Author's Preface:
Apologies for the delay, but I had to rewrite more than I expected to. Please enjoy.
Recommended Background Music: The Demon Thief - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Link started forward towards the village mob ahead of them, Letz on his heels. The crowd didn't even notice the two hylians approaching, their focus entirely on the hall. Its wooden frame was washed in the orange light of dusk, and its broken windows seemed to scream in misery under the focus of the villagers. The villagers continued throwing whatever they had on hand. Link could hear their demands as they made their way to the building.
"Give us back the mayor!" one woman in shawl screamed.
"Are you a coward without your men, captain?!" a man waving a butcher's knife called out.
"Come on out Garsus!" a farmer yelled, his eyes burning in the eerie scarlet light. More comments were yelled, but they were drowned out bys the others. Link was about to push into the crowd, when Letz suddenly grabbed him and pulled him behind an adjacent house. Link stared at the soldier, confused.
"What are you do-…" Link started to ask.
"Shhh. Look!" Letz replied, pointing at the front door of the village hall as Garsus emerged.
Garsus seemed haggard upon emerging from the doorway. His face was once more covered by his helment, and his right hand still remained in its sling. His gray armor however was unkempt and unpolished. The man breathed heavily, as though he had run a great distance. In his left hand he held his sword out of its sheathe. The orange light of dusk reflected off the blade in a shimmering crimson. His helmet too reflected the light, the man beneath taking in the bloodthirsty crowd.
The mob started forward upon seeing the captain. They reached the feet of the stairs before suddenly halting. Letz gasped beside Link as the captain drug the mayor out from behind him, his sword prodding the elderly man forward.
Mayor Jushai was pale as a poe. He seemed no worse off than the last time Link had seen him but worry creased his face. His balding head and eyes behind his spectacles showed genuine fear as the copper-colored light highlighted his face. The captain forced him forward to the edge of the porch. Behind him, a single soldier emerged, carrying a metal crossbow.
"Alright, back! All of you! Before your mayor gets it!" the captain yelled. The crowd hesitated, the torchlight and fading sun flickering in their eyes. The mayor hunched over in front of his captor.
"He's serious!" the man cried. "Do as he says! Please!" The crowd slowly backed up, still holding their variety of makeshift weapons. A great anger remained fixed on their faces, and they continued to murmur angrily.
"Give it up, hylian! We have you surrounded and outnumbered!" one of the villagers suddenly screamed from the back of the crowd. A general cry of agreement came from the horde of people. The captain merely stared at them a second before replying.
"This is how it's going to work. You're going to clear a path to the palisade gate. Once I'm out of this cursed village, I'll return your precious mayor to you but not a moment before then."
"No way, hylian fool!" one of them screamed, and the horde pushed forward. Garsus brought his sword up and sliced across the mayor's face, drawing blood. The crowd stopped in a hush. Mayor Jushai once again spoke up through the pain, his words broken and weak.
"Please! Let him through! I have no desire to die to this madman!" The villagers muttered among themselves for a few seconds. Garsus pushed into the crowd at the hesitation, leading Mayor Jushai through them. In confusion and uncertainty, the crowd let him. His guard was right behind him, keeping on his heels to remain with the party.
"Tell them not to follow us if you value your life." Garsus grunted into the mayor's ear as they reached the edge of the rioters.
"Don't follow him, my dear people!" the aging man hollered in a rasping voice. "He says he'll kill me if you do!" The villagers stood still, dumbfounded by the audacity of the captain. But in the end, they valued their mayor more than the captain. With a silent misery, they watched the small party walk away from the crowd of people in the dull orange light.
Link turned to Letz. "If we keep behind the houses, we should be able to follow them without being noticed." Letz nodded in agreement, his movement barely noticeable in the shadow of the house.
"Especially in this dim light." The older man replied. "Just don't make a move till he releases the mayor." Link agreed and the two hylians shadowed the three figures in the dusk.
Garsus moved at a swift pace, shoving the mayor forward at times. His fellow guard walked behind his captain, seemingly nervous. The man looked over his shoulder multiple times in their trek to the gate. Garsus never gave any indication of releasing the mayor, and they reached the palisade gate without incident. Link and Letz stopped just twenty feet behind them, hiding behind a small storage shed.
