Chapter 18: Buried

Ghirahim sipped the steaming liquid. "This is made with Deku Pear, I'm guessing?" he asked.

"Yes," Amelia said. "With the dried peel, actually. Then steeped in water." She was working on her latest embroidery project, a teacup and a plate filled with various surface foods on the table beside her. The room she had chosen for the event held plenty of space even for the many other people attending the event. After all, it was probably the first tea party the demons had had in a thousand years, and everyone was curious about what tea actually was. Amelia had apologetically said that she had had to improvise a bit, given that the records of the time before the Sealing weren't the best, but she thought it would be fairly accurate.

Ghirahim saw several members of Amelia's household, along with Lady Pyre, a few soldiers, and, standing a few feet away, an unhappy-looking Orynx. This will be good for him. I'm sure he'll thank me later. Ghirahim had encouraged the guard to actually talk to the other party attendees and not simply hover silently around him.

"It's delicious," Ghirahim said.

"Why, thank you," Amelia said. "Of course, I'm no expert on ancient delicacies, but I thought I'd try some of the really old recipes in my library, now that I have some access to the ingredients."

"I think you did a very good job. Only, it confuses me that a recipe would ask you to dry something out only to dump it into water again."

"I did try just the second step, but found it wasn't quite the same as with both."

"Truth truly is stranger than fiction. Orynx, what do you think of it?" Ghirahim asked.

The guard gave him a blank look. "Yum."

"Surely you have something more to say about it than that? Given that you drank about a quart of the Deku Pear tea already?"

Orynx looked over at Amelia and gave her a stiff bow. "Thank you." Then he stood and stared straight ahead.

Ghirahim sighed. Amelia gave the guard a small smile. "You're welcome, Orynx." She looked back over at Ghirahim. "I thought you said he was attending this event, not just following you around."

Ghirahim scowled at the guard and prodded him in the side. "Be friendly, Orynx."

The guard frowned, but spoke. "I do not have anything I particularly wish to say, Lady Amelia. If Lord Ghirahim made you think differently, then I apologize for any disappointment."

Amelia's eyes widened for a moment. "Oh." She looked up at Orynx. "I believe I have an apology for you as well."

Orynx turned his head slightly and raised an eyebrow. Amelia smiled, though her eyes looked pained. "I misjudged you, Orynx. And I made a rather foolhardy bet with Lord Ghirahim that I would not hear you say a sentence longer than five words today, and now it appears I must pay the price for my folly. I believe that I now owe him the small token of five diamond earrings, and you the prize of five questions."

"Five questions?" Orynx said, his narrowed eyes looking pointedly at Lord Ghirahim, who only grinned and leaned farther back in his armchair.

"Yes," Amelia said. "You can ask me any five questions, and I will answer them truthfully. Lord Ghirahim will make sure of it. I'm sure you'll have great fun with that, eh?"

"I'm not sure that would be-"

"I hope you're not going to finish that sentence with the word 'proper'," Amelia said. "While I do enjoy listening to the expanded vocabulary version of your speaking, I hear quite enough of that word from Lord Grendel."

"-polite of me." Orynx said.

Amelia chuckled. "Ah, good one. But don't worry about politeness. It's rather the point that I must suffer the consequences of my choices. And only fitting, don't you think?"

"I'll have to think about what to ask. I already know most of the strategically relevant information about you."

"Strategically relevant?" Amelia asked, tilting her head with a smile. "Do you mean like blackmail?"

"No. I mean my assessment of how dangerous you could potentially be."

"I know you don't have to answer any of my questions, but I find myself curious about what that assessment is."

"You are moderately dangerous, but not currently a threat," Orynx replied.

"Do you care to elaborate on that?" Amelia asked.

"No," Orynx said.

"Ah, well. Have you thought of any questions to further assess my moderate danger?"

"I'll let you know if I do," The guard said, his eyes turning back to scan the other demons attending the party.

Ghirahim felt cheered at this success. I make progress! He'll be making long, if likely solemn and humorless, speeches to the nobles in no time. He turned to Amelia. "I see that Lord Grendel is absent from your event, as usual."

"Yes, he always says it wouldn't be proper for him to attend, and then gives me that miserable puppy-eyed look he has."

Ghirahim laughed. "What? How have I never seen this? I must see this."

"I shouldn't have mentioned it, I see. You are so cruel, my lord. He is obviously a creature in pain, and I am loathe to think of why that might be."

"You have my condolences. Where is Lord Rend, though? I thought he, at least, was planning on attending this."

"Ah, yes, but he changed his mind at the last minute. Said something important came up."

"Too bad for him. More for me," Ghirahim said, trying a few of the roasted deku nuts. He was enjoying this. The sunbeam hitting his chair was an added bonus, too.

