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Grimoire of Miasma - Chapter 8

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The Lone Fighter



POV: Fighter

Curse those men! Not only did they steal the treasures of the Duhurt Mansion, but they stole my sword as well! How in the gods am I supposed to fight now without it?

A lone boy by the name of Fighter prowled quietly just outside the thieves' camp, and waited silently behind a tree to see what was going on. The gang of thieves were green skinned and ugly, but were aggressive and decent with a weapon. “It would be foolish of me to just run in and strike. I'll wait for the right moment.”
“'Ey mate! You seen this sword I swiped? Think it'd fetch a pretty penny?”
A thief looked at it and stroked its sharp edge, “It seems to be intact, and we could use it to fry our dinner on!”
Fighter gritted his teeth in disgust and clenched his fists, but remained put. The sounds from the thieves were loud and boisterous but eventually grew quieter. Concerned, he carefully looked around the tree to see them cooking up dinner. Unfortunately as he was sneaking back into place, Fighter stepped on a twig and made a loud snap. This caught the ears of one guard and he spotted Fighter straight away.
“Hey! Some kid is watching us! Get him!”
The thieves grabbed their spears and swords and gave chase. Fighter ran away as soon as they caught sight, and ran as fast as his legs could take him.
“Don't let him get away! He knows where we're hiding!”
He zipped past every tree like the wind, swiftly dodging any rocks, branches, and anything that would trip him up. The thieves were catching up, but after one tripped over they all fell down, giving Fighter a chance to get away.
He stopped to catch his breath, and was relieved to see the thieves had lost sight of him; but he wasn't pleased that they're using his father's sword for such trivial activities. “I must get my sword back; it's the only thing I have left.”
A rustle was heard to his right and he faced it to see nothing there. There was another rustle, and another. His eyes darted around the scene, trying to find the source of the noise, and then suddenly, a voice rang his name.
“Fighter! I didn't think I'd ever see you agai-”
Fighter span around and kicked the boy down to the ground. A girl yelped with fright and stepped forward, and she quickly changed her tune.
“Oi! Why in Nayru did you kick my brother down? Don't you remember us?”
Fighter was puzzled; he's never met these two in his life. “And yet...they do somehow look familiar. Who are you? How do you know my name?”
The girl helped her brother up, “It's me you idiot, Arill! And this is Link, the one you sent a message to to meet the princess?”
He was all the more confused, Arill and Link? Princess? Just what did they mean?
“Arill, I don't think he remembers us. Remember what the spirit said? He's probably never seen us before in his life.”
“Wait, I...have seen you two in a dream before, but you were both much older. Would...would you mind telling me what's going on here?”
Link let Arill do all the explaining. She started with a spirit called Neptune, then spoke of a time paradox, and how much of a help Fighter was in this previous time line. It all made some sense to him now. What he thought was a distant dream was all real apparently, but he knew no more than the encounter with these two. Any memories or thoughts before and after that were non-existent.
“Well, thank you for clearing that up with me, whoever you two are. But I must be on my way.”
“Wait!” Arill stopped him, “You seem troubled. Is there anything we can help you with?”
“No, this is something personal. I'd rather tackle this problem myself.”
