Born a Weapon

A Twilight Princess Fan story

Chapter 5

Link didn't have to run for long before he spotted Beth standing on the side of the path.

"Beth!" Link called to her.

"Talo and Malo went chasing like crazy people after that monkey. I can't keep up with those two…" She said.

"Head back to the village!" Link demanded. Beth nodded and proceeded back the way Link came. Link continued down the path for a short while before finding Malo outside of the spring with the supposed healing water.

"… They went that way." He said as he pointed further down the path. "The rest is up to you, Link…" Malo then turned and headed back to the village without Link needing to tell him to, but he did anyway.

"Head back to the village!"

"I am."

Link ignored the child's remark and continued running. Malo had stopped just before a wooden bridge over a vast canyon that led to more path on the other side.

"That's a big drop" Link said to himself as he crossed the bridge. Soon Link came into a small grassy field with a gate blocking him from proceeding anymore. The gate was small, Link could probably run up to it and slowly pull himself over the top, but rather than slowing down, he built up speed, pressed his hands on the top of the gate, and using his arms as a pivot point, spun over the gate landing on the other side.

"Did I just…?" Link said, shocked at his actions. He had no clue how or why he did that, he thought he should have stopped and simply climbed over it, but somehow he just knew he could make it over the gate like that, so he went for it. Link shook himself from his thoughts, remembering a child was in danger, and continued onward. There was another spring of water on this side of the gate that seemed very similar to the one Link had been to before, and he wondered if this one had magical anti-die water as well, which he was still kind of skeptical was real. Link continued to follow the path, running through a long tunnel before coming to an open gate with a sign.

- Forest Temple path

It's pitch-dark ahead! Parties interested in going forward must first go this way! -

Coro

Deciding to heed the warning, Link proceeded to the right and found a man, who Link assumed was Coro, in an opening with a massive afro on his head sitting in front of a house

"Woah! An Ordonian! Hey, guy!" The man said

As Link approached the man, he noticed there was a bird nest in his hair. How does he do that? Why does he do that?

"Are you Coro?" Link asked

"That's me, guy! Listen, I'm not sure you should be wandering around the woods without a lantern. Just because it's daylight doesn't mean it's safe." Coro said, "There are a ton of caves and dank spots around here that pretty dark even in the middle of the day. Here! Go on, guy. Take this!" Coro reached behind his seat and pulled out a lantern, and handed it to Link. "See, I sell lantern oil here…" he continued. "I'm trying to drum up sales by giving away free lanterns! It's a business tactic, guy!"

I guess that could work, Link thought but wouldn't giving away a bunch of lanterns for free get pretty expensive?

"See, as long as you've got oil to fuel your lantern, you can set fire to stuff. They're the best!" Coro informed Link, "Go on, guy! Try setting a fire under that big pot!" Coro extended his hand toward a pot with fire-wood underneath it

Link fumbled with the igniter for a bit but finally managed to get a fire inside the lantern and held it close to the wood under the pot Coro mentioned. After a second, the wood was engulfed in flames, and Link turned off his new lantern and attached it to his waist.

"That's right! See! It's on fire, guy!" Coro exclaimed, "Yeah! You keep using that lantern anytime you feel the need. And if it runs out of oil, you come see me to get it refiled!"

"Do you know what might be in the forest?" Link asked.

"I heard there are some Deku Babas and Bokoblins in there, guy! You should be careful!"

"What are Deku Babas and Bokoblins?"

"Deku Babas are these big plants that hide in the ground and jump at you with sharp teeth, guy! I even heard there's a rare kind of Deku Baba that lets out a scent and puts its victims in a trance! They wander right up to it and don't even realize it's about to eat them! I also heard their bites can have deadly poison! Real scary stuff, guy! But I haven't heard of any of those kinds in the forest, guy. In fact, everyone thinks that kind is made up, nobody's ever seen one. Just the regular kind in the forest, guy. Bokoblins are these blue or purple skinned monsters. They can swing around clubs to hit you, guy! But unlike Bulbins, they're practically brainless, not that Bulbins are the smartest creatures either, guy, but they'd use bows and actual weapons to attack someone. You make sure you're careful if you head into the forest, guy!"

"Thank you for your help, and the lantern," Link said with a smile.

"No problem, guy! Remember, if you need oil, come see me!" Coro called as Link headed back to the path he temporarily strayed from after reading the warning sign.