The gate to the palisade was open, and a hylian guard greeted the party led by Captain Garsus. The man was the same one who Link had seen early patrolling the gate. He carried a spear in his right hand and pulled a horse by the reins with his left. Otherwise, he was identical to all the other soldiers, dressed in gray armor and wearing a full helm. Link's sharp ears could just barely make out the man's words as the guard approached his commander.
"Sir! I have your horse as you requested," the man stated, dropping the reins and saluting Garsus. "I see you still have the mayor." Garsus grunted, not returning the salute.
"There's no time for pleasantries. Do you have what I asked you to get?" The soldier in front of the officer nodded in response and pulled out a leather flask from his pouch. Garsus took the flask in one motion, depositing it in his own pouch.
"Excellent! Then let's get out of this Hylia-forsaken place." The captain led the party out the front gate and into the field beyond. Link brought his bow out, moving in the shadows to the edge of the palisade, right by the gate. Letz slowly followed, not as confident in his ability to move undetected.
The four men ahead of them stopped right outside of the gate. Garsus turned to the mayor, his helmeted tinted a violent orange in the fading light. "I know I told you that I would release you now, but I'm afraid you're too valuable a captive. You'll make a great prisoner to prove my story back at Hyrule castle." The mayor visibly paled, his lip quivering.
"B-B-But you said you'd let me go!" the elderly man stammered. "My village needs me!" Garsus was about to reply when a red flash of movement caught his eye.
Around the side of the palisade, a red-dressed rider approached, carrying a hunting bow. Apparently, Velretta had recovered her mount and moved around the palisade from the rear exit. The captors were taken completely by surprise as the red huntress fired arrow after arrow at them as quickly as she could. An arrow struck Garsus in the right shoulder, bouncing off his chainmail. The captain dived to the ground to avoid the other oncoming projectiles.
Velretta's many other arrows missed as she tried to shoot as many projectiles as possible. Mayor Jushai meanwhile saw the arrow hit the captain, and he tried to sprint back into the safety of the village while the man was distracted. Link moved out from behind the gate, bow in hand ready to try and cover his flight.
The spearman beside Garsus saw the escape attempt though. He brought the butt of his spear around in an instant, tripping the elderly overweight man. Link launched his arrow, but it traveled too slow.
The guard, in one smooth action, pounced forward onto the mayor. The soldier jabbed his weapon's spearhead through the mayor's throat. Jushai gurgled a choked scream, before the light in his eyes faded and he went still.
Everything went silent for a single heartbeat. The mayor's body lay bleeding on the ground beneath the feet of his killer. The orange light of twilight surrounded the pair in a gloom that highlighted the two men's stationary figures. The guard stared at the dead man, as though suddenly realizing what he had done. Then Link's arrow struck the soldier in the head, clanging off the helmet and throwing him to the ground, slightly dazed.
Velretta screamed off in the distance as she watched her mayor die. Tears blurred her vision as she suddenly realized what had just happened. Link cursed, drawing another arrow. In that instant he was overwhelmed as events progressed too fast for him to keep up with.
The guard with the crossbow had taken a knee, aiming his crossbow at Velretta with a patience that the crimson huntress could never understand. He loosed his shot, and the bolt slammed into Velretta's mount, flinging it and her to the ground in an instant. The shot was one in a hundred, with the bolt piercing the animal's neck and killing it instantly. Velretta cried out in pain as she hit the ground and her horse's body collapsed on her. She vainly struggled under the corpse, her legs pinned by her steed.
Garsus meanwhile picked himself off the ground, quickly trying to assess the situation. He turned to his two soldiers and saw Link as he did so. His eyes widened as he realized who he was looking at.
"You live?!" the man stated in shock, staring at the green-clad hero in complete surprise. The man quickly regained his composure, and Link could tell his mind was racing as he changed his attention to his two guards and the downed huntress.
"Forget the swordsman, he's not worth it. Kill the girl!" His spearman had somewhat recovered from Link's arrow and nodded his assent. Both him and the crossbowman rushed towards the fallen horse and rider.
