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LoZ: War of the Nepherlands Ch. 6

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LoZ: Chapter 6 The Parting Gift

A streak of energy, like a purple lightning bolt, pierced through the dark man's target. Blood shot out through the open wound and splattered onto the grass. Link froze with a wide eyed expression. The target had been Daube. At the last second he managed to take the hit for Ilia after pushing her to safety. Daube hit the ground with a lifeless thud. Ilia gawked with bewilderment as a scream became trapped in her throat.
 
The man laughed. "Ha! What a foolish boy. I sure do hope it was worth it."
 
Link turned his attention from Daube and stared daggers into the man's soul. A fire ignited from within. "You bastard!" Link lunged with the agility of a feral cat but still wasn't quick enough. The man shot backwards, blocking Link's path with a wall of sinister magic and snickered.
 
"Sorry kid, you've got new problems to deal with now."
 
Link raised his sword and dissipated the fog with a vigorous slash. But the man vanished into thin air, his heartless laughter echoing through the woods.
 
"Damn it! That slick piece of--"
 
"Link!!" Ilia shouted for him. He turned his head to meet the image of Ilia crouched over the injured Daube. He coughed and choked up blood that was thick like syrup. His body shook and his hands lay on top of the gaping hole on his mid torso. Without delay, he ran towards Daube and joined Ilia's side.
 
"Daube," Link took his blood soaked hand.
 
"Link," he choked and gurgled, "I see what you were talking about." Link's blue eyes stared profoundly into Daube's. "Courage comes from within when you're left with no choice."
 
Daube's grip was weakening in Link's palm. Link's eyebrows lowered gingerly. "You were very brave, Daube."
 
Ilia was finally able to release her overwhelming emotions and began sobbing.
 
"Daube, I never would have asked that from you." Ilia said.
 
Daube mustered a weak smile and went limp. Blood drenched the ground around him as his last breath pushed out from his lungs. Link released his hand and let it fall loosely onto the grass. Ilia put her face in her hands and cried. Her head fell against Link's shoulder; he welcomed it with affection and heartbreak.
 
Link stared at the crimson stained hole. It smoked with a black miasma.
 
"Ilia, go to town. Get your dad and Daube's family." His voice was firm but laced with sadness. He couldn't help but feel responsible.
 
Ilia brought her hands down from her face, eyes red from the tears. She sniffed and rubbed the tear stains from her cheeks. They sat there momentarily, just staring at Daube, mourning their loss.
 
Suddenly, a croak came from deep within Daube's throat. They both perked up with hope, but an equal amount of confusion. His chest rose, eyelids peeling open as his eyes rolled back into his head. The black mist began to spill out from his chest and engulf his body and limbs. Link grabbed Ilia and stood with her. They began backing up as they watched as a new sense of life come over the young boy's body. But it was an evil feeling.
 
His fingers curled as his muscles began to spasm.
 
"Link...what's going on?" Ilia asked meekly.
 
Link could only shake his head with disbelief.
 
Then Daube's convulsing body became still and his chest flattened. They could only gaze upon him with baffled expressions. After a brief pause, Daube twitched and began to sit up. He emitted a throaty groan and turned his head in their direction to stare with empty eyes. His eyes were glazed over with a strange, white haze. Using his hands and knees he began to crawl.
 
Ilia stepped closer to Link and held his arm. "What's he doing? Is--is he alive?"
 
Link waited to answer as he watched Daube slowly pull himself up from the ground. He hunched over and his blood stained mouth hung open.
 
"No, he's not."
 
"What??" Ilia was far beyond a state of puzzlement.
 
"I think--I think he's cursed."
 
At this point he was in reaching distance. His arm outstretched towards Link but he pushed the incoherent Daube back. Link knew what he was going to have to do next but he was hesitating.
 
Daube growled and clawed at Link, so he grabbed his hostile wrist, picked him up, and threw him backwards.
 
"Daube, stop." Link commanded firmly. "Ilia, get behind me, now."
 
She didn't argue and stepped behind Link and away from danger.
 
"Link, what's he doing?"
 
Without warning, Daube brought himself up with unexpected swiftness and leaped at the armed Link. He hissed and bared his teeth. Link furrowed his eyebrows and sliced his sword through half of Daube's neck. As his blood shot out from the deep cut so did the black fog that surrounded Daube's aura. It was a sight that irked Link and made Ilia gasp and shield her eyes.
 
Link's heavenly sword managed to rid the dead Daube of the dark spell but also created a new injury on him. An injury that was fatal and appeared much worse once the darkness went away.
 
Link sighed with weariness and turned his body towards Ilia. "Go get your dad. Tell him what happened."
 
