Chapter Twelve: Not out of the Woods Yet

Link awoke to find his feet dangling above his head. They were tied together as were his hands by a thick green vine. Upon realizing this he sighed. "I can not believe I have been captured again! What is this, the third time this quest," he thought to himself.

Link was careful not to open his eyes too wide. He did not want his captor, who ever it was to know he had woken from his slumber. He opened his eyes just enough to see his immediate surroundings. It was too dark in the woods for Link to see very far in any direction. He opened his eyes a tiny bit more, but he could see nothing more, other than his equipment lying on the ground just above his head, so he closed his eyes once more and listened to the noise of the forest.

Link patiently waited for his companions to awaken or his captor to reveal himself, but neither event occurred for twenty minutes, when Vialla finally awoke. She called out for Chiron and Link. Link did not respond, however Vialla's cry did cause Chiron to stir. He groaned loudly and slowly opened his eyes. Once he realized had been tied up he began to thrash around violently. Suddenly a towering creature emerged from the woods. He was wrapped in the same thorny vines that had rendered the refugees unconscious.

"Ah, I see that thou hast awoken," the creature said in a deep voice, "Well, two of thy party in any case," he said as he looked at Link, who had still had not moved or lifted his eyelids. "Did ye fools really think ye could pass through my woods with out paying tribute to me, the great master of these woods, Sogos?"

"We have nothing to offer you," Chiron pleaded.

"It seems thou hast a terrible dilemma on thine hands then," Sogos said as his long blue tongue slipped from his mouth and he turned his back to Link. "Then thou shalt pay with the meat of thy bones." Sogos placed his long thorny fingers on Chiron's neck and opened his mouth wide.

"No!" Vialla cried, "If you let us go, we'll help you find a whole group of men who have been following us. They're a lot bigger and meatier than we are too. Not to forget there are many more of them then there are of us." Chiron was disgusted with Vialla; she was displaying the typical gerudo behavior she was always trying so hard to suppress.

"That is indeed an enticing offer," Sogos cackled, "however, I already know of thine enemies' trespass through mine woods. I can assure thee, I will confront thine enemies as soon as I am finished with thee. And because ye have not made me an offering and can not do so, ye shall pay with thine lives." Sogos roared and opened his mouth wide again to swallow Chiron, but before he took his first bite, he jumped back and howled in pain as his vines were engulfed in a bright orange flame. The vine beast danced around violently trying to squelch the fire, but it did him no good, so he sped off into the woods in search of water to drown the flames.

Chiron and Vialla looked around and saw Link holding his bow with an outstretched arm. Link quickly cut his comrades down and they recovered their equipment and ran deeper into the woods.

"How?" Chiron stuttered after the three escapees had slowed their run to a quick walk.

"Simple," Link replied, "I always keep a small knife underneath my gauntlet. All I had to do was get it out using my mouth and cut my hands free, the rest was easy. I would have gotten us out sooner, but I was not sure whether or not we were being watched, so I waited until Sogos came out to speak to you two, then I sprang into action. It is a good thing you kept him talking for so long. Otherwise we could have been in trouble."

"But how did you rig a flaming arrow up so quickly?" Chiron asked eagerly.

"Magic." Link said. Chiron laughed at his companion's response, not realizing the answer was no joke.

The three companions wandered aimlessly through the woods for several hours hoping to stumble across the path or something that would help them find their way back to the road. Being captured had done much more than just pull them off the path, it had also delayed them by many hours, which they were unable to make up, for soon after they escaped the sun began to set and the three wanderers were forced to stop for the night.

The company slept uneasily that night, they had no idea where they were, their food supply was gone, the Tyfirians were still on their trail, and now Sogos was looking for them too. Chiron especially was giving in to despair. He was certain he would not live to see his family again. Nothing had gone right for him since he met Link. He longed to sleep in his own bed and to eat a large supper with his brothers and sisters again. As he thought of such things his belly began to ache and all his attention was turned toward how hungry he was.

Vialla's thought mostly of her pursuers, the Tyfirians more so than Sogos. She was still not sure why they were after Link and Chiron in the first place. Link told her he knew of some Tyfirian plan to conquer Cyntir, but she did not know the details of that plan. She also thought about the mysterious Link, she did not trust him much, but she did trust Chiron, who for some reason seemed to hold Link in the highest esteem, so she was willing to follow Link as long as Chiron was.

Link found no rest of any kind that night. He was not worried much about what would happen to him or his companions if they were unable to find food; rather he was more concerned about what would happen to the people of Cyntir if he failed to stop Ormek's plan. Link was also too busy thinking up ways to get out of the forest alive and avoid getting caught by his enemies to sleep.

The next day there was less light in the Shadow Woods than usual. Link figured that it was a cloudy day outside the forest and because of that, less light penetrated the forest roof. He was right; in fact the sky was completely over cast with black storm clouds. It had not begun to rain yet, but there was real potential for it.

