Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda.
Chapter 7
The Tower of Hera
The Tower of Hera. Legend had it that this was one of the most dangerous places in Hyrule. Link was now certain that its reputation was most definitely true. If it were not for Link's ability to turn into a painting, he would have turned into paste a few dozen times by now. Still, standing before the intimidating structure that was the Tower of Hera, he did not feel so confident.
Link opened his magical pouch to check out his items and weapons; to make sure that he was ready and properly prepared. He had bombs, the hammer and the hookshot, just like Rosso had suggested. He also had two bottled fairies and…
"Ah! The milk!". He had almost forgotten. "There's a stranded miner here, isn't he?". Link took a moment to consider his options: whether to look for the miner before or after finding the Pendant of Virtue. He knew that the miner was further down the volcano, but not exactly where. While it was not late by any means – it was barely mid morning, there was no telling how long it would take to find the miner, and he wanted to save his strength for the Tower. On the other hand, Link knew that he would be exhausted by the time he was done with it, and most probably injured – thus he would not be able to look for him at all, and the man would remain stranded here. Taking his decision, Link turned away from the Tower. It was not going anywhere any time soon.
Link ran further down to the east, deflected an incoming Deadrock, and he found a broken wooden bridge. He grinned a little. "That's what the hookshot is for!". He brought out the item in question and recalled Ravio's instructions. He grasped the handle of the device, careful not to accidently press the trigger, took careful aim at a wooden pole at the other side of the gap, and fired. In a blink, a long chain with a dangerous-looking hook was blasted from the device and buried itself deeply in the log, the gain immediately curled back in the device, dragging Link though the air with it, and over the dangerous gap. "Woah…", gasped Link. "That was dangerous.". He then spotted the monster that was there.
It was a Lynel. Lynels were bulky creatures that from what Link had heard, they vaguely resembled lions – though he had no idea what a lion was supposed to look like. It had orange fur and a white mane, and yellow slitted eyes. Its face was more human like, but with the mouth too wide and the features too flat, as if it was slammed against a wall. It had both the body of an animal and a human torso. The torso was chummy with strong but short arms, and it was covered by a green tank top. The lower, animal like body was similar, though the front legs looked oddly gangly, and the tail was comically short. It was also obvious that it was extremely tough, and at least twice his size; and to top all that, they could breath fire. Link did not want to deal with it. I better hide.
Unfortunately, there was nothing to hide behind. Link took the second best option. Run! And run he did. With a burst of speed, Link narrowly dodged the two Lynels and a nearby Deadrock and entered the first mine entrance he could. He merely threw a brief glance at the sign next to the entrance. "Rosso's Ore Mine".
The room Link had entered had nothing. It was paved, just like most of the mines around here, and two lit torches were on each side of the entrance. Link briefly wondered how they were lit in the first place, but he ignored those thoughts. On his left side, there was another door which lead to a different room. There was a strong wave of heat coming through there, as strong as the forge back at Master Nick's house. Full of curiosity, Link decided to look deeper.
As soon as he stepped in, he almost fainted. He was inside the volcano. "This is… just- COUGH!". Link struggled to ease his breathing. "How can anyone work here?". He managed to get through his coughing fit. The place stinked with sulfur and the ash made him chock. The heat was so heavy that he could not even sweat, or perhaps his sweat was evaporating before it even poured out of his body. The moisture trapped in here was enough to make his hair on his clothes stick on his skin. It felt as if there was no breathing air in here, even worse than drowning. His eyes ached with the red light and he was forced to keep them closed to prevent them from drying up, yet keeping them closed brought him to tears. It was in one word, unbearable.
And worst of all, he was trapped.
The place Link found himself in was nothng more than a thin stone pillar of red stone, so tall that he could not see its base. From bellow, there was an eerie red glow that was coming, the source of it unseen. Link knew it was lava, but the depth… It was too much. He could see many more pillars in various heights around, but they were too far away to reach. He remembered the sign outside. Is this seriously Rosso's mine? There's got to be more… Link started observing the surrounding area, looking for a way to access the other pillars. Soon, Link was greeted with a red, floating platform. Looks perfect. He stepped on the platform, which went straight ahead, and started looking around to determine his next step. The platform he was on came to a halt, but Link saw another one approaching way bellow, but in the perfect place for his to jump on it. With no other alternatives, he braced himself for the impact. Link resisted the urge to close his eyes during the fall, but he landed safe and sound on his intended target. "Wow!". The platform was just a few huindred meters above the sea of lava, but close enough to be able to see it clearly now. It was endless, and the bases of the pillars appeared to be dangerously thin. He could even see the embers that were floating upwards before burning themselves out. However, before Link was able to take in the sights, a Keese attacked him. Link swinged around in panic due to his fear of falling off, but the Keese was killed after only a hit or two. "Dear Din… there are living beings in here!?". He kept his sword ready.
The platform Link was on started moving sideways, to the south, and Link noticed that it was heading straight to the top of one of the pillars ahead. He also noticed two Lynels on it, and two sides of the pillar had walls. Shit. Then something elso caught his attention. Behind on of his walls, there was platform with something weird on it. If I run to the wall and turn into a painting, their attacks won't get me… It's worth a shot. Link did just that. He narrowly dodged the flame balls of the Lynels and moved to the other side of the wall, just in time to land on the platform that caught his interest.
