“Yes, the trail led me here.” Truett flew in front of him, cutting the town off from his gaze. “You got a problem with it?”
“I…” He scratched the back of his head, trying not to frown. “It seems strange that monsters like Wizzrobes would come to such a populated place.”
“Humph. Well, if they have been here recently, you’ll be sure to hear about it, right?”
The frustration of the time burnt in the Forbidden Forest ached sharply inside, and he couldn’t keep the bite out of his voice as he asked, “So, this has nothing to do with how you’ve been complaining about sleeping outdoors for the past week? I’ll admit, it’s been cold because it’s so clear, but—”
“Oh please.” Truett gave a contemptuous sniff that sounded like a kitten coughing. “I’m a fairy! I’m used to sleeping outdoors. And I said I wouldn’t lead you astray, didn’t I?” She flew a little ahead of him, looking like a small teal-blue lamp in the darkening evening. “I’ll help you find your way down to the village. You’ll need all the light you can get; this looks nasty.”
He opened his mouth to ask something else, but forced the question down, only letting out a tight mutter, “Right. Lead on.” Link took his lantern off his belt and held it out to light his way, following Truett towards the dark descent.
As they made slow progress down the steep, icy cliff, the shadowed lake and the glittering town seemed to slowly consume the rest of the scenery. To the left of the lake was a thick forest that rose in the far distance, turning into hills and then the mountains of the Forbidden Woods in the far distance. To the right of the lake were just unremarkable frosty grass fields that stretched on for some miles, but eventually were cut off by the cliffs of the plateau. The lake, town, and surrounding fields were in their own pocketed area of the land. The encompassing cliffs and forested hills soon hid any signs of far off areas. The further they descended, the smaller the world became.
Halfway down, a breeze ripped by them, followed incessantly by similarly strong gusts of cold wind that made Link shiver and Truett mutter a complaint. Pausing to rub his arms and hands to warm them, Link automatically sniffed the air. It smelled like the water of the lake below, and snow.
The closer they drew to the village, the more noise reached them. It was not the sound of the wind, snow, or driving sleet, nor the sound of the few winter animals of the plains, nor the winter monsters of the night. It was the sound of life, the sound of other people: excitement, chatter, laughter, all indicating good spirits and celebration.
“How close is it to Yule?” Link wondered aloud, hardly realizing he did so.
“H-how should I know?” Truett’s voice trembled from the cold of the wind, and her light quavered as if she was shivering. “Concentrate on what you’re doing, why don’t you?”
Once on level ground, they hurried into town, just as the sun disappeared from a sky now streaked with black clouds. Link was let in through the gate with a few others who had come from the fields around the town. The guards, dressed in simple armor and warm, thick cloaks with their lances propped against the gate, hardly spared him a glance, and focused on warmly greeting those they recognized. Inside the town, Link walked slowly and automatically as he looked around, staring shamelessly, a small smile parting his lips.
The town was clean, bright and lively. The wide cobblestone streets were crammed with people, talking merrily, mostly about dinner, food and decorations. Even as he watched windows were lit up with one or three candles placed on the inside sill. The upper windows of the taller houses were thrust open and neighbors threw a rope to each other high above the street and secured it off their roofs, but not before stringing out on the rope paper lanterns of sturdy material or wreaths of holly or just a long string of bright green ivy spotted with sparse poinsettias of pristine white or bold red.
Someone shoved past Link, and a group coming by with a small cart prompted him to start walking faster, though he did so a slowly as possible, still drinking in the sights. When the windows or doors opened, the scents of venison, baked bread, and freshly cooked fish wafted to him, making his stomach growl miserably. He realized he had not eaten anything warm for well over seven days, and the water he warmed up just did not count anymore.
“I’ve got to say, it sure is pretty,” Truett whispered inside his hat. He realized she was moving around, looking out small holes and tears. “I’d forgotten how well you Hylians can decorate when you want to.”
“It’s got to be close to Yule. A few days away, maybe.”
“Oh, right. That’s some Hylian celebration on the winter solstice, right?”
Link nodded, and was grateful that the crowds around him were too loud and busy to notice him in all appearances talking to himself as he asked Truett, “Don’t fairies have festivals?”
“Well yes. But they’re different, and have different names. Though, the names have changed over time, unlike yours. It’s been a while…” She trailed off, then coughed brusquely before asking, “Let’s find the pub or something, okay? It’s getting colder.”
Link nodded in agreement and took the first chance he could to ask someone who seemed relatively unoccupied where the pub was. Yet as he headed in the right direction, he did not find the air cold at all. The warm lights all around him, the happy noises of the people and the smells all made it seem as warm as late spring. It was almost uncomfortably warm, like a house crammed full of family and friends, yet no one would dream of leaving.
