The Darknut and the Desert

Benkei would only chuckle and shake his head at the Hylian. ”Fear not. I know what I am doing when it comes to forging. They will be plenty durable, probably more-so than your previous blades. I have my trade secrets to protect so I won’t go into detail on how I reduced the weight while maintaining their integrity though.”

”Fair enough. So we haven’t discussed where we will be escorting you to yet. If you wouldn’t mind letting me know I can start planning our route. Number of stops. Where we will rest at night. Order of watch.” There was still a lot to do before they set out after all.

”Ikana. From what I have gathered it isn’t far past Eyeglass Lake.” The smith would only smile behind his mask. Curious as to how the Hylian was going to react.

”I’ve only heard tales of the Kingdom of Ikana. That the monsters that live there are ruled over by an immortal, undead Stalfos King and that all monsters that venture there become peaceful.” Of course rumors are rarely true. Even in such a magical land the young Hylian doubted such a place truly existed. After all in his own experience there had never been such a thing as a peaceful monster.

”That is exactly why I want to go there. I want to see if the rumors are true. If such a place does actually exist. If it is how I have heard then I may have found a new place I can settle down in later on in life. I would prefer not returning to the place my creator died.”

Turning to face Benkei once more there was a look of confusion on his face. He wants to live in an area full of monsters. His creator? Does he mean his mother? Benkei’s words had the Hylian deep in thought. So deep that he didn’t hear Alia calling out to him.

Suddenly a Samanosuke would feel a hand on his back and spin around to find himself face to face with Alia. ”Everything okay boss?” Alia was a little worried that she was able to sneak up on their leader when openly calling out to him. Just what was on his mind that had him so lost in thought?

”Yeah. Sorry. I was just thinking about somethings.” Turning away from Alia he would face Benkei once more. ”Even with mounts it will take us a few days to reach your destination. Hopefully we can do so without the need to fight the entire way across the desert, but if it comes down to it we will keep you safe. No doubt about that.”

”Fear not if we do run into trouble I am more than capable of defending myself.” Turning his attention away from the samurai he would pick up the spear and hold it out to Alia. ”If you wouldn’t mind, could you examine your spear for me and let me know what you think of the job I did.”

Alia would only nod as she took her spear from the smith and began to eye it thoroughly before quickly taking her normal fighting stance. He spear felt lighter than before, but she could tell that it was just as strong as it ever had been. Sliding her spear into the holster on her back she would give a bow to the smith. ”It’s amazing. You did a fantastic job. Thank you.” They were getting their rupees worth that was for sure.

Next to enter the forge was Elizabeth. Her weapon hadn’t needed any work so instead of heading over to the table she would approach Samanosuke. ”So were you able to find out where we will be escorting him to?” She was curious if the smith was still withholding that information or if he had told Samanosuke since he had already completed their payment and they couldn’t turn down the job any longer.

Turning to face Elizabeth, the young samurai would fill her and Alia in on where they were headed. ”Ikana. I’ve already got our route planned out as well. We are just waiting for the rest of the group to get here and get geared up.” Of course his previous thoughts were still on his mind. He wanted to know why Ikana and what he meant by creator. He knew that now was not the time to question him though. He would have plenty of time to ask questions on their trip, although his clients personal information was none of his business, he just had to know.

Ban had entered the forge just in time to hear Samanosuke’s explanation. He would head to the table without a word and retrieve his sword and mirror shield and inspect them. His mirror shield hadn’t changed much other than having a much cleaner shine to it. His sword, much like the others, felt lighter than before. Satisfied he would sheathe his sword and slide his mirror shield onto his back.

Now they were just waiting for Jared to arrive and they would be ready to set out. The youngest of the siblings had taken his time in showing up. Or at least that is how it appeared to the others. They figured he was just calming down after the previous conversation in the inn, but in reality he had been held up by a female Kokiri who was giving him advice. Ignoring his weapons Jared would immediately approach Alia. ”Hey sis. I’m….I’m sorry.” It wasn’t the most heartfelt apology, but at least it was something.

”It’s fine. Just don’t do it again. Now hurry up and get your swords so we can head out.” Alia was still angry at Jared, but she was happy that he had apologized even if it was because of their older siblings.

With a nod Jared would pick up his two swords and immediately sheathe them. He didn’t take any time to inspect them. He knew that if there had been problems with the weapons they would have been found by the others long before he ever got to lay his hands on his swords. Now that he was geared back up he would look towards Samanosuke and the smith waiting for them to head out before he followed behind them.

”Looks like everyone is here and ready to go. Do you have everything you need Benkei?” This was the final thing on his checklist before heading to the stables to pick up their mounts and start their trek towards Ikana. The smith would nod in agreement and motion towards the door. It was finally time for them to set out this morning.

