Winds Of Change

XIII: Gerudo Town

Walking up to the gates, Link noticed that several of the men were staring at the duo.

"Is this how you feel most of the time?" He whispered, adjusting his veil. Meilen laughed quietly and nodded in answer. Link shuddered. "This feels terrible." Meilen shushed him as they passed the guards, who nodded to them in greeting. The bazaar of the town was much livelier than the one at the oasis. Many vai were simply wandering around and looking at what was being sold. Meilen nudged Link, pointing to the palace-like structure.

"I think that's where the Gerudo chief is. Let's just get this over with." Meilen muttered. Link nodded, and together, the pair walked up to, and into the throne room. The guard next to the young girl sitting on the throne immediately turned to them. The girl sighed, looking bored and exasperated. A name came to surface in Meilen's mind. Riju. That was the chief's name.

"Yet another traveler..." Riju drawled, her chin going onto her hand. "How did you get in here?" Riju's eyes narrowed, before they widened as she took note of the Sheikah Slate on Link's hip. "Oh, it seems you have something interesting there." Meilen took a step forward, but the guard stamped her claymore on the ground.

"You stand before Lady Riju, chief of the Gerudo! Declare your business, but come no closer!" The guard ordered. Riju laughed as Meilen narrowed her eyes and gave a threatening look to the guard.

"Hold on, Buliara. These two appear to be more than common travelers." Riju commanded, finally sitting up. "What are your names?"

"I am Meilen, and this is my companion, Link. This will-o-wisp here is Aithne." Meilen introduced, letting Link know to let her do all the talking.

"Meilen, Link, and Aithne.... And what is it you've come all the way to tell me, Meilen?" Riju asked, becoming more interested as she recognized the two names.

"We've come to appease Naboris." Meilen answered, her tone darkening to show the Gerudo chief that she wasn't joking.

"You think you have what it takes to subdue something so powerful as a Divine Beast?" Buliara scoffed. Meilen growled. "The only ones who could ever control them were Champions like Lady Urbosa."

"Then it's a good thing I am a Champion, now, isn't it?" Meilen ground out, her tone becoming dangerously cold. She'd been angered too many times to hold her temper in.

"All of the Champions died in the Great Calamity one hundred years ago." Buliara deadpanned. Meilen groaned in frustration.

"Hmm, Buliara." Riju interrupted before the girl before her could explode. It was quite obvious now who the two were, but Riju knew she had to throw Buliara off and ease the situation before confronting the two Champions. "A memory just jumped into my head. Something my mother spoke of. When the Calamity happened, the princess of Hyrule placed a fallen swordsman and a warrior into a deep sleep. Much like our new friends here, the swordsman's name was Link, and the warrior was called Meilen, though, it always seemed more like legend than fact. What of the device on this one's hip? It appears to be a precious relic of the Sheikah. I can't imagine they would give something so valuable to a pair of simple drifters. Can you?" Buliara calmed at the thought and nodded in reply to her chief.

"I don't remember hearing of a Hylian vai among the Champions." Buliara said, glancing at the duo. She growled in realization. "YOU'RE A VOE!" Link looked taken aback. Riju and Meilen both grew concerned in their minds.

"A voe within our walls is a great crime. But a voe who is a Champion..." Riju trailed off, seeming to think about her decision. "Well, we'd never mistreat a friend of Lady Urbosa. And if you're here to help us with Naboris, then we are allies. You saw it on your way to our town, didn't you? Divine Beast Vah Naboris, cloaked in a massive sandstorm, hurling lightning at any who dare approach. We have to do something to stop it, but we have yet to find a way to appease the Divine Beast on our own. If you two are truly Champions, perhaps you will be able to enter Naboris and calm its anger."

"Lady Riju, I fail to see how you can trust two complete strangers with something as important as this task." Buliara inquired, her grip on her weapon tightening. "Perhaps if they were to prove their worth by recovering your stolen Thunder Helm?"

