Chapter 3:
Sir Russel had delivered on his threat. Link was to run for 10 kilometres each day before the training session. And it wasn't to be a leisurely jog either. To meet the old slave driver's target time he had to damn near spring. Combined with the summer heat he was quickly drenched in sweat. To make matters worse, as one round around the village was only about 1 kilometre, he passed the same people at work several times. He felt like they all watched him, judging and he felt like an idiot. While he normally liked exerting himself, this seemed so mindless. If he had any breath left he would have cursed the entire time. The only section of his round where he pulled himself together and feigned nonchalance was when he passed the laundry pool where the village girls were. He didn't know whether to be amused by their giggles about his sweat drenched exterior or worried.
"Jab and backstep! Jab and backstep! Quicker, boy!"
Sir Russel hadn't even given him a second to catch his breath. Link was gasping for air, he could barely hold his steel for all the sweat on his palm and his knees still felt wobbly from yesterday. But, to his surprise he felt rather exhilarated. He gave it his all, even though he had no idea where his all currently came from.
"Yes! Quicker! Now jab, sidestep strike! FEET!" his tormentor bellowed while sweeping Link's forward foot with his steel, quick as lightning. Link barely kept his balance but was immediately struck in the torso to destabilize him completely.
His ribs screamed and he wasn't at all sure that they were still in one piece.
"Sidestepping an attack doesn't mean you can forgo your guard, high or low. That is the beauty of this combat! To switch smoothly from offence to defence. That's why you…"
"…don't have a shield during the tourney, yes." Link finished the sentence, having heard it only, oh, a thousand times maybe?
"Quite. At least something is getting through to you. Up!"
Link struggled upright, taking a deep breath. He didn't know what it was today, but he felt better about this. He would train, he would do his best, and to hell with everything else!
"Good! Again!" the knight barked and got back into his fighting stance.
They circled each other a few seconds, locked into each other's gaze. Sir Russel would intentionally neglect his guard on some area of his body and Link had to notice and react. Jab, Sir Russel would counter, sidestep, strike and NOT neglect his own guard, damn it!
A late step on the old man's part, exposing his right and Link jabbed. The aging knight swatted his sword away and smoothly turned his sword's movement into a short overhead swing. Link dodged to his left and attempted a backhanded slash under his opponent's guard. The old man jumped closer, holding his blade so its grip blocked Link's sword hand, stopping his momentum painfully, and its tip rested at Link's cheek. "Defence and offence, boy. But you did better. Again!"
It continued. He looked forward to tomorrow's activities. If he got to see any of them, he thought a little contritely. Between working the forge, practicing, running and tomorrow's session, he'd hardly have time for anything. The image of him jogging through the princess' procession, sweaty and nearly dying, just passing her carriage and shouting a brief "Good day!" at the confused royal flashed in his mind. He had to stifle a laugh. The brief distraction awarded him a hearty swing on the arm.
"Wake up boy! How much do I have to lower my guard before you notice it?"
"Sorry. Thinking about princesses." He couldn't stop himself from saying as he rubbed his arm.
"You want her to think about you? Then win the bloody tournament!" the old man snarled.
Another giggle needed to be suppressed. Him winning the heart of the fair princess as he fought valiantly and ultimately triumphed in the junior tourney of swordmastery. Why not hand her a rose as he strutted around like a Rito during mating season? Or sing a ballad while playing on a lyre while he's at it?
"Get. Your head. Into the fight. Boy. Or screw it off and we'll see if you fight better without it!" his instructor growled.
Link regained his focus and narrowly dodged a high swing. He immediately jabbed, sidestepped the riposte and ran right into an immediate second attack aiming for his temple. For a moment he could only see stars flashing in front of his eyes.
He felt hands like bear paws grab him for stability.
As his vision returned he looked into Sir Russels steel blue eyes. He actually looked rather shocked. "Damn it, boy! Where was your guard? You can't let me hit you like that!"
