Chapter Nineteen: The Return of the King
Syrus let out a puff of smoke from his mouth as he watched the sun set over Tamerec, Tyfiria's capital, through a window in Tyfiria Castle. He stared at his pipe and thought about how General Ormek discouraged smoking and other such things. He said pipe smoking was a filthy habit that the Tyfirians picked up from their former Cyntirian masters and that such things should be abolished to help establish the distinction between Tyfirians and Cyntirians. Normally Colonel Syrus upheld all of Ormek's teachings, but the general had been acting strange recently and Syrus was questioning many of Ormek's viewpoints.
Ever since Ormek stole the Triforce of Knowledge from the Sacred Realm the general had changed and those changes concerned Syrus. He was stunned when Ormek removed King Talrid from the throne, but what Ormek did after that worried him even more. He more or less, lied to the Tyfirian people, leading them to believe Cyntirians had murdered Talrid. He said this in order to boost the number of men enlisting in the Tyfirian military. Ormek's plan went off with out a hitch. Almost every able bodied Tyfirian man in the nation joined the armed forces. With the immensely larger army, Ormek launched a large-scale offensive against Cyntir.
According to the reports Syrus received, the campaign was going remarkably well. South Port Town had been captured and nearly every other major Cyntirian city had been utterly destroyed, with the exception of Cantarus. However Syrus knew, the invasion of Cantarus was the last city scheduled for annihilation and the reports from the raid there would no doubt arrive soon.
Colonel Syrus, unlike most of the rest of the Tyfirian army, had not gone to battle. Instead Ormek ordered Syrus to stay behind and watch over Tamerec. The job was lacking in glory, but it left the colonel with plenty of time to think, especially when one of the military units returned from invading a city. Each unit returned with hundreds or even thousands of Cyntirian captives. Syrus looked at the fear and pain in the eyes of the Cyntirians who were torn away from their homes and family and he questioned just how pure Ormek's intentions were and his own loyalty to the man. Before he genuinely believed Ormek was looking out for Tyfiria, but now the general was filled with a malicious intent and was bent on the utter destruction of Cyntir.
Syrus stood up and walked through the castle with no particular destination in mind. He was torn by his current position. He wanted to conquer Cyntir and take the strait, but he did not want to keep the Cyntirians as slaves or do whatever it was Ormek planned to do with them. He was also worried that Ormek's conquest would not end with Cyntir. The general seemed to have recently developed and unquenchable thirst for power and land.
Syrus lost himself in his thoughts and wandered aimlessly until he found himself outside of Ormek's office. He opened the door and slipped inside. He pulled down on a candlestick and opened the secret passage behind the bookcase. He made his way through the passage until he came to Talrid's cell. He relived the two guards on duty and entered the cell.
Talrid's hands were chained and raised above his head. The disposed leader was dressed in his tattered royal garments, which had gathered an abundance of filth during his imprisonment. Talrid slowly lifted his head up and scowled at Syrus as he entered.
"Come to inform me of the progress of your plans, colonel?" Talrid asked sarcastically. Syrus remained silent and stared at the king with a blank look. "Not going well?" Talrid smirked.
"On the contrary sire," Syrus answered. "Ormek has developed a number of new weapons and battle strategies, while boosting the amount of men enlisting. He has only Cantarus left to conquer and the whole of Cyntir will be ours."
Talrid sighed and shook his head. "And what of the Cyntirians?" he asked somberly.
"They've been rounded up and taken to a camp a hundred miles north of Tamerec," Syrus responded. "They are to be made slaves upon the conclusion of the invasion."
"Well it looks like you'll get your precious revenge," Talrid said.
"I never wanted revenge," Syrus admitted, "at least not this way. I only wanted the land we rightfully deserved. Removing the Cyntirians was a necessary part of obtaining that land."
"Allow me to ask you Syrus," Talrid said, "are the Cyntirians deserving of being forced into of a life of slavery."
"Why not?" Syrus asked, "They did it to us."
"That does not justify us doing the same," Talrid replied.
