Farrow was unfortunately right. It took several long, cold hours to get to the stables. Thank the goddess there were no more monsters, but by the time she saw the pillar of smoke above the trees and heard the chatter of people she almost collapsed from relief. Link seemed to be in a similar state and had shuffled next to her in silence for the past hour.
The snowy pines made a shield from the wind around the stables, and as they cleared the trees the song of a flute reached her ears. The warm glow of a fire lit the stables from within, casting out orange light into the darkening day.
Farrow hobbled over to the desk, her toes having lost communication with the rest of her a while ago. Varke, who stood at the desk, eyed her with surprise.
"Farrow, you're early!" Varke's mustache and beard, which should have been blonde, were still red as cherries. He turned to yell over his shoulder. "Harlow, Farrows here."
"Varke, its great to see you but–" Farrow was cut off as Harlow burst from the stable and wrapped Farrow in a hug.
"Farrow!" she cried. "Oh its good to see you hun! It's been too long. Who's your friend?" Before Farrow could reply Harlow had darted over to Link and was peering at his face under his hood.
"Oh you're gorgeous darlin, but why hasn't Farrow helped you out with that little problem yet?" Harlow tugged at one of her own false-red locks to indicate what she meant.
Link, baffled by the bubbly woman, glanced from her to Farrow.
"Harlow," Farrow said, "we'd love to chat but we've been trekking for hours and–" Harlow's hands cupped her face. Farrow was tempted to push them away but then she felt how warm they were against her face and decided it wasn't so bad.
"Gosh you're colder than Naydra dear. Let's get you two inside." Harlow ushered Link and Farrow into the stable and to one of the unoccupied tables in the corner. A brazier burned nearby and Farrow was tempted to crawl into it. Instead she sat at the table and let it warm her back with a sigh. Link sat beside her, looking similarly melted and content.
Harlow, who had vanished while Farrow had been distracted, reappeared with two steaming mugs of broth. Farrow wrapped her hands around the warm clay and sipped. It was the best thing she'd ever tasted.
"Thanks Harlow," The woman could be overwhelming at times, but she was one of the warmest, most welcoming people Farrow knew.
Harlow sat across from them. "Of course, dear. Now, what brings you here? I thought you weren't due back for another few months?"
Farrow sipped at her broth and pondered what to tell Harlow. "My friend and I are looking for some rare gemstones. We heard some were found north of here."
"Gemstones," Harlow blinked. "It's been a while since someone has chased down that rumor. You're not lookin' for those ruins across the tundra are you?"
Farrow grinned. "Maybe."
Harlow sighed and glanced in Link's direction. "Have anything to do with your new friend? And where's dear Kazim at?"
Farrow looked to see Link, arms folded on the table and appearing fast asleep. She snorted and brushed some of the melting snow from his hair. She dropped her hat on his head to cover his hair somewhat.
"Something," Farrow said, "but it's not really my business to talk about. Had to leave Kazim back at Outskirt. We needed to cross the Hyrule Field."
Harlow's eyebrows rose. "Well you're certainly up to something. Don't worry, I won't pry. But really, you need to be careful if you're set on going to those ruins. They're cursed, and the last traveler who went that way turned back due to a lynel."
"A lynel?" Farrow set down her mug. "I haven't heard of those being seen in ages."
Harlow nodded. "Some here. But everything's been slightly off since those towers came up. More monsters, fewer visitors, and the ones that do get here have been saying that thign above the ritos has been killin' folks."
Farrow grimaced. "Unfortunately, yes, Vah Medoh has been shooting down the rito. They've grounded themselves until they can figure out a solution."
Harlow smirked. "I'm sure that has nothing to do with you, the tower that just turned blue, and your mysterious friend."
Farrow shrugged and took another gulp of broth. Harlow laughed.
Harlow stood. "Alright enough of me. Let's get you two settled. He's gonna get a crick in his neck if he sleeps there all night."
((0))
The next morning Farrow woke to the sound of a flute. But it wasn't the peaceful tune she was used to, it was sharp and stuttering. Sometimes it started a string of notes to wobble and die off. When she looked to the bed beside hers, she found it empty of one blonde hero. She suspected these two observations were not unrelated.
After pulling on her coat and boots, she exited the stable to bask in the morning sun. She stretched and scanned the grove. A couple traders were organizing their goods and loading up their mules, one of the stable kids was mucking a stall, and Link sat by the fire next to Monkton.
The old man was pointing to the carved flute in Link's hands. "You keep moving this finger too early," he said. "Try again."
Link blew into the instrument, his face creased in concentration. That same string of notes Farrow had woken to repeated. He got a little further this time, then a sour note broke the song. Monkton began pointing out Link's newest mistake.
Farrow smiled and wandered on. She could let him have more fun for a while still.
She met Varke at the desk. "Morning," she said, digging through her pack. "You guys still want red?"
Varke grinned and stroked his fiery beard. "Absolutely."