Link had to stifle a grin. The old boy had briefly lost control and had been frightened for his student. The blow shouldn't have been this hard. But Link had a hard head, if nothing else.
The knight had conquered his initial shock. "I wanted to show you that you always sidestep to the left. What did I tell you about being predictable? You have a considerable advantage being left handed, true. Most people aren't used to fighting a left handed swordsman. But you can't over-rely on it. You tend to always move to the left. Mix it up or any decent opponent will make you bleed for it."
"Are you alright?" he asked gruffly.
"Sure!"
"Then battle stance! And again!
Link wanted nothing more than to sink into his bed and be done with today. But tonight Marten, Ricco and he would finally meet again so he couldn't rest yet. Once he had washed the sweat and grime of today's session off of his body, he scuffled towards the (ugh…) Ord Dinnery where they were to meet.
The exhilarating feeling he had had was somewhat subdued due to his body aching everywhere. There was agony in spots he didn't even know could hurt. He knew his two friends would want to do something strenuous, either fencing or archery. Lovely, he thought grumpily. More punishment for my poor muscles…
Link entered the village square and, unsurprisingly, found both of his buddies already waiting. As usual, he had to suppress a giggle, seeing the two of them next to each other. Ricco, big and broad, mostly due to muscle mass rather than fat, stood there unshakably like a young Goron. To his side Marten, short and scrawny, twitching continuously as if he had a yellow Chuchu in his pants. Stoic stability versus nervous mobility. And Link right in the middle.
"Brothers!" Link exclaimed dramatically.
He could see Marten roll his eyes in anticipation of what would come next.
Ricco grinned toothily, took a deep breath and shouted "Brother! Blood of my fathers! Companion and aide in these trying times! What ails thee?"
"Oh just about everything, thank you!" Link replied with a grin of his own. "Oh, wait! I mean: My brother! Agony! Agony from the fire on my skin to the ache in my heart. I am undone, my…"
"Goddess, will you two stop?!" Marten interrupted, unable to hide his own smile. "I am already regretting meeting you"
"Alas, brother! Methinks our little one's mood sours at our innocuous jest!" Ricco shouted in mock indignation.
"Even the milk sours with your attempts at high prose." Marten grumbled. Then laughed and extended his hand. They gripped each other's forearm in greeting.
"How's training with the old bear going?" Marten asked.
Link should have expected the question, but it still rasped at his nerves. "He's relentless. He'll have ground me into dust weeks before the actual tourney."
"Ah well. You'll pull through. It has been a long time since I could beat you with a sword. Think about how good you'll be when he's done with you!" Marten supported his friend.
Link grumbled in return.
"Come on, boys, let's have a drink before we go." Ricco proposed.
"Where are we going anyway?" Link asked.
"Bow practice. It's been too long for you two. Do you even know how to hold a bow still?" Marten asked, earning a friendly tap from Ricco, which almost sent him flying.
"Some of us are working, you know?"
They sat down at one of the Dinnery's tables. The sun was setting. Most of Ord's visitors had either moved on or were resting at the inn, so only a few tables were occupied.
"So, do you want a beer or something stronger?" Ricco asked, deadpan.
"Stronger." Link hissed through gritted teeth as his bruised buttocks hit the hard wood of the seats.
"Lemon water it is!" Ricco agreed.
A few seconds later they all had their drink.
"Have you heard about the royal retinue that's supposed to come tomorrow?" Link asked.
"Sure! Wouldn't want to miss the princess, would we?" Ricco answered with an innocent smile.
"Yet another one of your legendary conquests, Ric?" Marten scoffed.
"Who knows? Think about it! She has only 4 more days of travel until she's home. Why would she stop here? There can be only one reason. She must have seen me in her dreams and is longing for my strong arms." Ricco purred.
Link snorted into his drink. Marten nearly choked with laughter.
"Forget about the princess, you letch. Knights, soldiers, guards, even servants! All with stories about the world! Just a tiny look away from this village, for once."