Link cursed again, firing two arrows at the parting soldiers. Both men weaved as they ran though, avoiding the arrows. Garsus looked at his two men in the distance and then the green-clad Ordonian in front of him. He stared at Link and the village beyond him for a second with one boot in his horse's saddle.
"Farewell, Vinwaka." he spat with venom. "These rebellious villagers are as bad as the monsters in the woods. Both must be put to the sword... I'll return, I swear it. And with me will be a hundred soldiers to cut down this cursed village." The captain shook his head angrily before launching himself up on to his horse. He immediately drove it to a gallop down the road, away from Vinwaka and the skirmish at its gates.
Letz hurried up beside Link, his dented helm reflecting the light of dusk. He quickly took in the scene before him, with the soldiers heading towards Velretta and Garsus making off into the distance.
"We have a situation here!" he told Link with a barely suppressed panic.
"You think?!" Link replied angrily. He pulled out his horse call and whistled into it while sprinting out the village gates. "Help Velretta! I'm going after Garsus!"
"I'll try!" Letz replied as he too ran out the gates. Link continued running forward, looking for his horse. Epona came charging out from the woods a few seconds later, running up alongside Link. Link grabbed her saddle and hoisted himself up onto her back. His wound screamed in protest, but he ignored it.
Looking over his shoulder the green garbed swordsman saw that Letz was going to be far too slow to help the crimson huntress. The two soldiers would be at Velretta's fallen form long before the former sergeant could assist her. Frowning, Link reached into one of the many pouches on Epona's saddle, pulling out a bomb.
Link joined it to an arrow with one of Barnes's fixtures. The blue-eyed swordsman then lit the fuse in one practiced motion, aiming down his bow at the two soldiers. He stood up in his stirrups for a better shot, compensating Epona's movement and leading his targets. Link breathed out and fired in an instant, the arrow speeding away towards the armored men.
The shot hit the ground right in front of them, and Link's eyes filled with feral satisfaction at seeing the two men blasted off their feet. Link then urged Epona into a gallop, turning his attention to the fleeing captain. Behind him, Letz attempted to use the time Link had gifted him.
The sergeant reached the fallen horse and rider, quickly taking in Velretta's pinned position. The huntress's legs were pinned under her dead mount's body weight. She futilely attempted to pull herself out. Letz grabbed the horse's midriff, lifting with all his might for a second or two. Velretta moved her legs for a brief instance, but she didn't completely clear herself from the animal's body before Letz was forced to lower the corpse from fatigue. Letz prepared to lift again. Suddenly, Velretta's eyes widened, her eyes flashing in surprise.
"Behind you!" she cried. Letz released the horse, turning around to see Garsus's spearman sprinting towards him. The sergeant calmly picked up his spear, settling into a fighting stance. The guard before him was breathing heavy, but otherwise seemed to have weathered the blast from Link's bomb arrow well. The soldier screamed a challenge as he rushed forwards at Letz, thrusting his spear aggressively.
Letz parried the simple attack with his spear's shaft, swinging the butt of his own weapon at his opponent and landing a painful blow on the man's hip. His attacker yelped in pain, backing off for a second.
The two men circled slowly, matching spears pointed at each other's chest. Both men in their armor appeared nearly identical in the fading sunlight. The only noticeable differences were the huge dent in Letz's helmet and his bandaged left forearm. Besides that, the two could have been mirror images.
Letz suddenly jumped forwards while jabbing at the man's left leg. The opposing spearman rotated his spear vertically, attempting to preemptively push the incoming spearhead away. At the last second however Letz rotated the spear in his hands, spinning it and instead hitting the unprepared guard in the right knee with the spear butt.
The man's leg gave out beneath him, and he fell over with a yell of pain while dropping his spear. Letz brought his weapon's spearhead back around and thrust it through the fallen man's chest. He stood over the dying man in the orange light of twilight, panting heavily. The sergeant stared at the soldier beneath him, recognizing another one of his former comrades dead by his hands. Suddenly, he heard the unmistakable sound of chainmail jingling to his left.
