So I have managed to slowly manufacture this chapter. I still own nothing!


Level 5

Dawn of the Third Day

The rooster crowed the next morning, as usual, and Rusl, as usual, got out of bed and stretched before going to the window and looking out on the world, bathed in first sunlight of the morning. Shad, as was his wont, had fallen asleep, yet again, at the table. You almost had to feel sorry for the guy, never getting to sleep in a bed. Rusl smiled at the peace his allies were at, seeing Ashei spread out on the bed and snoring slightly. Shad suddenly gave a snort and fell out of his chair, hitting the floor with a thud.

"Eh, what?" he shouted, sitting up and grabbing his glasses, as they fell in his lap when he suddenly sat up, they already being loose. He looked around and grunted, getting up and sitting back in his chair.

"Good morning," Rusl greeted him.

"And the same to you," the bookworm replied, his gentlemanly demeanor only slightly marred by his grogginess.

"Ashei," Rusl called to the snoozing archer. Better to wake grumpy sleepers now than later, he always said. Otherwise, you'd always be late. "Ashei!" She gave a grunt that sounded like a threat and rolled over. Anju's familiar knock came through the door at that point.

"Come in!" Shad's sentence was punctuated with a yawn. The innkeeper bustled in, looking tired but smiling all the same and put down their food.

"Please don't feel unwelcome. You can stay here until you get back on your feet," she said kindly.

"Don't worry about the rent, we'll pay it off…somehow," Rusl promised. "Maybe we'll get work every day from now on,"

"I hope you're right," she curtsied and left the room.

"We've just got to pull though for that woman," Shad said as he nibbled at his food, already missing Kafei's cooking. "Anyone else would've given us the boot long ago,"

"Yes," Rusl nodded. "We'll just have to look harder for work, that's all," He went over and gave Ashei a kick in the side. "Wake up!" She, predictably, lashed out, but he jumped back and avoided it. Rubbing her eyes, the archer finally sat up and growled,

"What's the idea, yeah?"

"Just eat your food," Rusl replied, going over to the table as well. "We have a big day today,"

"Yeah, having to smell salt water and get sand in my boots," she grumbled, donning her armor and flopping down in the remaining chair.

"I happen to find the beach quite stimulating," Shad said conversationally. "The sun warms my city skin and I like nothing better than to sit under an umbrella and read whilst listening to the waves as they churn against the shore,"

"I doubt this'll be a day at the beach, city boy," Ashei grumbled, choking down their horrible fare. After about a whole year, they still weren't used to it. Oh, well. Law of nature, right?

The trio stepped outside as the bell tolled 07:00. Everything was the same as usual, but they could almost feel the tension in the air, as though something big was coming and the city was in the middle of it.

"Well, off to the west gate," Rusl announced, taking a right turn and leading them into South Clock Town. They looped around the tower, bypassing the gate that would lead to North Clock Town, and headed for the way to West Clock Town.

"This clock tower really is a work of ingenuity," Shad commented admiringly as he looked up at the large structure. "I should like to study the workings of such a landmark if I am ever permitted the time and honor," So they continued into West Clock Town and, as usual, the guard stopped them at the gate for a warning.

"You're going to the Great Bay, right?" he asked.

"Yes," Rusl replied.

"Okay, just be careful. I can't say this too loudly, but the Town Guard has been on edge lately," he cupped a hand around his mouth and leaned in as he spoke. "This unknown tension around town is making Captain Viscen more than a bit edgy,"

"Hopefully, we'll be able to help alleviate the problem," Shad interjected. "If, that is, the next giant tells us anything important,"

They stepped out onto the stone ramp that led down to the sandy area preceding the Great Bay. Two fountains were positioned on either side of the ramp, a landmark for anyone looking for the path to Great Bay. Down the ramp they traveled, making good time, the bell tolled 07:30 as their feet touched sand. The sand shifted with each step, making it much harder to walk and wearing on their legs, but they bore it. Unfortunately, this area was also home to leevers, some of the most irritating monsters in existence. Several suddenly burrowed up out of the ground and assaulted the group without warning. Shad was knocked down by one as it raced over, but Ashei managed to take out many with a volley of arrows. Rusl sliced the rest as Shad got back to his feet.

"That was a definite surprise," he said, brushing sand from his pants. "I must find out more about these creatures," So out came the bestiary and he looked them up. "Let's see…leevers," More appeared as he said this, forcing Rusl and Ashei to kill them as he continued reading. "They keep coming in sandy areas, which is where they live. Easily killed, but fiercely annoying," He put the book away. "We best be moving on or we'll be fighting all day,"

"Gee, what a good idea, yeah?" Ashei scoffed.

The party raced through the area as fast as the sand would allow, and eventually came to a gate, much like the one at Ikana Canyon.

"Well, let's climb it," Rusl said, easily scaling it.

"Move it, yeah?" Ashei gave Shad a shove.

"R-Right," he slowly climbed up on the fence, getting more nervous as he heard the archer's sounds of impatience.

"Just climb the bloody fence, yeah?" she yelled, grabbing him by the leg and forcing him over. He landed, uncermoniously, in an upside-down heap, on the other side. She quickly scaled the fence and dropped next to him. "You call yourself a detective?"