That was one of the weirdest things Link had ever seen. "A… laughing… cushion?". Sure enough, it was a large, pink cushion made of some rubbery material – at least Link thought it was called that, because he had never seen rubber before – and it was laughing its head off. Link stared at it in utter bewilderment. What am I supposed to do with this? The platform kept floating between the pillar from before and the base of some other pillar, and Link just stood there… sweating buckets and trying to figure out what he was supposed to do with it. He poked it with his foot. It definitely looked bouncy, but it also resisted a lot. However, something on the cussion's, um, face seemed to change. Link decided to take drastic measures; he brought out the hammer. "Heave… HO!".
The result was instantaneous; the poor cushion sunk into the platform, having turned flat and tiny, blue from its fear, with a heartbroken look on its face. Link almost felt sorry for the poor thing. "Okay… Now what?". Seconds, later the cushion bounced back. So much for its suffering, was his dry thought. At least, Link now knew what to do with it. After a bit of calculating for the timing, he hammered down the Smiley Cushion and stepped on it. Sure enough, the cushion sent him on top of the next pillar, where he found another one. From above there was a platform floating, and oddly enough, there was a safety rail here. Link hammered down that cussion as well and reached the platform, where he found a third smiley cushion. Looks like Rosso is pretty fond of them. He did the same thing with this and with the next platform, which moved in a square, and landed on top of the next pillar. There was nothing but a bit of gold in the rough on it. So that's how Rosso is using this place. He's digging the pillars. An extremely dangerous tactic, but effective. Link waited for the platform to come back and jumped down.
Link left off at the other pillar and jumped down to a new platform, this one quite a bit slower than the others. Eventually, he returned to the platform with the Lynels, where he once again used his transformation to get to a new platform, this one without a cushion. He exchanged platforms two more times, all the while being carefull for the Keese that lurked at this height, only for something new to hit him.
A large black object hit square on Link shield and started glingding against it. In reflex, Link stepped aside and let it go, gasping for breath by the sudden scare. "What in the…". It was a floating metal spinning wheel with large spikes that was floating back and forth. What is that thing!? A little bit more and it'd taken my arm off! Just right then he was attacked by yet another Keese. Link started sweating from more than just the heat. I almost got killed right then… I've been very lucky so far but I can't be so careless!
Suddenly, Link noticed an exit. Finally! He quickly made his way to it.
The dry air and light breeze of Death Mountain felt like heaven. Link could feel his clothes being practically glued on his body. He removed his cap, and soon all the upper layers of his clothes followed, as he started squeezing them dry. He brought out his flask and drank another gulp of water, resisting the burning desire for more. He knew that he would have to get back inside to go back to the Tower of Hera. "Seriously though… How can Rosso work in there? There's no way he's Hylian!".
"HEEEY!".
"Huh!?", jumped Link. He looked to his left, only to see a brown-haired man with a red blouse and a sharp nose waving at him. He then realized that the two of them were in the edge of two separate cliffs. "Oh, sorry!".
"You alright there!?", shouted the man. However, in spite of his volume, Link could tell that he was exhausted, and very thirsty. Could that be… If he remembered correctly, the letter in the bottle said that the miner was just beyond the Tower of Hera.
"Just a moment!", Link shouted back. He put his clothes back on, now much drier than before, and turned into a painting to cross the gap. A few seconds later, he presented himself to the man with the small "pop". "Excuse me, but-".
"WOAH!".
"Wah! Sir, you're okey?".
"Yes… Sorry, didn't see that coming.", he explained, recovering from his shock.
Link rubbed his head awkwardly. "Sorry about that…".
"I was bouldering just fine when I slipped and fell a couple of days back. I twisted my ankle. Now I'm stuck here. Wish I could pull your trick…".
So it is him. "The earthquake, right?".
The other man nodded. "You felt that?".
"The entire Hyrule felt that.", he replied vaguely. "By the way, I have something for you.". And with that Link brought out the bottle of still cold – must thank the magic pouch for that – premium milk.
"Hey, guy. W-w-wait! Is that what I THINK it is? Milk!? Ice-cold milk! And not just any milk, but some premium milk? GIMME!". To Link's astonishment, the man literally tore the bottle out of Link's hands and gulped the whole thing down in one go. "Ahhh!", he let out a satisfied sigh. "That really hit the spot – best milk in the kingdom. Right? Uh, wait. Oops. Did I drink the whole thing? Sorry friend. And after you came all this way.".
"Never mind.", Link reassured him. "I found the letter so I bought the milk on my way here…".
"Well, how about doing me another favour? Here, take this garbage away.". He handed the bottle to Link. The boy was almost scandalized. The bottle? GARBAGE!? How dare he! Bottles can be reused countless times! Still, a bottle was a good way to apologise.
"Don't you tell – Any shortcuts to the Tower of Hera? I don't want to go in there again…".
"What's in there?", asked the man.
"Inferno.".
"Sorry, guy. Don't know any other way. First time I'm down at this spot! Can't help you.".
"Then how are you going to leave?".