His mind trailing back to previous Yules, Link thought of Layrel, the small smile fading off his lips as he wondered if she would be able to enjoy this year's celebrations while waiting for him and worrying about Auru. Sighing and pulling his cloak up around him, he tried to block out the merriment around him and focused on heading to the pub, a chill wind wrapping around him.
The pub was enormous. It was just close enough to the lakefront for a view that was blocked by very little, yet far away enough to not face the full force of the lake winds. The building itself was one story, composed of thick, solid wood and brick. Inside there were two fireplaces on either side of the building, which combined with the heat from the kitchen and the sheer number of customers made the large, one-room dining area a toasty, comfortable temperature.
Link made a beeline for the bar, but slowed for a moment to take in the sight of the large evergreen tree in the middle of the room. It was lit with candles and laced with glass beads that reflected the shimmering light. The overall effect would have been ethereal if the crisp look of the pine needles and the occasional limb that was just too long or short were not so solidly real. Only the very top branch of the tree was unadorned, and for a moment Link wondered what it would look like if Truett perched up there.
At the bar, he was almost immediately greeted by one of the barmaids. She was a tall, heavy-set middle-aged woman that had thick yellow hair plaited around her head, adorned with a festive red winter rose.
“Interested in the mulled wine this evening?” she asked, giving him a warm smile. He hesitated, but nodded. She continued, “Alright then, that’s five rupees. Or, will you be wanting refills?”
“How much for refills?”
“For up to three refills, it’s fifteen. But if you want to go over, then it’s fifty.”
“Up to three is fine.” Link pulled out his wallet, which felt cold, as the gems inside still contained the chill of the night. He extracted three blue rupees, but noticed that they looked a little dirty, and hurriedly rubbed them off on his cloak.
“Got some bad weather on the way here?” the barmaid asked, watching him.
“No, this is—” He stopped himself. Earlier that week, he had killed one of the nocturnal monsters of Hyrule Field when he woke up to it snooping around his camp. Truett advised he split open its gullet and stomach to find “some stuff you people think is valuable.” He did so, intending to prove her wrong, only to find a couple green rupees and a blue rupee inside. Ever since then, he had gone out of his way to kill a few more monsters for the money, and eventually forgot to completely clean the gems before pocketing them.
“Yeah, some bad weather,” he answered, handing her the now sparkling clean rupees.
She raised an eyebrow, frowning, and looked the gems over once before saying, “Well alright then, you just sit tight.”
After she had left, Truett whispered, “I didn’t think you’d be a drinker.”
“What?” He frowned, shooting a glare back in the direction of Truett's voice behind his head. "What's that mean?"
“Nothing, nothing.”
He turned back and rubbed his cheeks, chasing away the rest of the chill from his skin. The seat next to him was taken, and he glanced over to see what he first thought was a young man in a thick coat, a hat, and brown overalls. But then the person turned and meeting his gaze was a young woman.
“You…you’re from out of town?” she asked, taking off her hat and placing it on the bar in front of her. Out of her hat fell curly dark brown hair pulled back into a ponytail.
He nodded, noticing that behind the forelocks of her free hair framing her face, he could see her ears were rounded. Also noting her olive skin, he wondered if she had any Hylian blood in her at all.
“It’s always nice to have some strangers, keeps things fresh.” She smiled, her blue eyes lighting up. “Did you come here for the election only, or for tourism?”
“Well, no, I…” He paused, tilting his head slightly. “The election?”
“Oh, you don’t know?” She sat up a little straighter in her seat. “The election of the mayor of this town is going to be decided on Yule Eve, when the celebrations begin. There’s even some nobles from the city coming down to oversee it. They should be here tomorrow, now that I think of it.”
The barmaid returned with several tall, thick tankards and mugs of various drinks in hand, dropping them to the customers down the bar, ending with Link. She beamed at the girl beside him, asking, “How’re you doing Hena? The usual?”
“Sure, sounds good. Just one round though.” She passed the barmaid one blue rupee, and then turned to Link again, asking, “So…you’re here for tourism then? Is it your first time?”
Link wrapped his hands on the mug of his steaming mulled wine, letting it warm them as he answered, “No, I’ve never been here before. And I’m just here to look for someone.”
“You got separated from your family or something while traveling?” Hena frowned, shaking her head slowly. “Hmm…that’s unusual.”
“It’s not that.” He slid his left hand into his drink’s handle, then back on the mug, then back again surreptitiously. “Have there been any Wizzrobes around this town recently?”
