Link pulled back on the reigns of his horse and slowed it to a stop. He had been on the trail of Ormek for over two weeks. Though most of the Tyfirians in the army were on foot, Link had not managed to catch up with them. He could have caught them within in a matter of days, but the Tyfirians made it to the mountains first and the stony earth they passed over made them difficult to track. However, Link discovered a Tyfirian army earlier that morning and for that reason he thought his journey may soon be over.
Link followed the soldiers for the whole day, but he stayed far enough away that he would not be detected them. He could not see General Ormek or any of the Cyntirian prisoners from his position though. The hero followed the Tyfirians until they stopped marching about four hours after dusk. He waited out of sight until most of the soldiers had gone to bed. He then carefully made his way into the camp. Link ducked behind several tents to keep himself hidden. Because of the small number of soldiers on guard duty, he had no problem exploring the camp, but he could not find Ormek anywhere.
After fifteen minutes of searching, the Hyrulian finally came across a familiar face. The man was none other than Colonel Syrus. He was confident the colonel would know the whereabouts of Ormek, so Link crept up behind Syrus seized his arm, twisted it behind his back, and held a knife to his throat.
"Tell me where Ormek is," Link demanded. Syrus was shocked at first, but he relaxed once he realized it was not General Ormek.
"You're the second person this week who managed to infiltrate our camp," Syrus chuckled. "I guess I should put more men on guard duty at night."
"Tell me where he is now," Link said emotionlessly as he pressed his knife against the Tyfirian's throat.
"I don't know where he is," Syrus choked.
"You lie," Link growled.
"No," Syrus gasped, "The general is no longer working for Tyfiria. He took one of our armies a few days back and disappeared into the mountains." Link looked deep into Syrus's eyes and could find no falsehood in his words.
"I thought you were one of Ormek's most loyal lackeys." Link said, "Why did you not go with him?"
"Ormek's insane," Syrus said as he tried to pull his neck away from Link's knife. "That Triforce piece has changed him. It's been nothing but trouble since Ormek got it."
"Then we can agree on something," Link said as he sheathed his knife. "If Ormek is not here, I have no reason to stay." Link turned and was about to leave, when Syrus called out to him.
"After you escaped from the desert, Ormek told me you were the only one who could defeat him," Syrus said, "Is that true? Can you do something to stop him?"
"If I knew where he was, I might be able to beat him, yes." Link confirmed.
"Then I may be willing to help you find the general," Syrus said, "Follow me." Link drew his knife again and pressed it against the colonel's back.
"Betray me and you are dead," Link said grimly. Syrus then led Link deeper into the camp and into Talrid's tent. The Tyfirian king was looking at map spread out over a table and was surrounded by several Tyfirian officers.
"Sire," Syrus said as he entered, "This is Link. He was at the Temple of Knowledge when General Ormek stole the Triforce. He has come in search of the general. He says he can defeat ol' Ormek."
"Really," Talrid said intrigued by such a notion, "how exactly do you plan to do that?"
"I only plan to take the Triforce of Knowledge from him," Link answered, "After he loses the Triforce he will lose his power."
"Yes, that would make sense," Talrid said with a chuckle, "but how do you plan to get the Triforce from him?" Link showed Talrid the Talon of Soarlec and explained its function. "Are you sure you can pull this off?" Talrid asked.
"No," Link said grimly, "But I have to try."
"Excellent," Talrid said with a smile. "Now if we could just find Ormek we might be able to stop him from carrying out his stupid plan, whatever it is. Ormek infiltrated our camp not three days ago. We have been tracking him and his men, but they have managed to cover their trail very well."
"Tell me about it," Link muttered.
"We know he is heading northeast, but to what destination we know not. There are no cities, Tyfirian or Cyntirian, in that direction."
"What is over there?" Link asked. Talrid motioned for Link to come to the table and look at the map. Link did as the king requested and looked at the northeast corner of the chart.
"Just a bunch of mountains and the pits," Talrid said.
"What pits?" Link asked.
"The pits of despair," Talrid replied. "They are a group of craters filled with an acidic liquid we call gibdo blood. They were used by the Cyntirians for the mass executions of my people many years ago."
"That is the place," Link shouted, "That is where Ormek is going."
"Why would he go there?" Talrid asked confused."
"Ormek took hundreds of Cyntirians from Cantarus as prisoners," Link answered. "I faced him during the battle at Cyntir's capital. He told me he planned to exterminate the Cyntirians. If Ormek is looking for revenge, I can see no better way to get it than by throwing the Cyntirians in those pits."