Farrow placed four vials of the dye base on the counter. "Three peppers per vial."
"I remember." Varke scooped them off the counter and left to stow them away.
Well, that had killed all of two minutes. There were no horses to prep, and all their items were still stowed in their packs. Farrow would like to let Link linger here, but they really needed to get going if they wanted to cross the tundra before nightfall.
Farrow dragged her herself back to where Link practiced. His face tight with concentration and eyes shut, he was playing that simple tune again. Farrow stopped by the fire and waited. Monkton flashed her a proud grin, but neither said anything.
When Link finished without a mistake he opened his eyes with a grin. It brightened more when he saw Farrow and he waggled the wooden flute at her.
Farrow clapped. "You picked that up fast."
"He sure did," Monkton said. "I'm surprised you haven't played one before."
Link's smile vanished, and he stared at the flute with troubled eyes. Farrow hated that the joy he had moments ago had left him so quickly.
"We should get going," she said, trying to distract him from thoughts of a lost past at least. "The tundra's gonna take all day to cross."
Link nodded, his expression not happy again, but less unsettled. He held out the flute to Monkton, but the man waved him away with a wrinkled hand.
"Keep it, son. You've got a talent and carving another will be simple. It'll give this old man something to do."
Link beamed. 'Thank you.'
"Uh huh. Now get. Farrow's right and you two better get movin'."
With no horses to prep or bags to pack, aside from Link's new flute, they were ready in moments. As they left the grove, Farrow caught sight of a blue shrine. Link must have activated it before she'd woken.
They cleared the trees and Farrow stared out at the tundra. The white snow was like a sea, flashing blindingly in the sunlight. The wind sailed across the plain and kicked up plumes of snow that danced over the surface, blurring the line between land and sky.
There was no path to follow. Farrow would be responsible for leading them the right way. The sun still low to the horizon in the east, and the Hebra Mountain range to the west, would make that relatively simple. The sky was clear for now, so no storm would complicate that for a time at least. Then Farrow remembered Link's map and relaxed. Even if they got lost, it would show them exactly where they were.
Farrow's first step held for a split second, then broke through the layer of ice atop the snow and plunged another few inches before it struck true ground.
"Oh," Farrow said, scanning the barren landscape. "Harlow said there might be a lynel in the area. Fought one before?"
'Not that I remember,' Link signed. 'What do they look like?'
"They're like a big horse, but sort of the body of a man where the head and neck should be, and the face of a monster with sharp teeth and a mane."
Link's face twisted in amusement at her description. Farrow shrugged.
"I haven't seen one. That's just what my dads said they looked like. I've heard some people have run into them, but if you play dead or walk away they tend to leave you alone. They're also pretty rare, so I hear. They might not even be real."
Link hummed. 'If I see one, I'm going to ride it.'
"No."
'I'll name it Snowball.'
"You're not getting a pet lynel."
'There's even a stable to register it at.'
"Goddess save me."
As they continued on their conversation petered out. The wind grew in intensity, kicking up snowy gusts that swept over them like waves. The little crystals of ice hissed as they brushed across her coat and hat. The world around them eventually vanished in a white blur, with only the sun overhead, bearing down on them.
Farrow's skin felt hot from the sun rays and brush of the snow, but so cold at the same time. It was a miserable combination. She was sure Link would be sunburned by the end of the day, but she didn't have any sun potion or a veil to offer him.
Eventually the sunlight burned orange as it neared the west horizon. The light spilled across the tundra, lighting up the snow in yellows and oranges. It almost looked like they were walking through the Gerudo desert.
"We'll have to make camp soon," Farrow said, scanning the area. If they could find an outcropping to shelter behind it would be miserable, but bearable.
Link nudged her and held out the Sheikah slate. On it was the map. Link pointed to a shrine symbol, not far from where they were. Farrow grimaced.
"I don't know how I feel about staying in a creepy ancient tech shrine with a dead monk watching me sleep."
'It'll be warm in the shrine.'
"Shrine it is," Farrow sighed.
Link took the lead with Farrow following behind. Occasionally he would consult the slate and then angle them slightly more east or west.
Eventually the orange glow of a shrine was visible through the snow haze.
Snow had piled against the side of the shrine and crept over the platform at the front of it. Link brushed ice and snow away from the podium and set the slate against it. The bell-like hum filled the air, and the slats of the doorway peeled back and banged open. The orange light turned blue, except for the Sheikah eye on the crown of the shrine. It lit orange and gazed out over the tundra.
Link ushered Farrow into the shrine and the howl of the wind faded as she entered the small cavern. Once she stood on the little circle in the center, Link stood to her right. She reached out to grab his arm, still unnerved by what she knew was to come.
The platform shuddered, glowed, and descended. She was still nervous, but knowing the platform would gently lower them into another room consoled her.
Blue light flared at their feet as the platform reached the room below. It settled on the floor soundlessly and dimmed.
