The sounds and smells of the Woods of Mystery invaded her psyche. Sable remained cross legged upon a tree stump, a blind fold obscuring her sight. Deep breath in, deep breath out, the forest was slowly coming to life in her mind's eye. Her sight taking her perspective above the tree tops as she soared across the Southern Swamps. The Deku Palace could be seen in the distance, a garish structure of red and green near Woodfall. A giant hollowed out rock served as its heart while wooden walls and partitioning the various royal gardens protected it from the wilderness. It glowed like a beacon in the night as festive music danced into the air.
A curious stone perched on a small island in the centre of the river, the witches called it a spider house. No matter how often Sable had passed it on her various trips to deliver potions to the Dekus, it still looked suspicious. The stone was similar to the one in the centre of the Deku Kingdom. A honeycomb texture shaded in reds and yellows. There was a single doorway encased in thick spider's web that never seemed to fade or snap. To this day Sable was not sure what it was built for or where it led. Her regime of training and studying kept her from venturing there in the small pockets of spare time she was given. Koume and Kotake had praised her progress so far and theoretically she was far more confident in her abilities. Yet such knowledge is only effective if it can put into practise and applied to daily life.
So far Sable had learnt how to fight with a short sword and had spent many nights sparring with Onox when he was in the region. Veran seemed to be an observer, often shouting advice to both of them on how to correct their stance. She was also always right in that regard despite never lifting a weapon in Sable's presence. The rest of the time Koume and Kotake imparted all manner of magical knowledge and the history of the Gomess clan. It was at first difficult to grasp given that neither could actually cast a shape shifting spell, yet Sable guessed that at least she could reap a monster's soul now. Very rarely did she see Ganondorf as he often wandered the various regions of Termina for reasons that only he knew.
Most evenings Sable would practise one of the difficult talents of Gomess magic, possession. For shape shifters like her, it entailed a visually unimpressive spell that allowed the caste to see through the eyes of another creature, temporarily gain its instincts and allowed them to listen to their thoughts. However it proved useful in day to day life, her vision shifted from the hawk flying overhead to a lower perspective on the forest floor. She found that she was now looking at herself.
A Wolfos had caught her scent at the edges of the forest and had followed her here. The jester girl looked every bit the fool with a blind fold over her in eyes in such a dangerous place. Nevertheless, a hunter was never picky about their prey in these circumstances. Soft footsteps crept up to Sable as the Wolfos moved to strike a mortal blow. It did not prove quick enough as the blade of a sword was buried between its eyes.
Sable removed her headband, blinking for a few moments as her sight returned to her own body. She removed her blade from the Wolfos and examined the body, while the meat of this creature looked too tough to eat, the fur and bones would find a use for their lifestyle. The Woods of Mystery spat her back out as she purposely went into a darkened tunnel. The forest seemed to shift and reorganise itself every hour so it was near impossible to map or even navigate properly. She approached the campsite of Veran's caravan expecting to meet the others and start preparing dinner.
Panic was rife at the campsite as Koume attempted to console her sister. Arm around Kotake's shoulder as she said "Veran and Onox have already gone off, they'll find Iris."
Kotake was on the verge of tears "But I haven't seen her for days! She might already be-"
"We still need to find out where she is, regardless of whether she's dead or alive."
The two witches turned to see Sable walking towards the camp, she said out loud "What's happened? Where is everyone?"
"As you've noticed, Iris has been missing for a while now," Koume explained on behalf of Kotake "I fear she may have been taken by the monster in the Fearful Spider House. The others have already gone to look for her." She bluntly ordered "You should go too, they might need your help. It's on that island in between the palace and Woodfall."
Sable nodded, dropping the carcass near the campsite before running off in the direction of the house. Ensuring she had left, Koume and Kotake looked at each other and winked. The plan had worked better than they expected and now it was time to see if their pupils had learnt anything.
The web encased entrance to the Fearful Spider House did not bar their path for long. Veran nodded to Onox who in turn focused his own magic. His body first became enveloped in darkness as he shifted into the form of a large dodongo. The hulking reptilian beast arched upwards on its front claws while inhaling its breath. A swirl of flames began to gather in its fanged maw. Veran walked past the beast and near its tail. Onox spat out a monstrous fireball at the entrance, burning the thick layers of hardened spider web into ashes. The dodongo's body swirled with darkness and light as he reverted back to his human form. He gave Veran a thumbs up as he armed his flail and descended the ancient stairs. Veran merely shook her head at him and questioned as to why his flames did not leave a mark on the stone exterior.
They came to a chamber bellow the river and hidden in the earth. A curious gold and red door adorned by elaborate spider designs beckoned to them. Two torches remained ignited to reveal the smooth stone walls and dirt covered floor. Onox took the lead once more as he tapped on the door with his knuckles. It responded to his presence, abruptly sliding upwards to reveal the palace it concealed.
Never before had seen such grand architecture and the very idea it was hidden beneath a swamp was inconceivable. The grand entrance chamber was flowing with freshwater from an elaborate series of golden framed channels. Despite being an ancient place the interior looked polished like someone or something still lived here. The architecture was reminiscent of an era of opulence and decadence with spider decorations woven into every little detail. There had been tales of a palace in the swamp that sank beneath its own weight, Veran never expected a child's bedtime story to hold some semblance of truth.
