Chapter 5 Part 1: Before the Assault
Note: You are free to skip to Part 2 of Chapter 5. Part 1 is just an extra thing I added.
Telma's Bar
Link entered the bar, accompanied by Gregor and Gerome. The bar was open, with Telma and the usual patrons, Shad, Auru, and Ashei.
"Link! It's great to see you. I haven't seen you for months," said Telma.
"..." (Link). He said he's been kind of busy at Ordon Village.
"So, who are these two men?" she asked.
"..." (Link). Gerome and Gregor. He said they weren't from Hyrule. Then he said that Gregor wanted a drink.
"Well this IS a bar," said Telma.
"Seems kind of shady. I mean it is in a back alley," said Gerome. "Though, I wouldn't mind a drink myself."
"..."(Link). He handed them a few red rupees and a few yellow ones, and said to get whatever they could with that.
"Erm, I'm not familiar with this type of currency. We use gold in Ylisse," said Gerome.
"Don't worry, I'll figure out what you can get," said Telma.
"Um, thanks," said Gerome.
Link walked over to the Resistance table.
"Well, the Hero of Time has returned," said Ashei.
"Actually, he came back a few days ago, asking us about a corpse he had," said Shad.
"Really? Damn, I picked the wrong day to go to Gerudo," said Ashei.
"..." (Link). He asked what Ashei was doing in Gerudo.
"Investigating stories of weird creatures. Found a bunch of their corpses. Something got to them before me," said Ashei.
"That something was Link," said Auru.
"..."(Link). He said he killed the creatures, in search of the missing residents of Ordon Village.
"They're gone? So that's why Rusl hasn't been here..." said Ashei.
"Well he isn't gone. He just left on this big thing to find the residents," said Shad.
"And none of you have heard from him?" asked Ashei.
"..." (Link). He said no. Link then proceeded to tell Auru about the hidden cave at the Zora River.
"A cave by the river? I lead you in the right direction, didn't I," said Auru.
"..." (Link). He said they were planning to attack the Twili Risen at the cave the next day. He asked if they would be able to go, to investigate whatever cryptic things they find.
"Tomorrow in the morning? Well, we don't have anything else to do, other than chasing cold leads on the Fused Shadows," said Shad. "I think we can go. Auru, Ashei, what about you two?"
"Better than going to Snowpeak, or Gerudo. I can go," said Ashei.
"I'm not sure that I'm in a condition to fight," said Auru. "I'm an old man. Older than that middle-aged fellow you brought with ya."
"..." (Link). Link said that Auru didn't have to go, and that it was fine. He told Ashei and Shad that he would meet them at Castle Town's Eastern exit the next day.
Southern Market Street, an hour before sunset
"You know one thing about market places like these at night?" said Gaius.
"Enlighten me," said Lon'qu.
"There are always merchants that are horrible at paying attention to their items," said Gaius.
"Do you seriously want to get captured for taking a loaf of bread, and hiding it in your pants?" said Lon'qu.
"That was one time. And I would have gotten away if Gregor didn't get in my way."
"Don't take anything. Seriously. Hyrule doesn't even use our currency. Gerome saw the vault of the castle. They have these colored crystals instead of gold."
"Crystals, you say?"
"Ugh, why do I talk to you?"
"Hey Lon'qu, look over there by that one bread stand."
"A bread stand. Really?"
"No, seriously, look! That dude with the black cape. It looks like he's threatening someone for money."
Gaius had pointed out a man with a black cape and a ruffian's outfit. He had a sheath at his left side, and was holding a large dagger against a bread merchant. The merchant reluctantly gave the man a purple rupee, two red rupees, and two yellow rupees. Lon'qu surveyed the market street for the Hylian soldiers in the area. Most of them weren't aware of the ruffian, but there was one he was watching the whole thing happen. Yet, he didn't move a muscle.
"Don't these damn guards catch this stuff? One of them is watching it happen," said Lon'qu.
