The Legend of Zelda: After the Wild

Chapter 24: The Mysterious Mask

Chapter 24: The Mysterious Mask

The party rode across the roads from Hateno Village back to Kakariko Village. They arrived, and it was still night time. Zhago got off of his horse and had Pokh follow him into Paya's Place. "Paya, I have something very important to show you."

"What is it, Zhago?" Paya saw Zhago's son walk from behind him. She didn't recognize him at first but then it clicked in her head. "Pokh? Little Pokh?!" Paya got up from her seat and excitedly ran up to Pokh and hugged him. "By the Goddess, he is alive!" She exclaimed as she hugged him tightly. She then held both of his shoulders. "How are you still alive?"

Pokh spoke up. "Well, it all started on the day when I jumped off a cliff. My body landed in a river, barely alive. It drifted to a camp where several Yiga Clan members saw my body. They took me in, nurtured me back to health and then trained me in the ways of the Yiga. Their leader, Ghirahim, assigned me on many different missions across Hyrule of varying degrees." Pokh put his face into his hands. "I've killed so many people. Innocent people throughout the 7 years of my time in being a Yiga Clan member." Pokh put his face out his hands. "For my latest mission, I was tasked with kidnapping the Hateno Villagers and bringing them to the Arbiter's Grounds in the Gerudo Desert. And then after a few weeks of working on that mission, Dad came along and managed to pull me out of the Yiga Clan."

Paya pat his head. "It will be alright. You're safe here in Kakariko Village. You will be another member of the Sheikah Clan, like you were before."

Zhago nodded his head in approval. "You will look after him now, right Paya?" Zhago asked.

"Yes, I will Zhago." Paya said to Zhago. "He is in safe hands now."

Pokh turned around to look at his father. "I'm glad you found me, father."

"I'm glad too, son. Now I must leave because we have business to attend to."

"That's alright Dad. See you!"

"See you around kid." Zhago walked out of the door and walked down the stairs. "He's in safe hands now. So, what will we do with our time right now?"

"Link told us to deal with the Lynel within Tipa but we got that settled down." Uten thought about other things to do. "Didn't that Keeseman guy want us to go to Hyrule Castle Town and participate in the Mask Festival or something like that?"

"Oh yeah, he did send us that letter. We should check in on Hyrule Castle Town in that case." Zhago said.

"We can also get our pay for the last monster colony from Zelda herself." Poump added. "I can even get to say my goodbyes to my friends before we go on the voyage across the sea."

"Sounds like a plan. Let's ride." Zhago made his horse ride forward and the other party members followed behind. Their horses rode through the moon-lit roads of Hyrule Field. They passed through a checkpoint across a bridge which didn't take much time to go through. They eventually rode up to the walls of Hyrule Castle Town and docked their horses into the stable outside. They walked through the gates and to the main plaza.

There were great festivities going around, and there were lights that stretched across the rooftops across the Main Plaza. People danced to music being performed by a band of Gerudos, with a Goron blowing on a horn to add to the music. Their music infected the people of Castle Town, who all seemed to be wearing different masks. The party walked out of the crowded area and next to a few outdoor shops, one of which was selling masks.

"Hello lovely people, may I interest you in purchasing a mask?" The salesman said from behind the counter. He had a really big smile that seemed somewhat creepy. Poump looked at the different masks on the stand.