Maps and Swords
The sound his old trusty sword made when it broke on the creature's helmet was heartbreaking to Link. He'd had this sword for two years, ever since he'd set out on his travels. He'd taken very good care of it.
No amount of care, it turned out, could make an after all ordinary blade, not in any way magical or enchanted, survive fighting a dozen well armored monsters.
It had survived ten, and that was already lucky. A fact that didn't make Link any less annoyed.
"You broke my sword, you stupid whatever you are!"
Link dropped the broken blade and jumped back from the monster. He'd never seen the like: like his ten fallen buddies and his one remaining companion, the monster was sort of a goblin but bigger, and it looked like it had been mixed with a bit of dog and a bit of pig.
The other remaining monster lunged for him just as the one whose helmet had broken Link's sword raised his own weapon – a spiky club, just like all the others – and lunged at him as well.
Link, hardly believing his luck, ducked and rolled, and the two monsters collided, nearly knocking each other out and sending the spiked clubs flying, one of which roughly towards Link.
Link jumped for it straight out of his roll, grabbed it, and the dog-pig-goblins didn't stand a chance: they were dead before they had fully shaken off their collision with each other.
"That'll teach you to ruin my morning..." Link grumbled. He tossed the club away –it was covered in monster goo and too gross to put up with now that his life didn't depend on it - and turned back to the old woman the monsters had been surrounding when he'd happen upon them all. "You alright?" he asked.
The woman was looking at him with something like adoration in her eyes. Link scratched the back of his head and made a face – he absolutely didn't need some old crone taking a shine to him. At the same time, he wasn't going to be a jerk to a little old lady. "Hey, it's nothing," he said. "I mean, they broke my sword and that sucks, but it's not like I was going to let them get you. So, you okay?"
She nodded and tried to get up, only to fall again with a cry.
"I'm afraid they broke my leg," she sighed. "Young man, come here. I have much to tell you."
Link blinked. "Er... much? Why?"
She just looked at him, so he shrugged and went to kneel next to her. He'd need to help her to some Inn or something anyway, by the looks of it.
And then she started talking about some Demon Prince called Ganon, about the Princess Zelda, and about a Triforce Ganon had and one that was broken in pieces and that he, Link, would need to recover. She informed him the monsters he'd just fought were some of that Ganon prince demon thing's minions, and they'd been after her because she had information for the hero who would save Hyrule. Somewhere in there she managed to mention her name was Impa, and that she served Princess Zelda. She then started taking various rolls of parchments out of her bag and trying to hand them to him.
Link's eyes widened. "Wait," he said, leaning away from her and raising his hands out of her reach. "You don't mean me, do you? I don't even have a sword anymore."
She locked eyes with him. "You are our last hope," she said. "Your arrival just as these minions caught up with me, your prowess... it's clear the Goddess sent you. Please, young man. You are Hyrule's last hope. If you do nothing, Ganon will rule and destroy the land."
"Uh," Link said, resisting the urge to run off and leave her there broken leg and all. He'd been worried she'd take a liking to him and go all grandma on him, but this was on another level. He scratched his head. "Look. I'm not like... a knight or anything. And my sword..."
Tears welled up in Impa's eyes.
Link sighed. "Right. You're serious. The whole demon prince about to take over, the triforce that can save us, it's all 100% serious."
Impa nodded, her eyes fixed uncomfortably on his.
Link groaned, sighed again, and took the parchment rolls. "Fine," he said. "FINE. I'll do it. You better be right about the Goddess sending me, and SHE better be ready to help a bit."
The first roll had instructions on finding some of the places where the triforce parts were hidden. Another one had a map of Hyrule that might have been useful to a visitor looking for forests and lakes. The third one had eight pictures on it, with matching names.
"These are the maps of the labyrinths where the triforce pieces are hidden," Impa informed him.
Link frowned at her and showed her the pictures. "Please tell me you don't mean these and there's another parchment in your bag."
She had the good taste to look embarrassed. "They're the best we could do," she said.
Link closed his eyes, counted to ten, and opened them again. "Okay. So, no maps of the labyrinths. But hey!" he added, waving the barely better map of Hyrule in the air, "I can find Lake Hylia!"
He stowed the parchments in his own bag, got up and helped the old woman up on his back.
"Let's get you somewhere safe, at least. Before you take out a spoon and tell me it's my new sword. There's a cave just over there and I smell fire, so it's obviously inhabited. Maybe they're the helpful sort."
He walked to the cave, the old woman barely a weight on his back – unlike the huge weight she'd just dropped on him. Save the Kingdom! Sure, why not? Nothing an orphan who had been travelling alone and basically just mucking about for the past two years couldn't handle! And without a sword!
He walked right into the cave and gently deposited Impa on the ground before turning to the sole occupant of the cave, a man who seemed even older than Princess Zelda's servant turned messenger.
"Welcome, Link," the old man said, getting up from where he'd been sitting by his campfire to face him.
Link's eyes widened. He was 100% sure he'd never seen this man before. Swell. A creepy prophetic old man was just what this day needed to score a perfect ten.
"I've had visions of you," the man confirmed. "You can leave Impa with me. I will treat her and she will be safe. As for you, it's dangerous to go alone in this world. Take this."
He walked towards the back of the cave and came back with a sword in its sheath.
Link could have kissed him, creepy old psychic or not.
He took the sword, grinning, and unsheathed it. "Thank..."
The words died in his throat.
The sword was of the same quality as Impa's maps. The metal was dull and rusted in spots, and the handle was cracked.
"You'll surely find a better one somewhere," the old man said, reading Link's expression correctly. "This will serve you until then, I hope."
Link put the sword back in its sheath and took his time installing it on his belt to buy himself time to cool down enough not to yell at a harmless old man who was trying to help. The sword WAS better than nothing and was no doubt all the old man could offer.
He turned his eyes to the roof of the cave. "Getting mixed signals here, Goddess!" he complained.
There was no answer, of course. He groaned.
"This is payback for never saying my prayers, isn't it?" he growled. "FINE. Just you watch. I'm going to do it anyway. No map? No problem. Terrible sword?" He shook his fist at the roof. "I eat terrible swords for breakfast!"
The old man coughed.
Link was too annoyed and wound up to be embarrassed by his own nonsense.
"Right. Off we go to save Hyrule."
He stormed out of the cave.
Impa looked at the old man. The old man looked at Impa.
"He'll be fine," she said. "Good lad. You can tell."
"Yes," he replied. "Tea?"