Legend of Zelda: Curse of the Zonai - Chapter 8

 

Chapter 8

Danue and Luro stood at the bottom of a tower connecting two sections of the city wall a friend of Luro’s, someone he had met when he first arrived, lived at the top. 

Luro pushed had Danue in the wheeled chair up the road by an old strip of wall. Then, he climbed the stairs up the wall to the tower. A few minutes later he returned with a tall Rito woman. She was fully grown but still had a youthful appearance with beautiful yellow feathers and white down. She waved a hand at Danue.

“Danue, this is Jenna. She’s flown all over the region here.” 

“Luro tells me you’re looking for a land covered in darkness.” Her voice was melodic and pleasant. Danue couldn’t help but smile.

“I read about it in some ancient texts.” He confirmed.

“You may be in luck. I have heard of a place similar to what you describe.” Her expression dropped a bit. “But I haven’t actually been there myself. I heard about it though my brother. He’s a self-proclaimed explorer and has told me many stories.” She stifled a short laugh “Although, I’m very selective on the ones I actually believe. However, it sounds like the story he told me of some ancient ruins being covered in a thick blackness matches up pretty well with what you’re describing.”

Danue nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, that sounds a lot like what I’ve been looking for.”

“My brother is at Rito village.” She said finally. “There’s a road, but it’s a few day’s walk at best. Nothing like flying.” 

“Thank you. You’re a big help!” Danue replied immediately. Luro eyed him suspiciously. He wondered if he’d be allowed one more night’s sleep before setting off for Rito village. Danue had a one-track mind and looked as if he wanted to jump on the next horse and head straight out the gate. 

 

“So are you even going to ask me if I want to go?” Luro said jokingly as he wheeled Danue back towards the center of town. 

Danue laughed. “Are you saying you don’t want to go?” He already knew the answer when Luro sighed in resignation. Still, the thought of not seeing Mie at all was pulling at his insides. Just one dinner again together, he thought. He’d make it a point to seek her out as soon as they got back.

 

Mie, Rem, and Cade set out in the morning. Arriving at the lake near mid-morning. The sheer drop-off to the lake made Mie take a few steps back. They began their hunt up a ridge for the illusive Mountain Down. Her escorts scouted the area, looking also for the plant, but keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings. 

Mie found the plant with the pale-yellow flowers after just a few minutes of searching. She carefully uprooted it and put it on a small square of thick fabric. She added a little dirt and then tied the corners around the stem, creating a ball of dirt for the roots. She headed back to the horses and deposited the whole thing into a clay pot fastened to the saddle. 

Nayra nuzzled Mie as she checked the ropes that secured the pot. She stopped to pet the horse gently, then returned to find Rem and Cade.

“Mission accomplished then.” Cade said with a satisfied nod, but Mie was looking longingly at the steep cliffs and deep ravines surrounding the lake. 

“Can we stay for a little while? Maybe just until mid-day.” Mie asked.

“What for? We’ve got what we came for.” Rem questioned.

“I think our young adventurer has gotten a taste of the wild.” Cade observed. Mie blushed, realizing she’d been so easily figured out.

“For a bit then, but stay nearby.” Rem cautioned. Mie nodded, not fully listening as she headed to explore the ins and outs of the lake, letting her curiosity guide her feet. She had grown up venturing into the woods around her house, always preparing for some great adventure. This was her chance to get out and explore, Rem and Cade didn’t need to worry about her. She knew how to take care of herself, or so she thought.

Without realizing, Mie stumbled upon a late-sleeping bokoblin. She backed away quickly but was cut off by another from behind. In a moment Cade was by her side. He appeared so suddenly that Mie thought at first that he was another attacker. He shouted a challenge to the bokoblins, taking the focus from Mie. 