"Can't you take me with you?".
Link thought about it for a second. "Never tried it.".
"Never mind it, guy. I'll find a way. Sorry for the bother…".
"Don't worry about it. I had stuff to do here anyways.". He ignored the miner's surprised expression. "You'd better get out of here quick.".
"Okay, guy… I'll try.".
With a sigh, Link resigned himself for the way back.
A few minutes later, Link was – once again – sqeezing his clothes dry. "I am NOT doing this ever. Again.", he declared to the empty room. He was still debating in his head whether he should empty his flask of water here or save it for later. He could just call Irene once he was done here, so there was really no point in saving it, and he was pretty sure that he had sweated WAAAAY too much for it to be safe for his health. Drink it, it is. Link quickly downed half the flask. He coughed a couple of times.
I should look around to see if there're any other people here. Who knows what'll happen when I'm done with this Tower. Nothing had happened with the previous… mazes, but the Tower of Hera had an ominous reputation and was in a dangerous location. And besides, it was the last hiding place of the Pendants of Virtue. Something ought to happen. With that thought, Link braced himself for the assault of Lynels that would follow.
With great caution, Link peeped out of the entrance – or exit, in this case – of Rosso's mine. Unfortunately, from his point of view he could not see much, but it was enough to know that the Lynels did not have their sights on him. With great caution, Link sneaked around the cave and took a look at the monsters on the other side.
He cursed. Deadrocks, Tektites and Armos, in large numbers and cramped together in a small space. And right there in the middle, there was a decorated entrance to another tunnel. Should I go or not? Link knew that he could not take on all of these monsters at once. Armos were fragile but heavy-hitting and relentless. Tektites were sort of squishy, which granted them resistance to sword and arrow attacks – or anything that sliced for that matter – on any body part that was not their eye. Deadrocks only needed one hit to freeze, but they were always running around amock. Armos would not activate unless he got close. He should find a way to prioritize.
Or I could just run. Would that work? He had no idea. Then again, if he chose to run, he would also have to run through them on the way back. Fight it is.
Using the boulders that blocked the way as a cover, Link attacked the first Deadrock, freezing it in place. He proceeded to do the same with the next Deadrock. The monsters had not noticed him. Good. Hammer in hand, he sneaked behind the Tektite and pounded it. It only fell unconscious, so Link stabbed it in the eye, then span around and hit the incoming Deadrock. He dodged the fourth one and ran straight into the Armos, the telltale flash in its eye marking its activation.
Link leaped back and brought up the hammer again, smashing it. A couple of more blows, and the machine layed deformed, freezing the Deadrock in the process.
Wait, what?
Inside the Armos, there was a complicated array of intricate gears, and a glowing yellow sphere – Link recognized that as topaz, rumoured to hide the power of lightning. Bronze springs and coils supported the entire system, and pounded against the armour to make it move – or they would, if Link had not just destroyed them.
"No way… Someone made these things? Why?". This… This was mind-bending. Suddenly the abundance in Armos at the Eastern Palace made a lot more sense… There were there as guardians. But why? And more importantly, how!? This was a lever of engineering beyond anything he had ever seen! Except maybe the House of Gales. Link shook his head, and gathered some of the gears and the sphere into his pouch. He would ask Sahsrahla later. He entered the cave.
What he found inside the cave was just about the last thing he expected. "A thief.".
The man – dressed in abnoxious combination of a teal blue hood and a mustard tunic – was quick to protest. "I'm not a thief, good sir! I'm a treasure hunter! And that chest over there will make me rich!".
Link had little doubt about that. The treasure chest in question was in the middle of a very elevated pedestal with pretty much no staircases to climb there, and a complicated fence system behind it. As it was, getting there would be impossible for the thief – er, treasure hunter. Worth it or not?
Not.
"Listen here Mr. Treasure Hunter, I don't think it's safe to hunt for treasure in these parts after the earthquake. There could be more to come! I just had to rescue a stranded miner! Get out of here quick.".
"No! That treasure is mine! There have been empty treasure chests all over the kingdom as of late. Eastern Palace! Lake Hylia! There must be another treasure hunter hereabouts, I'm SURE of it! Wait a minute…". The treasure hunter narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Perhaps… YOU are the treasure hunter!".
"Yes! I mean, no! You can't just accuse people!".
"You admitted it! I heard you!".
"I earn the Rupees I get! And I need them!".
"If you earn them, prove it!".
An idea downed at Link and he smirked. He then put on his most arrogant face. "I don't need this treasure chest. I will raid the Tower of Hera.". The treasure hunter let out a faint "what". "Oh, yes.", boeasted Link. "The very same Tower as the one we are warned about in the legends of old, crawling with monsters and evil! I'm going to search every nook and cranny and take ALL OF THE RUPEES!".
"noooo…".
"Good luck getting the treasure!". And with that he soun on his heel and left, leaving the poor man behind him gawking.
A few close calls with two very annoyed Lynels later – thank the Goddesses they did not attack me – Link was once again standing in front of the gates of the Toer of Hera. Behind him he heard someone running in panic. Link ignored him. He had more important matters in his hands.
With a decisive move, he smashed the logs that blocked the entrance, and walked the long marble bridge to the Tower of Hera.