"I know," Syrus replied as he looked sympathetically at Talrid. He did not speak for several minutes until he finally said, "And you are not deserving of this imprisonment." Syrus unhooked a ring of keys from his belt and unlocked Talrid's shackles. He helped the King to his feet and assisted him out of his cell.
"You know," Syrus said to his king, "It wasn't originally Ormek's plan to turn the Cyntirians into slaves or to remove you from your throne. I never thought it would go this far."
"That doesn't matter now," Talrid said, "We have to stop Ormek from completing his designs. Round up all the troops that have returned from Cyntir. We march at dawn."
Link awoke with a splitting headache. He groaned as he sat up. He looked around to find himself still atop the Cyntir Castle battlements. Link could not see another soul anywhere around him. The hero rubbed his throat and discovered a small cut. The battle between himself and Ormek came rushing back. He was about to extract the Triforce of Knowledge from the Tyfirian when he lost consciousness.
"He had me beat, why did he not kill me?" Link wondered. Link reached for the Talon of Soarlec, but it was not there. "He took it," he gasped. "Wait, no I dropped it. It fell from the battlements." Link stood up and rushed to the bottom of the castle. He passed several Royal Cyntirian Guards, but they were too busy running around themselves to pay any attention to him. Once he reached the base of the wall he frantically searched the area for the talon. After more than a quarter-hour of looking, Link found the relic. He sighed in relief as he placed the talon back in his satchel.
"Thank the Goddesses," Link said to himself. He wondered why Ormek did not take the talon for awhile, until he remembered the advancing army. Before the end of his and Ormek's duel, Link saw an army of his own band of Calrigan mercenaries approaching from the south. Link immediately headed south in search of his legionaries. On his way through Cantarus Link saw very few Cyntirian soldiers and almost no civilians. Out in the field Link spotted a number of smoldering cannons that the Tyfirians had destroyed upon their retreat. The cannons were too heavy to take with them, and they did not want to risk their new weapons falling into enemy hands, so they simply destroyed them. Camped just outside of the southernmost part of Cantarus's outer wall, Link found the Calrigans. He made his way through the camp until he ran into one of the mercenaries he had met before.
"Hey Link," the Calrigan called out, "the C.O. is looking for you."
"Looking for me?" Link said confused, "how did he even know that I was here?" The mercenary shrugged and led Link to the commanding officer's tent.
"Link, I'm glad to see you're still alive," a tall man said as the Hyrulian entered the tent.
"Why are you here?" Link asked abruptly.
"It's nice to see you too," the man replied.
"My apologies General Erigad, but I did not think any of our men were in this region." Link said.
"There weren't until a few days ago," Erigad answered. "Me and my men were on our way back to base, cause we recently finished an assignment, when were attacked by three Tyfirian ships. They managed to sink about seven of our ships by the time we captured all of them. They used an explosive weapon I've never seen before. Anyway, on one of the ships we found a few prisoners. Once we told them who we were, one of the prisoners said he knew you and that you were in Cyntir. He told us you were trying to stop some Tyfirians from conquering Cyntir. He told us Cyntir would help us out if we helped them. I figured we could get some business from this place, so I ordered my men here. Looks like we got here just in time too.
"What was the name of the man who said he knew me?" Link asked in an excited tone.
"Uh, I don't know," Erigad said, "but he's wandering around camp somewhere."
"Bring him to me," Link ordered, hoping the man they found was who he thought he was. Erigad motioned to the mercenary who guided Link to him to find the man.
"By the way Link," Erigad said, "I thought Calrith was with you. Where is he?"
"Calrith is... he is dead," Link said sorrowfully.
"A shame," Erigad replied, "He was good man, a good mercenary."
"How did the battle go from the outside?" Link asked trying to change the subject. He simply hated remembering the death of his comrade.
"It didn't," Erigad said, "the Tyfirians turned their tails and ran as soon as we arrived. They already did their damage by the time we got here. They killed most of the soldiers and took a few hundred civilians as prisoners."
"Why did you not chase after them?" Link barked.
"Hey man," Erigad said, "We weren't even here to fight, we were just looking for employment. The Tyfirians ran thinking we were gonna take 'em on, but we weren't gonna attack or nothin'.
"We have to go after them," Link said urgently, "how many troops do you have with you?"