There was a brisk knock on the door, and then it opened. Ghirahim looked up from his roasted deku nuts and frowned. Lord Terrin stepped through the door, and he was carrying, of all things, some porcelain dishware. Food appeared to rest on the dishes and there was a strange looking pot with a spout. "Ah, look at what we have here! An attempt at a historical reconstruction of the culinary delights of old, is it? Of course, there are many inaccuracies-you should have said something to me."

All of the party attendees turned to look at him, their voices dying down.

Amelia stood. "Ah, Lord Terrin. What an unexpected surprise. If I may ask, what brings you here?"

The masked demon chuckled. "Certainly not an invitation," he said, placing the items he held on a nearby table. "And I must say, it seems rather impolite of you to invite that paper pusher who never attends your events anyway, and not me." He settled down on an armchair and clicked his claws together.

"My apologies, Lord Terrin. You have expressed many times your complete and utter lack of interest in both social functions and attempts to reconstruct history that don't involve King Demise. I must ask-what is it you want?" Amelia's eyes narrowed.

Terrin held up his hands in what Ghirahim supposed was intended to be a disarming fashion, but his long claws gave the appearance of an attack being readied. "Do you automatically assume I must have ulterior intentions?"

Ghirahim noticed a robed demon had filed in behind Terrin. The robes looked very much like a popular style of sorcerer's robe, but Ghirahim didn't recognize this one. The red demon walked obliviously past them and pressed his face and hands to the window.

"I suppose if you're going to be uninvited," Ghirahim said, "You may as well bring friends too. But who is this, and why is he licking the window?"

"Oh, him?" Terrin said, a clawed hand gesturing briefly towards the sorcerer. "That's my assistant, Astaroth. He just arrived this morning from the Lower Realms. As you can see, he is still experiencing rather severe surface disorientation and, well, I couldn't just leave him by himself. You know how it is."

"Your assistant is a sorcerer," Ghirahim said. A quite powerful one at that.

"Yes, I've noticed." Terrin gestured over at the items he had placed on the table. "Anyway, I brought you all food as a consolation for my obviously undesired presence. And I don't think it is an exaggeration to say that I am an absolutely excellent cook."

Ghirahim narrowed his eyes. "And are there any poisons, mind-altering substances, sleeping potions, immobilizing agents, or curses on or in your food or beverages?"

Terrin laughed. "No to all of the items of your inquiry. And I must say, your list is quite thorough, although I suppose that is to be expected considering your past-mishap."

"Is he telling the truth?" Lady Pyre asked. She had wandered over to examine the new foodstuffs Terrin had placed on the table. She held her club with one hand, propped over her shoulder.

"Yeeesss," Ghirahim said slowly. He supposed that Terrin would have anticipated his question, but he was still surprised that the masked demon had been able to answer it truthfully. Why else would he be here?

The bokoblin lady grabbed a pale triangular item from a plate and took a bite. "This-thing-is amazingly good."

"Ah, glad you like it," Terrin said. "It's called a blueberry scone."

Lady Pyre eyed the remaining scones with a frown. "I would ask the recipe, but I imagine you would expect something absurdly expensive in return."

"Not at all," Terrin said, handing her a rectangular slip of grey mushroom-fiber paper. "Why does no one think I just might be feeling sociable?"

Why are you so good asking questions instead of answering them? "And is there any reason for this sudden outpouring of good will, Lord Terrin?" Ghirahim asked.

"You know, I was actually in quite a bad mood earlier," Terrin said. "Do you want to know what cheered me up?"

"By all means," Amelia said. "Do tell."

"I found a Sheikah graveyard."

"A graveyard? What is that?" Ghirahim asked. Perhaps an area where people stand around being grave and serious? No, that can't be it.

"Ah, yes. You're not familiar with the term, I see. It's the place where they bury their dead."

There was a collective gasp in the room. Ghirahim felt briefly ill. "Where they...bury...their dead?" He had heard that the surface dwellers did this, of course—it was by far their most revolting habit. Still, he hadn't known there was a word for the place they put all the corpses. He couldn't imagine anyone wanting to name such a thing.

"Oh, yes. They are quite meticulous about it, too. They put a great large stone at the head of each one they bury. Well, anyway, that part made it easier for me to dig them back up. After which I doused them all in lamp-oil and burned the entire place to the ground, of course."

Ghirahim reflected that there were not many things that he liked about Lord Terrin, but at least the ancient demon would never bury a corpse.

Terrin's claws began scratching at the cushioned armrests of the chair. "I just couldn't bear the thought of what they would eventually become. I do despise redeads so very, very much."

"I suppose that is understandable," Amelia said. "And I presume you-cleaned up before making your food?"