"Die, traitor!" Letz turned to see the other guard not ten feet from him. He had forgotten the hylian marksman in the fray. The man had reloaded his crossbow, and it was aimed directly at Letz's chest. The man started to squeeze the trigger, his visor appearing as an emotionless face of death. Letz merely stood still, realizing there was nothing he could do to avoid the bolt. Under his helmet, he smiled sadly. The former sergeant realized in that moment there was a poetry to dying to one of his own comrades after killing so many.
Out of nowhere, a spinning knife flew through the air and stabbed the man in the thigh. He fired his crossbow while screaming in pain, but his shot had been knocked array by the unexpected affliction. The bolt flew into the ground, digging into the dirt a half a foot before halting. Letz hesitated only a second before realizing he was still alive. The hylian jumped forward at the opportunity, quickly thrusting his spear through the crossbowman's neck as the soldier howled in agony. It was all over in an instant.
Velretta, having thrown the knife from her downed position, sighed in relief as the final soldier went down. She grunted in pain, once again returning her attention to freeing herself. Letz tiredly moved to help her. Between the two of them, Velretta finally was able to move her leg out from under the corpse. Letz collapsed onto the ground next to her, slowly pulling off his helmet. He looked at the blond woman next to him.
"Thanks," the ex-soldier told her, sweat running down the side of his face. "I guess I owe you one." Velretta laughed loudly.
"Just like a hylian to forget about a second enemy." Letz couldn't tell if she was talking about him or the enemy soldier. "But we're even. After all, you were fighting to protect me." Letz smiled at the rash woman in front of him.
"You did a pretty good job," the crimson clad huntress continued. "You might even be good enough for Laurina…" she faded off as Letz started to grin. "Don't look so happy! You still have a ton to do to prove you deserve anyone's trust!" But the blond woman was also smiling slightly. Her smile faded as she looked down the road in the direction Link and Garsus had traveled.
"I don't suppose we can do anything to help the stranger?" she inquired. Letz followed her stare, guessing her thoughts.
"I doubt I can get my horse quick enough to make a difference." He sighed, wiping his head with his glove. "Whatever else happens, it's up to Link now."
Link drove Epona down the dusty road, the forest rapidly going by him on either side. He felt Epona's strong gallop under him while the wind blew dust into his face. Dusk was coming to an end and with it the last of the daylight. If night should fall, it would be much more difficult to chase Garsus. The man could leave the road at any time if he so desired, and Link had no desire to be part of a night pursuit through the dense forestation. The green-clad hero urged his horse to an even faster speed.
The road to Vinwaka was wide but made of dirt, and the forest closed in around the road at its edges. The twilight of sunset brought with it numerous shadows across the ground that made visibility difficult. Link raced Epona for around ten minutes before he saw the fleeing form of Garsus. The man struggled to push his horse to the limits with one hand, as his other hand was still in a sling from the fight with the lizalfos. Link grinned wolfishly at seeing his wounded prey unable to escape.
Link closed in on the mounted captain who remained blissfully unaware of his hunter. In one swift movement, Link knocked and drew his bow back. Aiming for only a second, Link loosed his shot, and it sped off after the captain ahead. The arrow slammed into the back of the soldier's helmet.
"Garhhh!" the man exclaimed at the surprise blow. His helmet flew into the air as Garsus fell off his mount, unable to keep his balance at the unexpected attack. The captain hit the ground hard, rolling several feet. Link grinned triumphantly, slowing his horse and approaching Garsus. The green-clad swordsman dismounted Epona and advanced on the fallen soldier. But alas, Garsus was not as stunned as Link had expected him to be.
As Link approached the red bearded captain, Garsus slowly regained his feet. The man wobbled slightly as though dizzy. That's when Link met the captain's eyes and realized just how haggard the man appeared.
Garsus's eyes were bloodshot and wide as he watched the Ordonian swordsman approach in the final rays of dusk. His breath came out rapidly and haphazardly. Blood poured out of his nose from the fall, mixing with the red of his beard. His right arm's sling was covered in dust and dirt. The captain drew his sword with his left hand, the blade shimmering with a purple color. The captain then stared at Link, his eyes a mix of disgust and despair.