"'Bout three thousand," Erigad answered, "but we're not going after anyone if we don't get paid."
"Do you ever think about anything other than money?" Link asked angrily.
"Sure," Erigad answered, "Women, power, the whole lot." Link growled and continued to argue with his superior officer. They proceeded to quarrel until the Chiron walked into the tent with Vialla and Balris close behind.
"Hey kid," Vialla called to Link, "Where have you been?" Link gave a half smile unsure of how to respond to those he thought were already dead."
"We were beginning to worry about you Link," Chiron said. Link simply grunted as if to say, why. He wanted to tell them how happy he was to see that all three of them were okay, but he could not get the words out of his mouth. Besides, he was too concerned with going after Ormek.
"Hey, boy," Balris said in a huff, "ye owe me a ship."
Link groaned and said, "You never actually got me to the Frozen Fortress. I owe you nothing."
"Why ye sneaky lil'," Balris started.
"Erigad, do you think you could give this miser one of the Tyfirian boats you captured?" Link asked.
"Tell ya what Link," Erigad said, "You get us some work here and I'll give him one of the ships."
"Fine!" Link growled and stormed out of the tent.
"Where are you going?" Chiron called out as he followed after Link.
"I am going after Ormek," Link said, "and I do not have time to stick around and chat. Erigad, get me a horse." The mercenary general nodded and ordered one of his soldiers to bring him a horse.
"Link, I'm coming with you," Chiron said bravely.
"No, Chiron," Link shot back, "You have already dodged death too many times. I am about to go up against an entire army with no reinforcements. There will be no returning from this mission. Besides, there is no help you can offer me at this point that I can use."
"Hey, Chiron protested, "who was responsible for getting the Calrigans to drive the Tyfirians back? You never know how I could help next time. C'mon Link. You have to let me help kick Ormek's butt."
"I said, no Chiron!" Link shouted, "You are not a soldier, now go home and hope Ormek does not come after your ranch." Chiron shook his head in frustration and stormed off.
"It is for your own good," Link said under his breath as his friend walked away. Link turned north and stared of into the distance blankly until a mercenary approached him with a horse. Link mounted and sped off after the Tyfirians.
He did not get far before he heard the clopping hooves of a horse approaching him from behind. Link turned to see Chiron on a horse galloping towards him. Link kicked his horse and the animal picked up speed, but he could not lose the rancher, he was too good of a rider.
"I told you not follow me," Link growled once Chiron eventually pulled up along side him.
"Look Link," Chiron protested, "back in the desert, I promised I would help you defeat Ormek. That's a promise I mean to keep."
"I made a promise too," Link said calmly, "to your parents. I told them I would bring you back safely. Chances are, I will not be coming back from this fight and if you come with me, you will share the same fate."
"You can't stop me from fighting for my country," Chiron said coldly. "I'll go after the Tyfirians without you then. Don't you see Link? I'd never be able to live with myself if I stayed behind."
Link looked intently at Chiron, one of the only friends he had. He saw a fire in Chiron's eyes that he had seen in Ormek's eyes as well. It was the fire of hatred. Link could see Chiron wanted revenge on the man responsible for decimating his homeland and for that reason, Link knew he could not bring Chiron with him. He did not want the thirst for revenge to consume his friend the same way it consumed Ormek.
"I know you want to help," Links said somberly "but I must face Ormek by myself. He is far more dangerous than you realize. There will be a time for you to fight for Cyntir, but this is not that time."
"I will not go back," Chiron said resolutely.
Link shook his head and said, "Then you leave me with no other choice." He then forced his horse to collide with Chiron's. He pulled back his fist and planted a punch in Chiron's chest. The Cyntirian tumbled of his horse and landed on the ground with a thud. Link then drew his sword and smacked Chiron's horse with the blunt side of his blade. The steed bolted and Link kicked his horse's side and sped off, leaving Chiron with no means to follow him. By the time Chiron managed to get up and catch his horse Link was gone.
"I hope you can understand someday," Link said to himself as his friend dropped out of sight.
