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Fortitude - Chapter 17

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"Damn, Zelda. I don't know how you haven't run him through by now."

Nabooru and I sat on the floor cushions in her meditation room, catching each other up to all that had transpired since the war.

"Believe me; I've considered it more than once," I muttered. "But his death would only create new problems. Hyrule is terribly vulnerable right now."

"I know," she murmured. "And Link's working to reverse that as we speak, now that your soldiers are free — or at least a good many of them."

"The rescue mission," I breathed. "Of course — Link said he would ask for your help. Did you go with him?"

"Sure did. Brought my best girls too."

"Tell me about it. Was anyone badly hurt?"

"Well, it was a battle of sorts, so a number of soldiers were injured, but no deaths as far as I know. Don't worry — Impa and I made sure Link didn't get a scratch. Din knows he has enough of them."

"Thank the gods," I whispered. "Where are the soldiers now?"

"In the Lost Woods. They're setting up some kind of massive camp there. A base of sorts. Link's already created some protective barriers with the Deku Tree's help. They should be safe there."

"Nabooru, this is wonderful news," I said, giving her a bright smile. "But how did you reach the prison in the first place?"

"Link handled everything. He was able to reach me, Darunia, and Ruto pretty easily using the Ocarina. Eventually we all met in the Lost Woods — the girls and I came using the portals through Hylia and Zora's Domain. The Gorons used the portal in their city…" She paused with a thoughtful look. "Conveniently placed, those portals."

"From there we traveled on foot to the southwestern border. A group of Zoras had already located the prison in the Cotumo Sea, and they helped us reach it undetected by, well, swimming us there underwater. Ruto wasn't among them, but she did provide Zora Scales so we wouldn't drown."

I smiled softly, unsurprised that Ruto had declined to join in the fight. She considered such dirty work unsuitable for a queen like herself, but she found other ways to contribute.

"In short, we snuck into the prison, freed a bunch of soldiers, and then seized control of the fortress. The Vandelians put up a good fight," Nabooru added with a grin, "but they were no match for us, especially with three Sages and the Hero of Time himself."

I returned her smile. "How did you escape with so many soldiers?"

Nabooru shrugged. "They're isolated out there. The Zoras stayed in the water and made sure no one sent for help. Once we seized the prison, we locked the Vandelians in their own cells and loaded our soldiers onto two ships already docked there. Then we sailed back into Hyrulean territory.

"Of course Vandelians are stationed at every harbor, but Link had been prepared for that. Darunia and several other Gorons had already seized the nearest port, which allowed us to safely dock and flee toward the Lost Woods. Progress was very slow at times, but I'd say the mission was a complete success."

"Nabooru, your help throughout this whole disaster has been invaluable —"

She silenced me with a dismissive hand. "We're all in this together, Zelda. Besides, Link was the mastermind behind everything, and I was happy to lend him my sword."

Pride and gratitude swelled in my chest. "Knowing you and the others have his back is the only reason I can sleep at night… I wish I could have helped in some way."

"Well, you were right to give him the Ocarina — it sure saved us time. But I never expected you to come here — the girls and I teleported back mere days ago. Then again, Link was pretty anxious to return the Ocarina to you…"

"I'm sorry I disturbed your meditation," I sighed. "But I'm desperate to know more about what happened to Link. He told me so little when we last met..."

Nabooru sighed, idly fingering one of her rings as she collected her thoughts.

"I doubt he remembers much of the first week," she said quietly. "The poor kid was so battered and emaciated my scouts barely recognized him. They rushed him back to the Fortress, where we cleaned him up and put him to bed. It was obvious he'd been tortured, but nothing concerned us more than that awful scar..."

My head snapped up. "Scar?"

"You haven't seen it? That black scar, stretching right over his heart?" She drew a line along her chest with a bejeweled finger.

"His scar is black?"

She gave a solemn nod. "It was already sealed, as though it started healing weeks before we found him, but the blood around it said otherwise. It was… unnatural, to say the least."

"I… I know the necromancer cut him," I said quietly, "but I never actually saw the scar... Link never mentioned any of this."

