4. Screw the Key
A short ways down the path the road from Ordon widened into the rough shape of a circle and there at the other end stood the door that they had spoken of, beyond it the road seemed to repeat the trend as another rough circle before thinning out into the path that laid ahead. On the eastern edge of the road a wrecked wagon laid on its side, the wood was marred with gashes and a fair amount of it had broken and as Link began to wonder what had caused the damage his eyes caught sight of a stone weapon dug deep into the wood just, another stone cleaver. The sight made him shake his head silently hoping the people made it to the village safely after being attacked.
Rather than messing with the door or the overturned wagon Link continued on along the path to see what he warrior had meant about ending up turned back around towards the village, it was now roughly noon and he shouldn't have any problems with getting lost in the dark. As he continued along the path he kept a hand on his sword so he could react if something tried to ambush him, every few minutes the bushes would rustle pulling his gaze into the woods and a few times he would even hear what sounded like sticks knocking against each other. Deciding it would be in his best interest not to intrude on the spirits of the forest he stayed on the middle of the road allowing the spirits to do as they would.
Time seemed to go on forever but he never left the woods, he never even saw the spring that was at the end of the path, finally he eventually reached a point where the path widened out into the shape of a rough circle...
"Okay... This is bullshit..." Link could feel his eye twitch as he stamped his feet with each step, when he reached the door he looked it over closely analyzing whatever details it had. On the side that faced Link and the path that had somehow brought him back there was barely anything but an ornate filigree of feather patterns ringing the edge of the door while the door knob itself seemed to be crafted out of a smooth, opaque, red, crystal, on the other side facing Ordon however was a rather detailed image of what looked like a mansion with twin towers standing at it's front most corners, the odd thing was that nearly all of the image was faded except for the details of the western tower.
With nothing better to do than scratch his head Link took a step back from the door and tried to see if he could make out the bigger picture but the more he looked at it the more confused he felt. With an aggravated sigh he pulled off his hat and ran his fingers through his blonde hair as he walked over to the wagon and sat back against the wreckage.
"I don't have time for this, I've gotta reach Ganondorf. I can't go back with my tail between my legs!" Out of frustration he threw his head back against the wood and winced feeling the pain, however as his vision swam he could see something in the distance, a tower standing high over the trees, the stone looked older than old and a number of windows were closed with rotten shutters fallen and decayed, the more that Link stared at it the more familiar it looked until he realized that the tower was of the same design as the one on the door.
"Well I've got nothing better to do... May as well see if there's something there to help get out of here." While the words were true enough Link froze just as soon as he had stood up, chances are the woods would turn him back even quicker than the 'straight' road had. Turning around he would heave the wreckage of the wagon out of the way checking for anything he could use to possibly keep him from getting lost and that is when he found it, a large coil of rope. Link had known from his own trips to and from Ordon that most travel wagons kept rope to secure their shipments and now he had a way to mark his way through the woods.
Retrieving his bow from the sack, Link then pulled an arrow from his quiver before tying the end of the rope just behind the fetching. Once he was sure that the rope was clear and tight he would take aim and draw the bow taut aiming for one of the lower windows of the tower that still had it's shutters before letting it fly, the whistle seemed to echo over the trees until he saw the shutter suddenly swing back and forth signaling his arrow had hit its mark. With the path set he would put away the bow before drawing his sword and shield and threading the rope through the handle of the shield, this way he could be ready to attack or defend without losing the rope and risk falling prey to the woods once more.
As Link ventured into the woods he took care to keep his guard up and survey his surroundings, as he grew up he heard the warnings given to anyone who traveled this path to never venture into the woods or else they'd be fated to become a bone-kin such as a Stalfos or Skull Child. The stories were haunting and the idea of being stuck lost forever until you become nothing more than a wandering skeleton shook him deeply. It was then that he heard that same rattling once more that he had heard on the road, like sticks knocking together but this time it was growing louder like something was approaching him...
While Link readied his shield and sword what happened he couldn't have prepared for, what looked like a child in a faded brown tunic with a wide brim hat was charging towards him and promptly jumped onto his shield's top edge before glaring down at him with a black featureless face, glowing eyes, and a wide mouth.
"What's with the rope!? You know how boring that makes playing pranks when you people can't get lost!?" The child-like being stared at him mad huffing as it breathed almost seeming to shake in rage and Link could hear the shivering sound of sticks which he now understood had been the Skull Child playing with him.
"Look, I'm trying to get through Faron Woods to catch up to my brother, I don't mean any ill will, I'm sorry" The stories of these beings didn't end at eternal damnation some even said that the bone-kin could control powerful dark magics and that was something he couldn't afford to fight against. However the longer the Skull Kid glared at him the more its anger seemed to drain until it finally just stared at him like it was recognizing something about him.
"Hm... Do you know how to play an Ocarina by chance? I made a friend a couple of years ago that looked a lot like you and he had a shiny blue Ocarina." The child sat upon his shield staring at him even more intently as its hands began to rummage through its clothing searching for something.
