Disclaimer:
The Legend of Zelda is property of Nintendo.
Author's Notes:
Sorry about taking so long to update. I've been really busy, and this week's Thanksgiving so I might be busy still. Of course, we get two days off of school, so that might help. Except for the fact that I'm getting Mario Kart: Double Dash today and that may tear me away from the computer.
Thanks to everyone for reviewing. It's really nice to get good reviews. So, once again, everyone read, enjoy, and PLEASE REVIEW!
The Legend of Zelda: The War of Power
Chapter 17: Escape
"What have I gotten myself into?" Zelda asked herself quietly. Her back was currently pressed against a stone wall as she stood just next to the door of the banquet hall, listening intently. After overhearing the plans for the attack she had wandered throughout the large palace for what seemed like an eternity to her. She had not come across Link or Dek as they were led to the dungeons but rather had found herself just outside the large feast that had been underway for hours. Zelda didn't know what she was planning to do when the attack on the king came, but she hoped that she could defeat the dwarves and manage to clear the elves' names.
"This is stupid," she thought bitterly, "I have no idea how many dwarves have succumbed to the will of that evil being. I could be facing hundreds of traitorous palace guards. This is something that Link would do, not me." The princess smiled when she thought about Link, "Those two better not be dead."
Zelda turned when she heard voices nearing her position in the shadows of the rear door of the banquet hall. Two dwarves, both dressed in armor that covered all but their head, turned a corner suddenly and approached the door. The princess materialized from the darkness and rendered each unconscious with a blow to their skull from the hilt of her elven sword.
"That's two taken care of," she thought as she dragged the bodies away from the door and deposited them in a dark corner of the hall. She quickly merged back into the shadows, using her Sheikah training to render herself nearly invisible.
The feasting just inside the doors stopped as several members of the crowd suddenly screamed loudly. "This is it," Zelda thought before slipping quietly through the door and quickly ducking into a corner. She watched as the once feasting dwarves gathered in the center of the room, surrounded by several guards leveling their crossbows at the crowd. Many of the traitorous guards were aiming at the king at the front of the room while others stood ready with axes at hand. A few of the dwarves barred the doors to the banquet hall with wooden blocks so that there would be no interference from any remaining loyal guards within the palace.
"He's completely defenseless," Zelda thought, shocked, "Every guard in here belongs to the evil group. It's almost like a cult. There's no way I can fight all of this." Her attention was drawn to the king as one of the guards spoke.
"Aldoren belongs to our master now!" he shouted at the king, "You are a fool, and you have allowed our people to spread in your own castle. You will die for your ignorance."
"Who are you and who is your master?" King Bwarrow asked calmly.
"Our master does not desire to be known by you!" the dwarf yelled, "As for us, we are the Shadowlings! We are the new race of dwarves that are in command of this city from this point on. All shall join us or endure the agony of death!" Zelda tore her eyes away from the scene in an attempt to formulate a plan. She silently slipped into a position within two feet of a crossbow wielding guard.
"I can't use my magic to paralyze all of them," she thought, "There's too many, but one should be easy enough." The princess placed her fingers on the back of the Shadowling's neck and the dwarf was rendered helpless by her magic. Zelda removed the crossbow from his hands and a quiver from his back while the stunned guard stood motionless. She quickly merged back into the shadows and aimed carefully.
"Your time on this earth is over, Bwarrow!" the Shadowling leader yelled as his finger tightened around the trigger of his crossbow. Zelda fired first, however, and the dwarf fell to the ground in pain, an arrow protruding from his chest. The evil dwarves scanned the room frantically, attempting to locate the source of the projectile. The princess smiled as they looked around in confusion.
"What's going on?!" another Shadowling yelled, "Whoever is responsible for this will be put-" The dwarf stopped as the doors to the great hall shook violently, the loyal palace guards pounding on them furiously from the outside.
"We're out of time!" he shouted, "The king must die!" Zelda swiftly fit two arrows onto the crossbow string and fired on the dwarf with deadly precision. The Shadowling breathed his last as the arrows punctured his chest. The princess flew to the doors and unsheathed her sword just as she was spotted by the evil dwarves.