"And so here we stand…," the captain muttered. The two swordsmen watched each other in the dimming gloom. The red-orange light gleamed off the soldier's armor while Link's Ordon sword also shimmered a red color. Link slowly advanced with his sword extended at the man.
In front of him was the man who had forced him to be sent on this crazy mission by killing an innocent. The man whose life he had saved. Only to repay his kindness with orders to murder him in cold blood.
The wolfish instincts inside him drove him to slay him where he stood, to bask in the glory of his death. Link drowned such thoughts as quickly as he could, but the bloodthirsty voice in the back of his head continued to rise up. He grit his teeth in an attempt to control the untamable ferocity aching to break free.
"Garsus," Link stated coldly through his inner turmoil, "I saved your life, and all you had to do was help clear the village of danger. And instead of working with me to clean up the village, you decided to wrap me up in your petty little schemes to avoid attention from your betters. Your men have paid the price for that decision, and soon you will as well." Link's blue eyes flashed with a wildness that only hinted at the huge number of emotions he was battling. Garsus's face filled with rage, and he spat at Link's boots.
"So, you killed them? All of them?" the captain asked heatedly. "I thought the lizalfos had murdered you all, but I couldn't have been more wrong. There will be consequences for that." Link stared at the captain with a barely constrained anger.
"I'll give you this one chance to surrender, since you're wounded and in no shape to fight." Link spat despite his inner disdain for the man. "If you don't take it, there is no guarantee you'll live through this."
The captain's eyes narrowed, and he made no reply other than to ready his blade in his left hand. The captain's right hand remained in his sling, and Link could tell immediately from his stance that he was unused to using his left hand for swordplay. He wouldn't survive more than a few exchanges against Link. The hero's predatory blue eyes took in his weakened prey, observing Garsus's willingness to fight.
"Very well," Link stated soberly. The hero took a deep breath, instinctively spinning his blade in his left hand. The captain watched him intently as the hero slowly advanced on the soldier.
When Link was only a few paces away, he jumped at the captain without warning. The green-clad swordsman aimed a pinpoint strike at the garrison commander's right shoulder, which would force Garsus to block across his body. Link was ready to reverse his strike as soon as the officer blocked the blade and strike the man's torso. But Garsus did not take the time to block the blade.
The captain howled in pain as he stepped into Link's sword intentionally. The blade cut deeply into the man's shoulder, and blood was immediately flowing from the wound. But for only a second, Link was forced to dislodge his blade from his opponent. With the blade still in him, the captain rushed forward with his own weapon.
Link was unable to free his blade or bring his shield around to block in time. Garsus's attack was sloppy, rushed, and seemed to carry a desperation that the captain had not expressed even when fighting the lizalfos. The soldier aimed for Link's unarmored lower body. His sword shone with a purple hue as he landed a slice across Link's lower leg.
It was Link's turn to grunt in pain. Blood started down his leg, but he remained on his feet. At the same time, the hero finally managed to dislodge his own blade and bring it back around. Garsus face went wide as Link's speed surprised him once more.
Garsus tried to pull back his weapon and withdraw from the interaction, but Link was quicker. The Ordonian swung his sword at the retreating weapon, striking it close to the hilt and knocking it out of Garsus's grasp. The blade spun away from the pair of them.
Link followed up this attack with a reversed slice at Garsus's torso. The man tried to jump back but was far too slow to avoid Link's weapon. The sword cut into Garsus thigh, and the man crumpled to the ground as his leg suddenly refused to hold his weight. Link prepared to finish the fallen garrison commander.
"Wait! Wait!" The captain cried out, his voice shaky and his breathing hard. "Don't you see that this will undermine Hyrulean Authority? You'll drive this village to open rebellion!" The man attempted to kick himself away from Link, to little avail. The captain instantly stopped though when his eyes met Link's. Those eyes had more in common with a wild animal waiting to strike than a hylian.
Link did not stab the man, despite every portion of his body howling for him to do so. He took a deep breath, trying to rein in his own eagerness to be done with the fallen captain. The Ordonian finally responded to the older hylian in a quiet voice.