The first thing he noticed was that the entrance was blocked by a set of smiley cushions. Link smashed them down with his hammer and moved forward.
The floor tiles were made of dark grey stone, while all the walls were built with red bricks, unbelievably smooth and pristine. A glowing blue sphere was right behind them, surrounded by some sort of crystal pillars with steel decoration that had the exact same glow; they were far too smooth for him to attempt to climb them. He passed his hand over them and found the texture… bizarre. It was not smooth enough to be glass or crystal, and the temperature was just off, as if it was blocking the heat from the light. His sword would not be able to dent this, and the hammer would just bounce off. Taking a guess, he hit the orb with his sword. The orb switched colour and turned red, bringing a harsh light to Link's eyes. The pillars fell, suddenly devoid of light.
Nearby there was an identical orb with pillars that blocked the way, these ones glowing red. Link realized what the whole gig was. The orbs are switches. He hit the orb and it turned blue, the pillars falling and reverting to a dull red. Right behind those, there were monsters. In a hurry, Link hit the orb, stopping them from reaching him.
Link quickly consulted him mental encyclopedia of monsters. That was a pair of Terrorpins. The name made little sense, seeing that they did not resemble pins at all. They were turtle-like creatures with dark red shells that were absolutely invulnerable, and their glowing eyes were hidden inside. As soon as they spotted a target, they were relentless in their pursuit. Now how to beat them…
Invulnerable shells meant a soft underside, but Terrorpins were heavy. He would not be able to flip them over with his sword on the fly. That only left the hammer. He would have to pound it on the ground and hope the impact was strong enough. But am I strong enough to do that? Only one way to find out. Link hit the switch, and readied the hammer.
He smashed the hammer against the floor with all his strength, almost lifting himself in the air. He felt the ground tremble. He could swear he saw a flash of purple come from the impact. Magic. That's where the force came from. The Terrorpins turned upside dowm, and struggled to get to their stubby little feet. Now's my chance. Moving like lightning, Link stabbed them both in the gut.
With the danger gone, Link fell on his knees, his breath labored. That took all of my strength, even with the magic of Ravio's hammer. And I'm already exhausted from climbing up the mountain… There was a pattern in the "mazes" he noticed now. The Eastern Palace was a test of his bravery, with its bottomless pits, surrounded by traps there was no escape from, to test if he would run away. The House of Gales was a test of his intelligence, to wrap his head about all the mechanisms behind the fans and how they fit together to move forward. And the Tower of Hera… When the legends said that only the strongest would survive it, they meant it literally. It was a test of strength, to see if he could make it on top of Death Mountain and still have the strength to continue.
Bravery, Intelligence and Strength.
Courage, Wisdom and Power.
… What have I gotten myself into?
Link stood back on his feet, watching the golden light come through the window. The bars reminded him of a prison. There were creepy masks hanging on the wall again. There was an elevated part of the floor at the left corner, on the same height as the barred window, surrounded by smiley cushions. Link pushed them down with his hammer and stepped on top, allowing them to push him up once they reverted. Recalling previous experience, He turned into a painting and slipped through the bars. Sure enough, there was a balcony with a small treasure chest. It contained a purple rupee. Looks like I get to keep my promise to the thief after all. A good thing too, because he needed the rupees.
... I honestly never thought there'd be a day when I'd be gathering rupees like a tax inspector.
Link gazed down bellow, and he regretted it immediately. The heat in his face nearly cut his breath, and the red smoke was so thick it was impossible to see the bottom. They built the Tower in the middle of a lava pit. Great. Something told him that it was not always that way, put his point still stood. Shaking his head at the mess that his life had become, he went back inside.
Link noticed that the floor alongside the walls was also elevated, and so he made his way there. There were black spiked wheels on the floors, with glowing blue rings on them that were called blade traps. The spikes would surely cost a grown man his legs, but Link's ability rendered them trivial. He reached the end of the room, where he found a giant cushion. The reason for its placement was blatandly obvious. On to the next floor it is. Link slammed it down, making a show of ignoring its heart-broken expression, and let the raucous laughter guide him up.
The next floor turned out not to be a floor at all. It was a rusted metal fence, with some grey… structure at one corner, a gap in the middle, another one to the left corner and too many Hardhat Beetles. Hardhat Beetles resembled squids more than anything, but they hat big round shells that protected them from most attacks, because they were absurdly bouncy. These ones were fortunately of the blue variety, so they were weaker, but stll. Too many. The best strategy in this case was to knock them off the fence. The grey structure was very helpful in this, as it bounced off anything that fell on it. Link decided to call it a bumper.
Once the fence was cleared, Link took a peek through the hole in the middle. There was a small platform with a treasure chest there, and a good sized cushion that would surely fly him back up. Link jumped down, and his finding made him smile. A magic compass. Now he would know where to go even if he could not see the exits. That was easy.
Back on the fence, Link headed towards the other giant cushion he spotted, and bounced to the third floor. He arrived on a small platform surrounded by glowing blue pillars, but he spotted an orb at the corner, so he merged with the pillars and crossed the gap, the hit the orb with his sword. The orb turned red, the pillars went down, and Link was greeted by a Moldrom. "Just great.". He crouched down and hacked away. A few moments later the Moldrom was dead. He noted the elevated platform in the middle of the room. "Worth checking out, but to get there…".