"N-no I can't play any kind of instrument, I've never actually heard of an Ocarina." Link watched the child as it continued to look through it's clothing.
"This! Is an Ocarina." the child proclaimed as it pulled the instrument from it's clothing it was a light brown tone with a leaf green stripe around the mouth piece, over all he would compare it to a strange type of flute. After allowing Link to look it over the Skull Kid placed the mouth piece to it's lips before smoothly blowing out a low toned note before giggling, the sound itself seemed to echo around him like wind.
"It's interesting, I've never seen anything quite like it." Link watched as the child became engrossed with the instrument continuing to blow three more notes, each one followed by the same eerie giggle. After the fourth time the Skull Kid looked up at Link and smiled before putting the Ocarina away and hopping off his shield only to float before him in midair.
"Well... You seem alright so I'll let you go this time, don't tell anyone I was nice to you." The Skull Kid grinned wide before floating off into the woods vanishing after moving behind a tree.
"Strange does not begin to describe what just happened..." Link muttered under his breath before continuing through the trees along the path of the rope. Soon he could even see the stone through the trees as he hurried a bit faster, as he emerged from the dense foliage he found himself standing at the foot of the massive tower. He slowly circled around it until he found the base of the northern side seemed to have fallen apart leaving a large opening, while the entirety of the building didn't look safe there wasn't much Link could do if he wanted to continue on.
While keeping his steps light he would venture inside of the structure as he saw the winding series of steps that climbed upwards. Link began his climb taking each step gingerly until he was confident they wouldn't give and send him falling to his death, every few steps he would cross a broken one and they seemed to get worse as he went on. At roughly a third of the way up he reached a gap too far to step over so his only choice would be to jump, his blue eyes looked deep down past the steps seeing he was good 30 feet up already if this went bad it wouldn't end well. He could always turn back but then what would all the effort have been for...
Taking a deep breath Link would bend his legs getting ready before leaning into the jump as he crossed the gap and kept moving letting his agility do the thinking for him. He ascended even quicker, closing gaps and making leaps that he wouldn't have considered before but now he felt at ease. Now he had finally reach the top of the stairs where a large wooden door stood but as he moved to push it open...
He found that it was locked.
"No... Oh hell no!" With a rough shove from his iron shield Link would barge through the rotten door splintering it as it burst apart while filling the room before him with dust. The light that came in from the windows cast beams through the dust as Link waved the shield through the dense air trying to clear some of it so that he could see once again. As the dust was settling he was able to make out shapes in the dusky light, mainly that of a man leaning back against the wall in a slumped position although as the air finally became clear he could see that it was a body long dead and ravaged by time. The clothing on its body had been torn and the skin had long since rotted away to leave behind white bone, a forgotten rapier laid at his feet along with tattered maps and charts while the hilt of a deep red blade was buried through his chest up to the hilt which was probably what kept him held up.
The very notion that someone had been run through and pinned upright made him feel a bit unnerved as Link moved closer looking around to see what the man had been doing there and that was when a slight twinkle caught his attention, hanging just beside the red sword was a golden chain with what looked like a crystal disc hanging from the other end.
"A monocle?... Well I hope you had a good life before you came here..." Link mused silently as he gently lifted the chain slipping the anchor off of the pocket on his shirt having no intention of stealing it but curious of it regardless. As he began to turn it between his fingers the crystal had an off blue tone to it while the chain seemed completely devoid of sound at all. It was then Link could hear the faint creaking of the tower as the wind blew and when he felt it it was like he could have been standing out in a field rather than inside of the tower. Holding back the urge to shiver, the sound of the wind seemed to change and another faint rhythm joined but he couldn't make it out. The wind continued to shift and waver becoming more and more abstract until he realized they had become whispers and finally one came through clear.
~Wear it...~
Unsure if it was just his mind playing tricks on him or if another Skull Child had come around Link rose the crystal to his eye as the other sound grew louder almost like a drum beat but more crass, like metal hitting stone. At first nothing looked any different until he was able to focus through the crystal and now see the ghost of the impaled man as a spirit wreathed in blue and seemingly as whole as he had been when he died. Now that he was in focus Link could see his details much clearer he had been dressed to explore and he had a great mustache almost over exaggerated. However the man's anxious demeanor worried him, he was dead after all.
~Oh thank goodness, you need to ready your sword my boy, the Stalfos are coming!~ The words instantly froze Link to the bone as he now realized that sound was the rhythm of greaves climbing the stone stairwell. Almost on instinct Link drew his blade and turned toward the door just in time to deflect a sword thrown at him by one of the undead beings, the force of the throw knocked him back into the wall beside the skeleton and the ghost as Link winced but got a look at both the weapon and foe that had come to be before him. The hilt and handle of the blade was the same as that of the one that stuck into the body but now Link could see that the blade was roughly four feet long with a crimson hue as it waved back and forth like a serpent. His focus on the weapon was broken however as a skeletal hand grabbed the handle and pulled it back over to the Stalfos and the hand reconnected at its wrist.
