…into the Fire Temple. The small channel of water turned around a bend, bumping Lynard’s ship as they sailed around it. A gate fell behind them. The ship came to a stop as a boot caught it. A tall, dark skinned man stood on the edge of the cove. “Well, look who we have here. If it ain’t the Hero of Hyrule, come tuh save the day.”
A snicker went up around the rocky edge. Pirates leaned up over the side, looking down at them in Lynard’s boat. Lynard kept hold of his tiller, his head low.
“An look-ie here! They bring the King’s flesh and bones intuh oar stronghold,” said one, leaning down, and grabbing Zelda by the back of her neck. Link pulled his sword, pointing it up at the pirates until they backed away from Zelda. The men exchanged a look, before drawing their own blades, and pointing them back down at Link.
“Yer courage will be yer death, boy,” stated the tall, black man. “Lower ye blade.”
With rage in his eyes, Link lowered the sword, but didn’t sheath it. He guarded Zelda, keeping his eyes up on the man above him. The man grinned back at him, before dropped down into the ship. The small boat rocked, and Lynard bounced forward a bit. The man said, “Ye think ye’re clever, do yuh? Comin’ in here, wit that might-ie sword of yer’s? Think ye’re brave?”
The pirate pointed his cutlass at Link. “Ye’re just a boy, who’se wandered too far from his home. But ye’re off the edge of the map now, boy. Here, there be monsters.” He gestured up at the gathering above them. The laughter went around again.
Link caught the swing that followed. He batted the sword aside. His sword was heavier and stronger, but the pirate’s was lighter. Link deflected the blade, but didn’t return the swings. The pirate barbed, “Wha’s the matter, boy? Ye afraid of a little blood?”
Catching the hilt of the pirate’s sword in his, Link twisted his blade. The force sent the cutlass flying out of his opponent’s hand. The man wobbled on his feet, before falling into the shallow water. Link replied, “I think you’re confused about what bravery is.” He extended his hand out over the edge of the water.
He heard Endeavor sigh behind him. The man grabbed Link on the upper half of his arm, and pulled him into the water. The pirate’s muscular arm pressed against Link’s neck, and he struggled against the arm as it pulled him up out of the water, and onto the rocky ledge.
Zelda exclaimed, “Of all the indecent pigs-!”
Two men jumped down onto the ship, grabbing Zelda behind her back. The man holding Link replied, “But we aren’t decent, are we lads?” There was a cheer. The man let go of Link, but he was quickly ambushed from behind by two more pirates. The black man picked his sword back up, and asked, “Now, are ye going tuh come with us, or are we gonna have tuh-?”
Endeavor replied, “If you are going to insist on capturing us, then I fail to see the benefit in fighting it. What about you, Lynard?”
“Say that name again, lass!”
Silence came over the room. The men parted ways as a woman walked through the middle of the crowd. She was dark skinned as well, though slightly more fair than the large man who had been in charge so far. Her hair was drawn back beneath a large, feathery hat, and a stunning gold saber hung on the side of her long red coat. The heels of her tall black boots clicked against the stone. “Say that name again,” she repeated as she came to the front of the horde.
Lynard stood up, replying, “I’d say it was good to see you again, Sayyida, but your men are strangling my grandson.” He gestured to Link.
Sayyida glanced back at Link, then turned to Lynard again. They stood there, in silence, with the pirate’s stern look bearing down on Lynard. Finally she broke the silence, raising her arms up and smiling. She jumped down to the ship, and she and Lynard hugged. “It is good to see ye, old friend. The years haven’t been good on yuh though.”
“Not all of us can be blest by the Goddesses,” Lynard replied as they pulled apart.
“That is true,” she answered. “But ye’re the grandfather of the Hero! That be a blessing in it of itself.” She motioned to the pirate’s restraining Link. Their grasp eased off. “What ye be doin’ here? Sinkin’ my ships no less.”
Lynard said, “Well, the Hero’s quest brings us here. He needs your token, I’m afraid.”
Sayyida turned to Link, before she started walking over to him. She was probably as tall as he was, but she seemed taller. It must have been because of the hat. She asked, “What ye need my medallion for? To save Hyrule?” Link nodded, rubbing his neck. “And if it is saved, what’ll happen to me and my men?”
Link paused. Sayyida went on, “Ah, ye don’t know? Now there’s a matter I need the answer tuh. If you save Hyrule, you save her.” She pointed to Zelda. “And her and her family don’t take kindly to us, now do they? If I help you, then we die.”
“Then you’re going to doom Hyrule?” Zelda demanded.
“When this war ends, where are yer father’s forces goin’ to come next?” Sayyida asked. “I’ll not let the King kill these men.”
Zelda shouted, “We are at war! People are going to die!”
