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The whole thing was just simply ridiculous. He’d been creeping on a boar in the forest, a big one that would probably last him several days if he paced himself with the need of food. When he’d gotten close enough to be able to make the shot, he’d raised the bow slowly, so as not to reveal his hiding place. The arrow was already nocked to the string, so with measured movements he’d pulled it back and released the arrow when the boar had been turned sideways to him.
But something had gone wrong, and instead of the arrow hitting the boar it had made contact with a nest of bees, sending it falling down to the ground. The annoyed bees had swarmed around for a moment, no doubt confused, and had then ignored the retreating boar and went after Link. Who had been frozen since the arrow missed, and had now needed to scramble to get away. He could fight almost anything, but bees were a lost cause he’d tried one too many times.
With his hasty retreat he had somehow forgotten how close he was to the small cliff, and so instead of running away back to his horse, he’d fallen down the cliff, no doubt scraping his skin raw. At least he’d landed in a body of water. Small victories, or something.
So that’s where he now was, drenched from head to toes, body beaten black and blue, dragging himself out of the water to trekk back to his horse. At least his trusty Epona was still stood in the small meadow where he’d left her, happily grazing on the grass.
The sun was settling low on the horizon when he finally sat up on Epona, promising a night of monster before he could get back to the campsite he’d used for the last few days.
By the time he was maybe ten minutes away from the camp, he let his body relax slightly, glad to not have ran into any monsters. Of course, that’s why just a few seconds later poor Epona staggered to a sudden halt, scared by the sudden appearance of three stalmoblins. They circled around him for a few moments before one of them struck out with its spear. Link managed to spur Epona into action and avoid the attack, but the stalmoblins followed closely after. He’d have to fight them if he wanted to avoid Epona getting hurt.
He lept of Epona in a jump, making sure she continued galloping forward before turning to the monsters. The second stalmoblin took a swing towards him with its club, that he just barely managed to avoid with a jump back.
His muscles ached with the effort of it. It was going to be a long fight. At least he had some strong weapons to really inflict damage on them.
Drips of rain started falling from the sky as he collected what he could from the defeated monsters, and when he and Epona reached the camp rain was coming down heavy, making him drenched to the skin.
With a sigh he sat off and led Epona in under the cover of the trees. There was still drops coming down between the leaves, so there was no use starting up a fire. Technically he could teleport to a shrine somewhere, but he couldn’t leave Epona alone out here, and he just wanted to rest.
He sank down against the trunk of a tree and closed his eyes. It was going to be a long night.
He arose to a throbbing in his arm that didn’t want to go away.
The rain had stopped some time during the night, only a light drizzle remaining. Epona was grazing a few feet away, but lifted her head when Link shifted.
He felt exhausted, hunger making his stomach growl. There was not much he could do about that, though. He had barely any ingredients left, just some critters and monster parts for elixirs, but they were practically useless with no cooking pot. He could see some wildlife moving around nearby, but a lone movement of his arm assured him it would be useless with the bow. He had no other choice but to head back to a stable - the closest one still too far away for his liking.
He stood up and stretched, trying to ignore the pain in his arm. He knew, he knew he wouldn't like what he would see, but knowing he had to check, he rolled up the sleeve.
A long jagged slit ran down the length of his arm, the area around it red and swollen. It wasn't bleeding much, but a slight yellow pus was oozing out of the wound.
He knew it was bad, even if he hadn't thought it would be this bad. He'd sustained worse injuries before, survived those without a stitch. Survived some things he shouldn't have. Survived some things he was sure he hadn't actually. He would survive this too. One way or another.
He gathered his things and sat up on Epona, heading back to the stable. There he'd find food, and someone to help him clean the wound — and a bed, for a proper rest.
He ran into a guardian on his way, but Epona was quick to dash away, taking them both to safety. He arrived at the stable some time during the afternoon, his arm throbbing worse than before.
With Epona back in safety, he collapsed next to the cooking pot, rolling up his shirt sleeve to properly assess the damage. Blood and pus had mixed together, creating a foul smelling mess that covered his arm. The skin around the wound was hot to the touch, most of it sore when poked.
"Oh dear," a voice said next to him. "That does certainly not look good. Let me— I can clean and wrap it up for you."
She hurried off, and came back a few moments later, a bucket of water and some strips of cloth in her hands.
"This needs to be cleaned, and you should have a big meal and a nice, long rest," she said, almost scolding, as she started cleaning the wound. "What were you thinking leaving it like this?"
Link just shrugged his shoulders and let her work, ever thankful for the help. He thanked her with a deep bow when she had finished washing and dressed the wound, but she just waved it away, telling him to thank her by resting and getting well soon.
He bought some ingredients from a passing merchant and cooked a meal before paying for a bed for the night. He would rest, and tomorrow he would be as good as new and head back out, no trace left of the infected wound. That's how it always was.