"There!" a dwarf shouted, pointing, "Take her out!" The princess cleaved the block that was barring the largest door in two, allowing the loyal dwarves to enter the hall. She quickly leapt to the side as several arrows imbedded themselves in the wall where she had stood just a second before. The guards stormed the banquet hall but were met by a flurry of Shadowling arrows. The loyal dwarves charged into the chaos, using their armor to defend themselves, and the battle began. The crowd that had attended the feast panicked and frantically sought cover beneath the large tables.
Zelda dove to the side and rolled as arrows flew past her head, loading three projectiles into her crossbow as she did so. She released the arrows one by one and three of the Shadowlings fell to the ground. The princess leapt into the air as a number of projectiles ricocheted off the floor that her feet had just departed from. In a fluid movement Zelda fit two arrows onto the bowstring and destroyed a pair of the evil dwarves. The princess continued to expertly dodge the many projectiles while firing upon the Shadowlings until she exhausted her supply of arrows. Throwing the crossbow to the ground, she made her way to the exit of the room through the massive amount of chaos. Zelda slipped out of the banquet hall and into the quiet corridor as the battle raged on behind her.
"Now to free those two morons," she thought, smiling.
***
"Well, this is boring," Link commented as he seated himself and leaned back against the stone wall. He looked to the prison cell directly across from him to see Dek in the same position.
"Yep," the elf said, rather pointlessly.
"Quiet!" the prison guard shouted, "There'll be no conversing among prisoners!"
"We'll converse if we want to converse!" Link retaliated menacingly.
"I wouldn't be talking like that," the guard said, though the authority had been robbed from his voice, "I'm the one with the sword. I could kill you anytime I wanted to." The Hylian ignored the dwarf and began whistling the melody to Zelda's Lullaby.
"Stop that," the guard ordered. Link continued, unfazed, as the dwarf sighed and became silent. Dek barely contained his laughter.
"You're going to get yourself killed," he said to the Hylian, "Your luck is eventually going to run out."
"I don't rely on luck," Link argued, "I always have everything planned out."
"Sure you do," Dek mocked.
"Do we get food in here?" Link addressed one of the two prison guards.
"Not much," the first dwarf said in a gruff voice, "Just some bread and water. But don't think you're going to escape when we open the cell to feed you. We'll give it to you through the bars."
"Well that just ruins my entire plan," the Hylian said with false dramatization, "I figured you were stupid enough to open the cell."
"You'll find this isn't an easy prison to escape from," the second guard said proudly, "We have a flawless security system here. Even if you were to escape from your cells you would face several other strong guards and have to navigate your way through twisted passageways to reach the ground level of the palace. It's a highly proficient system." Link smiled slightly, relieved that the guard had been foolish enough to provide him with information about security. He now knew the opposition that he would face after freeing himself from his cage.
Link was still deep in thought as another palace guard appeared in the entryway to the prison. He handed one of the guards a small morsel of food while quietly whispering something undecipherable even to Link's elven ears. The first prison guard promptly made his way to Link's cell, holding a miniscule bowl of water and a small piece of stale bread in his fingers.
"Here's your food," he said, shoving both fists through the bars, the water in one hand and the bread in the other. This action quickly turned out to be a mistake. Link grabbed both forearms of the dwarf and pulled back powerfully. The guard's arms were nearly ripped from their sockets as his head slammed into the solid iron bars. The Hylian wasted no time in shoving him back only to tear him towards the bars again, resulting in another blow to the dwarf's skull. The second prison guard rushed over quickly only to be grabbed by Dek from behind. He gasped for air as the high elf gripped the dwarf's throat tightly, using his other arm to add strength to the deadly hold. The guard desperately tried to pry the hands of the elf away, but soon discovered that Dek was stronger than he had judged him to be.
Link slammed the first guard's head into the bars once more before swiftly picking the set of prison keys off of his belt. The dwarf fell to the ground, unconscious as blood seeped from a wound on his head.
"He'll live," the Hylian said as he freed himself from the cell with the keys, "He didn't do anything wrong, and I'm not going to kill for no reason. Isn't that right, Dek?"
"Yep," the high elf said as he applied enough pressure to his hold on the second guard to cause the dwarf to drift into unconsciousness. Link quickly unlocked the door to his friend's cell and threw the keys onto the first guard's body. The two elves quietly left the prison and began to ascend a large stone staircase. The passageway was lit dimly by a few torches and shadows were cast across the ground.
