Another chapter, another battle. It's the story of Demon's life. He fights, he kills things, then Zelda starts yappin' about some wishy-washy morality... It should remind him of this mother, but Demon can't remember his mother, can he? So sad.
So anyway, I'm making a push to get somewhere on this story, as I'm hoping to finish it within the year, that'll take some doing, as I'm pretty sure I'm still a good chunk away, but I'm gonna try anyway. Have fun reading!
Chapter 53
Omar stared incredulously at the assassin and his companions. "We've come to rescue you." The black-cloaked warrior had said, and Omar wasn't sure the man was entirely in control of his wits. And yet the captain instinctively sensed that the new-comer was quite different than anything he had come across before, and perhaps even more dangerous than the scores of surrounding moblins.
So when Demon looked him in the eyes and shouted "Charge!" The Terminian captain was the first to join him in a mad rush towards the still disoriented enemy. Kashi and the rest of the guardsmen followed a moment later, but even then it was only a handful that roared defiantly into the teeth of the storm. The moblin archers alone should have broken the charge, but, unfortunately for them, none could stand Demon's gaze long enough to aim.
Omar knew moblins were cowardly creatures at heart, and even as he ran bellowing towards his enemies he began to understand the assassin's plan. Demon was trying to scare the monsters into a rout, achieving what was impossible with numbers through sheer ferocity. It was a good plan, Omar noted as he plunged his spear into a seething mass of moblins, as long as it worked.
Zelda was yelling and screaming with the best of them as she sprinted onwards towards battle, and yet it was with some frustration she found herself falling behind the small knot of warriors. Later on she would wonder what exactly she would have done had she been leading the charge into a gauntlet of death and destruction, but for the moment she contented herself with some very unprincesslike cursing. At least until she tripped over the body of a fallen moblin and knocked the wind out of herself.
The air was rent with the cries of war, some triumphant, some despairing, some human, some monster. Steel ran on steel, whistling through the air to clang against shield or sword, and sometimes sinking into flesh. Fuelled by the courage of their captain, Omar, the Terminians gave a good account of themselves, but the day would not have been theirs if not for the insane terror inspired by their "rescuer".
The moblins could not stand before him, and as they turned to flee their unprotected backs provided juicy targets for the Terminians. In their haste to flee, two of the monsters actually stabbed each other, and several others were trampled under their brethren. Of course, behind the assassin the ranks closed once more and the merchant guards fought a hard, running battle to keep from being overwhelmed, but it was a small price to pay for the victory which was near at hand.
Until one single scream, one clear note of terror rose up above all the others, and Demon suddenly remembered the charge which ruled all others.
Zelda had stumbled to her feet already far behind the rest of the attack, and immediately realized how vulnerable her position was. Alone, and basically defenseless she stood no chance if the moblins caught sight of her. The merchant caravan without its guards was just as unsafe as where she stood, so the princess did the next best thing and dropped to the ground to play dead against the moblin corpse which had tripped her. Unfortunately, the only mildly injured moblin had been pulling the same ruse.
The creature grabbed Zelda by the throat and stumbled to his feet, ignoring her frantic screams as he fumbled for his weapon. The princess's sword clattered forgotten to the dirt as she clawed at the moblins soiled armor. Somewhere she heard Demon's rage-filled cries as he raced to save her, but Zelda knew, even as darkness gathered around the edge of her vision, that was too far away to help her.
Too weak to try calling up her Triforce magic, the princess pried one of the moblin's fingers from her neck and bit it. The creature recoiled in pain and Zelda crumpled to the ground, trying to catch her breath and spit out a piece of rancid flesh at the same time. It was only when she had rid herself of the offensive chunk that the princess closed a hand on the hilt of her sword and glared at the moblin.
It glared back, swinging a viciously curved sword dangerously close to her head. On the next strike, Zelda remembered her own weapon and parried clumsily. The sword was almost wrenched from her hands by the power of the moblin swing, and the numbing vibrations which traveled up the princess's arms almost caused her to drop it anyway. She was done for if the monster attacked again, but fortunately, it was then that Demon finally reached the struggle.
The moblin grunted as a dark streak of snarling, slashing fury collided with it, lifting the creature of its feet. It was dead, both of the Bwa Kell buried in its heart, before it hit the ground.