~Fresh meat... It's been a long time since I had a fight...~ The skeleton's eyes glowered a deep orange and red as a deep grinding noise accompanied its voice, while it's upper body was mostly a bare skeleton besides the gauntlets worn on its forearms, its lower body was clad in faded teal pants and red greaves. It slowly began to step forward and Link matched its movements so that he could move away from the wall and get some breathing room. ~Try not to die too fast...~
The taunts were beginning to annoy Link now as he glared at the skeleton, the Stalfos moved first lunging forward with a stab but Link quickly raised his shield to deflect the blade to the side before swinging the edge of the shield down into its arm hoping to break the bones and disarm it.
It worked... Kinda...
As the blade and forearm went rolling away and Link moved to return the attack and stab into the Stalfos's eye socket his blade met with a screeching ring as both the blade and hand he had broken away floated in the air before him. With a gravelly laugh the skeleton would seem to reach for the arm with the one Link had broken and before his eyes the bone melded back together seamlessly.
~Young man Stalfos are beings of dark magic, you cannot harm them by breaking them apart.~ The ghosts words echoed around him and earned another laugh from the skeleton as it twirled the blade in its hand seemingly to test the reconnection.
"Unless you have any better ideas I can't do anything I don't know any magic!" Link barked at the ghost as he narrowly missed another lunge from the Stalfos rolling along the dust laden stone. The ghost seemed to follow Link hovering beside him as it thought and stared at the skeleton, Link rolled his eyes as the ghost left him high and dry to figure out the problem. Before Link could regain his footing however the Stalfos leaped through the air while bringing its blade down towards Link pinning him in a crouch as the blade rang out against the iron of his shield while the ghost was now positioned slightly behind the Stalfos.
~Aha! I have found its weak spot!~ the ghost proclaimed which made the Stalfos falter in its attack letting up on Link just enough for him to bat the sword to the side, roll a few feet away and climbing to a standing position. The ghost quickly hovered over to his side while the Stalfos watched it, the blade in its grip almost seeming to shudder. ~There on the back of its neck is a black gem, if you break that the dark spirit may disperse.~
~SILENCE WISP!~ The gravel voice of the Stalfos rang out in rage as it brought back its arm and hurled the crimson blade at the ghost, without thinking Link instantly moved to guard the ghost. As the blade struck and rang off his shield the force alone threw Link back into the wall with enough force to knock the air air out of him. Although a small glimmer of gold would begin to glow on the back of his left hand.
~...Young man why would you try to protect me? I am already dead.~ The ghost watched Link as he heaved and rose to his feet again watching as the Stalfos fumed and glared at the both of them.
"My body just moved on its own..." There was nothing more that Link could think of to explain why he had done it, the spirit couldn't be killed again so he seemed to have thrown himself into harm's way for naught, this do gooder thing is such a drag.
~Too bad that little hint won't help you!~ With its blade regained the skeleton would charge Link raising the blade high as Link tried to bring up his shield up to block the blow but the strength behind the Stalfos knocked the shield from his grasp sending it skittering over the stone floor. The skeleton prepared to strike once more as the sound of the wind around Link grew even more and in an instant things had changed.
Link now stood behind the Stalfos with its blade held frozen while its head slowly turned to the side confused, it was staring at the spot where Link had once been. While confused in his own right the blonde had to take this chance while he had it and quickly brought up his blade before driving it through the black crystal right where the ghost had said, the instant the crystal cracked the skeleton fell to the ground in lifeless pieces.
~By Farore...~ The ghost stared at him in awe, Link didn't understand until he looked down at his hands, in his normal sight nothing was out of place but to the eye looking through the monocle Link's body was cloaked in a green aura. Albeit devoid of a golden mark.
"What is this?... It's cool like a spring wind..." Link mused quietly unintentionally asking the ghost as it studied him.
~I believe this is Wind magic, the building we are in used to be the Forest Temple of old, men and Kokiri alike would come to deliver their prayers and offerings, but it has long since fallen into ruin and disrepair to the point ghosts have taken over the very state of the structure. Only those with the All Seeing Eye can explore it and that is what you now have in your possession and what I came in search for...~ The information was surprising as Link thought over everything the ghost had said even though its excitement drained toward the end as it seemed to come to realize its own passing. ~Either way, I believe you have a great reserve of magical potential if the old spirits awakened their magic within you, Wind magic is supposed to allow you the ability to teleport although its can only be used with specific points you know by heart, like home or a business.~
"Thank you... As far as I know I've never shown any magical ability before and unless I'm about to die again this ability seems less useful than others could be now." While Link had no intention of being rude his dismissal of this new talent seemed to silence the ghost as it simply stared at him. "What did you mean that this Eye was needed to explore it?"