The group of six would head out of the forge and head straight for the stables. After a quick exchange with the stable master they would mount up and head towards the edge of the town. It was still early enough for them to aim to make it to the Ruins of Rauru before the sun set for the day. The group would quickly fall into their typical escort formation once they were out of town. Samanosuke would take the lead. Between his magical golden eye, his senses, and his navigational skills he was best equipped to lead them through the desert without fear of getting lost, or ambushed. Alia and Jared would be on either side of Benkei, while Elizabeth and Ban brought up the rear.

The group would travel in silence for a while before Samanosuke’s curiosity got the better of him. ”So earlier you said something a little strange Benkei. What did you mean by your creator?”

The large smith would let out a laugh before smiling underneath his helmet. ”Well you see….” Trailing off Benkei would reach up and remove his helmet revealing his Doberman looking head. ”I’m a Darknut. So I wasn’t exactly born as I was created. Fear not, I do not work for Ganon. It is why I am wanting to go to Ikana. I heard that his forces were unable to conquer it and figured it would be a nice place to potentially live, or at least rest for a while.”

The entire group was shocked at the revelation that Benkei was a Darknut, but none of them were opposed to continuing their mission. Especially since they had already been paid to escort him. Above all they were professionals and they were going to complete their job. Besides he had done an amazing job on their weapons, they couldn’t turn their back on him now.

”Well that was certainly a surprise, but now everything makes sense to me.” Samanosuke could only laugh. It wasn’t every day that you got to meet a darknut that was friendly that was for sure. He would much rather travel with one than have to fight against one. This also told him that if they ran into any trouble they wouldn’t have to worry about protecting him as much. Knowing full well that a Darknut can protect themselves.

The rest of their days ride would be in silence as Samanosuke lead them through the desert occasionally changing directions to avoid enemies he spotted in the distance. As the sun began to set the remains of Rauru would come into view. Travelling any further with the setting sun would be a very bad idea, even with his hawkeye, it’s not like Samanosuke could see in the dark. Not to mention after riding around with the sun beating down on them all day, everyone was sure to be tired. The city remains could provide them shelter for the night, making it the perfect place to camp for the night.

They would approach the remains of the stables and tie up their mounts and get them fed and halfway sheltered for the night to come. Last thing they needed was for their mounts to run off during the night if anything were to happen. The group would then proceed to take shelter in a nearby building that was still mostly standing. Making a small campfire by a hole in one of the walls Samanosuke would being to pull out food from his adventure pouch, and pass it out to everyone.

The group would eat in silence, their first to finish their food was Jared who would stand up and stretch before moving towards the door of the run down building they were in. ”I’ll take the first watch. The rest of you can get some sleep once you finish eating.” With that Jared would head out of the building and begin to walk around the ruins of the city. Finding a building with a collapsed wall Jared would carefully climb up onto what was left of the building’s roof and sit down. He now had a good vantage point to keep watch from.

Meanwhile the rest of the group was getting situated inside of the building. Breaking the long silence that they had been riding in for the first time since Benkei revealed his secret to them Samanosuke would speak. ”We should reach Ikana about this time tomorrow. If the rumors are true, hopefully we will be allowed to lodge there for the night after we get you there.”

”I do not see that being a problem. They will see you were my escorts and should accept you for one night at least. Beyond that I do not know. Of course, this is as you said if the rumors are true.” Benkei seemed confident that they would be allowed to stay the night in this rumored monster safe haven, setting Samanosuke’s mind to ease.

”Then let’s get comfortable and get some sleep. We set out at first light.’” Darknut or not, Samanosuke was going to give out his orders regardless. He was the one leading the escort party and for the duration of this trip Benkei was under his command. Luckily he didn’t seem to mind.

The night was silent, Jared had seen not hide nor hair of any approaching enemies. In all honesty he hated being on watch. The silence was maddening. Not to mention the boredom. He hated sitting still and just watching. Luckily for him it was time for the first shift change. He had spotted his brother step out of the building and look around for him. ”Up here Ban.” He would call out to his brother from his spot on the roof of the half destroyed building.

Looking up to where the voice had come from Ban would spot his younger brother and shake his head. While he would admit that the height from Jared’s vantage point was helpful in keeping watch, Ban wasn’t sure if he would trust any of these buildings to hold up under any sort of weight. The risk of injury while mid-mission just wasn’t appealing to him. ”Get down from there, and go and get some rest already.”

”Yeah, yeah.” It always felt like his older siblings were nagging him. He had been thinking of keeping an eye out for some quests he could handle by himself. Maybe then his family and Samanosuke would stop nagging him all the time. With a sigh he would carefully climb down from the roof and pass by his brother. ”Have fun.” With that Jared would head into the building with the rest of the group and settle himself in to get some rest leaving watch duties to Ban.

