Chapter 19

Of monsters and men

Back by the shoreline, each of the men were rubbing their hands together for warmth from the frosty chill of the night. The four hylians were eagerly waiting for their Zora friend to return.

"Look, sir-Link. Out from the mist, a boat," one of the soldiers commented, pointing his finger toward the water's edge. Eerily, the vessel drifted out from the fog, slowly coming into view. Silent as the wind was still.

Another man blurted, deep superstition in his voice. "But where is…where is Prince Sidon? Could the poes of the dead have taken him already?" the man shivered at the sight.

Link nudged him with an elbow to sit back and be still. But also poking his head out to see, curious as to where Sidon could be. One of the men went ahead to fetch the boat, quizzically looking around the water for any sign of life. Finding no signs of Sidon, he shrugged back to the others, confused.

Out with a splash from behind the man, the prince lunged from the calm water and onto the sandy beach where they were. Nearly having a heart attack, the soldier fell over on his backside in a fluster, eyes wide, speechless, and startled from the sudden surprise.

"Sorry to keep you all in suspense. It's not every day I can enjoy a good midnight swim! I Have to take them where I can get them. Being dry for too long isn't good for a Zora, ya know!" Sidon said with a proud laugh while striking a cocky pose with his arm. "Well, here's the boat. Told you it would be a piece of cake."

Link replied only with a grin as he signaled for the group to huddle one last time before they were to begin. As they all knelt beside him on the beach, he drew up the final plan in the sand.

With his finger, he made a mockup bird's eye view of the layout of the castle grounds and city. "Now, there are two gates we have to get open. The main gate to the city and the bridge to the castle. You can bet the castle is going to be much more fortified by the enemy, seeing that is their stronghold. So, Sidon and I will take care of the castle gate," He said first, gesturing with his other hand to the other men. "Bjorn will lead you two to the front. That gate should be a lot easier to lower down."

"Are you sure the mask will work?" the man with an earlier sniffle interrupted.

"Yes, they will work. Just gotta' remember what we went over."

Sidon interjected with a whisper. "Ah, yes, the acting, I do hope I can convince our enemy."

"You remember what Lord Sylmoor showed you, right?"

"Yeah, that should be easy. Let me just get slum drunk in a tavern first. Then I can be just like our friend Sylmoor. Our actor aficionado. I'm sure then I will be convincing to them," groaned Sidon in sarcasm.

"affifi-what now?" one of the soldiers mumbled under his breath, confused by the term.

Sidon continued, ignoring his question. "Pff, all he did was show me how drunk a man could get in a span of a single evening, then display any skills of theater," he ranted, scratching the back of his head nervously.

Link chuckled. "You'll be just fine. Just try not to speak to any of them or make any unnecessary eye contact," he said. Thinking more of it, he sat back where he knelt. In contemplation, he cupped his chin and reiterated. "Oh, and you must move exactly in the way they do. Do that, and you'll be alright."

"You say that like that's easy, and that is all we have to do," Sidon replied, shaking his head in worry.

"Yeah, no kidding. I have a bad feeling about this," Bjorn gulped in trepidation.

"Don't worryyy," Link said long-fully, twisting to another man holding the sacks of supplies. "So, you brought the flint, right? Please tell me you didn't forget."

"Yes, sir-Link," the man replied.

"Good. Now, we are going to have to go to the secondary armory first, which is at the side of the castle at the west end. We used to store charges and munitions there from one hundred years ago. The east end was destroyed, but the west was left untouched from what I remember. They should still be there and intact. Once we get the explosives we need, we will set them by each of the gates. I'll give the signal, and you will light your fuse at your entrance. Once lit, it will deal us precisely one minute to get as far away from the area as we can. The army will then rush in shortly after the defenses are drawn down.

" Now, we will have to take cover and stay low from the barrage; until the rest of the army moves in. Don't try and be a hero. We are way outnumbered until the Calvary charges in. Remember, it will be chaos after the explosions."

"Wait, just a second." Bjorn interrupted.

"Yes?"

"What's the signal going to be? How will we know."