"Doesn't surprise me," Nabooru muttered. "He tries to pretend it isn't there."

I sighed and rubbed my forehead. "Tell me more about his recovery."

"Did he mention his fever?"

"Fever?" I echoed softly. "No..."

She sighed lightly. "One moment he was freezing, the next he was burning up… He tossed and turned all night, calling for you over and over…" She shook her head, saddened by the memory. "I couldn't make any sense of it."

I paused, remembering how I also succumbed to fever after the bond was severed. I, too, had thrashed about, crying his name for hours into the night…

"Zelda?"

I blinked, looking up to meet Nabooru's concerned gaze.

"You okay?" she asked.

"I — I'm fine," I replied, swallowing the knot in my throat. "How long did his fever last?"

"About three days, but he was still pretty ill when he came to. And he was completely distressed, not to mention confused. He thought you were dead."

I nodded solemnly. "The necromancer severed our bond somehow. For a while I honestly believed he was dead."

Nabooru gave me a gentle, sympathetic look. "I can't imagine how terrible that must have been. But how could the bond just... vanish like that? You still have your Triforce pieces; don't you?"

"Yes... Neither of us can explain it."

She shook her head. "Well, I told him you were — are — still very much alive, and he just… broke down and sobbed. The poor kid was so confused… He thought your marriage had been some kind of fantasy, and that you had married Ashton."

"The necromancer brainwashed him," I said softly.

Nabooru nodded solemnly. "I figured as much."

"How long did he stay at the Fortress?"

"About two weeks. He left as soon as he was physically able. Impa and I tried to make him stay a while longer, but he was too anxious to return to Castletown — to be closer to you. Impa wanted to go with him, but it's too risky with the Vandelians actively hunting her.

"But," she added in a more cheerful tone. "Something tells me you didn't come all this way just to chat."

"This meeting is long overdue," I said, giving her a weak smile. "I would have visited you weeks ago if I was able. But I do have a favor to ask."

"Name it."

"It concerns my most recent vision. Nabooru, I saw how Link escaped."

Her eyes widened. "You saw that?"

"Yes," I breathed. "He awakened the Triforce of Courage, and it gave him incredible strength. Link severed his own chains, attacked the necromancer, and fled the prison, all within minutes. I watched him blast through iron doors and run out of the cave — only to stop on a ledge overlooking the Gerudo Chasm. I thought he was trapped there, but he scaled a cliff all the way to the top and ran through the Wasteland. He never tired, never stumbled, and he stopped only after your scouts had seen him."

"Amazing," Nabooru breathed. "Does Link even know how to awaken his Triforce piece?"

"No," I murmured. "He's never wanted to learn. You know how he is about using magic — the Triforce especially."

She sighed and shook her head. "He could have saved himself — and you — a world of pain if he wasn't so stubborn."

I hesitated, remembering Link's deep remorse that night in Castletown. He regretted his choice to sacrifice himself that day on the battlefield, but had he reached the same conclusion as Nabooru? Did he also regret suppressing his full potential? Link had learned more advanced spells, but using harmless, defensive magic hardly meant he had cast aside his fear of corruption.

Maybe he's torn… Struggling with his fear as well as his guilt…

"Link is the chosen Keeper because he is too strong to be corrupted," Nabooru added. "He always mentions Ganondorf's corruption, but he stole the Triforce of Power. Link was destined to carry his piece — just like you."

"He believes he was chosen to protect it, not use it," I said gently. "His fears aren't unfounded, Nabooru. He is still a mortal, vulnerable to corruption like any other."

"Whatever he believes, he must realize his magic could have saved him from imprisonment. It could have been the difference between victory and defeat."

"We don't know that," I murmured. "And Link should not have to struggle with his choice. I may not agree with his perspective on magic, but there is no shame in choosing the humbler path."

"Oh, all right," Nabooru smiled. "I suppose it is one of his more adorable qualities. Back to your vision — what of about the necromancer? Did you see his face?"

"No," I muttered. "He was hooded and cloaked, and Link never stopped to finish him. That's partly why I've come."