The rest of the night was quiet aside from the sound of Ban’s footsteps as he patrolled the remains of the city of Rauru. It wasn’t long before the sun started to rise and Ban returned to the ruined building that housed the rest of the group. ”Sun’s coming up. Time for everyone to wake up. We don’t want to waste anytime right?”

Both Samanosuke and Benkei would get up without any fuss, but the other three could only be heard groaning as the stood up. They weren’t exactly morning people, and this was the earliest they had ever gotten up for a mission. Whipping up a quick breakfast the group would quickly eat before heading to get their mounts. They would quickly feed them and mount up so they could head out. Their next destination was Eyeglass Lake, and then onto the Kingdom of Ikana.

Once on their way it would once again be a silent ride that is until Elizabeth spoke up this time. ”So what will you do after reaching Ikana? Settle down there?” The Hylian lass was full of curiosity and it wasn’t every day that you had a chance to speak with a Darknut after all.

”I will probably stay for a little while. Establish myself amongst them as one of their own. Get my living situation sorted out. Then I will take back to my travels to further hone my craft. It will be nice knowing I will have a place to return to that I can rest and not have to worry about if the residents know what I am.” Benkei had put a lot of thought into his future, after all once he was free it was the only thing he had to think about. He had not originally planned on revealing his secret to his escorts, but a few slips of the tongue had left him almost no choice in the matter. Luckily this group of Hylians didn’t seem to mind.

”Sounds like you have a path you want to follow, and a plan to execute. Just know you have already found yourself some repeat customers in us.” Had it not been for her conversation with her elder sister the night before Alia would have been a little jealous of Benkei. Luckily for her, she had found a path she wanted to follow as well and was able to hold her head up high while listening to him speak about his plans.

The rest of the trip was filled with random conversations amongst the group only stopping as they neared Eyeglass Lake. Dismounting the group would decide to take a short break to stretch their legs, and have lunch before continuing on with the rest of their trip. While the desert had been a rather uneventful trip, Eyeglass Lake was home to River Zora’s who didn’t take kindly to outsiders. While Samanosuke would be able to prevent them from getting lost, he didn’t know of any routes through the lake that would allow them to avoid trouble guaranteed as he had never gone through the Lake before.

”All right everyone, stay close and stay in formation. We don’t know this area, and we can’t see as far out. Don’t know when, or if we might run into trouble with the locals on our way through here.” Samanosuke had lost his relaxed posture and had sat up straight as they entered. His guard was now up, and he was extra alert. He expected the same from his crew as well. As the young Samurai had expected Ban, Elizabeth, Alia, Jared, and even Benkei had all gotten serious and put their guards up upon entering into the unknown area.

The group cautiously made their way through the lake slowly, never knowing what to expect. Each of the Hylians tense even though Samanosuke hadn’t sensed any danger as of yet. The group held a slow, but steady pace for an hour before Samanosuke suddenly stopped and drew his katanas. The rest of the group followed suit and prepared themselves for trouble, though there was nothing to be seen. Samanosuke could be seen looking around trying to lay his eyes on the danger that he was sensing.

Suddenly the group would find themselves surrounded by River Zora as they all popped up out of the water at once. The River Zora easily outnumbered them three to one, not very good odds for the mercenaries. Slowly one of the River Zora would approach the group. ”What business do you have in our home Hylians?” His voice was rough and raspy, he seemed to be on the older side.

”We are just on our way to Ikana on a mission. If we have wandered into your home that was not our intent. We have never explored this lake before and do not know our way through to avoid the villages. For that I do apologize.” If the Zora were going to approach them and talk, Samanosuke wouldn’t pass up the chance to avoid a tough battle when their mission was just an escort.

”You’re kind aren’t welcome here, nor will you be welcomed in a place such as Ikana. Turn back from your foolish quest.” The River Zora Elder didn’t mince his words, they were clearly prepared to fight if the need arose, but it seemed as if they didn’t want to fight either.

Before Samanosuke had a chance to reply to the elder Benkei would speak up. ”While Hylians may not be welcomed in Ikana, I know without a doubt that I will be accepted there and ask that you allow my escort and me passage through this lake to reach our destination.” As he spoke Benkei had removed his helmet to reveal his Doberman like head and the fact that he was a Darknut, not just an armored Hylian.

At this reveal the River Zora Elder would take a step back. It was a curious sight to see with a Darknut not only traveling with Hylians, but being escorted by them. Everything about the group seemed peaceful at that. The Darknut didn’t seem to be a prisoner nor was there any evidence of a fight on any of them for that matter. Seems like they had some sort of deal. ”This does change things. We will grant you passage, and even guide your group out of the lake. My men will await your return to escort you back through as well. I hope that will suffice?” The Elders whole demeanor had changed as did that of the group of River Zora surrounding them. They no longer looked hostile, perhaps it was strictly the influence of Benkei being a Darknut, and perhaps it was the fact that Hylians were willing traveling with him. It was unknown.

