The Mysteries of the Q Files #2: Screens are Cursed Windows

Chapter Nine - Breath of the Insane

Naomi and Brandon ran down a pathway, the later gasping for air. He was once again weaponless, after throwing his rock at crawling pile of bones. The stone had been incredible, though. It grew to the size of a boulder in midair and then crushed the bones to dust. But because the crawling bones were so dang slow, it was a waste of a good weapon. Naomi still had Excalibur, but she was concentrating more on running than fighting. The beasts in Breath of the Wild were larger and harder to kill than in the last Zelda game.

Another problem was that these monsters coming from all sides were definitely not just from this game, but from others as well. She was pretty certain that some even came from books. Weren't those Cauldron Born coming in from the south? Those kind of undead never stayed dead when you cut them down. There were also two large statues that reminded her of Anubis warriors. Yup, she felt screwed. All they needed now was a sentinel to come running into the mix...

Suddenly, a green World of Warcraft orc and a moblin charged at her and Brandon from rise to their right. Brandon just collapsed in the road and begged for it all to end. Naomi snarled and tried to assume a good stance for fighting these monsters. She was not really used to fencing or anything like that. She was at a real disadvantage. The orc reached her first, with the moblin stopping to consider Brandon.

The orc swung a large battle axe and nearly took off Naomi's head. She was lucky and managed to dodge it and Excalibur went into the orc's gut easily. The brute howled and drew back, clutching its stomach. A health bar appeared over its head, and Naomi could see that he had two thirds of his HP still. Grimacing, she went on the offensive, swinging wildly. She managed to score a good number of hits on the orc, who blocked with its axe, but still took damage. Excalibur quickly reduced the enemy to a bloody mess. She turned and saw Brandon in the clutches of the moblin, squealing for help.

Naomi had half a mind to leave him, but she knew the agents wouldn't condone her actions. She knew Trick would understand, but his word wouldn't sway the adults. She heaved a sigh, feeling sore from the exertion and charged the moblin. It pricked Brandon hard, and three hearts popped into being over his head. He was already down half a heart. The moblin grunted with excitement, which turned into a gurgle as Excalibur went through its chest. It let go of Brandon and rounded on Naomi.

The movement wrenched the sword from her hands and she threw herself out of the way to avoid a spear taking her in the throat. She rolled as she landed, and with the adrenaline pumping, she sprinted around the monster. The moblin nearly skewered her again, but managed to get behind him and pull the sword free. She then hacked frantically at the moblin, bringing him down like a sapling.

Brandon gaped at her and then sputtered, "You save my life! I am in your debt! Please, lend me the sword and I'll repay you!"

"Not on your life," Naomi spat angrily. "We need to get going. I saw enemies coming after us from all sides earlier. You need a weapon that you can use. Unfortunately, you are not strong enough for that orc's ax, so take the spear."

She didn't bother to check if Brandon was following her instructions or not. She raided the orc's body of a nice side pouch, that had some medicine and food in it. Even a small, rock grenade. There was a knife too, with a nice belt. Naomi quickly outfitted herself and even took the bloody jerkin. It might help cover at least something. Brandon trotted up beside her with the spear and a rupee in his hand.

"I wonder if I can take this back with me?"

"That's what you're thinking about right now," Naomi shouted. "I can't believe you!"

"Well, I need a good stone for when I propose to you. Naomi, you are incredible," Brandon said breathlessly.

Naomi responded with a swift kick to the gonads. As Brandon rolled on the ground in agony, she simply said, "Consider that my rejection."