"Well, I'm more into the deduction than the field work," Shad muttered, getting up and straightening his glasses before brushing sand from his person.

"All right, that's enough," Rusl interrupted. "We still have some work to do, here," Ashei gave a humph as the swordsman led the way out of the area that still held some grass and to the area where it was all sand, with a palm tree here and there. They zigzagged between the inconvinently-placed, short, white walls that were, for some odd reason, in the path.

"It's puzzling why these are here," Shad observed. "It's not like they repel invasion or anything…"

"Maybe they're to keep nerds out so that they don't study Zoras too much," Ashei replied sarcastically.

"Hey!" Shad protested.

The leevers gave them no dearth as they crossed the beach, slowing their progress to very little as they battled their way across the shore.

"I dearly dislike these leevers," Shad said when they finally broke through to the stone arch that led to the other side of the shore. The clock tolled 08:00.

"I agree with the sentiment, but, lo! They are not on this end of the shore," Rusl replied.

"Hey, you three," a nearby Zora called. "If you break all three of these in one shot, I'll give you 90 rupees," He gestured to the three pedestals nearby, which each held a pot.

"Sounds like an opportunity to me," Ashei commented, firing a bomb arrow and shattering all three. The Zora looked crestfallen. "Pay up, yeah?"

"Alright, you win," he said unhappily, handing over four red rupees and a yellow one. He didn't, however, reset the game while they were still around. Heading back to the shore, the trio stopped and looked at the circle of reef and stone in the distance.

"Do you suppose that's the temple?" Shad asked, pulling out his map.

"Well, we could ask that Zora," Rusl suggested.

"Ah, that's not the temple," Shad interrupted. "That's Zora Hall, home of the Zoras. The temple…" his face fell a little. "…is even further out. We'll never get there on our own,"

"Well, Zora Hall is our lead, so I say we go there, yeah?" Ashei replied.

"How? Swim?" the mere thought seemed to make the city boy shudder.

"Unless you have some spell in that book that makes a bridge or something, yeah?" Ashei put her hand on her hip and flailed the other impatiently.

"Let me see…" he flipped through his journal. "Water blades, ice blades, frost trap, whirlpool trap, bubble trap…ah, ice platform and ascension geyser!" He pointed at the words in question. "It may take a lot of energy, but I can carry us around to the rear, where the entrance is, with this,"

"Get started, then," Ashei tapped her foot for emphasis. The bookworm went forward and put his hand in the usual casting position. Many words were chanted as some of the water in front of them began to solidify into a cube that widened at the top. A perfect platform for three, assuming no one fell off.

"And there we are," Shad said proudly. "Please board in an orderly fashion and be ready to cover me, should the occasion arise that we are placed under assault,"

"Whatever, drama king," Ashei said dismissively as they boarded. Shad, carefully, last of all.

"Off we go," his hand glowed as he gestured forward and they were off. The water sloshed quietly by as they drifted closer to the distant Zora Hall and the salty breeze ruffled their hair. Unfortunately, a few Guays took interest in them as they passed three rock outcroppings that stuck out of the water, nearby. Ashei sniped each one with relative ease before they could get close enough to nip anybody. Finally, they reached the wall and began the slow, arduous loop around. The bell tolled 08:30 in the distance as they finally arrived at the back entrance. The ice platform ascended a little, at Shad's command, allowing them to step out onto the rock shelf, as it was a bit above water level. The platform melted and vanished as Shad stepped off last, allowing the spell to break.

"That was a bit of a rough trial, but I believe I'm fine," he gasped, hands on his knees.

"Take a green potion, anyway," Rusl recommended.

"Oh, very well," the bookworm took out a vial and downed it, feeling better immediately and straightening up. "Now let's go in and speak with the Zoras, regarding the temple, shall we?"

They stepped through the doorway and into a narrow hallway of sorts. Walking down the hall, they spotted a door to their left, with an obvious sign hanging next to it to inform people that it as the Zora Shop.

"If we weren't so horribly poor, we may consider visiting here, but, alas…" Shad wiped an invisible tear away. Ashei nudged him in the ribs, not very gently, but enough to get the message across. Moving on, they finally came out into a large chamber that was halfway taken up by a pool. Many waterfalls poured from the ceiling to feed said pool, creating a soothing sound and ambiance in the room. Across the pool was a grand stage, fashioned to look like an open clam, if it wasn't an actual one.

"This is a majestic place, make no mistake," Shad said with wonder, taking hold of his glasses to direct them more towards what he looked at.

"I never thought that water and stone could be so beautiful," Rusl added. Ashei humphed. She had been through the Zora's Domain, in Hyrule, before, and she preferred mountains. Not that she didn't like the atmosphere here, of course, but she would never say it aloud.

"Can we move on? We have a temple to explore, yeah?" she said impatiently.

"Of course," Rusl snapped out of his reverie. "Let's go, Shad," The scholar disappointedly tore his gaze away as well and followed them as they wound their way around the pool and to the series of doors, each crested with a different symbol, all guarded by Zora.

