Ch.9.
Link smiled as Lana laughed. She was adorable when she laughed; she always flashed her two tiny dimples brightly, which caused Link to smile even brighter.
They were on their second date, after their first, Link thought about her for the next forty-two hours until he stopped by the apothecary to see her, and asked her to dinner that night.
After their meal, they strolled on top of the outer wall, which was open to walk on during certain parts of the day. They would be forced to leave in half an hour or so, so Link was wary of his closing gate of time before his second precious date with Lana ended.
"So what is your goal?" Lana asked, somewhat randomly.
"What do you mean?" Link asked.
"Your goal in life, the biggest thing you want to have achieved before you die."
"Oh, uh, well, I'd like to hold the position of a Hylian general at some point in my life, and I'd like to marry a beautiful woman who makes me happy, and I want to have kids, a girl and boy, girl first, of course."
"Why the girl first?" Lana asked.
"Well, if I'm a general, if my first born is a boy, he must serve in the Hylian army, its tradition."
"Don't you want your son to honor his father by serving?"
"No, that is the last thing I want for him. After seeing hundreds of good men slaughtered in battle, I wouldn't want my son to be endangered."
"Oh, that makes sense…" She said, and they walked a ways before she spoke up again. "Does it haunt you?"
Link turned his head; "What do you mean, 'does it haunt you'?"
"Well, the soldiers you have seen die…and the people you have had to kill…It'd haunt me."
"I don't know why, but knowing that I'm protecting my kingdom, and my future family from harm…It keeps me sane."
"You really want the best for your family, whoever they may be…"
"Yes, I-I do."
She smiled at him, and for a brief second, he saw something flash in her eyes, a thought, a wish…
He looked at her, she was stunningly cute in her outfit, and the way the moonlight lit her up…He smiled at her.
Without thinking, leaned in and touched her lips with his, softly. He put his hands behind her head and waist, pulling her in closer, and she wrapped her arms around his waist.
He would never forget the first time he kissed her, and the courage it took.
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They found the Rito soldiers waiting for them when they reached the tunnels exit. They found themselves in a sprawling canyon, with a cliff behind them, blocking the wind.
"Were we too long?" Impa asked, and Hito shook his head.
"No, we needed the rest, flyin' through the wind is terrible."
"Do you need more time to rest?" Impa asked, "Or are you and your soldiers ready to get moving?"
"We're fine," Hito said, and clapped his hands together, causing all the sitting Rito to snap to their feet.
"We leave in five," Hito said, and the Rito soldiers put out their fire, and stretched their legs and arms.
"So 'owdit go with the Gorons?" Hito asked.
"Well," Link answered, "They offered us a feast, and they didn't harm us in any way, so yeah, I'd say well."
"Good," Hito said, "Did you say anythin' about our mission?"
"Yeah, we told them the whole scoop, and they asked if we could bring back a kidnapped Goron and a blade, for compensation, of course."
"Are you walking with us?" Sheik asked, and Hito nodded.
"We won't be flyin', no, not anymore. Not a day'er so, at least, the damn winds 'ave picked up even worse. We couldn't fly through 'is even if we 'ad all our strength."
"Right then," Impa said, "let's get moving then."
They all walked slowly down the small path to the expanse of the canyon, and silently stepped over its cold stone floor.
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The walk was long, and boring. It was at least three hours before they saw anything but stone, and it was a lake. Link turned his head in confusion.
"Uh, what?" He was even more confused when he saw a huge wooden bridge that led to the heart of the Lake, where an island sat, which, sitting in its entirety, was the Moblin Fortress, a four twenty meter high, solid iron walled death trap, with a daunting gatehouse that accepted the wooden bridge. The walls weren't crenellated, but each corner of the fortress housed a tower with a bastion at its peak, and a catapult sitting there. Beside it, a huge pile of boulders waiting to be launched.
"It's an island?" He asked stupidly.
"Course," Hito said, "'Ud you think it was?"
"Um, a small camp with some defenses, on land…Not a floating death trap…"
"Oh, you be in fer' a right good treat!" Hito said, chuckling. "'Ast time we tried storming 'is we got our asses whipped. We have an adva'age now, though, we have you three, and twice as many soldiers!"
Link's eyes widened as he scanned through the Rito with them, he counted eleven, counting Hito.
"You tried attacking this with five soldiers?" Link asked, skeptical of their stupidity.
"Those were the days when I was just a new soldier, no longer part of the guard. I alone survived…"
Link grimaced, and Impa decided to step in.
