I hate the rain.
No...that wasn't quite accurate, I don't hate the rain as so much as I can't stand the cold and the wind that come with the rain. The water I could handle, and the lighting that often followed the rain was...manageable so long as I remember to properly stow away my metal equipment. The wind and the cold on the other hand, were things entirely out of my control.
Something I was keenly aware of as I hiked my way up the Terino Trail in the northeastern part of Hyrule. The frigid wind whipping against me as it howled through the pass. It was about dusk, and that meant I had to get to shelter soon, as with the emergence of those freaky towers, that meant I was probably get attacked by Stalkobins. Yep, it was quite a charmed life I lead.
My reddish hair was hanged in front of me as I trudged forward through the rain, the water beating upon my head was doing little to improve my mood. My sword, something that probably belonged to a soldier at one point, was constantly slapping me in the back of my leg due to a loose harness. My orange leather jacket and red scarf offered little to no protection against the rain, and the heavy backpack I carried did nothing for me. As much as I wanted to drop it, I had no choice but to deal with the weight it pressed on me, it had everything I needed stuffed inside, after all. Well, almost everything, if I had it my way, or if I had a donkey or something, I'd probably have a few more books with me.
But, much like the rain that pelted my head, that was my lot in life, there was rarely a time I could do anything about it.
As I walked along the dirt path, an odd sight caught my eye, ahead of me were two other travelers, a Goron and a Gerudo. I had caught sight of them before, but I gave them no thoughts because, frankly, it wasn't my issue nor my in my interest. But, now, as the sun fell, and the moon rose, I couldn't help but notice through the fading light that they had something I desperately needed at the moment, shelter.
The two of them had taken cover under what barely counted as shelter, as it was literally only a leaky roof with four legs to keep it up. But, it kept the rain away, barely. The smell of wet grass assaulted my nose as I tried to speed up towards the cover that the duo had taken under, as I got closer, slowly, I noticed a bundle of wood they were both leaning around, the Gerudo was trying her hardest to set it alight with a bit of flint and a dagger but wasn't having any success.
As I approached, the Goron took notice of me and gave me a friendly wave, "Evening!" He called, and I gave him a grunt of acknowledgement. He was about average for a Goron, which, to be fair, was bigger than your average hyrulian by a wide margin. He had white hair, tied into a topknot not unlike a Sheikah, with various ropes around his body to help carry his own backpack. The Gerudo was naturally quite tall, something that I could tell even as she leaned over. Typical of Gerudo, she had dark skin not unlike my own, as well as dark hair that was cut short, with a blue and gold tiara resting on her head.
The Gerudo looked up to me, "Vasaaq." She said without looking up.
"Need any help?" I asked, placing a hand on my hip.
The Gerudo shook her head, "No, I…" She glanced up at me, then, her bright green eyes widened, "You are a Gerudo, vai?"
I resisted the urge to sigh; if only that were the case, "No, but I hear that a lot."
The Gerudo nodded once, then went back to trying to set the bundle of wood alight. Glancing at the Goron again, he caught my look and gave me a friendly grin, "You from around these parts miss?"
I shook my head, "I'm just a traveler."
The Goron laughed, "Well, I'm Boldon, Goron City's ambassador of tourism!" He proclaimed, a great bellow to his voice, and before I could respond, he continued, "Goron City's great! Everyone should visit at least once in their lives!"
I tilted my head once, I had never been to Goron City, the weather, or rather, volcano, was always too hot for me to get through. Besides, I would never be assigned to go up there, so I had no reason to make the the trek.
….I heard they had nice hot springs though.
Returning my attention back to the Gerudo trying to start a campfire, I kneeled down next to the logs, "And you?" I asked.
"...Laroba." The Gerudo replied.
I nodded once, then pulled out my own little firestarter, a flame arrow, "Here," I said, "This might work better."
Laroba looked up at me, an eyebrow raised, but slowly, she nodded, taking the arrow out of my hand. Now, normally, a fire arrow's magic was supposed to be only activated when notched to a bowstring, don't ask me how or why, however, there were a few ways to "cheat" the magic out of it. For example, handing it a Gerudo and letting them work their own magic on it.