“Hylians will die,” Sayyida replied. “But we’re not Hylians. Ye don’t want us. Ye father proved that.”
“I am not my father,” Zelda answered.
Sayyida growled, before stating, “His blood runs in yer veins. Ye have the same faults.”
Lynard sighed. Sayyida turned around to him. Lynard replied, “You really know nothing about her, Sayyida. Your accusations are false.”
For once, Sayyida glared at Lynard. “Explain how.”
“This young woman has already publicly stated her detest for the nameless caste of society,” Lynard answered. “All of Port City could tell you the same. She’s expressed sentiment that once she’s in power, that she’ll remove the rank entirely. I’m no more found of the Crown than you are, but the princess has proven even to me that she judges men on their merit and their character. If she were to bring force against you after this war ended, it would be because you had done the same to her. There is a reason she still bears the Triforce of Wisdom, Sayyida.”
All eyes fell on the pirate captain. Her eyes were hidden behind the brim of her wide cap. “I owe my life tuh ye, Lynard. That is a debt I cannot repay, not for all the treasure in the seas. For that, I’ll let yer party go. No man of mine shall hurt yuh, so long as they sail wit ye, but I’ll not hesitant tuh blast them o’ the water if they come back here with the Royal Navy’s flag.”
Endeavor stood up. “That simply will not do. We cannot leave without the Fire Sage’s Medallion.”
“That is not someting I can give ye,” Sayyida replied, as she started to turn away.
“But to keep it here is to aid the woman who killed you,” Endeavor stated. Sayyida stopped. Endeavor went on, “The King did not kill you, Sayyida. The slave of the Demon Lord claimed your life, and-”
Sayyida pointed her blade at Endeavor. Endeavor’s short helix knife extended itself towards Sayyida as Journey growled beside her master. Sayyida said, “Aye, it was that white witch who took me life. There’s not a day I don’t remember it. And who be ye, knowin’ secrets like that?”
Endeavor answered, “I am of the same clan as that women, or of the same clan that she was of. She was banished once she sold herself to the Demon Lord. But it is my duty to aid the Hero on his quest, by any means necessary.”
“By who do ye serve this sacred task?” Sayyida demanded.
Pulling off her glove, Endeavor showed the woman her mark. “By the Goddesses themselves. I am the servant of Reechka, and I bear Her Mark with great honor and severity.”
Sayyida’s expression turned grim. She turned to Lynard, hoping for some consolation there, but Lynard wanted an answer just as much as the rest of them. Sayyida grimaced, and said, “My statement stands. You can sail free now, or we’ll be holdin’ ye in our dungeons ‘til I can think what tuh do with ye.”
Zelda said, “We’re not going anywhere.”
“Then ye seal ye’re own fate,” Sayyida replied. “Take ‘em, lads. An’ take their weapons from ‘em.”
The pirates grabbed Link from behind again, as several dropped down into the boat to grab Lynard and Endeavor. Link noticed that Yore was gone, and he wondered where the bird had gotten to. The man turned around, holding up Lynard’s cane. He asked, “What about this, Cap’t?”
Sayyida turned back around. Link thought he saw a grin on her face, but the expression quickly passed. She said, “Leave the man his support, Omar.”
With that, she walked off to someplace deeper in the fortress. The pirates shuffled them off in another direction. The cluster was too thick for Link to be able to tell where they were going. All he knew was that they ended up in a jail cell. The bars were made of thick wood, but without any of his weapons, they weren’t going anywhere.
Zelda huffed, “That went well.”
Something fell above them. Link looked up and saw the head of a fox appear above the shelf in the back of the cell. She muttered, “So this is where this leads…not much of an escape route...”
“Echo!” Link shouted.
The fox’s ears swiveled forward. She smiled. “Oh, look who I’ve run into again.”
Zelda asked, “Who is she?”
“Name’s Echo S. Ound, Princess,” Echo replied. “They didn’t tell you about me?”
“Should I be concerned?” Zelda inquired.
Endeavor answered, “If you want to be. Despite her unexplainable ability to get through doors, Echo has been some use to us.”
“Some use?” Echo demanded. “I’d say I’ve been a bit more than that.”
“What are you doing here?” Endeavor asked.
Echo pulled herself out of the hole. “Same as before. Researching. Of course, they didn’t really like my coming in here, so I was just…working my way out. I don’t suppose you have a bomb on you?”
Link answered, “They took all our weapons from us.”
“They didn’t take that,” Echo replied, looking at Lynard’s cane. “Not very good pirates, if you ask me. It even smells like metal.”
Lynard looked at the cane, before adding, “It’s just a walking cane.”
“Uhm-hm,” Echo retorted. She turned around, and went back into the narrow tunnel. “Come on then.”
Link exchanged a glance with the others, before he climbed up onto the shelf and started crawling through the hole…