"Of course," Terrin said. "Very thoroughly. Do I look unkempt?"

Ghirahim reflected that Terrin seemed to have put significantly more effort into his appearance than he usually did, which was to say that he looked clean and his suit was considerably less ratty than the usual ones.

Amelia gave the scones a thoughtful look before picking one up and nibbling it. "Well, I suppose as long as your going to be well-mannered, you can stay."

"Thank you, Lady Sirin," Terrin said.

"I prefer Amelia. Lady Amelia if you must," she said.

"Ah, yes, that's right. You've said that a few times before, I recall now." His mask tilted towards her. "I'll try to remember that, Amelia. Personally, I don't understand this whole business with having two names, anyway. Back in my day, we only got one and that was good enough."

The masked demon chuckled. "Ah, but listen to me ramble on about nothing in particular. Do feel free to continue your conversation without me."

The red demon lady raised an eyebrow. "You seem to have expended a lot of effort to attend this event, Lord Terrin. I can't believe that it is simply to nap in that armchair, no matter how cozy it may be."

"You're right," the masked demon said, pointing a claw at her. "There was something I wished to discuss with you, but of course I wouldn't want to interrupt your entertainment for such—serious talk. So I thought I'd just wait until the end-"

Amelia crossed her arms. "I think I prefer to group all interruptions together. This isn't about that marriage proposal, is it? Because if it is-"

"Oh, no! Of course not!" Terrin said. "You were quite clear the last time, and I am aware that I have little to offer in that regard. Anyway, you can't blame me for asking, can you? Second in line to the throne...would've saved me a lot of—trouble. But no, I've not come to ask about that again."

"Then about what?" Amelia asked.

"Are you certain you don't want to wait to discuss this? It's rather unpleasant—would probably ruin the peaceful ambiance of this event." He waved a hand to gesture around the room.

Amelia turned to scan the room. Ghirahim's gaze followed hers, and he noticed that everyone was watching, their eyes wide. Amelia grimaced. "I think we may as well appease everyone's burning curiosity. Otherwise who knows what wild rumors will be started? So let's just get this over with."

"Very well. Before I came to the surface, your father sent a messenger to visit my fortress. I thought he might have been angry about my marriage proposal to you or some such thing."

"And what did he actually want?" Amelia asked.

"Ah, I can see from your expression that you know your relatives much better than I. He asked me to kill you."

A sudden space appeared around Terrin.

Only Ghirahim hadn't moved from his spot near the scones. He picked one up. "And did you accept?"

Terrin laughed. "Do you mean to ask if I plan to kill Lady Amelia? Or if I told him I would? Because you see, he offered half the money up front, and I'm not about to turn down a free donation to my cause. But no, I have no plan to kill Lady Amelia at present. Hence why I am reporting his offer. Lord Sirin's desire to winnow his family tree interests me not."

Ghirahim reflected that he would need to make the time soon to deal with the elder Lord Sirin. He turned to face the demon woman."I am sorry, Amelia, that you have such unpleasant family," Ghirahim said. "And here I thought dealing with just the one Lord Sirin was difficult enough."

"Actually," Amelia said, "I still feel you got worser end of that. At least I had known for a long time that my brother wanted me out of the way." She sighed. "This information about my father does not surprise me, either, although I did not expect him to try such extreme measures."

"I must apologize for my morbid news, but I did try to warn you," Terrin said.

Amelia only shook her head. "This was something I needed to know." She looked thoughtful. "You have my thanks, but I must wonder why you bothered to tell me at all. You, Lord Terrin, are not even remotely sentimental, nor do I think you have any special interest in my well-being."

"Very true. The explanation is simple, however. You see, the Elite Guard serves their one master, and no other. My master was King Demise. And he was quite clear that we should—make an example of anyone who thought they could use us for their own personal mercenaries, through either coercion or coin. I meant to mention it earlier, but—other priorities distracted me."

Yes, like trying to get the Unbreakable Sword, Ghirahim thought. He was sure that would have occupied much of Terrin's thoughts. Not only was it necessary to use the sword to kill Tala, but it would make Terrin a nearly unstoppable fighter. I'm probably the only one who would be able to rein him in if he had the sword. On the other hand, if I refuse, the results are sure to be—inconvenient. And then who would be able to get close enough to Tala to kill her without her using her magic on them first? Ghirahim wasn't looking forward to making that decision in a few short days. He put the thought out of his mind for the moment, though.

Lady Pyre and several of the other attendees gathered around Amelia to express their dismay at hearing the news of her father's homicidal tendencies. Ghirahim took a bite of the scone he had picked up.