Soon enough, Laroba had a fire going, and as she tossed aside my now useless arrow, the three of us were able to find relative comfort in the warmth of the flame. The wind was still harsh, but Boldon put himself between it and the fire, giving it enough protection from the cold to avoid being put out. Good, I only have so many of those fire arrows.
So, as we sat around the fire, trying to keep out of the of the rain as the moon began to rise, the three of us began to make small talk. Or, to be more accurate, Laroba and Boldon began to make small talk, I just pulled out an apple from my bag and threw it in the fire.
I wasn't really listening to their conversation, but I gathered that they were familiar with each other. Boldon more or less just spent a lot of time walking up and down the Akkala region, which made sense, as the path to Goron City was in Akkala. Laroba was a traveling merchant and trader, selling whatever jewls and supplies she could. On Laroda's pack was a Gerudo Scimitar and a shield, Boldon didn't have any weapons with him. Normally, I'd say that was probably because he didn't need any, but….well, he just didn't seem all that combat capable, too friendly, really. In other words, he had low numbers, so did Laroda, now that I think about it.
"So, did you two hear?" Laroda asked, "A rumor on the wind, about those towers that appeared a week ago. Some are saying that the recent rise in monsters are because of them."
Boldon nodded once, rubbing his head with obvious worry, "You think so?"
Laroda waved her hand once in the air, "It certainly feels that way, doesn't it? Once I was able to travel from Farron to Akkala without worry, but now Moblins are around every corner." She sighed once, "I will never find a Voe at this rate…"
"Don't give up!" Boldon exclaimed loudly, pumping his fists in the air, "I'm sure you'll find somebody someday!"
Laroda looked at Boldon, and nodded once, "Thank you…" She looked to me, "And you?"
I shrugged, but by now, my apple was nice and roasted, taking it out of the fire, I ignored the heat and answered Laroda before I took a bite out of it, "It's possible that with the recent appearance of those towers, a change in fate has occurred and something, or someone, has come back from the brink." The two of them looked at me, "What? I read." Rolling my eyes, I took a bite out of my apple, it was hot, but tasted good. Or, at least, it did for a few scant seconds before I had to spit it out.
The two of them stared at me.
"It wasn't ripe." I said after a pause.
Laroda gave me a flat stare, then drawled out, "Rigghhht." Then gave Boldon a look that probably said: this person is a loon.
Well, she wasn't exactly wrong, all things considered.
"But," Laroda continued, "That's not what I asked, I mean, young Vai like yourself surely must have someone."
I….I what? I don't...I...That is to say that, I mean well, I….
Evidently, my thoughts were on my face, because Laroda let out a gentle laugh at my expense, "Ha! I'm joking, you get riled up easy huh?"
Oh, ha ha.
I narrowed my reddish gold eyes at Laroda, then opened my mouth to let loose with a comeback that would have surely decimated her spirit, but, something else caught my attention. The rattling of bones and the shifting of dirt.
Stalkoblins, of course.
Turning, I saw that about three pairs of hands had begun to claw their way out of the dirt. In each of their hands was a old nicked sword a long spear, and as they began to emerge from the dirt fully, I stood up and reached for my sword. By now, the moon was a little bit past it's highest point.
"Laroda, Boldon, get ready for a fight!" I shouted, then turned to look at my "allies." Only, well, they were gone, like, poof, there one second, gone the next.
Looking around, I saw the faintest hit of Boldon and Laroda screaming and running away from the campsite and into the darkness.
"...Seriously?" I gaped, "You two are lousy excuses for a Goron and Gerudo!" I yelled after them, then back at the Stalkoblins. They had low numbers, sure! But who the hell runs when it's three on three?!
Raising my sword in what could vaguely be called a fighting stance as the adrenaline shot through my veins. I forced the sudden shaking to come to a halt as I willed myself for battle. In the back of my mind, I wished that I had access to a lightning wand or something to make this marginally safer, but all I had to work with was my sword and my wits. Well, they would have to do, just like always.