~...Simply put, the temple has become stuck in flux between this world and the next and the All Seeing Eye imparts a fraction of the next world into the wearer so they may traverse the temple. The legends I've found of it say that the clerics who were trying to make it and venture in to purify the spirits died before they could go on.~ The stories of the temple easily made Link feel uneasy, the majority of the temple could easily be considered the after-life. The glow had long since passed but as Link took a step he faltered and fell to his knee gasping as the monocle came loose and hung from tunic. Even without wearing it, Link could still hear the ghost. ~Young man you should rest for a moment, you just used magic for the first time, high-tier magic at that. Also if you plan to try and liberate the temple from the dead may I accompany you? I spent most of my life trying to explore it and died in my pursuit, I believe my very presence is tied to the All Seeing Eye now.~
"I had no plans of freeing a decrepit temple from the hands of ghosts and spirits, but its in my way. You helped me so I don't see any problem with you coming with me..." The blonde answered the ghostly voice that seemed to hover around him as he put away his sword feeling safe for the time being. From where he sat he could see out over all of the Ordon province, even seeing his own village far in the distance as well as the great mountain range of Ordon that seemed to rise around the province.
"Huh... Kinda looks like a goat without horns..." Link thought as he saw the mountain range from the new point of view but shrugged as he stood and retrieved his shield from the floor before setting it onto his back once more. "Alright lets get going."
During the trip back down the tower Link kept the Monocle fastened to his tunic rather than wearing it so that if anymore spirits were floating about they wouldn't interrupt his descent. Going down seemed far quicker and and simpler than climbing the tower but he knew it was because of the method of movement rather than any real difficulty. Upon reaching the base Link climbed out of the hole that he had entered through and now that he felt safe he pulled out the monocle setting it back on his eye before looking back at the door which made him stare in awe, a massive building now stood joined to the tower, the entirety of it seemed to be a sickly green color the shifted and flowed like an undead wind having captured the building.
"That thing is massive..." The words seemed to fall past Link's lips as he slowly shook his head and touched the southern wall, it was cold like wind but felt as solid as stone now that he could see it, but a sickly essence seemed to stick to his hand like algae as he pulled his hand back, it slowly disappeared as if it was ash that had covered his fingers. With a slight shrug link kept his hand on the building as he walked along the wall knowing it would lead him back to the road where he had started from, and if he was lucky the Skull Kid wouldn't find him again.
Like his trek there the hike back to the road went quick and smooth with a guide, as he stepped down onto the road he could see the circular part of the road functioned like a garden for the temple as spectral statues lined the clearing and two pillars near the door held a roof. The most noticeable change he found however is that the door had a second spectral knob above the first and now the design on the door was all glowing brightly.
~Interesting, this is the road into Ordon if I remember correctly... The temple has moved and its flux has distorted the area the temple used to be located deep in Faron woods to the East, The Monkey Temple in the West was it's sister temple.~ The ghost seemed to float about the area observing everything like it was the first time he had ever seen which Link realized may be the case.
"Yeah, I need it to go back so that I can reach Hyrule." Link muttered slightly under his breath as the ghost continued to research the area, with a sigh Link grasped the green knob and pushed open the door however once it was open he was met with a distorted roar as black winds blew from within the temple nearly knocking Link onto his back. "Wh-what the hell was that?"
~I believe that is the dark spirit that has come to call this place home young man, you must vanquish it to release the hold on the temple.~ The ghost sounded so matter of fact even as it hid behind one of the pillars watching Link as he readied his bow with an arrow before entering the haunted temple.
Beyond the entrance laid a long hallway wouldn't have made him take a second glance. If it wasn't for the fact that the entire hallway twisted with the opposite side of the hallway being upside down. Link took a look at the hallway and grumbled under his breath before slowly beginning to walk forward, despite the look of the hallway as Link walked forward he soon found himself walking along the wall and even the ceiling before reaching the door on the other side. The whole ordeal was seeming to become more trouble than it was worth as Link opened the door which open into the grand foyer, although it was upside down.
The massive room had pillars supporting the roof and a diverging staircase that lead up to massive doors on the other side of the room that were engulfed in spectral black flames. The stair case also split at the door going up to a another floor which he assumed lead to the eastern and western wings. However Link was at a loss, he had no way to even go into the room, the doorway he had opened was a sheer drop towards the room's ceiling at least twenty to thirty feet down. The more he looked at the drop though he realized that it wasn't a straight fall, the walls were sloped, he could probably make it if he had something to go down on and then he had an idea. After putting away his bow and arrow Link retrieved his shield and knelt down setting the shield face down on the edge before climbing onto it in a low crouched position.
~Young man what by chance are you doing?...~ The ghost inquired just before Link leaned forward and fell. The shield sparked and screeched as it slid down the steep stone incline until it came skidding across the ceiling aimed straight for the falling curtain of fire.
"cracpcrapcrapcrap!" Link started to panic seeing the flames rushing at him and quickly rolled with the shield letting him roll across the smooth stone and stop his momentum before he crashed into the black torrent. "Waaaaay too close..."