An idea flashed in his mind. He stood on the collapsed pillars and hit the orb. The pillars brought him on the same level with the platform. "A small key!". That was a good sign of progress! Looking across the room, he spotted a locked door framed by two staircases, but he could get there from here. Looking down, he saw three Moldroms, two orbs and several pillars. "No other choice.". Link dropped to the floor, isolated two of the Moldroms, and took them down one by one, but not without accidents. "I'm going to have a magnificent bruise tomorrow…". He ran up the staircase, hoping the third Moldrom would notice him, unlocked the door, dashed through it.
He almost got killed.
"Wooooaaaah!". Link caught himself the last moment. The door had led him outside, to a tiny balcony much like the previous one. In his hurry, he almost fell to his death. Note to self: never dash through a door – even if there's a Lynel behind you. A few moments later, he was greeted by a floating platform. With no other way to go, Link climbed on the platform and readied his sword. He already knew that abandoned places like this were full with airborne monsters. Sure enough, he had barely made the turn before he was attacked by a couple of crows.
Link absolutely loathed flying monsters. They were always hiding at the most inconvenient and dangerous locations just begging for some poor adventurer to come so they would attack them and throw them off whatever platform or ledge they were standing on the throw them on the whatever pit out of hell! And now he was ranting.
As the platform circled around the walls of the Tower – Link was impressed at how high he was – he spotted a wall sliding right over the platform, no leaving room for even an ant to stand on. Well, I don't need any room. As soon as the platform made contact with the wall, Link merged with it and waited for the platform to come out from the other side.
Looks like the Tower of Hera really was designed to be impenetrable. This trap right now can throw anyone back on the bridge – if they're lucky.
At the west side of the palace, Link noticed two small balconies and two floating red cubes that would allow him to reach the one that was higher. Knowing this was his way back inside, Link merged with one of the cubes and let it carry him up. He now was on the fourth floor.
Once he stepped inside, Link was greeted by shadow, more glowing pillars, and two Stalfos. Link smashed their bones with the hammer, making sure there was nothing more than dust left, and then turned to the currently blue orb at the corner. There were probably more monsters behind the pillars. I'm ready for them. Link slashed the orb.
"Moldroms!". Three of them and in a really confined and dark place. Can't let them surround me. He slammed his back against the wall and waited for a Moldrom to come towards his direction. The first one easily fell in his spontaneous trap, but the other two did not approach him at all. Link debated ignoring them for a moment, but he decided not to. After a few minutes or running around a chasing them, a breathless Link approached the huge smiley cushion that was hidden behind the pillars.
Fifth floor. Fortunately, a window at the east provided him with light – not too much though because the sun was at a weird angle at this time of the day. In front of him were glowing red pillars and a matching orb. Apprehensive of what was behind it, Link hit the switch… only to reveal blue pillars. Link was stumped for a moment but then he stood on the red pillars, hit the switch, and suddenly he was the one at the higher ground. Behind the blue pillars was a small treasure chest. It only had a blue rupee inside, but Link took it anyways.
Once again Link slipped through the bars of the window, and ended up in a situation much like the previous one; standing on a platform that was cruising around the Tower. However, this time the route was interrupted by blade traps, but Link though it would be easy to dodge them; until the wall pushed out of nowhere.
In his shock, it was only sheer reflex that saved Link from falling to hid death, and it was only reflex that saved him from the blade traps with the complex patterns that followed. At the last moment possible Link noticed the floating boxes that led to the next floor, much like last time. That was close. This time however, the layout of the balcony was quite a bit more complicated. There were hidden crevices in the wall that contained rupees; Link only noticed them when he got to the balcony itself because of the fence that was used as a floor. Link spent a few more minutes gathering those, and then some more waiting for him magic to refill. I really should be more careful with that.
He was finally at the sixth floor. The heat had considerably lessened now, for which Link was grateful. However, he did not dare to look down. He knew he was very high up. Instead, he entered the new floor.
The door behind him slammed closed. Clattering noises filled the large room. It took him a moment to realize what he was seeing.
Red Stalfos. There was one major difference between Red Stalfos and regular Stalfos. The red ones could magically conjure bones that acted as boomerangs. There were no tricks here. Just fight.
Link dashed towards the first skeleton he found, slicing his way through. The monster jumped to dodge it, but Link kept pushing it ti the corner. With it unable to dodge, Link finally severed its spine and broke its skull. That was when something powerful slammed at his back, sending him stumbling forwards. Link used the wall to steady himself, then turned around. With a thought he summoned his bow from his pouch and shot two arrows towards his assailant. The skeleton was surprised by the first one, but it sidestepped the second. Link greeted his teeth, but he took advantage of the distraction. He made a run for the stalfos, dodged an incoming bone from behind, and attacked. The downwards slice was enough to turn it in fragments.
Three left.
Link swung his sword to the far left, ruining the skeleton right behind him.
Two.
He jumped backwards to avoid an incoming bow, then nocked an arrow, followed by a few more. The last ones hit their target.
