| ~ Chapter 2 -- Chapter 3 -- Chapter 4 ~ |
Part 1[]
The two Bokoblin brothers had been traveling through the woods for a while now, and they were both quite tired. The brown-hued one groaned and rubbed at his stomach.
"Rig, I'm starvin'!" he complained. "When're we gonna stop an' get somethin' ter eat??"
His greyish blue companion growled.
"Shuddup, Blug! It's bad enough havin' ter listen to yer belly-achin'!" he huffed. "Balgrim told us ter scout th'area fer new conquests, so that's what we're gonna do!"
"He always makes us scout th'area fer new conquests," the younger Bokoblin grumbled as he kicked at a pebble.
"S'boring; nuffin' ever happens!"
Rigvarr rolled his eyes, about to say something when his eyes fell upon a path through the woods, one that had been trodden upon countless times; particularly by a horse-pulled wagon.
"Hrmm... this might lead us t'somefin' in'erestin'... c'mon!"
He tugged at Blugvern's arm, and the two headed down the pathway. It eventually lead to a large opening in the trees, and beyond that was a modestly-sized ranch. Outside of the house, the two Bokoblins could see a blond Hylian boy and a large dog playing fetch.
"Looks like da place is guarded, Rig," Blugvern frowned, scratching at his ear. The other Bokoblin just rolled his eyes.
"Tchah! I ain't gonna be 'fraida some brat an' 'is mutt," he huffed. "Follow me, I gots a plan..."
The two Bokoblins neared the front gate of the ranch; meanwhile, Link was trying to get Alice to catch a stick in mid-air.
"Okay, get ready...!" he called out, tossing the stick up into the air. It flew in an arc towards Alice, who jumped up to try and catch it... only for it to bounce off of her nose. She whined a bit.
"Uhh... maybe we should start off easier," Link mumbled, walking over to Alice to pick up the fallen stick. He was startled by the sound of her suddenly starting to growl.
"A-Alice...?"
A sound near the front gate caught his attention, and he turned to see the two Bokoblins climbing over it. He gasped a bit and backed away, while Alice instinctively moved in front of him.
"'ey, easy now," Rigvarr held up his hands to show that he wasn't a threat. "We ain't 'ere t'hurt ya, honest!"
"Wh-...what do you want, then?" Link asked, trying to keep the unease out of his voice as he watched the two Bokoblins.
"Why, we're jus' lost travelers, tired an' 'ungry, y'know?" the older Bokoblin said, while his brother nodded.
"Yeah, real hungry...!"
Link frowned, arms crossed; Alice had stopped growling, but didn't take her eyes off of the intruders.
"I dunno... I don't think Papa would want me letting strangers in while he's not here," he said, shaking his head; it probably wasn't too wise to tell the Bokoblins that Murphey wasn't home, but Link wasn't exactly known for thoroughly thinking things through.
Indeed, Rigvarr smirked a bit in response; raiding the ranch would be easier than he thought if it really was just some kid and his dog guarding it.
"Wise decision, listenin' t'yer papa," Rigvarr nodded. "But surely 'e wouldn't mind if y'spared us a bite t'eat, hmm?"
Alice looked up at Link and huffed, not seeming to buy the Bokoblin's words. Too bad she couldn't actually talk to him and tell him what she thought.
"Weeelll... I guess it couldn't hurt," Link agreed, turning towards the house; Alice promptly blocked his path again, barking.
"Alice, calm down; I'm just gonna get them some bread or something."
Alice barked again, prompting a sigh from the boy.
"Look, just stay out here and make sure they don't do anything, okay?" said Link. "I'll be right back."
With that, he jogged past the dog and into the house. Alice groaned and sat down, glaring at the two Bokoblins, who looked at each other.
"Now what?" Blugvern whispered.
"We wait," Rigvarr whispered back. "We get dis kid's trust first, see? Make 'im t'ink we're 'armless an' such."
"Why don't we jus' take over right now, while he's in da house?" Blugvern asked. "It's just da dog here right now, we could get rid o' dat easy!"
"You numbskull!" Rigvarr hissed. "We gotta lull th'brat into a false sense o' security first! We don' know if he's got traps set up around 'ere or somefin'...!"
The two were startled by Alice barking aggressively at them; clearly she had heard them scheming.
"Dat damn dog's gonna be a big problem," Rigvarr grumbled, crossing his arms.
