The Legend of Zelda: Goddess of Secrecy

Overworld Chapter 5 - A Lively City

            …and into the hustle and bustle of the lower city. The roar of the trainyard went on somewhere off to Link’s right, down a smaller road that connected with the main boulevard.

            Link tried hard not to shove his way through the thick crowd. A few people veered out of his way when they saw him come, perhaps noticing his equipment and mistaking him for a knight. Either way, he found his way over to the edge of the road to avoid having to push his way through the rest.

            Lining the wide street were hundreds of little stalls selling all kinds of wares, save on the corner where there were larger shops and businesses. Link looked down some of the other roads that broke off from the main street to see houses of increasing quality the further he went into the city, smaller shops, and a few parks filled with children.

            As he reached the center of Castle Town, the street opened up into a huge circle with a fountain in the middle. Restaurants lined the sides of the town, their sweet smells blowing down across the roads to lure in more customers. A few venders were peddling around the fountain, but the edge of the fountain was mostly lined with artists painting the citizens as they went by.

            It was here in this open place that Link finally noted the different races in Castle Town. A goron nearly plowed his over in their rush to get somewhere. A few zoras were soaking themselves in the fountain to keep from drying out in the hot afternoon sun. Several Sheikah were only identifiable by their red eyes, since they were out of uniform, enjoying a day off from work.

            “Castle Town is the hub of Hyrule, Link. Were you expecting it to be bland and empty?”

            Link went on to the north. The noble’s distract was laid out around him. Not even the quality shops along the street could hide the tall buildings. The upper class lived here, a place Link didn’t think he could ever enjoy. The houses may have been huge and beautiful, but they were too open and empty for Link’s taste. His tree house still looked better to him.

            As the wall of the city appeared again, Link noticed that Yore had disappeared. He paused and looked around for the bird. Even for a hawk like Yore, it would be hard to keep up with anyone here.

            Instead of finding Yore, Link found a cloaked follower. They kept, if not clung, to the shadows, but Link knew they were following him. A speciously large dog trotted at their heels, its silver pelt dulled by the shadows its master clung to.

            Link turned around and went on towards the wall. It was nothing. Just a chance seeing. Yet he knew they were still following him.

            As he went under the high arc out of Castle Town, Link made a brief glance back. They were still there, still a good distance behind in the shadows. Link turned around, only to have to stop as he stared across at the sight before him.

            A few natives laughed at him as they watched Link gapping at the huge sight ahead. There was a long, white stone bridge spanning across the rest of Zora River to the bank on the far side, where a white castle stood, taller than a grown Deku tree. It was probably as big as his village in its entirety.

            “Move!”

            Link jumped out of the way as guards plowed there way through across to the castle. He watched as a dark cloud formed over the castle, and storm clouds rolled overhead. Something wasn’t right.

            Pushing through the crowd, Link raced after the guards. He looked up at the roof of the building, and saw Zeal with her arms out wide, casting some kind of spell into the air. Link hesitated. He knew he wasn’t a match for Zeal yet, but someone needed his help in there.