Malon paced impatiently in front of the Bazaar. All the while she couldn't help think to herself "Where'sLinkWhyisn'thehereIshouldn'tbeworriedHecantakecareofhimself Maybethatguywasn'teventalkingabouthim" and things along that line. As such, she couldn't help but yelp when a hand grabbed her shoulder.
"Whoa, there," Link said, jumping back a little. "It's just me. I'm done here for now. You ready to go?"
Malon let out a relieved sigh. "You have no idea," she replied. "Link, before we go, I've got to tell you about…"
She didn't have the chance to finish the sentence. She saw the huge man coming up behind Link, his hand behind his shoulder drawing a sword. "Link!"
Link must have seen the look in her eyes, because he was moving before she uttered the warning. He turned around, and then leapt to the side, pulling Malon with him, just as a huge sword sliced through the air where they had last been. Link positioned himself between the attacker and Malon, drawing his own sword. He held the mighty Goron blade in his right hand as he surveyed his opponent.
The giant straightened and removed his cloak. He was bare from the waste up, save for the belt crossing his massive chest, holding his sword's huge sheath to his back. His arms bulged with muscles, and the sun reflected off his bald head. Running from the top right section of his forehead and through his right eye ending at his mouth, were tattooed strange letters. His fiery red eyebrows contrasted sharply with the olive hue of his skin.
Link couldn't believe what he was seeing. The resemblance the man had to Ganon was chillingly similar. "It can't be…"
"I am Skorn," the assailant addressed Link. "Half brother to our Lord Ganon, disciple of his holy church. I have come to challenge you, Link, child of the Kokiri, Hero of Time. Do you accept?"
By now the crowd had dispersed, clearing away a circle right in the middle of the market. Scores of people lined the human ring, waiting for the battle to begin. Unfortunately, Link could see no alternative. Slowly, he pulled off his cloak, bow, and arrows. "Malon," he said, as he eyed his opponent. "Take my gear and find Epona. We may have to leave here in a hurry, so be ready."
Malon looked as if she was about to protest, then thought better of it. She quickly gathered up Link's things and disappeared into the crowd.
Link turned to face Skorn. "I accept your challenge, so long as nobody else is harmed."
"Of course," Skorn answered immediately. "Anything different would be dishonorable."
The combatants circled each other preparing themselves. Link, who had battled warriors of every race known to Hyrule, knew almost instantly that Skorn was not one to be taken lightly. He held his massive sword with the ease of a seasoned duelist, and his eyes betrayed no sign of his next move.
Fortunately, Link shared these traits.
"I don't suppose there's anyway we can settle whatever this is about peacefully, is there?"
"No."
It was Skorn who attacked first, swinging his broadsword in a forward thrust. Link brought his blade up to block, arms straining under the weight of the blow. He countered with a low chop to the legs, which Skorn easily brushed aside. Link pressed his attack, slashing twice to the left, then spinning to slash twice to the right. Skorn managed to block all of them.
After he had deflected the last attack, Skorn suddenly crouched low and pivoted, swinging his sword so that it would cut Link off at the waist. Surprised at the big man's speed, Link only just managed to leap into the air. He flipped backward, taking him out of the blade's path. Skorn pressed on, not giving Link a chance to counter. He swung high, reversed his grip at the tail end of the swing, and swung low. Link ducked the first and then completely fell to the ground to avoid the second, but only by an inch. He immediately rolled out of the way as Skorn began stabbing at the ground. Landing on his back, he pushed off with his arms and landed deftly on his feet behind Skorn. He leapt in the air, hoping to slice his opponent across the back. Skorn was prepared for this, however, and brought his sword up over his head and behind his back to block. Link expected this maneuver, and spun, driving his elbow into Skorn's midsection.
The crowd cheered as the first actual blow hit, even as they backed away to provide the combatants with more room. Link and Skorn continued on like this for several minutes more, neither one landing a clean blow. Link was becoming frustrated; normally by now his opponent would be dead, or at the very least angry, an emotion Link could exploit. Skorn, however, showed no signs of recklessness attributed to the emotion. Indeed, it seemed as if he was surprised and elated by the fact that Link had survived this long.
Then, without warning, Link saw the crowd begin to part out the corner of his eye, screaming and shouting. Skorn saw it too, and seemed just as surprised as Link to see almost a dozen armed men—mercs by the looks of it—and more startlingly, five Lizaflos.
"Lizaflos? How'd they get into the city?"
Skorn scowled at the oncoming creatures and mercs. "What is the meaning of this? I was engaged in combat!"
"Calm yourself, brother," Rolondrof said, trailing the pack. "You will have plenty of time to defeat the boy. Right now, all that matters is the plan. Besides," he added, peering around Skorn's massive body. "It appears as if he is not as honorable as you had believed."
Skorn turned around. Link had indeed vanished, and even now the Lizaflos and mercenaries were in pursuit. "No," he said, replacing his sword to its sheath. "It was a wise retreat. He truly is a fine warrior. It will be a great honor to kill him."
Rolondrof smiled at his brother's eagerness. "Come," he said, turning towards an alley as he pulled his hood back over his head. "We must leave before the guard wake up. The sleep spell I cast won't last forever. And don't worry; all is going according to plan. Link's and Zelda's troubles are far from over.
* * *
Link pushed his way through the panicked crowd, searching for Malon and Epona. What were Lizaflos and mercs doing in the city? The guards would never have allowed it without a fight. There was more to this situation than meets the eye.
Link was almost at the main road to the gates; hopefully Malon would be smart enough to meet him outside the walls, where it wasn't so crowded. He pushed his way through the last line of people, only to be met with a new problem. The gates were open, but there were over twenty armed thugs charging towards him. Link had beaten that many before—once, just over a year ago—but just barely, and he didn't want to press his luck again. Tuning sharply to the right, he leapt onto a stable fence and spring boarded towards a nearby roof. He caught the edge and nimbly hefted himself up. He unhooked his longshot and fired it at a nearby battlement. It caught, and in moments he was on the wall, trying to catch his breath.
He didn't have long. Charging at him from either side were a dozen more mercs, each side led by a Lizaflo. "What in Din's name is going on here? They've sent a hole damn army after me!" Link unsheathed his sword and charged the group coming at his right. As the Lizaflo slashed his jagged sword in a downward thrust, Link vaulted into the air, ricocheting off the wall, clearing the creature's head. He landed in the midst of the mercenaries and immediately began carving into his enemies. One after another they fell, as Link slowly distanced himself from the Lizaflo, the main threat.
Link couldn't go on like this forever, though, and he knew it. He fought his way to the edge of the wall, the side overlooking the plains. Without looking, he flipped backward over the wall. Only when he had fallen several meters did he look to make sure he would hit the moat. He would. He quickly sheathed his sword in mid-fall—something he had been forced to do much to often—held his cap onto his head, and hit the water. He surfaced, only to be met by a hail of arrows. Link couldn't believe the effort they were putting in to killing him; whole towns could be seized without this much effort. He made it to the other side without a scratch and climbed out, soaping wet.
"Link!" he turned to see Malon riding toward him on the roan back of Epona.
"Malon! Epona! You have no idea how happy I am to see you," Malon scooted back to allow Link to steer the horse, even though Epona rarely needed to be told where to go. "We need to go, now. There's…" his words were cut short by the rising sound of many hooves and war cries. Coming around the corner of the castle wall were scores of armed men and Lizaflos, all mounted.
Link gulped. "There's a small problem."