“Well…” Hena folded her arms, frowning, concentrating as if trying to remember a distant memory. At the sight of it, Link felt his stomach drop and his insides go cold. Grabbing onto the handle so hard it hurt, he took a quick drink of the mulled wine and, despite himself, felt just a little warmer as Hena f looked back up at him, saying,“ There haven’t been any very recently, and not too close to this town. About a month ago there were some on the towns closest up in Hyrule Field.” She frowned for a moment, thinking silently, but then looked back at him, her expression alight, “There were some out on the lake then, too! Yeah, I remember. Because a couple people saw them, I saw a drop in business for almost a week.”
“But, not since then?”
“Nope, ‘fraid not.”
She leaned forward, her elbows on the bar, frowning thoughtfully. In the silence Link took another few sips of his drink. Its warmth filled him again, and his grip loosened on the handle. He felt his shoulders relax and put his free hand on his neck, stretching his arm, which suddenly felt much more flexible.
Hena looked at him, asking, “So are you one of those guys who goes around hunting monsters? A mercenary?”
He froze mid-sip, and put the mug down slowly, looking at her. “People hunt monsters for money?”
“Sometimes. I heard witches use monster parts for potions, and craftsmen need the hide to make armor. And I mean, not all of them hunt for harvesting parts. You can’t always count on there to be knights everywhere to take care of really dangerous monsters. Sometimes you need specialists. Not that there are that many, of course. But, you’re not one, huh?”
He shook his head.
They were silent as the barmaid came back with a drink identical to Link’s. Still silent, they drank together for the next few minutes, Link trying not to drink faster than he could handle. It was tempting, as he knew it would help distract him from the disappointment of the Wizzrobe’s absence.
But still, he forced himself to rationalize as he took a small break, staring at his near-empty mug, the faint warm fumes making his face feel hot, it’s only been about a month. And about a month ago was when they took Auru. Maybe they were here before they went to the castle? Maybe I’m getting closer.
After the barmaid had refilled his drink, a small group came into the pub, talking loudly, but in a level-headed manner of purpose other than merriment or conversation. They arrested the attention of the room, and some of the chatter died down. Link turned to look with the rest. At the door were several men, one of them hailed by all around him. He was the tallest, with gold hair and a fine mustache, wearing a cloak that looked unusually high-quality compared to the rest of the people in the pub.
His voice slowly filled the room as the talk and laughter mostly hushed, and he announced: “There’s a blizzard brewing outside of town, coming from the north-west of the fields. It’s moving slowly, but it’ll be around for a while when it gets here. We’ll be fine inside the village, but I’d advise against heading up to Hyrule Field for some time. Is that clear?”
“Great.” Link turned away, kneading his temple as his other hand again gripped the handle of his mug hard.
“What’s wrong?” Hena asked.
“We’ll be snowed in down here.”
“Nope. Man, you’ve really never been around here before, have you?” She sat up straight again, smiling as she went on, “Around the area down here, the fields and town and the lake, we’ve got these weather-buffering spells that the Magician’s Guild in the capital gave us. When tourism started to get really big about a hundred years ago, the Guild made the spells and put them in crystals. We’ve got them stationed all around here to keep out blizzards or landslides, or just any kind of really bad weather. It’s great for business!”
Link thought back to the days spent snowbound at Hyrule Castle. “Strange. I guess they’re not what they used to be.”
“The Guild? Maybe. There are fewer of them, at the least. But I’ve heard they’re more influential in politics, or at least that’s what I’ve heard my customers say.” She took a long, slow drink of her wine, emptying the mug. “I don’t really have time for politics myself.”
After taking another long drink, Link stared down at his empty mug for a few moments, his head feeling a little foggy. He looked at Hena, slowly asking, “Is there an inn nearby?”
“Yeah, several. But, everywhere is completely full, unless you’ve made a reservation.”
Link stared at her. “Reservation?”
“Yeah…” She looked at him, a wry smile on her face. “Where are you from, anyways?”
“Sliven.”
“Never heard of it, sorry.”
“It’s near Oerbel, alongside the Zora’s River.”
“As in, on the riverbanks?”
Link nodded.
A slow, much more earnest smile lit up on Hena’s face, and she shifted in her seat to fully face Link, asking, “Did you grow up there?”
“Yes. Lived there all my life.”
“So, you’re really used to fishing, and handling cold water and ice and fishing around ice, right?”
Link rubbed his forehead, trying to concentrate, his head still slightly swimming. “If it’s necessary, we’ll fish in the winter. I’ve done that before.”
“You know, you might just be what I need!” Hena was now beaming at him as she went on hurriedly, “I run the world-famous Fishing Hole nearby, and my employee got seriously sick just a day ago. See, I need someone to help manage the area, do the heavier work, keep things in order. If you come and help me out, I’ll give you a place to sleep. Sound fair?”