Link sighed and began to breath heavy as he rose to his feet and returned his shield to his back, from here he could see the floor of the room quiet well, it was ornate and decorated with red velvet while the center of the room held a small enclave with four torch holders but he wasn't surprised that none of them were lit. From where he was now the only paths left to take were to the east and west wings of the building and since he had already been to the western tower he turned to the left and went towards the path that would lead to the eastern tower.
Once he had entered the hallway, twisted as it was, it felt less daunting than being in the grand foyer, the walls were decorated in old torn portraits with ornate golden frames but Link couldn't begin to wonder what once filled them, along the walls were statues like those that were outside but they seemed more vibrant and detailed, like they would come alive at any moment. It was then that Link felt a shiver and quickly drew his sword and shield, a blue flame floated in the middle of the hallway slowly swinging back and forth before stopping mid swing. Link focused on it through the Eye and it's form became clear as a shadow wrapped in white cloth as blue flame emerged from within, before Link could do anything it rushed into one of the statues coming to life as a Wolfos howling out as it leaped toward him trying to slash through Link with its massive claws.
Judging by the weight of the stone he knew it wouldn't be a good idea to block the attack or risk getting pinned under the stone wolf, Link tucked down into a ball and kicked off the floor to roll forward and under the beast before turning and cleaving into the stone with the blade of black iron. The statue almost seemed to shatter around where his blow landed and cracks quickly spidered out making the Wolfos crumble leaving the blue ghost to stare at him before swiftly sinking down into the ceiling and disappearing.
~Astounding... That was one of the four Poe sisters they're said to have inhabited this temple even before the other world took hold.~ The ghost hovered behind one of the statues having watched the short battle between the Poe and Link. While he would've been otherwise annoyed at the ghost he figured another spirit was the only thing that could hurt him. Link shrugged off the encounter figuring he had to deal with it at least three more times as he continued down the hallway to find a rotten hole in the floor, however there wasn't a way back up to the floor he was on so he would move around it slowly making sure not to fall.
A bit further down the hall Link realized that the the building was now right side up again after the twisting hall and to make matters better he reached the door that he assumed would lead him into the other tower however as he turned the knob on the door he felt a familiar anger within the pit of his stomach.
"ANOTHER LOCKED DOOR!?" Reacting in rage, Link reached back to grab a hold of his shield before bringing it down hard on the knob smashing it off and from the thunking sound on the other side it seemed like the entire knob and lock had just fallen out of the door. "My shield functions as a skeleton key... Imagine that..."
With his rage now satisfied Link kicked at the door and it swung open easily revealing the steps of the tower just as he had thought, he put away his shield and readied his bow before continuing up the steps. While this tower was far less ruined than the first it had so little light for him to scout ahead as he slowly climbed up reaching the door that probably lead into another room like the one that he had fought the Stalfos in, however the door was already open. Moving even slower Link would pull the string taut with an arrow aiming ahead as another Stalfos came into view, this one seemed to be looking out the window towards the north like a lookout. Rather than taking the chance of having to fight another one, Link leveled his bow and fired at the black crystal shattering it with a single arrow causing the bones to fall in a heap.
~Good show young man, far more efficient than battling it head to head with a sword.~ The ghost proclaimed however to Link he couldn't shake the faintest sense that he was being mocked for choosing not to fight it head on. Rather than pushing the subject he entered the room and recovered the arrow before putting away both it and his bow as he started to inspect the room.
Within the room Link found that it was far more furnished than its twin to the west, a large table and chair sat against one wall and had dozens of maps on it but only one seemed to glow like the outside of the temple, as he looked it over he realized it was the map of the temple and from what he could tell it was accurate to the current twisted layout, it even had a basement. While Link analyzed the map the ghost poured over the other charts finding that most of them predated this era by many years, even to the point where the Goron's springs used to be Zora's Domain. Once Link was finished reading the map he rolled it up and tucked it into his tunic but as he did he noticed a crystal on the wall where the door was, it seemed to be clear but it held a yellow glow within, out of curiosity Link touched the crystal and it seemed to respond.
While Link jerked his hand away it was too late, the whole tower began to rumble and as Link looked out the window the whole world looked like it was starting to turn and now he realized that it wasn't the world it was the tower that was beginning to turn. Link ran to the wall and braced himself as it hit the ground phasing through it, gravity however still held onto Link pulling him down to the ceiling once the tower had stopped moving and the tower was upside down to but Link was the only thing that had fallen to the ceiling, everything else all stayed where it was.
All Link could do was glare at the ceiling as the annoyance of his situation set in, he was inside of a damn puzzle box. With an aggravated growl he would rise to his feet before going over to the doorway to climb through it now that it was higher on the wall, the stair case didn't seem as bad he just walked on the underside of the steps to reach the door to the hallway he had came through earlier. Although as he climbed through he found that the hallway was no longer twisted, touching the crystal seemed to have returned the tower to the same alignment as the rest of the temple.
