Fan Fiction Friday: The Era Without A Hero – Part 15

The sounds of the joyous get together were silenced as Zelda pushed her way through the brambles and back into the murky forest. She stood near the large rock for a moment, pulling the small stickers off her cloak and pants. She had taken her bow and quiver, along with a lantern for lighting her way.

She started towards where she believed the horses were tied up, and continued on that path for a few minutes. She stopped to look around in confusion though, when she arrived again at the large boulder.

It must have been a mistake. I wasn’t paying attention, and got turned around.

Somehow, she managed the make the mistake twice more.

She sat with her back against the rock and thought about going back to the gathering at the Deku Tree, then cursed herself at the idea of having to admit she had made a mistake. This was something she could do. She needed to do.

She stood up and was about to press onward, when her blood ran cold.

Another lantern was bobbing its way towards her, accompanied by the sounds of heavy footsteps. As she ducked down, a gruff and wet voice spoke in rugged Hylian.

“The boss said, there was a shop ‘round ‘ere. Said it have lots o’ shields.”

“An’ I says we already raided it!” a second voice replied.

“Who raided it?”

“We did! Me and you!”

“When?”

“When we done caught them elf-brats!”

“The ones we ate?”

“Those was foxes you moron. I’m talkin’ the little imps we got locked up.”

“Oh right,” the first one grunted.

The footsteps came to a stop.

“Now what?” the second voice asked, annoyed.

“I smell somethin’…”

“You smell somethin’? What you smell?”

“Hylian.”

“Hylian? You ain’t smelled Hylian in weeks. How you know it’s Hylian when you can’t remember grabbin’ a few Kokiri brats a few days ago?”

Zelda held her breath and pressed hard against the rock. She had a small dagger that was attached to her hip, and she began to reach for it. Her fingers wrapped around its leather handle as she listened more intently.

The footsteps had started again.

Then, she looked next to her and realized the lantern was still on. She dove to douse the light but accidentally knocked the lamp over. Oil spilled out and ignited. The bright light lit up like a beacon in a lighthouse.

She leapt to her feet and sprinted towards the entrance to the Deku Tree’s clearing. She dug her feet in and pushed herself forward as fast as she could. She was only feet from the shrubbery when the massive and calloused hand wrapped around her wrist.

“Gotcha little morsel!”

*          *          *          *          *

It didn’t take Osmond, Fado, and Mido long to put together where Zelda had gone. With the plan already in place, they gathered some supplies and headed out. They quickly discovered the remains of Zelda’s lantern, and Mido spotted the Moblin tracks.

“Don’t trust your memory in here,” Mide cautioned as he scored a tree stump with a large X. “If we get separated, being caught by the Moblins may be a comfort compared to some of the dangers that lurk in these woods.”

They continued into a darker part of the forest, where even the small light from their lanterns seemed to be swallowed within inches of its source. There was a small pond at one point, glowing with a strange blue-green light. Then a large stone structure that gave off the scent of burnt wood. As they passed each landmark, Mido left some sort of evidence they had passed it.

The trees grew thicker and taller with the ground beginning to rise and fall like waves in an ocean. The dark began playing tricks on Osmond’s mind too. He was continually catching sight of small lights just behind a bush or just hiding behind a trunk.

“They’re not lights,” Fado said quietly.

“They’re not?”

“Skullkids. Hylian and Kokiri children who got lost in these woods for too long. It’s a sad fate, but one we’ve done a good job of limiting in recent years. However, it’s a far more grim demise that the parents succumb to when they enter desperate and distraught.”

“What happens to them?”

Before an answer could come, Mido stopped and silenced them by blowing out his lantern.

“We’re here.”

Crouching down, the three looked into a meadow illuminated from above by moonlight. There were also dozens of torches and a large campfire providing additional light, especially in the densely wooded surroundings. Several pig-faced monsters were huddled about the fire, with two more on top of small structures built for archers. Beyond the Moblin’s camp, an old and decaying staircase led up to another area where the face of a grand mansion could be seen.

“Bastards,” Fado cursed under his breath.

“This is holy ground to us Kokiri,” Mido said bitterly. “It used to be the Forest Temple, but following Lady Saria’s passing, it fell into disrepair and now plays host to these abominations.”

Osmond thought back to his studies with Aldiwn. The Forest Temple was one of the places Aldwin had longed to visit and would have brought him such joy to see it. Osmond also knew it would have outraged him to see the temple reduced to a stronghold of evil. It was while he was staring out at the temple thought, that he noticed the entrance was a full floor off the ground. The stairs that had once led up to the main entrance were nowhere to be seen.

“How do we get in?”

Mido pointed, “there’s a ladder stashed behind that tree back there. Moblins are big, but they’re not smart enough to keep that hidden away.”

Osmond and Fado followed Mido and they crept around the side of the camp, taking careful note of the vigilant archers and patrolling guards on the ground. They made it to the staircase and, using some of the foliage that bordered it, crept carefully up to the landing with the entrance and ladder. A moment later, Mido had leaned the ladder against the face of the building and urged them up it.

Fado reached the top first, then Osmond. Mido remained at the bottom of the ladder though, and carefully pulled a slingshot from his hip.

“Mido! We don’t have time for that,” Fado said in a hushed shout.

“Pull the ladder up and get in there,” Mido replied. “If either of you get captured, you’ll be overrun in a minute. Plus, once you get the folks that are captured to safety, I can start getting them back to the Deku Tree.”

Fado gritted his teeth.

“Go! Before this is made all for naught!”