I leaned forward then, my gaze boring into hers. "My visions showed me how to locate that prison, and I need to find it. I need to know if the necromancer is dead."

Nabooru raised her crimson brows. "And if he's not? Shall we finish him?"

"That was my first thought as well," I murmured. "But if we do capture him then I must bring him before the Alliance to expose Ashton's lies."

She frowned. "I suppose that would be wise. But once everything is said and done, we should execute him."

"The Alliance would decide that," I murmured. "But I would certainly suggest it."

She nodded, her lips parting in a yawn as she stretched her arms high above her head. "So it's settled then. Let's hurry back to the Fortress and get whatever we need to find this necromancer."

"You mean you'll help me?" I asked, looking up as she rose to her feet.

She placed her hands on her hips with a scoff. "Zelda, please, don't insult me. Hunting him down would be a pleasure. I'll bring some of my best girls to help us."

I smiled and rose to my full height, which barely reached the tip of Nabooru's long Gerudo nose.

"Sounds like a plan."


xxxxxxx


The afternoon sun blazed against our backs as we — Nabooru, myself, and eight other Gerudo warriors — stormed into the howling winds of the Haunted Wasteland. I could barely distinguish one Gerudo from another, as we had been protectively clothed from head to toe. Only our eyes peered through slits in our headscarves.

I relished every moment of my freedom. Escaping Ashton's clutches to hunt down the necromancer was an exhilarating change, even despite the desert's harsh conditions.

After what seemed like hours of sand and heat, the winds finally calmed as the landscape became solid, rocky ground. Our group quickened our pace, watching for danger amidst the tall, rocky formations on either side of our narrowing path. Their spires cast eerie shadows upon the ground, and I felt a hundred eyes on my back.

"This place gives me the creeps," someone muttered behind me.

I silently agreed. The eerie, desolate stillness evoked a sense of paranoia. I half expected some horrid creature to lunge from the shadows. It might have, had we not been traveling in daylight.

Our close proximity to the Tar Alemian border only heightened my unease. If not for the Gerudo Chasm, an enormous canyon which divided Hyrule and Tar Alem, we could have easily wandered into enemy territory.

"There," Nabooru spoke, pointing ahead. "The Chasm's just up ahead — Zelda, wait!"

Her protests echoed behind me as I sped up toward the Chasm's edge. There I slowed to a halt and dismounted for a closer look.

The Chasm stretched well beyond sight on both sides, and the bottom was cloaked in shadow, impossible to see from my position. Across the gap lay the Tar Alemian border, a plain and seemingly harmless stretch of land.

Hearing the others halt and dismount behind me, I turned to gather rope from one of the saddlebags.

"Help me find a good anchor for this," I said, loosening the scarf around my face. "I have to drop down over the edge."

"Are you crazy?" Nabooru said. "Do you not see the giant pit of death?"

I gave her a stern look. "I didn't come here for the view, Nabooru. I'll do whatever I must to reach that cave."

"Come on, Zelda; be reasonable. Link had the power of the Triforce helping him. You have rope."

"Genuine Gerudo rope," I said, wrapping it around a nearby boulder. "The finest in Hyrule."

Nabooru shook her head in exasperation. "Even if it wasn't dangerous, the Chasm is still enormous. You can't just blindly scale the wall — that could take all day!"

"I only want to drop down and have a look."

"Suppose you do find it, and something is waiting there to snap your rope?"

"Then I'll defend myself with magic."

"Zelda —"

"Nabooru, please. I didn't come all this way to turn back."

She studied my face, then breathed a heavy sigh. "Let her down," she ordered the others.

They exchanged nervous glances but moved to help me knot the rope. I gave it a few tugs before climbing down below the edge. Three other Gerudo took hold of the slack, and carefully they lowered me down the Chasm's interior.

"You had better be right about this," Nabooru called down after me. "I think Link's recklessness has rubbed off on you — and that's not a compliment!"

I ignored her, focusing on my slow descent as I scanned the surrounding wall.

Lower, my instincts told me. He climbed further than this.

Gently I tugged on the rope. "Give me some slack," I called up to them. "I need to go lower."