"He just got a load of money. We should follow him," said Gaius.
The thief walked into the side alley, and, coincidentally, the one where that one guard was, the one who was watching him. A few seconds after the thief walked out of sight, the guard went to another guard, and asked him to cover his spot for a minute or so. Then he went into the side alley.
"That guard might be following the thief. I want to see what happens," said Gaius.
Gaius and Lon'qu maneuvered through the crowd into the side alley. There, they found the thief talking to the guard. There weren't any people in the alley, and it was quiet enough for them to eavesdrop.
"That is fifty for you, and fifty for the other guard," said the thief, as he handed the guard the rupees.
"That's it," Lon'qu angrily said.
Lon'qu walked, with heavy footsteps to make his presence known. The thief and the guard turned their heads to Lon'qu.
"Where'd you get those rupees?! From a merchant while holding a dagger to his kneck?!" shouted Lon'qu.
"Mind your own damn business, ya punk," said the thief.
"I'm gonna ask you to leave sir, this is private business-" said the guard.
"So the thief is tipping you and the other guard off? So he can get away with stealing?!" shouted Lon'qu. He unsheathed his sword. "I don't think so."
"I said, mind your DAMN BUSINESS!" shouted the thief, as he thrusts his dagger at Lon'qu.
Lon'qu blocks the attack with his sword. He quickly pulls away and sweeps the thief off his feet. The guard tries to knock Lon'qu away with his spear, but he blocked it with his silver sword. Gaius rushed in with his sword, and cut straight through the long wooden handle of the guard's spear. Then, he swiftly delivered a stern kick to the guard's stomach. The thief got back up, and Lon'qu threw a swift punch to his face. The thief fell back against the stone wall.
"So, what do we do with them?" asked Gaius.
"Leave them. But take the money and give it back to the merchant," said Lon'qu.
"Will do," said Gaius. "I suppose he won't be needing this dagger." Gaius looked at Lon'qu, and wondered why Lon'qu didn't have any objections.
"Why are you looking at me?" said Lon'qu. "Just hurry up and take his dagger."
Chapter 5 Part 2: The Assault
Everyone (from Ylisse) had gathered in front of the castle, armed with swords, lances, axes, and tomes. Zelda wasn't going with them, for reasons that she did not state, not even to Link. Chrom ordered the six soldiers he brought with him to stay as well, and to guard Zelda since she wasn't going (despite Link's argument, in which he said that she could handle herself).
They were waiting for Link to come back with Ashei and Shad. Link entered the castle, as they expected, with the two resistance fighters. Ashei had a black chestplate on, with a matching black rapier. Shad came with a crossbow and a quiver of arrows, as well as a medium sized sack on his back.
The group was ready to head to the Zora River. Out of Castle Town, and into the possibly the a raging fire, or rather, a Twilight.
The Zora River
"That's quite a small platform," Robin said, as he peered over the cliff edge.
"Well, the only way from here now is to go down," said Frederick.
They climbed down the ladder, with Link going first. As each person came down, he readied his sword and shield as he walked into the cave. Once everyone was in the cave, through the narrow tunnel, they arrived in a well-lit room, with a dozen Twili Risen. Link and his allies charged against the Twili Risen, easily killing them, and overpowering the sword skills of them.
"The Twili Risen don't fade away like normal Risen," said Robin.
Link examined one of the bodies of the Twili Risen, closely. He was about to remove the hood and the top cloak of it, but as his fingertips drew closer to it, he felt a surge of soreness, slowly coursing through his hand. Link quickly pulled away and backed away.
"Whoa, what was that," said Panne. "I can see a scent radiating from the bodies, and when you touched it, it started transferring to you."
"..." (Link). He said to just ignore it for now, since it was most likely nothing.
They walked through the much wider corridor, with frequently placed torches. Then, they reached the next room. There were half a dozen archers, aiming at them from an elevated section of the cave, with slopes on each horizontal side. They'd never encountered Twili Risen archers. They had to take cover behind the various boulders, in the rectangular room.