Inside the house, Link, who was packing some bread and eggs into a leftover basket for the two Bokoblins, heard Alice barking and promptly ran towards the front door, opening it up.
"Alice?! What's going on?!"
He then glared at the Bokoblin brothers, putting his hands on his hips.
"Are you guys picking on her?!" he scolded. Blugvern shook his head a bit frantically, eyes wide.
"Nuh-uh, we didn't do nuthin'! She started barkin' at us fer no reason!" he complained. "Honest!"
"You guys do know that dogs can sense bad intentions in people, right?" Link asked, raising an eyebrow. He sighed and shook his head.
"Maybe I can't trust you two after all."
Rigvarr did his best to suppress a growl; who did this brat think he was, talking down to him and Blugvern as if they were children?! His right hand was straying near the hilt of his dagger.
"You gots a lotta nerve, kid, judgin' people before gettin' t'know 'em," he huffed, eyes narrowed. Alice had trotted up to Link and was now guarding him again.
"Maybe you guys can do something to prove that I can trust you both," said Link. "Like, I dunno... you guys could help me out around the ranch a bit."
"What?! Menial labor?!" Rigvarr barked, looking quit offended. "Whadda we look like, servants?!"
"I wouldn't exactly go with that," Link shrugged. "More like... help me out with chores and I'll give ya guys food."
"Well dat ain't very hospitable of ya, kid!" Rigvarr huffed, stomping his foot a bit. "What kinda brat makes weary travelers work for a bite ta eat?!"
The boy put his arms behind his back, starting to pace a bit.
"Well, like I said, you haven't given me any reason to trust you guys," he said, looking over at the two with a mildly disapproving gaze. Rigvarr groaned a bit, rolling his eyes.
"Ugh... fine, fine! We'll do yer silly liddle chores," he grumbled. Link seemed to brighten up at this.
"Great! You guys can help me feed the Cuccos first!" he chirped, starting to jog towards the barn where the Cucco feed was kept, while Alice trotted after him. "Follow me!"
"This is so stupid," Rigvarr hissed quietly, but reluctantly followed Link, as did Blugvern.
Part 2[]
Not long after, the group was inside of the Cucco pen; the birds were immediately wary of the two Bokoblins, and refused to come near them.
"Okay, so... now what?" Rigvarr asked, scratching at one ear with his free hand. Link tilted his head to the side.
"You just... scatter food out for 'em, like this," he said, grabbing a handful of Cucco feed from the bag he was carrying and spreading it out generously for the birds; they eagerly approached and started to peck at the ground.
"Dat's it? Well, dat's easy!" Rigvarr grabbed a handful of the feed... and just tossed it everywhere. Some of it landed on Alice, who huffed and shook the particles out of her fur, shooting a glare at the Bokoblin.
"Not like that!" Link scolded. "Don't just fling it everywhere!"
"Why not? It gets ter th'ground either way, don't it?" Rigvarr huffed. Link groaned a bit.
"Look, just don't toss it everywhere, alright? It's really not that hard... and don't just dump it everywhere, either!"
He had turned on Blugvern, who was about to tip the bag upside down and dump the contents onto the ground.
"Oh... uh, okay," he muttered sheepishly, starting to spread the feed on the ground. The Cuccos still didn't seem to want to come near, however.
"They don't seem t'like me," Blugvern frowned. Rigvarr huffed.
"They're jus' dumb birds, don' worry 'bout it," he said. "Anyways, are we done feedin' em yet?"
Link ignored the 'dumb bird' comment, looking around.
"I think that should be enough food for 'em, for now," he said, starting to walk out of the Cucco pen. "Follow me."
Link led them back to the barn so they could put the Cucco feed away. Rigvarr was already getting tired of these shenanigans, and debating on shoving the boy into the barn and locking him inside of it. Of course, doing that meant that he and Blugvern would have to deal with a very angry dog in return...
"Now," said Link, putting away the bag of feed that he was carrying. "Put those bags back; we gotta clean the coop now."
"Wh-...clean it?! But we jus' fed 'em!" Rigvarr cried. Link raised an eyebrow at the Bokoblin's outburst.
"Yeah...? That's one of the chores I gotta do around here, after all."
He let out a snort.
"Have you two never worked a day in your lives or something?" he asked, frowning at Rigvarr, who growled.