"Sure there's that. And the princess' ladies-in-waiting…" Marten raised his eyebrows conspiratorially.
Link sighed. "Sure. If there's time…"
"Come, brothers! Let's discuss this on the way. We should use the remaining daylight."
A few minutes later they were armed with their bows and were jogging towards their private archery range, which was little more than a clearing in the North Ord Wood. Daylight was almost gone now but that didn't really bother the three boys. Less light meant more relying on other senses.
"Right! I'll start. I'm aiming for that tree stump between the two beech trees." Marten said.
Link estimated the distance at about 50 metres. Not a bad start for the evening. Clearly, Marten wanted to show off a little.
The scrawny lad nocked an arrow and drew. Link was always fascinated at that process. The usually so twitchy boy was suddenly pure focus.
He let loose. The arrow flew a beautiful arc and thudded perfectly into the wooden target. Marten gave them a smug look.
"Pft. That's all you got?" Ricco scoffed. He drew, loosed and turned away as if a perfect hit was a matter of course. The arrow had other plans though. It overshot and hit the tree behind the stump.
"Please tell me the arrow actually hit." Ricco said. "That 'thock' didn't sound right."
"Way off, big guy. You killed the innocent man behind your target!" Link grinned.
"Well, of course I did! Mart already took the easy one in the front. No use shooting the same Moblin twice, is there?" Ricco countered, always sharp-tongued.
"Yeah yeah. Let a grown up do the shooting." Link shouldered him aside.
"Oho ho! Now you better split Marten's arrow, grown up, or this child here will ram you into the ground."
Link focused on the target. He hadn't held a bow in weeks, but he didn't mind. He just hoped his arms wouldn't tremble when drew the string. He took a deep breath and drew. He loved that moment of maximum concentration. Everything seemed to slow down to a crawl. Only for an instant, but long enough to take aim.
Only him and the target.
But as he had feared, his right arm started trembling. He quickly loosed the arrow before his concentration faded. The arrow flew nicely, but he could soon see that it would miss its mark. It thudded into the wood a few inches to the right of Marten's arrow. Of course his mark had been his friend's projectile but he wasn't about to admit that now that he'd missed.
"Not too shabby. Still…" and Ricco grabbed Link put him in a headlock and rasped over his blonde head with his knuckles. He released him a few satisfying squeaks of pain later.
Marten was already preparing his next shot. "How about this?"
He aimed very high, almost vertically. His arrow flew an enormous ark and drilled deep into the very top of the stump.
"Already your best trick, Mart?"
"I have a few more."
Ricco tried next. They would probably never see that arrow again. Link was just glad it hadn't landed in his brains.
Link wasn't great at these shots. Direct shots he could shoot a fly from a Bokoblin's head without it noticing, but these high ones?
He got into position.
"Remember: picture the flight path in your mind first." Marten encouraged.
Link blew a strand of hair out of his face and drew. He fired a little prematurely, so not to evoke the tremble again. The arrow missed the stump, but not by much. Only about 30 centimetres, he reckoned.
"Surprising." He said aloud.
The three archers continued trying different exercised, occasionally pausing to collect their arrows. They briefly looked for the missing one, but soon gave up.
When they returned to the clearing it was almost completely dark. They continued practicing for another hour anyway. Link had excellent night vision, so his arrows were still grouped very tightly on the stump even when they increased the distance.
When they had shot all their arrows for the fourth time they decided to stop. Link and Mart waited for Ric to finish retrieving his arrows (he did have a bigger spray).
"Will you have time to watch tomorrow's procession?" Link asked.
"Hardly. I'm behind on my arrows as it is. As far as I heard the Princess just wants to rest anyway. So I doubt we'd get to see a lot of action. Apparently the mayor has nothing planned apart from an official reception." Marten divulged.
"Hmm. Shame. Don't really know what I expect. At least some sort of festivity, I guess." Link pondered.
"I wonder what she looks like…" Marten mused.