Gaius, Lon'qu, and Gregor pulled out their bows and arrows. The waited to hear the sounds of six arrows shooting, and then aimed. The darkness of the Twili Risen rendered them difficult to see in the dim-lit room. The three of them shot the arrows, but only Gaius hit one of them.
"Dammit, it's too dark to see!" said Lon'qu.
"I think I help with that," said Robin. He charged up his arcfire, and waited for the shots to temporarily cease. Then, he shot his arcfire towards the archers. He took cover, and waited again for them to stop shooting. He shot another arcfire at them, brightening to room with a series of flames.
"I thank thee, Robin!" shouted Gregor, with his heavy accent. "Ready your arrows... ready..." he said, waiting for arrows of the Risen to stop. "Fire!"
The three assassins left cover and shot their arrows at the archers. Three simultaneous hits, all landing within the chest area. At this time, the two remaining archers were close enough to be killed by a larger projectile, such as Robin's magic. Subsequently, Robin rose from cover at the far left side of the room, and shot an arcfire at the two archers. As expected, they were both hit by it, and were burnt to a crisp. Everyone arose out of cover, and continued through the room. Ashei noticed there were two Twili Risen bodies against one of the stairs.
"Shad, Link, look at those two bodies. They look like they were killed before we came in here," said Ashei.
Shad closely examined the bodies. To the side of the stairs were a few fruits and small goblet with a crack in it. He noticed that there were three sword wounds in each risen, and he looked through each wound. The blood was dried up, if there was any. Then he took one of his arrows and cut the risen. A cut, but no blood. The blood seemed to be drained out.
"There's no blood in them. It's like they were prepared for something. And with the food, it might be... a ritualistic sacrifice. That's just a guess though," explained Shad.
"We have more pressing matters, other than what the risen do in their free time. We should head through the next corridor," said Chrom.
The Third Room
The third room was much larger. The ceiling was higher than expected, considering that they are underground. At the far end was a large altar, with what appeared to be a coffin. The room was filled with at least two dozen Twili Risen, walking aimlessly in their black hoods and swords. At the altar was a much taller Twili Risen, with a full-body black cloak and two tomes in his large pockets. He turned around from the altar when he noticed his Twili Risen focused on Link and company.
"Do not hurt them!" shouted the taller Twili Risen. He walked to them, with two Twili Risen in dark purple to black armor and spears. "Could it be, the other two blades?"
Chrom and Link knew that he meant Falchion and the Master Sword. The man in the cloak pulled away his right side of the cloak, revealing a sheath with a sword in it. He pulled out the sword, revealing the dark grey blade, and with a thin, nearly transparent layer of black smoke discharging from it. Link then felt the same feeling he had when he touched the dead Twili Risen before, but this time, it was more subtle.
"The Master Sword, the Twilight Sword, and the Blade of the Unknown have come together," said the risen.
"Blade of the Unknown?" asked Chrom.
"You don't know the story? Few people know about the Master Sword, and even less know of the other two. One is the Twilight Sword, believed to have been destroyed in the Interloper War. I've recovered it, as you can see. Then, there was another sword, where all that was known about it was what it looked like, through a sketch," explained the Risen. "That is, your sword."
"It's called Falchion," said Chrom.
"Yes. There is no doubting it. That is the third sword," said the Risen, condescendingly.
"Spare us the history lesson. What are you?" uttered Robin.
"We are nothing," said the Risen.
"Really, what are you?!" Robin frustratingly said again.
"We are the works of the Twilight, for he, the Great Zant, created us," said the Risen in the cloak.
"..." (Link). Hearing "Zant" shot in Link's ears. He killed Zant in the Twilight Realm, after he went crazy. Because of this, Link swung his sword, with the tip at the Risen's neck. He said that Zant was dead, and there was no way they could have been created.