"Don't get condescendin' wif me, kid! A'course I worked before!"
"Then cleaning out a Cucco coop shouldn't be that big of a deal," Link huffed, grabbing a pail and going to fill it with water. "Now quit whining and help me out here."
Rigvarr was close to seeing red at this point; Link had to be the most infuriating little brat he had ever encountered! He was so used to those smaller and weaker than him just doing what he wanted, either via 'diplomacy' or intimidation...
It also didn't help that the boy had a large and very protective dog with him; without her around, Rigvarr would've probably overpowered the boy and tied him up by now... and then dumped him into that damn Cucco pen so he couldn't interfere with the ranch raid.
"Hey!" Link finally barked. "Are you just gonna stand there and look all angry and stuff, or are you gonna help me out with chores?"
"Not anymore!!" the Bokoblin yelled in a rage, pulling out his dagger and causing Link to jump back in fright, dropping the pail of water. "We're through playin' yer liddle game, kid!!"
Alice snarled and moved in between Rigvarr and Link, but the boy grabbed onto her and tried to hold her in place.
"A-Alice, no, he has a weapon...!!"
Rigvarr laughed as he stepped closer to the pair.
"Looks like yer all bark an' no bite, eh, brat?" he jeered, pointing his dagger at the scared boy's face. "Now den... you two're gonna stay in 'ere all quiet-like, unnerstan'?"
"U-Umm..."
Link didn't really know how to properly deal with intruders; when it came to situations like this, the only instructions his father had given him was to hide in his room and stay quiet. The blue-hued Bokoblin grinned.
"Good boy, ehehe. C'mon, Blug, let's go."
Still keeping his weapon pointed at the two, Rigvarr and Blugvern backed out of the barn, and then Rigvarr closed the doors behind them, pulling down the heavy wooden latch to lock Link and Alice inside of the building.
"Uhh, Rig, weren't we gonna try an' get da kid's trust first?" asked Blugvern, scratching his nose in mild confusion.
"Trust?! Bah! Dat liddle guttersnipe ruined 'is chances fer us t'play nice!"
"I heard that!" Link cried from the other side of the door. "You let us outta here right now, you, you... ugly, pig-nosed bully!!"
"HEY!!" Rigvarr banged his fist on the door, smirking a bit in satisfaction when he heard a panicked squeak come from the boy. "Ya keep yer mouth shut or I'll make ya sorry!"
Silence greeted him, and he let out a laugh at this, looking pleased.
"Now den," he said, turning to his brother. "I think we earned ourselves a reward, eh Blug?"
The other Bokoblin chuckled, rubbing his hands together.
"Sure did! Let's go!"
With that, the two walked away from the barn, gloating over their good fortune as they headed towards the house.
Five minutes had passed since then; Link was pacing around the barn restlessly, trying to find some other way out while also worrying himself sick over how his father would react to all this when he got home.
"I shouldn't have even talked to 'em, I should've just hidden in the house like Papa said to...!" he whined to himself, rubbing at his shoulders in an attempt to calm himself down. Alice nudged lightly at his leg, whimpering softly. He stopped in his tracks, and sighed.
"No... you're right, worrying won't do me any good," he said, looking around the barn. "We gotta find a way out of here and drive those thieves off...!"
Alice woofed softly, not pleased with the idea of the boy attempting to confront the Bokoblins.
"I'm not gonna try and fight them," Link said, shaking his head. "We're gonna be smart about this."
He sighed a bit, crossing his arms as he thought.
"But we need to get out of here first..."
Looking towards the barn doors, he noticed that there was a bit of a gap between them; certainly not enough for him to fit his arm through, but something slim and sturdy just might do the trick... something like a broom handle.
"Aha!"
He quickly snatched the nearby broom and scampered over to the barn door, forcing the handle into the crack and attempting to use it like a lever to push the latch up and off.
"C-C'mon...!"
The task took some muscle, but eventually, his efforts were rewarded with the sound of the wooden plank latch hitting the ground with a thump; freedom!
"Yeah!"
The two ran out of the barn, towards the house; the front door was wide open, and noises could be heard from within.
"They're already inside," Link frowned. "How do we get them out, though...?"
Alice barked and ran towards the door, and the boy ran after her in a panic.
"A-Alice, wait!!" he cried. "They have weapons, they're gonna hurt you if you fight them...!!"