"Hyrulean Authority? That's your concern?" Link asked, his voice a deadly whisper. "You should have thought about that before mistreating the villagers and ordering your men to kill me. You've already ruined the reputation of Hyrule." Garsus grunted in disgust, his pained eyes lowering to watch Link's sword.
"I did what I had to. I do regret issuing the order to kill you if it makes you feel any better. But I had already been betrayed once, and I refused to allow it to happen again." The hero scowled at the gray clad soldier before him.
"Betrayed? Who betrayed you that would make you kill someone for no reason?" Link spat angrily.
"Platson. That man was the most recent. He decided to take things into his own hands with only a fraction of the picture. His flight from the village was desertion at least! Probably high treason with a proper judge." The captain clutched his wound in pain. Link was unconvinced by the man's rambling excuses.
"A judge? Like the one you promised to bring to Vinwaka to investigate the mayor?" The captain's eyes widened.
"I wasn't going to bring a judge to Vinwaka! They would see the same circumstances Platson did!" The man's face contorted in pain, obviously from his wound. He continued in a strained voice. "I had to have evidence to clear my name, but that was becoming more and more unlikely." Link's glare broke for a second, leading to a slight confusion instead.
"Clear your name?" Link asked, his voice still hard. "What are you talking about?" The captain hesitated, before shaking his head. The orange light of twilight reflected in the soldier's eyes as he looked up at Link.
"This village, led by that cursed hunter's daughter, is a blot upon Hyrule." The man stated, ignoring Link's questions. Link's demeanor returned to its original fierceness. The Ordonian wave his sword at the captain. He tried to brush aside a sudden cold chill.
"Well, if you don't want to die and refuse to answer my questions then get on your feet. You have a lot to answer for: first for mistreatment of the villagers and then for the murder of the mayor, Platson, and Velretta's father." Link's eyes widened as the captain burst into laughter before responding in a low, cold voice.
"Of course, the poor and helpless villagers." Garsus spat. "Let me tell you something, you naïve, trusting fool. The villagers will kill you in a heartbeat. I never would've ordered your death before staying in this cursed community." The captain's bloodshot eyes looked up to Link. Link tried to read the man's face, but his vision blurred slightly. Link shook his head and focused on the soldier in front of him. Another cold chill swept through him despite there being no wind among the trees. The captain meanwhile continued.
"And let me tell you about Velretta's father. That man was walking garbage. He was the ugly, unofficial overlord of Vinwaka when I got here. The large idiot was fond of drink and forced his neighbors to comply with anything he said. No, the only person he treated kindly was his own daughter." Link's mind raced as he considered the captain's words. Nobody had actually spoke about the deceased hunter to Link other than his daughter… Link's mind felt foggy as he tried to process the captain's words.
"I barely did anything to the man, but apparently I insulted his reputation by establishing a hylian garrison and mounting patrols." What is he getting at? Link wondered as the captain continued to ramble.
"But no! I as a hylian deserved no respect from the villagers," Garsus stated vehemently. "But you know what? That expedition where he died in the woods? That was his idea, not mine. He told me he had spotted lizalfos tracks in the woods." Link stared at the captain, fighting a sudden yawn.
"I told him he was a better hunter than my men, but we would take a patrol out with him and see about tracking the beasts." Link was feeling dizzy. Why is it so cold out here?
"Ha ha, you know what he said?" The captain was whispering hurriedly now, as though it was critical he finish the tale. "He said that only I should go with him, so we would not alert the lizards to our presence. In my ignorance I agreed." The man grinned as though he was possessed.
"And then when my back was turned observing the dirt for any signs of tracks, the ogre took his knife and tried to plunge it into the back of my neck." Link suddenly realized his left foot had gone asleep. He shook it to try and get some life back in it, to little avail.
"Unfortunately for him, I turned at the same time he tried his little trick. As it happens, a knife doesn't do much against a proper sword." The captain let out a pained chuckle. Link felt an icy freeze advance upward from his legs as he digested the captain's words.
"You're saying he tried to kill you?" Link asked confusedly. Was the captain intentionally being confusing and hard to follow?
