Chapter Text
Mouse's voice rang out from the front of the group.
“You know how you've been following me like I know this area?”
“Oh boy, what is it?”
He pointed to a house in the distance.
“If there are people living here, then we're not anywhere I’ve ever been.”
“Well, you’ve led us to civilization at least. Good job. I imagine whoever is living here can give us some directions,” said Gen.
The house was bigger than what the majority of the group was familiar with, simply on account of it having two floors. It had a small stable and a fenced-in area with an overhang that could provide meager protection from the elements for any animals that might be penned there. There was a good chance the house was being used as an inn.
~ ~ ~
Some of the Links needed to duck through the low doorway. There was no one at the counter, but they could hear someone working in the kitchen.
“I'm coming!” said a lady's voice from the second floor before she could be heard making her way down the stairs.
“Welc-uh…” her voice trailed off when she saw the group before she recovered her hospitable smile, though it was a bit strained. “Just a moment.”
She all but ran to the kitchen. The clattering sounds stopped, and a short man came out of the kitchen.
“Hello, boys. From where have you come, and where are you going?” he said with a smile.
Gen stepped forward after his glance at Mouse was met by a small head-shake and a step back.
“We've come from the north. We're looking for a way to cross the mountains and hopefully a place to spend the night,” he said. “Do you have any rooms available?”
“That depends,” the innkeeper's smile began to drop. “Will you be causing trouble? Because we aren't looking for any.”
There was a light clunk, and everyone's eyes turned to the back of the group where Twilight had set his Master Sword by the door and stepped forward.
“I'm sorry, sir. My friends and I are used to stopping trouble where we find it. But since this seems like a place of peace, we can leave our weapons with you while we're here and pick 'em up when we leave.”
“What?!” Wind protested. He wasn't the only one looking at the ranch hand with shock.
“We don't need them here. I'm sure we can trust this fine fellow to take good care of them for one night.”
The veteran set his hand on the rancher’s shoulder. His grip was tight.
“Excuse us, sir,” he said with an attempt at a smile, “but me and my friends need to step outside for a minute. Perhaps someone can stay and get some directions?”
Engineer hesitantly raised his hand.
“Thank you,” Vet said, and the rest of the group exited the inn.
When everyone except the engineer had walked a few paces from the building, he whirled on Twilight.
“What are you thinking?!”
“I know small village types. I come from one. My village only had one real sword in the whole village for years. If a group like this passed through, we'd think we were goin’ to be robbed.”
“You do realize that at least half of the swords with us are extremely powerful? Legendary, even?”
“Yeah, but he doesn't know that. Either we leave our swords at the door, or we aren't staying.”
“He’s right,” Cap said. “At most inns, it's a requirement to leave weapons at the door.”
“Then we won't stay.”
“I have an idea,” Wild said. “I can carry our weapons in the Purah Pad. I'll have to leave some of my own behind to make room, but we can leave those with the innkeeper. It will be less suspicious than walking in with no weapons anyway.”
Aspect held up his device, too.
“Carry our weapons? All of them? In that thing?” Wind asked skeptically.
Wild demonstrated by dumping out a bunch of weapons.
“I think they got mixed up with your other junk,” Sky said, viewing the weapons in question with suspicion. “This one has a mushroom attached to it.” He picked up the spear to examine it better. “Oh, buddy. This is completely bonded to the end. It won't come off.”
Aspect looked horrified even as he held a similar Sheikah device.
“Oh, that has nothing to do with the Purah Pad. Here.” Wild tapped the mushroom with a glowing hand and it disappeared, leaving the point completely unharmed.
“...I’m going to save asking about that for later.”
“A lot of these weapons are junk. Why are they so corroded?” Verdi said.
“I don't think we should be putting weapons in that thing,” Junior quietly commented.
“No, no, they were like that when I got them. The Upheaval really did a number on them. That's why there’s stuff attached to them.” Wild was trying not to get upset at their distrust. “Look.” He took an apple out of the device and took a bite. He took a second bite to hold it in his mouth as he released a firefly. It lazily flew off in the direction of the woods.
“Is he keeping live bugs in there?” Mini asked, eyes wide.
Wild unstrapped the Master Sword and let the Purah Pad whisk it away. He took it out again before anyone could get too outraged about the treatment of the sacred blade. He threw a couple sword beams into the air, eliciting a few gasps at the display. “See? It's fine!”
Sky almost grabbed it out of his hands as he checked for damage. He sighed.
“She’s fine.”
“Except there's a problem with that,” Forest said. “It might be fine for the Master Sword, but we don't know what it might do to the Four Sword.”
“We don't want to get them mixed up either,” added Quartz.
“And I don't feel comfortable leaving my sword in there,” said Vet.
The group looked at his relatively ordinary-looking sword. Vet rolled his eyes.
“Look, it's a miracle I even have this sword. I already lost it once, I'm not losing it again.”
