Chapter Five: Hot on the Trail
Captain Lucrus's horse sped as fast as it was able, but its top speed was not enough for its rider. The Tyfirian's brown hair blew in the wind as he sped towards his base. Lucrus could now see the light of a fire burning, coming from his camp. It had had been four days since he sacked the Cyntirian ranch and he was only returning just now. "Promotion City, here I come," Lucrus said to himself as he pulled on the reigns of his horse causing it to slow to a light trot.
As he rode into camp, a boy greeted Lucrus and took the reigns of the horse. Lucrus dismounted and the boy took the horse away. Lucrus could not stop smiling. He was simply overjoyed with how well the operation went. It could not have gone better. They successfully stole much of the ranch's best cattle, they nearly burnt the ranch to the ground, and most importantly they obtained the blue orb. All this with only a single casualty, accounts of other soldiers told Lucrus that some warrior in a green garb had killed the Tyfirian.
Lucrus took the orb from his satchel and studied is closely as he walked towards his commanding officer's tent. Lucrus began to ponder about the strange glass sphere. He wondered why General Ormek wanted the little trinket so desperately. Lucrus did not know the answer, no one did, but he did know the orb must be of great worth considering the long months spent of tirelessly searching for thing. Whatever the reason, Lucrus knew he could expect some sort of a reward.
At last Lucrus reached the tent of his commanding officer, Colonel Syrus. Syrus was waiting by the door to his tent. "Well, did everything go according to plan?" he asked. Lucrus simply smiled and held the orb in front of Syrus. "Good work," commented Syrus, "let's have it then." Syrus reached for the orb, but Lucrus jerked his hand back.
"I don't think so," said Lucrus, "not until I get my reward."
Syrus gave Lucrus an angry look and said, "General Ormek is the one who wants that worthless bauble, not me." Syrus then cracked a smile and let out a soft laugh. "Though, you may hold on to the orb till he arrives, if you wish. You could demand your reward then. I'm sure the General wouldn't be too irritated by your disobedience, if you catch him in a good mood that is. Assuming he still has good moods." Lucrus scowled at Syrus. He looked at the orb with discontent for awhile before he tossed it to Syrus.
"Don't worry Captain," Syrus said as he caught the small sphere, "you'll get what you deserve. You're dismissed" Syrus saluted Lucrus and Lucrus saluted back. They then both retired to their tents. Once Syrus was back in his tent, he climbed on top of a few covers lying on the ground with the blue orb clenched in his fist. "At last," Syrus said to himself, "we have the final key. All we need to do now is find the temple. Then it will only be a matter of time till we can end this war and bring peace back to this land.
Syrus had just begun to dose off as he thought of the end of the war, when he heard a shrill voice. "For such a fit man, you sure to sleep a lot," the voice said. Syrus opened his eyes to see Shriek floating above his head. "Seriously, it's mid day and you're taking a nap?"
"Shriek?" Syrus said with a startled tone, "Has Ormek arrived already? He was not supposed to arrive till tonight."
"No, no," Shriek replied, "He just sent me here early to tell you; he's been delayed and won't be arriving till tomorrow night at the soonest."
"What's the hold up?" Syrus asked.
"You now his duties," Shriek said, "he has to get General Reock's troops started on preparing for the invasion." Shriek then paused and cleared his throat. "So, um… do you have it?" the fairy inquired.
"Yeah, I have it," answered Syrus.
"Let me see, let me see." Shriek said excitedly.
"You'll see it when I give it to Ormek," Syrus said.
"Oh, c'mon," Shriek pleaded, "We've been looking for it for so long. I just want to have a little peek at."
Syrus shook his head and said, "Forget it." After a few more seconds of begging, the fairy became weary of Syrus's lack of cooperation. Shriek began to shake, but Syrus saw what he was doing and smacked him with the back of his hand. "Oh no you don't," Syrus said with a slight hint of anger in his words. "You wouldn't want Ormek to find out you've been using your screech on me," he warned.
"You're no fun," Shriek said under his breath as he flew out of the tent.
"Stupid, annoying fairy," Syrus thought to himself as he crawled back on top of his covers.
The sun had just began to rise as Link and Chiron continued their pursuit of the Tyfirians. Its hot rays warmed Link as he ran his fingers through the tracks left behind by the Tyfirians. "Did you find something?" Chiron asked eagerly.
"Yeah, it looks like those Tyfirians came right through here," Link replied. "The tracks are fresh too. It looks like will be able to overtake them before the end of the day."
"Let's go then," Chiron said. He mounted his horse and waited for Link to do the same before they set off.
Link and Chiron had been tracking the Tyfirians who attacked the ranch and stole the cattle for five days. They would have caught the Tyfirians in a matter of hours had the rainstorm not lasted so long. It rained for nearly a whole day, washing away the tracks of the thieves. Link and Chiron could only guess which way the Tyfirians went. Luckily they had guessed correctly and were able to discover which way they needed to go, but not before loosing a lot valuable time first. However, Link and Chiron were gaining considerable ground.
