Chapter 9 - Travelers
Since Link had become the Hero of Twilight, more and more people had a lot of respect for him. It was nice in some ways, people were more polite whilst some were simply happy to step aside if he was walking somewhere in town. The problem was that it meant he couldn't find anyone to spar with. Nobody thought they were 'worthy'. It irritated Link as he knew swordplay required constant practice to maintain skill with it.
Now though, he was waiting for Zelda to prepare herself for a duel. He couldn't quite believe his luck. The princess of Hyrule of all people...
Some time passed whilst Link was warming up with stretches and practising his most basic attacks.
He was still bewildered. Fighting the forces of evil was straightforward enough. Fighting royalty... Link suppressed a laugh at the madness of the idea. He wondered if anyone else had had the privilege in the past.
As he was practising blade parries, the door opened. Zelda stood with two attendants. She had changed into duelling garb. It was form-fitting and looked to be made of multiple thin layers bound together. Its neutral colour actually seemed to help her blend in with the castle environment. It was simple, effective and would allow her to move unhindered. It was stunning, Link thought privately.
She had also removed her jewellery. She looked more human, but also like a very competent warrior. Before Link could admire the sight any more, she spoke.
"Let us head to my training grounds".
He nodded and collected himself.
As they walked through the extensive corridors, Zelda was explaining the rules of their bout.
"Quite simple rules really. They are normally used for training bouts with our new recruits. We will duel in a ring. If you step out of the ring or are thrown out, you suffer a loss. You have three losses, then you are out. As for winning? You must land three blows to any point on the body to take victory."
Link tried to listen, but was imagining how ridiculous it would look to be thrown out of a ring by her.
"Furthermore, grapples are allowed as are throws and shoves. Sweep kicks and the like as well. You may also yield at any point by saying as much, forfeiting the bout entirely."
He couldn't help but laugh.
Zelda turned her head as she walked. "What is it?"
"Forgive me. But I was just imagining sweeping your legs from under you and then throwing you out of the ring. The whole idea is just...unusual" he said, stammering slightly at the end.
To his surprise, she replied curtly with "Please try".
Link's eyebrows were starting to ache from being held up for so long.
A little later, they arrived in a large room that was well stocked with the most modern training equipment. The floor was marked into separate sections with other outlines. Climbing ropes, padded mats, climbing frames, balancing beams and other pieces of well-crafted equipment dotted the room.
"Impressive! With enough training in here, you could get some very competent guardsmen." Link remarked.
"This is normally where the castle guard trains. The army regulars have a similar set-up in their barracks, but they mainly train on squad cooperation to be effective in groups. Our individual castle guards need to be expertly trained, however."
Without her regal clothing and jewellery, Zelda was a lot easier to read. She was quite proud of the training room.
"Forgive me, but would you mind if some of my staff observed? They kept asking once I told them what we were doing."
Link didn't mind. He imagined someone would easily find it interesting to watch the Hero of Time duel the princess. He shook his head in response.
Zelda smiled slightly, only for a moment before she regained her composure.
"Then let us prepare. Please stand in that marker, it is ten paces apart from me."
Link moved to his spot. An attendant took his lethal equipment '..for the safety of the princess'.
He mused that she would likely be able to defend herself competently even if she were trying to attack her with steel.
As one attendant took his equipment, carrying the Master Sword very carefully by the ornate scabbard, another brought him a well-fashioned wooden sword with smooth and varnished edges. She also handed him a thick wooden buckler.
Link took them and thanked the woman, but his eyes never left Zelda. He was learning what he could with his experienced eyes. Zelda was doing the same. He knew that she was trying to figure out the fastest way to strike him.
After some warm-up stretches, she was breathing regularly, stayed perfectly still and showed no tension. He wondered if she was just good at hiding any anxieties, or if her training had given her the confidence to challenge him.
If he underestimated her, it would cost him dearly, he thought.
The attendants moved to the edges of the room and looked on excitedly. An older woman, likely the head attendant, walked into the gap between Link and Zelda.
She explained the same rules Zelda had already told him and took a breath.
"May the best warrior win! Round one, begin!"
Slowly, Zelda closed the gap. She had raised her buckler enough to guard her side, leaving her front to be guarded by the sword. Link advanced and felt the adrenaline begin to surge once again. He calmed his breathing and lunged with a light stab to her torso, which she effortlessly parried with the flat side of her sword.
As he brought the sword back in, he was surprised to see her lunge for a stab with her own blade.
Good, she was pressing any advantage she could take, he thought as he sidestepped the stab.