As Link was about to pass through the open gate, a large mouth with sharp teeth and a long tongue shot up from a patch of leaves and shook its mouth/head, flinging its tongue and green saliva around.

"What the?!" Link shouted as he stepped back to avoid a bite from the plant.

I guess that's a Deku Baba Link thought as he tried to find a way past it. Link looked around, but there were tall wooden walls on either side of the gate, and even if they weren't there, there still wouldn't be enough room for Link to be able to get around the hostile plant. He had to remove the Deku Baba from his path somehow. Link clutched the wooden sword he still had from when he showed it to the children earlier and prepared to attack the plant. The Deku Baba lunged at him again but using both his hands, Link smacked it across its face. The Deku Baba pointed its head straight up and let out what sounded like a grumble someone would make when stunned but completely wrong. The Deku Baba returned its attention to Link after a few seconds and snapped at him again. Link once again bashed the vicious plant with his wooden sword, but when it recoiled again, he swung at the stem. The stem broke under the force of his swing, and the head of the Deku Baba fell to the ground and turned brown as it quickly dried up.

"Ok, big dangerous plants need to be smacked then cut, got it," Link said to no one. He didn't fool himself though, he got lucky. Link knew he had no idea how to use a sword and just swung wildly. While it seemed that would work on Deku Babas as long as he was careful, he was worried about the Bokoblins Coro mentioned. They had weapons and could move after him if he tried to back up. Link proceeded into the tunnel the Deku Baba tried to stop him from entering and found a small play wooden sword that he remembered belonged to Talo.

With renewed determination, Link proceeded down the dark tunnel. Upon entering, he noticed an unlit torch to his right, "should probably light this, so it's easy to get back," Link said, so he grasped his lantern, ignited a spark, and set flame to the unlit torch. The area lit up in an orange glow, and Link proceeded a few steps before a small bat came flying down at him at ramming speed. Link clumsily bashed it with his wooden sword and watched as it fell to the ground and lay still. "Even freaking bats are trying to kill me?" Link grumbled, "Coro didn't mention that."

Link continued down the tunnel but noticed that the floor had become wooden, signifying that this tunnel might not be natural, but artificial, and stumbled on another torch and repeated his actions with the previous one. Link wandered forward further and noticed the floor had once again become dirt. "Huh," Link looked down the path he was walking and saw a small patch of leaves in the dirt. "Another monstrous plant, huh?" Link firmly grasped his weapon in both hands and charged the patch of leaves. Upon his approach, the Deku Baba emerged from the ground, but Link was on it in a flash. He swung his wooden sword, bashing it in the head, and when it recoiled, he severed its stem, and it fell to the ground and dried up like the other of its kind.

Link couldn't deny he was proud to have ended the thing quickly after how much trouble he had trying to enter the long dark tunnel he was now in. However, the smile disappeared from his face as he discovered a giant spider web was blocking his path. "That is not a good sign," He stated. While Link wondered how he would get past the web in front of him, he was worried about what could have made such a large web and if it was still around. Link swung his wooden sword at the web, hoping to cut it down, and it became stuck to the stringy substance. "Crap…" Link said as he pulled with all his might on the handle of his weapon for several seconds before it came free, and he fell to the ground from the sudden jerk. Link got to his feet as he pondered what else he could do to remove the obstruction before him. Remembering his lantern, he detached it from his waist and activated it before holding it against the web, which became engulfed in flames and burned away.

Link continued down the path before being charged by a small rodent. Upon seeing it run at him, Link held his sword down by his side with both hands grasping the hilt and pulled it back, then swung it forward, bringing it up over his shoulder to finish the swing. The rodent flew through the air and smashed into a pot that was strung up by two straight strings of spider web, shattering it, and causing a blue rupee to fall to the ground.

"Hole in one!" Link said as he failed to hold back laughter.

Link proceeded to smash the other three pots by jumping up and swinging his wooden sword into them and found one contained another blue rupee, and two had a single green one in them. Link lit another torch he found in this area and went down the path to his left rather than the one that went straight and fought through another Deku Baba, which he eliminated the same way he dealt with the previous two, and bested two more bats that assaulted him with quick swipes through the air. He found this path to be a dead-end but saw a small wooden chest on the floor. Intrigued, Link approached the chest and found a yellow rupee inside. "What was this doing here?" he questioned as he pocketed the small gem and turned back around, and headed down the path he had chosen not to previously. After burning another large spider web, he found himself outside the tunnel and surrounded by trees.