Nabooru shouted something I couldn't make out, and I felt the rope loosen. Slowly I felt my way down, keeping my focus away from the shadowy pit below. The rough, rocky wall provided decent footholds, and cautiously I tested my weight on a small protrusion —

"Aah!"

I shrieked when it gave way, sending me down the wall at a speed near free falling. The uneven surface scraped against my layers of clothes until the taut rope jerked me to a halt.

"Zelda, are you all right?"

Nabooru's frantic voice broke through my lingering terror, and quickly I found new footholds, steadying myself as I caught my breath.

"Zelda!"

"I'm all right," I called. "Just... bad timing is all."

"We're pulling you back up!"

"No!" I shouted, regaining my courage. "No, just… give me a minute."

Anxiously I searched the wall, frustrated to find no hint of a cave. I shifted my aching leg, blindly grazing the wall for a better niche. Lower and lower I stretched my boot, puzzled when the wall curved beyond my reach. Wait...

I twisted around, forgetting my fears as I strained to see the area below…

Then I saw it — a very narrow ledge several feet beneath me. Behind it I glimpsed a patch of darkness — a cave.

"I found it!" I cried. "I found the entrance!"

"You found it?" she called back.

"Yes! Lower me down — there's a ledge just below me!"

I released the wall, dangling before the cave's opening while the others slowly lowered me toward the ledge. I stared into the ominous blackness, struggling to believe I had reached the very place from my visions.

Finally my feet touched ground, and I looked up to see Nabooru following after me on a second rope.

"Well," she said as I helped her onto the ledge. "That wasn't too terrifying."

Then she lifted her head up toward the others, shielding her eyes from the sun. I imitated her, squinting to make out the faces peeking over the ledge above.

"Follow us in pairs," Nabooru called in their native tongue. "The rest of you stay put. We'll need help getting back up, especially if we find company inside."

The Gerudo shouted their acknowledgements.

"Well, kiddo," she then said to me, "we've come this far. You ready to proceed?"

I gave her a firm nod. "Absolutely."

Nabooru retrieved a torch from her pack, which I lit with a wave of my hand.

"Watch your step," I warned her. "Some of these rocks are pretty sharp."

Slowly we made our way through the darkness, searching the walls for a doorway into the dungeon. Eventually four more Gerudo joined us — Natisha, Lanaya, Jasika, and Keira — and Nabooru paused to light another torch for them.

"What is that?" Natisha asked, pointing into the darkness. I turned, noticing the glint of a metallic surface.

"It's a door," I breathed, moving for a closer look.

"Torn off its hinges," Nabooru muttered. "Just like you said."

We proceeded through its nearby doorframe, entering a square corridor of unnaturally smooth stone.

"What is this place?" Keira asked.

"I wish I knew," Nabooru murmured.

I said nothing, though my thoughts shifted to a similar dungeon which existed deep beneath Kakariko Village. The public knew nothing of its existence, not even the villagers living above it. Impa had always suspected the Sheikah built such places for dark experimentation, back when their tribe practiced wicked, forbidden magic — before they became servants of the Hylian royal family. I never expected to find a similar place so far from Kakariko…

My thoughts quieted as we entered another longer corridor, and in the torchlight I caught the glint of metal bars.

This is...

"Listen," Nabooru said. "Do you hear that?"

I paused, and with an icy tremor I recognized low groans drifting from the shadows.

"ReDeads," Nabooru whispered.

"They're in the cells," I said. "Focus your gaze straight ahead. Don't let them petrify you."

Carefully we pressed on, our weapons ready as we proceeded down the corridor. We had barely passed two cells when a ReDead suddenly flung itself against the bars with a loud screech. I leaped back when its rotting hand shot toward my face, shrieking as another swiped at me from the opposite cell. Their horrid screams tore through the air, and I dropped to my knees, covering my ears as the sound drained all the warmth from my body.

Somehow, through my panicked haze, I struggled to my feet and flooded the nearest cells with powerful beams of light. The ReDeads within them disintegrated, defenseless against such powerful magic. Again and again I did this, blasting each cell with magic until the screaming finally stopped.