Swinging his sword arm up, he tried to knock the wooden blade from her hand, but she retracted it quickly and swung her shield into him. He barely brought his shield up in time and managed to slam it back into her own.
She recoiled slightly and Link decided to go on the offensive. He swept for her feet with a low roundhouse kick, but she only had to jump slightly to avoid it. Before she landed, she swept the sword for his head and he barely managed to duck in time.
Righting himself quickly, he widened the gap between them as he tried to learn by watching.
But she would not allow it.
She closed the gap as he stepped back and let out a rapid flurry of stabs as he was slightly off balance with moving.
Raising his shield, he adjusted slightly to deflect and catch the blows. After her last attempt, he swung upward with his sword.
He managed to knock her sword up and out of the way. Then rammed into her shield with his own, throwing her balance off entirely.
Link saw his chance and took it. He swept his sword across her legs and managed to land a hit right on her kneecap with a loud whack.
She yelped from the sharp pain and hopped on her good foot to deal with the pain.
"Point to Link! Warriors, back to your starting points"
The senior attendant didn't look particularly happy that she was awarding him the point.
He paid it no mind, she was a servant to the Princess after all. Some of the other staff looked more excited though.
He took his original position and locked eyes with Zelda once again but something was different this time. Her eyes were devoid of emotion and she would not break her gaze, or even blink.
It was a little unsettling, but he knew this feeling. He had experienced it himself fighting his foes in the past. It was where his mind was essentially empty and it helped him respond to threats naturally as well as more fluidly.
"Round two, begin!"
This time, he wasn't quick enough.
Zelda almost leapt across the entire gap with two graceful skips.
She had noticed the difficulty of fighting so close on both their parts and was trying to press it into an advantage.
With barely a few feet between them, she slashed at his arms. It was difficult for Link to maintain his balance, so he tried to back away to open up some room.
He realised his mistake with the first step.
Ducking down, she almost immediately sprang back up before he could react and landed a hard swing right up into his armpit. The sword was wooden and blunt, but that just spread a sharp jolt of pain through his entire shoulder, causing him to lose his grip on his sword, making it clatter to the floor.
"Good hit..." he managed to say weakly, with tears forming in his eyes.
Zelda looked shocked, her eyes had become vivid with emotion once again.
"Oh Link, I apologise! I did not mean to..."
She wasn't lying, concern was etched all over her face. Link held up his good hand.
"Don't be sorry. You have to be able to attack me without remorse. If you can't do that, then you will be all the more likely to hesitate at the worst possible time if you have to fight for real."
Sucking his breath through his teeth, the pain had dulled just enough for him to carry on.
"There's still two rounds left. Come at me!"
The older attendant shot him a furious look.
"Uh... once your attendant gives the signal I mean..." he stammered.
Zelda smiled and let out a small laugh. Now the pain was all but gone. She resumed her position and Link his own.
"Round three, begin!" barked the older woman.
Link brought his shield up immediately. This time, Zelda was advancing more slowly. Link supposed she was trying to vary her attacks, to prevent him from being able to predict what she would do next. A good idea, he thought. With each blow they tried to land, he could see determination and skill. It was a joy to see and experience.
The pain in his shoulder was dull now and he felt as if he could use it fully.
He started to circle around Zelda, changing his stance back and forth as he moved closer.
Then he felt like showing off.
He started to spin his sword between his left and right sides as quickly as he could. The light grip he had meant he could adjust it quickly to adapt to any attack she made.
He kept on advancing and he saw a chance. Zelda's eyes had gone wide. She didn't know what move to anticipate and was moving back, trying to buy herself some extra time. On her next step Link stopped his spins and threw his entire body into hers, shoulder first.
The impact threw Zelda back over the edge of the ring. She skidded on the floor as her face lost some colour from the shock of the attack.
"Point to Link! Two to one, match point. Warriors, take your positions." barked the older attendant.
Zelda got to her feet and frustration was showing on her features. She kept herself composed though and managed to retain a neutral expression within a moment.
"It is good that you followed my advice, Link"
Link raised a curious eyebrow.
"To not hold back. Everyone that duels me always fights more gently than they normally would with someone else. They seem terrified of hurting me. I have not had a true challenge in years. Now ready yourself."
Link smiled. He was pleased to know he wasn't the only person struggling to find a worthy sparring partner.
"Same here. Everyone either thinks they are unworthy or that they risk hurting you. It's honestly a pain."
