3. I'm going on an Adventure

All was black as Link awoke floating in nothingness, everything felt still as if his nerves had become frozen. The first thing to reach him was sound, the sound of rushing wind. The second was touch, the feeling of his arms and legs raised in front of him like he was sinking into water. That realization shocked Link's body back to working order as he twisted his body looking below him as the dream scape flipped like a coin revealing a green forest below him just moments before he crashed into the canopy.

As Link fell he didn't feel a single branch but he could feel the foliage caress his skin as it caught him slowing his descent until he finally landed in a bush that felt like it was made of cotton. The plant would spring up retaining it's shape even after Link had fell onto it. The sounds of the trees and branches creaking overhead drew his gaze up revealing to him the trees had moved their limbs to catch him.

Link rubbed the back of his neck still feeling a bit jarred from the fall but his eyes scanned his surroundings finding himself deep in a thick forest with only a single path leading away from where he had fallen. With a quiet shrug he trudged into the depths of the woods, the ground almost felt like he had been walking down a slope and the light seemed to dim as he traveled farther until he finally came to an opening surrounded on all sides by towering trees that were impossibly huge blotting out the majority of light that glittered down from the sky.

With a single step into the clearing voices seemed to whisper around him and a single figure could be seen sitting in front of him. As he drew closer more details could be made out a woman with hot skin like red clay and clothed in garb similar to that of the Gerudo but in glittering red. Before her laid two other women, one clad in a flowing dress each layer made of a different shade of blue, her skin as fair as alabaster. The other woman was young and petite almost on the cusp of womanhood, as thin green clothing hung from her soft tanned skin leaving her midriff and legs mostly bare.

Once link reached roughly ten feet away from them he could see the long ears typical of a Hylian on the Gerudo-like woman twitch as she looked up from the other two and smiled huge before leaping the distance and hugging his waist tight and with a strength that bellied her appearance almost suffocating him with her power before she loosened her hold and looked up at him making him freeze, her eyes looked like perfect rubies as fire rippled behind them. Before he could think of how to react to her actions or her endowed breasts pressing into his lower torso her red painted lips would part and words like the heat of a hearth in the middle of winter reached his ears.

"Oni, Power is awake."

Not understanding what she meant he opened his mouth to speak but was silenced as she moved up to kiss his cheek and everything before his eyes was engulfed in flame pulling him from the dream and making him sit bolt up right in bed.

~X~

"OWW OWW GODDESSES DAMMIT TOO DAMN HOT!" The cursing drew Link's attention to the older man standing beside the bed sucking on his finger like the image of an infant. The longer Link watched him his mind became clearer finally recognizing him as the village's doctor, but why was he here in his room. As soon as the thought occurred to him his eyes raced around the room and he saw that he wasn't in his room he was in the doctor's home, shirtless, and wrapped.

"Oh... Link, I didn't mean to wake you, the fire on the soup flared and caught my hand," The doctor grinned embarrassed before sitting beside the youth looking him over with eyes that spoke of years of experience before nodding and returning to his feet to retrieve a bowl of soup before returning to Link with it. "Here, do you remember what happened? You were in pretty bad condition when you got here."

Link gingerly took the bowl and the smell was distinctive, Ordon Cheese and Pumpkin it was the doctor's specialty. To the Doctor's chagrin Link's stomach growled before he could even start eating as famished as he was. The blonde ate the creamy mixture like he hadn't eaten for days though to be true, that wasn't far from the truth. With the empty bowl in his lap Link took a deep breath feeling deeply satisfied as his energy came back.

"S-Sorry doc, it looked really good..." Link replied somewhat embarrassed by how he ate it but the doctor just smiled and shook his head. "I... remember a monster, it ambushed us... Ganondorf! Where is he!? Is he okay!?"