"I'll light the torch high up in the keep above the wall where Sidon and I will be posted at. At that precise moment, you light your fuse, and so will Sidon down below. Are we all in understanding what we are to do?"

"Yes," they all replied in solidarity, each nodding as well.

"Good. Alright…what do you say we go take a castle?" Link said coolly, facing the boat that was beached, waiting for them to board.

"Watch where you are going, you blind fool!" an infantrymen captain shouted to a grunt. "Now look what you did!? We're stuck in the mud now. Quick, you five men, help these three behind the wagon and push! Push with your lives! We need to get moving!" He commanded.

"What is happening here?" the princess spoke to the group, dressed in her rugged adventuring gear again and not that formal gown from earlier. She came from the front of the marching caravan into their position. The long line of the army was on the march. She had been busily going up and down the train of wagons and marching soldiers, helping in whatever way she could with what anyone needed, to get everyone to their destination on the field.

"Apologies, princess! This lousy lot missed the turn and got us stuck in a bog here." The captain called back to her, shaking his head in defeat toward his struggling group.

The march was going up a steep hill, and Zelda saw their predicament. The crude wheels of the worn and decrepit supply wagon were no match for the knee-high mossy plains. The earlier rainfall had made the passage dotted with sinking mud pits. Fatigued heaves and shouts were heard as the soldiers attempted to shove the wagon upward but to no avail. Men were slipping and sliding on the slick grassland as they were trying to move it. Some were even getting stuck in the pits themselves.

Zelda had to think quickly for a solution. She knew that most of the cavalry had already gone too far up ahead. That there were no horses around to aid in this situation. And to top things off, by sheer bad luck or fate, the wagon that they were desperately trying to push and pull out from the sinking mud was the one where Riju lay in.

Gazing all around her surroundings as best she could in the darkness, an idea came to mind. Not too far off away from their position were old and ruined guardians. She remembered seeing them there during their journey from the domain just a couple days prior. Some even had their mighty husk ripped and torn apart, scattered throughout the grassy hills near them. The sight appeared as a graveyard monument to an old war long forgotten to the minds of men.

Snapping her fingers at the idea, she darted close back to where the body of soldiers had been struggling. "Alright, I need some men to help me over here," she commanded.

"What do you need, my princess?" The captain spoke, focusing his dim-lit lantern on her, lighting up her face.

"Here, come help me grab these broken up pieces of guardian skin. With several of us working together, we can easily lift them. They aren't too heavy. Sheikah armor is light and strong," she said, waving her hand behind for the group to follow her.

The men wore pale faces, stiff kneed, and were hesitant to leave. Fear was in their eyes as she looked back to see as to why they had not followed her lead.

"You heard the princess! Let's get a move on!" the captain roared to his squad.

"But captain, what of the guardians that aren't destroyed? If we get too close, what if they…come alive?" A lone soldier replied to the captain and Zelda. He then looked to each of his fellow low-level soldiers and spoke on behalf of them, afraid of the possibility. "They say once awaken, guardians can wipe out an entire company of men in a blink of an eye!"

Annoyed by their cowardice, the captain had just about snapped at the grunt when the princess intervened.

"Nonsense. Do not fear. The guardians have gone inert. I promise that there is no chance that any harm can come to any of you," she said back, with a glisten in her eye from the flicker of the candle. She beamed a kind smile toward them all.

"Inert?" questioned the man, confused by the word, pressing his finger up to his chin.

She giggled, covering her mouth. "It means they are forever asleep. Now, come. Enough time we have wasted on this silliness. We have to hurry."

"R-right!" said the soldier embarrassed, bolting past her with several others to fulfill her wishes. "Let's go, men!"

Chuckling at their antics, she met up to the front of them and reached out for the beaten exoskeleton of a guardian stalker. Showing them what needed to be done, she gripped its husk tight. With a groan, she pulled with all her might at its carbonized ceramic flesh.

"Well, don't just stand there! Help your princess!" shouted the captain.