Zelda smiled a nodded appreciatively. "Perhaps once you are free, we could duel on a more regular basis?"
"I'd...love to!" Link said happily.
Smiling, Link reminded himself of his task and took his position once again. He wanted the duel to be over quickly so he could begin the search for the pieces of the Triforce of power. Ilia's life, and his child's were still in danger.
With the sobering thought bringing him back to his senses, the attendant spoke again.
"Round four, match point. Begin!"
This time, Link wanted it to be over quickly and Zelda wanted revenge for being knocked over. They both ran to each other and immediately started swinging for each other. She sidestepped, he leaned back, she ducked whilst he jumped and heaved his sword as quickly as he could. Loud clacking filled the room with each parried strike, only to be followed up with another attack to be parried or dodged again. Both he and Zelda were determined to land a hit but neither would present a weakness.
They circled each other and fought rapidly. The attendants watched on in awe. Their princess, even at the risk of losing the bout, was matching Links skills. Several of them gasped when Link brought his sword down overhead to deal a heavy blow, only for it to smack into Zelda's shield loudly.
The fourth round was the longest one so far. They both knew how to parry and each kept on trying to improvise during a clash to try and get the upper hand. Five minutes into the bout, Link managed to let his impatience get the better of him. He struck out with his sword with a wide upward sweep. Zelda's eyes went wide as she saw her chance and Link's eyes went wide as he knew what was about to happen.
As she leaned to her side to avoid the wide attack, she put both hands on her sword and drove the tip of it right into Link's exposed left side.
In an instant, the wind was driven from him, burning pain ignited his senses and he fell to the floor. He tried to regulate his breathing as he rasped for air.
Zelda immediately strode over and looked a little panicked. Before she could utter a word, Link held a hand up and she stopped.
"Remember? ...No mercy..."
"Point to Princess Zelda, two all. Match points. Warriors to your positions"
"I forfeit." Link said aloud.
Zelda's attendants all looked over to him, perplexed. She however looked disappointed.
Link was already in a lot of pain and hoping that the matches would be over anyway. His pride wasn't worth trying to stop an incredibly competent warrior from helping him find the lost pieces of the Triforce of Power.
"...Very well. Link forfeits, Princess Zelda is the victor." exclaimed the older attendant. There were no cheers, but there was enthusiastic applause. Zelda turned to them.
"Thank you all for your support. I am grateful for it. Please bring our refreshments, I would like a moment alone with Link."
The words had an immediate effect. All of the staff members left the room to do whatever they needed to. The room looked far more expansive without twenty or so extra people in it.
Link was still recovering from the devastating strike. He wondered if it hurt more because there was no true threat. He had been in pain when fighting before, but in the heat of a fight to the death, he supposed adrenaline helped to deal with the impact of most wounds.
"You wish to start looking as soon as possible, correct?"
Zelda was upset that the match hadn't seen its conclusion, but she was still sensible enough to read Link and was not ignorant of the task set out before them both.
"I do" Link managed to say, breathing deeply. "It also hurt a lot."
Zelda turned slightly red as she put her hands together. As Link stood, he saw her hands begin to glow with a soft golden light. She appeared deep in thought as she performed some kind of spell. She began to chant softly in a language he couldn't understand.
Before he could wonder about it any further, a cone of golden light projected onto his abdomen from Zelda's hands. Within a moment, warmth rushed through his entire body. It energised him and nullified the pain from his side. Link sighed with relief.
"Thank you. A lot"
Zelda returned a small smile, but it went just as quickly.
"I promise you that we will have another match to make up for this one. But, like you said, I'd rather get on with the job at hand. Ten days sounds like a lot. It's a lot less when people you care for are threatened."
Zelda nodded.
"Yes, we have taken a fair amount of time here. I shouldn't have asked you for a duel. I apologise for having you indulge me."
Link raised his hand again.
"No. It wasn't a bad idea. You want to come with me? That's fine, but I needed to see how good you were at defending yourself."
He thought for a moment, recalling the finer points of their duel.
"You react quickly, you use advantages or make them, your parries and general defence are fantastic and you use all of the tools available to you." He took a breath but realised one more critical point.
"Finally, you always assume your enemy is more skilled than you. I can't begin to describe how important that is..."
This time, Zelda was smiling and not holding back. It seemed as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
Link stood, dusted himself off and extended a hand out to her.
"Zelda, would you like to join me in a bid to prevent Ganondorf from coming back to life?"
This time, she smiled enough to show some teeth.
"Of course!"
