Chapter Seventeen
The scene that met Link was anything but welcoming. The war had just been an echo of a memory, but now it seemed as fresh as ever. Two days had passed since he's been out here, fighting against Blox and Eril. Two days since he'd last seen Princess Zelda's face or Xanath's even. Two days since he'd been free from his unjust captivity. For a moment he paused, looking around himself, a living being amid the death and destruction. The acrid stench of both rotting werewolf and Hylian carcasses was almost too much for him. Even more disgusting were the scavenging birds squabbling over their remains. He felt a great pity. Most of these individuals didn't have a choice when it came to the war. They couldn't back out of it, not unless they wanted to suffer a cruel consequence. But was this fate any better? Link found himself questioning his own fate. To save a land where people wouldn't hesitate to kill him. Even though he had several reasons not to save them, he found himself trapped in an unescapable web. It was his fault...all his fault. 'Even if I have to die', Link found some solace in that thought.
A motion to his right immediately caught his attention. It seemed he wasn't the only living person out here after all. He turned his head in the general direction, and found himself staring at a familiar face. 'Xanath?'
"Link, is that you?" the man squinted his eyes, but in a second or two he gave out a delighted cry. "Goddesses, it is you! You're alive." Xanath ran over to him, his arms spread apart, before grabbing Link in a tight bear hug. Link felt as if his rib cage would shatter under the pressure.
"Nice to see you too," Link gasped. Xanath finally released him from his grasp, and Link took in a few gasping breaths. "How did you...survive out here."
"Oh you know me, foraging food here and there, taking shelter in some abandoned houses..." Xanath feigned to cry. "I thought of you dead. After that arrow and the werewolves." Link felt a phantom pain in his neck.
"Thanks for reminding me," he growled. He shook his head afterwards. "Tell me, what happened out here." Xanath became enraged.
"Vonndrake was the cause of this war. He's some sort of werewolf lord or something. Whatever he is he ordered an assault on the land of Hyrule. And Paer, that bastard, was working under him all along. That's why he betrayed us both," Xanath snarled, a vein visible on his forehead. "I swear, if I get my hands on that little rat..."
"Are you the only one out here?" Link questioned. Xanath nodded unfortunately. Link feared he would agree. "Vonndrake must have requested that everyone be captured. But, for what reason and why."
"Whatever reason I doubt it's going to be a good one," Xanath worried, his voice grave. "Link, what have you been up to these past days anyways?" Link shook his head.
"Now's not the time to worry about that," he told him, and the man seemed upset that he had even asked. "I'm going to fight this Vonndrake fellow. I mean, this war, it was my fault."
"It isn't your fault, you barely played a role in any of this," Xanath said. Link snarled to himself.
"Xanath. It is my fault. I...I killed his daughter," he confessed, hating himself. "Because of me, everyone's suffering." Xanath was mortified. At first he refused to believe it, yet the look on Link's face told him otherwise. His shock dissipated into sympathy.
"In a way it wasn't," he said, his voice reassuring. "When you killed Nisih that day, you didn't know she was the daughter of Vonndrake. So how can you blame yourself for something you didn't know at that time?" But Link didn't feel any better. He turned his back to Xanath and looked up the sky. It was already swelling with dark clouds, and the first low rumbles of thunder could be heard.
"We better get going, before the rain washes away my only hope of saving everybody," Link muttered.
- - -
A loud wailing had began all around the werewolf camp. It wasn't the werewolves that were responsible for the cries, but the captives. Not a single person had been given water or food to eat, and conditions were deteriorating. Some of them were even perishing, and their bodies were being gladly consumed by the werewolves.
"They're growing impatient my lord," Paer said, eyeing a couple of werewolves dragging out a dying man and devouring his body. "At this rate their bloodlust will be beyond control." But Vonndrake looked optimistic. He knew what he was doing.
"Let their bloodlust grow," he said, looking at Paer, "for when the time is right, the feast will be a glorious sight to behold." An unsettling smile tugged at his lips. "Then the land will be ours, at last. I can see it now, breeding humans for meat. And with the werewolves disillusioned by their craving there will be nothing they won't do for me." Paer liked the sound of that, even though he felt rather queasy from the breeding humans for meat plan. With a nod, Vonndrake departed from his den and walked onto a balcony overlooking the whole site. With his mere presence the werewolves grew silent, and stare at their leader with upmost respect and loyalty.
"I understand that you grow impatient with hunger," Vonndrake started, scanning his followers like a hunting hawk. "I am not a cruel leader. You'll get your reward when the moon reaches its apex, and the feeding shall commence. But I first ask of your patience and cooperation. Send a message across the winds. Lure the one I desire from the shadows." And, as if by an invisible cue, the werewolves began a mournful howling. It was different from the morning's cry. It carried a different note in it, a tempting, taunting note. Satisfied, Vonndrake retreated into his den once again, and smiled when he saw the complete lost look on Zelda's face.
Note: Poor people, but in a way they deserved it for what they did to poor Link. Yes, I be cruel that way. Are they really going to end up as dinner for the werewolves? You obviously know the answer to that...on a more random note: I am NOT a vegetarian. What I have written, especially in the conversation between Vonn and Zelda, does not reflect any animal-rights beliefs...just wanted to share that with you guys. As if you cared!