Link headed down a small hill that had a bridge leading out from it that had been destroyed, judging by all the rubble around, and eliminated another Deku Baba. Just after Link disposed of the plant, he heard running from his right and spun to see who was coming at him. He saw a troll-like creature with blueish purple skin and baggy trousers with a red belt charging at him with a long, pointed stick with the blunt end pointed toward Link, ready to strike.

"WAOH!" Link shouted as he quickly hopped backward, avoiding the strike. The creature he assumed was a Bokoblin screeched at him and swung once more. Link tried to hold up his wooden sword to block, but it was a clumsy and weak block, and the Bokoblin easily smacked the wooden blade out of his hands.

"Oh, shit…" Link said as he quickly backed away from several strikes from his opponent before introducing his right fist to its face. The fiend stumbled backward and fell, and Link ran to where his sword had fallen and quickly snatched it up from the ground and rushed the Bokoblin, striking it on the back of its head several times just after it got to its feet. Link wasn't sure if he killed the thing or if it was just unconscious, but either way, he was relieved when it made no move to get back up.

"That was close," Link exhaled, and he bent over and rested on his knees. He wasn't tired, just relieved he had won the battle. After a few moments of rest, Link continued onward and bested another Deku Baba blocking the path as it narrowed, blocked by a wall of rocks. As he continued past where the vicious plant had been, another Bokoblin identical to the previous one attacked him. Link quickly backed out of range of each of its swings before smacking it across the face a few times with his weapon, eventually knocking it to the ground where it lay still.

"Ok, keep dodging and then smash them in the face. But don't try to block because I don't know what the hell I'm doing," Link said to himself, memorizing the routine he would use for besting the creatures.

Link spotted a small cave entrance to his right and headed into it after defeating three more hostile bats at the entrance. Inside, Link quickly disposed of one more bat and was seen by a bokoblin guarding a small wooden chest identical to the one that had contained 10 rupees before. Link ducked under its swing and stepped behind it before bashing it repeatedly until it was down. Link lit two torches on either side of the small chest before opening it and finding a key inside.

"A key?" Link questioned as he held the object in his hands, examining it. It was grey with a circular head with six small pieces sticking out from the top and a seventh with a hole seemingly for putting a rope through. The bottom of the key was straight with two long pieces of metal sticking straight out, the first slightly longer than the last. Link's attention was brought away from the key as he heard a high-pitched screech and smacked a bat that had almost managed to hit him. It then occurred to Link that he somehow managed to remain unscathed the entire time he had been chasing after Talo, he hoped he would stay that way. He headed out of the cave and went further down the path. On his way, he saw two bokoblins ahead of him, they were close to each other, but not enough for both to notice Link if he was careful. In an attempt to draw one away from the other, Link took the slingshot in his hand and sent a pellet right into the head of the closer bokoblin. After a moment of being stunned, it turned its head to see what had hit him and spotted Link and charged. Using a sidestep, Link avoided the creature's attacks and bashed it until it was down, then advanced on its comrade. After a few more quick dodges, Link eliminated his other adversary. But as he climbed up the hill, he worried he might not be able to win his next battle.

A short distance from him were two bokoblins, each standing right next to the other. There was no way for Link to draw one away from the other. He had to fight them both simultaneously. For a moment, Link's fear got the better of him, how could he fight two of these things at once? He had only defeated the others through sheer luck and no skill, he had no idea how to fight! There was no way he could win, he should just head back before he gets himself killed, but, what about Talo? If he left, what would these monsters do to him? If he left… No, he couldn't leave, it wasn't an option, Talo needed Link's help, there was no way Link would leave him to be killed, or worse. With his choice to continue despite the danger to himself, Link returned his attention to what was before him. Two bokoblins, at the same time, how could he do this? Link looked around for anything that could help him but found nothing, he had to make do with what he had. Quickly checking his belongings for any combat effectiveness, Link found the only things that would be of any use were his wooden sword and slingshot. The slingshot could stun a bokoblin for a second, but only a second, and Link didn't think he could best the other before it recovered. But Link got an idea. These beings weren't very smart, so Link prepared a pellet and pulled back his slingshot. He let the pellet fly, and it collided with the ground on the side of the bokoblins away from Link. The creatures turned their heads and approached the noise to investigate. While there were occupied, Link quietly crept up behind the two beasts and prepared to swing with all the might he could muster. He brought down his weaponized stick on the closer bokoblin quickly, it swayed but stayed standing. Link quickly followed up his attack with another powerful hit, and his opponent fell to the floor. The other bokoblin swung at Link, and he backed away but was skimmed in the arm by its swing.