A short while later, the team of attendants came back in with a selection of fine meats, fruits and drinks. As they moved to clean the sweat, dust and splinters from the floor; Zelda and Link ate and drank to perk themselves up. They discussed what they would need for a trip to the peak of the mountains and what they should both expect. Link remarked that even though Ganondorf had been killed, there were likely still packs of wolves on the mountain. Maybe even a pack that he had faced before and that he had killed the alpha of the group.
Zelda then asked for some pointers on how to climb mountains but Link had to admit he had never actually climbed a rock face. One of the attendants overheard and summoned a castle guard who had been known to climb mountains for leisure in his free time.
He came no more than ten minutes later and gave them both a crash course in the basics.
"...and always make sure you rely on your ice axes as well as your spiked boots. You'll need a very firm grip at every single foothold. Should that ice begin to crack, find another place to sink the teeth in. Furthermore..."
His experience was surprising to both of them. He was certainly an expert and the information he offered was exactly what the two needed. He had offered to join them as a guide, to which both Link and Zelda had both declined. They said that there were likely going to be great dangers ahead and they wouldn't want to risk his life for it.
Though the man looked quite defeated, Zelda turned that around quickly by offering the guard an instructor's role as part of the training curriculum for all of the city troops and palace guards. The rise in pay and station elated the man who furiously started writing out lesson plans.
As they continued their preparations, Zelda offered Link a new shield to replace his damaged one. He immediately agreed and was soon presented with a royal issue Hylian shield from the castle armoury. The metal was made from rarer ore that was lighter but stronger than standard steel, the wood panelling however was made of ebony. The incredibly dense wood had proved to provide incredible defensive properties. It made the whole shield heavier than a standard Hylian shield, but the black backing with the gold emblazoned royal crest looked stunning.
Whilst Link was being outfitted, Zelda went and summoned her councillors and instructed them to rule the lands fairly and justly for a time until she could return. When asked why she suddenly thought she could abscond from her duties, she told them that it could likely lead to Ganondorf being resurrected if she did nothing. They were immediately silenced and offered their full support.
After collecting rations, winter clothing and ice climbing equipment, both of them were ready to begin. The afternoon was blending into the evening and Link barely managed to keep his impatience down. Considering the amount of preparation the two of them had done, he was even more eager to get moving again.
As Link was pacing, Zelda finally emerged from the councillor's chambers. She looked utterly worn out.
"Again, I must apologise Link. Suddenly leaving the responsibility of the throne to the councillors... I knew it would not be easy, but if anyone else asks me to sign a form today then I will have them hung, drawn and quartered with blunt dinner knives."
Link recoiled slightly.
"Uh...ok?" he said meekly.
Zelda was quick to remind him that she would never abuse her power like that. But there were plenty of other times where she had been slightly tempted to.
"Wow... that would be awkward" he said.
Zelda merely raised an eyebrow.
"Because then I'd have to show up and cut you down with the Master sword, you little despot."
Link's stomach immediately sank as he realised he may have gone too far, speaking so candidly.
Loud, almost howling laughter came from Zelda. To Link's immense relief.
Once she managed to calm herself, she thanked Link instead of having him arrested. Though he was still impatient, he was glad that she was showing her human side.
They walked to the royal stables where Zelda mounted her equipment and herself on a brown army charger. She explained she did have a stunning horse normally meant for royalty, but felt that a more normal horse would have been more suitable for their journey.
Link remained grateful that she was sensible. The last thing either of them needed was more attention. Before they set off, Zelda wrapped her hair and most of her face to hide her appearance. She kept on the duelling garb throughout the day and seemed to be at home in it. Finally, she had something practical to do.
Link felt bad that she was so confined by her role and promised himself to keep her safe during their travels. He had no idea of what difficulties lay ahead, but chasing an artefact of the goddesses themselves was likely to be fraught with danger.
Link walked beside Zelda and her horse to the western bridge, where he played the sweet melody on the horse-call instrument Ilia had made for him. He clutched it tightly whilst he waited for Epona to arrive. The two spoke little as they had walked, Zelda had elected to stay quiet until they were out of Castle Town. Anyone may have recognised her voice.
Soon enough, Epona came galloping up to the bridge from the south. Link welcomed his dependable mare and quickly mounted her saddle. With a pat on the neck, he urged Epona into a gallop. Zelda's horse wasn't nearly as reliable as Epona, but he kept up his speed with Epona's.
The two rode long into the night, towards Zora's domain. At the summit of Snowpeak Mountain, a great rumble shook the mountainside, causing an avalanche.
