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The Great SwINNdle

Summary:

Travelling costs and inn rules get expensive for a party of nine.
Luckily, they have several solutions.

Four dug into my brain and left this here. What a guy(s).

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Work Text:

The smarter part of Four can’t really help but think in logistics. Which essentially means that Four can’t help it either. He’s very aware he’s not the only one. Any splitting anyone can do and the mess of alternate timelines aside, they’re a band of nine very active boys, young men, an old man and whatever else. Getting by, individually, for any of them on their own adventures might have been a struggle, but it was possible.

Magic bags and apparently not (but it totally was) magic Sheikah tech did wonders for transporting things, but didn’t solve the problem forever. Nine was still a lot to provide for. As good as they were at it, foraging for nine was trouble. Twi was always against hunting when they had ‘enough’ but they all had different ideas on what ‘enough’ was. Sky and himself were fairly neutral on it, really. More was good, but as long as they wouldn’t suffer for it, whatever was fine. Wind, Wild, Legend and Hyrule were in the camp of getting as much as you could, within reason without harming some local environment, or as long as seagulls or rabbits weren’t involved. Wind, because of long stretches at sea not being as nice when you’re depending on preserved foods. Wild, Legend and Hyrule largely out of habit and the sense of security it gave. Time and Warriors fluctuated their opinions a bit, but usually decided ‘a little more couldn’t hurt’. Wars was used to an army, after all. Rationing wasn’t something anyone would look on fondly, but he had the experience. Twi was outnumbered, sure, and it wasn’t like he checked the Slate after every time Wild snuck off with anyone of his own mind. That said, no one really liked upsetting anyone else for real, so they weren’t always as overflowing with resources as all their magic storage would suggest.

 

The same issue with foraging happened with Rupees.

Those few Rupees found from Minish gifts and the ones claimed from monsters or lucky chests were all your own and you, generally, only had yourself to be concerned about.

Not the case with a party of nine.

Jokes and bets aside, he had no doubt that any of them would actually fill in the gaps if they were to see any of the others short with a real need. That one Rupee you happened to catch falling from a tree wasn’t one Rupee anymore. It was, potentially, a ninth of one if you thought collectively. A way of thinking Four couldn’t really avoid. As much as they believed in ‘finders keepers’, it wasn’t uncommon for that to turn into ‘finders funders’ once they needed supplies or they finally found an inn with room for nine. And that was assuming they’d even let them put more in a room than beds there were. A rarity in itself, even if Wind and Four could play off being young sons and Wind was, kind of but for real, a young brother and a child. (Which wouldn't be doubted for him, but they tend to default him to 'son' for him and he'd rather not get into that right now.)

 

Which led to ‘the swindle’. Or not! Of course it wasn’t a ‘swindle’! They were all honest to (literal) Goddesses, good people! If anything, it was the innkeepers who’d been swindling them all this time! You paid for a room. It shouldn’t matter how many people were in it! Which, of course, was the crux of the… plan. People was the key point.

 

After days on the road and various less roady kinds of terrain, the town they found was a welcome sight. First task was, of course, necessities. Potions, arrows, a trip to the bakery for him and that one shiny thing Legend got with his bet winnings the other day. Less welcome was Warriors, Sky and Wild coming back to their meeting point not looking too happy.

"The one inn in town had two rooms left open. I’ve booked them, of course, but there’s an issue. Two beds a piece and they wouldn’t budge on letting the three of us into one, so I really have my doubts they’d let nine of us into two.”

“... So they’re sayin’ only four c’n stay? Dicks.” Wind says. Not wrong, but also,

“It’s okay. I, Four, can share.” He says, gesturing to himself. It earns him a few chuckles from the rest and a punch on his shoulder from Wind as Warriors sighs at the other boy.

 

Wild squints at Twi. Twi cocks his head back at him.

“Four… people, right? What about pets?”

Twi looks downright offended.

“Wolfie ain’t no pet!”

“You answered too fast! You’ve considered it before!”

They have a stare off, which Time breaks.

“I can become wood.”

“...I can get small.” Four answers in contemplation.

“You mean smaller, smithy?” Wind teases, earning his own shoulder a punch.

 

Hyrule fidgets.

“Hmm… yeah, okay. Me too.”

Hmm.

 

Disregarding the individual circumstances, Four does the maths in his head.

Time, Hyrule and I can get past the ‘being people’ thing. That leaves six. Five if Twi can be convinced.

 

“Well, I’ve got… several solutions if we ain’t caring 'bout morals.” Legend adds, as if all that was stopping him saving a few rupees before like this was being outnumbered.

Sky perks up.

“Oh! You mean-”

“No! …Not that. Other things.” He counters and Four really wants to know what Sky knows as Legend continues to mumble and bounce his leg,

Shit, but maybe… magic’s kinda shot and it’d be a lot less cramped...”

 

“So… five of us can… technically follow the rules and still only have two people per room?”

This could work. Wolfie and Wind can see me. And I wouldn’t put it past anyone else to be able just because… we’re us.

 

Legend lets out a groan.

Fuck it, right, I’m using the thing, rancher. Make up yer mind if you are or not. I don’t have the magic t’ be invisible right now.”

Sky looks ready to take off with how fast he’s moving his fists up and down in front of him as Four has more questions he leaves for now.

 

Once again, Twi is outnumbered and cannot argue himself out of it this time, his options being ‘do it, or sleep outside’.

Which is how, a little later, Sky, holding a wooden Deku Scrub doll with his carving tools visible, Wild and Wars with a wolf at their side they say is a tame hunting dog, and Wind, holding a pink bunny with a fairy and a Minish sitting in soft fur, saunter into the inn. More than enough room for all of them.

He doesn’t question the logistics, but food also goes a lot further when you’re small.

Notes:

And thus do the chain become a travelling band of cryptids to avoid inn fees, I guess.