Gannon greedily took the glass tube filled with the dark, mysterious substance from the potion master who hailed from Windfall Island. At last he could create the army he had always longed for and all his desires seemed to rest inside the jar filled with the menacing black liquid. A bubbling, black interior of the jar seemed to scream of a powerful witchcraft.
"So this…will create a monster?" Gannon imposed.
"Absolutely, it never fails" countered the terrified potions master, Doc Bandam.
"Listen. I don't do this for free. You must promise me that you will release my grandkids from their imprisonment at the Forsaken Fortress and that you will introduce new trading posts across the great sea for my business." It was not difficult for Gannon to accept this plea. An easy flowing, deep chuckle of approval rang from Gannon's lips.
"Follow me and I will release those poor girls." Gannon motioned for the potions master to follow him outside and Gannon knew he would, but, as usual, Gannon's giant pet bird was already waiting outside. Despite Gannon having canine incisors, questionable intentions, and an off-putting personality, the potions master began following Gannon's motions and went outside. To be honest, the sun was so bright and he was so unused to sunlight that the potions master did not even see the giant bird waiting for him at first, but in no time at all it swooped in, and Doc Bandam let out a cry of pain. Instantly Gannon let out a surge of laughter at Doc Bandam's pain and waited for the bird to come back for him.
"…But we have to be there to do it. Why is this town so empty? Why is everyone so afraid of me?" Gannon snickered. Gannon could barely make out a pair of talons in the distance and then, suddenly, the bird was above him. Gannon's bird, which he so named Helmaroc King because it was king of all the birds, and was such a fast flyer, came and tried to carry Gannon away, but trying to carry Gannon took some time, and it was nightfall by the time Gannon, arrived at encampment the Forsaken Fortress. Gannon glanced at the full moon and ordered the potions master to be carried away. Through a haze of curses brought on by the potions master, Gannon commanded that a Bobokin be brought to his tower.
"What kind it is I don't care, just bring one to me!" Gannon spat at the giant pig-like warriors carrying away Doc Bandam and, Gannon, quietly moved inside so he could observe his shadow inside the comfort of his lair. Inside there was the vibrant flickering of two torches on either side of a large desk above a clean, red carpet. A rush of wind came through the door almost blowing out the torches and a Bobokin was thrust inside Gannon's room with the door slamming behind it. Gannon's hand slithered over to the Bobokin's face so that he could inspect his prize. Gannon put his hand under this creature's chin and told it to look up. The startled Bobokin dropped its stick-like weapon at the touch of Gannon's hand and Gannon crinkled his nose disgustedly at the appalling face of the creature. The creature had such a strange upturned nose and the face of a blue bat. Gannon chuckled,
"What a dimwitted little beast. But I think you'll do." Gannon stroked the top of the glass tube containing a dark mass, which he held. Meanwhile, the hopeless Bobokin was still looking down, searching the ground for its dropped weapon, but Gannon stepped forward holding the dark mass and opened its mouth, plunging the contents of the glass tube down the creature's throat. The Bobokin creature swallowed the dark liquid, but nothing else appeared to happen and Gannon thought over the situation. Maybe that potions master from Windfall Island had tricked him into taking this dark liquid back to his lair. Maybe he was being deceived! But how could he have really been deceived when the potions master was still under his control? Gannon hit the Bobokin in the face and sent him sprawling to the floor. Gannon stepped over a sprawling, injured Bobokin, and walked out of his lair. Outside he had a repeated observation that the moon was full and there was a heavy, warm breeze in the air. How he missed the days when the air smelt of death and the nights only brought with them an icy cold. Gannon mused over the time when he lived in the dessert as a thief and death was always in the air, but this thought did not prevent him from being furious at the potions master. Gannon had quickly lost the battle with his own self at being able to trust in the potions master and his potions, which made him furious. Gannon created such an internal storm that he, did not want to meet with his pet bird. Instead of meeting with his bird, he walked his way down the levels of the Forsaken Fortress because he was headed to the dungeons. Darkness crept around him and it was very hard to walk around the Forsaken Fortress because his cloak was so big and dark. Gannon did not want to trip and fall in such a dark space and he was suddenly wondering why on earth he wore such big, black clothes to begin with. Gannon lumbered on, cautiously. Gannon stopped to catch his breath and be sure of his footing, which made him look up. Beyond the slate-colored barricade of the Forsaken Fortress floated sea, sea, and more sea. The endless sea was a hard pill to swallow. Gannon felt small amongst it all, which only made him want to get more powerful, cunning, and back in control. Like his mother used to say:
"A good thief could only become more devious." Gannon walked at an ant's pace down the hallway, and all flights of stairs, but when he finally reached the dungeons, he was satisfied. He had sent this particular potions master to a small, single celled dungeon all alone and Gannon was ready to interrogate him.
"There you are." Gannon could see the potions master turn around and face him.
"I want answers. Did you think you could give me a useless substance and I would not find out about it?" Gannon could see piercing fear behind his captive's eyes. His captive was on the defensive.
"But I promise that I gave you the potion you wanted. It works like anything else I have ever created."
"You liar! I tested your pathetic potion on a pathetic fool and nothing happened. I need it to work or you will pay the price for your lies." Gannon initiated barging into the cell, knocking over the few tables and chairs present inside. Inside with his captive, he took the potions master by the neck and held him up.
"Did you hear what I said? It doesn't work!" As Gannon spoke there was a loud clap of thunder from overhead and a boy appeared from the shadows. The boy simply looked like he came from a shadow on the wall. A boy who existed as a shadow, it seemed, began slashing at Gannon's cape with a powerful black sword and Gannon let go of his previous captive. The boy had silently slid in during Gannon's interrogation and now Gannon was being hacked at. Where had this boy come from? It was hard to see the boy, and, after another loud clap of thunder, the boy's slashing disappeared and so did the boy. Vanished. What just happened? Just as might be expected after being attacked by a random, vanishing shadow boy, Gannon was out of ideas to explain the situation. Gannon looked at his captive in confusion and began,
"Well you are lucky. I suppose I will make a pack with you. I will lend you my supplies to make a potion that exceeds all others in power and strength and if you can make one that works and really has the power to make an army of destruction, only then will I release you and your grandchildren from your prisons, but until then…" Gannon exited the cell, locking the door behind him.
"…you are free to stay."
That boy! Gannon recognized that shadow that had been slashing at him in the darkness, even though it had been hard to get a good look at him. Gannon knew that the shadow had been a figure of a boy he remembered from those haunted dreams of his. The boy named Link or The Hero of Time, that had defeated him years ago was back to haunt him in the form of a shadow in the night. Curse his imagination! The boy could not return, but just to make sure he did not return, Gannon had the potions master. The brewer would be his slave and create something more powerful than Link could have ever imagined. His own shadow would be larger than he anticipated. What more could he do?
When Gannon made it to the top of his tower again he was thoroughly exhausted.
"Next time I'll just get another creature to torture him for me," he thought to himself. He sat down at his desk and his eyes flickered over to the torches above his head. His eyes quivered above the flickering firelight. Suddenly he turned around in the flickering light. Where was the Bobokin who had taken his potion? The creature was totally gone. Gannon got up from his chair to search for the creature, even though he did not really know why. He did not really care about the Bobokin now that it had failed him. Whatever, losing that beast was nobody's loss. Suddenly, out of nowhere Gannon heard a deep chuckle. There was a chuckle all around Gannon as it filled the room and then it stopped. Gannon went over to his bedchamber, but just before he went to sleep he thought he saw the shadow flicker into the form of that boy. The one he dreaded. The one of his dreams.