It took some time to reach Zora's domain. Zelda's horse was strong, but had no hope of running endlessly like Epona could. They had to stop to let him drink and rest more often than Link would have liked. Still, two horses were useful. If they were attacked for any reason on the roads, two riders would have a much easier time with it.
It was late at night. Normally they would have found a room for the night and waited for the warmth of the sun to help them on the climb up the mountain. Link however did not want to stop. He had no idea how long it could take to find a piece of the Triforce of power and every second lost meant that Ilia and his baby were closer to danger.
Zelda did not seem to mind. Rather she was eager to find a way up the mountain as quickly as possible.
Along their journey from Castle Town, Link had explained what he remembered about the layout around the mountain. He described several routes that could all lead to ice walls to climb as well as the path he took that was fairly close to the summit. He recalled that when he met Yeto, the mountain continued to rise for a fair distance.
Zelda suggested that they make their way up the path but not climb until daylight. Neither of them had attempted to climb up an ice wall before and she thought that daylight would make it easier.
Link protested, wanting to push on ahead. He relented when Zelda mentioned that a single mistake could mean falling to their deaths, something she would very much like to avoid.
As they rode their horses around the long river path, Zora's domain came into sight. Link had been before, but in the darkness of night, the entire structure was softly lit with a blue light. The pool at the bottom of the waterfall looked radiant and the entire area was beautiful. The light seemed to be coming from the pool itself and it bounced from the surface ripples, making the walls glitter.
They slowed their horses to a canter as they took in the sight, letting it be imprinted on their memories for the rest of their lives.
"I used to visit here quite a lot before Zant came along. I could never tire of seeing it." Zelda said, smiling all the way.
Link was somewhat mesmerised by it as well. He had seen many grand things during his travels and now, he wondered what they all looked like during the night.
Soon after, they arrived by the ice tunnel that led out into the Snowpeak woods, only to find that several Zora guards we standing by the tunnel which was blocked by a wall of ice once again.
The nearest guard turned their head and held up their hand.
"Halt travellers! By order of the Prince, none may pass."
They both slowed their horses and dismounted. Link walked to the guard.
Hopefully, Prince Ralis was in the mood to talk.
"My name is Link. Me and... my companion need to reach the summit of Snowpeak. Please, could you inform Prince Ralis that I'm here?"
The guard shook his head.
"The prince is resting. Come back tomorrow and you may be granted an audience once he holds court."
"I'm sorry, but I must insist. What we're pursuing is a threat to us all. If you could just wake him..."
"Wake the prince? I know who you are Link, but you ask much to disturb our prince when he has little trust left of outsiders". The guard said with his voice raised. Not enough to be shouting, but enough to indicate he would not be made to wake the prince.
"Would you be willing to for the princess of Hyrule?" Zelda asked as she removed her head coverings.
The guard looked at her for a moment and immediately lost his bluster. Even dressed in travelling gear, there was no mistaking her face.
"Your majesty..." the guard said meekly as he quickly dropped to one knee.
"We do not urgently need to see the Prince. For our current aims though, please allow us to pass. Our journey must continue as soon as possible" she asked gently.
The guard stood and moved aside. Link walked on ahead, but Zelda was not following.
"Prince Ralis. He does not trust outsiders?"
"Forgive me your majesty, but it is not my place to say. If on your travels you find time, please come back and speak to him. I'm sure you will be able to help him. My pride and job will now allow me to say more."
Zelda looked pensive for a moment but thanked the soldier and assured him she would visit again, given the chance. She joined Link a moment later.
"Thank you. I'm not sure how long I could have waited before I would try sneaking past them" he said.
"There are some perks with this role."
They arrived in front of the blocked entrance. Ice filled the entire passage and showed no signs of thawing, even during one of Hyrule's warm summer nights. The more Link looked, the stranger the ice appeared. There looked to be spiral patterns inside the frozen mass.
"Does this seem...strange to you? The ice I mean. Look at the spirals in it" Link said, pointing to some of the more distinctive ones.
Zelda leaned in closely, her breath turning visible against the cold. She looked around the mass. For what, Link couldn't guess.
"Link, this ice was set by magic. There is nothing natural about it. Those spiral patterns appear in ice as a result of magical currents flowing through water before it freezes."
Link knew Zelda had some affinity with magic, but he had never understood it himself. Midna had once tried to explain the sorcery that allowed her to control her hair. He understood what she had said, but it never stuck in his mind.
