Chapter Text
Warriors:
A Knight In The Night
It wasn’t long before the shadow’s started to lengthen under the dimming light.
The moon soon after began to shine above the horizon as the stars of the sky began to show themselves in the twilight sky. Ahead of the Chain was a small village, lit up in the night with various lampposts and candles in window sills. It was a quaint and quiet little area, one that the Captain wouldn’t mind retiring to some day in the far future.
The air surrounding them had gone from a mild and slightly uncomfortable chill, to a frigid one in no time at all. Even Twilight, with the wolf pelt on his back, shivered in the night.
“Hylia’s tit*,” Legend cursed from behind him. “I hate the winter.”
“You and everyone else Vet,” Warriors replied with a chuckle.
“I wonder why, maybe because it makes everything hurt,” Legend’s tone turned venomous, though it wasn’t directed at any of the Chain. It was an open secret that the Veteran suffered from sore joints in any inclement weather. He wasn’t called the “Veteran” for nothing, even though Warriors had fought in a several years long war, Legend had been fighting on and off for a solid chunk of his life during the course of six quests.
He wasn’t even twenty… The poor hero had been fighting since he was a child. Legend would never admit it directly, but his frantic speech when rising from night terrors had all but confirmed it…
“Let’s just check into the inn and get out of this weather before we all start complaining,” Time suggested. At least his full plate armor had some semblance of warmth. Warrior’s chainmail that he wore underneath his tunic was so chilled that it was bleeding the cold through his shirt.
The town was small, as expected, being composed of several familial homes and a larger wooden building at the town center. Said building was the inn Time was referring to, a small sign hung in the air by the front door that read: “Knifepoint Inn”. Warriors thought it was an odd name for a place of respite, but who was he to judge?
The inside of the inn was no different from the other inns the Chain has been to. The only notable thing was the large central firepit in the middle of the cobblestone floor. There were several tables dotted around the large room, most of them empty with one or two exceptions. The main counter also served as a table, where a lone man in a steel blue outfit and the presumed owner, a burly man in brown overalls, talked quietly.
“Oh good heavens, I’m glad I just stoked the fire,” the burly man said from the counter. “You boys must be freezing!”
“It’s as cold as Naydra’s-” Wind was about to say something vulgar before Sky clipped him on the shoulder. “It’s cold,” he settled on.
“Ha ha,” the man laughed. “Oh I bet, at night the ground is starting to freeze over, that’s how you know it’s getting cold.”
The ground is starting to freeze? sh*t, it’ll be snowing by the time we hit the mountains. Warriors had a silent prayer that the snow would be held off until they hit Snowpeak Manor, but something inside of him felt differently. His time in the war had conditioned him to never count on the weather. If the divines and spirits felt like the day shall have rain, then the day shall have rain. No amount of sun and clear skies will dissuade them.
The man seated at the counter finally turned around. The first thing Wars noted was the mans’ sharp green eyes that almost seemed golden from the firepits glow. His skin was rough and worn in various spots around his face and hands, the shadows dancing from the flames gave the appearance of a lizard's scales as he stood up.
“Well, well, well…” The man spoke in an accent that Wars knew was from the well-to-do parts of Castle Town. He dragged a hand through his dark blonde hair before scratching the thin beard he sported on his chin.
“Now what’s a group of heavily armed strangers doing here at this time of year?” He asked carefully.
“We’re heading up-” Legend stepped forward, stopping himself short as he locked eyes with the stranger. “Devian?”
The man chuckled loudly. “In the flesh, and my oh my Link, you haven’t grown an inch!”
“I TOLD YOU I STOPPED GROWING!” Legend yelled back with a laugh of his own. “Guys,” he said, turning to face the Chain. “This is knight Devian, the one that Zelda mentioned.”
So this is the guy they’ve sent up north? The Captain thought to himself. He found it quite odd that Devian was here seeing how he was sent north several days before the Chain was even given this mission. Why in Hylia’s name was he here? Was he pushed back by the monsters? Too many questions, not enough potential answers.
Devian gave a short nod, “that I am. Severed in her majesty’s royal knights for over a decade now. Who are these friends of yours Link?”
