Chapter 12! Read and review, comment and criticize without flaming and enjoy!

At dawn they left their camp, stamping out the last of the glowing cinders and erasing their activity as best they could. As they walked, Link recognized several landmarks, but felt depressed when he realized they weren't the same as he remembered. By noon, they had crossed Kakariko Gorge, which had expanded since Link had last rode over it, astride Epona, on his way to Hyrule Castle.

"Why don't we sleep in the day and move at night?" Link asked during one of their breaks, sweating under the bright sun. "It would be easier to hide if anyone came our way."

"It's not safe for weary travellers like us at night," Dagg began to explain, mopping his forehead with a rag. "There are monsters that roam these fields and they're deadly."

"I'm sure you've heard of the foul beasts that awaken from the earth under moonlight; the remains of soldiers and wolves that died in battle?" Sheik interjected. Link nodded, letting his mind go back to the Arbiter's Grounds and outside Hyrule Castle.

"Yes, I know of them. I encountered a pack of them once before, and they were admittedly difficult to deal with… at first," Link said. Dagg closed his satchel and shouldered the tents; Sheik took their pack and went on ahead. "I think that we could take them, if we encounter any."

"If I was your age and Sheik had more experience," he began, to which the Sheikah frowned and shot him a nasty hand gesture, "not to mention you can't wield a sword, or any other weapon really, then yes, we might be able to defeat them. They've been strengthened by Ganondorf's dark magic"

Damn him... May the Goddesses- he stopped, his mind oddly blank. If they truly did exist, why have done nothing as of yet? Why would they do anything against him now if they haven't? Link thought, frustrated. "I just wish we could do something about it, drive out the fear somehow."

The people have become like I have now; they have lost hope, felt damned by the heavens and the Gods of old. If only there was something, something they could fight for… he thought, biting the inside of his cheek as a fresh waved of frustration and despair ran over him. Dagg put a heavy hand on his shoulder and shook him reassuringly.

"We will do something, and Ganondorf will be defeated one day. But, that day is far off and right now you need to get back to your old self," he said with a tight smile.

"And if you two would stop blathering like old maids, we would get there faster," Sheik muttered just loud enough for them hear, several paces away, his hands behind his head as he walked. They had finally reached the same general area as the entrance to Kakariko. It was in a different place Link remembered, much farther up than before. He felt a twinge of fear at the base of his spine and he nearly jumped when Sheik grabbed his arm. He hadn't realized he'd been standing there, unmoving. They hurried along, Link occasionally stealing backwards glances at the huge wrought iron gates. Several Bulbins patrolled the area just behind them, their low grunts reaching his ears. Luckily they didn't see or pay any attention to them.

"Hold on a minute," Dagg said, reaching behind his back, taking out a bandage from his bag. It was pinkish, stained from Link's blood. He proceeded to wrap it around his head, covering his ears as best he could.

"Good one, Dagg; if we come across anyone out here, they'll think you have a head wound and they can't see your ears," Sheik nodded in approval. "Now that we're closer to two settlements, we'll eventually meet up with someone, whether we want to or not."

Link would look back on that moment in a few minutes and curse Sheik's blathering mouth. Speak of the devil; not to far off from the path was a group of dark-skinned men, sitting under a large tree. Link immediately saw them for what they were-a group of thieves. They appeared to be sleeping so Dagg continued on without thinking. Sheik followed after him, Link hesitantly looking over his shoulder at the sleeping thugs. He turned, intent on catching up to the others when someone dropped down from the tree, smirking.

"Why hello there, young man?" he said, grinning. "Are you lost or something? Oh, you're hurt; come sit with us for a while and rest your weary bones," he added, seeing the blood-stained cloth around his head.

"I don't want any trouble," Link said, his eyes narrowing. "If you would just let me be on my way..."

"Nice sword," said the man in his ear. Link looked over his shoulder; his smiling face had been replaced by a leering sneer. "If you give it to me, I might be persuaded to let you go."