"No," Syrus said under his breath, "Is there any end to Ormek's madness. How did he go from simply conquering Cyntir to trying to exterminate an entire nation?"
"If Ormek does what you think he will, Link," Talrid said, "Cyntir's allies may no longer hold back simply because we used to be slaves. Killing those civilians is the worst thing Ormek could do. Things could not be worse."
"Yes they could," Link said grimly, "The Cyntirian king is one Ormek's prisoners." Talrid sighed and immediately ordered his officers to ready the troops for departure.
"We can not let Ormek execute Latimar," Talrid said to Syrus, "But by the time our men catch his, it may be too late. We must catch up. Syrus, you know Ormek better than anyone. I want you to take Link and head to the pits of despair. Do whatever is necessary to keep those Cyntirians and Latimar alive." Syrus nodded and left the tent with Link close behind. Link retrieved his horse, while Syrus did the same, and the two former enemies rode off into the night.
Syrus took the lead, as he was the one who knew where the pits of despair were, though he had never actually been there before. Link felt uneasy riding with a Tyfirian. He had fought on the Cyntirian side for so long, he had begun to think of the Tyfirians as his enemies. Link and Syrus rode for several hours before they stopped to rest. Their journey was filled with an awkward silence. Both men were filled with distrust for the other. They rode for two days without uttering a single word. Eventually Link grew tired of the quiet and spoke.
"What was the deal with those pits?" Link asked.
"The Cyntirians dug several passages into the craters. Whenever they thought the slave population was too large, they would round up random slaves and lock them in the passages. Every few weeks or so, the level of gibdo blood rises and if anyone was in the tunnels when that happened, the gibdo blood would burn the flesh off the bones of the victims. Occasionally, a victim would not die, but would be turned into an undead creature. We don't know why that happens though."
"That is awful," Link said in disgust. "Did you ever know anyone who was killed that way?"
"No," Syrus shook his head, "but King Talrid lost his brother that way and Ormek lost his grandmother and uncle."
"How did those two turn out so different?" Link asked, not expecting an answer. "I mean, Talrid seems like he only wants peace, but Ormek is obsessed with revenge."
"Well," Syrus started, "Ormek has been through a lot more than most Tyfirians. When he was nineteen, back when he was still a captain, he was in charge of defending a mountain pass leading to the new founded Tyfirian capital. An unexpected Cyntirian army attacked suddenly one day and caught Ormek and his men unaware. Just as Ormek was about to lose the pass he started a massive avalanche and blocked it, but he killed most his own men in the process. The Cyntirians on the other hand captured Ormek.
"During the first war, all captured Tyfirian rebels were shipped to an island in the Sea of Gidd. On the island there was a coliseum where the Tyfirians were starved, beaten, and then forced to fight various beasts and some time each other for the amusement of the Cyntirian nobles and their allies. Most Tyfirians lasted only lasted a couple months before they succumbed to death, Ormek lasted two years. He watched countless Tyfirians tortured and forced to fight until they died. With each Tyfirian that Ormek watched perish, his resolve to survive increased. He swore he would avenge his companions' deaths. However, the longer Ormek survived, the more determined the Cyntirians became to kill him. They rigged many of his fights in his opponent's favor, but Ormek's tenacity was unbreakable. He beat everything they threw at him.
"Eventually the Cyntirians' determination to humiliate and kill Ormek backfired. You see, Latimar was hoping to build and alliance with Acromiar, which as you probably know is the strongest military nation in the world. Latimar wanted his son to marry the princess of Acromiar in order to solidify the alliance. However the Acromiarian king would not allow such a union until Latimar's son proved himself to be an able bodied warrior. For the king of Acromiar respects nothing more than a great warrior. Latimar decided to have his son fight Ormek. Of course it was not a fair fight. Before the duel, Ormek was taken to the coliseum and the Cyntirians nailed his feet to the ground.
"I don't know how Ormek did it, but he still won the fight. He didn't kill the Cyntirian prince, but he effectively disgraced him in front of the kings of Acromiar and Cyntir. Latimar wanted to execute Ormek for humiliating him, but the Acromiarian king would not let such a warrior be killed in such a disgraceful way. Still, Latimar wanted someone to pay for his son's disgrace and he ordered the execution of every other Tyfirian on that island and Ormek was forced to watch as his companions were brutally killed one by one. Then Ormek was forced to fight gigantic creatures again and again, until the Tyfirian rebels finally discovered the island. When we attacked, the Cyntirians panicked and retreated. When we found Ormek, he was chained up, scarred, beaten, bleeding, near death, and alone. He was the only survivor.