Farrow stepped off and stared up at the looming blocky pillars that reached for the glowing ceiling far overhead. They were all different heights and between them stretched ramps someone could potentially climb. At the top of the pillars, two platforms floated in the air, moving slowly back and forth. Farrow couldn't figure out their purpose. They didn't seem to be transporting anything. Just moving.
In the center there was a chest, but utop it was an enormous steel block, etched with the swirling art of the ancients. Lifting it to get the chest open would be impossible. Beyond it, behind a locked door and barred walls, sat a mummified monk, waiting.
Her fingers tingled as the cold was replaced by a more comfortable temperature. She got the impression the room wasn't warm, but compared to the frigid temperatures outside it certainly felt like it.
Link stepped past her and frowned at the metal block.
"I get this is supposed to be a challenge," Farrow said, "But I don't think anyone could lift that." Looking at the door to the monk, she assumed the chest held the key.
Link considered a moment longer, his gaze traveling up the pillars to the hovering platforms, then he grinned. Farrow got nervous when Link took out the slate.
"I don't think bombs are gonna do the trick here," Farrow said, eyeing the small room. She didn't think the bombs would be enough to force the block off the chest anyway.
Link flapped a hand at her and started up the ramp to the first pillar. She was not reassured and got ready to scramble behind a pillar.
Link tapped the slate, but instead of pulling a glowing bomb from it, he pointed it at the metal block. A loud hum filled the air, red light lept from the slate and enveloped the block, and it started floating up off the chest. Farrow noticed dimly past her astonishment that the block was attached to railing that extended up toward the ceiling.
As Link moved the slate, the block moved as well, gliding up the rails. Link walked up the ramps, the block following him the whole way.
It must have weighed as much as five horses, if not more, and it floated up the rails at Link's whim like it weighed nothing at all. At the top Link waited for the platforms to glide beneath the block before the red light vanished and it boomed down onto the platforms. It flashed yellow, and then Link was leaping down toward the chest, glider unfurling.
But the platforms were still moving, about to slide out from under the block, and Link was directly under it.
"Link move!" Farrow yelled just before the platforms slid away from the block and. It didn't move. Link landed before the chest, kicked it open, and pulled out a key. He hoped off, looking entirely too happy and stood beside her to watch the block. He put his hands over his ears and beamed.
Farrow glanced from him, to the block which was flashing a yellow light, and back to him. Link's joyful look vanished. He nudged her and pulled his hand away from his ears to replace them in an exaggerated motion.
Farrow dumbly copied him, her mind still sticking on the tons hovering in mid air, when a sharp ping rang across the room.
The metal block dropped, screaming down the rails and slamming down onto the chest with a bang that rattled her lungs.
Link dropped his hands from his ears. 'I can move metal with the slate, and freeze objects in time for a short while.'
It hadn't occurred to Farrow the slate was more than a map, and a bomb maker. She probably should have thought more about that.
"Were you gonna tell me that before I thought you were gonna be squashed by a ten ton block."
Link beamed and shook his head. Farrow suppressed the urge to punch him in the arm with the silent promise she would prank him for it later.
"Okay, any other tricks it can do that I don't know about?"
"Freeze water," Link signed.
Farrow wasn't sure what she expected but that wasn't it. The power to freeze water seemed mundane compared to endless bombs, controlling time, and weightless metal.
"Like, a whole lake of it?" Farrow asked. Link shook his head and held his hands about four feet apart.
'A block that big.'
Farrow couldn't think of how, but she figured that could be useful at some point. She nodded toward the monk.
"Okay, I'm gonna set up camp if you wanna say hi."
Link left to receive his gift from the monk while Farrow unrolled their bedrolls. Beside that there wasn't much camp to make, so she sat back against the nearest wall and watched the light from the monk's chamber fracture and fade.
The power to make these shrines, the slate, and the divine beasts was unimaginable to her. The idea that people long ago had crafted these things that could freeze time and move monoliths was inconceivable.
The kingdom of Hyrule had harnessed some of that. They had woken the divine beasts, the guardians, and the Princess wielded the slate. They had all that and time to prepare.
And it hadn't been enough to survive the Calamity.
Farrow fists clenched and her leather gloves crinkled. They had been so much more prepared a hundred years ago, and the kingdom had been decimated, the beast and guardians turned on them, the Champions had all been murdered, aside from Link who had been wounded so badly he'd only survived thanks to more of this impossible technology. Princess Zelda was all that held back that disaster from over taking Hyrule completely.
Link was strong. Not only in his ability to fight, but the tools he had at his disposal. But he was only one person. Farrow wasn't sure how he was supposed to defeat an evil that overwhelming, and this time with no army or Champions to back him.
Farrow shook away the thoughts as Link returned. The Calamity was going to break free regardless. The only thing they could do was fight it when it was time, and prepare until then. And she'd be there with Link when that day came.