"Relax son your brother wasn't harmed, you protected him." The doctor quickly caught hold of Link's shoulders holding him steady as the outburst and the memories of what happened made pain bloom in his side as well as the back of his head forcing a pained hiss past Link's lips as he laid back down and his arms cradled his side. "You've been out cold for three days, the attack you took in his stead nearly ripped you in two, it's a miracle that blade missed your organs and spine after ripping through your mail. Not to mention the blow you took to your head."

As the pain slowly subsided Link looked up at the man partly in shock, he knew that he slept a lot but never for three days. "Th-thank you... For looking after me, I should get out of your bed."

"Nuh unh, not happening, I didn't let you sleep there so you could tear my handiwork open again." The doctor seemed to glare but it was hollow of anything more than a doctor's threat of health. He took the empty bowl from Link's lap before taking it to his kitchen to wash it. As the sound of water ran he became keenly aware that he had been in bed for three days... Without relieving himself.

Despite the protests from his wound Link slowly climbed to his feet and made his way down the hall to the bathroom. After a short amount of time Link noticed the sound of water had ended and with a shrug he finished his business before returning to the bed sitting up against the wall, the doctor seemed to be gone and while there was a brief space of time when Link thought it was strange but the thought quickly passed figuring that the doctor hadn't been by his side for the past 72 hours straight, right?

Shortly after that the door to the house opened drawing Link's attention, There stood his mother, beautifully wreathed in the golden light of the midday sun, as she slowly sat beside him and hugged around his chest laying her head on it like she was listening for his heart. As an embarrassed blush crept on Link's face he smiled and returned the hug his mother gave him, gently cradling her as he felt each breath holding back the faintest tremble. Link knew that the past few days had to be hard on her, he could see it; her hair hadn't been brushed, her clothes and skin had patches of dirt pressed into her skin by sweat. He had no doubt she had been working herself to the bone so she wouldn't let her mind settle on what had happened to him.

"I'm okay Ma, I'm sorry I worried you" While his words were sincere he knew that she had to reach the point of acceptance on her own. Her grip loosened just enough to to lean up and kiss his forehead smiling as her deep blue eyes glimmered with tears.

"Isn't that just precious." The familiar tenor of his teacher made Link's form go rigid as he inched away from his mother and glared behind her at Sorin as he stood in the open doorway and the doctor was a few paces ahead of him returning to his kitchen allowing for the group to have a moment to themselves.

"...Shut up..." Two words were all Link could manage at the sudden situation looking away from the man for a few moments feigning anger before looking back at each of them,

"Your body looks better guess your head still hasn't caught up." Sorin edged at Link teasing him like the days when he had been trained by the former knight.

"Boys." Malona's single word silenced both males and drew their attention as she looked between them with a stern look while the only thing Link could think was that he hadn't done anything.

"Y-yeah I'm feeling alright... Where's Ganondorf? The doc said he wasn't hurt, is he out hunting?" While the news that his brother hadn't been harmed in the confrontation he couldn't help but wonder where he was and the look that his mother shot Sorin didn't help much.

"Well... You see what happened was that I asked him to report to the King about what happened, hopefully with the journey on his mind he wouldn't dwell on you getting hurt." Sorin began to explain while Link watched him, the part about keeping Ganondorf busy made sense Goddesses know that while thinking wasn't his strong suit once something was stuck in his mind it was stuck there, for a very long time.

"Okay, why inform the King though?" The blonde couldn't help but be confused he knew that the monster was strange but it could have just been some new animal that had stumbled out of the forest. Link had heard of the Gorons, a race practically of living stone and of course the fish-man race of the Zoras.

"The truth is that what you fought isn't of our world, its called a Moblin, a member of the Goblin race devoted to the Demon King." Sorin's voice fell a few notches as he told Link of the truth behind the creature that had attacked him and his brother. "I asked Ganondorf to go with a letter of my approval so that I could stay here and defend the village from any more monsters that may appear."

"...Alright, with the village on watch there probably aren't any horses left to take out, can you pack me a bag for the journey on foot." The words out of Link's mouth, while slow to emerge, came out more as directions rather than a request while he slowly stood up straightening his posture his breath hitching as he felt the stitching in his side.

