Twilight Canel: Well, I did mention that I had most of this already written before I even started posting it. The last chapter was my ending point, so this is my first new piece. When I had finally decided to post the first installment to see if anyone would actually be interested, I already had about 80 pages written. Hence why my updating up to this point has seemed so quickly. That's not going to happen anymore, mostly because I'm bouncing back between to the two stories I'm working on.
kitsunedemon: Well, we'll see about that. Trust me, all will be explained. I just like to do it in roundabout ways.
Zeron999: Well its not too much of an issue but it does get annoying to spend like 30 additional minutes just to put all the returns characters back in. Stupid FFnet.
To those wondering about where I'm taking this: I finished mapping this story out about last thurs or so, so I know where I'm going. As I once explained in my other fic, it's going from point A to point Z, with a few stops over at B, C,... etc. Actually, this one is much more direct than my Hellsing fic if you ask me. Don't worry, there will plenty of a Zelda game's typish quest later on, as we will also get to see the war. I have lofty plans for this one, not as big as I do for Darkness and Light, but lofty none the less.
Enough talking now. Here is the newest chapter. I apologize if it is shorter than usual, but what's to come really should be all grouped together. You'll thank me later.
Rurouni
--------
Link awoke the next morning feeling refreshed and better than he had felt for quite some time. He slowly rose to a sitting position and stretched out his arms over his head, letting loose a large and loud yawn. He licked his lips a few times before swinging his legs off of the bed and standing up in order to get dressed.
As he pulled his gloves on he heard a light knock at the door. "Come in." He said, reaching for the small fabric pouches that held some of his things. The door opened to reveal a young servant girl holding a tray of food.
"Good morning sir. I hope you had a pleasant rest." She said as she placed the tray of food on the desk.
Link nodded. "Yes, I haven't felt this good for quite some time actually."
The girl nodded once and said, "I'm glad to hear that sir. Here is your breakfast and I have a message for you from General Wilde." She said, placing a small note into Link's hands before bowing and leaving the room.
Link merely opened the note and read it aloud to himself, "You no longer need to eat meals with the nobles if you wish, however do not wander too far in case we need you for something." Link crumbled the note up in his hand and tossed it on the desk, "And where pray tell, would I go?" He asked in slight amusement as he grabbed a small bread roll off of the tray. Link ate breakfast without really thinking about anything in particular, much like he had for most of his life. Thinking too hard in the morning was far from useful, at least that's what Link had always believed. Finishing up his breakfast Link wiped his mouth with the back of his forearm and stood up. He looked around to see his equipment sitting in a corner and wondered idly if he should bother putting it all on. After a few moments he decided to at least put his gauntlets on, if only to assist in hiding the annoying mark on his hand. With that he opened his door and decided to take part in the early morning.
It looked like it was a beautiful day as he walked at a leisurely pace through the castle hallways, most of which had either open spaces to their sides or windows to allow the bright sunlight to shine through. He held his hands on the back of his head, whistling softly to himself as he walked around with no real purpose. I suppose this is a much watered down version of my usual wanderings, but it still feels good, Link thought to himself as he rounded another corner.
He was surprised when he bumped into a servant woman, knocking her down to the ground. Link bent over and asked the woman, "I'm sorry ma'am, are you alright?"
She shook her head for a few moments before responding. "No harm done sir." Link smiled at that as he extended his hand out to her. She accepted his hand and he pulled her to her feet. The woman then looked around frantically, "Princess? Where did you go?" Link raised an eyebrow before seeing the young Princess Fiona. She was watched the two as if observing a small animal wait in place. Link scratched the back of his head as he found himself thinking, that girl seems strange. Kids are usually more energetic than that.
He then lowered himself to one knee to be at the girl's eye level. "Good morning Princess Fiona." The girl merely stared back at him, as if expecting him to do a trick of some sort. Link shot a confused glance to the servant woman.
She explained, "The Princess doesn't really like to talk all that much. It seems she is only comfortable around Princess Thylena." Link sighed in defeat, so much for trying to befriend the child.
"I see."
-
"Is everything ready?" A voice from within the shadows of Rylok's castle walls asked.
"Yeah boss. All the bombs are set, the others are in position, we can go whenever you want." Said one man, wearing a green bandanna with strands of his blond hair sticking out from the ends. He was wearing a loose light blue shirt and a pair of trousers with a pair of knives at the sides. In his left hand was a long fuse while in his right hand he held a lit match. A small black claw mark, not unlike the claws of an eagle or other bird of prey, was tattooed on the inside of the man's left wrist.
