The Legend of Zelda- Ocarina of Time

Into the Desert

Picture credits: https://www.deviantart.com/gold-copper/art/Gerudo-Fighter-189292599

Chapter 39Into the Desert

Great-winged beasts wove through the air, their bird-like features silhouetted against the star-studded sky. Their harsh screams resembled those of eagles, but only their heads and feathered forelimbs bore any resemblance to the esteemed creatures. As one of these beasts swooped towards a Gerudo, the warm glow of torchlight revealed a rider perched on the creature's back. The massive animal, its hindquarters resembling the body of a cat, tore through the air.

Only seconds after the bird had appeared, Link heard a distinct twang, and a crossbow bolt thudded into the beast's ribs. The creature shrieked and flailed, trying desperately to gain altitude, and then slammed into the inner wall that ringed the fortress.

The sound of footsteps running up the stairs behind him made Link turn around. Aveil reached the top and nearly ran into him.

"Stop gawking, boy!" she snarled. Any further words were caught in her throat as she grimly took in the fighting in front of her. "We need to keep moving. Kotake fled after I accused her of treason, but I doubt she's gone far."

"How do we get out of here?" Link said, trying to hide his dismay.

"Same way as planned," Halvard replied, coming up behind Aveil, sounding breathless. "Once we're close enough to the gate nearest the river, all we need to do is use the portal stone. Just stay close."

Shrinking back out of sight, Aveil led them into the shadows of a nearby section of the wall. They could still see the doorway they had come through off in the distance, but nobody pursued them. The main gates were choked with Gerudo as they rushed to attack the invaders, so Link's small party was left to find another route. He kept wondering why Kotake was no longer pursuing them. Had the Gerudo slain her? Before Link could contemplate this further, and as he crouched in the shadow of a storehouse, a harsh cry from one of the circling birds caught his attention.

"What are they?" Link whispered to Navi, squinting as he tried to get a better look at one of them without breaking his cover.

"Griffins," Navi answered. "I never expected to see one."

"How about admiring them some other time?" Aveil said snappishly in a harsh whisper. "Right now, we need to focus on getting you out of here."

"And they think I'm impatient," Navi muttered.

Without another word, Aveil motioned for Link to follow and then dashed out from their meagre cover. They darted through a door and along a gallery. Carved screens depicting a latticework of intricately woven flowers separated the gallery from the courtyard beyond, hiding them from view. Before long, Aveil led the way up a flight of stairs and onto a lavishly decorated balcony that overlooked a throne of gilded white stone. It offered the king a view of a courtyard and the empty gardens where his people would have once gathered. The gardens were empty now, but the rise and fall of the sounds of battle suggested that this wouldn't be the case for long.

Aveil didn't linger. She waved for Link to follow, and he let her guide him out of the king's courtyard, through a narrow doorway, and into another courtyard. Doing his best not to focus on the sight of the dead riders and griffins on the cold flagstone, Link hurried after Aveil until they reached another building. It was a tall stone structure, its closest wall engraved with the figure of a woman in modest garb and flanked by columns decorated with pictures Link didn't recognise. As the trio reached this building, which Navi guessed was a shrine, two griffin riders flew across the yard, forcing the group to take cover. When the riders had vanished into the night, Halvard motioned for Link and Aveil to keep moving.