Behind it's corpse, the battlefield descended into horrified silence as the remaining moblins pondered the trail of mutilated bodies which led from the Terminians to the princess. During the space of one devastating instant all the fight seemed to have left them, or else they decided that the black-cloaked warrior who had killed so many of their brethren, was actually a compatriot of their heathen Gods and could not be defeated. Either way, the battle of seconds before had become a rout.
Wherever the Terminians went, the moblins retreated fleeing back to the caves and shadows from whence they had came. They still outnumbered the merchants two-to-one, but the creature's numerical superiority was forgotten in their rush to escape Demon's blade.
But for the assassin, the battle had been forgotten the moment Zelda's scream had echoed out the valley, and it was on her his attention was fixed. "What the Goddesses did you follow us for?" He snarled. "You were perfectly safe with the wagons!"
Zelda stuttered for an answer as she tried to defend herself. "I…I…I wanted to fight."
"And you were this close," He held two fingers apart and hissed. "To being dead. We should not have helped these merchants, your life is not worth protecting theirs."
Kashi appeared from behind him, still flourishing the spear he had stolen. The light of battle danced in his eyes, and though he bled from a dozen small wounds he seemed to feel none of them.
"Look at them run!" The big man grinned, "Look at those bastards run." He tried unsuccessfully to wipe the blade of his weapon on a thin patch of lichen, before looking respectfully at Demon. "Well done assassin."
It was a tentative peace offering against the distrust which still lingered between them, and the assassin grudgingly accepted it. "It was an honor to fight beside you." He returned the compliment with some measure of effort.
Abruptly, the innkeeper narrowed his eyes and stared at Zelda, realizing something about the conversation he had interrupted. "That was you screaming during the battle," He accused gruffly. "And that's why Demon…Oh Goddesses."
Zelda flushed with embarrassment. "I just wanted to fight." She argued.
"Oh, so that's why you dropped your sword and began to scream is it? Demon raised an eyebrow.
Left without answers, the princess just glared back.
As Omar reached them from across the battlefield, he hesitated slightly under the full force of Zelda's glare.
"I wanted to thank your Lordship," he bowed low to Demon, "For saving our caravan from the moblins." Tall as he was, the bow fell below the captain's waist.
Demon sighed, motioning the man to stand. "There are few I know who would have marched out against such great odds under the leadership of a madman. You and your men are worse than foolish," Omar looked slightly offended.
"Or very brave" Demon grinned.
"Very definitely the latter." Zelda said, still glaring at the assassin.
Kashi jumped in before any further arguments could transpire. "Were you and your company traveling to Kakoriko?" he asked the Terminian.
"We are the first caravan to attempt the mountain pass this year," Omar affirmed. "The snows made the mountains impassable for many months, but now the road is clear and we are taking the first shipments into Hyrule."
The innkeeper laughed. "At this rate, all your fine goods will be spoils for the moblins that swarm in these mountains. If you value your lives, turn back now."
Omar shrugged. "It is the risk the merchants take for the enormous profit to be had in the trade between our two countries."
"In these times," Demon broke in "Death is no longer a risk, but instead a certainty. If you persist in this madness none of your caravan will live to reach Hyrule. Indeed, unless you flee this place with the speed of wolfos, your corpses will rot within a few leagues of where we stand."
"But it is already noon and Silva is a day's march away!" Protested Omar. "If the moblins have the numbers you claim then they will overwhelm our camp in the night!"
"Than you must make Silva in a half-day, or forsake any chance of survival." Demon's countenance was as harsh as his words.
The captain sighed. "I do not know if what you suggest is possible, but it is better than waiting for our foes to return. " His gaze rose to Demon's face. "My comrades and I would be honored to have you three spend the night with us. Together we have a much better chance against another attack." He began to back away. "Forgive me, but time is pressing and I must ready the caravan for travel."
Cloak fluttering, he turned and began trudging over the bloodstained ground.
"If we are to believe you than there is no hope!" Zelda told Demon frustratedly.
"There is if we leave the merchants behind." The assassin growled, "But that's not an option is it princess?"
"No." Defiant, Zelda held her ground.