You, Lord Terrin, are a troublemaker of many talents. It is fortunate for us all that Lady Pyre got that recipe.

When Link landed on the ground and slid off Firestar near the Academy, he took a moment to drink one of his red health potions to heal the many wounds he had sustained in Eldin. The potion also slaked his thirst, although he much preferred the taste of the water Ghirahim had given him in the Earth Temple.

Fi flipped out of the sword. She had tried to talk to him earlier, but one of the demon soldiers had seen him and he had needed to return to the sky. "I am glad you are well, Master. We have much to discuss. Did you obtain the stone tablet?"

Link nodded.

"Did you encounter Zelda when you were in the Temple?"

Link nodded again and reached for some paper.

"I remind you that that won't be necessary," Fi said. "I can retrieve anything you wish me to know directly from your thoughts." Fi tilted her head, silent for several moments. Link guessed she was considering his thoughts. "The Sheikah said you have a curse on you. I can sense it, but it is not strongly bound to you. You should see if you can find a magic user in Skyloft to remove it."

Link hesitated. Fi didn't seem overly concerned about the curse. And there was something else on his mind.

"Master, these new thoughts I see from your mind—they concern me deeply. I am quite familiar with Lord Terrin-but we had believed him to be dead."

Did Fi still not understand what he meant? Link wondered if his thoughts were just too jumbled. The fight with the demon had distressed him in more ways than one.

"Ah. You are concerned that you may have killed him?" Her voice, though it was calm as always, carried an undertone of surprise.

Link nodded.

"Master, I think if you understood what Lord Terrin is, you would not be concerned for such things."

But she had asked him not to kill anyone, hadn't she? Link knew she had done it so that Lord Ghirahim would not be able to kill him without breaking their agreement. While he wasn't concerned that that would happen anymore, he was concerned that he had failed to avoid killing anyone. As a knight, he was sworn to protect people, not kill them! He hadn't even realized what must have happened until he had left the temple.

"Master Link, I understand now the reason for your distress. Please allow me to reassure you. This situation was not something you were ever prepared for as a knight. But you did not fail—you succeeded admirably. You survived. Furthermore, I must regret that in this case, you did not disregard my advice and your knight's vows."

Link gave her a puzzled look.

"There is a 99.5% chance that Lord Terrin is still alive."

Link didn't understand how that could be. The part of the path the demon had been on had fallen into the lava!

"Master Link, demons can withstand extremely high temperatures. Submersion into lava is not fatal for them unless they drown, as you might in water. It is extremely unlikely that Lord Terrin drowned in the lava flow he fell into. The events I see from your thoughts and my previous knowledge of Lord Terrin instead indicate that he is still alive."

Link was surprised, but then he remembered that Ghirahim had been cool to the touch even in the sweltering heat of the Earth Temple.

"I will remind you that you need not worry that you will nullify the vow. Only the direct actions of either myself or the demon lord could cause that. Furthermore, you are still protected by the stipulations Lord Ghirahim and I agreed to. Your thoughts indicate that you did not think at the time that you were killing anyone—that thought only occurred to you later. And Lord Terrin is almost certainly still alive. Therefore, Lord Ghirahim still must not kill you or give any orders for others to kill you unless he wishes to break his end of the vow."

Link wasn't sure he followed the sword spirit's logic, but conceded she was the one who would know best how her agreement worked.

Link stood in front of his mother's grave. He always visited it at least once every month. Right now he was trying to imagine what she would have looked like. She had died when he was three, so he didn't remember her very well. Rusta had taken care of him after that. It had been so long ago, but part of it felt like a wound that would never heal. Maybe it was because he had been there when she had died.

"Link. I thought I might find you here," a familiar voice said behind him. Link turned to face Rusta. The old man scratched his beard. "There's something I need to discuss with you. Walk with me?"

Link nodded and followed the old man as he walked out of the graveyard.

"I wish your Ma could see you now-a grown man, a knight, the chosen hero. I know she'd be proud 'o you." Rusta said. "And I'm sure your Pa would, too, although she told me he died before you were born. But as you know, he was also a knight."

Rusta looked pensively off into the distance as they crossed the bridge. "I can't help but worry about you, though. I think you're more in danger than even you realize. Remember when you were attacked by that many-eyed sky monster? When you were going to meet Gaepora at the Lumpy Pumpkin?"

Link's eyes widened and he nodded.

"I guess that was a silly question. Something like that would be hard to forget, eh?" Rusta smiled ruefully for a moment before his expression grew serious. "I think you're more in danger from it than you might imagine, though. The other day, when I was riding my bird, I heard it talk."

Link stopped.

"What is it? I hope you don't think I've gone mad. Everyone else seems to think so..." he grimaced.