“Okay, I understand. But if it's anything to do with thieves, we must know. We just left the town and-”
“Thieves? Why are you after the thieves?”
“We, well Link did, offered to get the treasures back. If you're after them as well we can work together.”
Fighter's expression grew more serious, “I'm afraid you're not needed here. I can take care of these thieves myself. Now I must be going, good day.”
He walked away from them before they could speak again, and paced his way back to the thieves’ camp. “I'll sneak around the back this time, now that I know where they are.”
He slowed down to prowl as he caught the lights of the camp in the dark night. There was still a few thieves cooking and checking their gold, but a lot of them were not there. He kept a lookout for any still looking for him and made sure to sneak inside the bushes as well as hide behind the trees. He was about to sit himself in a spot to wait for the right moment, only to see a stray piece of jewellery lying on the ground. Curious, he stepped over to pick it up. But as he lifted it, the string to which it was attached to triggered something, and a large, thick net swatted him down and trapped him.
“Ye-hey! We caught the little brat!”
Thieves were posted up in the trees and dragged Fighter into the camp, ignoring his attempts to break free.
“What should we do with him?” said one thief as they took him there.
“Let's roast him!” answered another.
“Or skew him!”
“I say grill him!”
They bickered for a few moments before finally deciding to just tie him up and leave him to cook above their campfire. Whilst they were doing so, they left Fighter so close to his beloved sword, but since he was covered in net he couldn't reach it. They then dragged him to the campfire, leaving no hope of getting it back.
They tied his wrists and ankles up to a large tree branch, and then placed him a few inches above their fire. He could feel himself roasting and to make matters worse the thieves brought out more firewood too.
“This is it.” he thought, feeling himself cook to death, “The ropes are too strong for me to break loose...I'm done for.”
He heard flowing water for a second, and thought it was just the heat driving him mad. However, the next minute a jet of cold water shot at him and the fire, drenching both of them. He tried to look over to see what was happening and saw the two from earlier.
“Arill, untie Fighter. I'll take care of these guys!”
Link unsheathed a gold and silver sword and started hacking away at the thieves, whilst Arill hastily crept past them and started to loosen the rope. She tried to untie it using her hands, but after fiddling with it and not prevailing, she took out her wooden sword and hacked away at it to set him free. As soon as he stood up he ran straight to his sword and grabbed it, clutching it tightly in his hands.
“Yes! I have my sword back!”
His thoughts then turned to the thieves and grew angry, then charged at them and took them out as quickly as Link did.
Link and Fighter took the last thief down at the same time, and watched it die and rapidly decay into the ground. Arill clapped and applauded them both for their work, which made Link smile and Fighter turn a shade of pink.
“Why did you two come here?” he said after he turned back into his normal colour, “I thought I told you I could handle it.”
Arill stepped in, “Oh yeah, we could see you had it all taken care of from the campfire. Was that bit part of your master plan or something?”
Fighter turned pink again. He was about to yell only to stop himself and instead say, “...Thank you for saving my life. I owe you two big time.”
Arill patted him on the shoulder and went over to the sacks of treasure. “Now we just need to get these back to their rightful owners.”