There were three of these skeletons in total, meaning that I was rather outnumbered at the moment, but, thankfully, I could tell that these guys weren't all the great as they lumbered towards me, a few good swipes would probably enough to take one of them out. Two of them had swords, the other a spear. The sword users were the least of my worries, but the spear user had the advantage when it came to reach.
The first attack came, knocking me out of my thoughts as the Stalkbolin swung it's sword at me. Bringing up my own sword in a feeble attempt to defend myself, the shock from the Stalkbolins blow reverberated through my arms as I clenched my teeth and summoned the will to push the blade back. I had to keep moving, that's what I told myself as I took a step back as a glint of metal caught my eye. I was never the fastest, but this time I was fast enough as a Stalkbolin's sword barely missed me. Trying to strafe over to the left, I managed a feeble swing towards the first one's skull, which, somehow, splintered into bits upon contact with my blade. Don't ask me how, the magic holding these things together was probably flimsy at best.
Well, that was one less to deal with, at least.
Directing my attention over to the last sword user and spear user, both of whom were closing in on me. The spear wielder lunged at me once, and I hate to say it, but this time, I wasn't fast enough, as I moved my sword to deflect the blow, I found out that swords weren't all that great at blocking spears. The metal spear passed through my jacket and spilt my skin, my flesh felt red hot as I backed away, clutching my side. It was a light wound, thankfully, but that was what the calm part of me said, the normal side of me was screaming in pain.
Trying to ignore the pain as sweat fell on my brow, I gritted my teeth and lunged forward towards the spear Stalkoblin. Be it out of rage or desperation, but my strike was true, and by that, I mean it landed and the spear collapsed in a pile of bones. Not giving up on my momentum, I turned and swung violently, and by that, I mean my swing was rather haphazard and I over extended myself, but the last Stalkoblin fell under my blade nonetheless.
I breathed, once, twice, then I heard the shuffling of bones, and I turned just in time to see the first Stalkoblin literally pull itself together.
I couldn't help but roll my eyes, "...Wonderful."
Okay, so, these things could repair themselves from damage...but that wasn't the case, was it? I searched my memory as quickly as I could. When I hit the thing the first time, it just fell apart like a puppet, but...none of it was damaged. Damn, just what could I do…
Some rattling to my right caught my attention, and I saw the head of a Stalkoblin bouncing around, it's gold eyes glaring at me.
Oh...duh, the magic keeping them together must be in their heads, how else could they even work?
Stabbing down at the head next to me, I felt my sword pierce through the soft bone and plant into the dirt. Wrenching it out as viciously as I could, I met the now reassembled Stalkoblins with renewed vigor. Now that I knew their weakness, the odds were in my favor.
And about ten seconds later, the odds were still my favor as I flicked a bit of bone off my blade. The Stalkoblins were destroyed under my blows, and I have to admit, I was feeling pretty good about myself.
I continued feeling pretty good for myself for about two seconds before what was probably a tree trunk slammed into my back.
As much as I want to describe the sensation of being sent flying by what felt like a horse given the world's greatest swift carrot, I have to admit, I don't recall the feeling of being airborne. But I do keenly remember the feeling of hitting the ground hard enough to leave a sizable gorge in the dirt.
Needless to say: OW.
The sad part is, the pain didn't come all at once, it came slowly, in waves. Each second, or moment, I'm not quite sure, had the pain increasing, my head was spinning, and I felt the urge to vomit as I tried to get myself back up, but I was blacking out a lot. It also didn't help by the time I could barely open my eyes, I was seeing double.
So, that meant I was seeing two Stalmoblins. Basically, a very angry and very large Stalkoblin that liked to hold giant clubs that were probably made out of buildings.
I tried to get up, but all my motor functions were in shock, so the only thing I managed to do was get on my back, so I would be able to see my killer(s?) walk towards me, dragonbone clubs in their hands.
As they...it came closer to me, a...revelation occurred to me, it was for the best, wasn't it? Me dying long before I had to go. It was messed up, but I suppose that my mother figured this would happen.
My vision was clearing up too, just enough to make out that there was only one Stalmoblin, and he was standing right over me.