As soon as there was enough light, the group continued traveling in the direction they thought they would find the road in. They did not get far before Chiron collapsed with out warning. Vialla quickly rushed to his side and asked him what the matter was.

"I can't go any further," Chiron replied feebly.

"Yes you can," Link told Chiron, "You just have to believe you can."

"No," Chiron said wearily, "I'm too weak to continue on. I shouldn't have come with you Link. I've done nothing, but slow you down."

"You're slowing us down now by refusing to get up!" Link said with a hint of anger in his voice. "Now get up, so we can get going!"

"I'll only make it so you can't get out of the woods before you die from lack of food," Chiron pleaded.

Link looked at Chiron coldly. He grabbed him by his shirt collar and pulled him to his feet. "Get up now!" Link ordered furiously, "We do not have any time to waste! I have already lost too much time! It is only a matter of time before Ormek strikes." Link let go of Chiron's shirt, but the exhausted farm boy's knees buckled and he fell to the ground. Link reached for Chiron again, but Vialla grabbed his arm before he could reach him.

"Link, calm down," she entreated, "I'll carry him the rest of the way."

Link looked at her harshly for a bit before he said, "No, you need your strength. I will carry him." Link quickly lifted Chiron up on his back and continued on with out saying another word. Link felt terrible about how cruelly he had treated Chiron, but he could not bring himself to apologize. After an hour or so of walking with the extra burden his thoughts turned back towards his goal. In another hour Chiron informed Link that he felt well enough to walk for a while again and Link gladly let him down.

A short time later Link halted the company. "Get down!" Link yelled. All three members of the company dropped to the ground as an arrow came whizzing through the air.

"Circle them quickly you fools!" the voice of Lucrus called out. Tyfirian soldiers quickly surrounded Link and the others in an attempt to subdue them. All three fugitives drew their weapons and prepared for the onslaught, but before the first Tyfirian could attack a large vine shot from the trees knocked five men off their feet including Link. Sogos leapt from the darkness of the woods and began violently swiping at anything that moved.

"Where is that rotten archer!" Sogos howled, "I shall gnaw on his bones!" Almost immediately after Sogos said this, Link shot a flaming arrow the vine-beast while still lying on the ground. Sogos was prepared for such an attack and sprung out of the way. He then shot a vine at Link to tie him up, but the Hyrulian picked up his sword and cut the vine before it could wrap around him. Link jumped to his feet, but Sogos was already on top of him. Before Sogos could do any damage though, a Tyfirian that was unaware of where Link was ran a sword through the monster's side. Sogos cried out in pain. Link took advantage of the distraction by drawing the small knife from underneath his gauntlet. He threw it and the blade landed right underneath Sogos's chin and nicked his windpipe. The vine beast collapsed while gasping for air. Link slid out from underneath the beast and picked up both his bow and sword.

Sogos writhed on the ground unable to stand up. The Tyfirian that had stabbed Sogos charged Link as soon as he got up. Link was already prepared for the attack by the time the soldier reached him. Link had no trouble disarming his opponent and knocking him out. Link's attention was then turned to helping his companions, but he could not see them anywhere. All he saw were trees and four men dressed in blue and grey coming towards him with swords drawn. Link assumed a defensive stance, but a vine sent by Sogos, who had not yet given into death and had recovered somewhat from his wounds, suddenly knocked him down.

Link dropped his weapons and swiftly rose to his feet again, but this time he made some odd gestures with his hands and then slammed his hands on to the ground. He was soon covered with a dome of fire, which began to spread quickly. Sogos and the four Tyfirians were swallowed by flame as were the trees and smaller plants around Link. The fire spread and formed a wall between Link and the other Tyfirians. Lucrus scowled at Link from behind the wall of flame that blazed in front of him. He knew that his last chance to catch his prey had gone up in smoke. With no way of advancing past the rapidly growing wall of fire, Lucrus had no choice but to order the few men he had left to fall back.

Link ran furiously through the woods, both to get away from the Tyfirians and to find Chiron and Vialla. He had assumed that they managed to escape when Sogos attacked, but he had no proof they did. He called out the names of his two companions thunderously, but he received no reply for several minutes. Just when Link began to fear his companions had been captured or had fled some other way, he felt a small rock pelt him. Link turned to look in the direction the rock came from and found Vialla and Chiron crouching behind a fallen tree. They motioned Link to come over to them and he did so.

"We can hide here for a while," Vialla whispered.

"There is no need to hide," Link said, "Neither the Tyfirians or Sogos will be giving us trouble any time soon. Besides we need to keep moving. Without any food supplies left we have to get out of this blasted forest as soon as we are able."

Chiron groaned upon hearing that he would have to walk again. "What does it matter," he said in a depressed tone. "We don't have any food, we can't find the road, and we don't even know if we're going in the right direction."