"I guess I've gotta return the temple to the way it was... Great..." Link mused aloud as he began to travel back down the hallway until he saw the hole from before but this time the hole in the floor was above him. It would be another way for him to go rather then ending up back at the grand foyer, After looking around the hole he took notice of one statue at the edge of it in particular, it was a very aggressive species of plant called a Deku Baba but it was long enough that Link could easily jump to reach it and climb through the hole. Once he had a good enough grasp he would pull himself up using the leaves of the plant for hand and foot holds until he could pull himself up onto the ceiling of the first floor.
From here Link could move down along the hallway until he came to a fork, straight a head he could see the hall starting to twist, but to his left there were steps leading up to a room that would be under the grand foyer. Link turned to go up the slope but he saw the ghostly light reflecting off of chains that barred the door shut with a massive lock on it. Rather than bothering trying to break through the chains Link just shook his head continued down towards the twisting hallway.
Almost as soon as the hallway started to twist a strong smell filled the air making Link cough as the skunky smell filled his head, he was starting to feel like he may throw up but a head of him he saw a green flame and as he focused on it it came into view, another pow but this one was wreathed in green flame as it just floated there so at peace while holding something that looked like a long glass pipe with a wide bowl at the end of it. After seeing it Link realized the smoke was coming from the Poe and it had to have been poison with the way it was making him feel.
As Link drew his sword the Poe looked at him and just waved as it slowly sunk into the floor leaving behind the pipe, the majority of the smoke blew out in seconds while the scent only continued to come from the pipe. With a deep sense of disgust Link picked it up keeping it as far from his face as he could before continuing down the hallway holding his stomach. The end of the hallway sat just a bit further and like the second tower, the end of the hall had another crystal with a yellow glow. Link glared at it slightly before taking a deep breath and touching it, just as before the temple started to shake before it began to turn though it was far less extreme as the hallway became aligned with the rest of the temple.
The sick feeling was now starting to wane as he stood up again before returning down the hallway to the fork he had reached before and stepping up the slope to the door. Link hadn't found a key down the path he had gone so now he was seriously debating smashing it with his shield again but as he looked at the keyhole he realized the shape wasn't as rigid s most keyholes it was rounded, like a pipe...
Link lifted the pipe at a distance lining it up with the keyhole before pushing it in, the lock itself vanished in green flames letting the chains fall to the floor and dissolve into black smoke leaving the double doors accessible to him and thankfully the smell of whatever was being smoked in the glass pipe vanished.
Taking a deep breath Link slowly pushed open the door and climbed into the basement, which wasn't a basement. The massive room before him was what he though he had seen from the outside, it was a library, the lines were lined with shelves sticking out form them while glass cases stood in a ring on the floor around the middle of the room filled with artifacts.
~My word... This is amazing!~ The ghost beamed as it started to flit about the room looking at the shelves and cases going on about the items within but he was speaking so fast Link just allowed the ghost to be happy as he glanced around. From the ceiling there wasn't much he could do or interact with but there was something that caught his eye, that same golden glow. This time it resided in the back of a large hearth which burned with red flame, he knew he had no way to climb up and reach it but maybe, just maybe he could still hit it. Link quickly pulled his bow from within his sack and grabbed an arrow from his quiver before drawing the arrow back and taking aim at the crystal, with the sharp sound of cutting air the arrow flew fast and true as it stuck into the crystal and the color within shifted to blue.
Just as before the temple started to shake but this time Link didn't have time to brace himself, the entire temple flipped leaving him to free fall twenty feet towards the floor. However just before he hit the ground he stopped falling, the wind beneath him had become a whirlwind narrowly saving him from harm. Just as quickly as it appeared it dispersed letting Link fall into a crouch, using the Eye he quickly scanned the area until he saw where the magic had come from, toward the southern edge of the ring of glass cases was one with what looked like a boomerang inside it, but the boomerang itself looked like a wing with a golden brace at the bend and a red stone set into it. Link began to move towards it and the closer he got he could see the stone was glowing and that atop the feathers of the boomerang a small figure sat.
Pale soft green adorned her like light as it shimmered along her featureless naked body and feathered wings. The small fairy-like creature waved as Link looked at the case figuring the least he could do for saving her would be to free her. Then he met his old nemesis, another lock held the glass case securely closed, with a deep breath Link silently put away his bow before retrieving his shield once more. With a single strong swing he took off the lock and put away his shield before lifting the case off the fairy.
"There you go, you're free now..." the fairy shook her head and hover over to Link's head moving it to the boomerang before disappearing and a small twister would come to life around the boomerang and the very wind seemed to speak to him.
~Thank you Link but I am bound to this item, I just wish to do good while I am.~ The winds soon dispersed but the boomerang retained the same pale green glow to the Eye. Unbeknownst to Link however, the ghost had been watching over his shoulder since he had taken off the lock on the case.
~Amazing, the Gale Boomerang, it's an ancient item from the hero of Ordon, it had become lost a short time after his alleged passing. This relic is simply incredible.~ The ghost gushed as it looked over the weapon in Link's hand however a sudden rush of heat and light made Link's instinct kick in jumping back just in time to dodge a fireball that had come crashing down, the red flame in the hearth had come to life and now Link could see the third Poe within as it slowly emerged and created a cluster of fireballs in the air above him.