One by one, the men surrounded her and pulled on the machine where she was. It didn't take long for their combined effort to rip away the massive armored plate to the side of the guardian.

With the hunk free, Zelda stepped back as she let the soldiers take over.

"Okay, very good. Now, all we have to do is just lay that fragment before the wheels of the wagon. Right there, on the surface of the mud," she said, pointing over to where the wagon was perched on the slippery slope. "There...that's right! Just like that. If we can lay out more pieces, we just might be able to get it unstuck!" She cheered.

"Great idea, your gracefulness! Alright, men, you heard her. Let's make a path. Get more bits of that broken monster! On the double! Move like your life depends on it! We have a battlefield to get to!" The captain ordered.

Without hesitation, the men scrambled to his command, and in military precision laid out a track of guardian siding, just like the princess instructed.

Zelda rolled up her sleeves and stuck out her tongue slightly into a cool smile. "Okay! Everyone behind the wagon. On three, we all push," she said, glancing over each shoulder, verifying the plan with her troops. "One. Two. And three!"

They all heaved as they collectively shoved the back of the cart. With all the force they could muster, they got the wagon to budge out from the swampy grass to roll over the makeshift track they made. The wheels spun through the mud, and they were on the move once again.

"There we are! We did it!" She smiled, letting out an accomplished sigh of relief. "Phew. See? All we needed was a little leverage and traction. Nothing to it," she said, releasing her hold of the wagon, letting the others take over; now that it was free to move once again.

The captain bowed. "Thank you, my princess! Alright, men keep it steady this time and avoid the bogs! Her majesty can only save you sorry dogs so many times!" he said, facing back to shout toward the front of the wagon train.

Wiping her forehead from a bead of sweat, Zelda turned to the sudden sound of a clop of a horse and voice coming at her from the side.

"Excellent work, princess! You'd make a great captain in the army!" The voice called out. And as her eyes met with his own, she saw it was Taleran, the lord who was under the house of Tarble.

"Oh, this? This was nothing," she said back modestly.

"Nonsense! I saw the whole thing! Which reminds me? Where is your horse, my dear princess? Walking along the muddy trail among the infantry is no place for a princess? Not if I have anything to say about it," he smiled, wiggling his acorn colored mustache.

"It is quite fine, my lord. I can handle these few steps on my own. It really isn't anything at all. Thank you," she then took a step further ahead and joked. "Wait a minute. If you saw the whole thing, why didn't you come to help us with your horse? Sure, would have saved us the trouble."

"Well, I was about to. But you all looked like you were having so much fun trudging over here," He laughed atop his mount. Noticing her mouth hung low expression, he coughed into his fist to reiterate and clarify. "Well, joking aside, princess, by the time I slapped my horse to rush over here to help you all, you had already found a solution! I was well on my way to help you. Honest."

"Really? How convenient?" she smiled, hands at her waist.

"Truly," he said with a wink.

"But here, let me make it up to you. I insist! Won't you ride my horse? Take him. He is a magnificent beast. It will not be said that Taleran son of Daleran, of house Gaebora, let our princess walk through the steep, knee-high mud out on the open plains. Whereas I rode freely on a stallion," he said dismounting quickly, unwilling to take no for an answer.

"They are hardly knee-high," her face gleamed back at his exaggeration. But was quickly torn away and caught up by the sudden familiarity of his origins. She cocked her head in remembrance. "But, did you just say house…Gaebora?" her interest peaked, eyes widening.

"Why, yes, are you familiar?"

"Of course! Ya know, I am the princess, after all. Once upon of time, when I was just a little girl, I had to be able to recite all the great houses and underlords of Hyrule along with their sigils and credos. Back…during a simpler time." she smiled warmly.

"Is that so? "

"Indeed. The clasp to your cloak, hard to see at night. But I saw it the other day. There is no denying it now that I think of it; you are definitely the house of the owl. The face of it. It's an owl, is it not?"

"Ah, yes, you are correct," Taleran replied with a grin, gripping his shiny clasp. It was a metallic owl's face, which beak clamped his velvet cloak tight around his neck.

