Chapter 14: Capture

"I must say that I'm a little scared of how the villagers will react to us when we suddenly appear after disappearing for a week and a half," Aola said.

Link swallowed the venison in his mouth and spoke. "It's most likely that we will find only Iskao and Diaxa there. The rest probably went looking for us."

"We've created a mess, haven't we?" Dysor interjected.

"Yes, you have," Link said.

"Now wait a minute, we all agreed to go on this quest," Aola began. "We all created a mess, and we don't even know how big of a mess we have yet. There's a small chance that there's no mess at all. Let's not go blaming people for making a mess when we're not sure that a mess even exists."

"Once again, you've got a good point," Link said. He looked up at the stars through the dark silhouettes of the trees.

"Let's get some sleep," Aola suggested.

"Yet another good point," Dysor yawned as he laid on the ground.

Link glanced around. He was worried about an attack from the Lizalfos. "We better watch for Lizalfos," he said. "You two can sleep. I'll keep watch."

Aola said, "Okay, take the first shift. But you can't go the whole night without sleep. I'll go next, and then Dysor."

So Link stood up while the others lied down, brushed himself off, and watched vigilantly for Lizalfos. He didn't mind having to stay up. He actually quite liked the peace of the moment. He hadn't experienced peace for a week now and he needed some. The cool night air was refreshing on his face. Wanting to feel the breeze in his hair, he took his cap off and let the wind ruffle it. In all ways, he felt at peace. He knew Aola had told him to wake her when the moon was at its zenith, but he didn't. He instead sat, enjoying the calm. When the sun started to rise, he climbed to the top of a tree and watched the hazy yellow light flow over the dark mountains, illuminating the forest and driving away the darkness of the night. The Faron Woods changed from black to gold. He crept down to wake his friends. They were nowhere to be seen.

Immediately, he started to panic. Where had they gone? He called out their names at the top of his lungs. When he had waited for about three minutes, as he guessed, and they were still nowhere to be seen, he tried again. Still nothing. He bellowed their names as loud as he could, but they was still no sign of them. Then he felt a blow on the back of his head and knew no more.

He awoke to find himself being carried on a platform by four Lizalfos. Dysor was on his right and Aola was on his left. They were all tied to the platform by a rope. Link hadn't heard any sounds of Lizalfos in the night. He knew it was pointless to struggle, but he kept wondering why the lizards hadn't killed them all, why the horses hadn't whinnied, and how they had been so stealthy.

A bit self-consciously, he noticed that the Lizalfos had stripped them all of their clothes down to the undergarments. He looked about for any sign of their clothes or weapons. A little ways ahead, there were four lizards carrying a large chest. Maybe their meager possessions were in there. Also, he noticed the horses being dragged along by several other lizards.

He laid his head back, afraid to move anymore. He felt that if he moved, the lizards might kill him. And they deserved to kill him, considering how many of them he had slain during the battle. He must have slain thirty. Maybe forty. It made him sick. Soon, despite his efforts to remain unnoticed, one of the four Lizalfos carrying them talked in its own raspy language. Link had never heard one talk before, and it sent shivers down his spine. They had noticed his waking.

The Lizalfos unbound his body. When he was loose, he did not struggle as they tied his hands behind his back. Nasty sounds emanating from one's terrible jaws, it shoved him forward. They were going to make him walk. The Lizalfos were quick during travel, and he was soon tired. From the movement of the sun, Link could tell that they were moving roughly northeast. The Lizalfos didn't follow any road. They must be navigating by landmarks, Link thought. They carried on, running tirelessly. Link didn't have so much endurance. He was breathing heavily, there was a knot-like pain in his side, and his feet started to stumble.

Soon, Aola woke up, and Dysor after her. Link was angry at himself for letting them get captured. He had been inattentive on his watch, and now they were stuck here. Like Link, they were forced to run. They weren't allowed to talk. They just kept running silently. They ran all day. Link's pain was eventually drowned out by monotony. He could see that Dysor and Aola were struggling, though. Soon, Aola gave a cry and fell face first in the dirt. Lizalfos surrounded her. They kicked her and hissed in her face, trying to make her get up. She just laid in the dirt and bore it, tears starting to tumble down her cheeks. Link tried to rush back and help her, but he was driven forward by the horde of reptiles. It was Dysor who managed to push through the crowd. He stepped into the middle of the circle of Lizalfos and commanded them to stop. The lizards didn't understand him, of course, but his voice held such power that they hesitated for just a moment. Then Dysor reached down, took Aola's arm, and helped her up. She looked at him thankfully.

When the day was coming to a close, Link noticed the trees thinning. When the stars appeared they were still running, and the trees were few and far between. Link didn't know it, but they were leaving Faron Woods and, for the first time, seeing the vast Hyrule Field.

Finally, one of the Lizalfos in the massive army blew a horn and all at once, they stopped. Lizards started lying down to go to sleep. Relieved, the three captives all laid on the ground and slept at once, despite the danger they were in.

The next day, they ran again. Eventually, all the trees disappeared and they were replaced with rolling, unbroken plains of grass. They passed fortifications from which arrows were shot into the midst of the army. Every time they encountered one of these, a number of Lizalfos separated from the group to capture it. Link wished he could do something to help the soldiers in the towers, but he was forced to keep running.

They also occasionally passed farms or cities. Most of the cities were smaller than Andruen City, but a few were larger. The farms interested Link. It was a wonder to him, that some people should harvest food, rather than just hunting and gathering. When they passed these civilian establishments, Link could see people rushing to hide, or women clutching their children. Poor people of Hyrule. This was a war between two armies, and they were stuck in the middle of it. Link glanced down at the Triforce symbol on the back of his hand, wondering what good it did to have the most powerful tool in the world and not know how to use it.

The Eldin Mountains were growing ever nearer. What were the Lizalfos keeping them captive for? What evil lay inside the mountains, or beyond in the desert, that was in store for them? Link was anxious for the journey to be over and wanted to see what lay at the journey's end, but at the same time he dreaded it. The journey's end just might be the end for him and his friends, too.

They stopped for the night, then got up the next morning and ran again. Link's muscles were overworked and he felt like he would not have the strength to continue. One more day of running passed after that, and, tired and weary, they reached the looming mountains.