“That's what the Purah Pad is for!” Was that whole demonstration for nothing? “Don't get me wrong. I'm fine camping on the road. I've probably spent the night on the ground more often than I've slept in a bed at this point. But I sleep better in a bed, and I don't see the point in wasting an opportunity to get a good night's rest. So you can camp if you want, but I'm staying at the inn.”
“But what about the kids? They just said they can't part with their swords,” said Gen.
“They can leave them with the vet if he's gonna camp. You won't touch them, right?”
“I keep the Four Sword in my bag anyway. As long as the innkeeper doesn't search my bag, it’s not a problem,” said Junior.
Mini perked up. “Oh yeah, I can do that, too.”
They looked to the Colors.
“Uh…I mean, maybe?” Forest said.
“I don't like the idea of having it out of sight,” said River.
“Even in a bag you can have with you? No, you're right. It's weird to think about,” Quartz said with a look of discomfort.
“It feels icky,” Ember added.
“So I guess we're camping with Pinkie,” Forest concluded. Vet’s face scrunched up at the nickname.
“We're splitting up?” asked Wind.
“It seems wrong for you guys to have to camp any time we stay at an inn.”
The door of the inn opened, cutting off the conversation. The engineer had returned. His mouth twisted up when he saw the tense atmosphere of the group in front of him.
“Um…”
“What did you find out?”
“Uh, if we keep following the road, it will lead to a tunnel through the mountain. He has a map, but it's not for sale.”
Twilight nudged his way out of the center of the group, heading for the door.
“I'll see if I can work something out. We have, what, 19 of us? If there isn't enough room for us all, that kind of settles the matter.”
~ ~ ~
When he returned, he informed them that the inn had 4 rooms with 2 large beds in each. Rooms weren't private. There was one somewhat permanent resident in a guest bed, but it was common – even expected – in this time period for people to share beds with strangers.
“If we have two to a bed and someone sleeps with the random guy, that leaves 4 of us with no bed. And I don't think anyone would prefer to stay with a stranger.”
“Yeah, that’s kinda what I was thinkin',” Twilight said with a nod. “I was gonna ask if he could make an exception for 4 or 5 swords if they were kept sheathed, but the number of beds kinda…” he trailed off. “Well, if people are willing to triple up, I can still ask. The innkeeper kind of implied that he doesn’t care how many people squeeze into a bed. He's never actually had so many guests at the same time. Seems most folks take a ship to the town on this side of the mountains instead of traversing the tunnel. His business is mostly just the mailman and the guy who's already staying. But the few that take the tunnel appreciate having a spot to rest up and eat at on each end of it.”
“On each end?”
“Yeah, apparently there's another inn on the other side of the mountain.”
“So are most of us staying at the inn? Is there anyone else who wants to camp?”
Mask started to raise his hand, but Cap put it down.
“You can hang out with them for a while if you want, but I want you sleeping in a proper bed while we have the option to.”
Mask was satisfied enough with that, probably because he knew he could still sneak out of the inn if he really wanted to.
No one else joined the camping team.
“Is this going to be a pattern any time we come to an inn?” Sky asked.
Gen eyed the inn. “Maybe the next inn will be bigger. If they also have a weapons policy, I'll try to see if we can come up with some sort of deal that will allow an exception.”
“Well, I'm off to find a place to set up camp then,” Vet said. During the course of the conversation, he’d realized that he, too, could keep his sword in his bag, but everyone had already concluded he was camping, so he didn't bring it up. He didn't want to sleep with some random guy either. It would have been weird enough sharing a bed with his current company. Without further fanfare, he set out towards the woods. Ember, Forest, River, and Quartz followed behind him.
“See you guys tomorrow,” River said as they left.
Mask was about to follow, but Cap suggested they get set up at the inn first.
“Someone needs to know where they're camping,” Mask pointed out.
Cap conceded. He knew the kid was capable of taking care of himself. It was the mischief he was capable of that had him worried.
“Come back for dinner. We can take something back to them.”
Mask nodded and quickly caught up to the five campers.
“Okay, who wants to use my Pad for storage?” Wild called out, holding up the device.
Cap looked to Aspect. “Yours can do the same stuff?”
Aspect took out a unique-looking spear and nodded.
“I’m leaving mine with him.”
Echo happily joined Cap in adding his sword to Aspect’s stash.
“Oh, come on. I told you mine is perfectly fine,” Wild said.
“Maybe, but you keep a lot of weird stuff in there, apparently,” he said, thinking of bugs.
Aspect wasn't going to tell him about the frogs he kept in the Seeker Stone.
“Since they're camping, can't we leave this stuff with them?” Verdi said.
“Yeah, but if we end up needing them, they’re kind of far away. This way, they’re right here.”
“Yeah, so long as that thing doesn’t malfunction,” Twilight said.
“It hasn’t yet.”
Verdi shrugged. “If you say so. I'm leaving mine with the vet. I'll be back.”
Engineer took in the situation with a sense of bewilderment. “What's going on?”