But she ignored him, and had soon dashed into the house, with Link hot on all four of her heels.
Part 3[]
Rigvarr wasn't terribly impressed with the spoils he had found within the house; sure, there was plenty of food, and the place was cozy enough, but there wasn't anything of actual value to be found, no coins or trinkets ripe for the pilfering. Blugvern, however, was perfectly content to lounge on the small couch in the living room.
"Gotta say, dis place is pretty nice, Rig," he chuckled, letting out a sigh of contentment. "Hey, maybe we could convince Balgrim ter set up operations here."
"Ehh..."
Rigvarr picked up the basket that Link had packed with food earlier.
"Well, can't say I expected much from a ranch," he shrugged, plucking out one of the loaves of bread and biting into it. "Prolly too small fer all'a us t'live in, methinks."
The sight of Alice skidding into the living room, teeth bared, caused Rigvarr to drop the basket with a yelp.
"CRIPES!! DEY GOT OUT!!" he cried, hastily grabbing for his dagger that he had left sitting on the kitchen counter. "Back off, mongrel, before I gut ya!"
"Don't you hurt my dog!!" Link then came charging into the room, putting himself in between Alice and Rigvarr. The Bokoblin blinked, before starting to laugh.
"Ya gotta lotta moxie, kid!" he sneered, pointing his dagger at the boy. "Mighty stupid, too, riskin' yer own skin fer a dumb dog!"
At that, Link's hands balled into fists, and Rigvarr was not expecting the look of sudden and utter rage on the kid's face.
"She... is not... A DUMB DOG!!" he cried looking like he wanted nothing better than to sock the Bokoblin right in the face.
"Yer both dumb, thinkin' ya stand any chance against us!" Rigvarr sneered, not terribly intimidated by the furious child. "BLUG!! Geddover here an' help me beat dese two inta submission!"
Of course, at the sight of the other Bokoblin now joining in, armed with his club, Link's anger faltered somewhat, and he took a step back, eyes wide. He really bit off more than he could chew here...
"Now, lissen," Rigvarr said, toying with his weapon. "I'll give ya one more chance t'take yer mutt an' crawl back in dat barn like a good boy, capiche?"
But the boy refused to back up any further, stubbornly holding his ground despite his fear; he even put up his fists, as if preparing himself to fight. Rigvarr narrowed his eyes.
"Guess yer wanna do dis da hard way, eh?" he chuckled, starting to advance on the two.
"Alice, run!!"
Link bolted away, with Alice running beside him, and Rigvarr growled.
"AFTER DEM!!"
Both he and Blugvern took off after the two, weapons raised. Link bolted into his bedroom with Alice, slamming the door behind him and locking it, panting slightly.
"YER ALL OUTTA SECOND CHANCES, BRAT!" Rigvarr growled, slamming his shoulder into the door, trying to force it open. "GEDDOUT HERE SO I CAN TEACH YA A LESSON!"
"Wan' me t'bash it down, Rig?" Blugvern asked, hefting his club. A devious grin spread across the older Bokoblin's face.
"Wif pleasure! Hehehe...!"
Chuckling, Blugvern prepared to swing at the door, when suddenly, the lock clicked. The two brothers blinked in confusion.
"Eh?"
The door was kicked open with a bang, and the two were met by the sight of Link aiming a loaded bow directly at them, making them jump back a bit.
"Get outta here, you villains!" Link cried, threatening to release the arrow. Blugvern was quick to try and shield himself with his club, looking scared. Rigvarr, however, noticed that the 'arrow' had a rounded rubber tip; it was nothing but a training arrow.
"Ha! Nice try, kid, but dat's not gonna-"
FWIP! The arrow was released and socked Rigvarr right in the forehead, directly below his horn. He let out a yelp of pain and staggered back, dropping his dagger and grasping at his aching head, eyes squeezed shut.
"D-Dat smarts...!! Ya liddle-...gah! M-My head...!"
He didn't notice that Alice had quickly darted forward and grabbed the dagger in her mouth. Link was loading another training arrow into his bow, grinning as he aimed it at Blugvern this time.
"Head's up, ugly!"
He fired, and Blugvern yelped, managing to block it with his club just in time, causing the arrow to bounce off.
"Huh...? Ha! Ya missed!"
The sight of Alice advancing on him with the dagger in her mouth made him shriek in fear.