Ormek's eyes drooped as his weight shifted. He snapped back to alertness and stopped himself from falling off his horse. The general groaned as he sat up straight. He and his troops had been marching northward for over two weeks with only minimal sleep every night and both Ormek and his men were dead tired. Ormek looked back at his troops and their prisoners and smiled. After the Tyfirians sacked Cantarus they rounded up a few hundred of Cyntirians and took them captive. They would have taken all the Cyntirians, but the Calrigan army appeared before they could get every last one. However, they managed to capture king Latimar, which was the only prisoner they really needed.
"Ormek abandoned his position at the front of the convoy and dropped back to the prisoners' locality. The captives were kept in one mass and were surrounded on all sides by the Tyfirians. Ormek picked out Latimar and scowled at him.
"Mingling with the commoners are we, Latimar?" Ormek scoffed. Latimar did not respond. He just kept marching. Ormek did not feel much like gloating, so he continued on his way to the back of the convoy. From there he surveyed his troops. Fourteen hundred men survived the assault on Cantarus and they had taken about seven hundred prisoners. Though the battle went well, Ormek did not react to the victory like he expected he would. His confrontation with Link at Cyntir castle bothered him. Several times during the fight Ormek felt another presence in his head. The other presence was strong enough to force its will on to him and after Shriek knocked Link out, it almost forced him to kill the hero.
Ormek knew that the other was actually the Triforce of Knowledge. He felt its influence on his mind the instance he took it. It immediately began altering his mode of thinking and was still in the process of doing so, but back at Cantarus it seemed to be fighting him. It tried to change Ormek's code of honor and force him to kill Link while he was defenseless. At that moment he realized how much he had changed and he was no longer certain the Triforce of Knowledge was safe to hang on to.
Still, the Triforce piece allowed him to conquer the whole of Cyntir and such power was not easy to come by. Ormek stared at the golden triangles on the back of his hand and then looked at his captives. He was torn about what he should do. After all, if Cyntir's allies retaliated he would need the Triforce of Knowledge to fend them off.
Ormek stayed at the back of the convoy until the evening when a pair of scouts reported to him. "Sir," one of the scouts said, "We've spotted an army approaching from the northwest. They appear to be Tyfirian, but they are marching under the royal banner."
"What?" Ormek shouted. "All troops have been ordered to refrain from using that banner until..." Ormek stopped mid sentence and considered the possibility that the assumed dead king may have escaped from his cell. Talrid could have easily organized an army to fight Ormek. If that were the case, the approaching army could be a serious threat.
General Ormek rode to the front of his troops and shouted out his orders. "We have spotted an army advancing on our position. All troops are to here by change course and head due east. I am going to investigate. Continue marching until I return. In the mean time Major Lucrus shall lead.
"Do not engage this army unless given no other choice," Ormek ordered Lucrus, who had rejoined Ormek's troops after his run in with Sogos in the Shadow Woods. With that Ormek rode off with Shriek and a scout close behind him.
"Do you think the king got out somehow?" Shriek asked.
"It is possible," Ormek said as he scratched his recently grown beard. "I just hope they do not know we are here." Luckily for Ormek, the region he and his army were currently in was very mountainous, so even though the armies were only a few miles away neither could see the other. In fact the other army was completely unaware of the presence of Ormek's militia.
The scout led Ormek around a mountain to the location of the other army's camp. It took them three hours to make the trip.
"That is definitely one of ours," Ormek said as he peered through the spy's telescope. "However they should not be presenting the royal banner." Ormek contemplated the situation for a second and then removed his shoulder armor. "I am going in for a closer look. You stay here." Ormek ordered the scout. He covered his face with a bandanna and made his way into the camp. Because he was already in uniform, the general had no problem passing himself off as a simple soldier. Ormek blended in with the other soldiers and eavesdropped on as many conversations as he could. From what he overheard, he discovered that king Talrid had indeed escaped and the army he was leading was going after Ormek to bring him to justice.
"It looks as if though I underestimated the king," Ormek said too himself. "It is time I pay him a visit." With his knowledge of typical military camp layouts, Ormek easily found his way to Talrid's tent unnoticed. When he arrived he found the tent was empty. He took refuge in the tent, removed the bandanna from his face, and waited for his opportunity. He stayed hidden in the darkness for nearly half an hour before Talrid strolled into his tent with Colonel Syrus by his side. Ormek leapt out behind the king and grabbed his left arm. He twisted it, forced Talrid into submission, and then pressed a knife up against Talrid's throat, all before Syrus could react.