"No Link... You're in no shape to go anywhere, let alone to the kingdom on foot." Sorin stood before him and with a powerful hand on each shoulder slowly pushed him back down into a sitting position. Before Link could protest he saw the look of fear and sorrow on his mother's face and no longer put up any resistance. "Maybe when you're better you can go after Ganondorf if he isn't back yet, but that wound is nothing to sniff at Link, you need to heal."

"Yes sir..." The words begrudgingly hung on the air as Sorin stepped back and lifted a package off the floor that Link had failed to notice since he had awoken. The man set it on his lap and the weight was obvious, whatever was wrapped inside it was metal.

"Open it. Its a special order Ganondorf put in for you." As Sorin spoke Link's mother rose to her feet stroking his blonde hair back while he pulled at the string curious until it came loose. With a soft smile Malona would walk towards the door with Sorin a few paces behind her. "Your brother knew the worth of good iron, it's dangerous to go alone Link."

The blonde watched as his mother and Sorin left, knowing each of them had their own work to do, given it was the middle of the day. His gaze slowly shifted back down to the untied package as he moved the folds of thick paper shocked as he saw the gleaming black beneath. A sword and shield set made completely out of black iron, The style was tacky just like he expected of Ganondorf but touching the metal and feeling the weight of it made him feel closer to his brother as he unsheathed the blade looking at the black mirror.

At that moment memories of times the brothers had spent with Sorin in his forge came back to him. Ganondorf kept constantly asking about what metals were good for armor and weapons, specifically iron. Link's brother had always loved the metal due to it's dusky color but Sorin told him time and time again that iron was amazing for armor but poor for weapons due to it's stubborn make up, it was nearly impossible to keep sharp. However that also meant if you could forge a blade of iron it would take a lot of abuse to lose it's edge.

Link couldn't help but smile as he sheathed the blade again and with the sharp clink of the action he knew what he had to do. Moving quiet so he didn't alert the doctor he got on his boots and grabbed his tunic noticing the stitching that had been mended from the blow he took. However as he began to look for his chain-mail he couldn't find it, he slowly moved further into the house seeing if it was washed and hanging from blood or some other reason.

"Ahem, where do you think you're going." The voice of the doctor sounded from behind link in the hallway as he stared down the blonde. Link quickly moved to explain himself but the doctor shook his head and held up his hand. "Nope, Don't wanna hear it."

The older man's interruption had dashed Link's hopes as he looked down but at that time he saw that the doctor was holding his chain-mail in one hand and the iron sword and shield in the other. Although the doctor only glared for a few moments more before sighing and tossing the chain-mail at Link which he barely caught from the sudden surprise. "Doc?"

"Come with me," the doctor snapped before turning back down the hallway and the confused blonde followed without question more shocked than anything. "I've treated you and your brother since you were ankle-biters, whether you got hurt fighting each other or for one another, I patched you up."

The two reached the end of the hall with a wooden wall and a knapsack making Link further confused as the doctor picked up the sack and simply pushed the wall aside like a door revealing a cave carved into the earth leading a short ways into a larger open area. "I know that both of you would do anything to make sure the other was okay so I knew you would try to leave."

The man led Link over to a simple wooden chest and opened it pulling out a bottle of glowing blue liquid. "I used to be an adventure back in my time and that is the chain-mail I used, it's a bit longer than what you had but it keeps your junk safe if anything tries to cut you down there, drink this."

Link took the the bottle unsure of what the doctor had told him, he certainly didn't look the type to travel around Hyrule and he had never seen anything like the blue liquid before. Slowly he would loosen the cork before tiling the glass back against his lips, the liquid was gooey and cold on his tongue as the sickly sweet concoction moved down his throat but the effects were amazing as he felt his body practically gleaming with energy and the echoes of pain in his side were completely gone. The doctor unwrapped the gauze revealing bloody patches the further down the wrap went but as he reached skin, the stitching simply fell away and the wound had been completely healed as if by magic. "Wh-what was that?"