The black-cloaked warrior raised an eyebrow. "Even if it may cost us our lives?"
Her eyes glittered. "Would you rather live a coward?"
Kashi gave a short, barking laugh. "We will go wherever you decide princess, however bitter our friend may be about it. But now I think we should stop arguing and read ourselves for the miles ahead. Demon and I will find our packs…but Princess," He looked towards the merchants. "There are many women and tradesmen over there, and most are injured, or too scared to think straight. They need someone to lead them."
Zelda nodded, and took a step towards the caravan, before looking back at Demon. She weighed something within herself and the iron in her gaze softened. "Sometimes I forget how much you have done for me…Thank you for saving my life, again."
"I'm not worthy princess." He said, but his expression lost some of its anger. "Go help, but do not tell them who you are."
The blonde-haired girl tentatively smiled, and then continued on her way.
Kashi snorted, motioning the assassin to follow him. "You two are the oddest companions I've ever traveled with, destiny aside."
The scowling assassin shook his head. "She is too stubborn for her own good. It seems that she almost wants to throw her life away!"
They leaned forward to struggle up the steep hill leading back to the pass. Kashi was soon out of breath, and so Demon continued the talking.
"It is the same foolishness she shows now in helping these merchants. If she decides to remain with them, our corpses will be roasting over moblin fires by tomorrow morning!"
"Who can say?" The innkeeper forced between breaths. "Maybe those sons of donkeys will wait for easier prey."
Demon laughed. "They will find no easier."
The two companions reached the top of the ridge and turned to look out over the narrow valley. Below them, the stony ground was battered with dozens of moblin corpses, insignificant mounds that would soon be absorbed into the harsh mountainside. There were more moblin bodies than people in the caravan, and yet both Demon and Kashi knew instinctively that Gandondorf could spare thousands more without consequence.
Turning their gazes, they watched the merchants precariously tip a wagon back upright. Only two more remained slumped upon their sides on the rocky ground, but it was two too many for Kashi. "I begin to see your point." The innkeeper acknowledged, "With the merchants, we will never escape these mountains." He turned to the assassin. 'And yet you let the princess sway you into joining them so easily. Even the most beautiful woman is not worth your life."
Demon stiffened, until he saw Kashi's good-natured smile, which overlaid the other, more serious, concerns. Then he slumped and tore himself away from the view. "Some are." He finally muttered.
Kashi's eyebrows rose as he witnessed a side to the assassin he had suspected existed, but never seen. "We'll see if you still believe that tonight in the darkness with the moblins closing in."
The assassin laughed. "You forget my friend, I came from the darkness." A flash of red sparked in his eyes. "Now, let us get our packs…and Kashi?"
He looked up and smiled toothily at the big man, who shivered despite his size. "Yes?"
"No more jokes."
By the time they returned to the caravan Zelda had persuaded the merchants to hurry as fast as they ever had in their lives. She chided, consoled, urged, pleaded, and soon had everyone doing exactly what she wanted them to do. Even Demon, who was pressed into service helping Omar and his men dress their wounds.
The horses had all been driven off during the initial attack, but most had not strayed beyond the valley rim. This was a piece of luck for the merchants, who managed to catch enough of the beasts to pull five of the six wagons. The sixth they overturned and filled with the bodies of their dead before setting it alight, a funeral pyre for those who had fallen during the battle.
Finally, the caravan began its ponderous flight back down the mountain to the ceaseless cadence of groaning wagon wheels. The trail sloped ever downward, making the going easier than it could have been, and yet the faces of all stayed grim. They were still traveling slowly, too slow, and the sun was already sinking in the sky.
The merchants had retreated to the wagons as soon as the caravan began to move, finding even the illusion of protection preferable to the bare mountainside. One young couple who had survived the battle relatively unscathed, invited Zelda to join them, and she thankfully accepted their invitation. Though she tried to hide it, the battle had shaken the princess, making her tired both mentally and physically. She longed to crawl into the dark confines of the cart and sleep for the remainder of the day, but knew that her own exhaustion was secondary to keeping the merchants from losing hope and giving in to their fear. The princess had to be strong so the Terminians would be strong; already they looked to her for support.