"So that was your plan?" Dek asked skeptically.
"Yeah," Link said, "I was going to do that all along. I had every detailed numbered out in my head." Dek stopped and stared at him with an eyebrow raised.
"Okay," the Hylian admitted, "So I came up with it at the last minute. It worked, didn't it?"
"There's that luck I'm talking about," the high elf sighed, shaking his head. The two suddenly quieted as they heard voices coming from above. As Link crouched midway through the stairs he could see a large door ahead and the tops of two helmets shining slightly in the torchlight. The elves slunk into the shadows and slowly began to make their way toward the guards. Their progress was interrupted, however, when shouting resonated throughout the corridor from below.
"The prisoners escaped!" the second guard called from the jails at the bottom of the staircase, "They're dangerous! Don't let them escape!"
"Oh, well that's just great," Link said sarcastically, looking down at the bellowing dwarf, "Couldn't you have made sure he was knocked out?"
"This isn't my fault!" Dek argued, "That could be your guard down there."
"No, the one I got had a gash on his head," Link retaliated, "That's definitely yours. Good job."
"Shut up," the high elf said as the two prepared to meet the challenge coming upon them in the form of the two unscathed guards at the top of the stairs, "Let's just get out of here."
"Sounds good," Link smiled as he sprinted towards the oncoming threat.
***
High atop Death Mountain, amid a massive amount of dust and ashes, the ground stirred. Rocks and gravel were displaced as a single hand exploded from the dirt and gripped the surface of the mountain tightly. Slowly at first, then quickening in pace, the body of a Goron heaved itself up from the underground. The large Goron, covered in black ashes and dirt, stood shakily on his neglected legs and surveyed the scene around him. The mountainside had been covered in ashes, a product of the detonation of so many bombs, and boulders had been strewn about the landscape. Overall, the area had been flattened utterly and made similar to level ground. The once sloping and majestic mountainside had become a barren wasteland. Not just a wasteland, but a graveyard. A graveyard that now housed the brave, loyal race of the Gorons.
Mahalda suddenly threw back his head and bellowed in agony.
***
"Princess Ruto?" a concerned voice called, "Princess Ruto?" Ruto slowly opened her eyes and blinked as she was blinded by the sunlight washing over her face. Her eyes focused and she found herself staring at the face of her trusted general.
"You're awake," Mikau said, breathing a sigh of relief, "I thought you were gone for a minute there."
"What happened?" the Zora princess asked, confused and bewildered.
"You passed out," the general explained, "I rushed you to the scientist who had barely finished the antidote. He gave it to you, but you still did not wake. You've been unconscious for two days now."
"Two days?" she asked. Mikau nodded.
"The rest of us have been given the antidote as well," he smiled, "We haven't lost anyone else since you were affected."
"Really?" she asked, hope shining in her eyes, "Everyone else made it?"
"Yes," Mikau answered, "We all did." Ruto leapt to her feet with joy, only to find that she could barely stand. She fell into the generals arms and embraced him tightly. Mikau looked abashed at first, but slowly returned the embrace. Ruto remained in the strong Zora's arms for what seemed like an eternity, crying tears of joy.
***
Link ducked under the axe of the guard and grabbed onto the wooden handle. He pulled with all his might and ripped the weapon from the guard's grip before slamming the flat part of the blade into his enemy's head. The dwarf's helmet fell to the floor with the unconscious guard.
The Hylian looked to his left to see that Dek had succeeded in pulling the same maneuver. Dek suddenly turned and knocked out the remaining prison guard that had attempted to approach him from behind.
"Well, that was easy," the high elf said, smiling, "Should we take their weapons?"
"I don't know," Link answered, "I've never really been fond of an axe. I think I'd rather fight with my hands."
"Whatever," Dek shrugged and dropped the guard's axe as the two reached the door at the top of the staircase. Link pushed it open slightly and peered outside. He scanned the corridor for any sign of danger before slipping out the door, motioning for Dek to follow. The two elves crept through the hallway and became confused when they found not a single dwarf throughout the complex maze.
