Link's curse 3

   chapter 3

      Out in the rain, Link did his best to go south. But even with the lantern a blaze, it was hard to make out what was in front of him. A few times, he bumped
   into trees or bushes. Once, he nearly ran into a soldier, who sternly told him to go back home and go to bed. Link had hurried away quickly and was careful not
   to cross paths with any other soldiers. He knew they were bad news. Finally, after about ten minutes of wandering, he found the large shop that Rob had mentioned.
   By now, the rain was coming down in sheets, and link was drenched from head to foot. He hurried into the shop. As soon as he was inside, the shop keeper pointed
   at him and demanded that he put the lantern out or leave it outside. Link stepped outside again a moment and set it on a flat rock, then re-entered the shop. The
   shop keeper nodded at Link and said, "How much rupies you got?"

      Link removed his backpack and began to open it. He fished through it, then pulled out the leather pouch with the rupies in it that Rob had given him. He turned
   back to the shop keeper and said, "I'm not sure how many rupies I have here, but the pouch is quite full." He loosened the draw string and pulled open the pouch,
   pouring some of the contents onto the wooden counter. Most of the rupies were red, but a few were green and blue. The shop keepers eyes went wide with surprise and
   glee. "Where..."he stammered," Where in heavens name did you get all these rupies?" Link grinned. "They were a gift from Rob the carpenter, who I worked for until
   this very night."
      "But...wait...you mean...the Rob from town?! Where did HE get all these rupies?!" Again Link grinned. "It was his life savings. He gave them to me because I'm
   going on a journey to save the land and it's people from the dark force approaching from the north. I came here to see if you had any good supplies. Weapons, tools,
   potions, the like." The shop keepers mouth hung open in awe. Finally he said, "Yes, well, your going to be needing a shield. That's 50 rupies. And a small sword is
   100 rupies. It doesn't cut that well, but it'll have to do. Why don't I count up all yer rupies fer ya. May I?" Link hesitated, then nodded. In total, the shop
   keeper counted 253 rupies total. "So," he said, figuring in his head, "If you buy my small sword and my shield, that'll come to exactly 150 rupies, leaving you
   with 103 rupies left over. So, do we have a deal?" Link looked at the shield, then and the sword.

      "May I hold them?" he asked. The shop keeper looked down at the young elf like a hawk looking down on it's prey. "I suppose so," he sighed. He fitted the shield
   to Link's arm and placed the small sword in his opposite hand. "No sword play in here," warned the shop keeper, "You break anything, you pay." After a few minutes
   of examining the sword and shield, Link said, "I'll take them." The shop keeper nodded and took 150 rupies from Link. "The sword and shield are yours. Take care of
   them." Then, the shop keeper returned the rest of Link's rupies into the leather pouch and placed the pouch safely inside Link's backpack. He fastened the backpack
   to link's back and wish him well on his travels. "So long, sir," said Link, exiting the shop.

      Back outside, the first thing Link noticed was that the rain had stopped and the clouds had parted some. The sun was even trying to appear. The second thing Link
   noticed was his lantern was not where he had left it. His lantern! He stared at the flat rock where he had set it. The rock sat empty now. Where had it gone? And
   finally, the last thing Link noticed was that it was day, when it had been the dead of night when he had entered the shop. "What is going on?" he thought to him-
   self. Before he could gather his thoughts though, a loud screech sent him whirling around. Link found himself standing face to face with a horrible creature, about
   his height, with green leathery skin and a wide mouth with hundreds of tiny, razor sharp teeth. The monsters eyes were blood red and almond shaped. It's nose was
   nothing more than two slits for nostrils. Two large black ears sat atop it's head, and they wriggled as the monster laughed hideously. The ears were fuzzy. The monster's
  arms hung down almost to the ground, and it had two short stubby legs. In one hand it carried a spiked wooden club. finally, a tail appeared from the back
   of it's naked body, twitching to and fro.
  
      Without warning, the monster jumped at Link, and swung it's club. Link was caught off guard. He tried to block the blow with his shield, but the blow from the
   club still knocked him backwards. He landed hard on the dirt. Link suddenly felt an inner strength that he didn't know he had. He jumped to his feet and ran at the
   monster, swinging his sword wildly. Because the monster had no shield, It was an easy strike. Once. Twice. Three hits. The monster screamed in pain and fell back-
   wards, dropping it's club. The spiked weapon rolled down a nearby embankment and into a patch of ferns and out of sight. The monster was now defenseless. It shook
   it's head and groveled pathetically, but Link showed no mercy. He stepped forward and plunged his sword into the monster. It screamed and disappeared into a green
   mist.