Link was again angered by Chiron's loss of hope. He was about to lash out again, but he recalled how ineffective his last outburst had been. Link was able to calm himself by reflecting on the counsel Calrith had often given him on controlling his anger.

"Chiron," Link said in an irritated tone, "We have to keep going. We will not last much longer out here. We have to get out as soon as possible. Now get up, I do not have enough energy to carry you now. I am too tired from that last battle."

"Then just leave me here," Chiron said as he stared of into the blackness of the woods.

"We can't just leave you here," Vialla pleaded. Chiron sat on the ground motionless, giving no response.

Link stifled his anger and continued to try to reason with his companion. "Come on Chiron, you have to get up. Your family is waiting for you." Chiron looked at Link strangely at the mention of his family. "You promised your father you would make him proud," Link continued, "Now is your chance. If you help me defeat Ormek you will do exactly that." Chiron nodded and slowly rose to his feet.

Link smiled and took the lead. The group continued on with no particular bearing in mind. They had no idea in what direction the exit lay, but Link followed his instinct and the others were content to follow him. The hungry fugitives managed walk another two days without much food. Link was, however, able to find a few plants, which were edible, but they provided little energy and were found only rarely. On the third day after their last encounter with Sogos, Chiron's strength gave out again. He fell to the ground nearly unconscious. This time Link was not angered, for he knew this time Chiron had not merely given up, but had used up every last ounce of his energy.

"We should stop and rest," said Vialla feebly wishing to lay in the dirt with her friend. Her stomach ached terribly from the need of food and she barely had enough strength to stand up.

"No," Link said. "If we stop now we will not be able to get going again." Vialla gave Link a disheartened look and nodded slowly. Link summoned what little strength he still had left and lifted Chiron up on his back again. Vialla managed to keep moving for the rest of the day, but as the dim woods grew darker with the approach of night, hunger and a lack of energy defeated her as well. Upon seeing that both his comrades were no longer in any condition to keep moving he laid Chiron on the ground and sat with his back up against a tree.

"It can not end this way," he thought to himself, "I can not just let Ormek win. Who knows what he will do to the people of Cyntir if he keeps a hold of the Triforce of Knowledge?" Just when Link was about to give up all hope, he felt a cold drop of water land on his nose. He looked up to the tops of the trees and to his amazement he beheld not one, but several gaps between the leaves. He also saw storm clouds trough the openings.

"Vialla, Chiron," he cried, "the sky, I can see it. We must be getting close to the exit. The trees are becoming fewer and farther apart. We are almost out."

Neither Chiron nor Vialla showed any sign of joy. "What difference does it make," said Vialla weakly, "I can't go on any further and there is no way you could carry either Chiron or me and make it out yourself."

"Just go on and leave us behind," said Chiron, "you can still make it."

"No," Link protested, "I will not just leave you to rot, we are in this together!"

"Go!" Chiron groaned, "If you don't make it out, countless others will suffer. I can't let you stay and die with me when you can save so many other lives." Although Link did not want to do such a thing, he realized it was his duty to make it out of the forest and stop Ormek and he knew the only way he could do that now was by leaving his companions behind.

"I will come back for you," Link said as he rose to his feet, "I will not let you die out here, you have my word." With that Link turned and headed off into the darkening forest. He did not get far before the sun had set completely, leaving the forest pitch black. Link could hardly see a foot in front of him. He thought about turning in for the night, but once he remembered that Chiron and Vialla were counting on him to get them out, he decided there was no time for rest and kept going.

Link had no choice, but to walk with his arms in front of him as he blindly stumbled through the woods. Every fifteen steps or so, he cut a notch in the nearest tree with his sword. He hoped that the notches would guide him back to Chiron and Vialla once he got help for them. Link continued on in this manner for hours. Though his progress through the woods was slow, he was able to cover considerable ground in the dark.

During his journey through the darkness, Link could not stop thinking about how hopeless the situation had become. It was hard for him to think of much else when he could see nothing but black. The darkness of the woods slowly crept into as his mind as his thoughts grew darker. Nearly six weeks had passed since Link's confrontation with Ormek and he was still not even close to completing his mission. From the moment he set out on his quest to retrieve Soarlec's Talon, everything had gone wrong. Fate seemed to be against him and with Ormek. Soon despair began to gnaw at Link's soul. He thought of what would happen if he failed in his quest. Cyntir would fall, he knew that for sure, but Link felt in his heart that Ormek's conquest would not end there. With such power at his disposal, there was no telling what Ormek might do after he destroyed Cyntir.

Link clenched his fist in anger as he thought of all the people who would suffer as a result of Ormek's foolish ambition. More specifically he thought of Chiron's family and Calrith. Link swore he would stop Ormek and make him pay. Pay for what he did to Chiron's ranch and pay for Calrith's death.