hard. Why not move to the village? Or set up shop in a small area of Castle Town. There's so many other locations to be in this land, rather than wallowing in sorrow in the Gerudo Valley, in your harsh desert!"
Ganondorf remained collected. "I would have settled here as well in times past. But we are a continuation of our ancestors' history. It seems my ancestors did not have the same luck as yours did, to purchase bountiful land here at the gates of Castle Town. As far as moving to Castle Town and Kakariko village, all I can say is that each year another small band of young Gerudo go to each one. We are abandoning our ancestral home, but not everyone is willing to leave. It is hard being a foreigner in others' lands. I can only say that a tough life breeds a tough woman. Or in my case a man." He smiled.
"Ha!" the ranch owner laughed again. "Well, here on this ranch, the men do the hard work so that the women can relax, and the children can play. Isn't that right, my favorite daughter Malon!"
His daughter scowled at him. "I've been hauling milk all day, my hands are cracked from the work! You want to talk about who takes it easy here? It's you! You simply stand about and talk to us all day. Why don't you try a bit of hard work. I bet you couldn't haul half the wood this Warrior King could! I should run off with them."
"Ah, kids, you know!" He smiled, disconcerted. "They sure do have a lot to say. She'll grow up to appreciate me one day."
The guard suddenly stood alert. "Let's get going, my King. Time is passing quickly, we don't want to be gone from the valley for too long. We have many lands left to visit."
And with that the Gerudo troop left, heading north towards Castle Town with their wares and some extra milk to make the journey more enjoyable.