[EDITING] The Legend of Zelda: Goddess of Secrecy

Overworld Chapter 6 - Beneath the Flaming Mountain

...and then on higher into the mountain pass leading higher up. They continued for most of the day, arriving near sunset at a village. They passed under a wooden arc that marked Kakariko Village's entrance. A rooster crowed at them as they went by, marking the hour.

Endeavor slowed Quicksilver, taking the citizens into consideration. Link looked around the red, earthen town as they trotted into. Most of the houses had stone bases, followed by cream plaster walls turned an orange-ish color from the dust. Most of the roofs were made of metal. With the mountain looming overhead, he didn't have to imagine why

Death Mountain shot up at the edge of town. A narrow path had been carved out of the side up to a plateau, threading dangerously through the cliffs. As the sun began to set, Link agreed that he didn't want to climb that at night.

"You wait here," Endeavor ordered.

While Link didn't see much reason to argue, he asked, "Why?"

Endeavor replied, "You are not a knight, though you are dressed like one, and the King will forget to send out any word to his knights about you being the Hero, even with that permit of his. That is for the best, in some ways, but for now if you present yourself to enter a battleground, it will not go well."

"A battleground?" Link inquired as he slid off Quicksilver's back to the ground.

"I suppose Eveningale is reserved enough that you would not know that state of your country," Endeavor answered, "but currently Death Mountain is being overrun by monsters, and the Dark Lord's return has been no help to the noble soldiers' cause."

"Then what should I do?"

"Find a better shield for one," Endeavor instructed. "Din's Temple is filled with fire, and that wooden one with burn before it finds any good use. I will signal you through Yore when I have found a way for you to get through."

As Yore landed on Link's wrist guard, Endeavor kicked Quicksilver back into a trot, and then into a canter as they began to climb up the side of the mountain with their wolf behind them.

Link looked at Yore once, before walking on into Kakariko to work on the task he was given. A small trainyard stirred up dust on the edge of town, but then again, so did everything. There were a few cucco huts nestled on the border, behind a thin outcrop of farming land. Mostly wheat and corn, from the looks of it, but several of the houses had herb gardens set up behind them.

Wandering into town, Link passed several desolate shops. With the news Endeavor had given him, he wasn't surprise to find the village mostly empty. It was also getting late in the day, and danger and darkness liked to follow each other. Link managed to slip into one shop before it closed. The shopkeeper looked up, saying, "Be quick, son. I'm closing down shop for the night."

The wares were general for a town: food, clothes, a few weapons that would be good for the evenings, lantern oil, and so on.

In the back of the shop, Link found a metal shield. It had a gray rim, with a blue base and the royal red bird flying into the air. Above the bird was the Triforce in gleaming gold. Beneath the bird's talons was an upside down triangle. Link studied it for a moment.

Looking up from where he was cleaning his counter, the shopkeeper said, "It's a nice piece. A knight brought it in from Castle Town the other day. Too heavy for most of the locals, and all of the knights are issued metal works before they arrive here. Seems you're behind the curb, son."

Link tensed, not sure what to do. Not thrilled about it, he answered, "I was just promoted. And I'm not really here to reinforce the knights."