Link stared at her, his brain trying to keep up, but he quickly nodded, grinning. “That would…that would be great, yes. What would you want me to do?”
“Just the stuff I can’t handle, or the stuff I just don’t want to handle. You’re used to getting up early, right?”
He nodded again.
“Great! You can get things set up in the morning, and that’s really all I’ll need.” She looked at his empty mug and asked, “So, you through?”
Glancing over, he spotted the remaining wine and drained the rest, placing it back down on the counter firmly.
He followed her out of the room, the warmth making his head unsteady and his eyelids heavy. As they neared the door, he spotted the tall, gold-haired man in the finer clothes who had announced the poor weather. He was at a large table surrounded by others, some crammed into the seats, many standing around, as if just to talk to him.
“Hena.” She slowed and looked at him curiously as Link tilted his head towards the man. “Who is that?”
“Oh, that’s Brian Koru. He’s one of the two candidates for the mayor’s seat.” She smirked. “He’s the popular one. Honestly, he works like a madman to be the most likable guy ever. I swear, my sister has a huge, burning flame for him even though he’s married.”
They stepped outside, and facing the cold air was like walking into a wall. Link stopped, stunned by the impact as Hena put her hat back on and hugged herself, rubbing her arms. Not noticing he had been stalled by the cold, she kept walking, turning right and heading down the street. Shaking himself, Link followed, nearly all the fogginess gone from his mind. There were tiny flurries fluttering down as they walked.
The Fishing Hole was to the east of the main town, in its own little corner of land. They walked to it on a stone path liberally covered in salt, though Link wondered if it would not be faster to get there by boat. When they arrived at the entrance to the Fishing Hole, he spotted several small docks sticking out into the lake. There was a lantern at the end of them, and Hena walked forward to extinguish them.
“I can take care of it,” Link offered, stepping forward.
She looked at him, the wry smile back on her face, and he realized he was slightly leaning sidewise, and hurried to correct his balance as she said, “No, I’ll get them tonight. You’re quite the lightweight, aren’t you?”
Link waited for Truett to snicker at this from inside his hat, but she was silent.
The entrance to the Fishing Hole was walled off by a stone wall of medium height with a single door to enter in and out. The inside was clearly large, even by the pale moonlight, containing a large pond that was frozen over. Trees, bushes and short but long tent-like buildings circled the pond sparsely, and he could see impressively sized rocks rising out of the ice. Link peered through the darkness at them as he followed Hena towards a small building that was closest to the entrance.
“This is the business building,” Hena unlocked and opened the door, and they walked inside. It was a single, lined with fishing tack and gear, and the smoky, salty, fishy smell made Link feel as if he had stepped back into his own house. “It’s got a fireplace, over there.” Hena pointed at the far end of the room, where behind a small stack of wooden crates was a stone hearth and fireplace that, from the smell and appearance, had recently been in use.
Link pulled his lantern out from his belt and used it to find his way over as Hena pulled out a few thick, heavy blankets from underneath the only couch, which was shoved in the far corner near the hearth. “These are all pretty scratchy, but they’ll keep you warm.”
“Right.” Link put his lantern down and took the blankets from her.
“The wood is over there, and the tinderbox, but you can always just use the fire from your lantern of course. Need anything else?” He shook his head slowly. She grinned, then pointed at him. “You need to be up first thing tomorrow, an hour before dawn. Alright?”
“Right.”
“First thing I want you to light all the lanterns, the ones outside this place, and the oil lanterns inside this building. Got it?” He nodded and she grinned, heading towards the door. “Great! Oh, I’ll wake up on my own, don’t bother me, alright? I’ll be up on my own time, and then I’ll tell you what else needs doing. But, just wait for me.” She stifled a yawn as grabbed the doorknob, adding, “You know, I’ve had this job for years, but there’s still nothing I hate more than waking up early.”
The moment she left, closing the door firmly behind her, Truett pushed Link’s hat off his head, then flew onto the ground with it. There she stayed inside, not speaking. Dropping the blankets, Link sat down on them, watching Truett, waiting for her to speak. When nothing happened, he moved the blankets aside, and got the fire going in a daze, taking several tries to get the fire going even with equipment in the tinderbox.
With the fire going strong and warm, the wood occasionally snapping and popping in the flames, Link pulled the blankets over as close as safety allowed. After picking up his hat with Truett inside and moving her closer to the fire, he quickly laid down, pulling the blankets around him and falling asleep to the sound of the flames.
The Legend of Zelda and characters copyright Nintendo
"The Legend of Zelda: Deluge" writing and original concepts and characters copyright Mahira / Mahira-chan
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