Ilia nodded with uneasiness and rushed off in the direction of town. Link brought his stare back onto Daube's lifeless form and was rushed with an array of emotions.
 
After what felt like ages, Ilia had returned with her dad and nearly half of the village. Some overheard Ilia's panicked description of events and came to see for themselves. Then of course, the grief stricken parents of Daube had joined. While Ilia was sent to retrieve help, Link had managed cleaning up some of the mess left from the mayhem. He met Ilia's father's eyes. Bo was taken back by the scene.
 
Daube's mother screamed out with anguish and ran for her son's motionless body. Link stepped back and dropped his head. Daube was not a pleasant sight, and definitely a traumatizing image for any mother. His neck had a deep gash and exposed some of the tendons and of course the fist sized hole in his torso was a depressing sight alone.
 
Suddenly, Daube's mother stood and seized Link's shoulders. She was bawling and blinded by disbelief.
 
"What did you do to my son?!" She cried. Link took the punishment and embarrassment without resisting. He felt like it was well deserved. "Tell me what happened!"
 
Without missing as beat, Daube's father ran over and grabbed his wife. "Odina, it's not his fault! He's injured too." His wife looked to her husband with watery eyes and brought her face into his chest where she sobbed uncontrollably. Daube's father's eyes met Link's. His eyes were full of questions.
 
"What happened?" He asked Link.
 
"This man came. Tried to kill me and couldn't do it, so he took your son instead," Link swallowed. "I'm so sorry..."
 
"So it's your fault my son's dead? Some man came to kill you and my poor, little Daube is now dead." Odina shouted. Link couldn't say anything. Bo noticed the crowd of people starting to whisper worried words to each other and also saw Link in an awkward position. He rushed to the front of the crowd and stood before them.
 
"Alright, everyone needs to return home. There's a lot of confusion and commotion and we need some space. I just need Marion to stay."
 
Marion was the town's doctor. He moved through the crowd to go to where Bo stood. He was a thin man with small glasses and a clean cut appearance.
 
With a bit of hesitation, the village people of Ordon began to return to town. The only ones of the group who stayed were Ilia and Rusl, the town blacksmith. He was staring at Link with a fatherly look. Link met his stare with tired eyes.
 
Bo looked to Daube's parents. "Now is not the time to blame people. We need to give your son a proper burial--"
 
"Oh Bo, be quiet. We know this. We just want to know why this all happened. And he," Daube's father pointed to Link, "needs to tell us why our son is dead."
 
Marion walked over calmly and observed Daube then looked to Link. He narrowed his eyes and brought his full attention onto Link's injuries that were on his arm and leg. Marion grabbed Link's strong arm and looked over the wound.
 
"Strange injury you got here...and Daube...what did you guys get hit with?" Marion questioned.
 
Link peered at his arm then towards the doctor. "This guy was some kind of spellcaster. I have no idea who he was or where he came from. He acted like he knew me though."
 
"So you were hit by magic?"
 
Link nodded.
 
The doctor scratched his head. "Magic users are rarely heard of in Hyrule nowadays. Perhaps he was foreign to this land." Marion blinked intently at Link's arm. "It's amazing. Your arm is omitting an abnormal amount of heat."
 
Daube's dad interrupted. "You still need to tell us why this happened and why my son has a large gash through his neck."
 
Link looked at him firmly. "Look, I truly have no idea why this guy came here. Daube, Ilia, and I were just shooting at targets and he literally appeared from nowhere. I wish I had more answers." Link looked to Daube's body. "And as for the cut...when the man shot the bolt of magic through him he reanimated and tried attacking us."
 
"So you killed our son?" Odina demanded with frustration.
 
"No, he was already dead. That hit he took pierced through his stomach..."
   
Ilia stepped in. "He tried hurting us. Link was just protecting me. Daube had changed...His eyes were empty and he wasn't himself. We both saw him die before he turned."
   
His parents were seemingly unsatisfied so Link felt like he reached a dead end. Marion brought his glasses down to the end of his nose.
 
"Link, I need you to come with me to my office. We need to dress these injuries." Marion stated matter-of-factly. Link looked to Bo and Ilia with uncertainty.
 
"Link, he's right. Go with Marion. We will finish up here." Bo stated.
 
Ilia nodded in agreement. "And I'll try explaining things..."
 
Link had no words for a reply and began to follow Marion towards the village. His stomach churned and his teeth gritted behind closed lips. Who exactly was that man and why had he come? Link had many unanswered questions of his own. Rusl watched Link leave with Marion and followed shortly after.
Ok, so things are picking up. Bear with me. I'm keeping chapters short, but straight to the point.

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