The Shadow of Amulets

Out of the Green

Link's POV

All three of us were in the lodge discussing our next plan of action. "Okay, so what's the plan we're going for guys?" Alaan started off the conversation.

"We're gonna go to the abandoned low-lands and get the next Amulet" I quickly responded feeling a sense of restlessness.

I and Alaan now turned to Elvia for her opinion.

"Well, Elvia, what do you think? I mean what could possibly go wrong haha" Alaan said with a fake laugh.

"We should go there. Regardless of what lies there, our goal is to retrieve all the Amulets" Elvia said firmly.

I felt a little surprised at her quick decision, just because of how careful she is when deciding something important especially as big as this.

"Well if everyone's on board with that then I have no objections. I can't wait to destroy everything that gets in our way over there" Alaan said raising his fist in the air.

"Not if I destroy them first. You won't even see me" I replied with a grin.

"You think you're faster than me! Haha, not with your condition right now. Your still recovering" Alaan said with an evil smile.

I felt quite insulted and annoyed.

"This! This is nothing! My wrist feels just fine" I said and proceeded to punch the wall with my injured wrist.

I instantly regretted doing that as I fell to the ground in pain.

"Okay...maybe I need a little more time before I'm back to normal," I said slowly feeling slightly helpless.

Alaan reached out his hand and helped me up.

"You'll get better soon Link. And a tip for healing your arm fast is to not punch something with that arm" Elvia said with a slight laugh.

Alaan joined in the laughter.

"Alright, Alright. Let's leave now. We have no time to waste" I said quickly before exiting the lodge.

We gathered our belongings and got ready to move out.

"I just noticed, we'll be leaving the forest which makes this the first Amulet located out of the forest," I said to Alaan and Elvia.

"This is where it's gonna get dangerous. We're gonna be out of the green and into the open" Alaan uttered.

"Were gonna have to be extra careful. We have no idea what lies over there" Elvia added.

"Which way was it Elvia? You said you knew the direction" I asked her.

"When I saw the location in the Amulet at the mountains, it showed it was west of the forests. So we should head west from there" Elvia replied. "I see," I said.

"Damn, we're so glad you came with us Elvia. If you didn't we wouldn't have any Amulet to guide us since The Black Ranger stole Link's Amulet" Alaan said.

"He's right Elvia" I added in.

Elvia smiled at our response. "Yeah, I can't even imagine how you two would make it to the low-lands" she replied with a chuckle.

"Okay I'm pretty sure we could do that much right Link," Alaan said In defence. "Yeah! We're not that useless" I added.

We all looked forward into the distance for a few moments and then our journey for the next Amulet began.

We travelled for a few hours non-stop but soon realised it was getting dark. We managed to leave the realm of the forests and we were out in the open lands. The low lands were much further west. The more further you went, the low the land becomes until you reach the area of the low-lands.

"We should probably rest here for the night," I said as we all stopped at a place near a hill.

"Good thinking, I'm hungrier than anything and so tired," Alaan said falling to the ground.

We gathered some wood from nearby, piled it together and started a fire. We sat around the campfire while we eat from our rations.

"Okay, guys time to spill some secrets" Alaan exclaimed. I and Elvia looked surprised.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"It will be fun, we each take turns telling each other secrets. The topic today will be childhood" he added.

My eyes widened in surprise.

"I'll start. Hmmm... Ooh, this is a good one.

When I was younger, around like 4 years old, I was sent to another castle for about a month" Alaan said.

"Really! Wow! Why did that happen?" I asked in shock.

"Well, I can't remember much but I think I heard my father said that the castle was under attack so he transported me to the castle of Knights In the east" Alaan replied.

"Wait, what about Link? Did you get transported there too?" Elvia asked.

"Oh no, I came to King Arthur's Castle when I was about 7. Before that... I..um was living in the forest" I replied.

"Ahh, I see" Elvia replied.

"Okay, next it's your turn Link!" Alaan pointed at me.

"Me? Ok... Fine, I'll give it a go" I said quite unwillingly.

I started to think of my childhood and it brought up many memories both good and bad.

