Chapter: XVII
"The Shadow's Bane"
As Alfon watched his squire battle the great bat in horror; away to the East, two short, clear notes were sounded. Not from a moblin's horn, but a clear trumpet's call, like Alfon's. A company of Hylian soldiers came rushing up the Zora road, answering their Marshal's call. Alfon quickly handed Malon to the nearest man and, drawing his sword, charged into the fight. Link, his sword and shield ready, drew the bat's attention away from Alfon's approach. He shouted and screamed at the beast as he stepped sideways away from Alfon. He hoped to give his master one good chance to kill the bat before it noticed him. The wounded beast lowered its head to the ground and hissed menacingly at its prey. Soon, the soft boy would be a bloody morsel in its jaws, and its master would be pleased. The sudden tramp of hooves turned the great bat's attention to Alfon, who drove his sword deep into the bat's body, just below the right wing. The beast wailed and thrashed, desperate to drive off the knight. Link and Epona both closed in, searching for an opening.
The company of infantry now charged up behind Alfon, firing arrows and throwing heavy spears into the bat's sides and wings. Alfon, shouting orders to his men, struggled to pull his sword free from the monster's side. The bat, becoming more desperate for an escape, seized upon its trapped attacker and lunged for Alfon's sword arm. Alfon felt the poisonous fangs break through his mail and sink into the flesh of his arm. With a great cry of pain, he let go of his sword and struggled to tear his arm free from the bat. The monster tightened its bite with crushing strength as it drank Alfon's blood with satisfaction. His head swimming, and his body beginning to burn with the bat's venom, Alfon looked directly into the beast's crimson eyes. If he was going to die, he was going to die well! The Lord Marshall, summoning all of his remaining strength, drove his left fist as hard as he could into the bat's right eye. A fresh torrent of black blood covered Alfon and his horse, as the bat shrieked and wailed in new agony.
As Link watched the dark bat bite down upon his master, sickening terror flooded his stomach and washed over his heart. "No... Not Alfon too!" his mind cried. Link threw down his shield, and charged straight at the bat. As Alfon drove his fist into the bat's eye, Link plunged his sword into the beast's neck, just behind the ears. Buried to the hilt, Link twisted and worked the sword furiously. "You can't have him! I won't let you have him!" he sobbed to himself. With a shuddering jerk, the bat released Alfon's arm and sank to the ground. Spearmen and lancers now closed in and skewered the beast's body from all sides. Soon, the monster's body went limp, and moved no more. Link staggered around the disgusting corpse and rushed to his master's side. Alfon had slid down from his mount, and lay on the icy ground, gasping for air. The bright red blood from his arm oozed out over the black slime of the bat's blood on his tunic. "H-hello boy..." Alfon managed as Link knelt beside him, "that w-was some fine... sword work boy!" he finished weakly. Link's eyes began to water as the reality of his master's injury sank in. "What do I do?" he began to plead, "Tell me what to do to make you well master!"
Alfon's body was sinking into a burning numbness. His vision and hearing were becoming dull; he knew he did not have much time left. "I d-don't know if... if any squire has... has ever had such a... k-kill." Alfon coughed out with a weak smile. "W-we should call you... 'The Bat Slayer'... or 'Bat's Bane.' " Link's heart was breaking, in his master's final moments, he only thought of his ward and was trying to commend him for his bravery. "I think 'Shadow's Bane' sounds much better my lord!" came the voice of a Hylian soldier who now knelt next to Alfon, opposite Link. Alfon weakly rolled his head over to the newcomer, as the soldier uncorked a bottle of red liquid from his satchel. Gently cradling the Marshal's head, the soldier tipped the contents into his mouth and urged him to drink it. Alfon managed to swallow the potion, and turned to smile at Link. "Get the girl... to the lake son..." he managed, as slowly, his eyes rolled back and his body went limp in the snow. Panic took Link as he began to shake his master's body, "No... no no no no NO!" he shouted as the soldier quickly grabbed him in a tight embrace and pulled him away from his Marshal. "Leave him be boy, leave him. He needs to rest!" Link looked at the soldier and back to Alfon in complete confusion. "Rest? What do you mean?! He's dying! Help him!" Link urged.