"I thought security was supposed to be good around here," Link commented, "This is sad."
"They must all be attending some big thing or something," Dek theorized, "Now all we have to do is find our way out of this mess of halls."
"I hear something from over there," Link said, pointing to his left, "Maybe it's the exit." Dek shrugged and the two traveled toward the noise. They soon found themselves before a large door. Link pressed his ear up against the wood and listened intently.
"There's screaming coming from up there," he said, "This must be the way out."
"Either that or we're walking into a torture chamber," Dek said sarcastically. The Hylian smiled and opened the door before slipping through. The elves found themselves standing before a large staircase and quickly ascended it. Link once again slipped through the large door at the top of the dimly illuminated corridor.
"We're out," Dek said, breathing a sigh of relief as the two elves found themselves in a long corridor decorated with hanging pictures and tapestries.
"I don't recognize this hall from when Rousha took us to the king," Link commented, "We're lost again." Link decided to set off in the direction of the strange sound and the two wandered throughout the palace.
Link's head snapped to his right as the screaming increased in volume. He sprinted in the direction of the sound, though he knew not why, and Dek quickly followed. As the noise was becoming unbearable the two turned a corner and gasped. Palace guards were pouring into what looked like a huge banquet hall, screaming and brandishing their weapons. Quite suddenly, a mass of terrified dwarves exploded from the doorway. Dwarves who looked like guards were chasing the innocents wildly, slaying all whom stood in their path. Still more palace guards were attacking the seemingly evil guards and attempting to restore order to the best of their abilities.
"Oh man…" Dek said as the two elves turned and sprinted away from the madness. Link turned to see that the dwarves were rampaging throughout the hall, drawing closer to him and the high elf. Dek suddenly grabbed the boy by the shoulder and dragged him to an abrupt stop. Link whirled around to see another immense set of guards charging in their direction.
"Good," he said, "Maybe they'll fix this mess."
"They think we caused all this, you idiot," Dek commented. Link quickly realized he was right as he discerned the many curses, all directed at the elves, flying out of the guards' mouths.
"Oh crap," he commented as he and his companion turned and prepared to flee only to be met by the mass of dwarves approaching them from behind. The two realized that there was no escape from their situation and dashed into the chaos. Link found himself frantically dodging stray fists and axes as he forced his way through the crowd. After receiving a good amount of small slashes and bruises, he burst through to the other side of the group, breathing heavily. The two elves sprinted throughout the palace halls, searching for an exit while the battle raged on behind them. They suddenly exploded through the large front doors of the castle, using their momentum to jar the doors open. The elves panted heavily as they stopped and breathed the fresh air.
It was then that Link looked up and barely kept himself from yelling in surprise as Zelda leapt upon him and grabbed him in a fierce embrace.
"Link!" she cried happily.
"Zelda," Link said quietly, returning the embrace. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Dek as he stood to the side of the scene.
"Oh…," the high elf cooed, smiling, with false adoration, "How cute."
"Zelda," Link said, Zelda still hanging around his neck, "Did you cause all this?" The princess suddenly broke the embrace and stared at the ground, blushing.
"Well," she said, "It was partly my fault." Link and Dek looked at each other and exploded into laughter.
"This is great!" the high elf laughed, "I didn't know you were capable of causing trouble! Link must be rubbing off on you."
"I must be a good teacher," Link commented, "This even beats that little incident I caused at the festival." Dek laughed, having heard about the festival earlier on the journey.
"If you two are done making fun of me," the princess said, "Then maybe we can get out of here before we're killed. Oh, and here's your weapons." Zelda removed two swords from her belt and a bow from her back before handing them to the elves.
"And you can explain what exactly happened as we're fleeing for our lives," Link said as the three tried to put as much distance between them and the castle as possible.
***
Mahalda frantically threw boulders and dirt aside as he delved into the rocky ground, searching for any signs of life. He suddenly felt something grip his large hand tightly and he pulled up with all his might. Slowly, an arm emerged from the ground and was followed by an entire body as Mahalda threw himself back and freed the figure from the rocky prison. The new dust covered Goron coughed violently and fell to his hands and knees.
"King Darunia," Mahalda said, bowing slightly. Darunia raised his head and looked at him with black, beady eyes.