One.
Link brandished his sword and ran after it, even pulling the strange spinning attack he did back at the House of Gales.
Zero.
With that, the boy finally fell on his knees. His breathing was ragged, even more so than before. He was covered in sweat everywhere, and his left hand was hurting – he had almost pulled a muscle back then. The pain from the bone that he could not feel earlier came back at full force, making him unwilling to move. The rush of adrenaline had cost him almost all of his stamina. Link took his flash out of his bag and downed another gulp of water. There was not much left now.
After a few minutes – or was in more? – Link stood up and gazed around the room, examining the shattered bones around him. "Rest in pieces.".
A noise caught his attention; it was the sound of grinding stone. Link saw that a part of the floor was not floor at all, but rather some kind of a box that slid up and down. Is that an elevator? Link had heard of them before but it had been a rather fleeting interest. What he was more curious about was how this elevator was sliding up and down without any kind of support. "There's probably some mechanism in the wall.", he reasoned.
After a bit of debate, Link waited for the elevator to go down before he positioned himself on top of it. He had already noticed the opening on the ceiling. A few seconds later, the elevator rose up.
Seventh floor.
Thankfully he caught sight of the lone Terrorpin as he was coming up, so he had no trouble dispatching it. The room was divided by glowing pillars, so Link hit the switch and fended off the Hardhat Beetle that was right behind them. Still, he could not shake the feeling that there was something wrong.
His foot got caught in one of the tiles. Link looked down in surprise. "They're broken?". It made sense. The Tower was old, there was no way it was still pristine after so many centuries. He ignored it.
A couple of switches and a Hardhat Beetle later, Link found himself in front of the door… which was locked. "What did I miss…". He had gone through every inch of the Tower so far and there was no sign of a key. Except… He looked over at the broken tiles again. Woth a shot. Careful not to stand on them, he brought down the hammer. Sure enough, the tiles did break, and Link took a peek inside. It was an elevated platform of the previous floor, with a key carelessly laying on it and a large smiley cushion. Sighing in relief, Link leaped down and retrieved it. "I was afraid I'd have to go through the whole Tower again for a moment.".
Once again, Link found himself on a balcony, this one on the west side. Next to it there was a floating platform with a large cushion on it. Just like Rosso's mine. As soon as it turned around the corner, the platform stopped, and Link jumped to the ninth floor. He would have gone straight to the tenth, but the he noticed a ledge with a treasure chest and… a purple pot? "What's this?".
Link let himself drop and opened the treasure chest. "A silver rupee!". He then turned to the pot. There was a strange purple liquid in it, opaque and glimmering. He took hold of it in his hands and suddenly he felt his scar tingle a bit. Link squinted at the contents. A magic potion. But what for? He thought about it for a moment. I can ask Irene's grandmother to examine it. He carefully poured its contents in his bottle. He noticed that its smell was spicy and sweet, but also a bit rotten.
Link merged with the wall and returned to the previous balcony, and this time he went to the tenth floor. Once again, the door behind him slammed closed. However, this time there were no enemies around. Did I hit a dead end? He then heard the sound of stone sliding, and then air whipping. What was that? An object was right at his nose.
"The TILES!?". His shout was muffled by his hands as they went up to protect his head at the last possible moment. Link cowered behind his shield a braced himself as he felt the impact of the flying stone tiles. After a while, the attacks stopped. Link waited for a few more moments. "Is it over?", he asked the empty space. He rose on his feet and looked around. It would appear that it was.
"What the HELL, Din!? Even the floor is trying to kill me!". Groaning in exasperation, Link once again checked the floor. The flying stone tiles had revealed a set of red ones hidden underneath, identical to the ones covering the floating platforms and boxes. The platform floated high and the air to reveal… a fairy fountain.
Link was astonished. A fairy fountain? Inside the Tower of Hera? "Thank the goddesses!". Link fell through the opening – it occurred to him that this was the eighth floor – and giggled as the fairies danced around him. Their glowing trails of dust took away the pain in his arms and his back, as well as many other aches and bruises that he had not even noticed. He felt his thirst and his sweat evaporate, and he was once again filled with energy. "Fairies are incredible…".
Feeling much better than he did a moment prior, Link examined the treasure chest at the corner. He grinned upon seeing the purple rupee. He also noticed a strange tile at the corner. Instead of being made of stone, this one was glowing in a hypnotic golden pattern. That was when he realized that he had no way out. Link took his chances and stepped on it. A strange buzzing filled his ears and his vision blurred. And suddenly, he was back in the room he had come from. Link blinked. He had just teleported. "Amazing.", he breathed.
The platform was still cruising up and down. Link stepped on it and went up. He was finally on the tenth floor.
The "floor" in question was actually a metal fence in the shape of a cross with bumpers at each end, four crystal orbs that were there for no apparent reason and several Hardhat Beetles. The combination of the bumpers and the beetles in such a location made for a tricky fight as Link had to take into account the recoil from each of his attacks. Finally, the fence was cleared and Link was left wondering what to do with the orbs. Unlike the previous ones, these ones were not glowing at all. Their colour was a dull blue, Link noted. He decided to hit the orbs and see what happened. The orbs shone a brilliant turquoise, nothing like the ones from earlier, and Link was greeted by the now familiar sound of a platform elevating. It was at the northeast side of the room, with a large cushion laughing manically. Link grinned at his small achievement and made his way to the eleventh floor.
