The Legend of Zelda: Goddess of Secrecy

Overworld Chapter 6 - Beneath the Flaming Mountain

            …and watched as they passed under the wooden arc that marked Kakariko’s entrance. A rooster crowed at them as they went by, marking the hour.

            Endeavor slowed Quicksilver, taking the citizens into consideration. Link looked around the red, earthen town as they trotted on. Most of the houses had stone bases, followed by cream plaster walls turned an orange-ish color from the dust. Most of the roofs were made of thatch. Link guessed because it was cheaper, and if a fire did catch, it wouldn’t fall in heavy chunks down on the people who were inside.

            Death Mountain jerked up at the edge of town. A narrow path had been carved out of the side up to a plateau and a wider path further up the road. As the sun began to set, Link agreed that he didn’t want to climb that at night.

            “You wait here,” Endeavor ordered.

            While Link hardly argued with getting off of Quicksilver, he asked, “Why?”

            Endeavor replied, “You are not a knight, though you are dressed like one, and the king will forget to send out any word to his knights about you being the Hero. That is for the best, in some ways, but for now if you present yourself to enter a battleground, it will not go well.”

            “A battleground?” Link inquired.

            “I suppose Eveningale is reserved enough that you would not know that state of your country,” Endeavor answered, “but currently Death Mountain is being overrun by monsters, and the Dark Lord’s return has been no help to the noble soldiers’ cause.”

            “Then what should I do?”

            “Find a better shield for one,” Endeavor instructed. “Din’s temples are filled with fire, and that wooden one with burn before it finds any good use for your quest. I will signal you through Yore when I’ve found a way for you to get through.”

            As Yore landed on Link’s wrist guard, Endeavor kicked Quicksilver back into a trot, and then into a canter as they began to climb up the side of the mountain with her wolf behind her.

            Link looked at Yore once, before walking on into Kakariko. A small trainyard stirred up dust on the edge of town, but then again, so did everything. There were a few cucco huts nestled on the border, behind a thin outcrop of farming land. Mostly wheat and corn, from the looks of it, but several of the houses had herb gardens set up behind their homes.

            Wandering through town, Link passed several desolate shops. It was getting late in the day, and it was no wonder that everything was becoming to empty. Guays were beginning to flock to the leafless trees in the town, and look for passing-byers to bother. Link managed to slip into one shop before it closed. The shopkeeper looked up, saying, “Be quick, son. I’m closing down shop for the night.”

            The wares were general for a town: food, clothes, a few weapons that would be good for the evenings, lantern oil, and so on.

            In the back of the shop, Link found a metal shield. It had a gray steal rim, with a blue base and the royal red bird flying into the air. Above the bird was the Triforce in gleaming gold. Beneath the bird’s talons was an upside down triangle. Link studied it for a moment.

            Looking up from where he was cleaning his counter, the shopkeeper said, “It’s a nice piece. A knight brought it in from Castle Town the other day. Too heavy for most of the locals, and all of the knights are issued metal works before they ship out. Seems you’re behind the curb, son.”