As the two young men followed the tracks, they noticed that the plants and grass were becoming scarce. Soon there was no vegetation to be found anywhere, with exception of the occasional cactus. The ground became a sea of rolling sand dunes. They would have seemed like ocean waves except for the gigantic rock formations, which rose out of the surface of the sand.
Chiron and Link rode through the scorching desert, using the trail of left by the Tyfirians and Chiron's cattle to lead them to their destination. The two companions rode on until midday. They had just stopped to rest their horses a bit when Chiron thought he saw something in the distance.
"Link, come see this," he called urgently. Link ran to Chiron's side on cast his view out upon the endless sands of the desert. "It may just be a mirage that I'm seeing," Chiron said, "but I think I see a settlement out there."
Link shaded his eyes from the sun with his hand and began scanning the area. Off in the distance Link saw the tracks of the Tyfirians, which lead up to what appeared to be a camp made up of several tents set up in a desert oasis. Link took a big gulp of water from his canteen and wiped the sweat from his brow. "I think you are right, Chiron." he said as he and Chiron jumped up on their horses.
Link and Chiron rode up to the camp slowly; making sure no one saw them. When they got to within two hundred yards of the camp, they dismounted their horses, and began to slowly walk to the camp. Link led the way, dashing behind various boulders and other rock formations. Chiron nervously followed Link's example. They proceeded in this manner until they were within twenty yards of the camp.
Link surveyed the camp for a minute before he turned to Chiron and said. "This is certainly where the Tyfirians where headed. It is crawling with those Tyfirian soldiers."
"What are we going to do?" Chiron asked with a hint of desperation in his tone. Before Link could answer, he was startled by a high pitched cry. Link and Chiron both covered their ears in an attempt to block out the sound, but to no avail. Link frantically tried to locate the source of the noise, but he could find nothing. Both Link and Chiron dropped to their knees, their heads felt as if someone had hit them with a hammer. The unceasing cry caused the two travelers to grow faint. Chiron was unable to handle the pressure and passed out. Link managed to fight it a few seconds longer, but he soon lost consciousness just as Chiron did.
After Link and Chiron had been overcome, the noise suddenly stopped, followed by dead silence. Soon after a black fairy flew over the bodies of his victims. "Ha, no one can withstand the amazing supersonic screech of Shriek." Shriek cried triumphantly. He looked at the fallen Hylians and smiled. "Oh, Captain Lucrus," he called out, zipping back toward the camp.
Link awoke to find his hands lashed to a sturdy wooden pole holding up the roof of a large tent. His feet were also bound. Chiron was tied up to the same pole in the same manner. Link fought to free his hands, but the rope was too tight. His struggling awoke Chiron. Once Chiron remembered what had happened, he let out a big sigh and let his chin drop to his chest. Link continued his attempt to break free, but it was no good.
A mere fifteen minutes after they awoke, Colonel Syrus entered the captives' tent. "Well, well, look at what the dodongo dragged in, a pair of spies," he said, "We don't take too kindly to spies around here." Syrus said as he pulled his sword from its sheath and pointed the tip of the blade at Link. Syrus looked at his prisoners coldly and said, "Let's make this simple. Tell me who sent you and I'll grant the two of you a quick and painless death. Withhold your information and I can promise you, you'll wish you had never been born." Link remained silent, he did not look at Syrus nor did he show any fear. Chiron however, did not remain so calm.
"We're not spies," Chiron blurted out, "We were following a group of men who stole our cattle. Their tracks led us here. I swear! We only came to retrieve what's ours."
"Ah, so you guys are from that ranch we sacked," Syrus interjected, "Well sorry kid, those cattle belong to Tyfiria now."
"No, those cows are mine and I'm taking them back with me," Chiron shouted.
Syrus laughed, "You're in no position to be making that statement."
Suddenly they all heard a blaring voice call out, "General Ormek approaches!" Syrus quickly exited the tent and ran out to meet the general. When Ormek arrived he gave Syrus and the rest of the Tyfirians a standard salute and dismounted his jet-black horse.
"Good afternoon general," Syrus said.
Ormek held up his hand and said, "You may cease with the pleasantries, Syrus. Just tell me, do you have it or not."
"Yes sir," Syrus said with no expression in his voice or on his face. Ormek let out a sigh of relief and held out his hand.
"Let me see it," he ordered. Syrus nodded and pulled the blue orb from his satchel. He handed it to Ormek, who snatched it from him like a frog snatches a fly from flight. Ormek held the orb delicately as he marveled at it. "Who retrieved this?" Ormek asked, not looking away from his prize.