“Go get Rem.” He shouted, dodging the first blow. Mie ran towards the soldier who was up near the horses. The struggle rose and as Cade dove between the uncoordinated attacks. He slashed at one monster and spun to face the other. The first bokoblin let out a shriek of pain. Mie and Rem hurried back only to see that Cade was already victorious. He examined the belongings of the monsters and as he knelt down, a moblin lumbered up from a shallow depression in the hillside, taking him by surprise. Rem lunged at the moblin, guarding Cade as he leapt to his feet. Two lizafos sprung from the rocks, their lizard-like legs propelling them quickly to the battle. One of the creatures spotted Mie. She tried to get to her soldier-protector, but the monsters were between them. Cade fought off one lizafos but was struck by the other. He went down. Mie cried out, throwing a rock at the lizard. Its neck spun to glare at her, then it charged. She tried to flee, but the lizalfos cut in front of her and with one powerful sweep of its tail, sent her flying off the cliff. She hit the water’s surface at full force, knocking the wind from her lungs. struggling to straighten herself the icy morning water froze her body. Her legs weren’t working as they should so she stroke with her arms, swallowing water as she tried to get her legs to work. Her right leg had taken the brunt of the lizard’s tail and was throbbing. Worst of all there were no shallows nor places to get out of the water, cliffs rose straight up all around her. She looked in every direction, but there was no way out of the water. Desperately she began swimming to the adjacent area of the lake to get a better look. Her strength was failing and just when she was losing the last of her energy trying to stay above water, she spotted a small shore far off in the distance. Painfully she began swimming towards it. She’d learned to swim at the pond in Hateno village but had not really cared for it. In fact, she hadn’t swum in years. Now she was wishing she’d practiced a bit more. When she finally reached shallow water, she stood and immediately fell back. Sharp pain exploded through her knee and her leg refused to carry her weight. The cold morning water of the lake had almost instantly numbed the injury, but now it was on fire. She crawled then, collapsing onto the rocky shore. Her body shaking and her heart was pounding in her ears, she had no strength left but to lie there. Images of Cade being struck and Rem’s final scream playing themselves over and over in her mind. It was her fault, if she hadn’t asked to stay, they’d be on the road back to the stable by now. She began sobbing uncontrollably as the day passed.

 

 

Luro and Danue made their preparations and secured horses. When morning came and Luro was up with the sun. Danue yawned, not used to being woke so early.

“You sure get up early for someone so laid-back.” He complained, despite suspecting more and more that Luro’s “laid-back” nature was just for show. 

“We should get a move on early, we can get to Tabantha Stable just past nightfall.”

Luro helped Danue up onto the horse they rented. The sun was just coming up over the horizon as they walked through the streets. 

They rode along the restored western road, enjoying the sunny morning. 

“I was studying the glyphs on your necklace. They’re comparable to some drawings I found in a book at the library.” Danue said as they rode.

Luro lifted his head, eager to hear.

“There were some translations I copied from the book. Your etchings are a combination of three glyphs. One for sacrifice, one for warrior, and one for evil. The interesting thing is when you combine them the way they are on your tooth pendant. They mean ‘The warrior of sacrifice to seal the darkness’.”

“These Zonai were brutal.” Luro muttered. 

“Sacrifice was a way of showing you were serious about something, especially to a people who valued strong warriors.” Danue explained. “I believe what it is saying is that there must be a warrior sacrifice to stop the darkness.” 

“Great.” Luro replied, rolling his eyes “Since, ya know I’m the one with the necklace. Death by sacrifice, what a way to go.” His tone was light but Danue sensed a small amount of worry in the other man’s voice.

“Well, we should stop and eat some breakfast.” Danue stated, changing the subject. They’d seen plenty of travelers, so it wasn’t a surprise that the only log beside the road was occupied by a young girl. They stopped, noticing that she, too was eating.

“Mind if we join you.” Danue asked. She eyed them suspiciously.

“Alright, but no funny business.” She retorted almost comically, then her eyes widened when she saw the big guy with the sword help the other out of the saddle, his foot wrapped in a bandage. “Sorry, I guess I-” She fumbled for the right word.

“You’re traveling alone, it’s alright to be cautious.” Danue replied cheerily.

 “That’s the truth.” She agreed but didn’t offer any more explanation. 

“It’s still dangerous. Where you headed?” Danue asked.

“Tabantha.”

 “You’re in luck, we’re headed in that direction. We’re on our way to Rito Village.”

“Rito Village?”

“I’m looking for some lost ruins. Who better to find them than those who can fly.”

The girl nodded. “I’ve lost a few things recently.” She said somberly. Both men decided not to push the matter. 

They finished and set out on the road together. By nightfall they were at the stable. 

 

“Good luck.” Danue wished their temporary travel companion the next morning. He and Luro wanted to get an early start. 

She waved as their horses walked out of the stable grounds. 

It was mid-morning when Luro spotted the horses. Two horses were alone on the road and saddled next to a lake nestled among some cliffs. 

“Someone Fishing?” He asked, normally the first thing that came to mind was fishing. Danue shrugged. Luro stopped for a moment to peer over the cliff and let out a low whistle at the sight of the sheer drop. “I’d hate to die that way.” 

“Then stay on the path.” Danue smirked.

It took them only a few more hours of travel before they were at the Rito Stable. They told the nearby Rito guard about the horses they’d seen. The tall bird-like man shook his feathers. 

“I’ve seen travelers get attacked on that trail.” He shook his head and stomped the end of his spear into the ground. “Monsters are mostly gone, but the ones left are getting more desperate.”