Gen, who had been watching the scene with amusement, came over and put a hand on the boy’s shoulder.
“Everyone is trying to decide what to do with their weapons. It seems those little devices have a storage feature, but not everyone trusts it.”
“Why?”
“Well, you’re looking at stuff disappear into thin air. That doesn’t make you nervous?”
Wind finished watching his Phantom Sword disappear into the Purah Pad. Wild looked extremely pleased that he'd finally been trusted.
“It's like you lot have never been warped out of a dungeon before,” Wind said to Gen and Engineer.
“I have!” said Engineer.
Gen nodded. “I suppose it’s similar. You're not afraid your sword will be contaminated by the other stuff he has in there?”
“We keep bombs in our bags. I don’t think my sword will be ruined by a few bugs.”
“Bugs?!” the Engineer exclaimed.
“For some reason, he has live bugs in there,” Gen said.
“The bugs are still alive, but you don’t trust him with your sword?” Engineer said.
Gen smiled. “I don't distrust him, but at least some of us should probably have some weapons to leave at the door.”
“I figured you were going to tell him we left our stuff with the camping group,” Sky said.
“We can, but trusting the innkeeper with our weapons is a show of good faith. The more trust you show, the more trust you gain.”
Engineer nodded.
“I'll let you hold on to my sword,” he called out to Wild, who brightened at the show of trust.
Wild gestured to the weapons he had retrieved from his Purah Pad earlier.
“Alright, who wants what?”
“I want this one!” Wind was immediately drawn to a weapon that looked like tree roots or antlers.
“Is that even a sword?”
“Can you even lift that?” Despite the odd…blade, the long hilt was definitely designed for a two-handed grip.
Wind grinned as he hefted the longsword-turned-smasher with relative ease. His test swings were less than graceful due to the size, but he managed it with little difficulty.
“Wow, impressive!” Gen said.
Wild hummed in thought.
“Sorry, kid. I shouldn’t have taken that one out. It’s…technically a sword, but it doesn’t really count as one right now.”
“Whaaaat?” Wind drew out the question with a whine. “I can handle it!”
“I’m not saying you can’t, but the point is to bring in some weapons so we don’t raise suspicion. You can mess around with it later.”
Wind pouted, but gave up the sword.
“Why do you have a sickle?” Twilight asked.
“Oh, let me…” Wild’s hand glowed, and the black and red horn vanished, leaving behind a tarnished kodachi.
Wind pouted. “Aw, it looked so cool.”
“I can’t get over how beat up your weapons are,” Twilight said.
“Can't we just tell the innkeeper we left our weapons with the camping group?” Sky repeated his earlier suggestion.
Wind eyed the array of weapons. “Yeah, but I want one of his.”
“Well, I already wasted the horn on this one, so someone had better put it to good use.” Wild handed the kodachi to Wind, who looked disappointed. “Don’t worry, it doesn’t look so bad when it’s sheathed. But don't go testing it on trees or anything. It's a bit fragile right now.”
The Eightfold Blade did look better sheathed - a little cool, even, but Wind wasn’t satisfied.
“Can't I have that one?” he said, referring to a katana-like sword with a multi-colored hilt. The dark blade was decorated with swirling gold patterns.
“Nope, the innkeeper will never believe a little guy like you carries a sword like that,” Gen said.
Echo pointed to himself.
“What makes you think you’re any better off than the sailor?”
Echo put a hand over his head before holding it above Wind’s head to display the 3-inch height difference.
“How about this: you either have to be taller than the sword or an adult to claim it.”
There was a chorus of groans from the kids.
Wind gestured to Wild. “Even he is barely taller than that sword.”
Indeed, perhaps the only reason the sword wasn't grazing the ground as Wild slung it behind his back was because of the angle the belt held it at for easy unsheathing. He smiled as the comment wasn't reflecting upon his relatively short height, but rather how big the sword was compared to his – for once – relatively tall height. He wasn't particularly bothered by his height unless someone was being especially rude about it, but there was something satisfying about being one of the taller adults in the group.
“You're forgetting that you will only have this sword from here to the front door. We don't even need to bring replacement weapons. Most of these swords are more suspicious than if we just say we left our weapons with the other group. Leave it for another time,” Gen told him.
At that, Wild began to put the rest of the swords away. He paused at the last weapon.
“Do you have room for one more?” he asked Aspect.
Aspect shook his head.
After some thought, Wild replaced the sword in his hand with the Master Sword.
“If there's more than one Master Sword, it's less likely to be recognized as a legendary blade, right?”
Since Twilight had shown his willingness to leave his Master Sword with the innkeeper, it made sense.
The majority of the group had already filed inside. Wild watched as Wind, wearing a glum expression, put his borrowed sword next to Gen, Twilight, and Junior's before adding his two swords to the bunch. Gen had presumably already informed the innkeeper about the campers.
“You're not going to leave these sitting out, right?” Junior asked the innkeeper.
The innkeeper assured them that he would put them somewhere safe.