Gerudo Forest

Chapter 31

They made it to the building in the middle without any problems so far. Entering she saw no sign of the hero and his spoiled guardian. She was positive that had been Epona. Where were they? They approached the desk in the front and odd looking little man sat behind it. He wore face paint and looked like he was trying to be a clown with a cigar hanging out of his mouth.  

"We would like to take a ride up?" Ganon said approaching the man. 

The clown put down the paper he had been reading.  

"I'm sorry but we are closed. The Zoras aren't allowing admittance and shut down the top station which is where the pulleys are powered from." the man replied nonchalantly.  

"Is there another way up?" He asked but Melissa realized already why she didn't see Link or Heather.  

They had flown to the top. 

"Nope. This is the only way if your human." The man said returning to his paper.  

"Come on. I know what to do." Melissa said grabbing his arm and leading him back out.  

It only to minutes to change and be on their way up. The further up the mountain she flew them the colder the air seemed to get. From the bottom they couldn't see it, but a light dusting of snow seemed to cover the upper part where she spotted a twin to the building below. She landed them a little away from it so she could change back without prying eyes just in case there was someone watching.  

Up here it was freezing cold. Why did Zoras Domain always get frozen? Was it Agahnim's doing or was it the fragment of the triforce acting up? Ganon pulled out his cape from a bag of things he had brought and wrapped her in it seeing her shivering.  

" Thank you." she said through chattering teeth.  

The cape helped a lot. She had noticed before that she had always felt a comfortable temperature in his cape. Even when in the hot desert it was comfortable.  

"It has a spell weaved into it to be the right temperature no mater the climate."He told her when he saw her curios look. 

She had wondered how he could wear a cape all the time.  

"How are you not cold?" she asked as they trudged up the path.  

"I'm used to the extreme temperatures of the desert. What was the weather like where you are from?" he asked making small talk.  

"Well it is nothing like the desert. It is a temperate climate. In the summer it gets pretty hot and humid. Nothing as hot as the desert but still pretty hot. In the winters it can get chilly but we rarely see snow. My favorite seasons of course are spring and fall when the temperatures are in between. I'm surprised at how well I did back at the Spirit Temple. I don't usually do well in heat." She admitted.  

"Just like my cape the clothes the gerudo wear keep us pretty comfortable in any temperature. The spell only works so much which is why you can still get cold or sweat but it absorbs a good bit of the heat or cold." He said keeping close to her to add his body heat to keep her warm. 

The path lead up the mountain and the streams that came out of the sides of the rock face had a thin layer of ice that thickened as they got higher. It began snowing as they trekked and she saw no signs of life. She searched for any indication that Link and Heather had passed this way but the snow had already covered any sign of tracks if there were any. The world around them had turned into a wintery wonderland. The trees were laden with snow which made them sway under the weight. She could hear branches snap and the trees creaking.  

As they got to the end of the path she finally spotted them sitting around a fire warming themselves. Link and Heather seemed to be discussing something. They sat on a bank near a waterfall that miraculously hadn't frozen over like the rest. The bank seemed to be paved with multi hued pebbles giving the ground a mosaic look. It formed a picture of the triforce in the middle. Standing stones etched with the zora's symbol ringed the perimeter.