~Wind may smother flame...~ The voice came on a breeze and he knew what to do, as the fireballs began to rush toward him he pulled back his arm and he felt the wind around him pick up, wrapping around the boomerang before he threw it straight at the Poe. As soon as he had let go the wind around the boomerang exploded into a twister swallowing every fireball and turning into a tempest of flame before colliding with the Poe and trapping it within the flames.
The blast left the Poe astonished and blackened before it sniffled and flew up through the ceiling, to Link's surprise the boomerang returned to him even though he knew he had thrown it wrong. Taking hold of the weapon as it came into range, Link would place it on his belt feeling a sense of comfort with it being there. Now with everything right side up again he could get to the doors in the grand foyer, taking one last look around the room for anything he may have missed, the ghost was now studying a few tomes that had been left out. Seeing the man so engrossed with what he had been searching for made him feel glad he was able to get him here, quietly Link would slip back out into the hallway climbing the stairs to reach the hallway once again.
This time though a hole had been burned through the wall a short ways down the corridor on the right, As Link moved to check it out he recognized the room on the other side, the Poe that had just attacked him must have burned through the wall getting away. The thought only hung in his mind for as long as it took him to walk through the hole into the foyer where the torches from earlier were now lit with a green, red, and blue flame as well as a purple flame.
The purple flame began to float out of the torch and slowly link could see it take the form of the fourth Poe sister as violet flames wrapped around it. The shadows within seemed to glare at him before it swiped a torch through the other three flames absorbing them and turning its flames into a shimmering haze of red, blue, green, and purple. As the flame begin to flicker becoming a solid color before shifting to a different color over and over like a roulette, Link took hold of the boomerang in his left hand and brought his shield up with his right just as the color stopped on red and fireballs began to fill the air. It was the same way that the red Poe had attacked him so he brought back his left hand until he felt the winds begin to churn and threw it again watching as the gale sucked in the flames becoming a burning storm against before it slammed into the super Poe.
As the smoke cleared the Poe was smoldering just as before but this time the red flame on its torch had gone out, reacting out of rage the Poe's flame started to shimmer between colors once more this time stopping on blue. The Poe then sank into the floor which began to glow blue as azure flames sprouted along the edges of the walls. The blue Poe had possessed a statue to battle Link before but there weren't any statues here. Then a deep rumble and the sound of stone grinding on stone filled the room.
Except for the massive statue of a knight that was bowing at the foot of the stairs. The giant statue easily twice Link's size came to life and slowly rose to its feet before turning towards Link with a broadsword to match.
"Really?..." Link asked feeling vastly out of his depth as flames appeared in the knight's visor, it lunged forward acting first as it slammed its blade into the ground. Link barely had enough time to inch out of the way of the blade but was thrown by the shock-wave and was skidding across the floor as he cursed the Poe that wanted him dead. What could he do though, moving his shield to his back knowing there would be no point in trying to block a strike from the giant Link tried to look around but there was nothing in the room but the torch stands in the center of the room, he couldn't run either with the blue flames sealing off every direction.
Then he got an idea, as Link focused on the four corners of the room he tried to will his thoughts to the spirit within the Gale boomerang before hurling the boomerang at the knight but all it did was laugh as the boomerang curved around it missing entirely as it spun towards its first target. Once it reach the opposite corner of the foyer it started to glide along the walls sucking in the blue flames as the winds brought it all together into an orb around the boomerang, target after target the boomerang would circle the whole room before flying straight into the knight's chest exploding with all the force of the flames gathered shattering the stone statue as bits of it showered the room while the boomerang returned to Link once more leaving a staggered super Poe to rock back and forth before glaring even harder before pointing its flame at Link only having green left.
"I'm not breathing that crap again!" Link roared as he hurled the boomerang once more straight at the Poe snuffing out the green flame. The Poe blinked looking at its torch before the shadow and the multicolored flames went out dropping the iron torch.
With the Poe finally gone Link fell to the floor heaving as he stared up at the ceiling feeling so drained from fighting the super Poe. With a pained hiss he would slowly sit up before looking at the surging wall of black flame atop the stairs, chances are whatever was within was worse than what he had just fought by far but he didn't have much of a choice he had to keep going, if not to find his brother than he needed to do it for the people of Ordon so that they wouldn't be trapped because of it.
"Thank you Gale..." Link muttered the words as the boomerang on the floor next to him whistled with wind in response, he took hold of it before trying to stand again feeling his muscles scream at him. Slowly he moved over to the steps and began to climb them until he reached the landing and stood face to face with the wall of fire, with all his force Link threw the boomerang at the wall and as soon as it made contact the wind around burst out blowing away the flames, but as it returned to Link it shifted its path slightly and the winds picked up one of the pots beside the double doors carrying it over and dropping it at his feet just as Link grabbed the weapon.