"So what's your plan?" Impa asked, and Hito pulled a map from his belt. He set it down on the stone, and placed two of his arrows on the sides to keep it from rolling back up. The map was covered in markings. The Moblin Fortress was depicted in the center, and movements were drawn out with small lines. Hito pulled an arrow from his quiver and pointed it towards the map.
"We planned on flying directly into the fortress, landing on the prison as is sensible. However, with you three, we are going to have to be a bit stealthier as we fly in, and we need to make sure we don't drop you, he he."
"Hang on," Link said, "You plan on carrying us into the fortress? While you are flying?"
"Course, why? You scared a heights?"
"What? Oh, um, no…Just, can you carry us?"
He got his answer by the Rito bursting into laughter.
"Back to the plan," Hito said after a few moments of chuckles. "We'll have to have two of us carry the Goron out, and one can carry the blade out."
"So we just fly in, get the chief, Biggoron, and his blade, and leave?" Impa asked, "Shouldn't we destroy the fortress?"
"Our priority is getting the chief out, if we had more soldiers, we would attempt to destroy it, but we wouldn't attempt something so foolish with just fourteen warriors."
Impa grunted in disapproval, and Hito continued; "When we land, I want four soldiers to disperse to the four towers, to disarm the catapults. I want three soldiers watching from the skies, bows drawn and ready to fire, and I want you three," he pointed to the Impa, Link, and Sheik, "To come with me and four soldiers to the prison, I want one soldier standin' guard at the entrance of the prison, and every turn we take I want one soldier to stop and stand guard there. We grab the prisoners, and get the hell out of there! We leave none behind!"
One of the Rito walked up to Link.
"I'll carry you in," He said, and lifted off into the air, flapping for a second before he lowered and offered Link a hand. He lifted his arm, and the Rito lifted him into an embrace. Impa and Sheik were soon in the air, along with the rest of the Rito.
A thought came to Link's mind on the flight to the fortress. "Hey, didn't Hito say you couldn't fly?"
The Rito chuckled as he flapped his wings. "He meant for extensive distances, like flying to the Moblin Fortress from the Goron caverns."
They soon were overhead the Fortress, and all but seven of the soldiers landed, four going to a tower each, and three staying in the sky. The Rito effortlessly flew down to the ground, dropping the trio onto ground, quite unceremoniously. He then heard the quiet but familiar sound of an arrow sinking into bokoblin flesh. He reached his towards his blade, but Sheik stopped him, and pointed a finger to one of the towers, where he could see a Rito slicing the throat of one of the bokoblins, unlike the others, who preferred to launch an arrow into their monstrous enemies.
Hito motion for them to follow, and they all hopped off of the prison roof, rolling silently on the cobblestone ground. Two more arrows flew through the air, sliding effortlessly into two Moblins skulls. Impa darted over to the guards, and caught the bodies with her hands, her strength radiating as she pushed them up, and sat them on the ground. Hito tried opening the door to the prison, but he couldn't budge the handle without making too much noise. Sheik, slipped up next to him.
"I got this," she whispered, and crouched down, pulling two pins from her belt. She twitched them around the lock for a second, and the lock clicked. She twisted the knob slightly, and pushed it open. She held the entrance while Link, Hito, Impa, and four soldiers slipped into the poorly lit corridor. She let the door close, and hurried after the group. They turned two corners before they saw a guard, which was a dozing bokoblin. One of the soldiers fired an arrow into its brain, squirting unappetizing liquids to the floor. They walked a few more steps before they heard a rustling sound from one of the cells. Link peered inside. It was a monstrous cell, probably four meters high and wide. Inside, was a Goron three times Koro's size, who was clutching a rough blade that was more than half Link's height long.
"Biggoron?" Link whispered, and the Goron nodded. "We're gonna bring you back to your village."
He smiled brightly, and lifted one hand, forming a fist with it. Link's eyes widened and rolled out of the way, as Biggoron thrust his fist through the cell door, collapsing it, but also sending a horrific noise throughout the fortress.
Hito's eyes lit with rage. "What the Hell!?" He whipped to the rest of his soldiers. "You and me are gonna get the Chief," He turned to the trio and Biggoron, "You clean up this mess, with a brute like him," he motioned to Biggoron, which caused the innocent giant to both smile and frown, "You can take are of yourselves for a few minutes. We leave as soon as I get into the air, got it?" Everyone nodded, and Link led his party to the prison exit, bringing the posted corner guards with him as he went.