I stumbled and slumped against the nearest wall, pausing to catch my breath. The Triforce of Wisdom tingled on the back of my hand, fading as its energy retreated within me.

"Damned creatures," Nabooru muttered, retrieving her torch from where she'd dropped it on the ground. "How many were there?"

"Too many," I said. "Is everyone all right?"

Everyone muttered their reassurances as Nabooru placed a hand on my shoulder. "That was some impressive magic," she murmured. "Took a lot of energy, I imagine..."

I shrugged. "I'm fine."

"Those creatures were always here?" Jasika's shaky voice drew our attention. "When Link was here?"

"Yes," I replied softly, staring into the nearest cell. Link had spent weeks in that prison, enduring constant exposure to ReDeads as well as the necromancer's cruelty.

If only I had found you sooner...

"Come on," Nabooru said. "Let's keep moving."

We hurried past the remaining cells and through an open doorway into another empty corridor. Another room lay at the opposite end, and nervously I approached it. I knew the black altar from my visions stood in that room, and possibly the necromancer's corpse.

"Search the room," I said as we filed inside. "The necromancer may have died here."

Our torches easily illuminated the small chamber, but we found no sign of Link's captor.

"He's alive, then," Nabooru muttered.

I said nothing. I knew his survival meant we could capture him, question him, and turn him in as Ashton's accomplice, but in that moment such logic brought me no comfort.

"Zelda, is this…?"

I turned to see her studying the dark altar at the center of the room.

"Yes," I murmured. "Link was tortured here, on this very altar."

I studied it a moment, remembering how he had writhed in agony, how he thrashed against those very chains...

"There they are," Nabooru said, brushing the broken chains with her fingertips. "Severed, just like you said."

Slowly I lifted my hand to touch them, flinching when the contact triggered flashbacks of my visions. Link's screams echoed through my ears, crying my name again and again…

"My queen."

I started, looking up to see Keira standing in the doorway. "There is another room," she said, switching to broken Hylian. "Come."

Curious, we followed her out of the chamber and down an adjoining corridor. There stood yet another room — the only one with a door still attached to its frame.

Inside we found tables, bookshelves, and trunks scattered about the room, each containing books, maps, and other unknown objects. Various bottles cluttered a nearby table, filled with colorful liquids or other obscure ingredients. Weapons of all kinds had been laid out, thrown into open chests, or hung on the walls.

"It's some kind of… study," I murmured.

"Obviously this man was — or is — pretty obsessed with his work," Nabooru said, inspecting a nearby book.

I moved toward a desk, opening drawers as I glanced over the books. Magic... history...

A flash of gold caught my eye, and I glanced down to find a ring sitting in the drawer. My heart skipped a beat as I reached for it. Could this be...?

"Hey," Natisha called from across the room, "come look at this."

Pocketing the ring, I moved to join the others who gathered around Natisha, inspecting a journal of sorts which lay open on the table.

Nabooru leaned in closer, furrowing her brow. "It looks like..."

My attention shifted when a chill slid up my spine, prickling the back of my neck. "Something is..."

Slowly I turned, as did a few others — and my heart lurched with shock.

A cloaked figure stood in the doorway, watching us.

"It's him!"

Quickly we drew our weapons — just as he hurled dark magic toward us. We leapt to avoid it, but two Gerudo cried out as the blast grazed them. With a cry I flung my own magic toward him, but it struck the doorway as he fled into the corridor.

"Don't let him escape!" I shouted.

I lunged into the hall and dropped into a roll, narrowly missing his constant attacks — which barely missed Nabooru and Keira.

"Coward!" I cried, casting more magic toward him. "Come and face me, you —"

"Zelda!"

My words died in my throat as a familiar voice echoed down the corridor. I was certain I had imagined it.

"Zelda!"

Again it came, louder and clearer. Anxiously I searched the darkness ahead.

"…Link?" I breathed.

Didn't have this ready as early as I intended... But that's kinda because I skipped ahead and worked a bit on the next chapter. =\ Hopefully that will result in a shorter wait this time...

So yeah, a bit different this time around, eh? :aww:

Enjoy, and let me know if you find any mistakes!
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