Link shook his head. He took out a piece of paper and sketched his thoughts before handing it to Rusta.

"I knew it! I knew I wasn't crazy! So it talked around you, too?" He squinted at the paper. "Oh—er and then it tried to kill you? Guess it was a good thing I hid after all."

Link reflected that that was certainly true.

"So we need to do something about it!" Rusta said. "The other knights think they can handle it on their own, but—I'm not sure they can."

Link agreed very strongly with that statement. Now that he was certain he knew who controlled the sky monster, he shuddered thinking of the other knights fighting it.

"But you're caught up in all this Goddess business with Zelda, and I know you can't ignore that to track down the monster. We need to call on someone who can face the creature down and subdue it."

Link tilted his head. He wondered who Rusta referred to.

"We need Levias to aid us."

Link nodded. The spirit of the skies was said to be the defender of the Hundred Isles, the creature who would handle threats the knights might not be able to. Before, Link hadn't known what that could possibly be. Now, he felt he understood all too well.

"I think you'll need to be the one to make the request, though. Since no one else believed me about the monster, I don't know if he would, either. You'll ask him, right?"

Link nodded.

"Thank you, Link. My mind will certainly be more at ease knowing that Levias fights the monster for us."

Link found Levias waving his fins lazily and circling under the shade of a nondescript floating island. When he approached on his Loftwing, the spirit of the skies looked over at him, his long white beard flowing gracefully in the wind. "You'd like to talk to me?" Link nodded as the eye of the great spirit followed his movement.

"Hrrrnnmmm. I thought so. Could you do me the favor of landing on my head? It's hard to talk to people who are constantly moving."

Link moved Firestar in for a landing on the flat stone-like covering on Levias.

"Ah, Link! I've heard a great deal about you from my other visitors. What brings you here?"

Fi flipped out of the sword. "Link came to ask your assistance in fighting the sky monster that has recently been seen in Skyloft."

"Fi! I have not seen you in a very, very long time. But I should have known you would not be far from the Hero of the Goddess."

Fi inclined her head. "Of course. Which is why we have come to ask your assistance-"

"Hrrrnnnmmmm. Yes, you mentioned. The sky monster. Why does it concern it you, though, hrrnnnnmmmm? The Knights seem to have it under control."

"The sky monster is being controlled by Lord Terrin."

Link felt the thick carapace below his feet vibrate with a surprised bellow. Looking down, he thought he saw the sky spirit's eye widen. "I thought all of the guard of Demise had long perished! Especially, hrrrnnnnnnnnn, that one."

"I am afraid that is not so," Fi said.

Link sketched a picture of the demon and held it above the sky spirit's left eye.

"Yes, I think that must be him." Levias said, dismay in his voice. "I was sure that Tala would destroy him, after...what happened. Well, no matter. I was wrong. And if the sky monster is being controlled by him, I have no doubt that I must assist, as you have asked."

"Thank you, Levias," Fi said. "Is there any assistance that you will need-?"

"Not at all, hrrnnnnnnmm! You remember when I still traveled between Skyloft and the lands below, do you not? When I fought to defend those in both land and sky, before the Goddess bade me to stay in this realm? I have not forgotten how to fight. Still, please stay a while, and tell me everything you know of this beast, and how it is controlled."

When they finished describing their encounters with the sky monster and Lord Terrin, they headed back to the main island of Skyloft. Link needed to visit the bazaar again before he left for the Surface again.

Link stopped walking when one of the trees spoke.

"Er, hey, Link...if you aren't too busy-" it said with a familiar voice.

"What he means is that we could use your help," came another voice Link recognized.

The sky hero looked up. Fledge and Shad were hanging upside down from the tree, their legs tied to a branch. Shad waved. "It's rather uncomfortable up here, as you might imagine."

Link scaled the tree and helped the two student knights down from it.

Shad brushed himself off and grinned, taking off his cracked glasses. "Thanks for helping us out!" He sighed. "Looks like I'll need to get another pair of glasses, though. I'm practically blind without them."

Fledge looked down. "I hope we didn't take up too much of your time."

Link shook his head.

"Don't be silly, Fledge," Shad said. "It's his duty as a knight to help the average citizen and, ah, the less physically inclined student knights."

"You mean incompetent," Fledge said, looking miserable.

"I prefer dexterity-challenged," Shad said. He looked over to Link. "You may have already guessed, but it was Groose who-"

"Well if it isn't the weakling 'Hero'," A voice behind Link said. "Heard you just came back. I thought you might be stopping by here."

"Never mind," Shad said. "Looks like he's dropped by to incriminate himself."

Link turned around to face Groose. The large elf had a scowl on his face. "You stay out of this, scrawny." He stalked towards Link. Link decided that whatever Groose was planning, he didn't have time for it. He drew his sword.