"After that Ormek's thirst for revenge intensified. He said he was responsible for the executions of his fellow Tyfirians. He never managed to forgive himself for wining the duel against Latimar's son. He always used to tell me if he had lost and died, the hundreds of other Tyfirians would have lived. After that, he dedicated his life to defeating Cyntir, but after the war was over, he felt that he had not avenged the deaths of those on the island or his grandfather. He simply could not forget what he saw on that island or during his time as a slave.
"One day he remembered a page of ancient writing his grandfather gave to him in the Temple of Knowledge before the old man was killed. He traveled to Hyrule and translated the text. That's how he discovered the Triforce of Knowledge and how to get it."
Link was awe struck with the tale of Ormek's life. The man was haunted by his past; similar to the way Link was haunted by his. Link always felt responsible for allowing Ganondorf to get the Triforce of Power and conquer Hyrule and the fact that no one could remember what happened or understand his pain only increased his inner torment. At that moment Link felt a strange kinship with Ormek, the man he had fought against for over two months. He and Ormek were not as different as he originally thought. They were both haunted by their pasts and they both fought for what they thought was right, but Ormek's mind was clouded with anger and hatred and that made all the difference.
"You know Link," Syrus said as he slowly became more comfortable with the mercenary, "it wasn't Ormek's plan to kill the Cyntirians or even take them as slaves, at least not initially. He did want to conquer Cyntir and imprison their king and his nobles, but he only wanted to exile the common folk to Nicrosia. But when he got the Triforce of Knowledge, he changed. His anger increased and his hatred was renewed. It was like he was a different person, at times it was almost like he was being controlled. I know you must think I'm crazy, but I don't know if Ormek is entirely in control of himself." Link recalled how at Cantarus, Ormek seemed to be the very embodiment of evil one second and then an honorable warrior the next.
"No, it makes perfect sense," Link said to Syrus. "Ormek could have killed me at Cantarus, but he did not. Though, during my fight with him it did seem as though someone or something was trying force its will on Ormek. Because I am alive we can be sure at least part of the honorable side of Ormek is left. There must be, otherwise the Cyntirians he has with him will all be doomed.
"Get them below," Major Lucrus ordered his men as they arrived at the pits of despair. Lucrus was in charge once again. Ormek had left the army just before they came to the pits. He said he needed some time to think and headed for another mountain peak.
The Cyntirians fought their captors as they were dragged into the passages, but they ultimately were unable to avoid entering their new prison. The passages were semicircular and wrapped around the inside of the pit. They wound down through the crater until they plunged into a pool of gibdo blood. Strong iron bars were used to complete the walls of the passages, so each prisoner had an excellent view of the pit and the level of the eerie green gibdo blood.
Once all of the Cyntirians were in the tunnels, the Tyfirians closed an iron gate and locked it. The key was brought to Lucrus and he laughed cruelly as he received it.
"Finally, these Cyntirians are going to get what they deserve," Lucrus chuckled. Lucrus and his men then patiently waited for the return of General Ormek. They waited for a little more than two hours before their commander-in-chief returned. He looked as if he had been in a fierce battle. He was barely able to keep his eyes open and walked like every ounce of his energy had been taken from him.
"Sir," Major Lucrus reported to Ormek and handed him the key to the pit passages, "All of our prisoners have been herded into the crater tunnels. Now we just have to wait for the pits of despair to erupt and the Cyntirians will all be toast!"
"We need not wait," Ormek said weakly. He pulled a glass vile containing a yellow powder from his belt and showed it to Lucrus. "This compound, when mixed with gibdo blood causes a violent chemical reaction," Ormek explained, "If we were to throw it into the pits, the acid would start to convulse and our captives would be destroyed."
"Why wait then?" Lucrus asked, "Toss it into the pits and let the Cyntirians suffer the way our ancestors did."
"I can not do that," Ormek said softly, "I can not give up my last advantage quite yet. Lucrus, round up the troops, I must speak with them." Lucrus saluted and did as he was ordered. Minutes later, Ormek addressed his men.
"This is the end of the line," Ormek declared. "At this time, I order all men to return home. Our campaign against Cyntir is over, we have failed." The soldiers all spoke out confused.
"But sir, we captured every major city in Cyntir," one of the soldiers called out.
"Yes," Ormek agreed, "but all of the people we took from those cities are going to be returned, if they have not been already."
"Why? How?" a different soldier asked.