Large Deku flowers with bright pink petals contrasted against the excessive beauty of the palace. They were an element of natural chaos in an otherwise flawless structure of man. Veran put a hand to Onox's shoulder and leaned close to him "Be careful, there is a powerful hex on this place."
Her warning fell on deaf ears, Onox pointed to the golden totem in the centre of the room "Look! We found her!"
Iris was now bound to the column by a tangle of webs, her head lowered and she did not seem to be moving. In a panic Onox started to shift into a dodongo once more until Veran slapped him harshly on the back of his head. "You moron, you'll burn her up too! Remember, Dekus and fire don't mix."
He paused for a moment to think about which other of his forms could be of use. A response came with a perplexed look and shrugged shoulders from him. Veran wagged a finger at him and mocked "That's what you get for being obsessed with lizards and dinosaurs. You don't have the utility a shape shifter is supposed to have."
"What stick is lodged up your backside today?" Onox retorted "Still in a foul mood because of Ganondorf?"
Veran pouted immaturely "A boy like you wouldn't understand."
"I understand that you like-liked him until he sent that letter to Koume and Kotake saying he was now a pirate with that Captain Nabooru and that they've sailed to the west to look for more islands." He kept talking despite Veran's death glare "No offence but Ganondorf is what? Ten years older than you at least, he's a completely different generation. He'd never go out with you in a million years."
"SILENCE YOU BRAT!" Veran waved her arm to summon a series of tendrils from Onox's own shadow. They wrapped around his limbs and bound his movement. Her face contorted with rage yet her voice remained level and eerily calm "I know that, but it doesn't make it hurt any less!"
"Veran…" Onox's eyes widened "Jump to the left."
Veran did not heed his warning and instead turned around. A giant spider was crawling along the ceiling, its body gleaming gold from the ore fused onto its exoskeleton. Its eyes were obscured by a helmet of shining metal as its fanged mouth stretched wide. Spinnerets wove in perfect synchrony as it shot a stream of spider silk towards Veran. She was knocked out of the way at the last minute, the web entangling around Onox in her stead.
"What is that thing?" Sable responded, picking herself off the floor and helping Veran to her feet "We need a strategy for something that huge!"
Veran cracked her knuckles, dissipating the foolish shadow bind she had cast on Onox, she took a fighting stance "First we should worry about Ox."
The arachnid monster reared up as it howled at the intruders once more. Sable grabbed Veran by the wrist, dragging her towards a nearby doorway "We need a plan and we can't think with this thing chasing us."
Veran nodded in response as they both sprinted to the door. The spider lunged from the ceiling to crash where they stood. It raced to the human sized doorway, screaming in frustration while it poked its legs through the tiny hole. Its prey had disappeared for now.
The room on the other side of the doorway looked as though it led to the upper floors of the entrance hall. Vines invaded the walls and coiled around the various pots stored there. A single Deku snored away in its yellow flower with a sign nearby that read 'Play the pipes of awakening'.
Sable read the notice and jested to Veran "You any good at music?"
She snorted back to her "As if a Deku could help us now. Besides where did you come from anyway?"
"I just came from the forest to find Koume and Kotake worried. They told me you guys headed this way and I thought you might need help."
"A shape shifter who can't even transform, what good are you?"
Sable frowned at the slender woman "Well, I'm not going to get any better by avoiding these situations." Veran was grabbed by her elaborately jewelled collar, Sable's patience had worn thin as she strongly reiterated "Regardless of what's happened we need a plan, now, perhaps I can use possession to get into that creature's head and work out its weakness?"
"You couldn't possibly gain control of a creature that big!?"
"Well I don't think it'd work to our advantage if you're the one possessing it. You need to be able to use the rest of your magic too!"
Veran's face softened and changed back to its usual calm demeanour. A certain look of fear in Sable's eyes betrayed her actions. As the eldest person here, Veran took the lead "You're right, we need to keep calm and play to our strengths, so… if we can get at the right angle I can impale that creature on its own shadow… but that exoskeleton is going to be hard to crack. We need to pry it open a little."
"So do we need to take control of a light source for you to use your magic?"
"Lucky for us the angle of the torches in this place casts a shadow below us. At the same time I don't know which point of that spider will kill it instantly and once it works out our tricks it may change its strategy." Veran sighed "No, what we need to do is get Onox freed so he can take out a few of its legs with that flail of his." She glanced back to Sable "Can you do a possession while on the move? I need a distraction for this to work." Dark energy pulsed from her hands as she reached out to Sable. A calming smile on her face "This won't hurt… much."
The pain that followed was bizarre, an agonising surge resonated from the soles of Sable's feet. However her body felt lighter once it had passed, like a sinking weight had been severed from her. There was no longer shadow cast by her body beneath the light. Her hands were swirling with unknown angular runes glowing with a faint line of red.
Veran gestured to the door, the spider had stopped bashing on the adjacent wall and was now most likely waiting for them to emerge. Sable took a deep ragged breath, the runes crawled all over her skin like insects and it took all her discipline not to scream from the sensation. She advanced forward and entered the entrance hall once more.