"What's going on, sire?" Ormek asked cruelly. "Do not bother calling for help or I will cut his throat," the general told Syrus. The colonel froze, still sunned by what happened.
"I have been looking for you Ormek," Talrid said calmly.
Ormek ignored him and looked at Syrus. "I take it then, it was you who released him?" Ormek asked his onetime cohort. "Why?"
"Things were getting out of hand," Syrus answered. "You were never supposed to imprison the king or take the entire Cyntirian population prisoner."
"You treacherous worm," Ormek growled, "I never should have left you in charge of Tyfiria while I was gone. Though I suppose it does not matter now. Cantarus has fallen and I have taken Latimar prisoner. Cyntir is ours Talrid. What do you say? You keep the land we won and I do not have to kill you." Ormek threatened the king even though he had no intention of harming him. He wanted Talrid to rule both Cyntir and Tyfiria, even if he had to persuade him to do so.
"I can not allow an act of treason such as yours go unpunished," Talrid said defiantly. "You will be brought to justice even if I die." Ormek suddenly felt the other presence pressing at his mind and tightened his grip on the knife.
"Don't make me do this," Ormek pleaded.
"You do not have to do anything," Talrid said, "Return Latimar to his throne and put an end to the hatred."
"That, I simply can not do," Ormek said, "Latimar must pay for his crimes against us."
"Then you must pay for your crimes against his people," Talrid rebutted. Ormek unexpectedly found himself contemplating killing king Talrid as his anger grew. His eyes blackened and the space around him seemed to bend.
"I have done no wrong," Ormek said in his metallic voice. Upon hearing his distorted voice, the general realized the Triforce of Knowledge was altering his thoughts again. Ormek struggled to pull the knife away, but it was if he had no control over his arm. "No... not Talrid," Ormek muttered. Syrus saw his chance and attacked with his long sword. Ormek suddenly regained control over his arm and turned Syrus's strike away with a well placed slash with his knife, but freed Talrid in doing so.
"If you will not take the Cyntirians as captives they must be destroyed," Ormek said coldly and kicked Syrus in the gut. Syrus fell back and crashed onto a table sitting in the middle of the tent. Ormek bolted out of the tent and Talrid yelled for the nearby soldiers to stop him. Ormek fended off several soldiers, but was soon surrounded by them. They were about to attack when a loud high-pitched screech sounded through the camp. The soldiers around Ormek clasped their ears and howled as they lost consciousness. The scream fell harmlessly on Ormek's shortened ears and he managed to flee from the camp. Shriek followed close behind, but he was hit by a large rock thrown by one of the soldiers who was far enough away from the fairy's cry to be unaffected.
The stone landed on top of Shriek and crushed his tiny body. Ormek ran back and snatched the fairy off the ground. He then fled up the side of the mountain and managed to disappear into the trees. He climbed one of the trees and held Shriek out with one hand.
"This looks like it's it from me," Shriek whispered.
"You are going to make it. That's an order," Ormek said in a trembling voice. Shriek smiled at the hylian, but did not speak again. A single tear managed to escape from Ormek's eyes. "So, long old friend," Ormek said fighting back the tears. The Tyfirian then hopped out of the tree and ran as fast as he was able until he met up with his scout. Ormek took the time to bury his oldest friend and raise a small mound over his grave. Because of the danger of being caught by Talrid's men, Ormek had to leave Shriek without giving him a proper send off. The two Tyfirians then rode off unseen. Before sunrise the next day, Ormek and his companion overtook their unit. Once he arrived, the general rode to the front of the convoy.
"The army we found is indeed unfriendly," Ormek said to his men. "They seek to liberate our prisoners, but we can not let that happen. Unfortunately they have blocked the path to Tamerec. Now we must deal out an appropriate punishment for the Cyntirians and Latimar. It is time the Cyntirians suffer the way we suffered. To the pits of despair!"