Chapter 6
"Well, we have the vessel, we know where we're going, so let's get moving!" Midna hurried us up. Kris and Sierra went off to death mountain, while the rest of us went into the village. Link was walking next to me, with Rune behind us, when he stopped short. He sniffed the air. I smell the kids! he said excitedly. They're in that building! He walked over to a round building with a bell on top.
How do we get up there? I wondered.
Midna can help me, but I don't know about you. I thought about it.
Oh, Rune! She's still a human, so she can just open the door! I walked up to her, and nudged her leg.
"What is it?" she asked, looking down at me. I walked over to the door, and scratched at it. "You want me to open it?" I nodded. "Okay." She opened the door, and Link and I walked inside. She followed behind us. "I don't see anything except those glowing blue things," she said. "Wait, are those spirits?"
"Yeah," Midna answered her. "Those are what people become in the twilight. Except for Link, because he's the 'chosen one' or whatever. I'm guessing destiny has something to do with the others turning into animals, but I'm not sure about you."
Link walked closer to the spirits. Colin? Beth? Lily, they're all here! The kids from my village! I don't know if you can sense them... I focused on the spirits, and suddenly I could make out human figures. I stepped closer to listen. The bomb shop guy was talking about the monsters, about how some lady running the general store was attacked by a monster.
"One monster went in , and when they got there, two was waitin'! You know what that means? If we get attacked by those things, we'll be..."
"BARNES!" Renado yelled. Beth burst into tears. Link looked so upset; his head and tail hung low. Even I felt afraid for the kids.
"Don't cry Beth." Colin tried reassuring her, but she jerked away from him. "Link will save us!" She stopped crying, and Link jerked his head up. "He will, I can feel it!" Link had an expression of pure pride and gratitude as his young friend reassured the others that they would be rescued. Renado mentioned that there was a cellar that would open when all the candles in the room were lit. Barnes started frantically dashing around with a lit stick, but Renado's daughter, Luda, warned him about the bugs in the cellar. I looked at Rune. She was listening intently to the spirits' conversation.
"We should split up here. Midna, you and Link can get the tears in the houses outside, and Lily and I can gets the bugs in the cellar and other various places. With Kris and Sierra at the mountain, that should cover all of them." She opened the door, and Link and Midna went outside.
Bye! I called to them. Link looked back at me and wagged his tail once. After they left, Rune turned to me.
"I could see and hear the spirits," she told me. "I don't know how, but I know how to open the cellar." She grabbed one of the sticks and lit it on fire. "It'll save time if we both do it. I'll start from this end, and you come from that end and we'll meet in the middle." I nodded, and grabbed the other stick in my mouth. I had to tilt my head a little to light it; I was almost too small to reach it. I jumped across the platforms, lighting the candles as the burning stick touched them. A huge statue in the center of the room moved once all the candles were lit. The spirits looked confused.
"Is this the work of those monsters?" Renado wondered about loud.
"We'd better go down and get rid of the bugs, in case they need to come down for shelter," Rune pointed out. I nodded in agreement, and we both jumped down.
Sierra and Kris reached the bottom of the path leading to the mountain. How are we going to get up? Kris asked.
Hmmm... I think I can jump up there, but I don't know about you. Sierra replied.
I know! I'll wrap myself around your body, not tight of course, and you can jump up with me!
Good idea! Kris wrapped around Sierra, and she jumped up.
Great! We can just do that every time! said Kris. They started up the mountain path. After a few minutes, they reached an area where the path widened out. A few geysers were scattered on the ground, shooting air up at different intervals. Watch out for those, Kris warned. They'll knock you over pretty easily.
What's this? Sierra walked over to a stone sticking out of the ground. It had a round hole in the middle, and it was making a strange whistling noise. The whistling... It sounds like a song.
Oh, I remember those! Kris said. They're called howling stones. You stand next to them and howl the songs that it plays. I think they help you learn the next hidden skill. Try it! You're a wolf, you can howl the songs! Sierra walked over to the stone. She closed her eyes and listened to the tune. Sitting back, she lifted her head and howled the first tune perfectly. As the last notes stopped echoing, she collapsed on the ground. Are you okay? Kris frantically asked her. There was no answer.
Sierra got up from where she had fallen. She was no longer on the mountain path. A patch of earth floated above a mist-covered land. On it was the golden wolf from before. Looking down, she saw that she was standing on a patch of land too. Near her was a tall, fiery mountain. She looked at the wolf again, and he seemed to speak to her. Howl with me... She remembered the song from before. She started howling it again, more of the song that she had not heard coming out of her mouth. Sierra had no idea where the notes were coming from, but she kept howling them. The other wolf raised its head, and their notes blended together in perfect harmony. The song sounded beautiful, yet sad. As the last notes faded away, the golden wolf spoke to Sierra. Let teachings of old pass to you... All who are worthy, take sword in hand and find me... The wolf jumped off of the cliff, and Sierra's world faded to black.
Sierra got up, shaking her head. She was back on the mountain. Kris was coiled up nearby, watching her. You're awake! Kris said excitedly. I thought something bad had happened to you! What happened? Why did you black out?
I was on a floating patch of land, she said dreamily. The golden wolf was there, and we howled a song together. It was the most beautiful thing I ever heard!
Oh, now I remember! Kris said. When you howl the song with the wolf, held waits for you to come to him so he can teach you another skill.
So there are more of those stones?
Yep!
Wow, I want to do that again! I hope we find another one soon!
Don't worry, laughed Kris. We'll find another one sometime soon! Let's keep going, I want to get the tears so we can meet up with the others!
Okay. Sierra and Kris continued up the path, as the others also searched for tears, in their quest to restore light to the land.