Jagged rocks loomed on either side as Zelda peeked through a gap in the canvas wall, wishing dully that she had never heard of moblins. Once again, her journey had turned into a race against time, one that Zelda desperately hoped she would win. Farther up in the column, she could see Demon and Kashi talking with Omar, and wondered what they were discussing. The princess felt guilty for dragging her companions first into battle, and then into the merchant's flight, entwining their fates with those of the hapless Terminians. Demon, Zelda knew, was only aiding them because she refused to leave.
A small cough interrupted her musings, and the princess pulled her head back into the wagon. The couple, whose names she did not even know, were staring at her with open curiosity. A lot of questions were in the making, and Zelda faced them with tired resignation.
They asked her name and where she was from, and the princess told them the dark tale of Lady Ariana, daughter of a minor noble, who had barely escaped with her life and her two retainers from the Aratian assault. They asked why she was traveling over the mountains, and she told them of distant relatives in the Terminian Court with whom she hoped to stay. Then the conversation turned to what was truly on the hearts of the merchants, the battle that they had just survived, and Zelda's doubts temporarily disappeared as she reaffirmed that her choice had saved the lives of the couple before her.
Their named were Corwin and Elayne she learned and neither had ever encountered a moblin before that morning. Corwin was a tall, yet skinny man, who looked barely more than a youth, but the fire in his eyes was hot as he described hurling rocks into the ranks of the monsters with all the strength he could muster. His wife Elayne stayed mostly quiet and listened to her husband, small hands clenched tightly in her lap.
"If I had known how dangerous it was to travel these mountains," Corwin remarked, "We never would have come. We were told there was gold to be made in the Hylian markets, and like fools we rushed to join this caravan." He looked at his wife who finished for him.
"The wagon and our dyes are all we have. If we were to lose it here in the mountains, I do not know what we would do."
From her seat across from the couple, Zelda knew that losing the wagon was the least of the couples worries, but she also knew that it was not the time to explain that to them.
"What part of Termina are you from?" She asked instead.
"Our town is near the capital," Corwin relaxed a little as he spoke and the memories softened reality. "It is too small to be put on any of the maps."
"But we have our own mill!" Elayne burst in eagerly. "And an inn!"
Smiling, Corwin placed his hand over hers on the wooden bench between the. " A good inn." He agreed. "Maybe when we leave these mountains the town council will have finished bickering over prices and will start building a temple. Then we will be a real town."
The princess surveyed him curiously, "Do you worship the Goddesses in Termina?"
Corwin shook his head emphatically. "Some do in the larger cities, but the country folk have given their hearts to the Maiden of the Moon."
"May she forever put stars in the sky and dreams in our slumberings." Elayne continued solemnly, completing some kind of ritual.
Zelda felt unsure how to break the following silence, but thankfully, Elayne did it for her. "We're not going to escape these mountains, are we?" she said quietly.
Stricken, the princess avoided the expectant face in front of her, only to see the same dismal question in Corwin eyes.
It depends on many things," she bluffed, "How far we get before nightfall, how many moblins there are in these mountains, and, most importantly," she tried to smile, "Whether the Maiden of the Moon is smiling on us tonight."
It was Corwin's turn to pale, the jolting movement of the wagon knocking him from side to side. "She was almost gone the night before last. She will not be with us tonight."
"Than we will rely on luck." Zelda pushed a golden strand determinedly behind her ear. "Now tell me more about this village of yours."
Their vision of impending death made the couple hard to distract, but Zelda kept at it, and after a while she and Elayne were laughing loudly as Corwin regaled them with tales of his life in the village. Elayne had obviously heard most of them before, but that did not stop her appreciating her husband's knack for storytelling. For a time Zelda even succumbed to her own strategy, forgetting the impending danger, but only until Demon's head popped through the canvas door and immediately wrecked the atmosphere.
"My lady," he said quietly, "We must talk." It was said respectfully, even humbly, and yet there was something in his posture which made his request into a command.
Zelda looked back to the young couple across from her, who were both staring at Demon. She understood their fascination with the enigmatic assassin, his strikingly Hylian features and the flames that smoldered in his gazes, but she was irritated by their obvious fear. Her companion was not a brainless animal to be treated like a brute, nor was he a spectacle to be gawked at. He was a man who deserved the same respect as another, not a market freak.