"Because Talrid will not keep them," Ormek answered.
"Talrid?" the soldiers said amongst themselves, "but Talrid was murdered by the Cyntirians. You told us so."
"No," Ormek chuckled cruelly, "It was a lie. I removed the king from his throne and said Cyntirians murdered him in order to increase enlistment numbers. It was necessary for the invasion. However, Talrid is now free. He was the one leading the army we saw last week and he is coming after us. No, he is coming after me. He seeks to punish me for my crimes. All of you were simply following orders and you will not be held responsible. I am releasing you from my command to prevent the spilling of anymore Tyfirian blood. We have all lost enough friends as it is." Ormek lowered his head in remembrance of his fallen comrades, but he thought of Shriek the most.
"Because I could not control my anger, Shriek is dead," Ormek thought to himself.
"I will not waste your lives to protect my own!" Ormek told his men, "I am willing to accept the consequences of my actions." Ormek loathed admitting his transgressions to his men, but he felt free for the first time since he stole the Triforce of Knowledge, free from his lies.
Some of the Tyfirians tried to advance and capture Ormek at this point; others stood in the way, swearing allegiance to the general, the rest were unsure of what course of action to take.
"All Tyfirians move out!" Ormek yelled. He tried to yell again, but his voice died out. He slowly walked to the edge of the pit and held out the yellow compound. "Those of you still loyal to King Talrid should know I can activate the pits now with this compound and kill all the prisoners including Talrid. If you do not leave now or try to take me with you as you vacate the premises, I will drop the vile and sentence the Cyntirians to death. I happen to know Talrid would not be pleased if that happened. Go back to Talrid's side and tell him if I see so much as a single soldier approaching, I'll exterminate my prisoners. Those who are loyal to me, I order you to run. Live to fight another day. I may have failed in bringing justice to the Cyntirians, but you may still do so. All those undecided, leave now and keep your good names clean. Now, all of you leave me to my end!"
Eventually all of the Tyfirians left. Some headed home. Some went in search of Talrid's army. Others fled into the mountains swearing they would complete the work Ormek started. Only Major Lucrus stayed behind, though he hid himself from Ormek. He did not plan to leave until the Cyntirian prisoners were dead.
After all his men were gone, Ormek sat on a rock and rolled up the left sleeve of his Tyfirian blue coat. He revealed a mark that the Cyntirians branded him with when he was sent to the island in the Sea of Gidd.
"I have failed them," Ormek said to himself, "I have failed you Gramps. I allowed my newfound power to corrupt me. Now I have lost my position in Tyfiria and I can no longer do anything to help the Tyfirians survive. I have rekindled the hatred between Cyntir and Tyfiria. War with Cyntir's allies will not be far behind and I will be unable to help my people stop them. I have condemned my country, all because I could not control the Triforce of Knowledge."
"There is only one thing left that I can do. Wait for the hero and defeat him. With his power added to my own, perhaps I may be able to defeat Cyntir's allies with out the use of armies."
Link and Syrus arrived at the pits of despair on the evening of the fifth day after they left Talrid and his army. To their surprise they came across a group of soldiers headed away from the pits. Syrus ordered one of the soldiers to tell him where he was going.
"General Ormek has ordered all troops to go home," the soldier said.
"What?" Syrus gasped.
"I must say, this makes defeating Ormek a lot simpler," Link said, "You, soldier, where is Ormek now?"
"He's back at the pits," the soldier answered, "but don't even think about going after him. He has the Cyntirians trapped and ready for execution. He has also developed some sort of chemical that will allow him to activate an eruption in the pits. If he spots you he'll set the pits off.
"There are only two of us," Link said, "He will never see us coming."
"Suit yourselves," the soldier said, "It's no skin off my nose if you guys end up killing the Cyntirians, just as long as I don't get blamed for it." The soldier took off, as did several of his companions and Link headed for the pits along with Syrus. They moved slowly to prevent themselves from being seen.
After they scaled the mountain around the crater they spotted Ormek sitting at the edge of the pit, staring blankly into the pool of gibdo blood. It seemed like Ormek was unaware of Link and Syrus's presence. Link withdrew the Talon of Soarlec, but before he could activate it Ormek spoke.
"That would not be wise Link," he said. "If you were to hit me with that now, I might tumble into the pit with this." Ormek then revealed the vile containing the yellow powder. "If this mixes with the gibdo blood, all of my captives will perish. Though I do not see why I should not rid myself of them now. True, they will prevent Talrid from coming for me here, but eventually the pits will erupt on their own and I will have lost my only advantage. I should just kill them now and run before Talrid gets here with his army." Ormek stood up and held the compound over the pit.