"But surely you must see it, Buliara. These two have already proven their worth just by coming here. Tell me, do you not realize who they are?" Riju asked. Buliara shook her head. "They are the Link and Meilen from one hundred years ago. Lady Urbosa trusted them with her life, and so shall I. Tell the guard to prepare for visitors." Buliara nodded and left through a side door. "Sadly, Buliara has a point. We will not be able to approach Naboris without the Thunder Helm. It has a shield from lightning and can protect us. Unfortunately, the Yiga Clan has stolen it. I believe at least one of my guard members may have the location of their base. Go retrieve it, and we will be able to approach Vah Naboris." The duo nodded and turned to leave. "Oh, and Link, feel free to change into something more comfortable for you. I'll let everyone know that you will be allowed inside the town." Link thanked the young girl and turned to follow Meilen. He gave her a meaningful look and Meilen chuckled and snapped her fingers. She'd been working on a trick to change someone's clothes and it has worked the few times she has tried it. And sure enough, it worked this time as well. Link was changed back into his blue tunic, black cloak, and tan pants, and Meilen had on her gray tunic, black cloak, and white pants. Link nodded in thanks as they entered the guard room. The guards all went on alert, except for Buliara, who knew that Link was coming.

"A voe!" One guard shouted.

"Seize him!" Another yelled. as the guards rushed for weapons, Meilen sighed deeply.

"ENOUGH!" She screamed. Link, who had the good sense to cover his ears, was the only person in the room who didn't have ringing ears from the yell. "Now that you're all calm enough, I will explain what is going on. My name is Meilen, this is my companion Link, we are here to appease the Divine Beast. Now, Riju has informed me that one of you knows the location of the Yiga Clan scum's base. Tell me what you know, preferably before I lose my patience." She growled, eyes flashing dangerously. One vai stepped forward with an air of authority.

"My apologies! I'm the officer in charge of the soldiers, Captain Teake." She announced, spreading her hands in a placating gesture. Meilen moved her eyes to the captain, silently signaling for her to go on. "The chief's heirloom has been stolen by thieves belonging to the Yiga Clan the other day, so everyone is on edge. We've determined that the Yiga's hideout is in Karusa Valley, but the soldiers are all exhausted, so I was just thinking about requesting some extra help." Turning to her soldiers, Captain Teake yelled the following orders:

"LISTEN UP! These two have agreed to help us, so offer them any information you can!" Turning back to the pair, she gestured for them to ask around. "Consider yourselves officially a part of our unit. If you have any questions, do not be afraid to ask."

"Thank you." Meilen said, she and Link walking off. After approaching two glaring guards who held no information, they began to get frustrated, until they talked to one vai called Liana.

"These thieves are highly skilled in both stealth and disguise. They refer to themselves as the Yiga Clan. They slipped into town in the dark of the night, stole the chief's heirloom, and vanished like smoke in the wind. We believe them to be descendants of the Sheikah tribe that splintered and turned to villainy. But why would they steal the Thunder Helm?" Liana explained, making hand gestures to go along with it. Meilen sighed.

"Just as I thought. The Yiga are Sheikah who follow the command of Calamity Ganon," Meilen muttered to her companion, clasping her hands. "They stole the Thunder Helm to prevent us from getting close the Vah Naboris."

"We need to get going. I mapped out a route to the valley. How do you want to get there?" Link asked softly, holding up his Sheikah Slate. Meilen put a finger to her chin in thought.

"I was thinking sand seals."

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*EDITED ON 1/2/18*

Chapter Inspiration Song: Dreamwalker

So, funny story: I started writing this chapter when I uploaded the last one, but I had to leave and forgot to shut off my computer (Luckily I had saved the chapter). I came back this morning to finish the chapter and my computer screen pulled up and my chapter wasn't there. So I freaked out and reloaded the page on my phone to see if the draft had actually been saved. Then I logged out on my computer and logged back in and everything was fine except for the mild panic attack I had.

~Cypher