He found himself on a large inner balcony. In front of the balcony was a large floating platform with two large smiley cusions left and right, and two ledges on each side. Link decided to check out the east one first.
It was a huge treasure chest. Link knew what this meant. He slowly lifted the heavy lid open and reached for its contents. A single golden key decorated with horns. I'm close.
On the other ledge was the door.
Link gazed down at the mat bemused. It was quite strange to see a red carpet in a place like this, even if it was decorated with a goat skull. "Welcome to your doom, I guess.". He slid the key in the lock, and it dissolved, the heavy gates opening on their own.
The door led outside. Balconies at different levels, the one higher than the other, equipped with smiley cushions. There was only one way to go: up.
He was finally on the final floor. The very top of the Tower of Hera. There were various blade traps spinning around, casting a royal blue afterglow in their path, but they did not get in his way. The view was spectacular.
Link had thought that from the top of the Eastern Palace and from Irene's broom, he could see the entire land of Hyrule. How wrong he had been. This… This was literally above the clouds. The dying sunlight casted a golden glow on them, almost blinding in their majesty. Soft shades of yellow, orange and lavender danced around the sun, while at the exact opposite direction the first stars had started to appear. It was still far too early for the sky to turn dark and the sun to touch the horizon. Bellow, the waters of Hyrule sparkled in a way that was invisible from up close – they were more like dancing silver. The fields appeared emerald and the houses were smaller that dots. And the castle… A magnificent white jewel in the distance. Princess.
There were smiley cushions around the corners of the Tower. Link took the invitation.
The place he landed on… was a fence. A thick fence which covered a relatively small area in the shape of a square with its corners cut. There was another square gap on the fence, not quite in the middle but a little more to the left. And finally… there was a giant. Yellow. Bumpy. Thing.
Then its eyes opened. Its crazed, yellow and purple, hypnotic eyes. And then, against all laws of nature, it unfurled. It pulsed. Fumes escaped the underside of its body.
The expression on Link's face must have been comical. In a perfectly flat voice, he stated the obvious. "It's a Giant Moldrom.".
SHIT.
No sooner had he thought that that the Moldrom launched itself to the edge of the fence. "How am I supposed to beat THAT!?".
THISFOEHASAWEAKNESSSTAYPATIENT-
What was that? Preoccupied with his thoughts, Link was too distracted to notice the giant yellow blob heading towards him. Before Link knew what was happening, he flew of the fence and back to the roof.
Somehow, I knew this would happen.
Link groaned in pain. The impact of landing on his back after such a high fall was unlike any other. He felt like paste! Link had never been able to make sense out of that phrase before, but now he could. I should just lay here for a moment… or forever… But he could not do that. He had already reached the top, and he had a giant worm to slay. Looking from bellow through the fence, he saw that the Giant Moldrom had resumed to hibernating. At least it won't be pissed off at me from the get-go…
Link finally got up, and he was ready to return to the top when a whirling sound stopped him in mid step. Instead of putting his foot down, he instead looked at the ground around him. He was surrounded by blade traps.
Stepping around the lethal wheels more carefully than he would on burning coal, Link eventually returned to the pillow. He sharply released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Had I fallen just a bit more to the left… He could not fully form the mental image in his mind. He was certain that would be a bad idea.
Steeling himself, he made his way to the top.
…except that the second time around did not end much better.
At least I fell on the pillow. Said pillow in question bounced him right back.
This time, Link was ready for it. He drew he sword and with a decisive move he slashed the tail end of the monstrous worm. "THAT'S the weak point!". Unfortunately for Link, said weak point turned out not to be so weak after all, because the tail slapped Link right off the platform.
Link gazed up in the sky with a blank look on his face.
This is going to take a while.
~Attempt Number 5~
The previous time Link had managed to slash the glowing end of Moldrum's tail twice. His previous fall – the exception of the first one – had left him unscathed, so this time he had a good advantage over the beast.
At least he thought so until he saw that the tail was spotless.
"It can heal itself?".
SMAAAASH!
~Attempt Number 8~
"Next time, stay away from the hole in the middle, please.".
~Attempt Number 11~
"Arrows are a bad idea.".
~Attempt Number 12~
"Bombs are a very, VERY bad idea.". He then proceeded to melt on the floor.
~Attempt Number 16~
"Trying to do that spin attack thing doesn't work. Waiting in a single spot for it to come does NOT work. And for that matter, there are no safe spots.".
Link took a deep breath.
"When I see the architect that designed this place, I'll kill him.".
~Attempt Number 17~
"Running is a very good idea.". Finally, Link felt like he had a basis. At least he would not fall every forty seconds now.
~Attempt Number 25~
"Note to self: Giant Moldroms cannot be trapped unless they somehow trap themselves.".