"It's called a potion, they're rather rare outside of Castle Town they take a certain hand to make and I've been saving that for an emergency, I think this counts." The doctor smiled at Link as he bundled up the bandages and Link slipped the chain-mail over his form, it felt slightly heavier but the cool metal felt good through his shirt, his tunic followed it before he put on his hat. The doctor then handed him the iron sword and shield which he fastened on his back before he also held out the knapsack he had picked up at the entrance to the cave. "Your bow and quiver inside, I prayed to Farore to allow it a great amount of space, keep the bottle too, it'll come in handy."

"Thanks Doc, for all of this really. I know my mother and Sorin want me to be safe but I can't just leave him out there alone." Link spoke to the doctor as the man lead him to a series of steps opposite the way they entered the cave which lead to another hidden entrance within the forest on the edge of the village.

"I understand Link and so will they, look after yourself ya hear? I don't wanna have to stitch you up again." The doctor's words made him grin as he watched the older man wave to him before shutting the secret entrance. The midday sun shone across his attire in spots from the leaves overhead remembering his dream bringing his gaze to the open palm of his left hand.

Power.

With a quiet farewell Link reached into the sack retrieving his bow and quiver securing them to his body before venturing into the woods while steering clear of the roads so he didn't come across the patrol.

After a few hours along the road he saw smoke rising in the distance, no doubt it was Ordon though a fire in the early days of summer seemed out of place, then another stream of smoke rose into the sky.

"Great... Well at least this journey won't be boring." Renewing his pace, Link pushed himself harder as he drew an arrow from his quiver to his bow ready to fire as he reached the hill overlooking the village of Ordon.

One house had already began to catch fire, two arrows had stuck into the roof, one patch of flame noticeably bigger than the other as columns of black smoke rose up into the darkening sky. A practical horde of small monsters had swarmed into the village waving around clubs as the towns people run into the village hall. A few warriors were fighting them back at the doors so that the villagers could get safe before they shut the large steel doors.

Link had been to Ordon a number of times to trade and even just passing through to the north, he knew that door could withstand their clubs with no problem. From his perch on the hill he could make out their details in the light while the trees gave him stealth. They were roughly two feet tall and dressed in crude clothing while something like a frier's hat sat lopsided upon their heads, their skin was sickly green and their eyes glowed red.

With an annoyed glance he took in their numbers before looking to the north, towards his goal, he knew that the warriors of Ordon were certainly strong enough to deal with the threat he began to wonder if they could do it before the village burned.

"Dammit..." While readying his bow he would take an arrow and draw it back while taking aim at the goblin archer that had taken aim at the smoking building and was ready to fire once more. Before it could fire its arrow, Link fired his and with a sick sound the creature fell to the ground and as it's hand went slack it's arrow instead shot the next monster next to it catching it on fire and much to Link's surprise burning it to ash in a matter of seconds followed by it's comrade roughly a minute later as its body burst into a black cloud.

As Link watched the odd deaths of the monsters he tilted his head confused by the way they died, however the sharp whistle of an arrow cutting through the air brought him out of his thoughts quickly rolling down the side of the hill in time to miss the arrow as it stuck into a tree above him with a solid thunk. On his way down he drew another arrow taking aim at the monster that had fired on him firing again watching as his arrow slid deep into the goblin's bow arm functionally severing the tendons and muscles within making the arm fall limp.

With a smirk Link rolled a short ways along the ground as he reached the end of the slope and reached into his quiver again to ready another arrow before finishing the screaming monster, a disturbing gargle filling the air as it fell to the ground. The sound brought a shiver along Link's spine as he moved close to the wall of the building he had landed by, if his memory was correct it belonged to the village's blacksmith family that also served as the village's protection. That realization brought some ease to him knowing that the entirety of the building had been built of stone and the wooden roof was to keep the stone from eroding.