Well, this was just perfect, wasn't it?
I closed my eyes, surrendered myself to the darkness that clawed at the corners of my mind, and waited for the end.
Of course, I was never that lucky, because by the time I opened my eyes, I found that the sun had risen, and there was a Gerudo and Goron standing over me. My head was pounding, which was appropriate, all things considered.
I had wanted to ask what happened, and more importantly, how I was still alive, but all I got out was "Mhmgerbg?"
"She's alive!" The Goron, who I faintly remembered as Boldon, cheered.
"I told you so." The Gerudo, who I dimly recalled as Laroda, said sternly.
"Well, it's nice seeing you two cowards again," is what I wanted to say, but with my headache and the sudden but the familiar feeling of wanting to puke overtook me once again. I fought back against the urge to vomit as I tried to get to my feet, but Laroda held me down. I gave her, or, at least tried to, give her a glare, but with my head spinning, I think I all gave her was a loopy look or something.
"Are you okay?" Laroda asked, placing her hand on my shoulder, "We found you unconscious by the side of the road."
I tried to focus, and by some miracle, I was able to, "I...I was hit by a Stalmoblin…" I managed to get out, looking around, "Where…."
"Oh!" Boldon spoke up, "We when saw you weren't following us, you know, like a sane person, we headed back to see what you were doing, and found collapsed with a bunch of bones around ya."
"Wait…how did I live then?" I looked around, trying to find some evidence of my survival, "A Stalmoblin was right over me, and it was barely passed midnight. How…."
"Oh, that reminds me, a kid on a horse ran by us before we decided to turn around." Laroda said, "Perhaps he saved your behind."
"Oh, yeah!" Boldon agreed, "There was only one way he could have come after all."
It….made some sense. Forcing myself to stand up, I looked around.
It was morning, so there was plenty of light to see by, looking by the tracks left behind, I could make out a faint but visible horseshoes in the dirt.
"This...kid, what did he look like?" I asked as I trudged forwards slowly, the aches and pains of last night's brawl still resounding through my body.
I clutched my wounded side, expecting to find a massive gash in my waist, only to find tightly wrapped bandages around it.
Waaah?
"Did...did you two heal me?" I asked, turning around to face Boldon and Laroda.
The two of them looked at each other, shook their heads, then back at me. "No." Laroda said.
"Then...who did? My savior?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's the only thing that makes sense." Laroda said, then smirked at me, "Ooh, are you going to go after him? He didn't look half bad."
I snorted, loudly, "Yeah right, what did he look like anyway?"
"Blonde hair, blue eyes…" Boldon replied, "Blue tunic...had a sword and a shield on his back…"
I blinked, "Did he have anything on his waist?"
Laroda paused, "...Yes, actually, now that I think about it. It had a weird symbol on it too. Like an eye."
"I...see. Thank you." I nodded once, walked over to our previous shelter, found that my pack was still in good condition, slung it over my shoulders, ignored the pain that cropped up from doing so, and started following the horse tracks.
"H-hey, are you okay?" Boldon shouted, chasing after me. I hadn't made it very far, as I had only made it a few steps before he called out to me.
"Just...gotta…" I winced, clutching my sides again, "Gotta go meet my rescuer."
"I'm just saying, maybe you should take a rest, you don't look so good..." At this point, Boldon walked right in front of me, and I could hear Laroda following close behind. Reaching into his pack, Boldon pulled out a mirror of all things, and held it out in front of me.
I hate to say it, but he was right.
I mean, I usually don't look good even on the best of days, but as I looked myself over, I couldn't help but agree.
I had dark skin, well, more tanned than Gerudo dark if I'm being honest, with bright red hair that was tied into a ponytail. My reddish gold eyes looked back at me, and then I noticed the very large red gash on the side of my head.
Ooooh, that was the reason for the headache, that made sense. I hope I don't lose any brain functions because of it, I had a good memory, and I didn't want to lose it.
Beyond that however, well, my facial structure was fine...and by that, I mean I didn't have any other injuries on my face aside from a few bruises. Wow, I hit the ground hard huh?