Groose stopped, his expression a scowl. "Are you aiming that thing at me? What, has being on the Surface scrambled your brain or something? Or did you just forget that a knight is never supposed to aim their weapon at a person? You could cut someone with that!"

Link lowered the sword slowly. On the Surface, he often had to use the sword to defend himself. But things weren't the same here. He didn't need to use the sword against anyone here. Not even Groose.

The red-haired elf crossed his arms."Anyway, you don't have to get so worked up. I just wanted to ask you something."

Link narrowed his eyes. Groose just wanted to ask him something, so he had tied Fledge and Shad to a tree?

"Did you bring Zelda back yet?"

Link shook his head.

"Do you even know where she is?"

Link shook his head again. He wondered again what she had meant by saying she would meet him again at the edge of time.

Groose's face twisted in anger. "Well, isn't that just great? I can't believe you're the chosen hero. What do you even do down there on the Surface? Sleep all day?"

Link growled.

"And you're supposed to be her best friend? With friends like you, Zelda doesn't even need enemies!" Groose turned around and stormed off.

Link frowned as he watched Groose disappear over a hill.

"Hey, er, just ignore him," Fledge said. "We know you'll find her!"

Shad nodded. "Anyway, how can Groose talk? He may act tough, but I notice he never flies too close to the cloud barrier, even. I think he's afraid of being too low in the sky."

"It must be scary down there on the Surface, though, if you're so used to bringing your sword out that you don't even think about it," Fledge said.

Link wondered about that. When he had first come to the surface, everything about it had seemed frightening. There were still things about it that frightened him, but he noticed fewer and fewer of them as time went on. Was that a good thing? Or should he be worried that the surface was turning him into someone who felt less? Was that why the surface dwellers could kill each other so easily?

Link had intended to just head straight to Luvina and Bertie to buy some potions, but Gondo had waylaid him with an offer to upgrade his items. "You're going to need the finest gear of any knight, surely." Gondo said. "Let me show you what I can do!" The burly, dark-skinned blacksmith beckoned him toward the stall.

Link walked over to Gondo's counter and pulled the items out of his adventure pouches. Gondo looked down at the items, tilting his head and scratching his well-groomed beard.

"Yes, I can update this—really basic slingshot?" Gondo looked the device over, frowning. "Don't know what you want with it—it's kind of a toy. But scatter-shot will make it more effective at whatever it is you do with this thing."

He opened up the bomb bag and closed it quickly. "Oookay. You just be real careful with these things, right? Guess no one's gonna laugh at your slingshot when you have explosives, eh? I can upgrade this too. I'll-make the bag bigger, although I'm kind of almost afraid to."

Link suddenly realized that he had missed one of his items. He pulled out the flying bug. Gondo's expression lit up when he saw the mechanical device. "Ah, now this—this is really something. "I'm just going to-take a look at this, okay?"

Link nodded. Gondo picked the metal insect up and turned it over, examining it from all sides. He placed it right side up on top of his hand and nudged the back of it lightly. It flew into the air, causing the other bazaar patrons and merchants to gasp and stare at it. When it flew back, Gondo's mouth was gaping.

Gondo's response spilled out quickly, as if he were having trouble containing it. "That-was-the- most-amazing-thing-I-have-ever-seen. Where-did-you-even-find-something-like-this?"

Link sketched an image of the Skyview Temple and handed it to Gondo.

"Is this—from the surface?" the blacksmith asked.

Link nodded.

"I wish I could go there. This little creature is a real treasure. You take good care of it, okay? I—can't really think of any way to improve it right now. But I'll let you know if I do."

Slowly, the blacksmith handed the metallic insect back to Link. Link put it carefully back into his adventure pouch.

As Gondo was upgrading his items, Link noticed Fledge walk into the bazaar carrying a long, thin item wrapped in several layers of brown paper. Thinking back, he remembered Fledge had headed back toward his house after the encounter with Groose, telling Shad how he was glad he had forgotten to grab some package of his before he left. The student knight waved as he passed. Curious, Link watched as Fledge brought the item over to the storage counter.

Peatrice looked up at Fledge, a bored expression on her features.

"Hmmm? Did you want to store something?"

"Er. Yeah," Fledge said. He placed a wrapped package on the counter. "I just wanted to store this." He dug into his pocket and pulled out several rupees. "How much should I-?"

Peatrice waved the money away. "You don't need to pay anything."

Fledge's eyes widened. "I—don't?" Link had already known this, but he realized that Fledge may never have had a reason to put anything into storage before.

"No," Peatrice said. "Storage service is free."

"Um—that's great." Fledge looked troubled. "Why is it free?"