"I suppose, but 'twas before his demise. We are the Noth Grashta. I am Lord Noth Grateau," said Noth Grateau. "He took us from our home in the Twilight Realm. He tortured us, played with our minds. We were the playthings of him. Then, with one being, he discovered, the first Noth Grashta. Skilled in swordplay and other areas of combat. We were his personal army. Then, he stumbled upon the Twilight Demons. At that point, he no longer found us useful."
"Isn't this where he kills you in the story?" asked Lucina.
"Not entirely. One of us tried to kill him. We thought we had him. But alas, we only killed a fake, who wore his armor. He came to me, and gave me a piece of his mind. He then sentenced us to something worse than death: banishment from the Twilight Realm," answered Noth Grateau. "We tried living in the Light World, but again, we encountered his Twilight Demons, and left
"How were you able to thrive for so long without being known?" asked Lucina.
"We've been dormant. Slowly, I've been able to create more Grashtas. I've made about one hundred of them," said Grateau. "It's a grueling process."
"Why'd you say 'the Great Zant,' before? He tortured and deformed you, and then banished you," said Lon'qu.
"He lives through us. His remaining spirit courses through our bodies. And finally, he can receive the great compensation," said Grateau.
Noth Grateau walked over to the altar, and everyone reluctantly followed. He picked up a thin red book.
"These are the words he's said to us, in from his deathly state," said Grateau.
"Hey, can I take a look at that?" asked Shad.
Grateau handed the book over to Shad.
"He speaks of an adversary, who caused his untimely demise. A man who could turn into a wolf," said Grateau. "We are to achieve his compensation, and find the man who killed him."
"A wolf? That sounds like you Link," said Robin.
"..." (Link). Link stood silently, since he knew that he killed Zant, and that if Zant's spirit remained through the Noth Grashta, then the whole thing was really Zant's plot for revenge. He whispered in Chrom's ear that they needed to leave, instantly.
"Well, it seems like we've just intruded on a religious gathering. I think it's best if we leave," said Chrom.
"Oh, you're not going anywhere," Grateau sinisterly said. "Restrain the man in green. Kill the rest."
"Everyone get down!" shouted Robin.
Robin swiftly took out his TriArc tome. The Grashta created a perimeter around them, and were ready to kill them. Everyone, except the Grashta, crouched down to the ground, and Robin unleashed the TriArc. A centralized beam of arcwind, arcfire, and arclightning. It consisted of a central shot of wind, a fire spiraling around the wind, and rods of lightning around the tubular wind and fire beam. He used the devastating attack, and rotated his body and cleared the entire room. Noth Grateau was burned and blown back against the wall above the altar.
"Run!" shouted Chrom.
Everyone sprinted out of the room, with Link behind them. Once they were out of the room, Grateau rose back up. He pulled out a throwing knife and gripped it hardly, and the blade was entailed in twilight crystals.
"I will have you... one way or another," he said.
Grateau threw the knife, and Link had just made it out of the room. He still had his shield out, and it wasn't on his back. The knife hit him in the back, cutting into his upper torso. He tripped and fell forward, with a gasp of pain. Chrom and Robin noticed almost instantly, and came to his aid. Robin pulled the knife out. Panne transformed, and smashed the rocks above the tunnel leading into the altar room, cutting off access to it. Lon'qu and Gregor picked up his body and carried him. They dashed out of the cave without any interference from the Grashta.
Once they made it out of the cave, they struggled to get him up the ladder, but Frederick was able to support Link and carry him up.
The placed him down on the grass, and he was cringing in pain.
"Sumia, can you use your healing stave?" asked Chrom.
"I can try," she answered.
She used her healing stave on Link, but it did the opposite of healing him. He cringed in more pain, and even screamed.
"It's not working, it's hurting him," said Sumia.
They were struggling to find ideas to stop the pain and heal him, but it was all too late before it happened.
Link stopped cringing, and lied still. He took one last breath. Then, his body broke into black squares. The squares reformed into a new figure.
A wolf.
And Wolf Link has returned.
-Kaz