"In the light, there is wisdom, forever the house of Gaebora shines bright," she recalled glancing up to the pitch night sky in recollection. They strolled alongside one another, trailing behind her friend's wagon.

"Perfect recital, dear princess! That is our formal creed. Sadly, there isn't much left of my house since the reign of the calamity, I'm afraid. The truth is, this is why I am here. Why, I have actually come to see you. To serve you. House Gaebora originally served as vassal under house Hyrule since time immemorial.

"And ever since the great fall of the capital, we have been scattered. Finding whatever refuge we can find under the banner of Tarble. Which by the way, just so you know, my lady has been very kind to us all. We truly are in her debt. That is why I have served her thus far. "

"Served?" Zelda countered, confused as to what he meant by the phrase.

"Well, once I heard word of your existence, I had to come see you for myself and pledge my honor to your family once again. At least on behalf of my father, who is no longer with us," Taleran spoke with a deep conviction. "Do not worry, my lady of the lake already knows of the promise I must make to the princess and her family. It is my duty."

"Well, I, for one, accept your promise of servitude and loyalty to the crown. But keep your pledge to your lady, she seems like a wise and noble leader of her people," She beamed, glancing at him as he stood taller than her as they walked, pulling his horse.

"She is. But, my princess I—"

She interrupted him. "You serve me by serving her. Your honest desire to stand by my side is sufficient enough. Now, that is my decree to you, my lord," she beamed again brightly.

"Then I will obey your command your grace, but please do me this honor and take my stallion. I'll be alright. You can still ride alongside your friend."

"Well, if you insist, then I will certainly oblige you," she said.

With a quick boost, Taleran helped her mount the beast. He then slapped the behind of the steed, spurring him to a trot, waving goodbye to her as she clopped ahead.

"The water sure is quiet out tonight. Quiet as the grave. Makes my skin crawl it does," Bjorn said to the rest as they sat in their boat, drifting silently over the water. Calmly they floated as if they were sailing over a mirror.

"Yeah, a little too quiet if you ask me! A bad omen!" the man with a cold blurted.

"Well, it ain't going to be quiet for long if both of you don't cut the chatter!" Link quietly shushed them. "Now be still. We're almost to the dock."

Coming out from the fog, the nose of their boat gently sailed alongside the wooden pier. Link kicked his boot out for them to stop. Sidon leaped out ahead of them and tied it to one of the posts while the others rushed out, securing the immediate area.

"Dead silent it is. You do good work prince of Zora. Who would have thought you were all so handy?" Bjorn commented to Sidon.

"You'd be surprised," Sidon smiled.

They all huddled once again, and Link gestured the man carrying the sacks and supplies to reveal the masks from within. One by one, the Hylian champion offered up each of the rogues their cover.

"Ugh! What is that horrid stench?" Bjorn gagged as he put on his red mask.

"Be quiet! I don't care what you smell. Just put it on! Would you rather die and smell like a maiden or live and wear the mask?" Link countered.

The prince of Zora ribbed the choking man with a jovial elbow. "Well, what did you expect, friend? It did belong to the face of a bokoblin screamer after all. You go and be dead for Buru Buru knows how long and see how well you smell?" Sidon chuckled. "I doubt you would be any different."

Bjorn coughed a reply. "Wait, these…were once actual cretins of hell?"

"Shh, yes. Now, stop complaining. We need to hurry. Let's go!" Link asserted, donning his mask.

"Alright, everyone, you heard him. Let's get within the walls. Watch out for any guards; there might be several waiting for us," Sidon concurred.

"Don't worry about that. All we have to do is just blend in," Link said. "However, try and keep your distance and don't get too close." He stopped the group from moving any further, hand waving them back with a last-minute instruction. "But, don't make it look like you're trying to not get too close," he reiterated.

"What is that supposed to mean? Don't get close but get close? You talk madness!" the man with a sniffle gulped, frightened by the prospect.

"I don't know. Just act casual!" Link argued.

Sidon laughed sarcastically under his mask. "And how does a Moblin act casual?"