"Send one final message to the men. There are to be no casualties other than soldiers and even avoid those if possible. No civilian killing." The first man said as he stepped into the light, revealing his true visage. He had black hair that went down to his shoulders, his bangs beginning to cover his eyes but not enough to truly impair his vision. Like his friend, he wore light blue and had the same tattoo on his wrist. He had another tattoo, this one on the right side of his neck. It was an inversed cross with a pair of broadswords on each side, crossing each other at the top.
The man sighed slightly, "Boss, you should know by now we don't do that stuff. Everyone is still scared of the last guy you punished for doing such things."
The first man didn't say another else for a while then just said in a subdued voice, "I suppose." His voice then gained volume as he gave the order, "Light the fuses."
-
Link was about to try to get the girl to talk again when a large explosion rocked the foundations upon which they stood. Link looked around wildly to try and find the source. He watched as the servant woman fell over again, next to the small child who seemed to have a mixture of fear and amusement on her face as the ground shook. It was then that Link noticed the large chunk of stone falling from above. Without thinking about it, he rose to both his feet and dashed towards the Princess and her servant. He grabbed both of them, Fiona under his right arm and dragged the servant woman with his left. It happened in an instant; he dove, the stone crashed into the ground and Link felt a burning pain all up his left arm.
As the dust cleared, Link began to cough wildly and released his hold on his two 'captives.' He felt the burning pain all up his arm again and was coughing wildly from all the dust. The servant woman grabbed his shoulders, "Sir? Sir are you alright?" She then saw his left arm twitching violently and said, "Look at you, saving us and hurting yourself in the process. Come on, let's get you to a doctor."
Link pushed the woman away gently with his right hand as he finished coughing. He spoke through gritted teeth, trying to hide the fact that he was in so much pain. "I'm alright. Are you two alright?"
The servant woman checked herself over before turning to Fiona who was staring wide-eyed at the pile of debris that was now where they had been standing before. The woman checked over the young girl before saying, "We're alright."
"Glad to hear it!" Came a loud boisterous voice. All three heads spun to see a man with black hair standing on top of the debris, a crooked smile on his face. "I would've have been able to live it down if we had hurt someone in the explosions."
Link rose to his feet and found himself wishing he had his sword. "Who are you?"
The man bowed mockingly before saying, "Dl'ytch Rivelfield, at your service my good man."
Link frowned as he positioned himself into a defensive stance, fists raised to defend himself or the women if necessary. "Why does that name sound familiar?" Link asked aloud, mostly to himself without realizing it.
The woman leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "Dl'ytch Rivelfield is the leader of a group of bandits called the Talons."
Link allowed himself to force a neutral expression. "Ah, so you were the one the tavern owner mentioned."
Dl'ytch chuckled merrily from that comment. "Seems I well known, even in Hyrule." He said, gesturing to Link's long pointy ears. Dl'ytch then held up a brown felt pouch in his hand. Link recognized it in a heartbeat and immediately shifted his gaze to his right side where the sacred jewels resided on his belt. Sure enough they were gone from his side and Link's neutral expression turned into a cold murderous stare as he looked back to the thief. The woman, seeing the unnatural change in the young man's expression slowly began to back away, dragging the young Princess along with her. "You will return that bag." Not a request, but a cold challenging statement.
Dl'ytch raised an eyebrow at the young man who stood before him. The young man had changed drastically as soon as he realized that Dl'ytch had robbed him. The guy obviously was from Hyrule, but didn't carry himself like a noble. Must be an escort for somebody important. Oh well, not that it matters to me. Dl'ytch then grinned and emptied the contents of the pouch into his hand. He whistled in appreciation as he looked over the three gems, wondering where they had come from. Such fine quality was rare these days. "Wow, I can see why you'd keep these on you. Absolutely beautiful."
Link's gaze hadn't changed, despite the man's jest. "You will return those to me. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into." Dl'ytch laughed openly and dropped something. Link realized what it was far too late as the thief yelled back to him as the smoke bomb exploded,
"Feel free to come get them back anytime Mr. Hylian!" Link cursed as he coughed on the smoke. When it cleared he saw that Dl'ytch was nowhere to be seen. Can somebody cut me a break here. Link then decided to start running around, looking for the man who had just robbed him. He heard cries of 'fire' and 'help' all around him as he dashed to and fro in the castle.
He then saw General Wilde rushing around very much like himself. "General Wilde!" Link yelled, skidding to a stop before running back towards his superior officer. Wilde noticed Link and slowed to a stop.