The company of Hylians quickly laid their commander onto a make-shift stretcher and covered him with cloaks and blankets. The healing potion they gave him would keep him alive for several days, but he would eventually die if they did not get him to a skilled healer. A small wagon appeared on the Zora road, being driven by soldiers toward the company. Alfon and Malon were carefully loaded onto it, and the driver urged to make all speed to the lake. Link moved to climb in after them, but the company's captain stopped him. "Hey there boy, aren't you forgetting something?" Link didn't care about whatever the Captain had to tell him, his master was dying and he needed to be with him. After a moment, the captain pointed to the bat's body and said, "Every man takes a trophy from his first kill, lad. That beast's claw or fang would make an impressive piece for a necklace or belt!" Link looked from the captain, to the bat, then to the surrounding soldiers. All were watching him intently, several even smiling and nodding for him to do it. As he hesitated, the soldier with the potion satchel murmured to him, "Come on 'Shadow's Bane', the girls back home won't be able to contain themselves when they see the fangs from this one!" he finished with a wink. The nickname stirred a strange heat in Link's chest. He felt... stronger... dangerous even to be called 'The Shadow's Bane'.
As the cart of wounded rumbled south toward the lake, Link returned to the bat's body and began to pull at his sword - still buried in the bat's neck. As he struggled, the nearby soldiers began to chant, "Shadow's Bane! Shadow's Bane! Shadow's Bane!" With a loud groan and a sharp cry, Link ripped his sword free and held it above him. A cheer ran up and down the assembled company as the sun's light broke out over Hyrule Field, and black blood dripped from Link's sword, down his arm. Gingerly, he hacked at the bat's jaws until he could tear three large, yellow fangs from their home. One for himself, one for Alfon, and one for Malon - if she wanted it. The rest he left to the soldiers, who eagerly hacked at and dismembered the corpse for trophies. Epona, shivering from the cold and the terror of the battle, now stood near the other horses that managed to survive the night. Link gently brushed her muzzle as the filly lay her head on his shoulder. "Can you lead these to the lake, squire?" asked the captain behind him. "Yes sir." Link replied, turning back to him. "Good, I'd hate to see these wasted after so much sacrifice." the captain finished. As Link remounted Epona, and began to lead the other horses back to the South road, he shouted to the captain that they had two other soldiers with them, who broke off in the night to fight the bats. After hesitating for a moment, the captain shouted back, "We'll watch for them!", but his tone revealed his doubt that they survived.
As Link led the remaining ranch-horses and Alfon's mount south, the company of Hylians reformed and marched north to secure what remained of Lon Lon Ranch. Many of the soldiers had smiled, or even patting Link on the shoulder encouragingly when they parted. Link wondered at the change in their attitude toward him since the lakeside. "Now they see that I am not just some boy." he thought to himself. Continuing southward, Link kept the horses at a brisk pace. Daylight would not last forever, and he wanted to catch the wagon of wounded before nightfall. After a few hours ride, they crested a small hill and spotted the wagon in the distance ahead of them; still making its way toward the lake. Relieved, Link was ready to charge down the hill and quickly come alongside his master; when he noticed the remains of the old forest on his left. Charred black, and leafless, the ruined remains of the Lost Woods stood out in sharp contrast from the bright grey of the winter sky. The painful longing for home crept back up and grasped at Link. He was so close... and his master was not here to deny him... he wanted to know... he had to know if anyone had escaped. "No!" his conscience warned, "It is not safe! And Alfon forbade you from going there!" but, despite the warning, Link still could not let himself give up on the Kokiri. "Alfon did not know that I could fight... and he won't be needing me now for several days." he reasoned.
Alfon's warhorse lifted its head, and whinnied loudly. It could smell its master's scent was nearby, and eagerly wanted to rejoin him. Link reached over, and patted the great beast on the muzzle. "Take the others and follow the wagon to the lake!" The horse snorted, and shook its head at him. Satisfied that the animal would do as he asked, Link shouted "Hyah!" to the others, and the small herd rushed down the hillside, and followed the wagon on the south road. Epona moved to follow them, but Link restrained her. "No, girl. We're taking a different path." he said as he turned her east, toward the ruined forest.