"That old thing?" Link muttered, seeing the other thieves stirring. "How about you have a look at it," he finished, slipping his arms out from his pack. Luckily, he'd had enough sense to sheath it on his back instead of inside his bag beforehand and he drew it as he turned, aiming for the man's shoulder. It never reached it's target; a resounding clash rang through his left arm, vibrating all the way down into his bones. The theives' leader had seen the attack coming and drew his own blades to defend himself. They were two-and-a-half hand swords, curved and sharp and dyed a dull red at the hilt.

"You shouldn't have done that," the dark man said with a sigh, his smile faltering. "If you had just listened to me..."

He hefted Link's sword aside and kicked him in the chest, throwing him backward several paces. Unable to keep his footing, he fell on to his backside. The man was in front of him in a second, sneering again as his companions went through Link's things. "I'm gonna smack you around a bit, because of all the trouble you caused me-"

The thief's monologue was cut short suddenly, by a medium sized stone crashing into his face. He shouted, once, his hand going up to his face. Link saw a rivulet of blood run down his face. The Hylian looked behind him; there, on top of a rise was Sheik, tossing a rock in a hand, looking cocky. And where the hell were you five minutes ago? he wondered to himself as he stood. Dagg came into view then, heading straight for Link. He stopped next to Link, nodding at him to leave. By then, the other thugs had stopped rummaging around Link's pack and were looking on stupidly.

"You dare strike my face, impudent rat?" shouted the bleeding man. Sheik shrugged and threw the stone in his hand. The thug anticipated it, batting it aside with a swing of his sword. Link saw his face then; a shallow cut spouted blood just below his right eye. He thought the man was insane. "Boys, draw your weapons, we have ourselves a fight."

They ran up to their boss, drawing daggers and sharpened poles with blades in the ends. His face twisted into a leer, and he laughed. "A kid with a sword, a useless ninja and a weaponless old man. Not much of a fight, nor the type of opponent I like, but I'll make an exception just for you," he said, pointing at Sheik with a blade. The Sheikah looked at him with a bored look on his face, twirling his weighted chain in a large, lazy circle.

"Talk is cheap, and so is your mother," he said calmly, raising an eyebrow. Link looked back at the dark man several yards away from him, a vein pulsing in his forehead, surrounded by equally powerful, (if not stupider), men and thought it was going to be a long day. Dagg sighed, shaking his head. Out of the corner of his eye, Link saw him turn his body, his muscles flexing as he took a stance, his large hands palms up in silent challenge.

"That's it, you little bastard, I'm gonna gut you like a catfish!" he shouted, spittle flying from his mouth, mixed with blood. "You guys take care of the other two!"

With that, they came after them with a battle cry. Steeling himself, Link waited for the man with the spear to reach him. The bigger man jabbed at him and he jumped backwards, the spearing barely missing him. They're faster than I anticipated, he thought with a grimace as he ducked just in time to dodge a swinging sword aimed at his head. Putting all his weighted on his left hand as he crouched on his haunches, Link propelled his legs out from under him, striking the man squarely in the chest with both legs. The thug went down, his spear snapping in two when it hit the ground and Link landed on his feet, standing on the man. The man with the broad sword swung at his feet and he jumped jump, landing on the man's chest again, knocking the wind out of him. Back-flipping off of him, Link proceeded to take on the other men, watching Dagg and Sheik's progress as they fought.

"Fardo, what have done?" came a voice over the ridge. Link saw a man running over to Sheik and the instigator, not unlike Fardo himself. "Stop, don't go-" his words were cut short as Fardo bumped into him, knocking him into the path of Sheik's attack. Forced to join the fray, he drew a sword and prepared to defend himself. Fardo skitted around Dagg, narrowly avoiding his darting fists. Dagg was like a whole different person to him just then; he was completely focused, and absolutely lethal. The fact that he was unarmed meant nothing to him, his body was the only thing he needed. His movements were fluid and quickly, precise and deadly. He bowed out of the way of a brawler's side-swipe and jabbed him in the ribs. He man doubled over and he brought up his knee, crashing it into his chin. The man charging at him from behind raised a heavy club, aiming to smash it into Dagg's head. Without turning around, Dagg struck out with a fist, hitting the man in the windpipe and simultaneously kicking down the brawler in front of him. It was like watching a dance, only it was no sport; Dagg aimed to maim and damage.