"Princess Zelda? She might be the most stunning creature to ever grace the earth. So what? What difference does it make?"
"Nightly activities."
"Nightly ac… come on, man!" Link for some reason felt a little offended.
"Oh now you care! I knew all that disinterest was insincere. Think she might notice you?" Mart teased.
"Sure! And the ringing of the wedding bells soon after!" Link made a bored face.
"Damn, thinking long term already, eh? Looks like Ricco's not the only one with plans for conquest. Ricco! You might have competition!"
They didn't hear any answer.
"Ric?" Link called.
He looked into the forest. Thanks to his good eyes, he spotted his friend 10 metres away, crouching and signalling with his hand to come over. Link wordlessly told Marten to follow. They both had an arrow at the ready, just in case.
When they had crept up to Ricco he signed them to lay low.
"What did you see?" Link whispered.
"Not sure. Movement. Glowing eyes, maybe. Heard the clank of metal."
A cold shiver ran down Link's back. Not good. He had never seen any dangerous beasts in his life. They simply didn't come into the heartlands of Hyrule. But Ric wasn't someone prone to overreaction.
He wanted to investigate, but knew that to be a dumb idea. "Move back. Mart lead the way, Ric check our sides, I'm watch the rear." He commanded.
The two others immediately did what they were told and they slowly snuck back towards the clearing. Once or twice Link thought he saw a tiny bit of movement in the underbrush, but that could have just been harmless critters. They were almost out on the glade when Ricco breathed "Stop."
He stared to Link's left, holding his breath.
They all saw a short, large headed creature with white horns and huge teeth almost glowing in the dark. Its glowing, yellow eyes darted around, apparently looking for something. A Bokoblin. About 10 metres away. They could only see one, but that was the problem. As far as they all knew, these creatures rarely moved alone.
Suddenly its gaze fixed on them. It grunted loudly and made a quick step in their direction.
Ricco breathed in sharply, Marten just stared.
Link stood up fully and drew his bow and aimed right at the creature's face. It stopped immediately, growling softly. Link set his jaw. He would shoot if the thing made a single suspicious twitch. Link saw it was armed with a club with crude nails sticking out of it. He fired. The arrow knocked the club cleanly out of the monster's hand. It gave a brief screech. Link, without missing a beat had re-drawn his bow. The next arrow would not be so benign.
The Bokoblin seemed to get the message and slowly retreated back into the forest. Slowly the glowing yellow dots became smaller. It seemed to take an eternity but when the thing was about thirty metres away, it turned and bolted. Link must have stood there, arrow at the ready, for at least 3 minutes. Now his tremble returned with a vengeance. He lowered his weapon and hissed a quick "Move!"
Almost stumbling over each other they hastened away. Everyone expected a sudden unnatural screech and an attack. But nothing came.
When they had finally reached Link's home, they stopped and breathed.
"A… fucking… Bokoblin?" Ricco wheezed.
"What is it doing… here? In the heartlands?" Marten gasped.
Link had no answer. He too was breathing heavily, but he was more preoccupied with the strange calm that had flooded him at the sight of the creature.
"No idea. But it was alone at least." He answered finally.
"How'd you know that?" Ricco questioned.
"We're still alive for one thing. And we didn't hear anything when we legged it. If any more had been in earshot, it would have screamed." He replied.
"A scout?" Marten asked as if Link had all the answers.
"Could be. But I've never heard of a single Bokoblin in these parts, let alone a whole group. I think it was alone. And even if it wasn't, I don't think it's particularly interested in us. We've heard of no attacks along the north road right? Why would they spare hundreds of miles of busy road and the occasional village to attack here?"
They thought about that.
Finally Marten asked "Why didn't you kill it?" There was no real reproach in his voice, more bafflement.
Link had thought about that the whole way back. "I… don't know. I just felt it was no real threat, I guess. Maybe I should have anyhow. I don't know."
He lay awake most of the night, still wondering if he had made a mistake.