Chapter 3. Forbidding

It took me a few minutes to realize just what the hell was going on. I had been manhandled by half a dozen large men and forced bodily into a...contraption. I didn't know what the contraption was, until it was too late.

Then I started struggling like mad.

"Look, just relax," Tetra said. She was clearly trying to sound reassuring, but she was smiling like a shark and doing more harm than good. "If you really want to get into a dangerous place like the Fortress this is the only way to do it. Trust me, we do this all the time."

"To yourselves or to your enemies?" I demanded.

"Don't worry about it! It'll be a piece of cake!"

"Iwant a last request!" I shouted, still not reassured.

"Is everyone ready?" Tetra called. There was a chorus of "aye"s. She turned back to me. "Never you fear, kid. We're pros. We're going to launch you good."

I was very tempted to respond with an obscenity, but considering my life quite literally depended on these people I bit my tongue.

"Three!"

I struggled even harder.

"Two!"

I resigned myself to my fate.

"One!"

I gritted my teeth and shut my eyes.

The catapult snapped and I was flung into the air.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

I'd fallen off of stuff before. Often, it was intentional. But being thrown like ball was quite a new experience, and not one I enjoyed. The wall of the Forsaken Fortress rushed up to meet me, and despite my best efforts I struck it, hard, face-first.

For a moment all I saw were brightly colored lights flashing in front of my eyes, and could feel nothing but the horrible sickening pain that seemed to be coming from every part of my body at once. Then there was even more pain as I hit the water with a sharp smack.

Luckily the frigid cold of the water brought me to my senses in time to push myself to the surface and gasp for breath. I swam to the closest bit of solid matter I could see and pulled myself onto the floor, groaning.

My head was throbbing, my ribs ached and my kneecaps felt lucky to be intact. I manage to push myself into a sitting position and check for blood, but my skin seemed whole. That was one good thing at least.

But my sword was gone. It had probably fallen when I hit the wall. I started muttering curses to myself, when suddenly something buzzed my rear end and I heard a voice say, "Your sword landed all the way up there? Damn, I'm sorry. My aim must have been off a little bit."

Thoroughly freaked out I reached into my back pocket and pulled something out. A green stone, glowing slightly, tied with a leather thong. As I stared at it, the voice spoke again and the stone vibrated from it.

"Heh heh, the look on your face! Priceless!" I recognized the voice now. Tetra.

"What the hell?" I asked.

"Heh heh," she chuckled again. "I slipped this into your pocket just before we fired you over there. It's no ordinary stone either."

"I noticed."

"Good, so you're smarter than you look. I can see what you're doing through the stone, and obviously you can hear me through it. I'll be able ot keep tabs on you and try to make sure you don't kill yourself. I need this back once you've saved your sister though, so don't go losing it, understand?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." I slipped the stone around my neck and tucked it into my shirt. Better than keeping it in my back pocket anyway. "So where did you say my sword was?"

"Close to where they're keeping your sister. Think you can find the way?"

"You said it yourself, I'm smarter than I look." I scanned the Fortress. I couldn't see much from where I was, but I got a vague idea of my surroundings and headed up the nearby staircase.

I was still in a lot of pain, but at least the stinging from hitting the water had faded. I was going to ache for days, there was no doubt about that, but I didn't have time to nurse my hurts now. Once I got Aryll and got home I could take a few days off to heal. Not before then.

In order to get up to where my sword and Aryll were, I needed to get inside. Unfortunately the only door I could see was across a wide empty stretch, continually swept by searchlights. I could probably sneak around the edges, but there was still a good chance I'd get spotted.

"Link," Tetra's voice came from the stone. "Good news. There don't seem to be any people on the island."

"Then who's running those searchlights?"

"Looks like bokoblins."

"Goodie."

"You'll probably want to take out the searchlights before doing anything else. I'm pretty familiar with monsters, and they tend to be narrow minded. If you get caught in the searchlight you're done for. No searchlights, no problem."

"Makes sense," I admitted. "But I've got to get inside first."

"Hmm. Any boxes around?"

I looked. "No. Couple of barrels though."

"Good enough. Hide yourself in one and try not to move when the light touches you."

"You're kidding, right? No way they'd fall for that."

"Trust me, kid. They're just monsters. They're dumb."

"You'd better be right..." I said nervously.

"I am."