"Ah!" Link quickly drove his shoulder into the beast knocking it to the floor, and brought his weapon down on its head twice before it was still. Link examined his wound as he headed for the gate his opponents were guarding, he wasn't hurt bad, just a bruise—it more shocked Link than it actually hurt him though it stung quite a bit. Link had almost reached the gate before a loud smack came from the back of his head, and he tumbled to the ground. Link's ears were ringing, and he had a massive headache, but he could make out a high-pitched screech of victory from somewhere behind him.

There was a third one, Link thought as he tried to pick himself up from the ground as his world spun. Link felt another wave of pain come from his back as his attempt to rise was ended by his surprise attacker before another and another. Link summoned strength from somewhere unknown and rolled to the right and heard wood connect with dirt where he had been just a second ago. He swung his blade clumsily and managed to strike his enemy's feet knocking it onto its face. Wasting no time, Link crawled up to the bokoblin, grabbed the back of its head by its hair, lifted it up as it let out a screech, and silenced it as he slammed its head to the ground with all his strength and as much of his weight as he could. Link laid on his back for several minutes as the ringing in his ears slowly left him. He felt a warm, sticky substance on the back of his head and reached his hand to the spot it was coming from. "Ah!" Touching the spot sent a stinging pain through Link's skull, and when he put his fingers in front of his face, they were red.

"Shit!" Link cried out as he tried to push away the pain he was feeling. Gotta keep going. Have to save Talo. Link forced himself to his feet slowly as the pain in his head intensified from his movements. He checked around himself quickly for any more surprises before spotting another sign next to the gate the bokoblins were protecting.

Forest Temple Ahead

Got enough lantern oil?

If not, stop at Trill's!

What's with people selling lantern oil around here? Is Trill connected to Coro somehow?

Link observed the gate and saw a lone bokoblin on the other side facing away from him and a lock on the gate. Link remembered the key he found before, quickly retrieved it from his pocket, slowly inserted it into the lock, and turned it. The lock clicked open, and he was going to remove it slowly in hopes of surprising the bokoblin from the other side, but it heard Link unlock the gate, spun around quickly, and began rushing him. Link kicked the gate with all his might sending it crashing into the foolish bokoblin, who Link rushed immediately and knocked him to the ground. Link quickly barged through and brought his weapon on the fiend's head, and it did not move. Link sighed aggressively as he proceeded down the path before coming upon a small open clearing with two bokoblins, and only two this time. Link repeated his strategy on the previous two at the gate, shooting a pellet to distract them, sneaking up on one, and knocking him down. However, this time, Link had been quick enough to avoid the blind swing of the second bokoblin and took advantage of his unbalance. Link easily defeated the foolish monster as he noticed bokoblins attacked with no strategy. They swung wildly and put all their force into each swing, leaving them very exposed… Link knew he wasn't much better. He snuck up on another bokoblin down a path to his right and quickly defeated it with surprise on his side before hearing a voice to his left.

"Woo! Hey! Woo! You're super!" Link looked to his left to see the voice had come from, a bird? It was a small blue bird with a long yellow beak and what Link could swear was a sizable blue afro on its head. "Now just buy something! Hey!". Link approached a sign just outside the small set up the bird was in, which contained a roof, two wooden fences with a gap in the middle making an entrance, and two large pots inside.

TRILL'S SHOP

Make payment at the box near the shopkeeper.

Link could see lantern oil in the pot on the left and a strange red liquid in the pot on the right. Upon closer inspection, Link spotted a sign on the bottom of each pot and moved closer to make out what they said. "Welcome! Hey! Buy something! Anything!" The bird, who Link assumed to be Trill, said. Link quickly looked at the sign on the left.

Lantern Oil Refill 20 Rupees

The woods are dangerous at night! Don't run out of lamp oil!

Link didn't need any more oil at the moment, so he turned his attention to the sign on the right.

Red Potion Refill 30 Rupees

This blend of mushrooms and herbs replenishes life energy. All of Hyrule orders it!

Red Potion? That sounds… weird. Link decided not to purchase any of the red liquid and departed the small shop, he couldn't really remember the rupee values right now anyway. Link headed further, bested another Deku Baba, and found another small chest with a yellow rupee in it.