My nose was still a little too big for my tastes though...hm.
But, beyond a few nicks and tears in my jacket, and the bandaged wound in my side, the rest of my body was still in...well, okay, it was in decent condition, not great, but working. My build, sadly, was not the best for long treks, but here I was.
Reaching up to touch the gash in my head, I fingered it gently then pulled back as a spark of pain shot through my skull, "O...kay, maybe you're right." I grumbled, "Where's the nearest stable?"
"It's pretty far out, but if you follow this path, there'll be a stable at the bottom of the hill." Boldon said, "Just make sure you take the first left, that will take you up to the stable and if you go further past, you'll be climbing Death Mountain."
I nodded, "Thanks." Then, holding my side, I started trudging along.
"Hey, um, don't you want some-"
"No offense," I said sharply, "But I really can't trust you two. You ran instead of staying and fighting, we could have won that fight easily, but you two ran off like scared children."
"Those were monsters!" Boldon returned, "You know, freaks of nature! Who wouldn't run from those?!"
I took a deep breath, "I think that "monster" is relative. A cat is a monster to a bird, and sometimes we mortals are worse than monsters. Besides…" I glanced back at them, glaring at them, "In battle, the only thing worse than an enemy is a terrified ally."
I said my piece, and with that, I kept walking.
By the time I got to the stable, it was midday. My bones were aching, my breath was heavy, and my body felt like it weighed a million tons. The wounds I had accumulated were taking their toll upon my body, Boldon and Laroda had gone and walked off somewhere else, and I couldn't care less. I had no stomach for cowards, besides, I couldn't stand the thought of walking alongside people who flee at the sight of danger. It's one thing to retreat if a situation is unwinnable, but it's another to run as soon as the enemy shows up. As I dragged myself over to the inn, a familiar scent on the wind caught my attention.
Bear.
Sweet, thick, juicy, bear meat.
My legs began to carry themselves as I followed the scent. I won't lie, I'm a sucker for bear meat, and after this morning, I was starving.
Reaching Foothill stable, which was at the foot of the hill (real creative naming scheme there guys), I trudged up the rocky steps and found where the scent originated from. In a cooking pan, the meat was being cooked expertly, with rock salt and mushrooms in the mix too. I won't lie, just looking at it just made me hungry, more than I already was, I mean.
Only, here's the thing: The cook was a young man, around my age now that I think about it, with blond hair, bright blue eyes, green pants, a sword and shield on his back, with a bright blue tunic with a very distinctive sword emblem on the chest. Not to mention, a very strange looking...um, tome or something on his waist. He didn't look that tough, but I could tell that he was probably a lot stronger than what appearances suggested.
There was no doubt about it, this was Link, my "hero."
At the moment, he was focused on his cooking and not so much as looking in my direction. After a moment, I cleared my throat, "Um, hey." I said, placing a hand on hip and trying to look as composed as possible, "You're the guy who saved me, right?"
Link glanced up from his cooking and looked towards me, he didn't say anything, but I could see his eyes widen in recognition of me. After a moment's pause, he nodded once. As he did, I noticed something peculiar about the sword he carried on his back. It wasn't a normal longsword, but rather, it was curved like a scythe, a Vicious Sickle, a weapon of the Yiga Clan.
"First off, before you say anything," I began, "I mean it when I say thank you, so believe me when I say that this is nothing personal hero." Link's eyes widened as I said that, "But since you already seen this shtick before, I think I'll skip the conversation. I'll be taking your life and your dinner!" I yelled, reaching for my sword and...grasped nothing but air. Ooooh, right, it got knocked from my hand when I was sent flying, didn't it?
Link, for his part, just put both of his hands on his waist and looked me with a mixture of amusement and wariness.
"..." I sighed, rubbing my head, "I just recovered from being knocked out, I'm allowed a few mistakes." I grumbled.
Link just shook his head, then reached for his sword. With a grumble, I put both of my hands together in a sign, pointer and index fingers clasped together and pointing upwards, "Okay, fine, I'll do the transformation...Gods I hate this…"
I really hated using this spell, since while it allowed for me to use Yiga magic, it also cut off the majority of my own skills due to the restraints the spell placed. That, and it looked awful too.
