Shatter the Sky - Legend of Zelda | Twilight Princess

Return to Ordon

The brisk morning air hit Tara as she made her way into the middle of Hyrule Castle Town, illuminated by brilliant sunlight. Slightly perturbed from her last conversation with her employer, on the subject of her mediocre skill in the field of bounty hunting, she kept her eyes on the ground directly in front of her as she walked in the direction of the stables. You are yet very unskilled, and there is much still to be learned...

She heaved a giant sigh. Feo was right. She was no bounty hunting prodigy. She was Feo's go-to for easy missions when the other, more prestigious BH's were out on other missions. But she was only 17... She had a while to improve. Feoryth was also right about that.

Tara retrieved her horse, paying the stable keep more than half of the rupees left over from her last bounty.

Once in Hyrule Field, Tara patted her big, black horse's neck firmly.

"Hey Willie, baby, you miss me? Ooooo I know ya did, I know ya did," she crooned. The draft horse snorted, and his bridle clinked as he shook his mane of black hair. In her imagination, he was scoffing at her baby talk.

She climbed onto his back, and spurred him south, in the direction of Ordon.

The journey was relaxed, and took them four days of riding across the beautiful hills and plains of Hyrule Field to reach the forests of Faron. She entered into a clearing, where a man with an interesting choice of hairstyle was seated by a cauldron over an unlit fire. She gave a false, toothy smile as she twiddled fingers at the strange forest man, who obsessively tried to give her a lantern.

"Ha ha... Noooo thanks..." she hissed through her exaggerated smile as she tried to center his attention on something other than a lanter....

"Sir, I would be very grateful if you could answer a few of my questions..."

"Oh, yes yes yes, but I insist that you take this lantern, Miss Foreigner!" he called, waving the lamp back and forth furiously over his head like a signal.

"I assure you I don't need it, but if you could take a peek at these thugs and tell me if you've seen them, I'd-"

"Its rather foggy and dark in the forest!"

"Yes, but I'm quite confident I'll man-"

"Oh, no, trust me, Miss Foreigner, you're going to need it!" The man had risen from his seat by a cooking fire to strategically scuttle between Tara and the path to Ordon. Tara strained to keep her smile from turning to a snarl, her short temper threatening the possibility of getting information about her targets.

"All I need to know is if you've seen these men!" Tara thrusted the WANTED flyer of the group of thugs in the man's face, as he thrusted the lantern up at Tara on her horse, the ever-present, good-natured smile on his face. Annoyingly good-natured. They continued to banter with each other, Tara in rising fury, the Forest Man in good-natured amusement.

"Ahem..." Both ceased in their ridiculous exchange, turning their heads simultaneously toward the attention-seeking throat-clearer at the other end of the clearing.

A boy stood there, no older than Tara herself, blinking at them from across the clearing. He was clothed in the garb native to Ordon, and had the strong build of a farmer. A twitch of a smile threatened to expose itself on the corner of his mouth as he spoke up.

"Um, hello. If you don't want that lantern, Ma'am, I'll take it," he said politely, evidently trying to hide his amusement.

"Splendid, Guy!" The strange Forest Man clapped his hands together around the lantern as the Ordonian boy approached. Tara hunched low in Willie's saddle, grumbling in mock concentration as she attempted to hide her embarrassment behind the WANTED flyer. She desperately tried to gather up the shattered bits of her composure from behind the piece of parchment.

"Can I help you, Ma'am?" The boy's voice floated from beyond her view of the flyer.

"Oh, no. No, I'm fine," she chuckled nervously, fighting the rising flush of embarrassment at being seen arguing so ridiculously with a stranger.

"Your flyer's upside down," he said pleasantly, knowingly.

"Oh dear!" She guffawed nervously through her teeth, swiping the flyer away from her face. "How silly of me..." The boy laughed along with her, a warm, golden sound, as he softened the embarrassment for her.

"Well, I need that lantern quickly. I don't have anymore time to waste." His face darkened slightly, as he addressed the Forest Man. The man obliged, giving him the lantern, and encouraging him to buy lantern oil, should he run out. He thanked the man before he motioned toward the entrance of the clearing.

"See you later. I'm afraid a village boy is lost in Faron Woods, and I'm in a hurry to find him." The Forest Man bid him good luck as he gave him the key to the gate, and soon the farm boy was gone. Recovering from previously making a fool of herself, Tara gazed across the clearing toward the dark cave entrance in concern. Was that a wooden sword he tromped off into the tunnel with?

"I apologize, Miss Foreigner, I admit to dramatizing our encounter on purpose... It was all in good fun though," he smiled up at her, scratching the back of his head guiltily. Tara snorted, her pent-up, flustered state fizzling to nothing at his sincerity. "What brings you to Faron Province?" he asked her.

"Well, I'm a bounty hunter... from Hyrule Castle Town." The Forest Man gave a whistle.

"That far, huh?" he chuckled. Tara nodded. He extended his hand up to her. "Let me see that wanted sign," he said. Tara handed the parchment to him, and he examined it thoroughly. He tutted, and returned to her the flyer.

"They came and went, about 2 days ago. Rusl, from Ordon, showed them what's what before they left, though," he chortled. Tara's heart sank, her job becoming much harder.

"You don't say..." she muttered. The Forest Man patted Willie's flank.

"Your horse looks worn. You might want to catch Guy when he comes back around, he's from Ordon," Forest Man suggested amiably. "You could've gone after him if you had a lantern..." His smile was devilishly innocent.