As Fado grunted and scrambled into the temple, Osmond gave Mido a nod and pulled the ladder up into the doorway. He watched as Mido slipped back into the surrounding brush, then followed Fado inside.

*          *          *          *          *

Inside her cell, Zelda struggled to keep her hood over her hair. Her mother had taught her long ago how to wrap it tightly, and Impa furthered the teaching by showing her how to conceal it in times of danger. The two lessons were not intended for the same use though.

The Moblins that had captured her seemed to not know or care who she was, and for that she was relieved. However, the relief was short lived as she was dropped into a pit and the entrance was sealed shut. As she heaved against it, then moved to the bars that gated off a hallway, she noticed she wasn’t alone.

A weak and badly injured Hylian Soldier emerged from the shadows.

“They won’t budge. Lots of us have tried.”

Zelda let go of them and turned to the rest of the room, letting her eyes adjust.

There were five more soldiers, two of which had such severe injuries that they couldn’t stand. A dozen Kokiri were also present, and many of them looked to bear some sort of wound as well, though not as severe.

“I’m Myra,” one small red-haired Kokiri girl said, presenting herself.

“Hello Myra, I’m…” Zelda trailed off. “I’m an attendant from the Castle who was accompanying a knight and sage. I got lost trying to get something from our horse and…”

“A Knight and Sage?” The soldier piqued up.

“Yes, Sir Osmond of Castletown and Lord Fado. We were sent here to investigate the disappearances lately.”

“The Goddesses be praised,” Myra folded her hands and closed her eyes.

“Did they bring any more soldiers?”

“Well no, we were only investigating. We had no idea what had become of the forest.”

The soldier groaned, “damnit. Even a sage and knight won’t stand a chance against him.”

“Him?”

The soldier pointed up to a trapdoor, “the leader of this band of monsters. Calls himself Forad, the King of the Moblins. Has a crown and scepter and everything.”

“A moblin king?” Zelda almost laughed.

“He wields magic, m’lady,” Myra said coldly, “powerful magic.”

Zelda shivered as images of Adok launching his attack flashed through her memories. She looked around the room to get her mind off of it.

“Shouldn’t there be more of you?”

The soldier sat down against the bars and let out a heavy sigh, “there were. Our regiment was twenty strong. Six died trying to fight the monsters off, another three were offed the night we got here. Since then, they just come down to restock.”

“Restock?” The word passed her lips as if it were made of porcelain.

“Food.”

*          *          *          *          *

Osmond and Fado had begun their stealthy infiltration only to find virtually no evidence of the Moblins having actually taken up residence inside the temple. Most of the rooms and chambers were filled with dust and natural growth that had crept in. Some walls had vines growing on them, others had simply given way to tree roots that pushed through.

The one exception to this though was a courtyard containing a well and a small channel of water. The area had been gated off years ago by the looks of it, but the gate did open up at a point and it was locked. The twigs and vines that wove themselves up and around the bars were broken free in that area as well, meaning it had certainly been used recently.

When they arrived on the second floor, they found a small circular room with a pair of tall stained-glass windows. One was still intact, but its color had faded drastically. The other window was broken letting nature retake its place. There was also a heavy dark wood door to their right that looked as if it might lead into a banquet hall of some sorts. Fado continued towards the door as Osmond peered out the window.

Below, he could see the Moblins carrying on as they had. They were still unaware that their fortress had been infiltrated.

“Hello, what do we have here?” Fado’s voice came from the next room.

Osmond entered and observed a large and long table that stretched the length of the room. Several candelabras that had lost all shine and played host to piles of dust and thick cobwebs rested along the center of it. The rest of the table seemed in utter disarray with papers, maps, chests filled with gold, silver, and rupees, goblets that were half empty and some that had just spilled over sprawled haphazardly over it.

“Seems our Moblin friends have been hording their treasures,” Fado said, standing at the far end of the table and looking at the haul.

“Doesn’t seem to help us with our missing knights and Princess though,” Osmond remarked as he lifted one of the goblets.

“I wouldn’t be quite so certain. Have a look at this.”

Fado held up a ring of keys. Each of the keys had a tag hanging off of it, and one specifically said well courtyard.

They began to make for door when the sounds of heavy footsteps began coming upstairs.

Osmond rushed to the door and slammed it shut. There was another door behind them, and they quickly made for it.

When Osmond grabbed the handle though, it disintegrated.

He and Fado shoved hard against the door. It gave a little bit, but didn’t open. Osmond then spotted an axe near the other door. He dashed for it and gave it a mighty heave over his head. The door split open with a tremendous crash and they bolted into the hallway that was beyond it.

Inside there were several sheets resting over rectangular picture frames, a weapons rack with a few rusty spears on it, a window blocked by a dusty curtain, and another door down a very short hallway.

“Hylian!” A monstrous voice boomed from behind Osmond and Fado.

Fado raced to the next door only to find it locked. As he fought with the door to open it, he looked back at Osmond and shouted.

“Hold them off!”

 

*Author’s Note: A 12-track album is now available over on YouTube with songs (some covers, some originals) from the Podcast version. Check them out here!

David Wayne Nystrom is a Staff Writer for Zelda Dungeon. This story is an imagining of the final days in Hyrule prior to the Great Flood talked about in the opening cinematic of The Wind Waker. His top three Zelda games are Ocarina of Time, The Wind Waker, and Link’s Awakening. The first six chapters of the full story are available in podcast form, with future chapters in the works. To find it and learn more about the project, head to erawithoutahero.wordpress.com or follow him on Twitter. Every Era Has Heroes…