I found a barrel with nice wide slats and hefted it over my head. I could still see, but, if Tetra was right, no one could see me.

I started waddling along the edge of the platform. Every time I saw the light pass close I stopped moving and let the barrel drop. Slowly but surely I made my way to the door, and when I finally got there, after what seemed like hours, I chucked the barrel into the water and yanked open one of the giant doors before anyone could react.

Tetra kept quiet as I made my way through the fortress, for which I was grateful. There were times when I had to sneak along, much closer to the moblins than I wanted to be, and one sound could have meant the end. The only time she spoke was when I got close to the first searchlight, and that was a good thing since I was lost.

The searchlight was manned by a bokoblin, who sprang from his post when he saw me. I remembered too late that I didn't have my sword, but there were a couple of sticks nearby and I grabbed one and wailed on the bokoblin with it.

It snapped in two after only a fet hits, but it did it over the bokoblin's head, killing the thing. The searchlight automatically shut down, and I moved on.

The Fortress was set up in a circular shape, with a ring of connected rooms around a mostly empty space in the center. Once I figured this out I was able to find the other searchlights easily enough, and every time I went outside I made sure to look for the seagulls and orient myself.

There was more sneaking, more fighting, a little trouble with a moblin statue that shot lasers, but nothing I couldn't outrun. I was starting to realize just how late it was, which was probably not good for Aryll. Not to mention the fact that I was getting worn out. Which was also probably not good for Aryll.

Once the searchlights were taken out I had more freedom of movement, and got as close to the place where my sword had landed as possible. Luckily it was right in front of the door where Aryll was being kept. Probably where Tetra had meant to launch me.

There wasn't a walkway across to the area in front of the door, it looked like it might have broken off, but there was a small ledge along the wall. I eyed the drop for a moment, then took a breath and pressed myself flat against the stones of the Fortress.

Inch by inch, step by step, breath by breath, I made my way across. Aryll. Aryll was waiting.

Finally I made it to the floor, having successfully avoided looking down as I crossed the ledge. There was a bokoblin guarding the door, but I ignored it and ran straight for my sword.

I heard the bokoblin make a startled noise and moved forward, so I snatched up the sword, keeping a tight grip, and braced for battle. It had a sword too, and a shield, but it was no smarter than its fellows. I finished it off as quick as I could and went straight through the door.

The room was huge, with a ceiling that stretched up farther than I cared to look. At the far side of the room was a cage holding three girls. I only got a glimpse of the other two, a blonde with a lot of jewelry and a brunette in a tattered dress, because Aryll was standing by the window.

"Aryll!" I exclaimed happily.

She ran to the bars closest to me. "Big brother!"

I started across the room toward her, with a vague idea of hacking at the lock with my sword, when suddenly Tetra's voice shouted from under my shirt.

"Link! Look out! That giant bird is-"

The rest of her sentence was drowned out by a loud raptor scream from above. I looked up, and discovered two things. 1, that the ceiling was not high, it was non-existent; and 2, that bird was even bigger than I'd thought.

I choked on a scream and tried to run, but something snagged the back of my tunic and lifted me off my feet. I felt myself rise in the air with a jerking movement, and could see the giant bird's feet beneath me so I knew I was in its beak.

Aryll was screaming, I was too stunned to scream, but as she shrunk away beneath me I did the only thing I could. I started struggling and cursing and trying to break free.

The bird carried me out of the room entirely, and when I saw the sharp stones and crashing waves beneath me I wisely decided to stop trying to fall.

What happened next happened fast. The bird brought me over to a small room at the top of a tower, where a man stood on a balcony. He was large, both tall and heavy, dressed in black robes of an unusual style. I caught a glimpse of bright red hair and beard, olive skin, and a hooked nose, before the man jerked his head and the bird copied the motion. Tossing me into the air.

It took awhile to realize I was being hurled through space once again. Once I figured it out I gave up on my honor and screamed out loud. I was going to die anyway. If I landed on something solid I would be killed for sure, and if I landed in the water I would probably be knocked out and drown.

I closed my eyes. I didn't want to see the stars flying past anymore.

Then I hit, water, and my world filled with pain and cold as I sank into blackness.

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Notes From the Author

I'm sorry to make you wait so long for something so short, but my brother had finals and my new classes are hard. Next chapter will be longer (though I can't promise quicker).

I love Tetra.