Chapter 19

"Take them back," Horacio said to the translator, sharpening a hunting knife taken from one of the Moblins. "Move fast, and once you're out of the woods, try to catch up with the other group. I'm looking for the missing guys. I'll meet you at the castle." He turned and strode into the thick mildewy depths of the forest.

"Wait!" Link yelled after him. Horacio stopped, turned his head, and put his finger up to his lips. "I'm coming with you," Link said more quietly.

"What?" Tael gasped.

"You don't have to come if you don't want to," Link snapped. "But I'm going."

"Hurry up," Horacio said with urgency. Tael frantically looked back and forth.

"Ok, I'm coming too," he replied. "It's not my fault if we get ourselves killed."

"Don't worry. If it really turns out that bad, I won't be able to blame you anyway."

The three plunged down a spongy slope and zigzagged through the white rubbery mushroom stalks. Eventually the quiet sounds of the group faded into nothing and they were surrounded by lonely darkness. Tael's purple light illuminated the increasingly strange mushrooms in almost terrifying ways. Shadows swayed across their vision like dark creatures prancing around them.

The green and white mushrooms gradually gave way to black, gnarled stalks of differing lengths with slightly glowing, deep blue caps. Reddish moss hung down from the edges, and here and there Link spotted vines covered in thorns tangled around the stalks.

If Dark Link were to strike, this would be the worst place. It was night, and Dark seemed to do all his work in the dark. Link wasn't sure if light would even be able to penetrate the thick ceiling of mushrooms during the day. Suddenly, he felt a cold hand grab his shoulder. He gasped and spun around, wrenching from the rough grip.

"Relax. It's just me. We need to stop to rest," Horacio said. His eyes were drooping as if ten-pound weights hung from each. Link wasn't tired at all, but he would rather stop and rest with Horacio and Tael than have them collapse behind him and be all alone. "You've just been healed by the Great Fairy," Horacio wheezed. "I don't have as much energy as you. We've already gone enough miles for the day."

Link sat on a short toadstool and sighed. While waiting for the humans to group together Rosaria had told him that the Moblins had come from this area. Something must have scared them off. It wasn't hard to believe. That place was like another world.

He felt his eyes drooping like Horacio's had, and a sneeze erupted from his lungs. Through the foggy haze over his eyes, he could see Tael and Horacio lying motionless on the ground below. He felt as if he could fall asleep just then, but he knew he had to stay awake to keep watch since those two were asleep.

Keep...your eyes...open...just a little...longer...

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Moblin Village, year 102

"You can open your eyes now."

Sandi gave a toothy grin as Baro's rough hands softly left her face, and she opened her eyes. Instantly her expression drained away and was replaced by shock.

"Happy anniversary," Baro whispered in her ear.

In front of her was a circular cave, filled with an inch-deep pool of clear water covering a layer of colorful, smooth stones. Large white mushrooms sprouted from the water, each one a few inches taller than the last. They formed steps up to a huge toadstool with a bright green cap almost touching the smooth ceiling. A smile spread over her lips once she got over the initial surprise.

Baro helped her up the steps carefully. She was pregnant, and the village elder had told them the child was to be a boy; he would be born next year. For their anniversary dinner, Baro had chosen only the finest venison and boiled it with forest mushrooms and gravy until it was as tender as he could get it. He had bought the best wine he could afford, and he could only hope Sandi would be satisfied.

"Ohh," she said in a soothing tone as they came level with the mushroom table and saw the dinner set upon it. "Honey, you know I don't need all this."

"But you deserve it," Baro said, guiding her into her seat. "Have you thought about a name for our son?"

"I was trying to decide between three: Rolen, Firen or Gruth."

"Gruth," Baro said, "is a fine name, fit for the finest soldier in the Moblin army."

Sandi giggled. "Then Gruth it is."

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When Link awoke, his eyes revealed nothing more than when he was sleeping. It was pitch black, wherever he was. The next thing he noticed was the smell. It was like rotten carcasses mixed with elephant dung. It was as he gagged that he noticed the last thing: he was in a hot, scratchy burlap sack up to his neck, seemingly dangling from something; he couldn't reach the ground.

It was no use struggling, there were ropes tied tightly around the outside of the bag, restricting his movement to nothing. He released a tiny whimper as he tried to adjust his uncomfortable position.