"Tried to kill me, but I managed to slay him instead. Of course, the villagers would never believe that, so I tried to tell them the lizalfos killed him. That's probably what he was planning to say about me. I had no evidence that I had only killed him in self-defense." Link's vision blurred again. Something's not right here… he thought confusedly.
"But then I realized: if one villager was willing to kill me, all of them would if I gave them a chance!" Garsus was nearly shouting now. "This village could only be brought to order with an iron fist and merciless reminders of the soldiers' presence." Link's mind had an instance of clarity.
"So, you took the actions of one villager and pinned in on the rest of them?" Link asked as he tried to concentrate. Why do I feel so tired? Garsus growled angrily at Link's question.
"I read the situation and did the best with what I had to keep everyone in line," the captain stated. "Same as I'm doing here. You see, I retrieved something from Velretta's father." The armored hylian pulled a leather flask from his pocket.
"He had some sort of poison on his blade that day in the woods. I've been keeping it for a special occasion. For instance, if I'm wounded and disabled but fighting a capable swordsman with a capacity for trouble. I put quite a lot on my sword right after I left Vinwaka, just in case you caught up to me." He grinned at Link as he waved the flask at him.
"The time for stalling is over." Garsus said with a pleased grin. "I can tell you're starting to feel those effects. You look confused. Maybe you should drop your sword and take a quick little nap."
Link suddenly understood what the captain was saying. The sudden dizziness and exhaustion were not natural, but a result of that purple sedative Velretta had similarly carried on her person. How did I not think of that? he wondered groggily. Link had never expected a Hyrulean soldier to use poison, and he suddenly realized he had made a grave error. The Ordonian tried to stab the captain then, but his moved lacked his usual speed and accuracy.
Garsus easily knocked the blade away with his gauntleted hand and began crawling away from Link. Link tried to follow him but stumbled as the world swayed under his feet. He dropped to a knee, his sword propping him up. So… Tired…
Garsus came to his feet a few yards from Link and hobbled over to his sword. The captain reached down and picked it up out of the soft soil. He clutched his upper leg as he turned back to the incapacitated hero.
Link barely noticed the captain walking back towards him, still on a knee and leaning heavily on his sword. He felt dizzy… so dizzy. And tired. The Ordonian was breathing laboriously, his eyes slowly closing. His body felt heavy, and he only barely heard the next words the captain spoke.
"You caused me a lot of trouble, but at the end of the day Hyrule will stand over Vinwaka victorious." The captain raised his sword like an executioner in his good hand, his blade hovering over Link in the red light of twilight.
Link forced his head up despite how laborious it was to do so, looking the captain in the eye. Blue eyes met brown. The purple ooze on Garsus's blade dripped onto Link's neck. The captain grunted.
"Even now, you're a courageous fool. Incapacitated by poison and defeated, but you still want to look your killer in the eye. Hmph. You have my respect. I hope you enjoy the afterlife." A flicker of light suddenly drew Garsus's attention. He looked down to see Link's Triforce on the back of his left hand, still supported by his sword, pulsing with a dim glow.
"Wha-" Garsus started, but then a bright, overwhelming flash was emitted from the hero's hand. Garsus reared back with his hand over his eyes as the bright light blinded him, like a miniature sun in the dimming day.
Link suddenly felt some of the heaviness lifted from his body. His mind felt a little clearer, and he suddenly realized he could move again. He lifted his sword, bringing it up quickly to the blinded captain. He knocked the soldier's sword back with his own before thrusting his weapon through the captain's chest.
The sun finally set on Faron Woods as Link's eyes met Garsus's for the last time. Garsus looked down at the weapon through his chest. His lips moved a few times before finally forming a question.
"Wha… What are you?" the captain muttered, staring at the still glowing Triforce on the back of Link's hand. The hand that clutched the blade that was thrust through his heart. Link tried to answer him through the fog that was once again befalling his mind.
"Someone you shouldn't have messed with." The life left Garsus's eyes, and his corpse fell over. Link did not have the strength to fight the body's momentum and fell to the ground with the hylian captain. His vision was fading fast. Within moments, a deep sleep befell him as he clutched his left hand and the Triforce of Courage upon it.