When Link reached him he said urgently, "Link, I can't find her royal highness anywhere. There is chaos everywhere due to the bandits."
Link nodded in understanding. "I just had a run in with their leader. I'm chasing that bastard down. He took something very important."
General Wilde shook his head, "You will do no such thing. We need to find Princess Zelda immediately and protect her until this is over."
"General I..."
"That's an order soldier! Now search for her and meet back here in twenty minutes if you don't find her." Wilde yelled at him, causing Link to take a step back in spite of himself.
Link took a deep breath. "Yes sir." He then turning and began to run off, leaving the General Wilde to choose a different path.
-
Zelda was in her room, still waking up from her comfortable sleep. She wore a light purple robe as she rose from her bed. She looked over the dresses that had been brought for her use the previous evening and sighed. She took a look over to her traveling clothes and a small, childlike grin came to her face. We have a winner. She quickly changed and walked over to the small window that was in her room and opened the curtains. Her eyes winced at first in response to the sudden light but soon adjusted as she looked out over the courtyard. She noticed smoke on the far end of the courtyard and narrowed her eyes, trying to see if she could make out what it was. Smoke? I hope there isn't a fire or anything.
Suddenly the door to Zelda's room was thrown open, scaring the life out of her. She quickly turned around to see a pair of men dressed in tattered clothes looking at her, knives raised in their hands as if ready to attack someone. They then looked surprised to see her. The one with the red bandanna turned to his partner and said, "You said this was the treasure room."
The other one merely rubbed his brown hair in annoyance. "I didn't say anything of the sort! I said let's find the treasure room. You're the idiot that just kicked this door in."
Zelda watched two bicker for a few moments before venturing, "Who are you two? And why are you in my room?" Both turned back to her, raising their weapons causing Zelda to take a step back. It was as if they had completely forgotten about her while arguing.
The one with the bandanna quickly said, "Hey girl, just give up your money and we'll let you go."
The other poked his head out the door. "Hey, we got soldiers. Just grab something and let's go."
The man with the bandanna quickly began to search the room until his eyes landed on Zelda's necklace. He pointed to her necklace, saying "Give it here," before holding out his hand to accept it. Zelda was outraged as she held on to her necklace.
Who are these people? Thinking they can demand my mother's necklace from me! "Not a chance! Who are you people?" She yelled, taking a few steps forward.
"No time man. Let's go!" The one with the bandanna merely acted without thinking. His fist shot out and impacted into Zelda's stomach. Zelda felt the air rushing out of her lungs as her head swam until she landed in the man's arms. With one quick lift he threw the woman over his shoulder and followed his companion out.
-
Dl'ytch rounded another corner, a bag of gold held over his shoulder as he ran away from the guards who had been chasing him. He quickly dropped another smoke bomb before turning another corner. That should have been enough time for the guys to get what they could. Time to get out of here. He then paused as he leaned up against the wall as he dropped the bag. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a box of matches and a medium sized ball with a fuse at the end. He struck the match, lit the ball and waited before throwing it high into the air. The ball exploded with a shrill sound and a flash of brilliant yellow, blinding anyone who had seen it. He grabbed his bag with a smirk and ran back towards their exit point. It should be a good haul today. Throughout the castle, the flash of yellow or the sound reached the remainder of the thieves. They all knew what to do and began to leave. It was only a matter of seven minutes before all of the thieves were no longer on the premises.
-
"Did you find her?" General Wilde asked the young man as he reached the meeting point. Link shook his head in irritation. That noise was a signal to retreat... we should be able to find her now, but where is she hiding?
"No, I hope its because she chose a good hiding spot." Link deadpanned.
"The Princess has never been too good at hiding. I just hope she didn't do anything foolish."
Silent realization dawned on both men before Link said in an annoyed tone of voice, "Aw shit!" Judging by the number of people who turned their heads to the young man, Link surmised that he had said it louder than he had thought. Oh well.
"General Wilde, Master Link!" Both men turned to see a soldier running towards them wearing full Rylik armor. Rylik armor consisted of a series of chain mail type vests layed over each other and bracers over the forearms. Link noticed idly a tattoo on the man's neck, showing a pair of crossed swords over a cross. Mark of the military eh?
He stopped in front of the two men and saluting the two. "What is it soldier? We're busy." Link said in a cold tone. He received a smack to the back of the head from the elder general.
"Well, we have been searching for you two and the Princess Zelda since the Talons attacked. We haven't been able to find her though." The soldier said in an efficient military voice. Link's face fell at this tidbit of news. Where the hell is she? "And we've received reports of a group of men carrying a woman out of the castle. No one got a close look at them but witnesses state that it was a blond haired woman wearing a purple cloak."