"RIG, DA DOG'S GOT YER DAGGER!" he cried, turning tail and fleeing, with Alice hot on his heels. Rigvarr groaned, still a bit out of it from the blow to his head.
"What?! What's going on, Blug?!"
Link quickly nocked another training arrow into his bow and fired at Rigvarr's gut, causing a pained wheeze to escape him.
"Ghhh...! Ya... wretched pest...!!"
Coughing a bit, he lunged forward, trying to grab Link before he could escape back into his room. He missed, but unfortunately, the boy didn't have enough time to slam the door on Rigvarr, and now he was cornered in his room by the Bokoblin.
"G-Get back...!"
He grabbed for another arrow in his quiver... but it was empty.
"...uh-oh..."
"Looks like yer all oudda options, brat," Rigvarr sneered, stalking closer to the boy as he crackled his knuckles. Link's nervous gaze darted towards the window briefly as he backed away from Rigvarr, only to realize that it was currently closed; he wouldn't have enough time to pry it open and jump outside. Outside, Blugvern could be seen, still running away from the dagger-wielding Alice and screaming at the top of his lungs.
"U-Umm..."
Link was getting desperate now, and this was clouding his judgment; thinking rashly, he attempted to bolt past Rigvarr to the door as fast as he could.
"Gotcha!!"
Link let out a yelp as the Bokoblin grabbed harshly onto his arm as he attempted to run past him, yanking him to the side and quickly wrapping an arm around his neck to hold him in place.
"Not very smart, brat," he sneered, cruelly tightening his grip on the boy and making him cough; his hands pawed desperately at the arm around his throat.
"Yer gonna regret even thinkin' ya could make a fool oudda me...!!"
With a grunt, Link stomped down on Rigvarr's foot as hard as he could, making him cry out and curse; unfortunately he didn't release his grip on the poor boy.
"Yer so lucky I don' have my dagger on me...!" he snarled. "I'm honestly thinkin' I might drag ya back t'Balgrim, hehe... see how ya like dat!"
Link had no idea who Balgrim was; he assumed that was Rigvarr's boss, and he was quite sure that he did not want to meet him. He continued to squirm helplessly in the Bokoblin's grasp, whimpering a bit.
"Or maybe... even gut yer precious puppy in fronna ya!"
For a brief moment, Link had stopped struggling, as if he had frozen up, and Rigvarr foolishly thought that he had scared the boy into submission. It was only when he heard a snarl, and then felt a searing pain between his legs, that he realized he had made a big mistake; Link had dug the heel of his boot into there as brutally as he could.
"DON'T YOU DARE THREATEN ALICE!!" he screamed; the low blow caused Rigvarr to release him, groaning in agony as he crumpled to his knees. Link's face was red with rage by now, and he was shaking.
"I shouldn't have tried to trust ya in the first place...!! You're not just a bully, you're a spineless coward and a monster!!"
Rigvarr didn't answer right away; only a wheeze escaped him, his hands still buried between his legs. Link strode over to the bedroom door and held it open, pointing out into the hallway.
"Now get outta my room!!"
The Bokoblin groaned and slowly managed to climb to his feet, glaring at Link with hate-filled eyes.
"Dis ain' da last ya see o'me and Blug, brat," he hissed; his eyes widened a bit when Alice appeared behind Link, still carrying the dagger in her mouth.
"Hey, dat's mine...!!"
"Not anymore," said Link, while Alice growled. He gestured again to the hallway.
"Out!"
Grumbling, Rigvarr did as he was commanded; he knew he didn't have a chance to fight back... not right now, at least. He stumbled out of the room, past Alice and Link, and hobbled out of the house, looking around. Blugvern was already on the other side of the front gate.
"Blug, I can't believe y'let yerself beat by a dog!" he scolded, grumbling as he walked up to the gate.
"Well, yeah, but... she had a dagger, Rig!" the younger Bokoblin complained.
"Yeah, my dagger!"
Rigvarr groaned in discomfort as he climbed over the gate, his lower region still aching.
"Dis ain' da end, Blug," he growled. "Mark my words, we're gonna get back at dat little mongrel an' 'is mutt..."
Shooting one last caustic glare at the little ranch, Rigvarr began storming down the path they came, away from the ranch, with Blugvern in tow.
| ~ Chapter 2 -- Chapter 3 -- Chapter 4 ~ |