A Couple of Trials (ZeLink)

Chapter 80: The Lord of Satori

The moon had long risen high above the lush, green fields of Hyrule. While nature itself was growing strong and vibrant, what slumbered beneath the soil was vicious and cruel, patiently awaiting their next victim. The moment there were vibrations of footsteps upon the dirt path, the creatures emerged from the ground, their calcified skeletons forcing the dirt apart as they reached for the night sky.

The collection of bones formed three separate creatures once fully exhumed, two of them short and stumpy with long arms and large skulls, the third tall and intimidating, with an elongated snout. All three stared down at the unfortunate person who'd walked over them, their glowing, empty eye sockets locked onto their newfound target: a tan-skinned Hylian with silver hair.

She was clearly a traveler, dressed in thick padding and leathers, a large backpack, and simple traveling weapons. Furrowing her brow, the woman gritted her teeth, pulling her sword from its sheath and a shield from her backpack, ready to defend herself. Yet, the moment the beasts stepped forward, she took a step back, her confidence somewhat lacking. Regardless, the traveler stood her ground, steeling her nerves as the trio of undead creatures stomped closer to her, dirt falling from the crevices of their bones as they rattled.

"Two stalkoblin and a stalmoblin, huh?" the woman mumbled. Gritting her teeth in anger, she began banging her sword against her shield., shouting,"You looking to fight? Come on! Bring it on!"

With a roar, the two stalkoblins darted forward, flailing their long, bony arms. The woman narrowly avoided the hands and forearms, feeling the force of disturbed air swish past her body. With an angry swipe, she severed the calcified tendons of one beast, causing its arm to fall, before turning and slicing through the vertebrae in the other's neck. Bringing the pommel of her sword back up, she slammed it against the skeleton's head, knocking it clean off. As the bones tumbled to the ground, she dodged another of the remaining stalkoblin's attacks—swinging its remaining arm—before eventually getting its head cut off as well.

As a second pile of bones dropped to the ground, the skeleton's head rolled away. The woman grinned at her work, only to hear a deep roar from behind her. With fear in her eyes, she turned to see the large, hulking form of the stalmoblin, its bones rattling as it jumped toward her aiming its elongated, pointed horn down toward the traveler as it descended. Fortunately, the woman had raised her shield, causing the stalmoblin's horn to scrape across the wood instead of her skin. As the beast pulled itself out of the dirt, it knocked her away, sending her skidding across the grass.

Disoriented, the woman pushed herself up, bringing her hand to her pounding head, her sword laying in the grass. She looked up to see the stalmoblin stomping its way toward her. As if that wasn't bad enough, she watched in horror as the piles of bones from the stalkoblins she had defeated began to rumble and re-form, their skulls bouncing across the ground before hopping back onto their shoulders. Cracking their necks, they turned their glowing eyes toward her as they too stomped forward.

"Oh geez..." the traveler quavered. "How'd I get myself into this mess? Do I have really bad luck or something?"

Together, the three beasts roared, causing her ears to ring and the air to vibrate. The traveler curled into a ball, shielding her ears and closing her eyes, awaiting her demise, unaware of the shadow of another traveler passing over her, dressed in bright blue and carrying weapons of his own.

Screeching, the two stalkoblins leapt forward, their bony arms poised to strike. Readying himself, the traveler in blue swung his sword, his blade slicing through the air as he struck one of the skeletons on the skull. Sending that one flying away, he quickly raised his shield, allowing for the second skeleton's ribcage to land on its front. With a yell, he brought the shield down, slamming the stalkoblin into the ground, scattering the bones.