"When they growl, you growl. When they spit and bark, you spit and bark. But don't get too carried away. None of us speak scourge tongue. So, every time you do, you make yourself known. So, don't do anything unless you absolutely have to. Got it? Now, c'mon let's go," Link said.

"I don't know, sir. I have a bad feeling about this," The man said again. Heart pounding in his chest. His only defense, just a dinky little pocket knife.

"Hey, weren't you the one back at camp that said you wanted a piece of the glory!? To be known as one of the heroes that singlehandedly saved the battle and conquered Hyrule castle back from the scourge?" Link joked. "I mean, if we accomplish this, they will be singing songs to your bravery for generations to come."

"That's all fine and good, Sir-Knight, but I still would like to be alive to hear the songs myself! Thank you very much. What's the point of glory if I aren't around to enjoy it!?"

"Well then, for your sake, I'd say you better be successful in your quest now, shouldn't ya?" they all chuckled quietly.

Link then shushed them all again. "Alright, enough kidding around; let's finish this."

The knight then rose up and waved his hand for his troop to follow him to the hidden door to the back of the main castle keep. At the bottom of its massive high walls lay a long and narrow passageway, only wide enough for a few men to sneak in through. It was much too small to mount a sizable attack and was heavily guarded within the wall. But, they weren't trying to attack. They were trying to infiltrate. So, it would be a perfect way inside for them.

Just as Link was about to corner the far side of the island where the small doorway lay, he suddenly felt his vision go blurry. His ears rang violently. The knight tripped over himself and crashed to his knees. And with all that momentum, he fell forward, rolling on the ground to a stop. He felt as if a dagger had been pierced through his mind, and shock waves of memories flowed through him, flipping one by one in his thoughts like a book.

On the ground, he railed in agony. He squeezed his head, shaking it erratically, trying to force away the pain. And as quickly as the sharp stabbing pain came. It departed him. Coming to on the ground, Link peeked his eyes open. Slowly, everything around him came back into focus, and the ear screeching ringing disappeared.

"Are you alright!?" Sidon rushed beside him, helping him up to his feet. Link still stood low perched on a knee.

"Uh, what? Uh, yeah…I think so," he replied. The knight was in a daze, slightly delirious as to what has just taken place. What was that? He thought.

"Are you going to be alright, sir?" Bjorn asked.

"You don't look well, Sir-Link," another man chimed.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't you worry about it? Let's just focus on what we have to do, alright? C'mon were wasting precious time," Link replied, standing back on both feet yet again. He then threw his men a shaking thumbs up, instilling confidence in them yet again. But, he pulled back his hand quickly.

Sidon leaned to one side quizzically, still unsure if Link was being entirely truthful about his condition but decided best not to dispute him any further.

"Run ahead. I'll be right behind you all. I only just need a moment," Link ordered to the group.

Following his orders, the men departed him and rushed to where the old door lay to wait for him.

Link, now alone, glanced at his hands that he hid from the others just before they left. They were uncontrollably shaking, pulsing with a terrible feeling. Malicious energy, unlike anything he had ever felt, began to surge through him. It took all the focus and will power he had to shake them back into compliance. With all his effort, he got them back under his control.

However, this was the first time he realized something eerily was wrong with him. Something sinister that he couldn't let the others know about. He had to complete his mission at all costs. Everything depended on him. Whatever it takes, he thought, as he stood there in silence, quickly gathering his thoughts for his next move. But, he couldn't delay any longer, the time was now, and the castle awaited him.

Authors Notes: Hello, everyone, happy new year to you! I hope all is well with you. Here is another chapter. I hope you do like it. Please, if you haven't already, please consider letting me know what you think of the story so far. Every comment helps me. Let me know if you like the pacing or not. So I can improve and apply to the future. Also, feel free to tell me anything, really. I love hearing all your thoughts. Lastly, the second chapter of the audiobook will be posted in 6 hours. You can find that on youtube as Zelda botw sequel(fanmade) audiobook part 1 and soon to be part 2. Thanks again for all the reads and support. It means the world to me.