Unfortunately, thinking of Midna didn't help. A sense of emptiness set on him that felt as if it was draining him of any desire to do anything. He hadn't checked in with Shad about his research into the Twilight portal and now he was set on finding pieces of the Triforce of power. He wondered if he would be able to see the end of this, meet his child and perhaps find a way to see Midna again. Before he lost himself in his mind, he looked back at the ice and then at Zelda. The sensation didn't disappear, but it did loosen its grip on him.
He felt relieved at having something to do. The action seemed to have prevented him from focusing inwardly. Realizing this, he pressed on.
"Do you know how to melt this ice perhaps?"
Zelda furrowed her brow slightly. She looked into the ice mass as Link had, her eyes taking in every detail that she could.
"It is possible... but should I get my counter-spell wrong, it could put me in a coma."
"What!?"
"Spellcraft works on the idea of 'equivalent exchange'. If you wanted to create a spell to hurl an object over twice the distance you normally could, then it would take twice the amount of energy from you than if you had just thrown it once."
She paced around as she calculated impossible to know variations on a spell she wanted. Then she continued, ignoring Links concern.
"So if I were to craft a spell that just melted all of the ice at once, then it would likely drain every last measure of energy from me. So I'm trying to think of a workaround that will get the same results."
As she continued pacing, Link was trying to imagine what spellcraft entailed. He had fought beings with great magical power beforehand, namely Zant. He had been capable of bending reality around him, shooting beams of energy from his hands as a weapon as well as the ability to move between places in an instant.
He then wondered if Zant had been powerful, or just clever in how he built his spells somehow.
As Link was imagining Zants level of talent, Zelda had extended her arm. She looked as if she was in a deep sleep, her eyes moving under their lids. Her hand began to glow slightly. The glow got brighter as Link felt the air around the two of them heat up significantly. Somehow, she was condensing heat into the area the ice block occupied.
Within a minute, drips of water began to roll off of the large mass. A few more minutes later, steam was rising from the heated water as it melted away more and more of the ice.
A short while later, the mud beneath their feet was slick. Their boots, thankfully, were waterproof. Link didn't like the idea of his feet freezing in the freezing winds of the mountain.
Zelda opened her eyes and took some deep breaths, leaning against a wall for support.
"Are you alright? I can get some of our food or drink if you need it?" he asked, worry creeping into his voice.
Zelda shook her head wordlessly. She then reached into a pouch on her outfit and pulled out a small brown cube. She ate the strange item and less than a minute later, stood straight.
"Ah, that is much better..."
Her eyes no longer looked tired and she bounced on her feet slightly.
"What in Hyrule was that?" Link asked, bewildered.
"It is a special form of sugar which is boiled and stirred with sweet milk. The result is a crumbly cube that is capable of restoring an enormous amount of energy to the one that eats it. Also, it is a prime choice for spell casters who run out of energy regularly."
Link felt a little jealous. The amount of times he could have used a restorative and small piece of food would have been helpful beyond words.
"Good to know. But what about that... spell you did? How did you figure out what you needed to do to melt a cave's worth of ice?"
"Oh, it is fairly simple. Normally, you would apply heat to ice to melt it. However, if you were to pour salt on it, you would lower the temperature needed for the ice to melt. So the spell I used did that as it would have taken less energy than heating the entire cave."
Link knew Zelda was speaking as plainly as she could, but magic was still a strange concept to him. Being able to manipulate the world just by thinking about it seemed perplexing. He decided to put it out of his mind. The path was open to them both.
"I don't think magic would work for me very well. But thank you for clearing the path for us. Are you ready to continue?" he asked hopefully.
Zelda smiled and nodded.
As they led their horses through the gap, the Zora guard cautioned them.
"Your majesty, I won't stop you from travelling the freezing temperatures at night. I will however warn you that the lands beyond our borders are roamed by wild animals. Vicious ones. I have no doubt you are both capable of defending yourselves, but please do be careful. We Zora do not work well in icy conditions either, so we will be unable to help if you need it."
Zelda nodded calmly.
"I thank you for your concern, but we must pursue our goal. We will manage. I will also stop to see Prince Ralis as soon as I am able."
The guard nodded respectfully and then returned to his post. His underlings who had been quiet the whole time kept looking over their shoulders as they walked.
Then they both rode through the tunnel, eager to reach the peak and reclaim the Triforce fragment.
In a hidden cavern, the carcass of a mountain goat was impaled by a long and thick skeletal finger, lifted into the air and the goat did not fall back to the floor. Instead, the sound of crunching bones echoed around the enormous area.