"Alright I've got one..." I started to speak and I noticed Alaan and Elvia anticipating me divulging information.

"So I was born and raised from an early childhood in the Forests with my Dad. That much I've told Alaan.

But there was also another person I lived with while I grew up in the forest along with my Dad" I explained.

I noticed Alaan creeping closer with such curiosity as I was talking.

His name was Leon. My Dad found him in some part of the forest alone so he decided to bring him in to live with us. He was 2 years older than me and he was a very kind and joyous person. In fact, he possessed more energy than Alaan. He always wanted to play out in the wild and it felt like he never got tired" I sniggered reminiscing the past.

"Hey, why didn't you tell me about this Leon dude. And there's no way he has more energy than me" Alaan replied quickly.

"Where is he now, Link?" Elvia asked.

"Not part of the game, I said my part" I replied back to her with a slight smile.

Elvia noticed that I didn't want to say anymore.

"I guess that leaves me," Elvia said.

"Ooh, this will be good. I and Link don't know anything about your past so surprise us Elvia" Alaan said excitedly.

"Well let's see..." she started thinking.

We waited eagerly for her response.

So the Forests is where I grew up my whole life. I lived with Mother and my little sister... Alice" she said slowly.

"She was 2 years younger than me and she also loved exploring the woods every opportunity she had. My mother taught me and Alice everything about the Forest and many skills and tricks. I would always learn from my mother and then pass it on to Alice when she was old enough" she explained and I noticed her expression had a mix of happiness and a slight expression of sadness.

I didn't want to ask her more so I kept quiet.

We ended up talking about random things for a long while before we ended up falling asleep. Alaan was the first one to knock out then Elvia fell asleep and I soon after.

Sun came up and the skies turned to a beautiful ocean blue shade. It was early morning and we were all up. We had some food, freshened up and got ready to move out.

"We're close to the Low-lands, we should be careful from now on," I said.

They both nodded and we kept moving.

We travelled far from the forests and now we were right in the open lands heading straight for the Low-lands.

After a few hours, we finally reached the borders of the Low-lands.

The aura of the area felt completely different and it felt slightly colder also.

"Is it just me or does this place just feel strange?" Alaan asked slowly feeling quite uneasy. "I feel it too. The air feels constricted like we're at the top of a mountain in the clouds" Elvia replied.

We all stood still for a moment but I was the first one to step forward.

While we were walking, the was an eerie silence and it felt like our voices were an echo. It definitely lived up to its name 'The Abandoned Low-lands' as this area felt lifeless like a ruin.

There was a wavy breeze of wind travelling through the area as it blew right past us.

"I guess this place really is lifeless. Not a single soul" Alaan exclaimed.

I looked at Elvia but she seemed much more cautious. Her facial expression showed a sense of worry.

"There is someone nearby" Elvia said.

My eyes widened and I pulled out one of my daggers for defence.

Alaan looked shocked as he felt the opposite. "Really? I don't sense anyone or anything. Not a sound..." Alaan replied with confusion.

"That's the point. It's too quiet... I think we should retreat for now" Elvia surprisingly said.

I started to see what she was saying.

"*THUD*" something hit the ground behind us suddenly causing us to turn around.

It was a bottle of some sort and as it hit the ground I noticed it punctured.

"This is a trap! Run!!" I shouted realising what was occurring.

Multiple bottles hit the ground straight after and a red mist dispersed from it, surrounding us in a cloud of mist.

We all panicked as we realised we walked right into a trap.

"Don't breathe it!!" Elvia shouted.

We tried to sprint away to find an exit out of this red cloud of smoke.

The mist started to sting my eyes I soon found it impossible to open my eyes.

"Damn it! My eyes are killing me!" I heard Alaan shout as he was leading the way. Suddenly my muscles started to weaken dramatically and I started to feel incredibly dizzy. My head was spinning until I fell to the ground.

"Link!" I heard Alaan and Elvia rush to me as I fell down. "He's already injured. This mist must have accelerated it" Elvia said.

My vision started to blank out as I found it hard to breathe. My eyes started to go black until I fell unconscious. I was completely out cold...