Chapter 5: Ambush

Link bid his farewells to Sophos, and then began walking back towards the inn to prepare for his departure the next day. Link wasn't disappointed at all when the captain said that'd he have to work for his passage across the lake; over the last four years, Link had grown used to doing grunt work in exchange for transportation or other favors.

Link was relieved when he made it back to the inn without running into any of the pirates. He had left the inn unarmed, and his magic power wasn't that great. Although he did possess skills in the art of offensive magic, he was no adept. His magic abilities were nothing compared to some of the other magicians he had either heard stories of or had fought himself. He only knew the basics, such as how to conjure up fire and ice. He did know a few advanced spells, such as the holy Light Arrow, which would create an evil cleansing arrow of the purest light; he also knew how to transform his sword into the Great Fairy's Sword. Both of those spells were very taxing on his magic power, however.

Upon entering his room, he saw a note laying on his bed. Link unfolded the note and read a message from Romani, asking him to meet her in the alley behind the inn. "Seems she needs some help moving heavy supply crates. Figures that jerk Kent wouldn't help her with it." Link reequipped himself, and then headed downstairs. It was almost noon, so the inn was pretty much empty for most folks had headed off to work.

Link made his way to the back exit and began to open the door and head outside. However, something outside the window had caught his eye. He had seen a face staring at him through the window before quickly moving away. The face hadn't belonged to Romani. Getting very suspicious, Link took the note out of his pocket and reread it. Upon closer inspection, he noticed something that he had not noticed earlier. "This isn't Romani's handwriting," he whispered quietly. Link had a suspicion that Kent was up to something.

Opening the door slowly, Link stepped out into the dusty alley, bracing himself for any possible attack. Stacked against the wall opposite of Link were five or six wooden boxes with a crude drawing of a purple bottle on them. He assumed that they were a certain brand of alcohol.

"How's it goin', runt?" Link turned to his left and saw Kent leaning against the wall with a fat cigar hanging loosely from his mouth. Link immediately noticed Kent's battle axe resting against the wall. Standing behind him were two gruff-looking pirates with cutlasses hanging from their hips. "I got word from my boys down at the docks that you're some sort of treasure hunter. Not surprisin', what with that fancy equipment of yours."

"Your boys?" It suddenly dawned on Link that Kent was the leader of the gang of pirates of Derter. "So, you've been spying on me, huh?" Kent and his men only smiled wickedly as Link slowly withdrew his sword and shield.

"Hehe. Indeed I have. I'll make a bleedin' fortune if I can find a buyer for those weapons of yours." Kent took a long drag from his cigar, and then slowly lifted his left hand and pointed at Link. His henchmen immediately unsheathed their cutlasses and ran towards Link, hoping to murder him in one go.

Link almost laughed at their stupidity. These pirates were severely underestimating him. Although he was only sixteen, Link was an incredibly experienced swordsman. Ever since childhood, he had been perfecting his own unique self-taught style; the sword master he had trained with in Termina had allowed him to progress far more quickly than he would have on his own. These unskilled pirates would be easy for a skilled warrior such as Link.

As they charged towards him, Link jumped to the left and then rolled, coming up behind one of the pirates. Link quickly executed a spin slash, the Gilded Sword easily slicing through the man's back and severing the spinal cord. As the incapacitated man fell to the ground, Link spotted the other pirate's blade coming straight at him. The pirate's attack lacked precision, however, so Link easily knocked it aside with the Mirror Shield, and then slammed it into the pirate's face.

Before Link could perform the killing blow Kent sneaked up from behind and tripped him with a sweep kick. Link's eyes widened in shock as he saw Kent's axe falling towards his head. He instinctively rolled to the left and avoided the attack. Quickly jumping to his feet, Link swung his sword in a horizontal slash towards Kent. Unfortunately, Link dropped the blade as he felt a stinging slash across his left, unprotected wrist. The remaining henchman had managed to get a hit on Link.

"Damn it! I really need to buy a pair of gauntlets or something."

Taking advantage of the situation, Kent began attacking at Link furiously, forcing him back against the wall and away from the sword. Kent smiled wickedly as Link's back touched the wall. "Damn, kid. You're one hell of a fighter. Too bad-" He was cutoff mid-sentence as Link conjured up an icicle and lanced it through Kent's left leg, causing him to fall to one knee.

Link ran past him and snatched up the Gilded Sword. Noticing that the other henchman was running towards him, Link threw the sword underhanded at the pirate, striking him dead center in the chest and nailing him to the wall. Not wasting any time, Link ran towards Kent whom had just stood back up. Link jumped up and locked his legs around Kent's neck. Before the man had time to throw him off, Link formed an icicle around his fist and rammed it into the base of Kent's neck. He died instantly.

Link jumped back to the ground, and he willed the magical, bloody ice around his hand to melt immediately. He retrieved the Gilded Sword and then sheathed it. "Damn," Link muttered. "From what Kent said earlier, he seemed to be implying that he has spies posted all over the town. If so, it won't be long before they find out and come looking for me." Link returned to his room at the inn and gathered up the rest of his belongings. "I can't stay hear any longer. They'll find me for sure." He sighed deeply and leaned against the wall. "They're either going to hunt and kill me, or I kill all of them. This is going to be one long day."

Had Link looked out the window, he would have seen Schala fly passed it. Just like Kent's spies, she too had been watching Link's every move.

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Author Note: Wow, I finally managed to update quickly for once. Anyway, there's only one more Derter chapter left (and it's a really long one (over 7000 words)) before Link begins his journey across the big lake. That is when the story really starts to pick up. Expect it to be posted either this Sat. or Sun.

Read & review, please. If you have any constructive criticism that may help me improve, feel free to inform me. :)