"I did," said Captain Lucrus stepping out from the circle of soldiers who surrounded Ormek. Ormek finally turned his gaze away from the sphere and looked at Lucrus. "Lucrus," he said, "for you act of bravery, you shall be promoted. Congratulations Major Lucrus." Ormek and Lucrus saluted each other and then shook hands.
"Thank you sir," said Lucrus.
Shriek had by this time, returned to Ormek's side. "Oh I almost forgot," Shriek said, "I caught a couple of Cyntirian spies this morning. I thought you would like to know."
"Actually," Syrus corrected, "One of the men seems to be Hyrulian. His shield bore the mark of the royal family of Hyrule."
"And what about the other one?" Ormek asked.
"His gear seems to be of a Cyntirian craft." Syrus answered. "Also," he continued, "contrary to what Shriek said, I do not think they are spies, but men who followed us from the ranch we attacked to acquire the blue orb."
Upon hearing Syrus's comment, Ormek growled. "Take me to them at once!" he commanded. Syrus immediately turned and guided Ormek to the prisoners' tent. Once Ormek entered the tent and saw the image of the two pathetic captives, he burst out in laughter.
"This is it?" Ormek asked Syrus, "You said you captured men, but these are only a couple of boys."
"Whether they are boys or men, they were caught trespassing on our base," said Syrus, "but really, you should have known you couldn't take on the mighty Tyfirians."
"Hey," said Shriek sternly, "I was the one who caught them, not your soldiers."
"Will you two shut up?" shouted Ormek.
Ormek then walked around the tent eyeing Link and Chiron. "I have to thank you two for taking such good care of my orb," he said holding the orb in front of Chiron's face. Chiron looked at the orb then he looked at his captor.
"General Ormek," Chiron gasped when he realized he was talking to his country's greatest enemy.
"At your service," Ormek said to Chiron with at smug grin on his face. Chiron sat for a moment, unable to think of anything to say. He finally managed to formulate a sentence after a quarter minute of silence.
"Wh…why is that orb so important, that you have to ruin the lives of innocent people to get it?" Chiron asked.
"You are a Cyntirian and the Cyntirians are my sworn enemies," Ormek snapped, "I would never divulge any information to one."
Ormek circled around the tent till he stood in front of Link. Neither of them said a word. Link could not explain it, but when he saw Ormek holding the blue orb, he sensed some how that the Tyfirian General would upset the balance of the world. Ormek left without saying another word, followed closely by Shriek and Syrus.
"What should we do with them?" asked Syrus once they were outside of the tent.
"Kill them," ordered Ormek. "They may not be spies, but they now know the location of our base. We can not allow them to leave with that information."
"How shall it be done?" inquired Syrus.
"I don't care," replied Ormek, "Put a few men in charge of the prisoners' execution. Tell them they may finish them off in whatever manner they see fit." Syrus saluted Ormek and left.
Ormek walked to the center of the camp and sat down by the fire. Only Shriek sat with him, but they did not speak. Ormek stared into the fire until the sun began to set. Off in the distance he could see someone approaching the camp on horseback. Ormek recognized him as a Tyfirian scout and ran out to meet him with Shriek right behind him.
"What news do you bring?" asked Ormek once the scout dismounted his horse.
"I have located the temple, sir," the scout answered.
"Excellent," Ormek said without a shred of emotion.
"What are our plans?" questioned Shriek.
"We set out as soon as the sun rises tomorrow morning," Ormek replied.
"Shouldn't we leave now?" asked the fairy.
"No, there will be too many verioks out tonight," Ormek explained.
Verioks, otherwise known as sand serpents, were stealthy creatures. They burrowed tunnels underneath the sand, which they used to move through out the desert. Verioks had no eyes to speak of, but their other senses were extremely attuned. Verioks were also, magnificent hunters. They caught their prey by feeling the movement of animals above the sand. Once they felt something above them, they rose to the surface and encircled their prey with their long bodies. They would then ensnare the animal with its tail and begin constricting it. Verioks hated heat, for this reason, they only came out when it was cool, like the night. This caused verioks to be mostly nocturnal. This was why Ormek did not want to risk traveling through the desert at night.
"Take this young man to the mess tent and get him something to eat," Ormek ordered Shriek, "he will need his energy, if he is to guide us tomorrow." Shriek led the scout away, leaving Ormek alone. Ormek walked back to the fire and admired the blue orb some more. He grinned as the light from the fire illuminated the ball. Ormek sat up by the fire, well into the night, long after Colonel Syrus and all the other troops retired.
As the night grew older the fire died down. Ormek stared into the hot coals as they lost their glow. Finally he got up and threw a few logs on the fire, giving it new life. Ormek then lay down in the sand in the middle of the camp and looked up at the glistening stars in the sky. At last he fell asleep as he thought of the morning's approaching journey.