“We’re other versions of him,” Warriors explained to the knight, “differing timelines and eras and all that.”
Devian’s eyes went wide for a moment and the light made it seem that his eyes were that of a snake’s. Wars brushed it off, figuring that he was just tired from all of the hiking today. Besides, the shadows are known for playing tricks on the mind.
“Well,” the knight said. “Never know what to expect from your adventures, Link.” He clapped his hands together. “What a fascinating situation you’ve found yourself in.”
“You’re telling me,” Four said. “I wasn’t expecting to wake up one day and find five of these guys outside of my forge asking for me claiming they’ve all got the same name,” the Smithy shook his head. “I thought you fools were a cult.”
“Now just hold on a second,” Wild protested. “I remember telling you that I’m not a cult leader and that the Goddess did, in fact, send us.”
“And I believed that like I believed I needed a hole in my head,” Four replied with a laugh.
Warriors didn’t really hear much about the early days of the Chain. All he knew was that he was the last to join, and that the adventure to get the others barely lasted a few days. The interesting stuff started happening after all nine of them were grouped together. He did have to admit to himself that the idea of Four assuming a bunch of the other Links were a part of a Link-worshiping cult to be absolutely hilarious.
“So you’re a blacksmith?” Devain asked while gesturing to Four with his hand.
“That’s right, born and raised!” Four proudly pointed to himself with his thumb. “My uncle taught me everything I know.”
The mention of Four’s uncle seemed to make Devian glance towards Legend with a brief but sorrowful gaze. “He sounds like a good man,” the knight said. “Well, I take you’re all heading up north to that manor, yes?” He asked.
A few of them confirmed.
“Well, I ought to tell you folks that the monsters only really start attacking at night,” Devian started to explain how the Black Blood monsters would only appear after, or close to, the “Witching Hour” or three in the morning. Which was just great news to a bunch of heroes who either had issues sleeping and found nothing difficult staying up so late, or the absolute worst news to the heroes who hated staying up.
“Just fantastic,” Sky, resident sleepyhead, complained. “Next you’ll tell us that the monsters hide away from campsites and avoid busy roads.” The Chosen rolled his eyes.
“I hate to tell you this,” the royal knight started with a laugh. “But for some Hylia-forsaken reason these infected monsters seem aware enough to avoid doing the typical monster thing. It’s like they’re-”
“Trying to draw us out…” the Captain finished, feeling his heart drop into his stomach. “They’re getting smarter…”
“Well…” Sky stared at the cobblestone floor with a sigh. “f*ck me, I’ll just keep my mouth shut.”
“Can you tell us anything else, Devian?” Time asked.
The knight shrugged. “I really wish I could, but I’ve asked several of the homesteads around here and they’ve got nothing. I’m going to keep heading north.” He said before patting Legend on the shoulder. “My horse is outside with all of my gear, I’m going to head to a farmstead a day away from here. If I find anything I’ll wait an extra day for you.” He said to Legend specifically, but loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Alright, you be safe, you hear me!” Legend called out as Devian went outside.
“I will, I will, you worry too much!” Devian replied before the door shut on its own with a thud.
The Captain didn’t know what to think about the plan. Devian heading up to some farmstead looking for information while the Black Blooded monsters stalked the countryside was a recipe for tragedy. He brought up to Legend, but the Veteran was quick to dismiss Wars’ worry. Much like how he did back at the castle dinner.
“Listen man,” Legend said. “Devian has survived a lot of sh*t, even saved my life before. I know you’re worried, but if anyone can sneak around these monsters that isn’t a Link, it’s him. I trust him with my life.” He poked a finger into Wars’ chest despite the fact that the young man only reached his shoulder in height. “Alright, if you insist…” Warriors relented with a sigh as the room fell quiet and still.
“I guess we better settle in for the night huh?” Wild suggested after a moment.
“I’ve only got three rooms,” the burly man spoke again, “so you’ll have-”
“Oh we’re fine with bunking together,” Hyrule cut the man off. “Once we had to bunk in one room… That wasn’t fun.”
Wars pinched the bridge of his nose as the memory of that horrid night came back. “Please,” he said. “Don’t remind me of that night.”
“Oh I think I will,” Hyrule teased as the others began to laugh.