From within the shards of the pot a pink light began to glow before it suddenly shot up in front of link's face giggling like a bell ringing before kissing his forehead and disappearing, the contact made Link feel invigorated again as his muscles returned to full strength and his cuts sealed up. Whatever it was the sprite in the boomerang must have known and got it to help rejuvenate him, now he felt like he could go in there and still die, but at least put up a fight now.
As Link pushed the doors open he saw nothing but blackness and heard only the sounds of crackling flames, once he had entered a dark force slammed the door shut behind him and sealed it. The sharp boom of the doors made Link jump but it made him even more nervous as he began to see a light ahead of him, a pillar of black flame.
~You dare to invade my home, that I have long since captured and have torn away from your world, bug?~ The voice boomed around Link but he knew it came from the pillar, the more his eyes adjusted the more he could make out as he saw the outline of giant sitting on what appeared to be a throne of flame.
"The state of the temple has caused issues for the people of my providence, I'm only here to end that." While Link's voice was deceptively steady his hands were shook as he reached back to draw his sword and ready his shield.
~Your world does not concern me, and even if you had the guts to battle me, your pathetic body couldn't handle a clash with Stalduke, the Lord of Bones!~ The figure stood up and the throne dispersed filling the area with light as the dark flames climbed the walls revealing the giant to Link. Like the Stalfos he fought before his upper body was all bone besides a set of gauntlets and a helmet that glowed with the same dark light, his lower body was in mail and black cloth tattered from age while its feet were clad in black greaves, however unlike the Stalfos, he was three times Link's size.
"Oh Farore help me..." As the words slipped past Link's lips Stalduke roared and began to charge towards him. Without knowing what to do Link turned and ran to his right desperate to get out of the way of the charging titan and to his surprise he felt faster as he got out of the way just in time while Stalduke rammed into the wall shaking the whole room, the impact seemed to rattle him as he took a moment to regain his bearings, the spare moment made link see something though, the armor on the back of his right greave had a gap in it where he could see the white of Stalduke's bone within.
That gave him an idea and a plan, using his speed Link would move himself behind Stalduke just before he turned to find him. Again he would roar out and charge towards him, but this time Link rolled to the left of the charge letting the giant surge by him and crash into the wall and while he was staggered Link ran and slammed his iron sword deep through the gap and through the bone severing it. While Stalduke lost his balance and fell back slamming into the ground, he did nothing but laugh as Link avoided his downfall.
~Clever bug, but what will knocking me off my feet do?~ It was then that Link leaped onto the sternum of the massive skeleton and ran as fast he could towards Stalduke's head and with a powerful surge Link would leap into the air while aiming his sword down, as his weight brought him down the force would slam the point down through the slits in it's helm and as the anguished cry of the skeleton rang out Link knew he hit his target.
"Who's a bug now jack ass?" Link grinned as he pulled his sword free and jumped back down to the floor before the skeleton could slam his hands into him as he struggled to remove the helmet and when he did he didn't look any better. Beneath the head gear the dark spirit's head was a skull shrouded in black flame though now it had a crack down the middle from where Link had stabbed him and black flames were spilling out.
~I'LL CRUSH YOU, YOU INSOLENT INSECT!~ Stalduke's voice and flames raged as Link couldn't help but grin, he had managed to maim a being that massive and otherworldly but the skeleton didn't think it was as funny. Stalduke charged him leaving burning foot prints in his wake at an even greater speed, the sudden burst in speed made Link falter slightly as he moved out of the way but he managed to duck between the skeleton's legs before it crushed but what he saw as he turned back scared him to death. Stalduke's own head popped free from it's neck and fell to the floor creating a splash of black flame as it hit, Link's reflexes are the only reason he wasn't bathed in black flame as he narrowly avoided the crash, but even that couldn't help him as the head bounced towards him making a wave of flame with every impact.
"Baddaybaddaybadday!" Link started to chant as he outran the flames until Stalduke finally returned to his body before preparing to rush him again. The flames were a problem and that he at least had a plan for, as with the stone giant Link couldn't deflect any attack it used so he put away his shield and grabbed a hold of the gale boomerang feeling it surge with wind. This time as Stalduke charged straight for him Link would meet his charge head on and sliding between his legs using the slide to spin around and prep his throw as he watched Stalduke collide with the wall again and his head came down laughing. That howling cackle was swiftly silenced though as Link threw the boomerang the second he heard the head pop free and as the skull fell it was no longer wreathed in flame.
~What? How did you put out my flames!?~ The skull cried as Link rush toward the immobile skull and jumped into the air swinging down the blade as hard as he could slicing clean through the bone and finally silencing the Lord of Bones.
Link watched as the massive body fell to the ground and scattered bones slid across the floor, while mere moments later the skull began to crumble away revealing a sliver of what looked like glass roughly the size of his sword. As he reached out to touch it would shine with golden light and Link could feel his energy return but his body still felt battered. Although with the warmth coursing through his body he couldn't help but smile as he slowly collapsed on the floor while all the darkness was sapped away and a blue light cradled around the young hero.