Chapter 10

Link's back crunched into the loose rubble at the bottom of the shaft, a mere five feet down. He winced, waiting for something to happen, but the sounds continued as normal. Tael hovered down worriedly, but Link reassured him with his eyes, holding a finger up to his lips.

Another roar echoed through the cave, and Link shifted his position to see where exactly they were. The small rocks and boards underneath him started tumbling, and he noticed to his surprise he was sitting at the top of a hill of debris in a very large cavern. Before he could do anything, his body was skidding down the huge mound, and it was all he could do to keep from tumbling head over heels.

All of a sudden, he whacked against something and stopped, piling up small chunks of rock behind him. He coughed in the cloud of dust, then blinked and looked up into the warped face of a Moblin. The 8-foot tall creature, part dog, part pig and part demon, was holding a large metal rod with a Glode rock attached to the end somehow.

Link would've lurched backwards if he had been in a better position. But, being trapped between the Moblin's legs and a pile of rubble, and being so shocked that his lips wouldn't move, he could only helplessly look up at the creature. His chest had strange characters written on it with white paint, and he was wearing leather pants covered with rusty chain mail.

The Moblin looked Link over with his large red eyes, nodding his small tusks approvingly. He kicked Link in the side to flip him over, and Link clenched his teeth in pain. It was impossible to try to fight or escape; the Moblin had a strong advantage, both with his height, strength, two good arms, and the fact that he now had his foot on Link's back.

After a long minute of waiting, the foot moved off, and strong arms tied Link's hands together with a sturdy piece of rope. What could the Moblin possibly be planning to do with him? Suddenly he was lifted and flung over the Moblin's shoulder. Where on earth was Tael? He lifted his head and tried to find the familiar purple glow, but the fairy was still hiding.

Walls and a ceiling appeared on either side of them, and he watched the pile disappear around a corner. Finally he gave up and watched the rocky, dusty floor pass by as he was carried like a potato sack into the depths of the mountain, listening to the sounds of chanting and wailing get closer, the heavy thump of the drum beating faster.

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Tael peeked out from behind a large rock. The flickering, orange glow from the Moblin's torch was illuminating the entrance to a small tunnel at the edge of the cavern. It was slowly fading. He knew he should have done something, but he couldn't bring himself to move from his safe little hiding spot.

Link is in trouble! Tael, get your butt off this rock and go help him, he was thinking. But his body was shaking too much; he had no control over it. He noticed the soft purple light on the rocks suddenly flicker a little, and it dimmed. Even though he was a fairy, he needed water just like Link. He was dehydrated, and so his light was fading; his wings were failing him.

Staying put would eventually lead to sitting in complete darkness, and he wouldn't be able to find his way out. He strained his wings, trying to force them to move. But it was no use. He watched as the glow from the Moblin faded still more. His only choice was to use his legs.

But fairies never WALKED! He hardly used his legs at all, and he would look ridiculous stumbling along like that. He refused to submit to such torture and humiliation! He bit his lip, in a fierce battle with his own mind, one side urging him to help Link, no matter if he looked stupid doing it or not, the other side arguing that he wouldn't even be able to run with such wimpy legs.

"Well, there's only one way to find out, isn't there?" He suddenly said out loud, taking a step off the rock and instantly tumbling down the hill, bruising himself multiple times on the rubble. Finally landing at the bottom, he was in pain, but he was awake. Forcing his thoughts away, he sat up, carefully stood, and then took a step.

He lost balance and fell sideways, his eyes filling with tears as he watched the orange light fade into blackness. He was going to rescue Link if he had to crawl there!

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The Moblin suddenly came to a halt and dropped Link on the ground. Link came back to reality and examined his surroundings. Humans! There were about fifteen humans sitting in the small dirt room, mostly men, but a few women and children as well. They didn't look quite as happy to see Link as he was to see them.

There was an iron clang behind him, and he spun his head around to look. Bars. A large gate of iron barred the entrance to the room. The Moblin stood on the other side. Link instantly took on the expression of the other people in the room.

He was in a prison cell. Again. This one was made of hard-packed dirt, and there was a Moblin guarding it. But to look on the bright side, there were people with him. He turned around to face them.

"So...where, exactly, is this?"

A skinny, short man with dirty, stringy hair (that pretty much summed up most of the group's appearance) said something in a gruff, angry dog kind of voice, in a strange language Link didn't understand. The rest of the group stared vacantly. One child whispered something to what Link assumed to be his mother.

Link looked around uncomfortably. Finally, he had found someone to talk to other than Tael, and they didn't speak Hyrulian. He started wondering what Tael was doing right now.

"This is Amathar, city of Moblins," came a harsh, raspy voice from behind him. Link turned to find a new Moblin - this one smaller than the rest - standing at the gate. "You've stumbled upon the Great One's day of entertainment."

Link was surprised to find a Moblin speaking his language. Did all the Moblins here know it?

"What are we here for?" Link demanded, standing up. The Moblin laughed.

"You...ARE the entertainment. I've come to choose the next few participants."

"Participants for WHAT?" Link said through the iron bars. There was a fierce roar, and a burst of cheers and applause. Through it, he could hear screaming. The Moblin at the gate continued smiling at him.

"You're in good shape, compared to the rest of the group. You'll be more satisfying to watch being ripped apart with the tusks of a boar...you, you, and you. You're up next." The Moblin said, pointing to Link and a young couple sitting in the corner. Link stared at the Moblin in shock as the man and woman came up behind him and the Moblin unlocked the gate.

"I'll be takin' this, now. No weapons allowed; we don't want the event to go wrong!" The Moblin took Link's sword while holding a spear pointed at his side. He had no choice but to submit. The group exited the cell, and after the Moblin was done locking it, they proceeded down the hallway.

Link looked back at the hopeless group of humans behind. If only he could have done something, they could've had a chance...

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