LOZ:Twilight Princess:Ch.4

---- Chapter 4: Into the Twilight


As he came to the entrance of the spirit spring, a barricade in the form of a locked fence startled Link to a sudden halt. What? Oh, she must really be angry with me…. On the opposite side of the division, he could clearly see three figures. Two were Ilia and Epona. The third caught him off guard. Wait…. How did Colin get in there? It almost made his fury spring forward, but he halted it.

Stumbling over a way to circumvent the barrier, Ilia spotted him, and gruffly called out, “If you’ve come for Epona, you can forget it! Think about what you’ve done. I won’t open the gate!”

Link held fast to one of the bars that separated him from his horse and hung his head. How would he convince her that her judgment was misplaced? That he hadn't hurt Epona on intention by jumping fences this morning. He knew the injury must've taken place in Faron the other day, for the shrubbery had nestled them closely through the paths. He scolded himself for not checking her over before he had gone to bed last night.

“Link, don’t worry,” he heard. Colin. Link peered through the vertical slats. “I’ll explain your bravery of yesterday with Talo and the monkey. I don’t know if she’ll listen, but ... see that tunnel in the hillside over there? Talo and Malo made it last year. It leads into here.”

Link looked to the small opening near the ground, and before departing he nodded his thanks.

He knelt down in the dirt and examined the threshold. It was stable, obviously hollowed out by the children with the passage so small. Yet, it provided him with the only possibility of entering the spring while Ilia guarded it. Inhaling a bit of fresh air, he plunged into its narrow depths on all fours.

Once out on the other side of the tunnel, he dusted his clothes from the accumulated dirt. He overhead the end of Colin and Ilia’s conversation. “I hadn’t heard the details of Talo’s peril or Epona's part in it,” Ilia was saying in a shocked voice. “But—” She then noticed Link’s presence, and turned toward Epona, who tossed her mane merrily at the sight of him. “You still prefer your master over me?” she asked kindly. She turned a gentle smile toward Link. “Don’t worry. Fortunately, the injury wasn’t serious. You two will be able to go on together.” It was obvious that Colin's explanation had calmed her, offered Link back into her graces.

Link started to approach.

“But, Link,” added Ilia; he stopped before her. “Can you at least promise me this? No matter what happens on your journey, don’t try to do anything … out of your league. Please.” Her verdant eyes sparkled with the utmost care, and Link could see within her the fear that she carried for his well being. It was heartwarming to know that someone felt so much compassion for him. The words voiced by her made it all the more pleasant. He felt his stomach lurch again when she leapt out and embraced him. “Just come home safely, all right?”

Her grip on him tightened and compelled him to hold her so that he could reassure her of this promise. And holding her felt so right to him. And the sinking feeling in his stomach had at last subsided….

The sweet moment, however, suddenly ended. All about them they felt the ground quake and saw the water splash. The vibrations were met with the shattering rupture of the fence, and moblin creatures astride mighty boar-like monsters crashed into the spring where they had been saying their farewells.

Epona reared and tossed about the small spring; Colin and Ilia tried to escape in the same direction, but Link already had been cut off from them, as two moblins attacked the group simultaneously. Desparately, he tried to circle around them but with every step he was kept back from them . One steadied a bow and sent a shaft whirling toward Ilia, which caught her in the back.

Link saw her bloodied flesh, called out to her, raced toward her....

But the other raised a club above Link as he dashed toward Ilia. The brutish weapon struck him flatly on the back of the head. Link tumbled into the water, motionless.

As the moblins jumped from their steed and grabbed up Ilia and the boy, their leader entered the spirit spring. The green beast atop a massive armored boar looked about. Once sure that they had broken into the correct location, he took from his pack a horn and blew an eerie tune through its wind tunnel.

In the sky above, a strange, dark portal materialized, and the leader grinned evilly. He called to his comrades, yanked on the reins of his own steed, and departed from the scene, as a dark haze drew up about the spring.

Minutes after their abrupt disappearance, Link stirred in the water. He woke to a panging headache. As he sat upright, he felt his forehead pulse along with the beats of his heart. What … happened…? For a moment he could not recall anything, but then the memory of the intrusion shot back to his thoughts. Alarmed, Link stood quickly, ignoring his dizziness. When he looked about for any sign of the others, he noticed that they had all vanished. Only he remained.

He ran in the direction from where the creatures had first broken upon their small farewell. Along the trail, he noticed deep marks in the unsettled soil. Fresh tracks. At least from this he could ascertain that he had not long been unconscious. Hopefully, with enough speed, he would be able to overtake them.

That thought in mind, Link dashed straight across the bridge that towered above a large chasm in the wood. Yet when he turned the next bend in the path….

With a grunt he dug his heels into the dirt so that he could stop. Directly before him stretched a colossal barrier that rose high into the heavens, and an eerie orange and lavender glow emanated from its form out into the clouds. Its mass extended as far as he could see to both his right and left, covering any means of an alternate route to detour around it. Strange crimson markings speckled the blackness for miles. Link stared at it in agonized wonder. How would he ever save his friends now? Was it safe to touch?

As Link vigilantly approached the obstruction with slow, even steps, he saw a waver in the field. Then, rapidly, an eccentric looking appendage shot out from behind the opaque omen, latching onto Link by the neck. He struggled to gain his freedom then screamed as he was jerked toward the darkness.