CHAPTER 3

Walking alongside the green, spring trees, Erick and Link slowly made their way on down the road. "I can't believe what Aragon told us last night! Do you think that it is all true, Link? I didn't tell my dad, but he told me when I was younger that the legend of Ganondorf and the Triforce were just that, a legend," Eric said to Link. "Eric, you saw the same mark on his hand as I did. There has to be some truth in what he told us. I just don't get why he told the two of us, I mean, if it was such a guarded secret," responded Link.

The two finally came upon the forest nearby the village; a wood shrouded in the shadows of the overhead canopy of tall oak and fern trees. Link slowly pulled out his bow, mounted his quiver, and led Eric into the forest. "I'm can't wait to try this thing out," spoke Link. "Yeah, but Link, you have never fired an arrow in your life! How do you expect to think you'll be any good with the darn thing?" chuckled Eric.

"You just stay back and watch then. I'll show you a thing or two!" exclaimed Link. Just then, something ruffled the bushes nearby. "What was that?" whispered Eric. "I'm not sure. I might just be a dear," responded Link. Link slowly crept closer to the bushes where the noise originated from while Eric stood frozen with fear. The adrenaline was racing through Link's body as he drew closer, the pounding of his heart getting louder and louder. He finally approached the bush, and slowly stuck his bow and drawn arrow into the leaves. Everything went still. Then, a jolt of fear shot through Link. A large beast leaped from the bush as Link let go of the string. The shock sent Link falling backwards, the arrow misfired into the canopy of leaves. As his back thudded against the ground, he could only think of drawing another arrow and preparing for any assault from the beast. As he stood up and turned, all his wits alerts, he heard the faint laughing of a boy. He turned just a bit to see Eric on the ground, laughing hysterically at Link. "What is so funny, Eric? This is serious! Where did the thing go?" cried Link confused at Eric's actions. "Stop! You're making my sides hurt! It was just a dear, Link! Calm down," laughed Eric back at Link.

Link looked down and saw the familiar footprints of a native dear of the woods, and sighed in relief. "Some shooting you did! Watch me, I'll teach you a thing or two!" mocked Eric. "Just be quiet and come on," murmured Link to his friend. While Eric was quieting down from his brouhaha, Link heard a faint voice in the distance. "Sorry, Link, it was just too funny," Eric said as he was cut off by Link. "Quiet, Eric. Did you hear that?" Link alarmingly said. "Hear what?" asked Eric. The voice was louder this time, a faint whisper but enriched with some sort enchantment. "What was that?" cried Eric to Link. "Link, come on, let's get the heck out of here!" Link ignored his friend's pleas, and continued deeper into the woods in search of the voice's source. The two pressed on, and soon the light of day was nearly blocked out by the thick forest. A short time later, they came upon what appeared to be an entrance to some sort of cave, but the entrance was sealed by some sort of stone door. The two approached, and looked in awe.

"What do you think it is, Link?" asked Eric. "I'm not quite sure. How do we open it, though?" wondered Link. The two tried to push and pull the stone door with all their might, but it would not budge. Finally, when they were about to turn back, Link noticed a shiny object a bit above and to the right of the cave. "What is that?" exclaimed Link to Eric. The two looked at the object, and then Link raised his eyebrow in thought. After a few moments, Link shouted, "I've got it!" He motioned for Eric to stand back, drew an arrow into his bow, took aim at the object, and let the arrow soar. It struck the gem directly in the middle. The two awaited the results. After a few moments, Eric whispered, "I think it didn't work, Link." Suddenly, the ground rumbled, and the stone door began to move. "It's working! Eric, it's working!" cried Link.

Once the rumbling subsided, the two boys entered the cave. It was pitch black, but sitting in a slot against one of the walls was a torch. Link took it, and pulled out his fire stones. He struck them together, and eventually the spark caught the torch on fire, and the two had a flame to light the way. After a short time of venturing into the cavern, the two came across an ancient alter with marking the two had never seen before. "Link, what is this?" asked Eric. "I'm not sure, but the marking are unlike anything I've ever seen," he responded. "Oh, like that says a lot! You can't even pass Miss Galant's reading tests!" remarked Eric. "Be quiet, Eric! I know enough that this isn't Hylian scripture," responded Link.

On the alter, Link saw what appeared to be a groove in the stone that was shaped like a hand. However, when he placed his hand into the groove, it felt ackward. "Wait, Link! Try placing the back of your hand on it," exclaimed Eric. Link nodded, and then put his hand on again. Suddenly, Link felt a tug on his hand. He tried to pull it free, but it would not budge. Then, a light started to appear from where his hand was.

"Eric, help me! I'm stuck, it won't let me go!" cried Link. Eric rushed to his side, and tried to pull him free, but both their might combined could not free Link. Finally, a violent flash of light sent the two flying back onto the ground. When they stood back up the alter began to move back, revealing a hole in the ground. Eric then noticed Link's hand was glowing. "Link, look, you're hand!" exclaimed Eric. Link looked down, and saw that the back of his left hand was glowing. As he raised it to get a better look, the light went out, and his hand was back to normal. Link then focused his attention on the hole, and the two ran up to it with the torch. Eric held it over to give Link some light, as they peered in. "Look, it's some sort of book!" cried Link as he reached in to grab the object. Link held it up for them to get a better look. The forest green cover contained a triangular emblem on the front, and some crest. "It has some sort of markings I can't decipher, Eric. Look, it also has some of those words we couldn't read," remarked Link. Link opened the book, and all of a sudden, a crack of lightning flashed across the sky outside. The boys were sent flying back from the thunderous aftershock, and the book fell onto the ground. A whisper was eminating from the book. "Est tuo ceras le lirari che Mudora," the book spoke. "What the heck does that mean?" cried Eric as the book hauntingly repeated the phrase over and over, and louder and louder until finally, a strong wind came from the book, and the torch went out.

Across the skies of darkness, the Dark Lord rose from his throne. "It has been found!" he shouted across his throne room. The master moblin came into the room, and bowed before the Lord of Darkness. "Moblin, somebody has awakened the spirit of the ancient ways. The Book of Mudora has been discovered! Send out the Darkswin to recover it immediately!" ordered Ganondorf. "Yes sir, right away!" replied the moblin. "This book is the key to my reign, without it, I can not recover the stones," the Dark Lord remarked. The moblin nodded in understanding, and left to send the Darkwin off.

Link and Eric were running as fast as their legs could take them, running to get back to the light of the open fields. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the two emerged from the forest. Panting, they stopped to catch their breath and then stared at the book in silence. "Link, I think we should put it back, cover it up, and leave it be," suggested Eric. "No! After all we went through! This has to be something important! We will hide it away until Aragon returns, and then we will show it to him. He'll know what it is, and if not, he can find out who does!" replied Link. "Very well, but you will take responsibility for it. I want nothing to do with that book until Aragon returns," Eric commented.

When Link arrived home, he went to his room and took out his tools from one of his drawers. He pushed his bed aside just a bit, and began to cut a hole out of the ground. He then dug into the now open earth with his hands, and then placed the book softly into the hole. He then covered the book up with some dirt, and placed the cut out piece of wood back into its spot. Link then placed the bed back in its place, and then went downstairs to talk with his mother.

A week passed by, and nothing out of the ordinary happened around Kakariko village. Life went on for Link and Eric as if nothing ever happened. As Link finally went to bed at the end of the last day of the week, he thought maybe nothing would come of that book after all, that it was probably some old heirloom hidden for safe keeping, and nothing more. If Link knew what would come from finding that book, he would have listened to Eric's advice more carefully