A Couple of Trials (ZeLink)

Chapter 75: The Feathered Bard

"That's right. I did say they sent me," Link said.

"Just like the elder to trust any fool wandering into town..." Teba murmured, clucking his tongue before turning back to Link. "Look, you seem like an all-right guy, but let's make one thing clear: I'm not going anywhere. As a Rito warrior, I can't rest until my people are safe. There is only one way I'm going back to Rito Village, and that's once Medoh falls from the sky. If I have to kill Medoh...so be it. Only then will I return to the village."

"Okay. Then let's get started," Link said simply.

"Are you serious?" Teba asked, now turning his whole torso to stare at his Hylian guest.

"I told you when I got here that I didn't come to stop you," Link said, his face unreadable. "I came to help you."

"You seriously intend to take on Vah Medoh with me? You really want to fight that?" Teba asked. Upon staring into Link's bright blue, overwhelmingly confident eyes (and noticing the weapons on the Hylian's back), he laughed. "Well, far be it from me to talk you off the ledge."

"It wouldn't have worked," Link said, stepping forward to stand next to the sitting Rito. "It's not like I was going to change your mind, so there's no way it would've worked on me."

"You know, it won't be as easy," Teba said sternly. "I mean it when I say the beast has amazing power. The only way to stop a Divine Beast is from the inside, but as things stand, there's a slim chance of that happening."

"Actually, I might have that chance," Link said, to which Teba laughed again, this time far more sarcastically.

"So, not only are you wingless, but you're brainless too," he said. "Let me fill you in—the only people able to enter the Divine Beasts are the five champions of old, and unfortunately for us and the rest of Hyrule, they all died a hundred years ago. If it hadn't been for Ganon..."

Furrowing his brow, Teba looked down at his bow before sighing.

"Nevermind. Even if you had some magical way of entering Medoh, let's focus on bringing it down... One step at a time," he decided. "If we approach Medoh recklessly, its cannons will blast us out of the sky before we can even get close. They're protected by shields–"

"So we just need to take down the shields and the cannons," Link finished, speaking matter-of-factly.

"While I appreciate the confidence, each time you open your mouth, you sound like an empty-headed fool who doesn't realize he's knocking on death's door," Teba said. "If you believe yourself so talented, put it to the test. You see those targets out there?"

Pointing a feathered finger, he gestured toward the chasm in front of them, ceaselessly emitting some of the strongest winds in Hyrule. Mounted on the walls of the chasm were blue-painted targets.

"Hit five of those in three minutes, and then I'll take you seriously," he said. "That shouldn't be too hard for a seasoned warrior like yourself."

"It's not," Link said, stepping forward confidently.

"Lunatic," he murmured, as he shook his head. Watching as Link stepped toward the edge of the platform where they stood, he shouted, "You don't even have wings! You're going to fall to your death, you–"

The Hylian jumped from the platform, his arms and legs outstretched as he dived into the chasm below.

"That damned Hylian–!" Teba shouted, dropping his bow as he quickly stood, ready to fly down after the falling Hylian. Yet in a blur, he watched as that same Hylian flew into the sky. Where he'd pulled a giant paraglider from, Teba didn't know.