Link shot a glance to General Wilde. The elder general was seething with rage at this news. "You mean, a group of thieves broke in, robbed you all blind, and kidnapped a visiting Princess?" There was a brief pause where the air around Wilde seemed to drop at least thirty degrees. "What the hell kind of soldiers are you!" Wilde declared as he grabbed the man's throat in rage. The soldier began to choke as Wilde applied more pressure. "If you were under my command you'd experience a new definition of pain and suffering for allowing such a thing!"
"Stop it General!" Link yelled as he grabbed the elder general's arm. Link was surprised to feel such strength coming from the man as he continued to choke the soldier with his hand. Link, in a last ditch effort, slammed down on the general's elbow, causing the man to lower his arm and release his prisoner. The soldier stumbled backwards, rubbing his throat and gasping in a vain attempt to restore air to his lungs. He looked uncertainly at the two guests from Hyrule, wondering what was coming next.
Link spoke first before Wilde composed himself, "Tell Lord Arathein that we wish to speak with him immediately. We want an audience in ten minutes!" The soldier saluted again and scurried off, leaving Link with a rage-stricken General Wilde. Link looked back to his superior before venturing, "Sir?"
Wilde finally relaxed his shoulders and let out a deep breath. "Thank you Master Link."
Link merely shrugged, "Far be it for me to tell you how to act, but I doubt killing a Rylik soldier within their own castle would do much for an alliance." He then shook his head, "I'm supposed to be the wild and uncontrollable one here."
Wilde nodded but Link could still feel the chill around the man. "We shouldn't jump to conclusions just yet. We'll meet with Lord Arathein and try to figure something out."
-
Dl'ytch and his boys entered the hideout with a cheer, most of them carrying bags full of gold or other highly valued items. "Break out the ale boys! It's time to celebrate a job well done. Arathein's boys didn't even know what hit them!" There were numerous cheers at this, the band of no more than twenty men all raising an fist in victory. The men then began to pile their loot into a large pile in the side of the room in the underground basement of the pub that was sympathetic to their goals.
"Um, boss. We have a problem..." one man said, his voice very soft, as if afraid of saying what he was going to out loud.
"What's that?" Dl'ytch looked up with a grin and a chuckle. His eyes then fell on the man with the red bandanna carrying a woman over his shoulder. His face fell and he said in a cold voice, obviously very angry. "I see." He then began to glare at the man with the bandanna, who was now visibly scared. "So the real question is what we're going to do with you...." His face then twisted in a sadistic grin.
-
Link merely watched in silence as General Wilde paced back and forth in his quarters, muttering angrily to himself about Zelda's kidnapping. "Those worthless idiots! I don't care if Arathein has a full search team out for her, it never should've happened in the first place!"
Link silently agreed with him but knew better than to voice his opinion out loud, if only to keep the General from completely losing his mind to rage. "Sir, please calm down. Raging over their incompetence will do nothing for us."
Wilde paused in his step and took a few deep breathes. "Indeed you are correct Master Link. The real question is what..."
"They won't find them." Link said, his voice thoughtful.
"What?"
"The Rylik military won't find the Talons. They're popular with the general populace, so people will hide them and not speak of them in public if there are soldiers around. Also, I'm fairly certain that they don't even know what the thieves look like."
General Wilde grabbed his head in annoyance. "How could this mission have gone so wrong?"
Link didn't speak for a long time before saying, "Sir, give me permission to move," breaking the silence of the room.
Wilde looked at him with a confused expression. "What do you mean."
Link merely repeated his question, "Give me permission to move. If you give me enough time and leave me to my own methods, I will find them."
"How do you plan to do that?"
Link merely said in a cold voice, "I intend to call in some favors, then I'm going to beat the piss out of Dl'ytch."
General Wilde paused for a moment then asked, "I don't really want to know what you're going to do, do I?"
Link answered with a calm yet deceptively clear voice, "No sir you do not."
Wilde considered this for about ten minutes before sitting down in a chair across from Link. "Fine, do as you see fit. Just don't cause any commotion, I don't want to have to explain anything to Arathein at this point. I doubt I can do it without having the desire to strike him."
Link merely stood up. "Leave it to me General. Keep Arathein's men on it though. You're probably better at kicking up a ruckus than me anyway." He then walked to the door, opened and walked out, leaving the General to wonder if Hyrule should really seek alliance with people who had V.I.P.s kidnapped from their home base.