There was a quick scratching sound and an orange flame leapt up in front of him, illuminating a wrinkled, thin Moblin with white hair. Link let out a yelp of surprise and wrenched his little pod side to side, helpless. The Moblin let out an almost friendly laugh, using his match to light a candle on a table nearby.

Link was hanging against the wall of a small, rickety cabin that seemed to be leaning over to one side. He noticed that Horacio was tied up in another bag, but he was still asleep. Where was Tael? The old Moblin said something in the rough, snorting, barking dialect Link had gotten used to hearing by now.

"I'm sorry, I don't speak Moblin."

"He commented on the fact that you're finally awake," Link heard Tael's voice say from somewhere in the cabin. The fairy said something in the Moblin's tongue and got a small grunt in reply. "I told him you don't speak his language."

"You speak Moblin?" Link asked in confusion. "Why didn't you say so before?"

"It didn't come up. I know a lot of different languages, but I didn't want to brag."

"Then where are we?" Link questioned. He heard Horacio stir next to him.

"What the - " Horacio mumbled.

"Don't freak out," Link said. "He not going to kill us. At least, not yet..."

"I tried to threaten him by telling him about you killing numerous Moblins in Amathar. He laughed," Tael said, coming into view on Link's right. "He said 'serves them right.' I asked what he meant and he said he broke away from his tribe fifty years ago because he was sick of the things they did to the humans but couldn't do anything about it."

"Is he trustworthy?" Horacio asked.

"So long as you don't try and hurt him, you should be ok," Tael said. "He tied you up for his own protection in case you tried to do something stupid. I told him you guys were safe, but he insisted you be kept secured until you had all the information. Now that you do, will you promise not to attack him?"

"Of course," Link said. Horacio took a few seconds longer, but finally he gave in. Tael relayed the message to the Moblin, who gave a crooked smile and then undid the ropes binding Link. Once he thumped to the floor and wriggled out of the sack, the Moblin got to work on Horacio's.

"Now," the Moblin said through Tael, "my name is Freid. I live here by myself on the border of Morathin swamp, apart from the rest of my race. I understand you're trying to get to the other side of these woods?"

"That's right," Horacio said to their fairy translator. "We were travelling through the forest last night. That's the last thing I remember. We need to reach the other side so we can get to Myrennia Castle."

"Well, it's too dangerous to go through the woods. That's Fungistul territory," Freid said, shaking his head. "You would've been captured by them last night if I hadn't found you. Their black-and-blue mushrooms release spores that make you drowsy. They collect anything caught in their woods in the morning."

"Who are the Fungistuls?" Horacio asked. "I've never heard of them."

"Very dangerous creatures. They look harmless enough, but unless you're a mushroom, you should keep clear."

"So what do you suggest?" Link asked.

"Go through the swamp. The Fungistuls don't come near. That's why I live here, besides the fact that it used to be an old Moblin village."

"Really? What happened to it?" Tael asked, making sure to say it in Hylian as well so Link and Horacio understood.

"Not sure. If you really want to find out, there's a temple located in the heart of the swamp. My ancestor was one of the priests, so he had his own quarters there. If you can find the old medallion he kept in his room - "

Tael cut off abruptly as Freid grabbed Link across the chest and held him in a headlock with a knife against his face. The Moblin had said something else, but Tael was silent.

"Tael, what did he say?" Link asked frantically, shocked at the Moblin's sudden change.

"He said 'if you can find the old medallion he kept in his room, I'll spare the boy.'" The color drained from Horacio's face at the last few words.

"You should never have come with me," he said to Link and Tael, restraining himself from jumping at Freid. The Moblin yelled something, and Tael's voice shook as he recited the order.

"He wants you to come back by tomorrow morning with the medallion," he said. "Otherwise..." Tael's voice cracked and he was silent. Horacio froze in place. "Hurry up!" Tael yelled.

"How will I know where to look?"

Freid said something else in a rough, low voice.

"He says there's a boat behind the house and wishes you good luck finding the medallion yourself, if you can manage to hold the boat together long enough to get there," Tael sadly relayed to Horacio. "As for me, I'll stay behind and make sure he stays here. You'd better hurry up before he changes his mind."

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