"Hey!" a man with a mustache shouted, running over. He was wearing a bit of a fancy outfit, but that didn't put the trio off. "Are you three here to see the Indigo-Gos too?"

"Actually, we're here to visit the Great Bay Temple," Rusl replied. "Do you know how to get there?" Gorman's face fell as he thought.

"Hmm…no clue! But I'm sure that Lulu knows a way," he informed them. "She's often seen speaking with a giant turtle, or so the other Zora tell me,"

"So where is this Lulu, yeah?" Ashei asked brusquely.

"In her dressing room, where else?" Gorman responded. "I could go talk to her for you, since they won't let just anybody into the dressing rooms,"

"That would be most appreciated," Shad said politely.

"Okay, I'll be back," Gorman walked off to the room on the far side of the hall. They saw him converse with the guard for a while and then wait impatiently as the guard stuck his head in to ask Lulu something. Finally, an elegantly beautiful Zora woman emerged from the room in a short dress of blue silk; she had matching earrings. The trio met her halfway and she considered them briefly before speaking.

"So you want to get to the temple, right?" she said.

"Yes, Miss Lulu, we do," Shad replied gentlemanly. "Can you assist us in this endeavor?"

"I'm probably the only one who can," she informed them. "Since you three cannot swim like Zora, you will have to ride the giant turtle and he only awakens to my singing,"

"Let us go then," Rusl nodded. So they headed back the way they had come, Lulu and Gorman, the latter of which loved her singing so much that he just had to tag along, in tow.

Once outside, Lulu approached the palm tree-topped island that was nearby the rock outropping they stood on and began to sing a song known to the Zora as the New Wave Bossa Nova. The rock began to shake as she sang and slowly rose out of the water, revealing a turtle's head and limbs. The bell tolled 09:00 in the distance.

"Ah, such a nice sound…" he said with a smile before turning to Team Eye. "Now, the seas have told me much in my sleep. You three wish to get to the Great Bay Temple and free the giant that is imprisoned there,"

"Yes," Rusl replied.

"Very well, get on my back and hold tight to the trees," the turtle said. Ashei tied a rope to an arrow and fired it at one of the trees. Once they had all climbed, ignoring Shad's usual protests as he was sent up second this time, they all clinged tight to the trees as the turtle swam out to sea, heading for the perpetual cyclone around an area in the distance.

"Are you certain we shall be able to pass through that twister unscathed?" Shad yelled down to the turtle.

"No problem at all," the turtle answered. "Hold on tight, now," He began to dive.

"You're diving? My, w-" the water cut the bookworm off and they were forced to hold their breath for a tense thirty seconds. Finally, the turtle broke the water in a medium-sized inlet pool that was within a damp, dark room. They all jumped off of the turtle as he stopped at the water's edge.

"Thank you for the help," Rusl told him.

"Any time. I'll wait here to give you a ride back," it replied.

"Now I'm soaked with seawater," Shad whined, trying to shake it out of his hair. "And my clothes are all but ruined,"

"Suck it up, yeah?" Ashei slapped the back of his head. "We can wash our clothes when we get back to Clock Town,"

"Simple for you to say," Shad shuddered. "I'm freezing in here,"

"That's enough, you two," Rusl said firmly. "The portal is right there, so we needn't go much further in,"

"That's dandy and all, but what say we take a moment to warm ourselves, so as to promote better performance in battle?" Shad suggested, rubbing his hands on his arms. So they sat down, against Ashei's objections, and waited to dry out a little. This, of course was offset a bit by the fact that this place was cool and moist, perfect for a Zora, but not so much for a Hylian. On a random impulse, Shad pulled out the soup that they had been presented with the previous day.

"Don't tell me you plan to eat that?" Rusl commented. Shad opened the bottle and sniffed the contents gingerly.

"It doesn't seem spoiled, then again, it doesn't seem like conventional soup, either," the bookworm observed. Ashei swiped the bottle and sniffed it.

"It seems like a crude version of Mountainus Elixirus," she noted, handing it back. She noticed the blank looks on her companions' faces. "It's a mixture that promotes warmth when you're about in the cold mountains, yeah?"

"The smith assistant must have realized that we might need it," Rusl observed.

"Smarter than he looked, that chap, eh?" Shad gave a small chuckle. "Well, what say we partake of this so to more quickly warm up?"

"Might as well," Ashei said flippantly. So they shared the contents, one sip each, though Ashei was loath to drink after Shad, saying that she might get "city germs".

"I resent that!" Shad said jokingly, finding the notion ridiculous enough for comedy.

"You never know, yeah?" the archer replied. "I might start getting prissy and scared of getting my armor dirty," Rusl just watched with amusement, the banter that he had come to enjoy.

The bell tolled 09:30 outside, a short while later, and the trio now felt sufficently warm, despite their cold, wet clothing.

"Well, now would be a good time to press on," Rusl suggested, standing.

"Yes, I agree wholeheartedly," Shad nodded, standing as well. So they proceeded to the warp panel that shone in front of them, and vanished in a flash of white light.


Oh, no, another cliffhanger! Review and tune in to the next chapter for a load of battles! Btw, you can now vote on your favorite team on my profile page. Feel free to do so.