The sounds of coming feet splashing through the nearby river that ran through the forest made him still his breath and put away his bow. From the sounds he could tell that there were at least four and he couldn't shoot them all before becoming overrun. Reaching around to his back Link would grasp the handles of the weapons his brother had given him before taking a deep breath and drew them as the other monsters looked at the spot of blood on the ground that his first kill had created. Each of them were armed with clubs while one held a crude stone cleaver, they shouldn't be a match against hard iron.

As they crowded the spot of blood Link rushed out of cover and leaped toward them bringing down the black sword with all his force splitting the goblin in half that had been facing away from him before bursting into black smoke. The other monsters all jumped back out of fear as they scrambled to regain their posture, the one to Link's right made it's attack first, though it met Link's black shield with a resolute clang, allowing Link to push into the goblin and throw it onto it's back before swinging his blade across from the right to the left in a sweeping arc. The axe wielding goblin jumped back but the one on the left was still shaken from his initial attack and Link's follow up sweep had cleaved the monster's head from its shoulders creating another poof of black smoke.

The goblin with the axe seemed the most experienced as it reacted quickly to Link's sweep and rushed forward towards him and swung the axe hard, aimed to slice through Link's abdomen, however his reflexes were one thing that Link prided himself in and as the goblin moved in he crouched low bending his legs before springing up into the air above the goblin narrowly missing its axe with a back flip. Following the evasion Link would rush the monster impaling it on his black sword and wrench the blade out to the side showering the last remaining monster with the blood of its ilk before it burst into smoke like the others. Using the blood as a momentary distraction for the last monster, Link would spring into the air once more as he closed the distance in an instant with a wicked downward slash that traveled from the goblin's right shoulder and down through the left side of its stomach.

A deep breath filled the blondes chest as he looked at his black sword, while it didn't look different in hue it dripped black ichor into the grass. "Ganondorf made a good call with these."

The sound of an anguished man snapped Link back to attention as he looked away from the wicked black sheen, from where he was it had to have come from the village hall. Link started at a run rushing through the shallow river passing by a few homes whose doors were battered and maimed but still holding strong, the bridge across was just a head and the roof of the hall had come into view however the sight he came around to brought him to a halt. At least eight of the monsters were trying to fight the warriors that were guarding the steel door and two more sat upon a large pig-like creature that he recognized as a Bulbo one of the desert hogs. It seemed one had managed a clean blow, out of the three warriors, one laid on the ground clutching his leg as blood spilled out from his calf.

The two on top of the pig were rocking and making snickering noises as if they were laughing at the man, the thought alone brought an annoyed anger through Link, he quickly moved his sword into his other hand that wore his shield before reaching into the water at his feet and finding a decently sized rock.

He took aim and chucked it straight at the back of the head of the monster that was holding the reigns of the pig with a sharp crack. Every sound in the area had come to a stop as the creature fell off the pig and burst into smoke. The momentary distraction allowed the warriors to kill one goblin each even the injured one managing to impale the closest one with his spear. The brought the tally down to 5 on the ground and one on the Bulbo that had now turned and began to run away for the exit of the town. "Damn... Smart pig."

Rather than taking the chance of reinforcements, Link quickly sheathed his sword before grabbing his bow and drawing an arrow taut and taking aim at the creature that was bouncing atop the pig's hindquarters grabbing desperately so it wouldn't fall off. The sharp twang of his bow string was followed by the squelch of flesh being pierced and the goblin had gone limp shortly before it too burst into a cloud of black smoke. However Link's grin didn't last as he heard another twang and from his left one of the creatures had fired on him, luckily he had time to turn just enough so that the arrow sliced through the skin of left shoulder, deep enough to make his blood flow freely but not enough to cripple him.