"Thank you," he said, standing on his feet, "But I am not worthy to be called king after I let this happen to our people." He surveyed the damage that the bombs had caused and the ash that blanketed the ground and floated thick through the air.
"You are the first that I have uncovered," the general said, "But more may still live beneath the dirt."
"We don't even know where to look," Darunia pointed out, "And if they are dead it would be dishonorable to uncover their bodies. If a Goron has survived this far he will free himself on his own. I'm afraid we must wait." Mahalda sighed and looked out beyond the mountain to the city of Castle Town. He could vaguely see an immense army gathering just outside of the city walls. Darunia apparently noticed this also.
"Woe will befall the Solatians when they are faced with the Gorons' wrath," the king said boldly.
***
Amir sat atop a bed in the inn, his torso bare, as Hawehn tended to both his and Alria's wounds. Every so often she would scold the two for getting themselves beaten so badly.
"How'd you manage to do this?" she asked, indicating a large burn mark on the Calatian's chest.
"The sorcerer," Amir said blatantly for one of the many times that day.
"Is that your excuse, too?" Hawehn asked, looking at Alria and the many scorches that lined her body. The girl nodded.
"You two are going to have to be more careful," Hawehn said, bandaging Amir's chest, "Alria, you're lucky to be alive after that. And Amir, if you don't watch out for yourself more, I'm going to have to come along and make sure you're safe. You wouldn't like that, would you?"
"No, Hawehn," the Calatian said monotonously. Alria laughed quietly, though not soft enough to avoid the woman's ears.
"What's so funny?" Hawehn asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing," the girl answered, smiling innocently.
"Good," the woman said, turning back to Amir, "Now, as I was saying. You need to be more careful." The Calatian smiled and barely contained his laughter as Alria mouthed the exact words to Hawehn's last sentence.
"What are you doing?" Hawehn said, whirling to face the girl.
"I was merely listening intently to the words of wisdom that were flowing beautifully from your mouth," Alria said sweetly as Amir finally burst and began laughing. Hawehn crossed her arms in disgust.
"You two think you're so funny," she said, "Do you have any idea how worried I was? And then, to make things worse, when you get back you're both nearly dead! I almost fainted when I saw all the blood you were losing." Amir watched as the woman's eyes watered and he turned serious.
"We're sorry, Hawehn," he said comfortingly, "We'll be more careful from now on."
"Good," she said, kissing the large man on the cheek, "You both mean a lot to me now that I don't really have a family."
"Sorry," Alria said, feeling guilty. Hawehn cheered up immediately and went back to addressing the fighters' many wounds, humming a beautiful song as she completed her work.
***
"How much longer do you think we have?" Impa asked the general as the two sat across from each other in the castle war room.
"A few days at the most," Kard answered sadly, "Lohen should be closing in quickly. I doubt that Halberd will wait for the Coshraks. Those beasts do things at their own time and will not join the war until they decide the time is right. Lohen presents a large problem, though. The Lohenese are known for their immense catapults. They will most likely use these to destroy the wall and the houses within the city. We have no way of defending ourselves against such weaponry. Have we received any word from the Gorons or Zora?"
"No," the Sheikah said, "We have already come to the conclusion that most of the Gorons are likely destroyed. The Zora have probably suffered a similar fate if they have not come to our aid already. I fear the worst for Princess Ruto's people."
"As do I," the general sighed.
"Should we attempt an evacuation?" Impa asked.
"No," Kard said, shaking his head, "The only ways out of the city would be through the Gerudo canyon to the west or Death Mountain to the east. The people would die if we attempted to cross the freezing wastelands of the north. Several of my spies have reported enemy action on the slopes of the mountain as well as in the canyon. And the Gerudos may already be against us because of the sorcerer's veil."
"The north may be our only choice," Impa decided, "It may be hard, but I am confident that the majority of us would survive. The Halflings of the north are said to be hospitable and they have found ways to survive in the cold. If we reached the city of Torous, we would most likely be sheltered from Halberd and his army. That fool is too much of a coward to follow us."
"Will the people be willing to attempt this?" Kard asked, doubtful.
"Yes," the Sheikah said, "They know that they will die if they remain here."
"Alright," Kard said reluctantly, "Let's do this."