The boys carried all of the treasures back to the town and Arill pointed the way. They were welcomed by cheers of the people, and the Duhurt Family ran over to cradle their treasures.
“Oh our wealth and glory is restored! How can we ever repay you three for your courageous work?” One of the family members asked.
Arill spoke up before the other two could speak, “We haven't eaten any food for a long while, and our wallets are getting a bit thin.”
“Money and food? Of course! It's the very least we can do! Right this way!”
Arill grinned and followed. Link shook his head in disappointment and Fighter had no choice but to follow.
“Arill, food is a reward to ask for, but money as well? Don't let this get to your head.”
“My dearest brother, you have much to learn.” She mocked as she patted his shoulder, “This is how I survived getting to and from the Sacred Village you know. Okay sure, it looks better for your reputation asking for nothing, but only the filthy rich heroes do that! And we are not one of those, at least not yet.”
She continued sharing her tips with Link about survival, and Fighter quietly listened and took some ideas into consideration. He really wanted to be on his way, but the wall of people prevented him from escaping, and the low growl from his empty stomach changed his mind. They paced onwards following the Duhurt Family to their mansion, and the butler and waitresses guided them to their seats in their grand dining room.
“Wow!” Link quietly gasped, “This is going to be quite a feast.”
Arill replied, "I'll say! Now this is more like it!"
Link's comment and the smell of food made Fighter's stomach howl all the more. The waiters and waitresses darted about and guided rich folk to their places, and all gave them papers (menus) for what they would like to eat.
Arill inspected the decorated papers, and Fighter was sure he heard her muttering about seaweed. She loudly commented she won't eat fish, and skipped a whole page just to find something more to her taste. Link quietly scanned the papers, but he seemed to be straining his mind, “Is he...struggling to read?”
Arill openly announced she'll have the vegetable delights, and noticed her brother was still on the first page. “Can't decide what starter you want?” She asked.
“...This is writing I've never seen before. Is there a menu in Hylian?”
Fighter saw Arill's face grew concerned, she eyed up the waiter, who was almost among them and ready to take their order. She tried to help Link decide, but it was difficult for her to list the dishes as she was on the opposite end of the large table. “It seems she doesn't want anyone to know about her seemingly illiterate brother. I'll step in and help.”
Fortunately, Fighter was sat next to Link and recommended the turkey on the third paper, Link seemed happy with that and he then asked him what kind of drinks they had. Fighter scanned the page quickly, and told each one of them as quickly as he could. After a few minutes of quick scanning, Link decided what he was after, and thanked him for translating the text for him.
They had to wait a painful half an hour before the feast arrived on silver platters. The room was filled suddenly with mixtures of what the people ordered, some smells overpowering the others. The tables were stuffed with dishes of large quantities, including meat, vegetables, dips, and drinks. The burly men all went for the beer and made a game out of who could drink it the fastest. The women preferred the wine and took gentle sips out of it as they talked to each other about their outfits. And the ones around the trio's age all had water and stuffed themselves with whatever was laid out in front of them.
Arill felt more bold and ordered some wine, whilst Link and Fighter stayed put with the water. The waiter however wasn't sure about her having alcohol.
"Miss, are you sure you want wine? One your age-"
"Listen, it was me who returned the treasures, and I'm pretty sure the host said I could have anything I want. So I would kindly like the wine please."
Startled by her demanding but mature demeanour, he rushed off and brought over a bottle and poured some out for her. She took bigger sips then she should have and the wine went to her head sooner then she thought, and started giggling to herself at random times. Fighter was surprised by this, and took a small sip of the wine she drank. It wasn't to his taste and handed it back.
By the end of the night when everyone left to retire, the trio received one last thanks from the host and some money as a reward. Arill was so drunk she had to use her brother for support for when they left the mansion.
“You know Fighter, Link 'ere is the bestest...bestest brother anyone could 'ave.” She hiccupped, “And you!...I know what you're planning, and I don't like it one bit.”
Fighter raised an eyebrow. “I'm not planning anything.”
She started laughing uncontrollably to herself. “You...Mister Fighter, is planning away like a...ferret! And...I know-”
She slid off Link and fell straight to sleep before she hit the floor. “...I've never seen her like this. Is this what the wine does to people?” Link asked, bewildered.
Fighter wasn't sure, he never had any alcohol, but he's been around people who have drunk it, and most of them did act the way Arill did just now. “Do you need any help carrying her to an inn?”
Link picked her up with ease, “It's okay, she's lighter than people think.”
Both lads then quietly made their way to an inn, making sure not to wake the snoring Arill up. They ordered a room for three and Fighter gave Link some support as he tried to get Arill up without knocking her head on the wall, and eventually found the room and placed her on the bed.
"Well it's been a busy day, and after all of that food I could sleep for a week!" Link announced.
Fighter let out a small smile and checked his sword to see it was resting on his back. "Listen, thank you for helping me get my sword back. This is all I have left."
Link stopped preparing his bed and was waiting for a story, but realized a moment later he wasn't getting one. "Even though for some reason I feel like I can trust them, I'm not ready to talk about what happened to my parents yet..."
He checked his sword again and announced, "I'm just going outside to get some fresh air. I'll be back in a moment."
Link worded a lazy "okay" and started sinking into his bed. Fighter stepped out of the room and waited until he was definitely asleep, then closed the door and slipped away. Out of the inn and out of town.
Finally got the next one up! I had to get some info off ~fighterj5 as it's his OC who's the POV. :)

Not much to say about this one, only Arill's been banned from fighting :XD: though she makes up for it by getting them fixed up with a lovely meal and some money in their pockets~

Chapter 7: [link]

Prologue: [link]

Fighter is (c) to ~fighterj5
Link is (c) to Nintendo
Arill & everything else is (c) to me
© 2013 - 2024 GamingGirl73
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StaciNadia's avatar
Drunk Arill! XD Hurray for Fighter getting his sword back and everyone getting money and food!