The sounds of battle had continued as Link put away his bow and redrew his sword before climbing out of the river and onto the bank startling the monster as it fumbled to ready another arrow, however Link was slightly quicker, with a swift lunge he sliced straight through the bow before his blade met the creatures chest and threw it back into the group of four tripping them up long enough for the two standing warriors to end another goblin each leaving two left that stood surrounded with Link at their back and two spear men ahead of them. Their aggression had drain as they looked between themselves and their opposition seemingly trying to decide if they should run away. However the warriors didn't plan to let them get away as they both charged forward driving their spears through the goblins.

As they both burst into smoke Link sighed in relief putting away his sword and shield before leaning back into the support post that held up the bridge getting a moment to catch his breath, needless to say he wasn't used to dealing with battles like this where it was kill or be killed.

"Link? What are you doing here?" The familiar voice came from one of the warriors, while Link couldn't remember his name his face he instantly recognized, he had been the guard who stood at the end of the road leading between Ordon and Kokiri.

"I... I'm following my brother, he went to the castle a few days ago." The words quickly came out as he thought about what he should or shouldn't say, no doubt Ganondorf had come through this area but whether or not he had spoken to anyone was beyond him.

"Yes that's correct, three days ago just past dawn, he managed to get through the forest before that damned door appeared." The warrior seemed noticeably shaken, even his pike wavering slightly from is tightened grip.

"What door? And what happened here with those creatures?" Link couldn't understand how a group of those monsters could show up so quickly when only one had managed to reach Kokiri.

"On the road to the north... The day after your brother left an ornate door appeared in the middle of the road, the handle won't turn and anyone who has tried to walk past it and continue along the road has just ended up back here at the village." anguish seemed to shake the man as he feared for the village, with these attacks coming at random times and random enemies each time he understood why he was scared. Though his name drifted at the corner's of Link's mind he reached out to pat the man's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Ordon is strong if nothing else. You have your guardian spirit and the legend of your hero. In your darkest times he will return to protect Ordon right?" "Having been through the village enough times through out his life, Link has heard every folk tale the village had and knew they held special reverence for an ancient hero of Hyrule who hailed from Ordon. The warrior visibly relaxed as he took in Link's words before he stood up right.

"You're right Link, thank you, I'll send a fresh wagon full of meat and produce to your mother in Kokiri for aiding in the defense of Ordon." His attitude had jumped admirably but the news made his face fall as he heard the metal doors creaking open and the villagers slowly started to emerge taking in the damage that had been done to the town.

"Th-that won't be necessary I was just trying to help, no need to give me anything for it-"

"NONESENSE!" The sudden booming voice almost made Link jump as a large somewhat round man came over to them, Link recognized him as the mayor having seen him working through out the years his hairline had slowly receded. As the large man reached them he slapped Link on the back as he wore a large grin. "You helped defend our homes Link, that's more than could ever be asked of a bystander as our roads were overrun by a horde of monsters. We WILL send thanks to your home as soon as possible."

"Thanks... that's... great" Link breathed out as a sigh before looking at the ground while the two men went to help the villagers. The blonde rubbed his face slightly annoyed that he was gonna be busted so fast but he didn't regret helping them, unbeknownst to him though, the villagers stole glances at him while whispering under the breath. After a few more seconds and the villagers had dispersed through the village to assess the damage he turned and walked across the bridge and toward the road to the north, on his right he saw the large building that served as a community general store and sat on the edge of a large pond that was created by the river before continuing down stream.

As he reached where was considered to be the entrance to the village the shrine of the hero came into view, a house that looked older than time carved from the very tree it sat upon. A ladder lead up to a platform filled with offerings and gifts to their hero, while Link would've expected it to have fallen into ruins by now he figured the village kept it up in honor. The building held a certain sense of wonder about it as he looked at the pale wooden frame of it, figuring it couldn't hurt anything he dug into his pouch for a rupee and tossed it up onto the shrine asking for safe passage. However as soon as he heard the telltale ching of the rupee landing a wind blew over him almost taking off his cap as it made him shiver. The blonde stared at the shrine for a brief moment before continuing along the road. "You don't have to be a dick about it ya know..."