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The Legend Begins: Ganondorf Dragmire

Chapter 5: The Assault

The night dragged on with no change on the horizon. While Ganondorf could stay awake with little trouble, the same couldn't be said for all of his men, and especially not for the town guard.

"Wake up," he said, prodding one of his dozing soldiers. "Stay sharp."

"Forgive me, my lord," the soldier responded groggily.

Ganondorf left him, sighing as he noticed that at least another dozen men had fallen asleep. He had hoped that having the guards take shifts would help, but the need for more guards on the walls had necessitated enlisting the aid of men who had never had night duty before.

Following a few paths, he found Captain Cawlin on the east wall waking up some of his men, though he was stifling a yawn himself as he did so.

"Any change?" Ganondorf asked as he reached the top of the stairs to the wall.

"None," Cawlin replied in a slightly irritated tone. "My lord Ganondorf, with respect, if they were going to attack tonight, would they not have done so already? The sun will be up within less than an hour. Surely they would have-"

Ganondorf's eyes widened as he noticed movement in the dark.

"Down!" he roared as he tackled Cawlin to the ground, an arrow whizzing through where Cawlin's head had just been.

In a shock, the night watchmen quickly nocked arrows, but stood with confused faces as they wondered what to do.

"Don't just stand there! Sound the alarm!" Cawlin ordered as Ganondorf ran down the stairs after the assassin, who he noticed had begun running away.

A guard immediately started ringing a large bell, and torches were being lit along the walls and near the streets. More soldiers and guards began waking up and arming themselves.

As Ganondorf turned a corner, the assassin grabbed him from the shadows and tried to slice Ganon's throat. Ganondorf caught the assassin's fist and twisted his wrist as hard as he could while stomping on his foot. As his foe cried out in pain, Ganondorf forced him to the ground and held him down face first.

"How did you get in here?" he demanded, pressing his knee into the bandit's tailbone. The bandit only cried out in pain in response.

In any case, Ganondorf got his answer as he looked towards the south gate. There were men throwing grappling hooks and ladders onto the wall and climbing into the town. Worse yet, the gates themselves were being opened.

He punched the assassin in the head as hard as he could, the black steel gauntlet on his fist making it even more effective. Ganondorf released him, and the assassin lay limp on the ground, and whether he was alive or dead, Ganondorf didn't much care at the moment.

"They've breached the southern gate!" he shouted, his lion like roar being heard by a good number of the nearby soldiers.

Within moments, the town of Rauru was in chaos as the bandits came in through the southern gate. Most of the men posted there had been the regular town guard, and many had already been slain. The arriving guards and soldiers couldn't even come close to the bandits, as a group of the marauders had taken position on the walls and were providing very effective cover for their fighters on the ground. The guards, most of who had never been in a real battle before, were becoming thoroughly intimidated, and the fact that many of the bandits had painted themselves with blood and wore monstrous, fearsome hoods didn't help matters.

Suddenly, a rain of arrows flew through the sky, this time towards the bandits. Only a few were killed, but the arrows were strong enough to pierce their shields. Panic took a number of them as a second volley flew towards them, and there were more casualties as a result.

"Keep firing!" Ganondorf ordered his archers as they loosed a third volley of arrows.

Within moments, all pretense of military discipline among the bandits broke as they charged madly into the streets of Rauru.

"Come on, closer now. Closer," Ganondorf snarled softly. When the bandits were where he wanted them, Ganondorf blew a horn, its clear tone signaling the hidden right flank of fifty men to ambush the enemy.

"Attack!" Ganondorf roared, leading the charge into the fray. The bandits were outnumbered, but they refused to go down without a fight. Ganondorf and many other veterans were able to cut them down with little harm to themselves, and he saw Captain Cawlin nearby fighting much better than most of his guards had done. He also saw an enraged Geoff killing several bandits by himself, and his wild swings would have been a danger to anyone, friend or foe.

As Ganondorf slew another bandit, a bolt of bright magic struck him, causing him to stumble backwards a bit.

I hate mages, he groaned inwardly as he saw his assailant readying another bolt. In response, Ganondorf used what little defensive magic he knew (courtesy of the priestess Katrina, no less) and a small, translucent shield appeared in his left hand, absorbing the spellcaster's next attack as Ganondorf charged him.

The mage drew his own sword and parried Ganondorf's attack, immediately following with a blow to his head. Clutching his blade towards the tip, Ganondorf redirected his foe's attack and forced the mage closer to him.

"Dragmire?" the mage gasped in shock as he saw Ganondorf's face.

Quickly placing his palm on his sword's pommel, Ganondorf shouted and pierced the mage's thin armor, rupturing his heart and immediately killing him.

He quickly removed his sword and refocused his attention on the surroundings. He was surprised (but relieved) to find that the battle had ended, with the very few remaining bandits being seized and hauled off to the dungeons.

"Ganondorf!" Ganon's soldiers cheered, with the town guard (and even Captain Cawlin) following suit. "Ganondorf! Ganondorf!"

Wiping the blood and sweat from his face, Ganondorf smiled and stabbed his sword into the ground. The town cheered louder as he raised his fist in victory, and men rushed to raise him onto their shoulders.

Ganondorf's smile grew wider. Soon enough, the threat would be over. Tathis didn't stand a chance.