Benkei would only nod his head in agreement before putting his helmet back on. From then on the group would follow two of the River Zora through the lake in silence. They didn’t seem particularly happy about being assigned to escort a group of Hylians through the lake, and then to wait for them to get back to do it all over again. That said they weren’t about to say, or do, anything to upset the Darknut that they traveled with.

The sun was starting its decent down the sky as the group emerged out of the far side of the lake. Their escorts through the lake would give them the needed directions to reach Ikana from where they now stood. The group would gratefully accept the directions and set off for Ikana in hopes of reaching it before night fell. While the monsters that reside within Ikana are supposed to be peaceful, that didn’t mean anything about those that would start showing up in the field once the sun was down.

”I have to ask. Was it fear or respect for you that caused the sudden attitude change in that Elder Zora?” Jared never was one for thinking if something should be asked, even after his recent argument with his sister Alia.

”I would wager it was a little bit of both. Darknut’s are known for their power after all. Other races don’t typically like to end up on our bad side, which is what would have happened had they denied my request. So their fear of fighting a Darknut lead them to show me respect and allow us passage.” Benkei happily answered the young Hylian. After all it wasn’t very often that he interacted with Hylians that knew what he was. It was refreshing that one was brave enough to ask such questions not worrying about offending him, but rather treating him as an equal.

”It does make sense if you think about it little brother. Darknuts and Lynels are two of the most fearsome creatures to roam Hyrule. There aren’t many that would willing anger them, unless they are foolish or crazy. Add in well-armed Hylian mercenaries on the side with the Darknut and you have a group that not many would willing cross. The Elder knew as much and erred on the side of caution. It was the logical choice so that he didn’t have to worry about any of his men dying in a fight that could have been avoided. We may not have been granted such grace had it just been the five of us.” Elizabeth explained her thoughts on the matter, probably in more depth than Jared cared to truly listen to, as they continued their ride towards the rumored home of peaceful monsters.

The conversation carried on as the group reached the rocky terrain they had been told about, the gap between the mountian ranges clearly visible to them now. They were nearing their destination, and not a moment too soon as the sun was getting lower and lower in the sky. Slowly buildings would start to come into view as they made their way forward. The entire group seemed to be on edge, none of them knew what to expect once they reached this village.

As they drew closer to the village, Ban and Elizabeth would notice a sudden shift in Benkei’s posture. It was like he suddenly relaxed. ”Benkei, you seem awfully relaxed all of a sudden. Does that mean the rumors about this place are true?” Elizabeth inquired.

”I think I can safely say we have left Hyrule and crossed the border into Ikana. I don’t know how to explain what I am feeling, only that I just know I don’t have to worry. It is like a feeling of true peace has washed over me. I think I can understand why monsters come here, and typically don’t leave once they do. It is an enjoyable feeling to be sure.” It seems as if the rumor about Ikana turning monsters peaceful were true after all.

As they drew closer to the village they could see lights, and a variety of monster kind all walking about. Not a weapon in sight. Just trading, talking, and laughing. Much like you would see in many of Hyrule’s towns with Hylians, Gorons, Zoras, and Ritos. There was a key difference though. Those races still had their squabbles, but here it seemed as if they were all just truly happy.

Finally the villagers would take notice of the group and a lone Common Moblin would approach the group. ”I would ask what a group of Hylians was doing here, but I can smell that the one in the middle in actually a Darknut. Such a strange group choice. You Hylians are not welcome here, your kind do not treat our kinds as anything other than wild beasts, but seeing as you arrived with a Darknut I am willing to make an exception for the night. You must leave in the morning. Come I will get your mounts set up at the stables and then get you rooms at the inn.” Before anyone had a chance to say anything the large Moblin would turn around and being to walk away from the group leading them to the places he said he would.

After dropping their mounts off at the stables the six of them would follow the Moblin to the inn and take their room keys and rest for the night. Though none of the Hylians were able to truly sleep well. The village was populated by those that they were routinely assigned to hunt down and they couldn’t help feeling uneasy resting in such a place when there were outnumbered so heavily. Regardless the night passed and morning came without as much as a squeaky floorboard in the hallway sounding off.

They would all meet downstairs that morning with Benkei. ”Thank you again for escorting me such a distance. It was an honor to travel with you all. I had fun. Perhaps we will all run into one another sometime. I wish you safe travels my friends.” Benkei would extend his hand for a handshake as he spoke.

Each of the Hylian Mercenaries would take turns shaking the Darknuts hand before Ban spoke up. ”It was a pleasure traveling with you. We learned more about Darknuts on our travels with you than we ever would have learned otherwise. Take care, and the best of luck with your smithing. Though with your skills I don’t see you having any problems getting a client base.” With that Samanosuke, Ban, Elizabeth, Alia, and Jared would set off on their return trip home. Another successful mission under their belt.