For the last few minutes – or maybe many minutes for Link had completely lost his sense of time – the young swordsman had been trying to trap the Giant Moldrom in that narrow area between the gap in the middle and the northwest gap. He had hoped that the smaller area would make access to the creature's tail easier. So far, he had not been able to test that theory because the Moldrom would not visit that spot all that often, and even if it did, it would rarely manage to get itself stuck in there. The few times that it did, the Moldrom had been able to untangle itself without much fuss, before Link was able to land a hit on it.
Overall, Link had not been able to successfully attack the Moldrom too many times. In spite of using every trick he could think of, the monster's sheer power, speed and unpredictable nature meant that it could – and would – turn every sort of strategy around its head.
The sun had started to set properly. And Link was left with only one solution.
To keep trying.
After that, everything turned into a blur. Link would chase the Giant Moldrom's tail around the platform, and would be able to land a number of hits on its tail before he was knocked off the fence again. Link had made a point of avoiding the large hole in the middle so that the blade traps would not get in his way.
However, Link did not escape unscathed. With each fall, his bruises and the pain in his bones and joints only grew. With each attempt, his muscles burned more and his breath grew more labored. His head was swimming, and his vision was growing blurry. In spite of the falling temperature, he was covered in cold sweat, and the remains of his water flask had already been downed.
With each hit Link landed, the monster would only get faster. The impact of its body was enough to knock his breath out of him with the force of a hammer.
There was no guarantee for it, but he knew all the same. This would be his last attempt.
Link took a few deep breaths. Breathe in. Breathe out. Slowly, he heard the buzzing in his ears fading away, and his headache slowly subside. The pain in his muscles was harder to get rid of, but Link did not allow himself to relax completely. He knew that if he did, he would collapse, and that was not something he could afford to do. Link drew his sword, and headed to the pillow. It was time to end this.
The monster was still with its eyes closed, just like all the previous times. As soon as Link landed on the platform, its hypnotic glowing orbs snapped open, and it started to move. Link ran right towards it. At the perfect moment, he struck. The beast recoiled to itself in pain.
The Moldrom headed to the narrow part of the fence, and Link followed it. A few more hits. Two of them landed on its armored shell. The third one was true on its target. Link immediately backed off. The Moldrom had trapped itself in the narrow, and after it wrenched itself free, it headed right back in. The third attack was almost easy.
The beast was now faster. It did not matter to Link. It had stretched itself and that meant that its weak spot was wide open. A fourth attack. And right after it, a fifth.
The Giant Moldrom was now at its fastest, and its most dangerous. As soon as it turned around, it knocked Link right off his feet. Link got up and set himself to chasing it, but he could not keep up. Before the boy even knew what happened, the monster had slammed head-first into him. For a few disoriented moments, Link's eyesight had gone blank. He did not allow himself any rest as he got right back on his feet. Somewhere in the confusion, he managed to land his sixth strike. And he was immediately swept aside by the giant body.
Link was now at the edge of the inner gap, and one thread away from defeat.
The Giant Moldrom was heading right towards him. The next seconds happened in a flash.
Link sidestepped. He dashed forward. He brought his sword down. And he hit. The monster howled.
And that was when Link knew… it was over.
He won.
Author's Note: Okay. Wow. That was... a trip.
For starters, I want to address those people who so kindly informed me that my story was in their personal "to be deleted" lists (not you Fangyu 126). To those people... SCREW YOU. My story. You can't delete it. That's the ADMINS' job. This is the SECOND and THIRD time I was sent such a review from someone in regards to my author notes, each time from a different party, and I'M SICK OF IT. If you somehow manage to delete my fanfic, or ANY of my fanfics, I'll post it right back and there is nothing you can do about it. LEAVE ME ALONE.
Now, on to more important stuff.
In the meantime between the previous chapter and this one, I watched a full walkthough of Breath of the Wild. That has affected quite a few things and created quite a few new head-canons. First, my representation of the Lynels. In LBW Lynels seem easy compared to the monstrosities that roam Hyrule's fields. Therefore, I upped the danger factor. I tried making my Lynels closer to their BotW counterparts. Still unarmed, but more intelligent and dangerous. I don't think I've managed it, but I tried.
Second is that little scene with the Armos. I read a theory somewhere that Armos and Beamos were prototypes for the Guardians. I will go one step further and call ALL unreasonably advanced tech "a prototype". For instance, the switch pillars are made of plastic. I tried to make that clear in the description by explaining my method of telling real crystals from fake ones, but I don't think I was too clear. Then again, Link lives in a medieval world and has no real means of comparison. Plastic is unlike anything he has seen before, and the fact that it was made to imitate glass in its appearance has only confused him more.
Final BotW influenced point is the conversation between Link and that treasure hunter. I essentially had Link pull a Revali. Or a boastful attitude inspired by Revali. That's it.
Another thing I need to point out was that boss fight. Giant Moldrom. I spent a few minutes debating what I should do with it, and eventually decided to base it on my first run against Giant Moldrom when I first played LttP on an emulator. I had a relatively easy time with the bosses before that, but Moldrom... well, I had tried many, MANY times. Now add to that the theme of the dungeon (Power) and the injuries that someone would sustain from such a fight, and here is the result.
I have no idea when I will be able to update again, but you should expect a new chapter in the summer. Until then, be patient...
... and PLEASE REVIEW!