Sheik on the other hand, was having loads of apparent fun; he was laughing comically at his foe, who had so far been unable to land an attack. Every so often Sheik would lash out with his chain, making the man maintain his distance, who, with his dagger could do little against his attacker. Sheik suddenly became quiet, which frightened Link more than his lunatic shouts of twisted amusement. The weighted chain was wrapped around his leg and he was just standing there. The man stood straighter then, casting aside his dagger, and drew two short swords from behind him. Seizing the moment, Sheik began twirling and unwinding the chain around him as he moved. He suddenly threw the weight at the man's knees, who managed to jump backwards, avoiding the critical blow. The weight crashed into the ground, breaking the hard surface; whipping the chain up quickly and then down again, Link watched as the wave traveled the length of the chain reaching the weight and making it flick out suddenly from the ground and hit the man in the jaw.

He fell to his knees, one hand on his jaw and the other on the ground. Link saw the chain coiled around the ground by his hand and knew in an instant what was going to happen. Sheik spun the chain, and the spinning motion made the chain wrap around the man's wrist. Wrapping a length of it around his forearm, Sheik turned to the side and pulled hard; the man's hand was yanked out from supporting him and he fell face-first in the ground. He could've sworn he'd heard a bone crack. The man shouted at them to continue and leave him be, and they complied. Too little, too late, Link realized they'd come at him. Someone picked up a discarded club and brought it down on his head. He rolled to the side, but couldn't avoid getting hit. The heavy metal-lined wood bat crushed his left shoulder as he rolled to the right and he felt his arm go numb. His hand went limp and he dropped the sword. They came at him then, three burly men and as one dove at him, he rolled away, barely missing getting caught under the man. But the other two were waiting for him; they kicked him in the side and he gasped in pain. Incapacitated, they hauled Link up, locking his arms behind his back, applying severe pressure on his right wrist.

Link couldn't help but scream then, the pain was so absolute. Dagg looked over, his concentration gone as he looked on at Link in horror. Sheik held his grip firm as he watched things unfold, refusing to let their leader go. The dark man turned his face, his cheek pressed into the dirt, blood smudging his face and the dry earth. They squeezed his arm again, sending a fresh wave of pain wracking through his body. He shouted in protest.

"Let Xerxs go!" Fardo shouted, putting pressure on Link's arm said as he lifted it into the air as if showing the world. "Or we'll torture him 'til he begs for death!"

Sheik looked at them, pure hatred burning through his crimson irises. He tightened his hold and Xerxs gasped; Link noticed that Sheik had somehow gotten the chain around the man's neck and was crushing his windpipe. In retaliation, they pressed Link's own sword to his throat, drawing blood as the steel poked into his skin. He shyed away from the blade, but in such an awkward position he only managed to send a twinge of pain from his shoulder to the bottom of his spine. Sheik pulled harder and the man's eyes bulged slightly; they tore off Link's bandage, looking for a He saw Xerxs staring at him as he breathed heavily into the ground and glared as best he could in anger, but only mustered a grimace. He saw something in Xerxs's eyes then, something he hadn't expected; lament and pity.

"Let him go Fardo," Xerxs muttered. Sheik and Dagg looked back at him, eyes narrowed. His thugs looked at him with a mixture of confusion and stupidity. "I said, release him!" he shouted again. Fardo grimaced and let go of Link's arm, throwing him forward. After being held up forcibly, he fell to his knees, hugging his wrist to his body. He gasped as a fresh wave of pain shot down to his elbow and bit his lip to stop from shouting. Dagg rushed over, ignoring the confused stares of the men behind Link. Fardo looked away, seething, as Sheik tied up Xerxs, obviously taking no heed to make the man comfortable. Dagg glanced back at the ninja and frowned.