The scene he saw when he exited was horrific. At least four moblin corpses were lifeless, along with a few bokoblins…and Rito. There were no longer guards in the sky, or on the towers. Two remained, and were struggling against the might of the Moblins and Bokblins. The trio darted into the conflict, drawing their blades, as the Rito they brought with them drew their bows. The Moblins were soon lifeless, like the others, but so were the two Rito they found fighting.
Link plunged his sword into a gap between two stones and wiped his brow. He looked at Sheik, who was frantically flopping every Moblin's wrist around.
"What are you doing?" Link asked, and was awarded a glare.
"I'm looking for the quake bracelet," She said, and an arrow zipped by Link's face, sinking into a nearby Moblin corpse. He plucked his sword from the ground, and swung his shield to block another arrow. He searched the towers for any bokoblins…
"There!" Sheik said, and pointed to the north tower, where a bokoblin was firing it's third arrow to Link. He sidestepped it, and hooked his sword in its scabbard. He Reached onto his belt, and pulled his clawshot onto his hand. He flexed it for a second, and fired it toward the bokoblin, narrowly missing it's head, but startling it enough to give him time to fire it again. This time it latched onto it's shoulder, and when the chain reeled back, the tendons and bone tore, flinging the bokoblin off the tower, and hitting Link with a disgusting piece of bokoblin flesh.
He released the claws, dropping the dismembered arm, and fired once again, this time for the south tower, where the claw latched into the cobblestone, yanking Link through the air onto the tower. He placed the clawshot on his belt, and slipped his hidden blade gauntlet back on. He drew his sword, and hurried down the wall path, to, if the map was right, the "throne room".
The rest of his party soon followed, save for Biggoron.
"Where's Biggoron?" he asked.
"The chief was released, and him and Biggoron are escaping, Hito and a few of the soldiers are fighting off a few strays." He glanced over to the southern mountains, and saw Biggoron rolling towards them, the chief soaring not far above him.
He nodded, and they entered a small hallway, where a lone bokoblin was standing. It was cut down by Link as he made his way forward, and found himself overseeing the "throne room". The leader of the Moblins was sitting on his throne, armor-clad, and sitting behind a small horde of twenty or so bokoblins. On the Moblin leaders wrist was the quake bracelet, and a Rito moved to shoot him, when the front entrance burst opened, Hito alone firing his bow into the crowd of Moblins. The trio immediately jumped over the balcony edge and engaged the horde, while the other Rito stood from the balcony, firing their dwindling supply of arrows. Link saw from when he entered that Hito was mortally wounded, but was surprised to find him fighting strong, until a bokoblin cleaved his right forearm off. The bokoblin was met with death by Link's sword, but Hito still collapsed to his knees, clutching the stump of his arm, ignoring the several arrows impaled in his back. Link defended him from oncoming bokoblins, and soon, the horde was defeated, with only the leader remaining. The Rito on the balcony were crushed when the Moblin leader destroyed the balcony supports, and then used his mallet to pulverize them. Link stepped back in horror of the creature, and then rushed forward, a sudden surge of adrenaline in his veins. He rolled forward and plunged his blade toward the leaders' torso, but his blade was deflected by its steel cuirass. It flung him away with it's free hand, and advanced toward Impa. She deflected a few blows before she was tossed aside, and Sheik alone remained, Link was dazed by a blow to the head from his landing, and Impa was clutching a possible broken leg.
She breathed deep, and when he struck, she flipped over him flicking her wrist out, and sent a kunai into the gap between the back of his cuirass and his helmet. He stood for a second, and collapsed to the ground. Dead.
She rushed forward and slipped of the quake bracelet before going to Link's aide. He shook his head her when she slid to her knees at his side, and she pulled him up.
"Help Hito," He moaned, and she grimaced, quickly whispering a spell to his head, healing it, before stepping over to the dying Rito. He looked into her eyes for a moment, moved his lips, and nothing came out. His head lolled back, and he breathed his final breath. She sighed, and bit her lip under her mask. She muttered a spell to Impa's leg, and the bone mended and Impa grimaced to the mysterious woman.
"You fought well," she said, and Sheik shook her head.
"I would have fought well if more than three survived." Impa frowned, and out of nowhere, Sheik clutched her stomache, causing Impa to frown even more.
"I can't do it much longer," Sheik said, and Impa nodded.
"Soon," Impa said, "Just another day or so, you'll be fine." Sheik grimaced, and Link staggered over to them.
"Let's get out of here…" He muttered, and the other two heroes nodded.