Chapter IV – Tail Cave

Link made his way through the overgrowth of trees south of the village. He followed the road he'd asked Marin about the day before, finding it stopped not far from where it began. There was a clear enough path through, and Link followed it a ways to the cave mentioned by both Marin and the owl.

Surrounding the mouth of the cave were various statues, each in the shape of a monster Link had fought countless variations of in the past. Moldorms, large worm creatures with segmented bodies. They scurried about the ground with great agility, and sought to make short work of their enemies with their oversized mandibles. The only way to defeat them was to sever their tail; without it, they'd collapse within seconds. Link always believed their hearts were located there, which would account for the weakness.

Sword drawn and shield raised, Link pressed onward towards the cave entrance. In the past, what he'd thought to be stone facsimiles had come to life to strike him by surprise. But even as he passed by these statues, they remained silent and of stone. To make sure, Link tapped one with the hilt of his sword.

"That's good." He breathed a sigh of relief.

Inside the cave, Link found the remnants of what appeared to be a temple of some kind. Smashed pots, broken alters; familiar sights for the seasoned adventurer. Hyrule was filled with such abandoned temples, which often lead the youth to wonder why they were built in the first place. This particular cave only had one main hall, with a few doors leading in various directions. However, most of the doors had been sealed shut by cave-ins and debris. There was only one door untouched by time.

Link approached it, finding only a keyhole in the center of the door. He took a step back to inspect the archway above the door. To the unaware, it was simply an arch made of stone spheres. But Link saw the way the spheres grew in size from left to right. And beneath the largest sphere were a pair of stone mandibles. It was a giant Moldorm.

"I'm pretty sure it'll come to life when I try to open the door." Link said to himself. His voice echoed throughout the cave.

Just to make sure there was nothing else to be seen in the cave, he checked every other door he could find. Not unless he had help would he get any of the rubble out of the way to explore the other parts of the former temple. So he was left with the locked door and the stone Moldorm. With a sigh, he resigned himself to the inevitable.

Link fished the key from his tunic pocket and unlocked the door. It swung open with a loud creak, and blasted the young adventurer with a puff of dust and stale air. When it settled, he looked into the room beyond. Sitting in the middle of a tiny chamber was an instrument of some kind. Marin's tale was right: this was an Instrument of the Sirens.

Then there was a rumbling throughout the cave. Link looked to the archway above the door, seeing the spheres that made it up begin to stir. He backtracked to the opening of the cave, and watched as the stone Moldorm came to life before his eyes. The young man gripped his sword and shield tightly, ready to face the creature. The gray stone turned dark and black, and large white eyes appeared on the creature's head. They turned to lock onto Link.

"OUTZZZIDER!" A deep, loud voice echoed throughout the cave.

The Moldorm slithered towards Link, its large mandibles snapping all the way. Link picked up his feet and ran as fast as he could to the left side of the cave. The Moldorm followed, curling its body as it gave chase. Gradually, Link curved the way he was running, moving further and further right. Before long, he was running in a circle, chasing after the Moldorm's tail as the head of the monster closed in on the young man.

Link released his shield and threw it behind him, hitting the Moldorm in the face and causing it to flinch long enough for it to slow down. With that, he closed the distance between himself and the tail. Taking his sword in both hands, he drove the blade into the tail of the monster. The Moldorm released a deafening cry. With a twist of the blade, Link severed the tail of the monster. Much like the Leever on the beach, the Moldorm exploded into a cloud of black smoke. With a wail, the smoke was sucked out of the cave and into the sky above.

After gathering his shield again, Link returned to the chamber where the instrument rested. It was a cello, the wood finish glistening even in the dim light of the cavern. When Link touched it, the instrument began to glow, and began to play a part of a familiar melody. It was the Ballad of the Wind Fish.

Outside the cave, Link encountered the owl again perched atop one of the Moldorm statues. Link set the cello he had earned down to show the owl.

"This what you wanted me to find?" He asked the bird.

"That is one of the Instruments of the Sirens. It is the Full Moon Cello." The owl cooed.

"Why do I have to wake the Wind Fish to leave the island?" Link asked. The owl cooed softly.

"The Wind Fish dreams silently. But nightmares have taken him. It is necessary for the dreamer to rouse before you may leave."

"And if I just take a ship and leave without waking him?" Link didn't have a ship to speak of, but how hard could it be to fashion a raft with the abundance of materials on the island?

"The tide will bring you back here." The owl warned him.

Link sighed. "Alright, I'll collect the instruments and wake the Wind Fish."

"You must travel to the swamp in the north. You may find another instrument there. Good luck, courageous lad!"

The owl spread its wings and took flight again, this time to the north. It was still light out, but it wouldn't be long before the sun started setting. Marin and Tarin both would be worried about him by now, so he figured it best to return to Mabe Village. He also had to leave the cello behind; something that large wouldn't be easy to carry around.

"Link! I'm so glad you made it back!" Marin ran to his side once she saw him approach the house. Of course, she also saw the large object he had brought with him. "Is that...? A cello?"

"It's one of the Instruments of the Sirens. I found it in that cave south of the village."

"You went exploring the cave? Without me!?" Marin put her hands on her hips in protest.

"Sorry, but I didn't want to put you in danger." Link rubbed the back of his neck.

"No excuse! What if you'd gotten hurt instead?" Marin poked the young man's chest.

"I'm used to it."

"No excuse!" Again she poked him in the chest. "Next time, I'm going with you!"

Link opened his mouth to protest, but Marin only had to wave her finger in his face for him to reconsider the action. A third poke in the same spot would probably leave a bruise at this point. With a reluctant smile, Link nodded.

"Okay."

Marin's scowl turned into a smile. "Great! I'll put the cello away in my room."

Marin took the instrument from Link, who was surprised to see the young girl carry the large object without much fuss. Before she went inside, she turned around and pointed at Link one more time.

"Don't mention any of this to Father, okay?" Marin ordered him.

"Why not?"

"It's just... better if you don't." Marin winked at him.

Once she was inside the house, Link crossed his arms. His immediate thought as to why she wouldn't want Tarin knowing anything was for her own safety. After all, what father would want his daughter running around caves and dungeons looking for treasure?

Link followed Marin into the house, looking forward to a hot meal and some rest.