What? A girl can care about her appearance!
Of course, I never got to even transform in the first place, because Link threw the Vicious Sickle right in my face, knocking me to the ground as it exploded, for some reason, on impact. As my world went dizzy, again, I forced the growing panic down and tried to remain calm. Trying to evaluate the situation, I ran a few numbers in my head. The Hero was fast and skilled, not to mention, armed and ready. In contrast, I was exhausted, hungry, had no weapons or armor, on the verge of passing out,
….Why did I think trying to pick a fight with the guy was a good idea, again?
Oh yeah, "Master" Kogha is an IDIOT for drilling into us that you should try to kill the hero as soon as you saw him!
Oy vey….I would, at the very least, liked to be killed by the sword that seals the darkness, that would be something worth dying to, and he's probably going to crush me with a hammer or something.
As my senses came back, and pain exploded into my side, my sudden drop probably reopening a few wounds, I tried peer past the dizziness to see Link coming towards me, Sheikah Eightfold blade drawn. Oh, gonna be killed by the blade of the Sheikah, that's fitting, I guess.
As Link jumped in the air, I closed my eyes and waited for the end….again.
Only, after a few moments passed, nothing came. I opened my eyes, I found that Link was standing over me, blade pointed at my throat.
"...So, um…" I blinked, "Are you going to kill me or…" Link didn't respond, he just narrowed his eyes at me. Raising my hands, palms facing him, I tried to be diplomatic, "Okay...I'm kinda confused, why aren't you...you know, gutting me like a fish?"
Link just blinked in response.
"Look, Hero," I narrowed my eyes, "I appreciate you saving me before, I really do, but I also know that you defeated other Yiga clansmen before, so why am I getting the special treatment?"
He told me why and I gotta say, he's got quite a voice. A little bit terse though, but I guess that's to be expected if you wake up from a 100-year long nap.
"Oh, you think I know something of your past?" Link nodded once, but I glanced away. Propping myself up on my right elbow, I winced as pain shot through my side. Shaking my head, I looked back at Link, "Sorry, I don't know much, only that you were some kind of "hero" or something and served the Princess, Zelda."
Link sighed, then sheathed his sword.
"Are you...letting me go?" I asked, gently.
Link nodded.
"Oh...uh, thanks." I said. I was honestly a bit surprised he was letting me live, I mean, I don't think I could extend the same level of mercy but…
But...well, my stomach growled, loudly, and Link looked at me again, raising an eyebrow.
"...Look, I haven't had breakfast, okay?" I grumbled, "You already beat me, don't rub salt in the wound."
Link chuckled, then went back to his cooking.
Standing up and ignoring the pain and aches as I did, I rubbed my head once, then sighed. Link glanced back at me, eyebrow raised. I shrugged, "Well, I am quite literally contracted to do this, so uh...You haven't seen the last of me hero, and all that noise." I said with a wave of my hand, then clasped my hands together, and disappeared in a puff of smoke. It's a handy escape tool, a bit limited in range, but I knew how to control it well enough.
Link looked around once, rubbed his head, sighed, then went back to his cooking...only to find it gone, mostly because I had stolen it when he was busy looking for me. He turned quickly, just in time to see me, standing in the doorway of the inn, holding the well-done bear meat in my hand, "Sorry Hero," I winked at him, "But a girl's gotta eat."
And with that, I disappeared again.
As I reappeared a safe distance away, and by that, I mean behind a couple of barrels, out of Link's sight, I stretched my hearing just enough far to hear Link groan loudly in frustration. Eh, he'll get over it, I left him a purple rupee.
Chewing on my stolen goods, I smirked, then winced as my head started hurting again...ooowwww…
Hello Hello, this is my...well, for better or worse, proof that I can write. For you see, I am going to take up writing comissions pretty soon, and this story will be seen as proof of what I can do. If you want to see some of my other stories I wrote when I was much younger, but if you want to see my most recent story, just search for my username on FictionPress.