Link's journey through the water system is much smoother than my first play through. I must have died more than five times by those stupid Twilight spiders. XP
Chapter 6: Hyrule Water System
With the chain broken, the wolf boy paced his cell, trying to find a way out. I watched, wondering how long it would take him to figure it out. It was amusing to see him try to figure it out, and helped keep my mind off of Zant.
"Come on!" I called out after a minute. "What's the matter with you? Get over here, now! If you can't force your way out, why don't you see if there's some kind of hole you can squeeze through? I mean, places like this are always full of holes, right?"
He glared at me. The gap in the paving stones seemed obvious, but I suppose he couldn't really see it from his angle. And he'd had a hard day, so I probably shouldn't be too impatient with him.
Finally he took his frustration out on the pile of debris shoved up against the bars. He lunged at it, sending splinters of wood scattering across the cell. He stared at the missing paving stones he'd exposed, and then began to paw at the loose earth. He dug, kicking up the soil until he was able to squeeze under the bars and out of the cell.
I floated above him, watching as he shook the dirt out of his coat. He glanced around, obviously trying to figure out where I'd gotten to. But he didn't look up. I laughed. Humans really were fun to watch. Not very bright to not see what's floating right over their own heads.
I dropped out of the air and landed on his back. He snarled and bucked, leaping in circles as he tried to throw me off. I leaned back and crossed my arms, barely even thrown off balance by his poor attempts to dislodge me. Still, I suppose it's natural to try to get something unexpected off of your back.
"Hmph. I guess you're not completely stupid after all!"
He crouched low, his teeth still bared. I leaned forward, putting my head next to his. "Listen. I like you, so I think I'll get you out of here." I grabbed his ear and tugged it back to make sure I had his undivided attention. "But in exchange for my help, you have to do EXACTLY as I say. So, are we all clear? Good. Now, come on! Get moving!" I kicked my heels into his ribs to get him to move.
The wolf boy craned his neck back, trying to take a snap at me, but he missed. Grumbling darkly, he headed down the dingy stone hallway and through a gap in the wall. We headed down the narrow passage until we came into the water system that ran under the castle.
Floating before us was a glowing sphere. A human spirit. "Oh… Well, well…" Time to give this poor kid some information. He didn't know anything about the Twilight, or what happened to humans who were trapped in it. I laughed. "Want to see something interesting? Use your beast senses to check that spirit out."
He paced over to the glowing sphere. I could already make out the faint outline of the cowering soldier. But it took the wolf a minute to see beyond the veil of Twilight. I watched his shock at the discovery, even as the soldier babbled about the monsters creeping through the canals.
The wolf boy tentatively stuck out his paw, but it passed straight through the spirit. The soldier flinched though, apparently sensing the presence of some unseen being.
Realizing that the soldier could neither see, hear, or touch him, the wolf finally slunk away, glancing back towards the glowing spirit.
"That was a soldier's spirit," I explained. "Maybe it's someone from the other world? Eee hee! There are lots of other spirits roaming around here, you know. Hone your senses to see them. They might know things." I wondered if the soldiers' presence would clue him in to where we were.
We continued deeper through the canals, splashing through the walkways and leaping over the channels of water. Twilight spiders slithered through the tunnels, and one of them leapt at us. The wolf yelped and bounded away, stumbling off of the walkway and landing in the canal. The spiders sprang after him, but he paddled away and climbed on the opposite walkway.
"Kill those things!" I suggested. "If you just run away, we'll never get through."
He glared at me. I could tell that he dearly wanted to say something, but was unable to speak with is wolfish mouth. Heheh. Poor kid.
One of the spiders crawled up out of the water. The wolf sprang and clamped his jaws down on the monster. The thing burst apart as the Twilight energy dissolved. The wolf shook his head, apparently disgusted by the flavor.
We headed deeper through the tunnels and found another soldier spirit, who was hiding from the Twilight spiders. At last we came to a huge chamber with a spiral staircase leading up and out of these cursed sewers. Finally, a way out of this place.
The wolf boy started trotting up the stairs. Suddenly the stone crumbled beneath his feet and he pitched downwards. His paws kicked up a spray of muddy water as he landed, bewildered.
"Ugh! What are you doing?" I exclaimed.
He huffed and started up the stairs again, trying to shake some of the mud off. He climbed up the steps again, pausing when he reached the crumbled area.
"I guess I have to do EVERYTHING for you…" I sighed. "I'll guide you to sure footing, so just follow me." I floated off of his back and drifted up the stairs until I found a solid area. He leapt across the gap and landed in front of me. Part of the stone crumbled behind him and he scooted forward to avoid it. But he looked pleased as I continued to guide him up the steps. He was probably impressed by his own jumping capabilities. As a human, he could never jump so far.
We emerged into another room, up above the water system. "Phew… Finally we made it to the top! Look! We're almost outside. Why don't you try to find some footing we can use to climb up. So… You know where we are yet? Eee hee! Well… if you go to the top, you might figure it out!"
I guided him up to the open doorway, and we finally stepped outside.