But then again, could I blame them? The princess asked herself as she slowly exited the wagon behind Demon. He is so different from them, so different from any of us. She wondered if the assassin ever realized how alone he had become in his self-imposed exile from humanity.
They fell back to the space between Corwin's wagon and the next, hurrying along to remain in the narrow gap. The pass was wider than the narrow gorge which the companions had traversed on the other side of the mountains, but the same jagged volcanic rock contorted the mountainside and crunched, glasslike beneath their feet.
"We are not moving fast enough." Demon said abruptly. "By nightfall we will have reached the knees of the mountain, but that will not be enough, not nearly." He shook his head.
"How do you know this?" Zelda asked, her tone harsh with disbelief. Abruptly she remembered their previous argument after the battle, and made a conscious effort to not get involved in another. "Do you know if we're being followed?"
Demon looked almost apprehensive as he glanced into the surrounding mountainside. "I don't have to see them to feel their presence. Scouts have already overtaken us, and more are coming."
"Can we lose them before nightfall?"
"You and I could," The assassin sighed, "But these merchants have neither the skill nor the speed to outrun the hunt. Omar knows this, and he leads them now to one of the caves along the roadside, which in better days were used to shelter travelers. It will make our stand longer, but I fear not long enough."
"Won't the Terminians send soldiers to-" Zelda paused mid-sentence, struck by a terrible though. "But the Terminians don't know of our predicament. They think this caravan is in Hyrule!"
"They do." Nodding solemnly, Demon turned his gaze to meet hers. "We are on our own princess, and the net is closing. Do not follow through on this madness. Please." An edge of desperation crept into his voice.
For a moment Zelda wavered as his dark words painted a picture of doom before them…but only for a moment. "We cannot leave these people to moblin stewpots," she reaffirmed with some difficulty. "And besides, the little hope these people have is in you Demon. You saved them once before against impossible odds, now they can only believe you will do it again.
"I didn't want to save them," Demon hissed. "Your life is my responsibility, not the lives of a bunch of ignorant fools stuck in the mountains."
"You forget that we are the Destined," Zelda reminded him. "And therefore, the lives of all peoples are our responsibility. I will not abandon them."
The black-clad warrior stared at her for a moment, as if willing himself to understand the pale girl in front of him. "Then I will not abandon you," He finally said, "Though I fear this choice will result in both our deaths."
The princess gave a sad smile, and placed a hand lightly on his shoulder. "Has anyone ever told you that you are a good man Demon?"
The shocked look he gave her was answer enough. His blue eyes widened in surprise, and he seemed to almost stumble. "Not for a long time princess."
"If we are going to end up as moblin food, then that is something you should know." Zelda murmured, taking her hand off his shoulder.
"I do not think I am a good man." Sighed Demon, "But neither are you going to be fed to the moblins. Besides," he paused with a slight smile. "You're too thin to make a decent meal."
The morbid humor caught Zelda so completely off guard that her subsequent laughter caused several heads to turn farther up in the caravan.
After she had caught her breath, Demon continued to speak. "I do not agree with what you have decided princess. By taking on the responsibility of other's lives you make your own vulnerable. But by the oath I swore I must follow you and so I shall, unless I can convince you of this folly."
"You cannot, and yet…" Shivering slightly, Zelda's voice dropped to the edge of hearing. "I do not want to die Demon. Please…don't let them take me."
"I won't." The assassin said immediately, and the murder in his tone was obvious. "If we are to stay, than I must speak once again to Omar about our strategy for tonight. I beg your leave."
He took off with a swirl of cape and a stink of moblin blood that made Zelda's skin crawl. She had forgotten that he had been covered in it after the previous battle, and its stench had now permeated his clothing. Not that the princess was entirely clean herself, but she hadn't realized it was possible to cover oneself in the sanguine liquid.
Of course, in the process of wallowing in blood Demon had allowed her to remain free of it's stains, taking upon himself the wounds and rents that she would have otherwise had to bear. Your life is my responsibility, the black-cloaked warrior had said, for he was the one who protected her from danger.
"Well your life is my responsibility too." Zelda whispered, as she remembered the tiny smile Demon had given her after he resigned himself to her decision. "For I am trying to protect your soul.