Peatrice sighed. "Look, this is how it works. I store things for free so people will give me things they don't use very often but aren't ready to get rid of. But a lot of the time, they realize they don't actually need the item. Sometimes, they've kept it with me for a very long time, or they got a better one, or they didn't really like it as much as they thought."

"And when that happens, I sell it for them and take a 10% commission. So my real job is selling old stuff that the owner doesn't want anymore. Do you mind if I take a look at your item? I don't really like storing things when I don't know what they are."

"Er—sure. I'm not planning to sell it, by the way."

"You don't have to. I don't sell items unless I'm asked to. Otherwise I just keep them here." Peatrice carefully pulled off the brown paper covering the item on one end, and gave a low whistle as she pulled it out of the package.

She traced a finger across the flat of the brilliant blue blade, stopping when she reached the mark of the triforce on the hilt. "Where did you get this? I've never seen a sword like this in my life."

"It's a family heirloom," Fledge said. "My dad gave it me when I started school at the Academy. I haven't really ever used it, though." In a lower voice, he said, "I'm actually kind of afraid of having it in my room. I might—I don't know—accidentally fall on it or something."

"Hey," Gondo said suddenly, causing Link to turn back toward the blacksmith's counter. "I'm done upgrading your stuff. Here is is!"

Link smiled and took the items back. He tried paying Gondo, but the blacksmith only laughed and waved the money away. "I'm not going to charge you anything, Hero of the Goddess. Just go out and save the world. That's your job, eh?"

Luvina frowned as she looked Link over. She had agreed to take a look at the curse after the bazaar had closed.

"Yes, I can remove it, but it's a very strange curse. I can see that it is very powerful, but it seems the caster didn't complete it. Otherwise it would certainly be stuck on you too tightly for me to remove. I wonder why such a powerful caster would have left such a curse half-finished?"

Luvina's musings were interrupted by a wail, followed by her husband Bertie shaking a rattle. She looked over at Bertie. "How's she doing?"

"Not so bad. Much less crying than usual."

Luvina turned and walked up to the bookshelves. She picked up a bowl and placed several ingredients into it. Then she picked up a mortar and pestle, along with a jug of water, and walked over to a table in the room. Link watched her mix the potion, humming to herself while she did. When she finished, she handed it to him. "It's going to taste really appalling. Trust me, it wouldn't even help to try to sweeten this. So, sorry about that, but it is the only way it will work."

Link nodded and drank the potion down quickly. It was immensely bitter. After a few minutes, Luvina said, "Looks like it's gone now."

Link didn't feel any different, but then he hadn't felt the curse being put on him, either. He rose to leave.

"Oh, my." Luvina said, sounding distressed. Her husband made a sound of dismay as well.

Link stopped.

"I'm sorry about this dear, but there is another curse on you. I didn't see it before because it was underneath the other."

Link turned around.

"Please, let me take a look at it."

Ghirahim woke from his nap. Stretching, he rose and groomed for a few minutes near his mirror, combing his hair and examining his clothing for dust. He walked out of his room and wandered down the hall toward Grendel's room.

He never reached the room, because he encountered Grendel in the hallway.

The shorter demon was eating a large slice of Deku pear, a look of pure bliss on his face. He certainly enjoys his food...

"I must say, Lord Grendel, the level of enjoyment you are expressing right now does not seem at all proper for the hallway. Perhaps you and the love of your life should move to a more private area." Amelia is right. I am an awful and cruel person. But that was fun.

Grendel stopped, his face one of shocked horror before the slightly bored sneer moved to occupy it instead. "Oh, it's you. Of course I expected to see you just now. Well, I'm eating this absolutely disgusting fruit-thing and I don't want want a word with you at all. Here, let's not go into this random empty room here since of course it is proper to converse of serious matters in the hallway."

Ghirahim dutifully followed Grendel into the room. He stopped in front of the green demon, grimacing. He had hoped at least that it would take a few more minutes before he had to deal with Grendel's incessant lies. "And what is it, then, that you don't wish to discuss?"

"Of course I wouldn't be at all interested in knowing what kind of magic allows one to win any kind of sword duel against all opponents. Even ones who wield the Unbreakable Sword. No, that would not interest me at all." Grendel narrowed his eyes. He took another bite of the Deku pear.

Ah, so that's what this is about. He wants to know how I beat Lord Terrin in our little duel.

Ghirahim gave him a small smile. "Maybe you should put the topic up for discussion in our next council meeting."

"Do not mock me," Grendel said, scowling. He looked around as if the bare walls might harbor spies, and lowered his voice. "Whatever it is, I certainly don't want Lord Terrin to know it!"

