Link sat inside the dark cell resting his back against the cold moss covered stone wall. He was trying his best to keep warm. He hugged his knees to his chest trying to conserve what heat he had left. It didn't help that the mossy stone floor was damp no matter where he sat. Link didn't know where he was. Or how he got there. Last thing he could remember was that he had been talking to Illia, she wanted to wish him luck on his travels for a quest given to him by Princess Zelda. At that time he had been fully prepared. He had the Ordon Sword strapped to his back (he had returned the Master Sword to its resting place two years ago), the Hylian shield resting against the sword. He had a magic pouch full of items from his travels, outfitted in his classic green tunic, and was full on arrows for his bow, and pellets for his Slingshot.
The next thing he remembers he wakes up being dragged by three men. They called themselves the Thalmor. They were the Altmer, High Elves of Tamriel. They called him a heretic because of the religious items on his person. One for each of his three goddesses. The only reason he was still alive, according to them, was the fact that he himself was an elf. Well at least he looked like an elf. They threw him a cell and took almost all of his belongings. No weapons, now stuck in a straw spun outfit, the only thing he still had was his mirror shard. Hung around his neck was a tiny shard of the Twilight Mirror, which Midna had destroyed almost three years ago, separating his and her worlds forever.
He clutched the mirror in his hand and looked at the floor. He received the bare necessities, three cups of water and one meal a day and that was it. He had been here for three days and already felt as though he might die of thirst and hunger. He needed to figure out what to do and fast. He had to escape.
"Psst. Hey. Hey you." A voice said. It was a man across from him. In the other cell.
The man had greenish skin and large teeth that protruded through his lips. He had long black hair and his eyes were red. "You can hear me. Good." He said.
"My name is Burnak. I'm an orc." He informed Link.
He looked at Link expectantly and furrowed his brow after a few minutes. "My name is Burnak… this is the part where you tell me your name." He said.
"My name is Link." "See," Burnak encouraged. "That wasn't so hard. As you can see I'm an orc, but I can't pin down what kind of mer you are... What kind of elf are you?" He asked.
Link shook his head. He wasn't an elf he was a hylian, but he wasn't sure that the orc would even understand that so he just shrugged.
"Not much of a talker eh? Don't worry. I don't need you to talk just to listen. I have a plan to get out here but you have to do exactly as I say." He told Link.
Link didn't show any expression though he thought back to the time when he first met Midna. She had said that almost word-for-word. He nodded and listened intently to whatever plan Burnak might have up his sleeve.
"Alright. I'm going to cause a scene. The guards will come to take me to be tortured to keep me in line. When they do I'm going to take the keys from his pocket and throw them to you. When you escape, find your gear and then come get me out." He said, "Understand?"
Link gave a single simple nod in response. "Alright. And don't worry about me. I'm a hell of a pickpocket, you just have to focus on your job."
Burnak stepped back and waited a few minutes before he began banging on the bars rhythmically. An Altmer in golden armoire came to investigate the noise. "Stop that." He ordered Burnak who kept banging.
"What do you think you're doing!?" He asked.
"The war song of my tribe... Proof that you will never break me. OOO OOO RAAH RAAH ROOH RAAAH!" He yelled.
Link watched as the guard unlocked the door and grabbed Burnak. "A few days in the torture chamber should straighten you out." He dragged Burnak off. Link sighed.
He didn't know why he thought that could work. He looked down sadly and his eyes fell on a silver ring. With keys. His eyes widened, he didn't see Burnak take the keys or throw them. He didn't even hear the keys picked up the keys and began to try each one. The third one fit and he unlocked the door to his cell. He stepped out and looked around. His cell was at the end of the hallway. There was only one way to go. He began to walk down the hall keeping as silent as possible.
He saw his clothes folded on the table. Why had they treated his tunic so nicely. He didn't dwell on it and began to tear off the roughspun tunic he was wearing and put on his own clothes. He looked around for his other belongings. nothing else was there. His sword, his shield, and the rest of his gear was still missing. Including his zora armor. Link sighed and shook his head. He'd have to find his stuff later.
He walked out of the room and crouched, staying low and quiet. He hid behind a piece of stone pillar that seemed to have broken off from the main structure as another high elf in the same golden armor walked past. He snuck up behind the guard and grabbed the sword that sheathed next to the man's waist. He pulled it from its sheath and stood up. The guard spun around to face him.
"What the-!?" Link sliced the sword across the guards neck and he fell down. He struggled only a few moments and blood seeped from the wound before his body went limp and lifeless.
Link let out a relieved sigh. He ben down and started to unstrap the sheath from the man. Now that he was taken care of , Link had a moment to inspect the sword. It was a double edged sword with golden shine. The crossguard was smaller than he would have liked, and was in a wing pattern. It was a little smaller than what Link was used to but he'd have to make do with what he had for now. He looked around the place he was in. It felt like a dungeon during his own adventures. He needed a map. He searched the dead elf's body for a map but only found some gold coins and a book. Link put away the coins paying them no real mind. They might be useful later but what for he didn't know.
He lingered on the book. It was titled. "The Races of Tamriel." Placed it in his pouch and kept going.
He was looking for the torture chamber. He had promised to help Burnak escape and he wasn't about to break any promises that he had made today. He didn't know how long ago he had promised Illia he'd return safely and that promise was very broken. He didn't like having just the sword. He felt that he needed a shield but he didn't know where to find one. He hoped that he'd be able to find his. Eventually he figured that he could find Burnak pretty reliably if he just followed the screams.
He slowly opened the door to the torture room and peered inside. Burnak was a bloody mess. His chest was sliced open and blood had been pouring from the wound. Bits of flesh were hanging off his arms as bare raw muscle was exposed. The high elf that was torturing him was wearing black robes.
"Why don't you just kill me?" Burnak asked. The elf laughed in a high pitched voice that sounded like a cat dragging its claws across a blackboard.
"Kill you? I haven't had a good torture session ins a very long time." He put his hand against Burnak's chest and his glowed yellow. His wounds knitted back together.
"But this will stop as soon as you beg." He said. "Weather for life or death doesn't matter. Just beg."
Link felt anger rising in his chest. He looked to the other end of the room. The hylian shield and Ordon sword laid on the other side. He snuck over to them and grabbed them. Next to them was his slingshot. Everything else was still gone. Link grabbed all of them and turned to the high elf.
He banged the hilt of his sword against the shield. The thalmor torurere turned to look at him. "You! How did you get out!?" He asked.
Link didn't answer he responded instead by rushing at the man and blocking a lightning type spell. He kicked up a table and hid behind it. He couldn't get close without risking injury. He was already still recovering. He saw a walnut on the floor. It had been knocked over when the table had.
He grabbed it and got out the slingshot. He stood up pulling back and let the walnut fly. He hit the elf in the head. "Ouch!" The Thalmor slapped his hand to his forehead.
The momentary distraction gave Link the time he needed. He rammed his shield into the man knocking him down before jumping up and delivering a finishing blow. He pulled his sword from the lifeless elf and sighed stepping back.
He looked at Burnak and walked over to the orc's chains. He released Burnak and then searched the torturer. He seemed to be in charge of the place, he pulled out a note and read it. He was in a place called Skyrim. His other gear was being held around Skyrim by other members of the Thalor throughout Skyrim. Link looked at Burnak and gave a well wishing nod.
"Thanks for the help little buddy. If you ever need anything look me up at the thieve's guild in Riften." The orc said before disappearing.
Link walked outside soon after and breathed deeply. The air was cold but clear. He smiled. Despite all the trouble he might have been in at the moment he was excited. A new adventure was about to begin. And, he was eager to greet it.