Those are worth ten, right?

Link then looked ahead and saw a large open area with a deep drop and a massive tree with a winding wooden path leading up to it, and he heard a monkey screeching at the top of it. He quickly headed up the path and finally saw Talo. He was locked inside a small wooden cage with the monkey he had been chasing in an opening with stone tiles with artistic designs making up the floor and was surrounded by two small pillars and two bokoblins. Link immediately dashed to the left side once he was spotted to put some distance between him and the bokoblin on the right so he could focus on the one on the left. Link struck before his adversary could and just finished it off before the other was on top of him. Link had no time to move, so he attempted to block the bokoblins swing before but held very tightly to his sword with one hand at the tip of his wooden blade. The block was successful, and Link quickly pressed his advantage and eliminated the last monster stopping him from rescuing the imprisoned child.

"Talo! Are you ok?!" Link asked as he rushed to the cage.

"Link! You gotta get me out of here!" Talo pleaded.

Link examined the cage containing his young friend. It was poorly crafted, obviously made in a hurry, and it looked like the bars could be broken with enough force.

"Hey, Link, c'mon! PLEASE! Help me! Set me free!"

"I am," Link reassured Talo. "Just trying to figure out how to get you out of there. I think I can smash these bars open with enough force. Try to stand back!"

Talo pressed as far back against the bars opposite those in front of Link, and the monkey quckly followed suit as link prepared a swing. "Cover your face" Talo quickly shielded his face with his hands, as did the monkey. With a grunt, Link swung as hard as he could, and the wooden bar buckled under the pressure. He repeated the action until he had smashed enough bars to make an opening large enough to climb out. Talo quickly escaped through this hole and hugged Link tightly. The monkey Talo had been pursuing slipped out, clapped a few times, and ran off into the distance. "Link! I was really scared!" Talo said in a shaky voice. "Don't worry, you're safe now. We're going to head back home away from all the scary monsters now, all right?" Talo nodded slowly, and the two slowly headed back to the village in silence, though Talo did gawk at all the Bokoblins and Deku Babas Link had defeated as they passed the creatures laying on the ground.

When Link and Talo emerged from the forest just outside Ordon, Talo finally spoke up. "If you hadn't come, Link… Gee, me and that monkey would've gotten eaten, probably! She's actually a pretty nice gal, that monkey… She tried to protect me, so we got captured together, but…" Talo hung his head and fiddled with his fingers. "I feel really bad 'cause you got hurt, Link. If I hadn't run off, you would've been fine." Link knelt down in front of the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Talo, I'm fine! Look at me" the boy slowly lifted his gaze to meet Link's. "I wasn't hurt that badly, and it's not your fault this happened, so promise me you won't blame yourself, ok?" Talo stared into Link's gaze for a moment before nodding his head. "Um, Link… You're not gonna mention this to my dad, are you? He's always telling me to never, EVER go into the forest, 'cause he says it's dangerous… So you really can't tell him! Really! You have to promise!" before Link could get a word in, Talo ran back toward Ordon as quick as his small legs could carry him.

"Link!"

Link turned to his left to see Rusl approaching him. "My son told me Talo disappeared into the woods and had not returned. I came as soon as I heard… But it looks like you have brought him home already… I apologize. Such a task should not fall to you."

"You don't have to apologize," Link said. "I'm just glad I was able to help him make it home safely," Rusl gave Link a smile before speaking again.

"Tell me, have you noticed how strange this wood seems lately? I feel… uneasy about what may lie in wait…"

"Yeah," Link said with a slightly pained-sounding voice as he remembered the wound on his head. "It wasn't exactly friendly…" Link reached up to his head again but recoiled away from his wound and released a sharp hiss upon touching it. Rusl noticed this and the blood on his hands,

"Link! Are you hurt?!" He said as he quickly went behind the teenager and examined the back of his head,

"Yeah… a bokoblin snuck up on me… smacked me in the back of my head."

"You had better let me bandage this," the man said, "Were you injured anywhere else?"

"The same bokoblin got me in my back three times while I was stunned from the blow to my head, and I got skimmed by another in the arm, but that didn't leave any more than a small bruise." Link responded,

"Come with me," Rusl said as he led Link back to his house to bandage his fresh wounds. Rusl wasn't a healer, but he knew Link's injuries should at least be bandaged, and he knew it was the least he could do for Link after what he just did for Talo.