Ah, well. Too late for that, unfortunately. Ghirahim grinned. "I do believe you forgot to lie that time. This must really vex you."

"I must know what it is! Unless you plan for my death to follow soon after yours!"

"Oh, that." Ghirahim said. Somehow this topic always came up. It was certainly clear to Ghirahim why Grendel did not want to ever sit the throne. The plump demon was terrified that some ambitious noble would bring about his end. "Well, as I don't plan to die any time soon-"

"Neither do I!" Grendel said. "If there is magic that can defeat the Unbreakable Sword, I need to know what it is! I know you said I get the sword if you die-"

"Yes," Ghirahim said, grimacing. That fact wasn't something he liked to think about overmuch.

"But that's not going to help me a lot, is it? Because first, I have to find a sorcerer I trust to use it. Then I have to hope he doesn't die when someone starts using whatever magic you have learned against him."

Ghirahim shook his head. "Really, Grendel, the bearer of the magic I wield is not by any means guaranteed success, any more than the wielder of the Sword is. Despite all the magic I possess, I killed Releris with only a simple dagger."

"And then you killed one of his Elite Guard by teleporting! Yes, I remember. I was there. I'm fairly sure that I was not the only one thinking that I do not want to mess with this innocuous-looking assassin I was just laughing at moments ago because he is some kind of powerful sorcerer, who, look, also happens to be holding a weapon."

"Why, thank you for sharing that. But if you really are so terrified of me, why do you always hassle me so?" Ghirahim said, his expression pained.

Grendel gave him annoyingly smug smile. "I find things out. You are not a tenth as insane as you appear to be. And you have already punished me as far as your nature allows." he frowned. "Though it galls me to see you make a mockery of every tradition and proper behavior of a ruler."

Ghirahim shrugged. "What do you expect? My skill in mockery is like a sharp blade. It would be a such a waste not to hone it."

Grendel scowled. "Anyway, you have moved this conversation off-course. Let me think on the point I meant to make." Grendel was silent for a moment, frowning. Ghirahim only sighed and stared up at the ceiling as he waited for Grendel to retrieve the thread of his intended conversation. "Yes, what I was trying to illustrate with that example was that magic is not everything, no. But it is certainly—helpful. If you had had only a dagger the day you killed Releris, and no magic, you would have had vengeance but would not now possess a throne. Or your life. So I need to know what magic you used when you fought the Faceless One."

"I wouldn't worry too much about how I defeated Lord Terrin. All you need to understand is that no one is invulnerable, not even the wielder of the Unbreakable Sword." Sometimes especially not the wielder of the Unbreakable Sword, Ghirahim thought, recalling fondly the brief look of surprise in Releris's eyes before he had died.

Grendel laughed. "You really do want me to die, don't you?"

"If you really, really don't want to be my heir, Grendel, you can always give the throne to Amelia if-"

"You always say that! That would not be proper! What is even worse is I know she would accept. Lady Sirin does not know her own weaknesses. No. I would never do that to her."

Ghirahim rolled his eyes. Inwardly, he pondered what he should do. He did not want the knowledge that he was bound to the sword to become widely available. He had spent most of his life concealing his connection with the sword. It was his greatest weakness. Still, given that Terrin already knows, the only way this could get worse would be if the Sheikahs found out. And if I'm going to tell Grendel, I may as well tell Amelia, and Pyre, and Rend. Of course Orynx and Ferrik already know.

Ghirahim sighed. "It won't be at all useful to you, but I will explain it to you if you really wish it. Later, of course."

Grendel looked surprised. "You—will?"

"Yes," Ghirahim said, not without some reluctance. "And to the others of the Diamond Table as well."

"Except for Lord Terrin," Grendel said.

Ghirahim shrugged and sighed. "Not much point in that. I may as well tell you—he already knows."

Grendel gave him a look of absolute horror. "You told him?"

"Don't be ridiculous. He figured it out himself."

Grendel wrung his hands. "Then—he'll be able to use that power himself..."

Ghirahim laughed and shook his head. "It doesn't work like that, Lord Grendel. Sometimes the price of power is higher than can be paid."

Grendel narrowed his eyes. "You really believe there is a price you have paid that Lord Terrin would not?"

"Not would not. Could not." Ghirahim smiled and snapped his fingers. The space around him shifted and changed. Ghirahim took a moment to enjoy the refreshing lack of Lord Grendel in front of him. And now that I've made my dramatic exit, I can address the rather pressing matter of finding Zelda. Fortunately, I already know where she's going this time. I really will need to thank Ferrik for all of his hard work in researching that.

"My lord? You asked to meet me here?" a voice behind him asked. Ghirahim turned around and faced Darrow. "Yes, we have much to discuss. What do you know of the Lanayru Province?"