"So long Latimar!" Ormek yelled.
"Wait," Link called out. Ormek turned to face Link and pulled the vile back. "I know you do not really want to kill those Cyntirians," Link said calmly. "I know what the Triforce of Knowledge is doing to you. I know that it is filling your mind with evil. Get rid of it and end this madness. It is not too late to make things right. Set the Cyntirians free."
"I have a better idea," Ormek said as he removed a key from his belt. "I will release all of the Cyntirians, including Latimar, if you agree to a duel to the death. We both get one weapon to fight with. The winner takes the loser's Triforce piece." Link did not like Ormek's proposition, he was about to decline, but Ormek continued to speak before he could answer.
"The duel is your best possible course of action," the Tyfirian said. "If you refuse, I'll kill the Cyntirians and come after your Triforce anyway, so you gain nothing by rejecting my proposition."
"Why do you want the Triforce of Courage?" Link asked suspiciously.
"I have lost my command over the troops of Tyfiria," Ormek answered, "I need another way to defeat Cyntir's allies. They must be eliminated before they attack Tyfiria. If I had the Triforce of Courage I could use magic. I could conjure spells strong enough to wipe out entire armies."
"As I suspected," Link thought to himself, "he plans to continue his conquest even now. I can not duel Ormek, if I lose he will take my Triforce piece and then no one will be able to stop him. However, I can not let him destroy the Cyntirians. I have no choice"
"Fine," Link said grudgingly, "but you have to release the prisoners first."
"As you wish," Ormek agreed. He tossed the key and the compound to Syrus. "Be a good boy and let the dogs out of their cage." Ormek scoffed. Link nodded to Syrus and the colonel set out to release the Cyntirians.
"Now then," Ormek said, "Choose one weapon and we will begin." Link drew his trusty sword and Ormek unsheathed one of his own blades. The two warriors circled each other for several seconds before Ormek launched his first attack. Link blocked the blow and countered, but his strike was also deflected. Link was a little stunned that he even managed get an attack off, but he quickly put those thoughts out of his mind.
Link and Ormek then continued to exchange blows. The battle did not go as Link expected. Ormek seemed slower and like he actually had to think about his moves before he performed them. It was as if he was a normal warrior, still Link could not manage to get passed the general's defenses, but Ormek could not get passed Link's either.
Syrus ran the entire way to the gate to the pit tunnels. He was about to unlock the gate when he was blind-sided by Major Lucrus.
"Where are you going with that key, traitor?" Lucrus growled. Syrus got back to his feet, but the major attacked before Syrus recovered completely. The colonel managed to draw his sword and the two Cyntirian officers started a duel of their own.
Link dodged Ormek's sword and then lunged at his enemy. The edge of Link's blade grazed Ormek's arm and cut through his chain mail. Blood started to trickle down his arm. The Tyfirian growled and continued to fight as if he hand not been touched. Ormek swung relentlessly at his opponent, but Link held his blade up as his enemy's sword crashed against his over and over again. With each blow, Link found it more difficult to maintain his grip in his weapon. Soon the hero started to back peddle in an attempt to get some distance from his foe. Ormek's quick slashes slowed as he tried to follow the hero. Link used the longer time between blows to strike back. He got a lucky blow and managed to knock the sword out of Ormek's hand. The blade skidded across the ground until it stopped on the edge of the pit. Link put his back to Ormek's sword and slashed at the general fiercely. Ormek jumped back as Link put himself between the Tyfirian and his weapon.
Though Ormek still had one blade resting on his back, he did not draw it. Link was impressed, a lesser man would have drawn his other sword, but Ormek was sticking with the one weapon he chose for the battle.
Ormek carefully approached Link. The hero swiped at the Tyfirian to keep him from retrieving his sword, but as he lunged at his enemy, Ormek sidestepped and grabbed Link's wrist. He twisted it and Link dropped his sword. Ormek kicked the blade away and the two resorted to hand-to-hand combat.