"Now it's our turn," he said, raising a hand. "Sheik, there's no need to keep him bound; leave him be."

"What? Are you mad?"

"No, he's right; untie him, but don't let him go just yet," Link muttered, earning a scalding gaze from Sheik.

"No way!" Fardo spoke up. "Fair trade or nothing," he added, putting a foot on Link's back. Dagg moved faster than Link could've thought him capable; he grabbed the man's ankle as he stood, giving it a twist. With a yelp, Fardo fell to the ground, on his stomach. He instinctively kicked out, but Dagg caught his foot in a hand before it made contact.

"That's enough out of you Fardo!" Xerxs shouted, coughing into the dust. "Do as they say, we were wrong to challenge them."

"But-"

"But nothin'! You give up quietly or so help me I will beat you to within an inch of your life!" Xerxs shouted again, looking truly furious. Fardo hung his head in shame and Dagg released him. Link stood, standing over the fallen man and scrutinized him. Fardo looked up at him, his eyes shining with hatred; Link merely put out his hand and stared back. Blinking in surprise, Fardo grabbed his hand and Link helped him stand. Sheik unwrapped his chain from Xerxs then, hauling the man to his feet while keeping the man's arms behind his back. He looked, really looked, at Link then and broke out in a grin.

"You fight well, Hylian," Xerxs said, as Fardo made his way back to the thieves, earning a dumb-struck look from everyone else.

"How did you know?" Link said, his hand going up to his covered ears.

"Nah, not by your ears, or any other physical trait neither," he said, cocking his head to one side. "It's the way you smell. You don't have a scent like anyone I've ever met, and when I saw those eyes, I knew for sure who you were."

Smell? I... give off a scent? "Thank you for abdicating," he said, eager to change the subject.

I think he justed insulted him, Sheik thought idly. "Whatever, just get going," Sheik muttered, letting go of the man and shoving him forward into his comrades.

"Not so fast," he said, turning back. He went to Link and grabbed his bad arm. He twisted the bicep, forcing his wrist up and he scrutinized it for several minutes. Link began to grow uncomfortable and would have tried to wrench his arm free if not for fear of pain. The dark man reached behind him with his other hand and withdrew a tube from his pouch. He removed Link's bandages while Dagg looked on tensely, unsure of what to do. "Here," he said, handing it to Dagg. "It's a salve, for wounds; it's the least I could do after what this idiot did," he added, emphasizing idiot with a punch to Fardo's shoulder.

"Thank you," Link said, surprising Dagg as he went to work on his wrist. "I don't know what might have happened if you hadn't come around. I take it you're their leader?"

"Yes, I am the leader of this group of miscreants and bastards who would call themselves thieves," he said with a grin, which his group returned eagerly. "And you, young Hylian, have us in your debt."

"That's quite alright," Link began, but his words were cut off as Xerxs grabbed his hand, pressing something into his palm as he shook it. He gave Link a silencing look and the Hylian stealthily put it into a pocket.

"We'll be on our way then," Xerxs said, standing. "If you ever feel like collecting your debt, you know what to do," he added as he gathered his things and pushed his lackeys ahead of him. Link watched the man walk off, slightly confused and yet, amused, by the man's strange behaviour. Dagg stood, offering him a hand, which he took.

"Well, that certainly was..." Dagg drifted off, unsure of what to make of the situation.

"Entertaining?" Sheik offered, shrugging. "Let's get going, we need to get off the road before nightfall, which is only a few hours away."

Sheik and Dagg walked ahead of him, chatting about inconsequential things as Link purposefully lagged behind, curious about what Xerxs had slipped him. Taking it out of his pocket, he saw it was a red tile, smooth and cold to the touch. He turned it over, surprised to find an engraving on the other side. What am I supposed to do with this? Is this how I'm supposed to collect my debt? He put the tile away and jogged to catch up with Sheik and Dagg, choosing instead to think of what lay ahead.