Ormek had a definite advantage at this point. Link was not well trained in unarmed combat, but Ormek was. Link tried to punch the Tyfirian several times, but Ormek deflected all of the Hyrulian's blows, while he landed several of his own on Link's jaw. Link fell back with blood streaming from his nose and mouth. He retreated and picked up Ormek's sword, Ormek then dropped back and retrieved Link's. The two warriors then continued to fight awkwardly with weapons they were not used to. Link found Ormek's blade was lightweight and reacted to the slightest movement of his wrist. While Link's blade was much heavier than what Ormek was used to, but the general adjusted quicker than his adversary did. Link soon found himself in a retreating position. He fell back to a narrow ledge, which hung directly over the pit. Ormek charged and brought down Link's sword on his own. The blades locked and both hylians attempted to over power the other. Eventually, Link won the battle of strength and knocked his sword out of Ormek's hand. However, the general immediately grabbed Link's wrist and twisted the blade from his hands. Link ran back to where his blade fell and picked it up. The two warriors were back where they started.
Lucrus and Syrus were still fighting at this time. Lucrus was tiring quickly, but Syrus remained strong. Lucrus came to the realization he could not beat the sturdy colonel. In an act of pure desperation, Lucrus pounced on Syrus. He managed to knock him over and nab the vile containing Ormek's compound, but Syrus did not notice. Syrus put all of his strength into flipping Lucrus past his head. The major crashed near the brim of the pit and rolled until he careened off the edge.
Lucrus screamed as he splashed into the gibdo blood. The acid poured into his lungs and ate away his respiratory system, while his skin slowly melted off his bones. The acid dissolved the cork of the vile and Ormek's compound then mixed with the gibdo blood. The pool of acid began to bubble and foam as the level of the acid began to rise. Soon massive pillars of the corrosive liquid shot out of the pool and the entire mountain quaked.
Syrus cursed under his breath as he unlocked the gate and freed the Cyntirians, he then ran from the mountain. The newly freed prisoners rushed out of the tunnels, each Cyntirian looking out only for himself. Many of the captives were trampled as they tried to escape or were crushed by the debris falling from the collapsing passages. Latimar tried to get his subjects to move aside for him, but they ignored his authority. Because of his girth, Latimar was unable to keep up with his fleeing people and slowed down those who were behind him. The Cyntirians panicked and pushed their king down. His own subjects then trampled him to death.
Unaware of the death of the man he hated more than any other, Ormek continued to duel with Link on the edge of the unstable pit. Link was tiring quickly and knew he could not beat Ormek unless he tried something unexpected. He noticed that the convulsions of the pits had substantially weakened the earth the two men fought on. In a desperate attempt to win the duel, Link backed up and put all of his strength into a downward thrust and plunged his blade into the weakened earth. Once he pulled the sword out, the ground broke apart and the two warriors slid down the inside of the crater. Link landed on ledge about six feet above the rising pool of gibdo blood while Ormek landed on a rock encircled by the acid.
Ormek was trapped, the only way off the rock was onto Link's ledge, but it was too far for Ormek to reach. Link saw his chance and whipped out Soarlec's Talon. He recited the ancient chant and the talon was surrounded by flame. A beam of fire shot at Ormek and began the extraction process. This time Ormek received no help, for all of his of his allies were spent. Before long a golden ray of light shot out of Ormek's body. It rose straight up into the sky and then suddenly changed direction. It then headed southwest towards the Temple of Knowledge. It then sealed the gate to the secluded part of the Sacred Realm forever. With its task finished, the Talon of Soarlec crumbled and fell to the ground in pieces.
Ormek removed the gauntlet on his right hand. He and Link both saw that the symbol of the Triforce was gone. Ormek simply sighed and dropped his head. With his mission accomplished, Link laid himself across the ledge and offered his hand to Ormek.
"We are finished here," Link called out. "Take my hand and we will get out of here."
Ormek sheathed his sword and somberly said, "I have betrayed my people and condemned them to fighting a war against Cyntir's allies, a war, which they can not win. I have lost the only opportunity I had to redeem myself. I am undeserving of your help, Link."
"You released the Cyntirians and kept your honor," Link said boldly. "I would be honored to save your life." Link awaited Ormek's response eagerly as the level of gibdo blood rose rapidly.
"No," Ormek yelled, "I must be held responsible for my evil deeds. I am not deserving of mercy. Farewell Link." Ormek then saluted Link. The hero pulled back his hand and backed away from the ledge. He was torn between staying with his enemy and leaving. Only seconds later, a pillar of gibdo blood shot out of the pit and blocked Link's view of Ormek. When the acid returned to the pit, Link saw only the rock his adversary once stood upon covered with the green acid.
"Good bye Ormek," Link said softly, "I too wish we could have met under better circumstances." The hero turned and climbed out of the pit as fast as he could. He got out of the crater with time to spare. By the time the gibdo blood poured over the rim of the pit, Link was already half way down the mountain.